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November 2023

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Do We Live In The (Dis)United States Of America? Most Say Yes, In Latest I&I/TIPP Poll Terry Jones

By on November 29th, 2023

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/11/29/do-we-live-in-the-disunited-states-of-america-most-say-yes-in-latest-ii-tipp-poll/

We live in divisive times, it seems. Bitter rhetoric and open rage over political events, ideologies and culture have become common. As a result, our country’s inhabitants now admit we are no longer unified, as the latest I&I/TIPP data clearly show.

I&I/TIPP asked voters this month (and every month since April 2021), “in general, would you say the United States is” followed by four possible answers: “very united,” “somewhat united,” “somewhat divided,” “very divided,” and “not sure.”

The answers are somewhat dispiriting for those hoping for a whiff of unity during the holiday season: More than 2/3 of respondents (69%) said we were either very divided (40%) or somewhat divided (29%). Just 3% were not sure. Only 28% overall said they believed Americans were either “very” united (14%) or “somewhat” united (14%).

Still, there remain some pockets of unity optimism in the national online poll of 1,400 people, taken from Nov. 1-3. The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.7 percentage points.

Democrats, for instance, split evenly at 49% united versus 49% divided. Republicans are far more glum, with 21% answering united, compared to 77% divided. Independents see even more division, with only 15% responding united and 80% divided.

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ELECTIONS Comments turned off

DeSantis vs. Newsom: a Scorecard Here’s a cheat sheet to keep track of Thursday’s debate between the Florida and California governors.

By on November 29th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/gavin-newsom-ron-desantis-fox-news-debate-florida-california-239e637b?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis are set to square off Thursday evening in a Fox News debate, and it should be instructive. Besides offering voters a look of the alternatives to Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the showdown between the California and Florida governors could provide a revealing policy contrast.

Sacramento has rushed to the left in recent decades while Tallahassee has moved to the right. Since winning election in 2018, Messrs. Newsom and DeSantis have advanced sharply different policies on Covid lockdowns, taxes, school choice and climate regulation, among other things. In case you’ll be keeping track at home, here is a scorecard of policy results.

• Employment. Since January 2019, employment has increased by 1,031,030 in Florida while declining by 85,438 in California. Amid Mr. Newsom’s prolonged Covid lockdowns, businesses and workers moved to places with a lower tax burden and cost of living. Florida’s population is 22.2 million and rising, while California’s is 39 million and falling.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Evan Gershkovich Is Still in Prison What are the costs for imprisoning American journalists?

By on November 29th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/evan-gershkovich-prison-russia-biden-administration-alsu-kurmasheva-2d31322b?mod=opinion_lead_pos2

A Russian court on Tuesday extended the unjust detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich through at least Jan. 30. That would extend his imprisonment to 10 months on false charges of espionage since his arrest in March.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow criticized the court’s decision, and thanks for that. But the question Americans should ask the Biden Administration is what price has the Russian government paid for imprisoning an American journalist?

We can’t think of anything that would discomfit Vladimir Putin, who is responsible for Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest. The dictator has been denounced around the world, but the bomber of Ukrainian civilians hardly cares about that. No real Russian spies have been arrested in the U.S., nor any Russian journalists or diplomats even expelled, in response.

The White House seems to be focusing on some kind of prisoner exchange for Mr. Gershkovich, as it has for others such as basketball celebrity Brittney Griner. The problem is that Mr. Putin doesn’t seem interested in anyone currently in U.S. custody, and Russia’s official position is that Mr. Gershkovich must go on trial first. Russia could finish its Potemkin trial in days if it wanted to.

The harsh reality of Mr. Gershkovich’s detention for all American journalists working abroad is that the failure to impose costs on Russia will encourage the Kremlin and other rogue states to grab others. And sure enough, it recently escalated by detaining American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

U.N. Women Retracts Statement Condemning Hamas Attacks on Israel By Haley Strack

By on November 29th, 2023

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/u-n-women-retracts-statement-condemning-hamas-attacks-on-israel/?utm_source=recirc

After weeks of silence on Hamas’s October 7 crimes against women and children, United Nations Women issued a definitive statement on Friday that condemned “the brutal attacks by Hamas.”

Then, the organization deleted its statement.

In a post on Instagram, U.N. Women initially denounced Hamas’s attacks and said that it would “continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” U.N. Women deleted the statement soon after it was posted and replaced it with another that omitted condemnation of Hamas.

U.N. Women has faced mounting pressure from Jewish women’s organizations, who say that the organization’s response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks has been skewed at best. In October, U.N. Women waited days to publicly comment on the attack. When the organization did comment on the “situation in Israel,” it called for increased humanitarian aid and fuel for Gaza, began to advocate for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, and said nothing of the violence that Hamas committed against Israeli women and children.

The U.N.’s leading women’s body is now spearheading its annual 16-day campaign to bring attention to gender-based violence. Its 16-day campaign might be to blame for the media mix-up that caused U.N. Women to post its Friday statement, a representative told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

While Americans struggle to make ends meet, government throws away billions of dollars

By on November 29th, 2023

https://mailchi.mp/2a3e7d26080a/35b-from-us-taxpayers-funded-world-health-organization-59823?e=0c8ccf8e98

Here are just a couple infuriating examples:  

The federal government doled out billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment insurance payments during the pandemic.  

New York’s government just funded millions of dollars for planting trees while New York City struggles with a migrant housing crisis.  

From 2020-22, federal agencies spent billions of dollars on office furniture—even though most of their employees worked from home.  

This is only a small sample of the reckless, wasteful government spending that goes on every day.

And the worst part? There are elected officials trying to hide this spending from the very people who elected them.

The American people have a right to know how their money is being spent!  

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