S E E D E D   C O N T E N T

Liberals' Losing Battle For American Minds

The Left - trapped in a web of its own making.

We can understand if Dr. Anthony Fauci, the uber-scientist who knows it all, did not enjoy his Monday coffee as he opened the morning newspapers. Three thousand miles away, Big Tech social media cops who now control with an iron hand every American conversation in the public square (no differently from Mukhabarat police organizations of the Middle East) were similarly having a bad start to the week.

Gov. Philip Murphy of New Jersey, a liberal Democrat in one of the bluest states, had just announced a return to a life of normalcy. Students, teachers, and employees in state schools would no longer be required to wear masks. Other Democrat governors could now take cover (indeed, ultra-blue Connecticut joined him a few hours later) and announce the same relaxations that evil Greg Abbott of Texas and monster Ron DeSantis of Florida pushed through months ago.

The mask debate has divided America to no end, but no policy gets Americans more energized than when children are affected. Republican Glenn Youngkin rode an anti-establishment wave regarding another Left priority - teaching Critical Race Theory in schools and making parents irrelevant in what is taught - to the governor's mansion in Richmond.

Political leaders hone Darwinian skills to survive, far better than the angry Left mobs who only pontificate and demand compliance from the flyover masses who cling to guns and religion. A skilled politician, Murphy came close to a stinging defeat last November and saw the tea leaves better than the Jacobian crowd, turning right on school mask mandates.

To the Left's credit, their cancel culture often ensnares their own kind. They are now agonizing over how Stacey Abrams, the perennial Georgia governor candidate who has still not conceded the 2018 race but continues to be a media darling, could be so insensitive as to appear with school children without a mask. Could her photo op be the trigger to dump her after she disrespected President Joe Biden? When Biden visited Atlanta to deliver his Jim Crow 2.0 voting rights speech, Abrams was notably absent, citing a schedule conflict.

When BLM rioters damaged part of the US Treasury building and burned down part of a 200-year church in front of Lafayette Park in the White House annex, conservative Sen. Tom Cotton worked with James Bennett, the NY Times editor of the opinion page, to publish a guest essay. In the piece, "Send in the Troops," Cotton argued that, as a last resort, it was acceptable to use force to control violent BLM protesters. The next day, many staff members revolted against the Times management — and soon, the publisher apologized, saying that the piece should never have been published. Bennett resigned the next day.

The Left has mercilessly gone after other traditional stalwarts of their movement, including comedians who highlight our deficiencies and evoke laughter in the process. Employees of Netflix staged sit-ins demanding that Dave Chappelle be canceled for his supposed remarks on transgender people. They have attacked Bill Maher for defecting from the movement. "Let's get this straight," Bill Maher said in January. "It's not me who's changed; it's the Left. A large contingent has gone mental, and I'm willing to call them out."

Joe Rogan, an ardent liberal who supported Bernie Sanders in the 2020 primaries, is now in the Left's crosshairs for committing a two-pronged crime. Rogan hosted Covid podcasts that "misinform" and allowed a debate challenging CDC assertions. Never mind that Spotify makes it clear that the views expressed on its shows belong only to those who appear as guests. In a blow to Rogan's detractors, Daniel Ek, the company's chief executive, stood solidly by him: "I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. Canceling voices is a slippery slope."

Media star Megyn Kelly, herself a victim of the Left's attempts to cleanse network TV when she fell to the Blackface police, summarized the Left in a tweet. "It's about the Woke Left's piety. One must adhere to ALL of their world views or be destroyed. The comments are just the excuse - anyone who doesn't share their zealotry will be targeted."

Americans agree. In our Golden/TIPP poll that we concluded on Friday, 59% disapprove of social media actions that cancel Covid opinions. An even more significant proportion, 63%, disapprove of cancellations due to political views. The Left is slowly but surely, losing the battle to control American public discourse.

Sir Walter Scott wrote in his 1808 poem Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave - when first we practice to deceive." Scott was describing one of his characters caught in a hopeless romance. He may well have been talking about the modern American Left.

TIPP Takes

Geopolitics And Geoeconomics

Japan To Supply Part Of LNG Reserves To Europe Amid Ukraine Crisis

Japan plans to provide part of its liquefied natural gas reserves to Europe as simmering tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine undermine energy security in the region.

Japan, a major LNG importer, will secure enough supply for domestic needs before assisting European countries facing the threat of disruptions to Russian gas supply in the event of an incursion by Moscow into Ukraine, the sources said.

U.S. Patience With China Wears Thin As Trade-Deal Pledges Unmet

The U.S. is losing patience with China after the nation failed to meet its purchase commitments under the trade agreement reached during the Trump administration, according to American officials.

The U.S. has engaged with China's government on the shortfalls but hasn't seen any real signs of the nation making good on its commitments over the last several months.

China didn't meet the purchasing targets in the agreement, in which it pledged to buy an extra $200 billion in U.S. agriculture, energy, and manufactured products over the 2017 level in the two years through the end of 2021. At the same time, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has repeatedly said that the Biden administration's concerns go beyond the purchase commitments and include Beijing's state-centered industrial policy.

Taiwan Thanks, U.S. For Patriot Deal

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the five-year US$100 million defense deal would 'ensure readiness for air operations.'

With the arms sale, which would maintain Taiwan's Patriot missile air-defense system, the U.S. is honoring its commitment to ensuring that Taiwan can defend itself, as stated in the U.S.' Taiwan Relations Act and "six assurances," the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, expressing its "sincere gratitude" for the deal.

This second sale under U.S. President Joe Biden's administration "fully demonstrated the U.S. government's high regard for Taiwan's defense capabilities," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a separate statement.

Beijing yesterday condemned the latest sale, saying that it "seriously undermines" US-China relations, as well as peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Navalny To Face Another Trial Inside Penal Colony Next Week

Jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny will face a new trial next week inside the penal colony where he is being held.

Navalny's press secretary Kira Yarmysh tweeted on February 8 that Moscow's Lefortovo district court's judges will travel to the region of Vladimir, some 200 kilometers east of Moscow, to try the outspoken Kremlin critic in Correctional Colony No. 2 on charges of embezzlement.

Navalny's lawyer Olga Mikhailova said that the decision to try her client inside the penal colony would "seriously affect" his right to defend himself in court.

Navalny has been accused of appropriating more than $4.7 million for his personal use in donations that were given to his organizations. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

E.U. Joins Chips Race With €43-Billion Bid To Rival Asia

Bloc aims for 20% of the global market by quadrupling efforts.

The E.U. on Tuesday unveiled a plan to quadruple the supply of semiconductors in Europe by 2030, hoping to limit the bloc's dependence on Asia for a key component used in electric cars and smartphones.

The highly anticipated E.U. Chips Act will "mobilize more than €43 billion ($49.1 billion) of public and private investments" and "enable the E.U. to reach its ambition to double its current market share to 20% in 2030", the European Commission said.

The proposal will need the approval of the E.U. member states and European Parliament, where opinions will vary between the ambitions of industrial heavyweights such as Germany, France, and Italy and those of smaller states that are worried about closing off valuable supply chains with Asia.