Monthly Archives: March 2021

Results from anational pollreleased Friday found 65 percent of Americans think corporate America is taking political correctness too far.

Thestudysurveyed 1,098 adults about their thoughts on a range of high-profile actions corporations have taken recently to appease left-wing activists, including Hasbro dropping the Mr. from its Mr. Potato Head toy, Disney closing down popular rides at its theme parks that activists claimed were racist, and Lucasfilmsfiring of actress Gina Carano. On Thursday, eBay began banning the sales of Dr. Seuss books.

The study was conducted by Survey Monkey and Public Opinion Strategies and commissioned by The Daily Wire between Feb. 26 and March 3, following a storm of recent cancel mob moves, such as Disney placing warning labels on The Muppets.

Nearly 80 percent of respondents believe toymaker Hasbros changing Mr. Potato Head to Potato Head is silly.

When initially asked, 58 percent of respondents said they opposed Disneys decision to fire Carano over social media posts. After being shown the actual post that resulted in her termination, however, 72 percent said they didnt agree with the firing, including a majority of liberals and Democrats and 70 percent of Disney fans.

During aninterview with The Federalist, Carano said she first became vocal about reportedly touchy or taboo subjects because I feel like there is a large group of people that were being silenced this year and being forced to play this game of wokeism or whatever it is. The cancel mob made sure to punish her for daring to speak freely and challenging the status quo.

Pushing back against toxic cancel culture, The Daily Wireannounced last month after herfiring that Carano will produce and star in a film for them.

Participants reported being less likely to consume Disney products after hearing of the companys politically biased actions. Nearly half also said they believe Hollywood is biased against conservatives.

Sixty-four percent, including 60 percent of Disney fans, oppose the companys decision to close down or re-theme rides such as Splash Mountain just because activists claim they have racist origins and messages.

Corporate Americas lunge into wokeness and cancel culture might hit a bump in the road given public reaction to Disneys recent actions, said researcher Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies who oversaw the study. This data clearly shows that actions like the ones Disney has taken recently definitely have the potential to negatively impact its bottom line.

Evita Duffy is an intern at The Federalist and a junior at the University of Chicago, where she studies American History. She loves the Midwest, lumberjack sports, writing, & her family. Follow her on Twitter at @evitaduffy_1

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Poll: Two-Thirds Of Americans Think Corporate Wokeness Has Gone Too Far - The Federalist

The new chief technology officer at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Erica Joy Baker, once called upon her followers to erupt into nationwide anarchy, burning every cop precinct to the ground, if she were ever killed by a police officer.

If the cops kill me, burn every cop precinct to the ground, Baker wrote on Twitter in September just one month after militant social justice warriors ravaged the Wisconsin city of Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, who was armed with a knife. If the cops kill me, shut down the highways and throw the teargas back at em when they try you.

In another post, published in June days after George Floyds death in Minneapolis, where court documents show Floyd had a lethal dose of fentanyl in his system, Baker called police officers giant pieces of sh-t.

We have an epidemic in sf: giant pieces of sh-t walking around killing sf residents, Baker wrote. You can try to re-form a piece of sh-t, but what youre left with is still a piece of sh-t. #DefundPolice.

The posts were first reported by the Daily Caller. The DCCC did not immediately respond to The Federalists request for comment.

Fox News reported on more tweets Tuesday. In 2016, Baker wrote, I hate the police, vilifying law enforcement as a farce.

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Top Democrat Staffer Tweeted 'Burn Every Cop Precinct To The Ground' - The Federalist

The Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The Tenth Amendment is one of the true foundational amendments of our Constitution. It reserves for the states all rights not granted to the national government by the Constitution, guaranteeing a federalist type of administration.

Federalism is a political system that splits power between a central government and the governments of the many states which comprise the nation. This division of authority is spelled out in a written constitution.

Additionally, the local governmental structure (legislative, executive, and judicial branches) always reflects that of the national system, just on a more local scale. Importantly, the people elect representatives to both the national and regional governments and generally require the two bodies to work together.

Our Founders had already experienced the issues of a confederation style of government (our Articles of Confederation), which conferred more power to the states and less to central officials. They knew we needed a stronger national authority, or our country would not survive.

However, they also remembered the reason they fought the Revolution was to get rid of a stifling central power. Anti-Federalists like Patrick Henry of Virginia were concerned that certain sections (General Welfare clause, Necessary and Proper clause, Supremacy clause) of the new Constitution granted Congress too many powers.

The General Welfare clause granted broad taxing power to the national government. The Necessary and Proper clause allowed Congress to make any laws they felt they needed to execute their tasks. Finally, the Supremacy clause stated the national Constitution was the supreme law of the land, overshadowingthe states.Not surprisingly then, when the states submitted their own demands for a national bill of rights, the first amendment on most of their wish lists was one protecting state sovereignty. Maryland, for example, proposed, That Congress shall exercise no power but what is expressly delegated by this Constitution.

Likewise, Robert Lansing of New York submitted, That no power shall be exercised by Congress, but such as is expressly given by this Constitution; and all others, not expressly given, shall be reserved to the respective states.

These delegates used the word expressly in their proposals to prevent the national government from assuming implied powers, those not specifically granted but required to execute their tasks. James Madison, however, felt using the word expressly in the context ofcontrolling the central governments authority would cripple the new federal government by overly restricting it.

He knew that Article II of the Articles of Confederation had included expressly in its declaration of states rights restrictions on the federal government, and by doing so, had made the central government relatively powerless and inefficient.

Rather than repeat this mistake, Madison left out the word expressly when he drafted the amendments final version. Madison reasoned, it was impossible to confine a government to the exercise of express powers; there must necessarily be admitted powers by implication.

WHY IT MATTERS So why does it matter to us today that the Tenth Amendment grants to the states all powers not granted to the national government?

This amendment guarantees to all of us a federalist system of government, one which acts a natural check on a distant central power. One which grants significant authority to legislative bodies closer to us geographically and more in tune with our specific needs.

Instead of unknown and, perhaps indifferent, officials in far-off Washington, DC deciding how we would live, the Founders vested most administrative authority in the states, closer to home. In a country as vast as ours, it seems reasonable to assume local people can better manage local issues.

The Tenth Amendment allows the people in Georgia to decide what is best for Georgians and Wisconsinites to decide what is best for those living in Wisconsin. It is a great system, and we have our Forefathers vision to thank for that.

SUGGESTED READING The Library of America (not to be confused with the Library of Congress) publishes significant works of American literature. One of their offerings is The American Revolution, Writings from the War of Independence, 1775-1783. As the title suggests, it contains first-hand accounts of our Revolutionary period.

PLACES TO VISIT Scotchtown is a plantation in Beaverdam, VA, about 30 miles north of Richmond, that was Patrick Henrys home from 1771-1778. Beautifully preserved by Preservation Virginia, it includes restored great house and plenty of information on Patrick Henrys legacy.

Until next time, may your motto be Ducit Amor Patriae, Love of country leads me.

Read more atamericanacorner.com.

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Americana Corner: Our Bill of Rights: The Tenth Amendment - Bryan County News

Renowned author and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution Shelby Steele sat down as the first guest on the new Fox News podcast hosted by Federalist Publisher Ben Domenech.

On Shelby Steele & The Consequences of Courage, the public intellectual broke down the nations latest cultural revolution on race, decrying the social justice movement as one based on the pressure to prove white innocence exploited by the left.

Critical race theory is bogus, Steele says. To me as a minority, demeaning, de-humanizing, I mean, you could go on forever. But it is a currency with which whites can buy innocence in the marketplace. Its a currency which blacks and other minorities can exercise power in the political arena.

Steele, who is black, said Americans need to find courage to reject the totalitarian impulses of the social justice movement that demonizes the population as exhaustively racist for exclusive benefits.

White America has to find a way to restore its moral confidence, Steele said, emphasizing it requires the courage to say look, Im not a racist and I dont care what you say, whether it agrees with your or doesnt.'

For Steele, the consequences of such courage have been far more personal.

My brother and I have not talked in 40 years, Steele said of his twin sibling, but added while he wishes things would have turned out differently, he himself had no regrets for defending controversial views that cost him friends and family. If I had any regrets, its that I havent done it better than I have.

Listen to the full podcast here.

Steele appeared on Federalist Radio Hour with Domenech last summer in the aftermath of the George Floyd riots.

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Shelby Steele Talks Race Relations On New Fox News Podcast With Ben Domenech - The Federalist

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Oren Cass, executive director of American Compass, joins Federalist Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky to discuss how conservatives can reconcile their principles with the priorities of the working class.

I think there are a tremendous amount, a number of people who are socially quite conservative and would tend to agree with what the right of center would say on a lot of these cultural issues, but they find themselves landing on the left of center in the Democratic Party, Cass said. I think doing better on the economic issues would also allow us to do better on the social issues, and thats why ultimately what we talked about is this idea of a multi-ethnic, working-class conservatism because I think thats where the potential is for an actual governing majority and a coalition that would actually advance across the spectrum the set of issues and concerns that I think a lot of us share.

One of the most important aspects of this debate, Cass said, is the ability to adapt and expand conversations and viewpoints beyond what the current political circumstances demand.

Something has really shifted in the character of the economy in a really destructive way, and I think its important to remember that there are political shifts that are going on, but also the world changes and our understanding of the world changes, and our politics and our policy you have to be able to update themselves to that, Cass explained.

Read more of Casss work here.

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Oren Cass On Balancing Conservative Ideals With Working-Class Priorities - The Federalist

To paraphrase Lavelle Junson, people dont want to see a sequel to an old movie from 30 years ago that no one asked for. Yet, other than standard-issue Disney/Marvel/DC and the occasional sleeper indie hit, weve been fed a steady cinematic diet of sequels and reboots to properties from the Reagan-Bush era.

Coming 2 America is merely the latest entry in the never-ending lineup of stale nostalgia bait. Although occasionally amusing, like its soulless siblings, the follow-up to the endearing 1988 comedy is shallow, tired, and ultimately lacking; typical of the entertainment industrys output over the past ten years. Yet we just cant get enough of it.

Junsons observation may be astute but, of course, we know its completely wrong. A ravenous market for 1980s and 90s reboots and sequels still exists, and even those of us who should know better get foolishly sucked in. We grew up with these characters, so its only natural to crave fresh and interesting stories, watch them grow, and have them overcome new challenges.

The original Coming to America features a young Prince Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy) who is arranged to be married in the exotically fictional African kingdom of Zamunda. Frustrated with his predetermined and pampered life, he breaks off the engagement to seek true love and experience a normal life in America (where else but Queens, N.Y.) with his mischievous pal Semmi (Arsenio Hall).

Overcoming a hilarious socio-economic culture shock, they meet a motley crew of characters along the way as Akeem courts Lisa (Shari Headley), the daughter of a fast-food entrepreneur whos having relationship problems of her own with a boyfriend whos set to inherit a fortune from a line of Soul Glo urban hair care products.

Although initially met with a lukewarm reception, Coming to America built a loyal following over the years with its unique brand of humor, interesting characters (most of whom are played by Murphy and Hall), and humble urban settings. Since most of the cast was set to return, the announcement of a sequel was somewhat promising. More romantic, cross-cultural misadventures? A new generation of Zamundans and a secret heir to the throne? The potential was there, especially for us 80s kids.

Instead, we get a slapdash sequel with a loosely interconnected set of references to the original material, a razor-thin (and nonsensical) plot, all-too-familiar tropes, and stunted characters that wind up where they ended up in the last movie.

Eddie Murphys Prince Akeem discovers that while in America back in 88, he was drugged and raped by Leslie Joness Mary Junson, which produced a son, Lavelle. Yes, date rape is the inciting incident, but this proves to be more of a comedic beat than a felonious assault.

Despite him having three able daughters, only a male heir can assume the throne. With a ruthless General Izzi vying for Zamundas riches, Akeem is compelled to bring his illegitimate son back to the kingdom and install him as a prince to curb Izzis fashionable assassins. To keep the peace, the Prince of Zamunda must wed the daughter of General Izzi in an arranged marriage. Sound familiar?

But what about finding your one true love and forging your own way? Have you forgotten who you are, SimbI mean, Prince Akeem?

In a slightly effective spin on the originals fish-out-of-water trope, there are several grrlpower moments in the third act, which reaffirm that indeed, women can be strong capable leaders too. Beyond that, we get little else other than barely warmed-over leftovers from a McDowells Big Mick meal.

They dig up just about everyone from the first movie, from the rapping Peaches and Sugar Cube twins to an ageless Shari Headley, who returns to play Lisa. Noticeably and sorely missing are Eriq La Salles Darryl and the hilarious Soul Glo jingle that made his family rich. Everyone and everything else falls in line with nearly identical story beats and jokes that barely land.

The comedy element lacks the originals Soul Glo moment, as well as the social satire that made the property relevant and enduring. The Soul Glo commercial and its amazing musical accompaniment are some of the most laugh-out-loud moments of 80s cinema.

The Black Awareness grifting operation and Queenss socio-economic power structure that mirrored Zamundan society are replaced with cheap references and bland social justice messaging. Without strong gags or social commentary even as mild as it was back then movies like this quickly fade from memory with very few reasons to keep it on your watch list.

Watching these once-charming royals have a bit of fun while going through the motions reminds us once again how creatively bankrupt our own Kings and Queens of Tinseltown truly are. Honestly, if a property like Coming to America needs to be revived, at least give it some life and do it justice. What was needed was an exploration of their world through a modern lens indeed, were starving for satire that pokes at our conventions and communities.

Yet, for fear of the social media mob, not only wont Hollywood recreate the brand of satire that made Coming to America such a success, its becoming clear that they simply cant. The writers, producers, and production companies are so removed from mainstream society that theyre no longer able to meaningfully connect to their targeted audience. They know what worked before, so they regurgitate the same themes and narratives, but they fail to understand why they worked and what would work better for todays movie-going public.

The beauty of the original Coming to America was its ability to cross racial, social, and economic lines delivering a familiar, crowd-pleasing story and featuring likable characters doing their best in an authentic, lived-in environment. Much of Coming 2 America, however, takes place in a fictional world, inside a palace, with aging talents doing more to entertain each other than entertaining us, the people. Perhaps this is the real social satire that this movie, and many others like it, unintentionally achieve.

If youre looking for a Joffer family reunion, you wont be disappointed, but youll probably be underwhelmed. There are a few bright spots for sure, like Wesley Snipess bizarrely wonderful performance and Jermaine Fowler admirably keeping up with the veteran cast.

Still, Coming 2 America isnt a terrible film. Its a passable distraction as we wait for theaters to open up again and studios to stop dragging their feet. Like good and loyal subjects, well gobble up the next reboot too.

Mike Culton is an independent filmmaker and digital media content creator from the Gem State.

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'Coming 2 America' Is Watchable And Bland, But We Already Knew That - The Federalist

On Wednesday, AMC Entertainment reported a net loss of $4.6 billion in 2020. Among lockdowns and studios such as Universal and Warner Bros. pivoting content to streaming services, it is fight or flight for the largest movie theater chain in the world.

This past year has presented AMC with the most challenging market conditions in the 100-year history of the company, said AMC CEO Adam Aron in a statement. As we sit here today, we see that vaccinations are occurring in the United States at a brisk clip, our theatres in New York City have finally opened with theatres in Los Angeles likely opening shortly as well, blockbuster movie titles are currently scheduled to be released in significant quantity in the coming few months, and we have more than $1 billion of cash on hand. Taking these facts together, we have reason to be optimistic about AMCs ability to get to the other side of this pandemic.

Compared to 2019, in 2020 the company revenue dropped by 77.3 percent. This past quarter, its revenues were down 88 percent from 2019. AMC lost $946 million for three quarters straight ending in December. By the end of the third quarter of 2020, revenue and attendance combined for AMC declined as much as 92 percent. In the fourth quarter, its revenue worsened by another 3 percent.

The horrendous numbers have made AMC shutter the doors of 60 theaters globally, 48 in the United States. Last spring, approximately 1,000 of its theaters closed amid lockdown restrictions. While the company has slowly attempted to open in various states, movie studios have found alternatives to swiftly deliver content to consumers watching 21 percent more television a day, a poll from Nielson Ratings in October showed.

In December 2020, AMC secured $100 million from Mudrick Capital Management. Due to Reddit investors mass-purchasing AMC stock in January, the company received $506 million and slimly escaped bankruptcy. Shares of AMC have risen as much as 365 percent this year, subsequent to the investors banding together to help brick-and-mortar stores such as Gamestop survive.The other $411 million it received came in credit from Odeon, a European subsidiary.

The sun is shining on AMC, the CEO claimed in a statement after announcing the Reddit and Odeon cash flow.

In March 2020, it was reported by Nielson that TV streaming viewership increased 85 percent in a three-week period since 2019. U.S. viewers spent about 400 billion minutes streaming content, with Netflix accounting for 29 percent of all viewing. In quarter one of 2020, Netflix gained an additional 25.86 million subscribers. Disney delivered Soul and Mulan to streaming audiences, and 7Park Data found that 29 percent of all U.S. Disney Plus subscribers paid $30 each for Mulan, for instance.

Warner Bros. announced in December that it will release all 2021 films on HBOMax, as well as in theaters. This notably includes foreseeable blockbusters like Matrix 4, Dune, SpaceJam: A New Legacy, and The Suicide Squad.

Aron claims that the Covid-19 vaccine will be a real salvation for AMC Entertainment, as states begin to loosen restrictions.

According to The New York Times, AMC is now negotiating with both Warner Bros. and Universal Studios to receive more exclusive content for theatrical release. AMC is in a cold war with studios, but the government is to blame for the endless COVID restrictions. The shifting goalposts have put this American institution, like many others, on the brink of collapse.

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Report: AMC Theaters Lost $4.6 Billion In 2020 Due To Lockdowns - The Federalist

On MSNBC Wednesday evening, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., rolled his eyes in response to anchor Lawrence ODonnell saying they would discuss the sixth sexual harassment accuser against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after the commercial break.

While Schumer is nonchalant on television about allegations against a fellow Democrat, he said there is no presumption of innocence when referring to the unsubstantiated allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh by Christine Blasey Ford in 2018.

In September 2018, Schumer said Kavanaugh did not deserve fair treatment because the hearing was before the Senate and not a legal proceeding. The New York senator explicitly neglected the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, which forms the basis for the Fourteenth Amendments due process clause.

Its not a legal proceeding, its a fact-finding proceedingthis is standard operating procedure, Schumer said. There is no presumption of innocence or guilt when you have a nominee before you.

Schumer rolling his eyes on MSNBC is odd, given that he said recently that the allegations against Cuomo are serious [and] very troubling.

Theres an investigation in the hands of a very, very capable personthe attorney general of New York state, Schumer said last week. I supported it and called for it. And now shes doing it. I know the Attorney General will conduct a thorough investigation that will be totally, totally independent without any outside interference political or otherwise.

Six women are claiming that Cuomo sexually harassed them or behaved inappropriately. This includes former staffers and someone not affiliated with his administration. This week, Democrat state Attorney General Letitia James appointed a federal prosecutor to conduct a probe.

Schumer is fully encouraging the investigation into the claims against Cuomo, but he has yet to ignore due process as he did with Kavanaugh. The believe all women jargon got thrown out the window.

I think the allegations of Professor Ford are extremely credible, Schumer said on The View in 2018 concerning the allegations against Kavanaugh. She took a lie detector test. She talked [about] this to her therapist. They were having family counseling in part because of what happened to her five years ago and told all the details. And third, to come out and say something like this puts you and your family through incredible scrutiny. People throw brickbats at you and everything else.

She didnt do it on a whim. I dont think she did it for political reasons. She has a great deal of credibility, he added.

Schumer did much of the same when Tara Reade stepped forward with allegations against then-nominee Joe Biden.

Now Ive heard Joe Bidens explanation. I think its sufficient, said Schumer. I think he will be a great candidate. I think he will be a great president. And I think he will help us take back the Senate.

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Schumer Abandons 'Believe All Women' With Eyeroll At Cuomo Allegations - The Federalist