After a lengthy decision process Facebook has finally come to a decision about whether or not they plan to ban Former President Donald Trump from the social media platform. Facebook will suspend Donald Trump’s accounts following the finding that he “stoked violence” before the incidents at the Capitol on January 6. “At the end of this period, we will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded. We will evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest,” Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, wrote in a blog post. The social media giant isn’t guaranteeing that Donald Trump will be allowed to return at the end of the ban.
Why was Trump banned?
On January 6, 2021 a group of disgruntled voters stormed the capitol building and gained entry. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter have suggested Donald Trump incited the riot and even encouraged it. Most of the Right has been furious with the decisions big tech companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, have made. Lara Trump had a lot to say when an interview with her and the former president was removed from Facebook in February. “They want you to forget he ever existed. They don’t want you to see him, they don’t want you to hear from him. Look away, move on, shut up and go on about your lives, forget Donald Trump existed. This is really scary stuff.” It is very scary stuff indeed. How can we just remove a Former President from the public eye? An email Lara Trump posted shows a message warning her team about uploading the Facebook video. The email reminded them that “content posted on Facebook and Instagram in the voice of President Trump is not currently allowed on our platform (including new posts with President Trump speaking) and will be removed if posted, resulting in additional limitations on accounts that posted it.” Twitter permanently banned Donald Trump’s account fairly quickly after January 6. Facebook attempted to follow Twitter but hit some red tape in their own policies regarding banning accounts.
Facebook Tries to Permanently Ban Trump
When Facebook attempted to ban President Trump indefinitely an oversight board was required to finalize the decision. The Oversight Board is an independent third-party. “The board was established last year to make the final call on some of the most difficult content decisions Facebook makes,” Clegg wrote in a post. “It is an independent body and its decisions are binding – they can’t be overruled by CEO Mark Zuckerberg or anyone else at Facebook.” The board called Facebook lazy for referring the issue to them and ordered the social media giant to review the matter and make their own decision, according to their own policies for banning accounts. The board did agree with banning Donald Trump’s account but did not agree with banning the account indefinitely. The board gave Facebook six months to finalize a decision and suggested Facebook implement new policies and guidelines for these situations. Facebook now plans to end a policy implemented by Mark Zuckerberg that exempted politicians from rules that banned hate speech and abuse.
Facebook’s New Policy and Final Decision
Facebook says they never applied the policy to former President Trump. The social media giant said that while it will still apply this exemption to certain posts that are important to public interest, material posted by politicians won’t be treated any differently from that posted by anyone else. Facebook said it will be clearly publicly broadcasted when the exemption has been applied to a post. The big tech giant also has decided to ban President Trump for the next two years at least. Clegg said Facebook, at the end of the two year ban, will meet with experts to look at “external factors,” such as “instances of violence” and other “markers of civil unrest” to decide if the “risk to public safety” has gone away. When/if the ban is lifted Facebook has openly said they will be closely watching Donald Trump’s account. Facebook said there will be a set of rapidly escalating sanctions if Donald Trump commits further violations. The punishment for these sanctions are the permanent removal of his pages and accounts.
Donald Trump called Facebook’s ruling “an insult” to his supporters. “They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing,” he said in a statement. The two-year ban is considered to have begun on January 7, and will keep Trump off Facebook and Instagram through the 2022 midterm elections. How do you feel about Trump being banned on major social media? Should Facebook end the ban sooner. Should politicians be treated the same as everyone else on social media?
As of January 1, 2020, 28 states allow school staff to arm themselves in some form or fashion. In some states, such as Colorado, there are no statutes allowing armed school personnel but also no laws explicitly prohibiting it. In Arkansas, the carrying of firearms on school grounds is prohibited but there is an exception for law enforcement officers and “registered commissioned security guards.” Some school districts, claiming a lack of resources to hire conventional guards, have obtained the necessary licenses in order for teachers and staff to be “armed security guards.” Why is it beneficial for a teacher to be armed? The next examples will highlight how quickly things can be diffused when teachers are properly armed and trained.
Ogden, Utah
May 25, 2021
41 year old drug addict, Ira Cox-Berry, made his way onto the playground of Lincoln Elementary School in Ogden, Utah. Upon entering the playground Cox-Berry grabbed the arm of an 11 year old girl who was playing and attempted to leave with her. A teacher saw this through the window of their classroom and immediately sprung into action. They confronted Cox-Berry, during this altercation the girl and rest of the children were able to escape into a nearby classroom. Once the children were inside Cox-Berry began punching windows of the classrooms in order to gain access to the children. This is the point where the teacher, being a trained concealed carry holder, produced their weapon and simultaneously called 911. If this teacher had not been armed Cox-Berry could have either: 1) gained access to the children and hurt one or more, or 2) injured or even killed the teacher in a physical altercation. This instance ended with the perpetrator in custody and no bodily injury to any children or school staff.
Pearl, Mississippi
October 1, 1997
16 year old student, Luke Woodham, woke up the morning of October 1, 1997 and stabbed his mother to death. Then he brought a .30-30 lever-action rifle, traditionally used for killing deer, to Pearl High School. At 8:06 AM the first shot rang out across the campus hitting a student in the stomach. 56 year old assistant principal, Joel Myrick, was crossing the commons when he heard the shots. He immediately ran to his truck where he kept a Colt .45 pistol; after loading the fire-arm he ran towards the sound of gunfire. He aimed at Woodham but did not fire out of fear of hitting one of the other students. “I knew not to shoot because the backstop was not safe,” he said. “I didn’t just go blasting away.” Once he noticed Myrick’s gun trained on him, Woodham retreated from campus, got in his car and began to drive away. The car spun out and came to a stop 20 steps from Myrick. Myrick had Woodham held at gunpoint when the police arrived. Two students, including Woodham’s former girlfriend, were killed and seven others were wounded. Woodham is serving life in Mississippi State Penitentiary. Myrick is against arming teachers and administration but he is an avid supporter of having armed officers in schools. This could be helpful in areas where teachers do not wish to be armed but want extra protection. An armed resource officer was helpful in the next example.
Dixon, Illinois
May 16, 2018
The morning of May 16, 2018 at 8:06 AM, a former student, 19 year old Matthew Milby opened fire during graduation practice at Dixon High School. Dixon Police Officer, Mark Dallas, chased Milby from the school then shot and wounded him after he continued to shoot at the officer. Milby was treated for injuries, which weren’t life threatening, at a local hospital before being taken to the county jail under a two million dollar bond. Mike Pence was on Twitter praising the officer. “Another example of the brave work performed by law enforcement each and every day. Lives were saved thanks to the heroic actions of school resource officer Mark Dallas,” Pence said. The shooter’s mother, Julie Milby, said her son had been kicked off the football team for smoking marijuana and had recently been beaten up as other children watched. She suspected he was trying to get the police to kill him. Thankfully, no students were harmed during the shooting. The swift action of an armed resource officer saved so many lives.
In all of the above examples an armed staff member was able to take action. Casualties in these cases were lower than similar instances where it took longer for shooters to be apprehended. School staff should have the choice to bring properly concealed and maintained weapons in order to protect themselves and their students. Schools should offer training in things such as severe trauma first aid. FAST is a course offered by the Red Cross to highschool students under the age of 19 for free. It teaches students severe trauma first aid and what to do during an emergency. Adults can take this course for a cost and can even be certified to teach it. High Schools should add FAST to their curriculum so students can be prepared for situations that may arise in or out of school. Schools should also offer active shooter defense training or some sort of guardian program. Teachers should not be required to risk their lives or fight anyone potentially dangerous, but if they find themselves in the situation where the knowledge could be useful they will have the option of putting their knowledge into practice if they choose to do so.
School districts who decide preparing teachers is not in their best interest should have law enforcement or armed security guards. It is unfortunate that the conversation even has to be had but students need to be protected. The sad reality of modern times is that with or without “Gun Free Zones” incidents can occur from active students, former students, or even strangers. It is better to protect ourselves, and our children, to the best of our abilities, with whatever force is necessary.
President Joe Biden ordered US intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory, after new information regarding Wuhan researchers’ illness has surfaced. The intelligence community has been unable to reach a conclusion as to whether it came from human contact with an infected animal or if it was the result of a laboratory accident. President Biden has claimed that “the US intelligence community has ‘coalesced around the two likely scenarios’”.
Biden was Hesitant
For months, Biden claimed that the possibility that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory was a fringe theory. The administration endeavored to avoid public discussion of the lab leak theory and privately suggested it was farfetched. The Biden administration is now falling into GOP pressure that the president has not been tough enough on China. The international community is also pressuring China to be more open about the outbreak.
Republicans, on the other hand, including former President Donald Trump, have promoted the theory that the virus emerged from a laboratory accident rather than naturally through human contact with an infected animal in Wuhan, China.
The Order
Biden asked US intelligence agencies to report back within 90 days. He also directed US national laboratories to assist with the investigation and the intelligence community to prepare a list of specific queries for the Chinese government. He called on China to cooperate with the probes. “The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence,” Biden said, highlighting the fact that this was not necessarily the case in the WHO investigation.
Shifting Attitudes
Biden’s new attitude towards the Wuhan lab possibility also comes with the Senate approving to Wuhan lab-related amendments without opposition. These were attached to a largely-unrelated bill to increase US investments in innovation. One of the amendments, from Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., would block US funding of Chinese “gain of function” research on enhancing the severity or transmissibility of a virus. Rand Paul has been critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, and aggressively questioned him at a recent Senate hearing over the work in China.
The other amendment, from Senator Joni Ernst, R-IA, would prevent any funding into the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Both were approved without roll call votes as part of the broader bill that is still under debate in the Senate.
Source of Virus: Two Scenarios
The majority of intelligence officials have gathered around the two scenarios but “do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.” Two agencies lean more toward the animal link and “one leans more toward” the lab theory.
Information Pointing Towards the Wuhan Lab
A US intelligence report found that several researchers at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill in November 2019 and had to be hospitalized. The new information about the severity of their symptoms fuels further debate about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. A State Department fact sheet released by the Trump administration in January said that the researchers had gotten sick in autumn 2019 but did not go as far as to say they had been hospitalized. China reported to the World Health Organization that the first patient with Covid-like symptoms was recorded in Wuhan on December 8, 2019. However, the Wall Street Journal reported on intelligence surrounding earlier hospitalizations- November 2019. In the final days of the Trump administration, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo leaned into the possibility that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or WIV. Despite the intelligence being inconclusive, Pompeo put out a fact sheet that said the US had evidence researchers at the WIV had been sick in the fall of 2019 with Covid-like symptoms and that the lab, where coronavirus had been studied in bats, had a history of military research. Current and former intelligence officials say that the idea that the virus was accidentally unleashed from the lab at Wuhan is reasonable, although they caution that there is no high-confidence assessment of that possibility.
Problematic WHO Investigation
The WHO probe was swiftly criticized by the US, UK, and other governments over its limited access to “complete, original data and samples.” The organization was also accused of being overly deferential to China throughout the course of the study, which was co-authored by 17 Chinese scientists — several of them from state-run institutions.
In the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 2, Aurora Fire Rescue responded to a residential structure fire. A child has been hospitalized with life threatening injuries. One station says the child is a 6 year old boy but no official announcement has been made about the age or condition of the child by the fire department.
Four residents were displaced by the fire. The structure was a townhome with other adjacent structures. The townhome was located on the 2000 block of South Paris Way, near South Peoria Street and East Jewell Avenue, in the Village East neighborhood.
Aurora Fire Rescue was notified of the fire around 12:30 AM Wednesday, the department said in a tweet. By 5:55 AM, the department tweeted the fire was under control and did not impact adjacent units significantly. A later update said, most of the crews were gone by 4 AM. Fire investigators are still attempting to determine the cause of the fire.
With the very first weekend of summer upon us, and as we celebrate our 2020-2021 high school and college graduates, as we partake in cool delicious watermelon and mouth watering bar-b-que, we must not forget the true meaning of Memorial Day. As some of us celebrate a day off work and school, we reflect on all of our men and women in uniform as they proudly serve our country. They serve us daily in four branches of service, The Army, The Navy, The Marines, and the Air Force. As we reflect on these true heroes this coming weekend, we also remember our high school and college graduates who will be joining one of these four branches of service immediately after graduation.
A Rocky Road
Over the past few years, there have been intense talks in congress about making it mandatory for all high school graduates to serve our country in one of the four branches of service immediately after graduation.
Built To Last
Around the world, other countries have their own militaries, it varies how people are chosen for these military services based upon the country’s laws. Some of the countries allow it to be voluntary, this is what is known as a draft. A draft is when a group of people such as men over the age of 18 must sign up for military duty but will not report for duty unless they are chosen to serve. Other nations make it mandatory to serve, some of those nations are Bermuda, Berundi, Cape Verde, Columbia, France, and Kuwait, Mali, Singapore, Mauritania, Sweden, Thailand, and Venezuela. The United States is not included in this list because all males between 18 and 25 must register with the Selective Service to be drafted if needed. The United States has the highest defense spending budget of any other country.
Nations Requiring One Year
Nations that require just one year of Military Service upon graduation of high school are Algeria, Bolivia, Columbia, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Paraguay, Mongolia, Russia, Taiwan, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.
Short Term Service
Several nations require no more than 18 months of service. Those nations are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Benin, Cambodia, Cote d’ivoire, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Kuwait, Laos, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates.
Why Serve?
For many graduates entering into any branch of the military, there are a lot of benefits of choosing to serve our country:
- Basic Pay, this is usually when enlistees first enter the service at the E-1 service grade it’s a monthly payment of $1,785. The Typical recruit will advance to an E-4 level within three years of service advancing their pay to $2,330 a month
- Special Pay – this is when military members receive incentive pay based on their assignment, location, or special skills
- Free Room and Board
- Free Health and Dental Care
- Low Cost Life Insurance
- Disability Benefits
- Home Financing
There are also some risks involved in serving. Many of those risks include becoming injured in combat either physically or fatally, also Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a heavy risk that our service members face each day.
Memorial Day Gratitude
The true colors of all of the branches of the military will forever be in our hearts and minds in all that we do, whether it’s in our family at home, our church, our work places, even the grocery store. We all know someone who is currently serving or is retired from the service. On Memorial Day, as we dine in delicious bar-b-que, and mouth watering watermelon, our hearts will be filled with thanks for the service that our men and women provide our nation. So that we all can celebrate Memorial Day as we always remember and never forget.
Written by: Gary Taylor
Natalee Holloway was an 18 year old out of Alabama. She had a promising future and a bright personality. She had a full ride scholarship to the University of Alabama that she never got to use. She was last seen on the Carribean island of Aruba on May 29, 2005. She was last seen wearing a denim mini skirt, a rainbow halter top, and black thong flip flops. The biggest suspect in her case is Joran Van Der Sloot.
Van Der Sloot’s Dark Past
Van Der Sloot is known to be a gambler and to be friends with a rougher crowd. One of his friends, John Ludwick, made statements against Natalee such as, “I hope she rots in her grave for what she did to my boy,” and “I want to stomp on her grave for putting him in prison.” Both of these statements come across especially suspicious and heartless because Natalee’s Remains were never found. Ludwick also claimed in 2010 that he helped Van Der Sloot dispose of Natalee’s remains. Van Der Sloot’s father was a judge in the Aruban legal system who may well have helped his son illegally cover up Natalee’s death. Van Der Sloot was known to go to clubs with friends to look for girls. Two of those friends are the Kalpoe Brothers. Deepak and Satish Kalpoe were with Joran Van Der Sloot and Natalee Holloway the night she disappeared. They all have been arrested multiple times for the crime but are always released for lack of evidence. If you would like to hear the evidence that poits to the involvement you can listen to the podcast Momma Kirby’s Murder Mysteries, Episode 4, ‘Natalee Holloway: Taken on Vacation.’
False Confessions
Over the years Van Der Sloot has confessed to the crimes a few times to different people. He always ends up recanting his statements and saying he was lying. He has told people she died accidentally and he buried her, she died on the beach and they got rid of her in the ocean, and she was killed and hidden in the foundation of a house. These claims have proven to be lies. It is obvious he knows the truth and will go to any length to keep that truth concealed. He even gave investigators false information after he was captured for another crime and attempted to exchange that false information for being moved to an Aruban prison.
Van Der Sloot Charged with Murder
Natalee Holloway has not gotten justice but Van Der Sloot has been charged with murder. He murdered Stephany Flores in 2010. They were playing online poker when an instant message popped up about the Holloway case. After asking him questions about the case, he claimed she became angry and hit him first causing him to black out and kill her. He told the police he killed her so she wouldn’t go to the police over him hitting her. It seems easier to believe that Van Der Sloot told her information about the case and then she threatened to go to the police and he murdered her to conceal his dark past. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison the day after Natalee Holloway was pronounced dead on January 12, 2012.
Natalee deserves justice and her family deserves to have answers. This case has so many questions and mysteries around it. It is very hard to discern exactly what happened which makes it impossible to charge anyone. If someone involved would come forward and give the authorities what they knew a lot of questions could be answered and Natalee’s family could have the answers they desperately want and need. Until that day comes we can only hope that one day Joran Van Der Sloot will finally tell the truth about what really happened to Natalee Ann Holloway.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Since January 1, 61 abortion restrictions have passed in 13 different states. This week Governors in Arizona and South Dakota recently signed bills into law that bans abortions solely based on the diagnosis of Downs Syndrome. Children with Down Syndrome are known to possibly have many health issues. This is one of the major reasons why pregnancies with the diagnosis are mostly terminated. However, if you actually look at the quality of life individuals with down syndrome are able to have the abortion rate is alarmingly high. Similar bills are pending in North Carolina and Texas. A federal appeals court said Ohio could begin to enforce a similar 2017 law. It’s a ban that supporters acknowledge will be hard to enforce.
What Will the Abortion Bans do?
The famous court case, which allowed women to abort a baby before 24 weeks, just this week, with a 6-3 conservative majority, is being reconsidered. The 1973 Roe v. Wade’s decision could be overturned soon. The justices agreed to consider reinstating a Mississippi law that seeks to ban abortions after 15 weeks. “It usually takes 30 to 60 days for a law to take effect, the full impact of these laws will be felt later this year”, said Elizabeth Nash, who tracks state policy for Guttmacher. According to Nash, the bans passed this week will likely be held up in court. These bans include limitations on medication abortion, and an Oklahoma law that would only allow OBGYN’s to perform the procedure. Katherine Beck Johnson, a lawyer with the conservative Family Research Council, understands that the Down syndrome abortion laws might be easy to get around. “But even if it’s hard to enforce, it’s worth being passed,” she said, “It’s important for a state to show they’re not supporting eugenics; they want to remove the stigma of people who have Down syndrome.”
Last month’s decision by a 6th Circuit court, which includes six justices nominated by Trump, reversed two earlier decisions that had blocked enforcement of the 2017 Ohio law. Doctors could face a felony charge, be stripped of their medical license and be held liable for legal damages if they are aware of a Down syndrome diagnosis when performing an abortion. The majority opinion said the Ohio law is aimed at protecting the Down syndrome community from “the stigma it suffers from the practice of Down-syndrome-selective abortions.” In the past courts routinely blocked state laws seeking to ban abortion based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome or other anomalies. Trump’s judicial appointments as well as the Supreme Court has altered the legal atmosphere. However, not everyone believes the bans should be in place.
People against the abortion bans
“If you tell a woman, ’We’re going to force you to have a baby with Down syndrome. she’ll think, ‘Oh my God, is it really that bad that you’re going to force me?’” Said Holly Christensen, a teacher and newspaper columnist in Akron, Ohio. Holly’s 8-year-old daughter, Lyra, has Down syndrome. Holly believes that the push for bans, in hopes of getting a case before the Supreme Court, has damaged the effort to get information about Down syndrome. Holly believes this could hinder more families from being willing to raise children with the condition. She would like to see increased funding for education and services for children with disabilities as well as resources for new families who have children with down syndrome and other anomalies. Erika Christensen, and her husband, Garin Marschall, decided in May 2016 to terminate a pregnancy after learning, during the third trimester, that the baby would be unable to breathe on their own. The couple lived in New York, where abortions are banned after 24 weeks. They traveled to Colorado and Christensen had an abortion at 32 weeks. Christensen and Marschall now oppose bills banning abortion for reasons related to genetic anomalies. The couple says lawmakers oversimplify the difficult decisions women and families must make. “All decisions in these cases are necessarily complicated,” said Christensen. The couple noted that the 6th Circuit decision upholding the law in Ohio implies that patients seeking abortions in similar cases could lie to their doctors about their reasons. “That is a really dangerous place to go with regard to the law,” Marschall said.
According to the National Down Syndrome Society, one in every 700 babies in the United States is born with the condition. This adds up to roughly 6,000 babies annually born with the chromosomal irregularity. A 2012 study by medical experts estimated the abortion rate of unborn babies with the diagnosis was 67%. In the past, many children with Down syndrome were institutionalized. These days, they frequently acquire job skills and some degree of self-sufficiency. Their life expectancy is more than 60 years, triple the expectation just a few decades ago. This is why it is so important to preserve the life of babies who may be born with the condition. If they are capable of living life successfully why should they not have that chance? Arizona’s new Down syndrome measure is set to take effect later this year. Similar to the Ohio law, it calls for felony charges against doctors who perform an abortion based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome or other genetic abnormalities. What do you think of these new bans? Do you believe parents should have the right to choose whether or not a baby gets a chance at life?
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Rights for LGBTQ+ people have come a long way since the Stonewall Riots of 1969. June 28, 1969, New York City police wrongfully raided the Stonewall Inn. Patrons and neighborhood residents began throwing objects at police as people were loaded into police vans. The scene turned into a riot with protests that lasted for five more days. In 1970, at the one-year anniversary, community members marched through the streets in commemoration of the event. That march is now considered the country’s first gay pride parade. The complicated relationship the LGBTQ+ people have with police has created issues within both communities. NYC Pride organizers have banned officers from participating. NYC Pride organizers said its new policy banning “corrections and law enforcement exhibitors” will improve safety. Organizers will seek to keep officers a block away from the celebration of LGBTQ+ people and history. A gay officers group said it was disheartened after the “shameful” decision.
Why are Police Banned from Pride Parade?
NYC Pride organizers said they are banning police and other law enforcement from marching in their huge annual inclusion parade until at least 2025. “NYPD is not required to lead first response and security at NYC Pride events,” the group said. “All aspects of first response and security that can be reallocated to trained private security, community leaders and volunteers will be reviewed.” NYC Pride organizers urged members of traditional law enforcement to “acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward.” NYC Pride organizers say the “violence against marginalized groups,” specifically “BIPOC and trans communities,” has continued to escalate. “The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason,” the statement read. NYC Pride organizers say traditional police units will be used “only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials.” They would like for active units to be stationed a whole block away from all people and festivities. This is, of course, not sitting well with with a group a gay officers as they are less than happy with the decision.
How NYC Police are Reacting to Being Banned
A fraternal organization formed in 1982 for LGBTQ officers known as the Gay Officers Action League leaked the announcement recently, ahead of the NYC Pride organizer’s planned release. The disheartened officers called the ban an “abrupt about-face.” “Heritage of Pride is well aware that the city would not allow a large–scale event to occur without police presence. So their response to activist pressure is to take the low road by preventing their fellow community members from celebrating their identities,” Gay Officers Action League President, Brian Downey, said. This should be a time when the two organizations can try to rebuild the bridge for the community and begin the lengthy process of healing. Roughly 200 members of the Gay Officers Action League and their families participate in Pride each year, Dan Dimant, a spokesman for NYC Pride told Fox News. The decision has frustrated gay officers and family members who had hoped to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Gay Pride marches. “That said, we’ll still be there to ensure traffic safety and good order during this huge, complex event,” Officers of the Gay Officers Action League assured the public.
NYC Pride organizer’s announcement follows a recent division among organizers planning celebrations of LGBTQ+ pride. In 2020, Pride was unable to have a parade or any kind of festivities amid the pandemic. In 2019, there were two marches in Manhattan after part of the local LGBTQ+ community concluded the annual Pride parade had become too commercialized. The Queer Liberation March aimed to be a protest. Attendees were saying the main Pride march was too heavily policed by the same department that raided Stonewall. The New York Police Commissioner apologized for the raid in 2019, calling it “wrong, plain and simple.” NYC Pride organizers are not the first Pride group to ban law enforcement, places such as Sacramento and Vancouver have also banned law enforcement from participating in recent years. Do you believe law enforcement should be banned from participating in Pride? Should Pride organizers be attempting to help rebuild the bridges between law enforcement and local communities?
Written by: Erinn Malloy
We discuss CBD and how it’s the future of all natural medicine. We dive into different CBD products and how they can help the average American consumer. We also go into detail about new and current products created by MyKind.
Conservatives loudly voiced their displeasure on social media on Wednesday after Facebook’s oversight board upheld the site’s ban on former President Donald Trump. The Oversight Board’s decision also applies to Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. Some lawmakers believe the tech giant may be getting too powerful. “It is a sad day for America. It’s a sad day for Facebook because I can tell you, a number of members of Congress are now looking at: Do they break up Facebook, do they make sure that they don’t have a monopoly?” Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said during “America’s Newsroom” on FoxNews. Nick Clegg, Facebook Vice President of Global Affairs, wrote that Trump’s indefinite suspension, which is actually against the rules of suspending accounts, on facebook and Instagram would be sent to the Oversight Board. The Oversight Board is actually supposed to be like a third-party. “The board was established last year to make the final call on some of the most difficult content decisions Facebook makes,” Clegg wrote in the post. “It is an independent body and its decisions are binding – they can’t be overruled by CEO Mark Zuckerberg or anyone else at Facebook.” The initial ban came after the claims President Trump had incited a violent incident, which occurred at the capitol building, January 6.
What did the Oversight Board say?
A member of the Oversight Board is slamming Facebook, calling them “lazy” for the referral of former President Donald Trump’s suspension from the social media platform. “We felt it was a bit lazy of Facebook to be sending over to us a penalty suggestion that didn’t exist in their own rulebook, so to speak, in their own community standards,” said former Danish Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, during an Axios event. “We are not here to lift responsibility off Facebook. We’re here to be independent.” In a long statement the Oversight Board said “The Board has upheld Facebook’s decision on January 7, 2021, to restrict then-President Donald Trump’s access to posting content on his Facebook page and Instagram account. However, it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension. Facebook’s normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account. The Board insists that Facebook review this matter to determine and justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform. Facebook must complete its review of this matter within six months of the date of this decision. The Board also made policy recommendations for Facebook to implement in developing clear, necessary, and proportionate policies that promote public safety and respect freedom of expression.” The Board’s statement was not signed by any members. The decision was prepared by a five-member panel and approved by a majority of the Board, according to Facebook.
What does Trump think of the ban?
Former President Trump called the decision “a total disgrace” in a statement. “What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our Country. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before. The People of our Country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process.” After months of being banned from sites like Facebook, Instagram, and even twitter, Former President Trump launched a one-way communication platform. He said the “place to speak freely and safely. Straight from the desk of Donald J. Trump” is a “beacon of freedom”and gives him the ability to communicate directly with his followers. The technology is powered by Campaign Nucleus. The “digital ecosystem made for efficiently managing political campaigns and organizations.” Campaign Nucleus was created by Trump’s former campaign manager, Brad Parscale. The blog-like site allows former President Trump to post videos, pictures, or just plain text. The site only launched recently but the earliest post on the site is dated March 24, 2021. The site allows followers to share the former president’s posts to Twitter and Facebook. The new one-way platform does not have a feature to allow users to “reply” or comment on Trump’s posts but it does allow users to “like” posts. Many people believed Trump would be release a social media platform such as Parler.
The worry over big tech silencing former President Trump, who remains a leading contender to run for the office again in 2024, has left many Republicans feeling a call to action. Many lawmakers were already wary of the power of social media companies. What do you think about Trump’s new way of reaching his followers? Will former President Trump create an actual social media platform in the future? Should lawmakers be investigating Facebook and/or it’s practices? The only thing we know for sure is we definitely have not heard the last “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump.”
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Joe Jaquint provides a unique perspective on current events and how it relates to gold and silver. This show will make you feel uncomfortable while making you think different.
Colorado has some of the most beautiful terrain in the United States. There are tons of places where you can go hiking and enjoy that beauty to its fullest. Remember to never hike alone or at least always let someone know exactly where you are going in case you are injured. Remember, Colorado is a rugged place, always prepare for rough terrain and watch for big predators on trails such as bears, coyotes, and mountain lions. Hiking is a wonderful meditation method and has great health benefits. Walking or hiking regularly improves everything from lung and heart health to your sense of balance. Colorado has very diverse trails. There is something out there for everyone of every skill level. Here are ten places to hike in Colorado.
10. Longs Peak Park – Keyhole Route
Difficulty: Hard
At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak towers high above other summits in Rocky Mountain National Park. The mountain itself has very unique profiles. In the summertime thousands climb to Longs Peaks summit on the Keyhole Route. The National Park Service estimates about 50% of the 15,000 people who attempt to get to the top of Longs Peak each year actually reach the highest point. The trail is well-marked and can be crowded on summer weekends. The Keyhole Route is not only a hike; It is a climb that crosses narrow ledges and enormous vertical rock faces. Falling rocks could potentially require some swift thinking in an area where an unroped fall could be fatal. Unpredictable weather means the mountain can be beautiful and breathtaking, with the right tools and experience, or ruthlessly unforgiving of those with disregard for the mountain environment. For most of the year, Longs Peak is in winter conditions, which requires winter mountaineering experience and use of specialized equipment. For those who are well prepared the Keyhole route in Longs Peak Park is an extraordinary hiking and climbing experience. The National Park Service wants to help you be prepared when you visit, you can read more here,.
9. Garden of the Gods – Perkins Central Garden Loop
Difficulty: Easy
Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature center is home to many trails. Among those trails is probably one of the best hikes in Colorado to see a diverse landscape. The hike along the Perkins Central Garden loop is easy and about 1-1.5 miles long. With a less than 30 foot rise the trail doesn’t climb high at all. The whole trail will take you an hour or so to complete and is perfect for families since most of the path, which winds around the base of the park’s tallest rock formation, has been paved.The park has other trails that are mostly moderate difficulty and 3 miles or less roundtrip. The Park Officials ask that you stay on the designated trails and do not take anything from the park such as rocks or plants because just one person off trail can create decades worth of damage to the sensitive ecosystem. There are designated areas for things such as rock climbing which you must obtain a permit for. The park offers many free and paid options. A few things to do other than hiking include electric bike rental and adventure programs such as yoga in the garden. They also have many free kids programs such as kids nature walks and Reading Rocks!, which is a story and craft or engaging activity. Horseback riding is also permitted in the park. The park is open in the winter months as well.
8. Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Difficulty: Moderate to Hard
Black Canyon of the Gunnison offers many different places to explore along with beautiful views that are 200 million years in the making. There are hiking trails for most skill levels here. Camping is allowed, however, pets are not allowed in every section of the park; make sure you plan ahead if you plan to bring your furry friends with you. You must obtain a permit in order to explore the inner canyon. Permits are free and must be obtained the day you visit. You must also check out on your way out and return your permit. Inner canyon activities are located in remote portions of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Wilderness Area. Any rescue operation within the park is difficult and requires extended periods of time. Park visitors should carry the equipment necessary to endure an unexpected night in the wilderness. Each activity will require different essentials, but the park service gives you a list of essentials here. Other activities here include camping (tent or rv), fishing, as well as sky and wildlife watching. Winter activities here are snowshoeing and skiing.
7. Four Loop Pass – Crater Lake
Difficulty: Easy to Hard
Going to Crater Lake can be an easy to moderate 4-mile day hike that begins at Maroon Lake, which is very beautiful but can get crowded. Be very careful to stay on the trail here, as you do not want to cause damage to the fragile vegetation. If you are only looking for an easy day trip this is where you would soak in the beauty of Crater Lake, then turn back. If you have more experience or are with an experienced group this could be where you set up camp. There is confirmed bear activity in the area. Always stay alert for this and follow local safety advice. Crater Lake is part of the Four Loop Pass which is a 26-mile-long strenuous trek that leads you over four separate mountain passes in the span of four days. As you can imagine, this isn’t a hike for everyone. Dogs must be kept on a leash and campfires have major regulations. You must make a reservation in order to have access to the Four Loop Pass.
6. Great Sand Dunes National Park
Difficulty: Easy
Great Sand Dunes National Park is open 24/7 year round! There are no reservations to visit or limit on the number of visitors in the park and preserve, but there is currently a limit of 10 visitors at a time in the visitor center due to COVID restrictions. The tallest dunes in North America are nestled in the center of a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Star Dune is the largest of them all, standing at about 700 feet. In the early spring when the rivers run through the fine sand basin, the landscape transforms into a compact desert. Above the dunes stand the Sangre de Cristo Peaks. Wandering among the dunes can be as long or as short as you like it to be. Consider them nature’s sandbox The Dunes are the perfect place to bring the family. You can explore the Dunes, go sand sledding or sand boarding. Then when the flow is high enough, you can splash in Medano creek by the parking area. Horseback riding is also allowed but is very regulated.
5. The Devil’s Causeway – Flat Tops Wilderness
Difficulty: Hard
The infamous strip of land is located in the Flat Tops Wilderness. These tabletops are anomalies as the area around them is more commonly known for its jagged, pyramid peaks. The White River National Forest has a longstanding tradition of protecting the wilderness. According to the Forest Service, Arthur Carhart, a Forest Service landscape architect, was tasked to survey the area with plans to build summer cottages in 1919. What Carhart saw compelled him to recommend to his supervisors that the area remain undeveloped, which it has. The Devil’s Causeway is a very narrow ridge running between the William Fork and White Rivers. It is accessed only by a trail beginning at Stillwater Reservoir. The hike is a six-mile round-trip to the causeway or 10 miles round-trip if you continue on the trail and circle back to the reservoir. Along the rigorous route is Little Causeway Lake and meadows painted with wildflowers in the summer. The causeway is 11,800 feet high and just four feet wide in some places. Both sides of the causeway are cliffs that can drop hundreds of feet, sometimes even straight down. It is said that nearly everyone who attempts the crossing is quite literally brought to his or her knees at one point or another while crossing. This trail is not for those with major vertigo or fear of heights. Those who conquer Devil’s Causeway are rewarded with unparalleled views of the surrounding high mesas and the valleys below.
4. The Crystal Mill – Crystal River
Difficulty: easy to moderate
This is a very moderate hike that runs along the Crystal River for most of it. The Crystal Mill trail is around 9 miles and takes most people around 5-hours to complete. The beginning of the hike can be pretty tough and caution should be used. The trail itself is also a four-wheeling dirt road, so be prepared for some ATVs and jeeps passing by. The fall colors are beautiful, and summer is a great time to swim. Once you get the Mill, there is a $10 per person fee to go under the rope and view it from the water but, you can also view it from the roped off section on the road. Many reviews say paying the ten dollars is very worth it for the experience past the rope.
3. Rattlesnake Arches – McInnis Canyons
Difficulty: Moderate
The Rattlesnake Canyon Arches are one of Colorado’s most spectacular wonders, but also one of its best-kept secrets located in the northern end of Western Colorado’s Uncompahgre Plateau. The landscape gives way to remote canyons that wind through colorful sandstone to form cliffs, pinnacles, alcoves, and arches. You can find a collection of 35 natural arches tucked away in Rattlesnake Canyon. The world’s second largest concentration of natural arches is protected in the 123,400-acre McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. The Arches are accessible only by a rough drive on a 4×4 track or a 15-mile round-trip trek from a trailhead west of Grand Junction. There is a lot of open terrain to explore but hiking on the Rattlesnake Arches Trail is the best way to experience everything. Crowds are usually low so it is easy to take your time as you walk among these natural wonders. The Rattlesnake Arches are a little out of the way but if you are willing to make the journey you will be rewarded with one of Colorado’s most remarkable landscapes.
2. Butler Gulch
Difficulty: Moderate to hard
A potentially difficult five-mile trek with rises from 10,514 feet – 11,928 feet, Butler Gulch is one of the best hikes in Colorado in the summertime. The Wildflowers paint the views with over one hundred different species including the Indian Paintbrush and the Rocky Mountain Columbine, the state flower of Colorado. In this area you’ll also come across two abandoned mines. The mines are not safe to explore within but they make intriguing and eerie views from the outside. Butler Gulch can be a playground in the winter months. The trail climbs through a spruce and fir forest on a narrow closed road. It leads to an open bowl that is great for snowshoeing and backcountry skiing in the winter. The quick approach and open bowls is great for snowshoers and skiers new to the backcountry and trying to get a feel for the sports. Due to high elevation some trails are not snow-free until late June or mid-July. Whether you are enjoying winter sports or just the landscape, Butler Gulch has anything an experienced hiker could want.
1. Ice Lake – San Juan Mountains
Difficulty: Hard
The vibrant blue hues of waters in Ice Lake make this one of the most scenic hikes in Colorado. You’ll find the start to this Colorado classic at the South Mineral Campground in the San Juan National Forest. Ice Lake is a fairly difficult hike. The trail immediately heads uphill until you reach a big valley, this is not the steepest part of the hike and only half of your elevation gain. The trail itself is marked well. There are a few rocky sections, but nothing super strenuous. Check with the Forest Service to make sure Ice Lake is open before visiting. Ice Lake was shut down after a wildfire devastated the area in 2020. The Ice Fire in San Juan County began burning in October of 2020 in the South Mineral Creek area near a trail head. The Sheriff’s Department evacuated campers and hikers from the area, including 23 hikers and three dogs rescued with helicopters. One witness said he was on a day hike to Ice Lake when he noticed a “massive” plume of smoke. He and the other hikers grouped together to decide whether to try to find a way to hike out of the area or wait for help. In the end, four helicopters swept in and saved the day.
Colorado is a gorgeous place with a rugged and diverse landscape. There is truly something here for everyone no matter what level of difficulty you are at when it comes to navigating terrain. This land is beautiful and should be preserved at any cost. Make sure when visiting any of Colorado’s natural wonders you stay on marked trails (unless rules allow otherwise), leave things cleaner than when you arrived, and always only observe nature without disturbing her complicated processes. Colorado has many things to offer. Where will you explore?
A 39 year old woman was found dead. She was walking her two dogs in Trimble, near Durango. Her boyfriend returned home to find the two dogs but his girlfriend was missing. After searching for about an hour he found her body. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife responded to the scene and said the body has signs of consumption.
What Animal Attacked Her?
The body was surrounded with bear scat and hair. Teams of men and dogs began searching for the bear and located a female black bear and her two cubs close to the scene. The bears were humanely euthanized and taken to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife service laboratory for a necropsy. “Whenever an animal is euthanized, we receive many questions about why that action was necessary,” said Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director, Dan Prenzlow. “Our responsibilities to the natural resources of the state are many, but we have no more important duty than to manage these resources in a manner that keeps Coloradans and our visitors safe. Euthanizing wildlife is never an action our officers take lightly, but we have an obligation to prevent additional avoidable harm.”
Why Were the Bears Euthanized?
The three bears were euthanized in order to keep Colorado’s people and visitors safe. Once a bear injures or consumes a human law enforcement can not risk the chance that it could happen again. Bears will return to a proven food source repeatedly. A bear that loses its fear of humans is very dangerous and the two cubs were taught to view humans as a food source. It will take two weeks for some testing to come back but Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s pathologist said the bears did not have any initial signs of disease or abnormalities. An autopsy on the deceased woman is expected to occur on Tuesday by the La Plata County coroner’s office. The coroner will determine the official cause of death and identify the remains. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife the following is how you should conduct yourself when face to face with a bear.
Viewing Etiquette if You See a Bear
- Respect a bear’s space. Binoculars and spotting scopes allow you to view bears without getting too close.
- Never approach, crowd, pursue, or displace bears. If a bear changes its behavior because of your presence, you are too close! Also, check with the park you are visiting for viewing distance regulations, which may vary based on species and terrain. For example, Yellowstone National Park requires visitors to keep a distance of at least 100 yards (300 feet); Shenandoah National Park recommends 200 feet or more.
- Stay in groups and minimize noise and movement. However, in areas of low visibility or when you’re out on the trail, reduce chances of surprise encounters by staying alert and talking calmly to identify yourself as a human, not another animal.
- Stay on designated trails whenever possible.
- Leave “orphaned” or sick bears alone. Young animals that appear alone usually have a mother waiting nearby. Never get between a mother and her cub.
- Leave pets at home.
- Give bears room to pass. Do NOT run from a bear.
- Let bears eat their natural foods. Prevent bears from getting human food by learning about food storage requirements.
- You are responsible for your safety and the safety of wildlife. If a bear approaches you, it is your responsibility to move away and maintain a safe distance.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife also gives us extra steps we can take to attempt to stay safe once a bear has noticed you.
- Identify yourself by talking calmly so the bear knows you are a human and not a prey animal. Remain still; stand your ground but slowly wave your arms. Help the bear recognize you as a human. It may come closer or stand on its hind legs to get a better look or smell. A standing bear is usually curious, not threatening.
- Stay calm and remember that most bears do not want to attack you; they usually just want to be left alone. Bears may bluff their way out of an encounter by charging and then turning away at the last second. Bears may also react defensively by woofing, yawning, salivating, growling, snapping their jaws, and laying their ears back. Continue to talk to the bear in low tones; this will help you stay calmer, and it won’t be threatening to the bear. A scream or sudden movement may trigger an attack. Never imitate bear sounds or make a high-pitched squeal.
- Pick up small children immediately.
- Hike and travel in groups. Groups of people are usually noisier and smellier than a single person. Therefore, bears often become aware of groups of people at greater distances, and because of their cumulative size, groups are also intimidating to bears.
- Make yourselves look as large as possible (for example, move to higher ground).
- Do NOT allow the bear access to your food. Getting your food will only encourage the bear and make the problem worse for others.
- Do NOT drop your pack as it can provide protection for your back and prevent a bear from accessing your food.
- If the bear is stationary, move away slowly and sideways; this allows you to keep an eye on the bear and avoid tripping. Moving sideways is also non-threatening to bears. Do NOT run, but if the bear follows, stop and hold your ground. Bears can run as fast as a racehorse both uphill and down. Like dogs, they will chase fleeing animals. Do NOT climb a tree. Both grizzlies and black bears can climb trees.
- Leave the area or take a detour. If this is impossible, wait until the bear moves away. Always leave the bear an escape route.
- Be especially cautious if you see a female with cubs; never place yourself between a mother and her cub, and never attempt to approach them. The chances of an attack escalate greatly if she perceives you as a danger to her cubs.
What To Do If You Are Attacked
Most bears are only interested in protecting food, cubs, or their space so attacks are rare. Being mentally prepared can help you have the most effective reaction. Every situation is different, but below are guidelines on how brown bear attacks can differ from black bear attacks. Help protect others by reporting all bear incidents to a park ranger immediately. Above all, keep your distance from bears!
- Brown/Grizzly Bears: If you are attacked by a brown/grizzly bear, leave your pack on and PLAY DEAD. Lay flat on your stomach with your hands clasped behind your neck. Spread your legs to make it harder for the bear to turn you over. Remain still until the bear leaves the area. Fighting back usually increases the intensity of such attacks. However, if the attack persists, fight back vigorously. Use whatever you have at hand to hit the bear in the face.
- Black Bears: If you are attacked by a black bear, DO NOT PLAY DEAD. Try to escape to a secure place such as a car or building. If escape is not possible, try to fight back using any object available. Concentrate your kicks and blows on the bear’s face and muzzle.
If any bear attacks you in your tent, or stalks you and then attacks, do NOT play dead. This kind of attack is very rare, but can be serious because it often means the bear is looking for food and sees you as prey so fight back.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
The United States seems to be running full steam ahead with the legalization of Cannabis. America was not always so open minded. Federal Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner Harry Anslinger became a powerful anti-marijuana voice during the 1930’s. His campaign against Cannabis led to the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, under which the importation, cultivation, possession and/or distribution of marijuana were regulated. Prior to 1937, cannabis had a 5000 year history across many cultures. By 1970, marijuana was classified with narcotics and new, tighter laws were enacted… until now.
Timeline of State Medical Marijuana Legalization
In 1996, California became the first state to approve the use of Cannabis for medical purposes. In 1998 and 1999, Alaska, Oregon, District of Columbia, Washington, and Maine followed, also legalizing medical Cannabis. In 2000 Colorado, Hawaii, and Nevada passed medical marijuana legislation. Vermont and Montana legalized medical use in 2004. New Mexico, Rhode Island, Michigan, and New Jersey all followed between 2007 and 2012, along with Delaware and Massachusetts. In 2013 and 2014 Illinois, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and New York legalized medical use. Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania had legislation passed in 2016. West Virginia and Oklahoma legalized medical use in 2017 and 2018. Many health benefits have been found in cannabis. There are also risks that are associated with different ways of consuming cannabis. Many states, however, have already legalized recreational use of marijuana.
Recreational Marijuana Legalization
Colorado and Washington were the first two states to legalize the recreational use of Marijuana together in 2012. Alaska and the District of Columbia joined them in 2014. California, Massachusetts, and Nevada legalized recreational use in 2016. Vermont passed a recreational marijuana legislature in 2018. Virginia passed recreational marijuana laws which will be enacted on July 1, 2021. Many states such as North Carolina, which introduced a legalization bill this week, are expected to be added to this list. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is an advocate of marijuana legalization. He says he is ready to move ahead with major changes to federal laws with or without the support of President Joe Biden. “I want to make my arguments to him, as many other advocates will,” Schumer said. “But at some point we’re going to move forward, period.“
Biden’s View on Cannabis
Biden continues to oppose legalization, according to Forbes. They report, Biden supports reforms such as decriminalizing possession, expunging past records, allowing medical cannabis and letting states set their own laws. In November of last year, Biden was criticized for suggesting “there’s not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug.” Days later he was quoted on a conference call saying, “I don’t think it is a gateway drug.”
Schumer’s interest was renewed after New York moved to legalize recreational Cannabis. The law change will bring about $350 million in new tax revenue for New York. Cannabis has the ability to make the many other states a lot of money in tax revenue. In 2017, the USA accounted for 90% of the $9.5 billion cannabis trade, which is expected to grow to $47.3 billion by 2027. A key part of making those figures happen is federal legislation of cannabis.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
There has been an increase in auto thefts in the Denver area during the first part of 2021. This trend came with the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Last year, there were 1,035 auto thefts in January, 927 in February and 1,148 in March. The Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority’s Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force already recorded 6,669 cars stolen in January, February, and March in the area of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson. Denver accounted for 2,390 of those thefts.
Auto Thefts in Denver Area Escalating
“If trends continue as they are, we’ll see another more than 40% increase in auto theft in the Denver metro area for 2021,” said Mike Greenwell, head of the theft task force. “Auto theft not only deprives our neighbors of critical transportation for work, school, and other family needs, many stolen vehicles are used in the commission of additional felony crimes,” said Chief Paul M. Pazen. “To help address this issue impacting our community, we are working to raise awareness and encourage residents to partner with us in preventing auto theft to the greatest extent possible.”
The most popular cars that have been stolen and roughly how many.
Chevrolet Silverado: 325
Ford F250: 248
Honda Accord: 241
Kia Optima: 201
Hyundai Sonata: 197
Honda Civic: 184
GMC Sierra: 144
Ford F350: 139
Hyundai Elantra: 138
Kia Sportage: 127
6,669 cars have been stolen and 6,098 vehicles have been recovered. However, these recovered vehicles are often not in the same condition in which they were stolen, which is another reason to ensure theft deterrents are in place.
How can you be safe?
Keep your car safe by locking vehicle doors and keeping the windows rolled up. Remove your keys, fobs, and valet keys from the vehicle when you exit. Having a steering wheel lock or alarm enabled also could deter thieves. Drivers should not leave their car unattended while it’s running and park in secure garages whenever possible. Denver Police said officers will continue high visibility patrols to deter criminals and prevent auto thefts.
One of the most common complaints from conservative voters is that Republicans don’t “fight.” They believe, and correctly so, that their representatives aren’t engaging in enough meaningful battles, both culturally and politically. Many Trump voters supported him in 2016 because he represented that willingness to “fight.” And he certainly did that. He pushed back strongly on multiple battlefronts. Everybody was sick of traditional republican politicians that were too polite, rehearsed, and afraid of controversy, and who in turn didn’t win. Trump represented a wrecking ball to the establishment, to the “swamp”, to the activist left that had seized the commanding heights of power in so many of our cultural, educational, corporate, and news media entities. Sometimes the wrecking ball hit its target and it was glorious, sometimes it hit a baby.
But there’s another element to “fighting.” We often forget to define what it means to “fight.” We forget that fighting is supposed to mean winning. —They aren’t the same thing… And in a democratic republic, where elections are won by votes, fighting needs to translate into persuading people to vote for you or your policy proposals. So if persuasion is key, it should be the key to fighting. But instead, as it seems to me, we have many futile or even counter-productive perceptions of what it means to actually fight, and the incentives of those who seem to be screaming “FIGHT” the loudest seem disingenuous. We keep rewarding politicians, pundits, and influencers who engage in what amounts to essentially performance art without any real substance. These people launch fiery rhetoric about “Fighting” to an echo chamber of people who already agree with them. When you’re doing that, you’re not actually persuading anyone. We act like fighting is “owning the libs” with a snarky tweet, or pulling out the most enthusiastic southern gospel-speak at a raucous political rally, like Ted Cruz’s cringy CPAC speech, to an audience who’s already bought in and which hosts essentially zero independents or convertible democrats.
Sure, that has its place, and obviously you want to boost enthusiasm from your base just before an election. It’s important to get out and speak to your base and give them the narratives and information they need to make up their minds. But otherwise, how reliably do “revved-up” mobs make good choices or persuade anyone? How effectively did Jan. 6th or the Black Live Matter incorporated riots translate into a political “win?” It didn’t! It was totally stupidly wrong, counter-productive, and painful for everyone, especially those who may have initially held a shred of sympathy for some of the concerns of some of those people. Jan. 6th is going to continue to be used as a club to beat regular people into silence, disarm them, alienate them, and shut down any organizational efforts of anyone to the right of Hillary Clinton. And here’s the thing: Jan. 6th was never going to overturn an election anyways. But this perfectly encapsulates what can go wrong when we put too much emphasis on rallying the base via political one-upsman performances instead of focusing on the real issues, like local politics and electoral reforms at the state level.
Echo Chambers Vs. Game Changers
We have a tendency of focusing our efforts far away from where we can more effectively make a difference. Effective fighting means packaging our ideas and selling them to broad swathes of people who don’t agree with us and are likely predisposed to dislike us, in a way that they might be receptive to it and we might actually persuade someone instead of talking in circles to ourselves, and then cranking up the temperature out of some misguided attempt to garnish some attention and score cheap and meaningless political points. This may even derive from a weak-mindedness that is afraid of encountering an argument that could shatter your world view.
We make a mistake by calling these things “fighting” The real fight is when we actually talk to persuadable voters who aren’t already in our camp. We need to focus on an expanding audience, which means putting out messaging and optics that will appeal to people who don’t agree with us. Messages that are moderate and inviting enough to entice people into a further interest in our ideas, and we must present our movement in a way that maintains a certain level of tolerance for disagreement and boasts some core morality. Remember, it doesn’t matter how correct you are, it doesn’t matter the merits of your tax plan or your immigration policy if you come across as a total jerk. People want to vote for people who they feel comfortable about. The best fighters are the ones who are exceptional at explaining complex and fully-formed ideas to people in an easy-to-understand way and in a way that makes people comfortable enough with you as a person. As human beings, we all have stereotypes and prejudices, big or small, that shape the way in which we filter in new information. By speaking in a genuine and honest way and having a trustworthy demeanor we can help mitigatethose negative stereotypes about us. Those mental filters that block new information can be mitigated and make our policy pitch far more pallettable to a broader audience.
Empty Vs. Effective Rhetoric
This is why politics usually comes down to rhetoric. And rhetoric is just the art of making your argument as persuasive as you possibly can. If you can’t make your arguments palatable to people then what do they matter? Your ethos is important. And having an ethos, a credible character, is what will make people on the other side listen up. Screaming invective and cursing the other side as infantile and stupid will have them not only disqualifying you, but disqualifying all the people who follow you. This is what we saw happen with Trump. All dialogue was untended by the blinding hatred massive numbers of people had for the president and that carried over into how they thought about his supporters.
It’s the easiest thing in the world to throw out red meat rhetoric to people who already agree, and take shots at moderates on our own side as being RINO’s who don’t fight enough. As to imply that somehow that you yourself are the true fighter. Many conservatives do this. You’ll notice I never use the term RINO. Because it’s stupid, it’s weak. And it’s a losing strategy, are we to just embody the cancel culture we rail against until there’s none of us left and the Democrats run everything? We are supposed to be utilizing the left counterculture to grow our own base. As they cast everyone out up their little game woke Olympics, we should be holding the door open and inviting people in to join the party. Left-wing cancel culture should be something we use to our advantage not simply emulate. If we begin replicating the same pathologies we complain about on the left within our own ranks, then we are no different then the book left in all but one way, they are winning. Fighting doesn’t mean raising our voices to eachother in our little conservative safe-spaces.
It seems to me a lot of the people in conservative political or media actually have no genuine interest in helping or implementing legitimate solutions. Not all. But some clearly don’t have an interest in that. .. And here’s why. Their dedication to the cause is based on money. They sell ads on their page or show, and to maintain cashflow they need a loyal, super active following. It doesn’t matter if the audience expands necessarily. Just that it’s predictable, and they can utilize that predictability to profit off of “rage-bait.” Crisis peddling, and selling people a sense of victimhood. By fostering hate and distrust. They are just feeding the monster. And the monster is especially hungry when it’s angry, and it’s especially angry when it’s losing. So in a weird way, a lot of the political media benefits most when the movement to which they claim to belong is losing. It benefits from a revved-up mob that’s easy to manipulate and rigidly in a desperate and outraged condition. Almost by design incentives they have no motivation to persuade anyone, in fact they profit off of inflaming the unpersuadable.
The Media Work for Ratings, not You
The media are not in the business of winning elections, even though they might seem like it. They’re in the business of ratings. People are more likely to write a glaring review than a glowing one if they’re not prompted. That’s because people respond more easily to negativity than positivity. This is actually representative of a psychological phenomenon that actually makes perfect sense when you think about it. Why are human beings so more susceptible to negative emotion? Put simply because you can only be so happy but you can be very much dead and same for everyone you care about. It’s why we have ‘loss aversion’ and will hang on to things even when they’re harming us or when we have a much better opportunity at hand. The media pedals what sells. And they’ve seen through years of investigating politics that inflaming one side against another sells. It gives you a team. It delineates the world into good guys and bad guys and cleans up the insecurity that’s endemic to policy. And it sells.
This is the pernicious illusion we need to constantly be looking out for, especially from your own side. Becuase many influencers are truly in it for the right reasons, maybe they are just misguided a bit. But there are those who, whether they know it or not, truly want to be on the losing side. It’s actually better for their business. Once you see this you begin to understand why our media that in-part drives our culture feels so toxic. The hyper-partisan media and their revved up mob audiences seem to only get bigger as everything they touch gets worse. Outrage drives traffic and these entities can cash in.
Think about this and pay attention to when you see it going on around you. Remember that. Especially if the first inclination is to constantly call out the farthest fringest of a movement and trying to apply that to the entirety of their opposition instead of confronting the strongest intellectual arguments of their opposition and contend with them in good will. Or when they are constantly calling out their own side for not being “Pure” enough, or not “fighting” aggresively enough, as this indicates that they are more focused on driving outrage and trying to move up their own conservative hierarchy. As conservatives we have a problem where we are always trying to root out traitors. I call them RINO hunters. And what’s the purpose? We actually need people who bridge the gap between us and those who we need to win over, if we let ourselves, or worse yet, intentionally keep pushing that divide and idealogical conformity we will inevitably tear apart the social fabric of this country and all of the things that we “conservatives” talk about conserving will be lost. Until there are none of us left and the democrats run everything.
Moderates get a lot of hate for being wishy-washy. But being strong doesn’t necessarily mean toeing the party line. It takes more strength and fortitude to tell the people you could have eating out of your hand with your ‘fight’ mentality that they might be wrong. Even that, on some issues, the opponents may be right. But that’s the only thing that’s going to get people to work together on things. Why do you think the senate and house are gridlocked every time congress is split down the middle with no clear majority? That’s the result of a lack of independent thinking and an unhealthy devotion to the ‘fight for your base no matter what’ mentality. Concession is weak when forced on you from someone with a position of strength. It’s not weak when you make it yourself after careful consideration.
Pots Calling Kettles Black
The right-wing cancel culture, the intolerance and fratricide is a self-destructive movement that we should be questioning. The entire point in free-speech, the entire point in democracy is to allow us to disagree and hopefully elect representatives that are interested in representing the broadest possible swathe of their constituency, not just the slim subsection of their supporters that helped elect them, but everyone. And that message is actually effective, that’s why Joe Biden uses it so much, irregardless of the fact that he has yet to follow through with anything bi-partisan or at any point to contradict his party and supporters. That is the true test of a representative’s character: are they willing to make concessions unpopular with their base to cater to the broader public or the greater good, knowing they may be punished for it?
What does all this result in? Well it results in the manifestation of counter-productive events like Jan. 6th. I did a long radio show on how awful this was. The whole point was that it was pointless, it was an exercise in futility and frustration. It was politicians getting carried away with fiery rhetoric and performing for you. It was a performance with no substance. Some people questioned why I wasn’t hopping on board to fight. And it’s because I’ve been in fights, and that wasn’t a real fight. When I fight, I fight to win; that wasn’t fighting. It was a performance. The politicians involved in the effort to block the election knew better and they still did it. They still said that they were fighting. So, apparently the best way to fight, according to them, was to engage in unwinnable battles that persuade nobody and leave their supporters even more desperate and down-trodden than before. That’s what’s really frustrating in all this. It’s just an exercise in frustration. It’s almost as if the people who do this, the politicians, the influencers, they deliberately choose unwinnable battles. So they’ll never have to deliver on the promises they were empty from the get-go, perhaps.
Another example was when the left was going crazy tearing down statues and the conservative base was rightfully angry about it. And instead of being angry at the left, many smart people began to turn on republicans. They said that if republicans were real fighters they would do something about this. Even though no republican governors were allowing this to happen in their cities. So what else were they supposed to do? What did we want or expect from them? Is that really what we would want? We want our Republican representatives to dawn some riot gear and go battle antifa toe to toe beneath a george washington statue in a democrat-run city? Would that somehow fix things? Sure it’d be entertaining, but it wouldn’t be making our country a better place.
I’d just like to encourage us to think more carefully about what actions we want to see implimented and is that really a winning strategy… or if we’re just defining “fighting” as engaging in pointless, unwinnable battles that win over nobody, wastes our time, dissapoints us, and and makes our social divides worse. Becuase real fighting is hard, real fighting involves intellectual debates with a certain level of goodwill given to people who genuinely disagree with us, and sometimes for fair reasons.
We actually need people who think differently, who can identify different problems and solve them in different ways. Real fighting means making the movement broader, not just angrier. It requires stratigic thinking. I takes engaging the real difficult arguments. It requires well-concieved, airtight logic. It takes presenting our case with a moderate audience in mind across a variety of platforms. It means actually understanding conservative principles and actually understanding why they make better policy solutions. It means taking the time to understand where and how government actually works and what problems it can actually solve. This so that we’re not convincing people to storm the capital to try to solve a problem that could only actually be solved by engaging in local politics and reform laws at the state level. And we need to be honest about that.
There is a way to really fight. The conservatives are generally correct that for too long representatives really didn’t fight hard enough. But know we need to learn how to fight effectively. Fighting effectively is just as important as the will to fight itself. We need to be demanding that our or politicians bring people to our side and engage in substantive debate in congress and in the culture. The winning message we have as conservatives, if we actually try to sell it, is level-headed conservatives. And we do it with intellectual honestly and confidence and pride. We don’t need to hide our policies from moderates. This is a mistake. Just be honest and make room for accommodations. Lead with what we really think, and we’ll actually be rewarded for it if we package it in a moderate, confident and inviting way. Let’s not let our media engage in the circular firing squad and act in ways that drive people out. We can actually work proactively, if we understand how government happens and what’s reasonable for members of congress to do vs what’s reasonable for governors to do vs mayors, and what isn’t a legitimate role for government. We can actually learn how to fight these battles effectively.
Written by: Liberty Revolt
Former police officer Derek Chauvin was tried for the murder of George Floyd on April 20. George Floyd’s death has caused a number of Black Lives Matter protests and riots across the country. George Floyd was accused of buying a box of cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. Squad cars arrived on scene and George Floyd was pinned by three police officers. Allegedly, within seven minutes of the first squad car showing up, he was unconscious and showing no signs of life. He and onlookers called out for help because he was unable to breathe.
Ruling and Sentencing
Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The judge, however, said that politicians’ influence over the public could be grounds for appeal. Jurors were asked to consider three charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The second-degree murder charge required the jury to agree that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death, without intent, while committing or attempting to commit an assault. For the third-degree murder charge to stick, jurors had to agree that Chauvin unintentionally caused Floyd’s death with reckless disregard for human life. The charge does not indicate intent. Finally, the second-degree manslaughter charge needed jurors to conclude that Chauvin was guilty of creating an unreasonable risk by consciously taking a chance of causing Floyd’s death or injuring him.
The judge will focus on the most serious charge of second-degree murder, which gives a maximum of 40 years behind bars. Chauvin’s sentencing will be based on this charge because all charges stem from the same action. Minnesota sentencing guidelines allow defendants like Chauvin who have no criminal history to receive less time, though prosecutors want a harsher sentence. They plan to ask Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to consider “aggravating factors,” including that Floyd was treated with “particular cruelty” and his death occurred in front of children, as part of the sentencing decision.
Political Influence
Biden spoke to Floyd’s family during the trial. Maxine Waters (CA-D) made comments the weekend before the trial at a rally in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. She said that she hoped the jury would find Chauvin “guilty, guilty, guilty” of the death of George Floyd. Judge Cahill got frustrated and said, “I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case”. Politicians trying to influence the Chauvin case represents a violation of the separation of powers and potential grounds for appeal if the jury acknowledges influence. Politicians should allow the jury to be impartial, especially if they do not want an appeal.
Public Reaction
The death of George Floyd spurred some of the largest civil rights protests in decades. Some of these protests turned violent. Cities including Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Lewisville saw clashes with police, buildings and cars set afire, and looting. By evening, many demonstrations had given way to another night of violence and destruction, with protesters ignoring curfews imposed in dozens of cities. Police used tear gas and stun grenades and fired rubber bullets in attempts to disperse the crowds. More than 17,000 National Guard troops were activated in states across the US due to civil unrest.
There has been a surge in protests around the time of the Chauvin trial. The protestors have been outraged at the killing of George Floyd. These have been nationwide. Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, and other cities have seen these recent protests. Protestors did not seem elated or return home after Chauvin was found guilty. It was simply a steppingstone. Protestors want big changes to the justice system and police force. Protestors were seen with signs that read “the whole damn system is guilty as hell”.
Similar Case
When George Floyd was killed, the case drew comparisons to the death of Eric Garner six years earlier in New York. The two men uttered the same dying words to the police officers forcefully restraining them: “I can’t breathe.” In Mr. Garner’s case, none of the officers who pinned him on a Staten Island sidewalk and placed him in a banned chokehold ever faced criminal charges. On Tuesday, Mr. Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, said she was glad to hear that Derek Chauvin had been convicted of murdering Mr. Floyd. A grand jury found that the officer who had placed Mr. Garner in the chokehold in July 2014 had not committed a crime. Federal prosecutors declined to bring civil rights charges, and it took the New York Police Department five years to fire the officer, Daniel Pantaleo. Only one other officer, Sergeant Kizzy Adonis, was disciplined.
Written by: Miranda Smith
Dena Dean was a fun, bright, and bubbly sixteen year old who lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dena was born February 26, 1982. She loved her friends and her life. She often spent time at the racetrack hanging out with her friends and family. Dena was part of the marching band and on the honor roll at school. Dena was, by all accounts, a “ray of sunshine.” She really knew how to make people smile and feel good. Dena worked at the local Arby’s until her death in 1998.
Dena’s Last Movements
On June 6, 1998 Dena Dean was supposed to pick up her best friend, Brandi McClellan, from work at Marvin’s Grocery store. Dena came to hang out with Brandi before Brandi’s shift was over at 10:30 PM. Around 10 PM Dena left Brandi in the store to meet up with her boyfriend in the parking lot.
Witnesses from a different store which shared Marvin’s parking lot saw a young woman, investigators believed to be Dena, standing next to a vehicle and having an argument with the person inside. The witness saw the vehicle speed away after but never saw the girl again. When 10:30 PM came around Brandi noticed Dena’s car in the parking lot but Dena was nowhere to be found. A schoolmate and her mother noticed Brandi was visibly upset and offered to take her home. Brandi refused, wanting to wait for Dena. That mother called the Dean family and told them their daughter was missing.
Dena Is Missing
The Dean family sprung into action starting an initial search for Dena, which included searching around the store and paging Dena many times. Brandi went to Dena’s boyfriend’s house looking for Dena. He told Brandi he had not seen Dena when he left the store. He decided to go bowling and shoot pool with a friend. If you would like to hear the details of his alibi and this case check out the podcast Momma Kirby’s Murder Mysteries, episode three “Dena Dean: A Tulsa Nightare.”
Dena’s body was found on June 12, 1998 not far from where she was last seen. She was on a hilltop that teens would frequent as a lover’s lane and to have small get-togethers. Over the years many suspects have come up and been cleared through evidence. There is currently a Cold Case Task Force working the Dena Dean case. They are seeking answers for the Dean family, and honestly all of Tulsa. This case caused the whole community of Tulsa to change how they lived. Every year they have memorials for Dena on her Birthday. No one will ever forget Dena. Dena’s family, friends, and community will not rest until they receive the answers they deserve.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
NASA plans to return humans to the moon, the space agency announced that SpaceX will build the vehicle that will take astronauts to the lunar surface. Nasa is targeting the Moon’s South Polar region. This area holds abundant deposits of water-ice, which could be turned into rocket fuel and breathable air to support a future lunar base. Landing here will be challenging because of the long shadows that obscure the moon’s surface.
SpaceX is given NASA Contract
The Artemis missions and new space vehicle will carry the next man and the first woman to the moon’s surface. The lander is based on SpaceX’s Starship craft. SpaceX was competing against bids from many people such as traditional aerospace giants and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. NASA awarded the $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk. “NASA has chosen SpaceX to return us to the moon,” a representative said in a press conference. The representative said the next phase will involve testing the technology. “With this award, Nasa and our partners will complete the first crewed demonstration mission to the surface of the Moon in the 21st century as the agency takes a step forward for women’s equality and long-term deep space exploration,” said Kathy Lueders, the organisation’s head of human exploration.
The Artemis Program
The Artemis program was first initiated under former President Trump. The Biden administration has supported the program. Trump’s team pushed for a crewed mission to the moon’s surface in 2024. Congress has not provided the amount of funding for the program that would be needed to complete the work by that deadline. NASA is reevaluating costs to determine the soonest date they could launch people on a lunar mission. The Artemis I mission is expected to launch in late 2021. This test flight of Orion and NASA’s SLS will not be crewed. Artemis II will be using the SLS and Orion crafts to fly a crew around the moon and back without landing. This is similar to the Apollo 8 mission of 1968. Artemis III will use SLS, Orion, and SpaceX’s Starship to help a crew journey the quarter million miles to the moon’s surface. Plans are for Orion to dock with a Human Landing System, such as SpaceX’s Starship. The ship will wait in orbit around the moon up to a hundred days before the mission arrives. The spaceship will bring the astronauts to the surface of the moon.
The crew will also launch from the moon on the ship to transfer back to the waiting Orion spacecraft, and fly home. The Starship, resembling the rocket ships from the golden age of science fiction, has been in development by Elon Musk for years. This craft has a lot more space than the previous Lunar Modules. For now it will transport people from lunar orbit to the surface but it is also a crucial component of the entrepreneur’s long-term plans for settling humans on Mars.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo violated ethics rules by misusing federal resources for personal benefit, according to the reported findings of an investigation by the State Department. His wife, Susan Pompeo, was also mentioned in the report for misusing federal resources. The Pompeo’s asked employees to do personal tasks for them. These tasks were very personal in nature, including making hair appointments, taking care of their dog, and picking up dinner on more than 100 occasions. A close ally to former President Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo served as CIA director from 2017 to 2018. He left that role to serve as Secretary of State from 2018 until the end of Trump’s term in office.
What does the report say?
Mike Pompeo and Susan Pompeo, asked agency staff, including a top State Department appointee, to “undertake work of a personal nature, such as picking up personal items, planning events unrelated to the Department’s mission, and conducting such personal business,” the State Department’s Inspector General said in the report. The report also says it found evidence that Susan Pompeo tasked a senior adviser to the former secretary with purchasing or delivering personal items, ranging from flowers for friends, photograph prints, magazines for the Pompeo family, and T-shirts for a friend’s daughter in Ukraine. Many of these requests would be asked outside of regular business hours and there would be no extra compensation for the employee performing them.
The report did not find the couple exceeded ethical boundaries with the special agents protecting them.The Inspector General’s office said the Pompeos’ had committed violations of ethical conduct, in regard to the requests of personal nature. Pompeo no longer serves as secretary of state so the office said he was not subject to disciplinary action. The report made recommendations designed “to mitigate the risk of future senior leaders committing similar violations” and called on the State Department to clarify policies regarding what would be considered inappropriate. The State Department already agreed to implement all recommendations.
What did the Pomeos’ have to say?
In a letter to the inspector general’s office, Pompeo’s attorneys accused investigators of political bias. “Rather than a fair, independent, and impartial review of the facts and relevant rules, the Draft Report is replete with factual errors and incoherent and unjustified conclusions that betray the drafters’ apparent biases against Mr. Pompeo and his family,” Pompeo’s attorneys said in the letter. “At best, the Draft Report amounts to little more than a compilation of picayune complaints cherry-picked by the drafters in an effort to twist innocent, routine and even praise-worthy behavior into something nefarious,” they added. “At its worst, it is rife with deliberate misstatements and half-truths concocted to support the drafters’ seemingly politically motivated goal to find purported ethical lapses by Mr. Pompeo.” His attorney also said a majority of requests made by Susan Pompeo were asked of a longtime friend who was also her husband’s senior advisor.
Mike Pompeo also released a statement. “At no time did I, or my wife Susan, misuse taxpayer money or violate rules or ethical norms,” Mr. Pompeo said. “Our actions were constantly reviewed by dozens of lawyers, and we made massive efforts, and did, comply with every requirement. This latest IG report is yet another attempt to slander me and worse, my wife by our own government.” Pompeo is considered a potential candidate for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2024.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Chris Magnus is President Biden’s pick for the leader of the U.S. customs and border protection. Magnus’ new responsibilities include patrolling the border while USCIS runs legal immigration services. Both positions require Senate confirmation and were run by acting leaders under former President Donald Trump. Chris Magnus has been known for not respecting former President Trump’s policies on undocumented immigrants and supporting sanctuary cities. Magnus is currently police chief in Tucson, Arizona, where he rejected federal border security grant money from Operation Stonegarden in 2020. The decision sparked criticism from the head of Tucson Police Officers Association, Tony Archibald. The nomination comes as a rising number of people attempting to enter the country along the Southwest border.
Chris Magnus immigration policies
Magnus leads the police force in Tucson, which is not a sanctuary city but calls itself an “immigrant welcoming community.” Tucson has changed police policy to make it harder for officers to enforce immigration laws. “As the police chief here, I’m deeply troubled by the Trump administration’s campaign against ‘sanctuary cities,’ which refuse to turn over undocumented immigrants to federal authorities. Washington is trying to retaliate against them by withholding funding for things like crime prevention, drug treatment and mental health programs,” Magnus wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times in 2017. “Almost all local law enforcement agencies, regardless of the ‘sanctuary’ or ‘immigrant-welcoming’ policies adopted by their jurisdictions, cooperate with federal authorities to go after drug cartels, human traffickers and transnational gangs.” Also in 2017, Magnus opposed orders from Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. Kelly ordered prioritizing enforcement operations for undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes. The orders allowed local authorities to capture and deport most undocumented immigrants they encounter through a program that cities and counties could join. Magnus said that those policies would hinder investigations. The obvious disregard for orders is not the only thing that has the public concerned about this choice.
Magnus’ Issues with Transparency
Some immigrant advocates say Magnus’ nomination could bring about positive change, but Tucson attorney Isabel Garcia said his actions following an in-custody death concerns her. “What concerns me with him is his absolute lack of transparency, that he spent almost two months with information that his agents had a death in their custody, he didn’t tell the mayor, and he didn’t tell us,” she said. Magnus’ department came under fire over the in-custody death of Carlos Adrian Ingram-Lopez. Garcia said Magnus’ role in that situation needs to be looked at closer if he is to lead Customs and Border Protection. Customs and Border Protection has often been criticized for its own transparency issues with in-custody deaths. Others on the right worry that maybe this nomination from the Biden Administration is not to help immigration but to keep Arizona a blue state. Arizona is a very important swing state.
Magnus previously worked at the police departments in Fargo, North Dakota, and Richmond, California. He has been described as having “extensive experience in addressing immigration issues,” because of Tucson’s close proximity to the border. The number of undocumented migrants apprehended by the Border Patrol along the Southwest border has been rising for some time. The Biden administration has to turn back adults, due to a public health order Trump issued at the start of the pandemic, but is allowing unaccompanied children and some families to stay. The U.S. government picked up nearly 19,000 children traveling alone across the Mexican border in March, the largest monthly number ever recorded.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Every year over 50,000 teens are labeled as troubled and sent to tough love and behavior modification camps. These places are designed to stop bad behavior through various therapies. This isn’t always the case, thousands of children and teens are abused every year by the staff members who are supposed to protect them. There is currently a movement to end places like this called #breakingcodesilence. You can sign a petition here. A quick search on Reddit reveals thousands of people who claim to be products of this industry. There are accounts of these troubled teens not being allowed to eat or shower. These children are sometimes being tossed around like rag-dolls by the staff members who are supposed to protect them. There was an account on reddit of a wilderness teen camp in the mountains of Tennessee from the person who watched a teen girl who almost died of a snake bite because the staff literally left the children alone on the side of a mountain with no way to get help at night time. The only way she survived was her other camp members sprung into action and carried her in the dark down the mountain on foot. To me these types of behaviors don’t sound conducive to healing or fixing a troubled teen. In fact, these seem a lot like new traumas these children will have to relive everyday. These types of stories are what surround today’s topic, Turn-About ranch in Escalante, Utah.
Hannah Archuleta
Sexual abuse allegations by a teen against Turn-About Ranch in were announced in a lawsuit filed by women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred and Utah attorney April Hollingsworth. Hannah Archuleta was 17-years-old when she was taken to the ranch in October 2019 after being on the “Dr. Phil” show. Dr. Phil has been known to send many teens to Turn-About ranch. Hannah claims she was sexually assaulted by a male staff member ten days after she arrived, but did not report the incident because she was afraid to. “At the ranch, I was alone and isolated from all of my family,” said Archuleta.
One month later, Archuleta alleges a second sexual assault by the same staff member, and reported the incident to a female staff member. Hannah says she was called a liar, but told to write a detailed letter in her report. This is one of the biggest issues with the troubled teen industry, children are labeled as problems and automatically deemed less credible. Generally their actions are direct reflections of how they are treated in daily life. Giving many troubled teens the mentality of “well they think this way of me anyways might as well act like it,” because no one will give them the tools in order to learn how to be any different. Hannah faced immediate retaliation and punishment for writing the letter, including being forced to face a wall or shovel manure for hours, left outside in freezing temperatures, and forced to sleep on a wooden plank, among other vindictive actions. “I expected to be treated with understanding, instead I experienced retaliation from the ranch after I spoke up in what appeared to me to be punishment for reporting my abuse,” Archuleta said. This is not the first allegation against Turn-About Ranch.
Danielle Bregoli aka Bhad Bhabie
Danielle went on the Dr. Phill show and for a while was known as the “cash me ousside” girl. Now, she is so much more with many gold and platinum records and she is even the youngest female rapper to ever be recognised by Billboard. She was sent to Turn-About ranch by the Dr. Phil show. While she was there she was not allowed to sleep, starved, “stripped of her personality,” and even witnessed a murder. The worst part is that she says Dr.Phil was well aware of the conditions he was subjecting her, and other kids, because her parents signed a release to send all her info back to Dr.Phil while she was in “treatment.” Bhad Bhabie posted a video of her allegations against Turn-About and Dr.Phil which he responded to in an interview. In the interview they only bring up Danielle on the Dr.Phil show, which she says she was coached by producers to act how she did. Dr.Phil tries to say he is unaware of how children are treated and he doesn’t keep up with them after the show. He calls the TRAUMA she experienced unfortunate and acts like it wasn’t a big deal. Bregoli said that upon entering the ranch in 2016, she was placed in teepee and forbidden to shower or sleep. “You have to sit there for three days,” she said. “They wouldn’t let me lay down for nothing. Like, I was falling asleep and they’re like, ‘Oh, get up, get up.’ So I’m just sitting here like, ‘This is gonna be really bad’ when I see these people have no sympathy.” Her allegations came a month after Hannah Archuleta announced her lawsuit against Turn-About Ranch. In 2012 a mother sued the ranch for allegedly torturing her daughter when she lived there in 2005.
This is only the snowflake on top of the iceberg for the troubled teen industry. This is not the only facility with abuse allegations against it. These are not the worst allegations out there. Often these troubled teens are being supervised by people who are not qualified. Many facilities only require you to be a highschool graduate and 21 to be a counselor. This leads to many “troubled teens” becoming counselors themselves. They either excel and help a lot of children or they continue the cycle of abuse because that’s what they know. The troubled teen industry needs reform and regulation, right now it’s a breeding ground for the very mental disorders it claims to fix. These facilities are creating trauma for children instead of giving them the love and attention they desperately need.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Technology is all around us. It started off simple; the internet didn’t even exist until 1983. As someone who is in the odd place between Gen Z and Millenials, I have had the unique opportunity to watch technology grow up with me. When I was a child, we really didn’t have smartphones around and the ones that were touch screens did not connect to the internet. In the year 2000, phones began to connect to the internet through 3G but many of the “smartphones” were not even touch screens. I remember getting in trouble at church for being on Yahoo Instant Messenger on some phone that slid up to reveal the keyboard. The internet, and technology in general, has come a very long way in the last 20 years. The question is, has it come too far?
1984 and beyond
In the novel, 1984, London is controlled by the Ruling Party. The Ruling Party controls everything from speech and language to free thought and self expression. The Ruling Party has placed video monitoring systems in homes and watches every person’s every move. They always tell people, Big Tech… Excuse me, Big Brother is watching them. In modern times we have Alexa and Siri who are always listening and sometimes even pick things up they aren’t supposed to be privy to. The government says they respect our privacy but it is well known they have the technology to listen to really any electronic device. We have cameras on everything from doorbells to refrigerators now. This makes it extremely easy for anyone, especially the government, to look into our everyday lives, given they have the right technology to do so. In the novel, even rebellious thoughts are illegal, which feels eerily similar to the restrictions social media has been imposing on the people who use their platforms. Currently Donald Trump has been banned from many social media sites. Some sites even banned the FORMER PRESIDENT from ever having an account again. How can they banish someone who was one of our leaders? What happened to free speech?
Big Tech Takes Over
Banning Donald shows how easy it is for Big Tech companies to control the rulers of our nation. If people are controlled by fear on social media then they can’t show the public their true self and allow us to make our own assumptions. If everyone is filtering what they have to say based on impossible community guidelines, how will we deduce which people are genuinely good leaders or not? How do we truly know when a post is something that person truly feels or if it is only a partial thought because the rest of the thought would not meet community guidelines? Rulers should not be afraid that if they express true feelings and thoughts they will be “cancelled” and permanently banned from social media. Social media, our devices, and search engines already track our every move on and off the screen.
Why should they be allowed to tell us how to think and feel? Other than censoring our every move Big Tech companies watch them all, too. Phones with location turned off are still able to trace every move made via the connection to a data network. Anything you search on google, amazon, or safari shows up in other apps as ads. Sometimes you can just mention something for an obscure topic you never speak about and an ad will show up on social media. Is this the result of perfect subliminal messaging? Does our brain take in ads we don’t notice? Do those ads plants seeds for ideas, or are we actually being listened to and watched in our everyday lives? In recent weeks I have seen ads for things I only spoke about in passing conversations such as sugar free honey, DIY barn door kits, and cat trees shaped like trees. None of my previous search history should cause these ads to be targeted at me, which we all know is how ads work today.
The only logical answer is Big Tech and Social media are watching our every move. The best way to combat this is to never have your location on unless you have to, use search engines that don’t track your history, and don’t set up voice recognition on your phone. These actions won’t completely cut your traceability but they will make you just a little harder to find out there in the interwebs.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Caylee Anthony was born in august of 2005 this year she should have been turning 16 this year. She should be out with her friends, getting her license, going to school dances. She would be doing sports or maybe she would be an artist. Caylee Anthony doesn’t get to do any of that because her life was cut short during the summer of 2008 when she was almost three years old. She never got a chance to live her life.
Caylee Anthony was loved by so many people who were involved in her life. Her grandparents would take her swimming often, she loved to play with her toys, she was your typical toddler. She lived with her mother and grandparents up until her death. The cause of death for Caylee Anthony is currently undetermined. Her skeletal remains were found December of 2008 and the famous Dr.G medical examiner was unable to determine a definite cause of death but she did rule the case a homicide. Who was responsible for ending the life of this beautiful little girl?
Casey Anthony’s Lies
The only person who ever stood trial for the death of Caylee Anthony was her mother Casey Anthony. Every single piece of evidence pointed to her being involved in Caylee’s death. All this evidence is laid out in the podcast Momma Kirby’s Murder Mysteries. You can also find real 911 audios and links to videos of the full trial and interviews with Casey Anthony in the facebook group Momma Kirby’s Murder Mysteries – Fan Talk.
Casey lied to investigators, her family and friends, and the world about what happened to Caylee and even about mundane day to day things. She would tell people Caylee was in multiple places when she wasn’t. There are even instances where she’s told someone Caylee was in one place then told someone else she was in another place at the same time. She claimed to have been an event planner at Orlando studios. This was a lie. She claimed she had a nanny named “zanny.” This person did not exist. She claimed someone had kidnapped Caylee and would not give her back. This was a lie. Casey Anthony would lie and tell bigger lies in order to cover them up.
Casey Anthony’s Lies on Trial
During her trial, Casey’s lawyer told everyone in the courtroom that Caylee Anthony was not a victim of homicide but a victim of accidental drowning in her family’s swimming pool. While he cross examined witnesses he would often speak over them and ask them the same question multiple times in a row. The judge would often have to tell Casey’s lawyer to allow the witness to speak and finish speaking before asking a new question. The claim he made about Caylee passing in the swimming pool has zero physical evidence to support it. This move in court is what, I believe, led to Casey Anthony’s not guilty verdict despite all of the physical evidence against her. The verdict caused an audible gasp in the courtroom and in living rooms across the nation as we all watched the trial unfold live. If her mother wasn’t responsible for murdering Caylee then who could have been? No one else has ever been investigated… at least no one who actually existed. Does this mean Caylee will never have the justice she deserves? Make sure to listen to the hour long Caylee Anthony Podcast.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Facebook removed a video of Donald Trump doing an interview with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump. The interview was for Lara’s show “The Right View.” Facebook says the removal of the interview is due to Trump’s multiple indefinite social media bans. The removal shows just how far Facebook is willing to enforce its suspension, which followed the riot in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
They Want to Erase Donald Trump
Lara Trump was rightfully upset about her father-in-law being censored; censorship in the media seems like something that goes against the first amendment. “This is not the country we want to live in. This is something that happens in communist countries, guys. But, I think the message here is they want to erase Donald Trump.” Lara said in an interview with Fox. “They want you to forget he ever existed. They don’t want you to see him, they don’t want you to hear from him. Look away, move on, shut up and go on about your lives, forget Donald Trump existed. This is really scary stuff.” It is very scary stuff indeed. How can we just remove a Former President from the public eye? An email Lara Trump posted shows a message warning her team about uploading the Facebook video. The email reminded them that “content posted on Facebook and Instagram in the voice of President Trump is not currently allowed on our platform (including new posts with President Trump speaking) and will be removed if posted, resulting in additional limitations on accounts that posted it.”
Facebook’s Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs, wrote at the time that the decision was made in “extraordinary circumstances in which a sitting president was actively fomenting a violent insurrection designed to thwart the peaceful transition of power; five people killed; legislators fleeing the seat of democracy. This has never happened before – and we hope it will never happen again, it was an unprecedented set of events which called for unprecedented action.” The decision to block Trump’s access was praised by Trump critics and the Left but was majorly concerning to Trump supporters and free speech advocates who warned it set a dangerous precedent. They are exactly right, today it is President Trump tomorrow it could be you, if you haven’t experienced extreme censorship on social media already. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has said he is uneasy with Facebook’s power to silence world leaders. Even Bernie Sanders, a major critic of Trump, said he was not comfortable with Big Tech blocking Trump’s access to social media after the Capitol riot. Which social media will Trump be allowed to have again?
Trump Banned by Big Tech
Lara Trump Posted the photo of the email reiterating Trump’s ban on her Instagram saying we are one step closer to Orson Wells novel 1984. It seems like we get closer and closer to having a real life “Big Brother” because of Big Tech. YouTube and other social media companies also indefinitely suspended Trump’s account, censoring him almost completely. Snapchat and Twitter permanently banned Trump. YouTube said it would lift Trump’s ban when the risk of violence was over. Facebook has left the decision in the hands of an advisory board after Trump appealed his ban for both them and Instagram.
Even if all of these options fail Donald Trump has a plan B. Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the former president would return to social media with his own social network if all else fails. “I do think that we’re going to see President Trump returning to social media, probably in about two or three months here, with his own platform,” Miller recently told Fox News. “This is something that I think will be the hottest ticket in social media. It’s going to completely redefine the game. And everybody is going to be waiting and watching to see what President Trump does, but it will be his own platform.” Parler has offered the former President a 40% ownership in exchange for making Parler his main social media account. It is unclear how involved Trump actually was in negotiations and whether or not the deal pushed through. It is very clear, however, Trump will thankfully not be silenced anytime soon.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Governor Andrew Cuomo has been accused of some horrible things recently. The accusations range from asking a woman to learn Danny Boy for his own pleasure and groping an aide under her blouse. So far there are 10 accusers, the most recent coming out of the Rochester area. Members of the Democratic party have even called for him to resign including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. The accusations go back years so it is surprising that he has not come under scrutiny until now.
Cuomo Asked to Resign
Gilibrand did not know about the most recent accusation when she said “I don’t know any details about the most recent accusation, as I’ve said previously allegations to date have been serious and concerning because of the nature of the allegations. now, with possibly nine accusers, I think it’s going to be very difficult for the governor to do his job given that he’s lost the support of most of his governing partners, which is why I suggested he should resign.” Cuomo’s attorney released a statement concerning the most recent allegations against him. “During times of crisis, the governor has frequently sought to comfort New Yorkers with hugs and kisses. As I have said before, the governor has greeted both men and women with hugs, a kiss on the cheek, forehead or hand for the past forty years.” This seems to be a pretty weird excuse especially in this day and age where classes about sexual assault and what constitutes as sexual assault is taught in many work places.
The Victim’s Stories
Sherry Vill of Greece, N.Y., said that Cuomo kissed her while visiting her home in 2017 after it was damaged in a flood. Her son even caught the moment on camera. Gloria Allred, Sherry Vill’s attorney, said Cuomo suddenly grabbed Vill’s face and kissed her in front of her home during the visit. According to Vill, who is married, the governor told her “you are beautiful.” “I felt embarrassed and weird…I felt he was coming on to me in my own home,” Vill also said Cuomo invited her to an event to which he did not invite any other members of her family. “Cuomo said, ‘That’s what Italians do kiss both cheeks,'” Vill told reporters in an online news conference.
Charlotte Bennett, a health policy adviser in the Democratic governor’s administration until November, told The New York Times Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she ever had sex with older men. Bennett was a new aide in the Executive Chamber when Cuomo told her to learn the song lyrics to “Danny Boy.” When she wouldn’t sing the song for him later in the day Cuomo started singing it himself to get Bennett to join in. While this incident took place there was a witness in the room, Melissa DeRosa. Her lawyer, Debra Katz, said “Instead of DeRosa saying to the governor, you need to stop this, he continued to press her to sing Danny Boy, which is really humiliating, and when she doesn’t do it, he starts singing Danny Boy with this booming voice and says ‘Sing with me, sing with me.”
Lindsey Boylan A former member of Cuomo’s administration says he once kissed her on the lips without consent. Boylan said that during her three years in the Democrat’s administration, Cuomo “would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs.” He also compared her to one of his ex-girlfriends and remarked they should play strip poker together.
Cuomo’s current aide Alyssa McGrath alleges Cuomo harassed her by peering down her blouse and commenting on her necklace, asking about the status of her divorce, among other incidents. Alyssa McGrath told the New York Times that the unidentified accuser confided to her how Cuomo touched her breast under her blouse. “She froze when he started doing that stuff to her,” McGrath stated. “He told her specifically not to tell me,” McGrath said. She also said Cuomo was well aware of her and the unidentified aide’s friendship and regular communication.
These are not all of the current allegations but just these alone are troubling to think about. This is one of the leaders of our country yet some of our precious citizens feel scared and threatened by him. This wouldn’t be the first time people have feared Cuomo, he has the reputation of being a bully.
Other Reasons Cuomo should Resign
New York City public advocate, Jumaane Williams, described Cuomo’s aggressive behavior as “kind of an open secret.” Cynthia Nixon, who ran against Cuomo in the Democratic primary, said, “We’ve all seen it: Andrew the bully. He bullies other elected officials. He bullies anyone who criticizes him.” Just last month, New York Assemblyman Ron Kim said Cuomo called him and threatened to “destroy” him if he didn’t support Cuomo during the nursing home scandal. The scandal in itself is another major reason for concern. If you haven’t heard about it, don’t worry I’ll give you a brief rundown. The outrage was based on a number of decisions made by Cuomo. First, he required nursing homes to accept Covid-19-positive patients when New York’s hospitals were overflowing. He then decided to hide data about deaths of nursing home residents. Court orders, leaks, and investigations revealed that Cuomo dramatically and intentionally understated the pandemic’s toll on nursing home residents in New York.
This is a corrupt leader. He lies to us, makes some of our own feel unsafe in their workplace, and is known to be a bully by his colleagues. Cuomo should resign from his political position because as a leader of our country he is held to a standard which he is not meeting. We can not allow corrupt leaders to stay in office. We need honest, compassionate, and well mannered individuals to run our cities, states, and most of all our country.
Written by: Erinn Malloy
JonBenet Patricia Ramsey was in pageants and by all accounts loved them. She loved to sing, dance, and entertain any chance she got. She was a child who loved life and was very happy. She was born August 6th, 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia to parents John Benet and Patricia Patsy Ramsey. She had an older brother named Burke. Patricia “Patsy” Ramsey was former Miss West Virginia and battled cancer off and on her whole life until 2006 when she passed away. John Ramsey was a successful businessman. The family’s world was shattered when JonBenet was murdered just six years after her birth. You can listen to 1360 KHNC’s new upcoming podcast Momma Kirby’s Murder Mysteries on JonBenet Ramsey’s murder case.
JonBenet Murdered
A 911 call came in around 6 am the morning after Christmas. Patsy Ramsey begged the dispatcher to send the police because her daughter had been kidnapped. She gave the dispatcher a few details about the ransom note she held in her hands. Officers showed up to the scene quickly and began looking for JonBenet. Her body was found by her father and his friend Fleet White after the police had already searched the home twice. JonBenet was bludgeoned, strangled, and sexually assaulted resulting in her death on Christmas night 1996.
The police at the time didn’t have proper resources and stayed focused on the Ramsey family as suspects. The media took this case and ran wild with it resulting in the world crucifying the Ramseys in the court of public opinion before they were ever looked at by a Grand Jury. The Grand Jury voted to indict the Ramseys for helping cover up their child’s brutal murder. The D.A. asked famous homicide detective Lou Schmitt to investigate the murder. He believed that the Ramsey’s were not responsible. This led to the D.A. saying they did not have enough evidence to indict the Ramseys. If you would like more information about evidence related to both theories you should check out my podcast Momma Kirby’s Murder Mysteries. I present the evidence in unsolved cases and allow you to make your own assumptions. I am using my voice to make sure victims of unsolved homicides are never forgotten.
The Hunt for JonBenet’s Killer Continues
Lou Schmitt’s family continues to investigate JonBenet’s case. The case is currently still open with the Boulder Police Department. A D.A. exonerated the family in 2008 two years after Patsy Ramsey lost her battle with cancer. On her deathbed she asked Lou Schmitt to catch JonBenet’s killer. She also made arrangements for Burke Ramsey in the event someone ever accused him of killing his sister. During a hearing for a lawsuit against an investigator, who theorized Burke had killed his sister on a documentary about the case, Burke Ramsey’s lawyer told the judge he had promised Patsy on her deathbed he would defend Burke against accusations all the way to a court of law. The only known arrest for the murder of JonBenet Ramsey was a man who was later found to be someone who just wanted some sort of sick fame. Over the years many theories have come out surrounding JonBenet’s death. What do you think happened?
Cancel culture is now, unfortunately, a phenomenon ingrained into the background of life, politics, branding, social media, small social circles, and the workplace. In this series we look at people, businesses, and movements that have been cancelled. The first installment gave us some insight on the origins of cancel culture and the Witch Hunt it has become. Our last installments told us about how MyPillow CEO, Demi Lovato, and even Dr.Seuss have been affected by the movement. We also looked at a letter from Harper’s Magazine which criticizes cancel culture. Cancel culture, which former President Donald Trump called “the very definition of totalitarianism,” describes the phenomenon of frequent public pile-ons criticizing a person, business, movement, or idea. In this installment we will look at Meyer Leonard, Mr. Potato head, and Jimmy Fallon.
NBA Cancels Meyers Leonard
The Heat has removed Meyers Leonard indefinitely after he made offensive comments on a twitch live stream. Leonard was then traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder and was dropped from the team as of yesterday. He was using foul language and used remarks that are offensive to the jewish community. Leonard, who was already out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, apologized with a statement that read in part: “I am deeply sorry for using an anti-Semitic slur during a livestream yesterday. While I didn’t know what the word meant at the time, my ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong.” Some members of the Jewish community dont believe Leonard should be cancelled. New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who is Jewish, was among those who reached out Wednesday in hopes of educating Leonard — even inviting him to a Shabbat dinner when Edelman is in Miami. “Today we need to be about building bridges and not tearing those bridges down and throwing that person on the other side and saying, ‘I’m done with you,’” said Rabbi Andrew Jacobs of Ramat Shalom Synagogue in Plantation. “It’s an opportunity not to eliminate this player, not to sweep the situation under the rug and pretend it never happened, but to give him an opportunity to learn. And in turn, all of those fans of his can learn from him, and we can teach a whole new generation of people this important lesson.” The Jewish community seems intent on mending the bridge with Leonard and educating ignorance rather than completely writing him off. What happens when someone does something openly racist and isn’t cancelled for it until years later? This is the situation with our next case Jimmy Fallon.
Jimmy Fallon Cancelled For Black Face
Jimmy Fallon’s return to The Tonight Show began on a serious note addressing controversy after a 4video resurfaced of Fallon in blackface. He wore blackface while doing an impression of Chris Rock in 2000 on Saturday Night Live. He issued an apology on Twitter saying the decision was terrible and unquestionably offensive. Fallon said he was advised “to just be quiet and to not say anything” about the incident for fear of further criticism. Fallon did not follow that advice when he spoke out upon his return to The Tonight Show. “I’m not going to have a normal show tonight. I’m going to have a different kind of show,” Fallon said on air. “I’m going to start this personally and then expand out because that’s where we all need to start: with ourselves and looking at ourselves in the mirror.” Fallon then welcomed onto the program NAACP President Derrick Johnson, who called the opening monologue “powerful.” Fallon later spoke with CNN anchor Don Lemon, who also praised the comedian for his opening. People seem to be open to the star’s apology.
Mr. Potato Head Cancelled?
This seems to be a case of mistaken cancel culture? You be the judge. The media was reporting not too long ago that Mr.& Mrs. Potato Head had been cancelled. Hasbro created the confusion when it announced that it would drop the “Mr.” from the brand’s name in order to be more inclusive and so all could feel “welcome in the Potato Head world.” It also said it would sell a new play set this fall without the Mr. and Mrs. designations that will let kids create their own type of potato families, including two moms or two dads.
Hasbro appears to want to expand the brand, while not killing off its most iconic characters, which appeared in the Toy Story franchise. “While it was announced today that the POTATO HEAD brand name & logo are dropping the ‘MR.’ I yam proud to confirm that MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD aren’t going anywhere and will remain MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD,” the company tweeted in response to the confusion. What do you think of Hasbro dropping the Mr. and how they handled the confusion?
Cancelling originally started as a movement in 2017 to take platforms away from people who didn’t deserve them. Cancel Culture, when used the way it has been recently, goes against one of the first layers of our country’s foundation, the first amendment. We shouldn’t cancel ignorance, we should educate it. We should also forgive people who make the correct steps to fix and own their mistakes as long as they learn from them. “We live in the age of cancel culture, but this isn’t something that started this week. It is something that they have been doing to us and others for years,” Eric Trump told The Associated Press. A movement that was designed to make society a more positive place and hold people of higher status accountable has left us walking on eggshells on social media, in the workplace, and within our own groups of “friends.”
Written by: Erinn Malloy
Biden is showing a markedly different approach in foreign policy by comparison to former president Donald Trump. Biden has been criticized by the media for being weak on both China and Russia. However, I see him as weak on China and tough on Russia, though Putin sees weakness in him. Biden vowed to be tougher on both countries, with Democrats continually bringing up Russia collusion stories. The best thing to come out of the collusion accusations were not facts, but Trump x Putin fan-fictions and satire. Look on YouTube or the Internet for such entertainment. I do not believe that there ever was such collusion, but the idea of them together romantically always really made me laugh. So the real question is how tough Trump was on China and Russia and how Biden is doing in comparison.
Trump on China
Trump began his term by launching the trade war with China he promised on the campaign trail. By mid-2020, Trump was no longer in the forefront of Chinese policy, because he became increasingly consumed by domestic troubles (mostly due to COVID). This gave his aids clearance to pursue tough-on-China policies. It is important to note that Trump alone did not shape the China relationship, but his trade war destroyed global norms and paved the way for the pursuit of policies that were unthinkable beforehand. Trump and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen talking on the phone in 2016 was an early mark in the shift. It was the first direct contact between top US and Taiwanese officials since at least 1979. In 2017, Trump started the trade war by levying tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese goods. In 2018, Trump started cooperating with agencies and departments. The National Security Strategy’s Indo-Pacific was approved, and a Trump-era China strategy began to emerge. The US Pacific Command changed its name to Indo-Pacific Command in a move seen as countering China’s rise. The Department of Justice launched its China Initiative, an effort to disrupt China’s covert activities in the US. In 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became a leading figure in the US push against China, publicly accusing the Chinese Communist Party of seeking “international domination”. In 2020, after years of tariffs and negotiations the Phase One trade deal is signed. With the trade deal signed, Trump allowed staff across agencies to push through long-desired actions on China-related issues. Trump was also bold enough to blame China for the virus, something the WHO tried to get out of.
Trump on Russia
Trump joked with Putin about not colluding, though one of the first things Trump did was to sanction Russian people involved in an election interference attempt. Depending on whether Trump was guilty or not of collusion, it was either to look good or to truly try to stop election interference. Trump took policies against Russian support for the Maduro regime in Venezuela and the Assad regime in Syria. Trump also took policies to support Ukraine, supply the country with weapons, and sanction Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions were given for poisonings and the harm of political opponents. What was puzzling was why despite all this, Putin appeared to like Trump. After a lot of research, it looks like Putin liked Trump’s willingness to negotiate and focus on ways the two countries could cooperate. Trump was willing to negotiate with a variety of actors in the international arena that other politicians were unwilling to negotiate with. The US and Russia cooperate on nonproliferation (try to prevent the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction), counterterrorism, scientific research, Arctic management, public health, and the mission to build a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. The US Department of State claims that the “long-term goal of the United States is to see Russia become a constructive stakeholder in the global community”. If Trump could not bring a lot more cooperation, at least he got into less confrontation than Biden did with Putin.
Biden Policies so Far
The Biden administration has gotten into conflict with both China and Russia. The Chinese summit in Alaska was rough, and both sides took jabs at each other to appeal to reporters. China and Russia both appealed to Black Lives Matter, pointing to it as a sign of domestic weakness. Putin himself challenged Biden to a public debate to humiliate him. He added sarcastic remarks about his health to challenge his virility. Both countries see Biden as weak, and an administration they can insult without facing punishment. Biden, it appears, does not have the same future of positive cooperation with either country.
Where Putin praised Trump, he insults Biden. A Chinese official claimed that “the US could not speak from a position of strength”. China must be weakened to be negotiated with, and Trump did that relatively effectively with his trade war to lead up to his Phase One deal. Biden does not exude the same level of intimidation Trump did. Biden will need to change his approach or face problems from both countries. There is some hope with Biden sanctions over Uyghur human rights abuses, though he has yet to take the hard stances Trump did.
Written by: Miranda Smith
