Cross-Examination

• Biden crackdown is bad news for gun dealers: Joe Biden’s attack on Americans’ Second Amendment rights in the name of “commonsense gun control” is resulting in an increase in the number of gun dealers losing their licenses. The number licenses revoked by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) last fiscal year topped out at 122. That number was up from 90 the previous year and 27 in fiscal year 2021. During both the Obama and Trump eras, the annual number of dealers who lost their licenses never exceeded 81. It’s apparent that Biden’s ATF has been ratcheting up its dubious paperwork demands on gun dealers in an effort to shut them down. One gun dealer who fell victim to Biden’s ATF contends, “This policy is designed to be a backdoor violation of the Second Amendment." Ironically, Biden’s ATF is making an enemy out of gun dealers, who have acted as the first line of defense against illegal gun trafficking. As former ATF Deputy Assistant Director Peter Forcelli observes, "Why are we now beating an ally into submission?”

• Pandemic windfall dries up: According to a recent study conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the “unprecedented” levels of “excess” savings American households accumulated during the pandemic are drying up. In August 2021, Americans’ cumulative savings peaked at $2.1 trillion. However, thanks to Bidenflation, those savings have quickly diminished. As of June of this year, the study estimated cumulative savings have fallen below $190 billion. What was it Biden said about not taxing the middle class?

• Filling deflated police departments with illegal aliens: Thanks to leftist officials lending their voices to the nonsensical demands of the radical Left and their messages demonizing cops, several Democrat-run states from California to Illinois are finding their police forces depleted. Indeed, who would want to take the risk of being a law enforcement officer in these anti-cop states? To address this issue, some Democrat lawmakers in these states are seeking to solve the problem of deflated police departments by filling them with noncitizens, including illegal aliens. This should be a joke, but this nonsense is real. How does one make the argument that an individual whose very presence in the country is a willful violation of law be empowered and trusted to fairly and honestly enforce the law over legal citizens? There is obviously no respect for the rule of law if such a scenario is actually employed.

• The Squad’s private security spending spree: The cadre of socialist lawmakers in the House known as The Squad infamously espouse anti-police policies, yet they have collectively spent over $1.2 million of their campaign cash on private security. The biggest spender of the group is Cori Bush (D-MO), who has shelled out more than $730,000 on private security, $75,000 of which has gone directly to her husband. The next of the big spenders is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), whose security spending comes in at $272,914. Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar is third on the list at $125,683. This spending is the height of hypocrisy given their anti-police stance. However, Squad members have also used security spending to spin their racist victimhood narrative, claiming that the threat from white racists demands it.

• RNC debate participants: On Monday, the Republican National Committee released the list of presidential primary candidates who have met the criteria and will be engaging in the first debate on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. The candidates in alphabetical order are as follows: Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott. Notably, Donald Trump has enjoyed a significant lead in the polls and announced earlier this week that he will not attend. Meanwhile, there has been some criticism over the criteria standards set by the RNC for debate eligibility, keeping such individuals as Larry Elder from making the stage. However, the RNC’s eligibility bar is set very low. If a candidate can’t manage to meet the threshold of polling at 1% or higher in at least three national polls and have a minimum of 40,000 unique donors, do they really have any business being on the stage or in the race?

Headlines

• “That’s a hot ground, man”: Biden finally visits Maui, jokes about how hot the ground is (Not the Bee)

• Biden recalls his own small kitchen fire in failed attempt to console Maui wildfire survivors as protesters demand prez leave (NY Post)

• “Never vote for him again”: Hawaiians respond to Biden’s “despicable” Maui wildfire comparison (Daily Signal)

• Top Hunter Biden prosecutor David Weiss previously worked with Beau Biden (Daily Caller)

• Trump says he will be arrested in Georgia on Thursday (Just the News)

• Judge rules against Antifa defendants in default, awards Andy Ngo $300,000 in damages over Portland attack (PM)

• Federal court reinstates Alabama ban on youth gender transition (National Review)

• Judge blocks Georgia’s ban on transgender medication for minors (Free Beacon)

• Biden Air Force nominee claimed “white colonels” are the “biggest barriers” to change in the military (The Federalist)

• Mark Milley: A “handful of drag queen shows” on military bases doesn’t mean military “went woke” (Free Beacon)

• Malaria looks to be making a comeback in multiple U.S. states (Not the Bee)

• Humor: Weak Hurricane Hilary performance blamed on Russian interference (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.