News of the Week for September 17th, 2023
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Dobbs Decision
The abortion bot will see you now
For abortion seekers, deciding whom to trust is important. Now there’s an online chatbot that purports to help.
Gun Rights
Four Lawsuits Filed Challenging New Mexico 2A Emergency Order
The Queen of New Mexico is getting defensive about criticism from the likes of — checks notes — Ted Lieu.
Two Can Play That Game, Governor Lujan Grisham
On the homepage today, I note that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico is insisting that she is allowed to suspend both state statutes and enumerated constitutional rights at will, and I ask why, if this is true, she could not be thrown in jail without a trial? The answer, usually, is “the law.” But if we have no law . . . ?
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
The EU’s Chinese Green New Deal
The good thing, we were told, about decarbonization was all the new jobs it was going to create. Not only that, net zero was going to lessen the West’s dependency on unreliable authoritarian states.
Palisades nuclear power plant lookin’ to become the first recommissioned nuke in U.S. history
Built back in the era of can-do/git-er-done, construction began on the Palisades plant (with its single combustion engineering pressurized water reactor) in March of 1967, and it was commissioned in December of 1971. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Covert, MI, the 50+ year-old Palisades facility has been shuttered since May of 2022, when the reactor ran out of fuel and Entergy sold it to a firm out of Florida called Holtec.
Tibet Goes Carbon-Neutral
The Chinese Communist Party’s repression in Tibet has escalated in recent months, with human-rights groups recently finding that the authorities have placed 1 million children in forced-assimilation boarding schools throughout the region.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Anorexia patients may be given palliative care not life-prolonging treatment under new NHS guidance
Leading psychiatrist calls for ‘alarming’ guidelines to be repealed and Tory MP says putting sufferers on palliative pathway is ‘horrific’
Canada Teaches MDs to Become Killing Specialists
The Hippocratic oath explicitly prohibits doctor participation in euthanasia/assisted suicide. But doctors don’t take the great oath anymore, precisely because (in part) it conflicts with modern sensibilities that doctors can be ethical takers of human life.
War & Terror
U.S. Military Exercises in Russia’s Backyard Cause Alarm at the Kremlin
Armenia, Moscow’s longtime regional partner, is frustrated with Kremlin’s failure to fulfill security guarantees
NATO in 2024 to conduct biggest military exercise since Cold War in Germany, Poland, Baltics
Thirty-one NATO countries and Sweden are to conduct in 2024 the biggest NATO military exercises since the Cold War, UK newspaper the Financial Times reports, citing its sources in the defensive alliance.
Allegations of Chinese spying rock U.K. Parliament
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told British lawmakers Monday that they were “rightly appalled” at the notion of “espionage in this building,” after news reports that a young researcher in the House of Commons had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
Cuban noses out of joint: Arrest Russian “traffickers” poaching fresh troops for Ukraine war
It’s all coming together in a beautiful communist circle, I guess. Living in Cuba sucks, Russia sucks, and fighting for Russia in Ukraine sucks awful, but living in Cuba sucks worse than the thought of fighting for Russia in Ukraine, so…si, señor hell, ??!
US moves to advance prisoner swap deal with Iran and release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds
The Biden administration has cleared the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions. In addition, as part of the deal, the administration has agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States.
The Governor of New Mexico Breaks Badly
Let us begin by being clear: The governor of a state does not have the right to unilaterally suspend laws or portions of the state or U.S. constitutions by an emergency declaration, absent an actual indisputable emergency and justification that will hold up under judicial review.
Emergency alerts on Nato territory as Russian drone attacks force Romanians into underground shelters
Romanian residents have been forced to take shelter because of ongoing Russian drone attacks near the border with Ukraine.
PLA’s latest air and sea drills near Taiwan could signal surprise attack strategy, analysts say
Taipei tracks at least 143 warplanes and 56 warships entering air defence zone in four days as part of Beijing’s ‘island encirclement patrol’. Military expert says intensifying pressure from mainland China could be form of ‘cognitive warfare’ to make Taiwanese people drop their guard.
Cuban dictatorship has sent as many as 14,000 soldiers to fight for Russia in Ukraine
Despite claims by the communist Castro dictatorship that it has nothing to do with the Cuban troops fighting for Russia in Ukraine, a recently released independent report says otherwise.
Another top figure in China has suddenly disappeared
Back in June China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, suddenly disappeared. By mid-July he hadn’t been seen in weeks and rumors began circulating that he must have done something to displease or embarrass the communist party. Some suggested the married foreign minister was having an affair with a Chinese TV presenter who had also suddenly disappeared. Qin Gang was removed from his position about a week later. To this day, no one knows the precise nature of his career-ending mistake.
In Risky Hunt for Secrets, U.S. and China Expand Global Spy Operations
As China’s spy balloon drifted across the continental United States in February, American intelligence agencies learned that President Xi Jinping of China had become enraged with senior Chinese military generals.
Is one of Russia’s oldest allies slipping from the Kremlin’s orbit?
The arrival of US soldiers for a peacekeeper training exercise in Armenia has rankled the Russian government, which has for decades acted as the sole security guarantor for the former Soviet republic. The 10-day “Eagle Partner” exercise, which began Monday, involves 85 US and 175 Armenian soldiers and aims to prepare the Armenians to take part in international peacekeeping missions.
National
Trump opponent seeks longshot 14th Amendment case to bar him from Nevada ballot
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a push among some national groups to test whether the former president’s role in Jan. 6 could disqualify his candidacy.
How the Nevada GOP is Rigging its Presidential Caucus
It matters not to me which Republican presidential candidate you might be supporting.
A Modern Exodus: Renters Leave Portland for the Suburbs in Droves
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published a piece titled “Rising Rents Are Hitting American Suburbs Hardest,” outlining the wave of renters who have left the city for the suburbs over the past few years. This general exodus (which is ongoing) has notably increased the price of suburban rentals.
MGM Resorts shuts down IT systems after cyberattack
MGM Resorts International disclosed today that it is dealing with a cybersecurity issue that impacted some of its systems, including its main website, online reservations, and in-casino services, like ATMs, slot machines, and credit card machines.
Clark County School District Bringing in Unqualified Foreign Teachers to Teach in Vegas Schools
In the latest betrayal by Nevada democrats, the Clark County School District (CCSD), and the CCEA Teachers Union, parents and community members have been left outraged after learning CCSD has been facilitating an influx of foreign teachers into Las Vegas schools, backed by the support of Democratic Senator, U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.
‘Too rock heavy,’ too ableist, too white: Geoscience students identify concerns in field
Geoscience courses are “too rock heavy,” remote field sites are not handicap accessible, and faculty in the field are insufficiently diverse — these are some of the concerns identified through a nationwide survey of students majoring in geoscience.
School Board in California Votes to Allow Only State or U.S. Flag to be Flown Over School Buildings
“When a school starts endorsing any single particular point of view, that can be divisive”
Federal Judge Again Rules DACA “Substantially Unlawful”
“The judge’s ruling is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Nevada teachers’ union sickouts are closing schools
We probably have enough problems with America’s public schools at the moment without dumping any more onto the pile. Many schools, particularly in New York, are being overrun by migrant children, forcing the children of citizens into overflow classrooms. Math and reading scores are plummeting to disastrous levels in many places. And that’s just in the schools where they are still recording grades for everyone. Some schools are trying to do away with grades as part of the war on merit. But now, out in southern Nevada, parents are facing yet another problem. The teachers in Clark County School District don’t want to show up for work because they claim they’re not being compensated well enough. But it’s illegal for public employees (including teachers) to go on strike in Nevada. So they’ve organized a “sickout” just as the new school year is starting, with so many teachers calling out that some of the schools simply had to close.
At 16 I was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in under an HOUR and given sex change surgery after just two appointments… I’m suing the doctors who permanently mutilated me
Luka Hein was given the operation at 16 and claims it’s left her with daily pain. She has since decided to ‘detransition’ and live as a woman.
Hunter Biden indicted on three felony gun charges
Special counsel David Weiss signaled eight days ago that an indictment would drop soon. Indeed, it had to drop soon or risk going past the statute of limitation — which Weiss allowed to pass on some of the tax evasion charges Hunter Biden might have faced.
What Happens When Schools Abandon Merit?
A new book by Heather Mac Donald should serve as a national wake-up call.
Texas Senate ready to decide Ken Paxton’s future as attorney general
Senators will start deliberating Friday after eight days of testimony in the historic impeachment trial of Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who could be barred from public office if found guilty on charges of bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust.
Family of bullied teen who died after student punched him reaches historic $27 million settlement, lawyers say
Diego Stolz’s family said they made several complaints that he was being bullied. Their attorneys say it is the largest school bullying settlement in U.S. history.
Missouri Dept of Health investigating Starbucks barista with diaper fetish after he filmed himself dispensing whipped cream into his diaper
There’s nothing better than a frappuccino from Starbucks with a generous swirl of whipped cream on top. But unfortunately, this Starbucks barista in Ballwin, Missouri will make you re-think your drink order.
Activist Breaks Elbow, Discovers ‘Typing Things’ is a Form of Oppression
“Programming caters mainly for non-disabled people”
Texas State Senate Acquits Attorney General Ken Paxton on 16 Different Articles of Impeachment
The Texas state senate voted to acquit attorney general Ken Paxton on 16 separate articles of impeachment after the state house of representatives passed a similar motion in late May.
Man groped by Lauren Boebert during frisky ‘Beetlejuice’ date owns gay-friendly bar that hosts drag shows
A bar owned by Rep. Lauren Boebert’s apparent new beau has staged at least one drag show, according to a review of social media posts.
Footage shows teen driver appear to deliberately hit and kill retired police chief Andreas Probst
A retired California police chief appeared to be deliberately mowed down and killed while riding his bike in Las Vegas by a laughing teenage driver whose pal can be heard saying “Yeah, hit his ass,” video of the incident shows.
‘Battle of Sacred Cow Groups’ Begins in MI After All-Muslim City Council Bans Pride Flag on City Property
“We welcomed you. We created nonprofits to help feed, clothe, find housing. We did everything we could to make your transition here easier, and this is how you repay us, by stabbing us in the back?”
Dove Soap Hires Toxic BLM Activist As ‘Fat Ambassador,’ Calls To ‘Bud Light’ Dove Intensify
Seen on X: “THIS lifelong large lady and now former Dove customer tossed out the last three bars of Dove products she will EVER buy”
The Indispensable Institution
A new book may relax the taboo in policy circles on discussing the importance of two-parent families.
Will the Supreme Court End Rent Control?
Two cases before the justices could determine whether New York’s Rent Stabilization Law is a compensable government taking.
Kansas will no longer change birth certificates for trans applicants
Kansas has reached the next stage in its battle over government recognition of transgender identities. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly joined other Democratic state leaders in 2019 by allowing people to change the gender listed on their birth certificates. But the GOP-controlled legislature passed a new law this year overriding Kelly’s veto and defining gender as the sex of a person assigned at birth and ensuring that official state documents would reflect that reality. The howls of protest have already begun, but the policy is in place, and barring any future reversals, no such altered birth certificates will be issued.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Prayer trails, controlled burns, and copyrighted law.
Economy & Taxes
Hawley planning measure to cap credit cards’ annual percentage rate at 18 percent
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would cap the interest rate for credit cards at a “common sense level” of 18 percent in an effort to protect vulnerable borrowers.
Russia’s Pivot Away From US Dollar Is Not Going According to Plan
Billions in Russian oil sale profits are stuck in Indian banks, marking a blow to President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to stop using the U.S. dollar for trade.
Europe’s solar industry warns of bankruptcies over Chinese imports
EU’s efforts to manufacture more green technologies are being undercut by cheaper rivals
The Middle Class Is Prospering
Mark Perry produced this chart based on Census data showing that, if America’s middle class is “disappearing,” it is because it’s moving up into higher-income groups. He writes: “The share of US households making $100K+ (real $$$) has increased ~3X since 1967.”
International
The Left’s 9/11
September 11, 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the left’s 9/11 world-historical catastrophe: the day Chile’s aspiring Communist dictator Salvador Allende was deposed in a military coup. Needless to say the left has always seen the deft hand of Nixon, Kissinger, and the CIA behind the event, and while it is certainly true the Nixon Administration was hostile to Allende’s proto-Communist regime, subsequent history ought to disabuse everyone that our national security apparatus is competent to bring off such an operation in the absence of considerable indigenous support.
Pushback against secret gender transitions was only a matter of time
Moroccans sleep in the streets for 3rd night following an earthquake that took more than 2,100 lives
People in Morocco slept in the streets of Marrakech for a third straight night as soldiers and international aid teams in trucks and helicopters began to fan into remote mountain towns hit hardest by a historic earthquake.
The Slow and Steady Demise of South Africa
The end of Apartheid in South Africa brought a surge of hope for a brighter future. But the ANC, the party that liberated the Black majority from oppression, has transformed the country into a swamp of corruption, mismanagement and despair. Some are trying to turn things around.
Recipe for “inclusivity:” remove all books written before 2008 from school libraries
Removing all books written before 2008 to ensure that the shelves are filled with appropriately “inclusive” works. This mass purging of books is being promoted by the same alphabet ideologists who scream loudly about “book banning” when Gender Queer is up for debate. Showing pictures of young teen boys giving blow jobs to each other is vital to education, but literally, every book written before 2008 must be taken off the shelves lest the kids see something that isn’t current in its inclusion of the DEI concepts so dear to the Left.
Gang warfare has created a wave of violence in Sweden
This is a problem that has been ongoing for some time but this summer it has gotten much worse. Gangs in Sweden, which are mostly made up of foreigners, routinely use guns and grenades to attack one another.
Dominican Republic closes border with Haiti, further stoking tensions
The Dominican Republic had already begun building a wall at its border with Haiti. Then it cracked down on immigration, deporting tens of thousands of Haitians back to their impoverished and gang-ravaged country.
Depression linked to different inflammatory proteins in boys, girls
Researchers at King’s College London said on Wednesday that a new study found that depression and the risk of depression are linked to different inflammatory proteins in boys and girls.
The U.N.’s $3 Million Tent
I just came from U.N. headquarters, where, starting tomorrow, thousands of people from across government, civil society, and business will convene for a conference focused on implementing the organization’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Opinion
Closed Book
I watched “book bans” happen in real time. I thought they were all hysteria. Then I opened one of the most-challenged titles.
Appearance of Impropriety Common in NV Legislature
“I will follow the opinion. I will abstain,” said Nevada’s longest-serving state Senator Bill Raggio. Raggio, who served 40 years in the state senate, including 16 years as Senate Majority Leader, was hip-deep in negotiating a payroll tax hike during the 2009 legislative session.
The College Classroom Can Be a Judgment-Free Zone
Professors should remember what it’s like to be a beginner.
You Keep Using That Word, ‘Diversity.’ I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means
David Leonhardt and Ashley Wu have produced an analysis for the New York Times Magazine of “The Top U.S. Colleges With the Greatest Economic Diversity.” What Leonhardt and Wu describe as “a list of the country’s most-selective universities ranked in order of economic diversity” is measured “by analyzing the share of students receiving Pell Grants, which typically go to students from the bottom half of the income distribution.”
What Time Is It?
A phrase has crept into our politics: “to know what time it is.” This is a phrase of the “New Right,” or the Buchanan Right — the Trump or Orbán Right. They “know what time it is,” you see. And if you have different views — you don’t know what time it is.
Faith and Politics at a Crossroad
A growing number of Christians in the United States are convinced the nation is in a spiritual crisis. Crime is on the rise. Singleness and isolation are on the rise. Mental health issues, suicide, depression, and despair have set in. Secular society has rushed towards unbridled hedonism pouring pornographic literature into elementary schools and sending drag queens to proselytize kids. Cities are collapsing. It all is speeding up. The church seems in retreat and the pagans emboldened.
The Latest Frontier for ‘Toxic Masculinity’—Ancient Rome
Our cultural betters are always on the lookout for signs of white supremacy and its key cognate—toxic masculinity. And the latest thing that has caught the worried eye of the culturati is an apparent fascination, supposedly expressed by Very Online Males, with ancient Rome. The odd twist of this story is that women in increasing numbers are apparently asking men in online relationship platforms how often they think about the Roman Empire.
Michael Knowles Is Wrong about Executive Authority
The Constitution states unequivocally that it “shall be the supreme Law of the Land.” Not always, Daily Wire host Michael Knowles contended on his Monday show.
Put down your phone! Average parent spends more time on their devices than they do with their kids
There is no shortage of studies showing the ill effects of screen time on young, developing minds. Yet while many parents set rules in place to limit their kids’ electronics time, most aren’t doing the best job role modeling themselves. According to new research, three out of five American parents admit that they spend more time on their electronic devices than their kids do.
Gone with the Wind: Romanticizing East Germany
East Germany was not a country; it was a regime. A new book glosses over this reality.
Pushing Death: The Alarming Spread of Assisted Suicide
“The first rule of medicine is to do no harm,” Alexander Raikin writes in the new cover story of National Review magazine. “The second rule in countries that have legalized death care is that the first rule doesn’t matter anymore.”
Is This MAGA Now?
Guys, come on. We know that if Lauren Boebert were rubbing the crotch of a drag queen in a library while the drag queen was grabbing Boebert’s breasts, the left would be fine with it.
Happy Constitution Day
Today marks the anniversary of one of the most propitious days in the history of this country. On this day in 1787, the representatives at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the Constitution. It was ratified by the states and went into effect on March 4, 1789.
