Today’s Top 5:
The Senate ended the threat of a U.S. default on its financial obligations by passing the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 on June 1. The measure now moves to the desk of President Joe Biden, whose signature will lay the matter to rest for at least the next 19 months.
The bill passed in a bipartisan vote of 63 to 36.
In an 8–1 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 1 decided that a union’s deliberate destruction of company property as a pressure tactic in a labor dispute isn’t protected by federal law.
Labor activists have said that endangering and destroying company property during a dispute is fair game that has long been protected by the law, but companies such as the petitioner in this case—Glacier Northwest, a ready-mix concrete company headquartered in Seattle that does business as CalPortland—pushed back.
The new ruling will allow companies to sue striking unions to hold them accountable for damage caused during labor actions.
The U.S. Senate voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s student debt transfer program on June 1, rebuking his efforts to bypass Congress and cancel the debt of certain student loan recipients.
The chamber passed the joint resolution of disapproval in a 52–46 vote with the help of Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
“Today, I voted to repeal the Biden Administration’s student loan cancellation proposal because we simply cannot afford to add another $400 billion to the national debt,” Manchin said in a statement, citing a Congressional Budget Office estimate.
“There are already more than 50 existing student loan repayment and forgiveness programs aimed at attracting individuals to vital service jobs, such as teachers, health care workers, and public servants,” he noted. “This Biden proposal undermines these programs and forces hard-working taxpayers who already paid off their loans or did not go to college to shoulder the cost. Instead, we should be focusing on bipartisan student debt reforms that reduce the cost of higher education and help all Americans.”
President Joe Biden fell on stage during the Air Force Academy graduation on Thursday, according to video footage, while a White House official stressed that the president is fine.
Biden appeared to fall to his knees, but he was quickly helped back to his feet by White House officials during the event in Colorado Springs. Biden, 80, appeared to point to a black sandbag on the stage, according to footage.
Biden did not appear hurt by the fall and continued to stand until the end of the ceremony, pool reporters say. “President Biden fell down on stage after handing out the last diploma to the Air Force cadets. He appeared to slip and fall going down on his knees. He was helped up by Air Force officials,” according to a pool report.
The White House responded to the video of Biden’s fall by saying that the president is “fine,” adding on Twitter: “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands.”
A GOP congressman announced May 31 that he will resign, a move that will reduce the party’s majority in the House of Representatives.
Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) said he would step down after arranging an “orderly transition.”
“It has been one of the great honors of my life to serve the good people of Utah in Congress. My wife and I have made so many dear friends and memories throughout our journey. I can say with pride that I have been an effective leader for my beloved home state, and I’m honored to have played an important role in guiding our nation through some troubled times,” Stewart said in a statement.
“But my wife’s health concerns have made it necessary that I retire from Congress after an orderly transition can be ensured,” he added.
WORLD NEWS
World Health Organization Grants North Korea Spot on Executive Board
The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) concluded its annual meeting on Tuesday with the astonishing spectacle of electing North Korea – among the world’s deadliest regimes, a psychopathic nuclear-armed dictatorship that routinely murders dissidents and has deliberately starved a sizable portion of its population – to a seat on the ten-member W.H.O. executive board.
Republicans Call for Action as China Turns US Into ‘Hunting Ground’ for Dissidents
The recent indictments of two suspected Chinese agents in California reveal how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is trying to turn the United States into a “hunting ground” for dissidents, according to Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.).
The two individuals attempted to bribe an undercover officer posing as an IRS agent, in a plot to revoke the tax-exempt status of an entity run and maintained by Falun Gong practitioners, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). They were arrested at their residences on May 26 and face charges of conspiracy, bribery, and money laundering.
“This is another example of just how the CCP (the Communist Chinese Party) is doing all they can to undermine our sovereignty [and] silence all dissent, even in our country,” Newhouse told EpochTV’s “Crossroads” on May 30.
School Decisions to Teach Children About Anal and Oral Sex Sparks Government Review
The United Kingdom will soon launch an expert review panel into sex-ed in schools after children were reportedly taught about oral and anal.
The review of sex education guidelines in England’s schools will reportedly work to ensure that no “disturbing or inappropriate content” will be taught to the country’s children.
It comes after numerous reports that young pupils in the country were taught about a wide variety of explicit subjects, such as anal sex, oral sex and transgenderism.
According to a report by The Guardian, UK Education Secretary Gillian Keegan explained that the review was being brought about due to these reports, claiming the current Conservative Party government were just as surprised regarding the matter as parents were.
“The wellbeing and safeguarding of children is our absolute priority, and I share the concerns of parents and teachers about reports that inappropriate lessons are being taught in schools,” she said.
“The review of the statutory guidance – with the help of this expert panel – will provide clear safeguards against children being taught concepts the
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
IN-DEPTH: Here’s What Trump Has Promised If He Wins in 2024Former president Donald Trump said Wednesday that he’s eying a “most spectacular” 250th birthday celebration of the United States if he is elected, coming days after he promised to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. But the former president, a leading GOP candidate, has made a range of other new policy proposals.
US Celebration
“Three years from now, the United States will celebrate the biggest and most important milestone in our country’s history—250 years of American independence,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “That’s why as a nation we should be preparing for the most spectacular birthday party. We want to make it the best of all time.”
And Trump’s campaign said in a news release that the former commander-in-chief will hold a White House task force known as the “Salute to America 250” to hold anniversary celebrations across the United States between Memorial Day 2025 and July 4, 2026.
100 New US Attorneys
Wednesday’s proposal from Trump builds on the patriotic themes that he used during his 2016 campaign and administration. Trump in 2020 established the 1776 Commission dedicated to patriotic education and history lessons, countering the New York Times’s “1619 Project” that attempts to reframe the founding of America around slavery.
End Birthright Citizenship
This week, Trump also again vowed to issue an executive order to end birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrant parents. Several years ago, Trump signaled that he would issue the executive order, but some legal analysts have said that it would likely face significant legal challenges as birthright citizenship is essentially protected under the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment.
Death Penalty for Drug Offenders
During his post-midterm announcement for president, Trump also proposed handing down the death penalty for some drug dealers and traffickers, arguing that such individuals are causing death and destruction
Critical Race Theory
Trump in January also pledged to cut federal funding to schools that teach the controversial critical race theory along with curriculum around gender identity. While speaking in Davenport, Iowa, Trump promised to keep male transgender athletes out of girls’ sports and “bring back parental rights into our schools.”
Jan. 6 Pardons
More than two years after the Capitol breach on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump said last month that he would pardon a range of individuals who were convicted and sentenced in connection to the incident. Those pardons, he said, will “be very early on” in his presidency.
Stop and Frisk
And Trump has also promised to have police departments around the United States implement the “stop-and-frisk” policy to detain and search civilians for contraband items and weapons. For years, New York City police departments used the police tactic, which has been described by a number of enforcement groups as an effective policy. A federal judge in 2013 deemed the policy unconstitutional.
Freedom Cities
In possibly his most far-reaching proposal, Trump said he wanted to create a plan to come up with “freedom cities” on federal land and wanted to hold a contest to design 10 new cities built around “hives of industry.” He said the initiative would be a “quantum leap in the American standard of living.”
Energy Dominance
Trump also said he would also ” unleash the production of domestic energy resources, reduce the soaring price of gasoline, diesel and natural gas, promote energy security for our friends around the world, eliminate the socialist Green New Deal, and ensure the United States is never again at the mercy of a foreign supplier of energy.”
Crime
“There is no higher priority than quickly restoring law and order and public safety in America,” said his campaign website, adding that he will make a priority to “revitalize police departments and reclaim safety, dignity, and peace for law-abiding Americans. He will deliver record funding to hire and retrain police officers, strengthen qualified immunity and other protections for police officers, increase penalties for assaults on law enforcement, put violent offenders and career criminals behind bars, and surge federal prosecutors and the National Guard into high-crime communities.”
Race Heating Up
Trump has also increased his criticism of Governor Ron DeSantis after the he officially announced his 2024 presidential bid last week, noting that some polls show DeSantis is trailing Trump by more than 30 percentage points. And this week, the former president highlighted a survey that shows Trump ahead of DeSantis by about 42 percentage points.
Republicans Say DOJ Has Gone ‘Totally Rogue’ After Lawsuit Against 2024 Senate Contender
Republicans are blasting the Department of Justice (DOJ) for its planned lawsuit against the coal empire of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice II, who is mounting a Senate bid against embattled incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
The DOJ announced in a May 31 press release that it would sue Justice’s 13 coal companies for unpaid court fines and reclamation fees. James Justice III, the governor’s son who took over the companies after his father took his current post, is named in the lawsuit.
The charges relate to civil lawsuits ruled against Justice and other fees that he allegedly hasn’t paid.
However, some find the timing of the charges—which relate to years-old civil suits going back before the Biden administration—to be suspicious, coming as they do just weeks after Justice announced a campaign against a top GOP target during the 2024 election season.
Virginia, West Virginia Governors Sending National Guard Troops to Texas Border
The governors of Virginia and West Virginia are the latest Republican state leaders to announce deployments of National Guard troops to assist Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security efforts.
On Wednesday morning, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced he would deploy 100 of his state’s National Guard troops to Texas.
“The ongoing border crisis facing our nation has turned every state into a border state,” Youngkin said. “As leadership solutions at the federal level fall short, states are answering the call to secure our southern border, reduce the flow of fentanyl, combat human trafficking and address the humanitarian crisis. Following a briefing from Governor Abbott last week, Virginia is joining other states to deliver on his request for additional assistance.”
Opinion – JUDY BYINGTON BIG UPDATE Restored Republic Via GCR. Update As Of June 1st, 2023
Restored Republic via GCR. Update as of June 1st, 2023 The latest video will be shown earlier at the official website, Restoredrepublic. C o. Judy note, emergency broadcast system activation across the world was expected at any time and likely before Thursday, first of June. The EBS will trigger the global currency revaluation combined with a worldwide shutdown under a martial law that would ensure safety for the people of the world during mass arrests of cabal members. The Internet, mass media, phones, businesses, jobs, and schools will be shut down from two to 10 days, depending on where you live.
The electrical grid would no longer be needed as Tesla Free Energy would take over. Prisons, jails, hospitals, and other institutions with kitchens feeding people who cannot go elsewhere are being told they must have a 10 day food supply on hand in order to prepare for supply chain disruptions. The military will be handing out food and supplies to those in need. Be prepared with at least a month’s supply of food, water, fuel, cash, and essential items on hand for yourself and others. Judy note, a global currency reevaluation. On Thursday, first of June, the US would default on its debts, thereby missing loan repayments that were bound to send world markets into a tailspin.
All 209 countries would be connected to the new Quantum Financial System. At 8 AM ESD, the Quantum Financial Systems Fed ISO 20,00022 will activate a universal language for global financial networks to communicate with each other. Bond redemption will begin to be paid out. Tuesday, 30th of May Bruce, most likely Terra 4B, us, the internet group, should receive notification to set exchange redemption appointments early morning Thursday, first of June.
Judge finds out why brief cited nonexistent cases—ChatGPT did research
A federal judge in New York City has ordered two lawyers and their law firm to show cause why they shouldn’t be sanctioned for submitting a brief with citations to fake cases, thanks to research by ChatGPT.
Senior U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York said in a May 4 order the firm’s legal filing was “replete with citations to nonexistent cases.”
When Castel ordered one of the lawyers to submit an affidavit with the cited opinions, he complied—but six of the decisions “appear to be bogus” with “bogus quotes and bogus internal citations,” Castel said.
The fake cases were provided by ChatGPT, according to a May 25 affidavit by lawyer Steven A. Schwartz of Levidow, Levidow & Oberman. He has been practicing law in New York for more than 30 years.
“Affiant has never utilized ChatGPT as a source for conducting legal research prior to this occurrence and therefore was unaware of the possibility that its content could be false,” Schwartz wrote.
ChatGPT had assured Schwartz that the cases that it cited were real “and can be found in reputable legal databases, such as LexisNexis and Westlaw,” according to queries and answers Schwartz submitted to the court.
2ND AMENDMENT
‘We’re not going to have it’: Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd on recent gun violence involving kids
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says law enforcement is not going to accept children committing criminal acts in the community.
Last Thursday, the sheriff’s office arrested a 15-year-old after he was accused of attempting to rob a McDonald’s employee at gunpoint.
The week before, investigators say 13-year-old Wesley Dalmas shot a Lakeland police officer. They say he was with two other teens, and they believe the incident started with a gang-related shooting
“We’re not going to allow you to shoot at each other, period, while you’re running wild in the street,” Sheriff Judd said. “We’re going to do what your mom is at home is praying for, that’s to lock you up and keep you alive rather than us working an investigation where you’re dead in the street.”
Earlier this year, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced it would be teaming up with law enforcement agencies across the state to form a task force to crack down on gangs.
“We’ve got every layer of law enforcement agency on this task force. And we’re locking people up. I think we’ve already taken 40 something guns off of the streets already,” Sheriff Judd said.
Polk County residents say they want to see more positive activities for children to get involved in, because they don’t want a small number of people to have a negative impact on their entire community.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Home-Mortgage Lending Across U.S. Falls To More Than 20-Year Low In First Quarter
ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its first-quarter 2023 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, which shows that just 1.25 million mortgages secured by residential property (1 to 4 units) were originated in the first quarter of 2023 in the United States – the lowest point since late-2000. That figure was down 19 percent from the fourth quarter of 2022, marking the eighth quarterly decrease in a row. It also was down 56 percent from the first quarter of 2022 and 70 percent from a peak reached in the first quarter of 2021.
The ongoing sharp decline in residential lending resulted from another round of downturns in both refinance and purchase loan activity as well as the second straight quarterly drop-off in home-equity lending. Lending activity contracted again as a slowdown in the 11-year U.S. housing market that started in the middle of last year stretched into 2023 amid elevated mortgage rates, consumer price inflation and other signs of economic uncertainty.
Amazon Workers Walk Out Over Return to Office Policy and Climate Impact
Amazon employees walked out at the company’s Seattle headquarters, to highlight their concerns over recent layoffs, a return to office policy, and the company’s environmental impact.
More than 2,000 Amazon employees worldwide walked off the job after 1 p.m., Pacific Time, on May 31, of which 1,000 of them gathered next to the Spheres, the landmark entrance to the online tech giant’s Seattle headquarters, according to employee groups behind the protest.
Other employees said they planned to participate in the protest virtually.
The company told CNBC that it estimated that only 300 employees participated in the Seattle walkout, out of its 65,000 corporate and tech employees in the Puget Sound region and the roughly 350,000 workers worldwide.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Study: Carbon Footprint Of Lab-Grown Beef “Orders Of Magnitude” Worse Than Ranching
A new study from the University of California, Davis, has found that lab-grown, or “cultivated” meat’s environmental impact is likely to be “orders of magnitude” higher than retail beef based on current and near-term production methods.
The preprint study, which has yet to undergo peer review, concludes that the energy needed and greenhouse gasses emitted during all stages of production of lab-grown meat is far greater than traditionally raised beef.
Researchers conducted a life-cycle assessment of the energy needed and greenhouse gases emitted in all stages of production and compared that with beef. One of the current challenges with lab-grown meat is the use of highly refined or purified growth media, the ingredients needed to help animal cells multiply. Currently, this method is similar to the biotechnology used to make pharmaceuticals. This sets up a critical question for cultured meat production: Is it a pharmaceutical product or a food product? –UC Davis
“If companies are having to purify growth media to pharmaceutical levels, it uses more resources, which then increases global warming potential,” according to lead author and doctoral graduate Derrick Risner, of the US Davis Department of Food Science and Technology. “If this product continues to be produced using the “pharma” approach, it’s going to be worse for the environment and more expensive than conventional beef production.”
The scientists considered the ‘global warming potential’ to be the carbon dioxide equivalents emitted for each kilogram of meat produced – and found that the global warming potential of lab-based meat using these purified media is up to 25 times greater than the average for retail beef.
Genetic genealogy leads to arrest of lawyer in series of rapes
A corporate lawyer in the New York City area has been charged with the sexual assaults of four women in Boston in 2007 and 2008 after police used genetic genealogy to link him to the crimes.
Police arrested Matthew Nilo, 35, at his home in Weehawken, New Jersey, on Tuesday, report the Boston Herald, WCVB and the Insurance Journal.
Police said they found Nilo through genetic genealogy, in which a suspect’s DNA is uploaded to a genealogy database that identifies the suspect through family connections.
Japan: AI Systems Can Use Any Data, from Any Source – Even Illegal Ones
While other countries are mulling where to put the brakes on AI development, Japan is going full steam ahead, with the government recently announcing that no data will be off-limits for AI.
In a recent meeting, Keiko Nagaoka, Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, confirmed that no law, including copyright law, will prevent AIs from accessing data in the country.
AIs will be allowed to use data for training, “regardless of whether it is for non-profit or commercial purposes, whether it is an act other than reproduction, or whether it is content obtained from illegal sites or otherwise,” said Nagaoka.
The decision is a blow to copyright holders who argue that AI using their intellectual property to produce new content undermines the very concept of copyright. The issue has already emerged in the west — an AI-generated song using the voice of Drake and The Weeknd went viral on streaming services in April, before being swiftly removed.
In the west, much of the discourse around AI is focused on potential harms. AI leaders recently warning governments that development of the technology carries with it a “risk of extinction,” while news companies worry about deepfakes and “misinformation.”
The Biden Administration’s leftist regulators at the FTC, meanwhile, worry that “historically biased” data (such as crime data with racial imbalances) will lead to outcomes that conflict with “civil rights.” Many leftist agitators in the west want to cut off AIs from such data.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Scientists Claim They Can Convert Humidity into Energy Using Almost Any Material
In a discovery that is likely to excite opponents of the fossil fuel industry, scientists claim to have developed technology that can use any material to generate energy out of thin air, provided the air is humid enough.
The study, led by University of Massachusetts at Amherst engineering professor Jun Yao, examined the use of nanopores (tiny punctures, less than a thousandth of the width of a human hair) made in materials allowing vapor to pass through in a way that generates an electrical charge.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Dr. Carrie Madej June Newsletter
Last week, I was digging in the dirt with my bare hands, removing weeds and planting seeds and seedlings. Gardening helps me focus on the present moment, and I forget the chaotic world. I am grounding with my bare feet in the soil and grass, and I enjoy the sun on my skin. The birds are chirping happily, and a few butterflies have emerged from their chrysalises.
I am checking on the plants as they grow, noting if they need a change in their nutrients or environment. This year I am planting seeds from some healing herbs like artemisia, calendula, Benedictus, evening primrose, and mugwort. It will be interesting to see what decides to grow.
I have a Garden Tower that has already produced lettuce, French radishes, arugula, and spinach. I am waiting for carrots, tomatoes , potatoes, and broccoli to mature.
This year my friends and family introduced me to electro gardening. This technique uses copper wire coiled around wooden stakes to increase nutrient absorption and is thought to harvest the earth’s atmospheric energy. I have to say it does appear to help; a dead fig tree began to grow new shoots within a week of using the copper wire.
With electrogardening plants are healthier and more disease resistant. I encourage anyone who has tried this technique to share your stories with us! For anyone wanting to learn more about this, please click on the link below.
https://cultivateelevate.com/blog/electroculture-gardening-techniques-for-beginners-elevate-your-garden/
I always look at the Bible for inspiration, and I think of the moment Noah’s family stepped off the ark. I imagine Noah and his wife started replenishing the Earth by planting one seed at a time in their own backyard.
They started with just one seed at a time, and now look at our beautiful world! Sowing our gardens with care and loving kindness has ripple effects in profound ways. Have you planted any seeds this year?
The seeds you plant can be spiritual, emotional, or physical. Some examples include:
- – Growing your food
- – Buying from local farmer’s markets and local cattle ranchers
- – Praying for and with someone
- – Sharing the scriptures and message of salvation
- – Sharing your musical talents
- – Teaching someone to cook, sew, build, fix etc
- – Acknowledging the beauty or good in someone
- – Teaching a child (look up Dr Emoto’s Rice experiment on YouTube; this is a great project to do with children)
In other words, all of us can start being stewards of Earth. If we do not like what state this world is in, then we need to start living the way it should be. Each of our actions, even small, make incredible changes.
I believe a tiny seed planted with loving kindness can move mountains, and with great love there are great miracles.
HEALTH
The Bombshell Report That Could Change Our Water
In this series, we explore the contentious findings surrounding fluoridation of the U.S. public water supply, and answer the question of whether water fluoridation poses a risk and what we should do about it.
Previously: An ongoing lawsuit brought against the EPA by the Fluoride Action Network has uncovered concerning admissions from both EPA and CDC officials.
Even Low Levels of Glyphosate Alter Your Gut Microbiota
Gut microbiota composition was significantly impacted when mice were exposed to glyphosate at levels approximating the U.S. Acceptable Daily Intake of 1.75 mg/kg of body weight
Proinflammatory T cells and Lipocalin-2, a marker of intestinal inflammation, increased after low-dose glyphosate exposure
Low-dose glyphosate exposure also reduced the abundance of beneficial bacteria, including Bifidobacterium pseudolongum and Lactobacillus sp in the gut
Low levels of glyphosate also decreased microbial short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) biosynthesis pathways, an adverse effect, since SCFAs modulate gene expression, leading to increases in beneficial anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells
You can reduce your exposure to glyphosate by eating organic foods; saturating your body with glycine may help provide some protection from glyphosate toxicity
Why Watermelon Is Good for Your Cardiometabolic Health
Only 6.8% of U.S. adults have optimal cardiometabolic health, while an estimated 47 million have cardiometabolic disorders
Watermelon contains L-citrulline and L-arginine, which are nitric oxide (NO) precursors; NO helps relax blood vessels and widen arteries
Consuming watermelon juice attenuates reductions in heart rate variability (HRV) after high sugar consumption; low HRV is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality
Compared to people who don’t eat watermelon, those who do have healthier quality diets and increased nutrient intake
Among overweight or obese adults, eating watermelon led to greater satiety, including lower hunger, food consumption and desire to eat and greater fullness, compared to eating low-fat cookies
COVID RELATED NEWS
Risk Of Contracting COVID-19 Goes UP With Every mRNA Shot You Take
The pre-print for this study, prior to the peer review process, came out late last year. It showed, in a nutshell, that more COVID-19 shots correlated to a greater risk of contracting COVID-19.
But the COVIDians predictably, in eternal denial as is their nature, pounced on the fact that the initial paper was a pre-print. They dismissed it for not being peer-reviewed, which is often described as the “gold standard” stamp of approval by The Science™.
Mind you, the corporate state media expresses no such criticism of pre-print studies that say what they want them to say about the alleged efficacy of masking, the wonders of Pfizer’s mRNA injections, etc. It’s only when a study counters the narrative that they pump the brakes.
CANCEL CULTURE
Not Just Target: Walmart’s ESG Efforts Focus on Catering to LGBT Agenda
ESG guidelines reward retailers for not just selling LGBT merchandise but buying from such suppliers
Similar to Target, Walmart’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report reveals that the company makes special provisions for LGBT groups, including specifically sourcing supplies from people professing such identities.
Target has been the focus of boycott calls due to offering Pride products this year aimed at children. Target’s 2022 ESG report (pdf) shows that at least 51 percent of its suppliers are “owned, controlled and operated by women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, veterans or people with disabilities.” In addition, 59 percent of their Pride Month assortment was created by LGBT creators and brands.
Walmart has also been shown to conduct an “inclusive sourcing” program for LGBT groups. Walmart’s supplier inclusion initiative offers companies, owned and operated by members of LGBT and other identities like ethnic and racial minorities, “the opportunity to work with us while growing their business,” according to Walmart’s July 2022 ESG report. “For our U.S. businesses, we sourced more than $13.3 billion in goods and services from approximately 2,600 diverse suppliers.”
ESG principles make companies look beyond making profits and focus on taking actions related to issues like climate change, racism, and sexual identity, among others. It is adopted by companies mainly to appease large investors like BlackRock that use these metrics to evaluate whether to invest or not. ESG investing has been receiving blowback in recent times from conservative-led states.
Walmart received a full 100 points on The Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI). To get a perfect CEI score, an organization has to donate to LGBT causes as well as refuse to donate to non-religious organizations that oppose such causes. The organization must also support gender transitioning.
It scored 30/30 for Workforce Protections, including “sexual orientation for all operations” and “gender identity or expression for all operations.” Walmart scored 30/30 for Inclusive Benefits, which includes “equal health coverage for transgender individuals without exclusion for medically necessary care.”
The company scored 40/40 for supporting an “inclusive culture.” The score was the result of Walmart meeting two CEI criteria on LGBT—that three LGBT internal training and education best practices as well as three efforts of outreach to the broader LGBT community be implemented.
In 2021, Walmart donated $500,000 to PFLAG, the largest organization in the United States that advocates for LGBT and their families.
GOOD NEWS
Caring hero stops a bank heist by giving the robber a hug
A story out of Woodland, California, a town outside of Sacramento, shows that sometimes, a little empathy can turn a potentially violent situation into a peaceful outcome. According to the Woodland Police Department, it all unfolded at a Bank of the West on Monday, May 22, at 11:00 a.m.
Michael Armus Sr., 69, was waiting in line when he noticed a man slip a teller a note. The tellers looked concerned, and the man who slipped the note had his shirt pulled over the bottom of his face. The man claimed that he had a gun. It was a robbery.
Then Armus noticed something familiar about the man. It was his former neighbor, Eduardo Plasencia, 43, who was also his daughter’s friend.
“I seen that the way he was talking, he was getting irritated. He said, ‘I don’t want to hurt anybody,’” Armus said, according to NBC 15.
Armus noticed that Plasencia sounded troubled. So, instead of attempting to disarm him and stop the robbery, he asked him some questions.
“He seemed to be depressed the way he was talking, so… I said, ‘What’s wrong? You don’t have a job?’ He said, ‘There’s nothing in this town for me. I just want to go to prison,’” Armus said.
“I felt compassion for the man. What could have happened to this guy to make him want to go in there and just throw his life away?” he told ABC 7 Chicago.
Armus then asked if they could step outside.
“So, I took him outside, and I give the man a hug right here at the doors. He started crying,” Armus said. “Then, I stepped away from him, and swoop, here come all the cops–no sirens, just lights everywhere, rifles out, ‘Get on the ground!’”
The Woodland Police Department later applauded Armus, saying he calmed the would-be robber down and encouraged him not to commit the crime.
“His words of wisdom worked and Plasencia changed his mind and left the bank,” the police department wrote on Facebook. The police later told ABC that Armus is a “Good Samaritan who delivered the right message that made a difference.”
Who knows what would have happened if Plasencia hadn’t left the bank with Armus and been arrested? It’s pretty remarkable that in a situation fraught with so much tension and danger, Armus had the presence of mind to determine the robber’s emotional state and coax him out of the situation.
He also had the compassion to see him as more than just a criminal, but a person who had fallen on hard times and needed some serious help.
“It was meant for me to be here,” Armus told ABC News.
Plasencia was booked at Yolo County for attempted robbery. When police apprehended him, he wasn’t armed, as he had told the bank tellers.
“Thank you to the very brave Good Samaritan who delivered the right message that made a difference,” the police department wrote on Facebook.
Armus says that he may visit Plasencia in jail to see how he’s holding up.
“Love overcomes all things. People don’t realize that. Try to be kind to somebody. It makes a difference,” he said.
Kind strangers showed up big for a dad who bought a way-too-tiny lawn mower
If you’re looking for a reminder of the good in people, we’ve got some sweet evidence for you.
Madison Mealy and her husband Blake recently moved to a rural area in the Blue Ridge Mountains and are new to country living. Mealy shared a video on TikTok showing her husband mowing the lawn with their baby in a backpack.
Cute, right? The only problem is they have a humongous lawn and her husband was mowing it with the teeniest push mower.
To be fair, if you’ve never had a big lawn, you may not realize how long it takes to mow and that not all lawn mowers are created equal. (They make riding lawn mowers for a reason, and it’s not because of laziness.)
Mealy shared her amusement at having sent her husband out to buy a mower and seeing him come back with the tiny mower. It was going to take him hours to mow their grass.
But after she took a shower and went back to check on his progress, what she found was so heartwarming.
Not one, not two, but several strangers—presumably neighbors—had seen Blake trying to tackle their acreage with a subpar mower, and they showed up to help.
“We don’t know any of these people,” Mealy wrote.
“Reminder: there’s a lot of good left in this world,” wrote Mealy.
It’s true. Helping without being asked. Showing up when you see a need. Taking a burden off of someone’s back without expecting anything in return. There are instances of pure human kindness like this all around us, every day, even if they’re not right in front of our faces.
We have plenty of viral examples of people at their worst, so it’s important that we share humanity at its best. And if you’re tempted to think that the former is the norm while goodness is the exception, don’t. Studies show that most people are honest, generous and helpful.
As Mealy said, “People are so good.” We just need beautiful reminders like this on occasion.
Thanks for providing one of those reminders, Mealy family. (Now go get yourselves a proper mower.)
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