Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) told Breitbart News on Thursday that left-wing “cancel culture” advocates ignore the media personalities and politicians who “inspired” the leftist who attempted to murder him and other Republicans at a congressional baseball game in June 2017. Scalise said, “We’ve seen the cancel culture on full display these last few years. They started when President Trump ran for president. They wanted to cancel him before he even got sworn in. Then they wanted to impeach him. And then after he’s gone, they want to just act like he wasn’t even president.” Scalise added, “They want to shut down Republicans. They want to close down Fox News and Newsmax and OAN . They would sure love to get [ Breitbart News Daily ] off the air. We’re not going to let that happen, but they’re serious about it.” Scalise highlighted the ideological and political links between his would-be murderer and left-wing news media outlets. “It’s important that we call them out on it and that we put the mirror in front o f them and remind them what happens on some of these other networks — their darling far-left radical networks and the garbage that they’re spewing,” Scalise remarked. “I wanted to just remind my colleagues that when the shooter from the baseball field back in 2017 walked onto that field, he had a list of Republicans in his pocket that he wanted to execute.” LISTEN: Scalise noted that the FBI identified his would-be assassin’s consumption of political content from “far-left media personalities.” The shooter also campaigned for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2016. “He was fueled [by] far-left media personalities and politicians [who] inspired him to go kill Republicans,” Scalise stated, “and I don’t blame the politicians or journalists from the far-left that inspired him with their rhetoric to go kill Republicans. I blame the shooter”: Rep. @SteveScalise is right: pic.twitter.com/fXOHkCAKLr — Breitbart News ...
Culture desk
‘A Partisan Culture Warrior’: Senate Republicans Rip Becerra Nomination
Senate Republicans criticized Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) nominee Xavier Becerra’s lack of medical qualifications in a Thursday press conference. A former congressman and California Attorney General, Becerra’s record on abortion, immigration, and religious liberty were immediately criticized by Republicans when then-President-elect Joe Biden announced Becerra’s nomination in December. Senate Republicans repeated those concerns Thursday, adding that Becerra has no qualifications to help lead the United States through the end of the coronavirus pandemic. SOON: Senate GOP will discuss Xavier Becerra’s nomination to be U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. https://t.co/EFfb0Cx0Im — Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) February 25, 2021 “I voted already for several of President Biden’s nominees for the cabinet, but Attorney General Xavier Becerra is too radical, too extreme for me to support… As Attorney General of California, he advocated for the decriminalization of illegal crossings into our country. That’s open borders,” Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines said. “The only connection Mr. Becerra has to healthcare is that he sued the Little Sisters of the Poor,” Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said. “The reason Becerra got this nomination is that he’s a left-wing activist.” (RELATED: ‘A Pretty Interesting Way Of Reframing Your Bullying’: Sasse Calls Out Becerra’s Lawsuit Against Little Sisters Of The Poor) “Mr. Becerra is a partisan culture warrior. He’s not qualified to hold this position,” Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn said. With the Senate split 50-50, Republicans need at least one Democrat to oppose Becerra’s nomination, since Vice President Kamala Harris can break any ties. ...
Texas Men Plead Guilty To Looting Artifacts At Native American Cultural Site — Federal Land
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — Two men pleaded guilty, admitting to violating the Archeological Resource Protection Act (ARPA) when they excavated some 1,500 artifacts from federal land in Texas. Jeffrey Alan Vance, 37, of San Marcos, and Dax Wheatley, 32, of Amarillo, pleaded guilty this week. READ MORE: Stimulus Check Latest: Will Your Next Relief Payment Be $1,400? “The Justice Department will not stand for the theft of precious cultural artifacts,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. “We are working aggressively to safeguard our nation’s Native American heritage and root out those who violate the law.” (credit: Getty Images) In March 2019, the Bureau of Land Management received a tip that an illegal excavation had occurred on a Native American cultural site at the Cross Bar Management Area, just north of Amarillo. The agency determined the illegal excavation took place at the site of a former homestead of the Antelope Creek Culture, Native Americans who lived in the Texas panhandle between approximately 1200-1500 A.D. A agent received information that a person, later identified as Vance, had posted photographs of the illegal excavation on social media. While commenting on the photo, a Facebook user informed Vance that the area he was “digging in is federal land and Rangers enforce” there. Vance replied, “I’m not scared of the feds.” READ MORE: Dallas Esports Organization Envy Gaming Hosting 72-Hour Charity Livestream For Texas Winter Storm Relief Wheatley also posted photographs of illegal excavations that he and Vance conducted at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers site in Austin. Vance also posted information on social media about other dig sites in the Austin and San Marcos areas. “I hope the sentences in this case will deter others from illegally collecting and trading in Native American cultural artifacts and other items protected by the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 and the Native American Graves Protection and ...
Mike Tyson Blasts Hulu for ‘Tone-Deaf Cultural Misappropriation’ over ‘Iron Mike’ Limited Series
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hulu announced it has ordered a limited series dramatizing the life of boxing great Mike Tyson, who quickly slammed the production as “cultural misappropriation.” In a press release Thursday, Hulu said “Iron Mike” will explore “the wild, tragic and controversial life and career” of a polarizing athlete. Tyson, who is not involved in the project, criticized Hulu on social media, saying the series smacked of insensitivity. “Hulu’s announcement to do an unauthorized mini-series of the Tyson story without compensation, although unfortunate, isn’t surprising,” Tyson said in an Instagram post. “This announcement on the heels of social disparities in our country is a prime example of how Hulu’s corporate greed led to this tone-deaf cultural misappropriation of the Tyson life story.” Hulu didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Tyson’s post further criticized the announcement’s timing — during Black History Month — and called on Hollywood to “be more sensitive to Black experiences, especially after all that has transpired in 2020.” An “authorized” autobiographical project would be announced in the coming days, Tyson said. The eight-episode “Iron Mike” is from the makers of “I, Tonya,” the 2017 movie that starred Margot Robbie as ice skater Tonya Harding. ...
House Democrats to keep minimum wage hike in COVID-19 relief bill for Friday vote
House Democrats will leave a provision to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour in their version of the COVID-19 relief package set for a vote on Friday despite a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian that the measure does not comply with budgetary rules. Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi Minimum wage setback revives progressive calls to nix Senate filibuster House Democrats to keep minimum wage hike in COVID-19 relief bill for Friday vote Schiff sees challenges for intel committee, community in Trump's shadow MORE (D-Calif.) called the Senate parliamentarian's ruling "disappointing" in a statement on Thursday night but said that the House will still vote on the $1.9 trillion relief package on Friday with the minimum wage increase. Democrats will then leave it up to the Senate to remove the provision when it reaches the upper chamber. ADVERTISEMENT “House Democrats believe that the minimum wage hike is necessary. Therefore, this provision will remain in the American Rescue Plan on the floor tomorrow," Pelosi said. “Tomorrow, when we pass the American Rescue Plan, the American people will know that Help Is On The Way.” Pelosi added that House Democrats are "determined to pursue every possible path in the Fight For 15" but didn't specify the other options. The Senate parliamentarian ruled earlier Thursday night that the provision, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025, did not comply with arcane budget rules needed for it to pass under the process known as reconciliation. The process would allow Democrats to pass their COVID-19 relief package with a simple majority. Even though the minimum wage won't make it into the final relief package, Democrats are still determined to show support for the progressive priority. ADVERTISEMENT House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott Robert (Bobby) Cortez Scott House Democrats to keep minimum wage hike in COVID-19 ...