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Monday, May 2, 2022

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DHS Secretary Mayorkas Asserts Disinformation Board Will Be “Absolutely” Neutral

As than name and the mission and the staffing of the Disinformation Board continue to raise concern. From the story: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said “there’s no question” he could have more effectively communicated the purpose of his newly-created “disinformation” board after critics framed it as a crackdown on free speech. Mayorkas explained Sunday that the board specifically addresses “disinformation that presents a security threat to the homeland.” “Disinformation from Russia, from China, from Iran, from the cartels,” he said (Fox News). The Post Millennial: DHS Secretary Mayorkas claims Nina Jankowicz will “absolutely” be neutral, and is “a renowned expert in the field of disinformation” (Twitter). RNC Research: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says Biden’s Ministry of Truth will be “safeguarding the right of free speech” (Twitter).

CNN Calls for Social Media Regulation

As soon as they lose power, they want to regulate it. CNN’s David Zurawik: “Dangerous” with Elon Musk buying Twitter, we need to look to Europe. “You need regulation. (Twitter). Glen Greenwald: I’ll keep pointing it out: the leading agitators and activists for censorship are employees of media corporations — in part because they believe only they can be trusted to speak, in part to eliminate competition as they collapse (Twitter).

Texas Rep Encourages Elon Musk to Move Twitter to Texas

From the story: Texas State Representative Tan Parker told FOX Business that Musk should “absolutely” consider moving Twitter from California to Texas, just like he did with Tesla. Musk officially moved Tesla’s headquarters to Texas in 2021 after tensions between the California government regarding COVID-19 rules, with California state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez tweeting “F–k Elon Musk,” in 2020. He said at the time that the new Texas facility offered more room for growth. “Elon made a tremendous decision, the right choice, when he brought Tesla to Texas, when he brought SpaceX to Texas. I think it’s no different in his decision making here for Twitter, he realizes that Texas is the most business friendly state in America, that we are open for business,” Parker said (Fox Business). National Review: Parker added: “We are a low tax state. We have no state income tax. Pretty extraordinary environment. Look at California by comparison. Obviously tremendous state income tax and they’re taxed so heavily, obviously at the local level, particularly in the Bay Area.” Musk has said that he wants to make Twitter “better than ever.” “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement on the deal. “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans” (National Review).

New York Primaries Delayed as Aggressive Gerrymandering Backfires

From the story: New York’s congressional and state Senate primary elections will be pushed back nearly two months to Aug. 23, after the state’s highest court struck down the new district maps drawn by Democrats and approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul as unconstitutional. State Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister delayed the primaries from its original June 28 date. He also ordered that the court-appointed special master, Jonathan Cervas, must create and publicly release new “impartial redistricting maps” for the US House of Representatives and state Senate by a May 20 deadline (New York Post). The Wall Street Journal: The congressional maps in question had been enacted by Democrats who control the state Assembly and Senate and signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. A lawsuit brought by a group of Republican voters said the maps were drawn without GOP input. Democrats said they didn’t consider the partisan composition of districts. “Prompt judicial intervention is both necessary and appropriate to guarantee the People’s right to a free and fair election,” Judge DiFiore, who was appointed by Democratic former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, wrote in the ruling earlier this week. “The procedural unconstitutionality of the congressional and senate maps is, at this juncture, incapable of a legislative cure” (Wall Street Journal).

Food Prices Soar: Farmer Price Index Up 31 Percent Compared to March 2021

From the story: The March Prices Paid Index for Commodities and Services, Interest, Taxes, and Farm Wage Rates (PPITW), at 131.2, is up 1.4 percent from February 2022 and 13 percent from March 2021. Higher prices in March for complete feeds, diesel, other services, and field crops more than offset lower prices for feeder cattle, other machinery, nitrogen, and repairs (Dept. of Agriculture). Breitbart: The prices of U.S. farm products continued to rise in March, reflecting the inflationary pressures gripping the U.S. economy and fears that the war in Ukraine and sanctions and Russia could lead to food shortages around the globe. The Department of Agriculture said Friday that its index of prices received by U.S. farmers increased 6.3 percent from February and 31 percent from March 2021. The index tracks prices paid by initial buyers from U.S. farms, the first step of the food production chain in the U.S (Breitbart).

Disney Exec Responsible for Response to Florida Parental Rights Bill Resigns

Daily Wire reports: The Disney public relations executive who had a key role in the company’s disastrous response to a Florida law barring public school teachers from discussing woke sex and gender fluidity theories is leaving the beleaguered company after just three months. Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Geoff Morrell, who crafted the company’s initial neutral stance on the law, said in a letter obtained by CNBC the job was a bad fit. Disney later reversed its position under pressure from fringe groups and activist employees and its stock has since plummeted. In addition, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into a law a bill stripping Disney of longstanding tax breaks and carveouts that gave its Orlando theme park unprecedented autonomy (Daily Wire). RedState: It has long been commented that the easiest thing for a company to do regarding political matters is to not do anything. Taking a stand ultimately means you stand a part of a portion of your customer base. On the matter of the Florida law, it has been foolish for Disney to get involved. The law had no direct involvement with the company, and in the end, they have managed to alienate a significant number of parents who serve as its core customer base (RedState).

Russian Use of Detention Centers in Ukraine Draws Scrutiny

Some see ominous parallels. The Economist: Before Russia’s invasion, American officials said that Russian forces were creating lists of people to be killed or sent to camps if Russia occupied parts of the country. Likely targets included Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile, anti-corruption activists, members of religious and ethnic minorities and LGBT people. A satellite image showed Russian-backed forces had begun building a temporary camp of regimented blue-and-white tents in the Russian-controlled village of Bezimenne near the port-city of Mariupol, in south-eastern Ukraine. According to witnesses, Ukrainians sent there were photographed and forced to turn over their mobile phones and identity documents before being interrogated and deported to Russia. The Kremlin describes these people as “refugees”. Rossiyskaya Gazeta, a pro-Kremlin newspaper, claims that 5,000 civilians were screened at Bezimenne to prevent “Ukrainian nationalists from infiltrating Russia.” But escapers tell a different story, comparing conditions to those of a ghetto or concentration camp. They claim to have witnessed torture and killings carried out by Russian security services to weed out “Ukrainian Nazis” (Economist).

Former Marine Killed in Ukraine

From the story: An American citizen, Willy Joseph Cancel, was killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in Ukraine, members of Cancel’s family confirmed to CNN. The 22-year-old was working with a private military contracting company when he was killed on Monday. The company had sent him to Ukraine, and he was being paid while he was fighting there, Cancel’s mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN. Cancel, a former US Marine, according to his mother, signed up to work for the private military contracting company on top of his full-time job as a corrections officer in Tennessee shortly before the war in Ukraine broke out at the end of February, Cabrera said. When the war began, the company, according to Cabrera, was searching for contractors to fight in Ukraine and Cancel agreed to go (CNN).

In an Abrupt Shift Governor Newsom Trying to Save Nuclear Plant in California

From the story: With the threat of power shortages looming and the climate crisis worsening, Gov. Gavin Newsom may attempt to delay the long-planned closure of California’s largest electricity source: the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. Newsom told the L.A. Times editorial board Thursday that the state would seek out a share of $6 billion in federal funds meant to rescue nuclear reactors facing closure, money the Biden administration announced this month. Diablo Canyon owner Pacific Gas & Electric is preparing to shutter the plant — which generated 6% of the state’s power last year — by 2025 (Los Angeles Times). Michael Shellenberger: It took rolling black-outs, a change in public consciousness, and my run for governor, but our six-year long effort to save Diablo has finally won (Twitter). Department of Energy: The Biden-Harris Administration has identified the nation’s current fleet of reactors as a vital resource to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050 — a key deadline for reducing the harmful impacts of climate change (Energy.gov).

10.

Nancy Pelosi Secretly Visits Ukraine

From the story: Pelosi, second in line to the presidency after the vice president, was the most senior American lawmaker to visit Ukraine since Russia’s war began more than two months ago. Only days earlier, Russia bombed the Ukrainian capital while the U.N. secretary-general was there. Pelosi and the half dozen U.S. lawmakers with her met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his top aides for three hours late Saturday to voice American solidarity with the besieged nation and get a first-hand assessment of the effort as she works to steer a massive new Ukraine aid package through Congress. “Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done,” Pelosi is seen telling Zelenskyy in a video of the meeting released by his office. “We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Thank you for your fight for freedom” (AP News). NBC: The trip is the second major visit from American officials in the span of a week. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Zelenskyy last Sunday and made fresh promises of military and diplomatic support (NBC).

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