News of the Week for October 20th, 2024
- Election 2024
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Election 2024
How Trump may try to challenge the election results if he loses again
If Vice President Kamala Harris wins in November, election officials and experts worry that former president Donald Trump and his supporters will not accept that outcome — and could again try to overturn his loss.
Man arrested outside rally a ‘committed Trump supporter,’ Clark County GOP chair says
Clark County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Law confirmed that Vem Miller — who was arrested last weekend after allegedly trying to pass a checkpoint with loaded firearms outside of a California rally for former President Donald Trump — is a longtime Trump supporter.
Republicans face backlash for lawsuits targeting overseas and military voting
House Democrats have asked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to guarantee that overseas Americans, including those serving in the armed forces, retain their right to participate in U.S. elections.
Trump Gives the Harris Campaign What It Needs
It’s a sad commentary on the state of intra-Republican political affairs when merely pledging to uphold the law is described as breaking with Donald Trump.
Independents Switch Towards Democrats in 9-Point Swing Away From GOP: Poll
It is less than four weeks until the presidential election on November 5, with the path to victory seemingly available to either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris in an incredibly tight race.
Local election officials in Georgia must certify results, judge rules
A Republican member of Fulton County’s election board had claimed she had the ability to refuse to certify election results if she suspected fraud.
Georgia judge invalidates controversial new state election rules, calling them “illegal, unconstitutional and void”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox issued the order Wednesday after holding a hearing on challenges to the rules. The rules that Cox invalidated include three that had gotten a lot of attention — one that requires that the number of ballots be hand-counted after the close of polls and two that had to do with the certification of election results.
Trump Gives the Harris Campaign What It Needs
It’s a sad commentary on the state of intra-Republican political affairs when merely pledging to uphold the law is described as breaking with Donald Trump.
What Is Trump Talking About?
In an appearance with podcaster Patrick Bet-David, Donald Trump may have revealed more of his guarded thinking about the true causes of Russia’s war of conquest in Ukraine than he has previously let on.
Armed MAGA fan arrested outside Trump rally sues sheriff over ‘preposterous’ claim he was potential assassin
A Las Vegas man who was arrested with two firearms outside a Trump rally in California last weekend insists he was wrongly portrayed as a would-be assassin by the county sheriff, accusing the lawman of cobbling together an entirely phony narrative in a misplaced bid for glory.
In Senate debate, Rosen and Brown stick to campaign playbooks
They sparred on a host of policies but mostly reverted back to their general campaign themes, while also not directly answering many of the questions.
GOP-leaning polls trigger questions about accuracy
The prevalence of Republican-leaning polls in recent weeks is raising questions about their effect on the overall polling average as the presidential race between Vice President Harris and former President Trump tightens even further.
Abortion
Dobbs Decision
Abortion Pills Have Changed the Post-Roe Calculus
For all the upheaval that followed the overturn of Roe v. Wade, it did not dramatically change the most basic fact about abortions in America: the number. Since 2022, abortions in the United States have held steady—even increased slightly, based on the best of limited data. One major reason? The rise of abortion pills, which are now used in the majority of abortions in America. Every month, thousands of women in states where abortion is banned have been able to discreetly order the pills by mail and take them at home. Even with abortion bans in place, the availability of these pills makes these rules less absolute than the anti-abortion movement would like.
Gun Rights
Second Amendment Roundup: The VanDerStok Argument
Whether ATF may criminalize conduct remains the central issue.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Proceeds from federal geothermal leases in Nevada up eightfold
Federal leases for geothermal exploration on more than 200,000 acres of Nevada’s public land this month generated nearly $8 million, a near-record for the state that underscores the growing appetite for renewable energy generated from the heat under the earth’s crust.
Big Tech Presses a Button, and America Goes Nuclear Again
Did you notice that suddenly everything’s coming up nuclear?
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Poor at risk of being coerced into assisted dying in Canada
Experts’ report into deaths finds vulnerable people face ‘undue influence’ to seek practice
War & Terror
North Carolina authorities arrest armed man after threats against FEMA workers
Rutherford County sheriff’s office confirms it made the arrest Saturday after learning of threat to Federal Emergency Management Agency employees working on hurricane relief.
18 North Korean soldiers already deserted positions by Ukraine’s border, intelligence sources tell Suspilne
An estimated 18 North Korean soldiers have deserted from their positions in Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk oblasts near the Ukrainian border, Suspilne reported on Oct. 15, citing unnamed intelligence officials.
Orbán, Russia, China, Iran, &c.
Once again, Senator Mitch McConnell issues a warning about the Hungarian leader
Drones of Unknown Origin Fly Over U.S. Military Base for 17 Days
The restricted airspace over a stretch of land around Langley Air Force Base in Virginia has one of the largest concentrations of national-security facilities in the country.
Hamas boss Yahya Sinwar ‘Gaza’s Bin Laden’ who masterminded October 7 is KILLED by Israel after near 400 day manhunt
Graphic photos were widely shared online which appeared to show Sinwar’s dead body
ISIS sex slave who was kidnapped at 11 reveals she was fed cooked babies before being kept prisoner by Hamas in Gaza
Watch the video above as Fawzia speaks for the first time about her 10 year ordeal
It’s All One War
Russia’s war in Ukraine is fast becoming a proxy battlefield in a global conflict between the forces arrayed in support of the U.S.-led global order and the authoritarian despotisms that seek to overturn it.
America’s Enemies Would Rejoice at a U.S. Military Retreat from Europe
An international environment conducive to American freedom and prosperity requires forward-deployed conventional forces on European soil.
Russia’s War(s): Immigration as a Weapon
Moscow is well aware of the destabilizing effect of illegal immigration and, as a form of hybrid warfare, both Russia and its puppet state, Belarus, have been making remarkably easy for illegal migrants to reach the EU through their normally heavily guarded borders. Some European states are reacting.
Forbidden melodies: Two young North Korean K-pop listeners sent to prison
“This case has Jagang province buzzing,” a source told Daily NK. “It’s unusual for young students to be sent to prison just for consuming K-pop”
National
Trump’s Plan to Use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as a Tool for Mass Deportation
The plan is illegal. But courts might refuse to strike it down based on the “political questions” doctrine.
No, Science Isn’t a “Social Construct”
When dealing with the Woke—that is, devotees of the ideology outlined in Critical Social Justice Theory—one assumption (among many) that is an almost sure bet to make about their claims is that some trick of language is being played. What’s needed to expose the vacuity of the Woke position, then, is not necessarily the ability to bring facts to bear on the matter or even to argue better than they can (as they’ll deconstruct your position and leave you looking foolish to anyone slightly sympathetic to their cause). The best thing to do is expose the trick.
California is Now the Epicenter of Bird Flu Outbreak
California Reports Five Possible Human Bird Flu Infections among Dairy Workers, and 6 Confirmed Cases.
It’s Not All Gloom and Doom on Campus
A new survey suggests that many student attitudes remain moderate.
Medical School Sued for Allegedly Excluding White Students from Networking Directory
A medical watchdog organization filed a lawsuit against the University of Washington School of Medicine for alleged racial discrimination because of a professional networking database not made available to white students.
Columbia offers ‘Trans History’ of US by instructor who researched ‘Radical Faeries’
The course examines ‘the diversity of gendered experiences across the history of the United States with an emphasis on the individuals, communities, and movements that have been interpreted as trans.’
UC Santa Cruz is giving out thousands in DEI grants
Students are eligible to apply for the grant.
Scientists who object to animal testing claim they are frozen out by peers
Scientists who question the validity of animal experiments are warning that medical progress is being held back because they are being “frozen out” by their peers.
Court Order Requiring Removal of Reddit Criticism of Scientist/Consultant Vacated
Sarrita Adams, who was a prominent public critic of the English Lucy Letby murder trial, got that order almost four months ago.
Empirical Proof That the Uniparty Does Not Exist
Clear and Striking Differences Between Republican and Democrat Governance
Coastal Carolina raises evidence standard for accused students
Coastal Carolina University adapts higher standard for accused students
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Dinosaur statutes, vote harvesting, and septic permits.
Economy & Taxes
S&P 500, Dow touch fresh records on tech buying, ahead of earnings and economic data
Wall Street advanced on Monday, with both the S&P 500 and the Dow scaling fresh intraday record highs, as investors bought into technology stocks ahead of a busy week packed with corporate earnings and crucial economic data.
Lessons from Protectionism Past
A Reagan-era automobile agreement with Japan shows the limits of industrial policy.
Why Worry about the Rising Federal Debt?
Both major parties seem oblivious to the rapidly rising federal debt. We are now adding a trillion dollars every few months, but nobody wants to take this seriously.
As IV shortage continues after hurricane, U.S. invokes wartime power to speed recovery
The Biden administration says it has invoked the wartime powers of the Defense Production Act to speed rebuilding of a major American factory of intravenous fluids that was wrecked by Hurricane Helene last month. Damage to the plant in North Carolina has worsened a nationwide shortage of IV fluids, and hospitals say they are still postponing some surgeries and other procedures as a result.
J.D. Vance Says 7 Million Able-Bodied Men Have Dropped Out of the Labor Force. Where Are They?
There are many explanations for the slow, long-term decline in work force participation among American men. Undocumented immigration doesn’t seem to be a major factor.
The American economy has left other rich countries in the dust
Expect that to continue
International
Cats and dogs left behind by migrating Cubans shed a light on the island’s deepening crisis
While there are no official figures or estimates of how many pets have been left behind by their owners who leave the island, the number of abandoned cats and dogs has spiked in the last two years as Cubans migrate in record numbers, animal activists say.
Some Good News about Social Security Funding (Seriously)
Sometime around 2033, the notional “surplus” built up in the Social Security trust fund will be depleted, leaving the program to be funded exclusively by current payroll taxes. Since those taxes coming in will cover only about 80 percent of the benefits scheduled to go out, Social Security checks will have to be 20 percent lower absent congressional action.
Bolsonaro’s party set on running him for Brazil presidency in 2026
The leader of Brazil’s biggest right-wing party cannot speak to his candidate for the 2026 presidential election by court order, even though his office is across the corridor.
Opinion
Why Should the U.S. Wish to Be More Like China?
Oddly, the conversation around that strategic competition often seems to assume that the United States is “lagging” China, and that the U.S. must “catch up” to Chinese manufacturing using protectionist measures. To take one example of many, check out this headline and subhead on a New York Times article from this spring: “How China Pulled So Far Ahead on Industrial Policy: The United States and Europe are trying to catch up to a rival skilled in using all the levers of government and banking to dominate global manufacturing.”
Let’s compare how the world treats the Taliban vs. Taiwan
As free and democratic Taiwan grows more isolated, the brutal Taliban gains acceptance.
Everyone Expects the New Right Inquisition
Consumed with jealousy over the Left’s use of big government to punish political opponents, the authoritarian New Right is trying to tighten its grip on the GOP. Libertarians will be first to go in the New Right Inquisition.
Foxy Kamala
Plus: Darien Gap crossings, CNN panel on crime, Michigan DEI experiment, and more…
