Monthly Archives: December, 2022

A new batch of “Twitter files” released Monday allegedly indicates the Biden administration worked with Twitter to control the public conversation about COVID, which included censoring accounts skeptical of the vaccine.

This update is the latest in a string of internal Twitter revelations since billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter and vowed to make public any wrongdoing previous to his ownership that might have gone on behind the scenes.

Since then, Musk has released a trove of troublesome information, including evidence federal law enforcement worked closely with the social media giant to censor Americans. The Biden administration has pushed back against these allegations, but the Twitter files are not the only source giving evidence to that collusion.

Musk shared a Twitter thread Monday posted by author and journalist David Zweig, where Zweig laid out some introductory points, though Musk said more details are coming soon.

Zweig said Twitter “rigged the COVID debate” by “censoring info that was true but inconvenient to U.S. govt. Policy” and “by discrediting doctors and other experts who disagreed” as well as “suppressing ordinary users, including some sharing the CDC’s *own data*.”

“So far the Twitter Files have focused on evidence of Twitter’s secret blacklists; how the company functioned as a kind of subsidiary of the FBI; and how execs rewrote the platform’s rules to accommodate their own political desires,” he said. “The United States government pressured Twitter and other social media platforms to elevate certain content and suppress other content about Covid-19.”

Zweig, who says he personally reviewed internal documents, said both the Trump and Biden administration participated in the collusion. He said Trump’s team were more worried about “panic buying” at grocery stores while Biden was interested in shutting down accounts skeptical of the vaccine.

“When the Biden admin took over, one of their first meeting requests with Twitter executives was on Covid. The focus was on ‘anti-vaxxer accounts,’” he said. “In the summer of 2021, president Biden said social media companies were ‘killing people’ for allowing vaccine misinformation.”

“But Twitter did suppress views – many from doctors and scientific experts – that conflicted with the official positions of the White House,” he added. “As a result, legitimate findings and questions that would have expanded the public debate went missing.”

The Twitter files have sparked calls for accountability. House Oversight Committee Republicans, who will have the majority come January, promised an investigation into the Twitter censorship and the Biden administration's role earlier this month. This latest dump will likely only add fuel to that fire.

“Committee Republicans continue to investigate whether U.S. government officials have participated in suppression and censorship of lawful speech in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Reports continue to surface that social media companies acted on behest of government agencies and officials when removing, restricting, or disclaiming content,” the House Republicans wrote in a letter earlier this month. “The American people and their elected representatives must know the extent to which their government has engaged in prohibited censorship to expose and prevent this unlawful conduct.”

As The Center Square previously reported, critics have also lambasted the FBI after Musk’s document release appeared to show the FBI gave social media companies information leading them to believe the Hunter Biden story could be part of a disinformation campaign. Social media companies banned or shadow banned the Hunter Biden story just before the last presidential election. Two years later, more and more details of the Hunter Biden story have been verified by leading news outlets.

But the idea of law enforcement pressuring social media companies on COVID is not new. House Oversight Republicans launched an investigation last month into a “taxpayer funded censorship campaign” after media reports indicated the Department of Homeland Security had been pressuring big tech companies to censor certain viewpoints on several issues, including COVID.

The lawmakers sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling out DHS in particular, saying it “leverages partnerships with left-leaning private organizations – who have received millions of dollars in federal money – to identify and then take action against political speech unfavorable to the Administration, especially around its handling of COVID-19 policy.”

A major winter storm that is crossing the country has left at least 1.5 million Americans without power on Friday, according to a website that tracks power outages.

PowerOutage.us reported that most of the power outages were in the eastern part of the country with North Carolina (187,303), Virginia (145,767), Tennessee (143,640), Maine (114,537) and New York (104,375) having the most customers impacted as of 1 p.m. EST.

PowerOutage.us tracks and updates power outage data from utilities all over the U.S.

In Tennessee where temperatures were 9 degrees, the Memphis Light, Gas and Water utility announced the cold temperatures and high demand had created a "critical power supply situation."

The Tennessee Valley Authority ordered all local power companies to drop between 5% and 10% of their electric load to avoid major outages across its service area. That means customers were expected to experience rolling blackouts where customers could expect outages two times a day on average.

(The Center Square ) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday warned the Biden administration that without federal action, lives will be lost at the southern border as a polar vortex is expected to bring temperatures down to well below freezing in the state.

In a letter to Biden Tuesday, Abbott wrote, “With cold temperatures gripping Texas, your inaction to secure the southern border is putting the lives of migrants at risk, particularly in the City of El Paso.

“Your policies will leave many people in the bitter, dangerous cold as a polar vortex moves into Texas. This terrible crisis for border communities in Texas is a catastrophe of your own making. These communities and the state are ill-equipped to do the job assigned to the federal government – house the thousands of migrants flooding into the country every day.”

On Tuesday, the current temperature in El Paso was 58 degrees. But a weather front bringing extremely cold air from Siberia that’s expected to send the U.S. into a deep freeze days before Christmas will also hit Texas with subfreezing temperatures as well.

Thursday night, wind chill temperatures in El Paso are expected to reach 12 degrees Fahrenheit, the National Weather Service reports. “Gusty east winds, and temperatures in the teens and 20s overnight, will combine to produce dangerous wind chill temperatures across the Borderland,” it says. “Expect near zero wind chills over Otero and Hudspeth counties, with low to mid teen wind chills elsewhere Thursday night through mid-morning on Friday.”

Unless the people, including babies, laying on the sidewalks and other public places, aren’t moved to shelter or detained according to federal law, they could die, Abbott said.

“With perilous temperatures moving into the area, many of these migrants are at risk of freezing to death on city streets,” Abbott wrote Biden. “Texas has borne a lopsided burden caused by your open border policies. The need to address this crisis is not the job of border states like Texas."

Abbott noted that the U.S. Constitution dictates that it is the president's job "to defend the borders of our country, regulate our nation’s immigration, and manage those who seek refuge here.”

Abbott’s former Democratic challenger for governor, El Paso native Robert “Beto” O’Rourke. tweeted how residents could “help El Paso nonprofits deliver aid and assistance to refugees and migrants.”

While running for governor, O’Rourke claimed El Paso was one of the safest cities in Texas, a claim refuted by the FBI and others working to uncover cartel and gang stash houses in a city that’s a prime human trafficking destination. He also said he would end Operation Lone Star and pull law enforcement and resources from the border.

By contrast, Abbott directed the Texas National Guard to activate and deploy 400 soldiers to El Paso on Monday, two days after the Democratic mayor of the city declared a state of emergency because of the crisis.

Since November 2021, 6,128 Texas National Guardsmen and women have been placed along the Texas-Mexico border; another 3,700 are also deployed elsewhere as part of Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star. The governor has directed now 1,600 state troopers to the border. They’re working with hundreds of officers from local sheriff’s offices and police departments thwarting cartel and gang-related criminal activity stemming from the border.

As of Dec. 16, they’ve apprehended more than 333,000 illegal foreign nationals and made more than 22,000 criminal arrests, with more than 20,000 felony charges reported. DPS officers have seized more than 354 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill more than the entire population of America.

In response to the humanitarian and criminal crisis in El Paso, Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas Military Department, as well as other state assets “to protect Texas from the torrent of migrants and cartel activity streaming into our state.”

He wrote the president, “You and your administration must stop the lie that the border is secure and, instead, immediately deploy federal assets to address the dire problems you have caused. You must execute the duties that the U.S. Constitution mandates you perform and secure the southern border before more innocent lives are lost.”

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas maintains that “the border is secure” and the administration is committed to overseeing a “safe and orderly process.”

Biden has yet to visit the border since he’s been in office, most recently arguing he “has better things to do.”

(The Center Square) – It will be Milwaukee in the middle of July for Republicans in 2024.

The RNC on Wednesday voted on the dates for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The convention will run from July 15 to July 18.

"Our city is ready to show the world we are open for business, conventions, and tourism. The presidential nomination convention is a historical opportunity to present what a phenomenal place Milwaukee truly is,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in a statement.

Milwaukee Host Committee boss, and former Wisconsin and national Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus said Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin are ready to play host for the country's Republicans in two years.

“The location is set, the dates are booked, and now the work of pulling off the biggest event in politics is underway. With partners like the RNC and the city of Milwaukee, we are confident the RNC Convention will be the gold standard for decades to come,” Priebus said.

Newly named Wisconsin Republican Party chairman Brian Schimming added his congratulations.

“Excited that Wisconsin will host this historic RNC convention – and proud to be the @wisgop state chair that will welcome tens of thousands of my fellow Republicans from across America to Milwaukee,” Schimming said on Twitter. “It’s going to be a great event.”

Milwaukee beat out Nashville, Tennessee to host the 2024 convention largely because the Democrats had to abandon the city as their convention hub in 2020.

Democrats scuttled the 2020 DNC because of the coronavirus.

Republicans, along with plenty of support from Milwaukee’s local Democratic leaders, used the same convention pitch and plans to land the 2024 RNC.

The convention is to be centered at Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee, with other events sprinkled throughout the downtown area and a select few other parts of the area.

(The Center Square) – Although work has yet to begin to expand I-94 in western Milwaukee County, supporters hope they are almost done with the waiting.

Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation is wrapping-up its public meetings on the plan to expand I-94 between the Zoo Interchange and the Marquette Interchange from the current six lanes to eight lanes.

Tracy Johnson with the Commercial Association of REALTORS® Wisconsin said it’s been 10 years since the expansion was first proposed, and it's time to finally start the work.

“We need to address the safety concerns along this corridor,” Johnson told the Center Square on Wednesday. “There are too many cars. We don’t have the capacity now, and we’re certainly not going to have the capacity moving forward.”

Johnson says Wis-DOT’s own numbers show a spike in crashes along the 3.5 miles between the Zoo and Marquette interchanges.

There continues to be, however, strong opposition.

“You’ve got environmental concerns, which have been significantly addressed. You’ve got social justice concerns, which again have significantly addressed. And then you have people who are just anti-freeway,” Johnson explained.

You also have the Milwaukee County Board.

County commissioners are set to meet Thursday to vote on a resolution that pushes for a “Fix in Six” plan that would replace the current six lanes of I-94 with a new set of six lanes.

“Six lanes are cheaper by 3-6%,” Jonson added. “I know we’re talking about billions of dollars, and I can’t even comprehend what that is. But that is not significant to say six lanes is a cheaper alternative.”

Wis-DOT has estimated the cost for the eight lane expansion at $1.2 billion. But no one is saying just how much Wisconsin’s share of that cost would be.

Expansion supporters say it’s key to get money for the project included in the next three state budgets.

Johnson said Gov. Evers has made the expansion a priority, mainly from a job-creation standpoint. But he;s facing new opposition.

“I know that a lot of activists are going after the governor right now,” Johnson said. “I hope he remains vigilant.”

Then there are Republican lawmakers who will write the next state budget. Johnson said three top supporters of the plan, Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, Sen. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, and Rep. Joe Sanfilippo all retired from the legislature.

Johnson said “we believe there is support” in the Assembly and Senate.

Wis-DOT will close its public comment period next month, following two public meetings this week.

Then there is the budget process next spring. And finally, Johnson said, they are expecting a Record of Decision next fall. After that, she said they hope to move toward actually building the new lanes sometime in 2026.

House Republicans have made it clear they plan to use their newfound majority to investigate the origins of COVID-19.

House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer, R-Ky., and House Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a string of letters to Biden administration officials demanding records, communications and interviews.

“Mounting evidence points to the virus originating from a leak at the Wuhan lab,” Comer said. “EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S. National Institutes of Health grantee, passed taxpayer funds to the Wuhan lab to conduct gain of function research on bat coronaviruses – research that may have started the pandemic. Dr. [Anthony] Fauci was warned early on that the virus appeared man made and pointed to a lab leak and instead of blowing the whistle may have attempted to cover it up.”

House Republicans will have new teeth for their investigations with the majority next year. Lawmakers have highlighted three major investigations going forward: COVID’s origins, Hunter Biden’s laptop, and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the related chaos and deaths.

U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, weighed in as well. He pointed to the recently released report on COVID-19 origins from his committee.

That report said the Biden administration and intelligence communities have not given up the information sought by Congress and raised serious concerns that the American people were misled by the IC about COVID's origins and that Health and Human Services knew about the risk of funding the Wuhan research but proceeded anyway.

The committee also said that intelligence agencies were quick to say that COVID-19 could become a pandemic but missed an opportunity to spy on the Chinese doctors and officials involved, an opportunity that could have provided invaluable insight into the origin of the virus.

"The American people are owed answers about the origins of COVID-19. Our report states that COVID-19 may have been tied to China's bioweapons research program and that the Intelligence Community (IC) withheld key information from the American public's authorized elected officials, deepening public mistrust,” Wenstrup said. “Our findings also show that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bears more responsibility for the COVID-19 pandemic than what has been publicly known or transparently communicated to the American people.”

Until answers are found, Congress will keep seeking information, Republicans say.

“The American people deserve answers and accountability. We will continue to follow the facts to determine what, if anything, could have been done differently to guard against the harms Americans have endured during the pandemic,” Comer said. “We will continue this oversight to hold U.S. government officials accountable for any wrongdoing and ensure Americans’ tax dollars aren’t being used on risky research at unsecure labs.”

(The Center Square) – Gov. Tony Evers’ office dictated where to spend most of Wisconsin’s $5.7 billion in supplemental coronavirus relief money without writing down or tracking how he came to those decisions.

A new report from the Legislative Audit Bureau dings the governor for a lack of transparency.

“Our request included initial funding requests, agendas and minutes of the meetings that discussed the use of the funds, planning worksheets, one-page summary documents describing the use of the funds, and written approvals from the Governor’s Office to use the funds,” auditors wrote. “In response to our request, [the Department of Administration] provided us with publicly available information, such as press releases, links to state agency websites for the programs, and grant announcements for programs involving grants. DOA did not provide us with documentation of the process or the information DOA indicated it and the Governor’s Office had considered in deciding to use discretionary funds for the nine state programs. In December 2022, DOA indicated that decisions for using the funds were made during daily conversations with the Governor’s Office, rather than in written documents.”

Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, said the lack of unrestricted spending from Gov. Evers is alarming.

He told The Center Square that Republicans tried to force some transparency for the state’s coronavirus relief dollars, but the governor stopped them.

“Unfortunately these dollars circumvented the legislature,” Roth explained. “We tried to rectify that, and would have required legislative oversight. We passed dozens of bills, but the governor vetoed them all.”

The audit reports that Gov. Evers has spent $4.5 billion of Wisconsin’s $5.7 billion so far. That leaves $1.8 billion left to be spent.

Most of the money went to state agencies, which then spent the cash on dozens of state programs including programs for schools, small businesses, farmers, hotels and motels, and even minor league baseball teams.

The audit didn’t look at how the money was eventually spent, just how state government made the decisions on where to spend it.

"This isn't Monopoly money. This is almost $6 billion that the governor got to spend without any oversight, any control, any accountability,"Roth added. When you don’t have proper accountability it becomes a question of ‘What is in the governor's interest.’ Cynical people might say the governor spent this money to help his re-election.”

You can read the full audit here.