Category Archives: Federalist

Republican lawmakers on the Committee on Energy and Commerce House committee are urging Big Tech companies to provide more information about their products effect on childrens mental health.

Google, Facebook, and Twitter CEOs received letters from GOP Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Bob Latta, Gus Bilirakis, and Morgan Griffith on Tuesday requesting that any research and studies on kids mental health after using certain technologies and social media platforms, be turned over to the committee by mid-April.

The information provided, the leaders noted, should include age breakdowns, if applicable, such as measuring the effect these platforms have on those under the of 13 versus those between the ages of 13 and 18. The committee and subcommittee leaders also requested the names of the companies contracted for the studies, the results of that research, and any examination detailing the impact competitors products have on childrens mental health.

Last week, McMorris Rodgers denounced the Silicon Valley giants in a joint big tech hearing for lording their power to to manipulate and harm our children.

Ten years ago when I joined Big Tech platforms I thought they would be a force for good.I thought they would help us build relationships and promote transparency in Congress, McMorris Rodgers said. Today, Big Tech platforms are my biggest fear as a parent.

She continued her condemnation by claiming that Facebook, Twitter, and Google have broken my trust because youve abused your power to manipulate and harm our children.

McMorris Rodgers previously joined House Republicans to create the Big Tech Accountability Program, meant to call attention to how tech oligarchs and their products hurt children, use algorithms to drive addiction, and aid in child grooming and trafficking.

During last weeks hearing, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed reports the company is developing an Instagram-like app for children under 13, but that Facebook is early in our thinking in how an app for kids would work.

Jordan Davidson is a staff writer at The Federalist. She graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism.

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Lawmakers Press Big Tech Oligarchs On Their Role In Damaging Children's Mental Health - The Federalist

Two Axios headlines from the month of March exemplify how the legacy media frames stories to support preferred narratives and political agendas. Now, the outlet has changed course on its prior claim that the border surge was worse in 2019 than it is now.

A week ago, Axios published an article titled Border crisis not as bad as 2019 for now that acknowledged U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions are on the rise but attempted to whitewash the truth by erroneously framing the dilemma as secondary to Trump administration outcomes. Reporters Stef W. Kight and Jonathan Swan declared, The Biden administration is avoiding 2019s never-before-seen levels of family migration so far.

Whereas the March 23 article covered up the gravity of the crisis, saying nothing has changed at the southern border, the facade fell apart when Axios acknowledged reality in an article on Sunday titled Scoop: Kids border surge expected to last 7+ months, as the curtain has been pulled back on whats really going on at the border.

Under current policies, the government is facing unheard of numbers of migrant kids illegally crossing the border this fiscal year from 159,000 to 184,000, Kight wrote.

Even the low-end estimate is double the total number of kids who tried to cross during the crisis year of 2019. In 2014, the Obama administration struggled to care for just 69,000 kids who crossed illegally, Kight continued. The data obtained by Axios did not include projections for migrant families, but the Department of Homeland Security is expecting from 500,000 to 800,000 migrants crossing the border this fiscal year in family groups, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The numbers would be equal to or greater than in 2019, compounding the growing crisis.

Legacy media outlets have adjusted their positions on the border after it has become clearer that the Biden administration is dealing with a full-on crisis like the United States has never seen before. Last week, the Washington Post corrected a headline about there being no migrant surge and subsequently claimed that the White House is seeing a rush with no precedent of unaccompanied minors and teens.

Among other revocations, Biden has canceled the border wall construction, as well as repealed Trumps Remain in Mexico policy and reinstated the Asylum Cooperative Agreement that was organized by the Obama administration to let Central American minors stay in the United States through a parole program.

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Axios Undermines Its Own Reporting On The Border Crisis - The Federalist

Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington rebuked Big Tech companies for using their power to manipulate and harm our children, in a joint hearing with CEOs from Facebook, Twitter, and Google on Thursday.

10 years ago when I joined Big Tech platforms I thought they would be a force for good.I thought they would help us build relationships and promote transparency in Congress, McMorris Rodgers said. Today, Big Tech platforms are my biggest fear as a parent.

Youve broken my trust. Yes, because youve failed to promote the battle of ideas and free speech.Yes, because you censor political viewpoints you disagree with.Those polarizing actions matter for democracy, she said. But, do you know what has convinced me Big Tech is a destructive force?Its how youve abused your power to manipulate and harm our children.

Rodgers shared the difficulties she encountered as a parent trying to monitor her kids activity on the internet. She referenced the rising suicide rates among youth and attributed technology addiction as a driving factor.

Remember,our kids the users are the product.YouBig Techare not advocates for children. You exploit and profit off them, she said. Big Tech needs to be exposed and completely transparent for what you are doing to our children so parents like me can make informed decisions.

One study from 2017 found that a rise in teen suicide was linked to desires to obtain social media popularity. About 500,000 participants who are in the age range of 13 to 18 were found to have increased depression and feelings of hopelessness.

Rodgers and House Republicans developed a Big Tech Accountability Program at the beginning of the year in-part aimed at addressing how Big Tech hurts children and uses algorithms to drive addiction, as well as the role the companies play in child grooming and trafficking.

What will it take for your business model to stop harming children? Rodgers said at the hearing.

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GOP Rep. Blasts Big Tech Oligarchs For Exploiting Children: 'Your Platforms Are My Biggest Fear As A Parent' - The Federalist

I hope you enjoyed your popcorn, folks. 78-year-old President Joe Biden temporarily left the basement, and it sure wasnt pretty.

On Thursday, Biden delivered the first press conference in all of the 64 days of his presidency. In one hour, the president spoke to a 25 reporter-capped press pool about the ongoing migrant crisis at the southern border, gun control in the wake of the Atlanta and Colorado shootings, relations with China, the filibuster, running for president in 2024, and other topics.

The president side-stepped on nearly every topic, more focused on concluding the presser as soon as possible than providing substantive answers. It was predominantly a Democratic lovefest, with PBS White House reporter Yamiche Alcindor asking Biden at one point if he is too moral and decent.

The 64-day mark makes Biden the first president since 1932 to not hold a solo press conference in the first 43 days of his presidency. Donald Trump held a conference 27 days in, and Barack Obama did so only 20 days in.

Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared particularly unaware of how historically significant this is. Psaki claimed in January that the administration was bringing truth and transparency back to the briefing room and rebuilding trust with the American people. Breaking a 100-year precedent was a funny way of doing so.

The president did not call on any conservative reporters. Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocywho frequently questions Psakiwas not provided the opportunity to probe. Reporters from Associated Press, PBS, The Washington Post, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and Univision all got their turn to pander.

On March 19, Biden fell three consecutive times walking up the stairs of Air Force One. It was sad. Truly, one can only feel bad for the elderly and frail man we now have to call the president. Nonetheless, this notable eventalong with a whole other swath of topicssuch as the bombshellPolitico story published on Hunter Biden, or the failed reopening of schools and the country, were not even broached. Biden was not challenged, but caressed and fondled by the morally bankrupt media.

Bidens fall makes perfect sense in light of his gobbledygook performance in the presser. At one point, the president refused to answer a question from CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins on whether he will eliminate the filibuster.

I answered your question, Biden mumbled, after verifiably not doing so, slumping off into an all-too-familiar gaffe. Prior to Collins standing up to ask one of her two questions, Biden said, that counts as a question, laughing awkwardly and thus demonstrating he was taking all steps possible to avoid being held accountable.

The president chuckled at uncomfortable questions. Cmon! he said to Cecelia Vega of ABC News, smirking when pushed on the surge in minors being held near the border. Biden likewise chuckled when NBCs Kristen Welker asked about both Bidens repealing of Trump policies to deter illegal immigration and North Koreas launching of two ballistic missiles into the sea of Japan.

His voice rose and fell at the drop of a hat. He started talking about computer chips when CBSs Nancy Cordes asked him about his fractured relationship with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentuckybut soon after moved on to rambling about God knows what.

I have never been particularly poor at calculating how to get things done in the United States Senate. So the best way to get something done, if you, if you hold near and dear to you that you like to be able to, anyway, Biden sputtered to Yamiche Alcindor on the filibuster.

Biden operated in an awkward hostility all throughout. He seemed shocked that the presshis leftist comradeswould have the nerve to ask him any questions at all, even if they were by no means challenging. They were soft-balls. But for a president in apparent cognitive decline, they did not appear so. The pauses between his answers were only worsened by the fact that the questions were so very straightforward and easy for him if he could only remember what the questions were.

By the end of the cringe-worthy hour, it was time for Biden to pack up ship and be shuttered away in the basement again by his top aides. Psaki eyed him in the corner, taking notes on a pad. Biden checked his $9,650 Rolex near the end to ensure things were wrapping up nicely.

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A Sleepy Joe Biden Hosts The Most Awkward Press Conference Of All Time - The Federalist

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Josh Jones, a senior fellow in border security for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, joins Political Editor John Daniel Davidson to discuss the role smugglers, traffickers, and drug cartels play in profiting off of the surge of illegal aliens crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Its loud and clear that unaccompanied minors that are coming to the U.S. are not being turned away, Jones said, noting that people will pay to be escorted across the border and that cartels will take advantage of large groups and caravans as a way to smuggle drugs across the border.

They can guarantee a 100 percent success rate, essentially, to folks who are wanting to send their children up into the US or who were coming into the US and sending for their children to come up, he said.

Solutions for the growing influx of migrants, Jones said, lie in their home countries. We must also eliminate the open border messaging that President Joe Biden and his administration continue to peddle.

If were talking about Mexico, the big issue there is corruption. The transnational criminal organizations, the cartels, are so powerful, and Mexicos corrupt government protects them, he said.

When were talking about long-term solutions to immigration from Central America, you have to look at the living conditions in Central America and try to come up with ways to provide security for families that live down there, to provide jobs resources down there, Jones said. Short term, its a messaging game. We need to send a clear message that the borders are not open, and we need to follow through on that.

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How Criminal Organizations Are Profiting Off Of Biden's Border Crisis - The Federalist

For the first time in 50 years, the Academy Awards ceremony will not be aired in Hong Kong. TVB, the citys largest free-to-air broadcaster which has carried the Oscars telecast since 1969, told Hong Kong media outlets, It was purely a commercial decision to pull the awards show.

The cancellation comes after the film Do Not Split, about the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong was nominated for best documentary. The nomination raises suspicion that TVBs decision was not purely commercial, but a response to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party.

TVB is also suspected of censorship because of a recently resurfaced decade-old quote from Chinese filmmaker Chlo Zhao, who is nominated in the best director category for Nomadland. Zhao allegedly described China as a place where there are lies everywhere, which has angered Chinese regulators who are threatening to not air the film in China.

Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Tsangs youth drama Better Days was also nominated in the category of best international film the first time a Hong Kong filmmaker has had a shot at an Academy Award since 1993. At this time, no other Hong Kong broadcaster or pay-TV channel has announced plans to pick up the rights to air the Oscars in TVBs place.

Mainland Chinese interests own a large stake of TVB. In 2015, China Media Capital, the state-backed equity fund, bought an undisclosed stake in the Hong Kong holding company Young Lion, which is TVBs largest shareholder.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, earlier this month, Beijings media regulators instructed mainland Chinese press outlets not to broadcast the Oscars ceremony and to play down their reporting of the event.

Ever since the implementation of a new National Security Law, imposed last June on Hong Kong by the National Peoples Congress (widely known to be a Chinese Communist Party puppet), freedoms Hong Kong once enjoyed have been severely limited. The extension of Chinese Hollywood censorship to Hong Kong is a sad reminder that the once autonomous citys fight for liberty has been crushed and it is now beholden to the CCP.

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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Oscars Will Not Air In Hong Kong After Film On Pro-democracy Protests Is Nominated - The Federalist

In February 2018, public school teachers brought West Virginia to its knees. Seeking pay raises and better health plans, unions had declared a work stoppage in all 55 counties, shuttering every public school in the state. The stoppage which was in fact an unlawful strike dragged on for nine school days, costing children nearly two weeks of instruction. Under pressure, the Republican legislature rushed through a pay raise to pacify the unions.

The victorious teachers of West Virginia quickly became the darlings of the socialist left. Jacobin magazine, which had extensively covered the strike, ran a victory-lap interview entitled What the Teachers Won. News coverage touched off copycat strikes, beginning in Arizona and spreading to other states. The Red for Ed movement was born, uniting unions, socialists, and other far-left radicals in dreams of an American labor renaissance.

Flush with victory, West Virginia teachers unions got bolder. The next year, they went on strike again, taking aim at broader education policy. The Republican Senate had passed a bill granting teachers their second pay raise in two years, but they tied it to something for parents: school choice.

It wasnt muchopen enrollment, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for special-needs students, and permission for three charter schools statewide. But West Virginia was one of the last remaining states without school choice, and Red for Ed wasnt letting that go without a fight.

The 2019 strike lasted only two days. The West Virginia House of Delegates quickly caved, scuttling school choice and passing a clean pay raise for teachers. But 18 Republicans in the state Senate stood firm. No school choice, no second pay raise, they said. Their stand forced the governors hand. A special session in June resulted in the passage of modest school choice measures. Open enrollment survived; so did the three charter schools. ESAs did not.

For Republicans, it seemed a small win in exchange for two costly, bruising strikes. Unions were confident that the vast majority of West Virginians were on their side.

Educators across the state are livid at these developments and dead-set against school privatization, wrote the Trotskyist World Socialist Web Site. In this, they are joined by virtually all of the states workers and youth. . . . Eighty-eight percent of West Virginians support their public schools and oppose charters. Leftists vowed a reckoning in the 2020 election for those 18 villainous Senate Republicans.

That was then; this is now. Last week, with very little noise or fanfare, the West Virginia legislature passed the most expansive Education Savings Account program in America. While ESAs in most states are only open to a small percentage of children, the new West Virginia Hope Scholarship will be available to 90 percent of schoolchildren in the state. Every child currently enrolled in public school is eligible, plus those newly aging in.

Its a game-changer, says Garrett Ballengee of the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, a conservative think tank and proponent of the bill. If you add up every single ESA utilizer in the rest of the country, there are only about 20,000 of them. The Hope Scholarship will automatically open it up to ten times that many children in West Virginia alone.

Applicants for the Hope Scholarship will receive 100 percent of their state education dollars $4,600 annually in lieu of public schooling. (County and federal funds will remain in the system.) The scholarship is usable for private school tuition, homeschool curriculum, or other education expenses. Gov. Jim Justice, a vocal opponent of ESAs as recently as 2019, has signaled hes likely to sign.

For a state that couldnt pass a far more modest measure just two years ago, its a breathtaking turnaround. What changed?

State Sen. Patricia Rucker, the Republican chair of the Senate Education Committee and chief architect of the ESA effort, has a few theories about what made the difference.First, she believes the majority of West Virginians never opposed school choice in the first place; they were simply afraid to say so.

During the strikes, I saved a folder of all the people who wrote to me in support of the education reform. I kept all of their emails, Rucker told me in an interview. The vast majority of them said something like, Please dont use my name. Dont tell anyone I wrote to you. They were so scared and intimidated by the teachers unions.

In 2019, I wrote about the climate of union intimidation that was silencing the states parents and teachers. When Justice commissioned a listening tour to gauge public opinion, the West Virginia Department of Education co-opted the effort and manipulated its findings. This led to the much-repeated assertion that 88 percent of West Virginians opposed charter schools. But when the 2020 elections came around, voters finally spoke for themselves.

I knocked on thousands of doors during my 2020 reelection campaign, Rucker said. Out of all those people, I only spoke to about five educators who were opposed to our education reform thats it. Most of the people who spoke to me about education were in favor of choice. Even the vast majority of educators I spoke to said, I didnt have any problems with charter schools. I think it would be good for us to have that opportunity.

The proof was in the poll returns. Despite fierce opposition from unions and their moneyed interests, all but two of those 18 education reformers returned to the Senate in 2020, and several more were added to their number. It was an affirmation that educational choice can be a winning political issue, even in states with a strong union presence. Contrary to their tightly controlled narrative, teachers unions hadnt been speaking for the people. They had been shouting the people down.

The COVID-19 lockdowns undoubtedly played a major role in further widening the rift between teachers unions and the people. As parents suddenly faced a public school system that refused to open its doors, it became harder to understand why that system should retain exclusive control over tax dollars meant to educate children.

Public opinion polls confirm a major surge last year in support for measures to fund students directly. Remarkably, although these bills are almost exclusively advanced by Republican lawmakers, public support for school choice appears to be evenly distributed across the political spectrum. Last week, one Democrat lawmaker in Kentucky reluctantly crossed the aisle to vote against union interests on school choice, citing overwhelming support from his constituents.

In light of COVID, people are beginning to see that different children thrive in different environments, Ballengee said. Some kids have done really well in virtual schooling, some have done really well in hybrid, and for some these have been an absolute disaster. Its brought home what weve been saying for so long: kids need different environments.

Rucker believes the unions unyielding stance against school reopening has eroded their support among teachers as well as parents. The media has really overplayed the unions voice about school reopening, as opposed to average teachers voices, she said. The vast majority of teachers Ive heard from wanted to go back to school. They recognized that they werent reaching their kids through these virtual options. I would venture to say that there is a lot less union membership among West Virginia teachers these days. You can sense it.

One indicator of this lack of union energy: after the riotous education showdowns of 2018 and 2019, the Hope Scholarship bill sailed through the West Virginia legislature with hardly a whimper of protest.

This year when we pushed real reform, much more substantial than two years ago. Its been very quiet, Rucker said. The unions dont like the bill, but our phones arent ringing. We arent getting emails. Its nothing like last time.

The West Virginia United Caucus, a far-left teachers coalition, was active throughout the strikes and well into 2020, pushing hard against school reopening and advancing a left-leaning slate of educators to head the states largest teachers union. They havent published a tweet since Election Day.

West Virginia now has the broadest-based ESA in the entire United States, Rucker says. Its not the most money, but its the most inclusive and in most areas, its enough to send a child to private school. This really is a game-changer for students and families. Were focused on funding kids now, not institutions. Were funding each student to get the best possible education they can get.

Rucker is gratified by West Virginias 180-degree turnaround: an erstwhile union stronghold suddenly leading the way toward educational freedom. Legislatures in 29 states have considered education choice bills this year. It remains to be seen whether Republican lawmakers elsewhere will be emboldened by the Mountain States success.

Jayme Metzgar is a Senior Contributor at The Federalist.

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Once Held Hostage By Teachers' Unions, West Virginia Just Passed The Nation's Broadest School Choice Law - The Federalist

Late one Friday in July 2015, District Judge William Orrick of San Francisco issued a restraining order blocking the release of undercover videos at the National Abortion Federation (NAF) convention showing Planned Parenthood employees negotiating the sale of aborted fetus body parts. After nearly six years, more than 200 hours of that footage are yet to be seen by the public, but that is now up for deliberation.

Since the first undercover footage was released, The Center for Medical Progress and its founder, David Daleiden, have been fighting legal battles with both NAF and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Luckily for both NAF and PPFA, the federal judge presiding over their cases against Daleiden is more than friendly to their pro-abortion causes.

Orrick was nominated to his position by former President Barack Obama and was a major donor to and bundler for Obamas presidential campaign. Both Orrick and his wife are longtime donors to San Franciscos Good Samaritan Family Resource Center (GSFRC), where Orrick was a board member and helped fund and open a Planned Parenthood clinic on its site. That clinic sold fetal tissue to StemExpress, a for-profit wholesaler exposed by CMPs videos and reporting.

Orricks wife is also an outspoken abortion advocate on social media, liking pro-abortion groups on Facebook and even liking posts calling CMP and Daleidens videos domestic terrorism.Suffice it to say, Orrick is not an impartial judge on abortion. Despite attempts by Daledien and CMP to have Orrick removed from their cases, Orrick has refused to step down or even disclose his relationship with the Planned Parenthood clinic.

Nearly six years later, Daleiden is still fighting both Planned Parenthood and NAF in court, and two cases in particular have put Orrick in an interesting, if not damning, position.

The first is Planned Parenthoods $16 million civil lawsuit in which Daleiden and CMP just recently filed an appeal in the federal Ninth Circuit, arguing it should be reversed on First Amendment grounds. Whats curious about this lawsuit, and more importantly, how it differs from NAFs case against Daleiden, is that Planned Parenthood sued Daleiden for fraud, trespass, unlawful recording, and breach of contract, but not defamation.

Planned Parenthood strategically avoided bringing up the issue of whether the content of the videos was false or defamatory. They never denied the truth of what was revealed in those undercover videos.

NAF is taking the opposite approach. They agreed to drop most of their claims, asking only for a summary judgment on its breach of contract claim and seeking a permanent ban on the videos solely because of the way it will harm their reputation. They believe Daleiden will deceptively edit the footage to lie about abortion practices. Unlike Planned Parenthood, NAF is directly putting at issue the truth or falsity of the videos.

At a recent hearing via video on Feb. 17, Orrick focused on whether he should make a preliminary injunction he issued in 2016 permanent. The real question Im interested in is the scope of the injunction, he said. I think the general arguments that the defendants have raised against injunctive relief arent persuasive.

In 2016, he justified blocking the release of the videos by claiming the safety of abortion workers (NAFs members) outweighs Daleidens First Amendment rights. Orrick also stated that he reviewed both transcripts and recordings of the videos in question, and determined that he found no evidence of actual criminal wrongdoing. But the addition of one of CMPs witnesses whose testimony was thrown out of the Planned Parenthood case may change that.

Dr. Forrest Smith, an OB-GYN in California who said hes performed at least 50,000 abortions, was retained by CMP and Daleiden to review their videos and testify that Planned Planned employees violated the medical standard of practice. He took the witness stand in 2019 at the trial of PPFAs criminal case against Daleiden, testifying that theres no question some of the induced abortions discussed in the videos were live births.

In the PPFA civil case, Orrick did not allow Smith to testify because, again, PPFA strategically did not put the veracity of the videos up for debate. Orrick deemed Smiths testimony unnecessary and his expert report was submitted but never used, and was recently unsealed in late January.

Daleiden and the CMP submitted another even more extensive expert report from Smith in the NAF case, in which he examines videos that have not been released. But because NAF has put the issue of what the videos show at the center of their case, Orrick is not going to be able to keep Smiths report out the same way he did in Planned Parenthood. Herein lies Orricks catch-22.

Orrick must grapple with Smiths report in a way that he didnt have to before, Daleiden told The Federalist.

The problem for Orrick is that Smiths expert report directly contradicts what he said in his 2016 preliminary gag order, that he found no criminal wrongdoing.

Heres a 50-year experienced abortion doctor whos worked at Planned Parenthood before, who is saying Actually, your Honor, as a professional in this area, Im telling you this is extremely wrong, extremely unprofessional, extremely unethical, and extremely illegal,' Daleiden said.

In his recently unsealed report in the PPFA case, Smith found that PPFA abortionists violated standards in obtaining consent from women whose fetal tissue was donated, in the techniques they used to collect the fetus body parts, in the way the clinics accepted payment for the donations, and that their procedure resulted in infants being born alive. Although currently sealed, one can presume Smiths findings submitted in the NAF case are similar.

This pits Orrick, a well-known pro-abortion donor, against one of the countrys longest practicing abortion doctors.

Is he going to say that he, Judge Orrick, knows better than the abortion doctor, which would show hes on the side of Planned Parenthood, or is he going to start to liberate some of this footage, which may have consequences for his career as an Obama-appointed judge? Daleiden said.

During Februarys Zoom hearing, Peter Breen, Daleidens defense attorney, vice president, and senior counsel at the Thomas More Society, argued that the videos should be made available to police or lawmakers investigating Planned Parenthood, and on top of that, are a matter of public interest.

Theres nothing inconsistent with the court saying I dont see it but others do and certainly the court would not want to stand in the posture of a censor over something that has First Amendment value and public interest value, Breen said.

Orrick said he found Daleidens arguments unpersuasive, and seemed to think it was going to be a repeat of his 2016 preliminary injunction, but was also made aware of the issues at play, including Smiths testimony which previously he was able to avoid.

It remains unclear how, or even when, Orrick will make his decision.

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A Judge Has Hidden Footage About Abortion Atrocities For 5 Years - The Federalist

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, former Governor of Wisconsin and current Young Americas Foundation President Scott Walker joins Western Correspondent Tristan Justice to discuss how college campuses are the new frontier for the culture war and how conservatives can harness the opportunities presented by young people to spark change.

One of the mistakes I think conservatives have historically made is that we think and talk with our head. The left thinks and talks with their heart. We should never concede the logic, but find ways to communicate from the heart. I think thats just powerful, Walker said.

College campuses, Walker noted, are often a breeding ground for leftist ideology and conservatives should be ready to provide pushback now.

This is just an opportunity we have to address in our society for sure, but to use it to wedge in much, much bigger issues that are about really changing who controls the economy, about changing who dominates the government, and those are things that change the direction of where America is headed going forward, Walker concluded. We can continue to be a great country, and to improve. We dont need to adopt Marxist or even socialist philosophies to do that.

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Scott Walker On The New Frontier Of The Culture Wars - The Federalist

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reportedly gave special COVID-19 testing privileges to his family and other well-connected figures in the state, raising eyebrows since state laws ban officials from using their positions to secure privileges for themselves or others.

While people around New York struggled to obtain coronavirus testing, Cuomo and his administration organized special access to state testing for those close to him, a new report from the Washington Post suggests. Cuomo reportedly gave the green light for a top state doctor and other health officials to swab those receiving the special treatment at their homes and immediately process the results marked only by initials or numbers in a state lab, sometimes delivering the specimens by state police troopers.

Initially, the lab was capable of running only several hundred tests a day for a state with 19 million residents, the Washington Post reported, noting that employees in the state health laboratory were kept past their shifts until late into the night to process results of those close to Cuomo.

One of the alleged beneficiaries of this Cuomo-orchestrated prioritization was infamous CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, who repeatedly ran interference for his brother in the early months of the pandemic by joking around on live television and refusing to ask him questions about the rising nursing home death toll that resulted from the governors deadly policy.

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for the governor, maintains it was well within the administrations efforts to go above and beyond to test people including legislators, reporters, state workers and their families who feared they had contracted the virus and had the capability to further spread it.

CNN did not respond to The Federalists request for comment by press time, but a blanket statement from network spokesman Matt Dornic released on Wednesday night suggests the network also didnt think the testing prioritization was a big deal.

We generally do not get involved in the medical decisions of our employees. However, it is not surprising that in the earliest days of a once-in-a-century global pandemic, when Chris was showing symptoms and was concerned about possible spread, he turned to anyone he could for advice and assistance, as any human being would, the statement concluded.

The revelation of these potential ethical violations adds to a growing list of scandals pitted against Cuomo and his administration.The Democrat previously refused to resign, even after calls from Democratic leaders to step down, despite weeks of backlash over not only his concealment of approximately 15,000 COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes as a result of a policy from his office but also ongoing sexual harassment allegations from multiple former female aides, a current aide, and a fellow guest at a wedding.

Im not going to resign. I work for the people of the state of New York. They elected me, and Im going to serve the people of the state in New York, Cuomo told reporters. Im going to do the job the people of the state elected me to do.

Jordan Davidson is a staff writer at The Federalist. She graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism.

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Cuomo Gave Special COVID Treatment To Brother And 'Well-Connected Figures' - The Federalist