As a Former Working Mom, Here’s Why Harrison Butker’s Speech Doesn’t Offend Me

  Intellectual Takeout  

"In fact, I can’t help but wonder if people held motherhood in as high regard as Harrison Butker does whether society might be a better, more inclusive place for women and for mothers."

"There’s been quite a bit of controversy lately concerning Harrison Butker’s recent commencement speech, particularly his comments endorsing motherhood and homemaking. As you could probably guess, those on the left side of the political spectrum (especially feminists) have harshly criticized his remarks, and conservatives, by and large, have rushed to his defense.

"As a mother myself, while I don’t agree with everything Butker espoused (for one, I’m not Catholic like Butker), I found his sentiments concerning motherhood praiseworthy and brave, albeit perhaps hindered by some clumsy word choice.

"Here’s what Butker said about motherhood (you can read the full transcript of his speech here and my colleague’s take on the speech from a masculine perspective here):

"How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world

"I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. I’m on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker." . . .

Echoes of the Holocaust

 David Rubin - American Thinker    America's shame

"The western world needs to stand up in united opposition against the absurd notion by the International Criminal Court of issuing a warrant to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."  

"In a startling development that has sent shockwaves through international relations, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, announced that Germany would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant were issued.

"Hebestreit’s exact words were, “Of course. Yes, we abide by the law,” as reported by the Jerusalem Post. This unprecedented move is seen by many as an affront to Israel’s sovereignty and a stark reminder of the painful history that haunts the Jewish people.

"Germany’s willingness to arrest Netanyahu stems from its membership in the ICC, having signed the Rome Statute on December 10, 1998, and ratified it on December 11, 2000. This statement by Germany has significant implications for international relations and Israel’s ongoing struggle for security and recognition.

"The Associated Press reported that the ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20 that he is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu.

"The International Criminal Court was created in response to the Holocaust, Nazi Germany’s extermination of six million Jews. Germany has been a big donor to the ICC. The thought that the current German government would actually arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu if he visited Germany seems unthinkable and its prospect has created a firestorm in social media in Germany.

"The land of Israel, including the areas currently disputed, was given to the Jewish people by God and was internationally recognized through the United Nations. Israel’s borders were expanded through defensive wars against invasions, making such international interference unacceptable. Historically, there has never been a sovereign Palestinian state. The concept of Palestinian rights to the land is a recent political construct, and comparisons to giving New Mexico back to Mexico or Minnesota to Canada are absurd and ignore the legal and historical context." . . .

Do this and a feckless, cowardly world will honor you with your own nation.

Spain will honor you.

   . . .When most think of the Spanish Inquisition, they think of Spain settling a score with their Muslim conquerors. But more Jews were banished than Muslims, despite their not having conquered anything. Instead, they had lived peacefully and productively in Spain for 800-1100 years and were as Spanish as anyone in Spain (barring occasionally being massacred). Still, they were guilty of being Jews, and between 200,000 and 300,000 Jews were expelled." . . .

. . ."After all, the Nazis had popular opinion on their side too. Only God will be able to help America if our government yields to an immoral popular opinion on Israel and the Jews, following the path of Germany, Spain, and the residents of Gaza and the West Bank."

UPDATED: Germany Says It Would Execute ICC Arrest Warrant Against Netanyahu | The Epoch Times   . . .“ 'I am old enough to remember the German leader coming here days after October 7, and stating the Hamas are the new Nazis,” he said. “They seek a genocide against the Jews. Many in the world need to check their moral compass and be on the right side of history.”

If you saw "Schindler['s List" and the purging of the ghetto, you should have a picture of what took place on Oct 7th in the small Israeli Kibbutzim. What was there about that you do not understand? Germany, of all nations should agonize over that. TD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRwpSRSxSPQ&t=254s&pp=ygUhc2NoaW5kbGVycyBsaXN0IHB1cmdpbmcgb2YgZ2hldHRv

Do not forget:  Reports: Netanyahu 'Humiliated' by Obama Snub | Fox News

2010: "For a head of government to visit the White House and not pose for photographers is rare. For a key ally to be left to his own devices while the President withdraws to have dinner in private was, until this week, unheard of. Yet that is how Benjamin Netanyahu was treated by President Obama on Tuesday night, according to Israeli reports on a trip viewed in Jerusalem as a humiliation." . . .

No Tehran ‘Moment of Silence’ for US Policy Collapse on Israel

 Richard J. Douglas - American Thinker

The craven U.S. performance at the United Nations was disgusting.  But it was almost certainly not spontaneous.  Rather, it’s a safe bet that the “moment of silence” spectacle was vetted in advance with every Security Council delegation, including ours.

 A profoundly shameful moment at the UN Security Council as the US ambassador stands for a moment of silence to honor the Butcher of Tehran pic.twitter.com/EA2U7oMmt0

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) May 20, 2024

. . ."Beyond rank appeasement of Iran, only Oslo, Dublin, and Madrid know for sure what led to this patently anti-Israel step.  The rest of us, however, understand it as a transparent effort to cripple Netanyahu’s pursuit of a vital Israeli national interest, and as a significant diplomatic victory for Iran.

"Iran’s big week could be cast as a massive failure of American diplomacy.  In reality, however, the Biden administration appears to be intentionally standing aside rather than engaging to derail events which unmistakably strengthen Iran.  If more proof of this toxic policy is needed, look no further than the U.S. Senate, whose majority is controlled by the president’s party.  On May 20th, Senate Chaplain Barry Black disgraced a Congress once distinguished by the presence of Holocaust survivor Tom Lantos by publicly mourning Raisi’s death in his morning prayer.  Senate chaplains and other officials work for the Senate majority leadership.  Chaplain Black was most assuredly speaking for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his president.

"Muscular U.S. diplomacy led by a Trump, a Pompeo, or even a Moynihan, could have stopped the ICC, the UN Security Council, and the European appeasers cold.  Instead, Iran had a good week, because of the Biden administration’s lunatic policy, not in spite of it."

Joe Biden: Angry Warrior

 American Greatness (amgreatness.com) 

. . ."He may be a braggadocious and plagiaristic dunce, but he’s also, ultimately, a happy dunce. But not anymore. Now, he’s incensed. Now, he doesn’t like what’s going on in the country. Now, he’s angry, and he wants everyone to know it. Or at least his campaign directors do.". . . 

 "Last weekend, President Biden spoke at the graduation ceremony at Morehouse College, an all-male, historically black college, aggressively attacking his Republican opponents and decrying what he sees as pervasive, overt, and violent ongoing racism in American society. “What,” Biden asked rhetorically, “is democracy if black men are being killed in the street? What is democracy if a trail of broken promises still leave black communities behind? What is democracy if you have to be 10 times better than anyone else to get a fair shot?” Finally, he intoned, “And most of all, what does it mean, as we’ve heard before, to be a black man who loves his country even if it doesn’t love him back in equal measure?”

"The speech has been the subject of much discussion, particularly among Republicans, most of whom have bemoaned the President’s purposeful victimization of young black men for political purposes. Rather than tell them the truth, rather than encourage them to be great and to dedicate their lives to fixing the problems that exist in the nation, he encouraged them to wallow in their misery and to blame others for their problems.

"Certainly, there is considerable truth in this criticism. And certainly, Biden should be chided for playing into an ideology that thrives on resentment and jealousy. Still, the substance of the President’s comments is quite probably less important in the grand scheme of things than the tenor in which they were delivered.

"A week before his speech at Morehouse, President Biden and his campaign team released a video addressing the Trump campaign’s demand for head-to-head debates. “Make my day, pal,” Biden challenges Trump as he declares that he beat the former president twice in their previous campaign and will gladly do so this time too.

"Here again, critics rightly noted that the substance of the video was questionable at best. “6 jump cuts in 11 seconds,” conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller noted. Biden is so bad at this that he can’t even read his cue cards in a studio. How is he going to do an entire debate, much less two? He’s not up to his actual job, much less to running a grueling campaign in addition.

"This is another fair point, to be sure, but one that still misses the bigger picture—Biden’s tone." . . .

Biden administration released billions to Iran weeks before Israeli attack

 

The Center Square  "The Iranian-backed terrorist group Hamas killed hundreds of Israelis and injured hundreds more in a barrage of surprise attacks early Saturday morning, just weeks after the Biden administration authorized $6 billion to the group’s biggest backer: Iran.

"The Hamas attack included a combination of thousands of missiles fired into Israel as well as Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Israel, killing and capturing civilians, according to reports from multiple news outlets and relevant governments.

"Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani praised Hamas after the attack.

"Immediately after the attacks, President Joe Biden took fire for releasing billions of dollars to Iran, a known backer of Hamas that funnels money to the terrorist group.

“ 'Just weeks ago, the Biden administration handed over $6 billion to Iran, and today, innocent Israelis were murdered by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said in a statement after the attacks. “We must continue to support our strongest ally in the Middle East and their right to defend themselves against these unprovoked, horrific attacks. I stand with Israel and join many around the world in praying for the safety and security of its people.” . . .

The Left Can't Meme and Apparently Biden Can't Either

 The Left Can't Meme and Apparently Biden Can't Either – Twitchy

The Dark Brandon schtick was a bomb, so they try this. TD

"Somewhere in a dimly lit office featuring Che Guevara posters and Palestinian flags, there's a bedraggled schlub with disheveled clothes, unkempt hair, and dark circles under they/them eyes. Their job? Trying to make 81-year-old Joe Biden cool to Gen Z.

"It seems the answer in recent days was to try to hire a meme manager for the Biden campaign.

"Please, make it stop.

"According to the job ad posted by the campaign, the lucky individual would be responsible for cultivating and managing 'relationships with top digital media companies, podcasters, and meme pages across a number of social media platforms'.

"It sounds like the geriatric-to-Gen Z engagement geek would not necessarily be creating the bad memes themself but would instead be trying to work with leftist social media accounts that make bad memes to make more bad memes in coordination with the Biden campaign.

"This should go well." . . .  

https://t.co/GCHREFIow8 pic.twitter.com/xiEnkFyUg1

— Magills (@magills_) May 21, 2024

Much more here...

Four ICJ judges argue court order does not require IDF to halt all Rafah operations

 The Times of Israel

In dissent, former Israeli chief justice says Israel can carry out offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city ‘as long as it fulfills its obligations under the Genocide Convention’

"Four of the 15 justices at the International Court of Justice argued that the key operative clause in the court’s ruling, handed out Friday, does not require that Israel immediately halt all military operations in Rafah, but, rather, that it specifically halt military operations that “could bring about physical destruction in whole or in part” of the Palestinians.

"The relevant clause in the ruling stated that Israel must “Immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

"Former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, who serves as an ad-hoc judge on the ICJ bench in the case brought against Israel by South Africa, wrote in his dissenting opinion that the majority decision “requires Israel to halt its military offensive in the Rafah Governorate only in so far as is necessary to comply with Israel’s obligations under the Genocide Convention.”

"Therefore, according to Barak, “Israel is not prevented from carrying out its military operation in the Rafah Governorate as long as it fulfills its obligations under the Genocide Convention.”

" As a result,” Barak continued, “the measure is a qualified one, which preserves Israel’s right to prevent and repel threats and attacks by Hamas, defend itself and its citizens, and free the hostages.”

How America Came to Hate Joe Biden

 Don Surber

"His haphazard surrender of Afghanistan did him in. The public saw that he left behind billions of dollars worth of military equipment in a manner reminiscent of Vietnam, a war that helped catapult him into the Senate as a peacenik."

"People forget that before there were chants of FJB, he was pretty popular. He had a plus 23 rating on job approval as his presidency began and six months later he was at plus 9.6, a very respectable score. Trump was never anywhere close to 9.6 — even on his inauguration day.

"Biden was the most unknown president since William Howard Taft to the American people. Most people knew two things about Biden: 1) he was Obama’s VP and 2) he wasn’t Donald Trump. Three years ago, Americans saw No. 2 as a good thing.

"On July 22, 2021, Disney’s 538 gushed, “The first six months in the White House are often frenzied for presidents as they push for big policy changes to try to live up to their campaign promises. President Biden is no exception. In his first 100 days in office, he signed dozens of executive actions and pursued sweeping legislation, like his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package, which offered Americans further relief from the pandemic, and his ambitious two-step infrastructure plan. The hope for Biden, as with most presidents, is that his accomplishments will placate Americans who already support him while also winning over some who don’t.

“ 'But as it turns out, few Americans have changed their minds since the 2020 election. Biden’s job approval rating over his first six months in office was the steadiest such rating of any recent president during that period, according to FiveThirtyEight’s historical approval rating data. His approval has ranged from a high of 55.1% on March 22 to a low of 51.1% on July 15 — a difference of just 4 percentage points.”

"Then came August. As the month began, his approval was 50.8% and his disapproval was 42.8%. That was a plus 8-point approval.

"September began with his disapproval at 47.2% and his approval at 46.8% — a deficit of 0.4 points. FJB’s approval has been underwater ever since. His deficit was 17.8 points on Saturday.

"I would like to think he was done in by a photograph of him looking at his watch as the caskets of 13 American troops killed by the Taliban. This was deliberate. He looked at his watch several times during the ceremony at the airfield in Dover, Delaware." But no... It was the Big Skedaddle.

Douglas Murray slams ‘wrongheaded’ pro-Palestinian university students

YouTube   "Author Douglas Murray has slammed the “wrongheaded” university students at pro-Palestine protests for being in “lockstep” with someone who planned the October 7 attacks.

“ 'All of those wrongheaded students on various campuses who’ve made common cause with Hamas – they’re on exactly the same page, lockstep with one of the people who planned the 7th of October massacre,” Mr Murray told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “ 'I hope they’re proud of themselves. History will be horrible to them.' ”

WATCH: Ilhan Omar Objects to October 7 Footage Being Shown at UCLA

 Joel B. Pollak (breitbart.com)

The screen, as Breitbart News noted, was partly funded by Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica. It was placed in a public area. The video below is another besides Seinfeld's. TD

 

"Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) criticized University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Chancellor Gene Block on Thursday for allowing pro-Israel counter-protesters to screen “vile” images of October 7 atrocities opposite a pro-Palestinian “encampment.”

"Omar was questioning Block at a hearing of the House Education and Workforce Committee to discuss antisemitism at UCLA and other campuses. He testified alongside college presidents from Northwestern and Rutgers.

"As Breitbart News noted, the pro-Palestinian “encampment,” which was launched on April 25, took over a public area at UCLA, a public university. Activists used antisemitic rhetoric and barred Jewish students, as well as journalists, from entering.

"The university, seeking to avoid confrontation, did not allow University of California police or campus security to intervene, effectively allowing the activists to form their own police force, setting up checkpoints on the campus.

"Pro-Israel demonstrators from the surrounding communities, which are heavily Jewish, staged counter-protests. At one point, they set up a large screen showing footage from the Hamas terror attacks of October 7.

"The screen, as Breitbart News noted, was partly funded by Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica. It was placed in a public area.

"Omar, casting the pro-Palestinian students, and Palestinians, as the victims, complained about the “vile” footage, without acknowledging that the footage showed Palestinians committing atrocities — the “encampment’s” case.
Omar participated in an encampment at Columbia University. Her daughter, Isra, was banned from the campus.

"Omar’s own anti-Israel and antisemitic views are a matter of public record, both before and during her time in office.

Has America Finally Had It With Joe Biden?

 Victor Davis Hanson | Frontpage Mag

"If Biden makes it to and through the convention, he and his record remain indefensible. And so expect his campaign largely to be waged through lawfare against Trump, and massive infusions of leftist cash to ensure record mail-in and early voting. In the campaign Biden will become an afterthought, a ghost, vapor, as his party seeks to construct the entire election one of leftwing, blue-city prosecutors, judges, and juries versus serial defendant Trump." VDH

"Senator and Vice President Joe Biden was always sort of a buffoon. He is by nature a grandstander who handsomely profited from his office while posing as good ole Joe from Scranton."

"He is a fabulist who believes that the more animated he misleads and slurs (“semi-fascists” “fat”, “lying dog-faced pony soldier”, “chumps”, “dregs of society”, etc), the more likely he is to get away with it. He is a confessed plagiarist. And he has also invented much of his biography, from would be star, college-scholarship athlete and brilliant law student to semi-truck driver and jailed civil rights activist. His uncle, we are instructed, was eaten by cannibals. Joe assures us that he was the first in his family to go to college.

And he is a racist with a repertory of racial taunts and smears unrivaled among modern politicians (“junkie”, “boy”, “you ain’t black”, “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy”, “put y’all back in chains”, the Corn Pop and golden-leg hairs sagas, the “racial jungle” memes, the strange brag about Delaware as a “slave state” (e.g., “You don’t know my state. My state was a slave state. My state is a border state.”), and his encomia for the old Democratic racists of the Senate from former Klansman Robert Byrd (Biden’s self-described “mentor” and “guide”) to segregationist James Eastland (“never called me boy”).

"Biden has always had a mean streak that explains why for years he lied about the tragic, fatal auto accident of his first wife and child, using it to libel the truck driver, who was neither drunk nor culpable but smeared publicly for years by Biden as intoxicated and guilty. For years he ignored the pleas of the trucker’s family to please stop libeling an innocent driver.

"Biden just told his greatest whopper that inflation was at 9 percent (actually 1.4 percent) when he took office and yet soon spiked to 9 percent due to his reckless deficit spending and money printing spree.

"But recently Biden has reached a nadir and even the Left is resigned to him as a mere construct. After bragging after October 7 that his support for Israel was rock-solid he is now cutting off military aid as it attempts finally to end the Hamas murderous threat—a reversion to old Joe Biden who in his long past has previously threatened to cut off Israel while boasting later that anyone who did so was reprehensible. (Leveraging congressional mandated aid for political advantage is precisely the (false) allegation of politicking that the Democrats demagogued to impeach Trump—to the then cheers of Biden himself).

"But his sell out of Israel is but a small tessera in his election pandering mosaic. He will again begin drawing down the strategic petroleum reserve to lower gas prices during the campaign. He has badgered Ukraine not to hit Russian oil facilities. He has illegally forgiven billions in student loan aid to regain the elite youth vote. And as the campaign season begins, so too Biden suddenly poses as a border enforcer—after letting in nearly 10-million illegal aliens.

"Biden has always put the agendas of his own and his family above the national interest." . . .

Stormy Daniels: the Rosa Parks of Porn Stars

 Ann Coulter (townhall.com)

"Granted, Jones was just a low-level Arkansas state employee and Flowers a singer and model. Neither possessed the gravitas of a porn star. But I can't help thinking the media would've been more supportive of the ladies if they'd been accusing a Republican." AC

"I notice a tiny, almost infinitesimal, difference in the treatment of women who accuse Republican presidents of sexual misconduct compared to women who accuse Democrats.

"See if you can spot the difference.

"Stormy Daniels is the stripper and porn star who tried to extort Donald Trump when he was running for president in 2016, threatening to tell the tabloids they'd had sex, a claim he denies. Whether Trump's description of his extortion payment to Daniels as a "legal expense" constituted a criminal violation of the federal campaign finance laws is a central element of New York's prosecution of Trump.

"The truth of Daniels' supposed sex romp with Trump is utterly irrelevant to the criminal charge, but it's humiliating to Trump, so the prosecutors put her on the stand for hours, and the media covered her testimony like it was the 9/11 attack.

"Most grippingly, Daniels testified that she became unglued upon seeing Trump in his underwear, an unlikely story from a woman who'd had sex on camera with fully naked men in literally hundreds of porn films. She said she blacked out during the sex and, afterward, her hands were "shaking so hard" she could barely put on her shoes.

"Obviously, Trump attorney Susan Necheles questioned Daniels' credibility on this point. She raised Daniels' extensive experience with seeing naked men and then having sex with them, to suggest that maybe it wasn't that much of a bombshell to see a guy in his underwear.

"The media promptly exploded in indignation on behalf of the hothouse flower Daniels, howling about "slut-shaming." (In this case, the "slut-shaming" consisted of asking the witness, "What do you do for a living?" . . .