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Tuesday, March 22, 2022

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Senate Completes First Day of SCOTUS Confirmation Hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

From the story: [Susan] Collins was the second Republican considered a potential yes vote for Jackson who expressed concerns about her nomination Monday. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he was outraged at how the left treated Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was his preferred Supreme Court pick, in a pressure campaign to get President Biden to choose Jackson. The other Republican senator who voted to confirm Jackson last year was Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who faces a Trump-backed primary challenge in her home state. A vote for Jackson now could be politically painful for her (Fox News). From National Review: Most Senate Republicans will oppose Jackson, and for good reason. Like Breyer, for whom she clerked, Jackson holds to a jurisprudence that values subjective practicality over the plain text of legislation and original meaning of the Constitution (National Review). From The Daily Wire: Jackson promised that her role as a judge is “a limited one” and that the Constitution only gives her the ability to decide cases and controversies that are “properly presented.” “I know that my judicial role is further constrained by careful adherence to precedent,” she added. Her remarks followed several hours of statements from senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee. On Tuesday, Jackson will face questioning from the 22 members (Daily Wire).

Left Targets Clarence Thomas After Being Admitted to the Hospital

From the story: On Sunday, the Supreme Court notified the public that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had taken ill, prompting some on the political Left to wish him ill (Daily Wire). One user stated: I sure hope a certain thing happens (Twitter). From Katie Pavlich: Notable the White House did not announce good wishes for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the top of the regular press briefing today. Psaki had to be asked about it for comment (Twitter).

What Does Eastern Europe Look Like After Putin’s War?

From the Washington Post: Any outcome represents a lose-lose proposition, as even an eventual Russian defeat is likely to leave Ukraine decimated and its European neighbors bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis…. “The longer that this goes on, the likelier it will be that Russia ends up being defeated, but also more likely that more people will die,” said a European diplomat, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to share a candid assessment of the crisis (WPost). Mikhail Khodorkovsky—former oil mogul and political prisoner of Putin—warns that weakness in front of Putin is provocative: I have plenty of experience of dealing with bandits. After spending ten years in Russian prisons, I can say that the most dangerous thing is to show them any weakness or uncertainty…. Following their logic, if Western countries say they will not give up Ukraine and yet they do exactly that, it means that they are weak. And that makes it likely that Mr Putin will look towards other neighbours, such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, who were also previously part of the Russian Empire (Economist). Newt Gingrich—speaking to Charlie Kirk: I think there’s a very high likelihood they’re going to defeat the Russians. And part of it’s because, you know, dying for Putin is not a particularly exciting idea, whereas defending your own country is a very exciting idea (TownhallReview). Niall Ferguson warns: No one should underestimate Putin’s willingness to keep this brutal war going until he controls enough of southern and eastern Ukraine to demand the kind of concessions that might just be dressed up for the Russian public to look like victory. People talk, too, as if the economic sanctions imposed on Russia are unprecedented in their severity. But there is evidence to the contrary (DailyMail).

Mariupol Described as Apocalyptic Wasteland

Why is Mariupol is strategic? Most notably, as a land bridge: Geographically, the city of Mariupol occupies only a tiny area on the map but it now stands obstinately in the way of Russian forces who have burst out of the Crimean peninsula (BBC). From the Financial Times: The Russians may be about to conquer the strategic port of Mariupol—but only by destroying it in the process. The increasing brutality of Russian tactics, which is on full display in Mariupol, is a guide to the future. As they get more desperate, the Russians may become even more vicious. There are ominous indications that the Kremlin is considering the use of chemical weapons already used in Syria…. three options: a prolonged war; a peace settlement; or a coup in Russia. Expect the first, work for the second and hope for the third. (FinancialTimes).

64 Percent of Americans Blame Inflation on President Biden’s Policies

From the story: President Joe Biden’s policies have increased inflation, according to a majority of voters, who expect the issue to be important in November midterm elections. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 64% of Likely U.S. voters believe the policies of Biden’s administration have increased inflation, while only eight percent (8%) think Biden’s policies have reduced inflation. Another 25% say the Biden administration’s policies have not made much difference in inflation (Rasmussen). From Breitbart: The White House/media attempt to blame record inflation on the president of an entirely different country has failed (Breitbart). From Mike Berg, Deputy Comms Director of the NRCC: David Axelrod slams Biden’s #PutinPriceHike talking point: People don’t believe that. They know that we had inflation before this. They know that gas prices were high before this. You can’t blame everything in the economy on Putin (Twitter).

Surprise: Gas Prices Higher in Blue States, Lower in Red States

From the story: The highest gas prices are found disproportionately in high-tax, heavily regulated Democratic states, while the lowest gas prices show up in so-called red or purple states. California leads the way at a whopping $5.78 per gallon. At the bottom sits Kansas, at $3.81 per gallon (City Journal). From Fox News: California’s gas prices tend to be greater than those of the rest of the country due to a combination of factors including, state and local taxes and greenhouse gas emission laws (Fox News). From Matt Finn, Fox News Correspondent: LA (Twitter).

China Aggressively Militarizing South China Sea

China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top U.S. military commander said. U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino said the hostile actions were in stark contrast to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s past assurances that Beijing would not transform the artificial islands in contested waters into military bases (Associated Press).

As Biden Pursues New Nuclear Deal With Iran, Saudi Arabia Won’t Take His Calls

It’s another layer of the foreign policy crises fast-escalating on President Biden’s watch. Steve Apfel: Of all murky lunacies, redoing a failed pact is the most devious, the most comic, the most perilous. When a superpower leader makes a pact with a regime unsurpassed for evil, resorting to corrupt concessions, he gets the epitaph, ‘Evil Weasel’ by merit. Campaign promises go for a dime a dozen. It is therefore to his permanent discredit that Biden kept three promises. They are, in order of malignancy and destructive power: -Biden kneecapped “dirty” energy and let other countries sell America theirs. -He threw open the Mexican border, winking at all and sundry to come across. -He dusted off a nuclear pact over which both sides had cheated their pants off (ArutzSheva). Firas Maksad: When the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates decline phone calls from the president of the United States, rebuff his requests to help lower oil prices, and shy away from condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and when the U.A.E. hosts Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Abu Dhabi, there is no doubt that a major crisis in U.S.-Arab Gulf relations is under way (WSJ).

Journalists Remain Less-Than-Truthful About COVID Origins

City Journal: The worldwide toll of deaths from Covid-19 has just hit 6 million. Few science stories are more important than understanding where the Covid virus came from. Yet the science writers’ section of the press corps has proved strangely incapable of telling the story straight…. No scientist wishes to get on the wrong side of NIH administrators, the major funders of biomedical research. If [Francis] Collins said the lab leak was a conspiracy theory, why then, so it must be…. Dulled by the advantages of this collusion, science writers pay little attention to in-house problems that seriously detract from the credibility of the scientific research enterprise (CityJournal).

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Disney’s Aggressive Political Activism Drives Conservatives Into Closet

From a Letter from Concerned Disney Employees: Employees who want TWDC [the Walt Disney Corporation] to make left-wing political statements are encouraged, while those of us who want the company to remain neutral can say so only in a whisper out of fear of professional retaliation. The company we love seems to think we don’t exist or don’t belong here. This politicization of our corporate culture is damaging morale and causing many of us to feel our days with TWDC might be numbered (OpenLetter). Rod Dreher: Why does Disney force its conservative employees into the closet, where they have to live in fear, for the sake of appeasing this woke mob that wants to sexualize children? Has Disney forgotten who and what it is supposed to serve? And what about you, Mom and Dad? Do you really want to support a company that treats its religious and politically conservative employees like this — and that empowers a woke internal mob to compel it to interfere in politics to disempower parents’ control over the sexual education of their children, and to turn popular art into culture-war propaganda? (AmericanConservative). Carol Liebau: Moms and dads ought to be paying attention … The trust of parents has been the fuel that built the Disney empire. That trust is fast eroding (TownhallReview).