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Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Former Minneapolis Police Officer Who Held Crowd Back When George Floyd Died Sentenced to Nearly 5 Years

Fox News: Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months behind bars. Thao had testified that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered as former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is White, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the Black man called out that he could not breathe on May 25, 2020. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. The sentence he handed down Monday will run concurrently with Thao’s 3 1/2-year sentence on his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge. His state sentence was more than the four years recommended under state guidelines (Fox News). Associated Press: In his 177-page ruling that Thao was guilty, Cahill said Thao’s actions separated Chauvin and two other former officers from the crowd, allowing his colleagues to continue restraining Floyd and preventing bystanders from providing medical aid (Associated Press).

Gold Star Families Confront Congress About Afghanistan Withdrawal

Komo News: Gold Star Families of some of the 13 service members who were killed in the attack at the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan in 2021 gathered for a Congressional forum in California on Monday. They shared testimony and demanded answers from President Joe Biden and his administration concerning the deaths of their loved ones, with many saying they feel disrespected, hurt, and angry (Komo News). RNC Research: Darin Hoover, father of fallen Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, Jr., tells Biden over the botched Afghanistan withdrawal: “Do what our son did — be a grown ass man. Admit to your mistakes … resign immediately” (Twitter).

Democrats Introduce Legislation to Skyrocket Price of Guns

Just the News: House Democrats reintroduced legislation that would impose a 1000% excise tax on “semiautomatic assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., introduced the legislation Friday along with 24 other House Democrats. The new bill, HR 5135, is titled, “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose an additional 1,000 percent excise tax on the sale of large capacity ammunition feeding devices and semiautomatic assault weapons, and for other purposes.” An AR-15, the bestselling U.S. rifle according to NPR, can cost between $400 for a basic model to more than $2000 for a higher-end model. The new tax proposal would increase those prices to a range of $4,000 to $20,000 (Just the News). Guns: Beyer introduced a similar bill last session, his “Assault Weapons Excise Act,” which had 41 co-sponsors, all Democrats. Under that measure, the definition of what would have qualified as an “assault weapon” under the act would be a centerfire semi-auto rifle, shotgun, or pistol that can accept a detachable magazine and has any one of a list of standard features (Guns).

Female Tennis Superstars Voice Opinions on Men Competing Against Female Tennis Players

Townhall: On Sunday, tennis legend Martina Navratilova shredded the U.S. Tennis Association’s policy that allows biological males who transition to live as women to compete against female athletes. According to the USTA website, those who are born male may compete against women if the athlete “has declared that her gender identity is female” and that hormonal therapy “has been administered in a verifiable manner and for a sufficient length of time to minimize gender-related advantages in sport competitions” (Townhall). Martina Navratilova: Come on USTA- women’s tennis is not for failed male athletes- whatever age. This is not right and it is not fair. Would this be allowed at the US Open this month? Just with self ID? I don’t think so (Twitter). Kim Shasby Jones: Women’s tennis is turning into a laughing stock because of these terrible policies prioritizing the mental health and identity of men over women who have discovered a love of tennis. he women are calling us and begging for help to be allowed to play fairly. They have complained; they don’t know where else to turn. Men are winning national titles, taking the place of women on team tennis, and competing in women’s tournaments across the country (Twitter).

Two Major Thinktanks Urge Courts to Halt the Biden Administration’s Student Loan Forgiveness

Fox Business: Two think tanks are urging a federal court to block the Biden administration’s scaled-back plan to cancel $39 billion in student loans, arguing that the plan exceeds the administration’s authority. The lawsuit was filed Friday in Michigan by the New Civil Liberties Alliance on behalf of free market think tank Mackinac Center for Public Policy and libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. The groups accused the administration of overstepping its power in announcing student loan debt relief for 800,000 borrowers worth $39 billion – a plan the Department of Education rolled out shortly after the Supreme Court struck down a broader student loan handout plan pushed by President Biden. Friday’s lawsuit requested for a judge to rule the latest debt forgiveness plan as illegal and to block the Department of Education from carrying it out until the case is decided (Fox Business).

Russia Sends Missiles into Ukraine Residential Buildings Killing Four, Injuring 31

Reuters: Two Russian missile strikes killed five people and injured 31 when they hit residential buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Monday. Videos and pictures released by Ukrainian officials showed people sorting through the rubble including a badly damaged five-story apartment building. An ambulance was on the scene treating the wounded. Four civilians died in the first attack and Donetsk emergency official was killed during the second attack (Reuters).

Chinese Hackers Have Infiltrated Japan’s Computer Systems

Washington Post: In the fall of 2020, the National Security Agency made an alarming discovery: Chinese military hackers had compromised classified defense networks of the United States’ most important strategic ally in East Asia. Cyberspies from the People’s Liberation Army had wormed their way into Japan’s most sensitive computer systems. The hackers had deep, persistent access and appeared to be after anything they could get their hands on — plans, capabilities, assessments of military shortcomings, according to three former senior U.S. officials, who were among a dozen current and former U.S. and Japanese officials interviewed, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. Tokyo has taken steps to strengthen its networks. But they are still deemed not sufficiently secure from Beijing’s prying eyes, which, officials say, could impede greater intelligence sharing between the Pentagon and Japan’s Defense Ministry (Washington Post).

Survey Shows Americans are Pessimistic About Being Able to Retire

Daily Wire: It’s not just young people who are getting screwed by the current economy. New surveys are finding that a striking proportion of older hard-working Americans no longer harbor aspirations of retirement. The notion of retirement, once held as a sacred stage of life and a shared expectation in the workforce, now finds itself fading away. A secure and comfortable retirement necessitates diligent savings, and yet, many toil under the weight of insufficient funds. A poll conducted by Axios and Ipsos in July found an astonishing 29% of workers under the age of 55 boldly declared, “I don’t believe I will ever retire” (Daily Wire). Ipsos: Most Americans who aren’t retired (62%) feel that Social Security will cover less than half of their expenses. Just 5% of retirees say that Social Security covers more than 100% of their expenses (Ipsos).

America’s Population is Rapidly Adopting a Victim Mentality

American Greatness: The Revolution began under the Obama administration that sought to divide Americans into oppressed and oppressors, and then substitute race for class victimization. It was empowered by the bicoastal wealth accrued from globalization, and honed during the COVID lockdown, quarantine-fed economic downturn, and the George Floyd riots and their aftermath. The Revolution was boosted by fanatic opposition to the presidency of Donald Trump. And the result is an America that is unrecognizable from what it was a mere decade ago (American Greatness). Victor Davis Hanson: We are in the midst of one of the most radical revolutions in American history. It is as far-reaching and dangerous as the turbulent years of the 1850s and 1860s or the 1930s. Every aspect of American life and culture is under assault, including the very processes by which we govern ourselves, and the manner in which we live (Twitter).

10.

Los Angeles Workers Join Hollywood in Strike

This Hollywood strike reaches the second month. Washington Post: City of Los Angeles workers are joining the hotel employees, Hollywood actors and TV and movie writers who have walked off their jobs this summer. Thousands of them plan to strike Tuesday, potentially grinding municipal operations to a halt for 24 hours and adding to the flurry of organized labor activity across the city and country. More than 11,000 Los Angeles city employees will participate in the one-day strike, including sanitation workers, Los Angeles International Airport employees and street services, said SEIU Local 721, a union that represents more than 98,000 county and city workers across Southern California (Washington Post).