Illinois Review

Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver answers questions on Illinois' COVID injection mandate

Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel chairman

CHICAGO - Since Governor Pritzker set into motion a COVID-19 mandate for public school employees and medical personnel last week, more queries about Illinoisans' rights to continue working without Pritzker-required injections have come forward, says one legal expert.

Differing legal opinions abound on whether Illinois' strong Health Care Conscience Act applies, but even the governor's latest executive order issued August 26, 2021, allows health care workers to claim medical or religious exemptions under Section 2 Vaccination Requirements for Health Care Workers: 

1. Individuals are exempt from the requirement to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if (1) vaccination is medically contraindicated, including any individual who is entitled to an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act or any other law applicable to a disability-related reasonable accommodation, or (2) vaccination would require the individual to violate or forgo a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.  Individuals who demonstrate they are exempt from the vaccination requirement shall undergo, at a minimum, weekly testing as provided for in Subsection (d). 

Illinois Review had a chance to speak with Liberty Counsel co-founder Mat Staver about several issues pertaining to exemptions, an HTML d the case their pro-bono law firm is representing against the Advocate Health Care system in Illinois and Missouri. 

ILLINOIS LAW SAYS "UNLAWFUL" TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS TO HEALTH CARE 

Heart disease and cancer led Illinois' death numbers in 2020

SPRINGFIELD - The leading cause of death in Illinois in 2020 was heart disease, followed by cancer and then by COVID-19, the Illinois Department of Public Health reports. 

Heart disease was the cause of 27,466 deaths in 2020, and cancer claimed the lives of 24,020 Illinoisans. COVID-19 took the lives of 15,715 others. 

Altogether, 133,791 Illinoisans passed away in 2020 -  and 11% were from COVID-19. 

Thorner: HR 4, a Leftist Scheme to Prevent Election Integrity Laws

By Nancy Thorner - 

The following is part of a directive recently sent out by Eli Huber, Upper Midwest Regional Coordinator for Heritage Action for America.

"On Tuesday, August 24, 2021, the House passed H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, on a party-line vote. H.R. 4 is a Leftist scheme to give President Biden’s bureaucrats in the federal government VETO power over state election integrity laws. Biden’s politicized lawyers in the Justice Department would use this veto power to overturn state voting laws they politically disagree with, such as extremely popular voter ID laws in Republican-controlled state legislatures. Not a single Republican voted in support of the rule or H.R. 4. H.R. 4 requires 60 votes in the Senate.”

H.R. 4 now heads to the Senate, where it faces stiff GOP resistance. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has called it " unnecessary," and said it would give the Justice Department too much power over states. With an evenly divided Senate, all 50 Democrats and at least 10 Republicans would need to vote for the bill for it to pass.

Di Leo: Biden vacationed as Kabul fell; At least burning Rome's Nero practiced his lyre

By John F Di Leo -

Reflections on the Biden/Harris team's vacations as Kabul burned...

In the weeks and years to come, books will be written on the American mishandling of Afghanistan under the Biden/Harris regime.  Much of the focus will be on the political decisions of the Biden/Harris team, focused on the top brass of the military – a group of woefully misguided left-wingers in uniform who identify more with modern woke culture than with the Armed Services they were appointed to lead.

But with the news that alleged Secretary of State Antony Blinken was vacationing in the Hamptons when Kabul fell, many rightly began to consider just how many departments and agencies were, and should have been, involved in this operation.  With a self-imposed August 31 deadline, should any of the top men and women in the executive branch have been taking vacation days?   Would the private sector have allowed departmental directors and vice presidents any vacation time in a comparable private sector situation?

Amendment to Illinois Constitution is much more than right-to-work ban

The proposed constitutional amendment placed on the 2022 ballot by the Illinois General Assembly would put every provision in union contracts beyond the reach of state law.

Proponents say a constitutional amendment would be about keeping right-to-work out of Illinois, but what it really would do is boost the power of public employee unions to make demands that state law couldn’t control and taxpayers would be expected to fund.

More HERE

Over 22,000 Illinois school employees stop handing their pay to a union

Since being given a choice by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Janus v. AFSCME, over 22,000 teachers and other public education workers across Illinois have exercised their right not to join or pay a union.

These numbers come from the reports the teachers unions themselves filed with the U.S. Department of Labor.

More HERE

Illinois hits snag with new COVID-19 vaccine verification system

Vax Verify, Illinois’ new resident immunization portal, contains incorrect COVID-19 vaccine records. In a state where data leaks and hacks have been too common, the potential for health information being exposed is a reasonable worry.

Illinois just launched Vax Verify, an online portal Illinoisans can use to upload and view their vaccination records, but already there are signs the system has problems.

More HERE

Apple bans political engravings on its devices in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan

Apple has banned customers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan from engraving political phrases on its devices — including references to voting rights, freedom of the press, political dissidents and Chinese history, according to a report from a human rights organization. 

The California-based tech giant’s Chinese customers looking to engrave gadgets like iPads, AirPods and Airtags are banned from using phrases like “human rights” and “Dalai,” a reference to the Dalai Lama. Apple also censors the number 8964, which commemorates the Tiananmen Square massacre.

More HERE

Schimpf: Pritzker's latest mask "executive edict" yet another "divisive act"

Paul Schimpf

CHICAGO – Paul Schimpf, Republican candidate for Governor of Illinois, issued the following statement in response to Pritzker's mask mandate issued Thursday:

“JB Pritzker has lost all moral authority to lead on pandemic response by failing to follow the rules he set for others.  If Democrats believe our current situation is so dire to require a mask mandate, they should take up the issue during their legislative session that is scheduled for August 31st.  Absent legislative action, these executive edicts are yet another divisive act by a failed governor who believes he wields unlimited power.”    

Paul Schimpf served as a State Senator for the 58th Senate District, was the Minority Spokesperson for the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and, during his time as an active-duty Marine Corps officer, was the chief American attorney advisor to Iraqi prosecutors in the trial of Saddam Hussein. 

Di Leo: A Man Chosen for Us by Our Betters

By John F. Di Leo - 

Something struck me today that I really hadn’t fully absorbed until now.

Oh, I had an idea.  We all did.  But there’s one revealing aspect that only hit home to me today.

We all knew that Joe Biden was in the early stages of – something… some form of senility, dementia, Alzheimer’s, I don’t know – way back in 2019. We could tell at the beginning of the primaries that he was at least in the early stages.

IL Cong. Darin LaHood responds to Kabul attack

PEORIA, IL – Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-18), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement on the situation in Afghanistan:

"The reports regarding the terrorist attacks at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan are as heartbreaking as they are infuriating. My prayers are with the family members of the service members killed in these attacks, the service members who were wounded, and those who remain in harm's way. The U.S. soldiers at Hamid Karzai International Airport represent the best of America, working countless hours despite deadly threats. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

"The nightmare we are watching unfold is what many of us feared and it was entirely avoidable. For months, many in Congress from both parties, the military community, and Intelligence Community warned about the consequences of a rapid withdrawal of American forces in Afghanistan.

IL Congressman Davis responds to loss of US military in Kabul

TAYLORVILLE -- Thursday, U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL) released the following statement after American Service members were killed in terrorist bombings at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan:

 

“May God bless our troops who made the ultimate sacrifice today while working to save American lives. My heart breaks for them and their families. From a grateful Nation, your sacrifice will never be forgotten. My family and I are praying for all of those who have lost their lives and those who are still in harm’s way in Afghanistan.

 

“This situation was completely avoidable. Regardless of the decision to withdraw, the way in which President Biden has conducted this withdrawal has been an absolute disaster. The deaths of our troops and Afghan civilians are a direct consequence of the President’s botched, rushed withdrawal. His attempts to meet an arbitrary, political deadline has cost American lives.

Napolitano: Do We Still Have the Constitution?

By Judge Andrew Napolitano - 

The Constitution—when interpreted in accordance with the plain meaning of its words and informed by a fair reading of history—does not permit the government to infringe upon personal freedoms, no matter the emergency or pandemic. For those who agree with me, worry not. We will persevere. For those who trust the government, worry a lot. You are not in good hands.

As I write, it appears new orders of restraint on personal liberty are coming in the name of fighting a new pandemic. Yet, the purpose of the Constitution is both to establish the government and to limit it. Some of the limitations are written in the Constitution itself. Most of the limitations that pertain to personal freedoms are found in the Bill of Rights—the first 10 amendments.

These amendments were ratified to restrain the federal government from infringing upon personal liberties. Since the enactment of the 14th Amendment in 1868, and subsequent litigation, the Bill of Rights, for the most part, restrains the states as well.

More HERE

As Inflation Concerns Rise, Democrats March Forward with Record Spending Bills

When it comes to voters’ economic concerns, inflation claims the top spot. Yet, despite this, the Democratic Party is hellbent on passing two massive spending bills that will almost assuredly make inflation worse.

According to a recent Hill-Harris X poll, 31 percent of all voters answered inflation, when asked, “When thinking about the future of the US economy, what concerns you most?”

Interestingly, voters’ apprehension about inflation is across the board. Unsurprisingly, 57 percent of Republican voters said inflation is their chief economic concern. Not far behind, 55 percent of independent voters cited inflation as their number one concern. Even 29 percent of self-identified Democrats admitted they are anxious about inflation.

Aside from inflation, according to the same poll, 22 percent of voters said the national debt was their number one concern.

More HERE

After massive fraud, tech official calls for IDES overhaul

(The Center Square) – As cases of fraud continue to plague Illinois’ unemployment benefit system, a technology official said the state needs to overhaul the program immediately.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security said close to $15 million has been paid to fraudsters, but that doesn't include identity theft-related unemployment fraud.

Haywood Talcove, the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Government Group, said given the state has paid out $23 billion in benefits, it is likely Illinois has lost $1 billion to criminals.

More HERE

Opinion: Anthony Fauci Peaked In Medical School

From the American Thinker columnist Erwin Haas - 

Dr. Anthony Fauci has an impressive resume but nothing in it meant that he was qualified to be the ultimate decision-maker for a contagious disease, especially one that his actions helped create. It’s high time his wings are clipped before more Americans die.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is brilliant. At least according to his fawning Wikipedia entry, which says he graduated number one in his medical school class at Cornell, and then did two years of internal medicine residency at their prestigious hospital, following which he was invited to train and work at the NIH (unfairly, in my opinion, called a yellow beret.)

Understanding Fauci’s career there requires some backstory. The U.S. Public Health Service (“USPHS”) evolved from the medical branch of the Coast Guard Marines, which was eventually placed under the aegis of the Revenue Marine Service forerunner to the Coast Guard. Its head, called the Surgeon General of the United States is a naval officer. Important people serving in various parts of the USPHS (NIH, CDC, FDA) are officers, for they are in one of eight “uniform services” of the US government. The NIH, one subsidiary, does specialized medical research and, in some cases, provides healthcare for patients who are of research interest.

More HERE

15 Million Votes in 2020 Election Not Accounted For, Report Finds

(Photo: Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)

Almost 15 million mail-in ballots were unaccounted for in the 2020 presidential election, and more than a million more ballots were undeliverable, according to a new study. 

The Public Interest Legal Foundation, a conservative watchdog group on election integrity, released a research brief Wednesday assessing the effect of mass mail-in balloting in an election with a close presidential race in key battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin. 

“These figures detail how the 2020 push to mail voting needs to be a one-year experiment,” J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, said in a public statement. 

The report found that 1.1 million mail-in ballots were undeliverable for various reasons. Election officials rejected another 560,814 mail-in ballots. 

Another 14.7 million mailed ballots met an “unknown” fate, the report says.

Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the presidential race with an Electoral College victory of 306 to 232 after winning Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin by 0.6 percentage points or less.

More HERE

Illinois law says "unlawful" to discriminate against conscientious objectors to health care

Business Insider photo

SPRINGFIELD - A measure that was signed into state law by former Governor Jim Edgar in 1997 has moved into the limelight as private businesses, health care systems and now the city of Chicago begin requiring their employees get the COVID-19 vaccines or face some form of discrimination - including losing jobs and promotions - if they do not adhere to the newly-imposed mandate.

Illinois' "Health Care Right of Conscience Act" - which was passed unanimously in the Illinois Senate in 1997 and passed the Illinois House with only 2 objections - states clearly that it is "unlawful" to discriminate because of a person's "conscientious refusal" to receive health care services "contrary to his or her conscience."

Illinois Review asked Rockford attorney Austin Scott Davies if this law would apply to the COVID vaccine mandates being set into motion throughout the state and he said the provision applies directly to vaccine mandates in Illinois.

"The Health Care Right of Conscience Act protects Illinoisans from being discriminated against if they cannot in good conscience accept certain health care or treatments, regardless of whether rendered by a physician, nurse, or any person that assists in providing health care services," Davies said.

Trump PAC dubs Biden "Surrenderer-in-Chief" in new ad

The Trump PAC "Save America" released an ad Tuesday blasting President Joe Biden for the Afghanistan refugee chaos, as featured below:

Illinois attorney Thomas DeVore pleads for help to fight Pritzker

In an emotional plea via Facebook Tuesday, Illinois attorney Thomas DeVore called for help to fight the Illinois State Board of Education and the power they're using to intimidate local school districts. 

The current issue is mandating COVID masks on local school districts. 

"I've got a school district that's willing to take this fight on, and it has to be fought," DeVore told his LIVE audience, pounding his fist on the desk,"If this issue is not fought with ISBE right now, everybody quit what you're doing and accept there's no limits to the discretion the executive and administrative agencies can rule over you." 

DeVore said he's spoken with a school district attorney from downstate that met with the ISBE on his district's optional mask policy and the representatives could not defend their position of intimidating the district based on the governor's executive powers. 

"If we're not going to support them, what are we going to do?" DeVore said.

UPDATE: To assist DeVore, he's asking for donations HERE - 

His 15 minute discussion is as follows: 

Federal Court Orders Deposition of Chicago Mayor's Office Rep in Lawsuit against Racist Interview Policy

Judicial Watch announced recently that a federal court ordered the deposition of a representative of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office in a lawsuit over her discriminatory interview policy. The court granted the request for discovery during a hearing this morning. In doing so, the court rejected arguments by the mayor’s lawyers against discovery and to dismiss the legal challenge.

More HERE

Rossi: Biden’s Afghanistan Catastrophe Exposed

By Randy Rossi - 

Last week was a tragedy for America’s honor and reputation and it was a serious threat to world peace. President Biden’s horrific decision to withdraw America’s troops from Afghanistan before removing our civilians, our Afghan allies that risked their lives for America, not informing or getting consent from our NATO allies, and removing or destroying $85 billion of American weapons that the Taliban will now use against us is nothing short of a total catastrophe. The Taliban now has $85 billion of weapons that U.S. taxpayers paid for that it will use to slaughter our allies, Afghan women and children, and possibly even American troops and civilians! President Biden’s disastrous speech on the Afghan disaster last week was filled with obvious dishonesty and irrationality and has caused massive damage to America’s honor and trust both here in America and throughout the free world. China, Russia, and Iran could not be happier because President Biden has clearly signaled that under him, our allies can not count on America to stand with them and to keep its promises.

How Progressives Rewrote American History

David French has alienated those of us “fake” conservatives who don’t buy into the progressive framing of racial issues. Bradley C. S. Watson writes:

America’s Founders understood that political change is inevitable. They thought it must come about through constitutional mechanisms, with the consent of the governed, and must never infringe on the natural rights of citizens. Progressives – rejecting the idea that any rights, including the right of consent to government, are natural – accept no such limits. Progressivism insists that the principled American constitutionalism of fixed natural rights and limited and dispersed powers must be overturned and replaced by an organic, evolutionary model of the Constitution. Historical progress should be facilitated by experts dedicated to the expansion of the public sphere and political control – especially at the national level. As progressivism has grown into modern liberalism, the commitment to extra-constitutional “progress” is broadly shared across elite political, academic, legal, and religious circles. Politics is thus increasingly identified with a mix of activism, expertise, and the desire for “change.”

Progressivism insists that the principled American constitutionalism of fixed natural rights and limited and dispersed powers must be overturned and replaced by an organic, evolutionary model of the Constitution.

In Afghanistan, our war with truth concludes

One explanation for the shameful failures of this past week is that those in authority began to believe some of their own lies. The other explanation is almost unthinkable – a gross negligence or indifference to the horrible human cost to American citizens, soldiers, and allies of this chaotic withdrawal.

The situation in Afghanistan is difficult and there are no easy and ready-made solutions, but we can be confident that “a truthful witness saves lives.” (Proverbs 14:25). In the face of despair and tragedy, truth is our only way forward.

More HERE

The Tyranny of Experts

Understanding the origins of the administrative state goes a long way towards grasping how policy is really made today in American government. Ronald J. Pestritto:

The principles and policies of America’s original progressives have received renewed attention over the last decade, both in academia and in public discourse. Today’s progressive politicians and intellectuals have pointed to their roots in the original progressive movement; moreover, the connections between the original progressive calls for reform and the language and shape of our politics today have become increasingly obvious. In what follows, the relevance of original progressivism to government today will be more fully explored. There is no better place to begin than with our administrative state. This essay deals with the general principles of the administrative state and its roots in the original progressive movement.

The term “administrative state” has come to have a variety of meanings, but at its core it points to the situation in contemporary American government, created largely although not entirely by Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, whereby a large, unelected bureaucracy is empowered with significant governing authority. The fundamental question for many of those making reference to an “administrative state” is how it can be squared with government by consent and with the constitutional separation-of-powers system.

Dead Superpower Walking

The War on Terror began with men plunging to their deaths from the highest floors of skyscrapers hit by airplanes; it ended with men plunging to their deaths from the undercarriage of a US airplane taking off from what's left of "Hamid Karzai International Airport" (the signs will be coming down even as you read this).

America is a global laughingstock right now, but that's no reason not to give Chairman Xi and Putin and every up-country village headman in Helmand a few more yuks.

More HERE

Assabiya Wins Every Time

ROBERT NICKELSBERG/GETTY IMAGES

Democrats and Republicans are right to blame each other for the fall of Kabul. It’s a loss for America’s bipartisan foreign policy establishment as a whole. For nearly two decades Washington sent thousands of Americans to their deaths and spent trillions of taxpayer dollars to wage a strategically pointless war. And because both sides of the political divide should be held accountable, military as well as civilian officials, too, it is unlikely that anyone ever will be. Since everyone is to blame, holding anyone accountable implicates everyone.

The reality is that America lost its war in Afghanistan more than a decade ago, roughly around the time when CIA officers began bribing aging warlords with Viagra. The Americans knew all about the young boys the tribal leaders kept in their camps; because the sex drug helped Afghan elders rape more boys more often, they were beholden to America’s clandestine service. Losing Afghanistan then is the least of it. When you choose to adopt a foreign cohort’s cultural habits, customs for which the elders of your own tribe would ostracize and perhaps kill you, you have lost your civilization.

More HERE

Thorner: FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine now called "Comirnaty"

By Nancy Thorner - 

 

The Pfizer vaccine that was fully approved by the USA, FDA on Monday, August 23, 2021 now has a new name, Comirnaty COVID-19 Vaccine (BioNTech - Pfizer BNT162b2).  It has an ingredient called BNT162b2 and reports that it is an "experimental mRNA vaccine"... intended to prevent COVID-19 in humans aged 12-85 [FDA literature says age 16-85]. 

 

COMIRNATY is also an mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccine. It has a warning "Do not administer Pfizer-BioNTech, Germany COVID-19 Vaccine to individuals with a known history of a severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis)."

Beckman: Disgraceful, but Not Surprising, Debacle in Afghanistan

Sheffield Telegraph image 

 By Hank Beckman - 

The debacle currently unfolding in Afghanistan is the single most embarrassing foreign policy performance by an American President in my lifetime. 

As resolutions to untenable situations go, nothing else even comes close; not the Bay of Pigs disaster, not the humiliating withdrawal from Vietnam, not the Iranian hostage crisis, nor any number of lesser crisis were handled this poorly by an American President.

The sight of Joe Biden stumbling through a press briefing—let’s not even call it a press conference—and hurrying out of the room like he was late for dinner reservations at some posh DC restaurant, coupled with administration officials contradicting his view of how the tragedy is unfolding, should be cause for serious reflection about what type of people we are sending to Congress and the White House, who’s running our foreign policy establishment, and just where many of the people reporting on this have been for the last decade.

John Kennedy ransomed the Cuban prisoners taken at the Bay of Pigs, Gerald Ford got our civilians out of Vietnam, and Jimmy Carter attempted an ill-fated helicopter rescue of the hostages.

Gov. Pritzker signs into law two controversial sex ed bills

CHICAGO - Parents throughout Illinois have been attending local school board meetings to voice their objection to three policies their local public schools are implementing this school year: COVID mask mandates, Critical Race Theory and explicit Sex Ed curriculum - all supported and promoted by the Pritzker Administration. 

Indeed, despite pleas from parents at school meetings over the past few months, the governor signed into law SB 818 late last Friday afternoon - opening the way for a sex education curriculum that Bloomington parent Becky Swan began opposing in June. At that time, she predicted the governor would sign the measure.

"I'd like to see Governor Pritzker veto SB 818, but let's be honest, I don't think he will. The next step is that the superintendents and the school boards in every district must pass a resolution to denounce this bill and say they will not teach this...," she told Illinois Review. "If they don't do that, we need to have our teachers wear body cams. We want our police officers to be accountable - so should the teachers if they insist on moving forward." 

With the new sex education standards enacted, parents will be able to "opt out" - which means they must notify the schools of their desire for their children to not be included in the classes. If there is no notification from parents, it will be assumed they approve of their children's participation in the classes.

Gary Rabine: Governor Pritzker should be ashamed of himself

WOODSTOCK -  Gary Rabine, candidate for Governor, says the fact Governor JB Pritzker chose to sign the controversial sex education bill late on a Friday shows even he knows how insidious this legislation is for the children of this state.

“As Illinoisans across the state were gearing up for Family Day this weekend at the State Fair, our Governor signed legislation to effectively declare war on Illinois families,” Rabine said. “There is no justifiable reason to sexualize kindergartners. Signing this legislation is beyond irresponsible. Our children need to be protected and understand that their privacy is essential. Governor Pritzker should be ashamed of himself.”

The new (SB 818) would require schools to adopt the National Sex Education Standards beginning in kindergarten. Under the latest iteration of the standards, students starting in 6th grade will be taught how to define the meaning of oral and anal sex and third graders will be taught concepts such as masturbation. The bill passed without a single Republican vote.

Schimpf Reacts to Pritzker's Signing of Bill Authorizing Sex Education as early as Kindergarten

WATERLOO – Paul Schimpf, Republican candidate for Governor of Illinois, issued the following statement in response to Pritzker's signing of SB 818:

"By signing SB 818, a bill that authorizes sex education as early as kindergarten, Governor Pritzker has shown an unwillingness to listen to the common sense views of parents who want schools to focus on teaching academics, rather than social engineering. Now, more than ever, we need an Illinois Governor who understands that parents, not the government, should make decisions about their children's education, healthcare, and maturation into adulthood. With his misguided action today, Governor Pritzker proves once again that he is too extreme to lead our state."

About Paul Schimpf: Paul Schimpf served as a State Senator for the 58th Senate District, was the Minority Spokesperson for the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and, during his time as an active-duty Marine Corps officer, was the chief American attorney advisor to Iraqi prosecutors in the trial of Saddam Hussein. For more information on Senator Schimpf, please visit Schimpf4Illinois.com. 

Thorner: Could Biden's Taliban takeover be used by COVID Stasi?

By Nancy Thorner - 

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. - Ben Franklin.

There was Jimmy Carter's Iran incompetence, Hillary/Obama's Benghazi ineptitude, and now President Biden's junior high antics at Kabul.

Thousands of Afghans are struggling to ensure the physical safety of their families after the Taliban took control of the country have an additional worry.  It is that biometric databases and their own digital history can be used to track and target them. 

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of “chilling” curbs on human rights and violations against women and girls.  On Monday, August 16, 2021, Amnesty International said thousands of Afghans – including academics, journalists and activists – were “at serious risk of Taliban reprisals.”

After years of a push to digitize databases in Afghanistan and introduce digital identity cards and biometrics for voting, these technologies can now be used to target and attack vulnerable groups. 

FBI Finds ‘Scant Evidence’ That January 6 Riot Was ‘Result Of Organized Plot To Overturn’ Election: Reuters

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

The FBI has reportedly found little evidence that the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, was part of an organized plot to overturn the results of the election.

Reuters reported Friday morning that multiple law enforcement officials have told them that despite hundreds of arrests made by the FBI, “the FBI at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the sources, who have been either directly involved in or briefed regularly on the wide-ranging investigations.”

More HERE

Illinois' Advocate Health Care Must Revise Illegal Exemption Form

Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to Advocate Health Care (also known as Advocate Aurora Health) regarding its unlawful religious exemption form that excludes protected legal religious beliefs regarding the undeniable association between COVID-19 injections and aborted fetal cell lines. Liberty Counsel is prepared to file a lawsuit if the medical organization does not respond by today (Monday, August 23, 2021), and revise its form and honor these federal protections and entitlements to accommodate those employees who have already submitted their forms and been denied.

Advocate Health, the largest health system in Illinois, employs over 70,000 employees in the state and elsewhere. Many of these employees are requesting religious exemptions and accommodations from the “Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy” which makes false claims about the use of aborted fetal cell lines in the injections.

However, all three of the currently available COVID injections are produced by, derived from, manufactured with, tested on, developed with, or otherwise connected to or “associated” with aborted fetal cell lines. There is no question about the accuracy of this determination, and Advocate Health is categorically false in its contrary directive to employees.

Many of the employees have sincerely held religious beliefs that because life is sacred from the moment of conception and abortion is the murder of an innocent human in violation of Scripture. Many also hold sincere religious beliefs against taking any “vaccines” or taking those derived from aborted fetal cell lines or those sold by companies that profit from the sale of products derived from abortion.

Chicago Cardinal Cupich mandates COVID-19 vaccines for staff; bans religious exemptions

CHICAGO - Employees and staff of the Chicago Archdiocese are now required to get the COVID vaccination and pastors are not to grant religious exemptions, an email shared with Chicago Crain's said Thursday. From the report:

“We have made this decision convinced that this is the best way to stop the spread of this deadly illness,” Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, said in a Thursday email to clergy and staff. “Following the lead of Pope Francis, we encourage everyone to be vaccinated as an act of charity. … Religious exemptions to vaccination cannot be supported by Catholic teaching and I have instructed our pastors not to grant them.”

Unvaccinated people will be required to get tested weekly and wear masks in Archdiocese facilities at all times, according to the policy. Additionally, unvaccinated people may be prohibited from entering the facilities, or unable to use certain amenities, like lunchrooms.

Earlier this week, Pope Francis issued a statement saying getting the vaccine is "an act of love." 

The vaccine has yet to be fully approved by the Federal Drug Administration, and is being distributed with the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization. 

More on the story at Crain's

Thorner: Afghan refugee challenge confronts Europe and U.S.

By Nancy Thorner - 

Republicans and Democrat lawmakers and former Obama officials have criticized Biden's handling of the Afghanistan situation. A former ambassador to Afghanistan under Obama, Ryan Crocker, said the Biden administration had "a total lack of coordinated, post-withdrawal planning" and is now suffering a "self-inflicted wound." 

Jihad Watch Editor, Robert Spencer pointed out: "If Sharia were as benign as Islamic spokesmen and Leftists in the West insist, no one would be desperately trying to get out of Afghanistan."  

On Monday, August 16, 2021, thousands of desperate Afghans attempted to flee at Kabul's international airport. Videos on social media show people running across the tarmac as U.S. troops fired warning shots in the air. Another shows Afghans who had clung to a C-17 transport plane plunging to their death as it took off. See people clinging to U.S. jets leaving Afghanistan disaster.

Biden's plan for withdrawal (if he ever had a plan) was unconscionable.  Biden should have first taken out American citizens.  Now Biden is sending back troops to rescue American citizens.

Weyermuller: Thousands honor fallen Chicago PD Officer Ella French

By Mark Weyermuller - 

Several thousand people attended the funeral for Chicago Police Officer Ella French Thursday in Chicago.  She was shot and killed two weeks ago while performing a traffic stop. Two suspects have been arrested and charged. 

(All photos and video by Mark Weyermuller) 

Medicine's Getting Major Injections of Woke Ideology

While racialized politics has infused every corner of American life, the moral stakes in the health care arena go far beyond, say, the perceived slights called microaggressions. John Murawski writes:

Part One of a Two-Part Series (Part Two Here)

The national racial reckoning over reparations and critical race theory is taking over the world of medicine and health care. Prestigious medical journals, top medical schools and elite medical centers are adopting the language of social justice activism and vowing to confront “systemic racism,” dismantle “structural violence” and disrupt “white supremacy” in their institutional cultures.

How Much Worse Can It Get?

The Biden administration realizes the border crisis it has created is a political disaster, and it’s spinning furiously. Mark Krikorian:

I thought for sure the arrest numbers at the border would go down a little in July, if only because of the brutal summer heat.

I was wrong.

Border “encounters” continued their climb under the Biden administration, reaching about 213,000, up 13 percent from June. Of those, about 200,000 were Border Patrol arrests (the rest were illegals at ports of entry).

Perhaps most alarming is that the illegal surge continues to globalize. The share of Border Patrol arrests of illegals not from Mexico or the Northern Triangle countries of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) has doubled over the past six months, from about 15 percent in March to 29 percent in July. (See all the numbers here and here.)

Sloppy Thinking About ‘Systemic Racism’

(Photo: krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images)

David French has alienated those of us “fake” conservatives who don’t buy into the progressive framing of racial issues. GianCarlo Canaparo writes:

In a recently published blog, David French, a Christian conservative commentator, argues that “systemic racism” is real and that Christians have an obligation to cure it. This is true, he claims, even if they are not themselves intentionally racist, because they are inadvertently perpetuating the racism of their ancestors.

Citing several Old Testament examples where God commanded the Israelites to confess and make amends for the “sins and iniquities of their fathers,” French says that Christians have an “intergenerational” obligation to “ameliorate systemic injustice” by embracing the “solutions” found in sociology, history, and economics.

Team Biden Works at ‘Behest of Abortion Lobby’ in Defiance of Law, 84 GOP Legislators Say

(Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated federal law when they told the Justice Department to drop a lawsuit against a hospital that forced a nurse to assist an elective abortion, 84 Republican lawmakers say.

In a letter last week to the high-ranking Biden administration officials, first obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation, 21 senators and 63 representatives demand to know why Becerra and Garland acted to drop the lawsuit the Justice Department filed in December under the Trump administration.

More HERE

State rep calls on IDPH to provide COVID-19 facts about Illinois children cases

SPRINGFIELD - State Representative Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) says despite numerous attempts, the Illinois Department of Public Health has failed to provide the number of cases and hospitalizations of children affected by COVID-19.

“The official representing Dr. Ezike and the IDPH, Dr. Sarah Patrick, publicly promised that she could provide those numbers within two days, and it has now been eight days so far and no real data,” declared Rep. Adam Niemerg. “This refusal to provide transparency to parents and school boards is unacceptable and the taxpayers of Illinois deserve to know the facts!”

Rep. Niemerg’s request of the actual number of cases by region of the state will help local education officials, parents, and school boards know the real level of mitigation possibly needed in school settings and the data could either confirm or refute the attempted mandates by the Governor, the IDPH and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on children, the press release says.

Niemerg's letter in its entirety is below:

Biden Admin pushes booster shots for Moderna, Pfizer, and soon, Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients

WASHINGTON DC - Biden Administration health officials released a statement Wednesday saying a third dose of the COVID 19 vaccine will be needed for those who've had the Moderna or Pfizer products, while yet another booster is expected for those who've had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

"Protection against SARS-CoV-2 begins to decrease over time," the statement says. The federal government will be paying for the boosters.

The COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States continue to be remarkably effective in reducing risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even against the widely circulating Delta variant. Recognizing that many vaccines are associated with a reduction in protection over time, and acknowledging that additional vaccine doses could be needed to provide long lasting protection, we have been analyzing the scientific data closely from the United States and around the world to understand how long this protection will last and how we might maximize this protection. The available data make very clear that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination, and in association with the dominance of the Delta variant, we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease. Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout. For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability.

ICYMI: Pritzkers swag surfin' at Biliken Parade

CHICAGO - Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and his wife swag surfed over the weekend at the Biliken Parade. Did you miss it?

First Lady M.K. Pritzker, Gov. J.B. Pritzker @JBPritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton @LtGovStratton swag surfing at the 92nd annual Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. #TheBud pic.twitter.com/fh6MLluiRf

— Vashon Jordan Jr. (@vashon_photo) August 14, 2021

In case you're not familiar with "Swag Surfin'," here's some of the lyrics:

I'm on Hypnotic, exotic
This Polo on my body
Got a bad girl beside me
And her friend right behind me
And I'm swagging, I'm surfing
I'm swagging, I'm surfing
I'm swagging, I'm surfing
I'm clean like dish detergent
On Patron, yeah I'm gone
Purple by the zone, yeah I'm smoking strong
And you know I'm gone
Cause I'm swagging, I'm surfing
I'm swagging, I'm surfing
I'm swagging, I'm surfing
I'm clean like dish detergent

Rev. Franklin Graham to start Route 66 Tour Sept 19 in Joliet

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Franklin Graham is going through the heart of America to offer people a message of God's love. He is holding an evening of music and hope in eight cities along historic Route 66, and he's kicking off the opening night in Joliet.

"I think this is where the strength of our country lies, and I'm coming to remind people that God loves them," said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. "There are a lot of people who are afraid. People have lost their jobs. Many people have been sick and loved ones have died. I just want people to know that God hasn't forgotten them."

On Sept. 19, Graham will launch the Route 66 God Loves You Tour in Joliet. The festive, family-friendly event is free and everyone is invited to attend. It begins at 4 p.m. at the Chicagoland Speedway.

Overheated Economy Heads Toward Inevitable Correction

The Fed continues to pump more money into the economy while the stock market, business activity, and inflation all move higher. Conditions are fairly stable at present, but there are warning signs of trouble ahead.

More HERE

Why We Should Care That YouTube Has Silenced Sen. Rand Paul

(Photo: Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

Another day, another instance of a Big Tech company censoring content it doesn’t like.

This time, YouTube—owned by Google—took down a video by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in which he discusses face masks and COVID-19. YouTube also banned Paul from its platform for a week.

“We removed content from Senator Paul’s channel for including claims that masks are ineffective in preventing the contraction or transmission of COVID-19, in accordance with our COVID-19 medical misinformation policies,” YouTube said in a public statement.

Notably, YouTube’s policy cites the World Health Organization and “local authorities” as its source of what’s correct about COVID-19. 

 

Yet the WHO not only flubbed its early response to the disease, it was criticized and defunded by then-President Donald Trump for its connections with China and general dysfunction.

But this is only one bad part about YouTube’s decision.

More HERE

Smith: Why Gen Z’s War on Thrift Shops Is Misguided

(Photo: Maskot/Getty Images)

By Emily Smith - 

Gen Z-ers on TikTok declared a war on thrift shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that middle- and upper-class people shopping at thrift stores contribute to gentrification and limit opportunities for lower-income individuals to buy affordable clothes.

This argument is completely misguided. I know from personal experience.

I have thrift shopped for as long as I can remember. Growing up in a lower-income family, thrift shopping helped me save money and taught me budgeting skills.

As a former undergraduate student and now as a graduate student, I have continued the habit, with about 95% of my wardrobe coming from thrift shops.

It’s not because I want to deny anyone else the opportunity to buy affordable clothing. I don’t judge anyone who shops at the thrift shop or at yard sales—whether out of need, frugality, or taste in fashion. I shop at thrift stores to save money.

More HERE

Thorner: Mandatory Digital Health Passport More Than a Pipe Dream

 

By Nancy Thorner - 

 

As stated in a report issued on May 24, 2020, "Covid Pass to be used as a "Digital Health Passport":  Link:  COVID-Pass to be used as a "Digital Health Passport

 

"Are you ready to get your “immunity passport” or “digital health passport” from big brother government or some multi-billion-dollar corporation? Well, it’s here in the form of “COVI-PASS” and is being widely promoted. Basically, you download the app, take a #COVID-19 test from a health professional. Then the results are scanned into the COVI-pass, which will authenticate your health status. Finally, with COVI-PASS, the fascists say you can then use your #COVIpass to “return to work, life, & safe travel." 

 

50 million purchases of this app have already been made by several countries, including the U.S.

 

A month later on June 29, 2020, Zerohedge reported the following about  Mass-Tracking COVI-PASS Immunity Passports:  Link:  Mass-Tracking COVI-PASS Immunity Passports

 

"COVID- PASS will determine whether you can go to a restaurant, if you need a medical test, or are due for a talking-to by authorities in a post-COVID world. Consent is voluntary, but enforcement will be compulsory.”

ILLINOIS SETS UP ONLINE DIGITAL COVID-19 VACCINATION PASSPORT SYSTEM