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February 9, 2023 [Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American]

By Spencer Chen
In Heather Cox Richardson [Letters from an American]
February 10, 2023
680 views
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• Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have differing opinions on the decision to wait and shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon.
• House Republicans have used “investigations” to spread the idea of Democratic wrongdoing, but this narrative is being challenged by journalists and Democratic lawmakers.
• The House Oversight and Accountability Committee investigated Twitter for allegations that the company hid the story of Hunter Biden’s laptop before the election of 2020.
• Twitter executives testified that the Trump White House routinely demanded that tweets be taken down, while the Biden White House has not.
• The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government held its first meeting under chair Jim Jordan (R-OH), with witnesses including Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and former Democratic representative Tulsi Gabbard.
• Special counsel Jack Smith has issued a subpoena to former vice president Mike Pence for documents and testimony, suggesting the investigation into former president Trump is moving into a new phase.

Published February 10, 2023
Visit Letters from an American to read Heather Cox Richardson’s original post February 9, 2023

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Peter Zeihan – Why Are My Eggs So D*** Expensive? [Peter Zeihan, Zeihan on Geopolitics]

By William McClain
In Peter Zeihan [Zeihan on Geopolitics], Politics
February 10, 2023
633 views
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• Eggs prices have significantly increased due to an outbreak of avian flu in the Midwest about a year ago.
• Chickens have to be raised for 2–6 months before they can lay eggs, meaning prices won‘t go back down for 3–4 months.
• The Ukraine War has caused a disruption in wheat production, with corn and oil seeds being favored due to their higher income potential.
• If the Russians succeed in their Spring offensive, they are likely to target food production and transport, resulting in the loss of Ukraine being the world‘s 5th largest exporter of wheat, 4th largest exporter of corn, and top oil seeds exporter.
• Prices may not go back down for a year or more.

Published February 10, 2023
Visit YouTube to read Peter Zeihan’s original vlog Peter Zeihan – Why Are My Eggs So D*** Expensive?

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“Apartheid” in Jackson, Mississippi [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information]
February 9, 2023
634 views
&

• Mississippi House, dominated by white Republicans, voted to create a separate court system and police force for portions of Jackson, Mississippi, the second-Blackest city in the US.
• Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the proposal “reminds me of apartheid” and is an attempt to “colonize Jackson.”
• The bill would expand the Capitol Complex Improvement District, covering about 50,000 people, and divert 18.75% of sales tax that would otherwise go to Jackson to a Capitol Complex Improvement District project fund.
• The lead author of the bill is Representative Trey Lamar (R), who lives more than 150 miles north of Jackson.
• The Capitol Police force has faced criticism for being involved in multiple shootings and deploying “overzealous tactics” with “little accountability.”
• Mississippi’s bill parallels decades-long efforts to deny Washington D.C. statehood, which is rooted in a desire to limit the power of Black voters.
• Congress has taken control of D.C.’s finances, debts, courts, and prisons, and retains the right to review and nullify any legislation passed by the district’s local government.
• This exclusion of D.C. residents from a voice in Congress contributes to the underrepresentation of voters of color in the American political system.

Published February 9, 2023
Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post “Apartheid” in Jackson, Mississippi

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February 8, 2023 [Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American]

By Spencer Chen
In Heather Cox Richardson [Letters from an American]
February 9, 2023
547 views
F

• U.S. intelligence has determined that the spy balloon found in U.S. airspace was part of a larger Chinese surveillance program operating around the world.
• President Joe Biden issued an executive order in May 2021 to improve the nation’s cybersecurity.
• U.S. intelligence was able to detect the balloon due to the enhanced surveillance of the Biden administration.
• Republicans have complained that Biden didn’t shoot the balloon down earlier, but defense officials said they were collecting intelligence from the device.
• Biden said the balloon did not change the developing patterns between the U.S. and China.
• The U.S. has signed a deal with Japan and the Netherlands to limit exports of semiconductor technologies to China.
• The Republican House has come up with 17 new bills to counter China.
• The Australian Lowy Institute has assessed that China’s isolation because of Covid has set it back, permitting the U.S. to retain its position as the key player in Asia.
• The Senate and the House will receive classified briefings on the balloon and Chinese intelligence this week.
• House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) complained by tweet that Biden hadn’t mentioned China in the first hour of his State of the Union address.

Published February 9, 2023
Visit Letters from an American to read Heather Cox Richardson’s original post February 8, 2023

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Peter Zeihan – The Ukraine War Is Just Getting Started [Peter Zeihan, Zeihan on Geopolitics]

By William McClain
In Peter Zeihan [Zeihan on Geopolitics], Politics
February 9, 2023
614 views
P

• Russia has always sought to expand their territory to gain buffer space, reach geographic barriers, and forward position their forces.
• Ukraine is not an access point to Russia‘s most important territories, Romania and Poland.
• If Russia succeeds in Ukraine, they will eventually come for Romania and Poland, and will use every tool available, including nuclear weapons.
• If Ukraine succeeds, they must cross the border into Russia to disrupt Logistics and prevent industrial plant from contributing to the war effort.
• The war will become more intense before it is resolved and Russia has never backed down from a war without suffering mass casualties.

Published February 9, 2023
Visit YouTube to read Peter Zeihan’s original vlog Peter Zeihan – The Ukraine War Is Just Getting Started

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This book is considered pornography in Ron DeSantis’ Florida [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information]
February 8, 2023
496 views
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• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and the Florida Department of Education have imposed sweeping new restrictions on books in public schools, both in libraries and in classrooms.
• Duval County Public Schools, which includes Jacksonville and the surrounding area, has enthusiastically embraced the task of complying with DeSantis’ new mandates.
• One book reviewed in Duval County and banned from school libraries was *The Best Man*, a book about a boy’s journey into the middle school years and the male role models in his life.
• The reviewer, Michelle DiBias, believes that, based on the book’s content, a teacher or librarian that made *The Best Man* available to students could be charged with a third-degree felony.
• Common Sense Media, an independent non-profit that evaluates books and other entertainment for parents and schools, gives *The Best Man* its lowest rating for “”Sex, Romance, & Nudity,”” meaning that reviewers found nothing objectionable.
• Duval County schools are also reviewing all books for compliance with the Parental Rights in Education Act, also known as “”Don’t Say Gay.””
• Books that have been rejected by Duval County schools, according to public records, include *Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation*, *My Name is Sally Little Song*, *Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag*, *Stonewall*, *10,000 Dresses*, and *The Flag of Childhood*.

Published February 8, 2023
Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post This book is considered pornography in Ron DeSantis’ Florida

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February 7, 2023 [Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American]

By Spencer Chen
In Heather Cox Richardson [Letters from an American]
February 8, 2023
637 views
F

• President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address was watched by 38.2 million people.
• Biden offered to work across the aisle and outlined a moderate plan for the nation with a wide range of popular programs.
• Republicans refused to clap for Biden’s successes and heckled, catcalled, and booed him.
• Biden called for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and asked Congress to commit to never questioning the full faith and credit of the United States.
• Biden tricked Republicans into a public declaration of support for protecting Social Security and Medicare.
• Biden praised Republican president George W. Bush’s bipartisan $100 billion investment in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.
• Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave the Republican rebuttal, full of references to the culture wars and scathing of Biden.

Published February 8, 2023
Visit Letters from an American to read Heather Cox Richardson’s original post February 7, 2023

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Geopolitical Impact of Natural Disasters: Ice Storm Edition [Peter Zeihan, Zeihan on Geopolitics]

By William McClain
In Peter Zeihan [Zeihan on Geopolitics], Politics
February 8, 2023
521 views
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• Michael Navrystery is the Director of Analysis at Signing Geopolitics based out of Austin, Texas
• Recent cold weather has caused a significant ice storm leading to tree limbs falling down around the city
• Utility poles, cables, coatings, and transformers are all part of the global supply chain coming from various sources
• Copper ore is primarily produced out of Chile with wires made in the US, Germany, or Japan; coatings come from the Gulf Coast
• With the cold weather in Texas in Feb 2021, the chemicals industry faced delays of months to a year
• Transformers are made of steel and other technical components with the largest exporter being China
• With EU and China upheaval, U.S. sourcing managers face higher costs, longer lead times, and greater delays
• Solutions will take time and capital to restore and move components to North America, with increased investment in the industry necessary to eliminate risk.

Published February 8, 2023
Visit YouTube to read Peter Zeihan’s original vlog Geopolitical Impact of Natural Disasters: Ice Storm Edition

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How Koch manipulates the media [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen
In [Popular Information]
February 7, 2023
604 views
H

• Charles Koch’s political organization, AFP Action, released a memo claiming that the Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles.
• The memo signals a break between the Koch political network and MAGA Republicans, particularly Trump.
• Despite Koch’s repeated announcements of reorienting his political strategy away from far-right Republicans, including Trump, he has quietly resumed business as usual.
• Koch has spent millions of dollars to legitimize Trump and his allies.
• After 147 Republican members of Congress voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, the Koch network announced that the vote would “”weigh heavy in our evaluation of future support.””
• However, over the next two years, AFP Action spent $63,401,608 supporting Republican candidates for federal office, $5,576,858 opposing Democratic candidates, and zero dollars supporting Democratic candidates.
• 86.7% of AFP Action’s spending bolstered candidates who were endorsed by Trump.
• In 2016, Koch generated headlines for saying he would not financially support Trump, who had secured the Republican nomination, but ended up providing critical financial support to Trump’s successful campaign.

Published February 7, 2023
Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post How Koch manipulates the media

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February 6, 2023 [Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American]

By Spencer Chen
In Heather Cox Richardson [Letters from an American]
February 7, 2023
616 views
F

• A Chinese airship entered U.S. airspace on January 28 and was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.
• Republicans have responded to the balloon with exaggerated claims that Biden has been weak on China or even working for China.
• In fact, U.S. standing in the world has strengthened considerably since Biden took office, and the balloon is just one more piece of a larger story about the changing relationship between China and the U.S.
• Biden has rejected the trickle-down economics of the Republicans and has revived the older idea that investing in ordinary Americans and infrastructure creates widespread prosperity.
• A poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News shows that 62% of Americans think Biden has not accomplished much in his two years in office, but his administration ranks as one of the most consequential since the New Deal in the 1930s.
• Neo-Nazi leader Brandon Russell and Sarah Clendaniel were charged with plotting to bring down the electric power grid in Maryland.
• Thousands are dead from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and its strong aftershocks in Turkey and Syria last night, and Biden has pledged to support our NATO ally.

Published February 7, 2023
Visit Letters from an American to read Heather Cox Richardson’s original post February 6, 2023

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