Wednesday, June 12, 2024

June 12, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Hunter Biden to use Second Amendment to appeal gun charges conviction . . . Hunter Biden's conviction on federal gun charges Tuesday ignited a feverish debate, including among conservatives, over the constitutionality of the law he was found guilty of violating. Thanks to a 2022 Supreme Court ruling, courts are taking a new look at the federal government's main gun control law that bars felons, illegal immigrants, dishonorably discharged veterans, fugitives and unlawful drug users, among others, from possessing a firearm. Hunter Biden's attorneys raised the issue to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before the trial and were told they would have to wait for a final judgment from the trial court. Washington Times

Would President Biden support such an appeal? Is the Second Amendment a good thing for the left when it's useful to them?

After expensive first class flight from Europe, Jill Biden is late for court and misses verdict

Biden stages photo op hugging Hunter . . . President Biden arranged an airport photo op in a public show of support for his son Hunter on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the 54-year-old's conviction on three federal gun charges. The 81-year-old president made a midweek, mid-workday trip to Wilmington, Del., and was greeted by Hunter Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen and their 4-year-old son Beau on the tarmac of the airport of the Delaware Air National Guard. The president hugged and spoke to Hunter for several minutes in full view of the traveling press pool, including photographers, videographers and reporters for major print, radio and TV outlets. New York Post

Ex-Trump attorney: Joe Biden unlikely to commute Hunter's sentence . . . Former Trump attorney Tim Parlatore said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden likely will not commute Hunter's sentence because it would strip his son's right to appeal the guilty verdict. Parlatore said on "CNN Newsroom" that Hunter will likely not face a jail term anyway. Daily Caller

Politics

Pelosi said 'I take responsibility' on Jan. 6 as she discussed National Guard absence . . . A previously unreleased video taken on Jan. 6, 2021 shows then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., saying she takes "responsibility" for law enforcement's lack of preparedness when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol that day. The video that appears to show a frustrated Pelosi being evacuated from the Capitol complex and in intense conversation with Chief of Staff Terri McCullough about how the evacuation was conducted. "We have responsibility, Terri. We did not have any accountability for what was going on there. And we should have," Pelosi says in the video. Her aide appeared to reply that Capitol security did believe they were prepared, to which Pelosi continued, "They clearly didn't know, and I take responsibility for not having them just prepared for more." Fox News

Merrick Garland's to face House contempt vote . . . The House of Representatives is expected to vote on holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress on Wednesday over his failure to produce audio recordings of Special Counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Biden. Hur's findings cleared Biden of wrongdoing in his handling of classified documents but also said the 81-year-old president presented himself "as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" and "it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him-by then a former president well into his eighties-of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness." Fox News

So if he is held in contempt of Congress, will he go to jail like Peter Navarro and, possibly, Steve Bannon?

House Republicans tee up anti-woke amendments to defense bill . . . The Republican amendments getting votes include one from Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas to repeal a 2022 Pentagon memorandum that authorized paid leave and reimbursement of travel costs for service members seeking abortions. Another, from Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, would ban military health plans from covering hormone treatments for transgender individuals or sex reassignment surgeries.Other Republican amendments granted votes would ban drag shows, "radical gender ideology or pornographic material," and promotion of critical race theory. Washington Times

Nancy Mace eludes McCarthy's revenge bid . . . Rep. Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican who voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the House speakership last year, is projected to win the GOP primary in her state's 1st District, according to the Associated Press. Mace was one of the eight House Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy from the speakership, prompting the then-congressman to vow revenge and promise to work to oust them from Congress. Mace's primary race presented McCarthy's first chance at retribution, an effort that failed. Washington Post

Sam Brown wins Nevada Senate primary to take on Jacky Rosen

Some abortion opponents worry about Trump's Republican platform rewrite . . . Donald Trump ran for president in 2016 on a Republican platform that called for a federal ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and a "human life amendment" to the U.S. Constitution that would give the fetus legal protections. Eight years later, Trump now calls for states, not the federal government, to decide on any limits on the procedure in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion. Washington Post

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International

Hamas leader proven to be sacrificing civilians . . . In dozens of messages that Yahya Sinwar has transmitted to cease-fire negotiators, Hamas compatriots outside Gaza and others, he's shown a cold disregard for human life and made clear he believes Israel has more to lose from the war than Hamas. In one message to Hamas leaders in Doha, Sinwar cited civilian losses in national-liberation conflicts in places such as Algeria, where hundreds of thousands of people died fighting for independence from France, saying, "these are necessary sacrifices." His ultimate goal appears to be to win a permanent cease-fire that allows Hamas to declare a historic victory by outlasting Israel and claim leadership of the Palestinian national cause. Wall Street Journal

Pope uses derogatory term for gays again, says they shouldn't be priests. . . Pope Francis has reportedly once again used the Italian word for "faggotry" when addressing a private meeting, a move likely to cause headaches for the Vatican press office and a case of whiplash for gay Catholic advocates who have long considered the pontiff an advocate. The Italian news service ANSA reported that on Tuesday, during a meeting with priests in the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome, Francis said "In Vaticano c'è aria di frociaggine" – meaning "In the Vatican, there is an air of faggotry." The meeting was considered private, and the pope did add that gay men can be "good boys," but that they shouldn't be let into seminaries. Crux

Newly-deciphered manuscript is oldest written record of Jesus' childhood . . . A newly-deciphered manuscript dating back more than 1,600 years has been identified as the earliest known account of Jesus Christ's childhood. The manuscript, written on papyrus in either the 4th or 5th century, had been stored at a library in Hamburg, Germany, for decades and was long believed to be an insignificant document. However, two experts have now decoded the text and say it is the earliest surviving copy of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. New York Post

Money

Biden administration to ban medical debt from credit reports . . . In a sweeping change that could improve millions of Americans' ability to own a home or buy a car, the Biden administration on Tuesday proposed a rule to ban medical debt from credit reports. The rule, announced by Vice President Kamala Harris and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra, comes as President Joe Biden beefs up his efforts to persuade Americans his administration is lowering costs, a chief concern for voters in the upcoming election. ABC News

Yes, but when more people default as a result, rates go up for everyone.

Culture

Only 19% of Biden voters say society benefits from marriage, having children . . . Very few supporters of President Joe Biden believe prioritizing marriage and having children is beneficial for society, polling from the Pew Research Center found. Only 19 percent of Biden voters say that "society is better off if people make marriage and having children a priority," compared to 59 percent of former President Donald Trump supporters and 39 percent of registered voters overall. The results come amid a singleness and loneliness epidemic among young people and as the United States continues to experience the lowest birth rate in a century. Breitbart

A rejection of Western values. Or pretty any society's values, for that matter.

'Most politically incorrect sheriff' in America speaks out . . . Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said he was at a national law enforcement conference when he was instructed to call people who are locked up "clients" instead of "inmates" to be more sensitive. "I looked at him like he had two heads because they are inmates, they're dirtbags, they're criminals. They're in jail for a reason," he said. "If you're a criminal, you're an idiot. That's just the best way I can put it. Nobody twisted your arm and told you to go break the law. You made that decision. You made that choice. So I don't have remorse for you." Fox News

Virginia school board sued after reinstating Confederate school names . . . The Virginia NAACP and five students are suing a school board that voted last month to restore the names of two schools previously named for Confederate leaders, saying the decision creates a discriminatory educational environment for Black students. The Shenandoah County School Board voted 5-1 last month to revert the name of Mountain View High to Stonewall Jackson High School. In addition, Honey Run Elementary School was renamed Ashby Lee Elementary School after Robert E. Lee and Turner Ashby. Washington Post

You should also know

AI systems are learning to lie and deceive, scientists find . . . Research has revealed concerning findings about AI systems known as large language models and their ability to deceive human observers intentionally. Two studies, one published in the journal PNAS and the other in Patterns, highlight the unsettling capabilities of LLMs. The PNAS paper, authored by German AI ethicist Thilo Hagendorff, suggests that advanced LLMs can exhibit "Machiavellianism," or intentional and amoral manipulativeness, which can lead to deceptive behavior. Washington Times

The threat from AI is not being taken seriously. Companies like Google and Microsoft are the biggest AI cheerleaders. That should tell you something right there.

Crime so bad at the beach, Hawaii police tell people to bring their valuables in the ocean . . . The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) warned beachgoers Saturday to take their valuables into the ocean rather than leave them on the beach, amid reports of rising crime. "For those enjoying the beach, don't leave valuables unattended on the sand. Instead, use a waterproof bag that you can take into the water with you," the HPD warned in a holiday message on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram ahead of the King Kamehameha I Day.

The HPD said over 160 thefts occurred in the popular beachfront neighborhood of Waikiki in April. Daily Caller

A day at the beach is no day at the beach anymore.

Guilty Pleasures

Denmark recalls Korean ramen for being too spicy . . . Denmark has recalled several spicy ramen noodle products by South Korean company Samyang, claiming that the capsaicin levels in them could poison consumers. Three fiery flavours of the Samyang instant ramen line are being withdrawn: Buldak 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken, 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken and Hot Chicken Stew. But the maker Samyang says there's no problem with the quality of the food. "We understand that the Danish food authority recalled the products, not because of a problem in their quality but because they were too spicy," the firm said. BBC

Scandanavians love two things: Socialism and bland food.

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