Department of Education Apparently Defies Trump, Reinstates Obama Transgender Policy for Schools

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[T]he Trump department of education’s office of civil rights (OCR) reinstated the Obama transgender policy with these five instructions for public schools:

1. OCR may “assert subject matter jurisdiction” over transgenderism. OCR gave itself the power to act when a transgender student files a complaint alleging sex discrimination.

2. OCR further asserts jurisdiction when the office finds that “sexual” or “gender-based” harassment creates a “hostile environment” for transgender students. An example given in the document sets failure by a school to use the “preferred name or pronoun” of the transgender student as harassment and a reason take over for local authorities.

3. OCR requires public schools and colleges to take affirmative steps in addressing anything OCR defines as a “hostile environment” for transgender students.

4. Schools may not retaliate against a transgender student who raises a sex discrimination complaint.

5. Schools may not engage in “differential treatment” of a student based on what the document labels as “sex stereotyping,” or failure of a student to conform to common notions of masculinity and femininity.

This document quietly appeared, without fanfare, reinstating very controversial transgender policies. Once again, the federal government has removed local control over school bathroom, locker room, dorm room, and sports team policies. If parents have a problem with what is happening in the bathrooms or locker rooms of their child’s school, they will have to meet with officials in Washington. (Read more from “Department of Education Apparently Defies Trump, Reinstates Obama Transgender Policy for Schools” HERE)

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Women’s March: Don’t Help Caucasians Suffering From Harvey?

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The Women’s March Wednesday got slammed on social media for launching a bid to recruit help for victims of Hurricane Harvey – based on their race.

The organization that has sponsored far-left political activism to oppose President Trump published a link to a “list of orgs working to keep immigrant, Black, Latinx & other communities safe after Hurricane Harvey.”

Explained Twitchy: “Unity is clearly Kryptonite for the Women’s March. We’ve watched Texans of all colors, sexes, creeds and abilities help, support and even rescue one another for the past several days, none of them concerned about the difference they may see in one another. So why in the Hell would Women’s March think this is in anyway appropriate?”

The March statement linked to a colorlines.com article that promoted former president Obama’s comment regarding Harvey that first responders and people are “helping each other out.” (Read more from “Women’s March: Don’t Help Caucasians Suffering From Harvey?” HERE)

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Joe Arpaio Saga Isn’t Over: Judge Trying to Defy President’s Pardon?

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[U.S. District Court Judge Susan] Bolton on Tuesday stopped short of throwing out the conviction based solely on [Sheriff Joe] Arpaio’s request. Instead she ordered Arpaio and the U.S. Department of Justice, which is prosecuting the case, to file briefs on why she should or shouldn’t grant Arpaio’s request.

Arpaio’s attorneys asked Bolton on Monday to vacate Arpaio’s conviction in light of President Donald Trump’s Friday pardon. . .

Mark Goldman, one of Arpaio’s attorneys, said, “We look forward to the hearing, and hope that the court will make the appropriate ruling. The verdict should have been set aside by the court already and prior to the pardon for the reason that it was never delivered to Sheriff Arpaio in open court, but instead sent to his attorneys via email, thus violating his constitutional rights to a public trial and to participate in his trial” . . .

Arpaio’s attorneys on Monday also called on media companies that have inaccurately reported the nature of Arpaio’s criminal conviction to issue corrections “in a manner comparable to that of the original publication.” In a statement, his attorneys noted the ex-sheriff “was not convicted for ‘racial profiling,’ ” noting the conviction “had nothing to do with race.”

“It’s not just TV, it’s elected officials,” Arpaio told The Arizona Republic Monday. “You’ve got one guy here … calling me a racist, calling the president a racist. You’ve got others saying I was charged of racial profiling. That’s untrue … and my lawyer is concerned with these derogatory, slanderous statements that are going around.” (Read more from “Joe Arpaio Saga Isn’t Over: Judge to Decide If His Conviction Stands” HERE)

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Treasonous GOP Sneaking in New Law to Increase Foreign Labor, Decrease U.S. Citizen Wages

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The latest 1,305-page draft House appropriations bill for 2018 uses a bureaucratic trick on page 732 to help employers cut wages for foreign H-2B seasonal workers — and indirectly, also cut wages for American workers.

“Republicans in Congress still haven’t got the message that voters sent last November,” said Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations for NumbersUSA. She continued:

Americans elected President Trump because they are tired of the elites in Washington being more concerned with big-business profits than with regular American workers being able to make a living wage. Wages [for Americans] in the top H-2B occupations [landscaping and hospitality] have been stagnant or declining for years, and this bill will make them worse.

Under current rules, employers can only apply for H-2B seasonal workers if they cannot hire Americans for the jobs, and they must promise to pay H-2B workers American-level wages when they ask the Department of Labor for H-2B visas.

The new language would help employers minimize wages for H-2B workers by allowing them to cite the results of skewed “private wage surveys” of local wages. The results of the surveys would be cited in the H-2B request instead of the actual “prevailing wage” rates for local Americans working the free market for labor. (Read more from “Treasonous GOP Sneaking in New Law to Increase Foreign Labor, Decrease U.S. Citizen Wages” HERE)

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DOJ Details Case Against U.S. Senator Who Allegedly Took Bribes, Trafficked in Child Prostitution

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By Sarah Jorgensen and Laura Jarrett. Email correspondence, flight manifests, hotel bills, credit card statements and Federal Election Commission filings will all be deployed as evidence of an alleged bribery scheme carried out for seven years by Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and an associate, according to a new brief filed by prosecutors in federal court Wednesday.

The outline of the Justice Department’s case came one week before the trial against Menendez and his co-defendant, Florida-based ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, begins on September 6 in federal court in Newark, New Jersey. Menendez and Melgen have been charged with 18 counts of fraud and bribery crimes. Both have entered a plea of not guilty.

Menendez and Melgen are accused of having a “quid pro quo” relationship going as far back as 2006. Prosecutors say that in exchange for luxurious vacations and large donations to his campaign coffers, Menendez used his power to advocate for various personal and business interests of Melgen’s within the government.

Jurors will also hear from many different witnesses, including Menendez staffers, State Department officials and even pilots who flew the private jet Menendez allegedly flew on as a part of his lavish, Melgen-sponsored vacations. Prosecutors further signaled that they plan to introduce charts to summarize documents for the jury, writing that this will be the most efficient way to communicate the 20,000 pages of admissible evidence to the jury. (Read more from “DOJ Details Case Against U.S. Senator Who Allegedly Took Bribes, Trafficked in Child Prostitution” HERE)

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Department of Justice: ‘Corroborating Evidence’ Backs Underage Prostitution Allegations Against Senator Bob Menendez

By Matthew Boyle. The entire mainstream media bought repeated denials from Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) of allegations that he solicited underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic, but now the Department of Justice says the allegations are in fact “corroborated.”

In a 65-page court filing released publicly on Monday evening, the DOJ laid out how their investigation into Menendez—and Democratic Party mega-donor Dr. Salomon Melgen—“began with serious and specific allegations involving child prostitution.” . . .

Later in the document, the DOJ lays out how even though the allegations of child prostitution against Menendez and Melgen have not resulted in criminal charges, such allegations have been “corroborated.” (Read more from “Department of Justice: ‘Corroborating Evidence’ Backs Underage Prostitution Allegations Against Senator Bob Menendez” HERE)

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Christie Calls Cruz ‘Disgusting’ for Telling ‘Reprehensible Lies’ Over Hurricane Relief

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie slammed Sen. Ted Cruz Wednesday morning over what he said was the Texas Republican’s double standard in opposing Superstorm Sandy relief but requesting federal aid for Texas after Hurricane Harvey.

“I have no sympathy for this — and I see Sen. Cruz and it’s disgusting to me that he stands in a recovery center with victims standing behind him as a backdrop,” he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day.” “He’s still repeating the same reprehensible lies about what happened in Sandy (and) called on Congress Wednesday morning to work fast on a bill to aid Texas after Hurricane Harvey” . . .

“I’m sorry that there are politicians who are really desperate to get their names in the news and are saying whatever they need to do that,” Cruz said. “For folks who are focused on raising political shots and snipes about the Sandy bill, facts matter. And the fact is that the Sandy bill was over $50 billion and 70% of it was not emergency funding. Only 30% of the funding was emergency funding”. . .

[Christie responded], “Let me be very clear about this: Sen. Cruz was playing politics in 2012, trying to make himself look like the biggest conservative in the world. . . And what I said at the time, both to him and everybody else, was if you represent a coastal state, don’t do this because your day is going to come and you’re going to expect people to help you.” (Read more from “Christie Calls Cruz ‘Disgusting’ for Telling ‘Reprehensible Lies’ Over Hurricane Relief” HERE)

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Judge Orders IRS to Reveal Who Took Part in Tea Party Targeting

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A federal judge has ordered the Internal Revenue Service to release the names of specific employees involved in targeting Tea Party groups, after years of litigation over what conservatives have long called “chilling” behavior by one of the government’s “most feared” agencies.

Judge Reggie B. Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia also said the IRS must provide information about which groups were targeted and why, along with a strategy to make sure such targeting doesn’t happen again.

The IRS is involved in multiple lawsuits with conservative groups related to the Tea Party targeting scandal; this particular case involves True the Vote.

“We’re thrilled the judge has taken this step and it feels good to have it recognized that they need to be held to account,” True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht told Fox News on Monday. “What happened to me was very personal—my name was thrown around the IRS, and the names of the people involved need to be known. What they did was criminal.”

The targeting scandal drew much attention in 2013 when the IRS, headed at the time by Lois Lerner, admitted it was applying extra scrutiny to conservative groups applying for nonprofit status. (Read more from “Judge Orders IRS to Reveal Who Took Part in Tea Party Targeting” HERE)

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Texas Woman’s Gospel Performance at Harvey Shelter Goes Viral

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A Texas woman’s gospel performance inside a shelter for Tropical Storm Harvey evacuees has gone viral after the impromptu performance lifted the spirits of people stranded away from home.

Although it is difficult to understand the full extent of damage from the monster storm until flood waters fully recede, at least 10,000 people have been rescued, more than 30,000 are in shelters and 20 people are reported dead.

Part of the 21-minute long performance was posted on Facebook by Joni Villemez-Comeaux, a volunteer at the Lone Star Convention and Expo Center north of Houston in Conroe. The video has been viewed over seven million times.

Victoria White, who works as an admissions counselor at Sam Houston State University, belted out songs with a few other evacuees, at one point singing “Spirit Break Out,” which was widely shared on social media. (Read more from “Texas Woman’s Gospel Performance at Harvey Shelter Goes Viral” HERE)

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General Mattis Says Trump’s Order on Transgender Troops Needs to Be ‘Studied’ Before Implementing

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Transgender troops can continue to serve pending a study and recommendation from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.

The DoD has received Trump’s memorandum on transgender service members and will implement the president’s policy direction, according to a prepared statement from Mattis.

“As directed, we will develop a study and implementation plan, which will contain the steps that will promote military readiness, lethality, and unit cohesion, with due regard for budgetary constraints and consistent with applicable law,” Mattis said.

The Defense Department will work in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security and soon arriving senior government officials, according to Mattis.

“The implementation plan will address accessions of transgender individuals and transgender individuals currently serving in the United States military,” Mattis added. (Read more from “General Mattis Says Trump’s Order on Transgender Troops Needs to Be ‘Studied’ Before Implementing” HERE)

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Mysterious Jets Over Philly Were Actually Saudi Arabian Aircraft

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We’re learning more about the five planes flying in formation Monday night over the Philadelphia and South Jersey area.

A spokesperson for the FAA told KYW Newsradio on Monday that the group of jets flying in formation was a “military operation.” . . .

We now know they were Saudi Arabian aircraft headed back home by way of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County, according to officials at the base.

A Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst spokeswoman says they were four fighter jets and a refueling tanker.

She says they were making a planned stop at the base after military exercises at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. (Read more from “Mysterious Jets Over Philly Were Actually Saudi Arabian Aircraft” HERE)

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