News of the Week for Oct. 7th, 2018
- Election 2018
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Election 2018
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is vulnerable, will Republicans rally for challenger Robert Flanders?
“Democrat sources say new internal numbers show Sheldon Whitehouse at 47% and Flanders at 40%, with 13% undecided.”
The War That Never Ends
The vote on Brett Kavanaugh is likely to be taken this weekend. But, the impact of the battle over his confirmation is likely to have short and long-term consequences.
Dem super PAC won’t back Bredesen after his backing of Kavanaugh
A major Democratic super PAC says it won’t spend resources to boost the Senate campaign of former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) amid his announcement that he supports Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Heitkamp’s ‘No’ Vote on Kavanaugh May Help Her Re-Election Chances
Democratic incumbent Senator Heidi Heitkamp, from the deep red state of North Dakota, is now in an uphill battle for re-election against GOP Rep. Ken Cramer. The latest poll from Fox News shows Heitkamp trailing Cramer by 12 points. The survey was taken before her vote against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was revealed.
Gun Rights
The false promise of gun control
One year ago tomorrow, the unthinkable happened. The Oct. 1 murders devastated families and tore gaping holes in the Las Vegas community. We’ll never again think that it can’t happen here.
Federal Judge Restores Non-Violent Offender’s Gun Rights Following Landmark Case
Judge says non-violent DUIs not enough to meet standard for lifelong gun ban
Democrats’ New Anti-Gun Laws Are Also An Attack On Due Process
In the hierarchy of progressive values, due process is a bottom dweller.
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
The down side to wind power
Wind farms will cause more environmental impact than previously thought
Claim: Judge Kavanaugh’s Adherence to Rule of Law Will Impede Climate Action
Greens are worried Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court will impede their efforts to stretch Congressional mandates beyond their original intent.
Audit of global warming data finds it riddled with errors
Just ahead of a new report from the IPCC, dubbed SR#15 about to be released today, we have this bombshell- a detailed audit shows the surface temperature data is unfit for purpose. The first ever audit of the world’s most important temperature data set (HadCRUT4) has found it to be so riddled with errors and “freakishly improbable data” that it is effectively useless.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Medicine journal recommends that doctors remove organs from still breathing euthanasia patients
Canadians Ian Ball and Robert Sibbald from Western University, along with Robert Truog from Harvard, recently published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine calling for organ donation from euthanasia victims.
An Unspoken ObamaCare Shanda: Bye, Bye PPO
As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Anthem is diving back into the individual major medical market for Open Enrollment ’19; although there’s no official word yet on product details, it’s a safe bet that they’ll be using the ubiquitous (and problematic) HMO model. And we’ve just recently learned that Medical Mutual is also re-joining the Ohio market, and they’ve confirmed that theirs is, indeed, an HMO product.
War & Terror
Car explodes in Allentown, Pennsylvania; 3 dead, coroner says
Three people were killed after a car exploded Saturday night in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania, including the likely perpetrator, authorities said Sunday. Authorities released no information about the cause of Saturday’s blast, including whether it was a bomb. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
Army might have found its new rifle in Colorado Springs garage
The Army adopted its battle rifle in 1963 and has spent 55 years looking for a replacement for the M-16 and its variants.
Beijing Doth Protest Too Much. US Arms Sales to Taiwan Are Right Thing to Do.
The United States on Sept. 24 announced a new set of arms sales to Taiwan. Valued at $330 million, this sale comprises mainly spare parts and equipment to support Taiwan’s air force, including its F-16s and C-130s.
Hazmat Team Sent to Cruz Campaign Office in Houston
Staffers opened an envelope containing a white powdery substance.
Ricin Detected in Mail Sent to Pentagon Facility
Poison flagged in two pieces addressed to an individual, defense officials say
The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies
The attack by Chinese spies reached almost 30 U.S. companies, including Amazon and Apple, by compromising America’s technology supply chain, according to extensive interviews with government and corporate sources.
China’s Strategic Force Gears Up for Space and Cyber War
NDU report reveals PLA information warfare plans
‘They touched us anywhere they wanted, running their hands over our breasts and our legs’: Yazidi woman supported by Amal Clooney reveals harrowing moment giant ISIS brute picked her as his sex slave as other captives vomited in terror
Nadia Murad, 25, speaks of her experiences at the hands of ISIS sex traffickers
National
Scientist Offers Evidence That Men and Women Are Different, Gets Banned
The European nuclear research center known as CERN has banned Professor Alessandro Strumia of Pisa University after he gave a slide presentation at a conference that discussed male/female differences in career outcomes in the field of physics. Professor Strumia’s presentation – which is archived here – was removed from CERN’s website, and the center issued a statement calling it “highly offensive” and “unacceptable.”
Prosecutor Who Questioned Ford Shreds Her Case In Five-Page Memo
Rachel Mitchell, the prosecutor who questioned Christine Blasey Ford last week during a hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a five-page memo that was released on Sunday that outlines why she would not bring criminal charges against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Conclusion: “The activities of congressional Democrats and Dr. Ford’s attorneys likely affected Dr. Ford’s account”
Rachel Mitchell analyzes Christine Blasey Ford’s claims: “I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee. Nor do I believe that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.”
Woman Who Ambushed Flake in Elevator Is Director of Soros-Funded Group
At least one of the women who cornered Arizona senator Jeff Flake in an elevator last Friday, screaming in his face for several excruciating minutes, works for the Soros-funded Center for Popular Democracy, the left-wing organization spearheading the effort to stop Kavanaugh.
California flips the bird to judge who ruled on sanctuary cities
Over the weekend we looked at a recent court ruling in California which shot holes in the state’s primary sanctuary city law. The judge hearing that case ruled in favor of Huntington Beach, saying that the law violated the rights of charter cities to set their own rules in municipal government matters. Given the large number of charter cities in California (there are more than 100 of them), that’s a pretty big deal. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
Kavanaugh’s law class CANCELED at Harvard next semester
Harvard has canceled Kavanaugh’s law class for next semester, saying that he can’t commit at this point to teaching the class
California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill Requiring Female Board Directors
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Sunday that will require publicly traded companies with headquarters in the state to have women serving on their boards of directors.
Rape charges against 4 California dentists dismissed after video contradicts woman’s story
Four dentists from California, including three brothers, who faced rape charges for the alleged assault of a woman at the Wynn Las Vegas had all charges dismissed in court Monday.
New UN marriage equality policy looking rather unequal
Assuming it manages to bubble up through all of the SCOTUS confirmation news in your feed this week, you may be hearing something about a new State Department policy concerning visas for United Nations workers bringing their spouses or significant others into the United States. It’s being billed as an initiative aimed at leveling the playing field between straight and gay workers at Turtle Bay who apply for a visa for their partner. Under previous rules established during Barack Obama’s first term, gay workers could have visas issued for their partners despite their marital status while heterosexual couples had to provide proof of marriage to have the visa issued.
If You Disagree with These Insulting Phone Messages I Received, Please Help NRO
This is what we’re up against: a Left that is hateful, inflamed, and uninterested in hearing the other side.
The Grievance Studies Scandal: Five Academics Respond
To date, their project has been successful: seven papers have passed through peer review and have been published, including a 3000 word excerpt of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, rewritten in the language of Intersectionality theory and published in the Gender Studies journal Affilia.
Academic Grievance Studies and the Corruption of Scholarship
This essay, although hopefully accessible to everyone, is the most thorough breakdown of the study and written for those who are already somewhat familiar with the problems of ideologically-motivated scholarship, radical skepticism and cultural constructivism.
Catalyzing major human space activities by 2030
This October the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop is hosting a special Symposium at the Y-12 New Hope Center in Oak Ridge TN that will promote safe, fast, and affordable human development of our solar system – the first real steps to becoming an interstellar civilization.
Austin restaurants can no longer throw away food
Starting Monday, Austin restaurants and food businesses have to come up with alternatives to tossing extra food in the trash.
Murkowski: I’m taking everything into account on Kavanaugh – including Trump’s comments about Ford
Fumbling away a chance to cement a solidly conservative majority on the Court for years due to pique over one of President Troll’s stinkier mouth-tweets would be very 2018.
United Nations court “orders” U.S. to lift sanctions on Iran
Oh, dear. Whatever shall we do? The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued an “order” to the United States saying that we have to drop various “humanitarian sanctions” against Iran immediately. The judges in the Hague have found that certain sanctions affecting medical supplies, food and… airplane parts (?) are all in violation of a friendship treaty we had with Iran dating back to the fifties, well before the Islamic revolution there.
Suspected first exomoon comes into tantalizing focus
Hubble telescope spots faint changes in the light from a star that could signal the presence of a moon around a distant planet.
Man roundhouse-kicks pro-life woman
UMaine president stops “hastily arranged” for-credit Kavanaugh protest
University of Southern Maine diversity and inclusive programming coordinator Gabriel Demaine floated the idea of offering a free credit to students who join “social justice organizations” in meeting with Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Texas Christian University: Steven Crowder’s views ‘adversely affect’ students
Texas Christian University tweeted that conservative commentator Steven Crowder’s views on rape culture “adversely affect” students.
Former She-Ra Actress Melendy Britt Defends Old School Fans – DreamWorks Appears to Be Censoring Critics
Former She-Ra voice actress Melendy Britt, who gave voice to She-Ra, Princess Adora, and Catra between 1985 and 1987, took to Facebook to defend fans of the classic series.
Accused doxxer of GOP senators allegedly threatened to publish lawmakers’ children’s health info
A Democratic congressional aide accused of publishing the private information of at least three Republican lawmakers allegedly threatened to leak senators’ children’s health information if a witness told anyone about his activities.
Actresses Amy Schumer and Emily Ratajowski are among 302 protesters arrested at Senate as they lead desperate bid to persuade key swing senators to vote down Kavanaugh
Capitol Police arrested 302 people in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building
Academics Expose Corruption in “Grievance Studies” by Getting Absurd Papers Published in Peer-Reviewed Journals
“What if we write a paper saying we should train men like we do dogs – to prevent rape culture?”
WH receives FBI report on Kavanaugh; Capitol police probe additional doxxing incidents targeting GOP senators
The White House announced early Thursday it has received the FBI’s investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and is “fully confident” he will be confirmed to the nation’s highest court
Senate Judiciary Committee receives FBI report on sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh
Senators will get their first look Thursday at the FBI’s background investigation on sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, with a tense series of votes looming and likely to play out into the weekend.
Modern humans inherited viral defenses from Neanderthals
Neanderthals mysteriously disappeared about 40,000 years ago, but before vanishing they interbred with another human species that was just beginning its global spread. As a result of these ancient trysts, many modern Europeans and Asians today harbor about 2 percent of Neanderthal DNA in their genomes.
Friend of Dr. Ford Felt Pressure to Revisit Statement
At issue is statement to committee that she knew nothing about alleged sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh.
Inside a college’s mandatory anti-sexual assault training
A mandatory sexual assault education lesson at MiraCosta College trains students that they must stand up for survivors and does not delve into due process rights.
Groundbreaking Science Emerges from Ultra-Close Orbits of Saturn
New research emerging from the final orbits of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft represents a huge leap forward in our understanding of the Saturn system — especially the mysterious, never-before-explored region between the planet and its rings. Some preconceived ideas are turning out to be wrong while new questions are being raised.
Senate CONFIRMS Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court
That’s Mr. Justice Kavanaugh, to you
Communism sympathizers post numbers, jobs of pro-Kavanaugh protesters
A communism-sympathizing Texas group released personal information of pro-Kavanaugh protesters, at least a couple of whom had their posters stolen and destroyed.
ACORN Veterans Among Those Harassing Public Officials in Kavanaugh Fight
Remember ACORN? The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010 after a series of high-profile scandals involving undercover video investigations and allegations of voter fraud led to a loss of public and private support.
McConnell opens up possibility Senate would confirm Trump SCOTUS nominee in election yr 2020
Clarifying the Biden Rule: Don’t vote on nominee in election year IF president of different party than party controlling Senate.
Economy & Taxes
U.S. and Canada Reach Nafta Deal
Accord allows Canada to join revised Nafta after Mexico and U.S. reached agreement in August
International
Who is François Legault, Quebec’s next premier?
Once heir-apparent to the sovereignist movement, Legault now tepidly embraces Canada
Venezuela Has Lost 13% of its Population in the Mass Exodus from Socialism
Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis is causing refugee flows that may exceed those of the Syrian Civil War.
Did France Just Make It Effectively Impossible To Use Twitter?
Europe really seems to have it in for the internet these days — from the GDPR to antitrust actions to the Copyright Directive to the Right to be Forgotten, almost every legal issue popping up in Europe is coming out terribly for innovation and the public’s ability to communicate freely with one another. The latest may seem a bit more narrowly focused, but it could be super important. As described on the always wonderful IPKat blog, the Paris Tribunal heard a complaint brought against Twitter by the French Consumers’ Association challenging the validity of Twitter’s terms of service for a whole long list of reasons.
DUP’s Brexit Red Lines are “Blood Red”
Theresa May’s attempts at a further climbdown over the Irish border have run into trouble both among Brexiteers in her own party and her DUP allies. Her new proposal reported yesterday would see the whole UK remaining in the customs union beyond 2020 – “until” an Irish border solution that satisfies the EU is found. Many Brexiteers are surmising that this may well be never…
British Conservatives Are Growing Weary of Their Own Leaders
The annual party conference of the British Conservative Party wrapped up on Wednesday in the city of Birmingham.
Teenage Tommy Robinson supporter told to get out of class for “having wrong political views”
Alissa Cook-Gray, 17, expressed in class that she admires Tommy Robinson and what he is doing to fight for daughters and women in Britain. The political debate took place on the first day of their art and employability course, according to StokeonTrentLive.
British boy given detention at school for suggesting he’d vote UKIP
LBC’s, Nick Ferrari was shocked when a caller on his show said “his teenage son was given detention along with 2 other class mates for saying they’d vote Ukip during an election.”
Brazil election 2018: exit polls show first-round victory for far-right candidate Bolsonaro
Jair Bolsonaro looks set to win a convincing victory in the Brazil presidential election, but will fall short of a majority leading to a second round of voting later in October
Opinion
Western Civilisation “Not Welcome Here”
In 2017, following the wishes of the late Paul Ramsay, a businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the healthcare industry, the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation was set up in Australia. Paul Ramsay was deeply concerned that Australians are not being taught about Western Civilisation either at school or university. So he left part of his $3.4 billion fortune so that something would be done about it. As the Director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation Program at the Institute of Public Affairs, I have been keeping a close watch on developments.
Save the Senate: On defense
The Kavanaugh confirmation horror show impresses on us the need to keep the Senate under Republican management for the next two years.
The Case for Kavanaugh
How “judicial philosophy” figures into the decision to support or oppose a nominee.
The Kavanaugh martyrdom: when the Salem witch trial meets Mao’s Cultural Revolution
Brett Kavanaugh’s martyrdom before unfounded, bizarre, nonsensical accusations, is a Salem witch trial redux with hints of Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
Where Is the Polygraph Trail Leading?
Chuck Grassley has sent a letter to Dr. Ford’s lawyers requesting more information. Specifically, Grassley wants the therapist’s notes, “all audio or video recordings produced during the course of Mr. Hanafin’s polygraph examination of Dr. Ford,” and “all written, audiovisual, or electronic materials relating to the allegations raised by Dr. Ford against Judge Kavanaugh that Dr. Ford or her representative previously provided to any reporter or anyone else at a media organization.” That some of this material has been passed “to a nationally circulated newspaper” but not provided to the Senate, Grassley proposes, “suggests a lack of candor.”
I’m a pro-life woman. This man just roundhouse-kicked me in public for my beliefs
Life Chain is an annual event which consists of thousands of pro-life women, men and children standing on over 200 street corners across Canada holding signs that read, “Abortion Hurts Women”, “Abortion Kills Children,” “Adoption, the Loving Option”, “Life, We Stand On Guard For Thee”, and “Pregnant and need help? Call (local pregnancy help centre phone number)”. This is an explicitly peaceful and silent protest. Participants are not allowed to begin conversations with passersby, nor are they allowed to display any aggressive behaviour at any point. No abortion victim photography is permitted.
My Critical “Critical Theory” Theory
Everyone is buzzing today about the revelation of the three academics—James Lindsay, Helen Pluckrose, and Peter Boghossian—who placed over a dozen complete hoax articles with various premier “cultural studies” or “identity studies” academic journals. All three professors, it should be noted, consider themselves left of center, as does Alan Sokal, the New York University physicist who placed a hoax article about the supposed subjectivity of physics in the postmodernist journal Social Text 20 years ago. (Yet somehow Social Text stayed in business instead of closing down in embarrassment, as they should have.)
In Praise of Rachel Mitchell
Many people , including Alan Dershowitz, have heavily criticized Rachel Mitchell for failing to aggressively cross-examine Dr. Ford at the Senate hearing. As a former litigator, I believed during the hearing, and still maintain, that she took the right approach. That said, I do not know what she was tasked with: if she was told to do what she did or was asked to rip Dr. Ford a new one (I highly doubt that); if the senators were just playing the entire thing by ear; or if they planned to have her question Kavanaugh and then yield to committee members.
In Defense Of Jeff Flake’s Gambit Of Trading A Kavanaugh Vote For An FBI Investigation
Although infuriating to many conservatives, Jeff Flake might just have secured Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s legitimacy.
The Price of Victory
The Senate should confirm Kavanaugh, but his elevation to the Supreme Court will escalate the Culture War.
Democrats, It’s Time to Recognize That Your Kavanaugh Playbook Didn’t Work
With Susan Collins of Maine and Joe Manchin of West Virginia saying they will vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, it appears the confirmation battle is almost over. (Then again, all it would take to suddenly change the calculus would be two Republican senators going wobbly.)
Democrats just killed the blue wave
Democrats were cheered by the renewed FBI investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh and counted it as a win. Most Republicans were dismayed that the full Senate’s vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court was delayed and saw this as a political misstep.
Kavanaugh Was Pizzagate
A thing that has been not entirely appreciated about the Kavanaugh affair: This was the Left’s version of Pizzagate. And the Democrats’ Pizzagate wasn’t carried out by fringe nutters on obscure conspiracy sites: It was carried out by Senate Democrats and leading progressive activists on well-known conspiracy sites such as the New York Times opinion section.
The New Prudes
We’re in a strange place culturally today. Its been quite a while since moralistic prudes have tried so hard to control private and public behavior and instill specific, exact legalistic codes on society. And the oddest thing about it is that this new push is coming from the exact people who just a few years ago told us “if it feels good, do it.”
