New Immigration Coverage: Refugees Are Welcome
If they’re white, that’s. At one level, Donald Trump wished to ban all immigration, however now he has softened.At this time’s immigration coverage (however perhaps not tomorrow’s) is toadmit7,500 folks/12 months. Nonetheless, 7,000 of the slots are reserved for Afrikaners—white South Africans who speakAfrikaans, which is type of 18th-century-kindergarten Dutch. Trump sees them as refugees as a result of they arrive from aBlack-majority nation. The opposite 500 slots might be used for white, English-speaking Christian folks from othercountries who really feel they’re being persecuted. For instance, somebody who drew some flak for being a Holocaust denier orfor supporting the neo-Nazi AfD in Germany would qualify as being persecuted. Evidently, folks from sh**holecountries will not be welcome.
The essential concept is to import white folks and deport brown folks.In different phrases, MAWA.
This coverage contrasts with the admissions coverage of the Biden administration, the place folks from war-torn countriesgot precedence. Additionally, the immigration cap within the final 12 months of the Biden administration was 125,000 refugees, with theDemocratic Republic of the Congo and Afghanistan being the highest two suppliers of refugees.
However the Trump administration couldn’t even get this proper. For instance, apparently in its haste to confess the whiteAfrikaners, some bureaucrat reserved 50 seats on a industrial flight from South Africa to the U.S., went by thelist of Afrikaners who had utilized for asylum, picked 50, and advised them to go to the airport. Solely 3 did. The otherswanted to do foolish issues like promote their homes and companies, purchase sufficient suitcases, pack, and so forth. first.
Usually, refugees have already offered or misplaced all the things that they had and certainly can get on the following out there flight atany time of the day or evening. However these folks weren’t refugees within the standard sense. They had been regular individuals who justwanted to maneuver to the U.S. Thus far, solely 400 Afrikaners have been resettled, and lots of of them are having bother findingjobs, as 18th-century-kindergarten Dutch shouldn’t be extensively spoken within the U.S. They’re additionally discovering that the price ofliving is far greater within the U.S. than in South Africa. Charl Kleinhaus, a South African farmer who was despatched toBuffalo however shortly moved to South Dakota, acquired right into a little bit of sizzling water for an interview through which he stated his biggestproblem within the U.S. was the shortage of assist: “There’s no kitchen lady you call to sweep the house, or clean the house, orstuff like that. You do the work yourself.” Again dwelling, white people had a number of Black servants to do all of the work. Movingwas type of a step backwards for him. (V)
Trump Is Lastly Starting to Get Severe about Uncommon Earths
Apparently, many CEOs from firms whose merchandise are crucially depending on uncommon earths have talked to Donald Trumpand made it clear to him that if China cuts off the provision of uncommon earths, that may be a catastrophe for them, in somecases ending their firms. Uncommon earths are neither uncommon nor earths. Right here is the periodic desk. You might need seenit in highschool chemistry class, however no one ever talked in regards to the uncommon earths as a result of metals and noble gases had been muchmore attention-grabbing. Right here it’s:
You by no means noticed the periodic desk in a political weblog earlier than? At all times a primary time for all the things. Have a look at the sixth row.Notice there’s a hole between factor 57 (lanthanum) and factor 72 (hafnium). That’s the place the uncommon earths go. They areshown within the turquoise row beneath the principle a part of the desk. They’re lumped collectively as a result of as you progress throughout theperiodic desk from left to proper, they fill their internal shells relatively than their outer shells. This makes themchemically just like each other, which additionally makes them exhausting to separate.
All of them have some unusual properties, together with being magnetic however immune to warmth (which makes them helpful in jetengines and motors) and luminescent (which makes them helpful in digital shows). They’re additionally utilized in windturbines, electrical automobiles, semiconductors and different superior merchandise on account of their particular properties.
Evidently, Trump couldn’t inform the periodic desk from the kitchen desk, however he does perceive that China hasa close to monopoly on some bizarre sh** that American trade wants badly. On Monday, Australian Prime Minister AnthonyAlbanese visited the White Home and patiently defined a number of issues to Trump. First, uncommon earths aren’t uncommon in any respect.They’ve some uncommon properties, however they don’t seem to be scarce within the earth’s crust. Second, Australia has giant deposits ofthem and could be pleased to promote them to America.
The issue is that refining them is tough, capital intensive and polluting. Albanese apparently satisfied Trump, whoannouncedan funding of billions of {dollars} in Australia to extract and refine the uncommon earths. The primary U.S. mining companyto recommend that the following batch of $TRUMP cash be made from terbium will in all probability get the contract (except some othercompany proposes renaming terbium “trumpium” as a result of it’s so worthwhile). The take care of Australia is an excellent concept,however it isn’t a short-term repair. Constructing the mines, refineries and factories will take years and elements have to besourced from locations apart from China. Nonetheless, you must begin someplace and the take care of Australia is a begin. TheU.S. additionally has some good deposits in California (the Mountain Move Mine) and Wyoming (the Brook Mine), however no refiningcapability. Creating some, along with the Australia deal, would even be a good suggestion. (V)
Sununu Is Working for the Senate
No, not that Sununu. He’s operating for president. His brother. It’s typically exhausting to inform all these Sununusapart, although.
Chris Sununu is the previous four-term governor of New Hampshire (however word, the time period is 2 years in New Hampshire, so hewas in solely 8 years). He has a bachelors in civil and environmental engineering from MIT, attended the NYU Tisch Schoolof the Arts finding out movie, after which labored in wastewater therapy and resort administration earlier than moving into politics.John Sununu,Chris’ older brother, additionally went to MIT then acquired an MBA from Harvard and labored for the man who invented the Segwaybefore moving into politics, the place he served three phrases within the Home and one within the Senate. How come the Sununus areso political? Perhaps as a result of Dad, who has three levels from MIT (his Ph.D. thesis was entitled: “Flow of a HighTemperature, Variable Viscosity Fluid at Low Reynolds Number”), was a three-term governor of New Hampshire. Acquired it? As anaside, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) additionally went to MIT, the place he was on a workforce that designed solar-powered racing automobiles. Nowhe needs to ferret out pedophiles. Different MIT graduates write political blogs. It’s an odd place.
In case you might be curious the place the identify “Sununu” comes from, the Sununu household had been Greek Orthodox Christians fromLebanon with some ancestors from Greece, Jerusalem, and El Salvador.
John Jr., shouldn’t be going to have a type of well-known “candidate quality” issues. He’s totally vetted and iswidely recognized all through the Granite State, though folks may very well be excused if they will’t preserve monitor of which Sununu isrunning for which workplace. With Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) retiring, there may be an open seat in New Hampshire and Sununu isthe (nearly) ultimate candidate for the Republicans. He’s a average in a swing state, the Sununu identify is well-known (evenif folks aren’t certain which is which), and the Democratic candidate, Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), is well-known in onlyhalf the state.
Nonetheless, Sununu is way from a shoo-in. Former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown can also be operating for theGOP nomination on the grounds that Massachusetts is absolutely a part of Larger New Hampshire. He has additionally reinvented himselfas a Trumpist. When Sununu entered the race, Carpetbagger Brown issued an announcement saying: “Anyone who thinks that anever Trump, corporate lobbyist who hasn’t won an election in a quarter century will resonate with today’s GOP primaryvoters is living in a different universe.” Will probably be an attention-grabbing major, to say the least. (V)
Nancy Pelosi Would possibly Retire
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is 85. She was one of the vital highly effective Home audio system in historical past. She had the knowledge toturn over the Democratic management within the Home to the following technology whereas she was nonetheless on the prime of her recreation. Nowshe is a backbencher representing San Francisco. She has stated she is going to make an importantannouncementnext month, after the vote on Prop. 50 in California. Her focus now’s completely on Sure on 50, so the Democrats cancapture the Home. An announcement earlier than the election would distract from that.
It’s extensively assumed that she is going to announce her retirement after this time period. She is aware of very effectively what occurred toformer senator (and shut buddy) Dianne Feinstein. Additionally, she is absolutely in politics for the Democratic Get together, not forpersonal glory. She acquired this from her father, who was mayor of Baltimore and later congressman from Maryland and herolder brother, Thomas, who adopted in Dad’s footsteps and was additionally mayor of Baltimore. We appear to have loads ondynastic politics at this time. Sorry about that.
If Pelosi calls it quits, she is prone to endorse San Francisco County Supervisor Connie Chan, with whom she isclose. That may give Chan a small edge within the D+36 district. Pelosi’s district, CA-11, is tied with GA-05 (downtownAtlanta) because the fifth-most Democratic district within the nation. Essentially the most Democratic district is PA-03 (Philadelphia),which is D+40, so even the small variety of districts which are bluer than Pelosi’s aren’t very a lot bluer. The mostRepublican district within the nation is the R+33 AL-04 district within the northwest a part of Alabama, which Donald Trumpcarried by 67 factors. CA-11 is among the only a few districts the place a candidate can’t be too progressive to win.
If Pelosi bows out, Chan shouldn’t be a sure-fire guess although. A whole lot of Northern California Democrats perceive thatgetting elected in CA-11 is a lifetime job. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D) is certainly one of them and is already readying hiscampaign. If Pelosi drops out, the dam will break and there might be a whole lot of candidates, each claiming to be leftierand extra Trump-hating than the others.
If Pelosi retires, the Democratic major might be a giant battleground, however not the one one. The race for governor isalso a biggie. Already in are former secretary of HHS Xavier Becerra, former Rep.Katie Porter, former L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and some others. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) would possibly run and so mightbillionaire Tom Steyer. Will probably be brutal. (V)
Tons of of Payments Denying Science Are Pending in State Legislatures
Within the Chinese language Zodiac, that is the 12 months of the snake. They’ve some extent, however the 12 months of the wacko could be higher.Or perhaps the 12 months of the conspiracy theorist. Astudyby the AP over all 50 states confirmed that there are over 400 payments to repeal science pending in state legislatures. It isnot as unhealthy as Indiana nearly (implicitly)definingπ to be 4, however is much more insidious. If the Indiana state Senate had handed the Home invoice 246, nobody would havedied (besides perhaps from laughing). Against this, the present batch of state payments might kill hundreds of individuals. A fewdozen have already handed. They might embed quite a few conspiracy theories into state regulation.
Most of the anti-science payments assault public-health protections, like milk security, fluoridation, and vaccines. Thebills are being pushed by folks with a detailed affiliation to Quack-in-Chief Secretary of HHS Robert Kennedy Jr.A few of these lobbyists are promoting dangerous “wellness” merchandise, like uncooked milk, to unsuspecting and naive customers. Theprofit margin on uncooked milk is 10x greater than common pasteurized milk, however it could actually comprise dangerous micro organism that wouldotherwise be killed within the pasteurization course of. Sellers name it “real milk” and declare it could actually deal with bronchial asthma, allergic reactions,and eczema, none of which is true. A number of the laws goes even additional off the rails. For instance, Oklahoma H.D.1191 would authorize the sale and promoting of uncooked donkey milk:
One other space the place anti-science payments are pending is water fluoridation. There’s a giant amountof proof that placing fluorides in water not solely prevents tooth decay but additionally has different healthbenefits. That is apparent to the untrained eye. Ask an adolescent to open his or her mouth and also you willsee few, if any, fillings. Now attempt that with a septuagenarian and you will notice many fillings. Thisdifference is because of years of fluoridation. So far as we all know, the American Dental Affiliation isnot lobbying to repeal fluoridation legal guidelines, despite the fact that that may drastically improve enterprise for dentists.Florida and Utah have already banned fluoridation.
The vast majority of the payments, over 350 of them, attempt to impede or eliminate vaccinations a technique or one other.They’ve totally different approaches, together with revoking obligatory vaccinations for getting into faculty,barring discrimination towards unvaccinated folks,creating the legal offense of “vaccine harm,” requiring blood banks to check for proof ofvaccination, and instituting a 48-hour ready interval to get a vaccination after being warned aboutthem.Two payments in Minnesota designate vaccinations as “weapons of mass destruction.”How about invoice S.F. No. 3456?
Most of the payments are in progress, however at the very least 26 anti-vaccine legal guidelines have handed in 11 states this 12 months. Most of themwere flogged by teams carefully related to Kennedy. All of them consider obligatory vaccination is unhealthy public healthpolicy and inhibits their freedom. This can be a well-organized and well-funded motion. It isn’t a few crankyparents making a fuss.
For these readers who aren’t members of The Bulwark, podcasters Jonathan V. Final (JVL) and Sarah Longwell are oftenat odds over vaccines. JVL is rooting for youngsters in purple states which are eliminating obligatory vaccinations for schoolchildren to die of measles and polio so their mother and father will get the total Trump expertise. In spite of everything, that’s what theyvoted for, so they’re entitled to it. Longwell doesn’t need harmless youngsters to get sick and die as a result of their parentsare morons. (V)
Pennsylvania Will Be a Home Battleground Subsequent Yr
There are a selection of Home districts in California and New York that might be bitterly fought over within the midterms.A lot has been written about them. Nonetheless, Pennsylvania has flown below the radar, despite the fact that it has three competitivedistricts, all occupied by Republicans. Let’s take alook.
Listed below are the Pennsylvania districts within the vary R+5 to D+5.
PA-08
Rob Bresnahan (R)
R+4
1.62%
Northeast PA (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre)
PA-10
Scott Perry (R)
R+3
1.26%
Central PA (Harrisburg)
PA-07
Ryan MacKenzie (R)
R+1
1.00%
Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Bethlehem)
PA-01
Brian Fitzpatrick (R)
D+1
12.80%
Philadelphia suburbs
PA-17
Chris Deluzio (D)
D+3
7.76%
Pittsburgh suburbs
In all of the 2024 races, the Republican benefited from Donald Trump’s coattails. That possibility gained’tbe out there in 2026 and voters who turned out primarily to vote for Trump could not prove subsequent 12 months.Then again, the favored governor, Josh Shapiro (D-PA), might be on the poll, and marginalDemocrats who like him could prove particularly to vote for him.
PA-08 (Bresnahan): This one is full of white working-class voters, who’re nowRepublicans. It was a coal-mining district and the demand for its foremost product shouldn’t be doing so effectively. The racecould find yourself hinging on one thing sometimes not on the radar for that type of voter: insider buying and selling. Bresnahan hasreported over 600 particular person inventory trades this 12 months. For somebody with a full-time job, that looks as if loads ofattention to the inventory market. Persons are questioning if he has been buying and selling based mostly on inside info. Reporters haveasked him why he can’t simply pause buying and selling. He stated then he would go broke. That’s pure B.S. He might purchase an ETF for theS&P 500 after which go away it on autopilot. The Democratic institution needs the candidate to be Scranton Mayor PaigeCognetti. Her slogan is “Paige against the machine,” which is able to deal with corruption and put Bresnahan’s inventory tradesfront and middle. Nonetheless, she can have a major to get by first.
PA-10 (Perry): Scott Perry was chairman of the Home Freedom Caucus. The districtused to be redder, however a court docket ordered it redistricted in 2018 and it’s now aggressive. Perry is taken into account certainly one of themost weak Republicans within the nation. His sturdy arguments to eliminate the ACA and its subsidies might be a bigissue. In 2024, Perry beat former information anchor Janelle Stelson by 5,133 votes and she or he is again for a rematch, however withoutTrump on the ticket this time. Nonetheless, she has competitors from one other Democrat, progressive Dauphin CountyCommissioner Justin Douglas. The governor and Democratic institution are backing Stelson.
PA-07 (MacKenzie): This can be a true toss-up. Democrat Susan Wild held it for 3 termsuntil shedding narrowly to MacKenzie. He might be a prime goal for the Democrats. Native Democrats perceive that. 5 ofthem have filed to run within the major. They’re state firefighters’ union president Bob Brooks, former federal prosecutorRyan Crosswell, Northampton County Government Lamont McClure, utility firm director Carol Obando-Derstine and LehighCounty Controller Mark Pinsley. Brooks can have help from union leaders and members. He’s additionally prone to beShapiro’s favourite. Obando-Derstine has the help of Wild, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and EMILY’s Checklist.Regardless of this, she has not been a robust fundraiser to date. Incumbent MacKenzie is a good worse fundraiser, not a goodplace to be in a possible blue wave, however the cycle is younger and outdoors cash will in all probability (attempt to) come to hisrescue.
The opposite two incumbents within the desk, Fitzpatrick and Deluzio are personally well-liked, so regardless of the shut PVIs, the election outcomes weren’t shut at alllast time, and they’re thought-about secure. The battles might be within the different three districts.
In a blue wave, the Democrats might choose up as many as three seats in Pennsylvania, which is able to go a methods towardcanceling a few of the gerrymandering occurring. (V)
Former French President Was Convicted of Felony Conspiracy and Is Now in Jail
In nations that also have the rule of regulation, when the president or prime minister commits crimes, he will get indicted,convicted, and imprisoned (or executed). This has happenedhundredsof occasions in world historical past. The newest instance is former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who began his5-year jail termon Tuesday.
He’s the sixth French chief to be convicted on legal prices. The newest convicted French president earlier than him wasJacques Chirac, who was sentenced in 2011 for corruption. Different European nations which have imprisoned their leadersfor legal conduct embrace Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romaniaand Slovakia, amongst others. Additionally it is frequent in Africa, Asia, North America, and South America. The one time theUnited States has finished one thing like this was the imprisonment of Jefferson Davis after the Civil Conflict. In any occasion, acountry imprisoning or convicting a former chief is surprisingly frequent, in all probability as a result of a few of the individuals who wantto change into nationwide leaders are fairly corrupt.
For those who checked out the primary hyperlink on this merchandise and it seems to be vaguely acquainted, you could have a superb reminiscence. We used it onJune 12in an merchandise in regards to the former president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was convicted ofcorruption and misplaced all her appeals. Convicting corrupt former presidents is kind of frequent world wide in countrieswith a functioning authorized system.
Sarkozy claims he’s harmless, however the courts dominated in any other case. He stated that one of many three books he’s allowed tobring to jail with him is The Rely of Monte Cristo, through which the hero escapes an island jail earlier than seekingrevenge. He additionally stated he packed some sweaters as a result of the jail is chilly. He’ll serve within the VIP part of LaSanté jail, for his personal security. He’ll spend most of his time alone in his cell and never have contact withother prisoners. He’ll get 1 hour a day within the jail yard, alone. His household might be allowed to go to thrice aweek. Individuals might probably study one thing from France, the place they’ve some fairly agency concepts on easy methods to deal withcorrupt leaders, and a few VERY agency concepts on easy methods to take care of kings. (V)
There’s One thing Taking place Right here: The No Kings Protests, Half V
Talking of kings, listed here are six extra reader stories from the weekend:
Z.L. in Somerville, MA, writes: If protest organizers had been aiming for a freedom-festival ambiance, right here inBoston they succeeded. Many nice indicators and costumes, each conventional and inflatable. Resulting from claustrophobia, I hangback from the organized programming, however I used to be glad to see many individuals being creatively indignant. There was additionally loads ofjoy within the air. I liked watching two inflatable axolotls dance with a baby within the Frog Pond space. I noticed someright-wingers with cameras and flags attempting to intimidate folks and begin fights. They failed impressively.
I actually hope you might be proper that we’re a democracy below short-term occupation. Personally, I feel that imaginative and prescient ofAmerica’s previous shouldn’t be tremendous correct, however I agree it’s dramatically worse proper now. Too many individuals have beenirreversibly harmed already. My identification additionally sits instantly within the crosshairs of the present administration. I hope Isurvive to see a greater day. Extra importantly, I hope the nation survives to see a greater day, even when I don’t makeit. My present favourite protest signal (which I delivered to the frequent yesterday) says Persons are NOT Disposable. Ichoose hope, and I’ll preserve displaying up for it so long as I can.
A.C. in Kingston, MA, writes: Boston undoubtedly felt extra like a rally than a protest. Mayor Michelle Wu and state AGAndrea Campbell, amongst many others, spoke, there was a band, a choir, and several other solo musicians, and the ambiance overallwas very constructive. (It didn’t damage that the climate was completely excellent.)
I used to be torn between staying native (and Plymouth had a HUGE turnout) and heading into city, and I’m glad I went in. Ineeded the vitality from my group and the gang to remind me how many people there are.
A.S. in Black Mountain, NC, writes: Thrice extra patriots than on the June gathering—about 1,500 thistime on this very small city in a really purple district:
Okay.H. in Albuquerque, NM, writes: The “protest frogs” in New Mexico are a bit totally different than those inPortland…
Primarily based on a drone overflight video and because of the instruments at MapChecking, we estimate crowd sizes from 17,000-28,500 inAlbuquerque (metro pop. 916,000). Some on social media declare 30,000, however having been there, I’d go along with somewherearound 23,000.
F.H. in Pacific Grove, CA, writes: Protest in Monterey, CA. Couldn’t discover an official depend, however I’d say1,000 folks minimal. John Lennon made a uncommon public look:
E.M. in Watertown, WI, writes:
One other set tomorrow, in fact. (Z)
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