Over the last few years, I observed how ignorant and dangerous college students have become. What’s worse is how older generations are playing along and encouraging the demoralization of society. And maybe it’s just me, but I sense this diabolical agenda, hellbent on shackling black folks to a race-based, trauma narrative, that incites outrage among some of the most privileged people in the world.
George Floyd is depicted wearing a crown of thorns at an ASU exhibit.
Yes, I said it. Twenty-first-century, black Americans are privileged, protected, and honored citizens. Those who discern this truth have seized every opportunity to innovate themselves. But those overcome by a victim mentality—the ones who see themselves as hopeless casualties of “systemic oppression”—are wasting away in a mental prison of personal failures and moral decay. The appropriate mascot for the latter could be none other than a black man who chose a life of substance and crime. If this is what it means to identify as a member of the black community, then we are to be pitied above all ethnic groups.
George Floyd was not a saint. He was an eight-time convicted criminal who didn’t think twice about robbing a pregnant woman while holding a gun to her belly. Floyd wasn’t targeted and murdered by Derek Chauvin. Floyd was high on drugs and resisting arrest after attempting to pass counterfeit bills in a corner store. An autopsy—that was strategically withheld from the public in 2020—revealed that he died from acute complications related to substance abuse while under the restraint of a trained police officer. Chauvin’s negligence in regard to seeking medical attention for Floyd’s condition is debatable, but this doesn’t change the facts.
Of course, George Floyd was a human being. He has children, family, and friends. Whether those relationships were loving or dysfunctional, kind or cruel, the world may never truly know. Floyd has been reduced to a token for the Marxist “defund the police” movement. He’s forever enshrined as the cash cow that overflowed the coffers of corrupt Black Lives Matter leaders. And for all the blood money amassed in his name, there’s no record of predominantly black neighborhoods, schools, or businesses receiving a dime. If so, it’s the greatest story yet to be told.
Various displays from the George Floyd exhibit at ASU.
When I consider the venom spewed by loud-mouth activists like Al Sharpton, lowlife politicians like Maxine Waters, and progressive pundits like Joy Reid—all privileged, racist, black people, by the way—I’m appalled at how they use their platforms to shamelessly perpetuate a culture of death among black Americans. Another disgraced public figure who totes the systemic oppression narrative is The View co-host, Sunny Hostin.
During an episode featuring South Carolina Representative Tim Scott, Hostin revealed that she’s convinced all successful black people (herself included) are an exception to the rule. What’s the rule? A life of crime, violence, poverty, discrimination, and dejection. Hmm… Well, the black people I know who wear these labels and wallow in these circumstances typically identify as Democrats. But regardless of political ideology, the black community must face harsh realities:
Black men are not going extinct at the hands of white cops—the 2019 black-on-black homicide rate of 80% to 90% tells me they’re predominantly victims of other black men. When I saw the “Stop Killing Black People” cardboard display at ASU, I immediately thought: “We need to stop killing our own people!”
Systemic racism is not an existential threat to black people—abortion is an existential threat to black people. With 2019 estimations between 35% and 39%, black women have the highest abortion rates in the U.S. In no uncertain terms, I’d say this is the culprit in the case of black genocide.
Single-parent families are the highest among black Americans—one 2022 statistic showed that over 50% of black children were living without a father figure in the home.
Now, I’ve yet to hear sound justification for how white people or white supremacy are to blame for these overwhelming demographics. How is it a white person’s fault if a black man murders another black man, or a black woman dismembers her unborn child? Exactly how is white supremacy the root cause of having unprotected sex with (multiple) people you’re not married to? Am I missing something? Is it because my mind is free that I’m incapable of connecting these dots? I’m a lifetime learner, so feel free to enlighten me.
I wasn’t alone when I visited the George Floyd shrine. I invited a friend, an ASU student, who happens to be a young, Christian, white male (white supremacy incarnate, according to the left). After chatting with him about his family history, I discovered he grew up under dire circumstances that I (a black woman) never experienced. During the tour, the volume and rapidity of our discussions convinced me that we shared the same frustration and sense of urgency about the communist movements overtaking America’s youth. Multiple times my friend expressed regret for wasting so much time and money studying at ASU.
Another display at the George Floyd exhibit at ASU.
For the record, I love my community. Black people are vibrant (a.k.a. loud), talented, beautiful, funny, accomplished, highly intelligent and influential. Unfortunately, black culture, like any other, has a tendency to be toxic and backwards. Of course, I’m not blind to our nation’s sinful past. History is recorded for a reason; Confederate statues should remain in open squares for a reason. Future generations must continue to engage in candid, ethical discussions about such issues as American slavery, racism, and bigotry—all intrinsically traced back to the Democratic Party. Inevitably, some in society will stereotype and profile black people, especially if they’ve only viewed them at their worst in the public sphere.
When I see a black columnist dub Larry Elder the “black face of white supremacy”; when I hear a black, pseudo intellectual say Winsome Sears has a “black mouth moving with white ideas running on the runway of the tongue”; when a black Democrat calls a black Republican an “Uncle Tom” —I’m only more convinced that the greatest threats to the black community come from within, not without. Furthermore, if you’re someone who thinks black lives only matter when criminals encounter white police officers, and don’t live to tell their side of the story, then your mind is pretty far gone. I’ll be praying for you.
I could say more, but I’ll leave my community with these words of encouragement: Your destiny is not tied to what white people will or won’t do for you. Nobody owes you anything. You are not a victim. Your identity is not bound to black culture. It’s unnecessary to put the word “black” in front of “excellence” or “joy.” We are not a monolith. We need to respect the fact that being “black in America” means different things to different people. Regardless of where you came from or what you’ve come through, God has given this generation the liberty to break off cycles of trauma and leave this world better than we found it.
Be set free.
Tiffany is the Founder of Restore Parental Rights in Education, a grassroots advocate for families, educators, and school board members. For nearly two decades, Tiffany’s creative writing pursuits have surpassed most interests as she continues to contribute to her blogBigviewsmallwindow.com. She encourages everyday citizens to take an active role in defending and preserving American values for future generations.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly called climate change an “existential threat,” worse than nuclear weapons.
Yet, Biden’s green energy mandates result in a greater U.S. demand for wind turbines, solar panels and electric batteries from China, made by coal-fired power plants, increasing the emissions Biden criticizes at home.
The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that in the absence of reductions in carbon emissions, temperatures will rise by about 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The idea that such a temperature change is worse than deaths from nuclear weapons is ludicrous. Over 200,000 people died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after America dropped atomic bombs.
Temperatures have varied for centuries. Climate models are not reliable and accurate enough to attribute global warming to human activities. The observed rate of global warming over the past 50 years has been weaker than that predicted by almost all computerized climate models.
Thirty-six computer models overpredicted surface air temperatures during the summer growing season. The models all showed warming well above what happened in reality, with the most extreme model producing seven times too much warming.
Increases in hurricane frequency are erroneously cited as an effect of warming. Although carbon dioxide emissions and temperature — both in America and globally — have increased over the latter parts of the 20th Century, no meaningful increase in frequency and intensity of hurricanes has been observed.
Hurricane damage has increased over time, but this outcome is largely due to increased incomes and wealth, and therefore infrastructure creation, rather than more violent hurricanes. For example, homes in Florida have risen by a factor of 12 since 1975, according to the St Louis Federal Reserve Bank. The same hurricane that in 1975 destroyed a house worth $100,000 would now destroy a house worth $1.2 million.
Although some say that increased CO2 levels are detrimental to human health and welfare, deaths are more likely to result from medical events triggered by the cold than by the heat.
A 2020 study by Dr. Whanhee Lee and others in Lancet showed that cold-related morbidity and mortality — strokes, heart attacks, blood clots, and other problems — result directly from the influence of cold temperatures on the body, where the body is unable to maintain sufficient core temperature to guarantee survival.
In addition, Environmental Protection Agency data shows that death rates are about 10 percent higher in winter, and January is the deadliest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
If Biden truly thought that climate change was an existential threat, he would try to lower global emissions through greater U.S. exports of natural gas. This would enable other countries to reduce emissions by substituting natural gas for coal, just as America has reduced carbon emissions by 1,000 million metric tons over the past 16 years.
In addition, Biden would try to expand emissions-free nuclear power if he thought climate change was a threat. He would make uranium mining easier, because uranium is a critical ingredient for nuclear power. Yet he has taken swaths of land off the table for uranium development and made no attempt to solve the problem of nuclear waste.
Instead, Biden blocks a new liquid natural gas export terminal in Louisiana, which results in greater worldwide use of coal, increasing global carbon dioxide emissions. Europe has already been turning to coal to deal with energy shortages in the aftermath of Russia’s cutoff of natural gas.
Over the past 20 years, U.S. emissions of CO2 have declined by a billion metric tons as natural gas has been increasingly substituted for coal use in the generation of electricity. Over the same period, CO2 emissions in China have risen by 8.7 billion metric tons.
Biden’s repetition that climate change is an existential threat gives him an excuse to impose more regulations and sign into law subsidies for favored donors.
“Never let a good crisis go to waste,” said Amb. Rahm Emanuel when he was President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff. Biden is inventing the crisis and the waste is following.
Diana Furchtgott-Rothis a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation and directs the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment at The Heritage Foundation.
June has been off to a brutal start for Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs. She kicked off the month by breaking her own hiring freeze to bring in a new press secretary. Then, a few days later, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled that Hobbs violated the law when she sidestepped the Senate’s confirmation process for agency directors. And to top it all off, an eye-opening report was released uncovering an alleged pay-to-play scheme between Hobbs and an Arizona group home.
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. After all, this is the same Katie Hobbs who broke the law to take credit for the Republican tax rebate. And it’s the same Katie Hobbs who required the nonprofit behind her $30 million medical debt relief program to give her credit. But this latest scandal shows that Hobbs’ corruption has reached a new level.
According to the report, Sunshine Residential Homes has donated approximately $400,000 toward the Arizona Democratic Party, Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaign, and her inaugural fund. And what did the group home receive in return? A nearly 60 percent rate increase! And this was at a time when the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) cut loose 16 providers, and no other standard group home provider received a rate increase.
That’s convenient.
Sunshine Residential Homes could potentially receive millions of dollars more at the taxpayers’ expense from their investment (sorry…donation). And that must have their CEO—who also happened to serve on Hobbs’ inaugural committee—excited.
Hmmm…Hobbs’ inauguration fund. Do you remember that?
This entire saga began when Hobbs set up a shady inaugural slush fund to provide donors with a conduit to buy political favor from her administration…
There are plenty of problems with the Arizona Commerce Authority. Since its inception in 2011, criticisms were raised concerning its freewheeling powers to dole out taxpayer money with practically no legislative oversight and broad exemptions from important guardrails such as the prohibition of using outside counsel (rather than the Attorney General’s office.) These issues have resurfaced over the years in critical Auditor General reports that have highlighted the insufficient reporting and record keeping for the administration of grants and awards provided by the agency to private businesses. This led to a mere 2-year extension of the agency in 2016, and a controversial reauthorization in 2018 when Republicans and Democrats alike banged the table for reforms. And most recently, the agency has come under fire by the Attorney General herself, for unconstitutional gifts in the way of wining and dining and Super Bowl tickets for CEOs.
Despite consistent criticism across the aisle and over the years, the ACA has evaded any real substantial reforms. That could very well change this year.
There now seems to be bipartisan interest in reining in an unaccountable agency with a $226M budget and a multi-million-dollar slush fund…
When the Supreme Court was debating the landmark Dobbs abortion case, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer shouted threats (“you will reap the whirlwind…”) at them from the courthouse steps. Thus, the last doubt was obliterated that the unquestioned authority of the Court was under serious attack.
An independent judiciary is the key to maintaining our constitutional republic. It is the reckoning mechanism which keeps us on track, muting the potential excesses of popular democracy. Americans once understood this and valued our judiciary, even when it sometimes worked against their individual interests.
But the times, they are a’changin. Americans have now divided into warring classes who believe that in the pursuit of power and short-term goals, a conscientious judiciary is often in the way.
At least until recently, school children were taught that our founders, in order to dilute the power of centralized government, created three branches. The legislative makes the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judiciary ensures that laws are enforced in accordance with statutes and the Constitution.
In the 1930s, Franklin Roosevelt clashed with the Supreme Court when their rulings thwarted his plans to assert federal control over wide swaths of the American economy. The Justices could not find in the Constitution’s list of enumerated powers any which authorized the New Deal legislative barrage.
They were right, but Roosevelt’s response was to propose “packing the court,” expanding the number of Justices, and increasing his power. Roosevelt’s view of the court as an obstacle rather than a necessary guard rail shocked many Americans of the day. The plan eventually failed, although most of the New Deal was enacted anyway.
Yet the status of the judiciary branch in our federal system is showing deterioration today. Leftist ideologues conduct protests of court decisions in front of Justices’ residences when they render unpopular decisions. That’s clearly contrary to federal law yet they suffer no repercussions. The Biden Department of Justice simply ignores them.
Justices are personally harassed by activists. Angry partisans confront them and their families in restaurants and public spaces. The Justices, particularly those of the pro-Constitution persuasion, are faced with spurious charges of ethical violations and demands for recusal. That’s especially ironic in the case of Justice Clarence Thomas, who has a well-deserved reputation for willingness to vote against his own political positions.
The Arizona Supreme Court also passed down a controversial abortion decision, ruling that the Arizona legislature, following the reversal of Roe, had effectively reinstated a restrictive Civil War era law. In response, a special interest group known as “Vote Them Out” is attempting to remove justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn King for failing to support their pro-abortion policy agenda.
In Arizona, Supreme Court Justices and most lower court judges are not elected but appointed and then undergo periodic retention elections which are intended to weed out incompetent or corrupt judges. Although few judges are not retained, the system works to depoliticize the judicial selection process and give voters input into keeping judges.
It is this retention system itself which Vote Them Out is attacking by forcing Bolick and King to, in effect, run for their own seats in a political style campaign. There are no credible arguments that either Justice is incompetent or corrupt or that they didn’t provide constitutional authority for their rulings. The issue, again, is simply that their decision was unpopular, at least with Vote Them Out.
As Justice Bolick pointed out in an Arizona Republic op-ed, judges in a merit system are handicapped in a politics-based election. They can’t personally raise funds or seek endorsements. They have strict ethical limits on what they can discuss. Their opponents have no such restraints.
It’s telling that justices at all levels are commonly referred to as “liberal” or “conservative.” Such political labels should only matter if justices are policymakers, which they are not. The critical descriptor which matters for justices is “pro-Constitution” versus “pro-some interest group’s opinion.”
Americans seem to have little regard for the values and institutions which are the foundations of our own national greatness. Our independent judiciary distinguishes us from corrupt autocracies everywhere and throughout time. We disrespect it at our own peril.
Dr. Thomas Patterson, former Chairman of the Goldwater Institute, is a retired emergency physician. He served as an Arizona State senator for 10 years in the 1990s, and as Majority Leader from 93-96. He is the author of Arizona’s original charter schools bill.
The Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) is seeking federal funds to renew the Mental Health Service Professionals (MHSP) Demonstration Grant through the Department of Education (ED). The grant would enable the district to expand its program for unlicensed behavioral health workers. The grant application includes assertions to garner sympathy and support, such as highlighting low student-to-behavioral health worker ratios, funding cuts, and increased student academic issues post-COVID. There is just one problem: the initiative is flawed and poorly justified when scrutinized, raising several critical concerns.
If renewed, the MHSP grant would enable PUSD to hire additional counselors and social workers, asserting that they will assist students deemed to have mental health issues that purportedly hinder academic performance. A primary concern is the qualification of these personnel and the poor track record in this type of intervention in improving academic proficiency.
In a recent Substack piece, Attorney Chris Evans points out that the district refers to the personnel to be hired as “mental health professionals,” which Evans argues is “a title inflation for a person with no license from a professional board, no regulatory oversight, but is certified by the Arizona Department of Education to work in schools with zero scope of practice limitations.” This raises grave concerns about the effectiveness of mental health assistance and the safety of children under the care of these individuals.
PUSD staff and board members persist in claiming that behavioral health services enhance academic outcomes. However, the evidence to support this assertion is lacking. Robust independent research indicates this claim is false and seems to justify seeking federal funds rather than being a fact-based strategy.
For example, a close examination of PUSD academic assessments from 2017-2018 to 2023 reveals minimal improvement over five years in attempting to integrate behavioral health services into its schools; the expected improvements in academic performance have not materialized. During the first grant period, state assessment scores show no significant progress, and in subjects like math, the scores have declined. This stagnation indicates the lack of effectiveness of the rationale for the project’s federal funding and suggests that the behavioral health program has not delivered the promised academic benefits. If these programs cannot demonstrate a clear, positive impact on student achievement, their expansion, and current presence in schools are suspicious.
The ideological motivations behind this push for more behavioral health services cannot be ignored. The emphasis on social justice and equity indicated in the grant application may overshadow the primary goal of educational institutions: to enhance academic achievement. The current approach appears to conflate these objectives, potentially at the expense of educational quality.
The current justification for renewing this grant employed by PUSD is misguided. At the May 29 meeting, board President Becky Proudfit asked the grant administrator if the first grant initiated in 2019 had been effective and what the effect had been on the students in the district. During his response, the administrator admitted that he thinks, “It’s just really important to note that it’s hard to determine the overall success of the grant.” And still, the PUSD board voted 4-1 to renew the Mental Health Service Professionals (MHSP) Demonstration Grant for another five years.
It is time for PUSD to reevaluate its priorities and ensure that any funded programs are accountable and effective. Most importantly, addressing mental health in students is important, yet fundamentally within the authority and responsibility of parents and guardians, not schools.
Tamra Farah has a twenty-year career in public policy and politics. Her role as director and senior advisor at Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks, and Arizona Women of Action and her expertise in PR and communications demonstrates her ability to create engagement and transformation in her efforts. Tamra has appeared on Fox News, America’s Voice, Newsmax, and Victory Channel and is quoted in major publications like The New York Times and Washington Post.
