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New Jersey Lawmaker Introduces Legislation to Protect Election Integrity

A New Jersey lawmaker has introduced a bill that will require the State to provide the capability to vote in person to all voters in all elections. This bill is one in a set of bills introduced by Republican Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger to protect election integrity in New Jersey.

In 2020 Scharfenberger also introduced a bill requiring voters to present proof of identity when voting and a bill to purge ineligible voters from voter rolls. Scharfenberger plans to introduce in a few days a new bill requiring the New Jersey government to establish a hotline for reporting election fraud.

vote georgia
Voters go to the polls at Sara Smith Elementary polling station, in the Buckhead district, in Atlanta during the Georgia Senate runoff elections, on Jan. 5, 2021. (Virginie Kippelen/AFP via Getty Images)

Voting in Person

The bill requiring that all elections in New Jersey provide voters with the capability to vote in person at polling places was introduced by Scharfenberger in February. The measure also prohibits the governor from restricting the right to vote in person without the New Jersey legislature’s approval while preserving voter’s right to choose to vote by mail.

“The Legislature has been wrongfully cut-out from having any real say in these decisions—that cannot continue any longer,” Scharfenberger said in a statement, referring to Democrat Governor Phil Murphy’s Executive Order taking away the ability to vote in person in the 2020 election on the grounds of limiting the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

“These are not some arbitrary choices with little impact, we are dealing with constitutional rights,” Scharfenberger said in the statement.

“My office was inundated with calls and emails and texts from people who were very upset that they could not go to the polls … they [felt] that they were disenfranchised,” Scharfenberger told The Epoch Time in an interview on March 5. He said that among constituents who called him were people of all political persuasions.

Many citizens wanted to go to vote in person because they felt it was their right, Scharfenberger added. “That’s the way they’ve always voted and they feel most comfortable and I think that’s only fair.”

“The arguments that they made were very compelling, … they would go into a Home Depot or Lowe’s, and there would be massive crowds, yet they were prohibited from going to a polling station where they would go one at a time into a booth,” Scharfenberger said.

COVID-19 safety precautions such as wearing masks, using disinfectants, and spacing people out could have been easily applied at polling stations, Scharfenberger said, similar to how they were applied in stores or on public transportation.

Initially in New Jersey, anybody could request a vote by mail-in ballot and that system worked well, Scharfenberger said, but a year or two before the pandemic, the New Jersey State administration began to send vote-by-mail ballots to all who had requested it anytime in the past. That upset and confused people who usually vote in person but voted by mail occasionally due to being away or other reasons, Scharfenberger said.

In the November 2020 election, when mail ballots were sent to all voters, there were many erroneous ballots sent, Scharfenberger said. He added that he received calls from people who received ballots for their relatives who had passed away long ago or moved out of the state, or from married women who had changed their name and received two ballots—one under their maiden name and one of their married name.

Prohibiting in-person voting is denying people the right to be able to physically go to a poll, Scharfenberger said. But if erroneous ballots “ended up in the wrong hands, they could be open to fraud, “ he added.

Virginia voters head to the polls
Virginia voters head to the polls at Nottingham Elementary School in Arlington, Va. on Nov. 5, 2019. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Voter ID at Polling Places

Another bill introduced by Scharfenberger together with Republican Assemblyman Kevin Rooney requires registered voters to present identification when voting at a polling place. The bill lists 12 types of acceptable IDs such as a New Jersey driver’s license, U.S. passport, employment ID, birth certificate, or student ID.

The measure, introduced in June 2020, does not exclude voters who do not possess any of the 12 identification types from voting. They can still provide two pieces of “supplemental identification” like a proof of residence, a utility bill, a mortgage, or rental statement.

If they are unable to provide even any supplemental identification they may be challenged, but the legislation still gives challenged voters an opportunity to establish their right to vote before their district’s board of elections.

Scharfenberger said his constituents told him that when they went to vote nobody asked them for any ID and that they were appalled by it. Identification is needed to rent a car, to pick up tickets to a minor league baseball game, and to apply for food stamps so there is no reason not to extend the same sort of protection to voters, Scharfenberger said.

Voters should be able to show some form of ID to prove who they are, Scharfenberger said. “The public would want this and understands why it’s important. It’s just another layer of safeguarding the honesty and integrity of the elections.”

Cleansing the Voter Rolls

Miami-Dade County Elections Department
Lucas Sae, 22, (L) turns in his voter registration form to temporary worker Loren Quiroz (R) as his father Ramiro Saez looks on, at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department in Doral, Fla., on Oct. 6, 2020. (Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo)

Scharfenberger in December also introduced a bill to cleanse the voter rolls of ineligible voters. The bill requires state authorities to establish in New Jersey “a voter list maintenance and crosscheck program” in order to keep voter lists accurate and up-to-date.

Under the program, a new statewide secure voter registration system would be established and maintained, according to the bill. The new system should provide the capability to verify information about newly registered voters and remove duplicates, non-resident, deceased, or ineligible voters from the voter rolls.

It is “very haphazard” when people deceased for years, sometimes decades, still remain on the voter list, Scharfenberger said. Another “huge problem” is people being registered in multiple states, he said. Scharfenberger does not blame people for it. If someone’s relative passes away or someone moves for their job to another state, those people have a lot on their minds and are too occupied to notify authorities to update their voter record, he said.

Therefore Scharfenberger proposed the use of computer software called Crosscheck, which scans all the voter rolls, and identifies ineligible voters whose names should be removed, using social security numbers or other information. The system findings can be verified by reaching out to people picked up by the system, Scharfenberger said.

Such a system would resolve issues where people have two names because they got married or divorced, he added. “At least you know that the rolls would be accurate and you can feel confident that whoever is on those voter rolls are legitimate voters,” he added.

Voter Fraud Hotline

Scharfenberger plans to introduce a new bill soon that will require the New Jersey government to establish a hotline for reporting voter fraud. He said it’s important that people who got a hold of a deceased person’s ballot or are aware of other irregularities have an avenue to report on these events. “It’s just another tool to be able to keep fraud to a minimum,” he said.

Epoch Times Photo
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie arrives to deliver the State of the State Address in the Assembly Chambers at the Statehouse in Trenton, New Jersey, on Jan. 14, 2014. (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

The bills introduced by Scharfenberger have been co-sponsored by several Republican lawmakers, but he plans to get Democratic lawmakers to co-sponsor them: “I’m hoping to get a bipartisan push,” he said.

Several Democrats were receptive to ideas presented in these election integrity-related bills, Scharfenberger said. “I’m going to appeal to their sense of fair play, that we really all benefit—both parties—from honest, accurate elections.”

“This is the most basic component of choosing a leadership so the other issues can be debated and addressed. … This is the most basic, basic right—we have to be able to choose our leaders and who we want to represent us. And I think every patriotic American citizen could live with the results of any election as long as they’re confident that it was fair enough,” Scharfenberger said.

“I think these bills will legitimize elections from now on.”

Stanford Doctor Calls Lockdowns the ‘Biggest Public Health Mistake We’ve Ever Made’

Newsweek reports:

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor at Stanford University Medical School, recently said that COVID-19 lockdowns are the “biggest public health mistake we’ve ever made…The harm to people is catastrophic.”

Several U.S. states have started to ease their COVID-19 restrictions over the past few weeks.

Bhattacharya, who made the comments during an interview with the Daily Clout, co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, a petition that calls for the end of COVID-19 lockdowns, claiming that they are “producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health.”

As of Monday, the Great Barrington Declaration has received signatures from over 13,000 medical and public health scientists, more than 41,000 medical practitioners and at least 754,399 “concerned citizens.”

During the interview last month, Bhattacharya said that the declaration comes from “two basic facts.”

“One is that people who are older have a much higher risk from dying from COVID than people who are younger…and that’s a really important fact because we know who his most vulnerable, it’s people that are older. So the first plank of the Great Barrington Declaration: let’s protect the vulnerable,” Bhattacharya said. “The other idea is that the lockdowns themselves impose great harm on people. Lockdowns are not a natural normal way to live.”

Coronavirus in U.S.
Demonstrators rally outside the Pennsylvania Capitol Building regarding the continued closure of businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic on May 15, 2020 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. MARK MAKELA/GETTY

He continued, “it’s also not very equal. People who are poor face much more hardship from the lockdowns than people who are rich.”

In an email sent to Newsweek, Bhattacharya wrote:

I stand behind my comment that the lockdowns are the single worst public health mistake in the last 100 years. We will be counting the catastrophic health and psychological harms, imposed on nearly every poor person on the face of the earth, for a generation.

At the same time, they have not served to control the epidemic in the places where they have been most vigorously imposed. In the US, they have – at best – protected the “non-essential” class from COVID, while exposing the essential working class to the disease. The lockdowns are trickle down epidemiology.

Last week, Republican Governors in Texas and Mississippi announced the end to their statewide mask mandates, as well as allowing a majority of businesses to reopen.

“Starting tomorrow, we are lifting all of our county mask mandates and businesses will be able to operate at full capacity without any state-imposed rules. Our hospitalizations and case numbers have plummeted, and the vaccine is being rapidly distributed. It is time!” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves tweeted last week.

Similarly, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said during a press conference that “It is now time to open Texas 100 percent.”

It’s time to question Biden’s mental health

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

I’m sorry — but these are the left’s rules, and because they set them, I’m going to play them.

President Biden is not in good mental health. Just this week he forgot the name of the Defense Department and its leader Secretary Lloyd Austin.

“And I want to thank the sec — the, the ah former general. I keep calling him general, but my, my — the guy who runs the outfit over there,” Mr. Biden said during a White House event on Monday announcing the nomination of two female generals to lead U.S. military combatant commands. 

It’s not the first time Mr. Biden has forgotten the names of those in his Cabinet. In December, he mispronounced the name of his nominee for the Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. At the time — like pretty much every time we publicly see Mr. Biden — he was reading off a teleprompter. 

The closest thing Mr. Biden has delivered in terms of a press briefing is answering off-hand comments by the media, such as this:

Reporter: “What did you learn about your immigration briefing?”

Mr. Biden: “A lot.”

Mr. Biden has still not been to the Southern border — likely because he’s too weak to travel and has refused to give a full-scale press briefing — likely because he’s too feeble and mentally confused to give reliable, White House-approved answers.

In December, then President-elect Biden bizarrely broke his foot — by tripping on a rug after a shower as he chased after his dog Major. I guess he pulled the dog’s tail like a 4-year-old. The entire story made no sense.

Yet, our press corps seems entirely uninterested in the mental health of Mr. Biden. When he trips up his speech, they make excuses for him. They glamorize his early bedtime and video game playing as a return to normalcy. 

They weren’t so kind to former President Donald Trump.

USA Today declared: “Trump is mentally unfit to be president,” writing “Since Donald Trump’s election, mental health professionals have come forth in historically unprecedented ways to warn against entrusting the U.S. presidency to someone exhibiting dangerous mental impairments.”

The New York Times wrote countless stories and columns questioning the mental health of the former president, conceding in a 2017 article titled: “Who decides whether Trump is unfit to govern?” and that “the mental health of Donald Trump has been under scrutiny since he began running for president.”

There was incessant speculation about whether the 25th Amendment should be invoked to remove Mr. Trump based on his alleged mental fitness. The House of Representatives even introduced a bill to empower Congress to establish a commission of at least eight doctors including four psychiatrists to evaluate whether Mr. Trump was fit to govern.

If Mr. Trump slipped up — let’s say by using two hands to drink a glass of water or had trouble walking down a slippery ramp at West Point — the press was there in a millisecond to cast doubt on his physical acuity.

“Even if it’s baseless and unfair, few things stick to a modern president like images of physical frailty,” Politico wrote of the two instances, noting “just how damaging such a picture of weakness can be, and that it often comes with a “political cost.”

OK. So those are the standards. The press set them in the previous administration. So where are there critiques of Mr. Biden? I dare you to find one by the mainstream media. 

The press is so in bed with the Biden administration that they willfully ignored Mr. Biden’s cognitive decline on the campaign trail (not knowing which state he was in, referring to his campaign as the Harris-Biden ticket, saying that 150 million Americans lost their lives to gun violence and another 120 million died of COVID-19) and instead chose to write stories about how the Trump campaign’s targeting of Mr. Biden in this area would backfire on them.

Now they’re working overtime to cover for his misstatements (“typical Biden gaffes”) and fragility (from Snopes on his Pentagon flub: “It’s unclear whether Biden literally ‘forgot’ his defense secretary’s name at that moment, or whether, for example, he got stuck doing an extended ‘folksy’ ad-lib after initially tripping over his words).”

Give me a break. 

It’s time to seriously question Mr. Biden’s fitness for the job. His lack of availability to the press, his verbal stumbles when giving teleprompter remarks, his obvious confusion when visiting offsite locations — all should set off alarm bells of cognitive decline.

It may not be nice, but it’s necessary. The American people deserve to know who is really running their government.

California proposes curriculum with chanting name of Aztec god who accepts human sacrifice; ‘Displacing’ Christianity

‘Tezkatlipoka, Tezkatlipoka… smoking mirror, self-reflection …’

The California Department of Education has proposed an ethnic studies “model curriculum” that includes, among other things, chanting the names of Aztec gods in an attempt to build unity among schoolchildren.

Included in the draft curriculum is a list of “lesson resources” with a chant based on “In Lak Ech,” which it describes as “love, unity, mutual respect,” and “Panche Be,” which it describes as “seeking the roots of truth.” 

The chant starts with a declaration that “you are my other me” and “if I do harm to you, I do harm to myself.” Before chanting the name of the Aztec god Tezkatlipoka, the text reads: “Seeking the roots of the truth, seeking the truth of the roots, elders and us youth, (youth), critical thinking through.”

It adds: “Tezkatlipoka, Tezkatlipoka, x2 smoking mirror, self-reflection Tezkatlipoka.”

Tezkatlipoka is the name of an Aztec god that was honored with human sacrifice. According to the World History Encyclopedia, an impersonator of Tezkatlipoka would be sacrificed with his heart removed to honor the deity.

In Aztec mythology, Tezkatlipoka is the brother of Quetzalcoatl, Huizilopochtli and Xipe Totec — all of whom appear to be invoked in the proposed chant.

A portion read, “pulsating creation huitzilopochtli cause like sunlight, the light inside of us, in will to action’s what brings… Xipe Totek, Xipe Totek, x2 transformation, liberation, education, emancipation. imagination revitalization, liberation, transformation, decolonization, liberation, education, emancipation, changin’ our situation in this human transformation.”

A linked video showed what appeared to be students engaging in a unity chant with some of the language described.

Another chant used the term “Hunab Ku,” or “One-God,” which Encyclopedia Brittanica identified as a Mayan deity. 

That portion of the chant read: “we’re here to transform the world we’re spiraling, rotating & revolving in, giving thanks daily, tlazokamati, giving thanks daily, tlazokamati, healing & transforming as we’re evolving in this universe, universe, of Hunab Ku, Hunab Ku, x2 Nahui OlIin Lak Ech – Panche Beh, Ethnic Studies For All, Represent!!”

According to CDE’s website, the school board is supposed to review a draft of the curriculum on March 17-18. CDE did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

Reported by Discovery Institute researcher Chris Rufo, the curriculum was just one of many diversity programs to gain attention in recent months. Much of its language and content bears resemblance to other programs that have been associated with critical race theory — a controversial way of analyzing identity that has been the subject of intense debate.

The California curriculum’s introduction argued that the program would help marginalized groups.

“By affirming the identities and contributions of marginalized groups in our society, ethnic studies helps students see themselves and each other as part of the narrative of the United States,” it read. “Importantly, this helps students see themselves as active agents in the interethnic bridge-building process we call American life.”

The guiding principles included goals including, “celebrate and honor Native People/s of the land and communities of Black Indigenous People of Color.” Another guiding principle read: “Center and place high value on the pre-colonial, ancestral knowledge, narratives, and communal experiences of Native people/s and people of color and groups that are typically marginalized in society.”

The field of ethnic studies, it claimed, “critically grapples with the various power structures and forms of oppression that continue to have social, emotional, cultural, economic, and political impacts.”

The above chants were part of a list of instructional resources for educators to use in order to facilitate discussions about “race, racism, bigotry, and the experiences of diverse Americans.”

The “chants, affirmations, and energizers,” the curriculum read, “can be used as energizers to bring the class together, build unity around ethnic studies principles and values, and to reinvigorate the class following a lesson that may be emotionally taxing or even when student engagement may appear to be low.”

While some have praised these types of programs as a way to enhance racial understanding, others have been more critical.

Williamson Evers, an Independent Institute senior fellow and former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, told Fox News that California’s curriculum furthered a “neo-racist ideology.”

“They’re denying that the principles of America’s founding — all men are created equal, they’re endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights and so forth — that these principles can, through time, bring about human rights for all,” he said Wednesday.

The National Pulse reports:

California’s Department of Education is set to vote on a new ethnic studies curriculum that seeks to “displace White, Christian culture” and encourages chants to Aztec deities.

The proposed changes would affect a curriculum used by the state’s entire primary and secondary education system, which serves 6 million students.

“Next week, the California Department of Education will vote on a new statewide ethnic studies curriculum that advocates for the “decolonization” of American society and elevates Aztec religious symbolism—all in the service of a left-wing political ideology,” City Journal summarizes.

The model curriculum instructs teachers to “challenge racist, bigoted, discriminatory, imperialist/colonial beliefs” and critique “white supremacy, racism and other forms of power and oppression” in the classroom.

Ideally, teachers will inspire “social movements that struggle for social justice” and “build new possibilities for a post-racist, post-systemic racism society” among students.

“The ultimate goal is to “decolonize” American society and establish a new regime of “countergenocide” and “counterhegemony,” which will displace white Christian culture and lead to the “regeneration of indigenous epistemic and cultural futurity,” City Journal’s Christopher Rufo notes.

Specifically, the curriculum advises teachers to lead students in various indigenous songs, chants, and affirmations, including the “In Lak Ech Affirmation,” which appeals directly to the Aztec gods.

“Students first clap and chant to the god Tezkatlipoka—whom the Aztecs traditionally worshipped with human sacrifice and cannibalism—asking him for the power to be “warriors” for “social justice.” Next, the students chant to the gods Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli, and Xipe Totek, seeking “healing epistemologies” and “a revolutionary spirit.” Huitzilopochtli, in particular, is the Aztec deity of war and inspired hundreds of thousands of human sacrifices during Aztec rule. Finally, the chant comes to a climax with a request for “liberation, transformation, [and] decolonization,” after which students shout “Panche beh! Panche beh!” in pursuit of ultimate “critical consciousness,” the curriculum stipulates.

Mike Lindell’s new social media platform, ‘Vocl’, a YouTube/Twitter cross

Business Insider reports:

  • MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said he planned to launch a social-media site called Vocl within weeks.
  • He said it was going to be a cross between YouTube and Twitter meant for “print, radio, and TV.”
  • The exec declined to say where it was headquartered or who helped him create the site. 

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on Wednesday disclosed new details about a social-media site that he planned to launch in the next three weeks.

In an interview with Insider, Lindell said he would call the site Vocl, and he described it as a cross between Twitter and YouTube.

CNN’s Ratings Collapse, but Only Newsmax Is Mentioned

Last night, CNN’s Brian Stelter contacted us about “Newsmax’s ratings declines for my CNN newsletter.”

Stelter contacted Newsmax at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night and said he would give us just one hour to respond, meaning a 10 p.m. deadline.

Without Newsmax’s response, CNN’s Stelter email newsletter, headlined “Newsmax’s rise and fall,” noted that “Newsmax TV gained a lot of attention last fall when disaffected Fox News fans flocked to the channel en masse. … Newsmax’s Nielsen ratings are way off the post-election highs that I wrote about three and four months ago.”

Stelter chalked up his “Newsmax is falling” story to his theory that “Newsmax is no longer getting a pro-Trump Big Lie ratings boost. Biden is a comparatively tame story.”

As it turns out, Biden is also a very tame story for CNN as well, which has seen its own ratings collapse in recent weeks.

Early Wednesday morning Newsmax sent Stelter the following response: “Only CNN would do a story on Newsmax’s drop in ratings when its own Nielsen total day impressions fell by 45% last week compared to the week after the election, and Brian Stelter’s own ‘Reliable Sources’ show fell by 44% over the same period with, more recently, his show having lost nearly 1 million viewers since January of this year.”

CNN’s Stelter was contacted to comment on his network’s ratings decline, but did not offer comment.

So, what’s the real story for the ratings spin from CNN?

CNN and Stelter have been advocates of “deplatforming” the Newsmax channel, in a clear censorship effort to reduce competition, especially as their own ratings have fallen off a cliff.

Here’s what the current Nielsen ratings really do show:

  • Newsmax remains the #4 cable news channel in the United States.
  • Newsmax remains a top 25 cable network for Total Day.
  • Newsmax growth has accelerated over the past three quarters, up 24% in P2+ impression and up 23% in A35-64 viewers, from fourth quarter 2020 to first quarter 2021.
  • Newsmax has seen double-digit P2+ ratings growth from fourth quarter 2020 to first quarter 2021, led by “Spicer & Co.” (+39%), “Greg Kelly Reports” and “American Agenda” (+35%), “Rob Schmitt Tonight” (+31%), and “Stinchfield” (+24%).

Over the past few months, Newsmax has had a sudden rise, catapulting the independent network as a top cable news player.

This fact has panicked not only CNN but Fox News, which has made dramatic changes in its lineup to counter Newsmax.

Meanwhile, Newsmax continues to take a huge portion of Fox’s audience in the linear cable world as it crushes Fox in the OTT space, streaming as it does to more than 40 million U.S. homes not connected to cable TV.

And, since Election Day, more than 5 million people have downloaded the free Newsmax App on their smartphone.

The bottom line: Newsmax is here to stay. That’s good news for Americans who desperately want fresh, independent voices, but bad news for establishment giants like Fox News and CNN.

For background, here’s CNN’s Nielsen ratings collapse data:

CNN — P2+ Impressions

Week of 11/9 M-F Total Day — 1.654 Million

Week of 3/1 M-F Total Day — 908,000

45% drop in audience

Week of 11/9 M-F Daytime — 1.855 Million

Week of 3/1 M-F Daytime — 1.059 Million

43% drop in audience

Average viewers Jan. ’21 — 2.1 Million

Average viewers Feb. ’21 — 1.1 Million

48% drop in audience

Brian Stelter’s “Reliable Sources” — P2+ Impressions

11/8/2020 show delivered 2.088 Million

3/7/2021 show delivered 1.164 Million

44% drop in audience

First 3 weeks of January — 2.1 Million

Last 2 weeks — 1 million

52% drop in audience

Important: See Newsmax TV now carried in 70 million cable homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Frontier Ch. 115, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, AT&T TV Ch 349, Sling, TVision, and Fubo or Find More Cable Systems – Click Here.

Parler Working on Return to Apple’s App Store

Parler on Thursday said it’s working on returning to Apple’s app store, following a report it was denied reentry last month.

“Parler expects and hopes to keep working with Apple to return to the App Store. We’re optimistic that Apple will continue to differentiate itself from other ‘Big Tech’ companies by supporting its customers’ choice to ‘think different’—to exercise their constitutionally protected freedoms of thought, speech, and association—while using Apple products,” Amy Peikoff, Parler’s chief policy officer, told The Epoch Times via email.

Parler was removed from app stores run by Apple and Google in January following the breach of the U.S. Capitol. The technology giants alleged the social media platform did not have proper moderation practices in place.

Parler was also kicked from Amazon’s web servers. It went offline for weeks before resuming service on Feb. 15 with a new server farm and updated guidelines.

According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, Apple informed Parler late last month that the new guidelines are not sufficient to comply with its app store rules.

“There is no place for hateful, racist, discriminatory content on the App Store,” Apple reportedly wrote in a Feb. 25 letter, which included screenshots of Parler users with swastikas and other white nationalist images in their profile pictures.

Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.

tim cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during a tour of the Flextronics computer manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 20, 2019. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Peikoff said Parler’s mission is to provide a welcoming, nonpartisan platform that lets users exercise freedom of speech, thought, and association, and respects their privacy.

“Over the past two months, we’ve worked towards the goal of returning to Apple’s App Store, in reliance on Tim Cook’s statements that Apple’s problem was not with our mission, but only with the perceived lack of enforcement of our guidelines. Parler has always opposed and worked to remove violent and inciting rhetoric from our platform, because it inhibits productive, civil discourse. Accordingly, and even though we knew that problems with violent and inciting content were not unique to Parler in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6—a fact that independent reviews of court records have now shown—we worked tirelessly to adopt enhanced protocols for identifying and removing this type of content,” she said.

“We have since engaged Apple to show them how we’ve incorporated a combination of algorithmic filters and human review to detect and remove content that threatens or incites violence. We’ve also explained our new feature which empowers individual users with the option to filter out personal attacks based on immutable and irrelevant characteristics such as race, sex, sexual orientation, or religion. It’s just the latest way in which Parler enables users to curate their own feeds as they choose.”

Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in January that Parler’s suspension from Apple’s online store was done because there was “incitement to violence” on the platform. “If they get their moderation together, they would be back on there,” he said in an appearance on Fox News.

Parler has argued that Big Tech companies colluded against it while not taking action against competitors such as Twitter and Facebook, which have similar content on their platforms.

“If you look at the actual numbers,” there was “barely a blip on Parler,” interim CEO Mark Meckler told The Epoch Times last month, adding, “It was Facebook. It was YouTube, it was Twitter. That’s where the bad activity was taking place, for the most part.”

Judge Reinstates 3rd-Degree Murder Charge for Ex-officer in George Floyd Death

MINNEAPOLIS—A judge on Thursday granted prosecutors’ request to add a third-degree murder charge against a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death.

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill reinstated the charge after the former officer, Derek Chauvin, failed to get appellate courts to block it. Cahill had earlier rejected the charge as not warranted by the circumstances of Floyd’s death, but an appellate court ruling in an unrelated case established new grounds.

Chauvin already faced second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.

The dispute over the third-degree murder charge revolved around wording in the law that references an act “eminently dangerous to others.” Cahill’s initial decision to dismiss the charge had noted that Chauvin’s conduct might be construed as not dangerous to anyone but Floyd.

But prosecutors sought to revive the charge after the state’s Court of Appeals recently upheld the third-degree murder conviction of another former Minneapolis police officer in the 2017 killing of an Australian woman. They argued that the ruling established precedent that the charge could be brought even in a case where only a single person is endangered.

Arguments over when precedent from former officer Mohamed Noor’s case took effect went to the state’s Supreme Court, which on Wednesday said it would not consider Chauvin’s appeal of the matter. Cahill said Thursday that he accepts that precedent is now clearly established.

Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor
Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor (R), with attorneys Peter Wold (C) and Thomas Plunkett (L), walks out of the the Hennepin County Government Center on April 25, 2019. (Brian Peterson/Star Tribune/AP)

“I feel bound by that and I feel it would be an abuse of discretion not to grant the motion,” he said.

Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Chauvin pressed his knee against the Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes.

Jury selection resumed Thursday with a sixth person chosen, a man who described himself as outgoing and a soccer fan for whom the prospect of trial was “kind of exciting.” The pool so far includes five men and one woman.

At least three weeks have been set aside to complete a jury of 12 plus two alternates.

Attorneys gave considerable attention to the jury pool’s attitudes toward police in the first two days of questioning, trying to determine whether they’re more inclined to believe testimony from police over evidence from other witnesses to the fatal confrontation.

The first juror picked Wednesday, a man who works in sales management and who grew up in central Minnesota, acknowledged writing on his questionnaire that he had a “very favorable” opinion of the Black Lives Matter movement and a “somewhat unfavorable” impression of the Blue Lives Matter countermovement, yet “somewhat agreed” that police don’t get the respect they deserve. He said he agrees that there are bad police officers.

“Are there good ones? Yes. So I don’t think it’s right to completely blame the entire organization,” he told the court under questioning from prosecutor Steve Schleicher.

He said he would be more inclined to believe an officer over another witness, but that he could set that aside and evaluate each witness on their own merits.

The second juror chosen, a man who works in information technology security, marked “strongly agree” on a question about whether he believes police in his community make him feel safe. His community wasn’t specified—jurors are being drawn from all over Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis and many suburbs.

“In my community, I think when there is suspicious activity the police will stop by, they will ask a question,” he said. “I think that sense of community is all we want right? We want to live in a community where we feel safe, regardless of race, color and gender.”

Schleicher noted that the man also stated in his questionnaire that he strongly disagreed with the concept of “defunding” the police, which has become a political flashpoint locally and across the country in the wake of Floyd’s death.

“While I necessarily might not agree with the police action in some situation, I believe that in order for police to make my community safe they have to have the money,” he replied.

The questionnaire explores potential jurors’ familiarity with the case and their own contacts with police. Their answers have not been made public, and the jurors’ identities are being kept secret.

Chauvin and three other officers were fired. The others face an August trial on aiding and abetting charges. The defense hasn’t said whether Chauvin will testify in his own defense.

Epoch Times Photo
(L-R) Former Minneapolis Police Department officers Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao, in booking photos. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Schleicher used a peremptory challenge Wednesday to remove from the panel a woman who has a nephew who is a sheriff’s deputy in western Minnesota. She said she was dismayed by the violence that followed Floyd’s death.

“I personally didn’t see any usefulness to it,” she said. “I didn’t see anything accomplished by it, except I suppose bring attention to the frustrations of the people involved. But did I see anything useful coming out of the burning of Lake Street and that sort of thing? I did not.”

Republican Congressman Pushes Plan to Take Massive Action to Punish China for COVID ‘Cover-Up’

China needs to be accountable for the damage done because it failed to deal honestly with the world at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to one Republican congressman from Florida.

To that end, Republican Rep. Brian Mast planned to introduce legislation Thursday that would allow the U.S. to withhold payments on debts to China as a form of punishment, according to Fox News.

Mast authored a resolution last year to punish China, but it failed to advance in the Democrat-controlled House, a fate that is likely for this year’s legislation as well.

But Mast is planning to take his stand again as his way of marking the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration that the coronavirus was a pandemic.

Mast noted in his legislation that the cover-up of the origins and severity of the virus has been a continuing hallmark of China’s actions on the disease.

The Chinese Communist Party “actively engaged in a cover-up designed to obfuscate data and hide relevant public health information,” which continues to “limit efforts to identify the original source of COVID-19,” his proposal said.

The congressman said in his bill that the eruption of COVID-19 is “a direct result” of China’s “appalling record of human rights abuses, including its suppression of the freedom of expression, as well as its aggressive domestic and global propaganda campaign.”Do you support this proposal?Yes NoCompleting this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

“The People’s Republic of China should be held accountable for its handling of the COVID-10,” the legislation said.

Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a report last year that said China “could have reduced the number of cases in China by up to 95%, had it fulfilled its obligations under international law and implemented a public health response at an earlier date.”

That should not go unpunished, according to Mast.

“The United States and other countries should permanently withhold payments on debts owed to the People’s Republic of China in amounts equal to the public costs incurred by such countries relating to COVID-19,” his proposal said.

Mast said the U.S. has been forced to bear costs for fighting the disease that have their root in China’s unwillingness to be open about the pandemic.

“China’s total lack of transparency and mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, millions of jobs, and left untold economic destruction in the United States,” the congressman said.

“Congress must put America first and hold China accountable for their cover-up by forcing them to pay back the taxpayer dollars that have been spent as a result,” he said.

Mast’s office told Fox News that China holds more than $1 trillion of the debt owed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Apple Tilts to iPhone Playbook for Car as Automaker Talks Stall

Apple Inc. has a tried-and-true approach to launching new products: The company designs in-house, sources its own components, and works with a contract manufacturer to assemble it for sale.

As the tech giant plots a foray into the car market, it could adopt a similar strategy — working with a lesser-known contract manufacturer — after talks with some brand name automakers stalled.

To build a vehicle, Apple has three primary options: Partner with an existing carmaker; build its own manufacturing facilities; or team up with a contract manufacturer such as Foxconn or Magna International Inc.

The Cupertino, California-based company has reached out to automakers including Hyundai Motor Co., but the discussions have not gone well. In this scenario, Apple would develop an autonomous system for the vehicle, the interior and external design, and on-board technology, while leaving the final production to the carmaker. Such a deal would essentially ask an existing car company to shed its brand and become a contract assembler for a new rival.

A longtime manager at both Apple and Tesla Inc. said this would be like Apple asking bitter smartphone rival Samsung Electronics Co. to manufacture the iPhone. Apple wants to challenge the assumptions of how a car works — how the seats are made, how the body looks, the person said. A traditional automaker would be reluctant to help such a potentially disruptive competitor, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.

Indeed, discussions between Apple and the car industry seem to have fizzled in recent months. Hyundai and Kia Motors Corp. confirmed talks on the development of an electric car, but backtracked soon after. Apple’s self-driving car team met with representatives from Ferrari NV last year. It’s unclear what was discussed, but the talks didn’t advance, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

In February, Nissan Motor Co. said it wasn’t in talks with Apple. Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess said he’s “not scared” of Apple’s entry into the industry. BMW AG’s CFO recently said he sleeps peacefully.

For its computers, phones and tablets, Apple relies on contract manufacturers such as Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, Flex Ltd. and Luxshare. The iPhone maker has avoided building its own factories, an effort that would cost billions of dollars in construction, worker pay and training, along with new liabilities and complex deals with local governments.

Factories are generally low-margin businesses. Apple leaves that to partners, while focusing on product design and development. The company’s profit margins dwarf those of suppliers such as Foxconn and Pegatron.

Margins Compared

Tesla, the most successful electric carmaker to date, has lost billions of dollars running its own factories and only recently began generating regular income. Last year, the company reported a profit of almost $700 million. Apple made more than $60 billion in the same period.

Auto industry “profit margins are lower than Apple’s current model,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a recent note to investors. Some luxury brands, such as Ferrari, are more profitable, but those are “edge cases and potentially difficult to replicate at higher volumes,” the analysts added.

Apple is more likely to go with a contract manufacturer because that’s the business model they’re used to, said Eric Noble, president of consulting firm the CarLab. He thinks a partnership with an existing carmaker would be a power struggle because both companies are used to tightly controlling their supply chains.

This is why Foxconn and Magna are two primary contenders for Apple’s business, according to industry insiders.

Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., has an existing relationship with Apple as the main assembler of iPhones. And the Taiwanese company is already branching out into the auto business. In October, it introduced an electric vehicle chassis and a software platform to help carmakers bring models to market faster. Last month, it unveiled a deal to assemble more than 250,000 EVs a year for the startup Fisker Inc.

An Apple employee involved in manufacturing said Foxconn is used to having Apple engineers tell it what to do and that the company’s factories are already filled with Apple-designed equipment. The person asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters.

Magna has some history with Apple, too. The two were in talks to build Apple’s car when the iPhone maker first set out on this path about five years ago. Magna is also a lot more experienced at making cars. It assembles luxury models for companies including BMW, Daimler AG and Jaguar Land Rover.

The CEO of a well known self-driving car company was surprised to see Apple talking to existing carmakers when an option like Magna exists.

Magna is the most logical choice, said Noble, who has worked with the Canadian auto supplier on projects in the past and calls the company “amazingly good” at what they do.

For its part, Apple appears to be designing its car with production in mind. The company recently posted a job listing seeking a “senior hands on manufacturing engineer” for its special projects group, the team leading its work on a car. The candidate will be responsible for growing a team of engineers focused on manufacturing strategy and the supply chain. The person is also required to have experience working with aluminum, steel and composites, key materials in cars.

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