The Temporary Pier and the Question of Why

"This example, in fact, proves what we have been saying about Hamas and the people of Gaza for decades: these people are impoverished because it serves their masters’ purpose to have them starve."

The Temporary Pier and the Question of Why - John F. Di Leo   . . ."But ever since Hamas’s horrific attacks on Israel on October 7 that started this long-needed police action, the global anti-Israel lobby has declared that they need another way to bring in humanitarian aid – one outside Egypt.  They need a seaport, they tell us, to bring in aid directly from the Mediterranean.

"Why?

"The answer is obvious.  The terrorists of Hamas and their fellow travelers have allies in Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Iran, and the United Nations.  Anyone else who might ship cargo to Gaza would – intentionally – have weaker security checkpoints than Egypt has.  

"There’s a reason, after all, why Israel hasn’t been allowing relief vessels to serve Gaza, and it dates back to long before October 7.  Israel has frequently caught weapons caches being smuggled into Gaza by sea in the past – always under the guise of humanitarian aid.

This isn’t Israel being mean or suspicious; this is Israel learning from experience, and acknowledging reality.

"If the West wants to get food, medicine, and beverages into Gaza, all they have to do is send it to Rafah, and Egypt will make sure it gets there.

"But Hamas doesn’t want Western food, medicine and beverages.  Hamas wants weapons." ...

A Pier for Gaza - Gerald McGlothlin   . . ."In conclusion, while the humanitarian crisis in Gaza undoubtedly requires attention and aid, the juxtaposition of the Biden administration's efforts in Gaza with its approach to domestic border security illuminates a contentious debate over policy priorities, on that any objective observer would conclude: that Biden loses."

Biden’s ‘Trojan Pier’ for Gaza | Frontpage Mag    "Six Americans are still being held hostage by Hamas, and Biden has sent no troops to help them, but at the State of the Union address, he promised to send troops to build a pier for Gaza.

"The estimated over 1,000 troops will spend as long as 2 months laboring to build a floating pier in a war zone under potential attack to help transfer aid to the Hamas supporters living in Gaza.

"Nothing about this plan makes sense.

"The media has taken to falsely claiming that the Arab Muslims occupying parts of Gaza are starving. Vice President Kamala Harris attacked Israel, claiming that she had “seen reports of families eating leaves or animal feed.” Social media videos however show the locals gorging themselves on shawarma and other foods in preparation for the Islamic period of Ramadan.

"But if the Biden administration really believed that Gazans were starving right now, what would be the purpose of spending two months building a pier to deliver aid? A program with a two month lead time will not help people who are starving right now. It would be a grim joke.

"And the pier plan only gets stranger from there." . . .

Biden bows to the anti-Israel left

 2015, Anyone? Biden Administration's Efforts Against Netanyahu Looked Doomed to Fail  

Of course, what Hamas really wants to do is be able to destroy Israel. They also broke the ceasefire that was in place before October 7 and the temporary pause that was in place late last November.  

. . ."As Cruz explained about the implications of the president's words, "he's bragging to a fellow Democrat about how he was threatening the Prime Minister of Israel" and that he said so "as a way to like beat the hell out of him." Cruz, who along with Ferguson is a Southern Baptist, pointed out that "if a Republican had said that the media would lose their minds."

" 'There is an offensive condescension, and understand what he means, the come to Jesus meeting," Cruz explained. "What he means is you stupid Israeli, stop killing Hamas terrorists. That's what he's saying. We're gonna force you, as a response to October 7, to allow the Hamas terrorist who murdered 1,200 Israelis, 1,200 Jews, who kidnapped Americans, who murdered Americans, we're gonna force you to allow them to create their own state where they can engage in acts of terror like this over and over and over again."

"Cruz highlighted how "it's the anti-Israel animus (Pictured above in part) in this administration and in, sadly, today's Democrat Party," which he said "keeps getting worse." Such remarks, he continued, show "this is how Biden talks behind closed doors. 'I'm gonna beat up these damned Israelis,' like that’s just terrific."

"Although Ferguson called it "shocking," he added, "it also goes hand in hand with him basically pandering to the extreme left, that is all about Hamas and supporting the terrorists and the Palestinian protesters that are supporting these terrorists who butchered children, who took hostage 80-year-old women, grandmothers and put babies in ovens to burn them for sport," as he spoke of some of the more heinous atrocities Hamas carried out. 

"Speaking of Hamas and their atrocities, Cruz pointed out what Biden didn't say. "He didn't say we will utterly and completely destroy Hamas. He didn't say, as Israel defends itself, we have your back. We are with you. You are right, we must destroy Hamas, we stand together. That's what a real American president would say. That's what an American president defending America defending our allies would say," the senator declared." . . .

Silence of the Feminist Lambs: Not a Word on Hamas Horrors

Those supporters of #MeToo said nothing.

. . ."Another long-time feminist (a friend, not merely an ally) is adamant that Israel is “committing genocide” and is an “apartheid, colonial, occupying state.” I told her that we cannot discuss Israel ever again. But now our conversations are thinned, brittle. There is no way we can discuss Oct. 7 without endangering our suddenly fragile friendship.

"Why are my views so different? Here’s one reason.

"Most Western pro-Palestinian feminists have never lived in a Muslim country or moved in Muslim circles, as I have — and still do. When I was young and oh-so-foolish, I traveled to Kabul with my Westernized Afghan husband, whom I had met at college. Once we landed, an airport official smoothly, officiously, removed my American passport; I never saw it again. I found myself trapped in the 10th century with no way back to the future." . . .

A feminist open letter justifies Hamas rape   . . ."There is just too much support for Israel for the framers and the signatories of this letter to bear. There were too many fact-based condemnations of Hamas’s sadistic barbarism on Oct. 7. The left-wing and lesbian feminists could stand it no longer. They finally had to speak out against what they call the “weaponization” of rape by those who dare to oppose Hamas. They do so, the signatories claim, in order to justify Israel’s “war against the people of Gaza.”. . .

The longer Palestinians keep the Israeli hostages the more one fears for their ever being normal once more. TD

Douglas Murray Reacts to Blinken Criticism of Israel "Undercutting" Palestinian State

Douglas Murray Reacts to Blinken Criticism of Israel "Undercutting" Palestinian State (youtube.com)  Comments to this video below.

 "Biden said Israel has to stop taking measures to undercut Palestinian self-governance. Douglas Murray responds."

"I am not tied to politics at all and I’m not a Jew but what Douglass is saying is pure logic. How can the world not see this[?]"

"If Anthony blinkin can get the Palestinian women to love their kids as they hate Israel, they will have peace. At first, you have to educate these women. Not to hatred."

360 degrees of hostility: The Biden administration and Israel

CarolineGlick.com

. . ."Three and a half months ago, when Biden came to Israel, most Israelis couldn’t imagine his warm embrace would transform into a torrent of hostile actions." . . .

"The Mothers of IDF Soldiers group led a demonstration last week of army mothers, reservists in the Israel Defense Forces, bereaved families and other concerned citizens outside the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. They demanded that President Joe Biden stop leveraging power to force Israel to resupply Hamas.

The following day, hundreds of Israelis, including parents of soldiers, families of hostages and terror victims gathered outside Ashdod Port. For hours, they blocked trucks laden with supplies for Gaza from exiting the port. Activists have been blocking trucks from entering Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana border crossings for more than two weeks.

Speaking to the crowd in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, Shifra Shahar, who runs a nonprofit organization that cares for the needs of soldiers, addressed her remarks to Israel’s leaders:

“Government of Israel, defense minister, IDF chief of staff, get ahold of yourselves!

“We had elections last year. I don’t recall voting for [U.S. Secretary of State Antony] Blinken! Blinken is sitting in the war cabinet and protecting the interests of my enemy. … We have sons in Gaza. We have sons fighting. The entry of the trucks endangers them, prolongs the war, increases the number of casualties and delays the return of the hostages!

“They tell me, ‘There are constraints.’ He who is constrained doesn’t win the war.

“They tell me, ‘The Americans are threatening not to provide us with ammunition.’

“To this, I say, if we were besieging them, we wouldn’t need ammunition! The war would end. They’d be screaming for help, returning the hostages and the war would end!”

"The rising expressions of rage at the Biden administration from ordinary citizens are a testament to the shock and anger Israelis feel at what they perceive as a betrayal of Israel’s most basic interests by Biden and his top advisers." . . .

VDH: Hamas and Hezbollah think the U.S. will not help Israel - CarolineGlick.com  "On this week’s episode of “The Caroline Glick Show,” my guest was noted American classicist, military historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson from the Hoover Institute at Stanford. Prof. Hanson and I talked about the state of American politics and culture, and how it will affect the Middle East and Israel. Will the progressive takeover of American educational, political and military institutions continue to erode U.S. support for Israel? Should Israel supporters just wait in the hopes that a pro-Israel president like Donald Trump will win the presidency? How should Israel react to American foreign policy?"

Disparate Impact Thinking Is Destroying Our Civilization

 Heather Mac Donald - Imprimis (hillsdale.edu)

In the post-George Floyd era, black juveniles are shot at 100 times the rate of white juveniles. Blacks between the ages of ten and 24 are killed in drive by shootings at nearly 25 times the rate of whites in that same age cohort. Dozens of blacks are murdered every day, more than all white and Hispanic homicide victims combined, even though blacks are just 13 percent of the population. The country turns its eyes away. Who is killing these black victims? Not the police, not whites, but other blacks.

"The most consequential falsehood in American public policy today is the idea that any racial disparity in any institution is by definition the result of racial discrimination.

"If a cancer research lab, for example, does not have 13 percent black oncologists—the black share of the national population—it is by definition a racist lab that discriminates against competitively qualified black oncologists; if an airline company doesn’t have 13 percent black pilots, it is by definition a racist airline company that discriminates against competitively qualified black pilots; and if a prison population contains more than 13 percent black prisoners, our law enforcement system is racist.

"The claim that racial disparities are proof of racial discrimination has been percolating in academia and the media for a long time. After the George Floyd race riots of 2020, however, it was adopted by America’s most elite institutions, from big law and big business to big finance. Even museums and orchestras took up the cry.

"Many thought that STEM—the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—would escape the diversity sledgehammer. They were wrong. The American Medical Association today insists that medicine is characterized by white supremacy. Nature magazine declares that science manifests one of “humankind’s worst excesses”: racism. The Smithsonian Institution announces that “emphasis on the scientific method” and an interest in “cause and effect relationships” are part of totalitarian whiteness." . . .

Is Laken Riley's Life Worth Less Than George Floyd's?

 Is Laken Riley's Life Worth Less Than George Floyd's? (townhall.com)

"Fast-forward to Feb. 22, 2024, when Georgia nursing student Laken Riley was bludgeoned to death allegedly at the hands of an illegal migrant, Jose Ibarra, a member of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to "score cheap political" points by demanding that migrants be vetted before being allowed in the U.S.

"Kelly Girtz, Democratic mayor of Athens, Georgia, where Riley was killed, insists the focus should be on the individual perpetrator, not migrants. That's ridiculous. Was the focus only on Derek Chauvin, the cop with his knee on Floyd's neck?

"Riley's murder should ignite demand for rigorous vetting of migrants entering the U.S.

"Riley is dead because the Biden administration lets anyone in and lies about it.

"Ibarra was first arrested for illegally crossing into the U.S. in September 2022. But Customs and Border Protection kept him less than 24 hours before releasing him to go anywhere in the U.S. he chose. Zero vetting.

"Internal Department of Homeland Security documents show Ibarra is a gang member. But former Border Patrol officers explain that the Biden administration wants "migrants out of our hands and out of our custody as fast as humanly possible." No time to check records.

"DHS claims that migrants admitted into the U.S. undergo "robust security vetting."

"That lie was exposed on Friday when a federal judge ruled on a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's airplane parole program, which allows 30,000 migrants per month from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela to fly into the U.S." . . .

"We did NOT exonerate him." How can this nation tolerate such a corrupt Congress as the Democrat Party?

Schiff Attacked Special Counsel Hur for Reporting Biden’s Failing Memory. Here’s What Happened Next.

Hur Shatters WH Spin on Biden Memory Problems by Pointing to Exactly Who Made It an Issue - With Receipts

Such willful corruption:   pic.twitter.com/mLHW3rgdSe

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 12, 2024

The press were, of course, not the only ones spinning like tops to try and contain the damage they surely knew was yet to come.  The Biden White House, too, and Biden's Democrat apologists have been in overdrive since the initial release of the report in trying to craft a bogus narrative that the Hur report in totality "exonerated" Biden and did not suggest that his memory was a problem. Even more troublingly, Hur confirmed that the Biden White House did indeed pressure him to try and sanitize his report ahead of its release.

 Turley: Democrats 'Bordered on Delusional' While Questioning Special Counsel Hur – RedState   . . ."During an appearance on Fox News's “America Reports,” Turley gave a perfect example.

Well, I thought the Republicans did a particularly good job today. Often the Democrats are way ahead in framing of hearings, but at points the Democrats seemed almost a border on the delusional. 

When you had Hur say ‘I did not exonerate the president’ and then Democrats would say ‘OK, so you exonerated the president’ and he would say ‘No, I didn’t’ and they would say ‘Thank you for that, with that exoneration.’ 

So for a lot of people watching, they probably kept on having to sort of reverse and see if they missed something here.

"The thing to remember when Democrat politicians play this kind of nonsensical game is that they're playing solely to their base — low-information voters who don't give a damn about the facts. 

"And I'd bet a dollar that every Democrat on the Judicial Committee, from serial-lying Adam Schiff (CA) to "genius" Sheila Jackson Lee (TX) knew long before the hearing began that Robert Hur is way too smart to succumb to their transparent attempts to portray his report as anything but what it was." . . .

WATCH: Hur Blows Up Dem Narrative About Exonerating Biden As Jayapal Frantically Tries to Shut Him Up – RedState

 pic.twitter.com/mLHW3rgdSe — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 12, 2024 The press were, of course, not the only ones spinning like tops to try and contain the damage they surely knew was yet to come. The Biden White House, too, and Biden's Democrat apologists have been in overdrive since the initial release of the report in trying to craft a bogus narrative that the Hur report in totality "exonerated" Biden and did not suggest that his memory was a problem. Even more troublingly, Hur confirmed that the Biden White House did indeed pressure him to try and sanitize his report ahead of its release.

. . ."Jayapal went after Hur, basically saying things that he hadn't said. I don't know whether she hadn't read the report and didn't understand the facts and/or she was just trying to be misleading. Jayapal claimed that the report resulted in a "complete exoneration" of Joe Biden. That wasn't what the report said at all, so probably not a good move to tell the guy behind the report what it supposedly says when it isn't true. But as she tried to get that in for the cameras, Hur's response was just great, "We did NOT exonerate him.' " . . .

Who Would Have Believed Hollywood Celebrities Would Be So Stupid?:

 What Were Those Red Pins Worn by Leftists at the Oscars? Virtue-Signaling Nonsense, of Course – RedState

Red Ceasefire Pin Worn on Oscars 2024 Red Carpet: Explanation (hollywoodreporter.com)

Stars have been wearing the red enamel lapel pin since the Feb. 4 Grammy awards, where Annie Lennox and Phoebe Bridgers were among those who seen wearing the symbol of activism. Joe Alwyn and Dua Lipa wore the pin to preparties in advance of the Feb. 18 BAFTA Awards, while The Bear‘s Ebon Moss-Bachrach sported the pin at the Feb. 24 SAG Awards.

“Ceasefire” Pin Symbol is The Bloody Hand of a Lynched Jew Torn Limb From Limb (ibloga.blogspot.com)

The "ceasefire" pins worn by celebs at the Oscars are a symbol of Palestinian terrorism straight out of a terror event in which Palestinians got hold of Jews, killed them, ripped out organs, and proudly showed off the Jewish blood on their hands to the cheering crowd. https://t.co/1GkVGXivX6

— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) March 11, 2024

What have the Democrats become? How can you not be frightened?

 The Morning Briefing: NY Fire Dept. Brass Are Bringing Back Soviet 'Knock at the Door' Vibe – PJ Media

Democrats have been very outspoken when advocating for the public harassment of politicians with whom they disagree. They're going to have to get used to the fact that everybody can play by their rules. Letitia James is a very polarizing figure and ran headlong into an uncomfortable truth for the Democrats: there are vocal pockets of Trump support even in the bluest of places. Oh, and they're getting bigger, thanks to insanity like this.

"The worst of leftism is taking over the upper echelons of a variety of institutions in the United States. It's both weird and disheartening to see highly educated military and corporate brass kowtowing to an ideological demographic that would prefer they not exist. 

"Maybe it's constant overexposure to Democrats that does it to some people. That would explain a story out of New York involving rabid Trump-hating Attorney General Letitia James and some members of the New York City Fire Department. Here's the setup to it from a post that Milt Harris wrote yesterday:

New York is proving once again that it is the East Coast location where common sense goes to die. Last week Attorney General Letitia James gave a speech at a New York Fire Department promotion ceremony. James had been invited to speak at the event, which was held to honor The Rev. Pamela Holmes, the department's second female chaplain and the first black woman to hold that title. 

Before she even took the stage, some of the firefighters started voicing their displeasure with the decision she made involving the Donald Trump case. 

As they chanted, "Trump, Trump, Trump," James [arrogantly] asked for quiet. 

"Well, the firefighters weren't in the mood to quiet down and continued to express their displeasure with the chief witch of New York State's witch hunt of Trump."

We expect a future of being videotaped during public meetings. TD 

This Is Not the Soviet Union, Mr. Biden; (Star Parker)  "Our own country -- despite the words in our founding documents about freedom and God -- has been on a path adopting the same premises about human reality that lead to the collapse of the communist world.

"This was evident in President Joe Biden's message to the nation in his State of the Union address.

"Biden, in so many words, delivered a message that the path for a better, wealthier, fairer America is more government.

"Despite the reality that the country is being crushed with staggering debt, the result of runaway government, Biden and his party celebrate this and want even more." . . .

The latest edition of CURE's "The State of Black Progress" shows the uniform failure of expansion of government into health care, education, housing and retirement, all in the name of "fairness" and no one being "left behind." 

"Just as Stephanopoulos has a reprehensible record, so does ABC."

 The Amorality of ABC's George Stephanopoulos - D.C. Larson

 . . ."Stephanopoulos's apparent smug confidence that his televised attack on rape victim Mace would go unpunished would be validated, were serious professional sanctions not forthcoming. Given ABC's sordid history, though, blow-dried lout Stephanopoulos will get away with his vile performance. Kimberly Godwin might even give him a bonus." . . . 

"Last Sunday, Stephanopoulos savaged Rep. Mace of South Carolina. Though her appearance had been proposed as an opportunity to share insights on 2024's presidential contest, the devious GMA host opened the segment by attacking the victim of a teenage rape.

"You endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges in two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming a victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?"

"With that, Stephanopoulos launched his ambush offensive. The miniature monster included numerous lies in that single paragraph. There were no juries in the Trump/E. Jean Carroll case. The former president was not found liable for rape, but rather "sexual abuse" -- that's a pivotal legal distinction.

"During her retort, Mace insisted "I'm not going to sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another potential rape victim."

"The GMA host purred that he had done no such thing, though all watching had just witnessed him doing precisely that.

"The interview continued in that sorry vein, with Stephanopoulos attired in the gear of a partisan bully. He reiterated his Trump-found-guilty-of-rape lie numerous times, openly pursuing political interests and not journalistic ones.

" 'George Stephanopoulos tried to bully me and shame me as a rape survivor over my support for Donald Trump, which is insane to me, because he wasn't found guilty of rape anywhere," Mace subsequently told Fox's Harris Faulkner, per The Hill." . . . 

Do you smell something burning?

 Do you smell something burning? - American Thinker

Italy had Emperor Nero, who, as the legend goes, fiddled while Rome burned. We have President Zero, who fiddles on vacations and long naps while the country crashes and burns.

. . ."A demented old man who belongs in a rest home or in prison with the rest of his family is currently overseeing the implementation of destructive policies that likely came from the former president living just down the street from the White House. Let me list a few of the smoldering embers: Food shortages, forced vaccinations, leftist teachers, open borders, oligarchs allowed to run rampant, creating artificial clouds to block the sun, artificial meat, providing funding for anti-American groups and organizations, plans to spray vaccines into the air or put in the water supplies, funding subversive judges and district attorneys throughout the land, a two-tiered justice system, propaganda through the nightly news, and sexual child abuse made acceptable or quasi-legal in some states.

"Yes, that burning odor you smell is our constitution being destroyed as the country is slowly becoming a socialist third-world in status. Yes, the burning smell is our churches being demolished, our religious beliefs being destroyed, and our family structure being disassembled with the goal that our children will be faithful only to the state." . . .

For millions, ‘Bidenomics’ is a painful joke. Joe Biden loves it -

"Short version: People are not happy. And when they hear the president heaping praise on “Bidenomics” — well, they don’t react well."

 Washington Examiner  "If you look up the word “Bidenomics” on the White House website, you’ll find example after example of President Joe Biden praising the group of economic policies named after him. But now, there are reports the president’s embrace of the term Bidenomics might be backfiring.

"The word actually came from the media, and it wasn’t a compliment. On June 8, the Wall Street Journal published an analysis of what Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan called “a modern American industrial strategy,” defined as an economy, under Biden, in which “a more assertive federal government guides investment, industry, and trade.” Some of Biden’s critics, and opponents of that strategy, adopted the term to use against him.

"Biden didn’t like it. On June 28, a reporter noted that Biden had earlier said he didn’t know “what the hell Bidenomics is.” But the questioner then suggested that the White House was “branding” the president’s policies under the word Bidenomics. “Look, you guys branded it, I didn’t,” Biden snapped. “I never called it ‘Bidenomics.’ … Let’s get it straight. The first time it was used was in the Wall Street Journal, OK? I don’t go around beating my chest, ‘Bidenomics.’ So the press started calling it ‘Bidenomics.'”

"A short time later, though, Biden changed his mind. Bidenomics became a good word. On July 6, Biden traveled to Columbia, South Carolina, and delivered an entire speech devoted to his new favorite phrase. “Bidenomics is just another way of saying ‘restoring the American dream,'” Biden said. Among other things, Biden continued, “the pay for low-wage workers has grown at the fastest pace in two decades — and folks, it’s no accident. It’s Bidenomics in action.”

"From then on, the president started using Bidenomics frequently to claim credit for what he said were great economic improvements resulting from his policies. There was only one problem. Majorities of voters are very unhappy about the economy now. They are suffering from high prices and diminished purchasing power, and they don’t want to hear the president telling them how great things are as a result of Bidenomics." . . .