Happy Monday!

The Brew’s so heavy this morning, I’m getting carpel tunnel just pouring it out.

Russian “Armed Insurrection” Halts After Deal Reached

We got a taste of what a real “armed insurrection” looks like this weekend. No Viking garb or selfie-taking grandma’s in sight. The Russian mercenary force Wagner Group, which has been a potent weapon in Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, suddenly turned on Russia Friday. Led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group crossed into Russia, taking crucial military sites, and began advancing toward Moscow. There were even reports Putin had fled the capital.

The move was called the greatest threat to Putin since he took power. But suddenly, the advance stopped when a deal was reached between Putin and Prigozhin.

The Stream wrote up the full details here.

Hunter — With “My Father at My Side” — Shakes Down CCP-Connected Chinese Businessman

Hunter Biden could do a commercial. “I’m not a mobster, but I play one for Biden Inc.” Did you see the WhatsApp message Hunter sent Chinese businessman Henry Huang?

Here is that text: pic.twitter.com/51rbUaur4X

— Rep. Jason Smith (@RepJasonSmith) June 24, 2023

“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight.”

And sure enough, within a couple weeks, Huang dropped over $5 million into the Biden Inc. coffers.

That’s not shocking. The shocking part is the White House press corps actually bugged press secretary Karine Jean Pierre about it.

I lay out the whole mess and how IRS whistleblowers detailed the ways the DOJ and FBI sabotaged their investigation. “Shakedown, Biden Style.”

Funny. Last week, Pierre talked about how she is an historic figure. Yeah, in the way Nixon’s press secretary Ron Ziegler is an historic figure.

Meanwhile, investigative journalist Peter Schweizer revealed Sunday that while Vice President Joe Biden used a private global cell phone paid for by Hunter’s business.

Peter Schweizer claims Joe Biden was using secret cell phone:

"My hope is that the House Oversight Committee will subpoena those records." pic.twitter.com/hnACrbLGb6

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) June 25, 2023

“What is the line of communications between Hunter Biden and his business partners and Joe Biden when he’s Vice President of the United States?” Schweizer asked on Sunday Morning Futures. “It’s not the government phone. It’s not Joe Biden’s personal phone. We know from the laptop that Hunter Biden’s business paid for a private phone line that Joe Biden used while he was Vice President.”

“We’re Here, We’re Queer, We’re Coming for Your Children”

On Friday, hundreds of trans activists took part in the New York City Drag March, They were heard to chant, “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re coming for your children.” (There goes another “conspiracy theory.”)

"We're here, we're queer, we're coming for your children!" pic.twitter.com/pNdm80p4J9

— Davy Jones (@itsNTBmedia) June 24, 2023

Interestingly, on Twitter, you’re seeing people claim the people were chanting “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re not going shopping.” In fairness, that may well have been the chant in other parts of the march. After all, the activists are furious at Target and Starbucks for pulling back on their Pride activities.

But the video is pretty clear what they’re saying.

And you wonder, as Spectator points out, “Why Pride Lost the Public.”

Exhibit One: Former Transgender State Rep. Charged With Distributing Child Porn

Stacie-Marie Laughton, a biological male who identifies as transgender, has twice been elected to the New Hampshire legislature … and twice was unable to serve because of his criminal activity. Last year, Laughton was elected to represent Nashua, New Hampshire in the state legislature, but was jailed on charges of stalking a woman.

Now, Laughton has been arrested again, accused of possessing distributing child sex abuse images..

Laughton had been celebrated for being the first openly transgender person elected to the New Hampshire legislature. Coming for your children, indeed.

Exhibit Two: TCU Offering “The Queer Art of Drag” This Semester

TCU used to stand for Texas Christian University.  The C might as well stand for “Coopted.” Or “Corrupted” or “Creepy” or, at best “Campy” … most anything, but “Christian.”

The Fort Worth-based college is actually offering a course this semester called “The Queer Art of Drag” … a course that requires students to create a drag person and perform at TCU’s “Annual Night of Drag.”

Let’s take a look at the first page of the syllabus, shall we?

Gender revolutionary Leslie Feinberg begins the book Transgender Warriors by invoking the violent question asked of so many queer, trans, and non-binary people: “Are you a guy or a girl?” The gender binary is enforced through compulsory norms, harassment, and violence in service of a white-cis-heteropatriarchy. In the epigraph to this syllabus, Feinberg encourages us to abandon the sterile and diagnostic attitudes toward gender that characterize dominant cultural logics: by asking us to consider gender not as category of being but as poetry, Feinberg opens up new ways for us to understand and experience ourselves and our worlds.

Do you get that? To even ask if someone “Are you a guy or a girl?” is a violent question. Gender is “poetry.” In Feinberg’s words, “Gender is the poetry each of us makes out of the language we are taught.”

This at Texas. Christian. University.

But parents, don’t worry about the tens of thousands you’re blowing on your kid’s tuition. At least, your child in drag will get to do a one-minute in-class lip-synching!

Seriously, the lesson is don’t let “Christian” in the title of a university or school fool you. Check to make sure that Christ is still present. Rather than drag queen professors who want your kid brainwashed with talk about “violence in the service of a white-cis-heterpatriarchy. ”

Starbucks Strike…Employees Not Enough Pride Decorations

Workers at about 150 Starbucks locations around the country began going on strike Friday. Their complaint? The (very liberal) coffee chain has pulled back on its “Pride” activities this year. Remember, this is Starbucks, which is as woke as a coffee drinker after five espressos.

According to the Starbucks Workers Union the workers “will be on strike over the course of the next week,” due to the company’s “treatment of trans and queer workers.”

Not exactly striking for greater safety in the coal mines, eh? Or even higher pay. If Pride’s the real purpose behind the strike. Starbucks Workers United has been in a fight with Starbucks over unionizing the coffee shops and filed a federal complaint accusing Starbucks of refusing to bargain with workers at some unionized shops.

Along The Stream

I’m going to be off tomorrow ricocheting golf balls off buildings across Northern Virginia. John Z is filling in. Better still, the finishing touches should be done tomorrow afternoon on John’s interview with Jim Caviezel about Sound of Freedom.

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.