Cross-Examination

• Ocean cooling? Climate scientists are scratching their heads over an apparent conundrum. While global ocean temperatures have been rising in accord with many of their global warming modeling predictions, a long stretch of the Pacific Ocean known as the equatorial cold tongue has stubbornly refused to follow the modeling and has remained cool. Significantly, this cold tongue is intrinsically tied to global weather patterns. Why the cold tongue has remained cool is a mystery, but what it does serve to do is expose the fact that as sophisticated as climate modeling has become, it still fails to fully comprehend and therefore be able to accurately predict the future climate in the real world.

• Manchin asks Schumer for campaign help: West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin is up for reelection in 2024, but based on current polling, his chances of winning in the deep-red state aren’t looking good. Manchin has a dismal 33% approval rating and a staggering 59% disapproval rating according to polling from May. The Mountain State’s Republican Governor Jim Justice, who jumped into the Senate race back in April, is besting Manchin by 22 points. In lieu of the uphill battle, Manchin is effectively begging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for campaign cash. The Washington Post reports that Manchin “wants Schumer to spend money in his state to help prop up his poll numbers before he decides whether he’ll run.” However, Schumer, who has more often found Manchin to be a thorn in his side than an asset, appears disinclined to offer any help, especially given the bad polling numbers and the fact that Manchin has yet to formerly decide if he will run again.

• Crude Bidenflation: In truth, Bidenomics is actually Bidenflation. Joe Biden’s economic policies have made everything more costly for Americans. Thanks to Biden’s anti-fossil fuel policies, for example, the price of gas has once again been rising — this time specifically after Saudi Arabia’s decision to keep its production cuts in place for another month to stick it to Joe. On Monday, crude prices rose to $85.30 a barrel. Following suit, the average price at the pump rose to $3.82 — up over 8% from this time last month. Higher gas prices lead to higher inflation, and as LPL Financial chief global strategist Quincy Krosby observes, “If gasoline prices continue to climb higher, the Fed will find it difficult to declare that inflation has peaked given the importance of gasoline prices with regard to consumer perceptions of long-term inflation.” Translation: High inflation isn’t going away anytime soon.

• DOJ vs. parents: Joe Biden’s Justice Department is using the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center and its dubious “hate” designation as cover for its continuing effort to target and silence parents who object to leftist deviant sexual indoctrination in schools. The SPLC has falsely branded parental rights groups like Moms for Liberty as “hate” groups, categorizing them as “anti-government extremist groups” and members of a so-called “anti-student inclusion movement.” Members of the Biden administration, including Biden himself, have met with the SPLC to strategize on how to combat parental rights groups. This is yet another example of the Biden administration trampling on Americans’ First Amendment rights.

• Portland’s bad example: Bad government begets bad society, resulting in higher levels of lawlessness and criminality. That’s exactly what Portland, Oregon, has experienced over the last few years. This failing leftist government has led to a mass exodus of residents, as over 14,000 fled the Rose City between 2020 and 2021 alone, leading to a whopping loss of $1 billion in tax revenue. Unsurprisingly, those with greater means are the ones getting out, as they have been the ones footing much of the city’s tax burden only to see city leaders waste it on a variety of failed leftist crusades and ideals. There’s a reason red states are gaining population while blue states are seeing residents leave. It has everything to do with competent governance.

• Rowling erased: Famed author J.K. Rowling has become persona non grata for the radical Left. Despite the fact that the Harry Potter author has long held politically liberal views, her refusal to bow to the demands of the “transgender” activists has gotten her labeled as “She who must not be named.” In that spirit, the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, Washington, recently scrubbed any reference to Rowling from its Harry Potter display in its Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. The museum justified the decision by declaring her opposition to equating “trans-women” with actual women as “problematic” and “transphobic.” Evidently, for today’s leftists, holding to biological reality is a crime deserving of imprisonment in Azkaban.

Headlines

• “The ultimate disrespect”: Gold Star families trash Biden admin over Afghanistan withdrawal (Daily Wire)

• Joe Biden celebrated his 365th day on vacation since taking office — 39.4% of his presidency (RNC)

• Mike Pence qualifies for first Republican debate (Washington Examiner)

• Federal court blocks Biden administration move to forgive student loan debt for defrauded borrowers (National Review)

• NPR says country music is racist. What about rap? (The Federalist)

• “Marxist lesbian” president of American Library Association doubles down on agenda “for a better world” (Daily Wire)

• Cop who restrained bystanders during George Floyd murder sentenced to nearly five years in prison (National Review)

• Vermont law bans pro-life pregnancy centers from counseling women (Daily Signal)

• Federal judge halts Colorado gun law raising purchase age to 21 years old hours before taking effect (Daily Wire)

• Policy: New York’s self-inflicted migrant crisis (City Journal)

• Satire: U.S. women’s soccer team promises to win next World Cup by replacing all the women with high school boys (Genesius Times)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.