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Monday, January 8, 2024

81 Percent f Democrats Believe Trump’s Name Should Be Removed from Ballot

National Review: Eighty one percent of Democrats believe states should disqualify former president Donald Trump from presidential ballots. By contrast, 90 percent of Republicans believe states should keep Trump’s name on the ballot. Independents are more closely split: 44 percent believe states should remove Trump’s name from ballots. Trump’s appearance on the ballot is facing lawsuits in at least 13 states, including Texas, Nevada, and Wisconsin. The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to weigh in on the Colorado supreme court’s decision to disqualify Trump from the state’s ballot. The Court is set to hear oral arguments in the case on February 8 (National Review).

Congress Reaches $1.66 Trillion Deal to Avoid Government Shutdown

Washington Post: Congressional leaders reached a $1.66 trillion agreement Sunday to finance the federal government in 2024, preserving funding for key domestic and social safety net programs in the face of GOP demands to cut the government’s budget. Now lawmakers are up against a stiff deadline to pass legislation to codify the deal and avert a partial government shutdown. Funding runs out for roughly 20 percent of the government — including for essential programs such as some veterans assistance, and food and drug safety services — on Jan. 19, and money for the rest of the government runs out shortly after that, on Feb. 2 (Washington Post). Hill: The deal comes as both the House and Senate are set to return from a holiday break this week ahead of a two-tiered government funding deadline, with the first batch of funding expiring on Jan. 19 and the rest expiring on Feb. 2. The Speaker, though, touted that the spending deal “results in an overall $30 billion total reduction from the Senate’s spending plans.” Johnson said that there will be an additional $10 billion in cuts to the IRS mandatory funding, bringing the total to $20 billion, and that $6.1 billion will be cut from “the Biden’s Administration’s continued COVID-era slush funds” (Hill).

Hezbollah Launches Barrage of Missiles Against Israeli Air Traffic Control Base

Associated Press: Hezbollah has struck an air traffic control base in northern Israel, the Israeli military said Sunday, and warned of “another war” with the Iran-backed militant group. The increase in fighting across the border with Lebanon as Israel battles Hamas militants in Gaza gave new urgency to U.S. diplomatic efforts as Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to visit Israel on his latest Mideast tour. The Israeli military said Hezbollah fire hit the sensitive air traffic control base on Mount Meron on Saturday but air defenses were not affected because backup systems were in place. It said that no soldiers were hurt and all damage will be repaired. (Associated Press). Times of Israel: Hezbollah fired a barrage of more than 40 rockets and several missiles at the base atop Mount Meron, which is located some eight kilometers (5 miles) from the Lebanon border (Times of Israel).

Record Number of Police Officers Shot in 2023

Daily Wire: There was a record-breaking number of law enforcement officers shot in the line of duty in 2023, according to report from the National Fraternal Order of Police. In 2023, there were 378 officers shot, a 60% increase since the FOP began tracking data back in 2018. The data also showed that 46 police officers were killed (Daily Wire). National Fraternal Order of Police: 115 ambush attacks that resulted in 138 officers shot. 46 officers murdered by gunfire. These horrifying statistics are a grim reminder of the War on Cops in this country. A stain on our society (X).

Jim Jordan Explains the Seriousness of Hunter Biden’s Situation

Daily Wire: House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said on Sunday that Hunter Biden faces “serious stuff” with contempt of Congress proceedings that could lead up to a year in jail. The GOP leader spoke to Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” about what consequences Biden might face for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas as part of the corruption-focused impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden (Daily Wire). Reporter Acyn: Jim Jordan says failing to comply with a congressional subpoena is serious stuff (X).

Speaker Johnson Blasts Secretary Mayorkas for Handling the Border Poorly

Washington Examiner: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Sunday slammed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s handling of the southern border as an “abject failure” ahead of a planned Republican effort to impeach him. Johnson accused Mayorkas of dodging Republicans at every juncture to “enforce the law, to do his job, and he’s done exactly the opposite” during an interview with CBS News’s Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan (Washington Examiner). Face the Nation: On the Republican push to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of the border: Speaker Johnson: “Secretary Mayorkas is not a good faith negotiating partner” (X).

John Fetterman Acknowledges Border Crisis

Townhall: Democrat Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) criticized his own party for refusing to address the crisis at the southern border. This week, Fetterman admitted to reporters that the Democratic Party is in complete denial over President Joe Biden’s open-border policies, which have caused havoc on the nation. With each passing day, Biden is in office, the crisis at the border keeps getting worse. A record-breaking amount of border crossers stormed the United States in December, with 276,000 apprehensions— the highest ever on record. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources, the December record came just one month after November’s highest, with nearly 250,000 border encounters (Townhall). Chuck Callesto: JOHN FETTERMAN: “There’s a crisis at the border and I don’t know how anyone could pretend that there isn’t” (X).

Ohio governor Mike DeWine Issues Executive Order Barring Gender Surgeries for Minors

National Review: Republican Ohio governor Mike DeWine issued an “emergency” executive order Friday banning child gender-transition surgeries after receiving intense backlash last week for vetoing a bill with a broader but similar mandate. Dubbed the SAFE Act, the original bill that DeWine rejected would have also prohibited physicians from prescribing cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking medicine to kids. The legislation also banned men in women’s sports, offering a legal recourse to students forced to play against the opposite sex. The new order would bar physicians from performing gender-transition surgeries, such as mastectomies and hysterectomies, on kids in Ohio’s hospitals and health-care facilities (National Review). Axios: He added that the new rules would require “comprehensive and lengthy mental health counseling prior to being considered for any other treatment” (Axios).

DA Matthew Graves Looks to Target Those Who Stood Outside of the Capital on Jan. 6

Townhall: U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew Graves, suggested that law enforcement will soon target those who just stood outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. During a press conference this week, Graves hinted that Americans who didn’t even go inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6 could still lead to thousands of arrests. The D.C. district attorney has already charged more than 1,400 Americans with crimes relating to the protests on Jan. 6. He has also handed down more than 900 convictions, with almost all having prison sentences. On the contrary, Graves admitted that a significant portion of the 2020 George Floyd rioters were not charged at all despite causing destruction and setting cities on fire (Townhall). Post Millennial: US District Attorney Matthew Graves suggests prosecutors will begin to target Americans who did not enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, but were standing outside of it (X).

10.

Democrat Reactions to Claudine Gay’s Resignation Proves Their Victimhood Mentality

Washington Examiner: When Claudine Gay announced her resignation from her position as president of Harvard University, while somehow maintaining her $900,000 annual salary, the diversity, equity, and inclusion crowd went into overdrive to label Gay as the ultimate victim of racism. This response highlights the absurd inconsistency leveraged by pseudo-intellectuals such as Gay to climb the intersectional ladder of power. When it’s convenient, they stand proudly as individual icons of their identity group. But when it’s inconvenient — for example, when the predictable consequences of their voluntary actions finally come to light — they recede into the shadows, hiding behind the group’s collective victimhood status. Through this openly racist lens, it’s racist to hold certain races responsible for their actions. Imagine if any college president ignored, downplayed, or defended students rampaging around their campus calling for black students to be murdered, or for black students to be driven into the ocean, or for black women to be raped and mutilated. Would their silence go unnoticed (Washington Examiner)?