Both scientific and medical debate continues to unfold in not only the dubious nature of what we currently identify as COVID-19, but also - and more intensely perhaps - over the ongoing global response to the virus itself. At the same time, however, this ever-important issue of COVID lockdowns is being glossed over daily by the more sensationalized stories of racial protests.

In many ways, the protests provide an illegitimate cover; an unfortunate distraction of sorts which diverts the public's attention away from the shoddy and unsustainable COVID precautions which clearly deserve to be further examined. Additionally, as is the classical tactic of any divisive agenda, the racial climate that we now find ourselves in has successfully (and incredulously) served to create even further partition between individuals, communities, groups, and even the very same ethnic races that have labored to overcome the oppression that has plagued the West for so long. Ironically, we now find ourselves regressing to knee-jerk policies that actually promotes egregation rather than protect against it.

Consequently, this new division in our society has delayed our collective resolve to soberly examine the destructive response to SARS-COV-2. According to a Pew Research Center poll from June 29th, there is a general trend of decreasing intensity when it comes to the public consumption of news around COVID-19. The Pew study specifically mentioned that

"the June survey, which took place as demonstrations following the killing of George Floyd were dominating headlines, shows a decrease in those paying very close attention to the COVID-19 outbreak. The 39% of U.S. adults reporting this highest level of engagement is down from 46% in late April and 57% in late March, when the outbreak was first forcing shutdowns around the country" (Pew Research Center, June 29). Similarly, an Ipsos Reid poll from June 18^th concludes that "a majority of people in nine out of 16 major countries say there are much bigger issues to worry about than the coronavirus with all protests going on in the United States and elsewhere" (Ipsos Reid, June 18).

Isn't it odd that the political left claims to be so adamantly opposed to racism, yet they are the first people in the room to make generalizations based on race? Maybe it's not so odd, at least when you consider the history of social justice movements and the people who fund them. There is power to be had in creating a "race war" narrative, and the chaos surrounding such a conflict could be easily exploited. By making everything about race, the political left is perhaps unwittingly serving the interests of the very wealthy elites they claim to despise.

As I predicted in my article 'Order Out Of Chaos: The Defeat Of The Left Comes With A Cost' back in 2016:

"When I mentioned in my last article the crippling of social justice, I did not mention that this could have some negative reverberations. With Trump and conservatives taking near-total power after the Left had assumed they would never lose again, their reaction has been to transform. They are stepping away from the normal activities and mindset of cultural Marxism and evolving into full blown communists. Instead of admitting that their ideology is a failure in every respect, they are doubling down.

When this evolution is complete, the Left WILL resort to direct violent action on a larger scale, and they will do so with a clear conscience because, in their minds, they are fighting fascism. Ironically, it will be this behavior by leftists that may actually push conservatives towards a fascist model. Conservatives might decide to fight crazy with more crazy."

The musical 'Hamilton' is facing a new wave of criticism because of the slave owning past of the titular character. This is Black Lives Matter's second strike against the creators, who didn't bend the knee fast enough before.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The showrunners of the Tony Award winning musical 'Hamilton' have been criticized for (insert controversy here). It seems like Lin Manuel Miranda can't catch a break, or the show in general. Recently, #CancelHamilton gained traction on social media, complaining about the show portraying a man who owned slaves in a positive light. This started as the show debuts on Disney Plus.

Barely over a month ago, the show creator swore fealty to Black Lives Matter, having been pressured into apologizing for the 'moral failure' - not because he didn't speak up, but because he didn't speak up quickly enough. To prove his commitment, he listed other current events that have not escaped a quick comment.

It sounds insane to say, but the party that once rallied against gay conversion therapy is coming shockingly close to promoting it themselves. All under the guise of supporting the trans community.

Suck the d**k, bigot. No, really! In today's increasingly strange world, in order to show full allegiance to those who tick the final letter of the LGBT acronym, one must forgo all dating preferences and swallow their pride - or something else - to prove they are true allies.

A fringe belief is gaining traction, and previously well-respected publications such as the BBC are now promoting people who present the idea that 'genital preferences' are transphobic. In an article titled 'The black transgender push to keep the fight alive at LGBT Pride', non-trans gay men are called 'transphobic' for not wanting to date trans men. Aka, biological females.

On July 1, Illinois state workers got an automatic pay raise. In all, those raises will cost taxpayers $261 million. Meanwhile, nearly 1.4 million Illinoisans have filed for unemployment since COVID-19 shuttered much of the economy in March.

Other state governments have operated on the principle of shared sacrifice, recognizing the need to pare back demands on taxpayers amid major revenue shortfalls. Blue state governors in Washington, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia have cut costs through measures including canceled pay raises, furloughs and 15% agency spending cuts for fiscal year 2021.

In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker just signed a budget that increases spending by $2.4 billion over last year and relies on $5 billion from a nonexistent federal bailout to partially close a $6 billion deficit. Ironically, this continued disregard for basic fiscal responsibility shows why Illinois stands as the best single argument against state bailouts.

Four former Minneapolis police officers and the attorneys defending them against charges in the alleged murder of George Floyd have been hit with gag orders in order to prevent the tainting of a potential jury pool, a judge ruled on Thursday.

Judge Peter A. Cahill said that the order came after the court was "made aware that two or more attorneys representing parties [...] granted interviews or talked with the media" on Wednesday, "expounding on the merits of the case or commenting on other aspects of the case" following the filing of a motion to dismiss charges against Thomas Lane. Earl Gray represents Lane.

Federal officials were so worried Jeffrey Epstein's longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell might take her own life after her arrest that they took away her clothes and sheets and made her wear paper attire while in custody, an official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The steps to ensure Maxwell's safety while she's locked up at a federal jail in New York City extend far beyond the measures federal officials took when they first arrested her in New Hampshire last week.

The Justice Department has implemented additional safety protocols and federal officials, outside of the Bureau of Prisons, have been specifically tasked with ensuring there's adequate protection and the prisons protocols are being followed, the official said. The protections are in case she harms herself, and in case other inmates wish to harm her.

The concern comes in part because Epstein, 66, killed himself in a federal jail in Manhattan last summer while in custody on sex trafficking charges. The Bureau of Prisons has been the subject of intense scrutiny and conspiracy theories since then, with staff shakeups and leadership changes. Attorney General William Barr said his death was the result of the "perfect storm of screw ups."

Maxwell was sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge from where Epstein was held.

Weeks after the US chided Romania over its lack of progress in fighting human trafficking, the authorities have dismantled three networks that sexually exploited minors, and have sent 15 people suspected of child trafficking and prostitution to court.

Romanian prosecutors on Friday announced the dismantling of a human trafficking syndicate that forced young girls into prostitution in the south of the country, in the third such operation against groups dedicated to exploiting women in only four days.

The action came after the US Government's 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report warned of Romania's lack of progress in fighting human trafficking and human exploitation. It noted that the authorities had "investigated, prosecuted and convicted fewer traffickers" than last year, and rang alarm bells about the lack of proactive measures taken to prevent human trafficking or protect victims.

A statement on Friday from the prosecution body set up to combat organised crime said:

"In this case, it has been established that, between March and July 2020, the members of the criminal group recruited, through the lover-boy method, several minor female victims who were threatened and obliged to practice prostitution in the Giurgiu county and the Bucharest municipality."

The so-called "lover-boy method" consists of the trafficker luring or grooming the girl into a pretended relationship in order to gain her confidence and draw her into forced prostitution.

A police investigation confirmed suicide was the cause of death of a Black man found hanging from a tree in a Southern California city park last month, authorities said Thursday.

The investigation revealed Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old homeless man, suffered from mental illness and took his own life early on June 10 in a park near City Hall in Palmdale, a community of about 150,000 people north of Los Angeles, sheriff's Commander Chris Marks said.

Marks outlined three hospitalizations since 2017 where Fuller told doctors he was considering suicide. The last was in November, when he was being treated for depression at a hospital in Nevada and "disclosed that he did have a plan to kill himself," Marks said.

Marks also said the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated an incident in February in which Fuller "allegedly tried to light himself on fire."

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has banned all large public events for the next three months, citing the Covid-19 pandemic - only to make a belated exception for Black Lives Matter rallies, incensing Americans far outside the city.

Fresh from painting a giant "Black Lives Matter" mural on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower, the mayor took to CNN to expand on his office's order to cancel all large gatherings through September 30 on Thursday. But when host Wolf Blitzer asked him about "protests," de Blasio couldn't resist taking the day's pandering even further.

"We understand, at this moment in history, people are talking about the need for historic changes... this is a historic moment of change," de Blasio said redundantly, even while consigning outdoor concerts and parades to the distant future. No public gatherings larger than a city block will be granted a permit, the mayor announced in a statement published to his administration's website earlier on Thursday.

However, he appeared to draw a clear distinction between "the kind of gatherings we're used to, the parades, the fairs," which "we just can't have that while we're focusing on health right now" - and "recognizing the power and the meaning of the message Black Lives Matter, which we did in front of Trump Tower today."