Monday, March 3, 2025

March 3, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Starmer says Europe willing to put 'boots on the ground' to secure Ukraine peace . . . British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday that Europe was prepared to take the lead in the defense of Ukraine, including troops and planes, but needs the "strong backing" of the United States and hopes to ease tensions after Friday's meltdown in the White House. He made the remarks in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy two days after his high-profile clash with President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance raised questions about U.S. commitments to Kyiv. Washington Times

Are they? Who do they think has to come to their rescue when things get messy?

Commerce Secretary Says Zelensky Wanted 'Make-Believe Bargain' With Reparations, Security Guarantees . . . "No, so we were 40 minutes before the cameras came in, and 45 minutes before the meltdown, and the fact was, Zelensky never stopped asking for, you know — 'I will give no concessions. They have got to leave my land. I want reparations of $300 billion. And I want the United States to give me security guarantees while they're at war with Russia.'" The secretary then referred to the moment when Trump told Zelensky that he was "gambling with World War III" by not doing more to seek peace with Russia. "And that's why the president called it World War III. Daily Wire

Lindsey Graham Slams Zelensky over Refusal to Resign . . . In a post on X, Graham pointed out that until Ukraine has an election, "no one has a voice" there. Graham's post came in response to a reporter telling Zelensky that Graham had suggested that he resign after making several disrespectful comments during his meeting in the Oval Office with Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Breitbart

Rubio Rips Stephanopoulos Over U.N. Resolution: If Trump Was A Democrat, He'd Win 'Nobel Peace Prize . . . Secretary of State Marco Rubio ripped ABC News host George Stephanopoulos during an interview over the weekend for accusing the U.S. of voting against its allies at the United Nations. Rubio made the remarks during a Sunday interview on the network's "This Week" show after Stephanopoulos claimed that the United States "voted with North Korea and Russia and Belarus in the United Nations and against our Western allies." "No," Rubio fired back, explaining: "It basically said, this has been a horrible war. It's time for it to end." Daily Wire

Trump seeks to stop depleting US resources in Ukraine . . . Trump wants to conserve US combat power for what he believes is the real threat — China. The Pentagon has depleted its weapons stockpile to dangerous levels via its arming of Ukraine. With limited capacity, it will take America's military-industrial complex between five to 18 years to replace many of our most critical munitions. Should China invade Taiwan tomorrow, the US would likely fail at an intervention. Our military "lacks both the capabilities and the capacity" to deter or win such a war, according to the 2024 Commission on the National Defense Strategy. By Rebekah Koffler for the New York Post

Politics

Tennessee congressman pursues constitutional amendment to let Trump serve third term . . . Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is pursuing legislation to amend the Constitution so that President Donald Trump can serve a third term. "It's a unique time in history," Ogles told Just the News. The 22nd Amendment currently limits presidents to serving two terms, whether consecutive or not. The House of Representatives proposed the amendment in 1947, two years after Franklin D. Roosevelt died after winning four straight terms, and it was ratified in 1951. Just the News

Chris Murphy: 'The White House Has Become an Arm of the Kremlin' . . . Host Dana Bash said, "Do you think there's hope of salvaging this relationship with Ukraine?" Murphy said, "So it is absolutely shameful what is happening right now. The White House has become an arm of the Kremlin. Every single day you hear from the national security adviser, from the President of the United States, from his entire national security team, Kremlin talking points. Breitbart

This seems to be the Democrat line, that any opposition to a blank check for Ukraine is collusion with Russia.

Longtime sceptic RFK Jr urges people to get vaccinated for measles . . . Longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr made a stark U-turn on Sunday as he urged people to get vaccinated for measles amid a deadly outbreak in Texas. The newly-appointed Health and Human Services secretary spoke out about the role the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine plays in preventing the deadly virus in an op-ed for Fox News. He explained that before the MMR vaccine was created and approved by the federal government in the 1960s 'virtually every child in the United States contracted measles.' Daily Mail

Culture

Mom Tries to Get Pornographic Content Out of Daughters' High School Curriculum . . . One of Monika Bialostocka's twin daughters brought home a book assigned as part of her English curriculum that graphically depicted pedophilia between a 64-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy, according to an original report last week in Independent Women's Features, the grassroots journalism arm of Independent Women's Forum. The incident occurred in Spring 2023. Daily Signal

Poll Finds Pause in the Decline of Christianity among US Adults . . . Pew data released this week reflect a different trend. Rather than a decline, Christianity among U.S. adults seems to have plateaued. Pew researchers put it this way: "After many years of steady decline, the share of Americans who identify as Christians shows signs of leveling off—at least temporarily—at slightly above six-in-10, according to a massive new Pew Research Center survey of 36,908 U.S. adults." These findings come from the Religious Landscape Study, which is "the largest single survey the Center conducts." Daily Signal

USAID cuts shutter India's first clinic for transgender people . . . India's first medical clinic for transgender people has shut operations in three cities after US President Donald Trump stopped foreign aid to it. Mitr (friend) Clinic, which was started in 2021 in the southern city of Hyderabad, offered HIV treatment, gender affirming support and counselling services to thousands of transgender people. Two more Mitr Clinics in Thane and Pune cities in western India, which were established the same year, have also shut down due to the aid cut. BBC

See? That's where our money was going. Of course, the BBC thinks this is a shame.

National Security

Trump sees lowest border numbers in history, declares invasion 'OVER' . . . The Border Patrol apprehended just 8,326 illegal immigrants at the southern border in February, President Trump announced Saturday, calling it the best month on record. "The month of February, my first full month in Office, had the LOWEST number of Illegal Immigrants trying to enter our Country in History – BY FAR!" the president said on social media. "The Invasion of our Country is OVER." Wasington Times

International

Israel Cuts All Aid To Gaza in Step Toward Resumption of Full-Scale War . . . Israel halted any entry of goods into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, signaling the start of a more aggressive phase of its war to destroy Hamas.Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision was a response to Hamas's rejection of a proposal by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to extend the phase one hostage-ceasefire deal that expired a day earlier. Israel had endorsed the proposal. Washignton Free Beacon

You should also know

The 2025 Oscars: Heavy on speeches, light on politics, and one big winner . . . A lot of films were recognized, but it was Anora's night. It received Best Picture. Sean Baker wins Oscars for writing, editing and directing 'Anora' Director Sean Baker's previous films, including Tangerine and The Florida Project, have been indie darlings, but they didn't win the biggest awards. Anora, the story of a sex worker who marries a former client and gets mixed up with some Russian oligarchs, became his breakout on the Oscar stage. Baker won the award for best original screenplay, then one for editing, and then one for best director. Mikey Madison won best actress. National Public Radio

Actress Daryl Hannah Shouts Out Ukraine at Oscars: 'Slava Ukraini'

Australian whose blood saved 2.4 million babies dies . . . One of the world's most prolific blood donors - whose plasma saved the lives of more than 2 million babies - has died. James Harrison died in his sleep at a nursing home in New South Wales, Australia on 17 February, his family said on Monday. He was 88. Known in Australia as the man with the golden arm, Harrison's blood contained a rare antibody, Anti-D, which is used to make medication given to pregnant mothers whose blood is at risk of attacking their unborn babies. BBC

Guilty Pleasures

Thieves nab pricey bulldogs from a Colorado pet store after faking a seizure, sheriff says . . . Thieves nabbed a pair of high-priced bulldogs from a Colorado pet store after a man allegedly faked a seizure to distract employees while an accomplice grabbed the puppies from a pen and ran out, authorities said. The theft, which was captured on surveillance video, happened Sunday. Three men walked into a pet store in suburban Denver a few minutes apart, walked around and asked questions about the puppies, which sell for $4,299 each, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said. Associated Press

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