News of the Week for Apr. 28th, 2019
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Gun Rights
Kamala Announces Plans to Use Executive Action to Grab Your Gun
At a CNN town hall, presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) described her plans for your Second Amendment rights.
Banks Accused of Discrimination Against Gun Owners
Plus: Bloomberg Challenges NRA’s Non-exempt Tax Status
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
NYC Mayor de Blasio: “We Are Going to Ban” Glass and Steel Skyscrapers
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on MSNBC Monday morning his city will ban “inefficient” steel and glass skyscrapers as part of their Green New Deal.
Green New Deal is all about “intersectionality,” Senate sponsor tells college students
“The pope is on our side”
Teen Vogue and National Geographic Push Nature Rights
The nature-rights movement is creeping steadily into the mainstream. Recently, the world’s second-most-prestigious science journal, Science, came on board. Now from the other end of the intellectual spectrum, Teen Vogue has published a one-sided story that would persuade impressionable young readers to join the cause. Added bonus: It promotes neo-mystical earth religion and indigenous peoples’ rights!
The “New Energy Economy”: An Exercise in Magical Thinking
A movement has been growing for decades to replace hydrocarbons, which collectively supply 84% of the world’s energy. It began with the fear that we were running out of oil. That fear has since migrated to the belief that, because of climate change and other environmental concerns, society can no longer tolerate burning oil, natural gas, and coal—all of which have turned out to be abundant.
Oxford Professor: Aliens are Breeding with Humans Because of Climate Change
h/t Dr Willie Soon – An Oxford Professor has been busy promoting his view that aliens are breeding with humans to produce alien / human hybrids which have a better chance of surviving the coming climate catastrophe.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
California Bill Would Turn College Health Centers Into Abortion Clinics
The California state Senate Education Committee recently approved Senate Bill 24, known as the College Student Right to Access Act.
(Un?)Intended Consequences #1,483
About eight years ago, we noted that one of RomneyCare’s explicit promises was to reduce ER visits. RomneyCare being, of course, a precursor to ObamaCare, and the ER one of the most expensive pieces of the health care pie.
War & Terror
Pregnant wife of Sri Lanka bomber detonates suicide vest during raids, killing her children and three police officers
The pregnant wife of a Sri Lankan suicide bomber has detonated a suicide vest as police raided her home, killing herself and her children.
China Challenge: Xi’s army is replacing the U.S. as Asia’s mightiest
In 1938, in the midst of a long campaign to bring China under Communist Party rule, revolutionary leader Mao Zedong wrote: “Whoever has an army has power.”
Our Military Is Simultaneously Immensely Powerful and Increasingly Vulnerable
Over at the New York Times, Bret Stephens has written the most important piece of the day. I’d hate for it get lost in the Trump-dominated news cycle. His thesis is simple (and correct) – America’s military may not be designed to fight the next war.
National
Supreme Court Considers Redefining ‘Sex’ to Prohibit Discrimination
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would consider three cases involving alleged discrimination against LGBT people who sued on the basis of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Two gay men and one man who identifies as a woman claimed that they were fired for their sexual orientation and gender identity, respectively.
AP U.S. History textbook calls Trump “racist,” questions his mental stability
I have written repeatedly about the hard-left bias in the teaching of AP American History. I finally got tired of writing such posts and abandoned the beat.
“Fat Sex Therapist” compares fitness trainers to Nazis, children’s dieting to sexual assault
A “Fat Sex Therapist” recently gave a talk at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, in which she compared personal trainers to Nazis.
Democrats Oppose New Hampshire Law Requiring “College Students be Permanent Residents to Vote”
“Shaheen argues that the law effectively creates a ‘poll tax’ for college students.”
Republicans lining up for 2020 House fights in California
The political fight over Orange County isn’t over.
Bernie Sanders seen in unearthed 1986 video recalling excitement over Castro’s revolution in Cuba
Unearthed video footage showed 2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders recalling his excitement surrounding the Cuban revolution in the 1950s.
Judge held accountable for letting illegal immigrant slide
Finally, accountability in the courtroom
Students appalled by footage of ‘creepy’ Joe Biden touching women
Former Vice President Joe Biden announced his bid for president of the United States.
Poll: Democratic candidates love identity politics. Their voters? Not so much
We’re already seeing some complaints about “yet another white guy” entering the Democratic primary race, specifically Joe Biden. Many of the twenty current candidates are insisting that the party needs to represent “the way America looks today” and nominate either a woman or a person of color. (Or preferably both, particularly if you ask Kamala Harris.) But is that really a problem?
Mother Of Baby Who Caught Measles Begs Other Parents To Vaccinate
The measles vaccine is far, far safer than actually getting measles, despite what you may have heard from skeptics. And it’s unkind to expose babies to a horrific illness by not getting yourself and your kids vaccinated.
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Under Federal Investigation for Property Tax Appeals
Investigation alleges the Pritzkers removed toilets to receive property tax breaks, making mansion uninhabitable.
Dinosaur-era crab fossil reveals new branch in the tree of life
“This discovery, from the mid-Cretaceous, illustrates that there are still surprising discoveries of more recent, weird organisms waiting to be found, especially in the tropics,” researcher Javier Luque said.
How Montgomery County, Maryland discriminates against Asians
I wrote here about how the federal government is probing the Montgomery County School system to determine whether it is discriminating against Asian-American students by limiting their admission into two highly sought-after magnet school programs. Between 2016 and 2017, the number of Asian-American students admitted into the two programs dropped by 23 percent. The next year, it dropped again, this time by 20 percent.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Tire chalking, evidence tampering, and robocalls.
Economy & Taxes
The Federal Trade Commission Is Coming After Facebook to the Tune of $3-5 Billion
No matter how much Mark Zuckerberg may bluster otherwise, Facebook doesn’t care about protecting its users’ privacy. Thankfully, though, that breach of trust is going to cost the social media behemoth, and it’s going to cost them a bundle. Reporting on Facebook’s Q1 2019 earnings report, Daniel Howley of Yahoo Finance News reveals that the company is expecting to be levied a fine by the Federal Trade Commission somewhere between $3 and $5 billion.
International
Air-Breathing Rocket Engine Gets Green Light for Major Tests
SABRE could enable cheaper, more efficient flight, advocates say.
Macron says Notre Dame should be rebuilt consistent with the modern, diverse France – and architects suggest a glass roof, steel spire and minaret
Macron’s initial promise to restore the magnificent cathedral to its former glory has been shoved aside. Now he says it will be rebuilt “consistent with our modern, diverse nation”, and at the same time the French Government has announced an international competition to redesign the Notre Dame spire.
Canadian government looking to hire magical wizards (seriously)
In an embarrassing attempt to appeal to the Harry Potter generation, the Trudeau government has released a new job listing for “administrative wizardry.”
Fukushima agricultural exports bounce back from nuclear disaster to hit record high
Exports of agricultural products produced in Fukushima Prefecture rose about 2 percent in fiscal 2018 to a record 217.8 tons, according to the prefectural government.
Transgender Madness Takes Its Toll: “Family Violence” If Parents Disagree
How crazy is Canada? A seventh-grade girl in Delta, British Columbia, “came out” as transgender with the encouragement of a school counselor
China Plans to Build a Moon Base Near the Lunar South Pole
China plans to build a scientific research station on the moon in “about 10 years,” according to the state news agency Xinhua.
We asked 3,800 people who they’d vote for in the European Elections – the results may shock you
The North Wales Live poll is not good news for the traditional parties, especially the Tories
Twitter SUSPENDS Tommy Robinson’s campaign account within days of him announcing plan to become a Euro MP – as it emerges he ‘could get £2million in taxpayers’ cash if elected’
Tommy Robinson announced he was running as an independent on Thursday
Opinion
Your Socialism Is Bad and You Should Feel Bad
“But Socialism just needs one more try!” LOL
Self-Harm Versus the Greater Good: Greta Thunberg and Child Activism
When Greta Thunberg was 11 years old, she went two months without eating. At least, that is what a recent family memoir asks us to believe. Her heart rate and blood pressure showed signs of starvation, and she stopped speaking to anyone but her parents and younger sister, Beata. After years of depression, eating disorders, and anxiety attacks, she was eventually diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, high-functioning autism, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She also suffers from selective mutism, a disorder related to severe anxiety which can render her unable to speak to anyone outside her closest family. When she wants to tell a climate researcher that she is planning a school strike to save the environment, she speaks through her father.
Socialism is Harry Potter for adults
Ici Londres
Crazy Sex on the Brain: Cultures that Fall into Orgiastic Sexual Obsessiveness Are Ripe for Decay
Sex, sex, sex, sex, and also sex. We live in a paradoxical culture characterized by both a profound Puritanism and a deep lasciviousness, though one may simply be the obverse of the other. Our new Puritans see sex everywhere they look and pursue it remorselessly in theory and doctrine while simultaneously igniting a vendetta against all that is normal and fruitful in the relation between men and women.
Franklin Graham: Pete Buttigieg shouldn’t be flaunting his sin
Any indignation on Buttigieg’s behalf here would feel like overkill. The spectacle of one of Trump’s most loyal evangelical apologists lecturing about politicians flaunting their sin is so absurd that it’s essentially self-refuting.
Is the Government Required to Count the Number of Citizens in Each State?
Prof. Josh Blackman (South Texas) asks this very interesting question.