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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

Black Conservatives ‘Livid’ After DeSantis Attacks Tim Scott and ‘DC Republicans’ for Opposing His Slavery Curriculum

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Just as his presidential campaign was “rebooting,” Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis decided to repeatedly attack two Black Republicans who had gently pushed back against his education curriculum on slavery.

Black conservatives are “livid.”

Politico reports “several prominent Black conservatives…told POLITICO they fear the issue will play into Democrats’ characterization of Republicans as favoring a whitewashing of American history. Most saw it as an unforced error at the time when Black Republicans feel they’ve been making significant strides within the party.”

On Friday, DeSantis blamed America’s struggles on “D.C. Republicans” when asked about criticism from U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who denounced DeSantis’ new education policy. That policy mandates middle school students must be taught that enslaved people “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

The only elected D.C. Republicans who have spoken out against his education policy on slavery are Senator Scott and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida.

READ MORE: Cursing Congressman Doubles Down: I’m Being Attacked for Swearing at Teenagers Because Republicans Defunded the IRS

The governor, who is under pressure to correct his flailing presidential campaign, on Friday managed to accuse both Republican lawmakers – along with Vice President Kamala Harris, of telling “lies.”

Senator Scott, a fellow GOP presidential candidate, on Thursday disagreed with DeSantis’ mandate.

“As a country founded upon freedom, the greatest deprivation of freedom was slavery. There is no silver lining … in slavery,” Scott said, as NBC News reported.

“What slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating,” Scott said. “So I would hope that every person in our country — and certainly running for president — would appreciate that.”

“People have bad days,” Sen. Scott generously offered. “Sometimes they regret what they say. And we should ask them again to clarify their positions.”

On Friday, DeSantis was asked to do so, and went on the attack.

READ MORE: Trump Claims ‘Nothing in the Constitution’ Says Even if He’s Convicted and Sentenced He Can’t Run for President

After pausing for a moment to chuckle when asked specifically about Sen. Scott’s remarks, Gov. DeSantis blamed America’s struggles on Republicans in Washington.

“You know, I think part of the reason our country has struggled is because D.C. Republicans all too often accept false narratives, accept lies that are perpetrated by the left and accept the lie that Kamala Harris has been perpetrating, even when that has been debunked,” he told a reporter.

DeSantis also appeared to criticize Sen. Scott’s leadership skills.

“That’s not the way you do it,” DeSantis said. “The way you do it, the way you lead is to fight back against the lies, is to speak the truth. And so I’m here defending my state of Florida against false accusations and against lies, and we’re going to continue to speak the truth.”

Also this week Congressman Donalds expressed frustration with the DeSantis campaign after he, also generously, gave his home state governor an opportunity to walk back his stated support of the slavery standards.

“The new African-American standards in FL are good, robust, & accurate,” Donalds said Wednesday morning via social media. “That being said, the attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong & needs to be adjusted. That obviously wasn’t the goal & I have faith that FLDOE will correct this.”

It was a gracious gesture, and Donalds put the entire blame on the Florida Dept. of Education – as DeSantis also did recently – and, like Scott, gave the governor an out.

But by Wednesday afternoon, things got heated.

“JUST IN: DeSantis officials slam @ByronDonalds after he agrees with criticisms of African American history standards,” Florida’s Voice tweeted.

Quoting the campaign, it added: “We will not back down from teaching our nation’s true history at the behest of a woke @WhiteHouse, nor at the behest of a supposedly conservative congressman.”

Donalds, clearly frustrated, responded.

“What’s crazy to me is I expressed support for the vast majority of the new African American history standards and happened to oppose one sentence that seemed to dignify the skills gained by slaves as a result of their enslavement,” he wrote. “Anyone who can’t accurately interpret what I said is disingenuous and is desperately attempting to score political points.”

READ MORE: Mitch McConnell Has Tripped and Fallen at Least Three Times This Year – Only One Was Reported

“Just another reason why l’m proud to have endorsed President Donald J. Trump!” an exasperated Donalds added.

And on Thursday, as Politico reports, when asked about Congressman Donalds’ remarks, DeSantis went on the attack, just as he did against Scott on Friday.

“At the end of the day, you got to choose: Are you going to side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets or are you going to side with the state of Florida?” DeSantis asked.

“To some prominent Black Republicans,” Politico adds,  referring to DeSantis’ divisive attack on Donalds, including lumping him in with the Vice President, “it was a DeSantis misstep. And one that comes as his campaign is attempting to jump-start its flagging operation.”

Diante Johnson, president of the Black Conservative Federation, told Politico the battle between DeSantis and Donalds “raises eyebrows.”

“It’s just not a good position for the DeSantis campaign to take. And they’re doubling down and that’s what’s even more disgusting.”

“Ron DeSantis is not the candidate for Black conservatives and that’s what [he] constantly, constantly exhibits to us.”

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News

Arizona State Senator Proposes Health Study Looking Into ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

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President Donald Trump and his allies have long accused critics of suffering from the imaginary ailment Trump Derangement Syndrome. Now, an Arizona state senator wants the local health department to conduct a study on the made-up disease.

State Sen. Janae Shamp introduced Senate Bill 1070 on Monday, asking Arizona’s Department of Health Services to “conduct or support research” on TDS, “including its origins, manifestations and long-term effects on individuals, communities and public discourse.” If the bill were passed into law, the department would have a year to submit a report on its findings.

READ MORE: ‘Monstrous’: Trump Blasted for Blaming Rob Reiner’s Death on ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

Shamp’s bill defines Trump Derangement Syndrome as “a behavioral or psychological phenomenon that is characterized by intense emotional or psychological reactions to Donald J. Trump, his actions or his public presence as observed in individuals or groups.” From there, the bill lays out its reasoning—mainly a laundry list of Trump’s accomplishments, including reducing the corporate tax rate by 14%, eliminating “22 regulations for every new one in 2017”, and “affirming biological truth in federal policy to protect family values.”

“Despite these contributions to America’s prosperity, security 26 and values, ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ (TDS) has emerged since his 2016 campaign,” Shamp wrote.

“TDS has led to significant social harm, with Americans who 33 support President Trump or his policies reporting discrimination, 34 intimidation or ostracism in professional, academic and social settings, 35 further eroding community cohesion,” she added.

The bill borrows heavily from a House bill proposed by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), according to Tucson.com. It is unknown what chances Shamp’s bill has of passing the Arizona Senate; Davidson’s bill died in committee. But even should it pass, it is unlikely to be signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

When asked if Hobbs would sign the bill, her spokesperson laughed and told a KTVK-TV reporter “You can quote me on that.”

Image via Reuters

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CORRUPTION

Sotomayor Slams SCOTUS Over Ruling ‘Declaring All Latinos Fair Game to Be Seized’ by ICE

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor had harsh words for the Supreme Court in her dissent in a ruling allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to continue to arrest people based on profiling Latinos working low-wage jobs.

Monday morning, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an emergency decision in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo. The case concerns “Operation At Large,” which deployed ICE agents in the Los Angeles area to car washes, bus stops, farms and other locations believed to be frequented by Latino people who may or may not be undocumented immigrants. On July 11, the Central District Court of California ruled that ICE had to stop Operation At Large until appeals in the case could be heard.

The Court’s ruling contained no official explanation for the ruling, however Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurrence. In his concurrence, Kavanaugh said the law allowed ICE to “‘briefly detain’ an individual ‘for questioning’” if they have “a reasonable suspicion, based on specific articulable facts, that the person being questioned . . . is an alien illegally in the United States.”

READ MORE: Loyalty Litmus Test? Trump Allies Quietly Prep SCOTUS Short List

Operation At Large, he said, represented “reasonable suspicion” to detain someone on the following factors: “(i) presence at particular locations such as bus stops, car washes, day laborer pickup sites, agricultural sites, and the like; (ii) the type of work one does; (iii) speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent; and (iv) apparent race or ethnicity.”

He added that “apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion” but could be a “‘relevant factor,” and that if someone detained by ICE turned out to be a citizen, they would be “free to go after the brief encounter.”

Sotomayor disagreed that this is what was happening, citing what had happened to other citizens. Jason Gavidia worked at a Los Angeles tow yard that ICE stopped at. Agents repeatedly asked if he was a citizen. They then took his phone, pushed him against a metal fence, twisted his arm, and took away his identification, according to Sotomayor’s dissent.

“Other Operation At Large encounters have included even more force and even fewer questions. For example, agents pulled up in four unmarked cars to a bus stop in Pasadena; ‘the doors opened and men in masks with guns started running at’ three Latino men who were having their morning coffee, waiting to be picked up for work,” she wrote.

“In Glendale, nearly a dozen masked agents with guns ‘jumped out of . . . cars’ at a Home Depot, and began ‘chasing’ and ‘tackl[ing]’ Latino day laborers without ‘identify[ing] themselves as ICE or police, ask[ing] questions, or say[ing] anything else.’ In downtown Los Angeles, agents ‘jumped out of a van, rushed up to [a tamale vendor], surrounded him, and handled him violently,’ all ‘[w]ithout asking . . . any questions.'”

Sotomayor concluded that Operation At Large and the Court’s decision “all but declared that all Latinos, U. S. citizens or not, who work low wage jobs are fair game to be seized at any time, taken away from work, and held until they provide proof of their legal status to the agents’ satisfaction.”

She also condemned the court for not issuing an explanation beyond the concurrence. She alleged that the Court had been eager to “circumvent the ordinary appellate process” when it comes to President Donald Trump and his administration.

“Some situations simply cry out for an explanation, such as when the Government’s conduct flagrantly violates the law,” Sotomayor wrote, adding that Operation At Large and the Court’s ruling clearly violates the Bill of Rights.

“The Fourth Amendment protects every individual’s constitutional right to be ‘free from arbitrary interference by law officers.’ After today, that may no longer be true for those who happen to look a certain way, speak a certain way, and appear to work a certain type of legitimate job that pays very little. Because this is unconscionably irreconcilable with our Nation’s constitutional guarantees, I dissent,” she wrote.

Image via Shutterstock

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law

Arkansas Senator Files Bill to Abolish State Library, Give Education Department Control

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The right-wing war on knowledge continues as an Arkansas state senator filed a bill Thursday to abolish the State Library as well as the library board.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro), along with State Rep. Wayne Long (R-Bradford), filed Senate Bill 536 on Thursday. The bill would not just remove all references to the State Library from existing laws, but also put the state’s other libraries under the control of the Arkansas Department of Education.

A previous version of the bill, SB184, would have also shuttered the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, which oversees the state’s PBS stations, according to the Arkansas Advocate.

READ MORE: Clean Up Alabama Wants State to Dump ‘Marxist’ American Library Association

The Arkansas State Library is not just a regular library. In addition to providing information to state agencies and lawmakers, it also distributes funding to the other libraries around the state. Under SB536, the Department of Education would take on all its responsibilities. The State Library is officially a part of the Department of Education already, but it operates as an independent organization.

While the proposal may sound like a shuffling-around of duties, the main thrust of the bill is to allow more direct control over the Arkansas library system by controlling the purse strings. The bill would keep libraries from distributing “age-inappropriate materials” to those under 17 years old and sex education materials from those under 12. Libraries would also have to set up a system where those in the community could request that certain items be banned for minors, according to KARK-TV. Those that don’t meet these restrictions will have state funding pulled.

Earlier legislation filed by Sullivan and passed into law includes Act 242, which ended the requirement for library directors to have a master’s degree in library science, the Advocate reported.  Sullivan, however, was unsuccessful with a proposed amendment to another bill that would strip funding from libraries affiliated with the American Library Association—meaning most, if not all of them. That amendment was rejected this week over concerns the language in it was too broad, according to the Advocate.

The ALA has been a target of right-wing politicians and activists upset with its free speech stance and fights against censorship. Sullivan in particular has objected to a provision in the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights protecting library access for all ages, the Advocate reported. He also called for the state’s chapter of the ALA to be defunded—despite the fact that it receives no state funding.

Image via Shutterstock

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