University of Mary Washington Students for Justice in Palestine Justify Hamas Massacre

/in , , , , , , , , /by

On Saturday, October 7, 2023, an estimated 2,900 heavily armed Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s border fence with Gaza. This incursion resulted in numerous war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, beheadings of children, rape, kidnappings, and desecration of bodies.

Hamas shared videos of these atrocities on social media. They even shared them with accounts of the victims’ families.

Prior to the Hamas massacre, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) had a barely noticeable presence at the University of Mary Washington (UMW SJP). They had only ever posted three times on Instagram. However, on Oct 7th, while Hamas was still engaged in attacks on Israeli men, women and children, the SJP chapter became active.

The harrowing incidents on October 7th, where over 1,200 Israelis fell victim to Hamas’ brutality, galvanized this group into action. Instead of condemning the heinous acts of Hamas, UMW SJP justified them and even shifted the blame onto Israel.

Since October 7th, their activity has surged. From just a few posts, to organizing protests and issuing statements, UMW SJP has chosen a very telling time to become vocal in their support for the ‘resistance.’

On November 15th, 2023, Siham Alfred, a UMW Mathematics professor, and her husband Joe Alfred, a member of the UMW Elderstudy program, conducted a teach-in sponsored by SJP at UMW. The event was advertised as providing a “comprehensive academic understanding of the historical relationship between the US and Palestine-Israel.”

During their presentation, which the university-affiliated couple claims to have delivered multiple times, both Alfreds distorted historical facts, propagated conspiracy theories about 9/11 and allegations of Jewish control in America, espoused the antisemitic notion that spitting on Christians is a “Jewish tradition” justified the Hamas massacre from October 7th and denied the Semitic heritage of Jews.

Siham Alfred – UMW Mathematics Professor

“The Christians walk into Jerusalem on the day we carry the cross and some Jews spit on them. That’s part of the Jewish tradition. They have to spit on Christians.”

Joe Alfred – UMW Elder Study Member

“Maybe you don’t like the way Hamas went about it, but Palestinians certainly have a right to resist.”

“So the causes that are cited sometimes for this [October 7th] Hamas attack is that there was no progress on Palestine-Israel, there’s no progress on the two-state solution because the Zionist leaders never wanted a two-state solution.”

“One of the most fundamental issues to understand…is that the Palestinians did not go to Europe and kill the Jews, whereas the Zionists came to Palestine and killed the Palestinians and took their land.”

“The Jewish Agency was quite involved in the United States…and the people that were involved with them were…Not actually Jewish. The better term is gangsters. Zionist gangsters.”

“The Israelis have been continuing to destroy Palestine every day in almost every way they can.”

“Most of our politicians today are actually paid out of AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee], which is a lobby group.”

As the horrific events of October 7th unfolded, UMW SJP reposted a series of text-based posts with the caption: “REPOST | Questions to keep in mind with the oncoming news cycle.”

These posts appeared amidst the ongoing reporting of the mass terror event carried out by Hamas. The posts were as follows:

UMW SJP chose specifically to post this image carousel to its Instagram page while the full extent of the horrific acts committed by Hamas was still being revealed.

Each one of these slides is a crass distraction from the horrors that were still being reported upon and a poorly veiled attempt to redirect the blame towards Israel. SJP chapters across North America have been noted for justifying and attributing blame to Israel for the loss of hundreds of Israeli civilians.

Mary Washington Students Sign Statement Justifying the Massacre

On October 11th, 2023, UMW SJP co-signed a statement titled “Statement on the Current Situation in Palestine,” justifying Hamas’ actions. This statement, endorsed by five other groups, advocated for “a free Palestine” and supported “Palestinian resistance.”

Despite harrowing news of Hamas committing atrocities against Israeli civilians — families burned alive, attendees of a music festival shot en masse, and the rape and murder of women — UMW SJP cited a “consistent dehumanization of Palestinian people resisting genocide” on their campus.

Their stance was unequivocal, as they concluded the statement:

“Now you know where we stand and what we will advocate for… Action is necessary.”

Text of Statement #1:

Statement on the Current Situation in Palestine

October 11, 2023

The University of Mary Washington’s Students for Justice in Palestine, Radical Student Union, American Student Union, Young Democratic Socialists of America, the Fredericksburg Democratic Socialists of America, and Socialist Revolution stand in support of the decolonization of Palestine and the liberation of the Palestinian people. We support the right to resist for Palestinians living under the Israeli zionist occupation. We call for the international community to acknowledge and condemn Israeli war crimes and continued genocide.

Any loss of of life is tragic. However, we acnowledge that over 75 years of colonization, ethnic cleansing, lack of human rights, and blatant oppression will warrant a resistance that requires more than words and peaceful protest to achieve liberation. The endless siege on Gaza and the consistent attacks against Palestinians by the IOF and settlers are unacceptable. The IOF’s bombing of Gaza in response to the events this week is barbaric and has resulted in several massacres. Regardless of where you stand on any of the aspects of Israel-Palestine, the brutality inflicted on Gaza and the Palestinian people is not equal nor equitable. Israel is backed by international support, politically and economically; the Palestinian people have been stripped of adequate resources to resist or defend themselves against the Israeli government’s barrage. This is not a war or a conflict, it is systemic genocide. This is not new, you just haven’t been paying attention.

Decolonization includes the liberation of a colonized people from the grasp of their colonizers. When the colonization has been material, the decolonization must be as well. Systemic violence and genocide creeps into every crevice, and discourses and acknowledgements of Israeli violence has never proved to sway the colonizers.

We as a collective of groups at the University of Mary Washington and Fredericksburg community call for a free Palestine, and support Palestinian resistance and human rights. We call on all those who identify as “allies” to the Palestinian liberation movement to take the opportunity to advocate and educate. The consistent dehumanization of Palestinian people resisting genocide is prevalent on our campus, especially this week. American Universities should stop their investments in arms industry and cease any collaboration with Israel. Now you know where we stand and what we will advocate for. Remember that peace cannot exist without justice and in an apartheid state. Action is necessary.

In hope and until liberation,

UMW SJP, UMW RSU, UMW ASU, UMW YDSA, FXB DSA, SA

Following significant backlash for their apparent endorsement of Hamas’ actions and a scheduled campus demonstration, UMW SJP issued a second statement. This statement presented mixed messages: it attempted to deny the clear support for Hamas from the previous statement, while maintaining that the blame of the tragic event and subsequent war still lay with Israel.

The statement read, “The University of Mary Washington Students for Justice in Palestine, Radical Student Union, American Student Union, and Socialist Revolution stand by our October 11th statement.”

In their response, UMW SJP attempted to clarify their position, stating, “we do not support Hamas as some have claimed.” Nonetheless, they persisted with misleading criticisms of Israel, asserting, “[Israel has] promoted a systematic terror campaign…The present conflict is the inevitable result of this. Hence, our protest demands, previous statement, and continued support of both.”

The statement concluded by noting that the University of Mary Washington Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA UMW) had withdrawn support for the October 11th statement and the planned protest. YDSA UMW issued an apology: “Upon further reflection, and after listening to our community, we no longer feel the demonstration is appropriate. We apologize to the Jewish community and any others who felt threatened by this demonstration.”

On October 12, 2023, UMW SJP held a “Decolonize Palestine Protest” at Market Square in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The event was in support of the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel that targeted Israeli civilians for murder, torture and kidnapping.

UMW SJP’s event was part of a National SJP (NSJP) “National Day of Resistance” which mobilized anti-Israel student groups in the U.S. and Canada to hold protests condemning Israel’s response to Hamas as “genocidal.” NSJP’s event tool kit called for “dismantling Zionism” and described Hamas’s war crimes as a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance” and “both morally just and politically necessary.”

Protesters at the UMW SJP event held signs accusing Israel of “war crimes” and “genocide.” One protester held a sign that read: “Resist and Liberate.”

EDITORS NOTE: This Canary Mission column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Kamala’s Jihad

/in , , , , , , , /by

Why Kamala is siding with Islamists over Israel.

In December 2015, after a husband and wife pair of Islamic terrorists shot up a Christmas party in San Bernardino, Kamala Harris, then the Attorney General of California, convened a session on “Islamophobia” that included the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Muslim Student Association: all of which had defended Islamic terrorists.

With 130 dead in France and 13 murdered in her own state, Kamala gathered a group that included Islamic terror supporters to argue that even after “the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino”, it was wrong “to stoke fear and cast aspersions against an entire faith and the millions of law-abiding American Muslims”.

After the Islamic mass murders of over 1,000 Israelis, Kamala returned to pushing “Islamophobia”. In the speech that he delivered three days after the massacres, she urged Biden to include a line about “Islamophobia” because of the way that Muslims had supposedly ‘suffered’ from it after the Islamic terrorist attacks killed thousands on September 11.

Next month in November, she unveiled a push to fight “Islamophobia”, not antisemitism. It was Kamala who pressed Biden to be more open to Islamist groups and their complaints, driving him to profusely apologize for questioning the civilian casualty numbers coming out of Hamas.

And it was she who voiced the highest level criticisms of Israel’s war on Hamas.

In Dubai, Kamala claimed that, “too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating.”

This was the rhetoric that Biden would shortly adopt.

In her Dubai speech, Kamala set limits on what Israel could do. There would be no permanent return of Israeli forces to Gaza and no “siege or blockade”. Instead, Gaza would be reconstructed and the terrorist forces of the Palestinian Authority strengthened to take it over.

Kamala’s hostility came as a surprise to some Jewish Democrats who had been sold on the idea of her as an AIPAC supporter and who had mostly seen pictures of her with her Jewish husband, Douglas Emhoff, who has taken the lead in holding conversations about antisemitism.

But whatever Emhoff’s beliefs are, he does not make policy anymore than Jill Biden did under Obama. It’s his wife who actually does make policy and whose biases are becoming clearer.

Kamala has a history of enabling ugly views by Islamic terrorist supporters against Israel.

In 2021, Kamala nodded along at George Mason University as a student ranted that funding for Israel’s anti-missile defense system, the Iron Dome, “hurts my heart because it’s an ethnic genocide”. Then the vice president responded with, “your voice, your perspective, your experience, your truth, should not be suppressed.”

After Rep. Ilhan Omar’s antisemitic “benjamins” comment, Kamala, then a senator, defended Omar, touting the threat of “Islamophobia” and expressing concern that “the spotlight being put on Congresswoman Omar may put her at risk.”

Kamala went on to say that, “there is a difference between criticism of policy or political leaders, and anti-Semitism.”

Most people tended to ignore these remarks because Kamala had a history of inept and clumsy responses, but her reaction to the Hamas attacks shows that they were not accidental.

Since the Oct 7 Hamas atrocities, Kamala has expressed sympathy for Israel, but has also become the administration’s highest profile internal critic, pressuring Biden to be less pro-Israel. A Politico report described how “a person close to the vice president’s office said she believes the United States should be ‘tougher’ on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”

The problem with Kamala is the same one that manifested after the San Bernardino Christmas Party massacre. Kamala is close to Islamist groups and leftists and sympathetic to their views.

Those views are hostile to Israel and to America, and supportive of Islamic terrorism.

During her time in the California political establishment, Kamala developed a relationship with CAIR and MPAC. And through her sister, Maya Harris, formerly of the ACLU, she may have developed further connections with other leftist and Islamist activists. While Kamala does not have the same Islamic family background as Obama, like him she has closer ties to people from the Muslim world. And, much like Obama, her sympathy leans more toward Islam than Israel.

Like Obama, Kamala tends to speak of Jews in terms of sitcom stereotypes and clichés. She mimics meeting her future mother-in-law in a routine that could have come from SNL’s ‘Verklempt’ sketch, but she has no meaningful connections beyond her marriage to a man whose own daughter raises money for Gaza and identifies as not being Jewish.

Kamala claims that she has a Muslim friend who lost someone in Gaza, but no mention of any Jewish friends who did. After Islamic terrorist attacks, whether in California, France or Israel, Kamala worries more about “Islamophobia” toward Muslims than the suffering of their victims.

In July 2016, Kamala appeared at a Ramadan event at the Islamic Center of Southern California, which spun off the previously mentioned Muslim Public Affairs Council, and whose founders had expressed support for Islamic terrorism, to denounce “Islamophobia”.

A month earlier, an Islamic terrorist had killed 49 people at a nightclub in Florida. Kamala, who was running for the Senate, mentioned this attack among others, including those in San Bernardino and Paris, and blamed them on “mental illness and violent extremism”.

And she claimed that Muslims were suffering from a rash of “Islamophobia” caused by hate.

Kamala’s criticism of Israel for defending itself against Islamic terrorism is just a repetition of the rhetoric that her not especially long political career has trained her to deploy after terror attacks. It doesn’t matter whether the attacks are in America, Israel or anywhere else in the world, instead of siding with the victims, she will claim that the real problem is “Islamophobia”.

While Doug Emhoff reassures the Jews, his wife empathizes with their killers.

AUTHOR

DANIEL GREENFIELD

RELATED ARTICLES:

Italy: Catholic Church funds illegal migration, activists brag about not having to work due to Church donations

It is Antisemitism That Sustains, In Defiance of the Evidence, the Belief that ‘Jews Financed the Slave Trade’

France: Muslim migrant who had been ordered to leave the country screams ‘Allahu akbar,’ threatens bus passengers

Germany: Muslim migrant mob beats Jewish man

Islam and Criminal Law

Jews Did Not Finance the Atlantic Slave Trade

NYC: Hamas supporter tears down restaurant’s US-Israeli flag, assaults employee

Australia: Muslim preacher says Hamas-Israel war must be spark to ‘final solution,’ a caliphate

U.S. Ambassador to Qatar hails ‘U.S.-Qatar partnership,’ says nothing about its harboring of Hamas top dogs

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

‘War On Families’: Federal ‘Home Visiting’ Program Classifies Parents Who Don’t Let Young Kids Cross-Dress As Potentially Abusive

/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

A federally funded “home visiting” program advises service providers to watch for signs of abuse against “gender-diverse children,” citing parents who deny their young child the “right” to cross-dress as an example, a document shows.

The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program is intended to combat abuse and neglect while promoting “positive parenting” and school readiness among “pregnant people and families” with young children who are at-risk for “poor maternal and child health outcomes,” according to its website. The guidance offered to government workers who visit homes at the request of families categorizes steering a child away from “gender expression” that does not correspond with his or her biological sex as abuse.

One document titled “Parental Acceptance of Gender Expression in Young Children” tells home visitors it is important for them to “recognize and address the abuse and neglect that may result, either directly or indirectly, from rejection of a child’s gender expression.”

“Gender-diverse children are frequently the targets of violence or harm — by other children, caregivers, or family members,” the document states.

Abuse need not be “overt,” it explains, but can look like “denying a child the right to play, dress, and act as they would like.”

“Home visitors are uniquely positioned to support family acceptance of children’s gender expression,” the document instructs. “Home visiting, at its core, is dedicated to building strong parent-child bonds in all families. Acceptance of gender expression is key to forging and maintaining these bonds.”

The document further claims that accepting a child’s gender expression can “protect against depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicidal attempts.” However, studies have cast doubt on the idea that affirming a child’s gender identity leads to better mental health outcomes.

Doctors have also expressed concerns that statistics about transgender suicide rates are not only inflated, but that activists’ frequent focus on the numbers may actually drive children with gender identity issues to suicide by creating a “self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“It is insane to vilify parents simply for wanting their gender-confused children to feel comfortable in their own bodies,” American Principles Project president Terry Schilling told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “If anyone is guilty of abuse, it is the gender ideologues who feed kids the pernicious lie that they can somehow change their sex, setting them on a pathway to destructive body modifications.”

The program is run by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), which is part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a subagency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It awards grants to states that carry out approved “home visiting” programs for at-risk “pregnant people and families” with young children.

An HRSA spokesperson told the DCNF that programs report suspected child abuse “consistent with relevant federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies.”

“Home visitors support parents and caregivers by providing information and guidance on a wide range of topics intended to promote child well-being, including safe sleep practices, injury prevention, and nutrition,” the spokesperson said. “Home visitors also conduct screenings for caregivers and provide referrals to address postpartum depression, substance use, and family violence, and other risk factors associated with child maltreatment.”

The agency awarded $434,721,579 in 2023 to home visitors in 50 states and six territories in fiscal year 2023, according to its website. The program provided over 840,000 home visits in fiscal year 2022, according to a report.

The agency said resources like the “Parental Acceptance of Gender Expression in Young Children” document are “developed to provide background information, research and data, and strategies for program recipients to support improved health and development for all children served by MIECHV programs.”

Schilling said this is “just the latest chilling example of the Biden administration’s war on families.”

“We are rapidly headed down a road where every parent in this country who opposes the transgender agenda risks losing custody of their kids,” he told the DCNF. “The grave threat to families posed by this administration cannot be ignored. Pro-family Americans must fight it at every turn: in Congress and the state legislatures, in the courts, and most importantly, at the ballot box next year.”

A recent rule proposal by the Biden administration’s HHS would transfer children out of foster families that do not affirm their “gender identity,” excluding families with religious objections from their definition of a “safe and appropriate placement” for LGBT youth.

Under the rule, foster care agencies “must not place LGBTQI+ identifying children with a provider who unreasonably limits or denies a child’s ability to express their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”

“For example, to be considered a safe and appropriate placement, a provider is expected to utilize the child’s identified pronouns, chosen name, and allow the child to dress in an age-appropriate manner that the child believes reflects their self-identified gender identity and expression,” the rule continues.

AUTHOR

KATELYNN RICHARDSON

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLES:

EXCLUSIVE: District’s LGBTQ Lesson Plans For Kindergarteners Include Resources From Pro-Sex Change Organization

VIDEO: ‘Why DEI Must End for Good’—Bari Weiss Gets a Lot Right Here

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

AARP Spent Millions Advocating For New Laws That Likely Benefit A Major Corporate Backer

/in , , , , , /by

AARP, an organization that represents the interests of retired Americans, spent tens of millions of dollars promoting provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that likely benefit the bottom line of one of the group’s major corporate backers.

AARP spent more than $60 million between 2019 and summer 2022 advocating for a provision that eventually made it into the IRA allowing Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies over the prices of certain drugs, according to an article posted on the group’s website. The provisions would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate the prices of certain drugs with drug manufacturers starting in 2026.

“We agreed that state directors would drop everything and get on this. Calls started going in to the White House and congressional leaders by 10 a.m. We had never responded to something so quickly,” Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer, said in the article. “Over the next few days more than 400,000 communications from AARP members and activists made it clear to leaders in Washington that taking Medicare prescription drug reform out of the budget package was unacceptable. Members emailed, called, tweeted and posted on Facebook and other social media channels.”

However, experts say that AARP’s article leaves out how the Medicare negotiation requirements would benefit private insurers such as healthcare conglomerate UnitedHealth Group, a major source of AARP’s funding. Additionally, the IRA expands subsidies under the Affordable Care Act to private insurance providers, offering another boon to insurers like UnitedHealth.

“Under the IRA insurers like UnitedHealth are in line for a financial windfall with super-sized subsidies for Obamacare policies and government price controls dictating pricing of many medicines,” wrote Phil Kerpen, the president of the free-market policy advocacy group American Commitment, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization.

AARP receives a significant portion of its funding through royalty agreements with insurance companies, who use AARP’s brand to market their products. These agreements have historically provided a greater share of AARP’s revenue than dues paid by retirees, a DCNF review of the organization’s financial documents found.

UnitedHealth pays AARP royalties to use the group’s brand to market insurance plans. AARP also collects a 4.95% share of monthly payments made to UnitedHealth for insurance on co-branded AARP-UnitedHealth Medigap plans, KFF Health News reported.

AARP received $909 million in corporate royalties in 2017, with 69% of that revenue, or about $627.2 million, coming from UnitedHealth alone. However, that was the last year AARP reported the proportion of its royalties that came from UnitedHealth, making these the most recently available official numbers.

American Commitment estimates that UnitedHealth funded AARP by $732 million in 2022.

AARP did not respond to the DCNF’s inquiry about why it stopped publicly reporting UnitedHealth’s royalty payments.

“The royalty revenue generated is used by AARP in support of our mission to protect Social Security and Medicare, lower prescription drug costs, enable people to save for retirement and support family caregivers,” AARP Senior External Relations Director Colby Nelson said in a statement to the DCNF.

Kerpen told the DCNF that the IRA would directly improve UnitedHealth’s finances by reducing the amount they need to pay to acquire drugs and by extending the subsidies paid to UnitedHealth under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA, which has been commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” was signed into law by former President Obama in 2010.

UnitedHealth is the largest health insurance provider in the United States when measured by market share. The firm has increasingly been moving into the businesses of providing healthcare, spending billions acquiring medical practices and pharmacy benefit managers.

Under the IRA, HHS is obligated to negotiate the prices of certain drugs covered under Medicare Part D with drug manufacturers. Medicare Part D is a program individuals on Medicare can opt into through private insurers that covers most outpatient prescription drugs.

Brand name drugs covered under Medicare Part D are eligible for negotiation under the IRA if they lack generic equivalents or readily available alternative treatments. Pharmaceutical companies that refuse to accept government-imposed drug price ceilings face a steep excise tax.

Chris Jacobs, founder of the health policy research firm Juniper Research Group, told the DCNF that the drug price negotiation provisions in the IRA “would reduce prescription drug costs for United” in a way “that ultimately will benefit the insurance company’s bottom line.”

Jacobs also pointed out that the Obamacare subsidies extended by the IRA “are payable directly to insurance companies” like UnitedHealth.

By subsidizing insurance plans, Jacob argues, the government increased insurance enrollment and incentivized people to purchase more expensive plans, thus generating more revenue for insurance providers.

Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute, told the DCNF that “the insurance companies figure the amount they might be paying for these drugs [under the IRA] would go down.” If insurance companies pay less for drugs, they could expand their profit margins.

Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute, a non-profit, Section 501(c)(3) healthcare policy research organization , told the DCNF that insurance companies are “just looking at their own bottom line, and they’re saying ‘Oh good, if Medicare can pay company ‘X’ a dollar for their pill, we’ll be able to do that too.’”

“Medicare is often the payment standard upon which the private health insurance industry bases their own payments,” Turner explained.

AARP championed the IRA, which experts told the DCNF would benefit its corporate health insurance backers.

The organization expressed gratitude to President Biden for signing the IRA into law in a press release. Jo Ann Jenkins, president and CEO of AARP, called the IRA, which passed without any Republican support in Congress, “a monumental victory.”

In addition to the $60 million it spent between 2019 and 2022 on ads pushing for government drug price negotiations, AARP lobbied Congress to influence the IRA, according to lobbying disclosures.

AARP also “generated 3.6 million emails to lawmakers and flooded congressional offices with hundreds of thousands of phone calls” to push for drug price negotiations, according to its website.

“It is plain common sense that Medicare should negotiate for lower prices,” AARP Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Bill Sweeney told the DCNF.

“For too long, big drug companies got a sweetheart deal that, unbelievably, forced Americans to pay the highest prices in the world,” Sweeny said. “AARP fought hard to end that horrible deal, saving our country and taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.”

AARP did not address the DCNF’s questions about the possible conflict of interest posed by their insurance royalties.

‘Betrayed Seniors’

Some healthcare experts disagree with AARP’s characterization of the IRA, arguing that the drug negotiation provisions could end up harming seniors by discouraging pharmaceutical innovation and production of new drugs.

“AARP betrayed seniors by supporting a regime of price-fixing that will result in fewer new drugs, and therefore reduce the chance of a major breakthrough in Alzheimer’s, cancer, and other leading causes of death,” Kerpen told the DCNF.

Government-imposed price ceilings would make it more difficult for manufacturers to recoup research investments since they would have to sell drugs at lower prices, experts told the DCNF.

“It’s not a negotiation, it is the government dictating to companies that they must charge a price that the government deems itself to be reasonable,” George Mason University law professor Adam Mossoff told the DCNF. “If you are negotiating a price over a house or something of that sort, the other side doesn’t get to impose massive crippling penalties on you … if you decide not to proceed with the negotiations.”

The IRA’s price negotiation system could also have consequences for the supply of existing drugs used by seniors, Mossoff said.

Mossoff argued that the reduced pharmaceutical manufacturer revenue brought on by the IRA’s price negotiation system could impact the supply of existing drugs used by seniors.

“Manufacturers, when they’re not making enough money to even recoup their own expenditures, as a matter of economic necessity make less,” he continued. “Not because they want to, but because they’re being compelled by law to do so.”

A University of Chicago policy brief estimated that the IRA would result in a 12.3% reduction in pharmaceutical research and development. Likewise, the Congressional Budget Office estimated eight fewer new drugs over the next thirty years as a result of the IRA, and University of Chicago scholars estimated 79 fewer new drugs over the next 20 years.

A report produced by the health consultancy firm Vital Transformation, which was cited by the House Budget Committee, estimated there would be up to 139 fewer new therapies over the next ten years as a result of the legislation.

“One of the reasons why senior citizens are living longer in retirement is the fact that the United States is the leader in biomedical research and breakthroughs in new therapies,” Moffitt said. “When we are going to have fewer approvals for new medicines for patients battling neurological diseases or cancer or certain types of infectious disease, that is going to affect people on Medicare.”

The Congressional Budget Office estimated eight fewer new drugs over the next thirty years as a result of the IRA, while a policy brief produced by scholars at the University of Chicago estimated 79 fewer new drugs over the next 20 years. A report produced by the health consultancy firm Vital Transformation and cited by the House Budget Committee estimated there would be up to 139 fewer new therapies over the next ten years as a result of the legislation.

A 2022 survey from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug manufacturer trade association, found that 78% of its members were expecting to cancel some of their drug development projects. The survey also found 95% of PhRMA members expected to develop fewer new uses for medicines following the passage of the IRA.

“One of the reasons why senior citizens are living longer in retirement is the fact that the United States is the leader in biomedical research and breakthroughs in new therapies,” the Heritage Foundation’s Bob Moffit told the DCNF. “When we are going to have fewer approvals for new medicines for patients battling neurological diseases or cancer or certain types of infectious disease, that is going to affect people on Medicare.”

The Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon argued the IRA represented an improvement over the status quo and would likely lead to lower drug prices for seniors. He pointed out that, prior to the IRA, Congress would determine what Medicare paid for drugs, arguing the new negotiation system, with its enforcement mechanisms, would likely yield lower prices for seniors.

Cannon was still critical of the IRA, however, saying that “the best thing we can do is to get the government out of the business of buying drugs.”

While drugs covered under Medicare Part D would become cheaper, Cannon said treatments not covered under the program may become more expensive as a consequence of the IRA and that research and development funding for new drugs could dry up.

UnitedHealth did not respond to the DNCF’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

ROBERT SCHMAD

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: AARP And Drugmaker Lobby Battle It Out Over Trump Administration Rule Aimed At Helping Seniors

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

South Sudanese March In Tel Aviv In Solidarity with Israel

/in , , , , , /by

The courageous South Sudanese freedom fighter Simon Deng and a group of his countrymen are in Tel Aviv to show their solidarity with the Israeli people in their hour of need.

Simon Deng explained: “Their pain is our pain. As a friend, I have to be there when they need me. It was important to me to show solidarity as an African, especially now after the October 7 attacks, and as opposed to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the South African Communist leader Julius Malema, who have called Israel an apartheid state. Malema has organized hundreds of thousands of Africans to denounce Israel for it is alleged practice of apartheid. To me, this is an insult to the Africans who were victims of genuine apartheid. We wanted to show Israelis that when they hear those voices of denunciation, there are also voices on their side.”

Simon also said: “In 1969, when southern Sudan needed defense against jihadis, when 1,500,000 southern Sudanese were slaughtered by Muslims in the name of apartheid and enslavement, only Israel came to our aid. So as a victim of Islamization and enslavement myself, I couldn’t stand by and say nothing. When people are kidnapped and brutalized by people screaming ‘Allahu akbar,’ I know what that means. And so that is the purpose of our mission in Israel: to stand with the Israelis in this time of crisis.”

Along the way, as you can see, some Israelis joined them. The whole world should join them.

AUTHOR

Atlas Shrugs

RELATED ARTICLES:

Jew-Hater Screaming ‘Gas the Jews’ While Spraying Foul Smelling Substance at Jewish Victims In Front of Washington, D.C. Synagogue

Minnesota Adopts New State Flag – From Somalia

Islamic Jew-Haters Storm Take Over NY’s Penn Station, Blast ‘ALLAHU AKBAR” Through Speaker System, Abuse Commuters, Station Staff, and Elie Wiesel’s Son

Suitcases with Millions in Cash Found in Home of Senior Hamas Member

Life-Size Nativity Scene Figures Beheaded

Muslim in the Netherlands Urinates on Pork Section in Supermarket, ““We Don’t Eat Pork!”

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Planned Parenthood’s Trans Hormone Business Is Booming, Creating Thousands Of New Patients ‘For Life’

/in , , , , , , /by

The number of transgender services performed at Planned Parenthood clinics exploded over the past few years as the transgender medical industry became increasingly lucrative, according to data published by the organization’s regional branches.

Planned Parenthood first began providing hormone treatments for transgender patients in 2005, and since then 41 out of 49 regional branches have provided transgender services as of 2022. However, in just the last three years, Planned Parenthood has become dramatically more involved in the gender hormone industry.

Between 2020 and 2022, the number of transgender services performed and/or visits related to transgender treatments at Planned Parenthood clinics increased by roughly 125%, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of available data. Regional branches that made their data available collectively saw 17,036 visits in 2020 compared to 38,337 in 2022, a staggering increase in such a short period of time.

Michael Artigues, president of the American College of Pediatricians, told the DCNF that the increase seen over the last few years is likely due to a number of factors such as transgenderism becoming a growing “social phenomenon,” as well as potential financial incentives.

“You have to be concerned about the fact that there’s always money involved, for sure,” Artigues said. “And you’ve got to question whether or not they’re discerning if someone, in particular minors, have a legitimate condition that requires treatment like gender-affirming therapies, as opposed to a social phenomena and or simply mental health problems.”

While the national Planned Parenthood organization does not publicize data on visits related to transgender medical services, such as gender hormone therapy, 12 of the 41 regional Planned Parenthood branches have released relevant data over the past three years. The remaining branches did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

The regional offices varied in how they tracked gender services, with some tracking gender hormone therapy appointments and others tracking visits to their “gender-affirming care” programs; however, many of the regional Planned Parenthood organizations who published their data saw a substantial increase in visits and/or services performed for transgender individuals. Many clinics currently offer “Transgender Hormone Therapy” including estrogen, testosterone and puberty blockers.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, which has clinics located in California and parts of Nevada, had 1,041 “gender-affirming care visits” in 2020 before jumping to 4,378 visits in 2022 and eventually hitting 9,288 in 2023, according to its annual reports. The clinic offers hormone therapy for patients who are 18 years and older, or for patients 16 to 17 years old who obtain parental consent, according to its website.

Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, located in Oregon, recorded 344 transgender medical visits in 2018-2019 and 533 in 2019-2020. That number of visits went up to 1,066 in 2020-2021, and the following year it was nearly four times higher at 4,129 visits.

Nationwide, Planned Parenthood saw over 35,000 patients for hormone replacement services appointments in 2021, NPR reported. The organization did not disclose the exact number of gender-related visits in its 2022 annual report but instead listed them under “other procedures,” which totaled 256,550 appointments and included services like “pediatric care … other adult preventive care, and high complexity visits, including infertility services.”

Click here to view the Planned Parenthood Transgender Healthcare Services annual totals for Gender Hormone Therapy Infographic.

Several branches said that their transgender services were some of the fastest-growing areas for their clinics. Planned Parenthood Illinois said in its 2022 report that its transgender hormone therapy is “growing faster than any other service.” The report also noted that “gender-affirming care requires a lifelong continuum of social, psychological, behavioral and medical care.”

Stella O’Malley, psychotherapist and executive director of Genspect, an international group that advocates for a “healthy approach to sex and gender,” told the DCNF that she believes Planned Parenthood has gone from the “medical model, where doctors are bound by the principle to ‘first, do no harm,’ to a more business-like approach that lets the buyer beware.”

“The problem with this is that very vulnerable people who are at their lowest often need guidance and support, not a business-like exchange,” O’Malley said. “Doctors aren’t shopkeepers. They are paid very well because they’re in positions of responsibility, and so they need to meet these responsibilities by being sensitive to the needs of the patient. A one-size-fits-all approach that fast-tracks most patients onto a medicalized pathway is profoundly inappropriate.”

Overall, the cross-sex surgery market is projected to be worth $5 billion in 2023, according to Grand View Research, thanks in large part to more and more Americans identifying as transgender. The cost of routine medical visits for a patient on gender hormones would also be significant.

Only a few of the affiliates reviewed by the DCNF list prices for their gender services; Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri lists a “self-pay fee for a visit” at $250, with additional costs added for any lab work, according to its website. All follow-up visits are $200, plus costs to cover lab work as needed.

Planned Parenthood Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley estimates costs of up to $262 for the first visit, as well as $35 for hormone injection training and up to $48 for lab work, according to its website. Any follow-up visits can cost up to $202.

As of 2022, Planned Parenthood Metropolitan New Jersey said that its new patient consultation for transgender hormones ranged anywhere from $92 to $206, while follow-ups were slightly lower, going from $65 to $173, according to a welcome packet.

Scott Newgent, a detransitioner and founder of TReVoices, an organization that works to stop the medical transitioning of children, told the DCNF that the nature of gender hormone treatments, which must be taken continuously for the remainder of a patient’s life, creates potential repeat customers for organizations like Planned Parenthood.

“It doesn’t matter if they decide to transition or stay trans or whatever,” Newgent said. “They’re going to need those synthetic hormones for life. That’s a huge business model.”

Doctors have also raised concerns over the ease with which one can get a prescription for hormone treatments at Planned Parenthood; the Columbia Willamette affiliate, for instance, says on its website that it provides hormone treatments for patients 18 years and older and does not require a letter from a counselor or doctor recommending hormones for gender dysphoria. Patients can get a prescription after the initial hour-and-a-half appointment.

Erica Anderson, who is transgender and the former president of the U.S. Professional Association for Transgender Health, said that patients have circumvented more traditional methods of getting hormones because it takes too long, opting to go to Planned Parenthood instead, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

Click here to view Planned Parenthood Trangender Healthcare Services Infographic.

The DCNF also reviewed an additional eight branches that released only partial data in their annual reports between 2020 and 2022. Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest recorded only 22 “gender-affirming” hormone therapy telehealth visits in 2020 but did not include any data regarding in-person health care center visits for hormone therapy in its annual report.

In 2021, the branch saw 829 telehealth and health care center visits for gender hormones, and in 2022 had 2,426, according to its annual reports.

Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri saw 238 visits between July 2020 and June 2021 as it rolled out its “transgender care program,” according to its annual report. Between July 2021 and June 2022, visits for hormone therapy jumped to 1,657.

Click here to view the Planned Parenthood Transgender Healthcare Services 2020 – 2022 Infographic

Planned Parenthood California Central Coast reported 299 “gender-affirming care” initial and follow-up visits for the fiscal year 2019-2020 but logged 746 only two years later in its annual report for 2021-2022. Planned Parenthood Wisconsin in 2020-2021 had 488 hormone therapy visits, but that number jumped to 730 in 2021-2022.

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest reported only 659 “gender-affirming hormone care” visits in 2018 within the first six months of opening its gender program. However, in 2022, the number increased to a staggering 12,814 visits among 5,926 patients. While the Great Northwest branch absorbed the Indiana and Kentucky regions in 2021, those organizations did not list the number of transgender services they provided in their previous annual reports.

There are serious health risks from transgender hormone treatments; minors can become infertile if they receive puberty blockers, while those who transition later could suffer from other conditions such as bone deterioration after trying to come off testosterone.

“Women that get on testosterone for a long period, and then get off of it, their bones deteriorate,” Newgent said. “So I have to get back on testosterone to have my bones safe, but then I have to deal with the other sides of it. So there’s all these medical complications that come with it.”

Planned Parenthood published a series of videos in July acknowledging that patients who take estrogen hormones are at a higher risk of blood clots in the lungs, brain and legs.

Risks for testosterone therapy include blood clots, low blood sugar, high cholesterol and liver issues, according to the videos. Planned Parenthood also suggests that patients receiving hormone therapy should look into “family planning” options, noting that infertility is a potential side effect.

Planned Parenthood should “prioritize evidence-based medicine” and encourage patients, specifically children, to get “intensive psychiatric assessment and care” instead of offering puberty blockers, Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, a group of medical professionals that oppose “radical” ideology in health care, said in a statement to the DCNF.

Planned Parenthood did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

AUTHORS

MEGAN BROCK AND KATE ANDERSON

Contributors.

RELATED ARTICLE: EXCLUSIVE: School Staff Appeared To Hide ‘Gender Identity’ Of Bullied Student Being Told To Commit Suicide

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Pro-Hamas Cyber Group Claims Cyber Attack On Elon Musk’s SpaceX

/in , , , , , , , , /by

The following report is an offering from MEMRI’s Cyber Terrorism & Jihad Lab (CJL) project.

Pro-Hamas Cyber Group Claims Cyber Attack On Elon Musk’s SpaceX In Retaliation For His Support Of Israel, Threatens ‘Cyber War’ Against U.S., Europe

On December 15, 2023, a pro-Hamas hacking group claimed perpetrating a cyber attack on SpaceX, a private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded and owned by entrepreneur Elon Musk, in retaliation for Musk’s support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. During a visit to Israel at the end of November, Musk met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and toured an Israeli community attacked by Hamas on October 7.[1] On Telegram[2], the hacking group published the “first part of SpaceX leaks,” an Excel file containing the names and email addresses of 12,529 SpaceX employees.

The statement reads: “Ever since Elon Musk… agreed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the mass-murderer Netanyahu, the one whose hands are drenched in the blood of over 7,000 of our children, we […] had Mr. Musk and his business interests in our scope. Today we publish the first part of [our] leaks – a complete list of SpaceX employees (all 12.5k) along with their email addresses. Their passwords (hashes), phone numbers, home addresses, and employment positions are not included in the first part.”

The statement continues: “To those who participate in supporting those responsible for the mass murder of our children: know that your support is itself complicity, and you will be held to account for this complicity, even if the support was done purely out of personal greed.”

Addressing U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and “all other Western leaders encouraging and bankrolling the killing of our children,” the statement warns that their “support of genocide” is causing them to lose domestic “political and moral credibility,” as it “unties the decades of your soft power efforts in the Muslim lands.” It further warns that their “ongoing support of the genocide” will bring a “state of cyber war” on their countries, mentioning that their “cyber landscapes” are “far richer and vaster than that of Israel’s.”

The statement concludes: “Should you continue in supporting the killing of our children… you would not need to worry about just a cyber Pearl Harbor, but rather a cyber flood, from which there will be no mountain to climb.”

Since December 1, the group has claimed a series of cyber attacks on Israeli sites.[3]

[1] Wsj.com, November 27, 2023.

[2] Telegram, December 15, 2023.

[3] See MEMRI JTTM report: Pro-Hamas Cyber Group Claims It Hacked Israeli Servers, Passed Database To “Mujahedeen”, December 12, 2023.

RELATED ARTICLE: Jihadi Outlet Publishes Infographic Suggesting Russia’s Wagner Group Sent Air Defense System to Lebanese Hizbullah Through Air Bridge From Libya To Syrian-Lebanese Borders 

EDITORS NOTE: This MEMRI column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Rep. Jim Jordan Subpoenas Merrick Garland

/in , , , , , , , /by

Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is escalating his fight with Attorney General Merrick Garland over alleged attempts to spy on congressional staffers.

Jordan subpoenaed Garland on Thursday afternoon for documents and information about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) alleged surveillance of congressional staffers by obtaining communications from Google.

READ THE LETTER:

“If the Department’s representation is accurate, it indicates that the Executive Branch used its immense law-enforcement authority to gather and search the private communications of multiple Legislative Branch employees who were conducting Constitutional oversight of the Department’s investigative actions—actions that were later found to be unlawful,” Jordan wrote in a letter to Garland informing him of the subpoena.

In 2017, the DOJ subpoenaed Google to obtain communications from Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley’s chief investigative counsel, Jason Foster. The DOJ obtained court orders from 2019-21 to prevent the release of the 2017 subpoena for Foster’s private communications, according to Foster’s legal group, Empower Oversight.

Foster worked for Sen. Grassley when he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republican and Democratic staffers were targeted by the DOJ’s subpoena, Empower Oversight said in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

On Oct. 19, 2023, Google notified Foster of the subpoena for his records, and Jordan proceeded to write Garland a letter demanding more information.

Jordan is resorting to a subpoena because of Garland’s failure to fully comply with his request. Garland has until Jan. 19 to comply with Jordan’s subpoena.

“Because the Department has not complied in full with our requests, we cannot independently determine whether the Department sought to alleviate the heightened separation-of-powers sensitivities involved or whether the Department first sought the information through other means before resorting to legal process,” the letter adds.

The DOJ sought the private communications as part of an investigation into disclosures related to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, the letter says.

A report by the DOJ Inspector General released in 2019 described “significant inaccuracies” used by the FBI in its applications for FISA warrants against Page.

The FBI relied on the debunked Steele Dossier to obtain the FISA warrants as part of its Crossfire Hurricane investigation of suspected connections between then-President Trump’s campaign and Russia, according to the IG report. Afterwards, the DOJ IG found additional errors made by the FBI in other applications for FISA warrants.

Foster was one of the congressional staffers investigating the DOJ’s handling of the Crossfire Hurricane inquiry.

AUTHOR

JAMES LYNCH

Investigative reporter. James Lynch can be reached on Twitter @jameslynch32.

RELATED ARTICLE: DOJ Prosecutor Accused Of Protecting Joe And Hunter Biden Departs Her Post

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Fox News: Rashida Tlaib a member of Facebook group which praised Hamas after massacre

/in , , , , , , , /by

Palestinian Arab Rep. a member of secret Palestinian American Congress Facebook group where praise for Hamas was posted after Oct. 7.

Palestinian Arab American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mi) is a member of a secret Facebook group that glorified the Hamas terrorist organization following the massacre of over 1,200 Israelis on October 7, Fox News reported.

According to the report, Tlaib is a member of the Palestinian American Congress group on Facebook, a group that is hidden from non-members. The group was founded by Maher Abdel-Qader, an activist with ties to Tlaib and other left-wing politicians in the US who has a history of antisemitic social media posts, including Holocaust denial.

One post on the group’s page on October 12, five days after the massacre, read: “We don’t want to throw you in the sea…we want you to ride it back from where you came.” The post included a photograph of an elderly woman kidnapped by Hamas with one of her captors.

Another post from October 19 extolled the “achievements” of Hamas in killing IDF soldiers and wounding of Israeli civilians.

On October 10, one member wrote: “Yesterday I didn’t see Hamas I saw the grand kids (sic) of the refugees that ethnically cleansed from their homeland attacking the grand kids (sic) of the colonists whom sent them to diaspora.”

Tlaib has been a member of the group for six years and posted to it in 2018 during her first election campaign.

Source: INN

EDITORS NOTE: This Newsrael News Desk column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

WATCH: Megyn Kelly on the most disgusting Anti-Israel and Pro-Hamas protests we’ve seen around the world

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

“You obviously do not like America – so just get out!”

Megyn Kelly begins the show by discussing some of the most disgusting anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas displays around the world over the weekend, New York’s anti-Israel protest over the weekend and their disturbing chants, dangerous protests in the U.K., some positive developments with pro-Israel demonstrations in Paris, and more.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Islamic Jew-Haters Storm Take Over NY’s Penn Station, Blast ‘ALLAHU AKBAR” Through Speaker System, Abuse Commuters, Station Staff, and Elie Wiesel’s Son

Jew-Hater Screaming ‘Gas the Jews’ While Spraying Foul Smelling Substance at Jewish Victims In Front of Washington, D.C. Synagogue

Exclusive: South Sudanese March In Tel Aviv In Solidarity with Israel

NEWSRAEL “Iron Swords” News Summary: Dec 20 – Morning

Suitcases with Millions in Cash Found in Home of Senior Hamas Member

Life-Size Nativity Scene Figures Beheaded

Muslim in the Netherlands Urinates on Pork Section in Supermarket, ““We Don’t Eat Pork!”

EDITORS NOTE: This Newsrael News Desk column with video is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Trump Disqualified From Colorado Ballot

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

Former President Donald Trump has been disqualified from the Colorado ballot for the 2024 election over the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist” ban.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision Trump violated the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” and is ineligible to be on the ballot in the state. The ruling is on hold pending an appeal to the Supreme Court until Jan. 4, CNN reported. The issue must be settled by Jan. 5, which is when the statutory deadline is to set the list of candidates for the Republican primary, according to CNN.

The state’s supreme court ruling found Colorado courts do not need an act of Congress to remove Trump from the ballot and the Jan. 6 riot amounted to an insurrection that Trump allegedly “engaged” in.

Chief Justice Brian Boatright, who dissented, argued Colorado’s election law “was not enacted to decide whether a candidate engaged in insurrection,” according to CNN.

“In the absence of an insurrection-related conviction, I would hold that a request to disqualify a candidate under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment is not a proper cause of action under Colorado’s election code.”

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung slammed the ruling  as “un-American.”

“Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls. They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November,” Cheung said.

“The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision. We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits.”

The former president also criticized the ruling in a Truth Social post, calling the decision “weaponized.”

“‘Justice’ weaponization is a very dirty game to play, and it can have repercussions far greater than anything that Biden or his Thugs could understand. They ought to withdraw all of their Fake, Political Indictments against their Republican Opponent, me, immediately. This is a Pandora’s box, that works two ways, and it should be closed and tightly sealed RIGHT NOW.”

Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace ruled in November that Trump was not an “officer of the United States” and therefore could not be disqualified from holding office under Section Three of the 14th Amendment. Wallace did rule Trump “engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021 through incitement” and his speech was not protected under the First Amendment.

The decision to remove Trump from the ballot impacts more than three million active voters in the state. Data shows amongst 3,783,006 active voters in the state as of November, 901,219 are registered republicans.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as information becomes available. 

AUTHOR

BRIANNA LYMAN

News and commentary writer. Follow Brianna on Twitter.

RELATED ARTICLES:

RFK Jr. rips Colorado Supreme Court for banning Trump from the ballot. ‘Let the voters decide’

Colorado Trump Ruling: Desperate Fascists Attempt to Cancel Election

POSTS ON X:

RELATED ARTICLES:

Yes, Things Can Get Worse In Biden’s Second Term. Much, Much, Worse.

Bill Gates Photographed With Alleged Epstein Victim Years After The Trafficker’s Arrest

‘Ben Cardin’s Cheeks Of Staff’: ‘The Five’ Discuss Senate Sex Tape First Reported By The Daily Caller

‘I Am Reading All The Polls!’: Veteran Comedian Roasts Biden For Berating Staffers Over Sagging Approval Numbers

‘Every Angle… Hurts Joe Biden’: Hunter’s Latest Stunt May Have Thrown His Dad Into A Messy Tangle, Strategists Say

JASON LEWIS: The Left’s War On Mobility Is Making The Holidays Miserable, But It Has Far More Sinister Motives

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Middle East Violence Throws Global Energy Market Into Turmoil

/in , , , , , , , /by

The escalating violence in the Middle East caused a disturbance in the global energy market Monday morning after a major oil company announced it is pausing shipments through a crucial shipping lane.

British Petroleum (BP) said that it is halting oil shipments through the Red Sea because of the uptick in attacks launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, a militant Islamist group that the Biden administration removed from the “Foreign Terrorist Organization” list in 2021. BP is the latest major company to pause its operations amid the escalating violence in and around the Red Sea, and the announcement prompted a spike in oil prices worldwide, according to CNN.

“In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea,” a spokesperson for the company told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region.”

Along with a key Egyptian pipeline, two major straits that bookend the Red Sea handled about 12% of globally traded seaborne oil and 8% of global liquefied natural gas shipments through the first six months of this year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The news sent oil prices up across the world on Monday, with Brent crude jumping by 2.7% to nearly $79 per barrel and American oil rising by 2.7% up to $73.44 per barrel, according to CNN. In European markets, natural gas contract futures spiked by about 8%.

Before BP decided to halt its Red Sea shipping operations, A.P. Moller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd— two major freight shipping firms— announced that they are temporarily preventing their ships from utilizing the southern entrance to the Red Sea, according to the WSJ.

The Houthis have significantly ramped up attacks against commercial interests and U.S. forces in the wake of Hamas’ attack against Israel on Oct. 7. Houthi forces have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at commercial vessels, and the Biden administration has done little in the way of retaliatory or preemptive action against the group.

The Biden administration opted to release 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, when high energy costs were causing political problems for President Joe Biden and fellow Democrats. The vast majority of those releases have not yet been offset, and the SPR, intended to serve as an emergency supply of oil for the U.S. in the event of war or an emergency situation, is at its lowest levels in decades.

Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, energy experts told the DCNF that the administration’s SPR releases leave the U.S. in a more vulnerable geopolitical and economic position, particularly if the conflict spills over into other parts of the Middle East.

“This is exactly why we have an SPR. But now, we only have half an SPR since Biden sold off half to buy some votes,” Dan Kish, a distinguished senior fellow for the Institute for Energy Research (IER), told the DCNF regarding BP’s announcement.

The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

AUTHOR

NICK POPE

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: ‘Enabled By Iran’: Pentagon Sheds Light On Drone Attacks Against Ships In Red Sea

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

‘Bah Humbug’: Pa. School Districts Warns Bus Drivers against Christmas Decorations

/in , , , , , , , , /by

A Keystone State school board is banning school bus drivers from putting up Christmas decorations. On Friday, just over a week before Christmas, the Wallingford-Swarthmore school district in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, issued a memo to school bus drivers saying, “If you have decorated your bus with anything specific to the Christmas Holiday or any other decorations relating to a specific religion, please remove them immediately.”

The memo concludes, “In addition, employees are instructed not to wear clothing related to Christmas or any other religious holiday.” According to the memo, school district leadership “has been receiving complaints from parents concerning District employees displaying ‘Christmas’ themed decorations and/or wearing clothing of the same nature.” A note adds that the policy is not specific to school bus drivers but “APPLIES TO ALL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES.”

According to reporter Chris O’Connell of Fox 29 Philadelphia, who shared the memo on social media, school bus drivers have responded to the memo with variations of “Bah humbug.”

In comments to The Washington Stand, Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council, asked, “Are there drivers with Pride flags? BLM flags? Culturally sensitive flags of other nations? Just what kinds of personal expressions are okay in the school district?” She further noted, “When even the commercialized and virtually-religion-free Christmas observance is disallowed, we have lost all sense of identity as Americans and certainly Western civilization. Woe to the bus driver who tries to create an atmosphere of joy, peace, and love for the children on his or her bus.”

Joseph Backholm, FRC’s senior fellow for Biblical Worldview, told TWS that the ban on Christmas decorations is “an issue of people in leadership who always follow rather than lead.” He said, “The school district apparently received a complaint from someone that a bus driver was spreading too much Christmas cheer, and instead of telling that parent they encourage every bus driver to be as festive as possible, they decided it was their job to protect the emotionally fragile.” Although “Christmas” is named explicitly in the memo, Backholm noted that the inclusion of “any other religious holiday” was “certainly done on the advice of their lawyers, because it would be illegal to just ban Christmas displays and clothing.”

“There’s nothing illegal about employees who wear holiday clothing at work, which is why we see it all the time. But in this case the school district decided to side with the complaints of the few against the joy and celebrations of the many,” Backholm explained. “We now live in a world where some people are looking for reasons to be offended and they often find reason to be offended in the joy of others. The public square will once again be open once we stop pretending people have a right not to be offended by things.”

According to Fox 29 Philadelphia, the school district clarified Friday night that their intent was “not clear” and reversed the ban on holiday decorations and clothing, emphasizing instead a need for bus drivers to create “an inclusive environment.”

“The parents who want to remove the decorations should spend a week on the bus to see what kind of environment their children and the bus drivers experience daily,” Kilgannon said. “Parents know that in many school districts bus discipline is nonexistent and enforcing any behavioral norm is often punished — by just this kind of complaint. Taxpayers on the other hand who have no kids in school have no idea that this kind of situation is funded by their generosity.”

AUTHOR

S.A. McCarthy 

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

POST ON X:

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

PODCAST: The Ethics of Voting As A Christian

/in , , , , , , , , /by

As 2023 comes to an end, many Americans are looking into 2024 with one specific national event on their mind: the presidential election.

Be it Republican or Democrat, Libertarian or Independent, there are a lot of options to choose from, but how does one know whom to pick?

Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Andrew Walker, Associate Dean in the School of Theology, and Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to discuss the morals and methods that Christians should implement when voting.

To Walker, politics is about promoting the common good and loving your neighbor.

Listen now to better understand how to ethically vote for candidates that align with your values!

GUESTS

Joseph Backholm

Joseph Backholm is Senior Fellow for Biblical Worldview and Strategic Engagement at Family Research Council.

Andrew Walker

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

VIDEO: USA’s Child Trafficking Crisis • Unmasking the Hidden Epidemic

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

In the United States, a silent epidemic is raging, mostly unnoticed, yet devastating in its impact. Child trafficking, a term that evokes horror and disbelief, is not a problem confined to remote parts of the world. It is happening right here, in our neighborhoods, in our cities, and across our nation. This blog post aims to shed light on this hidden epidemic, underscoring the problems, the solutions, and how each one of us can join hands in supporting the mission to protect our children and be part of the solution.

Understanding the Issue

Child trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation can range from forced labor and organ trade to sexual exploitation. In the digital age, online predation has given traffickers new tools, making it easier for them to exploit innocent lives, often hiding in plain sight.

The Stark Reality

  • The USA is the main source and destination for this nefarious industry on the planet.
  • Annually, it’s estimated to generate a staggering $38-50 billion within the country.
  • On average, 1 predator victimizes around 70 children in their lifetime.

These numbers are not just statistics; they represent real children, real suffering, and a real call to action.

The Heart of the Problem

While trafficking thrives in the shadows, some contributing factors to its rise include:

  • Lack of Awareness: The misconception that child trafficking is a foreign problem prevents effective local action.
  • Technological Advancement: The internet has provided traffickers with tools to operate discreetly and efficiently.
  • Gaps in the System: Loopholes in our legal and social systems are often exploited by traffickers.

Actionable Solutions

  1. Education and Awareness: Informing the public, educating our children about online safety, and training law enforcement on recognizing the signs of trafficking are crucial steps.
  2. Strengthen Laws: Advocating for stricter laws and penalties for traffickers is essential in deterring this crime.
  3. Support Frontline Organizations: Groups like Veterans For Child Rescue are vital in the fight against child trafficking. They conduct operations to arrest traffickers and rescue children.

Demanding Accountability

It’s time for us, as a society, to hold our leaders accountable. The government must prioritize child safety and allocate more resources towards combating trafficking. When we unite as a collective voice, our impact can be monumental.

Join the Fight

Child trafficking is a grave issue, but it is not insurmountable. With determination, unity, and action, we can make a significant difference. Vets4ChildRescue.org is at the forefront of this battle, but they need our support.

  1. Support the Mission: Your contribution, whether through donations, raising awareness, or volunteering, can make a tremendous difference in the lives of vulnerable children.
  2. Educate Yourself and Others: Knowledge is power. The more we know and share about this issue, the harder it becomes for traffickers to operate.

Advocate for stronger laws and better systems to protect our children.

CLICK HERE TO WRITE YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

 Teaching children and teenagers about the dangers of trafficking and online safety can equip them with the knowledge to protect themselves and their peers.

If you see something, say something. Your vigilance can save a life.

In conclusion, while the battle against child trafficking in the USA is daunting, it is one that we can win. By raising awareness, advocating for change, and supporting organizations that are truly making a positive impact, we can protect our children and create a safer future. The time to act is now. Join us in this vital mission, and be a part of the solution. Together, we can and will eradicate child trafficking from our nation.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO V4CR

RELATED VIDEO: Former Mexican Law Enforcement Officer Ed Calderon Explains Cartel Terrorism

EDITORS NOTE: This V4CR column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.