News of the Week for January 7thth<\/sup>, 2024<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pro-Choice Activists’ ‘Freedom’-Centric Messaging Has Caught Republicans Flat-Footed<\/a> Supreme Court to decide if U.S. law requires some emergency room abortions<\/a> <\/p>\n Wayne LaPierre announces resignation as NRA chief<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n UN Puts “Climate Integrity” at the Heart of their 2024 Election Plan<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Australia Human Rights Commission Pushes Assisted Suicide for Children<\/a> <\/p>\n Iranian warship Alborz enters the Red Sea <\/a> Russian Jets Downing in Ukraine Fuels F-16 Speculation<\/a> Russia’s Pals and Collaborators<\/a> The Question of Allies<\/a> Hamas Retreats in Hostage Negotiations As IDF Seizes Key Intel Center<\/a> Attack on Cologne Cathedral Foiled<\/a> Iran says at least 103 were killed in blasts at a ceremony honoring slain general<\/a> China’s Balloons Are Back. This Time They Are Over Taiwan.<\/a> British Warship Arrives in Guyana, Amid Ongoing Border Dispute with Venezuela<\/a> Defense Stocks as Barometer<\/a> China Benefits from Iran’s Proxy War<\/a> The next Kim? &c.<\/a> Which Hostile Power Is Getting Free Passage from the Houthis?<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Trump paid me to find voter fraud. Then he lied after I found 2020 election wasn’t stolen.<\/a> MAGA ‘Prophet’ Predicts ‘Overthrow’ of US Government<\/a> The Fight to Stop California Politicians from Enshrining Racism in State’s Constitution<\/a> Portland Facing Shigella Outbreak, Generally Found in Third-World Countries<\/a> Navajo Nation president asks NASA to delay Moon launch over possible human remains<\/a> Harvard President Claudine Gay Resigning Tuesday Afternoon<\/a> A Professor Gave a Woke Course and Nobody Came<\/a> First Republican Rep Could Soon Follow Trump in Getting Removed from Ballot<\/a> Las Vegas Strip tourists can’t stop on pedestrian bridges under new county ordinance<\/a> Rep. Bill Johnson’s Resignation Lowers Republican Majority to Two<\/a> Anti-Israel Girl Who Attacked Teenager in IDF Sweatshirt Graduated From Barack Obama School for Social Justice<\/a> Nevada’s Chaos Caucus: If Only Someone Could Have Seen This Coming<\/a> ‘Bizarro’ and ‘It’s over:’ Five takeaways from Nevada fake elector grand jury transcripts<\/a> Prosecutors: Trump Superfan Deserves 11 Years<\/a> Las Vegas: Defendant Leaps Over Bench, Attacks Judge During Sentencing<\/a> A fistful of watches<\/a> California Schools Push Kids To Watch Films On Transgenderism That Showcase Puberty Blockers<\/a> Trump Shares Messianic Video About God Sending Him To Save World<\/a> Trump’s evangelical voters remain loyal as he violates the Ten Commandments <\/a> First US moon lander since Apollo prepares to blast off on Monday<\/a> The Iowa School Shooter Was an LGBTQ+ Activist<\/a> TX university replaces DEI office after statewide ban with ‘Office of Campus and Community Belonging’<\/a> Donald Trump: Instrument of God<\/a> Slamming Trump, DeSantis Promises to Overturn Birthright Citizenship for Illegal Aliens<\/a> Supreme Court agrees to weigh whether Trump can be kicked off ballot in Colorado<\/a> Is there life on Saturn’s moon?<\/a> What You Need to Know Now about the Supreme Court Taking Up Trump’s Ballot Qualification<\/a> 3 times academics pushed inappropriate books for children<\/a> Crime in the USA<\/a> Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions<\/a> Ohio State health sciences program sparks controversy with mandatory ‘privilege’ assignments<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n US Overtakes China as South Korea’s Top Export Market<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Haneda airport fire: At least 5 dead as passenger plane smashes into coastguard jet & EXPLODES before 379 are rescued<\/a> Canada: National Ballot: CPC 40, LPC 27, NDP 18, BQ 7, GPC 5, PPC 2 <\/a> China’s Xi Is Resurrecting Mao’s ‘Continuous Revolution’ With a Twist<\/a> Ridiculous push to ban the phrase ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ – as ‘woke’ equality group reveals the new ‘inclusive’ term we should be calling our loved ones<\/a> UK-based Methodist Church issues guidance discouraging use of terms ‘husband’ and ‘wife’<\/a> UK: Former Leader in “Gender Diversity” Organization Pleads Guilty to Live-Streaming Castrations, Distributing Child Pornography<\/a> The China (Degrowth) Syndrome<\/a> Germany’s Olaf Scholz humiliated by 10,000 strong protest while economy crumbles<\/a> Trans model shouldn’t represent women, UN told<\/a> Europe’s “Hard Right” Uprising<\/a> Taiwan’s Presidential Elections Could Have Big Implications for China and the US<\/a> Russia: The Continuing Rehabilitation of Stalin<\/a> Elusive ‘alligator’-like creature found in treetops of Mexico. It’s a new species<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reforms We Want in 2024<\/a> “Anti-Racism” Is Racist<\/a> The ‘New Right’ Looks Pretty Small<\/a> Star Wars Is Now a Feminist Warhammer 40k<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/impeachreno.org\/politicalhat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Newsboy.jpg\" "\\"News")
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\n<\/p>\n\n
<\/a>Abortion<\/h1>\n
Dobbs Decision<\/h2>\n
\nA few months ago, I asked an anti-abortion activist why the pro-life movement has been caught so flat-footed in the post-Dobbs era. His answer? Pro-choice activists have learned how to use traditionally Republican messaging to their advantage: “In political campaigning, you always want to be able to tie your message back to a fundamental American value, and the one that they tie theirs back to is freedom,” he said. “As Republicans, we’ve trained our voters that the side who says ‘freedom’ is the winning side, right? So we’ve put ourselves in a bind.”<\/p>\n
\nThe Supreme Court said Friday it will review a case challenging Idaho’s strict abortion ban, which the Biden administration says conflicts with a federal law requiring emergency room doctors to perform the procedure in some circumstances.<\/p>\n<\/a>Gun Rights<\/h1>\n
\nLaPierre’s resignation takes effect Jan. 31<\/p>\n<\/a>Hide the Decline<\/h1>\n
Environment &<\/a>“Green Energy”<\/h2>\n
\n“\u2026 We’ve seen narratives created \u2026 to delay climate action \u2026 a challenge we cannot afford to ignore as we head into a bumper election year in 2024\u2026”<\/p>\n<\/a>Obamacare<\/h1>\n
Government in Healthcare<\/h2>\n
\nAssisted suicide is being legalized all over Australia, and I fear the country is going to go the dark route Canada has after it legalized euthanasia. Case in point: There is a bill before the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to legalize assisted suicide. <\/p>\n<\/a>War & Terror<\/h1>\n
\nIran’s Alborz warship has entered the Red Sea, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, at a time of soaring tensions on the key shipping route amid the Israel-Hamas war and attacks on vessels by forces allied to Tehran.<\/p>\n
\nRussian fighter jets downed this month over Ukraine have caused speculation that F-16s have been deployed early in the country. A total of eight Russian jets have been shot down over Ukraine in the last three weeks, including three Su-34 fighter-bombers on December 22.<\/p>\n
\nThe facts set out by economist Robin Brooks in a recent series of tweets (click on the links to see the charts that come with them) should not be much of a surprise, but they illustrate how far dreams of any rapprochement with China are removed from reality.<\/p>\n
\nBaltic people, and others who have known Soviet or Russian occupation, can ill afford na\u00efvet\u00e9. People farther away might dismiss Putin’s assault on Ukraine as a “territorial dispute,” obsessed over by “D.C. elites.” But Balts, Poles, Czechs, and others know better, as a rule.<\/p>\n
\nWell, well, well. Hamas had insisted in recent days that it would release no hostages until the IDF withdrew from Gaza, a position that left the Israeli government in firm position to reject. After more losses on the battlefield, however, Hamas has had second thoughts.<\/p>\n
\nThe Christmas\/New Year season is one of heightened terrorism alert in Europe. Today, German authorities announced that they had stopped an intended Islamic attack on Cologne’s (Koln’s) historic cathedral<\/p>\n
\nTwo bombs exploded and killed at least 103 people Wednesday at a commemoration for a prominent Iranian general slain by the U.S. in a 2020 drone strike, Iranian officials said, as the Middle East remains on edge over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
\nTaiwanese defense ministry reports four Chinese balloons floating across the self-ruled island ahead of pivotal election<\/p>\n
\nBrazil gets nervous as Venezuela will hold military exercises off its shores in response.<\/p>\n
\nThe entertainingly cynical story (which I have cited before) that the stock in the British engineering company Vickers, a leading defense contractor, fell after the Munich agreement with Hitler was settled, prompting a headline in the Financial Times that the Vickers share price had been hit by “peace fears” may or may not be true (probably not), but it is a useful reminder that the stock market can be a cold, cold place.<\/p>\n
\nBefore Operation Prosperity Guardian \u2014 a multinational naval coalition tasked with restoring stability in the Red Sea, which has so far been an abject failure \u2014 another multinational naval force charged with deterring aggression and piracy around the Horn of Africa failed in a similarly spectacular and predictable fashion.<\/p>\n
\nOn succession in North Korea, the hijab in Afghanistan, the presidency of Harvard, the Republican Party, and more<\/p>\n
\nOn the menu today: Few Americans have noticed that a bunch of Iranian-backed militants have effectively shut down one of the world’s major shipping lanes to everyone . . . with one exception. One company’s ships seem to be passing through the dangerous waters without being targeted. Care to guess which hostile nuclear-armed power is getting free passage from the Houthis? Meanwhile, Chris Christie complains that Noah Rothman and Hugh Hewitt aren’t being fair to him.<\/p>\n<\/a>National<\/h1>\n
\nThe cries that the 2020 election was lost or stolen due to voter fraud continue with no sign of stopping. But If voter fraud had impacted the 2020 election, it would already have been proven.<\/p>\n
\nPastor Julie Green, a self-proclaimed prophet known for her allegiance to the MAGA movement, has predicted an “overthrow” of the U.S. government.<\/p>\n
\nA petition campaign against ACA7, an underhanded bill to repeal the state’s equality-supporting Proposition 209 based on The Science\u2122<\/p>\n
\n“People transmit the infection after getting the microbes on their hands and then touching their mouths. People can also spread the intestinal infection through sexual intercourse.”<\/p>\n
\nNavajo Nation President Buu Nygren has asked NASA to delay a scheduled launch to the Moon that could include cremated remains.<\/p>\n
\nBye bye!<\/p>\n
\nThe DEI revolution’s under-enrollment problem.<\/p>\n
\nA lawsuit has been filed against Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry aiming to remove him from the 2024 primary ballots with the same insurrection argument used to disqualify Donald Trump in two states.<\/p>\n
\nPolice say the rule will prevent stampedes and unruly behavior, but critics call it overly harsh.<\/p>\n
\nJohnson’s seat will likely stay Republican, but until it is filled, the GOP has a tiny majority.<\/p>\n
\n“Free Palestine! F*cking die, b*tch!”<\/p>\n
\nSample ballots for the official February 6 Nevada Presidential Preference Primary started hitting mailboxes this week and Republican voters are having a cow over them.<\/p>\n
\nTrump’s lawyer said he viewed submitting fake electoral votes from Nevada as pointless because lawsuits over the results had already been tossed.<\/p>\n
\nFlorida Man, 58, was convicted of forging late dad’s name on ballot<\/p>\n
\n“Judge Holthus experienced some injuries and her condition is being monitored.”<\/p>\n
\nSenator Robert Menendez wants to hang on to his Senate seat and who can blame him? It has served him well. The original indictment handed up against Menendez last year alleged a mind-boggling level of depravity and corruption. Among other things, he seems to have abused his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a disgusting manner. The betrayal of trust involved is difficult to fathom if not to credit.<\/p>\n
\nThe recommended resources push the “diversity of gender” and discuss the use of puberty blockers on children<\/p>\n
\nFormer President Donald Trump is now at the “go to any lengths necessary” stage of his public career to get attention. To wit? He just posted a satirical version of Paul Harvey’s famous “So God Made a Farmer” video in which HE is the subject.<\/p>\n
\nFormer President Donald Trump enters 2024 leading his Republican rivals by a national poll average of 51 percentage points. However, Iowa influencers from Trump\u2019s loyal base of evangelical voters have established goalposts also applicable to the general electorate, should Trump top the GOP ticket. <\/p>\n
\nCommercial Peregrine mission aims to deliver Nasa scientific equipment to moon along with mementos and ashes of Star Trek creator<\/p>\n
\nA school shooting occurred in Iowa on Thursday morning. According to reports, the shooter injured at least three people before turning the gun on himself.<\/p>\n
\nThe University of Texas at San Antonio recently closed its DEI office to comply with a Texas state law banning such offices at public schools. The school is now replacing it with the Office of Campus and Community Belonging, which will focus on areas such as the ‘campus climate.’<\/p>\n
\nThrough the magic of AI technology, the former president’s staff have adapted legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey’s famous monologue, “So God Made a Farmer,” replacing references to agriculturists as a class and replacing them with mentions of Trump.<\/p>\n
\nIn a CNN town hall on Thursday night, Ron DeSantis promised the voters of Iowa that his administration would limit the scope of birthright citizenship to prevent the children of illegal aliens from qualifying as U.S. citizens simply because they were born on American soil.<\/p>\n
\nThe case raises a novel legal question under a constitutional clause that prohibits those who have “engaged in insurrection” from serving in the federal government.<\/p>\n
\nData suggests substances in Enceladus’s atmosphere hint at a potential for life in its dark ocean, exciting scientists<\/p>\n
\nThe Supreme Court this afternoon agreed to hear Donald Trump’s challenge to the Colorado supreme court decision disqualifying him from the primary ballot. The Court’s order in Trump v. Anderson (No. 23-719) sets the schedule. <\/p>\n
\nCampus Reform surveyed the entire US and found instances of K-12 public school districts carrying children\u2019s books with messaging about ‘gender identity,’ some including sexually explicit material.<\/p>\n
\nA short primer and collection of basic descriptive facts<\/p>\n
\nGross, degrading, and deeply concerning.<\/p>\n
\nA health science course at Ohio State University requires students to engage in assignments and discussions titled ‘Unpack the Invisible Knapsack.’<\/p>\n<\/a>Economy & Taxes<\/h1>\n
\nSouth Korean exports to the US exceeded shipments to China for the first time in two decades last month, in a sign of shifting ties amid global tensions over economic security and tech supply chains.<\/p>\n<\/a>International<\/h1>\n
\nPictures from inside the passenger plane show the cabin filling with smoke<\/p>\n
\nNanos tracks unprompted issues of concern every week. To access full weekly national and regional tracking visit the Nanos subscriber data portal.<\/p>\n
\nThe Chinese leader has made his corruption purge\u2014with millions punished\u2014a pillar of his rule. It risks paralyzing his party.<\/p>\n
\nNSW reviewing anti-discrimination laws <\/p>\n
\nChurch told CP they are ‘very proud’ of their guidance ‘to repent of any hurtful language’<\/p>\n
\nA former queer activist from Norway has pleaded guilty in a London court after carrying out castrations and livestreaming the footage as pornography to a paying audience over a span of six years. Marius Gustavson, 46, uploaded recordings of the illicit surgeries to his ‘Eunuch Maker’ website, netting up to \u00a3200,000 from subscribers.<\/p>\n
\nThe Beijing communists can’t command growth from either their economy or population<\/p>\n
\nChancellor Olaf Scholz’s government backtracked on controversial cost-saving measures following farmers’ protest.<\/p>\n
\nWomen’s rights groups have written in opposition to a decision by UN Women UK to have a transgender woman as its “UK champion”. They have voiced their “dismay and disappointment” following the decision to select Munroe Bergdorf, 36, a model and broadcaster, to take on the role in November.<\/p>\n
\nAcross Western Europe, the right is rising. This strikes fear into the hearts of Brussels bureaucrats, as the London Times reports, with this headline: “‘Hormonal’ voters could hand hard-right victory, EU chief fears.”<\/p>\n
\nTaiwan’s Presidential Elections are just over a week away. To say a lot is riding on the outcome would be putting it very mildly. The leading candidate in the race is William Lai Ching-te, who is also the current Vice President. William Lai represents the Democratic Progressive Party which is center left when it comes to politics but which supports Taiwanese identity and is generally seen as the party most opposed to “reunification” with mainland China.<\/p>\n
\nCan you imagine a “respectable” party in Germany putting up “Hitler centers” around the country?<\/p>\n
\nTucked in the treetops of southern Mexico was an “alligator”-like creature. Hidden by the foliage and obscured by the height, the “unusually large” animal had generally avoided detection. When determined scientists eventually found the scaly animal, it turned out to be a new species.<\/p>\n<\/a>Opinion<\/h1>\n
\nThe Martin Center staff share our hopes for the new year.<\/p>\n
\nThat is obvious from the “anti-racists'” explicit precepts, which call for race discrimination extending indefinitely into the future. If most people had any idea what the anti-racists say, they would be horrified.<\/p>\n
\nTwo weeks ago, news broke that Japan\u2019s Nippon Steel reached a deal to acquire U.S. Steel. Republican senators J. D. Vance (Ohio), Josh Hawley (Mo.), and Marco Rubio (Fla.) urged Treasury secretary Janet Yellen to block the acquisition on national-security grounds. (Secretary Yellen is chairwoman of the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, which examines these kinds of deals for national-security risks and which will review this acquisition.)<\/p>\n
\nDominic, Jeff, and Zach all make points worthy of an Ewok’s dung-tipped spear (see: Butler’s views) \u2014 which is to say, theirs are practical and horrifyingly accurate observations. They’re right: Star Wars ran out of magic or midichlorians four years ago, and those responsible are still running the franchise straight into the trench along the Death Star’s superstructure. (R.I.P. Porkins, whom we should celebrate for his body positivity \u2014 a capable but round man limited by his orange jumpsuit.) More’s the pity.<\/p>\n