Summary of News Reports: January - March 2021

March 31: The Daily Caller: The Georgia election integrity law: fact from fiction
Georgia passed a series of new voting laws aimed to curb voter fraud and myths about voter disenfranchisement and discrimination are running rampant.  “The Election Integrity Act of 2021” expands in-person early voting dates and hours for most counties.  The bill allows voting on two Saturdays during early voting and gives counties the options to hold voting on Sundays, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.  The legislation also requires three weeks of early voting and expands the hours the polls are open. The changes were made in response to opposition from racial justice groups who said the proposal targeted black voters who traditionally participate in “Souls to the Polls” voter drives that take place on Sunday’s.  One of the provisions bans volunteers from handing out food, water or other items to voters standing in line.  Meanwhile the Executive Director of the state ACLU said “Senate Bill 202 is an anti-voter bill that attacks absentee voting, criminalizes giving Georgians a drink of water to their neighbors, allows state takeover of county elections, and retaliates against the elected Secretary of State by replacing him with a State Board of Elections Chair chosen by the legislature.”

March 30: The Washington Times: Team Trump told Team Biden what would happen
if they followed through on their campaign promises, and it has!
The Trump Administration warned Biden’s transition team last year to expect a migrant surge if it followed through on his immigration campaign promises, and even presented modeling to show how bad it might get, a senior official told The Washington Times.  Mark Morgan, who was acting commissioner at Customs and Border Protection called new claims by Biden officials blaming the Trump Administration for refusing requests to build capacity “blatantly false.  The Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the Remain in Mexico policy, had been used to push migrants back across the line into Mexico while they waited for their immigration hearings, denying them a foothold in the U.S. The Asylum Cooperative Agreements were deals struck with Central American countries to stem the flow of people across their territory en route to the U.S.  But Biden’s team failed to warn HHS or CBP that these changes were coming, causing part of the problem.

March 30: Fox Business: With ship now freed, investigation of Suez Canal
grounding begins
Experts boarded the massive container ship Tuesday that had blocked Egypt’s vital Suez Canal and disrupted global trade for nearly a week, seeking answers to a single question that could have billions of dollars in legal repercussions: What went wrong?  As convoys of ships again began traveling through the artery linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas, a canal service provider said more than 300 vessels carrying everything from crude oil to cattle were still waiting for their turn in a process that will take days. Egyptian government officials, insurers, shippers and others similarly waited for more details about what caused the skyscraper-sized Ever Given to become wedged across the canal on March 23.

March 30: The Daily Caller: Washington Post gives Biden four Pinochios for
lies about the Georgia election law
The Washington Post has awarded Joe Biden with “Four Pinocchios” for his claim that a Georgia election law will prevent working-class people from voting.  The Post makes the awards to political figures who make false claims, with four being the highest number for the most blatant of lies.  Georgia’s SB 202 became law last week, limiting the number of drop boxes that can be used during an election and requiring voters have identification whether they submit ballots in person or by mail. Biden criticized the legislation in a written statement, claiming, “Among the outrageous parts of this new state law, it ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over.”   However, experts contacted by the Post said this section of the bill actually expanded early voting for many Georgians.” “Biden framed his complaint in terms of a slap at working people.

March 29: The Epoch Times: 500 unaccompanied youths to be housed in
San Antonio, Texas
Five hundred unaccompanied minors will arrive on Monday evening at an emergency holding facility in San Antonio, Texas, which was set up to address the surge in illegal border crossings in recent weeks.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) said the Freeman Expo Center has been partly transformed to provide shelter for boys aged between 13 and 17 who had crossed into the United States illegally. The center has a potential capacity of 2,100 beds with an additional 300 medical beds.  More than 18,000 unaccompanied minors were in the custody of either Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or HHS as of March 25, according to the HHS Administration for Children and Families.

March 29: The Daily Caller: Amazon in AL: Good chance their team won’t unionize
Amazon is confident that its nearly 6,000-person workforce at a new Bessemer, Alabama warehouse will reject a unionization bid as the historic vote comes to an end.  The online retail giant compensates and treats its workers well while the — the labor union attempting to unionize the employees — has misrepresented the facts, Amazon spokesperson Heather Knox said Amazon warehouse workers in Besseer, Alabama are paid $15.30 per hour on average, receive health and dental insurance, are able to have their 401(k) plans matched and may receive college tuition reimbursement, Knox said.

March 29: Fox News: Ninth accuser comes forward about Cuomo
A ninth woman has stepped forward to accuse New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual misconduct.   The accuser, 55-year-old Sherry Vill, said Cuomo grabbed her face and kissed her cheeks in front of her home in 2017.  "I know the difference between an innocent gesture and a sexual one," Vill said during a virtual press conference. "I never felt as uncomfortable as I did the day Governor Cuomo came to my house. His actions were very overly sexual, highly inappropriate and disrespectful to me and my family.”

March 28: The Epoch Times: Federal Appeals Court reverses lower
court ruling on pronouns used re: transgender
A federal appeals court on March 26 reversed a lower court decision, ruling that an Ohio professor’s First Amendment rights may have been violated when his university tried forcing him to refer to a biological male student using female pronouns.  A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said philosophy professor Nicholas Meriwether “has plausibly alleged that Shawnee State violated his First Amendment rights by compelling his speech or silence and casting a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom.”  Shawnee State University, in Ohio, has employed Meriwether for 25 years.  The case centers around a 2016 rule change that requires faculty to refer to students by their “preferred pronoun[s].”

March 28: Townhall.com: Dems go crazy over new Georgia election law
The 2020 election was very controversial for the state of Georgia as many questions were raised about the integrity of the vote. There were concerns about a multitude of issues such as the possibility that ballots were scanned multiple times to questions about mysterious suitcases of votes being counted after GOP observers were no longer present.  Absentee ballots were counted despite the lack of voter identification requirements. In Georgia 1.3 million absentee ballots were cast in the 2020 election.  In response, an election reform bill was passed 100-75 by the Georgia Assembly and 34-20 in the State Senate.  On Thursday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed the bill into law.  

The new bill requires identification for absentee ballots and limits the number of remote voting locations. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene said, “Here's the facts: We've got to have I.D. to go vote, you have to show an I.D. to buy alcohol, you have got to show an I.D. to buy tobacco, and you have to show and have a driver's license to drive.”  Meanwhile the Biden Justice Department will be “taking a look” at it!  This raises disturbing questions about the independence of the Justice Department and whether Biden was directing them to act against the new Georgia law. It remains to be seen what they will do.  Reportedly the new Georgia law does not suppress anyone’s vote. The goal is to guarantee fair elections without fraudulent votes. There is nothing “racist” about requiring voter identification and limiting the number of drop boxes for ballots.  Meanwhile progressives are again attempting to push their way around by bullying the state, threatening to boycott it and to pull the All-Star game from Atlanta this summer.   However, some civil rights leaders, like Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr, opposed the boycott. She said that the boycott would “hurt middle class workers and people grappling with poverty.” Not only would the boycott bring economic harm to Georgia, but it is also totally unwarranted.

The new law reflects the will of the people of Georgia as it easily passed both the House and Senate of the state assembly and was signed by the Governor, elected by the voters. In many ways the new law expands voting rights in the state. The hours for voting on Election Day was extended and the number of Saturdays for early voting was increased to two, with an option for voting on Sunday as well.

March 27: Fox News: Biden wants GOP Senators to delete photos of crisis at border facilities
Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) said a Biden official asked Republican senators to delete photos they took at a border facility they were touring on Friday.   "There was one of Biden's representatives. I felt sorry for the lady because she actually talked to me about deleting a picture, but by the time she got to me, all those other pictures were taken, and that shows you the hypocrisy," Braun said about the migrant processing and holding center in Donna, Texas.   "None of us would have gone down there if we were going to be muzzled," he said, and added that Border Patrol also asked that no photos were to be taken, but that "they were telling us that because they had to."  Braun and 18 of his Republican colleagues, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) inspected the holding center this week, which is at 700 percent capacity amid a surge in migrants.  The photos showed children sleeping on the ground in an enclosed area.   After visiting the facility, Braun penned a letter to the Biden imploring him to visit the border.   There were more than 18,000 unaccompanied minors in either Border Protection or Health and Human Services custody as of Thursday, according to homeland security records.

March 27: The Daily Caller: GOP Senators demand Secret Service/FBI/ATF
records on Hunter Biden gun purchase
Two Republican senators are asking the directors of the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for details of their alleged investigation into a handgun that belonged to Hunter Biden that was reported missing in 2018.  In their letters, Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson refer to a report from Politico about the gun incident.  Reportedly on Oct. 23, 2018, Hunter Biden’s sister-in-law, Hallie Biden, called police in Delaware to report that she had thrown Biden’s gun in a trash can behind a grocery store.  Hallie, who was also dating Hunter, said that she went to retrieve the gun after growing worried someone might find it and use it in a crime, but that it was no longer in the trash can.  The FBI responded to the scene of the investigation, as did ATF. The U.S. Secret Service also became involved in the investigation and contacted the gun store that sold the firearm to Biden.  The store owner provided documents to the ATF, but “refused to supply the paperwork” to the Secret Service out of concerns that “the Secret Service officers wanted to hide Hunter’s ownership of the missing gun in case it was to be involved in a crime,” Politico reported.  Nobody was arrested in connection with the incident.

March 27: The Washington Times: Biden considering a mileage tax on drivers
U.S. DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Friday Biden is weighing a “mileage tax” on drivers as a way to help pay for his forthcoming infrastructure plan that could cost upwards of $3 trillion.  [Not mentioned was that this would require monitoring of every American’s driving habits while taxing the gasoline purchased to run vehicles doesn’t.]  “I think that (a mileage tax) shows a lot of promise,” Buttigieg said.  He said the gas tax is becoming outdated as the country seeks to pivot toward electric vehicles to combat climate change [i.e., if we move to electric vehicles, which the administration wants to do, then the taxes from gasoline and diesel fuel will decline, but they still want our money! And it is doubtful the current gas tax will be replaced by a mileage tax!].

March 27: Fox News: Trump to visit the border, Biden decision to undo remain in
Mexico policy a very bad decision
President Trump sat down with Judge Pirro for an exclusive interview that aired on Fox News on Saturday night.   "A lot of people want me to" visit the border, Trump told Pirro.  Trump said he would probably visit the southern border over the next few weeks while calling Joe Bioden’s undoing of the "Remain in Mexico" policy, or the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), a "very bad decision."   The Trump administration expanded the MPP during the 2019 migrant crisis as part of a broader agreement with Mexico, and hailed it as a key plank in its efforts to end "catch-and-release" -- by which migrants were released into the interior of the U.S. never to be heard from again.  Instead, MPP keeps migrants in Mexico as they await their asylum hearings. Proponents say the policy ended a key pull factor that brought migrants north, while critics say it is cruel and puts migrants in danger by leaving them in Mexico

March 26: The Washington Free Beacon: If House Dems want to contest close
elections there’s an unlimited slush fund they can draw from
If House Democrats get serious about contesting a tight House election in Iowa, they will have a slush fund at their disposal.  Hidden in the House rules package is a provision for "Further Expenses for Resolving Contested Elections," a one-year fund lawmakers can tap in their quest to overturn a House election they lost in Iowa.  While members of either party can access the unlimited sums allocated to the fund, only Democrats are contesting an election right now. If used, the money would be drawn from legislative branch appropriations funding and would not be publicly disclosed until the end of the quarter.  Democrats have assailed Republicans who voted to contest the 2020 election but are now seriously considering overturning a congressional race they lost that was certified by local officials.   It is unclear whether top Democrats plan to use the fund to contest the election of Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R), who narrowly defeated Democrat Rita Hart by a six-vote margin in November. Democrats are, however, actively working on unseating Miller-Meeks by a House vote and have brought in one of their top lawyers to make their case.  They are taking their case directly to the Democrat-controlled House Committee on Administration, rather than through the judicial system.  This is a "serious conflict of interest regarding," Congressman Rodney Davis (R-IL), the ranking minority member of the committee, said earlier this month.   Davis told the Free Beacon that "not only are Democrats trying to steal a state-certified election from Iowans, where the Democrat candidate didn’t even take her case to court because she knew she would lose, but they’ve created an unlimited fund of their tax dollars to do it."

March 26: The Daily Caller: Trump:  Where is John Durham?  Is he still alive?
Former President Donald Trump released a press statement Friday asking about former U.S. Attorney for Connecticut and special counsel for the Trump-Russia investigation, John Durham.  “Where’s Durham? Is he a living, breathing human being? Will there ever be a Durham report?”  Durham was appointed special counsel by former U.S. Attorney General William Barr in October 2020 to continue to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.   Trump had documents pertaining to the Trump campaign and the Russia probe declassified before leaving office on Jan. 19. In late February, Durham stepped down from his role as U.S. Attorney for Connecticut but remained a special counsel on the Trump-Russia investigation. Durham has not yet released a report or an announcement regarding his own findings on the Trump-Russia probe.

March 25: NewsMax TV: Report: Secret Service tried to hide Hunter Biden gun purchase
The Secret Service reportedly interceded two years ago on behalf of President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, in an alleged attempt to quash evidence of a gun purchase after the revolver vanished.   Agents tried to obtain the paperwork for the gun's sale to Hunter Biden from the store where he bought it, however, the owner refused to hand over the documents, according to two sources who spoke to Politico.  The report surfaced on the day Joe Biden was scheduled to hold his first solo press conference since taking office in January.  The Secret Service said it had no record of agents investigating the incident, and Joe Biden, not under protection at that time, said through a spokesperson he had no knowledge of Secret Service involvement, according to Politico.

March 24: The Epoch Times: GAO investigating Biden’s halting of border wall construction
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed reports it is investigating Joe Biden’s move in January to freeze construction of the border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.  Former President Donald Trump, who made border wall construction a key 2016 campaign promise, started building the wall amid legal battles and fights with Congress. On his first day in office, Biden used his executive authority to stop building the wall even after Congress approved $1.4 billion for the measure as part of a $900 billion stimulus package bill to offset losses incurred by the COVID-19 pandemic in December.  Some senators noted Biden was a member of the Senate for decades and should know the rules. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) said “He knows it’s the Congress’s job to authorize how the money is spent and the president’s job to spend it efficiently.”    A GAO spokesperson for the watchdog agency confirmed the report.   The exact nature of the GAO investigation was not disclosed.

March 24: The Daily Caller:  Cruz: I’ve been vaccinated, if you are concerned you can always step back!
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) denied a request from a reporter to wear a mask during a press conference on Wednesday, and informed the reporter that they could “step back,” if they had a problem.  A reporter can be heard in the background asking Cruz if he would “mind putting on a mask,” for them, to which the senator denies the request by pointing out that as he is speaking directly into the camera, he will not wear a mask.  “All of us have been immunized,” Cruz points out to the reporter.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) while fully vaccinated people can “gather indoors without physical distancing or wearing masks” with “other people who are fully vaccinated,” and “unvaccinated people from one other household,” they should still wear masks and practice social distancing guidelines, particularly when they are in a public setting.

March 24: Fox News: Cuomo gives relatives preferential COVID vaccine treatment
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker directed health officials to prioritize the governor’s own family and figures with ties to his administration in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report Wednesday.   Family members who allegedly received preferential testing included Cuomo's brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, as well as his mother and at least one of his sisters, the Albany Times-Union reported, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter.  Some family members reportedly received multiple tests.

March 24: The Epoch Times: Nine countries summon China’s ambassadors to raise complaints over PRC sanctions
Nine U.S. allies in Europe have summoned China’s ambassadors in protest after Beijing slapped sanctions on a dozen European officials, researchers, and institutions that have been vocal about the regime’s human rights abuses.  The “sanctioning of members of Parliament and scientists is absolutely incomprehensible,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a March 23 statement after meeting with the Chinese ambassador in Berlin. “While we sanction abuses of human rights, Beijing sanctions democracy. We cannot accept this.”  At least eight other countries, including France, Denmark, Belgium, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Italy, have also called in the Chinese envoys to register their complaints during the past two days.  The Chinese measure came on the heels of coordinated Western sanctions on March 22 from the United States, the UK, Canada, and the EU to punish Beijing’s repressive policy in Xinjiang. It marked the first of its kind that the EU imposed on China in three decades.

March 23: NewsMax TV: Biden on North Korea: Nothing has changed
Joe Biden said on Tuesday that North Korea's move to test-fire two short-range missiles over the weekend shows that little has changed about the government in Pyongyang.  "We have learned that nothing much has changed," Biden told reporters in response to a question about the missile test.  North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles over the weekend following complaints about the United States carrying out joint military exercises with South Korea, The Washington Post reported, citing sources familiar with what is happening in the country.  Reuters, citing unnamed officials, reported that only two missiles were fired. 

March 23: NewsMax TV: Biden:  We can ban assault weapons
Joe Biden on Tuesday called for a ban on assault weapons and tighter gun control measures as he stepped into the familiar role of grief counselor for a traumatized nation after a mass shooting left 10 people dead in Colorado.  "I don't need to wait another minute, let alone another hour, to take common sense steps that will save lives in the future," Biden said, adding that "we can ban assault weapons."  "We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country, once again."  Biden seem oblivious to the fact that the real problem is with the people who misuse weapons, not the weapons themselves.

March 22: Fox News:  Arkansas Governor signs abortion bill to challenge Roe v. Wade
Governor Asa Hutchinson  (R-AR) said over the weekend that he signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill into law earlier this month with the sole purpose of setting into motion a review of the landmark Roe v. Wade case.  He said, the "whole design of the law" was to overturn the Supreme Court’s current case law.  "I think there's a very narrow chance that the Supreme Court will accept that case, but we will see.” Hutchinson has said that he would have preferred if the bill included exceptions for rape and incest – which it does not.

March 22: The Washington Free Beacon: Dark money pushing to get rid of the filibuster
The left-wing group leading a campaign to have Senate Democrats eliminate the filibuster is housed at one of the left's most powerful dark money networks, records show.  “Fix Our Senate” is steering a coalition of 60 progressive groups to pressure moderate Democrats to eliminate the filibuster The group is a project of a nonprofit “incubator” that funnels money from the nation's wealthiest liberal donors to secretly bankroll a host of progressive initiatives. As is typical for progressive groups, “Fix Our Senate” is trying to drum up support by painting the filibuster as a racist tool. On Thursday, the coalition launched a nationwide, six-figure ad buy that "makes the case that the filibuster has prevented voting rights and civil rights from passing the U.S. Senate." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has similarly argued that the filibuster has "deep roots in racism.”  What she fails to understand is that if they are successful and the Senate falls back into Republican hands the lack of a filibuster would come back to bite her and her Democrat colleagues.

March 22: The Washington Times: Power Grab; the Democrats election overhaul
reaches far beyond the ballot box
Democrats are championing their massive election overhaul as a “voting rights” bill, but their proposal reaches far beyond the ballot box, with dictates on how candidates may run for office and restrictions on how states can challenge the sweeping regulations in court.  At least six sections in the more than 800-page bill potentially run afoul of the Constitution, legal scholars say, including requirements that states offer automatic and same-day voter registration, rules on the expansion of mail-in voting and provisions for creating commissions charged with redrawing congressional districts. The bill also calls for an ethics code for the Supreme Court and mandates that presidential candidates disclose their tax returns.  The bill, which is titled the “For the People Act,” takes the unusual step of mandating a singular process for challenging the proposed laws.  The bill would require that legal challenges be filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, preventing states such as Texas, Georgia and North Carolina from contesting various aspects of the legislation at home, where the judges tend to be more conservative.  The bill requires all of the cases to be consolidated in the District to expedite judicial review, forcing every state that wants to challenge the law to do so in a single lawsuit.

March 21: News Max TV: Biden letting illegals in while locking out media at the border
How bad is the southern border immigration crisis for the Biden administration?  Apparently bad enough for Biden's border forces to shut out photojournalists and force them to take pictures of the U.S. border from Mexico.  Meanwhile, the administration is allowing migrants to stream in, out of view of media.  Getty Images photojournalist John Moore tweeted with photos of the U.S. border from Mexico:  "I respectfully ask US Customs and Border Protection to stop blocking media access to their border operations. I have photographed CBP under Bush, Obama and Trump but now – zero access is granted to media. These long lens images taken from the Mexican side."  "There's no modern precedent for a full physical ban on media access to CBP border operations. To those who might say, cut them some slack – they are dealing with a situation, I'd say that showing the US response to the current immigrant surge is exactly the media’s role."  Multiple outlets have reported on the contrast between the Trump administration – which wanted to highlight the mass migration crisis at the border – and the Biden administration's downplaying it as a mere challenge and refusing to use the term "crisis," while locking out photographers and cameras. 

March 20: The Washington Times: Texas Gov. orders probe of drinking water at Biden camps for migrant children
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an investigation Saturday into the water supply for a camp the Biden Administration has opened for migrant children, after he said water at another camp proved to be undrinkable.  The investigation is focused on a holding facility in Pecos.  It’s the fourth one the Biden team has opened as it rushes to try to handle the surge of illegal immigrant children jumping the border as a result of the failed Biden immigration policy. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week refused to say whether he’d anticipated the surge or whether he was caught off guard.  Abbott said the rush to open the camps to hold children is evidence they were not prepared.

March 20: Breitbart News: Federal Judge accuses NYT and Washington Post of bias toward Democrats and Against Republicans
Washington, DC, federal appellate judge Laurence Silberman accused the New York Times and Washington Post, and to some extent the Wall Street Journal, of being mouthpieces for “rather shocking” bias against the Republican Party in a written opinion. “The orientation of these three papers is followed by The Associated Press and most large papers across the country (such as the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, and Boston Globe),” he said in the opinion. “Nearly all television—network and cable—is a Democratic Party trumpet. Even the government-supported National Public Radio follows along.”  Further, Judge Silberman wrote that Silicon Valley “also has an enormous influence over the distribution of news,” which “similarly filters news delivery in ways favorable to the Democratic Party.” He called Fox News, The New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal‘s editorial page “notable exceptions to Democratic Party ideological control.”

March 20: The Daily Caller: Biden Administration to spend $86 million to lodge
migrants in hotels
Joe Biden’s administration will spend $86 million to house migrants crossing the southern border in hotels, according to a new report.  Around 1,200 migrant family members will be housed in the hotels as part of a contract awarded by administration, Axios reported Saturday. Illegal border crossings  have surged since Biden took office, and detention facilities holding unaccompanied minors have reached capacity at the southern border.     The hotels will reportedly be in Arizona and Texas, and the contract will start at six months with the option to extend it,  Republicans and media members have pressured the Biden administration on how it will respond to the growing surge of migrants at the southern border. Biden administration officials have refused to call the situation a “crisis” until White House press secretary Jen Psaki used the term this week, although she then backtracked.

March 19: The Epoch Times: House Dems reject request to remove security risk
member from the intelligence committee
The House has voted to reject a resolution put forth by Republicans to remove Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)from the House Intelligence Committee over concerns about his past ties to an alleged Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy.  Lawmakers voted mainly on party lines 218-200 to dismiss House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy(R-CA)’s resolution that was introduced to the House on Wednesday.  The resolution relies on public reporting that Swalwell was among a group of politicians targeted by the alleged CCP spy, known as Fang Fang or Christine Fang.  A report by Axios on Dec. 7 claimed that Fang built up an extensive network of contacts with up-and-coming politicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Swalwell. The report said Swalwell cut ties with her after investigators gave him a “defensive briefing,” and that he provided information about her to the FBI.

March 19: The Washington Free Beacon: California caves on AR-15 registration fight
California will reopen its "assault weapons" registration process and pause prosecutions after settling with a gun group over accusations that the process hindered the Second Amendment rights of residents.  California will let gun owners file new registrations, avoid prosecutions of registration violations for at least seven months, and pay the Firearms Policy Coalition $151,821.42 for lawyers' fees, according to the terms of the agreement. Once the court approves the settlement, California will start a campaign to inform the public of the new registration process and give owners of the banned AR-15 variants up to three months to register them.  The expanded ban targeted AR-15s and other guns with reloading devices called "bullet buttons" and went into effect in 2016. The registration system set up by then-state attorney general Xavier Becerra (D.), whom Joe Biden has since appointed secretary of health and human services, was riddled with technical problems.   Many California gun owners were locked out of the registration system. In 2018, the Firearms Policy Coalition estimated only 3 percent of Californian gun owners registered their guns under the new system.

March 19: The Daily Caller: Swan: Crisis at the Border foreseeable when Biden
reversed Trump policies
Axios reporter Jonathan Swan suggested Friday the crisis at the U.S. southern border should have been “foreseeable” by Biden’s administration when they ended some of the border policies put in place by former President Donald Trump.  While appearing on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” Swan explained to host Dana Perino it was “puzzling” how the administration didn’t see the issues at the border coming as a result of the policy changes, and that they are now “scrambling” to deal with the crisis.  “There’s a lot of concern inside the administration about what’s happening on the border, and the thing I found puzzling is that it was foreseeable,” Swan said “There were, obviously, events in some of these Northern Triangle countries … to cause it, but also their policy. They changed Trump’s policy of turning back unaccompanied minors at the border, so, sure enough, we have a surge of unaccompanied minors.

March 18: The Washington Times;  Biden’s pricey relief package only adds
to budget surpluses in many states
Ohio is forecasting a balanced budget over the next two years, but state and local officials will gladly accept $11.2 billion in federal pandemic aid that’s coming their way from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed by Joe Biden last week.  The state doesn’t need the money to close a budget gap because there is no shortfall. An anticipated budget hole of $2.4 billion in Columbus last summer turned into a surplus even before Biden signed the bill, thanks to prudent fiscal management, several jolts of federal aid last year and surging state sales tax receipts.  The budget outlook in Ohio is so positive that the state didn’t need to raid its rainy day fund, which stands at about $2.7 billion.  In California, officials were predicting a budget deficit of $54 billion last May, but they are now predicting a surplus of $26 billion for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.  None the less, Democrats in Congress voted to give California $42.6 billion in COVID-19 relief.  But New York is receiving an overall infusion of $23.8 billion in the bill, and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, pegs the true value at roughly $100 billion. That includes $22 billion in stimulus checks to New York residents, $21.7 billion in enhanced unemployment benefits, $10.8 billion for counties and municipalities, $9 billion for K-12 schools, $7 billion for New York City transit systems, $4 billion for expanded COVID-19 vaccinations, $2.6 billion for colleges and universities and $1 billion in extra Medicaid funding, most of which has little or nothing to do with COVID-19.

March 18: The Epoch Times: GOP Senators push to remove China's most
favored nation status in order to same American jobs
Republican senators on March 18 introduced a bill that would strip the Chinese regime of its trading privileges by revoking its permanent normal trading relations (PNTR) status in a bid to hold it accountable for its economic aggressions and human rights abuses. The bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), would tie China's eligibility to receive preferential trading treatment—known as "normal trade relations" status (NTR)—with the government's human rights record. Under President Bill Clinton, the United States granted China PNTR status in 2000, which paved the way for the regime's accession to the World Trade Organization. Conventional thinking at the time was that more trade and investment in China would spur democratization within the communist-ruled country.

March 18: Townhall.com: Fauci torched by Paul over mask requirements
Someone had to do it. Someone had to say it. Why are these medical experts so damn pessimistic about a virus that has a 90+ percent survival rate? They've been wrong about almost everything, and I thought the liberal media was the only institution to hold that title. Okay, I'll be a little fairer—Dr. Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins noted where the medical experts have been wrong regarding masks, testing, schools, and vaccine distribution. Only pediatricians were the ones who were saying schools were safer to reopen last summer. Those are four big issues that they've bungled. And now, they're saying we need to social distance after vaccination and wear two masks? Why? Makary noted an unpublished Israeli study showing that just one dose of the Pfizer vaccine makes the recipient virtually "bulletproof" after four weeks. They should be telling us what we can do post-vaccination, not peddling fear in the hopes of keeping the Democrats' lockdown regime alive. During a hearing with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wrecked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the de facto COVID czar, over the lack of science surrounding re-infection and mask-wearing after vaccination. The Kentucky Republican cited medical studies and The New York Times to make his points. He noted how immensely rare it is that those infected with COVID will contract the disease again. Out of nearly 30 million who have contracted the virus, only five cases have been confirmed as re-infection. The point he was making is that we have scientific evidence showing that those who've acquired immunity from infection and those who acquire it through the vaccine won't contract the virus. Why do they need to keep wearing masks into 2022?

March 18: The Washington Examiner: AZ Senate closes in on its own audit team
looking into Maricopa County 2020 election
Arizona Senate Republicans say they are close to commencing their own audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, nearly three weeks after getting a favorable ruling from a judge. The majority-Republican state Senate released a readout Thursday afternoon saying further details about the audit would be released soon. Some supporters of Trump have joined calls in questioning the results of the 2020 election and demanding investigations to root out potential fraud. Superior Court judge Timothy Thomason ruled at the end of February, that a Senate subpoena of voting records was "legal and enforceable," though the Senate has yet to commence the audit that Republicans have demanded. Senate plans to hand count all 2.1 million ballots cast in the county's Nov. 3 election. "We are negotiating final details of the execution of the audit and hope to have an announcement soon," Fann wrote.

March 18: Fox News: Backlash: Michigan's ex-health director to waive
confidentiality over January resignation
Following a backlash, Michigan Gov. Whitmer and the state's former health director agreed this week to waive a confidentiality clause related to a $155,000 severance deal amid the official's abrupt resignation in January. The departure, which Robert Gordon announced Jan. 22, coupled with his hefty payout raised concerns in the media and with state lawmakers, prompting Democrat Whitmer to revoke the clause Thursday "in the interest of greater transparency," FOX 2 of Detroit reported. Gordon resigned the day after he issued an order to allow indoor dining to resume, WDIV-TV in Detroit reported. Neither Whitmer nor Gordon have given the reason for his departure but his successor, Elizabeth Hertel, intimated that Whitmer and Gordon may have had a difference of opinion about coronavirus orders.

March 12: The Washington Free Beacon: Embattled NY Governor defends
Democratic tradition of sexual harassment
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) on Friday defended his refusal to resign.  The embattled governor, who faces numerous accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior, blamed the scandal on "very different theories within the Democratic Party," suggesting that younger, more progressive members were out of touch with the party’s storied history, and the contributions of legendary people such as Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and Chris Dodd.  Cuomo bravely spoke his truth after repeatedly questioning the motives of his accusers and those calling on him to resign.  "People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture and the truth," he said.  In refusing to resign while facing multiple investigations and possible impeachment, Cuomo joins a long line of Democratic statesmen who refused to let criminal misdeeds get in the way of politics – Ted Kennedy who drove a car into a pond, leading to the death by drowning of 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne; Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) who was known for making "waitress sandwiches"; and Bill Clinton for his misdeeds in the White House while claiming “I did not have sex” with Monica Lewinski. 

March 12: Breitbart News: McCarthy: Biden attempts to “discredit operation
warp speed” instead of denouncing China
On Friday  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) criticized Joe Biden’s coronavirus speech on Thursday by stating that  “instead of denouncing China, he tried to discredit Operation Warp Speed.”  He added that people should get vaccinated, but that Biden is able to provide the vaccination because of Operation Warp Speed.  “He also said when he got into office that they didn’t have the vaccine until he came in, even though he was already vaccinated. Let’s give credit where credit is due,” McCarthy continued. “Because it is the American ingenuity that came together, that we had a virus hit us from China, that we came together and made vaccines. Now, there’s three out there that [are] already approved, so we’re going to — we’re producing more than 2 million a day into people’s arms.”

March 12: The Daily Caller: Top GOP leaders’ plan to win over working Americans
GOP leaders plan to build on what Donald Trump started, working to help people of color, working class Americans, and ordinary citizens and giving them the opportunity to succeed.  They claim, and the facts seem to bear out their claims, that the Democrat party has become the party of “elites.”  Senator Hawley (R-MO) said “I’ve been proud to work across the aisle to secure crucial direct relief for working families, fight to raise working-class wage, and to push to reform disastrous trade deals and I won’t stop.   Joe Biden and his party have nothing to offer but the same old failed policies that shipped American jobs to China while propping up monopolies like Amazon and working Americans of all creeds deserve a better option.” 

March 11: NTD News: House passes stricter gun control legislation
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill expanding background checks on individuals who are seeking to purchase or transfer firearms.  HR 8 passed by a vote of 227-203 with eight Republicans siding with Democrats and one Democrat voting against the measure. Currently, any firearm purchased at a retail store or online has to go through a background check and has to involve a licensed firearms dealer with a federal firearms license, known as an FFL. Specifically, H.R.8 would require background checks for private sales as well.    The House recently passed another control measure, H.R. 1446, which would allow the FBI to indefinitely delay background checks. Currently, there is a three-day default transfer window.

March 10: The Epoch Times: The People now realize they can
take their government back
The movement to recall California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has helped people understand what they can do to hold their elected officials accountable, says Randy Economy, senior advisor and official spokesman to the RecallGavin2020 campaign.  The California Patriot Coalition/RecallGavin2020 is the official committee responsible for the recall campaign.  “It’s empowerment. I think people now realize that they can take their government back, and they can hold their elected officials accountable,” Economy said . “I think that’s the power of democracy.” 

March 10: NTD News: Five people charged with voter fraud
in Illinois, a Texas connection
Five people are being accused of various election fraud-related cases during the Nov. 3 election, according to Robert Berlin, the DuPage County State’s Attorney in Illinois.  The state’s attorney’s office said the charges stem from investigations into 32 cases of alleged election fraud.   Those who were charged include Colleen A. Kirchoff, Thomas Wojciehowski, and Adam Butler who were all charged with forgery and perjury after she allegedly attempted to cast a ballot for someone else. Two others—Darrick Kent, 43, and Amy Kent, 41—of Austin, Texas, were charged with one felony count of perjury for claiming they had lived at a DuPage County address for thirty days or more prior to the election when in fact they had not.  Berlin didn’t provide any more details about the charges or the investigation but said, “The very foundation of our country is built upon fair and free elections.  Elections are a sacred duty and while the five defendants charged today represent an infinitesimal percentage of the 491,067 votes cast in the 2020 general election, it is important that anyone suspected of attempting to interfere in any way in the election process be investigated and charged where appropriate.” 

Voter fraud has impacted other states too.  Last week, the mayor pro-tem Alex Campbell of Crescent City, CA resigned after pleading guilty to election fraud charges of making a false declaration of candidacy.   Separately, in Aberdeen, MS, a judge ordered a new runoff election for a city alderman seat after more than three-quarters of absentee ballots cast in the June 2020 Democratic runoff election were found to be invalid, while a notary involved in the election was arrested.

March 10: The Epoch Times: House passed $1.9 trillion “relief” with only 9%
of it going to help victims of COVID-19
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the updated version of Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.  The vote was 220-211, with all Democrats voting for the bill except for Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) and all Republicans voting against it.  The Senate removed the $15-hour federal minimum wage hike and decreased the weekly supplement unemployment aid to $300 per week.   Democrats utilized a budget process to ram the package through Congress with no bipartisan support, drawing criticism from the GOP.   In the House Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) said “It’s shameful Democrats have disregarded their obligation to provide real COVID relief to the American people and are instead attempting to use this process to jam through partisan agenda items. This bill is not targeted, timely, or tied to COVID. We need to focus on solving the critical issues at hand: getting vaccines to Americans, providing relief to our local businesses, restaurants, and entertainment venues, and supporting those who have been seriously impacted by this pandemic. Only 9 percent of this massive $1.9 trillion package goes to fighting COVID-19. And outside of stimulus payments, nearly half won’t even be spent this year,” she told her colleagues on the House floor.

March 10: The Daily Caller: Fox News reporter pushes back at
White House news briefing
Fox News reporter Peter Doocy pushed back on White House press secretary Jen Psaki when she laughed at one of his questions.  Doocy asked about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations regarding reopening schools and managing migrant detention facilities during Wednesday’s briefing, noting that while the detention facilities were being opened to full capacity, many schools still were not.  Psaki immediately pushed back asking whether he had a specific school to hold up as an example, noting that to reopen, the CDC had said there were a series of mitigation efforts that needed to be implemented before schools could safely open.  “The CDC is saying, ‘Schools…, every school can be at full capacity,’ as you know —” Doocy protested.  He then pressed further asking whether the cooperation of the border patrol unions had been easier to come by than that of teachers unions.

March 9: The Washington Times: Portland Federal officers forgotten as
Pelosi eyes Congressional gold medal for Capitol Police
Praise and accolades continue to pour in for the U.S. Capitol Police who defended Congress on Jan. 6, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promising to award the force the Congressional Gold Medal.  Across the country in Portland, Oregon, another federal police force is wondering where its medal is.  For nearly a year now, Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers have been defending U.S. government property from attackers who have been every bit as violent as those who stormed the Capitol.  On the scale of mayhem, what’s gone on in  Portland is worse than Washington. It’s gone on longer, spawned more injuries to law enforcement, and attempted to disrupt a core government function — in this case the judicial branch, which works out of the courthouse.  Yet no praise has issued forth from the halls of Congress.

March 9: Fox News: Harris takes calls from world leaders
while Biden had memory lapses
The Vice President had another call with a foreign leader Tuesday, without the President being present. Harris spoke with the prime minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, where Harris "affirmed her commitment to deepening the strong alliance between Norway and the United States." Harris previously took calls with French President Emanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without Joe Biden being involved.   Less than two months into the new administration, Harris’ frequent solo calls with world leaders signal that she’ll engage deeply even in foreign policy, though her experience has been almost entirely in the domestic realm. Leaders around the world could view the vice president as Biden’s heir-apparent and be eager to build a relationship.   "She will be seen by everyone as a potential president in waiting," one European ambassador told Politico in February. "Much more than in previous presidencies."

March 9: The Daily Caller: Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee official
calls on followers to “Burn Every Cop Precinct To The Ground” if police kill her
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) new chief technology officer, Erica Joy Baker, has tweeted anti-police rhetoric and even called on police precincts to be burnt to the ground if she were to be killed by an officer.  In past tweets discovered Baker shared her stance on defunding the police, compared police officers to “giant pieces of sh*t” and called for her followers to burn every cop precinct to the ground, shut down the highways and throw tear gas back at the police officers if the cops kill her.  [Sept. 24, 2020] 

March 9: Breitbart News Texas Dem closes Bank of China account
after news leaks out of its existence
Congressman Vicente Gonzales (D-TX) closed an account with the Bank of China following a report on the Congressman’s holding with the state-owned institution.  Gonzalez’s most recent financial disclosure forms list holdings worth more than $100,000 with the Bank of China, a state-owned organ of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  The Bank of China’s website acknowledges itself as a “wholly state-owned commercial bank” and has been since the mid-1990s. The state-run enterprise also pledges allegiance to Chinese head of state Xi Jinping and his communist ideology, describing its mission as furtherance of the CCP’s global political vision.

March 9: Fox News:  Feminist activist blast Dems “Equality Act”
as harmful to women and girls
Kara Dansky, chair of the Women’s Human Rights Campaign’s Committee on Law and Legislation, called the potential passage of the Equality Act “an absolute emergency” during a Tuesday night appearance on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”  The Equality Act, passed by the House of Representatives last month, would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prevent “discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation.” If passed by the Senate and signed by Joe Biden, who has expressed support for the bill, it would have far-reaching implications for marriage, family, gender, abortion and other issues.  Dansky told Tucker Carlson that the bill would “enshrine so-called gender identity into law.”   They discussed the possibility of a male simply saying he is a woman in order to get a federal contract.  Something feminist activist claimed would be entirely possible.  “There is absolutely nothing that would stop you from doing that,” Dansky said, adding that nothing stopped “the man that was housed in a women’s prison in the state of Washington and reportedly raped a female prisoner.”  “There are really practical consequences and you’re absolutely right to say there are consequences that we have not thought through,” she continued before adding the possibility of crime statistics being “utterly meaningless” if they can’t be divided by biological sex.

March 8: Breitbart News: Joe Biden has another  “Brain Freeze” as he struggles
to name his Secretary of Defense during a speech
Joe Biden struggled to get the name of his Defense Secretary, Lloyd Auston, during an even marking International Women’s Day at the White House.  Biden spoke highlighting his nomination of two women General Officers for positions as four-star Combatant Commanders — Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost and Army Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson.  “So I want to thank you both, and I want to thank the sec… the former general, I keep calling him general but my… my, uh… the guy who runs that outfit over there,” Biden said as he wrapped up his speech.   Austin served as a general in the Army and was nominated by Biden to be the first black Secretary of Defense.

March 7: News Max: Biden new executive order to increase voting by criminals
Joe Biden signed an executive order Sunday designed in part to increase voting and voter registration access for criminals in prison and on probation, according to the White House.  "The order will direct the attorney general to establish procedures to provide educational materials related to voter registration and voting, and to the extent practicable, to facilitate voter registration, for all eligible individuals in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons," the White House stated.  The attorney general also must help former prisoners obtain appropriate identification to satisfy state voting requirements under the new law. Biden requested the U.S. Marshals Service include language in its contracts to facilitate voting by mail and provide eligible criminals information on voting and voter registration.  Meanwhile, Texas law prohibits the registration of, and voting by, felons who have not completed their debt to society – including probation.

March 7: The Daily Caller: Fifth person accuses Cuomo of sexual misconduct
A fifth woman has come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.  Ana Liss, one of Cuomo’s former aides, detailed the allegations to the The Wall Street Journal in an article published Saturday.   Liss accused the governor of calling her sweetheart, touching her lower back during an event, kissing her hand and inquiring about her relationship status.  “It’s not appropriate, really, in any setting,” Liss said.  Liss did not file a formal complaint and eventually requested to be transferred to a different office, the WSJ reported. The former aide also said her experience with Cuomo caused her to drink heavily and seek mental health counseling, the publication reported.

March 7: Fox News:  Trump will work to unseat Murkowski (R-AK) calling her disloyal
Former President Trump said he would campaign against Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and said she is a "disloyal and very bad Senator" in a statement this weekend.   "I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski," Trump said.  "She represents her state badly and her country even worse. I do not know where other people will be next year, but I know where I will be – in Alaska campaigning against a disloyal and very bad Senator."  "Her vote to advance radical left Democrat Deb Haaland for Secretary of the Interior is yet another example of Murkowski not standing up for Alaska," he continued.

March 7: News Max: Cotton: Death-row inmates shouldn’t receive stimulus checks
eath-row murderers and terrorists are getting $1,400 stimulus checks from the package passed by the Senate on Saturday, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) tweeted in condemnation.  Cotton's rebuke came after Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) proposed an amendment that the checks should not go to inmates, but Senate Democrats voted it down 50-49. 

March 7: The Washington Times: Almost useless; of the COVID-19 tests on
migrants dropped in Texas town 25% found to be infected
A quarter of the illegal immigrants dropped off in one Texas town tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the man who runs the homeless shelter where Border Patrol agents are bringing the migrants they’re catching and releasing.  Bill Reagan, director of Loaves and Fishes, the food bank and shelter in Harlingen, Texas, said more cases are likely but are not being detecting because, given the conditions, testing is “almost useless.”    Reagan told a Harlingen City Commission meeting last week that the migrants are processed at the border and then bused to his facility, so they may have contracted COVID-19 but show no signs of infection. Besides, he said, there is not much the city can do.  “We can’t quarantine them,” he told commissioners. “Even though they test positive, they’re going to leave the next day. They’re going to get on the bus or the airplane, and they’re gone.”  The first group that came through had 25% positivity test rate, he said.  Those migrants are now likely spread out across the country, challenging the Biden administration’s insistence that its border policies aren’t a new vector for the disease.

March 6: The Epoch Times: Biden disregards precedent firing General Counsel of an independent agency
Joe Biden on Friday fired Trump-appointee Sharon Gustafson, who refused to resign willingly as general counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), documents show. Gautam Raghavan, the White House deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel, said in an email to Gustafson, (pdf) that she was being fired effective 5 p.m. Friday after she declined to resign. Her term was originally supposed to end in 2023  Gustafson, in a letter to the White House released by the Ethics & Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank (pdf), said she had received the request to resign, but had opted to “respectfully” decline.  “I have confidently given this advice to countless embattled clients over the last 25 years: hold your head high, do your best work, and do not resign under pressure,” she wrote. “In solidarity with them, I will follow that advice.”

March 6: The Epoch Times:  Dems reject GOP amendments to trim the
$1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill
Democrats rejected all but three Republican amendments to the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which cleared the Senate in a partisan vote Saturday.  One Republican amendment to be adopted as part of the marathon “vote-a-rama” session that lasted more than 24 hours was an amendment on reducing the unemployment insurance plus-up from $400 to $300, introduced by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).  Portman’s amendment, which provided the extra jobless benefit until July 18, was short-lived, however. About an hour later, Democrats passed their own related amendment, which overrode Portman’s by extending the plus-up through September 6.  Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVA) voted with all 49 Republican senators present to approve Portman’s amendment, although he later voted with his Democrat colleagues on the superseding amendment that additionally made the first $10,200 in unemployment benefits tax free for some households.

March 6: The Washington Times: TX Gov to use state resources to contain
damages from surge of illegal aliens
Texas Gov. Abbott on Saturday announced Operation Lone Star, which he said would integrate the state’s own resources to try to contain damage from the new migrant surge that’s been caused by the Biden administration policies.  Abbott said the operation is aimed at the smuggling cartels, which control the routes for getting drugs and people across the border.

March 6: The Daily Caller: Senate GOP force recorded votes on questionable
provisions of the COVID-19 stimulus package
In a 50-49 vote, Senate Democrats voted to pass the “Americans Rescue Plan,” which passed the House by 219-212 without Republican support.  Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaking vote.  Senate Republicans forced a number of votes on the Floor to get Democrats on the record regarding several controversial issues such as giving relief checks to illegal aliens and raising taxes on small business.  Republicans forced votes on issues Democrats might not want to put their names on, which kept the senators on the Senate floor until late into the night.  The last “vote-a-rama” occurred  in early February but before then had not occurred in over three years. 

March 6: Fox News: House Dems plan to pass COVID-19 stimulus bill Tuesday 
House Democrats plan to offer their final approval of the bill Tuesday before sending it to Biden’s desk. The bill includes $1400 stimulus checks for individuals who make less than $75,000.   Inmates are included among those who receive stimulus checks.    Senators. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) Cotton and Ted Cruz (R-TX) offered an amendment on the floor to block checks from prisoners. It failed on a party-line vote, 49-50. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) argued that prisoners' children could be affected by withholding the money from them. 

March 6: The Epoch Times: GOP House members renew request for Twitter documents related to internal moderation policies
Republican congressmen, Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Ken Buck (R-CO) made a renewed request to Twitter for documents related to its internal moderation policies.  They asked for “an accounting of all content moderation decisions” made by Twitter over the last year, and documentation on the decision to apply “fact check” notations to posts made by then-President Donald Trump about mail-in ballots and the “autonomous zone in Washington, D.C.”  The letter (pdf) says Twitter played a “leading role” among big tech companies in enacting political censorship. During the election, Twitter suppressed news from a mainstream news outlet (The NY Post) unfavorable to then-candidate Joe Biden’s son and then banned President Donald Trump’s account.  “Big Tech, especially Twitter, Inc., is engaged in systematic viewpoint-based discrimination. In the unfortunate phenomenon of ‘cancel culture,’ Twitter plays a leading role in silencing and censoring political speech of conservative Americans,” reads the letter directed to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

March 5: The Washington Times: Federal Court shoots down effort to revive the Equal Rights Amendment
A federal court on Friday shot down Virginia’s attempt to force the National Archives to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ruling that the ratification deadline passed decades ago.  Judge Rudolph Contreras, an Obama appointee to the district court in Washington, D.C., said the last deadline Congress set was 1982. Virginia, which says it was the key 38th state to ratify, had argued that the deadline wasn’t binding, but the judge shot down that argument.

March 5: The Epoch Times:  Slaton (R-TX) introduces bill proposing Texas continue border wall construction where Trump’s wall ends
Texas State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Canton) introduced a bill proposing the border wall construction initiated under former President Donald Trump be completed by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).  Slaton said that the actions taken by Joe Biden shouldn’t stop the construction of the wall along the U.S-Mexico border in Texas.  “President Trump fought to bring real border security and was opposed by Republicans and Democrats in Congress. While hundreds of miles of new wall were built under his leadership, the Biden administration has already ceased border wall construction,” Slaton said, reported The Texan.  “It is time for Texas to stand up and finish the work that President Trump started. Let’s finish building the border wall now,” he added.

March 5: The Daily Caller: Biden’s Commerce Secretary owns stake in WeChat parent company as White House reviews Trump’s ban
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and her husband own a financial stake in WeChat parent company Tencent Holdings, even as the Commerce Department reviews a ban of the Chinese tech giant.  Raimondo and her husband Andrew Moffit own between $21,500 and $44,500 in Tencent Holdings.   The recently-confirmed secretary promised to divest from other financial positions, citing potential conflicts of interest, but did not mention divesting from her stake in Tencent Holdings.   The Biden administration is conducting a broad review of the previous administration’s outstanding executive orders related to China including an August action that banned transactions with Tencent Holdings.  Federal ethics law prohibits government employees from participating in official matters where they have a financial stake, but Raimondo’s holdings in Tencent may be exempted from these conflict-of-interest laws.  Altogether, the couple’s position in the two holdings is worth between $365,000 and $750,000. The exact amount has not been provided. 

March 5: Fox News: Arizona Senator votes thumbs down against the $15
per hours minimum wage provision of COVID-19 relief bill
When it came time to vote Friday on a $15 minimum wage amendment to the massive COVI-19 relief bill, maverick Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)  chose to do it in with emphasis that may have infuriated her critics on the left.  In video footage that has since gone viral, Sinema is seen offering a "thumbs-down" vote on the Senate floor. She was one of seven Democrats and one left-leaning independent who opposed the amendment, which failed on a 58-42 count.

March 5: The Washington Times:  Manchin (D-WVA) knocks Biden for
canceling the Keystone XL pipeline
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WVA) knocked Biden  for canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and urged environmental activists and fellow Democrats to make peace with oil and natural gas pipelines.  “We need to come to grips with facts,” Manchin, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said. “I’ve said this, ‘everybody is entitled to their opinion, they’re just not entitled to create [their] own facts to support their own opinion.” Manchin said.  He contended that pipelines are the safest alternative to transporting large amounts of crude oil and natural gas, which the U.S. economy heavily relies upon.

March 5: The Epoch Times: GOP Senator heads for home for family funeral
as the Senate continues to consider amendments to the COVID-19 relief bill
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) left Washington on Friday to his home state for a family funeral just as the Senate headed into an extended session during which Republicans could use his vote to amend the gargantuan $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill.  “Due to the recent passing of his father-in-law, Senator Sullivan had to depart on a Friday afternoon flight to make it back to Fairbanks, Alaska in time for the funeral,” a Sullivan spokesperson said.  “Senator Sullivan intended to vote against final passage of the bill and made his opposition clear in a statement on Thursday, after his vote against the motion to proceed with consideration of the bill.”  During the s0-called Vote-a-Rama, any senator can propose amendments to the relief bill which can be passed with a simple majority. Sullivan’s absence means Republicans would need at least two Democrats to join them for an amendment to succeed.   Republicans are in virtually unanimous opposition to the bill, which features the biggest expansion of Obamacare in a decade and a child tax allowance which amounts to the biggest means-tested welfare expansion since the Affordable Care Act. 

March 5: The Epoch Times: Gov. Abbott supports bill to fight censorship of
conservative voices
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday said he supports a new bill that aims to combat the censorship of conservative voices by social media companies.  Speaking at a press conference, Abbott warned about a “dangerous movement” across the United States to silence conservative ideas and religious beliefs. He blamed social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for contributing to that nationwide movement by “choosing which viewpoints are going to be allowed to be presented.”

March 4: Breitbart News: Rep. Brooks: HR 1 would make American elections
“akin to old Soviet Union, Cuba and North Korea
If HR1 is enacted into law, it would make American elections resemble those in the former Soviet Union, Representative Mo Brooks (R-AL) said.  Brooks said, “H.R. 1 is the worst piece of legislation relating to elections in the history of the United States of America. It does more to undermine our republic than any legislation I have ever seen or heard of, even looking back in the history books. By way of example, it registers 16- and 17-year-olds. It registers people automatically from multiple different sources like drivers licenses, social security cards, [or] any number of government sources.”

“If you move from one address to another, you’re going to get registered twice,” he continued. “Someone like myself, if it’s Morris Jackson Brooks Jr. at one place, but Morris Jay Brooks Jr. at another, you get registered twice.   Brooks warned that H.R. 1 will facilitate voter fraud if enacted as law.  “In short, the Democrats have ignored and undermined the Commission on Federal Election Reform report in 2005 — a bipartisan commission chaired  by Jimmy Carter and James Baker— and have expanded the very worst of the things that the report said we needed to avoid.”

March 4: The Washington Times: Alarm over voting machines using wireless
technology dismissed
A federal elections panel recently adopted new voting equipment standards despite an outcry from cybersecurity professionals who warned that the changes will leave America’s digitized ballot boxes more vulnerable to hacks.  The new standards from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which lawmakers also protested, did not prohibit embedding wireless communications hardware into voting machines as long as it is turned off.  The prospect of a flip of a switch opening wireless access to the ballot box exacerbates widespread fears that the U.S. voting system is not safe or reliable.  “Public concerns about the security of our election infrastructure are higher than ever before. It is crucial that our election systems be secure and that our citizens trust that election systems are secure,” cybersecurity professionals wrote.  “Permitting the inclusion of wireless radios will both increase the vulnerabilities of the voting system and diminish voter confidence in the security of our election systems. Neither is acceptable.”

March 4: The Daily Caller: Biden Press Secretary: Trump doesn’t deserve credit
for vaccines when half a million people died from the pandemic.  Really?
White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to give the previous administration any credit for getting the ball rolling on vaccines during her Thursday press briefing.  Psaki, asked by a reporter about a claim from former Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir that the Biden administration is following “99 percent” of the Trump administration’s vaccine playbook, said she doesn’t “think anyone deserves credit when half a million people in the country have died of this pandemic.”   Giroir tweeted “I am so tired of the continuing lies that @potus inherited a  #COVID19Vaccine mess, when in fact 99% of current vaccine manufacturing and distribution is EXACTLY as planned and explicitly described by Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed”

March 4: Fox News: Biden forced to send team to the border as child influx increases
Joe Biden has ordered senior members of his team to visit the southern border and report back to him on how to handle the recent influx of migrant children, a White House spokesman said Thursday.  News of the trip came at a critical time for the administration. As another wave of migrants approached the border, Biden encountered scrutiny over how his administration was treating children in its custody.  "Biden has asked senior members of his team to travel to the border region in order to provide a full briefing to him on the government response to the influx of unaccompanied minors and an assessment of additional steps that can be taken to ensure the safety and care of these children," the spokesman said.

March 3: Fox News: Biden video conference with House Dems cuts short: Feed
cut as he was preparing to take questions
The White House raised eyebrows on Wednesday when it suddenly cut the feed of a virtual event after Joe Biden said he was "happy to take questions" from Democratic lawmakers.   While Biden was poised to take questions from lawmakers, the president faced growing criticism for not holding a formal press conference in the seven weeks since taking office.  The rare instances where Biden does take questions are often limited to queries from pre-selected reporters. 

March 3: The Washington Free Beacon: Dems promised $2,000 stimulus checks
if Georgia elected two Democrat senators; Now they are back tracking
On the eve of the Georgia runoffs, Joe Biden told voters that sending Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate would put $2,000 stimulus checks in the mail.   "Their election will put an end to the block in Washington on that $2,000 stimulus check," Biden said back then. "That money that will go out the door immediately to help people who are in real trouble."   Two months later, stimulus checks still have not been sent, and Senate Democrats have kiboshed plans for $2,000 checks.  Biden and Democratic leadership agreed on Wednesday to scale the stimulus checks down to $1,400, a shift that has been in the works since just after Ossoff and Warnock were elected.  And in February, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY), with both Ossoff and Warnock standing behind him, advocated for the slimmed-down $1,400 checks.  The shift  comes despite repeated campaign trail promises to support the full $2,000 checks by the Georgia Democrats and their national allies.

March 3: The Washington Times: Biden HHS nominee may face same
fate as OMB Director appointee
The Senate Finance Committee split evenly Wednesday on Xavier Becerra‘s nomination as Health and Human Services secretary, teeing up another pitched battle over a Biden Cabinet pick.  The 14-14 vote along party lines came with the California attorney general facing rising opposition over his lack of health-care experience; legal fights against religious institutions, and staunch pro-choice stance.  “Being Health and Human Services secretary should not be a learn-on-the-job position,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). “I’m afraid Mr. Becerra will be very dependent on advisers.”  “Xavier Becerra is as radical as it gets,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) in a statement after the vote. “I cannot support someone who is extremely pro-abortion, attacks religious freedom, supports open borders, and advocates taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants.”  Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser said “During his confirmation hearings, Becerra refused to disavow his support for forcing taxpayers to fund abortion on demand, or his vote in favor of partial-birth abortion.”

March 3: The Washington Examiner: NYC library will keep Dr. Seuss
books in circulation
The nation’s largest library will keep all of its Dr. Seuss books in circulation despite publication of six of the books being halted.   Six books — If I Ran the Zoo, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer — will be allowed to circulate until they are too worn to check out, New York Public Library spokeswoman Angela Montefinise said Wednesday.   “As with all public libraries, the New York Public Library does not censor books,” she told the New York Post.   Montefinise pointed out that the six titles were being pulled from print by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, so “the very few copies we have of these titles will continue to circulate until they are no longer in acceptable condition.”

March 2: Fox News: Six Dr. Seuss books to no longer to be published
The sales of six Dr. Seuss books will cease over alleged racist and insensitive imagery, according to the business that preserves and protects the author's legacy.  The news comes Tuesday on National Read Across American Day, when schools across the U.S. celebrate reading on Dr. Seuss's March 2 birthday to commemorate the popular children's author, who died in 1991.  "These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong," Dr. Seuss Enterprises said.  "Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families," the statement continued.

March 1: The Epoch Times: Georgia House passes omnibus election reform bill
Georgia’s House of Representatives passed an omnibus bill that would reform a range of election rules, including absentee voting, voter ID for absentee voting, time limits for voting, and more.  The 66-page bill (pdf) passed the chamber on a party line vote of 97-72 and is headed to the state Senate for further debate.  State Rep. Barry Fleming, the main sponsor of the HB 513 bill, said the proposal was designed to restore voters’ confidence in Georgia’s election system following the 2020 presidential election, which saw numerous allegations of voting irregularities and election fraud.  Separately, the Georgia Senate introduced its own version of an omnibus election reform bill (pdf) that has some overlap with HB 531.

One difference is that the Senate bill would eliminate no-excuse absentee voting, something that has been allowed in Georgia since 2005.  The House proposal sets up multiple requirements for absentee ballots, including a number of voter identification requirements in replacement of the state’s current signature match process.  Voters would be able to request an absentee ballot up to 78 days before the election, instead of the current 180 days. The absentee ballots and early votes must be received by 11 days prior to the election day. 

The government, including election officials, would not be allowed to mail out unsolicited applications for absentee ballots to voters. Only authorized relatives or persons signing as helping a voter who is illiterate or physically disabled may apply on behalf of another for an absentee ballot application. 

A limited number of drop boxes would still be allowed under the new bill but subject to a number of restrictions.  Under HB 531 any provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct will no longer be counted.  Ballots would be required to be printed on “security paper that incorporates features which can be used to authenticate the ballot as an official ballot but which do not make the ballot identifiable to a particular elector (voter). “The bill also prohibits people to solicit votes, distribute or show any campaign material, or provide money or gifts—including food and drink—within 25 feet of voters standing in line at any polling place, and within 150 feet of any polling place.

March 1: The Epoch Times:  Four arrested in Texas on 150 counts of voter fraud
Four people arrested last month in South Texas on 150 counts of voter fraud related to the 2018 primary election in Medina County.  The Texas attorney general’s Election Fraud Unit arrested Medina County Justice of the Peace Tomas Ramirez, after earlier detaining Leonor Rivas Garza, Eva Ann Martinez, and Mary Balderrama on allegations of election fraud. The case involves claims of vote harvesting at assisted living centers in Medina County.   The charges range from illegal voting, to the unlawful possession of ballots or ballot carrier envelopes, to organized election fraud.   In a separate incident, Raquel Rodriguez, a Texas woman who bragged about being able to deliver thousands of votes for tens of thousands in cash was arrested in January on charges including election fraud and illegal voting.  She was filmed during an undercover project by Project Veritas, saying she could deliver “at least 5,000” votes “county-wide” for $55,000 in cash. She acknowledged that what she was discussing could land her prison time.

March 1: The Washington Free Beacon: Biden State Department nominee
is defender of Chinese propaganda program
Victoria Nuland, Joe Biden's choice for undersecretary of state for political affairs, voiced support for the expansion of the Chinese government-funded Confucius Institute at American universities in a 2012 press conference. A reporter asked Nuland if the Obama administration was concerned about "the Confucius Institute's expansion in the U.S. as the strongest Chinese soft power?"  "No," Nuland responded. "This [Confucius Institute] is something that we support. It's part of the people-to-people understanding."   Nuland's sympathetic comments about the Confucius Institute could ruffle feathers in the Senate, which will decide whether to confirm the former diplomat to the third-highest position in the State Department. Republican senators have demanded answers from multiple Biden nominees for China-friendly comments or business deals in the authoritarian country.   "Any nominee who has spoken in favor of Confucius Institutes is extremely concerning," said a spokesman for Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). "We cannot have individuals who are either naïve to—or even sympathize with—the threat that Beijing poses in top national security positions.

March 1: The Epoch Times: US may boost rare earths mining to
counter threat from China
The Chinese communist regime has recently signaled that it could leverage its dominance in rare earth minerals, raising alarm bells in the United States. The threat has prompted the Biden administration to take action to reduce U.S. reliance on China for rare earth metals that are used in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles to fighter jets.  Today, China is the dominant global supplier of rare earths, a group of 17 chemical elements used in the production of critical components of key technologies, which could easily be used as a weapon against other countries in a trade war or a conflict. They did so in 2010 against Japan during a conflict over a fishing boat.  Most recently, the Chinese regime officials reportedly explored whether curbing the export of rare earth minerals to the United States could cripple its production of F-35 fighter jets. On February 24, Joe Biden signed an executive order to “help create more resilient and secure supply chains for critical and essential goods.”  The order focuses on choke points in the supply chains of four key products, including rare earth minerals, semiconductor chips, large-capacity batteries for electric vehicles, and pharmaceutical ingredients.  The order initiates a 100-day review by federal agencies to identify supply chain risks and vulnerabilities for these key products and eventually perhaps others.  It’s unclear what actions the administration might take following the review. 

March 1: News Max:  Trump: Request for 10K National Guard Troops
rejected by Pelosi five days before the riot
Former President Donald Trump says he was concerned days before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol about the size of the expected crowd and requested 10,000 National Guard troops to be deployed, but his request was rejected because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders did not like the optics.   "I requested, I said this rally will be bigger than anything thinks," Trump told Fox News in an interview.  "Everyone said we'll be at the rally. It was, I think, the largest crowd that I have ever spoken to before. I have spoken to big crowds, hundreds of thousands of people, more than that, but hundreds of thousands of people."    Trump said he "gave the number" to DoD and they took that number and gave it to the Capitol Hill police which is controlled by Pelosi, and “I heard they rejected it because they didn't think it would look good," said Trump.  On the day after the riot, Trump said in a recorded video that he "immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders."

March 1: Fox News: NY Governor Cuomo accused by third woman
of unwanted sexual advances
A third woman has accused Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) of unwanted advances.  According to The New York Times, 33-year-old Anna Ruch has claimed that Cuomo asked to kiss her at a wedding in 2019 and that he putt his hand on her bare lower back.  Ruch said she pulled away and was "so confused and shocked and embarrassed" by the incident. I turned my head away and didn’t have words in that moment," she reportedly said.  Over the past week, two of Cuomo's former aides have accused him of sexual harassment -- something he has denied.  The latest allegation comes as Attorney General Letitia James announced that the governor's office sent a letter permitting her office to perform an independent investigation.  However, Democratic politicians within the state have already started calling for Cuomo's resignation after other accusations surfaced. 

February 27: The Epoch Times: Judge rules Maricopa County must
turn over 2.1 million November ballots to Arizona Senate
On Friday a judge ruled that Maricopa County must provide some 2.1 million ballots from the Nov. 3 election to the Arizona state Senate and allow access to its election equipment to conduct an audit.  Justice Timothy Thomason ruled that subpoenas issued by Arizona’s State Senate are valid and should be enforced, and he disputed arguments from Maricopa County officials saying the subpoenas are unlawful. The county previously stated that multiple audits have been sufficient and said ballots should be sealed.  “The Court finds that the subpoenas are legal and enforceable,” and “There is no question that the Senators have the power to issue legislative subpoenas. The subpoenas comply with the statutory requirements for legislative subpoenas. The Senate also has broad constitutional power to oversee elections,” he contended. “This was always about voter integrity and the integrity of the voting system itself,” Karen Fann, President of the Arizona Senate said.   The Senate is expected to conduct a full “forensic audit” of the results of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix.  The subpoenas were issued following allegations of voter fraud and irregularities made by former President Donald Trump and surrogates including Rudy Giuliani.  It’s not clear if the Maricopa Board of Supervisors will appeal Thomason’s decision.

February 27: News Max:  Pompeo to CPAC: Trump Administration
“Bold and Fearless” defenders
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted Saturday, during his address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), that conservatives and the Trump administration have "fought hard" on nearly every front, despite strong resistance and insisted the Trump administration "truly upended the status quo."  He said, "we have resisted enormous resistance to socialism and cancel culture. We have resisted seeing our liberties and freedoms swept away... We fought hard on nearly every front and we will always fight for it."  He then went on to outline the Trump Administration’s achievements including putting African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and others back to work. We “…focused on the economy to put Americans back to work. We did it by also securing our borders, giving Americans a chance to make a good wage and take care of their family."  "I hear Democrats pretend they care about jobs in America," he said. "But before the seats were warm, they destroyed 10,000 jobs on the [XL]pipeline."  Pompeo ridiculed former Secretary of State John Kerry's insistence that people out of energy jobs will be able to work making solar panels. "You can expect the cheap solar panels from China to start flooding in and it will not be good for the United States of America," he said. 

February 27: The Epoch Times: Call for investigation into Michigan
governor’s involvement in nursing home deaths
State legislators in Michigan are calling for an investigation over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s role in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) coronavirus-related deaths among nursing home residents.  Whitmer, a Democrat, issued an executive order (pdf) in April 2020 to designate 21 nursing homes as “regional hubs,” which were expected to provide care for both seniors recovering from the CCP  virus and those who didn’t have the virus. According to the order, the hubs were chosen based on their capability to house patients who had tested both positive and negative for the virus in properly separated units or buildings.  A group of eight lawmakers called for a “full investigation” into Whitmer’s handling of long-term care patients during the pandemic, arguing that her regional hub policy resulted in deaths that could have been avoided.  Specifically, the lawmakers want to investigate the processes and policies that may have contributed to the spread of the virus among Michigan’s nursing home residents, the accuracy of the data reported by the governor’s office, and how well the state complied with federal health guidelines and the Freedom of Information Act.

February 27: News Max: McCarthy: Dems “Bloated” $1.9 Trillion Stimulus
Confirms “The Swamp is Back”
The House approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill in a win for Joe Biden, even as top Democrats tried assuring agitated progressives that they’d revive their derailed drive to boost the minimum wage.  Biden’s vision for flushing cash to individuals, businesses, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote early Saturday. That ships the massive measure to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues.  Democrats said the still-faltering economy and the half-million American lives lost demanded quick, decisive action. GOP lawmakers said the bill was too expensive and said too few education dollars would be spent quickly to immediately reopen schools. They said it was laden with gifts to Democratic constituencies like labor unions and funneled money to Democratic-run states they suggested didn't need it because their budgets had bounced back.  “To my colleagues who say this bill is bold, I say it's bloated," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). “To those who say it's urgent, I say it's unfocused. To those who say it's popular, I say it is entirely partisan.”  “I’m about to say something that the American people don’t want to hear—the swamp is back,” McCarthy said on the House floor late Friday.  He accused Democrats of siding with their special interest allies and ignoring the “real needs of the American people.”  “The amount of money that actually goes to defeating the virus is less than nine percent,” McCarthy said, alleging that Democrats were “so embarrassed by all the non-COVID waste in this bill that they are jamming it through in the dead of night.”

February 26: The Daily Caller: Biden’s CIA nominee has ties to
the Chinese Communist Party
Tung Chee-hwa, the founder of a front group for the Chinese Communist Party appeared at an event at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in May 2016, where he pushed a pro-Beijing argument regarding a decades-long stalemate over control of the South China Sea. Tung’s speech was more than 14 months after William Burns, President Joe Biden’s nominee for CIA director, took over as president of the Carnegie Endowment.  The timing of Tung’s visit to Carnegie would appear to conflict with Burns’ testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee that he cut ties between Carnegie and the front group “not long after” he took over as president of Carnegie in March 2015.    Tung also gave a speech at Carnegie’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. on May 11, 2016, and his organization donated between $200,000 and $500,000 to Carnegie between 2015 and 2017.  During his testimony, Burns downplayed Carnegie’s relationship with the Chinese front organization while acknowledging that the Hong Kong-based group was used by the Chinese Communist Party “to sway public opinion and build influence.”

February 26: Fox News: Progressives in Senate call for scrapping the
Filibuster; want $15 minimum wage
Progressive Democrats renewed their push to kill the Senate filibuster after a Thursday night ruling from the parliamentarian dealt a major blow to their efforts to include a $15-an-hour minimum-wage increase in the coronavirus relief bill.  Elizabeth MacDonough, the non-partisan Senate referee, determined that raising the pay floor from $7.25 an hour is not compliant with budget reconciliation rules, the procedural tool that Democrats are using to pass the measure without any Republican support.  The finding marks a serious setback for the Democratic Party's left-wing faction, which has been pushing the policy for more than a decade and viewed Biden's relief package as the best avenue to make it a reality.  

In the wake of the ruling, progressive lawmakers began suggesting alternative routes to increasing the minimum wage — including eliminating the filibuster, which requires lawmakers to secure a 60-vote threshold for most legislation unrelated to the budget.  "Democrats should not be held hostage by Mitch McConnell to help struggling families," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tweeted. "It is time to get rid of the filibuster to raise the minimum wage to $15 and pass the other bold policies that Americans voted for us to deliver."  That sentiment was echoed by other progressives. 
Despite the calls from some lawmakers, Senate Democrats will almost certainly be unable to nix the filibuster. Doing so would require the support of all 50 members in order to invoke the "nuclear option" and end the filibuster with a simple majority. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) have previously defended the filibuster, with Manchin saying there is no scenario "whatsoever that I will vote to get rid of the filibuster" in the next two years.  Even if the parliamentarian had allowed the minimum wage increase, however, it already faced an uphill battle in the Senate: Manchin and Sinema, two of the party's most moderate members, have signaled they would not support increasing the pay floor as part of a broader COVID-19 relief effort.  Raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2025 would cost the economy about 1.4 million jobs and would lift 900,000 Americans out of poverty, according to a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

February 26: The Washington Examiner: Arizona Maricopa County Judge:
Senate subpoenas regarding election are enforceable
The Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona, found that the state's Senate Republicans' subpoenas “… are legal and enforceable. There is no question that the Senators have the power to issue legislative subpoenas," Judge Timothy Thomason said Friday in a readout following a Thursday hearing on the issue.  "The Subpoenas comply with the statutory requirements for legislative subpoenas. The Senate also has broad constitutional power to oversee elections," the court's conclusion added.  The county board requested Thomason to nullify the subpoena issued by the Senate. They argued that the ballots are sealed under laws the Legislature passed and the Senate does not have a right to access them, claiming it would be illegal.

The judge said the Senate's subpoenas did not violate the separation of powers principle, and subpoenaed materials would not violate confidentiality laws.    One subpoena calls for a scanned ballot audit in order to collect an electronic ballot image cast for all mail-in ballots counted in the county's November 2020 general election. The second subpoena calls for a full forensic audit of ballot tabulation equipment, the software for that equipment, and the election management system used in the 2020 general election.

County board supervisors have provided some of what the subpoenas requested but not the ballots or access to the machines. The Senate wants an audit of ballots and a check of voter information, while the county has contended that its multiple audits have been sufficient and said the ballots must remain sealed under state law.  Senate leaders have said they are unsatisfied with the county's audits, including the latest audit performed this month by two independent firms that inspected the county's voting machines.

February 26: The Washington Times:  If Dems get there $1.9 trillion aid package,
it will cause  cuts ($36 Billion) in Medicare for the elderly, CBO says
House Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill would trigger deep cuts to programs such as Medicare unless Congress works around a 2010 law intended to curb federal deficits, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.  Under a 2010 law, the White House budget office has to identify “sequestration” cuts to offset projected increases in the federal deficit from new legislation.  CBO projected that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would have to issue a directive to cut mandatory spending by $381 billion in fiscal 2022, absent other offsets or waivers.  That translates to $36 billion in cuts to Medicare. Democrats predicted this week that they will be able to work around it. 

February 25: The Epoch Times: Senate Parliamentarian rules minimum wage not
eligible for reconciliation bill
The Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that the $15 per hour minimum wage cannot be included in the Democrats’ proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package.  The controversial proposal in the House bill seeks to gradually raise the federal minimum wage, which has been at $7.25 an hour since 2009, to $15 by 2025.  Elizabeth MacDonough, the chief Senate parliamentarian decided the minimum wage increase cannot be included under the budget reconciliation process, according to multiple reports.  As provided by the “Byrd Rule” MacDonough and her team heard arguments from Democrats and Republicans about whether the wage increase isn’t germaine with reducing the budget deficit. She decided that the wage increase did not meet the criteria to be included in the bill under the reconciliation process.  Under the reconciliation rules only a majority vote is needed for passage in the Senate instead of needing 60 votes or more.   The reconciliation process also limits debate to 20 hours and does not allow filibuster in the Senate, among other requirements.  The decision by the Senate parliamentarian suggests that any minimum wage increase provisions cannot be passed with a simple Senate majority and would require bipartisan support.  Not expectantly, Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) was disappointed in the decision, while Senator Graham (R-SC) welcome it.  Meanwhile House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) intends to keep the minimum wage provision in the House version.

February 25: The Washington Times: McConnell: Democrats are plotting to
nationalize elections
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Thursday accused House Democrats of plotting to “nationalize” elections, arguing that legislation headed for a vote next week would mandate mail-in voting and forbid states from implementing voter ID laws. 

“In this country, states and localities run elections,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “Those of us in the federal government do not get a stranglehold over the ways in which voters decide our fates. House Democrats want to change that.”  He said the “miss titling” of the “For the People Act” would result in a national policy on election issues such as early voting, registration and no-excuse absentee balloting. He called the bill a “sweeping federal takeover” of state and local election procedures.   He said, “They want to force all 50 states to allow the absurd practice of ballot harvesting, where paid operatives can show up at polling places carrying a thick stack of filled-out ballots with other people’s names on them.   They want to forbid states from implementing voter ID or doing simple things like checking their voter rolls against change-of-address submissions. They want to mandate no-excuse mail-in balloting as a permanent norm, post-pandemic.”

Meanwhile state legislatures are introducing bills to increase election security.  South Carolina is considering a proposal that would mandate a signature match for absentee ballots. A New Hampshire bill would allow anyone to observe polls “without obstruction.” A Texas proposal would require the Department of Public Safety, instead of county clerks, to verify the citizenship of voters.   The House Democrat bill would mandate same day voter registration and prohibit voter ID requirements.  Some analysts have called the measure essentially a Democratic wish list.

February 25: News Max: Texas Congressman Roy to challenge the
“Equity Act” in court
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said on Thursday that he will continue to fight against the “Equality Act” in court just before the House was scheduled to vote on the bill, which he claims would harm religious freedom.  The bill attempts to build on the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act to add protections for LGBTQ Americans. Roy, alongside several members of the House Freedom Caucus, said that "This is a government using its power to tell us to bow down to the will of a cultural elite in this town who want to tell us what we’re supposed to believe. We’re not going to do that.  We are going to keep fighting it in the courts and beyond.” 

February 25: Fox News: McConnell: Would Absolutely support
Trump if he is the 2024 GOP Presidential nominee
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Thursday he would "absolutely" support Donald Trump if the former president won the Republican nomination in 2024.  He also said “there's a lot to happen between now and '24. I've got at least four members, I think, that are planning on running for president, plus governors and others. There is no incumbent, [so it] should be a wide-open race and fun for you all to cover."
"We gained seats in the House. We elected 50 Republican senators when everybody was predicting we were going to lose the Senate. The Democrats didn’t flip a single state legislature. We flipped two [and] picked up a governor.  "The Republican Party had a very good day on November 3," McConnell contended. "We’re sorry we lost the White House, but the Republican Party demonstrated once again [that] this is a 50/50 nation, we are very competitive and will be competitive again in '22."   "The progressives make it extremely difficult for Speaker Pelosi to operate given the narrow margin she has overall in the House," he said.   Meanwhile, "I think the Biden administration is making it easy for us to get together. I think we’ve unified in opposition to this new administration’s extremely progressive approach. Biden has made it quite easy for us to get together."

February 25: The Epoch Times: U.S. strikes facilities in Syria
used by Iranian backed group
The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by militia groups backed by the Iranian regime. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.  The airstrike was the first military action undertaken by the Administration.   “This proportionate military response was conducted together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with coalition partners,” the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, John Kirby, said in announcing the strikes.  “The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to deescalate the overall situation in eastern Syria and Iraq.”   Kirby said the U.S. airstrikes “destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups.”
“Right now, we’re not able to give you a certain attribution as to who was behind these attacks, what groups, and I’m not going to get into the tactical details of every bit of weaponry used here,” Kirby said. “Let’s let the investigations complete and conclude, and then when we have more to say, we will.” 

February 24: The Daily Caller: HHS nominee says he never sued any nuns but…
Joe Biden’s HHS nominee Xavier Becerra denied Wednesday that he has sued any nuns, though he filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration arguing that employers like the Little Sisters of the Poor should not receive religious exemptions from an HHS mandate.  During Wednesday’s hearing, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) asked Becerra how he could assure the American public that he will not fixate on abortion issues “when we got all these public health issues to deal with.”  Specifically, Thune referred to Becerra’s strong support for abortion as California attorney general, such as Becerra’s 2017 lawsuit against the Trump administration that sought to reimpose an Obama-era mandate forcing insurance providers to provide contraceptives. The Catholic Little Sisters of the Poor had fought the mandate, resulting in a lawsuit by the state of California.  The lawsuit is currently under consideration by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and Becerra is listed as counsel in the 9th circuit ruling.

February 24: Fox News: If Flynn was prosecuted as part of “Russia Gate” why isn’t John Kerry being investigated for Iranian ties?
A report alleging John Kerry may have colluded with Iran when meeting with its foreign minister during the Trump administration is drawing comparisons to the situation of retired Gen. Michael Flynn who as part of his job description communicated with the Russian ambassador while serving in the Trump administration.     Retired Gen. Jack Keane, chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, said "In terms of what Secretary Kerry was doing and other members of the Biden administration, in my judgment is appalling and it’s reckless and significantly irresponsible."  "What we’re not used to is previous government officials actually colluding and talking to our enemies, and I emphasize enemy because that is who Iran really is. In the past 40 years, there is no nation-state that has killed more Americans than Iran," he said.

February 24: The Epoch Times: Bernie Sanders: Biden’s OMB nominee lacks the votes to be confirmed
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday that her two confirmation hearings were postponed because she “didn’t look like she had the votes.”  “I think there’s no secret she’s lacking the votes right now and she’s working hard to try to get the votes,” Sanders told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday, when asked about postponing the vote.  This comes as two Senate committees delayed confirmation votes for the nominee, which is signaling pessimism that Tanden may not be able to get through the confirmation process. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Budget Committee were scheduled to vote on Tanden’s nomination on Wednesday

.February 24: Breitbart News: AG nominee can not name one restriction on abortion that he would support
California Attorney General Becerra refused to answer questions about his pro-abortion views during another day of confirmation hearings and he could not name even one abortion restriction he could support.  Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) asked Becerra, Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), whether he supported any restriction whatsoever on abortions, including those intended to end the life of babies with a prenatal disability diagnosis of Down syndrome or partial-birth abortions.  “Senator, let me try to respond this way,” Becerra said.
I have tried to make sure that I am abiding by the law…  because whether it’s a particular restriction, or whether it’s the whole idea of abortion, whether we agree or not, we have to come to some conclusion, and that’s where the law gives– “   “But, to be clear,” Senator Daines interrupted. “Is there any line you would draw? Is there just one – just one restriction that relates to abortion that you might support?”   Becerra still would not respond to Daines’ question, but, instead, attempted to distract the senator with references to his Catholic faith, including that his mother “blessed” him before he left for his confirmation hearing and that she “prays the rosary every day” and “said a prayer and included me in that prayer.”

February 24: The Epoch Times: China’s digital surveillance industry competes with local users for power, causing blackouts
According to the white paper (pdf) on Digital Economy Development in China (2020) by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, more than 30 percent of the CCP’s GDP comes from the digital economy, which is closely linked to new infrastructure, and its rapid increase is not a sign of economic recovery, but a prevalence of a surveillance state. An in-depth investigation done on the structure of electricity consumption in China has led to the conclusion that its fast-growing digital surveillance industry has not only become an important new engine for the Chinese economy, but also competes with residents for power. The omnipresent digital surveillance system has also changed China into an Orwellian society, where all the data and information collected can be used and abused by the communist regime.  In the winter of 2020, Ulanqab, a big data city in Inner Mongolia, and a major energy province in China, was the first to report a shortage of electricity, followed by power shortages in Hunan, Zhejiang, and other provinces. The CCP interpreted the power shortage as a result of a strong economic recovery, claiming that China is the only major economy in the world to record positive GDP growth in 2020. However, according to the white paper (pdf) on Digital Economy Development in China (2020) by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, more than 30 percent of the CCP’s GDP comes from the digital economy, which is closely linked to new infrastructure, and its rapid increase is not a sign of economic recovery, but a prevalence of a surveillance state.

February 24: The Washington Times: Dems’ slippery slope toward censorship of conservative outlets met with strong opposition
The Democrat-led rush to sideline media outlets such as Fox and Newsmax that they accused of disseminating “disinformation” ran into strong opposition Wednesday from Republicans and free speech advocates who warned that the push puts the nation on a slippery slope toward state-controlled censorship.   Members of a House panel clashed over the widely held belief among Democrats that news outlets should pay a price for parroting former President Donald Trump’s false messaging — in particular his downplaying of the coronavirus and insistence that the 2020 election was stolen.
“Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, OANN and Newsmax on your platform both now and beyond the renewal date?” they wrote. “If so, why?”  Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, (R-WA) called the letter an “obvious, direct attack on the First Amendment.”  “Every journalist from MSNBC and CNN to The New York Times should be concerned by the majority’s actions, and anyone who values free speech and a free press should be worried.,”  “Election officials using their platform to pressure private companies to censure media companies they disagree with? That sounds like actions from the Chinese Communist Party, not duly elected representatives of the United States Congress.”   Rogers questioned whether MSNBC should be punished for sticking with the “false Russian collusion narrative” and whether CNN should be targeted for the glowing accounts it gave Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s coronavirus response.

February 24: Townhall.com: Sheriff has the power to arrest feds attempting to enforce gun control
Any state or federal agent looking to enforce gun control laws is going to want to think twice before heading to Newton County, Missouri, where the county commissioners recently reaffirmed their commitment to the Second Amendment. Under the newly-passed ordinance, the county sheriff has the authority to arrest anyone enforcing anti-gun legislation. 
"Newton County Missouri declares that it must be the duty of the courts and law enforcement agencies to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms and that no person, including a public officer or county employee of this county or any political subdivision of this county, can have the authority to enforce or attempt to enforce and federal laws, orders, or rules infringing on the right to keep and bear arms," the ordinance stated.  The ordinance lists a number of potential gun control laws including:  Taxes and stamps imposed on firearms, ammunition and firearms accessories; Registering firearms, ammunition and firearms accessories; and Confiscation of firearms, ammunition and firearms accessories.  Commissioners also took into account any potential anti-gun legislation and policies currently in the pipeline, whether in Congress or the White House. That is why the ordinance said the county would not recognize any laws that would limit a citizen's right to keep and bear arms. Those laws would be deemed "null and void" in Newton County. 

February 23: The Washington Examiner: Biden’s AG nominee won’t call the Portland courthouse riots “domestic terrorism”
Judge Merrick Garland is set for easy confirmation as attorney general, but some Republican senators want to make sure he doesn't get a free pass.  They're concerned by Garland's comments Monday during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which he shied away from labeling as domestic terrorism riots at a Portland, Oregon, courthouse last summer that were instigated by left-wing activists.   During the exchange with Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, Biden's attorney general nominee said that because the riots occurred at night and while the courthouse was not in operation, it was questionable that they could be classified as "domestic terrorism." Garland's comments came after an opening statement in which he promised to make prosecution of people involved in the Jan. 6 riot inside the Capitol building his top priority. 

February 23: The Epoch Times: Biden AG nominee says he support gun control agenda
Merrick Garland, Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general, said Monday that he would align the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) with the White House’s push to restrict gun ownership.  “The president is a strong supporter of gun control and has been an advocate all his professional life on this question,” Garland said during his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. He was responding to a question from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).    “The role of the Justice Department is to advance the policy program of the administration as long as it is consistent with the law,” Garland continued. “Where there is room under the law for the president’s policies to be pursued, I think the president is entitled to pursue them.”  Biden has said he wants Congress to impose stricter restrictions on gun purchases, including banning “assault weapons,” banning “high-capacity” magazines, and eliminating liability shields for gun manufacturers.  The NRA said it will stand firm and fight back against these measures.  “Imagine if firearm manufactures and sellers—even those who strictly followed the laws enacted to regulate their industry—faced potential civil liability every time a criminal misused a firearm. The effect would be similar to holding automobile makers and dealers responsible for injuries caused by drunk drivers. No business, no matter how conscientious and law-abiding, could ever survive being liable for the acts of millions of random people over whom it had no control,” the NRA said earlier this month. 

February 23: The Washington Free Beacon: Biden’s health nominee for HHS
mum on taxpayer funder abortions
President Joe Biden's top health care nominee dodged questions about taxpayer funding for abortion during his Tuesday Senate confirmation hearing.  Senate Republicans centered much of Department of Health and Human Services nominee Xavier Becerra's hearing on his past support for abortion. The California attorney general declined to answer Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) when he asked if HHS would commit to not using taxpayer money to fund abortion providers.  "While we probably will not agree on all the issues, I can say to you that we will definitely follow the law when it comes to the use of federal resources," Becerra said. "There I can make that commitment, that we will follow the law."

February 23: Townhall.com: Schumer to moderate Senate Democrats: Get on Board
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday said his goal is to keep the Democratic Party united behind President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill known as the American Rescue Plan.   According to Schumer, moderate Democrats need to get behind the bill because failing to pass it would be a political disaster. Some moderates, like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrten Sinema (D-AZ), take issue with the progressives' push to include a $15 minimum wage in the bill. [And what does the minimum wage have to do with COVID relief?  In times of a wavering economy why would the administration want to put on an additional burden to recovery?]

February 22: The Epoch Times: Justice Thomas dissenting comments
in SCOTUS election case
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a dissenting opinion regarding the high court’s decision not to take up a case that challenged Pennsylvania’s Nov. 3 election results.  The Pennsylvania case dealt with relaxing ballot-integrity measures, including a move to extend the ballot-receipt deadline during the November election by three days.   “This is not a prescription for confidence,” Thomas wrote, adding that “changing the rules in the middle of the game is bad enough.” Thomas said the court should have granted a review.  “That decision to rewrite the rules seems to have affected too few ballots to change the outcome of any federal election. But that may not be the case in the future,” Thomas wrote (pdf). “These cases provide us with an ideal opportunity to address just what authority non-legislative officials have to set election rules, and to do so well before the next election cycle. The refusal to do so is inexplicable.”  Thomas was joined by Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch in dissenting.

February 22: The Daily Caller: AG Nominee Garland avoids the question whether men should compete in women’s sports
Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general Merrick Garland avoided directly addressing whether biological males should compete in women’s sports during the first day of his confirmation hearing.  Garland discussed the much-contested issue with Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday.  “I’m going to ask you if you agree with this statement,” Kennedy told the attorney general nominee. “Allowing…biological males to compete in an all-female sport deprives women of the opportunity to participate fully and fairly in sports and is fundamentally unfair to female athletes.”  “This is a very difficult societal question,” Garland told Kennedy, to which the senator responded, “I know, but you’re going to be attorney general.”   Garland said that he may not be the one to make “policy decisions like that” but that he is not “adverse to it.”

February 22: The Epoch Times: House Dems pressuring Cable TV
to de-platform Fox News and News Max
House Democrats are attempting to pressure television carriers into de-platforming Fox News and two other cable news channels, arguing they have been spreading “misinformation” related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Reps. McNerney (D-CA) and Eshoo (D-CA) wrote to 12 cable, satellite, and streaming companies, urging them to take steps they asserted would combat the spread of misleading information.  The lawmakers alleged these networks spread misinformation about the November 2020 elections and COVID-19.  They asked carriers to respond to a slew of questions by March 8, including what moral or ethical principles they apply in deciding which channels to carry, how many subscribers tuned into the networks in the weeks preceding the presidential election, and whether they’ve taken adverse actions against any channel in the wake of the election or the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.  They asked AT&T “Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV both now and beyond any contract renewal date? If so, why?”   A Fox spokesperson said via email: “As the most watched cable news channel throughout 2020, FOX News Media provided millions of Americans with in-depth reporting, breaking news coverage and clear opinion. For individual members of Congress to highlight political speech they do not like and demand cable distributors engage in viewpoint discrimination sets a terrible precedent.”  Meanwhile Newsmax commented, “The House Democrats’ attack on free speech and basic First Amendment rights should send chills down the spines of all Americans. Newsmax reported fairly and accurately on allegations and claims made by both sides during the recent election contest. We did not see that same balanced coverage when CNN and MSNBC pushed for years the Russian collusion hoax, airing numerous claims and interviews with Democrat leaders that turned out to be patently false.” 

Editor’s Note: The question each of us should be asking ourselves is “What are these Democrats afraid of?”  Is it the truth?  The free exchange of ideas? 

February 22: Fox News:  State Dept. briefing gets heated as reporter asks
if Biden is taking credit for Trump accomplishments
An Associated Press reporter took State Dept. spokesman Ned Price to task Monday for suggesting that  Joe Biden was responsible for a policy that had started under the Trump administration.  Price, highlighting a report sent to Congress, said some 18 entities have engaged in "good faith efforts" to scale back their involvement in Nord Stream 2, a controversial $11 billion pipeline project designed to transmit Russian natural gas to Germany.   AP reporter Matt Lee piped in asking "You guys have only been in office for a month, right? Are you telling me that in the last four weeks these 18 companies all of the sudden decided to say, ‘Oh my God! We better not doing anything with Nord Stream 2.  You guys are taking credit for stuff the previous administration did. Yes or no?"  Price, noticeably flustered, said he was merely speaking on behalf of the State Department – occupied by the same people since before Biden took office.

February 22: The Epoch Times: Amazon quietly removes book
criticizing transgender ideology
Amazon has apparently removed from its offerings a book that discusses issues with transgender ideology. The author said he wasn’t notified and the company has offered no explanation.  The book, “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment” by Ryan Anderson, was removed by Amazon around Feb. 21. The exact timing is hard to pinpoint since the author, who is president of the Washington-based think tank Ethics and Public Policy Center, only learned about the move when people informed him that they couldn’t find the book in the online retailer’s inventory.  “I hope you’ve already bought your copy,” Anderson said in a tweet, “cause Amazon just removed my book ‘When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment’ from their cyber shelves.”

February 22: The Washington Times: Pressure builds on Biden as
Iran outreach backfires
The Biden administration came under pressure from all sides Monday in its push to restart nuclear talks with Iran, as leaders in Tehran threatened to dramatically ramp up uranium enrichment programs while officials in Communist China and Israel laid out their own wildly different blueprints for how Washington should handle the tense diplomatic standoff.  The White House extended the first olive branch last week by offering to join multilateral talks with Tehran, but Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei responded Monday with a fiery declaration that his nation may rapidly expand its nuclear program at a moment’s notice with little regard for American demands. His aggressive stance suggests that the Iranian regime — facing its own backlash from hardliners in parliament who are wary of any engagement with the U.S. — will not offer Biden an easy diplomatic victory.  Iran’s increasing to 60% would put the country’s nuclear program just a few steps away from what it needed to make an actual bomb.

February 22: The Epoch Times: 75 Members of Congress urge Biden to
withdraw his HHS secretary nomination
Eleven senators and 64 House members are urging Joe Biden to withdraw his nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to serve as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).  The members of Congress, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), sent a letter (pdf) to Biden on Monday to express “grave concerns” over the nomination, arguing that Becerra was not qualified for the role given his record in public service revealing “extremism and contempt for those who take a different view.”  “Becerra’s lack of healthcare experience, [has an] enthusiasm for replacing private health insurance with government-run Medicare-for-all, and embrace of radical policies on immigration, abortion, and religious liberty, render him unfit for any position of public trust, and especially for HHS Secretary,” the senators wrote. 

February 22: NewsMax: SCOTUS paves the way for the release of Trump tax returns
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a New York City prosecutor to obtain former President Donald Trump's tax returns and other financial records as part of a criminal investigation, a blow to his quest to conceal details of his finances.  The justices rebuffed Trump's request to put on hold an Oct. 7 lower court ruling directing the former Republican president's longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, to comply with a subpoena to turn over the materials to a grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat.

February 21: The Daily Caller: National Security Official: Evidence for Wuhan Lab error “far outweighs” other theories
Matt Pottinger, who has served as deputy national security adviser said Sunday that the evidence that the coronavirus resulted from human error in a Chinese lab “far outweighs” other theories about the origins of the pandemic.  “If you weigh the circumstantial evidence, the ledger on the side of an explanation that says that this resulted from some kind of human error, it far outweighs the side of the scale that says this was some natural outbreak,” Pottinger said.  “We have very strong reason to believe that the Chinese military was doing secret classified animal experiments in that same laboratory, going all the way back to at least 2017,” he continued.  “We have good reason to believe that there was an outbreak of flu-like illness among researchers working in the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the fall of 2019, but immediately before the first documented cases came to light.”  Jake Sullivan, the current Biden National Security Adviser cast doubt on a forthcoming report on the World Health Organization’s investigation in Wuhan into the origins of the virus.

February 21: NewsMax: Gates: Social media bans aren’t the answer
to divisiveness
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said social-media silencing such as Twitter Inc.’s lifetime ban on President Donald Trump risk leading to even more divisiveness in the U.S.  Trump said many things questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election “that are corrosive,” Gates said “But the idea that you end up with a lifetime ban -- that, it seems like we should discuss.”  “We don’t want to partition and have a social network for one party and another social network,” he said. “We want to have a common base where we’re exchanging ideas and thoughts.”  Facebook also suspended Trump’s account while stopping short of declaring the suspension permanent.  “There’s got to be some way that, between the government and the well-meaning actors, we draw the line so we keep the open debate without the corrosive parts,” Gates said.

February 21: The Washington Examiner: Wisconsin Republican
introduced bill to expand guidelines for immigrant welfare
Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI-R) introduced this month the Smarter Plan for Immigrant Welfare bill to expand guidelines for eligibility for any kind of welfare or government assistance. Since 1996, when the last major welfare legislation was passed, only immigrants who have green cards, or legal permanent residents, were allowed to request assistance.  The Trump administration had proposed a plan to update existing rules so that the government would have the ability to block immigrants who apply for green cards on the basis that they may rely on federal assistance and would be a "public charge" to the government. That effort is now being reviewed and expected to be undone by Joe Biden.   But over on Capitol Hill, Grothman wants lawmakers to take it a step further and bar all noncitizens from getting so much as a penny from any federal programs.  “We can only take so many immigrants. We’re swearing in another 700,000, a little under that, per year,” said Grothman. “You should go back home and prepare yourself and put yourself in a position in which you can get a job. But, if you can't get a job, then they can take care of you and whichever country you came from.”   The unfortunate reality is that the bill, although a worthwhile endeavor, has little chance of going anywhere in a Democrat-controlled Congress and White House.

February 21: The Washington Times:  Palin seen as probably primary
opponent to Senator Murkowski after the latter’s impeachment vote
Alaska Republican Party officials are looking to former governor and tea party favorite Sarah Palin as a potential primary challenger to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has drawn their ire for her vote to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial.  Of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Mr. Trump, Ms. Murkowski is the only one up for reelection in 2022.  It’s put a mama bear-size bull’s-eye on the three-term senator.  Republican Party leaders in her home state say their frustration with Ms. Murkowski goes beyond the impeachment vote, however. They are also irked by her pro-choice views and anti-Trump rhetoric. Conservatives point to her vote against confirming Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and her support of the Affordable Care Act as further reasons to replace her.  “Everywhere I go, people have been disgruntled with Murkowski for a long time,” said Barbara Tyndall, GOP chair for Alaska’s 3rd District, which covers the North Pole and Chena Lakes. “Everybody is saying, ‘Yes, we need a primary challenger now.’”

February 21: NewsMax: Gingrich: “Nobody can fight” Trump’s hold on GOP
While Democrats are going after Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and former President Donald Trump is slapping back at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY),  the GOP is going to ultimately regain power, according to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.  "What's very striking is that President Trump still has such enormous reach in the party that nobody can fight him," Gingrich said on Sunday.  "You can complain about him. You can criticize him. But [Mitch] McConnell can't possibly fight Trump. He doesn't have a big enough base.  "It's also a reminder that there is an establishment insider party that sits around at cocktail parties in Washington. And then there's this huge country outside of Washington. That country in 2015, by about 2-1, did not like the Republican leadership in the Congress. That was the forerunner of us ending up with Trump as a presidential nominee. [Kevin] McCarthy has been much smarter as the House Republican leader to recognize his ability to get the extra seats [to win the House] rests almost entirely on working with Trump, not picking a fight with him."

February 20: The Washington Free Beacon:  Is Faulconer destined to be
the next Schwarzenegger for California?
Under normal circumstances, a California conservative like Kevin Faulconer would stand little chance of toppling Governor Gavin Newsom (D.), the polished product of San Francisco's powerful political machine. But after nearly 12 months of harsh lockdowns and shuttered schools, the state's political landscape is anything but normal.  "You can't underestimate the anger and frustration of California families right now," Faulconer said.  The former two-term San Diego mayor launched his campaign to succeed Newsom in early February, promising a "California comeback" centered on common-sense policies. The timing proved opportune: Just two weeks later, Republicans called for a corruption investigation into Newsom over no-bid contracts the Democrat awarded to campaign donors. And with a recall effort against Newsom sweeping the state, Faulconer is eager to capitalize on what is undoubtedly the best chance for a Republican to take the governor's mansion since Arnold Schwarzenegger's recall win nearly two decades ago.

February 19: The Washington Free Beacon: Biden signals he cares more about
returning to a flawed deal than taking a stand against Iranian terror
The former defense secretary Robert Gates famously wrote that Joe Biden "has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." If the early days of his presidency are any indication, Biden is determined to prove him right.   Out of the gate, the administration is demonstrating to the mullahs in Tehran that it so badly wants back into the flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that it is willing to ignore Iran's terror attacks on American citizens and soldiers.  Administration officials have been virtually silent about Monday's attack by an Iranian proxy on American forces in Iraq except to say that such behavior "will not be tolerated." In a sop to Tehran, the State Department declined to name the group that took credit for the attack, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, ostensibly because it would throw a wrench into their efforts to re-enter the Iran deal.

February 18: The Epoch Times: Biden Admin leaves door open for
more stringent approach to voters’ rights
The Biden administration changed its position on an upcoming Supreme Court appeal dealing with Arizona’s electoral integrity laws, disavowing the previous administration’s interpretation of anti-discrimination provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The administration won’t be presenting oral arguments it has signaled to the justices and the public that it’s leaving the door open to adopting a more aggressive interpretation of the statute in the future.  Section 2 of the law forbids voting practices that result “in a denial or abridgment of the right … to vote on account of race or color [or language-minority status],” and provides that such a result “is established” if a jurisdiction’s “political processes … are not equally open” to members of such a group “in that [they] have less opportunity … to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice.”  On March 2nd the SCOTUS will hear a challenge by the state of Arizona and Arizona Republicans to Democratic Party efforts to relax electoral integrity measures and throw open the state to ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting. This meant Arizona’s current ban on both practices remained in place for the Nov. 3, 2020, election.  The provisions regarding ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting were ruled racially discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional by the appeals court.  Arizona, like other states, has adopted rules to promote the order and integrity of its elections.  One provision is an “out-of-precinct policy,” which doesn’t count provisional ballots cast in person on Election Day outside of the voter’s designated precinct.  Another provision is a “ballot-collection law” that permits only specific persons such as family and household members, caregivers, mail carriers, and election officials to handle another person’s completed early ballot. Most states require voters to vote in their own precincts, and about 20 states limit ballot collection, according to court documents.  Arizona’s law, enacted in 2016, made it a felony, punishable by a $150,000 fine and up to two years in prison, to collect and deliver another person’s completed ballot, with the noted exceptions.

February 18: NewsMax: Biden unveils plan to give 11 million illegals citizenship
Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday for Joe Biden's plan to create a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, saying there is no justification for denying them a permanent home in the United States.  Top Democrats said the legislation, blocked for more than a decade by Republicans, is "long overdue," noting that most of those it will address have lived in the country for many years, with homes, businesses and US-born children and grandchildren.  It will offer an eight-year path to citizenship for most of the 11 million.  Some, including people brought to the country as children -- so-called Dreamers -- and farmworkers, will get an immediate path to permanent residence or a "green card," allowing them to work legally.  Others addressed include tens of thousands of people who remained in the United States for years under temporary protected status (TPS) due to violent upheavals or natural disasters in their home countries.  "It's time to bring all 11 million undocumented out of the shadows," said Democratic Senator Bob Menendez.

February 17: The Daily Caller: Archbishop: Biden needs to stop
defining himself as a Catholic
Joe Biden needs to acknowledge that his support for abortion contradicts his Catholic faith, Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumannn said in a recent interview.  The archbishop, who serves as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, discussed Biden’s Catholic faith.   Media outlets and reporters frequently describe Biden as a devout Catholic, though Biden has drawn criticism for supporting and advocating for policies that the Catholic Church explicitly opposes. Naumann suggested that Biden himself should take a more “honest” approach to his faith.  “The president should stop defining himself as a devout Catholic, and acknowledge that his view on abortion is contrary to Catholic moral teaching,” Naumann said.  “It would be a more honest approach from him to say he disagreed with his Church on this important issue and that he was acting contrary to Church teaching,” the archbishop added.  The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is “a crime against human life,” “constitutes a grave offense” and that a person who obtains an abortion is automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church.  “When he says he is a devout Catholic, we bishops have the responsibility to correct him,” he added. “Although people have given this president power and authority, he cannot define what it is to be a Catholic and what Catholic moral teaching is.”

February 17: NewsMax: Trump stops short of saying he will run again in 2024
President Donald Trump stopped short of committing to a 2024 presidential run on Wednesday while he is seeing poll numbers that "are through the roof."  "I won't say yet, but we have tremendous support," Trump said.  Trump joked that even the Senate impeachment trial managed to boost his 2024 political cachet.  "I'm the only guy who gets impeached and my numbers go up," Trump said. "Figure that one out.  "Let's say somebody gets impeached, typically your numbers would go down. They would go down like a dead balloon."  Trump was acquitted Saturday by the Senate for the second time in just over a year.  "The numbers are very good; they're very high; I think they're higher than they were before the election, and they were high at the election," Trump marveled. "They like the job – we did a great job."

February 17: Breitbart News: Kathryn Limbaugh announces death of her husband
At the opening of Wednesday’s broadcast of the nationally syndicated “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” Kathryn Limbaugh, wife of host Rush Limbaugh announced her husband’s passing.  “I, like you, very much wish Rush was behind this golden microphone now, welcoming you to another exceptional 3 hours of broadcasting,” Kathryn Limbaugh said. “It is with profound sadness I must share with you directly that our beloved Rush, my wonderful husband, passed away this morning due to complications from lung cancer.”  Limbaugh, whose career in political talk radio goes back to the 1980s, lost his bout with lung cancer earlier in the day.

February 17: The Daily Caller: Flashback:  Pence, I am in
Congress because of Rush Limbaugh
Former Vice President Mike Pence mourned the loss of conservative radio pioneer Rush Limbaugh in a series of tweets Wednesday, but Pence once said he owed his political career to the radio legend. During an Oct. 16, 2001 speech, then-Indiana Rep. Pence said Limbaugh inspired him to get into the political game.  “The Bible tells us that if you owe debts, pay debts, if  honor, then honor, if respect, then respect,” Pence said. “There are many of my colleagues … who will look to this pioneer in talk radio and will credit him in part to their election to the Congress of the United States and that would be true. In many ways, the Republican majority owes much of its continued success to the talk radio that Rush Limbaugh reinvented in the mid 1980’s as a format for a conversation among millions of Americans on a daily basis.”  

February 17: The Washington Examiner:  White House gives in to
the Left, moves to waive $50,00 in student loan debts.
The White House is leaving open the possibility of President Biden forgiving $50,000 in federal student debt for some people, despite him seeming to dismiss the idea less than 24 hours earlier.  Biden doesn't "favor" $50,000 in student loan forgiveness "without limitation," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday.   "He said previously that relief about $10,000 should be targeted, based on the borrower's income, based on the kind of debt in question," she said.  Psaki's comments come as Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, facing pressure from potential primary challenger New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren quickly criticized Biden for suggesting during a CNN town hall Tuesday evening that he has the executive authority to forgive $10,000 in student loans but not $50,000.  "Once his team is in place at the Justice Department, and they are not, of course, there, they're not confirmed at this point, he will ask them to conduct a legal review of his authority to act by executive action in conjunction with a policy review from his Domestic Policy Council," Psaki said.  "He hasn't yet ruled out all of these 'ifs and buts,'" she added.   During the town hall, Biden said definitively that he "will not make that happen" when asked whether he would forget up to $50,000 in loans without strings attached.  "I think any family making under $125,000 whose kids go to a state university they get into, that should be free," he told the audience. "And the thing I do in terms of student debt that's accumulated is provide for changing the existing system now for debt forgiveness if you engage in volunteer activity."

February 17: The Washington Times: Project Veritas: Zuckerberg
violating own policy with early vaccine concerns
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has banned from his social media platforms any claims that the novel coronavirus vaccine alters DNA, although he himself expressed similar concerns last year.  Project Veritas released video Tuesday of Mr. Zuckerberg raising questions about whether vaccines include risks of side effects such as “modifying people’s DNA and RNA” in July during a virtual Q&A meeting with staff.  “I do just want to make sure that I share some caution on this because we just don’t know the long-term side effects of basically modifying people’s DNA and RNA to directly code in a person’s DNA and RNA,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in the video. “Basically, the ability to produce those antibodies and whether that causes other mutations or other risks downstream.”  He concluded: “So there’s work on both paths of vaccine development.”  In a Feb. 8 post, Facebook updated its COVID-19 and vaccine policies “to protect people from harmful content and new types of abuse related to COVID-19 and vaccines,” saying it would remove posts that included “Claims that the COVID-19 vaccine changes people’s DNA.”  Project Veritas president James O’Keefe said that the newly leaked tape showed Mr. Zuckerberg “violating his own code of conduct” and that “he would be censored on the platform today for what he said.”  “Isn’t it interesting that Zuckerberg can vacillate and evolve his thinking on the subject of vaccines, but as soon as he’s made up his mind or appears to have made up his mind on the topic, he disallows the almost three billion Facebook users to do the same?” Mr. O’Keefe asked. “Rules for thee, but not for me.”   

February 17: Townhall.com: Dems line up to condemn Cuomo on
nursing home death coverup
He should be impeached. He should be arrested. There should be a federal investigation. It’s been a great couple of days. The anti-Trump Lincoln Project is finished. Trump was acquitted again. And now, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s COVID bona fides has suffered irreparable harm. By that, I mean, his people admitted to covering up COVID deaths. So much for his reputation for being a COVID response ace. He undercounted the death toll from nursing homes by as much as 50 percent. Then, his top aide, Melissa DeRosa, admitted in a call last week that they buried the real numbers. They saidit was done out of fear of a Department of Justice investigation, but now that a Democrat is in the White House—spill everything, right? Well, state lawmakers on both sides are not happy, obviously, and a few are even mounting an impeachment push against the governor who regrets that he appears to look irresponsible regarding how he ordered nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients which caused mass infections and death.

February 16: The Epoch Times: Parler relaunch Free-Speech vision
more entrenched that ever before
The official relaunch of the social media platform Parler carries forward the company’s vision of being a space that protects free speech in a way that is “more firm and entrenched than ever before,” interim Chief Executive Mark Meckler announced.  “Parler is back up online, and from our perspective, very healthy and robust. We don’t answer anymore to the Big Tech oligarchy. We run robust, sustainable, totally independent technology from Big Tech,” Meckler said — the day the platform resumed service, and just over a month after the site was suspended from Amazon Web Services’ servers.  “Parler is intended to be the platform for free speech and a platform that values privacy and data sovereignty and promotes civil discourse. And I think that’s the same as it’s always been. If anything, that vision is just firmer and more entrenched than ever before,” he said, explaining the company’s vision going forward.

February 16: The Washington Times: Police officers raise flag of
warning over national gun registration
Retired Police officers are rallying against a Democratic bill to create a publicly accessible gun registry, saying it puts their lives in danger by advertising how many firearms are in their homes and where they are stored.  The legislation, H.R. 127, would create a mandatory registry that lists the names of gun owners, the number of firearms they possess and where they keep the guns.

February 16: The Washington Free Beacon:  Michigan removed 177,000
voters from rolls after legal challenge 
The Michigan secretary of state removed 177,000 inactive voters from the state's voter rolls after settling a legal challenge.   The state removed the names from the voter rolls in late January because the voters no longer live in the state or did not respond to the state's inquiries about their addresses, according to a Tuesday district court announcement. The state performed the post-election audit during a legal battle with the Honest Elections Project, an election…  Jason  Snead, head of the Honest Elections Project, which supported the lawsuit, said the state's decision to remove the voters will help combat any allegations of voter fraud. "The last thing that we want is to create a system in which you could have widespread voter fraud or where it's impossible to debunk false allegations of widespread voter fraud because you are undermining or failing to act on the necessary measures that help to prevent fraud and bolster confidence in the democratic process," he said. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) called the move a victory for transparency.  Benson also admitted that Michigan's list of registered voters lacked "sufficient comprehensive efforts" to maintain its accuracy. The move comes after Joe Biden “won” the state by more than 100,000 votes, securing its 16 electoral votes. Benson said the state removed the voters after sending a notice prior to the 2018 elections requiring a response or some sort of voting activity. A Michigan voter who is removed from the list is able to re-register in the state before the next election.

February 16: The Epoch Times: Fourteen Red state Dems don’t want to
talk about Pelosi’s HR1 attempt to take over elections
Don’t ask 14 “Red District” House Democrats about H.R.1, the  “For the People Act,” to reform future elections on the same model that made 2020 one of the most bitterly disputed in American history.  Given that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has such a narrow majority, 221-211, a switch of only six Democrats to oppose H.R.1 would kill it. Five of the Red District Democrats represent districts Trump carried in both 2016 and 2020, most by solid margins, while he carried the districts of the other nine in 2016 and only lost to Biden in 2020 in most by small margins.  The five include Kind (WI), Kim (NJ), Slotkin (MI), Bustos (IL) and Axne (IA). All 14 are co-sponsors of H.R.1 in 2021, as they were in 2019 when it passed the House but died in the Republican-controlled Senate.   Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) rank the proposal as their top legislative priority in 2021. Biden has promised to sign it when it reaches his desk.

The most notable provisions include: nationwide online voter registration, with minimal verification requirements; same-day registration; automatic voter registration unless an individual specifically requests not to be registered; legalization of ballot harvesting, and making it illegal to disclose how an individual responded when asked if they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote.  It also includes nationwide registration of 16- and 17-year-olds; availability of mail-in ballots with minimal screening qualifications; and restoration of felon voting rights after release from prison.

Other parts of the bill place the redistricting process under supervision of congressionally mandated independent commissions; restructure the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from its current bipartisan voting requirement to majority-party control. It would permit members of Congress to draw salaries from campaign funds in addition to their official compensation; and includes findings supporting statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

February 16: The Washington Times: Your Granddad’s bomber may be in service for a hundred years before retiring! The B-52
At 43 quarterback Tom Brady won raves for capturing yet another NFL championship this month, but the Super Bowl included an even more astounding tale of longevity.  The B-52 Stratofortress that streaked over Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, just before the kickoff is a model that dates back to the earliest days of the Cold War and remains a critical if unflashy workhorse for the U.S. Air Force. The fabled B-52 is on course to be among the first military aircraft to fly and fight for an astounding 100 years before retiring.  It was your grandfather’s bomber and could be your granddaughter’s as well.  “They designed the thing to last a while. They took very good care of the airplane,” said retired Col. Russell Stephenson, president of the B-52 Stratofortress Association. “It’s a very flexible, enduring airplane. It can take a lot.”  The B-52 was first deployed to be part of America’s nuclear arsenal under the Eisenhower administration. It later became one of the most recognizable symbols of U.S. military operations in Vietnam and played major roles in combat missions in the Balkans and the Middle East. More recently, B-52s have been used in aerial “show of force” missions over the disputed South China Sea, and in the fight against the Islamic State group.

February 16: The Epoch Times: Horowitz: State Legislatures must push back against federal and executive branch overreach
Joe Biden has issued a record number of executive orders in his first month in office, with far-reaching implications.  The North Dakota House recently passed a bill to create a joint committee examining federal laws and executive orders. The bill aims to nullify federal orders within the state if they violate the U.S. Constitution.

February 15: Editors Note:  We lost power, heat, and our connection to the Internet today.  Consequently, we have not provided any summaries for today.  Stay warm, dry and safe! May the force (electricity) be with you!

February 14: The Washington Times: Restaurateurs fear Biden’s relief
package that would double wages for tipped workers this year
President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package wouldn’t just boost the minimum wage. It would completely overhaul how tipped workers are paid with a restaurant industry struggling to claw its way back from COVID-19 restrictions and shutdowns.  Restaurateurs fear the move would squeeze the industry’s tight profit margins and put an unnecessary strain on the still-sputtering economy.  House Democrats’ plan would more than double the minimum wage for tipped employees this year, to $4.95 per hour, before ultimately equalizing it with their proposed hourly $15 minimum wage by 2027.  Dina Rubio, the owner of Don Ramon Restaurant in West Palm Beach, Florida, said she fears she might have to lay off staff or increase her prices if the package becomes law.  “This is another obstacle that we’re going to have to see how we’re going to be able to manage,” she said.

February 14: The Epoch Times: Michigan County Censures Congressman
over his vote to impeach Donald Trump
The executive committee of Michigan’s Calhoun County Republican Party voted to censure their Congressman, Peter Meijer (R-MI)) for his vote to impeach former President Donald  Trump.  The censure is the first of its kind for Meijer, but several other Republicans who voted to impeach Trump had already been censured by state and local parties.   “As our membership diligently debated what course of action to take in this matter, it ultimately came down to the fact that, without so much as a hearing, with few settled facts at your disposal, no due process, and with a key charge of the impeachment resolution that you clearly disagreed with, you still chose to join Democrats in a partisan rush to judgment in an attempt to remove a president that was already set to leave office in just seven days,” the formal censure letter states.

February 14: NewsMaxTV: Trump remains a major force in the GOP after acquittal
The Republican Party still belongs to Donald Trump.  After the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last month, the GOP considered purging the norm-shattering former president. But in the end, only seven of 50 Senate Republicans voted to convict Trump in his historic second impeachment trial on Saturday.  For Trump's loyalists, the acquittal offers a vindication of sorts and a fresh connection to the former president's fiery base.  By most objective measures, Trump's grasp on the GOP and its future remains airtight.   Gallup reported last month, Trump's approval among self-described Republicans stood at 82%. And more recently, Monmouth University found 72% of Republicans continue to believe Trump's claims Biden won the November election only because of widespread voter fraud.

February 14: Townhall.com: Biden calls on Congress to enact stringent
gun control legislation
As predicted, the Democrats are using the third anniversary of the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida to call for stricter gun control laws. Biden issued a statement on Sunday calling on Congress to "enact commonsense gun law reforms."   "This Administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed that call. We will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer," the president said in a statement. "Today, I am calling on Congress to enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets. We owe it to all those we’ve lost and to all those left behind to grieve to make a change. The time to act is now."

February 14: Breitbart News: Texas Sheriff: Clear evidence of increased
illegal immigration under Biden administration
There’s “clear evidence” illegal immigration is soaring at the U.S.-Mexico border due to Joe Biden’s policies, a former Texas Sheriff says.  Retired Rockwall County Sheriff Harold Eavenson said recent southern border apprehension totals reveal how the Biden administration is returning to the Obama-era days of high illegal immigration levels, with pro-migration policies the driving the increase.  “A lot of those people that come into our country are involved in illegal activity and have criminal records when they come into our country and they do the same here as they were doing elsewhere before they made entry,” Eavenson said. “And that puts a strain on the infrastructure of any sheriff’s office, especially those border counties.”  “It happened under the Obama administration and with all of the arrests that took place in January, 78,000 was higher than any January in the last decade,” Eavenson said. “That’s clear evidence that we’re starting to see an influx of illegals into our country.”

February 13: The Epoch Times: Nancy ain’t happy, actually she’s mad as hell,
after failing to have Trump convicted in two impeachment attempts! 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she’s not interested in censuring former President Donald Trump after the Senate acquitted Trump him for a second time.  She implied that censuring Trump would be similar to giving “a little slap on the wrist.”  “We censure people for using stationaries for the wrong purpose. You don’t censure people for inciting insurrection that kills people in the Capitol,” she added.  She seemed furious about the result of the impeachment trials. She slapped on the table several times and criticized the senators who voted against the conviction as a “cowardly group of Republicans.”   Following the second acquittal Trump said “In the months ahead, I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people.”

February 13: The Daily Caller: Recall Newsom campaign reaches required number of
signatures; will keep gathering signatures to ensure enough qualify
The handling of the coronavirus pandemic has added political pressure on Governor Newsom (D-CA) as he faces a potential recall election.  The Recall Gavin 2020 organizers announced on Friday they have reached the 1.5 million signatures required to place the proposal on the ballot. The signatures still need to be verified and organizers say they are aiming to collect two million signatures ahead the March 17 deadline.  “What you’re seeing is Californians of all political stripes and backgrounds come together in a movement to fix our broken politics,” Kevin Kiley a California State Assemblyman said about the campaign. “To restore sanity and send our state on a new course.”  “We see ordinary people who really are taking a deep interest in politics for the first time,” he added. “The recall is sort of our last resort we have as citizens to insert ourselves to put our mark directly on the government.”

February 13: The Epoch Times: Trump makes statement after he is
acquitted by the U.S. Senate
Former President Donald Trump made a statement after the Senate voted to acquit him in his second impeachment trial.  In his statement, Trump thanks his defense team, the Senators and Congressmen who stood up for the Constitution, and the millions of people who support him.   “It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree. I always have, and always will, be a champion for the unwavering rule of law, the heroes of law enforcement, and the right of Americans to peacefully and honorably debate the issues of the day without malice and without hate,” Trump said.

February 13: The Daily Caller: Senate acquits Trump 57-43 in
Democrat attempt to convict the former President
Seven Republicans – Burr (NC), Cassidy (LA), Collins (ME), Murkowski (AK), Romney (UT), Sasse (NE) and Toomey (PA) – joined Democrats in voting to convict Trump, ten short of the votes needed for a conviction.  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer left on the table attempting to keep Trump from running for office again by invoking the 14th amendment.  Rush Limbaugh has stated numerous times in the past that the Democrats are scared of Trump -- and that he might attempt to run again -- that they are doing everything possible to keep that from happening.

February 13: The Epoch Times: Senate decides not to call witnesses
in impeachment proceedings, moves to closing arguments
After voting 55 to 45 to allow witnesses the Senate reversed course and decided not to do so but agreed to include a statement in the record by a Washington Congresswoman, Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) alleging that Kevin McCarthy was told by Trump “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,”  as rioters entered the Capitol.  Initially the Democrats wanted to call the Congresswoman, whose information was second-hand, as a witness to which Trump’s counsel Michael van der Veen responded that the call for witnesses is “inappropriate and improper.”  “After what happened here in this chamber yesterday, the House managers realize they did not investigate this case before bringing the impeachment. They did not give the proper consideration and they didn’t put the work in that was necessary to impeach the former president,” he said.  However, van der Veen said he would like to ask for “at least over 100 depositions” if the House impeachment managers want to subpoena witnesses.  “Do not handcuff me by limiting the number of witnesses that I can have,” van der Veen said.


February 12: The Daily Caller: Lincoln Project allegedly aware of leaders
misuse of funds while opposing Trump
The progressive, left-leaning Lincoln Project was reportedly aware of allegations against co-founder John Weaver as early as June 2020, but pushed ahead with raising massive donations — and $50 million of these donations has gone to firms controlled by the Lincoln Project’s leaders.  Lincoln Project members were made aware of at least 10 allegations of harassment against Weaver in June 2020, according to the Associated Press.. The group did not take action against Weaver as it continued its high-profile work combatting the re-election of former President Donald Trump and expressed shock in January over the allegations against its cofounder.  “The totality of his deceptions are beyond anything any of us could have imagined and we are absolutely shocked and sickened by it,” the group said.

February 12: NewsMaxTV: Alan Dershowitz: Trump’s lawyers have won!

Former President Donald Trump's defense team achieved what it needed to, according to legal scholar Alan Dershowitz.  Dershowitz praised attorneys Bruce Castor, David Schoen and Michael van der Veen.  All the lawyers for former President Trump redeemed themselves. All three of them presented very, very effective rebuttals to the managers' case," Dershowitz said.  "I think they should now sit down quickly and get a vote. I think they have won.  "The hardest thing to teach lawyers is to sit down and shut up after they've won, and I hope that they do that. There's no reason to go on."

February 12: The Daily Caller: Leadership of impacted unions refuse to explain
why the supported Biden when he promised to close down XL Pipeline
Multiple trade unions involved in Keystone XL Pipeline construction refused to explain why they endorsed Joe Biden who promised to nix the union job-creating project.  Trade unions who had praised the Keystone XL Pipeline for creating thousands of jobs were silent when asked repeatedly to respond.  Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office, revoking the federal permit for the Keystone Pipeline after promising to do exactly that during his campaign.  “The Teamsters strongly oppose yesterday’s decision, and we would urge the administration to reconsider it,” International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said in a statement following the executive action.  “It will reduce good-paying union jobs that allow workers to provide a middle-class standard of living to their families,” Hoffa continued. “America needs access to various forms of energy that can keep its economy running in the years ahead. This decision will hurt that effort.”

February 12: The Epoch Times: Trump’s Team uses videos to show
disingenuousness of House Impeachment Article
Former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Friday accused legislators of hypocrisy as they played lengthy video montages of elected officials speaking about committing assault against Trump, threatening his supporters, and backing protests last year that regularly turned violent.   Going on the offense in their first day of presentations during Trump’s second trial, the attorneys used a strategy pushed by many conservatives.  Michael van der Veen argued that Trump did not use any inciting language on Jan. 6 before the breach of the Capitol, but that numerous members of Congress have.  “Many Democrat politicians endorsed and encouraged the riots that destroyed vast swaths of American cities last summer,” he added. “When violent left-wing anarchists conducted a sustained assault on a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, Speaker Pelosi did not call it an insurrection. Instead, she called the federal law enforcement officers protecting the building storm troopers. When violent mobs destroyed public property she said, ‘People will do what they do.'”   Kamala Harris encouraged people to donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which bailed out defendants charged with murder, violent felonies, and sex crimes.   And Joe Biden spoke to crowds on multiple occasions about beating Trump up, as did a number of senators.  Schoen said the “hatred and anger” shown in the clips led House impeachment managers “to ignore their own words and actions and set a dangerous double standard.”

February 11: The Daily Caller: Pelosi refuses to let Congresswoman’s
Naval Academy son into the gallery to witness swearing in
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would not allow Republican New York Rep. Claudia Tenney to have her son present in the gallery for her swearing-in.    Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer sent out a tweet Thursday morning with the news that Pelosi denied Tenney’s request to let her son, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, watch her get sworn in from above the floor in the gallery. When contacted Tenney confirmed it was true.  “I guess he’s considered a risk,” Tenney said. Pelosi told her the news about her son not being allowed to watch from the gallery in a “text from staff and in person,” adding that there were “several exchanges.”   Tenney’s son received a phone call from former President Donald Trump before he deployed to Iraq in 2017.

February 11: Fox News: Cuomo aide says NY Dems administration hid
nursing home data to keep it from Trump’s DOJ
A top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told leading state Democratic lawmakers that the administration had withheld data on COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes to avoid federal scrutiny, according to a bombshell new report.  The revelation prompted condemnations and even talk of impeachment in Albany, the state's capital. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., wants the Department of Justice to open an obstruction of justice investigation.  "The families of thousands of dead New York seniors deserve accountability and justice for the true consequences of Governor Cuomo’s fatally flawed nursing home policy and the continued attempts to cover it up. It’s clear what's happening here is criminal," he said.  The New York Post first reported that Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, told leading Empire State Democrats that the administration feared the data could "be used against us" by the Justice Department during a video conference call.

February 10: NewsMaxTV: Alan Dershowitz: Democrats are making Trump’s case in the impeachment trial
In laying out a long-running objection to election fraud by former President Donald Trump, House impeachment managers are effectively making the case for the defense because the speech under the microscope is protected, even if they disagree with it, according to constitutional law expert Alan Dershowitz.  "Very good theater, terrible constitutional law," Dershowitz said of the House Democrats' opening statements Wednesday.  According to Dershowitz "The videos make good theater; they're very riveting, … but they prove President Trump's constitutional defense."  House Democrats are emphasizing that Trump had long argued the election was stolen, but then they show how the president challenged it "by all lawful means and all political means," Dershowitz contended.

February 10: NewsMaxTV: Georgia county launches criminal probe into 2020
election results alleged attempts by Trump to pressure election officials
Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are investigating Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election results, in the second criminal probe faced by the former president.  Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has sent a letter asking state government officials to preserve documents, including those related to then-President Trump's call to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger allegedly pressuring him to "find" more votes.  On Monday, Raffensperger's office opened its own probe into Trump's Jan. 2 phone call allegedly pressuring him to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's Nov. 3 victory in the state based on “unfounded” voter fraud claims, saying any further legal efforts would be up to the state's attorney general.

February 10: The Daily Caller: Wright: I’m a Democrat but it’s time to leave the party
Opinion Piece: As Democrats whip up a political circus in Washington DC with the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump, they’re focusing the nation’s attention on the rhetoric that they allege incited violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6.  For years, Democrats have watched with increasing alarm as Democrat political leaders and activists – from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to media outlets like MSNBC – have used an endless stream of hateful, violent and ultimately un-American rhetoric that has resulted in billions of dollars in economic damage and given birth to a violent national movement.  In short, Democrats may blast others for bigotry but, unquestionably, it is they who peddle deeply and strategically in the stuff. 

February 10: NewsMaxTV: Kamala Harris joked about killing Trump and Pence

February 10: Fox News: Trump team fires back at House Democrat
impeachment managers who used “fight like hell” rhetoric in the past
The Trump team is firing back at the House Democrat impeachment managers who were making their case against former President Trump during the opening arguments of his trial.   The impeachment managers spent hours attempting to convince enough senators to convict the former president that he incited the insurrection on Capitol Hill last month. Much of their argument relied on Trump's rhetoric, including when he told his supporters on the National Mall on Jan. 6 to "fight like hell."  However, the Trump team turned the tables on the Democrats by reviving various examples of them using the same language.  A "FLASHBACK" of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) who said during a 2019 interview with The Atlantic he'd "fight like hell" for the Constitution on the subject of the conservative-controlled Supreme Court and judiciary. 

February 9: The Galveston County Daily News: Biden’s energy decisions undermine US, aids China
The” Two Amigos” discuss the impact of Joe Biden’s energy decisions such as canceling the XL Pipeline which immediately eliminated tens-of-thousands high paying jobs. This Biden/Harris move will most likely see Canadian oil going to our adversary Communist China.  Who will be hurt?  You and I will.  There’re two worldviews at work here.  One believes in having power reside in the hands of a small number of elites who think they know what is best for the rest of us.  The other worldview believes that individuals freely making decisions for themselves will (1) reach the desired result of a better environment with a vibrant economy and (2) do so for less.  It is a choice between power for a few or freedom for many.  Reagan and Trump had it right.  Give Americans the freedom to make choices, don’t saddle them with burdensome regulations!

February 9: The Daily Caller: Hawley presses Biden nominee for OMB
on corporate ties and donations
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley pressed Neera Tanden, Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, over her corporate ties during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday.  Tanden, who heads the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress, solicited millions from Wall Street and Silicon Valley during her tenure and was widely criticized.  While questioning Tanden, Hawley focused on those donations and her stance on technology companies and their growing power. After Tanden agreed with Hawley, saying that she did believe that Wall Street and Big Tech had too much influence, Hawley focused on reports highlighting her ties to corporations. “Can you just give us a sense of how, if you’re confirmed as OMB director, you will advocate for working people given this history of soliciting tens of millions of dollars from the biggest and most powerful corporations on the planet?” he asked.      Tanden said that she was “100%” committed to serving the public’s interests, not those of large corporations or powerful individuals.  “No policy or position that I have taken has been determined by the financial interests of any single person,” she said.   

February 9: The Epoch Times: Democrat Senate votes to override defense team
claims that it has no Constitutional authority to impeach a private citizen (Trump)
The U.S. Senate voted on Feb. 9 to authorize the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, overruling an argument by that the Senate does not have jurisdiction to try Trump because he is now a private citizen.  Over the course of four hours, the House impeachment managers and Trump’s attorneys presented their arguments for and against the constitutionality of the trial. In the end, 44 Republican senators voted in favor of dropping the trial because it is illegitimate, seven votes short of the majority needed to stop the proceedings at the gate.  Trump attorney David Schoen also argued the trial should be dismissed because Trump was not afforded due process in the House, which voted to impeach the president without hearing witnesses, presenting evidence, or allowing for committee deliberation. He noted the Democrats’ rationale for rushing the proceedings fell flat considering that they delayed sending the article of impeachment to the Senate for 12 days after adopting it. “The House leadership spent more time holding (not moving it forward) the adopted article than it did on the whole process leading up to the adoption of the article,” Schoen said.

February 8: The Washington Free Beacon: Colorado Dems move to censor
Hickenlooper for voting to block stimulus checks to illegal aliens
Colorado Democrats are pushing to censure Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) after he voted in favor of an amendment barring illegal immigrants from receiving federal stimulus checks.  According to the Denver Post, three Colorado members of the DNC requested the Colorado Democratic Party censure Hickenlooper for violating the party platform with his vote in the Senate last week.  The freshman senator and former Colorado governor joined seven other Democrats and all Senate Republicans to block pandemic stimulus checks from going to illegal immigrants. The amendment, which passed 58-42, is nonbinding and will likely do little to change federal policy on the matter, as provisions preventing illegal immigrants from receiving stimulus funds already exist under current law. 

February 8: NewsMaxTX: Trump attorneys argue he was not responsible
for the attack on the US Capitol
Rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden's victory did so of their own accord, former President Donald Trump's lawyers argued in a brief filed Monday ahead of his impeachment trial.  A speech made by Trump in the hours before the riot "was not an act encouraging an organized movement to overthrow the United States government," his lawyers said.  In a brief filed on the eve of the impeachment trial, Trump's lawyers denounced the impeachment as an act of "political theater" by House Democrats seeking to gain an advantage for their party.  The brief foreshadows the claims they intend to present when arguments begin Tuesday on the same Senate floor that was invaded by rioters last month.  They suggest that Trump was simply exercising his First Amendment rights when he disputed the election results and argue that he explicitly encouraged his supporters to have a peaceful protest and therefore cannot be responsible for the actions of the rioters.  They also say the Senate is not entitled to try Trump now that he has left office. 

February 8: The Washington Examiner: Biden’s DOJ asks all Trump
appointed US Attorneys to resign except for two
The Justice Department is expected to ask dozens of U.S. attorneys to resign, but the move is being described as one that will not disrupt the work of two top prosecutors conducting significant investigations overshadowing the Biden administration.   The request is expected to apply to 56 officials.  Delaware US Attorney David Weiss has been asked to remain in office, where he is overseeing the tax probe of Hunter Biden, Joe Biden son. John Durham, appointed as special counsel by former Attorney General William Barr to reinvestigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, will also continue his work, but he is expected to resign as US attorney in Connecticut, a Justice official said.  Biden has been in office for roughly two and a half weeks. There are 94 US Attorneys across the country, but 25 are currently acting top federal prosecutors in their districts, in part because some federal prosecutors already resigned with the onset of the new administration.

February 7: NewsMaxTV: Dick Morris: Any Republican who voted to impeach
Trump will not be reelected in the next cycle
Any Republican who defied former President Donald Trump and voted for his impeachment will not win reelection, Dick Morris said on Sunday.  Morris said that  Rep. Liz Cheney “is a gone goose…”  Morris, a former adviser to Bill Clinton, pointed out that opinion polls in Wyoming indicate that she has “a 13% job approval there among Republicans. She has no chance of getting reelected. Nor do any of those guys that defied President Trump and voted for impeachment. [Sen. Ben] Sasse in Nebraska is gone.”  He said election reform is needed, because when a group of people "believe that  the vote is not accurate… that’s a tremendous danger to our democracy."  He added that both parties have sinned regarding election integrity.  “There are a lot of Democrats who say they want to get everyone to vote and expand the franchise. But, in fact, they want to commit fraud… But there will also always be Republicans who say they want to have election integrity. But what they really want is to reduce the number of minority voters.”

February 7: The Epoch Times: Florida considers legislative proposal aimed
at countering unequal censorship by social media platforms
Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is taking a stand against social media censorship with a proposed bill that would allow fining and suing tech platforms for certain content policing decisions. Companies such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter enjoy broad liability protection under the Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a federal law. But his proposal for state legislation is tying anti-censorship measures to state election regulations, and giving users more control over content policing.  His proposal would first require companies publish and fully explain their content policing standards, which Facebook, and Google-owned YouTube reportedly don’t do this.  It would require platforms to give users a “detailed explanation and written notice after being ‘deplatformed’ or ‘shadowbanned’.”  The bill would further ban “arbitrarily censoring and/or de-platforming users.” That could possibly stop the companies from censoring on an ad hoc basis, beyond what their content rules say, and would require equal treatment to all the content they host.  The bill seeks to protect social media users in Florida so that if social media companies want to do business in that state they will need to comply with the provisions of this bill, if it is passed.  The proposal promises to allow both Florida residents as well as its Attorney General to sue the tech companies for violating this state law.  The DeSantis proposal also purposes to “give users the power to opt out of algorithms” that tech companies use to sort and filter content.  Additionally, DeSantis wants to regulate and fine tech companies for election meddling.  If big tech manipulates news content and designs algorithms to give the upper hand to "their candidates of choice" the proposal would impose a $100,000-per-day fine on a company that disables the account of a Florida candidate for office.  “Any Floridian can ‘deplatform’ any candidate they choose;" all they need to do is simply unsubscribe. "And it’s a right that I believe belongs with the citizen,” DeSantis said.  “Further, if a technology company promotes a candidate for office against another, the value of that free promotion must be recorded as a political campaign contribution.”  Companies would also face daily fines if they use their algorithms to “suppress or prioritize” content related to candidates or ballot measures. 
[Editor: Please forgive the length of this report but because of the important details, contained therein, we
have expanded the length of this summary.  We suggest you go to The Epoch Times for additional details.]

February 7: The Epoch Times: Sen. Rand Paul: Trump impeachment trial has “Zero” change of conviction
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said the looming impeachment trial of former President Trump has virtually no chance of success.  “If we’re going to criminalize speech, and somehow impeach everybody who says, ‘Go fight to hear your voices heard,’ I mean really we ought to impeach Chuck Schumer then,” Paul said.  He noted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “went to the Supreme Court, stood in front of the Supreme Court and said specifically, ‘Hey Gorsuch, Hey Kavanaugh, you’ve unleashed a whirlwind. And you’re going to pay the price.'… This inflammatory wording, this violent rhetoric of Chuck Schumer was so bad that the chief justice, who rarely says anything publicly, immediately said this kind of language is dangerous as a mob tried to invade the Supreme Court.”   Forty-five Republican senators voted against holding the trial, strongly suggesting the former president will not be convicted.  The Senate requires at least 67 votes to convict a president during an impeachment trial, while the House only needs a simple majority. Meanwhile, any GOP senator who joins Democrats in voting to convict will likely face intense blowback from their constituents and local Republican Party chapters.

February 7: Fox News: Maxine Waters (D-CA) attempts to walk back her
“violent rhetoric” encouraging harassment of Trump officials
In 2018 Congresswoman Maxine Waters said  about Trump supporters: "They’re not going to be able to go to a restaurant, they’re not going to be able to stop at a gas station, they’re not going to be able to shop at a department store,   The people are going to turn on them, they’re going to protest, they’re going to absolutely harass them." Her comments came after then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and former press secretary Sarah Sanders were confronted with their families in public.  This weekend on one of the Sundays TV shows she attempted to walk back or spin what she said in 2018 by saying "As a matter of fact, if you look at the words that I used, the strongest thing I said was tell them they're not welcome," Watters claimed. "[I said] Talk to them. Tell them they're not welcome. I didn't say go and fight. I didn't say anybody was going to have any violence. And so, they can't make that stick."  The moral is, be careful what you say and do because some day it may come back and bite you!

February 7: The Epoch Times: Trump won two-thirds of the election lawsuits
were the merits and evidence were considered
The claim often repeated by the mainstream media, social-media content moderators, and fact-checkers that lawsuits filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign and Republicans were universally dismissed by the courts is untrue, according to a new analysis.  Of the 22 cases that have been heard by the courts and decided on their merits, Trump and Republicans have prevailed in 15, according to citizen journalist John Droz Jr., a physicist and environmental advocate in Morehead City, N.C.  This means Trump has won two-thirds of the cases fully adjudicated by the courts.  His team tracked down 81 lawsuits that were filed in connection with the Nov. 3, 2020 presidential election. Of the 81 cases, 11 were withdrawn or consolidated and 23 were dismissed for lack of standing or on other grounds. None if these should be considered, Droz contended because they “have nothing to do with the merits of the case.”  This leaves 47 cases. Of those 47, 22 have been finalized after the court heard arguments, considered evidence, and then issued a ruling.  Of those 22, Trump or Republicans won 15 and lost 7, according to the analysis.  This leaves 25 lawsuits that have yet to be finally disposed of.  This means Trump and Republicans “have WON the majority of 2020 election cases fully heard, and then decided on the merits!” Droz said. “Is that what the mainstream media is reporting?”

February 6: The Daily Caller: SCOTUS: California Cannot enforce
COVID-19-related restrictions on indoor worship
A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled late Friday that California cannot enforce its Chinese coronavirus-related bans on indoor worship services, though it declined to lift bans on singing and chanting inside.  The 6-3 ruling consisted of four separate statements by the justices outlining what relief each would have granted to the churches that had sued. Despite the splintered rulings, a majority of the court was willing to lift California’s ban on indoor services while remaining other, more specific restrictions in place.  “Even if a full congregation singing hymns is too risky, California does not explain why even a single masked cantor cannot lead worship behind a mask and plexiglass shield,” Gorsuch wrote, with Thomas in agreement

February 6: Breitbart News: Trump considering starting his own social media platform
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to President Trump, revealed that the former president is considering launching his own social media platform in the non-to-distant future.  The news, came after Trump was banned permanently from Twitter and indefinitely from Facebook.  “All options are on the table,” Miller said. “A number of things are being discussed. Stay tuned there because you know he’s going to be back on social media. We’re just kind of figuring out which avenue makes the most sense.”

February 6: The Washington Examiner: Chaney latest GOP rep supporting
impeachment of Trump gets censured in her home state
GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney was censured in her home state of Wyoming because she voted to impeach then-President Trump in January.  The motion, which passed on Saturday, called on Cheney to “immediately resign from her position” and for her to “immediately repay donations” made to her campaign by the Wyoming Republican Party. The state party will withhold future political donations from her. The vote was about 56 votes in favor and eight against, though no official tally was taken.

February 6: Townhall.com: Hunter breaks one of dad Biden’s campaign promises
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday confirmed that Hunter Biden still holds a 10 percent business stake in the Chinese Communist Party-backed Bohai Harvest RST (BHR Partners).  According to her, Hunter is still working to "unwind his investment," something the Biden administration said was taking place back in December.  BHR is responsible for $2.1 billion in assets and is the primary backer is the Bank of China, which, according to the Wall Street Journal,m  is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.  Despite Biden’s laptop that contained documents showing Hunter was expected to receive payments “in a couple of years.” Hunter Biden's attorney, George Mesires, said in October 2019 that his client had not received any profits from the venture. 

February 5: The Washington Times: Democrat-controlled Congress
removes GOP Rep from Committee assignments
 The Democratic-led House stripped Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) of her committee assignments Thursday, saying her reported past promotion of conspiracy theories and violence against elected officials crossed a line.  The 230-199 vote split largely along party lines, with 11 Republicans joining Democrats in tossing aside an unwritten rule discouraging parties from meddling in committee assignments of the opposing party.    House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy criticized the push as a “partisan power grab,” saying Ms. Greene’s comments in no way “represent the values” of the Republican Party.  “Never before in the history of this house has the majority abused its power in this way. Never,” he added.  This vote “smacks of hypocrisy given the way Democrats have turned a blind eye to the incendiary or conspiratorial remarks from their ranks,” he concluded.

February 5: The Epoch Times: Bernie agrees with GOP; no minimum wage
hike amid a pandemic  
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) backed a Republican amendment blocking the raising of the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour during the pandemic in Thursday’s late-night Senate “vote-a-rama” session, which involved consideration of multiple amendments to Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill.  Following the nearly 15-hour long marathon session, the Senate approved a budget resolution early Friday morning, a preliminary step to budget reconciliation—the process that will allow Senate Democrats to pass the relief bill by a simple majority, rather than a 60-vote super majority, which would require some GOP buy-in.  Economists have for years hotly debated the issue of raising the minimum wage, with opponents saying doing so would hurt businesses, reduce the opportunities for entry level employment, and lead to overall higher unemployment.

February 5: The Epoch Times: Biden moves closer to Communist China;
attempts to undo Trump successes
The Biden administration is rushing to embrace the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—a policy strategy Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) called “dangerous” in a video he posted that seeks to bring attention to comments made by one of the Administration’s cabinet nominees.   The warm relationship—which has already emerged in the beginning weeks of the administration—threatens to undo years of efforts to counter the CCP. Under the Trump administration, the United States began responding to Beijing’s “unrestricted warfare” strategy by escalating its countermeasures.  According to Cruz China “poses the single greatest geopolitical threat to the United States over the next century.”  Meanwhile, Governor Gina Raimondo, Biden’s nominee to be Secretary of the Department of Commerce, has refused to comment about keeping Huawei Technologies (a Communist Chinese state-controlled firm) on the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which would stop it from acquiring American technology.  Robert Gates, the defense secretary under the Obama administration, told CBS in an interview last year he believes Biden has “been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”

February 5: The Epoch Times: Trump active again on social media
with 1.3 million followers
Donald Trump’s account on the social media website Gab was active this week, in what appeared to be his first post since leaving the White House last month.  The account posted a copy of the letter Trump’s lawyers wrote to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the House of Representatives’ lead impeachment manager.  In the letter, they rejected his attempt to get Trump to testify in the upcoming impeachment trial.  Former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis joined Gab this week. Other current and former advisers are active on the website.  Trump had not posted there since Jan. 8, when he said he would not be attending the Biden inauguration.  In what is viewed by many as mainly a political move, Trump has been permanently banned from Twitter.  Twitter has been accused by some as going “further and further in banning free speech” and coordinating “with the Democrats and the Radical Left” to silence Trump and his supporters.  Facebook has also banned Trump indefinitely, a decision that is currently under review.

February 4: The Daily Caller: GOP to force Senate votes on several
issues: Checks for illegal immigrants, raising small business taxes
Senate Republicans will force a number of votes on the floor Thursday to get Democrats on the record regarding a number of controversial issues such as giving relief checks to illegal immigrants and raising taxes on small businesses.  The Senate is planning to pass a budget resolution by Friday which would give Democrats the ability to bypass the 60-vote filibuster for their coronavirus relief package, however, Republicans plan on forcing votes on issues that Democrats might not want to put their names next to which could keep Senators on the floor until late into the night. The “vote-a-rama” has not occurred in over three years, where a vote can be forced on anything.  “We’ll be getting senators on the record about whether taxpayers should fund checks for illegal immigrants; whether Democrats should raise taxes on small businesses in the midst of this historic crisis; and whether generous federal funding should pour into school districts where the unions refuse to let school open,” McConnell said Wednesday. “And this is just a small taste.”

February 4: The Epoch Times:  Dershowitz: House impeachment brief threatens
freedom of speech of all Americans
Harvard Law School professor emeritus and Constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz said Thursday that the House impeachment brief against President Trump, which seeks to undermine Trump’s First Amendment-based argument in his defense, amounts to a dangerous broadside against the freedom of speech of all Americans. Writing in an op-ed piece, Dershowitz made a case against a key argument contained in the brief (pdf), namely that “the First Amendment does not apply at all to impeachment proceedings,” signals Congressional willingness to take aim at freedom of speech more broadly.  “The brief filed by the House managers advocating the conviction and disqualification of citizen Donald Trump contains a frontal attack on freedom of speech for all Americans,” Dershowitz wrote. “It states categorically that ‘the First Amendment does not apply at all to impeachment proceedings,’ despite the express language of that amendment prohibiting Congress from making any law, or presumably taking any other action, that abridges ‘the freedom of speech.'”

February 4: Townhall.com: Trump’s legal team responds to Democrat “demands”
for Trump to appear at his Senate trial
President Trump’s attorneys have rejected Democrat demands, calling them a “publicity stunt.” Trump will not testify at the impeachment trial next week.   "We are in receipt of your latest public relations stunt. As you certainly know, there is no such thing as a negative interference in this unconstitutional proceeding," the attorneys wrote. "Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you cannot prove your allegations against the 45th President of the United States, who is now a private citizen."  "The use of our Constitution to bring a purported impeachment proceeding is much too serious to try to play these games," they continued. 

February 4: The Epoch Times: Trump’s legal team to present timeline of events
at his impeachment trial
President Trump’s lawyers plan to display a timeline and images from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that back up the case that he didn’t incite the storming of the building, an adviser said Thursday.  “We will be presenting timelines, even from The New York Times home page … we’ll be putting up images where you can see the attack on the Capitol was already starting before President Trump even started his speech,” Trump adviser Jason Miller said.  Trump was speaking at The Ellipse, a park, approximately two miles from the Capitol on Jan. 6. A timeline shows that he had not finished speaking when violence at the Capitol began. Democrats claim otherwise.  Trump was impeached on Jan. 13 as lawmakers alleged, he incited an insurrection. They cited a portion of his speech where he urged supporters to “fight like hell.” Trump has defended the speech, and Miller noted Trump also told supporters to go to the Capitol “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

February 4: Breitbart News: Biden releases untested immigrants; Texas
sends vaccine to the border
Texas health officials reportedly sent 10,000 CCP virus test kits to the Rio Grande Valley in response to the “swelling numbers” of migrants being released into communities in recent days.  The migrants are being released by Border Patrol agents without being tested for the CCP coronavirus.   The City of McAllen sounded the alarm about migrants being released by Department of Homeland Security officials without being tested for the coronavirus. In response, Texas health officials quickly sent 10,000 COVID-19 test kits to the city. 

February 4: The Epoch Times: Border Patrol arrests eleven Iranians attempting
to enter the U.S. illegally
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said its agents arrested a group of 11 Iranians who illegally entered the United States.  According to a news release from the agency, agents saw the group near San Luis, Arizona, on a bridge.  Border Patrol agents then “determined the group had illegally crossed the international border into the United States. The group was arrested and taken to Yuma Station for processing.” “The five females and six males are were [sic] all from  Iran, a Special Interest Country.”  The agency said that Yuma Sector agents “regularly encounter people from all over the world,” including so-called “Special Interest Countries.”  “For the last two fiscal years, Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents have led the nation in apprehending illegal crossers from Iran.

February 4: The Washington Times: U.S. Navy calls China’s bluff as it
transits the Formosa Straits
A U.S. Navy destroyer conducted a passage through the Taiwan (Formosa) Strait on Wednesday, the first transit through the contested waterway since inauguration day. The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain transited the 100-mile-wide strait under international law and aimed at countering Chinese maritime claims, said Navy Lt. Joe Keiley, spokesman for the Navy’s 7th Fleet.  “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said. “The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.”

February 3: The Daily Caller: Rand Paul; “What planet are you from?”
He asked the Secretary of Education nominee
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) slammed Joe Biden’s nominee for Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during his hearing with the Senate education committee Wednesday.  He spent much of his time questioning Cardona about his position on transgender athletes playing school sports. Paul pressed Cardona on his view of transgender athletes, asking him specifically if he thinks a boy should be able to compete against a girl on the same level.  “If you’re confirmed, will you enforce that Office of Civil Rights opinion?” Paul asked. Cardona responded “If confirmed, it’s my responsibility and my privilege to make sure that we’re following civil rights of all students, and that includes activities that they may engage in high school or athletics.”  Paul pressed the issue citing what is being done in Connecticut, “Do you worry about having boys run in girls’ track meets?”  “I think it’s appropriate – I think it’s the legal responsibility for schools to provide opportunities for students to participate in activities and this includes students who are transgender,” Cardona replied.

February 3: NewsMaxTX:  McConnell and Schumer agree
to power sharing arrangement
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’s reached a two-year power sharing deal with GOP leader Mitch McConnell formally giving Democrats committee chairmanships and setting other ground rules, allowing the chamber to begin fully functioning after weeks of procedural limbo.  The agreement is based on a 2001 deal reached the last time the 100-member chamber was divided 50-50. That setup allowed for the same number of Republicans and Democrats on committees, though Democrats controlled committee gavels and the majority leader set the agenda on the floor.  Schumer said the agreement will spur committee work on President Joe Biden’s priorities and his cabinet-level nominations as Democrat chairmen will be in place and ground rules will be set for committee structure.

February 3: The Washington Free Beacon: Biden, Democrats change tune on
Executive Orders; Hypocrites?
In one of the most predictable political developments of 2021, Joe Biden and his Democrat allies are no longer appalled at the thought of a president making sweeping policy changes via executive order.  They repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump's use of executive action, and Biden often cited Trump's fondness for executive authority as a key difference between the two candidates during the 2020 election.  Apparently easier said than done. As of this week, Biden has signed 28 executive orders, more than twice as many as Trump did during the first month of his presidency. Only President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed more (30) during his first month in office, and Biden still has a couple weeks left to break that record. 

February 3: NewsMaxTV: MyPillow founder: MyPillow soars in spite of the boycott
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said his business might have been targeted by "cancel culture," but it is really the businesses dropping his MyPillow products that are suffering most.  "They're the losers because they're the ones losing the real customers," Lindell said.   Customers who would have bought his products from stores that dropped them over his support of President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud now can order directly from him, Lindell explained.  In fact, Lindell said sales are soaring and his company had to hire more staff as a result.

February 2: The Daily Caller: Democrat Senator breaks with
Biden; Supports the XL Keystone Pipeline
Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester said Monday he is a supporter of the Keystone XL Pipeline, in a clear break from President Joe Biden’s executive order that halted its construction.  Tester was asked on CNN if it was a mistake for the Biden administration to cancel the project. She mentioned that some supporters of the pipeline say the decision could impact “11,000 American jobs.”   “Look, I’ve been a supporter of the Keystone Pipeline, and there has been two caveats, and they have been basic caveats. You do it to the safest standards and you respect private property rights,” Tester responded.  “I think the Keystone Pipeline folks could have done a better job getting the Fort Peck tribe on board and they need to continue working to do that. But in the end, I think it’s a good project,” he explained.

February 2:  Fox News: House Homeland Security GOP members
call upon Biden to clarify position on China vs. Taiwan
House Republicans on the Committee on Homeland Security on Tuesday urged the White House to provide "definitive clarity" on its strategy to counter the threat from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – as they warn of an aggressive attempt by China to erode American dominance.  The letter, written by all Republicans on the House committee, acknowledges that some Biden nominees and appointees have addressed China, but the lawmakers "remain troubled that you have not yet provided definitive clarity on how the administration plans on continuing the productive measures from the last four years to protect our homeland from this far-reaching CCP threat."  The Trump administration took a combative stance toward China, in terms of trade tariffs, electronic privacy and on human rights violations in Hong Kong and against minorities in Xinjiang province. The Biden administration has recognized China as a threat but is expected to take a less aggressive approach than the prior administration.

February 2: The Washington Free Beacon: GOP wants a hold placed
on Biden’s Commerce Secretary nomination over Huawei concerns
Leading House Republicans are calling for a hold on the Biden administration’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, citing her refusal to commit to keeping Chinese telecom giant Huawei on the U.S. Entity List as a result of its global spy operations.  Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island’s Democratic governor and President Joe Biden's commerce nominee, drew scrutiny earlier this month when she declined during her confirmation hearing to answer questions about how the administration will approach Huawei, the top Chinese telecom company that is suspected of helping the Communist Party spy on users across the world. Huawei was put on the Commerce Department’s Entity List in 2019, restricting its access to U.S. technology that could be used to fuel Beijing’s spy operations.

February 2: The Washington Times: Anything Trump has to go?   
Trump appointees to pentagon advisory boards to resign or be fired
Hundreds of people serving on 42 separate Pentagon advisory boards must resign in the next two weeks or be fired, DOD officials said Tuesday as they announced a massive “zero-based” review of all advisory panels that help guide military policies on education, business, science, and a host of other issues.   The unprecedented review will directly affect appointees by the Trump administration, including key allies to former President Donald Trump such as Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, who were given spots on the Defense Business Board late last year. Other Trump associates also were appointed to various Pentagon advisory panels during the final weeks of the Trump administration. 

February 2: Breitbart News: Approval of Californiua Governor collapses;
46%; while efforts continue to force a recall election
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval rating has collapsed from two thirds in September to the current 46%, according to a Politico poll.  Fiscally, California is in good shape, Newsom announced earlier this year that the state expects a $15 billion surplus.  However, he has faced several recent controversies, including his participation in a dinner at the elite French Laundry restaurant while much of the state was under coronavirus restrictions, and electricity blackouts in the midst of a heat wave.  A recall effort is currently under way, with organizers claiming to have gathered some 80% of the 1.5 million signatures necessary by March 17 to put a recall on the ballot. Both Democrats and Republicans have begun jumping into the race to replace him, with former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, a moderate Republican, formally entering the race this week.

February 1: The Washington Examiner: Graham: If the Dems bring witnesses
to impeachment trial; GOP will demand to hear from the FBI which says the
attack on the Capitol was planned long before Trump addressed  the demonstrators
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Republicans will bring in the FBI if Democrats call witnesses in former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.  The South Carolina Republican said he hopes for a quick vote on whether to convict Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection related to the Jan. 6 siege of Congress.  "If you open up that can of worms, we'll want the FBI to come in and tell us about how people actually preplanned these attacks and what happened with the security footprint at the Capitol," Graham said.  Citing "mounting evidence that the people came to Washington and preplanned the attack before the president ever spoke," Graham said he is "confident" that a sufficient number of Republicans will vote in favor of acquitting Trump in the evenly split Senate that is controlled by the Democrats. "It will be in the high 40s," he predicted. A two-thirds vote is needed to convict.

February 1: The Epoch Times: Pentagon commits $30 million
to Texas rare earth plant in a move to reduce reliance on China
The DOD has awarded $30 million in funding to Australia’s Lynas Corp to build a rare earth processing plant in Texas, as the nation continues to seek to break its reliance on Chinese imports of the critical minerals. The facility will process light rare earth elements (LREE), which are not only widely used in consumer goods such as cellphones and electric car motors, but also critical to the production of next-generation fighter jets and precision-guided missiles.  Last year Lynas – one of the few non-Chinese rare earth miners --  teamed up with Texas’s Blue Line Corp. and was awarded federal funding to build a separation plant for heavy rare earth elements (HREE), which are used in the manufacturing of specialized military weapon systems.  Both plants will be built in Hondo, Texas, about 45 miles west of San Antonio. Lynas said it will be able produce a quarter of the world’s demand for  rare earths once the facilities become operational.

February 1: The Washington Times: Biden’s drilling crackdown
puts Democrats in oil producing states in  a jam
Joe Biden’ has united Republicans with his oil-and-gas crackdown — they’re against it — but his aggressive orders have created a bind for Democratic governors in states feeling the heat over his drilling freeze on federal lands and waters.  In Colorado, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis praised Biden as “a president that believes in science” and “cleaner energy” while making it clear that the moratorium on new oil-and-gas leases on federal lands and waters signed Wednesday cannot last forever.  “We will also work closely with the Biden administration as they begin a program-wide review of energy development policy on public lands to ensure that it works for Colorado,” he said.

February 1: NewsMaxTV: GOP group launches a “Stop Stacey”
campaign in Georgia
A group of Republicans have launched a new committee, “Stop Stacey,” aimed at preventing former gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams from successfully challenging GOP Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia next year.  [Although backing Kemp, who blocked efforts to thoroughly investigate election fraud in his state, may complicate GOP efforts to maintain the governorship.]  The organizers describe their group as "a national, grassroots organization of engaged conservatives who are committed to protecting our future from Stacey Abrams, her left-wing backers, and their radical, un-American agenda."  Reportedly the group is looking to establish a "robust state and national fundraising operation" to combat Abrams using opposition research and advertising, as well as other forms of paid media.

February 1: The Daily Caller: Dept. of Justice nominee once prosecuted a
Black man, who got 27 years of jail time for selling $20 worth of drugs
Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as deputy attorney general helped prosecute a black man who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for selling $20 worth of heroin to an undercover police officer. The government dropped charges against the man’s co-defendant as part of a plea deal, court records show.  Lisa Monaco, who Biden tapped for the Justice Department position, was one of the assistant U.S. attorneys who prosecuted a case in 2003 against Reginald C. Steward, a Washington, D.C. man who was charged following an undercover drug bust.  Court records reveal Steward was charged with the unlawful distribution of heroin, was found guilty, and sentenced to 27 years in jail.  An appeals court in 2007 upheld Steward’s conviction, but noted that the evidence presented against him at trial wasn’t “overwhelming.”  Meanwhile his co-defendant, who physically conducted the drug exchange with the undercover police officer, had his charges dropped after he pleaded guilty to drug possession in another case. Court records for the man, Bobby Praylow, show that he received a 12-month jail sentence.

February 1: The Epoch Times: Former Special Prosecutor Ken Starr;
Senate is utterly “without jurisdiction”  to try the Ex-President
Former special prosecutor Ken Starr added to a chorus of voices arguing that the Senate doesn’t have the jurisdiction to hold an impeachment trial against a former President.  Starr, in comments to Fox News on Monday, stated that the upper chamber cannot try a president after leaving office.  Starr said,  “the text of the Constitution to me is absolutely clear that judgment in cases of impeachment” refers to the “removal and possible disqualification.” He argued that a “former officer, by definition, cannot be removed.”  Another argument against the looming trial stipulates that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts should be the presiding officer, who declined to oversee the event. [Is it possible the Chief Justice also believes the Senate has no jurisdiction?]  Instead, Democrats in Senate named Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the president pro tempore of the upper chamber, to preside over the trial.

January 31: The Epoch Times: New Trump legal defense team members announced
Former President Donald Trump on Sunday named two attorneys who will lead his impeachment defense legal team.  The two lawyers who will represent the former president in the upcoming Senate trial are David Schoen, an attorney from Alabama, and Bruce Castor Jr., a former prosecutor in Pennsylvania.  On Sunday, Trump’s office released a statement saying Schoen and Castor would now lead the team, and that Schoen had already been working with Trump and other advisors in preparing for the upcoming trial.  “It is an honor to represent the 45th President, Donald J. Trump, and the United States Constitution,” Schoen said.  The new team has about one week to strategize what direction it will take in the defense. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin on the week of Feb. 8.  Meanwhile, Republicans have begun uniting behind the argument that the Senate impeachment trial of a former president is unconstitutional.  In fact, 45 Senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional,” Miller said. The January 26th vote on Senator Paul’s (R-KY) point of order revealed that nearly half of the chamber is of the view that the proceedings are unconstitutional.  It takes a two-thirds majority to convict.

January 31: NewsMaxTV: Surprise, Surprise; Biden withdraws $27.4 billion
in spending cuts proposed by Trump
Joe Biden on Sunday withdrew all the spending cuts proposed by former President Donald Trump during his final days in office.  Biden said in a letter to Congress that he was reversing all 73 spending cuts that Trump had requested, which touched virtually every cabinet-level agency as well as federal programs.  The cuts, known as rescissions, totaled $27.4 billion, according to a Jan. 14 letter to Congress from the Trump White House. The proposed cuts had come after Trump grew frustrated with some of the “Christmas Tree” spending included in a December spending bill.  “I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed,” Trump said at the time.

January 31: Townhall.com: Trump legal team; changes as impeachment
trial looms just two weeks away
The Hill, CNN and Politico report that a number of Trump’s legal team are departing just weeks prior to the start of his impeachment trial.  The shakeup comes over a disagreement as to whether to include evidence of election fraud or, instead, to focus only on the constitutionality of impeaching a person who is no longer in office.  "The Democrats' efforts to impeach a president who has already left office is totally unconstitutional and so bad for our country. In fact, 45 Senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional," Trump advisor Jason Miller said in a statement. "We have done much work, but have not made a final decision on our legal team, which will be made shortly."  The Senate trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 8. Based on the Senate makeup, it's highly unlikely Trump will be convicted on the article of impeachment for "inciting an insurrection."

January 30: The Epoch Times: Federal Judge to extend order blocking Biden’s
100-day deportation pause
An order blocking Joe Biden’s administration from its attempted deportation pause will be extended, a federal judge said during a hearing Friday.  U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton said he plans to extend the order by two weeks, effectively doubling its time.  The additional weeks are required so the case can be reviewed properly, he said during a hearing, according the Austin-American Statesman.  Tipton said he wants to hear more about an agreement reached by the Trump administration and Texas officials late last year that forces the federal government to give Texas 180 days notice before changing immigration enforcement in the state. He also wants to receive information about whether the proposed deportation pause would cause convicts or people accused of serious crimes to go free.

January 30: The Daily Caller: Large corporations can afford a $15 minimum
wage; guess who cannot?
Large corporations have endorsed and lobbied for a $15 federal minimum wage in recent years, but while they can afford such a policy, small businesses would be harmed, studies have shown.  Many corporations that once opposed raising the federal minimum wage have reversed course in recent years, raising their own wages to $15 per hour and lobbying the federal government to legislate an increase. However studies continue to show a federal minimum wage hike will crush small business.  The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Vice President of Federal Government Relations Kevin Kuhlman said “More than doubling the federal minimum wage is one of the policies that would threaten the fragile small business economic recovery.”

January 30: The Epoch Times: Slap on the wrist to former FBI attorney
lamented by Ex-Trump staffers
Kevin Clinesmith, a former FBI lawyer, was sentenced to one year of probation, a $100 fine, and 400 hours of community service for changing an email. Clinesmith altered a message from the CIA to state that Trump aide Carter Page was not an asset for the agency, when the agency had said he was. The altered email was used to obtain spy warrants against Page.  Page, accused of being a spy for Russia, was probed by federal agents and smeared in media outlets. Officials later said the spying charge was improper and concluded Page was innocent.  Former President Donald Trump advisers said Friday avoiding jail time was an example of a double standard of justice.  “[If] this was a Trump individual who had done this to the Obama administration or to the incoming Biden administration, this person would be in jail for the rest of their lives—and rightfully so,” Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump adviser said. 

January 30: NewsMaxTV: Gohmert: Americans will long for Trump after Biden
When one looks at former President Donald Trump's continuing popularity across the nation "in spite of the false allegations" about him inciting violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Americans could see him return for a "very, very powerful presidency," as they will long for the days when he was still in office, Rep. Louie Gohmert said Saturday night.  "I think that's gonna be the question we all ask for the next four years," the Texas Republican said when he was asked about the possibility of Trump running for reelection in 2024. "Of course that'll be his decision.

January 29: Fox News: Politico: Trump base is getting stronger since he
left office, impeachment would only empower him more
Former President Donald Trump has actually gained -- not lost -- political clout since leaving office, a political observer asserted Friday.  Politico reporter Tara Palmeri's observation runs contrary to the assumptions of many in the Washington D.C. establishment and the mainstream media.  "People don't want to hear anything against Trump," Palmeri said during an appearance on MSNBC. "Actually, the more he stays out of the media, the more that he becomes this martyr, this looming figure over the GOP."

January 29: The Daily Caller: Unions that supported Biden are upset that
he went through with the threat to kill the XL Pipeline
Several trade unions that endorsed Joe Biden during the campaign, condemned his executive order revoking the federal government’s permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline.  Biden revoked the March 2019 federal permit given to TC Energy Corporation, the company constructing the pipeline, in a Jan. 20 executive order on “protecting public health and the environment.” The pipeline has been criticized by organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council for being harmful to the environment but applauded by groups like the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for creating union jobs.

January 29: The Washington Times: Pelosi’s Tesla stock buy raised ethics questions
A watchdog group called out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a very profitable Tesla stock deal shortly before the Biden administration released plans to make the federal automobile fleet electric.  Last month,  Paul Pelosi, a wealthy venture capitalist and husband of the California Democrat, bought up to $1 million of Tesla stock when the price was roughly $640.34 a share. The price had shot up to $838 a share by Thursday on the NASDAQ exchange.  Tesla stock has been a darling of Wall Street for years, and the company stands to reap huge profits if the federal government moves to an all-electric fleet.

January 29: The Epoch Times: March for Life goes virtual with smaller
contingent marching in person
This year’s “March For Life” rally took place virtually, as participants were told to stay home amid the pandemic. Still, a small group of pro-life leaders marched together in Washington on Friday.  The rally—which marks the 48th annual march—comes before a new administration that supports abortion. The theme for this year’s March for Life is “Together Strong: Life Unites” that highlights the importance of each person in building a culture of life, according to the organization.  The non-partisan group has been organizing the rally since 1974, it’s first ever. That year’s rally was held on the one-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that prevented states from imposing most of the previously existing restrictions on abortion. One of the goals of the rally has been to have the decision overturned.  [See related column]

January 29: The Washington Free Beacon: The next Hunter Biden? Harris’
stepdaughter cashes in on the Biden presidency
Hunter Biden's gravy train may be stalled on the tracks until federal authorities conclude their investigation into his finances, but that doesn't mean other Biden-Harris family members can't cash in on their proximity to power.  Ella Emhoff, the 21-year-old stepdaughter of Vice President Kamala Harris, recently scored a major modeling contract with IMG Models, a firm with deep ties to the Democratic Party.   Slate published an article expressing frustration with "the way Emhoff’s deal has been conveyed and celebrated" as a norm-destroying coup, pointing out that there isn't anything particularly revolutionary or diverse about being a rich, white, tall, thin, female Brooklynite with tattoos and armpit hair.

January 28: The Epoch Times: Survey: Social media users abandoning Twitter and Facebook over censorship
A reader survey of more than 3,200 social media users has found that many people have moved away from certain platforms, most commonly Facebook (43 percent), Twitter (32 percent), and Instagram (16 percent).  The most common reasons for quitting the platforms were censorship and bias, including the censorship of former President Donald Trump.  Responders said I “Don’t agree with censorship,” “I don’t like the censoring that Big Tech is getting away with,” and “Because they banned Trump.”

January 28: The Daily Caller: Como’s Administration under counted COVID-19
deaths in nursing homes by 50% NY AG says
The New York Department of Health undercounted deaths from coronavirus in the state’s nursing homes by as much as 50%, according to a report issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday.  The finding, which was based on data from 62 nursing homes, appears to undercut New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s assurances during the early months of the pandemic that New York’s nursing home fatality rates were among the lowest in the country.  The Democrat Governor, Cuomo, claimed in press conferences that New York had a 20% fatality rate at nursing homes, which he said was far lower than states like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey.  In July, Cuomo accused his detractors of playing politics by questioning the official data on nursing home fatalities.  The NY AG said the NY Health Department’s estimate of 6,000 deaths is low and estimated the figure was closer to 9,000. 

January 28: Fox News: Pelosi calls armed Members of Congress are
a national security threat “Enemy within the House”
House Speaker Pelosi said the chamber will likely allocate more money for members of Congress to invest in additional security to protect them from the likes of violent rioters, but also from the "enemy" within the House.  When asked for clarification on what she means about the enemy within, Pelosi specifically called out fellow members of Congress.  "It means we have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress," Pelosi said.  Pelosi's comments came after 32 members of Congress wrote to House leadership Thursday about members facing a "significant uptick in threats of violence and even death."  Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) produced an interesting video on this subject.

[Editor’s Note: Most law enforcement officers in Texas know that honest citizens carrying concealed is a deterrent to crime.  Then again, perhaps some of the Members of Congress are not “honest citizens” (Ha Ha!)]

January 28: The Epoch Times: Biden gets pushback from move to get rid of
private prisons
Joe Biden’s executive order to eliminate government contracts with private prisons, stemming from a campaign promise to enact criminal justice reform and to reduce mass incarceration, is being met with pushback from those in the industry. They argue the move is largely a “political statement” that fails to tackle the roots of the issue, since private-sector contractors house only a small fraction of the total number of federal inmates.  The executive order carries a litany of negative consequences ranging from job losses, impacts on communities where facilities are located, and the potential for federal prison populations to overflow, critics argue. Supporters of the order say it helps to combat racial injustice and racial equity.

January 27: The Epoch Times: Economic momentum slows, Fed sets
a cautious course
The Federal Reserve said on Jan. 27 that the U.S. economy is a long way from recovery.   After the conclusion of the central bank’s two-day policy meeting, Fed officials announced that they would hold the target range for the federal funds rate at zero to 0.25 percent, as the pandemic continues to pose “considerable risks to the economic outlook.”  “The pace of the recovery in economic activity and employment has moderated in recent months, with weakness concentrated in the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic,” the Federal Open Market Committee statement read.

January 27: NewsMaxTV: Senator Kaine; Censor Trump don’t impeach him
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, says censuring former President Donald Trump may be better than going through an impeachment trial because it’s clear that most Republicans won’t vote to convict him.  Kaine said Wednesday that Trump won’t be punished through an impeachment trial so he’s consulting with other senators about a possible resolution censuring him for his part in inciting the riot this month at the Capitol.  “I have been talking with a number of my colleagues, a handful, for a couple of weeks about the likelihood that we would fall short on impeachment,” Kaine told reporters Wednesday. “And by doing that, not only will we fall short but we would use time for something that we could be using for COVID-19, which I think is just so dire right now.”

January 27: The Epoch Times: Biden announces sweeping agenda to
combat “climate change”
Joe Biden on Wednesday revealed details of a set of broad environmental executive actions aimed at further tackling what he called the “existential threat” of “climate change.”  The new “whole of government” Biden administration policies seek to put “climate change at the center of our domestic, national security and foreign policy,” and is drawing criticism for its high cost and potential job losses as the United States is already facing huge pandemic related job losses.  Biden and his climate team said the package of policy changes seek to create jobs in the clean energy industry, but opponents to the radical changes say it will have the immediate impact of destroying millions of jobs in the fossil fuel industry and energy independence. 

January 27: The Daily Caller: Biden’s pick for energy secretary divvied millions
in taxpayer funds to alternative energy startup that went bankrupt
Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, divvied out millions in taxpayer funds during her two terms as Michigan governor to alternative energy companies that eventually went bankrupt.  In one instance, Granholm’s administration provided a $9.1 million refundable tax credit to a renewable energy company registered to the address of a single-wide trailer and run by a convicted embezzler named Richard Short. Short was found to be in violation of his parole and sent back to prison after appearing on stage with Granholm in 2010 to accept assistance from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority.

January 27: Fox News:  On the campaign trail Biden wouldn’t answer questions
about court packing, now wants to establish a commission to look into making
changes in the SCOTUS
Joe Biden is "committed" to following through on his campaign pledge of forming a bipartisan commission to study Supreme Court reforms, the White House said Wednesday.   Biden said in October he'd put together a bipartisan commission of scholars to send him recommendations within 180 days on how to reform a court system that's "getting out of whack." The White House said Wednesday Biden would be moving forward with the plans to study the federal judiciary.  "The President remains committed to an expert study of the role and debate over reform of the court and will have more to say in the coming weeks," a White House official said.

January 27: The Washington Times: Air Force warns of decaying leg of the
nuclear triad; asks for new cruise missiles
Cruise missiles — low-flying, precision-guided warhead delivery systems — revolutionized military strategy with their debut on the battlefield in the decades after World War II.  But with a new administration in Washington, the Air Force is stepping up its case for adopting what it calls a long-range standoff weapon to replace the aging air-launched cruise missile in order to maintain the strategic bomber leg of the nuclear triad.  It’s not just another weapons contract.   Pentagon officials worry that all three legs of the classic nuclear triad, whether launched on land, underwater or in the skies, are showing serious signs of wear and tear.

January 27: The Post Newspaper: Discrimination in anty form is Wrong
Is Planned Parenthood coming after children on a racial basis, the lives that really do matter?  Every life is precious.  Every person has the potential to be a Booker T. Washington or a Martin Luther King, Jr.  All are a precious resource to our nation, but more importantly they are special to God.  Regardless of how or why they are conceived, they aren’t trash!   And now we hear from the White House that the new Biden Administration wants to codify Roe v. Wade in order to strengthen the legal standing allowing the killing of unborn children.  We repeat, all lives are precious!  And just like with Bomberger’s and Alvedia King’s mothers, there are other options than abortion, options that save lives.  

January 26: The Daily Caller: Mitch McConnell joins Rand Paul voting against
having an impeachment trial for former president Trump
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a majority of Republicans voted Tuesday in favor of Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s motion to dismiss the impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump.  As Senators prepared for the impeachment trial, Paul introduced a motion arguing that the trial is unconstitutional since Trump is now a private citizen and exempt from facing removal from office.  However, five Republican Senators and every Senate Democrat voted to table the motion, pushing Trump’s impeachment trial forward.  The five GOP senators who joined the Democrats are Susan Collins (ME), Mitt Romney (UT), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Ben Sasse (NE), Pat Toomey (PA).  “I think there will be enough support on it to show there’s no chance they can impeach the president,” Paul told reporters before the vote. “If 34 people support my resolution that this is an unconstitutional proceeding, it shows they don’t have the votes and we’re basically wasting our time.”

January 26: The Epoch Times: Senator Leahy heads for hospital for health reasons
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who is scheduled to preside over the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, returned home after being evaluated at the hospital on Tuesday.  “This evening, Senator Leahy was in his Capitol office and was not feeling well. He was examined in the Capitol by the Attending Physician,” Leahy’s spokesperson, David Carle, said in a statement to news outlets.  “Out of an abundance of caution, the Attending Physician recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now, and where he is being evaluated.”  He returned home later that night after a thorough examination and receiving test results, according to reports. The nature of his condition was not known, nor the hospital to which Leahy was taken.  The move to the hospital came just hours after he presided over the start of the Senate impeachment trial of Trump, by swearing in his fellow lawmakers. The actual trial will begin in February. Leahy will also serve as a juror in the trial.

January 26: Fox News: What Biden’s immigration overhaul will mean f
or national security
With just one week in the White House, Joe Biden has already signed six executive orders concerning immigration. Experts say Biden is quickly undoing Former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, and some fear these reversals will have huge impacts on national security.  "The plans Biden announced so far portend a more dangerous America," Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies said.   In addition, Biden has proposed immigration legislation that would give legal status, and a path to citizenship, to anyone in the U.S. before Jan. 1, which is an estimated 11 million people. He also halted work on the border wall with Mexico, lifted travel bans from several predominantly Muslim countries, among other initiatives.

January 26: Breitbart News: Biden’s view – 1776 Commission is “offensive”
and “counterfactual”
President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is abolishing the Trump administration’s 1776 Commission which, he stated, is “offensive” and “counterfactual.”  The Commission’s report says “The bedrock upon which the American political system is built is the rule of law. The vast difference between tyranny and the rule of law is a central theme of political thinkers back to classical antiquity. The idea that the law is superior to rulers is the cornerstone of English constitutional thought as it developed over the centuries. The concept was transferred to the American colonies, and can be seen expressed throughout colonial pamphlets and political writings.”  So why is that “offensive?”

January 26: The Washington Examiner: YouTube extends Trump suspension
YouTube has reportedly extended its suspension of former President Donald Trump’s account indefinitely. Trump's associate Rudy Giuliani has also been barred by YouTube from monetizing his channel for at least 30 days, according Reuters.  This is the second time Trump's YouTube account suspension is being extended. He was temporarily suspended  by YouTube on Jan. 12 on the grounds that his account was a threat to incite violence.  The social media giant was one of many platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, to suspend or ban the then-president in early January after the violent Capitol attack on Jan. 6.

January 26: The Washington Times: Trump’s post-presidency clout puts
Republicans on notice, Democrats on high alert
Former President Donald Trump is behaving like he never left office.  Out of power for one week, Mr. Trump has created an “Office of the Former President,” staffed with former White House aides to “advance the interests of the United States and to carry on the agenda” of his administration.  He is handing out political endorsements. He has backed Kelli Ward for a second term as chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party (she won) and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for governor of Arkansas in 2022. Still cut off from social media, Mr. Trump released the statement endorsing Mrs. Sanders through his new political action committee, Save America. 

January 25: The Daily Signal: HR-1 threatens to change elections as we know them
As absurd as that sounds, HR-1 is entitled “For the People Act of 2019,” and it is moving through the House of Representatives.  The good news is – if the Senate keeps the filibuster in place – it will not pass the Senate.  Here is a quick rundown on what the bill would do:
It would force states to implement mandatory voter registration, removing civic participation as a voluntary choice, and increasing chances for error;  it mandates that states allow all felons to vote;  it forces states to extend periods of early voting, which has shown to have no effect on turnout; it also mandates same-day voter registration, which encourages voter fraud. Additionally it limits the ability of states to cooperate to see who is registered in multiple states at the same time; prohibits election observers from cooperating with election officials to file formal challenges to suspicious voter registrations; it bars states from making their own laws about voting by mail; it prohibits chief election officials in each state from participating in federal election campaigns; and it mandates free mailing of absentee ballots and requires states to adopt new redistricting commissions.

January 25: NewsMaxTV: McConnell says he is willing to
enter into a power sharing agreement with Schumer
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said he’s dropping a key demand and is ready to move toward a power-sharing agreement after two Democratic senators pledged they won’t vote to do away with the filibuster.  McConnell had refused to agree to any deal with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to share power in the 50-50 Senate without a promise that Democrats wouldn’t jettison the rule that allows the minority to block legislation by requiring 60 votes to advance most legislation.  Schumer rebuffed the idea of a guarantee. But McConnell said statements from two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, were enough.  Manchin told reporters Monday he “does not support throwing away the filibuster under any condition.” A spokesman for Sinema said she also was against eliminating the filibuster. 

January 25: The Daily Caller: Court finds Virginia rule
allowing late ballots missing post marks was illegal
The Virginia Board of Elections rule allowing officials to count ballots that arrived without a postmark up to three days after the election was illegal, a state judge ruled.  Virginia Circuit Court Judge William Eldridge ruled the state’s late mail-in ballot law violated state statute and permanently banned the law in future Virginia elections, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) announced Monday. PILF sued the state’s board of elections in October on behalf of Thomas Reed, a Frederick County, Virginia election official. “This is a big win for the Rule of Law,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said in a statement. “This consent decree gives Mr. Reed everything he requested – a permanent ban on accepting ballots without postmarks after Election Day and is a loss for the Virginia bureaucrats who said ballots could come in without these protections.”

January 25: NewsMaxTV SCOTUS decides in Trump’s
favor on anticorruption charges
Five days after the end of Donald Trump's presidency, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday halted lawsuits accusing him of violating the U.S. Constitution's anti-corruption provisions by maintaining ownership of his business empire including a hotel near the White House while in office.  The justices threw out lower court rulings that had allowed the lawsuits — one filed by the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland and the other by plaintiffs including a watchdog group — to proceed, while also declining to hear Trump's appeals of those decisions. The justices ordered the lower courts to dismiss the cases because they are now moot.  The plaintiffs accused Trump of running afoul of the Constitution's "emoluments" provisions that bar presidents from accepting gifts or payments from foreign and state governments without congressional approval. The plaintiffs had asked the Supreme Court to reject Trump's appeals.

January 25: Fox News: House delivers article of impeachment to the Senate
House Democrats presented an article of impeachment against  Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday night, kicking off proceedings.  Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), one of nine House named as prosecutors in the upcoming trial, read the article of impeachment on the Senate floor. 

January 25: The Washington Free Beacon: Facebook reverses ban on Virginia
gun-rights group
Facebook reinstated several accounts connected to a leading Virginia gun-rights group one week after suspending its pages without explanation.  Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), said his Facebook account had been restored along with those of other VCDL leadership and the group's official page. Facebook suspended and deactivated several of its accounts in the lead-up to the group's lobby day on Jan. 18. Even after the lobby day event went off without incident, Facebook continued to purge VCDL leadership from the site. Ken van Wyk, a VCDL executive member who helps organize the event each year, saw his account deactivated as he attempted to memorialize baseball great Hank Aaron on Friday.

January 25: The Washington Examiner: National Guard still in DC, agencies
dodge the reason why
The matter of why thousands of National Guard troops remain in Washington has become the capital city's newest game of hot potato.  The acting Army secretary deferred a question to the bureau about why so many National Guard troops remained positioned around the District of Columbia on Monday. The FBI then declined to respond to request for comment.  “What I can tell you is in terms of what [the FBI is] briefing us is, there are several upcoming events,” acting Army Secretary John Whitley told reporters Monday on a conference call when asked about the current threat assessment in Washington, D.C.  “We do not engage in that intelligence work ourselves,” he said. “We rely on our federal partners and particularly the FBI to provide that information.”

January 25: NewsMaxTV: Sarah Huckabee Sanders announces she will run
for Governor of Arkansas
Sarah Sanders, one of former President Donald Trump's White House press secretaries, announced  Monday that she would seek the Republican Party's nomination for governor of Arkansas in the 2022 election.  Sanders, who left the White House in 2019 under good terms with Trump and backed his bid for reelection in November, faces a potential crowded race that could test the former president's hold on the Republican Party as it regroups.  Arkansas's Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin has said he will also seek the Republican nomination in the race, which could also include state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Arkansas Senate President Jim Hendren, according to local media reports.

January 25: The Epoch Times: Senate confirms Secretary of the Treasury nomination
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Janet Yellen as the nation’s 78th secretary of the Treasury.  The 84–15 Senate confirmation vote late Jan. 25 marks the first time a woman will take up the role. Yellen, 74, is also the oldest to hold the role in recent history.  Yellen is the third member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to be confirmed. She was chairwoman of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018 under the Obama administration. Her term wasn’t renewed by President Donald Trump.

January 25: Townhall.com: President Trump announces his new office
Former President Donald Trump on Monday announced the launch of his official post-presidency office, which will be headquartered in Palm Beach, Florida.  According to an announcement from the "Office of the Former President," the office will handle all of Trump's "correspondence, public statements, appearances, and official activities to advance the interests of the United States and to carry on the agenda of the Trump Administration through advocacy, organizing, and public activism."

January 25: NewsMaxTV: Trump ends talk about Patriot Party;
will help primary never-Trumpers
Former President Donald Trump has reportedly tabled the idea moving forward with a third party, as he now believes he will not be convicted in the Senate and is instead turning his focus to assisting primary challenges against never-Trump Republicans.  With Joe Biden having been given a peaceful transfer of power and the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol getting further in the rearview, Trump reportedly believes it is now far less likely that 17 Republicans will join Senate Democrats to convict him on the House article of impeachment: inciting an insurrection attempt.

January 24: NewsMaxTV: Taiwan-Chinese tensions rise as
PRC aircraft probe Taiwanese airspace
Chinese air force planes including 12 fighter jets entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone for a second day on Sunday, Taiwan said, as tensions rise near the island just days into U.S. President Joe Biden's new administration.   Communist China has increased its military activity near the democratically ruled island in recent months.  But China's activities over the weekend mark a ratcheting up with fighters and bombers being dispatched rather than reconnaissance aircraft as had generally been the case.  "Airborne alert sorties had been tasked, radio warnings issued and air defense missile systems deployed to monitor the activity," Taiwanese officials said.

January 24: Fox News: Sanders threatens to move stimulus bill
on reconciliation if GOP doesn’t support same
The incoming chair of the Senate Budget Committee, Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has threatened to pass the CCP COVID-19 relief package through the budget reconciliation process which takes only a simple majority and is not subject to a filibuster.  The package has a price tag of $1.9 trillion and has provisions that would fund non-COVID-19 related programs.  Biden's proposal includes a provision to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, vaccine funding, money for schools and state and local governments (many of which are Democrat-run and which have been in the red long before the pandemic) -- priorities that may not fit into budget reconciliation rules. Democrats may be required to pick up GOP votes or compromise for a smaller package that has bipartisan support.

January 24: The Washington Examiner: Arizona GOP censures
Governor, former Senator, and Cindy McCain
Arizona Republicans voted to censure Gov. Doug Ducey, former Sen. Jeff Flake, and Cindy McCain after the trio of Republicans either did not support former President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the election results or endorsed President Biden before the election.  Flake and McCain both endorsed Biden during the campaign, a controversial move in the battleground state that Trump eventually lost by a narrow margin. It was the first time a Democrat carried the state since former President Bill Clinton in 1996.  Ducey was also censured Saturday for imposing COVID-19 restrictions in the state, with rules that GOP lawmakers argued violated Arizona’s constitution while accusing the governor of wielding “dictatorial powers.”

January 24: NewsMaxTV: Paul insists:  “Great deal of evidence”
of election fraud
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) declared there was a “great deal of evidence of fraud” and illegal election law changes that merit a “thorough investigation.”  In a contentious exchange on ABC News’ George Stephanopolous Paul said “You're forgetting who you are as a journalist if you think there's only one side.  You're inserting yourself into the story," he said, adding: "I want to look at secretaries of state who changed the law — it happened. You can't just sweep it under the rug. Nothing to see here. You're a fool to bring this up. A journalist would hear both sides.” 

January 23: Fox News: Bust of Churchill gone from the White House,
Biden removes it
Biden had removed the bust of former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill from display in the Oval Office.  The Washington Post reported that Biden "does not have the bust on display." However, other busts, including labor leader Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr., are on display.  British Prime Minister Tony Blair had loaned President George W. Bush a bust of the British wartime leader in 2001. Former President Barack Obama had caused controversy by removing it when he entered office in 2009, and it was viewed by critics as a snub of the U.S.-U.K. alliance -- although his White House noted that there was still a Churchill bust elsewhere in the building.

January 23: The Washington Times:  Boebert bill to block Paris climate
agreement reignites Senate ratification debate
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has introduced a bill to block the Biden administration from reentering the Paris agreement until it receives Senate confirmation, a nod to the longstanding debate over the accord’s legitimacy.  Her bill, which has 11 GOP cosponsors, bars Congress from appropriating funds to implement the international climate accord until it receives Senate ratification, a step that former President Obama skipped when he used his executive authority to enter the agreement in 2016.  The bill has little chance of passing the Democrat-controlled House, but the legislation has drawn attention to the debate over whether the Paris accord is an executive agreement, as the Obama administration maintained, or a treaty that requires the advice and consent of the Senate under the Constitution.

January 23: The Epoch Times: Telegram, an encrypted messaging app,
reports massive growth in January: 90 million
Messaging app “Telegram” sent a message to its users announcing that in January alone it gained 90 million new users. “In January 2021, more than 90 million new users from around the world joined Telegram,” reads the encrypted messaging app’s message. “Thank you! These milestones were made possible by users like you who invite their friends to Telegram.”  Due to concerns over Big Tech’s recent ban on President Donald Trump and other prominent conservative figures, a large number of users are flocking to other alternatives.  A Washington DC coalition for a safer web recently started legal action against Apple for not removing the Telegram app after Apple took action to remove Parler.  The coalition claims Telegram has allowed violent and radical discussions related to the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S Capitol on its platform.  In 2019, European police worked with Telegram to disable accounts associated with ISIS terrorists and other violent groups after they had been communicating with each other and posting propaganda on the app.

January 23: The Daily Caller: Proposed Biden legislation would expand
immigration without increasing security
Joe Biden has proposed legislation that would expand immigration without increasing security or enforcement measures, according to a draft of the proposal.  Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said that Biden’s proposed legislation consists of “open borders” that will have “no regard for the health and security of Americans.”  Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security suggests that the administration will not move to completely open borders, or necessarily adopt welcoming policies directed at migrants. 

January 23: The Epoch Times: Dershowitz outlines possibilities for upcoming
Trump impeachment trial
Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz noted  Trump asked for a peaceful and patriotic demonstrations on January 6th. Additionally, he pointed out that customarily the law goes after the people who commit the crimes, and not the speaker, a principle dating back to a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1801.  The Senate has the option of voting against trying the case but will not do so because passage would only require a simple majority.  But having a trial, Dershowitz contends, will be “unconstitutional.”  “My own view…. is that a Senate conviction would be null and void and Mr. Trump, citizen Trump, could simply ignore the consequences. And if he decides to run for president in 2024, he should be free to do it. And the courts will have to decide whether the Senate had any authority to determine who the presidential candidates in 2024 are.”

January 22: NewsMaxTV: Schumer: Pelosi will transmit the article of impeachment
to the Senate on Monday
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that she will send the article of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, triggering the start of the former president's trial on a charge of incitement of insurrection over the deadly Capitol Jan. 6 riot.  Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer announced Pelosi's intentions for a quick trial on the Senate floor Friday, rejecting Republicans' proposal to push it to mid-February to give Trump more time to prepare his case. Schumer said there will be “a full trial, it will be a fair trial."  Pelosi said her nine impeachment managers, or House prosecutors, are "ready to begin to make their case” against Trump. She said Trump's team will have had the same amount of time.  Others, like Rush Limbaugh, have said Pelosi is scared of Trump and the possibility he might run for President again.  Pelosi wants to stop that from happening.

January 22: The Daily Caller: CNN Report: McConnell approached by
“prominent” Republicans to convict Trump; the swamp strikes back?
According to CNN, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has reportedly been lobbied by prominent Republicans and former White House officials to support impeaching former President Donald Trump.    “Mitch said to me he wants Trump gone,” an unnamed Republican member of Congress reportedly told CNN. “It is in his political interest to have him gone. It is in the GOP interest to have him gone. The question is, do we get there?”   The CNN report said the lobbying for impeachment started in the House after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and began to focus on McConnell after the House’s impeachment vote.  Of course, the report came from CNN and utilizes anonymous sources.

January 22: The Epoch Times: Three governors order their national
guard troop home from Washington, DC
Three governors have ordered their local National Guard troops to return to their respective states following accounts of thousands of them – some reports said 5,000 -- having been “banished” to the parking garage of the Capitol where there was only one electrical outlet, no Internet service and only one bathroom which had two stalls.  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote this morning that he had “instructed General Norris to order the return of the Texas National Guard to our state.”  Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) also ordered his national guard home as did New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu.

January 22: The Washington Times:  Biden and Harris committed to
codifying Roe v Wade
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris recommitted Friday to “codifying Roe v. Wade” on the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide as pro-life advocates vowed to fight the administration’s pro-choice agenda.  In a joint statement, Biden and Harris said that during “the past four years, reproductive health, including the right to choose, has been under relentless and extreme attack,” referring to the Trump administration’s strong pro-life record.  “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to codifying Roe v. Wade and appointing judges that respect foundational precedents like Roe,” said the statement, adding that, “now is the time to rededicate ourselves to ensuring that all individuals have access to the health care they need.”

January 22: NewsMaxTV: Biden erased women with transgender
executive order
Critics are protesting Joe Biden's executive order on transgender protections through a "Biden erased women" hashtag based on claims that the document rolls back legal protections for women.  “Biden’s executive order has directed federal agencies to eviscerate legal protection for women and roll back nearly 50 years of gains for women,” Alliance Defending Freedom legal counsel Christiana Holcomb said. “We’re going to have to wait and see how each agency either revokes current protection for women based on their sex or issues new policy guidance that allows biological males to, for example, compete in women’s sports.”

January 22: The Epoch Times: Biden orders $15 per hour minimum wage
for federal contractors
Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order that requires federal contractors to pay at least $15 per hour and provide employees with emergency paid leave.  This translates to an estimated $31,200 annually before taxes.  In addition, the Biden order removes Trump-era “Schedule F” job classification within the government’s career civil service for “employees in confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating positions.” Employees converted to Schedule F would lose most of their civil service protections and could be fired at any time.  The new order also overturns a series of executive orders signed by Trump in May 2018. Those previous orders made it easier for the federal government to fire poor performers, further limited official time the federal employees can use to conduct union activities, and directed agencies to renegotiate collective bargaining agreements with federal unions under stricter parameters. 

January 21: NewsMaxTV:  Politico: Democrats caught flat footed by having
control of Congress and the White House, not sure how to proceed
Democrats were caught by surprise by their takeover of the Senate and find themselves unprepared for their total control of Washington.  Now the lack of preparation for controlling the White House, Senate, and House is sparking confusion among Democrat lawmakers, according to Politico.  The website noted that aside from addressing the pandemic, Democrats can’t seem to agree on what to do next.  Joe Biden’s top issues are COVID-19 relief and an infrastructure bill, but Democrat lawmakers are also talking about criminal justice and police reforms, along with proposals designed to clean up elections.  While Biden’s people had been working out plans to use the fast-track “reconciliation” process senior Democrats are expressing frustration because Biden wants to win over some Republicans first.  There is even discussion of another proposal making its way in the House. This one — a narrower proposal — would provide $1,400 stimulus checks and vaccine distribution assistance. But the proposal is running into resistance from some in the Senate.  Meanwhile, the Senate will soon be faced with conducting Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.


January 21: The Daily Caller: Liberal groups pressure Biden on his
top officials’ corporate ties
Nearly fifty progressive groups are calling on Joe Biden to release more information on his political appointees and nominees’ potential conflicts of interests.   In a letter sent to the White House the 49 groups wrote that the financial disclosure forms provided by top Biden administration officials to date “provide insufficient details on the nature of work your nominees and appointees have performed for their clients, making it nearly impossible to determine the full scope of the potential conflicts.”  The request comes as Biden’s Cabinet designees are undergoing the confirmation process in the Senate and on the heels of an about face from President Trump on “draining the swamp” in Washington. One of Trump’s final acts in office was to overturn a previous executive order he signed in 2017 that banned White House officials from certain lobbying positions after leaving government work.

January 21: Fox News: McConnell: Biden ‘took several big steps in the
wrong direction” on day one
Just one day after Biden spoke of unity in his inaugural address to the nation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Democrat president has headed in "the wrong direction."  Speaking from the Senate floor Thursday, the Kentucky Republican condemned several executive actions Biden took on his first day in office, including revoking a key permit for the Keystone Pipeline XL, rejoining the Paris climate agreement and removing a Trump-appointed general counsel to the National Labor Relations Board.  GOP officials claim the agreement – which President Trump almost immediately pulled the U.S. out of after taking office in 2017 – will impact manufacturing jobs and unfairly hold the U.S. to an environmental standard not met by China or India.

January 21: The Epoch Times: Pennsylvania GOP-controlled legislature moves
to repeal No-Excuse mail-in ballot provisions
Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania are planning to introduce legislation to repeal provisions in the law that allows for no-excuse mail-in ballots.  “We intend to introduce legislation repealing the no-excuse mail-in ballot provisions enacted in Act 77 of 2019,” state Sens. Patrick Stefano and Doug Mastriano said.  “By removing the provisions of law that allow for no-excuse mail-in ballots, we can regain some trust in our elections’ integrity,” they contended. “Faith in our election process is crucial to our democracy. We remain hopeful that this initiative, and any additional legislative changes that will come forward from our hearings, will once again restore confidence in our democracy and shine a light into the shadow of doubt that has been cast over Americans’ most democratic process.”  The Democrat Governor and Secretary of state, as well as the Democrat-controlled PA supreme court had taken advantage of mail-in voting and “usurped legislative power to set the conditions for an election result in their political interest.”

January 21: The Washington Examiner: Hunter Biden inquiry looms large as his
dad pledge prevents “improper interference” with DOJ investigations
An executive order from Joe Biden instructs all his appointees to sign a pledge to refrain from “improper interference” with any prosecutorial or investigative decisions at the Justice Department.  The new directive comes after Biden selected Judge Merrick Garland to be his nominee for attorney general and as Biden’s son, Hunter, is under a federal criminal investigation. There is also a criminal inquiry into the Trump-Russia investigation being conducted by special counsel John Durham.  

January 21: The Washington Times:  Biden agenda stuck in neutral as
power-sharing deal eludes Senate
Who’s on first, what’s on second, and nobody knows exactly how the Senate is being run right now.  Though Democrats technically took the reins of the chamber this week, they have been unable to reach a power-sharing deal with Republicans, leaving the Senate partially frozen.  Democrats hold the gavel in the chamber itself, but GOP lawmakers are still the chairs of committees, at least for now.  All sides are feeling their way through the new arrangement, but already cracks are showing in Democrats’ push for quick action on President Biden’s agenda.  Only one of Mr. Biden’s Cabinet picks has been confirmed, marking the slowest start for a president in at least 60 years.  And his demands for quick passage of a nearly $2 trillion coronavirus package were already meeting strong objections from Republicans, who said a small bill might be possible, but rejected Biden’s framework.

January 21: The Epoch Times: 1776 Commission Chairman: The founding
principles offer the only hope for national unity
The  1776 Commission’s first and last report, despite being banished by Joe Biden, will endure because it upholds the founding principles of the United States, the advisory commission’s chairman said.  The  1776 Commission, appointed by President Trump for two years, was tasked with producing a report on the nation’s founding principles while providing guidance on how the federal government could promote those principles in public education. It is commonly seen as a counter to The New York Times’ 1619 Project, which is has been pushed by educators who teach the American story as one that’s based upon racial oppression.  “The report calls for a return to the unifying principles stated in the Declaration of Independence,” Chairman Arnn wrote. “It quotes the greatest Americans, black and white, men and women, in devotion to these principles. It acknowledges the many ways we have fallen short of them even as it celebrates, following Abraham Lincoln, the influence for good that they exercised to the benefit of all.”

January 20: NewsMaxTV: Wyoming’s Liz Chaney faces primary challenge after
voting for impeaching Trump
A Wyoming state senator on Wednesday confirmed his primary challenge to Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) who voted to impeach President Donald Trump.  State Sen. Anthony Bouchard said he intended to challenge Cheney in the 2022 Republican primary.  "Wyoming voters are strong conservatives who want our leaders to stand up for America, defend our freedoms, fight for our way of life and always put working people first as President Trump did," Bouchard said.  "Liz Cheney’'s long-time opposition to President Trump and her most recent vote for Impeachment shows just how out-of-touch she is with Wyoming,” he said.

January 20: The Washington Times: Biden Day One: Attempt
to erase the Trump legacy
A few strokes of Biden’s pen on Wednesday put a stop to part of former President Trump’s legacy.  Biden, in a first-day series of executive orders, memo, directives and proclamations, halted border wall construction, nixed the travel bans, canceled the commission to celebrate the country’s Founding Fathers and erased the presidential approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.  He also restored the U.S. to its role in international agreements like the World Health Organization and the Paris climate accord.  And he forged new guiding principles for the massive federal bureaucracy, ordering them to put the pandemic first, and to elevate climate and racial justice issues to the forefront of all their decision-making moving forward.

January 20: The Epoch Times: Collaboration between Govt. and big tech
is giving rise to totalitarianism, experts warn
Some experts believe the formation of a totalitarian state is just about complete in America as the most powerful public and private sector actors unify behind the idea that actions to stamp out dissent can be justified.  While many have warned about the rise of fascism and socialism recent events may indicate seemingly unconnected pieces of the oppression puzzle are fitting together to form a comprehensive system, according to Michael Rectenwald, a retired professor at New York University.  But it appears many Americans have been caught off guard or aren’t even aware of the newly forming regime, as the idea of elected officials, government bureaucrats, large corporations, the establishment academia, think tanks and nonprofits, the legacy media, and even seemingly grassroot movements all working in concert toward some “evil purpose” seems preposterous. The reality emerges that the socialist agenda in America is indeed totalitarian, as the root of its ideology requires politically motivated coercion, Rectenwald contended.  The power of the movement is not yet absolute but it’s becoming increasingly effective as it erodes the values, checks, and balances against tyranny established by traditional beliefs and enshrined in the American founding.  Some would contend this effort to erode the beliefs of our founders took a step forward as today Joe Biden erased the 1776 commission established by President Trump.

January 20: Breitbart News: Beware:  Graham says Sanders will use reconciliation
process to impose the green new deal, tax hikes, and Medicare for all
During the Inauguration coverage on Wednesday, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said incoming Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will use the reconciliation process to “impose the Green New Deal, higher taxes, and Medicare for all.”  Graham said, “[W]e’re going to have our hands full. I’m going to be the Budget [Ranking Member]. I’m going to be fighting Bernie Sanders as he uses the budget reconciliation process to impose the Green New Deal, higher taxes, and Medicare for all. So, to my Republican colleagues out there, let’s work together. We’re going to have a real challenge on our hands.”

January 20: The Daily Caller: Graham: If you’re wanted to erase Trump
from the GOP, you’re going to get erased

Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that it would be grave error to try to “erase” former President Donald Trump from the Republican Party because of the support he still enjoys within it.  “I hope people in our party understand the party itself. If you’re wanting to erase Donald Trump from the party, you’re going to get erased,” Graham contended.  “Most Republicans like his policies. A lot of Republicans like his style,” Graham continued. “A lot of people are disappointed with him personally at times but appreciate the outcomes he’s achieved for our country.” 

January 20: Fox News: Anti-Biden and Antifa activists attack Portland
police causing them to retreat
Antifa protesters in Portland clashed with authorities Wednesday as they gathered to voice dissatisfaction with Joe Biden, forcing officers to retreat, authorities said.  The Portland Police Bureau said several events were planned in the city just hours after Biden implored the nation to come together. A crowd of up to 150 people gathered at Revolution Hall and marched to the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Oregon, Portland police Sgt. Kevin Allen said.   It seems it makes no difference who is President as these Antifa protestors demonstrated against Biden and law enforcement.  Some in the group smashed windows and vandalized the building with graffiti.  Police officers made "targeted arrests" in connection to the damage at the Democratic headquarters. In total, eight adults were arrested for crimes ranging from rioting and possession of a destructive device to reckless burning. 

January 19: The Daily Caller: President Trump gives his farewell address to the nation; the movement we started is only beginning
President Donald Trump delivered his final White House address to the nation Tuesday, in which he claimed that “the movement we started is only just beginning.”  In a prerecorded video, taped Monday ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, Trump stated that “no nation can long thrive that loses faith in its own values, history, and heroes, for these are the very sources of our unity and our vitality.”  “We did what we came here to do and so much more,” Trump claimed. “Above all, we have reasserted the sacred idea that in America, the government answers to the people.”  “I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices because that’s what you elected me to do,” he continued before listing a number of administration accomplishments including building “the greatest economy in the history of the world,” “rallying the global community to stand up to China like never before,” the Abraham Accords and troop withdrawals from countries around the world.

January 19: NewsMax.com: Twitter users flood Internet in support of NewsMaxTV
after CNN calls for silencing the growing cable news the company
Social media users came to the defense of Newsmax after CNN and its commentators openly called for Newsmax and other conservative television outlets to be virtually thrown off the air.  Decrying what they see as a new fascism, socialism, and even the totalitarian theme of the novel George Orwell’s “1984,” Twitter users slammed CNN’s call for censorship of Newsmax.  Newsmax noted that CNN is clearly worried about the network’s rise, as it has become the 4th highest-rated cable news channel in the U.S. 

January 19: Fox News: Biden inauguration day: How many people
will attend the ceremony in person?
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in on Wednesday in an extremely pared-down Inaugural event, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and intensified concerns about security.  The inaugural committee is "strongly encouraging" people not to attend the event in person – and to instead tune in to the virtual livestream.  Additionally, the normal dinners and balls have also been canceled.  This year members of Congress will only get one ticket and one for a guest in comparison to the normal 200,00 tickets in previous inaugurations. Overall, The Washington Post estimated that around 2,000 people will attend the event, including 200 "VIPs" – or members of Biden and Harris’ congressional leadership and several diplomats.

January 19: The Epoch Times: Small Business Administration thinks
faith-based organizations should be eligible for COVID relief
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed a rule that would make faith-based organizations eligible for some of the agency’s relief programs.  The new rule, which is currently open for a 30-day public comment period, aims to remove restrictions that exclude religious organizations from some SBA business loans and disaster assistance programs.  Specifically the CFR currently states businesses whose “principal activity” is “teaching, instructing, counseling or indoctrinating religion or religious beliefs, whether in a religious or secular setting” are not eligible to participate in SBA assistance programs.  Those restrictions, according to the SBA proposal, violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment because they “exclude a class of potential participants based solely on their religious status.”The SBA also cited President Trump’s May 2017 executive order, which states that “federal law protects the freedom of Americans and their organizations to exercise religion and participate fully in civic life without undue interference by the Federal Government.”

January 18:  NewsMax.com: Biden institute donor list to remain a secret
The Biden Institute, a policy research center founded by Joe Biden in 2017, reportedly will not disclose its donors after the inauguration.  That news seemingly could create headaches for the new administration.  That is because, while other foundations and groups carrying Biden’s name have been shut down after he declared his presidential candidacy in 2019, the Biden Institute continues to exist and fundraise. In fact, the research center at the University of Delaware is in the middle of a $20 million fundraising campaign.  A perception that donors might be seeking favors certainly seems possible.  Some ethics experts said Biden and his family should have severed ties with every Biden-named organization to avoid drawing allegations of wrongdoing.  A Biden transition official emailed Politico to say the new administration would be taking steps to prevent any real or perceived "ethically compromising positions."  "The administration will adhere to high ethical standards and ensure any affiliations with outside groups will not result in special access or treatment," the official said.

January 18: The Washington Times: Trump leaves mark as one of the most consequential one-term presidents
President Trump leaves office Wednesday after compiling one of the most consequential and turbulent records of any one-term leader.  Trump forged peace deals in the Middle East for the first time in generations, spurred an economic revival by slashing regulations and taxes, overhauled the immigration system, ripped up and renegotiated trade deals, enacted elusive criminal justice reform and stocked the federal judiciary with conservatives at a record pace.  Even as the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the economy and contributed heavily to his failed reelection bid, Trump marshaled an unprecedented effort to produce vaccines in less than a year.   “Breaking through in Middle East peace, creating a conservative Court, and then enormous economic gains through February [2020],” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “Those are the three achievements I would list.”  The president appointed 54 appeals court judges, one fewer than Mr. Obama’s total in two terms, and “flipped” the majority ideology on three of the courts from Democratic to Republican.

January 18: The Epoch Times: The USA increases overflights of B-52s in the Middle East
B-52H Stratofortress bombers flew over the Middle East on Sunday in the midst of tensions with  Iran, according to U.S. officials.  U.S. Central Command wrote that B-52H crews have conducted their “second Middle East presence patrol of 2021 as key part of CENTCOM’s defensive posture.”  Gen. Frank McKenzie, Central Command’s commander, told news outlets that the missions are designed to demonstrate the United States’ commitment to the region.  “Short-term deployments of strategic assets are an important part of our defensive posture in the region,” he said in a statement. “The training opportunity and continued integration with regional partners improves readiness and delivers a clear and consistent message in the operational environment to both friends and potential adversaries, alike.”

January 18: The Washington Free Beacon: Incoming White House climate team
blames “systemic racism” for climate change; really?
A pair of top incoming White House environmental aides has blamed "systemic racism" as a driver of climate change in an attempt to justify a government-led economic overhaul.  Joe Biden named progressive policy adviser Maggie Thomas as Office of Domestic Climate Policy chief of staff and climate advocate Cecilia Martinez as "senior director for environmental justice" on Thursday. Both Thomas and Martinez have cited racial inequality as perpetuating climate change, arguing that the Biden administration's environmental policy must be centered on "racial and economic justice."  "Unless intentionally interrupted, systemic racism will continue to be a major obstacle to creating a healthy planet," Martinez said in a 2019 press release touting her "Equitable & Just" climate platform. "The only path forward is to design national climate policies that are centered on justice."  Progressives' most ambitious climate goals are likely to face congressional opposition from centrist Democrats. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) recently told the Washington Examiner that he would oppose a federal mandate to make utilities carbon-free within 15 years. But Biden could use executive orders to implement some of his team's far-left climate-policy priorities.

January 18: The Epoch Times: Trump lifts CCP virus travel ban on UK,
leaves China and Iran travel ban
President Trump issued a proclamation on Jan. 18 lifting the CCP virus travel ban for most of Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Brazil. The proclamation makes clear that travel restrictions will remain in place for China and Iran.  Trump in March 2020 issued travel bans for foreign nationals from the Schengen Area of Europe, and later to the United Kingdom and Ireland, if they have been within those areas in the prior 14 days. In May 2020, he ordered a similar travel ban for Brazil. Trump’s latest order, effective Jan. 26, will terminate the travel bans.

January 18: The Washington Free Beacon: China ties raise questions for
Biden’s pick for a top DOD post
Joe Biden's pick for a top Pentagon post works at a research center partnered with China's Peking University, a school that has long been eyed as a security risk by western intelligence.  Colin Kahl, whom Biden tapped for undersecretary of defense for policy, has served as a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University since the beginning of 2018. The institute oversees the Stanford Center at Peking University in northern Beijing, which opened in 2012 and is run by former Beijing spy chief Qiu Shuiping; inked to multiple espionage cases in the United States.  The school has also been ramping up its student and faculty surveillance system in what China watchers see as part of the government's broader crackdown on independent scholarship.   Kahl is not the first Biden nominee whose employer has business entanglements in China. Biden's pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, cofounded the consulting firm WestExec, which helped U.S. universities raise money from China without running afoul of Pentagon grant requirements.  WestExec scrubbed the details of this work from its website over the summer.

January 18: The Epoch Times:  Trump
Admin’s legacy in the Middle East – Peace deals and combating anti-Semitism
As a result of the Trump administration’s efforts in the Middle East, four nations have signed peace agreements with Israel, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, and Sudan.  Alongside the peace agreements, there are also signs that Middle Eastern countries are agreeing to proactively tackle anti-Semitism.  On January 15 President Trump received Moroco’s highest award for his work in advancing a normalization deal between Israel and Morocco.

January 17: Fox News: Grenell: Susan Rice, an Obama operative,
will be the shadow president
Former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice has been tapped to lead the White House Domestic Policy Council in the Biden administration, but former acting DNI Ric Grenell believes she could be in control of a lot more.   "I think you need to watch Susan Rice very closely," he said. “She will be the shadow president."  Grenell called Biden’s pick "interesting" considering Rice has no experience in domestic policy but nonetheless will be "incredibly influential" under the new administration.  "I think the reality is, she’s going to be running foreign policy, domestic policy," he said. "She’s probably extremely happy that Kamala Harris is going to be preoccupied with the Senate… and won’t have a lot of time to get into policy issues."  Grenell theorized that the Democrats elected Biden because he could be swayed.

January 17: The Washington Free Beacon: CA Governor Newsom faces
the possibility of a recall
Republicans and activists say their recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is aimed at protecting the rest of the country from the failed policies of California Democrats.  More than 1.1. million Californians have already signed the recall petition, rapidly approaching the 1.9 million necessary to force an election. The activists hope that an additional batch of 1.5 million mailed petitions can push the number over the edge. State assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R.) said the campaign will challenge the growing influence California Democrats wield over the national political conversation—from coronavirus lockdowns to economic and environmental policies that reward big tech while hurting small businesses.  Newsom has seen close allies leave for Washington, D.C.  Anne Dunsmore, a political strategist and campaign manager for the pro-recall group Rescue California, said that the loss of top Newsom allies to the Biden administration could open up further opportunities to chip away at the traditional dominance of California Democrats in future statewide elections.  "The absence of all these people are going to make it harder for them to defend the U.S. Senate seat, all the constitutional offices that are being vacated," Dunsmore said. "I think it's delightful."

January 17: NewsMax.com: CNN pushes to close down Newsmax TV
as the new network surges in viewership
CNN is making no mistake about it: It wants to censor and close Newsmax from broadcasting as a cable news channel.  Apparently jolted by the fact Newsmax has skyrocketed to become the 4th highest-rated cable news channel in the country, the liberal CNN is decrying what it calls Newsmax's "election denialism" and is seeking to have it "deplatformed" from cable and satellite systems across the nation.  Oliver Darcy, CNN's leftwing media critic, has been demanding cable operators drop Newsmax, which is currently carried by every major system in the nation. Newsmax is also streamed free by most OTT platforms and devices.

January 17: NewsMax.com: Trump approval rating unhurt by
impeachment and Capitol Hill riot
Despite the storming of the Capitol and a subsequent second impeachment, President Donald Trump's approval ratings as he leaves office are relative unmoved by political unrest, according to the latest NBC News poll.  Trump's approval rating of 43% among registered voters remains within the margin of error of most of his term, as he had a 45% rating before the Nov. 3 election loss and 44% when he took office in January 2017, per the poll.  The strength of his approval in the Republican Party is perhaps even more notable, considering 10 House GOP members voted for his impeachment this week without a hearing. Still, 87% of registered Republican voters approve of Trump's job performance, which is just down 2 points since the 89% before the election.

January 16: The Epoch Times: Dershowitz: The House committed six violations of the
Constitution during its second impeachment of Trump
Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said that the House violated six independent points of the Constitution when impeaching President Donald Trump.  In an interview Dershowitz said: “They violated the free speech provision. They violated the impeachment criteria. They violated the bill of attainder. They violated due process, on and on and on.”  “How can you impeach a president for a speech that is constitutionally protected?” he said.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appointed Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who recently came to the spotlight for his alleged intimate relationship with a purported Chinese spy, as impeachment manager. Some legal experts argue holding an impeachment trial after Trump leaves office violates the Constitution.  “Once Trump’s term ends on Jan. 20, Congress loses its constitutional authority to continue impeachment proceedings against him—even if the House has already approved articles of impeachment,” J. Michael Luttig, a retired federal judge, wrote.  Under the U.S. Constitution, the Senate conducts an impeachment trial when the House impeaches a president. The upper congressional chamber can acquit a president or convict him. A two-thirds vote is required to convict. When the House impeached Trump on a separate matter in 2019, the Senate voted to acquit him 21 days after the trial started.

January 16: NewsMax.com: Polls show there is a backlash coming
The storming of the Capitol Building was rebuked by President Donald Trump, and those who ignore that will rue the day when voters next have their say again at the polls and with their business, according to Trump campaign pollster John McLaughlin.  "There's a big backlash that's going to come against Congress, big backlash that's going to come against any Republican that supported the impeachment process, and also there's going to be a backlash against the big tech companies," McLaughlin said.  It will also impact social media companies like Facebook and Twitter, and Apple and Amazon for the censorship of conservative viewpoints and speech, he noted.  His polling had Americans believing the media is biased against President Donald Trump and for Joe Biden by a 4-1 margin.

January 16: The Epoch Times: White House showcases Trump accomplishments
The White House published a long list of President Donald Trump’s accomplishments during his presidency.  Among other things the document lists an unprecedented economic boom before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus pandemic, job opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds, tax relief for the middle class, job creation and investments in Opportunity Zones, deregulation, criminal justice reform, and trade policies and deals – not to mention his diplomatic accomplishments in the middle east (i.e., moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and the Arab-Israeli Abraham accords).  Also noted, he got 450 miles of new border wall constructed and increased military spending.  With help from the GOP’s majority in the Senate, Trump successfully installed three conservative-leaning justices in the Supreme Court, appointed over 230 federal judges and 54 judges to various courts of appeals.   Also highlighted was Trump’s upholding of religious freedom in the United States and globally, including “imposed restrictions on certain Chinese officials, internal security units, and companies” for their complicity in persecuting members of religious groups in China.

January 16: Fox News: Capitol police intel report warned prior to Jan. 6
that “Congress itself” could be targeted
An internal Capitol Police intelligence report issued three days before the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 said "Congress itself" could be targeted by protesters gathering in Washington, D.C.  The 12-page intelligence said the potential targets of the rioters were "not necessarily the counter-protesters as they were previously, but rather Congress itself."  The report said that combined with the likelihood the "Stop the Steal" rally would "attract white supremacists, militia members, and others who actively promote violence," it could lead to "The DOJ [Department of Justice] OIG [Office of the Inspector General] review will include examining information relevant to the January 6 events that was available to DOJ and its components in advance of January 6; the extent to which such information was shared by DOJ and its components with the U.S. Capitol Police and other federal, state, and local agencies; and the role of DOJ personnel in responding to the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6," IG Horowitz said.

January 16: The Epoch Times: Gun sales surge in 2020 with
over 39 million background checks
Gun sales in the United States set a new record in 2020, FBI statistics show, sending America’s arsenal to new heights in a year scarred by the pandemic and marked by social and political tension.  In 2020, federal authorities carried out more than 39.5 million firearms background checks, which serve as a proxy for gun sales.  Nearly 4 million background checks were done in December, the busiest-ever month on record.  But while the gun sales trend has seen a steady rise since 2005, when nearly 9 million checks were done, the past year saw extraordinary activity, with almost 40 percent more checks compared to 2019.

January 16: Breitbart News: Rand Paul: We’re becoming “militarized zone”
in DC, have to resist rapid loss of civil liberties in a crisis
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) stated that there wasn’t enough security during last week’s Capitol riot “and now we’re going to become a militarized zone.” Paul also stated that we have to “resist” the rapid loss of civil liberties during a crisis.  “Well, you know government. They either underreact or overreact.” Paul said.  “So, I think there was too little security obviously last week, and now we’re going to become a militarized zone. And,” he continued,” they’re checking congressmen as they come in to see if they have a sharp pencil or a sharp pen! So, it’s gotten ridiculous. And so, we’ll see what happens, and whether it’s permanent. But most people who write about civil liberties say that in times of war, or in times of stress, or in times of crisis, you lose your civil liberties very quickly,” he contended, noting once lost, civil liberties are very hard to get back. 

January 16: The Washington Free Beacon: Prosecutors face daunting
challenges in the wake of siege of the Capitol
Federal authorities are contending with daunting tasks as they build criminal cases against rioters who attacked the Capitol.  Top federal prosecutors are scrambling to coordinate searches or arrests with dozens of law-enforcement entities across the nation, process a colossal sum of digital evidence.  Prosecuting rioters is hard by nature, since the chaos mobs unleash makes it difficult to establish facts and assign blame. Many wrongdoers will ultimately escape criminal charges: Washington, D.C., prosecutors have brought fewer than 300 criminal cases related to unrest in the capital over the summer. The scale of the evidence from the Capitol riot and the mammoth federal investigatory effort underlines those challenges and the unique threat riots pose for the rule of law.  Zachary Smith, a Heritage Foundation legal fellow who served as a federal prosecutor in Florida pointed out many of the “rioters” were only visiting Washington and have since returned to their homes. That means investigators need to enlist support from law-enforcement agencies all around the country.   Digital evidence will help authorities identify rioters and track their activities. But in many instances, it won't be enough to sustain a criminal case.

January 15: NewsMax.com: Fox Business Anchor Lou Dobbs: The assault on
Trump is second only to Lincoln’s assassination
Except for Abraham Lincoln's assassination, the vicious "assault" aimed at President Donald Trump is the worst in American history on a man holding the top office.   During a Fox Business News interview with Pastor Robert Jeffress on Friday, Dobbs referred to Trump's enemies and opponents as "the corrupt forces within our government who worked against him for more than four years."  "It is the most vile, venomous assault ever conducted against a president in our country's history, short of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln," Dobbs said in a video.  "This is a nation that can't heal, that cannot come together until we understand the truth and the reality of what we have witnessed over the course of the past four years of this man's presidency."  Jeffress, from the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, has been an outspoken supporter of Trump. He told Dobbs that the Democrats were attacking Trump's loyalists, not just the president.

January 15: The Daily Caller: Progressives want to make DC and Puerto Rico
states; it may not go as well as they think
Democrats are heading into this year with control over the White House and majorities in both chambers of Congress after Republican losses in the presidential election and Georgia Senate runoffs.  Granting statehood to Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico has gained traction among progressive Democrats and could be considered in the upcoming Congress.  The move appears to be as much a power grab to control the Senate, as it would likely add four likely Democratic seats.  Granting statehood would first require ending the filibuster, a move that moderate Democrats like West Virginia Senator Manchin have already ruled out. But the issue goes beyond party politics — here’s why progressives may need to think twice about their plan.  First, it could create a conflict of interest for the lawmakers who would represent the new state in Congress because DC is financially dependent on Congress and gets roughly 25-30% of its budget from federal appropriations.  Granting D.C. statehood would also defeat the original purpose of having a federal district serve as the nation’s capital. Writings from the Founding Fathers suggested they intended D.C. to be politically neutral and solely serve as the seat of the federal government.  

January: YouTube.Com: What have you done?
A Catholic priest talks turkey to his congregation in Lancaster, South Carolina.  Father Jeffrey Kirby from Our Lady of Grace Parish delivered a sermon admonishing parishioners who voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race. 







January 15: The Epoch Times: State Department signs historic antisemitism
document with Morocco NGO
The U.S. State Department signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Mimouna Association, an Moroccan NGO aiming to “promote and preserve the Moroccan Jewish culture,” in a move lauded by Morocco’s ambassador to the United States, Princess Lalla Joumala.  The partnership is historic, because it incorporates a “commitment to combating anti-semitism together, also combating anti-Zionism and Islamophobia,” explained Ellie Cohanim, the U.S. deputy special envoy to monitor and combat anti-semitism, in an interview.  “… the MOU, again, is groundbreaking in the sense that we really confront these issues head-on,” she said.  This agreement is an extension of the Abraham Accords, a series of Middle East peace deals brokered by the Trump administration that she called one of his “most historic and proud” achievements. 

Meanwhile President Trump received Morocco’s highest award for his work in advancing a normalization deal between Israel and Morocco, a senior administration official told Reuters.  In a private Oval Office ceremony, Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui, who is Morocco’s ambassador to the United States, gave Trump the Order of Muhammad, an award given only to heads of state. It was a gift from Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.  White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz received other awards for their work on the Israel-Morocco deal, which was reached in December.

January 15: Fox News: Senator Graham releases Russia probe documents;
investigation was “incompetent, corrupt”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham on Friday released a slew of additional documents and transcripts related to his panel’s investigation into the origins and aftermath of the Trump-Russia probe, calling the original probe "one of the most incompetent and corrupt investigations in the history of the FBI and DOJ."  The first investigation – which looked into whether members of President Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with the Russians to influence the election – was called "Crossfire Hurricane" Graham, the senior Republican senator from South Carolina, released transcripts of interviews with FBI and Justice Department officials conducted by the committee, between March 3, 2020 and October 29, 2020.  "I consider the Crossfire Hurricane investigation a massive system failure by senior leadership, but not representative of the dedicated, hardworking patriots who protect our nation every day at Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice," Graham said. 

January 15: The Epoch Times: Parler helped FBI identify suspect linked
to Capitol Hill riot
Parler, the social media company at the heart of a de-platforming controversy, provided federal agents with information used to identify a suspect linked to the Capitol riot, court documents show.  The FBI received records from Parler to identify Eduard Florea, the person behind an account where a number of threats originated relating to elected officials and last week’s violence at the Capitol, according to a Jan. 13 affidavit.  According to the complaint and statements made in court, Florea used the name “LoneWolfWar” in running a social media account on Parler, which he used to post threatening statements online. These included remarks about killing a senator-elect and plans to travel to Washington “as part of a group armed with firearms ready to engage in violence,” the Department of Justice said.

January 15: The Washington Times: Pelosi mum on when impeachment
will reach the Senate, so here we go again
President Trump was impeached Wednesday afternoon and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a ceremony to sign the article of impeachment hours later.  But the document still hasn’t been sent to the Senate, which would hold the actual trial.  Pelosi, while proclaiming the matter “urgent,” brushed aside questions Friday over why the House hasn’t sent them to Senate.  Trump leaves office Wednesday, and any trial now would occur after he’s out.  Pelosi gave every indication she still expects that to happen.  Impeachment would dominate the Senate, perhaps for weeks, and that could derail the incoming administration’s efforts to get Cabinet nominees confirmed and to work on a new coronavirus relief package.  But delaying a trial for weeks or months could leave the specter of Trump hanging over a Capitol.  The question remains why do this with only a few days left in Trump’s first term in office.  According to Rush Limbaugh, she is scared to death of what Trump might do, including the possibility that he might run again in 2024.

January 14: NTD News: Twitter and Facebook combined market value of $51 Billion erased in two days since they banned Trump from their platforms
Social media giants Facebook and Twitter have collectively seen $51.2 billion in combined market value wiped out over the last two trading sessions since they banned President Donald Trump from their platforms following the U.S. Capitol breach.  Large tech firms and a number Democratic political figures have claimed Trump allegedly incited violence at the U.S. Capitol. The House even passed an article of impeachment.  Trump took to Twitter following the outbreak of violence to call on protesters to “go home in peace.” He denounced the violence as a “heinous attack” that “defiled the seat of American democracy” on Jan. 7. It is unclear who instigated the breach of the building although Antifa has been implicated.  Last week, Twitter first placed restrictions on a video the president posted, before temporarily suspending his account, an action followed closely by Facebook. Twitter two days later permanently suspended Trump’s account over two Twitter posts it claimed violated its policies.  A large number of pro-Trump accounts were also deleted by Twitter and Facebook.

January 14: The Washington Times: Evidence of planned attack on
Capitol undercuts Democrats’ claim that Trump incited same
The Democratic impeachment claim that President Trump spurred the attack on the U.S. Capitol by whipping his supporters into a violent mob is coming under scrutiny as evidence mounts that the siege was not spontaneous but planned well in advance.  The release of initial court documents show that at least two suspects arrived on or before Jan. 6 armed with explosives, tactical gear and caches of weapons. Facebook is under fire for failing to remove “Stop the Steal” pages allegedly used by organizers weeks and even months ahead of the rally.  Also emerging are media reports that investigators believe the assault was coordinated and “not just a protest that spiraled out of control,” and that the FBI knew beforehand of plans for a “war” at the Capitol. Donald Trump, Jr. connected the dots Thursday noting that the FBI, New York and Capitol Hill police departments had prior intelligence about the possibility of a siege.  “If these federal law enforcement agencies had prior knowledge that this was a planned attack then POTUS didn’t incite anything,” Donald Trump, Jr. said.

January 14: NewsMax.com: Navarro: Dems did violence by
impeaching “legally elected” Trump
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, while insisting Thursday President Donald Trump was "legally elected" in November, said the Democratic Party "did violence" to the country by attacking the president and impeaching him in a "travesty" during the last remaining days he has in office.   "I will say to these people on Capitol Hill, knock it off," Navarro said.  "Stop this. Let the man leave peacefully with his dignity. He was the greatest jobs president, the greatest trade negotiator we have ever had in this country's history. This is just wrong what they're doing."  He contended that if the election was held today Trump would win again and "that's what the Democrats fear."  "I have never been more [people] pissed off in my life at this place, and I think 74 million Americans who voted for President Trump feel exactly the same way," said Navarro. 

January 14: The Daily Caller: Texas AG launches investigation into
big tech after they banned Trump from their platforms
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation into the content moderation policies of multiple Silicon Valley based tech companies after President Trump was permanently banned from Twitter last week.  Paxton’s office demanded four big tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Amazon and Google provide information relating to their censoring of conservative speech as well as their termination of the popular conservative social media app Parler from their platforms.

January 14: NewsMax.com: Parler may have a new web hosting service
After Amazon suspended Parler's web hosting account following the Capitol protests, the conservative-leaning social network may have landed a new home with Epik. But whether the app will come back online remains unknown.  The alternative social media app registered its domain with Epik on Monday, according to public records. Epik, a domain registrar and web hosting service indicated in a statement it had no communications with Parler prior to the move.   Despite possibly having a new hosting platform, in a Wednesday interview with Reuters, Parler CEO John Matze said he didn't know when or if the service would return

January 13: Fox News: Trump says “No True Supporter”
of his could endorse political violence
President Trump released a video Wednesday evening denouncing last week's riots at the U.S. Capitol and declaring that no true supporter of his could support political violence.  "Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for," Trump said in a message from the Oval Office.   "No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence," Trump said. "No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No true supporter of mine could ever threaten or harass their fellow Americans. If you do any of these things, you are not supporting our movement. You are attacking it and you are attacking our country. We cannot tolerate it."

January 13: The Daily Caller: Madame Pelosi does it again,
impeaches Trump for the second time
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for the second time during his presidency.  The House impeachment resolution charges Trump with one article of “incitement of insurrection” and the effort is being led by Democratic Reps. David Cicilline (RI), Jamie Raskin (MD), and Ted Lieu (CA).  The vote Wednesday was 232-197 with 10 Republicans voting to impeach.  These included: Representatives Adam Kinzinger (IL), Liz Chaney (WY), John Katko (NY), Anthony Gonzalez (OH),  Peter Meijer (MI), Dan Newhouse  (WA), Tom Rice (SC), Fred Upton (MI), David Valadao (CA), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office confirmed that he will not “consent” to reconvening the Senate before Jan. 19, effectively killing hopes for removing Trump from office before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. McConnell is also reportedly considering voting to convict Trump in an impeachment trial.  Like the last attempt by Speaker Pelosi and her Democrat colleagues, it is highly unlikely that Trump will be convicted.

January 13: Breitbart.com: Kamala Harris promises fast, perpetual amnesties
President Joe Biden’s amnesty bill will try to accelerate the conversion of amnestied migrants to the U.S. voters, according to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.  “We’re going to reduce the time from what is now, what has been [in prior amnesty legislation] 13 years to eight years,” Harris said.  The current law says that people who win green cards can become citizens and vote in just five years. Prior legislation also set a multi-year delay — around eight years — between an amnesty and the receipt of green cards.  If Congress were to approve a seven-year gap between amnesty, green cards, and citizenship, it could allow many of the huge population of illegal aliens to vote in the 2028 presidential election, when Harris may be running for president.

January 13: The Washington Free Beacon:  Pro-life advocates cheer
supreme court ruling restricting abortion access
Pro-life groups praised the Supreme Court for restoring a federal prohibition against at-home abortions.  The Supreme Court on Tuesday overruled lower-court decisions blocking Food and Drug Administration requirements that patients obtain abortion drugs in person. Mallory Quigley, vice president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, said that clinics exploited the coronavirus pandemic to increase business amid lockdowns, encouraging the self-administered abortions that pro-choice advocates once characterized as dangerous "back-alley" procedures.  "The pro-abortion lobby has consistently sought to further jeopardize the health and safety of women by pushing deregulation of dangerous abortion drugs," Quigley said. "Planned Parenthood and the abortion lobby even sought to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to push abortion by mail, promoting DIY abortion at home, upping the risk of serious complications."

January 12: The Daily Caller: Pence rejects calls to initiate a 25th amendment move to remove Trump; urges Congress not to proceed down the impeachment path
Vice President Mike Pence rejected calls for him to remove President Donald Trump from office using the 25th Amendment and urged Congress not to impeach the president Tuesday.  The comments represent the first time Pence has addressed calls from Democrats and some Republicans to remove Trump from office over accusations he incited the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week. Pence explained to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a Tuesday letter that he did not believe the removal of Trump via either method was the right move.  “I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution,” Pence said in the letter. He added that the text of the 25th amendment implied it was only to be used if a president was mentally incapable of carrying out the duties of his office. He argued it would “set a terrible precedent” to use the amendment to remove a president for what some consider a bad action. 
[Meanwhile, there are reports that the President’s speech on the ellipse on January 6th -- where he was supposedly inciting protestors to riot -- took place while the Capitol was already being breached.  Other reports indicate that the instigators of the storming of the Capitol were members of Antifa who did similar things in Portland, OR, Seattle, WA and other cities.  The President had called upon his supporters to let their will be known peacefully and to follow the direction of law enforcement.]

January 12: NewsMax.com: Trump: Impeachment moves are causing anger,
but “I want no violence”
President Donald Trump, under pressure to resign after being accused of allegedly inciting a deadly breach of the U.S. Capitol last week, said moves to impeach him are 'absolutely ridiculous" and causing "tremendous anger," but added that he does not want violence.  "I want no violence," Trump told reporters, after branding the efforts against him "a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics," before he left Washington, D.C., to visit the border wall in Alamo, Texas.   Asked whether he feels any responsibility the Capitol attack, Trump said his words to supporters on Wednesday were "totally appropriate."

January 12: C-Span: President Trump visits
the border wall in Alamo, TX
President Trump visited the border in Texas where part of the 450 miles of border wall has built.  In his address he noted that its design was based upon what the Border Patrol wanted, lots of cement, rebar, and steel.  He also said that because of this wall law enforcement has been able to focus on other areas and that support for building the wall came, interestingly enough, from the Hispanic population living near the border.  They want to live in safety and peace, Trump contended.  Unlike others who have promised to do something about open borders, it was President Trump – even with fierce opposition – who was able to keep his campaign promise to get it done.  He hoped that the next administration doesn’t attempt to tear it down.

January 12: NewsMax.com: Parler CEO: People are threatening my life
Parler CEO John Matze told “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that it is not only his civil liberties that are in danger in Big Tech's attempts to place severe restrictions on his company, but his life, as well.  "People are threatening my life," Matze said. "I can't go home tonight. … This is not just our civil liberties. [Big Tech] can shut down a billion-dollar company, half-a-billion dollar company overnight."  Matze told host Carlson that "You just never think it will happen, right?"  But he said the Big Tech giants — Apple, Google, and Amazon — all shut him out on the same day "without any prior warning."  Matze told Carlson that when Google dropped Parler, "we didn't get a notice from Google. We read it online in the news first. That is shocking."

January 12: The Washington Times: Trump’s breakthroughs in the
Middle East complicate Biden’s pledge to rejoin the Iran Deal
The diplomatic breakthroughs U.S. officials fashioned between several major Arab nations and Israel over the past year have represented perhaps the greatest foreign policy triumph of the Trump Administration.  But big questions now face the so-called Abraham Accords and how they will fare under the incoming Biden Administration, whose much-anticipated pursuit of renewed nuclear diplomacy with Iran risks striking at the very logic of the historic agreements.  The accords were made possible by an unprecedented Trump Administration push to pressure Arab and Israeli leaders to put aside long-standing disputes over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in favor of unifying against their common enemy in Iran.

January 11: NewsMax.com: Trump Administration to
designate Cuba as a terrorist Sponsor
The Trump administration plans to return Cuba to the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday, a move that could complicate any efforts by the incoming Biden administration to revive Obama-era detente with Havana.   U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who could announce Cuba's designation as soon as Monday with just nine days left in office for President Donald Trump, is expected to tie the decision to Cuba's long-time harboring of U.S. fugitives as well as Colombian rebel leaders, the source said.  He may also cite Communist-ruled Cuba's support for Venezuelan socialist President Nicolas Maduro, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.  Returning Cuba to the list is a further rollback of the detente that former President Barack Obama orchestrated between the old Cold War foes. Obama's decision to formally remove Cuba from the terrorism list in 2015 was an important step toward restoring diplomatic ties that year.

January 11: The Epoch Times: Trump’s approval ratings remain steady despite
attempts by the Media and Democrats to place blame on him for the
“breaching” of the Capitol
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has remained high despite a media frenzy surrounding the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and subsequent efforts by top Democrats to impeach him, according to a Rasmussen poll published on Jan. 11.  The poll shows that 48 percent of likely voters approve of Trump’s job performance.  Trump’s approval rating was lower in April, June, and July this year amid the pandemic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the coronavirus. Outside those dips, the rating has largely remained in the mid to high 40s with peaks to 53 percent approval on April 9 and Sept. 24.  Rasmussen is the only national pollster tracking the presidential approval rating on a daily basis. It came the closest among major polls to predicting a Trump victory in 2016.

January 11: Breitbart News: Democrat Senator wants Cruz and Hawley
expelled from the Senate
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said on Monday that Senators Hawley (R-MO) and Cruz (R-TX) must be “expelled” from the U.S. Senate for inciting the riot at the Capitol.  Brown said, “What is to be done is we move forward on impeachment. “I called for the resignation of Cruz and Hawley,” Brown said.  Are Brown and his fellow Democrats are not seeking reconciliation but retribution?

January 11: NewsMax.com: Twitter stocks falter with a 12% drop
as platform bans Trump and others
Shares of Twitter Inc tumbled over 6% on Monday after its move to permanently suspend U.S. President Donald Trump's widely-followed account spurred concern among investors over the future regulation of social networks.  Twitter said on Friday its suspension of Trump's account, which had 88 million followers, was due to the risk of further violence following the storming of the U.S. Capitol last week.  The move drew criticism from some Republicans for quelling the president's right to free speech, while European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton said the past week's events likely heralded a new era of heavier official control.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose relations with Trump have been frosty, criticized Twitter's ban and warned through a spokesman that legislators, not private companies, should decide on potential curbs to free expression.

January 11: The Epoch Times: Parler sues Amazon demands
reinstatement on platform
Social media company Parler sued  Amazon on Monday, alleging that the Seattle-based firm’s hosting service violated anti-trust laws and their contractual agreement.  The company, which was taken offline by Amazon’s services early Monday morning, asked a federal judge in Washington state to reject Amazon’s shutdown of its services.  Parler argued that Amazon’s move was “motivated by political animus” and designed to reduce competition to benefit Twitter. Twitter is a customer of Amazon Web Services’ division.  The emergency order asked a judge to reject Amazon’s shutdown of Parler’s account and said it is akin to “pulling the plug on a hospital patient on life support.”  Amazon “will kill Parler’s business—at the very time it is set to skyrocket,” Parler’s complaint said.

January 11: NewsMax.com: “The Fox is on the run?”
The rise of Newsmax TV has caused a major shake-up at Fox News, which announced Monday that its early evening show host Martha MacCallum has been demoted back to an early afternoon slot.  "Newsmax's consistently strong numbers during the day and especially at the 7 p.m. ET slot has caused panic at Fox, which rarely makes lineup changes," Newsmax said adding with a wink, "The Fox is on the run."  MacCallum's "The Story" had long been the #1 cable news show in the 7 p.m. time slot, until Newsmax TV's "Greg Kelly Reports" began a ratings surge in recent months.   With Kelly pulling an average of 800,000-plus viewers per minute each night, MacCallum had fallen to third place behind CNN and MSNBC.

January 10: The Epoch Times: The GAB social media platform reports 753% increase
in traffic in the last 24 hours as users migrate from Twitter amid widespread bans
The social media platform Gab reported on Saturday a huge increase in traffic as users migrate from Twitter amid widespread bans.  “Our traffic is up 753% in the past 24 hours. Tens of millions of visits,” Gab said in a social media statement, responding to a user who said he wasn’t able to make an account.  “Please be patient, we aren’t going anywhere. Spinning up 10 new servers tonight. This takes time,” Gab added. The company also reported over 500,000 new users on Saturday. The Twitter permanent ban on President Trump, Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn and others triggered an exodus to alternative sites such as Gab and Parler.  President Trump has reportedly already moved his account to Gab.  Similarly, to Parler, Gab was removed from the Apple and Google stores years ago but it doesn’t rely upon third-party cloud hosting provider, such as Amazon.  “Over the past four years we have been banned from multiple cloud hosting providers and were told that if we didn’t like it we should ‘build our own.’ So, that’s exactly what we did,” CEO Andrew Torba wrote last year. “Gab is the market leader when it comes to defending free speech against Silicon Valley tyranny online,” he contended.

Google said in a statement when it banned Gab that “social networking apps need to demonstrate a sufficient level of moderation, including for content that encourages violence and advocates hate against groups of people,” to remain on its online store. Meanwhile, Wikipedia, which is not known for its conservative leanings, has said Gab “…is an American alt-tech social networking service known for its far-right and extremist userbase.  Widely described as a haven for extremists including neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and the alt-right, it has attracted users and groups who have been banned from other social networks."  Wikipedia also claims "antisemitism is prominent among the site's content, and the company itself has engaged in antisemitic commentary on Twitter."

January 10: The Epoch Times: The ACLU warns of unchecked power of big tech
after Twitter and Facebook ban Trump’s account for life
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Friday warned that the suspension of President Trump’s social media accounts wielded “unchecked power” by large tech companies.  Kate Ruane, a senior legislative counsel at the ACLU, said in a statement that Twitter’s decision to suspend Trump from social media sets a precedent for tech companies to silence voices.  “We understand the desire to permanently suspend him [Trump] now, but it should concern everyone when companies like Facebook and Twitter wield the unchecked power to remove people from platforms that have become indispensable for the speech of billions— especially when political realities make those decisions easier,” the ACLU statement read.

January 10: Fox News: Parler to go dark “for a while” while being targeted
by Amazon Web Service; we are clearly being “singled out”
Social media platform Parler will likely go offline for "a while" Sunday evening given Amazon Web Services’ decision to suspend the upstart social media platform, executives said Sunday.  “We are clearly being singled out,” Chief Policy Officer Amy Peikoff said one day after Apple suspended Parler from its App Store even as it surged to the No. 1 spot in the free apps section earlier in the day.  “I believe we were treated unfairly,” she added.  CEO John Matze said the site will try to "get back online as quickly as possible," after writing on the platform that the site may be down for up to a week.

January 10: The Epoch Times: Parler CEO “Prepared to take full legal action”
after big tech companies target its platform
Parler founder and CEO John Matze said his company is “prepared to take full legal action” after several big tech companies suspended the social media network from their services, according to an email.  He said he believes Apple, Google, and Amazon had acted in bad faith and that the social media platform is considering legal action.  Responding to accusations that Parler was enabling “threats of violence and illegal activity,” Matze said these companies are using recent events to “go after Parler,” even though “there is no evidence Parler was used to coordinate the events.”  “Parler has no groups-style feature and Facebook was the number one tool for coordinating meetups for that event,” Matze said.  [See related story]

January 10: NewsMax.com: Anticipate a big backlash in 2022 elections
Corey Lewandowski, senior adviser to President Donald Trump, is predicting a “big backlash” to Democratic control of both Congress and the White House.  In an interview Lewandowski said the midterm elections in 2022 will reflect voters’ negative reaction to a Democratic agenda.  “We’re going to see dramatic changes in Washington D.C.” because of the presidential and congressional elections — including the Georgia races last week that gave Democrats control of the Senate.  “They’ve been very clear what their [the Democrats] agenda is,” Lewandowski said.  “They’ve hid behind the world of coronavirus…  When one party has complete control of Washington… two years later you have a big backlash,” he noted.  “Trump isn’t going anywhere anytime soon,” saying supporters are “recruiting Republican candidates.  You’re going to see a lot of incumbents who didn’t expect a primary challenge — that’s coming,” he contended.

January 9: NewsMax.com: Limbaugh: Pelosi and Swamp
scared to death of Trump final days
Washington's "swamp" and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are "scared out of their gourd" about President Donald Trump's remaining days in office, according to radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.   "The hatred is visceral," Limbaugh said “I’ve never seen personal animosity like this. I mean, it is almost to the point of uncontrollable and unpackageable."  Several media outlets reported House Democrats have drafted a second impeachment of Trump, listing just one charge: ''Incitement to insurrection'' for the Washington protest on Wednesday that breached the Capitol building.  The push is coming because the "entire Washington establishment" is "scared to death of Trump," said Limbaugh.   "The four-year coup, the four-year effort to get the election results of 2016 overturned, there are all kinds of people who broke the law, all kinds of people who are quaking in their boots," he added. "They’re worried silly that Trump is gonna unleash some of these classified documents."  Limbaugh also said the establishment is "terrified" that Trump will pardon people dangerous to them. "They’re worried to death that he’s got a card or two to play here yet… Imagine if he decided to release a bunch of classified documents right before the inauguration ceremony!"  He also noted that normally the next two weeks would be spent holding hearings on the new President’s nominees.  Not this year!

January 9: The Washington Times: Amazon takes social media site Parler offline
Amazon’s web hosting service is booting Parler, the anti-Big Tech social media platform, and could make the platform unavailable for a week, according Parler CEO John Matze.  “Sunday (tomorrow) at midnight Amazon will be shutting off all of our servers in an attempt to completely remove free speech off the internet,” Matze wrote on Parler. “There is the possibility Parler will be unavailable on the internet for up to a week as we rebuild from scratch. We prepared for events like this by never relying on amazons [sic] proprietary infrastructure and building bare metal products.”  Amazon’s actions to “deplatform” Parler come after Apple and Google started blocking Parler’s app from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store. Apple and Google’s decisions mean Parler’s app will not be available for download on Apple or Google operating systems via their app stores.  However, once Parler reboots on different servers it could make its app available on its website. 

January 9: The Daily Caller:  Limbaugh cancels Twitter account after Trump ban
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh deactivated his Twitter account Friday evening, following President Donald Trump’s ban from the platform.  Rumors began circulating that Limbaugh had been banned, but a Twitter spokesperson confirmed that the radio host deactivated his own account, which had more than half a million followers. Gen. Mike Flynn and lawyer Sidney Powell were also banned along with the president Friday evening, days after the Capitol riots.  Unlike other suspended accounts, Limbaugh’s profile has a message that reads, “This account doesn’t exist.”

January 9: NewsMax.com: Georgia Gov. Kemp under fire after Senate loses
Even though he wasn’t on the ballot, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has been painfully bruised by the 2020 elections.  In a state long dominated by Republicans, Democrats won Georgia’s electoral votes for president in November and two U.S. Senate seats in runoff elections Tuesday, defeating Kemp's hand-picked Senate appointee. President Trump, furious at Kemp for resisting efforts to overturn Trump's election loss, vowed to oppose the governor’s reelection next year.  Trump loyalists are already working to recruit a primary challenger. Meanwhile, Democrats who have gained strength in Georgia since Stacey Abrams’ narrow 2018 loss to Kemp are spoiling for revenge.  “Brian Kemp is the governor of the Titanic,” said Debbie Dooley, president of the Atlanta tea party and a Republican activist. “His governorship hit a big iceberg and it’s going down.”

January 9: The Washington Beacon: First Dem-controlled gov’t in a decade
means fights over the filibuster, court packing, and socialist agenda
With the Democrats in control of the Senate and Democratic control of the White House and Congress, President-elect Joe Biden has expanded options while denying him cover from the demands of his party's radical left wing.  With the Democrats win in Georgia last week it makes possible many of Biden's more expansive legislative priorities such as his promised revisions to Obamacare and his $2 trillion climate plan.  But it also means that he has lost the convenient excuse of a Republican-controlled Senate, which would have allowed him to refuse the more revolutionary changes endorsed by members of his party.  Meanwhile progressive groups are pushing for an end to the filibuster and for packing the Supreme Court.   Paradoxically, Biden's victory in the Senate may have set up an even greater battle: not against Republicans, but across the ever-growing fault lines which divide his party.

January 9: The Epoch Times: After ban of Trump from Twitter Graham
wants to roll back “big tech’s” protections
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Saturday that he was “more determined” to rollback liability protections for big tech companies after Twitter permanently removed President Trump’s account from its platform.  “Twitter may ban me for this but I willingly accept that fate: Your decision to permanently ban President Trump is a serious mistake,” Graham said in a series of posts on Twitter. “The Ayatollah can tweet, but Trump can’t. Says a lot about the people who run Twitter.”  Now that Graham has lost the power of being a committee chairman, he says “I’m more determined than ever to strip Section 230 protections from Big Tech (Twitter) that let them be immune from lawsuits.”

January 9: The Washington Times: State Department lifts all restrictions
on government contacts with Taiwan
The State Department on Saturday ended restrictions on diplomatic and military contacts with Taiwan in a move designed to upgrade ties with the island state and end “appeasement of China.”  The action by outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo means senior U.S. civilian officials and military officers will now be free to travel to Taiwan.  In the past, most high-ranking military officers were banned from traveling to Taiwan and lower-ranking officers were not be allowed to wear military uniforms and had been forced to dress as civilians.  Senior government officials and diplomats also were barred from traveling in a bid to avoid upsetting Beijing.  The State Department announced this week that Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will travel to Taiwan. The announcement followed the latest crackdown by China on pro-democracy legislators in Hong Kong.

January 8: The Epoch Times: Twitter bans conservative voices
for life! Trump, Flynn, Powell top the list
President Trump responded to Twitter’s move to permanently suspend his account from its platform late Friday, condemning the big tech giant and saying that it does not stand for free speech.  “As I have been saying for a long time, Twitter has gone further and further in banning free speech, and tonight, Twitter employees have coordinated with the Democrats and the Radical Left in removing my account from their platform, to silence me—and you, the 75,000,000 great patriots who voted for me,” Trump said in a statement “Twitter may be a private company, but without the government’s gift of Section 230 they would not exist for long,” he added.  Trump hinted at the possibility that his team may be looking as building its own social media platform in the near future. “We will not be silenced!” he said.

January 8: Breitbart News: Biden and Democrats want retribution not reconciliation
Joe Biden ran on a promise to unify the nation. He missed an opportunity on Thursday.  Instead of calling on Americans to come together, he went on a partisan rant against President Donald Trump and even suggested that the Capitol Police were racist.  Biden said the previous day’s riot on Capitol Hill was the result of four years of Trump: “He unleashed an all-out assault on our institutions of our democracy from the outset. And yesterday was but the culmination of that unrelenting attack.”  Not only is that claim arguably untrue, but it ignores the left’s refusal to accept the results of the 2016 election, the radical tactics of the so-called “Resistance,” the pointless impeachment of 2019-20, and the Black Lives Matter riots last year.  If Biden had wanted to heal the nation, he would have offered a hand of friendship to Trump supporters — and he would have acknowledged that the left has also used political violence.

January 8: NewsMax.com: Trump will not be attending the
Biden inauguration, and why should he?
President Donald Trump announced that he won’t attend President-elect Joe Biden’s Inauguration on Jan. 20, and why should he after all the claims of election fraud and the refusal of the judicial branch to even hear any evidence backing up those claims?  In a tweet Friday morning, Trump announced:  "To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th."  He did not indicate what he would be doing instead on that day.  Reuters, citing unnamed sources, said he is expected to head to Florida a day before Inauguration Day.  The move would make Trump the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson to skip his successors inauguration.

January 8: The Washington Free Beacon: Report; Fledgling
Space Force foiled Iranian missile attack
The Space Force proved instrumental in thwarting an Iranian missile attack on American bases in Iraq last year, a new report shows.  A review of the events of January 7, 2020, reported by C4ISRNET indicates that the newly created Space Force’s early warning system allowed hundreds of Americans to quickly shelter in bunkers as Iran fired over a dozen ballistic missiles at U.S. military installations.  The missile attacks came days after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. A Space Force early warning team at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo., picked up unusual readings from advanced satellite missile-detection technology and informed military officials in Iraq within minutes. The early warning potentially saved lives, as U.S. forces reported zero deaths after the night’s action despite personnel suffering 110 injuries. 

January 8: The Daily Caller: Five people dead after storming of the Capitol building
Authorities have said that five people died during the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday. One woman died of a gunshot wound, three persons “suffered medical emergencies,” and a police officer died from injuries sustained while “physically engaging with protesters.”  A few of the hundreds-of-thousands Trump supporters committed acts of vandalism.  Some of the instigators reportedly had ties to Antifa. Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, authorities have made at least 68 arrests, police announced Thursday. Five of these arrests were for illegal possession of firearms, and two people were arrested for other weapons, police said. Police also said they arrested 28 additional people for violating curfew.

January 8: Fox News: Army Official: Capitol Police did not seek help
from the National Guard
The U.S. Army secretary says he was not asked for National Guard troops to protect the U.S. Capitol ahead of those who stormed into the complex.  "We were not pre-coordinated or asked for support by the Capitol Police," Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told a small group of reporters at the Pentagon Friday morning.  "The Capitol Hill Police has the responsibility and the jurisdiction. They are a separate branch of government," McCarthy said. "They have to ask and request the support."  As late as Sunday, Jan. 3, "They said they didn’t need any support."   At 3:04 pm Wednesday Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller ordered the National Guard to help retake the building. "It was green light, go," McCarthy said.  This was minutes after McCarthy said he received a call from the U.S. Capitol Hill Police chief who called saying, "I need help!"

January 8: The Washington Examiner: Navarro: Republicans criticizing
Trump need to “Shut Up!”
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro had harsh words for conservatives who have condemned President Trump for his role in the storming of the Capitol by his own supporters.  As Congress began its joint session on Wednesday to certify the Electoral College for President-elect Joe Biden, a swath of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop the session at the president's insistence. The chaos resulted in five deaths, countless injuries, destruction of federal property, dozens of arrests, and a lockdown of the Capitol, but it did not stop Congress from certifying the results.   Conservatives such as Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mitt Romney(R-UT) and former Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley “just need to shut up" with their criticism of the president, Navarro said. "What happened was tragic on Capitol Hill. It should not be laid at the feet of President Donald J. Trump."

January 7: The Washington Times: Antifa members may have been involved
in instigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol
Facial recognition software has identified neo-Nazis and other extremists as participants in Wednesday’s assault on the U.S. Capitol.  XR Vision, a software firm in New York, used its image analysis to help law enforcement identify rioters.  “Shortly after the rioting started, XR Vision performed an analysis on the footage and identified several individuals. This information was shared with LEA [law enforcement agency],” the company said in a statement.  There is evidence Antifa members may have been involved.  The New York Post, quoting a law enforcement source, said two Antifa from New York were in the crowd.  A video on social media also seems to show people wearing Trump “Make America Great Again” paraphernalia shouting “Antifa, Antifa” as a man with some type of instrument tried to smash a window and break into the Capitol. MAGA people then forcibly subdued the man to prevent further damage.  Law enforcement said “The professional protesters were in the crowd posing as Trumpers. They were preaching violence. As they approached it was announced that [Vice President Mike] Pence had said he has no Constitutional authority. The crowd got mad. The agitators used this to whip-up anger. If the Feds are really intent on making the linkage between the instigators and Antifa, the evidence is there.”

January 7: The Washington Examiner: Federal Prosecutors: All options on the
table in prosecuting U.S. Capitol intruders
The Justice Department is bringing 55 criminal cases related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.  Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin, the federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital, told reporters Thursday that 15 cases had been filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia while 40 cases have been brought before the D.C. Superior Court. He said charges include unlawful entry, assault, firearms possession, property theft, pilfering, and one arrest where a person had 11 Molotov cocktails “ready to go.” Sherwin also confirmed that the pipe bombs found near the RNC and DNC offices are believed to have been working explosives before they were rendered safe by the FBI.   Sherwin said that “all options are on the table” — potentially including further charges related to rioting, incitement, sedition, and insurrection. He promised that “if the evidence fits the elements of the crime,” then charges will be brought against the perpetrators. The prosecutor also referred to “national security” concerns related to some of the thefts on Capitol Hill.

January 7: The Epoch Times: White House condemns violence on Capitol Hill
and promises a smooth transition
The White House on Thursday condemned the violence that took place Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol and assured the American public that there will be an “orderly transition of power.”  “The violence we saw yesterday at our nation’s capital was appalling, reprehensible, and antithetical to the American way. We condemn it, the president and this administration, in the strongest possible terms,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told a press conference. “It is unacceptable and those that broke the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”  Violence broke out at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon when a group of protesters breached the building and interrupted lawmakers who were at the time debating whether to reject Electoral College votes for Arizona.  Law enforcement has reportedly said that Antifa (a left-wing group) may have been involved in instigating the breach of the Capitol.

January 6: Fox News: Congress reconvenes; Objections to Pennsylvania
electors resolved, expected to be the last one this evening
Members of Congress reconvened to continue their review of Electoral College votes on Wednesday night, hours after protestors stormed the US Capitol in an unprecedented breach of an American government institution.  Earlier, authorities had evacuated lawmakers and the D.C. mayor declared a 6 p.m. curfew amid escalating violence in the halls of Congress that saw police draw their weapons. President Trump has since called for "peace" and for protesters to "go home.  Note: The Mayor of the District of Columbia has no jurisdiction over federal properties (such as the national mall) which includes a major chunk of the nation’s capital or the its METRO (subway) system.

January 6: NewsMax.com: Two reasons why the GOP
lost in the Georgia Senate races
The two Georgia Senate races should never have been lost by Republicans.  But they were for two reasons.  First, Georgia's Republican establishment, led by Gov. Brian Kemp, didn't fight for President Donald Trump in his recount efforts.  Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, clearly aligned with Democrats to thwart Trump.  And Kemp refused to call a special session to tighten voter identification rules, require signature verification, and stop drop boxes.  "By their refusal to completely embrace President Trump, the establishment Republicans blew a huge advantage in the Georgia runoffs," veteran Georgia GOP consultant and pollster Matt Towery said.  Republican candidates Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue did not enthusiastically back Trump's recount efforts and belatedly said they would back his electoral vote challenge.  These moves, in turn, discouraged enthusiasm for the Senate runoffs Tuesday on the part of "Trump conservatives."

January 6: The Washington Examiner: Electoral College nixes objection to
Arizona objection after four hour siege of the Capitol
The Senate, shaken by a four-hour Capitol siege, overwhelmingly rejected a challenge to the results of Arizona’s certification of the presidential election following impassioned speeches demanding lawmakers end their efforts to derail the results.  The vote was 6-93 to overturn the results of the Arizona electors. Those voting in favor were Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Roger Marshall of Kansas, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.  The vote took place at 10 p.m. and quickly showed most lawmakers had no interest in entertaining the objections that had been put forward by a group of House and Senate Republicans.

January 6: NewsMax.Com: Three U.S. Senators withdraw their objections
to electors amid violence in the Capitol
Multiple Republican senators have reversed course and now say they won’t object to congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.  Their change of heart came after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier Wednesday and interrupted their proceedings. One person was fatally shot.

January 6: The Epoch Times:  Violence at the U.S. Capitol as protestors flood
into the building
The woman who was shot inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday has died, the Metropolitan Police Department said.   A police spokesman told news outlets that the woman died, but declined to provide more details on her identity or what happened   “We had stormed into the chambers inside, and there was a young lady who rushed through the windows. A number of police and Secret Service were saying ‘get back, get down, get out of the way,'” a witness told WUSA.  “She didn’t heed the call and as we kind of raced up to grab people, and pull them back, they shot her in the neck.” 

January 6: The Epoch Times: Protestors storm into the US Capitol; Trump and
Pence tell them to leave peacefully and to obey law enforcement
President Trump on Wednesday called on protesters who were amassed near the U.S. Capitol building during the Joint Session of Congress to go home, while still asserting that the election was stolen from him.  “You have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order and great people in law [enforcement],” Trump said in a video address.  Trump asserted that the election was “fraudulent,” but stipulated that Capitol protesters “can’t play into the hands of these people … we have to have peace.”  At Trump’s direction, “the National Guard is on the way along with other federal protective services,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement.  “We reiterate President Trump’s call against violence and to remain peaceful,” she added.

January 6: The Galveston County Daily News:
Editorial: The 2020 Election is Riddled with Claims of Voter Fraud
We support fair and lawfully conducted elections where voters can rely upon the outcome as being accurate. We hope you do as well. Unfortunately many elected officials and judges across the country, and even in our Supreme Court, don't seem to want to look into the claims. It would be better for folks to determine the truth and bring these claims that seem to divide us to a close.


January 5: Fox News: Senator Johnson’s Promise: If the Republicans
remain in control of the Senate, we will investigate the 2020 election
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) one of several GOP senators who will not vote to certify the 2020 presidential results, said “legitimate concerns” about voter fraud can’t be ignored.  If the two Republicans in Georgia maintain their seats Johnson will be the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.  In that role, Johnson said "I will guarantee that I'm going to dig into this.  I'm going to investigate, and I'm going to find out what the truth is. And again, what we can explain, we'll explain, set that aside, but where there's problems, we really do need to fix them."  As of 9 p.m. CST both of Georgia’s GOP senators held a slim lead over their challengers with 83% of the votes having been counted.

January 5: The Washington Times: What will Vice President Pence do tomorrow?
Club for Growth President David McIntosh, a longtime friend of Vice President Pence, said he expects the vice president to approach the moment in a manner that respects the Constitution while helping Trump as much as possible.  “Mike is basically a constitutionalist — he’s going to look this, look at his role as president of the Senate, and determine what powers he has and what powers he doesn’t have, and then execute, using that to the best of his ability,” McIntosh said in an interview. “In this case, that means helping President Trump.”  McIntosh, who said he hasn’t spoken to Mr. Pence about the matter, expects that the vice president won’t act unilaterally.  “The decision whether to object or not really comes down to the full Senate,” he said. “He’ll acknowledge people who want to move to object, to give them a chance to be fully heard. Let the debate occur, but let the final decision rest with the body.”  The president’s prospects seem insurmountable in both chambers. 

January 5: The Epoch Times: Hawley: Who becomes President depends
on what happens tomorrow
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Monday that the matter of who becomes America’s next president is not a foregone conclusion but depends on the outcome of the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress, when a number of Republican lawmakers have vowed to raise objections to the certification of some electoral votes cast for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.  Hawley said his constituents have raised “major, major concerns about the integrity, the fairness of this election.”  “They expect me to stand up and to raise those concerns,” he added. “And this is the only forum I have to do it.”  Hawley is part of around a dozen Republican senators who have on called on Congress to appoint an electoral commission to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election results.

In calling for the 10-day audit, the Republican senators, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), said in a statement that the 2020 election “featured unprecedented allegations of voter fraud, violations, and lax enforcement of election law, and other voting irregularities.”  The allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election “exceed any in our lifetimes,” they said, adding that this “deep distrust” of U.S. democratic processes “will not magically disappear” and “should concern us all,” whether elected officials or journalists believe the allegations. “It poses an ongoing threat to the legitimacy of any subsequent administrations,” the senators said in their statement, adding that they intend to object to the votes unless and until the emergency 10-day audit is completed.

January 4: The Washington Times: Perdue (R-GA) supports objecting to
Electoral College votes from contested states with dueling electors
Senator David Perdue (R-GA) with those planning to object to the presidential electoral certification Wednesday, calling it the last chance for lawmakers to get to the bottom of the “huge irregularities” in the 2020 race.  “There are huge irregularities in Georgia, they need to be investigated, and they need to be corrected, in my opinion,” Perdue said. Perdue, who faces Democrat Jon Ossoff in Tuesday’s Senate runoff, had previously sought a state investigation on the integrity of the 2020 election in Georgia and called on Nov. 9 for the resignation of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

January 4: Breitbart News: Nine things about Georgia Democratic
senatorial candidate Ossoff
Ossoff is something of an enigma, having never held public office — though not for lack of trying. He would also be one of the youngest people ever elected to the U.S. Senate, with the least experience, and a litany of potentially compromising problems.  Here are seven key facts about Ossoff:
(1) He inherited a fortune from his grandfather;  (2) He inflated his resumé, claiming more national security credentials than he actually had; (3) His company, Insight TWI, worked with Al Jazeera and a Hong Kong distributor partly owned by a company linked to the Chinese Communist Party; (4) He has refused to release his tax returns; (5) He is running on a promise to grant amnesty to illegal aliens; (6) He lost a 2017 race for Congress, the most expensive in history; (7) He welcomed support from Bernie Sanders in 2020, after running as a moderate in 2017; (8) He would support new shutdowns of the economy; and (9) He wants to ban semi-automatic rifles and require licenses for handguns.

January 4: The Epoch Times: Pence: We will have our day in Congress, January 6th
Vice President Mike Pence addressed the upcoming Jan. 6 electoral challenge, saying that President Trump and Republicans will “have our day in Congress.”  Pence, as vice president, is the president of the Senate. During the Joint Session on Jan. 6, he will read the electoral votes for all 50 states. Although some legal experts have suggested that he has the ability to reject slates of electors in certain states, others have stipulated that Pence only has the ability to count states’ electors.

January 4: The Epoch Times: The Georgia State Senate asks Pence to
delay the January 6th vote
Republican state senators in Georgia started a push on Monday to delay the Jan. 6 counting of electoral votes. At least a dozen have signed a letter directed to Vice President Mike Pence asking him to officially delay the count—and the number is still growing.  Estimates are that about 16-18 will eventually sign the letter, Senator Brandon Beach said. “We were going to get it to him tomorrow morning,” Beach said.  He said he is concerned about the integrity of the election. “People are saying yeah there is something here, there’s something that just doesn’t pass the smell test—that there [were] some irregularities, there [were] some impropriety going on in the voting process,” he said.  Ballots and voting machines need to be forensically audited.  Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign and one of Trump’s campaign attorney suggested that Pence delay certifying the votes and instead ask legislatures in the six contested states to clarify which candidate’s slate of electors should be approved.  “What Mike Pence could do, and what he should do, in fact, is to direct a question back to the state legislatures when there are two competing slates of delegates from these six states,” Ellis said.

January 4: NewsMax.com: Rubio: Warnock, Ossoff;
“wholly unqualified” to be senators
The two Democrat candidates in the Georgia twin Senate runoff elections on Tuesday, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, are “wholly unqualified” to be U.S. senators, Sen. Marco Rubio said Monday.  The Florida Republican warned that if Warnock and Ossoff win, then Democrats “will have the power to enact the radical left’s socialist agenda that has become mainstream” in their party.  Rubio reminded voters that in the first two years of President Barack Obama’s first term, “a unified Congress controlled by Democrats rammed through ObamaCare and other liberal pieces of legislation, confirmed radical nominees to critical executive branch positions and promulgated progressive regulations that harmed our economy and our workers.”

January 4: The Epoch Times: Data shows over 430,000 votes subtracted
from Trump’s totals in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania election data shows that over 432,000 votes were removed from President Donald Trump during the Novembr election, data scientists say.  According to an analysis by the Data Integrity votes for Trump—from both Election Day and mail-in ballots—were removed from the totals in at least 15 counties.  Time-series election data shows Trump’s votes decreasing in various counties at numerous time points instead of increasing as would be expected under normal circumstances.   At least 432,116 votes—213,707 election day votes and 218,409 absentee votes—were removed in total. Once votes are counted they should not be taken away from any candidate.

January 4: The Daily Caller:  Did COVID-19 come from a lab? 
Ten key takeaways from a new report
The case that the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the globe may very well have been engineered in a lab is thoroughly fleshed out over the course of 12,000 words by Nicholson Baker. Here are the ten biggest revelations you need to know: 
- Anthony Fauci Was Directly Involved In Programs That Funded SARS Mutation Research
- National Institute Of Health Money Directly Flowed To The Wuhan Bat Lab
- Chinese Scientists Feared The Virus Came From The Wuhan Lab
- The Media Relied On A Scientist With A Blatant Conflict Of Interest To Debunk Wuhan “Conspiracy Theories”
- Daszak Is Also On The WHO Team Investigating The Origin Of The Virus
- The Wuhan Lab Collaborated With A Scientist Who Created Undetectable Clone Of SARS
- The US Government Had Numerous Safety Concerns About The Wuhan Lab Pre-COVID
- Scientists Warned An Eventual Lab-Leak Outbreak Was Realistic
- Scientists Were Allegedly Pressured Not To Raise Alarm About A Lab-Leak
- Nobody was willing to definitely rule out a lab leak

January 4: The Daily Caller: USS Nimitz to remain in Persian Gulf after Iran threatens U.S. officials
The United States reversed Sunday evening a decision to bring home the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, citing Iranian threats.   The roughly 1,100-foot-long warship will remain in the Persian Gulf, where it has been patrolling since late November.  “Due to the recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S. government officials, I have ordered the USS Nimitz to halt its routine redeployment,” Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller announced on Sunday. “The USS Nimitz will now remain on station in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. No one should doubt the resolve of the United States of America.”

January 3: The Epoch Times: Appeals court dismisses
Gohmert lawsuit without considering the merits
On Saturday a federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and other Republicans seeking clarity on Vice President Pence’s authority in determining which Electoral College votes to count during the Jan. 6 congressional joint session.  The power of Pence’s role as the president of the Senate to count or reject electoral votes is in dispute.  In an unsigned decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision to throw out the case.  “We need say no more, and we affirm the judgment essentially for the reasons stated by the district court,” the panel wrote in their ruling (pdf). “We express no view on the underlying merits or on what putative party, if any, might have standing.”

January 3: The Washington Examiner: Welcome blow to the Russian
Nord Stream II gas pipeline
In a blow to Vladimir Putin and his enabler, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, a Norwegian energy-regulatory company (DVV GL) says it will suspend operations to certify the Nord Stream II gas pipeline.  The action is a response to Congressional legislation passed "under the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Clarification Act which sanctions companies providing testing, inspection or certification services to the Nord Stream II pipeline system.  DNV GL's decision means that Russia will not be able to complete the Danish stretch of the pipeline unless it can find another company willing to provide verification services. That is far easier said than done. Not many companies are likely to be willing to fill DNV GL's place, fearing the consequences of U.S. sanctions on their global operations. Considering that the Biden administration is likely to oppose Nord Stream II in the same manner as the Trump administration, Putin's problem isn't going away soon. This is good news.

January 2: The Epoch Times: Data shows 30,000 Trump votes removed;
12,173 switched to Biden in GA
Georgia election data indicates that more than 30,000 votes were removed from President  Trump and another 12,173 votes were switched to Democratic presidential candidate Biden, data scientists testified on Wednesday during a Georgia state Senate hearing. Justin Mealey, a computer programmer and former Navy electronics warfare technician and CIA contractor and data analyst for the National Counterterrorism Center said “What we have here is we actually have fraud that we can prove in this election, there was fraud in Georgia’s election, [and] we can prove it with data...  …The voting will of the people of Georgia is not reflected in what was certified by the Secretary of State,” he contended.  Trump’s votes were decreasing in various counties instead of increasing.  The removal of Trump’s votes happened at the county level, making them more difficult to observe at the state level. “I want to make that very, very clear that at no point in an incremental process, should you decrement it,” Mealey said.

The group -- which also consisted of Lynda McLaughlin from the Digital Integrity Group and Dave Lobue who has been a data scientist for over a decade -- said a huge number of Trump’s votes were also observed being switched to Biden in a separate event.  In Bibb county Trump had 29,391 votes to Bidens 17,218 at 9:11p.m.  However, the next time an update was reported Trump had only 17,218 votes while Biden’s votes increased to 29,391.  In this single event, 12,173 votes were switched, according to the data scientists. According to the state-certified election results, Trump lost Georgia by 12,670 votes.  “The analysis we’re going to be reviewing is purely scientific, not based on any political affiliation, red, blue, left, or right. The objective really focuses on numbers, data, and machine network systems,” Lobue stated.

January 2: The Epoch Times: Sidney Powell: It is “definitely possible”
that Trump retains the presidency
Attorney Sidney Powell said December 29th that she believes it is “definitely possible” that President Trump retains the presidency for a second term, even after the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 or beyond.  She said “viable paths” remain to a second Trump term.  “There are multiple cases pending in the Supreme Court,” Powell said. “We have four states in play in our petitions for emergency mandamus to ask the court to decertify Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia because of all the massive fraud there.”  A mandamus is a type of court order that compels action, in this case decertification of Electoral College votes in the states in question, which were cast on Dec. 14 for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.  Powell was asked whether the Jan. 6 joint session or even, the Jan. 20 inauguration, is “the end of the path” or whether, if more evidence of fraud comes to light, it is still possible that there would be a second Trump term.  “It’s definitely possible because the Supreme Court can do what it wants to do,” Powell said, adding, “but it gets more difficult the longer it takes.”  She did not provide further details regarding the judicial process that the high court could undertake following the Jan. 6 joint session nor what moves the Supreme Court might have the power to make post-inauguration. To date, the Supreme Court has twice refused to consider Trump-endorsed lawsuits that sought to challenge the results of the 2020 election.

January 2: The Epoch TImes: Loose network of over 400 intelligence community,
military, and law enforcement people formed to investigate irregularities
in the 2020 election
Over 400 people from the Intelligence Community (IC), military, law enforcement, and the judiciary have formed a loose network to investigate irregularities in the 2020 election. Robert Caron, one of the organizers of the network who began his intelligence career with the CIA, said that as far as he knows the size of the network is over 400 people and each member sees “obvious election fraud.”    “The fraud was so massive and so blatant, despite what the mainstream media said, that we need to get this information out to the public,” said Caron. “That’s why more and more people from the intelligence community and law enforcement are coming out, which is unheard of.”

January 2: The Washington Examiner: Georgians could lose $3,900 annually
under Biden policies
Georgia has been an economic gazelle with one of the top 10 fastest growth rates in the nation over the past decade. It has gained a net 250,000 population and about $20 billion of income from other states' movers. Georgia's unemployment rate of 5.7% is far below the rates that reach 10% in some blue states.   But Georgians are among the biggest losers from Joe Biden's agenda, especially if Democrats also control both chambers of Congress.   A new study estimates “Bidenomics” could drain a net $156 billion from Georgia — money that will flow to other states. That's roughly the equivalent of a $3,900 per family per year "Georgia tax."  Only two states have more to lose than Georgia; Texas and Florida.  The Biden playbook's goal is to slow the stampede of people and businesses out of blue states.   To "level the playing field," Biden would impose on Georgia and other states environmental, labor, and tax policies that have already crippled the economies of states such as New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California. For example, Biden climate policies that raise the price of oil, gas, and coal use will hike Georgia's energy prices relative to blue states that have saddled themselves with expensive and less reliable wind and solar power.

January 2: NewsMax.com:  GOP in Georgia worried with over
three million early voters
A record 3 million early votes have been cast in the two Georgia runoff elections that next week will decide which party controls the U.S. Senate, according to a final tally released on Friday.  The 3,001,017 early votes amount to 38.8% of all registered voters in the state, according to the University of Florida’s U.S. Elections Project. That puts turnout at a record high for a Georgia runoff, exceeding the 2.1 million ballots cast in a 2008 Senate contest.  If Republicans win one or both of those seats, they will retain a slim majority in the U.S. Senate, enabling them to block much of incoming Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda.

January 2: The Washington Times: GOP senators to object to Biden electors
unless emergency commission probes voter fraud
A group of Republican senators and senators-elect led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas pledged on Saturday to object to the congressional certification of President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s Electoral College votes next week unless Congress approves an emergency 10-day audit of the results by an election commission.  “Voter fraud has posed a persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope are disputed. By any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes,” the lawmakers said in a statement.  Their announcement brings to a dozen the number of GOP senators and senators-elect to defy Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has urged his colleagues not to contest Mr. Biden’s winning vote total.

January 2: The Washington Examiner: Ted Cruz needles Dem Representative
Swalwell over Chinese spy connection
Sen. Ted Cruz swooped into Georgia three days before the Senate runoffs, making the case for Republican colleagues David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler's election while taking political shots at Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell over his China spy scandal.  From the back of a pick-up truck surrounded by Perdue and Loeffler signs, the Texas senator mocked the California lawmaker for his relationship with Christine Fang, a Chinese national linked to China’s Ministry of State Security.  "For a long time, we've known the Democrats were in bed with China. We just didn't realize quite how literally," Cruz said Saturday in Cumming, Georgia.  Swalwell's association with Fang, which he has failed to describe in any detail, lasted from 2011 to 2015, when federal agents investigating Fang alerted him to the intelligence risk. Swalwell, who was first elected to the House in 2012, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

January 2: NewsMax.com: Georgia elections in November and January are
invalid and illegal?
President Trump on Friday said that changes made by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to loosen the state’s absentee ballot signature verification laws were unconstitutional, making November’s election in the state as well as the Senate runoff races ''illegal and invalid.''  The President was referring to the consent decree that Raffensperger agreed to with the Georgia Democratic Party in March to settle a lawsuit regarding mail-in ballots.  The Georgia state legislature, which is has the exclusive authority to change election law, was not involved with the agreed to changes to the election process.    “…the State Legislatures were not in any way responsible for the massive changes made to the voting process, rules and regulations, many made hastily before the election, and therefore the whole State Election is not legal or Constitutional,'' Trump wrote.

January 1: The Daily Caller: Texas judge throws out Gohmert lawsuit, Gohmert to appeal
A federal Texas judge appointed by President Donald Trump threw out Republican Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert’s lawsuit Friday against Vice President Mike Pence.  The Texas judge, Jeremy Kernodle, dismissed the lawsuit against Pence, saying the case was “dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.” Subsequently, The Washington Times reports Gohmert is appealing the lower court decision.  The lawsuit in question includes Arizona GOP electors (who certainly should have standing in the case).  Gohmert told Newsmax that he expects the appeals court to act ahead of Jan. 6, when Congress is scheduled to vote on certifying the Electoral College results that show Mr. Biden won with 306 votes.

January 1: NewsMax.com: Appeals court okays Trump rule barring
entry without health insurance
The federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed a proclamation by President Donald Trump blocking immigrants without health insurance to take effect, throwing out a lower court’s order that stopped it from being implemented.  A three-judge panel ruled Thursday that Trump was within his authority to bar anyone without insurance from entering the country, overruling the decision by Barack Obama-appointed Judge Michael H. Simon that doing so was likely illegal because it would separate family members.  Seven American citizens filed a lawsuit after Trump issued his proclamation in October 2019. The opinion overturning the District Court finding pointed to the SCOTUS ruling in Trump v. Hawaii which the president had the authority to bar people from several nations or refugees without valid travel documents from entering the United States.

January 1: The Washington Examiner: U.S. bans anonymous shell companies;
passing “historic” anti-corruption legislation
The United States banned anonymous shell companies through the NDAA defense bill.  The legislation will require companies to report their real owners or "beneficial ownership" to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit.  Included in the $740 billion defense bill, the Corporate Transparency Act will help prevent companies from hiding funds acquired by criminals or corrupt officials or hiding behind corporate organizations capable of concealing that information. Those who fail to provide complete or updated information, or provide fraudulent information, can face up to three years in prison.

January 1: NewsMax.com: Rise in middle class savings under Trump
led to U.S. economic boom
Although the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the worldwide economy on a massive scale, many markers for economic success, such as asset prices, have reached new heights thanks in part to “the rise in savings among white-collar workers,” according to The New York Times.  The newspaper notes that while “Large swaths of the economy have been shut down” and “millions are out of work,” employee compensation has only fallen by 0.5% in the nine months between March and November of last year. The Times attributes this to most of the job losses being in lower-paying service jobs, while higher-paying professional jobs were largely unaffected, and some jobs, like warehouse and grocery store workers, saw a sharp increase in business.