Blog

California panel set to release report calling for ‘comprehensive reparations’ to Black Americans

A California task force on reparations  – the first of its kind in the nation – is set to release a report on Wednesday outlining several ways to address what it believes to be wrongs committed by the state against Black Americans.

The report calls for expanded voter registration, policies to hold police more accountable in cases of alleged brutality, and recommends the creation of a special office that would, in part, help Black Americans who descended from free or enslaved Black people in the country at the end of the 19th century document their eligibility for financial restitution.

The report, which runs 500 pages, will be the first government-commissioned study on harms against the African American community since the 1968 Kerner Commission report ordered by President Lyndon Johnson, task force Chair Kamilah Moore said.

Keep reading

Attempted Reagan assassin John Hinckley to get unconditional release, judge confirms

John Hinckley, the would-be assassin of President Ronald Reagan, will receive an unconditional release from prison, a federal judge has confirmed.

Hinckley, 67, attempted to assassinate Reagan in 1981. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman announced Hinckley will be released on June 15. The judge previously announced in September that Hinckley would be released so long as he remained in good behavior, which he has.

Keep reading

Fordham professor makes up statistic about AR-15s to peddle gun control

A Fordham University history professor recently was caught fabricating a statistic about the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

In a May 19 Slate article, gun control advocate Saul Cornell claimed the AR-15 is “200 times more deadly” than the rifles used in the American Revolution.

“Recent events in New York have brought the grim realities of America’s gun violence problem into sharp relief,” Cornell wrote. “In both instances, the perpetrators took advantage of the nation’s lax gun laws and legally purchased firearms whose lethality would have been unimaginable to the authors of the Second Amendment.”

Cornell also chided conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices for clinging to “originalist fantasy” and being “happy to parrot the propaganda” put forth by the National Rifle Association.

But National Review’s Kevin Williamson asked Cornell about the “200 times” statistic and discovered the professor had used World War II-era machine guns as a “stand-in” for AR-15s.

Keep reading

BBC Changed Victim’s Statement So As Not To ‘Misgender’ Her Trans Rapist

The Times of London reports that the BBC changed the wording of a rape victim’s testimony because woke employees didn’t want to ‘misgender’ the biological man who allegedly carried out the abuse.

The report notes that the BBC modified the woman’s statement following “a debate over the pronouns of her transgender attacker.”

“The woman referred to her alleged rapist as ‘him’ but insiders said that her words were changed to avoid ‘misgendering’ the abuser in an article on the corporation’s website,” the report adds.

 The report clarifies that wherever the words “he” or “him” were used by the woman, the BBC changed the language to “they” or “them”.

“A source said the quote was the subject of heated debate prior to publication. Some journalists argued that the quote should remain intact, while others said it should reflect the trans woman’s preferred she/her pronouns,” the report further notes.

The woman, who is a lesbian, reportedly described the incident to the BBC, saying “He threatened to out me as a terf and risk my job if I refused to sleep with him. I was too young to argue and had been brainwashed by queer theory so he was a ‘woman’ even if every fibre of my being was screaming throughout, so I agreed to go home with him. He used physical force when I changed my mind upon seeing his penis and raped me.’”

After the BBC had finished editing the above statement it read “[They] threatened to out me as a terf and risk my job if I refused to sleep with [them]. I was too young to argue and had been brainwashed by queer theory so [they were] a ‘woman’ even if every fiber of my being was screaming throughout so I agreed to go home with [them]. [They] used physical force when I changed my mind upon seeing [their] penis and raped me.”

The piece is still up on the BBC website at time of writing.

Keep reading

Connecticut To Hire ‘Misinformation’ Specialist To Police The Internet

Connecticut is hiring a “misinformation” specialist to police the internet ahead of the midterm elections, according to the state’s budget statement.

The position of a misinformation “security analyst” was proposed by Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill to combat alleged election misinformation that has “undermined public confidence in the fairness and capability of election results,” according to the budget statement.

Their role will be to “monitor and combat election misinformation on a full-time basis,” the statement read. Additionally, the budget allocates millions of dollars toward election education, including information on absentee voting and security.

Keep reading

Ukrainian Official Behind Western Media Reports Of Russian Atrocities Fired By Ukrainian Parliament

A Ukrainian government official frequently cited as a source by western news media for her allegations of atrocities committed by Russian troops has been fired by the Ukrainian parliament, in part because of the unevidenced nature of those claims.

Newsweek reports:

A Ukrainian official has been relieved of her duties over her handling of reports detailing sexual assault allegations made against Russians in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, removed Lyudmila Denisova, the parliament’s commissioner for human rights, from her post, according to Ukrainska Pravda. No new appointment has been made to fill the role.

The move to dismiss Denisova came after outrage about the wording used in public reports about alleged sexual assaults committed by Russians, as well as the alleged dissemination in those reports of unverified information. Despite accusations from Ukraine, the Kremlin has repeatedly denied that Russian soldiers have committed war crimes or sexual assaults during the invasion.

As it happens, Newsweek is one of the many western outlets who have uncritically cited Denisova’s unevidenced claims in their reporting of events in Ukraine. She was the “Ukraine official” in Newsweek’s incendiary April headline “Russians Raped 11-Year-Old Boy, Forced Mom to Watch: Ukraine Official,” an article whose entire first half featured unevidenced claims by Denisova.

Keep reading

Democrats to Vote on 8 Gun Control Measures

Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee will hold a vote on a gun control package Thursday which includes six gun control measures that would not have prevented the Uvalde attack.

The package is titled the “Protecting Our Kids Act.”

Punchbowl News reports that the package contains eight gun controls. Six of those gun controls would not have prevented the Uvalde attack.

Nadler’s spokesman confirmed the list of bills the House Judiciary Committee will consider under the broader “Protecting Our Kids Act.” They include:

  • The Raise the Age Act
  • Prevent Gun Trafficking Act
  • The Untraceable Firearms Act
  • Ethan’s Law
  • The Safe Guns, Safe Kids Act
  • The Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safety Storage Act
  • Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act
  • The Keep Americans Safe Act

Those six include background checks for “ghost guns,” gun storage requirements for homes with minors present, additional penalties for gun trafficking and straw purchases, a bump stock ban, and a requirement that existing bump stocks be registered under the auspices of the National Firearms Act.

Keep reading