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March 9, 2021 - Epoch Times
21:14
Trump Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to GOP: Stop Using My Likeness for Fund Raising | Facts Matter
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Good evening.
It was just announced yesterday that over in California, the petition to recall Governor Gavin Newsom has reached enough signatures to trigger the vote, which will likely happen later this year.
Now, over at the White House, Joe Biden has just signed a new executive order, also just yesterday, in order to increase voting by criminals.
Both by those who are currently in prison as well as by those who are on probation.
Meanwhile, a new report claims that Iran-backed militia groups have active terrorist cells over in Washington, D.C., which allegedly have the capacity to target American troops.
And lastly, down in Texas, a human trafficking sting operation down there has led to the arrest of 30 people as well as to the rescuing of one child.
Let's go through these stories together.
This is your daily Facts Matter update, and I'm your host, Roman, from the Epoch Times.
Now let's start today's discussion by talking about the U.S. southern border.
As the situation down there deteriorates, and the crisis on the border is getting worse, President Trump came out and called Joe Biden's leadership on the issue disastrous.
In a newly released statement, here's what he said.
Our border is now totally out of control thanks to the disastrous leadership of Joe Biden.
Our Great Border Patrol and ICE agents have been disrespected, demeaned, and mocked by the Biden administration.
A mass incursion into the country by people who should not be here is happening on an hourly basis, getting worse by the minute.
Many have criminal records, and many others have and are spreading COVID.
Now, that statement from President Trump came as the Biden administration is currently struggling to contain a deepening crisis at the U.S. southern border.
Now, what's been happening is that over the last several months, there has been an influx of illegal aliens crossing the border, which can likely be attributed to the undoing of several of President Trump's immigration policies.
Now, the Biden administration is not interested in either advice or admonitions from President Trump.
In fact, during a press conference, here is what the White House press secretary said.
We don't take advice or counsel from former President Trump on immigration policy, which was not only inhumane but ineffective over the last four years.
We will chart our own path forward, including treating children with humanity and respect and ensuring their safety when they cross our borders.
Now, specifically, she mentioned children, which is something that I'd like to highlight.
The number of illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border has been steadily increasing since the presidential election back in November of last year, particularly by unaccompanied minors.
And as a solution for that, the Biden administration has opened what they're calling overflow shelters to handle this influx.
And they have begun to release minors to both relatives as well as sponsors who are already here in the U.S. in order to clear space and make more room for more migrants at these overflow shelters.
Now, this is a total 180, by the way, from Trump's policy before he left office.
The Trump administration was actually using its public health authority, by citing COVID-19, the virus, to expel minors back to Mexico, which had the effect of deterring further crossings into the country.
However, all of that has now changed.
In fact, last week, a lawmaker down in Texas, who is a Democrat and represents an area that touches the border, he sounded the alarm that Border Patrol agents are not testing migrants for the virus.
Furthermore, a spokesperson for Brownsville, Texas, which is a town in the South, told news outlets that 108 migrants tested positive for the virus since they began testing on January the 15th.
According to officials, if you do the math, that represents about 6.3% of the total undocumented migrants who were rapid tested over in Brownville's bus station.
Here's what this official had to say.
The city of Brownsville continues to follow all guidelines provided by the CDC for COVID-19.
The migrants who test positive at the Bee Metro facility are advised of quarantine procedures and are asked to socially distance.
Since the city started testing the migrants on January the 25th, there has been 6.3% of positive cases.
The Cameron County positivity rate is 13.8%.
Now, besides that policy, back in January, as you might have heard, Joe Biden issued an executive order to pause the construction of the southern border wall, which, according to a sheriff down in Arizona, has left areas wide open for Mexican cartels to operate.
This sheriff told news outlets that, It's almost like we're not part of this country, which is very upsetting.
If you would like to read more about what is happening over at the U.S. southern border or about the effects that the Biden administration's actions are having down there, those links will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
And by the way, that is that same description box that is right below that like button that I hope you take a minute to smash.
You know that videos that are like this, talking honestly about what is happening in this world, are routinely censored, throttled, meaning their reach is reduced, or sometimes outright removed by big tech platforms like YouTube.
However, when you smash that like button that's below this video, you are forcing the algorithm to share this video out to potentially thousands of more people, especially people here in America, letting the truth be known far and wide.
And now let's talk about Washington, D.C. According to a newly released report, Iran-backed militia groups claim to have active cells, active terror cells, over in Washington, D.C. that are allegedly capable of targeting American troops.
Now on Telegram, which is a social media platform similar to Twitter, a channel that's affiliated with one of these groups posted this.
The axis of resistance today is stronger than before.
Resistance cells are rooted even in America and its capital.
Now, that post went along with a picture which showed caskets of U.S. troops.
Now, furthermore, their Telegram post also claimed that terror factions associated with Iran are growing stronger and gaining more and more support, and they called on U.S. forces to withdraw not only from Iraq, but also from the Middle East entirely.
Now, this story comes on the heels of the airstrike that was conducted in Syria against Iran-backed forces just about a week ago.
When Joe Biden was asked about what message he was trying to send with those airstrikes over in Syria, here's what he told reporters.
You can't act with impunity.
Be careful.
Now, we here at the Epoch Times, we reached out to the Pentagon for comment regarding these alleged terrorist cells in Washington, D.C., but we have yet to hear back.
If you would like to read this story for yourself, comb through that report, and take a look at those screenshots from Telegram, from those posts, those links will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
And now, let's talk about Texas.
30 people have been arrested and one child has been rescued in a human trafficking sting operation down in Fort Bend County, which is in Texas.
It's a little bit west of Houston.
According to officials down there, the sting operation was called Operation Cupid, and it lasted about three days, wherein they targeted individuals who were allegedly clients of prostitutes.
And here's what the assistant district attorney down there said in a news conference.
Over three days, Operation Cupid aimed to combat human trafficking in Fort Bend County by identifying and arresting those intending to buy sex.
Commonly known as John's, they create the demand for human trafficking and contribute to the pervasive problem the community faces from these crimes.
We are focused on saving victims by following basic economics.
Removing the demand will reduce the supply.
Now adding to that, the local sheriff in that region further said...
Don't take it lightly.
We rescued a child.
We arrested 30 offenders.
That's a big thing.
Perpetrators should know.
Fort Bend County is no longer a place where you can come easily to commit these crimes.
We're out there now.
We're looking for you, and we will arrest you.
As of right now, more details in this particular case have not been revealed.
However, human trafficking in Texas is a huge problem.
In fact, about a year ago, we put together a short video on the issue.
Take a look.
Child trafficking is a major problem in America.
Grooming by pimps could be happening on any teenager's phone, in her classroom or her friend group.
79,000 children are being trafficked for sex in Texas alone right now, according to a study by the University of Texas.
Even straight-A students from good homes and churchgoers get lured into sex trafficking when clever people with terrible intentions target youths who've been through trauma.
Did you know that pimps can brainwash impressionable young people so strongly that the youth themselves choose to join the sex trade and take drugs?
They're not even forced, per se.
This is the scariest part.
In this exclusive article, we interviewed sex trafficking survivor Courtney and her mother Kelly in Houston, Texas, and they told us their story.
Prevention through education is crucial, Kelly said.
This mother-daughter team founded an organization to help parents who find themselves in the same nightmarish circumstances.
They help to educate parents about the six stages of grooming, what to look for, and most importantly, how to pull your kids out of this trap at every step.
The six stages are, one, befriend.
This is when the abuser establishes trust with the teen.
Two, intoxicate.
Here the abuser introduces friction at home and creates dependency.
Three, alienate.
Here the abuser drives a wedge between the teen and their family.
Four, isolate.
Here, the abuser separates the teen from long-term friends who share their core values.
Five, desensitize.
Here, the abuser disorients the victim's moral compass, convincing the teen that they can have a better life and that their parents just don't understand their generation.
And lastly, six, capitalize.
Here, the abuser physically takes your child away from you through brainwashing, coercion, kidnapping, or a combination of all three.
Only 1-2% of teens who make it to this final step ultimately get rescued.
And this is an unbelievably big problem, as currently up to 300,000 American kids alert into the commercial sex trade every single year.
Now, if you would like to read more about this particular sting operation over in Texas, or about the anti-human trafficking efforts happening across the nation, those links will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
However, while we're on the topic of Texas, it's also worth mentioning that the governor, Governor Greg Abbott down there, he came out and he backed a bill that would prohibit social media companies from censoring conservative speech.
While speaking at a press conference, he warned about a dangerous movement across America to silence conservative ideas as well as religious beliefs.
In that speech, he blamed social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, for contributing to that nationwide movement by choosing which viewpoints are going to be presented and which are not.
Here's what he said.
Conservative speech will not be canceled in the state of Texas.
We see that the First Amendment is under assault by the social media companies, and that is not going to be tolerated in Texas.
They are controlling the flow of information, and sometimes denying the flow of information.
Texas is taking a stand against big tech political censorship.
We're not going to allow it in the lone star state.
Now, the bill that he is backing is generically called Senate Bill 12, and it would declare social media platforms to be central public forums for public debate.
And it would prohibit social media companies from blocking, banning, demonetizing, or otherwise discriminating against any user based on their viewpoint or geographic location within Texas.
Now, the senator who introduced the bill, he said it this way...
This bill will give Texans a right to get back online when they're mistreated in that way.
Free speech is that uniquely American right, isn't it?
The right to hash things out, to hear views that we may not like, because we want to get to the truth.
We want to get to the right place.
We're not afraid of debate.
Now that senator, while he was describing the bill, went further, and he added that a handful of billionaires over in Silicon Valley should not get to play as gatekeepers of free speech here in America.
Now, we'll keep you abreast of any developments with this bill as it's working its way through the Senate legislature, and we'll let you know if anything comes of it.
If you'd like to read more about this bill, if you'd like to read the full text of the bill, that link will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
And now let's move on over to California.
Yesterday, organizers who are working on the campaign to recall Governor Gavin Newsom, they announced that they now have collected enough signatures to trigger a special election later this year.
According to these organizers, with about 10 days still left before the deadline, they have gathered 1,950,000 signatures.
Here's what they said.
That is more than enough to be able to have this initiative qualified for a special election later this year to let the people finally decide who and what is going to happen with the fate in the future of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The momentum is building.
Californians are consistently becoming more disgruntled with how their state is run.
Now, the way that this all works is that these organizers must present state officials over in California with just under 1.5 million verified signatures in order to initiate the recall procedure.
And if they do, which it looks like they will, voters will be asked later this year whether Gavin Newsom should be removed from office.
And if a majority of the voters say that he should be removed, they'll also be asked who should replace him.
Now, in terms of potential replacement, in terms of potential new governors of California, several people have either launched or said that they're exploring a bid for the governor position, including a former Facebook executive, who's a Democrat, as well as the former mayor of San Diego, who's a Republican.
Now as to why so many people want Gavin Newsom to be removed, the organizers said that it has to do with harsh restrictions he's imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the rising numbers of homeless people in the state, and the way that the state is distributing COVID-19 vaccines, among other reasons.
Also, interesting to note in this case is that this effort cuts across party lines.
According to the organizers, about 31% of an internal sample of signatures that they examined actually came from people who were not Republicans.
Now, we here at the Epoch Times actually got to ask Gavin Newsom himself a question.
We got to ask his thoughts about this recall during a press briefing.
And here's what he told us.
I am focused on vaccines, focusing on bringing down case rates, focused on safely reopening our economy.
So he basically daftly avoided the question.
Regardless, this is not the first time in recent memory that a governor over in California has been recalled.
If you remember back in 2003, Governor Gray Davis was recalled from office and Arnold Schwarzenegger was eventually voted in to replace him.
So, let's see how it turns out this time.
If you would like to read more about this recall effort, that link will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
And now, let's talk a little bit about the Republican Party's marketing.
It was just reported yesterday that President Trump sent cease and desist letters to several Republican organizations, such as the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as well as the National Republican Congressional Committee, in order for them to stop using his name as well as his likeness to raise funds.
In fact, in a speech over at CPAC, President Trump instructed his supporters to donate to his campaign on his website, as well as to the Save America Political Action Committee.
Now back then, when he said that, that move suggested that President Trump was aiming to build financial leverage over the Republican Party, which, given this new cease and desist letter, does seem to be the case.
Now what's interesting is that as of yesterday morning when we checked, the National Republican Congressional Committee was still using President Trump's name in its messaging for people who registered for their emails.
And likewise, yesterday morning when we checked, the homepage of the National Republican Senatorial Committee was advertising Trump-related t-shirts on its online store.
Now, we actually spoke with Rich Barris, who is the director of Big Data Poll, and he speculated that President Trump's instructions to his base to donate to his website as well as to his PAC handed him leverage over the RNC, the Republican National Committee, which may take a financial hit as a result of this decision.
This is what he said.
If he wanted to, he could basically bankrupt them into submission.
I know there's a lot of people in the Trump world who are rightfully angry with how the RNC raised so much money when they were jointly connected and did not appropriate it right or definitely didn't appropriate it to the efforts that they say that they would, like election integrity.
There's another element to this, the hidden horse race, which is the money race.
If these guys can't raise money because Donald Trump is sucking all the oxygen out of the room, they're in a lot of trouble, because their candidates are relying on their support.
Now, we here at the Epoch Times, we reached out to these three Republican organizations for comment, but have yet to hear back.
If you would like to read more about this development, as well as the full text of these cease and desist letters, those links will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
And now, let's talk a little bit about Joe Biden's new executive order.
Yesterday, Joe Biden signed an executive order which increases voting by criminals.
Specifically, it alters the way that the federal government handles elections, including by increasing voting and voter registration access for criminals in prison as well as for those who are on probation.
And for clarification, the White House actually distributed a fact sheet about this executive order, and here's what it said.
The order will direct the attorney general to establish procedures to provide educational materials related to voter registration and voting, and to the extent practicable, to facilitate voter registration for all eligible individuals in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
That order also directs the attorney general to help former prisoners obtain appropriate identification to satisfy state voting requirements.
Now, in terms of how this will all actually play out, the Executive Order directs the heads of federal agencies to prepare a plan within the next 200 days for how their agencies can promote voter registration.
Potential action items in their plans could include, for instance, the distribution of mail-in ballots at agency events, as well as the use of agency websites to promote voter registration.
Furthermore, this executive order directs federal agencies to take steps to become formal voter registration agencies, sort of like how the DMV is.
As you already know, you can go over to the DMV and you can register to vote.
And so this new executive order wants other federal agencies to be the same way.
Now, this new executive order is not an isolated incident.
It is actually part of recent efforts by the federal government to overhaul our election system.
In fact, last week, Democrats in the House passed H.R.1, also known as the For the People Act.
This bill is now over at the Senate, where they will be debating and ultimately voting on it.
And if it passes, it would transfer authority over how our elections are administered from individual states over to the federal government, and it will make permanent many of the voting rules that critics of the bill say that lead to voter fraud.
Now, this bill is huge, by the way.
It's 791 pages.
And there are some things in it that are accepted by both sides, such as a provision ensuring that all voting machines that are used in American elections are manufactured within the United States.
However, there are many, many other contentious issues in this bill, such as, for one, giving the federal government authority to administer elections rather than the states, secondly, mandating automatic voter registration in all 50 states, mandating no-fault absentee ballots,
as well as forcing states to accept absentee ballots for up to 10 days after Election Day, In fact,
if you'd like to go deeper into what this new bill would mean for our election system, we published a phenomenal article going through the 30 most key things that you need to know about H.R. 1.
That link will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
And now lastly, As you already know, as we already mentioned in previous episodes, on the very same day that Joe Biden was sworn into office, YouTube made the unilateral decision to cut off our funding.
They stopped our ability to advertise before, during, or after our episodes, and the Super Chat feature has now been removed.
However, if you would like to support Epoch Times, if you would like to support honest journalism, I'll throw a link into the description box below this video to a page where you can subscribe.
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And until next time, I'm your host, Roman from the Epoch Times.
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