Month: January 2024

Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York will attempt to censure Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the chair of the House Republican Conference, over comments regarding the events of January 6, 2021.

Top Story: Ranked Choice Voting Disenfranchises Minorities, Though Favored by Left, Study Finds

Ranked Choice Voting Disenfranchises Minorities, Though Favored by Left, Study Finds

January 18, 2024January 17, 2024 Minnesota Sun Staff

Ranked choice voting, in which voters rank candidates on a ballot rather than choose one, may harm black and Native American voters disproportionately, according to a new study by a Princeton University professor.

Minority candidates also may be undercut by ranked choice voting, said Nolan McCarty, a professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and vice dean for academic assessment.

Top Commentary: The Intellectual Foundations of MAGA

TSNN Featured: Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones Announces Bill Banning Ranked Choice Voting

Feds Conceal Details About Anti-Ivermectin Campaign in Response to Doctors’ Reinstated Lawsuit

January 18, 2024 Just the News

The Food and Drug Administration wants to continue its selective promotion of off-label drug use: good for COVID-19 vaccines, bad for alternatives to those vaccines. It just doesn’t want the public to see its full reasoning for the latter.

The FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services filed a renewed motion to dismiss a lawsuit by doctors claiming the agencies have a practice of demonizing ivermectin by conflating its human and animal doses and using “command” language, such as “stop it,” to discourage using the anti-parasite drug against COVID.

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case Regarding Transgender Bathroom Policies in Schools

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in a case that could have potentially set a nationwide precedent on the question of transgender bathroom policies in school districts.

As ABC News reports, the case in question stems from an Indiana public school district, the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville, which is located about 30 miles southwest of Indianapolis. Most recently, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous order determining that biological females can use the male restroom, and vice-versa. A similar ruling was made by the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, while the appeals court in Atlanta ruled against such policies.

Alleged Foreign Agent Law Violations Loom over Hunter Biden as House Prepares to Depose Him

January 18, 2024 Just the News

The U.S. law firm that did work for Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings was encouraged by the Justice Department to register as a foreign agent for the same type of work that Hunter Biden did for the company while he was a board member. Burisma was not registered as a foreign agent at the time.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (Cravath) as part of its representation of Burisma and its founder, litigation partner John Buretta met with State Department officials and sent a letter directly to the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, according to Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings submitted earlier this month.

Experts Raise Concerns over History of CIA Director Overseeing Intel Push into China

National security experts are raising concerns over CIA Director William Burns’ previous involvement with a D.C. institution that employed numerous Chinese Communist Party members, in light of his efforts to reorient the agency toward addressing the threat from China.

Recent reports have shed light on the historic shift underway at the U.S.’ most expansive intelligence directorate to rebuild a network of human spies in China, and outpace Beijing’s adaptation to a rapidly changing technological environment. However, Burns previously headed a think tank that hired people and groups professing membership to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a fact that experts say raises red flags about Burns’ credibility.

Commentary: The Intellectual Foundations of MAGA

Republicans are dumb. They are easily led suckers, voting against their own best interests, manipulated by dangerous demagogues. This accusation is accepted as fact by most Democrat voters and is relentlessly reinforced by the media Democrats rely on. From MSNBC, Democratic strategist James Carville says Republicans “have a lot of stupid people that vote in their primaries.” From New York Magazine, “Is DeSantis Just Not Dumb Enough for Republicans?” From Vanity Fair, “Is the Sheer Stupidity of Republican Politics Breaking Through?”

Even some conservative columnists can’t criticize the Democrats without taking a shot at those stupid Republicans. Daniel Henninger, writing for the Wall Street Journal, characterized national politics this year as “The Stupid Party vs. the Evil Party.” As for the leader of the Republican Party, we have this from The New Republic, “Trump Is an Extremely Dumb Fascist.” And as James Carville said, “When stupid people vote, you know who they nominate? Other stupid people.”

Trump Holds Double Digit Lead in New Hampshire Days Ahead of Primary: Poll

Former President Donald Trump has a 16-point lead on the remaining Republican contenders in New Hampshire just days ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 23, according to a Wednesday poll.

Trump is ahead of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley 50% to 34% among likely voters in the Granite State, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received only 5% support and 6% of respondents remain undecided, according to a Suffolk University/Boston Globe/NBC-10 survey. The poll is the first survey that did not include conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy or former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, as they both have since dropped out of the race.

Commentary: DC Appellate Judges Use ‘Unprecedented Approach’ to Get Trump’s Twitter Files

January 18, 2024 Julie Kelly

In January 2023, two months after his appointment as special counsel, Jack Smith applied for a search warrant to obtain all of the data associated with Donald Trump’s long-dormant Twitter account. Smith sought not just public posts but direct messages, drafted and deleted posts, and the identity of any individual with access to the account. Smith also asked for “all users [Trump’s account] has followed, unfollowed, muted, unmuted, blocked, or unblocked, and all users who have followed, unfollowed, muted, unmuted, blocked, or unblocked” Trump’s account.

The application was stunning in scope with no justification as to why the government needed such a limitless trove of information—particularly one that clearly ran afoul of Trump’s right to assert executive privilege. So, Smith neatly settled that matter by additionally asking for a nondisclosure order that prevented Twitter from notifying Trump about the search warrant for 180 days.

Commentary: Combating the Federal Government’s Determination to Allow a Border Invasion

The invasion of illegal aliens on our southern border is getting worse by the day. Texas is at the forefront of this problem, comprising almost half of the nation’s border with Mexico. After years of failure by the Obama and Biden administrations, our state has finally decided to act to protect our citizens.

A new law was signed by the governor, making illegal immigration a state crime and empowering local and state law enforcement to carry out this new law. This should have happened years ago. The border crisis is not new. Inaction by the governor has continued to allow illegal aliens, including documented terrorists, into our state.

Louisiana Governor Orders State to Start Tracking Cost of Illegal Immigration for Taxpayers

The newly-inaugurated Governor of Louisiana has ordered all of the state’s agencies to start actively tracking the costs of illegal immigration, so the taxpayers of the state can know how much they are spending on illegals due to Joe Biden’s open-borders policies.

As reported by Breitbart, Governor Jeff Landry (R-La.) signed an executive order on Tuesday mandating such tracking efforts by every statewide agency, in order to better understand how to cut such costs. Every agency head must report their data directly to Landry’s office.

China’s Population Continues to Plummet as Beijing Scrambles to Find Solutions

China’s population is continuing to shrink despite Beijing’s thorough attempts to encourage more births, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

The Chinese population sharply declined by 2 million people in 2023, more than double the loss of the prior year, according to official data China’s government released on Wednesday. Beijing has tried to alleviate the crisis by scrapping its one-child policy and encouraging families to have more children, but those efforts have had little effect in stalling or reversing the decline.

DOJ Supreme Court Filing Reveals Details Inconsistent with DHS Narrative Blaming Texas for Migrant Drownings

January 17, 2024 ADN America

A new Supreme Court filing by the Department of Justice (DOJ) raises new questions that could help exonerate the Texas Military Department after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) English) accuse the state agency of allowing the deaths of three migrants who drowned in Shelby Park last week.

Both the White House and Biden’s Department of Homeland Security blamed state officials after three migrants, including two children, drowned in the Shelby Park area.

China Finishes Off Year with Sluggish Growth as Economy Fails to Recover

China’s economy grew at a rate of 5.2% in 2023, failing to return to the same growth of around 6% year-over-year that was common before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The year’s growth was an improvement on the even worse growth in 2022, which totaled just 3% for that year, and economists expect similar sluggish growth in 2024 unless a big policy change occurs, according to the WSJ. A number of different indicators added to the dismal report, including real growth in urban disposable income, which grew at just 4.8% in 2023 and was the lowest year since 2002, barring 2020 and 2022.

MN Top Story: Billionaire Bill Ackman Boosts Democrat Dean Phillips’ Presidential Campaign with $1 Million

January 17, 2024 Admin

Top Commentary: A Pointless Republican Primary

January 17, 2024 Admin

Billionaire Bill Ackman Boosts Democrat Dean Phillips’ Presidential Campaign with $1 Million

January 17, 2024January 16, 2024 Just the News

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is giving Rep. Dean Phillips a $1 million donation to boost the Minnesota Democratic congressman’s 2024 presidential primary bid against President Joe Biden.

Ackman, who has already made the maximum individual campaign donation of $3,300 to Phillips, said he plans on donating $1 million to We Deserve Better, a political action committee supporting Phillips, on Tuesday, according to a post the financier made over the weekend on X, formerly Twitter.

Congress Reaches Deal to Increase Child Tax Credit, Negotiate Tax Treaty with Taiwan

Congressional negotiators from the Senate and House of Representatives announced a deal on Tuesday to increase the child tax credit and negotiate a new bilateral tax treaty with Taiwan, among other matters.

The child tax credit was first enacted in 1997 to provide parents with greater funds to care for children under the age of 17 and was expanded in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act, though that expansion expired in 2022 and has not been reauthorized. The new deal — known as the “The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024” — reached between Democrats and Republicans in Congress will change the way the tax credit is calculated, increase the credit every year until 2025 and index it to inflation, according to a technical summary of the plan published by the House Ways and Means Committee.

TSNN Featured: Trump Leads Biden by 8 Points in First Georgia Poll Released Since Fani Willis Allegations

January 17, 2024 Admin

FAA Pushes to Hire People with ‘Severe Intellectual, Psychiatric’ Disabilities in the Name of Diversity

In a new statement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it intends to expand its push for diversity hires by hiring people who suffer from “severe intellectual” disabilities.

As reported by Fox News, the FAA’s website clearly states its intentions on the page for a hiring initiative focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The site says that “targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the Federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring.”

Art Dealer Told Congress That Joe Biden Called and Met Him While He Sold Hunter Biden’s Paintings

January 17, 2024 Just the News

The art dealer who sold Hunter Biden’s paintings told Congress that President Joe Biden both called and met him at the White House as he was pitching Hunter’s artwork and that the first son also made an unusual request to be informed about who bought his pieces, according to testimony that directly undercuts the White House narrative on the sales.

The Biden White House repeatedly told the public that Hunter Biden’s art sales were covered by an ethics agreement to ensure they were arms-length and that the first family — Hunter included — was blinded to the identity of buyers.

Commentary: Only Trump Can Save America

January 17, 2024 RealClearWire

I believed that Republican voters were ready for a new post-Trump chapter of the America First movement. I now believe I was wrong. Those of us who backed Ron DeSantis – or the other Republican candidates – should read the room. Former President Trump winnowed the field effortlessly and then crushed the remaining three candidates in Iowa. He leads in the polls everywhere else. It is time to coalesce and unite behind the clear preference of the GOP grassroots, Donald John Trump.

DFL Will Soon Have Monopoly of Appointees on Minnesota Supreme Court

January 17, 2024January 16, 2024 Minnesota Sun Staff

Justice G. Barry Anderson, the lone remaining Republican appointee on the Minnesota Supreme Court, announced his retirement last week after serving nearly 20 years as one of the state’s top judges.

Anderson notified Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday of his decision to step down from the court on May 10. Anderson turns 70 in October, the age of mandatory retirement that’s required by Minnesota statute.

Commentary: A Pointless Republican Primary

President Trump will almost certainly be the Republican nominee. He is far ahead in every primary poll. His supporters originally worried that he would be too polarizing and would go down in flames in the general election, but it appears he will also win the general election against incompetent, unpopular, and increasingly demented Joe Biden.

Indictments, lawfare, media propaganda, and phalanx-style opposition from the organs of conservatism have all been arrayed against Trump. He has also earned the contempt of the managerial class’s elite: the judges, the academics, and the think tankers, as well as the GS and SES class around Washington, D.C.

Commentary: Moderna Came Up with a Vaccine Against Vaccine Dissent

January 17, 2024 RealClearWire

Finances at the vaccine manufacturer Moderna began to fall almost as quickly as they had risen, as most Americans resisted getting yet another COVID booster shot. The pharmaceutical company, whose pioneering mRNA vaccine had turned it from small startup to biotech giant worth more than $100 billion in just a few years, reported a third-quarter loss last year of $3.6 billion, as most Americans refused to get another COVID booster shot.

In a September call aimed at shoring up investors, Moderna’s then-chief commercial officer, Arpa Garay, attributed some of the hesitancy pummeling Moderna’s numbers to uninformed vaccine skeptics. “Despite some misinformation,” Garay said, COVID-19 still drove significant hospitalizations. “It really is a vaccine that’s relevant across all age groups,” she insisted.

Senator James Lankford Commentary: The Abortion Industry’s ‘Very Safe’ Lie Is Putting Women at Very Big Risk

It sounds so simple. Take these pills, and your problem will be over—except, it isn’t. People do not forget an event so significant. A few months ago, social media went into a frenzy when Britney Spears shared that she was pressured by her boyfriend 20 years ago to take abortion pills. After two decades she still described the chemical abortion as “one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.” She is not alone.

The abortion industry has worked overtime to convince women that chemical abortions are “very safe”—even making the claim that they are safer than Tylenol. They attempt to conflate chemical abortions with contraceptive pills to push them on moms as a “safe” way to end a pregnancy. But the drugs used in a chemical abortion are far more dangerous.

New York Manufacturing Sees Biggest Plunge Since Pandemic Lockdowns

The index for New York state’s general business conditions fell by 29 points to -43.7 for January, with a negative number indicating a contraction, declining to the lowest point since May 2020 when the state was struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve of New York.

Accompanying the decline and contraction in general business conditions, shipments fell 25 index points, the number of unfilled orders remained high at -24.2 index points and the amount of inventory held shrank to -7.4 index points, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey conducted between Jan. 3 and 10. Despite poor current conditions, optimism about future activity levels by businesses increased, with the index rising 7 points but still remaining relatively low at 18.8 points, indicating that businesses expect an economic expansion in the coming months.

DOJ Attorney Playing Key Role in Jack Smith’s Prosecution of Trump Worked on Case That Put Pro-Life Activist in Jail

One of the prosecutors helping special counsel Jack Smith prosecute former President Donald Trump for alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election also worked on a high-profile case against a pro-life activist.

Molly Gaston, a prosecutor who spent years in the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney’s Office and is now playing a key role on Smith’s team, worked on the early stages of the prosecution of pro-life activist Lauren Handy. Handy had been in jail since August when she, along with four co-defendants, were found guilty of violating the Freedom of Access To Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for blocking access to a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic in 2020.

Gates Foundation Announces Intentions for Record-Breaking Donations in 2024