Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
March 24, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
REMINDER: Inaugural WHD Virtual Happy Hour - Friday, March 26, 2021 @ 6:00 - 7:00 PM . . .
This Friday we are launching a new feature for the readers of Cut to the News and White House Dossier - a Virtual Happy Hour. Every other Friday at 6:00 pm Eastern, beginning with this Friday, March 26, I will host a video conference talk with our readers about the latest news and politics, and the issues the country confronts as totalitarian leftism rapidly expands its influence. Having grown up
in the former Soviet Union, I know how this story ends.
These gatherings are intended as forums, not as lectures. CTTN and WHD readers will have an opportunity to share views, discuss their thoughts with each other, and ask questions. We also will have guest speakers who are experts in the fields of journalism, politics, national security, and the like.
This Friday's main topic will be "The Sovietization of America and How We Must Fight It," followed by a round-up of the week's news and exchange of ideas about how we could make our country normal again. A link to a video-conferencing platform will be provided at 4 pm Eastern Friday.
Look forward to a libation to liberty at The White House Dossier Happy Hour with you! ;-)
Rebekah
‘Bat Lady’ Of Chinese Military Collides With US Intelligence . . . The Chinese scientist responsible for overseeing research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that the US government is incorrect in stating that her lab engages in secret projects with the Chinese military. Dr. Shi Zhengli, known as the “bat lady” in China for her work on bat-based coronaviruses, gave the comments in response to a question from
World Health Organization advisory committee member Jamie Metzl during a seminar Tuesday hosted by Rutgers University. Metzl told the Daily Caller News Foundation following the seminar that Shi’s credibility would be destroyed if the US government can prove that the WIV was indeed collaborating with the Chinese military. Metzl added that since the Chinese government’s assertion that COVID-19 did not leak from the WIV rests almost entirely on Shi’s credibility, the lab leak
hypothesis would “become to seen as the most credible hypothesis.” Daily Caller
The Dubious Origins of Long Covid . . . ‘Long Covid,” or post-Covid syndrome, is an emerging condition that has attracted great media attention—and now federal funding. The National Institutes of Health last month announced a $1.15 billion initiative to research the “prolonged health consequences” of Covid-19 infection.
The topic deserves serious study. Some patients, particularly older ones with co-morbidities, do experience symptoms that outlast a coronavirus infection. But such symptoms can also be psychologically generated or caused by a physical illness unrelated to the prior infection. Long Covid is largely an invention of vocal patient activist groups. Legitimizing it with generous funding risks worsening the symptoms the NIH is hoping to treat. Analysis/ Opinion. Wall Street Journal
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Biden considers gun control executive orders . . . President Biden is considering possible executive orders on gun control after the mass shooting that killed 10 in Boulder, Colorado, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. “We are considering a range of levers, including working through legislation, including executive action,” Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight to Ohio. Psaki said “he as vice president
was leading the effort on determining executive actions that could be taken on gun safety measures, it’s something that he has worked on, he’s passionate about, he feels personally connected to.” New York Post
Democrats Point to Gun Legislation as Justification for Nuking Filibuster . . . Democrats are using the mass shooting in Colorado on Monday to renew their push to eliminate the filibuster and pass new gun control legislation. Prominent Democrats said the Senate must eliminate the filibuster in order to push through new gun control laws in response to the killings. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Rep. Jason Crow (Colo.), Rep. David Cicilline
(R.I.), Pennsylvania lieutenant governor candidate John Fetterman, and Pennsylvania Senate candidate Malcolm Kenyatta all called for the filibuster to end in the wake of Monday's attack. "Things won't get better until Democrats get rid of the filibuster and finally pass gun safety legislation that a huge majority of Americans support," Warren wrote on Twitter." Washington Free Beacon
Killing the filibuster becomes new ‘litmus test’ for Democratic candidates . . . Senate Democrats lack the votes right now to scrap the filibuster. The midterms may change that. In three of the most competitive Senate races, Democratic candidates are already campaigning on killing the Senate’s 60-vote requirement for most bills, placing the chamber’s arcane rules at the forefront of the nascent 2022 midterms. Those reform-minded Democrats are
running on voting rights legislation, a minimum wage increase and background checks for gun purchases, arguing that they're only possible through a simple majority vote in the Senate. If Democrats can expand their 50-seat majority by two or three seats, moderate Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) will no longer hold so much sway in a caucus increasingly interested in gutting the chamber’s supermajority threshold once and for all. Politico
Manchin says he doesn't support House-passed background check bill . . . Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Tuesday that he does not support House-passed legislation to expand background checks to all gun sales. "What the House passed? Not at all," Manchin said, when asked if he supports the legislation. The House passed two bills this month: one to extend the window for completing a background check before a gun sale and a second that
would extend background checks to all sales and transfers. However, the second bill provides exemptions including for transfers between family members, responding to an immediate threat or temporary transfer for hunting. Manchin, however, suggested he wanted a bill that provided a bigger carve-out for private sales between individuals who know each other. The Hill
No Gun Control Problem, but Idiot Control Problem: Sen. Kennedy . . . Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) suggested Tuesday that he doesn’t believe gun control bills are the solution to gun violence, saying what needs to be done is “idiot control” instead of “gun control.” “I don’t believe we have a gun control problem in America. I believe we have an idiot control problem,” Kennedy told reporters at the Capitol. “The objective should be to how to
control the idiots who abuse guns. The objective should not be—how to get rid of the Second Amendment.” Kennedy made the comments following a Colorado supermarket shooting that reportedly left at least 10 people dead on Monday. Epoch Times
VP Kamala Harris Repeatedly Fails To Salute Military On Air Force Two . . . Kamala Harris failed to salute the honor guard on Monday when boarding Air Force Two. Harris also failed to salute the honor guard on her earlier trips aboard Air Force Two on both March 15 and 16. Former Vice Presidents Mike Pence and Joe Biden have both returned salutes to the honor guard in previous years when boarding or disembarking from Air Force Two.
There is no official protocol for the president or vice-president when it comes to saluting military members outside the steps of Air Force One or Air Force Two. The tradition of returning a salute started in 1981 under President Ronald Reagan. Daily Caller
Unlike her regular practice of conducting calls with foreign leaders, Kamala's handlers forgot to include saluting the military in the training for the President-in-Waiting.
Kamala Harris to discuss “empowering women” with Bill Clinton . . . As announced by the Clinton Foundation, President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton will bring 600 student leaders from around the world together to take action on pressing challenges in their communities, for the 13th annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) meeting in partnership with
Howard University. President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton first announced Howard University would serve as the virtual host campus in October 2020 as part of the university’s Homecoming program. This is not satire. White House Dossier
Kamala Harris is insulting women by speaking with the man who staged sex acts in the Oval Office, and was credibly accused of sexual harassment and even rape, about empowering woman.
Trump congratulates Project Veritas on 'big win' against New York Times . . . Former President Donald Trump made a pitch Tuesday for Project Veritas while taking a swipe at one of his favorite media targets, The New York Times. His comments came after the venerable newspaper lost last week its motion in New York state court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by the undercover journalism organization.“I want to congratulate Project
Veritas on their big win on The New York Times,” Mr. Trump said in a video posted by Veritas. Washington Times
Bernie Sanders questions Trump removal from Twitter . . .
Bernie Sanders made the following comments to NYT columnist Ezra Klein during an interview: “Look, you have a racist, sexist, xenophobe, pathological liar, an authoritarian … a bad news guy. But if you’re asking me do I feel particularly comfortable that the then president of the United States could not express his views on Twitter? I don’t feel comfortable about that … Because of anybody who thinks yesterday it was Donald Trump who was banned and tomorrow it could be somebody else who
has a very different point of view. So I don’t like giving that much power to a handful of high tech people . . . ” White House Dossier
Even socialists sometimes make sense.
Trump Hotels dropped by global luxury travel agency network . . . Global luxury travel network Virtuoso has dropped Trump Hotels as a preferred partner. “Trump Hotels are no longer part of the Virtuoso network,” spokeswoman Misty Belles said in a statement to the Washington Post. The network of travel agencies said the decision became effective on March 8 and applies to six Trump-owned hotels that were considered partners of the
network. Washington Examiner
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Republicans Slam Biden for Neglecting Nuclear Modernization . . . House Armed Services Committee Republicans slammed the Biden administration for its inaction on America’s aging nuclear stockpile as China and Russia build up their own arsenals.
Ranking member Mike Rogers (R., Ala.) and 22 other Republicans pushed President Joe Biden in a Tuesday letter to retain and upgrade key pieces of America’s nuclear weapons technology, saying that failing to do so would mark a "fatal" mistake for America’s national security. The letter comes as House Republicans organize a new effort to maintain high levels of defense spending enacted under the Trump administration. The left flank of the Democratic caucus has called for major cuts to
the defense budget by the Biden administration in favor of an ambitious domestic spending agenda. Washington Free Beacon
Whom, do you think, Putin - who presides over the world's largest nuclear arsenal (including countless tactical nukes) and views US/NATO as Russia's primary security threat - prefers as US President, Trump or Biden?
North Korea conducts first missile test since Biden took office . . . North Korea conducted a short-range missile test over the weekend, the first such launch since President Biden’s inauguration two months ago. In a background call with reporters Tuesday, two senior administration officials confirmed North Korea tested a “short-range system” over the weekend, but declined to provide additional details. The officials downplayed the
test as “normal military activity” by North Korea, saying the weapons system was not one that is covered by United Nations sanctions. The Hill
Pentagon Criticized for Wrong Priorities Amid China Threat . . . A Defense Department order on Feb. 5 to root out “extremists” in the ranks of the U.S. armed forces has drawn fire from the first Green Beret to serve in Congress, and senior officers from prior administrations agree with his concerns. “When the Chinese Navy is five times bigger than ours, when China is stealing our tech right and left, and putting more assets in space,
where does the Secretary of Defense see our priorities?” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) told The Epoch Times. “My concern is the message this memo sends.” President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed unit commanders on Feb. 5 to conduct a leadership “stand-down” within 60 days to address the issues of extremist ideology in all branches of service. Epoch Times
China and Russia are delighted that the Pentagon is on a wild goose chase for enemies within, rather than paying attention to external security threats and modernizing US military.
Support for border wall surges as border 'crisis' intensifies . . . Americans are increasingly saying, “Build the wall.”
A majority of voters now say they want the government to finish construction of former President Trump’s border wall, according to polling from the Senate Opportunity Fund, which also found Americans itching for a tougher approach to illegal immigration than President Biden is taking. They see the migrant surge as a “crisis” and blame Mr. Biden for causing it, the poll showed. By a large margin — 71% to 19% — voters said they want the Biden administration to get tougher on illegal
immigration. Washington Times
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Capitalism, greed gave Britain its vaccine success, PM Johnson says . . . Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a closed meeting with lawmakers attributed COVID-19 vaccine success to capitalism and greed, a remark that could rile up Brussels at a time when Britain faces an EU threat to block vaccine imports. “The reason we have the vaccine success is because of capitalism, because of greed my friends,” The Sun newspaper quoted Johnson as
telling Conservative lawmakers on a Zoom meeting on Tuesday evening. Johnson then tried to row back and said: “Actually I regret saying it” and asked lawmakers repeatedly to “forget I said that”. Reuters
Seems that even the British Trump now fears the cancel culture. Johnson's statement, that he immediately tried to walk back, is right on the money - capitalism, - plus, I would add, the all-American can-do attitude - are the reason why, armed with the Western-developed vaccine, we can now win the fight against the Chinese virus.
Why Nigerian Children Keep Getting Kidnapped: A Brutal Business Model That Pays . . . Child abduction has become a routine and brutal business in Africa’s most populous country. Since December, heavily armed criminal gangs have abducted and ransomed more than 800 schoolchildren. Hundreds of school campuses have been closed across four states for fear of more attacks, leaving close to 15 million Nigerian children out of school—more than
any other country in the world. “Kidnap for ransom has become so normalized and institutionalized that it now bears the mark of legal enterprise,” said Bulama Bukarti, a security analyst. It is even more lucrative, when it comes to children, he said. Criminal gangs are earning millions of dollars by taking schoolchildren hostage, sometimes cooperating with Boko Haram, further destabilizing countries in the region. Wall Street Journal
Netanyahu's future may hinge on rightist rival, Islamist in ballot stalemate . . . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prospects for another term looked uncertain on Wednesday after partial results from Israel’s fourth national election in two years projected no clear path to victory. Though an official result was still hours - or days - away, with about 88% of votes counted, it appeared that Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud,
would have to cobble together an unlikely coalition that might include Jewish ultra-Orthodox, ultra-nationalist and Arab parties to secure another term. Barring any surprises from the remaining uncounted votes, the electoral landscape raised the likelihood of yet another national ballot. Reuters
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Yellen says tax rises needed to fund Biden infrastructure plan . . . Janet Yellen, the US Treasury secretary, said tax increases would be required to fund the next stages of the Biden administration’s economic agenda involving roughly $3tn in new spending on infrastructure, clean energy and education. In testimony before the House financial services committee on Tuesday, Yellen faced criticism from Republican lawmakers who objected
to raising taxes on corporations and wealthy households to pay for the large-scale spending. Financial Times
Unusual Leap in Gas Prices Puts $3 a Gallon in Sight . . . The prospect of summer drivers crowding U.S. highways is powering steep gains in the price of gasoline, a sign of economic recovery and a boon for the pandemic-ravaged energy industry. Lifted by oil’s recovery and growing consumer demand, gasoline prices at pumps in the U.S. hit an average of $2.88 a gallon over the past week, according to the AAA. That marks a 30% increase over
this time last year. Some analysts see further gains ahead. Prices tend to climb closer to summer, when millions of Americans drive to vacation spots and petroleum refiners blend costlier fuel that won’t evaporate in the heat. Wall Street Journal
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Details about Boulder shooting suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa: More details are emerging about the 21-year-old alleged suspect who killed 10 people, including a police officer, during a mass shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store this week. The suspect allegedly bought the firearm Ruger AR-556 used in the attack six days earlier, and was known by former classmates to be short-tempered and paranoid, according to reports and an
arrest affidavit released Tuesday. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, from the Denver suburb of Arvada, was booked into Boulder County Jail on Tuesday after receiving treatment for a gunshot wound. He has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder. Fox News
DOJ 'unlikely' to represent FBI officials sued by Carter Page for Russiagate misconduct . . . James Comey and a current FBI intelligence analyst Brian Auten have already hired their own private lawyers for civil case after the Justice Department informs them they are on their own. The DOJ has informed current and former FBI officials sued by Russia probe target Carter Page that it is unlikely to represent them in the
civil case. Ordinarily, DOJ represents its employees sued by civilians over their official duties. But court records show the Justice Department has not committed to doing so in this case and told the court as recently as last week it "does not currently represent any of the individual capacity defendants." Just the News
The Latest Left-Wing Anti-American Lie: ‘Anti-Asian Racism’ . . The leftist media's portrayal that America is reeling from the latest expression of white supremacy: Anti-Asian racism a lie. It's purpose is to further divide Americans by race and ethnicity, among other goals. There is not a shred of evidence that in the recent attacks in Atlanta, the Asian Americans were killed because they were Asian. The 150% increase in
anti-Asian American hate crimes is cited by the left-wing media based on a study, according to which the number of anti-Asian American incidents rose from 49 in 2019 to 122 in 2020. So, the entire edifice of hate against Asian Americans is predicated on an alleged increase of 73 incidents.
Given that there are about 330 million Americans, and assuming a different American was responsible for each of the 122 anti-Asian incidents, that would mean that 1 in every 2,704,918 Americans committed an anti-Asian incident. And “incident” includes perceived slights. As regards violent acts against Asian Americans, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics from September 2019, blacks have committed the greatest percentage of violent crimes against Asian Americans. But the
mendacious media do not report that. Daily Signal
Baker who refused to make wedding cake for a same-sex couple in court again . . . A Colorado baker who won a partial victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 for refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple went on trial Monday in yet another lawsuit, this one involving a birthday cake for a transgender woman. Autumn Scardina attempted to order the birthday cake on the same day in 2017 that the high court announced it would hear
baker Jack Phillips' appeal in the wedding cake case. Scardina, an attorney, requested a cake that was blue on the outside and pink on the inside in honor of her gender transition. Her lawsuit is the latest in a series of cases around the U.S. that pit the rights of LGBTQ people against merchants' religious objections, an issue that remains unsettled by the nation's top court. USA Today
It's not sufficient for the leftists to have their freedom to believe in their progressive ideology. Now, they want to deprive the rest of us of our freedom by forcefully converting everyone into their, more "superior" ideology. As in the totalitarian socialist USSR, only one ideology, the "correct" one has a place in a progressive state.
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The Real Victims of Cancel Culture Finally Speak Out! . . . Mr. Potato Head, Gina Carano, Kermit the Frog, Pepe Le Pew and The Land-O-Lakes Lady finally fight back against cancel culture and tell their side of the story! Oh... and Andrew Cuomo too. Satire. Babylon Bee
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Rebekah
Rebekah Koffler
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