Louisiana House Passes Bill to Ban Private Funding of Election Administration

The Republican-controlled Louisiana House of Representatives voted 69 to 35 on Tuesday to ban the private funding of election administration in the state. The bill now goes to the Louisiana State Senate for consideration.

Several states, including Arizona, Georgia, and Idaho have recently enacted laws to ban the private funding of election administration. The Florida State Legislature passed a bill banning the private funding of election administration last week, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is expected to sign that bill into law this week.

The language of House Bill 20, the bill passed on Tuesday by the Louisiana House, most closely resembles the language of the recently enacted Arizona law, which Phill Kline, executive director of the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society, a public interest law firm, says is by far the strongest of the laws enacted so far in 2021 to ban the private funding of election administration:

No state or local official, including but not limited to a registrar of voters or a clerk of court, or agency responsible for conducting elections shall solicit, accept, use, or dispose of any donation in the form of money, grants, property, or personal services from individuals or profit or nonprofit corporations, for the purpose of paying costs related to conducting elections.

“This appears to be a complete prohibition for all government entities. If so, it is the most broad and encompassing legislation yet passed, indicating that the Louisiana legislature understands the danger of private interests managing US elections,” Kline told Breitbart News on Wednesday.

As Breitbart News reported in December:

A report released by the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society at a press conference on Wednesday alleged Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife made $419.5 million in contributions to non-profit organizations during the 2020 election cycle–$350 million to the “Safe Elections” Project of the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) and another $69.5 million to the Center for Election Innovation and Research–that, “improperly influence[d] the 2020 presidential election on behalf of one particular candidate and party.”

“The 2020 presidential election witnessed an unprecedented and coordinated public-private partnership to improperly influence the 2020 presidential election on behalf of one particular candidate and party. Funded by hundreds of millions of dollars from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other high-tech interests, activist organizations created a two-tiered election system that treated voters differently depending on whether they lived in Democrat or Republican strongholds,” Amistad Project Director Phill Kline wrote in the report’s executive summary.

New Orleans City Business reported in October, “The nonprofit handing out the money across the nation, the Center for Tech and Civic Life, said 26 election officials across Louisiana applied for grants, with a total potential amount of about $7.8 million. Now, all those applications have been withdrawn after [Louisiana Attorney General] Landry’s intervention.”

Republicans have a 27 to 12 majority in the Louisiana State Senate.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/05/05/louisiana-house-passes-bill-ban-private-funding-election-administration/

John Kennedy Compares Big Tech to ‘Bolsheviks’ — ‘We Need to Regulate Them’

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) on Wednesday reacted to the Facebook Advisory Board’s decision to uphold former President Donald Trump’s ban from their platform.

Kennedy likened big tech CEOs to “Bolsheviks.” He then pushed to regulate big tech companies, much like telephone and other utility companies.

“Those not wishing, Bill, to reside in La La Land, I think will agree with the facts as I’m about to articulate them,” Kennedy began. “Number one, most of the young people — and some of the old people — who are running these social media platforms are practically Bolsheviks. I mean, they’re wokeristas. Now, that’s OK. This is America. You can believe what you want. But no one believes that these social media platforms will regulate, or censor, let’s say Senator Bernie Sanders like they would former President Donald Trump or Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. And I think the facts bear that out.”

“Number two, everybody says well, they are private companies, and they can do what they want. Yes, they’re private companies. … We need to regulate them just like we regulate telephone companies and internet and … utility companies. And those are the facts,” he added. “I am not saying that Facebook’s politics are right or wrong. I’m saying they shouldn’t have politics. And the only way to get this straight is to either properly regulate them or break them up. But — I’m starting to repeat myself, Bill — but the fact is everybody knows their politics are to the left and that they act on it. And that has nothing to do with Trump or Senator Sanders. That’s just wrong.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2021/05/05/john-kennedy-compares-big-tech-to-bolsheviks-we-need-to-regulate-them/

Schiff: Trump Is ‘Pathologically’ Continuing to ‘Endanger Our Democracy’

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that Facebook upheld its ban on former President Donald Trump because he was “pathologically” continuing to “endanger our democracy.”

Mitchell said, “I want to ask you about the decision by Facebook this morning. The oversight board acknowledging that Donald Trump created an environment it called a serious risk of violence on January 6 with his posts. They opposed an indefinite suspension of his accounts. The former president issued a statement in response saying that free speech was taken away from the president of the United States because of what he called the radical left lunatics are afraid of the truth. Is Facebook violating Donald Trump’s constitutional right to free speech?”

Schiff said, “No. The First Amendment protects Donald Trump and every American from the government regulating speech. It doesn’t say that private companies need to use their platforms to air patent falsehoods that endanger the country that incite insurrection. So no, I think Facebook is trying to have a consistent policy. At least its oversight board is trying to make sure that it is consistent in how it treats people.”

He added, “The President here is continuing to go out and push the big lie about the election, continuing, I think, to endanger our democracy by doing that. So he continues to make the case that he would violate the policies if they readmitted him. And I think frankly, pathologically, he is incapable of changing. So this is a temporary ban. It will likely be, if we are fortunate, a permanent ban because the president will not stop the lies about the last election or lies about the next one. He will incite people if that’s what’s necessary to suit his narrow personal interests. And that should violate any good corporate citizen’s policies.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2021/05/05/schiff-trump-is-pathologically-continuing-to-endanger-our-democracy/

Frank Gaffney: CIA Director William Burns Must Resign for Lying to Congress About Chinese Influence Operations

Frank Gaffney, executive chairman of the Center for Security Policy and host of Secure Freedom Radio, told Breitbart News on Wednesday that CIA Director William Burns must resign for lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee about ending China’s influence operations on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank based in Washington, DC.

Gaffney reflected on Burns’ former tenure as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow, author of Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media’s Hidden Deals and Secret Corruption.

“The guy who now runs the Central Intelligence Agency is a long-time foreign service officer by the name of Bill Burns,” Gaffney remarked. “Bill Burns, until he took this job, ran the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Bill Burns was a guy who enabled Chinese influence operations at the Carnegie Endowment and is now, I believe, hopelessly ill-suited to be the director of our Central Intelligence Agency.”

Gaffney noted the CIA’s pushing of left-wing “identity” politics in its recent advertisements under Burns’ directorship.

“It’s not just the identity woke nonsense,” he recalled. “It’s that [Burns] seems not to have a clue about the true nature of what we’re up against [with China], but here’s the real kicker — this is the news item for your audience — Bill Burns lied to Senator Marco Rubio and the Senate Intelligence Committee when he was up for his confirmation hearing about the fact that he claimed he had shut down these influence operations which he professed to have been concerned about at the Carnegie Endowment.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/05/05/frank-gaffney-cia-director-william-burns-must-resign-for-lying-to-congress-about-chinese-influence-operations/

HSI seeks help identifying potential victims of ex-preschool teacher convicted of child exploitation

SAN DIEGO — Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are seeking the public’s assistance to identify potential victims of a former preschool teacher convicted of child exploitation.

Paul Torres Jimenez De La Cuesta, 29, of Imperial Beach, California, pleaded guilty April 5 to distribution of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

In June 2020, HSI Oceanside agents discovered Torres was trading child sex abuse materials (CSAM) via online chat groups. On June 11, 2020, special agents arrested Torres at his place of employment in Poway, California, after a federally executed search warrant of his electronic devices revealed the presence of CSAM.

At the time of his arrest, Torres was employed as a preschool teacher at the My Room to Grow Preschool in Poway. An HSI investigation revealed that Torres had been previously employed either full-time or as a substitute teacher at the following San Diego schools:

St. David’s Episcopal Church & Preschool, 5050 Milton Street

Seaside Preschool’s Beachside Campus, 1201 Turquoise Street

Little Sprouts Preschool – Mission Valley Campus, 403 Camino del Rio South

NHA University of Early Learning Bethel Campus – Day Care Center, 3085 K Street (Neighborhood House Association)

NHA Johnson Early Learning Academy – Day Care Center, 5760 Luber Street (Neighborhood House Association)

NHA Karen D Love Head Start – Day Care Center, 2060 Drescher Street - 6749 TAIT (Neighborhood House Association)

NHA Stem Institute for Early Learning – Day Care Center, 808 W Cedar Street (Neighborhood House Association)

YMCA of San Diego County, 3708 Ruffin Road

San Diego Cooperative Preschool, 4190 Front Street

Torres was also employed at these schools:

Soroptimist International of the Americas - Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Concordia Church & School - 1695 Discovery Falls Drive, Chula Vista, California

My Room to Grow Preschool and Kindergarten, 13613 Cynthia Lane, Poway, California

Torres is scheduled for sentencing on June 28.

Anyone who may have had previous contact with Torres or thinks they may have information that may be relevant to the child exploitation investigation, is asked to call HSI San Diego at (760) 901-1004.

HSI also encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE, or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the United States and Canada, callers should dial (802) 872-6199. Hearing impaired users may call TTY (802) 872-6196.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 25,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children.

HSI takes a victim-centered approach to child exploitation investigations by working to identify, rescue and stabilize victims. HSI works in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), ICAC partners, and other federal, state, and local agencies to help solve cases and rescue sexually exploited children. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to NCMEC’s toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST. HSI is a founding member of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of DHS and a vital U.S. asset in combatting transnational crime and threats. One of HSI’s top priorities is to protect the public from crimes of victimization, and HSI’s child exploitation investigations program is a central component of this mission set. HSI is recognized as a global leader in this investigative discipline, and is committed to utilizing its vast authorities, international footprint and strong government and non-government partnerships to identify and rescue child victims, identify and apprehend offenders, prevent transnational child sexual abuse, and help make the internet a safer place for children.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-seeks-help-identifying-potential-victims-ex-preschool-teacher-convicted-child

IS THIS COVER FOR SOMETHING ELSE?

US Space Command Closely Tracking Large Chinese Rocket's Out-Of-Control Fall To Earth

The Pentagon and US Space Command are said to be tracking a large Chinese rocket which is set to reenter Earth's atmosphere at some point this coming weekend, likely "around May 8th" according to the latest DoD statement. Crucially, the concern is that the falling rocket's debris could land on inhabited places and pose a danger to people below, given that it is among the largest ever launces to make an uncontrolled and high speed re-entry into earth's atmosphere.

It's also the Chinese Long March 5B rocket's size - at 30 meters in length and weighing 22 tons - that poses the likelihood that an immense amount of debris could fall down to Earth's surface as opposed to be being burned up upon re-entry, as is typical with smaller rockets.

US Defense Department spokesman Mike Howard issued to following details in a Tuesday statement:

The rocket's "exact entry point into the Earth's atmosphere" can't be pinpointed until within hours of reentry, Howard said, but the 18th Space Control Squadron will provide daily updates on the rocket's location through the Space Track website. The rocket was used by the Chinese to launch part of their space station last week. While most space debris objects burn up in the atmosphere, the rocket's size — 22 tons — has prompted concern that large parts could reenter and cause damage if they hit inhabited areas.

This is something which, though very rare, has happened in the recent past. In May of 2020 a Chinese Long March 5B made a similarly uncontrolled re-entry which resulted in debris raining down on inhabited areas of the Ivory Coast.

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/us-space-command-closely-tracking-large-chinese-rockets-out-control-fall-earth