Angry over a controversial curriculum that teaches young students about same-sex marriage and “gender identity,” several parents in Fairfax County, Virginia, confronted school board members during a regular meeting on June 25. The parents in question argued they should have the choice to “opt-out” of the controversial lessons.
“Parents, do you want your children in Kindergarten to hear about same-sex marriage under the guise of families?” Andrea Lafferty, a Fairfax County parent and president of the Traditional Values Coalition, asked parents at the meeting.
“No!” parents in attendance shouted.
“Parents, do you want your children in fifth grade to hear about Gonorrhea and Syphilis? No! We want opt outs and we want to keep them safe,” she continued. “Do you want gender identity to be introduced to seventh grade? No! We want opt outs to remain.”
Lafferty went on to accuse officials on the “recommendation committee” of going on record as saying they wanted to remove the opt outs for parents. (Read more from “Parents Confront School Board, Demand ‘Opt-Out’ for Controversial Lessons — See Why the Room Erupted at End of Meeting” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00kathleenhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngkathleen2015-07-04 02:21:362016-04-11 10:59:18Parents Confront School Board, Demand ‘Opt-Out’ for Controversial Lessons – See Why the Room Erupted at End of Meeting [+video]
Civil liberty advocates are jumping all over New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s order to “review” all of Donald Trump’s city contracts because of his recent comments on Mexican immigrants.
“This is not the American Way,” observed Alan Dershowitz, Harvard’s most distinguished civil liberties law professor, about the chilling effect de Blasio’s action could have on freedom of speech . . .
At his presidential campaign kickoff, Trump said immigrants from Mexico are “bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people” . . .
“The city says, ‘We don’t want to renew it because we don’t like your speech.’ That would presumptively violate the First Amendment,” noted UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh in a DCNF interview. “The statement by the Mayor is a real danger to public debate,” he said, charging it would set dubious precedent for all city contractors, big and small.
The law professor, who also posts the “Volokh Conspiracy” blog on the Washington Post, explained that the First Amendment rights for government contractors were long ago resolved in the Umbehr case. In a 7 to 2 majority written by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s, the court declared that the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech shielded government contractors from facing the revocation of existing contracts due to things they said in public. (Read more from “Legal Experts: NYC Mayor Action Against Trump ‘Not the American Way'” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-04 02:21:292016-04-11 10:59:18Legal Experts: NYC Mayor Action Against Trump ‘Not the American Way’
By Griff Witte and Michael Birnbaum. Dueling rallies of tens of thousands of people apiece took over central Athens on Friday evening, with demonstrators making their final push before a referendum on Sunday that has passionately divided this flailing nation between those terrified Greece will lose its place in Europe and others determined to transform the continent at all costs.
With Greece’s 19th-century Olympic stadium as a backdrop, “yes” supporters shouted their contempt for the government and demanded an end to the brinkmanship that has characterized the country’s relationship with Europe for the past five months.
Across town, in the shadow of the neoclassical Parliament building, those siding with Greece’s leaders in urging a “no” vote on European bailout proposals swayed to the tunes of revolutionary anthems and pledged not to bend to creditors’ “blackmail.”
“Here in the place where democracy was born,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told an energized crowd that stretched for blocks in every direction, “we will start to rebuild European democracy.”
But beneath the bravado was an emerging recognition within Greece’s radical leftist government that regardless of how Sunday’s referendum turns out, the country may be on the verge of defeat in its epic standoff with European heavyweights over the terms of the country’s bailouts. (Read more from “Greeks Take to the Streets for Dueling Rallies That Reflect a Divided Nation” HERE)
Greek Bank Closures May Deplete Supermarket Shelves
By Martinne Geller and Lefteris Karagiannopoulos. A halt to international payments from Greek bank accounts is hurting Greek businesses and their foreign partners and threatening supplies of vital goods like food and clothing into the debt-crippled country.
With banks closed, people limited to withdrawing 60 euros ($66.62) per day and Greece’s future in the euro possibly hinging on a referendum on Sunday, Greek shoppers have been stocking up on essentials like sugar, flour, pasta, rice, beans, canned and paper goods.
Shelves remain full for now as retailers have inventories in storage. But capital controls put in place after Greece defaulted on a loan to international creditors have essentially frozen companies’ cash flows and credit.
This has severely hampered production and shipping, meaning that goods are in finite supply. With this week’s rush to supermarkets, shortages could be around the corner although budget limits are providing some cushion.
“At this stage there is no problem of shortages. There is sufficient stock in our warehouses and we renew it frequently,” said Melina Varoutsikou, spokeswoman for Sklavenitis, one of Greece’s largest supermarket chains. (Read more from this story HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-04 02:21:132016-04-11 10:59:18Greeks Take to the Streets for Dueling Rallies That Reflect a Divided Nation
A 25-year-old Army sergeant who was planning to take photos in military gear was arrested at Fayetteville’s Cross Creek Mall Thursday evening after dozens of panicked 911 calls from shoppers.
Bryan Scott Wolfinger is charged with going armed to the terror of the public. Police said Wolfinger was carrying an AR-15 assault rifle, military ballistic panel carrier and multiple high-capacity rifle magazine when he was taken into custody.
Investigators said multiple shoppers began calling 911 shortly after Wolfinger arrived at the mall for a photo shoot.
Officers arriving on scene encountered Wolfinger near an entrance in the Macy’s wing of the mall, and he was taken into custody without incident.
[Editor’s note: however, based upon the below-booking photo, it looks like he was roughed-up]
Wolfinger was processed at the Cumberland County jail and released to his company commander at Fort Bragg, police said. (Read more from “Armed Bragg Soldier Headed to Photo Shoot with AR15 Arrested at Mall” HERE)
By George Rede. Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian on Thursday ordered the owners of a former Gresham bakery to pay $135,000 in damages to a lesbian couple for refusing to make them a wedding cake.
Avakian’s ruling upheld a preliminary finding earlier this year that the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa had discriminated against the women on the basis of their sexual orientation.
Bakery owners Melissa and Aaron Klein cited their Christian beliefs against same-sex marriage in denying service. The case ignited a long-running skirmish in the nation’s culture wars, pitting civil rights advocates against religious freedom proponents who argued business owners should have the right to refuse services for gay and lesbian weddings.
Avakian’s final order makes clear that serving potential customers equally trumps the Kleins’ religious beliefs. Under Oregon law, businesses cannot discriminate or refuse service based on sexual orientation, just as they cannot turn customers away because of race, sex, disability, age or religion, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries said in a news release.
“This case is not about a wedding cake or a marriage,” Avakian wrote. “It is about a business’s refusal to serve someone because of their sexual orientation. Under Oregon law, that is illegal. (Read more from “Sweet Cakes Final Order: Gresham Bakery Must Pay $135,000 for Refusing to Make Homosexual Cake” HERE)
Baker to Government: You’re Messing ‘With the Wrong Christian, Because I Fight Back’
By Michael Dorstewitz. Fast on the heels of Thursday’s administrative ruling ordering the owners of Sweetcakes by Melissa to pay $135,000 to a lesbian couple for declining to bake them a wedding cake on the grounds of religious conviction, the bakers announced they’re not going to take it lying down.
They’re going to fight.
What makes the administrative decision especially egregious is that Oregon did not recognize same-sex marriages, which were illegal in the state at the time the bakers refused to bake and decorate the cake.
“He wants to silence anyone who opposes his point of view,” Aaron Klein, who co-owns the bakery with his wife Melissa, told TheBlaze.
He was referring to Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, who pushed the case against the couple. (Read more from this story HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-04 02:19:092016-04-11 10:59:19Sweet Cakes Final Order: Oregon Bakery Must Pay $135,000 for Refusing to Make Homosexual Cake
You make human frailty an offense, get academia involved to punish it and to give seminars that further propagate their ignorance. Then the mind-set taught in the seminar trickles down to the college students, who then become voters.
It appears leading the pack of degreed censurers is Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, Berkeley, former secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Arizona. Now the Wisconsin University is joining in.
Seminars were adapted from Derald Wing Sue’s book, Microagression in Everyday Life: Race, Gender and Sexual Orientation (Wiley & sons, 2010) specifically for training on micro-aggression (the correct spelling). Napolitano sent out letters to UC deans and department chairs “inviting” their presence at the seminars, “to foster informed conversation about the best way to build and nurture a productive academic climate”. Have you noticed how every inch of America’s constitution is being usurped by attributing the infringement for a “noble reason”? . . .
According to the Diversity in the Classroom, UCLA Diversity & Faculty Development, 2014, “Micro-aggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.” (Read more from “Microaggressions: Academic Censorship for Perceived Offenses” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00kathleenhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngkathleen2015-07-04 02:18:592016-04-11 10:59:19Microaggressions: Academic Censorship for Perceived Offenses and Destruction of the First Amendment
An investigation by the German parliament is raising questions on whether the Obama administration not only spied on journalists in that country, but interfered in the exercise of the free press under the guise of U.S. national security.
On Thursday, Germany’s intelligence coordinator, Günter Heiss, testified before a parliamentary investigative committee of the German parliament, the Bundestag, focused on the activities of the U.S. National Security Agency’s spying on Germany and the knowledge and/or role of German intelligence, the Bundesnachrichtendienst or BND.
That the NSA was spying on German officials is not new, though it continues to upset free press advocates and those with memories of repressive governments both Communist and Nazi. That the NSA was spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone was first reported by German magazine Der Spiegel in 2013 with information gleaned from the stolen then leaked files of Edward Snowden.
On Thursday, WikiLeaks released more information, presumably from that surveillance, with Merkel said “professed to be at a loss” over the Greek financial crisis, and information suggesting that the NSA was spying on German ministers in addition to Merkel. U.S. ambassador to Germany, John Emerson, was summoned to meet with the Chancellery chief of staff Peter Altmaier to discuss the news . . .
CNN has learned that in early Summer 2011, the CIA station chief in Berlin (also representing the NSA at the U.S. Embassy) met with Heiss, and his assistant, Guido Müller. The CIA station chief urged the two men to take action against Heiss’ deputy, Hans-Josef Vorbeck, whom he said was leaking classified information to journalists. (Read more from “Obama Administration Spied on German Media as Well as Its Government” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-04 02:18:452016-04-11 10:59:19Obama Administration Spied on German Media as Well as Its Government
Palm Beach County Code Enforcement says the dealership has until Monday, July 6th to remove the banners. The county code allows for up to 3 official flags to be displayed, this would include American Flags, but under the current code it does not allow feather banners.
“The property is not receiving any fines and will not have any further action if the feathers are removed by our next inspection which will be Monday July 6,” said an email from Rebecca Caldwell, Palm Beach County Zoning, Planning, and Building Department.
The email went on to say that if the feather banners are not removed by the next inspection date, which would be Monday July, 6th, then the matter would be scheduled for a hearing by the Special Magistrate who will decide what action if any should be taken . . .
A local car dealership may be paying a price for patriotism. The Kia car dealership on South Military Trail was issued a code-enforcement violation from Palm Beach County for displaying American Flag banners on its property.
The notice cites a Unified Land Development code that prohibits displaying banners, streamers, pennants, balloons or other signage made of lightweight fabric, plastic, or similar material. (Read more from “Local Dealership Forced to Remove American Flag Banners or Do This” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-04 02:17:492016-04-11 10:59:19Local Dealership Forced to Remove American Flag Banners or Do This
There is an epidemic going on in this country and it shows no signs of slowing down. I’m not talking about the Flu or Ebola.
What I am talking about is the lack of respect for our country and what American stands for. Schools are trying to take the Pledge Of Allegiance out and also remove “Under God” at alarming rates.
A lot of kids also don’t have respect for the country they live in. The entitlement mentality is running rampant.
However, this group of kids knows what respect is.
(Read more from “What Made These Kids Stand in Silence Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00kathleenhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngkathleen2015-07-04 02:17:362016-04-11 10:59:19What Made These Kids Stand in Silence Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes [+video]
By Madeleine Morgenstern. The White House on Friday castigated the gay activists who posed for pictures while giving the middle finger to a portrait of former President Ronald Reagan during a recent visit.
“While the White House does not control the conduct of guests at receptions, we certainly expect that all attendees conduct themselves in a respectful manner. Most all do,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye told Fox News. “These individuals clearly did not. Behavior like this doesn’t belong anywhere, least of all in the White House.”
Matthew “Matty” Hart and Zoe Strauss were among a group of activists invited to an LGBT reception at the White House earlier this month. Photos first published in Philadelphia Magazine showed them posing in front of the Reagan portrait with their middle fingers raised. Hart, the national director of public engagement at Solutions for Progress, posted his photo on Facebook with the caption, “F–k Reagan.” Strauss, who also took a photo beneath the portrait kissing another woman, posted hers on Twitter with the caption “F–K YOU, REAGAN.” (Read more from “White House Rebukes Activists Who Flipped off Reagan Portrait: ‘Behavior Like This Doesn’t Belong Anywhere'” HERE)
Obama tells WH staff that he’s like RONALD REAGAN!
By Michael Schaus. The Gipper is turning over in his grave.
Speaking on a conference call to White House staffers and administration officials, President Obama claims he has led a new Reagan Revolution, paving the way for Hillary Clinton to be the next “Bush senior.”
Using his policy to “normalize” relations with a brutal communist regime in Cuba as a backdrop, Obama compared himself to President Reagan – the man who crushed the Soviet Union and brought the Cold War to an end . . .
“Much in the same way that the Reagan Revolution required Bush Senior” to complete his transformation of American politics, Obama told alumni of his White House staff, “we’ve got to make sure that we’re laying the foundation” for the next Democrat elected. (Read more from this story HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-03 04:00:232016-04-11 10:59:20Activists in White House Flip-Off Reagan Portrait While Obama Claims He’s Like Reagan
