‘They Don’t Buy Into That At All’: Are Far-Left Policies Behind Hispanic Voters’ Rightward Shift? . . . Hispanic Americans have been voting Republican at record high rates, helping the GOP make inroads in traditionally Democratic areas, and in some cases, flip long-held Democratic seats. Most apparent were the gains that Republicans made in the 2020 presidential election, sizably increasing their vote share in states with large and small Hispanic populations alike and winning several competitive congressional races as a result. This past weekend Republicans swept Texas’ mayoral races, winning in both large cities like Fort Worth and smaller cities like McAllen, a border town in the heavily-Democratic Rio Grande Valley. The Hill

 

 

 

America’s Energy Gift to Dictators . . . The U.S. is barreling toward one of the greatest self-inflicted wounds in its history. This came into sharper focus last week when President Biden suspended oil leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), even as Russia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced production increases. Mr. Biden’s anti-carbon fusillade will have no effect on the climate as global demand for fossil fuels will continue to increase for decades no matter what the U.S. does. Meantime, Russia, China and Iran will take advantage of America’s astonishing fossil-fuel retreat. Analysis. Wall Street Journal

 

 

 

 

JBS Paid $11 Million to Resolve Ransomware Attack . . . JBS USA Holdings Inc. paid an $11 million ransom to cybercriminals who last week temporarily knocked out plants that process roughly one-fifth of the nation’s meat supply, the company’s chief executive said. The ransom payment, in bitcoin, was made to shield JBS meat plants from further disruption and to limit the potential impact on restaurants, grocery stores and farmers that rely on JBS, said Andre Nogueira, chief executive of Brazilian meat company JBS SA’s U.S. division. “It was very painful to pay the criminals, but we did the right thing for our customers,” Mr. Nogueira said. Wall Street Journal

 

 

Exporting Chinese surveillance: the security risks of ‘smart cities’ . . . Critics say the technology can be a tool for ‘digital authoritarianism’ and leaves countries vulnerable to cyber attack. Belgrade’s Republic Square, one of the cultural and social hubs of the Serbian capital, is now at the centre of an international debate about the export of Chinese technology, authoritarian surveillance and cyber security. The square is under constant observation by equipment made in China. A surveillance camera system installed by Huawei, the Chinese technology group, has the capacity to monitor the behavior of people in the square and elsewhere in the city, recognize their faces, identify their vehicle number plates and make judgments on whether suspicious activities are afoot. The controversy in Serbia is being repeated in different ways across the world as scores of countries — including several western democracies — install surveillance technology as part of “safe city” and “smart city” packages supplied by Chinese companies including Huawei, ZTE Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, Zhejiang Dahua Technology, Alibaba and others. Financial Times

 

 

 

 

Kim Jong Un’s apparent weight loss sparks speculation over health . . . North Korea watchers are eager to get the skinny on leader Kim Jong Un’s apparent weight loss — which some speculate might be a sign of deteriorating health. The famously corpulent despot looked noticeably slimmer in photos released by state media Saturday — after not being seen publicly for a month, the Guardian reported. South Korea-based NK News, which analyzed photos of Kim addressing a ruling party politburo meeting last week, said he appeared to have lost a “significant amount of weight.” New York Post

 

 

Drug traffickers change tactics to avoid Covid-19 travel curbs . . . Drug traffickers are adapting to Covid-19 travel restrictions and border closures by switching from using human couriers to shipping containers and commercial supply chains, European officials have warned. Law enforcement experts say the illicit drug market has proved “remarkably resilient” to the disruption caused by the pandemic as traffickers alter the routes and methods used in wholesale smuggling and increase the production of illegal drugs in Europe. An increase in maritime seizures of heroin, usually smuggled over land from the Middle East to Europe, has also been reported. Large seizures of both cannabis and heroin were reported in a number of European seaports in the second half of 2020. Financial Times

 

 

‘Maybe He [Toni Fauci] Ought To Buy An Emotional Support Pony’: Sen. Kennedy Says Tony Fauci ‘Needs To Cut The Crap’ Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said Wednesday that Dr. Anthony Fauci “needs to cut the crap” and respond to critics of his work as the chief White House coronavirus expert. “But Dr. Fauci needs to cut the crap. This is not about Dr. Fauci … I am sorry if his feelings were hurt,” Kennedy said, adding that “maybe he ought to buy an emotional support pony.” Daily Caller

 

I love Sen. Kennedy's speaking style! He talks like my Russian Dad. Trump has a similar style, which is why many Latino Americans and Russian Americans like The Donald and relate to him. Not uptight. No pretense. Says it how it is. They don't mind someone who speaks plainly. Rough around the edges and can be a bully, but intellectually honest.

 

Black professor urges 'antiracist' parents to pull students from NJ prep school . . . Columbia University linguistics professor John McWhorter, who is Black, said Wednesday evening that parents of children enrolled at a New Jersey private school that has started to teach critical race theory should pull them out before the fall. "All hail Dana Stangel-Plowe, who has resigned from the Dwight-Englewood School, which teaches students ‘antiracism’ that sees life as nothing but abuse of power, and teaches that cringing, hostile group identity against oppression is the essence of a self," McWhorter tweeted. Fox News

 

Teacher Bucks ‘Transgender’ Mafia, Judge Backs Him . . . District Judge James Plowman ordered the Loudoun County, Virginia, school board to reinstate Leesburg Elementary School gym teacher Byron “Tanner” Cross. He’s the Christian who was suspended last week following his public criticism of and refusal to comply with the district’s “transgender” policy. In his decision Plowman wrote, “The public’s knowledge that [Cross’s] speech was permissible, is encouraged, and is free from governmental oppression serves the public interest. Governmental bodies being held in check for violating a citizen’s constitutional rights serves the public interest.” Plowman’s ruling does not end the lawsuit Cross filed against Loudoun County Public Schools. Patriot Post

 

So encouraging to see that teachers are taking action, risking their livelihoods, against the various lunacy-type ideologies that government-run schools poison our children with. Let's support these folks.

 

Cancel culture knives are now out for apple pie: ‘As American as stolen land’ . . . The British publication The Guardian recently published a food article titled “Food injustice: Let’s start with America’s apple pie,” penned by contributor Raj Patel — who questions the origins of apples and sugar in the U.S. and makes the case that they have played a role in creating a negative cultural outcome. “In the drama of nationalist culture, the bloody and international origins of the apple pie are subject to a collective amnesia. The apple pie is as American as stolen land, wealth and labor,” Mr. Patel wrote in his analysis. The Guardian links this American symbol to the ‘vast and ongoing genocide of indigenous people’, the slave trade and even calls traditional gingham cloth it sits on cultural appropriation,” the Daily Mail wrote. Washington Times

 

 

 

Bear gets stuck on Arizona utility pole, video shows . . . A bear in southern Arizona caused quite a stir this week, along with a brief power outage, after it climbed up a utility pole and became stuck. Utility company Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC) sent Werner Neubauer, a company lineman and his apprentice lineman to disable the power and rescue the trapped bear. "He [the bear] was in a pretty dangerous spot. Could’ve very easily gotten himself electrocuted." Neubauer said. 

 

Soon after, the lineman said he went up in a bucket lift to try to help get the animal down. At one point, he even tried talking to it. "Alright, little bear. Time to get off this pole." Neubauer said. "I think I told him I was gonna help him get down the pole." "I know he couldn’t understand me. But it did get his attention." Thanks to his efforts, the bear eventually climbed down and ran off into the desert. The animal was uninjured. Fox News