Dancers at L.A. Titty Bar Cleared to Establish Strippers Union

Editor 1
-
0
Dancers at L.A. Titty Bar Cleared to Establish Strippers Union

(Headline USA) Dancers at a Los Angeles bar could soon become the only unionized group of strippers in the U.S.

The Actors’ Equity Association labor union says owners of the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood have withdrawn their opposition and agreed to recognize the strippers’ union.

For 15 months, dancers at the club have sought safer workplace conditions, better pay and health insurance, among other benefits. But their unionization drive was stalled by objections and legal challenges from the club’s management.

The union announced this week that management had agreed to a settlement. A formal vote count by the National Labor Relations Board has been set for Thursday.

“We’re hoping what we’ve done to unionize this club will have laid the groundwork for any other stripper in the country who decides that they want to also have a voice in the way their workplace is run,” Lilith, a dancer at Star Garden, told the Associated Press.

Lilith asked not to be identified by her legal name in this article, due to fears of being harassed or stalked. The AP is aware of her legal name.

After being certified, the Star Garden dancers will join Actors’ Equity, a union representing more than 51,000 workers in the entertainment industry nationwide.

The Star Garden case is not the first time strippers in the U.S. have sought union recognition. In the late ’90s, dancers at San Francisco’s Lusty Lady organized the Exotic Dancers Union.

But that club was shuttered in 2013—so, if Thursday’s results are certified by the NLRB as expected, the Star Garden dancers will become the country’s only existing unionized strippers.

The dancers’ union battle at the Star Garden dates back to March 2022—after security guards at the club “repeatedly failed to protect” dancers from abusive or threatening patron behavior, and fired those who brought concerns to management, Actors’ Equity said.

“The positive side of Star Garden is that … it’s where dancers are allowed to express themselves in creative ways. And all of my coworkers looked out for each other—it was like a little family from the start,” Lilith said. “So, when we started noticing that there were some safety concerns that we all had, it didn’t take long for us to band to together and decide we needed to do something about it.”

Lilith recalled a handful of instances that made her and other dancers feel unsafe while working—including a lack of adequate protection from sexual harassment and assault often faced by dancers.

Star Garden management told dancers that they couldn’t go directly to security when they felt unsafe, Lilith said—noting that they were instead instructed to go to management, who would decide “if it was a severe enough instance for security to intervene.”

Customers were also allowed to stay in the bar after closing, which made the dancers feel unsafe because patrons could see them dressed “out of our stripper personas” and identify which cars they drove when they went home, she said.

According to Lilith, one dancer was fired for bringing up her concerns about this to management. Another dancer was fired for intervening when she noticed a customer filming a coworker on stage without her consent, she added.

After the two coworkers were fired, the Star Garden dancers banned together in efforts to get their jobs back. But after delivering a safety petition to their bosses, they were locked out of work, Lilith said—so they began picketing outside of the club. They later announced their affiliation with Actors’ Equity, which filed for a NLRB guild election on behalf of the group.

According to the union, NLRB conducted the election via mail and planned for a November vote count. But those results were put on hold due to legal challenges from the Star Garden, which challenged the eligibility of some voters. The club also filed for bankruptcy protection.

As part of Tuesday’s settlement, Star Garden agreed to dismiss the bankruptcy filing and reopen the club soon after, attorneys representing Star Garden management said in a statement.

“Star Garden decided to settle, as it has always been a fair and equal opportunity employer, that respects the rights of its employees,” attorneys Josiah R. Jenkins and An Nguyen Ruda said, adding that the club “is committed to negotiating in good faith with Actor’s Equity a first of its kind collective bargaining agreement which is fair to all parties.”

Mori Rubin, who approved the settlement as regional director for NLRB’s Region 31, said she admired “the dancers who had the courage to protest their unsafe working conditions” and was “very pleased” with the settlement.

Lilith and other dancers said they were looking forward to preparing a union contract and returning to work.

“I’m feeling really optimistic about going back,” Lilith said. “It will definitely be surreal being back on that specific stage, but I know we’re going to have our community rallying around us …. And hopefully we’ll be able to show the country how successful a union strip club can be.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Montana Enacts 1st-in-Nation TikTok Ban

Editor 1
-
0
Montana Enacts 1st-in-Nation TikTok Ban

(Headline USA) Montana became the first state in the U.S. to enact a complete ban on TikTok on Wednesday when Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a measure that’s more sweeping than any other state’s attempts to curtail the social-media app.

TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese tech company, is widely suspected of harvesting American users’ data as part of a Chinese state-backed espionage campaign. It also has contributed to a cultural rot, pushing radical and immoral viewpoints that have left vulnerable children and teenagers with a growing sense of emotional unease and mental disorder.

The measure, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, is expected to be challenged legally and will serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned. Cybersecurity experts say it could be difficult to enforce the ban.

“Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party,” Gianforte said in a statement.

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter argued that the law infringes on people’s First Amendment rights and is unlawful. She declined to say whether the company will file a lawsuit.

“We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana,” Oberwetter said in a statement.

The American Civil Liberties of Montana and NetChoice, a trade group that counts Google and TikTok as its members, also called the law unconstitutional.

Keegan Medrano, policy director for the ACLU of Montana, said the Legislature “trampled on the free speech of hundreds of thousands of Montanans who use the app to express themselves, gather information and run their small business, in the name of anti-Chinese sentiment.”

Some lawmakers, the FBI and officials at other agencies are concerned the video-sharing app, owned by ByteDance, could be used to allow the Chinese government to access information on U.S. citizens or push pro-Beijing misinformation that could influence the public. TikTok claims none of this has ever happened.

A former executive at ByteDance alleges the tech giant has served as a “propaganda tool” for the Chinese government, a claim ByteDance says is baseless.

When Montana banned the app on government-owned devices in late December, Gianforte said TikTok posed a “significant risk” to sensitive state data. More than half of U.S. states and the federal government have a similar ban.

On Wednesday, Gianforte also announced he was prohibiting the use of all social media applications tied to foreign adversaries on state equipment and for state businesses in Montana effective on June 1.

Among the apps he listed are WeChat, whose parent company is headquartered in China; and Telegram Messenger, which was founded in Russia.

The legislation, drafted by the attorney general’s office, easily passed through Montana’s GOP-controlled Legislature.

Gianforte had wanted to expand the TikTok bill to include apps tied to foreign adversaries, but lawmakers did not send him the bill until after the session ended this month, preventing him from offering any amendments.

Montana’s new law prohibits downloads of TikTok in the state and would fine any “entity”—an app store or TikTok—$10,000 per day for each time someone “is offered the ability” to access the social media platform or download the app. The penalties would not apply to users.

Opponents say Montana residents could easily circumvent the ban by using a virtual private network, a service that shields internet users by encrypting their data traffic, preventing others from observing their web browsing.

Montana state officials say geofencing technology is used with online sports gambling apps, which are deactivated in states where online gambling is illegal.

Though many lawmakers in Montana have been enthusiastic about a ban, experts who followed the bill closely said the state will likely have to defend the legislation in court.

Officials are also bound to receive criticism from advocacy groups and TikTok users who don’t want their favorite app to be taken away.

TikTok has been recruiting so-called influencers and small businesses who use the platform to push back on a ban. But others who haven’t been part of an official campaign coordinated by the company are also worried about what lawmakers are doing.

Adam Botkin, a former football player and recent graduate at the University of Montana, said it was a scary time for him as a content creator in Montana. The 22-year-old has nearly 170,000 followers on TikTok, where he mostly posts short videos of himself performing football kicks.

He says he sometimes makes “tens of thousands” of dollars per month from brands looking to market their products on his social media accounts, including Instagram, where he has roughly 44,000 followers.

Botkin said most of his income comes from Instagram, which is believed to be more lucrative for content creators. But he has to grow his following on that platform—and others—to have the same level of popularity that he does on TikTok. He says he’s trying to do that and won’t try to circumvent the TikTok ban by using a VPN.

“You got to adapt and evolve with how things move,” Botkin said. “So, if I have to adapt and move, I’ll adapt.”

Chatter about a TikTok ban has been around since 2020, when then-President Donald Trump attempted to bar the company from operating in the U.S. through an executive order that was halted in federal courts.

President Joe Biden’s administration initially shelved those plans, but more recently threatened to ban the app if the company’s Chinese owners don’t sell their stakes.

TikTok doesn’t want either option and has been clamoring to prove it’s free of any Chinese government interference. It’s also touting a data safety plan it calls “Project Texas” to assuage bipartisan concerns in Washington.

At the same time, some lawmakers have emerged as allies, arguing efforts to restrict data harvesting practices need to include all social media companies, not just one. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky blocked a bill in March that would ban TikTok nationally, saying such a move would violate the Constitution and anger the millions of voters who use the app.

Montana’s TikTok ban also comes amid a growing movement to limit social media use among kids and teens and, in some cases, impose bans. Several bills circulating in Congress aim to get at the issue, including one that would prohibit all children under the age of 13 from using social media and require permission from a guardian for users under 18 to create an account.

Some states, including Utah and Arkansas, have already enacted laws that would hinge social media use on parental consent. Similar bills are in the works in other states. Last year, California enacted a law requiring companies to beef up data protection practices for children and offer them the highest privacy settings.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Biden’s Open-Border Humanitarian Crisis Leaves 8-Yr.-Old Girl Dead

Editor 1
-
0
Biden’s Open-Border Humanitarian Crisis Leaves 8-Yr.-Old Girl Dead

(Headline USA) A week since the Biden administration allowed the pandemic-era Title 42 protections to lapse, fueling a flood of illegal immigrants rushing across the border, Democrats’ self-inflicted humanitarian crisis has claimed another victim.

Authorities said an 8-year-old girl died Wednesday in Border Patrol custody as the agency struggles with overcrowding.

The child and her family were being held at a station in Harlingen, Texas, in Rio Grande Valley, one of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol’s parent agency, said in a statement.

The girl experienced “a medical emergency” and was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died, according to the statement, which did not disclose her nationality or provide additional information about the incident.

Customs and Border Protection’s internal affairs office will investigate, and the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general and Harlingen police have been notified, Miller said.

Sgt. Larry Moore, a spokesman for the Harlingen Police Department, said he had no information about the death.

The Border Patrol had 28,717 people in custody on May 10, the day before pandemic-related asylum restrictions expired, which was double from two weeks earlier, according to a court filing. By Sunday, the number had dropped 23% to 22,259, still unusually high.

The average time in custody on Sunday was 77 hours, five hours more than the maximum allowed under agency policy.

Last week, the Border Patrol began releasing migrants in the U.S. without notices to appear in immigration court, instead directing them to report to an immigration office within 60 days.

The move spares Border Patrol agents time-consuming processing duties, allowing them to open space in holding facilities.

A federal judge in Florida ordered an end to the quick releases.

Also last week, a 17-year-old Honduran boy traveling alone died in U.S. Health and Human Services Department custody.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

San Francisco Doubles Down on Deviancy by Naming New ‘Drag Laureate’

Editor 1
-
0
San Francisco Doubles Down on Deviancy by Naming New ‘Drag Laureate’

Note: Headline USA’s policy is not to use pronouns in stories involving transgender individuals whose preferred pronouns differ from their biological ones.

(Headline USA) Despite the massive public pushback on transgender efforts to foist sexual deviancy onto children and the public at large, blue-state activists are continuing to redouble their efforts.

San Francisco on Thursday named the nation’s first drag laureate, an ambassador-style position designed to represent the city’s famous LGBT community.

In a city known for its ever-growing homeless population, violent crime, rampant drug abuse and efforts to push slavery reparations with an astronomical price tag, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said it was a natural step to create a position that not only embraces drag culture but puts government resources toward it.

D’Arcy Drollinger, a well-known drag performer and nightclub owner, will receive a $55,000 stipend in the 18-month role as the city’s inaugural drag laureate.

“My goals are to make San Francisco sparkle,” Drollinger said.

“I think drag performers bring a lot of sparkle and humor and glamor and silliness to the world,” Drollinger added. “I think that is part of why drag is so successful.”

However, with a “stipend” slightly above the median annual salary for normal, working-class Americans, Drollinger expected the commitment to be a major undertaking as well.

“I’m going to be in drag pretty much 24/7 for the next 18 months.”

Drollinger noted San Francisco’s drag community is already politically engaged and active.

“There’s a lot of power for the drag community in San Francisco,” Drollinger said. “I feel very honored to be able to take that one more step.”

West Hollywood is on the verge of appointing its own drag laureate later this month, though at a much lower salary and with limited engagements.

In New York, a 2021 effort to create such a position has languished in a committee, reflecting the challenges of creating such jobs even in far-left cities.

In San Francisco, Drollinger will inaugurate the role three weeks before “Pride Month” begins.

The duties will span from producing and participating in drag events to serving as a spokesperson for San Francisco’s LGBT community to helping officials ensure the city’s drag history is “shared, honored and preserved.”

The job posting sought someone who will “embody San Francisco’s historic, diverse and inclusive drag culture, elevating the entire community on the national and international stage.”

The city’s mayor called Drollinger a “bright star in San Francisco″ for elevating the city’s drag community.

“Whether it’s through a tragedy or to celebrate an occasion, she [sic] really has been a leader in this community and supporter of so many others,” Breed told the Associated Press.

Drollinger felt both nervous and honored to be offered the job given the growing backlash, even in the Bay Area, from those who have no interest in being subjected to overly sexualized gender-bending spilling from late-night cabaret clubs into their everyday lives—and those of their children.

“I know that there are a lot of anti-drag folks out there, and they are very loud, right?” Drollinger said.

“But I also don’t want to live my life under the shadow of fear,” Drollinger added. “I don’t want to have intimidation stop me from growing. So, yes, I am a little nervous. But I got a lot of fabulous people and fabulousness behind me.”

Members of the Proud Boys sparked a hate crimes investigation when they protested outside a Bay Area library hosting Drag Story Hour last June.

Jonathan Hamilt, executive director of Drag Story Hour, a global nonprofit event network that began in San Francisco in 2015, said he hopes other cities across the country will enact their own drag laureate programs.

“It’s just having that visibility and having that personal human connection—having that social story of someone from your community that looks like you or someone that you see or interact with on a regular basis,” Hamilt said.

New York City Councilmember Kristin Richardson Johnson plans to keep pushing for a drag laureate in her city if the position doesn’t win support this year. Jack McClatchy, the elected official’s legislative and budget director, couldn’t give a specific reason for why the effort has stalled, only noting that it’s one of more than 1,000 bills before the council.

West Hollywood, which was founded in part by LGBT activists in 1984, is expected to name its drag laurate in the coming weeks after a 2021 attempt failed over a pay dispute. Officials originally advertised the position with a $5,000 stipend, nearly double what the city’s poet laureate gets. Pushback prompted the council to raise it to $15,000 annually for the two-year term that begins July 16—International Drag Day.

Drollinger owns the Oasis nightclub, which hosted “ Meals on Heels ” after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, where drag performers brought food, cocktails and socially distant lip-synching performances to home-bound customers.

“I hope that the drag laureate position telegraphs to the rest of the country that drag is not something to be scared of,” Drollinger said. “Drag is something to celebrate.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Serial Fabulist Rep. Schiff Spins Furiously in Face of Possible House Expulsion

Mark Pellin
-
0
Serial Fabulist Rep. Schiff Spins Furiously in Face of Possible House Expulsion

(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) Faced with possible expulsion from Congress, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., claimed that he was defending the “rule of law” by pushing baseless Russiagate claims in his fabulist impeachment persecution of former President Donald Trump.

Schiff responded to a resolution filed Wednesday by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., to expel the Democrat on the heels of bombshell conclusions released by Special Counsel John Durham on the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign for now-debunked Russian collusion. Durham determined that the bureau had no verified information when it wrongly launched its Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump.

As former House Intelligence chairman, Schiff shamelessly and repeatedly pushed the Russiagate hoax, both from the House floor and to a compliant mainstream media. In 2017 he notoriously claimed on Meet the Press, “I don’t want to go into specifics, but I will say that there is evidence that is not circumstantial. But as I’ve said all along, there’s plenty of evidence of collusion.”

Luna, in her expulsion resolution filed Wednesday, called out Schiff for his serial deceptions.

“Schiff lied to the American people. He used his position on House Intel to push a lie that cost American taxpayers millions of dollars,” Luna said. “He is a dishonor to the House of Representatives.”

In a separate tweet Luna called for an immediate ethics investigation into Schiff and his fellow Russiagate peddlers.

“Knowingly using your position on House Intel to push a lie that ripped apart our country, cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and authorized spying on a US President and then proceeding to double down on the lie within days of the Durham report coming out makes you unfit for office,” she wrote. “Ethics should investigate.”

Schiff shuffled blame on partisan politics and claimed Luna’s resolution was an Orange Man Bad plot to destroy him because he “stood up to Donald Trump and held extreme MAGA forces accountable. Now they want payback. They’ll go after anyone who defends the rule of law.”

Schiff’s truth-twisting tweet was accompanied by a groveling fundraising plea through a link to far-leftist money funnel ActBlue.

He might need the funds. Prior to Luna introducing her resolution, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., blistered Schiff and threatened his expulsion.

“They took America through an impeachment over a lie that they knew. You had Adam Schiff, who was chairman of the Intel Committee, lying day after day to the American public that he had proof, that he knew the proof,” McCarthy told Fox News.

“Now we’re finding in the Durham Report his own staff are threatened witnesses. I mean, why is this individual still even in Congress? And why does he think he can even run for higher office after what he did?” McCarthy said.

“Now, it’s time that people have consequences for their actions, and you’ve got to clean this up where this can never happen again,” he vowed. “When you talk about the threat to democracy, this is exactly what we’re talking about. They threatened the democracy of the American public.”

Fox News Issues Statement on Laura Ingraham’s Ousting Rumors

Luis Cornelio
-
0
Fox News Issues Statement on Laura Ingraham’s Ousting Rumors

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Social media was abuzz Wednesday with rumors claiming Fox News was firing conservative primetime host Laura Ingraham. The speculations, primarily fueled by leftist mouthpieces, gained traction after Drudge Report announced that the conservative-leaning network was eyeing a primetime shakeup following the ousting of famed former host Tucker Carlson.

In response to the rumors, Fox News dispelled claims that Ingraham was departing her show The Ingraham Angle, which airs daily at 10 p.m. A spokesperson for Fox News said in a statement to Deadline, “Reports based on various tweets by left wing activists are wildly inaccurate — Laura Ingraham, the top-rated woman in cable news, is now and will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the Fox News lineup.”

One of the individuals accused of spreading the lie was Jon Cooper, a self-proclaimed national finance chair of Draft Biden, who claimed in a now-deleted tweet that Ingraham had been fired. Known for spreading leftist misinformation, the MeidasTouch Twitter account originated the rumor on a tweet that has gained approximately 1 million views.

Amid the speculations, attorney Bradley Moss took to Twitter to say that there was no concrete evidence of the alleged firing. “There is speculation based on a reported schedule lineup change. Don’t spread gossip.” 

Justin Baragona, senior media reporter at the Daily Beast, similarly cautioned against spreading the rumor, saying that there was no official reporting on the news. 

Citizen Free Press addressed the rumors directly, “Laura Ingraham has NOT been fired by Fox News,” while also calling out the originator of the rumor.

Fox News’s statement, however, did not address whether Ingraham would remain among the primetime line, as reported Deadline.

Fox News has faced a decline in viewership after the infamous firing of Carlson, who is allegedly in a legal dispute with the conservative outlet about a non-compete clause in their contract.

Carlson, however, took to Twitter to announce a new show, which is expected to be hosted on the Elon Musk-owned platform.

‘Puppet’: Biden Once Again Claims He Works for Kamala

Luis Cornelio
-
0
‘Puppet’: Biden Once Again Claims He Works for Kamala

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Joe Biden made a major declaration during a speech at the 2023 We Are EMILY National Gala on Tuesday, where former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was being honored for her work killing unborn babies.

During the speech at the unannounced D.C.-gala, Biden flirted several times with the idea that he is bossed around by the ex-leftist speaker and embattled Vice President Kamala Harris, remarks he has previously touted. 

“My name is Joe Biden and I’ve been working for a long time for Nancy Pelosi,” Biden said at the beginning of the speech. “Please sit down if you have a seat. Madam President, thanks for letting me — letting me show up and la- — last minute here.” 

Later in the speech Biden, who said he ordered to be taken to the event upon learning of Pelosi’s recognition, later thanked Harris.

“And I also want to thank my buddy, Kamala, who I work for in — up in the White House, for leading on this issue,” Biden continued, before the crowd broke in applause.

Biden was derided by several Twitter personalities, including commentator Tim Young who asked, “Does Biden even know he’s President?” 

Citizen Free Press, a conservative Twitter account, mocked Biden saying, “Biden confirms he’s a puppet.” 

Earlier this year, Biden referred to the vice president as “President Harris” on several occasions according to a compilation by the New York Post. 

In May 2023, the 80-year-old president made the same gaffe. “President Harris led this effort — led this effort to make things better in the countries from which they are leaving,” Biden said during a speech about the southern border. 

Biden echoed the same remark during speeches in January 2022 and December 2021, where he called Kamala “President Harris.” 

A few weeks into being sworn in, Biden referred to the embattled vice president as “President Harris,” while touting the 100 million COVID vaccines. He even called his running mate “President-elect Harris” shortly after the infamous 2020 presidential election, according to the Post. 

Watch Biden’s full remarks, or not, below:

Top Obama Adviser Creates Diplomatic Stir Pushing LGBT Agenda in Japan

Molly Bruns
-
0
Top Obama Adviser Creates Diplomatic Stir Pushing LGBT Agenda in Japan

(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Rahm Emanuel, the current U.S. ambassador to Japan and former chief of staff for President Barack Obama, took criticism from conservative Japanese politicians and citizens as he continued to insert himself in the country’s politics, particularly in regards to LGBT activism.

According to Breitbart, Japanese legislators were on the brink of presenting a bill that would legalize same-sex unions. Lawmakers reviewed the first draft before the G7 summit in Hiroshima on Friday.

Polls indicate that the majority of the Japanese support homosexual unions; however, the country has yet to legalize the practice.

Officials discussed the bill as a way to “foster understanding of sexual minorities,” but generated a fair amount of controversy as the bill would keep men who identify as women out of sensitive women’s spaces such as bathrooms and public baths.

Emanuel pushed for Japan to adopt left-wing America’s notions of gender ideology outright, and become a “clear, unambiguous voice not only for tolerance but against discrimination.”

He also said he has “full confidence” in conservative Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to push the bill through.

Emanuel hopped into debates on the bill and pressured legislators by posting a video about it on his Twitter page.

“He shouldn’t interfere in Japan’s domestic affairs, especially with the legislation that is not even passed in his own country. What gives him the right to control us? Is he trying to culturally colonize us?” Japanese conservative commentator Yoko Ishii said.

“Many of us Japanese are already sick and tired of the interference in domestic affairs by Ambassador Emanuel. This is making us distrust the U.S… I don’t understand how he doesn’t see what he’s causing as a result of his stubborn ideology and ego.”

Ishii, along with other Japanese conservatives, continued to criticize Emanuel for interfering in the country’s internal affairs, despite their appreciation for the alliance.

A profile in the Washington Post described Emanuel as an “unusually hands-on, visible and outspoken American ambassador.” The article admitted that he “has his hands in seemingly every issue, including tasks that typically wouldn’t involve an ambassador.”

Globalist CBS Peddles Insects as ‘Low-Carbon Solution’ to Feeding People, Animals

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
-
0
Globalist CBS Peddles Insects as ‘Low-Carbon Solution’ to Feeding People, Animals

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Over the weekend, CBS decided to push the globalist agenda by declaring that bugs are a “low-carbon solution to feed animals and the world’s population.”

CBS Saturday Morning claimed that people starting to eat bugs could be a “real solution to the global food crisis,” according to Blaze News

“We all know how important insects are for the environment, but climate researchers say bugs could be a game-changer in the fight to protect the planet in ways you may not have imagined,” show host Dana Jacobson said in the introduction of the segment.

Reporter Tine Kraus kept pushing the propaganda by saying that eating bugs in some cultures is customary.

“Now climate experts think the protein-packed pests could offer a real solution to the global food crisis,” Kraus said. “Scientists in Germany are not pushing to get the critters on your plate. They see another benefit.”

CBS also interviewed a scientist who said that his goal is not to force people to eat bugs, even though he wants to use bugs as a replacement for animal feed.

“Our interest is to make insects as an alternative for the use of soybean-derived proteins,” he said.

Kraus then said that “large-scale” soybean farming has been “blamed for extensive deforestation.”

Despite previously saying that he didn’t want to force people to eat bugs, the scientist assured that insects are a “perfect tool” to supply a “more sustainable production of proteins” since bug farming requires less food and water than soybean farming.

“And you can make so many things out of insects, and to make the world better,” he added.

Kraus then concluded the segment, adding “It’s estimated up to 1.2 trillion insects are raised on farms each year as companies race to find a high-protein, low-carbon solution to feed animals and the world’s population.”

Democrats’ Prolific Spending Hampers Ongoing Debt Ceiling Talks, Differences on Work Requirements

Wire Editor
-
0
Democrats’ Prolific Spending Hampers Ongoing Debt Ceiling Talks, Differences on Work Requirements

(By Brett Rowland, The Center Square) President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy both struck an optimistic tone Wednesday on debt limit negotiations despite differences on requiring people who participate in some federal assistance programs to find work.

“We had a productive meeting yesterday with all four leaders in the Congress. It was civil and respectful and everyone came to the meeting, I think, in good faith,” Biden said. “I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget, that America will not default. And every leader in the room understands the consequences if we fail to pay our bills and it would be catastrophic for the American economy and the American people if we didn’t pay our bills.”

Biden continued: “To be clear, this negotiation is about the outlines of what the budget will look like, not about whether or not we are going to in fact pay our debts. The leaders all agree we will not default. Every leader has said that.”

Biden said he and McCarthy narrowed the negotiating group. That group met last night and is set to meet again Wednesday. The president said he would be in “constant contact” with his team while attending the Group of Seven leaders’ summit this week in Hiroshima, Japan. The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The summit is held yearly for the leaders of the member states to discuss global issues.

McCarthy, R-Calif., said that while he’s glad Biden has agreed to negotiate, time is running short.

“It’s not a revenue problem, it’s a spending problem,” he said at a news conference Wednesday.

“The difficult part here is the timeline,” he said. “This is the worst way to govern.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen previously said lawmakers must raise the debt ceiling by June 1 or risk a default on U.S. debt obligations. When exactly the U.S. will run out of money remains uncertain. On Tuesday, Yellen said, “it is impossible to predict with certainty the exact date when Treasury will be unable to pay all of the government’s bills.” The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of debt the U.S. Department of the Treasury can issue.

During his news conference, Biden said he would not accept anything of consequence on work requirements for government insurance programs such as Medicaid, which provides health coverage to low-income people.

“I’m not going to accept any work requirements that’s going to impact on the medical health needs of people,” Biden said. “I’m not going to accept any work requirements that go much beyond what is already [there]. I voted years ago for the work requirements that already exist. It’s possible there could be a few others, but not anything of any consequence.”

McCarthy and Republicans responded to the last part of that comment with laughter.

“This is a Senator who voted for work requirements,” McCarthy said laughing. “Listen, I think when you are sitting in the room and listening to the American public, why wouldn’t he want to help get people out of poverty?”

The proposed work requirements would apply to able-bodied adults without dependents.

House Republicans passed a bill to reduce spending by $4.8 trillion and increase the debt limit by about $1.5 trillion, or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. The Republican bill would strip energy and environmental tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act and formally block Biden’s student loan cancellation. It also would put work requirements in place for some federal social programs, such as requiring Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours per month.

The Limit, Save, Grow Act would return total discretionary spending to the fiscal year 2022 level in fiscal year 2024 and cap annual growth at 1% for 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the measure would reduce budget deficits “by about $4.8 trillion over the 2023–2033 period.”

McCarthy faulted Biden for waiting more than 97 days after the two first met in February. Biden and Democrats have blamed Republicans.

1...1,9841,9851,986...3,892Page 1,985 of 3,892