Kindergarten hit, MSNBC disses white parents, new abortion bills in the works, and more….
By Team DML
Today is February 17 and I am Dennis Michael Lynch. Below are my opinions on the stories grabbing headlines this morning. I hope you share this briefing as doing so will make you the smartest person in the room, in my opinion.
1 – Ukraine blames Russia-backed separatists for an artillery strike that damaged a kindergarten
The New York Times reports: KYIV, Ukraine — Artillery shells struck a town on the Ukrainian government-controlled side of the frontline in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, damaging a kindergarten and wounding three adult civilians, the Ukrainian military said, as a flare-up in a long-running conflict added to tensions between Kyiv and Moscow.
The artillery strike also knocked out electricity and sent residents scrambling into basements to seek cover. The strike, which was not unusual given the level of violence along the front that has persisted for years, came amid Russia’s military buildup near the Ukrainian border.
The artillery fire hit the town of Stanytsia Luhanska, in northeastern Ukraine, which lies along the frontline that separates government forces from Russia-backed rebels in the eastern Ukraine war. It is also near the border with Russia, where Western governments say Moscow has amassed a large military force that is poised to further invade Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military statement blamed what it called “occupation” forces for the strike, suggesting that the artillery was fired by Russia-backed separatist troops that have been operating in eastern Ukraine for eight years.
🇺🇦⚡️Footage of the rebel-shelled kindergarten in Ukrainian territory. pic.twitter.com/n45rExOYpm
— Ukraine War Report (@UkrWarReport) February 17, 2022
DML: This is how they start, by blasting a kindergarten?!
2 – MSNBC’s Joy Reid claims ‘mainly conservative White parents’ protesting school boards, parents disagree
Fox News reports: During Wednesday’s “The ReidOut,” MSNBC host Joy Reid argued that White conservatives were mostly behind the growing protests against school boards.
“But the real fights over education are at the K-12 level where we’ve seen conservative, mainly conservative White parents whipped into a frenzy over mask mandates, lessons on race and gender and sexuality,” Reid said.
Protests against school boards came to another head on Wednesday after San Francisco citizens successfully voted to recall three of the city’s school board members for pushing progressive politics over their children’s education.
While some have shown concern that the Democrats have a “super wokeness” problem, Reid continued to push the idea that White conservatives or White Christians were the primary drive behind school board protests.
DML: More racist nonsense!! How does she still have a job?
3 – Arizona Senate Republicans Advance Bill Banning Abortion After 15 Weeks
Breitbart reports: The Republican-controlled Arizona State Senate voted Tuesday in favor of legislation prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The bill passed the Arizona Senate as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a similar law from Mississippi in the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, in which the court’s decision will bear a monumental impact on abortion in the United States.
Senate Bill 1164 (SB1164), sponsored by Republican state Sen. Nancy Barto, passed the Senate 16-13 along party lines with Republicans voting for the legislation, the Arizona Republic reports. The bill heads to the Republican-controlled State House, and if it passes, the legislation will go to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who could sign it into law.
If signed into law, the bill would prohibit “a physician from performing an abortion on an unborn human being whose probable gestational age is determined to be greater than 15 weeks, except in the case of a medical emergency,” the legislation’s purpose states.
A doctor who performs an abortion after 15 weeks would be hit with felony charges and revocation of his or her license to practice medicine, the bill states. The legislation allows for abortions past the 15-week mark in circumstances where the mother’s life is in danger from the pregnancy or if she is at risk of serious permanent injury. The bill also prohibits the prosecution of women who receive an abortion after the 15-week mark.
DML: A similar bill was passed on Wednesday by the Florida House of Representatives. It now heads to the Senate, and DeSantis has confirmed he supports it.
4 – Teachers In One State Anticipate Mass Exodus From Profession If The State Passes ‘Anti-CRT’ Bill
The Daily Caller reports: Indiana teachers are expecting a mass exodus from the education profession if the state passes a bill that will restrict Critical Race Theory-aligned curriculum, the Indy Star reported.
“I cannot imagine that we’re going to have anything other than a huge exodus of teachers if this legislation goes through,” said Jim Lang, a journalism teacher at Floyd Central High School, the Indy Star reported. “And I think the problem is going to be, you’re not going to have enough people to fill the positions, or some of the folks you’re going to bring in aren’t going to be qualified.”
“I will have to quit, or I will have to ignore it,” Lang said, the Indy Star reported. “I will not comply. I can’t. It’s that bad.”
House Bill 1134 would prohibit educators from promoting “certain concepts as part of a course of instruction or in a curriculum” or requiring “an employee of the school corporation, qualified school, or state educational institution to engage in training, orientation, or therapy that presents any form of racial or sex stereotyping or blame on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, or political affiliation.”
DML: Well, great! All you ‘woke’ teachers, just GO! Take this one with you:
5 – Fauci says future requirement for additional COVID-19 boosters being monitored
Fox News reports: White House chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday said that future requirements for additional boosters or shots are being monitored, just days after he suggested that annual COVID-19 booster shots may not be needed for every American.
“The potential future requirement for an additional boost or a fourth shot for mRNA or a third shot for J&J is being very carefully monitored in real time. And recommendations, if needed, will be updated according to the data as it evolves,” Fauci said during a press briefing by the White House COVID-19 response team.
Fauci showed hospitalization data he said indicated booster shots are “safe and well-tolerated.” He cited multiple studies of vaccine effectiveness which showed that, for those with a normal immune response, “a single booster shot continues to provide high levels of protection against severe disease caused by omicron,” he added.
Fauci said that it is time for the United States to start “inching back” toward normality.
DML: Fauci, go home. I’m not buying what you’re selling.
