News of the Week for July 9th, 2017
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Gun Rights
Florida Judge Rules Recent Changes to Self-Defense Immunity Law Are Unconstitutional
Judge rules legislature exceeded its authority, in decision that confuses “Stand Your Ground” and Self-Defense Immunity concepts
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
Leading Climate Scientist Says Debating Scientific Theories Would Be “Un-American”
You’d think the 97 percent of scientists who supposedly all agree about climate change would eagerly line up to vanquish climate deniers—but apparently not.
The Future of Energy: Looks Like It’s Still Coal
One of the refrains of anguish following Trump’s sagacious decision to ditch the Kellogg-Briand Pact Paris Climate Accord was that the United States would be “ceding world leadership” in promoting “clean energy,” along with some fancy-sounding statistics about how renewable energy is soaring in China.
Study Finds Temperature Adjustments Account For “Nearly All Of The Warming” In Climate Data
A new study found adjustments made to global surface temperature readings by scientists in recent years “are totally inconsistent with published and credible U.S. and other temperature data.”
France will “ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040”
Environment minister unveils five-year-plan to fulfil country’s commitments under Paris Agreement
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
California Democrat Faces Death Threats from the Left
All over a “single payer” health bill that “makes no sense.”
Charlie Gard Has Happened Here Too
There is a proper international uproar over UK doctors winning the right in court to unilaterally remove the infant Charlie Gard from life support.
Cruz plan could be key to unlocking healthcare votes
The fate of of legislation repealing and replacing ObamaCare could hinge on an amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz.
Pat Toomey on why the GOP didn’t have a health-care plan ready: We didn’t think Trump would win
This explanation, that Senate Republicans were simply caught off-guard by Trump’s victory, would be more tolerable if not for the fact that (1) they had seven years to reach a rough consensus of what Republican health-care reform should look like, (2) the panicked solution they appear to be settling on is basically ObamaCare minus lots of Medicaid spending, and (3) a serious, capable political party should always plan for the not-very-unlikely contingency that it might win.
Democrats in Oregon Prove Yet Again They are the Party of Death
A new bill is about to arrive on the desk of Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown. The bill requires all insurers in the state to provide free abortions to their customers, including customers who happen to be illegal immigrants.
431 People Were Involuntarily Euthanized in the Netherlands in 2015
Every five years the Netherlands conducts a study to determine how people die in the Netherlands and whether or not there are concerns with the euthanasia law.
U.K.: One million patients a week cannot get a GP appointment, statistics show
One million patients a week cannot get appointments with GPs, amid the longest waiting times on record, new figures show.
War & Terror
Why It’s Time for the Carrier Battle Group
Let’s do away with the “carrier strike group.” Mind you, I don’t mean scrap the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and logistics ships—the elements that comprise a carrier strike group. Heaven forfend! We need more hulls, airframes and gadgetry of all types to face down the Chinas and Russias of the world. What the service should jettison is the carrier strike group as an organizing concept. The navy leadership should replace it with the “carrier battle group” of old—a formation outfitted generously with warplanes, surface combatants and logistics ships to punish seaborne foes while warding off attack.
Chilling picture shows female Isil fighter holding child moments before detonating suicide vest
At first sight the picture appears to show a mother cradling her young child as she flees an Islamic State-held area of Mosul.
National
Obama staff thought Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination was political
Obama administration legal officials thought the former president’s selection of Judge Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court’s vacant seat was motivated by politics, newly revealed internal emails show.
Kennedy telling clerk applicants he may retire next year
The Anthony Kennedy retirement watch may be dead for 2017, but it will return next year with a vengeance. The moment for an announcement came and went with the Supreme Court’s wrap-up of its 2016-17 term, and the cert grant for Masterpiece Cakeshop all but guarantees that Kennedy will want to hold onto his center-of-the-court seat to ensure his Obergefell decision does not get watered down.
College Republican members named in Dem lawsuit
Three College Republicans members at California State University, Fullerton have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by the California Democrats organization.
UCLA course blames “car culture” for “spatial injustice”
A course being offered this summer at UCLA aims to teach students how “car culture” and other factors produce “spatial injustice” in Los Angeles.
CNN Threatens to Dox Reddit User Behind Trump Tweet Wrestling Gif
This is not the Hanoi Hilton or Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge — this is CNN.
Ted Cruz: CNN may have just committed a CRIME
Last night we reported on how CNN threatened to doxx the internet user who created the now infamous wrestling gif of Trump tackling “CNN”. Well Ted Cruz is weighing in this morning, suggesting that what CNN did here could be a crime.
Ted Cruz: CNN may have just committed a CRIME
Last night we reported on how CNN threatened to doxx the internet user who created the now infamous wrestling gif of Trump tackling “CNN”. Well Ted Cruz is weighing in this morning, suggesting that what CNN did here could be a crime.
CNN Threatens to Dox Reddit User Behind Trump Tweet Wrestling Gif
This is not the Hanoi Hilton or Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge — this is CNN.
CNN May Have Targeted The WRONG Meme Creator Over Trump’s WWE Tweet
So, after nearly a full day of promoting a story labeling the redoubtable Reddit meme generator HanA**holeSolo the source of President Trump’s WWE vs. CNN logo wrestling gif, it turns out that CNN may have botched the story. HanA**holeSolo apologized for his myriad wrongs and stated that he never meant to promote violence. CNN threatened to out HanA**holeSolo’s identity if he reneged on his apology.
Professor teaches students about “the problem that is whiteness”
Serious explorations into race should focus on the problem of whiteness and be grounded in the claim that it’s a hegemonic “power apparatus,” a Fairfield University professor suggested at a recent conference aimed at pushing “radical social change” in higher education.
Astronomers are psyched they get to watch this galaxy die
As NASA and other space agencies from around the world set their sights on exoplanets and destinations within our Solar System that could host life, some astronomers are enjoying a very different sight: a galaxy slowly being starved to death. The Little Cub galaxy is dying and scientists are excited about the opportunity to watch the system gradually succumb to the ravages of its nearest neighbor as it is stripped of the resources needed to grow.
Hard-Pressed Rural Californians Try Civil-Rights Approach
North state residents take a page from minority activists’ playbook and push for better representation in state government.
Trump Says West Must “Fight Like the Poles.” Meet the Polish Soldier Who Fought for Our Freedom.
“Together, let us all fight like the Poles—for family, for freedom, for country, and for God.”
Law prof proposes “white middle-class studies” discipline
George Washington University Law School professor John Banzhaf is proposing that universities create “Blue Collar Studies” programs to help scholars better understand Trump voters.
Hispanic student harassed for calling out liberal “bigotry”
A Hispanic Texas A&M University student sparked a contentious exchange on Twitter by complaining about the alleged lack of diversity among participants in a freshman orientation retreat.
Fear Strikes Executive Branch As Trump’s War On Leakers Gathers Steam
By any measure, qualitative or quantitative, the Trump administration has been beset with a deluge of leaks that is unprecedented in American history. Some leaks are to be expected. White House officials leak policy trial balloons (these aren’t technically leaks as they are planned and approved) and they dish on one another for transitory political advantage. Other leaks are generated by political opponents of the administration in order to harm or embarrass the administration and they often damage national security in the process.
Cat Fight: Sour Feminists versus Bikini-clad PETA Protesters
Can’t they both lose?
‘Stealing’ Illegal Immigrant’s Jobs
Steven Crowder goes undercover to “steal” work from illegal immigrants by underbidding them for their jobs. Hilarity ensues as we quickly learn these Mexicans don’t have a great affinity for white people or competition!
Watch these antifa sheep blindly applaud when disguised pro-Trumper reads speech of Hitler quotes
As if this political climate weren;t crazy enough, last week’s “Impeach Trump March” in Chicago saw dozens of “antifa” protesters applauding the very words of … Adolf Hitler??
Oregon Poised To Decriminalize Meth, Cocaine And Heroin
The Oregon legislature passed two bills Thursday decriminalizing small amounts of six hard drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and ecstasy.
Helium shortage looms
Qatar blockade cuts 30% of global supply and threatens price increases for scientific instrument users
Economy & Taxes
Michigan Labor Union Blames Goats for Taking Their Jobs
Goats, doing the job unions won’t do
International
Venezuela’s Poor Rebel, Roiling Maduro’s Socialist Strongholds
In western Caracas, fury erupts when food program falters. “People protest when there are no other options. It’s madness”
In Neanderthal DNA, Signs of a Mysterious Human Migration
With fossils and DNA, scientists are piecing together a picture of humanity’s beginnings, an origin story with more twists than anything you would find at the movie theater.
Aztec tower of skulls turns out to be no myth
Described in the 16th century by Spanish soldiers, the temple of Huitzilopochtli has come to light.
Pro-Maduro groups burst into Venezuela congress
Rowdy groups of government supporters burst into Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly on Wednesday, injuring several lawmakers and journalists, witnesses said.
Model Cara Delevingne Wants to Export “Gender Fluidity” to Africa
Maybe I expect too much from models and actresses, but if Glamour or any other major women’s magazines is going to take the trouble of doing an extensive interview with someone like model Cara Delevingne, I think their subjects should have something interesting to say. Delevingne is instead like a white noise machine spouting a steady, boring stream of “sex-positive” liberal clichés.
Winning is banned at more than half of primary school sports days: Pupils compete in teams despite 82% of parents wanting a traditional event
Families Online poll shows 57 per cent of parents said children have ‘non-competitive’ sports days
China to Gays: Get Off the Net
China’s new regulations on online content have put a new slate of ideological taboos in the censors’ crosshairs—including homosexuality
Mass Arrests of Christians in Eritrea as Patriarch Marks 10 Years in Detention
Since 2003, Christians in the small East African country of Eritrea have been under siege, with thousands languishing in prisons for their faith. This despite the country being nearly evenly split between Christians and Muslims.
Opinion
Losing the Nation-State
The liberal international order cannot survive the unraveling of strong national communities that are the baseline of democratic government.
The Death Spiral of Socialism
The total abrogation of personal autonomy for the parents of baby Charlie Gard as courts in the United Kingdom and in Europe simultaneously and arbitrarily decided what his parents can and cannot do for their extremely ill child is another symptom of the chilling or, should I say, killing world of socialism.
I’m a Pediatrician. How Transgender Ideology Has Infiltrated My Field and Produced Large-Scale Child Abuse.
Transgender politics have taken Americans by surprise, and caught some lawmakers off guard.
Why Americans Feel Less Free Today Than 10 Years Ago
Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with the amount of freedom in their lives.
Enforcing Gender Ideology On Foster Families Only Hurts Needy Kids
Impoverished children always get the shortest end of the crummy progressive policy stick. Depleting foster families is just one example.
The Fourth of July in Postmodern America
Who is today’s model of liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
Top two primary makes recruiting GOP candidates tougher – and puts Lady Luck in charge
It sounded so nice. The top performing candidates, regardless of party, would move past the primary to the general election. “The people” would be empowered to choose the candidates they like best, and “the power of “party bosses” further diminished.
A republic will not work if we don’t have shared facts
“you’re entitled to your own opinions, but you’re not entitled to your own facts”
College Trustees Are Largely to Blame for Today’s Campus Madness
Is there no limit to the level of disgusting behavior on college campuses that parents, taxpayers, donors, and legislators will accept?
The Tragic Case of Charlie Gard Highlights the Importance of Parental Rights
The tragic case of Charlie Gard, the British infant who will soon be taken off life support, has exposed the scale of the malfunction in the British family court system.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Spending the legacy of freedom
Over the past few years, we’ve seen some worrying indications that the kids are not alright. Fundamental elements of our society like free speech are increasingly under attack from a kind of weaponized identity politics whose goal is not to introduce and debate new ideas but to silence voices that they find threatening or offensive (often those are assumed to be one and the same).
Stop Saying Republican Voters Are “Voting against Their Interests”
Our “interests” are inextricably linked to our values.
No, America Is Not an Oligarchy Run by the Ultra-Rich
The recent electoral race between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District was the most expensive ever for a seat in the House of Representatives.
Misunderestimating the Democrats
In this analysis of the Cleveland Indians, Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight shows how they’re a better team than their win–loss record so far. A key team stat of theirs that figures into his calculations is their Pythagorean expectation, which is high. The Pythagorean expectation is what you would expect a team’s winning percentage to be when you consider the ratio of its runs scored to runs allowed. When a team’s Pythagorean expectation is higher than its winning percentage, its future performance is likely to be better than its record to date. When it’s lower, worse.
In Defense of Western Civ
What makes the West unique is not that we had slavery, but that we put an end to it because it was not compatible with our values.
Why Trump’s Western Civilization Isn’t a “White Supremacist Dogwhistle”
On Thursday, President Donald Trump gave a powerful speech in Warsaw, Poland, in which he unabashedly defended Western Civilization. Liberals heard the speech as a “white supremacist dogwhistle,” an “alt-right manifesto,” or a defense of “white, Christian hegemony.” These attacks could not be more wrong.
Gender Identity Madness – There Is Absolutely No Such Thing as a Pregnant Man
The U.K. paper The Independent published an article with the following headline: Britain’s first pregnant man gives birth to girl. It is amazing how such a small arrangement of words can be equal parts clickbait, exploitation, cultural indoctrination, and utter nonsense.
Giving Kids “Woke Books” Will Lead To More Racial Tension, And That’s Deliberate
Kids need cultural leaders like NPR and teachers to focus not on differences and group identities, but to emphasize what we as Americans citizens share in common.
Kafkatrapped at Evergreen State College
Prof. Bret Weinstein’s attempt to clear himself of false charges of racism used as proof of his racism
