Category: Opinion

A new bill from the desk of Texas Governor Greg Abbott will increase penalties for protestors who gather to block roads and obstruct emergency vehicles.

When signed into law the new bill will enforce tougher penalties and increase jail time for protestors who intentionally block the passage of emergency vehicles or obstruct hospital entrances.

Abbott, who is a two-term GOP governor and running for a third term next year, says he’ll soon be signing the measure into law.

“I will sign soon,” Abbott posted on his social media. “Peaceful protest doesn’t include blocking roadways & preventing emergency vehicle access. That chaos won’t be tolerated in Texas.”

Legislation cracking down on protestors for blocking roads PASSES in the Senate.

Peaceful protest doesn’t include blocking roadways & preventing emergency vehicle access. That chaos won’t be tolerated in Texas.

Thanks to @StephanieKlick & @DonnaCampbellTX.

I will sign soon.

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 22, 2021

The governor made the post following the Texas Senate voting 25-5 to pass the bill. Just a few weeks ago the measure passed the Texas House by a 90-55 vote which came as a response to protests that broke out all over the country last year due to police brutality and the death of George Floyd at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who has since been convicted of murder.

Caitlyn Jenner, the self-appointed figurehead of the transgender community, has been largely rejected by her community who many see her views as coming from a place of privilege. Jenner would be the first transgender governor if she wins the bid for California.

“She’s completely detached,” said Bamby Salcedo, president of the TransLatin@ Coalition, an advocacy group. “All this truly is about her. It’s not about the issues, not about the people.”

Salcedo said referring to the violence that members of the transgender community face that Jenner will “never understand what it is like to be fearful walking down the street because of who you are.”

Christine Hallquist seemed to agree when she told the San Francisco Chronicle that Jenner doesn’t grasp the unique challenges that are faced every day by trans-Americans. Hallquist is the first transgender woman to be a Democratic nominee for governor when she ran in 2018.

“Unfortunately, because of her background and reputation, she has become the figurehead we don’t want,” Hallquist said. “She hasn’t really done anything to raise the voices of those who can’t speak for themselves.”

LGBT activist Charlotte Clymer called Jenner “someone who panders,” “a hypocrite” and “a hateful person who has no problem attacking trans people to build her brand.”

Clymer called Jenner the “Phyllis Schlafly” of her community. Schlafly was a conservative activist who opposed the women’s movement of the 1960s and rose to fame by working to stop the Equal Rights Amendment.

Aria Sa’id, executive director of the Transgender District in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, said that Republicans accept Jenner and “look beyond” her trans identity due to her Whiteness and her wealth.

“It’s conditional acceptance,” she said, according to the Chronicle. “People will make conditional acceptance of people who mirror them in some ways and not others.”

“It’s beyond privilege,” Sa’id said. “She’s protected in her upscale mansion in Malibu, with her over $100 million net worth. Caitlyn lives in a bubble and represents people who live in that bubble, people who feel inconvenienced by the social issues we see.”

Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) claimed victory in the age-old debate on when human life begins. Abbott signed an abortion law, that will go into effect in September, that human life begins once a fetal heartbeat has been detected.

The “Heartbeat” bill will prohibit Texas clinics from performing or inducing abortions once a fetal heartbeat has been detected. The law also contains a “first-of-its-kind legal provision” that allows private citizens to file civil suits against abortion clinics over alleged violations. This provision allows the clinic to be enforced by members of the community while not having to rely on the state to enforce the ban.

“It’s a very unique law and it’s a very clever law,” Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, told the Tribune. “Planned Parenthood can’t go to court and sue Attorney General [Ken] Paxton like they usually would because he has no role in enforcing the statute. They have to basically sit and wait to be sued.”

Under the new law, formally called Texas Bill SB 8, physicians must test for a fetal heartbeat prior to an abortion and “may not knowingly perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman if the physician detected a fetal heartbeat for the unborn child.”

Abbot stated that the abortion law will ensure “the life of every unborn child who has a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages of abortion.”

“Our creator endowed us with the right to life and yet millions of children lose their right to life every year because of abortion. In Texas, we work to save those lives, and that’s exactly what the Texas legislature did this session. They worked together on a bipartisan basis to pass a bill,” remarked Abbott.

Under the text of the new law, exceptions to the abortion ban are allowed when the physician determines that a “medical emergency exists.” In these specific cases, “the physician who performs or induces the abortion shall execute a written document that certifies the abortion is necessary due to a medical emergency and specifies the woman ’s medical condition requiring the abortion.”

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund has called the law “dangerous” and vowed to fight it.

Today, @GovAbbott signed #SB8, a dangerous law that would ban abortion before most people even know they are pregnant.

The majority of Texans support access to safe and legal abortion—but politicians are *still* attacking abortion access. https://t.co/XOXIBUCaEU

— Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) May 19, 2021

House Intelligence Committee Republicans have outlined “significant circumstantial evidence” that the COVID-19 outbreak was due to a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Most Americans have pointed to the virus that shut down the world to the Wuhan facility, but now Republicans are pushing for a “full, credible investigation” ushered by the federal government into the source of the global pandemic by China.

Committee members released the report Wednesday which stated that the investigation will provide “crucial information for health experts and the U.S. government to understand how the COVID-19 virus originated” to prevent “or quickly mitigate future pandemics.”

“International efforts to discover the true source of the virus, however, have been stymied by a lack of cooperation from the People’s Republic of China,” Republicans wrote. “Nevertheless, significant circumstantial evidence raises serious concerns that the COVID-19 outbreak may have been a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”

Republicans pointed to China’s “history of research lab leaks resulting in infections,” and warnings from U.S. diplomats in China as early as 2017 that the Wuhan lab was conducting “dangerous research” on coronaviruses without following “necessary safety protocols, risking the accidental outbreak of a pandemic.”

Republicans also pointed to public reports that “several researchers in the Wuhan lab were sickened with COVID-19-like symptoms” in Fall 2019, and the Chinese military’s “involvement in the Wuhan Lab.”

“By contrast, little circumstantial evidence has emerged to support the PRC’s claim that COVID-19 was a natural occurrence, having jumped from some other species to human,” they wrote, saying Chinese authorities “have failed to identify the original species that allegedly spread the virus to humans, which is critical to their zoonotic transfer theory.”

“To protect American citizens from future pandemics, the U.S. Government must place more pressure on China to allow full, credible investigations of the source of the COVID-19 pandemic and to allow probes of the likelihood that it resulted from a lab leak,” the report states. “The U.S. Government must also provide a full accounting of any American cooperation with the Wuhan lab’s coronavirus research, including the support of these projects through U.S. Government funds.”

The report dismissed claims that COVID-19 had escaped from a lab in Wuhan and instead called the theory of zoonotic transmission, or transfer of infection from animals to humans, “likely to very likely.”

The calls for more information come after the White House last month said it believes that China has “not been transparent” in releasing its findings on the origins of COVID-19, as part of a report it wrote in collaboration with the World Health Organization.

The Centers for Disease Control is looking into several cases involving a number of young adults and children who have reported experiencing heart problems after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. The agency wanted to make it clear that it is not known if the vaccine is responsible.

Several new cases of myocarditis and popped up and while “most cases appear to be mild,” the COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group has an obligation to determine any potential issues and communicated them to providers.

Research from the CDC points to mRNA vaccines, which are made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, as potentially causing the problem.

Reports of myocarditis have been mostly in adolescents and young adults, are more common in males than females, typically occur after the second dose, and show up about 4 days after vaccination.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group discussed the issue during a meeting on May 17 and the news was first reported by the New York Times on Saturday.

The FDA authorized the use of Pfizer’s vaccine for children as young as 12 earlier this month following a successful trial in which more than 2,000 U.S. adolescent volunteers were given the shot.

Moderna is also seeking authorization of its vaccine for adolescents, saying that its vaccine has proven to be safe and effective in 12- to 17-year-olds.

There are about 1.5 million cases of myocarditis every year, which amounts to 10 to 20 cases per 100,000 persons, according to a study published last year in the medical journal StatPearls.

The Department of Defense said last month that it is looking into 14 cases of possible myocarditis in people who were vaccinated by the military.

Viral infections are the most common cause of myocarditis, but bacteria, cancer, and exposure to toxins in the environment can also lead to the disease.

According to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, no link has been found between the vaccines and heart inflammation or myocarditis.

A cable car on a mountaintop in northern Italy plunged to the ground over the weekend sending one young child to the hospital and killing at least thirteen other people.

Italy’s fire squad snapped a photograph of the crushed and crumpled remains of the cable car where it landed in a thick patch of pine trees close to the summit of Mottarone peak looking over Lake Maggiore.

At that location, the cables of the ski lift were particularly high off the ground, said Walter Milan, spokesman for the Alpine rescue service. The cause has not been determined.

Milan noted that the cable line had been renovated in 2016 and had only recently reopened after coronavirus lockdowns forced the closures of ski lifts across Italy.

Mottarone reaches a height of 1,491 meters (4,900 feet) and overlooks the picturesque lake and the surrounding Alps of Italy’s Piedmont region. The mountain features a small amusement park, Alpyland, that has a children’s rollercoaster offering 360-degree views of the scenery.

There are many areas in Italy that feature, skiing, mountain bike paths, and hiking trails that are popular with tourists from all over the world in spring and summer.

Former Trump attorney and former mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani wanted to set the record straight about what led to the FBI raiding his New York apartment and office.

Giuliani said on the WABC radio show that the allegations of the search being related to him playing the middle man between Ukrainian officials and Trump are absolutely false.

His side of the story is that the feds came knocking on his door because they claim he failed to file as a foreign agent before dealing with Ukraine, which Rudy claims is also false.

https://youtu.be/8rlAA6Bh230

Giuliani said he has tried for two years to straighten all this out with the Justice Department but they continue to ignore him. He claims to have tried on three separate occasions to put an end to all the Ukraine drama, all while under the Trump administration.

Back in November 2019, the former mayor said that anyone who would try locking him up will walk away embarrassed. However, federal investigators did seize several electronic devices belonging to Giuliani in relation to a criminal probe involving alleged dealings with Ukraine.

Former President Donald Trump issued a warning to Americans that “it will only get worse” after the news on how the Academy Awards suffered its lowest ratings due to the radicalization towards the far-left by Hollywood.

“What used to be called The Academy Awards, and now is called the ‘Oscars’—a far less important and elegant name—had the lowest Television Ratings in recorded history, even much lower than last year, which set another record low,” Trump said in a statement. “If they keep with the current ridiculous formula, it will only get worse—if that’s possible.”

“These television people spend all their time thinking about how to promote the Democrat Party, which is destroying our Country, and cancel Conservatives and Republicans. That formula certainly hasn’t worked very well for The Academy!” he added.“

It has been reported that the Oscars suffered a massive drop in viewership at 58% with less than 10 million people tuning in to watch the broadcast.

Producers for the Oscars have admitted that the lack of viewership is due to the push of politics upon its viewers. None of that stopped celebrities from using the Oscars as a platform to push their political agendas on stage, most of which focused on repeating the same brain-dead far-left radical views on police brutality and racial equality.

The night, however, had its share of classy, inspiring moments, such as when movie mogul Tyler Perry rebuked the far-left claims that “all cops are bad.”

“In this time, with all of the internet and social media and algorithms and everything that wants us to think a certain way, the 24-hour new cycle … It is my hope that all of us would teach our kids, and I want to remember: just refuse hate. Don’t hate anybody,” Tyler Perry said.

“I refuse to hate someone because they are Mexican or because they are black or white or LBGTQ,” he added. “I refuse to hate someone because they are a police officer. I refuse to hate someone because they are Asian.”

Likewise, musician Jon Batiste openly praised God for giving humanity the art of music and the universal language of 12 notes.

“You know what’s deep is God gave us 12 notes, it’s the same 12 notes that Duke Ellington had, that Bach had, Nina Simone,” he said. “I want to point out that every gift is special. Every contribution with music that comes from the divine into the instruments into the film, into the minds, hearts, and souls of every person who hears it, the stories that happen when you listen to it and watch it and the stories you share, the moments you make, the memories you create, man, it’s just so incredibly special. It’s just so incredibly special… we’re incredibly humbled and thankful. I’m thankful to God for those 12 notes.”

The University of Virginia is one of the biggest public schools in the Old Dominion State and it just announced that starting in the fall all in-person students are required to have received the coronavirus vaccine.

The announcement sparked controversy and opened the door for discussions around vaccine mandates. It also marks a significant development as there had previously only been one other public school, The College of William & Mary, to announce plans to make vaccines mandatory for students in the fall term.

The school announced its decision on its website, including a number of updates about protocols to the fall, but the most notable was the first major item, labeled a “requirement for all in-person students.”

“All students who live, learn, or work in person at the University during the next academic year must be fully vaccinated before returning to Grounds, starting July 1,” the notice said, providing a link that requires students to upload proof of vaccination by that date.

“This approach will enable our students to return … safely,” the school says. The notice adds that students can seek a medical or religious exemption; however, any exemption will instead subject the student to weekly testing and “other public health measures.”

When the vaccine was first introduced to the public, Virginia institutions held back from enforcing any kind of mandate for fear they would violate some law or policy.

“Many legal scholars have interpreted that as saying that people cannot be required to take a vaccine that is under an emergency use authorization,” said Lisa Lee, professor of public health at Virginia Tech. “They can be when it has full approval, so that’s where the hitch is.”

However, UVA’s decision follows a number of changes in the past two weeks, including the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance that suggested fully vaccinated people do not need masks in most settings, which Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam adopted as statewide guidance.

“As we look back on an academic year where the pandemic changed every part of life at UVA, the availability and effectiveness of the vaccines will make it possible for all of us to live, learn, and work together in more “normal” ways in the year to come,” the notice said.

University leadership is hopeful this measure is a step toward making the campus feel more “normal” again.

President Joe Biden was seen playing golf on Sunday morning and let’s just say that he didn’t impress anyone with his skills on the green. It’s not every day that you can watch the ball go backward on the course.

But considering his inability to keep his head down, the result isn’t all that surprising. Let’s just hope that Biden doesn’t change the rules to fit his favor anytime soon with golf as he does with all of his policies.

LOOOOOOL this video of Joe Biden playing golf is amazing pic.twitter.com/uayezOrzZe

— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) May 18, 2021

Now former President Trump may have lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, but after seeing the state of the president’s golf swing, Trump may be able to even the odds on the course.

Now let’s take a look at Trump’s swing compared to Biden:

Now that is a swing. While considering the amount of gold Donald Trump can play nowadays, he would be the favorite any day to shoot a lower score than President Biden. Trump has the edge of the current president with his technical skills in his swing.

Trump doesn’t take the backswing all the way back, which means he could be sacrificing distance for control, but his head stays down allowing him to keep the ball down the middle of the fairway. It looks like he has “happy feet,” but nothing a few golf lessons at Trump National couldn’t fix.

Democratic politicians have a history of their inability to show even a semblance of athletic ability. The President of the United States has been throwing out the first pitch at baseball games for decades. The tradition started in 1910 by President William Howard Taft and many presidents like Jimmy Carter and Franklin D. Roosevelt have continued that tradition.

Back in 2014, Barack Obama threw the first pitch for the Washington Nationals home opener. Let’s just say it wasn’t very pretty.