| | | | First time here? I'm Ari, and this is Upward News. Every day, we scour 100s of sources to bring you need-to-know news and insights you won't see in the MSM. Sign up here→ |
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| | | | WHAT WE'RE WATCHING | | 💥 The DNC kicked off with mass protests and Biden's last hurrah. Thousands of protesters gathered outside the Democratic convention to support the Palestinian cause, with some disrupting the convention and others becoming violent. Various speakers praised President Biden for stepping aside for Kamala Harris, while Biden declared that "democracy has prevailed" —despite Harris being undemocratically elevated to the nomination. | 💣 Hamas and Islamic Jihad attempted a suicide bombing in Israel. The two terrorist groups claimed responsibility for a failed suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, where a man's bomb accidentally exploded before he reached the synagogue he intended to target. This comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel and is calling on Hamas to accept a new ceasefire deal that the US and Israel have accepted | 🇷🇺 Vladimir Putin is helping Westerners escape "neoliberal ideals." Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to provide three-month visas to people seeking temporary residency in Russia, "where traditional values reign supreme." Russia is promoting itself to contrast Western nations that promote policies "which run counter to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values." | 🇨🇳 Tim Walz once praised Chinese communism. In the 1990s, Tim Walz praised the communist system in China, writing in a newspaper column, "Everyone is the same and everyone shares," and that the government ensures everybody gets food and housing. This comes as Walz has been scrutinized for his warm relationship with China, including spending his honeymoon there and even having Chinese government connections. |
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| | | WHAT WE'RE HEARING | Candace Owens' father-in-law spoke out extensively against antisemitism and in favor of Israel amid Candace's exploration into Jewish conspiracies. Chris Wallace commented that Biden being "thrown out of a window" by his fellow Democrats makes the night "bitter." Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) said that Donald Trump is a plague on the American conscience … he is a clear and present threat."
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| | | IN THE LOOP | Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) was introduced as "Command Sergeant Major" at the DNC, despite not actually holding that title. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) declined to attend the Democratic National Convention. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) wants dual-citizen members of Congress to renounce their non-US citizenships. The US government concluded that Iran was behind the cyber attack on Trump's campaign. Ukraine just managed to take nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory. Will this 'success' last or is it a flailing last gasp? (Member-only) Don't miss out! Tomorrow, August 21st, is the She's Unstoppable Summit—a free 4-hour virtual event to inspire and energize women. Join Sage Robbins, Tyra Banks, Derek & Hayley Hough, and more. Reserve your free seat now!*
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| | | MY THOUGHTS | Small Businesses Brace for the DNC | Good morning. In the chaotic summer of 2020, Democrat governors like Tim Walz fueled the flames of BLM riots, telling police to stand down. The result? Lives were lost, and businesses were shattered. | Now, as the DNC ramps up and Democrat voters rage against the Biden administration's stance on Israel, small businesses are boarding up again. They're terrified—terrified of protesters who've proven they'll turn to riots, and of Democrat leaders who've shown they won't lift a finger to stop them. | The country is facing a law and order crisis, and one party is clearly not willing to confront it. | |
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| | | WASHINGTON | The DNC turns into an abortion-fest | | Free abortion services and vasectomies will be provided to DNC attendees, courtesy of Planned Parenthood The Democrat Party has refused to support any limits on abortion The narrative has grown more extreme over time, from "safe, legal, and rare" to open celebration
| The story | As the Democratic National Convention kicks off this week in Chicago, the party is emphasizing several key themes to shape its brand for 2024. | Besides embracing "joy," the Democratic Party is heavily capitalizing on abortion as a key policy issue. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Democrats managed a series of ballot victories, as Americans tend to align more with pro-abortion stances. Perceiving Republicans' weakness on the issue, Democrats are spotlighting it, and it's leading them to exotic places. | Planned Parenthood is deploying a bus to the convention which will provide medical abortions, just blocks from the event. It is also offering free vasectomies to anyone who makes an appointment, and demand is so high that there's already a waiting list. | An 18-foot-tall inflatable intrauterine device (IUD) called "Freeda Womb" was erected near the DNC grounds. On Sunday, protesters marched in the streets dressed as abortion pills, like mifepristone — the abortion drug. Mifepristone made headlines after the Supreme Court rejected Texas's plan to withdraw the pill from the market, and now activists are working fervently to ensure its widespread availability across the US. | Protesters were also heard chanting, "Fk the courts*,* fk the state, you can't make us procreate," along with the somewhat more puzzling, "Palestinian liberation is reproductive justice." | The Democrat Party's newest platform hits Republicans hard on their efforts to "impose extreme and dangerous" policies on abortion and on access to contraception. Under the "choice" banner, Democrats intend to become the party of freedom and normality. | Events surrounding the convention — from buses providing free sterilization, to abortion pill costumes — underscore how this rebranding will result in an increasingly aggressive stance on abortion. | The politics | In regard to the bus providing free abortions and vasectomies, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) remarked, "It's hard to even comprehend, and it's truly heartbreaking." Kristan Hawkins, head of pro-life Students for Life of America, said that this exposes the Democrats as "the party of death." | While many Republicans lament the radical promotion of abortion, Republican Party leader Donald Trump already decided to take his party in a more moderate direction on the issue. After appointing the Supreme Court justices who returned abortion policy decisions to the states, Trump appears confident in claiming that victory and focusing on less controversial issues. | Many on the left not only celebrate the Democrat Party's stance on abortion; they want the issue pushed much further. | Dr. Erin King, chief medical officer at Hope Clinic abortion center in Illinois, said she is proud her state is a "safe haven" and a "beacon" for providing abortion services while surrounding states like Missouri imposed restrictions. These restrictions are why Planned Parenthood claims to be sending a mobile abortion center to Chicago. | Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), who co-chairs the House Pro-Choice Caucus, called for the Democrat Party to further pursue abortion rights. Lee said Democrats have "a long way to go, but it's a seminal moment, it's a defining moment, and it's part of the trajectory." Meanwhile, many Democrat leaders — including Kamala Harris — have refused to call for any limits on abortion. | A seismic shift in the narrative | Americans' support for legalized abortion has remained relatively stable over the past few decades, with around 60 percent supporting it in most cases. Some polls find over 70 percent support. | While the abortion fight has been dispersed to the state level, Democrats are pushing hard to codify protections at the federal level. They seem reluctant to outline any restrictions at all — likely to avoid conceding to Republicans that abortion could be morally questionable. | In 1992, former President Bill Clinton famously said that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare." Hillary Clinton echoed the slogan again during her 2008 presidential campaign. But during her run in 2016, she said abortion should be "safe and legal." What changed? | "Abortion rights activist" Renee Bracey Sherman admitted to Vox in 2019 that adding the word "rare" implies that abortion is something that one "should be apologetic for." | "It places the blame on the person who's had an abortion," continued Sherman, "as if they just did something wrong to need one." Sherman clarifies here that acknowledging abortion as wrong in any circumstance cedes ground to the argument that it does destroy innocent human life. | Abandonment of the "safe, legal, and rare" approach, combined with intense political polarization that demands strong opposition to any conservative stance, led to a new standard on the left where women are encouraged to take pride in their abortions. | The website Shout Your Abortion includes thousands of women's stories about how thankful they are for having had an abortion. One striking story on Planned Parenthood's website details how one woman felt an "indescribable love" for the "little being" growing inside her, and then killed her child as an "act of love." | The narrative around abortion has changed — drastically. The Democrat Party shifted to celebrating abortion so openly that a third-party provider offers free abortions to DNC attendees, and a giant contraceptive device will be prominently displayed in the convention hall to emphasize the party's disdain for human reproduction. | Why it matters | Democrat Party abortion rhetoric has grown increasingly extreme over time, but much of it is overlooked due to Americans' broad support of the procedure. And although Democrats feel emboldened on the issue, it is far from settled. One poll indicates that two-thirds of Americans support abortion restrictions after three months of pregnancy. | While the question of abortion is not as settled in the US as in Canada, Democrats have successfully used outlier abortion stories in the aftermath of Roe to argue why it is a necessary service. | |
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| | | Interview: Eugene Kontorovich exposes the double standards against Israel | | Eugene Kontorovich is an Israeli legal scholar. He is an expert in universal jurisdiction and maritime piracy, as well as international law and the Israel-Arab conflict. | He is Executive Director of George Mason University's Scalia Law School Center for the Middle East and International Law. | He also heads the international law department Kohelet Policy Forum. He can be found on X @EVKontorovich. This interview was edited for clarity. | The goal of his work: Kontorovich wants to "bring international law as it's applied to Israel more in line with international law in reality." | "This is one of the most illiberal and racist ideas that people uncritically accept," Kontorovich asserts. "'International law' relative to occupation really isn't international because it applies only to Israel." | On international institutions' obsession with Israel, "[Israel] was accused of violating legitimate conventions exponentially more than all countries combined, including Russia, China, and other bad actors," says Kontorovich. " If you're anti-West, and America or Britain are too big a target, Israel is a perfect target because it's small, vulnerable, unable to retaliate." | A solution for Israel: "Trump can bring real peace to the Middle East in a way that does not require Israel making concessions which prove suicidal ten or twenty years after everyone has received their Nobel prizes." | |
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| | | OUR QUESTION TO YOU | 📊 Should abortion be legal during the first two trimesters?Poll results will be in tomorrow's newsletter. | | | POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY | Does America's justice system need serious reform? | 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👍 Yes (820) | ⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👎 No (42) | ⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Unsure (22) | 👍 Yes: "There is blatant favoritism and politically motivated judgements we haven't seen before now." — M.R. 👎 No: "Ethical application of law is needed, not more laws." — Walter 🤔 Unsure: "It needs honorable attorneys—general and judges." — Anonymous 🤔 Unsure: "The justice system is not the problem. The problem is individuals using the system as a political weapon to harass their opponents." — Pede | | | | 884 votes |
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|  | See you tomorrow. |
| Today's newsletter was written by Brandon Goldman and Ari David. | |
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