Cross-Examination

• Biden rips anti-transgender “attacks”: In what can only be described as gaslighting, Joe Biden on Friday, a day he declared “Trans Day of Visibility,” blasted Republicans and conservatives for “violence” and “attacks” against the “transgender” community. Nowhere in his remarks did Biden address the recent murderous attack perpetrated by a woman who identified as a man against Covenant School. Instead, Biden continued to spin the false narrative that “transgender” people are under “attack,” pointing to recent laws passed in Republican-controlled states aimed at protecting children from exposure to sexually explicit material and medical abuse, and erroneously claiming that there is a “crisis of violence against transgender Americans." Claremont Institute spokesperson Nick Short corrected Biden: "This should be a Day of Visibility for the Christian victims of the trans shooter.” Why is it that Democrats increasingly dismiss actual instances of violence while at the same time bemoaning language as violence?

• Male weight lifter trolls men in female sports: In an apparent effort to confront the blatant lunacy of “transgender” males being allowed to compete in female sports, Canadian powerlifter Avi Silverberg temporarily identified as a woman in order to shatter the women’s bench press record. Silverberg didn’t even bother to shave — he sported a full beard as he, identifying as a she, decimated the record that had been previously set by another male “transgender” powerlifter, Anne Andres, whom Canada has recognized as a female in the sport. According to the Canadian Powerlifting Union, all it takes for an individual to be recognized as a woman is to identify as such; no attempt at any physical transition is needed. So, apparently, Silverberg is the new “female” bench press champ in Canada.

• Criminalized meming: According to a U.S. attorney’s press release, Douglass Mackey was convicted “by a federal jury in Brooklyn of the charge of Conspiracy Against Rights stemming from his scheme to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote.” What was Mackey’s “crime”? Well, back in 2016, Mackey, who was a Donald Trump supporter, posted several tweets mocking Hillary Clinton, including one that read: “Avoid the line. Vote from home. Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925. Vote for Hillary and be a part of history.” Anyone with an ounce of civic knowledge would have recognized the post as parody, but evidently the Justice Department has no such common sense — at least when it comes to conservatives. Mackey faces a 10-year prison sentence for daring to make jokes. Further demonstrating that this has everything to do with Mackey’s political views, the DOJ has simply shrugged at several Clinton supporters who engaged in the same type of election parody “misinformation” in 2016. To make matters worse, the DOJ “was unable to provide evidence that anyone was deceived by the meme.” This was clearly a politically motivated prosecution that is stomping all over the First Amendment. Mackey’s lawyer promises to appeal.

• QAnon Shaman freed: After serving over two years of a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence, Jacob Chansley, who was dubbed the QAnon Shaman following the January 6 capitol riot, has been released 14 months early. This news comes mere weeks after Tucker Carlson obtained and showed video footage that clearly depicted Chansley been led through the Capitol building by law enforcement. Chansley’s lawyer explained that he had never seen the footage and didn’t even know it existed, which raises significant concerns that his constitutional rights have been violated. Conveniently, Chansley has been released early due to his “good conduct.” It appears the federal government is attempting to sweep prosecutorial injustice under the proverbial rug.

• Schools vs. parents: Parents in Maryland are fit to be tied after being informed they are not allowed to pull their children out of “gender identity” lessons. Montgomery County Public Schools recently notified parents that, in an effort to be a more “inclusive environment,” schools would no longer inform parents of any gender identity curriculum and, furthermore, parents cannot opt their children out of these lessons. The email to parents read in part: “As is standard practice, when planning for instruction teachers/schools are encouraged to utilize a variety of resources to continue to promote an inclusive environment as outlined in the MCPS Core Values and Board Policy. Students and families may not choose to opt out of engaging with any instructional materials. … As such, teachers will not send home letters to inform families when inclusive books are read in the future.” Statists do not believe that parents have a greater authority over their children’s education than do government bureaucrats. This is exactly why Republican-run states like Florida are passing parental rights bills.

Headlines

• Trump pumped for a press conference after arraignment in New York (Washington Times)

• Trump raises over $5 million days after indictment (National Review)

• Justice Dept. said to have more evidence of possible Trump obstruction at Mar-a-Lago (Washington Post)

• Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces 2024 presidential run (Townhall)

• Blinken calls for “immediate release” of American reporter and Paul Whelan in call with Russian counterpart (Daily Wire)

• Chinese spy balloon gathered intelligence from sensitive U.S. military sites, despite U.S. efforts to block it (NBC News)

• Federal judge blocks Tennessee law banning minors from drag shows (National Review)

• Women’s History Month wraps up with bevy of honors for transgender figures (Washington Times)

• Half of U.S. investigators fell ill while studying East Palestine train derailment (Daily Wire)

• DOJ sues Norfolk Southern for alleged environmental violations in East Palestine derailment (ABC News)

• Pandemic pounds push 10,000 U.S. Army soldiers into obesity (Chron)

• OPEC+ announces surprise oil production cut that could lead to higher prices at pump (Fox Business)

• Social Security trustees forecast significant deterioration, 23% benefit cuts in just 10 years (Daily Signal)

• Ivy League tuition nears $90,000 annually as college costs soar (Washington Examiner)

• New York Times loses Twitter verification badge (Daily Wire)

• Bragg’s office backs off initial attempted murder charge of NYC garage worker in gun battle with alleged thief (Daily Wire)

• Bud Light partners with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney for March Madness (Fox News)

• Humor: Beverage pretending to be beer features man pretending to be woman (Babylon Bee)

• Policy: Our military is in a dangerous decline and this is the reason why (Rep. Michael Waltz & Dr. Kevin Roberts)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.