Cross-Examination

• Gun rights gain ground: On Monday, Florida joined 25 other states as Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that makes the Sunshine State a constitutional carry state. National Rifle Association Interim Executive Director Randy Kozuch celebrated the development by stating: “We thank Gov. DeSantis for his support of self-defense and Second Amendment laws and for prioritizing the safety and security of Florida residents. This historic moment is a testament to the dedication of the NRA, our members, gun owners, and Second Amendment supporters working together in the state.” In recent years, Second Amendment advocates have seen growing success, especially with GOP-run states recognizing Americans’ right to bear arms. Predictably, the Biden administration blasted DeSantis for signing the law. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called it “shameful” and “the opposite of commonsense gun safety.” Evidently, supporting law-abiding citizens’ right to self-defense is a bridge too far.

• Biden manufactures phony success: Joe Biden is traveling around the country this week in an effort to tout his economic accomplishments. The trouble is these supposed accomplishments, which amount to funneling billions of taxpayer dollars into his green dream energy sector, are not producing the promised returns. Indeed, China may be benefiting most from Biden’s green boondoggle. According to the most recent report on U.S. manufacturing, the nation is at its lowest output level since 2009, excluding the 2020 pandemic year. The PMI index measured U.S. manufacturing at 46.3, with any measurement below 50 indicating a decline. This is what happens when a political agenda usurps sound and principled commitment to free market capitalism, when bureaucrats in Washington believe themselves to be smarter than the American public and pick winners and losers.

• Obama hurts minorities: Barack Obama is building his presidential center in South Side Chicago. The 19-acre complex, projected to cost $500 million, will include a library, playground, museum, and community center. According to Obama’s plan, his center will help to revitalize the community, but many folks in the community are warning that, far from helping poor minorities, the project will effectively push them out. They contend that the “economic impact” will raise the cost of living, ironically negatively affecting the ability of residents to afford to continue living there. As one resident asks, “Will our rents be raised?” Another noted, “Some of us have lived here for more than 40 years.” Those are legitimate concerns given the fact that median rent in the area has risen 43% and home prices have jumped 130% since Obama’s center was first announced in 2015.

• California’s New Green Boondoggle: California dreaming ain’t what it used to be, as the Golden State’s green dream is more the stuff of nightmares. The climate activists’ goal of making California carbon neutral, including mandating all new vehicles sold in the state be electric by 2030, will of course only raise power demand and prices along with it. The problem is that California’s current power grid isn’t equipped to handle the massively increasing load required to charge all those EVs. This means that the state’s power grid must be upgraded and, according to the California Independent System Operator, it will cost residents $9.3 billion. And this is on top of the state’s already spiking electricity costs, which have jumped 80% since 2008 and are up 15% in the last year alone. Soon California residents will be shelling out even more of their hard-earned dollars for even less reliable electricity. What a (green new) deal.

• Wisconsin Supreme Court veers left: Democrats took control of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years yesterday, as progressive Judge Janet Protasiewicz beat out Justice Daniel Kelly. The makeup of the Badger State’s highest court is now a 4-3 left-leaning majority. Protasiewicz focused her campaign on abortion rights and received significant support from Planned Parenthood. The issue at hand is a lawsuit that has been raised against Wisconsin’s 1849 law banning abortion. While Protasiewicz refused to say how she would rule on the case, she made it clear that she is very much pro-abortion. Furthermore, she labeled Kelly as an “extreme partisan” who would uphold the law. It is indeed interesting how the Left labels anything that doesn’t conform to its radical views as “extreme.”

• AOC burner account? Socialist Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appears to have been using a phony Twitter account to respond to some of her critics. This was first observed by an individual who posted a critical tweet to AOC’s official Twitter account only to have it responded to in the first person by someone using the handle “zaza demon.” AOC was immediately accused of using a “burner” account in order to attack critics pseudonymously. Following the accusation, the tweet and the account were deleted, but not before others were quick to recognize that the account had been used to attack them. That includes individuals such as Matt Walsh, against whom “zaza demon” effectively issued a death threat over his opposition to the “transgender” agenda. AOC has yet to respond to the accusation.

Headlines

• Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records (National Review)

• Trump delivers feisty Mar-a-Lago speech after New York arraignment (Daily Wire)

• Bragg’s history in spotlight after remarks justifying charging Trump with felonies (Fox News)

• Chicago chooses new progressive mayor after booting Lori Lightfoot (Fox News)

• Democrat switching parties, giving North Carolina GOP a supermajority (WTVD)

• Tennessee GOP moves to expel three Dems who joined protesters during state capitol storming (Daily Wire)

• U.S. job vacancies fall to lowest levels since 2021 (NY Post)

• Christian mother sues Oregon for denying adoption over her gender beliefs (Fox News)

• Russian official wanted for war crimes set to brief UN Security Council meeting (Free Beacon)

• Policy: The Left is dead wrong about what homeless people really need (The Federalist)

• Satire: Judge for Trump trial revealed to be kangaroo in a powdered wig (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.