Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Thursday May 27, 2021
1.) THE DAILY SIGNAL
May 27 2021
Good morning from Washington, where politicians on the left want to put bureaucrats, not the states, in charge of elections. A House committee holds a hearing today on a bill to do that, as Hans von Spakovsky explains. Ready for radical writings to be pushed in your kids’ schools? Jarrett Stepman has a preview. On the podcast, tips for conservatives who want to make a difference. Plus: Dr. Ben Carson on helping former foster children escape homelessness, and “Problematic Women” talks with Fox weather watcher Janice Dean about taking on New York’s governor over COVID-19 deaths. Eighty years ago today, the British navy sinks the Bismarck in the North Atlantic three days after the German battleship sank HMS Hood, a British battle cruiser.
“The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act” would force racial gerrymandering, make race the predominant factor in the election process, and prevent commonsense election reforms such as voter ID.
One book recommended to sixth graders, “Ana on the Edge,” is about a female figure skater who meets a girl who “identifies” as a boy and wants to identify as a boy herself.
The conservative movement needs to be aware that a “propaganda war” is being waged on America, says John Tillman, chairman and CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute.
Jack Denton settles with Florida State University nearly a year after he was ousted from his student government leadership position for criticizing leftist groups such as Black Lives Matter.
“When I found out that kids in my community were being exposed to this wokeism … I said, ‘Somebody needs to expose it,’” Louisiana teacher Jonathan Koeppel recalls.
You are subscribed to this newsletter as rickbulow1974@gmail.com. If you want to receive other Heritage Foundation newsletters, or opt out of this newsletter, please click here to update your subscription.
Red Rock Secured: China Weaponizes Bitcoin Against the US Dollar (And Your Retirement Savings). Help Protect Your Money with Gold & Silver. You don’t have to worry anymore.
MEMORIAL DAY SPECIAL
As Memorial Day approaches, now is a time to honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our Great Nation.
When so many have given so much in the battle for our freedom, the least we can do is continue to fight for our liberties.
And here at The Epoch Times, the best way we know how to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms is to continue to report the news to you in Truth and Tradition. We have dedicated our lives to this mission.
Support us right now by subscribing to The Epoch Times. Get Epoch TV FREE with a digital subscription, and get your first 4 months for just $1:
Get 4 Months for $1
NOTE: This is our best offer ever, and it expires Tuesday, June 1st, at 11:59 pm
WORDS OF WISDOM
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. One who lives life fully is prepared to die at any time.”
We’ve all known about China’s currency manipulation schemes for decades. China purposely devalues their currency so that they can maintain their export pricing advantage over all other countries. Up until now, it has been one of China’s most effective ways to counter the US Dollar in the open market. Now China is ramping up to take on the US Dollar in a brand-new battlefront…. Bitcoin.
Your Savings and Retirement could be the First Casualty in China’s Currency War Against the US Dollar!
The Epoch Times, 229 W 28th St, Fl.5, New York, NY 10001
With social media censorship sidelining many important headlines, our Morning Brief email is how we make sure you get the latest developments that our reporters have curated from around the world. It’s our way of keeping you truly informed so that you can make the decisions that align with your values. We hope you enjoy our coverage. Manage your email preferences here.
3.) DAYBREAK
Your First Look at Today’s Top Stories – Daybreak Insider
Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.
USA Today Changes Words of Op-Ed by Female Forced to Compete Against Males
From Alliance Defending Freedom’s Christiana Holcomb: .@USATODAY published our client Chelsea Mitchell’s opinion about the unfairness she experienced being forced to compete against male athletes. But after backlash from the woke mob, editors unilaterally changed Chelsea’s words & called them “hurtful language. What was the “hurtful language” that editors deleted from Chelsea’s opinion piece three days after publication? The word “male” (Twitter). ADF reposted the original article (ADF). From Mark Hemingway: Absolutely incredible. You literally can’t make an argument in corporate media with conceding to the terms set by the left (Twitter). From Mollie Hemingway: This is the second incident I’ve heard of where leftist propaganda outlets such as USA Today have altered words post-publication from conservative groups whose politics they oppose. Garbage (Twitter). From Abigail Shrier: Outrageous. @USATODAY changed Mitchell’s words, post-publication, on the grounds that the word “male” is hurtful. The activists know well that Mitchell can’t make her argument without that word. Shame on the useful idiots of USAToday. If only they had half Mitchell’s courage (Twitter).
2.
Rift Between Anti-Semitic Democrats and Established Democrats Explodes
After a letter from four Democrats blisters the Squad, but doesn’t call out the anti-Semites by name (Hot Air). From a Seth Mandel thread: …right now Pelosi/Hoyer made a clear choice: the squad has the protection of the leadership, no one touches them. So because of that it’s impossible to argue it’s not mainstream Dems at least knowingly enabling the hate. That tars Gottheimer and others, who aren’t bigots (Twitter).
Advertisement
3.
Younger Jews Shocked by Level of Hatred
From the story: The young Gen Z Americans are confronting hate both in person and online in ways that have surprised and alarmed them, according to organizations that help Jewish Americans and monitor anti-Semitism. “I think the tsunami of it was what was most surprising — the rapid escalation and the vitriol of it,” said Merav Fine Braun, the Hunter College executive director of Hillel, an international Jewish campus organization. “Students, and I certainly, did not expect that” (CNN). It appears the New York Times just found out about the anti-Semitic attacks in their own back yard, but then the story went completely off the rails with this claim: anti-Semitic violence in recent years was largely considered a right-wing phenomenon, driven by a white supremacist movement emboldened by rhetoric from former President Donald J. Trump, who often trafficked in stereotypes (NY Times).
4.
Biden Suddenly Interested in Finding COVID-19 Origins
He wants a report within three months (Washington Times). But, as noted yesterday in Daybreak, it was Biden who shut down the effort to find out what happened (CNN). The senate approved a bill that would require the Biden administration declassify intelligence on the origins (Fox News). From the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: Mr. Biden is trying to cover for his embarrassing closure of the investigation because the dam has finally broken on the evidence that the virus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The shame is that it took so long because the suspicious facts have been apparent from the start (WSJ). This timeline from the Washington Post looks at the various stages of this issue (Washington Post).
5.
Facebook No Longer Censoring Talk of Man Made Covid
They’ve shielded their users from a concept that just might be true after all (Politico). From Dinesh D’Souza: For many months, Facebook used to ban the claim that Covid-19 is man-made as “misinformation.” Now they won’t ban that same claim, because they concede it’s not misinformation. Doesn’t it follow from these two facts that Facebook itself has been a purveyor of misinformation? (Twitter).
Advertisement
6.
Border Patrol Nabs 10 Sex Offenders in One Week
Most of the abusers targeted children. So how many sex offenders are entering the United States undetected?
Even though he admits there’s no evidence such a ban helps anything (Washington Times). From Kevin McCullough on why he’s been beefing up his arsenal: …when reckless public officials create an environment where violent crime increased year over year to the tune of 400%, I’ve lost any confidence that they even know what to do much less have any clue of how to do it (Townhall).
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It is only sent to people who signed up from one of the Salem Media Group network of websites OR a friend might have forwarded it to you. We respect and value your time and privacy.
Unsubscribe from The Daybreak Insider
OR Send postal mail to:
The Daybreak Insider Unsubscribe
6400 N. Belt Line Rd., Suite 200, Irving, TX 75063
Good morning. To get in the spirit for tonight’s Friends reunion, we’re calling this newsletter The One Where Neal, Matty, and Jamie Write About Exxon Mobil’s Proxy Battle, Amazon’s Purchase of MGM, and—nevermind, too long.
Markets: Meme stocks have reemerged louder than the cicadas this week, with GameStop shares increasing 38% and AMC nearly 60% since Monday. The rest of the market ticked higher as Covid-19 cases tick lower.
Covid-19: President Biden asked his intelligence agencies to look more closely at the origins of the coronavirus, particularly the theory that it originated in a lab in Wuhan. He wants something on his desk in 90 days, presumably for some light beach reading in Bethany.
If you thought the beef between Brooks and Bryson was spicy, you should check out the boardroom blowout at ExxonMobil. Following a vote at the company’s shareholder meeting yesterday, the activist investment firm Engine No. 1 won at least two of the four board seats it was aiming for. This could mean monumental changes for the US’ largest oil producer.
The backstory: In December, Engine No. 1, then a brand new hedge fund, bought ~$40 million of Exxon shares—just 0.02% of the company—and sent a letter to the board with a simple request: Invest in clean energy, or else. The firm wants CEO Darren Woods to commit to bringing Exxon’s carbon emissions to zero by 2050.
Woods’s response: No. He thinks the company’s more incremental steps to address climate concerns, such as investing billions into carbon-capture tech, are sufficient.
What followed was a fight in which both sides spent a combined $65 million convincing shareholders to vote for their preferred board members.
How can an investor with only 0.02% have that much power?
Like Glacier Freeze Gatorade, Exxon’s financial performance ain’t what it used to be. Former CEO Rex Tillerson and now Woods presided over a “decade of value destruction,” Engine No. 1 claimed, rallying some bigger shareholders to its side.
Then, the pandemic obliterated oil demand, and Exxon posted a $22 billion loss last year, its first ever annual loss as a public company. After almost a century in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Exxon was booted from the index in August (though its share price has rebounded ~47% in the past six months).
As if there weren’t enough emojis in the Big Oil group chat yesterday, Shell was hit with a historic L of its own. A Dutch court ordered the oil giant to cut emissions 45% from 2019 levels by 2030, more than double what it originally projected.
What we learned yesterday: If oil companies refuse to make a green transition on their own, outside interests will make sure they do.
After weeks of rumors, Amazon finally laid its goldfinger on MGM in a deal worth $8.5 billion. It’s Amazon’s second-largest acquisition after Whole Foods and the first time a tech company has bought a major legacy media firm.
Leo the Lion’s roar has a big echo
MGM’s iconic mascot reflects the movie studio’s blockbuster content catalog—featuring franchises such as Legally Blonde, James Bond, Rocky, and Creed—that could soon port over to Amazon Prime Video.
Amazon will get a leg up at the Emmys too, and not just because MGM houses The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, and Vikings, but also because it’s a studio capable of churning out more prestige TV.
However…while quarantined viewers proved they’re willing to sign up for multiple streaming services (Disney+, Discovery+, and Paramount+ all reported impressive growth numbers) they’ll all soon compete with social calendars filled with more events than “4:30—Stare into the abyss.”
Zoom out: The streaming wars are still heating up, especially when it comes to strategic M&A (earlier this month, AT&T said it’ll merge WarnerMedia and Discovery). MGM could make Amazon Prime Video more than the streaming service you forgot you’re subscribed to.
After years of talking about it, Facebook officially released its likes-hiding option on Facebook and Instagram. Users of both apps can choose to hide the number of likes and reactions for their own posts or others on their feeds.
Let’s focus on Insta. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said that the hiding likes option was first created to “depressurize the experience” on the platform. But after a bunch of testing, Instagram found that user wellbeing and app usage didn’t change when likes were removed.
Despite little evidence that removing likes would accomplish…anything, the company still decided to roll out the feature “as a matter of personal choice,” but it’s getting criticized by the e-commerce community it hopes to attract. The biggest reactions to the decision were from smaller business accounts and influencers who rely on engagement metrics to get paid.
Looking ahead…44 US attorneys general recently told Mark Zuckerberg that the company’s Instagram for Kids project was a bad idea. Facebook’s push to create a healthier environment may be an attempt to change opponents’ minds.
So when we heard from The Ascent that you could erase credit card interest until nearly 2023 with their top pick balance transfer card, we were very…interested.
Interest puns aside, this card is as good as it gets. It gives you 0% interest for 18 billing cycles, so you can save up to $1,863 dollars. You also won’t be charged a penalty APR for late payments or an annual fee.
And there’s no reason to say no to the card that gives you a year and a half worth of relief from interest, especially if you’ve got debt weighing you down or a big purchase on the horizon.
A year and a half of no interest. No penalty APR. No annual fee. No way you’re not interested.
Stat: Ford said yesterday it expects 40% of its sales to come from electric vehicles by 2030. It’s got a long way to go: In the US, the company’s largest market, Ford’s EV sales have accounted for 1.2% of this year’s total through April. Maybe spending $30 billion on EV development in five years will move the needle.
Quote: “The star of the overdraft show.”
That’s the nickname Sen. Elizabeth Warren called JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who she blasted yesterday at a hearing with execs from the biggest US banks. Warren accused JPMorgan of gouging customers who were struggling during the pandemic; Dimon denied the charge, responding, “I think your numbers are totally inaccurate.”
Read: How the pandemic saved the fast food industry. (Experience)
125 years ago yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average first appeared in the Wall Street Journal. It consisted of 12 stocks that Mr. Pennybags would approve of, such as gas and electric companies.
Since then, the Dow has expanded to 30 companies and has grown from about 40 points on its inaugural trading day to over 34,000 today. But in the era of meme stocks, is it time for the Dow to retire and move to Florida?
Here’s one thing aging the Dow: It’s weighted by share price rather than market capitalization, like the S&P 500. That means the performance of companies with higher share prices have outsized influence, even if others may be more valuable.
For example, United Healthcare (worth $390 billion) affects the Dow more than Apple ($2.1 trillion), because Apple has split its stock and United Healthcare’s individual shares cost more.
Some say this makes the index a good reflection of less-flashy “value stocks” favored by investors such as Warren Buffett.
But Dowters say the index’s share-price weighting, plus its limited number of companies, makes it a poor representation of Corporate America.
WHAT ELSE IS BREWING
Dick’s Q1 profit hit a record with all those youngsters heading back out to their ballfields.
Eight people were killed when a Valley Transportation Authority employee opened fire at a San Jose, CA, rail yard. The gunman also died.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said the asset manager is studying cryptocurrencies to find out whether they are more than “just a speculative trading tool.”
Jeff Bezos will officially step down as CEO of Amazon on July 5. A very hungover Andy Jassy will take his place.
Laurence des Cars will become the Louvre’s first female president in its 228-year history.
BREW’S BETS
This investment is firing on all cylinders.LiquidPiston builds engines that are 10x more powerful and 30x more efficient than what’s out there today—a power solution that can scale to address a $400B market. Invest in LiquidPiston right here.*
Dad’s wallet lookin’ ratty? Better get him a Ridge for Papa’s Day. These wallets are slim, RFID blocking, and durable enough for gardening, sports-watching, and whatever else the big man enjoys. Get 15% off sitewide with the code DAD15.*
Finally in theaters: Here’s a list of when all the movies that were delayed by the pandemic will hit the big screen. Horror and sci-fi fans, it’s your year.
Work at a startup? Here’s a great thread on available tools at your disposal.
It’s not every day you get to receive advice from a cofounder of the world’s finest, wittiest, best-looking, and most humble media company—OK, we’re talking about ourselves. Our own Alex Lieberman has a wildly informative (yet charmingly candid) podcast called Founder’s Journal, where you’ll hear Alex navigate the ups and downs of daily life as a modern decision-maker.
As the weather gets warmer, the news gets weirder. And this week’s Three Headlines and a Lie is absolutely bonkers. We’ll give you four headlines and you try to spot the one that’s too wild to be real…or maybe the most normal one is real?
‘Unathletic’ alligator with ‘terrible arthritis’ escapes Wisconsin zoo
Cheese photo leads to Liverpool drug dealer’s downfall
Gaming retailer GameStop is building an NFT platform on Ethereum
Influencer’s hair falls out after taking shower in wine for ‘National Wine Day’
Eight people were shot to death at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in San Jose, California, on Wednesday morning. The shooting was reported around 6:30 a.m. local time at a hub where maintenance is conducted and trains are stored. Over 40 employees were there at the time.
…
The suspect, a VTA employee, also is dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, sheriff’s spokesperson Russell Davis said. The sheriff’s department is next door to the VTA’s light rail yard, and the sheriff said deputies ran in while shots were fired. Deputies didn’t exchange gunfire with the suspect, Davis said.
…
Sources briefed on the investigation told ABC News that the suspect had multiple weapons. “There were concerns about this gunman, there’s no question,” [San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo] told ABC News. After the shooting, a police dog detected a suspicious device, and the bomb squad began working to clear each room in the facility.
Why did Amazon acquire MGM well above its reported value?
Other companies were also in the running to acquire MGM, including ViacomCBS and Sony Pictures Entertainment. [A Wall Street Journal report] cited people who said the company had a market value of $5.5 bil…
Full summaries, images, and headlines for subscribers only.
Don’t scroll past. Support credible news for everyone.
All votes are anonymous. This poll closes at: 9:00 PST
YESTERDAY’S POLLShould social media companies be banned from deplatforming politicians?
No
51%
Yes
43%
Unsure
6%
446 votes, 97 comments
Context: Florida signs law banning social media platforms from deplatforming politicians.
HIGHLIGHTED COMMENTS
“No – Because they are corporations. If they don’t want a person on their social network, then they have a right. A corporation is not a democracy. But given the effect of Citizens United on politics and money, a corporation likewise can be very political if they want to.”
“Yes – The options to remove individual posts or suspend an individual’s use privileges for 14 days, etc., are reasonable measures they…”
“Unsure – On the one hand, these are private companies that should be …”
Why will Instagram and Facebook allow users to hide ‘likes’ on posts?
“There is no rigorous research that suggested that likes are bad for people’s well-being. We just heard qualitative feedback that people were worried about it too much,” the head of Facebook-o…
Full summaries, images, and headlines for subscribers only.
“Wokeness is a problem and everyone knows it. It’s hard to talk to anybody today — and I talk to lots of people in the Democratic Party — who doesn’t say this. But they don’t want to say it out loud.”
Democratic Strategist James Carville, April 2021.
DeSantis and Big Tech Go to War – LNTV – WATCH NOW!
In light of mounting evidence that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese laboratory, media outlets are scrambling to rewrite the history of their own attempts to discredit that very suspicion. CNN could barely bring itself to admit that, if the Wuhan lab does indeed turn out to be the birthplace of the virus, then “former President Donald Trump may be able to claim some vindication.” The Trump-hating news network couldn’t just leave it that, though. The CNN report went on to say that confirmation of the Wuhan lab link “would also highlight how [Trump’s] repeated habit of trashing the truth and bending intelligence to suit his own political ends shattered his credibility on this and other issues.” The statement makes no sense at all, in relation to the subject matter of the article and the writer makes no attempt to rationalize or further explain this assertion. It seems that the author of this article simply could not help taking a shot at Trump, even though it bore no relevance whatsoever to the issue at hand.
Why Kamala Harris Will Visit Guatemala – But Not Texas
Something political to ponder as you enjoy your morning coffee.
Gun-rights advocates have always believed that Democrats are committed, ultimately, to banning the civilian ownership of firearms altogether. That agenda has been denied by elected Democrats and candidates for office, who talk about the need for “common sense” gun laws whilst insisting that they respect Second Amendment rights. To know where the truth lies, look no further than David Chipman, Joe Biden’s pick to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (AFT). Virtually an anti-gun activist, Chipman during a May 26 hearing stated that he supports a ban on “assault weapons.” Under questioning, the nominee went on to claim that, essentially, Congress gets to define the classification of “assault weapon” as it sees fit. With Chipman at the helm, the ATF, it appears, will become an agency devoted to depriving Americans of their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
Wrestling star and actor John Cena got shredded online after apologizing to Chinese fans on Tuesday for calling Taiwan a country during an interview to promote his latest movie “Fast… Read more…
You are receiving this email because you asked to receive information from The Federalist Papers. We take your privacy and your liberty very seriously and will keep your information in the strictest confidence. Your name will not be sold to or shared with third parties. We will email you from time to time with relevant news and updates, but you can stop receiving information from us at any time by following very simple instructions that will be included at the bottom of any correspondence you should receive from us.
Our mailing address is: The Federalist Papers P.O. Box 74273 Phoenix, AZ 85087
Unsubscribe
11.) AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
AEI’s daily publication of independent research, insightful analysis, and scholarly debate.
The lofty language that flowed from the the Joe Biden–Moon Jae-in summit indicates that the US and South Korea are on a path that could put both countries at greater risk from North Korea.
Because the Chinese threat is the driving threat for the Joe Biden administration, focusing on value for the fiscal year 2022 budget may render some surprising answers and implications when comparing American and Chinese defense spending.
“President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered U.S. intelligence officials to ‘redouble’ their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory.” AP News
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that “Three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology [WIV] became sick enough in November 2019 that they sought hospital care, according to a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report.” Wall Street Journal
Many on both sides call for further investigation into COVID-19’s origins and greater transparency from China:
“In preparation for the WHO-China joint mission, Chinese officials examined 76,253 cases of fever or respiratory illness in 233 health-care institutions from Oct. 1 to Dec. 10, 2019. Out of this mass of records, they identified 92 people who might have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the autumn. However, on further scrutiny, all 92 cases were rejected as covid…
“Chinese officials refused to let the WHO see raw data on these potentially significant 92 early cases. Moreover, the survey was too small and selective. Any investigation should reach back to much earlier, to at least the summer of 2019, and involve matched control patients and healthy controls from other populations in Hubei province and elsewhere in China. This wasn’t done, and then the 92 cases were tossed out altogether. WHO officials left with a feeling the job was unfinished… [China] has refused to even consider the kind of rigorous probe that is necessary. That only deepens the suspicions it has something to hide.” Editorial Board, Washington Post
“For now, the Biden administration intends to press the WHO to perform a second, more serious study to account for the lab-leak hypothesis and prod the intelligence community to dig deeper. That’s all well and good. But neither approach will yield much clarity on the origins of the virus because the main obstacle is and has always been China…
“It’s China’s government that has failed to grant researchers and scientists unfettered access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the blood samples of those who were first infected. It’s China’s government that first targeted the doctors, nurses and journalists who tried to warn their own country and the world about the outbreak. And it was China that initially denied in January 2020 that the virus could be transmitted between people…
“Biden should make an offer to Chinese President Xi Jinping: If you want to put an end to all this talk about Covid-19 originating in a government lab, then hand over the data the world’s scientific community has been demanding for nearly a year. If you continue to stonewall, then we will have to assume you have something to hide.” Eli Lake, Bloomberg
Other opinions below.
From the Right
“Much of the information about the WIV, the research it was conducting, and the lack of proper safety protocol in the lab has been available for months. We’ve known since last year that in 2018 U.S. science diplomats warned the State Department that the WIV’s poor lab practices were extremely concerning, given the dangerous research its researchers were conducting…
“We have also known for months that the WIV was experimenting with various coronavirus strains because Dr. Shi Zhengli, the head of the coronavirus project at the WIV, admitted as much to multiple publications. And we have known since late last year, because of a Trump State Department investigation, that Dr. Shi’s research was potentially gain-of-function, which means it was meant to ‘improve the ability of a pathogen,’ in this case a coronavirus, to ‘cause disease.’ Fauci has known all of this for months, so why is he just now beginning to admit that the lab leak theory is worth consideration?” Kaylee McGhee White, Washington Examiner
“If Donald Trump had listened to Tom Cotton in January of 2020, he would likely still be president today. But while the rest of the Hill obsessed over the (first) impeachment proceedings against Trump, the Arkansas senator was trying to sound the alarm about the novel coronavirus. Cotton was right when he repeatedly warned the White House that China was actively concealing the extent and nature of the virus, and he was right when he questioned its origins…
“Now that Trump is out of office, the media have slowly but surely deemed it safe to raise the topic again. We have learned almost nothing new about the virus’s origins since one year ago, but now the public health ‘experts’ and the press are finally taking the lab-leak hypothesis seriously. Cotton asked all the right questions while the rest of the Beltway obsessed over stupid Trumpian palace intrigues and petty partisan fights. He was the leader we needed when we weren’t ready to listen. He deserves an apology from the media and the scientists who smeared him.” Tiana Lowe, Washington Examiner
“Given what we know about the sloppiness and carelessness of lab personnel in Wuhan, a leak of a naturally occurring virus was always a distinct possibility. The Chinese government’s subsequent actions strengthen that belief. They may not have any better idea of the origin of the coronavirus than anyone else. But it’s clear that they feared it was a leak from the start…
“They covered up the three serious illnesses among lab workers from November 2019, destroyed medical records, denied the WHO team full access to the lab and its records, and continue to this day to obstruct investigations into the origins of the virus. China may be the most guilty-looking innocent party in history. Or they may know a lot more than they’re letting on.” Rick Moran, PJ Media
“If this previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report is accurate, the Wuhan Institute of Virology had three hospitalizations either simultaneously or in rapid succession. This means that one of three things happened. Either three employees of the WIV caught a particularly virulent common seasonal illness, bad enough to put healthy adults in the hospital, right before the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, and completely unrelated to that outbreak; their illness was connected to their work at the WIV, but what they caught was not SARS-CoV-2; or they caught SARS-CoV-2 and were the first cluster of COVID-19 cases. Yes, this is circumstantial evidence, but the circumstantial evidence keeps piling up higher and higher.” Jim Geraghty, National Review
From the Left
“[What this episode reveals] is the vulnerabilities in the mainstream- and liberal-media ecosystem… Progressive advocates will take strong positions on a factual question, such as whether COVID-19 originated inside or outside a laboratory, based entirely on how they believe political actors will use the answer…
“Not only will they reject a factual possibility that might flatter their political opponents, but they will assume anybody who takes a different view must also hold political motivations. Since many advocates of lab-leak theory also endorse racist beliefs, anybody who believes it might be true shares in their guilt. What’s completely absent from their thinking is any notion that the truth of the question could be abstracted from motive… Twitter is the milieu in which the opinions of elite reporters take shape. And very often it is a petri dish of tribalism and confirmation bias.” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine
“Politifact’s now-retracted fact check deeming lab leak theorists to have their ‘pants on fire’ ran in September 2020. Also in September of 2020, Boston magazine ran a profile of Alina Chan, a molecular biologist at the Harvard-MIT Broad Institute, who believes the virus escaped from the biolab in Wuhan. It’s clear from the article that while Chan perhaps had a minority viewpoint, this was the kind of thing that was the subject of ongoing disagreement among researchers…
“When New York Magazine ran its lab leak theory story in January 2021, I tweeted disparaging things about it only to be told quietly by a number of research scientists that I was wrong and plenty of people in the science community thought this was plausible… it’s increasingly clear that this was a huge fiasco for the mainstream press that got way over their skis in terms of discourse-policing, and there is in fact a serious scientific question as to where the virus came from.” Matt Yglesias, Slow Boring
Some note that “Trump said at a news conference [in April 2020] that he had a ‘high degree of confidence’ that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab. This didn’t jibe with a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, though, which said that while that was a possibility, it needed further examination. When pressed on what evidence he had, Trump responded, ‘I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.’ Trump at many other points suggested such a thing, without backing it up…
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also leaned in. He told ABC News around the same time that ‘there’s enormous evidence that this is where this began.’ He added: ‘I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan.’ Except the ‘enormous’ evidence wasn’t produced by the Trump administration, for some reason. Nor was even piecemeal evidence… It has become evident that some corners of the mainstream media overcorrected when it came to [this] one particular theory from Trump and his allies… [but] given everything we know about how Trump handled such things, caution and skepticism were invited.” Aaron Blake, Washington Post
Some others argue, “Instead of calling for a new and better inquiry into origins, let’s stipulate that pandemics can result from natural spillovers or from laboratory accidents—and then let’s move along to implications. One important question has already gotten airtime (from right-wing media, at least): Should scientists be fiddling with pathogenic genomes, to measure out the steps they’d have to take before ascending to pandemic-level virulence?” Daniel Engber, The Atlantic
Happy Thursday! Smart Brevity™ count: 1,132 words … 4 minutes. Edited by Zachary Basu.
💼 Today at 12:30 p.m. ET, please join Axios’ Erica Pandey and Bryan Walsh for a virtual event on higher education’s role in the future of work. Guests include Handshake CEO and co-founder Garrett Lord and Ford Foundation “Future of Work(ers)” director Sarita Gupta.Sign up here.
1 big thing: The Jeff Bezos show
Photo: Greg Doherty/Getty Images
Jeff Bezos has become one of the most influential executives across an array of industries beyond online retail — including aerospace, newspapers, and now movies, Axios’ Sara Fischer and Felix Salmon write.
Why it matters: Bezos’ splashy and far-reaching investments distinguish him from other tech leaders, who are trying to lay low as regulatory pressures mount.
Bezos preserved his reputation as a quirky, efficiency-obsessed engineer during the years he spent building Amazon into an empire.
As he prepares to step down as Amazon’s CEO — he’ll leave that role on July 5, the company said yesterday — his personal hobbies and penchant for the spotlight are an increasingly visible element of his business ambitions.
Until recently, Amazon had largely avoided the regulatory spotlight and Bezos was rarely the story himself. But lawmakers have become wary of the tech giant’s power and Bezos’ influence.
Amazon’s acquisition of MGM Studios for $8.5 billion, announced yesterday, didn’t set off anti-competitive alarm bells. But it drew concerns from some lawmakers, who argue that it gives Amazon too much power in yet another industry.
The bottom line: Wall Street is happy to take risks on Bezos’ passion projects or new business lines.
2. Biden’s antennae: McCaskill may get Europe plum
Claire McCaskill campaigning for Senate in 2018. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill is under consideration for a plum ambassadorship in western Europe — another sign President Biden will tap party allies over big-dollar donors when he starts to name his political ambassadors as soon as next week, Axios’ Hans Nichols reports.
Why it matters: Biden will have political antennae across the globe.
McCaskill is to be joined in the diplomatic corps by Rahm Emanuel, who has been promised ambassador to Japan … L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, headed for India … and Tom Nides, Democratic confidant and former deputy SecState, in line for Israel.
Cindy McCainis expected to be the ambassador to the World Food Program in Rome.
Ken Salazar — President Obama’s Interior secretary, and a former senator from Colorado— is preparing to go to Mexico.
Nick Burns, a career diplomat, is Biden’s likely choice for China.
The intrigue: Biden is also considering former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who endorsed him at the Democratic convention, for an ambassadorship.
Former Sen. Chris Dodd turned down an embassy offer, and will instead be available for discreet diplomatic missions as one of Biden’s oldest Senate friends.
The big picture: White House officials are working to ensure that his picks reflect the diversity of the country, meaning that many wealthy white male donors will see their ambassadorial ambitions quashed after a lifetime of giving.
Biden will likely draw on political allies and donors for roughly 30% of the 190-ish available ambassadorships.
The remaining 70% will go to career foreign service officers.
President Biden meets with Senate Republicans in February. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Some Senate Republicans are offering to add to the national debt to pay for a scaled-back infrastructure plan— one more grasp at a deal with President Biden before Democrats pack up and go it alone, Axios’ Hans Nichols reports.
Why it matters: Skipping over the thorny question of how to offset up to $1 trillion in new projects could actually be easier for GOP lawmakers than agreeing on tax increases.
The context: Former President Trump drove up the national debt during his presidency and showed fellow Republicans there weren’t immediate political ramifications for deficit spending.
Deficit spending “could be part of the discussion,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told Axios. “It would be for what we would consider to be the hard infrastructure — the roads, bridges, the ports.”
The other side: Some Democrats are reluctant to open the door to deficit spending on a bipartisan bill — convinced that corporations and wealthy Americans need to pay higher taxes.
Karine Jean-Pierre yesterday became the first openly gay woman to deliver the White House press briefing and only the second Black woman in history to take on the role, AP reports.
Judy Smith, a deputy press secretary to President George H.W. Bush in 1991, was the first Black spokesperson to brief at the podium.
5. Graphed: Our COVID year
Axios Sportsauthor Kendall Baker’s lens on America’s year of COVID.
The pace of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. fell by nearly 20% over the past week — the fifth straight week of double-digit declines, Axios’ Sam Baker and Andrew Witherspoon report.
Law enforcement officers yesterday at the scene of a shooting at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) facility in San Jose, Calif. Photo: Noah Berger/AP
An employee who gunned down eight people at a Northern California rail yard, then killed himself as law enforcement rushed in, had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago, his ex-wife told AP.
The mass shooting in San Jose was the deadliest in the Bay Area since 1993, when a gunman killed eight people and himself at law offices in San Francisco’s Financial District.
It was the 15th mass killing (defined as shootings that claim at least four lives, excluding the shooter) in America this year — a total of 86 deaths, according to a database by AP, USA Today and Northeastern University.
That five-month toll compares with 106 for all of 2020.
7. Biden’s Asia czar: Era of engagement with China is over
Chinese President Xi delivers a speech to the Global Health Summit on May 21. Photo: Huang Jingwen/Xinhua via Getty Images
President Biden’s top national security aide for Asia said U.S. policy toward China will now be viewed through the lens of intense competition as a result of Xi Jinping’s embrace of “hard power,” Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: “The period that was broadly described as engagement has come to an end,” Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, told a Stanford event yesterday.
Campbell cited China’s military clashes on the border with India, an “economic campaign” against Australia and the rise of “wolf warrior” diplomacy as “signals that China is determined to play a more assertive role.”
8. Howard names college for alumnus Chadwick Boseman
Howard University announcedthat the newly reestablished College of Fine Arts will be named in honor of the late Chadwick Boseman, whose “career as an actor, director, writer, and producer inspired millions.”
Boseman graduated from Howard in 2000 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing.
Disney executive chairman Bob Iger “will personally lead fundraising efforts in honor of Boseman, a cherished member of the Disney/Marvel family, to build a new, state-of-the-art facility to house the college and an endowment for the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.”
9. The senator from Central Casting: Remembering John Warner
In 1977, Sen. John Warner and Elizabeth Taylor (he was the sixth of her seven husbands) attend the New York Film Critics Circle Awards dinner in New York. Photo: AP
I covered Sen. John Warner of Virginia over three decades — first when I was a college newspaper editor, later at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, then as a Metro scribe for The Washington Post.
His greeting summed him up. “I’m proud but humble,” he’d boom, “to be your senior senator.”
A great American life: Warner volunteered for the Navy at 17, and three decades later was Secretary of the Navy.
The legendary Don Baker, The Post’s longtime Richmond bureau chief, has the obit on p. A1, “5-term senator from Va. often went his own way”:
John W. Warner, the five-term U.S. senator from Virginia who helped plan the nation’s 1976 bicentennial celebrations, played a central role in military affairs and gained respect on both sides of the political aisle for his diligence, consensus-building and independence, died … at his home in Alexandria, Va. He was 94. …
Because of his willingness to buck his increasingly conservative party, Mr. Warner became the Republican whom many Virginia independents and Democrats respected and voted for. … In 1994, Mr. Warner interceded in an ideologically fractious Senate contest between incumbent Charles S. Robb (D) and Oliver North (R).
Above: Debuting tonight on HBO Max …. For “Friends: The Reunion,” Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc return to the original soundstage — Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank.
Above: Season 1, 1994 …. Left to right: David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay and Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing.
The morning’s most important stories, curated by Post editors.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo talk with others after an infrastructure meeting with Senate Republicans this month. (Jabin Botsford/The Post)
If centrists strike an agreement, the president would probably have to pick between forgoing key proposals for climate and elder care and rejecting a bipartisan deal that aides have sought as a political triumph.
The Justice Department unveiled a new strategy on Wednesday to combat violent crime, with an official arguing the Trump DOJ’s Operation Legend approach was insufficient. This comes as the department reports a significant nationwide increase in major violent crimes, including murders, over the past year.
Senate Republicans are underscoring differences between President Joe Biden, top White House aides, and Democratic congressional leaders as talks over their divergent infrastructure proposals teeter on the brink of collapse.
Democrats have not won a significant race for statewide office in Florida in nearly a decade but are clinging to the hope that they can knock off Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in 2022.
As the Biden administration intensifies its efforts to track down the source of COVID-19, unanswered questions surround the most hotly-contested hypothesis about how the pandemic began: the lab leak theory.
Sen. Mitt Romney delivered a speech critiquing the political divide while accepting the John F. Kennedy Library’s “Profile in Courage” award Wednesday evening.
An Ohio adult and teenager are the first two winners of the state’s “Vax-a-Million” lottery, which awards monetary sums to random residents who have received at least one COVID-19 shot.
The former daughter-in-law of Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg said her attorney provided “additional” documents to investigators.
United States activists say religious liberty is a deepening fault line in international affairs, as Chinese and Russian officials align to repudiate Western condemnation of their human rights abuses.
A town in Ohio voted Tuesday to effectively outlaw abortions within its city limits, a controversial action that prompted one city councilwoman to resign in protest and is expected to be challenged in court.
You received this email because you are subscribed to Examiner Today from The Washington Examiner.
Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive.We respect your right to privacy – View our Policy
Unsubscribe
18.) ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 27, 2021
View in browser
AP Morning Wire
Good morning. Here is today’s selection of top stories from The Associated Press at this hour to begin the U.S. day.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — An employee who gunned down eight people at a California rail yard and then killed himself as law enforcement rushed in had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago, his ex-wife said….Read More
For Stephanie Davis, who grew up with little, the military was a path to the American dream, a realm where everyone would receive equal treatment. She joined the service in 1988 after finishing high school in Thomasville, Geo…Read More
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A southwestern Ohio woman won the state’s first $1 million Vax-a-Million vaccination incentive prize, while a Dayton-area teen was awarded the first full-ride college scholarship offered by the program, …Read More
There’s a 40% chance that the world will get so hot in the next five years that it will temporarily push past the temperature limit the Paris climate agreement is trying to prevent, meteorologists said. …Read More
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Abdullah Mohammadi lost his two legs and an arm below the elbow in a ferocious battle with the Taliban. As a young Afghan soldier, he had been eager to fight for his country, but now he’s furious at …Read More
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — General Motors is teaming up with Lockheed Martin to produce the ultimate off-road, self-driving, electric vehicles — for the moon….Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — Eric Carle, the beloved children’s author and illustrator whose classic “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and other works gave millions of kids some of their earli…Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — Toward the end of HBO Max’s “Friends” reunion special, host James Corden asks the six actors to imagine what their characters’ lives would be like today. Chand…Read More
HONOLULU (AP) — Cruising along the west side of Hawaii’s Big Island, the landscape is dominated by ancient volcanic flows and jagged shorelines. Then you get to Hapuna Beach. …Read More
“There are only two forces that can carry light to all the corners of the globe … the sun in the heavens and The Associated Press down here.”
Mark Twain
GET THE APP
Download the AP News app to get breaking news alerts from AP on your phone, tablet or watch.
Good morning, Chicago. Yesterday, state officials reported 1,139 new cases of COVID-19 and 27 additional deaths. There were 59,494 doses of the vaccine administered Tuesday, according to officials, who said that 66% of adults in the state have now received at least one shot.
Officials also announced that half of Cook County’s six suburban mass vaccination locations will close permanently on Thursday, which mirrors Chicago’s downscaling of larger sites, including the United Center.
Meanwhile, for the first time since September 2019, almost all of Chicago’s beaches will be officially reopened as of this Friday. Mayor Lori Lightfoot made the announcement yesterday by ceremoniously knocking over a cardboard cutout of herself, which you may recognize from the countless memes it appeared in over the last year.
And in more reopening news, organizers of the Chicago’s Pride Parade said that it will also be officially making its return. The parade is set for early October, which is a one-time departure from the usual slot of the last Sunday in June, organizers said, because of pandemic concerns.
— Nicole Stock, audience editor
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
It’s a question on the mind of many people who are now fully vaccinated: Will they need a booster shot to stay that way? So far, scientists and doctors say it remains an open question, but the evidence — at least right now — doesn’t point to a need for another shot.
After months of administering the initial rounds of the vaccine — a rollout that has faced problems with inequities and confusion — Illinois vaccine providers say they will be ready to distribute a booster shot if it becomes necessary.
CPS fall plans: Full-time in-person classes, virtual academy for medically fragile kids — and as many students vaccinated as possible
Tim Mapes, the former chief of staff and gatekeeper for House Speaker Michael Madigan, was indicted Wednesday on charges of lying to a federal grand jury investigating allegations that Commonwealth Edison paid bribes in exchange for Madigan’s assistance pushing though legislation in Springfield.
The Chicago Police Department on Wednesday announced a much-anticipated policy on foot pursuits following the fatal shootings in late March of Adam Toledo and Anthony Alvarez, both of whom were shot and killed by officers who ran after them.
An effort to honor Chicago’s Black founder Wednesday by putting his name on the city’s most iconic street ran aground — at least temporarily — at a City Council meeting marked by parliamentary maneuvering, accusations of racial inequity and threats of future payback.
The highly anticipated BTS Meal just dropped at McDonald’s locations across the Chicago area on Wednesday morning. Tribune food critic Louisa Chu’s big takeaway? It’s all about the sauces. Which, incidentally, offers a tiny bit more than previous celebrity collaborations.
Kevin Clark stuck with his music after appearing nearly 20 years ago as drummer Freddy “Spazzy McGee” Jones in the wildly popular movie “School of Rock.” He formed bands, wrote songs, taught children.
Clark, 32, was riding a bicycle early Wednesday when he was struck and killed at a notoriously dangerous intersection on the Northwest Side. David Struett has the full story…
Any two aldermen can move to “defer and publish,” which delays action for one meeting without explanation. The move was made by downtown Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) and Northwest Side Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th).
The charges bring the feds closer than ever to Madigan, who has not been criminally charged and denies wrongdoing. It also lifts the curtain slightly on a grand jury drilling deep into Illinois politics.
“The way we typically do business does not work” for everyone, Lightfoot said. “Thanks to this package, we will be able to do just that and set our residents, communities and businesses up for long-term success.”
Aldermen voted to create licenses for tow truck operators, require a $250 license for every truck they use and license the locations where towed vehicles are stored. They also OK’d a Friday night Cubs game and a plan to renovate two buildings near McKinley Park for affordable housing.
Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. It is Thursday! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe!
Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported each morning this week: Monday, 589,893; Tuesday, 590,533; Wednesday, 590,941; Thursday, 591,953.
Senate Republicans are set to deliver their latest infrastructure offer to President Biden this morning amid rampant skepticism that the two sides can hammer out an agreement in the coming weeks.
Led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a group of Senate Republicans will present the White House with its counteroffer: a nearly $1 trillion package, focused on traditional infrastructure and paid for with roughly $700 billion in repurposed and unspent funds largely drawn from the coronavirus relief law enacted in March and more than $300 billion in proposed gas tax revenues. The proposed hike in taxes on gasoline, seen by some Democrats as regressive, is projected to contribute $40 billion annually over eight years.
According to one Senate GOP aide, the latest proposal, after initially beginning at $568 billion last month, is expected to be the group’s last bid, with senators in recent days arguing that it will include almost every item that Biden indicated would be needed for him to come on board.
“This is the ceiling,” the aide told the Morning Report. “This is a really good, really solid offer. We could pass the bill tomorrow. … If [Biden] turns this down, he’s doing what he’s done consistently so far. He’s running to the left to his $2 trillion-plus bill, which has a lot more for liberal priorities than anything resembling roads and bridges.”
The GOP’s effort comes at a critical juncture. Republicans have enlarged their offer and the White House on Friday trimmed its proposal from $2.25 trillion to $1.7 trillion, but that counter-move by Biden and his team was rejected by GOP senators, thus raising today’s stakes.
Politico: Why infrastructure talks are in real trouble.
Fox Business: White House likely to dispute GOP plan to pay for its $1 trillion infrastructure counteroffer.
Nevertheless, optimism is not exceedingly high. Republicans are pessimistic that their offer will actually move the needle in talks and believe it’s only a matter of time before Democratic leaders plow ahead with a package via reconciliation. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Tuesday that he plans to bring the issue up in the upper chamber after July 4.
Also waiting in the wings is a bill being crafted by a bipartisan group that includes Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). However, lawmakers indicate that the bill is on the back burner as Biden and Capito talks remain at the forefront.
While Capito’s offer takes the headlines, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved a $311 billion infrastructure bill for highways and roads, giving lawmakers another avenue to pass legislation (Politico).
Politico: Biden prepared to extend infrastructure talks.
CBS News: Senate Republicans to propose counteroffer on infrastructure closer to $1 trillion.
If Democrats do not proceed with a package via reconciliation, the White House could have a major decision to make as any bipartisan bill is unlikely to feature funds to combat climate change or for elder care. Both the Capito bill and the burgeoning bipartisan group are expected to avoid the subjects altogether, potentially leaving Biden with a tough decision: whether to jump on board with a consensus package and leave the key Democratic items on the cutting room floor or push for an all-encompassing bill and reject a bipartisan effort (The Washington Post).
The Hill: GOP backing down from threat to block Schumer’s China bill.
> Police reform: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) on Wednesday said that negotiators have until the end of June to strike a deal on police reform legislation.
“I think it’s June or bust,” Scott, the lead GOP negotiator, told reporters on Wednesday when asked about a timeline. “I think we have three weeks in June to get this done.”
Scott’s comments come after he declined to publicly embrace the unofficial May 25 deadline pushed for by Biden and top Democrats who had hoped to be able to announce a deal by the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. On Monday, Scott released a statement on Monday with Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Rep. Karen Bass (Calif.), the lead Democratic negotiators, saying that they are making “progress” and “remain optimistic” while acknowledging that they are still working through “key differences” (The Hill).
> Commission struggles: Republicans are lining up to block the creation of a commission to probe the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. However, as The Hill’s Mike Lillis writes, the strategy is not without risks.
While sinking the commission would satisfy the Republicans’ short-term objective of appeasing former President Trump, it would almost certainly prompt Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to launch a special investigation of her own — one that could play to the long-term advantage of Democrats heading into the 2022 midterms (The Hill).
RIP: Former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), 94, who served as a secretary of the Navy and was a former chairman of the Armed Services Committee before retiring from the Senate in 2009 also became Elizabeth Taylor’s sixth husband in 1976 after a whirlwind romance. They were divorced in 1982 (The Washington Post).
A MESSAGE FROM UBER
Meet Fallon. Delivering with Uber Eats helps her pay for college. “I like the flexibility of driving with Uber,” she says. “I can drive when I want to.”
*Driver earnings may vary depending on location, demand, hours, drivers, and other variables.
ADMINISTRATION: Responding to persistent questions about China’s role in the ongoing pandemic, Biden on Wednesday issued a 90-day order to U.S. intelligence agencies to continue investigating the origin of COVID-19, about which experts are divided, and report to him in August (The Hill).
“I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days,” Biden said in a statement (Reuters and The Associated Press).
The Chinese embassy in Washington said it is unhappy with Congress and the White House because of the U.S. approach to the origins debate (Reuters).
Global scientists and public health experts believe determining how the novel coronavirus initially infected humans in Wuhan could help prevent the next such worldwide health crisis. One theory is that COVID-19 evolved naturally from animals such as bats and infected humans. Another theory is that the pathogen found its way out of a Wuhan virology laboratory into the population, and the Chinese government has not been transparent about what it knows.
The quest by the World Health Organization (WHO) and global disease detectives to definitively answer questions that have swirled since January 2020 took on a partisan tilt in the United States, particularly among conservatives and China critics. But lawmakers from both parties in Congress are now weighing investigatory or oversight hearings. They are unlikely to obtain any new data or evidence from China, but they can seek documents and intelligence reports from the executive branch, reports Politico.
WHO issued an extensive but inconclusive report with China’s input in March following an international investigation. The global public health agency called for further studies.
The Hill and The Kansas City Star: The Senate unanimously approved a bill on Wednesday requiring Biden to declassify specific information collected since last year by U.S. intelligence on the possible origins of COVID-19.
U.S. communities are reporting a surge in violent antisemitic attacks and slurs related to the 11-day clash between Israel and the Palestinians, now quieted by a cease-fire (The New York Times). The Hill’s Alex Gangitano reports that while the president has condemned domestic attacks aimed at Jews, Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups would like to see the president take action, such as nominating a special U.S. ambassador at large to monitor and combat antisemitism.
The Associated Press: The U.S. military is permeated with deep-rooted racism and discrimination, according to interviews in all branches, documents and examinations of databases and policies that in some cases do not track key information, such as the number of troops ousted from the military for their extremist views.
The Hill’s Julia Manchester reports from Cleveland, where Biden travels today, noting that the president eventually must decide whether or when to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum imports imposed on the European Union by the Trump administration.
If he lifts the tariffs, he risks the ire of communities in swing states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the U.S. steel industry says it has benefited from Trump’s tariff policies. If Biden keeps the tariffs in place, he adds to tensions with European partners and the larger U.S. business community. “It’s just a challenging issue because obviously for steel manufacturers, for steelworkers, for people who work in that industry who want to see more jobs created, increased prices are more good news,” said Democratic strategist Mark Nevins. “On the other hand for consumers, one of the downsides of the trade wars is that increases prices for consumers.”
The White House is making plans for Biden to meet with Queen Elizabeth II next month when he is in the United Kingdom for the Group of Seven summit, which takes place in Cornwall in a few weeks (CNN).
CORONAVIRUS: Booster shots may not be needed! Immunity to the coronavirus lasts at least a year, possibly a lifetime, improving over time especially after vaccination, according to two new studies. Together, the studies suggest that most people who have recovered from COVID-19 and who were later immunized will not need boosters (The New York Times).
Cities & states: On a rolling schedule, Washington, D.C., will begin closing walk-up COVID-19 vaccine sites in June. The inoculations continue to be free at pharmacies, clinics and health care centers across the nation’s capital, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser (D). Vaccine locations are listed at vaccines.gov. Free pick up and drop-off locations for Test Yourself DC are listed at coronavirus.dc.gov/testyourself. About 42 percent of the city’s population has been inoculated to date. … New York state will raffle 50 full-tuition scholarships by random drawing for 12- to 17-year-olds beginning today through July 7. Entrants must get their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in the next six weeks to be eligible for the scholarships to any SUNY or CUNY college in the state. The random drawings will be conducted every Wednesday and include 10 four-year scholarships each week, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) (NBC New York). … Pennsylvania is the 10th state to hit Biden’s 70 percent vaccination goal (The Hill). … Ohio, which established a Vax-a-Million lottery, on Wednesday announced the first two winners, Abbigail Bugenske near Cincinnati, who won $1 million in a drawing based on her recent vaccination, and Joseph Costello near Dayton, who will receive a full-ride college scholarship (The Associated Press).
Welcome back: The Smithsonian Institution plans this summer to have all 19 of its museums open for the first time since March 2020 (The Hill). In Washington, it’s no secret that the most popular exhibit at the reopened Smithsonian National Zoo is 9-month-old baby panda Xiao Qi Ji. (🐼A playtime video with an empty pink milk crate is a hit this month on Twitter.)
POLITICS: Senate Republicans view a special grand jury investigation into Trump’s business practices as more evidence that Democrats want to keep Trump in the spotlight to drag them down in the midterm election.
As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton writes, Republicans think the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. will only further deepen partisan divisions over the 45th president and believe that even if he’s indicted, it won’t diminish him as a political force in the coming years.
According to GOP lawmakers, a lot depends on what Vance is able to prove in court if he brings a criminal case against Trump, his business associates or the Trump Organization itself, but they argue it’s too early to assess whether a criminal indictment against Trump — or even a conviction — will inflict any serious damage on Trump’s popularity with the GOP base. One Senate Republican who requested anonymity said Trump would have to be “in jail” to be neutralized as a political force.
The Hill: 66 percent of GOP want Trump to run for reelection: poll.
The Washington Post: Michigan’s top election official and Dominion warn counties about the risks of vote audits by outside groups.
The Hill: Two-thirds of Republicans think Biden’s victory was not legitimate: poll.
Roll Call: Rep. Marie Newman (D-Ill.) accused of bribing potential primary opponent not to run.
OPINIONS
San Jose mass shooting demands action on gun control, by the editorial boards of the Mercury News and East Bay Times. https://bayareane.ws/3foliWb
Kevin McCarthy, meet Dr. Frankenstein, by Karen Tumulty, columnist, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/2RGupsg
Stock buybacks aren’t holding back worker wages, by Noah Smith, columnist, Bloomberg Opinion. https://bloom.bg/3yEcpiF
A MESSAGE FROM UBER
Meet Fallon. Delivering with Uber Eats helps her pay for college. “I like the flexibility of driving with Uber,” she says. “I can drive when I want to.”
*Driver earnings may vary depending on location, demand, hours, drivers, and other variables.
The House meets Friday at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session. Lawmakers resume legislative work in the Capitol next month.
TheSenate will convene at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of the Endless Frontier Act.
The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m. Biden will travel to Cleveland to deliver remarks at 2:20 p.m. about the economy at Cuyahoga Community College. He’ll be back at the White House this evening.
Vice President Harris will meet with private sector leaders to discuss economic development in Central America at 4 p.m.
First lady Jill Biden will travel to Michigan and Missouri to tour COVID-19 vaccination clinics today. She will tour Grand Rapids Community College’s clinic downtown this afternoon and later arrive in Kansas City, Mo., to visit the vaccination clinic at Metropolitan Community College’s Penn Valley campus. She will return to Washington tonight.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will appear in Albuquerque, N.M., for a campaign event with Democrat Melanie Stansbury ahead of next week’s special election to fill the seat vacated by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
Economic indicator: The Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. will report filings for unemployment benefits during the week ending May 22. Analysts anticipate another weekly drop in claims as U.S. hiring improves.
➔ MASS SHOOTINGS: A California transit employee on Wednesday shot and killed eight co-workers in San Jose and wounded another before taking his own life in the latest of a spate of deadly mass U.S. shootings, prompting the state’s governor to ask: “What the hell is wrong with us?” (Reuters). Maintenance worker Samuel Cassidy, 57, shot virtually everyone on the morning shift at the light rail maintenance yard, including some employees he had worked with for years. He also set his own house on fire (The Los Angeles Times). … Pelosi said on Wednesday that she was “personally devastated” by the latest mass shooting in her state (The Hill).
➔ TECH: Russia and Iran are the biggest sources of fake Facebook accounts and pages used to mislead users, according to a new report released by the company. A third of the 150 networks that the company shut down between 2017 and 2020 for “coordinated inauthentic behavior” came from the two countries. Inauthentic networks involve accounts, pages and groups that use fake accounts to mislead users. The U.S. was the most popular target, followed by Ukraine (The Hill). … Facebook will roll out the option to hide “like” counts on posts across the platform and Instagram for all users this week, the company announced Wednesday. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the new feature is geared toward decreasing stress tied to social media (The Hill).
➔ENTERTAINMENT: Amazon said on Wednesday that it will buy MGM Studios for $8.45 billion, turbocharging its streaming ambitions (CNBC).
And finally … It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Inspired by the annual tradition of paying homage to America’s war dead, we’re eager for some smart guesses about Memorial Day.
Email your responses to asimendinger@thehill.com and/or aweaver@thehill.com, and please add “Quiz” to subject lines. Winners who submit correct answers will enjoy some richly deserved newsletter fame on Friday.
Memorial Day was originally called ______?
Honor Day
Decoration Day
Heroes Day
None of the above; it was always called Memorial Day.
Memorial Day, observed on the final day in May, officially became a federal holiday in what year?
1867
1902
1954
1971
Some who participate in Memorial Day ceremonies wear a red poppy. Why?
To emulate an ancient Celtic rite once thought to ease passage to the afterlife
It’s a WWI and American Legion tradition inspired by the 1915 poem “In Flanders Fields”
Poppies are a brightly colored, common springtime weed across the U.S.
To symbolize relief from pain because opium comes from poppies
Many Americans associate the Memorial Day holiday with advertised sales for which product, according to Consumer Reports?
The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@thehill.com and aweaver@thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!
TO VIEW PAST EDITIONS OF THE HILL’S MORNING REPORT CLICK HERE
TO RECEIVE THE HILL’S MORNING REPORT IN YOUR INBOX SIGN UP HERE
Via The New York Times’s Jim Tankersley, President Biden is expected to propose a $6 trillion budget tomorrow. https://nyti.ms/3fNaWxP
What are the increases: Infrastructure, health care, education — and more discretionary spending.
The Times pointed out: This would bring the U.S. to the highest levels of federal spending since World War II.
Sooo, how do we have the funds to do that…? “Biden’s plan to fund his agenda by raising taxes on corporations and high earners would begin to shrink budget deficits in the 2030s. Administration officials have said the jobs and families plans would be fully offset by tax increases over the course of 15 years, which the budget request backs up.”
And in the meantime: “The United States would run significant deficits as it borrows money to finance his plans.”
KEEP IN MIND ABOUT BIDEN’S BUDGET — IT’S MORE OF A WISH LIST:
Think of President Biden’s budget request as his wish list. Congress will negotiate and pass the budget bills. Though: Because Democrats have control of the White House, Senate and House, Biden has a better chance that the details of his budget proposal will make it in the bill.
It’s Thursday before the holiday weekend! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.
Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill’s 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2kjMNnn
NEWS THIS MORNING
We keep hitting lower numbers and tbh, I’m running out of ‘get low’ jokes!!:
Weekly unemployment claims dipped to a new pandemic low of 406,000. https://bit.ly/3wugkga
Why these weekly totals are worth mentioning: “While the claims remain well above historical averages, the new total was better than the 425,000 claims economists expected, and points to a steadily recovering labor market.”
Via CNN’s Kate Bennett, one of the longest-serving White House butlers, William“Buddy” Carter, is retiring after 47 years. https://cnn.it/3ur47HF
Aw: The White House is reportedly throwing a small party for Carter today.
Carter’s career — wow: “Carter’s career began 47 years ago at Blair House, the presidential guest house across the street from the White House, where he served as part of the staff for 15 years before heading to the White House Executive Residence as one of just six butlers. Carter would remain a treasured member of the residence staff, assisting presidents and first ladies and their families from Ronald Reagan‘s administration until today.”
The news that Manhattan’s district attorney has convened a special grand jury as part of his criminal probe of former President Trump’s business dealings has fueled speculation over whether he could become the first U.S. president to serve prison time.” https://bit.ly/3hTWwyI
The Hill’s John Kruzel wrote a very helpful explainer on what to read into this.
The gist: There is still so much we don’t know, so don’t read too much into the grand jury.
What Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. is interested in: “Hush money payments to Trump’s alleged mistresses, questionable valuations of Trump Organization assets and employee compensation arrangements that may have skirted taxes.” But we don’t know if that’s why Vance convened a grand jury.
SENATE REPUBLICANS DON’T SEEM TOO WORRIED — IT’S BECAUSE DEMS ARE WORRIED ABOUT TRUMP’S INFLUENCE:
Via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, “Senate Republicans see a special grand jury investigation into President Trump‘s business practices by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. as more evidence that Democrats want to keep Trump in the spotlight to drag them down in the midterm elections.” https://bit.ly/3urowwe
HAPPENING TONIGHT — PAUL RYAN MAY HAVE A FEW CHOICE WORDS:
“Former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is expected to knock former President Trump in a speech Thursday evening at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California by urging members of his party to avoid rallying behind ‘one personality’ or ‘second-rate imitations.’ ” https://bit.ly/2RIj3E8
Senate Republicans unveiled their latest counteroffer to President Biden’s infrastructure plan. https://bit.ly/3foARNh
The price tag of the new GOP plan: $928 billion
For context: Republicans had been proposing $568 billion. Biden then countered with $1.7 trillion. The GOP’s latest move is adding to their offer, now totaling $928 billion.
INTERESTING READ ON INFRASTRUCTURE:
Via The New York Times’s Nadja Popovich, Josh Williams and Denise Lu, “Can removing highways fix America’s cities?” https://nyti.ms/3yLkZMv
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced that walk-up vaccination sites in the District will close by the end of June. https://bit.ly/3yKgXnC
The Senate is in. The House is out. President Biden is in Ohio today. Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C.
10 a.m. EDT: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.
11:10 a.m. EDT: President Biden leaves for Cleveland.
1:50 p.m. EDT: President Biden tours Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.
4 p.m. EDT: Vice President Harris convenes private sector leaders to discuss economic development in the Northern Triangle.
5:15 p.m. EDT: President Biden returns to the White House.
WHAT TO WATCH:
Noon: White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. Livestream: https://bit.ly/2RRTPmH
2:20 p.m. EDT: President Biden delivers remarks on the economy. Livestream: https://bit.ly/2ROAkeI
NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF…:
Today is National Grape Popsicle Day!
You have my full attention, Fritz:
In The Washington Post’s “Going Out Guide,” Fritz Hahn writes, “Move over, White Claw. Drunk Fruit is the hard seltzer you should be drinking this summer.” Details and photos — the flavors are intriguing: https://wapo.st/3cgA9A3
And because you made it this far, here is one chill kangaroo:
Some congressional employees are shaken by what they see as the whitewashing of the Jan. 6 insurrection, and the denials have reignited lingering trauma. Staffers told CQ Roll Call that denying the reality that workers, staffers and lawmakers experienced firsthand feels more personal than partisan disagreements about policy. Read more…
Kamala Harris’ ascension to the vice presidency left the Senate without any Black women. To fill that void, activists are eyeing opportunities to elect Black female senators in North Carolina and Florida, two perennial battleground states. Read more…
OPINION — It’s only logical for Republicans who once castigated Donald Trump for sending his amped-up crowd to march on the Capitol to now back away from any reflection. They would rather downplay an act of domestic terrorism and focus on consolidating power. Read more…
Click here to subscribe to Fintech Beat for the latest market and regulatory developmentsin finance and financial technology.
Rep. Marc Veasey got his start in politics as a campaign volunteer turned district staffer for another North Texas Democrat, Martin Frost. Both men started out as journalists: While Frost once worked for CQ Weekly Report, Veasey covered high school sports. Veasey recently recalled some of the highlights of working for Frost. Read more…
Rep. Marie Newman persuaded a potential primary opponent, Iymen Chehade, not to run against her by offering him a six-figure job in her congressional office upon her victory, a contract the Illinois Democrat violated, a lawsuit filed by Chehade alleges. Read more…
Two key committee chairs in the House and Senate are taking the first step toward crafting legislation to create a public health insurance option, reviving a debate between the parties on the federal government’s role in coverage and setting up a fight with the insurance industry. Read more…
Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick J. Leahy will allocate half of earmarked dollars to Republicans in that chamber if some undetermined critical mass of GOP senators ends up participating in the process, a spokesman for the Vermont Democrat said Wednesday. Read more…
CQ Roll Call is a part of FiscalNote, the leading technology innovator at the intersection of global business and government. Copyright 2021 CQ Roll Call. All rights reserved Privacy | Safely unsubscribe now.
1201 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Suite 600
Washington, DC 20004
25.) POLITICO PLAYBOOK
POLITICO Playbook: GOP dreads the return of Trump rallies
Presented by Facebook
DRIVING THE DAY
FILIBUSTER DAY — It’s taken longer than anyone expected,but the first GOP filibuster of a big JOE BIDEN priority in the Senate is expected today when Republicans plan to block legislation to create a Jan. 6 commission. Sen. DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.): “We have a mob overtake the Capitol, and we can’t get the Republicans to join us in making historic record of that event? That is sad.” More from the AP
CAN’T FILIBUSTER THIS: They’ll never say it publicly.But Republicans in Washington are dreading DONALD TRUMP’S return to the stump, predicting his rallies will cause a major headache for the party as it mounts a bid to take back Congress in 2022.
Even as they tee off against Twitter and Facebook for banning Trump, GOP lawmakers are privately relieved he no longer has those megaphones. But the resumption of rallies gives Trump a new platform to spout conspiracy theories about the election and air his grievances — at the same time most Republicans are desperate to move on and talk about the Biden agenda.
“If we win the majority back in 17 months, it’s going to be in spite of Trump — not because of Trump,” said one senior House Republican aide for a lawmaker considered one of Trump’s top supporters on Capitol Hill. “He will totally take credit if we win the House back — but it won’t be because of him. This guy is a disaster.”
Trump is expected to hit the road in early June with a series of events as he ramps up his political presence for the midterms. POLITICO reported earlier this week on his plans for a modern-day “Contract with America,” working with the architect of the 1994 original, NEWT GINGRICH, on a policy platform to excite GOP voters.
The problem: Since when has Trump ever stuck to policy? Most Republicans are expecting a rerun of the oldies: false claims of voter fraud, witch hunts and the like — only to be hounded by reporters for their comment on the outrage of the moment.
Though many Republicans in Washington acknowledge they can’t win the House or Senate without Trump’s voters, they maintain that the best strategy is to focus on attacking the Democrats’ big-spending agenda.
Some Trump critics see a silver lining in Trump’s rallies. Rep. ADAM KINZINGER (R-Ill.) told us during a POLITICO Live interview this week that he hopes the rallies will expose a diminished Trump.
“I do think that’s going to be fatiguing with people, and eventually folks besides the most hardcore are going to say, ‘Okay, it’s time to move on,’” he said. “My hope is that actually in those rallies, people realize this is starting to get nuts.”
Yet for close to six years, Trump’s naysayers have predicted the GOP would finally say “enough already, this is nuts,” and move on. And he’s done nothing but prove them wrong.
More from Olivia Beavers and Burgess Everett: “Trump is confiding in allies that he intends to run again in 2024 with one contingency: that he still has a good bill of health, according to two sources close to the former president. That means Trump is going to hang over the Republican Party despite its attempts to rebrand during his exile and its blockade of a Trump-centric investigation into January’s insurrection.
“And amid news that the Manhattan district attorney has convened a grand jury that could decide to indict Trump, other executives working for him or the business itself, Trump publicly signaled this week that he’s considering another run. But he may face skepticism from surprising corners of the GOP, as some Republicans who supported him consistently during his presidency have mixed opinions about the possibility of a Trump 2024 campaign, according to interviews with 20 Republicans in both the House and Senate.”
— 10 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
— 11:10 a.m.: Biden will depart the White House, en route to Cleveland, where he is scheduled to arrive at 12:45 p.m.
— 1:50 p.m.: Biden will tour Cuyahoga Community College.
— 2:20 p.m.: The president will deliver remarks on the economy.
— 3:50 p.m.: Biden will depart Cleveland to return to the White House, where he is scheduled to arrive at 5:15 p.m.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ THURSDAY:
— 4 p.m.: The VP will meet with private sector leaders to discuss economic development in the Northern Triangle.
Press secretary JEN PSAKI will gaggle on Air Force One on the way to Cleveland.
THE HOUSE is out. Testifying before Appropriations subcommittees today: Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN at 11 a.m., USAID Administrator SAMANTHA POWER at 11 a.m. and Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. MARK MILLEY at 1 p.m. Top bank executives like JAMIE DIMON and BRIAN MOYNIHAN will testify before the Financial Services Committee at noon. Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM will testify before the Science Committee at 1 p.m.
THE SENATE is in.
PLAYBOOK READS
THE WHITE HOUSE
BIDEN CURIOUS ABOUT LAB LEAK THEORY — “Biden asks intelligence community to redouble efforts to determine definitive origin of the coronavirus,” WaPo: “The new message reflects a notable shift in some prominent scientists’ assessments that the virus all but certainly jumped from an animal species to humans. The theory that has more recently gained traction is that the pandemic — which has killed more than 3.4 million people worldwide — may have accidentally escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, though that is far from conclusive. Biden ordered intelligence officials to deliver a report within 90 days ‘that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion.’”
FACEBOOK TOO — “Facebook lifts ban on posts claiming Covid-19 was man-made as Wuhan theories surge,”by Cristiano Lima: “Facebook’s policy tweak arrives as support surges in Washington for a fuller investigation into the origins of Covid-19 after the Wall Street Journal reported that three scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized in late 2019 with symptoms consistent with the virus. … [A] Facebook spokesperson said Wednesday that the origin language had been stricken from that list due to the renewed debate about the virus’ roots.”
BURNS TO CHINA, GARCETTI TO INDIA — “Biden picks LA mayor, envoy for ambassador posts,” AP: “Biden is expected to announce he is nominating former senior State Department official NICHOLAS BURNS to serve as his ambassador to China and Los Angeles Mayor ERIC GARCETTI to be his ambassador to India, according to a person familiar with the matter. With the selections, Biden is turning to a seasoned diplomat and a longtime political ally to serve in two of the country’s highest-profile diplomatic postings.”
MORE WHITE HOUSE LOVE FOR MURKOWSKI — “Biden administration backs Alaska oil project approved under Trump,” by Anthony Adragna and Ben Lefebvre: “The Biden administration defended a proposed ConocoPhillips oil development in Alaska on Wednesday, backing the project pushed by Alaskan Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI, the centrist lawmaker the administration has wooed as a potential swing vote. The decision by the Interior Department to defend in court the Trump administration’s October 2020 decision and allow the Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to proceed comes despite Interior Secretary DEB HAALAND’S opposition to the project last year when she was a member of Congress.”
DEADLINES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN — “Biden prepared to extend infrastructure talks,” by Christopher Cadelago and Laura Barrón-López: “White House aides and Democrats say they’re giving Republicans ample time to put forward their offers on ‘hard’ infrastructure — money to build roads, repair aging bridges and expand broadband. Barring breakthroughs on a long list of sticking points, Biden advisers and Democrats are preparing to wind down talks within a week or possibly two. At that point, they will start shifting their focus to what it will take to pass a bill on a party-line vote.
“The White House’s flexibility with pushing the deadline would bring the talks into a familiar stage of negotiations in Washington, in which each side tries to deflect blame for being the one that gave up on the deal. Republican Senators are holding a news conference Thursday morning. Should their new offer prove inadequate, the White House could decide simply to stick to its Memorial Day weekend deadline.
“The decision about how long to continue comes as progressives are expressing growing frustration with the pace of negotiations and fear that cutting a deal with the GOP would mean sacrificing spending on climate-focused initiatives. Many remain wary that the entirety of Biden’s plans could be passed in follow-up legislation with only Democratic support.”
STOP US IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS BEFORE — “Biden’s Pick to Lead ATF Faces Opposition From Senate Republicans,”WSJ: “President Biden’s pick to lead a key agency that will be involved in the administration’s efforts to curb gun violence faced opposition Wednesday from Republican senators, as some cited his advocacy for tighter gun control laws. … In an evenly divided Senate, [DAVID] CHIPMAN needs to secure all 50 Democratic votes to be confirmed.”
CONGRESS
CHINA BILL ON THE BRINK — “GOP ire imperils bipartisan plan to confront China,”by Andrew Desiderio and Gavin Bade: “Republicans are indicating that they may derail debate on a massive Senate bill confronting China’s growing economic and geopolitical influence before the Senate leaves town for a recess later this week. Some in the GOP are pressing for more votes on their amendments to the China legislation, a top priority of Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER. … It’s unclear if Republicans have the votes to block the bill, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, S. 1260 (117), from advancing on Thursday. Senators and aides said they were optimistic that the issues would be worked out.”
A BLOW TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE —“Judge rejects public access to search warrant in Richard Burr insider trading probe,” by Josh Gerstein: “A federal judge’s decision to refuse access to records of a search warrant issued in connection with an investigation into Sen. RICHARD BURR (R-N.C.) could limit public access to information about public corruption and other criminal probes in which the Justice Department scrutinizes lawmakers’ actions but ultimately decides not to bring charges, legal experts said.
“In a ruling Wednesday, Chief JudgeBERYL HOWELL of the U.S. District Court in Washington turned down a request from the Los Angeles Times to see what information prosecutors presented to a federal magistrate to get a search warrant last May for Burr’s phone. The warrant was reportedly issued as part of an investigation into whether Burr used information from official briefings on the perils of the coronavirus to make stock trades that earned money or saved him from the major market downturn early last year. The sweeping language in Howell’s ruling suggests that when no charges are filed, search warrant applications and related records should remain secret forever. …
“‘It’s offensive,’ said SEAMUS HUGHES, a George Washington University researcher and a renowned expert at scouring unsealed court filings for overlooked news. ‘It’s going to radically restrict public access to the court records. … Search warrants provide a level of sunlight that is important in a democracy.’” The ruling
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
BLINKEN OUT — “Blinken Leaves Middle East With Cease-Fire Intact but Aid Uncertain,”NYT: “The path forward could stretch indefinitely without a clear resolution. Past efforts to rebuild Gaza, and lift its two million residents from dire poverty and instability, have failed. Although the United States is shepherding the latest donor drive, and has so far contributed $360 million in humanitarian and development aid to Palestinians, control of such aid is part of a long-running power struggle between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
“Biden has said reconstruction must be in partnership with the authority, not Hamas. And Israeli leaders have said, tepidly, that they will resist contributing to an aid package unless the Palestinian Authority stops cooperating with an International Criminal Court investigation of war crimes in territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.”
A RISE IN HATE CRIMES — “U.S. Faces Outbreak of Anti-Semitic Threats and Violence,” NYT: “During the two weeks of clashes in Israel and Gaza this month, the Anti-Defamation League collected 222 reports of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism and violence in the United States, compared with 127 over the previous two weeks. Incidents are ‘literally happening from coast to coast, and spreading like wildfire,’ said JONATHAN GREENBLATT, the A.D.L.’s chief executive. ‘The sheer audacity of these attacks feels very different.’
“Until the latest surge, anti-Semitic violence in recent years was largely considered a right-wing phenomenon, driven by a white supremacist movement emboldened by rhetoric from former President Donald Trump, who often trafficked in stereotypes. Many of the most recent incidents, by contrast, have come from perpetrators expressing support for the Palestinian cause and criticism of Israel’s right-wing government.”
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
REFUNDING THE POLICE — “Cities Reverse Defunding the Police Amid Rising Crime,”WSJ: “In the nation’s 20 largest local law-enforcement agencies, city and county leaders want funding increases for nine of the 12 departments where next year’s budgets already have been proposed. The increases range from 1% to nearly 6%. Many U.S. cities are led by Democrats who supported protesters’ calls to defund the police … But city officials have found it difficult to keep police budgets down after seeing a rise in crime over the past year.”
TRUMP VS. BUSH ROUND XXVIII — “How Trump got a Bush to bend the knee,”by Marc Caputo: “Trump has one more opportunity to twist the knife, as GEORGE P. BUSH — the last remaining Bush in public office — prepares to launch a primary challenge Wednesday against Texas GOP Attorney General KEN PAXTON.
“In what’s expected to be a brutal contest pitting the Bush family scion against a scandal-plagued incumbent, Trump’s endorsement will go a long way toward determining the winner. The former president remains popular with the Texas Republican base — so popular that Bush, JEB BUSH’S son and currently the state’s land commissioner, has studiously avoided his family’s entanglements with Trump.”
THE NEW GOP — “‘It’s insane’: Proud Boys furor tests limits of Trump’s GOP,”by David Siders: “The uproar in Nevada, which came on suddenly, suggests how far the GOP is from being finished with its post-election reckoning. After the Republican Party’s state central committee voted narrowly last month to censure Nevada’s Republican secretary of state, BARBARA CEGAVSKE — for ‘failing to investigate’ Trump’s baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud — Clark County party officials accused the state party chair, MICHAEL MCDONALD, of tipping the scales against Cegavske by adding extremist members to the county’s roster at the state central committee meeting.
“The state party, in turn, accused the Clark County chair, DAVID SAJDAK, of spreading ‘slanderous lies.’ But one self-described member of the Proud Boys, MATTHEW ANTHONY YANKLEY, who goes by Matt Anthony, said on a recent episode of the Johnny Bru Show, a Las Vegas-based podcast, that he participated in the censure and that ‘our votes absolutely made the difference.’ Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Review-Journal published an exhaustive account detailing an effort by Anthony and other far-right activists to gain control of the party in Las Vegas’ Clark County through its elections in July.”
JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH
FEDERAL JUDGE ISSUES WARNING ABOUT TRUMP MISINFO — “Judge says Trump’s ‘steady drumbeat’ of the Big Lie could continue to inspire his supporters to take up arms,”CNN: “The judge’s blunt assessment of the current, charged political climate came in a legal decision about a defendant who was drawn to Washington, DC, in January. And it adds to a growing chorus of warnings from the officials most closely weighing the aftermath of the Capitol riot about what the threat level still might be.”
MEDIAWATCH
AP STYLE — “Associated Press tells staff it made mistakes in firing of Emily Wilder,”WaPo: “The Associated Press has not apologized or acknowledged mistakes in its public statements, beyond saying in response to the open letter that the company ‘looks forward to continuing the conversation with staff about AP’s social media policy.’ But managers took a much more apologetic tack in a town hall with employees on Wednesday, an audio recording of which was shared with The Washington Post.
“Several executives expressed regret at how the company handled the situation in the meeting, though managing editor BRIAN CAROVILLANO called them ‘mistakes of process, and not of outcome.’ He said it was still ‘the right decision’ to fire [EMILY] WILDER.”
AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR — “Juan Williams, a Liberal Outlier at Fox News, Is Leaving ‘The Five,’” NYT: “Williams abruptly announced his exit at the end of Wednesday’s broadcast, citing in part his bout with the coronavirus, which he contracted at the end of last year. … Fox News said it would fill Mr. Williams’s role with another liberal-leaning commentator, to retain the ideological makeup of the show. Until then, a rotating group of substitute hosts will appear on ‘The Five.’ GERALDO RIVERA, a Fox News correspondent, and former Representative HAROLD FORD JR. have made guest appearances in the show’s ‘liberal’ slot.”
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) walking into The Monocle restaurant on Wednesday evening.
MEDIAWATCH — Liza Pluto has joined the MSNBC PR team as a manager and will oversee day-to-day comms for “Morning Joe” and perspective weekend programming. She most recently was senior publicity manager at PBS and is a CNN alum.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Faith Oltman is now comms director at the Peace Corps. She most recently was comms director for Columbus, Ohio, city attorney Zach Klein and was the Ohio press secretary for the Biden campaign.
WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Dan Pedrotty is now the labor policy adviser for VP Kamala Harris and is also serving as staff director for the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing & Empowerment. He most recently was director of capital strategies for North America’s Building Trades Unions.
— Aleigha Cavalier is now associate director of the office of political strategy and outreach at the White House. She previously was Northeast states director for the Biden campaign and is a Beto O’Rourke and Deval Patrick alum.
NSC ARRIVAL LOUNGE — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Dean Lieberman, Sean Savett, Kedenard Raymond, Patrick Evans and Saloni Sharma have been named directors for strategic comms and assistant press secretaries at the National Security Council. Jasmine Williams is now policy adviser in that NSC directorate as well.
— Audrey Schaffer is now director for space policy at the NSC. She most recently was acting deputy assistant secretary of Defense for space policy.
STAFFING UP — Anjali Forber-Pratt is now director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research at HHS’ Administration for Community Living. She previously was an assistant professor at Vanderbilt and is a two-time Paralympian.
TRANSITIONS — Mary Owens is now comms director for Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.). She most recently was press secretary for Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). … Sunny Mehta is now working in international marketing strategy and fan development at the NFL. He most recently was VP at Marathon Strategies and is a POLITICO alum. … Elie Jacobs is now a partner at Purposeful Communications. He is president of EJ Strategies.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Alma Adams (D-N.C.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) … Henry Kissinger (98) … David Plouffe … NYT’s Campbell Robertson and Noam Scheiber … former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) … AP’s Andrew Harnik … POLITICO’s Randy Lemmerman and Megan McCrink … E&E News’ Cy Zaneski … Katya Dimenstein of Raytheon … Rasheedah Thomas of RC Communications … Brigid Schulte of New America …Turning Point USA’s Benny Johnson … Thalia Assuras … PhRMA’s Andrew Powaleny … Kelsey Baron … Andrew Seidman … Jenny Drucker … Andrew Fowler … Roberti Global’s Drew Cole … Andrew Overton … Devin Drewyer … WaPo’s Stefanie Weishaupt Prelesnik … Devan Barber … Diana Roday Hosford … Karen Kirksey … Cary O’Reilly … Kris Martinsek … Jill Wilkins … Marc Stanley … NBC’s Cynthia McFadden … Matt McKenna
Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.
Abolitionist Poets: William Lloyd Garrison, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Ellery Channing, Theodore Parker, Henry David Thoreau & Ralph Waldo Emerson — “America … a last effort of divine Providence in behalf of the human race” – Ameri
The Second Great Awakening spread across America in the early 1800s. Not only was the Gospel preached, bringing people to a saving faith in Christ, but believers were spurred to share their faith in action, bringing social change.
Revivalist Charles Finney preached:
“Every member must work or quit. No honorary members.”
Finney’s preaching inspired William Booth to found the Salvation Army, and George Williams to found the Y.M.C.A. (Young Men’s Christian Association).
Called “Practical Christianity,” believers formed a network of volunteer Christian organizations, the “Benevolent Empire,” to:
Lobby for prison reform;
Found and staff hospitals;
Care for handicapped and mentally ill;
Provide for immigrants;
Establish schools for the poor;
Go as missionaries around the world; and
Work to end slavery through the abolitionist movement.
Though these organizations were largely run by Christians, over time, some began to focus more on improving society and less on sharing the Gospel.
This highlighted the danger of there being a ditch on either side of the road, namely;
on one side is having correct beliefs but not doing anything good;
on the other side is doing lots of good but not having correct beliefs.
This was seen in the period from the French Revolution to the Civil War.
William Lloyd Garrison published the Boston anti-slavery paper Liberator and founded the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833.
He suffered hundreds of death threats for his politically incorrect stand on the value of human life.
Author John Jay Chapman wrote in the biography William Lloyd Garrison (Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921):
“The source of Garrison’s power was the Bible. From his earliest days, he read the Bible constantly and prayed constantly. It was with this fire that he started his conflagration …
So also, a prejudice against all fixed forms of worship, against the authority of human government, against every binding of the spirit into conformity with human law, — all these things grew up in Garrison’s mind out of his Bible reading.”
William Lloyd Garrison wrote in his inaugural edition of The Liberator, (Boston), January 1, 1831:
“I desire to thank God, that he enables me to disregard ‘the fear of man which bringeth a snare,’ and to speak his truth in its simplicity and power.
And here I close with this fresh dedication (from Scottish poet Thomas Pringle’s ‘To Oppression,’ April 22, 1828) …
‘I swear, while life-blood warms my throbbing veins,
Still to oppose and thwart, with heart and hand,
Thy brutalizing sway — till Afric’s chains
Are burst, and Freedom rules the rescued land,
Trampling Oppression and his iron rod:
Such is the vow I take – SO HELP ME GOD!'”
In “W.P. and F.J.T. Garrison,” 1885-89, William Lloyd Garrison wrote:
“Wherever there is a human being, I see God-given rights inherent in that being, whatever may be the sex or complexion.”
Former slave Frederick Douglass wrote in My Bondage and My Freedom, 1855:
“After reaching New Bedford, there came a young man to me with a copy of the Liberator … edited by William Lloyd Garrison …
… His paper took its place with me next to the Bible …
… It detested slavery … and, with all the solemnity of God’s word, demanded the complete emancipation of my race …
His words were … holy fire … The Bible was his text book … Prejudice against color was rebellion against God.”
William Lloyd Garrison worked with another abolitionist, Amos Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women (1868).
In 1843, Amos Bronson Alcott founded a utopian community called Fruitlands, but it failed seven months later, as Louisa wrote in Transcendental Wild Oats.
In 1830, Amos Bronson Alcott helped found the first Boston anti-slavery society organization, with William Lloyd Garrison.
The Alcott home in Concord, Massachusetts, called “The Hillside,” was a stop on the Underground Railroad for escaped slaves to rest on their way north to freedom.
During the Civil War, the Union Army sent out a call for battlefield nurses.
Louisa May Alcott enlisted and served. She wrote:
“My greatest pride is that I lived to know the brave men and women who did so much for the cause, and that I had a very small share in the war which put an end to a great wrong.”
She, along with her mother and sister, gave free lessons in reading and writing to African American women.
In 1879, Massachusetts allowed women vote on issues of schools, bonds, and taxes.
Alcott was the first woman to register to vote in Concord. She wrote on 1881 to Thomas Niles:
“I can remember when anti-slavery was in just the same state that suffrage is now, and take more pride in the very small help we Alcotts could give than I all the books I ever wrote.”
Some notable lines of Louisa May Alcott are:
“The door of opportunity opened just a crack.”
“Happy is the son whose faith in his mother remains unchallenged.”
“Watch and pray, dear, never get tired of trying, and never think it is impossible to conquer your fault.”
Alcott wrote:
“My child, the troubles and temptations of your life are beginning, and may be many; but you can overcome and outlive them all if you learn to feel the strength and tenderness of your Heavenly Father as you do that of your earthly one.
The more you love and trust Him, the nearer you will feel to Him, and the less you will depend on human power and wisdom.
His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness, and strength.
Believe this heartily, and go to God with all your little cares, and hopes, and sins, and sorrows, as freely and confidingly as you come to your mother.”
In 1848, Louisa May Alcott convinced her family to move to Boston, where they attended Federal Street Church and heard the preaching of William Ellery Channing.
Amos Bronson Alcott said Channing: “Throws upon the principles of Christianity a light which dissipates the darkness in which it has been so long enclosed.”
The Alcott’s old home, “The Hillside” was purchased by Nathaniel Hawthorne, who renamed it “The Wayside.”
He hired Henry David Thoreau to survey it in 1852.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a romanticist author, famous for Twice-Told Tales (1837), The Scarlet Letter (1850), The Marble Faun (1850), The House of Seven Gables (1851), and The Blithedale Romance (1852).
He wrote:
“Christian faith is a grand cathedral, with divinely pictured windows. Standing without, you see no glory, nor can possibly imagine any; standing within, every ray of light reveals a harmony of unspeakable splendors.”
“Our Creator would never have made such lovely days, and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal.”
William Ellery Channing, who graduated from Harvard in 1798, described how the French Revolution had shaken the faith of the Harvard student body:
“College was never in a worse state than when I entered it. Society was passing through a most critical stage.
The French Revolution had diseased the imagination and unsettled the understanding of men everywhere.
The old foundations of social order, loyalty, tradition, habit, reverence for antiquity, were everywhere shaken, if not subverted. The authority of the past was gone.”
This era of shaken faith led to skepticism, similar to what was experienced in Europe following the Napoleonic Wars, and World Wars I and II.
Alberto M. Piedra wrote in “The Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution” (Institute of World Politics, Jan. 12, 2018):
“French governments between 1789 and the Concordat of 1801 … formed the basis of the gradual trend toward dechristianization, later transformed into a less radical laïcité (secularization.)
Most scholars would argue that the goal of the revolutionary government between 1793 and 1794 ranged from the public reclamation of the massive amount of land, power, and money held by the Church in France to the termination of religious practice and the extermination of religion itself …”
Piedra continued:
“La Constitution Civile du Clergé … July 12, 1790 … resulted in … religious practice … outlawed and replaced with the cult of the ‘supreme being,’ a deist state religion …
Dechristianization … increased in intensity with … the Law of Suspects (September 17, 1793) …
1) all priests and all persons protecting them are liable to death on the spot,
2) the destruction of all crosses, bells and other external signs of worship,
3) the destruction of statues, plaques, and iconography from places of worship …
In 1793, the Christian calendar was replaced with one reckoning from the date of the Revolution and the Festivals of ‘liberty, reason, and the supreme being’ were officially established …”
Piedra concluded:
“During the two-year Reign of Terror, anti-clericalism became more violent than any other in history …
The Festival of Reason … November 10, 1793 in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris … loose living girls took occasion to celebrate at the main altar the cult to the Goddess Reason with Phrygian bonnets on their heads.
The wave of massacres started in 1789 … Rene Sedillot writes in his book Le Coût de la Révolution Française that in Paris 1,300 assassinations took place in four days.”
The French Revolution’s hatred of traditional Christianity crossed the ocean, and a watered-down version influenced various New England preachers, most notably, William Ellery Channing.
His preaching contributed to the birth to “Unitarian Christianity,” out of which a group of idealistic New England authors, philosophers, intellectuals and politicians formed the “Transcendental Club” — which enjoyed popularity prior to the Civil War.
They attempted to maintain Christian morality without acknowledging the divinity of Christ.
They held to Biblical concepts of the individual, freedom of conscience, self-control, and the existence of the being of God, but fell short of attributing the origin of these concepts to Judeo-Christian thought.
Transcendentalists were essentially religious libertarians who championed self-reliance, independence, seeing the divine experience in everyday life, and believed salvation was earned by doing good works.
Channing was initially a moderate abolitionist till the British successfully abolished slavery in the British West Indies in 1834.
When none of the predicted economic and social upheavals took place in the Caribbean, Channing changed and began doing good works to abolish slavery.
At first, transcendentalists maintained basic Christian doctrines, being called Unitarian Christians.
Channing wrote March 31, 1832, (Memoir of William Ellery Channing, vol. 2, p. 416):
“I have always inclined to the doctrine of the preexistence of Christ, though am not insensible to the weight of your objections.”
A similar attitude was expressed by Abigail Adams, who attended the First Parish Church in Quincy, and wrote May 5, 1816, that she still believed Jesus was divine:
“I acknowledge myself a unitarian – Believing that the Father alone, is the supreme God, and that Jesus Christ derived his Being, and all his powers and honors from the Father.”
Over time, unitarians and transcendentalists stopped believing in the atonement of Christ.
They cut themselves loose from the anchor of Biblical absolutes.
The resulting moral drift affected the pulpits of Congregational Churches in New England, as well as New England academia, most significantly, Harvard.
In 1805, transcendentalism forever changed Harvard.
Jedediah Morse, “Father of American Geography” was one of the overseers of Harvard. He tried to keep the college anchored to traditional Christianity but he was out-voted.
The other college overseers voted to break from the nearly two centuries of Calvinistic Protestantism by choosing a Unitarian, Henry Ware, to chair of the Harvard Divinity School.
Soon there began a purging of the past faith.
At Yale, there was a pushback to this liberalism, led by Timothy Dwight, the 8th President of the college.
Dwight listened patiently to that era’s version of woke students who were enamored with French infidelity, secularism, and the loosening of moral restraints.
Then Dwight systematically answered their questions and exposed the shallowness of their reasoning in a series of weekly lectures, giving “a well-reasoned defense of the Bible’s accuracy.”
Dwight’s son, Sereno Edwards Dwight, was a student at Yale during this time. Sereno, who later became U.S. Senate Chaplain, wrote:
“From that moment, infidelity was not only without a stronghold, but without a lurking place.”
Another Yale student wrote:
“It seemed for a time as if the whole mass of the students would press into the kingdom. It was the Lord’s doing, and marvelous in all eyes. Oh, what a blessed change! It was a glorious reformation.”
A Yale tutor wrote:
“Yale College is a little temple; prayer and praise seem to be the delight of the greater part of the students while those who are still unfeeling are awed with respectful silence.”
Through the efforts of Timothy Dwight, over a third of Yale’s student body experienced conversion, with many entering the ministry.
The secular push, though, continued in academia, especially among intellectual elites, fueled by German philosophers.
Over time, the anti-Christian ideas that began with French Revolution took root and became predominant on American college campuses.
Education became increasingly secular, and eventually hostile and intolerant of Biblical faith, and even God.
By the late 1800s, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called it hypocritical for those who have rejected Christianity and God to consider themselves “moral” (“Twilight of the Idols,” The Portable Nietzsche, ed., trans. Walter Kaufman, NY: Penguin Books, 1976, p. 515-6):
“When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one’s feet … By breaking one main concept out of it, the faith in God, one breaks the whole: nothing necessary remains in one’s hands.
Christianity presupposes that man does not know … what is good for him … God … alone knows it. Christian morality … stands or falls with faith in God.”
One of the students of the liberal Harvard Divinity School was Theodore Parker, who graduated in 1836.
Parker identified as a transcendentalist and was ordained as the pastor of the Unitarian Church in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.
He wrote:
“I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve … by … sight, I can divine it by conscience.
And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”
Around this time, Millard Fillmore helped organized a Unitarian Church in 1821 near Buffalo, New York.
In July, 1850, Fillmore became the 13th U.S. President when Zachary Taylor died.
Fillmore articulated the Democrat position on slavery:
“God knows that I detest slavery, but it is an existing evil, for which we are not responsible, and we must endure it, and give it such protection as is guaranteed by the Constitution, till we can get rid of it without destroying the last hope of free government in the world.”
Parker criticized the Democrat Party’s pledge to continue slavery:
“See what the Convention says of the Democratic party: — ‘We understand the Democratic party to be pledged to decline any legislation upon the subject of slavery, with a view either to its prohibition or restriction in places where it does not exist, or to its abolition in any of the territories of the United States’ …”
Parker continued:
“There are some very sad examples … A man of high standing in the New England churches … defends slavery …
Perhaps I ought not to say, ‘if’ Christianity supports slavery. We all know it does not, never did, and never can.” (Frances Power Cobbe, The Collected Works of Theodore Parker, 1863, Volume 5, p. 103-133).
When Fillmore signed the Fugitive Slave Law, which empowered the Federal Government to track down and arrest escaped slaves, Theodore Parker publicly rebuked him:
“There hangs in my study … the gun my grandfather fought with at the battle of Lexington… and also the musket he captured from a British soldier on that day.
If I would not peril my property, my liberty, nay my life to keep my parishioners out of slavery, then I should throw away these trophies, and should think I was the son of some coward and not a brave man’s child.”
Though evangelical Christianity and unitarian transcendentalism were separate from each other theologically, they were able to join together in patriotism and opposing slavery.
Parker’s religion of doing good works resulted in him becoming one of the many outspoken abolitionists.
His writing may have influenced Abraham Lincoln, whose Gettysburg Address, November 1863:
“Our fathers brought forth … a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal …
That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Parker had previously stated in “The Effect of Slavery on the American People,” to the New England Anti-Slavery Convention, May 29, 1850:
“The American idea … seems to me to lie at the basis of all our … institutions …
The idea that all men have unalienable rights; that in respect thereof, all men are created equal; and that government is to be established and sustained for the purpose of giving every man an opportunity for the enjoyment and development of all these unalienable rights …
This idea demands … a democracy,
that is, a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people; of course, a government after the principles of eternal justice, the unchanging law of God; for shortness’ sake, I will call it the idea of Freedom.”
Parker himself may have gotten that idea from Daniel Webster, who told the U.S. Senate in 1830:
“It is, Sir, the people’s Constitution, the people’s Government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people.”
Earlier, British politician Benjamin Disraeli wrote in Vivian Grey (1826):
“All power is a trust; that we are accountable for its exercise; that from the people and for the people all springs, and all must exist.”
The line may have originally been from John Wycliffe in 1384, who was the first to translate the Bible into English so the common people could read it:
“This Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People.”
Theodore Parker wrote:
“Since the Revolution, there have been three instances of great national importance, in which freedom has overcome slavery …
1. In prohibiting slavery from the North-west territory, before the adoption of the Constitution;
2. In prohibiting the slave-trade in 1808. I mean, in prohibiting the African slave-trade; the American slave-trade is still carried on in the capital of the United States;
3. The prohibition of slavery in Oregon may be regarded as a third victory.”
A colleague of Channing and Parker was poet Henry David Thoreau.
Thoreau wrote:
“It’s only by forgetting yourself that you draw near to God.”
“If Nature is our mother, then God is our father.”
“When you knock, ask to see God — none of the servants.”
“As I stand over the insect crawling amid the pine needles on the forest floor, and endeavoring to conceal itself from my sight, and ask myself why it will cherish those humble thoughts, and hide its head from me who might, perhaps, be its benefactor, and impart to its race some cheering information, I am reminded of the greater Benefactor and Intelligence that stands over me the human insect.”
In the spring of 1862, while he lay dying, Thoreau was asked by his aunt Louisa if he had made peace with God. Thoreau responded, “I did not know we had ever quarreled.”
Henry David Thoreau wrote in Civil Disobedience, 1849:
“‘That government is best which governs not at all;’ and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.”
Thoreau influenced Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.
“In this courageous New Englander’s refusal to pay his taxes and his choice of jail rather than support a war that would spread slavery’s territory into Mexico, I made my first contact with the theory of nonviolent resistance.
Fascinated by the idea of refusing to cooperate with an evil system, I was so deeply moved that I reread the work several times. I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.
No other person has been more eloquent and passionate in getting this idea across than Henry David Thoreau … The teachings of Thoreau came alive in our civil rights movement …
Peaceful protest(s) … are outgrowths of Thoreau’s insistence that evil must be resisted and that no moral man can patiently adjust to injustice.”
Another contemporary of Channing, Parker, and Thoreau was poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, born May 25, 1803.
An advocate of individualism and personal freedom, Emerson wrote
“This is the history of governments … a man who cannot be acquainted with me, taxes me; looking from afar at me, ordains that a part of my labor shall go to this or that whimsical end, not as I, but as he happens to fancy …
… Hence, the less government we have, the better …
The fewer laws … the less confided power.
The antidote to this abuse of formal Government, is, the influence of private character …
The appearance of character makes the State unnecessary …
He needs no army, fort, or navy, – he loves men too well; no bribe, or feast, or palace, to draw friends to him; no vantage ground, no favorable circumstance.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson composed some of the best loved poems in American literature, including The Concord Hymn, of which a stanza is inscribed on the base of Daniel Chester French’s Minute Man Statue:
“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled;
Here once the embattled farmers stood;
And fired the shot heard round the world.”
Emerson commented on John Quincy Adams:
“No man could read the Bible with such powerful effect, even with the cracked and winded voice of old age.”
In 1848, Ralph Waldo Emerson visited Paris between the February Revolution and the bloody June Days.
When he saw that mobs had cut down trees near the Champ de Mars to form barricades across downtown city streets, he wrote in his journal:
“At the end of the year we shall … see if the Revolution was worth the trees.”
When abolitionist publisher and Presbyterian pastor Elijah Lovejoy was murdered by pro-slavery Democrats in 1838 and his printing press destroyed, Ralph Waldo Emerson said:
“It is but the other day that the brave Lovejoy gave his breast to the bullets of a mob, for the rights of free speech and opinion.”
Emerson stated:
“I think we must get rid of slavery, or we must get rid of freedom.”
“It now appears that the negro race is, more than any other, susceptible of rapid civilization. The emancipation is observed, in the islands, to have wrought for the negro a benefit as sudden as when a thermometer is brought out of the shade into the sun. It has given him eyes and ears.”
Abolitionist Sen. Charles Sumner attended Trinity Episcopal Church in Boston, and King’s Chapel, described as Unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and Congregational in church government.
Sumner took Ralph Waldo Emerson to the White House to meet Republican President Abraham Lincoln.
Having voted for the Lincoln, Emerson stated of the Southern Democrat states in a lecture at the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.:
“The South calls slavery an institution … I call it destitution …
Emancipation is the demand of civilization.”
In 1865, Ralph Waldo Emerson remarked at a memorial service for Abraham Lincoln:
“I doubt if any death has caused so much pain as this has caused.”
On September 12, 2001, the day after Islamic fundamentalists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, J.C. Watts, Jr., gave a speech quoting Emerson:
“Politics has taken the day off. Today Congress remembers and recognizes the afflicted and the sorrowing and those who come to the aid of their fellow man. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in 1842, captured what we are thinking as a nation today:
‘Sorrow makes us all children again,
destroys all differences of intellect.
The wisest knows nothing.'”
In The Conduct of Life (1860), Emerson wrote:
Fate-
“Men are what their mothers made them.”
In May-Day and Other Pieces (1867), Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
Boston Hymn, st. 2-
“God said, I am tired of kings,
I suffer them no more;
Up to my ear the morning brings
The outrage of the poor.”
Fragment-
“Wilt thou seal up the avenues of ill?
Pay every debt as if God wrote the bill.”
Ode, st. 5 –
“United States! the ages plead, –
Present and Past in under-song, –
Go put your creed into your deed,
Nor speak with double tongue.”
Voluntaries III-
“So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is God to man,
When Duty whispers low, Thou must,
The youth replies, I can.”
Regarding civilization, Emerson wrote:
“The true test of civilization is, not the census, nor the size of the cities, nor the crops – no, but the kind of man the country turns out.”
In Social Aims, Emerson wrote:
“Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.”
In The American Scholar (1837), Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
“In how many churches, by how many prophets, tell me, is man made sensible that he is an infinite Soul; that the earth and heavens are passing into his mind; that he is drinking forever the soul of God?”
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
“All I have seen has taught me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”
“America is another name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine Providence in behalf of the human race.”
Brian Myers: The formal and intentional lack of religious identity as a nation that troubled many Christians even when the consensus was still very much present.
Brian Myers: When considering the responsibilities for the Christian in relation to his citizenship, we first need to consider what kind of nation we are in.
In a very different time — yet in similar economic straits — then-presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke of the “forgotten man,” the American left behind by seismic trends and sweeping changes beyond his control. “These unhappy times call for the building of plans that rest upon the forgotten, the …
Liberal media fact checkers were quick to label reporters and lawmakers who supported the lab leak theory as conspiracy theorists in the wake of the 2020 coronavirus outbreak. “We can’t disregard these as lunatic conspiracy theories on the fringes,” Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, a progressive media watchdog, stated in …
Since the end of World War II, many political candidates from across the world, but particularly here in the US, attempt to solidify positions or attack their opponents by using references of Jewish persecution under Nazi Germany and the atrocities brought on by the racial genocide and under the Holocaust. …
The Senate unanimously passed an amendment that would permanently ban all federal funding of risky gain-of-function research in China. But the amendment, which was spearheaded by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, uses the same definition of gain-of-function research that is currently used by the National Institutes of Health. The NIH used …
I apologize for the play in words with my title for today’s post. The fact that 20 attorneys general have signed a letter protesting or banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory in their states is proof that the people are waking up. We are waking up and beginning to …
President Joe Biden will reportedly name Tom Nides, a former State Department official, as the American ambassador to Israel, according to the Associated Press. The AP noted that filling the vacant position became a top priority following the eruption of violence between Israel and Hamas. The days-long conflict was the …
Media reports surfacing Tuesday and Wednesday went after Chip and Joanna Gaines for donating to a campaign run by Chip Gaines’ sister that critiques critical race theory. The “Fixer Upper” stars donated $1,000 to Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District (GCISD) School Board candidate Shannon Braun’s campaign, The Dallas Morning News reported …
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has done an about-face regarding an employer’s liability if it mandates the experimental COVID-19 vaccine and an employee suffers an adverse reaction. As recently reported, OSHA stated it would follow current legal standards under 29 CFR 1904.7 making a business liable for any …
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a briefing today. The briefing is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. EDT. Content created by Conservative Daily News is available for re-publication without charge under the Creative Commons license. Visit our syndication page for details.
Happy Thursday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. My Liberace action figures are all in their original boxes.
Try as I might, I just can’t block last year out of my head. I’m going to need some sort of medically-induced coma to be able to pull that off. Rather than continuing the futile effort of avoiding it, I spend my time picking it apart, trying to see if I can pinpoint the exact moment that it all went awry. I’m writing a book that recaps the madness and it still seems as if I’m chronicling a bad dream. It couldn’t really have been that surreal, could it?
I keep checking, and I guess it was.
Despite four relentless years of the media lying intensely about him, Donald Trump was still poised to be re-elected as we headed into 2020. Then the infernal Wuhan Chinese Bat Flu hit and the Democrats immediately sniffed opportunity.
The centerpiece of their early attacks on Trump involved painting him — and by extension his supporters — as a RAAAAAACIST liar for suggesting that the coronavirus came from a lab in Wuhan. From there they built the house of lies that enabled the race to become close enough for them pull whatever shenanigans they did in November that got us to this point.
We entered a truly disturbing and bizarre phase where the American mainstream media was willing to take at face value any claims made by agents of the Chinese Communist Party, all the while rejecting and denigrating anything that was said by the president of the United States. It was a new low even for that group of professional bottom-dwellers.
Throughout 2020, as the China virus spread across the globe, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands, Townhall reported on the latest information about COVID-19’s spread, President Trump’s plan to defeat it and his efforts to develop new treatments, and most importantly, reminded readers where the virus originated: Wuhan, China.
While Townhall reported on those questioning the lies coming from the Chinese communist government and the scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology about the coronavirus leaking from a lab, the left-wing media, Democrats, and Dr. Fauci bought into the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda and anyone asking questions about a potential lab leak was labeled a conspiracy theorist.
Now, the Left and the Democrat Media Complex are changing their tune, saying that the lab leak theory has some credibility, but we were reporting the facts and real news first
The pandemic was a godsend to Biden and the Democrat Media Complex knew it. It gave him a one-note campaign. He didn’t have to grasp and talk about complex policy issues. He had an excuse to abandon the rigors of a presidential campaign and stay home and make the occasional video appearance from his basement. All he had to do was bark, “Trump! Virus! Bad!” and DOCTOR Mommy Jill would let him get back to his Legos.
Dem-friendly media of both the mainstream and social variety went to work feverishly to make the magic happen for Drooling Joe. They continued to discredit Trump and his supporters whenever they told the truth about the virus. Facebook decided that it was in the business of deciding what was and was not truth. The platform began yanking any content that went against the approved Democratic pandemic narrative.
On Wednesday, Facebook ended its ban on posts claiming that COVID-19 was man-made, a spokesman toldPolitico. Facebook had previously decreed that the man-made virus theory had been debunked.
“In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made from our apps,” Facebook said in a statement. “We’re continuing to work with health experts to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge.”
The “new facts” line is rich. The facts were there in the beginning, they were just inconvenient for what Facebook was trying to achieve for Joe Biden.
It wasn’t just the truth about the plague that Zuckerberg and Company had to sweep under the rug. There was also the matter of Biden’s sleazebag cocaine freak son Hunter. When the really bad news about him broke late in the campaign, Zuckey, Dorsey, and the rest of the Hitler Youth began shutting down anyone who truthfully reported it. We were told that it was a nothingburger of a story and that Biden was the most innocent of lambs when it came to any of the Burisma stuff.
According to documents on the laptop Hunter Biden abandoned at a repair shop in Delaware, Hunter introduced his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, to an executive at the notoriously corrupt Ukrainian gas firm Burisma at a dinner in Washington, D.C. Burisma was paying Hunter Biden $83,333 per month to sit on the firm’s board. Hunter’s Russian and Kazakh business partners also attended the dinner.
Hunter Biden invited guests to the dinner on April 16, 2015, held in the private “Garden Room” at Café Milano, a Georgetown restaurant whose catchphrase is, “Where the world’s most powerful people go.” The New York Post first reported on the emails on Wednesday.
The next day, Vadym Pozharskyi, an executive at Burisma, emailed Hunter Biden to thank him for introducing his father.
When they weren’t lying outright, they were actively suppressing the truth. We’ve all got opinions on how many legitimate votes Joe Biden received last November (LOL at 81 million) but one thing is very obvious now: however many people actually did vote for him did so without complete or honest information.
Of course, the Dems and the MSM are all safe from repercussions now. The Oval Office fix is in, and even they know that Ol’ Gropes isn’t going be running again, no matter what his wife keeps telling him to say. Naturally, the mainstream media won’t be reporting on how awfully the mainstream media behaved to get Biden elected.
In parting, let me say that all of this really isn’t doing much for my skepticism about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.
PJ Media senior columnist and associate editor Stephen Kruiser is a professional stand-up comic, writer, and recovering political activist who edits and writes PJ’s Morning Briefing, aka The Greatest Political Newsletter in America. His latest book, Straight Outta Feelings, is a humorous exploration of how the 2016 election made him enjoy politics more than he ever had before. When not being a reclusive writer, Kruiser has had the honor of entertaining U.S. troops all over the world. Follow on: Gab, Parler, MeWe
Americans Remain Patriotic . . . Despite every effort of the Woke left to coerce Americans into accepting ideas they don’t believe – and in some cases deeply repudiate, most Americans remain proud of our country and value patriotism. Consider the results of a survey done by McLaughlin & Associates for a Gingrich 360 project. 87 percent of Americans see themselves primarily as Americans while only 8 percent see themselves primarily as persons of color. Blacks see themselves as Americans by a 66 percent to 28 percent margin. Hispanics are 76 percent to 17 percent pro-American identity. Specifically, among immigrant households, 85 percent consider themselves American and only 11 percent consider themselves persons of color.
So, the next time you hear some leftwing figure promoting racial or tribal identity over a united American identity, remember they are talking to one-tenth of the country and are rejected by 85 percent of the country. Gingrich360
Politics
Biden feels the heat from all sides on immigration . . . President Biden is under mounting pressure from both the left and the right on immigration, the issue on which his polling numbers are worse than any other. Progressives and human rights groups want to see Biden move faster to dismantle the last vestiges of former President Trump’s approach. But Republican politicians and conservative media are branding a sharp increase in attempted crossings of the southwestern border as “Biden’s border crisis.” They say that the president’s approach is encouraging illegal migration attempts and thus ceding control of the nation’s frontiers. The Hill
Biden asks intel community to ‘redouble’ efforts probing COVID-19 origins . . .President Biden on Wednesday announced a ramped-up effort to determine the origins of COVID-19, reflecting a new acceptance in U.S. political and public health circles that the virus might have emerged naturally or from a Chinese lab in the city of Wuhan. Biden asked the U.S. intelligence community to “redouble their efforts” to come to a definitive conclusion on the disease’s origins, calling on them to report back to him within 90 days. “And I have asked the Intelligence Community to keep Congress fully apprised of its work.” The Hill
We don’t need to wait for the crisis to happen and then, reactively, do an investigation and write a report. We must proactively monitor over-the-horizon threats, at all times, to keep America safe. The primary mission of intelligence is strategic warning, the mission that has been largely abandoned by the IC, in favor of tracking “bright and shiny objects.” Why? Because it’s the ‘whoopty doo’ type of intel that gets an analyst the PDB (Presidential Daily Brief) kudos.
Biden ATF nominee would ban the AR-15 . . . David Chipman, President Biden’s nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Wednesday that he supports banning the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, one of the most popular guns in America. In his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Chipman endorsed a Democratic bill that would ban “assault weapons,” including the AR-15, which Mr. Biden has also endorsed. White House Dossier
‘The Hamas Caucus’: Republicans Launch Explosive Term For Ocasio-Cortez ‘Squad’ . . . As Israel spent 11 days defending itself from a barrage of rocket attacks from Gaza, a handful of congressional Republicans who all share a hallway with member of the progressive “squad” Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decided to make statements against her anti-Israel rhetoric in no unclear terms. Republican Reps. Mike Waltz of Florida, Lisa McClain of Michigan, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Chris Jacobs of New York all hung up “Stand With Israel” posters next to their office doors. Waltz then told Fox News that he is giving the squad a new name: The “Hamas Caucus.” Daily Caller
Excellent name. Captures their essence.
Manhattan DA convenes grand jury to consider criminal charges against Trump . . . “Manhattan’s district attorney has convened the grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict former president Donald Trump, other executives at his company or the business itself, should prosecutors present the panel with criminal charges, according to two people familiar with the development. White House Dossier
Senate GOP doubts grand jury charges would weaken Trump . . . Senate Republicans see a special grand jury investigation into President Trump’s business practices by Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. as more evidence that Democrats want to keep Trump in the spotlight to drag them down in the midterm election. Republicans think the investigation will only further deepen partisan divisions over the former president and believe that even if he’s indicted, it won’t diminish him as a political force in 2022 and beyond. The Hill
National Security
Homegrown ISIS in America . . . In the book Homegrown: ISIS in America, the authors provide a highly detailed account of ISIS activities in the United States. The book explores an area which has been underexamined in the terrorism/counterterrorism, security, and intelligence literature. Culminating over four years of collected research, the authors use the following sources for data collection: The Program on Extremism at George Washington University, court documents, trial attendance, interviews, and approximately forty Freedom of Information Act requests. The result is a profound analysis of ISIS in the United States. Strategy Bridge
Cities Reverse Defunding the Police Amid Rising Crime . . .
One year after the movement to “defund” law enforcement began to upend municipal budgets, many American cities are restoring money to their police departments or proposing to spend more. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would reinstate $92 million for a new precinct after scrapping the project last summer.
In the nation’s 20 largest local law-enforcement agencies, city and county leaders want funding increases for nine of the 12 departments where next year’s budgets already have been proposed. The increases range from 1% to nearly 6%. WSJ
Russian Navy Spy Ship Quietly Operating Off Hawaii . . . A Russian Navy surveillance ship has spent the last several days lingering off the coast of the western coast of Hawaii. The Russian ship has operated just outside U.S. territorial waters, according to US Navy officials. “U.S. Pacific Fleet is aware of the Russian vessel operating in international waters in the vicinity of Hawaii and will continue to track it through the duration of its time here,” U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. John Gay said in a statement to USNI News. The ship has not been broadcasting an automatic identification system (AIS) signal, officials confirmed. US Naval Institute
“Oh, it’s nothing, just strategic targeting,” would be a frequent response that I heard from some of the intelligence “experts” in USG. Yeah, so are the Russian war planes, practicing strikes on US homeland, the undetected Russian submarines, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) off US coast, and the cyberattacks on our critical infrastructure that turn a major pipeline inoperable for a week. Nothing to see here, really.
Colonial Pipeline Missed Requested Security Review Before Hack . . . Colonial Pipeline Co. last year didn’t undergo a requested federal security review of its facilities and was in the process of scheduling a separate audit of its computer networks when hackers hit on May 7. The ransomware attack led to a six-day shutdown of the East Coast’s largest conduit for fuel, sparking scrutiny of pipeline security and pushing the Department of Homeland Security to prepare to issue first-of-their-kind cybersecurity regulations for the sector. It is unclear if an assessment by the TSA, a division of DHS that oversees pipeline security, would have uncovered digital weak points exploited in a hack that U.S. officials attributed to a criminal group known as DarkSide. WSJ
The feds can’t keep their own networks secure. Who audits the auditors?
Pentagon Report on P-8A Readiness for ASW Warfare Mission . . . Department of Defense Inspector General issued a report “Evaluation of the Readiness of the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon Aircraft to Meet the U.S. European Command’s Anti-Submarine Warfare Requirements.” The objective of this evaluation was to determine whether the readiness of the P-8A Poseidon fleet met the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) requirements of the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM). EUCOM’s primary area of responsibility (AOR) is Russia where it faces the Russian Navy, specifically, the Russian Northern Fleet. The Northern Fleet is Russia’s most capable naval force, and it operates technologically-advanced ballistic missile submarines that can reach targets in the United States. The Northern Fleet also operates attack submarines that can destroy surface, subsurface, and land targets. US Naval Institute
Blacklisted Chinese tech still spreading in U.S. as lawmakers scramble to close loopholes . . . The blacklisting of Chinese companies has not stopped their tech and products from entering the U.S., leaving lawmakers searching for a solution. The U.S. government prohibited federal agencies from using certain products, but video-surveillance research company IPVM said it uncovered municipalities, local government facilities and schools continuing to buy those products. According to IPVM, more than 300 American government organizations bought thermal imaging and video technology from Hikvision and Dahua despite Washington’s warning of national security and public safety risks. Washington Times
Coronavirus
Sen. Ron Johnson: Evidence Of COVID Lab Leak “Hidden In Plain Sight,” Blocked By The Media . . . Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) ripped Dr. Anthony Fauci and the media for originally dismissing the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China. Fauci is now giving credence to the theory, however, Johnson told FOX News on Tuesday that the evidence has been “hidden in plain sight.” “The evidence of the creation of this in a lab or the leaking from a lab has been hidden in plain sight for literally months, but the mainstream media just won’t pick up the story,” Johnson said. “. . . Dr. Fauci poo-pooed it, dismissed it and ridiculed it.” RealClearPolitics
Senate passes bill requiring the Biden Admin to declassify intelligence on COVID-19 origins . . . The Senate approved a bill that would require the Biden administration and the director of national intelligence to declassify intelligence on the origins of COVID-19 by unanimous consent Wednesday evening. “The American people deserve to know about the origins of COVID-19,” Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said on the Senate floor before the bill passed. “They deserve to know how this terrible pandemic that has ravaged the globe and our country, how it got started, and what China’s role was in starting it.” Fox News
Immunity to the Coronavirus May Persist for Years, Scientists Find . . . Immunity to the coronavirus lasts at least a year, possibly a lifetime, improving over time especially after vaccination, according to two new studies. Together, the studies suggest that most people who have recovered from Covid-19 and who were later immunized will not need boosters. Vaccinated people who were never infected most likely will need the shots, however, as will a minority who were infected but did not produce a robust immune response. Cells that retain a memory of the virus persist in the bone marrow and may churn out antibodies whenever needed, according to one of the studies, published on Monday in the journal Nature. NYT
International
Russia deploys heavy long-range bombers at Syrian base . . . Three heavy, long-range Tupolev, Tu-22M3 bombers have been posted to the Russian Khmeimim air base in western Syrian, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has announced. The base’s runways were especially lengthened and broadened to accommodate them. The announcement added that that this “supersonic, variable sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber” will conduct surveillance sweeps across the Middle East and the Gulf at a range of 5,000km DEBKAfile
The Russians can’t be thankful enough to President Obama for asking Putin to help the US with Syria problem – remove chemical weapons and all that stuff. Now President Joe Biden will be jetting off to Geneva soon to ask Putin for help denuclearize North Korea and to solve the Iran problem. Russia always stands ready to help America. Most of the times, we don’t even have to ask.
‘A serious foreign policy weapon’: Russia and China align against religious liberty advocates . . . United States activists say religious liberty is a deepening fault line in international affairs, as Chinese and Russian officials align to repudiate Western condemnation of their human rights abuses. “The religious factor is increasingly becoming a serious foreign policy weapon,” Russian ambassador-at-large Gennady Askaldovich told the upper house of the Russian Legislature this week. “There is a growing tendency on the part of a number of external players to play on the factor of protecting the rights of believers in order to fight against their international opponents.” That allegation dovetailed with a subsequent outburst from China, which imposed sanctions on a former member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in retaliation for Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s condemnation of Beijing’s repression of the Falun Gong. Washington Examiner
Don’t you wish that the ruling government nomenklatura were concerned about religious liberties of Americans and US sovereignty on our Southern Border as much as they are worried about Ukraine’s sovereignty and religious freedoms in foreign lands?
Uyghurs targeted by fake human rights emails . . . Members of the Uyghur Muslim community in China and abroad are being targeted in a surveillance efforts by likely “Chinese-speaking” hackers through the use of fake emails from the United Nations (UN) and a human rights group, cybersecurity researchers announced Thursday. The findings were part of a joint collaboration between cybersecurity groups Check Point Research and Kaspersky’s Global Research & Analysis Team (GReAT), which concluded with “low to medium confidence” that the effort was carried out by Chinese-speaking hackers. The Hill
Money
Summer housing market ‘insane,’ landlords taking advantage: Realtor . . . A South Florida realtor described the summer housing market as a “feeding frenzy” Tuesday, telling “Mornings with Maria” that rent prices are also skyrocketing as landlords take advantage of potential buyers losing bidding wars. SAM DEBIANCHI: “The market is insane. It’s been some hot housing markets. Take Phoenix, for example. You’re seeing a 20 percent increase, San Diego, 19 percent, Seattle, 18 percent. And here in South Florida, . . I can say it is a feeding frenzy for homes.” US cities seeing up to a 20 percent increase in buying. Fox Business
Same here in Northern Virginia swampland, according our realtor neighbor. She said she had just sold a house that was originally priced at $850K for over a million, because she received 22 offers on it.
McDonald’s location offering iPhones to new workers amid labor crunch . . . The nationwide labor shortage has gotten so bad that a desperate McDonald’s location in Illinois is offering a free iPhone after six months of work to try to lure new employees.
A photo of a window display advertising the promotion, which read “free iPhone after 6 months employment & meet employment criteria,” went viral on Twitter after it was shared over the weekend.
While users joked about all of the potential loopholes to the offer, it shows how hard a time business owners are having attracting employees into the workforce just as the economy is emerging from the pandemic. Restaurants, in particular, are also preparing for the busy summer season. New York Post
Are those Obama phones? 😉
You should also know
Vets Battle Critical Race Theory Invasion of Military . . .Troubled by an influx of critical race theory into the military, a coalition of veterans and congressional Republicans are demanding the Pentagon stop placating left-wing activists and focus on national defense. A July 2020 film by the United States Air Force Academy football team endorsing Black Lives Matter and “antiracism” education prompted retired Lt. Gen. Rod Bishop to speak out against the school’s administrators. Military academies, the 34-year Air Force veteran said, should remain politically neutral, particularly at a time when Black Lives Matter protests have led to riots and violence throughout major cities across the country. “Rather than e pluribus unum, rather than teamwork, rather than cohesion, we’re being taught an ideology which seeks to divide us based on the color of our skin,” Bishop told the Washington Free Beacon. “I’ve flown into combat zones. It didn’t matter if my copilot was black or not. How are we better for teaching all the elements of critical race theory?” Bishop’s complaints were ignored by academy leadership. Washington Free Beacon
White Brandeis Dean Kate Slater posts epic critical race theory rant: ‘I hate whiteness’ . . . A white Brandeis University administrator defended critical race theory in a social media post that included how she hated “whiteness.” “Yes, all white people are racist in that all white people have been conditioned in a society where one’s racial identity determines life experiences/outcomes and whiteness is the norm and default,” Kate Slater, assistant dean of Graduate Student Affairs, posted on Instagram. New York Post
USA Today Removed Word ‘Male’ From Female Athlete’s Op-Ed On Biological Males In Girl’s Sports, Calling The Term ‘Hurtful’ . . . USA Today edited the word “male” to “transgender” in an opinion piece from a female track runner on the unfairness of biological males competing in girl’s sports, apologizing for the use of “hurtful” language. Chelsea Mitchell, who is now a collegiate runner at The College of William & Mary, wrote the op-Ed about how she lost several high school state titles and awards to biological males in her home state of Connecticut. “I’m running in the state championship, and I’m ranked the fastest high school female in the 55-meter dash in the state.” she wrote. “All my training, everything I’ve done to maximize my performance, might not be enough, simply because there’s a transgender runner on the line with an enormous physical advantage.” America’s largest newspaper, edited the last line in her lede, which originally said “everything I’ve done to maximize my performance, might not be enough, simply because there’s a runner on the line with an enormous physical advantage: a male body.” The terms “male” and/or “biological male” were mentioned 12 times in Mitchell’s original piece. USA Today’s edited version replaced all of them with “transgender.” Daily Caller
Companies Target Kids With LGBT Promos . . . An increasing number of companies are promoting Pride Month, specifically toward children. Years ago, the month of June was co-opted by the Rainbow Mafia as “Pride Month,” an effort to loudly push cultural acceptance of homosexuality. What began with narcissistic parades and banners spread into indoctrination via mainstream media TV shows and commercials, initially targeting adults but quickly moving toward inculcating children in leftist dogma. The Rainbow Mafia’s culturally subversive march continues apace, with the latest iteration being the blatant marketing of LGBTQ-themed children’s toys and other products. Patriot Post
We are officially in the CRT/LGBTQ ideology derangement syndrome territory. This is no longer humorous.
Bernie: Socialism for thee, comfortable hotel rooms for me . . . Democratic Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders may want share the wealth, but while he’s got his portion of it, he is going to keep his pink butt comfortable. A new book, “Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump” by author Edward-Isaac Dovere, reveals Bernie to be very particular about his travel demands. He took a lot of charter jets, and the ride had to be smooth. “By the beginning of 2017, his staff had put together a document laying out his minimum requirements for the kind of aircraft he’d require if asked to go on trips beyond his regular route back and forth between Vermont and Washington. Couldn’t be too cramped. Couldn’t get too bumpy.” When he got where he was going, comfort was paramount! White House Dossier
‘Communism Has Infiltrated America and the World,’ Warns a Persecuted Chinese Refugee . . . A Chinese woman who fled overseas in late 2019 has endured a life many in the West would find unfathomable. Unlawfully incarcerated and tortured in Chinese prisons for her faith, she describes her experience as “hell.” Countless like her have suffered far worse at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), thus, having escaped to North America, Chen Yinghua, 49, calls herself one of the lucky ones.
Coming from a totalitarian state where “differing views” are suppressed or canceled, Yinghua is noticing similarities emerge in North America. Speaking to The Epoch Times from her new home in Calgary, Canada, Yinghua said she hopes the world will soon wake up to communism’s real goal: to “rule all mankind and eventually destroy it.” Epoch Times
Guilty Pleasures
Ten Promising Republican Candidates For 2024 . . . Biden, who is the most popular candidate to ever be elected president, will be a tough opponent to beat in 2024. To face Biden, the Republican Party will need to bring out their best and brightest to run for office! Here are 10 candidates we desperately hope will run. 1. Barron Trump: We don’t know much about young Barron except that he’s tall and his last name is Trump. That fulfills 2 of the 3 most important requirements to be president. 2. Donald Trump in disguise: Slap a mustache on that guy and see if we can sneak him back in there! 3. Ronald Reagan’s ghost: The great Ronald Reagan. Can we bring him back? Someone get on that. 4. Mike Lindell: Imagine the sleep you’d get on a MyPillow knowing that there’s enough Hydroxychloroquine — and freedom — for everyone. 5. Alex Jones: The man was right. About everything. Maybe Donald Trump can be VP to help mellow Alex out a little. 6. 3 Ben Shapiros stacked on top of each other in a trenchcoat: Like we said– in order to be president, you have to be tall. That will require at least 3 Ben Shapiros. 7. An AR-15 wearing a MAGA hat: America’s enemies will never mess with us again. 8. “Q”: According to Q, he is already the shadow president and will be hauling the Dems off to jail any day now. 9. Metallica: Nothing more awesome than having the entire heavy metal band co-presidenting the country together– with the power of ROCK. 10. The entire cast of Duck Dynasty: Faith, family, firearms, and the 3rd most important requirement to be president: beards. Babylon Bee
Do you love Cut to the News? Let your family and friends know about it! They’ll thank you for it. Spread the word . . .
By Email – use the message that pops up or write your own.
Happy Thursday! The New York Knicks won their first playoff game since 2013 last night, but it’s important to remember that two of their best players—and their head coach—came from the Chicago Bulls. So it’s kind of like the Bulls got the win, too.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
President Joe Biden said in a statement Wednesday he has asked the intelligence community (IC) to “redouble their efforts” to investigate the origin of COVID-19, “including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.” Biden said the IC has yet to reach a definitive conclusion on the issue, as “the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one [theory] to be more likely than the other.”
The Senate voted unanimously yesterday to pass Sen. Josh Hawley’s bill that would require the director of national intelligence to declassify “any and all information” the federal government has about links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and COVID-19’s origins. The legislation would need to be approved in the House and signed by President Biden to go into effect.
A gunman killed eight people at a rail yard in San Jose, California on Wednesday. The suspect—who was a transit system employee and died after likely shooting himself—is believed to have set his home on fire prior to the shooting, according to a spokesman for the Santa Clara County sheriff’s office.
Former Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia—who also served as secretary of the Navy in the early 197os—died Tuesday evening at the age of 94. Children’s author and illustrator Eric Carle—most famous for The Very Hungry Caterpillar—also died earlier this week at the age of 91.
The United States confirmed 24,058 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday per the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, with 3.2 percent of the 762,561 tests reported coming back positive. An additional 1,016 deaths were attributed to the virus on Tuesday, bringing the pandemic’s American death toll to 591,941. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 22,810 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Meanwhile, 1,423,432 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered yesterday, with 165,074,907 Americans having now received at least one dose.
The Apple v. Epic Antitrust Showdown
If you have teenagers at home—or are a teenager yourself (thanks for reading TMD!)—you’ve likely heard of Fortnite, the massively popular online video game developed and released by Epic Games in 2017. The game boasts hundreds of millions of players across the globe, and—speaking from personal experience—those players can get sucked into gameplay for hours on end.
What you might not know, however, is that Fortnite is currently at the center of a lawsuit with mammoth stakes for mobile gaming, antitrust law, and the digital economy as a whole.
Apple removed Fortnite from its App Store last August when Epic Games implemented an update allowing users to access discounts on in-app purchases if they made said purchases through Epic’s direct payment feature rather than the App Store itself. Why? Because Apple charges developers a 30 percent fee on every app and in-app purchase—except for small businesses generating less than $1 million in annual revenue, which pay a 15 percent commission—and Epic was looking for a way to circumvent it.
“Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users,” Apple said in a statement at the time explaining its decision to boot the app. “Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services. … The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users.”
Epic—aware that its actions would provoke such a response—quickly filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Apple. “Apple has become what it once railed against: the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation. Apple is bigger, more powerful, more entrenched, and more pernicious than the monopolists of yesteryear,” it read. “Epic brings this suit to end Apple’s unfair and anti-competitive actions that Apple undertakes to unlawfully maintain its monopoly in two distinct, multibillion dollar markets: (i) the iOS App Distribution Market, and (ii) the iOS In-App Payment Processing Market.”
Fast forward nine months. Lawyers for both sides have been arguing before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers for the past several weeks, and the trial came to a close on Monday—although Gonzalez Rogers’ verdict has yet to be handed down.
The outcome will ultimately hinge on how the judge defines the markets in which Apple and Epic operate. “Epic is arguing that the relevant market in this case is iOS products—Apple products—and that Apple has 100 percent of that market,” Boston College law professor Daniel Lyons told The Dispatch. Apple, meanwhile, views its iOS operating system as just one of many platforms on which users can play Fortnite: The game is also available on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Windows, and—in a roundabout way—Android (Epic is suing Google for similar reasons).
“We are pleased that the trial shined a light on Apple’s anti-competitive app store practices that limit innovation and hurt consumers,” Meghan DiMuzio, executive director of the Coalition for App Fairness—of which Epic is a founding member—told The Dispatch. “With greater awareness of Apple’s conduct, there is growing support around the world for our goal of a fair app marketplace that will benefit all developers and their customers.”
Epic and its allies argue Apple’s alleged App Store monopoly harms consumers by artificially inflating prices. “When you choose to use Epic direct payments, you save up to 20% as Epic passes along payment processing savings to you,” the company told users when it rolled out its iOS competitor in August. But Apple argues its customers choose iPhones in part because of the App Store’s closed ecosystem and more stringent safety, security, and privacy features—and that those benefits are worth paying a premium for.
“I think [consumers] have a choice today,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told Gonzalez Rogers. “They have a choice between many different Android models of a smartphone, or an iPhone, and that iPhone has a certain set of principles behind it in safety, security, and privacy.”
That safety, security, and privacy doesn’t come cheap. Applications that make it to the App Store go through a rigorous review process that Apple says requires a remarkable amount of labor. A spokesperson for Apple told The Dispatch approximately 100,000 apps are submitted for approval every week, and about 40,000 of those do not make it through. The company argues it should be allowed to profit from this curation process that provides its customers a better user experience, and that a 30 percent cut is in line with industry standards.
But Gonzalez Rogers, an Obama appointee, seemed taken aback by the stability of Apple’s commission rate over the years. “If there was real competition, that number would move,” she said. “It hasn’t.”
It’s an uphill battle to win an antitrust suit in the United States. Competition law here centers on the “consumer welfare standard,” which requires plaintiffs to provide evidence that a company’s monopoly power is actively hurting customers through higher prices, reduced innovation, or lower quality goods. It would generally not be enough, for example, for Epic to demonstrate that Apple’s policies are harming Epic.
So if Gonzalez Rogers sides with the video game developer, this would represent a sea change in antitrust enforcement. “A ruling in Epic’s favor would be pretty significant,” Lyons said. “It could potentially have implications for the government suits against Facebook and Google as well, because part of what’s going on in those cases is how do you define the market? … How do you think about what the outer boundaries of the market are for a particular product when that product is online rather than brick and mortar?”
The proceedings here have been operating as a “bench trial,” meaning Gonzalez Rogers—not a jury, or panel of judges—will be the sole decider in the case. The judge said earlier this week it will be “a while” before she reaches a verdict, likely several weeks.
Blinken’s Middle East Tour
Back in January—eight days into the Biden administration—Politico reported that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had begun the process of restructuring his team to include more specialists versed in the Indo-Pacific and fewer focused on the Middle East, kicking off President Biden’s broader “pivot” from a region marred by historical conflict and controversy for the United States. In the following months, the White House pursued moves to limit American military and financial entanglements in the Middle East.
This reprioritization was put to the test earlier this month, when 11 days of cross-border rocket fire between Israel and Hamas culminated in upwards of 260 deaths and thousands of displacements after a period of relative calm. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel, the West Bank, Egypt and Jordan for the first time in his official capacity this week to shore up a tenuous Egypt-brokered ceasefire.
Blinken’s tour included meetings with some heavy hitters: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, and—notably—Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.
Per a State Department readout of the meeting with Sisi, Blinken “affirmed the strong strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt” and “conveyed President Biden’s appreciation to President Sisi for Egypt’s critical mediation efforts in support of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and other groups in Gaza.”
According to Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, this credit was certainly due. “This is a government that really doesn’t like the Muslim Brotherhood, and they worked with a Muslim Brotherhood splinter group—Hamas—to help achieve a ceasefire,” Schanzer told The Dispatch. “So they held their nose and pushed forward and were able to successfully reach a ceasefire in 11 days.”
But the ceasefire is tenuous. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Wednesday promised to strike the Jewish state again if it “violates” the Al-Aqsa mosque on Temple Mount or goes through with evictions of Palestinian tenants in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. “What has happened is but a drill for what will come,” Sinwar warned.
Blinken announced U.S. aid totaling more than $360 million to the West Bank and Gaza. On top of assistance unveiled in March and April, the U.S. government will allocate an additional $75 million to development and recovery, $38 million to humanitarian efforts, and $33 million to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)—which former President Donald Trump cut U.S. funding to in 2018 amid disproportionate U.S. financial commitments.
“All of these funds will be administered in a way that benefit the Palestinian people—not Hamas, which has only brought misery and despair to Gaza,” Blinken said in a statement Wednesday, adding that the financial contributions promote “U.S. interests and values” in the region.
This may be easier said than done. As George Washington University Middle East expert Nathan Brown told Politico earlier this week, effective distribution of emergency aid typically requires cooperation with local political authorities. In this case, the local authority to deal with is Hamas. A State Department official told reporters on Monday the administration would work “in partnership with U.N. and Palestinian Authority to channel aid there in a manner that does its best to go to the people of Gaza.”
“The United Nations has a significant and meaningful presence on the ground there,” the official added.
Throughout the tour, the Biden administration frequently voiced its support for Israel’s national security and defensive measures. When asked in a Channel 12 interview with Yonit Levy if the Democratic party’s progressive flank would successfully block an arms deal with Israel, Blinken said the administration is “committed to Israel’s security, period. We will make sure that Israel has the means to defend itself.”
But there’s an elephant in the room, and it’s Biden’s likely impending return of the U.S. to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. With the Obama-era deal’s revival would come sanctions relief, and hundreds of millions of dollars reviving the cash-strapped Islamic Republic and its many regional proxy militias, including Hamas.
“The U.S. will effectively be funding both sides of the next round of the Hamas-Israel conflict, which is an insane prospect,” Schanzer explained. “But also that money will also flow to the coffers of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shia militias in Syria and Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, and perhaps other groups as well. With America on a diplomatic offensive in the Middle East to calm jittery nerves and to reassure the region of American leadership, it may yet ring very hollow in the very near future.”
Paul Ryan Speaks
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan will speak this afternoon at the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute, where he will call for a return to the limited government principles favored by Reagan and warn about the perils of populism and progressivism. Ryan’s is the first speech in a series called, “A Time for Choosing.”
From the speech:
“Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads. And here’s one reality we have to face. If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle. …
“We win majorities by directing our loyalty and respect to voters, and by staying faithful to the conservative principles that unite us. This was true even when the person leading our movement was as impressive, polished, and agreeable as they come.”
And: “In 2020, the country wanted a nice guy who would move to the center and depolarize our politics. Instead, we got a nice guy pursuing an agenda more leftist than any president in my lifetime. These policies might have the full approval of his progressive supporters, but they break faith with the middle-of-the-road folks who made the difference for him on Election Day.
“For conservatives, this painful existence as the opposition can actually be an opportunity. Out of these years can come a healthy, growing, and united conservative movement, a movement that speaks again to the heart of a great nation.”
Worth Your Time
Last January, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton pointed out in a hearing that the Chinese government lied about COVID-19 originating in the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, which is located in the same town as China’s only biosafety level-four laboratory. Cotton got a lot of flack from virologists—and in turn the mainstream media—for raising questions about the origins of what we were all then calling the “novel coronavirus.” In his Wednesday Slow Boring post, Matt Yglesias tracks how the debate around the lab leak theory has evolved over time, and how press coverage failed it. “This is a case of a smallish group of reporters and fact-checkers proclaiming a scientific consensus where none ever really existed,” he writes. “How did people let the original story of what Tom Cotton even said go so badly awry? Essentially Cotton said something that was then transformed into a fake claim of a Chinese bio-attack, then the fake claim was debunked, and then the debunking was applied to the real claim with little attention paid to ongoing disagreement among researchers.”
May 31 and June 1 will mark the hundred-year-anniversary of one the most brutal events in modern American history: the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. Nearly a century ago, hundreds of black residents and businesses of the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma were killed in one brutal streak of violence. “Greenwood was so promising, so vibrant that it became home to what was known as America’s Black Wall Street,” write several New York Times reporters in a piece commemorating the lives of those who were lost. “But what took years to build was erased in less than 24 hours by racial violence—sending the dead into mass graves and forever altering family trees.”
Oh my god: I didn’t realize what her job is. The NYT’s COVID reporter is saying we should stop talking about the lab leak theory — *even if it’s how COVID entered humans *– because that theory (unlike, I guess, the wet market theory) is racist. Who cares what happened: NYT. https://t.co/NAtI9N2mJx
Toeing the Company Line
The one-year-anniversary of Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is fast approaching, and boy, does Jonah have some thoughts. “What I loved about [CHAZ] was the way in which it beclowned the modern Rousseauians who find the basic foundations of civilization contemptibly artificial and unnecessary,” Jonah writes in his latest G-File (🔒). “They thought they could live in radical egalitarian tranquility and comity. And then nature—specifically human nature—said, ‘Nah, bruh.’” Check out Wednesday’s newsletter for Jonah’s thoughts on why CHAZ didn’t work, why crime disproportionately hurts the poor, and why defunding the police is still a wildly unpopular belief among four out of five Americans.
With Biden’s legislative agenda coming up against many roadblocks in Congress, Sarah, Steve, David, and Jonah debate on Wednesday’s episode of The Dispatch Podcast which of Biden’s priorities will survive the congressional chopping block. Stick around for a discussion of Florida’s new “anti-Big Tech” law, the politics of crime, and what comes next after the Belarusian government’s arrest of a 26-year-old dissident journalist.
The Senate is now considering the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, one of the largest industrial policy packages in modern memory. This gargantuan bill provides Scott Lincicome with the perfect opportunity to explain public choice theory in his latest Capitolism (🔒), and “why designing and implementing good industrial policy in the United States is so darn difficult.”
Let Us Know
In honor of Eric Carle, let’s talk about children’s literature. Which author and/or book had the biggest impact on your childhood? What, in your mind, separates the great children’s books from the good ones?
William A. Jacobson: “STAY TUNED — details on our next virtual event coming soon.“
Kemberlee Kaye: “Was thinking we might have missed the memo to build an ark down here in Texas. So glad the rain has stopped, for now.”
Leslie Eastman: “I predicted that the American media would find a way to rewrite history and blame President Donald Trump for its lack of seriously considering a lab-leak origin for the coronavirus pandemic….and I was right!!!! China Denies Three Wuhan Scientists Became Infected in Nov. 2019“
Vijeta Uniyal: “Hamas supporters forced the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for “Palestinian Refugees” (UNRWA) in Gaza to apologize after admitting that Israel launched “precise” and “sophisticated” airstrikes against Hamas terrorist targets. “I’m not a military expert but I would not dispute that. I also have the impression that there is a huge sophistication in the way the Israeli military struck over the last 11 days,” UNRWA Gaza chief Matthias Schmale said in a television interview on Sunday. UNRWA Gaza Chief Forced To Apologizes After Admitting IDF Strikes ‘Precise’ and ‘Sophisticated’“
Stacey Matthews: “This is a big deal: Per Politico, “Facebook will no longer remove posts claiming Covid-19 was man-made, as support mounts for probes into the virus’ origins & the Wuhan lab-leak theory.”
David Gerstman: “Vijeta Uniyal blogged that after noting how accurate Israel’s bombing of Hamas targets was (see this thread for some context), the Gaza-based head of UNRWA, Matthias Schmale has reversed himself after he was verbally attacked by Hamas. I guess that giving into the whims of a genocidal terrorist organization is more important than the truth.”
Legal Insurrection Foundation is a Rhode Island tax-exempt corporation established exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to educate and inform the public on legal, historical, economic, academic, and cultural issues related to the Constitution, liberty, and world events.
For more information about the Foundation, CLICK HERE.
Biden’s Big Flip Flop
After quietly ending a State Department inquiry that began under the Trump administration into a possible connection between the origins of the coronavirus and a lab in Wuhan, President Joe Biden is now (re)ordering an intelligence investigation into the exact same thing.
Already, the Biden administration is making the mistake of relying on the corrupt WHO and China(!!) for access to relevant data and evidence, which is a stunning display of the administration’s ignorance and eagerness to bow to the world’s most corrupt countries and institutions. When asked by a reporter why China would cooperate, a White House spokeswoman said, “This is something that you have to ask the Chinese government.” 🙄
Tragedy Strikes San Jose
A deadly shooting at the VTA light rail yard in San Jose broke out yesterday, leaving at least nine dead, including the gunman. The shooter was identified by two law enforcement officials as 57-year-old Sam Cassidy, a VTA employee. More from ABC News:
“Cassidy reportedly set fire to his home on Angmar Court before the shooting. When firefighters arrived on scene, no one was inside the home.
‘It would appear as if the fire was set as the shooter was on his way to the work site,’ said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Payroll records obtained by the ABC7 News I-Team show he made $160,000 in base, overtime and other pay as a VTA ‘substation maintainer.’”
Media Comes for Chip and Joanna Gaines
No one is safe. Not even the beloved home makeover power couple Chip and Joanna Gaines. “TV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines donate to campaign against critical race theory in schools,” blasted The Hill. But what did Chip and Joanna really do? They donated $1,000 to Chip’s sister, Shannon Braun, who is running for her local school board in Texas. The horror! Among her many campaign platforms, Braun stands against teaching the racist critical race theory.
The Gaines’ are no strangers to controversary. In 2017, it was reported that the family attended a church known for its pro-traditional marriage views. Back then, the Gaines’ didn’t dignify the attack with a response, which is hopefully what they’ll do in this case, too.
Kelsey Bolar is a senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Forum and a contributor to The Federalist. She is also the Thursday editor of BRIGHT, and the 2017 Tony Blankley Chair at The Steamboat Institute. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, daughter, and Australian Shepherd, Utah.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
Note: By using some of the links above, Bright may be compensated through the Amazon Affiliate program and Magic Links. However, none of this content is sponsored and all opinions are our own.
May 27, 2021 01:00 am
In our modern-day version of The Matrix, the left has been attempting to “blue pill” us with their incessant propaganda. Read More…
May 27, 2021 01:00 am
Not only does Israel’s history speak to the Jewish people’s deep ties to the land, but it also reminds us what happens when a people do not or cannot mind their borders. Read More…
Holding China responsible
May 27, 2021 01:00 am
There is sufficient evidence to hold China financially responsible for unleashing the coronavirus on the world. Read more…
Crying ‘racism!’ is the waterboarding of the left
May 27, 2021 01:00 am
Waterboarding: “Water is forced into a detainee’s mouth and nose so as to induce the sensation of drowning.” Alternate inducers are delivering that drowning feeling in 2021. Read more…
American Thinker is a daily internet publication devoted to the thoughtful exploration of issues of importance to Americans.
This email was sent to <<Email Address>> why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
AmericanThinker · 3060 El Cerrito Plaza, #306 · El Cerrito, CA 94530 · USA
By Kyle Kondik
Managing Editor, Sabato’s Crystal Ball
Dear Readers: Virginia lost one of its most prominent and successful political figures on Tuesday, as former Sen. John Warner (R-VA) died at the age of 94. Warner served for three decades in the Senate (1979-2009), becoming known for his expertise on military matters and growing into a role as an elder statesman — the kind of elected official that seems so hard to find in modern politics.Warner’s first election to the Senate came after the death of Richard Obenshain, one of the most influential figures in the rise of the modern Republican Party in Virginia. Obenshain defeated Warner and others to win the 1978 Republican Senate nomination at a convention, but then died in a plane crash during the general election campaign. Warner replaced him on the ballot and won a narrow victory in November 1978. Following that initial victory, Warner generally won easily for the rest of his career with the exception of 1996, when another Warner — Mark, no relation — held him to a five-point victory. Mark Warner later became governor and succeeded John Warner in the Senate, and the elder Warner would later endorse Mark Warner (and some other Democrats) during his retirement.
John Warner was a 1953 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, a friend to the UVA Center for Politics in many ways over the years, and a gentleman even when disagreements occurred. Sen. Warner proved politics is a good thing, and he’s a role model for politicians — and all of us — if we are to restore civility to our system.
— The Editors
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE
— Even as Senate elections become more and more about a state’s presidential partisanship, the individual decisions of candidates matter a lot. There are a number of important candidate choices that helped define recent Senate cycles.
— Gov. Chris Sununu’s (R-NH) decision as to whether he will challenge Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) could be the most important candidate choice of the 2022 cycle.
— While Republicans will target vulnerable Democrats in states that are more competitive at the presidential level than New Hampshire, they very well may struggle to produce a candidate in those states as proven as Sununu.
Sununu’s status looms large
Even as Senate elections become increasingly yoked to a state’s baseline partisanship, the choices by strong candidates to run for office — or not — are vitally important to the overall outcome. These decisions can serve as important mile-markers on the road to national elections as an indicator of which way that talented pols feel the political winds are blowing.
One indicator that Republicans were on their way to winning the Senate in 2014 was when two well-regarded candidates, then-Rep. Cory Gardner (R, CO-4) and former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R), announced relatively late in the cycle that they would challenge, respectively, then-Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). Gardner announced his campaign in March 2014, and Brown entered his race in April. Though he would lose in 2020, Gardner narrowly won in 2014, and it seems doubtful that a different Republican would have won that race. Meanwhile, Brown lost by a few points, but he gave Republicans a real candidate in a race that otherwise might not have been as competitive. While Republicans would have won the Senate without Gardner’s win and Brown’s candidacy, the mere fact that these accomplished politicians took the plunge was an indicator of 2014’s strong Republican electoral environment.
More recently, now-Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) decision to run against then-Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in April 2018 was an indicator that another cagey politician saw a path to victory even in what was already shaping up to be a difficult midterm environment for Republicans. Scott outspent Nelson more than two-to-one and won by a tenth of a percentage point. Scott very well may have been the only Republican who would have won that race in that year.
The retirement of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) in early 2012 turned a sure Republican hold into what immediately seemed would be a likely loss. Sen. Angus King (I-ME), an independent who caucuses with Democrats, ended up easily flipping the seat. While Snowe’s retirement was not decisive — Democrats would win a 55-45 Senate majority that year — it did give the Democrats an offensive target in a year where they were mostly playing defense across the country.
Last cycle, Sen. Johnny Isakson’s (R-GA) decision to resign in the middle of his term for health reasons gave Democrats the extra target they needed to win the narrowest of Senate majorities: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) won the seat in an early January runoff.
So what’s the most important candidate decision looming over the 2022 Senate elections? Almost certainly that of Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH), the popular chief executive of the Granite State who is considering whether to run against Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
If Sununu takes the plunge, Hassan might become — as the Boston Globe’s James Pindell argued back in March — the most vulnerable Democratic Senate incumbent in the nation. If he does not, Hassan might have a relatively easy 2022. There may not be another Senate race in the country this cycle where one potential challenger’s decision would impact the race so much.
Those who believe that presidential partisanship is the be-all and end-all of U.S. Senate races will push back on this argument. Joe Biden won New Hampshire by more than seven points in 2020. The only Republican that holds a Senate seat in a state where Biden did as well is Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). We suspect that at least some observers will still see Hassan as a favorite even against Sununu for this reason.
But one doesn’t have to go back very far to find a more competitive New Hampshire. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won New Hampshire by only about four-tenths of a point at the same time that Hassan was knocking off then-Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) by just .14 points. So it’s not like New Hampshire has become a super-solid Democratic state, and it has a longstanding tendency to move with the political tides — tides that often break against the presidential party in a midterm environment.
Still, while Democrats are not defending any seats this cycle in states won by Donald Trump in 2020, they are defending three in states that were significantly closer than New Hampshire: Nevada, which Biden won by a little under 2.5 points, and Arizona and Georgia, which Biden carried by less than a third of a point apiece. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) each won their most recent election by a little more than two points apiece (Cortez Masto won her first term in 2016, and Kelly and Warnock won unexpired terms in special elections last year).
But Republicans do not yet have obvious, top-tier challengers in any of these races.
In Arizona, outgoing Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) has disclaimed any interest in running. Former President Trump has criticized both Ducey and another possible Senate contender, state Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R), for not going along with his delusions about massive fraud in the 2020 election. So both of their potential candidacies “have been doused in cold water by Trump’s disapproval,” National Journal’s Madelaine Pisani wrote earlier this week.
Trump has asked former University of Georgia and NFL star running back Herschel Walker to run against Warnock in Georgia, and Walker may be freezing the field as he decides — another possible candidate, Rep. Buddy Carter (R, GA-1), says he is waiting on Walker’s decision. But it’s also unclear how strong of a candidate the political neophyte Walker might be (he does not even currently live in Georgia). Meanwhile, former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA), former Rep. Doug Collins (R, GA-9), and state Attorney General Chris Carr (R) have all taken a pass on the race.
In Nevada, former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R), a very conservative candidate who lost the gubernatorial race in 2018, leads the list of possible challengers to Cortez Masto. Laxalt is capable of beating Cortez Masto, but he has not enjoyed the same level of electoral success as Sununu.
Republicans also don’t yet have a proven contender to defend an open seat in Pennsylvania, although one option, veteran Sean Parnell (R), ran a decent albeit narrowly losing campaign against Rep. Conor Lamb (D, PA-17) last year.
Under the right circumstances, any of these candidates in those other targeted seats could win, and there’s still plenty of time for other candidates to emerge. But none of the likely candidates we’ve mentioned in these other states is as much of an A-lister as Sununu is. If Sununu does run, we would immediately move the New Hampshire Senate race from Leans Democratic to Toss-up. Our current Senate ratings are shown in Map 1.
Map 1: Crystal Ball Senate ratings
Sununu is a famous last name in New Hampshire: His father served as governor and as White House chief of staff in George H.W. Bush’s administration, and his brother served a term in the Senate, beating then-Gov. Shaheen in 2002 and then losing to her in 2008. After winning a close, open-seat race for governor in 2016, Sununu has won two impressive reelection victories, by seven points in the Democratic year of 2018 and by a massive 32-point margin in 2020 even as Democrats carried the state for president and as Shaheen was winning a third term by 16 points. Republicans performed very well at the state level, as Sununu’s massive reelection victory helped the GOP flip both chambers of the state legislature. But state-level results do not necessarily translate to federal results. Sununu considered challenging Shaheen in 2020, although he probably would not have beaten her given what otherwise transpired in New Hampshire’s federal races. But 2022 could present a better opportunity: Hassan, though she preceded Sununu as governor and has won several statewide races, isn’t as much of a statewide institution as her Senate colleague, Shaheen, and Democrats will have to confront the persistent presidential midterm penalty.
A St. Anselm College poll from early March showed Sununu sporting a 67% approval rating, and he led Hassan in a hypothetical Senate matchup, 47%-41%. Hassan’s approval in the same poll was just 47% approve/44% disapprove. Democrats of course would have plenty of time to federalize the race and reduce Sununu’s crossover appeal, but the upside of Sununu’s candidacy for Republicans is obvious. If Sununu does not run, Republicans may still be able to find a decent candidate. Ayotte, the former senator, appears to want to run for the governorship, which would become an open-seat race if Sununu runs for Senate. However, it’s possible that she could seek a rematch against Hassan if Sununu passes. A February Granite State poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center tested both Sununu and Ayotte against Hassan: The Democrat trailed the former by two points but led the latter by five points. It’s just one poll, but it does support the idea that Sununu is the strongest Republican challenger to Hassan.
Sununu seems likelier than not to run, but only he knows what he ultimately will do, and he has plenty of time to decide. Pindell, the long-time New Hampshire political reporter quoted above, described the situation to us thusly: “Sununu IS running for the US Senate right now. He may at some point decide to stop running, but at the moment it is the guiding principle.”
To be clear, we don’t necessarily think Sununu would be favored against Hassan — but we also don’t think Hassan would be favored against Sununu. That’s why we’d call it a Toss-up.
One x-factor in a Sununu vs. Hassan contest could be abortion. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case over a law in Mississippi that would ban abortion after 15 weeks. If the court upholds the law next year, it could give the green light to new abortion restrictions in states governed by Republicans and also give an impetus to Democrats in states they control to codify abortion rights in state law. New Hampshire is one of the more pro-choice states in the Union: A 2014 Pew Research poll found that 66% of Granite Staters believe that abortion should be legal in all or most instances, tied for the fourth-highest mark of any state. But Republicans now control both the governorship and the state legislature. Sununu describes himself as pro-choice, but that position might be put to the test if Roe vs. Wade fell by the wayside (and Democrats have attacked him in past campaigns for positions they say are anti-abortion rights). Indeed, Sununu may face a decision on the abortion issue sooner than that, as the New Hampshire Senate considers a state House-passed bill banning abortion after 24 weeks.
Conclusion
Sununu saying yes to a campaign would suggest 1. That a savvy, purple-state governor sees a clear path to victory and that 2. He actually wants to serve in the Senate, presumably in a majority that he helps make. In that, his situation is similar to Rick Scott’s in 2018, when he ultimately decided to challenge Bill Nelson. Coincidentally, Scott is this cycle’s chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and he is actively recruiting Sununu to run. “If he runs, we’ll win,” Scott recently told Politico.
If Scott’s prediction came to fruition, we might look back on Sununu’s candidacy announcement as a crucial turning point in the overall battle for the Senate in 2022. While the Republicans have other credible targets this cycle, their path to a Senate majority may run most clearly through New Hampshire — if Sununu becomes a candidate.
NOW AVAILABLE: A Return to Normalcy? Our Book on the 2020 Election
A Return to Normalcy? The 2020 Election That (Almost) Broke America — the University of Virginia Center for Politics’ new look at the 2020 presidential election and its consequences — is now available through UVA Bookstores, IndieBound, and other onlinebooksellers.
Crystal Ball readers can also buy the book directly from the publisher, Rowman & Littlefield, and receive a 30% discount using the code RLFANDF30.
Edited by Crystal Ball editors Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik, and J. Miles Coleman, A Return to Normalcy? brings together what Booklistcalls a “stellar coterie of reporters, pundits, and scholars” to “parse the 2020 election via a data-driven set of analytics displayed in useful charts and graphs, drawing conclusions that will satisfy hard-core political junkies and provide a solid foundation for everyone looking ahead to 2022 and 2024.”
Read the fine print
Learn more about the Crystal Ball and find out how to contact us here.
Sign up to receive Crystal Ball e-mails like this one delivered straight to your inbox.
Use caution with Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and remember: “He who lives by the Crystal Ball ends up eating ground glass!”
Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” reacts to a recent Latino USA interview in which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealed that she is in therapy because of her “extraordinarily traumatizing” experience during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. She also … Read more
A Michigan public high school principal is getting called out by a legal firm after telling one of the valedictorians that mentioning her Christian faith in her graduation speech is “not appropriate.”What are the details?According to First Liberty … Read more
Ranchers and cops in rural Brooks County, Texas, say illegal immigration is worse than it’s ever been, with deadly consequences for migrants who get lost.
Normalizing drug use is no longer an idea, it’s a reality. And if you want to see what that reality looks like, take a walk through once-thriving downtown Denver.
Amazon’s merger with MGM may not run afoul of our nation’s current antitrust regime, but it is a question for our politics, and our policymakers, whether it should.
Wokeness must be opposed in order to be defeated, and Americans must be presented with a better vision of how to live, and how to respond to injustice.
In an assault on the dignity of human life, the Senate failed to prevent the continued creation of human-animal hybrids, called ‘chimeras,’ created for research purposes.
The Transom is a daily email newsletter written by publisher of The Federalist Ben Domenech for political and media insiders, which arrives in your inbox each morning, collecting news, notes, and thoughts from around the web.
,
You received this email because you signed up on our website.
Unsubscribe
40.) REUTERS
The Reuters Daily Briefing
Thursday, May 27, 2021
by Linda Noakes
Hello
Here’s what you need to know.
Biden wants answers on COVID, Macron seeks forgiveness, and big defeats for Big Oil
Today’s biggest stories
FILE PHOTO: Camille Bennett poses for a photo in front of the confederate statue that she is trying to have moved to the confederate cemetery in Florence, Alabama, May 19, 2021. REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant
U.S.
Ever since Camille Bennett started her campaign to relocate a Confederate statue from outside the county courthouse in her hometown, she has seen it all: threats, violent online messages and intimidation attempts. But those aren’t the only obstacles for activists committed to removing Confederate symbols.
U.S. Senate Republicans, hoping to strike a deal with President Joe Biden on infrastructure, are expected to unveil a new offer today that would spend about $1 trillion to revitalize America’s roads, bridges and broadband systems.
U.S. motorists will see the highest gasoline prices in seven years when they hit the roads this Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer driving season, as fuel demand surges alongside coronavirus vaccination rates.
Women’s health provider Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed a lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ ban on all abortions except in medical emergencies, one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the United States.
French President Emmanuel Macron lays a wreath on a mass grave containing the remains the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center in Rwanda, May 27, 2021. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana
Thousands of people scrambled to flee the Congolese city of Goma, some picking their way across landscapes scarred with lava, after officials said a second volcanic eruption could happen any time.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that Israel’s deadly strikes on Gaza may constitute war crimes, and that the Hamas Islamist group also violated international humanitarian law by firing rockets into Israel. Read our story on how organ donations have brought a rare ray of hope after the Jewish-Arab strife.
BUSINESS
CLIMATE FIGHT Shareholders rebuked the top two U.S. oil companies for dragging their feet on fighting climate change, while a Dutch court ruled that Royal Dutch Shell needs to accelerate cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.
“Today was a stark warning for Big Oil,” said Bess Joffe, which manages the Church of England’s investment fund, with executives “being held to account by investors and lawmakers.”
MARKETS World stocks will continue to rise this year on robust economic and earnings recoveries but any quickening of inflation would temper that enthusiasm, according to Reuters polls of analysts, a majority of whom said a near-term correction was unlikely.
Shares of GameStop and cinema operator AMC Entertainment have rallied to their highest levels in months, with some market-watchers saying the recent surge is forcing bearish investors to unwind their bets against the video game retailer.
A crackdown by Beijing is rapidly accelerating a shift in focus by makers of machines that ‘mine’ cryptocurrencies like bitcoin from China to North America and Central Asia as Chinese clients face an uncertain future.
Lidia Maksymowicz and her family were taken from their home in Belarus to the Nazi death camp in German-occupied Poland in December 1943, shortly before her third birthday.
You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing.
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive this newsletter on the RedState.com network OR a friend forwarded it to you. We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address immediately.
Are American college students really this hateful? See the astonishing video as they gladly look to pay to help get Israel wiped off the map.Read more…
‘There were persistent chain of custody issues throughout the entire absentee ballot processing system,’ in Fulton County, an independent report commissioned by the state of Georgia found.Read more…
The story of the greatest judicial fraud of the last half-century remains unknown to the vast majority of the American people, thanks to this guy.Read more…
A common human trait is to take credit when things go well, and blame others or outside forces when things go badly. Today’s lefties sure are “human.” Read more…
By teaching blacks to see themselves as victims deserving of “reparations” from today’s white “oppressors,” we can certainly make the present and future worse. Read more…
This email was sent to rickbulownewmedia@protonmail.com. You are receiving this email because you asked to receive information from WND. We take your privacy and your liberty very seriously and will keep your information in the strictest confidence. Your name will not be sold to or shared with third parties. We will email you from time to time with relevant news and updates, but you can stop receiving information from us at any time by following very simple instructions that will be included at the bottom of any correspondence you should receive from us.
Our mailing address is: WND | 580 E Street PO Box 100, | Hawthorne, NV 89415
Unsubscribe or Update Preferences
45.) CONSERVATIVE REVIEW
46.) BIZPAC REVIEW
View this email in your browser
NOT GETTING OUR MAIL, YET?SIGN UP HERE FOR BPR DAILY EMAILS
Your input is critical to us and to the future of conservatism in America. We refuse to be silenced, and we hope you do too. Sign up for daily emails and never miss a story.
For the latest BPR videos subscribe to our Rumble page.
You may unsubscribe or change your contact details at any time.
47.) ABC
May 27, 2021 – Having trouble viewing this email? Open it in your browser.
Morning Rundown
9 people killed in shooting at California rail yard: Nine people were shot to death on Wednesday at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in San Jose, California, when the suspect, a VTA employee, opened fire on co-workers. The suspect, who was identified as Samuel Cassidy, is also dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Santa Clara County sheriff’s spokesperson Russell Davis said. The shooting unfolded around 6:30 a.m. local time at a hub where maintenance is conducted and trains are stored. At that time, over 40 VTA employees were at the facility, which is located next door to the sheriff’s department, and the sheriff said deputies ran in while shots were fired. After the shooting, Davis said a police dog detected a suspicious device and a bomb squad began worked to clear each room in the facility. Around the time of the shooting, a house fire, which is believed to be linked to the suspect, also broke out in San Jose. Federal evidence response teams headed to the house, where it was being investigated as a possible arson. In response to the shooting, which is the latest among many in recent weeks, President Joe Biden ordered flags to be lowered to half staff to honor the victims and recognized the families of those who were killed. “Every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation,” said Biden. “We can and we must, do more.” Vice President Kamala Harris, who has family in San Jose, called the shooting “absolutely tragic.” Watch “Good Morning America” at 7 a.m. for the latest on this story.
US health agencies will decide if COVID-19 booster shots are needed: The U.S. passed a major milestone this week with half of U.S. adults being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but new questions are beginning to arise about how long the immunity from the vaccines will last and whether booster shots will be needed to maintain protection against COVID-19 variants. If they are, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its independent group of scientists, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Processes, will undertake the same process with previously authorized coronavirus vaccines. Vaccine companies are already conducting clinical trials for booster shots and preparing for widespread distribution. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said “booster shots will be needed” as the virus isn’t going away, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said those who received their second shot eight months ago “may need a third one.” Meanwhile, more than a year after the pandemic began, President Joe Biden is ordering U.S. intelligence agencies to “redouble their efforts” to investigate the origins of COVID-19. In a report, the president is searching for answers on whether the virus came from human contact with an infected animal or from a lab incident in China. He hopes a conclusion can be made in 90 days.
Amazon agrees to acquire MGM for $8.45 billion: Amazon said on Wednesday it has signed an agreement to acquire Metro Golden Mayer for $8.45 billion. MGM’s vast catalog of more than 4,000 films includes “Basic Instinct,” “Creed,” the James Bond films and “Legally Blonde.” It also has about 17,000 TV shows, including “Fargo” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Altogether, MGM’s collection of movies and TV shows have won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys. “It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling,” said Mike Hopkins, the senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, in a statement. Kevin Ulrich, the chairman of MGM’s board of directors, also said the merger marked a “historic day.” Amazon’s growing entertainment division has racked up industry awards. However, the retail behemoth has come under scrutiny for its massive size, with some accusing the company of antitrust practices.
Man who once panhandled outside of Outback Steakhouse now works there: When Kenneth Smith, 50, of Fort Worth, Texas, was evicted from his apartment four years ago, he told “GMA” that he was experiencing homelessness. But earlier this year, the kindness of strangers provided him with the opportunity for a job. Smith said he was sitting outside of an Outback in Fort Worth one day when a stranger asked if he was OK. When he replied that he was starving, she went inside the restaurant and gave him a gift card worth $100. “She told me to go in and have a meal.” When he went inside to use the gift card, he caught the eye of the restaurant’s managing partner, Laura Hodges. Over the next few months, their friendship grew and Hodges ended up asking Smith if he’d like to have a full-time job at the location as a busser. Now, two months into working, Smith is back on his feet and is working toward a long-term goal of having his own restaurant. “I feel good knowing that I have a job, knowing that I can smile, knowing that I can do good things,” he said.
GMA Must-Watch
This morning on “GMA,” Tory Johnson is back with deals celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and great products from AAPI small business owners. Plus, Kirby Howell-Baptiste joins us live to talk about her role in Disney’s “Cruella.” And Will Reeve joins an expert lobsterer to get a true Maine experience. All this and more only on “GMA.”
We have the latest details on a fatal mass shooting in California, how the U.S. is again engaging with Libya almost 10 years after Benghazi, and California’s senator on his new psychedelic drugs bill.
Here’s the latest on that and everything else we’re watching this Thursday morning.
Nine people have died after a public transit employee opened fire on co-workers at a Northern California rail yard on Wednesday, authorities said. The shooter took his own life.
Police received calls of shots fired about 6:34 a.m. PT near 100 W. Younger Ave. in downtown San Jose, drawing a large law enforcement response, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said.
The shooter was identified as Samuel Cassidy, an employee of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, law enforcement sources said. He shot and killed himself at the scene, officials said.
“I have the solemn duty of yet again of ordering the flag to be lowered at half-staff, just weeks after doing so following the mass shootings at spas in and around Atlanta; in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado; at a home in Rock Hill, South Carolina; and at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana,” Biden said in a statement.
The United States is wading back into Libya, with the Biden administration launching a fresh diplomatic bid to pull the country out of a violent spiral and making plans to reopen its embassy.
As the nation prepares next week to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre schools in Oklahoma are pushing to ensure that residents grow up knowing about the tragedy.
By By Scott Wiener, California state senator | Read more
The so-called war on drugs was a racist, anti-science failure. But policymakers can change that, and states like mine can lead the way, the California senator writes in an opinion piece for NBC News.
As intelligence agencies prepare to deliver a report to Congress about what they call unidentified aerial phenomena, it’s an especially peculiar time for artists who have long shaped our collective understanding of mysterious flying objects.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Trymaine Lee follows the stories of two Tulsa families to better understand the consequences of all that wealth being stripped away from their ancestors and how they are still working to rebuild.
Want to receive the Morning Rundown in your inbox? Sign up here.
Dermatologists break down everything worth knowing about mineral sunscreens — and share their favorite physical sunblocks ahead of the summer season.
One fun thing
One Ohio resident is a million dollars richer and another earned a full college scholarship Wednesday in Ohio’s Vax-a-Million lottery.
The initiative, aimed at pushing people to get the Covid-19 vaccine, will pick five residents at random each Wednesday for the cash prize for five weeks. Ohioans aged 12 to 17 are entered into the drawing for the scholarship.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine acknowledged that some people might consider the idea “crazy” and a “waste of money” but the state saw a surge in vaccine sign-ups almost immediately following the announcement.
From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann
FIRST READ: Study finds that nearly one-in-five Americans believe QAnon conspiracy theories
Washington, we have a problem – politically, informationally and societally – when 15 percent of Americans agree with the QAnon statement that the U.S. government, media and financial worlds “are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation.”
Or when 20 percent agree with this statement: “There is a storm coming soon that will sweep away the elites in power and restore the rightful leaders.”
Photo by KYLE GRILLOT/AFP via Getty Images
Or when another 15 percent agree that “Because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.”
These are the results of a PRRI-IFYC study that was conducted online March 8-30, but that was just released Thursday.
And the study finds that Republicans, those who trust far-right news outlets like OANN and Newsmax, and white evangelicals and Hispanic Protestants are all more likely to believe these statements than other Americans.
It’s hard to call something fringe when approximately one-in-five Americans believe these statements, especially one that true patriots “may have to resort to violence” to save the country.
The filibuster cometh?
And that brings us to what happened on Jan. 6, as well as the political fight over a bipartisan commission to study it.
NBC’s Frank Thorp and NBC’s Capitol Hill team report that the Senate procedural motion on the Jan. 6 commission – which requires 60 votes to advance – could take place today, or tomorrow, or after Memorial Day.
It all depends on their earlier work on a China competitiveness bill. If that China-related bill gets 60 votes, it will trigger hours (and days) of debate. But if it doesn’t get 60 votes, the Senate will begin considering the Jan. 6 commission.
TWEET OF THE DAY: Tragedy in San Jose
Data Download: The numbers you need to know today
9: The number of victims shot and killed in yesterday’s San Jose rail yard shooting. (The gunman is also dead.)
At least 287: The number of Afghan pro-government personnel who have been killed this month in Afghanistan, per the NYT
At least 204: The number of civilians killed this month in Afghanistan
33,356,780: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 23,856 more than yesterday morning.)
595,730: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far, per the most recent data from NBC News.(That’s 624 more than yesterday morning.)
289,212,304: The number of vaccine doses administered in the U.S.
36.6 percent: The share of all Americans who are fully vaccinated, per NBC News.
50.3 percent: The share of all American adults over 18 who are fully vaccinated, per CDC.
Cleveland Rocks
At 2:20 pm ET, President Biden delivers a speech on the economy at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio.
Ryan’s return
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan is set to deliver an address at the Reagan Presidential Library – a longstanding and venerated venue for GOP officials, presidential candidates and luminaries – where he’ll issue a warning about the party’s reliance on former President Trump, NBC’s Kasie Hunt and Haley Talbot report.
Ryan’s remarks, which were first previewed by Punchbowl News, echo Liz Cheney’s approach, though he also offers praise for the former president’s willingness to sign the Republican tax reform proposal.
“If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle,” he’ll say, according to released excerpts. “We win majorities by directing our loyalty and respect to voters, and by staying faithful to the conservative principles that unite us. This was true even when the person leading our movement was as impressive, polished, and agreeable as they come.”
Ryan’s speech is at 9:00 pm ET tonight in Simi Valley, Calif.
Happy Memorial Day
This is our final newsletter of the week. We’ll be back bright and early Tuesday morning. Have a great and safe Memorial Day holiday.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world?
Here’s what you need to know about a coming report to Congress on unidentified flying objects.
Biden’s pick to lead the ATF is pushing back against a misinformation campaign that falsely claims that he participated in the 1993 raid on a cult compound in Waco.
A horrific day in San Jose, California after a gunman opens fire at a light rail facility killing nine of his coworkers. Also, President Biden is asking the intelligence community to redouble its efforts to help find the origins of COVID-19. All that and all that matters in today’s Eye Opener. Your world in 90 seconds.
President Biden ordered officials to investigate the origin of the coronavirus in China. This comes as the theory that the virus came from a Chinese lab gains traction in the intelligence community. Nancy Cordes reports.
Only on “CBS This Morning,” musician and comedian Reggie Watts from “The Late Late Show with James Corden” discusses his career, new projects and his hopes for the music industry after the pandemic.
Plus: ACLU and Planned Parenthood sue over Arkansas abortion ban, heartland states see fastest growth in foreign-born residents, and more…
Mask use was associated with slowed COVID-19 spread, but only during periods of low case growth.” A new study suggests state mask mandates didn’t help slow COVID-19 transmission. The pre-publication study found “qualitatively comparable courses of viral spread” among states with early, late, and no mask mandates.
Mask use—defined as “the percentage of people who always wear masks in public settings”—was associated with slower spread during low-transmission periods. But it was not associated with slower spread during high-transmission periods.
Going into the study, lead author Damian D. Guerra, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Louisville, and co-author Daniel J. Guerra, of VerEvMed, “hypothesized that statewide mask mandates and mask use are associated with lower COVID-19 case growth rates.” To test this hypothesis, they compared COVID-19 case growth in the 33 states that imposed statewide mask mandates on or before August 2, 2020, with those that imposed mask mandates after this date and those that didn’t have mask mandates at all, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
Their results don’t tell us that mask wearing was useless—many people wore masks in public regardless of mandates, many businesses required them regardless of mandates, and many people and businesses ignored them or only sometimes complied. In addition, not all face coverings are created equal, and many people who wore them didn’t do so in an optimal way. It’s hard to say how much any of that helped or hurt. A lot of COVID-19 spread occurred between family members and in places where mask mandates didn’t apply and mask wearing wasn’t common. That may not have varied much between states regardless of whether they had mandates and/or generally high public mask usage.However, the study does add to evidence that mandating mask use may have made little difference. “Case growth was not significantly different between mandate and non-mandate states at low or high transmission rates,” they found.The research has not yet been peer-reviewed, and may still prove to be flawed. But it does line up with some other data points on mask mandates. For instance, Texas saw no case spike when it lifted its mandate in early March. And an April 2021 analysis saw states with stricter rules about face coverings and indoor dining faring worse than states that did not.
This goes against many people’s assumptions—including those of this study’s authors.
Contrary to our hypothesis, early mandates were not associated with lower minimum case growth. Maximum case growth was the same among states with early, late, and no mandates. This indicates that mask mandates were not predictive of slower COVID-19 spread when community transmission rates were low or high.
We wondered if mask mandates were associated with smaller or slower surges in case growth. Differences between minimum and maximum case growth were similar among early, late, and no mandate states, and surges from minimum to maximum growth occurred at similar rates. These findings suggest that mask mandates are not predictive of smaller or slower shifts from low to high case growth.
The authors also “speculated that statewide mask use, rather than mask mandates per se, may predict COVID-19 case growth.” This hypothesis fared slightly better, but still didn’t hold up for situations when case growth was high.
“Data suggest that mask use is a poor predicter of COVID-19 growth at the state level,” they conclude. “Our findings do not support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates decrease with greater public mask use.”
They do note several limitations on the study, including the fact that it only looked at confirmed and probable COVID-19 infections and not things such as hospitalization and mortality rates. This leaves open the possibility that mask use could have some positive outcomes (such as decreased severity of cases) even if not predicting overall spread.But the research suggests that mandating mask usage didn’t turn out to be the magic bullet that many hoped it might be.
FREE MINDS
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood are suing over Arkansas’ abortion ban:
BREAKING: We’re suing Arkansas over its abortion ban.
Abortion is legal nationwide today, and we plan to fight to keep it that way.
Midwestern cities have become immigration hubs. Metropolitan areas with the fastest-growing population of foreign-born residents include Columbus, Ohio, and Des Moines, Iowa, new Heartland Forward research says. “In the past decade, they have attracted newcomers at a much faster pace than historical magnets of immigration like New York City or Los Angeles,” notes Bloomberg.
Overall, the heartland, which includes 20 central U.S. states, has seen the share of its population born outside the U.S. jump to 31.1% in 2019 from 23.5% in 2010, according to Heartland Forward, which analyzed Census Bureau data.
In urban centers such as Des Moines, Columbus and Louisville, Kentucky, the number of foreign-born people has jumped more than 40% in the decade through 2019. During that time, that number rose about 5% in the New York City metro area, while in Los Angeles, it declined.
QUICK HITS
• Nine people were killed when a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employee opened fire at the light rail hub where he worked yesterday. The shooter “died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and other employees were among the victims,” according to USA Today. Police spokesperson Russell Davis didn’t say “what kind of weapon the suspect used or whether he had a firearm license. A motive was not immediately clear.”
• “If the Lab-Leak Theory Is Correct, What’s Next?” asksThe Atlantic.
• Phoenix cops and prosecutors declared ACAB—a protest slogan short for “all cops are bastards”—to be a criminal gang so that it could arrest anti–police brutality protesters who were chanting it.
• The NAACP says arresting a teen for a racist Snapchat post isn’t enough. The ACLU says it’s unconstitutional.
• Veronique de Rugy dissects the Child Tax Credit.
• Nick Gillespie talks to Freddie deBoer about “the surprising overlap between Marxists and libertarians when it comes to a range of current policy issues.”
Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason, where she writes regularly on the intersections of sex, speech, tech, crime, politics, panic, and civil liberties. She is also co-founder of the libertarian feminist group Feminists for Liberty.
Since starting at Reason in 2014, Brown has won multiple awards for her writing on the U.S. government’s war on sex. Brown’s writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, Buzzfeed, Playboy, Fox News, Politico, The Week, and numerous other publications. You can follow her on Twitter @ENBrown.
Reason is the magazine of “free minds and free markets,” offering a refreshing alternative to the left-wing and right-wing echo chambers for independent-minded readers who love liberty.
Can we just admit that Ron DeSantis has won? Not that the pandemic was a competition between the states. But we did wind up with fifty different examples of governing, … MORE
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive this newsletter on the Townhall.com network OR a friend forwarded it to you. We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address immediately.
Visit the Townhall Media Preference Center to manage your subscriptions
You can unsubscribe by clicking here.
Or Send postal mail to:
Townhall Daily Unsubscribe
P.O. Box 9660, Arlington, VA 22219
* Copyright Townhall and its Content Providers.
All rights reserved.
55.) REALCLEARPOLITICS MORNING NOTE
05/27/2021
Share:
Carl Cannon’s Morning Note
Police Leadership; Where’s My Car? HHH
By Carl M. Cannon on May 27, 2021 08:38 am
Good morning, it’s Thursday, May 27, 2021, the 110th birthday of Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. Although he was a famed Minnesota Democrat, HHH was born and raised in South Dakota. After working six years in his father’s pharmacy, he attended college at the University of Minnesota, earning his undergraduate degree in 1939. Only six years later, he was elected mayor of Minneapolis.
Then, three years after that — and just 37 — he prompted a mass walkout of “Dixiecrats” at the 1948 national political convention. He did so by imploring his fellow Democrats to emerge from the cold shadow of states’ rights and to walk instead “forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.”
He went on to an illustrious career in the United States Senate; he championed the Great Society as Lyndon Johnson’s vice president, and was nominated for president in 1968, losing to Richard Nixon. Along the way, Humphrey became known as a passionate orator and a man of deep convictions. Those two traits could be used against him just as easily, however. For starters, Humphrey’s love of speech-making earned him a reputation as a gasbag. (Harry Truman may have called him “Rembrandt with words,” but Johnny Carson dubbed him “Minnesota Chats.”)
In addition, his longstanding reputation as a man of high principles took a hit when he swallowed his doubts about the Vietnam War while serving as Johnson’s veep.
Through it all, Humphrey retained the traits that made him beloved. He was never mean. And in the optimism department he was the equal of Ronald Reagan — and also Franklin Roosevelt, the original “Happy Warrior.” Minnesota Gov. Karl Rolvaag called Humphrey “the happy warrior for our generation” — and the moniker stuck. We could use a little more of that Humphrey happiness today.
So this morning, let’s turn the clock ever-so-briefly back to Nov. 3, 1964. It’s Election Day, when voters would sweep Johnson and Humphrey into power in a historic landslide. But it’s raining on Humphrey’s parade, literally: It’s drizzling in Minneapolis when Humphrey and his wife, Muriel, awake in their hotel. They are heading to the town of Waverly, where they had put down roots, to vote.
“When we get to Waverly, they’ll be no rain,” he confidently told his wife with a twinkle in his eye. “This is St. Hubert’s Day!” He was right about that. It was sunny in Waverly, just like Hubert himself. With that, I’d point you to our front page, which aggregates, as it does each day, an array of columns and stories spanning the political spectrum. We also offer a complement of original material from RCP reporters and contributors, including the following:
* * *
Leadership Is the Key Factor in Police Reform. Larry Mone proposes a national law enforcement academy that would bring promising leadership candidates to New York to be embedded in the NYPD for six months to a year.
Why New Cars Are in Short Supply. At RealClearMarkets, Jeffrey Tucker spotlights the shortage of semiconductors.
The Missing Middle Step in U.S. Battery Ambitions. At RealClearEnergy, Michael Hagee and Drew Horn advise a robust focus on the process that occurs between the mining and manufacturing of minerals in the EV battery supply chain.
Solar Is Saving Poultry Farms From Unaffordable Utilities. Also at RCE, Jane Martin highlights fortuitous developments for the industry.
Biden’s New Deal Isn’t Needed to Revive Economy. At RealClearPolicy, Kat Dwyer warns that the turmoil of the 1930s was largely brought on by inflationary monetary policies, which the president’s proposal would replicate.
Limiting Drone Strikes Outside of War Zones. At RealClearWorld, Grant Golub writes that to truly end endless war, Washington will have to rethink its counterterrorism policies.
We Must Modernize Our Nation’s Student Visa Policy. At RealClearEducation, Gregory Crawford urges the Biden administration to initiate a robust reopening process for international students and make long-term improvements to the immigration system.
Greek-Life Students in Colorado Object to Restrictions. Also at RCEd, John Hirschauer reports on complaints that the administration’s blanket suspension of Greek activities exceeded the university’s lawful authority.
Working to Become America’s University: the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. At RealClear’s American Civics portal, Mike Sabo focuses on an alternative to our nation’s higher education system.
Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Lohmeier has been relieved of his command in the U.S. Space Force. He should, instead, be decorated for his courageous leadership in another critical battlespace: the War of Ideas.
This email is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive this email on the Twitchy.com network OR a friend forwarded it to you. We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address immediately.
Visit the Townhall Media Preference Center to manage your subscriptions
You can unsubscribe by clicking here.
Or Send postal mail to:
Twitchy Unsubscribe
P.O. Box 9660, Arlington, VA 22219
* Copyright Twitchy and its Content Providers.
All rights reserved.
WERE YOU FORWARDED THIS EDITION OF THE HOT AIR DAILY?
You can get your own free subscription to the #1 blog delivered to your email inbox early each morning by visiting: http://www.hotair.com
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive this newsletter on Hot Air OR a friend forwarded it to you. We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address immediately.
Visit the Townhall Media Preference Center to manage your subscriptions
You can unsubscribe by clicking here..
Or Send postal mail to:
Hot Air Daily Unsubscribe
P.O Box 9660, Arlington, VA 22219
* Copyright Hot Air and its Content Providers.
All rights reserved.
62.) 1440 DAILY DIGEST
No images? Click here
Good morning. It’s Thursday, May 27, and we’re covering a mass shooting in California, a renewed look at the origin of COVID-19, and much more. Have feedback? Let us know at hello@join1440.com.
At least eight people were killed yesterday after a gunman opened fire at a rail yard in San Jose, California. The shooter, 57-year-old Samuel Cassidy, died by suicide as police officers arrived at the scene. According to reports, Cassidy set fire to his house before the shooting, though it is unclear if it was intended to distract from the impending shooting.
Officials are working to identify a motive for the attack. Cassidy’s ex-wife said her former husband had anger issues and had previously talked about carrying out a workplace attack. According to an Associated Press database, it was the 15th mass killing in the US this year, claiming a total of 86 lives.
See a timeline of events as the attack unfolded, along with the shooter’s eight victims, here.
Lab Leaks
President Joe Biden directed US intelligence agencies to intensify their investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, including the possibility the virus escaped from a Chinese research lab. The move follows reports that a number of Wuhan Institute of Virology staff were hospitalized with COVID-19-like symptoms in November 2019, more than a month before China first reported the emergence of SARS-CoV-2.
A minority of officials and scientists have argued over the past year that the possibility of a lab leak, while unlikely, deserved scrutiny. Many noted the feasibility that a virus may have been isolated in the wild and was under study before subsequently escaping via lab accident. The theory had been largely dismissed over the past year, often being conflated ($$, NY Mag) with a conspiracy theory claiming the virus was an engineered bioweapon.
Those calling for further inquiry point to a number of factors, including that the origin of the virus was never pinpointed, and that China previously covered up the magnitude of its 2003 SARS outbreak.
Amazon announced yesterday it will acquire privately held MGM Studios for $8.45B as it looks to expand its footprint in the streaming content space. The move will let the company add more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 shows—including “Rocky” and “The Handmaid’s Tale”—to its Prime Video streaming service.
The acquisition is the company’s second largest after its purchase of Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7B. The Prime Video service is available to more than 200 million subscribers and the acquisition puts Amazon in place to compete with other large streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+.
Separately, CEO Jeff Bezos announced yesterday he will formally step down as Amazon CEO July 5. Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon web services, will take over the role.
The news comes one day after the attorney general in Washington, DC, announced an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon (see our previous write-up).
Enjoy reading? Share 1440 with your three closest friends.
WERE YOU FORWARDED THIS EDITION OF THE HOT AIR DAILY?
You can get your own free subscription to the #1 blog delivered to your email inbox early each morning by visiting: http://www.hotair.com
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive this newsletter on Hot Air OR a friend forwarded it to you. We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address immediately.
We’re pretty sure you’ve heard: The latest iPhone (the iPhone 12) is 5G-enabled. Not only does this represent a massive technological leap, but it also suggests we’re approaching an inflection point in 5G’s popularity throughout the market.
Now, our friends at The Motley Fool love Apple and recognize what a remarkable business they’ve built. But Apple’s current market cap reflects the incredible extent to which they’ve grown in mobile dominance. It’s hard to triple in size when you’re already a $2T (yes, trillion) company.
There’s another company though, one that’s just a fraction of a percent of Apple’s size, which stands to grow massively with Apple’s iPhone 12 sales. In fact, they make a component so crucial, it’s expected to be included in every single iPhone 12 produced. Motley Fool Stock Advisor members can get the down-low on this company for free; sign up now to read the report.
>World-famous Louvre Museum in Paris announces Laurence des Cars as its CEO and president, the first female leader of the museum in its 228-year history (More)
>The 74th Tony Awards sets Sept. 26 (7 pm ET, Paramount+, CBS) ceremony to run four hours and spread across two separate televised events (More) | Brad Pitt granted joint custody of children with Angelina Jolie after long court battle (More)
>Eric Carle, author and illustrator whose book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” became one of the bestselling children’s books of all time, dies at 91 (More)
>Google to partner with healthcare giant HCA to develop algorithms to help doctors make medical decisions; project will rely on thousands of sets of anonymized patient data (More)
>Iran bans cryptocurrency mining until September after officials say it is partially responsible for near-daily blackouts across the country (More) | Visualizing cryptocurrency’s energy use (More)
>Light-activated neurons in cancer-prone mice can trigger both the growth and initiation of optic-nerve tumors; study provides evidence of the role of neuronal activity in cancer development (More)
Business & Markets
>Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell ordered to lower carbon emissions 45% by 2030 by Dutch court (More) | Shareholders of energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp. vote to replace two company board directors with individuals they believe are better suited to combat climate change (More)
>CEOs of the six largest US banks testified before Senate Banking Committee to discuss role of banks in America (More)
>Ford to invest up to $30B in electric vehicles by 2025, expects 40% of company’s sales to be electric by 2030; shares up 9% (More)
Politics & World Affairs
>Former adviser to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes series of claims alleging the government significantly mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to tens of thousands of added deaths (More)
>US health officials release data estimating that out of more than 100 million people vaccinated, 10,262 reinfections have been reported, or roughly 0.01%; of the breakthrough cases, 995 patients were hospitalized and 160 deaths were reported, primarily in those aged 80 and older (More)
>Former Sen. John Warner (R-VA) dies at age 94 of heart failure; Virginia’s longest-tenured Republican senator also served as secretary of the Navy and was actress Elizabeth Taylor’s sixth husband (More)
IN-DEPTH
Heat Listed
The Verge | Matt Stroud. In 2013, Chicago’s predictive policing algorithm led officials to identify Robert McDaniel as highly likely to be involved in gun violence—but not which side of the barrel he would be on. The results set in motion a tragic self-fulfilling prophecy. (Read)
The Leg at the Bottom of the Sea
Outside | David Kushner. Treasure-hunting scuba divers discover a below-the-knee prosthetic and, against the odds, return it to its rightful owner—an injured veteran. (Read)
The experts at The Motley Fool are predicting the incredible power of 5G in the iPhone 12 to create a several-month sales supercycle. That is, the enhanced connections and functionality could drive over 230 million consumers to buy the new iPhone worldwide; that’s 50x more sales than the original iPhone!
Historybook: Marine biologist and author Rachel Carson born (1907); HBD US statesman Henry Kissinger (1923); Ford ends manufacture of iconic Model T (1927); Golden Gate Bridge opens in California (1937); HBD Outkast rapper André 3000 (1975).
“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.”
– Rachel Carson
Enjoy reading? Forward this email to a friend.
Why 1440? The printing press was invented in the year 1440, spreading knowledge to the masses and changing the course of history. Guess what else? There are 1,440 minutes in a day and every one is precious. That’s why we scour hundreds of sources every day to provide a concise, comprehensive, and objective view of what’s happening in the world. Reader feedback is a gift—shoot us a note at hello@join1440.com.
Interested in advertising to smart readers like you? Apply here!
63.) AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH
SHARE:
Join Our Email List
View as Webpage
May 27, 2021
Unemployment and Bankruptcies – Is This Time Different?
By Colin Lloyd | “The recovery we are witnessing today is built on the crumbling foundations of the serial malinvestments which resulted from previous attempts to avoid the recessionary pain caused by the GFC. If structural inflation can be…
By Robert E. Wright | “Many Americans once believed government officials unless/until they had good reason to doubt them but increasingly they disbelieve officials unless/until they have reason to believe them. Maybe that is a good thing as it…
By Robert Hughes | Initial claims for regular state unemployment insurance totaled 406,000 for the week ending May 22, a decrease of 38,000 from the previous week’s tally of 444,000. The current result is the fourth consecutive decline and the…
By Joakim Book | “History is slow, with fascinating moments and events scattered among tons and tons of mundane and inconsequential things. When we select some of them and weave them into an iconic story, we often make a mockery of the past – and…
Will the Pandemic Promote Political Power in Perpetuity?
By James Bovard | “The more people who view government as their personal savior, the easier it becomes for politicians to demagogue to ever greater power. But as economist Warren Nutter warned, ‘The more that government takes, the less likely that…
By Anthony Gill | “We are often too quick to pull the trigger on government regulation whenever we suspect a problem exists. It is important to first ask what civil society can do (or is doing) to mitigate that problem before deferring to the…
Edward C. Harwood fought for sound money when few Americans seemed to care. He was the original gold standard man before that became cool. Now he is honored in this beautiful sewn silk tie in the richest possible color and greatest detail.
The red is not just red; it is darker and deeper, more distinctive and suggestive of seriousness of purpose.
The Harwood coin is carefully sewn (not stamped). Sporting this, others might miss that you are secretly supporting the revolution for freedom and sound money, but you will know, and that is what matters.
In 1826 the famous novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott entered an economic policy debate. Adopting a pseudonym, his Letters … from Malachi Malagrowther, Esq., on the Proposed Change of Currency fiercely defended the Scottish banking system from a British government proposal to ban banknotes under five pounds. Malagrowther built cogently on Adam Smith’s explanation of how the voluntary substitution of paper banknotes for specie in circulation enhances an economy’s stock of productive capital. The Letters ignited Scottish public opinion, and the government decided to exempt Scotland from the small note ban.
On the menu today: why Joe Biden and Senate Democrats have a lot less leverage in the current negotiations than progressives want to believe; an anti-Trump Republican has his radio show canceled; and laying out all the evidence pointing to a lab leak in Wuhan.
D.C. Democrats Don’t Quite Have the Power Progressives Think They Do
E. J. Dionne thinks that Republican opposition to forming a January 6 commission will spur senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to embrace “filibuster reform.”
The events of January 6th were horrific. We could never have imagined an attack on Congress and our Capitol at the hands of our own citizens. In the hours and days following the attack, Republican … READ MORE
“This is not your grandfather’s GOP. This is not your father’s GOP. It does not remotely resemble the party with anti-slavery origins. It is not the refugee-welcoming party of former Iowa Gov. Robert Ray. It is not the party of George W. Bush’s compassionate conservatism.”
“Votes cast by legislators this session show the GOP in Iowa today is against democracy and public education and is dismissive of science that infringes on its policy preferences. It latches onto and runs with kooky ideas floated by national party operatives and right-wing special interests and calls them progress.”
“Take an objective look at what the representatives you elected did this session and ask yourself one question: How will my daily life be better now?”
“Inmates at two of North Dakota’s biggest jails have no opportunity to get COVID-19 vaccinations after local law enforcement leaders opted not to make the jab available,” the Fargo Forum reports.
New York Times: “Since May 1, at least 26 outposts and bases in just four provinces — Laghman, Baghlan, Wardak and Ghazni — have surrendered after such negotiations… With morale diving as American troops leave, and the Taliban seizing on each surrender as a propaganda victory, each collapse feeds the next in the Afghan countryside.”
“Among the negotiated surrenders were four district centers, which house local governors, police and intelligence chiefs — effectively handing the government facilities to Taliban control and scattering the officials there, at least temporarily.”
A waste of 20 years, thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
“It became clear that to stay in that position, I would have to perpetuate the ‘Big Lie.’ I would have to be willing to go along with the idea that the election was stolen.”
— Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), in an interview with the Casper Star Tribune, on why she didn’t fight to remain in the House GOP leadership.
“The White House is set to propose on Friday a $6 trillion budget plan as President Biden seeks major changes to the U.S. economy and welfare system,” the Washington Post reports.
“The budget contains no new major policies from the White House and instead reflects the plans it has already introduced, including a $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal, $1.8 trillion education and families plan, and $1.5 trillion in proposed discretionary spending.”
“It projects budget deficits above $1 trillion for the rest of the decade, as Washington’s spending imbalance remains at elevated levels. Even without new additional spending proposals, the annual federal budget is projected to include $5.8 trillion in spending in fiscal year 2021.”
Mother Jones finds more trouble for Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg as he’s being pressured to turn on the Trump family by New York prosecutors.
“Previously unreported emails attached to a little-noticed court document filed earlier this month show that Weisselberg is tied to another Trump financial scandal: the Trump inauguration case, which is currently being investigated by the attorney general of Washington, DC.”
“There is no excuse for any Republican to vote against this commission since Democrats have agreed to everything they asked for. McConnell has made this his political position, thinking it will help his 2022 elections. They do not believe the truth will set you free, so they continue to live in fear.”
Missouri Independent: “According to several sources familiar with her plans, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Harrisonville will announce her bid sometime in early June and go to Lincoln Days in full campaign mode.”
“So far, the field includes a disgraced former governor, the current attorney general and a man who blasted to internet fame by confronting protesters with a firearm in the race for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat.”
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) explained to the Casper Star Tribune her personal experience during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Said Cheney: “It made me very angry, the idea that this could have happened and that there were people who were trying to use violence to stop us from counting electoral votes.”
But there was one moment that struck her more than most: “One of the most troubling moments of that period of the day was when one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle was sitting across from me and he looked at his phone and he said, ‘Liz, there’s a Confederate flag flying in the rotunda.’ And that moment was really — you realize that never happened during the Civil War.”
CNN: “The judge’s blunt assessment of the current, charged political climate came in a legal decision about a defendant who was drawn to Washington, DC, in January. And it adds to a growing chorus of warnings from the officials most closely weighing the aftermath of the Capitol riot about what the threat level still might be.”
“Worker filings for jobless benefits fell again to a fresh pandemic low, extending a steady downward trend and adding to signs of a healing labor market as the economy opens more fully,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Senate Republicans presented a $928 billion infrastructure plan to the White House, closing the gap with the White House’s latest $1.7 trillion offer as the two sides attempt to break an impasse over the scope of an infrastructure package and how to pay for it,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The GOP negotiators have said they would seek to pay for the offer by redirecting federal Covid-19 aid, an idea that Democrats on Capitol Hill are set to oppose.”
It’s not clear there’s an agreement in this proposal, but Republicans are succeeding in dragging out the talks.
A new PRRI-IFYC study finds that 15% of Americans agree with the QAnon statement that the U.S. government, media and financial worlds “are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation.”
And 20% agree with this statement: “There is a storm coming soon that will sweep away the elites in power and restore the rightful leaders.”
First Read: “It’s hard to call something fringe when approximately one-in-five Americans believe these statements, especially one that true patriots ‘may have to resort to violence’ to save the country.”
A majority of voters think it is likely COVID-19 originated in a Chinese research laboratory and believe a federal investigation of the pandemic’s origin is very important.
This email was sent to rickbulow1974@gmail.com. You are receiving this email because you asked to receive information from The Gateway Pundit. We take your privacy and your liberty very seriously and will keep your information in the strictest confidence. Your name will not be sold to or shared with third parties. We will email you from time to time with relevant news and updates, but you can stop receiving information from us at any time by following very simple instructions that will be included at the bottom of any correspondence you should receive from us.
Our mailing address is: 16024 Manchester Rd. | St. Louis, MO 63011
Unsubscribe or Update Preferences
69.) FRONTPAGE MAG
70.) HOOVER INSTITUTE
A daily digest of analysis and commentary by Hoover fellows. Problems viewing this email? View this email in your browser
From pipeline hacks leading to gasoline shortages to disinformation campaigns during elections, cyberattacks are becoming a more frequent source of disruption in people’s lives. Finding the right responses to these attacks isn’t obvious. Can we take lessons from traditional warfare, or do cyberattacks demand an entirely different response?
interview with Herbert Lin via Matters of Policy & Politics
The challenges of cybersecurity and the efficacy of the “cyber” component of national security as the U.S. looks to update and modernize its nuclear arsenal.
The project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region, and the National Security Task Force the Hoover Institution hosts a conversation on Watch This Space: Beijing’s Push to Close Off Taiwan’s International Space and the U.S. Response on Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 4:30 PM PT.
Two months ago, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky remarked, “My son is back in school. CDC believes schools should be the last place to close and the first place to open.” Lucky for Walensky that she doesn’t live in California, which is among the worst states in returning students to their classrooms.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who is depressed and dispirited by the latest skirmishes in education’s never-ending culture wars—the tussles about critical race theory, “anti-racist” education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. I’ve got friends and colleagues on both sides of these battles, who hold positions that are both heartfelt and hardening. I am not naïve enough to believe that they are likely to declare a truce anytime soon.
Hoover Institution fellow Victor Davis Hanson talks about the big picture implications of the Colonial Pipeline ransom, will the Biden administration standup for Israel, and is former President Trump controlling the Republican party.
Hoover Institution fellow Victor Davis Hanson discusses current developments in the areas of domestic and foreign policies implemented by the Biden administration which are led by one rule – do the opposite of the Trump administration.
Hundreds of delegates from across the Caribbean attended the virtual RF Economic Outlook on May 6 under the theme, Global Digital Disruption: Threat or Opportunity?
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
Thank you for subscribing to the Hoover Daily Report.
This email was sent to: rickbulow1974@gmail.com
Remove me from this list Ι Update my settings
71.) DAILY INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
Daily Intelligence Brief.
Good morning, it’s May 27, 2021. On this day in history, St. Petersburg, Russia, was founded by Peter the Great, and was the scene of the 1917 revolutions and a fiercely defended city during WWII (1703); the Bubonic Plague broke out in San Francisco (1907); and construction began on Walt Disney World in Florida (1969).
TOP STORIES
‘W’ is Back in the Spotlight and Holding No Punches in His Opinion of the Afghanistan Withdrawal
Former President George W. Bush is making the usual rounds to promote his new book, “Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants.”
He is taking the opportunity to comment on major world issues, including the Afghanistan withdrawal.
From pipeline hacks leading to gasoline shortages to disinformation campaigns during elections, cyberattacks are becoming a more frequent source of disruption in people’s lives. Finding the right responses to these attacks isn’t obvious. Can we take lessons from traditional warfare, or do cyberattacks demand an entirely different response?
interview with Herbert Lin via Matters of Policy & Politics
The challenges of cybersecurity and the efficacy of the “cyber” component of national security as the U.S. looks to update and modernize its nuclear arsenal.
The project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region, and the National Security Task Force the Hoover Institution hosts a conversation on Watch This Space: Beijing’s Push to Close Off Taiwan’s International Space and the U.S. Response on Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 4:30 PM PT.
Two months ago, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky remarked, “My son is back in school. CDC believes schools should be the last place to close and the first place to open.” Lucky for Walensky that she doesn’t live in California, which is among the worst states in returning students to their classrooms.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who is depressed and dispirited by the latest skirmishes in education’s never-ending culture wars—the tussles about critical race theory, “anti-racist” education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. I’ve got friends and colleagues on both sides of these battles, who hold positions that are both heartfelt and hardening. I am not naïve enough to believe that they are likely to declare a truce anytime soon.
Hoover Institution fellow Victor Davis Hanson talks about the big picture implications of the Colonial Pipeline ransom, will the Biden administration standup for Israel, and is former President Trump controlling the Republican party.
Hoover Institution fellow Victor Davis Hanson discusses current developments in the areas of domestic and foreign policies implemented by the Biden administration which are led by one rule – do the opposite of the Trump administration.
Hundreds of delegates from across the Caribbean attended the virtual RF Economic Outlook on May 6 under the theme, Global Digital Disruption: Threat or Opportunity?
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Bush states that he thinks withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan is not “necessary,” explaining he is deeply concerned that a “vacuum” will be created without a U.S. presence in the region.
In demonstrating his point, Bush highlights the portrait of Roya Mahoob, an Afghan woman who fled to Iran, escaping the Taliban’s brutal oppression of women in Afghanistan.
“I’ve always warned that no U.S. presence in Afghanistan will create a vacuum, and into that vacuum is likely to come people who treat women as second-class citizens,” Bush said.
In his book, Bush writes, “Roya believes that the United States and our allies helped bring light to the lives of millions of people who lived in darkness.
“As policymakers in the United States and allied countries make decisions about our future in Afghanistan, it is important to remember the stories of people like Roya and what life was like for her prior to 2001.”
Bush states that he is “also deeply concerned about the sacrifices of our soldiers and our intelligence community will be forgotten.”
In the end, the former President seems resigned, “… the decision has been made, and now we need to pray and hope that it is the right decision.”
ATP comment: We talked to a friend of ours in Afghanistan who has worked hard to establish herself as a teacher there. She simply asks, “What happens to me now? The Taliban will not let me be a teacher and, in fact, if I stay here, they will likely just kill me.”
Is anyone in Washington, D.C., taking this simple thought into consideration?
Where are the Body Cams? Portland’s Bizarre Plan is the Lack of a Plan and Cops Are Fed Up
Portland Police are at their wits’ end, and according to a story in Fox News, they have demanded body cameras in order to dispel the notion they are brutal or racist in their policing methods.
Portland continues to remain in the spotlight, thanks to a perpetual spate of crimes and riots. In the wake of the ongoing Defund the Police campaign and incessant rioting by Black Lives Matter, Antifa and other violent protest groups, Portland Police are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The department recognizes they need proof that they are truly protecting and serving the community, in order to protect themselves from more unsubstantiated accusations by protesters.
“I’d love to have a body camera. Every person I work with wants to have a body camera, because we want them to see the good work that we do,” stated a 15-year Portland police officer.
“My officers use force down here on a daily basis,” he explained. “They do it accurately, they do it professionally, they do it respectfully and, according to City Hall, we’re just out thumping everybody and we’re doing it over the top. These body cameras would show that everything that we’re doing is justified,” he added.
Portland is one of the only large cities in America not providing body cameras for its officers.
Daryl Turner, executive director of the Portland Police Association, theorized, “I know why they don’t want body cameras on police officers in the City of Portland,” he explained. “Because the rhetoric that we see from the media, the rhetoric that we see from the politicians would be not true. They would see that in color on those cameras, the work that we do is good work.”
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler claims he supports providing body cameras to police but excuses the city’s current decision against it by stating there are “significant financial challenges created by the virus-caused recession.”
However, actions speak louder than words. Wheeler and the City Council recently cut $3 million from the Portland Police Bureau’s budget. That’s approximately what it would cost to outfit the entire department with body cameras.
Portland is in a state of perpetual unrest, and the lack of competent government leadership is shameful.
Sorry White Kids, No Healing Space for You
A Massachusetts school district is excluding white students from a “healing space” designated for Asian, Asian Americans and other people of color. The email sent to students, faculty and staff goes so far as to state the space is “*not* for students who identify only as White.”
According toFox News, the email from the Wellesley Public Schools Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was written by a seventh-grade teacher in the district. The letter goes on to state, “If you identify as White, and you need help to process recent events, please know I’m here for you as well as your guidance counselors. If you need to know more about why this is not for White students, please ask me!”
A parents group is now taking the school district up on the offer of asking “why” by going one further.
Parents Defending Education has filed a federal civil rightscomplaint against the school district, alleging that Wellesley Public Schools sent an invitation to Asian American, Black, Indigenous and people-of-color students to attend the event, explicitly disallowing whites.
The complaint is part of a campaign by the organization to take on Critical Race Theory at a federal level. PDE president Nicole Neily rightly stated, “Schools should not be separating students on the basis of race — period. The fact that this is somehow a controversial opinion in 2021 is appalling. All children deserve to learn in an environment free from discrimination.”
The Daily Intelligence Brief, The DIB as we call it, is curated by a hard working team with a diverse background of experience including government intelligence, investigative journalism, high-risk missionary work and marketing.
From All Things Possible and the Victor Marx Group we aim to provide you with a daily intelligence brief collected from trusted sources and analysts.
Sources for the DIB include local and national media outlets, state and government websites, proprietary sources, in addition to social media networks. State reporting of COVID-19 deaths includes probable cases and probable deaths from COVID-19, in accordance with each state’s guidelines.
Thank you for joining us today. Be safe, be healthy and
Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
Welcome to the FEE Daily, your go-to newsletter for free-market news and analysis, authored by FEE.org Policy Correspondent Brad Polumbo. If you’re reading this online, click here to make sure you’re subscribed to the email list.
Good afternoon! I’ve got a dentist appointment today and woke up with no iced coffee in the fridge—so, sorry in advance if some of the despair wrenching my heart creeps into today’s newsletter.
Here Are 3 Glaring Consequences of the $6T+ Budget Biden Just Proposed
Custom Image By FEE | Image Credit PixaBay, Gage Skidmore
History will not remember President Biden for his frugality. The president has already signed into law a massive multi-trillion-dollar “COVID” stimulus spending package and proposed trillions more in “infrastructure” spending. Now, the White House has released its budget request for Fiscal Year 2022—a stunning $6 trillion.
“President Biden will propose a $6 trillion budget on Friday that would take the United States to its highest sustained levels of federal spending since World War II, while running deficits above $1.3 trillion throughout the next decade,” the New York Timesreports.
These enormous spending levels would lead to skyrocketing budget deficits.
“The federal budget deficit would hit $1.8 trillion in 2022, even as the economy rebounds from the pandemic recession to grow at what the administration predicts would be its fastest annual pace since the early 1980s,” the Times continues. “It would recede slightly in the following years before growing again to nearly $1.6 trillion by 2031.”
Our national debt would quickly hit record levels.
“Total debt held by the public would more than exceed the annual value of economic output, rising to 117 percent of the size of the economy in 2031,” the Times report adds. “By 2024, debt as a share of the economy would rise to its highest level in American history, eclipsing its World War II-era record.”
Simply put, the president wants to spend an astounding amount of our money. Of course, with figures this big and every president in recent history having spent recklessly, it’s understandable that the significance of such spending levels can easily be lost on weary Americans.
So to break it down, here are three glaring consequences that everyday Americans will face in their lives if Biden’s proposed blowout budget becomes reality.
1) Trillions More in Taxes—Just to Cover the Interest
Every year, the federal government has to confiscate huge sums in taxes just to cover the annual interest payments on the national debt. These annual payments—just the interest on the debt—would double over the next decade under Biden’s proposal. Even if interest rates stay low, the payments will total trillions in the near future that will require tax increases. And if interest rates do tick up, these annual payments will quickly become unimaginably large.
Your wallet will feel it.
2) Slow Economic Growth & Lower Paychecks
Large levels of government debt drag down the economic growth that improves our living standards. It directly lowers your paycheck, too. For example, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “A generic plan to gradually reduce the [national] debt to its historic average would… increase income per person by $5,500.”
Biden’s plan to go in the opposite direction will have the opposite effect!
3) Large Misallocation of Resources that Could Eventually Lead to a Crash
Since the government can’t create wealth out of thin air, the resources it spends have to come from somewhere else. Biden’s proposed $6 trillion in spending is no exception.
Some of it would likely be paid for through regular taxation, but much of it would likely be financed through massive money printing. This would lead to price inflation, which amounts to a sneaky form of taxation.
Massive money printing also leads to a vast misallocation of resources, as Senator Rand Paul recently remarked. Not only does money pumping raise the overall price level, it misleads businesses into making unsustainable investments. As taught by economic theory, this inevitably leads to a corrective crash in the economy—the brunt of which will be borne by average Americans.
The Big Picture
The issue with President Biden’s record-breaking budget proposal is more than just our inability to afford it. Such a drastic acceleration in government spending would hurt the financial prospects of everyday Americans in too many ways to count.
Deadly Mistake: Ban on Flavored Nicotine Products Led Teenagers to Smoke More Cigarettes, Study Finds
Image Credit: PixaBay
The latest target of the public health bureaucracy’s regulatory efforts is flavored tobacco products, in particular, flavored vaping products that are often popular among young people. Bans on such products are cropping up around the country, but a new study shows that these restrictions can backfire—to deadly consequence.
Yale University Public Health Professor Abigail S. Friedman examined the impact of San Francisco’s ban on flavored products, and her new research, published in the prestigious medical journal JAMA Pediatrics, shows how it went wrong.
Of course, the goal of such bans is noble. Regulators hope to discourage teenagers from using any nicotine-related products, some of which persist in popularity despite it already being illegal for anyone under 18 to purchase them.
However, not all nicotine products are equally dangerous.
Nicotine, while addictive, is not actually what causes lung cancer. Instead, it’s the tar and other carcinogens that are found in traditional cigarettes—but not most vaping products—that can have lethal cancer-causing effects. Indeed, roughly 1,300 Americans a day die from diseases associated with traditional cigarette smoking, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
In contrast, public health experts have concluded that vaping is 95% healthier than traditional cigarette smoking. Meanwhile, almost all of the much-hyped “vaping-related deaths” come from black-market vaping products, which will only become more prevalent as legal products are restricted.
By banning flavored vaping products that attract young people, regulators unwittingly push teenagers to smoke traditional cigarettes—which are exponentially more deadly. This isn’t speculation: It’s exactly what happened in San Francisco.
“San Francisco’s ban on flavored tobacco product sales was associated with increased smoking among minor high school students relative to other school districts,” Friedman finds. “While the policy applied to all tobacco products, its outcome was likely greater for youths who vaped than those who smoked due to higher rates of flavored tobacco use among those who vaped.”
“This raises concerns that reducing access to flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems may motivate youths who would otherwise vape to substitute smoking,” the study continues. “Indeed, analyses of how minimum legal sales ages for electronic nicotine delivery systems are associated with youth smoking also suggest such substitution.”
These findings should serve as a final rebuke to the ongoing nanny state war against vaping products. However, there’s a much bigger picture takeaway here. When government bureaucrats try to meddle in complicated social issues and dictate individual decision making from the top down, dysfunction and unintended consequences inevitably follow.
Why?
“Every human action has both intended and unintended consequences,” economist Antony Davies and political scientist James Harrigan explained for FEE. “Human beings react to every rule, regulation, and order governments impose, and their reactions result in outcomes that can be quite different than the outcomes lawmakers intended.”
Time and time again, we see sweeping regulations backfire and have unintended consequences that achieve the exact opposite of their original goals. This is what Harrigan and Davies dubbed the “Cobra Effect.”
They told the comical yet revealing tale of how an Indian city placed a bounty on cobras to try and solve their infestation problem, yet achieved the opposite result. Why?
At first, more people hunted cobras to get the bounty, and the cobra population decreased. Yet then individuals started breeding and raising cobras at home in order to get the bounty again. When the government canceled the bounty because the population had seemingly declined, citizens released all the cobras they had been raising in their homes into the wild.
The end result was a worse infestation of cobras than the city had to begin with.
The same kind of backfire story is playing out in San Francisco. The pattern isn’t a coincidence; it’s how big government always works out.
Data of the Day: The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits continues to decline, new figures released Thursday show, although they remain significantly higher than average pre-pandemic levels.
Image Credit: WSJ
Meme of the Day: FEE Fellow Olivia Rondeau has a great new article out today detailing the horrors that occur when the government treats vices as crimes. When will politicians learn?
You don’t always have time to read a full in-depth article. Thankfully, FEE Fellow Patrick Carroll is here to give you the key takeaways from one highlighted article each day.
Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci have been sparring for months now over various facets of the COVID-19 debate. And though these debates cover a variety of topics, they seem to have a similar pattern. At first, the media supports Fauci and demonizes Paul. But then, people start to realize that Paul was right, and the official narrative changes to fit the facts.
Hannah Cox lays out three prime examples of this pattern in her latest article on FEE.org.
First, there was the question of whether to reopen schools. Last summer, Paul argued that there was good evidence that schools don’t pose a high risk for spreading the virus. At the time, Fauci pushed back. But six months later, he was making the same point as Paul and encouraging schools to reopen.
Then there was the issue of whether vaccinated people needed to wear masks. Paul famously called out Fauci for his “theater” when Fauci continued to wear two masks despite being vaccinated. Fauci strenuously objected, but days later the official narrative changed, and suddenly the government came over to Paul’s position that masks weren’t needed for vaccinated people.
The most recent debate between the two was related to the origins of COVID-19. In their latest match-up, Paul asked Fauci whether the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research related to COVID-19 at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). Fauci denied the assertion, but Paul was correct about the funding, and now the debate around the origins of the virus has been reignited.
So, what can we learn from all this?
Perhaps a lesson in humility. While Dr. Fauci and many other officials were quick to suggest sweeping top-down measures, the reality is that they never had, and could never have, the knowledge required to centrally plan the response to the pandemic. As we’ve seen time and again throughout this ordeal, the government does not have a monopoly on truth, and they have no way of knowing what’s best in every context.
Senator Paul seems to understand this timeless lesson. The question remains whether his colleagues will learn it too.
DeSantis’s ‘Big Tech Bill’ Is Actually a Step Closer to the World Orwell Feared
by Jon Hersey
For the past several years, everyone from Sacha Baron Cohen to Elizabeth Warren to Donald Trump has advocated for strict new regulations on tech companies.
But Florida’s new “Big Tech Bill” is not the solution it seems.
The FEE Store has the books, magazines, and merchandise you’re looking for to begin or deepen your knowledge of the economic, ethical, and legal principles of a free society. 100% of the proceeds go to advance FEE’s mission. Support by shopping now!
What you’ve missed:Lockheed Martin executives attended a three-day “white male reeducation camp,” and the White House implements a 90-day review into COVID origins.
Want to be a sponsor?Register here and we’ll get in contact with you.
“The AR-15 is…the most popular rifle in America. It’s not a machine gun, it’s a rifle. Your public position is that you want to ban AR-15s, is that correct?” Cruz asked.
Why is Biden now deferring to international partners that are more interesting in shilling for the CCP than getting to the bottom of this investigation?
A new investigation finds that Sweden has gone from being one of the safest European countries 20 years ago in terms of gun crime to the second most dangerous.
A major tenant of the Chinese Communist Party is a strict regulation of firearm ownership. They do so under the guise of “protecting human rights” and “reducing gun crimes.” They even criticize the United States for not following their example. But there’s a connection between CCP antigun propaganda and efforts in the United States and it doesn’t take “six degrees of separation” to see it.
Digital rights group Fight for the Future has launched a new website and scorecard that tracks whether or not top retailers use, don’t use, or might use facial recognition on people in their stores. Walmart, Albertsons, Kroger, Lowes, and Macy’s are among the stores flagged as using facial recognition on shoppers and workers. Walgreens, McDonald’s, 7-11, and Best Buy are among retailers that have not clarified their policies. Home Depot, Target, Costco, CVS, Dollar Tree, and Verizon confirmed to Fight for the Future that they are not using facial recognition in their stores.
Michael Capuzzo, a New York Times best-selling author , has just published an article titled “The Drug That Cracked Covid”. The 15-page article chronicles the gargantuan struggle being waged by frontline doctors on all continents to get ivermectin approved as a Covid-19 treatment, as well as the tireless efforts by reporters, media outlets and social media companies to thwart them.
A recent ABC News story about a grand jury refusing to convict a Texas cop of killing an unarmed mentally-ill Black man might just leave you speechless.
America’s gold reserves would be audited for the first time in more than 60 years if a measure introduced yesterday by U.S. Representative Alex Mooney (R-WV) becomes law.
Now that Jeff Bezos’s space flight company Blue Origin has lost a multibillion contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Congress is prepping the ground for Bezos to win a contract anyway, ordering NASA to make not one but two awards.
The U.S. government funded vaccine research to the tune of more than $9 billion, spent $22 billion to support vaccine distribution, shelled out another $10 billion to expand access and currently announced $3 billion to spend on an ad campaign to combat vaccine hesitancy.
You are subscribed to email updates from BlackListed News.
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.
Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States
Welcome to the Thursday edition of Internet Insider, where we explore the identities online and off. Today:
Black TikToker explains the racist history of infamous ‘haunted’ lake
Could the COVID vaccine make you infertile?
Self-care: Joy as an act of rebellion
BREAK THE INTERNET
‘Don’t even drive by there’: Black TikToker explains the racist history of infamous ‘haunted’ lake
A Black TikTok star shed a light on the racist treatment of a community in Georgia after a body was discovered in a lake that was built on the community’s land. Lake Lanier reportedly has a reputation for mysterious deaths.
TikToker @blackbeltbabe, real name Monique Sampson, has more than 218,000 followers and has been sharing videos following the news that a 19-year-old’s body was found in Lake Lanier. The teen went missing while he was swimming.
“I hope people will learn about the thriving Black community that paid the ultimate price of losing their community simply because the city wanted to build a lake,” Sampson told the Daily Dot. “It is my hope they won’t be forgotten.”
In 1957, the U.S. Army Corp wanted the land that, at the time, had a “thriving” Black community, Sampson said in the video. She says the community had a racetrack, farmland, and convenient stores.
“[The Army Corp] drove residents out of the space, demanded that they leave and decided to flood the entire area where the residents were,” Sampson said. “It was absolutely horrible.”
Ever go to the grocery store and notice people wearing masks that fit loosely on their faces? While it’s admirable to consistently wear them in public, you may not be aware that those gaps on the sides could put you in major danger.
The CDC recommends that your mask creates a tight seal around your nose and mouth for this very reason. If it drives you nuts to see this everywhere you go, put your energy to a good purpose by joining the #MaskUp project. It’s a nonprofit organization with two major goals: Get the word out about how to wear a mask safely and get masks to people in need of them. If you’d like to be a part of our movement, visit MaskUp.org to learn more.
A new myth claims that getting a COVID vaccine could make you infertile. The conspiracy has largely been debunked, however, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made it unequivocally clear with a statement.
“If you are pregnant, you can receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” the CDC’s website states. “There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems.”
The source of the false claim is two European anti-vaccination propagandists, German epidemiologist Wolfgang Wodarg and an anonymous former Pfizer employee. The petition asked the European Medicines Agency to delay the research and approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Wodarg claims that the vaccine causes the body to produce antibodies to fight a spike protein essential in mammal placentas. He said that could potentially lead to it attacking and rejecting the protein in a human placenta, leading to infertility.
Dr. Jill Foster, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told Web MD the biological basis for the idea that vaccines could affect the placenta “is really shaky.”
After a year of writing my own thoughts about self-care in this newsletter, I’m branching out—but not too far. I’m asking my Daily Dot co-workers about how they integrate self-care rituals and a treat-yourself mentality into their days.
Ramón Ramirez, the Daily Dot’s news director, is more or less fueled by beer, games of pool, and unrequited sports fandom.To him, self-care is fixating on something joyful to look forward to. It’s this formula that shakes out to make a leader the Daily Dot team can depend on day after day.
Do you set aside specific time and activities for-self care? If yes, when and what?
It’s important to hang out and drink with loved ones and parlay that joy into community activism like food bank shifts. Adults have less built-in social groups today; churches and firehouse fish fries and the Rotary or Lions clubs seem like 20th century artifacts. Unrelatedly, I always make time for Tuna Melt Mondays at home.
I know you’re a huge sports fan. How does your fandom factor into self-care?
Many journalists vigorously tweet about their love for, like, a baseball team. I think that’s because it’s one of the few things we can tweet about with strong bias and reactively. I’ve also read that sports fans are happier and may live longer because there’s always something to look forward to on the calendar. And for me, that’s fueled by the collective hope that some day things will get better either in terms of social inequality or that Mexico will win the World Cup… or the Cowboys will win the Super Bowl… or that Spurs will win literally any trophy even a dang Europa league… or the Horns will win the Fiesta Bowl. Anyway, go Knicks!
What are some of your hobbies/usual activities outside of work? Or, is there something you’d like to pursue?
My favorite hobby is music and finding ways to share that with my wife is key to personal growth because it means I have to not be a mansplainy drag. We regularly attended shows pre-pandemic… during the past year, it’s meant walking to the record store or streaming a Tragic Kingdom-era No Doubt concert on YouTube.
Any other thoughts on self-care?
To me self-care is about understanding what re-charges your spirit and body and making space for it. And getting those 10,000 steps in!
We’ve been told for years now that sugar is the cause of all our problems.
Weight gain. Digestive problems. Sluggishness. Insulin resistance and disease… More and more health experts put the blame on too much sugar in the diet for all these health issues, and more.
However, according to Dr. Steven Gundry — a world-renowned heart surgeon — eliminating sugar isn’t the answer to feeling good again.
“About 75% of the food we eat has sugar added to it,” says Dr. Gundry. “It’s unrealistic to ask people to stop eating sugar.”
Instead, he says he’s discovered a way to fight back against the negative effects too much sugar has on the body – without having to stop eating it.
Consistent overconsumption of sugar can cause a harmful condition known as “metabolic slowdown.” Warning signs include unwanted belly flab, “brain fog”, slower metabolism, tiredness, constipation, and even difficulty concentrating. Metabolic slowdown currently affects tens of millions of Americans.
Dr. Gundry explains, “Metabolic slowdown usually develops over a matter of years, and sometimes even decades. But the damage caused by sugar-laden foods is not normal.”
The good news is, this problem can be easily fixed from your own home, with a method Dr. Gundry has developed himself. “It’s very simple. My technique is a way to help your body better process the sugar you eat, so that it’s being used as energy – not stored as fat,” he says.
By employing this relatively basic process, Dr. Gundry has seen thousands of people make swift recoveries. (In fact, he even lost 70lbs himself!)
People are also reporting dramatically improved digestion, more energy, and feeling healthier than they have in years.
Now, after years of research, Dr. Gundry has decided to release a free informative video to the public showcasing exactly how his Metabolic Slowdown solution works- without changing your diet, and enjoying the foods you love to eat, guilt-free.
“My mission is to help everyday Americans achieve good health,” he explains. “So, if this video can help people achieve that, I’ll be thrilled.”
The video has since gone viral, first being shared by users on various social media platforms, then being featured on news sites like ABC and CBS.
Watch The VideoDr. Gundry also serves as the personal physician to many A-list celebrities.
Most notable of which include legendary self-help guru Tony Robbins, Oscar award winning actor Alan Arkin, Grammy award winning singer Usher, and countless fortune 500 executives.
Now, there is one thing Dr. Gundry asks from his viewers: “If watching this helps you take control of your weight back, fight unwanted cravings, increase your energy, ease gas and bloating, or find relief from stiff, achy joints,” Dr. Gundry says… “Then please share this video with your friends and loved ones. Together, we can help as many people avoid these health issues as possible.”
The information presented here is for general educational purposes only. You should always consult with your personal physician regarding any personal health problem, and you should always consult with your financial adviser regarding investment decisions. FDA DISCLOSURE: The statements, articles, and products featured in Headline USA emails and at HeadlineUSA.com have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. No information or products appearing in emails or the website are intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. MATERIAL CONNECTION DISCLOSURE: Headline USA may have an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to any persons or businesses mentioned in or linked to from emails or the website and may receive commissions from purchases you make on subsequent web sites. You should not rely solely on information published by Headline USA to evaluate the product or service being offered. Always exercise your own due diligence before purchasing any product or service.
Today’s podcast covers a multitude of topics, including “vaccine tourism” where people from Mexico and even Taiwan are flocking to the United States to get free death shots that are misleadingly labeled “vaccines.” They obviously don’t realize that even in America, the vaccines are engineered as depopulation weapons to exterminate the human race through infertility and spike protein deaths.
Thus, the very people who think they’re picking up “freebies” from America are about to find out they’re dead wrong. Literally.
Today we’ve returned to a single podcast format, and we cover all sorts of insane breaking news including Japan’s targeting of the elderly and Canada’s bribing of children with ice cream, in order to coerce them into getting vaccinated without their parents’ consent.
Why Magnesium Glycinate is the most bioavailable form of magnesiumAs one of the most highly bioavailable forms of magnesium, Chief Originals Magnesium Glycinate Powder combines pure magnesium and glycine to support your overall health. Take advantage of our easy-to-use powder formula and add it to your favorite smoothies, shakes, teas, coffees and other healthy beverages. Our lab-verified magnesium powder contains no gluten or GMOs. It is also vegan and thoroughly lab tested for glyphosate, heavy metals, and microbiology.
SUBSCRIBE to receive important News and information from the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Our member media companies reach more than 22 million consumer households each week in print and millions more online.
BlackPressUSA.com, the public news website of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), is committed to showcasing the work of NNPA member publications and to telling the untold stories of the Black community in the United States and the Black Diaspora around the world.
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Headquartered in Washington, DC with senior and strategic advisors across the United States, Dubai, and Guyana, Highland Poe’s portfolio companies offer professional services in strategic and diversity communications, federal government and regulatory affairs, and corporate advisory in environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) and capital markets consulting.
NNPA NEWSWIRE — The aesthetic and visual style of the film is a love letter to the Kung-Fu films that preceded it. It gives the film a distinct feel that sets it apart from modern action films as it leans into the history from which it comes from, in the same way Eugene Ash’s “Sylvie’s Love” used a Super 8mm camera to fully immerse the audience in the nostalgia of the genre.
NNPA NEWSWIRE — For more than an hour, Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy press secretary for the White House, took questions from journalists – just about each who began by offering congratulations to the longtime political activist turned spokeswoman.
NNPA NEWSWIRE — ‘THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD’ stars Angelina Jolie as a hard driving smoke jumper who parachutes into roaring forest fires along the Montana wilderness. Her character, Hannah, out boys the boys when it comes to high risks and hard drinking. The movie also revolves around a young boy, Conner, played by Finn Little, whose father, a forensic accountant, is on the run and headed out west to stay with his brother-in-law, Ethan (Jon Bernthal), who is a deputy in the small town in Montana.
NNPA NEWSWIRE – Brainly, the world’s largest online learning platform, recently surveyed more than 1,700 U.S. students to understand better what they know – and don’t know – about Dr. King, his life, and his legacy. It turns out; the answer is not much. According to the data, 63 percent of U.S. students incorrectly identified Dr. King’s accomplishments or were not aware of some of the most important things he did to contribute to America’s Civil Rights Movement.
NNPA NEWSWIRE – The administration wants to level the playing field, which would allow those in communities of color to obtain good-paying jobs, ascend to the middle class, and be rewarded when it comes time for promotions and other opportunities to advance. “I think we are seeing 500,000 jobs per month added to the economy on average over the last three months, and we saw some positive signs in the hospitality industry this month,” explained U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.
NEW ORLEANS DATA DAILY NEWS WEEKLY – Carter was sworn in on the House Floor to fill the 2nd Congressional District seat for the remainder of the 117th Congress in a seat formerly held by Cedric Richmond, who was recently appointed a Senior Aide in the Biden Administration.
ROLLING OUT – “Not only have minorities been excessively punished and incarcerated for cannabis while others profited, but they have had unequal access to education, which perpetuates cycles of low-pay and unemployment. It is crucial that we allow those who have been impacted by the drug war and racism to participate and benefit from the cannabis industry,” Webber said in a statement to Forbes.
To submit a news story, commentary or press release to BlackPressUSA and the NNPA Newswire for review, email newswire@nnpa.org. Include a high resolution version of any accompanying photography as well as appropriate photo credits. Not all submissions are published or distributed.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY! to receive regular updates from BlackPressUSA.com
BlackPressUSA is brought to you by the National Newspaper Publishers Association
This email was sent to rickbulownewmedia@protonmail.com. You are receiving this email because you asked to receive information from The Western Journal. We take your privacy and your liberty very seriously and will keep your information in the strictest confidence. Your name will not be sold to or shared with third parties. We will email you from time to time with relevant news and updates, but you can stop receiving information from us at any time by following very simple instructions that will be included at the bottom of any correspondence you should receive from us.
Our mailing address is: The Western Journal P.O. Box 74273 Phoenix, AZ 85087
“It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf.” —Thomas Paine (1776)
Please join us in prayer for our nation’s Military Patriots standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, for their families, and for our nation’s First Responders. We also ask prayer for your Patriot team, and our mission to, first and foremost, support and defend our Republic’s Founding Principles of Liberty, and to ignite the fires of freedom in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.
You have received this email because you are subscribed to The Patriot Post at rickbulownewmedia@protonmail.com. To manage your subscription or to unsubscribe, click here.
The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.
This email was sent to rickbulow1974@gmail.com. You are receiving this email because you asked to receive information from Conservative Tribune. We take your privacy and your liberty very seriously and will keep your information in the strictest confidence. Your name will not be sold to or shared with third parties. We will email you from time to time with relevant news and updates, but you can stop receiving information from us at any time by following very simple instructions that will be included at the bottom of any correspondence you should receive from us.
Our mailing address is: Conservative Tribune P.O. Box 74273 Phoenix, AZ 85087
A vigil is planned in San Jose after a deadly gun rampage and more news to start your Thursday.
Good morning, Daily Briefing readers. After the distressing news of another mass shooting that killed at least nine people in San Jose, California, authorities are continuing their investigation as residents mourn the dead.
💉 Achievement unlocked: Ten states have reached President Joe Biden’s goal to vaccinate at least 70% of adults with at least one dose by July 4. Head here for the latest COVID-19 updates.
🌎 “Left for dead”: A Montana tribal councilwoman was badly beaten and hospitalized earlier this month, her family says. To this point, no one has been charged.
Host Nick Cannon, left, stands next to Piglet, who won Season 5 of FOX’s ‘The Masked Singer.’
FOX photo; USA TODAY graphic
🎧 On today’s 5 Things podcast, listen for the latest from San Jose, California, after a deadly mass shooting. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.
📢Join us at 4:30 p.m. ET today on Twitter Spaces! We’ll be talking about race, history and the story of Jimmie Lee Jackson, whose death changed America, with reporter Javonte Anderson.
Join USA TODAY on Twitter Spaces
USA TODAY
Here’s what’s happening today:
Vigil planned after San Jose mass shooting leaves at least nine dead
Officials are continuing to gather information Thursday after a gunman opened fire at a light rail yard in San Jose, California, killing at least nine people. Police spokesman Russell Davis said the shooter, a rail yard employee who had a history of anger issues , according to those who knew him, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He said that other employees were among the victims. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said on Twitter that a vigil honoring the victims would take place at City Hall Plaza at 6 p.m. PT on Thursday.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom at a press conference on May 26, 2021
AFP photo via Getty Images; USA TODAY graphic
Capitol riot commission faces possible defeat in Senate
The proposed 9/11-style panel to study the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6 could be scuttled in the Senate as early as Thursday. Democrats have been pressing for a bipartisan review of the attack, but Republicans worry that it will be used as a weapon against them in the 2022 elections. Democrats would need at least 10 Republicans to join them to overcome a potential GOP filibuster of legislation creating the commission, and even among the seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Donald Trump of inciting the insurrection, opinion is divided.
Also new: Gun dealers can count on ATF to back off
Gun dealers are largely immune from serious punishment and enjoy layers of protection unavailable to most other industries, according to a review done by The Trace and USA TODAY that uncovered numerous violations from nearly 2,000 gun dealer inspections.
However, David Chipman, an agent turned activist nominated by President Joe Biden, could lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to a new era of cracking down on problem gun dealers.
In a rare look behind the scenes of gun shop regulation, The Trace and USA TODAY found ATF officials conciliatory and accommodating.
Illustration: Andrea Brunty, USA TODAY Network, and Getty Images
Amid negotiations with GOP, Biden to tout infrastructure plan in Ohio
President Joe Biden will be in Cleveland on Thursday looking to reassure Americans that the economy is rebounding, and sell his infrastructure plan . His speech aims to counter a narrative pushed by Republicans, who have pointed to rising inflation as a sign he is moving the economy in the wrong direction with his big-spending measures. Biden’s latest address comes as Senate Republicans plan to increase their offer to an infrastructure plan that totals nearly $1 trillion Thursday. The GOP already rejected Biden’s slimmed-down $1.7 trillion plan last week.
🔵 Eric Carle, the beloved children’s author and illustrator who wrote the classic “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” has died. He was 91.
World forecast: Southwest drought to go on, Atlantic to see more dangerous hurricanes
A new World Meteorological Organization forecast released Thursday says large parts of land in the Northern Hemisphere will be 1.4 degrees warmer than recent decades and that the drought in the Southwest will continue. The meteorologists also predict a 90% chance that the world will set yet another record for the hottest year by the end of 2025 and the Atlantic will continue to brew more potentially dangerous hurricanes than it used to. The new report comes on the heels of California and the U.S. government announcing an agreement to open up the Pacific Coast’s first commercial wind energy farms.
Newsmakers in their own words: Karine Jean-Pierre makes history
Karine Jean-Pierre at the White House on May 26, 2021
Getty Images photo; USA TODAY graphic
Karine Jean-Pierre became the first Black woman in decades to lead a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday. She also made history as the first openly gay spokeswoman to stand behind the podium and answer journalists’ questions.
The one with the ‘Friends’ who reunite for a new HBO Max special
The cast of “Friends” finally got back together in front of the camera for some reminiscing and a lot of fun. “Friends: The Reunion,” the long-awaited, much-hyped reuniting of the six original cast members of the long-running NBC sitcom “Friends,” hit HBO Max early Thursday morning. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, who starred in the hit series that ran from 1994-2004, gathered for a sweet and emotional unscripted reunion on the Warner Bros. lot earlier this spring.
ICYMI: Some of our top stories published Wednesday
⚖ John Warner, a longtime Virginia senator, one of the Senate’s most influential military experts and an ex-husband of Elizabeth Taylor, has died at 94.
📸 Photo of the day: The super flower blood moon wows sky gazers 📸
A full moon is seen during totality of a total lunar eclipse as the moon enters Earth’s shadow for a “Super Blood Moon” on May 26, 2021 in Chico, Calif.
If you are on a mobile device or cannot view the images in this message, click here to view this email in your browser. To ensure delivery of these emails, please add emails@thedailybeast.com to your address book. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, or think you have received this message in error, you can safely unsubscribe.
93.) ABSOLUTE NEWS
Please read or unsubscribe here
FEATURED TODAY
[NOTICE] They Stepped Up To Pelosi – House Drama Erupts
Use of this Publisher’s email, website and content, is subject to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use published on AbsoluteNews.com. The content in our emails is for informational or entertainment use and is not a substitute for professional advice. Always check with a qualified professional for treatment advice and/or diagnosis. Be sure to do your own careful research before taking action based on anything you find in this content.
Daily Media
DBA Absolute News
274 Redwood Shores Pky #311
Redwood City, CA 94065
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Brnovich, a Republican, is reportedly stepping in because Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat is the one names in the suit, and she’s siding with the DNC, not defending the state’s election laws. […]
– May 25, 2021 – Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America New United States COVID cases, because of the record-breaking development of the vaccine and its early purchase and distribution by the Trump Administration, has hit its lowest level in more than one year, and falling fast. I […]
Both sides in a 2020 election dispute in Georgia are set to meet tomorrow morning at the Fulton County ballot storage area. That after a Georgia judge earlier ordered absentee ballots in the 2020 election be unsealed. The ballots will be scanned anew by county officials as representatives from both sides observe. According to The […]
Amid a growing turnabout in the media, President Biden has asked for a stronger inquiry into Covid-19’s origins. Many in the media falsely reported for over a year that the idea of Covid-19 originating from a lab in China had been “debunked.” In fact, not only was the idea not debunked, it proved to be […]
Rightwing.org represents the majority interested in protecting truth, justice, and the American way. We are the mortal enemy of misinformation, extremes, corruption, fake news, racial division, environmental assaults and the disarmament of Americans. Rightwing.org curates, summarizes and fact checks the day’s hottest news and views giving people a source of real American news that’s easier to trust.
Use of this Publisher’s email, website and content, is subject to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use published on RightWing.org. Content marked “Special” or “Sponsored” may be a paid third party advertisement and are not endorsed or warranted by our staff or company. The content in our emails is for informational or entertainment use and is not a substitute for professional advice. Always check with a qualified professional for treatment advice and/or diagnosis. Be sure to do your own careful research before taking action based on anything you find in this content.
Is your cat trying to tell you something? According to Dr. Gary Richter, one of the top veterinarians in the world, many cats are at risk of serious health issues… but their owners may be missing the warning signs. “It’s an epidemic. 1 out of 3 cats over ten years old will get cancer,” says Dr. Richter. “Even young kittens are at risk. And it’s pretty much all due to one thing: Food.” According to Dr. Richter, certain cat foods contain a dangerous chemical that wreaks havoc on our cats’ bodies. This, in turn, leads to digestive discomfort, weight gain, joint problems, bladder issues, vomiting, smelly breath and poop, itching, allergies, and even early death. Fortunately, by simply doing one thing to your cat’s food, Dr. Richter has seen thousands of cats reverse these troubling conditions.
Facebook, in all its wisdom and glory, will finally allow you to have an opinion on the origin of Covid-19. Thanks, Facebook!
Well, whattaya know? You can now share articles and information questioning the origins of Covid-19 (well, specifically the one hypothesis that it was made in a lab) without getting banned on Facebook or labeled as fake news. What a blessing to humanity, that this benevolent tech giant has bestowed upon us the gracious opportunity to review information and make up our mind about what we believe based upon all of the evidence!
Biden’s pick for ATF director just directly told Ted Cruz he wants to ban AR-15s in America
Psst: Hey you! Yes, you!
LeBron just executed what must be one of the most pathetic flops of all time and I love it so much
Brace yourselves…
Georgia county tells people to stop calling 911 about cicadas
Okay, I completely understand: to most people it’s still 2020. This means 2020 things are bound to happen, and we should all be on the lookout for the next big phenomenon.
The media ran a hit piece on Chip and Joanna Gaines for donating $1,000 “to campaign against critical race theory in schools” … it was for Chip’s sister who is running for her local school board 🤦♂️
There’s nothing quite like the media attacking a loving Christian couple:
Watch: Woke College Students Gladly Volunteer to Donate Money to Hamas to “Wipe Israel off the map”
Watch Ami Horowitz, a conservative filmmaker (who happens to be Jewish) solicit donations for the non-existent group “American Friends for Hamas”:
Mexican politicians identified as women to get around rule that 50% of party candidates must be female 🤣
This is what happens when you play the “equity” game and force stupid quotas on people:
Here’s reason number bazillion why women live longer than men
I’m all for range time with the bros, but this takes things to a new level of stupid:
Imagine asking someone to prove that their skin color doesn’t make them 100% terrible… 🤦♂️
Watch this hot garbage:
Watch an insane doctor say cutting off teenage girls’ breasts isn’t that big of a deal
Do you think a double mastectomy is a big deal, especially for young women going through puberty?
Korean NFL football coach says he was told that he’s “not the right kind of minority” during an interview for a coaching job
The heck is this?
I tried Kellogg’s new LGBTQ+ cereal called “Together With Pride” and it tastes like… acceptance. Also, Froot Loops. Okay, mostly just Froot Loops.
If members of the LGBTQ+ community are ever to reach true equity with the heteronormative cis-gender crowd, they’re just going to have to deal with adult onset diabetes like the rest of us.
AOC says she’s in therapy because of the Capitol riot and that she effectively “served in war” that day
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex, the American face of progress toward utopia, says she’s in therapy to help her with the difficult events of the Capitol riot earlier this year:
Here’s how Portland Antifa neckbeards honored George Floyd on the anniversary of his death
On the anniversary of George Floyd’s death yesterday, neckbeard-having, basement-dwelling, patchouli-mixed-with-B.O.-smelling Antifa dweebs emerged from their parents’ Portland homes after eating their fill of their mothers’ lasagna and hit the streets, intent on doling out some communistic justice by … doing all of this, for some reason:
HuffPost’s White House correspondent is really arguing that the Capitol riot was “1,000% worse” than 9/11
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you your certified balloonhead of the day:
LeBron chose this road, so now he can walk it
NBA superstar LeBron James has been on the receiving end of what far too many are calling unfair criticism over his “lack of leadership” on COVID and COVID vaccine issues. I feel no sympathy.
This lady climbed into the spider monkey exhibit at the El Paso Zoo and fed them Hot Cheetos
Why?
Our mailing address is:
Not the Bee, LLC
PO Box 87044
Canton, MI 48187-0044
You received this email because you are a subscriber to Not the Bee or you opted-in to our newsletter through a prompt on our website. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click here to unsubscribe
According to leading industry sources, grocery stores across the United States are worried about food shortages.
Experts say more grocery hoarding may come as disruptions push America’s food supply “near its breaking point”.
As a result of this crisis, survival food is more important than ever.
If you don’t take action or if you stockpile the wrong foods, you could be setting your family up to be hungry in a time of crisis.
It sounds harsh, but the truth is too many people with good intentions are making critical mistakes with their survival food.
Mistakes like…
Getting MREs with a 5-year shelf life – depending on where you purchase them from they could be near expired…
Getting gross survival foods that are tough to stomach and so high in salt, MSG and preservatives you could clog your arteries and get yourself sick…
Or simply getting the wrong foods and leaving a critical hole in your meal plan, which means your family can become malnourished…
Well, I decided not to worry anymore.
Obviously, waiting for the government to give me a handout in a disaster just wasn’t an option for me. And I was completely turned off by the crazy high cost of survival food sold by most stores.
Currently 4Patriots survival food kits are flying off the shelves because:
4Patriots Survival Food Kits are a tremendous value. This is not ordinary food. This is delicious, nutritious, good-for-25-years super survival food that protects you from going hungry in a crisis. This is high quality survival food without any fillers or poor-quality “frankenfood” that the other guys use to pad their survival meals. They are made right in the U.S.A. and you won’t believe how inexpensive these kits are – just a fraction of what some other brands charge.
There’s no fancy packaging, it’s military-grade sturdy stuff and can stand up to the crazy things that happen in a crisis. This food has a shelf life of up to 25 years, so you have complete peace of mind for the long term. And they’re using the most compact kits so you can store them anywhere in your house without any extra hassle. They’re sturdy, water-resistant and stack easily. And extremely covert too.
You can make these meals in less than 20 minutes. Just add boiling water, simmer, and serve. I tried ’em and I think they taste as good or better than any other survival food I’ve ever had. And you get a whole slew of choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner so you don’t get stuck eating the same thing day-in and day-out.
Last Time, Their Best-Selling 3-Month Kits Sold Out Completely In Just 4 Days… Today They Have Them Back In Stock!
Since they finally have these best-selling kits back in stock…
They’re going to load you up with FREE GIFTS when you get yours today. Just look at all you get with this special:
It starts with great savings on the 3-Month Kit. It retails for over $800, but during this special the standard retail pricing goes out the window.
So you spare a ton and they’re just getting warmed up, because…
FREE Bonus #1: because they are so popular and they are a true foundation for your preparedness plan, they’re going to give you 2 of their popular 72-hour Survival Food Kits when you get your 3-Month Kit today.
That’s extra meals (on the house), grab-and-go portability and a way to get through any short-term crisis without even breaking into your stash. People love these kits. It’s one of their top-rated items on our website.
So you’ll get those 2 complimentary 72-hour Survival Food Kits AND…
(Hold on to your hat, folks)
FREE Bonus #2: They’re also going to give you their Victory Garden Seed Collection. Each Victory Garden Seed Collection contains survival seeds from 8 varieties of garden favorites. You’ll harvest them again and again, season after season. And stored cold, they’ll be good for years.
FREE Bonus #3: You also get their Sun Kettle Personal Water Heater. With your Sun Kettle Personal Water Heater, you can boil water without fuel, flames, smoke or noise. Use your Sun Kettle to purify water, cook food, wash up, clean up and much more. It’s like having a mini-microwave the size of a thermos.
FREE Bonus #4: They’re also going to give you their Exclusive Ultimate Survival Digital Library. With these 4 digital books you’ll have the information and tips to help you prepare for an emergency. Together, these books are valued at $80 but they’re yours free as a thank you for your purchase.
But that’s not all because you also get…
FREE Bonus #5: You also get their Digital Meal Planning & Recipe Guide. Inside, you’ll find easy ways to whip up delicious meals you’d be proud to serve your kids. Normally valued at $19.95, you’ll get this brand NEW report for FREE.
FREE Bonus #6: You also get Freedom Joe’s Survival Coffee. Rich, aromatic coffee designed to last 25 years. Coffee is one of the most in-demand items when the “you-know-what” hits the fan. Stay alert when the going gets tough with a cup of premium survival coffee from 100% pure arabica beans. You get 30 servings of delicious, aromatic survival coffee added to your Kit.
FREE Bonus #7: You also get Bugle Boy Survival Cocoa. Warm up with each cup of chocolatey goodness that is sure to satisfy the young and the young at heart. With your Survival Cocoa Kits, you’ll have the satisfying comfort of a steaming cup of cocoa when you and your loved ones need it most. You’ll get 14 servings of this taste-tested hot cocoa FREE for arming yourself with survival food.
But we’re still not done because you also get…
FREE Bonus #8: You also get $25 OFF Your Next Purchase. This is FREE money in the bank for you. You get $25 off any future purchase of $100 or more. Use it to get our best-selling survival food, solar gadgets and so much more! Get whatever you need to round out your preparedness plan. It’s completely up to you. That’s what we call an incredible deal.
But we want to sweeten the pot more. So when you order your 3-Month Survival Food Kit today, you also get…
FREE Bonus #9: You get FREE Shipping and Handling. Last but not least, you’ll get FREE shipping on your 3-Month Survival Food Kit and all of your bonus items today. It’s not cheap to ship 688 servings of food in two totes (plus all the FREE gifts you’re getting). But you deserve it for becoming a loyal customer. And frankly, we want to do it for you.
The peace of mind that comes from having a survival food stockpile shouldn’t exclusively be for well-off Americans. So you’re getting huge savings today.
You’ll even get an easy, no nonsense monthly payment plan. Just the best-tasting, made-in-America survival food protection without the sticker shock.
Look, this food tastes homemade. It’s built to last the long haul. It’s a snap to prepare. And everyone from former Navy SEALs to middle-American grandmas are singing its praises.
First, you get their no-questions-asked 365-Day Double Satisfaction Protection. That way there’s no risk for you. And you can even keep the complimentary gifts for giving your survival food a try.
Second, if you open your 4Patriots meals anytime in the next 25 years and find your food has spoiled or gone bad, you can return the entire stockpile and they will still return triple your purchase amount.
That’s how confident they are that this food will stay delicious and nutritious for the next 25 years.
Because if you don’t take action to get your food stockpile today, you’ll be in the same boat as the brainwashed masses who think “everything is fine.” And if a crisis hits and your family asks, “What are we going to eat?” your mouth will go dry and you’ll feel powerless.
But what if you decide to secure your food stockpile instead? Just imagine how much better you’ll feel right away. When a crisis hits, you will be able to calmly reassure them that they’re safe and they will have plenty to eat.
Listen, I can’t predict the future. I don’t know exactly when or how a crisis will hit.
As it stands today, it’s every man for himself. In a crisis, the loss will be beyond what you can imagine. That’s why I want you to have the same peace of mind that I do.
I was surprised to find that the densely packed packages were easy to prepare and were tasty as well. I definitely recommend having survival food on hand for the times when ‘life’ happens while we are planning other things.
Billy H.
Received my food kit in the mail and I was able to make the potato soup on my cookstove. Just needed boiling water. Gave it a good stir and let it simmered. When I opened up the pot, it smelled so good. You can see the chunks of potatoes and carrots in each bite you take. It’s a good soup.
Kevin S.
72 hour kit is a perfect starter kit for any scenario. Put one in your car, work bag, in your house or RV. If you want to start preparing safe food, this is where to start.
Carol B.
Hey Frank, I have been iced in this weekend. I thought I would try my potato soup. To my utter delight ….. IT WAS DELICIOUS… Thank you for such a wonderful product and the peace of mind it brings.
Ken K.
I am not a full blown survivalist. I am not an idiot, either. I have been through enough in my life and have seen friends who have been through an emergency situation. Sure, sometimes it is for a few days and I pray that it is not longer than that for you or me or anyone we know. Save up if you have to, but get at least a month’s supply. It tastes good although if it is that dire of an emergency, you will be happy to eat anything. IF you have something to eat for your family. Get some water, too, and something to heat it with. We made some of this product and had family and friends over for them to taste and they all agreed they didn’t think anything would be this good and they will be ordering. Just do something. You can’t miss out on this deal.
Justin A.
My wife and I tried the food and we were both surprised about how good it tasted and how satisfied it made us feel afterwards. It feels good knowing that I can provide for my family if a crisis arose and I intend to get more in the future. Also the shipping and customer service has been top notch. This probably the cheapest survival food I have found and the company is great.
Gary M.
I actually had lost my job and was homeless for a while. I dug into my food supply, and I cannot fully describe how delicious and easy to prepare everything is. I felt like I was eating like a king. I am going to stock up again as soon as I settle into my new job. Everyone should participate with this company. You will not be disappointed.
John H.
We’re in Florida and have made many preparations for the aftermath of a possible hurricane. While we are thankful that Florida has not been hit in several years, it gives us great peace of mind to know we have our Food4Patriots kit stashed away, knowing it’s not a case of “if” but “when.”
This email is never sent unsolicited. You have received this Newsmax email because you subscribed to it or someone forwarded it to you. To opt out, see the links below.
If this email has been forwarded to you and you would like to sign up, please click here.
Remove your email address from our list or modify your profile. We respect your right to privacy. View our policy.
This email was sent by: Newsmax.com
1501 Northpoint Parkway, Suite 104
West Palm Beach, FL 33407 USA
DM221894
010504wfaqdz
99.) MARK LEVIN
May 26, 2021
Posted on
On Wednesday’s Mark Levin Show, The Biden State Department blocked any additional investigation by the United States into the origins of the coronavirus following Dr. Fauci’s admission that his organization did in fact modestly fund some of the research grants at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Biden Administration is now covering it up. Later, the media mocked President Trump and Sen. Tom Cotton for suggesting the coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Shouldn’t the scientists know about which grants they have issued and to whom? Hower eco-Health Alliance in New York did receive a grant and used it for gain of function research on the coronavirus. Fauci’s response was dishonest. Afterward, Sen Mike Lee calls in to discuss why the innovation and competition act is the wrong way to beat China. Instead of chilling innovation and competition, we ought to decentralize power and champion trust in the private sector. Lee added that Biden’s nominee to head the ATF is one of the worst he’s ever seen, especially on the second amendment. Finally, Curtis Sliwa, candidate for Mayor of New York City, joins the show to discuss how he will stop the crime in NYC.
The podcast for this show can be streamed or downloaded from the Audio Rewind page.
Image used with permission of Getty Images / Drew Angerer
100.) WOLF DAILY
Wolf Daily Newsletter
We send our newsletter via email to avoid censorship. Please add news@mail.wolfdaily.com to your email contact list to make sure you are not missing any emails.
U.S. motorists will see the highest gasoline prices in seven years when they hit the roads this Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer driving season, as fuel demand surges…
Joe Biden will unveil his first full budget on Friday, setting the stage for a pitched battle with Republicans opposed to his plans to spend trillions on infrastructure, childcare and other public works.
Widespread legalization, FDA approvals, breakthrough medical discoveries…and this time it’s not just cannabis…it’s now also psilocybin.
The “magic mushroom,” previously known for its psychedelic properties, has been discovered to hold highly efficacious therapeutic potential for treatment of mental disorders and brain injuries. [Sponsored]
Kamala Harris will meet top officials from 12 companies and groups including Microsoft Corp, Mastercard and the World Economic Forum on Thursday to promote economic opportunity in Central America’s Northern Triangle countries…
Federal Reserve officials recently have amped up the tone and tempo around their exploration of a digital version of the U.S. dollar, a high-stakes undertaking for the central bank backing the world’s reserve currency.
You are receiving this e-mail as a part of your free subscription to the Wolf Daily newsetter.
If you received this email in error, or would like to be removed from the Wolf Daily Newsletter, please click below to be removed from future mailings.
Islamic Jew hatred – the 800 lib jihadi in the room. It’s destroying world jewry and NO ONE will speak of it frankly. Daniel Greenfield rips the gag off.
Unconscionable. As Jewish Americans are being beaten, vilified, and smeared, Rep. Ilhan Omar gloats about a court decision that is favorable to the BDS (Boycott the Jews) Movement. Rep. Ilhan Omar is a sick anti-Semite.
The Biden Administration is showing support for the domestic terrorism that caused about $2 billion in property damage just last summer alone, injured well over 240 police officers, murdered other protestors and people defending their property and …
“Hundreds of children have paid the price. These type of people cannot get away with what they did. They should not feel safe for a day,” he said. “Hamas hates Israel more than they love their own children.” Bravo.
Did we miss anything? Let us know by hitting reply or sending an email through our site here.
We cover the news for you, and as always – you’re our best source!
102.) CNS
MRC founder and president, Brent Bozell: “We now have PROOF that Facebook’s fact-checker program actively suppressed valid debate about the origins of Covid and instead promoted Chinese propaganda.” View the tweet here.
David Chipman, the gun control advocate nominated to serve as ATF director under President Joe Biden, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, “It will be my responsibility to enforce all federal laws without political favor…”
The mission of the Media Research Center is to create a media culture in America where truth and liberty flourish. The MRC is a research and education organization operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and contributions to the MRC are tax-deductible.
Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Be the next person to support The Intercept’s independent journalism by becoming a member today.
Biden wanted a bill ready to sign by the anniversary of George Floyd’s death. Advocates say Democrats didn’t just miss the deadline — they missed the point.
Journalists at the Jerusalem holy site documented police arbitrarily denying access, delivering beatings, and firing on reporters with rubber-coated bullets.
First Look Media Works is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax ID number 80-0951255).
The Intercept’s mailing address is:
First Look Media
P.O. Box 27442
Washington, DC 20038
The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept’s readers, but if you’d like to stop hearing from us, click here to unsubscribe or update your subscription preferences.
Hi, just a reminder that you’re receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in ConservativeBrief.Com. Don’t forget to add email@conservativebrief.com to your address book so we’ll be sure to land in your inbox!
Dominion Blames ‘Human Error’ After Voting Machines Caught Ignoring GOP Ballots In Swing State
People have been warning about this for a long time.
Democrats Are FREAKING OUT As Audits Expand To Other 2020 Swing States
They are not happy about this!
Fox News Makes Huge Announcement About The Future of Juan Williams
This is huge news.
Republican Demands ‘Impeachment Proceedings’ After Alarming Discovery
Biggs is demanding action immediately.
Federal Judge Steps In – Deals Massive Blow to Corrupt Dem
Another corrupt lawmaker faces justice.
Soros Makes His Move – $500 Million For ‘Liberal Project’
We all see what he’s doing.
Shocking Turn In Georgia Election Audit…
This could change everything.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Apse Media LLC, PO BOX 1046, Smyrna, TN 37167, United States
You may unsubscribe or change your contact details at any time.