Month: May 2020

YouTube’s enforcement algorithm is automatically removing any comments that contain one of two Chinese-language phrases that are critical of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Any comment posted to YouTube, which is owned by Google, that contains the phrase “共匪,” which stands for “communist bandit,” or “五毛,” which translates to “wumao” and stands for “50-cent party,” is deleted within seconds without notification to the user, The Verge reported Tuesday.

Commentary: Can the Economy Withstand a Second Round of COVID-19?

May 27, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

Some 100 million people in China are now back in lockdown as fears of a second wave surge. Now that the US and the rest of the world is opening up, the probability of infection will most likely go up, as will the number of infections. What does that mean for the economy?

First, uncertainty and fear of another lockdown will negatively influence business decisions and overall economic recovery. Even if your business survived the first wave, would you be willing to go all in, invest, rehire people, renew leases, etc., if you think you will be shut down in the autumn?

Commentary: Life Is Risky

Perhaps the most unserious response to the coronavirus pandemic has been the facile assertion that lockdowns, the destruction of the economy, and the suppression of our historic freedoms are all justified if they “save just one life.” As Joe Biden put it on Twitter, “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: No one is expendable. No life is worth losing to add one more point to the Dow.”

While every person is unique and has an immortal soul, we do not do anything and everything to save lives from all hazards, nor should we. Adults know that there are no easy solutions to most problems, and real life consists of tradeoffs.

Commentary: Michigan Deserves Compensation from China

Washington is right to demand financial compensation from China, whose leaders must be held accountable for lying to the world about the devastating COVID-19 pandemic that originated in their country. Michigan should throw its weight behind the effort, as well.

Around 4,500 Michiganders have already paid the ultimate price for China’s deadly coronavirus coverup, and thousands more are fighting for their lives against this ruthless disease every day. While the federal government’s bold emergency initiatives have helped save countless American lives, our country should have never had to fight this invisible enemy in the first place.

ICE Agents Arrest Convicted Killer of NYPD Officer

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took custody of a Panamanian national earlier in May, over 40 years after he was convicted of killing a New York City police officer.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division assumed custody of Carlos Celestino Payne-Archer, a 64-year-old man and Panamanian national, on Thursday, the agency announced in a press release. The apprehension came after Payne-Archer was convicted of first-degree murder of an NYPD detective in March 1978.

Florida, Georgia Would Happily Play Host to Republican National Convention If It leaves North Carolina

After President Donald Trump took to Twitter to threaten pulling the Republican National Convention out of Charlotte, N.C, other southeast states with Trump allies as governor have offered to host the convention.

The GOP convention is scheduled for late August in Charlotte. North Carolina entered phase two of its reopening plan amid the coronavirus pandemic last week under Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has been cautious in lifting restrictions.

Health Care Group: It Would Cost $440 Million to Provide 3 Million Tests for All Nursing Home Residents and Workers

Testing every nursing home resident and care facility worker in the U.S. for COVID-19 would cost $440 million in federal and state funding, a health care group found.

Doing so would require almost 3 million tests, according to the American Health Care Association’s National Center for Assisted Living, an industry group representing nursing homes and assisted living centers that calculated how much it would cost for states to receive adequate funding so all resident and care facility workers could be tested.

Sue Ellen Browder Wrote Fake News for Cosmopolitan and Now Regrets Misleading Women on Feminism

May 27, 2020May 26, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

LANDER, Wyo.—Sue Ellen Browder wrote fake news before “fake news” was ever a thing. Except she prefers not to call it that—not because she’s embarrassed to admit she wrote fake news (although she’s certainly not proud), but because she thinks the term “fake news” is too vague to understand.

Browder, a Cosmopolitan magazine writer for 20 years, describes what she wrote as “propaganda.”

Ilhan Omar Says She Believes Tara Reade, Will Vote for Biden Anyway

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) said in a recent interview that she believes the sexual assault allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden, but will vote for him anyway.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has been accused by a former Senate staffer, Tara Reade, of sexually assaulting her in 1993. According to Reade’s account, Biden kissed her and penetrated her with his fingers without her consent – an accusation Biden has denied.

Despite Allegations, Minnesota DFL Picks Joe Biden to Keynote State Convention

May 27, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

The Minnesota DFL Party announced Tuesday that former Vice President Joe Biden will be the keynote speaker for its upcoming state convention.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the two-day convention will be held virtually on Saturday and Sunday. During the convention, the DFL will announce its U.S. Senate endorsement, as well as Minnesota’s DNC representatives, presidential electors, and delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Coalition of Michigan Gyms Sues Whitmer, Cites Infringement on Constitutional Rights

May 27, 2020May 26, 2020 Jordyn Pair

An organization representing more than 120 Michigan gyms has filed a lawsuit against the state to protest continued closures from the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuit, filed Friday by the League of Independent Fitness Facilities and Trainers, names Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Robert Gordon, the director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. It alleges that the executive orders shutting down gyms are “broad and overreaching” and “not narrowly tailored to their purpose, as required under constitutional law,” according to a statement from LIFFT.

Whitmer Says She Censors Herself So Trump Won’t Cancel Aid to Michigan

by Mary Margaret Olohan Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she censors her criticisms of President Donald Trump to ensure that Michigan continues to receive aid from the federal government. Asked in an Axios interview if she censors her comments about POTUS “for the sake of continuing to receive federal assistance,”…

Upper Peninsula Legislators Protest Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Early Termination of Dickinson County Mining Lease

Two Upper Peninsula legislators are protesting the Michigan Department of Natural Resources scuttling of a plan to repurpose a dormant mine in the Upper Peninsula’s Dickinson County.

Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Twp., and Rep. Brett LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, issued statements in response to the DNR’s determination to terminate a lease with Saucon Minerals for a project located at the Groveland Mine.

Commentary: The Media-Education-Entertainment-Tech Complex’s Latest Victim

The History Channel premiered a three-part miniseries about Ulysses S. Grant Monday. Produced by the arch-leftist and globalist Leonardo Di Caprio, with commentary by left-wing reparations activist Ta-Nehisi Coates, the show is based on Ron Chernow’s 2017 biography. This is the same Chernow who excoriated President Trump at the 2019 White House Correspondents’ Dinner and says Alexander Hamilton would have supported Trump’s impeachment.

But I am not interested in revisiting the endless spurious assertions we’re sure to hear from the people who produced what is sure to be another tired, this-is-who-we-are jeremiad pushing progressive liberalism.

President Trump Says He Has a Chance ‘to Break the Deep State,’ Teases New Revelations from Declassification

May 26, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

by Chuck Ross President Donald Trump on Sunday hailed recent disclosures of information regarding government surveillance of the Trump campaign, saying that it has afforded him a chance to “break” the so-called “deep state.” In an interview with journalist Sharyl Attkisson, Trump suggested that additional information is going to come out…

Once a Staunch Opponent of De-Classification, Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff Now Calls for Releasing ‘Any Flynn Transcripts’

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff on Friday called for transparency in the release of a transcript of former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s phone calls in late December 2016 with a Russian ambassador.

“We need to ensure a transparent and complete public record free of political manipulation,” Schiff wrote in a letter to Richard Grenell, the acting director of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

In a Sharp Reversal, Sen. Elizabeth Warren Will Host A High-Dollar Fundraiser for Joe Biden: Report

May 26, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren made opposition to high-dollar campaign fundraisers a staple of her 2020 presidential campaign, swearing off such events for her campaign and criticizing opponents who didn’t, but now she’s reportedly hosting one for former Vice President Joe Biden.

Commentary: The Citizen Army Amassing in California to Recall Gavin Newsom and Challenge Democrat Supremacy

May 26, 2020May 25, 2020 Jordyn Pair

Even in deep-blue California, it is possible to achieve the impossible. The technology to facilitate mass uprisings is mature and ubiquitous and will function with or without the complicity of the social media and search monopolies. The political realignment we are witnessing in California is not partisan, it is not conservative or liberal, Right or Left, or Republican or Democrat. It is comprised of old and young, rich and poor, black and white, and everyone else. This is a mass uprising.

California’s pandemic shutdown isn’t just pushing the economy to the brink, it’s taken away whatever remained of the trust that Californians had in their elected officials.

Michigan Reports Lowest Daily Death Toll from Coronavirus Since March 22

Michigan reported its lowest single-day death count from the coronavirus since March over the weekend, with just five deaths in Sunday’s report.

The lowest daily report before Sunday was on March 22, shortly after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the state, according to data analysis from the Detroit Free Press.

President Trump Reportedly Considering Forming Panel to Review Anti-Conservative Bias in Big Tech

President Donald Trump is considering forming a commission to review anti-conservative bias on social media platforms, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the idea.

A potential White House-created commission would examine allegations of online bias and censorship, according to the report. The administration will also encourage the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Election Commission to conduct similar reviews, the sources told the WSJ.

Judge Michael Warren Commentary: Remembering What Memorial Day Actually Means During COVID-19 Times

With much of the nation shutdown due to COVID-19, one might not even remember that May 25, 2020 is a Monday – or, more importantly, Memorial Day. The customary Memorial Day festivities of barbecues, beer, wearing white, traveling, and shopping will be truncated, if not arrested. But perhaps this is a sublime unintended consequence of social distancing and sheltering at home orders. If it settles our minds and let us focus on first things first – actually giving Memorial Day its due.

Democrat Senators Support Resolution Calling ‘Chinese Virus’ Racist

A former Democratic presidential candidate has introduced a resolution condemning the phrase “Chinese Virus” as racist.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) ran unsuccessfully for president and has since endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Harris introduced Wednesday in the U.S. Senate a resolution, which states, “whereas the use of anti-Asian terminology and rhetoric related to COVID–19, such as the ‘’Chinese Virus,’ ‘Wuhan Virus,’ and ‘’Kung-flu,’ have perpetuated anti-Asian stigma.”

College Republicans Ask Trump To Roll Back Employment Programs For Foreign Nationals Amid Economic Downturn

In the face of an unprecedented economic downturn caused by the coronavirus, leaders of College Republican groups across the U.S. have asked President Donald Trump to roll back two temporary worker programs for foreign nationals.

In a letter delivered to the White House Friday, College Republican leaders from several universities urged Trump to suspend the country’s H-1B program and abolish the Optional Practical Training program (OPT) — two programs that temporarily employ foreign workers.

Students Sue Harvard Citing ‘Subpar Online Learning Options’ During Coronavirus Pandemic

On Wednesday, students sued Harvard University for not refunding tuition and fees after the coronavirus pandemic forced classes online.

This makes Harvard at least the fourth Ivy League school to be targeted for failing to reimburse educational costs, following Brown, Columbia, and Cornell. The school is facing a $5 million federal class-action lawsuit. Students chose to pursue legal action as a result of not having “received the benefit of in-person instruction or equivalent access to university facilities and services.”

Commentary: An Open Letter to the D.C. ‘Right’

May 25, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

I’m addressing this to several of you whom I know in Washington, D.C. Not all of you, but some of you.

I’ve known you for decades. You’re think-tankers, government officials, political journalists, and pundits. Some of you have been all these things.

For a long while, I thought you were the good guys. You talked about individual liberty. Some of you identified as conservatives, others as libertarians, still others as classical liberals. None of you are outright leftists.

National Security Adviser ‘Wouldn’t Be Surprised’ if China Steals US Coronavirus Vaccine

by Jason Hopkins White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien on Sunday suggested that the Chinese Community Party would very likely try to steal American developments on a coronavirus vaccine. During an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” O’Brien predicted that the United States would be the first country…

Industry Officials: Deregulation Helps Freight Industry Thrive Without Federal Bailout

May 25, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

After $3 trillion in federal stimulus money went to individuals, corporations, hospitals and numerous industries, the Class 1 freight industry has maintained its transportation operations and provided critical resources nationwide without asking for, or receiving, federal taxpayer money.

Other industries and lawmakers can look to how the freight industry has weathered the economic downturn and coronavirus restrictions without receiving any federal bailout money, analysts note.

“The freight rail industry is one of the most cost-effective and efficient transportation networks in the world,” the American Railroads Association (ARA) argues. “Fueled by billions of dollars in annual private investment – $25 billion on average – railroads maintain and modernize the nation’s nearly 140,000-mile private rail network to deliver for America.”

Business Leader Erik Kiilunen Is Fighting to Reopen Michigan

After Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued executive orders forcing the closure of many of the state’s businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic, small-businessman Erik Kiilunen said he saw $600,000 in contracts disappear overnight.

Kiilunen, of Ahmeek, Michigan, runs Kiilunen Manufacturing Group, which makes construction materials.

Pew Report: Expect Increase in Debt Collection Lawsuits, Debt Collectors Seizing Stimulus Checks

A new report published by Pew Charitable Trusts suggests that with the increase of debt collection lawsuits, “debt collectors may seize $1,200 coronavirus checks intended for household expenses.”

Before the coronavirus restrictions began, American household debt had already increased by $1.5 trillion between 2008 and 2019. As debt increased, so also did an aggressive approach made by creditors and third-party firms to use state civil courts to pursue collections through debt claims, Pew says.

Commentary: Conservatives and Liberals Are Responding to COVID-19 in Such Different Ways

In a 2008 TED Talk, psychologist Jonathan Haidt said the worst idea in psychology is the notion that humans are born as a “blank slate.”

Like the cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker, Haidt was rejecting the notion that the human mind is a blank slate at birth, an idea that can be traced to thinkers from Aristotle, to John Locke, to B.F. Skinner and beyond.

Judge Sanctions Trump Admin After Citizenship Question Lawsuit

An Obama-appointed federal judge sanctioned the Trump administration on Thursday, ruling that the White House did not provide sufficient documentation amid its failed attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

Jesse Furman, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to pay attorney fees as punishment.

Conservatives Ask Amazon to End SPLC’s Role as ‘Hate Group Sheriff’

A conservative free-market group hopes to convince Amazon, the world’s largest retailer, not to rely on the Southern Poverty Law Center as a gatekeeper for its philanthropic giving.

The scandal-plagued SPLC, a left-wing advocacy organization, routinely labels mainstream center-right organizations as “hate groups” on a list that includes actual hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or neo-Nazis.

Philadelphia Election Official Pleads Guilty to Stuffing Ballots in Return for Bribes

A former Philadelphia judge of elections pleaded guilty in federal court to stuffing ballots in return for bribes during primary elections between 2014 and 2016.

Domenick Demuro, 73, admitted during a sealed proceeding in March to using his position as an elections judge, which granted him the responsibility of overseeing the entire election process in his jurisdiction, to add fraudulent votes for politicians supported by an unidentified political consultant who had paid him bribes ranging from $300 to $5,000 per election.

Rubio Calls for SBA to Investigate $80 Million in Coronavirus Funding to Planned Parenthood

May 24, 2020May 23, 2020 Admin

Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called Friday for the Small Business Administration to investigate how 37 Planned Parenthood affiliates received $80 million in coronavirus stimulus loans.

In a letter to SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza, Rubio told Carranza that “the application for and receipt of loans through the program suggests unlawful conduct,” noting that “the application for a loan through the program would have required a Planned Parenthood affiliate to list the national organization as an affiliate organization.”

Commentary: The Delusional Premises of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Welcome to yet another example of the nexus between climate change alarmism and a socialist redistribution agenda fueled by racial resentment. That may be old news to those of us paying attention, but thanks to birdbrained stooges like U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) the blatant race-baiting rhetoric is being turned up a notch.

And why not? If you’re a socialist, or a globalist, there is only upside to tagging nations of European heritage with guilt for the problems facing their “communities of color,” or the problems in the rest of the non-European world. It would be far too painful to consider the alternative explanation, which is that socialism, in all of its antecedents and derivatives, is the primary cause of the societal afflictions that plague “people of color” both in America and abroad.

Owosso Barber Granted Legal Reprieve from Governor’s Lockdown Order

May 23, 2020May 22, 2020 Jordyn Pair

The ongoing saga of Owosso barber Karl Manke’s battle against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order to shutter businesses during the coronavirus pandemic turned another page on Thursday.

Shiawassee County Circuit Judge Matthew J. Stewart determined state attorneys failed to convince him Manke’s refusal to comply with the governor’s order posed an imminent threat to the public. As a result, Manke’s shop on Owosso’s Main Street will remain open and the 77-year-old barber will be cutting hair for the foreseeable future.

Attorneys General Association Slams Nessel for ‘Putting Mussels Before Michigan’

The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) issued a statement criticizing Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Friday, saying she prioritized mussels over dam safety, leading to massive flooding in the state.
More than 10,000 Midland residents were displaced after heavy rains overflowed Edenville Dam, then Sanford Dam, earlier this week.

Commentary: China Should Not Provoke the United States

In the immense and multifaceted controversy over the coronavirus pandemic, and in the midst of tumultuous pre-electoral events in the United States, the role of the Chinese government in inflicting this economic and public health disaster on the world has been the subject of comparative restraint.

Were it not for these other preoccupations in this American election year, and expert research confirmed official Chinese complicity, by negligence or malice, in the generation of the pandemic, with the complicity of the World Health Organization, there would be some danger of an intemperate response.

Illegal Alien Arrested in Deadly-Hit-And Run as County Looks to Buck ICE

An illegal alien was arrested in a Northern Virginia suburb for his alleged involvement in a deadly hit-and-run accident and handed over to immigration officials, but local leaders are looking to scrap a program that allows law enforcement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Officials in Prince William County, Virginia, have debated ending a years-long partnership program with federal immigration authorities, the 287(g) program. The introduction of new jail board appointees is expected to lead to the end of this partnership, according to proponents of the program.

Mueller’s ‘Pit Bull’ to Headline Fundraiser for Joe Biden

May 23, 2020May 23, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

A top prosecutor on the special counsel’s team will headline a fundraiser in June for former Vice President Joe Biden.

Andrew Weissmann, a former Justice Department official, will take part in a “fireside chat” for the Biden Victory Fund to be held online on June 2. The event will be moderated by Anne Milgram, the former attorney general for New Jersey.

Steve Bannon Presents ‘Descent Into Hell: The Persecution of Religion under the CCP’

An all new LIVE STREAM of Descent Into Hell: The Persecution of Religion under the CCP starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday. The two-hour special takes a closer look at the life of everyday Chinese citizens under the Chinese Communist Party and will air live on the John…

Commentary: The CDC’s Guidelines for Back-to-School Under COVID Sound Traumatizing

When schools reopen in the US amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they will be even more restrictive than they already were. Schools have long controlled students’ movements and imposed constraints on where they can go, when, and with whom. With virus concerns, those controls will increase in quantity and intensity.

NPR recently proclaimed that “disruption from the pandemic constitutes an ‘adverse childhood experience’ for every American child.” While many children are sad to be away from their friends and activities, being home with their family members for a prolonged period of time is hardly an “adverse childhood experience” for most American children. Returning to schools with extreme virus control and social distancing measures, however, could very well be traumatic for many kids.

Trump Threatens to Override Governors If They Do Not Open Churches

President Donald Trump called on governors Friday to open houses of worship “right now,” warning he will override governors’ orders if they do not allow Americans to attend religious services.

Trump spoke Friday at the White House where he said governors should allow churches and places of worship to open, saying that if governors have any questions on this, “they’re going to have to call me, but they’re not going to be successful in that call.”

Biden Denies the Blackness of Any Black Voters Who Won’t Vote for Him