‘Before turning against the U.S. military to command the Confederate army, Robert E. Lee served as the superintendent of West Point, the hallowed military academy that produced patriots like Ulysses S. Grant, Douglas MacArthur and Dwight Eisenhower.
But in the coming days, the storied academy will take down a portrait of Lee dressed in his Confederate uniform from its library, where it has been hanging since the 1950s and place it in storage. It will also remove the stone bust of the Civil War’s top southern general at Reconciliation Plaza. And Lee’s quote about honor will be stripped from the academy’s Honor Plaza.
‘Westerly, Rhode Island, father Robert Chiaradio was convinced that if only people could see it with their own eyes, they would join his battle to remove Maia Kobabe’s book, Gender Queer: A Memoir, from the high school library.
So when he took the podium at the Westerly School Committee meeting last December, Chiaradio came prepared with more than just his talking points. Filing in behind him were his supporters, each one holding up a poster-sized illustration from the book [graphic material at link]. Together they revealed a revolting display of images for the whole room to see.
It didn’t last long, though. Soon, a group of seven teachers crowded around him and positioned themselves in front of each poster, blocking its view from the audience. Though everyone had already seen the sickening pictures, the teachers refused to budge, their arms folded in defiance, as if to say, “You’re not seeing that.”
Chiaradio wanted to know why it was fine for a 14-year-old at Westerly High School to see the book, but not the adults at the meeting. When he asked the Westerly Teachers Association head, Colleen Saila, that question, he says she replied that the teachers in the room were “offended” because they didn’t have a choice about seeing the poster-sized pictures from the book.
There was another choice they didn’t have that night. Like it or not, the second those posters were raised in the air, the school lost control of the narrative. The secret of Gender Queer was out.
And covering it up after the fact didn’t change the fact that the school was offering pornography to its students.
He has been in his adversaries’ crosshairs for over two years, ever since he started asking his pesky questions about critical race theory (CRT) in Westerly’s public schools. By now, he’s gotten used to being sabotaged, gaslit, lied to, and called the worst sorts of names. Few would be up for the abuse and aggravation that have come with his two-steps-forward, one-step-back battles.
But while Chiaradio is relentless, so are his opponents.
‘Nearly a year after Judicial Watch launched an investigation into the theft of U.S. COVID relief funds by foreign hackers, the Secret Service confirms that cyber criminals connected to China’s government stole $20 million in benefits. This includes Small Business Administration (SBA) loans and unemployment insurance money in multiple states, according to a national news story that identifies the perpetrators as a APT41, a hacking group based in Chengdu. The report cites U.S. law enforcement officials and cybersecurity experts who believe the multi-million-dollar theft of government pandemic funds by the Chinese faction “may just be the tip of the iceberg.”’https://www.judicialwatch.org/hackers-steal-20-mil-in-covid-relief-funds/
‘Major corporations including Telstra and Channel 10 have declared they will not celebrate January 26 as a national holiday.
Both organisations have advised staff they can choose to work on Australia Day and nominate another day of leave instead.
Network 10 created headlines earlier this week when they advised that Australia Day was “not a day to celebrate” for Indigenous Australians and staff were therefore free to celebrate the national day on a date of their own choosing.
An email sent to Network 10 editorial staff said: “We aim to create a safe place to work where cultural differences are appreciated, understood and respected. For our First Nations people, we as an organisation acknowledge that January 26 is not a day of celebration.
“We recognise that there has been a turbulent history, particularly around that date and the recognition of that date being Australia Day. We recognise that January 26 evokes different emotions for our employees across the business, and we are receptive to employees who do not feel comfortable taking this day as a public holiday.”
Meanwhile, a Telstra spokeswoman told the Daily Mail: “Our employees have the choice to work on Australia Day or take leave on another day.”
Other organisations to follow suit include Deloitte, KPMG and EY.
A KPMG spokeswoman said the company’s “cultural leave policy” meant that staff could celebrate Australia Day on a date that was “relevant to their culture” and “beliefs”.
Various local councils around Australia have boycotted Australia Day in recent years, arguing that it does not align with their values. But the move of corporations to boycott the national day is new.
January 26 is celebrated as Australia Day because it was on that day in 1788 that the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove and Governor Arthur Phillip raised a Union Jack flag on Australian soil.
Last week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ditched a rule made by the Coalition government that forced councils to conduct citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.
‘A lot has transpired since our last newsletter. All the results of the Victorian state election have been declared. Premier Dan Andrews has retained his Labor Government’s strong majority in the Lower House for a third four-year term. In the Upper House we saw the demise of Fiona Patten and Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party and the rise of the Legalize Cannibas Party winning two seats and along with four Greens giving Dan Andrews a progressive working majority. It was not all bad news with the Teal candidates failing to win any seats and freedom parties the Democratic Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, and One Nation each winning a seat in the Upper House.
Australia has been rocked by the shooting murder of two Queensland Police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow by former teachers Gareth, Stacey and Nathaniel Train in the town of Wieambilla. Neighbor Alan Dare was also murdered by the trio. The Trains were killed by specialist police after a six-hour siege. Because the Trains were anti-police and believed in ‘conspiracy theories’ the media and anti-freedom activists are exploiting this tragedy to demand a government crackdown on those who hold anti-authoritarian views and opposed government tyranny during the pandemic.
Mainstream media journalists continue to lose their minds over the fact that Twitter owner Elon Musk has restored accounts that were banned for so-called covid misinformation and wants Dr Anthony Fauci prosecuted for being complicit in gain of function research in Wuhan. Several journalists have been suspended on Twitter for violating its doxxing policy for publishing real-time flight information about Elon Musk’s private jet.
We’ve seen the downfall of the two Democrat darling Sams. Sam Bankman Fried has finally been arrested in the Bahamas by US authorities charged with fraud over the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX. Gender fluid non-binary US Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy Sam Brinton has been fired from the Biden Administration after being charged with stealing two women’s baggage from two different airports.
‘Good morning! Hard to believe Christmas is less than two weeks away! And The Iowa Standard is officially in its fifth year of existence now.
Much of the last week or so was spent dissecting the Respect for Marriage Act. Sen. Joni Ernst has been censured or formally condemned by at least seven Republican county central committees. That number is expected to increase. We’ll publish a story today where Ernst essentially plays the victim and says people are upset at her because they haven’t read the bill.
Ernst is asking us to trust our religious liberty to Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Chuck Schumer. No thanks. Actually, just no.
She wants us to ignore the warnings from respected conservative advocacy groups such as the Family Research Council, Liberty Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom and others. She wants us to ignore conservative senators who have warned against the bill. And she wants us to ignore conservative House Republicans who, unlike Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, didn’t support it.
She wants us to ignore the fact that passing the Respect for Marriage Act filled Nancy Pelosi’s heart. And it was celebrated by Joe Biden.
If all those people are happy about something, conservatives should be concerned about it.
So, all of us who were told to “vote red” to “save America” since about October — do you feel like you saved America? Republicans hold every congressional office in Iowa (once Zach Nunn joins the House in January), yet 66 percent of the Iowa congressional delegation either did support the Respect for Marriage Act or said they would have (Nunn).
I think we were played. We’re being told by Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition to be thankful for Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Randy Feenstra who voted against it. Well, Grassley said he supports federal recognition of same-sex marriage and may have voted for it if the religious liberty protections were stronger. Feenstra hasn’t issued any statement at all.
How embarrassing and insulting to Iowa’s grassroots conservatives. And don’t look for the Republican Party of Iowa to stand up for conservatism. They’re more concerned with defining “censure” and the process of censure than they are the fact 4 of the 6 congressional Republicans from Iowa just voted to redefine marriage against the wishes of the RPI platform.
What a mess.
There is good news, though. Ernst is feeling the heat. Newsmax cited The Iowa Standard in an article about her vote. Iowa media did as well. She was asked about being censured.
All of that happened because of our combined efforts. It happened because seven courageous, conservative county central committees had the spine to do what is right and we were fortunate to amplify their voice.’https://theiowastandard.com/
This is from an email I received this morning. The illustration fits with the cancel culture society we are now living in!
‘Picnic season is behind us here in Michigan. The leaves are off the trees, and the snow has already started to fly.
But just for a moment, think back to the joys of a summer cookout—hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill and a table set with various side dishes, like potato chips, pasta salad, and maybe some fresh watermelon.
To top the grilled meats, you’ll always have ketchup and mustard.
Now imagine that one of the guests is a college student—one who only likes mustard.
This fictional student is adamantly opposed to ketchup! And not for reasonable reasons such as health or allergy concerns…no, he labels anyone who likes ketchup as a “mustard hater” who’s oppressing others by using ketchup. But this is just the beginning…like the BBQ grill, his cause catches fire.
He finds others to join his opposition to ketchup. Not long after, you can no longer find ketchup on certain store shelves, in college cafeterias, or at some company picnics. And he’s even secured apologies from ketchup manufacturers for their history of transgressions against mustard.
Anyone who still likes ketchup or tries to defend their right to choose how to top their burger or fries is excluded and silenced. You might say that…
…Ketchup is canceled!
Is this example far-fetched? Maybe it’s a little silly, but it illustrates how this sort of thing works in our “cancel culture” society.’ From an Email.
whatyareckon 