Cross-Examination

• Blinken bows to China: Over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Beijing where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping. With tensions rising with China following both the spy balloon float-over and Beijing’s growing aggression with Taiwan, one would have expected a U.S. secretary of state to deliver a firm message of warning, but no such message will be coming. Instead, Blinken effectively bowed before Beijing’s growing aggression as he reiterated the commitment “to our One China Policy.” Indeed, Blinken might as well have told Taiwan to surrender to the Chinese strongman. “We do not support Taiwan’s independence,” he declared. “We made it clear that we oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side. We have been clear and consistent in our policy, and it’s very important that we preserve that status quo that has maintained peace and stability across the Strait for decades.” While noting recent provocations against Taiwan by China, Blinken’s focus was solely on maintaining the economic trade status quo. “President Biden believes strongly that one of the successful aspects in our relationship with China going back five decades has been the responsible management of the Taiwan question,” he explained. “We continue to believe that’s essential." 

• Space Cadets: In a few short years, the U.S. military has gone from a policy of "don’t ask, don’t tell” to one where failure to affirm and embrace someone’s sexual “identity” is labeled bigotry and “dangerous.” A high-ranking Space Force officer, Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, even ridiculously asserted that because several Republican-led states are passing laws banning the gender mutilation of children, that might lead a potential recruit to “not feel safe being themselves” and therefore force her to have to choose “less qualified” officers. Evidently, Burt believes that a Space Force that isn’t made up of a bunch of drag queens and “transgenders” equates to an existential threat to national security. The truth is the existential threat to national security is catering to the demands of the Rainbow Mafia in the military.

• Twitter the hate speech platform? In other ridiculous Rainbow Mafia news, the CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Sarah Kate Ellis, recently claimed that Twitter has become “the most dangerous platform for LGBTQ people.” Ellis’s comments come following GLAAD releasing its annual Social Media Safety Index. The index also handed out failing grades to other social media platforms including Facebook and YouTube, but it highlighted Twitter as the worst with a 33% score because it allows an “alarming and steadily growing epidemic of anti-LGBTQ hate and disinformation.” Of course, Ellis’s attack against Twitter is an attack against Elon Musk over his commitment to ensure that Twitter is a platform for free speech. This was evidenced by Ellis bemoaning the fact that “Twitter actually used to be the leader” in censoring speech that GLAAD wanted suppressed. “We sat on their trust and safety council,” she observed. Which, of course, is why users got banned from the platform — for daring to state truths regarding biologically based sex distinctions and gender.

• $20K for drag shows for minors in Ecuador: In yet another example of Washington wasting taxpayer money, included in that $1.7 trillion omnibus bill Congress passed last year is $20,600 that Joe Biden’s State Department is using to promote drag show workshops in Ecuador. The director of the Abraham Lincoln North American Ecuadorian Center in Cuenca, Ecuador, said the program “is aimed at young people 15 years of age and older, with parental consent.” It is intended as a “cultural exchange and creative expression for adolescents and young adults to promote tolerance.” When did drag shows become quintessential expressions of American culture? Furthermore, when did the Marxist-based ideology of diversity, equity, and inclusion replace America’s foundational ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? It’s time to eliminate the spending of Americans’ tax dollars on the promulgation and cultivation of this blatant debauchery.

• AMC bows to Rainbow Mafia bullies: In yet another example of the radical Left’s rejection of freedom of speech, a soon-to-be-released film titled “No Way Back: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care” was suddenly pulled by AMC Theatres after a “transgender” advocacy group called Queer Trans Project launched a campaign against the film. The movie in question had been scheduled for release on June 21, and it exposes the real-life experiences of several people who have de-transitioned. The company producing the documentary film, Deplorable Films, blasted AMC’s decision: “Perhaps they are on the payroll of those who profit from this — so much of what they are doing is resulting in the creation of life-long surgical and pharmaceutical patients,” which just happens to enrich “certain surgical clinics and pharmaceutical companies.” The company further charged, “It is quite evident that those undertaking this crusade against this film have not had the courtesy of seeing it before taking such extreme actions to silence it.”

Headlines

• Obama slams GOP “minority candidates” as too eager to “all get along” (Free Beacon)

• Tim Scott fires back at Obama over race comments (Daily Wire)

• Dodgers honor anti-Catholic drag “nuns” more than an hour before first pitch inside nearly empty stadium (Fox Sports)

• “Bud Light the Dodgers”: Thousands of Catholics protest outside Dodger Stadium during controversial Pride Night event (National Review)

• YouTube censors video of pride parade as inappropriate content (Hot Air)

• Karine Jean-Pierre claims LGBTQ+ community is “literally under attack, literally” amid Pride Month (Fox News)

• Anheuser-Busch releases “we hear you” statement over Bud Light backlash: “Beer is for everyone” (Daily Wire)

• Biden claims spy balloon was “more embarrassing” for China, suggests it wasn’t “intentional” (Fox News)

• Hunter Biden’s shady ex-business partner in talks with GOP to testify (Free Beacon)

• Pittsburgh synagogue shooter found guilty in Tree of Life attack (CBS News)

• Teamsters vote for UPS strike, setting the stage for historic showdown (Washington Examiner)

• Satire: Dollar sign officially added to LGBTQ$ acronym (Babylon Bee)

• Humor: Emperor begins selling “But His Death Star” hats (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.