My daughter’s high school guidance councilor from Georgia at Perkiomen Valley High School didn’t want her to enroll at Temple University because it’s in a Black neighborhood. Julia got an incredible education at Temple making international friends at the Fox School of Business Temple University and Temple University Rome.
"The Supreme Court on Thursday held that admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that relied in part on racial considerations violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection, a historic ruling that will force a dramatic change in howthe nation’s private and public universities select their students.
The votes split along ideological grounds, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. writing for the conservative members in the majority, and the liberals dissenting…
While the ruling involved race-conscious programs at Harvard and UNC, it will affect virtually every college and university in the United States. In anticipation of the ruling, leaders of elite private and public institutions have said they fear a dramatic drop in Black and Hispanic students if they are forced to rely only on grades and test scores in making admissions decisions.
It was the second time in as many terms that the court’s dominant conservative majority has undermined decades-old, landmark rulings. Last year, the justices ended the guarantee of abortion rights that court found nearly 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade. It was 45 years ago that the court first approved the limited use of affirmative action in college admissions decisions, citing the importance of filling U.S. campuses with students from varied backgrounds.
In her dissent on Thursday, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s lone Latina justice, wrote that it is “a disturbing feature of today’s decision that the Court does not even attempt to make the extraordinary showing required” to reverse precedent.
Sotomayor, who has said her own life is an example of how affirmative action programs can work, spoke at length from the bench during Thursday’s session, a tactic justices use to mark their profound disagreement with a decision.
“Equal educational opportunity is a prerequisite to achieving racial equality in our Nation,” she wrote in her 69-page dissent. She was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, although Jackson recused herself from the Harvard case because she served on a board at the university.
“Today, this Court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress. It holds that race can no longer be used in a limited way in college admissions to achieve such critical benefits," Sotomayor wrote. "In so holding, the Court cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter…”
Jackson’s dissent, which she did not read from the bench, responds to what she called Thomas’s “prolonged attack.”
“With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat,” Jackson wrote. “But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”
"A half-dozen scholarly groups, including the nation’s two largest associations of professional historians, have criticized the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia for renting space to Moms for Liberty, calling it a dangerous normalization of an organization that supports book bans and restrictions on teaching about race and gender."
***
In 1995 Pat Sellers was a Coatesville School Board Member
Pat Sellers ran for Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District twice. In his 1996 run for Congress Sellers true colors were unfurled. Patrick Henry Sellers consulted with and got a campaign assist from Larry Pratt. Here is where the Christian Identity Estes Park meeting comes in:
"Larry Pratt was the keynote speaker in a fundraiser for Pat Sellers in his first run for Pennsylvania's 6 Congressional District in 1996. Sellers ran again in 2010.
From the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal:
"Pratt is executive director of Gun Owners of America. He left the Buchanan Campaign after the media reported on his ties to the Ku Klux Klan and the white supremacist group Aryan Nation.
Pratt has indorsed Sellers and will be the keynote speaker at a fund-raising dinner for Sellers next week.
Sellers said the allegations against Pratt are untrue and that he sought Pratt's support because of his expertise on gun issues.”
“I've been a member of the John Birch Society for almost 20 years and have been a chapter leader since the early 90’s. I’m not on their paid field staff, so I speak to you today not on behalf of the Society, but as one who firmly believes their mission statement of “Less government, more individual responsibility and with God’s help, a better world”, to be the best philosophy to live by.”
Patrick Sellers, from his “Abolish the Income Tax” speech 4/15/2009 Chester County Ron Paul Revolution 2012
American Renaissance Magazine
Vol 11, No. 7 July 2000
LETTERS FROM READERS
"Sir — Jared Taylor missed the mark completely in his article on Elian Gonzalez in the June issue. One would think that since the liberal Washington Establishment was going against one of its usual constituencies (the Cuban community), Mr. Taylor would realize that racial consciousness had little if anything to do with what is happening. By narrowly focusing on what is at most a side issue, he fails to see the big picture.
The globalists in Washington don’t give a hoot about Elian, and are probably delighted that conservatives like Mr. Taylor focus on the race issue...
Mr. Taylor also fails to realize the dangers in letting Reno and company get away with the enormous abuse of federal power their early-morning raid represents. Just because it was a Cuban household the feds smashed their way into does not make it any more acceptable to true constitutionalists."
Pat Sellers, Coatesville, Pa.
MORE FROM:
American Renaissance archives
American Renaissance magazine
Vol 11, No. 7 July 2000- The War on White Heritage
"Moms for Liberty is a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement. The group grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and has advocated books bans.
Moms for Liberty is an antigovernment organization founded in 2021 by former Florida school board members, Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich. Current Sarasota County, Florida school board member, Bridget Ziegler, was also a co-founder. She has since left the group, leaving Justice and Descovich at the helm.
Moms for Liberty and its nationwide chapters combat what they consider the “woke indoctrination” of children by advocating for book bans in school libraries and endorsing candidates for public office that align with the group's views. They also use their multiple social media platforms to target teachers and school officials, advocate for the abolition of the Department of Education, advance a conspiracy propaganda, and spread hateful imagery and rhetoric against the LGBTQ community.
In Their Own Words
“The K-12 Cartel - also known as the National Teachers Union (NEA) - met and drafted a proposal to replace the word ‘Mother’ with ‘Birthing Person.’ This is insane and insulting to every mom in America. But don’t worry, relief is coming ... Because as the Teachers Union pushes an agenda focused on everything BUT educating our children, American Parents are rising up, taking back our school districts and putting the focus back on educating our children. To be clear - You will not be seeing ‘Moms for Liberty’ rebranded as ‘Birthing Persons for Liberty’ anytime soon.”
— Tiffany Justice, Moms for Liberty on Fox News on July 7, 2022
“Gender dysphoria is a mental health disorder that is being normalized by predators across the USA. California kids are at extreme risk from predatory adults. Now they want to ‘liberate’ children all over the country. Does a double mastectomy on a preteen sound like progress?’
— Tweet from Moms for Liberty on July 25, 2022, tweet regarding California SB 107 gender transition bill that got their account suspended.
“If I had any mental issues, they would have been plowed down with a gun by now.&rdqduo;
— Melissa “Missy” Bosch (Lonoke County, AR Chapter) was indicted for terroristic threatening towards the faculty and staff of Cabot School district. She was recorded musing about gunning down a school librarian."
"A half-dozen scholarly groups, including the nation’s two largest associations of professional historians, have criticized the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia for renting space to Moms for Liberty, calling it a dangerous normalization of an organization that supports book bans and restrictions on teaching about race and gender.
In a letter to the museum on Monday, the American Historical Association called on the museum to find a legal way to cancel the rental.
“Moms for Liberty is an organization that has vigorously advocated censorship and harassment of history teachers, banning history books from libraries and classrooms, and legislation that renders it impossible for historians to teach with professional integrity without risking job loss and other penalties,” the letter said.
The letter recognized the group’s right to argue for its preferred approach to history education. “However, Moms for Liberty has crossed a boundary in its attempts to silence and harass teachers, rather than participate in legitimate controversy,” it said."
Several leading scholarly groups have criticized the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia for renting space to the group, which has pushed for book bans.
MY POST CONCERNING WHAT I BELIEVED WAS INTERFERENCE OF RUSSIA IN LOCAL COATESVILLE PA ELECTIONS:
Elections are now won or lost on social media.
That goes for Coatesville City Council elections too.
Even if a voter doesn’t go near a network connected device, information that originated on Facebook can be passed by word of mouth. Facebook or some other social media is often the foundation of corporate media news stories.
Russians will be hitting municipal, county and state elections on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. And most people involved in those elections probably aren't checking.
THE RUSSIA/REPUBLICAN PARTY WORM PILE BEGAN WITH TRUMP MEETING RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGI LAVROV AND AMBASSADOR SERGEY KISLYAK.
"President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State.
The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.
The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said Trump’s decision to do so endangers cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump’s meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency.
'This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”
WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers recently indicted by the Department of Justice who played a significant role in the Kremlin’s attempts to conduct global malign influence operations, including efforts to influence a local election in the United States.
“The Kremlin continues to target a key pillar of democracy around the world — free and fair elections,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “The United States will not tolerate threats to our democracy, and today’s action builds on the whole of government approach to protect our system of representative government, including our democratic institutions and elections processes.”
The Kremlin seeks to expand Russia’s influence by creating and exploiting societal divisions in the United States and among allies and partners; reducing confidence in democratic processes; weakening U.S. diplomatic ties; and encouraging anti-U.S. and anti-democratic political views. As part of its efforts, the Kremlin often uses social media as a tool for disseminating disinformation to confuse and mislead citizens globally and to co-opt witting U.S. persons to advance Russia’s operational and geopolitical goals.
In support of its influence operations, Russia has recruited and forged ties with people and groups around the world who are positioned to amplify and reinforce Russia’s disinformation efforts to further its goals of destabilizing democratic societies. These efforts have included using front organizations to promote connections between the Kremlin and its compatriots living abroad, to propagate disinformation, and to surreptitiously seek access to foreign officials, businesspeople, and other figures, in the United States and elsewhere, to advance Putin’s interests.
Russia’s intelligence services, including the FSB, support Kremlin-directed influence operations against the United States and its allies and partners, and often recruit individuals — known as “co-optees” — leveraging these individuals to sow discord within their own and other countries.
Today’s action follows a series of OFAC designations that expose Russia’s attempted election interference efforts and destabilizing efforts in Ukraine. Specifically, today’s action follows DOJ’s April 18, 2023 indictments of the same individuals, and is directly related to the July 29, 2022 designation of FSB co-optees Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov (Ionov) and Natalya Valeryevna Burlinova (Burlinova) and their organizations. OFAC designated Ionov and Burlinova pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14024 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Government of the Russian Federation. On July 29, 2022, DOJ concurrently indicted Ionov for working on behalf of the Russian government in conjunction with the FSB.
The individuals designated today are FSB officers assigned to the FSB’s Service for the Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight Against Terrorism (the “FSB 2nd Service”), which has worked to undermine democratic processes in the United States and other countries through a network of co-optees. These FSB officers include Ionov’s and Burlinova’s main handler and his unit chief.
Yegor Sergeyevich Popov (Popov) is an FSB 2nd Service officer who served as Ionov’s primary handler. Popov frequently communicated with Ionov to gather information related to Ionov’s foreign malign influence activities in the United States and elsewhere. Popov also often communicated with Burlinova to relay information in intelligence reports regarding her activities.
Ionov directed more than six U.S. co-conspirators, including two individuals who ran as candidates in local U.S. elections, to provide detailed information regarding the activities of several political groups, which Ionov subsequently compiled into reports for Popov and other FSB 2nd Service officers. In the Summer and Fall of 2019, Ionov and Popov communicated about a local U.S. election and Ionov’s support of a candidate, who won in the primary contest.
From as early as 2015 through at least 2022, Popov worked with Burlinova and oversaw her activities on behalf of the FSB. In 2015, Popov assisted and provided guidance to Burlinova in her travels to the United States. Popov provided Burlinova a list of U.S. citizens and proposed possible approaches to interact with them. Burlinova provided Popov evaluations of how U.S. citizens responded to presentations, and who had had positive attitudes towards Russia and were prepared to continue to collaborate with her. In 2018, Burlinova informed Popov that two individuals she identified, who resided in Europe, were running for public office, and Burlinova boasted that these were the fruits of her labor and described the developments as soft power.
Popov reported to his FSB 2nd Serviceunit chief Aleksei Borisovich Sukhodolov (Sukhodolov). Sukhodolov also worked with Ionov to conduct foreign malign influence operations around the world, including in the United States, Ukraine, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Ionov directed reporting to Sukhodolov and other FSB officials of detailed information regarding the activities of several U.S. political groups. Ionov also reported on his malign influence activities to Sukhodolov, including his consulting role in a U.S. local election.
In late 2021, Sukhodolov worked with other FSB officers and a Russia-based institution to draft and submit grant applications on behalf of several FSB co-optees and their organizations and enterprises, which included Ionov and Burlinova.
OFAC designated Popov and Sukhodolov pursuant to E.O. 14024 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Government of the Russian Federation.
On April 18, 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida indicted Popov and Sukhodolov for working on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation. Also on April 18, DOJ filed a criminal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charging Burlinova with conspiring to violate 18 U.S.C. § 951 (acting as an agent of a foreign government) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the United States).
SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.
In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC’s Frequently Asked Question 897. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please refer to OFAC’s website.
