News of the Week for Jan. 8th, 2023
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Dobbs Decision
Pregnancy Center Hires Private Investigators to Find Pro-Abortion Firebombers
Apro-life pregnancy center network is taking matters into its own hands and hiring private investigators to find pro-abortion terrorists who attacked its medical office, claiming that the FBI is “slow-walking” its probe, which has not resulted in any arrests.
Gun Rights
Missouri Judge Rules McCloskeys Not Entitled To Have Guns Returned After Pardon
“While the governor’s pardon does clear plaintiff’s record of the conviction . . . his guilt remains and the terms of an agreement that predicated said guilt also remains.”
‘New York Must Stop Disarming Its Religious Citizens’ Under New Court Order
A federal court has blocked New York from enforcing a ban on the concealed carrying of firearms at houses of worship, ruling Thursday that the state law likely discriminated against religious New Yorkers and may have violated the First Amendment.
En Banc Fifth Circuit Denies Chevron Deference to ATF in Bump Stock Case
A majority of judges concluded the plain language of the statute does not apply to bump stocks, but they also would have denied Chevron deference had they found the statute ambiguous.
Third Circuit Will Consider En Banc Whether Nonviolent Felons Lose Second Amendment Rights
The panel opinion, which has now been vacated (as is always done when the court agrees to hear a case en banc) is here (Range v. Attorney General); here’s a quick summary of the result of that panel opinion
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
The extinction next time
Paul Ehrlich is alive — I thought that was news — and he is still predicting doom. He was among the featured experts on last night’s 60 Minutes segment “Scientists say planet in midst of sixth mass extinction, Earth’s wildlife running out of places to live”.
The SEC and Climate Disclosures: Definitions of Risk, Circular Arguments, and Following the Money
These new disclosures (and there could conceivably be more of them) were in response to the SEC sending letters to “dozens of companies.” This does not seem to me the highest of hit rates, particularly as some of those disclosures may have been added just because it was less bother than arguing with the agency about them.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Democrats’ deceptive rhetoric on Obamacare prices
Americans have until Jan. 15 to secure healthcare coverage through the Obamacare exchanges. This year’s open enrollment period has resulted in more people signing up than ever before.
War & Terror
Rookie cop attacked by alleged Islamic extremist with machete near Times Square
A rookie NYPD police officer on his first day on the job was attacked with a machete on New Year’s Eve just blocks Times Square — and police are probing whether the suspect is a recently radicalized Islamic extremist, according to police sources.
Nasa boss: China could ‘claim the moon as its territory’ and ban the USA from landing there
The head of Nasa is worried China may claim the moon as its own territory – and prevent the US from landing there again.
Have Cancer Drugs Warped Putin’s Decision Making?
Danish newspaper Berlingske spoke to a senior Danish military intelligence official who, in an interview, claimed Putin’s thyroid-cancer drugs may have induced delusions of grandeur. This drug-induced megalomania may be behind his attack on Ukraine.
Chinese Liaoning Carrier Strike Group Now in East China Sea, PLA Drones Operating Near Japan
Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy Liaoning Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is operating in the East China Sea following two weeks in the Philippine Sea. The CSG is now likely heading home after its brief Western Pacific patrol. Meanwhile, Chinese Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been transiting the Miyako Strait from the East China Sea into the Pacific and returning the same way on Sunday and Monday, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
Beijing spies stole bomb secrets on every U.S. warhead to build nuclear forces
Beijing’s rapid buildup of nuclear forces has been assisted by American nuclear and missile technology obtained by Chinese spies and through U.S. space and nuclear cooperation in the 1990s, according to a review of Chinese technology records and internal U.S. government documents.
Why Local Election Results in Taiwan Have Implications for America
Taiwan has been one of America’s key allies in deterring Communist China’s power expansion since the end of World War II. But the failure of the ruling pro-independence party in recent local elections showed that even with U.S. political and military backing, the Taiwanese people’s concerns over a potential Chinese military invasion may have swayed election results in favor of Taiwan’s pro-China unification party.
National
One fatality at Alabama airport after baggage handler sucked into plane engine
One airport employee was killed at the Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama on Saturday, after the individual was sucked into the engine of an American Airline subsidized plane, airport authorities confirmed.
‘The college essay is dead’: Academics react to ChatGPT
OpenAI recently released ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence robot that can write essays when given a prompt.
First “virovore” discovered: An organism that eats viruses
Name a type of organic matter and chances are some type of organism has evolved to eat it. Plants, meat, algae, insects and bacteria are all consumed by different creatures, but now scientists have discovered something new on the menu – viruses.
Brazil to prosecute George Santos, possible trial in absentia
George Santos will have plenty on his plate when he’s sworn in today. House investigations into possible campaign finance law violations are already being prepared, along with questions about that almost impressively massive mountain of lies he told the voters regarding his personal history. But now he has another shadow looming over him. Authorities in Brazil have announced that they are restarting a criminal case against Santos involving a stolen checkbook and will seek a formal response from him this week. But no matter how or even if he responds, they plan to move forward with the case. If convicted, Santos could face up to five years in a Brazillian prison, assuming they can ever get their hands on him.
Company tells applicants to keep colleges off resumes, following DEI trend
HR&A Advisors are asking job applicants, in the name of equity, to keep their colleges off resumes. Previous reports from Campus Reform show that employers are devaluing higher education credentials to advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) objectives in the workplace.
Democrat elected to Congress will be sworn in on a copy of ‘Superman #1,’ worth about $5.3 million
A Democrat who was elected to U.S. Congress in 2020 will be sworn in on various documents, including a copy of the first “Superman” comic book, which is worth about $5.3 million.
Michigan Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow Will Retire in 2024
I wonder if Kid Rock will seek the Republican nomination.
‘Transage’ Activists Insist ‘Age is a Social Construct’
“Age regression is a mental reversion to a younger age. Transage reflects a longterm incongruence between one’s age identity & their chrono age.”
Justice Sotomayor Tells Law Professors She Felt “Shell Shocked” After Last Supreme Court Term
A brief report on Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s remarks to the Assocation of American Law Schools conference.
DeSantis Shakes Up Leadership of Woke Florida College, Appoints Conservative Majority
overnor Ron DeSantis appointed six new members to the New College of Florida’s Board of Trustees on Friday, directing the new conservative majority to reorient a public university that has been led astray by progressive ideologues in recent years.
What the Feds Are Teaching in Diversity Training
Men can get pregnant, don’t you dare ask for data, and other lessons from diversity training across the federal government
John Bolton stuns a British audience with announcement he WILL run for POTUS in 2024
John Bolton wants to make foreign policy great again. And he really, really, really wants to challenge Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Welcome to 2023, y’all. This is how the new year will go. Republicans without a chance in the world of becoming the Republican nominee will begin to come out of the woodwork and tell some news outlet that they will run for president. It’s going to be 2015 all over again.
Oklahoma bans trans medical procedures for those under 26
While a number of states have either passed or are working on laws blocking transgender medical procedures for children, Oklahoma is trying to expand that effort to another level. One new piece of legislation submitted by State Sen. David Bullard would essentially ban all medical :gender-affirming care: for patients under the age of 26, a significantly higher bar than the age of 18 cited in most other states. The bill was dubbed the :Millstone Act” and it’s almost certain to draw a court challenge as soon as it goes into the books. And this is one situation where I believe that any potential plaintiffs between the ages of 18 and 25 who challenge the law may prove successful in court.
Chaos on the floor as Kevin McCarthy finally takes the Speaker’s gavel
It was after midnight when House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy finally became Speaker McCarthy after the 15th vote. And, of course, the first action that the House took after that was to adjourn and go home. Next week they will begin working on finalizing the new rules package. The fifteen ballots was the largest number seen since before the Civil War. The fight didn’t end with any sort of revelatory kumbaya moment, however, and it may wind up being something of a pyrrhic victory for the new Speaker. We still don’t know the full details of all of the deals that McCarthy cut with the Freedom Caucus to get over the finish line, but he will be assuming the role in a significantly weaker position than his predecessor. But at least for the moment, all of the members have been sworn in and the People’s House can get down to business when they return.
Tiny Doors in the U.S. Capitol
You may have heard of “Real Fake Doors” on interdimensional cable, but how about tiny doors in the Capitol? Olivia Reingold, a journalist for Matt Taibbi’s and Bari Weiss’s new outlet, the Free Press, tweeted a picture enquiring about knee-high doors she spotted throughout the Capitol building
Racialize Everything
The first rule of leftist politics today is racialize everything. Example 12,186
The Left’s War On Children
Liberals love to talk about children, but in many ways, their policies are devastating to the young. Education is near the top of the list: liberals run our public schools, and they are almost uniformly terrible. Schools are run for the benefit of teachers’ unions, administrators and diversity consultants. The kids are just disposable fodder.
The High Cost of the Leftist Takeover of Scientific Research
Science has been infiltrated by people who don’t really care about science, but insist that it conform to their rules of “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Zoom jurors, community caretaking, and criticizing a colleague.
Economy & Taxes
California bans 70,000 tractor-trailers amid supply chain crisis
Do you remember way back in November when we were teetering on the edge of running out of diesel fuel? Thankfully, reduced demand and some temporary increases from our remaining refineries pushed off that crisis for a while. But it was an important reminder that the nation’s supply chain still runs almost entirely on diesel and if we run out, no products will be moving anywhere for a while. Out in California this month they’re looking at a different but related crisis. Instead of a shortage of fuel, the state will be looking at a shortage of trucks. All tractor-trailers and buses made before 2010 are now banned from the state’s highways. That adds up to an estimated 200,000 vehicles, including more than 70,000 tractor-trailers. And you probably don’t need me to tell you why. It’s because of climate change, of course.
International
Benedict XVI, first pope to resign in 600 years, dies at 95
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularized Europe but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday. He was 95.
I Thought My 4-Year-Old Was Transgender. I Was Wrong.
We raised both our sons as gender neutral as possible, with gender neutral clothes, toys, and language. It was a mistake
Scotland Embraces Sex Self-declaration
I have written a piece about Scotland’s new transgender reforms that establish a system of sex self-declaration. This allows one to change one’s recorded sex after the age of 16 rather than 18, to do so having waited no longer than three months (rather than the previous waiting time of two years), and without the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
Japanese government offers families 1m yen a child to leave Tokyo
Government boosts incentives to lure people to ‘unfashionable’ regional areas hit by ageing, shrinking populations
Mysterious gamma-ray emitting bubbles around the center of the Milky Way explained
A scientist from Tokyo Metropolitan University has shown that large gamma-ray-emitting bubbles around the center of the Milky Way were produced by fast, outward-blowing winds and an associated “reverse shock.” Numerical simulations successfully reproduced the temperature profile observed by an X-ray telescope. Such outflows have been observed in other galaxies; this finding suggests similar winds may have been blowing in our own galaxy until quite recently.
Jordan Peterson sentenced to reeducation training
Canada doesn’t have reeducation camps…yet. But Justin Trudeau’s Canada is making progress towards becoming China’s North American twin. Compliance with the ideological diktats of the intelligentsia is apparently a requirement in order to keep your job these days.
Pro-Bolsonaro protesters storm Brazil’s Congress in capital
Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress in the capital on Sunday, climbing on top of its roof and breaking the glass in its windows.
Opinion
The Coming Crisis of Federalism
I probably should have given up making predictions after 2016, when I called the presidential election correctly. I don’t think I have gotten one right since then.
To Create Equal Opportunity, Look Beyond Traditional Bachelor’s Programs
Alternatives to affirmative action are many, if we will only consider them.
How did politics get so awful? I blame MTV circa 1992.
Everyone has a theory about why American politics today is so awful. I blame MTV. More specifically, I blame the music channel’s “Rock the Vote” campaign in the early 1990s. That’s the moment when the tastemakers of popular culture decided the widespread perception that politics isn’t cool was a problem to be solved. Politics had to be made cool. And therefore not boring.
Trump is his own worst enemy
It’s no secret that a lot of Republicans have been abandoning former president Trump since the disastrous midterm elections. For some reason, Trump seems to keep finding new ways to alienate his supporters and lose unnecessary battles. For a man whose political instincts took him all the way to the White House despite the desperate opposition of the entire political elite, his recent moves have been shocking.
The Raucous History of the Speakership
The current messy, rancorous fight to pick a speaker of the House is far from unprecedented.
