by | Dec 31, 2023 | Aggregate
A federal judge appointed by Joe Biden has blocked an Iowa law prohibiting sexually explicit books and gender ideology in elementary schools.
Judge Stephen Locher claimed the law, Senate File 496, was “unreasonable” and “puritanical.”
“It requires the wholesale removal of every book containing a description or visual depiction of a ‘sex act,’ regardless of context,” Locher said, according to a report from the New York Times.
“The underlying message is that there is no redeeming value to any such book even if it is a work of history, self-help guide, award-winning novel or other piece of serious literature,” the judge continued. “In effect, the Legislature has imposed a puritanical ‘pall of orthodoxy’ over school libraries.”
The law was challenged in a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the book publisher Penguin Random House and the Iowa State Education Association. It claimed that banning pornographic books in schools is unconstitutional.
“First, under the pretext of protecting students from ‘pornography,’ Senate File 496 prohibits books in school libraries and classroom collections that contain a description or visual depiction of a ‘sex act,’” the lawsuit stated.
The complaint continued, “This restriction applies to all grades, kindergarten through twelfth grade, without consideration of the book as a whole, only excepting religious books. By so broadly regulating the display and availability of books that are constitutionally protected as to at least a significant number of students, this standard violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments because it is an impermissible content-based restriction, restricts access to constitutionally protected books, and is unconstitutionally vague.”
In a press release about the lawsuit, Penguin Random House argued the “First Amendment guarantees the right to read and to be read, and for ideas and viewpoints to be exchanged without unreasonable government interference. By limiting students’ access to books, Iowa violates this core principle of the Constitution.”
Judge Locher did not block part of the law that requires schools to inform parents if a child uses pronouns that do not correspond with their biological sex.
Republican Governor Kim Reynolds said in a press release that she was “disappointed” by the ruling.
“I’m extremely disappointed in today’s ruling,” the press release began. “Instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation has no place in kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms. And there should be no question that books containing sexually explicit content — as clearly defined in Iowa law — do not belong in a school library for children.”
Reynolds continued, “The fact that we’re even arguing these issues is ridiculous.”
“The real debate should be about why society is so intent on over-sexualizing our young children. It’s wrong, and I will continue to do my part to protect their innocence.”
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has vowed to fight to “keep inappropriate books out of the hands of children in school.”
“I am deeply disappointed in the district court’s decision today. Sexually explicit books do not belong in our elementary-school libraries or classrooms. Not only is it common sense, it’s the law,” Bird said in a press release. “As Attorney General, I will keep on fighting to protect families, enforce the law, and keep inappropriate books out of the hands of children in school.”
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by | Dec 31, 2023 | Aggregate
Texas AG Ken Paxton accuses Biden regime of aiding and abetting cartels with their open border policies.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined Jason Chaffetz on Sunday Morning Futures on this final Sunday of the year.
Ken Paxton was asked about the Biden regime’s open border policies. Paxton was also questioned about the threats from the Biden administration to punish Texas if the state continues to protect its people and border from millions of illegal invaders.
Attorney General Ken Paxton: It’s pretty crazy to see what’s happened over the last three years of the Biden administration. Those numbers, as you’ve seen, get worse, not better. It’s not like they’re solving the problem. They’re actually helping aid and abet the cartels. And then Texas says, we’ve had enough, we’re going to do something about it. And then they threaten us from enforcing our own laws. It seems pretty crazy. And it’s hard to believe that we have a government that is working against its own citizens and helping the cartels move as many people across the border as possible.
Paxton also weighed in on the far-left sanctuary cities that are complaining about a few thousand illegals when Texas is being invaded with millions of these same illegal migrants.
Ken Paxton: Look, all of these cities during the Trump administration created sanctuary cities and discouraged the Trump administration from blocking the border and keeping these illegals from coming across. Now that the Biden administration is allowing them in and they’re getting a few hundred or a few thousand versus the literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions, that the border states are getting, they’re complaining. And it’s a little ironic that they’re blaming Texas when all we’re dealing with is a much more significant problem than they are.
Via Sunday Morning Futures.
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by | Dec 31, 2023 | Aggregate
Former President Donald Trump has warned that Democrats will use migrants to win the 2024 election and have been “signing them up to vote” at a “rapid pace.”
Trump made the prediction in a post to Truth Social on Friday evening.
“It’s becoming more and more obvious to me why the ‘Crazed’ Democrats are allowing millions and millions of totally unvetted migrants into our once great Country,” Trump’s post began.
“IT’S SO THEY CAN VOTE, VOTE, VOTE,” the Republican frontrunner for the nomination continued. “They are signing them up at a rapid pace, without even knowing who the hell they are.”
Trump concluded, “It all makes sense now. Republicans better wake up and do something, before it is too late. Are you listening Mitch McConnell?”
This wasn’t Trump’s first prediction about the 2024 election to go viral over the weekend.
In another post to the platform, Trump warned of another Great Depression if he does not win the election.
Trump wrote:
THE ECONOMY IS TERRIBLE & INFLATION, WHICH BY SOME ACCOUNTS IS MORE THAN 30% OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, HAS TOTALLY DESTROYED THE BUYING POWER OF THE CONSUMER. THE ONLY THING THAT IS KEEPING THE ECONOMY “ALIVE” IS THE FUMES OF WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED DURING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. THE STOCK MARKET IS ONLY HIGH BECAUSE PEOPLE, & INSTITUTIONS, BELIEVE & EXPECT ME TO WIN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024. IF I DON’T WIN, IT IS MY PREDICTION THAT WE WILL HAVE A STOCK MARKET “CRASH” WORSE THAN THAT OF 1929 – A GREAT DEPRESSION!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
The leading candidate for the Republican nomination also warned of a depression during a rally in Coralville, Iowa, earlier this month.
Trump: If I’m not elected we’ll have a depression the likes of which we’ve never seen
(Trump left office with the worst jobs record since the Great Depression and President Biden has since presided over historic economic growth) pic.twitter.com/sMUra46LAN
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) December 14, 2023
Trump made a similar prediction while speaking at a rally in South Dakota in September.
“We’re probably heading into a Great Depression, something I’ve never said before publicly,” Trump said. “I hate to say that this is the state I have to say it in.”
The former president added, “I don’t believe I’ve ever said that before. It’s a hell of a statement to make, and I hate to make it.”
The post Trump Warns Democrats Will Use Migrants to Win Election, Says They Have Been ‘Signing Them Up’ to Vote at a ‘Rapid Pace’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Dec 31, 2023 | Aggregate
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is blasting CNN for “egregious interference with the Iowa GOP caucus” over a “fake” debate that the network is hosting on January 10.
Ramaswamy said that CNN told his campaign that “multiple qualifying polls that the RNC used for its debates wouldn’t count” for him to participate in theirs.
“CNN’s egregious interference with the Iowa GOP caucus is offensive,” Ramaswamy wrote in a post to X, the platform formerly known as “Twitter.”
The candidate continued, “My CNN town hall with the voters here went so well that they cut it off early & then threatened our campaign with a cease-and-desist for posting it on YouTube, while Nikki Haley’s scripted CNN town hall from 6 months ago is still up.”
CNN’s egregious interference with the Iowa GOP caucus is offensive. My CNN town hall with the voters here went so well that they cut it off early & then threatened our campaign with a cease-and-desist for posting it on YouTube, while Nikki Haley’s scripted CNN town hall from 6… https://t.co/bq6AfixpuR
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 30, 2023
“Then CNN notified our campaign within 48 hours that multiple qualifying polls that the RNC used for its debates wouldn’t count for CNN’s fake ‘debate’ that they’re hosting in Iowa on January 10,” Ramaswamy said. “The dishonesty needs to end.”
Ramaswamy participated in a townhall on the network hosted by Abby Phillip earlier this month.
CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will be moderating the primary debate at Drake University in Des Moines, lowa, on January 10 at 9 p.m. ET.
According to a report from the Des Moines Register, “To qualify, candidates must receive at least 10% support in three separate polls that meet CNN’s standards for reporting. One of the three qualifying polls must be an approved poll of Iowa likely Republican caucusgoers, like the Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll.”
Additionally, the candidates must “fulfill the requirements outlined in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States, file a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, and agree to accept the rules and format of the debate.”
The deadline to qualify is January 2.
“We are honored to continue playing a central role in the democratic process at Drake University,” Drake University President Marty Martin said in a press release. “Des Moines and Drake have long been a hub for political and civic engagement on the national stage, and we are excited to carry on that tradition leading into the 2024 election, inviting our students, our community, and thousands of visitors to engage in presidential politics.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley have committed to the Iowa debate and appear to be the only ones participating.
NEW: @RonDeSantis accepts CNN’s debate in New Hampshire. This is the second debate invitation DeSantis has accepted in the Granite State.
Full statement pic.twitter.com/zpYZEgRovb
— Andrew Romeo (@andrewromeo33) December 29, 2023
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner by a large margin, will not participate in the debate — leaving it as a battle for second place.
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by | Dec 31, 2023 | Aggregate
A venomous Eastern brown snake shut down play at the Brisbane Tennis Open on Saturday when it slithered onto the court.
An extremely venomous eastern brown snake slithered onto the court during the Brisbane International tournament on Saturday, shutting down play.
The eastern brown snake, often referred to as the common brown snake, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea.
The tennis match had to be shut down when the snake crawled out on the court near the ballkids.
You cannot make this up: a 50cm eastern brown snake — considered the second most venomous snake in the world — interrupted the Thiem-McCabe qualifying battle in Brisbane
(video via Lblklk on Reddit) pic.twitter.com/QI5izBr6HN
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) December 30, 2023
The New York Post reported:
Former U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem had a brush with one of Australia’s most venomous snakes during a qualifying match at the Brisbane International on Saturday.
The former world No.3 was a set down to 20-year-old Australian James McCabe in a first round qualifying match when fans courtside spotted the snake.
Security personnel quickly arrived, but the umpire had to stop play as the snake slithered on to the court to the shock of the players and fans.
“I really love animals, especially exotic ones,” Thiem said. “But they said it was a really poisonous snake and it was close to the ballkids, so it was a really dangerous situation.
“It’s something that has never happened to me and is something I’ll definitely never forget.”
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