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Monday, June 13, 2022

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Democrats Begin to Sour on Biden

Daily Wire: Speaking to Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning, AOC refused to answer whether she would back Biden if he ran for a second term, saying that she was focused on helping the Democratic Party keep control over its slim majority in the House… AOC’s non-committal answer comes just one day after a New York Times report suggested that many Democrats are also non-committal on backing Biden should he decide to run again (Daily Wire). RNC Research: “[Biden] is saying he’s gonna run again in 2024. Will you support him?” ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: “We’ll take a look at it. Ha ha ha” (Twitter). New York Times: Most top elected Democrats were reluctant to speak on the record about Mr. Biden’s future, and no one interviewed expressed any ill will toward Mr. Biden, to whom they are universally grateful for ousting Mr. Trump from office. But the repeated failures of his administration to pass big-ticket legislation on signature Democratic issues, as well as his halting efforts to use the bully pulpit of the White House to move public opinion, have left the president with sagging approval ratings and a party that, as much as anything, seems to feel sorry for him. That has left Democratic leaders struggling to explain away a series of calamities for the party that all seem beyond Mr. Biden’s control: inflation rates unseen in four decades, surging gas prices, a lingering pandemic, a spate of mass shootings, a Supreme Court poised to end the federal right to an abortion, and key congressional Democrats’ refusal to muscle through the president’s Build Back Better agenda or an expansion of voting rights. To nearly all the Democrats interviewed, the president’s age — 79 now, 82 by the time the winner of the 2024 election is inaugurated — is a deep concern about his political viability. They have watched as a commander in chief who built a reputation for gaffes has repeatedly rattled global diplomacy with unexpected remarks that were later walked back by his White House staff, and as he has sat for fewer interviews than any of his recent predecessors (New York Times).

Senate’s Bipartisan Efforts on Gun Control

National Review: A bipartisan coalition of senators on Sunday reportedly reached an agreement on gun legislation, encompassing gun trafficking, enhanced background checks, funding for mental health and school safety, and other items. The framework includes funding to help states pass and implement crisis intervention orders, known as red flag laws, that will allow law enforcement to confiscate weapons from people deemed dangerous. The package would also allocate “billions in new funding for mental health and school safety,” he said, “including money for the national build out of community mental health clinics.” It also targets the “boyfriend loophole,” the closing of which would prevent violent spouses or domestic abusers from acquiring a firearm if they are convicted of abuse against their partner. Coming on the heels of the House’s passage of a measure that would raise the minimum age required to buy a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21, this package includes an enhanced background check for under 21 gun buyers (National Review). Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers (senators) have ruled out raising the age to buy assault-style weapons, such as AR-15s, to 21 years old from 18. Democrats and some Republicans had indicated support for such a measure, but it lacked broader GOP backing. There was also little GOP appetite for banning such weapons altogether, which President Biden had called for (Wall Street Journal).

China Claims US is Attempting to “Hijack” the Pacific

Associated Press: China’s defense minister accused the United States on Sunday of trying to “hijack” the support of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to turn them against Beijing, saying Washington is seeking to advance its own interests “under the guise of multilateralism.” Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe lashed out at U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, rejecting his “smearing accusation” the day before that China was causing instability with its claim to the self-governing island of Taiwan and its increased military activity in the area. Austin had stressed the need for multilateral partnerships with nations in the Indo-Pacific, which Wei suggested was an attempt to back China into a corner (Associated Press). CNBC: Wei Fenghe, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, said the burden of improving the troubled U.S.-China ties lies on Washington. “We request the U.S. side to stop smearing and containing China. Stop interfering in China’s internal affairs. The bilateral relationship cannot improve unless the U.S. side can do that,” he told delegates at the dialogue, Asia’s top defense conference (CNBC).

Farmer John to Close Meat Packing Plant in Vernon, CA

Fox: The Farmer John meat-packing plant in Vernon — a frequent target of protests by animal-rights advocates critical of the treatment of pigs at the facility — will close next year, with its Virginia- based owner Friday citing the rising costs of doing business in California. According to Smithfield Foods, the plant will close in early 2023. The company is also exploring “strategic options to exit its farms in Arizona and California.” Farmer John employs about 2,000 people at the Vernon plant. Company officials said it is providing “transition assistance” to employees at the plant, including “relocation options” to other Smithfield facilities and farms (Fox). Los Angeles Times: The fate of the building has yet to be determined. “We are exploring all our options,” said Jim Monroe, vice president of corporate affairs for Smithfield. Monroe said that Smithfield is providing a $7,500 bonus to employees to continue to work during the closing, and the union representing the meatpackers in Vernon issued a statement expressing hope that another operator will take over the plant and workforce (Los Angeles Times).

Taliban Punish Civilians Who Help Opposition

Daily Wire: Civilians in parts of northern Afghanistan have been illegally arrested and tortured by Taliban forces for associating with a rival group, according to a human rights organization. Human Rights Watch (HRW), an American-based organization, said that civilians had been caught up in the Taliban’s efforts in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province to combat attacks on Taliban forces in the region. Citizens have been accused of aiding the Taliban opposition forces. “Taliban forces have committed summary executions and enforced disappearances of captured fighters and other detainees, which are war crimes,” HRW said. Much of the opposition to the Taliban in the Panjshir valley has come from those left who were part of Afghanistan’s security forces, following the Taliban’s taking over the country during President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of American forces (Daily Wire). Associated Press: Former detainees reported in early June that Taliban security forces detained about 80 residents in the province’s Khenj district and beat them to compel them to provide information about the opposition forces, HRW said, citing an unnamed human rights advocate who has interviewed several former detainees and a person with direct information about Taliban detentions. After several days, the Taliban released 70 of the captives but continue to hold 10 whose relatives they accuse of being members of the opposition force, according to the HRW statement. “Taliban forces in Panjshir have imposed collective punishment and disregarded protections to which detainees are entitled,” Gossman said. “This is just the latest example of Taliban abuses during fighting in the region” (Associated Press).

Ratings for The Jan 6 Commission Prove Americans Do Not Care About the Farce

Townhall: Ratings for the liberal media’s prime time January 6 commission hearing took a nose dive, because it turns out Americans don’t really care about the left’s continued hysteria of the event. During the evening’s most popular time slots, ABC, NBC and CBC took major hits, as very few people tuned in for the night’s propaganda theater. According to Cable News Watch, only 4.5 million people watched the hearing on ABC, while NBC and CBC only got roughly three million viewers (Townhall). Joe Concha: Context: The evening newscasts on CBS, NBC & ABC average anywhere from 18 to 20 million viewers combined on a typical night. Those newscasts do not air in primetime. The January 6 hearings airing in primetime Thursday took in just 11+ million viewers on those three same networks (Twitter).

Justin Trudeau Tells Canadians Guns Are Not for Self Defense

Daily Wire: Guns are for hunting and target practice, but never for self defense, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week, continuing his crusade against firearms. Trudeau, who is pushing a sweeping measure aimed at freezing the sale, purchase, or transfer of handguns in Canada, told the Pod Save America podcast his country takes a completely different view of firearms than its southern neighbor. No one in Canada has a right to defend themselves, their family or their property with a firearm, Trudeau declared (Daily Wire). Roberto Wakerell-Cruz: “You can’t use a gun for self-protection in Canada. It’s not a right that you have,” says Trudeau. Criminals could potentially harm you and your family with ILLEGAL guns, but YOU, law-abiding citizen, do not have the right to defend yourself with a LEGAL gun (Twitter).

Sarah Palin Advances to Alaska’s Special General Election

National Review: Former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin appears poised to advance to Alaska’s special general election for the House, taking the lead in the primary race on Saturday with 30 percent of the vote. She was trailed by businessman Nick Begich III, who secured 19 percent, independent Al Gross, who garnered 12 percent, and former Democratic state Representative Mary Peltola, who earned seven percent. The contest featured 48 candidates. The four candidates from the special primary, which was triggered by the passing of the then longest-serving member of Congress, Republican Representative Don Young, will now compete in an August special general election to fill the vacant seat. The special general election will use ranked-choice voting for the first time in the state (National Review). ABC: In a statement on social media, Palin wrote that she was “looking forward to the special general election so we can highlight our ideas for fixing this country.” Among those proposals, she said, was “responsibly developing Alaska’s God-given natural resources, getting runaway government spending under control [and] protecting human life” as well as backing the Second Amendment — amid renewed talks of federal gun legislation in response to the latest wave of mass shootings (ABC).

Vladimir Putin Equates Himself to Peter the Great

Atlantic Council: Putin elaborated on his imperial vision during a June 9 event in Moscow to mark the 350th birthday of Russian Czar Peter the Great. He spoke admiringly of Czar Peter’s achievements during the Great Northern War and drew direct parallels to his own contemporary expansionist policies. The lands taken from Sweden during the Great Northern War were historically Russian and Peter was merely returning them to their rightful owners, Putin stated. “Apparently, it is now also our responsibility to return (Russian) land,” he said in a clear reference to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Putin’s latest comments underline his imperial objectives in Ukraine and expand on years of similar statements lamenting the fall of the Russian Empire. For more than a decade, he has questioned the historical legitimacy of Ukrainian statehood and publicly insisted that Ukrainians are really Russians (“one people”). Putin has also repeatedly accused Ukraine of occupying ancestral Russian lands and has blamed the early Bolsheviks for bungling the border between the Russian and Ukrainian Soviet republics (Atlantic Council).

10.

National Park Service Renames Peak in Yellowstone After Deeming Name Offensive

Fox News: The National Park Service announced last week that Yellowstone National Park’s Mount Doane would be renamed First Peoples Mountain. The agency said Thursday the change was taken to remove an “offensive name” from America’s first national park. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names voted unanimously, 15-0, affirming the decision. The mountain was previously named after explorer Gustavus Doane (Fox News). Yellowstone National Park: Yellowstone’s Mount Doane name changes to First Peoples Mountain; Action taken to remove offensive name from America’s first national park (Twitter).

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