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Thursday, February 3, 2022

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FBI Director: Level of Chinese Spying “Blew Me Away”

From the story: Chinese spying in the U.S. has become so widespread that the FBI is launching an average of two counterintelligence investigations a day to counter the onslaught, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in an interview.

NBC News

Jeff Zucker Resigns at CNN Over Relationship with Colleague

From the story: Zucker, who has helmed the cable network for nine years, told colleagues in a memo that the relationship came up during the CNN’s probe into Chris Cuomo’s alleged sexual harrassmement. “As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years,” Zucker wrote in the memo. “I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years,” he wrote. “I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong” (NY Post). Some at CNN want Brian Stelter fired for not exposing Zucker. The CNN insider said “He is allegedly our top media reporter – yet he failed to report on the scoop that everyone in the office knew. And if he wants to say he didn’t know, he is truly terrible at his job” (Fox News).

More Key Demo Democrats Watch Fox News than CNN or MSNBC

From the story: In total-day viewership, Fox News grabbed 42% of Democrats aged 25-54, CNN nabbed 33% and MSNBC got 25%. The story also notes “Fox News also commanded the largest number of independents in the key news demo during primetime and total-day hours: 55% of those 25-54 watched the network in primetime, compared to CNN’s 23% and MSNBC’s 22%. During total-day hours, 58% of independents in the demo watch Fox News, 18% chose MSNBC and 25% selected CNN.”

The Wrap

U.S. Debt Crosses $30 Trillion

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: The first point is that the debt really isn’t $30 trillion. About $6 trillion of that is debt the government owes to itself in Social Security and other IOUs. Social Security is a promise made by politicians to workers. It isn’t a contractual debt like a Treasury bill that must be repaid or risk default. Future politicians can refuse to pay workers what they owe, and eventually they will. The debt held by the public is some $24 trillion, which is bad enough. That’s more than 100% of GDP, a level the U.S. has previously reached only during wartime. Much of this debt is held by Japanese or Chinese, who won’t take kindly to not being repaid. But they’ll keep lending that money as long as they assume they will be repaid. The real issue is interest on all that debt, and what it means for the federal fisc. The debt costs very little when interest rates are near-zero. But when they rise, as they soon will, the burden of interest costs on the debt rises too. By one measure every percentage point increase in rates adds $100 billion a year or more to debt costs. That must be financed either with higher taxes or more debt.

WSJ

More than Three Quarters of Students at Baltimore High School Read at Elementary Level or Lower

A teacher came to the media with the information. From the story: The teacher works at Patterson High School, one of the largest high schools in Baltimore with a 61% graduation rate and a nearly $12 million budget. We agreed not to identify this source who fears retribution for giving Project Baltimore the results of iReady assessments.

Fox Baltimore

Some Leftist Employees at Spotify See Controversy as Opportunity to Act

From the story: Dozens of workers on a companywide internal chat system said they were embarrassed to work at the Swedish audio company, which has long been known for egalitarian values, consensus-driven decision-making, and a relaxed, music-loving culture. Some said they knew health-care workers who were aghast at Spotify’s support for Rogan, according to company documents and screenshots of the conversations reviewed by The Washington Post. Later: Some employees have become disillusioned that their protests about Rogan and other controversial podcasters were falling on deaf ears. Still later, we finally get what they really want: That new direction, the people say, requires Spotify to change its ethos and engage in greater editorial oversight. Ah. Censor anything they consider challenging.

Washington Post

Video Surfaces of New York Professor Defending Pedophilia

It’s creeping closer to mainstream left. Professor Stephen Kershnar said “A very standard, very widely held view is that there’s something deeply wrong about this — and it’s wrong independent of it being criminalized. It’s not obvious to me that it’s in fact wrong. I think this is a mistake. And I think exploring that why it’s a mistake will tell us not only things about adult/sex and statutory rape and also fundamental principles of morality.”

NY Post

Loudoun County School District Claim Maskless Students are Trespassing

If they return before their 10-day suspension.

Daily Caller

Celeb Judges Walk Off Set of Masked Singer Over Giuliani Appearance

The left is growing more and more incapable of being around anyone with whom they don’t completely agree.

Deadline

10.

Los Angeles Mayor Claims He Held His Breath in Maskless Photo

He was caught as the photo went viral and that’s the best excuse he could come up with (Deadline). From Bari Weiss, who summed up the response of many: I cannot stop laughing (Twitter).