Ben Rhodes is back, smugger and smarmier than ever

 Monica Showalter - American Thinker

. . ."He said Trump was 'unpredictable' with America's enemies, which he seemed to think was a bad thing, citing China. His talking point there echoed Vladimir Putin's statement that he prefered Biden as the U.S. president because he was more predictable.

"Was anyone looking for a comeback from Ben Rhodes, President Obama's famously smug, smarmy, officious former deputy National Security Advisor, who's best known for being called an "a--hole" by veteran Pentagon correspondent Thomas Ricks?

"Don't think so. But he's back anyway, and according to The Hill, he's out insulting President Trump:

"Former White House national security adviser Ben Rhodes went after former President Trump for his foreign policies, calling him a “chaos agent” who cannot solve problems with other nations.

“Donald Trump — let’s be blunt — he’s not respected. He’s not taken seriously around the world. He’s a chaos agent,” Rhodes said in an interview on MSNBC Saturday. “He’s incapable of working with other countries to solve problems.”

"Speaking of not respected.

"Rhodes, of course, who is a creative writing major, is the famous author of the Iran Deal with its pallets of cash, which the United Nations's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said was something nobody pays attention to any more.

"According to a story that ran in Breitbart News four days ago:" . . .

Biden Will Not Be the Nominee - And Hunter's conviction is his Golden Parachute.

 The American Spectator | USA News and Politics   It is only June, but Christmas might have come early for Joe Biden and the Democrat Party.

Hunter Biden is destined, or doomed, to wallow in a multitude of consequences for his multitude of sins, legal transgressions, and moral failures, for the rest of his life. He will be convicted, sentenced, pardoned, acquitted, re-tried — all or none of the above, and long after Biden Fatigue Syndrome has expired. Celebrity justice for a grifter.

 "The latest phase in the center ring of the longest circus in American politics, the 2024 campaign, has ended. Hunter Biden is guilty on all counts — where have we heard that before? — and up next is sentencing, another federal trial, and …

"Dispassionate citizens, if there are any left across the landscape, may be satisfied that justice has been done; it was a case where the circumstances and charges were blatant, to an almost caricatured degree. Sympathetic parents and friends of addicts and self-destructive personalities they love, can withhold feelings of joy over the five-alarm fire that is Hunter Biden. 

"There is no doubt, except for his cognitive cluelessness, that Joe Biden, father, grieves over this outcome.

"There is no doubt either that Joe Biden, politician, rejoices at the ironic life-preserver that has been tossed to him as he flails in the vortex of a doomed presidency and a cursed campaign.

"Biden and his wife and sister and handlers now have an ideal face-saving, if not life-saving, “out.” Beltway Biden has fashioned a career from his small-state sinecure of Delaware by excusing, evading, and enduring uncountable scandals, gaffes, and what would have been toxic disqualifications for other pols in other states. For half a century the Bidens’ sense of entitlement has been their hedge of protection.

"Finally, America understands Joe’s mantra about “threats to democracy” because his manipulation of the system has served him well. He has been the personification of that Threat. Yet “democracy” now is his undoing. There is too much toothpaste to put back in the tubes; too many defections from his obsequious base; too many people now laughing at the exposure of Emperor Joe’s new clothes. The sands of Rehobeth Beach finally have run through his hourglass.

"The big debate within his party and the nation at large is not the economy nor the border nor foreign-policy disasters, but … how to kick Joe off the ticket. With grace. Without offending the Old Man. Without insulting Kamala — because surely, her elevation would be the only worse situation than Four More Years of Joe. Who, what, when, where … and how?

"Then, along comes the blindfolded Goddess of Justice, on a charging steed. Things done in her name have been ineffectual in Donald Trump’s case, and cases, but she can save the day for Biden and his “legacy” and the Democrat Party in 2024.

"The political survival of Joe Biden has also been a perennial routine of whining and evading and changed subjects. From college suspension over plagiarism, to lying about his first wife’s death, to faking his academic resume, to inventing facts about his family — one of the times causing him to drop his 1988 presidential candidacy — to shamelessly distorting circumstances of his views on race, his voting record, his son’s death. Everything but actual tears have stained his record. He has aged like a Fine Whine." . . .

Biden: Slip Slidin' Away (freebeacon.com)

. . ."The weirdest moment comes when the reporters ask Biden to describe his second-term agenda. That's what we in the biz call a "softball question." And here—excuse the long excerpt, but it is necessary to grasp the full absurdity and danger of having this man continue to serve as president—is Joe Biden's response:" . . .  Here are Biden's very words.

. . ."Biden is not just slipping personally. He's slipping politically. The polls have barely moved since May 31, when a New York jury convicted Trump of falsifying business records. Biden continues to run behind Trump, as he has since the fall of 2023. The reason the election is close is not that the public likes Biden. It's that the public is reluctant to send Trump back to the White House." . . .

Biden must be given whatever meds he took to jack him up for his vindictive SOTU speech

Cardinal Castigates ‘Cafeteria Catholic’ Joe Biden -

 While the apostasy of Biden and the advance of anti-Christian ideologies is pernicious, there is hope in the U.S.; The American Spectator

"In his speech, Sarah lamented that authentic Catholic faith, already a minority belief in America, has “been traded for cultural assimilation.” Despite this, Sarah did see reasons for hope in the Church in America.

"Despite this wanton degeneracy, Biden still claims to be a Catholic — in fact, his lackeys in the media world often tout him as a “devout Catholic.” But a former Vatican official has a different term to describe America’s most radically pro-abortion President. In a recent speech at the Napa Institute in Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert Sarah labeled Biden a “cafeteria Catholic.”

"The former head of the Vatican’s liturgy office, Sarah lamented that Christianity’s influence has waned in the West. He noted, “The West, while not the birthplace of Christianity, is the home of much of what was once called ‘Christendom’ and much of what has become modern society, the roots of which are firmly European.” The West African prelate observed that many Catholics in the West have adopted the secular mindset of the “general population” and have allowed their faith to become dethroned, subjecting it to modern ideas and values. 

" 'You have a self-identified Catholic who is an example of what Cardinal Gregory recently described as ‘cafeteria Catholic,’” Sarah continued, referring to Washington archbishop Wilton Gregory’s comments earlier this year. Biden’s promotion of abortion, transgenderism, gay “marriage,” and a host of other evils or vices places him squarely in contradiction to the perennial moral teachings of the Catholic Church.

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person — among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” Therefore, the Church warns of the “moral evil of every procured abortion.” The Catechism continues, “This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”

"So grave, in fact, is the sin of abortion that it carries with it the penalty of latae sententiae excommunication — that is, the evil is so grave and so clear that excommunication is automatic, no trial or tribunal is required. In Catholic teaching, excommunication is the most stringent and serious of penalties that can be imposed, effectively cutting off the soul from communion with the Church, which is the mystical Body of Christ. More than just a penalty, latae sententiae excommunication serves as both a warning against and a remedy for extreme evils, too. Such a consequence denotes for Catholics the severe depravity of certain acts, warning those who value their faith to keep as far from such evils as possible. But it also serves to call those who obstinately engage in such evils to repent, seek forgiveness, and return to the Body of Christ." . . .

Why do you care about the Palestinians?

Alan Dershowitz, "Why does the hard left glorify the Palestinians?" 

The Palestinian people have suffered more from the ill-advised decisions of their leaders than from the actions of Israel.

Why I Had Enough With The Damn Lies About Israel! A Very Politically INCORRECT Post!

"In a world in which massive violations of human rights have, tragically, become the norm, why has the hard left focused on one of the least compelling of those causes — namely, the Palestinians? Where is the concern for the Kurds, the Chechens, the Uyghurs, the Tibetans? There are no campus demonstrations on their behalf, no expressions of concern by “the Squad” in Congress, no United Nations resolutions, no recurring op-eds in The New York Times, and no claims that the nations that oppress these groups have no right to exist. 

"On the merits and demerits of their claims, the Palestinians have the weakest case. They have been offered statehood and independence on numerous occasions: in 1938, 1948, 1967, 2000-2001 and 2008. Israel ended its occupation of the Gaza Strip in 2005. Yet, even now, Palestinian leaders refuse to sit down and negotiate a reasonable two-state solution. As the late Israeli diplomat Abba Eban once aptly put it, the Palestinian leadership never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

"Nor are history and morality on their side. The Palestinian leadership allied itself with Nazism and Hitler in the 1940s, with Egyptian tyranny and antisemitism in the 1950s, and with international terrorism from the 1960s forward.

"In 1947, the United Nations divided the land that the Romans called Palestine and the Jews called Yisrael into two areas. It provided a sliver of land along the Mediterranean and a non-arable desert called the Negev to the Jews, who were a majority in that area, and a much larger arable area to the Arabs. The Jews declared statehood on their land. Instead of declaring statehood on their land, the Palestinians and surrounding Arab nations declared war. The Arabs lost and the Jews captured more land. As a result of the war, there occurred an exchange of populations: Hundreds of thousands of Arabs left or were forced out of Israel, and hundreds of thousands of Jews left or were forced out of Arab countries and Arab Palestine.

"Again, in 1967, the surrounding Arab nations threatened to destroy Israel, which preemptively attacked and occupied the West Bank and Gaza, which it immediately offered to return — with some territorial adjustments necessary for security — in exchange for peace and recognition. The U.N. Security Council issued Resolution 242, which called for a return of captured territories in exchange for peace. Israel accepted. The Arab nations and the Palestinians, however, issued their three infamous “no’s” — no peace, no recognition, no negotiation." . . .  

I saw horrors in Israel after October 7… Israel is fighting a death cult, says Douglas Murray

You have to miseducate Americans into self-loathing that we see on campuses.

 Douglas Murray has described the horrors he witnessed in the aftermath of Hamas' terror massacres in southern Israel.

"In a powerful and emotional speech, the Sun columnist spoke about visiting morgues and those murdered were being identified.

"He described the Hamas terror organisation as a 'death cult' and heaped praise on Israel's response. "Israel is expected to expand its operation in Rafah in the coming days as it aims to destroy Hamas' remaining battalions and find its leaders including Yahya Sinwar." .

The Manhattan Institute honoured Douglas Murray for his unwavering defence of Western values at their 2024 Alexander Hamilton Award dinner.

The U.N.’s Latest Insult Against Israel May Be Its Worst

  The Heritage Foundation; "Quite simply, Hamas deliberately places children in danger while Israel goes to great lengths to minimize civilian casualties."

"The U.S. has long criticized rampant anti-Israel bias in the U.N., but the time has come to hold the organization accountable. Congress has withheld funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA for its complicity with Hamas. It is past time for the U.S. to take similar action for other parts of the organization."

"Sympathy for Israel has long been in short supply at the United Nations, but the world body has outdone itself this time.

"That’s really saying something, considering its disgraceful treatment of Israel over the past eight months. After the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas resulted in over 1,100 deaths and hundreds raped and taken hostage, Israel rightly declared its intent to destroy those responsible and rescue the hostages. Yet virtually every day since, the U.N. seemingly has done everything possible to protect Hamas from the consequences of its barbaric acts.

"Now U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has listed “Israeli armed and security forces” alongside repressive governments and terrorist groups guilty of “grave violations affecting children” in conflict in 2023.

"Yes, in the immediate aftermath of October 7, the United Nations condemned the attack in the “strongest terms.” But before the calendar turned to November, the secretary-general was saying the attacks didn’t happen in a “vacuum,” U.N. experts were voicing alarm at the plight of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza, and the General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a “sustained humanitarian truce.”

"After that came U.N. accusations that Israel was causing starvation, accusations of war crimes, giving the Palestinians elevated privileges in the General Assembly, echoing Hamas’s false casualty data, and a U.S.-sponsored Security Council resolution designed to pressure Israel into supporting a cease-fire that would ensure the survival of Hamas.

"Through this process, the U.N. member states refused to adopt resolutions condemning Hamas for its terrorism. Over and over, U.N. officials have neglected to properly place blame for the conflict and suffering on Hamas. For instance, a U.N. commission of inquiry report just declared that both Israel and Hamas have committed war crimes since October 7, but that Israel also committed crimes against humanity against the civilian population in Gaza.

"Ignored is the fact that Hamas instigated the conflict, uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, steals aid meant to relieve suffering, and perpetuates the fighting by refusing to release the hostages. The report from a U.N. commission of inquiry even outrageously blames Israel for not stopping the October 7 attack and protecting its citizens." . . .

Whoo Boy: There's a New Associate Communications Director at the White House

 Karen Townsend – HotAir  "[Tyler Cherry] replaces Maria Michalos, who had the job for more than a year. She will step down later this month and will start law school in August. 

"Cherry is a controversial person in the Biden administration. That doesn't make him unique, there are many who conservatives consider controversial, but he is involved with communications. He crafts statements, now from the White House. Last year he caused controversy with social media posts. 

"He has a history of posts that criticize Republicans, attack police, and support the anti-Israel movement. It was bad enough that he was communications director for the Department of Interior when the social media posts created a kerfuffle. Now he has been brought into the White House. His bad behavior is being rewarded." . . .

This is Tyler Cherry.
Biden just promoted him to associate communications director at the White House.
Why? Take a guess.
In 2015, he tweeted “the modern day police system is a direct evolution of slave patrols and lynch mobs."
And he prayed "even harder for an end to a… pic.twitter.com/WjoXP4nGjt

— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) June 21, 2024

White House Issues Shameful Statements in Response to Illegal Aliens' Murders of Rachel Morin and 12-Year-Old Jocelyn Nungaray

  The Gateway Pundit | by Jordan Conradson  

"Crooked Joe Biden is a disgrace. The brutal murders of these Americans is on the hands of Biden — and the evil Biden migrants he released into our country." Donald Trump 

Boiler plate

"The Gateway Pundit reported that an illegal alien from El Salvador was charged with brutally raping and murdering Rachel Morin, a mother-of-five, on a Maryland hiking trail last year. Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 23, was arrested for the murder in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last Friday.

"Martinez-Hernandez, who has ties to El Salvadoran gangs and was implicated in at least one other murder, entered the US illegally in February 2023 on Joe Biden’s open border invitation.

"Earlier this week, two Venezuelan men were arrested for 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray’s murder in Houston, Texas, after reportedly abducting her, strangling her, and dumping her body in a bayou. Houston authorities are reportedly still investigating whether Nungary was sexually assaulted before her death.

"Both men were apprehended by border agents while crossing the border in El Paso earlier this year and released into the United States.

"Prior to this, an Ecuadorian illegal alien was taken into custody this week in NYC after raping a 13-year-old girl in broad daylight wielding a “machete-style” knife.

"White House statement on 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray:

"Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of Jocelyn Nungaray. We cannot comment on active law enforcement cases. But fundamentally, anyone found guilty of this type of heinous and shocking crime should be held accountable, to
the fullest extent of the law."

White House statement on mother of five Rachel Morin:

"We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Rachel Morin. We cannot comment on active law enforcement cases. But fundamentally, we believe that people should be held accountable to the
fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty."

. . ."Meanwhile, As The Gateway Pundit reported, Department of Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mayorkas recently appeared on CNN to defend Biden’s border bloodbath and deny responsibility for the murderous illegals who he welcomed into our country." . . .

Kamala Harris Is January 6’s ‘Dog That Didn’t Bark’

 American Greatness (amgreatness.com)   "Kamala Harris's silence about her presence near a pipe bomb at the DNC on January 6 and the subsequent media and official confusion, raises questions about possible complicity and misinformation."

Despite her flirtation with death and her own penchant for self-dramatization, Kamala Harris has still not barked. Neither has Biden. As with the watchdog in the Sherlock Holmes story, their silence suggests a familiarity with the bomber.  

"In the Arthur Conan Doyle story “The Adventure of Silver Blaze,” master sleuth Sherlock Holmes deduces that the failure of a watchdog to bark while a horse was being stolen meant only one thing: the dog recognized the man who stole the horse.

"On January 6, vice president-elect Kamala Harris was the dog that didn’t bark. Harris did not bark then. Nor has she barked in the three-plus years since. This is surprising. On the surface, at least, she would have had a lot to bark about. Harris’s failure to bark suggests her complicity in a plot that—thanks to the good work of Rep. Thomas Massie, Darren Beattie, Dan Bongino, and others—is gradually unraveling.

Spitting Image

"On January 6, 2021, at just about 1 p.m., an undercover police officer found a pipe bomb just feet from the exterior of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in DC. A bomb had been discovered minutes before near the RNC headquarters. Unknown to the bomber, Harris would be at the DNC when the bomb was found.

"Politico was the first to report on Harris’s whereabouts at this critical moment. “Harris’ presence inside the building while a bomb was right outside raises sobering questions about her security that day,” reported Politico. “It also raises the chilling prospect that the riots could have been far more destructive than they already were, with the incoming vice president’s life directly endangered.”

"Politico reported this story on January 6—January 6, 2022, that is. For a year, no one beyond a small circle of conspirators knew Harris was at the DNC that day. Everyone else assumed she was at the Capitol. That “everyone” included federal prosecutors who, in dozens of indictments, had informed J6 judges and juries that Harris was among those under threat from the mob at the Capitol.

"Not until November 2021 did prosecutors amend their filings to undo this deception. Politico wrote at that time, “It’s unclear why DOJ included the erroneous information in the first place and continued to do so for months.” The Politico article cited above was titled, “DOJ error highlights Jan. 6 mystery: Where was Kamala Harris during the attack?” It would take two more months before Politico learned the answer to this most basic of questions." . . .

Disney Has Been ‘Woke’ Before—And Right About It

 . . ."Disney admonished his production team that “no condescending attitude was to be taken toward nature.” Creatures were to be viewed not as “dumb animals” but as “our friends, the wise animals.” [Much superior to conservatives]

RealityBites by Broc Smith

TIME; Charles Dorn :    "Heading into an uncertain U.S. presidential campaign, Florida governor Ron DeSantis branded the Walt Disney Company a "woke" corporation producing films that pursue a politically correct, LGBTQ+ agenda. A so-called “exclusively gay moment” in the live-action Beauty and the Beast, a same-sex kiss at the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and an out gay character in the animated Strange World all provided fuel for DeSantis’ stoking of the culture wars. Now that DeSantis has dropped out of the race, he has returned to Florida to continue his work as a culture warrior 

against Disney, higher education, and more. But what DeSantis fails to realize is that this isn’t Disney’s first “woke” moment." Seventy-five years ago, Disney Studios premiered Seal Island, a 27-minute film that directly challenged how Americans thought about the environment. Although Disney had garnered an international reputation for animated feature-length films, Seal Island was a live-action nature documentary that dared to depict animals as deserving compassion and respect.

"Given the popularity of contemporary nature documentaries today, it’s difficult to imagine a time when wildlife films consisted mostly of safari expeditions and far-off travelogues that treated animals as expendable and exploitable. But in the first half of the 20th century, animals were mostly depicted as trophies to be hunted or threats to be eliminated. " . . .

Charles Dorn is the Barry N. Wish Professor of Social Studies at Bowdoin College and is currently researching a book on the history of environmental education in the United States.

From the parodigal child, Babylon Bee:  Walt Disney Posthumously Fired By Walt Disney Company For Being White Male   . . ."Disney leadership made the move in an effort to show that the company remains ever-vigilant to weed out the oppressive presence of Caucasian men from within its ranks and will go to whatever lengths are necessary to project a more diverse image in the future.

" 'We're deeply sorry we were founded by a white guy," said Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Tinisha Agramonte. "It is always our goal to fill every position with someone who is not a white male, and we were devastated to learn that The Walt Disney Company was, in fact, started by Walt Disney. We apologize for this error and have taken the appropriate steps to rectify it. We will do better."

"Company executives were shocked and saddened to learn that Walt Disney, a white man, had founded what became The Walt Disney Company over a century ago, leading to the swift action of posthumously terminating Disney's association with the media and entertainment giant. "His tyrannical white male rule is over," Agramonte continued. "We will now be offering counseling and reparations to any employees of The Walt Disney Company who may have been hurt by the fact that it was founded by Walt Disney." . . .

"Actually, Senator"... Ann Coulter

 Ann Coulter (townhall.com)

"This is the vital information requiring that Republicans be rudely interrupted whenever they mention crime: a 4% decline in the murder rate -- following a 37% rise that was 100% the Democrats' fault; and FBI crime reports that even the FBI doesn't believe."

"For the first time in decades, I caught some of the Sunday morning political shows last weekend. Who knew there still were Sunday shows? Since the advent of cable news, you can get the same programming anytime you want, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So what's the point?

"Apparently, the point is to give viewers three additional options for receiving MSNBC content on Sunday mornings, on ABC, NBC or CBS.

"I watched a total of about 10 minutes, so this is not a full review, but I do have a great idea for renaming the Sunday shows. They should be called: "Actually, Senator" or "We Should Note" or "I Apologize for the Interruption."

"These phrases are repeated throughout the programs as the hosts "correct" Republicans with Democratic talking points.

"Here's an example from ABC's "This Week," with Jonathan Karl interviewing Republican Sen. Tim Scott:" . . .

. . .ALEXANDER: "Again I -- I apologize for the interruption. A lot to get to. We should note it's not just the murder rate. The overall violent crime has fallen during Biden's presidency. It is now at a near 50-year low."

Who knew Democrats were doing such wonderful things with crime?

Of course murders were down in 2022 compared to the year before! There was nowhere else to go. Following St. George Floyd's ascension into heaven and the subsequent de-policing movement, murder rates went through the stratosphere -- then dipped slightly.

Similarly amazing facts:

-- Deaths from sneak attacks on the United States dipped after Pearl Harbor.

-- Civil War deaths dropped dramatically after 1866.

-- Deaths from Spanish flu collapsed in 1921.. . .

Sen. Kennedy Explains Why Men Shouldn’t Play Women’s Sports in a Way Even Dems Can Understand

 Matt Margolis – PJ Media

Now, Democrats have, in the past sixteen years or so, gone all in on the idea that the physical and biological differences between males and females are irrelevant to what someone 'identifies" as, yet, as Kennedy so succinctly explains, the moment you let a male play on a women's sport's team just because he "identifies" as a woman, he's got a built-in advantage, and will steal opportunities from his female counterparts.

"Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) has become known for his simple yet incisive takedowns of Biden nominees and Democrat expert witnesses. His pointed questioning often reveals glaring shortcomings, leading to some of Biden's picks withdrawing from consideration due to their evident lack of qualifications. You just gotta love him. More recently, he's also been an outspoken critic of Joe Biden's assault on women's sports.

"Earlier this year, Joe Biden, in a blatant move to pander to the radical gender activists of his party, leveraged his executive power to unilaterally rewrite Title IX, the 1972 civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded educational programs and has significantly expanded women's access to sports in education. Biden's unilateral revision restored the Obama-era change that made gender identity and biological sex equal in the eyes of the law, thus allowing transgender-identifying male athletes to compete on women's and girls' sports teams and use their locker rooms. 

"Title IX is clear and explicit in its focus on biological sex, without any mention of concepts like "gender identity" or "gender expression" that have been concocted by radical left-wing gender activists, and thankfully, last week, a federal judge ruled that the Biden administration “engaged in unlawful agency action taken in excess of their authority, all while failing to adhere to the appropriate notice and comments requirements when doing so.” . . .