Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California barely had time to celebrate escaping censure from the House when a complaint against him from a think tank was filed calling for punishment that seeks his possible removal from the House.
On Wednesday, with 20 Republicans joining House Democrats, a measure to censure and fine Schiff was voted down.
The resolution was brought by Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who said Thursday she has reached an agreement with the 20 Republicans on a revised censure resolution she believes can pass the House as early as next week.
The new attempt at censure is for Schiff making "false accusations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia," a draft of the resolution reads, according to Fox News.
On Thursday, meanwhile, in a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics, the Center for Renewing America -- a conservative think tank -- called for Schiff to be investigated and punished with "appropriate disciplinary and remedial action—up to and including expulsion.”
.@amrenewctr filed a complaint to @CongressEthics, requesting lawmakers investigate @RepAdamSchiff over his claims of Russian collusion w/ Donald Trump in 2016.
The request comes one day after the House voted to table a proposal seeking to censure Schiff.https://t.co/XZzHuwQKBT
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 15, 2023
“The Clinton campaign’s fabricated collusion narrative has had no greater champion than Schiff, whose dedication to perpetuating the Russia Hoax without regard for the truth repeatedly violated the requirement, in clause 1 of House Rule XXIII, that ‘[a] Member … of the House shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House,’” the letter said.
The letter noted that Schiff read into the congressional record parts of the discredited Steele Dossier and also insisted he had seen substantive evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, even though no such evidence existed.
“Schiff misled the American public based on his privileged access to classified information,” the letter said.
“Schiff’s pernicious pattern of engaging in behavior that discredits the House, in further violation of Rule XXIII, has extended well beyond the Russia Hoax," the letter said, noting Schiff’s claim he had never spoken to a whistleblower linked to the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump and his effort to discredit documents from Hunter Biden’s laptop computer.
Luna’s attempt to censure Schiff failed Wednesday, with some members objecting to the $16 million fine attached to the motion.
“We have removed the fine to address the concerns of those that voted no,” Edie Heipel, a representative of Luna, said, according to Axios, adding that Luna’s office has “gotten excellent feedback so far and look forward to next week.”
Axios reported that Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who cited the fine as his reason for opposing the motion, will support the revised version. The outlet said Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro of New York, who sided with Democrats this week, also will change his position and support the revised motion when it is introduced next week.
Censure Schiff Round 2 next week. 🏆 @RepThomasMassie https://t.co/G1JH6B04pE
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) June 15, 2023
Luna said she met with the Republicans who opposed her motion in order to bring them on board, according to Fox News.
“We came to terms and negotiations and the language that will censure and refer him to an ethics investigation because of the fact that he knowingly used his position as the chairman of House Intelligence to lie to the American people, to lie to his fellow colleagues. ... So he will be held accountable,” she said.
"And it brings me joy to see that he thinks that, you know, even just yesterday, that he got off the hook with it because he was singing a different tune. And he was very uncomfortable when I saw him in the hallways of Congress to let him know that he would be censured next week.”
Schiff told Fox News that Luna is trying to help former President Donald Trump and that she “obviously wants to distract from the president's legal troubles, and you‘ve got the MAGA people like Steve Bannon who are out promoting this."
Fox News said a draft of the resolution Luna will introduce says: "On March 20, 2017, Representative Schiff perpetuated false allegations from the Steele Dossier accusing numerous Trump associates of colluding with Russia into the Congressional Record.
"As ranking minority member and Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Representative Schiff behaved dishonestly and dishonorably on many other occasions, including by publicly, falsely denying that his staff communicated with a whistleblower to launch the first impeachment of President Trump."
The draft resolution calls for Schiff to be censured for "misleading the American public and for conduct unbecoming" of a member of the House and that the House Committee on Ethics is to investigate Schiff’s "falsehoods, misrepresentations, and abuses of sensitive information."
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The judge assigned to former President Donald Trump’s legal battle with the Department of Justice has issued her first order since she was assigned to assigned the case.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ordered the attorneys in the case to each obtain their required security clearances due to the sensitive nature of the matter, CNN reported Thursday.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon jumpstarts her oversight of the Trump classified documents case with an order on security clearances https://t.co/Sgd0VpCp9C
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 16, 2023
“In a Thursday order, Cannon gave ‘all attorneys of record and forthcoming attorneys of record’ a Friday deadline for getting in touch with the Justice Department’s litigation security group so that they can expedite 'the necessary clearance process,'" the network's Tierney Sneed reported.
The Trump-appointed judge gave each attorney in the case until Tuesday to comply with the order.
Sneed reported Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Chris Kise had done so as of Thursday evening.
On Tuesday in Miami, the former president and leading GOP contender in the 2024 presidential race pleaded not guilty to 37 counts related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Special counsel Jack Smith, appointed to look into the former president’s alleged storage and handling of classified documents, brought the case against Trump last week.
Smith, whose wife directed a documentary about former first lady Michelle Obama and also donated to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland last year.
He was tapped to lead the investigation after Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, was raided by the FBI in August 2022 in search of classified documents.
Ten months later, the DOJ charged the former president with dozens of felonies and accused him of violating the Espionage Act.
Trump has denied the charges and vowed to fight them.
A number of his challengers in the 2024 Republican primary race have pledged to pardon him in the event they win the presidency.
Cannon was assigned to the case in the immediate aftermath of the FBI raid and later agreed to allow the former president to appoint a so-called special master to review the documents in question.
The judge has faced calls to recuse herself from the case over objections from Democrats and the establishment media.
She has offered no indication she intends to do so.
New on Trump Mar-a-Lago docket: US judge Aileen Cannon orders defense counsel to contact DOJ to expedite security clearance process on or before June 16 and file compliance notice by June 20. Cannon does not appear to be recusing this case.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) June 15, 2023
Cannon was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in May 2020.
She was confirmed to the bench by the U.S. Senate on Nov. 12, 2020, by a vote of 56-21.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
A group of Amazon delivery drivers and dispatchers in Palmdale, California, walked off the job Thursday, a first for drivers in the U.S., according to a report.
Motherboard stated the unprecedented action is an attempt to get the Seattle-based online shopping giant to come to the bargaining table.
Amazon has refused that request in the past, maintaining that the 84 striking drivers are employed by Battle-Tested Strategies, not by Amazon itself.
But the Teamsters Union begged to differ, claiming in a news release that the e-commerce titan wields "absolute control" over Battle-Tested Strategies, also known as BTS.
BTS negotiated a union contract, but Amazon "has refused to recognize and honor [it]," the Teamster release said.
Instead, they continued, "Amazon has engaged in dozens of unfair labor practices in violation of federal labor law."
At issue, according to the Teamsters, are "low pay and dangerous working conditions."
Drivers have to contend with extreme temperatures in their box vans, the union said.
“The back of an Amazon van feels like an oven in the summer,” striking driver Cecilia Porter said, according to the Teamsters' statement.
“I’ve felt dizzy and dehydrated, but if I take a break, I’ll get a call asking why I’m behind on deliveries. We are protecting ourselves and saying our safety comes first.”
Raj Singh agreed, telling Motherboard, “The vans we have -- it’s a big metal container. In the extreme heat it can get upwards of 130, 135 degrees inside the van.
“You walk in, and it’s sweltering, the wave of heat that hits you -- the only comparison I can give you is like walking into an oven, because it’s that nasty dry heat.
"You feel like you’re just getting cooked back there. I go through 10-12 bottles of water a day, and I urinate once.”
Also at issue is pay. "We work hard for a multibillion-dollar corporation," Singh said, according to the Teamsters. "We should be able to provide food and clothes for our kids.”
Another driver, Jesus Gutierrez, said, “We know Amazon’s massive profits are only possible thanks to our labor.
“We will not stand by while Amazon breaks the law. We are holding Amazon accountable for our safety on the job.”
In October, dozens of Amazon workers at a San Bernardino, California, air hub staged a one-day walkout. They were seeking $5-per-hour raises, to about $22 per hour, and better working conditions, according to Bloomberg.
Amazon is facing unionization efforts across the country -- not just from drivers, but from package handlers and other job classifications, Bloomberg reported last fall.
The news outlet quoted a company statement as saying that "wages at its US facilities range from $16 to $26 an hour depending on position and location. Employee benefits include medical coverage and 401(k) retirement plans.
“While we are always listening and working on ways to improve the experience, we’re proud to offer compensation packages that not only include great pay, but also provide comprehensive benefits for regular full-time employees,” spokeswoman Mary Kate Paradis said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The massive coffee chain Starbucks is a well-known purveyor of LGBT propaganda.
The massive coffee chain Starbucks is trying to erase all things LGBT.
Those two seemingly competing criticisms have both been hurled against the brand.
While conservatives have long derided the coffee chain for its overtly pro-LGBT stance, the latter critique is relatively new and comes from Starbucks Workers United, a group aiming to unionize Starbucks employees.
In a Tuesday Twitter thread, Starbucks Workers United accused the company of removing "Pride decorations in stores across the United States."
BREAKING: In the middle of Pride Month, Starbucks BANS Pride decorations in stores across the United States.
— Starbucks Workers United (@SBWorkersUnited) June 13, 2023
Starbucks issued a statement refuting the allegations, according to NBC News.
“We unwaveringly support the LGBTQIA2+ community. There has been no change to any policy on this matter and we continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including for U.S. Pride month in June," Starbucks representative Andrew Trull said.
“We’re deeply concerned by false information that is being spread especially as it relates to our inclusive store environments, our company culture, and the benefits we offer our partners."
There's the left-leaning company that conservatives are familiar with. Starbucks, by its own account, has been pro-LGBT since 1988.
And yet, despite the denial from corporate, Starbucks Workers United provided a laundry list of purported examples of Starbucks' newfound aversion to LGBT material.
Our official statement on Starbucks refusing to let workers put up pride decorations at dozens of stores across the country. pic.twitter.com/Dd6T6IHqN2
— Starbucks Workers United (@SBWorkersUnited) June 14, 2023
As unlikely as it is that Starbucks will ever embrace anything resembling conservatism, Starbucks Workers United also offered a potential reason for why the company may be "caving."
Citing the beleaguered Target, Starbucks Workers United essentially accused the coffee chain of being afraid of widespread backlash.
"Taking a cue from Target, who bowed to anti-LGBTQ+ pressure and removed pride merchandise, corporate and district management are taking down the pride decorations that have become an annual tradition in stores," the group posted.
Taking a cue from Target, who bowed to anti-LGBTQ+ pressure and removed pride merchandise, corporate and district management are taking down the pride decorations that have become an annual tradition in stores.
— Starbucks Workers United (@SBWorkersUnited) June 13, 2023
Indeed, both Target and Bud Light have suffered massive damage to their respective brands (to say nothing of the fiscal hemorrhaging going on) after disastrous dalliances with LGBT activism.
Bud Light is still under intense fire more than two months after working with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Target, meanwhile, was taken to task for peddling LGBT merchandise aimed specifically at kids -- including clothes designed by a literal Satanist.
So as unlikely as it seems that Starbucks would mandate anything that could be remotely perceived as "anti-LGBT," it is believable given the raging culture wars in America.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
In 2021, the left-leaning Roll Call published an article about the lack of proper protective gear for Capitol police during the violence on Jan. 6.
According to the article, "Most officers who fought that day did so without helmets, face shields or gas masks that would have better protected them from chemical irritants and blunt force imposed by the rioters."
Setting aside the fact that the only chemical irritants the officers had to deal with were the ones they released themselves, the article raised an important question: Why were the Capitol Police officers, who are part of one of the most expansive and well-financed law enforcement agencies with a budget surpassing $460 million, not properly equipped with helmets?
A new Epoch Times article revealed the answer.
According to the article, days before the violence erupted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Captain Ben Smith, a U.S. Capitol Police officer, ordered former Capitol Police Lt. Tarik K. Johnson to confiscate "20 to 30" riot helmets from officers.
Johnson told The Epoch Times that he received this order without the knowledge of Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund. Although he was not given a specific reason for the confiscation, Johnson assumed it was because the helmets had expired because "if they were perfectly good helmets, why would you take them?"
This was an order that violated equipment protocols on multiple levels. Receiving the order to collect helmets, Johnson was told to have his officers bring them to his office. Johnson said in his 23 years on the force, he had never experienced this.https://t.co/hDy5a47JAr
— Steve Baker - TPC (@TPC4USA) June 8, 2023
During roll call, Johnson had sergeants announce the helmet collection, and officers brought their helmets to his office as instructed.
Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who was forced to resign on Jan. 7, 2021, told The Epoch Times that he was not aware of helmets being taken back and questioned the urgency and timing of the confiscation.
Sund said that they had just received a shipment of 104 helmets on Jan. 4 and that he had actually been trying to get those helmets out. "To hear TK [Johnson] say they're pulling helmets back and not doing a one-for-one [exchange], that's very concerning," he said.
The disclosure about the helmet confiscation by Officer Johnson only adds fuel to the ever-growing controversy surrounding the USCP's actions on Jan. 6.
Johnson previously stated that he repeatedly requested permission to evacuate the U.S. Senate via police radio just before 2:30 p.m. on that day. However, he received no response from commanders and proceeded with the evacuation independently.
An unreleased Capitol security video reviewed by The Epoch Times showed that as senators and staff rushed down the stairs, a large crowd of protesters was approaching the Senate in a nearby hallway. The timing of the evacuation left only seconds to spare before the protesters arrived. Johnson expressed concern that any further delay could have trapped senators inside the chamber. He attributed the radio silence to Yogananda Pittman, who was the assistant chief at the time.
“Tarik Johnson blamed radio silence from the USCP Command Center on Yogananda Pittman, then the assistant chief later acting police chief. Johnson has pushed in recent wks for Congress to subpoena Pittman for questioning…” https://t.co/ZxMliTFTjo
— Katrina Ski (@MtRushmore2016) June 11, 2023
Yogananda Pittman, who eventually became the acting police chief, started a new position as the chief of police at the University of California-Berkeley in February.
Taken separately, each of these "things that make you go hmm" and the hundreds more that have come out since the fated day can be attributed to bad timing, miscommunication, lack of coordination, mismanagement, or just bad luck.
But put all together, the mountain of evidence seems to grow taller every time you look at it, and it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
“The government is likely denying hundreds of January 6 defendants important exculpatory evidence.”
The #DOJ withheld over 8,000 hours of #Jan6 security video, leaving defendants without access to over 60% of the footage turned over to the #FBI. https://t.co/QGcuVzMR32
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) June 5, 2023
There's an old adage that goes, "The more you repeat it, the more people believe it."
The left, hand in glove with most of the media, has done a remarkable job of perpetuating the lies about Jan. 6 through a campaign of propaganda and the suppression of any line of questioning that goes against the approved narrative.
Thankfully, there are still some in the media that continue to dig for the truth.
Their work is crucial and must continue.
There are still too many unanswered questions about Jan. 6, and those whose lives have been destroyed by the media narrative deserve the truth.
And so do the American people.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The dark coalition between the transgender movement and the left-wing anti-family ideology continues, with yet another blow to parental rights.
According to a Washington Free Beacon report, a California bill, A.B. 957, regarding custody disputes involving children, has been modified to punish parents who do not support their child's "self-identified" gender.
The bill, introduced by Assemblywoman Lori Wilson and co-authored by the far-left state Senator Scott Wiener, has passed the State Assembly and is now under review in the Senate.
According to the new changes, judges must prioritize the parent who supports and acknowledges the child's "self-identified" gender.
The newly updated version includes a specific definition of "the health, safety, and welfare" of a child to include "a parent's affirmation of the child's gender identity."
Simply put, if a divorced or separated couple has a custody dispute, the court will prioritize the rights of the parent who wants to help the child mutilate his or her body parts. Which, come to think of it, may have been the reason for the divorce or separation in the first place.
#AB957 is a dangerous precedent for the nation not just California. You have to read the language. It’s straight up strong arming parents with threat of removal if they don’t affirm their child’s gender pic.twitter.com/vzcgrYIDuK
— Denise Aguilar (@InformedMama209) June 9, 2023
A California bill AB957 was just amended to add "a parent's affirmation of the child's gender identity" as part of the "health, safety, and welfare of the child" in the state's Family Code.
If parents disapprove of their child's gender transition, and say a teacher or lgbt… pic.twitter.com/YyaHLoSHFk
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 9, 2023
The continuous introduction and passing of new legislation in leftist states makes it infinitely clear that there is a sinister agenda at work -- an agenda bent on destroying the family unit and increasing state control over our nation's most precious treasure -- our children.
[firefly_poll]
Last month, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington signed into law SB5599, more appropriately referred to as "The Kidnapping Bill." It allows schools to hide minor children whose parents do not affirm their "self-identified" gender in shelters, without the parents' knowledge or permission, before referring them to doctors for gender transition. It also allows these agencies to harbor minors seeking abortions.
In a Facebook post, Washington State GOP representative candidate Jerrod Sessler called it a " life-altering, family-destroying crime."
"Once at the shelter," Sessler explained, "the student will meet their next groomer who will inform them of their rights under the law. Because the student is upset at their parents, which happens at times in every family, they volunteer for the bondage disguised as false-freedom. Meanwhile, parents are left to their own agony not knowing where [their] child is and having zero rights to retrieve him/her. Within days, the student will be injected with big pharma products that will alter their mental state as they continue to listen to the whispered lies from the string of groomers leading them into hell on earth."
School boards across the country continue to update their curriculums with materials designed to turn children away from their parents, offering a way out to confused young men and women by brainwashing them into believing that changing their genitalia will fix the empty void in their hearts.
Using tactics that originated in the Garden of Eden, the transgender agenda's primary motive is to destroy everything that is God-affirming and replace it with "self-affirming."
Ronald Reagan once called for "an America of wisdom that honors the family, knowing that if the family goes, so goes our civilization."
Anti-democratic factions of our society understand this and are relentlessly working to break down this most vital pillar of our civilization.
Immigrant parents understand this, too, and are willing to fight for their families and for safety of their children in the country they now call home.
WARNING: The following video contains violent content that the viewer may find disturbing.
Glendale (CA) police rush in and save #Antifa & far-left protesters during a fight against Armenian-Americans outside a school board meeting. Many parents of immigrant background disapprove of the schools celebrating pride events. pic.twitter.com/i1L2P1aBxt
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 7, 2023
It's time for the rest of America to wake up and take back the reins of our families, our children, and the very foundation of our civilization before there is nothing left but a mind-controlled generation that cannot even be sure what gender they are.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
One clip from NBC's "Little Big Shots"-- though fairly old -- has been making its rounds on the internet.
Heidi St. John, founder of MomStrong International, posted it on Instagram recently with the caption, "Facts so basic even a child can explain."
View this post on Instagram
The video featured a remarkable 4-year-old girl named Brielle explaining the differences between men's and women's anatomy, particularly the pelvis, to Steve Harvey.
"It's the only bone in the body that's gender specific," she told Harvey with an adorable lisp that had the audience chuckling.
"Which means it's different in boys and girls."
"Is it?" Harvey responded.
"Yes. The pelvis's job is to protect the organs used for digesting and reproduction, which means growing babies," she whispered confidentially to the amazed Harvey.
While undeniably adorable, the reason this clip has generated so much interest of late is that this intelligent young girl effectively highlighted a fundamental truth that has been muddied in ideological rhetoric and clever wordsmithing of today's society.
There are only two genders, each with distinct biological differences created for specific biological purposes, including procreation.
This simple, universal, biological fact should be the only information about sex necessary to provide to students at the school level.
The primary mission of schools is to provide students with an education that equips them with knowledge, critical thinking skills, and the ability to apply that knowledge in various contexts.
Academic education encompasses subjects like mathematics, science -- including biology -- history, and languages, which provide students with the foundation to understand the world around them and navigate their future endeavors.
It is no secret that our nation's school system is failing our kids, leaving them behind children in many other countries and unprepared for the future. Our National Assessment of Educational Progress report, also known as The Nation's Report Card, shows "plummetting" scores for math and reading in U.S. schools.
Yet our nation's leadership and school boards across the country run by left-wing academics are intent on pushing an agenda that does nothing to empower these children to succeed in life.
Instead, vital funds earmarked for education are spent on "pride" celebrations featuring drag queens and explicit books about sex, which have no educational component.
A New Hampshire high school is facing heat for using thousands of dollars left over from its Covid-19 funds to put on a drag show featuring men parading around in inappropriate clothing for children. https://t.co/phkLuANnP0 pic.twitter.com/Yp5LKbDULX
— Parents' Rights In Education (@RightsParents) June 5, 2023
While teachers, as caregivers, are sometimes called to look after the mental health of their students, we have lost sight of the fact that schools and learning institutions are not intended to serve as psychiatrists' offices. Nor is it the school's place to teach children about their access to dangerous procedures to help them mutilate their bodies during a period in their lives when their minds are still developing and may be experiencing confusion.
Let our schools prioritize learning and foster an environment where students are encouraged to think, reason, and develop skills that prepare them for life and the workforce.
That is their job.
Anything else should be considered malpractice.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
In another example of the liberals' war against women, a leftist judge who is sold out to the extreme transgender agenda has ruled against a Seattle spa, saying that, despite the owners' Christian faith, their rule against allowing men claiming to be women to use the facilities was a crime.
Seattle District Court Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein -- who was first appointed to the bench by Jimmy Carter in 1980 -- ruled that a traditional Korean spa where women participate in the nude will be required to allow men who pretend to be women to walk around in the nude with their male genitalia in full view. In effect, the 84-year-old judge has ruled that transgenderism is a chief American principle.
The Olympus Spa was dragged into court when transgender agitator Haven Wilvich filed a civil rights discrimination complaint against the spa when operators told him he could not walk around nude among the women because they had a "women-only" rule, and transgenders who had not fully transitioned were not allowed.
Spa operators said their "women-only rule … is essential for the safety, legal protection, and well-being of our customers," the New York Post reported.
The business did allow transgender men who went the full transitioning distance and had their male genitalia removed to complete the cosmetic fantasy that they are women. But men who still had their male genitalia were not allowed.
Korean Women’s Only Spa in Seattle has been forced to allow Transgender customers with penises to use the spa, even though all customers must be naked.
After a biological man, Haven Wilvich, who identifies as trans filed a discrimination suit for being denied access to the… pic.twitter.com/Q3FvnWCyn9
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) June 9, 2023
Wilvich, though, claimed that merely "identifying" as a woman should be enough to allow him entry to the spa and claimed that the business was discriminating against him and breaking the State of Washington's extremely liberal "human rights" laws.
Proving that he is merely an activist and not really an aggrieved customer, reports noted that Wilvich never once even went to the spa to try to gain entry. He launched his attack after merely hearing about the spa's "women-only" rule. Wilvich has admitted that he filed his complaint after only speaking to the spa on the phone and after he was told that "pre-op trans women were not allowed."
"They were breaking Washington state law and I reported that violation," the extremist told the media.
Because it is a traditional Korean spa of gender-segregated bathhouses called "jjimjilbang," the rules require women to be nude in the pool area, Yahoo News added.
The owners of the spa, Myoon Woon Lee, and company's president, Sun Lee, told the courts that they are "unwilling to remake the ‘jjimjilbang’ we have worked so hard over many years to build and preserve, simply for the sake of promoting gender neutrality."
Lee said that he feared that allowing men to walk around nude would expose his business to lawsuits and maybe criminal penalties from women, especially minors. He also said that naked men in the spa have already cost him customers who will never return.
But the pair also cited their Christian religious beliefs to reject transgender customers who have not fully transitioned.
Wilvich had initially sent his complaint to the Washington State Human Rights Commission in 2020 and that body had ruled against the spa, ordering them to allow pre-operative transgender women to parade around nude to their heart's content.
But in 2021, the spa launched its own lawsuit against Andreta Armstrong, the commission’s executive director, alleging that Armstrong violated the spa owners' First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and religion, and their right to freedom of association.
Unfortunately, Rothstein ruled against each of these points, as can be seen in excerpts of her ruling at Reason's Volokh Conspiracy blog. Rothstein's ruling promulgates Wilvich's fantasy that he is a woman and basically elevates that as a more important principle than the more than 200-year-old American ideals of free speech, freedom of religion and freedom of association.
In her ruling, the judge pointed out that the WSHRC says "sexual orientation" includes those whose "gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at birth," Yahoo reported.
Wilvich, of course, was thrilled with his victory. Indeed, the extremist celebrated on social media by calling himself "more woman" than any real woman because he chose transgenderism -- a practice that has been linked to mental illness.
"I’m more woman than any TERF will ever be because I am an intentional woman whereas they are only incidental," he wrote, according to the Post.
He also doubled down on that sentiment, telling the media, "I think that’s true. I think ‘chosen’ womanhood is just as valid, if not more valid, than people who don’t analyze their gender, who don’t think critically about the role that they’ve been given in society."
Despite his pride in helping to destroy the safety of women, not to mention the business of the Olympus Spa, Wilvich is also blasting both the court and the WSHRC for including his name in the proceedings.
"My name never should have been part of the public record," Wilvich said, adding that it's a "dangerous precedent to be set for minority people."
In other words, Wilvich is looking to eliminate another long-held American tradition, the one where people accused of crimes are allowed to face their accusers. Like all these left-wing loons, he evidently believes no American principle or tradition is worth keeping; all must be destroyed in service to radical transgenderism.
The law has been thoroughly perverted to serve the transgender agenda, putting women and girls at risk in nearly every corner of this country. And it will only get worse from here as sick-minded men realize they can use the cover of transgenderism to force themselves into women's spaces. Worse, they know the courts will serve as their enforcers.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The controversy and relative downfall of Project Veritas in the wake of James O'Keefe's abrupt departure has created a vacuum within conservative journalism circles.
For the time being, it appears the void is going to be filled by conservative firebrand and Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, perhaps best known for his wildly successful "What Is a Woman?" documentary.
Walsh's first foray into the world of undercover, investigative journalism was documented in a lengthy Twitter thread, where he and his team discovered just how vast and efficient the transgender networking was within healthcare.
You Won't Believe What We Discovered In Our Undercover Investigation of 'Gender Affirming Care' pic.twitter.com/wAaQ3OrihR
— The Matt Walsh Show (@MattWalshShow) June 7, 2023
The lengthy thread, which goes 20 tweets deep, primarily focuses on the ease of which people can procure the necessary prerequisites to go through radical "gender affirming" surgeries.
First, the thread begins with Walsh documenting a clinical social worker, Ari Groner, who basically confirmed that she puts very little thought or standards into her letters of recommendation, which are an early step needed for doctors to approve those radical surgeries.
3/ Groner was referring to the WPATH standards, which major hospitals follow. They require that trans patients obtain a letter before undergoing surgeries. But Groner tells her audience to treat the letters as a “persuasive essay," and to green-light even suicidal patients. pic.twitter.com/dpQe6TCdRP
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 7, 2023
As disconcerting as that is, this is one social worker explaining her questionable methods. Surely the industry leaders aren't following the same guidelines.
Not so, as Walsh and his team then turned their investigative focus to two of the largest "healthcare service" providers for LGBT youths, Folx and Plume.
Walsh accused both groups of putting profits above responsibility, and some of the evidence his team documented strongly suggest that to be true.
Here, Walsh documents Folx's own language where the group tells prospective patients that they "needed" a gender dysphoria diagnosis so that insurers pay out:
5/ Whatever insurance companies might think of that, it's the industry standard. The popular trans telehealth service @folxhealth, for example, instructs patients that even if they don't "fit" the definition of gender dysphoria, the diagnosis is “needed” so that insurers pay out. pic.twitter.com/8hVoLXzAkH
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 7, 2023
When Walsh and his team followed up, a Folx representative told them that "gender dysphoria has become a requirement to have gender-affirming procedures covered be your insurance, even though the diagnosis doesn't apply to all trans folks."
Worse yet, Walsh and his team also discovered that Plume, the self-described "largest virtual clinic for transgender" people requires little more than enough money for a high-end dinner date.
8/ The largest trans healthcare provider in the U.S., @plume_clinic, runs a similar scam. They sell letters for $150 authorizing surgeries. That's how our producer @gregg_re received approval for testicle removal after a 22-minute video call.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 7, 2023
"[The workers at Plume] sell letters for $150 authorizing surgeries," Walsh tweeted out. "That's how our producer @gregg_re received approval for testicle removal after a 22-minute video call."
Indeed, Walsh then included a series of videos showing that, despite "Gregg" not fitting the clinical definition for being gender dysphoric, nor exhibiting any knowledge about the life-changing procedures he was faux-signing up for, the Plume nurse practitioner still wanted to help Gregg obtain the best letter possible to secure his testicle removal.
The nurse also doesn't blink twice when Gregg told her that his father had been prescribing him hormones for years. In fact, she called it "perfect."
12/ Gregg also tells Plume’s nurse practitioner that his father has been prescribing him hormones for years. The nurse doesn’t question this in any way. Instead, she says that arrangement is “perfect.” pic.twitter.com/YsB4BEkUpu
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 7, 2023
It's all disturbing stuff, which ultimately culminates in Gregg being approved for said testicle removal.
And not unlike the Irish legends of yore, Walsh and his team did indeed discover a giant pot of gold at the end of this particular rainbow.
17/ The answer is that there’s big money behind this. Plume and Folx raised more than $45 million last year. @craft_ventures just led Plume's $14 million fundraising round. Is @DavidSacks aware this is going on? Are @transformcptl, @generalcatalyst, @slow, or @townhallvntrs?
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 7, 2023
Walsh notes that Plum and Folx were able to rapidly ascend and spread because of money.
"Plume and Folx raised more than $45 million last year," Walsh noted.
Walsh ends his thread by tagging a number of entities, such as the various major healthcare providers in the country, asking them if "they know they're paying for surgeries based on obviously false information?"
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. put President Joe Biden to shame this week by making a real visit to the southern border to assess the illegal immigration crisis firsthand.
RFK met with law enforcement, illegal migrants, local government officials and charities dealing with the mass influx of people in Yuma, Arizona, he told NewsNation.
It's a "dystopian nightmare" that "clearly could have been prevented," he said.
Contrast RFK's fact-finding mission with Biden's three-hour photo-op visit to the border in El Paso, Texas, in January.
During the brief stop on his way to Mexico, Biden met with no migrants, did not see the makeshift migrant encampment on the city's streets, and spent just minutes at the border wall, CNN reported.
Kennedy called Biden's policies, which have allowed millions of illegal immigrants to stream into the U.S. from around the world, "unsustainable."
Filming at a portion of unfinished border wall near Yuma early Tuesday morning, Kennedy said he had seen approximately 150 people cross into the U.S. in the previous hour.
At 2 am this morning, I visited the border outside of Yuma, Arizona where thousands of migrants are crossing the border each week. You have to see it with your own eyes. #Kennedy24 pic.twitter.com/Fbl4mPr44A
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) June 6, 2023
He recounted that he and his team had spoken with the illegal migrants and learned they were from places as diverse as West Africa, Peru, Afghanistan, China, India and Bangladesh.
[firefly_poll]
"Altogether, people have come across right here from 117 nations in the last couple of years. In three years in total, 7 million people have come across the border illegally," he said.
Kennedy explained that once people are apprehended at the border, they are taken to Border Patrol facilities where they are processed and released on their own recognizance into the U.S. about four or five days later.
"Most of them are never seen or heard from again," he said.
"The stories that we heard from these people are absolutely heartbreaking. This is a humanitarian crisis because of the understanding across the globe that we now have an open border here," Kennedy added.
He noted that many of the illegal migrants are abused as they make their way to the U.S. border.
"There are all kinds of just horrific, terrible, terrible stories. And this is not a good thing for our country. It’s not a good thing for these people. It is unsustainable," Kennedy concluded.
The Democratic candidate posted a picture with Yuma County Sheriff Leon Willmot, whom he quoted as saying, “This shouldn’t be a partisan issue, it’s a health and public safety issue. It’s a humanitarian crisis.”
Yuma County Sheriff Leon Willmot. “This shouldn’t be a partisan issue, it’s a health and public safety issue. It’s a humanitarian crisis.” I agree. I’m at the border learning about the situation here. So many heartbreaking stories. pic.twitter.com/fbdqqBznhL
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) June 7, 2023
Kennedy also met with farmers from the region, pointing out, "Yuma County provides 90% of the green leafy vegetables, like iceberg lettuce, arugula, spinach, and broccoli, to American tables between November and April."
I can confirm, having driven through the area many times, that it is made up of vast irrigated farmlands.
Kennedy wrote, "The tsunami of migrants walking across farm fields and defecating in irrigation canals threatens the safety of that food supply. Last year, one of their neighbors had to plow under 88 acres of broccoli and personally absorb the $10k per acre cost after migrants tainted irrigation water."
I met with local farmers Cory Mellon, Alex Mueller, Hank Auza, and Robert Barkley in Yuma, Arizona. Yuma County provides 90% of the green leafy vegetables, like iceberg lettuce, arugula, spinach, and broccoli, to American tables between November and April. The tsunami of migrants… pic.twitter.com/OKUsEw9I0C
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) June 7, 2023
Last August, then-Gov. Doug Ducey filled in gaps in the border wall with shipping containers in part to prevent migrants from trampling and contaminating the crops.
However, the Biden administration sued the state of Arizona in federal court, and Ducey agreed in December to remove the containers.
The administration pledged to begin filling in some of the gaps with a permanent wall -- but obviously not at the place RFK Jr. visited, at least not yet.
NewsNation's Ali Bradley reported that the shipping containers were removed in early January and that work was set to begin to close four gaps in the wall.
#BREAKING CBP is scheduled to resume construction of the border wall in Yuma—Work will begin next week to close 4 gaps in the border barrier located near Morelos Dam.
CBP says the project is anticipated to be done Summer 2023.
The shipping container removal in Yuma is complete. pic.twitter.com/DYjO3rcrSL
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) January 5, 2023
In May, Bradley showed that construction was underway and that Customs and Border Patrol expected the gaps near Yuma to be filled by September.
AZ: Wall update: The gate is coming along here at the Yuma dam.
It’s set to be a working gate that border patrol and local farmers will be able to access. There are several gates like it along the border wall already.
CBP says construction on the wall is slated to be completed… pic.twitter.com/v76lUQ4X2V
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) May 25, 2023
Fox News reported in January, citing Customs and Border Patrol, that migrant crossings in Yuma increased 171 percent between 2021 and 2022.
Further, about 1 million migrants had crossed into Arizona illegally by that point in Biden's presidency.
On the Southwest border overall, CBP data shows that over 1.4 million illegal migrants have been apprehended this fiscal year as of April.
A record 2.38 million entered the U.S. illegally in FY 2022, up from a record 1.73 million in FY 2021 during the first year of Biden's term.
Kennedy, at the very least, is showing he takes the border crisis seriously and knows it must end.
Biden seems content to let it continue for the duration of his presidency.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
