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--:-- John Bickley: The Supreme Court hears a landmark case on a Tennessee law banning transgender medical procedures on children. In the end, this case could very well turn out to be a Dobbs-style earthquake in the fight to protect children in this country. We discuss the two sides' arguments and the stakes of the high court's ruling.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, December 4th, and this is Money Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In a drastic move, South Korea's president declares martial law, citing threats of North Korean communist forces. And while California's governor is vowing to resist Trump, the state saw a massive shift to the right this year, particularly on the issue of public safety.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in what's being called the marquee case of this term, dealing with gender transition procedures for children. The hot button case is drawing big crowds to Washington, D.C., where conservative activists, including the Daily Wire's own Matt Walsh, will rally outside.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Joining us now is Daily Wire senior reporter Mary Margaret Olihan, who's on Capitol Hill now. Hey, Mary Margaret. So what's at stake in this case?
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Good morning, John. So, yes, today is historic. This is the first time the Supreme Court will hear a case dealing with the legality of medical gender transitions for minors. And this is a case that hinges on a Tennessee law banning doctors or healthcare providers from performing so-called gender-affirming surgeries or hormonal procedures on minors, including surgery, puberty blockers, and hormones.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Activists in some medical groups have argued that children who identify as transgender need these surgeries and hormones, and they also argue that if these kids are denied these procedures, they might kill themselves. That's a claim that has been disputed for years. Recent research suggests that young people are actually more at risk of self-harm if they're taking hormones or if they've had gender surgeries.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Right. Now, a big investigation by Matt Walsh actually played a key role in getting this legislation on the table. Talk to us about that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yes. Walsh was a major player here. He has spent the last several years exposing the gender ideology industry, particularly through an investigation into Vanderbilt University Medical Center and their gender transition procedures for kids. That September 2022 investigation prompted Tennessee lawmakers to bring forward the legislation that's at the heart of this case.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: And as you mentioned at the top, Walsh is actually going to be speaking at the rally today. And he be joined by over a dozen organizations as well as doctors detransitioners like Chloe Cole activists and others Here Walsh take on this case Essentially they alleging that doctors and parents have a constitutional right to castrate, sterilize, and mutilate gender-confused kids. So this is not about the constitutional rights of the kids, at least from their perspective.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They're saying that the doctors and parents have a constitutional right to do this to children. Whereas us over here are saying that children have a constitutional right, a human right, and that means that they should be protected from this kind of treatment.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Far-left organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights Campaign have also planned protests outside the court this morning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, in terms of the other side on this issue, what are we hearing from the left?
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Well, groups like the ACLU are arguing that Tennessee hates so-called trans youth and wants to ban them from receiving care. And the media is really echoing a lot of those claims. The ACLU is sending a trans-identifying lawyer to argue on behalf of their case. That lawyer's name is Chase Strangio, a woman who identifies as a man and also underwent transgender procedures to try and look more masculine.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's Strangio explaining how she'll argue today. Tennessee has categorically banned medical treatment for adolescents only when that treatment is prescribed in a manner that Tennessee considers inconsistent with a person's sex. So what we're arguing before the Supreme Court is that, look, this is a simple example of sex discrimination.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Now, Tennessee is battling both the ACLU and the Biden administration here. What legal arguments is Tennessee making?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, I'm told Scrametti's office will argue that the sex discrimination argument doesn't really make any sense since boys and girls are fundamentally different. They've also argued that it's the states who license doctors and regulate medical practices. and they've already pointed out that more than 20 other states have passed similar laws protecting kids.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: So advocates are hoping that a Supreme Court win will embolden states across the nation to follow Tennessee's lead.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be watching the hearing and you're reporting on it with interest. Mary and Margaret, thank you so much for coming on.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Anytime. Hey guys, producer Brandon here.
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--:-- John Bickley: Members of the military clashed with civilians in Seoul yesterday after South Korea's president declared martial law. The order lasted less than three hours but left the Asian nation in a constitutional crisis.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to talk about the chaotic turn of events in South Korea is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. So, Tim, what happened yesterday?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, it began on Tuesday night local time when South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law over the country. The president gave an unannounced speech in which he blamed pro-North Korean elements in the government for undermining national sovereignty.
--:-- John Bickley: He set the tone in the opening sentence, which translates, I appeal to you with a feeling of spitting blood. He went on to cite 22 impeachment motions passed against officers in his government since 2022 and said lawmakers plan to impeach 10 more.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He said the situation is not only unprecedented in any country in the world, but has never been seen since the founding of our country. He also cited the parliament's disapproval of his budget proposal. Yoon said the government is in a state of paralysis due to impeachment, special investigation, and the defense of the opposition leader.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He promised to lift martial law after he had dealt with North Korean communist forces and shameless pro Korean anti forces from the government The order put strict rules on the media and sent the military to break up political activity. His attempted purge didn't last long after even his own party leaders denounced his order, and the parliament voted 190 to zero to lift it in an emergency session early Wednesday morning.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, does Yoon have the authority to declare martial law like that just unilaterally?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yoon's order probably was unconstitutional, and Yoon's impeachment is now likely. That's according to the Heritage Foundation's senior research fellow Bruce Klingner, an expert on Northeast Asia.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Morning Wire talked to Klingner, and here's some of what he said. There is a clause which he cited in his declaration as allowing the president to declare martial law, but that is reserved for war, armed conflict, or a national emergency, none of which seems to be prevalent here.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This could spell the end of Yoon's career in politics. Here's Klingner again. Suspending several constitutionally guaranteed freedoms based on seemingly flimsy evidence, he really has, I think, created a constitutional crisis, even if right now it's short-lived.
--:-- Tim Pierce: However, it certainly gives the opposition sufficient grounds to move to impeach him. This move by Yoon sparked serious concern in the White House. But more than that, if Yoon does go down because of this, that would be a blow to U.S. influence in the region.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yoon has been on very friendly terms with Washington, even saying American pie during a White House visit last year. The opposition party, which likely stands to benefit from Yoon's fall, is far friendlier to China's and North Korea's interests.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Klingner went on to point out that this really comes at an inopportune time for the U.S., with China's threat growing and Japan's leadership going through a change of its own.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Still a shocking development coming from one of the most stable countries in Asia, and of course our ally. Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Good to be on.
--:-- John Bickley: This year's election signaled dramatic movement to the right in several deep blue areas, including Los Angeles County, where voters ended the reign of progressive district attorney George Gascon.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Joining us now is California entrepreneur and board-certified physician Dr. Human Hamadi. Thank you so much for coming on.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: So we witnessed in November an overwhelming defeat for LA's district attorney George Gascon, who really went down in flames. First, why did Gascon lose and so badly?
--:-- John Bickley: It's a great question. Look, Gascon's overwhelming defeat is a sign that people in LA were absolutely fed up with every single thing he stood for. He took office saying that I'm going to be a fair prosecutor. I'm not going to prosecute people based on race. I'm not going to prosecute people based on gender or socioeconomic background, etc.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: But what he really meant is he's not going to prosecute anyone. Gascon's first action when taking office was to send a directive to all of his deputy district attorneys telling them that under no circumstance may they prosecute basically anything except for mass murder.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm obviously exaggerating, but he went so far overboard that not a single deputy of his stood alongside him in support. And so he was basically fighting his own deputies the entire way, taking the side of criminals over the victims in every single case.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: And it was only when there was intense public pressure and media scrutiny around the time of the recall attempt and around the time of the reelection campaign that he ever even showed any sign of caring about victims.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Were there any particular turning points in terms of public perception of Gascon?
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: There was not just one single turning point I think the entire era of Gascon is going to go down as a black moment in L County history because of the surging crime and the fact that every single person became a victim in one way or another Either they had their packages stolen, their bikes stolen, their car broken into multiple times, they were assaulted, or even if they weren't directly impacted in such a way, the stores they would go into would have the products locked up.
--:-- John Bickley: Stores would be closing because they got burglarized so many times. You would have people having to walk over piles of needles and drug waste in parks and beaches just to be able to get from one place to another or sidewalks, etc.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: It became an era marked by criminality and filth and lack of any sense of public safety. And all of that combined, which is something that no person could ignore after a period of time, created this sense that this is a guy who has to go.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Do you see evidence of what played out in L.A. in terms of views on law and order is happening statewide in California?
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: There is a massive statewide shift in California in the direction of public safety and the priority that public safety should take over all other issues, including all of the woke virtue signaling that for a long time until very recently had dominated the discussion.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Great example is Prop 47. It passed very nicely several years ago. It was one that said we are going to decriminalize most drug crimes and decriminalize most theft. It would not be a felony. And in fact, it would not even be a crime, basically, because no one was really prosecuted for any theft under $950 per occurrence.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: So people would go in, steal $949 worth of items, leave, come right back, and do the very same over and over and over again with absolutely zero consequence. What's happening now is that the Prop 36 came about and did a large reversal, not a complete, but a large reversal of Prop 47, reintroducing the criminal penalties for repeat offenders who steal and repeat offenders of drug crimes.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And this is something that combined with a prosecutor in Los Angeles County and in other areas of the state that also elected much better district attorneys will create a circumstance where public safety is prioritized over everything else.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: And I think we're here about to witness a new era for California, one that is a long time coming.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Gavin Newsom tried to block Prop 36, but he failed. Do you think he's learned anything here, or will he continue to try to stand in the way of these more common sense reforms?
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: I'm very glad you asked. Newsom has shown no signs of changing his tune. He has signaled absolutely nothing regarding realigning his policies and his viewpoints with how the people feel. And in fact, he's doubling down on these policies. Newsom has yet to reverse his policy of shutting down prisons or reducing the number of beds that they have.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that's a key point. All of these new laws and the DAs are absolutely worthless without a place to incarcerate the felons. And so that's somewhere we need to go. And Newsom has shown no sign of changing his tune on that issue.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: Some fascinating trends to be tracking in your state. Dr. Hamadi, thank you so much for coming on.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You got it. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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