Kansas City will kick hundreds of rentals off Airbnb, Vrbo this week. Here’s why

September 19, 2023

Kansas City will kick hundreds of rentals off Airbnb, Vrbo this week. Here’s why

Kansas City Star | Sept. 20, 2023

Vacation rental giant Airbnb lists “over 1,000” places to stay in Kansas City. But by tomorrow, nearly half of that number could be gone. It’s all due to Kansas City’s recent ordinance governing short-term rentals within city limits. The rule, which went into effect on June 15, requires hosts to register their short-term rentals with the city and follow new rules like data reporting, added safety measures and paying a flat fee and a city tax on each unit.

As of Tuesday, only 539 units had registered as short-term rental locations. The rest will no longer be allowed to operate or advertise their services on booking sites like Airbnb and Vrbo once the city’s three-month grace period ends Friday. “We’ve actually already sent the list to the different booking platforms,” said Forest Decker, director of the city’s Neighborhood Services Department. “We are kind of stepping up our level of aggressiveness.”

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September 19, 2023

Biden-appointed judge rules parents can’t opt children out of school lessons promoting LGBT ideology – NaturalNews.com

Biden-appointed judge rules parents can’t opt children out of school lessons promoting LGBT ideology

Maryland District Court Judge Deborah Boardman has denied a requested injunction from a group of parents representing various faith traditions who sought to opt their children out of LGBTQ-themed storybook lessons in Montgomery County Public Schools.

Boardman, appointed by President Joe Biden, denied the injunction on Aug. 24. This court decision comes just around a year after the Montgomery County Board of Education officially adopted over 20 pro-LGBT books for students from pre-K through eighth grade. (Related: Books on gender transitioning recommended to kindergartners in Newsom’s California.)

Parents were initially able to opt their children out of hearing these books being read. However, earlier this year, the school board decided to remove this option, sparking outrage from parents from a variety of faiths, including Muslims and Christians of different backgrounds, including Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

These parents note that all they wanted was to shield their children from LGBTQ+ ideologies at such a young age. This collective outrage then fueled the desire of the parents to file a lawsuit.

The parents argued that the “no opt-out” policy, which forbids parents from excusing their children from lessons on transgenderism, gender identity, and other pro-LGBTQ narratives, violated their First Amendment rights to free exercise and free speech, as well as their 14th Amendment rights.

However, Boardman denied the request and argued that the parents had not provided sufficient evidence of the potential for indoctrination despite the claims that these materials are objectionable and could lead to indoctrination. Boardman further reasoned that the school-mandated LGBTQ curriculum did not conflict with the freedom of the parents to practice their religions, but the Supreme Court declared otherwise.

“Even if their children’s exposure to religiously offensive ideas makes the parents’ efforts less likely to succeed, that does not amount to a government-imposed burden on their religious exercise,” Boardman stated.

Religious parents of children in Montgomery County Schools are set to file an appeal against the ruling

The decision of Boardman reignited the ongoing debate surrounding the introduction of contentious subjects in public education. Even before the ruling, a group of parents already rallied outside the District of Maryland Courthouse in Greenbelt to voice their opposition.

Wael Elkoshairi, a Montgomery County parent and spokesman for the local organization Family Rights for Religious Freedom, addressed the gathering during the rally. “You are the voice of those who have no voice,” Elkoshairi stated.

Parents believe that these discussions should be left to parents to address at home based on their personal beliefs and values. They argue that schools should not be imposing these topics on young children without parental consent. This sentiment is also reflected in their lawsuit and is backed by Professor Helen Alvaré, from George Mason University’s Scalia School of Law.

In a legal analysis, she said teaching about “family relationships” is integral to the process of instilling and passing on religious beliefs. Anything that interferes with this process encroaches upon the liberty and exercise of parental rights.

She then brought up the precedents of the Supreme Court that public schools are not authorized to intervene in a child’s upbringing or religious education by enforcing compulsory education aimed at influencing the child’s religious beliefs.

“In fact, the Court has recently reaffirmed the enduring American tradition that emphasizes the rights of parents to guide their children’s religious upbringing. Judge Boardman’s efforts to distinguish these cases have been criticized as lacking substance,” as quoted by The Federalist.

Given that the parents know their rights, they are set for another pushback. The parents in opposition are set to appeal against the ruling at the Fourth Circuit.

Read more news about gender issues in the United States at Gender.news.

Watch this video as Gabe Zolna of the “Zolna Report” reacts to the news that New Jersey students will be taught about gender identity in schools.

This video is from the ZolnaReport.com channel on Brighteon.com.

Brandon Waltens: Evidence against Texas AG Ken Paxton submitted during State Senate impeachment hearing was WEAK – NaturalNews.com

Brandon Waltens: Evidence against Texas AG Ken Paxton submitted during State Senate impeachment hearing was WEAK

The evidence presented during the Texas Senate’s impeachment hearing against Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton was weak, according to journalist Brandon Waltens.

He shared this remark with conservative host Glenn Beck during a recent episode of the latter’s “The Glenn Beck Program.” According to Waltens, there has been a lot of talk from those pushing the Paxton impeachment about the “stunning” testimony and evidence they have against the Lone Star State’s top attorney.

However, the managing editor for Texas Scorecard disclosed that these claims have fallen flat. Beck agreed with his guest, pointing out that the evidence was “a little beyond weak” and there was no proof of any crime. Nevertheless, the conservative radio host said Paxton’s impeachment shows that something is very wrong in Texas – and Texans better pay attention to it. (Related: 2 Months since Ken Paxton’s ‘impeachment’, and still no evidence as to why.)

According to Waltens, the Texas House of Representatives does the impeachment. It then goes over to the Texas Senate to determine whether or not a conviction is made to remove someone from office. In Paxton’s case, state senators voted to acquit the AG on all charges on Sept. 16.

The journalist also recounted the circumstances that led to the impeachment against Paxton. Three years ago, a group of employees at the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) accused him of wrongdoing and abuse of power after he helped a friend. Paxton himself advocated for the OAG to open an investigation into Nate Paul, his friend and a major donor to his campaign.

Paul had been allegedly mistreated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) during a raid. However, former OAG Director of Law Enforcement David Maxwell – who testified against Paxton in the impeachment trial – refused to open a formal investigation into the alleged FBI and DPS misconduct.

Paxton then hired outside counsel to help explore and adjudicate his friend’s claims, leading the OAG employees to report him to the FBI. This set the impeachment charges against Paxton into motion.

Beck: GOP’s Bush wing behind Paxton impeachment

Meanwhile, Beck said he believes the Bush wing of the Texas Republican Party is behind Paxton’s impeachment. He cited several whistleblowers against the AG having ties with George P. Bush (GPB), former commissioner of the Texas General Land Office. GPB, the son of 2016 GOP presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, unsuccessfully challenged Paxton for AG during the November 2022 elections.

Waltens agreed with Beck’s observations. According to him, there had been a couple of moments during the testimony where the Bush family had been mentioned. Given this, the Texas Scorecard managing editor said the political family was definitely involved.

The host of “The Glenn Beck Program” said while Paxton himself wasn’t good at playing the game and befriending the right people, the people against him shouldn’t bend the rules just to get him out.

“If he’s a criminal, if he did something criminal, then I am for his impeachment. But if this is just because he hasn’t made the right friends or a Bush wants him out, or whatever it is,” Beck said. “The people involved in this, because it’s been so shady the way they did this, I think they should be impeached.”

Waltens seconded Beck. “It’s one thing when Americans see the Democrats going after former President Donald Trump using the criminal justice system. However, it’s another thing when Democrats go after Paxton and establishment Republicans in Texas simply go along,” Waltens said.

Watch the full conversation between Glenn Beck and Brandon Waltens about the impeachment against Paxton.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.

Trump: COMPROMISE with Russia could have helped Ukraine avoid war – NaturalNews.com

Ukraine reaching a compromise with Russia could have resulted in minimal losses of territory and life, according to former President Donald Trump.

The 45th U.S. president outlined this possibility during a Sept. 17 interview with NBC News‘ Kristen Welker. He argued that the Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, could have been prevented had Kyiv sat down with Moscow to ink a peace deal.

Per the former chief executive’s words, the loss of Ukrainian territory to Russia is “something that could have been negotiated.” He told Welker that “a lot of people” expected Kyiv to give up its claims to “Crimea and other parts of the country” in exchange for peace.

“So they could have made a deal where there’s less territory [lost] than Russia has already taken. They could have made a deal where nobody was killed, [and] they would have had a Ukrainian country. Now, nobody even knows if Ukraine is going to be totally taken over.”

According to Russia Today (RT), Trump may be referring to the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics with his “other parts of the country” statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the sovereignty of both Donetsk and Luhansk days before Moscow launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Crimea voted to rejoin Russia in 2014. Eight years later, the two people’s republics – formerly regions under Ukrainian administration – joined Russia following referendums held in September 2022. The Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions also followed suit, voting to join the Russian Federation.

Trump also claimed during his interview with Welker that he kept Ukraine and Russia “from doing anything” during his presidency. He cited, in particular, the low oil prices that characterized his term in the White House following his victory in the 2016 presidential elections. Trump argued that the low oil prices would have made it too costly for Russia – a leading oil exporter – to finance a military operation.

Trump promises peace deal between Russia, Ukraine if elected in 2024

Trump then repeated his promise that if elected in the 2024 presidential race, he would have a peace deal worked out between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours. He voiced out his intent to invite Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into one room with him to work out a deal.

“It would have been easier if the [Russia-Ukraine] war didn’t start, and you’d have hundreds of thousands of people living, most importantly,” Trump noted. “But I can get it done, and I can get it done quickly.”

The former president outlined his plan to bring about peace between Moscow and Kyiv in July during an interview with Maria Bartiromo of Fox News. Trump mentioned that he knew both leaders “very well,” sharing his plan to utilize his “good relationship” with both Putin and Zelensky.

“I would tell Zelensky, ‘No more, you got to make a deal.’ I would [also] tell Putin, ‘If you don’t make a deal, we’re going to give him a lot. We’re going to [give Ukraine] more than they ever got if we have to.’ I will have that deal done in one day.”

RT pointed out that Trump’s stance on Ukraine is fundamentally different from incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden. The current chief executive, a Democrat, has vowed to bankroll Kyiv’s military “for as long as it takes” to defeat Russia on the battlefield.

Republican candidates in the 2024 elections are espousing some sort of continued military aid to Ukraine, with Trump and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy going against the grain. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who supports bankrolling Ukraine, denounced his erstwhile boss on Sept. 17. He accused Trump of “embracing the politics of appeasement” and “letting Putin have what he wants.”

Over at the Democratic Party, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) is the only candidate espousing opposition to “forever war” with Russia. Back in June, he urged diplomacy with Russia instead of “forever war” in a speech in New Hampshire. RFK Jr.’s stance mirrored that of his uncle, the later former President John F. Kennedy, who delivered his Peace Speech 60 years earlier in June 1963. (Related: RFK Jr. calls for DIPLOMACY with Russia instead of “forever war” in speech.)

Visit Trump.news for more stories about former President Donald Trump.

Watch this video from “Hannity” on Fox News about former Vice President Mike Pence saying Russia wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine under Trump.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

East Coast’s largest groundfish company files for bankruptcy, lays off workers with no severance pay – NaturalNews.com

East Coast’s largest groundfish company files for bankruptcy, lays off workers with no severance pay

East Coast’s largest groundfish company has filed for bankruptcy, according to records in U.S. federal court in Delaware, leaving employees without a job as it shutters all of its locations and concluded an eight-year private equity (PE) roll-up of New Bedford’s fishing industry.

Blue Harvest Fisheries unexpectedly filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on September 8, meaning it will most likely have to close and liquidate all of its company assets. The food giant quietly made a decision to stop its fishing operations on Sept. 1 and has yet to make a public announcement. The “secretive” move left the industry regulators, fishermen and city officials in the dark as it abruptly grinds to a halt.

A lawyer who reviewed the company’s court records told the non-profit news outlet the New Bedford Light: “They weren’t just underwater. It looks like they had long since drowned.”

Blue Harvest has been reportedly laying off workers since May when it shut down its processing plant. A total of 64 employees were left out of work after the plant on the New Bedford waterfront closed, according to Undercurrent News. Then in mid-August, 17 more staffers were fired. The company’s fishermen, who were employed as independent contractors, were left with no support after being let go. “There’s no severance check,” lamented Randy Waycotte, captain of a Blue Harvest groundfish vessel. “People have got bills, families to support. They haven’t told us anything except that we’re no longer working.” (Related: A torrent of layoffs – Here are 16 large companies that have just announced mass terminations.)

Meanwhile, Mayor Jon Mitchell expressed his dismay at the company’s “hushed” move to “close shop.” “Blue Harvest’s decision to shutter its operations is, for sure, disappointing and disruptive to the lives of its employees.” He promised to work it out to ensure the federal permits associated with the company’s vessels remain associated with New Bedford-based commercial fishing interests, “to soften the impact.”

The company filed nine separate bankruptcy cases that included 40 individual limited liability companies (LLCs). According to the filings, Blue Harvest’s assets range from $50 million to $100 million and its liabilities are estimated between $100 million and $500 million.

Blue Harvest Fisheries is “getting off the hook”

Unlike Chapter 11, which grants the company a chance to restructure, Chapter 7 bankruptcies usually lead to liquidation. If the company proceeds with the process and the assets do not cover its debts, it will get off the hook without paying all the money it owes. “I guess we’re not getting paid,” said Randy Martin, a machinist at Harbor Hydraulics, which is located next to the Blue Harvest facility. He added that the fishery owed “a lot of companies a lot of money.”

Moreover, questions have long circulated about the firm’s ties to foreign investors. At the top of the long chain of subsidiaries is “Blue Harvest Fisheries Partners, LLC.” PE firm Bregal Partners is listed as owning 89.5 percent of the parent company that owns 92.9 percent of all other subsidiaries. This includes the company’s vessels, permits and other assets. Bregal is an investment arm of a firm owned by the family of Dutch billionaire industrialists, the Brenninkmeijers.

Foreign investors are limited from owning more than 25 percent of a U.S. fishing vessel, the New Bedford Light reported and according to the local outlet, it is still unclear if Bregal, Brenninkmeijer family, or Blue Harvest violated the foreign ownership limits. The particular maritime law is notoriously difficult to enforce, relying on a company’s own assurance that it is in compliance, it added.

“If they violated the law, it should be investigated,” said Eric Hansen, New Bedford’s representative to the government’s regional fisheries regulatory council.

The remaining 10.5 percent of the parent company is owned by an array of former Blue Harvest executives, lawyers and financiers, including Michael Arougheti, CEO of New York finance company Ares Management as well as former Blue Harvest CEOs Keith Decker and Jeffery Davis.

It also includes Louise Lischewski, the wife of former Bumble Bee CEO Chris Lischewski, who assumed ownership of his stake in the company after he was sentenced to 40 months in prison in 2020 for conspiring to fix canned tuna prices and was freed in November 2022. Each of them owns less than two percent of the company.

Visit EconomicRiot.com for more news related to bankruptcies and mass layoffs.

Watch the video below that talks about the bankruptcy boom in the United States.

This video is from The Talking Hedge channel on Brighteon.com.

Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894 Solved Through Civic Reform Efforts

NYC White Wings — ‘White Wings’ (or Angels) cleaning up New York streets needed police protection during a strike of garbage haulers, a separate service. PHOTO: via Pinterest

Editor Note: There are lessons to be learned here concerning the sub-zero low brow policies being employed in many US cities. This is a template for how to deal with the urban decay.

“Every high civilization decays by forgetting obvious things.” – G.K. Chesterton

In 2004, Stephen Davies the education director at the neoliberal Institute for Economics Affairs in London wrote an article titled the “Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894.” In it, he sang the virtues of technology, “science” and free markets at solving major problems. He proclaimed that the great manure crisis just “vanished” when millions of horses were replaced by motor vehicles, primarily through price mechanisms and technology. What a bogus account of what really happened. The success came about through civic leadership- there were far fewer sub-zeros on the scene.

No reader here has access to anyone who could describe the rather long transition from horse to car. I could have gotten the story first hand from my grandfather, but he died in 1986 at age 96. It’s hard to even visualize or imagine, but the first photo shows a New York City street in 1894.

The chart below shows the transition, which in reality was hard fought. My maternal grandfather established the first Harley Davidson and auto dealerships in northeastern Oregon (LaGrande) in about 1915. However, he was a pioneer in the industry.

Notice that even in 1920 non-farm horses were still common, 26 years after the “horse manure crisis.” In fact, it wasn’t until well into the roaring ’20s that the transition away from horses and their manure was complete.

London in 1900 still had 11,000 cabs, all horse-powered. There were also several thousand buses, each of which required 12 horses per day, a total of more than 50,000 horses. In addition, there were countless carts, drays and wains, all working constantly to deliver the goods needed by the rapidly growing population of what was then the largest city in the world.

Similar figures could be produced for any great city of the time. It was estimated that New York City in 1900 had 100,000 horses producing 2.5-million pounds of horse manure every day. Horse carcasses rotted in the streets.

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The public suffered severely from epidemics that included three massive contagious diseases: cholera, typhus and influenza. These infectious diseases were often fatal or left its victim weakened in their defense against other diseases. The main cause of these illnesses was attributed to the poor sanitation conditions and unpaved streets with ankle-deep mud.

The horse manure crisis had to be dealt with for nearly 35 years after 1894. The solution — at least until the new technology replaced the old — was dedicated civic reform, sanitation and good governance. The sub-zero neoliberals seem to want to skip over that and in a dishonest way.

The sanitation department in New York was created as the Department of Street Cleaning, but it wasn’t actually made effective until 1895. Only then did the people who worked for the department actually collect garbage and sweep the streets. These are some photographs, taken for Harper’s Weekly, of streets in New York in 1893.

Civic reformer Colonel George E. Waring, Jr. (1833-1898) pioneered and conquered the horse manure crisis through civic measures — not the B.S. about new technology and the price mechanism. He instituted such current practices as recycling, street sweeping and a dedicated uniformed cleaning and collection force called the White Wings. Waring’s men cleared a shin-deep accumulation of waste across the city. He also kept domestic sewage separate from storm runoff.

Before and after. Note the clean up paved the way for both the street car and motorized vehicles.

Notice that there are plenty of horses still on the streets. The difference from 1894 was that the civic structure cleaned it up!

Winter Watch Takeaway

Good governance, getting rid of sub-zero officials (aka kakistocracy) and rolling up one’s sleeves still holds the key to quality of life — not waiting around for new technology and the excuse of invisible-hand “price mechanisms.” Further, as we showed in “The Predatory Conspiracy to Wipe Out Street Cars,” corruption and capture played a major role in the dominance of autos, which brought with them a whole new set of negative externalities.

Day: September 19, 2023