Thursday, September 12, 2024

September 12, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Google whistleblower says "free and fair election" is an illusion . . . Senior research psychologist and Google critic Dr. Robert Epstein told popular podcast host Joe Rogan on Wednesday that a "free and fair election" is an "illusion" now, warning about the rise of the "technological elite." In June 2019, Epstein addressed Congress over his concerns that Google not only poses a "serious threat to democracy and human autonomy," but also advising how the lawmakers could "end Google's worldwide monopoly on search." Appearing on the "Joe Rogan Experience," Epstein explained his belief that there hasn't been a "free and fair election" nationally since 2012, because tech has been used to manipulate public opinion. Daily Caller

Conservatives already run for office with one hand tied behind their backs because the media hate them.

Politics

Commission on Presidential Debates co-chair: ABC moderators were the worst ever . . . Commission on Presidential Debates Co-Founder and Co-Chair Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., who also was Chair of the RNC, stated the performance by moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis was "the worst performance that I've seen" and that they "clearly were oversized, I think, on the way they treated" 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump and "bent backwards to help" 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. Breitbart

Pro-Harris super PAC to invest heavily in ads targeting women on abortion in swing states . . . A major Democratic super PAC is investing heavily in abortion messaging in battleground states. American Bridge 21st Century released its latest round of TV and digital ads on Thursday — airing in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan and backed by $15 million buy — focused entirely on contrasting Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on abortion. The ads, exclusively obtained by POLITICO, hammer Trump for nominating the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. Politico

Trump sells himself as a 'leader' on IVF, angering some Republicans . . . It's a pitch designed to win back the moderate women who have moved away from Trump and neutralize Democratic attacks on his record on reproductive health that have dogged the GOP since the fall of Roe v. Wade more than two years ago. But the proposal is alienating two pillars of the Republican Party: small-government deficit hawks outraged by the idea of a sweeping new federal mandate and religious conservatives who oppose IVF as commonly practiced in the U.S. Politico

He's not going to win over those who base their vote on support for abortion. But some critical conservative voters will stay home because he is touting his position on IVF.

337K Taylor Swift referrals have come to vote.gov . . . More than 330,000 visitors have flocked to vote.gov by way of pop superstar Taylor Swift's postdebate endorsement of Vice President Harris, according to the General Services Administration. A GSA spokesperson said 337,826 visitors had been referred to the voter information website through Swift's custom link as of 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday. Vote.gov offers details on voting rights, requirements and registration but does not directly register voters. The Hill

It's doubtful many of them will do more than click on a link. Taylor's young fans like clicking on links.

JD Vance tears into Taylor Swift after she backs Kamala Harris . . . Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance called pop superstar Taylor Swift a "disconnected" billionaire Wednesday, one day after she endorsed the Democratic president ticket. "We admire Taylor Swift's music, but I don't think most Americans, whether they like her music or are fans of hers or not, are going to be influenced by a billionaire celebrity who I think is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans," the senator said. New York Post

Kamala Harris owns a gun . . . Vice President Kamala Harris surprised many viewers during Tuesday's presidential debate when she mentioned, almost in passing, this tidbit: She's a gun owner. Ms. Harris defended her Second Amendment position after former President Donald Trump suggested she was a radical who wanted to confiscate Americans' guns. "Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We're not taking anybody's guns away," Ms. Harris said, referring to her running mate, the governor of Minnesota. "So stop with the continuous lying about this stuff." Washington Times

Election officials warn USPS about issues with voting . . . A group of state and local election officials voiced concerns Wednesday regarding the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) capacity to efficiently handle the delivery of millions of ballots for the 2024 presidential election. The National Association of State Election Directors and other officials wrote a letter to Postmaster Louis DeJoy expressing concerns about USPS' operations, such as processing delays, lost or delayed election mail and insufficient training that could impact the timely and accurate delivery of election mail. Daily Caller

An election, and the US Postal Service. What could go wrong?

Culture

Biden DEI officials making nearly $200K per year . . . Constance Mayer, who served as the acting chief Diversity and Inclusion officer until April of this year, raked in $194,510 annually, according to financial disclosures published by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The State Department's Special Representative for Racial Justice and Equity, Desiree Cormier Smith, makes $191,900 each year, the disclosures show. The officials draw far more than the average State Department employee, who makes around $100,000 or less, depending on post and tenure. Washington Free Beacon

Millions - hundreds of millions? - are being paid to DEI "experts" by the government, colleges, businesses, and others. A whole new industry.

Red State Supreme Court delivers crushing blow to school choice program . . . The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state's school choice program is unconstitutional, affecting the status of 2,880 education scholarships that have already been partially doled out. In a 3-2 decision, the court ruled that the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program, which issued payments to lower- and moderate-income families that could be used to send children to better public and private schools, violated the state constitution's ban on granting funding for the "direct benefit" of private schools. Daily Caller

This happened in South Carolina??

National Security

Chinese company lobbying to quash major national security bill . . . As the Senate prepares to review tough-on-China legislation, a Pentagon-designated "Chinese military company" is working overtime to torpedo a bill aimed at protecting American data from falling into the hands of Beijing. Chinese-owned drone manufacturer Da Jiang Innovations (DJI) is the lead sponsor of The Drone Advocacy Alliance (DAA), an organization that carried out an extensive constituent mobilization campaign during August's congressional recess, calling on citizens who use drones to contact their representatives to voice opposition to the "Countering CCP Drones Act." The House voted overwhelmingly to pass the legislation on Monday. Daily Caller

Iran turns to Hells Angels and other criminal gangs to target critics . . . Iran's alleged reliance on criminals rather than covert operatives underscored an alarming evolution in tactics by a nation that U.S. and Western security officials consider one of the world's most determined and dangerous practitioners of "transnational repression," a term for governments' use of violence and intimidation in others' sovereign territory to silence dissidents, journalists and others deemed disloyal. Washington Post

Venezuelan gang expands reach into the US . . . Founded in a Venezuelan prison where it ran a zoo, swimming pool, disco, restaurant and bar, the Tren de Aragua has grown into a fearsome transnational criminal force in less than a decade—"MS-13 on steroids," as one federal official put it, referring to the Central American gang that is entrenched in many U.S. communities. The specter of crime caused by immigrants has become a major theme in the presidential campaign, with former President Donald Trump calling out "migrant crime" repeatedly. Wall Street Journal

International

US businesses pulling back from China. . . Many global businesses are pushing China down on their list of investment destinations and consolidating operations in the country, citing slower growth and diminishing profits. The gloomy investment trend was the focus of twin reports this week from the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. "The risk of doing business in China has gone up in the past few years and at the same time the market is slowing down," said Eric Zheng, president of the U.S. group. Wall Street Journal

Money

Harris tax plan could pulverize nearly 1 million US jobs . . . Vice President Kamala Harris's tax plan would effectively vaporize nearly 800,000 full-time equivalent jobs, according to studies published by the Tax Foundation Tuesday. Harris' proposals, including hiking corporate taxes to be among the highest in the developed world, would lower employment by roughly 786,000 full-time equivalent jobs, and reduce long-run gross domestic product (GDP) and wages by 2% and 1.2% respectively. Meanwhile, Trump's proposals, including a 60% tariff on China, would lower employment by approximately 387,000 full-time equivalent jobs, lower long-run GDP by 0.2% and increase long-run wages by 0.6%. Daily Caller

You should also know

Biden admin force to drop nearly half of obstruction charges for Jan. 5 defendants . . . The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped nearly half of pending obstruction charges against Jan. 6 defendants since the Supreme Court issued a major ruling in June, according to recent data. The Supreme Court ruled in June that in charging Jan. 6 defendants, the DOJ had interpreted too broadly a statute that carries up to 20 years in prison for anyone who corruptly "obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding." Since the Fischer v. United States ruling, around 60 of 126 defendants had the pending obstruction charges dropped. Daily Caller

Jon Bon Jovi helps talk woman off pedestrian bridge ledge while shooting music video . . . The video shows Bon Jovi and a production assistant walking along the bridge, which spans the Cumberland River between downtown Nashville and Nissan Stadium, and greeting the woman on the ledge. The musician leans against the rail. The production assistant begins talking to the woman before Bon Jovi joins in. The woman then turns toward Bon Jovi and the production assistant, and they help her over the railing. Once safe, the woman and Bon Jovi face each other, and the Grammy-winning singer hugs her before the group walks away. The Tennessean

So the video was that bad?

Guilty Pleasures

Biden briefly dons a Trump hat.

Trump War Room

@TrumpWarRoom

🚨BREAKING: Kamala did so bad in last night's debate, Joe Biden just put on a Trump hat.

3:9 PM • Sep 11, 2024

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Give him a little credit for having a sense of humor about it all . . . or perhaps there's a little bit of malice after having been dumped by his oldest friends.

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