Month: February 2024

Authored by Chandra Philip via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Alberta is banning gender-altering surgery for children and won’t allow puberty blockers for those under 16, Premier Danielle Smith said as part of newly announced policies.

Ms. Smith also said parental consent will be required if a child wants to change pronouns at school, and that women-only sporting divisions will be off-limits to transgender athletes.

“For minors aged 17 and under, top and bottom gender reassignment surgeries will not be permitted,” Ms. Smith said in a video posted on X on Jan. 31.

She also said that those 15 years of age and under will not be allowed to take puberty blockers or hormone therapies as part of receiving gender reassignment therapy.

The move makes Alberta the only province to place such restrictions on gender transition medical procedures for children. A number of U.S. states have already implemented a ban for children.

The premier began by saying that it’s important to “support and reach out with kindness and inclusion to those who identify as transgender,” and that “children aged 17 and under who identify as transgender” should feel loved and supported.

Ms. Smith noted that children and teenagers are constantly faced with biological, social, and emotional changes, and that parents and teachers have a duty to preserve for children the “most impactful decisions affecting their lives” for when they are adults.

“It is my view that list of adult choices includes deciding whether or not to alter one’s biological sex,” she said.

“Making permanent and irreversible decisions regarding one’s biological sex while still a youth can severely limit that child’s choices in the future. Prematurely encouraging or enabling children to alter their very biology or natural growth, no matter how well-intentioned and sincere, poses a risk to that child’s future.”

For adults, the premier said her government is working to attract one or more medical professionals specializing in transgender surgery to the province.

“We will also be building a private registry of medical professionals who specialize in this field to better support the lifelong health care needs of transgender Albertans including access to needed hormones and surgery,” she said.

Transgender Sport Policy

As well, the province is planning to regulate competitive sports with regard to transgender athletes.

“Our government also needs to deal with the emerging issue of the unfair disadvantages that young women and girls are experiencing when competing with biologically stronger transgender female athletes in sporting competitions,” Ms. Smith said in the video.

Gender identity can be a hard thing to talk about, especially when you are involved. But this conversation is extremely important and parental involvement is critical. Kids need to know we love and support them.
My message to all Albertans: pic.twitter.com/i0ii57GLa6

— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) January 31, 2024

“I strongly believe that those who were born male but have transitioned to or identify as female are owed the opportunity to meaningfully participate in sport. However, there are obvious biological realities that give transgender female athletes a massive competitive advantage over women and girls.”

Ms. Smith said her government will work with sporting organizations to “ensure that women and girls have the choice to compete in a women’s only division in athletic competitions and are not forced to compete against biologically stronger transgender female athletes.”

The government will also work with sporting organizations to allow transgender athletes to compete by expanding co-ed or other gender-neutral divisions for competitions, she said.

Pronoun Usage at School

Ms. Smith also said that children 15 years of age and under will need parental consent if they express a desire to change pronouns or names at school.

Students aged 16 or 17 don’t need parental consent, but parents must be informed of their child’s decision.

“Nearly all parents, even those who may disagree with the decision of their children, will love and care for their children no matter what choices they make,” Ms. Smith said.

“However, in the handful of rare situations where one or both of the parents reject or become abusive to a child who identifies as transgender, we have child protection laws that will be strictly enforced.”

The province will be piloting a counselling program to help families facing these issues as well.

It will also tighten teaching on gender identity and sexual matters in schools to require parental notification if formal instruction on such topics is planned by a teacher.

“All third-party resource materials or presentations related to gender identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality in our K-12 school system will need to be pre-approved by the Ministry of Education,” the premier said.

The move comes months after New Brunswick and Saskatchewan both put in place legislation requiring parental consent if children change their pronouns at schools.

During the United Conservative Party annual general meeting last November, party members voted to adopt a number of policy resolutions that asked for upholding parental rights and not having sexually explicit content in schools.

Though the market is raging higher to end the week, following excellent earnings reports from the likes of Amazon and Meta, there’s at least one person that isn’t going to be a buyer: Jeff Bezos.

The Amazon founder disclosed on Friday that he plans to sell up to 50 million shares over the next 12 months, according to Bloomberg. The haul will put him close to being the richest person in the world, the report says. 

The stock’s surge following its earnings on Thursday already is catapulting Bezos’ wealth higher. It’s up almost $13 billion on Friday, bringing him within $5.7 billion of the top spot held by Elon Musk, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos has not held the position of the wealthiest individual according to this index since 2021, the report added. 

Bloomberg notes that the distance in net worth between Bezos and Musk is closing as Amazon and Tesla exhibit divergent trajectories. Amazon’s stock has surged amidst a tech rally that propelled US stock indices to record levels, while Tesla has faced challenges from regulatory investigations, price cuts, falling margins and increasing competition. 

The 60 year old Bezos will offload 50 million Amazon shares by January 31, 2025, per a recent regulatory filing. These shares would amount to approximately $8.6 billion at current market prices.

Amazon’s latest 10-K detailed the impending share sales by Bezos and other directors and high-ranking officers.

Should Bezos execute this sale, it would be his initial divestment of Amazon shares since 2021. Notably, he acquired a single share in May, marking his first purchase since 2002, though the reason remains undisclosed.

Authored by Marc Olsen via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A statewide human trafficking crackdown this month netted more than 500 arrests and rescued dozens of people, including juveniles, authorities said Jan. 31 during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles.

The 539 suspects included 40 alleged sex traffickers and 271 alleged “sex buyers,” officials said. Among the rescued were 54 adults and 11 minors, including a 14-year-old girl.

“This week-long operation demonstrates that if you engage in human trafficking activities, harm our children, and destroy lives, there will be absolute consequences, and there is no refuge for predators in the state of California,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said during the press conference in front of City Hall.

The operation was conducted from Jan. 21 to Jan. 27.

It was unclear how many suspects were from Los Angeles, but Mr. Luna described one undercover sting along Holt Avenue in Pomona, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, that nabbed 12 men on suspicion of soliciting prostitutes.

Mr. Luna also told of a San Diego County incident in which a man approached a teenage girl at an El Cajon mall, urged her to become a model, and gave her a business card.

When she called, she learned the work involved “date sex” at hotels. She told her mother, who called authorities, and the man was arrested.

Mr. Luna said the operation—known as Reclaim and Rebuild—is conducted every January. This year, it included 95 federal, state, and local agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department and LA County Sheriff’s Department.

Joining Mr. Luna at the news conference was LA County District Attorney George Gascón.

Mr. Gascón told local television station KABC that prosecuting sex traffickers and sex buyers is difficult because victims sometimes are afraid to testify.

Establishment darling Nikki Haley dun goofed, after she was caught trying to pass off a clearly unsent email as ‘kind words’ she claimed was from a supporter.

As the Post Millennial first reported, Haley’s official account posted two messages – one from a “Mary A,” which reads “I want to encourage Nikki Haley to keep pressing on!!! We need a competent and committed leader to stay the course in the bid for the presidency.”

The second ‘message,’ however, was a screenshot of an unsent email, which states “PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP YOUR FIGHT!!! In a world that’s become crazy with strife, we need a level headed conservative leader to navigate us through the insanity.”

See for yourself (before her idiot social media team deletes it):

Americans want a choice in this election, not a rerun.

I’m overwhelmed by all of the kind words! We’ll keep working hard to make you proud. pic.twitter.com/0J43sSakD0

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 2, 2024

Haley was appropriately mocked…

John S.

Don’t publish this guy’s name online that’s dangerous!

— Not the Bee (@Not_the_Bee) February 2, 2024

Fabricated emails from your staff are always the most touching

— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) February 2, 2024

Hit send next time and change up the font once in a while. pic.twitter.com/FDGbFHrGMh

— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) February 2, 2024

Is this broad really faking her own fan mail? Holy hell…these people.

— Mindy Robinson 🇺🇸 (@iheartmindy) February 2, 2024

Overwhelmed by unsent emails your staff wrote? pic.twitter.com/rbqXCQtPLA

— Ebersmoll 🇺🇸 (@50mmFR) February 2, 2024

Authored by Alice Giordano via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Republican lawmakers and Christian organizations are reacting with outrage to a newly proposed policy by the  Biden administration that would force foster parents to sign a contract agreeing to promote gender ideology in their homes.

“The Safe & Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements” calls for states to ensure that LGBTQ children are placed in environments  “free from hostility or discrimination.”

It also requires potential foster parents to undergo training to develop “knowledge and skills to support the needs of LGBTQ children.”

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) cites what it calls a “recent confidential survey” showing that 32 percent of foster children between the ages of 12 and 21 identify as having a diverse sexual orientation or gender identity.

The NPRM also cites a 2019 study by a group of psychology professors that found that LGBTQ+ youth are almost 2.5 times as likely as heterosexual youth to experience foster care placement.

The Biden administration also cites multiple recent surveys by The Trevor Project showing that foster children identifying as LGBTQ+ are 50 percent less likely to be suicidal, use drugs, or have mental health issues if they are allowed to talk openly about their sexual identity with caregivers.

Organizations like The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention accuse the Biden administration of “cherry picking” evidence to create a “false assumption” that affirming a child’s LGBTQ sexuality is the only way to provide a safe foster home.

“Contrary to such assertions by HHS, a foster family should not have to agree with every political, spiritual, and other belief of a child to be deemed “safe and proper,” the group wrote in a statement.

“A foster parent’s biblical belief regarding sexuality and gender identity does not detract from their ability to warmly welcome a vulnerable child into their home. Inevitably, there will be many beliefs on which the child and family disagree.”

The group predicts that if the mandate is implemented, it will cause a substantial reduction in the already deficient number of foster homes in the U.S.

Sam Whiting, a staff attorney at the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), told The Epoch Times that the mandate potentially puts foster parents who also have biological children in danger of being labeled abusive and could even lead to the state attempting to take custody of their children.

“If you have a foster family that doesn’t believe in teaching gender-affirming ideology to their own kid, the next step could be to refer them to CPS,” said Mr. Whiting.

Earlier this month, six Republican senators sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra expressing what they called “profound concerns” over the proposed policy.

“All children in foster care, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, deserve a safe and proper placement,” the senators wrote.

“However, this proposal goes beyond statutory requirements to force states to adopt extreme gender ideology in their placement decisions.”

Targeting ‘Faith-Based Child Welfare Providers’

The U.S. senators who sent the letter to Mr. Becerra are Roger Marshall (R-Kan.),  Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.),  Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Michael Lee (R-Utah), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.).

They accused the Biden administration of using the LGBTQ+ foster care policy as part of a “campaign to undermine faith-based child welfare providers” under the guise of “advancing equity.”

This will “alienate, if not exclude” many families of faith that were considering fostering—a prediction that has already proven true in some states, the lawmakers warned.

According to a study by the Becket Fund For Religious Liberty, when the city of Boston stopped partnering with faith-based organizations to provide foster care for children, the number who aged out of the system rather than be placed in a home increased by a staggering 50 percent.

The study also showed that Christian homes are three times more likely to foster a child and two times more likely to adopt a foster child than non-Christian homes.

Attorneys general from 19 states also submitted letters of opposition to the policy. They called the proposal unconstitutional and potentially illegal, citing the Supreme Court landmark case Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. In that ruling, the Court determined that the government cannot prohibit a religious organization from excluding same-sex couples from becoming foster parents.

“The Biden Administration is proposing a rule that is unconstitutional, without authority from Congress, and which almost certainly will drive parents of faith out of the foster care system,” Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers wrote.

Opposition has come from child protection agencies including the Texas Department of Family Protective Services and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Both agencies said the rule would be a “further disincentive” to foster care providers.

The Biden administration did not respond to inquiries from The Epoch Times about the criticism.

Some states are already rejecting potential foster parents over their religious beliefs against LGBTQ ideology.

Adoptive Parents Being Rejected

Catholic World Report in August reported on an Oregon widowed mother of five who was prohibited from adopting two siblings from foster care because she did not support teaching alternative sexual orientation to children.

In Massachusetts, a Catholic couple has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Children and Families (DCF)  for rejecting their application after they passed a home study and underwent extensive training.

According to their lawsuit,  Mike and Kitty Burke were rejected because of answers they gave about gender dysphoria and a child’s sexual orientation. Mike, an Iraq War veteran, and Kitty, a special ed assistant, were denied even though they were willing to take hard-to-place children with special needs.

“After months of interviews and training, and after years of heartbreak, we were on the verge of finally becoming parents,” the couple said in a statement.

“We were absolutely devastated to learn that Massachusetts would rather children sleep in the hallways of hospitals than let us welcome children in need into our home.”

A DCF spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

According to a 2022 DCF report, more than 10,000 children in Massachusetts are under the care of the DCF.

John Bolton went on CNN to raise the alarm over President Trump potentially taking office again and what this means for Ukraine policy. Trump’s former national security advisor expressed that he’s “very worried” for the future of Washington support to Ukraine’s military because Trump as the Republican frontrunner “doesn’t have any inclination” to support Kiev.

Already the past months have witnessed a string of setbacks and negative news for the Zelensky government. Most recently there’s an open conflict between the Ukrainian president and his Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhny. Zaluzhny wrote in a new CNN op-ed, “We must contend with a reduction in military support from key allies, grappling with their own political tensions.”

So hawks like Bolton want to see the next president stay muscular on Ukraine support, but the fear is that Trump has essentially given up on the Ukrainians, given the battlefield situation is already clearly going Russia’s way, also given Ukraine’s well-known and widespread corruption. Trump on the campaign trail has vowed to negotiate an end to the war within “24 hours”. Watch Bolton rip his former boss in the below:

John Bolton just went on CNN and said he’s “very worried” for Ukraine and that Trump “doesn’t have any inclination” to support them

The Uniparty is terrified of America First pic.twitter.com/y6jX1CrnkA

— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) February 2, 2024

At one point in the segment Bolton says that President Joe Biden “had it pretty well nailed” when he called former President Donald Trump a “fucking asshole” in leaked private comments.

Below is a transcript of the segment’s introduction…

JOHN BERMAN: New reporting on how President Biden really feels about Donald Trump behind closed doors, Politico writes, quote, “the president has described Trump to longtime friends and close aides as a sick F who delights in other’s misfortunes, according to three people who have heard the president use the profane description. According to one of the people who has spoke with the president, Biden recently said of Trump, what a blinking blank hole the guy is.”.

I’m joined now by former national security adviser under then President Trump, Ambassador John Bolton, who has a new forward for his memoir, The Room Where It Happened. That forward, titled The Room Where It Will Happen Again in the first line, is “Donald Trump may well be reelected president this November, becoming only the second person to win nonconsecutive terms.”

Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us that Politico reporting on the choice words that President Biden uses to describe Donald Trump, how closely does that align with your view?

JOHN BOLTON: Well, I think in personality terms, I think that President Biden has it pretty well nailed.

But I would just say this. It’s not the personality of Donald Trump that’s the problem. It’s his lack of competence to do the job, the personalities unpleasant. But many people say, oh, we can we can deal with the personality. I like something else.

It’s not the personality that’s the problem. He doesn’t understand the job, particularly in the national security space. He didn’t learn much in the first four years. He certainly hasn’t learned anything since then.

* * *

We can only observe that Trump’s main mistake during his first tenure was bringing on fanatical Neocons like Bolton in the first place, who is one of the representatives of the very “swamp” that Trump hoped to drain.

Authored by Larry Elder via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

I recently traveled to give a speech. I stayed in a hotel where a group of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were also staying. I spoke to several, mostly men, but a couple were female. The average person I spoke to had been with the agency for over seven years.

Many people told me, all off the record, that before the Biden administration, they thoroughly enjoyed their job. Many were retired military members and felt that protecting the border allowed them to continue their service to the country. But now, several said they were “counting down the days until retirement.”

They were livid at being converted, as more than one put it, into “Uber drivers” for illegal aliens. One said, “If they average American had any idea who what’s going on, if they knew who we’ve knowingly allowed into the country, if they knew the kinds of things some of these guys are bringing into the country—and I don’t just mean fentanyl and other drugs—they’d burn down the White House.” One showed me a cellphone video he had “secretly” taken depicting “migrants” coming across the border while flashing forefingers at the agents.

One agent said, “We give them bank cards, work permits, and let them stay in hotels or in schools. And right around the corner there are homeless Americans who politicians could not care less about.”

They praised the border state governors for putting the illegal aliens on busses and sending them to Chicago, New York, and, as one said, “My favorite, Martha’s Vineyard.” Democrat politicians, one laughingly said, “talk the talk about sanctuary cities, but don’t walk the walk. And can you believe some Illinois politician said rich people should put them up in their homes? You first, dude!”

“Former President Trump,” I said, “brags that under his administration we had the most secure southern border in history. Is that true?”

One responded, “I don’t know about ever, but I can say in all my years here—and it’s over 10—it was, by far, the most secure. Trump let us do our job.”

What they think about Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is unprintable. As for the prospect of impeaching Mayorkas, they were unimpressed. “Mayorkas isn’t the problem,” several said. “He’s just following the marching orders given by Biden. They’ll just replace him with someone just as bad or worse.”

Why don’t they resign? They said, “If we’re not there, it will get worse. This is not an easy job. It takes training and experience. If you think it’s bad now, what do you think would happen if we walked off the job? I care too much about the country to let that happen.”

What, I asked, about the estimated 8 million or so illegal aliens who entered the country since Joe Biden took over? Assuming Donald Trump comes back into office, will they get deported? “No,” one said, “I don’t believe there is the political will for that to happen. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

As for the terrorists we have allowed to come in, they all thought it is “just a matter of time before we have another 9/11” or “several,” one added. “There’s a lot of stuff going on the administration does not want you to know about. There would be panic in the streets. You don’t want to know what I know. I mean, did you heard about the IEDs (improvised explosive devices) that Mexico seized at the border?”

According to Fox Business, “IEDs were found by Mexican authorities … a Tucson supervisory border patrol agent arrested an armed person on the U.S. side who had a loaded AK-47 rifle, two loaded AK magazines, loose rounds, and a handgun.”

I asked about Biden’s threat to use the Border Patrol to cut the razor wire put up in Eagle Pass, Texas, by the Texas National Guard. Gov. Greg Abbott wants the CBP to stop using a park there as a gathering ground for illegal entrants. Could there be an armed clashed between the Texas National Guard and the Border Patrol?

“Absolutely not,” they all said. “What Biden is doing to this country has got to stop. We’re both on the same team—team America.”

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.