This is your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, May 21, 2021. 

Huge thanks to everyone who attended and watched the Fight Laugh Feast Rally in Rapid City, South Dakota: all the talks were archived for Fight Laugh Feast Club Members in the club portal. Become a club member today so you don’t miss any of them. And if you see some of the clips from the talks floating around on social media, don’t forget to share them. That’s a great way to share the love and encourage other folks to join. 

We’re already gearing up for the next conference back in Nashville: Sep. 9-11: the Politics of Sex. I hope many of you are planning to come. Registration will be opening soon. 

Also, have you been following the Maricopa County ballot inspection recount? Well our friends down there need about 800 volunteers starting ASAP. This is very important for election integrity and for the future of our elections. I can’t emphasis the importance of joining this effort enough. Please go to https://form.jotform.com/211226791828157 and fill out the form. Some volunteer positions require you to live in Maricopa County, other position do not. There are also a couple temporary paying positions that need to be filled. Regardless, fill out the form and put CrossPolitic in the referral text box. 

And of course these efforts need your financial support, so go to https://fundtheaudit.com/ and give $25, $100, $500, or whatever you can. I know a lot of the leaders involved in this effort, and they are good Christian men. You money will be used by honest men for an honest audit. 

California to pay $1.35M to settle Harvest Rock Church lawsuit against gathering restrictions

https://www.christianpost.com/news/calif-to-pay-135m-to-settle-churchs-lawsuit-over-covid-rules.html

“California will have to pay over $1 million in legal fees and attorney costs as part of a settlement reached with Harvest Rock Church over litigation surrounding the state’s lockdown rules.

Last year, Harvest Rock and other ministries sued Gov. Gavin Newsom over a coronavirus pandemic lockdown order limiting the size and scope of worship gatherings they argued violated their religious freedom.

U.S. District Court Judge Jesus G. Bernal issued an order last week requiring the state to pay the plaintiffs $1.35 million in attorney’s fees and legal costs incurred in the case.

The order also prohibited unfair treatment of houses of worship in emergency orders, explaining that the state government could “impose capacity or numerical restrictions on religious worship services and gatherings at places of worship that are either identical to, or at least as favorable as, the restrictions imposed on other similar gatherings of similar risk.”

“This Order does not prohibit the State from issuing recommendations, best practices, precautions, or other measures, as long as such promulgations make clear to the public that they are voluntary and not enforceable,” continued the order.

Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver, whose legal nonprofit represented Harvest Rock, said in a statement released Monday that “Newsom has now been permanently quarantined and may not violate the First Amendment rights of churches and places of worship again.”

“We are grateful for Pastor Ché Ahn, Harvest Rock Church, and Harvest International Ministry. Pastor Ahn’s leadership and courage has toppled the tyranny and freed every pastor and church in California,” he added.

Last July, Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry, which includes multiple member churches, filed legal challenges to California's gathering restrictions. A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 against Harvest Rock last October, concluding that the limits were justified.

“The Orders apply the same restrictions to worship services as they do to other indoor congregate events, such as lectures and movie theaters," the court majority argued. "Some

This is the Chocolate Knox with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Thursday, May 20, 2021

If you are looking to send us news stories you can do that to [email protected] that’s [email protected]  

Can you do me a favor? Can you post to social media how much you LUV deftwire.com ourt news aggregator? I know how hard it is to but that would be amazing if you could...

Pennsylvania voters impose new limits on governor's powers

apnews.com /article/pennsylvania-health-coronavirus-pandemic-government-and-politics-f5ce447986a26cca310a6639de37b5ce

Pennsylvania voters became the first in the nation to curb their governor’s emergency powers, approving constitutional amendments proposed by Republican lawmakers angry over Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The vote on Tuesday’s statewide primary ballot came as Republican lawmakers across the country have sought to roll back the emergency powers governors wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The constitutional amendments will give lawmakers much more power over disaster declarations, to apply whether the emergency is another pandemic or natural disaster.

Republicans see the referendum as a victory with strong political overtones, as the state gears up for a wide-open governor’s race in 2022 and Wolf leaving office after two terms.

Republicans in the state Legislature and those aiming to replace him in 2023 have made Wolf a top political target, repeatedly attacking his stewardship during the pandemic, including his orders shuttering businesses, sending students home for online schooling and ordering masks worn outside the home.

“Last night, Pennsylvanians voted to reject Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf’s overreach of executive powers after his failed COVID response — a clear sign of accountability coming in 2022,” Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel tweeted Wednesday.

The state’s Republican Party chairman, Lawrence Tabas, said in a statement that Pennsylvanians voted to “put a stop to Gov. Tom Wolf’s dictatorship.”

Wolf has largely lifted his orders to stem the spread of the coronavirus, with the remaining limitations on crowd capacity lifting after May 30 and a mask-wearing mandate for the unvaccinated that tracks federal guidance, until 70% of adults are vaccinated.

Wolf’s office maintained that the disaster declaration does not affect orders designed to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

Rather, it relaxes regulations for medical professionals, gives the state access to federal emergency aid and streamlines National Guard deployments, among other things, his office said.

In statements Wednesday, the Legislature’s top Republicans characterized the vote as a victory for individual rights and freedoms, a move to re-establish checks and balances to ensure a functioning, collaborative government.

The last time voters rejected a ballot question was in 1993, according to information provided by the state.

With votes still being counted Wednesday, support for the two questions led with 53% of the vote, with 89% of precincts reporting. More than 2.1 million ballots were cast, still less than a quarter of the state’s 8.7 million registered voters.

The questions asked voters to end a governor’s emergency disaster declaration after 21 days and to give lawmakers the sole authority to extend it or end it at any time with a simple majority vote.

Before Tuesday, the constitution required a two-thirds majority vote by lawmakers to end a governor’s disaster declaration and, legally, the governor could issue an emergency declaration for up to 90 days and extend it without limit.

I am running for Idaho Governor!

Idahoans have witnessed some serious, egregious actions over this past year. We saw repeated attacks on our constitutional, republican form of government. Fortunately, many of us are aware of what should have happened differently.

Last year, the Governor declared that some of your businesse

This is CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, May 19th, 2021. 

Huge thanks to everyone who attended and watched the Fight Laugh Feast Rally in Rapid City, South Dakota: all the talks were archived for Fight Laugh Feast Club Members in the club portal. Become a club member today so you don’t miss any of them. And if you see some of the clips from the talks floating around on social media, don’t forget to share them. That’s a great way to share the love and encourage other folks to join. 

We’re already gearing up for the next conference back in Nashville: Sep. 9-11: the Politics of Sex. I hope many of you are planning to come. Registration will be opening soon. 

Also, have you been following the Maricopa County ballot inspection recount? Well our friends down there need about 800 volunteers starting ASAP. This is very important for election integrity and for the future of our elections. I can’t emphasis the importance of joining this effort enough. Please go to https://form.jotform.com/211226791828157 and fill out the form. Some volunteer positions require you to live in Maricopa County, other position do not. There are also a couple temporary paying positions that need to be filled. Regardless, fill out the form and put CrossPolitic in the referral text box. 

And of course these efforts need your financial support, so go to https://fundtheaudit.com/ and give $25, $100, $500, or whatever you can. I know a lot of the leaders involved in this effort, and they are good Christian men. You money will be used by honest men for an honest audit. 

Fauci admits to masking after vaccination for the sake of optics, not science

https://thepostmillennial.com/fauci-admits-to-wearing-a-mask-indoors-because-of-appearances-not-science

Play clip.

So, Fauci is happy to play theater masking, virtue signalling, science, but remember he did deny theater mask when Rand Paul questioned him weeks ago. 

Play clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEpuTz_rApA

Pressure Rising on Biden, Fed to Offset Inflation

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/biden-fed-inflation-economy/2021/05/17/id/1021677/

According to News Max:

“President Joe Biden and the Federal Reserve face growing calls to prevent rising inflation from hurting the economy as the U.S. attempts to recover from the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Hill reports.

While some inflation had been expected as the economy reopens and customers begin spending after a widespread decline during the pandemic, the sudden increase in prices has some concerned. The consumer price index rose by 0.8% in April for a 4.2% increase in total over the past year, according to the Labor Department, the fastest annual rate since 2008.”

“The central bank said it won’t raise interest rates until inflation is set to make up for shortfalls and the U.S. has reached maximum employment, which likely won’t happen for another year.”

“But many economists say that prices will naturally settle once the economy goes back to normal.

“We've only seen really two months of strong price increases,” said Laura Rosner-Warburton, senior economist at the research service MacroPolicy Perspectives.

“It would be premature and kind of an overreaction to look at the [April CPI report] in particular and to be overly concerned,” she said, adding that the price increase was due to three short-term causes: statistical quirks that come with a sudden increase after a year of significant decline, supply restrictions caused by the pandemic, and the pent-up demand that people are now able to release.

“Last year, we had outright declines in prices, and this year, we're not seeing those declines repeat,” she said. “So on a year-over-year basis, comparing it looks like inflation is artificially higher because of the decline last year.”

Have you signed up for our Magazine? Next issue ships in early June. Our magazine is a quarterly, mini-book-like experience tha

This is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, May 18, 2021.

Huge thanks to everyone who attended and watched the Fight Laugh Feast Rally in Rapid City, South Dakota: all the talks were archived for Fight Laugh Feast Club Members in the club portal. Become a club member today so you don’t miss any of them. And if you see some of the clips from the talks floating around on social media, don’t forget to share them. That’s a great way to share the love and encourage other folks to join. 

We’re already gearing up for the next conference back in Nashville: Sep. 9-11: the Politics of Sex. I hope many of you are planning to come. Registration will be opening soon. 

Pastor Tim Stephens Arrested in Calgary

Play Audio: 0:00-0:24

Pastor Tim’s wife, Rachel, posted the following on her facebook page following Tim’s arrest:

"I have been arrested because I am convinced by the word of God, reason, and science, that we must gather as a church and live our lives with freedom in Christ. You know how we have sought to continue to follow Scripture this past year: to practice hospitality, to meet together (and all the more in difficult times), to speak truth, and live according to the truth." (Tim, in a letter written to our children).

Tim loves our Lord Jesus, he loves Christ's church, and he could never, in good conscience, place mandates on the flock that are not scriptural to do so. He would not overstep his authority, even though many of our politicians do it daily. His supreme authority is Christ, the Great Shepherd. And so his role as a pastor is to shepherd the flock among him (1 Peter 5:2) He is to point them to the word and help them understand it, exhort them to love and obey it, for they are God's own words. Beyond the bible, he has no authority. And so he would never tell anyone what to wear, where to stand, or forbid anyone from attending church and being blessed by the preaching, prayer, praise and fellowship. So here we are.

The kids have been in tears all afternoon. I'm still in shock. My husband was arrested. Arrested! We got to speak with Tim this afternoon. He is calm as ever, rejoicing that he was counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. He was able to share the gospel with the officers that drove him away! He asked specifically that you pray for his freedom, and the freedom of the church.

Thank you all, for your love and concern. The Lord has shown us over and over again how he hears and answers prayers. So please pray. For our good, and God's glory.

AT&T Drops Bid to Dethrone Netflix

https://www.wsj.com/articles/att-hollywood-ending-erased-billions-value-hbo-discovery-warner-11621297279?mod=hp_lead_pos1

Three years ago, AT&T Inc. T -2.70% executives were in a federal courthouse fighting the Justice Department to defend their takeover of Time Warner Inc., a more than $80 billion foray into the entertainment business.

AT&T won the court battle, but lost in the marketplace. Now, at the behest of Chief Executive John Stankey, the telecom giant is giving up its dreams of marrying media content and distribution—one of the biggest about-faces in corporate deal history. 

AT&T said Monday it will spin off its sprawling media empire, including HBO, CNN, TNT, TBS and the Warner Bros. studio, into a new venture with Discovery Inc. DISCB 13.83%  That follows a February agreement to hive off a 30% stake in satellite broadcaster DirecTV and give up operational control of its pay-TV unit, which was hollowed out by customers trading pricey channel bundles for less expensive alternatives.

All told, the two reversals erased tens of billions of dollars of equity value, as AT&T cut deals to exit its investments and shed debt. AT&T said the full value of the media transaction includes not just the equity value but also the cash AT&T will receive for divesting itself

Daily News Brief for Monday, May 17th, 2021

88% of children covered by monthly payments starting in July

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/88-children-qualify-monthly-payments-july-77732717

The Treasury Department said Today that 39 million families are set to receive monthly child payments beginning on July 15.

The payments are part of Uncle touch too much Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which expanded the child tax credit for one year and made it possible to pre-pay the benefits on a monthly basis. Nearly 88% of children are set to receive the benefits without their parents needing to take any additional action.

Qualified families will receive a payment of up to $300 per month for each child under 6 and up to $250 per month for children between the ages of 6 and 17. The child tax credit was previously capped at $2,000 and only paid out to families with income tax obligations after they filed with the IRS.

But for this year, couples earning $150,000 or less can receive the full payments on the 15th of each month, in most cases by direct deposit. 

The benefits total $3,600 annually for children under 6 and $3,000 for those who are older. The IRS will determine eligibility based on the 2019 and 2020 tax years, but people will also be able to update their status through an online portal. The administration is also setting up another online portal for non-filers who might be eligible for the child tax credit.

The Uncle Touch too mucha has proposed an extension of the increased child tax credit through 2025 as part of his $1.8 trillion families plan. Outside analysts estimate that the payments could essentially halve child poverty. You like welfare...

The expanded credits could cost roughly $100 billion a year.

Stoning is making a come back South Carolina, kinda..

news.yahoo.com /firing-squad-death-penalty-reintroduced-125952779.html

South Carolina governor Republican Henry McMaster has signed a bill into law that forces death row inmates to choose between a firing squad and the electric chair.

Mr McMaster signed the bill on Friday, two days after the state Senate agreed to changes made to the bill by the statehouse.

The new law comes after conservatives pushed for the legislation earlier this year, responding to hesitancy by drug companies to provide products to states looking to use them during lethal injections.

This reluctance from drug companies has meant that South Carolina has not been able to get the drugs needed to perform a lethal injection in several years...So those poor victims and their families...

According to The State, the previous state law meant that lethal injection was the default version of execution in the state, and if an inmate selected that method, an execution could not be done in another way. This led three inmates to receive stays of execution.

The new law dictates that an inmate must choose between firing squad, the electric chair, or lethal injection. But if the drugs necessary for the injection are unavailable, the inmate would be forced to choose between the other two methods. If no choice is made, electrocution would be the method used.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections is currently ready to perform an execution using the electric chair, but still need to figure out how firing squad executions would work in the state, according to the department’s director of communications Chrysti Shain.

Ms Shain said the department “continually trains to perform these duties,” in relation to the electric chair, making checks on a regular basis to ensure it’s ready for use.

The method of firing squad, on the other hand, has never been used before in the state and no system is in place for how it would work.

But now that the bill has been signed into law by the governor, the Department of Corrections will create a policy for how this method of execution will be used.

Speaking to MSNBC, South Carolina st

This is Gabriel Rench with your CrossPolitic Daily News brief for Wednesday, May 12, 2021.

Have you signed up for our Magazine? Next issue ships in early June. Our magazine is a quarterly, mini-book-like experience that includes the best of authors and topics for a theological roundhouse kick to the face of our cultural gods. Read your magazine like you drink your scotch, and let the kick warm your belly. We don’t water down our theology, why would we water down our scotch? Annual subscriptions are $60 – that’s for four issues. So sign up and enjoy our Fight Laugh Feast theme park. 

Michigan Bureaucrats Want Permanent COVID Regulations

https://www.mackinac.org/michigan-bureaucrats-want-permanent-covid-regulations

According to Michael Van Beek over at  Mackinac Center for Public Policy, he says “Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration wants to transform these emergency rules (you know the ones that Gov. Whitmer put in place as temporary emergency orders) into permanent ones.”

“In the department’s filings, required by state law to create new administrative rules, MIOSHA admits that only one other state in the country has created permanent COVID-19 regulations like these — Virginia. This means Michigan is one of the first states where unelected bureaucrats are seeking permanent COVID regulations on businesses.

The department says in its filings with the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules that these regulations are needed because “Michigan’s experience with COVID-19 demonstrates that the disease can spread rapidly without protective measures and standards in place.””

But, but what? Michigan has had their emergency order in place, and as Michael points out, the current emergency order has gone through two spikes in COVID cases. Two, not just one. 

Senator Rand Paul goes after Fauci regarding “gain of function research”

Play: Start to 3:42

Dr. Fauci is slicker than Joel Osteen, more progressive than Rick Warren, and more squishy than a presbyterian pastor. Did you notice he is going against 200 doctors regarding the definition of gain of function research? 

A Misleading C.D.C. Number

This is according to the New York Times:

“When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines last month for mask wearing, it announced that “less than 10 percent” of Covid-19 transmission was occurring outdoors. Media organizations repeated the statistic, and it quickly became a standard description of the frequency of outdoor transmission.

But the number is almost certainly misleading.

It appears to be based partly on a misclassification of some Covid transmission that actually took place in enclosed spaces (as I explain below). An even bigger issue is the extreme caution of C.D.C. officials, who picked a benchmark — 10 percent — so high that nobody could reasonably dispute it.

That benchmark “seems to be a huge exaggeration,” as Dr. Muge Cevik, a virologist at the University of St. Andrews, said. In truth, the share of transmission that has occurred outdoors seems to be below 1 percent and may be below 0.1 percent, multiple epidemiologists told me. The rare outdoor transmission that has happened almost all seems to have involved crowded places or close conversation.

Saying that less than 10 percent of Covid transmission occurs outdoors is akin to saying that sharks attack fewer than 20,000 swimmers a year. (The actual worldwide number is around 150.) It’s both true and deceiving.”

Club/Conference Plug

All the talks at the Rally are now in the Club portal. Become a club member today so you don’t miss any of them. And by becoming a club member, you will get a discount at our conference in Lebenon, TN The Politics of Sex. We have Doug TenNapel, David Bahnsen, Pastor Wilson, Pastor Toby, and more. We will also have 15 breakout sessions! So, get ready to join thousands of us in Tennessee to Fight Laugh and Feast Sept.

This is the Chocolate Knox with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Monday, May 10th, 2021

Immunabands! I’m sorry what?  Immunabands!

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York…

Wait...He’s still governor right? He is? Ok…

https://themodelhealthshow.com/maskfacts/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/us/politics/gas-pipeline-hack.html#click=https://t.co/BNt9EKqlly

The F.B.I. just today confirmed that DarkSide, a hacking group, was responsible for the ransomware attack that closed a U.S. pipeline that provides the East Coast with nearly half of its gasoline and jet fuel.

The confirmation of the hack, which prompted emergency White House meetings over the weekend, comes as the Biden administration in the coming days is expected to announce an executive order to strengthen America’s cyberdefense infrastructure...Pessimist knox “ Perfect timing, coinkydink?...

Colonial Pipeline, the operator of the system, issued a statement on Monday saying that restoring service “takes time.” They added that while this situation “remains fluid and continues to evolve” the company will restore service incrementally, with the goal of “substantially” restoring service by the end of the week.

Late Friday, Colonial said in a vaguely worded statement that it had shut down its 5,500 miles of pipeline, which it says carries 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel supplies, in an effort to contain the breach. Earlier in the day, there had been disruptions along the pipeline, but it was not clear at the time whether that was a direct result of the attack or of the company’s moves to proactively halt it.

Energy analysts warned that a prolonged suspension of an oil pipeline could raise prices at the pump along the East Coast and leave some smaller airports scrambling for jet fuel.

New cover up, *ehem* data… New Data rolling out that fill in the details on Biden's election win

https://news.yahoo.com/massive-turnout-voters-color-data-100040348.html?guccounter=1

High turnout among voters of color, increased support among white voters with college degrees, and a stop — or a least a pause — in declining support for Democrats among white voters without degrees: President Biden needed all of that for his victory in November and he, or some other Democrat, will probably need those factors to align again in 2024.

The release of census data on who voted last year, as well as a new analysis of the results from a leading Democratic data firm, has filled in many of the details of Biden's victory, providing numbers to fuel the continuing debate within the party about who 

This is the Chocolate Knox with Crosspolitic News. Support Rowdy Christian media by joining our club at fightlaughfeast.com, downloading our App, and head to our annual Fight Laugh Feast Conference next fall. With your partnership, together we will fight outdated and compromised media, engage news and politics with the gospel, and replace lies and darkness with truth and light. Go to fightlaughfeast.com and get you own immunaband...wait. No. become a club member!

 Have a great day. Lord bless 

This is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, May 7, 2021.

Huge thanks to everyone who attended and watched the Fight Laugh Feast Rally in Rapid City, South Dakota: all the talks were archived for Fight Laugh Feast Club Members in the club portal. Become a club member today so you don’t miss any of them. And if you see some of the clips from the talks floating around on social media, don’t forget to share them. That’s a great way to share the love and encourage other folks to join. 

We’re already gearing up for the next conference back in Nashville: Sep. 9-11: the Politics of Sex. I hope many of you are planning to come. Registration will be opening soon. 

First up, I need to issue a correction: In yesterday’s newsbrief I butchered the name of the country with the highest per capita vaccination rate. Seychelles is pronounced “say-shells” and I repent in dust and ashes, especially to the surfers out there who I may have offended. And special thanks to Jim from Florida who called my church office to tell me he had a good laugh about it but loved me enough to set the record straight. 

45,000 Sign up to Shoot Bison in the Grand Canyon

https://www.theblaze.com/news/nps-bison-overpopulation-grand-canyon

National Park Service (NPS) officials will hold a raffle to decide what 12 lucky people will have the opportunity to shoot bison in the Grand Canyon after they received 45,000 applications.

The park service is seeking 12 skilled shooters to reduce the population of bison from about 600 down to a more manageable 200.

This action is necessary due to the rapid growth of the bison population and the transition from the herd using state and U.S. Forest Service lands into almost exclusively residing within Grand Canyon. Impacts from grazing and trampling on water, vegetation, soils, and archaeological sites, as well as on visitor experience and wilderness character also necessitate action.

And that's not all. 

Play Audio: 

0:21-0:49, 0:56-1:01, 1:16-1:27 

The volunteers have a high set of demands to meet in order to qualify for the opportunity to shoot the bison. They have to pass a criminal background check, have a firearm safety certification and pass a marksman proficiency test. They must also provide for their own lodging, firearm, equipment and food. 

The volunteers selected will search for bison on foot at elevations of 8,000 feet or higher, the AP reported. The volunteers will be notified May 17.

The Grand Canyon is among the most popular of the national parks in the United States. The NPS said that in 2020 the Grand Canyon was the sixth most popular park with 2.9 million visitors. Yellowstone National Park came in second with 3.8 million visitors and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park came in first with 12.1 million visitors.

Todd Billings Misses the Point

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/may-web-only/vaccine-skeptics-need-dose-of-creation-theology.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=article

Todd Billings writes: For evangelicals, the crux of the vaccine question does not hinge upon trust in a particular political party or agenda, but upon our response to God’s workmanship in creation. With trust in God as the creator of the complex harmony we observe in the creation, we can receive the vaccine as a divine gift.

Sixteenth-century Reformer John Calvin taught this creational theology with particular verve. “Wherever you cast your eyes,” he wrote in Institutes, “there is no spot in the universe wherein you cannot discern at least some sparks of God’s glory.” What many today call the “natural world” was, for Calvin, a “dazzling theater” of God’s glory. He lamented that “scarcely one man in a hundred is a true spectator of it!”

How does all of this relate to our discernment about vaccines in our contemporary moment? Many of my fellow evangelicals hesi

This is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Thursday, May 6, 2021.

Huge thanks to everyone who attended and watched the Fight Laugh Feast Rally in Rapid City, South Dakota: all the talks were archived for Fight Laugh Feast Club Members in the club portal. Become a club member today so you don’t miss any of them. And if you see some of the clips from the talks floating around on social media, don’t forget to share them. That’s a great way to share the love and encourage other folks to join. 

We’re already gearing up for the next conference back in Nashville: Sep. 9-11: the Politics of Sex. I hope many of you are planning to come. Registration will be opening soon. 

Mitch McConnell Says 100% of His Efforts Are Focused on Stopping the Biden Administration:

Play Audio:

World’s Most Vaccinated Nation Sees Cases Rise

https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/world-s-most-vaccinated-nation-reintroduces-curbs-as-cases-surge

Seychelles, which has fully vaccinated more of its population against the coronavirus than any other country, has closed schools and canceled sporting activities for two weeks as infections surge. The measures, which include bans on the intermingling of households and the early closure of bars, come even as the country has fully vaccinated more than 60% of its adult population with two doses of Covid-19 vaccines. The curbs are similar to those last imposed at the end of 2020. “Despite of all the exceptional efforts we are making, the Covid-19 situation in our country is critical right now, with many daily cases reported last week,” Peggy Vidot, the nation’s health minister, said at a press conference Tuesday.

The Indian Ocean archipelago, which has a population of about 98,000, is dependent on tourism for much of its foreign exchange and acted quickly to begin vaccinations in January using a donation of Chinese vaccines from the United Arab Emirates. It has procured other vaccines since. By April 12, 59% of the doses administered were Sinopharm vaccines and the rest were Covishield, a version of Astra Zeneca Plc’s shot made under license in India. To date 62.2% of its population is fully vaccinated, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. That compares with 55.9% for Israel, the next most vaccinated nation.

The number of active cases in the nation rose to 1,068 on May 3 from 612 on April 28, according to the health ministry. Of those cases, 84% are Seychellois and the rest are foreigners

Other nations that have vaccinated large portions of their populations have seen Covid cases plunge. In the U.K., where 52% of people have a first dose, cases are down 96% from a recent high in January. In Israel, where 60% have had at least one dose, new cases are down 99%.

New CIA Recruitment Ad Dangerous

https://dailycaller.com/2021/05/05/opinion-via-woke-recruitment-anxiety-disorder/

Play audio: 0:42-1:22

Virginia Cruta writes at the Daily Caller: But then the woman mentioned that she had been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder — which, in addition to causing difficulty concentrating and persistent worrying, can cause people to perceive situations as threatening even when they are not.

I wondered then whether a better word for it would be “dangerous.”

Five years into my Army career, I went through a second school at what was then Fort Sam Houston, Texas (now it’s part of Joint Base Lackland). On the morning of my annual eye exam, I found myself in line at the vision center behind a young private who was loudly extolling the virtues of “low stress Basic Training.”

I laughed out loud because the concept was not just foreign, but ridiculous on its face. The entire point of those first weeks of training — regardless of the branch of service — is to strip away the learned bad habits and the self-centered and self-serving defaults so that soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines can then be trained to function as a unit and work a

This is Gabriel Rench with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, May 5th, 2021. 

Huge thanks to everyone who attended and watched the Fight Laugh Feast Rally in Rapid City, South Dakota: all the talks were archived for Fight Laugh Feast Club Members in the club portal. Become a club member today so you don’t miss any of them. And if you see some of the clips from the talks floating around on social media, don’t forget to share them. That’s a great way to share the love and encourage other folks to join. 

We’re already gearing up for the next conference back in Nashville: Sep. 9-11: the Politics of Sex. I hope many of you are planning to come. Registration will be opening soon. 

State revises mask mandate for outdoor athletics after Summit HS runner collapses at finish line

According to KTVZ:

“Maggie Williams, a junior on the Summit High School track team, broke a school record in the 800-meter last Thursday. Her moment of glory has been somewhat overshadowed a by moment of concern – Williams passed out as she stumbled her way across the finish line. She and her coach say the mask is to blame, and now the Oregon Health Authority is updating its guidelines.

Williams ran the 800-meter race in 2:08:45, which beat the previous school record of 2:10:54 set in 2019.

“I found out a couple minutes after my race, when I had recovered from my fall,” Williams told NewsChannel 21 Monday. “So super exciting for me.”

The fall Williams is referring to happened during the last seven meters of the race, just as she was about to finish.

“I felt like I just wasn't being able to get a full breath,” she said. “Multiple times of that happening, not being able to get enough air -- I just felt super-dizzy, and then eventually passed out."

Williams said her lack of oxygen is a result of the mask she's been required to wear during competition, under OHA guidelines for outdoor sports.

“In the past, this has never happened,” Williams said. “Then this race that I was wearing a mask, it did happen, which I don't think is a coincidence."

Her coach, Dave Turnbull, echoed that belief Monday morning.

“She just ran a 2:11 in Arizona without a mask on,” Turnbull said. Three seconds faster from my experience isn’t going to cause a kid to hit the track. When you’re in a mask, it certainly does.”

Turnbull said that after 31 years of experience, he’s confident this wasn't a conditioning issue -- it was a mask issue…

OHA released this statement Monday afternoon:

"The Oregon Health Authority regularly reviews COVID-19 guidance based on medical evidence and evolving science. We are revising the current guidance on the use of masks outdoors during competition. The guidance will allow people to take off face coverings when competing in non-contact sports outdoors and maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from others and the other virus protective protocols.

  *   The exception will not apply while training and conditioning for these sports or for competitions.

  *   The exception will not apply before and after competing.

"Oregon at present is facing a fourth wave of surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and wider community spread of the virus. Mask wearing has proven to be effective at slowing spread of the virus - particularly in conjunction with other protective measures such as physical distancing, restricting gatherings, hand washing and getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

"As always, OHA will revise guidance as needed to protect public health during the pandemic."

Oregon Town Declares Emergency to Fight Gov. Brown's Lockdowns

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/jeff-reynolds/2021/04/28/oregon-town-declares-itself-a-common-sense-sanctuary-city-to-fight-lockdowns-n1443326

According to PJ Media:

“In the small-ish burg of Baker City, way out in Eastern Oregon, far away from the capital city, a proposal among business leaders has ignited a move