Liz Cheney ‘Secretly Orchestrated’ Former Defense Secretaries To Write Op-Ed Slamming Trump . . . Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney “secretly orchestrated” an op-ed in the Washington Post from all living former secretaries of defense slamming former President Trump’s handling of the military in January. Eric Edelman, a friend of Cheney’s, reportedly told the New Yorker that Cheney had personally met with all 10 living former defense secretaries, including Trump’s first defense secretary, Jim Mattis, urging them to participate in the op-ed. “She was the one who generated it, because she was so worried about what Trump might do,” Edelman told the magazine. “It speaks to the degree that she was concerned about the threat to our democracy that Trump represented.” Daily Caller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angela Merkel rejects US move to waive patents on vaccines . . . Angela Merkel has expressed opposition to the Biden administration’s proposal to suspend intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, saying it would have “serious implications” for vaccine production worldwide. The German chancellor said the limiting factors in vaccine supply were “production capacities and the high-quality standards, not the patents”. “The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and it must remain so in the future,” she added. Financial Times

 

 

 

Chinese Manufacturers Sidestep Trade Barriers by Buying Factories Overseas . . . Over the past decade, China has provided billions of dollars of subsidies to state-owned companies to acquire Western manufacturing rivals and to build factories beyond its own borders. Now, these overseas factories are roiling global markets with low-price goods in sectors ranging from automotive tires and rail equipment to fiberglass and steel. What makes China different is the outsize role state-controlled companies play in its economy, and its willingness to support their expansion abroad. Western officials and executives say financial support from the Chinese government allows Chinese-owned manufacturers overseas to operate on razor-thin margins or at a loss, while they grab market share or serve the strategic objectives of the government. Wall Street Journal

 

 

 

Biden plan would limit longstanding tax break used by farmers . . . President Biden has said his tax proposals would make big business and wealthy investors pay their fair share. His package would also likely deliver a blow to American farm owners by limiting a longstanding tax break. The provision allows landowners to defer paying capital-gains tax when they sell investment property and put the proceeds toward the purchase of other real estate. Farmers for generations have used the tax break to cheaply and quickly relocate farm operations to lands with better soil, diversify the crops they grow and consolidate land holdings. Some have used it when exiting the farming business at retirement. Farm owners in 2012 held 915 million acres, about 40% of the land in the continental U.S. Fox Business

 

Three Things to Know About 2nd Amendment’s Return to Supreme Court . . . Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear New York State Rifle & Pistol v. Corlett, a case that could have broad implications for the future of strict gun control. Here are three important things to know about the high court’s latest Second Amendment case. 1. This case is about the right to carry firearms in public. 2.  ‘Good cause’ and ‘may issue’ requirements have racist roots. 3. Public carry will not turn us into the ‘Wild West.’ Between 1990 and 2000, 16 states changed their concealed carry laws from either “no issue” or “may issue” to “shall issue” permitting. During that time, national rates for violent crime, homicide by gun, and other gun crime plummeted. Since 2000, the trend toward more permissible public carry laws not only continued, but public interest in obtaining permits skyrocketed. Over 19 million American adults now possess a concealed carry permit, up from roughly 3 million adults in 2000. Daily Signal

 

BLM Founder Says Her Book Is Like Mao’s Red Book . . . Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors compared her book to Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong’s “Little Red Book” in a speech unearthed by The National Pulse. Cullors, who infamously described herself as a “trained Marxist,” made the comments in 2010 at a workshop “Socialism for the 21st Century.”
During her speech, BLM co-founder recounts how a young person insisted her book was “like Mao’s Red Book,” a comparison which Cullors embraces. “I think I have a really important role in speaking to youth. Maybe it’s because I came in the movement at 17-and-a-half, so I have just a knack for knowing how to organize young people into this organization,” Cullors adds. Originally published at the advent of China’s Cultural Revolution, the “Little Red Book” contains hundreds of quotes from then-Chairman Mao. Beyond representing the archetype of communist propaganda, the work was widely used by young revolutionaries to justify “purges” of anyone short of completely devoted to the Chinese Communist Party. National Pulse

 

 

BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors Has Funneled Business To Company Run By Father Of Her Only Child . . . Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder and executive director of Black Lives Matter’s national arm, has funneled business to a company led by a man she identified as the father of her only child, a Daily Caller News Foundation review of business records, interviews and social media posts found. The company, Trap Heals, was formed just days before partnering with BLM Global Network Foundation and later became the charity’s “lead developer of the art & cultural efforts.” Two other activist groups Cullors led paid Trap Heals a collective $238,000 to produce an election night livestream and for consulting services. In numerous public mentions of their work, Cullors and Turner did not disclose that they had a child together. Daily Caller 

 

School Board President Running ‘All-Ages’ Sex Shop Refused To Address Teacher Reading Trans Book To First Graders . . . A parent complained about a first-grade teacher reading books promoting pro-LGBT views to her students, and the teacher and the school district board reportedly refused to address her concerns, according to Young America’s Foundation (YAF). The school district board’s president runs an “all-ages” sex shop and describes herself as its “Head Dildo” on her Instagram profile, according to YAF.
YAF first reported the story after they received an anonymous tip through their Campus Bias Tip Line. According to screenshots of emails YAF provided to the Daily Caller, a student’s parent had written to Jennifer Miller, a 1st grade teacher in Bellingham School District, Washington State, complaining that the teacher was reading books promoting “gender dysphoria” in class without the knowledge of the students’ parents. Daily Caller

 

 

Why Big Tech Companies Continue to Lose Public’s Trust . . . The Big Tech companies consistently hide behind their algorithms when called to account for inconsistent content moderation and account suspension. Such was the case when the Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing, on April 27,  titled “Algorithms and Amplification: How Social Media Platforms’ Design Choices Shape Our Discourse and Our Minds.” Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have been accused of intentionally designing their algorithms to promote and amplify certain content, while hiding or even suspending other content for no specified reason. These Big Tech companies didn’t build confidence among users—or members of the subcommittee—that they are using sound, fair, or consistent principles in designing or using those algorithms. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said that as long as the Big Tech companies profit from using people to unknowingly influence one another, “we are each going to be steered into a different reality and then pitted against each other,” he said. Daily Signal

 

Last-Minute Mother's Day Gift Ideas For Your Wife Since We Know You Forgot . . . Mother's Day is this Sunday, and you completely forgot. Oh no! But don't worry, at The Babylon Bee, we're bringing high-quality gift ideas for your wife since it totally slipped your mind. We got you, squad.

 

- Play golf on Mother's Day so she gets 5 hours of quality time with the kids;
- Tell her to take the day off and just do all the chores on Monday -- Let the dishes stack up, honey! Relax a little -- there's always Monday;

- Surprise baby adoption! Surprise her with the gift of a newborn;
- Give your kids unlimited glitter and glue to make a card. 

- Don't get her anything, since she said she didn't want anything and you were definitely supposed to believe her.
- A fancy new spatula -- Nothing says "I love you" like the gift of a spatula.
- Frantically make her a card 30 seconds before she wakes up using a crayon and construction paper. Babylon Bee