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Russian Missiles Kill 2 in Poland
This happened in the last couple of hours. A Russian missile strike apparently veered off course and into Poland, killing two Polish citizens. This is a pretty big deal. Poland is part of NATO, and if a member state decides to take up arms they can call upon allies. The U.S. has previously stated it will not give up an inch of NATO territory to Russia.
Russia itself is faced with some pretty serious issues. Their military has largely failed, ceding ground that it claims it previously liberated, and Vladimir Putin has made threatening gestures with nuclear weapons. However, what everyone really wants is peace. No one agrees on how to get there, though.
Biden Meets with Xi Xinping
This situation in Ukraine and Poland actually reinforces the key reason that the U.S. is currently sitting down with China more: The Chinese sought a world balanced by them and Russia on one side and the U.S. and its allies on the other. But Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and their military’s collapse, have shown them Russia is not a viable candidate to help China stand against the West. That forces Xi and his party to come to the table with the U.S.
Don’t take that to mean friendly relations are on the table, though. China wants to be the equal of the U.S. and push back against the West. But right now, they feel they are at a disadvantage because their best chance at a powerful ally turns out to be a paper tiger. This could actually set back the invasion of Taiwan rather than move it forward, but we shall see.
Biden’s meeting with Xi was not the most glorious moment for the U.S., however, as Xi made Biden walk all the way to him, and a Chinese handler forcibly shoved and removed a member of the American media when that reporter dared to ask about human rights abuses. The Biden administration’s staffers had to intervene on behalf of the reporter, but they have publicly said nothing. Not exactly a great sign for holding that regime accountable.
McCarthy to Reign as Speaker
It pains me to say that the GOP caucus has voted on Kevin McCarthy as its candidate for Speaker. There are some things you need to know about this:
Far-right conservatives appear to have voted against him because of his handling of this election cycle, among other issues.
They will not cross the aisle to support a Democrat, but moderate members will if they don’t support McCarthy in the full House vote next year.
McCarthy is a terrible choice for Speaker. He is only concerned with himself.
The Republicans are badly in need of leadership change. McCarthy is not the guy for the next era of Republicanism.
Rick Scott vs. Mitch McConnell
Neither are really the future in the Senate, either. McConnell is taking a lot of crap from conservatives because of how he spent his money in this election cycle. The most egregious spending was in favor of Lisa Murkowski. However, Rick Scott oversaw the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which was supposed to get Republicans elected to the Senate. Not only did they fail, but Scott’s own “party platform” proposal alienated middle class voters and his NRSC is in trouble for mishandling money and raising small dollar donations fairly unethically. If only there were other options in the Senate.
Headlines of the Day
Georgia’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Is Blocked (Wall Street Journal)
Walker's campaign tells Republicans to stop 'deceptive fundraising' in Georgia runoff (NBC News)
Inside Trump's dicey 2024 campaign announcement (Axios)
Wholesale prices rose 0.2% in October, less than expected, as inflation eases (CNBC)
Video shows Russians stealing zoo animals during Kherson retreat (New York Post)