News of the Week for April 2nd, 2023
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Dobbs Decision
Man Arrested for Allegedly Firebombing Wisconsin Pro-Life Group
After the Dobbs draft was leaked last May, more than 100 pro-life organizations or churches were attacked by vandals or arsonists, and a would-be assassin armed with a gun, a knife, and burglary tools showed up outside Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home.
Gun Rights
Donald Trump wanted an assault weapons ban
Well, this was unexpected. As president, Donald Trump seriously considered promoting an assault weapons ban after multiple shootings in 2019.
Florida Legislature approves carrying concealed loaded guns without permits
The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has repeatedly indicated he will sign it.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
John Kerry: We Have to Find a Way to Work with Russia on Climate Change
It is fair to wonder whether anything John Kerry says actually influences Biden administration policy. Kerry may well be doing the job that President Biden wants him to do, which is to fly on his private jet to climate change summits and conferences around the world, and to talk about how much Biden and the administration care about climate change.
Climate Doomsday Predictions Have Not Aged Well
“We’ve got one decade to save humanity!” the media warned again this past week, just like all the other times.
Biden Targets Air Conditioners In Latest Attack on Americans’ Quality-of-Life Choices
Energy Department rules focused on window air conditioners, which are used disproportionately by poor people and minorities to cool down from summer heat.
The Population Controllers Get Everything Wrong. Again.
Today, the movement dedicated to limiting the growth of the human species by means of repressive governmental controls is celebrating a rare species of victory — rare because their cause’s urtext, Paul Ehrlich’s Population Bomb, is hopelessly flawed. Their victory is such only insofar as repressive governmental controls will not be necessary to curb the growth of the human population. We’ve voluntarily defused the “population bomb” by simply declining to breed.
EU abandons ban of combustion engine cars – Britain needs to follow suit
According to the agreement conventional cars can continue to be sold and registered after 2035 if they only use fuels that are CO2-neutral. This will allow car makers to continue producing and selling conventional models indefinitely.
More than Two Dozen Democratic House Members Join Republicans to Nix Biden’s Gas Stove Grab
Meanwhile, leading New York Republican scorches state Democrats’ efforts to ban gas stoves.
“There Was Living Space For Thirteen Families In This One SUV!” – Comrade Mallick Comes For Your Vehicle
Those behemoths you see bearing down on you in Toronto, high, heavy and wide, with a tow hitch and lots of cargo space, aren’t all owned by people with three children and a cottage and sports gear and a boat.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
‘If They’re Going to Die Anyway, This Is Not Suicide’
I should know better, but when I saw this tweet earlier from Alexander Raikin, I thought surely that couldn’t be a real quote.
War & Terror
Hungry dog filmed tucking into limb of killed Russian soldier laying in Ukraine snow
The grim footage comes as Russia continues to suffer massive losses on the frontline, with Ukraine finally seeing the delivery of multiple state-of-the-art tanks to its armory
Torture, Sexual Abuse, Sterilization: Uyghur Camp Survivors Testify at Congressional Hearing
“Genocide is occurring, this time at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party,” said House select committee on China chair Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) after hearing graphic testimony about the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs.
‘Killer cop’ website allegedly places bounties on officers by exposing photos and personal information — LAPD detective says: ‘This is uncharted territory’
The Los Angeles Police Protective League filed a lawsuit on March 17 against the owner of a “killer cop” website that allegedly placed bounties on officers by publishing their photographs and other personal information.
House Overwhelmingly Passes Bill to Counter CCP Organ Harvesting
The House overwhelmingly passed a bill to counter the Chinese regime’s widespread use of forced organ harvesting targeting prisoners and ethnic minorities, with the legislation receiving a vote of 413 to 2.
Biden is gutting the US Navy
Biden is speaking loudly but carrying an ever smaller stick.
Insurrection in Tennessee
Left-wing extremists violently storm the state capitol in Tennessee, disrupting the work of that state’s legislature. Let’s arrest them for insurrection and give them 11 months in solitary confinement before we bring them to trial.
Violent Antifa-Style Protest Shuts Down Pro-Life Student Meeting at Virginia Commonwealth University
“We will not be deterred. The Pro-Life Generation has come to expect these sort of things and we will be back to attempt what we tried to attempt this evening, a productive, peaceful conversation”
Turkey clears the way for Finland’s NATO membership
Putin’s war in Ukraine has resulted in the expansion of NATO, not the shrinking of the international security alliance Mad Vlad hoped for as he invaded Ukraine. Putin’s neighbor, Finland, a country with which Russia has a checkered history, is now set to join NATO.
National
Police: Nashville shooter bought 7 guns before school attack
The person who killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville legally bought seven firearms in recent years and hid the guns from their parents before the attack, police said Tuesday.
Police chief tells NBC News a sense of ‘resentment’ may have fueled Nashville shooter’s attack at former school
The shooter, Audrey Hale, 28, of Nashville, may have planned to attack multiple locations, Police Chief John Drake told Lester Holt in an interview.
Nashville School Shooter Is Probably Not a Trump Voter
While I always strive to avoid speculation in situations like this, the (allegedly) transgender person known as Audrey (or “Aiden”) Hale does not seem to fit the MAGA profile. It is not yet known if Hale’s motive was political, or if she/”he” was just crazy. Therefore I must withhold judgment on whether this shooting — which killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville — could be described as transgender terrorism.
Nashville Shooter Left ‘Manifesto,’ Was ‘High-Functioning’ Autistic
In an afternoon press conference, police confirmed that Audrey Hale — the transgender shooter who killed three 9-year-old kids and three adult staffers at a Christian school in Nashville before being shot by cops — left behind a “manifesto” that we may expect will explain her motives. Meanwhile, the Daily Beast interviewed several people who were neighbors or acquaintances of Audrey Hale and her family.
What We Know About the Transgender Nashville Christian School Shooter
We know Audrey Hale, who identified as a male, had maps and drawings of the school. She marked the entry points on them.
Bodycam Footage of Nashville Cops Taking Out Trans Shooter Released
The Nashville Metropolitan Police Department has made public the graphic bodycam footage of the moment when two officers shot and killed a transgender shooter who murdered three students and three adults at The Covenant School, a private Christian grade school in Tennessee.
Nashville bodycam footage released
The Nashville Police Department has just released the bodycam footage of Officer Rex Emglebert. The footage depicts the swarming of the school by the police and the run toward gunfire to take down Audrey Hale.
The Culture War About to Become Violent?
Whenever there is a mass shooting it is usually wise to wait until full details are available, as early reports are often wrong or incomplete. I did think it odd this morning that the mass shooter at the Christian school in Nashville was reported to be a female, as female mass shooters are extremely rare—only four in U.S. history according to one report I’ve seen.
‘I’m planning to die today… you’ll probably hear about me on the news’: Trans school shooter Audrey Hale’s final messages to a friend before she shot six people – including three kids in private Christian school
Hale sent the messages on Instagram to Averianna Patton, a friend from school
‘Woke’ US schools scarier than North Korea, says defector
A North Korean defector who sought refuge in the US said she was “embarrassed” to study human rights in America because it had become synonymous with socialism in universities.
Iowa Poll: DeSantis 45 Percent, Trump 37 Percent
“Driving the news: The surveys, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies from March 21 to 23 for an outside client (not a candidate or super PAC) found DeSantis leading Trump by eight points (45%-37%) in a head-to-head matchup in Iowa and tied with Trump (39%-39%) in New Hampshire.”
Americans Pull Back From Values That Once Defined U.S., WSJ-NORC Poll Finds
Patriotism, religion and hard work hold less importance
New Children’s Book ‘She Is She’ Combats Attempt to Deny ‘Females Their Womanhood’
In a day and age when libraries are holding drag queen story hours and pro-transgender children’s books like “I Am Jazz” are being pushed on kids, pro-family content is needed more than ever.
2 + 2 = White Supremacy: How Woke Ideologues Corrupted Canada’s Math Curriculum
Two plus two no longer equals four, according to members of the Ontario Mathematics Coordinators Association (OMCA), who consider the equation to be a white-supremacist dog whistle instead of a basic mathematical truth
Man Accused of ‘Brutally’ Stabbing Sen. Paul’s Staffer Was Released From Prison Day Before
The suspect in the stabbing Saturday of a Senate staffer in broad daylight in Northeast Washington was released from prison a scant 24 hours earlier.
Vox: How to convince taxpayers they really need that mass transit system no one is using
As I’ve been pointing out for a while now, mass transit is dying thanks to a pandemic that has accustomed many white collar workers to spending one or two days a week at home. The situation is especially grim in the Bay Area which was once considered one of the best rail and bus systems in the country.
Wayne State University suspends professor for suggesting that conservatives be killed
Professors these days get away with a lot, as long as they are Left-wing.
Trans activists slam ‘radical religious schools’ in response to Nashville mass shooting in which three 9-year-olds were killed
The response received some backlash in which critics accused the activists of skirting the blame away from trans shooter Audrey Hale, 28
She checked her Instagram. She didn’t expect a message from The Covenant School shooter.
At 9:57 a.m., a former middle school basketball teammate of Audrey Hale looked at her phone to find a message from The Covenant School shooter on Instagram.
Could the RESTRICT Act Criminalize the Use of VPNs?
Plus: States consider mandatory anti-porn filters, tariffs create baby formula shortages (again), and more…
DOJ Memo Told U.S. Marshals Not to Arrest Protestors Outside of SCOTUS Justices’ Homes
“The training materials told the Marshals ‘to avoid, unless absolutely necessary, any criminal enforcement action involving the protestors.'”
AZ governor’s press secretary: Let’s shoot all the “transphobes”?
Yes, this really came from Josselyn Berry, the press secretary of the governor of Arizona. Yes, this really came after a transgender assailant murdered three children and three teachers in Nashville. And yes, you can bet your bottom dollar that the national media — which normally would scream if any Republican at any level in or out of office did anything like it — will remain silent for as long as possible over it.
Protecting Free Speech Calls for More Than Some Words on Paper
Some colleges and universities pay lip service to free speech, but continue to allow violations. It’s easy for officials to proclaim that they will protect it, but quite another to act when the usual suspects seek to silence people who “offend” them.
California Dems approve state-sanctioned kidnapping
The war on parents’ rights continues unabated in California. The latest shocking episode involves new legislation currently making its way through the state legislature. If passed, it would allow children as young as 12 to “check themselves in” to group homes without parental consent. The legislation would apply to mental health professionals evaluating the safety of children. The bill’s authors claim that the measure is being considered in response to an increase in suicides among minority children, but it’s pretty obvious what this is really about. And this would amount to what can only be described as state-sanctioned kidnapping.
Girl straddled by drag queen sparks outrage at North Carolina school
A drag queen straddled a girl during a racy performance at a North Carolina community college — prompting the school to potentially “revise” its rules surrounding underage shows, according to officials.
Long Island University suspends American Club for declaring men are not women
On Mar. 13, the American Club at Long Island University (LIU) was notified via email that it had been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation being conducted by the university.
Trump Hires Jeb! Operative To Run NH Campaign (Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That)
May the best candidate win. (Is that a hateful thing to say?)
Watch Teens Attempt to Carjack Man, But Can’t Drive Manual Transmission to Get Away
Montgomery County police say the teens forced the driver to give them his keys at a Germantown gas station
Joy Behar says the quiet part out loud: Democrats want Trump to win the GOP nomination
It’s no secret that Democrats want Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee for president. They think Joe Biden can beat him in a re-match of the 2020 election. Joy Behar admitted on Wednesday’s broadcast of The View that “Trump is the one who needs to get the nomination because then the Democrats will win.”
2024 GOP Primary Poll: Trump 40, DeSantis 35, Pence 5, Haley 5
National polling of the 2024 GOP primary has been all over the place, but the latest survey from Marquette, a high-quality pollster, shows a close race between Trump and DeSantis — with a clear edge for DeSantis in a head-to-head matchup
Stanford Law — Much Worse Than Expected
Adding to the recent series of articles about troubling trends in America’s top law schools (the ones widely regarded as the most prestigious), Hans von Spakovsky takes a look at Stanford.
Mark Russell, R.I.P.
Mark Russell, a singing and piano-playing socio-political satirist based in Washington, D.C., passed away today at age 90.
State Department’s ‘Racial Equity’ Diplomat Meets with Ibram X. Kendi
A senior State Department official met with Ibram X. Kendi, the controversial critical race theory proponent and Boston University professor who has called for the creation of a federal “department of antiracism” with unmatched constitutional authority.
Manhattan Grand Jury Votes To Indict Donald Trump
A Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday to indict Former President Donald Trump, according to The New York Post.
DeSantis on Trump Indictment: ‘Florida Will Not Assist in an Extradition Request Given the Questionable Circumstances at Issue With This Soros-Backed Manhattan Prosecutor and His Political Agenda’
“The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct.”
How math de-tracking in San Francisco has failed advanced students in the name of equity
In 2014 the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) introduced a new plan for K-12 math which came to be known as de-tracking. The idea was that instead of letting some students surge ahead by taking Algebra I in 8th grade while other students wouldn’t take it until 9th grade, all students would now wait until 9th grade to take Algebra I. This was supposed to be more equitable and to reduce the performance gaps between various racial groups on math tests. The Washington Post explained the thinking and why some were proclaiming the move a success in a 2021 story.
Where Have You Gone, Cesar Chavez? Your Hometown’s Border Turns Its Lonely Eyes to You
“There’s an awful lot of illegals coming in. . . . They’re coming in by the thousands, it’s just unbelievable. See, they’re coming in with the consent of the immigration service.”
Former Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces White House bid
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has announced that he’s running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, launching a challenge to former President Donald Trump, who remains the front-runner despite his looming criminal indictment.
Gavin Newsom makes presidential-level moves amid Trump indictment
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife will be touring red states over the weekend and into next week, an announcement he made Thursday alongside the launch of a new political action committee aimed at boosting the profile of Democratic candidates in GOP-controlled areas.
A long-dormant lake has reappeared in California, bringing havoc along with it
Months of atmospheric river storms have pummeled the area, which holds crucial farmland. A historic snowpack that looms in the mountains above the basin will make things worse.
The Green Transition: Shocks and Aw
Anyone arguing that the energy transition envisaged by climate policy’s central planners would be anything other than a vastly expensive, ill-conceived fiasco was either delusional or a propagandist.
Montana’s latest trans bill has a couple of issues
The Daily Beast is up in arms over the latest legislation making its way through the Montana legislature dealing with transgender issues. The bill in question, SB 458, would provide a legal definition for the word “sex” based on long-established medical principles. But the Beast describes it in dramatic terms, saying it would “define trans people out of existence.” What the bill actually does is define “sex” as being established by “the organization of the body and gametes for reproduction in human beings and other organisms.” (Because apparently in 2023 we need someone to tell us about the birds and the bees in legislative terms.) But while most of what’s in the bill should be seen as common sense – assuming that still exists – the bill does appear to have a couple of potential problems that should be addressed before it’s signed into law, which we’ll get to in a moment.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Disparaging scientists, disappearing warrants, and disgruntled lawyers.
Douglass Mackey Convicted for Vote-by-Tweet Meme
Douglass Mackey, also known as “Ricky Vaughn,” was convicted today by a federal jury in Brooklyn of the charge of Conspiracy Against Rights stemming from his scheme to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote. The verdict followed a one-week trial before United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly. When sentenced, Mackey faces a maximum of 10 years in prison….
Today’s Order Allowing Dominion Voting’s Case Against Fox to Go Forward
The order, which denied Fox’s motion for summary judgment and partly granted Dominion’s motion for summary judgment as to certain elements of the claim, is here; it’s 130 pages long, and I’m likely not to have the time soon to get through the whole thing and digest it, but I thought I’d pass it along.
Economy & Taxes
Push in states for $20 minimum wage as inflation persists
Just years after labor activists persuaded a handful of states to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour, workers initially thrilled with the pay bump are finding their hard-won gains erased by inflation.
China and Brazil have reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar as an intermediary
“The expectation is that this will reduce costs… promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment,” the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) said.
More Evidence That Industrial Policy Isn’t All It’s Cracked up to Be
The economic rise of China is often used to justify the U.S. embracing industrial policy. The theory is that China’s growth can be directly linked to its enormous public spending at all levels of government and that we Americans will lose ground if our government fails to respond in kind to China’s massive subsidies of Chinese industries. Proponents of industrial policy also like to point to what they see as success stories — such as South Korea.
Let’s Not Have the AFL-CIO Make Our Foreign Policy
Claude Barfield has an interesting blog post for AEI about ongoing economic negotiations between the United States and Indo-Pacific allies. It’s in America’s best interest to have closer economic relationships with those allies, both for the gains from trade and for the geostrategic benefits of the anti-China alliance.
China And Brazil Strike Deal To Ditch The US Dollar
In a time when de-dollarization news are dropping fast and furious and even Elon Musk is now jumping on a bandwagon…
Mansion madness: Los Angeles realtors in sell-off frenzy as wealth tax looms
A new law will impose extra tax on sales of more than $5m starting 1 April – and sellers are desperate to unload before the deadline
International
Italy Bans EU-Approved Use of Insect Flour in Pasta and Pizza
At the same time, and in an intriguing move, Italy has also applied for its cuisine to be placed on the UNESCO list for Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Agatha Christie’s classic detective novels edited to remove potentially offensive language
Novels by “Queen of Crime” Agatha Christie are the latest classic works to be revised to remove racist references and other language considered offensive to modern audiences.
Belgium to Allow Repeated Gender Changes
We live in an irrational age. Germany allows people to change their gender once a year by simply filing an official form. And now, Belgium is about to allow people to change gender — apparently, whenever they want.
Shocking! Only 2% of Cubans cast votes for ‘President’ Miguel Díaz-Canel
It’s a truly shocking fact, for sure. Yes, only residents of the municipality of Santa Clara got the chance to turn in ballots for Trucutú Díaz-Canel. And the population of Santa Clara amounts to a mere 2% of eligible voters in Castrogonia.
Christine Van Geyn: Calgary’s authoritarian crackdown on free speech
A new bylaw could be used to prevent demonstrations opposing female genital mutilation in front of libraries
The Riots in France Contain an Important Lesson for Americans
The ongoing protests in France ramped up Tuesday. Thousands of people took to the streets, the Eiffel Tower was closed, and the French government warned that the protesters wanted “to destroy, to injure and to kill.” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin took the unprecedented step of putting 13,000 officers in place to face the protesters, with almost half in Paris alone. This has been going on for almost two weeks now, and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Some Americans have laughed at the French, because the source of the nationwide rage is President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. All the unrest over having to work longer? How quintessentially French. But what the French protests really show is the failure of the welfare state. It’s a lesson that Americans would do well to learn.
China’s Cities Learning the Price of Overspending
Many were impressed with how Chinese government officials spending enormous amounts of money on industries, infrastructure, and other grandiose projects. Few reports, however, go back and look at how these projects affect the country’s finances. That’s why I thought this recent New York Times report on how Chinese cities are now buried in debt as a result of their pursuit of debt-financed public spending was interesting.
China’s Cities Learning the Price of Overspending
Many were impressed with how Chinese government officials spending enormous amounts of money on industries, infrastructure, and other grandiose projects. Few reports, however, go back and look at how these projects affect the country’s finances. That’s why I thought this recent New York Times report on how Chinese cities are now buried in debt as a result of their pursuit of debt-financed public spending was interesting.
Archaeologists to find lost underwater civilization with magnetic fields
Magnetic data, like seismic data, is collected by those looking to extract energy sources from the sea floor in order to map out the landscape for construction.
Opinion
Escape from L.A.
Dispatches from a once-great city in decline
Inheriting a Legacy of Liberty
In his monumental Reflections on the Revolution in France, Edmund Burke goes to some length to demonstrate how the principle of inheritance operated in English law. The young person to whom he addresses his lecture — which began as a correspondence — seemed to have been deceived by those who contended that the English constitution included a “right” of the people to choose their own king. This contention, as Burke shows, was based on a misunderstanding of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which had the effect of bringing William and Mary to the throne. Yet in the very document establishing this succession, the signatories declare the fealty of “ourselves and our posterity” to their new sovereigns — and their posterity: How could the principle of inherited authority be voided, asked Burke, if the English people could by solemn compact bind their descendants as subjects of the descendants of their sovereign? So the imagined “right” to choose their own king was not proven by the Glorious Revolution; rather, it was explicitly denied.
A New Case for the West
More than a tribulation for America, woke is tearing the West apart. British universities once mocked American political correctness. No longer. Nowadays, woke is on offense at Oxford, Cambridge, and throughout the U.K., where traditionalist Brits are frustrated by the Conservative Party’s reluctance to resist. French politicos are pushing back somewhat more energetically than the British against woke, yet the ideology has secured a foothold in France. Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott slammed the country’s woke corporations a couple of months ago for making traditional Australia Day celebrations optional. In short, no place is safe.
A Window to Escape the Trump Effect in 2024 Senate Races
The unpleasant reality of Republican politics and conservative policy right now is that it is impossible to meaningfully analyze anything without reference to the question of whether Republican primary voters are going to choose conservatism or Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential primary.
The Moral Case Against Equity Language
Whats a “justice-involved person”?
If You Don’t Publish This Manifesto, Publish None of Them
Katherine Fung of Newsweek reports on an effort by LGBTQ+ activists to suppress the “manifesto” of the Nashville Christian school shooter
Maybe It’s Time to Start Treating Transgenderism as a Mental Illness Again
A trans person murdering children is worse than trans people getting their feelings hurt
Gender dysphoria and transgender ideology are very different things
With the rise in transgender identification, transgender ideology, and now militant transgender activism, now would be a good time to step back and think clearly about the distinction between genuine gender dysphoria and the modern transgender movement.
