🇺🇸 Roe, Home on the Range

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Good morning and happy Thursday! Crawling through a bug-infested, foul sewer sounds like an awful idea: unless it's to save this cute little furball.

Plus, the Air Force is considering how to protect this desert site where “ghost tracks” were found…

Also, looking to protect your portfolio? Here are 5 stocks with the opportunity for a massive move this week, courtesy of today's partner, MMN. Click here to sign-up.

FLAG POLLS

🐴 Generic Congressional Vote: Republicans 39, Democrats 44 (Economist/YouGov)

🐘 Generic Congressional Vote: Republicans 45, Democrats 44 (Insider Advantage)

🐴 Generic Congressional Vote: Republicans 43, Democrats 45 (Politico/Morning Con.)

TRENDING

Right: Manchin-Schumer spending bill could eliminate 30,000 jobs (Fox Business)

Right: Trump's near-perfect August primary night and how it could go south in November (Washington Examiner)

Right: Hispanics are continuing their mass exodus from Democratic Party (The Blaze)

Left: Republicans Decry Democrats' Push for IRS Crackdown on Tax Evasion (Huffington Post)

Left: This is Democrats' most dangerous gamble (CNN)

Left: Nancy Pelosi Just Lit a Match at the Dynamite Factory (Slate)

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Red China and Pink Suits, Paying for Abortion Travel, Crash Kills Lawmaker

World: China Responds to Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip (Foreign Policy) + Why Nancy Pelosi's pink suit in Taiwan was about more than power-dressing (CNN)

US: Biden signs executive order paving way for Medicaid to pay for out-of-state abortions (ABC)

US: Congresswoman Walorski, two staffers die in Indiana car crash (Reuters)

US: California prosecutors fault 'auto generated,' 'boilerplate' language for Paul Pelosi drug allegation (Fox News)

US: Giuliani Appears to Be in the Clear in NY Foreign Lobbying Probe (Daily Beast)

World: OPEC+ agrees to hike in September oil production as gas prices continue decline (Yahoo Finance)

US: New crypto oversight legislation arrives as industry shakes (AP)

US: Damaging Alex Jones texts mistakenly sent to Sandy Hook family’s lawyers (The Guardian)

US: Beyoncé edits two songs on Renaissance after social backlash (The Verge)

Sports: Is a Longer Suspension by the NFL Coming for Deshaun Watson? (SI)

US: Where cannabis legalization efforts stand across the country (POLITICO)

ABORTION

Roe, Home on the Range

For the first time since Roe v. Wade was overturned, voters cast ballots this week concerning the issue of abortion, in Kansas. The “Value Them Both Amendment” would have codified that the state constitution does not “create or secure a right to abortion” — it was rejected by nearly 60% of voters.

News Coverage from the Left: ‘We could feel it’: Kansans celebrate upset abortion rights victory (The Guardian)

News Coverage from the Right: Teenage pro-life activist allegedly punched in the face while knocking on doors in Kansas (Fox News)

From The Flag: In past issues we’ve covered the concept of protecting abortion rights through federal law, as well as the original leak from the Supreme Court foreshadowing Roe’s reversal. Here’s commentary from both sides concerning Kansas’ voters rejection of the abortion referendum.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Keep This Setback in Perspective, Because the Pro-Life Push Won’t Be Easy

• Democrats have succeeded in convincing some people abortion is a national issue when it actually should be decided at the state level.

• This is a disappointing result but needs to be kept in context, as the pro-life movement is gaining ground.

• The results from Kansas show how important it will be for Republicans to nail their messaging regarding the sanctity of life.

“Sending Contested Law Back to the States” Kurt A. Schroder, The American Conservative: “Curiously, supporters of Roe have succeeded in marketing abortion to the masses as a national issue while simultaneously maintaining that it is a local one. Progressives contend that abortion is a decision between a woman and her doctor; that’s about as local as it gets. Yet pro-abortion activists are enraged because the repeal of Roe eliminates their centralized federal operation, forcing them to fight on 50 fronts. They protest that nine men in black robes should never decide what’s right for a woman—but that is exactly the state of affairs they have enjoyed since 1973. … Recent surveys reveal, not surprisingly, that a large portion of Americans know Roe v. Wade is about abortion, but don’t really know what its repeal will change. … In reality, its repeal… merely returns decision-making authority to the people’s elected representatives, especially the states—the level at which such cases were historically decided.”

“Pro-Lifers Need Not Despair Over Kansas Abortion Setback And Here’s Why” Michael J. New, The Federalist: “Pro-lifers suffered a setback on Thursday as the ‘Value Them Both’ amendment was defeated in Kansas. … Over the summer… this campaign took on new importance, as it was one of the first political battles over abortion since the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade was handed down. … That said, pro-lifers need not despair. Since the Dobbs decision, numerous state-level laws have taken effect protecting thousands of preborn children. Furthermore, a recent report by the Guttmacher Institute found that in 11 states where pro-life laws were in effect, 43 abortion facilities were no longer performing abortions. Overall, Guttmacher predicts that protective pro-life laws will eventually be in effect in 26 states. As such, pro-lifers need not despair. Indeed, post-Dobbs pro-lifers have some great opportunities. We should redouble our educational, service, and legislative efforts to protect both women and preborn children.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Why the pro-abortion left won in Kansas Ben Domenech, Spectator World

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

The People Have Spoken: Protect Abortion Rights

• Republicans in other states should take the results from Kansas as a political warning not to restrict abortion rights.

• The right to an abortion is basic and fundamental, so it should not be up for debate or decided by voters.

• This suggests the electorate is fired up about the abortion issue, giving Democrats a path to victory during the midterm elections.

“Kansas just gave forced-birth zealots a reason to be very afraid” Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post Opinion: “A political earthquake shook Kansas on Tuesday. Voters in the deep-red state turned out in droves to reject a measure that would have taken abortion protection out of the state constitution. … This is the first concrete evidence of a major backlash against the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Forced-birth advocates in Kansas thought that by putting the measure on a primary ballot, for which turnout is historically lower, conservative voters could dominate. Instead, they drove Democrats and a lot of pro-choice independents and Republicans who might not otherwise vote to the polls. Republicans in other states should pay attention to Tuesday’s results. They have been zealously passing bans in states such as Kentucky and Louisiana, and severely restricting access in others such as Florida. There is still time for lawmakers in some states to heed the warning from Kansas.”

“The Kansas abortion vote should never have happened” Jill Filipovic, CNN Opinion: “It's tempting to look at the outcome of this election and draw sweeping conclusions about America's appetite for -- or rejection of -- abortion restrictions. The truth is, Americans overwhelmingly did not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned and are generally pro-choice, but when you drill down, people have all kinds of opinions on how, whether and when abortion should be regulated -- whether it should be legal in cases of rape or incest; whether it should be legal if a woman is too poor to support a child; whether it should be legal after the first trimester. These are all the wrong questions. Fundamental rights -- and it doesn't get more fundamental than sovereignty over one's own body -- should not be up for a vote… This is a foundational principle in the United States… No one should see their basic rights subject to the tyranny of the majority.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: The Kansas Abortion Shocker Russell Berman, The Atlantic

FLAG THIS

Federalism and the Abortion Debate

A poll released earlier this week found 61% of adults want their state to pass a law that would “guarantee access to abortion” given Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Around 25% of respondents would like to see their state pass legislation banning abortion, including 54% of Republicans (KFF).

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Master Mason, Introductions, Antarctic Swamp

On August 4, 1753, George Washington, a young Virginia planter, became a Master Mason, the highest basic rank in the secret fraternity of Freemasonry. Above is a model of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in 1922.

Harvard Business Review: A Simple Way to Introduce Yourself

Ted: 3 questions that turn a trip – even a day trip! – into a life-changing one

BBC: The town with the cleanest air in the world

Today I Learned sediment cores retrieved from the Antarctic seafloor contained pristine samples of forest soil, pollen, spores, and even root systems. The researchers suggest that the continent was a swampy rainforest 90 million years ago.