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Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Biden Breaks Record for Number of U.S. Embassy Evacuated By Sitting President

Daily Signal: As a cannibalistic gang war rages through Haiti, President Joe Biden last week dispatched a Marine Corps special unit to protect the evacuation of nonemergency personnel as well as fellow Marines from the U.S. Embassy in the nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince. With that evacuation of the embassy in Haiti, the Biden administration has presided over more evacuations of U.S. embassies—a total of 11—than any other presidential administration in U.S. history. Since Biden took office in January 2021, his State Department has partially or fully evacuated 11 U.S. embassies via what are known as authorized or ordered departure directives. President Barack Obama presided over the second-most embassy evacuations of any administration with a total of eight over two terms (Daily Signal). HotAir: Biden also has a habit of leaving Americans behind, beginning in Afghanistan, where some Americans may still be trapped, and continuing on to Haiti, where apparently little to no effort is being made to help citizens who are being stalked by a madman named “Barbeque.” It took Ron DeSantis to get many Americans out of Israel after Hamas’ attacks, and Biden is struggling to free Americans who are being held hostage by Hamas. Biden is of course negotiating on behalf of Hamas for a cease-fire (HotAir).

Republican Congressman Evacuates 13 Americans From Haiti

Townhall: Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) announced Monday that he successfully evacuated another group of Americans stranded in Haiti, which has descended into violent anarchy. In a statement on X, Mills said he and his team rescued 13 Americans—a move that comes after he evacuated 10 Americans last week who worked at an orphanage in the capital of Port-au-Prince (Townhall). Cory Mills: It’s with great pride I announce that our team successfully conducted another rescue of 13 Americans out of PAP Haiti. Our team has now successfully rescued and evacuated more Americans than Biden and his entire administration. Americans deserve support from their government. Not the pattern of abandonment this administration has shown (X).

Numbers of Chemical Abortions Skyrocket in Last Few Years

Washington Post: The number of yearly abortions in the United States rose by 10 percent between 2020 and 2023, while medication abortions became more common than ever, according to a report published Tuesday by a research and advocacy group that favors abortion rights. The Guttmacher Institute found that there were more than 1 million U.S. abortions last year, the first time since 2012 that the tally crossed that threshold. The group also reported that medication abortions made up 63 percent of those performed during that time, or about 642,700 procedures, up from 53 percent in 2020 (Washington Post). Wall Street Journal: Access to medication abortion has grown with policy changes including the expansion of telehealth abortion services. The Food and Drug Administration in 2021 relaxed restrictions on mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion, allowing it to be delivered by mail-order pharmacies. The Supreme Court this month plans to hear oral arguments in a challenge to those and other relaxed restrictions. While the court battle is playing out, bricks-and-mortar pharmacies can seek certification to dispense the pill; CVS and Walgreens said earlier this month that their pharmacies would do so (Wall Street Journal).

Supreme Court Upholds Texas’ Immigration Law Giving Law Enforcement Ability to Arrest Illegals

Townhall: The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Tuesday afternoon that Texas law enforcement officials have the legal authority to arrest, detain and deport illegal immigrants. The ruling, which is an injunction, allows Texas to enforce SB 4 — a local law passed in the Lone Star State — until the case receives a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (Townhall). Texas Governor Greg Abbott: In a 6-3 decision SCOTUS allows Texas to begin enforcing SB4 that allows the arrest of illegal immigrants. We still have to have hearings in the 5th circuit federal court of appeals. But this is clearly a positive development (X).

Judge Drops Firearm Possession Charges Against Illegal Immigrant

Newsweek: A judge this month dropped gun charges against an illegal migrant in Illinois, sparking further debate about the rights associated with the Second Amendment. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Coleman of the Northern District of Illinois referenced lower court rulings in dismissing firearm possession charges against Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, who was illegally or unlawfully in the United States when he possessed a handgun in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago on June 1, 2020. “The Court finds that Carbajal-Flores’ criminal record, containing no improper use of a weapon, as well as the non-violent circumstances of his arrest do not support a finding that he poses a risk to public safety such that he cannot be trusted to use a weapon responsibly and should be deprived of his Second Amendment right to bear arms in self-defense,” Coleman, who was appointed under President Barack Obama, wrote in her eight-page ruling filed March 8. Carbajal-Flores was charged under Title 18 of U.S. Criminal Code, which legally disallows undocumented individuals to possess firearms and ammunition “or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce” (Newsweek).

Poll of Jewish Students Reveals Approximately Three-Quarters Describe Campus Life as Less Safe

National Review: Almost three-quarters of Jewish college students feel their campuses are less safe now than they were before Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, according to a new poll by Schoen Cooperman Research conducted in partnership with the Israel on Campus Coalition. In addition to the 73 percent of respondents who believe they are less safe on campus since then, 77 percent of Jewish college students say the “boycott, divest, and sanctions” (BDS) movement is either antisemitic itself or has antisemitic supporters, while 65 percent think it “poses a threat to Jewish students.” Sixty-two percent of Jewish students said they feel strongly about countering the BDS movement on campus more specifically (National Review).

Estonia's PM Wants the West to Be Tougher on Russia, Putin

Fox Business: As continued U.S. support for Ukraine remains in question, European leaders have been ramping up their own defense spending and industry capacity. Leading the charge is Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas who, at 46, is Estonia’s first female prime minister. Kallas is known for being tough on Russia. Some critics joke she even eats them for breakfast. Russia’s interior minister issued a warrant for her arrest earlier this year, for taking down Soviet monuments, but Kallas has not backed down. Asked to respond to critics that say she is too tough on Putin, Kallas said, “Can you be tough enough on Putin, considering what he has done?” Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Kallas has become one of Putin’s loudest critics. Kallas has been considered to become the next NATO Secretary General, but some of her opponents say she is too hawkish to lead NATO. To that, Kallas said she does not think Putin should have a say in how NATO runs its alliance. Kallas warned if Putin wins in Ukraine it will inspire other conflicts around the world (Fox Business). Jennifer Griffin: Estonia’s prime minister calls on US and NATO allies to be tougher on Russia (X).

Congress Passes Spending Package for Full Fiscal Year

Fox Business: Congressional negotiators have struck a deal on how to fund the government for the remainder of FY24, ending a brutal political fight that has dragged on for almost a year. In the coming days, lawmakers are expected to release text of a “minibus” appropriations package combining six separate funding bills, which will then need to pass votes in the House and Senate before being signed into law by President Biden. The previous six, making a total of 12, were passed earlier this month (Fox Business). Speaker Mike Johnson: An agreement has been reached for DHS appropriations, which will allow completion of the FY24 appropriations process. House and Senate committees have begun drafting bill text to be prepared for release and consideration by the full House and Senate as soon as possible (X).

Texas Board of Education Divests $8.5 Billion From BlackRock Amid ESG Prioritization

National Review: The Texas Board of Education is divesting $8.5 billion from BlackRock because of the asset manager’s Environmental, Social, and Governance investment philosophy. The Texas Permanent School Fund (TPSF) will be terminating its financial relationship with BlackRock and searching for a new firm to manage its $8.5 billion of state assets, the TPSF notified BlackRock on Tuesday. Texas state law prohibits state investment in financial services companies that boycott the oil and gas industry, a major aspect of the state economy. The environmental aspect of BlackRock’s ESG strategy promotes an economic transition away from fossil fuels and towards green energy investments (National Review). Spencer Brown: ESG policies are used as an end-run around Americans’ elected representatives to force changes that mirror President Biden and Democrats’ attempts to implement (read: force) an energy “transition” as part of the president’s pledge to “end” fossil fuels (Townhall).

10.

Jonathan Turley Accuses NYC of “Mob Justice” for Targeting Donald Trump

Katie Pavlich: George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley is slamming the “mob justice” style tactics used by New York Attorney General Letitia James to take former President Donald Trump to court and plans to seize his assets. He’s also blasting the level of damages handed down by New York Judge Arthur Engoron in a “fraud” case that had no victims. “This creates a perverse incentive for judges like this one who comes up with this astronomical, in my view, ridiculous level of damages,” Turley said during an interview with Fox and Friends Tuesday. “Basically his position is in order to get any other judge to (look at the case) you’ve got to come up with basically a half a billion dollars just to appeal. Many people look at this as a type of almost mob justice. The attorney general ran on bagging Trump. She’s now pledging to seize his property just because he can’t come up with this bond” (Townhall). Activist SweetPeaBelle: Jonathan Turley brings us up to date on the Trump court cases. In order to get any judge to listen to Trump’s appeal, he has to come up with a half billion dollars (X).