The Good, the Bad, the Whatever
GOOD: Arizona’s Ballot-Harvesting Ban Is Ruled Non-Discriminatory and Legal
Arizona’s ban on out-of-district voting and ballot-harvesting doesn’t violate the federal Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court ruled.
The court, split neatly along ideological lines, found that the Arizona law, known as HB 2023:
* Does not violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965.
* Was not enacted with a racially discriminatory purpose.
“The Court obliterated the idea that there must be demonstrable voter fraud to enact a law to deter and prevent it,” J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, said. “This is a big blow to the vote fraud deniers who have turned to the courts to make our elections less secure.”
Click here.
BAD: Google Secretly Tests Personal Tracking Software on Users
In the Digital Nation of Google, every citizen is monitored 24/7. And that’s a good thing, according to the Google illuminati.
But recently, several Android phone users reported that a COVID-19 notification system was installed on their phones without warning or consent.
In response to a report on this, the tech giant issued this statement: “We have been working with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to allow users to activate the Exposure Notifications System directly from their Android phone settings. This functionality is built into the device settings and is automatically distributed by the Google Play Store, so users don’t have to download a separate app. COVID-19 Exposure Notifications are enabled only if a user proactively turns it on. Users decide whether to enable this functionality and whether to share information through the system to help warn others of possible exposure.”
One user wrote that the app was “silently installed” on his phone “without any notification.” It “doesn’t have an app icon… you have to go through settings and view all apps. This is a huge privacy and security overstep by [Gov. Charlie Baker] & Google.”
Click here.
SCARY: Teachers’ Union Embraces Woke Idiot-ologies
The National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers’ union in the US, has called for its members to support and lead campaigns that promote Critical Race Theory (CRT), implicit bias, anti-racism, “trauma-informed practices, restorative justice practices, and other racial justice trainings” for all school employees and for all students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.
CRT is a neo-Marxist ideology that teaches that people should identify – and be identified by others – not by the content of their characters, but by, above all else, their race, and then by their gender preference and sexual orientation. It also advocates the idea that American institutions are designed to ensure white supremacy and “the patriarchy.”
GOOD: Parents and Teachers Are Upset
Despite the endorsements of the NEA and other academic institutions, thousands of local parents and teachers aren’t buying CRT.
Click here.
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BAD: Shootings and Killings Continue in Chicago
Since my last report on Chicago, violent crime in the Windy City has continued to climb.
* After Chicago’s Puerto Rico Day parade on June 19, violence spilled over into the Loop, Chicago’s downtown tourist and business district. In one incident, a Puerto Rican driver and passenger were dragged from their car after a traffic accident and shot execution-style.
Click here.
* On the same day, a Maryland student pursuing a doctoral degree in criminal justice was stabbed to death in broad daylight, allegedly by a man who police say is connected to other crimes.
Click here.
* The next day, also in broad daylight and just blocks away, a woman was shot in a hotel lobby.
Click here.
* During the last weekend of June, 17 people were shot, two fatally, and two mass shootings occurred almost back-to-back.
Click here.
* Over the July 4 weekend, more than 100 people were shot, with 16 deaths, including two police.
Click here.
And here.
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* 31 of the cities that cut police budgets early last year saw increases in violent crimes, according to the NYT, but Chicago led the pack in terms of murders. Murders increased by 25%, said to be the largest single-year increase since the 1960s.
* To make matters worse, the Chicago Police Department has lost close to 700 officers since 2019. The number of officers hired in 2020 was a mere 157, compared with 464 hired in 2019.
SCARY: Facebook Is Watching You for “Extremist Content”
Some Facebook users have recently reported being sent warning messages from the social media giant related to “extremists” or “extremist content.”
“Are you concerned that someone you know is becoming an extremist?” one message reads.
On July 1, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed, calling it “a test to some users.”
“This test is part of our larger work to assess ways to provide resources and support to people on Facebook who may have engaged with or were exposed to extremist content, or may know someone who is at risk. We are partnering with NGOs and academic experts in this space and hope to have more to share in the future,” the spokesperson said, without elaborating.
Click here.
