Posts on Tuesday, November 26, 2024
The Trump-Vance transition team announced that Stanford Professor Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, author of "The Great Barrington Declaration," is his pick to lead the National Institutes of Health. This is a terrific choice; Dr. Bhattacharya is highly respected and was right about the negative effects of lockdowns during the COVID pandemic when so many others were wrong. He didn't back down despite numerous attempts to silence him. Trump was effusive in his praise:
I am thrilled to nominate Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bhattacharya will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump tapped attorney Jamieson Greer on Tuesday to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative, a pick that will play an important role in the Republican's agenda to remake the international trading environment through tariffs.
"Jamieson played a key role during my First Term in imposing Tariffs on China and others to combat unfair Trade practices, and replacing the failed NAFTA deal with USMCA, therefore making it much better for American Workers," Trump said in a statement.
Greer, an attorney who has practiced international trade law, served as chief of staff to the USTR Robert Lighthizer during the first Trump administration.
The gap has closed. Democrats were light years ahead of Republicans after the 2008 elections. They developed big data strategies and methods for reaching voters, leading to two back-to-back national wins. But Trump wrecked everything. Democrats also forgot how to reach voters, becoming engulfed in the snobby righteousness that oozes from wealthy, white, college-educated voters who wield too much power within the party. These people are insane, and their attitudes are partially why Donald Trump and the Republicans emerged victorious in the 2024 elections. At the very least, these are the people you want to punch in the face.
Legal Insurrection readers will recall that in my post on the United Nations climate conference in Azerbaijan this week, its president boldly declared that oil and gas were a ‘gift from God’. The eco-activists attending the event were enraged. [Snip] The Czech division of the International Climate Intelligence Group (Clintel) organized a two-day climate conference in Prague on November 12-13, 2024, where climate scientists declared that the “climate emergency” is over. The conference concluded with a communiqué drafted by the participating scientists and researchers that targeted the climate hysteria promoted by the United Nations body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Jay Bhattacharya will serve as the director of the National Institutes of Health during his second term in the White House.
Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor and staunch critic of pandemic-era lockdowns, will be tasked with leading the federal government’s medical research efforts and will work “in cooperation” with incoming Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president-elect said.
“Jay is a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, an alternative to lockdowns proposed in October 2020,” Trump noted in his announcement, referring to an open letter that called on government officials and public health authorities to rethink extreme measures in response to COVID-19.
Trump team signs deal to end transition
'standoff' with the Biden White House...
with a few catches replies
'standoff' with the Biden White House...
with a few catches replies
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles announced Tuesday that the Trump team had signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding' with President Joe Biden's White House to get the presidential transition rolling after a three-week delay.
The announcement ends the stand-off between the outgoing and incoming administrations, but Trump's team indicated they will not be handling the transition in the traditional fashion.
They will not sign a separate MOU with the General Services Administration, which has office space and secure IT support at the ready.
Watch — Kamala Harris to Supporters:
‘You Have the Same Power that You Did
Before November 5’ replies
‘You Have the Same Power that You Did
Before November 5’ replies
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke directly to her supporters on Tuesday — her first public statement since her concession speech following President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory.
Kamala Harris was hosting a National Grassroots Call with her former running mate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) that touched on a range of topics. One video released on social media featured Kamala pleading with her supporters to not feel powerless in the wake of defeat. “I just have to remind you, don’t you ever let anybody take your power from you. You have the same power that you did before November 5 and you have the same purpose that you did. And you have
A ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect at 0200 GMT on Wednesday after U.S. President Joe Biden said both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France.
The accord clears the way for an end to a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year.
Biden spoke at the White House on Tuesday shortly after Israel's security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote. He said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati,
Michelle Obama did not receive a warm welcome on social media after touting her self-help workbook Overcoming, which the former first lady hopes will help people “get through the challenging periods life throws our way.”
Obama shared a video holding the workbook for the first time, describing it as a “timely” gift or purchase. It remains unclear if she is suggesting it is timely as it comes just weeks after President-elect Donald Trump won the presidential election and will take office again on January 20.
It appears that this is as close as we’ll get to the real Matt Gaetz story: his acquaintance, the former tax collector Joel Greenberg, was caught abusing his office to make fake IDs and concealed weapons permits, which led to the discovery of numerous crimes committed by Greenberg in office, financed with money he embezzled and revolving around prostitution and, apparently, trafficking minors to public figures. Greenberg told Barr’s DOJ he could implicate Gaetz in exchange for leniency, and the present investigation into Gaetz was opened.
Republicans are smelling blood in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race next year following an unexpectedly close result in the presidential election.
Vice President Harris only carried the Garden State by about 6 points over President-elect Trump, the closest Republicans have come to winning the state’s electoral votes in three decades. This came after another closer-than-expected result in the gubernatorial race three years ago, during which Gov. Phil Murphy (D) won by just more than 3 points.
Senior advisers to Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign suggested this week that there just wasn’t much else Harris could have done to beat Donald Trump. Harris couldn’t have distanced herself from President Joe Biden, they said, because she was loyal. She couldn’t have responded more forcefully to attacks over trans rights, because doing so would have been playing Trump’s game. And she might not have had much chance of winning anyway, given the deficit she inherited from Biden when he dropped out of the race in July.
Following his resounding win on November 5, one of the knocks on President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration by those on the left has been Trump's "delay" in signing transition agreements with the Biden administration. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) even went so far as to claim the Trump transition team was "breaking the law" by not signing the ethics agreement and emphasizing that she would know "because I wrote the law."
There's one problem with Warren's assertion: She's wrong.
One of the FBI’s most wanted suspected terrorists has been nabbed hiding out in the UK after more than 20 years on the run, the feds said Tuesday.
Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was busted in Wales on Monday in connection with a slew of animal rights-related pipe bomb attacks that unfolded in San Francisco back in 2003, according to authorities. Daniel San Diego’s arrest after more than 20 years as a fugitive for two bombings in the San Francisco area shows that no matter how long it takes, the FBI will find you and hold you accountable,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement hailing his capture.
President Biden spoke from the Rose Garden Tuesday to tout a cease-fire plan between Israel and Hezbollah — claiming credit for helping broker the agreement after months of fighting.
“I just spoke with the prime ministers of Israel and Lebanon. I’m pleased to announce that their governments have accepted the United States proposal to end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah,” Biden, 82, said.
Biden said that “this is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed,” Biden said of the Iran-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon.
Rudy Giuliani erupts at NYC federal judge
as January trial date set in $148M defamation case replies
as January trial date set in $148M defamation case replies
Rudy Giuliani erupted in Manhattan court Tuesday — claiming that the judge was unfairly “against” him — as he failed to get out of a January trial date in his $148 million defamation case.
“Every implication that you’ve made is against me!” Giuliani, the disbarred former US attorney for the Southern District, shouted at Judge Lewis Liman during a hearing in Manhattan federal court.
The 80-year-old former New York City mayor threw a temper tantrum after Liman questioned why Giuliani had not yet turned over the title to his 1980 Mercedes convertible to the two Georgia election workers he defamed after the 2020 presidential election.
A new video was released recently depicting the seven men and Trump supporters who were shot in the head without warning by Capitol Police on January 6, 2021.
According to earlier reports, Capitol Police Inspector Thomas Loyd Jr. ordered police to fire on the unsuspecting Trump supporters.
There is now video that shows the Trump supporters were not acting violently and had no idea they police were about to start firing rubber bullets at their heads.
David Sumrall, private investigator and founder of StopHate.com obtained all the footage of the Capitol “insurrection” at the start of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s unprecedented probe of Americans who protested
The dust was yet to settle from President Donald J. Trump’s historic win in the 2024 Presidential Election before news began circulating about the potential need for “recess appointments” during Trump’s second term of office. What brought the issue to the forefront so quickly was the GOP winning enough seats in the elections to take control of the US Senate and the need to select a new GOP Senate Majority Leader. The vote on the new GOP Senate Leadership was held on November 13, 2024.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will be forced to open its books and reveal its sources of funding after a defamation suit it filed against a former employee completely backfired.
US Magistrate Judge David Schultz ruled Monday that CAIR’s donors, funding sources — potentially including foreign ones — and any assets owned by the group are all within the “scope of permissible discovery” as part of former chapter leader Lori Saroya’s lawsuit against the controversial Muslim rights group.
Saroya filed a federal defamation complaint against CAIR in January after the group dropped its own lawsuit against the former employee.
The Muslim schoolgirl who accused her teacher of Islamophobia and began rumours that led to a jihadist decapitating him in the street in France has admitted lying and apologised to the victim's family in a remarkable court hearing today.
History and geography Samuel Paty was murdered on October 16, 2020 by Abdoullakh Anzorov, an 18-year-old Islamist radical of Chechen origin.
Anzorov tracked down 47-year-old Paty and brutally hacked his head off after seeing pictures and videos of him circulated on social media as part of a ruthless campaign of harassment.
A ceasefire deal has been rumored to be in the works between Israel and Lebanon. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered brief remarks indicating that a deal had been agreed to in principle and he would be presenting it to the Israeli cabinet Tuesday evening — the Israeli security cabinet has approved the deal and it will now be presented to the full cabinet. The broad outlines of the plan are as follows:
Under the proposed terms of an initial two-month cease-fire, Hezbollah is required to move its forces north of the Litani River – a significant focal point
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)'s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has released its annual report identifying the top management and performance challenges currently facing the federal agency.
Among the OIG's findings, a lack of public trust in the DOJ remains a "longstanding" problem, Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced Monday, and strengthening such trust poses "a significant challenge."
However, in its 59-page report highlighting incidents that have contributed to the department's confidence crisis, the DOJ watchdog largely overlooked transgressions under the Biden-Harris administration, which still reigns.
Was there ever anything fouler, trashier, stinkier, smellier than the six or so lawfare cases directed at President Trump durin his campaign?
I'd say 'no.'
They were politicized justice of the worst sort, the Latin Americanization of U.S. politics, where the outgoing president always has to flee the country. Now that Trump has won the election against all odds, by the wildest of coincidences, two of these dumpster fire cases, brought on from the flimsiest of charges, have been scrapped. Everyone knows they don't hold water.
Trump plots stunning White House briefing
shake up that's set to change media landscape forever replies
shake up that's set to change media landscape forever replies
Donald Trump is considering giving the likes of Joe Rogan and Megyn Kelly a seat in the White House press briefing room instead of mainstream media journalists in a plot that will 'blow up some heads'.
The stunning plan was revealed by the president-elect's eldest son Donald Trump Jr. on a recent episode of his podcast 'Triggered with Donald Trump Jr.'
Speaking to his co-host Michael Knowles, Jr. admitted that the incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt may rework the briefing room seating arrangement to make way for Trump's new podcast 'bro' buddies.
The presidential election of 2024 was three weeks ago, but as of Tuesday morning, New Jersey has still counted only 91% of the votes that were cast (or something) there. California and Oregon have only gotten around to counting 93%. And so, several times a day, the popular vote totals for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris continue to be adjusted. Trump still has a comfortable lead, but Harris has (surprise, surprise) been steadily narrowing that lead. On what is quaintly still referred to as Election Day, Trump’s popular vote lead was about 4.5 million; now it’s down to 2.4 million and decreasing, but should still hold.
Three weeks after the 2024 presidential election, Arizona officials have finally finished counting votes. President-elect Donald Trump handily won the state. (X) Ten days ago, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes attempted to explain why results take so long.
(X Video) Townhall, in partnership with Decision Desk HQ, called the Arizona race for Trump on November 6. The President-elect spent significant time in the Grand Canyon State ahead of the victory.
The Trump Effect is in full swing, as the President-Elect is back making geopolitical waves with his ‘mean tweets’ – even if now they are posted primarily on his social platform, Truth Social.
One such wave crashed in Canada, where failed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his liberals are scrambling to react to news about tariffs imposed on their country.
Trudeau was reportedly quick to respond to Donald J. Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexican, Canadian, and Chinese goods.
President-elect Trump’s favorability climbed by 6 points after he was elected president earlier this month, a poll released Tuesday found.
The president-elect’s favorability rating hit 54 percent postelection, which is up from 48 percent preelection, according to an Emerson College poll. Trump is viewed most favorably by men, at 61 percent, while 48 percent of women view him favorably.
Among white voters, 59 percent view him favorably, compared to 53 percent of Hispanic voters and only 28 percent of Black voters, the poll found.
Fifty-five percent of voters under 30 expressed a favorable view of Trump, according to the poll.
The world's largest retailer has joined a growing list of major corporations and rolled back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
The move marks a seismic shift in corporate strategy that comes after attacks by conservatives and activists at the company's 'woke' policies.
Some of the sweeping changes include abandoning a $100 million racial equity center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd and leaving a prominent LGBTQ+ gay rights index.
On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” incoming Border Czar Tom Homan stated that he agrees with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston because “He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail.” And that sanctuary jurisdictions are violating the law.
Host Sean Hannity asked, “Tom, you heard this Mayor out there in Colorado. I want to get your reaction to it, and I want you to be clear about who has jurisdiction, the federal government or state and local governments, and if you’re a sanctuary state or city, are you breaking the law?”
The Office of Management and Budget is a less well-known entity within the executive branch, but few are as critical for ensuring the implementation of the president’s agenda. President-elect Donald Trump has once again placed that awesome responsibility in Russ Vought’s hands.
The previous Trump OMB director will return to the White House, where he says there is “unfinished business on behalf of the American people.”
Trump released a statement announcing Vought’s nomination as OMB director on Friday evening. “I am very pleased to nominate Russell Thurlow Vought, from the Great State of Virginia, as the Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget.
How bad are things at CNN and MSNBC? So bad that they were both recently beaten in ratings by the Hallmark Channel.
We are just three weeks off of one of the most contentious and historic presidential elections in recent history and more people are watching the Hallmark Channel than the supposed journalists and political analysts of CNN or MSNBC.
One has to wonder how CNN justifies Anderson Cooper’s $20 million dollar salary when people would rather watch Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.
Jaguar’s managing director responded to the backlash the company received over its new advertisement featuring androgynous models but not a single car, saying the ad was “bold” and never intended to be “woke,” adding that the company’s message was lost “in a blaze of intolerance” by critics on social media.
“If we play in the same way that everybody else does, we’ll just get drowned out. So we shouldn’t turn up like an auto brand,” Jaguar managing director Rawdon Glover told Financial Times.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston suggested last week that he could use police officers to prevent federal immigration officers from entering his city to carry out mass deportations when President-elect Donald Trump returns to office.
"More than us having [Denver police] stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there," Johnston, a Democrat, told the news website Denverite. "It's like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You'd have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them."
Advisers to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reached out to the Health and Human Services Department multiple times after Donald Trump tapped him to lead the massive agency, hoping to jumpstart coordination before his takeover in late January. They were rebuffed.
Kennedy’s inability to communicate with the agency he may soon manage, confirmed by an administration official with knowledge of the episodes granted anonymity to describe internal deliberations, is just one consequence of the president-elect’s continued foot-dragging on signing the standard trio of ethics and transparency agreements with the federal government — something his team pledged to do shortly after the election.
As reported earlier, Special Counsel Jack Smith formally moved to dismiss the D.C. election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump, citing Trump's reelection and DOJ policy not to prosecute a sitting president. (Smith also moved to dismiss the Government's appeal of the dismissal of the classified documents case against Trump.)
Now, Judge Tanya Chutkan has granted the Government's request, ordering the dismissal of the D.C. case as requested. As noted in the original article, the dismissal is without prejudice, and in the Memorandum accompanying her order, Chutkan further explains why she believes such is appropriate in this instance, noting,
Watching President Joe Biden’s antitrust agencies carry on, one wonders what economic function the government’s lawyers believe themselves to be fulfilling. The Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Antitrust Division, in its pursuit of Google Search, all but begs observers to raise this question. A district judge found for the government in August, ruling that Google violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. Having notched a finding of liability (for the moment, at least; the ruling may well fall on appeal), the DOJ now thinks of remedies, submitting a proposal to the court on Wednesday. In recent filings, the agency threw the proverbial kitchen sink at the court.
Adam Schiff Copes and Seethes After Jack
Smith Drops Trump Charges, but There's
More to His Crying replies
Smith Drops Trump Charges, but There's
More to His Crying replies
One of the most dishonest, slimiest members of Congress is speaking out after news broke on Monday that DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith is moving to drop all charges against Donald Trump. Adam Schiff, who California saw fit to elect to the U.S. Senate recently, blew up on social media, attacking the Biden administration and the court system for supposedly failing to uphold the rule of law. As RedState reported, Smith cited two OLC opinions on a sitting president not being prosecutable in his decision. He also left the door open for future charges after Trump leaves office by not dismissing the current ones with prejudice,
During Donald Trump’s first successful presidential campaign, he promised to pull the U.S. from the Paris Agreement. He was unable to do so until the day after the 2020 election he lost, and the reprieve lasted only a little more than two months because Joe Biden rejoined the pact the day he was inaugurated. It’s another one of the many of Biden’s messes that Trump has to clean up.
The U.S. should have never been a part of the Paris Agreement. Committing our country to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which means reductions in fossil fuel use, is foolish. Reaching the made-from-thin-air global temperature target:
President-elect Donald Trump’s new border czar Tom Homan is putting together an extensive deportation plan for when he hits the ground running after they are both sworn into office in January.
Homan spoke to The Center Square about his priorities, illustrating a marked difference from President Joe Biden’s border czar, Vice President Kamala Harris, who repeatedly said the border was secure and she didn’t need to go to there. Under the Biden-Harris administration, the greatest number of illegal border crossers, roughly 14 million, were reported in U.S. history, The Center Square reported.
Happy Tuesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Nobody wants to hear about Granyard's lip balm preferences.
We're dishing up extra helpings of "elections have consequences" here today
A lot of loathsome government characters have been foisted upon American citizens since early 2020. At first, it was the COVID tyrants who were sowing misery throughout the land. Just when we thought that no one could be more awful than Anthony Fauci and his mask Nazis, the "J6 WAS AN INSURRECTIONNNNNNNNN!" nutters began stinking up the joint.
It's difficult to choose the worst of that crowd — they're all awful human beings —
A new memoir by former “World News Now” anchor Kendis Gibson depicts a workplace culture at ABC News fraught with alleged hazing, bullying and racism — which he alleges contributed to a suicide attempt.
Gibson’s book, “Five Trips: An Investigative Journey into Mental Health, Psychedelic Healing and Saving a Life,” chronicles his nearly five-year journey experimenting with illegal drugs to combat mental health issues, including depression, panic attacks and suicidal ideation, which he claims was amplified while working at ABC.
In 2014, Gibson started his dream job as a correspondent at ABC News — recounting that he received a “heartwarming reception” from the “Good Morning America” bunch:
Outgoing President Joe Biden’s Justice Department moved on election night on Nov. 5 to essentially ensure the cover-up of a potentially massive green energy scandal, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
This story has tentacles back through, not just the Biden administration, but all the way back to the Obama administration, and it could be something that jeopardizes the broader green energy agenda and the future of leftist solar projects on federal lands. At least one congresswoman is already formally pressing the DOJ for answers.
Rivian (RIVN.O), opens new tab said on Monday it has received conditional approval for a loan of up to $6.6 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy to build the electric vehicle maker's production facility in Georgia.
The announcement comes ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to undo many of the Biden administration's EV-friendly policies and incentives.
Operation of the Georgia plant, where Rivian plans to build future vehicles such as its smaller, less expensive R2 SUVs and R3 crossovers, will begin in 2028, the California-based startup said in a statement.
Some supporters of President-elect Donald Trump have been disappointed by his picks to fill out his new national security team, even lobbing accusations of them being “neocons” — but individuals familiar with the transition and the president-elect’s foreign policy record said those picks can be put to use accomplishing an America First agenda.
For Secretary of State, Trump tapped Sen. Marco Rubio, along with Rep. Michael Waltz for National Security Advisor and Rep. Elise Stefanik for United Nations Ambassador. The picks turned heads because they are viewed as having more “hawkish” beliefs. But national security insiders told the Daily Caller that the picks fall in line with the president’s agenda
This article has been updated to reflect support for such tariffs from Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno (R-OH).
President-elect Donald Trump has been making clear for some time that he supports tariffs. On Monday night, he made an announcement about tariffs from his Truth Social account, with concerns about our "Open Border" and "Open Borders" from neighboring Mexico and Canada being part of the explanation given."As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before. Right now a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable
Nate Cohn has a long newsletter today looking over the results of 2024 and putting it in context over the past 15 years or so of American politics. The bottom line is that Democrats appear to be in real trouble.
Not so long ago it was taken as a given that changing demographics, fewer white people and more Hispanic and Asian people, would create a permanent majority for the Democrats. But what we've seen over the past 3 elections is that Donald Trump has broken up that consensus a little at a time to the point where the old consensus
FIRST ON FOX: Walmart is making a slate of changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, becoming the latest in a growing list of major corporations to halt the so-called "woke" initiatives.
Anti-woke activist and filmmaker Robby Starbuck, who has been leading a campaign exposing major corporations' woke policies, said on X on Monday that he warned Walmart executives last week that he would be doing a story on "wokeness" at the retail giant.
"Instead," Starbuck shared, "we had productive conversations to find solutions." Starbuck outlined the changes Walmart agreed to make, including working to remove sexual and transgender products inappropriately marketed toward children and reviewing grants to Pride events
A study by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) and Rutgers University Social Perception Lab found that exposure to DEI materials made people more likely to perceive prejudice where none existed. Simply put, they appear to do more harm than good by increasing hostility between groups.
The studies reported herein assess a crucial question: Do ideas and rhetoric foundational to many DEI trainings foster pluralistic inclusiveness, or do they exacerbate intergroup and interpersonal conflicts? Do they increase empathy and understanding or increase hostility towards members of groups labeled as oppressors?
The study looked at three different types of DEI training, on religion, race and caste.