The Patriot Post® · Tuesday: Below the Fold
Trump loses E. Jean Carroll appeal: On Monday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the New York civil jury’s $83.3 million defamation award against Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit. Trump argued that the fine was unreasonable and excessive, especially the $65 million punitive damage award. The court defended its ruling by noting a number of death threats Carroll had received and echoed the trial judge’s “determination that ‘the degree of reprehensibility’ of Mr. Trump’s conduct was remarkably high, perhaps unprecedented.” Carroll never presented any real evidence to back up her sexual assault claims against Trump. Nevertheless, the Second Circuit said there was “ample evidence” that Trump’s “castigating Ms. Carroll as a politically and financially motivated liar” threatened her safety. Trump will likely appeal this ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Senate Republicans begin rules change to end Dems’ nonstop filibustering: Due to Senate Democrats playing obstructionist politics by universally filibustering every single nominee Donald Trump puts forward, Republican leadership has finally decided enough is enough. Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced that he is beginning “necessary procedural steps to amend the rules” to get nominees a timely confirmation vote. The proposed change would allow a bloc of sub-Cabinet nominees to be voted on as a group, rather than on an individual basis. “This isn’t about the quality of the candidates or any other substantive issue,” Thune explained. “This is simply the world’s longest, most drawn-out temper tantrum over losing an election.” He also noted, “Empty desks do not help the government function, and unnecessary delays rob a duly elected president of the team he needs to carry out his responsibilities.”
Trump’s Epstein card revealed: House Democrats on the Oversight Committee posted on X the infamous Jeffrey Epstein birthday book, which contained the note Donald Trump purportedly wrote that was compiled by Epstein’s girlfriend and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump has repeatedly denied writing the note. Democrats have sought to use Epstein’s past connection to Trump as a means of guilt by association, though Republican Oversight Committee Chair James Comer called them out for “cherry-picking documents and politicizing.” Questions have arisen surrounding the authenticity of Trump’s apparent signature on the note. Regardless of whether it is genuine, it does nothing to address the actual criminality surrounding Epstein.
FTC’s Rebecca Slaughter fired for now: The U.S. Supreme Court has once again smacked down a lower court’s decision blocking Donald Trump’s effort to fire executive branch employees. Chief Justice John Roberts upheld Trump’s firing of Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter while her lawsuit works its way through the court. A lower court had halted Trump’s firing during the legal process on the grounds that since Congress created the FTC as an independent agency, it thereby limits Trump’s authority to fire agency members. Trump challenged this view, and it would appear that Roberts is eager for the Supreme Court to address this question. In the meantime, Slaughter will not be working at the FTC.
Ferguson “hands up, don’t shoot” hoaxer shot dead: The man who invented the lie that eventually became the popularized catch phrase of the Black Lives Matter movement, Dorian Johnson, has been murdered. It was Johnson who falsely claimed that his friend Michael Brown had his hands in the air when he was killed by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. This resulted in the infamous “hands up, don’t shoot” refrain. However, multiple investigations and several other eyewitness accounts revealed that Brown was, in fact, attacking Officer Wilson when he was shot. Johnson died early Sunday morning after being shot multiple times just walking distance from where Brown was killed. No police were involved in Johnson’s death. Ironically, had police been there, Johnson likely would still be alive today. A suspect has been arrested.
GoFundMe pulls fundraisers for Charlotte murderer: One GoFundMe page for Decarlos Brown Jr. claimed that he is as much a victim as Iryna Zarutska, whom Brown murdered in cold blood on a Charlotte train, stating that the aid would “fight against the racism and bias against our people.” Another aid page declared, “What we mustn’t lose sight of is the fact that Decarlos Brown Jr. was failed categorically by the judicial system and the mental health services of North Carolina, and as such is not entirely to blame for what happened.” Many on X started reporting these pages to GoFundMe, and the company took them down, citing its terms of service prohibiting “fundraisers that raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime.” Common sense won out, and a fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up for Zarutska’s family.
Trump asks for prayer, WaPo sees establishment violation: Even when President Trump is asking for prayers at the Museum of the Bible, he’s wrong, according to The Washington Post. “America has always been a nation that believes in the power of prayer. And we will never apologize for our faith,” Trump stated. “We will never surrender our God-given rights.” He asked people to pray weekly in groups of 10 for the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday celebration, which crossed a line for the Post and others like David Cole, a former ACLU national legal director and a Georgetown Law professor. The initiative “raises serious constitutional questions,” Cole huffed, and “is directly in violation of, at a minimum, the spirit of the establishment clause.” An exhortation to prayer is not the same thing as establishing a religion. Most of our presidents, starting with George Washington, have issued official prayer proclamations.
Leading medical ed accreditor ditches DEI requirements: In a huge win against discrimination, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), a leading medical accreditor, is closing its DEI department and removing DEI requirements from its accreditation standards, reports National Review. The watchdog group Do No Harm, which seeks to root out racism, and Trump’s executive orders should be credited with this progress. “For too long,” said Do No Harm Chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, “accreditors like the ACGME have gotten away with injecting identity politics into medical education. Now that they’re finally removing DEI mandates — after much scrutiny and pressure — the ACGME is taking an important step toward realigning its standards with common sense, meritocratic metrics.” This is a decision to be celebrated in the fight against identity politics and racialized standards in any field, but especially in the medical field.
Students aren’t testing well: For decades, public schools have been on a downward descent, as demonstrated by new data released on national test scores. Scores for 12th graders in math and reading fell to their lowest levels since the current versions of these tests were first administered. “Scores for our lowest-performing students are at historic lows, continuing declines that began more than a decade ago,” said Matthew Soldner, acting director of the Institute of Education Sciences, the research and data branch of the Education Department. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the results “confirm a devastating trend” that has come to pass “despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs.” Not that we needed more confirmation that anything run by the government only gets worse. It is long past time to close the Education Department and return control of education to the states.
Headlines
Trump announces new guidance protecting the right to prayer in schools (Daily Signal)
Six killed in Jerusalem as terrorists open fire on bus, pedestrians (Times of Israel)
Israel attempts to assassinate Hamas officials in Qatar (JPost)
French government collapses in no-confidence vote (WSJ)
Humor: Navy airdrops public defender onto drug boat to give cartel members due process (Babylon Bee)
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