As the media shamelessly continues to extend its love affair with Kamala Harris, the New York Times carried this joke of a headline to make the rest of us believe that the honeymoon phase is over: Harris Looks to Maintain Momentum as ‘Honeymoon Phase’ Winds Down.
More than 99% of the stories since Harris locked up enough delegates to become the 2024 Democratic nominee are glowingly positive of her. And 100% of the stories about the GOP ticket have been overwhelmingly negative, with two outlets, CNN and MSNBC, repeating Democratic talking points that Sen. JD Vance is “weird.”
The Times story said that Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who ran to Ms. Harris’s left in the 2020 Democratic primaries, went on CNN to promote her moderate bona fides. Rebranding Harris as a moderate is the ultimate in journalistic malpractice.
For inspiration, we looked at a long-form article about Harris from Jacobin. This popular socialist magazine has been associated with Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee in the United States. Both Jacobin and Justice Democrats advocate for policies aimed at reducing economic inequality, implementing social justice reforms, and promoting a more progressive political agenda. Both Jacobin and Justice Democrats are intricately linked to the political fortunes of Bernie Sanders, AOC, and other members of the Squad – and, in turn, draw financial and subscription support from the followers of these American socialists.
Jacobin’s July 22 issue carried a well-researched and written article called: Which Kamala Harris Are We Getting? Branko Marcetic, the author, is well-known in socialist circles for his bitter critique of President Biden, particularly through his book Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden. In the book, Marcetic attacks Biden’s political values as being too right and responsible for the end of the liberal New Deal. “Far from being a liberal stalwart, Biden often outdid even Reagan, Gingrich, and Bush, assisting the right-wing war against the working class and ultimately paving the way for Trump.”
In the Jacobin piece, Marcetic analyzes Harris’s record from the deep Socialist left point-of-view and is wary of several of Harris’s stances that are not socialistic enough. But, for us, the key takeaway is how radically Left-wing Harris’s record is.
Enforcing sex-offender laws. In 2006, California passed a strict sex offender law (Jessica’s Law) aimed at protecting children from sexual predators. It imposed harsher penalties for sex crimes against children, including mandatory minimum sentences and longer prison terms. The law included restrictions on where sex offenders can live, especially their proximity to schools and daycare centers.
As California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris, in 2015, stopped enforcing several parts of the law. Three-quarters of California’s paroled sex offenders previously banned from living near parks, schools, and other places where children congregate now faced no housing restrictions after the state changed its policy, according to an article in the Christian Science Monitor.
Ignored California’s affirmative action laws. When American officials take an oath, they swear to execute all laws faithfully. In 1996, Ward Connerly, a Black political activist, led a campaign (Proposition 209) to help convince Californians to eliminate affirmative action in public institutions. The measure, which passed by a 54-46 margin, automatically became California law, as all successful propositions do.
As California’s AG, Harris was legally bound to defend Proposition 209; instead, she filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court in her official capacity to urge the consideration of race as one among many factors. Harris was so liberal that she thumbed her nose against her state’s laws and decided to promote her ideology without having the courage to have Proposition 209 overturned politically.
Health insurance for illegal immigrants. Harris has openly expressed support for providing health insurance for all illegal immigrants by embracing Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for All policies. The finances of Social Security and Medicare are already strained to a point where, unless Congress changes contributions and contribution limits, Social Security will just have enough reserves in the Trust Fund to pay about 70% of benefits. How does Harris envision adding more than 18 million illegals to the beneficiary list when none of them have contributed a dime to the Fund? It takes someone to have paid into Social Security for forty quarters before they can expect any benefits in return.
Excessive spending on preferred demographic groups. Harris has also openly advocated for free college tuition for students whose families’ income is up to $140,000—almost double the current Pell Grant income cutoff. Such reckless spending would dramatically increase the federal debt, which is already around $35 trillion. Harris also co-sponsored legislation (Paycheck Fairness Act) as a first-term senator to end the pay gap for Black women. The bill, which did not pass, would penalize employers who cannot show that pay differences are not due to gender, crackdown on employers who break the rules, or punish employees who seek to be paid equally.
The fix for Harris has been in for more than a week. The nonpartisan website GovTrack had rated Harris as the most liberal among 100 senators based on their legislative records in 2019. Mysteriously, this page disappeared from GovTrack’s pages, probably because a Harris surrogate had spoken to them recently. Luckily, the Internet never forgets—the archived page is here.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Assassinated In Tehran Missile Strike – Times Of Israel
Terror group confirms death, blames it on ‘Zionist strike’ on residence in Iranian capital, declares ‘severe escalation’ will not go unpunished; PA’s Abbas condemns act; Israel mum.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of the morning in Iran, the Palestinian terror group said on Wednesday, describing the strike as a “severe escalation” that would not achieve its goals.
2. Israel Claims It Killed Senior Hezbollah Commander In Strike On Beirut – BBC
Israel says it has killed a top Hezbollah commander after carrying out an air strike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The Israeli military says Fuad Shukr was the target of an “intelligence-based elimination.”
Hezbollah has not yet confirmed his death but says Shukr was in a building that was hit at the time.
3. U.N. Report Details Alleged Israeli Torture Of Detained Palestinians – TIME
The U.N. human rights office issued a report Wednesday saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, the release of dogs, and other forms of torture and mistreatment.
The report said Israel’s prison service held more than 9,400 “security detainees” as of the end of June, and some have been held in secret without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights.
4. Ukraine Says It Destroyed 89 Russian Drones In One Of The Most Extensive Aerial Attacks Of The War – VOA
Ukraine’s military said Wednesday it thwarted one of Russia’s most extensive drone attacks, shooting down all 89 aerial drones Russia launched overnight.
The Ukrainian Air Force said the country’s air defenses also shot down a Russian-guided missile that targeted the Mykolaiv region.
Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was the biggest target of the drone attack.
5. China Accuses Japan Of ‘Smear Attacks’ In Recent Talks With The US, India And Australia – AP
China has expressed strong dissatisfaction with Japan about what it called “smear attacks” against China at recent high-level meetings with the United States, India, and Australia, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
A ministry statement said that Liu Jinsong, the director general of the Asian affairs department, conveyed solemn representations and serious concern at a previous meeting with Akira Yokochi, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy.
“Liu pointed out that Japan’s smear attacks on China are self-contradictory to its statement of promoting the strategic and reciprocal relationship between the two countries,” the statement said.
6. Is China Finally Ready To Cash In On Afghanistan’s Resources? – RFE
After 16 years of delays, Chinese engineers and the Taliban government officially started work at Mes Aynak, a massive project in Afghanistan to mine the world’s second-largest copper deposit.
7. China, Taiwan Resolve Row Over Deadly Boat Incident Near Kinmen – Kyodo
China and Taiwan said Tuesday they have resolved a row over a deadly boat incident in February near the remote Taiwanese island of Kinmen, with the return of the bodies of two mainland fishermen and the payment of condolence money collected from the private sector.
Following the final round of negotiations on Kinmen, which lies around 10 kilometers from the southeastern Chinese port city of Xiamen, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said its representatives signed documents on their consensus and declared the case “single and accidental.”
8. China Strives To Go Green In South America’s ‘Lithium Triangle’ – Global Voices
Local communities are pushing back on nontransparent mining practices.
The “Lithium Triangle,” home to around 54 percent of the world’s lithium resources, is one of the driest places on Earth. Mining operations, including drilling holes in the salt flats and converting lithium into commercial forms, consume vast amounts of water. This will exacerbate existing water scarcity issues and threaten the species and communities around these fragile ecosystems.
9. Fresh Protests In Venezuela As Anger Grows At Disputed Election Result – BBC
Fresh protests have broken out in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, after the disputed result of the country’s presidential election.
Thousands gathered in the city center to oppose President Nicolás Maduro’s victory claim. Many said they would not stop until there was a new government, and some said this would only be achieved if the security forces joined opposition protesters.
10. Planned US Missile Defense Tests Divide Guam Residents – Benar News
Planned missile tests in Guam are dividing residents as an unprecedented military build-up in the U.S. territory continues in response to geo-political tensions in the Pacific.
Residents have until Friday to voice their concerns about the environmental impacts of the launches, which are due to begin by the end of the year.
11. Inflation Ticks Up In Europe, Complicating The European Central Bank’s Next Move – AP
Inflation in the 20 euro-using countries ticked up to 2.6% in July, stubbornly above the European Central Bank’s target. This complicates the ECB’s next decision on whether to cut interest rates and boost growth as the economy struggles to stage a convincing recovery after more than a year of stagnation.
Inflation rose from 2.5% in June, according to official figures from the EU statistics agency Eurostat on Wednesday. Services inflation, a figure closely watched by the ECB, remained elevated at 4.0%, down from 4.1%
12. BOJ Hikes Rates To 0.25% In Push Toward Normalization Amid Weak Yen- Kyodo
The Bank of Japan on Wednesday raised its policy interest rate again to around 0.25 percent and decided to slow the pace of its government bond buying to 3 trillion yen ($20 billion), in a further shift toward policy normalization as the nation battles a weakening yen.
At the end of a two-day policy meeting, the Policy Board lifted short-term interest rates from the previous zero-to-0.1 percent range.
13. Hit Japanese Video Game Is Now A Streaming Series Aiming For Global Appeal – ABC
Amazon Prime Video’s “Like a Dragon: Yakuza,” which premieres in October, has all the glorious fare of a classic mobster story — bloody fistfights, beautiful women, expensive cars, muscle and flashy suits.
Based on a popular Sega video game that debuted in 2005, the story centers around Kazuma Kiryu, a gangster with a heart of gold. However, according to its stars and production team, the latest version has evolved to appeal to global audiences today.
“We weren’t going for another copy of the original but wanted to create it anew, while paying respect to it, but exploring it at a deeper human level,” said Ryoma Takeuchi, who plays Kiryu.
14. How Exercise Can Impact Your Mental Health – Yahoo
Looking for a fun and free way to improve your mental health? Exercise and mental health go hand in hand.
“Exercise is like a natural mood booster. When we exercise, our body releases endorphins, chemicals that make us happy and relaxed. It also helps reduce levels of stress hormones like cortisol. So, in a way, it’s like a natural antidepressant and stress reliever all rolled into one,” says Carol Maher, PhD, population and digital health professor at the University of South Australia.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
