News of the Week for August 18th, 2024
- Election 2024
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Election 2024
Poll: Democratic attacks on JD Vance are working
New polling shared exclusively with Semafor shows Democrats’ attacks on JD Vance’s views on abortion, divorce and “childless cat ladies” are sticking with voters.
Harris energy evokes Obama campaign for Democrats
Millions of dollars are pouring into her campaign, and she’s breaking fundraising records. Groups of “white dudes” and “cat ladies” have rushed to her side, along with the big money and star power of Hollywood.
Latest Harris-Trump poll highlights danger for former president in Florida
The red wave that washed over Florida in recent years might not be as large as it once seemed, if a new presidential survey is any indication.
Trump’s laundry list of increasingly bizarre claims
Donald Trump on Sunday claimed that a large gathering of plainly evident people who greeted Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in a Detroit airport hangar “DIDN’T EXIST.”
JD Vance’s ‘Jobs for Hillbillies’ Start-Up Employed Migrants Instead
For a self-proclaimed ‘hillbilly hero’ it seems JD Vance doesn’t much care for the little man, if new revelations about one of the vice-presidential candidate’s former ventures are anything to go by.
Does Donald Trump Know What Time It Is?
Donald Trump is on track to lose this election. Is it impossible for him to turn things around? No, of course not. But the Trump campaign is behind, it’s losing ground, it’s running out of time, and it doesn’t appear to have the nimbleness to adjust course and get back in the game. Anyone who doubts this has his head in the sand.
Trump Has Become What He Campaigned Against
Observers of Donald Trump’s rallies over the past month — such as the NR Editors panel on Friday — have noticed two related problems with Trump’s rhetorical approach to taking on Kamala Harris (even aside from his ill-considered attacks, as happened when he went after Brian Kemp in Georgia). One is that Trump often goes into spin-the-oldies mode, describing his various favorite themes and grievances in a shorthand that will be familiar to his fans but is nearly incomprehensible to undecided voters who aren’t consumers of MAGA media. The other is that Trump is offering generalized swipes at Harris and Tim Walz for their records and positions but not boring into the specific things they’ve done and said that show them to be extremists.
Former aide: Trump ‘feels this election slipping away’
Sarah Matthews, a onetime spokesperson to former President Trump, said Monday the GOP presidential nominee is embracing false theories about his political opponent because he’s getting “desperate” as Vice President Harris’s campaign benefits from a boost in voter enthusiasm.
Former Trump aides claim Donald is in ‘meltdown’ and ‘feels the election is slipping from him’… so is ‘lighting up the campaign’
The former president’s reported meltdown comes from two staffers who worked in the White House under the former president and have since turned on him, as polls show the race with Kamala Harris is getting tighter by the day.
In Toss-Up States, All GOP Senate Candidates but One Are Polling Worse Than Kari Lake
The Senate map this year is a gift to Republicans. Nearly all the seats they are defending are safe, and they have several opportunities to flip seats in competitive states.
I’m Not Convinced Americans Care Much about This Election
I’m told that this is now a “vibes” election, so let me offer up a “vibes”-based take of my own that I’m pretty sure everyone of all stripes will profoundly dislike: Despite the doomsday rhetoric from both sides of the aisle, voters don’t seem to particularly care about the coming contest, or even to consider the problems that the country faces to be important enough to shake them out of their long-standing preference for shallow personality contests.
California: Prop 5 ballot label doesn’t have to mention 2/3 voter approval rule
In a setback for anti-tax groups, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday that the November ballot label for a measure that would allow some local tax increases to be approved by 55% of the voters does not have to say that current law requires two-thirds voter approval.
Meet the powerful evangelicals who believe Trump is an apostle who will reclaim America for Christ
In his interview with Elon Musk, Donald Trump spoke about becoming more religious after the assasination attempt in Pennsylvania in July and as the former president tries to get back to the White House, scores of religious figures are determined to see him get there. Alex Hannaford explores the troubling movement trying to infiltrate US politics
Circus ’24, Cont.
Donald Trump was talking about Senator Jon Tester (D., Mont.): “I don’t speak badly about somebody’s physical disability, but he’s got the biggest stomach I have ever seen, I swear. I swear. That’s the biggest stomach . . . I have never seen a stomach like that.”
‘Rambling?!’ Trump Rally Crowd Listens Quietly As Trump Explains At Length How He Doesn’t Ramble
At his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Republican nominee Donald Trump told his crowd that the media will say he rambles, but that he does not ramble, and the reasons for the length and style of his remarks, and how people will also copy those remarks, before returning to his story from several minutes earlier about something he heard “the other day.:
U.S. looks to ban election betting as traders flock to prediction sites
Even before President Joe Biden had announced his exit from the 2024 election, thousands of voters flocked to the website PredictIt last month, hoping to place bets on the other candidates who might win in his stead.
Abortion
Dobbs Decision
Montana Supreme Court rules minors don’t need parental permission for abortion
Montana’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that minors don’t need their parents’ permission to get an abortion in the state – agreeing with a lower court ruling that found the parental consent law violates the privacy clause in the state constitution.
Gun Rights
2nd Circuit Rules Lawful Gun Ownership Doesn’t Justify a Warrantless Search
No one will ever mistake the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for a gun-friendly bunch of jurists. So that should be a good indicator of just how over the line the violation of one man’ s rights was that they have slapped down a cop for conducting a warrantless search of his car simply because he had a concealed carry permit and a gun.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Biden Admin Cements Gas Stove Rule After Insisting It Isn’t Going After Gas Stoves
The Biden administration locked in a gas stove rule on Monday after insisting that it is not trying to ban gas stoves, rejecting efforts by opposed organizations to nix the rule.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
UK Nursing Organization Allows Members to Refuse Treatment for Racist Patients
The United Kingdom’s Royal College of Nursing has updated its guidance to allow medical professionals to refuse to treat patients perceived as racist, a response to violent riots that have occurred in the country over the last two weeks.
War & Terror
Doing Just Less Than the Minimum in the Red Sea
…get you the exact results you would think
Russia Upgrades Key Arctic Military Base With Expanded Runway
Russia upgrades the runway at one of its main Arctic military bases. The newly paved and lengthened runway is part of a systemic upgrade of infrastructure in the region.
National
Spelman College summer reading list includes titles that push themes of anti-Capitalism and racism
The Spelman College summer reading list includes titles like “Friday Black” which extensively covers the themes of racism.
Equality activists defeat attempt to reinstall affirmative action in California
A coalition of equality activists in California celebrated on Sunday their successful effort to kill an effort by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature to reinstall affirmative action.
A Faculty Group’s Ideological Transformation Continues as It Ends Opposition to Academic Boycotts
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has announced that it no longer opposes academic boycotts, in a sharp departure from its previous acknowledgements that such boycotts — which involve faculty, scholars, and larger scholarly units refusing to associate with particular universities — “strike directly at the free exchange of ideas” by deliberately “impair[ing] the ability of scholars to write, teach, and pursue research” and introducing “political test[s] for participation in the academy.”
Intellectual Property Is ‘Colonialist,’ Says Science
Science is one of the world’s foremost science journals. Alas, like other establishment science and medical journals, it regularly publishes articles that promote woke agendas that undermine excellence in science in the name of furthering equity and radical public-policy agendas.
Surprise . . . Not: Judge Merchan Denies Trump’s Recusal Motion, Setting Up September 18 Sentencing
Last week, I contended that Judge Juan Merchan is determined to pronounce sentence upon Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on September 18 — i.e., two days after early voting begins in Pennsylvania — and would therefore deny the former president’s post-trial motions (1) seeking Merchan’s recusal from the case and (2) claiming, based on the Supreme Court’s July 1 immunity ruling, that the jury’s 34 guilty verdicts against Trump must be vacated.
Anti-Israel Protesters Shut Down Hectic 405 Freeway in Los Angeles
Protest organizers targeted American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Democratic National Convention (slated for next week) in their statement.
Lawsuit Claims Indiana Unconstitutionally Seizes Millions in Cash From FedEx Packages Every Year
The Institute for Justice says Indianapolis police and prosecutors are exploiting one of the biggest FedEx hubs in the U.S. to seize cash for alleged crimes they never explain.
FTC bans fake online reviews, inflated social media influence; rule takes effect in October
The Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously to ban marketers from using fake reviews, such as those generated with AI technology, and other misleading advertising practices.
Doctor without hearing aid couldn’t hear colonoscopy patient scream, Florida board says
A doctor is on probation after issues with two colonoscopy procedures he supervised, including one involving a screaming patient.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Crypto disclosures, high-risk stops, and protecting the curtilage.
Severability on the Shadow Docket: SCOTUS Splits 5-4 On Whether Entirety of Title IX Regulations Must Be Enjoined
Justice Gorsuch joins the three dissenters on severability. What about Justices Thomas and Barrett?
Economy & Taxes
Why We Should Care That Tariffs Are Taxes
Tariffs have the same stifling effect on the economy as any other tax.
Hungary learns the hard way that price controls cannot curb inflation
The nationalist leadership of Hungary may have found fans in the conservative Anglosphere, but Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s understanding of classical economics is dismal indeed. Just like President Richard Nixon learned the hard way a half a century ago, the government cannot use price controls to tame away inflation.
International
The Venezuela Question
The obviously fraudulent/stolen election in Venezuela represents one of the largest foreign policy humiliations of the Biden Administration. The Biden Administration offered sanctions relief to Venezuela in exchange for Venezuela agreeing to a free and fair election. Everyone over the age of six knows that Biden did this because he wanted to allow imports of Venezuelan oil to help keep down gasoline pump prices here in the U.S. (having largely depleted our Strategic Petroleum Reserve for this purpose). So the sanctions relief/election trade was a fig leaf for domestic political concerns.
Britain: The Disinformation Wars Move into the Classroom
Phillipson is correct that “disinformation, fake news and putrid conspiracy theories” flourish on social media. As does “extremist content.” It can be unpleasant, and it can be weaponized by the likes of the Kremlin, but it beats the alternative: a “curated” social media in which only viewpoints, information, and news within the “opinion corridor” are permitted.
Tech giants will be forced to ban fake news under Labour plans
Tech companies will be forced to ban fake news from their platforms under plans being considered by the Government in the wake of the riots.
Sellafield worker jailed after sharing ‘offensive’ Facebook posts
A FIFTY-one-year-old Egremont man has become the latest person in the county to be jailed for posting racially aggravated online social media posts linked to national civil unrest.
Cuban dictatorship charges Catholic priest with ‘pre-criminal activity and incitement to commit a crime’
Calling on Cubans and Venezuelans to hold prayer sessions in public spaces has caused serious trouble for Father Kenny Fernández. Yes, as previously reported, Castro, Inc.’s Ministry of Fear descended quickly on Father Kenny after he posted his call for prayer on social media, subjecting him to a heated interrogation filled with threats.
We need people to have more children, even if JD Vance says so
How to save pronatalism from the pronatalists.
Maduro urges state ‘iron fist’ as protest toll mounts
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro called Monday for the state to use an “iron fist” after deadly protests in response to his July reelection, which has been dismissed at home and abroad as a sham.
Venezuela’s opposition faces setback after countries suggest repeat of presidential election
Venezuela’s opposition was dealt a blow Thursday when countries that had been pressuring President Nicolás Maduro to release vote tallies backing his claim to victory in last month’s presidential election began suggesting a repeat of the contest instead.
Russian tourist who ‘tried to rape a cow’ is gored by the animal and has to be rescued by stunned Thai police
A Russian tourist who allegedly tried to rape a cow was gored by the animal and had to be rescued by Thai police.
Opinion
Another Reminder That Conservatives Should Not Embrace Tulsi
On Tuesday, Tulsi Gabbard bid aloha to the Democratic Party, an organization she referred to as an “elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-white racism” and “actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms that are enshrined in our constitution.”
Trump Welcomes an Apologist for ‘the Butcher of Damascus’ into His Fold
I understand that the New Right favors the maximalization of transgression over ideological consistency and, therefore, has a soft spot for former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. I get that they may believe that bringing her aboard the Trump campaign appeals to its most transgressive elements – after all, she dismantled Kamala Harris during a debate, although that effect was limited to Democrats paying attention to and participating in a Democratic primary. But that is all that I find comprehensible in the news that Gabbard will serve in an advisory role to the former Republican president, as reported by the New York Times.
