School Closures Led by Teachers Unions Only Hurt Children; Teachers' Unions Must Be Held Accountable

 PJ Media

"As American taxpayers labor through the holidays to fund another extended paid vacation for public school teachers, it’s rarely been more evident that capricious policies from purported experts and media allies produced a terrifying amount of harmful consequences on the most vulnerable among us. That singular group, which continues to be abused by COVID-19 neurotics, is school children.

"Many teachers demanded school closures in exchange for disastrous remote learning. Ignoring data showing that the virus does not significantly impact those who aren’t elderly (nearly all teachers in America are under 60), they were unwilling to assume even a remote risk.

"There’s still no evidence that classrooms are vectors of transmission, or that their selfish actions stopped the spread of COVID. A recently-published study of Japanese schoolchildren relays:

“We do not find any evidence that school closures in Japan helped to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in spring 2020. Among our pairs of similar municipalities, municipalities that closed their schools had very similar levels of COVID-19 as those that kept their schools open. In other words, municipalities that shut down their schools imposed additional costs on their residents without receiving the supposed benefit of limiting the spread of the pandemic. These robustness checks all point to the same conclusion: There is no evidence that shutting down schools had a significant impact on limiting the spread of COVID-19.”

School Closures Led by Teachers Unions Only Hurt Children – PJ Media

Kamala Harris Is Getting Destroyed on Spanish-Language Radio; "Dems’ response: They’re GOP plants!"

 The American Spectator | USA News and Politics  "Attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris are becoming more frequent on Spanish-language radio stations in Miami, and Democrats don’t see warning signs of her declining popularity among Hispanics. Instead, they see a coordinated Republican disinformation campaign. 

"Fernand Amandi, a Democratic political strategist, told Politico that he was flipping between Hispanic radio stations and heard one person “talking about Kamala Harris, and they [said] the same thing. ‘This is the woman who’s done nothing.’ It was a different person than was on the other [station]. And I was like, ‘Oh God, they got a phone bank.’ ”

"There’s no way these criticisms of Harris could be organic, Democrats believe. The opinions use key phrases like “inefficient,” “disappointing,” and “doesn’t do nothing at all,” so of course they must be coming from Republican operatives. There’s no way that the explanation could be that Hispanics are moving towards the Republican Party, as has been shown in polling and in the 2020 election. 

"In 2020, enough Latino voters swung from the Democrats to the GOP to deliver Florida to former President Donald Trump. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris garnered eight percentage points lower support from Hispanics than Hillary Clinton did in 2016." . . . 

'They're afraid to be perceived as transphobic': UPenn swimmers wanted to boycott final home meet over transgender teammate Lia Thomas crushing records but fear backlash and jeopardizing chances of making elite Ivy League squad

 Daily Mail Online

. . ."A week later, two of her teammates spoke out anonymously about their frustrations of having a transgender swimmer compete in female races after spending the first three years at Penn competing on the male team.

"While the final home meet is traditionally a time for the school to recognize seniors for their achievements, the swimmers have no illusion that the attention this year will be on Lia Thomas.

" 'It's a very emotional day and it's supposed to be a wonderful recognition for all the seniors have accomplished over the years,' one source told DailyMail.com. 'These girls are still determined to make sure they get the proper recognition and that their moment is celebrated as it should be.'

"Another source told DailyMail.com that will be difficult because Thomas will likely blow away the competition. There's also expectation that the crowd will react by cheering more for the second-place finisher than for Thomas, as occurred at the Zippy International." . . .

UPDATED, Dec 30: Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty on Five of the Six Charges in Sex Trafficking Case

UPDATE: Case dropped against Epstein guards – HotAir  . . ."The way that the prosecutors handled this matter certainly looks suspicious at first glance, but some previously unreported details could explain this decision in a more routine fashion. Noel and Thomas pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2019. But in May of this year, they signed a deferred prosecution agreement, allowing them to avoid jail time if they cooperated with an ongoing investigation into the circumstances of Epstein’s death by the Justice Department’s OIG.

"Since that time they have reportedly been cooperating fully with the Department of Justice. Once that process was finished earlier this month, the prosecutors signed a nolle prosequi, informing the judge that they wished to drop the charges against both men. As part of that agreement, both Noel and Thomas reportedly performed some unspecified community service.". . .

www.americanthinker.com/cartoons/

Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty on Five of the Six Charges in Sex Trafficking Case (legalinsurrection.com) 

 . . ."GUILTY Count One: Conspiracy to entice individuals under the age of 17 to travel with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity

"Maximum sentence: Five years

"Accusers: Jane, Carolyn and Annie

"NOT GUILTY Count Two: Enticing an individual under the age of 17 to travel to with intent to engage in illegal sex acts

"Maximum sentence: Five years

"Accusers: Jane

"GUILTY Count Three: Conspiracy to transport individuals under the age of 17 with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity

"Maximum sentence: Five years in prison. . .

"GUILTY Count Four: Transportation of an individual under the age of 17 with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.

"Maximum sentence: 10 years in prison. . .

"GUILTY Count Five: Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of individuals under the age of 18

"Maximum: Five years in prison. . .

"GUILTY Count Six: Sex trafficking of an individual under the age of 18

"Maximum: 40 years in prison. . .

 Ghislaine Maxwell convicted in Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case: Live updates | AP News 

 . . ."But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages.

"Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Farmer, who chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years." . . .

 Big question after Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction: Who’s next? | Just The News 

“Doors closed by Epstein’s death may be opened by the very strong motivation Maxwell now has to unlock every door to which she holds a key," he added.

 Ghislaine Maxwell's child sex trafficking conviction 'doesn't bode well' for Prince Andrew | Daily Mail Online

Much more here: Virginia Roberts Giuffre - News on Prince Andrew's accuser | Daily Mail Online

The gulags of Fauci-Psaki

 

AfterMath - Home (terrellaftermath.com)

The COVID con is all the Democrats have   . . ."In Trump's economy, the poverty rate hit an all-time low.  More Americans were employed than ever before.  The unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low.  This, in addition to the 7 million new jobs created.  Middle-class family incomes had also risen more than five times higher than the previous eight years under Obama.

"Trump had also triumphed over the myriad Democrat party hoaxes aimed at subverting the will of the American people and overturning the 2016 election results: the Trump-Russia collusion hoax and the failed quid pro quo impeachment, for example.

"Leading up to 2020, the Democrats had already thrown everything plus the kitchen sink at Trump.  They were empty-handed.  Even as late as November 2019, the Democrats were "increasingly worried that their large and divided presidential field" didn't "have what it [took] to beat President Donald Trump" in 2020.

"Democrats were desperate for something to campaign on.  While they never found a robust national campaign message to campaign on, they did find a message to campaign against: COVID." . . .

COVID treatment protocols and the death of 'trust your doctor'   "Recently, President Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, said: "For the unvaccinated, you're looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm." 

"That unvarnished statement, from the podium of the White House Press Room, was then followed by an update from CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and the chief medical adviser to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci.  During the entirety of this government-sponsored "infomercial" on the dangers of COVID-19, not a single mention was made of the importance, availability or efficacy of early treatment for COVID-19." . . . 

This next is from MSNBC, the station bringing us the bitter and demagogic Joy Reid and the "mostly peaceful"  Ali Velshi:

'Incredibly Embarrassing': Critics React to What MSNBC Host Admitted on Live TV About Fauci (townhall.com)   . . .“ 'I’m a Fauci groupie, I’m a thrice-vaccinated, mask adherent, I buy N-95 masks by the caseload, they’re in every pocket, I wear them everywhere except when I sit down,” she told panelists. “And I am certain that this is not a variant I can outrun, and I wonder where you think this sort of conversation is heading at this moment?' ” . . .

Was This the Moment People Lost Trust in the Medical Establishment? (townhall.com)

The main problem, in addition to unconstitutional decrees issued by public health officials, is Americans have lost faith in the medical establishment to be honest and follow the science when issuing recommendations. This trust started to erode last summer when thousands of doctors pushed aside worries of "super spreader events" for leftist activists while vilifying President Donald Trump's decision to keep campaigning. 

'I'm a Fauci groupie.' MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace declares

 

Fauci Dons Funny Hat, Declares Himself To Be Pope Of Science | The Babylon Bee

Monica Showalter  "How much stupidity can a news network handle?

Well, take a look at MSNBC host and purported dog lover, Nicolle Wallace, professing her love for Dr. Anthony Fauci:

"I'm a Fauci groupie. I'm a thrice-vaccinated mask adherent. I buy KN95 masks by the ... caseload. They're in every pocket. I wear them everywhere except when I sit down," she said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who recently turned 81-years-old, is the long-time director of the National institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He is also serving as chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden.

. . .  

On this beloved Kwanzaa week, here's some history for you.

 It's as if David Duke invented a holiday called "Anglika," which he based on the philosophy of "Mein Kampf" -- and clueless public schoolteachers began celebrating the made-up, racist holiday.

Ann Coulter   " It seems like all I hear these days is how liberals are red-hot for teaching history, while retrograde troglodytes on the right are demanding that we suppress the teaching of history by banning critical race theory (CRT). Haranguing students, day in day out, about their white privilege is just teaching history.

"On this beloved Kwanzaa week, here's some history for you.

"Celebrated exclusively by white liberals, Kwanzaa is a fake holiday invented in 1966 by black radical/FBI stooge Ron Karenga -- aka Dr. Maulana Karenga, founder of United Slaves, the violent nationalist rival to the Black Panthers. Liberals have become so mesmerized by multicultural gibberish that they have forgotten the real history of Kwanzaa and Karenga's United Slaves. Kwanzaa emerged not from Africa, but from the FBI's COINTELPRO." . . .

1999; Tony Snow: The TRUTH about Kwanzaa

  Unfortunately, Swahili has little relevance for American blacks. Most slaves were ripped from the shores of West Africa. Swahili is an East African tongue.

To put that in perspective, the cultural gap between Senegal and Kenya is as dramatic as the chasm that separates, say, London and Tehran. Imagine singing "G-d Save the Queen" in Farsi, and you grasp the enormity of the gaffe.

Lucifer's Dream Democrat

Aftermath

It’s Good to Be Oppressed: Race Huckster Ibram X. Kendi Gets Paid $207 Per Minute for University Lecture

PJ Media

"The leading intellectual light behind the Critical Race Theory that has already severely damaged racial harmony in the United States and is corroding American society itself, Ibram X. Kendi, has discovered the fundamental truth of our absurd age: the quickest path to elite status and highly lucrative remuneration is to be oppressed, victimized, and marginalized. Kendi has mastered the art of parlaying his alleged oppression into big bucks, fawning coverage from the establishment media, and respect and influence in the academic world. Many others have done this, but none with the breathtaking audacity and extraordinary success of Ibram X. Kendi.

"Kendi graciously granted an audience recently to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), where he trained faculty and students in racial resentment and baseless grievance-mongering. A savvy and unabashed capitalist in service of Communism, he also took the opportunity to promote a few of his bestselling books, which are, of course, about how to sow racial resentment and indulge in baseless grievance-mongering.

"The sage intellectual was generous with his precious time, but Kendi is no Gandhi: the university had to shell out top dollar for the privilege of having the chance to bask in his serene presence. In order to be able to present “An Evening with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi: How to Be An Antiracist,” UWM paid the scholar $40,000, plus $3,500 more to cover his flight, hotel, and meals. Given the time that Kendi spent at UWM, according to The Federalist, this works out to about $207 per minute, which is not at all a bad wage for a few short hours sowing hatred, bitterness and suspicion." . . .

House of Representatives Votes to Eradicate Blasphemy Against Islam

Four pro-Islam votes, may we assume?

Arvind Kumar  "The House of Representatives has passed a bill that seeks to eradicate blasphemy against Islam.  The bill, H.R. 5665, is truly remarkable as it amounts to Congress making a law respecting the establishment of Islam and reducing the United States government into a tool of the world’s ayatollahs.

"The actual text of the bill not only seeks to eradicate blasphemy against Islam around the world – and solely against Islam at that – but even requires the federal government to reorganize some portions of the State Department along the lines of an Islamic religious institution which will be responsible for interpreting the Quran.  For example, the text of the bill mandates that “[t]he Secretary of State shall establish within the Department of State an Office” and the “purpose” of the office is described as “[m]onitoring and combating acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that occur in foreign countries.”  That is, the State Department is required to create an office that is a cross between George Orwell’s Big Brother and the Taliban.

"The word ‘combat’ in the text of the law is problematic but fits in perfectly with the concept of waging violent jihad against the countries deemed to have committed blasphemy against Islam.  Almost every dictionary defines the word primarily as an action pertaining to war.  While the internet firm Google’s dictionary defines 'combat’ as “fighting between armed forces,” Cambridge Dictionary defines the word as “a fight, especially during a war.”  According to Collins Dictionary, “combat is fighting that takes place in a war.”  This is no hyperbole as the State Department has a long history of supporting Islamic terrorists such as Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and ISIS.  Former Assistant Secretary of State, Robin Raphel, ran her office as though it were an outpost of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and she lost her security clearance when she was investigated for counterintelligence activities.  Little wonder then that Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, used the term “Rogue State Department” and President Donald Trump described the State Department as the “Deep State Department.” " . . .

Would THIS be "blasphemy?

Dare anyone post this?  Did you know that in 2021, of the top 50 countries in which persecution of Christians has been documented to be the worst, 34 of them are Islamic?

But let us not lose perspective on this because of the above: In the eighteen years since 9/11, the American Muslim community has borne the collective brunt of negative media portrayals from cable news to Hollywood movies.

. . ."Of all the minority groups analyzed, the Middlebury researchers found that Muslims were by far the most negatively portrayed minority in America today. “In brief,” they wrote, “our analyses show that coverage of Muslims stands out as being both the most frequent and the most negative by a wide margin. This is principally due to reporting on foreign conflict zones.” While politics and education tended to be the most common themes of overall coverage for any minority group, researchers found that media stories which focused on culture were generally associated with the most positivity. On the flip side, the researchers noted that media stories which focused on law and order or national security were most closely linked to negativity. 

"The researchers also found that US newspaper coverage of Muslims was “significantly more negative in tone” than overall coverage of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos, or Jewish people, although they observed that the average tone of Muslim articles had become less intensely negative over the previous five years." . . 

Plus there are no visible "Beto O'Rourke's" among Muslims. 

‘The View’ is Struggling to Find a New Republican Host

"Why can't we find a conservative who will never say anything to make us uncomfortable but also isn't a boring NeverTrumper who isn't actually really conservative anyway?"

Legal Insurrection

“Sources close to the show said that the search has stalled as executives struggle to find a conservative cast-member who checks all the right boxes.”

"Since the departure of Meghan McCain, ‘The View’ has been struggling to find a replacement for her. Their search criteria may be a little too narrow.

"They don’t want a never-Trumper who will just agree with all the other hosts, but they also don’t want a woman who could be described as a Trump supporter." . . .

. . . The problem is that their search is too specific:

Sources close to the show said that the search has stalled as executives struggle to find a conservative cast-member who checks all the right boxes. They will not consider a Republican who is a denier of the 2020 election results, embraced the January 6 riots, or is seen as flirting too heavily with fringe conspiracy theories or the MAGA wing of the GOP. But at the same time, the host must have credibility with mainstream Republicans, many of whom still support DONALD TRUMP.

"The report says the show wanted to recruit Kat Timpf, Greg Gutfeld’s libertarian sidekick of FOX News, but she wisely turned them down, which leads to an obvious question. Who would want this job?

"Whoever gets the ‘conservative’ role on this show is going to end up being constantly insulted and demeaned by Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg." . . .

The Completely Corrupt MSM

Al Goodwyn

Howie Carr Show  (Quoting):"The Media Never Fails to Disappoint"

Our media are completely corrupt. https://t.co/EvEzlqRwCG

                             — Mollie (@MZHemingway) December 11, 2020

The Steele Dossier turned out to be Russian disinformation.  
The Hunter Biden allegations appear to be true.
No one should take any of these people seriously about anything. https://t.co/S6JmqosfN2

• Hunter Biden is the exact guy that the media spent four years desperately trying to convince us Don, Jr. was.
• Congrats to the liberal media for finally getting around to the Hunter Biden story roughly one year too late! December 2021 is going to be rough for President Eric Swalwell.
• Always listen to government flacks telling the media not to report stories critical of the government https://t.co/ZSNaosbTqC
• Oct. 22nd: CNN’s @camanpour attacks the RNC’s @LizRNC for bringing up the Hunter scandal; "I am a journalist and I follow the facts, and there has never been any issue with corruption” https://t.co/npwMNMQJEU

Speaking of Ben Domenech…this is our Thread of the Day:

Will @jack apologize profusely to Twitter users for blocking, suspending, and invading their DMs to prevent the spread of this true story or will he just go on another mental retreat where he pays to sleep on cement and then lie in front of Congress about it all over again?

• — Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) December 11, 2020