White House Dossier's

Abortion-Rights Supporters Rack Up Victories, Putting GOP in Bind for 2024 . . . They were disparate elections in different states—for governor, state Senate, a supreme court seat and on a constitutional amendment. But the results of off-year races on Tuesday pointed in one direction: Voters will come to the polls to defend abortion rights. In the Republican strongholds of Ohio and Kentucky, as well as politically purple Virginia and Pennsylvania, abortion-rights supporters spent millions of dollars to tell voters that GOP lawmakers couldn’t be trusted to set state abortion policy after the Supreme Court last year eliminated a right to the procedure under the U.S. Constitution. Those efforts worked, giving Democrats hopes that they can harness the issue once again in 2024 to offset voter disenchantment with the economy and President Biden, who is running for re-election with weak job-approval ratings. Wall Street Journal

CNN POLL: Most Americans Say Biden Is "Mostly Part Of The Problem" On Dealing With Nation's Issues

Election Day 2023 recap: Voters back Democrats in Kentucky, Virginia, beyond . . . Voters across the country headed to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on a slew of statewide and local elections that could serve as a bellwether for next year’s congressional and White House races. Virginia Democrats have gained full control of the state’s General Assembly, dealing a major blow to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda in a race seen as an indicator of Democrats’ strength heading into 2024. The Hill

Who were the biggest winners on Election Day 2023? . . . Democrats across the country saw significant victories on Election Night and came out on top as the big winners in a number of races that Republicans hoped to use as a springboard into the 2024 elections. Republicans also saw some wins, but fell far short of where they hoped to finish the 2023 off-year election cycle and missed out on what could have been significant momentum heading into next year. Fox News

Ron DeSantis’s biggest donor is considering backing Donald Trump . . . Ron DeSantis’s biggest donor is considering switching his support to Donald Trump, in a sharp rebuke of the Florida governor’s White House aspirations. Robert Bigelow, a Nevada real estate investor who has funded space exploration and research into paranormal activities, gave more than $20mn to the DeSantis campaign earlier this year, the largest donation to any 2024 candidate, according to the latest federal filings. But Bigelow criticised DeSantis for running a weak campaign — and said Hamas’s attack on Israel last month showed the US needed a “streetwise” leader such as Trump. Financial Times
 

“I’m 5’11” - Patrick Bet-David of Valuetainment Questions Ron DeSantis How Tall He Is & Why He Wears Boots

House Votes To Censure Rashida Tlaib Over Anti-Israel Comments . . . Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan’s 12th District has been censured by the House of Representatives following a vote on Tuesday night. A privileged resolution to censure Tlaib was introduced on Monday by Republican Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia following her repeated comments criticizing Israel for its response to terrorist attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7. After a motion to table the resolution failed on Tuesday, the House advanced the final vote on the measure to later that evening where it passed by a vote of 234 yeas to 188 nays, with four members voting present and seven not voting. Daily Caller

The Third Republican Debate Could Be Brutal . . . The third Republican presidential-candidate debate in Miami on November 8 probably won’t draw as many eyeballs as the last, and the stage will be less crowded. But what it lacks in quantity of speakers and listeners it may make up for in drama and conflict. As the voting phase of the GOP primary approaches, candidates other than Donald Trump are hanging onto viability by their fingernails and really need to do something to help themselves and damage the others. Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are in a cage match for second place in the Iowa caucuses (the governor hopes a long-expected endorsement from Iowa governor Kim Reynolds on the evening of November 6 will save his steadily sinking ship). Tim Scott is on the edge of elimination in both the polls and the debates. It’s increasingly unclear why Trump mini-me Vivek Ramaswamy is running for president against his idol, even as he annoys Republican voters more each day. And anti-Trump stalwart Chris Christie is simply proving that somebody with absolutely no chance of winning the nomination can stick around by cornering the small market of GOP Never Trumpers. Intelligencer

House Republicans advance proposal slashing Pete Buttigieg's salary to $1 . . . The House pushed through an amendment to slash Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's salary to $1 on Tuesday evening. Introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), the amendment would be added to the 2024 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development spending bill if passed. The amendment was introduced under the Holman Rule, which allows the slashing of annual salaries of individual federal workers to $1. Washington Examiner

Israel Crisis Signals Need To Bolster U.S. Homeland Security—Including Internet Infrastructure . . . Nearly 500 individuals on the watch list were intercepted at U.S. borders and other points of entry in 2023, and some additional number likely eluded detection. Thus, any belated efforts now to tighten border security aren’t going to eliminate the threat of attack. Terrorists may already be in the U.S. and actively planning violence. The nation therefore needs to review measures taken to protect people and assets within its border perimeter. Much of that task necessarily falls to state and local authorities.

One area where Washington has taken the lead is in protecting critical infrastructure. The federal government has an agency focused on securing 16 sectors of essential infrastructure, including chemical plants, electric grids, healthcare facilities and financial networks. Today many facets of contemporary commerce and culture would be unworkable without continuous access to what was formerly called the World Wide Web. That includes most of the other critical infrastructure sectors: imagine how financiers, physicians or first responders would function in the absence of reliable internet connections. The way society is now organized, they couldn’t.

Our dependence on the infrastructure supporting the internet is thus pervasive and profound. Forbes

Is Campus Rage Fueled by Middle Eastern Money? . . . Where did all of the anti-semitic hatred come from is a question worth pondering. As Rachel Fish and others have documented, for several decades a toxic worldview—morally relativist, anti-Israel, and anti-American—has been incubating in “area studies” departments and social theory programs at elite universities. Whole narratives have been constructed to dehumanize Israelis and brand Israel as a “white, colonial project” to be “resisted.” The students you see in the videos circulating online have been marinating in this ideology, which can be defined best by what it’s against: everything Western. Free Press

Hamas leaders worth staggering $11B revel in luxury — while Gaza’s people suffer . . . While their people languish in poverty and are treated as human shields, the leaders of Hamas live billionaire lifestyles. The terror group’s three top leaders alone are worth a staggering $11 billion between them and enjoy a life of luxury in the sanctuary of the emirate of Qatar. The emirate has long welcomed the leaders of the terror group and installed them in its luxury hotels and villas at the same time as hosting a vast American military presence. New York Post

Hamas leaders enjoying a life of luxury in the sanctuary of the emirate of Qatar

From the River to the Sea? Arab Citizens of Israel Say, No Thanks to ‘Liberation’ . . . Palestinians and their allies have justified and even celebrated Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel as a blow against Jewish oppression. But the 2 million Arab citizens of Israel have overwhelmingly responded by drawing closer to the Jewish state. Among Arab Israelis, prominent media personalities have helped lead an unprecedented surge in support for their country and opposition to their self-proclaimed liberator Hamas. Pro-Israel arguments that were previously almost unspeakable in the Arab mainstream have in recent weeks gotten a respectful hearing. Free Beacon

Saudi Arabia says will host Arab and Islamic summits to discuss Gaza conflict . . .  Saudi Arabia will host summits of Arab and Islamic nations in coming days to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi Arabia's investment minister said on Wednesday. "We will see, this week, in the next few days Saudi Arabia convening an emergency Arab summit in Riyadh," said Saudi investment minister Khalid Al-Falih, at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. "In a few days you will see Saudi Arabia convening an Islamic summit," he said. Reuters

Ukraine Corruption Worries Cloud Its Push to Join EU . . . The European Union recommended Wednesday that the bloc begins membership talks with Ukraine soon, boosting President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has made EU accession a central goal. Even though membership talks would take years to complete, the positive EU recommendation offers Zelensky and Ukraine rare good news at a tense time. The war with Russia has become bogged down, and tensions between Zelensky and his top military leaders have spilled into public display. International focus has largely shifted to the Middle East, and Congress has blocked new aid for Ukraine. Wall Street Journal

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Money

Right Now Is a Bad Time to Spend Money . . . Prices remain high for much of what we buy, even as inflation has slowed. Stingily saving money, meanwhile, is a more profitable activity than it has been in recent memory. Since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a two-decade high, any dollar spent today is a lost opportunity to earn as much as 5% or more in savings accounts, certificates of deposit and bonds. High rates also make it significantly more expensive for people to spend money they don’t have, with the annual interest rate on some credit cards pushing 30%. Wall Street Journal

Culture

Israeli president writes letter to American universities urging them to fight antisemitism . . . Israeli President Isaac Herzog penned a stern letter to American universities on Tuesday, calling on campus presidents to take action on antisemitism that has marred the reputations of "temples of scholarship." "Never, as someone who has always looked up to the standards of the American university, could I have foreseen the images and voices that have reached me since the tragedy of October 7," he wrote. "As President of Israel, I have spent the past month traveling among devastated Israeli communities, more than 1,400 grieving families, and the relatives of more than 240 hostages." Fox News

Death of Jewish man struck during dual pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests in California's ruled homicide . . . A suspect in the death of a Jewish man who fell and hit his head during dual pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests in California had called 911 to report the fall and waited at the scene and answered investigators' questions, authorities said on Tuesday. Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said at a press conference that the unnamed person, the only suspect so far, has not been arrested. Investigators are seeking video and photos from the public to help them learn what caused Paul Kessler, 69, to fall and hit his head during Sunday protests in Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles (65 km) west of Los Angeles. Kessler's death has been ruled a homicide by medical examiners, with the cause of death listed as blunt force trauma to his head. Officials emphasized that a death being ruled a homicide means that another person was involved, but does not indicate if anything criminal took place. Reuters

The hidden power of China’s pandas — and why the U.S. is losing them all . . . Sure, they’re cute and cuddly. But for more than 50 years, China’s giant pandas have also been powerfully strategic — a diplomatic tool methodically deployed to shore up alliances, woo new partners and build goodwill. “Many people don’t realize it, but there are actually two Chinese ambassadors in Washington: me and the panda cub at the National Zoo,” said Cui Tiankai, China’s then-ambassador to the United States, in 2013, when a pink, wrinkly newborn arrived to widespread jubilation at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Washington Post

Don’t Shut Down Your Anger. Channel It . . . We’re often told to focus on the positive. But new research shows a healthy dose of anger can be motivating. There is an upside to feeling angry. According to research published this week in the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,” anger is more helpful at motivating people to overcome obstacles and meet their goals than a neutral emotional state. In a series of seven experiments, researchers recruited undergraduate students at Texas A&M University and, in some cases, elicited anger by showing the students images that insulted their school, like people in Aggie shirts wearing diapers and carrying baby bottles. New York Times

Local residents explode at Biden officials over plan to release grizzly bears near their communities . . . Dozens of local residents in northern Washington recently voiced their strong opposition to a Biden administration plan to release grizzly bears, an apex predator, in a federally-managed forest area near their communities. More than 200 local residents attended a public comment session in northern Washington hosted by the Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Parks Service (NPS), with roughly 50 speaking in opposition of the federal grizzly bear proposal and just six voicing their support. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who represents local communities, was among the speakers voicing concerns about the plan's potential consequences. Fox News

DeSantis’ painted smile and high-heeled boots not helping presidential campaign . . . In perhaps the most revealing snapshot of our time, scientists have finally conducted a comprehensive study of clowns. They weren’t just any “scientists.” They were “psychologists.” From the University of South Wales. (That’s the one without the kangaroos.) Professor Philip John Tyson got the idea after teaching a class about phobias for 15 years. Each year, he would begin the semester by asking students what they were most afraid of. Washington Times