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Tuesday, July 26, 2022

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Biden Admin Seeks to Redefine “Recession” Ahead of Economic Report

Daily Caller: The Biden administration preemptively downplayed concerns about the state of the economy ahead of second quarter GDP growth data in a press release set for Thursday and, according to some, sought to redefine what constitutes a recession (Daily Caller). Daily Wire: The United States is poised to meet that definition since the annualized economic growth rate shrank by 1.5% in the first quarter of this year and appears to have contracted at a 1.6% pace in the second quarter. As the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis prepares to publish an advance estimate of second quarter growth later this week, the Biden administration is already doing damage control (Daily Wire). Tom Elliot: Biden Chief Gaslighter @BrianDeeseNEC: “In terms of the technical definition, [two negative quarters of growth] is not a recession” (Twitter). Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich: Bracing for impact: Even if Thursday’s GDP report shows a second consecutive quarter of negative growth, you won’t hear the Biden admin using the R-word. The Council of Economic Advisers is redefining what a recession is (Twitter).

China Continues to Threaten “Serious Consequences” if Speaker Pelosi Visits Taiwan

Fox News: Taiwan held widespread air raid drills on Monday as China doubled down on warnings to the U.S. against allowing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit the island. Pelosi has defended her planned trip to the island, a region that China has long claimed as its sovereign territory. The Chinese foreign ministry doubled down on warnings that the trip could have “serious consequences” for the U.S. “The Chinese side has made it clear to the U.S. on many occasions that it is firmly opposed to Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. We are fully prepared,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Monday. “If the U.S. goes its own way, China will certainly take firm and forceful measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the United States should be held responsible for any serious consequences,” he added (Fox News). Associated Press: Pelosi has not confirmed when, or even if, she will visit, but President Joe Biden last week told reporters that U.S. military officials believed such a trip was “not a good idea.” Administration officials are believed to be critical of a possible trip, both for the problematic timing and the lack of coordination with the White House. China’s authoritarian ruling Communist Party considers democratic, self-ruling Taiwan its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary, and regularly advertises that threat by staging military exercises and flying warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone or across the center line of the 180-kilometer (100-mile) -wide Taiwan Strait. Beijing says those actions are aimed at deterring advocates of the island’s formal independence and foreign allies — principally the U.S. — from interfering, more than 70 years after the sides split amid civil war. Surveys routinely show that Taiwan’s 23 million people reject China’s assertions that the island is a Chinese province that has strayed and must be brought under Beijing’s control (Associated Press).

California Oak Fire 10 Percent Contained, Evacuations Underway

Daily Caller: A 16,000-acre wildfire that started July 22 still raged close to Yosemite National Park on Monday, forcing thousands to evacuate and destroying surrounding nature. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday for Mariposa County due to the Oak Fire, which has prompted over 3,000 residents to relocate. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire has spread to nearly 16,800 acres, and more than 2,500 firefighters and volunteers are working on site, the latest Cal Fire report stated. The firefighting resources involved include a total of 281 engines, 17 helicopters and 63 hand crews (Daily Caller). ABC: The Oak Fire burning in Mariposa County, which has prompted the evacuation of more than 6,000 people, went from zero containment on Sunday to 10% containment on Monday as more than 2,000 firefighters battling the blaze made progress overnight, according to Cal Fire (ABC).

Russia Aims to Topple Ukraine Government, Claiming Desire to Free People From “Unacceptable Regime”

Associated Press: Russia’s top diplomat said Moscow’s overarching goal in Ukraine is to free its people from its “unacceptable regime,” expressing the Kremlin’s war aims in some of the bluntest terms yet as its forces pummel the country with artillery barrages and airstrikes. The remark from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov comes amid Ukraine’s efforts to resume grain exports from its Black Sea ports —something that would help ease global food shortages — under a new deal tested by a Russian strike on Odesa over the weekend. “We are determined to help the people of eastern Ukraine to liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime,” Lavrov said at an Arab League summit in Cairo late Sunday, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy’s government. Apparently suggesting that Moscow’s war aims extend beyond Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region in the east, Lavrov said: “We will certainly help the Ukrainian people to get rid of the regime, which is absolutely anti-people and anti-historical” (Associated Press). South China Morning Post: Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a “special military operation” and has said it is aimed at demilitarising Ukraine and rooting out dangerous nationalists. Kyiv and the West call this a baseless pretext for an aggressive land grab. Lavrov’s remark came as the Russian leadership has publicly toughened its position in the Ukraine war in recent days (South China Morning Post).

Upon Reflection, Dr. Fauci Regrets Not Imposing “Much, Much More Stringent Restrictions” on Americans

Fox News: Dr. Anthony Fauci argued on The Hill’s “Rising” show that there should have been “more stringent restrictions” for asymptomatic people in 2020. On Monday, Fauci appeared on the program to discuss the approach to the BA.5 subvariant of the coronavirus. The conversation quickly turned to the past approaches to COVID-19 and whether he would have acted differently. “If I knew in 2020, what I know now, we would do a lot differently because back then we were not sure of a number of things,” Fauci said Among other things, he also said that there should have been further restrictions and mask requirements to counter the coronavirus in 2020 (Fox News). RNC Research: Anthony Fauci implies he regrets not pushing for “much, much more stringent restrictions” in response to COVID-19 (Twitter).

House Staffers, Climate Change Activists Arrested After Staging Protest in Sen. Schumer’s Office

Daily Wire: The United States Capitol Police arrested six House staffers on Monday who were protesting in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office. Law enforcement responded to the protest that took place in room 322 in the Hart Senate Office Building around 11:15 am. “Six demonstrators were arrested for DC Code §22-3302 Unlawful Entry for failing to leave the office after they were told to leave,” police said. “The six people who were arrested are all House staffers” (Daily Wire). Democrat House Staffer Aria Kovalovich: BREAKING: Congressional staff are staging a peaceful sit-in in @SenSchumer’s office to protest our leaders’ failure and inaction on climate policy and urge them to use every last negotiating tool to meet this moment (Twitter). Reporter Julia Hester: USCP arrested six House staffers this afternoon for protesting inside @SenSchumer’s office demanding the majority leader restart negotiations to pass climate legislation. “He’s giving up, but some of us are going to live through the climate crisis,” @saaaauuull told @NBCNews (Twitter).

Woke Policies Drive Down Military Recruitment

American Greatness: The U.S. Army has met only 40 percent of its 2022 recruiting goals. In fact, all branches of the military are facing historic resistance to their current recruiting efforts. If some solution is not found quickly, the armed forces will radically shrink or be forced to lower standards—or both (American Greatness). Townhall: The military today is no longer a kill-your-enemies and win wars machine that I once recognized…it has evolved into an indoctrination institution more focused on pronouns and identity politics than accomplishing the mission. It’s often said the military is a reflection of society and that notion makes it stronger, but that is a fallacy. The military should NOT be a reflection of society. It should be made up of young men and women who want to sign up to serve with the patriotic purpose of violently seeking out and destroying our enemies to win wars and protect our way of life. That’s it (Townhall). American Conservative: The military is undergoing a full-blown cultural revolution, now speaking the language of the woke left and seemingly becoming more aligned with the Democratic Party; it professes non-partisanship while very openly taking sides on loaded political issues, like abortion or the death of George Floyd. That politicization seems to have sparked a backlash in the form of fewer Americans joining a once-popular institution. … Currently, the military is attempting to maintain its ranks by increasingly opening service to as many people as possible, to the point of lowering physical standards. Though consistent with America’s liberal traditions, it poses questions about the professionalism of the institution (American Conservative).

GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Criticizes Pilot Program Giving Temporary IDs to Illegal Immigrants

Axios: The Biden administration plans to test providing temporary I.D. cards to unauthorized immigrants awaiting a final decision on their cases, according to two government sources familiar with the planning. Recent border crossers and other unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. often do not have I.D.s , making it more difficult to access housing, healthcare, transportation and other benefits. Officials are considering a pilot program to relieve some of those burdens, while also incentivizing more frequent communication with law enforcement throughout the complicated court process, the sources said (Axios). Daily Mail: Kevin McCarthy said President Joe Biden continues to implement policies that make it ‘easier’ for illegal immigrants to come to the U.S. as the administration works to roll out a program providing I.D. cards to migrants. ‘During the worst border crisis in history, the Biden administration is now handing out ID cards to illegal migrants to make it easier to travel throughout the United States,’ the House Minority leader told DailyMail.com. ‘This is the exact opposite of what he should be doing,’ McCarthy added (Daily Mail).

Ghislaine Maxwell to Serve 20-Year Sentence in Low-Security Florida Jail

Daily Mail: Ghislaine Maxwell has been sent to a Florida prison where she will serve her 20-year sentence for helping billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein abuse underage girls, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal. The disgraced socialite has been moved to FCI Tallahassee, a low-security prison in the Sunshine State, near where she committed her crimes. The Bureau of Prisons website indicates Maxwell will be eligible for release on July 17 2037 (Daily Mail). Daily Wire: Maxwell’s attorneys requested that she serve her jail time in Danbury, Connecticut. Federal Judge Alison Nathan recommended that location, but BOP denied the request. The Tallahassee prison is an all-female institution with a wide variety of recreational activities that Maxwell will be allowed to participate in while serving her time (Daily Wire).

10.

Hulu Slammed by Democrats for Not Airing Abortion Ad

Washington Post: The Disney-backed streaming service Hulu is refusing to run political ads on central themes of Democratic midterm campaigns, including abortion, guns and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, prompting fury from the party’s candidates and leaders. The streaming service popular among younger voters, which has a policy against running content deemed controversial, is like other digital providers in not being bound by the Communications Act of 1934, a law that requires broadcast television networks to provide politicians equal access to the airwaves. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Governors Association tried to purchase joint ads on abortion and guns with Hulu on July 15, along with identical placements on a Disney-affiliated ABC affiliate in Philadelphia and the company’s cable sports channel ESPN. The Hulu ads never ran, while the others did… A person familiar with Hulu’s policies, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about internal matters, said that the company does not publicly disclose its advertising guidelines but that they prohibit advertising that takes a position on a controversial issue, regardless of whether it is a political ad. The ads are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, with edits sometimes recommended to the advertisers (Washington Post).Hill: This is not the first time Democrats have run into the issue of Hulu rejecting ads about abortion. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) slammed the platform in May for rejecting her ad about the issue. Hulu also rejected an ad from New York Democratic congressional candidate Suraj Patel that mentioned abortion rights, Jezebel reported. The platform reportedly asked the campaign to remove at least one of three “sensitive” issues mentioned, including abortion, climate change and gun laws (Hill).

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