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Thursday, December 2, 2021

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Pro-Life Sees Hope in First Day of Dobbs Before Supreme Court

From the National Review editorial board: Veterans of Supreme Court cases past know that it is risky to read the tea leaves from questions at argument, but it is hard to see how the argument could have gone much better for the pro-life cause (National Review). Justice Clarence Thomas asked some very tough questions of the pro-abortion attorney (RedState). Justice Barrett addressed adoption (Daily Wire). From David French: As I listened to almost two hours of oral argument in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks, I kept returning to a single thought: Ruth Bader Ginsburg was right. She accurately identified the inherent instability of Roe v. Wade. Because of that instability, it is now quite possible that Roe will be overturned and the ultimate legality of abortion rights will be decided by legislatures, not justices (Atlantic). From Ed Morrissey: …only seven countries allow for selective abortions past the 24-week mark — and we’re one of them. So are North Korea and China, as Roberts points out. The Washington Post fact-checked a claim four years ago by the Trump administration that US policy on abortion is so extreme that it’s only matched by six other countries, and found that claim to be true (Hot Air). From Dr. Albert Mohler: Pro-life Americans, and in particular, American Christians have to understand how long we have been waiting for this day, how long we have been waiting for the Supreme Court to be presented with this kind of question, for the court to take the case. There is no doubt that there is encouragement in the fact that a sufficient number of justices agreed to consider this case, because fundamentally, there is no reason to consider this case unless Roe itself is at stake. The pro-life movement has been working at this for nearly 50 years and the Roe v. Wade precedent is almost 50 years old. It was handed down January the 22nd, 1973 (Briefing). Transcript of the oral arguments (SCOTUS).

Women’s Tennis Association Suspends Tournaments in China

From the story: “Unfortunately, the leadership in China has not addressed this very serious issue in any credible way,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon wrote in a statement distributed by the tour. “While we now know where Peng is, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe, and not subject to censorship, coercion, and intimidation” (NY Post). From their tweet: “With the full support of the WTA Board of Directors, I am announcing the immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong” (Twitter). From Jeff Blehar: In before the jerks say that the WTA has less on the line financially than the NBA (and you’d have to be an authentically proud flaming immoralist to gloat about this point), they are 100% on the right side here and it wouldn’t hurt for you to let them know if you think so too (Twitter). From Sarah McLaughlin: Wow, what a statement. While Disney+ cuts a Simpsons episode for referencing Tiananmen, the WTA suspends tournaments in China and forcefully rejects censorship. Pay attention to how companies and organizations respond to these issues; it says a lot about their leaders’ values (Twitter). From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: Too many Western leaders and celebrities apply a double standard when doing business with China, forgiving behavior from Beijing they’d deplore at home. Think the NBA’s LeBron James on Hong Kong, or BlackRock CEO Larry Fink on governance standards for business (WSJ).

Biden to Extend Transportation Mask Mandate

Expected to announce Thursday they are gleefully extending to mid-March (NBC News). From Bethany Mandel: I’m never going to be able to fly with young children again am I (Twitter).

Stacey Abrams Announces She’s Running for Governor of Georgia

Although many have joked she’s running for re-elections since she claimed she won the first time (Daily Wire). She lost to the current governor, Brian Kemp, in 2018 (NY Post).

Christmas Parade Killer Speaks to Fox News

Fox News visited him but notes “Not even his mother has dropped by, he said. Earlier in the day, she released a statement on behalf of the family decrying Wisconsin’s criminal justice system for failing her son, a longtime felon with a 50-page rap sheet detailing domestic violence, firearms, drugs and other convictions in Wisconsin, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Brooks is also a registered child sex offender in Nevada and served time in Georgia for beating his ex, records show” (Fox News). Meanwhile, from Jason Riley: The same press outlets that portrayed Mr. Rittenhouse as a white supremacist have had remarkably little to say about the racial identity of Darrell Brooks, the black suspect in Wisconsin who is accused of plowing his car through an annual Christmas parade last month and killing six people, including an 8-year-old boy, all of whom were white. Given the suspect’s history of posting messages on social media that called for violence against white people and praised Hitler for killing Jews, you’d think that his race and the race of his victims would be relevant to reporters. Race is all anyone would be talking about if a white man had slammed his vehicle into a parade full of black people. Yet suddenly the left has gone colorblind (WSJ).

Smollett Trial: Nigerian Brothers Testify Against Smollett

From the story: The man Jussie Smollett allegedly paid to help him stage a hate crime took the stand in the actor’s criminal trial Wednesday, describing how he took part in the hoax because he thought the ‘”Empire” star could help push his own acting career (NY Post). From another story: Brothers Ola and Bola Osundairo told police that Smollett hired them to beat him because he felt producers of the show he starred on, Empire, didn’t do enough to protect him after he received a racist and homophobic letter on set. The brothers also told police that Smollett sent himself the letter for attention, according to police sources (Daily Mail). The jury got to see Jussie Smollett in a “dry run” video the day before the alleged attack (NY Post).

Omicron Reaches United States Via California

Where so much reaches the United States. Symptoms, so far, are mild. Just as they have been reported in South Africa.

Townhall

Biden Repeats Debunked Claim That He Drove a Tractor-Trailer

He said it again Tuesday. From the story: Biden’s claim was debunked earlier this year after the president said at a Mack Truck facility in Pennsylvania that he “used to drive an 18-wheeler.” When asked at the time if the president had ever driven such a truck, a White House spokesperson pointed to a December 1973 article from the Wilmington Evening Journal that showed Biden rode in an 18-wheeler on a 536-mile haul to Ohio. Fox News pressed the spokesperson at the time about the president’s claim – noting that riding in a truck is not the same as driving one – at which point the president’s spokesperson pointed to a United Federation of Teachers post that touched on Biden once driving a school bus for a summer job.

Fox News

Kraft Peanut Butter Promotes Trans Awareness Week

And offers a booklet to lecture you about pronouns.

Twitter

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UK Woman Wins Case Against Doctor Claiming She Should Not Have Been Born

From the story: The 20-year-old’s “wrongful conception” claim saw her take Dr. Philip Mitchell to court over his failure to advise her mother to take vital supplements before getting pregnant. She alleged that had the medic told her mom Caroline that she needed to take folic acid to minimize the risk of spina bifida affecting her baby, she would have put off conception. This in turn would have meant Evie would never have been born at all.

NY Post