COVID-19, Bill Withers, Constitution, Pregnancy, Prisons, Veterans Administration, Unions, Airlines, PPE, Truckers, EPA, Media, Insurance, Hydroxycloroquine, Defense Production Act, New York

UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has been moved to ICU as he battles COVID-19 symptoms.

Bill Withers passed away on April 4, 2020. He was best known for his song, "Lean on Me".

In a press conference at the White House with the Coronavirus Task Force, Donald Trump was asked why he did not declare a national emergency and enact a national lockdown. Donald Trump answered the reporter saying, "Because we have what is called a United States Constitution, and I respect that very much." He went on to explain that every state has different needs, so it is better that each governor act in a way that best benefits his or her own state. He has issued national guidelines for each state to follow. That should be enough.

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Patient-Centered Care for Pregnant Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Source: American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
March 30, 2020
As the physicians, certified nurse-midwives (CNM) and certified midwives (CM) who care for patients and their families, we see firsthand the stress and uncertainty facing pregnant people, parents, and their support networks during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are listening to the people we care for and share their concerns about the impact of this pandemic on their intended plans for labor and birth. We stand in solidarity with our patients and are committed to working tirelessly to deliver evidence-based, respectful, patient-centered care to ensure parents and their families are supported during this time of pandemic.
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CONGRESSMAN DAVID TRONE CALLS ON FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS TO RELEASE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE PLANS
Source: U.S. Representative David Trone (D-MD, 6th)
March 31, 2020
As of March 27, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had 14 incarcerated individuals and 13 staff across 16 BOP facilities (in nine different states) who tested positive for COVID-19.[1] We know that the coronavirus presents a unique and serious danger to our nation's prisons and jails. BOP must prioritize the health and safety of correctional staff and incarcerated individuals by taking necessary steps to mitigate the chance of an outbreak of the virus at all BOP facilities, be prepared to provide immediate and comprehensive care to our incarcerated population when COVID-19 is detected at one of our prisons or jails, and prevent transmission between BOP facilities.
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VA Employee Union Criticizes Veterans Benefit Administration for Requiring Employees to Report to Work After Two Tested Positive for Coronavirus
Source: American Federation for Government Employees
March 31, 2020
“It is appalling that VBA management still expects employees to come into the facility after there were two confirmed coronavirus cases. These employees were still walking around the facility less than two weeks ago,” said Jim Rihel, AFGE Local 940 President. “Since the announcement of the positive COVID-19 cases, the anxiety levels of already nervous employees have been through the roof.”
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NLRB Changes Rules to Make It Harder for Workers to Be Represented
Source: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
March 31, 2020
“In two weeks time, in the middle of a pandemic, President Trump’s NLRB suspended representation elections and then made it harder for employers to voluntarily recognize unions. In other words, the board is effectively sealing off any viable path to unionization at a time when workers need a voice on the job more than ever. Donald Trump’s caustic hostility to collective bargaining has manifested itself in the most anti-worker NLRB in America’s history. The labor movement will fight these actions with everything we have.”
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Don’t Use Taxpayer Dollars To Buy Private Companies
Source: American Legislative Exchange Council
March 31, 2020
ALEC Action is strongly opposed to provisions in the recently signed $2 trillion economic aid package that give the United States government part ownership in airline companies. Private sector options must be exhausted before any government involvement is considered, and a government loan to airline carriers would have been far less damaging than the federal grants in the signed proposal. The federal government should never spend taxpayer dollars to acquire ownership in private companies. The structure of government assistance should not require governmental ownership of private companies, nor should it impose regulations that interfere with a company’s ability to conduct business and pay back taxpayer dollars.
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AMA supports health care workforce using their own PPE
Source: American Medical Association
March 31, 2020
“As physicians and other frontline health care workers across the U.S. continue to face dire shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), the AMA fully supports them in using their own face masks and respirators when these critical resources are unavailable and not provided by their employer. The people working round the clock to combat this virus should not be penalized or punished for taking precautions necessary to protect themselves, their patients, and their families from the spread of COVID-19. We are pleased that The Joint Commission updated its guidance today, and provided an evidence-based analysis, to clarify that its policy does not prohibit health care workers from bringing their own PPE from home.”
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“Phase Three” COVID-19 Legislation: Keys for Motor Carriers
Source: American Trucking Association
March 31, 2020
“Across the country right now, truckers are answering the call during this national emergency, delivering food, medicine, PPE and other critical supplies. It’s important for our nation’s supply chain that trucking has access to liquidity, so we can keep our trucks on the road—and not on the sales lot.”
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Reps. Tlaib, Levin Lead Michigan Lawmakers in Urging EPA to Continue Actively Enforcing Environmental Rules and Regulations
Source: U.S. Representative Rashida Tialb (D-MI, 6th)
March 31, 2020
Congresswoman Rashid Tlaib (MI-13), Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09), and five other members of the Michigan congressional delegation, sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler urging him to rescind its March 26 guidance, which announced it would suspend active enforcement of many important environmental policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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If NYT doesn’t think critical press briefings on Chinese coronavirus are news, then get some real reporters in there
Source: Americans for Limited Government
March 31, 2020
“In the New York Times’ world, blunders are news, gotchas are news, but actual information on how every American can help save lives in a time when the Chinese coronavirus is the only story is not news. What a bunch of frauds. The White House should rotate the New York Times out of the White House press room twice a week in favor of someone who actually covers the news, and see how they scream that they are denied access. Obviously, all the White House would have to tell the New York Times is that they don’t want to waste their time, since from their perspective the briefings don’t make news.”
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How Americans for Prosperity is uniting with communities, businesses, and policymakers to combat COVID-19
Source: Americans for Prosperity
March 31, 2020
Activists, businesses, and lawmakers all have a role to play in protecting public health, ensuring greater access to care for vulnerable patients, and allowing for communities to come together to adapt and innovate to help the people and institutions affected by COVID-19.
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Anthem Waives Cost Share for COVID-19 Treatment
Source: Anthem, Inc
March 31, 2020
Anthem’s commitment to improving lives and supporting our local communities is more important than ever as the nation joins together to address the COVID-19 crisis. As part of Anthem’s ongoing actions to meet the needs of those directly impacted by the disease, the company announced it will expand coverage, effective April 1, for members in its affiliated health plans undergoing treatment related to a COVID-19 diagnosis.
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Georgia Tech faces lawsuit for discriminating against MLK’s niece
Source: Alliance Defending Freedom
April 1, 2020
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the Students for Life chapter at Georgia Tech filed suit in federal court Wednesday after the university’s student government denied funding for a speaking event featuring Alveda King, the niece of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., because she is “inherently religious” like her uncle.
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Warren Urges FDA to Address Shortages of Drugs Prematurely Touted by President Trump as COVID-19 Treatments
Source: Senator Elizabeth Warren (D - MA)
April 2, 2020
Though scientists have begun testing hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as candidates for potential COVID-19 treatments and the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the prescription of the drugs in certain circumstances, public health experts have cautioned against their wide distribution. Despite these warnings, President Trump continues to use his platform to tout unproven treatments, resulting in inappropriate prescribing, at least one death, and reported shortages of the drugs. This threatens to exacerbate existing health problems; there are already reports pharmacists have had to turn away or limit supplies to patients being treated for autoimmune disorders.
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Internists Say Defense Production Act must be used to Produce PPE
Source: American College of Physicians
April 2, 2020
In a letter sent this afternoon to President Trump, the American College of Physicians (ACP) said the Defense Production Act (DPA) must immediately be invoked to require manufacturers to make personal protection equipment (PPE) for physicians and other health care workers.
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Internists Call on the Trump Administration to Open Health Insurance Enrollment Due to COVID-19
Source: American College of Physicians
April 2, 2020
“COVID-19 continues to dramatically alter our way of life. We appreciate the administration and Congress’ efforts to expand access to COVID-19 testing without cost sharing. However, millions remain uninsured or underinsured,” wrote Robert McLean, MD, MACP, president, ACP in the letter. “ACP is concerned that those without comprehensive coverage may be less likely to seek and receive testing and treatment of COVID-19, endangering themselves and others.”
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Private insurer actions urged to support COVID-19 challenge
Source: American Hospital Association
April 2, 2020
The AHA has urged leaders from the nation's five largest private health insurance companies — Aetna, Anthem, Humana, Cigna and UnitedHealthCare — and organizations that represent insurers (America’s Health Insurance Plans and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association) to join hospitals and health systems to "meet the historic challenge" caused by COVID-19 to "ensure that the health care system is there for anyone who needs care."
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NYC Official Says City Is Preparing To Dig ‘Trenches’ In A Park To Bury The Dead
Source: Reporter Sara Carter/Jennie Taer
April 6, 2020
The Chair of the New York City Council’s health committee Mark D. Levine said Monday that the city is overwhelmed by the number of deaths from the coronavirus and that they’re preparing to dig “trenches” in a city park to bury the dead.
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Introducing American Thinker

American Thinker is a daily internet publication devoted to the thoughtful exploration of issues of importance to Americans. Contributors are accomplished in fields beyond journalism and animated to write for the general public out of concern for the complex and morally significant questions on the national agenda.

Visit American Thinker by clicking HERE

Leaked internal document reveals Facebook wanted special scrutiny of Candace Owens's background, ideology, looking for reasons to ban her
Source: American Thinker
May 22, 2019
Facebook is being exposed as a naked propaganda organ that ought to be treated by law as a "publisher" legally responsible for the content it hosts, and not as a "forum" — the status it currently enjoys, exempting it from libel laws and other downsides to the content it spreads out to the world

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Legislation to Recognize the Importance of Saving Local News Introduced

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by: Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA, 11th)

Washington, D.C. - April 1, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) will introduce a House Resolution to recognize the importance of local news with Members in a working group DeSaulnier formed to protect local news, including Representatives Diana DeGette (CO-01), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), and Jamie Raskin (MD-08). As part of the bill’s introduction, he will host a special order on the floor of the U.S. House with Members of Congress on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Since 2004, 1,800 local papers have been closed or merged. As a result, the industry has suffered massive layoffs across the country. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2004, 71,640 people worked as reporters and editors in the newspaper industry, but as of 2017 that number shrunk to 39,210—a 45 percent decrease. In the Bay Area alone, newspapers have witnessed a dramatic swing from about 1,500 journalists at its high point, down to less than 300 journalists to serve roughly 7 million people.


Local News Special Order
Date: Tuesday, April 2nd
Time: Approximately 4:30 p.m. PST, however timing is fluid due to floor votes (we will update as it gets closer).
Participants: Hosted by Congressman DeSaulnier with participation from Congresswoman Diana DeGette and other Members of the working group on local news.

OUTRAGEOUS Racist Remarks in Carson's Hometown Newspaper

I never thought I'd see the day when a well established newspaper in Michigan would be so blatantly racist and offensive. In The Michigan Chronicle, the headline reads, "Shame of Detroit Ben Carson competes for House Negro of the Year Award".

As if that wasn't enough, the first paragraph is even more offensive than the headline:

Being appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and being a House Negro are two different things. It now appears HUD Secretary Ben Carson is imminently qualified to be a House Negro, but remains as unqualified as ever to lead HUD.

I wonder if the Trump conservatives are going to just sit and take this, or are they going to go on a letter writing frenzy, subscription cancelling frenzy like they need to. Are they going to contact the justice department and report the hate speech and put them under investigation? Are they going to protest outside the Michigan Chronicle office? Write letters to their Senator, House Representative? Demand an apology on Carson's behalf?

Something needs to be done.

Or, will they be content to let the media rage, the irate minority gain ground because they are louder than we are?

There isn't more of them. They are just louder, and the Main Stream Media helps them.

If you want to read the article for yourself, click HERE!

How we fought the establishment and WON in the early years of the 21st Century

by Shonda Ponder, editor
The Ponder News

During the 1990's we witnessed a number of events that were eye-openers for those who were versed in history and The Constitution. After Waco and Ruby Ridge, and after a soldier named Michael New became a household name, there was a swelling of what became deemed as "hate groups" all across the nation by the main stream media. "Unorganized" militia groups grew in numbers and size as the left secured their foothold in our government and attempted to change and quieten those of us who were demanding answers for what had occurred.

Like today, many of the people of the nation looked on with disbelief and minor inquisitiveness, reluctant to "get involved". Many others were afraid of being labeled by the government in a negative way. No one wants to be involved in a "hate group".

Because the stigma was so well placed, the left kept growing, and more and more things seemed less likely to make sense to many of us. We became weary of the lies the left-controlled media were telling in order to get their agendas in place. We did not know how to stop the giant snowball that was rolling downhill, threatening to avalanche us all beneath it's cold icy weight. We became concerned.

There were a few people out there who wrote books. The internet was fairly new, and many of us created web sites. Some of us had cable access television shows. A few of us decided to start radio programs. Some of us even wrote newsletters and started organizations for the conservative thinking people who felt disenfranchised. We were all over the United States, and the government didn't take us seriously when we screamed, because we weren't ABC, NBC or CBS news. If there was a problem, after all, wouldn't you hear it on the news? And, if the news channel said it, it must be true!

The people of the United States of America were complacent and content. They had grown to depend on the public broadcasting media of the day. Many of them didn't question what they heard. But, soon, the voices began to be to heard -- in pockets.

Suddenly, anyone who spoke out against the establishment became labeled as having a mental problem. My own mother questioned my sanity when I tried to explain to her that the OKC bombing was not the result of one man's hate. It was the result of planning and was set up by more than just one person.

At the time I lived in Austin, Texas. I had already been introduced to the discrimination of Christians in educational institutions, and I had started homeschooling my children. When I got arrested at the age of twenty-seven simply for failing to ID a man who bought a six pack of beer at a convenience store where I worked, it became clear that the establishment was out of control, and something had to be done. I got this nagging feeling that I had to do something, but I didn't know what.

I became more and more depressed, until one day, as I was flipping through the channels, I came across a young man (Alex Jones...as much as I dislike him, I have to admit that he was very instrumental in me getting "involved", finally) who was beating on his desk, yelling about the atrocious actions of the government, and why weren't more people standing up? I found myself standing up on my feet, shaking my fist at the television and yelling, "YOU PREACH IT, BROTHER!"

At the end of the show, he talked about a group of people who met every month in a hotel banquet hall. It was a group started by a man named Wes Curtis. It was called "Texas Best Seminars", and everyone was welcome to come and meet different media personalities, and talk to them one on one, and all our questions were welcome!

I decided to attend. I'm glad I did. It changed my life.

Wes's idea was to go around and talk to every conservative-minded or disenfranchised group he could find. With the rise of e-mail and the internet, that wasn't too hard to do. He invited them to attend the Seminar, to speak about their organization, and to take questions from the audience, in order that the people of Austin could understand them better, and maybe decide to get involved.

My pastor today has been known to say, "I don't care which church you go to, as long as you are serving somewhere where the Lord is present." We, at Texas Best Seminars preached that we didn't care what you stood up for, as long as you were standing for something.
We encouraged people to get involved in the cause of their choice, and to work for what they wanted.

I didn't know what cause to join, so I just decided that since journalism was my dream, I'd start my own newspaper. It was called "Freedom-Lovers International", until I had to change the name because the search engines on the internet kept mistaking it for a pornographic organization. Then it became "Friends of Liberty, International".

As I was just beginning, I used my platform to promote Texas Best Seminars with press releases of meeting dates. I created an email list of every conservative and freedom-loving organization and media personality I could find. I had at least 3000 people, groups and organizations on my contact list. With-in a couple of months, Texas Best Seminars quadrupled in size, and people were calling us from as far away as Washington, D.C. -- and the establishment hated us, saying, "Those people in Texas are doing their job way too well."

Texas Best Seminars outgrew Texas and went nationwide. We had to create a new name for what we were doing. America's Media Alliance was born, and yours truly (who had no idea what she was doing, but then she was assured that no one else did, either) became the President by a unanimous vote. All I knew was how to get the word out. I knew that the idea that Wes had could be utilized for a greater purpose. I just had to figure out how to do it.

There were about 500 people, groups and organizations who were members of the alliance. When there was a stand-off in West Texas, it was my job to make sure all of the members (and all of my contacts) got the press release. It was the member's job to make sure all of THEIR contacts got notified. And, if they were close enough, they were called on to go check the story out and report back to the alliance so that every radio host could tell the truth before the main stream media twisted it out of proportion.

It was great. And, it needs to happen today, again. We need such an alliance so that news organizations that are on our side can tell the truth with accuracy before the main stream news destroys the news-maker. We need to ask the hard questions and let the establishment know that we are making them accountable. That was the purpose of the first conservative media organizations, and we have lost that focus, it seems.

Now, the news sites out there are content to rehash and opinionate, and debate, rather than report what is happening and why that is not covered by the main stream. This has got to change. The press release needs to make a come-back. It needs to be utilized heavily. People need to start writing letters to the editor, calling in on radio shows again, writing editorials and submitting them to any paper that will publish it. People need to start collecting contact information and utilizing their own email lists.

So, the next time you have an event, send out a press release to ALL of your contacts, and to ALL the media you can find. Everywhere. In this press release make sure you tell who you are, what you are about -- or trying to accomplish, when the event is taking place, where it is occurring, and why you feel the need to take action. Make sure you include a disclaimer (i.e., "we are not white supremacists. The KKK and anyone like them is not welcome at our event. We do not support hate"), so that when the main stream media reports about you, you have proof in black and white that they are reporting untruths, and then you can get a lawyer and sue for slander.

Finally, people need to stop being selfish. If there is one thing I've learned, its that the best way to promote my own group or organization is to help another group or organization. I was number 23 in Alexa Website rankings in the Conservative genre. I helped Sierra Times become number 1 in less than two months of its existence. We gain a lot when we stand together. We gain no ground if we stand alone.

And, the pen, indeed, IS mightier than the sword! And, a hundred pens writing about the same subject is unbeatable!

NY Times gets VERY bad news on Palin’s defamation lawsuit

Allen B. West

Bad news for the New York Times, but former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin just got some excellent news concerning her defamation lawsuit against the rag paper. The suit was filed after the NYT posted an editorial piece that accused Palin of playing a role in instigating the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

Now the authors of the piece are being ordered to testify in court.

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Media and the Press

RSF’s index stresses threats against journalists in Asia, audiences’ need for free press
Broadcasting Board of Governors
April 26, 2017
The media environment in Radio Free Asia’s broadcast region further declined, according to Reporters Without Borders’s 2017 Press Freedom Index. Radio Free Asia (RFA) President Libby Liu said the report’s findings underscore the importance of RFA’s mission in countries that censor and restrict access to independent, reliable news and information. Seven of RFA’s nine language services operate in countries that were ranked in the bottom 10 percent of the survey, with North Korea ranked dead last, and China and Vietnam named the world’s biggest jailers of bloggers and journalists.
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9th Circuit urged to uphold First Amendment freedoms of investigative journalists
Alliance Defending Freedom
April 21, 2017
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List Education Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that encourages the full court to take up the case of David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress and uphold First Amendment freedoms for investigative journalists.
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