Reboot of George Floyd; Anatomy of a Failed Moral Panic

American Greatness  

"The second big impediment to a repeat of George Floyd-style riots is the dawning recognition by the public that, as Elon Musk put it, “The Democrats hate ICE because ICE deports their illegal voting base.' ” 

"Killer Agent Unmasked,” screamed a headline in The Drudge Report. I know, I know, hardly anyone sane reads the Drudge Report anymore. But its headline and accompanying stories did stake out the let’s-see-if-we-can-spark-the-George-Floyd-reboot territory. So did a supremely irresponsible opinion column in The Chicago Tribune, which argued that “every last American” should agree that the shooting death of Renée Nicole Good in Minneapolis a few days ago was “an abomination.”

"Should they? Was it?

"Soon-to-be ex-Minnesota governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey certainly think so. Walz has been comparing ICE agents to the Gestapo for years. Frey abetted the “fiery but mostly peaceful” burning of Minneapolis in 2020 after George Floyd died of a drug overdose while resisting arrest, and Frey acted entirely according to form in denouncing ICE and Donald Trump in response to the shooting of Good by an ICE agent.

"The destructive, anti-American left thought they were getting the band back together. Mobs in various cities have been protesting, harassing, and impeding the lawful activities of ICE. In Minneapolis, mobs are going from hotel to hotel in search of ICE agents, smashing windows, blaring horns, and screaming obscenities.

"For just a few days, the city of Minneapolis—and other blue cities across the country—teetered back and forth. Full summer-of-love-smash-everything riots? Or impotent progressive-white-female fury and hysteria, aided by low-testosterone soy boys in the media and ranks of Democrat officeholders?

"Right from the beginning, I thought the second option more likely. Why? For one thing, it was winter in a cold city. Protestors prefer warmer temperatures. Then, too, the person shot was a white woman, not a black criminal, so a large quota of the rage would have to be special ordered from the warehouse. There was plenty of rage on hand. But there were also, almost from the beginning, many dissenting voices. Sean Morrison, a Cook County Commissioner, took on the Chicago Tribune in a post on X: “The Chicago Tribune editorial declaring that ‘every last American should agree’ the death of a Minneapolis woman at the hands of a federal immigration agent is an ‘abomination’ is a textbook example of unethical, ideologically driven journalism.”

"The Minneapolis Fraternal Order of Police put out a statement saying that they stand with ICE." . . . More...

"Roger Kimball is editor and publisher of The New Criterion and the president and publisher of Encounter Books. He is the author and editor of many books, including The Fortunes of Permanence: Culture and Anarchy in an Age of Amnesia (St. Augustine's Press), The Rape of the Masters (Encounter), Lives of the Mind: The Use and Abuse of Intelligence from Hegel to Wodehouse (Ivan R. Dee), and Art's Prospect: The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity "

The Captor Who Fell Silent; How faith disarmed terror in a Hamas tunnel

Shmuel Klatzkin  

"We are all in God’s hands. And this insight pierced the heart of her son’s captor. For one moment, they were on equal ground."

 Warehouse of Ideas

"Many news organizations carried the story of the release of Bar Kuperstein two years after he had been kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. Kuperstein was a young security guard at the Nova Festival, the music festival targeted by Hamas for its fat genocidal possibilities, with sides of rape, torture, and kidnapping. After taking some time to begin to reacclimate to freedom and family, Kuperstein began to share his and his family’s experiences.

"Hamas’ strategy to destroy Israel has been based on the perceived weakness of the West for enduring the discomfort of war. As is well attested by their own words, they wish to win by grinding down the political support for the fight against them, both in Israel and in Israel’s supporters in the rest of the world. Protests from the West, and even better, from within Israel itself, are demoralizing to the fighting spirit. In particular, when despairing hostage families protest, demanding that their government capitulate to the demands of the hostage takers, this is prime click bait and especially demoralizing to their hated opponents.

"Kuperstein explained to the press how Hamas tried to get his family to publicly denounce Israel’s fight to rescue the hostages and end the rule of the hostage-takers. They pushed the despair button — we have your beloved son, and no one can stop us from doing to him whatever we want if you don’t comply. Kuperstein said:

During the period I was held captive, one of the terrorists called my mother and told her she was not doing enough to free me and that if she wanted to see me again, she needed to go out, file complaints at The Hague, and really fight.

"Kuperstein’s captor said to his mother that she had no choice, because her son was in their hands. Kuperstein continued: “She simply told him the following: ‘My son is not in your hands but always in the hands of the Creator — and you are too in the hands of the Creator.”

"This was not the expected answer. In Kuperstein’s words: “There was a moment of silence because the terrorist did not know what to answer and then he replied, “All honor to you, madam.”

"Kuperstein showed his interviewer the bracelet his mother had worn all the days of his captivity. On it were inscribed the words: “My son is always in the hands of the Creator.”

"Kuperstein added: “Since then, we carry that motto with us all the time.”. . . 

"When modern Islamists saw the jaded disregard of religion in the modern West, they saw it as a sign of weakness, of absence of the inspiration necessary to face the crises that are the stuff of human life. People with nothing to die for have nothing to live for. There is nothing they won’t give up just to be left alone. The aggressors smell the fear and they salivate.   More...

READ MORE from Shmuel Klatzkin:  In Defense of a Judeo-Christian America; The Lie That Destroys; Uncompromising Principles, Moderated Souls

In-N-Out CEO OFFICIALLY RESPONDS To Governor Of California After Leaving California!

YouTube

"California is facing an uproar as one of its most iconic homegrown brands, In-N-Out Burger, signals a major departure — and the Governor isn’t holding back. "This video breaks down why In-N-Out’s leadership is pushing back against California’s business climate, what drove the company’s heir and CEO to expand and relocate operations outside the state, and how this high-profile move has sparked political backlash, economic debate, and cultural outrage. "We examine the reported layoffs in California, the family-business roots of In-N-Out, the growing corporate exodus trend, and what critics warn this could mean for the Golden State’s economy, jobs, and reputation as a place where iconic businesses once thrived. "As California leadership lashes out and national headlines erupt over this beloved brand’s exit, the question isn’t just why In-N-Out is leaving — but whether this marks a turning point in California’s relationship with its own business champions." . . .

In-N-Out’s Owner Said ‘I’M DONE.’ Here’s What It Costs You!!

"I know In good ole Oakland, California, the In-N-Out closed because of the unspeakable crimes that had taken place, around the clock, just at their location, and that was with armed guards. According to news reports, the so-called journalists cited the reason for burgeoning crime was the pandemic. A side note: Denny's, Starbucks, Walmart, Black Bear Diner, Gas stations, & the 24 Hour Fitness closed.. The 76 Station was looted many times, and the innocent airport travelers are robbed at gunpoint when they drive their rental cars down Hegenberger Road. 18,000 business and something like 9 ML people have fled this prog utopia. In Oakland, there is never a profressor of sociology around when you need one."

The enemies within...

 

White Liberal Women Really Are Bat **** Crazy, and This Proves It

"Earlier this week, Kevin Downey Jr. wrote about what he calls "affluent white liberal women," or AWFLs, pegging them as the biggest internal threat to America. Not foreign enemies. Not terror cells. Just well-off women with pronouns in their bios and too much time on their hands. He described them as attention-seeking harpies who push extreme gender ideology, drag their
kids to medicalized gender clinics, and parade them at sexualized drag shows labeled as "family-friendly." These are the same people, he argued, who want to defund the police, defend criminals no matter how violent or foreign, and censor anyone who steps out of line with their diversity-and-inclusion gospel." 

"That means an overwhelming majority of young white liberal women are fine with lawbreaking and violence if it means blocking ICE from doing its job.

"So what makes white liberal women so uniquely terrible?"  . . .  More...

Plus New York's government.

UPDATED: Amazing what Democrats will choose to protest; The hypocrisy extends for miles.

 Jack Hellner  

"If your “protest” against “fascism” includes you doing a conga line in costume, maybe you aren’t actually fighting fascism. Maybe you’re just bored." 

"Let's look at what they protest and what they don't to see if that is true. 

"First off, you never saw protests against Obama or Biden, no matter what they did or didn't do. 

 

"We have seen many protests against law enforcement. 

 

"When a white cop shot a black criminal teenager who tried to grab his gun in Ferguson, Missouri, we saw massive destructive protests throughout the country with the known lie about 'hands up don't shoot.'

 

"We saw massive destructive protests when a cop killed a black drug addict resisting arrest in Minneapolis. 

 

"We are seeing mass protests throughout the country because a radical white woman was killed when she had a dangerous weapon, a car, and used it on an ICE agent.

 

"We see mass protests when ICE and Border Patrol agents are finally enforcing the laws that Congress passed after years when Biden intentionally flooded America with illegals. 

 

"No matter how many cops are killed by criminals, there are no protests."

UPDATE: AT's Andrea Widberg sees a glimmer of hope:  

Suddenly, the Democrats figure out that Hamas is bad

"Yesterday, with remarkable, robotic unanimity, the Democrats discovered that Hamas is a bad organization. Considering that, beginning with Hamas’s October 7, 2023, genocidal attack against Israel, so many in the Democrat party were loath to condemn Hamas, while the party’s foot soldiers openly embraced it, the sudden turnaround is suspect. None of the possible explanations reflects well on the Democrats." . . .

. . . "The Democrat party foot soldiers, of course, were loud and proud about supporting Hamas or, if they didn’t name Hamas, about supporting its actions. Here are just two examples of many:

"We are Hamas! Yes we are all Hamas btch!"

"Israel Go to Hell!"

. . . "Immediately after the attacks, when the smoke was still rising and the blood was still wet on Israeli soil, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Gaza) refused to condemn Hamas. Additionally, eight Democrats joined her to vote “no” on an October 25, 2023, resolution to condemn Hamas (as did the execrable Thomas Massie (R-Gaza)), and six others voted present to avoid taking a stand." . . .

. . . "One almost must admire Rashida Tlaib for refusing to join this newfound disdain for Hamas. At least she has her principles.

"So, what gives?

"One thing, which I know from paying attention to the Democrat-voting Jews in my world, is that many Jews have finally decided that, yes, the Democrat party hates them. Albeit reluctantly, they’re turning away from it. And now that illegal and criminal aliens are being deported and exposed, Democrats can’t afford to lose a reliable (and generous) voting bloc.

"Another theory, which I strongly support, is that Democrats know that the mullahs are doomed. Once the mullahs flee, their files will be opened, and those files will reveal a whole lot about how Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis have been funded and the moral support they’ve received. Democrats may be worried that they’ll show up in those files. (Same goes for information in Venezuela, which also helped support Hamas and Hezbollah.)

"There’s also a theory that indictments are finally coming for the loud-and-proud radicals who provided material support for Hamas via the “Free Palestine” movement. The stench will be bad, and the Democrats want some distance.

"In other words, the Democrats aren’t opposing Hamas for principled reasons. If they’d had principles, they would have opposed Hamas over two years ago. Instead, this is a CYA effort that only serves to highlight just how foul Democrats really are."  Much more..