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<title>28 March, 2023</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Should Latinos Be Considered a Race?</strong> - A proposed change to the census faces opposition from Afro-Latino groups, and exposes conflicts among Latino communities. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/should-latinos-be-considered-a-race">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Trolled by Trump, Again</strong> - Thoughts after a week of waiting and waiting for the indictment that the former President promised. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/trolled-by-trump-again">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Advice for Alvin Bragg from Former Trump Prosecutors</strong> - The Manhattan District Attorney faces huge legal and political challenges, but the former President’s antics could help the prosecution’s case. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/advice-for-alvin-bragg-from-former-trump-prosecutors">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a Texas County</strong> - Students have overdosed during class, in bathrooms, and in an elementary-school parking lot. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/the-horrifying-epidemic-of-teen-age-fentanyl-deaths-in-a-texas-county">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Has Benjamin Netanyahu’s Assault on Israeli Democracy Been Stopped?</strong> - In the face of mass protests, the Prime Minister has backed down from his plan to overhaul the judiciary—for now. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/has-benjamin-netanyahus-assault-on-israeli-democracy-been-stopped">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>Heartbreaking: The worst Supreme Court justice you know just made a great point</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="Justice Gorsuch is walking outside on a sunny, cold day, wearing a suit, a heavy overcoat, and a gold-and-red patterned scarf." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dbJR3bW25Fi6JDWClobvPZa0r5w=/89x0:1504x1061/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72122151/1230699348.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Justice Neil Gorsuch arrives at the Capitol ahead of the inauguration of President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, in Washington, DC. | Melina Mara/Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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In an uncharacteristic move, Justice Neil Gorsuch offers a trenchant warning about giving too much power to judges.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yOcOkp">
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Can the judiciary appoint a special prosecutor to try someone that the Department of Justice refuses to prosecute? That’s the central question in <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/032723zor_nmjp.pdf"><em>Donziger v. United States</em></a>, a case that the Supreme Court announced it will not hear on Monday.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xWjLck">
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That announcement leaves in place an appeals court decision, which effectively lets the courts decide to prosecute someone of their own accord, at least under certain circumstances. The Supreme Court made this announcement, however, over the objections of two justices — one of whom, Justice Neil Gorsuch, argues in a dissenting opinion that “the prosecution in this case <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/032723zor_nmjp.pdf">broke a basic constitutional promise essential to our liberty</a>.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9JRGQU">
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He’s got a point. Especially in an era where litigants with an axe to grind can <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/17/23512766/supreme-court-matthew-kacsmaryk-judge-trump-abortion-immigration-birth-control">choose which judge will hear their case</a>, permitting the judiciary to decide who to prosecute — and then to hear the very same cases brought by its own court-appointed prosecutors — vests far too much power in unelected judges. If courts have this authority, it is likely to be abused by some of the most partisan judges in the country.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1m1yyG">
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The <em>Donziger</em> case itself involves Steven Donziger, a New York attorney who, according to a federal court, defied several court orders. Eventually, the court referred Donziger to the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan for prosecution, which <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1642725553437726808&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">“respectfully decline[d]” to bring charges</a> against Donziger “on the ground that the matter would require resources that we do not readily have available.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bShhPY">
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The court then invoked a federal criminal procedural rule, known as Rule 42, which empowers the court to “<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_42">appoint another attorney to prosecute</a>” an individual for criminal contempt of court when the Justice Department refuses to bring such a prosecution. Donziger was eventually convicted and sentenced to six months in prison.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="w0IZF7">
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But, as Gorsuch argues in his <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/032723zor_nmjp.pdf"><em>Donziger</em> opinion</a>, this prosecution raises grave constitutional questions. Typically, to convict someone of a federal crime, two branches of government must agree that the defendant deserves punishment. Prosecutors, part of the executive branch, must initiate a prosecution. And then a judge, a member of the judicial branch, must preside over the defendant’s trial. As Gorsuch writes, “the Constitution gives courts the power to ‘serve as a neutral adjudicator in a criminal case,’ not ‘the power to prosecute crimes.’”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HhkBBj">
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In fairness, Gorsuch’s position is slightly overstated. The Constitution does provide that, under certain circumstances, <a href="https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm#a2">“Congress may by law” vest the power to appoint prosecutors “in the Courts of Law.”</a> But, while Gorsuch has a history of reading Congress’s authority to delegate authority to government officials <a href="https://www.vox.com/22431044/neil-gorsuch-nihilism-supreme-court-voting-rights-lgbt-housing-obamacare-constitution">far too narrowly</a>, he makes a strong case in his <em>Donziger</em> dissent that Congress has not passed any law permitting court-appointed prosecutors to bring criminal contempt proceedings.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mVpB2k">
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If the courts do have that power, moreover, that could remove an important check on the government’s power to send people to prison. A judge could potentially <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/22/23539363/abortion-medication-mifepristone-supreme-court-pills-comstock-matthew-kacsmaryk">issue a completely lawless order</a> stripping individuals of their legal rights, and then appoint special prosecutors to bring criminal charges against anyone the judge deems to be in defiance of the order.
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</p>
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<h3 id="yppKFK">
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The separation of powers issue in <em>Donziger</em>, briefly explained
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="alGljY">
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One issue in <em>Donziger</em> is a dispute about the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. Historically, the Supreme Court has understood the power to bring prosecutions as a quintessentially executive branch function. As the Court said in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5132513257326080850&hl=en&as_sdt=6,47&as_vis=1"><em>United States v. Nixon</em></a><em> </em>(1974)<em>, “</em>the Executive Branch has exclusive authority and absolute discretion to decide whether to prosecute a case.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oCmXxR">
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Similarly, in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14557349188638541514&hl=en&as_sdt=6,47&as_vis=1"><em>Seila Law v. CFPB</em></a> (2020) the Court held that “the ‘executive Power’ — all of it — is ‘vested in a President’” — a theory known as the “<a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/27/21120492/supreme-court-cfpb-seila-law-unitary-executive-kavanaugh">unitary executive</a>,” which claims that any government official who wields executive authority must be responsible to the president of the United States. In practice, that means that if someone has the power to bring federal prosecutions, that individual must answer to either the president or to a presidential appointee — and the president or that appointee must have the power to fire that individual.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AEs7XE">
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Yet the Court also ruled three decades earlier in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=11953327548412824007&hl=en&as_sdt=6,47&as_vis=1"><em>Young v. United States ex rel. Vuitton et Fils SA</em></a> (1987) that the judiciary has “<a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=11953327548412824007&hl=en&as_sdt=6,47&as_vis=1">inherent authority</a>” to appoint prosecutors to try contempt of court cases. Without it, <em>Young</em> reasoned, the courts would have no authority “to punish disobedience to judicial orders … without complete dependence on other Branches.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="54niV5">
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Although <em>Seila Law</em> did not explicitly overrule <em>Young</em>, it is difficult to reconcile the two cases. And the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which heard the <em>Donziger</em> case, did a pretty poor job of it. The Second Circuit held that the court-appointed prosecution of Donziger did not intrude upon the executive branch’s exclusive authority because a federal statute <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1642725553437726808&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">gives the attorney general the power to supervise and remove all federal prosecutors</a> — who remain part of the executive branch, even if they are appointed by a judge. So even if the courts can appoint a special prosecutor, the attorney general can always remove that prosecutor if the executive branch opposes the prosecution.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v4N4e8">
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But, as Second Circuit Judge Steven Menashi <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1642725553437726808&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">argued in dissent</a>, this attempt to reconcile <em>Seila Law</em> and <em>Young</em> completely undercuts <em>Young</em>’s reasoning. Again, <em>Young</em> held that courts must have the power to appoint prosecutors so that they are not dependent on the executive branch to enforce contempt orders. But, if the attorney general has the power to cut off these prosecutions, then courts are still dependent on the executive branch to enforce these orders.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BIgtVW">
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In any event, the Supreme Court will likely have to decide, in a future case, whether <em>Young</em> must be scrapped entirely in the wake of decisions like <em>Seila Law</em>. For the moment, federal judges retain the power to appoint prosecutors at least some of the time. And that gives them an extraordinary amount of power over who will be fined or incarcerated.
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</p>
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<h3 id="vriJKc">
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Congress can empower judges to appoint prosecutors, but it is unclear if it did so here
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2Ny9Ui">
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Setting aside the complicated questions about which branch has authority over contempt of court prosecutions in the absence of a federal statute assigning this authority to one branch or the other, the Constitution does sometimes permit courts to appoint federal prosecutors — but <a href="https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm#a2">only if Congress passes a law enabling them to do so</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TwNkvs">
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The court that appointed a special prosecutor to go after Donziger relied on a court-created rule — <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_42">Rule 42 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure</a> — and not an act of Congress, to justify appointing a prosecutor in this case.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="URqNjq">
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That said, while Rule 42 is not an act of Congress, there is a federal statute, known as the Rules Enabling Act, which permits the Supreme Court “to prescribe general rules of practice and procedure and rules of evidence for cases in the United States district courts.” And the Supreme Court exercised this statutory authority when it created Rule 42.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QbvDhd">
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But even if the Constitution permits Congress to delegate its power to determine when courts may appoint prosecutors to the Supreme Court, the Rules Enabling Act has an important limitation. It provides that judicial rules enacted by the Court “<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/2072">shall not abridge, enlarge or modify any substantive right</a>.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nzsEAF">
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And, as Gorsuch argues in his <em>Donziger</em> dissent, there are serious arguments that, by allowing the judicial branch to determine both whether someone should be prosecuted and then to try that case, Rule 42 abridges such a right. As Gorsuch writes, Rule 42 potentially allows a judge to “assume the ‘dual position as accuser and decisionmaker’ — a combination that ‘violat[es the] due process’ rights of the accused.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="RrSiBb">
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So what’s at stake here?
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aIhiW5">
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It should be emphasized that the rule announced by the Second Circuit does impose an important check on the judiciary. Though it gives the courts the power to initiate a prosecution for criminal contempt, the attorney general may still shut that prosecution down after it is underway.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WYgugL">
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But even with this limit on judicial power in effect, the Second Circuit’s decision in <em>Donziger</em> changes the balance of power between people accused of crimes and their government. As Menashi writes in his dissenting opinion, the Second Circuit’s rule “<a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1642725553437726808&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">allows the judicial appointment of additional executive branch prosecutors</a> — paid out of the judiciary’s budget — when the U.S. Attorney’s office does not want to devote its own resources to a case.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fLJGdH">
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It also potentially allows rogue judges to initiate prosecutions that the executive would not choose to initiate on its own, but that it may also be reluctant to terminate due to political pressure from the president’s voters.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2x1khF">
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Gorsuch’s <em>Donziger</em> opinion was joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, meaning that there are at least two votes on the Supreme Court to roll back the federal judiciary’s authority to appoint prosecutors. If a federal trial judge seriously abused this power, the Court’s three liberals could potentially join with Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to shut that abuse down.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uYzf30">
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But the Court’s decision not to hear <em>Donziger</em> means that, at least for the time being, lower federal court judges retain significant power to decide who should be prosecuted.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nJ7vyx">
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One name that looms over this dispute about whether judges can initiate prosecutions is Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump-appointed judge in Texas who is widely expected to issue a decision any day now seeking to <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/22/23539363/abortion-medication-mifepristone-supreme-court-pills-comstock-matthew-kacsmaryk">remove a common abortion drug from the US market</a>. Kacsmaryk has, to put it mildly, a record of <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/17/23512766/supreme-court-matthew-kacsmaryk-judge-trump-abortion-immigration-birth-control">reading the law creatively</a> to advance conservative causes. He also has a record of asserting jurisdiction over cases and parties that he <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/13/23505459/supreme-court-birth-control-contraception-constitution-matthew-kacsmaryk-deanda-becerra">does not have any lawful authority over</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7eukep">
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Armed with the additional power to initiate prosecutions, even if this power is limited to contempt of court cases, a partisan judge like Kacsmaryk could potentially issue a nationwide injunction prohibiting anyone from performing an abortion, even in states where it is legal. Then, because anyone who violates a court order can potentially be held in contempt, Kacsmaryk could appoint his own hand-picked prosecutors to target anyone who violates his self-imposed abortion ban.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hiB707">
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If Kacsmaryk, or a similarly partisan judge, attempted this move today, Attorney General Merrick Garland would almost certainly fire any prosecutor that Kacsmaryk appointed. But, in a Republican administration, the attorney general would likely be much more reluctant to exercise such authority. Indeed, a Republican-led Justice Department might welcome the appointment of an array of new prosecutors focused solely on prosecuting abortion providers.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n20r0b">
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As Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers, the judiciary is not supposed to have this much power. It is supposed to be, in Hamilton’s words, “the weakest of the three departments of power,” in part because it “<a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed78.asp">must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments</a>.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CvXsLM">
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Gorsuch is right to warn us against a regime that upends this balance of power.
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</p></li>
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<li><strong>The House GOP’s investigations are flopping</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) leading a committee meeting with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) in the foreground and a poster of a New York Post front page story about Hunter Biden’s emails and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in the background." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/O2vCuH3wLvzmqnJ08ec9cTgAHxA=/0x0:5081x3811/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72122077/1464187318.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) at a committee hearing on Capitol Hill on February 8. | Alex Wong/Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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House Republicans are still looking for their next Benghazi. But their investigations are unpopular.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZkHDmp">
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Even before they had taken control of the House, House Republicans were<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/17/1137197668/republicans-have-won-the-house-now-theyre-promising-to-investigate-the-bidens"> promising</a><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/04/politics/gop-investigations-republican-plans-hunter-biden/index.html"> payback</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RXohFW">
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Using the powers of the various congressional committees that they would soon take over, ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus members, led by Reps. James Comer of Kentucky and Jim Jordan of Ohio, were<a href="https://time.com/6218879/hunter-biden-investigations-james-comer-house-republicans/"> pledging investigations</a> of everything: the Biden family’s business practices, Hunter Biden’s laptop, the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, alleged government bias against conservatives, and the Biden administration’s border policies.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WdQ9ac">
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But so far, these investigations seem to be flopping. They don’t seem to be sticking in the public consciousness. They haven’t uncovered page one news about Hunter Biden’s laptop, or about the origins of Covid-19, or about a supposed government conspiracy to silence conservatives on Twitter. A bit more than two months into Republican control of the House, plenty of these investigations are well underway. Hearings have been held, letters sent, witnesses summoned, and hours spent<a href="https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/gops-james-comer-spends-inordinate-amount-time-fox-rcna75763"> appearing on Fox News</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yVN3Yc">
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The House GOP investigations also aren’t making the president’s reelection campaign untenable — many Democratic operatives suspected that was their goal — and they don’t seem to be damaging the president as many Republicans had hoped.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7oOvPv">
|
||
Of course, it’s still early, and in the more than year and a half before the 2024 presidential election, Republicans could still weaponize their committee investigations into better political cudgels. A handful of additional hearings are on the calendar, but more remain unscheduled. If Republicans had hoped to establish the same kind of cloud of confusion and innuendo that they did during the Obama years to tarnish the president’s reputation and hurt Hillary Clinton’s presidential hopes, they have yet to achieve that with Biden.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c0aXV8">
|
||
New <a href="https://navigatorresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Navigator-Toplines-03.14.2023.pdf">polling</a> provided to Vox by the progressive research group Navigator further demonstrates this trend: Half of American adults believe Republicans are overreaching in their oversight of the Biden administration,<a href="https://navigatorresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Navigator-Update-02.22.2023.pdf"> up from</a> the 46 percent who said so in a February poll and the 30 percent who said so in January. The number who view the GOP’s investigations as a form of overreach is also rising among political independents, while Republican support for the investigations is remaining steady.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JNKTm7">
|
||
The president’s approval rating remains<a href="https://civiqs.com/results/approve_president_biden?annotations=true&uncertainty=true&zoomIn=true"> virtually</a> unchanged (though it’s<a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/"> trended up</a> since the midterms). House Republicans continue to be tremendously unpopular. And more Americans today see the House GOP’s oversight investigations negatively when compared to when they took control.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="nbwGSL">
|
||
Americans’ feelings toward GOP oversight aren’t very positive
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KOMR1R">
|
||
The big reason these investigations don’t seem to be breaking through is pretty simple: They just aren’t that popular, and never really were. And it’s not just Navigator’s polling that shows Americans aren’t very receptive to whatever comes out of these hearings. Since January, a series of Pew, <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23589424-230032-nbc-january-2023-poll-v2-129-release">NBC</a>, and<a href="https://congressionalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/CIP-PPP-Toplines-Final.pdf"> Public Policy Polling</a> surveys have shown that most Americans don’t see these investigations as priorities for Congress, or would rather Republicans spend less time pursuing these lines of inquiry in favor of addressing more tangible, everyday issues (first among them being inflation and the cost of household goods).
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0jdQH3">
|
||
For example, when Pew Research asked Americans in mid-January how they felt about the GOP’s new focus on investigating the Biden administration, the answers were pretty definitive — 65 percent worried Republicans would focus “too much,” while 32 percent thought they wouldn’t pay enough attention. Even Republicans were split closely;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/01/31/republicans-leery-of-compromise-with-biden-majority-want-gop-to-focus-on-investigations/"> 42 percent of Republican adults said they thought Republicans would focus on oversight too much</a>, compared to the 56 percent who feared lawmakers wouldn’t go far enough.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6TYs6K">
|
||
Navigator also found that<a href="https://navigatorresearch.org/congressional-republicans-and-their-agenda-both-deeply-underwater-as-they-take-the-house/"> a plurality of Americans</a> don’t see these inquiries as serious, good-faith efforts at oversight — including 38 percent of independents who think they are “political stunts.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BWOG3a">
|
||
Navigator’s chief of polling, Bryan Bennett, told me that in the runup to and aftermath of the midterms, Republicans may have misjudged just how much to play up their proposed investigations, and made a strategic error hyping up the investigations that are of least interest to Americans.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X08V5a">
|
||
In Navigator voter<a href="https://navigatorresearch.org/focus-group-report-independents-from-virginia-wisconsin-and-texas-view-house-republican-investigations-and-legislative-priorities-as-out-of-touch/"> focus groups</a> in Wisconsin, Virginia, and Texas, voters seemed most open to investigations into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, China-US trade practices, and the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3ZSGNn">
|
||
But those aren’t the investigations that House Republicans have prioritized. The panel investigating the origins of the coronavirus, for example, has only met once, earlier in March, and a second hearing is scheduled for Tuesday (scrutinizing school closures). The Foreign Affairs Committee, which is investigating the Afghanistan withdrawal, meanwhile, has sent letters to the State Department requesting more information<a href="https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/during-and-after-the-fall-of-kabul-examining-the-administrations-emergency-evacuation-from-afghanistan/"> and held one hearing on the fall of Kabul</a>, but it did not have any witnesses from the executive branch testifying. Meanwhile, James Comer, the chair of the oversight committee, has spent hours on Fox News pushing the committee’s investigation into Hunter Biden’s laptop and the Biden family’s business practices. They’ve held one hearing already and have more planned.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UW1xiD">
|
||
These hearing topics, Bennett said, are the ones that independent voters are most likely to view with disdain and distrust. “The reasons that were cited for that included that there was kind of this broad perception that it was seen as being like a revenge list or a tit-for-tat, or a ‘get even’ list, and that it wasn’t really particularly focused on … the priorities that people want Congress to focus on.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vuid1n">
|
||
Comer has also managed to become Republicans’ standard-bearer for investigations, assuming the role of chief White House congressional antagonist on Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News. But the decision to take on that role also poses a problem — not many people know him outside of conservative circles, and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/us/politics/james-comer-republican-oversight-biden.html"> scrutiny into his past</a> has dredged up old <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/elections/kentucky/2015/05/04/james-comer-domestic-violence/26901137/">allegations of abuse of a girlfriend</a> and a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/us/politics/james-comer-republican-oversight-biden.html">shady track record of political maneuvering</a>. (Comer’s office did not respond to a request for comment.)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="qOetwo">
|
||
Why the GOP’s investigations aren’t sticking
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="a5l5au">
|
||
Beyond the general unpopularity of these investigations, Republicans have some other structural and political obstacles. Democrats are not letting these probes go on unanswered, a lesson from the Benghazi investigations during the Obama years.<a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/6/23542325/mccarthy-democrats-republicans-congress-attacks-benghazi-hunter-biden"> A collection of Democratic and progressive groups</a>, like the Congressional Integrity Project, are working hard outside of government to paint these Republican investigations as illegitimate and the investigators as<strong> </strong>abusers of congressional power.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ruUNaJ">
|
||
The White House itself is also proactively responding to various Republican lines of attack with frequent conversations with reporters, led by Ian Sams, the White House’s chief spokesperson on these investigations. Sams and the White House Counsel’s office have also gotten ahead of other potential vulnerabilities, like the discovery of classified documents at Biden’s home and private offices, by preemptively briefing reporters and blasting out clips and quotes of Comer, Jordan, and other Republicans talking about the political nature of these investigations.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kI2fOx">
|
||
There’s also a problem of novelty and nicheness. Many of the subjects that Republicans have pledged to investigate don’t feel fresh or new. Hunter Biden’s laptop and his business dealings were a 2020 matter; the Afghanistan withdrawal and coronavirus pandemic feel like years-old issues; and the questioning of social media companies and alleged government bias against conservatives are issues that may only truly resonate with the most partisan, internet-pilled Republican voters.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GolHsI">
|
||
The oversight committee, especially, may simply be picking too many targets to pursue — it’s also investigating the conditions of January 6 defendants in the DC jail, the capital city’s legislative work, the impact of “progressivism” on the military, pandemic relief fraud, and coronavirus school closures,<a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/"> among many other things</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x9UCTw">
|
||
“The American public is already tired of these,” Brad Woodhouse, a senior adviser to the Congressional Integrity Project, a group of Democratic operatives, told me. “I understand there’s some support within the Republican base, but the American public writ large are already tired of these extreme tactics.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UXT156">
|
||
There are also real questions about productivity: The committees simply haven’t held that many meetings, and none have featured people who have enough of a high profile to garner attention beyond niche conservative spaces. “I haven’t seen a single guy sweating under the bright lights,” Fox News host Jesse Watters<a href="https://www.mediaite.com/politics/biden-has-worked-more-days-than-congress-fox-newss-jesse-watters-mocks-house-gop-schedule-nothingburger-probes/"> complained in early March</a>. “Are we gonna drill down on anything? Are we going to see anybody squirm and cough up the truth or at least plead the Fifth or something, so that we can start showering these goons with subpoenas? Where are the bombshells? Have the investigations even started?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OsCN6h">
|
||
Donald Trump himself is also sucking up the energy and attention of the political press and the American public. As his presidential campaign blunders on, and a number of federal, state, and local investigations into his dealings with campaign money, classified documents, liability for January 6, and potential obstruction of justice continue, he has reinforced himself as one of Democrats’ best tools for diverting attention from the House investigations.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EhCiiD">
|
||
Finally, Republicans will also face a longer-term problem of political inertia. Given how unfavorably the public has been viewing these probes so far, they have limited time to change opinions, Bennett said. “The longer that you have these kind of [negative] ratings, the more entrenched that view is going to become, and the harder it’s going to be to recover.”
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>What we know about the Nashville school shooting</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="Blue uniformed officers mill about a green lawn with bare trees. Gothic inspired buildings can be seen in the background." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/k53B7M_oO00F5ElAI9qxT_dmLzw=/0x0:3960x2970/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72119640/AP23086591034906.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Nashville police respond to a shooting at Covenant School and Covenant Presbyterian Church on March 27, 2023. | Metro Nashville Police Department/AP
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
A shooting on Monday has left at least three students and three adults dead.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zqr03Q">
|
||
Three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school, in Nashville on Monday, <a href="https://www.wsmv.com/2023/03/27/mnpd-3-students-shooter-dead-after-shooting-covenant-school/">according to WSMV4 News</a>. The suspect is also dead, per Nashville police.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DMiXxZ">
|
||
The child victims were two 9-year-olds and one 8-year-old — Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, who were students at the school. The three adult victims were staff members: Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher; Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school; and Mike Hill, 61, a custodian.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QtyECZ">
|
||
Police have also identified the shooter as 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who officers believe is a former student and who they said was transgender. Police said that Hale had drawn a detailed map of the school, including entry points, and written a manifesto. Hale — who was shot and killed by police — was armed with two “assault-type” rifles and a handgun when entering the school.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xwqlNq">
|
||
Officers noted that Hale didn’t have a criminal history and that two of the guns appeared to be obtained legally.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aIjFhN">
|
||
“Including the shooter, a total of seven persons were killed as a result of this morning’s incident at the school,” Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Aaron told reporters during a press conference.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div id="WIEMX6">
|
||
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
||
An active shooter event has taken place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, on Burton Hills Dr. The shooter was engaged by MNPD and is dead. Student reunification with parents is at Woodmont Baptist Church, 2100 Woodmont Blvd. <a href="https://t.co/vO8p9cj3vx">pic.twitter.com/vO8p9cj3vx</a>
|
||
</p>
|
||
— Metro Nashville PD (<span class="citation" data-cites="MNPDNashville">@MNPDNashville</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/MNPDNashville/status/1640383339893800964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2023</a>
|
||
</blockquote></div></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fYDAXD">
|
||
The shooting occurred on Monday morning, with police first receiving calls about it at 10:13am local time. It took place at Covenant School, a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church, which serves roughly 200 students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It’s not yet clear how many people were potentially injured at this time or what the shooter’s motive was.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YSuvRE">
|
||
The Covenant School shooting adds to a long and horrific list of school shootings that have taken place in the last 20 years in the US. It also follows several other shootings that have occurred more recently, including at <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/23/1165575298/denver-east-high-school-shooting-suspect">East High School in Denver, Colorado</a>, last week, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23140441/uvalde-shooting-robb-elementary-school-texas">Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas</a>, in 2022, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="gYpIKh">
|
||
School shootings are getting more common
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="deqqRv">
|
||
According to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/06/28/school-shootings-crime-report/">2022 report from the National Center for Education Statistics,</a> there has been a major uptick in school shootings in the last two decades: In 2000 and 2001, there were 23 incidents with casualties at public and private schools; in 2020-2021, there were 93. School shootings hit a record high in 2021, according to that report.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qE6NVq">
|
||
The frequency of school shootings in the US is an anomaly. “School shootings happen in the U.S. at an alarming rate, but they rarely happen elsewhere in the world. Eighty or 90 percent of all the school shootings in the world happen in the U.S. They are concentrated here,” William Pelfrey, a homeland security expert at Virginia Commonwealth University, <a href="https://news.vcu.edu/article/2022/06/why-do-school-shootings-keep-happening-in-the-united-states">has previously said</a>. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9388351/">Research on school shootings</a> has found that the US has 57 times as many school shootings as every other industrialized country combined.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Kx02BO">
|
||
Pelfrey notes that the number of guns in the US is a major factor in the number of school shootings that take place. The country has the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-25/how-many-guns-in-the-us-buying-spree-bolsters-lead-as-most-armed-country?leadSource=uverify%20wall">highest gun ownership among civilians</a> in the world, with some estimates <a href="https://www.vox.com/23142734/covenant-school-nashville-mass-shootings">putting it at 120.5 guns per 100 people</a>. Experts have cautioned against using any one profile to describe a school shooter, though <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2022/01/26/school-shootings-what-we-know-about-them-and-what-we-can-do-to-prevent-them/">researchers have found some commonalities</a> in past instances including perpetrators who felt marginalized by their broader community and some dealing with psychological conditions including depression.<strong> </strong>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<aside id="MM3C2U">
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
<h3 id="jKqCvk">
|
||
What we know about the Covenant School shooting suspect
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="D6SUeV">
|
||
Police are still working to find more information about the motives of the shooter, who they initially identified as a 28-year-old woman.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pqQ4lN">
|
||
<a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/covenant-school-mass-shooting/fbi-data-shows-why-female-suspect-makes-covenant-school-shooting-unusual/"></a>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i1fPiA">
|
||
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/27/981803154/why-nearly-all-mass-shooters-are-men">According to the Violence Project</a>, which tracks data on mass shootings in the US, 98 percent of active shooter attacks are carried out by men, with young white men being the most likely group to do so. A <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/public-mass-shootings-database-amasses-details-half-century-us-mass-shootings">February 2022 study from the National Institute of Justice</a> found that the average age of mass shooters was 34, that 52 percent were white, and that they were overwhelmingly men. Men have been more likely to commit mass shootings due to what researchers have described as a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/27/981803154/why-nearly-all-mass-shooters-are-men">broader inclination to engage in violence</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2VZmRe">
|
||
<em>This is a developing story, which we’ll update as more information becomes available. </em>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Australians love to hate Cheteshwar Pujara: Josh Hazlewood</strong> - “It’s a bigger thrill for the the bowlers (to dismiss Pujara). I think when you do end up getting his wicket, it means you have earned it,” Hazlewood said</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>ISL | Hyderabad FC head coach Marquez to quit after 2022-23 season</strong> - Hyderabad FC is already in process of finalising the replacement and will make an announcement at an appropriate time</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>When and where to watch IPL 2023 online in India</strong> - All you need to know on how and when to watch or stream IPL 2023 from India</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Morning Digest | 3 children among 6 dead in Nashville school shooting; Centre asks States to be on alert as Covid numbers keep rising, and more</strong> - Here’s a select list of stories to read before you start your day</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Vision, organisational skills mandatory to run sport: Sumariwalla</strong> - The AFI president said a lot of effort and time goes into making a hero in athletics</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>APSRTC drivers, conductors get training in first-aid techniques</strong> -</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Here are the big stories from Tamil Nadu today</strong> - Welcome to the Tamil Nadu Today newsletter, your guide from The Hindu on the major news stories to follow today. Curated and written by Lalitha Ranjani.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>ABVP activists try to obstruct KTR’s convoy in Sircilla</strong> -</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Countries historically responsible for climate change cannot stall India’s development, says Environment Minister</strong> - “We believe in both climate change and climate justice,” Mr. Yadav said, while addressing an event</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Supreme Court to hear PIL seeking to ban convicts from forming, running political parties in May</strong> - The petition, filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, sought a ban on convicted persons from forming a political party and becoming office bearers for the period they are disqualified under the election laws</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Two people stabbed to death at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon</strong> - The attacker was arrested after the incident at the city’s Ismaili Centre, Portuguese police say.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Germany sends much-awaited Leopard tanks</strong> - The first 18 of the cutting-edge tanks are sent, amid reports UK Challenger 2s have also arrived.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Actor Orlando Bloom meets children affected by Ukraine war and visits Zelensky</strong> - The Lord of the Rings star, who is a goodwill ambassador for Unicef, also met President Zelensky.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Angélique Kidjo says the Grammys ‘need diversity’</strong> - “We are working on it,” says the star, who sits on the awards’ board of trustees.</p></li>
|
||
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Nato condemns ‘dangerous’ Russian nuclear rhetoric</strong> - President Putin says Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>NY officials detect polio again, warn of possible summer wave</strong> - With new detection, officials warn of spring and summer transmission risks. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1927240">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Immaculate AI images of Pope Francis trick the masses</strong> - Faux “puffy pontiff” AI image fools many in viral social media post. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1927164">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Biden’s executive order limits government’s use of commercial spyware</strong> - Move comes as “clickless exploits” targets journalists and others accused of no crimes. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1927199">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Dealmaster: 1-day-only Nintendo Switch, Microsoft 365 deals; plus PS5 and AirTags</strong> - Nintendo’s Switch OLED is on a rare one-day-only discount. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1927050">link</a></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Apple rolls out iOS 16.4 and macOS Ventura 13.3 with new emoji and features</strong> - They offer small quality-of-life tweaks and important accessibility features. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1927095">link</a></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>This guy walks into the bar and sees a gorgeous blonde sitting on a bar stool all alone.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
So the guy sits down next to her and pulls a small box from his pocket. He opens it and there’s a frog inside. The blonde says,
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“He’s cute, but does he do tricks?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The guy says,
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Yes, he licks pussy.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
So after talking with her for several minutes, he convinces her to come with him to his apartment.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
They get there and she takes all of her clothes off, gets into the bed, and spreads her legs. The guy sets the frog right between her legs and it just sits there not moving at all.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The blonde says,
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Well? What’s up?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The frog still does not move. So the guy leans over to the frog and says,
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“All right, I’m only going to show you how to do this one more time!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/joke_channel"> /u/joke_channel </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/124im9f/this_guy_walks_into_the_bar_and_sees_a_gorgeous/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/124im9f/this_guy_walks_into_the_bar_and_sees_a_gorgeous/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Little Johnny’s parents wanted to have some “alone time” together…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
… so they sent Johnny out onto the porch with an ice-cream sandwich. Not wanting the boy to finish too quickly, his mother came up with an idea to keep him distracted.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“While you’re eating that,” she said, “watch the neighborhood and tell us everything interesting that you see.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
A few minutes in to their lovemaking, Johnny’s parents heard him yell his first report: “The Hendersons got a new car!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“That’s great!” answered his mother. “Keep looking!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
More time passed, and Johnny shouted again: “The Smiths are planting flowers!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Good job!” responded his father. “Keep looking!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Another minute went by, and Johnny called out for a third time: “Mister and Missus Johnson are having sex!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
Johnny’s parents abruptly stopped in their own activity. After a moment of silence, his mother replied with “How do you know that they’re having sex, Johnny?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
“Because Billy Johnson is eating an ice-cream sandwich on their porch!”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/SexySwedishSpy"> /u/SexySwedishSpy </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/124ge31/little_johnnys_parents_wanted_to_have_some_alone/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/124ge31/little_johnnys_parents_wanted_to_have_some_alone/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What weighs more, a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The ton of feathers because you have to live with the weight of what you did to those poor birds.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ehzstreet"> /u/ehzstreet </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/123zc86/what_weighs_more_a_ton_of_bricks_or_a_ton_of/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/123zc86/what_weighs_more_a_ton_of_bricks_or_a_ton_of/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>This Scottish bloke goes on a skiing holiday to Canada. After a hard day on the slopes, he retires to a bar at the bottom of the mountain. After about five or six whiskeys, he looks up and notices a stuffed animal with antlers on the wall…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
He asks the bartender, “What the fuck is that?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The bartender replies, “It’s a moose.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The Scottish chap shouts back, “Fuck me! How big are the cats?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/madazzahatter"> /u/madazzahatter </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/124k8f2/this_scottish_bloke_goes_on_a_skiing_holiday_to/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/124k8f2/this_scottish_bloke_goes_on_a_skiing_holiday_to/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What does a robot do after sex?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
||
<div class="md">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
He nuts and bolts.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/GldnD"> /u/GldnD </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1248ga4/what_does_a_robot_do_after_sex/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1248ga4/what_does_a_robot_do_after_sex/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
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