... Good News Friday: 04/26/24
April 26, 2024
Dear Patriot,
Each week that flies by is full of news that is distressing to hear.
But, each week we are able to find the news that is good and positive but under-reported.
Stay hopeful and prayerful.
We thank you for your unflinching support for Defending The Republic.
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1- Virginia has dodged a bullet that would have caused massive confusion on election day.
Thankfully, Virginia rejects measures that would unleash chaos upon voters
QUOTE: Virginia voters can have confidence in November that the election process will be simple and their votes will count. That’s because of the defeat of two radical election proposals pushed by well-financed lobbying groups. Each would have made voting less transparent and more confusing. Voters were spared the latest mess only by gubernatorial veto on April 8.
That bill, Senate Bill 428, would have required the commonwealth to assist local implementation of an election system known as ranked choice voting, or RCV. With RCV, voters rank candidates by preference using a ballot that looks more like a standardized test. Voters’ top preferences are tallied up. If no candidate has a majority of first-place votes, the least popular candidate gets eliminated. If this doesn’t sound complicated yet, stick with me; it gets worse.
RCV makes voting take a lot longer, with many more decisions to make and bubbles to mark. Just imagine a ballot with 15 RCV races, each with five candidates. That’s 75 candidates to rank. Lines and wait times at the polls would be unimaginable.
One bizarre twist of RCV is that candidates with the most first-place votes can ultimately lose the election.
It’s hard to imagine why any Virginia legislator said “yes” to such an election nightmare. Thankfully, Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed the RCV expansion bill over “concerns about disenfranchisement and an increased lack of voter confidence.”
2- It is hard to go against the current popular fad when you are 13-years old. But, several young girls in West Virginia did that this week. It is a victory for all girls who want to be able to participate in sports on a level playing field.
West Virginia Girls 'Step-Out' Of Track & Field Meet To Protest Transgender Competitor
QUOTE: On Tuesday, a United States Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a West Virginia law that bars biological boys from competing on girls' sports teams cannot be enforced with regard to a 13-year-old who competes on the girls' track and field team at the athlete's middle school.
It's important to note that this ruling does not impact the West Virginia law – it only applies to the individual in this particular case, since the individual began transitioning in third grade, prior to hitting puberty. However, the ruling does potentially pave the way for other, similar cases.
On Thursday, several girls "stepped out" during a meet to protest the inclusion of the transgender girl at the center of this case. The athlete in the case competes for the Bridgeport Middle School girls' track & field team in Bridgeport, West Virginia.
Bridgeport participated in the 2024 Harrison County Middle School Championships on Thursday afternoon at Liberty High School in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Several members of one of the girls' shot put teams "stepped in" then "stepped out" to protest the inclusion of a transgender athlete in the meet. The transgender athlete competes in both shot put and discus throwing. When each of the Lincoln girls had her name called to compete, she stepped into the ring but instead of throwing the shot, she stepped down and refused to participate. They did the same for the discus event.
According to one of the girls who stepped out, the transgender athlete won the shot put event during the Championships.
Riley Gaines, host of the Gaines for Girls podcast on OutKick, shared her thoughts on the girls refusing to compete against a transgender opponent.
"It's a sad day when the middle school girls have to be the adults in the room. Conceding your event is so much easier said than done, but these girls have the tenacity and ability to stand their ground," Gaines said. "I couldn't be more proud of their bravery and willingness to show their raw emotion. Girls and women have had enough.”
3- It is good to have this in writing. We will see if it leads anywhere.
Georgia's Election Board to Fulton County: Your 2020 Election Results Were False!
Quote: Georgia's election officials now admit in writing that 2020 results should never have been certified.
Investigative Journalist Kevin Moncla just sent me another letter from Georgia’s State Election Board.
You must recall that Moncla (and Joe Rossi) filed a complaint in 2022 about Fulton County’s 2020 election — which is called SEB Case No. 2022-109. The State Election Board sat on that complaint until their January 16th meeting in 2024. Then it sent the following letter to the Fulton County Board of Elections which is dated February 22nd, 2024.
You should sit down before reading this letter: the contents are extraordinary. (Please go to the link above to read the actual letter.)
The first thing you should understand: election fraud in Georgia is now a fact.
Georgia’s State Election Board has been forced to admit in writing that Fulton County “failed to upload and tabulate election results in their entirety” in 2020. That’s illegal. That’s election fraud. That means that Georgia’s 2020 election results were false, and should never have been certified in the first place.
Biden did not win Georgia. President Trump won the state.
4- We are going to call this jury decision a win. But, it does not give back to the Kellys the hardship, cost, stress and money that this case has caused them. Defending one’s property and person is a fundamental right.
Mistrial Declared in Murder Trial of Arizona Border Rancher
QUOTE: After three days of deliberation and being sent back twice by the judge, the jury has reached an intractable impasse—there’s no verdict in the trial of George Alan Kelly.
Judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial on April 22 and set a status hearing on April 29 in which the prosecution will either move to schedule a retrial or move to dismiss the case.
Mr. Kelly faced one charge of second-degree murder or manslaughter or negligent homicide and an additional charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting death of Mexican national Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, 48, an illegal immigrant on Mr. Kelly’s ranch.
“It’s a victory,” said defense lawyer Kathy Lowthorp. “It’s the second best answer–not guilty, and then a mistrial. So either way, it’s a win, just not the perfect win.”
Mr. Kelly appeared relieved, saying he had “big plans.” “I’m going home tonight. Going to bed.”
His wife, Wanda Kelly, withheld her frustration, but lamented “15 months of our lives” had been spent defending her husband against the charges.
Ms. Lowthorp said after speaking with the jury, she learned the vote was 7–1 to acquit the defendant. The lone holdout refused to change their vote despite numerous attempts and further deliberations.
She said the near unanimous vote by the jury should send a clear signal to the prosecution that retrying the case could produce a similar result.
Defense attorney Ms. Larkin said the Kellys, in their retirement years, were living in fear. As a result, Mr. Kelly made the decision to arm himself and protect his life, his wife, and his property.
5- College students are, in part, rebelling against the draconian Covid-CCP mandates of the Ivy League schools.
Kids are Beginning to Pass on Ivy League Schools to Attend Colleges in the South
QUOTE: There's been an unprecedented movement by college-age kids away from Ivy League and other so-called elite schools toward schools in the South.
It's no mystery. Several factors are at play in this migration, including a greater sense of freedom, great college sports teams, and warmer weather. The pandemic hastened the migration as southern schools had relaxed strict COVID restrictions long before the eastern schools got around to it.
The Free Press reports, "Both Brown and Harvard saw dips in their application numbers this year—by 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively. (Early decisions to Harvard were down 17 percent.) And while applications to private colleges in mid-Atlantic (25.3 percent) and New England (29 percent) states have risen since 2019, the gains have been small compared to Southern colleges, which saw a 42 percent increase overall."
Admittedly, a drop in applications is not a reason for Harvard to panic. They get 50,000+ applications a year and are still one of the most selective universities in the country.
But as a straw in the wind, it's significant when taken with other factors.“Never before have we seen so much interest in colleges like Clemson, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina State,” says Rick Clark, the assistant vice provost and executive director of undergraduate admission at Georgia Tech. “That’s just unprecedented," he added.
Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and the rest of the Ivy League have been floating along, dependent on a reputation that's more myth than reality. Why go to a stuffy school when you can live freely at Clemson or North Carolina State?
6- All of the massive, but totally ignored, protests all over Europe in the past few months seem to be having impact on the global elite effort to control us.
Peter Imanuelsen at Peter Sweden on Substack
The WHO is BACKING DOWN on the pandemic treaty. This is a major victory for freedom.
QUOTE: Have you heard about the WHO pandemic treaty? They have been working on a treaty which would threaten free speech and national sovereignty.
If it went through, it would essentially mean that they could CENSOR speech that the WHO deemed to be misinformation. They could also force countries to vaccinate people and implement vaccine passports.
But now there is good news - They are BACKING DOWN!
In the latest draft of the WHO pandemic treaty, they appear to be BACKING DOWN, removing some of the most draconian rules. This doesn't mean that everything is all good, but this is definitely a good start and a massive victory for freedom.
First of all, they are making the treaty non-binding. This means that countries will keep their national sovereignty instead of having to hand it over to a bunch of unelected elites at the WHO.
The big issue was Article 13A in the pandemic treaty. It was originally proposed to say the following:
"1. States Parties recognize WHO as the guidance and coordinating authority of international public health response during public health Emergency of International Concern and undertake to follow WHO's recommendations in their international public health response."
This text would have meant that countries would be forced to follow the rules and recommendations as decided by the unelected elites at the WHO.
But this entire article has in fact now been REMOVED from the latest draft of the pandemic treaty, meaning that countries do no longer have to obey the WHO. This is a massive win for national sovereignty.
7- We welcome union workers to the side of sanity and freedom.
NY union leader reveals massive political swing within the ranks: Democrats pushed us to the other side
QUOTE: A top New York union leader revealed on Thursday that his union members aren’t feeling the Democrats anymore.
Speaking with the media after having met with former President Donald Trump, Steamfitters Local 638 boss Bob Bartels said his union workers are looking to support Republicans in the 2024 race because they’re sick of the Democrats’ policy prescriptions.
“In the past, we are basically Democrats, all of us,” he said. “And after what’s happened in the last four years in this country, the Democrats are basically pushing everybody to the other side. We’re a very patriotic group, and we love our country, and we want the best for America.”
“We’re tired of immigration, we’re tired of our tax dollars going to immigration, we’re tired of the crime. We need to put a handle on things in this country and bring it back to how it should be,” he added.
Appearing later on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” he revealed the results of an internal Trump/Biden poll he’d taken.
“I put out a poll in my union,” he said. “President Trump is leading Joe Biden 3 to 1 on my presidential poll out of my 9,000 members right now. We are very tired of the situation with groceries, inflation, gas prices, illegal immigration, crime. We’re living it every day in New York City.”
8- Good.
Jamie Raskin Is Getting Sued!
QUOTE: Tony Bobulinski, a former associate of Hunter Biden, filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit against Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). Bobulinski, the witness for the Republican impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, has filed several lawsuits against Democrats over their commentary about him. According to Bobulinski, Rep. Raskin has refused to comply with multiple requests to retract and delete allegedly defamatory remarks, necessitating the lawsuit.
Raskin, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, often criticizes the Republican impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden‘s son, Hunter. The Democrat lawmaker has repeatedly questioned Bobulinksi’s credibility. The lawsuit alleges Raskin published “false statements” online to undermine Bobulinski after his testimony before the impeachment inquiry.
Bobulinski’s lawsuit alleges that Raskin defamed the witness by suggesting he may have lied to Congress to gain favor with former President Donald Trump. The filing states that he possesses no affiliation with Trump’s presidential campaign. These comments by Raskin, the suit claims, have contributed to a “defamatory social media blitz.”
In addition to Raskin, Bobulinski has also filed lawsuits against former Trump aide-turned-Democrat ally Cassidy Hutchinson and Fox News‘s Democrat commentator Jessica Tarlov.
9- Go to the link to view the many charts proving how clean our air is.
Committee To Unleash Prosperity
Cleaning the Air
QUOTE: Monday was Earth Day, which now has become Earth Week, and we have great news: the planet isn’t dying. It’s getting cleaner.
That may come as a surprise to those who’ve been indoctrinated with doomsday environmental rhetoric since they were in pre-school, but the reality — at least for the U.S. — is much cleaner than at any time since the dawning of the industrial age.
The House Republican Policy Committee has just assembled the historical data.
The air quality performance is astounding. Over the past 60 years, GDP is up nearly 800% but emissions are DOWN 60% even though we are still using record amounts of fossil fuels.
Lead levels in the air are down 87%.
Remember, lead, particulates, smog, and carbon monoxide are pollutions that can kill – especially those with respiratory problems. Carbon dioxide is not a pollution. It’s necessary for life on earth.
10- We should always keep in mind that there are more people of common sense and morality than we think.
Jeremy Tate at RealClearPolitics
The Secret Force Defending American Principles
QUOTE: The commentary class was collectively shocked when new polling showed over 90% of Americans across the political spectrum share core principles. More specifically, the vast majority firmly believe in the importance of fundamental freedoms such as the right to vote, equal protection under the law, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.
Students of history – or even of current events in most of the world – know that tribalism is the norm and broad support for the freedoms we have in the United States can hardly be presumed. That Americans agree on such fundamentals in the face of the divisive forces of social-media echo chambers, cable news hyperbole, vitriolic electioneering, and the politicization of culture and commerce is the result of the quietly unifying victory of an otherwise highly politicized force: education.
This sounds counterintuitive. When people consider education in America today, they’re likely to think of controversial book bans, vicious debates over transgender policy, or the long-running war between advocates for public schools and those who support school choice. If anything, education exacerbates our divisions instead of overcoming them, popular opinion argues.
Yet the focus on controversies can cause us to miss the unifying forest for the contentious trees.
We should be thankful that, against the odds, Americans continue to find common ground. But we shouldn’t be surprised. That common ground has always existed, hidden in our history and living in our books.
11- Next to prayer, humor and laughter are the best weapons against the insanity of the left. So, keep your sense of humor. The left doesn’t have one. And thay hate yours.
How To Subvert Subversion with Laughter
Why laughter is the most powerful form of protest and the many reasons why we laugh at the demoralized naked emperor commissars
QUOTE: A day without laughter is a day wasted. Laughter is the best medicine and the most effective antidote to woke tyranny. That is why fascists around the world are trying to censor free speech. We have seized the memes of production, so the commissars want to ban them.
When reason fails, ridicule prevails. Mockery subverts subversion by turning trendy into cringey. Cool into lame. Stunning and brave into fake and gay. Laughter will always be a universal human desire. Everyone wants to laugh. They want to have fun laughing together with others. And they don’t want to be laughed at.
The left projects that conservatives are full of hate, but they are the ones fomenting it. I have only encountered personal animus from disagreeing with a leftist, but not conservative or moderate. We don’t hate the libs. However, we do have reams of evidence that they are misguided and pushing policies that make all of our lives worse. The far left is too demoralized to reason with (<10% of the population). They no longer respond to facts, data, and logic because they are operating under a new religion with different morals and narratives. For everyone else (>90% of the population), laughter works. Subversive writing, memes, and movies are mightier than the sword.
Murder is illegal, but sarcasm isn’t - for now. Imagine how powerful a protest would sound if everyone marching was laughing at those who seek to crush them. Commissars want to purge us, but we subvert subversion by mocking them. The only way they might rethink their positions is if they get self-conscious that everyone is secretly laughing at them. Giggle, guffaw, chortle, titter, crow, whoop, and belly laugh away comrades. Worst case scenario, we party in the gulag.
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PRAY for divine intervention. PRAY for those targeted by leftist lawfare.
PRAY that ears, minds and hearts be open to the truth.
SHARE the truth.