Category: Politics
Black Democrat governor vetoed slavery reparations bill — but other Dems in his state have now kept it alive
In Maryland, a new commission to study slavery reparations will soon be established after a months-long legislative fight.
On Tuesday, the Maryland General Assembly voted to override Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s veto of a bill that would establish a commission to study slavery reparations.
Fox News reported that the Senate voted 31-14 to override the veto, and the House of Delegates approved the override 93-35. Democrats enjoy a sizable majority in both chambers.
‘It’s immoral and it’s fiscally ruinous to this state and it sends a message to the generations out there now in Maryland that if you’re concerned about fairness, dignity, opportunity in this state — to flee Maryland.’
Moore, a black Democrat, originally vetoed the bill in May, arguing for “action” rather than establishing another study.
In his veto letter to Senate President Bill Ferguson, Moore said, “Now is not the time for another study. Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve.”
Photo by Jonathan Newton/for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Delegate Matthew Morgan (R-St. Mary’s County) warned that the bill was only going to enable “race-bait handouts”:
“This bill betrays the original intention, the unifying event of the civil rights movement. It’s immoral and it’s fiscally ruinous to this state and it sends a message to the generations out there now in Maryland that if you’re concerned about fairness, dignity, opportunity in this state — to flee Maryland,” Morgan said on the House floor Tuesday.
The recently approved bill will establish a commission that will study possible forms of reparations to black Americans for the legacy of slavery and racial discrimination.
The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland celebrated the override of the governor’s veto in a statement posted to Instagram: “This landmark action establishes a rigorous and comprehensive plan for reparations and marks Maryland’s first-ever step toward reparations. At a time of growing attacks on diversity and equity, today’s action reaffirms our shared commitment to truth-telling, accountability, and meaningful progress for Black Marylanders.”
A preliminary report is required by January 1, 2027; a final report is due by November 1, 2027.
The commission will expire in the summer of 2028.
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Troops who refused COVID shot to receive retroactive honor to ‘right the wrongs of the past’: Hegseth
President Trump’s secretary of war is making it a point to set the record straight for those servicemen and -women who adhered to their convictions and refused the Biden COVID shots.
In a memorandum dated December 6, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered Pentagon leadership to identify service members wrongfully discharged because of their refusal to take the jab and give them their due.
Sean Parnell said that nearly 8,700 service members were ‘involuntarily separated’ from the military because of their refusal to take the jab.
Specifically, many service members were given a general discharge rather than a fully honorable discharge.
“It is unconscionable that thousands of former Service members who held true to their personal and religious convictions were not just separated, but separated with General (Under Honorable Conditions), rather than Honorable, discharge characterizations,” Hegseth wrote.
RELATED: Activist judges overruled: Trump judges greenlight Hegseth’s ban on military ‘dudes in dresses’
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that nearly 8,700 service members were “involuntarily separated” from the military because of their refusal to take the jab.
Of those, Parnell continued, “more than 3,000 received less than honorable discharge characterizations.”
“The department is committed to ensuring that everyone who should have received a fully honorable discharge receives one and continues to right wrongs and restore confidence in and honor to our fighting force,” Parnell said.
In his first week back in office, Trump signed an executive order to reinstate service members who left or were removed from duty on account of the “unfair, overbroad, and unnecessary” COVID vaccine mandates. Hegseth then began implementing that directive in February.
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EMAILS EXPOSED! FBI Doubted Probable Cause for Raid on Mar-a-Lago, Pressured By Biden DOJ
The FBI didn’t believe it had probable cause to raid President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in 2022 — but moved forward anyway under pressure from the Biden Justice Department, newly declassified emails reveal.
‘NO EVIDENCE’: ICE Responds to Ilhan Omar’s Claim That Her Son Was Pulled Over — ‘Shameful’
The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is flatly rejecting a viral claim from Rep.
Trump designates Venezuelan regime a terrorist organization and orders oil tankers seized
President Donald Trump announced the escalation of U.S. efforts against the regime in Venezuela after a series of military strikes on alleged narco-terrorist drug boats.
The president said he was designating the regime a foreign terrorist organization and ordered a blockade against oil tankers.
‘I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.’
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” he wrote on social media. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
He went on to accuse the regime of using stolen oil funds to support murder, drug terrorism, kidnapping, and human trafficking.
“For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” he added. “Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
On Wednesday, the president announced that the military had seized an oil tanker outside of Venezuela. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi released a video of the operation and said the tanker had been warned about transporting sanctioned oil from Iran.
“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said to reporters. “Large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized actually.”
Democrats have accused the administration of acting improperly in the actions against Venezuela. Other critics have accused the president trying to distract Americans from the controversy over the release of the Epstein files.
RELATED: Trump crushes ‘obnoxious’ reporter at media briefing: ‘It’s always the same thing with you!’
Earlier in the month, the president said he had given an ultimatum to Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to step down from power or face further escalation. Maduro reportedly offered to resign from political office but demanded that he be allowed to retain control of the military. No deal was reached.
The administration has also placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro’s head.
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Minneapolis police chief cites his Catholic faith when comparing holy family with illegal aliens
The police chief of Minneapolis cited his Catholic faith when advocating on behalf of illegal aliens against the deportation policies of the Trump administration.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara told residents that they should call 911 if they saw anyone “kidnapping” illegal aliens, whether it be federal law enforcement agents or others pretending to be them.
‘The Minneapolis Police Department does not participate in immigration enforcement. We do not care and do not ask people about immigration status.’
He also said that illegal aliens in the U.S. are similar to Joseph, Mary, and Jesus being sought by officials in the biblical account of the birth of Jesus.
“It’s especially personal to me, having been raised a Catholic, to be in a Christian church this morning as we are approaching Christmas,” O’Hara said.
“And I cannot help but think of what is happening in our city today and how that echoes with how outsiders have been treated for thousands of years. How Mary and Joseph themselves were considered outsiders and forced to stay in a barn!” he added.
“That’s what we’re getting ready to commemorate as Christians around the world while all of this fear is happening right here in our town,” O’Hara said.
O’Hara was criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement over a vehicle stop that led to the arrest of two U.S. citizens on Monday. ICE officers were swarmed by protesters who threw snow and other objects, and some suffered cuts and other injuries, according to ICE.
He said that some officers were sent to assist ICE over the attack but that they “disengaged from the scene” after the scene was safe.
O’Hara went on to reassure illegal aliens that they could safely call 911 for help because his police force would not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
“The Minneapolis Police Department is committed to honoring the human dignity of every person in our community,” O’Hara said.
“The Minneapolis Police Department does not participate in immigration enforcement,” he added. “We do not care and do not ask people about immigration status. People in our community need to know that they can feel confident that when they need help, they can call 911, and we will show up for everyone.”
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