This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A fight over a city's mistake when it installed a sewer line – on the wrong property – has gotten worse in Oklahoma, and city residents now are each being billed $10 a month so officials can continue their legal war.
The Institute for Justice reported a short time ago that it was helping Melisa Robinson go to court – AGAIN – to collect what the Oklahoma Supreme Court already has ruled a city owes her.
The problem is that an entity run by the city of Okay, its Public Works Authority, was ruled by the high court to owe Robinson $73,000 damages – now $200,000 including interest, for having its workers dig "a sewer line" on a small mobile home community owned by Robinson.
There was no permission, no authorization for that to have happened.
The city previously said its Public Works division is a trust, and while it may owe Robinson money, that division's assets all are owned by the city, and they deny any responsibility.
The newest development, according to the IJ, is that the city council voted to add a $10 surcharge, indefinitely, to all water customers.
It's not to pay the judgment, but to "pay its attorneys to continue fighting a lawsuit" from Robinson.
"The city did not let anyone from the public speak during the meeting about the surcharge. In 2022, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the Okay Public Works Authority owed Melisa just compensation after it damaged and took her property when it replaced sewer lines without legal authorization. For years the city refused to pay, forcing Melisa to file another federal lawsuit with the Institute for Justice (IJ)," the legal team reported.
"It's beyond belief that Okay would rather raise a surcharge to pay their attorneys rather than pay me what the court already says they owe," Robinson said. "I don't think its right to charge the public to continue a fight they know is wrong to begin with. But if the city can do this to me, they can do it to anyone else."
The city claims the extra bills will cost residents about $30,000 a year.
"After years in court, Melisa Robinson was overjoyed when the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the city of Okay owed her family $73,000 for taking their property. Melisa's family are the long-time owners of a small mobile home community that was damaged in 2009 when Okay workers dug a sewer line on it without any legal authorization," IJ reported.
The lawyers explained, "The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says the government must pay for what it takes, and that means it must pay in cash—not hand over a worthless IOU."
"As long as the city refuses to pay Melisa the just compensation she's owed, it continues to violate the Fifth Amendment," said IJ Attorney Brian Morris. "And now, by trying to blame Melisa for the costs of litigation the city itself created, it's sending a clear message to the residents of Okay: If you try to stand up for your constitutional rights, we'll come after you in more ways than just one."
The Constitution doesn't allow governments to take private property without "just compensation."
"In Melisa's case, Okay began digging a brand-new sewer line on her property—without obtaining permission and without giving notice. (The Trust owned a sewer easement on the land next door. It didn't own anything on Melisa's land, but it dug anyway.) Making things worse, the work did not go well. There was extensive damage to the property and the sewage did not drain correctly from the homes. Melisa paid to fix the damage out of her own pocket—and then sued for compensation."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The New York Post recently described conditions in Afghanistan, where the Taliban terrorists took over moments after Joe Biden ordered American troops to abandon their allies, their bases, their supporters and billions of dollars in equipment.
And in the three years since that happened, a move that ended two decades of intervention, the report notes the $2 trillion and 6,300 lives spent on the effort.
"President Biden has often spoken contemptuously about the capacity of our armed forces, saying that Afghanistan could not expect Americans to die in its cause if Afghans were not willing to fight. But what we see today in Afghanistan – along with the consequences in the wider world — is a direct result of a process that started with President Barack Obama and ended with Biden. Both leaders facilitated the fall and the rise of terrorism as a nation-state in Afghanistan," the report said.
The "disastrous" withdrawal destroyed the reputations of both the U.S. and Afghanistan around the globe and "The spectacle of Afghans clamoring for space on crowded U.S. choppers and the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in a Kabul terror attack demonstrated the type of American weakness that later allowed despots like (Vladimir) Putin to enter Ukraine."
The report said, "The full horror of Taliban rule has now been realized. The Taliban have proved themselves incapable of running any kind of economy, and savage restrictions imposed on all freedoms, particularly affecting women, have led to widespread discontent. They rule only by fear; their support is shallow."
In fact, leaders there now have announced a new round of limits on women, ordering them not to LOOK at most men.
And it just gets worse.
A report from the Middle East Media Research Institute explains that a New York judge, hearing a damages case over 9/11, ordered the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, essentially the Taliban, to pay victims or their families more than $100 billion in damages.
The report notes that Taliban officials in the Herat province in Afghanistan have dismissed the decision as "illogical" and said they won't cooperate.
MEMRI noted, "According to a Dari-language report published by Watan24 news, Mawlawi Hayatullah Mohajer, deputy governor of Herat, and Qari Ghor Darwazi, a jihadi commander, said that the U.S. is using the demand as an excuse to pressure and isolate Afghanistan."
The report, translated, said Mawlawi Hayatullah Mohajer, the deputy governor of Herat, said that it was the U.S. that "committed many unforgivable crimes during the 20 years it was in Afghanistan."
"He stated that the United States, during its presence in Afghanistan, killed and injured many innocent people and inflicted a lot of financial and human loss on the people of this country. He added that while American forces were in the country, the people's economy was challenged in all matters of life," the report explained.
MEMRI explained, "Meanwhile, Qari Ghor Darwazi, one of the jihadi commanders in Herat, says: The compensation of $109 billion that America demanded from Afghanistan is illogical and shows that the American government is looking for an excuse in Afghanistan."
The report noted Hadi Afshar, a university professor and political expert in Herat, said it has been over 20 years since the September 11th incident, and to this day, the United States has been unable to provide any evidence.
He said, "The incident of September 11, 2001, happened, and after that, America entered Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorism, which resulted in 20 years of backwardness, the spread of administrative corruption, and the increase of drug production in the country."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
ABC should be prosecuted for an illegal corporate donation to the Kamala Harris campaign for president.
That's according to columnist Beth Brelje, an award-winning investigative journalist and elections correspondent for the Federalist, who wrote the ABC debate this week was a "90-minute ambush to boost Kamala Harris."
"Working as a team, ABC hosts David Muir and Linsey Davis propped up Harris and repeatedly tried to vanquish Trump by talking over him, cutting him off, and asking bizarre questions they did not ask Harris. At one point, Davis jumped in for Harris and offered a rebuttal to one of Trump's comments on abortion, a move beyond the scope of a moderator," she explained.
"It was not a debate, but a campaign contribution. That's not a big surprise from either moderator, as Muir hosts the most Trump-negative network news evening broadcast and Davis has a long track record of promoting Democrat talking points including stolen election claims from Hillary Clinton."
She cited their focus on Jan. 6, 2021, and their decision to essentially ignore the economy, which is the top voter issue.
"Not once did the moderators acknowledge the attempted assassination of Trump. Nor did they question Harris about the lax security the Biden-Harris administration provided for Trump on the campaign trail that contributed to the shooting," she said.
That leaves the formula simple: "In broadcasting, where advertising is sold by the second, time really is money. A 30-second commercial in the February Super Bowl cost $7 million. CBS charged $225,000 for a half-minute ad during a 2016 debate between former President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. CNN sold ad packages for the June 27 debate between Trump and President Joe Biden for a minimum of $1.5 million per package, which included two 30-second ads, plus a few online ads."
While ABC's charges weren't known right away, assuming a "lowball" figure of $225,000 for half a minute, the 90-minute campaign promotion "comes to a contribution to the Harris Walz campaign of at least $40.5 million."
Any of those options, however, find the network exceeding contribution limits. "Plus, corporations are barred from making such contributions," she noted.
Further, she suggested ABC "should face scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission, which requires television and radio broadcasters to provide equal opportunities to opposing candidates in federal elections."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The People's Republic of China's Defense Ministry announced Monday the Chinese Navy and Air Force will be conducting "Northern/Interaction-2024," which are joint military exercises with Russian forces which will take place in the Sea of Japan, and the Sea of Okhotsk this month.
"The exercise aims to deepen the level of strategic coordination between the Chinese and Russian militaries and enhance their abilities to jointly respond to security threats," the announcement states.
Since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2021, China has quickly become one of Russia's largest purchasers of oil and gas, in return supplying electronics that provide multiple uses for both citizens and military applications.
China is currently at odds with several of its neighbors, including Taiwan, over which China is attempting to claim dominion, stating the self-governed island nation historically belongs under the yolk of China. Beijing has repeatedly hinted it will not hesitate to use force, and has threatened multiple times to invade Taiwan.
China further lays claim to the Taiwan Strait between China and Taiwan, a narrow body of water that separates Taiwan from mainland China, and is considered by every country apart from China as international waters.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a news conference in late August China will not tolerate any outside "provocations by countries that jeopardize China's sovereignty and security under the banner of freedom of navigation."
Furthermore, Chinese relations with the Philippines have continued to deteriorate after China has claimed almost all of the South China Sea as its own. The oil-rich fishing grounds, within the Philippines economic exclusion zone known as the Sabina Shoal, has become synonymous for conflict between the Philippines and Chinese Coast Guard vessels.
Chinese spokesperson Sen. Col. Wu stated at the end of August, that China has sovereignty over the area, and the Philippines should vacate after being illegally anchored at the shoal for months.
"Since its intrusion this April, the PCG vessel 9701 has illegally anchored in the lagoon of Xianbin Jiao. Such an act seriously violated China's sovereignty, breached international law and the stipulations of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and undermined regional peace and stability," Wu said, adding the Philippines are "opening a Pandora's Box."
Malaysia has also been warned by Beijing to cease all oil and gas exploration in the Sarawak waters, located in the South China Sea – over 2,000 kilometers from mainland China. Chinese warships have also been spotted in Malaysian waters, loitering near oil rigs.
China was caught out in 2023, patrolling within Malaysia's exclusive economic zone in an attempt to exert dominance.
Meanwhile, Chinese officials insist a modern China is an opportunity for the U.S., not a threat, according to comments made by China's Ministry of Commerce vice minister Wang Shouwen during trade talks in Tianjin on Saturday.
Steve Yates, a senior fellow and AFPI China Policy Initiative chair, told Dana Loesch during an interview Monday that the real threat to America is coming from China by way of the fentanyl epidemic.
"Russia is a problem, it is a national security challenge in many different ways, but is Russia killing hundreds of thousands of Americans now before our eyes? No. That's the People's Republic of China, sending those precursor chemicals," Yates told Loesch.
Yates pointed out it is China, not Russia that is actively trying to shape the U.S. from the inside out, including positioning Chinese nationals into government offices.
"So, we've got an active human campaign where they're putting people in positions of influence and exercising it, shaping everything from Wall Street, to state government, to apparently the United States Senate from time to time, and they're killing American families and communities," Yates said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Education bureaucrats in the leftist enclave of Colorado have decided that students in the Jefferson County school district will be subjected to housing rules, on school trips, based on "gender identity."
And their action has gotten them named in a federal lawsuit.
It is the Alliance Defending Freedom that says it has filed a case against the school district for "violating parents' fundamental right to make decisions about the upbringing and education of their children."
The district's policy demands that students are assigned to share overnight accommodations based on "gender identity."
That means girls could be forced to share intimate areas, even beds, with a boy who simply says he's a girl.
Problematic is the decision by school officials to refuse to tell parents that while "girls" will be housed on one floor and "boys" on another, they have "redefined the words 'girl' and 'boy' to mean a student's self-asserted 'gender identity' rather than sex."
Further, the district "refuses to give parents truthful, pertinent information about their children's overnight accommodations, thus hampering parents' ability to make informed decisions about their children's education and privacy," the legal team said.
"Parents, not the government, have the right and duty to direct the upbringing and education of their children, and that includes making informed decisions to protect their child's privacy," ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson said in a prepared statement.
"This fundamental right is especially vital for parents to protect their children from violations of bodily privacy by exposure to the opposite sex in intimate settings, like sleeping arrangements or shower facilities. If Jefferson County Public Schools is going to continue placing students of the opposite sex in the same room on overnight trips—as it confirmed it would—the district must let parents be the ones to make decisions about their children's privacy. And they must provide the information necessary and inform parents about the policy so parents can make the best decisions for their children. The district must grant our clients' reasonable request for accommodations that can be accomplished in a number of confidential ways that protect the privacy of all students."
The lawsuit is on behalf of multiple parents including Bret and Susanne Wailes.
They "allowed their 11-year-old daughter to attend a district-sponsored trip to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.," and "were told their daughter would be rooming with three other fifth-grade girls. It wasn't until their daughter was in her room getting ready for bed on the first night of the trip that she discovered she was to share a bed with a boy who identified as a girl."
When they asked for "reasonable accommodations—asking the school district to allow parents to opt their children out of any policy, prior to an overnight trip, that rooms children by gender identity rather than sex," school officials refused.
The truth, which was concealed by the district, is that the "counselor" was a "non-binary" female. That person's responsibilities included supervising boys' showers.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Russian President Vladimir Putin took time away from orchestrating his military campaign against Ukraine to confirm his endorsement of a candidate in America's 2024 presidential election.
While Putin's voice on the video is significantly muted, an interviewer is speaking.
"If we can name a favorite candidate it was, it used to be Joe Biden," she quotes. "But now he's not participating in the election campaign."
But, the narrator explains, Biden has told people to support Kamala Harris, "So that is what we are going to do."
He expressed hope that she would ease some of America's sanctions on Russia, and "refrain" from future punishments.
The comments came even as the Biden-Harris regime, again like in years earlier, accused Russia of interfering in the presidential election.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A new report has found Chinese operatives are using social media platforms to impersonate American voters and spread divisive narratives about issues in the U.S., particularly social issues, and political conversations around the 2024 presidential election.
Graphika, a company that analyzes online social media behaviors, published their report titled "The #Americans" Tuesday, detailing how Spamouflage – a Chinese state-linked influence operation – has become increasingly aggressive on social media platforms, using personas disguised as Americans to sew divisive narratives.
Spamouflage is an influence operation first monitored by Graphika in 2019. Active on over 40 online platforms, it uses inauthentic accounts to promote pro-China and anti-Western narratives. Graphika determined the origins of the operation are linked to the Chinese government.
A new report has found Chinese operatives are using social media platforms to impersonate American voters and spread divisive narratives about issues in the U.S., particularly social issues, and political conversations around the 2024 presidential election.
Graphika, a company that analyzes online social media behaviors, published their report titled "The #Americans" Tuesday, detailing how Spamouflage – a Chinese state-linked influence operation – has become increasingly aggressive on social media platforms, using personas disguised as Americans to sew divisive narratives.
Spamouflage is an influence operation first monitored by Graphika in 2019. Active on over 40 online platforms, it uses inauthentic accounts to promote pro-China and anti-Western narratives. Graphika determined the origins of the operation are linked to the Chinese government.
President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and Vice President Kamala Harris have also all been targeted by these accounts in the run-up to the 2024 election, which both "seeded and amplified content denigrating Democratic and Republican candidates."
The report states Graphika's findings built on research conducted by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which published findings in April that the Chinese were using Spamouflage accounts to impersonate MAGA supporters.
While attempts to pose as American social media users have increased significantly, analysts note the accounts failed to get any traction, with the exception being a single Spamouflage account on TikTok that garnered 1.5 million views.
"Many of the accounts' bios suggested the U.S. is deteriorating and filled with discrimination. For example, some posed rhetorical questions with awkward grammar, such as 'is the present America still our America?' or 'is the current president our president?' likely to present themselves as U.S. voters disappointed in the current administration," the report states.
The Chinese government has recently upped its spying efforts both inside and outside of the U.S.
Recently, Chinese military installations have been rumored to have been erected along the coast of Cuba to spy on American military bases in Florida, as well as the state's space program.
Other instances include Chinese agents being planted inside important political offices, where they quickly use their position to advance China's interests. New York's Gov. Kathy Hochul, has recently been caught in a scandal after a former aide in her office was accused of working as a Chinese agent.
Hochul's former aide, Linda Sun, was indicted on charges of not registering as a foreign agent, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy. Sun's husband, Christopher Hu, allegedly laundered millions of dollars paid to the couple by the Chinese Communist Party. Hu has been charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and misuse of means of identification.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Sun and Hu appeared in federal court in Brooklyn Tuesday, with both pleading not guilty to the charges.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said Sun and Hu enriched themselves while furthering the interests of the CCP.
"As alleged, while appearing to serve the people of New York as deputy chief of staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP… The illicit scheme enriched the defendant's family to the tune of millions of dollars. Our office will act decisively to prosecute those who serve as undisclosed agents of a foreign government," Peace said.
It is also alleged Sun blocked representatives of Taiwan from accessing the governor, worked to prevent meetings with Taiwanese officials, and attempted to manipulate public statements made by the governor about China.
The U.S. Attorney's Office further stated Sun repeatedly violated internal rules and protocols, which included providing falsified invitation letters from Hochul's office, allowing CCP representatives to enter the U.S. unlawfully.
The 64-page indictment alleged Sun and Hu bought luxury homes with the proceeds, including a $4 million home in Long Island, a $2 million condo in Hawaii, and a fleet of luxury sports cars, including a 2024 Ferrari Roma.
Gov. Hochul stated during an interview with WNYC she was "outraged" by the allegations, calling Sun "brazen."
"I'm furious, and I'm outraged, and absolutely shocked at how brazen her behavior was. It was a betrayal of trust," Hochul said.
WND reached out to Hochul's Office for comment on the charges against Sun, but did not receive an immediate reply.
Sun was released on a $1.5 million bond, while Hu was released with a bond of $500,000. Bail conditions include Sun being forbidden to contact the Chinese consulate.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Assisted suicide, that so-called "Medical Aid in Dying" agenda that has been surging around the world, is just one step away from euthanasia, the deliberate destruction of those who don't necessarily want to die.
MAID has claimed tens of thousands of lives in recent years, including massive numbers in Canada, which has radical policies allowing people to ask to be put to death for a wide range of reasons including fear of homelessness. There, in fact, medical officials have refused people treatment, then suggested they allow themselves to be killed.
In America, the agenda is growing, with multiple states now endorsing the idea, including prominently leftist states like Oregon, California and Colorado.
But now there's a move to put the brakes on.
A report in the Washington Stand explains that life advocates in West Virginia are working on a ballot initiative that would keep the practice illegal.
The report explains the state's Amendment 1 is on this November's ballot, in order to provide "protection against medically assisted suicide."
Pat McGeehan, a state delegate, recently told an episode of "Washington Watch" that its intention is to place in the state constitution what already is law there.
"If this amendment is passed, West Virginia would become the first state to amend their constitution to prohibit assisted suicide," the report said.
The actual language in the plan states: "No person, physician, or health care provider in the State of West Virginia shall participate in the practice of medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person. Nothing in this section prohibits the administration or prescription of medication for the purpose of alleviating pain or discomfort while the patient's condition follows its natural course; nor does anything in this section prohibit the withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining treatment, as requested by the patient or the patient's decision-maker, in accordance with State law. Further, nothing in this section prevents the State from providing capital punishment."
McGeehan explained the goal is to "send a message" that the state opposes "this sort of nihilistic euthanasia movement sweeping the Western world."
It's his goal for West Virginia to become the "gold standard" against euthanasia.
He said while Canada is a leader in the industry, America is turning to "sort of euthanasia tourism" where people travel to states that allow it.
He explained, "They give you a cocktail of poisons," and then "you go back by yourself into one of these hotels [and] swallow the cocktail poison, it destroys your organs," and then "social workers actually come by the next day [to] collect all the bodies in these hotels and burn them."
He explained that putting it in a state constitution prevents future political leaders from arbitrarily reversing a law that now bans it.
""[Y]ou never know who's going to be in office next." It could be that in years to come, "It might not be guys that are pro-life on the Republican side,'" the report explained.
Further, he said if "consent" is all that's required, "all it takes is for a doctor to suggest euthanasia to 'vulnerable patients' to blur the lines between choices made voluntarily and those made through persuasion."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides vast protections, literal immunity, for web platforms for content users post to the software programs
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides vast protections, literal immunity, for web platforms for content users post to the software programs.
But a ruling from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals now has said that when those platforms PROMOTE users' speech, it becomes their own. And their responsibility could be vast.
The decision came in the case of Tawainna Anderson, as administrator for the estate of N.A., a deceased minor, against TikTok and its parent, Bytedance.
The court explained the dispute: "TikTok, Inc., via its algorithm, recommended and promoted videos posted by third parties to ten-year-old Nylah Anderson on her uniquely curated 'For You Page.' One video depicted the 'Blackout Challenge,' which encourages viewers to record themselves engaging in acts of self-asphyxiation. After watching the video, Nylah attempted the conduct depicted in the challenge and unintentionally hanged herself."
Her mother, Tawainna Anderson, sued and the district court dismissed her based on Section 230's protections for web corporations over what their users post.
The situation would have been different had the girl searched for and found with offending video on her own. But in this case, the company's algorithms found the video, identified it, and then promoted it to her, the ruling pointed out.
That makes it the company's speech, the ruling found.
"TikTok's recommendations via its FYP algorithm – is TikTok's expressive activity," the ruling said, so the Section 230 protection "does not bar Anderon's claims."
"We reach this conclusion specifically because TikTok's promotion of a Blackout Challenge video on Nylah's FYP was not contingent upon any specific user input. Had Nylah viewed a Blackout Challenge video through TikTok's search function, rather than through her FYP, then TikTok may be viewed more like a repository of third-party content than an affirmative promoter of such content. Given the type of algorithm alleged here, we need not address whether § 230 immunizes any information that may be communicated by the results of a user's search of a platform's content," the ruling said.
The case was returned to the district court for determinations on that claim, as well as "any claims not premised upon TikTok's algorithm."
A concurrence in the majority opinion turned blunt: "TikTok reads § 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230, to permit casual indifference to the death of a ten-year-old girl. It is a position that has become popular among a host of purveyors of pornography, self-mutilation, and exploitation, one that smuggles constitutional conceptions of a 'free trade in ideas' into a digital 'cauldron of illicit loves' that leap and boils with no oversight, no accountability, no remedy. And a view that has found support in a surprising number of judicial opinions dating from the early days of dial-up to the modern era of algorithms, advertising, and apps. But it is not found in the words Congress wrote in § 230, in the context Congress acted, in the history of common carriage regulations, or the centuries of tradition informing the limited immunity from liability enjoyed by publishers and distributors of 'content.' As best understood, the ordinary meaning of § 230 provides TikTok immunity from suit for hosting videos created and uploaded by third parties. But it does not shield more, and Anderson's estate may seek relief for TikTok's knowing distribution and targeted recommendation of videos it knew could be harmful."
Those comments were from Circuit Judge Paul Matey.
The majority opinion said, "TikTok makes choices about the content recommended and promoted to specific users, and by doing so, is engaged in its first-party speech."
The report noted American Economic Liberties Project Research Director Matt Stoller opined that "It'll take a bit of time, but the business model of big tech is over."
President Obama nominee Judge Patty Shwartz wrote for the panel. Just the news explained she cited the Supreme Court, which ruled "algorithms that reflect 'editorial judgments' about compiling third-party content are First Amendment-protected 'expressive product[s].'"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Cleveland Clinic, named in a civil rights complaint for alleged racial discrimination, now has removed all traces of its "Minority Men's Health Center" from its web pages, according to a report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.
WILL was representing an organization called Do No Harm when it filed a recent complaint.
Now, however, there appear to be changes in the circumstances.
"We believe this move signals that Cleveland Clinic is taking seriously our challenge against its racially discriminatory patient programming," WILL confirmed.
WILL lawyer Cara Tolliver explained, "We are glad to see that Cleveland Clinic is taking steps to remove racial discrimination from its patient programming. While racial identity politics are often problematic wherever they occur, in healthcare, the problem can engender serious stakes, including life and death matters. When it comes to healthcare, providers should be simply extending care efforts to all patients who need it, regardless of their race and under the law —not relying on racial stereotypes as a proxy for legitimate health risks."
Do No Harm official Jared Ross said, "This takedown is an initial win but Do No Harm would like to receive confirmation that patients of all races and ethnicities are now welcomed for treatment at the two Cleveland Clinic programs we highlighted in our complaint.
"Do No Harm will continue working to eliminate racial bias and political ideology from all aspects of medicine."
WILL and DNH earlier this month filed a federal civil rights complaint with the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services.
It challenged two discriminatory patient programs at the Ohio-based health facility, its "Minority Stroke Program" and the "Minority Men's Health Center."
Both programs aim to address stroke, diabetes, men's health conditions, mental health issues, and other medical conditions, the WILL report on the dispute said.
They tout "a range of benefits from disease prevention and treatment to specialized providers, transportation assistance, prescription assistance, support groups, and education events."
However, the special programs "discriminate against patients based on race and are racially motivated to provide services to some in a different manner from those provided to others," meaning that "Cleveland Clinic's programs violate the anti-discrimination provisions of Title VI and the Affordable Care Act."
WILL reported the men's center pages were completely removed from the clinic, and no mention of the program now is found there.
WND reported when the fight developed that the complaint charged, "Cleveland Clinic may not implement racial preferences, or programs that are racially motivated, to provide services or benefits differently from those provided to others."