News of the Week (September 22nd, 2024)

Posted on September 22, 2024 by The Political Hat

 

News of the Week for September 22nd, 2024


Election 2024

 

A Second Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump
What we know about the episode and the suspect.

Trump lashes out at Nasdaq over routine trading halt of Truth Social
Former President Donald Trump lashed out at Nasdaq over a routine trading halt in shares of his social media company and even threatened to move the listing to the New York Stock Exchange.

Senate Republican candidates are trailing Donald Trump
The GOP appears on track to flip the Senate red, but many candidates are struggling in battleground states.

Trump plans to announce the World Liberty Financial crypto exchange on Monday. Here’s what to know.
Former President Donald Trump on Monday is expected to announce the debut of a new cryptocurrency platform called World Liberty Financial that will be controlled by sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

Portage County sheriff: ‘Write down the addresses’ of Kamala Harris supporters who display yard signs
Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski, who took office in 2021, made the remarks in Facebook posts shared to two separate accounts on the night of Sept. 13.

Donald Trump’s Advantages in the Home Stretch of 2024
On the menu today: An experiment. Today, I’ll present the arguments for why Trump appears to have the advantage as we approach the last weeks of the 2024 campaign. Tomorrow — barring some breaking news that is more important — I’ll present the arguments for why Harris appears to have the advantage. Everybody who loves today’s newsletter is going to hate tomorrow’s edition, and vice versa. Plus, some reassuring words from Ohio governor Mike DeWine, and a point about why leaving certain other countries alone is not an option.

Election officials prepare for threats with panic buttons, bulletproof glass
The election director in Cobb County, an Atlanta suburb where votes will be fiercely contested in this year’s presidential race, recently organized a five-hour training session. The focus wasn’t solely on the nuts-and-bolts of running this year’s election. Instead, it brought together election staff and law enforcement to strategize on how to keep workers safe and the process of voting and ballot-counting secure.

Musk Super PAC Switches Field Plan Again in Arizona and Nevada
The pro-Trump group America PAC, which was founded by the billionaire Elon Musk, has cut ties with a canvassing firm in two battleground states, just seven weeks before Election Day.

Kamala Harris’s Advantages in the Home Stretch of 2024
Let us complete the analysis and tell Republicans what they don’t want to hear: There are compelling reasons to think Kamala Harris will be the 47th president.

Now Trump Wants Limitless State and Local Tax Deductions
“I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your Taxes, and so much more!” Republican nominee Donald Trump declared on Truth Social Tuesday. He’s probably really irked at the guy who signed the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions into law, which was… er, Donald Trump, back in 2017.

Trump Doesn’t Budge on Right-to-Work
The Teamsters promised “the most inclusive, democratic, and transparent Presidential endorsement process in the history of our 121-year-old organization.” Yet, after Donald Trump won not one, but two polls of Teamsters membership with 59.6 percent and 58 percent of the vote, the Teamsters announced that they will not be endorsing anyone for president.

Trump’s Scattershot Policy Pandering
It’s Oprah Winfreyism, writ large.

Trump Speaks of Nonexistent Debate ‘Audience,’ Says ‘They Went Crazy’
Former President Donald Trump forgot that there was no audience at his presidential debate last week with Vice President Kamala Harris, saying the nonexistent entity went “crazy.”

Huge Story about to Drop on Mark Robinson . . .
My phone is blowing up today with calls and texts from Republican sources in North Carolina who are waiting with bated breath about a huge story CNN is reportedly about to drop on this year’s gubernatorial nominee, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson.

Trump’s Scattershot Policy Pandering
It’s Oprah Winfreyism, writ large.

Nevada unions rallying to amplify Harris’ campaign
Every day, more and more people are signing up to help knock on doors and make phone calls for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, a Las Vegas union official said.

The Monsters are due in Springfield, Ohio
“This is Springfield, Ohio on a late Saturday afternoon. Springfield in the last calm and reflective moment – before the monsters came.”

‘I’m a black NAZI!’: NC GOP nominee for governor made dozens of disturbing comments on porn forum
Mark Robinson, the controversial and socially conservative Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery, a CNN KFile investigation found.

What Would a MAGA Victory Look Like?
Three things are at stake in every election: the future direction of the country and the future direction of each of the two major parties. For Republicans, the unprecedented third straight general election with Donald Trump at the top of the ticket is, or should be, the end of a line. If Trump wins, the 22nd Amendment precludes him from running again, and his ego would likely be sated, although he’s unlikely to be done trying to play kingmaker. If he loses, he’ll be 82 in 2028, and the party may yet have to consider whether it is willing to take this ride again. Either way, it will be time enough to reckon on whether the Republican future after Trump himself is Trumpy.

The Bizarre and Tawdry Secrets in Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood
On the menu today: Examining the likely consequences of the embarrassing scandals of Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, remembering that GOP primary voters’ habit of picking terrible candidates predates Donald Trump’s arrival in the world of politics, and contemplating three reactions to Nancy Pelosi’s recent insistence that “Joe Biden is the most consequential president of modern times.”

Republicans Breaking Badly in the Senate
The GOP’s hopes for doing more than just barely retaking the Senate are looking grim.

Kamala Harris Is Running to the Center-Right Because America Is Center-Right
It’s not a well-kept secret, but it is a truth that partisans on either end of the political spectrum dare not acknowledge: Kamala Harris’s wholesale makeover is aimed at convincing voters she’s not the woman of the Left she once made herself out to be. For now, Democrats are letting her get away with it. They know that the presidential race is a dead heat, and they’re not inclined to make demands of Harris until she can deliver the goods. Republicans can also be counted on to keep this observation to themselves. Their theory of the case against Harris is that the years she spent crafting a reputation for herself as a doctrinaire progressive is her biggest liability. But the fact is that Harris is running to the right of her own record because she’s trying to meet the median voter where he lives.

‘Engaged as soon as possible’: Early voting starts in several US states
With more than a month to go before the November 5 presidential election, some Americans are already lining up to cast their ballots in this tightly contested race.

The Foreign-Policy Delusions of the 2024 Race
Neither candidate seems willing to acknowledge the world as it is

No cents of shame: Trump unveils new commemorative coin for $100 in latest merchandise grab
‘This beautiful, limited-edition coin commemorates our movement, our fight for freedom, prosperity, and putting America first,’ the former president says

Republicans in swing states say they see scant signs of groups door-knocking for Trump
Republican activists in swing states say they have seen little sign of the teams tasked with knocking on doors and turning out infrequent voters on behalf of Donald Trump, raising concerns about the party’s presidential nominee relying on outside groups for an important part of his campaign operations.

 

Abortion

Dobbs Decision

 

Abortions Killed Two Georgia Women, Not Pro-Life Laws
Kamala Harris is going to Georgia tomorrow to promote abortion. Press reports indicate that Harris will claim women are dying because pro-life laws “needlessly deny women reproductive healthcare,” meaning abortion on demand. She will reportedly cite two tragic cases of women who died after Georgia’s heartbeat law took effect.

Appeals Court Upholds Order Striking Down Minnesota’s 18-20 Gun Carry Ban
The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, issued a mandate on Sept. 20, shutting off efforts by the Minnesota Attorney General’s office to preserve Minnesota’s law banning firearm carry for those between the ages of 18 and 20 years old.

Gun Rights

 

Testimony continues in 2nd Amendment challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban
An engineer who spent decades designing weapons for one of the world’s leading gun manufacturers testified Tuesday that the assault-style weapons now banned in Illinois are intended only for civilian use and cannot be easily converted into military-grade firearms.

 

Hide the Decline

Environment &“Green Energy”

 

‘Rights of Nature Tribunal’ Seeks to ‘End Fossil Fuel Era’
The nature-rights movement continues to advance, and that’s bad for human thriving. Now, a “tribunal” will be held in New York — coinciding with Climate Week NYC 2024 — to promote the rights of nature and undermine public support for fossil fuels.

 

Obamacare

Government in Healthcare

 

Obamacare Preventive Care Case Merits Justices’ Review, US Says
Another challenge to the Affordable Care Act is poised to head to the US Supreme Court after the US Department of Health and Human Services asked the justices Thursday to review a decision that partially invalidated an insurance mandate for preventive health services recommended by an advisory board.

Delaware Governor Vetoes Assisted Suicide Legalization
Suprise! Governor John Carney has vetoed legislation that barely passed in Delaware that would have legalized assisted suicide.

War & Terror

 

Major General Christian Freuding on the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk
Yesterday evening, Major General Christian Freuding who is currently in Kyiv, gave his assessment of the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region and the use of standoff weapons on Russian territory on ZDF heute journal.

A wave of exploding pagers in Lebanon and Syria kills at least 8, including members of Hezbollah
Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously across Lebanon and in parts of Syria on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, including members of the militant group Hezbollah and a girl, and wounding the Iranian ambassador, government and Hezbollah officials said.

Russia submarines and naval ships cross into buffer zone off Alaska, U.S. Coast Guard says
The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that it tracked a group of Russian naval vessels, including two submarines, as they crossed into U.S. waters off Alaska in an apparent effort to avoid sea ice, a move that is permitted under international rules and customs.

Radiation levels mysteriously spike along Norway’s border with Russia – as it’s claimed activity has been seen at test site for Putin’s ‘Flying Chernobyl’ nuclear missile
Fears that traces could relate to a Russian test site for a nuclear missile

Satellite Photos Show US Reclaiming World War II Airfield for China War
An overgrown airfield on a small island in the Pacific, once instrumental in America’s role in ending World War II, is being reclaimed by the U.S. Air Force as it prepares for a possible future fight with China.

China exerts new restrictions on exports of minerals critical to US weapons making
China accounted for 63% of US imports of antimony metal and oxide last year

U.S, India, Japan & Australia Plan Joint Patrols In Indo-Pacific; How Will China Respond To Quad’s Muscle Flexing?
The United States, Australia, India, and Japan are set to launch joint coast guard and maritime police patrols in response to increased Chinese activity in the Indo-Pacific region, according to diplomatic sources cited by Japan’s Kyodo News on September 15.

Report: China has deployed hundreds of new satellites in preparation for war with U.S.
Russian space nuke could damage all nations’ satellites, Space Force warns

US moves soldiers to Alaska island amid Russian military activity increase in the area
The U.S. military has moved about 130 soldiers along with mobile rocket launchers to a desolate island in the Aleutian chain of western Alaska amid a recent increase in Russian military planes and vessels approaching American territory.

Russia tried to stage coup in Armenia, prosecutors allege
A traditional Moscow ally, Armenia has pivoted to the West since the Ukraine war began, and its PM now says it could seek EU membership.

Sweden charges a woman with war crimes for allegedly torturing Yazidi women and children in Syria
Swedish authorities on Thursday charged a 52-year-old woman associated with the Islamic State group with genocide, crimes against humanity and serious war crimes against Yazidi women and children in Syria — in the first such case of a person to be tried in the Scandinavian country.

Sweden charges a woman with war crimes for allegedly torturing Yazidi women and children in Syria
Swedish authorities on Thursday charged a 52-year-old woman associated with the Islamic State group with genocide, crimes against humanity and serious war crimes against Yazidi women and children in Syria — in the first such case of a person to be tried in the Scandinavian country.

Calls Grow For NATO Members To Help Ukraine Shoot Down Russian Drones And Missiles
NATO, whose military aid and support has been vital for Ukraine in its war with Russia, is facing growing calls to do more to fend off Russian missiles and drone strikes — a few of which have violated NATO members’ airspace.

‘What kind of man of God would do that?’
Ohio pastor who used bullhorn to incite mob on Jan. 6 sentenced to prison immediately. William Dunfee, pastor of New Beginnings Ministries Warsaw in Ohio, was convicted of inciting the mob and joining the effort to knock down barricades on Jan. 6.

Virginia Class Submarine Program $17B Over Budget—Enough to Build a New Aircraft Carrier
The Navy’s new Virginia-class submarines are projected to run $17 billion over their planned budget through 2030, a problem emblematic of a crisis in the program, the House’s top lawmaker on defense spending disclosed.

Back to the Cold War: Russia uses Mexico as a hub for spying on the U.S.
Russia has a long history of spying on the U.S. from the relative safety of Mexico City, dating back to the 1980s. Decades before that, Stalin had his chief rival assassinated there.

 

National

 

University of North Dakota offers ‘Queer and Trans Resume Workshop’
The University of North Dakota recently offered a ‘Queer and Trans Resume Workshop’ to teach students to design resumes using LGBT identities.

Why the Secrecy around the Foreign Source of the Springfield Hoax Bomb Threats?
The office of Ohio governor Mike DeWine is not disclosing which country is responsible for some of the bomb-threat hoaxes called into Springfield schools. The aim is to “discourage further threats to the schools and other buildings.”

Judge rules Fiore can’t argue she’s being politically persecuted during wire fraud trial
This argument is irrelevant to the allegations that she used money for a fallen officer’s memorial for her own gain, Judge Jennifer Dorsey ruled.

“How Higher Ed Is Rebranding DEI Departments” – Our Study On How Schools Are Evading DEI Cutbacks
Kemberlee Kaye, Managing Editor of CriticalRace.org: “We predicted a year ago after the Supreme Court affirmative action ruling that DEI would not disappear on college campuses but would move underground in a variety of ways. Our research findings confirm our analysis that one time legislative efforts are not sufficient and sustained action is necessary”

Alaska Man Arrested for Threatening Supreme Court Justices and Calling for ‘Mass Assassinations’
This morning, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest and indictment of an Alaska man for allegedly threatening to injure and kill six U.S. Supreme Court justices and some of their family members. According to court documents, between March 10, 2023, and July 16, 2024, Panos Anastasiou, age 76, sent more than 465 messages to the Supreme Court through a public website the court maintained.

Chicago Public Schools teachers say they were told by administrators to give migrant students passing grades
Since 2022, nearly 50,000 migrants have been bused to Chicago from the Texas border. While not all of these new arrivals have opted to stay in Chicago, many who have chosen to make the city their new home have been resettled in predominantly Black neighborhoods on the South and West Sides. Now, WGN News can exclusively report that several Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teachers who work in these communities say they were told by school administrators to give migrant students passing grades last school year.

Special ed is failing: With no time to meet diverse needs, teachers lower expectations
Teachers are exhausting themselves trying to help special-needs students — and everyone else — writes Dissident Teacher on Substack. Eventually, they lower expectations so everyone gets an A or a B. Parents are happy. Administrators are happy. Students learn less.

Pennsylvania university supports race-based STEM fellowship
An SRU professor said that the ‘key goal of LSAMP is to increase America’s STEM workforce by increasing STEM participation in traditionally underrepresented minorities.’

Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Equity training, intrusive questions, and a sorry mofo.

 

Economy & Taxes

 

Will the Fed cut interest rates fast enough to deliver a ‘soft landing’?
As Fed officials have signaled that rate cuts are coming, many interest rates have already fallen in anticipation.

Median Household Income for Married Couples with Children Is About $120,000
Sometimes people look at general income data and wonder, “How could people raise a family on that?” The answer in many cases is, “They don’t.”

Fed lowers interest rates by half point in first cut since 2020
The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by a half percentage point Wednesday and charted a course for two additional cuts this year followed by four more in 2025.

San Diego-Area Reliance Metal Center Employees Overwhelmingly Vote to Remove Teamsters Union Officials
Successful effort comes as Biden-Harris NLRB tightens restrictions on workers voting out unions

Minimum wage amendment would wreak absolute havoc. One Fair Wage pulled switcheroo.
One Fair Wage, the sponsor pushing Raise the Wage Ohio — the proposed constitutional amendment that would artificially raise the state’s minimum wage — seems poised to pull an audacious switcheroo on early amendment supporters and unsuspecting Ohio voters. And the consequences, if they get away with it, could be catastrophic.

What Capping Credit-Card Interest Rates at 10 Percent Would Do
Donald Trump said during his rally in New York on Wednesday that if elected president he would put a “temporary cap on credit-card interest rates” of “around 10 percent.” He said, “We can’t let them make 25 or 30 percent.”

Now Trump Wants Limitless State and Local Tax Deductions
“I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your Taxes, and so much more!” Republican nominee Donald Trump declared on Truth Social Tuesday. He’s probably really irked at the guy who signed the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions into law, which was… er, Donald Trump, back in 2017.

Netherlands’ Rent Control Disaster
The Dutch government’s radical expansion of rent control is displacing tenants and aggravating a preexisting housing shortage.

 

International

 

Candidate hits opponent with chair during live TV debate
A news anchor running for mayor of São Paulo attacked his opponent with a chair during a televised debate, shocking this nation and plunging the race to govern the Western Hemisphere’s largest city into political chaos.

China sentences Taiwanese politician Yang Chih-yuan to 9 years jail for ‘separatism’
Taiwan has been critical of Yang Chih-yuan’s treatment by China and condemned the accusations when he was charged in April as a rights violation meant to “create fear”.

Ontario Would Be Fifth-Poorest, Quebec Second-Poorest, U.S. State
Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary, has written a piece for the Hub about the gap in economic performance between the U.S. and Canada. America’s much-discussed growth slowdown is very real, but the picture north of the border is even worse.

Mexican president blames the US for bloodshed in Sinaloa as cartel violence surges
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blamed the United States in part on Thursday for the surge in cartel violence terrorizing the northern state of Sinaloa which has left at least 30 people dead in the past week.

 

Opinion

 

E Pluribus Unum
My top-ten list of rules for a multicultural America to live by.

2020 Is Over
Donald Trump and J. D. Vance are running to win the 2024 election, not the 2020 election. Perhaps someone should remind them of this.

Robert Jenrick: A smaller state. Smarter regulation. And lower taxes. My manifesto for national prosperity.
Why is it that the country which led the Industrial Revolution is now trapped in a cycle of low growth and relative economic decline?

It’s Time for a Liberty-Loving Sociology
Market-oriented social scientists shouldn’t abandon the field to their Marxist colleagues.

Proposed Judicial Rules Warped by Sheldon Whitehouse’s Pressure
When the judiciary makes rules of procedure, it shouldn’t endorse partisan attacks on the courts.

Our Not-So-Great Society
I appreciate Michael’s reply to my post from Monday and agree with the vast majority of it. (The only thing I’d dispute is the bit about the “two-income trap,” which Michael correctly attributes to Elizabeth Warren, who is a charlatan on all subjects economic. You can read a thorough demolition of her basic thesis here.)

In Policy, Vagueness is No Virtue
Up until the DNC anointed Kamala Harris as their standard bearer, they were pushing their devotion to saving democracy. Then Democrats became all about joy at their convention, in large part by ignoring the massive costs of what they so joyously promised. Afterward, the Harris campaign first posted Biden policy positions as their own. But then those were deleted, so Harris could pretend to be a “change” candidate despite being Biden’s VP for almost four years. Harris then said almost nothing informative about her new policies, but proxies offered often anonymous claims to different beliefs than she had previously espoused, whose details were far too skimpy for credibility, much less evaluation, even though that undermines effective democracy they so recently claimed to be ardent defenders of. And Matt Vespa has reported, the source code for Harris’ “new” just-in-time for the debate policy section showed it was “a copy-and-paste job from the Biden 2024 website.”

The way(s) we talk, &c.
On modes of speech; Vance and Pence; the Polish-American vote; hell in Venezuela; and more

Annals of Evolution
My column today begins with a tricky subject: modes of speech. Many people have different modes of speech, for different audiences and different occasions. Kamala Harris is accused of “talking black,” selectively. Infamously, Senator Harry Reid said that Barack Obama had “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.” William F. Buckley Jr. had an interesting encounter with Jimmy Carter, linguistically. Anyway, I lead my column with this.

When Will Republicans Tire of Touching the Hot Stovetop?
GOP primary voters knew Mark Robinson was a terrible candidate. They just didn’t care.

Mark Robinson and the Sweet Nothings of MAGA
When Herschel Walker ran for Senate, I warned everyone about the deluge of opposition research that was coming out if he was the Republican nominee. Walker’s past indiscretions of affairs and funding coerced abortions were the worst kept secret in all of politics. But Donald Trump didn’t see it that way. Trump surmised that the all-time great Georgia running back would be a shoo-in against incumbent senator Raphael Warnock.

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