Michigan: Election Worker Charged with Equipment Tampering
James Holkeboer, a Republican-affiliated election worker in Kent County, Mich., has been charged with using a computer to commit a crime and falsifying records after witnesses alleged he placed a USB drive into an electronic poll book during the Aug. 2 primary.
The county's clerk, Lisa Posthumus Lyons, said Holkeboer wasn't a government employee, adding that the alleged breach didn't impact the primary as the files were already saved to the precinct's encrypted system. He faces up to nine years if convicted.
Democratic narrative
This latest development isn't a good look for the GOP, who were the very ones who peddled Trump's baseless and false claims of election fraud, and now, ironically, have seemingly been caught red-handed tampering in a poll. The charges against Holkeboer prove that those who violate Michigan's election laws will be caught and held accountable; meddlers beware.
Republican narrative
While this incident is certainly alarming and unacceptable, Holkeboer is one individual — who at this point has only been charged, not convicted — and doesn't represent an entire group of people. Lyons, a Republican herself, has been quick to condemn the alleged tampering and called for an aggressive investigation, which should be allowed to play out before jumping to conclusions.
Kabul: At Least 19 Dead in Suicide Attack At Education Center
At least 19 people were killed and nearly 30 others wounded in a suicide attack on an education center in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Friday, with most victims believed to be female students.
According to Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran, the blast occurred inside the center in the Dashti Barchi district of western Kabul, a predominantly Shia Muslim area and home to the Hazara minority.
Pro-establishment narrative
Since the Taliban took over, Afghanistan has increasingly descended into chaos. The looming humanitarian catastrophe and economic collapse provide the perfect breeding ground for terrorist groups, not only posing a growing threat to innocent Afghans but also targeting the international community. To prevent further destabilization, a UN peacekeeping force is required to promote a peace process among all Afghans.
Establishment-critical narrative
It's shortsighted only to blame the Taliban for escalating violence when the country was already descending into anarchy, and the Islamic State was on the rise before the US withdrawal. This was also fostered because Washington never developed a coherent political and economic strategy for Afghanistan. With international aid funds now being cut and the US freezing billions in Afghan assets, the situation will only worsen due to Western failures.
US Sanctions PRC Firms Accused of Iran Support
The US Treasury and State Dept. on Thursday imposed sanctions on firms in China and other countries alleged of helping Iran circumvent bans on oil and petrochemical exports. Washington stated it would restrict Iran's energy sales more if it continued to breach the 2015 nuclear agreement.
On Monday, the US also sanctioned four companies from Hong Kong, one from the United Arab Emirates, and one from Singapore. This freezes any US-based assets and bars Americans from dealing with them.
Pro-establishment narrative
Iran has illicitly sold China $38B worth of oil since 2021. The PRC is principally responsible for keeping Iran's hardline regime afloat by continuing to import millions of barrels of oil each day. These sanctions against Chinese entities are necessary if the illegal Iranian oil trade is to be stopped and to bring Iran back to the negotiating table with the international community.
Establishment-critical narrative
The US, ever the fan of unilateral action, has imposed sanctions on no less than 17 foreign nations, with sanctions targeted at organizations covering dozens of others. Instead of promoting positive change on the world stage, Washington's sanctions policies weaken all parties and harm nations and their populations. These sanctions simply don’t work.
Nerd narrative
There is a 19% chance the US will rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal by 2024, according to the Metaculus Prediction Community.
Biden Admin. Changes Loan Forgiveness as GOP States Sue
On Thursday, the Biden admin. changed the qualifications for its student-loan forgiveness program in response to several lawsuits from Republican-led states.
The changes specifically affect Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) borrowers, whose loans were issued by private banks but backed by the federal government. The White House previously said it would allow FFEL borrowers to consolidate their loans into federal loans, but around 770K FFEL borrowers will now be disqualified from the forgiveness program.
Democratic narrative
Republicans are filing lawsuits as shameless political stunts. Individuals like Garrison can now opt out of the program, and therefore he has no legal ground to stand on. As for the attorneys general, they can only speculate that the program will negatively impact their states, and speculative injury has no standing in court.
Republican narrative
The Biden administration's arguments are full of statistical lies and are morally bankrupt. One study estimates the total cost of the program to be a staggering $1T over 10 years. Millions of non-college graduates - who make far less than their degree-holding counterparts - will be footing the bill through rising inflation and taxes.
Day 219 Roundup: Attack in Zaporizhzhia Kills 25; Putin Announces Annexation of Four Regions
As Russian Pres. Putin announced the annexation of four regions in Ukraine on Friday, an earlier attack on the Zaporizhzhia region – one of the territories being annexed alongside Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson – left at least 25 civilians dead and injured as many as 50.
Ukrainian officials, including the governor for the Zaporizhzhia region Oleksandr Starukh and Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alleged Russia was responsible for the attack. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an adviser to Zelenskyy, alleged 16 S-300 surface-to-air missiles were fired, four of which struck near a convoy of civilian cars that were "on their way to the temporarily occupied territory to pick up their relatives."
Anti-Russia narrative
As Russia illegally annexes Ukrainian territory following its sham referendums, Moscow continues to terrorize Ukraine's citizens by carrying out criminal attacks on its civilian population. This aggression must be met with a strong response.
Pro-Russia narrative
Following previous acts of reprisals, this tragic attack on civilians was carried out by Ukrainian forces who wanted to inflict punishment on those who wished to escape their government into Russian territory.
Nerd narrative
There is a 5% chance that Ukraine will officially recognize a former Ukrainian territory as independent before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Ginni Thomas Meets with Jan. 6 Committee
On Thursday, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas, reportedly voluntarily met with the US House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
During her interview, Thomas repeated claims about the 2020 presidential election being stolen from former Pres. Donald Trump, according to committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (R-Miss.).
Democratic narrative
We already know from evidence that the Jan. 6 Committee made public that Thomas’ activities surrounding the plot to keep Trump in power were not “minimal and mainstream,” as her lawyers assert. She was an active participant in an attempt to overturn the election. Her actions also go beyond just expressing a political opinion, and raise questions about her husband’s knowledge of and role in her activities. Thomas's role in supporting false and debunked election fraud claims must be investigated.
Pro-Trump narrative
As a private citizen, Thomas shouldn’t have had to answer for her constitutionally protected political activities, but she agreed to meet with the committee anyway. Now there’s a record of her defending her right to free speech regarding her election doubt. She also shot down the unsubstantiated and inflammatory claims that her work affects her husband’s judgment.
Nerd narrative
There's a 12% chance that Joe Biden will no longer be US President before Jan 20, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Ukraine Submits 'Accelerated' NATO Application
In a video address on Friday, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Ukraine's submission of an "accelerated" application to join the NATO military alliance.
The announcement comes on the same day that Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin held a ceremony where he proclaimed that Moscow has formally annexed the four partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
Pro-Russia narrative
Zelenskyy's announcement is nothing more than a provocation that won't bring anything to fruition. Due to the current situation, NATO's members will be hesitant to accept the bid, as it would result in a direct conflict between the alliance and Russia. This wasted retaliation in response to the reunification of Russian territories is likely to fall on deaf ears.
Anti-Russia narrative
Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine is the very thing that's pushing Kyiv straight into NATO's arms. While it remains to be seen whether all 30 members will welcome Ukraine, Zelenskyy's fast-track application takes a strong stance against Putin's illegitimate referenda and exposes that Putin is failing in one of his primary goals.
Quarterback Injury Raises Questions About NFL Concussion Protocols
On Thursday, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa hit his head on the turf during a game with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was hospitalized with what might have been his second serious head injury in five days, renewing questions about the league's concussion protocols.
After the hit, Tagovailoa raised his hands with his fingers splayed, which can signify a brain injury. The Dolphins reported he suffered “head and neck injuries,” but he was conscious and had movement in all his extremities. He was put into the NFL’s concussion protocol and discharged in time to travel home with the team.
Pro-establishment narrative
While Tagovailoa’s injuries are concerning, all protocols have been followed in accordance with NFL practice. The Dolphins have shown that they take the NFL’s rules around concussions seriously by complying with the league's investigation and are rightly supporting the quarterback's recovery.
Establishment-critical narrative
By rushing Tagovailoa back to the field after Sunday's injury, the Dolphins displayed a complete dereliction of duty and lack of care. The fact that protocols were seemingly followed calls into question the NFL's lax rules. It remains to be seen how and if Tagovailoa will recover.
US House & Senate Pass Bill to Avert Shutdown
With a federal government shutdown deadline looming at midnight Friday, the Senate and House voted to pass a stopgap bill to fund the federal government through Dec. 16 and also provide more funding to Ukraine.
Senators were able to keep spending for federal agencies at current levels, as well as provide Ukraine with $12B for training, equipment and logistics support, humanitarian aid, and replenishment of US weapons and munitions, including $35M in nuclear preparedness funding.
Pro-establishment narrative
With everything going on around the world and in the US, this bill saved a lot of Americans from the catastrophe of a government shutdown. With the help of Senate Republicans, Democrats have kept vital federal agencies open while boosting aid to victims of both natural disasters at home and of war abroad. In this case, the bipartisan collaboration worked.
Establishment-critical narrative
House Republicans were correct in voting against this bill, but to no avail, as the Senate GOP chose to side with the Democrats. Not only does this stopgap measure continue to fund anti-Republican institutions like the National Institutes of Health and World Health Organization, Mitch McConnel and his followers just voted to give Democrats more budgetary power ahead of the mid-terms. Unpopular initiatives were rammed through in the name of "bipartisan consensus."
India Approves Equal Abortion Access For All Women
India's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that women, regardless of marital status, are allowed to obtain an abortion up until 24 weeks of pregnancy. Single women were previously barred from obtaining the procedure after 20 weeks.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP) of 1971 had only provided the 24-week timeframe for women who were married, divorced, widowed, minors, "disabled and mentally ill," or survivors of sexual assault or rape.
Left narrative
While the US Supreme Court has chosen to move backward, the Indian high court is proving to be a 21st-century champion of progressive values. Not only does this ruling protect previously-vulnerable young women and girls, but it also shines a light on the long-overdue need to combat marital rape.
Right narrative
Applying the law equally and classifying marital sexual assault as rape are certainly commendable parts of this ruling. However, the heart of the decision - allowing abortion at such late a stage - is morally wrong. India has already legalized the killing of clearly-viable babies in the womb, and it's about time the country acknowledges its high rate of doing so. While all women should certainly have equal protection under the law, so, too should babies.