On Tuesday, as more and more businesses have done, Hewlett Packard Enterprises announced it was leaving California and moving its headquarters to Texas. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has had its headquarters in San Jose, California, but the offices will now move to Houston.
In a statement announcing its fourth-quarter earnings, HPE, which iscurrently ranked 109 on the list of Fortune 500 companies,  wrote, “HPE’s largest U.S. employment hub, Houston is an attractive market to recruit and retain future diverse talent, and is where the company is currently constructing a state-of-the-art new campus.”
HPE’s move has significant emotional resonance, as it was one of the original tech companies founded in the Silicon Valley; in 1939 Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started the company in a garage in Palo Alto.
“HPE will keep the San Jose campus, and will consolidate some of its Bay Area sites there, it said,” <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/hpe-is-relocating-headquarters-to-houston-from-california.html">CNBC</a> reported.
HPE had a revenue of $7.21 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Texas GOP governor Greg Abbott <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-hewlett-packard-enterprise-global-headquarters-relocation-to-texas">celebrated the move</a> by HPE, stating:
<blockquote>We are excited that Hewlett Packard Enterprise has chosen to call Texas home, and I thank them for expanding their investment in the Lone Star State by relocating their headquarters to the Houston region. Hewlett Packard Enterprise joins more than 50 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the Lone Star State, including 22 in the Houston area alone.
That is because Texas offers the best business climate in the nation. Our low taxes, high quality of life, top-notch workforce, and tier one universities create an environment where innovative companies like HPE can flourish. We look forward to a successful partnership with HPE, as together we build a more prosperous future for Texas.</blockquote>
Antonio Neri, CEO of HPE, echoed, “As we look to the future, our business needs, opportunities for cost savings, and team members’ preferences about the future of work, we are excited to relocate HPE’s headquarters to the Houston region. Houston is an attractive market to recruit and retain future diverse talent and where we are currently constructing a state-of-the-art new campus. We look forward to continuing to expand our strong presence in the market.”
Abbott’s website pointed out that HPE already has locations in Austin, Plano, and Houston; the Houston location houses over 2,600 employees and is the company’s largest employment hub
The HT Group <a href="https://www.thehtgroup.com/companies-moving-to-texas-2019/">reported</a> in January 2019, “In one year’s time, <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2018/12/13/1-800-companies-left-california-in-a-year-with.html">1,800 companies left California</a> and most made Texas their destination.” The Hoover Institution <a href="https://www.hoover.org/research/california-businesses-leave-state-thousands">added</a> in September:
<blockquote>Not surprisingly, California businesses tend to relocate from the counties with the highest taxes, highest regulatory burdens, and most expensive real estate, such as San Francisco, and they tend to relocate to states where it is easier to prosper. Texas imposes just a 0.75% franchise tax on business margins, compared to California’s 8.85% corporate tax. …Not to mention that Texas has no individual income tax, compared to California’s current top rate of 13.3%, which may rise to 16.3% soon, and which would apply retroactively.</blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Information technology company

Hewlett Packard Enterprises Becomes Latest Company To Flee California For Texas

California

Hewlett Packard

Texas

On Tuesday, as more and more businesses have done, Hewlett Packard Enterprises announced it was leaving California and moving its headquarters to Texas.

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Musical talent Harry Styles took to Instagram on Wednesday to post a photo and caption in response to commentary from conservative author <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/candace-owens">Candace Owens</a>.
&#8220;Bring back manly men,&#8221; Styles <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CITD0senEDT/">captioned</a> a photo of himself on Instagram. In the photo, the &#8220;Falling&#8221; singer is wearing effeminate clothing and eating a banana.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-169330 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screen-Shot-2020-12-02-at-11.08.14-AM-785x576.png" alt="" width="785" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/12/Screen-Shot-2020-12-02-at-11.08.14-AM-785x576.png 785w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/12/Screen-Shot-2020-12-02-at-11.08.14-AM-300x220.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/12/Screen-Shot-2020-12-02-at-11.08.14-AM-768x564.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/12/Screen-Shot-2020-12-02-at-11.08.14-AM-1536x1127.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/12/Screen-Shot-2020-12-02-at-11.08.14-AM.png 1624w" sizes="(max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px" /></div>
Earlier this month, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/left-cheers-harry-styles-in-dresses-candace-owens-pushes-back-in-viral-tweet">Styles</a> became the first male to land a Vogue magazine cover, and he did so wearing gowns, skirts, and dresses. The creative’s shoot was praised not just inside the space of fashion but hyped for “challenging gender norms” and influencing younger generations.
Pushing-back on the praise, Owens said in a viral tweet, “Bring back manly men&#8221; &#8212; the same phrase used in the Styes post.
“There is no society that can survive without strong men,” she asserted at the time. “The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence. It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence. It is an outright attack. 
Bring back manly men. <a href="https://t.co/sY4IJF7VkK">https://t.co/sY4IJF7VkK</a>
&mdash; Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1327691891303976961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Owens flagged Styles&#8217; Instagram post as an example of her influence and doubled-down on the &#8220;Bring back manly men&#8221; sentiment via two tweets posted Wednesday morning.
&#8220;When people try to tell me I don’t have influence, and then [Harry Style] dedicates an entire post to my tweet,&#8221; she wrote in the first tweet, captioning Styles&#8217; Instagram post. &#8220;I inspire global conversation. <a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" role="link" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BringBackManlyMen?src=hashtag_click" data-focusable="true">#BringBackManlyMen</a>.&#8221;
&#8220;Shots fired,&#8221; Owens said, adding six laughing emojis. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
When people try to tell me I don’t have influence, and then <a href="https://twitter.com/Harry_Styles?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Harry_Styles</a> dedicates an entire post to my tweet. 
I inspire global conversation. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BringBackManlyMen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BringBackManlyMen</a>
Shots fired.
😂😂😂😂😂😂 <a href="https://t.co/qaIxnQRb0J">pic.twitter.com/qaIxnQRb0J</a>
&mdash; Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1334146209410408453?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the next tweet, the <a href="http://blexitfoundation.org">BLEXIT</a> founder used a photo of Styles to emphasize her point in a clever and lighthearted manner.
Writing &#8220;#BBMM,&#8221; an acronym for &#8220;Bring back manly man,&#8221; Owens captioned a photo of Styles from his acting role in the Christopher Nolan World War II film &#8220;Dunkirk.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BBMM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BBMM</a> 🇺🇸🇬🇧 <a href="https://t.co/euvRMydjQc">pic.twitter.com/euvRMydjQc</a>
&mdash; Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1334149563045851138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Owens has undeniably become a lighting rod in the mainstream culture. This summer, the commentator was the subject of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/candace-owens-responds-to-dave-chappelle-bit-at-her-expense">a raunchy Dave Chappelle bit</a>.
“To every Democrat tweeting me the clip of <a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" role="link" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DaveChappelle?src=hashtag_click" data-focusable="true">#DaveChappelle</a> insulting me: I’m not a leftist,” Owens said in response. “I have a sense of humor &amp; I think comedians SHOULD make fun of people. Dave Chappelle is one of the greatest comedians of all time and I made it into one of his specials. That’s POWER!&#8221;
“We’ve arrived too suddenly into a culture where people can’t laugh at themselves, or want to restrain comedians. I will never be a part of that culture,&#8221; she added in a follow-up post. “[Dave Chappelle] —you are legend and I’d love to meet you and challenge you to say any of that to my face! All love!”
Similarly, when Owens was the butt of a joke in a sketch from comedian Tim Dillion, she laughed it off.
Dillon&#8217;s video mocked all things coronavirus, and included the comedian, dressed as the virus, joking: “Candace Owens doesn’t even believe I’m real. Let me catch that b****. Let me catch that b**** in a Whole Foods. I’ll go right up her nose.”
“This is absolutely hilarious,” Owens responded, quoting the video, “My dad is Bill Gates. My mother is a bat.”
Dillon appreciated Owens’ response: “This is cool. [Candace Owens] can take a joke which is more than I can say for some liberals,” he wrote. “Speaker Pelosi your move.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/candace-owens-challenges-fact-checker-and-wins">Candace Owens Challenges Fact-Checker, And Wins</a>
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Harry Styles, Candace Owens

Harry Styles Dedicates Instagram Post To Candace Owens Commentary, Owens Uses Styles’ Own Photo In Response

Candace Owens

Feminism

Harry Styles

Musical talent Harry Styles took to Instagram on Wednesday to post a photo and caption in response to commentary from conservative author Candace Owens.

Harry Styles Dedicates Instagram Post To Candace Owens Commentary, Owens Uses Styles&#039; Own Photo In Response

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/harry-styles-dedicates-instagram-post-to-candace-owens-commentary-owens-uses-styles-own-photo-in-response/

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A lack of accountability and structure has allowed more than 5,000 students in Alabama public schools to avoid attending even a single day of class since switching to part-time in-person teaching.
The Associated Press <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/11/30/5000-alabama-students-havent-shown-up-for-any-sort-of-class/">reported</a> that Education Superintendent Eric Mackey made the claim and suggested the loss of the students could lead to reduced funding, which in turn would lead to potentially hundreds of lost teaching positions.
“It’s a very difficult year instructionally and that doesn’t even touch the surface on the issues we will have with these 5,000 students who are not in school and we don’t know where they are,” Mackey said.
Mackey <a href="https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/education/2020/11/23/more-than-5-000-students-havent-showed-up-school-across-alabama/6358180002/">admitted</a> to the Montgomery Advertiser that at least some of those students likely left public schools in order to attend private schools. He also said that some of the missing students have started to return to class, but they would not be included in school enrollment numbers, which are collected 20 days after Labor Day every year, the outlet reported.
Instead of looking for ways to get those students back in school or to return to in-person teaching, Mackey said he was looking for ways to get the state legislature to alter how it funds school districts.
“Currently the formula is set up for districts to receive funding for teacher units per so many students,” the outlet reported.
Mackey is “currently researching how the formula could be temporarily altered to avoid the short fall,” the Advertiser added. “One route could be to take the average enrollment number over the past couple years for districts and based [sic] the funding on that.”
&#8220;I have every expectation that once the pandemic ends, all of those students will come back,&#8221; Mackey told the outlet. &#8220;The instructional problem will exist, but hopefully financial issue will be taken care of.”
Mackey added that he hopes schools can close the educational gaps created by virtual learning.
Data show schools are not a source of spread for the novel coronavirus, even as they remained closed in many states across the country. The Daily Wire’s Emily Zanotti <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-data-from-200000-students-across-47-states-reveals-shockingly-low-covid-case-rate">reported</a> in October on a study of more than 200,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade that found a coronavirus case rate of just 0.13%.
“A group of researchers, spearheaded by Brown University Professor Emily Oster, have created and made available the most comprehensive database on schools and Covid case rates for students and staff since the pandemic started,” The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/end-the-school-shutdown-11603235888">reported</a> in an opinion piece. “Her data—covering almost 200,000 kids across 47 states from the last two weeks of September—showed a Covid-19 case rate of 0.13% among students and 0.24% among staff. That’s a shockingly and wonderfully low number. By comparison, the current overall U.S. case rate is 2.6%, an order of magnitude higher.”
Even with this information, schools have refused to open, even as parents across the country say their children are struggling without the social interaction of in-person learning.
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Virtual learning

5,000 Alabama Students Haven’t Attended A Single Day Of Class This Year Since Schools Went Virtual: Report

Alabama

Education

A lack of accountability and structure has allowed more than 5,000 students in Alabama public schools to avoid attending even a single day of class since

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/5000-alabama-students-havent-attended-a-single-day-of-class-this-year-since-schools-went-virtual-report/

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The race for New York&#8217;s 22nd Congressional District, in which Republican Claudia Tenney currently has a 12-vote lead over incumbent Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D), could see its outcome change after 55 ballots were discovered that had not been previously counted.
&#8220;Chenango County Attorney Alan Gordon said election officials determined 44 of the ballots are valid, enough to swing an election that Tenney leads by 12 votes over Brindisi,&#8221; Syracuse.com <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/politics/2020/12/chenango-county-finds-55-uncounted-votes-in-brindisi-tenney-house-race.html?mc_cid=009b42ac3d&amp;mc_eid=4d6fcb8aa9">reported</a>. &#8220;Gordon said he advised the county’s Board of Elections to secure the ballots and leave them unopened in their offices. He said election officials determined 11 of the ballots are not valid because the voters were not registered.&#8221;
Chenango County Elections Commissioner Carol Franklin told the publication: “My guess is they came in early and they were put aside and mislaid. I would hope that we could open them tomorrow with representatives present from each campaign.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WOW: An attorney from Chenango County drops a bombshell with the court&#8211; 55 uncounted early votes were just found, having never been seen before.
In a congressional race separated by just 12 votes, these newly discovered early votes could make the difference <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NY22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NY22</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WBNG12News?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WBNG12News</a> <a href="https://t.co/SVDwXo8tgL">pic.twitter.com/SVDwXo8tgL</a>
&mdash; Josh Rosenblatt (@JRosenblattTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/JRosenblattTV/status/1333852927090417665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-elections-claudia-tenney-house-elections-voting-c12927a8c3c0481c6da3b8acf79dd79c">reported</a>:
<blockquote>The discovery of the uncounted ballots in the rural county of around 47,000 people came a day after local elections officials in the 22nd Congressional District reported what were supposed to have been their final vote totals to the judge. Those totals — which didn’t include the newly discovered ballots — had showed Tenney with a 12-vote lead. &#8230;
The final result in the race won’t be known until DelConte rules on challenges to more than 2,000 disputed absentee and affidavit ballots cast in the contest. The discovery of the uncounted ballots is the latest twist in a roller coaster of a race. Tenney led by several thousand votes on Election Day, but her lead evaporated as absentee ballots were counted.
Brindisi appeared to take a lead of a few votes last week, only to see his advantage disappear last weekend after two counties said they had made tabulation errors. County boards of election had faced a Nov. 28 deadline to send official results to the state, but DelConte has blocked certification while the vote counting disputes are resolved.</blockquote>
According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-house.html">The New York Times</a>, Republicans have flipped 13 House seats this election cycle for a net gain of 10 seats. With four races still waiting to be called, Democrats lead Republicans in the overall count 222 t0 209.
&#8220;Although we don’t yet know the winners of some House races, we can already look ahead to the 2022 midterms and see a fairly straightforward path for the GOP to capture the House. Midterm elections historically go well for the party that’s not in the White House, and the out-of-power party is especially likely to do well in the House, since every seat is up for election,&#8221; FiveThirtyEight <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/republicans-2020-gains-in-the-house-set-them-up-well-for-2022/">reported</a>. &#8220;Since the end of World War II, the presidential party has lost an average of 27 House seats in midterm elections, as the chart below shows. No matter how many seats Democrats end up with after 2020’s election — at this point, they will probably end up somewhere in the low 220s — a loss of that magnitude would easily be enough for Republicans to retake the House.&#8221;
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Rep. Claudia Tenney

55 Uncounted Ballots Found In House Race Where NY Republican Is Up By 12 Votes, 20% Are Tossed Due To Voters Not Being Registered

House Republicans

New York

Vote counting

The race for New York&#039;s 22nd Congressional District, in which Republican Claudia Tenney currently has a 12-vote lead over incumbent Rep. Anthony Brindisi

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/55-uncounted-ballots-found-in-house-race-where-ny-republican-is-up-by-12-votes-20-are-tossed-due-to-voters-not-being-registered/

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Progressives, including most members of the Democratic Socialist &#8220;Squad&#8221;, fired back at President Barack Obama Wednesday, torching the former leader over his comments deriding the far-left for advocating to &#8220;defund the police&#8221; &#8212; a slogan which Obama and other experts believe had a widespread, negative impact on Democrat success in down-ticket and statewide elections.
Speaking to a Snapchat audience Tuesday night, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-rips-democrats-for-defund-the-police-push-and-giving-aoc-short-shrift-at-dnc">Obama mocked efforts to &#8220;defund the police</a>,&#8221; deriding Democrats for adopting the slogan and then suggesting they had no real intention of &#8220;defunding&#8221; any police department, using &#8220;defund the police,&#8221; instead, as code for reforming law enforcement, panicking voters.
&#8220;You lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you&#8217;re actually going to get the changes you want done,&#8221; Obama told &#8220;Good Luck America.&#8221; &#8220;The key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?&#8221;
Some Democrats, indeed, admitted, after noticing how deeply unpopular defunding and disbanding police departments was among key voters &#8212; including minority voters &#8212; that they had no intention of actually &#8220;defunding&#8221; the police. But far-left progressives like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) insisted, Wednesday, that they fully intend to follow through on their promise to end &#8216;racist&#8221; policing.
Omar was the first to fire back, tweeting that, &#8220;We lose people in the hands of police. It’s not a slogan but a policy demand. And centering the demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country gets us progress and safety.&#8221;
Tlaib suggested, in her own tweet, that Obama was threatening the legacy of civil rights crusader Rosa Parks by siding with law enforcement against progressive reformers or suggesting that the far-left wasn&#8217;t seriously considering a &#8220;defund the police&#8221; platform.
&#8220;Rosa Parks was vilified &amp; attacked for her civil disobedience. She was targeted,&#8221; Tlaib wrote. &#8220;It&#8217;s hard seeing the same people who uplift her courage, attack the movement for Black lives that want us to prioritize health, funding of schools &amp; ending poverty, rather than racist police systems.&#8221;
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), also a key member of the &#8220;Squad,&#8221; added that she and other progressives were &#8220;out of patience&#8221; with Obama&#8217;s rhetoric.
&#8220;The murders of generations of unarmed Black folks by police have been horrific,&#8221; Pressley tweeted. &#8220;Lives are at stake daily so I’m out of patience with critiques of the language of activists. Whatever a grieving family says is their truth. And I’ll never stop fighting for their justice &amp; healing.&#8221;
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) may have been the most adamant, firing back at Obama, claiming that &#8220;defund the police&#8221; is &#8220;not a slogan&#8221; but a &#8220;mandate:&#8221; &#8220;With all due respect, Mr. President—let’s talk about losing people. We lost Michael Brown Jr. We lost Breonna Taylor. We’re losing our loved ones to police violence. It’s not a slogan. It’s a mandate for keeping our people alive. Defund the police.&#8221;
Progressive efforts to defund the police, particularly at the state and local levels, have largely failed. Minneapolis, Minnesota&#8217;s, City Council, the first metropolitan government body to pursue a true cut in law enforcement budget, gave up on the effort over the summer after crime rates skyrocketed and minority residents complained directly to the City Council about the lack of law enforcement presence in at-risk communities.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged deep cuts to the New York Police Department but has yet to make those cuts permanent, likely because, as with Minnesota, New York City also suffered a summer crime wave that correlated with an increase in anti-police sentiment.
Obama, of course, has been a thorn in the side of &#8220;Democratic socialists&#8221; the entire 2020 presidential campaign, warning big-money donors and Democratic bigwigs early on that the party had no chance of success if it nominated a far-left candidate like Sen. Bernie Sanders or if progressive forced the party to adopt an extreme far-left platform. Now that he and others affiliated with his White House are guiding a potential Joe Biden administration, it could signal a burgeoning rift within the Democratic party.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar Tries To Fend Off Challenger Antone Melton-Meaux In Reelection Bid

‘It’s Not A Slogan. It’s A Mandate:’ Progressives Push Back On Obama, Defend ‘Defund The Police’

Ayanna Pressley

Barack Obama

Defund The Police

Democratic Socialism

Ilhan Omar

Progressives, including most members of the Democratic Socialist &quot;Squad&quot;, fired back at President Barack Obama Wednesday, torching the former leader over

&#039;It&#039;s Not A Slogan. It&#039;s A Mandate:&#039; Progressives Push Back On Obama, Defend &#039;Defund The Police&#039;

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/its-not-a-slogan-its-a-mandate-progressives-push-back-on-obama-defend-defund-the-police/

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“Policymaker, father, stand-in king”: that is how a much-discussed “Checks and Balances” podcast from the Economist described the office of the American presidency in anticipation of Joe Biden coming to occupy it. The statement was greeted on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheEconomist/status/1333408612400705536?s=20">Twitter</a> with a staggering ratio of (currently) 645 replies to 149 likes—as sure a sign as any that the Economist had, in the current vernacular, posted cringe.
There are few words that inspire more visceral disgust among American conservatives than “king.” It is a title that has become synonymous for many with “tyrant”: an evil office occupied by an arrogant fool, possessing vast quantities of unmerited power and wielding it over oppressed subjects in a manner doomed to corruption.
This, in the scope of history, is a radical and relatively new outlook. “Kingship” has not always been an inherently bad word—neither, ironically, has “tyrant,” which comes to us from the Greek tyrannis, best translated simply as “king.”
But the ease with which tyrannis slid from meaning “king” to meaning “violent oppressor” shows that even in antiquity, rule by one man was inherently prone to abuse. That is something the great historians and political theorists of Ancient Greece and Rome knew well. Aristotle, Herodotus, Polybius, Cicero: each of them, in his own way, saw that the evil in human hearts made it impossible for one man and his heirs to hold lifelong rule without eventually becoming hypocritical, destructive, and cruel.
But it’s not as simple as just throwing off the shackles of kingship and being done. Someone has to be in charge, and attempts at direct democracy—giving power solely to a majority of the voting public—have ended poorly in the ancient world. Without great statesman like Pericles at the helm, direct democracies like Athens found it difficult to act decisively in times of war or even proceed coherently in times of peace. Just as monarchies decay into tyrannies, and aristocracies decay into cronyism, direct democracies decay very easily into mob rule. The brokenness of human nature always wins out in the end.
Therefore even the Roman historian Livy, who famously endorsed the virtue of republican liberty even as he wrote under the Emperor Augustus, still recognized that simply letting the people loose is a recipe for disaster. Though the Romans put an end to their own decadent monarchy around 509 BC, Livy <a href="http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy02.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy02.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF4SxaZxW7ghw0FMYx6xJhnu8Waiw">wrote</a>, they were lucky they didn’t do so earlier. Because:
<blockquote>What would have been the result&#8230;if they had been freed from the restraining power of kings and, agitated by populist storms, had begun to foment quarrels with the patricians&#8230;before sufficient time had elapsed for either family ties or a growing love for the very soil to effect a union of hearts? The infant State would have been torn to pieces by internal dissension.</blockquote>
In other words, even Romans needed time to mature before they tasted what Livy elsewhere calls “the sweetness of liberty”: if they were going to dispense with the strong leadership afforded by kings, they would need something better to put in its place. But what?
The Lawful Freedom of a True Republic
The answer is given by Polybius, a Greek historian who describes the masterful design of the Roman constitution in his own <a href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/6*.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/6*.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG_wQxLPNe9v2IaS1dqDbCJi-gIIw">history</a>. All simple forms of government, writes Polybius, undergo what has come to be called anacyclosis—a Greek word meaning the “cycle of regimes.” If a virtuous king takes over, nevertheless his son or his son’s son becomes corrupt and monarchy becomes tyranny. Then a few good men oust the king and install an aristocracy—but that devolves into oligarchy, or cronyism, in the end. Then the people seize control, their democracy becomes mob rule, and a king has to rise up to bring order back. The cycle begins again.
But the Roman republic was a system for balancing each kind of government against the other: the voting people, the aristocratic senators, and the “consuls,” a yearly two-man executive that performed some of the duties kings used to perform. So even in the republic, the office of consul looked enough like kingship that, in Polybius’ words, “if one looks at this part of the administration alone, one may reasonably pronounce the constitution to be a pure monarchy or kingship.”
And yet, Livy tells us, the Romans at this point were so disgusted by monarchy that they even chased from the city a perfectly decent man who had the same name as a former king, simply because “the very name was a danger to liberty.” The Romans took every precaution that the consuls should never be tempted to those excesses they had suffered under the rule of tyrants.
Every republic needs an executive power, and that power must fill certain functions which kings fill in monarchies: issuing final decisions in times of war, for example. But it would have appalled the Romans to imagine that a consul, or anyone in government, was coming even close to being a “stand-in king.” The whole point of replacing the kings with a republic was to eradicate the need of kingship entirely.
The Puzzle of the Presidency
All of this and more was on the minds of the American Founders when they drafted our Constitution in 1787. Americans, having thought of themselves as English subjects until very recently, were still stinging with resentment at the abuses of King George III. Those abuses are listed at great length in the Declaration of Independence, and the impulse to avoid them at all cost did much to shape our first national compact—the <a href="https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&amp;doc=3&amp;page=transcript" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash%3Dfalse%26doc%3D3%26page%3Dtranscript&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGpGet2MoZi26JxA9hoyG2_lfNWvg">Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union</a>.
Under the Articles, America discovered what Polybius and Livy both knew: a government whose central power is too loosely held will be vulnerable to chaos. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was, effectively, a response to the problems that arise from a weak federal government: no executive or judiciary branch means no power to do such important things as repay debts or regulate commerce between states.
And so the founders had an extremely difficult needle to thread. On the one hand, they had to vest power in a stronger federal government if America was to survive at all. On the other hand, both they and their people were—exactly like the Romans—still supremely wary from firsthand experience of anything that looked remotely like monarchy. To create an executive office in that climate which would pass muster with the people was a tall order indeed.
That is why Alexander Hamilton, in <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed69.asp" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed69.asp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG2xAJitQWkA46Dimr7_GJF6fK5Xw">Federalist #69</a>, took every pain to reassure his readers that this new office—the presidency of the United States—would not in any way be a stand-in king. True, “the executive authority, with few exceptions, is to be vested in a single magistrate.” But, “ if, in this particular, there be a resemblance to the king of Great Britain, there is not less a resemblance to the Grand Seignior, to the khan of Tartary, to the Man of the Seven Mountains, or to the governor of New York.”
Hamilton goes on to give reason after reason why the president will not be like the English king. Presidents will be elected every four years; kings rule for life. Presidents can be impeached; their vetoes can be overturned; their treaties and ministerial nominations are subject to the advice and consent of the senate. And, crucially, “The [president] has no particle of spiritual jurisdiction; the [king] is the supreme head and governor of the national church!”
Central to all these arguments is the essential point that a king is invited to consider himself inherently superior to his subjects—more fit by divine right to rule—whereas a president must prove himself on the basis of merit in the eyes of his fellow men. At issue is nothing less than the most fundamental question of our nation: are men created equal, or are some born with a greater right to govern themselves than others?
So, Hamilton concludes, “What answer shall we give to those who would persuade us that things so unlike resemble each other? The same that ought to be given to those who tell us that a government, the whole power of which would be in the hands of the elective and periodical servants of the people, is an aristocracy, a monarchy, and a despotism.” Nothing could be further from the truth, in other words, than to call the president a “stand-in king.” By design, in spirit, and according to their own direct protestations, that was the last thing the founders intended.
What Are They After?
Anyone who wants to cast the presidency as a makeshift monarchy should thus be subject to the most careful scrutiny imaginable. Why, we are entitled to ask, do the staff at the Economist think it would be salutary for Joe Biden to occupy the role of “father figure” and de facto monarch? Why does Biden himself seem eager to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-history-and-meaning-of-court-packing" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-history-and-meaning-of-court-packing&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF9ZuCntufvZJsdyao5GEu3ZALEvw">pack</a> the Supreme Court with judges of his own choosing—and why does he seem to think he can do so without broad bipartisan consensus? Why, for that matter, do so many of his supporters want to turn our carefully calibrated republic into something approximating <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-the-electoral-college-was-created" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-the-electoral-college-was-created&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNElPdM2lv5Eiz_d6tzDikrFmA3uRQ">mob rule</a>—which, as sure as night follows day, will give way to kingship in the end?
The answer to all these questions is older than the Roman republic or the Athenian democracy. It is as old as government itself: power. That enticing ability to make others serve at your pleasure, against which the entire system of American government was designed to protect. “Power tends to corrupt,” <a href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/214" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/214&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH3oVMmhd9updOhgNOPhJfs0SWJBw">wrote</a> Lord Acton to Bishop Creighton in 1887, “and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Already in states like California, where one-party rule and COVID hysteria have turned governors like Gavin Newsom into de facto monarchs, we are seeing the shameless ugliness that <a href="https://twitter.com/micsolana/status/1333906492596994048?s=20" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/micsolana/status/1333906492596994048?s%3D20&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHC5kOZ74bdI0a3kSKO291Oe_qBFw">deforms</a> <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/small-business/ca-restaurant-owner-mocks-gov-newsom-french-laundry-banner-calls-restrictions-sheer-insanity" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.foxbusiness.com/small-business/ca-restaurant-owner-mocks-gov-newsom-french-laundry-banner-calls-restrictions-sheer-insanity&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHGoLfIHQtQ-qarz88WzqxyrBCplQ">men</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerKlavan/status/1333799010251939844?s=20" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/SpencerKlavan/status/1333799010251939844?s%3D20&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGLsgsoKYCyXLIWjRj7zX7ZYlHy8w">women</a> who can issue command after command without accountability. The face of kingship is the face of a man dining out on fine French cuisine while his people languish in locked rooms after 10pm and eke out a living on the dole. The face of kingship is as God said it would be in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel%208&amp;version=NIV" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search%3D1%2520Samuel%25208%26version%3DNIV&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGJHkZsVgBKL8Vn1AjdmGTJe4n4aw">1 Samuel 8</a>: given enough time, they will drive your sons before them like horses to pull their chariots, will steal the best of your land and leave you hungry, will laugh out of sheer arrogance while you starve.
That is why the president is not a stand-in king. And neither is Gavin Newsom, though he may act like one. The American spirit is battered but not broken, and though this year has been a nightmare in many respects, it is imperative that we not submit. The kings of this world <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%202&amp;version=NIV" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search%3DPsalm%25202%26version%3DNIV&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607018323414000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFLWvlXu8yWmESMfA32-PuPO0JxRA">rise up</a> and band together against God and his anointed—will we stand against them and be free?
Spencer Klavan is host of the <a href="http://youngheretics.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://youngheretics.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605727221983000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGOa-5uhWZB1tdZYdyHUUZsncs64g">Young Heretics</a> podcast and associate editor of the <a href="https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605727221984000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHeqHRcOHKxbcUv9rlirlA80vgVhw">Claremont Review of</a> Books and <a href="https://americanmind.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://americanmind.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605727221984000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGaeulj7VbgJQ5dk6HibW2hrbAtiA">The American Mind</a>. He can be reached on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/spencerklavan" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/spencerklavan&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605727221984000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEEeT2VvJ36dSMfrqxX2KlMm0OSrg">@SpencerKlavan</a>.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

U.S. President Trump’s State Visit To UK – Day One

The Kingship and the Presidency

2020 Election

Democracy

Federalist Papers

Monarchy

“Policymaker, father, stand-in king”: that is how a much-discussed “Checks and Balances” podcast from the Economist described the office of the American

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/the-kingship-and-the-presidency/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/12/GettyImages-1147873698.jpg

Two Democratic congressmen reportedly have plans to present a prospective Biden administration a slate of recommendations that include pushing back against the “Christian nationalist movement.”
Those recommendations come courtesy of a 28-page <a href="https://seculardems.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SecularDemocratsofAmerica_Blueprint_BidenHarrisTransition_11-30-20_FINAL.pdf">document created</a> by the Secular Democrats of America PAC (SDA); Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD)and Jared Huffman(D-CA), the co-chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, reportedly intend to present the document to Joe Biden, <a href="https://religionnews.com/2020/11/30/secular-democrats-unveil-sweeping-recommendations-for-biden-administration/">Religion News</a> reports.
Raskin told Religion News Service, “Trump’s ministers and judges have turned religious free exercise into a weapon against anti-discrimination law, and this essential fallacy must be corrected. The Biden Administration should quickly debunk the right-wing myth that personal free exercise of religion is a license to discriminate against other people in the provision of services in government and the marketplace.”
The document states that the “Christian nationalist movement” “provides constant cover for white supremacy,” as follows:
<blockquote>We urge you not to underestimate the institutional strength of what we refer to (interchangeably) in this document as the “Christian nationalist movement” or the “religious right.” This movement is extraordinarily well-funded and well-organized, and the manifestation of its extreme and sectarian agenda is on constant display under the Trump- Pence administration. Its political ideology is anti-democratic and anti-scientific. It provides constant cover for white supremacy.</blockquote>
The document continues:
<blockquote>The constant entanglement of religion and government—promoted by the religious right and intensified by the Trump administration—sweeps far beyond hot-button “culture war” issues like abortion and contraception. It permeates every aspect of government policy— healthcare, public and private education, foreign policy, tax policy, environmental policy, military policy, and more, all of which will be addressed in this document.</blockquote>
Some suggestions in the document include: “reframe” concepts of patriotism by urging politicians to avoid saying “God and country”; encouraging chaplains in the military who are non-religious; and using “E Pluribus Unum” instead of “In God We Trust,” asserting that “In God We Trust” is “a relic of McCarthyism and the anti-atheist hysteria of the 1950s, and it has been invoked by Christian nationalists to reinforce their historically revisionist narrative of our nation’s founding. They characterize the United States’ founding as a ‘Christian nation’ based in biblical principles, rather than as a secularist nation based in revolutionary democratic ideas.”
The document also states that the group recommends opposing “religious displays on government property,” and to “crack down on nonprofits operating as businesses, including megachurches.”
Sarah Levin, program director for the Secular Democrats of America, stated, “Tens of millions of secular Americans stood with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Election Day because they want a government that reflects their values. President Trump placed religious privilege above both individual freedom and our democratic way of life.”
SDA wants the government to withhold federal funds from any faith-based organization that “discriminates against its employees or program beneficiaries on the basis of religion.” It also wants to revivify enforcement of the U.S. tax code barring nonprofit groups from endorsing candidates for political office.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Raskin Huffman

Report: Dem Congressmen To Offer Document To Biden Championing Secularism, Attacking ‘Christian Nationalist Movement’

Atheism

Biden administration

Christian

Democrats

Jamie Raskin

Jared Huffman

Two Democratic congressmen reportedly have plans to present a prospective Biden administration a slate of recommendations that include pushing back

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/report-dem-congressmen-to-offer-document-to-biden-championing-secularism-attacking-christian-nationalist-movement/

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A Michigan restaurant has opened for indoor dining in violation of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s latest lockdown order to save the business from failure.
Mitch Spangler opened up his eatery, Spangler’s Family Restaurant, in southern Michigan on Nov. 28 despite Whitmer ordering a new three-week shutdown of indoor dining to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Spangler emphasized that he is not seeking a fight with the government, but only trying to save his business from bankruptcy, according to <a href="https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2020/12/its-about-survival-hillsdale-county-restaurant-stays-open-despite-state-ban.html">MLive.com</a>.
“It’s not a statement that I’m principally defying the governor,” Spangler said. “I disagree with the orders, but my motivation is out of survival for my family and employees.”
“If it wasn’t a choice of being in business or going out of business – if there was help, then, yeah, I would [stay closed],” he added. “It’s not an issue of bucking the system. It’s simply a business decision.”
Spangler said he managed to stay afloat early after the initial shutdown of restaurants in March because of federal and state assistance. Revenue at his business plummeted to 20% of its normal intake amid the lockdown, then fell to 15% after restaurants in Indiana and Ohio were allowed to open, pulling some of his customers.
Spangler said that people should be allowed to judge for themselves whether to risk contracting COVID-19 at a restaurant. Since opening, his restaurant has received support from Michiganders who have traveled hours to patronize his business.
“My belief is the people who need to protect themselves should not come to a restaurant, and the people who feel comfortable in precautions and exercising their right to do what they feel they need to do, should,” Spangler added. “It’s a 50-50 way, I need to survive and I feel that if people take care of themselves, and the ones that don’t need to be here shouldn’t be here. It’s a wash.”
“If you believe that you’re going to get COVID because you’re out and about, you probably shouldn’t be out and about,” he added.
The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association is leading a federal <a href="https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/11/michigans-dine-in-restaurant-ban-is-unconstitutional-eateries-argue-in-federal-court-hearing.html">lawsuit</a> against the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for placing a three-week “pause” on indoor dining. The association asserts that the ban is unconstitutional.
“We don’t argue with the fact there’s a time and place for emergency orders, such as we saw in March, April, May, even June,” attorney Kelli Mulder argued in federal court on Monday. “But we’re in a different position now. By now, states should have figured out how to better protect constitutional rights.”
Whitmer has put restrictions on businesses and individuals back in place despite the state <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michigan-supreme-court-shutdown-violation-of-state-constitution">Supreme Court</a> striking down her emergency powers in an Oct. 2 ruling.
“We conclude that the Governor lacked the authority to declare a ‘state of emergency’ or a ‘state of disaster’ under the EMA after April 30, 2020, on the basis of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the court explained. “Furthermore, we conclude that the EPGA is in violation of the Constitution of our state because it purports to delegate to the executive branch the legislative powers of state government – including its plenary police powers – and to allow the exercise of such powers indefinitely. As a consequence, the EPGA cannot continue to provide a basis for the Governor to exercise emergency powers.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/whitmer-issues-new-mask-mandate-anyway-after-michigan-supreme-court-spikes-her-emergency-powers">Whitmer</a> replaced many of her health regulations after the ruling, citing precedent of authority granted to the governor during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/were-not-backing-down-staten-island-pub-declares-itself-autonomous-zone-in-defiance-of-cuomo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘We’re Not Backing Down’: Staten Island Pub Declares Itself ‘Autonomous Zone’ In Defiance Of Cuomo</a>
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Gretchen Whitmer

‘I Need To Survive’: Michigan Restaurant Bucks Whitmer’s New Lockdown, Opens In-Person Dining

Michigan

A Michigan restaurant has opened for indoor dining in violation of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s latest lockdown order to save the business from

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/i-need-to-survive-michigan-restaurant-bucks-whitmers-new-lockdown-opens-in-person-dining/

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In the United States, the subject of transgender children is — understandably — a catalyst for intense debate. Across the world as well, countries are experiencing political and cultural battles of their own when it comes to policies surrounding transgenderism. Most recently, three High Court judges in the United Kingdom <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-55144148">ruled</a> that “children under 16 with gender dysphoria are unlikely to be able to give informed consent to undergo treatment with puberty-blocking drugs.”
One of the claimants, 23 year-old Keira Bell, was referred to the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust at the age of 16, and “after three one-hour appointments” was prescribed puberty blockers, and later testosterone. At the age of 20, she had a double mastectomy. Last year, however, Bell decided to begin de-transitioning, saying that “it was heartbreaking to realize I’d gone down the wrong path.” Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Bell celebrated the ruling, saying that it was “about protecting vulnerable children.”
Known as “Mrs. A,” the second claimant is the “mother of a 15-year-old girl with autism, who is awaiting treatment at the clinic,” and has said her fear isn’t that her daughter transitions, but that “she gets it wrong.”
Dame Victoria Sharp ruled alongside Lord Justice Lewis and Mrs Justice Lieven, saying:
<blockquote>It is highly unlikely that a child aged 13 or under would be competent to give consent to the administration of puberty blockers. It is doubtful that a child aged 14 or 15 could understand and weigh the long-term risks and consequences of the administration of puberty blockers.</blockquote>
With transgenderism becoming somewhat of a cultural norm, this High Court ruling holds implications that span far beyond the United Kingdom. This is because it raises two important issues which are often — intentionally or unintentionally — dismissed.
The first is the fundamental requirement of consent. Across the United States, there are “age of consent” laws for a wide swathe of activities. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase tobacco or alcohol, and all states have statutory laws which requires that any person receiving a tattoo must be at least 16 years old. However, when it comes to the broad act of “gender transitioning,” the idea of informed consent is often ignored. 
When it comes to a child’s self-described <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lgbt-parenting/u-s-parents-accept-childrens-transgender-identity-by-age-three-idUSKBN14B1C8">gender identity</a>, “doctors and parents of transgender children are embracing their identity as soon it starts becoming obvious, sometimes around age 3.” Across the country, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/us/transgender-youth-legislation.html">legislative battles</a> are being fought to determine the appropriate age “treatment” can be provided, with <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/transgender-kids-eligible-for-earlier-medical-intervention-under-new-guidelines/19909/">prepubescent children</a> undergoing various medical procedures in some states.
On the subject of “offering medical intervention at younger ages,” Dr. Steve Rosenthal said in 2017 that earlier treatment “makes it a lot easier for that person to blend in.” Of course, the second issue raised by the High Court in the United Kingdom is the unavoidable fact that, while treatment may “make it easier to blend in,” much of it is impossible to reverse.
Bell’s double mastectomy at the age of 20, after all, helped her blend in. But now, at the age of 23, her desire to “de-transition” can never undo the consequences of her past decisions. The same is obviously true of many medical procedures, not limited to hormone blockers to “pause” puberty, hormone treatments to “confirm identity,” or “gender reassignment surgery” to irreversibly remove and/or alter the patient’s genitals. 
The United States, and multiple other socially liberal countries across the world, are rapidly approaching a tipping point which can no longer be ignored. Transgenderism, whether viewed as a “normal” aspect of “gender fluidity” or a medical condition known as “gender dysphoria,” is undoubtedly a reality of our world. This truth, however, has no bearing on the fundamental duty our society holds to protect our most vulnerable: children. Such a duty includes preventing children from making decisions they cannot possibly understand fully, and also preventing parents and doctors from making such decisions for their children which can never be undone.
If we continue to bury our heads in the sand and ignore this responsibility, we will soon be facing the possibility of a generation of children who, like Keira Bell, are living a new nightmare. Unfortunately, this time there would be no “convenient” medical escape.
Ian Haworth is host of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkPxdVsNp7k&amp;list=PLhi-aq-5DfuTQRVv1IOVMnA735vEYO0f5">The Ian Haworth Show</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E05t2L69Sks&amp;list=PLhi-aq-5DfuRHu5r0IV5qr4h2rBAV9oBd">The Truth in 60 Seconds</a>. Follow him on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth">@ighaworth</a>.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

Transgender Flag

Courts Agree: Children Cannot Consent To Transgender Procedures

Children

Gender

LGBTQ

Transgender

United Kingdom

In the United States, the subject of transgender children is — understandably — a catalyst for intense debate. Across the world as well, countries are

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Former President Barack Obama says Democrats lost votes in the November elections because some in the party voiced support for &#8220;defund the police&#8221; movements that spread across cities amid racial strife.
In an interview released on Wednesday with Vanity Fair contributor Peter Hamby for his podcast &#8220;Good Luck America,&#8221; Hamby asked, &#8220;If you&#8217;re a young activist today and you believe really passionately in a slogan, like Defund the Police, what is your advice to that activist? Knowing that a lot of politicians won&#8217;t go near that phrase, even if the nuts and bolts of the idea might be popular.&#8221;
Obama said, &#8220;If you believe, as I do, that we should be able to reform the criminal justice system so that it&#8217;s not biased and treats everybody fairly, I guess you can use a snappy slogan, like &#8216;Defund the Police,&#8217; but, you know, you lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you&#8217;re actually going to get the changes you want done.&#8221;
&#8220;But if you instead say, Hey, you know what? Let&#8217;s reform the police department so that everybody&#8217;s being treated fairly. And not just in policing, but in sentencing, how can we divert young people from getting into crime? And if there was a homeless guy, can maybe we send a mental health worker there instead of an armed unit that could end up resulting in a tragedy?&#8221; Obama said.
&#8220;You know, suddenly a whole bunch of folks who might not otherwise listen to you are listening to you,&#8221; he added. &#8220;So the key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with? And if you want to get something done in a democracy, in a country as big and diverse as ours, then you&#8217;ve got to be able to meet people where they are.&#8221;
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) blasted Obama for calling the “defund the police” movement a “snappy slogan.”
“We lose people in the hands of police,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s not a slogan but a policy demand. And centering the demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country gets us progress and safety.”
Obama also mused about the state of the party that just elected a 78-year-old white man as president and has 80-year-old career lawmaker Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House. He said that if the party wants to appeal to young people, it will need to embrace new and younger leadership.
The former president, who is hawking a new book, cited Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the 31-year-old former bartender-turned-lawmaker. She supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2020 election, and was subsequently given just two minutes to speak at the Democratic National Convention over the summer.
&#8220;The fact that AOC only got, what? Three minutes or five minutes? When she speaks to a broad section of young people who are interested in what she has to say, even if they don&#8217;t agree with everything she says,&#8221; he said. &#8220;New blood is always good. And I say that as somebody who used to be the young, shiny cool guy. But now is the gray-haired old grizzled vet.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/barack-obamas-back-and-hes-more-disappointed-in-america-than-ever">Barack Obama’s Back, And He’s More Disappointed In America Than Ever</a>
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>. 
&nbsp;

US-VOTE-BIDEN-OBAMA

Obama Rips Democrats For ‘Defund The Police’ Push And Giving AOC Short Shrift At DNC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Former President Barack Obama says Democrats lost votes in the November elections because some in the party voiced support for &quot;defund the police&quot;

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/obama-rips-democrats-for-defund-the-police-push-and-giving-aoc-short-shrift-at-dnc/

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The major networks ignored news of a new special counsel appointment on their evening newscasts, even as liberal networks CNN and MSNBC mentioned it.
In a letter dated December 1, Attorney General Bill Barr informed the House and Senate Judiciary Committees that he had appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham as special counsel so that he can continue to investigate the origins of the Russia probe even though a new administration will begin. The news of Durham’s appointment was reported Tuesday afternoon, yet the evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC didn’t include it in their programs.
As Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/network-newscasts-skip-barr-appointing-john-durham-special-counsel-russia-probe">reported</a>, the networks did include news that Barr told The Associated Press that Justice Department investigators hadn’t found enough evidence of voter fraud to overturn the results of the 2020 election. As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-fires-back-at-news-orgs-claiming-voter-fraud-probes-are-over-thats-not-what-ag-barr-said">reported</a>, some networks erroneously reported this to mean the voter fraud investigation was over, prompting the DOJ to dispute the claims.
“Some media outlets have incorrectly reported that the Department has concluded its investigation of election fraud and announced an affirmative finding of no fraud in the election,” a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. “That is not what the Associated Press reported nor what the Attorney General stated. The Department will continue to receive and vigorously pursue all specific and credible allegations of fraud as expeditiously as possible.”
“Most claims of fraud are very particularized to a particular set of circumstances or actors or conduct. … And those have been run down; they are being run down,” Barr added. “Some have been broad and potentially cover a few thousand votes. They have been followed up on.”
The Trump campaign’s legal team responded to Barr’s assertions that the DOJ has looked into allegations but have so far found nothing by claiming “there hasn’t been any semblance of a Department of Justice investigation.” The legal team alleged the DOJ hasn’t looked into the evidence presented and said, “with the greatest respect to the Attorney General, his opinion appears to be without any knowledge or investigation of the substantial irregularities and evidence of systemic fraud.”
In his letter to congressional committees, Barr wrote that appointing Durham as special counselor makes him “authorized to investigate whether any federal official, employee, or any other person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activities directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, individuals associated with those campaigns, and individuals associated with the administration of President Donald J. Trump, including but not limited to Crossfire Hurricane and the investigation of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III.”
Durham has long been seen as the man who would hold people accountable for the investigation into alleged collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of such collusion, and a DOJ Inspector General report found numerous inaccuracies and omissions used to obtain FISA warrants to spy on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Durham was appointed to investigate how such a baseless investigation was started and has so far criminally charged one former FBI lawyer. Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty to altering an email to make it appear as though Page had not previously assisted the CIA, when in fact he had.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Bill Barr

ABC, CBS, NBC Evening Newscasts Ignore AG Barr Appointing John Durham As Special Counsel To Continue Investigation Into Russia Probe Origins

John Durham

Media Bias

William Barr

The major networks ignored news of a new special counsel appointment on their evening newscasts, even as liberal networks CNN and MSNBC mentioned it. In a

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&#8220;A recent study found 800 small businesses a day are closing across the country,&#8221; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote Saturday on Twitter.
While some questioned the declaration, Klobuchar was citing a <a href="https://www.yelpeconomicaverage.com/business-closures-update-sep-2020.html">study</a> by Yelp. &#8220;As of August 31, 163,735 total U.S. businesses on Yelp have closed since the beginning of the pandemic (observed as March 1), a 23% increase since July 10.&#8221; Yelp estimated that 60% of those closed businesses are not reopening, saying 97,966 are permanently closed, which means more like 500 businesses shuttered each day.
And those numbers are old, missing the last three months, when many state governors renewed shutdowns to stem the rising COVID-19 numbers.
Other <a href="https://people.ucsc.edu/~rfairlie/current/">data</a> from the University of California Santa Cruz shows the number of closures could be even higher, with more than 316,000 businesses closed between February and September, which puts the number of daily closures at 1,500 a day.
Meanwhile, the New York Post recently <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/11/29/nearly-one-third-of-ny-nj-small-businesses-closed-in-2020-report/">reported</a> that Harvard-run database TrackTheRecovery.org showed 27.8% of small businesses in New York haven’t reopened their doors since January. In New Jersey, 31.2% remain closed. The national average, according to the database, is 29.8%.
&#8220;It’s devastating how many restaurants have shuttered and jobs have been lost,” Andrew Rigie, executive director of NYC Hospitality Alliances, which represents bars, restaurants, and clubs, told the Post.
But what is Congress focusing on? Not help for businesses or Americans struggling under COVID-19 lockdowns. No, lawmakers are busying debating who can own lions and tigers and whether to legalize marijuana nationwide.
&#8220;The main bill on the House floor this week is a measure to decriminalize marijuana and provide a process for expunging marijuana-related convictions,&#8221; Roll Call <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2020/12/01/road-ahead-house-takes-up-tiger-king-and-marijuana-bills-while-seeking-spending-deal/">reported</a> on Tuesday. &#8220;The chamber will also take up several bills under suspension of the rules, including a bill to ban breeding and private ownership of big cats that was featured in the infamous Netflix show &#8216;Tiger King.'&#8221;
The House is set to vote as soon as Thursday on what Big Cat Rescue Corp., a Florida-based sanctuary run by &#8220;Tiger King&#8221; star Carole Baskin and her husband Howard call “the most important big cat bill ever.”
The summary of the legislation (HR1380) says: &#8220;This bill revises requirements governing the trade of big cats (i.e., species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species). Specifically, it revises restrictions on the possession and exhibition of big cats, including to restrict direct contact between the public and big cats.&#8221;
The vote to decriminalize marijuana is expected to come Friday. The vote was set to occur before Election Day but was postponed because &#8220;some moderate Democrats, particularly ones concerned about winning reelection in November, had rejected the idea of voting on a marijuana measure before additional coronavirus relief,&#8221; Roll Call reported.
&#8220;While some moderates may still hold that concern, Democratic leaders’ decision to bring the bill to the floor signals they are confident it will pass. A few Republicans have said they plan to support it, which provides room for some Democratic defections.  Support for the measure appears to be boosted by November ballot measures that legalized all marijuana in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota and medical marijuana in Mississippi,&#8221; the political website wrote.
Lawmakers passed the CARE Act in March, a $2.2 trillion package that eventually delivered $1,200 to millions of Americans. That bill offered aid to businesses via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). In April, Congress passed another bill to provide another $500 billion in aid.
But since then, nothing. In July, lawmakers began debating the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act. Democrats wanted another $2 trillion, Republicans $1 trillion. Talks repeatedly broke down and Congress took no action.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a $908 billion coronavirus relief proposal, but there are no $1,200 checks for Americans as there were in the CARES Act. The bill would deliver another $160 billion to states and cities and $180 billion for unemployment insurance, two issues Democrats have pushed hard. The unemployment benefits would pay $300 per week for 18 weeks, retroactive to Dec. 1, which is half of what was included in the CARES Act.
It didn&#8217;t take long for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to reject the proposal.
“We just don’t have time to waste time,” McConnell said.
But they&#8217;ll make time for big cats and weed.
Sounds about right.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bipartisan-group-of-senators-unveils-nearly-1-trillion-covid-19-stimulus-plan-with-no-1200-checks-for-americans?%3Futm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=ladypatriot">Bipartisan Group Of Senators Unveils Nearly $1 Trillion COVID-19 Stimulus Plan – With No $1,200 Checks For Americans</a>
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Friendship of bengal tiger and white lion in Istanbul

As Thousands Of U.S. Businesses Close For Good, Congress Focuses On Tiger Ownership, Legalizing Marijuana

Congress

Tiger King

&quot;A recent study found 800 small businesses a day are closing across the country,&quot; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote Saturday on Twitter. While some

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While the Minneapolis City Council is making another effort to defund the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), carjackings have skyrocketed in the city, with some of them involving drivers accosted at gunpoint.
According to the Star-Tribune, in the last two months, Minneapolis police have recorded over 125 carjackings. The Star-Tribune reported that there have been a “series of brazen <a href="https://www.startribune.com/increase-in-carjackings-and-robberies-roils-twin-cities/572938962/">attempted armed robberies and carjackings in a wave that is stretching across the city</a>. Minneapolis residents are grappling with a triple-digit percentage increase in these crimes, and incidents occurring at all hours, including broad daylight.”
Carjackings were so rare that they weren’t even tracked as a separate issue by the MPD until September 22; prior to that they were lumped together with robberies and auto theft. But after the carjackings grew in number over the summer the MPD implemented a new coding system.
“A retroactive count by analysts determined that Minneapolis has seen at least 375 carjackings this year — including 17 last week. That overall tally is more than three times higher than 2019,” the <a href="https://www.startribune.com/staggering-surge-in-violent-carjackings-continues-citywide/573257391/">Star-Tribune</a> noted, adding, “Within a one-hour period Saturday morning, police reported three separate carjackings in southeast Minneapolis, including one where an elderly woman was struck on the head. Such attacks are up 537% this month when compared with last November.”
Police spokesman John Elder stated, “The numbers are staggering. It defies all civility and any shred of common human decency.” He cautioned victims to hand over their belongings, saying, “People need to know what their abilities are. A 74-year-old woman trying to duke it out with two 18-year-olds is not a great idea.”
“The spree comes amid a nearly <a href="https://www.startribune.com/analysis-poorer-mpls-areas-bear-the-brunt-of-rising-violence/572466101/">unprecedented spike in violent crime</a>, particularly shootings, since the May 25 killing of George Floyd in police custody and the civil unrest that followed. &#8230; In November, the toll of people shot <a href="https://www.startribune.com/amid-sharp-rise-in-minneapolis-shootings-slayings-a-solution-appears-elusive/573079021/">this year surpassed 500 </a>in Minneapolis, the most in 15 years,” the Star-Tribune pointed out.
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo acknowledged, “Crime is occurring, the shootings, the carjackings, the robberies. They are citywide, they are impacting everyone, and not just one constituency base and not just one neighborhood.”
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-city-council-trying-to-defund-the-police-department-again">reported on Tuesday</a> about the current efforts of some members of the city council:
<blockquote><a href="https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/11/28/3-minneapolis-city-council-members-aim-cut-8-million-from-mayors-2021-police-budget/">Minneapolis&#8217; CBS affiliate reports</a> that three members of the Minneapolis City Council, all of whom supported a drastic plan to defund and disband the city&#8217;s police department following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, are offering a &#8220;follow-up&#8221; solution that involves slashing the police budget and drastically cutting the number of MPD officers.
&#8220;Minneapolis City Council Member Phillipe Cunningham saw the mass protests following George Floyd’s death in late May as an imperative for something new,&#8221; the outlet reported Tuesday. &#8220;He and council colleagues Lisa Bender and Steve Fletcher have co-written a budget plan that proposes moving about $8 million out of the police department. For context, the current budget allocated nearly $200 million to MPD.&#8221;</blockquote>
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

US-POLITICS-POLICE-JUSTICE-RACISM-DEMO

Minneapolis Carjackings Skyrocket While City Council Still Considers Defunding Police

carjacking

Minneapolis

Police

While the Minneapolis City Council is making another effort to defund the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), carjackings have skyrocketed in the city,

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-carjackings-skyrocket-while-city-council-still-considers-defunding-police/

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