Your BRIGHT Week in Review
Plus: Dinner and a Show
Photos of the Week
Walz’s COVID Snitch Line
The American Spectator reported that in 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz set up a COVID-19 snitch line to encourage citizens to report violations of pandemic mandates. This hotline led to hundreds of complaints from Minnesotans, many reporting minor infractions such as mask-wearing violations or gatherings. The snitch line sparked controversy for encouraging citizens to police each other, inviting comparisons to historical periods like the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism.
Though some defended the policy as a means of ensuring public safety, critics argue it bred fear, paranoia, and resentment. Despite the controversy, Walz defended the hotline as a necessary public health measure, but the program was quietly rescinded by November 2020.
The American Spectator’s Jonathan Miltmore argues that as Walz campaigns on respecting personal choices, it’s important to highlight the contradiction between his current stance and his past policies. He concludes, “Minding one’s own business is good advice and a tenet of classical liberalism. Unfortunately, as someone who has lived in Minnesota the last 15 years, I can assure you that Tim Walz is not interested in minding his own businesses. Nor does he respect the personal choices or individual rights of Americans. Walz may not be evil, but his snitch line was—and Americans should not forget it.”
Deportations Decreased Significantly Under Biden-Harris
Since it came up in the debate last night, it’s worth calling attention to the The Daily Mail highlighting that a new report reveals that deportations of convicted criminal immigrants have decreased by 74% under the Biden-Harris administration, despite a record number of border crossings. According to data from the National Immigration Center for Enforcement, only 134,617 criminal immigrants were deported over the past three years. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows over 10.3 million illegal immigrant encounters during this period, with an additional estimated 2 million evading custody.
Republicans, including Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, our “border czar,” for failing to address both border and interior immigration issues. In contrast, during the Trump administration, a higher percentage of immigrants were removed, leading Republicans to argue that current policies have compromised public safety.
Last week at a campaign event, Trump said, “It was all done by Comrade Kamala Harris. Our great border czar, who’s incompetent, who’s totally incompetent.”
ICYMI: Dave Ramsey Interviews Donald Trump
Will Vice President Kamala Harris accept his offer?
The Tragic Truth About Amber Thurman
To be fair to Senator JD Vance, it is a heartbreaking story regardless, so I understand not correcting the facts. However, it’s important to have all the information. Fox News reported that during the CBS Vice Presidential Debate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Amber Thurman of Georgia likely died due to restrictive abortion laws following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Walz argued that Thurman's death, which occurred after she had to travel out of state for care, highlighted the dangers of limiting abortion access based on geography. ProPublica previously reported on Thurman’s death and linked it to Georgia's abortion restrictions. However, OB-GYNs and others refuted the claims, stating that Georgia law allows doctors to intervene in medical emergencies and that the death resulted from complications with abortion pills, not the state’s restrictions.
More from Fox News:
U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., and state Rep. Mark Newton have also come out to say they don't believe Georgia laws had anything to do with Thurman's death, alleging it was caused by complications from abortion pills because doctors may have waited too long to intercede.
"We never deny a woman an abortion because it's going to harm her in some way. She will always be protected," McCormick said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
"You have every right to an abortion, even with that heartbeat law," he continued. "So, let's make that very clear right now. When they say there's no exceptions, there's never any law in any state where there's no exceptions. That doesn't exist. That's simply not the way it works. The mother's life is always protected. With that said, it doesn't mean it's easy to get an abortion just because you have a complication or because something goes wrong."
Does Gen Z Want to Work?
I, for one, don’t blame them if they don’t. A survey by Intelligent.com revealed that Generation Z workers (born after 1997) are being fired at alarming rates. The Washington Examiner reported that six in 10 employers have dismissed recent Gen Z hires this year. Business leaders cite concerns over communication skills, professionalism, and lack of motivation. Many companies find Gen Z workers unprepared for the workplace, attributing the problem to an education system that infantilizes students and fails to prepare them for real-world challenges.
Brad Palumbo of the Examiner argues that while Gen Z bears some responsibility, us olds also share the blame:
A hefty piece of the blame belongs with the foolish administrators who’ve set young people up to fail and politicians who have funded these failure factories no matter how bad results become. And behind every young adult getting fired for his workplace entitlement or poor attitude is a set of parents, who in many cases may have coddled their child for far too long.
It’s a serious problem that so many young people are struggling to adapt to the work force and being fired at high rates as a result. But as tempting as it can be just to blame the Gen Z “snowflakes,” older generations bear part of the blame for the results of the system they created.
Dinner and a Show
We are catching up on season two of Tulsa King, available on Paramount+ and for rent on Amazon. Sly’s character is old school and fun to watch. For dinner, it has to be Italian and I found two options — Sylvester Stallone’s Meatballs and his High Protein Pizza.