DML Morning Briefing ~ Wed. Sept. 21

Today is September 21. Below are some of the stories grabbing headlines this morning. I hope you share this briefing as doing so will make you the smartest person in the room.

1 – Putin issues chilling warning to Western countries about his threat to resort to nuclear weapons
Fox News reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries that his country’s nuclear threats are “not a bluff” on Wednesday.

Putin issued the warning after accusing Western countries of resorting to “nuclear blackmail,” despite no NATO countries threatening to use nuclear weapons. The threat comes as Russia’s prospects in Ukraine are grim, with Putin’s military losing thousands of square miles of territory to a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“To those who allow themselves such statements regarding Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for separate components and more modern than those of NATO countries, and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal,” Putin said in a Wednesday address. “It’s not a bluff,” he added.

Fear of a wider mobilization has reportedly caused a mass exodus of young men fleeing Russia since the announcement. Flights from Russia to countries that do not require visas were completely booked Wednesday, according to The Telegraph.

Putin’s threats come less than a day before President Biden is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly. The White House says Biden will condemn Putin’s “naked aggression” and make the case that Russia has violated the U.N.’s core tenets.

MY TAKE: How long is the world going to put up with this evil tyrant’s atrocities and threats?

2 – NY attorney general investigating Trump claims she’s about to make a ‘major announcement’
The Washington Examiner reports: New York Attorney General Letitia James will hold a press conference Wednesday morning, her office announced Tuesday, teasing a “major announcement.”

The announcement is set for 10:30 a.m. EST at the attorney general’s office. No details on what the announcement would be have been provided.

James has previously indicated she could sue former President Donald Trump after rejecting an offer to resolve a civil investigation into the former president and his family’s real estate business last week.

The Trump Organization has sought to reach a deal with James’s office for months after the office told a court in January it had uncovered evidence the company used “fraudulent or misleading” asset valuations to secure loans and other tax benefits. James has been leading the investigation for three years.

MY TAKE: The WITCH HUNT against Trump never ends.

3 – Federal Judge Rules People Under Felony Indictment Can Buy Guns
The Daily Caller reports: A federal judge in Texas ruled Monday that people under felony indictment can still buy guns, citing the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision.

U.S. District Judge David Counts ruled that the Supreme Court’s June decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen meant that the Second Amendment could not be treated as a “second-class right.”

The case began after  Jose Gomez Quiroz was attempted to buy a gun while under a state burglary indictment and was charged for violating a federal ban on attempting to buy firearms while under felony indictment, according to the Associated Press. Counts cited the Supreme Court’s ruling that gun restrictions should only be upheld if they are rooted in history and ruled that there is no legal tradition of preventing someone charged with — but not convicted of — a felony from buying a firearm.

“Although not exhaustive, the Court’s historical survey finds little evidence that … [the federal ban] – which prohibits those under felony indictment from obtaining a firearm – aligns with this Nation’s historical tradition,” he wrote in his ruling. “[T]he Government must prove that laws regulating conduct covered by the Second Amendment’s plain text align with this Nation’s historical tradition. The Government does not meet that burden.”

MY TAKE: Your thoughts on this?  Please share in the comments section at the end of this briefing.

4 – Erdogan at the U.N.: ‘Islamophobia Is Equal to Anti-Semitism as a Crime Against Humanity’
Breitbart reports: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s address to the 77th U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday was largely dedicated to his contention that nearly all problems can be solved through “dialogue,” and Turkey is indispensable to every dialogue in the Middle East and Asia.

Erdogan declared Islamophobia “equal to anti-Semitism as a crime against humanity” and demanded a U.N.-recognized “Fight Against Islamophobia” day every year, to be held on the anniversary of the deadly attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019.

MY TAKE: Oh good grief!

5 – Eunuch is a gender, says prominent pro-trans advocacy group
The Daily Mail reports: Eunuch is a legitimate gender identity, a prominent pro-trans advocacy group has recommended.

The controversial World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) updated its ‘standards of care’ guidelines over the weekend. The 260-page document includes a new chapter on caring for ‘eunuchs’. It even advocates that medical professionals should consider castrating people who identify as such.

The authors of the new standards, which include NHS medics and heads of UK trans charities, argue that castration could help some eunuchs better align with their ‘gender identity’.

A eunuch is a man who has been castrated. Historically, they would be servants or slaves who had their sex organs removed against their will. They served religious roles and, in some cultures, engaged in espionage and clandestine work.

Published in the International Journal of Transgender Health, the WPATH’s new standards argue eunuch is a gender identity, and furthermore one that can require ‘affirming treatment’.

‘As with other gender diverse individuals, eunuchs may also seek castration to better align their bodies with their gender identity,’ they said.

MY TAKE: Just when you thought you’d heard it all!