Thursday, June 27, 2024

June 27, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

For Biden, the debate stakes couldn't be higher . . . Biden has had a raft of bad polls and a special counsel's report that made him sound like a doddering old man who was too feeble to be charged for mishandling classified documents, he mostly calmed them with his State of the Union performance. Biden will need to bring that kind of energy, or at least that type of expectations management, against Trump to stave off doubters. Biden has done well in big moments before. Washington Examiner

Biden has much more to lose during tonight's debate than Trump. A very bad moment, which is possible no matter how much amphetamine they poke his butt with, could cause Democrats to dump him from the ticket or force him to stand down.

Trump vows not to 'underestimate' Biden ahead of first presidential debate . . . Trump has called him "crooked Joe Biden," "sleepy Joe," and a list of other names. He's labeled Biden as the worst president in the country's history. Yet, ahead of Thursday's first presidential debate, Trump seems to be taking a more temperate approach, deeming Biden a "worthy" opponent and vowing not to "underestimate him" as a debater. "I assume he's going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater," Trump said about his expectations of Biden ahead of the debate. "I don't want to underestimate him." Washington Examiner

Trump's team is concerned that they have done too much to lower expectations for Biden, who at this point may seem victorious if he can stay awake for the entire debate.

Debate could put Trump's abortion stance to the test . . . Former President Trump's attempt to walk a political tightrope on abortion could be tested by Thursday's debate, which offers an opportunity for moderators — and President Biden — to try to pin him down on specifics of his policy. Trump has tread carefully on the explosive issue, as he and other Republicans try to placate their base without losing moderate Republicans and independents. The former president has settled on abortion as an issue for the states but has avoided talking about more details, including on the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. The Hill

Politics

Trump VP search appears to narrow to three . . . Behind closed doors, Mr. Trump has been primarily interested in Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, according to three people who have spoken to the former president in recent days and insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations. But Mr. Trump has befuddled some friends and advisers by continuing to solicit opinions on other contenders, including Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and former housing secretary during his administration, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. New York Times

Not a toss-up: Polling guru Nate Silver gives Trump 66% chance of winning 2024 race . . . Election prognosticator Nate Silver is no fan of Donald Trump, but he predicts that the former president will win the November election against President Biden, and what's more, it won't be particularly close. In his first 2024 presidential election model, the political statistics guru gave the presumptive Republican nominee a 65.7% chance of winning the Electoral College vote versus 33.7% for the Democrat Biden. Washington Times

Conservative group looking for bureaucrats who might undermine Trump presidency . . . The American Accountability Foundation (AAF), a right-leaning opposition research group, is sifting through the backgrounds, social media posts and comments of high-ranking government officials with the help of a $100,000 grant from the Heritage Foundation. The AAF, beginning with the Department of Homeland Security, is seeking to compile and publish a list of 100 federal employees who might be hostile to Trump's agenda, the outlet reported. Daily Caller

Supreme Court ducks red states' challenge to social media censorship . . . The Supreme Court avoided a major ruling on internet censorship Wednesday, ruling 6-3 that the states and social media users who sued the government didn't prove they had legal standing to bring the case. Missouri, Louisiana and five social media users argued that technology companies suppressed social media posts about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election at the urging of Biden administration officials in violation of their First Amendment rights. The ruling leaves the government free to lobby social media companies to elevate some views over others. Washington Times

"Blatantly unconstitutional": Alito writes blistering dissent

Squad's Cori Bush calls AIPAC a "threat to democracy". . . Embattled Squad member Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who is facing a tough primary in August, called the pro-Israel advocacy group AIPAC a "threat to democracy" in a social media post on Wednesday. She posted a statement on X saying, "Their far-right SuperPac and allies spent $20M to unseat my brother @JamaalBowmanNY." She accused AIPAC, of buying votes against Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a fellow "Squad" member who recently lost a primary by double-digits to Democrat Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Breitbart

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Culture

Federal guide on "inclusive language" tells bureaucrats not to say "daughter," "son" . . . The Department of the Interior published a guide to "inclusive language" that tells bureaucrats to avoid gendered terms like "husband," "son," and "daughter," and even instructs them to use the "they/them" pronouns for individuals rather than assume someone's gender. The 24-page document, called the U.S. Department of the Interior Inclusive Language Guide and published this month "for official use only," details what terms bureaucrats should use or avoid when discussing gender and sexuality. The guide includes a list of 104 different terms that Interior recommends bureaucrats replace with alternate, approved words. "Husband" and "wife," for example, should be replaced with "spouse, partner, significant other," Daily Wire

Texas mom claims she was kicked off United plane for misgendering flight attendant . . . A Texas woman traveling with her 16-month-old son and mother claims she was kicked off her flight home Wednesday after she accidentally misgendered a flight attendant. Jenna Longoria was boarding her flight around 9 a.m. at San Francisco International Airport when she said she slipped up and addressed the United crew member by the wrong pronoun multiple times. "When [the flight attendant], who identifies as a woman, gave me our boarding passes, I said, 'Thank you, sir.' That is it. That is it," Longoria said. New York Post

Not-so-friendly skies.

DEI programs toppled amid a surge of lawsuits . . . Right-leaning public interest groups have filed a barrage of federal lawsuits intended to dismantle long-standing corporate and government programs that consider race in awarding jobs and other perks, and their litigation already is eroding the use of affirmative action in an array of American institutions. One year after the Supreme Court struck down race-based admissions at Harvard and other schools, court rulings have forced the removal of racial preferences from two major covid relief programs, a federal contracting program that doles out $20 billion a year, and even the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency. Washington Post

National Security

Former Navy captain tells Congress of decades-long U.S. intelligence failures on China . . . U.S. intelligence agencies are guilty of multiple failures to address threats posed by China over the past 40 years, resulting in current existential dangers to American security, a former Navy intelligence director told Congress on Wednesday. Retired Navy Capt. James Fanell testified that the ruling Chinese Communist Party employed strategic deception and political warfare to fool both intelligence officials and executive branch policymakers into falsely assuming China posed no threat. "Over the course of decades, [China] effectively misled our executive branch to ignore the PRC as a rising existential threat," said Capt. Fanell. Washington Times

Give the PRC credit. This deception is truly awe-inspiring. For decades, politicians, academics, and business leaders all were convinced that China was our friend and that it was CINO - communist in name only.

International

Hong Kong says school children sang anthem too softly . . . Hong Kong officials have singled out at least two schools for singing the Chinese national anthem "too softly". Teachers at a third school have been asked to help students "cultivate habit and confidence" in singing it. Hong Kong has redoubled the emphasis on "patriotic" education since 2020 when China cracked down on the city's pro-democracy movement. Officials said students' voices at the Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Church Primary School were "soft and weak" and "should be strengthened". BBC

The Gaza famine that never was . . . New evidence indicates that, contrary to claims by top U.S. officials and international media, the Gaza Strip is not on the precipice of a widespread famine. "Famine is imminent" in northern Gaza, a network of Western governments, the United Nations, and nonprofit groups, warned in March, prompting unfounded accusations that Israel is using starvation as a war tactic. The report was quickly amplified by outlets like the Washington Post, which foretold "imminent famine" in Gaza. Politico, the New York Times, and CNN alleged Israel is guilty of war crimes. But on Tuesday, the group revised its initial assessment, saying that the projected famine in Gaza did not come to fruition in May. Washington Free Beacon

Bolivian police arrest leader of apparent coup attempt . . . Bolivian police have arrested the leader of an apparent attempted coup, hours after the presidential palace in La Paz was stormed by soldiers. One armoured vehicle attempted to smash down the entrance to the presidential palace. The military leader in charge, Gen Juan José Zúñiga, had said he wanted to "restructure democracy" and that while he respected President Luis Arce "for now", there would be a change of government. He was later arrested. BBC

Money

Prospect of low-priced Chinese EVs reaching US from Mexico poses threat to automakers . . . . It's a scenario that terrifies America's auto industry. Chinese carmakers set up shop in Mexico to exploit North American trade rules. Once in place, they send ultra-low-priced electric vehicles streaming into the United States. As the Chinese EVs go on sale across the country, America's homegrown EVs — costing an average of $55,000, roughly double the price of their Chinese counterparts — struggle to compete. Factories close. Workers lose jobs across America's industrial heartland. Associated Press

You should also know

World confronts underpopulation . . . In high-income nations, fertility fell below replacement in the 1970s, and took a leg down during the pandemic. It's dropping in developing countries, too. India surpassed China as the most populous country last year, yet its fertility is now below replacement. "The demographic winter is coming," said Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, an economist specializing in demographics at the University of Pennsylvania. Wall Street Journal

Don't you miss overpopulation, the left-wing crisis of days past? Keep that in mind when you are "informed" with condescending certainty of some things, like that the temperature is rising and the sky is falling. BTW, eggs are good for you now.

Tucker Carlson spars with 'stupid' reporter about immigration . . . Tucker Carlson asked how the media could have "people this stupid" after he tore into a reporter's "absurd" and "disingenuous" questions Tuesday in Canberra, Australia. Australian Associated Press reporter Kat Wong said that Carlson has "talked" about the "Great Replacement Theory" on his show regarding how "white Australians, Americans, and Europeans" are being replaced by "nonwhite immigrants." "Whites are being replaced? I don't think I said that," Carlson pushed back. "Well, it's been mentioned on your show 4,000 times," she said. "Really? When did I say that whites are being replaced?" he responded. Washington Examiner

Guilty Pleasures

Truck carrying 8 tons of avocados overturns in California . . . A box truck carrying a load of avocados overturned on northbound U.S. Highway 101 in San Mateo early Monday morning, blocking several lanes of traffic and impacting the morning commute. The California Highway Patrol said the truck was carrying at least 16,000 pounds of avocados when it collided with two other vehicles and flipped over at about 3:40 a.m. on northbound 101 near the 3rd Ave. exit. CBS News

In other news, the price of Cobb salads increased by 10% overnight.

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