Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
December 3, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Roe on death watch . . . Among the visitors Thursday holding a vigil outside the United States Supreme Court on the day after oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was a camel — in the company of shepherds — looking for a tent to stick her nose under. It has been 50 years of scalding debate since the High Court seized control of abortion away from voters and elected legislatures. Never in that half-century has Roe
v. Wade been so threatened as it is right now in the wake of those arguments.
The state of Mississippi stood before the Court to defend a law that would regulate abortion in that state. The state law is in clear contradiction of Roe v. Wade, which is why it has been appealed all the way to the Supremes. If each of the seated justices follows his or her judicial philosophies, Roe would be overturned in a resounding 6-3 decision. And even proponents of abortion rights — those who are remotely principled and legally literate — would see the wisdom and integrity in
overturning the most flawed and indefensible court ruling since Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. Washington Time
AOC lies about Justice Brett Kavanaugh to protect abortion . . . New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is going to the mat for abortion, and she doesn’t care how many brazen lies she has to tell to defend it. Ocasio-Cortez is upset the Supreme Court is likely to allow states to restrict abortion somewhat, so she chose to lash out at one of the swing votes: Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Instead of coming up with any legitimate criticism, the
Instagram influencer posing as a legislator decided to peddle the lie Kavanaugh was “credibly accused” of sexual assault. Washington Examiner
What a witch. Can't stand her.
Experts Say Liberal Justices Are Wrong About Roe’s Medical Basis . . . A pair of liberal Supreme Court justices say the Court should uphold Roe v. Wade because its central medical claim is sound. Experts on both sides of the abortion debate say those justices are wrong. Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday defended Roe during oral arguments in a case that could overturn the 1973 ruling. The pair affirmed Roe‘s central
claim that women have the right to an abortion up until the fetus is able to survive outside the womb. Kagan said that "not much has changed" since Roe was decided, when experts believed fetuses were not viable until roughly 24 weeks into term. But scientific advancements have shifted the "fetal viability" window to as early as 20 weeks, which pro-life advocates say undercuts Roe. Washington Free Beacon
The Only Mother on the Court . . . With the fate of Roe v. Wade on the line at Wednesday’s oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, all ears were trained on the Supreme Court’s newest justice, Amy Coney Barrett. People on both sides of the abortion debate wanted to get a sense of how the conservative bloc’s only woman would intervene in one of the most fraught issues facing the court — and American women. Whether
fairly or not, Justice Barrett’s gender has always loomed large in speculation about her impact on the court’s abortion jurisprudence. When former President Donald Trump selected Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, he reportedly assured confidants that he was holding then-Judge Barrett in reserve in the event he was able to name Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s successor, then the court’s most stalwart defender of abortion rights. New York Times
MLK niece: Justices should let states decide abortion, just like they did her uncle's holiday . . . During an interview with Just the News after the nine justices heard arguments in a historic case centered on Mississippi's restrictive abortion law, King said she believed the high court was poised to reevaluate the rationale for the famous Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide a half century ago. "Well, you know, Roe v.
Wade is really bad law," King told the John Solomon Reports podcast. "There's so many holes in what was decided in 1973 that can easily be refuted today. They didn't know if [a fetus] was really life, they didn't know if it was a blob of tissue, a lump of flesh. Now we know through 3 and 4D ultrasounds very early that that is a human being. There are so many things that had not been considered. They didn't know how damaging abortion is to a woman's body and her health." Just the News
Alveda King also blasts BLM as a "Marxist group" seeking to "destroy our democracy here in America."
Crowd told to redo applause after Bidens show up late to National Christmas Tree lighting . . .
President Joe Biden gave Republicans an early Christmas gift this year. Rapper and actor LL Cool J introduced the president and first lady Jill Biden on Thursday evening at the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, which was held at the Ellipse south of the White House, but the cheering crowd had to wait nearly two minutes for the pair to show up. Washington Examiner
Biden confused Six-Day War with Yom Kippur War, complained about Jewish voters . . . At the White House menorah lighting Wednesday, President Biden said he was a “liaison” between Israel and Egypt during the Six-Day War and suggested he was pals with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.
No, not quite. And Biden also told Meir that the Egyptians recognized Israeli military superiority. Less than six weeks later, they attacked Israel. According to Fox News:
President Biden said he met with former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and served as a liaison between Israel and Egypt during the Six-Day War despite still being in law school at the time . . . “I have known every — every prime minister well since Golda Meir, including Golda Meir,” Biden said. “And during the Six-Day War, I had an opportunity to — she invited me to come over because I was going to be the liaison between she and the Egyptians about the Suez . . White House Dossier
Senate dodges initial December crisis with last-minute deal . . . The Senate averted a government shutdown that would have thrown President Biden’s agenda into limbo when Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) struck a deal late Thursday with conservative Senate Republicans to fund the government until February. The last-minute deal gives senators some hope that Congress isn’t completely dysfunctional and that another imminent
standoff over raising the nation’s debt limit can be resolved in the same way without much carnage. In the end, senators on both sides of the aisle realized that a government shutdown — even a temporary one — would anger the public and both parties would wind up taking the blame. The Hill
Jeffery Epstein visited the Bill Clinton White House 17 times, at least . . . Jeffrey Epstein’s access to the Clinton White House has been laid bare by visitor logs exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com, which reveal the pedophile visited at least 17 times during the former president’s first few years in office.
Epstein, who died in 2019, visited Bill Clinton at the Executive Mansion over the course of three years with the first invitation coming just a month after his inauguration in January 1993.
The logs show the late financier showed up on 14 separate days, even making two visits in a single day on three different occasions. White House Dossier
Well, of course. He must have been visiting Al Gore. ;-)
Harris and Buttigieg Unite To Promote Biden Admin’s Favorite Green Energy Company . . . President Joe Biden's favorite electric battery company got a major publicity boost on Thursday from his two most high-profile cabinet members, as Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stepped inside a Proterra bus and praised its features.
The pair's promotion of electric bus-maker Proterra came during a trip to Charlotte, N.C., to promote the administration's infrastructure spending, which includes money for localities to purchase Proterra's expensive electric buses. Harris showered the Proterra buses with praise, according to the pool reporters on the trip, calling them "very user-friendly" and marveling at how quietly the brakes work. Washington Free Beacon
Meadows’ book possible ‘waiver’ of executive privilege, Jan. 6 investigators say . . . Meadows’ book is due to be released the same week he’s expected to appear before the Jan. 6 committee, following weeks of correspondence and hardball tactics that led Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) to threaten to hold Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress. But last week, Meadows’ lawyer George Terwilliger III and Thompson described a breakthrough,
revealing that Meadows had provided thousands of emails to the panel and arranged to appear for an interview.
In the upcoming interview, committee members plan to challenge Meadows’ citing of executive privilege as a reason to avoid discussing his interactions with Trump. Now, they say, his book could become a factor in that argument. Politico
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‘Flash mob’ robberies roiling U.S. retailers, traumatizing workers . . . While large-scale “smash-and-grabs” have been on the rise this year, experts say they hit critical mass in late November, when stores were piled high with holiday inventory. On Black Friday alone, a crew of eight made off with $400 worth of sledgehammers, crowbars and hammers from a Home Depot in Lakewood, Calif.; a group ransacked a Bottega Veneta
boutique in Los Angeles; and roughly 30 people swarmed a Best Buy near Minneapolis, grabbing electronics. Retail executives and security experts say the rise of such robberies — which have gone viral online and in some cases, spurred copycats — is the culmination of several factors, including a shortage of security guards, reluctance by police and prosecutors to pursue shoplifting offenses, and the growing use of social media as an organizational tool. Washington Post
Hmm. I wonder why that is? Might 'defund the police' have anything to do with that?! Ya'd think the leftists would put the two and two together.
The intelligence challenge behind Putin’s Ukraine bullying . . . Analysis. The CIA has long been on the hook to decipher the “riddle wrapped inside an enigma” posed by the Kremlin’s multifaceted threats to the national security of the U.S. and its allies. Right now, closing the intelligence gap about KGB-operative-in-the-Kremlin Vladimir Putin’s plans for the 100,000 troops he has menacingly deployed on Ukraine’s border is easily the
highest priority. Russia might indeed be preparing for an invasion. Still, suppose Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is right about the Kremlin fomenting a coup against him. In that case, an overwhelming show of Russian military force instead might be designed to dial up the pressure on Kyiv and create the conditions for installing a pro-Russian puppet as head of state. Washington Times
What a Firebrand Cleric’s Growing Strength Means for American Policy in Iraq . . . America has two main objectives in Iraq: counter Iranian influence and combat radical Islamists. Fortunately, the official results of Iraq’s recent parliamentary elections create an opportunity for the U.S. to advance these objectives. The big winner was Muqtada al-Sadr, a nationalist Shiite cleric and firebrand. His Sadrist Movement gained 20 seats to increase
its total to 73 seats out of 329, while the pro-Iran Fateh bloc lost 31 seats for a total of 17. The results of the Oct. 10 elections sparked immediate backlash from pro-Iran factions, which led to unrest and an assassination attempt against Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi early last month. But Iraq’s electoral commission on Tuesday confirmed the election results. The outcome gives Sadr the biggest bloc in Iraq’s parliament and thus the largest say in forming a government. Daily Signal
Updated B61 nuclear warhead enters production . . . The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Thursday announced that it had completed the first production unit of the B61-12, an updated version of the warhead used on weapons dropped from fighters and bombers. The NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency located within the Department of Energy. While the Defense Department has oversight of developing the delivery systems for
America’s nuclear arsenal — the planes, ships and missiles — the NNSA is in charge of producing the actual nuclear payload. Currently there are four B61 variants in the nuclear stockpile: the 3, 4, 7, and 11. The B61-12 design will replace all four of those. While not technically a “new” warhead, the design replaces or refurbishes all the bomb’s nuclear and non-nuclear parts. The upgraded variant will be carried by America’s F-15, F-16 and B-2 aircraft, as well as on aircraft for NATO
member nations. Breaking Defense
Good stuff. We need it. Not necessarily to fight, but to deter. But in order to deter, one must convince the adversary that you are ready to fight. The only way you can do that is to actually be prepared to fight. The adversary is not stupid. Never underestimate your adversary. Please remind me who said that. I don't think it was Sun Tzu, or was it him?
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Poland and Hungary suffer setback in legal challenge to EU’s rule of law . . . Hungary and Poland’s legal challenge to the EU’s crackdown on rule of law breaches has suffered a serious setback after a legal opinion recommended their claim should be dismissed. The EU’s advocate general found that the new rule of law conditionality mechanism, which seeks to protect the bloc’s budget from violations by member states, was
legally sound and compatible with the EU treaties. The conditionality mechanism was agreed by the EU last year as part of the budget deal that ushered in the bloc’s €800bn recovery fund. Poland and Hungary subsequently launched a legal challenge calling for the rules to be annulled, claiming they were not compatible with the treaty and breached principles of legal certainty. Financial Times
France’s Eric Zemmour is running a campaign à la Donald Trump — in theory . . . On the face of it, Eric Zemmour has failed his Trumpian transformation. Underneath the surface, it might be a bit more complicated. During his first TV interview as an official French presidential candidate on Tuesday, Zemmour — a former journalist running an insurgent campaign heavy on culture wars and anti-immigrant rhetoric — appeared slight, tense and
defensive. There was no fanfare, no alpha-male bravura. And at the end of the prime-time TV slot, he grumbled crossly that he didn’t like the journalist’s questions. More broadly, Zemmour’s presidential campaign launch this week has been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. PoliticoEU
Christine Lagarde says EU inflation a passing ‘hump’ and 2022 rate rise ‘very unlikely’ . . . The president of the European Central Bank said it was unlikely eurozone interest rates would increase next year, calling the current rise in inflation a passing “hump”, but added that the ECB would act swiftly if needed to staunch the increase in prices. Despite eurozone inflation hitting a record high of 4.9 per cent in November, well above the
ECB’s target of 2 per cent, Christine Lagarde said it was likely to have peaked and would decline next year. “I see an inflation profile that looks like a hump . . . and a hump eventually declines,” she said at a Reuters virtual event. Lagarde also repeated her assertion that the ECB was “very unlikely” to raise interest rates next year. Financial Times
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FDA Aims for Quick Review of Omicron Vaccines and Drugs . . . The Food and Drug Administration is laying the groundwork for the rapid review of Omicron-targeted vaccines and drugs if they turn out to be needed, according to people familiar with the
matter. The agency, building on rules established earlier this year to assess shots and treatments, has been meeting with drugmakers and setting guidelines for the studies and data needed to swiftly evaluate products targeting the new Omicron Covid-19 variant, the people said. The FDA wants to be sure Omicron shots and therapies work safely and can be made correctly before authorizing their use, while moving as quickly as it can to conduct the assessment to aid efforts to stay ahead of
the variant, according to people familiar with the matter. Wall Street Journal
VIDEO: Biden Covid Czar Zients says domestic vaccine travel requirement “on the table”
Soon the only people who will not be required to be vaccinated are illegal immigrants racing across the border.
Covid-19 Vaccine Demand Strains CVS, Walgreens . . . The U.S. has plenty of Covid-19 vaccines but retail pharmacies are struggling to quickly administer them in some places. Vaccine seekers in some states face waits of days or weeks for doses as local health officials hustle to improve
access to meet surging demand. CVS Health Corp. CVS 1.11% , Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA 0.99% and Walmart Inc., WMT 0.34% which are facing staffing shortages, now say they may not be able to accommodate people without appointments. Millions of Americans are newly eligible for booster shots, and federal health officials in November recommended the vaccine for use in children as young as 5 years old. Concerns about the risks posed by the new Omicron variant also are driving more people
to get vaccinated, health officials say. Wall Street Journal
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America’s Two-Track Jobs Recovery . . . Lockdowns and other harsh government measures don’t stop Covid, so why is the White House still trying to defend them? “Stronger COVID measures produce STRONGER ECONOMIC outcomes,” White House chief of staff Ron Klain tweeted Wednesday. “That’s why jobs, growth and economic activity are UP this year, significantly over last year.”
Egad. Jobs and economic growth have rebounded as vaccines became widely available and Democratic-led states finally lifted their destructive lockdowns. But lockdown states continue to suffer high unemployment while Republican-led states that maintained many fewer restrictions have almost fully recovered.
Government payments also reduced the incentive to work. Most Republican-led states withdrew expanded pandemic unemployment benefits by early July but they didn't lapse in Democratic states until Labor Day. California’s eviction moratorium didn’t expire until October, and Democrats have offered to pay 100% of the back rent for tenants dating to April 2020. The Golden State this summer also sent $1,100 checks to lower-income families. We wish this partisan distinction didn’t exist, but
the pandemic heightened the economic policy differences between the two political parties. The states have provided a market test, and GOP policies won. Mr. Klain is taking credit for the pandemic policy results in Florida and Georgia, not in New York or California. Wall Street
Journal
Black Lives Matter: Don’t buy from White businesses this holiday season . . . It’s the holiday season again and time to decide where to shop based on people’s skin color — or so says Black Lives Matter. The group for the seventh year is urging people to boycott stores owned by White people and only to patronize Black-owned businesses. “When buying items, spend exclusively with Black-owned businesses from Black Friday through New
Year,” the group said on its website and Instagram promoting its annual #BuyBlack campaign. The group argues that “white Capitalism” created police to keep down Black people. It cited several shootings of Black people by police in stores, including the fatal shooting of John Crawford, a 22-year old Black man at a Walmart store in Beavercreek, Ohio. Washington Times
Go woke, go broke? Americans don’t care for corporate activism . . . A new warning to woke CEOs: Americans don’t want corporations meddling in divisive political issues, and they perceive such activism as phony pandering. There’s also a huge gap between what consumers believe about woke activism compared with out-of-touch executives, according to a study conducted by the Brunswick Group, a management firm.
Amazon yanks a documentary about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. EBay scraps Dr. Seuss books. Disney fires actress Gina Carano. Do consumers agree with these moves?
Brunswick found 63 percent of corporate executives “agree unequivocally that companies should speak out on social issues,” but a mere 36 percent of voters agree. Corporate brass also has “a highly inflated sense of how effective corporate communication has been on social issues compared to voters.”
An overwhelming 74 percent of business executives think corporate activism is effective, compared with just 39 percent of voters. Companies spend billions of dollars building brand equity through marketing campaigns. Turns out their virtue-signaling could be counterproductive because voters believe it’s inauthentic. New York Post
The elites might be surprise to learn that people aren't stupid.
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Justice Department tells court 'Alternative Mueller Report' found and may soon be released . . . The so-called "Alternative Mueller Report” mentioned in a book by Andrew Weissmann, a top prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation, has been found, according to the Department of Justice. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York said in a Thursday evening filing in federal court that
the Justice Department “has located and begun processing this record and intends to release all non-exempt portions … once processing is complete.” The Justice Department was responding to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the New York Times in July seeking access to a report allegedly compiled by Weissmann, who publicly battled with Mueller after the special counsel's report “did not establish” any conspiracy or coordination between members of former President Donald Trump's
2016 campaign and the Kremlin. Weissmann claimed in his book Where the Law Ends that the Mueller investigation had faced restrictions that limited the final report that was released. Washington Examiner
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin still worried about the Soviet Union . . . U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday accidentally referred to Russia as the Soviet Union while speaking during a visit to Seoul, South Korea.
Austin was answering a question about how the U.S. plans to respond to potential Russian aggression at the Ukraine border, saying any U.S. response would be made in collaboration with the international community during a press conference. “Whatever we do will be done as a part of an international community. The best case though is that we won’t see an incursion by the Soviet Union into the Ukraine,” Lloyd said. White House Dossier
There are actually two mistakes here. Not only does Austin call Russia the Soviet Union, but he calls Ukraine “the Ukraine,” which is what it was called when it was part of the Soviet Union.
DeSantis proposes civilian Florida State Guard military force he would control . . . Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday proposed reestablishing a World War II-era civilian-military force that he would control. DeSantis pitched the idea of creating the Florida State Guard, which would be independent of federal control, while speaking about his military budget proposal.
The Guard would consist of 200 volunteer civilians "trained in the best emergency response techniques" that would aid in the event of natural disasters or other state emergencies, according to a press release. The Florida State Guard was initially created in 1941 to fill in for National Guard members deployed during World War II. It was later disbanded in 1947. The Hill
Ed Durr, truck driver who beat NJ Senate president, blasts vaccine mandate as election revenge . . . The truck driver who dethroned incumbent New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney says Democrats in control of the Legislature are seeking 2021 election revenge with a proof-of-vaccination mandate for lawmakers. Republican Sen.-elect Edward Durr said the rule, which was been met Thursday by GOP defiance, was a "slap at the people,"
according to the New Jersey Globe . Under the new policy, members are required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result with 72 hours in order to be allowed to take part in the legislative session. Washington Examiner
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The biggest thing out of Miami Art Week is 10-year-old child prodigy Andres Valencia . . . It’s not many fourth-graders who can impress the Wolf of Wall Street. But Jordan Belfort — the trader-turned-felon who inspired the Scorsese film — snapped up a painting this week by 10-year-old painter Andres Valencia. So did “Modern Family” star Sofia Vergara. Channing Tatum and artist Shepard Fairey also stopped by Andres’
booth at Art Miami after hearing about the prodigy.
And he already knows how to play the celebrity game: “I’m so happy [Vergara] bought my piece,” Andres told The Post.
While most fourth-graders are finishing up their homework and playing Fortnite, Andres — who has been painting since he was 4 — has become the sensation of Miami Art Week, which includes events like Art Basel. New York Post
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