October 19, 2023

Thursday, October 19,2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

I think the Roundup makes people feel not so alone.

To read an article excerpted in this Roundup, click on its blue title. Each “blue” article is hyperlinked so you can read the whole article.

Please feel free to share.

Invite at least one other person to subscribe today! https://buttondown.email/AnnettesNewsRoundup

_________________________________

Joe is always busy.

Domestic.

Statement from President Joe Biden on Hate Crime Statistics.

Today, the FBI released their annual statistics on hate crimes. Antisemitic hate crimes rose 25 percent from 2021 to 2022, and Antisemitism accounted for over half of all reported religion-based hate crimes. Anti-LGBTQI+ hate crimes rose 16 percent, and Muslim Americans and African Americans continue to be overrepresented among victims.

The data is a reminder that hate never goes away, it only hides. Any hate crime is a stain on the soul of America.

To those Americans worried about violence at home, as a result of the evil acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas in Israel, we see you. We hear you. And I have asked members of my team, including Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas and Attorney General Garland, to prioritize the prevention and disruption of any emerging threats that could harm Jewish, Muslim, Arab American, or any other communities during this time. My Administration will continue to fight Antisemitism and Islamophobia.  

Last year’s data also shows that overall hate crime levels remained steady, and hate crimes targeting Asian Americans fell by 38 percent after I signed legislation to combat anti-Asian hate. But there’s more to do when it comes to ending hate-fueled violence. That means coming together and speaking out against hate and bigotry in all its forms. All Americans deserve to live their lives with dignity, respect, and safety. ###

After just two days, the Biden campaign already has more followers than the Trump campaign on Truth Social, Trump’s own social media outlet.

A Biden victory on guns.

The Supreme Court’s brief, revealing new decision about guns, in Garland v. Blackhawk.

Late Monday afternoon, the Supreme Court handed down a very brief order establishing that sellers of “ghost guns,” weapons that are sold dismantled in ready-to-assemble kits, must comply with the same gun safety laws and anti-crime laws as any other gun seller.

At this point you may be experiencing déjà vu, because in August the Supreme Court also handed down a brief order establishing ghost gun sellers must comply with these laws. The more recent case, known as Garland v. Blackhawk Manufacturing Group, arrived on the Court’s docket after federal district court Judge Reed O’Connor, a former Republican Capitol Hill staffer known for handing down dubiously reasoned opinions that benefit Republican causes, effectively tried to neutralize the Supreme Court’s August 2023 decision.

Notably, while the Court’s August order was a 5-4 decision, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the Court’s three Democratic appointees, no justice publicly dissented from the order handed down on Monday — which suggests that even the four justices who dissented in August may have viewed O’Connor’s most recent ruling in favor of ghost gun sellers as an act of defiance that needed to be quashed.( Vox).

The Middle East.

_________________________________

Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois Starts Group to Promote Abortion Rights.

Mr. Pritzker’s organization, Think Big America, will support ballot measures to codify or restore abortion rights, seeking to elevate an issue that has energized Democrats.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois is starting an advocacy group to promote abortion rights around the country, seeking to blunt the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and to elevate an issue that has energized Democrats in elections.

Mr. Pritzker, who easily won re-election last year, has not said how much of his own money he will invest in the new organization, but he is worth billions of dollars. The new organization, Think Big America, will help fund state ballot measures — typically expensive endeavors — to codify abortion rights in states whose legislatures have enacted or could enact abortion bans. Voters have consistently supported such measuressince the court did away with the constitutional right to an abortion last year, approving them in every state where they have been offered and, conversely, rejecting abortion restrictions in every state where they have been proposed.

One such measure will be on the ballot in Ohio next month: a constitutional amendment that would establish a right to abortion, contraception, fertility treatment and miscarriage care. Ohio has a six-week abortion ban on the books that is not currently in effect because of a legal challenge, but that could take effect if the state Supreme Court allows it.

Efforts are underway to have similar measures on ballots in Arizona, Florida and Nevada next year.

A spokeswoman for Think Big America said the group was providing “financial and strategic support” to the campaigns in Ohio, Arizona and Nevada, including putting members on advisory boards, helping to develop messaging and analyzing polls. She added that it was also prepared to help with direct voter contact and, if applicable, legal challenges.

The creation of the organization was first reported by The 19th and The Chicago Sun-Times.

Mr. Pritzker is widely seen as a future presidential candidate, and — like another possible White House contender, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California — has advertised his state as an oasis from Republican policies and an emblem of Democratic governance.

In a video on Wednesday, Mr. Pritzker condemned abortion bans, but also singled out Republican efforts to restrict voting and to ban some books discussing race and gender from school curriculums and libraries — suggesting that his organization could eventually focus on those issues, too.

“Over the last few years, the far-right agenda has only become more extreme,” he said. “The end of reproductive rights, widespread book bans, a rollback of voting rights and civil rights, the erosion of trust in our institutions — that will be our permanent reality if we don’t act now.” (New York Times).

_________________________________

The MAGA Way.

Jordan.

Jordan lost the second round of votes for Speaker of the House yesterday with even more Republican defectors. He is down to 199 votes. 22 GOP voted against him. 2 who voted no on Monday voted for hi, but 4 others said no to Jordan.He needs 217.

Rep. Miller-Meeks Receives Death Threat After Voting Against Jim Jordan.

Trump.

One more thing.

Trump’s lawyer in the January 6 case is not a member of the DC Bar and is not allowed to practice there. Why should he follow the law?

Just random MAGA.

_________________________________

Remember these two?

Friendship.

Happy 🎂, Martina.

_________________________________