New York Attorney General Files Lawsuit to Dissolve NRA Over Fraud Accusations: ‘No Organization Is Above the – The Root

New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference announcing a lawsuit to dissolve the NRA on August 06, 2020, in New York City. Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images)

If you know you done fucked up, right? was a mood, it would look something like this:

CBNC reports that New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to dismantle the National Rifle Association, presumably because theyre a domestic terrorist organization, in a lawsuit filed on Thursday.

From CBNC:

According to the lawsuit, the senior leadership of the NRA squandered millions in donations on personal trips, private jets and expensive meals. The failure to lawfully manage the organizations funds contributed to losses of $64 million over three years, the suit says.

James is asking the court to dissolve the NRA and require each of the current and former executives named in the suit to pay full restitution. The suit argues that the four executives, including CEO Wayne LaPierre, shouldnt be permitted to ever again serve on the board of a New York charity.

And here I thought all the NRA did was buy off politicians, harass Congress, and attribute increasingly violent mass shootings to political correctness and the media.

The NRAs influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets, James said in a statement. The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.

G/O Media may get a commission

Except for the Trump Administrationbut you knew that already.

Much like the rest of the country, the NRA has spent its 2020 battling a financial crisis: Over 200 staff members have been laid off or furloughed. But the difference here is that the NRA was out here bad before COVID-19 put the world in a rear-naked choke, as The Guardian reports that the late John McCains pride and joy had its imminent demise expedited by a steep decline in revenue, exorbitant spending and political infighting.

The widespread COVID layoffs and furloughs have further harmed both the NRAs legal capacity and political influence beyond what was already a troubling deterioration, an anonymous NRA official told The Guardian in June. The official then called the NRAs inability to make it rain on politicians for the rest of the year deeply concerning.

I, for one, take tremendous joy in this lawsuit being filed and cant wait to do the Bankhead Bounce on the NRAs corpse.

In response, the NRA has dismissed the lawsuit as a baseless, premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment, and issued the following temper tantrum via Twitter:

Let me know how that whole prevail thing works out for yall, especially when going up against a Black woman. But presumably, the NRA can now use some of those same thoughts and prayers they boorishly offer every time theres a mass shooting.

You wont be missed.

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New York Attorney General Files Lawsuit to Dissolve NRA Over Fraud Accusations: 'No Organization Is Above the - The Root

Derek Sloan tries to be a Canadian Trump and that may be his downfall – The Globe and Mail

Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Derek Sloan arrives for the start of the English Leadership Debate in Toronto on June 18, 2020.

Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press

Derek Sloan is going full-on Donald Trump.

The Member of Parliament for HastingsLennox and Addington is expected to place last in his bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party, once the ballots are counted later this month. But winning may not be his goal.

There are people who long for the Canadian equivalent of the populist, nativist U.S. President. Mr. Sloan appears to want to be their champion. If thats true, not only will he not lead the Conservative Party, he may eventually not even be part of it.

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Mr. Sloan embraces the views of mainstream social conservatives, although his language is extreme: He calls efforts to combat global warming climate alarmism peddled by eco-radicals. He believes we have too many activist judges and that political correctness is a suffocating scourge. And of course he defends the rights of gun owners and those who oppose abortion. He would cut back heavily on immigration and limit LGBTQ rights.

But Mr. Sloan also goes places no Conservative should ever go. He got himself in hot water, last April, when he criticized Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam, asking Does she work for Canada, or for China? The Ontario caucus threatened to seek his expulsion, causing him to backtrack, saying he was misinterpreted. (He wasnt.)

More recently, Mr. Sloan has been giving comfort to those who dont like masks or vaccines.

He is 100 per cent opposed to requiring Canadians to take the coronavirus vaccine (if one arrives), or any other vaccine.

And being required to wear a mask in public isnt about science or law, its about control and compliance, he tweeted recently.

On Tuesday, the Governor of Mississippi made masks mandatory in indoor public spaces. As a Canadian Conservative, you know youve gone too far when you find yourself to the right of Republicans in Mississippi.

But Mr. Sloan is now the Canadian equivalent of Fox News. At the heart of the radical left lies a burning desire to destroy the family, he has declared. When we talk about the culture war, that is what is at stake. Its life or death. Its freedom or slavery.

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And of the leading candidates, former senior cabinet minister Peter MacKay and Durham MP Erin OToole, he wrote in French: Fake conservatives (faux conservateurs) like @ErinOTooleMP and @PeterMacKay dont share our values and wont fight for you like I will.

So after he loses, how will Mr. Sloan be able to sit in the Conservative caucus as a loyal supporter of whichever of those two becomes leader? How can he be expected to submit to the party whip on key votes?

Its probably only a matter of time before Mr. Sloan is expelled from the Conservative caucus, or leaves of his own accord, though the feeling inside the party is that Mr. OToole would cut him more slack than would Mr. MacKay.

Although most Conservative supporters are not social conservatives, so-cons are part of the blue coalition. Any effective leader must figure out how to incorporate the movement within a united, moderate Conservative Party.

But people within that movement have a much more effective champion in Leslyn Lewis, a self-proclaimed social conservative with graduate degrees in both law and environmental science.

Members are excited to support an urban, well-educated, professionally accomplished Black woman as a candidate, wrote Kory Teneycke, who was a senior adviser to then-prime minister Stephen Harper, in part because it counters the public perception (held with some cause) that the party is too rural, too male and too white.

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Ms. Lewis will become a major force within the party and within caucus if and when she wins a seat.

Mr. Sloan is not the first Conservative leadership candidate to bolt the party. Maxime Bernier founded the populist Peoples Party after losing in 2017 to Andrew Scheer. The new party did dismally in the 2019 election. But maybe Mr. Sloan and Mr. Bernier could join forces, with Mr. Sloan the voice of the Peoples Party in the House of Commons.

When you think about it, the two of them are made for each other.

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Derek Sloan tries to be a Canadian Trump and that may be his downfall - The Globe and Mail

Political correctness, the city attorney and ABC control on Aug. 25th ballot – Tulsa Beacon

Tulsans will also vote on five propositions on August 25 that deal with political correctness; nonpartisan elections; control of authorities, boards and commissions; and the status/role of the city attorney.

Proposition No. 1 would delete any references to partisan elections because Tulsas municipal elections are nonpartisan.

Proposition No. 2 would erase any gender specific pronouns or words in several sections of the City Charter.

Proposition No. 3 would allow the City Council and Mayor to remove members of authorities, boards and commissions by enacting an ordinance to do so.

Proposition No. 4 would amend the City Charter so that the city attorney would be appointed by mayor and be under Civil Service protection, subject to confirmation by the City Council.

Proposition No. 5 would expand the duties of the city attorney to not only advise the mayor but also the city auditor and city councilors.

It would also allow the councilors to pass an ordinance that is disapproved by the city attorney.

Shall the City Charter of the City of Tulsa, Article VI, Election and Qualification of Officers, Section 3.3, Refund of Filing Fee, and Section 5, State Laws Apply to All Elections, be amended by deleting any mention of primary (that is, partisan) elections?

Shall the City Charter of the City of Tulsa, Article VI, Election and Qualification of Officers, Section 3.3, Refund of Filing Fee and Section 7, Qualification of Officers; Article VII, Removal and Recall of Officers, Section 1.2, Grounds for Recall; Article XI, Fire Department, Section 3, FirefightersHow Appointed and Section 4.3, Decision, be amended to replace gender-specific pronouns with gender-neutral pronouns and other gender-neutral words?

Shall the City Charter of the City of Tulsa, Article XII, Miscellaneous Provisions, Section 4, Creation of Advisory Boards and Commissions and Section 11, Expiration of Terms and Appointments be amended to allow the Mayor and City Council to remove members of authorities, boards, commissions and agencies, after enacting an ordinance or ordinances for that purpose?

This is a proposed amendment to the Tulsa City Charter, that currently provides the Mayor with sole executive authority to appoint the City Attorney to either the Citys classified or unclassified service, which would amend the current Article X, Civil Service Commission and Merit System, by adding a new Section 4.1 to be entitled City Attorney appointment, requiring the Mayor to appoint future City Attorneys to the Merit Systems classified service, and the Mayors appointment shall be subject to confirmation by majority vote of the entire City Council.

Shall the City Charter of the City of Tulsa, Article X, Civil Service Commission and Merit System be amended by adding a new section, Section 4.1, to be entitled City Attorney appointment, providing that the person appointed by the Mayor to the office of City Attorney, which office is created by City Charter Article Ill, Section 4, shall be appointed to the classified service, and shall be subject to confirmation by the City Council?

This is a proposed amendment to Tulsas City Charter. The current Charter states that the City Attorney assists and advises the Mayor. In fact, the City Attorney advises not only the Mayor, but also the City Auditor, the City Council, and Councilors.

Likewise, the City Attorney is required to approve as to form and legality all City ordinances and resolutions, but the current City Charter does not state what effect absence of approval has on an ordinance or resolution. In fact, the absence of the City Attorneys approval would not necessarily prevent the enactment of an ordinance or resolution.

Shall the City Charter of the City of Tulsa, Article III. Mayor, Section 4, City Attorney be amended, by stating, at Section 4.C., that the City Attorney assists and advises the Mayor, the City Auditor, the City Council and Councilors, and by further stating, at Section 4.D., that the City Attorney approves as to form and legality all ordinances and resolutions, or declares, in writing if requested, the reasons for not approving them, provided that absence of this approval shall not prevent the Council and Mayor from duly enacting an ordinance or resolution?

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Political correctness, the city attorney and ABC control on Aug. 25th ballot - Tulsa Beacon

What in the world is happening to the United States of America? – Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Who among us that has been alive for more than five decades would believe what is happening today? Long-standing traditions the things upon which the nation was created and that allowed it to thrive are crumbling around us.

Once highly regarded qualities like righteousness, integrity and professionalism, have taken a beating over the last number of years. Career fields like education and journalism are now home to many who are willing to abandon their personal integrity, honesty, and professional ethics to indulge in indoctrination of students and the public at large for destabilizing political purposes.

Recent news reports told us that our gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 32.9 percent in the second quarter. Whether this news was a deliberate attempt to misinform in order to cast further negativity on President Donald Trump, or the result of ignorance on the part of these so-called journalists, is difficult to determine.

But what actually occurred was that the GDP actually shrank by much less, only 9.5 percent, in the second quarter, and 4.8 percent in the first quarter. If this trend continues through the rest of the year, the annualized decline will reach 32.9 percent.

We see the effects of miseducation as people who never learned about their country reject their access to the broadest set of opportunities to achieve success on the planet, favoring instead the fairytale of equality of outcomes.

Colleges, where people are supposed to learn much more about general studies and their chosen area of interest, have produced the woke movement which, in addition to being ineptly named, is a destructive force to which its practitioners are totally blind.

Wokeness was aptly described as pervasive trends under the guise of equality [that] makes diversity training in government, and corporate America, and schools, destructive, divisive, and harmful, by Angela Sailor, vice president of The Feulner Institute at The Heritage Foundation.

Professional sports and similar activities where people with high skills in a very narrow and unimportant area of life, like throwing, catching, hitting or shooting some sort of ball or other object make millions of dollars, are now decaying organizations where many or most members proudly dishonor the flag and National Anthem of the country that allowed them to be the wealthy and celebrated individuals that they have become. And they do so with the blessing of their team and league.

Politics and such off-shoots as political correctness, and the new fad of hypersensitivity over small or years-old irritants now are the focus of many education and news folk.

The selfish desires of a relative few now are expected to be accepted by everyone else, whether or not they see any value in those desires. If you do not automatically cow-tow to them, you may be the target of physical and other violence.

And the relatively recent advent of social media adds to the problem. Social media to an increasing degree controls what political information we can see on their platforms, and what cannot be seen. That is called censorship, which is not among the valued characteristics of our free country.

One example: Twitter removed the Star of David from several tweets, calling it a hateful image.

Another is that certain discussions about fighting the coronavirus are deemed inappropriate for you to see. Twitter has been identified as having taken down some tweets about a drug, hydroxychloroquine, that is favored by many physicians who have used the drug, and say it is effective against the virus.

In addition to Twitter, social media platforms Facebook and Google, and website hosting service Squarespace banned video from a group of physicians known as Americas Frontline Doctors about hydroxychloroquine.

A doctor in Tampa, Florida, who is lead physician at a medical office that has 8,000 patients, created a video about how she and other physicians were precluded from prescribing hydroxychloroquine for their patients, despite their previous experience with that medicine.

The brilliant constitutional attorney and author Mark Levin said that the Frontline Doctors video was not about the overthrow of America, not about anti-Semitism, not promoting terrorism but talking about experience, science, medical knowledge about hydroxychloroquine.

Apparently, Twitter, Facebook and Google know more about medicine than doctors. And furthermore, they think you shouldnt be able to get information on certain subjects without their guidance, which means providing only what they want you to know.

When someone is triggered by something virtually anything, these days suddenly there arises a movement to remove or replace that something without even a superficial attempt to understand that somethings complete nature. If one out a hundred things is bad, to the dump with it.

Through the decades, we learned to generally trust our teachers and news organizations. We expect school subjects to be presented wholly and without bias. Likewise, news is supposed to tell us the what, where, when, why and who of events, without opinion or bias.

When those rules are deliberately broken in order to control what the public knows, or how the public should think about things, then the result is what we see happening so often today: the sabotage of our country; the freest and most wonderful nation in history.

James H. Smokey Shott, a resident of Bluefield, Va., is a Daily Telegraph columnist. Contact him at james.shott@yahoo.com

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What in the world is happening to the United States of America? - Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Op-Ed: The cost of silence by the silent majority – The Center Square

The words 'silent majority' are very descriptive of what is happening with me.

President Donald Trump

The term silent majority has been used for centuries, referring to those who wont speak up for what they believe in.

In 1831, New York U.S. Rep. Churchill Cambreleng referred to those who refused to vote on a bill in Congress as the silent majority.

Responding to a ruling in 1902, Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan said, "Great captains on both sides of our Civil War have passed on to the silent majority.

In the 1919 presidential election, Bruce Barton wrote, "Calvin Coolidge always speaks up for the silent majority.

In 1969, during a nationally televised speech, President Richard Nixon said, To you, the great silent majority, my fellow Americans, I ask for your support.

Nixon believed the middle class was refusing to speak up about the failed policies of President Lyndon Johnson out of fear for being criticized by the outspoken minority: the liberal media.

If a leader isn't controversial, that means he never stood for anything.

President Nixon

Nixon was president during the Cold War. He knew the danger of censorship. The Soviet people lived in fear under communism. They dared not complain about shortages, poor housing or work conditions. If they spoke out against the government, they were severely punished or worse. Nothing was more restricting than watching every word said and pretending to believe untruths.

Among only trusted friends and family, did people dare to speak their mind. Even that was not safe since the youth was trained to report those who spoke up as traders. Of all aspects of totalitarian life, former residents of the tyrannical Eastern Bloc have mentioned, this was the hardest thing to explain to people who were born and raised in a democratic nation, especially one like America.

A recent study on American political attitudes revealed many people practice self-censorship. This includes sensitive topics such as racism, gay and lesbian issues, immigration, Islam and Muslims. A report by the Freedom Coalition found 44 percent of liberals agree there is pressure to speak a certain way on the same topics, and a stunning 67 percent of conservatives admit they refrain from stating sensitive opinions openly around everyone?

Silence is a fragile thing, one loud noise, and its gone.

Alan Moore

A report by More in Common, a group dedicated to understanding political polarization in the U.S., found 68 percent reported it is acceptable to express what they think about race, or Islam, only among those like them. On immigration, 73 percent felt that way. On gay and lesbian issues, the figure is 70 percent. Again there was a large discrepancy between liberals and conservatives who believed they could speak freely. Analysis surmised political correctness is a major problem plaguing American politics today.

A recent Cato study found one-third of Americans are silent out of fear it could cost them their jobs or friendships. More than 60 percent said todays political climate kept them from expressing support of political causes. A total of 77 percent of Republicans claimed to practice self-censorship; 59 percent of independents and 50 percent of moderates did the same. Yet most every leftist admitted they hold nothing back speaking about their socio-political beliefs.

Liberals know so many things that aren't so.

President Ronald Reagan

Free speech in America never has been denied by threat of death or punishment, such as in Russia. Thats why political scientists wonder why the left is so vocal on social and political issues, while so many conservatives remain silent? For the past decade, the cleavage between the left and the right defending their beliefs has grown exponentially for the left and has gone backward for the right.

Conservatives, and many independents, have strong convictions regarding abortion, terrorism, the separation of church and state, immigration, the environment, marriage, taxes, deficits, vouchers, gun control, health care, social security, education and media bias. Yet there is a growing number whove thrown in the towel and have become card carrying members of the silent majority. Why?

The Beacon Group, a political think tank, concluded much of this new conservative coward-ness is a result of the GOPs failure to support Trump during the last election. Although he was the clear choice of conservatives and independents, the GOP did everything in its power to derail the Trump express. And most of his Congress did the same. By the time they realized Trump was real and a proven winner and had turned the country around, the GOP had destroyed its brand.

Since Trump took office, the left and liberal media have worked overtime criticizing every elected Republican. Theyve called them fascists, homophobes, criminals, dictators, racists and tyrants. And too few of their supporters have fought back. The socialist left makes media headlines everyday accusing Trump of high crimes against the U.S. They blame him for the worldwide pandemic, and the silent majority doesnt make a peep to defend Trump.

We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Martin Luther King

From the District of Columbia to Portland, Ore., we're witnessing mob violence, looting, the burning of cities, destruction of landmarks, shootings and assaults on police, and few on the right are stepping up to this. Cities are defunding police departments, mobs are maiming and killing law abiding citizens, and the media doesnt even report this. And the silent majority meekly complains to friends and on social media, hoping the violence will end if the socialist left wins every political office next election. Then they will complain only to each other as they lose liberty while socialism consumes America.

Much like Eastern Europes socialists and communists after World War II, the socialist left has a well oiled machine working 24/7 to infiltrate every institution in America and take total control of our republic. Every one of President Barack Obamas former campaign offices is a command post with the ability to mobilize local leftist groups within hours after an event takes place. They have armies of protesters ready to do what they can do to disrupt any event they wish, and the silent majority does nothing but bellyache and cry the blues about it on social media.

I may assume that your silence gives consent?

Plato

The world underestimated Adolf Hitler in 1938. The French and the British believed they could appease Hitler. Czechoslovakia, Romania and Poland refused Soviet help to protect them, and President Franklin Roosevelt believed Hitler was no threat to America. Europe relied on Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to appease Hitler by offering him Sudetenland. Yet a year later, these same countries and more were involved in the second Great War.

Its been said, All is fair in love, war and politics. The left has proven this. And the right helped to poison the water in their well. The GOP doesnt have the ability to turn this around on its own. Party leadership cant win a race for dog catcher in south central Los Angeles. The only hope for GOP and America to maintain the values we hold dearly and continue to protect world liberty is for the silent majority to stand up and start doing what all good Americans must do now: speak out and fight back before we lose it all! For, liberty once lost is lost forever. And in politics, silence is not golden and the meek shall not inherit anything.

Silence is the virtue of fools.

Francis Bacon

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Op-Ed: The cost of silence by the silent majority - The Center Square

POLITICO Playbook PM: Why the Capitol needs testing – POLITICO – Politico

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) went back to his office after he tested positive for Covid-19 to talk to his staff. | Matt McClain-Pool/Getty Images

SHORTLY AFTER WE REPORTED that Rep. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-Texas) had tested positive for Covid-19, we got an email from one of his aides saying this:

JAKE, THANK YOU for letting our office know Louie tested positive for the Coronavirus. When you write your story, can you include the fact that Louie requires full staff to be in the office, including three interns, so that we could be an example to America on how to open up safely. When probing the office, you might want to ask how often were people berated for wearing masks.

A FEW THINGS ARE CLEAR after covering Washington for four months in the coronavirus era: Most people are taking this seriously, but not everyone. And all it takes is one irresponsible person -- an armchair scientist who decides masks arent for them, or their entire office should work in person in the middle of a pandemic -- for many of us to get sick with a virus that could kill us. (GOHMERT says he mightve gotten Covid from wearing a mask, per an interview he gave to a local affiliate.)

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS arrive here from all over America nearly every week. They cant conduct their business from afar -- fair enough. But neither can we -- journalists -- or the House and Senate floor staff, maintenance workers or anyone who has to keep this massive complex afloat.

YET, THE CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP refuses to require testing or masks for the people who come into the building each week.

LETS BE REAL: The Capitol has superspreader written all over it. People are coming off planes, out of cars, and many of them cant be relied upon to follow basic masking rules that are mandatory across the country.

GOHMERT went back to his office after he tested positive to talk to his staff! On Tuesday, he was in close proximity to A.G. BILL BARR. (h/t OLIVIA BEAVERS)

TO BE FAIR, Sen. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-Tenn.) has been beating the drum for widespread testing for some time. Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) said today he has a point.

TESTING FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS is up to Speaker NANCY PELOSI and Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL. The White House has offered it to the Hill.

CREDIT WHERE ITS DUE, PAUL KANE of WaPo says it the best: If youre a caddy on the PGA Tour or professional baseball player, youre facing a tougher Covid testing regime than members of Congress.

JAKES GOHMERT SCOOP: Gohmert was scheduled to fly to Texas on Wednesday morning with President Donald Trump and tested positive in a pre-screen at the White House. The eighth-term Republican told CNN last month that he was not wearing a mask because he was being tested regularly for the coronavirus.

[I]f I get it, he told CNN in June, you'll never see me without a mask. Reps. Mario Diaz Balart (R-Fla.), Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Ben McAdams (D-Utah) and Tom Rice (R-S.C.) have tested positive for the virus, along with Sen. Rand Paul.

WE EMAILED three people in GOHMERTS office this morning once we heard about the positive test. They all ignored it. When we finally got CONNIE HAIR, GOHMERTS chief of staff, on the phone, she said she would not answer any questions because POLITICO is a propaganda outlet.

Good Wednesday afternoon.

A message from Facebook:

Its time for updated internet regulations to prevent election interference. Weve more than tripled our security and safety teams to 35,000 people, added 5-step political ad verification and partnered with security researchers, other tech companies and law enforcement to combat foreign election interference. Whats next? We support updated internet regulations.

IN THIS MORNINGS PLAYBOOK, we gave you a guide for how to interpret Congress-speak on big negotiations. But theres no translator necessary for this comment from Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN this morning: As of now, we are very apart.

ANOTHER WHIRLWIND DAY MCCONNELL will host W.H. COS MARK MEADOWS and MNUCHIN at the Senate lunch at 1 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., MEADOWS and MNUCHIN have another meeting with PELOSI and Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER. MEADOWS and MNUCHIN will then meet with MCCONNELL.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP told reporters this morning that Washington should focus on payments and stopping evictions now, and the rest of a Covid relief bill afterward, per pooler ANNE GEARAN of WaPo. More from Marianne LeVine and Sarah Ferris

WATCH FOR THIS: We hear some Republicans -- administration members and members of Congress -- will propose some combination of a short-term extension of the current enhanced federal unemployment policy, which would be $600 extra, along with an eviction moratorium and direct payments.

-- THE $600 QUESTION: Is $600 a Week in Extra Unemployment Aid Deterring People From Seeking Work? by WSJs Kate Davidson: Many economists who have studied the benefits say they so far dont see evidence in labor market data that the payments are affecting the rate at which people are returning to work during the pandemic.

A study published this month by Yale University economists found that workers with more-generous jobless benefits didnt experience larger employment declines when the benefits took effect and that they have returned to their previous jobs at similar rates as others. Some businesses have said the size of the payments was a factor in getting people to return to work, and some workers have cited the benefits as a reason for not returning to work. WSJ

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PORTLAND LATEST @OregonGovBrown: After my discussions with VP Pence and others, the federal government has agreed to withdraw federal officers from Portland. They have acted as an occupying force & brought violence. Starting tomorrow, all Customs and Border Protection & ICE officers will leave downtown Portland.

THE TRUMP DOCTRINE -- Pentagon plans to pull 11,900 troops from Germany, Esper says, by Stars and Stripes Corey Dickstein: The plan would fulfill President Donald Trumps demands to remove thousands of troops from Germany, which he has long derided as delinquent on its defense spending obligations within NATO. The announcement also comes after a monthslong review of American force strength in Europe. Stars and Stripes

BIG TECH ON THE HILL -- Why Amazon may have the most to lose from techs Hill showdown, by Leah Nylen: Amazon has steadily attracted ire from both the right and left in recent years for its uncommon influence over the way much of America lives. Live updates from Leah, Nancy Scola and John Hendel

-- MEANWHILE MNUCHIN said a recommendation to TRUMP about TIKTOK is coming this week.

BOUNTYGATE LATEST -- @axios: NEW: President Trump tells @jonathanvswan on #AxiosOnHBO that he didnt raise the issue of alleged bounties on U.S. troops during his call with Vladimir Putin last week: That was a phone call to discuss other things. The interview clip

SIREN -- At least 54 hospitals have reached ICU capacity in Florida, by CNNs Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt: Another 44 hospitals have 10% or less ICU capacity available, according to [the Agency for Health Care Administration]. AHCA reports about 16% ICU beds are available across the State of Florida.

THE BIG PICTURE -- A Viral Epidemic Splintering Into Deadly Pieces, by NYTs Donald McNeil Jr.: Each state, each city has its own crisis driven by its own risk factors: vacation crowds in one, bars reopened too soon in another, a revolt against masks in a third. The New York Times interviewed 20 public health experts not just clinicians and epidemiologists, but also historians and sociologists, because the spread of the virus is now influenced as much by human behavior as it is by the pathogen itself.

Overall, the scientists conveyed a pervasive sense of sadness and exhaustion. Where once there was defiance, and then a growing sense of dread, now there seems to be sorrow and frustration, a feeling that so many funerals never had to happen and that nothing is going well. The United States is a wounded giant, while much of Europe, which was hit first, is recovering and reopening although not to us. NYT

-- WAPO: Young people are infecting older family members in shared homes, by Lenny Bernstein: As the death toll escalates in coronavirus hot spots, evidence is growing that young people who work outside the home, or who surged into bars and restaurants when states relaxed shutdowns, are infecting their more vulnerable elders, especially family members.

Front-line caregivers, elected officials and experts in Houston, South Florida and elsewhere say they are seeing patterns of hospitalization and death that confirm fears this would happen, which were first raised in May and June. WaPo

HUNT FOR A VACCINE -- Most voters say theyd rather wait for an effective coronavirus vaccine, by Zachary Brennan: More than 60 percent of voters think the U.S. should fully test any coronavirus vaccine even if that delays rolling it out and allows the virus to keep spreading in the meantime, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. Just 22 percent of respondents said the government should make a vaccine available as soon as possible, even if it had not been fully tested. POLITICO The poll

-- The ultimate geopolitical game distributing a coronavirus vaccine, by Ashleigh Furlong

OMINOUS SIGN -- Michigan Threatens to Slip From Trump as He Goes Quiet on Airwaves, by NYTs Shane Goldmacher and Kathleen Gray: Since the end of June, Mr. Trump has spent more money on ads in 10 other states with Michigan falling behind even much smaller states like Iowa and Nevada and in recent days, Mr. Trumps campaign stopped buying ads in Michigan entirely. Mr. Trumps campaign has downplayed any talk of retreat. NYT

SCOTUS WATCH -- CNNS JOAN BISKUPIC: How Brett Kavanaugh tried to sidestep abortion and Trump financial docs cases: Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh urged his colleagues in a series of private memos this spring to consider avoiding decisions in major disputes over abortion and Democratic subpoenas for President Donald Trumps financial records, according to multiple sources familiar with the inner workings of the court. CNN

THE CITIZENS UNITED LEGACY -- Americas Elections Are Becoming Contaminated With Untraceable Cash, by The Daily Beasts Lachlan Markay: Political donations by non-disclosing groups have skyrocketed in recent years. During the 2018 election cycle, such groups provided roughly $178 million to federal political committees, according to data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2020, theyre on track to far surpass that total. By the end of June, non-disclosing groups had donated $177 million to federal political committees, per CRP data.

The result, experts say, has been an erosion of fundamental rules governing American elections and the growing amounts of money spent to affect their outcomes. The phenomenon is not confined to one political side or the other. Daily Beast

TRUMP TRIES TO PIVOT -- Chicago becomes a stage for fulfilling a conservative battle, by Shia Kapos and Tina Nguyen: The prospect of federal agents being deployed to Chicago marked the realization of long-held conservative aspirations. Conservative media for decades have painted Americas third-largest city as a national hub of gun violence and gang activity, crippled by what they see as political correctness thwarting real solutions.

Now President Donald Trump is indulging the dream more than any national leader in recent history, attempting to turn a major liberal city into an election-year example of his pledge to deliver law and order across the country. The presidents drumbeat of attention on Chicago with a pledge to send in hundreds of federal agents to quell the citys gun violence problem has turned into a stampede of voices designed to rally his troops in the culture wars. POLITICO

VEEPSTAKES -- Biden VP finalist Val Demings says a medical issue six years ago forced her to drop out of a race. But shes never said what the issue was, and staffers say she quit because she was losing, by Business Insiders Kayla Epstein, Elvina Nawaguna and Darren Samuelsohn

BATTLE FOR THE SENATE -- The nastiest Republican primary in the country, by Alex Thompson and James Arkin: The race was never supposed to be competitive: The Trump-backed candidate, Bill Hagerty who served as the presidents ambassador to Japan was on a glide path. But as the contest has tightened in the run-up to the Aug. 6 election, Hagertys main opponent, Manny Sethi, has found traction by claiming to be the true, unapologetic Trumpian conservative in the race while blasting Hagerty as a squishy, Mitt Romney-loving phony.

Hagerty largely ignored Sethi most of the race seemingly confident of his lead which his internal polls had at 17 points until earlier this month, when he abruptly went on the offensive. [T]he battle is a window into the changing nature of the Republican Party, in which economic populism is in vogue, and race and identity have been thrust to the fore. POLITICO

MAKING MOVES -- Republican China Hawks Secretly Approaching Team Biden, by The Daily Beasts Erin Banco and Hanna Trudo

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IMMIGRATION FILES -- BIG INVESTIGATION: Lured to America then trapped: Visas for farmworkers have surged under Trump. But the program has subjected some workers to horrific abuse, by NBCs Suzy Khimm and Daniella Silva in Blackshear, Ga.

BOOK CLUB -- Ex-CIA director Brennan writes in upcoming memoir that Trump blocked access to records and notes, by WaPos Shane Harris: In the fall of 2018, when former CIA director John Brennan decided to write his memoir, he asked the agency for his official records The CIA, where Brennan had worked for nearly 30 years, said no. It was a break with decades of tradition. After months of haggling, Brennan learned that the CIA was following the orders of the man he had spent the previous two years publicly excoriating

Brennan recounts his battles with the president in the memoir he eventually wrote, with limited access to unclassified and heavily redacted material: Undaunted: My Fight Against Americas Enemies, at Home and Abroad. The Washington Post reviewed portions of the book, which is scheduled to be published on Oct. 6. [N]ational security experts said theyd never heard of a president targeting a former high-ranking official this way, critic or otherwise. WaPo $21.49 on Amazon

MEDIAWATCH -- THE WASHINGTON POST is now capitalizing both Black and White. Announcement

-- Ruth Graham is joining the NYT as a national correspondent covering religion, faith and values. She most recently has been a staff writer at Slate. Announcement

IN MEMORIAM -- WNDU: Former Indiana Governor Joseph E. Kernan dies at 74: Earlier today, Joseph E. Kernan, 48th Governor of the State of Indiana passed away following a long illness. [I]n 1987, he was elected to his first of three consecutive terms as mayor of the City of South Bend. When Governor [Frank] OBannon died unexpectedly of a stroke in 2003, Kernan was sworn in as the states 48th Governor. Kernan made history immediately by appointing Kathy Davis as Indianas first female Lt. Governor.

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POLITICO Playbook PM: Why the Capitol needs testing - POLITICO - Politico

John Cleese’s show was more of a TED talk, but without any technical whizz-bangs – iNews

At the age of 80, John Cleese probably doesnt much care what people think of him. But then, when you were one-sixth of Monty Python and co-creator of one of TVs funniest sitcoms, you can afford not to play to the gallery as the royalties from Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers still roll in (even if, as he never tires of telling his audiences, a fair chunk goes in alimony.)

A cynic might say that explains why his new show, Why There Is No Hope, has so few laughs but, to be fair, it was livestreamed from an empty Cadogan Hall, which killed many of his jokesstone dead.

He began, though, with a splendid, affectionate jibe at a fellow Python, saying that we were at a gathering of Michael Palins fan club.

Without laughter greeting Cleeses subtle digs and more obvious barbs at some of his pet hates (critics, politicians, Rupert Murdoch, the cult of celebrity, political correctness and TV comedy commissioners, the list is rather long) the hour came across as more of a TED talk, but without any technical whizz-bangs.

Which is not to say it wasnt enjoyable and often humorous. Cleese is super bright, still very much engaged with the world and reads voraciously, and it showed. He referenced his sources and threw in quotes from Oscar Wilde, Lord Kelvin and Bertrand Russell, among many.

His contention is based on the Dunning-Kruger Effect a scientific study that suggests the more stupid people are, the less awareness they have of quite how stupid they are even if they are at the top of their profession.

He made a persuasive case, sometimes using examples from his long career, that those who have power are often the least deserving of it; most TV and film executives, he told us, thought his greatest career achievements would never be hits; and while addressing the Wests politics his views were clear: were being led by numpties. Boris Johnson was dismissed as a disappointing mini-Trump.

Yet for all the elegant theorising and erudition it was a shame, seeing that this rather strange event was so shaped by Covid-19 restrictions, that there was only a tangential mention of it.

But then maybe a compare and contrast of how, for example, New Zealand and the UK have responded to this existential threat might not fit his opinion that all politicians are rubbish because they are fuelled by ego, rather than a desire to do good.

And his view of millennials that they have only a seven-second attention span sounded just plain oldcurmudgeonly.

The show ended with a Q&A with Richard Norris, Cleeses PA. Sadly it did not enlighten us or elicit any more gems.

THEARTSDESK.COM

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John Cleese's show was more of a TED talk, but without any technical whizz-bangs - iNews

Letter to editor: ‘Cancel Culture’ at work in this county – The Herald Bulletin

I read Kelly Hawes' column on July 25, and I have to agree. Today's "Cancel Culture" goes too far. And our country suffers for it.

And then I thought: We have a perfect example of it here in Madison County. Rodney Cummings' forcing the court to "cancel" out Jaime Hudson's job by political maneuvering instead of proper legal and job-law channels is a textbook example of the "Cancel Culture" at work. Almost every aspect of this debacle is on full display for all to see. Little thought is given to the concepts of truth, logic, second chances, or even compassion. Everything given to political expediency, bowing to political correctness, and election-year manipulation.

How incredibly sad all around. It also goes against the concepts of due process, freedom of speech, innocent unless proven guilty, tolerance of others' opinions, equal protection under the law, and several other American and Christian principles.

And what is really sad, is that all of this could have been avoided. This is Indiana, a so-called "Right to Work" state. Both Mr. Cummings and Judge Norrick, being Republicans, are fully aware of this. In Indiana, anyone may be fired from their job at any time, without advanced notice or hearing, for any reason deemed necessary, except for those listed qualities of the federally protected classes. This "union busting" set of laws ensures that anyone can be fired for almost any reason, including no reason at all.

What happened instead does make for dramatic political theater, though.

David Seal, Anderson

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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Letter to editor: 'Cancel Culture' at work in this county - The Herald Bulletin

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Weary of people’s ignorance of history – Scottsbluff Star Herald

To the Editor:

As a born Wyomingite and an 82-year-old mostly Apache, I am weary of peoples ignorance of history, placing todays social mores on yesterday, political correctness and snowflake mentality and just plain destroying the first amendment.

Where did the name Redskins derive? From native warriors. Red was the most prominent color for warpaint. Many times bodies were painted completely red for war with smaller overlaying designs that had meaning for each individual Red Color Symbolizes war, blood, strength, energy, power and success in war but if not paint for war it would also symbolize happiness and beauty in face paint

Because of the predominance of red paint for war the first Europeans who arrived called native peoples Redskins. If that is racist then so is Red Coats which everyone white, black and red called British soldiers because of their red uniforms. I am amazed at the ignorance of history and lack of personal pride todays young American Indians have so they think it an insult to choose names like chiefs, redskins, braves etc. for team mascot names. Those names are chosen out of respect and admiration of native peoples character such as; Bravery, tenacity, fortitude, courage, boldness, strength, valor, patience, endurance, daring, perseverance and just plain guts to keep fighting-on no matter the odds to preserve their way of life. If teams didnt want a mascot to admire they would choose names such as caterpillars, snails, slugs, worms, maggots or cockroaches.

Paul Puebla

Torrington

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Weary of people's ignorance of history - Scottsbluff Star Herald

We don’t need to worry about ‘racist’ teachers! – The Conservative Woman

THERE are many areas of failure within our school system. Teaching quality is variable and academic standards are well below those in the best educational systems around the world. In addition, pupil behaviour is often poor and parental support inadequate.

Teacher training is inclined to regard schooling as being more about therapy than about the acquisition of subject knowledge. Too often its main focus is on political correctness. As a consequence, many schools have succumbed, sometimes unconsciously, to a philosophical outlook that is narrow-minded and dogmatic. Strangulation of alternative views and open discussion has become the norm. Closing down debate and the promotion of ignorance is applauded, however inadvertently.

When, indeed, it comes to the enforcement of political correctness, the UK sits alongside the United States as world-beating. I know from parents who write to me that teachers are even telling pupils that answers to exam questions must be not only correct, they must be politically correct.

Above all else, within todays moral quagmire, schools have embraced an anti-racist creed. Treat others as you wish to be treated, the non-negotiable requirement that as a headteacher I used to impose on pupils, is no longer enough. Far from it! Teachers now have to play the role of thought-police in the classroom.

That racial bullying has been a problem in some schools appears clear. It should be unequivocally condemned, as should all bullying. The pendulum of prejudice, however, is now moving in the opposite direction. The new racism is anti-racism. Aberrant opinion that fails to classify all blacks as victims is distinctly off-message and, consequently, punishable. The enthusiasm amongst young people for moral crusading and for metaphorical self-flagellation over the sins of the past is evidence of successful brainwashing in schools and universities. The herd instinct of supposedly well-educated young people has rarely been stronger or more intolerant.

It comes as a surprise, then, to learn that the BBC feels the need to tell us that schools have a statutory duty not to discriminate against pupils over race.Schools may be saturated in anti-racism but it seems they are not saturated enough. Black pupils, the BBC reports, are disproportionately hit with fixed-term exclusions in England by three times as many in some places, data shows.

The data has been highlighted by Lib-Dem education spokesman Layla Moran. It is a glaring injustice, she told the BBC, that black pupils growing up across the country are so much more likely to be excluded from school than their peers.

TheGuardianputs it all down to hair. The UK school system has a problem with afro-textured hair, its readers are informed by Emma Dabiri, academic, broadcaster and author of Dont Touch My Hair.

It turns out, though, that the exclusion rate for black children is trumped by those from a Roma/gypsy background.Mihai Calin Bica of the Roma Support Group toldtheIndependentthat he thought more cultural awareness in schools could support these pupils. Schools need to better engage with Roma communities, he said.

And, would you believe it, the official data on which pupil exclusion rates are based, has a different category for the group topping the exclusion table. Children on free school meals, including blacks and Roma, are four times more likely to be excluded than their classmates.

So it is back to a predominance of less well-off, white working-class pupils who are mostly excluded from school.

Calls for schools to become more accommodating of different cultural backgrounds should not be ignored but in practice it could lead to severe fractures in the school community. One rule for the blacks and one rule for the Roma, one rule for the well-off whites and one rule for the poor whites. And what about the LBGT community in schools and those of different faiths and so on and so on?

I have long been critical of what goes on in schools but the current suggestion that school leaders are insufficiently anti-racist is absurd. It is the very opposite of the truth. Schools may be failing in many areas but, to a fault, the teaching profession does not fail the anti-racist test.

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We don't need to worry about 'racist' teachers! - The Conservative Woman

NJ Legislature voted on over 100 bills today. Here are the ones you should know about – NorthJersey.com

From rules governing pets at restaurants to bills concerning mortgage relief and the removal of Confederate statues, New Jersey lawmakers votedon a long list of proposals on Thursday.

The bills have to be passed by the Senate and Assembly, both of whichconvened in Trenton, and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy before becoming law. There's also a slew of bills that would reform policing and criminal justice practices. Here's a separate look at what happened with those measures.

Here are the notable bills they considered:

If Murphy signs S-19, New Jersey will have a new official state holiday: Juneteenth, or the day enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the Civil War ended. The third Friday in June would be a paid holiday for state government workers, adding to New Jerseys 13 public holidays. The Assembly passed the measure 62-0, with 12 lawmakers abstaining, to send the bill to Murphy's desk.

Both chambers passeda measure (S-855/A-3594) to change the title of county-level public leaders from freeholders to county commissioners. No state other than New Jersey uses the term freeholder, which is rooted in an old English term to describe someone who owns land free of debt. At the time, few women and Black people owned property, giving white men the political power.

This is not a matter of political correctness; it is a corrective action to replace an outdated designation that is rooted in institutional prejudice, Murphy, Sweeney and Coughlin said in a joint statement supporting the change. The Senate passed the bill 31-6, and the Assembly 61-12.

The Assembly passed a resolution (AR-178)urging the U.S. Congress to pass a bill to remove statues of Confederate leaders from the U.S. Capitol.The vote was54-1 with 17 abstentions.Assemblyman Brian Bergen, R-Morris,was the sole no vote.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to remove statues, such as the bust of Confederate Secretary of War John Cabell Breckinridge.

Those who committed treason against the United States, and led the nation into its most painful and bloody war to preserve the institution of slavery, are not patriots and should not be afforded the honor of having their images on display in the United States Capitol, the New Jersey resolution reads. The state Senate did not vote on the resolution.

Renters who are financially hurt by the pandemic could not be evicted, penalized or fined for not paying rent during a public health emergency or 60 days after, if they qualify for relief under A-4034.

And for homeowners andcertain residential landlords who qualify, creditors would be required to let them delay mortgage payments through the 60-day grace period.

The catch-up payments would be added on to the end of a mortgage, not tacked on all at once when the public emergency is over, and landlords would have to agree to an affordable rental repayment plan with tenants.

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The Assembly passed the bill with a 46-22 vote Thursday, and the Senate passed an earlier version in April with a 38-0 vote. The bill would retroactively apply to missed mortgage and rent payments starting March 9.

I applauded the governor back in March when he announced a freeze on evictions and foreclosures and a mortgage forbearance, said Joe Mangino, board president of the New Jersey Organizing Project. I reached out to my bank and realized the fine print banks were being asked to defer the forbearance payment to the end of the loan. This was voluntary and there was no mandate ... my mortgage company is expecting a lump-sum payment to bring my mortgage current. We need to give homeowners and renters a fighting chance to survive.

Just as the coronavirus pulled the state budget into turmoil to the tune of nearly $10 billion, local governments have seen a drop in revenues, and some have warned that employee layoffs are necessary to balance the books. One bill, S-2475, would give local governments the authority to borrow money by issuing bonds if other revenue streams like federal and state cash aid have dried up. Bonds would be repaid by property tax revenues, according to a summary of the bill. The last-resort borrowing must be done within two years of the end of the public health emergency, which is still in effect. The Senate passed the legislation with a vote of 25-15. The Assembly passed a similar version of this bill in May.

State officials are making contact tracing the practice of informing people they may have come into contact with someone exposed to the virus a central part of the reopening plan, and lawmakers want to make sure information gathered during the process remains protected. Assembly bill A-4170 would require public health entities or third parties to limit use of personal data to contact tracing only, and delete the information or any parts of it that can identify an individual within 90 days. A violation, if the bill becomes law, could warrant a $10,000 penalty. The Assembly passed the bill 55-18. The Senate has not voted on it.

Short-term and vacation rental services like Airbnb would be required to provide refunds or credits to people who had planned to visit New Jersey during the coronavirus pandemic but who canceled their trips. Senate bill S-2412 would require that refunds be offered for trips between March, when the virus first hit New Jersey, and the end ofSeptember, ifthey were booked by July 1. The Senate passed the bill 32-5. The Assembly has not voted on the bill.

Both the Senate and Assembly passed resolutions (SCR-123/ACR-188) that would put a question on the November ballotasking voters whether delayed 2020 census results should also delay the state's redistricting process. The census's population counts are used to redraw lines for the districts that state Senators and Assembly members are elected to represent. The Assembly passed the resolution with a vote of 51-26 andthe Senate voted 25-15, both clearing the required three-fifths threshold.

Census officials have cited the coronavirus and said results won't be delivered to states on time. If the results arrive after Feb. 15, 2021, and New Jersey voters approve this change, redistricting would be delayed and new maps would not be used until 2023.

Critics of the change say delaying redistricting would cut out the voices of minority communities whose population has grown since the last census, in 2010.

"Indeed, the interests of Black and brown communities in New Jersey who confront some of the worst racial disparities in the country and who are now facing the worst of this pandemic must be prioritized," Henal Patel, director of the democracy and justice program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, said during testimony against the bill this month. Patel spoke on behalf of a group of advocates, activists and academics called the United Black Agenda.

Republicans have also blasted the plan that Senate Democrats, including sponsor Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, have said is necessary to ensure that new election districts are accurate.

"This is being done in the middle of a pandemic," Senate Republican Leader Thomas Kean Jr.,of Union County, said in a statement. "Stakeholders and communities of interest who will be impacted the most will have little opportunity to engage in a debate over such an important constitutional change."

Both chambers passed a bill (S-2676/A-4389) to impose an annual 2.5% state tax on net premiums of most health insurers, which is expected to raise $900 million starting in 2021. The tax would flow to a health insurance affordability fund, which would subsidize premiums for those who buy their own health insurance and the states reinsurance pool that helps companies pay large claims.

The bill would also require a report examining how the policy affects racial disparities in health insurance coverage, and recommendations on how to increase affordable health care options and reduce the uninsured rate.

Murphy, an advocate for the bill, said the tax will replace a federal levy that sunsets at the end of this year. Business and insurance representatives opposed to the bill argue that employers would see their premiums increase, as insurers pass on the cost of the tax. As small businesses struggle with the economic recession brought on by the pandemic, the timing is not ideal, they argue.

The Assembly passed the bill 43-0, and the Senate 22-16.

NJ education: More in New Jersey contemplating all-remote education as first day of school approaches

'Can Igetout of here before I die?': Virus slows, but did NJ do enough to keep inmates safe?

Pet dogs would be allowed in outdoor dining areas under a bill the Senate passed 39-0. S-766 addresses a gray area between health regulations and state law and says yes, you can take your dog to dine with you outside. (It also puts into law measures to prevent contamination of food and utensils should animals go inside.) Libby the French bulldog, rejoice!

Ashley Balcerzak is a reporter in the New Jersey Statehouse.For unlimited access to her work coveringNew Jerseys legislature and political power structure,please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email:balcerzaka@northjersey.comTwitter:@abalcerzak

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NJ Legislature voted on over 100 bills today. Here are the ones you should know about - NorthJersey.com

What to call the 20%? | Jesus Creed | A Blog by Scot Mcknight – ChristianityToday.com

This is a fact: some 80% of white evangelical Christians (who voted) voted for Donald J. Trump. This too is a fact: he not only is not one of them but he flaunts Christianitys essential teachings and behaviors, and evangelicals both supported him in record numbers and have not criticized him (though it appears to me the tide is turning).

In Kristin Kobes De Mezs paradigm-influencing study of American evangelicalism, Jesus and John Wayne, the question of How did evangelicals support Trump?, is the driving question. The whole books expounds a thick cultural narrative of the decisive dimension of that culture that approved Trump.

Why Trump?, many wondered, including many evangelicals themselves. For decades, the Religious Right had been kindling fear in the hearts of American Christians. It was a tried-and-true recipe for their own success. Communism, secular humanism, feminism, multilateralism, Islamic terrorism, and the erosion of religious freedom- evangelical leaders had rallied support by mobilizing followers to fight battles on which, the fate of the nation, and their own families, seemed to hinge. Leaders of the Religious Right had been amping up their rhetoric over the course of the Obama administration. The first African American president, the sea change in LGBTQ rights, the apparent erosion of religious freedom - coupled with looming demographic changes and the declining religious loyalty of their own children - heightened the sense of dread among white evangelicals.

Evangelicals were looking for a protector, an aggressive, heroic, manly man, someone who wasnt restrained by political correctness or feminine virtues, someone who would break the rules for the right cause.

Why? How could a movement shaped by biblical faith come so uniformly to terms with Trump? Her answer to this question calls into question the integrity of cultural evangelicalism.

Were they fake evangelicals while true evangelicals did not support him? (no) Was about an economic motivation, that Trump would stimulate the economy? (no) Was it about status in society that could be restored? (in part) Was it pragmatic so that many held their noses? (no) Was it the promise to appoint the right kind of justices to the Supreme Court? (in part) Was it hypocritical to vote for a person who is character challenged? (yes) [SMcK: I think more space cold be given to never a Democrat for a significant reason.]

Du Mezs theory is soundly argued on the basis of a cultural history of evangelicalism that establishes that evangelicalism the four major lanes anyway is a cultural movement and not just a theological movement. If the theologians want to define evangelicalism with four or five major tenets, that is but the express lane. The majority of the lanes are populated by cultural evangelicals. Culture evangelicalism supported Trump. She claims more: Trump was all but inevitable as a magnet for evangelicals.

What attracted them to Trump was nothing less that the formation of a militant masculine Christianity.

Evangelicals hadnt betrayed their values. Donald Trump was the culmination of their half century-long pursuit of a militant Christian masculinity. He was the reincarnation of John Wayne, sitting tall in the saddle, a man who wasnt afraid to resort to violence to bring order, who protected those deemed worthy of protection, who wouldnt let political correctness get in the way of saying what had to be said or the norms of democratic society keep him from doing what needed to be done. Unencumbered by traditional Christian virtue, he was a warrior in the tradition (if not the actual physical form) of Mel Gibsons William Wallace. He was a hero for God-and-country Christians in the line of Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, and Oliver North, one suited for Duck Dynasty Americans and American Christians. He was the latest and greatest high priest of the evangelical cult of masculinity.

Such a view worked back into reshaping Jesus himself. A warrior, militant, mans man Jesus was created in the process. A John Wayne Jesus, and Du Mez surfaces dozens of connections evangelical leaders have made in the last half century to John Wayne (Who knew!).

This Jesus was over half a century in the making. Inspired by images of heroic white manhood, evangelicals had fashioned a savior who would lead them into the battles of their own choosing. The new, rugged Christ transformed Christian manhood, and Christianity itself.

Weaving together intimate family matters, domestic politics, and a foreign policy agenda, militant masculinity came to reside at the heart of a larger evangelical identity.

From the start, evangelical masculinity has been both personal and political. In learning how to be Christian men, evangelicals also learned how to think about sex, guns, war, borders, Muslims, immigrants, the military, foreign policy, and the nation itself.

Evangelicalism must be seen as a cultural and political movement rather than as a community defined chiefly by its theology.

Image: Cover Photo

Du Mezs very readable page-turner (for me) was laced together and buttoned down with sketches of the principal people involved in creating cultural evangelicalism, one that is nothing short of Christian nationalism.

I will give the names who shaped masculine, militant Christian nationalism, each in his or her own way:

Billy Sunday, John Ockenga, Billy Graham, Stuart Hamblen, Bob Well, Explo 72, Jack Hyles, Marabel Morgan, Elisabeth Elliot, Phyllis Schlafly, Bill Gothard, James Dobson x 5, Tim LaHaye, Beverly LaHaye, Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, Oliver North, Edwin Louis Cole, D. James Kennedy, Pat Robertson, Charles Colson, Rush Limbaugh and Bill OReilly, Bill McCartney, Gary Oliver, Tony Evans, Gordon Dalbey, Steve Farrar, Stu Weber, John Piper, Wayne Grudem, Paige Patterson, Josh Harris, John Eldredge, Douglas Wilson (through Piper), David Murrow, Doug Phillips, the Duggars, Mark Driscoll, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, Ted Haggard, Franklin Graham, Ergun Caner, William Boykin, Eric Metaxas, Duck Dynastys Robertson family, Donald Trump, Robert Jeffress, Jerry Falwell Jr, Al Mohler, Russell Moore, C.J. Mahaney, and others

These are the folks Du Mez brings forward as the influencers in shaping cultural evangelicalism.

And John Wayne.

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What to call the 20%? | Jesus Creed | A Blog by Scot Mcknight - ChristianityToday.com

Coaches weigh merits of Red Raider mascot – Cape Cod Times

Tim Grace grew up playing ice hockey for Barnstable High School. He took pride in every aspect of the program, from the players to the coaches to the games. Hes tried to instill that same passion in his players since he became the head coach in 2015, right down to the Red Raider nickname.

Red Raiders means a lot to me, Grace said. I played my high school career as a Red Raider and graduated a Red Raider.

Grace, his players and the rest of the Barnstable athletic community could find themselves playing under a new nickname when the 2020-21 school year gets underway. A petition spearheaded by current and former BHS students in late June requested a change to the nickname, which some consider offensive to Native Americans.

The Barnstable School Committee on Wednesday will discuss potentially dropping it.

There are some people that obviously are very nostalgic about the pride and years of competing under a certain mascot, Barnstable athletic director Scott Thomas said. But then, were also being sensitive to issues that are prevalent in our society today.

Should the committee vote for a change, it will find general, but not universal, support among the coaching staff. Every head coach from Barnstables last three competitive seasons (spring and fall 2019, winter 2019-20) was contacted, and the majority of respondents said it was time for a change.

I think these are concerns, not complaints, and are absolutely valid, said Tom Turco, Barnstables girls volleyball coach and the schools longest-tenured varsity head coach. The pride is in playing for and representing Barnstable. The same drive and desire of the Barnstable athletic community, to be the best possible athlete, coach and team, will not in any way change.

Grace said hed prefer to keep the nickname he grew up with, but if our name is, in fact, offending a group of people, then, yes, we should change our name. Several other coaches shared Graces reaction, that the nickname should be changed if it offends people.

Anytime theres a group of people that speak out, then theres definitely validity behind it, Barnstable football and girls basketball coach Ross Jatkola said.

A minority of coaches were firmly against the change.

Its time that we put aside our political correctness and get real about dealing with whats important to the majority of the student body and not a few that are offended, girls tennis head coach Lou Giglio said.

Changing nicknames might have big implications for the school, but perhaps not as much actual impact on players day-to-day lives. Grace said his teams helmets bear a Red Raiders sticker, but the uniform just says Barnstable.

We identify ourselves as the Red Raider baseball program, but on the field refer to ourselves as the Raiders, baseball coach Dave Fouracre said. If a mascot name is offensive to a race, a culture or a particular group of people, then it is my belief that it should be changed.

Multiple coaches said their teams rarely refer to themselves by the full nickname Red Raiders during practices or competitions. Jatkola said his football team sometimes calls its field Red Raider Beach, but he tends to simply use Raider in plays.

We haven't used Red Raider in a long time, field hockey coach Ashley Bishop said. Weve used Raiders or Barnstable or Stable for as many years as I've been coaching.

Turco said his volleyball uniforms also have Barnstable written on them, but no reference to the nickname. His preferred cheer is Lets go Red, but thats a reference to the school color, similar to the University of Michigans Go Blue.

When I think of red, I think of the actual color of the uniforms, Jatkola said. I dont think it was ever intentionally used (here) to describe a skin tone or anything like that. Its just been the color of the uniforms and the school colors.

The petition demanding the change, among other educational reforms, had over 1,700 signatures on change.org as of Thursday afternoon. It comes amid national conversations surrounding racism, cultural appropriation and minority representation.

The NFLs Washington franchise officially dropped its Redskins nickname earlier this month.

Thomas said he received occasional calls in previous years asking Barnstable to change its name, but nothing as organized as this.

Its definitely on everybodys mind, Thomas said. I definitely dont want to disrespect anyone.

Barnstables athletic department already has undergone several changes to its iconography over the years. The schools logo used to be a Native American face, but has since changed to a red letter B with attached feathers, though that face still appears on redraiderpride.com, the schools athletic archive.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has for years been against using Native American imagery or terminology for athletic teams. Cedric Cromwell, the tribes council chairman, signed a January 2019 letter to the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ways and Means requesting legislation prohibiting Native American mascots and nicknames. The tribal council in 1995 unanimously voted to condemn such uses.

Itll be an adjustment, because well have to change logos and names, but if its an issue and its something that offends people, it should be changed, said Casey Proto, a rising senior and baseball player at Barnstable. Obviously, it can mean something thats derogatory.

Changing nicknames could also allow Barnstable to find a more unique mascot. Many other Massachusetts high schools have used the nickname Red Raider, including Lowell, Melrose and North Quincy.

Suggested new nicknames from coaches included Red Hawk and Pride. The red hawk would allow Barnstable to maintain the feathered B logo it currently uses, while Pride refers to the school slogan of Pride, honor, respect.

There is a red-tailed hawk that flies around campus all the time, boys tennis coach Mike Sarney said. We should have a nickname/mascot that everyone can be proud of.

More:

Coaches weigh merits of Red Raider mascot - Cape Cod Times

Temporary sign coming to Slaves Burying Ground in Orient – Suffolk Times

Oysterponds Historical Society will place a new sign at the site of a supposed slave burial ground on Narrow River Road in Orient. But they will not put back the sign that had previously been there for decades.

The societys Board of Trustees has decided to install a new sign, probably within the next two weeks, that will state what the society is doing to determine the actual history of the site, which decades of oral history have said is the burial ground of members of the Tuthill family and their servants.

We have a clear view not to put back the original sign, said Bob Hanlon, president of the societys board. We want to understand what this site is, and we will put up a temporary sign explaining what we are doing.

Last month, the society removed a marker that had been at the site since the early 1950s. It then formed a working group to research slavery and indentured servitude in Orient and East Marion. The removal met with sharp criticism from a number of Orient residents, many of them from so-called old families whose ancestors first settled in the area in the 1600s.

In a long Guest Spot column published by The Suffolk Times earlier this month, those residents said the sign should be returned to the site, saying the society erred in removing it without consulting the community. The tone of the column was that the old sign reflected accepted local history and should not have been tampered with.

The original marker said the ground around it was the burial spot for members of the Tuthill family and their servants, a benign euphemism for enslaved people who could be bought and sold. While criticized by some as a way to erase history, the society said in fact it wanted to dig deeper and try and determine who these individuals were and what became of them.

In an interview, Mr. Hanlon said that marker will not go back but a picture of the old sign will be part of the temporary new sign.

Mr. Hanlon said records will be thoroughly researched to determine exactly what is at the site. He said ground penetrating radar might be used to determine the number of graves there and whether there is truth to longstanding community rumors that the site might have been a traditional African burial ground.

Once we learn what we can, he said, then a new sign will go up. The old sign will remain in our collection The argument by some that we are destroying history, covering up history or caving in to [political correctness] is not so. We are simply looking to find out the truth. We are a historical society, not a political arm. Our job is history.

There were certainly slaves here in the 1600s. We are going about this with a totally open mind, and we will treat this ground with the respect it deserves, he added.

Some Orient residents who strongly opposed removing the old sign say the temporary one is a poor solution to the problem. In an email Tuesday, a spokesman for the group, Dick Leslie, said: This is the first we have heard of any specifics about the temporary sign. The Buildings and Grounds Committee of OHS has not been consulted on this. The majority of the new Working Group on this issue has not been consulted. This is not what transparency and community consultation looks like. Who at OHS drafted the language on the new sign? Has it been approved by the Board of Trustees ?

If the original sign was so offensive why would OHS erect a sign with a photo of the original? Is this a bizarre joke? Since this episode began almost two months ago the cemetery remains an unkempt mess. It is overgrown with brush and trees, the gate unrepaired and unpainted. OHS should concentrate on preserving the eight buildings under its jurisdiction and get out of the cemetery business.

View original post here:

Temporary sign coming to Slaves Burying Ground in Orient - Suffolk Times

Anarchy and annihilation are running amok – New Europe

Americans have buried George Floyd. Yet, the funeral did not end the ongoing protests, demonstrations, and riots. There have been casualties. The chaos has led to the destruction of local businesses, public administration buildings, and our cultural heritage.

It is time to reflect on what has been going on and to learn our lessons. We are dealing with a complex issue and our conclusions will be no different. It is not a black and white picture, no pun intended. Still, some are tempted to take shortcuts and deal with the cops in haste and to make an example out of them. Any decisions leading to defunding or even dismantling local the police forces may bring about anarchy.

The brutal truth is that Floyds case was not exceptional. Last year alone, 1,100 people died because of violence. Most of them were white and they were either beat up to death or shot dead. In addition, 150 police officers die in the United States each year. Therefore, the numbers do not give us clear-cut answers or a black and white picture. Any attempts of a deeper analysis of what happened or inquiries into Floyds past are met with hysterical knee-jerk reactions. There is no room for a rational discussion.

Are other places free of such problems though? Poland still remembers the death of Igor Stachowiak, who died in police custody. French streets have been taken over by violent clashes with yellow vests. A few years ago, we witnessed the brutality of the debates over the future of Catalonia. Every once in a while, German fascists, anti-fascists or alter-globalists awe us with their own street debates.

As a result, Europe is in no position to preach to the United States. Should anyone wish to insist on having the moral high ground, they should be reminded of Europes vast and long imperial and colonial past. I am writing these words in Brussels with a view of the statue of Leopold II, the Butcher of the Congo.

Another sad truth we must face is that we will never be entirely free of racist and xenophobic incidents. They have to be limited to a minimum and always be met with an adequate response from our societies and governments. What I mean by that, is a reaction that is suitable and balanced. What that entails is a peaceful demonstration and a due process of law. Hijacking protests by politically loaded issues is not justified. Unfortunately, all sorts of excluded, scandalised, offended, and dissatisfied groups that contest our social and international order tend to jump on the demonstration bandwagon.

Common thieves and criminals also blend into the crowd. The tendency to justify violence, theft and destruction of property by the liberal media is appalling. Racial tensions intertwine with economic issues. Recently, the latter has deepened due to the pandemic, and the US has been hit particularity hard. Problems of such high degree of complexity will not be solved overnight. Hastened administrative decisions only lead to more anarchy.

Unfortunately, one-size-fits-all type of solutions have been emerging for years. They have been driven by noble ideas of promoting tolerance and equal rights for everyone, including all minorities. Political correctness and affirmative action are among such policies.

The former was intended to rid the contemporary political discourse of hate speech, negative stereotypes, labelling, and shaming. It was to eradicate racist, xenophobic, sexist, and homophobic attitudes. Those were the goals. Instead, it led to the creation of doublespeak, which tends to be even more harmful due to its more sophisticated way of humiliating minorities.

I will spare you any examples. Just watch a couple of stand-up comedians on TV. In many cases, the newspeak is a mockery in itself and it simply boosts the popularity of the original term. In a complete frenzy, new phrases are being blacklisted, as they are supposedly related to slavery. Books, motion pictures, and monuments also fall victim to the self-righteous wave of censorship aimed to distort our collective memory.

Affirmative actions goal was to promote minorities access to education and social mobility by the application of quotas. What it led to were promotions that had no basis on merit. It is a common opinion in the United States that due to affirmative action a lot of people get promoted as soon as they can prove their heart is still beating. I was able to witness it first hand in the 1980s while I was a political immigrant from the progressive Eastern Bloc.

Unfortunately, privileges such as those based on a working-class or a peasant family background in Communist Poland do not lead to equality. So the question becomes how do we promote equality without granting minorities unfair privileges? Despite negative experiences with social engineering, the liberal left keeps marching on in that direction. Political correctness has also found its way into the world of science and art. Prestigious prizes tend to be granted based on PC criteria in order to appease discontent. Celebrity circles have been dominated by all sorts of minorities too.

This all leads to a distorted vision of history and reality. Try watching a contemporary TV series on Europes history and compare it to what you can learn from textbooks and from works of art. Do the scripts tell the stories the way they happened? Do actors looks and gestures portray the reality of the days past? Or are we being served a sort of virtual reality based on the wishes of todays social and ideological engineers?

The recent demons of extremism are bound to -and they do- inspire a pushback. In some cases, the recoil is soft in its nature and a moderate New York Times journalist will simply resign. In other cases, it is much more uncompromising. President Donald Trump has called certain liberal circles left-wing fascists and some politicians even go as far as to call for a military intervention in areas taken over by protesters.

To sum up, I would like to underline the fact that our civilisation was founded on the canons of Greek philosophy and democracy, the Roman legal and administrative system, and the Christian work ethic and family values. Our civilisation seeks compromise when dealing with complex problem-solving. The protests have been running amok and they increasingly resemble anarchy. As a result, our civilisation is facing attempts of annihilation.

In my opinion, it is our civilisation, rooted in Greek, Roman and Christian values that matters! It is our duty to defend it from the dictatorship of extreme minorities, who are fighting for unjustified privileges disguised as equality.

More:

Anarchy and annihilation are running amok - New Europe

Gapp tries to stand out in crowded GOP field – Kingsport Times News

By HANK HAYES

ROGERSVILLE Knoxville physician Josh Gapp is trying to stand out in a crowded 1st Congressional District Republican field that stands with President Trump and is pro-life.

We have a lot of great candidates and they are running on conservative principles, Gapp said during a stop at Hawkins County Republican headquarters.

I think Im probably further to the right. Theres a couple of key areas that matter to the people. One is this culture war thats been thrown at our feet. It stems from political correctness. That was the aha that got me out from underneath my microscope. The fabric of our country is being torn apart by political correctness. I am standing up to it. The other thing I think is important is Im an outsider. Ive never run for political office before. This is a project of passion for me.

Gapp addressed these questions:

If elected, what is your plan for the district?

Theres a couple key issues that we need to face. The key issues right now are this political correctness run amok. We cant have Black Lives Matter coming in and disrupting our communities. This COVID crisis, weve got to figure out a way to get the economy back up safe and secure for everybody. We cant afford as a country to have everything shut down. We need to get back open. President Trump was doing a wonderful job with the economy prior to this COVID. Weve got to get back to that.

How is the COVID crisis going to affect the Republican primary?

COVID is making it difficult to meet people in person. Weve done a lot of digital things. Weve done a lot of virtual events to make up for it. Were trying to talk to as many people as we can. I think theres enough motivation now that the vote wont be suppressed. I think its going to be a high turnout and people will go to the polls regardless of COVID.

Do you favor a second economic stimulus?

This is a tough one. It depends on what happens in the next couple of months.

If we shut down the economy again, then we absolutely need to do that. If we can keep the economy from fully shutting down, I think theres enough pent-up demand in the economy that we can let people get back to work and places open back up. The economy isnt shut down because of market forces. Its this exterior thing that is going on with COVID. The economy wants to jump. It wants to run.

Early voting has begun in the August GOP primary.

A Democrat hasnt been elected to the 1st Congressional District seat since the 19th century.

See more here:

Gapp tries to stand out in crowded GOP field - Kingsport Times News

Letters to the editor: July 29, 2020 | Letters To Editor – St. Louis Jewish Light

Funds urgentlyneeded for elections

For 125 years, National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis has worked diligently to ensure nonpartisan voting rights for all, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted egregious deficiencies in Missouris voting system. While politicians of both parties argue about many things, democracy shouldnt be one of them. Experts estimate we need at least $4 billion to ensure that states can prepare for elections during the coronavirus. Without this necessary funding for election infrastructure, many voters will be disenfranchised and unable to vote.

Recently, Congress passed $400 million in election funding in the first stimulus bill, which is a start, but we have to go much further and pass the $3.6 billion that was allocated to ensure safe elections in the HEROES Act. Every voter needs safe and secure options to vote by mail, absentee, early and on election day. Missouri passed a law in June which will allow many more Missouri voters to vote absentee or by mail for the August and November elections. More funding is a necessity for hiring poll workers during COVID and implementing many other key reforms to ensure safe voting for all.

Its now up to the Senate to pass the additional $3.6 billion needed to be ready for our November elections. This funding is crucial for Missouri to have safe elections. NCJWSTL urges Sen. Roy Blunt, who is thechairman of the Senate Rules Committee, tomake this funding a priority. The people of Missouri should not have to choose between their health and their vote.

We urge everyone to contact Sen. Blunts office now to insist on fair and safe voting for all.

Andrea Powers Schankman and Debbie Gilula, NCJWSTL Voting Initiative Co-Chairs

COVID-19 and the start of the school year

Regarding the July 15 article, Doctor would greenlight day school opening this fall, with conditions. Stunned. I am stunned. With lives on the line, I think an actual list of conditions and in what context would be the only ethical way to convey the doctors opinion. While the question and answer format of the article is interesting, I am still trying to figure out the parameters that the article headline promises.

If I understand well what is being said.... Classrooms are no more dangerous than going to the grocery as well as looking to Australia and other countries where schools are in session...if they can do it, so can we.

Thats just not true. Our children have far more comorbidity issues than other countries that makes them far more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 (See CNBCs July 13 article, U.S. students are at higher risk from the coronavirus than kids in other countries, Dr. Scott Gottlieb says.)

For students and their families as well as school staff and their families to have the protection implied, each person and each scenario would have to be perfectly played out. There are so many moving parts that I submit, that the risk of infection and the spreading take just a handful of missteps.

Masks need to be worn and taken off perfectly. Hand hygiene, the same. Even if people do their best, they are human. We all are familiar with the two-second rule...or the five-second rule? If we can scoop up the piece of toast off the floor in under five seconds, its all good. No harm, no foul.

Now, imagine each parent, child and teacher applying their own five- second rule to life in school.

COVID-19 doesnt care about what anyone thinks. Unless we depend on science and not broad opinions from scientists, we will remain victims.

Lois Ockner,University City

Russian Americans in St. Louis: We dont want to be a silent majority

On July 11, a group of the Russian Americans in St. Louis got together to demonstrate their support for our police. These demonstrators, who gathered in front of the Olivette and Creve Coeur police departments, strongly oppose proposals to defund the police, and are aghast at the humiliation of police officers and the lawlessness that has ensued in our own and other American cities.

Many of us, who came to United States as the Jewish refugees 20, 30 or 40 years ago, watch with disbelief and horror at what is happening in todays America. The reality is that the grim past that the former Russians, Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Koreans and Cubans left behind for a better future for their families has become a reality right here and now. Unfortunately, the bloody and tragic history of those countries that became socialist and fell victims of Marxist-Leninist ideology, is not an antidote to those who organize lawless riots and what I would describe as a pogrom in a Jewish neighborhood of Los Angeles.

We know too well, that compliance (called political correctness) leads to silencing, censorship and disappearance of free speech.

With disbelief we observe that many Jewish communities around the country, as well as Jewish papers and mass media, keep silent at worst or are meek at best when it comes to addressing the anti-Semitic destruction organized in Los Angeles this May during Shavuot. Instead of strong support for their Orthodox brothers and sisters, they express alliance with the Black Lives Matter movement, which I believe is anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. It seems that the long and tragic Jewish history has not been learned.

We former Soviet Jews cannot be a silent minority watching this great country face catastrophe as Russia and many others have. We cannot be silent watching great American history being attacked and monuments being destroyed by mob action or mob hysteria. And we cannot be silent when the police officers that keep American streets safe are humiliated.

Wake up, all ye who believe that the events of the Old World will turn out differently in the United States.

Lena Fish,St. Louis

Response to editorial

Regarding the June 19 editorial, Defund, Defend, Define highlighting the number of cases of police brutality that have occurred across the nation in the past several months.First allow me to say how deplorable I find these miscarriages of justice to be.

Having said that, however, the thought of defunding police departments entirely, or in great measure, is certainly not the answer and is counterproductive.

I can unequivocally say that the overwhelming majority of police officers in our nation do an exceptional job to serve and protect, and are the epitome of honesty, integrity and decency, putting their lives on the line for the public every day.

Unfortunately, there are those officers who fail miserably to uphold the highest standard and quality of law enforcement. These men and women must be weeded out and punished to the fullest extent of the law when they dishonor their badge and commit egregious crimes, which has occurred too often recently.

Police training needs to be upgraded and policies enforced vigorously so that law enforcement is the very best it can be while protecting the rights of all citizens. We are a nation of laws and must never lose sight of that hallowed and never-ending principle.

GeneCarton,University City

A misguided and disturbing commentary

Even though Marty Rochester is a friend and a colleague, his July 15 commentary (Let us reason together to defeat the pandemic) was so misguided and disturbing that I felt obliged to reply.

Let me start with the COVID-19 pandemic. It should be clear to everyone now that there should be no debate between fighting the pandemic or restarting the economy. Without the pandemic under control, it is impossible to restart the economy. President Donald Trumps decision to prematurely open up the economy was solely based on his mistaken idea that this decision would benefit him politically. My guess is that this year more than 100,000 Americans will prematurely die due to that decision. May I encourage Rochester to look at the three pages of obituaries in the last edition of the Jewish Light; in normal times, there is usually less than a page.

More significantly, it is now apparent that virtually every decision Trump makes is solely based on his political benefit, even if it is not in our countrys interest. This includes his extortion of Ukraine, his request for political help from China, his withdrawal of troops from Syria, and his deal with the Taliban. How about his embrace of the Confederate Battle flag, the one that even the state of Mississippi has now decided to remove from its state flag? How about his racism and race baiting, when so many Americans are marching for racial justice? And Rochester finds that the Democratic Party more odious than Donald Trump? Unbelievable.

Bernard J. Feldman,Creve Coeur

Reader respondsto recent letter

I have to respond to the July 1 letter titled President deserves credit for Israel support. Look at President Donald Trumps history while in office. In a few short months he has made the United States a laughingstock in the eyes of the world.If he does anything for Israel, its solely to solidify his base. He is immoral and unjust when it comes to the plight of others. Trump is an unlearned racist who probably has never picked up a book to educate himself about Israels lengthy and complex history. Please dont be fooled.

MelodyBoime,Clayton

To submit letters to the editor, email letters@thejewishlight.com or use our online form at stljewishlight.com/letters.

More here:

Letters to the editor: July 29, 2020 | Letters To Editor - St. Louis Jewish Light

Letters to the editor: | Letters To Editor – St. Louis Jewish Light

Funds urgentlyneeded for elections

For 125 years, National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis has worked diligently to ensure nonpartisan voting rights for all, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted egregious deficiencies in Missouris voting system. While politicians of both parties argue about many things, democracy shouldnt be one of them. Experts estimate we need at least $4 billion to ensure that states can prepare for elections during the coronavirus. Without this necessary funding for election infrastructure, many voters will be disenfranchised and unable to vote.

Recently, Congress passed $400 million in election funding in the first stimulus bill, which is a start, but we have to go much further and pass the $3.6 billion that was allocated to ensure safe elections in the HEROES Act. Every voter needs safe and secure options to vote by mail, absentee, early and on election day. Missouri passed a law in June which will allow many more Missouri voters to vote absentee or by mail for the August and November elections. More funding is a necessity for hiring poll workers during COVID and implementing many other key reforms to ensure safe voting for all.

Its now up to the Senate to pass the additional $3.6 billion needed to be ready for our November elections. This funding is crucial for Missouri to have safe elections. NCJWSTL urges Sen. Roy Blunt, who is thechairman of the Senate Rules Committee, tomake this funding a priority. The people of Missouri should not have to choose between their health and their vote.

We urge everyone to contact Sen. Blunts office now to insist on fair and safe voting for all.

Andrea Powers Schankman and Debbie Gilula, NCJWSTL Voting Initiative Co-Chairs

COVID-19 and the start of the school year

Regarding the July 15 article, Doctor would greenlight day school opening this fall, with conditions. Stunned. I am stunned. With lives on the line, I think an actual list of conditions and in what context would be the only ethical way to convey the doctors opinion. While the question and answer format of the article is interesting, I am still trying to figure out the parameters that the article headline promises.

If I understand well what is being said.... Classrooms are no more dangerous than going to the grocery as well as looking to Australia and other countries where schools are in session...if they can do it, so can we.

Thats just not true. Our children have far more comorbidity issues than other countries that makes them far more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 (See CNBCs July 13 article, U.S. students are at higher risk from the coronavirus than kids in other countries, Dr. Scott Gottlieb says.)

For students and their families as well as school staff and their families to have the protection implied, each person and each scenario would have to be perfectly played out. There are so many moving parts that I submit, that the risk of infection and the spreading take just a handful of missteps.

Masks need to be worn and taken off perfectly. Hand hygiene, the same. Even if people do their best, they are human. We all are familiar with the two-second rule...or the five-second rule? If we can scoop up the piece of toast off the floor in under five seconds, its all good. No harm, no foul.

Now, imagine each parent, child and teacher applying their own five- second rule to life in school.

COVID-19 doesnt care about what anyone thinks. Unless we depend on science and not broad opinions from scientists, we will remain victims.

Lois Ockner,University City

Russian Americans in St. Louis: We dont want to be a silent majority

On July 11, a group of the Russian Americans in St. Louis got together to demonstrate their support for our police. These demonstrators, who gathered in front of the Olivette and Creve Coeur police departments, strongly oppose proposals to defund the police, and are aghast at the humiliation of police officers and the lawlessness that has ensued in our own and other American cities.

Many of us, who came to United States as the Jewish refugees 20, 30 or 40 years ago, watch with disbelief and horror at what is happening in todays America. The reality is that the grim past that the former Russians, Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Koreans and Cubans left behind for a better future for their families has become a reality right here and now. Unfortunately, the bloody and tragic history of those countries that became socialist and fell victims of Marxist-Leninist ideology, is not an antidote to those who organize lawless riots and what I would describe as a pogrom in a Jewish neighborhood of Los Angeles.

We know too well, that compliance (called political correctness) leads to silencing, censorship and disappearance of free speech.

With disbelief we observe that many Jewish communities around the country, as well as Jewish papers and mass media, keep silent at worst or are meek at best when it comes to addressing the anti-Semitic destruction organized in Los Angeles this May during Shavuot. Instead of strong support for their Orthodox brothers and sisters, they express alliance with the Black Lives Matter movement, which I believe is anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. It seems that the long and tragic Jewish history has not been learned.

We former Soviet Jews cannot be a silent minority watching this great country face catastrophe as Russia and many others have. We cannot be silent watching great American history being attacked and monuments being destroyed by mob action or mob hysteria. And we cannot be silent when the police officers that keep American streets safe are humiliated.

Wake up, all ye who believe that the events of the Old World will turn out differently in the United States.

Lena Fish,St. Louis

Response to editorial

Regarding the June 19 editorial, Defund, Defend, Define highlighting the number of cases of police brutality that have occurred across the nation in the past several months.First allow me to say how deplorable I find these miscarriages of justice to be.

Having said that, however, the thought of defunding police departments entirely, or in great measure, is certainly not the answer and is counterproductive.

I can unequivocally say that the overwhelming majority of police officers in our nation do an exceptional job to serve and protect, and are the epitome of honesty, integrity and decency, putting their lives on the line for the public every day.

Unfortunately, there are those officers who fail miserably to uphold the highest standard and quality of law enforcement. These men and women must be weeded out and punished to the fullest extent of the law when they dishonor their badge and commit egregious crimes, which has occurred too often recently.

Police training needs to be upgraded and policies enforced vigorously so that law enforcement is the very best it can be while protecting the rights of all citizens. We are a nation of laws and must never lose sight of that hallowed and never-ending principle.

GeneCarton,University City

A misguided and disturbing commentary

Even though Marty Rochester is a friend and a colleague, his July 15 commentary (Let us reason together to defeat the pandemic) was so misguided and disturbing that I felt obliged to reply.

Let me start with the COVID-19 pandemic. It should be clear to everyone now that there should be no debate between fighting the pandemic or restarting the economy. Without the pandemic under control, it is impossible to restart the economy. President Donald Trumps decision to prematurely open up the economy was solely based on his mistaken idea that this decision would benefit him politically. My guess is that this year more than 100,000 Americans will prematurely die due to that decision. May I encourage Rochester to look at the three pages of obituaries in the last edition of the Jewish Light; in normal times, there is usually less than a page.

More significantly, it is now apparent that virtually every decision Trump makes is solely based on his political benefit, even if it is not in our countrys interest. This includes his extortion of Ukraine, his request for political help from China, his withdrawal of troops from Syria, and his deal with the Taliban. How about his embrace of the Confederate Battle flag, the one that even the state of Mississippi has now decided to remove from its state flag? How about his racism and race baiting, when so many Americans are marching for racial justice? And Rochester finds that the Democratic Party more odious than Donald Trump? Unbelievable.

Bernard J. Feldman,Creve Coeur

Reader respondsto recent letter

I have to respond to the July 1 letter titled President deserves credit for Israel support. Look at President Donald Trumps history while in office. In a few short months he has made the United States a laughingstock in the eyes of the world.If he does anything for Israel, its solely to solidify his base. He is immoral and unjust when it comes to the plight of others. Trump is an unlearned racist who probably has never picked up a book to educate himself about Israels lengthy and complex history. Please dont be fooled.

MelodyBoime,Clayton

To submit letters to the editor, email letters@thejewishlight.com or use our online form at stljewishlight.com/letters.

Excerpt from:

Letters to the editor: | Letters To Editor - St. Louis Jewish Light

UNPOPULAR OPINION: We all yes, all of us have implicit bias – newportri.com

As a community having these difficult conversations about race, there is a trend going on I want to name here today.

If there is a word or phrase people dont understand, instead of finding out what the word means, they immediately try to distance themselves from the word and shut down so the discussions and any steps toward progress end.

You know, kind of like when you say someone has a "racist" or "prejudiced" opinion, or that they are speaking from a place of "privilege." In my experience, if they are truly about making progress, an indicator is in their response to that accusation.

You will have some who say, "Yes, I have shown those beliefs and I am learning so that I can change them". There are others representing the majority that I have encountered who will take offense and shut down. They leave the room, dont return to the meetings, get very defensive and argue or stop talking all together. Can you all identify with this scenario?

Think back to a time when someone has said one of those words to a person, how do they usually react? I want to add that, to this day, I have NEVER seen a person who is racist, actually admit to being racist. So, lets see, I have brought up racist, privilege and prejudice are you feeling uncomfortable yet? If yes, please keep reading, stay with us.

One phrase I see being thrown around these days without people really knowing what it means is "implicit bias." Negative implicit bias can be harmful if gone unchecked, and even people with the best intentions have it.

Lets talk about it: Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner

According to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, implicit bias is defined as:

Residing deep in the subconscious, these biases are different from known biases individuals may choose to conceal for the purposes of social and/or political correctness. Rather, implicit biases are not accessible through introspection.

The implicit associations we harbor in our subconscious cause us to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and appearance. These associations develop over the course of a lifetime beginning at a very early age through exposure to direct and indirect messages. In addition to early life experiences, the media and news programming are often-cited origins of implicit associations.

Here are some points from an informative website: https://www.aperianglobal.com/3-steps-address-unconscious-bias.

Understand that it is normal: We as human beings are hardwired to prefer others who resemble us or have similar features. What makes biases "bad" is a lack of awareness regarding how they influence our decisions and impact others.

Identify the biases and how they impact your work: After you identify and name your biases, notice how it affects who you invite to meetings, who you speak to easily and whose opinions influence your decisions?

Broaden your viewpoint and educate others: When identifying a negative bias you may have, make a conscious effort to learn more about that idea, individual, or group to understand how and why it makes you uncomfortable.

I challenge you all to learn more about implicit bias. Take an online quiz from "Project Implicit" by Harvard University. It is an eye-opener to those who feel they dont have implicit bias and see all people as equals. If you know you have bias, it helps to see which ones require attention to be changed to decrease biased behavior.

Change can be good.

Niko Merritt is the founding executive director of Sankofa Community Connection in Newport. Her column, Unpopular Opinion, appears bi-monthly on newportri.com and in The Daily News.

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UNPOPULAR OPINION: We all yes, all of us have implicit bias - newportri.com

It should be everyone’s duty to join the National Trust – Telegraph.co.uk

I thought of my friend at the weekend, when we used our family membership to go camping in the glorious grounds of Polesden Lacey, and again today, when I received an email from the Trust informing me that due to what its director general says is its biggest crisis in living memory, it is to shed 1,200 jobs to help plug a 200 million funding gap after having had to close all of its houses, gardens, car parks, shops and cafes thanks to Covid-19.

There are no plans to mothball properties yet, although many remain shuttered: when we were there, the tall, elegant windows of Polesden Lacey remained darkened throughout; there was no opportunity to briefly escape the elements (and the children) to wander through cool, beeswax-smelling interiors; to be transported briefly back in time and marvel at the way people once lived.

Its pretty sobering stuff, even if youre no fan of some of the more right-on moves of recent years. Strip away the beanbags and the political correctness and at its heart, what the National Trust does is irreplaceably important. My friend was right we would all be the poorer without it.

And yet, while the job losses are undoubtedly tragic, could this slimming down turn out to, in the end, be to the good? 40 million of the Trusts savings are to be made in print marketing; 160 shops and 10 cafes are to close. Do we really need to be showered with more leaflets when we visit a heritage property, or be forced to exit through the gift shop, held to ransom over a box of fudge? Perhaps if the National Trust must tighten its belt, we could see a stripping away of all the extraneous fripperies, so we can concentrate on what is really glorious about what it does. For that, Ill keep paying my membership fee.

Farewell to another constant in my life: the noisy, comforting, swaying buffet car on an LNER train journey north. On every regular trip to my homeland, part of the ritual was choosing when, exactly, to make the endless, undulating journey up the length of the train (to take my handbag, or leave it to the fate of the gods?), usually only to find Id gone the wrong way and have to sway my way back again, all in pursuit of a bacon sandwich and a cuppa. The brief bit of core exercise broke up the monotony, but Im quite taken by the idea of being able to order food directly to my seat a small taste of how the other half live, without having to buy a first class ticket.

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It should be everyone's duty to join the National Trust - Telegraph.co.uk