News of the Week for November 24th, 2024
- Election 2024
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Election 2024
Bob Casey and the Democrats Are Trying to Steal an Election
Back on November 1, the Pennsylvania supreme court reaffirmed that a state law requiring mail ballots to have handwritten dates on the return envelopes is constitutional. The court, collectively, did not stutter. They did not include any ifs, ands, or buts. They did not say there was an exception if the election was particularly close, or if a Democratic incumbent senator really wanted to stay in office.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Blocks Democrat-Led Counties from Counting Illegal Ballots in Senate Recount
In a win for Republican Senator-elect Dave McCormick, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed in a ruling on Monday that counties cannot count mail-in and absentee ballots that have missing or incorrect dates or signatures, despite the counties’ stated intent to do so.
Two Moms for Liberty allies joining the Clark County School Board. What happens now?
The school board races brought out bitter divides over books and a policy on gender diverse students. Fellow trustees see possible common ground elsewhere.
Republicans’ Good Night in the Senate Should Have Been Great
Avoidable losses will haunt the GOP for the next six years
North Carolina Republicans flex muscle as supermajority fades away
North Carolina Republicans are scrambling to shore up the authority they have before next year when they will not have their supermajority status to thwart moves by Democratic leaders in the state.
Mark Robinson says another run for political office is ‘not on my radar at all’
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said he is not considering a run for the U.S. Senate in 2026.
Abortion
Dobbs Decision
How Attacks Against Obamacare Turned Into Tools to Protect Abortion Access
Conservatives amended state constitutions to affirm broad rights for people to choose their health care. Now abortion rights proponents are taking them at their word.
GOP Senators Have Questions About RFK Jr.’s Abortion Record
It’s a knock against him for some, but others think he’d follow Trump’s lead.
Gun Rights
In the Seventh Circuit, Procedural Red Herrings Threaten the Second Amendment
The Seventh Circuit heard oral argument on November 12 in Viramontes v. County of Cook, Illinois, a challenge to Cook County’s ban on semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15, inaccurately labeled as assault weapons. These bans are flatly unconstitutional under Heller, which establishes that the law-abiding citizens of this Nation have a right to possess firearms that are in common use. Semiautomatic rifles undoubtedly are in common use – indeed, the AR-15 has been the best-selling rifle in the Nation for years. Unfortunately, the Seventh Circuit departed from Heller in a case called Bevis to hold that arms that are predominantly useful for military purposes can be banned. But even under that reasoning, semiautomatic rifles cannot be banned. They are common civilian firearms, not military firearms, because they lack the capacity for automatic and burst fire.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Most of Restrictive New York Concealed Carry Gun Law; Next Stop SCOTUS
Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals upholds “good moral character” requirement of New York’s concealed carry gun law, setting up expected showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
President of Azerbaijan Boldly Asserts that Oil, Gas Are ‘Gift of God’ at Climate-Cult Conference
There are also other signs that the tide is turning against climate crisis promoters, including the lack of political heavy-hitters at CoP29.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
New Zealand Study: ‘Dearth’ of Evidence Supporting Use of Puberty Blockers
It is increasingly clear that there is little scientific basis for administering puberty blockers to gender-dysphoric youth. Consequently, many European countries have now effectively banned their use outside of official studies. Now, the New Zealand Ministry of Health has similarly found that there is a “dearth” of evidence supporting blocking normal adolescence in youngsters who feel that their gender is different from their sex.
War & Terror
Sweden, Lithuania ‘Deeply Concerned’ By Severed Baltic Sea Cable: Ministers
The defence ministers of Sweden and Lithuania said Tuesday they were “deeply concerned” by the severing of an undersea telecom cable connecting the countries, which is being investigated as sabotage.
NATO holds large Arctic exercises in Russia’s backyard
Thousands of NATO soldiers are taking part in large-scale artillery exercises in Finland’s Arctic this month, seen by some as a signal to neighbouring Russia over its war on Ukraine.
Killer Robots Are About to Fill Ukrainian Skies
Kyiv’s drone suppliers are ramping up production of computer-guided drones that are cheap and can’t be electronically jammed
Hillary Clinton’s Uranium Giveaway to Russia Is About to Bite Us on the… You Know
The good news is that nuclear power — safe, clean, affordable, and carbon-free — has been coming back in a big way here in the USA in recent months. The weird news is that it’s generally left-leaning tech firms and AI’s ravenous need for electricity leading the charge (SWIDT?) to build new nuclear power plants or spin shuttered ones back up.
China military now a ‘significant threat’ capable of winning in a conflict with U.S. — report
Beijing escalating coercion against Japan, congressional panel warns
Chinese ship under investigation over ‘sabotaged’ Baltic undersea cables
Tracking data show vessel passing infrastructure at the time of mysterious severing
A Thousand Days
Ukraine was supposed to fall to Russia in a few days. It has now been a thousand days. Ukraine is still standing — still free and independent — but battered. How long can it continue to stand, especially with major changes about to come in Washington?
FBI: Florida Man Planned to Bomb NY Stock Exchange
The FBI has arrested Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, alleging he wanted to set off a series of bombs in the U.S saying “I feel like Bin Laden”
Tucker Carlson Goes Full Pravda, Praises Vladimir Putin as ‘the Only Adult’ in Ukraine Conflict: ‘His Restraint’ Preventing Nuclear War
Tucker Carlson praised Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for being “the only adult” in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that began with his invasion of his western neighbor nearly three years ago in an episode of his show released on Wednesday.
Gabbard nomination puts Senate GOP in a bind
Former Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, is on record calling for the U.S. government to “drop all charges” against Edward Snowden, wanting to repeal key intelligence-gathering tools and sometimes embracing Russian talking points regarding the wars in Syria and Ukraine.
America’s Rivals Have a New Favorite Weapon: Criminal Gangs
Russia, China, Iran and other countries are increasingly outsourcing their dirty work to drug traffickers, cybercriminals and paid assassins.
National
Trump personally squeezes senators on Matt Gaetz
President-elect Trump is personally calling senators to press them to confirm former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general, according to senators who have spoken with Trump.
Nebraska’s Dan Osborn starts hybrid PAC for working-class candidates
Dan Osborn, the former Nebraska nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate, announced a political action committee Tuesday aimed at boosting working-class candidates for Congress like him.
Linda McMahon expected to be named Education secretary, sources say
Trump transition co-chair Linda McMahon is expected to be named as secretary of the Department of Education, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Kissinger’s final warning: Prepare now for ‘superhuman’ people to control Earth
Humanity must begin preparations to no longer be in charge of Earth because of artificial intelligence, according to a new book from the late statesman Henry Kissinger and a pair of the country’s leading technologists.
Watch moment AI robot leads REVOLUTION as it convinces bot army to ‘quit your jobs’ before leading them out of showroom
Watch the dystopian footage of the bot revolution below
One of the Worst Court Decisions of All Time Faces Challenge
In the list of Supreme Court decisions that got the Constitution wrong, among the worst is its decision in the 1942 case Wickard v. Filburn. In it, the Court gave the federal government nearly limitless power to regulate business by holding that a farmer who had grown “too much” wheat (according to government decree) could be punished, even though he did not sell any of it. The ruling shredded the concept of interstate commerce. It was as if the Founders had written the Constitution to say, “The government may impose controls of any kind on Americans who produce anything.”
Trump’s FCC Chairman Brendan Carr comes after section 230 over disinformation
President-Elect Donald Trump recently named Brendan Carr as his choice for FCC chairman. Carr has been vocal about the role the FCC will play in the upcoming administration, and in particular he accused “big tech” of running a “censorship cartel”.
The New FCC Chairman’s Agenda Contradicts Conservative Principles
Brendan Carr’s plans for “reining in Big Tech” are a threat to limited government, free speech, free markets, and the rule of law.
Trump’s Pick To Run the FCC Wants To Restrict the Editorial Discretion of Social Media Platforms
“Reining in Big Tech,” Brendan Carr says, requires scrapping liability protections and restricting moderation decisions.
Matt Gaetz’s Withdrawal Shows the Utility of the U.S. Senate
This provides us with an excellent illustration of the necessity of the U.S. Senate. Gaetz says all the right things in his tweet, but, whether he had “excellent meetings with Senators yesterday” or not, the only reason that his confirmation had become a “distraction” and a “scuffle” is that Gaetz was unsuitable for the job for which he’d been nominated — and everyone knew it. The Senate did not end up voting Gaetz down — or even threatening to vote Gaetz down — but the mere prospect of a protracted hearing was sufficient to make his liabilities clear. If the Senate did not exist — or if the president had found a way to neuter it — the announcement of Gaetz and the installation of Gaetz would have been the same thing. Because it does exist, they were not. I understand that there is great enthusiasm on the right at the moment, but it remains the case that, when power is at stake, roadblocks are Good, Actually, and, furthermore, that the existence of a roadblock in this case yielded an outcome that was not only good for the country, but for Donald Trump’s presidency as well.
Trump picks Pam Bondi for next attorney general
President-elect Trump has named former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his next nominee to the lead the Department of Justice.
How Mental Health Therapy became Fluff and Wokeness
Leftist ideology is perverting the mental health fields
Is the Danger of Trump Using Recess Appointments Over?
Fresh from the narrow presidential-election victory that he has insisted on calling an “unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Donald Trump’s very first reminder that he is not the king of all he surveys is the necessity of securing Senate confirmation of his key executive-branch appointees, beginning with the Cabinet. The realization seems to have annoyed him.
George Soros and Randi Weingarten Join Team Trump
Well, I have bad news. Donald Trump has picked a George Soros employee to be Treasury Secretary.
Idaho State Board of Education discussing resolution to get rid of DEI at public colleges and universities
The resolution would require Idaho’s schools to ‘establish and maintain equality of opportunity for all students regardless of personal identity characteristics.’
Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones faces disciplinary hearing
Attorneys for the State Bar of Nevada will hold a disciplinary hearing in March in an effort to permanently disbar — or perhaps suspend — the law license of embattled Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Economy & Taxes
High Fructose Corn Syrup and the Sugar Quota
A viral tik-tok video compares the ingredients in American Heinz ketchup with those in Canadian Heinz ketchup. The American version contains high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) while the Canadian one contains sugar. An an economist I can’t tell you whether, “this is why America makes you sick” but I can tell you why the American version doesn’t contain sugar. It’s the sugar quota!
From Textile Town to Ghost Town to Car Town: West Point, Georgia
Tiny West Point, Georgia, was once an American “textile town” crippled by globalization. But today, the very same economic forces that challenged West Point decades ago are fueling its rebirth—and supporting the lives of thousands of American workers in the process. The region’s evolution shows that the global economy’s story doesn’t end after a disruptive event; it’s constantly changing—and usually for the better.
Clark County commissioners to consider possible sales tax increase
Clark County commissioners are considering a possible 0.125 percent increase to the sales tax.
Teamsters president pushing Chavez-DeRemer for Labor secretary
The Republican congresswoman narrowly lost her reelection bid in Oregon earlier this month.
Trump Nominates Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labor Secretary
Not cool. Chavez-DeRemer voted for the PRO Act that would have overturned right to work laws in most states.
Almost 10% Of South Korea’s Workforce Is Now A Robot
The country had 1,012 robots per 10,000 employees, topping the global list, according to a new survey
International
Geology is ‘racist’ and linked to ‘white supremacy’ claims university professor
Professor Kathryn Yusoff argues that the study of earth’s rocks and natural resources is fundamentally connected to colonial practices and racism
Brazilian police arrest 5 officers over alleged coup plot and plans to kill President Lula, others
Brazilian police arrested five officers accused over a coup plot that included plans to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections and kill President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, authorities said.
Keir Starmer refuses to condemn Hong Kong crackdown
UK premier said he had ‘frank’ discussions with Xi Jinping at G20 but declined to air criticism publicly
Son of Norway’s Crown Princess Is Arrested on Suspicion of Rape
Marius Borg Hoiby, the stepson of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, was arrested on Monday. His lawyer denied the accusation and said his client was cooperating with the authorities.
Thousands of British farmers protest against ‘tractor tax’ on inheritance
Thousands of farmers protested at Britain’s parliament on Tuesday, some driving tractors through central London, to demand the scrapping of an inheritance tax that they say will destroy family farms and threaten food production.
U.S. recognizes Venezuela’s opposition candidate Edmundo González as president-elect
The U.S. government recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as the “president-elect” of the South American country on Tuesday, months after President Nicolás Maduro claimed to have won the July election.
Here’s the first-ever picture of a star outside our galaxy
Star Wars may not be the only way for us to see a galaxy far, far away.
Indigenous woman yells ‘I hate white people’ before punching white woman, but it’s not a hate crime judge rules
A Calgary indigenous woman who knocked out a Caucasian woman’s tooth while yelling “I hate white people,” didn’t commit a racially motivated crime, a judge says.
‘Visibly startled’ garden gnome made of Ecstasy found in Netherlands drugs raid
Police found a garden gnome weighing nearly 2kg and made of the drug Ecstasy during a raid in the Netherlands.
Free Speech: ‘Non-Crime’ Blotter
I’ve referred in the past to “non-crime hate incidents,” in England and Wales, linking to this brief explainer by Spiked’s Tom Slater from a year or so back.
Opinion
The Left and Woke
Will Democrats heed the biggest lesson of their electoral loss?
World View Matters
It is a truism that does not get talked about enough, but is innately part of being a conservative, or really a person of any ideological conviction — world view matters.
Don’t trash the Constitution to dunk on the liberals
All the right people are angry. This is what MAGA will tell you when you point out that President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is an unhinged authoritarian crank.
The Radical Consequences of an Immediate Senate Recess
I’ve already explained that a president’s blanket recess appointments of Cabinet officials at the start of a presidential term would eviscerate the Senate’s fundamental power of advice and consent; that it’s even more outrageous to think that a president would try to adjourn the Senate in order to make recess appointments; that the particular scheme that Team Trump is contemplating is unconstitutional, as the House has no authority to disagree with the Senate’s remaining in session; and that any such effort could also enable the Supreme Court to embrace the position taken by Justice Scalia, Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Thomas, and Justice Alito ten years ago in NLRB v. Noel Canning (2014)—namely, that the president has no power to make intrasession recess appointments.
A Much Better Q&A on Trump’s Recess-Appointments Scheme
On top of its deeply flawed piece in support of President-elect Trump’s recess-appointments scheme, the Center for Renewing America has posted, and is distributing to Republicans in Congress, a Q&A that purports to address relevant questions about that scheme. But the Q&A doesn’t even pose the most important questions, and it provides wrong or misleading answers to important questions it does address.
Populism Makes Worse People
Humans are only tolerable if they’re apolitical
Stop Being Stupid
Matt Gaetz was never getting confirmed. I know this because I know the law and I know enough Republican Senators that I knew at least twelve were either going to explicitly vote no or work to sabotage Gaetz to ensure enough no votes would hold. Likewise, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act or forcing the Senate into recess would not work.
The Trump GOP’s Split Personalities
The incoming administration seems torn between two very different outlooks on government.
