News of the Week for April 21st, 2024
- Election 2024
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Election 2024
Donald Trump’s Trial Will Matter
In surveys of uncommitted voters ahead of Donald Trump’s criminal trials, persuadable voters on the margins of the electorate seem convinced of two seemingly contradictory assertions. First, the former president’s pursuers are obsessed in their manic effort to charge Trump with something — anything — that might stick. That’s as true of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution as it is of Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis and even the Justice Department special counsel, Jack Smith; the timing is too conspicuous, their doggedness too aggressive. These voters seem persuaded that Trump is a victim of political persecution. And yet, that belief exists concomitantly with a second widespread conviction among uncommitted voters: Whatever Trump is accused of, he probably did it.
Abortion
Dobbs Decision
Ballot initiative seeks to enshrine abortion rights in Colorado constitution
A petition to guarantee the right to an abortion in Colorado’s constitution has received enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot in November.
Gun Rights
Major 2nd Amendment Victory In California
AUS district court judge in California granted summary judgment against the state’s one-gun-a-month (OGM) law, finding it unconstitutional.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Auto Ban: German Minister Threatens the End of Weekend Driving
Who knew Germans could be controversial (asks the man named Luther)?
The Bees Are Fine
You’ve probably seen or heard of the “Save the Bees” campaign that environmentalists have been pushing for the past several years. The idea was supposed to be that bees were dying out because of some combination of late-stage capitalism, corporate greed, and probably Republicans. If too many bees died, then it would make it harder to pollinate plants, which would kill the food supply, and everyone would die. Environmentalist predictions usually start and end at the same places (“late-stage capitalism, corporate greed, and Republicans” -> “everyone dies”) with only the mechanism connecting them changing.
Bid to secure spot for glacier in Icelandic presidential race heats up
Idea Angela Rawlings had a decade ago for Snæfellsjökull has snowballed into a full-blown campaign with a team of 50 people
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Rising complaints of unauthorized Obamacare plan-switching and sign-ups trigger concern
Federal and state regulators aren’t doing enough to stop the growing problem of rogue health insurance brokers making unauthorized policy switches for Affordable Care Act policyholders, say consumers, agents, nonprofit enrollee assistance groups, and other insurance experts.
War & Terror
The Regional War in the Mideast Is Already Here
On the menu today: Despite what a lot of ominous voice-overs during B-roll will tell you, you don’t have to worry about the Middle East spiraling into a regional war. You have to worry that the regional war is already there. The Biden administration desperately wants Israel to declare victory and the conflict to be resolved, which is akin to its belief that the Ukrainians should win the war, but not using any method that might damage Russian oil refineries or roil the world oil markets. Joe Biden is always telling his friends to hold back, at least internationally.
Tom Cotton Urges Biden to Open Investigation into Temu, Says It Might Be ‘More Dangerous than TikTok’
Senator Tom Cotton demanded that President Biden open an investigation into Temu, the Chinese e-commerce platform, and clarify what legal authorities he would need from Congress to ban the app.
French youth back compulsory military service amid war in Ukraine
The majority of French people aged between 18 and 25 are prepared to enlist in the armed forces to support Ukraine if the need arises, a new survey has revealed.
Chinese Propaganda Arm Deletes Post Justifying Iran’s ‘Successful’ Attack
A Chinese Communist Party propaganda outlet deleted a post that described Iran’s unprecedented attack directly targeting Israel as a “successful” operation — but probably not because Beijing has any regrets about aligning itself with Iranian aggression.
USS Boxer, Amphibious Assault Ship Carrying Hundreds of Marines, Forced to Return to Port for Repairs Two Weeks After Deploying
“That’s taking time when they go in for their upgrades, and that’s taking a little bit longer than expected”
Why is China Still Subsidizing Fentanyl Precursor Chemicals?
If you were to ask yourself when America has faced the very worst drug crisis in its history the answer would be right now.
CCP Provides Government Funding, Tax Rebates to Fentanyl Producers, House Report Finds
China has been subsidizing the manufacturing and exporting of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and other synthetic narcotics through tax rebates and other means, according to newly revealed details released Tuesday by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
Pentagon speeding up work on first new nuclear warhead in 40 years
Nuclear threats from China, Russia drive work on W93 for submarine-launched missiles by 2030s
‘Warmonger,’ ‘Traitor,’ ‘Nazi,’ Etc.
The House of Representatives has passed legislation aiding three U.S. allies: Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Senator Mike Lee, the Utah Republican, has called this “the warmonger wishlist pushed through by Speaker Johnson.”
Brzezinski’s Prophecy, Ferguson’s Law
In a new article for Bloomberg, historian Niall Ferguson has written a grimly fascinating summary of where things stand in the escalating contest between the West (loosely speaking) on one side and the alliance — because that’s what it is — between Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran on the other.
National
Supreme Court allows Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth
The Supreme Court is allowing Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth while lawsuits over the law proceed, reversing lower courts.
California women’s prison rocked by ‘rape club’ abuse scandals to be closed
Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters said that the agency is closing the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, where more than a half-dozen correctional officers and the former warden have either been charged or convicted of sexually abusing the female inmates.
Google Removes links to California News Sites, Due to Proposed Law entitled “California Journalism Preservation Act”
Google also said it is “pausing further investments in the California news ecosystem.”
Utah Outlaws Nature Rights
A bit ago, I warned that environmental radicals were pushing to grant rights to the Great Salt Lake. Thankfully, legislators noticed and passed a bill prohibiting granting rights to any non-human aspects of nature.
Nikki Haley Joins Hudson Institute
Just a few weeks after suspending her 2024 presidential campaign in early March, former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has found herself a new gig. The last GOP primary rival standing against Donald Trump this cycle announced Monday morning that she is joining the Hudson Institute, a D.C.-based conservative think tank focused on national-security issues, to serve as the group’s Walter P. Stern chair.
National Science Foundation funds DEI-based ‘Math for All’ conference
Seven different American colleges and universities served as in-person venues for this year’s DEI-based ‘Math for All’ conference during April 5-6.
Senate Dismisses Mayorkas Impeachment, Cutting Off GOP Push for Accountability on Border Crisis
The Democratic-controlled Senate dismissed both articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, quashing the Republican push to remove the Cabinet secretary from office.
Ann Arbor Public Schools student identifies as therian
A records request discovered 196 documents at Ann Arbor Public Schools about “therians” – students identifying as “a species of non-human animal on every level except physical.”
Decolonizing Math
Math is now racist. At least that is what is being argued at the Australian National University, and they aim to do something about that. It’s time we drop the White cisgendered heteronormative numbers-focused math and get down to some witch-doctor driven engineering.
Uri Berliner Burned His Bridges at NPR, Then Set the House Ablaze
I imagine I’m in a distinct minority of National Review writers and readers when I confess that I actually listen to National Public Radio on a semi-regular basis. (I know of one other offender on staff, whose identity I shall guard fiercely as a matter of personal honor.) What can I say? Maybe I secretly enjoy having howlingly biased neutral-voiced progressives condescend to me. Or maybe it’s because NPR’s truly comedic plunge into rote progressive cant — from its already very liberal starting point — has been an endless source for column ideas, as well as a handy whetstone against which I can sharpen my sarcasm into a razor while stuck in traffic.
Former Wikipedia CEO calls truth a ‘distraction’
Katherine Maher, a former CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation once called the truth a “distraction” possibly giving some insight into the philosophy of Wikipedia.
Clark County GOP chair arrested on Sunday, DA’s office declines to pursue charge
Clark County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Law was arrested last weekend on suspicion of domestic battery.
California Lawmaker Wants “Genealogy Office” to Prove Eligibility for Reparations
Steven Bradford, a Democrat who represents parts of Los Angeles County (including Inglewood and Compton) is a big believer in reparations ..and is running for Lieutenant Governor!
It’s Come to This: Students Are Protesting Furries in Their School
Even furries think that the tolerance of furries in schools has gone too far.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Goes Off the Rails With Foreign Aid Amendment
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced an amendment on Wednesday that proposed that any member of Congress who votes to send aid to Ukraine must enlist to fight for Ukraine.
The Mayorkas Senate Impeachment Trial That Wasn’t
I don’t have much more to add to what I argued two months ago, largely based on the book I wrote on impeachment a decade ago.
Equal Protection Project Opposes Proposed DEI Amendment to the NY State Constitution
The Equal Rights Amendment on the ballot in November 2024 would enshrine Diversity Equity & Inclusion into the New York State Constitution, protecting reverse discrimination and other discrimination done in the name of “dismantling discrimination.”
$48M Badlands judgment against Las Vegas upheld by top court
The Nevada Supreme Court upheld a $48 million award to the owner of Las Vegas’ defunct Badlands golf course, as part of a long-running land-use dispute with the city.
Economy & Taxes
More Evidence That Organized Labor Is Progressivism, and Progressivism Is Organized Labor
Some on the right will try very hard to see daylight between organized labor and the progressive movement. Despite decades of decline in union membership, culminating in a record-low membership rate last year, some still see political opportunity in rejecting conservatives’ traditional approach to organized labor in favor of a more conciliatory approach.
Brazil sees proposal to tax super-rich gaining momentum, will seek G20 declaration in July
Brazil’s proposal to tax the super-rich gained momentum on Wednesday, with France’s finance minister and the head of the International Monetary Fund backing a coordinated push to generate new revenue and build a better common future.
International
Sydney church stabbing: Bishop attacked during sermon
A bishop and several other people have been stabbed during a sermon in Sydney that was being streamed online.
Unemployed doctors in South Africa criticize government’s purchase of enslaved doctors from Cuba
The corruption of Cuban socialism not only affects Cubans, but those in other countries who do business with Cuba’s communist dictatorship. The South African government is purchasing the slave labor of Cuban doctors from the Castro regime, leaving hundreds of South African doctors without work.
Government-funded Program Caught Teaching Bestiality in South Australian School
The Advertiser confirmed this week that Riverland-based SA school students were exposed to teachings on bestiality through a government-funded sex education program by HeadSpace.
Opinion
In Reading the Obstruction Statute, Do We Look before or after ‘Otherwise’?
In this morning’s Fischer case oral argument over the obstruction statute (see my earlier post), Justice Clarence Thomas cut right to the chase regarding the ambiguity in the provisions text. Justice Thomas asked, do we look before or after the key word otherwise?
Oh the Trauma, Oh the Discrimination
How campus counseling centers advance a political narrative.
