Daily News Roundup

Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes

NOTABLE QUOTES

Mark Judge contributor to the Washington Examiner: In her well-researched book A State of Secrecy: Stasi Informers and the Culture of Surveillance, Australian academic Alison Lewis observes that many of those who became informants for the East German Stasi had one thing in common: fatherlessness. The Stasi, the secret police under East German communism during the Cold War, were skilled at exploiting the vulnerability of people whose fathers had abandoned them. It’s a phenomenon that is also evident in the rage of the modern American Left. When scholar Mary Eberstadt witnessed antifa riots and discovered how many of those arrested were without fathers, she dubbed their rage “the fury of the fatherless.”

Paul Bedard reporter for the Washington Examiner: “If, as expected, Saturday’s South Carolina primary cements Trump’s position as the all-but-certain Republican nominee,” he said, “the next eight months of general election coverage seems clear: endless coverage bashing Trump not only for the legal cases brought against him, but also for the anti-establishment policies he would bring to a second term.”

Brad Slager contributor to RedState.com: . . . we see by now that whenever there is a deviation from the expected characteristics of a shooter the coverage is notably different. In fact, it has become a cliched punchline that if the featured individual is found to be a member from one of the protected minority classes then the response becomes, “. . . And that’s when the story disappeared from the front page.”

Auguste Meyrat contributor to The Federalist: While a monument can bring a community together by its beauty and truth, an anti-monument divides a community through its ugliness and evil.

Warner Todd Huston contributor to World Net Daily: The left despises homeschooling, and this list of homeschooling parents is only being proposed so that Democrat-affiliated officials can identify homeschooling households solely for the purpose of pinning down where they are, so officials can move in and begin forcing them to toe the left’s line on “education.” Meanwhile, government-operated schools in cities like Jackson, Detroit, Flint and other blue-led inner-city Michigan schools, are still failing miserably.

DEMOCRAT MARXIST PLAYBOOK: ABOLISH THE FIRST AMENDMENT

(Republicans join the Democrat effort) Revolver.news: “Conservatives are going to get WRECKED” […] is Florida’s well-intentioned libel bill a free speech poison pill?

Florida is on the verge of passing a new law to dramatically lower the legal standard for defamation. This, after leftist judges and juries have been imposing one insane vengeful verdict after another against innocent conservatives. At the moment, there is no parallel ecosystem on the right. There is no Florida equivalent on the right of a NYC jury on the left. A jury of conservatives will bend over backwards to reach a “fair” conclusion. If Florida passes the proposed law to lower the standard for defamation expect leftist’ plaintiffs lawyers to spend the next generation bankrupting every prominent conservative based in Florida. If you want to go after corporate media then pass a law narrowly tailored at them. This law will mean conservative influencers, podcasters and alternative media companies based in Florida are going to get WRECKED solely because they are conservative. And I mean WRECKED. Reject this law before it’s too late. So what is in this bill exactly? In a nutshell, this bill, pushed forward by conservative state senator Brodeur, would make it much easier for a plaintiff to sue a defendant for libel and defamation. Ordinarily, there is a higher standard of “malice” that must be proven for defamation cases involving public figures.

This bill would narrow the definition of public figure in such a way as to make it easier in most cases to win a defamation claim. Unelected public officials, those defending themselves against accusations, and a variety of other individuals would no longer have to prove “actual malice” in defamation claims.

THE CORRUPT & DANGEROUS U.S. INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES & THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE APPARATUS

Harsanyi: The ‘Russia Collusion’ Reboot Is Going To Be Terrible

We’re all wondering this question, Speaker Pelosi, what do you think [Vladimir] Putin has on him?” White House press secretary turned MSNBC White House spokesperson Jen Psaki asked the former speaker of the House this week. “I mean, it sure seems like something, as you’ve said a few times, given that he refuses to criticize him, that he seems to be a fanboy of him. Are you worried?” By “him,” of course, Psaki is referring to Donald Trump. He is virtually the only thing they talk about. Psaki can beg the questions because Trump recently went on a hyperbolic rant about our European allies failing to meet their North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) obligations—a decades-long problem. “I don’t know what he has on him, but I think it’s probably financial,” Pelosi theorized. “Either something financial he has him on or something on the come — something that he expects to get.” […] I don’t care how much you detest Trump. Accusing him of being a foreign asset or a spy, or contending that he’s being blackmailed, are stupid smears. Only a sap or a liar could possibly believe them at this point.

TYRANNY IN THE NAME OF CLIMATE DOOM MYTH: GLOBALIST POLITICIANS & BIG BUSINESS ACCUMULATE MORE POWER & CONTROL

Hohmann: Bill Gates’ Dream of Blocking Sunlight About To Be Realized

What could possibly go wrong? Bill Gates, ever the demented snake oil salesman, has long argued in favor of a bizarre plan to fight global warming by using experimental geo-engineering to partially block the sun’s rays from reaching Earth. Well, he’s apparently about to get his wish. Scientists plan to begin pumping chemicals into the sky over the next few weeks and months from several countries around the globe, including the U.S., Australia and Israel. The idea, promoted by Gates and leftist billionaire George Soros, involves pumping manmade white clouds containing chalk dust and other chemicals into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from the Earth’s surface. Blocking the sun’s light would allegedly lower the planet’s temperature enough to reverse global warming. Never mind that fruit trees and vegetables require sunlight in order to grow and produce food for the masses. Not to mention, sunlight is the primary source of critical Vitamin D, an essential nutrient for human immunity. Gates, a known eugenicist who goes around giving talks about how we need to reduce the global population, likely sees these dark possibilities as exciting side effects of the nefarious sun-blocking plan.

Justice: Governor Of Nation’s Largest Coal State Leads Charge To ‘Decarbonize’ The West

‘Decarbonizing the West’ has become Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon’s signature initiative as chair of the Western Governors’ Association. Carbon sequestration has become Republicans’ most popular answer to climate change, with GOP governors across western states pumping massive stores of concentrated CO2 into underground chambers. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, who chairs the Western Governors Association, currently leads the charge to his state’s detriment as a carbon-powerhouse and leading coal producer. Last week, lawmakers in Wyoming heard from members of the CO2 Coalition who challenged Governor Gordon’s pledge to decarbonize the energy-intensive state with carbon capture programs. Dr. William Happer, the founder of the CO2 Coalition, compared such efforts to a “religion” before the Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee. “If you look around, you need something bigger than yourself to make your life worthwhile: Happer said. “What’s bigger than saving the planet? The problem is the planet doesn’t need saving.” […] “Let me just address this 1.5-degree narrative,” Wrightstone said. […] Last week’s proceedings were held in response to Gordon’s decision to back out of a debate with the coalition he had agreed to in November. […] Carbon sequestration, however, doesn’t come without risk. Residents in rural Mississippi have first-hand experience of what can happen when things go wrong. An explosion three years ago filled the air of Yazoo County in central Mississippi with a dense concentration of carbon dioxide that caused mass poisoning. More than 200 people were forced to flee, and at least 45 wound up in the hospital. Cars were stuck as inoperable because of the lack of oxygen in the air, disrupting emergency services. “It looked like you were going through the zombie apocalypse,” a local emergency director told National Public Radio.

REPUBLICAN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Seel: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump

There is a method to Trump’s madness. While the media and his political opponents play rhetorical checkers, he wins by playing rhetorical chess. To understand him and his political success, you must understand the game he is playing. It is almost inevitable that we must learn to do that again. To complement Trump’s rhetorical skill is not an endorsement. I’m an independently oriented conservative Christian political voter, […] As a student of contemporary religious culture, Trump is not a topic that can be ignored. Why is it that over 80 percent of American evangelicals voted for Donald Trump? And will likely do so again. It is for reasons that are deeper than public policy. Peter Leithart argues in “Why Trump Is Still Wildly Popular,” that it is based on René Girard’s theory of scapegoating. While this may be true, I think there is a simpler explanation. I also teach classical rhetoric at an Anglican-micro-college in California. I’m attentive to the dynamics of successful rhetorical skills, which Trump demonstrates in spades. He does so in three ways. First, he identifies with his audience. Second, he gains attention space in the media. Third, he reframes the arguments. Trump may be infuriating to some, but he is a uniquely gifted communicator. We’d all do well to learn his game.

TUCKER

WATCH: Tucker Carlson: Goons are rigging the presidential election

If goons like Fani Willis and Letitia James can rig a presidential election, then obviously we’re done. But what can we do about it?

Watch the 18:39 minute video: https://www.wnd.com/2024/02/watch-tucker-carlson-goons-rigging-presidential-election/

CHRISTIANS & CHRISTIANITY UNDER ATTACK IN AMERICA

Ward & Przybyla: Trump allies prepare to infuse ‘Christian nationalism’ in second administration

An influential think tank close to Donald Trump is developing plans to infuse Christian nationalist ideas in his administration should the former president return to power, according to documents obtained by POLITICO. Spearheading the effort is Russell Vought, who served as Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget during his first term and has remained close to him. Vought, who is frequently cited as a potential chief of staff in a second Trump White House, is president of The Center for Renewing America think tank, a leading group in a conservative consortium preparing for a second Trump term. Christian nationalists in America believe that the country was founded as a Christian nation and that Christian values should be prioritized throughout government and public life. As the country has become less religious and more diverse, Vought has embraced the idea that Christians are under assault and has spoken of policies he might pursue in response. [Note: The Marxist Democrat Party is pushing secular globalism. Don’t run and hide. Christians must stand tall and strong.]

CHINA: AMERICA’S MORTAL ENEMY

Raleigh: Beijing Is Expanding Its Territorial Claims Without Firing A Single Shot

There are disturbing signs that Xi Jinping is making progress toward taking control of Taiwan through coercive actions shy of armed conflict. After Taiwan’s voters defiantly voted for Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as their next president in January, many people are waiting to see when communist China’s dictator Xi Jinping will attack Taiwan militarily. There are disturbing signs that Xi is already making progress toward taking control of Taiwan through “gray zone” operations, and the Biden administration is unprepared to address China’s aggressive geopolitical expansions. A “gray zone” operation refers to “coercive actions that are shy of armed conflict but beyond normal diplomatic, economic, and other activities,” according to the Rand Corporation. China has deployed close to 80 different gray zone tactics in recent decades against its Asian neighbors, Rand reports. By gradually altering the regional and international status quo, Beijing has succeeded in expanding its territorial claims without firing a single shot or launching any military attack.

BIDEN/HARRIS/OBAMA’S AMERICA LAST REGIME: RADICAL TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA

(What a difference a presidential election year makes.) Justice: Biden’s New Border ‘Plan’ Shows Democrats Lied About Needing More Laws From Congress

“I’ve done all I can do,” Biden said last month on the White House lawn. “Just give me the power.” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the same thing two weeks ago. “There is no executive action that the president can take,” she said, to reinforce the border. But now Politico is reporting that the president does, in fact, recognize the authority at his disposal to address the border crisis. On Wednesday, the paper reported the administration is “considering a string of new executive actions and federal regulations in an effort to curb migration at the U.S. southern border.” […] Republicans dispute Biden’s claims that the commander-in-chief is powerless to fulfill his oath of office to faithfully execute the nation’s border laws. “Give me the Border Patrol, give me the people, the judges — give me the people who can stop this and make it work right,” Biden said in January. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson responded on X with a series of steps Biden could take immediately to combat the crisis. “He’s either lying or misinformed.” Johnson wrote. “Here are just a few authorities at his disposal — if only he would use them.”

Continetti: Biden’s Terrible Student Loan Gamble

The president’s latest betrayal of the working class is costly, irresponsible, unconstitutional, and ineffective. […] On February 21, Biden announced that he was canceling $1.2 billion in federal student loans for 153,000 borrowers. That’s on top of more than $130 billion in student debt that he has canceled to date. The Penn Wharton school says that Biden’s efforts will cost a total of $475 billion over 10 years. How awful is this policy? Ah, let us count the ways. It’s not debt relief. It’s debt transfer. Biden is forgiving certain borrowers of their duty to pay—and placing the burden on the American taxpayer, who is already on the hook for $34 trillion in federal debt. The cost of servicing that public debt soon will be more expensive than America’s defense budget. Talk about recklessness. It’s constitutionally dubious. Last year the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s original debt transfer program. A 6-3 majority said that the president had overstepped his authority by grounding his policy in a post-9/11 law called the HEROES Act. After the Court ruled against him, a defiant Biden pledged that he would look for a way to circumvent Congress and the judiciary. He landed on what he calls the “Saving on a Valuable Education” (SAVE) Plan.

Kittle: ‘Bidenbucks’ Stink Emanates From Leftist Group’s Voter Drive In Milwaukee Schools

The Milwaukee initiative has all the markings of ‘Bidenbucks,’ an executive order that threatens to transform federal agencies into a get-out-the-vote machine for Democrats. Just 16 percent of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) students can read and write at grade level. Only 12 percent are proficient in math in the swing state of Wisconsin’s largest school district. So why on earth is MPS prioritizing work with a Democrat-aligned activist organization aimed at turning out to the polls the 18-year-old students MPS has for so long failed? Why is the anti-voter ID group VoteRiders working with MPS faculty designated as “Voter Champions” to register MPS students and their families to vote? Naked politics. And familiar politics at that, according to Dave Craig, a senior legal fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability. “It’s relatively the same type of scheme as Zuckerbucks,” said Craig, a former Wisconsin state senator, referring to the hundreds of millions of dollars handed out in so-called “safe election” grants to election administrators by the leftist Center for Tech and Civic Life. “I think it’s certainly something the legislature should be looking at.”

Stokols: Biden meets with Navalny’s widow and daughter

In San Francisco as part of a three-day fundraising swing through California, Biden expressed his “heartfelt condolences” to Yulia and Dasha Navalny, according to a White House readout of the meeting. Biden “expressed his admiration for Alexei Navalny’s extraordinary courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption and for a free and democratic Russia in which the rule of law applies equally to everyone,” the White House said. “The President emphasized that Alexei’s legacy will carry on through people across Russia and around the world mourning his loss and fighting for freedom, democracy, and human rights.”

DEMOCRAT PARTY MARXIST PLAYBOOK: ABOLISH THE NUCLEAR FAMILY

Judge: The Left and ‘the fury of the fatherless’

By now the research is so abundant even most liberals accept it. Children with strong fathers in their lives are far less likely to wind up in prison, divorced, or with emotional problems. They are also less likely to join radical political organizations. In the late 1960s, the poet Robert Bly saw some radical students on TV rioting at a prestigious university. “They’re all out there looking for their fathers,” he said. It’s still true today. Several years ago, I was a substitute teacher at a small Catholic school outside of Washington. I’ll never forget my first day. I was the only male teacher, and it’s no exaggeration to say that when I arrived, the boys went berserk. They dragged me outside to play football during recess, asked me a thousand questions, absorbed what I said, and just generally seemed elated that there was a caring and athletic male in the school. I wasn’t a father to these boys, but I did represent what used to be common in America – male role models at school and in the neighborhood. […] Those without such fathers are often susceptible to radical ideology. In A State of Secrecy, Lewis notes that the German Stasi preyed on artists, such as Paul Wiens, Paul Gratzik, and Sascha Anderson, who lacked a strong father figure in their childhoods. Stasi officers knew that many potential recruits were susceptible to an offer of a father substitute. And if the offer was refused, Lewis notes, “the Stasi proved that its memory of past misdemeanors and transgressions was extraordinarily good.” Like the modern American Left, it operated like a gang, exploiting whatever weakness it could find.

DEMOCRAT PARTY MARXIST PLAYBOOK: WOKE IDENTITY POLITICS

Video: Cicely Davis Delivers the Savage Truth About Progressive Blacks

In this short clip from the latest episode of the Freedom Center’s podcast The Savage Truth, host Cicely Davis slams the woke crowd for holding up the worst possible figures as exemplars of black excellence, from Fani Willis to Kamala Harris and more.

Watch the 4:03 minute video: https://www.frontpagemag.com/video-cicely-davis-delivers-the-savage-truth-about-progressive-blacks/

THE CORRUPT & DANGEROUS DEMOCRAT PARTY MEDIA INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

Slager: Three Shootings in Ten Days That Derail All the Media Narratives on Gun Incidents

Most of us are familiar with the media narratives when it comes to reporting on mass shootings. The familiar beats of coverage are so rote as to basically qualify as tropes. Conversely, we see by now that whenever there is a deviation from the expected characteristics of a shooter the coverage is notably different. In fact, it has become a cliched punchline that if the featured individual is found to be a member from one of the protected minority classes then the response becomes, “. . . And that’s when the story disappeared from the front page.” That secondary reality has loomed large this month. So much so that we have now seen that Mad Libs media narrative exposed in all its shame, as there have been a string of these gun-related incidents in just a matter of days and it has led to a blaring amount of silence from the press. The sham of the contrived outrage from our media superiors is how there has been little in the way of outrage this week. Beginning in Texas, […] Then there was the shooting that took place at the celebratory parade for the Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. At first we saw the expected script trotted out in the press, with the NRA made culpable and the pedantic calls for new gun laws. Then came the facts.

[…] Now we move to Burnsville, just outside of Minneapolis. In the case of Shannon Cortez Gooden we have a violation of all four of these familiar media gun tropes. […] In the midst of these stories being downplayed, Anderson Cooper covered the case of a missing girl in Texas whose body turned up in a waterway. The suspect had been tabbed and arrested. And there was CNN, boldly displaying the image of the alleged white killer.

Greenfield: Why Old TV Shows Are Beating Hollywood’s Billion Dollar DEI Machine

Even as streamers like Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ are spending almost incomprehensible amounts of money creating the movies and shows fueling the Peak TV wars, the numbers show that audiences are turning down much of that content to watch old television shows instead. […] The Hollywood Reporter noted that the “top 10 overall titles in Nielsen’s year-end rankings are all acquired shows, the first time that’s happened in the four years streaming rankings have been publicly available.” Acquired means the library of older shows that Netflix bought after spending $17 billion on content, much of it on new shows like “Bridgerton” whose three seasons cost $168 million, only to lose to the estimated $200,000 per episode that it paid for “Suits”.

WAR IN ISRAEL

Begin: The PLO Covenant Was Never Abolished

It is widely believed that, in April 1996, the PLO abolished its notorious Covenant calling for the liquidation of the State of Israel. This belief is based on PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat’s statement in his September 9, 1993 letter to Israel’s then prime minister Yitzhak Rabin: “The PLO affirms that those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which deny Israel’s right to exist […] are now inoperative and no longer valid. Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian Covenant.” However, the fact is that this crucial commitment was never fulfilled. In order to understand the gap between the false impression and the facts on the ground we must look back to those days and see exactly what transpired.

OTHER NEWS, COMMENTARY, OPINION

Huston: Homeschool Parents Fight Back Against ‘Disturbing’ Registry Plan That May Lead to ‘Unwarranted Home Entry’

Left-wing states are always looking for the next way to oppress and limit homeschooling. Parents in Michigan are warning of the latest attempt to quash their freedom with ominous and obtrusive new regulations aimed at scaring parents away from taking their children out of government-run schools.

At issue is a new “registry” of homeschooling households that the Michigan State Board of Education is proposing, a plan that opponents say is just the first step toward more government intrusion in the education of their children in the home. […] McMillin said the idea is hardly benign and is just a foot in the door to allow the state to eventually seek “unwarranted home entry” into the homes of homeschooling families. He also warned that such intrusions would have the color of law and if parents refused such entry, officials would be able to “barge in and bust the door down.” […] Ominously, Rice added that every child in Michigan needs an “identified educational setting.” This line alone might tend to convey that Rice plans to further regulate what parents are allowed to teach and how they will be allowed to do it in their homeschooling classrooms.

INTERNATIONAL

9 News Australia: UK judges deciding the fate of Julian Assange

Watch the 2:13 minute report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w1rrPDXgB4

War Room: Christine Anderson Joins WarRoom To Discuss German Politics And Alternative For Deutschland

Watch the 10:22 minute interview: https://rumble.com/v4f4gyf-christine-anderson-joins-warroom-to-discuss-german-politics-and-alternative.html

War Room: Liz Truss: “The Economic Establishment In Britain Wanted To Keep Things The Way They Were”

Watch the 9:43 minute interview: https://rumble.com/v4f3vj0-liz-truss-the-economic-establishment-in-britain-wanted-to-keep-things-the-w.html

DISCOVER THE NETWORKS

Rob Reiner

Wealthy and famous actor, director, producer, and writer in the film & TV industry

Longtime supporter of leftwing Democrat candidates & causes

A founding member of the Democracy Alliance

Has likened Tea Party conservatives to Nazis & Hamas terrorists

Harbors deep contempt for Donald Trump & his allies

Supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement

Opposes election-integrity laws

Meryl Streep

* Wealthy and famous movie actress with more Oscar nominations than any other performer in history
* Avid supporter of Democratic Party candidates & causes
* Supporter & friend of the Obamas & Clintons
* Has contempt for Donald Trump
* Passionate advocate for the rights of LGBTQ people & illegal aliens
* Believes that anthropogenic climate change poses an existential threat to all life on Earth

Meryl Streep was born in Summit, New Jersey on June 22, 1949, to Harry and Mary Streep — a pharmaceutical company executive and an artist, respectively. She graduated from Bernards High School in Bernardsville, New Jersey in 1967 and went on to obtain a B.A. in drama from Vassar College in upstate New York in 1971. She subsequently earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University in 1975.

Amy Schumer

* Famous and massively wealthy comedienne, actress, writer, producer, and director
* Longtime supporter of leftwing Democrat candidates & causes
* Harbors deep contempt for Donald Trump
* Opposes election-integrity measures
* Supporter of the Black lives Matter movement
* Views America as a nation plagued by massive levels of white racism
* Abortion-rights extremist

Amy Schumer was born in New York City on June 1, 1981 and is the second cousin of New York State’s Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. Thanks to the success of her father’s furniture company, Ms. Schumer was raised in an affluent home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side After graduating from South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York in 1999, she earned a degree in Theater from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland in 2003.

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

TAKE ACTION