UK: Idiot pols back bill to boost nicotine black market

Source: Associated Press

“The British government’s plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party. The bill, a key policy announced by Sunak last year, would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after January 1, 2009. If passed, the bill will give Britain some of the toughest anti-smoking measures in the world. Authorities say it will create modern Britain’s ‘first smoke-free generation.’ … The bill also includes measures to crack down on youth vaping, such as banning the sale of cheap disposable vapes and restricting their flavors to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine.” (04/17/24)

https://apnews.com/article/britain-smoking-ban-0780fd4fc9afcdc002a0544252ef907a

Thomas L. Knapp

Is Mike Johnson playing chicken with detractors over foreign aid?

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Blaise Malley

“After months of waiting, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) is expected to unveil an ambitious foreign aid plan this week. According to a one-pager that contained an incomplete list of the items in the bill posted on X on Monday by PBS News correspondent Lisa Desjardins, the plan includes at least $48 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, as well as money for allies in the Indo-Pacific and operations in the Red Sea. … The problem for Johnson has never been procedural or substantive — the Speaker will likely need Democratic support to bring the legislation to a vote, and each element of the package should have enough votes to pass on its own. But none of Johnson’s maneuvering over the past few months is likely to relieve him of the accompanying political headache.” (04/17/24)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/mike-johnson-foreign-aid/

Thomas L. Knapp

Listening while on the stump

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“For many voters around the world, trusting an election result matters almost more than who wins. A December poll in the United States, for example, showed that a large majority of Republicans and Democrats worry about inaccurate or misleading election information in 2024. Recent state-level reforms in the U.S. could help assuage those concerns. But the main need, argues Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard Law School professor and author of the new book ‘How To Steal a Presidential Election,’ is for something softer. Dissolving distrust, he told NPR, requires that ‘people face to face, one to one, begin to just talk to each other and engage on – about – this reality of our division and how we need to get beyond it.’ The idea of listening to those with whom we disagree is seldom measured in global surveys on democracy.” (04/16/24)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/0416/Listening-while-on-the-stump

Steve Trinward

The Rise of the MAGA Democrat

Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson

“There is an ancient magical belief that to know the true name of someone or something is to hold a special power over that person or thing; relatedly, a change in one’s metaphysical status is accompanied by a change in name. … It is a very long way down to the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District. But the belief that magical words can transform facts on the ground persists there, too. Hence the peculiar phenomenon of Democrats’ adopting MAGA-style rhetoric and speech. The winner of the Democratic primary on April 23 will have the honor of almost certainly losing the R+8 district to House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, the sycophantic cretin and half-assed QAnon cultist who helped to execute the legislative leg of Donald Trump’s failed coup d’etat in early 2021. There must be something in the water down in Dillsburg.” (04/17/24)

https://archive.is/NquDq

Thomas L. Knapp

Biden may triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum

Source: Axios

“President Biden will use a visit to the United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh today to announce that his administration is considering tripling tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. Biden is determined not to allow former President Trump to outflank him on who is tougher on China. He’s also bent on winning Pennsylvania, a state he considers a second home. So Biden will zero in on steel and shipbuilding as industries that need protection from cheaper Chinese imports. … Steel and aluminum imports from China currently face 7.5% tariffs under Section 301 of Trade Act of 1974. Biden is directing Tai to consider raising them to 25%.” (04/17/24)

https://www.axios.com/2024/04/17/biden-triple-tariffs-china-steel-aluminum

Thomas L. Knapp

KS: As legislators press for a law, higher ed board considers anti-DEI policy

Source: SFGate

“State universities in Kansas would be banned from requiring prospective students, potential hires and staffers seeking promotion to disclose their views on diversity initiatives under a policy change being considered by the state’s higher education board. The Kansas Board of Regents was set to discuss the policy change during a meeting Wednesday at Fort Hays University. The proposal would revise policy language that currently emphasizes ‘multiculturism and diversity’ on campus and replace it with language barring universities from requiring statements ‘pledging allegiance to, support for or opposition to’ diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in applications for admission, hiring or promotion — without setting any penalties for violations. The proposed change comes as the state’s Democratic governor faces pressure to enshrine the anti-DEI policy in law following Republicans’ approval of a bill in the Legislature that would put the same policy into state law.” (04/17/24)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/kansas-higher-ed-board-is-considering-an-19408182.php

Steve Trinward