Biden risks being an immediate 'lame duck' president if he doesn't reassure Dems on 2024 bid: Perino . . . President Biden reportedly reassured political allies this week that he will indeed run for reelection in 2024, despite falling poll numbers, record inflation, an unfettered illegal immigration crisis and the prospect of another multi-trillion-dollar spending plan being passed. Biden is likely continuing to claim he is running for reelection – at which point he will be 82 years old – because if he were to avoid the question, he risks being seen as a lame duck president less than a year into his term, the panel on "The Five" discussed Monday. Fox News

 

 

Trump poll tests his 2024 comeback map . . . As Donald Trump builds out a presidential-campaign-in-waiting, his team is focusing on an electoral strategy that relies on recapturing the five states that flipped to Joe Biden in 2020. The five states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — delivered a total of 73 electoral votes in 2020, enough to produce a decisive Electoral College victory for Biden. Since then, Trump has held four rallies, endorsed dozens of candidates and played a key role in shaping contests that could put his allies in top offices in those states in 2024. Politico

 

 

 

 

 

Former Trump Aide Max Miller Shifts Campaign After Redistricting . . . Former Trump aide Max Miller on Friday announced that he is shifting his campaign to Ohio’s newly-formed 13th congressional district after his own district was eliminated through redistricting. Miller lives in the newly formed district and said in a statement that it makes up a large portion of where he has been campaigning. “The District number may be changing, but my campaign to advance America First policies—policies that lower taxes, secure the southern border, and make our communities safer—will persist,” Miller said. Miller received Trump’s endorsement in February when the former aide mounted a primary challenge against Rep. Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzales was one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump; he announced his retirement in September. Epoch Times

 

Rep. Louie Gohmert announces bid for Texas attorney general . . . Rep. Louie Gohmert will retire from Congress to run for Texas attorney general, he announced Monday night.
The Texas Republican officially said he would run for the office on Newsmax TV’s “Stinchfield” show. A video announcing his campaign to oust Republican incumbent Ken Paxton was released later in the evening. In the campaign launch video, Mr. Gohmert explained he reached his initial goal of raising $1 million for the race. Washington Times

 

 

 

Dems, leftists pick pedophile over Second Amendment . . . Opinion. by Cheryl Chumley. Kyle Rittenhouse was cleared of all charges, but leftists in the Democratic Party, the media and within the organizations that have become useful tools for the left, like Black Lives Matter, won’t accept the jurors’ finding and instead are out and about, fanning the flames of outrage, protesting in the streets, protesting online, protesting on the airwaves. Once again, they’re putting their ignorance on full display. They’re driven by hatred of the Second Amendment and of the concept of God-given rights of self-defense. Democrats and their water carriers in the media are so enamored with their own minds, their own lusts for power and control and domination, their own designs to kill the Donald Trump-type, Founding Father-like patriotic spirit of individualism, they’d rather stand with a pedophile than truth. Washington Times

 

Bennett: Israel not bound by any new nuclear deal with Iran . . . With Iran barely months away from “breakout,” PM Naftali Bennett stated on Monday, Nov. 22, that “Israel won’t be bound” by any revival of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.… and will maintain its freedom of action.” He also pointed to the widening dispute with the Biden administration on Iran, saying, “It is possible that there will be disputes with the best of our friends.”
Opposition lawmaker Tzahi Hanegbi has estimated that Israel has no more than 3-5 months to stop Iran reaching a nuclear threshold. As a former confidante of ex-PM Binyamin Netanyahu and former chairman of a key parliamentary committee, Hanegbi spoke from knowledge. Other mavens are more pessimistic. According to The New York Times estimate on Nov. 21, Iran is “somewhere between three weeks and a few months” from breakout – i.e., having enough material for a bomb – “which would change the geopolitical calculation throughout the Middle East.” Another knowledgeable opinion came from recently retired Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who directed a string of alleged sabotage strikes earlier this year for disrupting Iran’s progress towards a nuke. DEBKAFile

 

 

Russia is increasing combat readiness in eastern Ukraine, defense ministry warns . . . Ukraine's defense ministry warned that Russia was stepping up its "combat readiness" in Ukraine. In a statement on Tuesday, it said that Russia "is increasing the combat readiness of the Russian occupation forces in the temporarily occupied territory in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions." It said that Russia ran "large-scale command and staff exercises" on Monday, including pulling up reserve troops. It comes amid heightened warnings that Russia may be preparing to invade Ukraine.  Business Insider

 

A Russian invasion of Ukraine is a 'very real possibility' as its troops mass near the border, experts warn . . . Expert Russia watchers have said that concerns about Russian military activities are justified, with evidence growing that Russia is building a force that could invade Ukraine if necessary. "I would not downplay this," Jeffrey Edmonds, a former CIA military analyst and Russia expert at CNA, told Insider. "The troop buildup is pretty significant." A number of battalion tactical groups not normally near Ukraine are in the area outside of the normal training cycle, he said. And, perhaps more troubling, is that Russia appears to be moving troops and equipment under the cover of darkness. "A lot of the troops are shifting at night so as to avoid being detected," pointed out Michael Kofman, the Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at Center for New American Security. Business Insider

 

Chun Doo-hwan, Brutal Former South Korean Dictator, Dies at 90 . . . Chun Doo-hwan, a former South Korean dictator whose rule sparked massive protests that later led to the country’s transition to democracy, died Tuesday. He was 90 years old. Mr. Chun, who seized power in a 1979 coup, was responsible for one of the darkest chapters in South Korean history. He has been widely criticized for ruthlessly suppressing pro-democracy uprisings and regulating political activity in an effort to strengthen his grip on power. He died at his home in western Seoul after battling multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Mr. Chun suffered a cardiac arrest, according to police. His death came about a month after the death of Roh Tae-woo, who joined him in the 1979 coup and succeeded him as leader of South Korea. The two were classmates at the Korea Military Academy in the 1950s. Wall Street Journal

 

 

White House rejects return of lockdowns as Europe’s new shutdowns spark protests . . . The White House said Monday it has no plans to shut down the economy again as COVID-19 chaos seizes Europe, with lockdowns meant to thwart a fourth wave triggering violent protests. A German official declared his countrymen will be “vaccinated, cured or dead.” Austrians were told to stay home for 10 days, starting Monday, except to go to work or school, or to get groceries or exercise, prompting thousands to protest in the streets of Vienna. Similar protests against a partial COVID-19 lockdown broke out in the Netherlands, resulting in fires and clashes with police, and tens of thousands of Belgians took to the streets as politicians warned of a virus crackdown. White House COVID-19 Coordinator Jeff Zients said the U.S. has no interest in joining the fracas. Washington Times

 

Fed Picks Leave Open Questions on How Central Bank Will Regulate Wall Street . . . President Biden’s decision to reappoint Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman and elevate governor Lael Brainard signals continuity on monetary policy but leaves open questions on the direction the central bank will take in regulating Wall Street. The extent to which the Fed will spend the next several years tightening regulatory policy—after easing rules under Trump-appointed officials—will depend on whom Mr. Biden ultimately picks to succeed Randal Quarles, the departing central bank governor who served as its regulatory point man until last month. Mr. Powell has said he would defer to whoever fills that role in setting the central bank’s approach to regulation. Mr. Biden said on Monday that he would soon nominate a new supervisory chief. Wall Street Journal

 

Jeff Bezos donates $100M to the Obama Foundation, $166M to NYU hospital . . . The Obama Foundation announced Monday that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has pledged a $100 million donation to the organization, and on the same day, a hospital affiliated with New York University said the multi-billionaire and his family would be making a $166 million contribution to their mission. Bezos' gift to the Obama Foundation comes in honor of the late civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis, and the business titan has requested as part of the gift that the Plaza at the Obama Presidential Center be named after Lewis. Fox Business

 

Target, Walmart and More Stores Will Be Closed Again This Thanksgiving . . . Many retail employees will be able to eat turkey with their families this year as merchants from Target to Walmart keep physical locations closed on Thanksgiving Day for at least another year. Some retailers decided last year to close their stores on Thanksgiving to limit crowds during the Covid-19 pandemic and to push more sales online. Now, following positive reactions from customers and employers, some are extending the policy. Wall Street Journal

 

 

‘In Jail For 87 Days’: Kyle Rittenhouse Says His Lawyers Used Him For Political Gain . . . Kyle Rittenhouse said Monday his former attorneys intentionally kept him behind bars for 87 days for their own political and financial benefits during an interview with Tucker Carlson. Rittenhouse said his attorneys Lin Wood and John Pierce claimed he was “safer” in jail rather than being released on bail to return home to his family. He said Wood “raised money on his behalf” and told the teenager to participate in media interviews “against his wishes.” “Lin Wood was raising money on my behalf and he held me in jail for 87 days, disrespected my wishes, put me on media interviews which I should never have gotten into,” he said. Daily Caller

 

D.C. records 200th homicide this year as U.S. cities see a rise in killings . . . The District on Monday recorded its 200th homicide this year, the first time that symbolic threshold of deadly violence has been reached in the nation’s capital since 2004. A man was fatally shot just after 10:15 p.m. in Southeast Washington, becoming the latest victim of months of rising violence that has frustrated and angered city leaders and residents. Police have not yet publicly identified him. Homicides rose in 29 major U.S. cities through September compared with the same period last year, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, a Washington-based institute. Killings across the country spiked nearly 30 percent in 2020, the FBI has said. Baltimore surpassed 300 killings for the seventh consecutive year, and homicides in Philadelphia reached 496 on Sunday, 14 percent higher than this time last year. Washington Post

 

Fairfax parents object to sexually explicit surveys of students . . . A group of parents in Fairfax County, Virginia, want the school district to scrap an annual survey that asks about the sexual habits of eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders. Northern Virginia public schools in recent months focused attention on the sex study. “If you asked these of adults in the workplace you could get sued,” said Elizabeth Schultz, a former Fairfax County School Board member. She said. “It’s utterly anti-family and creepy, and most parents don’t have a clue what is going on.”
The 16-page, 173-question survey — along with a less sexually explicit version given to sixth-graders — was scheduled to be administered this month.

 

The comprehensive 2021 questionnaire's question No. 4 begins like this: “Some people describe themselves as transgender when their sex at birth does not match the way they think or feel about their gender,”“Are you transgender?” Other questions asking if the students had ever been forced to have sexual intercourse. And there are questions about oral sex. “As young as 11-year-olds in Fairfax County Public Schools are being asked ‘How many times have you done … it in the last 3 months?’” wrote Elizabeth McCauley, who referred to herself as a “concerned mother and Fairfax County Taxpayer” in a letter to the editor of The Fairfax County Times this month. Washington Times

 

Catholic University Celebrates Painting of George Floyd as Jesus Christ, Releases Report on Racism . . . Paintings depicting George Floyd as Jesus Christ hang in both The Catholic University of America’s campus ministry office and its law school, The Daily Signal has learned. Catholic University appeared to shrug off responsibility for the painting Monday, telling The Daily Signal that artist Kelly Latimore’s painting “Mama” depicts “the Virgin Mary supporting the body of the dead Christ”—although the artist has indicated repeatedly that his painting depicts both Floyd and Jesus. “The icon has no place at The Catholic University of America; it is blasphemous and an offense to the Catholic faith, but it is not surprising at all that it was put there,” a junior at Catholic University told The Daily Signal in an email. “It is just another symptom of the liberalization and secularization of our campus.” Daily Signal

 

 

J.K. Rowling Says Transgender Activists Are Attacking Her, Posted Her Address . . . J.K. Rowling called out transgender activists who she said attacked her and posted her family’s address on Twitter. “Last Friday, my family’s address was posted on Twitter by three activist actors who took pictures of themselves in front of our house, carefully positioning themselves to ensure that our address was visible,” the 56-year-old author of the “Harry Potter” series tweeted to her millions of followers Monday. “I want to say a massive thank you to everybody who reported the image to @TwitterSupport,” she added. “Your kindness and decency made all the difference to my family and me. I’d also like to thank @PoliceScotland for their support and assistance in this matter. Daily Caller