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Category: Culture
July 23, 2024
Jack Montgomery
Culture
Fact Check

FACT-CHECK: Female Secret Service Applicants Are NOT Held to ‘Same Standards’ as Men.

The possible contribution of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to U.S. Secret Service (USSS) failures during the assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, was raised during now-former Director Kim Cheatle’s grilling by the House Oversight Committee on Monday.

Some Republican lawmakers questioned why female agents too small to cover Trump, who is well over six feet tall, were assigned to him. Cheatle and several Democratic lawmakers doggedly insisted men and women in the USSS meet the “same standards.”

“One of your goals in the [USSS] strategic plan is to champion Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and accessibility—you’ve accomplished the ‘accessibility’ part,” said Republican Rep. Michael Cloud, in sarcastic reference to gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks having easy access to President Trump when he shot him.

“Do you keep the same standards for all applicants?” he continued. “Does every Secret Service agent meet the same qualifications, or do you have different standards for different people?”

“Yes, sir, everyone who moves through the application process has to meet the same standards to become a special agent,” Cheatle claimed.

Later in the hearing, Cheatle told Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a black woman, that the “incident on the 13th has nothing to do with DEI.”

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, also a black woman, later claimed women in the Secret Service “are held to the standards as their male counterparts.”

This is not the case. The Secret Service’s ‘Become a Special Agent’ brochure explicitly states that the physical excellence standards for women recruits are significantly lower than the physical standards men must meet:

COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY. 

In a section of the brochure titled ‘Committed to Diversity,’ the Secret Service states that “Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is a fundamental right of all employees and applicants for employment to compete on a fair and level playing field… without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age (40 or older), disability (physical or mental), gender identity, protected genetic information, or parental status.”

The brochure also advertises that the Secret Service has an ‘Affirmative Action Plan’ and an ‘Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Program’.

Loucious Hires III, executive director of the United States Secret Service‘s Office of Equity, has declared DEI to be “mission imperative” for the agency.

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The possible contribution of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to U.S. Secret Service (USSS) failures during the assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, was raised during now-former Director Kim Cheatle's grilling by the House Oversight Committee on Monday. show more
July 23, 2024
Jack Montgomery
Culture
TECH

Musk Grieves for Trans Son ‘Killed by the Woke Mind Virus.’

Technology billionaire Elon Musk says he made up his mind to “destroy the woke mind virus” after being duped into approving a son’s gender transition. The South African, who owns Tesla, SpaceX, and the X social media platform (formerly Twitter), said he was “essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys, Xavier” in conversation with Canadian psychologist turned media personality Jordan Peterson.

“This is before I had really any understanding of what was going on. We had Covid going on, and so, there was a lot of confusion, and, you know, I was told Xavier might commit suicide [if he was not transitioned],” Musk said.

“Incredibly evil, and I agree with you that people that have been promoting this should go to prison,” he told Peterson. “I was tricked into doing this, and it wasn’t explained to me that puberty blockers are actually just sterilization drugs.”

“I lost my son, essentially,” Musk continued, suggesting that “deadnaming”—the supposed crime of referring to a transgender by their previous name—is so-called “because your son is dead.”

“My son Xavier is dead, killed by the woke mind virus,” he continued. “I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus after that, and we’re making some progress.”

However, X reinstated bans on “deadnaming” and “misgendering” in January, causing many to question Musk’s resolve.

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Technology billionaire Elon Musk says he made up his mind to "destroy the woke mind virus" after being duped into approving a son's gender transition. The South African, who owns Tesla, SpaceX, and the X social media platform (formerly Twitter), said he was "essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys, Xavier" in conversation with Canadian psychologist turned media personality Jordan Peterson. show more
July 19, 2024
William Upton
Culture
Immigration
Media

Wanting to Be Buried Alongside Your Ancestors & Loved Ones Is White Nationalism: MSNBC.

In a new low, MSNBC and Netflix news personality Alex Wagner is accusing Republican vice presidential nominee Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) of dropping an “Easter egg of white nationalism” during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. Wagner lamented that Vance’s speech “was not the same red meat, sort of blood and soil nationalism that you might hear in, I don’t know, other parallel universe Republican conventions,” suggesting she intended to smear the candidate regardless of what he said.

“I do think there were some sort of Easter eggs of white nationalism in the speech,” Wagner argued—kicking off what can only be described as an unhinged rant. She continued: “One of the things that stuck out to me was when he started talking about what America is, he said that ‘America is not just an idea, it is a group of people with a shared history and a common future.'”

She claimed that Vance‘s reference to the “plot in eastern Kentucky, where his seven or six generations of his family are buried” was a white nationalist dog whistle.

RANTING ABOUT A BURIAL PLOT.

“And I sort of understand the idea of sharing the burial plot, but it also is, it reveals someone who believes that the history that the family should inherit, and indeed the history that should be determinative in the story of the Vance family, is the history of the eastern Kentucky Vances and not the Vances from San Diego, which is where his wife is from and where her Indian parents are from,” Wagner said.

She continued: “And I just think the construction of, of this notion reveals a lot about someone who fundamentally believes in the supremacy of whiteness and masculinity, and it’s couched in a sort of halcyon, you know, revisitation of his roots, but it is actually really revealing about what he thinks matters and who America is, and that America is a place for people with his shared Western background.”

The line that Wagner found so troubling in Vance‘s speech was a recollection of a heartfelt conversation with his wife: “Honey, I come with $120,000 worth of law school debt and a cemetery plot on a mountainside in eastern Kentucky.”

WATCH: 

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In a new low, MSNBC and Netflix news personality Alex Wagner is accusing Republican vice presidential nominee Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) of dropping an "Easter egg of white nationalism" during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. Wagner lamented that Vance's speech "was not the same red meat, sort of blood and soil nationalism that you might hear in, I don’t know, other parallel universe Republican conventions," suggesting she intended to smear the candidate regardless of what he said. show more
July 18, 2024
Jack Montgomery
Culture
NatSec

Secret Service Office of Equity Chief Declared DEI ‘Mission Imperative,’ ‘Our Ultimate Goal.’

Loucious Hires III, executive director of the United States Secret Service‘s Office of Equity, said diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are the agency’s “ultimate goal” in a podcast last February. “I could talk on and on what the agency is doing to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion… DEI is every action every day,” he bragged.

“Part of the things that we need to continue to do more is to be open and speak openly about diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. And when every one of us within this agency can say this is a mission imperative, then we have achieved our ultimate goal,” Hires said.

In a now-unlisted 2022 podcast posted to the Secret Service‘s YouTube channel for Pride Month, Secret Service Office of Chief Counsel Supervisory Attorney-Advisor Andrew ‘Drew’ Cannady insisted, “We benefit from diversity, and I actually am seeing more openly… trans recruits out of the training center, law enforcement recruits, which is great.”

FAILURES. 

Significant failures by the Secret Service during the assassination attempt against former President Donald J. Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, are raising concerns that DEI may be impacting its effectiveness.

Director Kimberly Cheatle has suggested the building from which sniper Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on the former president was unguarded despite being identified as a security threat because it had a slightly sloped roof. Multiple reports also indicate law enforcement had been aware of Crooks long before he opened fire and even before Trump took to the stage.

Despite all of this, he was able to get off multiple shots at the America First leader, striking his ear and hitting three rallygoers, one of whom died.

In May, concerns about DEI in the Secret Service were already present after a female agent with a questionable history, assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris, started a bizarre brawl with colleagues involving menstrual pads.

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Loucious Hires III, executive director of the United States Secret Service's Office of Equity, said diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are the agency's "ultimate goal" in a podcast last February. "I could talk on and on what the agency is doing to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion… DEI is every action every day," he bragged. show more
July 18, 2024
Christopher Tomlinson
Culture
TECH

‘Changing Business Needs’ – Microsoft Lays Off DEI Team.

Microsoft has laid off an internal team dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), suggesting it is no longer important to its ” business needs.” In a leaked email, the DEI team leader expressed dismay, citing that DEI programs are no longer perceived as business critical, in contrast with their perceived importance in 2020.

“True systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020,” they lamented. The email indicated that the team’s dissolution, effective July 1, was down to “changing business needs.”

This change is in stark contrast to last year when Microsoft bragged about creating Pride themes for Outlook, taking inspiration from various LGBT flags.

Tech giants like Zoom, Google, and Meta have also reportedly scaled back their DEI programs, reflecting a broader trend within the industry. Microsoft spokesman Jeff Jones claims the company’s dedication to DEI—rebranded D&I—is ongoing, stating, “Our D&I commitments remain unchanged.”

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Microsoft has laid off an internal team dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), suggesting it is no longer important to its " business needs." In a leaked email, the DEI team leader expressed dismay, citing that DEI programs are no longer perceived as business critical, in contrast with their perceived importance in 2020. show more
July 17, 2024
William Upton
Culture
News

Musk Moving SpaceX to Texas In Response to California’s New Anti-Family Trans Law.

Billionaire technology mogul Elon Musk will move his SpaceX operations entirely out of California and into Texas after Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced he has signed AB1955 into law. The legislation bans schools from enacting rules that would require the notification of parents if a child identifies as transgender—effectively substituting the state for family.

“This is the final straw,” Musk said in a post on X (formerly Twitter)—the social media platform he purchased in 2022. He added: “Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas.”

Musk added, in a separate post: “I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.”

Under the new law, California school districts will no longer be allowed to notify parents if their child begins using different pronouns or self-recognizes as a different gender. The law makes the state the first to bar school districts from sharing pertinent information with parents regarding their children.

Earlier this year, California’s Democrat Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a legal advisory to schools in the state warning that informing parents of their children’s decision to use different pronouns or change their gender—without the child’s permission—likely violated the state constitution.

READ: 

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Billionaire technology mogul Elon Musk will move his SpaceX operations entirely out of California and into Texas after Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced he has signed AB1955 into law. The legislation bans schools from enacting rules that would require the notification of parents if a child identifies as transgender—effectively substituting the state for family. show more
Baldwin
July 12, 2024
Breaking
Culture

BREAKING: Alec Baldwin Trial Comes to Stunning End as Judge Dismisses Case WITH PREJUDICE.

Actor Alec Baldwin’s trial for involuntary manslaughter has come to a stunning end after presiding Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice after Baldwin’s lawyers accused law enforcement of withholding evidence concerning the fatal shooting on the “Rust” film set.

“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” said Sommer. “The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.”

The incident in question took place in October 2021. Baldwin, during a rehearsal, discharged a firearm pointed toward cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, resulting in her death and the injury of the film’s director. Hannah Gutierrez, the film’s armorer responsible for loading the gun, is presently serving an 18-month prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Baldwin faces similar charges, with prosecutors arguing that he neglected fundamental gun safety practices, leading to reckless behavior on the set.

Alex Spiro, Baldwin’s high-profile attorney, has maintained that Baldwin bore no obligation to inspect the gun’s contents. The defense has primarily focused on challenging the integrity of the police investigation. On Thursday, Spiro introduced evidence suggesting that live ammunition connected to the fatal shooting had been provided to the police but was not disclosed to Baldwin’s legal team. These bullets were turned over to law enforcement by a former police officer and family friend of Gutierrez, who indicated they matched those that killed Hutchins.

Spiro accused police of “burying” the evidence by not recording it under the “Rust” case, which he argued deprived the defense of crucial information. Marissa Poppell, a crime scene technician, testified that she cataloged the bullets yet was instructed not to file them under the “Rust” incident.

Due to the case being dismissed with prejudice, charges may not be brought again. Baldwin escapes a potential 18 month jail sentence as a result.

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Actor Alec Baldwin's trial for involuntary manslaughter has come to a stunning end after presiding Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice after Baldwin's lawyers accused law enforcement of withholding evidence concerning the fatal shooting on the "Rust" film set. show more
July 12, 2024
William Upton
Culture

Gaybraham Lincoln? Documentary Claims ‘Honest Abe’ Was a Closet Homosexual.

Filmmaker Shaun Peterson contends that the bulk of scholarly work on the life of President Abraham Lincoln is wrong. According to Peterson, Lincoln was a homosexual who preferred the company of men—a case he argues in a new documentary, Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, released on July 10.

The documentary “examines the intimate life of America’s most consequential president, Abraham Lincoln. As told by preeminent Lincoln scholars and never before seen photographs and letters, the film details Lincoln’s romantic relationships with men.”

“The film fills in an important missing piece of American history and challenges the audience to consider why we hold such a limited view of human sexuality,” the film’s synopsis states, continuing: “Lover of Men is not only an exploration of gender roles and sexual identity, but also serves as an examination of American intolerance.”

According to Peterson—and allegedly never before seen letters authored by Lincoln—the sixteenth American president slept with more men than he did women. The crux of the contention that Lincoln was a closeted gay man is letters he exchanged with a childhood friend, Joshua Fry Speed. “Dear Speed, I shall be very lonesome without you. Love, Lincoln,” one letter reads.

SO, WAS LINCOLN GAY?

The idea of Lincoln being a homosexual dates to a 1926 biography by Carl Sandburg, which refers to Lincoln’s relationship with Speed as having “a streak of lavender, and spots soft as May violets.”

While some have interpreted Sandberg’s words as suggesting Lincoln was a closeted gay man, in reality, the author was referring to the more vulnerable relationship between two friends, which belied their more public-facing images of masculinity.

Letters supposedly authored by Lincoln explicitly detailing his homosexuality—and ‘found’ by gay rights activist Larry Kramer in 1999—are widely believed to be a hoax.

Recent attempts to ‘queer‘ popular fictional characters have fallen flat with audiences. The National Pulse reported in May that the ratings for the latest season of the British science fiction adventure Doctor Who have crashed following the introduction of the first “openly queer” black Doctor, played by Rwandan migrant Ncuti Gatwa.

Meanwhile, Disney‘s Star Wars: Acolyte—which features predominantly nonbinary and lesbian characters—has been widely panned by viewers and even some critics.

WATCH: 

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Filmmaker Shaun Peterson contends that the bulk of scholarly work on the life of President Abraham Lincoln is wrong. According to Peterson, Lincoln was a homosexual who preferred the company of men—a case he argues in a new documentary, Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, released on July 10. show more
July 12, 2024
William Upton
Culture
Health
News

Trump-Appointed Judge Blocks Biden’s Title IX Transgender Rule in Texas.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, nominated to the bench by former President Donald J. Trump in 2017, is granting Texas an injunction against Joe Biden government regulations that would grant anti-discrimination protections to “gender identity.” In his ruling, Judge Kacsmaryk wrote that the rule likely violates protections already on the books for biological women. Under the new rules, biological males would be allowed to access facilities designated only for use by biological females.

The Biden government regulations, which expand protected classes under Title IX to include “sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics,” will come into effect on August 1. However, a number of state governments are successfully convincing federal judges to grant injunctions against the measure. Texas is the 15th state to block the rule from taking effect pending legal challenges.

Judge Kacsmaryk noted that the rule directly undermines the purpose of Title IX, which was to enact nondiscrimination protections for women. “The Final Rule inverts the text, history, and tradition of Title IX: the statute protects women in spaces historically reserved to men; the Final Rule inserts men into spaces reserved to women,” he wrote, adding: “The Final Rule reads sexual orientation and gender identity into Title IX’s antidiscrimination principle in violation of that statute.”

Additionally, the Trump-appointed judge noted that Biden government measure was also in contravention of Texas state law, which “protects sex separation in K–12 and higher education athletic programs.”

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U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, nominated to the bench by former President Donald J. Trump in 2017, is granting Texas an injunction against Joe Biden government regulations that would grant anti-discrimination protections to "gender identity." In his ruling, Judge Kacsmaryk wrote that the rule likely violates protections already on the books for biological women. Under the new rules, biological males would be allowed to access facilities designated only for use by biological females. show more
July 11, 2024
Jack Montgomery
Culture
UK

WATCH: Nigel Farage Sworn In as a Member of Parliament for the First Time.

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has been sworn into Parliament as Nigel Farage MP, after taking his oath of allegiance to King Charles III. Reform’s other MPs were sworn in on Wednesday.

Farage, who will represent the Clacton-on-Sea constituency (electoral district) in the House of Commons, swore the traditional oath on the King James Bible: “I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.”

WATCH:

Despite being arguably the most influential British politician of the last 20 years, with a long career as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) prior to Brexit, it is the first time Farage has been elected as a Member of Parliament (MP).

This is due in large part to the British electoral system being hostile to new parties.

Reform came third by share of the popular vote and earned five MPs in Britain’s July 4 snap election—a significant breakthrough, but one that highlights major issues with the First-Past-the-Post system.

The victorious Labour Party received one MP for every  24,000 votes cast for it, while the formerly governing Conservatives received one MP per 56,000 votes. Reform, by contrast, received one MP per 820,000 votes.

The Liberal Democrats, who placed fourth in terms of the popular vote, received 71 MPs—one for every 49,000 votes.

The sixth-placed Scottish National Party (SNP) received nine seats, and the tenth-placed Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) tied Reform on five.

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Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has been sworn into Parliament as Nigel Farage MP, after taking his oath of allegiance to King Charles III. Reform's other MPs were sworn in on Wednesday. show more