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Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Debt Ceiling Deal Gives a Blank Check to Democrats

Wall Street Journal: The debt-ceiling agreement, which Biden and McCarthy (R., Calif.) made final on Sunday, would suspend the borrowing limit for two years and curb government spending during that time. It would cut spending on domestic priorities favored by Democrats while boosting military spending by about 3%. It also would extend limits on food assistance to some beneficiaries to prod them to find jobs (Wall Street Journal). Rep. Ralph Norman: This “deal” is insanity. A $4T debt ceiling increase with virtually no cuts is not what we agreed to. Not gonna vote to bankrupt our country. The American people deserve better (Twitter). Ted Cruz: He’s right. There’s not “one thing” for Dems. There are $4 trillion things—a blank check—for Democrats. Plus 87,000 things: new IRS agents to harass Americans. All in exchange for eliminating virtually ALL of the House’s spending cuts (Twitter). Charlie Kirk: Mad about the debt ceiling deal? It’s the neocons who were holding this entire deal hostage. They refused to budge on any cuts to our woke military. We could have had a much better deal if we had a GOP willing to limit $ we send to countries that hate us (Twitter).

Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham for Recent Comments Made

Fox News: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is a wanted man in Russia for comments he made while visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday. Russia’s Interior Ministry put out a warrant for Graham’s arrest on Monday in response to an edited video released by Zelenskyy’s office in which Graham praised U.S. support for Ukraine’s defense and noted that Russians are dying as Ukraine fights for its freedom. In the video, Graham noted that “the Russians are dying” and described the U.S. military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent” (Fox News). Daily Wire: Graham also made an “offer” to Putin, alluding to how the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin for alleged war crimes during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will submit to jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court if you do,” Graham said. “Come and make your best case. See you in The Hague” (Daily Wire).

Senator Feinstein Confused Over VP Harris’ Role, Refuses to Retire Seat

Fox News: California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, was reportedly confused last year after observing Vice President Kamala Harris presiding over the Senate for a tie-breaking vote. Feinstein, 89, appeared unaware during one vote as to why Harris, who had previously broken numerous ties, was taking up her role as president of the Senate, according to a report from The New York Times. A witness included in the report said Feinstein allegedly asked colleagues, “What is she doing here?” With the Senate locked in a 50-50 majority split for the first two years of the Biden administration, Democrats needed every member of their party plus Harris’ tie-breaking vote to approve many bills and nominations (Fox News). Townhall: Her aides insist they have candid conversations with the Democrat about her future and continue presenting a press folder to her that’s now loaded with clippings about her failing health, opinion pieces calling on her to resign, and polls showing most voters in The Golden State want her to resign. Feinstein is adamant, however, that she can do the job until her term ends in 2025 (Townhall).

Kohl’s Caters the Woke Crowd, Gets Burned

Daily Mail: Kohl’s has become the latest retailer to receive backlash for catering to the ‘woke crowd’ after shoppers slammed their LGBTQ+ apparel for infants. The onesies with the LGBTQ+ pride flag on them, specifically tailored to June, which is known internationally as Pride Month, have even sparked calls for a store boycott (Daily Mail). End Wokeness: Looks like Kohl’s didn’t learn a thing from Bud Lite and Target (Twitter). Fox News: Kohl’s Corporation has seen its stock plummet over the last year, sinking by over 50% due to various worrying signs. In July 2022, the stock dropped almost 21% after the retailer revealed it had ended a potential deal to be acquired by Franchise Group and warned of a decline in sales exacerbated by a drop in consumer spending (Fox News).

Leaked Government Memo Shows How Biden is Forcing Wokeness on Government Employees

Daily Wire: Even a supposed federal government watchdog has gone radically woke, prompting harsh criticism from conservatives. A leaked October 2022 memo from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which examines government spending and is considered the supreme audit institution of the federal government of the United States, reveals the GAO barring employees from using terms for male and female. The memo was posted on the GAO intranet. “Because meaning and connotations can change rapidly, we should not rely solely on precedent (GAO or otherwise) but should consider consulting early in an engagement with individuals and groups who are within scope of the work,” the four-page memo states, offering “common alternatives to gendered terms” such as “artificial” instead of “man-made,” “crewed” as opposed to “manned,” and “workforce” as opposed to “manpower” (Daily Wire). Daily Mail: The ‘style guide’ demands an end to ‘non-inclusive terminology’ and said the GAO’s 3,100-strong army of bureaucrats should avoid ‘wording that diminishes anyone’s dignity’ (Daily Mail).

Bud Light Value Has Fallen $15.7 Billion Since April

National Review: Sales for the beleaguered beer company, Bud Light, have fallen for a sixth consecutive week following its partnership with transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Beer Business Daily, a trade publication, found that the volume of Bud Light sales had dropped by 28.4 percent in the second week of May, up from 27.7 percent the week prior. The consumer cutback on Bud Light has become so bad that one store is even reportedly offering cases of 24-packs – which normally retail close to $20 – for just $3.49 to offset some of the costs of inventory before the beverage expires (National Review). Investors Business Daily: The market value of Anheuser-Busch InBev, whose fourth bestselling brand is Bud Light, dropped $15.7 billion since April 1 (Investors Business Daily).

Target Loses $10 Billion in 10 Days

Daily Mail: Target has lost more than $10 billion in market capitalization in the span of 10 days – as it continues to face backlash for Pride-themed merchandise. Prior to the controversy – which stems over a LGBTQ-geared clothing campaign that touts ‘tuck-friendly’ bathing suits and pro-trans T-shirts for kids – Target shares were trading at $160.96, giving the retailer a market valuation of roughly $74.3 billion. By the time The New York Stock Exchange closed Friday, the blue-chip stock was trading at $138.93 – marking a market valuation of 64.2 billion, and loss of $10.1 billion (Daily Mail).

China Refuses to Meet with US Defense Chiefs

Wall Street Journal: China has rebuffed a U.S. request for a meeting between their defense chiefs on the sidelines of an annual security forum in Singapore this coming weekend, the Pentagon said, showing the limits of a tentative rapprochement between the two rival powers. China’s dismissal of the proposal also was termed an unusually blunt message, U.S. defense officials said. China’s decision comes after a weekslong effort by the U.S. to secure a meeting (Wall Street Journal). Bloomberg: The rejection is latest rebuff of US efforts to strengthen military communications with China, although the two nations are taking tentative steps toward getting bilateral ties back on track after an alleged Chinese spy balloon crossed US territory earlier this year (Bloomberg).

Jane Fonda Blames the Climate Crisis on White Men and Suggests They Should be Arrested

Outkick: At the Cannes Film Festival this week, actress Jane Fonda pinpointed the only logical cause of the alleged climate crisis — the patriarchy. “This is serious,” she said Saturday. “We’ve got about seven, eight years to cut ourselves in half of what we use of fossil fuels.” “Unfortunately, the people that have the least responsibility for it are hit the hardest — Global South, people on islands, poor people of color. It is a tragedy that we have to absolutely stop. We have to arrest and jail those men — they’re all men behind this” (Outkick). Fox News: Fonda’s climate activism also led to her arrest, alongside “Grace and Frankie” co-star Sam Waterston during an October 2019 demonstration outside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (Fox News).

10.

Two Lululemon Employees Fired After Calling Police on Shoplifters

Insider: Two former employees say they were fired from a Georgia Lululemon store for allegedly breaking company policy when they called the police to report a robbery at their store. Jennifer Ferguson and Rachel Rogers told local outlets they reached out to authorities after a group of robbers came to their store in Peachtree Corners, despite company policy that says employees should not intervene in robberies. Both women said they were fired over a Zoom call with regional Lululemon officials who said the company had a “zero tolerance policy” regarding the incident (Insider). Daily Wire: Police arrested the shoplifters the following day as they attempted yet another robbery and charged them with multiple felonies (Daily Wire).