Month: July 2020

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) urged President Donald Trump on Wednesday to ensure states and cities do not use federal funds to promote anarchy or anarchist jurisdictions across American cities.

Ernst, along with 29 of her colleagues in the House and the Senate, called on Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought to use his authority to prevent federal funding for states and cities that allow for the creation of autonomous zones.
Ernst and her colleagues wrote:

The federal government must ensure judicious and lawful use of taxpayer funds. With this responsibility in mind, we ask you to investigate and report the amount of taxpayer dollars local officials used to, encourage, sustain, bolster, supply or repair the damage in these anarchist ‘autonomous zones.’… The most fundamental duty of these cities is to provide security for law-abiding citizens. Instead, we have seen businesses destroyed and lives senselessly taken. Thank you for your time, and we look forward to your leadership in ensuring transparency for tax-payer dollars used to enable anarchy.

Ernst’s submission to the Trump administration follows as she introduced the Ending Taxpayer Funding of Anarchy Act, which would restrict federal funding for “anarchist jurisdictions.”

Since Ernst introduced her legislation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), David Perdue (R-GA), have cosponsored the Ending Taxpayer Funding of Anarchy Act.

Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) introduced similar legislation in the House.

Ernst also backed Trump’s deployment of federal officers into American cities on Tuesday. Federal law enforcement officers have reportedly moved to quell Antifa violence in Portland, Oregon.

“If it’s federal officers to protect federal property, I agree that it needs to be done,” Ernst said. “It’s important. We are not going to stand idly by and let people destroy federal property.”

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

Disney World has closed a mask loophole, banning park visitors from eating and drinking while they walk as a means to encourage attendees to wear masks.

“Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) and Cast Members,” reads Disney World’s official policy. “Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times, except when dining or swimming.”

The policy only allows eating and drinking as long as guests remove their masks while standing still and socially distant from others. “You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing,” the policy reads.

Previously, the theme park’s visitors were able to avoid wearing a mask by using the “eating and drinking” loophole.

“Mask rule update. Disney has updated face covering guidelines to say that guests may only remove masks when ACTIVELY eating and drinking, and must be stationary and physically distanced when doing so,” said writer Brooke McDonald in an Instagram post. “This means no more munching Mickey pretzels or sipping drinks as you stroll.”

“Guests are now being asked to find a safe spot six feet from other guests before removing their masks to eat and drink,” said a Disney cast member at EPCOT of the new rules, according to a report by Walt Disney World News Today.

The report added that guests who are caught not wearing a mask under the new rules will be asked to either put one on or leave, adding that visitors can take a break at what is called a “relaxation station” if they want to remove their mask. “Once inside these stations, guests may remove their face covering and have a socially-distanced sit-down,” reports Walt Disney World News Today.

Las Vegas casinos have also banned eating and drinking in order to ensure masks are worn at all times, according to a report by Deadline.

Disney’s policy says “costume masks are also not considered appropriate and are prohibited from being worn, in alignment with our existing rules,” adding that “the use of face coverings is not a substitute for physical distancing.”

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.

Breitbart Texas obtained video on Friday showing what appears to be a battalion-sized unit of specialized gunmen in heavily armored vehicles with the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG). The footage presents the group as an elite special forces unit.

A two-minute video shows approximately 100 gunmen in military-style uniforms next to a long line of factory-made armored trucks and SUVs, Breitbart reported. The video also reveals a large contingent of the gunmen armed with specialized military-grade weapons including some belt-fed .50 caliber machine guns. In many ways, this heavy-company sized unit is better armed and equipped than Mexico’s own security forces.

This publicly raises concerns that many in the U.S. intelligence community (IC) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have been closely monitoring for years.

For more than a decade prior to both of us retiring, I worked closely with Texas Air National Guard Colonel Daniel Steiner (USAF-TXANG Ret). The colonel and I worked to help secure the Texas border during the Los Zetas and Gulf Cartel war as far back as 2009. Steiner has a vast knowledge of Mexican military tactics and capabilities and worked closely with then-Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) to integrate the Texas National Guard and Texas State Guard forces to support border security operations.

Col. Steiner is a 32-year veteran of the United States military with an extensive background in tactical and strategic threats. His work with civilian authorities on events and issues in Mexico and Central and South America is recognized by federal, state, and local law enforcement communities.

I asked the colonel to analyze the cartel video and describe what should be gleaned from these capabilities not only as a military after-action style review but also, what does it indicate strategically for Mexico and for the security of the United States.

This following interview was edited for clarity and length.

Jaeson Jones (JJ) — Is this video a “show-pony” event?

Colonel Steiner (Steiner) – Yes. It was made to show rival cartels, and the Mexican government the capabilities of the terrorist cartels. It is also a strong recruiting tool, which is something CJNG is having no problem doing.

JJ — Does it indicate this cartel’s evolving capabilities?

Steiner — Yes, and it’s important, vital, to understand just how dangerous the capabilities are becoming.

JJ — Do the “troops” or elite group of CJNG seem disciplined to you?

Steiner — Their body movement and shouting would typically be construed as “undisciplined” to the professional military observer. Here is the problem: as the U.S. learned in Afghanistan and Iraq, the lack of proper “discipline” is not an indicator of capability. The desire to fight–and fight violently–cannot be misconstrued here. Bottom line: they may seem “undisciplined” and appear to just be having a good time, but their ability to be violent and focused is battle-proven.

JJ. – What about the weapons and the standardization we see in the video?

Steiner — All the talk about the standardization of weapons is misleading. Yes, they have military-grade weapons, but there is no real standardization of armaments among these four-person teams — other than each has long gun capabilities.

Most do seem to have standardization of short gun/handgun. It should also be noted, the tactical level of training for proper utilization of all the weapons in this video is not depicted in the video.

For example, “long gun to short gun transition” is a skill that would have to be taught and trained against in order for these members to understand when that transition should be made. This is military-level training that is even lacking in the basic SEDENA (Mexican Army) programs. I believe only Mexico’s special operations units have training on this topic — and even then, it is most likely limited.

JJ – Crew-served weapons operated by infantry include sniper rifles, anti-materiel rifles, machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, mortars, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, recoil-less rifles, shoulder-launched missile weapons, and static anti-tank/anti-aircraft missiles. What do you see in regards to the crew-served weapons?

Steiner — They seem to be unsupported. This is most likely a valid indicator of low-level training. As an example, the M60, I believe that is the weapon being fired, is designed to be supported with an “A and B Gunner.” It is also designed to be supported by riflemen on both of its position. The fact the weapon is mounted keeps me from seeing either of these issues [as] being proven and it’s clear a mounted weapon is stand alone.

Nonetheless, the weapons themselves are designed to be supported and the teams at each vehicle do not seem to be equipped for such a task. My impression would be, these weapons are not capable of being properly employed, at least not yet. Their main goal is most likely (to be) suppressive fire.

JJ – Do you believe that they can still be effective considering the level of engagements we see the cartels employing daily against Mexican forces and rival cartels?

Steiner — Yes. The mere sound of crew-served guns has a huge impact on those at the receiving end of the fire. So, yes, these weapons are extremely effective against the Mexican authorities.

JJ – What is missing?

Steiner — The 40mm launchers seen with several of these members are effective indirect-fire weapons, but it is unclear how the members are actually trained to utilize them. We have seen them deployed countless times in cartel-on-cartel battles or against Mexican military forces. It appears to be their only indirect-weapon system. I believe these 40mm weapons are leveraged for vehicle denial.

Overall, I would agree the level of weaponry seen in this video is important, based on one issue. The team’s concept that seems to coincide with each vehicle. Fire team configuration and engagement is a real concern as this cartel grows in its capabilities and confidence.

Something else is missing from these unit member’s weapons. Other than simple optical-enhanced equipment such as an off the shelf scope, most of these weapons have iron sites. In an age of highly enhanced sighting devices for the military, it seems odd these paramilitary members have such antiquated sight support. This impacts night fighting and seeing only the enemy’s [muzzle] flash. They do not–yet–have true, “night-fighting” capabilities.

JJ – We see uniformity in uniforms, boots, helmets, and tactical gear. Including clearly identifiable patches. What do you see in that level of uniformity?

Steiner — This is not the first video you and I have reviewed that indicated standardization of uniforms. What is noteworthy is the apparent lack of body armor. In an effort to appear as militaristic as possible, they lack of effective protective gear. I would predict this gap will rapidly close.

On a side note regarding unit patches, several of these members seem to have a unit patch on their right shoulder. This is something you and I have seen and talked about in the past.

JJ — Why is that significant?

Steiner — Patches show unity. Patches show pride and commitment–much like gang tattoos. The fact these patches are on the right shoulder–like a U.S. Army indication of a unit deployment in a combat environment — is something we must continue to track. This cartel’s ability to build a much higher level of commitment is a trend that is vital to understanding where their actions may lead.

JJ – In 2009, the Los Zetas created their first armored vehicles — referred to as the “monsters.” They were first-generation. Since then, we continue to see a new generation of armor emerge one after the next. What are your thoughts on the level of capability of the lighter weight and more maneuverable armored vehicles used today in day-to-day battles?

Steiner — What is noteworthy is the growing complexity of these cartel combat vehicles. By the way, I have never supported the nickname of “narco tank.” These vehicles have a common link to armored cars or even light-skinned troop transports, but they have no characteristic of a tank. What this video does show us, is the increased attention to detail.

Those who are making these vehicles have time and equipment to produce a level of vehicle the cartels have not had in their historic inventory. These vehicles are professionally made and not some product of a drunk uncle at a welding shop. This level of advancement is unmatched. No such capability exists with any known terrorist organization in the world, and that fact must not be overlooked.

JJ – I know we can’t go into depth here for national security reasons, but what about the cartel’s communications in combat and their utilization effectively?

Steiner — It appears the utilization of handheld radios continues to be the primary “maneuver” communication network. This issue continues to be a major concern. How can Mexico’s military not own the spectrum — spectrum that is based on low capability/handheld communication devices? Most in the CJNG level are encrypted.

Here is why I know Mexico is not attacking this issue of command-and-control. I’ve seen no indication of the cartels responding to a compromised network or networks. Yes, they do purchase new, more capable comm gear, but it seems their ability to communicate and maneuver is not truly impacted. How else could they have managed to assemble such a large force?

JJ – How effectively are some of these armored vehicles used by CJNG?

Steiner — It appears these vehicles have not yet been utilized in any real combat operations. They may have been cleaned or even repainted for this video, but the overall appearance of them would make the typical observer believe they were part of the information campaign.

Show Pony? Most likely, but the ability to execute command and control to the level of declaring the assembly and then moving the vehicles to the assembly point simply amazes me.

JJ – What does this all mean Colonel, where are we headed strategically with the cartel’s constant un-metered advancements in tradecraft?

Steiner — Every time you and I review these videos — especially the combat ones — it gives me a clear picture of where this is all heading. I’ve been observing the events in Mexico both officially and unofficially for over 15 years and this video confirms my greatest fear. The progression of the cartel’s capabilities, CJNG to be precise, is an issue the U.S. cannot afford to overlook any longer.

The CJNG is missing only a few critical parts that will lead it to being a “force on force” threat to the Mexican military.

Imagine the CJNG laying siege to a target. With a small increase in combat arms training, such as weapon’s support and maneuver, this group could and will attack targets of increasing value in Mexico. Think in terms of the siege that took place in 1985 at the Palace of Justice in Columbia.

That is where CJNG’s capabilities are heading. If they desire to execute such an event, they will most likely be successful in at least taking the target, if not holding it. Thus forcing the Mexican government to respond in a way that would make global news. Our nation’s number one trade partner has a siege event live on TV? Think about the repercussions.

JJ – Where does this end up if the U.S. government continues the policy of avoiding directly targeting the cartels as we have seen?

Steiner — If U.S. leadership blows off what is indicated in this video, then the consequences will fall on D.C. If Mexico’s leadership and intelligence community is so compromised, then preventing a major event is impossible. What then becomes possible is such an event taking place on U.S. soil.

Jaeson Jones is a retired captain from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division and a Breitbart Texas contributor. While on duty, he managed daily operations for the Texas Rangers Border Security Operations Center.

Chinese communist authorities have ordered poor Christian villagers to remove Christian images from their homes and replace them with portraits of Chairman Mao and President Xi Jinping or risk losing their welfare benefits.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has continued its program of “Sinicization” of religion by channeling religious fervor in the country toward the Party rather than God, the Christian Post reported this weekend.

In May, an official in the eastern province of Shandong raided the home of a local Christian and hung pictures of Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping on the wall in place of Christian images.

“These are the greatest gods. If you want to worship somebody, they are the ones,” the official told them.

This year, China’s “social credit system” was scheduled to become fully functional, assigning points to each individual based on how much the Communist Party approves of them and using their rating to control their behavior and access to certain benefits..

“There are fears that China’s new ‘social credit system’ – designed to reward good citizenship and punish bad – will be used to discriminate against Christians,” wrote the Catholic charity organization Aid to the Church in Need in a 2019 report.

The fears are tied to “cash rewards for those who inform on underground churches and other ‘unofficial’ places of worship,” indicating that the government might also reward the persecution of Christians with high “social credit” scores.

According to the religious liberty magazine Bitter Winter, the CCP is now using state welfare benefits as leverage to coerce people into worshiping the Party rather than Jesus.

In April, for instance, party officials visited the homes of Christians in Linfen, in the northern province of Shanxi, ordering those who receive welfare payments from the government to remove crosses, Christian symbols, and images in their homes and replace them with portraits of China’s communist leaders.

The officials threatened the Christians that non-compliance with the order would result in suspension of their welfare subsidies.

“All impoverished households in the town were told to display Mao Zedong images,” a local house church preacher said. “The government is trying to eliminate our belief and wants to become God instead of Jesus.”

Officials have often made good on their threats, ruthlessly suspending benefits to Christians who fail to give up their devotions.

Communist authorities cancelled the government subsidies of one elderly Christian woman from Shangqiu city in Henan after they found an image of a cross posted on the door of her home.

“They tore it down immediately,” she said. “Afterward, both my minimum living allowance and poverty alleviation subsidy were canceled. I am being driven to a dead end. I have diabetes and need injections regularly.”

Something similar occurred in in Xinyu city in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, when officials canceled the minimum living subsidy and a monthly disability allowance of 100 RMB (about $14) to a disabled Christian who disobeyed government orders and continued to attend worship services.

Another Christian living in Jiangxi’s Poyang county — a woman in her 80s — reportedly stopped receiving government aid after she said “Thank God” after receiving her monthly 200 RMB (about $28) subsidy in mid-January.

“They expected me to praise the kindness of the Communist Party instead,” she said.

In another case, local officials entered the home of a member of a state-sponsored Three-Self church and tore down all Christian images, including a calendar with an image of Jesus, and posted a portrait of Mao Zedong instead.

“Impoverished religious households can’t receive money from the state for nothing — they must obey the Communist Party for the money they receive,” the official declared.

NBC’s Meet the Press aired a deceptively edited and widely debunked clip of White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Sunday.

This is the second time in three months the far-left current affairs show has deliberately taken a top White House official out of context using deceptive editing.

The last time it was Attorney General Bill Barr. Back in May, Chuck Todd, the disgraced Meet the Press host, offered an on-air apology for clipping video of Barr that was deliberately meant to make him look smug.

When asked how history will judge his decision to drop the charges against Ret. Gen. Michael Flynn, Barr explained in detail why he did what he did, but opened his answer by explaining that “history is written by the winners, so it largely depends on who’s writing the history.”

That’s all Meet the Press aired. The idea being to make it sound as though Barr was saying “We won. We’ll write the history. Ha ha.”

But what Barr meant was that he cannot answer the question of how history will look at his decision; he won’t write that history.

At the time, I did not believe Chuck Todd’s apology for the Barr incident, and said so. His excuse was ludicrous and over the last four years, his shameless  biases, despicable McCarthyism, affection for conspiracy theories, and unstable hatred for President Trump have led a once prestigious current affairs show (that I’ve appeared on) down the toilet of just another hysterically dishonest, left-wing cable news hour.

I also didn’t buy Todd’s apology because I knew Meet the Press would do this again and again and again before the November election. Unfortunately, there is no amount of deception and self-debasement the media are not willing to engage in to defeat Trump, and this is especially true for Todd and NBC News.

And so, here they go again…

During her Thursday White House briefing, McEnany accurately explained to the fake news media that the science is on the side of reopening our schools. In so many words, she said Science should not stop the reopening of schools because science is firmly on the side of reopening the schools. Here’s the full quote:

The science should not stand in the way of this, but as Dr. Scott Atlas said — I thought this was a good quote, ‘Of course, we can do it. Everyone else in the Western world, our peer nations are doing it. We are the outlier here.’ The science is very clear on this. For example, you look at the JAMA pediatric study of 46 pediatric hospitals in North America that said the risk of critical illness from COVID is far less for children than the seasonal flu. The science is on our side here. We encourage localities and states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools.

What happened next would only surprise those brand new to our planet… The corporate media, all of it, deliberately took McEnany out of context. You can see the full list of offenders here, it’s a who’s-who of fake news outlets no one interested in being informed should ever pay any attention to.

What each of these far-left outlets did – CNNLOL, the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, CBS, the Daily Beast, etc., etc., etc. — was to deliberately deceive their viewers and readers with false headlines like this one: “The White House press secretary says ‘science should not stand in the way’ of reopening schools.”

In other words, although she said the exact opposite, and although all the science is on the side of reopening schools, the media made it look like McEnany said, Trump believes we should ignore the science and open the schools anyway.

This breathtaking lie was quickly and widely debunked the next day, but a full three days later – three full days – because he’s a shameless liar with no respect for facts, the integrity of the Meet the Press, or his own personal integrity, Todd went right ahead and took McEneny’s “science” quote of context – not once, but twice. Here’s the way Jonathan Turley explained it:

As bad as [the CNN] incident was, it is not nearly as bad as Chuck Todd ignoring the controversy and the correction to repeatedly air the same misleading quote. NBC was fully aware that the clip was not just misleading but that it conveyed the opposite of what actually was stated in the press conference. Todd shows clip of people denying the need to wear masks and says that Trump is just ignoring the risks to push to open schools.  He then shows the clip of McEnany that is edited to cut off her reference to scientific data, making it sound that she was saying that the science was not important. The clip was played a second time later in the show.

Here’s the video of Todd doing exactly what he promised would never happen again after the Barr incident.

“[T]his is a mortal sin for Todd at NBC. This was no careless tweet, but an airing made long after the false account was flagged during the CNN controversy,” Turley adds.

Honestly, why would anyone interested in not being serially-lied to and deliberately misinformed watch Meet the Press?

Even if you’re a die-hard leftist and Trump hater, don’t you at the very least want to know the truth of what’s going on?

Getting your “news” from Chuck Todd is no better than getting your “news” from Alex Jones. But at least Jones, unlike Todd, doesn’t hide behind the cowardly shield of “objectivity.”