'Virtually every state in the United States'

Some of the 20 Senate Republicans who voted to confirm President Joe Biden’s pick of Merrick Garland for attorney general already are shaking their heads at President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee as the nation’s top law enforcer.   Several of those GOP senators have spoken out against Trump’s choice last week of Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Others of the 20 Senate Republicans who backed Garland may follow in criticizing Gaetz as his nomination proceeds. Gaetz, a Republican, represented a Florida district in the U.S. House for over seven years before resigning Wednesday shortly after being tapped publicly by Trump to lead the Justice Department.  The 20 Republican senators who voted in 2021 to confirm Garland as attorney general are, in alphabetical order, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia,  Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Arkansas, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, John Thune of South Dakota, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.  Some of these Republican senators have expressed discontent and uncertainty with Trump’s choice of Gaetz for attorney general, although they voted less than four years ago to confirm Garland to fill the same role for Biden, a staunch Democrat.  Thune and Cornyn were just in a three-way race with Sen. Rick Scott of Florida to lead the GOP conference as Senate majority leader next year. Thune won. Thune told The Hill that he is unsure whether Gaetz, who last year almost singlehandedly toppled House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will make it through the Senate confirmation process.  “I don’t know [how Gaetz will do] until we start the process, and that’s what we intend to do with him and all the other potential nominees,” Thune told reporters Thursday, according to The Hill, adding that senators “expect our committees to do their jobs and provide the advice and consent that is required under the Constitution.”  On Jan. 3, as a result of the Nov. 5 election, Thune and the Republicans will gain control of the Senate over Democrats, 53-47. Even so, Gaetz, who many senators regarded as a conservative gadfly in the House, has a tough fight ahead of him to become attorney general in the second Trump administration.   Assuming all 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with Democrats vote “nay” on Gaetz, the former congressman can lose the votes of only four Republican senators and still be confirmed. (Vice President JD Vance may cast any tie-breaking votes in the Senate after he is sworn in Jan. 20.)  Going to be very hard for Republican Senators to explain why they voted for Merrick Garland but won’t vote for Matt Gaetz.— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 18, 2024 Collins told reporters that she was shocked by Trump’s pick of Gaetz, Politico reported.  “Obviously, the president has the right to nominate whomever he wishes,” Collins told the reporters. “But this is why the Senate’s advise and consent process is so important. I’m sure that there will be many, many questions raised at Mr. Gaetz’s hearing, if in fact the nomination goes forward.”    Tillis also voiced his opinion.  “I have very few skills, [but] vote counting is one and I think he’s got a lot of work to get 50,” he said of Gaetz.  Alaska’s Murkowski also expressed doubts, Politico reported.  “I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general. … I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious,” Murkowski said. “This one was not on my bingo card.”  Capito told WTRF-TV in West Virginia that she believes Trump’s Nov. 5 win was a mandate from voters for change.  “I’m not surprised that he has appointed somebody to shake it up the way that he would like to,” Capito said of Trump, Gaetz, and the Justice Department, “but I would remind everybody that the process that we’re going forward on in terms of nominations is a grueling process and it’s very much a vetting process.”  “And so I expect that we will be doing that … probably beginning in January as this process moves forward,” Capito added.  Johnson said he would keep an “open mind” during the appointment process, The Wall Street Journal reported. Tillis told the Raleigh-based News & Observer that he cares about “a defensible resume and a really clear vetting.”  “We normally give the president the benefit of the doubt,” Rounds told The Hill, “but we still do our due diligence, and ‘advice and consent’ is still important.”  Graham told Fox News host Sean Hannity that Gaetz should be heard because he is Trump’s choice for attorney general.  “Every president deserves a chance to pick their Cabinet,” Graham said.  Garland, a former federal appeals court judge for the District of Columbia, took office as attorney general on March 11, 2021. President Barack Obama had named Garland to succeed the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but Senate Republicans blocked that appointment until after the 2016 presidential election.   Republicans in both the House and Senate have criticized many of Garland’s actions (or lack of action) as attorney general.  After the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and abortion on demand in the Dobbs v. Jackson decision was leaked, for example, the Justice Department declined to prosecute protesters outside the homes of conservative justices.  Garland’s Justice Department angered conservatives by prosecuting Trump, or allowing his prosecution, after he left the presidency in January 2021, while at the same time not investigating the explosive contents of a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden, the new president’s son.  Garland also presided over his department’s pursuit and prosecution of pro-life activists. Ken McIntyre contributed to this developing story, which will be updated. The post Republicans Who Voted for Merrick Garland as AG Complain About Matt Gaetz, Trump’s Choice   appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Justice Department antitrust officials are gearing up to ask a judge to compel Google to divest its Chrome browser, signaling a significant intervention against one of the tech sector’s giants. This move follows a ruling in August by the judge that Google had unlawfully monopolized the search market. According to insiders, and as reported by Bloomberg, the department is also seeking further remedies concerning Google’s artificial intelligence and Android smartphone operating system. Additionally, together with several states, they are recommending that Judge Amit Mehta, who presided over the case, implement data licensing requirements. These proposals are said to be presented to Judge Mehta on Wednesday. The legal efforts, which began during the first Trump administration and have continued under President Joe Biden, represent the most forceful action to curb a tech giant since the failed attempt to dismantle Microsoft Corp. two decades ago. The officials argue that the widespread use of Chrome, the world’s leading web browser, is pivotal for Google’s advertising business. This is because it allows the company to gather data from users who are logged in, thereby enhancing the targeting of advertisements which are the main source of its revenue. Moreover, Google has utilized Chrome to steer users towards Gemini, its flagship AI product, enhancing its capabilities from merely providing answers to becoming a comprehensive web assistant. The Justice Department declined to offer any comments on the matter. The idea to divest Chrome is predicated on its function as a principal conduit for Google’s search engine, controlling about 61% of the market in the US. According to Bloomberg, the antitrust officials considered but ultimately rejected a more drastic measure that would have required Google to also sell off its Android system. Over the past quarter, government attorneys have been in discussions with numerous companies as they developed their recommendations. While some state proposals are still under deliberation and details may change, a forced divestiture could depend on finding a suitable buyer. In other aspects of the case, the enforcers plan to recommend that Google license out the data and results from its dominant search engine and allow more flexibility for websites to shield their content from being exploited by Google’s AI tools. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Google in the Hot Seat as Justice Department Targets Chrome Breakup appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Democrats Still Suffering from a Year of Remote Learning

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Donald Trump’s victory made one thing crystal clear: Generation X is sick and tired of the left, and Gavin McInnes of “Get Off My Lawn” has some suspicions as to why that is. “We had ‘Caddy Shack’ and we had ‘Blazing Saddles,’ so we remember when things were fun and funny. I think, unfortunately, Millennials didn’t experience that kind of no-holds-barred language,” McInnes tells Jill Savage and Matthew Peterson of “Blaze News Tonight.” “We played their game of being politically correct and watching what we say, and it was really un-fun, and it sucked. And now we have Trump’s DA or Trump’s lawyer saying, ‘Hey Tish, we’re going to put your fat a** in jail,’” he says, adding, “It makes me feel at home. I’m no longer homesick for the glory days of comedy.” And the past four years of being shackled by made-up woke rules have only led more Americans to feel the same way. “I think that having four years of Biden was the best thing that could possibly happen to us as MAGA extremists, because it did two things. It showed America what life is going to be like under this bureaucracy, this Marxist war on meritocracy. So they saw how bad things can get when the Kamala camp is in charge,” McInnes explains. “And it gave Trump a chance to sort of regroup and realize that hiring neocons like John Bolton, hiring trans lovers like General Milley, hiring his son-in-law and his daughter, he was screwing up. It was a real learning curve those first four years,” he continues, noting that this is why the break was so good for him. Not only has the Biden-Harris administration gotten weaker as Trump has grown stronger, but the mainstream media has started to fall apart as alternative media has become the source many Americans trust instead for their information. “I think you’re going to see the Blaze, Daily Wire, even weird outcasts like Censored.TV become numbers-wise the mainstream. I mean, we see that with Joe Rogan and his podcast. He’s supposed to be the outcast and he’s getting millions, tens of millions more eyeballs than MSM,” McInnes says. “Hard times create strong men,” he says, adding, “They’ve hammered us so hard, that we’re just stronger and better.” Want more from 'Blaze News Tonight'?To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Critics of Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called her out for scrubbing her preferred pronouns from her profile, but she is denying any political motivation for the decision. Among those who pointed out the change was the popular Libs of TikTok account, which posted a screenshot of her account with the "she/her" designation and a later screenshot without them. 'The whole "story" of removing pronouns after the election is fake.' Some took it to mean that Ocasio-Cortez was quietly pulling back from supporting the extremist LGBTQ+ agenda after the disastrous election results. Others mocked her for appearing to betray the cause. On Saturday, she denied the allegations in a post on social media and offered another explanation. "The whole 'story' of removing pronouns after the election is fake. It happened a long time ago after the SCOTUS Twitter ruling meant I had to add the 'personal acct' disclosure," Ocasio-Cortez wrote."There weren’t enough chars so I had to swap the end. You can run the timeline to see for yourself," she added. The controversy only further highlighted recent criticism from the left that Ocasio-Cortez was slowly moving away from the far left and trying to join the centrist establishment of the party in order to seek more power and influence. In October, the Democratic Socialists of America said they were planning to vote on censuring her because she hadn't been sufficiently anti-Israel in her congressional voting record. Some have also blamed the spectacular loss for the Democrats in the election on transgender issues that peeled away support from moderate and centrist voters. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that Democrats could not count ballots that were undated or misdated in their recount for one of the state's U.S. Senate seats. Sen. Bob Casey, the Democratic incumbent, refused to concede the election and pressed for a recount despite numerous news outlets declaring Republican challenger Dave McCormick the winner. The official margin of victory narrowly falls within the 0.5% cutoff for a recount, though many have called on Casey to concede to save taxpayers money and based on the long-shot odds of a challenge. 'The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rightfully struck down the flagrantly lawless campaign by Bob Casey and his scumbag lawyer, Marc Elias, to undermine the will of the voters and steal a Senate seat.'"Senator-Elect McCormick's lead is insurmountable, which the AP made clear," said McCormick's communications director, Elizabeth Gregory. "A recount will be a waste of time & taxpayer money, but it is Casey's prerogative. McCormick knows what it's like to lose an election & is sure Senator Casey will eventually reach the right conclusion."Critics were even more outraged when Democratic officials in some counties began counting undated or misdated ballots in their recount, an apparent violation of Pennsylvania election law. The court quoted a 2023 election law in its decision. "The Election Code commands absentee and mail-in electors to date the declaration that appears upon ballot return envelopes, and failure to comply with that command renders a ballot invalid as a matter of Pennsylvania law," the section read. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley denounced Democrats after the ruling. "Following our latest RNC lawsuit, today the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled yet again that undated ballots CANNOT BE COUNTED. No more excuses. Election officials in Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and other counties have absolutely no choice but to reject illegal ballots," wrote Whatley on X. "We will hold them to it. Protect The Vote!" he concluded. The National Committee of Senate Republicans was far more acerbic in its fiery response. "The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rightfully struck down the flagrantly lawless campaign by Bob Casey and his scumbag lawyer, Marc Elias, to undermine the will of the voters and steal a Senate seat weeks after the election was called," the organization wrote on social media. "[Pennsylvania Gov.] Josh Shapiro, [Sen.] John Fetterman, and national Democrats must call on Casey to concede and stop undermining faith in our elections."Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia, one of the commissioners who reportedly voted to continue counting the ballots, did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.Republicans elected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota on Wednesday as their majority leader when they take control of the Senate in January. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

While it's certainly had its issues, Vessel of Hatred has mostly gone over well with Diablo 4 players - the new Spiritborn class is a popular and powerful new addition, and the swathe of gameplay additions and improvements that arrived alongside it have strengthened its position as an excellent ARPG. Diablo 4’s sixth season, Season of Hatred Rising, also dropped alongside it, but all of its offerings could be enjoyed by everyone, with or without the DLC. However, it sounds like it's not going to stay that way, as Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson has revealed that future seasons will bring “exclusive” content to those that own Vessel of Hatred. Continue reading Future Diablo 4 seasons will offer more content to Vessel of Hatred owners MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo 4 builds, Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred review, Diablo 4 classes

Jen Psaki Schooled on President Biden's Cabinet Picks and Their Experience