Black voters stung by Democrats’ broken promises: ‘Doing terrible on racial justice’ . . . With Democrats in control of the Congress and the White House — and owing their success in 2020 to high turnout by minority voters — long-dreamed aspirations to fundamentally changing policing and paying reparations for slavery to Black Americans appeared within reach. What followed was eight months of disappointment. “Congress is doing terrible on racial justice,” said Ría Thompson-Washington, senior manager for voting rights and democracy at the liberal Center for Popular Democracy. “They would rather make a symbolic holiday of Juneteenth when we were already celebrating it,” she said in an interview. “Thank you, but we didn’t need that. What we needed you to do was pass the voting rights legislation.” Washington Times

 

Two GOP Operatives Charged With Funneling $25,000 From Russian National Into 2016 Presidential Election Campaign . . . Two Republican political operatives have been charged with allegedly funneling $25,000 from an unnamed Russian national into a 2016 Presidential election campaign. Jesse Benton, 43, of Louisville, Kentucky, previously worked as an aide to Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), while Roy Douglas “Doug” Wead, 75, of Bonita Springs, Florida, previously served as an adviser to multiple presidential campaigns.  According to an indictment released by the Department of Justice on Sept. 20, both Benton and Wead allegedly conspired together to solicit a political contribution from a wealthy unnamed Russian foreign national during the 2016 presidential election. Epoch Times

 

Iowa Grain Cooperative Hit by Cyberattack Linked to Ransomware Group . . . An Iowa grain co-op said it was hit with a cyberattack that security researchers are linking to newly launched ransomware group BlackMatter, which the researchers said demanded $5.9 million to unlock the organization’s data. Fort Dodge, Iowa-based New Cooperative Inc. said Monday that it took its computer networks down after some of its devices and systems recently were hacked. The organization notified law enforcement and is working with data-security experts to investigate what happened, it said. New Cooperative is working to transport grain to livestock and poultry farms that rely on it for feed supplies. Wall Street Journal

 

 

 

 

Dem plot to ‘Steele’ the White House: Anatomy of a political dirty trick . . . By Andrew C. McCarthy. There is a long game and a short game going on in special counsel John Durham’s indictment of Democratic Party lawyer Michael Sussmann on a false-statements count.  The short of it is this: A false statement was allegedly made by Sussmann to the FBI’s then-general counsel, James Baker, on Sept. 19, 2016. In federal law, the false-statement crime has a five-year statute of limitations, meaning it had to be charged by last Sunday (Sept. 19, 2021). Consequently, even if Durham would probably have preferred to wait until his full investigation was concluded before filing indictments, by delaying beyond Sunday, he would have lost what appears to be an eminently provable felony charge. If he was going to indict Sussmann on this conduct, it was now or never.

 

Now, more critically, the long game. It is unusual for a one-count false-statements charge, which can be alleged in a paragraph, to be presented as a 27-page speaking indictment. But Durham wrote a highly detailed account of the facts and circumstances surrounding the false-statements charge. It is significant in that it tells us far more about his investigation. Here is where the prosecutor appears to be going: The Trump–Russia collusion narrative was essentially a fabrication of the Clinton campaign that was peddled to the FBI (among other government agencies) and to the media by agents of the Clinton campaign. New York Post

 

 

 

Pro-Putin Party Wins Control of Russia’s Parliament . . . Russia’s ruling party won control of two-thirds of the seats in the Russian Parliament, a showing that will allow the government to enact changes to the constitution and bolsters the power of President Vladimir Putin. In the run-up to the three-day vote, which ended Sunday, the Kremlin has largely suppressed any opposition. With 99.7% of ballots counted, the pro-Kremlin United Russia party had won around 50% of votes in the election, according to Russia’s electoral commission on Monday. It was followed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with 19% and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia with 7.5%. United Russia received a two-thirds majority of the State Duma’s 450 seats, the commission said, which would allow it to amend the constitution. Such a majority would make it easier for Mr. Putin to back any effort he makes to extend his time in power beyond his current term, which expires in 2024. Wall Street Journal

 

 

 

Russia was behind Litvinenko assassination, European court finds . . . The European Court of Human Rights found on Tuesday that Russia was responsible for the assassination of ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, who died an agonising death in 2006 after being poisoned in London with a rare radioactive substance. Litvinenko, a defector who had become a vocal critic of the Kremlin, died three weeks after drinking green tea laced with polonium-210 at a plush London hotel. Britain has long blamed the attack on Moscow, and the European court in Strasbourg, France, agreed, saying that "Mr Litvinenko’s assassination was imputable to Russia", its statement said. Reuters

 

UK Court Decides Kids Under 16 Can Take Puberty Blocking Drugs . . . Doctors can now prescribe puberty blocking medication to children under the age of 16 without a judge’s approval, Britain’s Court of Appeal ruled on Friday. The decision reverses last year’s ruling that children seeking gender reassignment aren’t mature enough to give informed consent to take puberty blocking medicine. The decision said that doctors should seek court approval before prescribing the medication because the drugs were still experimental. The initial lawsuit argued that children going through puberty are “not capable of properly understanding the nature and effects of hormone blockers.” Puberty blockers are drugs that temporarily pause puberty, suppressing the body’s release of sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen, according to the Mayo Clinic. Transgender children use the drug to delay the development of specific sex-related characteristics. Daily Signal

 

 

Winnie-the-Pooh's cottage available for rental stays in England . . . A cottage inspired by the home of Winnie-the-Pooh is available for rent in England to celebrate the beloved character's 95th anniversary celebration.
The "Bearbnb" cottage, a partnership between Disney and Airbnb, was designed in East Sussex's Ashdown Forest by Kim Raymond, an artist who has been drawing Pooh for 30 years. Raymond said she used details from A.A. Milne's books and E.H. Shepard's original illustrations to make the cottage an accurate representation of the snack-loving bear's home. The cottage bears a "Mr. Sanders" sign above the door, and the cupboards are stocked with pots labeled "Hunny." The cottage is stocked with yoga mats, journals and throw blankets to encourage visitors "to embrace their natural surroundings and live more like Pooh, who is famous for going at his own pace." Single-night stays in the cottage will be offered for $130 starting Monday. The house rules include keeping hands out of the honey pots and a snack of "a little something" at 11 a.m. UPI