'Providing parents with economic security'

A billion-dollar insurance company in Texas threw a “Drag Queen Bingo” event for up to 300 employees during Pride Month, and it featured a drag queen who performs for corporate giants Google and Amazon. Skyward Specialty Insurance invited employees to attend a virtual bingo game at 11 a.m. on a work day, led by a man dressed in drag and using the name Schwa Works. The company’s LGBTQ employee resource group, dubbed Soaring Skyward, hosted the event June 13, a company source familiar with the event told The Daily Signal. Schwa Works, the drag queen, specializes in “company-focused and corporate-friendly Zoom events.” He has hosted over 500 such virtual drag shows for companies around the world, including Amazon, Google, Snapchat, Forbes, Square Space, and Sephora, according to his website. The website says these corporate bingo sessions last an hour and include: —”Two dragtastic performances.” —”4+ rounds of Bingo using virtual cards.” —”Amazing party music (with requests from the team).” —”Tons of sparkling and joyful interaction.” Skyward Specialty Insurance, based in Houston, has 515 employees and a net worth of $1.44 billion. Virtual “Drag Queen Bingo” events for audiences of 300 cost $1,300, Schwa told The Daily Signal in an email. “My performances are live-sung musical performances,” the drag queen said. “Currently I’m performing ‘New Attitude’ by Pattie LaBelle and ‘Thank You for Being a Friend’ from “The Golden Girls.” In response to employee complaints about the event, Skyward’s Chief People Officer Tom Schmitt reiterated the company’s commitment to “diversity in thought,” according to a message he sent to employees that was obtained by The Daily Signal. “As we continuously strive to create a workplace that reflects our core values and the diverse world we live in,” Schmitt wrote, “I am aware that a recent ERG-led event has drawn a variety of reactions [from] our employees.” ERG is an acronym for employee resource groups. Schmitt continued: “We understand not every event will align with the interests and beliefs of each of our employees, and as a company which believes in diversity of thought, that is OK. In fact, it is the dialogue of these diverse opinions which provides the best opportunities for different parties to come together to learn from each other.” Skyward Specialty Insurance didn’t respond to The Daily Signal’s question about whether the company’s desire to welcome a diversity of viewpoints includes employee prayer groups and pro-life speakers. Schwa, the drag queen, says he is an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church who has officiated at over 100 weddings. Skyward Insurance has a history of pushing a political agenda on employees. Schmitt sent a message in the LGBTQ employee resource group’s online chat at the end of June, urging employees not to vote for candidates “focused on limiting people’s rights.” Another employee responded by inserting an article on the “connection between protection for gay marriage and the anti-Roe decision (the Dobbs decision),” referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs to overturn Roe v. Wade and abortion on demand and send the abortion issue back to state legislatures. The consulting firm McKinsey & Co. announced in 2015 that it had “found a link between profits and executive racial and gender diversity,” leading to a massive increase in corporate DEI initiatives, The Wall Street Journal reported, referring to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs. The post EXCLUSIVE: Insurance Company Hosts ‘Drag Queen Bingo’ for Employees appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. It’s been mere days since former UK Labour PM Tony Blair, a globalization extraordinaire, and a (digital) ID cards enthusiast remarked that it might take “a little persuading” for his country’s new government to get with that particular program. And it seems the new Labour government really only needed a little persuasion – after “rejecting” Blair’s call to implement digital ID cards on July 7, by July 10 there were statements by an influential party figure calling that path “inevitable.” However, that figure – former Home Secretary David Blunkett – is not a member of the just-formed cabinet, and was with his statements challenging current Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who opposed the idea. But, Blunkett – who served in Blair’s government – said that “the government would have to streamline (growing digital records) into a single ID.” Fast forward one week, and it seems Cooper’s cabinet colleague, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle, is starting to reverse course. Somewhere in the meanwhile, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds first said the government would be “looking at all sources of advice” – only to quickly backtrack and say there were no ID card plans. All this leaves observers puzzled as to what the government’s actual stance on this important issue is. Kyle spoke for ITV and attempted to separate the concept of ID cards and digital ID, which some observers rejected as little more than “playing a semantic game.” Kyle said the new government was prioritizing “verification” (in terms of providing “one login” for access to digital services) over (digital) ID cards which he said “conjures up” (and rightly so, say opponents) images of a universal system that affects everyone on and off the internet. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/itv-digi-id-uk.mp4 When asked if he was ruling out digital ID, Kyle said he wanted to be “careful about the language” he was using. He certainly was, because nothing was really “ruled out;” the secretary went on to speak about expanding the verification system, “easier experience,” (the old convenience) – and, “see where digital verification needs to go in the future.” It could be reasonably surmised that Tony Blair can be satisfied with the way things are developing. Back in the day, he tried to introduce ID cards in the UK, but his “mission” is now much more ambitious with the digital element. This time, Blair is cynically framing the scheme as necessary to “control immigration;” but opponents are rejecting digital ID as a dangerous centralization of state power (and mass surveillance). If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post New UK Government Signals Potential Backtrack on Plans to Drop Digital ID appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Jack Black: Tenacious D Tour Is Over After Trump Assassination Wish

First Night Reflections and A Little Teddy Roosevelt GOP Convention History

After the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump over the weekend, a North Carolina police officer hopped on Facebook and wrote, "Damn. Only about an inch away from making America great again…” WNCN-TV reported.As you might imagine, the post proved a costly miscalculation.'My attempt at dark humor was completely out of line and in poor taste.'Detective Sgt. Brandon Richardson — a 24-year veteran of the Tarboro Police Department — is now on on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, WNCN reported. Tarboro is a town of just over 11,000 residents and sits a little over an hour east of Raleigh.The police department in a Facebook post of its own Monday said it "is aware of an inappropriate social media post made by one of our officers. We take this matter very seriously, as it does not reflect the values and standards of our department."The department's message added that after they caught wind of the post, officials took "immediate steps to address the situation: An internal investigation has been launched to determine the context and details surrounding the post. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation. We are reviewing our social media policies to ensure they align with best practices and clearly communicate our expectations."WNCN reported that Richardson issued an apology on his Facebook page that appears to have been taken down. The station reported that his post read in part, “My attempt at dark humor was completely out of line and in poor taste. I realize now that my words were not only inappropriate but also deeply offensive to many of you. For that, I am truly sorry.”Richardson's post added that he takes full responsibility, WNCN noted, adding that he made an appeal to “keep Mr. Trump and his family in our thoughts as he heals from this physical and mental wound.” WNCN reported that Richardson joined the Tarboro Police Department as a patrol officer in 2000 before being promoted to detective with the department’s investigation division in May 2014.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A hacking group known as NullBulge said that it hacked Disney and acquired more than a terabyte of internal information.Specifically, the group said it breached Disney and leaked 1.1 tebibytes of data, which is the equivalent of about 1.2 terabytes. The self-proclaimed hacktivist group reportedly said that it was trying to "'protect artists' and ensure fair compensation for their work,' Hackread reported.'In a duel, you better fire first.'The website Breach Forums is reportedly the first known source where the hacks were discussed, with a screenshot from a post attributed to the same hacking group."Hi there folks, it is us again. Yesterday we leaked some small [data packages], now we leak the big guns," the post read. "1.1TiB of data. almost 10,000 channels, every message and file possible, dumped.""Unreleased projects, raw images and code, some logins, links to internal api/web pages, and more! Have fun sifting through it, there is a lot there. Perfect for gathering intelligence and more."The group later echoed the comments on its X account:"[Disney] has had their entire dev slack dumped. 1.1TiB of files and chat messages. Anything we could get our hands on, we downloaded and packaged up. Want to see what goes on behind the doors? go grab it."A screenshot was attached that added on to the aforementioned post, saying, "We tried to hold off until we got deeper in, but our inside man got cold feet and kicked us out! I thought we had something special." — (@) According to CNN, Disney responding by saying it is "investigating this matter."Nullbulge told CNN that it gained access to the Disney accounts through "a man with Slack access who had cookies."Slack is a communications software often used by larger companies to share ideas and as a messaging service.The hackers also told the outlet via email that they were based in Russia, which of course could not be confirmed.As for the reasons behind the hack, the group told CNN that Disney was their target due to "how it handles artist contracts, its approach to AI, and its pretty blatant disregard for the consumer.""If we said 'Hello Disney, we have all your slack data' they would instantly lock down and try to take us out. In a duel, you better fire first," the email read.Nullbulge revealed that it had come under attack since revealing the hack, stating that it had been subject to a DDoS attack that didn't work. — (@) A DDoS attack is described by Check Point as a Distributed Denial of Service attack, which is designed to force a website, computer, or online service offline. This is done by flooding the website with traffic from different locations.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Last weekend, President Trump came within a literal inch of death during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The following Monday, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed his classified documents case due to the unconstitutionality of Jack Smith's involvement. BlazeTV host of “Stu Does America” Stu Burguiere joins "Blaze News Tonight" to discuss the historic last few days for Donald Trump and what they could mean come November. Next, Blaze Media senior politics editor Christopher Bedford and Blaze Media national correspondent Julio Rosas tune in from the RNC convention in Milwaukee to discuss President Trump's VP pick — Ohio Senator JD Vance — and the anti-Trump protests raging in the streets outside the convention. Next, the panel discusses the group of attendees at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally who witnessed the shooter mount the roof and who called for help but were ignored. Former intelligence analyst for the Department of Defense and chief researcher for Glenn Beck Jason Buttrill joins to break down the failure of the Secret Service to protect former President Donald Trump from danger. Lastly, BlazeTV host of "The Glenn Beck Program" and Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck joins the show to discuss the parallels between the attempted assassination of Trump and that of President Theodore Roosevelt. 'America’s Hitler'?! Biden’s Unity Message TANKS After Trump Picks JD Vance for VP | 7/15/24 www.youtube.com Historic days for Donald Trump At a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, former president Donald Trump was nearly assassinated when a shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire from a nearby rooftop, hitting Trump in the ear. Two days later, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed Trump’s classified documents case, ruling that special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutionally appointed. “This is probably one of the craziest sequences of events that I've ever seen in politics,” says BlazeTV’s Stu Burguiere. “To just have a bullet go through your ear, you're an inch away from dying, to have the presence of mind to stand up there and raise your fist and show America that … not only did this not hurt you, but we're going to keep going is one of the most incredible moments — the most bada** moment — I've ever seen,” he tells Jill. According to Stu, Trump’s bold display of courage will likely result in “a bump” for him, meaning that people who have never considered voting for him before may find themselves “crossing that line for the first time because there is something really, truly American” about “the way [Trump] reacted.” Further, Stu suspects the mainstream media will soften toward Trump for a while and conveniently “forget about all the rhetoric” it’s been spreading about his similarity to Hitler. “You call somebody Hitler over and over and over again, it's going to create an impression among some unstable people that the correct, moral thing to do is to take him out,” says Stu, suggesting that the media’s rhetoric is at least partially to blame for Trump’s almost-assassination. Republicans unite at Milwaukee RNC Convention, anti-Trump protests rage on According to Blaze Media senior politics editor Christopher Bedford, currently attending the RNC convention in Milwaukee, the events that occurred over the weekend seem to be unifying the right. “The Republicans were already set to walk into this week more unified than the Democratic Party by an absolute long shot, but the historic deadly attack and the attempted assassination that we watched on television on Saturday has even heightened that,” says Bedford, adding that the spectrum of Republicans coming together ranges from warmongering Nikki Haley to 50 Cent. As for Trump’s VP pick — Ohio Senator JD Vance — Bedford alleges that the majority of convention attendees seem “thrilled with this decision,” but there are certain individuals, “some of the old Tea Party conservatives,” for example, who are not so thrilled. “What choosing Vance says — a young senator, 39 [years old], in his first term, a rising star, telegenic, intelligent — is it allows the MAGA movement to know that there's some kind of future, a potential successor, after Trump's second term in office if he wins,” Bedford explains. For all the unity among Republicans, however, there seems to be equal solidarity among Trump-haters. Footage shows mass anti-Trump protests in the streets of Milwaukee, where Trump-Hitler rhetoric has not waned at all. Blaze Media national correspondent Julio Rosas tells Jill that in the press conference that followed the march on the RNC, protest leaders were “denouncing Trump,” likely realizing that his “popularity [is] rising in the aftermath” of the assassination attempt. “One of the speakers did say that, generally speaking, she was against any assassination attempt on any politician, but then she caveated that by saying it's undeniable that Trump's rhetoric, policies, and actions has led to the legitimization of political violence by white nationalists,” Rosas reports. Secret Service failure? Police forces and Secret Service at the rally where President Trump was shot have come under intense scrutiny after a group of bystanders witnessed the armed shooter mount the roof but were ignored when they reported the threat. Jill plays the footage of one witness recounting to the BBC’s Gary O'Donoghue that he “[pointed] at the guy crawling up the roof” to police and Secret Service and even told police that “there's guy on the roof with a rifle,” but nothing was done until after Crooks had already started firing. He also asked: “Why is there not Secret Service on all of these roofs?” Former intelligence analyst for the Department of Defense and chief researcher for Glenn Beck Jason Buttrill calls the situation “ridiculous” and “chaotic.” Jason, who’s “worked alongside Secret Service,” says that he “cannot fathom how this happened,” as Secret Service — especially when the protective operation involves a president — will “show up weeks in advance” to conduct a “site survey” for the purpose of developing a “multi-tiered security plan.” Part of that security plan involves setting up “firing positions” that fall “outside the perimeter,” completely debunking the narrative of the Secret Service director who claimed that “they’re not responsible outside that perimeter.” All considered, it seems highly unlikely that the roof from which the shooter fired was not considered a high-risk area by the Secret Service prior to the rally. Parallels between Teddy Roosevelt & Donald Trump’s almost-assassinations Glenn Beck, a lover of history, couldn’t help but notice several parallels between Donald Trump’s near-death experience and that of Teddy Roosevelt in 1912. When Roosevelt was shot, the bullet “didn't go into his lungs” but rather “lodged between two ribs because the speech and his glasses,” which he’d put into his front coat pocket, “caught that bullet,” says Glenn, adding that Roosevelt “went on to give the speech” despite his wound. “The way Donald Trump handled the assassination attempt is almost identical to what Teddy Roosevelt did,” he tells Jill. “When Donald Trump got up and he said, ‘Wait, wait, wait,’ and then he looked at the crowd and held his fist up and he said ‘fight.’ I ... immediately thought of Theodore Roosevelt.” Jill agrees, adding that Trump “never backs away from a fight,” which is also “what Teddy Roosevelt is known for.” As for Trump’s decision to select JD Vance as his running mate, Glenn says, “I think it was a really good move.” Vance, according to Glenn, has the potential to carry on Trump’s legacy and counteract the left’s narrative that Trump will refuse to leave office. “You could interpret this as … Donald Trump saying, ‘I know I'm only going to be there four years,”’ says Glenn, meaning that Vance, if he runs for president in 2028, could actually accomplish much of what Trump set out to do — things that Trump knows are impossible to achieve in one term.

A local district attorney said that the U.S. Secret Service is trying to pass the buck on security failures during the assassination attempt even though it was responsible. 'It was unacceptable, and it's something that shouldn't happen again.' Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger made the claim in an interview with the Washington Post. Goldinger said that the SWAT teams in his jurisdiction were located within the secure perimeter while it was the responsibility of the Secret Service to secure the area outside of that perimeter. “Secret Service was in charge, and so it was their responsibility to make sure that the venue and the surrounding area was secure," he explained. “That’s common sense I think. That’s their job," Goldinger continued. “For them to blame local law enforcement is them passing the blame when they hold the blame, in my opinion.” Goldinger was responding to a Secret Service source telling the Post that there was a local county's SWAT team of snipers inside the building that the alleged shooter climbed in order to attack former President Donald Trump. The Secret Service told the Post that a counter-sniper fired at the shooter as soon as he saw him lift his weapon but that he had already shot at Trump by the time he was killed. Also on Tuesday, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle claimed ultimate responsibility for the failures was borne by the Secret Service, but she refused to step down from her position. "The Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president," said Cheatle in the interview. "The buck stops with me, I am the director of the Secret Service. It was unacceptable, and it's something that shouldn't happen again." Some blamed the failure of the Secret Service on Cheatle's determination to implement diversity and inclusion practices at the organization. Monday evening the former president made his first public appearance since the shooting. He walked into the hall of the Republican National Convention to thunderous applause from supporters. He had a bandage on his ear and appeared to be humble according to some viewers. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Jack Black's bandmate in comic rock outfit Tenacious D apologized Tuesday for saying "don't miss Trump next time" during a weekend concert in Australia following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.After a tidal wave of backlash, Black took to Instagram Tuesday morning, said he was "blindsided" by the words of his bandmate Kyle Gass, and canceled the Tenacious D tour while noting that "all future creative plans are on hold."'What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement.'"I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form," Black added in his statement.Gass added his own mea culpa Tuesday on Instagram: See on Instagram “The line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake,” Gass said in his statement. “I don’t condone violence of any kind, in any form, against anyone. What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement. I profoundly apologize to those I’ve let down and truly regret any pain I’ve caused.”What's more, Variety added that the Greene Talent agency dropped Gass.What's the background? During the Tenacious D concert in question, video shows Black singing "Happy Birthday" to Gass onstage as a birthday cake is presented to him. Black then tells Gass to "make a wish."With that, Black's bandmate waits a few seconds and says, "Don’t miss Trump next time," before blowing out the candles. Black replies, "Thank you!"It sounds on one clip as though the audience's reaction was mostly laughter and applause. Yahoo News said one crowd member remarked, “You could hear a couple of ‘oohhs’ — like 'too soon' sort of vibes — but the vast majority was laughter." The outlet added that numerous fans praised Gass’ comment, while others criticized the "bad joke."However, comments under the previously noted video — which was posted to X — seemed decidedly negative:"Wow f*** those guys," one commenter stated."That's disgusting @jackblack you support assassination attempts?" another user asked."You know, I didn't care when Jack Black endorsed Biden. He can have that opinion. This is too far though. I hope he apologizes," another commenter wrote."They say Trump is bad, but these are the real evil people," another user opined.Even an Australian senator demanded the deportation of Tenacious D, according to Deadline.Deadline also said Black's band had another week of concerts in Australia and was scheduled to venture to New Zealand as well.Tenacious D also was to embark on a U.S. tour in October, Deadline said. According to Variety, Tenacious D was scheduled to play a series of October concerts to support Rock the Vote, the "nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages young people to vote."Deadline also said Black is a vocal supporter of Democrats and last month endorsed President Joe Biden.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!