Month: March 2021

The World Health Organization is defending its appointment of a U.S. doctor with prior financial ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) to be a part of its investigative team that probed the origins of COVID-19 in China in early 2021.

Peter Daszak’s involvement in the WHO’s investigative panel has been described as a conflict of interest by U.S.-based epidemiologists and medical groups. Prior to the pandemic, Daszak, as president of the nonprofit group EcoHealth Alliance, routed $600,000 in taxpayer funds to the WIV in the form of National Institutes of Health subgrants to fund studies into bat-based coronaviruses.

‘Vial of Death’: Louis Farrakhan Pushes Vaccine Conspiracy Theories in Videos Posted on Facebook, Twitter

Louis Farrakhan, the influential leader of the Nation of Islam, continued his crusade against the coronavirus vaccines over the weekend, calling the vaccine a “vial of death” during remarks at the extremist group’s convention, where other speakers falsely claimed that the vaccines have caused more than 900 deaths.

Videos of the convention, which was held for the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day, are posted on the group’s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages, despite the social media companies’ policies against vaccine-related misinformation.

At Least 10 Rockets Hit Iraqi Military Base Hosting U.S. Troops

At least 10 rockets were fired at an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. coalition troops in the Anbar province of western Iraq on Wednesday morning, the Associated Press reported.

It was unclear if anyone on the base was injured and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the AP reported. The attack did not cause significant damage to the Ain al-Asad airbase, according to the Iraqi military.

Newt Gingrich Commentary: The Three Winners at CPAC 2021

Matt Schlapp’s decision to move the Conservative Political Action Conference from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Fla. was brilliant. No one knew how good this decision would ultimately be for the conservative movement.

Washington is the heart of the swamp. Its news media is toxic and focused only on propaganda. The lobbying firms, bureaucracies, and the social life are all dominated by Democrats.

Georgia Senate Introduces Bill Making It a Felony to Block Traffic During a Protest

March 4, 2021March 3, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

After a summer of rioting nationwide, Georgia lawmakers have introduced a bill that would make it a felony to block a sidewalk or a street after being directed to disperse by a police officer.

According to the text of SB 171, “purposely or recklessly obstructing any highway or street in such a way as to render it impassable without unreasonable inconvenience or hazard and fails or refuses to remove the obstruction after he or she receives a reasonable official request or the order of a peace officer to do so, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by an imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years or a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, or both.”

Over 100 Illegal Immigrants Released by Border Patrol in Texas Have Tested Positive for COVID-19 Since January 25

Since January 25, 108 illegal immigrants released into Texas by Border Patrol have reportedly tested positive for Covid-19. According to a spokesperson for Brownsville, a town on the Texas border, that number represents 6.3 percent of those who have taken the test. The migrants are tested at the city’s main bus station, where they are being released by the Border Patrol.

According to NBC News, several of the illegal immigrants “plan to travel to dozens of cities throughout the country” despite testing positive for the coronavirus.

Commentary: Unions Take a Cut from Firefighters’ Annual ‘Fill the Boot’ Fundraiser

March 4, 2021March 3, 2021 RealClearWire

Thousands of “panhandlers” in oversized suspenders camp outside of town squares and churches and major intersections every Labor Day. Instead of fast food cups, they plead with passersby to donate what they can into large rubber galoshes, exhorting them to “Fill the boot!” Perhaps that is why they are so well-received by busy motorists. It also helps that these men are standing in front of fire engines.

Biden: Enough COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Available for All American Adults by End of May

March 4, 2021March 3, 2021 The Center Square

Enough COVID-19 doses will be available by the end of May that every American adult who wants one can receive it, President Joe Biden said Tuesday, though it might take more time to administer all of the doses.

The news came the same day that drugmaker Merck announced it would help Johnson & Johnson produce millions of doses of its recently approved vaccine.

Michigan National Guard Whistleblowers Say Troops Are Being Fed Undercooked Meals That Make Them Sick

Whistleblowers stationed with the Michigan National Guard at the U.S. Capitol say troops are feeling demoralized after being fed disgusting meals that have made more than a dozen soldiers sick, sending some to the hospital.

Georgia Lawmakers This Week Propose Additional Ways to Reform State Elections

March 4, 2021March 3, 2021 Chris Butler

Officials at the Georgia General Assembly this week proposed what they said were new methods to reform Georgia’s elections. House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) proposed that the Georgia Department of Driver Services offer state ID cards, free, to all eligible Georgians.

Four Months After 2020 Presidential Election in Georgia No Chain of Custody Documents Produced for 404,000 Absentee Ballots Deposited in Drop Boxes; Fulton County One of 35 Scofflaw Counties

March 4, 2021March 4, 2021 Tiffany Morgan

Four months after the November 3, 2020 presidential election, state and county officials in Georgia have failed to produce chain of custody documents for an estimated 404,691 vote by mail absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes and subsequently delivered to county registrars for counting.

As of March 3, only 56 of Georgia’s 159 counties have provided ballot transfer form data to The Georgia Star News. The number of absentee by mail ballots delivered to registrars in those 56 counties total only 195,309, or 32.5 percent, of the estimated 600,000 absentee vote by mail ballots deposited in drop boxes and delivered to county registrars and counted in Georgia’s 2020 presidential.

Blackout: White House Curbs Press, Public Access as Biden Struggles with Public Demands of Job

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Throughout his presidential campaign and continuing since taking the White House, Joe Biden has promised a transparent approach to press and public relations. Yet in recent weeks, his administration has closed off — at least for now — several key avenues via which the press and public have for years gained a modicum of transparency, accessibility and accountability from the White House.

Civil Rights Icon Calls White Wokeness ‘Insulting’ to Black Americans

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

Bob Woodson prefers old-fashioned bigots to “guilty white people” who patronize him by saying they’re “sorry for being white.”

The founder of the Woodson Center told the John Solomon Reports podcast his view on white guilt: “It’s insulting. In fact, I was telling some people I prefer the old-fashioned bigot than somebody who patronizes me and tells me they’re sorry for being white.”

Georgia Voter Integrity Bill at Standstill in State Legislature

March 3, 2021March 2, 2021 Chris Butler

Georgia State Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) has defended voter integrity legislation she’s filed that would require non-U.S. citizens to have “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID” printed on their driver’s licenses, permits. This, even though Georgia officials said at an Election Integrity Committee hearing late last week that they already have a system in place to stop illegal immigrants from voting.

Commentary: Becerra as HHS Chief Would Undo Conscience Protections

March 3, 2021March 2, 2021 RealClearWire

Medical professionals on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic desperately need reinforcements. That’s why President Biden, in his “American Rescue Plan,” proposes enough funding to triple the number of community health care workers.

But if the administration doesn’t have a clear policy of enforcing longstanding conscience protections for health care providers, it will jeopardize their ability to recruit the talent we need to defeat the coronavirus.

California Reopening Plan ‘Propagates Racism,’ LA Teachers Union Says

The Los Angeles teachers union said Monday California’s school reopening plan is a “recipe” for propagating racism and will unfairly punish minority communities.

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) representatives argued that teachers are being asked to make up for the leadership failings of elected officials “from Washington DC to Sacramento to LA” during a press conference Monday. Since California’s plan calls on schools in communities with low infection rates to reopen, the union said reopening funding will only go to white communities since they have less transmission.

YouTube Suspends Rudy Giuliani for False Election Claims

YouTube suspended former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani again for spreading false information related to the 2020 presidential election, claiming the election was stolen.

Rudy Giuliani was suspended for repeatedly claiming the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, who President Joe Biden unseated in November, Bloomberg reported. YouTube cited its “presidential election integrity policy” and its “regulated goods policy,” alleging that Giuliani had posted content facilitating nicotine use.

FBI Director Wray Refuses to Disclose Brian Sicknick’s Cause of Death

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday refused to disclose the cause of death of police officer Brian Sicknick during the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, citing an ongoing investigation.

“There is an ongoing investigation into his death. I have to be careful at this stage, because it’s ongoing, not to get out in front of it,” Wray said in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing when asked about Sicknick’s death.

Report: Nursing Homes See Sharp Drop in COVID Cases Since Vaccines Started

March 3, 2021March 2, 2021 The Center Square

Nursing homes in the U.S. are seeing the lowest number of new COVID cases since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began tracking the data in May 2020,according to a new report from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL).

The health care groups, which represent 14,000 nursing homes and long term care facilities in the U.S. that provide care to about five million people annually, say ythe study shows that the COVID-19 vaccines are working.

Abbott to End Texas Shutdown and Mask Mandate Next Week

March 3, 2021March 2, 2021 The Center Square

Nearly one year after first shutting down the state last March, Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday announced Texas would reopen 100% beginning March 10. The statewide mask mandate is also terminated effective next Wednesday.

Abbott rescinded previous executive orders (GA-17, GA-25, GA-29, and GA-31) in a new order issued Tuesday, Executive Order (GA-34), because of the progress Texas has made in reducing the spread of the coronavirus, along with new treatments and greater availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Commentary: Thirty Percent of Young Liberals Now Identify as LGBT

Gallup survey published last week reveals that LGBT identification among Americans has grown, increasing to 5.6 percent of the population from 4.5 percent in Gallup’s previous update in 2017.

But LGBT identification across groups is not constant, with liberals, young people, and women skewing more heavily towards LGBT identity.

Supreme Court to Hear First of Many Election-Related Lawsuits After 2020 Election

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, numerous bills introduced in state legislatures across the country are most likely heading for the same place: The Supreme Court, where they will be scrutinized under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The first of many such cases will begin on Tuesday, according to ABC News.

After widespread voter fraud in multiple key swing states that some say may have been enough to change the outcome of the election in favor of Joe Biden and other Democrats, over 250 bills have been introduced across 43 states, aimed at such measures as reducing voter fraud, restricting vote-by-mail, and requiring some form of photographic ID in order to vote. The Brennan Center for Justice, a far-left advocacy group, has falsely claimed that such bills are attempting to suppress non-White voters.

Commentary: Republicans Against the Family

The coronavirus pandemic, real and exaggerated, has provided a unique opportunity to fortify the family and undermine the hegemonic cant of a regime that is hostile to Middle Americans.

Public school enrollment is down across the country, while homeschooling is on the rise, which should be good news for those frustrated with a system out to teach children what to think rather than how to think.

Biden Administration Won’t Allow Media to Tour Migrant Children Facility ‘Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic’

Members of the media will not be able to visit migrant detention centers holding minors near the southern border due to COVID-19, a spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Reporters will not be allowed inside the Carrizo Springs facility for unaccompanied minors that was recently opened under the Biden administration in Texas, a Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) spokesperson told the DCNF.

SARS Covid-2 Is the ‘Product of Genetic Experiments Commissioned and Funded’ by Fauci’s NIAID

Fox News host Steve Hilton on Sunday shared the latest shocking findings from his months-long investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, alleging that the virus links back to U.S. commissioned research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that was overseen by Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The host of the “The Next Revolution” told his viewers that there is reason to believe that SARS Covid-2—which is now widely believed to have leaked from the Wuhan Lab—is the “product of genetic experiments commissioned and funded by our own government.”

Georgia House Passes Bill to Bolster Absentee Ballot Laws

March 3, 2021March 2, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Georgia’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill Monday aimed at making elections more secure, specifically in the way of absentee voting.

House Bill 531 passed Monday with a 97-72 vote, and along with sweeping reforms related to absentee voting, strips the Secretary of State from his role as chairman of the State Elections Board. That person will, if the bill passes and is signed into law, be chosen by the General Assembly.

Six Dr. Seuss Books Won’t be Published Due to Racist Images, Publisher Says

March 2, 2021 Georgia Star News Staff

The publisher of the popular Dr. Seuss children’s books said Tuesday it will stop publishing six of the books because of their racist and hurtful imagery, according to the publishing company.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises said the books including “And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo.”

Georgia State Senate Democrats Want Washington, D.C. Statehood

March 2, 2021March 1, 2021 Chris Butler

Democrats in the Georgia General State Senate have proposed certain resolutions for this current session, all of which support politically left-leaning causes, one of which cites influence from the United Nations. Georgia State Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) and 15 other state senators filed a resolution that urges the U.S. Congress to grant statehood to Washington, D.C.

Commentary: A Trojan Horse For Woke Education

A massive new national project called “Educating for American Democracy” will be launched on Tuesday with the explicit aim of “redefining” and then “harmonizing” American civic education nationwide.

From the days of Thomas Jefferson, Noah Webster, Horace Mann, and the McGuffey readers to Ronald Reagan’s farewell address and the controversy over national history standards, citizenship education (broadly understood) has always been a vital function of American schools for the perpetuation of the American way of life. That’s about to change for the worse.

Biden Endorses Historic Amazon Unionization Effort in Alabama

President Joe Biden endorsed the ongoing effort to unionize the workforce at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama, giving hope to labor leaders.

Biden tweeted his support for the effort on Sunday, nearly one month after the Bessemer, Alabama warehouse workers began voting in favor of or against unionizing. Biden said workers in Alabama, and nationwide, deserved the right to choose for themselves whether they wanted to join the union, but didn’t mention Amazon by name.

Johnson and Johnson Ships 4 Million Vaccine Doses, Shots Expected Within 48 Hours

Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine began distribution across the country Monday, and the company’s CEO said shots could begin within 48 hours.

“We’re shipping 4 million [doses] literally as we speak,” Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky told NBC News Monday morning. “Within the next 24 to 48 hours, Americans should start receiving shots in arms.”

Gorsky added that the company was on track to distribute 100 million shots by the end of June and 1 billion by the end of 2021. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was recommended by the FDA’s vaccine advisory panel on Friday and officially approved one day later.

Legal Expert Criticizes University’s New COVID Violation Reporting App Funded by State’s Relief Fund

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill used money intended for COVID relief to create an app that allows people to report potential safety violations on campus and in the surrounding community.

The “SaferWays” application (right) encourages people to report violations on campus, such as a lack of social distancing and non-mask usage. Because the app updates in real-time, law enforcement or university administrators could use the app to pinpoint where to enforce infractions.

Official Navy Reading List Includes ‘Anti-Racism’ Books

The United States Navy’s official curriculum is set to include new books on “anti-racism” and “gender politics” that will further push the message of social justice in America’s military ranks, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

Of the 37 books included in the full reading list, 16 books are listed under the category of “personal and leadership development.” Of these 16, four of them deal directly with social justice; among the titles are How to be an Anti-Racist, The New Jim Crow, and Sexual Minorities and Politics. These four stand out in particular against the other 33, which focus on the more traditional subjects such as military strategy and the history of the Navy.

Biden State Dept. Creates ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ Position

President Biden’s State Department announced Wednesday the creation of a chief diversity officer position, as well as a council of deputy assistant secretaries from each of its bureaus, in an effort to bring “diversity and inclusion” to the department, Fox News reported.

“I am committed to bringing the diversity and inclusion work already underway at the State Department to the next level,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Wednesday. “To make that happen, I am pleased to announce the creation of a new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer position at State.”

Teachers Union Boss who Fought to Keep Schools Closed Caught Dropping Kid off at in-Person Preschool

Remember the Chicago teachers union bigwig who defended school closures while wearing a bathing suit in Baja? We’ve got another one.

In Northern California, the same guy who has been claiming schools are too unsafe to reopen apparently doesn’t practice what he preaches.

A video posted by a Twitter account called “guerillaMomz” shows the president of the Berkeley teachers union dropping his daughter off at in-person preschool.

Trump-Friendly Groups Ready to Take on Big Tech

March 2, 2021March 1, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

A trio of pro-Trump groups are ready to wage a massive battle against Silicon Valley titans of industry after the former president was drummed off social media prior to leaving office.

“The Center for American Restoration, the new organization stood up by former Trump administration official Russ Vought, is leading a coalition of groups calling for a ‘proliferation of legislative activity’ to reform Big Tech,” Axios reported.

Commentary: A Special Election to Recall Gov. Gavin Newsom Could Push California Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire