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(A)Political Newsletter - Volume 32

(A)Political Newsletter - Volume 32

Alexander Korfiatis
February 23, 2024

Good morning everyone,

Hello everyone and welcome back! This week saw the Alabama Supreme Court rule that human embryos are children. The American space company, Intuitive Machines, has put the first commercial spacecraft on the Moon’s surface. President Biden has met with Alexei Navalny’s family to show his support. Finally, Gov. DeSantis has pushed back against the Republican effort preventing anyone below sixteen years of age to use social media. Let’s get right in.

In today’s edition:

Quiver Quantitative’s Stock Watcher
Alabama Supreme Court Rules Embryos are Children
First American Spacecraft touches Down on Moon in 50 years
President Biden meets with Navalny’s Widow and Daughter
Florida Passes Social Media Restrictions for Minors

CONGRESSIONAL STOCK WATCHER

UPDATE: Nvidia stock has now risen almost 60% since Nancy Pelosi bought up to $5M of call options.
- She has already made ~$2M off this trade.
Representative John Joyce has cosponsored the TRUST in Congress Act.
- This bill would ban congressional stock trading. We have not seen Representative Joyce trade any stock while in office.
- We estimate that he has a net worth of ~$13M.
In December, we posted a report on a congressional stock trade that looked suspicious.
- Representative Josh Gottheimer had bought stock in a company called Adyen.
- The stock has now risen over 108% since. Adyen is a financial services company. Gottheimer sits on the House Financial Services Committee.
Two months ago, I posted a report on a suspicious trade I noticed from a U.S. Congressman.
- Representative Michael Guest bought stock in a company called Evolution Gaming.
- Since then, the stock has risen over 36%. It's up another 4% today, while the market is down.
- Evolution Gaming is an online casino company. Guest is the chairman of the House Ethics Committee.
We got an update on Senator Jon Ossoff’s financial holdings recently.
- The majority of his portfolio is in a blind trust worth up to $5M.
- He has up to $205K in various mutual funds, $100K in the bank, and $15K in State of Israel foreign bonds.
Environmental groups spent a record $30M on lobbying in 2023, per OpenSecrets. The oil and gas industry spent $128M.

Alabama Supreme Court Rules that Embryos are Children

(Photo - Benoit Tessier/Reuters)

February 22, 2024 - The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that human embryos are considered life, upending the IVF industry in the state and possibly nationally. In Vitro Fertilization, long used by parents who have a difficulty time conceiving children, has been in the crosshairs by conservative activists over the embryos which are discarded, which they consider as life, and therefore murder. Alabama’s largest hospital chain has suspended IVF procedures in response to the ruling because their doctors could suffer legal repercussions.

Republicans have stuck to the same messaging as they have with abortion, to either tacitly condemn it or not speak of it at all. Moderate former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan condemned the move as he runs for U.S. Senate, while Republican Rep. Nancy Mace will announce a resolution protecting IVF. Former President Trump has not announced any stance on the issue, trying to bury it and not hurt his standing among young voters and suburban women, which support abortion and IVF.

Democrats have hammered Republicans overall and Trump on the issue, knowing how potent of an attack it is after the 2022 Midterms. In those elections, hard-right Republicans, nearly all of which were against abortion, lost in elections Republicans could have won. Democrats see mobilizing pro-abortion voters as a key to win the election.

First American Spacecraft Touches Down on Moon in 50 Years

(Photo - John Raoux/AP)

February 22, 2024 - The U.S. Space company Intuitive Machines made history with the first lunar vehicle touchdown in 50 years, along with the first private company to land a vehicle on the lunar surface. The spacecraft, Odysseus, had a few problems with a failure of laser instruments, useful for guiding the spacecraft to a safe place to shutdown. Engineers repurposed a NASA science instrument as a guide, instead. NASA partnered with Intuitive Machines to carry out the moon landing, awarding $118 million to the company.

The landing is seen as a win for both the American space community and commercial space companies, overall. The American space community, dealing with expanded competition from Russia, China, India, and Western Europe, has to show the world that it can still be competitive. For commercial space companies, it is a win because they need to show their investors that both government contracts and ever-grander ambitions are feasible.

President Biden Meets with Navalny’s Widow and Daughter

(Photo - Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

February 21, 2024 - President Biden met with Alexei Navalny’s widow and daughter to express his condolences over his death in a Russian prison camp above the Arctic Circle. Yulia Navalny, the widow, has not been able to retrieve his body, but was able to see it, she told reporters. Biden has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s’ death. The U.S. is preparing a large sanctions package in response to the alleged murder, attempting to sanction 500 individuals across the Russian Government as a response.

Navalny has been the most high-profile dissident of Vladimir Putin for years. He unsuccessfully ran for the Russian Presidency and organized anti-government protests. He published leaked documents on the Russian Elite, including Vladimir Putin’s massive mansion. The Russian government imprisoned him 2013 and 2014, and in 2020 he was poisoned with Novichok nerve agent. He then returned to Russia as a show of defiance and was promptly arrested again, and sentenced to decades in prison. Navalny’s widow has told reporters she will take his place and lead the anti-government movement against Vladimir Putin.

(Photo - Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

February 22, 2024 - The Florida House of Representatives has passed legislation that would prevent anyone under the age of sixteen from many social media platforms, which would make it the most strict state in the country for these laws. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made some objections to the bill because it does not have an exception for parents who allow their children on the social media sites. The law would force social media companies to prevent anyone under sixteen from accessing social media, and mandate that they use a third party website to verify ages. If they do not comply, the social media companies could face fines.

Gov. DeSantis continued to push back against the bill after the Florida Senate voted to support it. DeSantis mainly has issue with the lack of a parental say in the matter, saying that “parents need to have a role in this.” However, due to DeSatnis’ declining clout among Florida Republicans, who watched his campaign flounder, they have stood up to him. Opponents of the bill say that it violates free speech rights and most likely will file lawsuits to stop its implementation.

Four Kenyan Police Arrested over Human Trafficking Plot - Sebastien Gray
Imprisoned Tunisian Opposition Leader Rached Ghannouchi Announces Hunger Strike - Bianca Bridger
Transnistria Reportedly Prepares Request For Annexation by Russia - Atlas
China Responds to February 14th Incident Near Kinmen Island - Joaquin Camarena
Munich Conference Reflect Concerns About the Security of Europe - Matthew Dellinger

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