News of the Week for Nov. 27th, 2022
- Election 2022
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Election 2022
Georgia Senate Poll: Warnock 51, Walker 47
A new poll shows the December Georgia Senate runoff election leaning in favor of incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock
The Curious Case of Midterm Independent Voters
It’s hard to reconcile pre-election polling of independents with what the exit polls told us.
Who’s to blame for Republican election losses in Washoe County?
Republican candidates in Washoe County had a dismal showing in the 2022 general election.
9 Democrats and 8 Republicans form bipartisan majority in Alaska Senate
All nine Democrats and eight of the 11 Republicans elected to the Alaska Senate are forming a bipartisan majority coalition, they said Friday, just two days after the deadline for Alaska election officials to receive ballots and before the election results have been certified.
Abortion
Dobbs Decision
Abortion advocates aim to outflank lawmakers using 2024 ballot measures
Encouraged by six victories — and zero defeats — in this month’s midterm elections, abortion rights advocates are considering another round of ballot measures in 2024 that would enshrine reproductive freedom in state constitutions.
Gun Rights
Court Blocks N.Y.’s Requirement of Express Owner Permission to Carry Guns on Private Property
From a decision today by Judge John Sinatra (W.D.N.Y.) in Christian v. Nigrelli
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Germany cutting back meat production to fight global warming
Germany is still caught up in the demands of the climate change lobby to reduce its carbon footprint drastically in the coming years. One part of this initiative, similar to calls we’ve seen from activists in the United States, was a mandate to reduce all livestock on German farms by 50%. Farmers have been protesting the decision in the same way they recently did in the Netherlands this summer, but the initiative is moving forward beginning this year. Now, to the great surprise of nobody who has been paying attention, the German Meat Industry Association has reported that the country will be facing a severe meat shortage by the time spring arrives and consumers should expect prices to skyrocket, potentially doubling in some cases. It would appear that some people in the German government have never heard of something called the law of supply and demand. But at least they’re going to defeat global warming, right?
UN Climate Alarmists Congratulate Themselves on New “Loss and Damage” Pact
In a fascinating move, the organizers of this inanity are trying to assert that this section of the agreement is not reparations.
Cop out on COP27: Strange new respect edition
“Global warming” was decried as the cause of the apocalypse until relatively recently. Now it is “climate change,” apparently because the data refused to comply. The UN’s latest “climate change” jamboree was convened in Sharm el-Sheikh last week and produced what I thought was a widely heralded agreement to transfer funds from productive countries to unproductive countries. This is of course to ward off the apocalypse. Where is the Jonathan Swift who will subject these people to the ridicule they so richly deserve?
Biden Administration Slammed for Signing Away $1 Billion in Climate Reparations
Despite Climate Czar John Kerry’s assertion, if it walks like reparations, and talks like reparations, it is reparations.
EPA Pushes for a ‘Significant Increase’ in Carbon Emissions Tax
Meanwhile, a Bloomberg article describes that “Junk Carbon Offsets” are really what make big companies carbon neutral.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Former ‘Nonbinary’ Woman Sues Health Care Workers for ‘Abhorrent Misdiagnosis’ That Led to Double Mastectomy
For the second time this month, a woman who has detransitioned from a gender-nonconforming lifestyle is suing the health care professionals who advised her to undergo gender-transition procedures, including the surgical removal of both breasts.
War & Terror
Russian Conscripts Have ‘No Clue What to Do’ in Ukraine: Soldier’s Wife
Stories continue to emerge suggesting that new Russian military conscripts are being deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine without adequate training.
Iranian regime using rape to punish those arrested for protesting
This morning Karen wrote about the Iranian regime firing live ammunition at protesters. If you haven’t been following this story, the protests started in September after members of Iran’s morality police beat a woman named Mahsa Amini to death for failing to wear a hijab properly. That was the last straw for a lot of women in Iran who have been courageously protesting the regime in the streets for weeks.
China and Russia creeping further into West as major Latin American nations reject the US
Soon after Brazil’s leftist former president, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, secured a non-consecutive third term in October, the White House rushed to embrace the incoming government. With the addition of Brazil, a new bloc of Latin American countries that were once reliable U.S. partners will now be governed by presidents determined to expand ties with China, Russia, and Iran.
Couple’s arrest in Sweden shines a light on Putin’s GRU web of spies
Sergey Skvortsov and Elena Koulkova “seemed like everyone else” until police swooped on their home on the well-to-do island of Varmdo
National
Worst Aspects Of CRT-Based “Liberated Ethnic Studies” Flourishing In Washington State Teacher Trainings
Who teaches the teachers? In Washington State, putrid CRT-based training treats Jews as unworthy.
New Meta AI demo writes racist and inaccurate scientific literature, gets pulled
Galactica language model generated convincing text about fact and nonsense alike.
Beyond Meat factory riddled with mold, other dirty conditions: leaked documents
One of Beyond Meat’s key factories was reportedly riddled with mold, bacteria and other health-related concerns, according to leaked evidence provided by a former employee.
Kids and bondage?
The Left gets creepier by the minute. And that is saying something. The fashion powerhouse Balenciaga has jumped into the kiddie porn business, sort of. More like porn for kiddies, but the lines are blurred. Surely this is intentional.
Lindsey Graham testifies before Georgia grand jury in election probe
After months of failed legal challenges, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) appeared Tuesday before a special grand jury investigating efforts by former president Donald Trump and his allies to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia, the latest high-profile witness in a probe that is believed to be nearing a conclusion.
Students required to complete ‘Privilege Checklist’ in mandatory first year course
In a mandatory course at the University of Delaware titled ‘UNIV 101: First Year Experience,’ students have been asked to assess their levels of privilege by completing a ‘Privilege Checklist.’
NASA’s Orion spacecraft comes within 81 miles of moon’s surface
NASA’s Orion spacecraft on Monday morning came within 81 miles of the moon’s surface in its closest flyby yet in a critical test of the vehicle.
Balenciaga Under Fire for Featuring Toddlers Holding Toys in Bondage, Surrounded by Sex Toys
“The entire campaign sexualizes children, period. It is child exploitation, period. And it feeds and normalizes a culture that is dark and depraved.”
Scholar’s ‘Abolish the Family’ speech hosted at UMass Boston
‘Challenging the rhetoric of motherhood’
University employee says she will chuck ‘dodge balls at cis men’s heads’
University of Oklahoma employee Cait Davanzo took aim at “cis men” in response to an event on campus comparing men and women’s athletics.
Accreditation council votes to eliminate LSAT for 2025 application cycle
The change, approved by the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, would no longer require that law schools ‘have a ‘valid and reliable’ test.’
Colorado Club Shooter is Non-Binary, Uses They/Them Pronouns, and Addressed as ‘Mx.’
Do you hear that loud explosion? It’s the sound of the leftist narrative about the man who shot up Club Q, a Colorado gay club, exploding overnight.
Walmart manager opens fire in break room, killing 6
A Walmart manager opened fire on fellow employees in the break room of a Virginia store, killing six people in the country’s second high-profile mass shooting in four days, police and a witness said Wednesday.
12 Okla. universities discriminate against white and Asian students: federal complaint
National Science Foundation-funded program requires illegal discrimination, group alleges
The Real Story Behind Drag Queen Story Hour
Aimed at children, the phenomenon is far more subversive than its defenders claim.
First openly transgender rep. in New Hampshire arrested for stalking woman with protective order for the second time since August
Stacie Laughton, the first openly transgender representative in New Hampshire, was arrested for violating a protective order that had been filed against Laughton.
Robots in San Francisco could be allowed to use ‘deadly force’
In a dystopian turn of events, the San Francisco Police Department is considering giving robots the license to kill. Last week, San Francisco’s rules committee unanimously approved a version of a draft policy stating that robots can be ‘used as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option’.
No joke: Supreme Court case could take a big bite out of the First Amendment
The court system often is where humor goes to die. For those seeking to use satire or parody of corporations, jokes often run into trademark or other lawsuits and result in a little more than “ha, ha, thump.”
Growing Body Of Evidence Shows ‘Social Influence’ Is Causing Teens To Undergo Sex Changes
The number of young people identifying as transgender has soared in recent years, and females have come to make up the vast majority of patients seeking gender transitions, reversing a longstanding trend.
Trump condemned for dining with white supremacist Nick Fuentes
Democrats, anti-racist groups and some Republicans criticize president for meeting Fuentes at dinner with Kanye West
‘This Is A F***ing Nightmare!’ Trumpworld Leaking Amid Nuclear Meltdown Over Trump’s Dinner With White Supremacist Fuentes
Trumpworld is in a full-on nuclear meltdown over former President Donald Trump’s dinner with white supremacist Nick Fuentes and anti-Semitism-spouting entertainer/entrepreneur Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago, according to leaks from Trump’s inner circle.
Chinese police clash with thousands protesting draconian COVID lockdowns as unprecedented civil unrest grips country – after ten died in fire when building doors were locked to stop virus spread
In Shanghai, China’s most populous city and financial hub, protests broke out on Saturday night at the city’s Wulumuqi Road
Economy & Taxes
Large rail union SMART-TD votes to reject labor deal as national strike moves closer
Two of the largest rail unions diverged on labor deal votes Monday, with SMART-TD rejecting the deal and BLET voting for ratification. But BLET, the engineers’ union, said it will honor the picket line with other unions that voted against the deal. BRS, the signalmen’s union, can strike as soon as Dec. 5 but has the option to move its strike date to Dec. 9, to align with other unions including SMART-TD. UPS, the rails’ largest customer, told CNBC it can preemptively reroute packages to alternative lanes to minimize disruption.
America faces a possible rail strike in two weeks after largest union rejects labor deal
America faces a growing risk of a crippling national freight rail strike in two weeks after rank-and-file members of the nation’s largest rail union, which represents the industry’s conductors, rejected a tentative labor deal with freight railroads, the union announced Monday.
EU planning a trade war with America?
American foreign relations have really cratered over the past couple of years in case you hadn’t noticed. Our ties with relatively “neutral” countries that still do business with us while perhaps not being strong “allies” have become increasingly strained. (Just look at what’s been happening in Brazil this year.) Our relationships with adversarial nations like Russia, China, and Iran (among others) have gone from situations of mostly polite disagreement to the brink of war in some areas. But at least our true allies are standing by us, right? So that’s better than nothing. But that may not actually be the case. Some of the latest plans coming out of the Biden administration reportedly have members of the European Union planning to institute major subsidies for industries in their own countries in preparation for what they are describing as America’s “existential challenge” to the European economy. So are we looking at the start of a trade war?
The New History of Welfare States
Perhaps you have heard of a “school” of thought called the New History of Capitalism. It contends that capitalism is rooted in an evil (slavery) that permeates it to this day despite the fact that slavery was ended long ago. Because of that fact, capitalism must pay for its terrible past and then be done away with.
Biden reverses Trump-era rule regarding ESG in pension funds
During the Trump administration, a new term came into vogue among the woke crowd. It involved a way of evaluating institutions based on how they approached matters of environmental, social and governance issues, or ESG. Trump had the Department of Labor ban pension funds from taking ESG scores into consideration if it resulted in a lower return on investment for the retirees who pay into the fund. But now, under Joe Biden, the Department of Labor has reversed that rule. Managers of pension funds will now be allowed to consider ESG scores as part of their criteria for investing pension funds.
International
Who is an “adult?” New Zealand court rules 18 year voting age “discriminatory”
A big change in the voting laws in New Zealand may be on the way soon. The Supreme Court in that country ruled today that the minimum age to vote in elections – currently 18 – is “discriminatory.” That decision didn’t immediately change the voting age, but the question must now be addressed by the Parliament. The decision was rendered in a case brought by an activist group seeking to have the voting age lowered to 16. And they may have the upper hand in this dispute because they based their demand on a provision in New Zealand’s Bill of Rights which declares that citizens are to be “free from age discrimination” when they turn 16. The issue that the Parliament will have to wrestle with is whether or not being restricted from voting constitutes “discrimination.”
How cooking food and gathering for feasts made us human
If you’re cooking a meal for Thanksgiving or just showing up to feast, you’re part of a long human history — one that’s older than our own species.
Scientists Are Investigating Signs of Ancient Human Civilization Underwater
An underwater “Stonehenge” stretches for miles under a lake in Europe. “I think it was something with a cultic context,” one researcher theorized.
Shock In France Over Murder Of Tax Inspector
The French government on Tuesday expressed shock after a tax inspector was stabbed to death as he was trying to audit the books of a business owner in the north of the country.
Biden’s policy on Cuba making it more difficult for democracy activists on the island
Biden’s reprise of Obama’s disastrous Cuba policy is bringing the same results it did in the past: rewards for the communist Castro dictatorship and abandonment for Cuba’s besieged dissidents.
Former Apple Daily staffers plead guilty under China’s national security law
Not so long ago, Hong Kong was a relatively free place and a newspaper called Apple Daily regularly published articles critical of mainland China. And then China instituted a national security law which gave them the right to arrest anyone who showed opposition to the mainland. One of the first casualties was Apple Daily.
Violent Protests Erupt at Apple’s Main iPhone Plant in China
Hundreds of workers at Apple Inc.’s main iPhone-making plant in China clashed with security personnel, as tensions boiled over after almost a month under tough restrictions intended to quash a Covid outbreak.
Italy’s Meloni to Revoke Welfare Payments From Those Who Refuse to Work
UK’s Telegraph: “Italians who refuse job offers will lose their social benefits.”
England fans in Qatar BANNED from dressing up as St George for World Cup match against USA because the Crusader outfit is ‘offensive to Muslims’
England supporters dressed as Crusaders have run into trouble at the World Cup
Crowd angered by lockdowns calls for China’s Xi to step down
Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China’s powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party.
Iran’s Supreme leader Khamenei orders militias to deal with rioters
Remarks could escalate crackdown on months-long anti-government unrest
Crown Prosecution Service Says it is “No Longer Appropriate” to Quote Some Passages From the Bible in Public
A statement by the U.K.’s main prosecution service says it is “no longer appropriate” to read parts of the Bible aloud in public. Christian groups have called the statement “ill-judged” and “concerning”.
The ‘Realpolitik’ of the Naïve: Europe’s Middle Way on China
Europe, it seems, has something of a dilemma. Should it remain closely aligned with the U.S. (or as closely aligned as it ever is), the democracy on which it depends for much of its defense, and, given the increased importance of U.S. exports of liquified natural gas (LNG), for a crucial part of its energy needs? Or should Europe try to maintain a course that ensures that it avoids the economic inconvenience of too abrupt a break with China, a hegemon on the rise and one that is run on fascist or quasi-fascist lines (whatever Beijing’s ruling party may call itself)?
Opinion
Thought for the Day: Schumpeter on Capitalism’s Success
From Joseph Schumpeter’s classic Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy—a healthy reminder in the age of so-called “ESG” capitalism
The “Stochastic Terror” Lie
The Left’s latest gambit for suppressing speech is built on preposterous grounds.
Are College Classes too Hard for Today’s Students? Alarming Numbers Say ‘Yes.’
The New York Times recently sparked a heated debate about academic rigor when it reported that New York University had fired a professor when students complained he was too tough.
The real meaning of Thanksgiving Nov
Thanksgiving is rich in traditions. The turkey. The dressing. The pumpkin pie. The family assembled in prayerful reverence in remembrance of the plight of the early settlers of this country — much of which is complete fiction.
The Respect for Marriage Act Would Allow the State to Regulate Domestic Relations
I have been puzzled about the urgency to pass the Respect for Marriage Act before the end of the current Congress. Despite Justice Thomas’s dictum in his Dobbs concurrence that Obergefell (which created a constitutional right to same-sex marriage) should be overturned, I cannot discern a reason to force such a case onto the Court’s docket. If some traditional-marriage activists tried to do so, they would almost surely fail, but even if four Justices eventually voted to hear such a case, it would be years before the matter would be ripe for ultimate adjudication.
When Journalists Become Speech Police
Too many in the media now seek to neuter free expression in the name of saving it.
