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Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Chicago Introduces a Plan to Address Crime by “re-envisioning the role of a police officer”

Washington Examiner: Chicago’s crime problem is notoriously bad. And, over the past few years, it has only become more severe. Crime has spiked 88% since 2021 and there are no indications the trend will be reversing any time soon. Even worse, Chicago’s new mayor, Brandon Johnson, just released a 223-page report titled “A Blueprint for Creating a More Just and Vibrant City for All” that included a truly disastrous “public safety” plan. The plan, which was inspired by a “struggle rooted in black liberation,” contains no recommendations to increase enforcement of crimes. Instead, it proposes getting rid of a gang database because of “racial disparities,” issuing an acknowledgment of harm toward black and Hispanic residents of the city, “re-envisioning the role of a police officer,” and providing mental health services — rather than actual safety — in communities that are “over-policed.” Even that framing of the problem being “over-policed” communities rather than neighborhoods with too much crime indicates that the plan’s focus is not really on taking decisive action to reduce crime (Washington Examiner).

NATO Declines Ukraine’s Membership Until Requirements are Met

Wall Street Journal: NATO declined to offer Ukraine a clear path to membership, disappointing Kyiv, which regards the alliance as crucial to deterring Russian aggression. More than 15 years after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization first offered Ukraine a promise of membership, members resisted pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his boosters in the alliance to say when and how the country would join. NATO instead offered a package of financial and political support that alliance officials said would boost Kyiv’s membership bid. Ukrainians hail NATO membership as crucial to stopping future Russian attacks after the current hostilities end (Wall Street Journal). Bloomberg: NATO members pledged to invite Ukraine to join the bloc “when allies agree and conditions are met” and to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles in order to speed up the process (Bloomberg).

White House Refuses to Promote Military Based on Merit, Rather DEI

Daily Wire: President Joe Biden’s administration is fighting back against a new provision in the annual defense spending bill that would require military promotions to be based solely on merit rather than considering race or gender. The White House responded to the proposed NDAA in a statement, outlining a number of provisions the administration opposed – from the potential creation of a Space Force National Guard to the attempt to roll back some of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies that Biden had enacted at the beginning of his presidency. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) called the White House’s rebuff of the provisions he wrote — both the merit clause and the clauses repealing Biden’s DEI initiatives — a “badge of honor,” adding, “Wokeness is a cancer that will destroy our military from the inside out if we don’t stop it” (Daily Wire).

Questions Continue to Arise About the Cocaine Found Near the Situation Room of the White House

Katie Pavlich: President Joe Biden is in Lithuania for the 74th NATO Summit. Back at the White House in Washington D.C., the Secret Service is still trying to find out who left a bag of cocaine just outside of the Situation Room nearly two weeks ago. The bag has been reportedly sent to an FBI lab for analysis (Townhall). Collin Rugg: The Biden White House appears to be engaged in a cover up after cocaine was found at the White House after Hunter Biden’s recent visit. According to Republican Rep. Pat Fallon, the Biden White House is refusing to hand over information relating to finger prints on the bag of cocaine (Twitter). RNC Research: “Do you have any update on the investigation into the cocaine at the White House?” Karine Jean-Pierre: “I don’t have any updates … I just don’t have anything updated” (Twitter).

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Staff Occasionally Asked Institutions to Buy Her Books

Washington Examiner: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s staff has often nudged public institutions, including colleges and libraries, to purchase her memoir or children’s books, according to an Associated Press report that conducted more than 100 open records requests. Sotomayor, 69, has amassed at least $3.7 million in book sales since she joined the court in 2009. Throughout that time, the justice has spoken at dozens of public and private institutions and has often used members of her staff, who are funded by taxpayers, to push these institutions to purchase her books, according to tens of thousands of pages of documents obtained (Washington Examiner). Associated Press: In 2019, as Sotomayor traveled the country to promote her new children’s book, “Just Ask!,” library and community college officials in Portland, Oregon, jumped at the chance to host an event. They put in long hours and accommodated the shifting requests of Sotomayor’s court staff. Then, as the public cost of hosting the event soared almost tenfold, a Sotomayor aide emailed with a different, urgent concern: She said the organizers did not buy enough copies of the justice’s book, which attendees had to purchase or have on hand in order to meet Sotomayor after her talk (Associated Press).

Georgia Democrat Switches to GOP After Leftists Lambasted Her for Not Being Radical Enough

Townhall: A Georgia state lawmaker is leaving the Democratic Party to join the GOP after she reportedly angered her Democratic colleagues over a bill promoting school choice. State Rep. Mesha Mainor, who represents District 56 in the Georgia state House, made the announcement on Tuesday (Townhall). Rep. Mesha Mainor: I didn’t leave the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party left ME when it embraced left-wing radicalism, lawlessness, and put the interests of illegal aliens over the interest of Americans. I have nothing to apologize for (Twitter).

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Protects Children from Gender Transition Surgery

Christian Post: For the first time, a federal appeals court has given the go-ahead for a state to enforce its ban on transgender treatments on children. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday overturned a lower-court injunction and gave Tennessee the green light to enforce SB 1, a new law that prohibits surgery and hormones/puberty blockers on minors. Earlier this year, a district judge issued an injunction blocking the parts of the law pertaining to hormones and puberty blockers. Tennessee appealed the injunction. The appeals court vote was 2-1 (Christian Post). Townhall: Reportedly, the ruling is preliminary and will be in effect until the appeals court conducts a full review of the appeal. The case should be resolved by Sept. 30. In Tennessee, lawmakers brought forth the legislation prohibiting transgender surgeries and treatments for children after reports broke that Vanderbilt University Medical Center was providing this kind of care because it’s profitable. At least 20 states have enacted legislation banning transgender treatments for minors, which includes hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and sex reassignment surgery (Townhall).

Soccer Star Megan Rapinoe Supports Trans Athletes Playing Against Women

Of course, as she is retiring from sports, she doesn’t mind. National Review: When Megan Rapinoe, a former co-captain of America’s national women’s soccer team, was asked whether she would welcome a “transgender woman” on the U.S. women’s soccer team — “even if that woman took the place of someone assigned female at birth” — Rapinoe was unflinching: “Absolutely.” “‘You’re taking a real woman’s place,’ that’s the part of the argument that’s still extremely transphobic. I see trans women as real women,” the outspoken athlete and progressive activist told Time in an interview published on Monday. The soccer star went on to blast comedians and prominent women — specifically tennis champion Martina Navratilova and ESPN commentator Sage Steele — who have publicly questioned whether permitting biological men to compete against women is fair or safe (National Review). Daily Wire: In 2022, President Biden awarded Rapinoe the highest civilian honor in the U.S., the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In March, Rapinoe ripped H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. H.R. 734, which wanted to ban transgender-identifying males from competing in female sports, stated that “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth” (Daily Wire).

Bud Light Sales Down by 28 Percent in Last Month

Fox News: A new Bud Light commercial posted to social media has received mockery and disdain from consumers, with some claiming the advertisement serves as a fitting allegory for the beer brand’s continued plummet. The new advertisement shows a woman spooning large chunks of watermelon into her mouth as a powerful storm flings plates and napkins across the screen. While other attendees duck for cover and run from the wind, the woman remains unbothered by the surrounding chaos. “It’s fine, this is fine” Bud Light captioned the video on Twitter. Some Twitter users pointed out that the advertisement mirrored what Bud Light staffers must feel like days after the brand slipped from America’s top 10 beers list (Fox News). Just the News: The Bud Light boycott has tanked sales by more than 28% over the last four weeks. The beer brand’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has sparked a culture war, one that can be felt in Nashville, where the company is facing backlash from both sides (Just the News).

10.

Judge Allows Microsoft to Acquire Enormous Video Game Company Activision Blizzard

CNN: A federal judge will not block Microsoft (MSFT) from closing its $69 billion deal to acquire video game giant Activision Blizzard, a defeat for US regulators who had asked for a temporary injunction while legal challenges to the merger unfold. The decision not to grant the injunction by the US District Court for the Northern District of California clears the way for Microsoft to consummate a deal that will make it the third largest video game publisher in the world, with control over popular franchises such as “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft” and “Diablo.” Microsoft could potentially finalize the deal with Activision in a matter of days, ahead of a July 18 contractual deadline, or the parties could mutually seek to extend that timeframe. US antitrust officials at the Federal Trade Commission had argued that an injunction temporarily blocking the deal was necessary because allowing the merger to close amid ongoing litigation would have caused immediate harm to video gamers and other consumers. The FTC had challenged the acquisition, first in its in-house administrative court and then in US federal court, alleging that the combination would hurt video gamers by giving Microsoft control over a number of hugely popular franchises. Regulators feared that Microsoft may withhold those titles from rivals such as Sony’s PlayStation or from nascent cloud-based streaming platforms (CNN).