Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
September 15, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Gen. Milley Allegedly Took Secret Action To Prevent Trump From Using Nuclear Weapons . . . Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley allegedly took secret action to prevent former President Donald Trump from using nuclear weapons following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to an upcoming book “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. Milley was allegedly “certain” that Trump “had gone into a serious mental decline”
following his loss in the 2020 election and worried that the former president could “go rogue.” The top U.S. general allegedly called a secret meeting at the Pentagon two days after the Capitol riot to review the process for military action — including a nuclear response. Milley allegedly asked every senior military official present at the meeting not to take orders from anyone, even the former president, regarding a nuclear strike without consulting him first. Daily Caller
Now, a power hungry general inserts himself into the nuclear launch authorization process and colludes with a foreign adversary to warn them about US military operations. Who are these unelected rogues, running our country? Get'm outta there.
Trump says Milley calls to China amount to treason if true . . . Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed skepticism regarding the report that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley went behind his back to call Chinese officials but said such an action was treasonous if true. Washington Post reporters alleged in their upcoming book “Peril” that Milley made two secret phone calls to Gen. Li Zuocheng of the
People’s Liberation Army, his Chinese counterpart. Milley reportedly made the calls before the 2020 presidential election on Oct. 30, 2020, and two days after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, on Jan. 8, 2021, and assured Zuocheng of the stability of the American government. He also allegedly assured the Chinese general that he would contact him regarding any imminent attack from the U.S. in the waning days of Trump’s presidency. White House Dossier
‘Who’s In Charge’ — Sen. Risch Grills Blinken Over Who Cuts Biden Off At The White House . . . Republican Idaho Sen. James Risch grilled Secretary of State Antony Blinken during Tuesday’s hearing about who is “in charge” of President Joe Biden at the White House and specifically asked who has the authority to “push the button” and cut off Biden’s microphone.
“Somebody in the White House has authority to press the button and stop the president, cut off the president’s speaking ability and sound. Who is that person?” Risch asked Blinked during the hearing. “There is no such person,” Blinken responded. Daily Caller
Gavin Newsom Beats California Recall Effort, Remains Governor . . . California Gov. Gavin Newsom has easily defeated a recall effort led by Republicans and fueled by frustrations over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. With 62% of the state’s precincts partially reporting, 65.9% of California voters chose to keep the Democrat in office, and 34.1% opted to remove him.
Larry Elder receives most votes among candidates who vied to replace Democrat in unsuccessful effort by Republicans. Wall Street Journal
Joe Biden’s suggestion of summit with Xi Jinping falls on deaf ears . . . Joe Biden suggested he hold a face-to-face summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping during a 90-minute call last week but failed to secure an agreement from his counterpart, leading some US officials to conclude that Beijing is continuing to play hardball with Washington. The US president proposed to Xi that the leaders hold the summit in an effort to break an
impasse in US-China relations, but multiple people briefed on the call said the Chinese leader did not take him up on the offer and instead insisted that Washington adopt a less strident tone towards Beijing. The White House had portrayed the call — which took place at Biden’s request seven months after their first telephone conversation — as a chance to test if Xi was willing to engage seriously after several diplomatic meetings between US and Chinese officials garnered little
progress. Five people briefed on the call said that while Xi had used less abrasive language than his top diplomats had done this year, his overall message to Biden was that the US must tone down its rhetoric. Financial Times
What do Chicoms need Joe for, if they have 'their own man in Havana,' Marc Milley?
Democrats Justify Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants by Arguing It Will Increase Deficit . . . Democrats are trying to grant mass amnesty to illegal immigrants by arguing that amnesty's $140 billion price tag qualifies as a budget issue—a legislative maneuver that will allow millions of people to achieve legal status through a party-line majority vote. Democratic congressional staffers argued on Sept. 10 that because mass legalization will
add to the deficit, the provision should be included in a reconciliation bill nominally meant to fund the federal government for the next year. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Democratic plan to legalize eight million immigrants will add $139.6 billion to the budget deficit by 2032, almost entirely due to increased use of entitlement programs and tax credits. "Democrats' central argument to the parliamentarian is that offering green cards to certain undocumented immigrants
would unlock federal benefits for them, causing effects on the budget that they say are a substantial, direct and intended result." Washington Free Beacon
Like the dress or not, Ocasio-Cortez is driving the conversation again . . . Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wore a “Tax the Rich” dress to the glitzy Met Gala on Monday night — and broke the internet. Criticism and praise rained down instantly. Ocasio-Cortez’s legions of fans on social media — she has 12.7 million followers on her main Twitter account and 8.7 million on Instagram — loved it. The episode underlined that
Ocasio-Cortez, 31 years old and only in her second term in Congress, is a singular figure in contemporary politics. Her capacity to harness social media, pop culture and fashion in the service of her agenda is unlike any other elected official.
Ocasio-Cortez’s appeal is rooted, experts say, in an ease with the mores of her generation and a casual authenticity. That’s why some on the left want her to challenge Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) in next year’s Democratic primary, which she hasn’t ruled out. The
Hill
Scary stuff, my fellow Americans.
Liberals fall in love with George W. Bush . . . Principled liberal journalist Glenn Greenwald notes the hypocrisy of liberals who bashed George W. Bush relentless now love him because Bush opposes Donald Trump and thinks the right represents as bad a threat as al Qaeda. “A domestic war on terror against your fellow citizens is music to the ears of American liberals because they want nothing more than a new domestic war on terror, than
treating their domestic adversaries like the Bush administration treated al Qaeda,” Greenwald said. White House Dossier
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Top US general in Afghanistan told chain of command he disagreed with withdrawal . . . The top U.S. general on the ground in Afghanistan told top Pentagon officials that he opposed the total withdrawal of troops before President Biden made the final decision. In a closed briefing Tuesday to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Austin Scott Miller confirmed that he registered his dissent with Mr. Biden’s decision with the top
brass — Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin; Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the head of U.S. Central Command.
Mr. Biden was asked in an interview last month whether his military advisers suggested that he keep a residual force in Afghanistan to avoid a total collapse. He told interviewer George Stephanopoulos “No. No one said that to me.” Washington Times
U.S. Spies See Signs of al Qaeda Fighters Returning to Afghanistan . . . U.S. intelligence agencies are seeing early signs that al Qaeda militants have begun to return to Afghanistan, a senior official said Tuesday, after they dispersed from the country in response to the U.S. counterterrorism effort there. “We are already beginning to see some of the indications of some potential movement of al Qaeda to Afghanistan,” David Cohen, deputy
director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said at a conference. “But it’s early days and we will obviously keep a very close eye on that.” The current U.S. intelligence estimate, which officials say may be revised, is that it would take between one and two years for al Qaeda to reconstitute a capability to threaten the U.S. Wall Street Journal
Sen. Joni Ernst leads senators in asking Blinken to designate Taliban as terrorist organization . . . Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, on Wednesday led a group of senators in sending a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking him to designate the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
The Taliban, a Sunni Islamist nationalist group, recently regained control of Afghanistan after the Biden administration ordered a full withdrawal of the U.S. military from the country following 20 years of war. Fox News
China following Russian model with large-scale buildup of nuclear forces: DIA . . . China‘s large-scale buildup of nuclear forces is part of a Beijing strategy to emulate the nuclear forces of Russia, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency disclosed Tuesday. Army Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, the DIA chief, said Chinese military forces are advancing on both the conventional and nuclear front, with the nuclear elements among the most
concerning aspects. “When we talk about existential threats, the nuclear triad that the Russians have is credible and it’s effective, and I think the Chinese see that nuclear triad as a goal that they would like to have,” Gen. Berrier said. Washington Times
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U.S., Britain, Norway and Finland came to monitor Russia's Arctic exercises . . . Russia's military said on Wednesday that the United States, Britain, Norway and Finland had sent vessels and aircraft to monitor military exercises involving the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet in the Arctic. The manoeuvres this month involved 8,500 people and 50 vessels, and the Northern Fleet is now beginning to return those forces to base as they draw to a
close, Russia's military was quoted as saying. Reuters
Taliban fighters reportedly brawl inside presidential palace over power divide . . . A major brawl broke out last week inside Kabul's presidential palace days after the country’s interim government was announced over internal clashes on who deserves credit for the U.S. withdrawal and how the power positions were doled out, a report said. The BBC’s report Wednesday, citing senior Taliban officials, said the fight was between two factions
that wanted to take credit for defeating the U.S. Mulllah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, and Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani, a senior leader of the Haqqani Network, "exchanged strong words, as their followers brawled with each other nearby," the BBC reported. Fox
News
Anti-laundering unit goes off-grid, fraying Afghan ties to global finance . . . A unit in Afghanistan's central bank leading a 15-year effort to counter illicit funding flows has halted operations, four staff members said, threatening to hasten the country's slide out of the global financial system. Since 2006, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Afghanistan (FinTRACA) has gathered intelligence on thousands of
suspicious transactions and helped convict smugglers and terrorist financiers, according to its website. UN officials have said the Taliban, who seized Kabul on Aug. 15, made hundreds of millions of dollars from the drugs trade and other illicit sources when they were fighting government troops. The group has vowed there would be no drug cultivation in Afghanistan from now. Reuters
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Arizona Becomes First State To Sue Biden Over Vaccine Mandates . . . Arizona sued the Biden administration Tuesday challenging recent rules forcing both private sector and federal employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. The state argued that the vaccination requirements are unconstitutional because the federal government hasn’t announced similar requirements for migrants crossing the southern border, according to
its complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Arizona. Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich said the Biden administration’s policies reflected an “unmistakable” favoritism in favor of illegal immigrants over American citizens. Daily Caller
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Biden's soak-the-rich tax plan diluted by Democratic allies in Congress . . . President Biden campaigned on a promise to raise taxes on the very richest Americans, unfurling just months after he was elected one of the biggest tax hikes in decades to help fund his $4 trillion economic agenda.
As part of his sweeping "Build Back Better" agenda, Biden called for a slew of new taxes on corporations and the top sliver of U.S. households, including raising the corporate tax to 28%, nearly doubling the capital gains tax rate to 39.6% from 21%, restoring the top individual income tax rate to 39.6% from 37% and taxing capital gains at death. Fox Business
Bowing to progressives, Powell now moving too slowly to control inflation . . . Fed Chairman Powell is caught between surging inflation and progressive Democrats lobbying President Biden to replace him with someone more amenable to their social justice agenda. As the economy reopened from COVID-19 lockdowns, inflation surged to alarming levels. Part of this was a jump in prices that were artificially depressed by the pandemic shutdown—car
rentals, airline tickets, restaurant meals, and the like—which will not likely repeat. Some prices overshot and are now receding—for example, used car prices. That may lower inflation readings for a month or two. However, other pressures are building that represents an abrupt change from the pre-pandemic, low-inflation era. Analysis. Washington Times
Big Meat hits back at Biden administration for blaming inflation on industry . . . Big Meat’s got some bite. A trade group that represents the nation’s meat processors, including JBS USA, Cargill and Tyson Foods, blasted the Biden administration Tuesday for accusing the industry of "pandemic profiteering" — saying the government "refuses to acknowledge" the real problem. In a letter to US Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas
Vilsack, the North American Meat Institute said surging prices were a result of a nationwide labor shortage — not consolidation of the meat industry. "The Administration cannot ignore the fundamental principles of supply and demand," Anna Potts of NAMI said. "Americans are experiencing firsthand what the Secretary refuses to acknowledge, the effects of COVID and lack of labor are hurting consumers, and nothing proposed by the Secretary of Agriculture on the structure of the meat and
poultry industry will help families struggling to pay for groceries." Fox Business
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Norm Macdonald, ‘SNL’ star, dead at 61. . . Norm Macdonald, the deadpan stand-up comic and beloved “Saturday Night Live” alum, died Tuesday after a private nine-year battle with cancer. He was 61. The former “Weekend Update” anchor’s passing was confirmed to The Post by his manager Marc Gurvitz, of Brillstein Entertainment. “Today is a sad day. All of us here at ‘SNL’ mourn the loss of Norm Macdonald, one of the most impactful
comedic voices of his or any other generation,” NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” team told The Post in a statement. “There are so many things that we’ll miss about Norm — from his unflinching integrity to his generosity to his consistent ability to surprise. But most of all he was just plain funny. No one was funny like Norm.” New York Post
SpaceX set to make history with first all-civilian crew launched into orbit . . . The latest in a recent line of space-obsessed billionaires was set for liftoff on Wednesday with three less wealthy private citizens along for the ride aboard a SpaceX rocket ship, seeking to become the first all-civilian crew launched into Earth orbit. The quartet of amateur space travelers, led by the American founder and chief executive of e-commerce firm
Shift4 Payments, Jared Isaacman, were due for blastoff as early as 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Reuters
Students Sue Catholic University for Denying Them Religious Exemptions to COVID Vaccine Mandate . . . A group of students are suing Creighton University, a Jesuit Catholic institution in Nebraska, for refusing to grant them religious exemptions to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The lawsuit was brought against Creighton by four female students who alleged that they received “arbitrary and disparate treatment” because of their religious
objections to COVID-19 vaccination. Specifically, the women argued that the vaccines were developed or tested using abortion-derived fetal cell lines, which went against their Christian beliefs. Epoch Times
Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show . . . Researchers inside Instagram, which is owned by Facebook Inc., were studying an issue that appeared to be part of a broader phenomenon. Their findings confirmed some serious problems. “Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse,” the researchers said in a March 2020 slide presentation posted
to Facebook’s internal message board. “Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves.” For the past three years, Facebook has been conducting studies into how its photo-sharing app affects its millions of young users. Repeatedly, the company’s researchers found that Instagram is harmful for a sizable percentage of them, most notably teenage girls. “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said one slide from 2019,
summarizing research about teen girls who experience the issues. “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” said another slide. Among teens who reported suicidal thoughts, 13% of British users and 6% of American users traced the desire to kill themselves to Instagram, one presentation showed. Wall Street Journal
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Trump Wows Met Gala Crowd In 'Rigged Election' Dress . . . Beloved president and celebrity Donald Trump left Met Gala speechless this year when he showed up in a flowing white dress emblazoned with the phrase 'Rigged Election!' "It's a beautiful, bold, brave statement," said fashion writer Vandross Tixatron, who was wearing an $82,000 garbage bag plucked from a landfill in Zimbabwe. "It's even braver when you consider the fact Trump
wasn't even invited and he's being chased down by security now. What a statement!"
Other stunning attendees to the gala included:
Gavin Newsom in a dress made of discarded hobo tents
Bill Clinton, who wore a tux embroidered with the message "Believe All Women"
Buffalo Bill, a transgender hero in his latest skin-suit
Bill Cosby in a #MeToo dress
AOC, who wore a 'Tax The Rich' dress made by enslaved migrant children
Greta Thunberg, who wore a 'Save The Planet' dress made with clubbed baby seal skins
General Milley, who draped himself in the vibrant red flag of the Chinese Communist Party. Babylon Bee
Satire.
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Rebekah Koffler
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