Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Americans differ on Ukraine and Gaza

 Victor Davis Hanson (jewishworldreview.com)

. . ."Yet more pro-Ukrainian Democrats are turning away from Israel as it dismantles Gaza in the messy, bloody slog against Hamas. The left claims either Israel cannot or should not defeat Hamas, or at least at the present cost. So the left pushes Israel to a cease-fire with Hamas." . . .


. . ."What are we to conclude about these contradictory wars and American attitudes toward them?

"The more democratic and defensive the power, the more Americans support it—but only up to a point.

"Even more, they demand quick victory—and lose interest when the wars stagnate, costs increase and protests grow.

"When Ukraine and Israel began costly counteroffensives, the former losing thousands and the latter killing thousands, the American public began to be less invested in either war.

"Final lessons?

"Israel should do all it can to destroy Hamas as quickly as possible and end the war.

"Ukraine does not have the wherewithal to defeat Russia. It should cease costly offensives against Russia's fortified lines and seek to negotiate.

"Or, put another way, fickle Americans sympathize with those who are attacked. But their continuing support seems contingent on whether the victim can remain sympathetic—and win decisively to end the war rapidly."

The Biden administration’s war against the government of Israel

 Caroline B. Glick - JNS.org

"The purpose of the U.S. campaign for humanitarian aid, he explained, was twofold: undermining the control of the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza and blackmailing government ministers." CBG

Tents set up by Israeli protesters outside of the Knesset in Jerusalem, demanding
 action by the government to bring home the hostages still being held
captive by Hamas in Gaza

"The war rages in the Gaza Strip, northern Israel, Lebanon, Eilat and on the streets of Israel’s cities as Iran’s Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni proxies maintain and escalate their operations against the Jewish state. Unmoved by this state of affairs, Israel’s far left is reinstating the anti-government riots that occurred regularly through the first three-quarters of 2023.

"The newest round of leftist political violence began officially on Saturday night in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in the first of what has been billed as four days of protests. As was the case in the anti-government protests before Hamas’s invasion of and one-day holocaust in southern Israel on Oct. 7, in the current round, demonstrations are followed by riots in which a few dozen participate.

"As before, riots feature bonfires along major traffic arteries, assaults on police and ultra-Orthodox Jews, threats to murder Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and storming police barricades protecting the premier’s home.

"They also involve massive exaggerations of the number of protesters. On Sunday night in Jerusalem, for instance, organizers proclaimed the participation of 100,000 protesters. But aerial photographs of the event indicate that at most, a tenth of that number showed up.

"Before Oct. 7, rioters demanded the overthrow of the government due to its “anti-democratic” policies or its “corruption.” The new rallying cry is to free the hostages.  

"On Saturday night, relatives of 10 of the 134 hostages declared, “To return our loved ones, we have decided to work in the service of Hamas. We are demanding that the Israeli government accept the organization’s demands immediately. If not—we will burn the country down.” . . .

In the service of these people who have done this?   Tunnel Wall: Oct. 7 Massacre: Six Months Later; Viewer advisory, but should be shown wherever leftists gather

"Growing up, we all talked about the Nazis as if it were inconceivable that anyone could ever have condoned or ignored the Holocaust. Yet Westerners are doing just that now -- ignoring the very real attempted genocide against Israelis while preposterously accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, based on Hamas talking points and Hamas-issued casualty numbers." 

Can these Israelis not share the anger of those who hate what has been done by these murdering animals?  Can these people not be more intelligent than Greta Thunberg and her adopted anti-Jewish cohorts? TD

Bill Clinton announces new memoir and the ridicule rains down in buckets

 

BPR (bizpacreview.com)   "Former President Bill Clinton announced that he’s penned an upcoming memoir on his life since leaving the White House, including coming clean on “mistakes” he’s made.

"The nation’s 42nd president’s new book “Citizen: My Life After the White House” is set to be released in November after the election and should be a real page-turner although some social media users aren’t sold that it will be a truly in-depth account from the man who once wagged his finger in Americans’ faces and insisted “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”

“ 'My last 23 years have been fascinating, filled with family life and foundation work, with heroes and heartbreak. In CITIZEN I tell stories of my life and work after the White House and the people who inspire me to keep going every day. Writing it has been a labor of love and I can’t wait to share it with everyone in November,” wrote Slick Willie on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Etta Hulme 2004

I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust.

I regularly listened to NPR on my way to work during the 70-80s,  but soon noticed every day featured reports on the "Palestinians" struggle against Israel, poverty, and prejudice and I gave up on hoping for journalism about the hatred toward Israelis. It became like listening to MSNBC for "journalism" of any sort. TD

"The [Adam] Schiff talking points became the drumbeat of NPR news reports. But when the Mueller report found no credible evidence of collusion, NPR’s coverage was notably sparse. Russiagate quietly faded from our programming. 


 Uri Berliner; The Free Press (thefp.com)  "You know the stereotype of the NPR listener: an EV-driving, Wordle-playing, tote bag–carrying coastal elite. It doesn’t precisely describe me, but it’s not far off. I’m Sarah Lawrence–educated, was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother, I drive a Subaru, and Spotify says my listening habits are most similar to people in Berkeley. 

"I fit the NPR mold. I’ll cop to that.

"So when I got a job here 25 years ago, I never looked back. As a senior editor on the business desk where news is always breaking, we’ve covered upheavals in the workplace, supermarket prices, social media, and AI. 

"It’s true NPR has always had a liberal bent, but during most of my tenure here, an open-minded, curious culture prevailed. We were nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding. 

In recent years, however, that has changed. Today, those who listen to NPR or read its coverage online find something different: the distilled worldview of a very small segment of the U.S. population. 

"If you are conservative, you will read this and say, duh, it’s always been this way.

"But it hasn’t.

"For decades, since its founding in 1970, a wide swath of America tuned in to NPR for reliable journalism and gorgeous audio pieces with birds singing in the Amazon. Millions came to us for conversations that exposed us to voices around the country and the world radically different from our own—engaging precisely because they were unguarded and unpredictable. "No image generated more pride within NPR than the farmer listening to Morning Edition from his or her tractor at sunrise. 

"Back in 2011, although NPR’s audience tilted a bit to the left, it still bore a resemblance to America at large. Twenty-six percent of listeners described themselves as conservative, 23 percent as middle of the road, and 37 percent as liberal." . . .

How We Got to 'Death to America' in Dearborn (Hint: There's an Obama Connection)

 Stephen Green – PJ Media

You can also draw a straight line from Obama and Wright to the Muslims of Dearborn, Mich., chanting, "Death to America."  They've been emboldened by the anti-American hate and division that have been sold to this country for more than two decades as love and unity.  

Bing


" 'G*d d*mn America!" was the first and only serious crisis of Barack Obama's ascension to the Democrats' presidential nomination in 2008. Obama's longtime pastor, Jeremiah Wright of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, said those words repeatedly in an infamous videotaped sermon. In an earlier age, a presidential contender sitting still and keeping his mouth shut during years of sermons like Wright's would have torpedoed Obama's presidential ambitions.

"Anyone from the early GenX cohort and older thought there was a non-zero chance Obama might be toast. Anyone younger — largely denied the Civics classes prior generations were raised on and spoonfed "America is bad, mmkay?" lessons — knew better.

"Obama performed his usual handwavium in a speech titled "A More Perfect Union" about how Wright's words were "not only wrong but divisive... at a time when we need unity." I guess we didn't need unity when Obama was sitting there as Wright was speaking his divisive words. Still, we did need unity as soon as Obama found it politically necessary to denounce his longtime pastor. 

"I would say, "That was a real profile in courage there, Barry," but that would just be me being snide. If I were to be more serious, I'd remind you that Obama was steeped in Marx and Engels' grievance theory.

"I've written about this on more than one occasion, so let me give you the condensed version.

"To understand 21st-century Democrats, we have to cut to the philosophical roots of modern leftism, and we’ll find that in the 19th-century works of Engels and Marx." . . .

Netanyahu Says Date Is Set for Rafah Operation in Spite of Biden's Threats

 Spencer Brown (townhall.com)

"In the U.S., President Biden's previous pledges of support for Israel were undone in a staggering show of hypocrisy by his administration in a transparently political move aimed at shoring up the support of terrorist-sympathizing Democrats in states such as Michigan and Minnesota." SB

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that his government had set a date to begin operations in Rafah even after U.S. President Joe Biden reneged on his previous commitment of solidarity with the Jewish state in the wake of Hamas terrorists' October 7 massacre. 

"In a video message, Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to continuing Israel's fight to eliminate Hamas and said "there is a date" for an IDF operation to neutralize terrorists in Rafah. 
. . . "Israel's objectives remain the same, explained Netanyahu, “primarily releasing all our hostages and achieving total victory over Hamas," he confirmed. That victory "requires entering Rafah and eliminating the terrorist battalions there."

"Netanyahu's announcement comes after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said withdrawing IDF troops from southern Gaza — including Khan Younis — was the result of successful operations and to prepare soldiers "for their future missions" including "in the Rafah area."

"More on the IDF's latest movements via the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD):

Overnight between Saturday and Sunday, the IDF withdrew all its ground forces from the south of Gaza, leaving only the Nahal Brigade in Gaza to guard the Netzarim Corridor. In the IDF’s Khan Younis offensive, it dismantled the Hamas brigade in the area, killed thousands of terrorists, and destroyed some 30 kilometers of tunnels.  . . .

Biden Does a Reversal on Defeating Hamas (Katie Pavlich)   "In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, President Joe Biden properly backed Israel's mission to completely destroy Iranian-backed Hamas inside the Gaza Strip. 

“ 'I think Israel has to respond. They have to go after Hamas,” Biden told 60 Minutes said. “Hamas is a bunch of cowards. They’re hiding behind the civilians.”

"Now, just six months later and as Hamas continues to hold 135 hostages -- including five Americans -- it's becoming clear Biden was lying." . . .  

The Claims of a Gaza Genocide Get Totally Dismantled on Joe Rogan's Podcast (Matt Vespa) 

"It's very distinct from 'genocide' because genocide is when you're trying to maximize civilian casualties," he went on. "I think Israel, however, imperfectly is doing the opposite. They're trying to minimize civilian casualties." 

Someone Should Tell the 'Ceasefire Now' Idiots That Hamas Just Rejected Another Proposal (townhall.com)   . . ."Meanwhile, in the U.S., the useful idiots sympathetic to Hamas' end goal of wiping out Israel continue chanting "CEASEFIRE NOW" to allow the terrorists to reconstitute and someday launch another devastating attack — even as Hamas rejects each new ceasefire offer put before them." . . .

 Why Does Hamas Keep Rejecting Deals With Israel? We Might Have Just Learned the Answer. (townhall.com)

Hamas Negotiators have reportedly told International Meditators in Cairo that it has No Ability to Release the 40 Hostages in the Humanitarian Category (Women, Children, and Elderly) that were included in yesterday’s Ceasefire Proposal because out of the 136 Hostages that remain in the Gaza Strip, a Significant number are now believed to be Dead.

The raped women must die or they will tell their stories. Rashida Tlaib and her fellow Democrats cannot let that happen. TD

HUGE: Letitia James to Start Seizing Trump’s Properties

 Matt Margolis – PJ Media


"According to former federal prosecutor Eric Lisann, Knight Specialty Insurance won't be allowed to post a $175 million bond for Donald Trump as he appeals a fraud judgment. This statement came in response to lawyer Dave Kingman's assertion that the insurance company wouldn't be able to secure the bond for Trump.

Newsweek explains:

Kingman wrote that, as a result, New York Attorney General Letitia James will be able to begin enforcement proceedings on Donald Trump's properties.

A New York court has rejected Knight Specialty's paperwork and said it wanted to see more information on its financial backing. The company filed new paperwork on April 4.

Newsweek sought email comment from Knight Specialty Insurance and Trump's attorney on Monday.

Trump must post the $175 million bond to prevent James from beginning enforcement proceedings after a judge fined the former president $454 million in February for fraudulently inflating the value of his assets.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, one-time federal prosecutor Lisann wrote that Knight Speciality might not be able to post the bond for Trump and will be liable for the full amount because it had given a guarantee to the court.

"Looks like there is a real possibility that this Don Hankey-owned Knight Specialty Insurance does not itself have liquidity, and did not get from Trump collateral, sufficient to provide legally cognizable assurance that it can pay $175 million on demand in the event of a judgment-affirming appeal," he said.  . . .

As We Barrel Headlong Into Trump's First Criminal Trial, Biased Judge Merchan Releases Jury Questions

 Bob Hoge – RedState

 But those were civil matters—this is the first criminal trial they’ve managed to bring to the courthouse. Merchan has proven to be heavily biased against the former president, and it will be interesting to see whether he can conduct a fair proceeding or if this will just be more banana republic justice. 

"The first criminal trial against former president Donald Trump is slated to begin April 15, and late Monday afternoon, Judge Juan Merchan released the questionnaire he plans to use to oversee jury selection for the trial.

"Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about whether a former president may be criminally charged in a state court?" asks one question. "Do you have any feelings about how Mr. Trump is being treated in this case?"

"I almost want to say no; I’ve been living in a cave for the last decade, I have no feelings of any kind about the oncoming proceedings. 

"Trump and his lawyers had tried to delay the trial but have been repeatedly rejected by various judges: 

"Judge Merchan wants to know if potential jurors have any feelings whatsoever about the former president and current GOP presumptive nominee in the presidential race.

Prosecutive jurors will be asked if they have ever attended one of Trump’s rallies, if they belong to groups like the Proud Boys or Antifa, or if they volunteered with a political entity associated with the former president.

"Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about whether a former president may be criminally charged in a state court?" one question asks. "Do you have any feelings about how Mr. Trump is being treated in this case?"

Other questions ask if prosecutive jurors have read any of Trump’s books, can set aside their past knowledge of the case, or have opinions on the legal limits related to political contributions.  . . .

 Trump co-defendant accuses Fani Willis of racism, threatens civil rights lawsuit (bizpacreview.com)   . . ."“While my skin is also black, DA Willis identifies me as white and views me as a defender of white supremacists due to my political beliefs,” Floyd said in the video. “Deep down, she wants to make me pay for what she feels is a betrayal to black culture. Her words and actions consistently demonstrate a hate for white people and need to make this case about race.” . . .

The Ministry of BS

 "Ooh, but don’t tell the geniuses at The New York Times or The Washington Post.  To them, Biden Land is a magical place where middle class parents get to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet!  How dreamy…in a dystopian BS kind of tragedy!" JBS


The Ministry of BS Will See You Now - J.B. Shurk    "I wonder if there is ever a moment while DHS Secretary Mayorkas is claiming that America’s borders are entirely secure and blaming “climate change” for the influx of tens of millions of illegal aliens into the United States when he thinks, “Wow, I am really full of BS.  I mean, it is simply amazing how much BS I shovel down the American people’s throats every single day.”

"The notion that powerful people lie to the public is certainly not new.  You can go back through the centuries and find essays, songs, drawings, and folktales that all attest to the timeless truth that every generation sees its “rulers” as an unworthy camarilla of cutthroats, liars, backstabbers, and thieves.  Still, the lies being told today are just so brazen.  Damaging tornado?  That’s what we get for driving cars.  Too many white mathematicians?  Obviously another bout of “systemic racism” rearing its ugly head.  Trump’s beating Biden in the polls?  Duh — that’s because America runs on “hate”!" . . .  

A Nation Without Honor - Steve McCann  . . ."Barack Obama maliciously exploited his skin color as he deviously divided Americans into groups which he coldly pitted against each other. Joe Biden betrayed the nation by selling foreign governments and agents access to his office while Vice-President and as President has calculatingly and repeatedly disregarded court orders, violated the Constitution, and shredded his oath to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

"The 2020 campaign of Joe Biden and the Democrats encapsulated the disreputable traits of both men as the strategy employed was to not only hoodwink the American voter but to illegally and with forethought manipulate the voting process." . . .

Joe Biden: Nowhere Man – HotAir  . . ."This particular story, the 17,000 miles and the Tibetan Plateau with Xi story is so egregious, Kessler had to revisit the lie and recalibrate his ranking. After the first fact-check, Biden continued to use the debunked tale as part of his own personal greatest hits compilation, deploying it in speeches and events almost two dozen times by the end of 2022. Kessler had seen more than enough, and upped the score to Endless Pinocchio's

"Did the Pinocchio upgrade slow down Joe Biden? No. Age and infirmity have slowed down Biden, but the stream of lies have continued unabated. Most recently, Joe Bidenopoulos, his annual statement that he's for all intents and purposes Greek, brought out the Tibetan Plateau lie again." . . .


Joe Biden Suffers a Total Eclipse of His Shame As He Bumbles and Fibs in Wisconsin

 Bonchie – RedState  "As the nation was captivated by a total eclipse of the sun on Monday, Joe Biden suffered a total eclipse of his shame in Wisconsin. After spending an unfathomable amount of taxpayer money to fly to the battleground state on Air Force One, the president proceeded to bumble and lie his way through a mercifully short speech. 

"In it, he bragged about defying the Supreme Court on student loan forgiveness and introduced a new falsehood about his childhood, the latter being so easily debunkable that I can only assume he's not even trying anymore. Let's kick things off with the following admission, though.

"That was probably the most honest thing he said at the event. Recently, Jill Biden demanded behind the scenes that her husband "stop it, stop it now" regarding Israel's war on Hamas. A day later, the president was on the phone with Benjamin Netanyahu telling him he must agree to a ceasefire. Biden getting "instructions from his wife" is probably the least surprising development of his presidency. 

"Come hell or high water, Biden is going to make sure you have to pay off someone's gender studies degree. He couldn't care less that only a small minority of Americans have student loans or that there's no constitutional mechanism to reappropriate funds to selectively forgive individual debt. 

"As my colleague Becky Noble opined in her broader piece on the topic, this is all about buying votes." . . . 

'They're tired of his lies': Internet divided as Donna Brazile laments ‘nobody listens' when Joe Biden speaks (msn.com)   

One person also wrote, "Is this the first time Donna Brazile has told the truth?" while another added, "They're tired of his lies...,"  A user added, "Well to be fair, nobody listens to her either."

Washington Post Fact-Checker Gives Up on Recording Biden’s Lies

Joe Biden Has One Big Problem: He Is a Total Liar (msn.com)   . . ."Throughout his political career, Joe Biden has told so many lies and made so many questionable claims that it is simply impossible to accept his direct answer to a reporter's question.

"In an op-ed, The Los Angeles Daily News even suggested "Joseph Biden has been a notorious fabulist, which is to say, a well-documented liar even by the standard of fellow politicians." . . .


Monday, April 8, 2024

Joe Biden: A synonym for shame; surrenders to Taliban, wants Israel to surrender to murderous Hamas

 Curt Smith: Joe Biden is a synonym for shame (mpnnow.com)

To writer Michael Goodwin, his “cowardice” exceeds even British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s, who appeased Hitler by signing a 1938 Munich agreement that sired World War II and of whom Winston Churchill said, “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.”

Americans embarrassed by Biden's blunders

 
. . ."Biden says that he bears “zero responsibility” for the recent Taliban takeover, blaming other presidents for not leaving sooner; Afghans for not fighting; civilians for asking us to stay. He pathetically distorts Trump’s conditional deal as “boxing me in,” despite no troops having died there in the last 18 months. Biden is so self-absorbed that he removed them all, imposing a 9/11 deadline so that he could garishly celebrate what Bush, Obama, and Trump couldn’t — the end of 20 years of U.S. involvement. Some celebration: 9/11 now means humiliation — ours.

"A wise withdrawal would have retained air cover and minimum ground support — by contrast, 28,500 troops patrol South Korea — before extracting civilians, diplomats, and troops in that order. Instead, Biden’s deadline chaotically removed military and air support first and civilians last. Former Obama Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote in 2014 that Biden “has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” The Taliban marks Joe’s fifth.

"Biden claims no ally has criticized his withdrawal. Please. Germany’s likely next chancellor, Armin Laschet, rips a “debacle.” Britain’s Daily Telegraph bays, “Parliament holds [Biden] in contempt.” The Labor Party head scolds Joe’s “catastrophic error of judgment.” As the Taliban seized the capital of Kabul, thousands of refugees were left at its sole (Karzai) airport, Biden having deserted the larger and more secure Bagram Air Force Base. For two days, he ignored foreign leaders, finally returning Boris Johnson’s call. Criticism? There is nothing but.

“ '[He] will never be trusted the same way again,” rued the Journal after Biden quoted Harry Truman’s “The buck stops here.” Joe’s buck stopped only after he changed his version of the Taliban conquest more times than a wayward teen who crashed the family car. First he said he had overruled advisers to remove all troops, then that a few disagreed, then that all supported him, claiming that none mentioned a potential bloodbath, as if their ignorance was an excuse." . . .

Israel Is Risking Losing This War by Caring What People Who Hate It Think  "Israel is risking losing this war because it is focusing more on avoiding criticism from its enemies than winning. I blame Benjamin Netanyahu in large part, but also our incompetent and loathsome alleged president. Now, I’m not one of those reflexive Bibi haters, and while I certainly don’t think the United States should have a say in who Israel chooses to lead it, I do believe in accountability. The disaster of October 7 happened on his watch, and he should’ve resigned the day after, but that’s not up to me or up to any American. What is up to me as an American is who our president will be next year, and it can’t be Biden again. But the desiccated old zombie aside, Bibi needs to go. He screwed up on October 7, and now he appears to be screwing up this war.

"The problem is not that Netanyahu has been too harsh, as our idiot president claims. It’s that Netanyahu has been too gentle (Yes, I understand a war cabinet is leading Israel, but he is still the face of it.). And too slow. Joe Biden has betrayed every ally America has had, from South Vietnam to Afghanistan and Bibi somehow imagined that creep would not sell-out Israel? Speed was of the essence. Why was Rafah not glass months ago? Netanyahu waited, and that gave Biden the time to sell out Israel.

"Restraining was a mistake. The fact is that Israel has, to a far too great extent, tried to fight this war on terms that would satisfy its leftist enemies in the United States . . ."

Kamala Harris reminds us a vote for Biden is a vote to hand her the White House keys

 Post Editorial Board (nypost.com)


"Choosing what it must think is the lesser of two evils, the Biden campaign has Vice President Kamala Harris hitting the campaign trail, rather than continuing to conspicuously keep her under wraps.

"Problem is, upping Harris’ visibility can only remind voters that she’s likely to rise to the top when President Biden is no longer even able to fake being up to the job — and, worse, remind them of her utter awfulness.

"For the record, her net favorability shows as -17.2 in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average (37.2% favorable, 54.4% unfavorable), vs. Biden’s -14.5 (+40.7%, -55.2).

"In the 538 site’s (slightly less up-to-date) averages, she’s -15.2, he’s -15.9.

"And while Biden’s low rating is plainly mainly due to the grim results of his policies, Harris’ unpopularity is all about her personally.

"Her inability to say anything unscripted without falling into hopeless word salads; her weird cackling and blatant lack of principles." . . .