News of the Week (September 1st, 2024)

Posted on September 1, 2024 by The Political Hat

 

News of the Week for September 1st, 2024


Election 2024

 

Harris and Trump go light on policy. It’s a game Harris is winning.
Where are the specific policy proposals from either candidate?

Jill Stein Will Appear on Wisconsin Ballot, But Ineligible in Georgia With Three Other Candidates
However, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will have the final decision, though, if Stein and the other candidates can appear on the state’s ballot.

The ‘Blame America First’ Crowd Migrates to the GOP
It’s easy to see why those who invested their hopes in the theory that Donald Trump could engineer a “great realignment” are excited by the addition of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to the GOP presidential candidate’s roster of endorsees. The migration of these erstwhile Democrats into the Republican camp vindicates what they always saw as Trump’s potential to remake the political landscape. But Trump’s Democratic opponents don’t seem especially upset by this development.

RFK Jr.: Helpful or Harmful to Trump?
RFK Jr. has pledged his allegiance to Team Trump, and on today’s edition of The Editors, Rich asks the panelists what effect — if any — this will have on the race’s outcome.

Democrats Bet Big That Abortion Could Flip a ‘Safely Red’ House Seat in Wisconsin
A special election in November, timed with the general election, will determine who will occupy Mike Gallagher’s vacated eighth-congressional-district seat in Wisconsin from November onward. Republican voters in Wisconsin decided on Green Bay gas-station entrepreneur Tony Wied in the special election’s August 13 primary, opting for him over state legislators Roger Roth and André Jacque. Wied, having cleared the field by just under six points after receiving Donald Trump’s blessing, will have his work cut out for him as he faces Democratic candidate Kristin Lyerly, an ob-gyn practicing in Northern Minnesota with past Planned Parenthood affiliations.

Why Democrats Are Rejoicing About Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Trump Turn
Plus: Josh Shapiro made the most of his time at the Democratic National Convention.

Democrats guaranteed to pick up one Iowa House seat
Democrats currently hold just 36 of the 100 Iowa House seats, the party’s smallest contingent in the chamber for more than 55 years. But two and a half months before the November election, the party is already set to pick up one Iowa House seat. Davenport school board president Dan Gosa is the only candidate on the general election ballot in House district 81, covering parts of northwest Davenport in Scott County.

JD Vance booed during firefighters union speech in which he asked members what have Democrats ‘gotten you’?
Vance tells firefighters union they have been ‘let down’ after endorsing Biden in 2019 election

Scholars panel tells radiologists: Don’t call first-trimester babies ‘living’
Professors say new ‘lexicon’ will ‘minimize preventable adverse outcomes’ in response to Supreme Court abortion ruling

Trump’s IVF Proposal Would Expand Obamacare
Ramesh mentioned Donald Trump’s new proposal to either have the government pay for IVF treatments or mandate that insurers do so. It’s worth noting that, in addition to rankling pro-lifers, the proposal would represent an expansion of Obamacare, which created the architecture for the federal government to dictate what insurers must cover.

Trump Stabs Florida Pro-Lifers in the Front
Florida has a six-week ban on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest, and threats to the mother’s life. A ballot initiative would restore a Roe-like sweeping right to abortion that extends throughout pregnancy. Asked how he would vote today, Donald Trump said he would vote that six weeks is not enough time. His campaign later explained that his statement did not imply that he would vote yes.

Souter 2024
I’m going to have to save my views on the Harris interview for radio. I’ll just say now that Dana Bash is getting attacked for not having a lot of follow up questions. But I did not think she had to do them. Harris made her positions clear, and any follow-up would have run out the clock and reduced the breath of a pretty damning interview.

Donald Trump Responds to Pressure
I wrote last week of how social conservatives’ cowardice was partially responsible for Trump throwing them under the bus repeatedly

 

Abortion

Dobbs Decision

 

Is This the Uniparty?
Donald Trump says his administration will be “great for women and their reproductive rights.”

Gun Rights

 

Massachusetts high court strikes down switchblade ban
Massachusetts’ highest court on Tuesday struck down a state ban on carrying switchblades, saying a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring modern gun restrictions to be consistent with the nation’s history and tradition covered other weapons too.

The History of Bans on Types of Arms Before 1900
Restrictions on carry, minors, and misuse were the norm — not bans

 

Hide the Decline

Environment &“Green Energy”

 

Islamists Are Reenacting the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, and the Green Crowd Couldn’t Care Less
Do America’s environmentalists oppose the Houthis’ blowing up oil tankers because it results in massive spills and a “severe ecological disaster,” or quietly support them because they represent attacks on the fossil-fuel industry?

German State Media makes a game where players shoot down flying climate deniers
If anyone made a game shooting lasers at parasitic flying climate believers they would be arrested for hate-speech. But if a government agency promotes a game that dehumanizes, mocks and kills critics of the government “Green program”, they’ll probably get another grant.

Tanker SOUNION Appears to Be Leaking Oil in Red Sea, Pentagon Says
The Greek-flagged crude oil tanker Sounion that was recently attacked by Yemen’s Houthis is still on fire in the Red Sea and now appears to be leaking oil, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday.

Climate Activism Coming to a Courtroom Near You
Climate indoctrination has taken root in unlikely soil: your local courtroom.

 

Obamacare

Government in Healthcare

 

The ‘Gender-Industrial Complex’ Makes Billions Annually
I used to think that the great push to prescribe children puberty blockers and hormones and subject teenagers to surgeries, and the explosion in adult medical “transition” procedures, was primarily about promoting a radical ideology. Gender ideologues want to replace Judeo-Christian moral values and the belief in objective truth with a culture based in radical individualism, irrationality, and a purported right to “personal recreationism” (a term I believe was coined by Leon Kass) — that is, to be physically remade to comport with how we feel about ourselves.

The Pressure Is On to Expand Assisted Suicide in New Jersey
When assisted-suicide activists sell legalization, it is always described as an itsy-bitsy change in medical ethics with “strict guidelines” to protect against abuse. But it turns out the guidelines are not really “strict,” nor are they intended to remain permanently in effect.

War & Terror

 

A Chinese Fossil-Fuel Win (in Disputed Territory)
Well aware that China is making its promises about the feasibility of a green “transition” look ridiculous, Western climate policy-makers are always keen to stress the advances that China is making in renewable energy. That is to (deliberately) miss the point. The emphasis put by the Beijing regime on renewables is designed to achieve two things. The first is to take China closer to self-sufficiency, an aim it has across many sectors of the economy. The second is use China’s domestic market as a proving ground for the green technology that it sells to the West in pursuit of profit and geopolitical advantage.

Two Views Of Ukraine’s Invasion Of Russia
One wonders if Vladimir Putin knew that not only would his three day “special military operation” in Ukraine drag on for at least two and a half years, but that Ukraine would launch a successful invasion of Kursk oblast, if he might have reconsidered ordering it.

The inside story of the secret backchannel between the US and China
Top officials Jake Sullivan and Wang Yi met quietly to stabilise relations in ‘cloak and dagger’ summits around the world

China Poised To Cut Off US Military From Key Mineral As America’s Own Reserves Lay Buried Under Red Tape
China is planning to restrict exports of a key mineral needed to make weapons while a U.S. company that could be reducing America’s reliance on foreign suppliers is languishing in red tape, energy experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Russia’s deadly overnight barrage of missiles and drones hits over half of Ukraine
Russia battered much of Ukraine on Monday, firing scores of missiles and drones that killed four people, injured more than a dozen and damaged energy facilities in attacks that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as “vile.”

Ukraine launches attack on SECOND Putin region as hundreds of troops try to smash into Belgorod after Kursk incursion
Belgorod’s governor issued an urgent warning

Kyiv Test Fired 1st Ukraine-made Ballistic Missile: Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that his military had recently carried out the first successful test of a domestically-produced ballistic missile.

Maduro’s Communist Thugs Help Him Bully His Way to Power
A member of Venezuela’s electoral council admitted in an interview published today that he has seen no evidence that Nicolas Maduro won the country’s election as he claims.

Can Taiwan Count on the U.S. if Trump Wins?
A disturbing diffidence from some experts in his orbit, who want Taipei to spend more on defense.

Chinese and Philippine vessels collide at a disputed atoll and governments trade accusations
China and the Philippines accused each other of causing a collision between their two vessels Saturday in the latest flareup of tensions over disputed waters and maritime features in the South China Sea.

Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega offers ‘Sandinista fighters’ to Venezuela if a ‘counterrevolution’ is launched against Maduro
This is pure Kabuiki Theater, in other words, an event characterized more by showmanship than by content. And it reeks of Latrinehood, that is, of the very essence of Latrine American character. Such B.S. is reminiscent of the ultimate King of Latrine Bluster and Bullshit, Fidel Castro. Nonetheless, it’s further proof that Castrogonia, Nicaracuba, and Cubazuela are a single entity, worthy of being known as the Latrine American Triangle of Doom.

 

National

 

Robin DiAngelo Plagiarized Minority Scholars, Complaint Alleges
In an “accountability” statement on her website, which makes repeated reference to her Ph.D., DiAngelo, 67, tells “fellow white people” that they should “always cite and give credit to the work of BIPOC people who have informed your thinking.”

GOP chair Dave Williams voted out by party members in meeting he calls “illegitimate”
Members of the state Republican Party drove from across Colorado to a church in Brighton on Saturday morning, where they voted to remove state party chairman Dave Williams from his leadership position. They also voted to replace the party’s vice-chair and secretary.

OpenAI supports California AI bill requiring ‘watermarking’ of synthetic content
ChatGPT developer OpenAI is supporting a California bill that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content, which can range from harmless memes to deepfakes aimed at spreading misinformation about political candidates.

California Wants to Give Noncitizens $150,000 to Buy a House
The Democrats really want another 2008 burst, don’t they? Oh wait, it’ll work out this time, right?

Michigan med school ends race-based scholarship after civil rights complaint
Western Michigan University’s scholarship was offered only to those who identified as ‘African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander.’

University of Wyoming replaces ‘multicultural affairs’ office with community center for all students
As efforts to supplant DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives are picking up steam across the country, educators in one western state are being required to follow suit.

Sarah Palin Scores New Trial in N.Y. Times Defamation Case
Sarah Palin’s defamation lawsuit against the New York Times over an editorial linking Palin to the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords was revived on Wednesday.

Jury finds Robert Telles guilty in murder of RJ reporter Jeff German
Robert Telles, the former elected Clark County Public Administrator, was found guilty Wednesday of murdering Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German.

Harvard ‘Transmediating Love Literature’ course to explore ‘non-normative, non-ableist’ accounts of gender
Harvard University recently disclosed that it will offer a ‘Transmediating Love Literature’ course during the spring 2025 semester.

“A Hard, Gemlike Flame”
The University of Austin’s inaugural faculty are ready to begin teaching.

Universities and Reverse Assimilation
They imported an inferior culture

Two Former Presidents of Boilermakers International Union Among Seven Indicted for $20M Embezzlement Scheme
A federal grand jury in Kansas returned an indictment yesterday charging seven defendants, including five current and former high-level officers of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmith, Forgers and Helpers (Boilermakers Union) for their alleged roles in a 15-year, $20 million embezzlement scheme.

Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
A tardy oath, old-timey drunkards, and telling it man to [redacted] man.

 

Economy & Taxes

 

Entitlement Collapse is Worse Than it Looks
Many argue that we need to get serious about reforming Social Security and Medicare because both trust funds will run dry. The implication is that this will be catastrophic, but this is not true. In reality, the entitlement problem may prove to be much worse.

Republicans Have Their Own Version of the ‘Just Transition’ — for Trade
And it’s just as bad as Democrats’ scheme for energy.

The WNBA is Employing a Bold, Innovative New Marketing Strategy: “Sex Sells”
Briefly, let me tell you about a great American success story. It’s an underdog story about a little free, Boston newspaper. It was staffed by its founder and three other guys writing 1,000-word articles twice a month, focused on sports, lifestyle, and humor for no money. This paper gained a small but fiercely loyal following of young professionals from the area. But then a new element was injected into the mix.

The Arkansas city filled with abandoned homes you can buy for as little as $400
A small Arkansas city suffering from severe population decline and economic turmoil has become so abandoned that properties are on offer for as little as $400.

Free Market Fundamentals and NatCon Inconsistencies
Nothing signals a greater likelihood of intellectual confusion than does intellectual inconsistency. I’m not referring to changing one’s mind. Intellectual growth invariably brings about changes in mind. The person who once believed that minimum wages can in practice be implemented in ways that harm no workers might well come later to discover that her earlier belief is naïve. This person is not intellectually inconsistent; this person is intellectually open and honest. Ditto for the person who once believed that free trade is the best policy but who encounters arguments and data that push him to the opposite conclusion. One’s mind can change — correctly or incorrectly — without subjecting one to a legitimate charge of inconsistency.

The Government Saves Us from Kosovar Mattresses
It has probably been keeping you up at night: Cheap mattresses from Kosovo are ruining the American economy.

Rent Control: Another Disaster
Price controls make shortages worse. Rent control is, notoriously, no exception to that principle. And still rent control is put in place again and again, normally because the electoral rewards it generates for the politicians who advocate it outweigh (to them) the economic mess that rent control leaves in its wake, a mess made worse by the fact that once put in place, the same political incentives make it very difficult to remove them.

 

International

 

AUS: CEO of Female-Only Social App Ordered to Pay $10k to Trans-Identified Male for ‘Indirect Gender Identity Discrimination’
In a landmark decision, an Australian court has ruled that the CEO of a female-only networking application intended as an “online refuge” for women committed “indirect gender identity discrimination” by rejecting the membership of a male who “identifies” as a woman.

Inside ‘son of God’ cult leader Apollo Quiboloy’s sprawling underground lair with rooms for ‘most attractive sex slaves’ – as cops scour Philippines compound for preacher on FBI Most Wanted list for sex crimes
Apollo Quiboloy is accused of conspiracy, sex trafficking, fraud and coercion

‘Owner of the universe’ hides in underground ‘sex slave lair’ as cult diehards form human shield & clash with 2,000 cops
Watch footage of the intense standoff between cops and members of the cult plus a look inside the chilling bunker

EU-Funded Scholars Fail to Define ‘Sex’ or ‘Gender’ after Five-Year Research Project
A group of international scholars funded by the European Union were unable to define “sex” or “gender” after studying the topic for more than five years, but nevertheless concluded that both concepts should be incorporated into all academic research going forward.

Mexico freezes relations with US, Canada embassies
Mexico’s President Lopez Obrador has paused relations with the US and Canadian embassies after they criticized his proposed judicial overhaul plan.

Jury convicts 1, clears 6 over 2019 bomb plot in Hong Kong’s first UN anti-terror trial
A panel of nine jurors on Thursday delivered their verdicts following the landmark trial of seven people charged under the UN (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance. Quiet murmurs of surprise emanated from the public gallery as the verdicts were read out.

Monkeys give secret names to each other just like humans – and it gives them surprising advantage for surviving in wild
Scientists say the findings shine a light on how humans’ ability to communicate developed

Major power outage hits Venezuela’s capital, with Maduro government blaming ‘sabotage’
Venezuelans awoke Friday to a major power outage in the capital, Caracas, and several states.

‘Street Thug’ Putin and His Allies Considering Invasion of 3 More Countries
What next for Vladimir Putin? Or, maybe, where next? Bogged down in the Donbas, humiliated by Ukraine’s cross-border incursion into the Kursk region, the Russian strongman faces the clearest threat to his authority since last year’s abortive Wagner revolt.

Court-packing the Mexican way
The most controversial issue south of the border is judicial reforms. Some see the proposals as democratic, having voters elect judges. Many see it, as I do, as a way of putting justices in the court who will rubber stamp the president’s plans. It’s sort of like court-packing in Spanish!

Top Brazilian judge orders suspension of X platform in Brazil amid feud with Musk
A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to name a legal representative in the country, according to a copy of his decision.

Massive blackout paralyzes Venezuela; Maduro blames his opponents
Castro, Inc.’s colony of Venenozuela has been hit by a blackout that left Caracas and a huge percentage of the country without power this morning. Naturally, Viceroy Maduro is attributing this disaster to his political opponents. While on the surface it may seem as if Castrogonia’s blackout crisis is much like a virus –due to socialist inefficiencies — this could be something more sinister. Chances are this disaster was caused by Maduro and his superiors at Castro, Inc. so they could have a great excuse for imprisoning more opponents.

Shocker: French make surprise arrest of Telegram founder at Paris airport
Lack of moderation on Telegram claimed to be reason for arrest.

University cancels Anglo-Saxon ‘to decolonise’ the curriculum
Masters course renamed as academics worry term suggests ‘nationalist narratives’

 

Opinion

 

Scholarly Associations Gone Wild: Stop Publicly Funding Scholarly Groups That Trade Academics for Advocacy
Academic associations have a long history of connecting scholars and promoting scholarship, but too many today have traded their scholarly mission for a political one.

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid, of European Social Media Censorship
Our Op-Ed in The NY Post: Unlike things that happen in Vegas, European social media censorship doesn’t stay in Europe

Vance Is Not Winning Over the American Public
According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, since July 21, Vance’s favorable rating has increased by four percentage points, but that’s from 30 percent to 34 percent. His unfavorable rating has increased even faster, by ten points, from 34 percent to 44 percent.

Republicans, hedge your bets. Focus on the Senate.
The GOP should put its time and money into creating a firewall against a possible Harris administration.

Republicans Don’t Need to Embrace Union Leaders to Win Union Workers
Republicans don’t need radical union leaders. Instead, they need the working-class voters that union leaders claim to represent but often don’t.

The Unmaking of Conservatism
What’s left for Reaganites in the GOP?

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