News of the Week for Nov. 21^st, 2021

• Riots & Revolution
• Corona Virus
• Gun Rights
• Hide the Decline
• Obamacare
• War & Terror
• National News
• Economy & Taxes
• International News
• Opinion

 

Riots & Revolution

 

Critical Race Theory Defender at TX School Board Meeting Says He Has Over 1,000 Soldiers “Locked and Loaded”
“This gentleman was profoundly angry, he was not putting on a performance”

Pro-Conviction Protesters Arrested for Attacking Kyle Rittenhouse Supporters
One pro-conviction protester poured Gatorade on a Rittenhouse supporter.

 

Corona Virus

 

China Left in Shock Following Brutal Killing of Corgi During Covid-19 Disinfection
Video of epidemic-prevention workers beating pet dog prompts outcry in country sticking with “Covid Zero” policy

Horrifying moment Chinese officials in Hazmat suits break into a woman’s home and beat her corgi to death while she was in quarantine as part of a brutal bid to eliminate Covid
The dog’s owner Fu was forced into quarantine after a Covid outbreak. She tested negative for the virus but health workers put down her corgi. The execution has sparked outrage in China which is pursuing Zero Covid policy

An African mystery: Where did COVID go?
There’s something strange happening in Africa which, according to the Associated Press, has scientists “mystified.” The curious situation is particularly prevalent in Zimbabwe. It’s a nation with a population of 14.8 million people and a vaccination rate of less than 6%, a fact that the World Health Organization lectures us about endlessly. And yet in the past week, they recorded a total of 33 COVID deaths. How is this possible? The AP interviewed a number of people who were shopping in a township outside Harare, almost none of whom were wearing masks. One man declared that the virus was “gone” and asked the reporter, “when did you last hear of anyone who has died of COVID-19?” He said that he carries a mask in his pocket because the police demand bribes from people without masks or they are threatened with arrest, but he rarely puts it on. Doctors have a few theories they are tossing around, though many are simply stumped. But I bet some of us who aren’t medical professionals could make a guess.

 

Gun Rights

 

Rittenhouse Prosecutor: “You Lose The Right To Self-Defense When You’re The One Who Brought The Gun”
The lead prosecutor in Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial suggested that Rittenhouse lost “the right to self-defense” when he shot Joseph Rosenbaum in Kenosha last summer because he was “the one who brought the gun.”

Gun-Control Support Drops Amid Growing Crime and Firearm Purchases
A new survey by Gallup found that 52% of U.S. adults want stricter gun laws and 19% support a ban on handguns

10 More Examples of Defensive Gun Use That Undercut New York’s Logic on Restrictive Firearms Laws
The Supreme Court heard arguments earlier this month in a major Second Amendment case challenging New York’s restrictive framework for approving concealed carry permits.

 

Hide the Decline

Environment &
“Green Energy”

 

Environmentalists Oppose Lithium Mining in Nevada
“End fossil fuels!” we are continually nagged by climate-change warriors. “Go electric!” Great, but “going electric” requires good batteries to store the energy that is created by renewables and that run the electric vehicles that — we are told — will soon by the norm instead of the exception.

Richard Denniss: The massive contradiction in the Morrison government’s net-zero plan
Buried in the Morrison government’s net-zero modelling is the policy that dare not speak its name: a carbon tax. Or a carbon price as Julia Gillard described it, or a “tax arrangement” in the words of those who wrote up Morrison’s modelling.

Diners now have to ask for plastic utensils in Los Angeles
Customers at Los Angeles restaurants will only get plastic utensils and napkins if they ask for them, under a new ordinance taking effect Monday that aims to reduce waste.

Terra Power selects Kemmerer, Wyoming as site of its first Natrium reactor
Back in July Bill Gates’ nuclear energy company Terra Power was still trying to settle on one of four possible sites in Wyoming on which to build an innovative, small nuclear reactor called a Natrium reactor. At the time, it was believed Glenrock, Wyoming, a small town east of Casper, where an aging coal power plant was the largest local employer might be a leading contender. Today, Terra Power announced it had selected a different site, Kemmerer, Wyoming in the southwestern part of the state near the border with Utah.

 

Obamacare

Government in Healthcare

 

The grim reality of gender reassignment
Lisa Littman, a doctor and researcher, recently surveyed “detransitioners” — people who thought they were transgender then changed their minds. The majority, 55 per cent, “felt that they did not receive an adequate evaluation from a doctor or mental health professional before starting transition.” Sadly, it seems, their identity issues were more complicated than simply being trans. Many of these individuals are now living with the consequences of medical treatments that failed to help their gender issues and may have caused permanent physical and psychological damage.

CDC: Global Measles Outbreaks Possible after 22M Missed Vaccinations Due To COVID Restrictions
Unintended, but predicable, consequences.

Portugal Parliament Approves Euthanasia of Disabled Patients
The left-wing Portuguese Parliament has again approved euthanasia legalization in the wake of a court ruling earlier this year overturning the last attempt.

Special-Ops Commander Endorses Indo-Pacific “Porcupine” Defense Strategy against Beijing
A top U.S. commander said he sees special forces playing a significant role in Washington’s efforts to help partners in the Indo-Pacific build up “porcupine”-style defenses against Chinese aggression. Although he didn’t say so explicitly, that likely includes Taiwan.

 

War & Terror

 

Russia “conducts anti-satellite weapons test forcing ISS crew to take shelter from debris,” Space Command reveals
RUSSIA has reportedly conducted an anti-satellite weapon’s test, forcing the crew of the International Space Station to take shelter from debris, Space Command revealed on Monday.

WHOA: Rittenhouse Prosecutor Thomas Binger Aims AR-15 at People in Courtroom, Finger on the Trigger
Thomas Binger, lead attorney in the floundering prosecution against Kyle Rittenhouse, during closing arguments Monday aimed an AR-15 at people in the courtroom with his finger on the trigger.

U.S. falters under Biden. China and Russia notice.
Since Joe Biden took office, it’s been one bad thing after another on the domestic front. A surge in coronavirus cases and deaths (even with the vaccine), a supply chain crisis, runaway inflation, rising violent crime, etc.

Russia admits destroying satellite with space missile strike
Russia on Tuesday admitted to destroying one of its satellites during a missile test but rejected US accusations that it had endangered the International Space Station.

Concerns migrants are faking religious conversions at Liverpool Cathedral to help asylum claims
Hundreds of Muslims – including suicide bomber Emad Al Swealmeen – have converted to Christianity after a course at Liverpool Cathedral

Taiwan deploys advanced fighter jets amid tensions with China
Taiwan reportedly deployed advanced fighter jets on Thursday in a show of strength and cooperation with the U.S. amid rising tensions with China, which claims sovereignty over the democratically run island

Chinese military now set for invasion of Taiwan, says Hill commission
Buildup of China’s nuclear forces ‘unprecedented,’ could assist coercion

Secret Chinese Port Project in Persian Gulf Rattles U.S. Relations With U.A.E.
Alarmed U.S. officials warned Emirati government, a Mideast ally, that Chinese military presence could hinder ties; construction has halted

U.S. “not as advanced” as China and Russia on hypersonic tech, Space Force general warns
While the Pentagon has pushed the development of new hypersonic missiles, the Army isn’t slated to field its first missile until 2024.

 

National

 

Coming Soon: PC Bots??
At first glance, it might seem the Daily Mail is going into competition with the Babylon Bee, but I think this is a straight news story, and at this point nothing would surprise me in these crooked times

Cambridge Mayor Andrew Bradshaw Charged For Distributing Revenge Porn On Reddit
Cambridge Mayor Andrew Bradshaw is charged with violating Maryland’s revenge porn statute, the Office of the State Prosecutor said Monday. Bradshaw is charged with 50 counts of distributing revenge porn.

Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy won’t seek reelection
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the longest-serving current member of the Senate, said Monday he will not seek reelection next year to the seat he has held for eight terms.

Connecticut judge orders Infowars’ Alex Jones to pay damages to families of Sandy Hook shooting victims in defamation lawsuits
A Connecticut judge has ruled conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is responsible for all damages in the defamation lawsuits brought against him by the families of those killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting after his repeated claims that the Newtown massacre was a hoax.

Rittenhouse Trial: Big Wins for Defense on Jury Instructions, State Leads with Provocation
Worth remembering ADA Binger mentioned provocation zero times in opening statement

Robert “Beto” O’Rourke Announces Run for Texas Governor
The man doesn’t know when to quit. No one likes you!

Rittenhouse Analysis: State’s Weak Provocation Argument Is Still The Major Threat to Acquittal
Notable: ADA Binger mentioned “provocation” zero times in his opening statement

The Rittenhouse Jury-Instruction Process Is a Mess
What has gone on in the Rittenhouse trial this morning is ridiculous.

Rittenhouse Misdemeanor Possession of Gun Charge out of the Case
As our Jack Crowe reports, Judge Bruce Schroeder has removed the misdemeanor possession of a firearm charge from the jury’s consideration. As I’ve been arguing (see, e.g., here and here), the statute is muddled, and a conviction would be susceptible to a constitutional vagueness challenge — based on the principle that, to be actionable, a criminal law must put people of ordinary intelligence on notice of what the law prohibits.

At 81, Patrick Leahy Announced He’s Retiring — That’s When Biden Wants To Run for Reelection
enator Patrick Leahy, at 81, announced on Monday he won’t stand for reelection, because he wants to “pass the torch” to somebody younger. But this is the same age at which President Biden wants to run for a second term as president.

In a Lucky Break for Republicans, Beto O’Rourke Is Running for Governor of Texas
Great news for the Republican Governors Association, as Beto O’Rourke is running for governor of Texas, and he intends to campaign on gun control, including his past proposal to confiscate AR-15 rifles.

Defense opens closing statement by calling prosecutor a liar
The prosecutors closing statement ended earlier today followed by a brief recess. The trial then resumed with defense attorney Mark Richards presenting closing arguments for his client. Richards started his arguments by immediately calling prosecutor Thomas Binger a liar.

Dems’ new 2022 nightmare: a “nuts” Cuomo on a “vendetta”
So says Politico, which reports that Democrats in New York have grown very concerned about the Frankenstein monster they created and succored. And perhaps Democrats elsewhere should worry as well, although don’t think for a moment that our national-media “reckoning” will include its lionization of Andrew Cuomo.

Skirt-wearing teenage boy who was found guilty of raping female classmate in Loudon County school’s girl’s bathroom pleads NO CONTEST to groping another girl’s breasts at his new high school months later
The 15-year-old Loudon County student on Monday pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting a second female classmate in October

Yale Law School students sue, claim administrators retaliated after they refused to back investigation of Amy Chua
Earlier this year there were a whole host of articles at prominent publications—New York, the NY Times, etc.— about Yale Law School professor Amy Chua. Chua had allegedly done something outrageous, prompting the school to take action against her. But despite all of the outrage and the ink and pixels spilled about it, it was actually pretty hard to work out exactly what she had done which angered so many people.

Would Biden Really Pick Kamala Harris for Supreme Court to Get Rid of Her?
Does Joe Biden want Kamala Harris to be his vice president anymore? There are rumors that he doesn’t.

Rittenhouse Trial: Defense Delivers Disappointingly Weak Closing Argument
Rittenhouse deserved a great deal more than Attorney Mark Richards delivered.

San Francisco Walgreens Temporarily Shuts Due To “Severe Rat Infestation”
Los Angeles is #2 in Orkin’s 2021 list of “Rattiest Cities” while Sacramento moves up several notches.

Votes to count even if they are mailed in on napkins in Washington state
“So, even if someone took a napkin and wrote the office, the race, and their selection, that would be enough?” The official replied, “That would be enough and we would count that as a vote.”

Report: Biden to order diplomatic boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics
An iron law of American politics in 2021 is that every issue can and will be insanely hyper-polarized by activists beyond all reason.

Student suspended for saying there are only two genders, lawsuit claims
A New Hampshire teenager is suing his school district after he was allegedly suspended from athletics for saying there are “only two genders.”

Democratic strategists plan to get aggressive on critical race theory, saying Republicans are putting ‘politicians in charge of the classroom and white supremacists in charge of the curriculum’
They’ve called it a “racist dog whistle” and a “lie.” But those messages haven’t helped Democrats tamp down the uproar Republicans are fueling over “critical race theory,” now a misused catch-all term for teaching on race and diversity in K-12 schools that’s firing up protests at school board meetings around the country.

New Hampshire student suspended for saying there are only two genders
An unnamed freshman from Exeter High School in New Hampshire got himself into a bit of trouble in September while riding home from school on the bus. It wasn’t for sticking gum under his seat or pulling some girl’s ponytail, however. He had been in the midst of a conversation with friends where they discussed the difficulty they had using plural pronouns in Spanish class because the Spanish language uses masculine and feminine plural words. A female classmate reportedly interrupted the conversation to say that there are more than two genders. The boy responded in the negative, saying that there are only two genders. A debate ensued that continued via text messages between the two students. When the boy returned to school, a printout of the text debate was shown to him and he was suspended from the school football team for the following game. And now he and his family are going to court, claiming the school violated both his right to freedom of religion and also free speech because they are attempting to force him to use plural pronouns.

“QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley gets 41 months for role in Capitol riot
A judge on Wednesday sentenced Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman,” to 41 months in federal prison for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Horror moment “biblical plague” of 50 million CANNIBAL CRABS shut down roads as they head to breeding ground
THIS is the jaw-dropping moment a “biblical plague” of 50 million crabs head to the ocean to breed.

Teen Pleads “No Contest” in Second Loudoun County Public Schools Sexual Assault Case
A “no contest” plea means the accused accepts the conviction without actually admitting guilt.

Wisconsin School District Used Male Name, Pronouns For 12-Year-Old Girl Against Parental Objections, Lawsuit Alleges
A Wisconsin school district addressed a 12-year-old female student using both a male name and male pronouns against her parents’ objections, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

2022 Harbinger? Republican Elected as Columbia, SC Mayor for First Time in Almost Ever
A Republican elected mayor in Columbia, South Carolina, an overwhelmingly Democrat city? Yep.

Even in a Technical Subject, Colleges Fail to Teach the Right Skills
Everyone knows that American colleges and universities are doing a poor job of teaching most disciplines. History, sociology, anthropology, English, and other subjects have been infiltrated by faculty who convey opinions rather than impart knowledge.

D.C. Circuit Rules That Trailers Are Not Motor Vehicles
Is a semi-trailer a self-propelled motor vehicle? That is a question that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was just forced to rule on because of environmental regulators going rogue.

Parents Sue Wisconsin School District over Pronouns Policy
Two sets of parents have filed a lawsuit against the Kettle Moraine School District outside Waukesha, Wis., challenging the district’s policy that allows students to alter their names and pronouns without parental consent.

Sources to Fox News: There are rumors on the Hill about potentially having to confirm a new VP
I think this is just good old-fashioned sh*t-stirring by righty media looking to capitalize on tensions within the White House, not something to be taken seriously. But I’m happy to help with the stirring by posting it here.

Court Strikes Down School Board Restrictions on “Irrelevant,” “Abusive,” “Offensive”, “Intolerant,” “Inappropriate,” or “Otherwise Inappropriate” Public Comments
“Representatives of a public entity taking the opportunity to squelch plaintiffs’ views as apostasy”‘; the squelching was partly based on claims that certain remarks are “abusive and coded in racist terms, also known as ‘dog whistles,'” and that “comments about the District’s equity survey” were “‘irrelevant’ to the meeting agenda item of the District’s equity policy.”

Unscientific Method
An astronomer’s peer-reviewed work is passed under the “equity” lens and found wanting.

More Prefer Republicans To Win Control Of The House And Senate, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 68% Say Higher Prices Are Changing Spending Habits
With Election Day in the rearview mirror and both political parties setting their sights on the 2022 midterm elections, a plurality of Americans say that if the election were held today, they would want to see the Republican Party win control of both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University national poll of adults released today.

Poll: 73 Percent of Independents Don’t Want Trump to Run for President in 2024
Donald Trump would obviously be the heavy favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination in 2024 if he runs, but there’s certainly room for the right non-Trump GOP candidate to run and have a realistic chance of winning the nomination. A new national Marquette poll finds that 40 percent of Republican adults and 73 percent of independent adults do not want Trump to run for president again

Judge boots MSNBC from Rittenhouse trial over jury tracking attempt
Fair or not, MSNBC will cover the rest of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial from outside the courtroom. Attorneys for both sides got called into Judge Bruce Schroeder’s chambers a short time ago, which seemed to indicate that there may have been an issue with the jury

Biden Has Lower Approval Rating Than Any U.S. Governor
President Biden’s approval rating isn’t just bad, it’s worse than any governor in the United States.

How Activist Teachers Recruit Kids
Leaked Documents and Audio from the California Teachers Association Conference Reveal Efforts to Subvert Parents on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

Proposal to change “Sex Offender” terminology in Colorado, Springs District Attorney testifying against change
According to a draft sent to 11 News from the Sex Offender Advisory Board, it would change the term of “sex offender” to “those who have been sexually abusive”.

Fearless girl may be about to get evicted
Remember the bronze statue called “Fearless Girl” that was initially set up opposite Di Modica’s Charging Bull on Broadway? Created as a statement/advertisement for State Street Global Advisors, it was a hit with tourists back in 2017. But people pointed out that by placing it opposite Charging Bull it was essentially a derivative work which also changed the meaning of the bull statue. So despite it’s popularity, it got moved.

Scott demolishes Omarova: It’s not personal, it’s business
“Personal attacks”? Does a criminal theft record qualify as a “personal attack” when it comes to presidential nominations to positions of public trust? YMMV, but as Senator Tim Scott declares during the confirmation hearing for Saule Omarova, none of his colleagues have brought it up despite Democrats’ complaints about “personal attacks.” Instead, Scott tells Joe Bidens nominee for Comptroller of the Currency, he’ll just stick to what Omarova herself has written or spoken to demonstrate how unfit for the office she truly is

Another School Board Tries to Arrest Dissenting Parents
The most recent installment in the ongoing saga of school administrators antagonizing parents comes from Chris Rufo’s latest article for City Journal, outlining the shocking story of local authorities in Round Rock, Texas, coming after two fathers for their vocal critiques of the school board

Rittenhouse Acquitted
The jury in Kyle Rittenhouse’s case returned a verdict a little while ago, acquitting him on all counts on the ground of self-defense. While certainly consistent with the evidence, the verdict was not a foregone conclusion. Anti-Rittenhouse mobs formed outside the courthouse, chanting slogans that may have been audible to the jurors as they deliberated. In any event, they were surely aware of the threats that were made by Antifa/BLM groups to riot if Rittenhouse were not convicted. And they likely were aware of reports that various persons had been trying to photograph them so they could be identified and attacked if they returned a verdict displeasing to the mob.

They Are After Our Children
The precepts of Critical Race Theory are only taught to law school students, right? Sure. And also to pre-schoolers. Check out this new program from the University of Texas called GoKAR!. KAR stands for Kids Against Racism. UT is looking for parents “caregivers” who have preschool children ages four to five. They must “identify as white.” This is so the four and five year olds can be subjected to an “anti-racism” curriculum. In particular, “GoKAR! creates opportunities for caregivers to engage in dialogue about anti-Black racism with their preschool-aged children at home.” How about if we read them Winnie the Pooh instead? Please?

Trump’s ire grows as DeSantis’ popularity with Republicans takes off
In a matter of months, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has gone from being a shining example in Donald Trump’s eyes of a MAGA leader molded in his image to an average politician who forgot his roots as he rose to Republican stardom.

RITTENHOUSE VERDICT: NOT GUILTY ALL COUNTS!
Free at last!

Leftist Meltdown Over Rittenhouse Not Guilty Verdict
“Kyle Rittenhouse can burn in the deepest, darkest, most painful pits of hell.”

Federal Judge: Pennsylvania School Board Must Allow Critics to Speak
“Public speech at school board meetings is in fact protected by the First Amendment”

Women’s Tennis Willing to Give Up Millions $$$ if Beijing Won’t Account for Missing Peng Shuai
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) will pull out of China, costing the organization “hundreds of millions of dollars” if the Communist government in Beijing won’t account for star player Peng Shuai and investigate her explosive allegations of sexual misconduct by a high-ranking Party official.

Tom Cotton: A diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics isn’t enough. We need a total boycott.
There are pragmatic arguments against Cotton’s position that can and will be made. “It’s unfair to our athletes to pull the rug out from under them.”

Woke witch hunt: Students demand firing of University of Illinois law professor over things he didn’t say
Like all of these stories of woke excess, this one really leaves you shaking your head at the university officials and administrators who insist on taking this nonsense seriously. This particular case took place at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s law school where Jason Kilborn is a professor.

Video shows decimated San Francisco Louis Vuitton store after massive smash-and-grab robbery
Video shows the chaos that ensued in Union Square.

Manhattan Junior High Grouping Kids by Race in Social Justice Discussions
New York City public schools love to use this system known as affinity groups.

“Yes, This Is a Witch-Hunt: A University’s Office for Access and Equity Launches a Full-Scale Persecution Campaign”
From leading liberal constitutional law professor Andrew Koppelman (Northwestern), in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Saving the right whales, unpermitted structures, and habeas ankle.

UC Irvine Vice Chancellor Sends an Official Message About the Rittenhouse Trial
Are universities supposed to have institutional views on the facts about self-defense in a case half a continent way?

Another self defense case, Andrew Coffee found not guilty on 5 counts, including murder, attempted murder
But you won’t hear this on CNN

Republican Governors Distance Themselves From Trump, Drawing His Ire
About half of the 16 GOP governors up for re-election in 2022 face primary challenges from opponents endorsed or inspired by him

Virginia Cop Who Lost Job for Donating to Rittenhouse Defense Demands His Job Back
“My opinion on the self-defense claim of Mr. Rittenhouse has no impact on my ability to do my job as a police officer.”

Rittenhouse Verdict Reactions Show What “White Supremacy” Means to the Left
Vandalism, looting and arson were minimal Friday night, as the November weather was too cold for anarchists in most cities

 

Economy & Taxes

 

“Everybody Will Be a Millionaire”
Phil Kerpen dug up an amusing vintage SNL Jimmy Carter and inflation skit

Bigger Government Is the Most Immediate Effect of the Infrastructure Bill
Despite all the promises about how the bipartisan infrastructure bill will transform American transportation and solve the supply-chain crisis, the law’s most immediate effect is to massively increase the size of government.

MSNBC host’s Marie Antoinette moment: Just tap into your savings to pay for higher grocery prices
Meh, what’s the big deal? It doesn’t really matter that Americans are paying more for groceries these days because everyone saved so much money during the pandemic. That is the logic coming from MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle. She called it a “dirty little secret” that Americans can afford higher prices.

Supply chain crisis hits U.S. farmers hard
My friend who reads the New York Times pointed me to a devastating front-page Times article about the supply chain mess. I think of the crisis in terms of getting products from ports to U.S. consumers. However, the Times article focuses on the problem of U.S. farmers getting produce to ports for shipment overseas

There’s A ‘Build Back Better’ Song, and It’s as Bad as You Can Imagine
Remember Schoolhouse Rock? Back in the 70s and 80s, when Saturday morning TV was worth watching, Gen X kids like me along with some late Baby Boomers, learned their math, science, grammar, and history by watching cartoons.

Stores putting “fake food” out to hide empty shelves
We’ve all been hearing stories about the empty shelves being encountered by shoppers around the country as the Biden supply chain crisis grinds on. (I’m still wondering when the Secretary of Transportation is going to take care of this. Where’s Pete?) Sadly, the empty shelves are showing up in grocery stores in some places. Those are obviously the most essential of all essential shopping options, so this is a serious problem. But what are the grocery stores doing about it? According to Inside Edition, some of them have been dreaming up some creative ways to address the issue, though it’s totally unclear what they think they’re going to accomplish. Multiple stores have taken to filling up their shelves with items that are not in much demand this time of year, such as camping gear. Others are putting fake bottles on shelves to give the appearance of shelves full of products. And some have even resorted to pasting pictures of full shelves over the empty shelves. Honestly… what are these people thinking?

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin hires lobbyist with ties to Obama administration after space tax proposal
Bezos’ Blue Origin recently hired Mac Campbell from Capitol Counsel to lobby on behalf of the company to “monitor and evaluate proposed changes to the Internal Revenue Code being considered by Congress as part of the budget reconciliation process.”

Students stunned by Thanksgiving inflation, say Americans were better off under Trump
Campus Reform’s Addison Smith talked to students in Washington, D.C. about reports that this year could be the most costly Thanksgiving feast in American history.

Biden’s Soviet-born comptroller of currency pick was arrested in 1995 for stealing four pairs of shoes, two bottles of cologne and socks worth $214 from T.J. Maxx: White House stands by nominee ahead of Senate grilling
Saule Omarova, now 55, was born in Kazakhstan in the former Soviet Union

CBO: Biden’s “Zero Cost” Spending Bill Actually Adds $160 Billion to Deficits
For months, Democrats led by President Biden have been trying to advance the absurd argument that their multi-trillion-dollar spending bill actually costs zero dollars because it would be fully paid for. But according to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill would add $160 billion to deficits.

Harris vs. Buttigieg Would Be the GOP’s Dream Primary
I wrote today for Politico on the chatter about a Harris-Buttigieg race for the 2024 Democratic nomination

6 Takeaways From Hearing for Biden’s Controversial Pick for Currency Chief
President Joe Biden’s nominee for comptroller of the currency spent much of her time Thursday before the Senate Banking Committee explaining what she really meant in past comments and writings.

The Omarova omen
A capable successor to Robert Ludlum might be able to make a good novel out of The Omarova Omen — the Cornell law professor of the lunatic left thought by the minders in the White House daycare operation to be just the right person to regulate our national banks. However, it may be too late for Professor Omarova to constitute an omen. The Omaroval omen has already materialized in the politics and public policy that have kicked off the dire economic trends with which we contend.

 

International

 

Chinese web users shocked by the brutality of Chinese government officials
We talk about death, shootings, terrorism and murder pretty often here on the blog and all of that is disturbing. And yet, there’s something uniquely awful about people killing a harmless pet dog.

Another Reminder of China’s Corruption and Brutality: The Disappearance of Peng Shuai
Normal people don’t like to spend much time thinking about the dire fates that await those who anger the rulers of brutal, authoritarian regimes — instant imprisonment, torture and abuse, no trial (or at least no fair trial), and often a summary execution. Certain regimes, including China, would sometimes send a bill for the cost of the bullet to the prisoner’s family — one final indignity to add to the supreme injustice.

Trudeau’s Internet Censorship A “Great Leap Forward” In Erosion Of Democracy
Former Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commissioner Timothy Denton has some very direct words for Canadians regarding our Liberal Government’s proposed Internet Censorship legislation

China Loses Control of the Peng Shuai Narrative as the World Demands Answers
Peng Shuai, a world-class tennis player and Grand Slam doubles champion, is in the custody of the Chinese Communist government, and the world is demanding to know where she is.

 

Opinion

 

US Engagement With Indo-Pacific Requires Greater Trade, Investment
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai embarks this week on her first trip to Asia in the post. She will travel to Japan, South Korea, and India to hold high-level meetings with trade stakeholders in each country “to discuss the enduring U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific region and to strengthen trade and economic relationships with key allies and partners.”

The bad guys are winning: Autocracy Inc. and ‘democratic regression’
Anne Applebaum has written a piece for the Atlantic titled “The Bad Guys Are Winning” which makes the case at length that the historic and ongoing battle between western democracy and autocracy is not going very well for democracy.

No, We Don’t Actually Need to Be More Like Europe
There are many lessons to be learned from our supply-chain crisis, but that isn’t one of them.

Will the Times and the Post Return Their 2018 Pulitzers?
The Washington Post is doing a little house cleaning in the form of correcting two stories, one from 2017 and the other from 2019, that peddled false allegations against then-President Trump regarding the fabricated Steele dossier. The New York Times may follow suit.

A Modest Proposal for the Campus Diversity-Industrial Complex
The latest news out of Yale is that the ratio of administrative staff to students is now 1:1, where, as the Free Beacon’s Aaron Sibarium reported earlier this week, two minority students are suing the “diversity” staff at the law school for attempting to coerce them into defaming Prof. Amy Chu because Yale’s bigots want to fire the overachieving Asian from their faculty. Because “justice” or something. (These are the same “diversity” staff that attempted recently to intimidate a 2L student for his use of the term “trap house” in a party invitation.)

Science Goes Woke
A new report from the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology (CSPI) confirms a trend that has been obvious to anyone paying attention: Science has gone woke. The study analyzes the abstracts of National Science Foundation grants since 1990

I am concerned about the Left’s coming return to violence and domestic terrorism
January 6, 2021, has been revised repeatedly by Republicans to excuse it all away and we should not. But it is also an excuse with which the left and major media outlets use to deflect from any assessment of the left’s own aggressive and authoritarian tendencies.

College Presidents Fear Competition
It is remarkable just how much anxiety the proposal to start a new private college in Austin has caused among academics and university administrators.

Further Thoughts on Masculinity
My friend Micah Meadowcroft, managing editor at The American Conservative, has responded to a National Review article by Senator Josh Hawley on the subject of masculinity. While I have some quibbles with Hawley, I think his diagnosis of the challenges faced by men today, in the face of a concerted effort by the Left to challenge the very qualities that distinguish males, is mostly correct. I have problems, however, with the objections Meadowcroft raises to Hawley’s case.

Get Woke, Empty the Pews
It would be a full-time job to chronicle all of the irrational reactions by liberals to the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, and scarcely worth the effort. But I do want to note one such response because it affects me directly: that of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA, of which my congregation is a member, sent out this “Pastoral Letter” authored by Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton.