November 10, 2023

Friday, November 10, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Joe is always busy.

BREAKING: President Biden totally destroys hack Fox News reporter Peter Doocy for trying to nail him with a gotcha question and unleashes cold hard facts on him.

This is EXACTLY how you combat Fox's avalanche of lies....

"President Biden, why do you think it is in this election season that voters—" began Doocy.

"Why do you think it is I always take your questions?" interjected Biden playfully, putting his hand on Doocy's shoulder.

"It's a good one, I've got two good ones," responded a slightly flustered Doocy. "Why do you think it is that people should be more concerned about abortion access than your age?"

"I don't think it's a comparable comparison," Biden responded to the inane, loaded question.

"Why do you think it is that you're trailing Trump in all these swings state polls?" asked Doocy.

"Because you don't read the polls!" said Biden. "There are ten polls. Eight of them I'm beating him in those states. Eight of them. You guys only do two. CNN and New York Times. Check it out. Check it out!"

"We'll get you a copy of all of those polls," Biden added. (X, formerly known as Twitter).

Biden Judicial Count. 50 black judges, 100 women judges, 150 new Federal judges.

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Haaretz - Israel has agreed to implement four-hour humanitarian pauses in northern Gaza each day, to be announced with three-hour advance warnings, U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said.

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Kamala is always busy.

One more thing.

WHAT IS DIWALI, the Festival of Lights, and how is it celebrated in India and the diaspora,

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — and for Hindus in particular.

It is celebrated across faiths by more than a billion people in the world’s most populous nation and the diaspora. Over five days, people take part in festive gatherings, fireworks displays, feasts and prayer.

Diwali is derived from the word “Deepavali,” which means “a row of lights.” Celebrants light rows of traditional clay oil lamps outside their homes to symbolize the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.

WHEN IS DIWALI?

The dates of the festival are based on the Hindu lunar calendar, typically falling in late October or early November.

This year, Diwali begins Nov. 10 and the festival will be observed on Nov. 12.

WHAT ARE SOME HINDU STORIES OF DIWALI?

While Diwali is a major religious festival for Hindus, it is also observed by Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. The origin story of Diwali varies depending on the region. All these stories have one underlying theme — the victory of good over evil.

In southern India, Diwali celebrates the victory of Lord Krishna’s destruction of the demon Naraka who is said to have imprisoned women and tormented his subjects. In northern India, Diwali honors the triumphant return of Lord Rama, his wife Sita, and brother Lakshmana, from a 14-year exile in the forest.

HOW IS DIWALI CELEBRATED?

The festival brings with it a number of unique traditions, which also vary by the region. What all celebrations have in common are the lights, fireworks, feasting, new clothes and praying. (Associated Press).

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2024 is just around the corner.

The Senate is now 51-49, with Democrats in the majority. What will it be in 2024?

Why I Won’t Be Seeking Re-Election to the Senate by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.

I have always been a responsible pro-life advocate, but polls and elections like this week’s ballot initiative in Ohio show that most Americans want the balance found for the past 50 years in Roe v. Wade.

So last year I pushed for a bill that would have codified the 1973 ruling into law. At the time, Democrats controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress. We should have had the votes to pass the bill.

But the Senate Democratic leadership and the majority of the caucus refused to allow a vote on the floor because they wanted to expand abortion rights beyond Roe v. Wade. They put politics over the will of the people.

Later that year, the same thing happened on the other side of the aisle with a bill to reform energy permitting. America’s energy security is and will continue to be threatened without such a law, and passing one has long been a Republican priority. This time the Republican Senate leadership and the majority of their caucus killed the bill because they were angry that I had helped pass an energy-security bill they didn’t like. Again, they put politics over the will of the people.

Like the Democrats on abortion, Republicans refused to take yes for an answer. Both events demonstrated the kind of self-defeating political tribalism that has become all too common in Washington.

The U.S. has a lot of problems that desperately need solving. Our economy isn’t working for many Americans, who face rising costs of food, fuel and everything else. There are immigration and border crises with drugs illegally entering our country and killing Americans every day. Our national debt is out of control, and Americans don’t feel safe in their own communities.

We are providing critical aid to two of our allies fighting wars for their survival, and we must avoid being pulled into a major war ourselves. These aren’t Republican or Democratic challenges. They are American challenges. They affect every one of us, and we need to face them together.

There are enough votes in Congress to solve or at least make headway against every one of these problems. A genuine commitment to legislating would put America on firmer footing for the next 20 years. But the Democratic and Republican machines have no interest in solutions. Instead, they stoke outrage because doing so brings them fame and funding. Today, the business of politics is about monetizing anger and getting paid for it. And business has never been better.

Not for me.

After months of deliberation and long conversations with family, I believe I have accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia. I have made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I won’t run for re-election to the Senate. I will finish my term while traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is interest in building a movement to mobilize the middle, find common ground and bring Americans together.

Serving the people of West Virginia as a state legislator, secretary of state, governor and U.S. senator has been the honor of my life. I am proud of having worked every day of the past 42 years trying to make things better in the Mountain State.

But this moment in the nation’s history is so filled with peril and political dysfunction that I want to work not only for my beloved West Virginia but for all Americans. Working together, I want to eliminate what is standing in the way of so many obvious and popular solutions. While the Democratic and Republican parties increasingly cater to the extremes, most Americans are moderate, levelheaded folks, and they are plain worn out.

We need to reaffirm that country should always come before party, but there are real structural issues to get there. Today, the incentives in politics reward bad behavior and demand party purity at the expense of problem-solving. Too much money flows to too few candidates, who stay so long in their offices they are no longer responsive to the people. We have primaries that limit who can participate and elections that are almost never competitive anymore. Democracy is supposed to give the people a voice, but Citizens United v. FEC, toxic gerrymandering, closed primaries and the lack of term limits are silencing that voice. It’s time to give power to more people and hold our elected officials more accountable.

I know our country isn’t nearly as divided as Washington wants you to believe. We share common values of family, freedom, democracy, dignity and a belief that we can overcome any challenge together. We want leaders who will fight to unite Americans instead of fighting each other. It isn’t too much to ask for. ( Mr. Manchin, a Democrat, is a U.S. senator from West Virginia. WSJ).

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The Democratic Race begins in earnest.

One more thing.

As we approach November 2024, keep what happened on Tuesday in mind.👇

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The 85th Anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Germany.

Australia. On the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht and in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas massacre, over 100 Holocaust survivors wrote a joint letter.

Here is the full letter.
https://origin.go.theaustralian.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Holocaust-letter.pdf

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From the new Executive Director for the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security at Columbia, my friend, the journalist Margaret Sullivan.

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More proof that women’s soccer is about to break out.

National Women’s Soccer League Lands TV-Rights Windfall.

The 11-year-old league’s broadcast rights sold for $240 million over four years, a 40-times increase over its tiny existing deal.

The National Women’s Soccer League’s upcoming broadcast-rights deal is worth $240 million over four years, a leap in value for the 11th-year league that several years ago was struggling for survival.

The package averages out to $60 million a year, according to a person familiar with the deal, which starts with the 2024 season. That is 40 times the value of the league’s tiny existing rights deal, which is worth $1.5 million. The new package spans CBS Sports, ESPN, Amazon ’s Prime Video and Scripps Sports, which owns the Ion TV network. 

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said the league aimed to weather a tumultuous time in the media industry, including cord-cutting and declining viewership overall, and land a deal that balanced reach, revenue and relevance.

“We really tried to stay focused on those three goals, and I think we’ve been able to achieve that,” Berman said. “It’s not the old days where if you wanted to watch women’s sports, you had to navigate your way through a million backdoor channels to find the content.”

The deal keeps the NWSL championship game on CBS for the next four years. This year’s title game is Saturday in San Diego, with Seattle’s OL Reign facing New York/New Jersey’s Gotham FC. It is the last professional game for U.S. women’s team stars Ali Krieger and Megan Rapinoe. 

“I give the league a lot of credit. It’s still young, it’s still growing,” CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said. “And I think it has a great image and a growing presence in the world of sports in this country.”  ( Wall Street Journal).

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Leave it to Billie to remind us.

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