President Trump in New Hampshire: I Might Invoke the Insurrection Act to Put Down These Leftist Thugs

President Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination last night and is back on the trail. He ventured to New Hampshire, a state where he came very close to taking from Hillary Clinton in 2016. At a rally in Manchester, the president ripped into the Democratic mayors who are allowing their cities to burn and leftist violence to continue unopposed. He torched D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser for allowing these hooligans to accost those attending his convention address. One of them, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), felt that he would have been killed if it weren’t for police protection. Paul was assaulted by a crazed neighbor three years ago.

For weeks, these leftist thugs have set fires to New York, Portland, Seattle, and Chicago. Other cities have experienced this mayhem as well. As we speak, Kenosha, Wisconsin is a total war zone, where looting, arson, and gunfire has erupted in the streets. This riot was started over the shooting of Jacob Blake. The rest of the nation was set ablaze over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May. Yet, this is no longer about police reform or racial justice. This is about Marxism.

Trump said that if this chaos continues, he might consider invoking the Insurrection Act to put down the mobs. You can hear the meltdown brewing among liberal reporters and Democratic politicians (via The Hill) [emphasis mine]:

President Trump on Friday described protesters who surrounded the White House during the final night of the Republican National Convention as “thugs,” and suggested he was looking at invoking the Insurrection Act to send troops to quell protests in U.S. cities.

Trump, speaking at an outdoor campaign rally in Manchester, N.H., took a victory lap following his keynote address to the GOP convention from the White House on Thursday, before rebuking Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) for what he described as a failure to gain control of protests in the city.

[…]

Trump specifically mentioned Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who was surrounded by protesters Thursday night when departing the White House following Trump’s address and needed to be escorted by police.

 “These incredible people from all over the country, all over the world last night, they walked out to a bunch of thugs. And that wasn’t — remember this — that wasn’t friendly protesters, they were thugs. They were thugs,” Trump continued.

[…]

“The mayor should be ashamed of herself for that kind of a display of incompetence, because that’s what’s happening inn Portland, that’s what happens all over where you have Democrat-run cities,” Trump said.

The president went on to suggest that he again was considering invoking the Insurrection Act, which would enable him to send active-duty troops to cities to quell protests and unrest.

“We’re not supposed to be involved unless we’re invited in — by the people that run — these are all Democrat-run cities, including D.C.,” Trump said. “We’re not supposed to go in unless you call it an insurrection."

“We’re going to have to look at it,” he continued. “Because we’re not going to let that happen to people who go to the White House to celebrate our country.”

Look, the Left Coast has seen some 90-straight days of this leftist nonsense. In Chicago, the looting began again after a murder suspect shot himself as police approached him. The Chicago Police had to release the graphic video to dispel rumors about the incident. The police didn’t shoot this man, but the mayhem restarted. And the people who are supposed to quell this nonsense, Democratic mayors, are doing next to nothing. It may be time to send in the military. Put the mob down. Period.

SOURCE





What’s at Stake as Judge Pauses Law on Transgender Sports

A federal judge has temporarily blocked an Idaho law that essentially says biological males and females must compete separately in school-sponsored athletics. His action boosts an alarming new trend in sports that puts biological women at a disadvantage in high school and college sports.

Judge David Nye on Aug. 17 granted a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act—which Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, signed in March—from taking effect.

This means that for now, Idaho may not ban biological males who identify as transgender from playing on girls or women’s sports teams with biological females.

While this is only a preliminary ruling in a lawsuit that’s far from over, it’s frustrating to see a law that Idaho legislators and constituents overwhelmingly supported placed on hold. It is also important to note that transgender women competing with biological women is hardly consistent with Title IX, the federal civil rights law that forbids discrimination based on sex in education programs.

Title IX also has helped ensure equality in the funding of women’s sports in schools and colleges.

As the transgender phenomenon has continued to grow, transgender athletes—in particular biological males who “identify” as females—have begun to compete in high school and collegiate sports, often easily besting females who previously dominated their peers in competition.

That’s why Idaho’s law was so important. The law—which passed without fanfare—simply underscored Title IX and specifically addressed the infiltration of transgender females in sports.

The law became controversial when a transgender female, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the state. The transgender athlete argues that athletes who simply identify as female should be able to compete against biological females, and any law that prevents this is discriminatory.

Thankfully, the same day that Nye paused enforcement of Idaho’s law, he also allowed two female athletes to intervene in defense of the law.

The two collegiate athletes, Madison Kenyon and Mary Kate Marshall, run track and cross-country at Idaho State University in Pocatello. They’ve been training for years and were successful among their peers. Key word: were.

In a phone interview, Christiana Holcomb, a lawyer at Alliance Defending Freedom who represents Kenyon and Marshall, said the women have faced this new kind of discrimination and unfairness firsthand.

“Our two clients have both competed and lost against male athletes,” Holcomb said.

As far as the judge’s decision to pause enforcement of the law, Holcomb remains cautiously optimistic about their case.

“We are certainly disappointed to see the judge post an injunction because it will affect women’s sports,” she said. “We think it’s bad news. But this is a very preliminary ruling. A very preliminary ruling at the beginning of the case. We are prepared to make the case as to why Idaho’s law is a good law and is consistent under Title IX.”

Idaho’s law is not only consistent with Title IX, but passed easily in the Legislature, meaning it is likely supported by the majority of the state’s voters. This is not some kind of rogue executive order issued by the governor’s fiat.

Originally a nominee of President Barack Obama in 2016, Nye was renominated by President Donald Trump, confirmed by the Senate, and took the bench in July 2017.

Although Nye obviously thought it best to pause the law while the lawsuit proceeds, it doesn’t help female athletes in the meantime who simply want—and deserve—a fair competition, particularly in an arena where national recognition, college scholarships, and other placements are at stake.

What the ACLU and transgender athletes fail to realize (or perhaps they do, but refuse to publicly acknowledge) is that not only do biological differences exist between males and females, but these differences end up costing the females when they are forced to compete with transgender athletes.

Although they’re accomplished athletes in their own right, Kenyon and Marshall both have lost track and cross-country events to transgender females. No matter how hard they train, how many hours they run, or what coaches they have, their bodies are no match for a biological male running against them.

Fairness in women’s sports shouldn’t require a law because it seems so obvious. It shouldn’t even be a conservative talking point because it’s bipartisan. Yet, it seems to be mostly conservatives who are taking up the challenge of supporting this commonsense law.

All fair-minded Americans should hope to see Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act upheld in court so that amazing athletes such as Kenyon and Marshall may be allowed to compete on a level playing field.

SOURCE





The New Far Left Fascism

President Trump accurately labeled the rise of Antifa as “a new far left fascism” during his July speech at Mt. Rushmore. Antifa has arisen at an appropriate time, when the far left in America is taking on the characteristics of fascism. No doubt they named themselves Antifa in order to dissuade people from thinking they were actual fascists. Give yourself a name that everyone agrees with, and you can hide your real agenda. Black Lives Matter has done it successfully, they have an approval rating over 70 percent but their real agenda is Marxism. As Catholic teacher Timothy Gordon put it after being fired for calling the group terrorists, you could be a terrorist group and hide your agenda by naming yourselves “Don’t Kill Kittens.”

The similarities between Antifa, the far left and fascism are disturbing. The left claims that fascism is closer linked to the right, but the right has never stood for massive government control -- that is a hallmark of the left.

One troubling similarity is the identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The far left now labels all conservatives as evil, calling them white supremacists, sexists, homophobes, climate change deniers, etc. Fascists disdain intellectuals. Under fascism, professors and other academics were censored and even arrested. Today, the far left is driving conservatives out of the universities. If they sneak in, the left complains until they are fired. Only 1 percent of the faculty at Harvard now identifies as conservative. Only academics who think like leftists are allowed to remain.

Fascism has a disdain for human rights, which manifests itself by cruel behavior toward political opponents. We’re seeing this in long prison sentences for conservative activists. Former Congressman Steve Stockman is serving a 10-year prison term for merely raising money for two conservative nonprofits. Even though he is over 60 and has diabetes, putting him at high risk for COVID-19, corrupt bureaucrats within the Bureau of Prisons will not release him. They released every other diabetic over 60 in his prison. Now he has COVID-19, so his sentence could turn into a death sentence.

Under fascism, fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the people. We’re seeing this with the Democrats’ handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have made people ultraparanoid of contracting the virus, even though the young and healthy will be fine and even though a certain amount of the population needs to contract it in order to reach herd immunity. By fomenting this anxiety, they’re able to portray conservatives who oppose the draconian measures as not caring about people dying, using it against them to stop them from winning elections.

Corporate power is protected under fascism. The industrial and business aristocracy often puts the government leaders into power. We’re now seeing this with the most powerful companies in the country donating almost exclusively to Democrats. More than 90 percent of the $40 million donated by big tech employees to political causes since 2004 has gone to Democrats. In 2020 so far, 96 percent of the money contributed to political campaigns by Apple and its employees has gone to Democrats.

Fascists used slogans, symbols, songs and flags to promote their ideology. Antifa has a very distinct symbol of a black and red flag which shows up everywhere at their protests and riots. Black flags generally mean anarchy and red flags mean communism or socialism. Antifa is known for a variety of chants and slogans. They include “No America at all,” “No Trump, no wall, no USA at all,” and “If we don’t get it, shut it down!”

There is rampant cronyism and corruption under fascism. We’ve seen this in the revolving door between the mainstream media and Democratic administrations. There are too many to list here, but some of the more well-known individuals include George Stephanopoulos and Rahm Emanuel. Mark Levine cites 29 recent examples in his latest book, “Unfreedom of the Press,” which is far more than cycled through the GOP-media revolving door. There are also increasing malicious, politically motivated prosecutions against conservatives taking place in locations where far left Democrats control the prosecutors’ offices.

Another sign of fascism is fraudulent elections. The left has been caught engaging in election fraud over and over again, and is blatantly preparing to do so again by transferring all voting to mail-in ballots. Election fraud also includes complicit judges and manipulation of the media. Since the left controls much of the judiciary, and plaintiffs are often able to forum shop to pick a favorable judge, they are having some success.

While the left hasn’t taken over the police as happens under fascism, there are signs they are making inroads. Police are arresting and citing people for not wearing masks. They arrested two pro-life protesters for merely writing “Black Preborn Lives Matter” in chalk on the sidewalk outside a Planned Parenthood. In contrast, Antifa and Black Lives Matter spray paint slogans on businesses and nothing happens. Michelle Malkin recently attended a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in Denver and the police did nothing as radical left thugs beat the attendees. Since Democrats control the big cities, where the police chiefs report to the mayor, they are able to dictate how the police behave.

Antifa blatantly refers to its members as “comrades,” a leftover term from communist Russia. Many of their members admit they are communists. Communism is a close cousin of fascism, with the government controlling everything (Marxists claim that the people own everything under communism, but it’s never worked out that way).

It’s way overdue to start referring to Antifa as fascists and calling them out when they act like them. Don’t let them get away with labeling all conservatives as fascists. We’re not the ones trying to get the government to take over everything and stomp out the opposition.

SOURCE 





Australia announces changes to citizenship test and English language program for migrants

In a major policy overhaul impacting migrants, Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge has announced that Australia will be updating the citizenship test with a strong focus on Australian values to boost social cohesion.

Flagging the changes in an address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Friday, Minister Tudge said new questions “on Australian values” will be included in the citizenship tests.

“Australian citizenship is both a privilege and a responsibility, and it should be granted to those who support our values, respect our laws, and want to contribute to Australia’s future,” he said.

Minister Tudge particularly recognised the efforts of the volunteers of the Sikh community who provided free meals to over 3,000 residents of the nine public housing estates in north Melbourne that were forced into “hard lockdown” amid a COVID-19 outbreak in July earlier this year.

“When you see Buddhist monks providing free massages to weary fire-fighters, Muslim builders putting on barbeques for bushfire survivors, Irish truck drivers delivering hundreds of thousands of litres of water, and Sikhs cooking and delivering curries to Melbourne’s public housing estates during the COVID lockdown, you know we have something special in this nation,” said Minister Tudge.

A record number of people – over 200,000 pledged their allegiance to Australia in 2019-20, of which a majority were from India.

Melbourne-based permanent resident Simreet Dua who is keen to be added to the list of Australian citizens this year said most migrants who want to assimilate into the country’s social fabric would welcome the inclusion of questions on Australian democratic values in the citizenship test.

“While it is too early to comment what the revised tests would look like, I strongly believe that all migrants should be across the Australian values, to be able to integrate into the Australian society and to make a valuable contribution to its culture and even economy,” said the 32-year-old.

Minister Tudge also announced that migrants who can’t speak English will be allowed to attend an uncapped number of free language classes in an overhaul of the billion-dollar worth Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), which currently offers 510 hours of free tuition to be completed within five years.

Under the changes, the government has announced it will not only scrap the cap on the hours but also remove time limits on the classes, enabling permanent residents or citizens to be able to attend classes free of charge until they have acquired "functional English.”

“Without English language skills, migrants are less likely to get a job, less likely to integrate, and less likely to participate in our democracy,” said Mr Tudge.

Census data indicates that around half of overseas-born Australians who arrived with no English skills still cannot speak the language well, or at all after 15 years of residency.

Former senior Immigration Department official Abul Rizvi said while the English language is a key element of successfully integrating migrants into Australia, the question remains how much more money is the Morrison government willing to allocate towards the expansion of AMEP.

"No one can deny that the English language is important for migrants to communicate and survive in Australia. But the thing to watch out for is how much more money is the government allocating to this approach. If the answer is zero then you will have to question what the value of the policy is?” questioned Mr Rizvi.

He said the key here is to encourage more migrants to attend and participate in these classes.

“The main problem is that many of the migrants who want to attend classes are also searching for work and are often working. And the difficulty is accessing AMEP while you’re working. Its accessibility is a greater challenge than the allocation or the hourly limit,” added Mr Rizvi.

Welcoming the changes to the English language program, Violet Roumeliotis, the CEO of Settlement Services International (SSI), a Sydney-based community organisation, that supports new migrants told SBS Punjabi that the change in the policy will “further strengthen” Australia’s resolve and success towards the settlement and integration of migrant communities.

"We welcome any move that will further enhance social cohesion for new migrants and lead to better settlement outcomes, especially during these unprecedented times,” said Ms Roumeliotis.

SOURCE 

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here.  Email me (John Ray) here.
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