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Friday, July 21, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Aghast with House Democrats: "This is an attempt to censor a censorship hearing"

Fox News: House Democrats on Thursday tried unsuccessfully to remove Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. from a hearing on federal government censorship, after claiming he was in violation of House rules aimed at preventing defamatory or degrading testimony. That effort and others by Democrats to silence him at the hearing prompted RFK, Jr. to say, “This is an attempt to censor a censorship hearing.” RFK, Jr., who is running for president against President Biden, was invited by Republicans to testify at a hearing at the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. But after his opening remarks, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., moved to take the hearing into executive session to discuss RFK, Jr.’s alleged violation of a House rule aimed at banning testimony that defames or degrades others (Fox News). Benny Johnson: RFK Jr. gives his opening statement before the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, gets ROARING applause (Twitter). Blaze: RFK Jr: “They had to invent a new word called ‘malinformation’ to censor people like me. Malinformation is information that is true but is inconvenient to the government that they don’t want people to hear” (Twitter). Post Millennial: House Democrats voted to censor RFK Jr during a hearing on censorship at which he was invited to speak (Twitter).

NYC Mayor Removes “Sanctuary City” Status of Gotham Saying, “We have no more room in the city”

National Review: The mayor is blaming everyone but himself for the dumb policy he inherited and stubbornly maintained for as long as he could. New York City mayor Eric Adams announced the end of an era this week: Gotham will put its experiment as a “sanctuary city” to an end. “We have no more room in the city,” Adams declared at a press conference on Wednesday. In what the New York Times described as a “somewhat unexpected departure,” the Adams administration announced that the city would no longer welcome illegal migrants as it previously had (National Review). Breaking911: NYC Mayor Adams on illegal immigrants: “Our cup has basically runneth over. We have no more room in the city and we need help” (Twitter). Governor Ron DeSantis’ Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern: Sanctuary cities don’t like dealing with the fallout of their own policies. This wouldn’t be a problem if POTUS did his job and secured our border (Twitter).

NYPD Settles, Shells out $13.7 Million to George Floyd Protestors Who Were Arrested in 2020

National Review: The City of New York agreed to pay a $13.7 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by protesters who accused NYPD officers of using unlawful policing tactics and violating the rights of demonstrators during the 2020 protests and rioting sparked by the death of George Floyd. The city has agreed to pay out $9,950 per person to up to 1,380 people who were “arrested and/or subjected to force by N.Y.P.D. officers” during protests at 18 different locations throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn in May and June of 2020. The city denied liability in the settlement agreement and also denied the NYPD had a pattern or practice that violated anyone’s rights (National Review). Jeff Offenhartz: New York City has just agreed to pay more than $13M to protesters who were arrested or beaten by NYPD officers during the George Floyd demonstrations in 2020 — among the largest settlements ever for a mass arrest class action (Twitter).

Lori Smith of 303 Creative Faces Punishment from the Left as a Result of Her Supreme Court Victory

Daily Signal: United States Supreme Court cases have become fraught with peril for those who differ from leftist ideology: Litigants face potential death threats, protesting, harassment, and “doxxing” (putting their personal information, even their addresses, online to encourage harassment). Justices have faced the same—including at least one attempted assassination. Following the recent Supreme Court ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, Lorie Smith faces a stream of vitriol so fierce that she is afraid to let her 11-year-old daughter play outside in front of their home by herself. Smith described the death threats, threats of rape and of bodily harm, and threats to her family as “heartbreaking” (Daily Signal).

Harvard Law Professor Urges Biden Administration to “restrain MAGA justices”

These are the individuals educating your children. National Review: Mark Tushnet, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law Emeritus at Harvard Law School, a former president of the Association of American Law Schools, and the author of many of the books that America’s law students use while in college, has joined forces with a political-science professor from San Francisco State University to write an open letter to President Biden urging him to begin openly ignoring the Supreme Court (National Review). Balkin: We urge President Biden to restrain MAGA justices immediately by announcing that if and when they issue rulings that are based on gravely mistaken interpretations of the Constitution that undermine our most fundamental commitments, the Administration will be guided by its own constitutional interpretations. We have worked diligently over the past five years to advocate Supreme Court expansion as a necessary strategy for restoring democracy (Balkin).

Virginia Requires Public Schools to Get Parental Approval to Change Child’s Gender Identity

Washington Examiner: The new policies, which must be adopted by all of Virginia’s public school districts, prohibit schools and school staff from accommodating a student’s request to use a different name or pronoun at school unless the child’s parent provides written permission. The finalized policy released Tuesday also requires students to participate in school athletics programs and use bathroom facilities consistent with their biological sex. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia said it is “horrified” by the new model policies in a statement released Wednesday. “We are horrified that VDOE opted to move forward with proposed model policies that at best invite — and at worst, require — discrimination, that violate state and federal law, and that have no place in Virginia schools,” ACLU of Virginia policy and legislative counsel Breanna Diaz said. Parent activists were quick to praise the new policies for protecting parental rights, a key aspect of Youngkin’s successful gubernatorial bid in 2021 (Washington Examiner). Daily Wire: Over the last few years, parents have clashed with school districts across the country over a number of issues related to gender ideology, including children adopting new gender identities at school, often without their parent’s knowledge. In several states, parents have sued their children’s school districts, claiming school personnel encouraged their children to change their gender identity behind their parents’ backs. An estimated 300,000 minors aged 13 to 17 identified as transgender as of last year (Daily Wire).

Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) Goes on Tirade Because the GOP Dared Question America’s Institutions

Townhall: Democrat Rep. Kweisi Mfume of Maryland lambasted Republicans during a House Oversight Committee where two IRS whistleblowers testified about how the Department of Justice interfered with a Hunter Biden investigation. He took particular issue with attacks on the DOJ, FBI, and IRS, claiming the federal agencies “keep this democracy in check” (Townhall). Greg Price: Rep Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) just said one of the most disturbing and insane things a member of Congress has ever said: “The DOJ, FBI, and IRS keep this democracy in check (and) provide the checks and the balances” (Twitter).

California Democrat Attempts to Eradicate Gender Terms Such as “Wife” from Federal Laws

Fox News: Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., is leading an effort to replace gendered terms in federal law with gender-neutral language. The bill, titled the Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act, would “strike gendered terms like ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ from federal laws” in favor of terms such as “spouse” or “married person.” The bill also takes aim at references to a “husband and wife” and terms such as “former wife,” replacing them with “married couple” or “person who has been, but is no longer, married.” References to ‘‘one man and one woman” would also be eliminated, replaced with ‘‘two people as spouses’’ (Fox News). Newsweek: According to the survey by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, 44 percent of those aged 25-34 think “referring to someone by the wrong gender pronoun (he/him, she/her) should be a criminal offense,” versus just 31 percent who disagree. This view remains popular for those aged 35-44, among whom 38 percent think misgendering should be illegal, whilst 35 percent disagree (Newsweek).

Jason Aldean’s Wife Supports Him on Social Media Amid the Woke Pushing Back Against His Music Video

Fox News: Jason Aldean is tackling his latest controversy with his wife, Brittany, by his side. Aldean’s new single, “Try That in a Small Town,” has sparked backlash for its perceived racist content and had its music video pulled from Country Music Television (CMT). “Try That in a Small Town” was released in May, and the lyrics speak to small towns not putting up with riots and lawlessness many cities faced in the summer of 2020. In the wake of the music video being pulled and general outcry over the song, Aldean took to social media on Tuesday to speak out. Regarding the music video, Aldean’s wife, Brittany, offered her support on social media, sharing a selfie of the couple while on the beach and writing, “Never apologize for speaking the truth.” She also went on her Instagram Stories, writing, “Media… it’s the same song and dance. Twist everything you can to fit your repulsive narrative. How about instead of creating stories, we focus on the REAL ones such as CHILD TRAFFICKING? Food for thought” (Fox News).

10.

“The Chosen” Television Series Given Permission to Keep Filming Despite Hollywood Strike

Daily Wire: “The Chosen,” a series about the life of Jesus Christ, has been granted an exemption and will be allowed to continue filming despite the ongoing writers’ strike and actors’ strike in Hollywood. The Angel Studios series has been granted one of the first exemptions from the Screen Actors Guild to continue filming its fourth season despite the fact that the strike effectively shut down the production of most TV shows and movies. Creator and director Dallas Jenkins made the announcement that filming would continue (Daily Wire).