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We at LGBTQ Nation have been looking back at the big stories of this past year all month, but this article is about what you, our readers, thought were the biggest stories of the year or at least what you all clicked on the most.

This post is forLGBTQ Nations fans, a look behind-the-scenes: the 10 stories from 2021 that got the most traffic.

10. Jen Psaki shuts down Fox News transphobic question with Trans rights are human rights

It was a historic moment, for sure.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was responding to a Fox News reporter who asked about criticism of President Joe Bidens executive order to fully implement the decision in Bostock v. Clayton Co. and ban discrimination against LGBTQ people. The reporter said that transgender rights would hurt cisgender women and asked if Psaki wanted to issue some clarification on the issue of equality.

I would just say that the presidents belief is that trans rights are human rights, and thats why he signed that executive order, Psaki replied, making the Biden administration the first presidential administration to make that declaration.

9. Concerned father arrested while peacefully testifying against Arkansas trans health care ban

Parents who stand up for their LGBTQ children win our readers hearts, and Chris Attig is no exception.

They were testifying at a hearing against a proposed law to ban gender-affirming health care for transgender minors in Arkansas and they talked about their 22-year-old son, who is trans.

Attigs speech went a little over the two-minute limit something that they said rightwing organizations were allowed to do at the hearing and they were arrested.

8. Chick-fil-As profits are being used to push anti-trans state laws & kill the Equality Act

Chick-fil-A has been caught time and time again donating to anti-LGBTQ causes. So much so that theyve become a cause clbre for Christian conservatives.

This time, it was Chick-fil-A CEO and chairman Dan Cathy whose estimated net worth of over $8 billion comes from the restaurant chain his father started who was caught donating to some viciously anti-LGBTQ organizations.

7. Rand Paul goes on unhinged transphobic rant at Dr. Rachel Levines confirmation hearing

Dr. Rachel Levine was nominated to be assistant secretary of health earlier this year due to her deep knowledge of medicine and her work organizing Pennsylvanias response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shes also the first transgender person nominated to an administration position that requires Senate approval.

But Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) only cared about one thing: gender affirming surgery. He opened his questioning of Dr. Levine with the words Genital mutilation! and proceeded to berate her about the decisions trans minors and their families make with their doctors, which do not include surgery because trans minors dont get that kind of surgery.

Dr. Levine didnt let him get to her and responded simply: Transgender medicine is a very complex and nuanced field with robust research and standards of care that have been developed. She knew better than to get into a televised debate about a very complex issue that has little to do with the job she was nominated for.

Her appointment was approved by the Senate and she spent most of the year working to save Americans lives.

6. Lauren Boebert praises Taliban for building back better

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) took office this year and quickly became one of the most outspoken anti-LGBTQ members of Congress.

Even outside of LGBTQ issues, her wild statements earned condemnation, sometimes even from members of her own party.

In August, Boebert compared Biden to the Taliban and decided that the organization overthrowing the Afghanistan government was better.

The Taliban are the only people building back better, she tweeted.

5. Queen Latifah is officially out after she sends love to her partner & son during BET awards ceremony

Superstar Queen Latifah, after years of speculation in the media about her sexuality, came out in a heartwarming way by thanking Eboni, my love while receiving the BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

In case anyone missed it, she closed her speech with Happy Pride!

4. Jen Psaki patiently teaches Fox reporter how the First Amendment works

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki became the face of the Biden administration just as the country was healing from Trump supporters attack on democracy itself when they raided Congress in an attempt to overturn the election.

Since then, she has pushed back against the very sort of resentment and conspiracy theories rightwing media used to get its fans riled up, which often include perceived attacks on their freedom of speech.

This past June, she reminded a Fox News reporter that Black women like Olympic athlete Gwen Berry also have a right to free speech as Fox pressed President Joe Biden to denounce her for her peaceful protest.

3. Lesbian teen who got kicked out by family turns them in as possible MAGA rioters

Speaking of the Capitol Insurrection, lesbian teen Helena Duke got the attention of the entire nation when she sided with democracy instead of her family and publicly disclosed the names of her mother and other family members who were in D.C. around the time of those events.

Hi this is the liberal lesbian of the family who has been kicked out multiple times for her views and for going to BLM protests to care what happens to me, Duke wrote before stating the names of her family members, along with screenshots of them in D.C.

2. Lauren Boebert may lose her seat in Congress

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was sworn in for her first term in January and quickly established herself as one of the most anti-LGBTQ as well as racist, pro-gun death, Islamophobic, QAnon-believing members of Congress.

So its no surprise that LGBTQ Nation readers wanted to learn about how her state of Colorado may redraw its Congressional map in a way that would make it hard for her to be anything more than a one-term Congresswoman.

1. House Republican introduces anti-trans legislation that could lead to genital exams for school girls

The most-clicked article of the year is part of a larger story about the attacks on transgender youth that occurred throughout the country.

Over a hundred bills were proposed in state legislatures to take rights away from transgender kids, mostly attacking their rights to participate in school sports and get appropriate medical care. The breadth of the attack was unprecedented and shocking, especially considering how trans youth had been exercising these rights for years in some states without raising a fuss.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) raised the stakes and introduced a bill to ban transgender youth from participating in school sports at the federal level. But since the federal government doesnt have direct control over education, his bill just threatened to take funds away from school districts or states that protect transgender students rights, leaving the question of how, exactly, they go about it to the states themselves.

Considering there a bill in his home state that had a decent chance of passing that demanded girls get genital examinations before participating in school sports, it wasnt hard to see how some states or school districts afraid of losing federal funding but left with almost no guidance from Steube would implement his bill in the harshest way possible if it passed.

It has not passed and it is unlikely to move forward in the Democratic House.

More here:
Here are the 10 stories you, the readers, clicked on the most in 2021 - LGBTQ Nation

Despite Donald J. Trumps loss to Joseph R. Biden in the presidential election of 2020, late-night hosts still couldnt shake the former president in 2021.

Trumps last day in office was cause for celebration on many shows, but the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, Trumps subsequent impeachment and his supporters continued promotion of the lie that the election had been rigged meant that the former president remained a fixture of monologues and other late-night bits.

Also, Biden apparently is just not as easy to send up. The hosts impressions of him lacked the cartoonish verve of their Trump takes Stephen Colbert in aviator shades is the only one who makes much of an effort and while Bidens age and occasional gaffes were frequent targets, such jokes rarely occupied more than a few minutes of the nightly monologues.

Another defining trend this year was the hosts return to their studios after shooting their shows from home for most of 2020 and much of 2021. Colbert, the Jimmys (Fallon and Kimmel) and others brought back audiences (with Covid-19 protocols in place), live bands and in-house guests who offered a bit of normalcy to viewers looking for an escape from the coronavirus and its variants, or at least a way to commiserate through comedy.

The events of Jan. 6 were particularly of interest to Colbert, who went unexpectedly live for that evenings Late Show, chastising Trump supporters.

Hey, Republicans who supported this president especially the ones in the joint session of Congress today have you had enough? Colbert said. After five years of coddling this presidents fascist rhetoric, guess whose followers want to burn down the Reichstag?

Hosts also stayed on top of the fallout, including the prosecution of rioters like the so-called QAnon Shaman, Jake Angeli; and yet another Trump impeachment, for incitement of insurrection.

As the ensuing trial in the Senate neared its end in February, the Late Night host Seth Meyers pointed toward an outcome that was never really in doubt an acquittal thanks to Trumps Republican support despite the presentation of even more disturbing and explicit video from the assault.

House Democrats today concluded their impeachment case against former President Trump, Meyers said, adding the dig: Well, youve given me plenty to not think about, said Rand Paul.

Over on the Late Late Show, James Corden deadpanned: Were so close to figuring out whos responsible for this. What a mystery.

Samantha Bee took a different angle on the forces that led to the Capitol riots. In a segment on Full Frontal, she focused on the women of the movement, highlighting who they were and their role in the dark moment in U.S. history.

White women are playing a massive part as well, particularly when they tell themselves they are protecting families, Bee said. The messaging they use is insidious, pervasive and loaded with undertones of white supremacy. It may look pretty, but it is dangerous.

In March, hosts commemorated the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus shutdown, as the virus raged on. On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host celebrated the occasion with a gag that called back to the panicked early days of the pandemic.

The traditional gift for a one-year anniversary is paper, so I figured toilet paper makes the most sense, Kimmel said as he tossed out rolls to his audience.

Covid and its ongoing impact came up throughout 2021, of course, especially as vaccines became widely available and extremely politicized. Even Big Bird couldnt escape conservative attacks after posting on Twitter that he had received his shot. At around the same time, the Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was skewered for having fibbed about getting his. On The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon found a way to thread both stories into one monologue joke.

Its a big day, actually, for Big Bird, he said. Because immediately after getting vaccinated, he was signed by the Green Bay Packers.

As the virus ramped up internationally with variants like Delta and the new Omicron, hosts frequently took anti-vaxxers to task.

I mean, how did that happen after everything we did? Trevor Noah asked on The Daily Show. I mean, for two years now, people, we wore masks for some of the time, we social distanced when it was convenient, then like half of us got vaccinated what more is it gonna take?

Try as he might to enact sweeping legislation, Biden struggled to get anything past (or passed by) Republican lawmakers in 2021, including enormous stimulus and infrastructure packages. Late-night hosts sympathized with the president and lauded efforts like the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, which passed in March with no support from Republican lawmakers.

It will give Americans more access to health care and boost the vaccination rate, Kimmel noted. So naturally, Republicans are against it.

As the infrastructure package was whittled by Democratic intraparty disagreement and negotiation much of it involving Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia Meyers quipped that the bills health care proposals had been trimmed to a 30-day trial for WebMD Plus, and theyre going to paint some tunnels on a rock like Wile E. Coyote.

The American public hasnt given President Biden much support either, at least not in opinion polls; his approval ratings have dipped substantially. Even still, hosts try to find the funny, as when Kimmel used yet another age joke to call for patience.

Were also not even a year into his presidency, Kimmel said in November. Dont worry, hes like Grandpa at the wheel. Hell get us there, itll just happen very slowly, with the blinker on the whole ride.

As the rare Black late-night host and the only one with a nightly show Noah continued to speak for people of color, putting the spotlight on racially motivated attacks. He employed a somber tone, but pulled no punches in criticizing Americas gun policies and systemic racism.

Why are people so invested in solving the symptoms instead of the cause? he asked after a gunman shot and killed eight people in Atlanta in March, including six women of Asian descent. America does this time and time again. A country that wants to fight the symptoms and not the underlying conditions that cause those symptoms to take effect racism, misogyny, gun violence, mental illness. And, honestly, this incident might have been all of those things combined, because it doesnt have to be one thing on its own. America is a rich tapestry of mass-shooting motivations.

During an April show, Noah addressed police brutality after the deaths of Daunte Wright and Caron Nazario, dryly suggesting that Black people start singing The Star-Spangled Banner when they get pulled over.

Then maybe, just maybe, he said, the cops will be like, Well, I dont want to pepper spray the anthem what do I do?

Kimmel maintained a connection with some of Trumps biggest supporters, including Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lindell, the excitable chief executive of MyPillow. Cruz, in particular, was a regular target of Kimmels ire, especially when he flew the coop for Cancun during a debilitating winter storm in Texas in February.

While his fellow Texans are freezing with the power out, Ted Cruz did what any great leader would do when his state needs leadership most he booked a flight to Mexico and said, Adios, amigos! Kimmel said. He called the senator a snake on a plane headed, ironically, to the very place he tried to build the wall around.

While Cruz lashed out at Kimmel on Twitter in response to the hosts gibes, Lindell seemed to see Kimmel as a worthy adversary of sorts, confusing the hosts mockery for true admiration.

I have no idea what he is doing, but I love it, Kimmel said in May, after Lindell brought him up several times on his newly introduced livestream yellathon. Kimmel then invited Lindell onto his show, which he happily accepted.

Have you been vaccinated? Kimmel asked as Lindell sat down across from him.

No, I have not, Lindell responded.

Kimmel clarified: I meant for rabies.

Kimmel also expounded on why he invited Lindell in the first place. A lot of people didnt want you to come on the show, he said. Liberals and conservatives, everybody said, told me, dont have you on the show, and they told you, dont go on the show. But I think its important that we talk to each other.

Kimmel, however, refused Lindells invite to his web show, leaving things a little uneven.

In May, after 28 years of hosting his own late-night show and 11 years on TBS, Conan OBrien announced that he was leaving late night and had plans to move on to a variety series on HBO Max. During that address, OBrien made clear what he wanted for his last few months on air.

Im very proud of what weve accomplished here, OBrien said. Id like these last couple of weeks to be a fond look back at all the absurd madness that my team and I have concocted. Best of all, I just want to point out, there will be shockingly few, if any, references to Donald Trump.

During his final monologue in June, OBrien elaborated on his feelings about his career and comedy, but also his philosophy on living, saying, I think when smart and stupid come together its very difficult, but if you can make it happen, I think its the most beautiful thing in the world.

Kimmel gave OBrien a shout-out on his own show that night, joking, Congratulations to Jay Leno on his new time slot at TBS.

With a move to Sundays from Mondays and the addition of another weekly episode on Thursdays, Showtimes Desus & Mero continued to thrive, and the Bodega Boys as Desus Nice and The Kid Mero are known continued to be some of the most hilarious interviewers in late night. Case in point: their conversation with Jeff Goldblum, in which the actor had just as many questions for the hosts as they did for him.

Ill bet you guys are dancers, Goldblum said.

I dance a little bit, Mero said.

Do you guys sing or do music at all? Goldblum asked.

We can if you need us to, Desus said.

The Amber Ruffin Show debuted in September 2020, with Ruffin bringing the same engaging energy she first displayed as a writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers. She and her talk show new episodes premiere Fridays on Peacock were even more entertaining in 2021, as seen in musical segments such as White Celebrities, Its Time to Wash Your Kids.

White celebrities/wash your kids booties/white celebrities/its your only duty/your child smells like blue cheese/and its your fault, Ruffin and company sing in a Jackson 5-esque chorus.

In 2022, late-night hosts can look forward to Trump and Covid lingering on, but hopefully they can find some new material, too. Failing that, heres hoping they at least work on their Biden impersonations.

Original post:
Best of Late Night TV in 2021 - The New York Times

The cadaver dogs were busy performing the grim duties of their training when the opportunists leapt into action.

They couldnt let a catastrophic loss of human life get in the way of pitching a hefty dose of politically expedient, anti-science rhetoric. To which countless others shook our heads and asked, Is nothing sacred?

The deaths and devastation by tornadoes across multiple states, but especially in Kentucky, are hard to comprehend.

Its one thing to know the escalating number of fatalities more than 80 at this writing, with dozens still missing and to assess the leveled blocks of homes and businesses. But to carry the grief, the economic consequences and the sense of helplessness of such a tragedy well, thats impossible for anyone but the people living it.

Coping with something of that magnitude is personal. That fact alone ought to make it somewhat sacrosanct.

Which is why the easy takes, the slaps at old rivals, were so numbingly predictable and, at the same time, disappointing.

The attacks cut both ways: hard left and hard right.

Fox News published an article under the headline Biden uses tornado tragedy to push climate agenda, suggests storms are consequence of the warming not even 24 hours after a tornado raced for 200 miles through six states. Note the word suggests in the headline.

The first line claimed that Biden used the tragedy to further his own beliefs on climate change.

No, the president was nuanced and accurate.

When asked by reporters if he could conclude that the tornadoes had been due to climate change, hed said that it was too early to know for sure. He said that he planned to (gasp!) seek the advice of experts.

Then there were those who rushed to social media to jeer at Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, both senators for Kentucky, for past stinginess when authorizing help for other communities in times of disaster. They also deserve chastising.

NPR, among others, came out with an incredibly clearheaded, spot-on article, which was headlined: The exact link between tornadoes and climate change is hard to draw. Heres why.

Scientists say that its far from clear how tornadoes might be, or if they are, directly affected by the human-induced warming of the planet. But they suspect that the intensity and frequency of the tornadoes might be impacted.

Did the uncertainty of that statement make you cringe?

Remember that feeling. It could be a reaction to guide how you absorb information.

Scientists are constantly learning more about climate change and how it affects our weather. And for people who are extremely linear thinkers, sometimes shifting information means its suspicious information. Theyre uncomfortable with differing answers all being correct, depending upon what was known at the time.

Stir in a politicized read on an issue or headline-grabbing event, and its easy to see how quickly what should remain a scientific assessment begins to morph.

Theres a path forward here. Its useful for the masses of the public who are neither adamantly denying climate change nor pounding the pulpit with tomes of irreversible apocalyptic doom.

Simply become more thoughtful not conspiracy obsessed in the face of tragedy, not pitched toward a narrative that favors a political team. But simply seek to be informed with the most accurate reporting available at the time. Remain open to the reality that this, too, could shift.

Then send a prayer, and a donation if possible, to Kentucky. Its the right answer for now.

Continue reading here:
Pitts: On tornadoes, science and twisted politics - The Columbian

When Joe Biden ran for the White House, he campaigned on making Saudi Arabia a pariah on the international stage. But a year into his presidency, Biden has stopped well short of getting tougher on Saudi Arabiaand prominent elected Democrats are following suit.

At first, Biden seemed like hed make good on his campaign rhetoric. Democratslong opposed to the Trump administrations approach to arms deals for Saudi Arabiacontrolled both chambers of Congress. And Biden had been critical of Saudi Arabia given its role in Yemens war and the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which the CIA pegged to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In February, Biden announced that the United States would be backing off the Trump administrations approach of funding Saudi Arabias offensive military operations.

Saudi Arabia has been launching airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen for years, ever since Houthi rebels took Yemens capital Sanaa in 2014, and followed up with attacks against Saudi Arabia in turn. A Saudi-led coalition tried to intervene on behalf of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, but the conflict has so far brought 5 million to the brink of famine, killed hundreds of thousands, and has no clear end in sight as peace processes have stalled.

But, as the idiom goes, Do as I say, not as I do.

Rather than backing off funding the conflict, the Biden administration has actually renewed efforts to arm Saudi Arabia. Biden found a carve-out to still fund the conflict, by only allowing defensive arms sales to Saudi Arabiaa decision that has put him at loggerheads with some members of his own party who say it allows him to take rhetorical credit for bucking Trumps approach, but which in reality perpetuates and contributes to the conflict.

Just last month, the State Department approved a $650 million missile sale to Saudi Arabiathe first major arms sale to the Kingdom during the Biden administrationand its left Democrats on Capitol Hill fuming about the administrations willingness to support a country with a derelict human rights track record.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) told The Daily Beast the defensive carve-out is bogus when Saudi Arabia is known to fudge its human rights record.

Omar said it was clear that, whatever the stated use of these weapons, they would likely be used to perpetuate the war in Yemen, which includes routine targeting of civilians and children.

Even if they were only used in a defensive manner, there is no justification for handing 300 air-to-air missiles arming a regime known for lying to cover up routine human rights violations, Omar told The Daily Beast. We should be using diplomacy to bring an end to Saudi Arabias brutal campaign in Yemen, not perpetuating it.

Arming the Saudis in any way, many Democrats have long argued, just prolongs the suffering and fuels the conflict with Yemen. As aid groups have noted, the people of Yemen are not starving. They are being starved.

Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) also lambasted Bidens approach, noting that this decision leaves Saudi Arabia in the drivers seat, not the United States.

The distinction between offensive and defensive support of the Saudi Royal Air Force is a smoke screen: there is no telling to what degree U.S. indirect support of fighter aircraft is being used in operations that have the end effect of prolonging war and exacerbating the worst humanitarian emergency on the planet, Markey told The Daily Beast. Just Monday Saudi-led forces launched airstrikes in Sanaa, according to state media, Reuters reported.

Democrats have long argued against arms deals with Saudi Arabia. But an uncanny flip-flopping has started to settle in on Capitol Hill. While every Democratic senator voted in 2019 to block President Trump from approving an arms sale with Saudi Arabia, early this month the Democrat-controlled Senate rejected a proposal that would have blocked the Biden administration from selling $650 million worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Although the majority of Democrats voted against the sale, some Democrats that used to be the staunchest advocates for pulling back on arms deals to Saudi Arabia are now all-in.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to examine U.S.-Russia policy on Dec. 7, 2021.

Alex Brandon

Take Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). He was one of the earliest critics of arming Saudi Arabia, and has opposed the war in Yemen since the beginning. And yet, he voted in favor of the $650 million package.

Murphy said in a statement he believes this sale doesnt fall into the category of offensive operations in Yemen.

After reviewing the details of this sale, I believe it is consistent with President Bidens pledge to end assistance for offensive operations in Yemen. This sale is solely intended to defend Saudi territory against cross-border Houthi drone attacks, which indiscriminately threaten Saudi civilians and other residents, including over 50,000 Americans, Murphy said. I have been the leading critic of Saudi Arabias war in Yemen and have led the fight to end U.S. support for the Saudis bombing campaign, but I don't advocate for ending our security relationship with Saudi Arabia.

The Democrats are swerving on the issue likely because they simply dont want to rock the boat with Biden, the chair of the Yemeni Alliance Committee, Jehan Hakim, told The Daily Beast. During the Trump administration there was a clear support amongst the Democrats to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Hakim said.

"Theres a kind of hesitancy or reluctance to go against the Biden administration, Hakim told The Daily Beast. It was easier to go against Trump than it is to go against Biden because theyre obviously in the same party, theres this motivation or ambition to not go against the leadership.

Many other lawmakers who have previously voted to block arms deals to the Kingdom or stop support for Saudis war with Yemen also voted in favor of the sale, including Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) (who both, as candidates in 2020, said they supported ending military and intelligence assistance to Saudi Arabia); Bob Menendez (D-NJ) (who led the way in 2019, introducing measures to block sales to Saudi Arabia during the Trump administration); Tom Carper (D-DE); Maggie Hassan (D-NH); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); and others.

One congressional aide suggested the support for the recent sale was about defending civilians in Saudi Arabia.

I wouldnt characterize this as a gift to the Saudis. I would say this is about defending civilians including American citizens in Saudi Arabia against attack, the congressional aide told The Daily Beast.

Democrats also recently discarded an amendment from Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) that would have blocked U.S. defense contractors from maintaining Saudi warplanes conducting aerial strikesa proposal that, if passed, could help stop the bombing and bring the conflict to a close.

A congressional aide familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast that a shift towards blocking any arms deals with Saudi Arabia could take place if civilian infrastructure is increasingly targeted.

If you see a return of mass bombing of civilian infrastructure that could trigger some real rethink: should we cut off all arms sales period too sort of try to bring this to an end, the congressional aide told The Daily Beast.

The recent sea change of support for Saudi Arabia from the Democratic Party is alarming, according to Markey.

Im deeply disappointed that Congress didnt take this chance to end the U.S. support of the Saudi-led military coalition after seven terrible years of civil war in Yemen, Markey told The Daily Beast. We need to broker peace, not continue to flood the Saudi-led military coalition with endless arms and unconditional support.

Khanna said he thinks the party seems to be making some progress on galvanizing support to block arms deals and maintenance packages with Saudi Arabia, noting that when he first started trying to attract interest in his proposals to wind down support to the conflict, they failed. This year, my amendment passed the House, Khanna said. We have a long way to go, but change is coming Congress should do its job and end military support and arm sales to the Saudi government.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks at an End Fossil Fuel rally near the U.S. Capitol on June 29, 2021.

Anna Moneymaker

The U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia has always been a balancing act, one that even the nimblest of politicians has stumbled over in the past, giving the kingdom a pass on human rights issues to achieve other goals, such as counterterrorism work or confronting Iran.

Theres arguments about the importance of a secure and stable supply of oil on the global market, [how they are] a source of stability and a regional ally. But these are all arguments that dont hold up water anymore, if they ever did, Stephen Miles, the executive director of Win Without War, told The Daily Beast. The energy landscape today doesnt look like what its looked like in decades prior Similarly, we are seeing the Saudis be a source of instability before you even get to the gross human rights violations like the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Some of Bidens top advisers have opted to voice their opinion in favor of pulling back on Saudi arms deals, too. A 2019 version of the Sanders-Khanna amendment, which was essentially an identical proposal to the more recent iteration about maintenance, was supported by a whole host of now-Biden administration officials, including Bidens national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl, and Kelly Magsamen, who now serves as the chief of staff to the Secretary of Defense, who each signed a letter in support of blocking logistics and maintenance deals with Saudi Arabia to help unravel Saudi Arabias contributions to the Yemen conflict.

Other supporters include Wendy Sherman, who now serves as deputy secretary of state, and Susan Rice, who now heads up the Domestic Policy Council.

But the buck stops with Biden.

Basically this all comes down to Biden, a senior Democratic Senate aide told The Daily Beast.

The aide continued that it was important to understand that the people around Biden who signed that letter, who are now in positions of real authority, had to understand that they were ultimately making a criticism of the president.

As on so many things on foreign policy, it really comes down to Bidens decision, the aide said.

For now, though, the United States is focused on improving the kingdoms ability to defend its territory against threats, a State Department spokesperson told The Daily Beast. President Biden and Secretary Blinken have both been clear that human rights are a priority in our bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia, and we have been raising these issues through consistent and constant engagement at senior levels in both Washington and Riyadh.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has been pushing lawmakers and the Biden administration alike to back away from greenlighting Saudi arms deals, told The Daily Beast he thinks his colleagues and the Biden Administration ought to buck up and get more consistent on their takes on Saudi Arabia.

President Biden and proponents of Saudi arms sales say the latest $650 million sale is merely to help defend Saudi territorial integrity, but these words do not match Saudis actions, Paul told The Daily Beast. By participating in current and future sales, we would not only be rewarding reprehensible behavior, but also exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and you would think lawmakers could be more consistent in their efforts to protect defenseless civilians from the cruelty of a criminal regime.

Fahad Nazer, the official spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, told The Daily Beast that the conflictand the dire humanitarian situationwill end if the Houthis lay down their weapons, go back to the negotiating table and stop obstructing the efforts of the UN Yemen envoy and the friends of Yemenincluding Saudi Arabiato advance a political solution in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and political references.

With these realities, Biden, almost one year into his presidency, who still hasnt made good on his campaign promise to make Saudi Arabia a pariah, ought to rethink his policy, especially as it trickles down to his party and perpetuates the war, Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and former senior adviser on South Asia and the Middle East to four presidents, told The Daily Beast.

What weve seen is an administration that campaigned on a promise to dramatically change American foreign policy towards Saudi Arabia and its Yemen war and which, as we get close to one year in office, has failed to live up to those commitments, said Riedel, now director of the Brookings Intelligence Project. In practice, nothing has changed. The war continues, the Saudis continue to bomb Yemeni civilians.

Originally posted here:
Biden Went Soft on Saudi Arabia. Now Democrats in Congress Are, Too. - The Daily Beast

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul sounded off on Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration for their response to the newly emerging omicron variant of COVID-19. On "America's Newsroom," Wednesday, Sen. Paul criticized Fauci for creating hysteria and fear, and noted that the scientist who discovered the variant called Biden's travel ban a "hysterical overreach."

OMICRON VARIANT SEEMS LESS SEVERE THAN EARLIER ONES, WHO OFFICIAL SAYS: LIVE UPDATES

SEN. RAND PAUL: Dr. Fauci routinely ignores the science and causes hysteria and creates fear. This is the opposite of what you really want as far as someone leading your public health effort. The Omicron variant, the doctor who discovered it, we should be proud of her. In South Africa, she dutifully reported it, discovered it was a new variant, and she wrote an op-ed yesterday as well. And in the op-ed, she said that so far, no one's been hospitalized in South Africa. So far, no one's died from this disease, and that it's a hysterical overreach to ban travel.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

So you're banning travel, which will destroy economically tourism and travel and have great hardship for the world. But you're doing it for something that's not scientifically sound. It's not going to do anything to stop the spread of this variant. The variant's already out there. We also don't know yet: Will it be more deadly or less deadly? The initial reports, what we know so far is it looks like it will be less deadly. We'll know more in about two weeks, but that's when we would think we might want to make some decisions after we know the facts rather than before.

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Sen. Rand Paul blasts Fauci as omicron cases are reported around US: He 'causes hysteria and creates fear' - Fox News