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Tuesday, July 11, 2023

House Judiciary Committee Reveals FBI Working to Censor Americans on Social Media

Just the News: The FBI pressured social media companies to crack down on the spread of so-called “Russian disinformation” on behalf of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), according to a report from the House weaponization panel, but evidence suggests that the Russians had infiltrated the group and used the censorship pipeline to suppress anti-Putin and pro-Ukrainian materials (Just the News). House Judiciary Committee: Based on a subset of subpoenaed documents, the report details how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) colluded with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)—an agency widely known to be infiltrated by Russian-aligned forces—by routinely sending social media platforms spreadsheets and other documents containing thousands of accounts to take down. In so doing, the FBI and SBU flagged authentic American accounts for removal, including a verified U.S. State Department account and those belonging to American journalists. The report also exposes how the FBI offered Facebook and Instagram legal cover to remove the SBU’s flagged accounts. The new information highlights the FBI’s unconstitutional role in enabling the SBU’s censorship regime and raises grave concerns about the FBI’s credibility, reliability, and competence as the nation’s premier law enforcement organization (House Judiciary Committee).

Bill Clinton-Appointed Judge Moves to Put Boys in Girl’s Bathrooms

Daily Caller: A judge appointed by President Bill Clinton blocked a Wisconsin school district Thursday from enforcing a policy that keeps boys from using the girl’s bathroom. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman granted a temporary restraining order against Mukwonago Area School District, blocking the district from implementing a policy adopted last month that requires students to use bathrooms and locker rooms on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The decision is in response to a lawsuit by a mother and her anonymous 11-year-old son, who identifies as a girl, which alleged that the policy was causing “emotional and mental” harm to the student (Daily Caller). Daily Wire: Meanwhile, it is more popular than ever for youth to adopt new gender identities. An estimated 300,000 minors aged 13 to 17 identified as transgender as of last year (Daily Wire).

Overwhelming Number of Americans Side with Supreme Court on Affirmative Action

National Review: When the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that the Constitution prohibits race-based affirmative action in college admissions, many Democrats in Congress attacked the legitimacy of the Court because of that decision. Americans support the decision by slightly more than a two-to-one margin: 59 percent approve, while 27 percent disapprove (National Review).

Biden is Prone to Shouting Expletives at His Staff: “No one is safe”

Axios: In public, President Biden likes to whisper to make a point. In private, he’s prone to yelling. Behind closed doors, Biden has such a quick-trigger temper that some aides try to avoid meeting alone with him. Some take a colleague, almost as a shield against a solo blast. The president’s admonitions include: “God dammit, how the f**k don’t you know this?!,” “Don’t f**king bullsh*t me!” and “Get the f**k out of here!” — according to current and former Biden aides who have witnessed and been on the receiving end of such outbursts. The private eruptions paint a more complicated picture of Biden as a manager and president than his carefully cultivated image as a kindly uncle who loves Aviator sunglasses and ice cream. Some Biden aides think the president would be better off occasionally displaying his temper in public as a way to assuage voter concerns that the 80-year-old president is disengaged and too old for the office. Senior and lower-level aides alike can be in Biden’s line of fire. “No one is safe,” said one administration official (Axios). National Review: As usual, if you are a member of the party that the media institution prefers, your flaws are covered in the most sympathetic light. Rahm Emanuel once mailed a decomposing two-and-a-half-foot fish to a pollster and gleefully stabbed a table with a steak knife, while declaring his political enemies to be dead (National Review).

SVB Financial Group Sues FDIC to for $1.9 Billion

Reuters: Bankrupt SVB Financial Group has sued the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) to recover the $1.93 billion that the regulator seized while it took over Silicon Valley Bank in March, a filing in a bankruptcy court on Sunday showed (Reuters). Financial Times: SVB Financial Group, a parent holding company, filed for bankruptcy in March after Silicon Valley Bank became the ward of the FDIC following a $42bn bank run. The FDIC in previous court appearances and court papers argued that it might have so-called offset rights to claim the parent company’s cash to satisfy potential liabilities. SVB Financial said it had yet to learn on what grounds the FDIC might assert any such rights. At issue between the two sides is who in the interim gets to possess the cash, leaving one party to submit a claim to the other over what portion it believes must be rightfully handed back. (Financial Times).

Disgraced Doctor Who Violated Hundreds of Girls Stabbed Multiple Times in

National Review: Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor who sexually assaulted hundreds of young women, was stabbed multiple times in a Florida prison on Sunday. An inmate stabbed Nassar twice in the neck, twice in the back, and six times in the chest. Nassar is in stable condition and is currently serving decades at the United States Penitentiary Coleman (National Review). Wall Street Journal: In December 2021, USA Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and their insurers agreed to fund a $380 million settlement with survivors of Nassar’s abuse. Michigan State University settled claims with survivors for $500 million in 2018. A slew of leaders resigned across those institutions after reports of missteps in responding to complaints about Nassar. Gymnasts have also filed a tort claim of $1 billion against the Federal Bureau of Investigation, saying the agency disregarded concerns raised about Nassar in 2015. The Justice Department began negotiations in the summer of 2022 to settle that case (Wall Street Journal).

Robert Downey Jr. Believes the World Should be Run by Women Because “Men start wars”

AP Entertainment: Robert Downey Jr. says working on “Oppenheimer” — Christopher Nolan’s film about development of the first nuclear weapons — confirmed his belief that “the entire planet should be a matriarchy” (Twitter). Daily Wire: He continued, “It’s arguable that we are less safe now than at the height of the Cold War. It’s a lot to take in, but I think that great films are meant to humble us to the point where we can have these sorts of dialogues to begin with” (Daily Wire).

Students at Brown University Who Identify as LGBTQ Triples Since 2010

Daily Mail: Almost forty percent of Brown University students are not straight, according to a survey which found the proportion who identify as LGBTQ+ has tripled since 2010. The poll found that 38 percent of students said they were not straight compared to just 13 percent 13 years ago. That new figure is more than five times the national rate. The survey carried out by student paper the Brown Daily Herald, also found that of those who identified as LGBTQ+, only 22.9 percent of students described themselves as homosexual – down from 46 percent in 2010 (Daily Mail). New York Post: Of the LGBTQ+ respondents, the most common orientation was bisexual at 53.7% (New York Post).

Turkey Relents, Accepts Sweden into NATO

Washington Post: Turkey has agreed to admit Sweden to NATO, the alliance’s secretary general said Monday, dropping months of opposition that had roiled Western governments trying to counter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Washington Post). Wall Street Journal: Sweden and Finland have both invested heavily in defense. Sweden also has the largest territory in northern Europe, allowing for transport of troops and equipment to Finland and the Baltic states. Finland shares the continent’s longest border with Russia. Both have a long coastline to the strategically important Baltic Sea. The delay in admitting Sweden to NATO has left the Nordic nation vulnerable to Russian sabotage and interference. Russia warned both Sweden and Finland, which joined NATO in April, that there would be consequences if they ditched their decadeslong nonaligned security policy and joined the alliance (Wall Street Journal).

10.

UN Finishes Pride Month with Stating Religion Discriminates Against LGBT People

Daily Signal: Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the United Nations’ independent “expert” on sexual orientation and gender identity, capped off “Pride Month” in June with his annual report to the Human Rights Council. The report addressed the conflicts between religious freedom and the rights of LGBT people to be “free from violence and discrimination.” Spoiler alert: Religious freedom loses. Madrigal-Borloz, a Costa Rican lawyer, has a long record of sacrificing religion on the altar of gender ideology, and this report is no exception. He claims, for instance, that laws influenced by “interpretations of religious dogma” often deny “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans and other gender-diverse persons the right to equality” (Daily Signal).