The Patriot Post® · Friday: Below the Fold
Economy
Another weak jobs report for the Biden/Harris administration: It’ll be interesting to see how Kamala Harris defends Bidenomics during her Tuesday debate with Donald Trump. But the bad tidings of today’s August jobs report won’t help her case. After all, there’s only so much downward revising an administration can do. Earlier this morning, Joe Biden’s Labor Department reported that employers added 142,000 jobs last month, which was considerably lower than even the paltry 160,000 projected by economists. The moderately good news is that the headline unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% from 4.3% in July, but that came along with another downward revision for June and July jobs numbers — by a combined 86,000. July thus became the weakest job-creation month of the Biden/Harris administration. There are a lot of numbers here, but none of them support the oft-repeated claim by Harris that “Bidenomics is working,” and that she and Joe are “very proud of Bidenomics.”
Volvo’s 2030 EV target abandoned: Another major automaker is responding to the reality of the free market and reversing its prior commitment to make 100% of its cars EVs by 2030. Volvo now claims that by 2030, at least 90% of the vehicles it makes will be both EV and plug-in hybrids. “We are resolute in our belief that our future is electric,” company CEO Jim Rowan stated. “However, it is clear that the transition to electrification will not be linear, and customers and markets are moving at different speeds.” Automakers would not be having these sales problems if the products they were offering were superior to gas-powered vehicles. If EVs develop to the point of having at least the same range as gas-powered vehicles and quick recharge capabilities that approach the amount of time it takes to fill a gas tank, then they won’t need any government subsidies to keep them artificially afloat. They’ll be selling themselves.
Government & Politics
Trump says he will appoint Elon Musk to head Government Efficiency Commission to wipe out government waste (Not the Bee)
Harris team blows past $360 million in August fundraising haul, more than doubling Trump (NY Post)
Vladimir “endorses” Kamala: It’s not exactly the endorsement she was looking for. And it had much more to do with how he endorsed her. “Our ‘favorite,’ if you can call it that,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, “was the current president, Mr. Biden. But he was removed from the race, and he recommended all his supporters to support Ms. Harris. Well, we will do so — we will support her.” And then he gave away the troll job: “She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that she is doing well.” It’s easy to imagine Putin and his lieutenants yukking it up afterward, but the impact that the next American president will have on Russia’s future is no laughing matter. Kamala Harris represents the party of continued war in Ukraine, except in the unlikely event that Putin’s forces leave the wrecked country without any land to show for the loss of life that the Ukrainians have inflicted upon them. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has repeatedly said that if he’s elected, he’ll “have that war settled in one day, 24 hours.” Before assessing the credibility of Putin’s “endorsement,” then, we should first consider the geopolitics of it.
Kamala’s skin color values haven’t changed: Days before she ended her first presidential bid in 2019, Kamala Harris sat down for an interview in a black barbershop. A man posited the view that black people should be subject to a different set of laws due to the history of slavery, saying, “America, you did this to these [black] people. You should write laws for these people. Don’t group us in with everybody. … Let’s be fair; we’re playing from behind the eight ball, we’re way back there — 400 years back there.” Instead of immediately rejecting the un-American, inherently unjust, and blatantly racist notion of applying differing legal standards for individuals based solely upon their race, Harris simply nodded in agreement, saying, “That’s right. That’s right.” As a prosecutor supposedly well-versed in the law, Harris should have immediately dismissed this terrible idea for what it is — a call for two-tiered justice that would undermine the people’s faith in the legal system. This reprehensible view would have Martin Luther King Jr. rolling in his grave. If journalists were doing their job, they would ask Harris if she still holds to these racist values today.
Kamala wanted to give drug dealers three arrests before charging them — cops shut her down (Daily Wire)
Harris says she’s supported increased drilling as VP. Her admin’s own data show leasing is at record lows. (Washington Free Beacon)
Navy secretary hit with Hatch Act violation for endorsing Biden: A Navy secretary ought to know better, but Carlos Del Toro has never impressed us as the sharpest Trident II in the tube. And true to form, Joe Biden’s woke Navy secretary couldn’t keep his hyper-partisan mouth shut earlier this year during a trip to Great Britain. Instead, he promoted the reelection of Joe Biden while trashing the man who would replace him. And, according to the government’s Office of Special Counsel, he violated the Hatch Act in doing so. As The Washington Times reports: “In an interview with the BBC, Mr. Del Toro blasted Mr. Trump as not aligned with America’s ‘core principles’ and said NATO would suffer without ‘the mature leadership that President Biden has provided.’ And in response to questions after a speech, Mr. Del Toro complained that Mr. Trump ‘aligns himself with autocratic dictators.’” Clearly, Del Toro is full of it, but we doubt his commander-in-chief will actually punish him for it.
Humor: After motorcade involved in fender bender, Tim Walz adds Purple Heart to resume (Babylon Bee)
Lawfare
DOJ chief of public affairs says the quiet part out loud: We don’t know why it never occurred to us, but it’s possible that the Democrats’ multifaceted lawfare campaign against Donald Trump might be politically motivated. We know, “yuge” if true, but that seems to be the opinion of one Nicholas Biase, the chief of public affairs for Joe Biden’s Department of “Justice.” In a newly surfaced undercover video, Biase is heard saying that the since-adjudicated case brought against Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “is nonsense.” But wait. There’s more: “Every real estate person in New York does what [Trump] did,” Biase continued. “Nobody’s ever been charged with this. It’s all him [Trump]. And that’s why, like, [Trump’s] surging in the polls. You know, it’s a perversion of justice.” Biase also called Bragg’s star witness, former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, “a psycho,” so he seems to know of what he speaks. If only his opinions had been unearthed a year or so ago, he might’ve saved the taxpayers of New York a lot of money and the American people a lot of distraction.
Judge releases schedule for Trump election case, which puts him on trial after election day (Just the News)
Security
DOJ indicts Russian propagandists for allegedly orchestrating election-interference campaign (National Review)
Blaze Media cuts ties with Lauren Chen after DOJ connects her to Russian scheme (National Review)
U.S. secures deal with Nicaragua to release jailed Christians, political activists (National Review)
Culture
New Mexico attorney general sues company behind Snapchat alleging child sexual extortion on the site (AP)
Secret Service diversity office sends memo about all-expenses-paid LGBT retreat at Disney World (Not the Bee)
Around the Nation
Father of Georgia attacker charged: The 54-year-old father of the 14-year-old boy who on Wednesday attacked Apalachee High School, where he shot to death two 14-year-old students and two teachers as well as injured nine others, has been charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children. The father “knowingly allowed him to possess the weapon,” according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey. “His charges are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon.” If found guilty, the father faces 10 to 30 years in prison. This now represents the second instance of parents of a school assailant being charged in connection to their child’s actions. Earlier this year in Michigan, the parents of a school attacker were given 10-year prison sentences for failing to secure firearms within their home and failing to address their son’s deteriorating mental health. The Georgia assailant’s broken home life is also a contributing factor. His mother has a long rap sheet tied to drug abuse and domestic violence.
California speed limit alarm mandate: The Golden State’s nickname should be The Nanny State given the number of top-down laws produced in the Democrat-dominated legislature. The latest is a bill that would require a speed limit alarm, which would be both auditory and visual, in new cars. It would be triggered should the car’s speed increase more than 10 m.p.h. over the posted speed limit. One of the bill’s supporters, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Fransisco), stated, “Traffic fatalities have risen alarmingly in California and across the nation, with speeding being a significant contributor to this public health crisis.” Therefore, the argument is that this would cut down on speeding. The problem is that it also infringes on people’s freedom. Furthermore, as the California Senate noted, “In effect, the author is attempting to leverage the purchasing power of the state to create a new standard for nationwide industry; something the state has done several times before on subjects like regulating toxic compounds in products or establishing minimum living conditions for animals used to produce food products.” In other words, this is not just aimed at California but at the entire nation. On that basis alone, it should be rejected.
FBI raids homes of top Eric Adams deputies (The City)
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears files paperwork to run for Virginia governor (WRIC)
Around the World
China’s halt of foreign adoptions leaves questions about pending cases (AP)
Kim Jong Un executes 30 officials over floods in North Korea that killed 4,000 (NY Post)
Michel Barnier becomes new French PM (BBC)
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