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Friday, March 8, 2024

President Biden Begins State of the Union by Talking About Ukraine

Townhall: President Joe Biden kicked off his first and possibly last 2024 State of the Union by praising Ukraine almost immediately— not the U.S. border, not the economy, but a foreign country. On Thursday night, once again, Biden ramped up his calls for the United States to continue funding Ukraine in its war with Russia. Meanwhile, his own country is under attack by millions of illegal migrants who have unlawfully entered the country because of his reckless and heinous open-border policies (Townhall). Congressman Jeff Van Drew: I thought this was the state of OUR union (X). Congressman Bob Good: Biden is more concerned about national security issues in Ukraine than he is about national security issues he’s created at our southern border (X). Charlie Kirk: Joe Biden mentions Ukraine almost immediately. Not the border. His priority is a foreign country and a no win war. He hates this country (X).

Biden: "The state of our union is strong and getting stronger”

Just the News: Biden described the state of the union as “strong and getting stronger” as Democrats in the chamber chanted, “four more years.” He attacked Trump’s strict policies to crackdown on illegal immigration. Biden held up a pin with Laken Riley’s name on it and said: “Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal, that’s right, but how many of the thousands of people are being killed by illegals?” He noted that he lost children and his heart goes out to Riley’s parents (Just the News). Collin Rugg: President Biden says “Lincoln Riley” after Marjorie Taylor Greene interrupts him and tells him to “say her name.” What Biden meant to say was “Laken Riley.” Laken Riley was murdered by an illegal immigrant who entered into the United States thanks to Biden’s open border. Despicable (X).

Biden Puts Fence Around Capitol Building for State of the Union Address

We have been told fences, walls are racist. Washington Examiner: Republican lawmakers have criticized a fence set up around the U.S. Capitol ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech, pointing out how the government will secure the Capitol but not the southern border (Washington Examiner). Senator Rick Scott: Biden doesn’t hesitate to put a barrier up for his speech in Washington but refuses to build a wall and secure the southern border (X). Congressman Troy Nehls: I wish Joe Biden would do this at the southern border (X). Rep. Mike Collins: Now do the border (X).

Denver Asks Landlords to House Illegal Immigrants as Shelters Close

Daily Mail: Denver officials have asked landlords to rent to migrants who will need housing after the city shuts down several temporary hotel shelters as the number of new arrivals drops. The city launched a program on Tuesday aimed at getting information from landlords on properties that rent for $2,000 per month or less, with officials emailing rental property owners asking if they would be interested in renting to migrants. Democratic mayor Mike Johnston said last month the city would be closing four new migrant shelters, which would save up to $60 million from the $180million predicted cost of the crisis (Daily Mail). Washington Examiner: Denver estimates the city spent $42 million to care for about 38,000 immigrants as of February and that about 4,000 immigrants are being housed in city shelters. While Denver has received $3.5 million from the state and $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to address the influx, Johnston has said the city has spent $30 million since late last year on immigrants (Washington Examiner).

Israel, Hamas Leave Cairo Without Ceasefire Deal

Reuters: Hamas on Thursday left Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo where there was no sign of progress just days before the start of Ramadan, while the U.S. said the onus was on the Palestinian militant group to strike a deal on Israeli hostages. Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the lack of agreement after four days of talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt to secure a 40-day ceasefire amid fears violence could escalate during the Muslim fasting month (Reuters). Times of Israel: The deal presented to Hamas for Gaza would free at least some of the hostages the terror group still holds following the October 7 massacre in a first stage. Palestinian prisoners held in Israel would also be released. Hamas pledged to continue the Cairo talks, but officials in the terror group said a ceasefire must be in place before hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled. Hamas is also demanding the release of a large number of prisoners, including convicted terrorist operatives serving life sentences, in exchange for the remaining hostages. Israel has publicly ruled out those demands, saying it intends to resume the offensive after any ceasefire with the goal of destroying Hamas (Times of Israel).

Federal Judge Rules Against Minority Business Development Agency on Affirmative Action

Fox News: A federal judge in Texas has ruled a government agency designed to help minority-owned businesses cannot refuse assistance to White applicants. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman on Tuesday ruled in favor of a group of White business-owners who sued the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), alleging the agency unconstitutionally gives preferential treatment to non-White entrepreneurs (Fox News). Washington Examiner: The ruling comes after the Supreme Court ended affirmative action last year in its rulings against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The court ruled colleges and universities could not use race-conscious programs in their admissions processes (Washington Examiner).

Sweden Joins NATO

Washington Post: Sweden officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Thursday, a historic shift that highlights how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is transforming European security in ways he may not have foreseen. At a meeting in Washington, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson deposited the final paperwork with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the last step needed for the former militarily nonaligned nation to become NATO’s 32nd member. Sweden’s neighbor, Finland, joined last year. To justify his aggression in Ukraine, Putin cited the possibility of NATO expansion. Now, in one of the conflict’s many twists, his war has brought a bigger, stronger alliance to his door. Russia will have to live with the consequences for years (Washington Post). Estonia PM Kaja Kallas: Delighted to welcome Sweden to the NATO family. With Sweden and also Finland both part of the Alliance now, NATO stands stronger than ever before. Thank you, Swedish PM, for your leadership and close cooperation throughout this journey (X).

Investigation Discovers Communication Machines on Chinese Cranes at U.S. Ports

Wall Street Journal: A congressional probe of Chinese-built cargo cranes deployed at ports throughout the U.S. has found communications equipment that doesn’t appear to support normal operations, fueling concerns that the foreign machines may pose a covert national-security risk. The installed components in some cases include cellular modems, according to congressional aides and documents, that could be remotely accessed. The discovery of the modems by lawmakers, which hasn’t been previously reported, has added to concerns in Washington about port security and China. The Pentagon and intelligence officials at other agencies in the Biden administration have grown increasingly alarmed by the potential threat of disruption and espionage presented by the giant cranes built by ZPMC, a China-based manufacturer that accounts for nearly 80% of ship-to-shore cranes in use at U.S. ports. Over a dozen cellular modems were found on crane components in use at one U.S. port, and another modem was found inside another port’s server room, according to a committee aide. Some of the modems had active connections to operational components to the cranes, the aide said (Wall Street Journal).

San Francisco Shocks Liberals by Holding Criminals Accountable

Albert Mohler: Just came back from California, and boy, were the issues interesting. So were the headlines. For instance, one of the headlines that appeared in a Los Angeles newspaper in recent days has to do not with LA but with San Francisco. Here’s the headline: “Liberal San Francisco To Get Tough On Drug Crimes.” The subhead of the article: “Facing a crisis, the city will consider murder charges for dealers in fatal opioid overdoses.” If you are in San Francisco, you’re proud of being liberal. But if you are in San Francisco, liberal is not working too well. You have complete control of the government. You have complete control of the culture. You pretty much have complete control of the corporate structure. But what you don’t have control of is the streets. What you don’t have control of is where people are. What you don’t have under control is rampant drug abuse and other things. You are a city that is out of control. You’re losing major businesses. You have major department stores exiting downtown, simply because it’s virtually impossible to do business there. The leaders in San Francisco, are considering, and of course, this means the prosecutorial authorities there, bringing murder charges against fentanyl dealers, opioid dealers, because they are merchants of death. you’re looking at sin showing up as crime, in all of its deadliness, and in this case, directly, irrefutably. The turnaround in San Francisco is summarized in this article with these words: “It’s a remarkable shift in rhetoric and strategy for a city regularly lambasted by right-wing pundits as an anything-goes sanctuary for drug dealers and users.” Now, I just want to pause there for a moment to say the reason why so-called right wing pundits referred to the city and lambaste it, according to this article, as an anything-goes sanctuary for drug dealers and users is because that is exactly what it has been. That’s not just lambasting, that’s simply speaking the truth (Briefing).

10.

U.S. Lawmakers Unanimously Pass Legislation Forcing Chinese-Owned ByteDance to Divest From TikTok

New York Post: Bipartisan legislation that would force Chinese government-linked ByteDance to sell off TikTok cleared a House committee vote unanimously on Thursday — with lawmakers defying an all-out pressure campaign by the app and disgruntled users to kill the bill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act by a 50-0 vote during a markup session. The bill would bar companies like Apple or Google from offering TikTok on their app stores or providing the social platform with web hosting services in the US unless ByteDance divests itself with 180 days. The measure also vests the executive branch with the authority to ban other apps owned by foreign adversaries if the platforms are deemed to pose a threat to national security — but agencies must be in agreement and the information must be presented to Congress and the American public (New York Post). Steve Scalise: The House Energy and Commerce Committee just voted 50-0 to force TikTok to sever their ties with the Chinese Communist Party. I will bring this critical national security bill to the House floor for a vote next week (X).