Hunter Biden’s investment firm has ties to company which helped fund Wuhan clinic research
We already know Doctor Fauci is up to his eyeballs in scandal for not only helping to fund gain-of-function COVID research in Wuhan but for also stating he thought the research was so important that the risk of creating a pandemic was worth it, but now we are learning, that Hunter Biden’s firm also has ties to funding the research. Here is more:
It has been revealed that Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners (RSTP), of which Hunter Biden was managing director, was one of the main financial backers for a company that partnered with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Metabiota. Metabiota has partnered with both EcoHealth Alliance and with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Financial reports show that, in Jun. 2015, RSTP did a round of capital funding for Metabiota, which brought in around $30 million.
Metabiota was already partnered with EcoHealth Alliance under an umbrella bringing several related companies together in the year 2014. This umbrella eventually led to a study on bat infectious diseases in China.
Is it any wonder why people like Doctor Fauci and Joe Biden are so quick to dismiss the China lab leak theory…
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a theory about the recent spike in violent crime. For lack of a better term she believes it is fake news, media-driven hysteria designed to counter the defund the police movement. Here is more:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) doubled down on defunding police this week, asserting the crime surge is just “hysteria” and that making “responsible decisions about what [funds] to allocate” away from police departments is “important.”
“We are seeing these headlines about percentage increases,” she explained about a recent New York Times headline about surging crime:
Now, I want to say that any amount of harm is unacceptable and too much. But I also want to make sure that this hysteria, you know, that this doesn’t drive a hysteria and that we look at these numbers in context so that we can make responsible decisions about what to allocate in that context.
Ocasio-Cortez continued to say the establishment media is perpetuating “this idea of crime” surging throughout America.
“I agree with Representative Bowman, that I do believe that we need to reallocate resources away and that a big, you know, major causes of this — and by the way, I also think it’s important context because we hear on the news and media, they perpetuate this idea of crime wave, crime wave, crime wave, right?” she continued. “And so this idea that a lot of us are panicked thinking that we are at some unprecedented level that we’ve never seen before.”
She did not come right out and call the reports fake news but it is pretty evident that is what she was saying in her remarks. Personally I am glad to learn the crime wave we have been hearing so much about is nothing but media driven hysteria designed to hurt the defund movement and that she is concerned about overreaction because this is the very same crime wave Democrats have been using to push their radical, draconian gun control measures. Apparently Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez either did not get the memo or else she did not think through the ramifications of claiming there was no crime spree.
Once again a Democrat is caught talking out of both sides of their mouth–there is no crime wave when they want to defund the police however there is a crime wave which only restrictions on those who are not participating in the crime wave can stop. Just once I would like a reporter to follow up when a statement like this is made and ask the interviewee to rectify their two simultaneously conflicting views.
Republican Senators introduce resolution calling on CDC to loosen Federal mask mandate
While many States are finally loosening mask restrictions and life is returning to normal the Federal mandate remains in place with no sign of being lifted anytime in their near future. But if a few Republican Senators have their way that could change soon. Here is more:
Republican senators this week introduced a resolution aimed to urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update the federal mask mandate requiring face coverings to be worn on modes of public transportation.
The resolution, offered by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), calls on the Biden-led CDC to “review and update its guidance relating to mask-wearing in confined places.”
The resolution states that the Senate:
…encourages the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review and update its guidance relating to mask-wearing in confined places to clarify that individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear a mask on public transportation networks throughout the United States, including at airports, onboard commercial aircraft, on over-the-road buses, and on commuter bus and rail systems.
The resolution also states that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) should update its mask requirements:
…to be consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, to permit fully vaccinated individuals to travel on all transportation networks throughout the United States without wearing a mask.
Using language like “urge” “encourages” and “should” should get results…
By the way, I thought Joe Biden was only going to “ask” us to wear a mask for 100 days? Whatever happened to that promise and where is the mainstream media with the lie-o-meter they were so found of breaking out over the last four years?
A few weeks ago a Federal Judge declared California’s “assault weapons” ban unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction against the ban. But apparently “permanent” does not mean what I think it means because today the 9th Circuit Court blocked the decision and reinstated the ban. Here is more:
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a federal judge’s ruling Monday that overturned California’s ban on assault weapons.
The three judge panel issued a stay on Judge Roger Benitez’s ruling, which means the current ban on the firearms will stay in place while other proceedings continue.
And so on and on it goes, this one will be headed to the Supreme Court and the only good news to come from this is that the 9th Circuit Court remains the most overturned court in the nation. Donald Trump made some headway reforming this circuit court but just not quite enough.
Sunday, June 20th open thread: ‘Why Can’t I be You’
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)
Here is this week’s open thread. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
You can subscribe to America’s Watchtower to receive email updates and you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right.
Here is The Cure performing an improvised and extended version of “Why Can’t I be You?” live in 1990:
Back in 2018 the city of Philadelphia informed the Catholic Social Services they would not be allowed to take in any more foster children unless the organization agreed to allow children to be adopted by same-sex couples. Needless to say the Catholic organization refused and initiated a lawsuit which culminated today with the schizophrenic Supreme Court siding on the side of religious liberty. Here is more:
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Thursday unanimously overturned a lower court ruling regarding the City of Philadelphia barring foster children from being placed with the Catholic Social Services due to its unwillingness to endorse same-sex couples.
In a 9-0 judgment, SCOTUS held that the City of Philadelphia’s refusal to contract with Catholic Social Services (CSS) for the provision of foster care services unless the agency agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. It came about after Philadelphia stopped foster children from being placed with the Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on the basis of its beliefs and practices on traditional marriage.
“Philadelphia took this extraordinary action not in response to any legal violation, nor in response to any complaint it received, but because of CSS’s religious beliefs and practices regarding marriage, which City officials read about in the local paper,” the petitioner’s brief reads, noting the Third Circuit ruled in favor of Philadelphia, considering the city’s actions “neutral.”
“The City will renew its foster care contract with CSS only if the agency agrees to certify same-sex couples. The question presented is whether the actions of Philadelphia violate the First Amendment,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, in which he ultimately determined the city’s action did so.
The city’s actions, he wrote, “burdened CSS’s religious exercise by putting it to the choice of curtailing its mission or approving relationships inconsistent with its beliefs,” noting the city’s dissent of that opinion.
This decision should never have been in doubt however it is surprising to me that the Supreme Court decision was unanimous. That really must irk the left because this is the third such unanimous decision in recent days including the decision on creating an immigration loophole and the decision on warrantless gun seizures, so they cannot claim the court has been radicalized by Donald Trump.
Texas Governor signs Constitutional carry into law
We can now add Texas to the list of States which allow Constitutional carry after Governor Abbott signed it into law yesterday. Here is more:
Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed HB 1927 into law Wednesday, making Texas the 21st constitutional carry state in the union.
The Texas Tribune reported the constitutional carry law will go into effect September 1, 2021, allowing law-abiding residents 21-years-old and older to carry a handgun for self-defense, without first getting a permit from the government.
This makes Texas the 21st constitutional carry state. The other 20 states are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
If you are like me you were probably surprised to learn that Texas was not one of the original Constitutional carry States but at least they finally rectified that problem. The list now stands at 21 States and hopefully this number is going to continue to grow in the next few months because the Biden administration is going to make a big gun control push in the coming years.
One of the first things Joe Biden did as President was to sign an Executive Order banning oil and gas drilling on Federal land, this was followed up with halting the Keystone Pipeline and cancelling oil and gas leases at ANWR. Although the media is denying any correlation between moves like this and the rising price of gas and consumer goods most Americans are smart enough to understand the devastating effect this policy is for ordinary Americans who are trying to eek out a living.
This Executive Order was met with lawsuits and last night a Federal Judge issued an injunction halting the ban and allowing drilling to continue as these cases make their way through the courts. Here is more:
A federal judge ordered the federal government to halt its ban on new oil and gas leases in a major setback for President Joe Biden’s administration.
Judge Terry Doughty, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, granted a preliminary injunction that had been requested by a large coalition of Republican state attorneys general in an order released Tuesday evening. The Department of Interior is prohibited from enforcing the oil and gas leasing ban until the case is concluded, according to the order.
“This is a victory not only for the rule of law, but also for the thousands of workers who produce affordable energy for Americans,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We appreciate that federal courts have recognized President Biden is completely outside his authority in his attempt to shut down oil and gas leases on federal lands.”
It would appear as if this is not simply a frivolous lawsuit designed solely to stop a policy disagreement, such as we had seen over the last four years, but based on the violation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Mineral Leasing Act so just maybe in the end this one will be a win.
Joe Biden urges Americans to turn in their neighbors
It has been noted that Joe Biden’s Presidency is basically just Barack Obama’s third term so it should come as no surprise that the President would like Americans to turn each other into the government if they do not hold liberal views on the State.
You might remember that during his reelection campaign Barack Obama created a website which urged supporters to turn in people who opposed the President and even before that created a website which urged people to turn in fellow citizens who were opposed to Obamacare. But it even started with the “truth squads” he created during the 2008 campaign.
As alluded to above, Joe Biden is now doing much the same in urging people to report their neighbors if they feel they might be becoming radicalized. Here is more:
President Joe Biden’s administration announced their plans to create ways for Americans to report radicalized friends and family to the government, in an effort to fight domestic terrorism.
In a conversation with reporters, one senior administration official explained the importance of stopping politically fueled violence before it started.
“We will work to improve public awareness of federal resources to address concerning or threatening behavior before violence occurs,” the official said.
“This involves creating contexts in which those who are family members or friends or co-workers know that there are pathways and avenues to raise concerns and seek help for those who they have perceived to be radicalizing and potentially radicalizing towards violence,” the official said.
Notice the term “perceived” in that sentence, if you feel like somebody might someday do something you are being urged to term them in. There is no chance of abuse here, is there? No liberal would ever turn in his neighbor as revenge for holding a different political opinion or for having a banner of a certain former President, right? And who could forget when the Obama administration warned people about violent right wing groups such as people who are pro-life or pro-second amendment…
The government has been playing this divide and conquer Hegelian dialectic game for many years and it will continue to work until we realize we are not each other’s enemies, the State is our enemy…
Joe Biden had a plan included in the American Rescue Plan which would help some farmers, to the tune of $4 billion, by forgiving their loans, but yesterday a Judge put a halt to the discriminatory program. Here is more:
A federal judge took the extraordinary rare step of issuing a temporary restraining order halting President Joe Biden’s $4 billion loan forgiveness program for minority farmers, saying the plan replaced one form of discrimination with another because white farmers are excluded.
Wisconsin Judge William Griesbach, a George W. Bush appointee, also claimed the plan did not give adequate examples of recent hardships imposed on minority farmers.
Here is part of what the Judge said in his decision:
“The obvious response to a government agency that claims it continues to discriminate against farmers because of their race or national origin is to direct it to stop: it is not to direct it to intentionally discriminate against others on the basis of their race and national origin,” Griesbach wrote.
“Indeed, Congress can implement race-neutral programs to help farmers and ranchers in need of financial assistance, such as requiring individual determinations of disadvantaged status or giving priority to loans of farmers and ranchers that were left out of the previous pandemic relief funding,” Griesbach wrote. “It can also provide better outreach, education, and other resources. But it cannot discriminate on the basis of race.”
This is such an obvious point that you would think it would not take a Federal Judge to point it out but I guess the old two wrongs do not make a right adage is no longer taught. Or it is too difficult for Joe Biden to comprehend…
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