"The great theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer offers a useful observation:
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leave behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall of deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed… For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than a malicious one.
. . ."Around 20 people blockaded the University of Copenhagen on Wednesday morning, leading to six arrests as police cleared the institution. Among those seen being arrested was green extremist Greta Thunberg, who was photographed wearing the distinctive keffiyeh scarf and being led in handcuffs to a police van." . . .
"With just over 60 days until the election, no single poll is definitive. However, contrary to claims made in the media, the election remains too close to call. It’s vital to understand, as we noted above, that Trump has outperformed his polling numbers, for a variety of reasons." . . .
Issues & Insights"Presidential candidate Kamala Harris still holds a slight lead over former President Donald Trump, but will it last after last week’s interview with CNN? Harris still enjoyed an edge with prospective voters as Labor Day approached, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll suggests, but it might not be sustainable as Trump consolidates his strength among swing-state voters.
"In a head-to-head matchup, Harris holds a 48% to 45% advantage over Trump in the September I&I/TIPP Poll, with 1,386 registered voters answering the survey from Aug. 28-Aug. 30. The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.8 percentage points.
"Harris appears to have solidified her Democratic base by continuing to run a campaign without a real policy platform that could be discussed or debated by voters, instead appearing at staged events with vice presidential candidate and current Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in tow. She has 92% of the Democratic vote, while just 5% of her party say they will vote for Trump.
"Trump retains a solid 88% of all Republicans, but his support shows some leakage in the latest poll with 9% of GOP party members saying they will vote for Harris. That’s a net loss of 4% for Trump, compared to Harris." . . .
. . ."In 2010, Tim Smith wrote a book entitled The Strong Horse, and in it he posited that Arab culture decrees that when faced with the choice between a weak horse and a strong horse, an Arab will always select and follow the strong horse. Israel: Stop acting bat s–t crazy and be the strong horse!"
. . ."One can arguably posit that Israeli security was inadequate on October 7th. But Israel’s initial wrong-headed response to the tragic attack was shaped by tradition and societal expectations.
"Consider the slogan “Bring them back.” Those words placed the burden on innocent Israel and not on the drugged-up psychopaths who had perpetrated the horrors.
"Moreover, Israelis expected the IDF to bring home both the living and the dead; even if it meant that some Israeli forces might die bringing back a corpse.
"All of this focus took the onus of responsibility away from the perpetrators of unspeakable crimes. “Release them” should have been demanded of Palestinians and Hamas, rather than “Bring them home” which was the Israeli cry." . . .
Sadly, Israel seems to be required to please the United States which tends to require a wimpish, democrat-influenced response that will satisfy MSNBC and "The View" ladies.
"When asked whether the Israeli government is "moving the goalposts" regarding the hostage deal, Dermer responded, "The government is doing all it can, returning 150 of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas, with 110 of them returned alive."
"When pressed about the anger felt by the Israeli public over the execution of six Israeli hostages, Dermer said, "We should all be angry and outraged, but at Hamas, not the Israeli government. It was Hamas that killed the hostages, it was Hamas that invaded Israel and murdered twelve hundred people in cold blood.' ". . .
"Hamas terror commander, who murdered an Israeli father in front of his small kids, was eliminated in an Israeli airstrike, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) disclosed Tuesday.
"Ahmad Fauzi Nasser Muhammad Wadia, the commander of the Hamas terrorist Nukhba forces, paraglided into the Israeli border community of Netiv Ha’asra and oversaw the massacre there. Wadia was captured by a security camera drinking Coca-Cola before the bleeding kids, aged 9 and 13, while their father lay dead.
"Gil Taasa, a 46-year-old firefighter, was killed when he jumped on a grenade to shield his sons, Koren (13) and Shai (9). Gil’s 17-year-old son Or was murdered by Wadia’s Nabuka terrorist forces. Koren and Shai managed to escape along with their mother despite severe injuries. Shay later lost his eyesight from a shrapnel wound during the attack." . . .
"Meanwhile, the Harris-Biden administration seems to be taking the tragedy as license to push Israel into a cease-fire deal that could let the terrorists re-supply." . . .
"As fate would have it, the 79th anniversary of the formal Japanese surrender in World War II came on the same day thatJoe Bidenall but encouraged Hamas to keep fighting and holding hostages in Gaza. The contrast suggests that had Biden been president back then instead of Harry Truman, America would have lost the Second World War."
"[Harris’s national security adviser Phil Gordon]'s pro-Iran and pro-Hamas positions are shared by his colleague and fellow Harris adviser Ilan Goldenberg. Both men are expected to receive senior foreign policy positions in a Harris administration." Caroline Glick
Ami Horowitz slams Tim Walz’s ‘disgusting’ reaction to question about dead Israeli hostages
Trump’s rhetoric vs. Harris’s policies - CarolineGlick.com . . ."Since Oct. 7, Harris has been the most outspoken critic of Israel in the administration. Just three weeks after the Hamas invasion, and in the midst of the worst eruptions of antisemitism in the United States in 90 years, Harris announced on X that the Biden administration would develop “the first ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia.” She then added, falsely, “As the result of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, we have seen an uptick in anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and Islamophobic incidents across America.”
"Last week Harris raised concerns about her commitment to Israel’s security when she met with the heads of the most viciously anti-Israel and pro-Hamas group in the Democratic party ahead of an election rally in Michigan.
"Harris spoke with the heads of the so-called “Uncommitted National Movement,” the group that convinced thousands of pro-Hamas voters in Michigan to vote “uncommitted” rather than vote for Biden in the Michigan primaries. According to the Washington Free Beacon, the two leaders in the conversation with Harris were Abbas Alawieh, former chief of staff for Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), and Layla Elabed, sister of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). Tlaib and Bush, of course are outspoken in their hatred for Israel and for American Jews who support Israel. After losing her Democratic primary in a landslide defeat on Aug. 6, Bush committed herself to destroying the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. In her words, “AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!”
"Alawieh and Elabed told Harris that they want the United States to impose an arms embargo on Israel. Harris reportedly responded that she is “open” to a discussion on the issue. While Harris’s aides have breathlessly insisted that she never expressed any support for an arms embargo and that she opposes an arms embargo, Harris supported the administration’s decision to block shipments of several critical weapons systems to Israel."
For the past hundred years, Jews have favored Democrats over Republicans by averages of over 60%. This week pollster Richard Baris released a survey that found Harris’s support among Jews stands at a mere 52.7%, with 45.9% favoring Trump. Trump has a narrow lead against Harris among Jewish voters in New York.
Trump’s rhetoric is doubtless hard for liberal Jews to absorb. But Harris’s policies and positions on Israel and on Jews are much worse.
Monica Showalter"Kamala Harris has often been criticized for the rote quality of her speeches on the stump.
"She's actually made herself a figure of fun for giving the exact same speech in each city she visits, going word-for-word:
But while her words are the same, Harris does change one thing around now -- the regional accent she uses to deliver them in, according to how she thinks the audience speaks.
In Detroit, she spoke with this brand new accent:
‘CRINGE AND FAKE’: Vice President Harris raised eyebrows during her Labor Day rally over a noticeable shift in her dialect, sparking comparisons to iconic cartoon character ‘Foghorn Leghorn.’ The reactions pouring in to the viral clip at the link. https://t.co/NrbX9IydQapic.twitter.com/6lF9uoxOvn
"Attorney General Merrick Garland announced terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion charges against six senior leaders of Hamas."
"US Justice Department charges Hamas leaders with terrorism as Israel’s Foreign Minister urged countries around the world to condemn and issue sanctions against Hamas and Iran.
"Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Tuesday the unsealing of terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion charges against six senior leaders of Hamas.
"Hamas was charged with playing a “central role in planning, supporting, and perpetrating the terrorist atrocities that Hamas committed in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.”
"Garland continued, “Hamas terrorists … murdered nearly 1200 people, including over 40 Americans, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians.”
"He added, “This weekend, we learned that Hamas murdered an additional six people they had kidnapped and held captive for nearly a year, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23 year old Israeli American.”
"Garland said, “We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of Hamas’ brutal murders of Americans, as an act of terrorism. ”
"Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz urged embassies around the world to influence governments to sanction Hamas and Iran following the news that 6 Israeli hostages were executed shortly before their bodies were discovered by the IDF in Gaza.
" 'An execution is crossing a red line, a shocking war crime by a murderous terrorist organization,” he wrote.
"Katz added, “Israel demands the international community categorically condemn the heinous murder of the six hostages and take all possible measures, including sanctions and legal measures, against Hamas and its supporters, led by Iran.” . . .
CarolineGlick "The White House is pressuring Israel to throw in the towel, but will Prime Minister Netanyahu give in to the unprecedented pressure?
"While it may seem that America is trying to protect Israel from an attack by Iran and its proxies, the truth is that the Biden administration is also containing Israel and preventing a victory.
"I discuss the U.S.’s game plan and how explains the difference between Donald Trump’s foreign policy and the foreign policy we’ll experience if Kamala Harris is elected."
“Harris and Biden need to acknowledge Hamas is a terrorist organization and treat them like it, rather than pressuring Israel.”
"Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who served during the Trump administration, slammed President Joe Biden for claiming that Israel is at fault for not securing a hostage deal with Hamas.
"When asked by a reporter if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “doing enough” to bring about a deal,Biden clearly answered “no.”
"Biden’s comments, made just hours after the IDF discovered the bodies of hostages brutally executed by Hamas terrorists, sparked outraged.
"Haley wrote on social media platform X that U.S. pressure directed at Israel for a ceasefire had emboldened the terror group.
" 'Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American citizen, was executed in Gaza. Seven Americans are still being held hostage by the same terrorists who murdered Hersh,” Haley posted on her X account.
“ 'It’s unacceptable. America should demand Hamas and their funders, Iran, release the hostages immediately. Harris and Biden need to acknowledge Hamas is a terrorist organization and treat them like it, rather than pressuring Israel,” she added.
"Haley also posted a video of Goldberg-Polin’s mother, Rachel, speaking at his funeral on Monday.
" 'How many more of these funerals have to happen before Kamala Harris and Joe Biden start playing hardball and put the sanctions back on Iran?” she wrote as a caption to the video.
“Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, none of these terror groups take this administration seriously. Cut off their money so the horror stops.' ” . . .
Joe Biden is a laughingstock around the world; a ridiculous man and just the type today's Democrats elect. TD
Joy as a form of politics has quite a Nazi history; Phyllis Chesler "About #Kamala's Party of #Joy. Joy as a form of political activism has quite the #Nazi history. #Tax incentives and #bread and circuses was what the KDF offered the masses. They called it NS Gemeinschaft Kraft durch Freude (Strenth through Joy) and it was a Nazi operated organization which began in 1933 and lasted until the outbreak of the war, after which, their mandate was transformed into caring for and entertaining Nazi soldiers. The KDF was under the sponsorship of the National Labor Front. It provided sporting events, mandatory physical exercise, gymnastics, dancing classes for women, free or low-cost concerts, theater, and art exhibits, improved hygeine at workplaces, tax incentives, and government sponsored holidays, including cruises for the masses. The films and plays were pure propaganda.
Tax incentives for the masses? Does the Democrat Party know this history? If they do, why would they choose such a tainted brand? Or, is their model the "black joy" movement, a "joy that no #White man can steal." (Read Tracey Michael L'Lewis Giggetts in "Black Joy." But maybe the Democrat Party does not know about this either.
"Oh America, America, you/we are so lost.
"Please Democrats: Find another inspiration for political activism."
Kam's push for Palestinian statehood. . ."Secondly, if the incompetents in D.C. hadn't been trying to court Hamas-supporting constituents —on the grounds, as Biden said at the Democratic National Convention, that "they have a point" —they might have behaved like the allies of Israel that they've been professing to be since Oct. 7. Yes, had they not kept trying to block it from entering Rafah, or withholding weapons shipments as leverage, Goldberg-Polin and many others might well have been rescued by now.
"This brings us back to Harris, who made sure, in her inarticulate fashion, to stress that she'll toe the party line on Gaza: nodding slightly to the Jewish community by purporting to back Israel's right to be upset about the atrocities of Oct. 7, while attempting to appeal to progressive antisemites.
" 'We have got to get a deal done," she told Bash. "We were in Doha [the capital of Qatar, where some of the ceasefire negotiations were held]. We have to get a deal done. This war must end. And we must get a deal that is about getting the hostages out. I've met with the families of the American hostages. Let's get the hostages out. Let's get the ceasefire done."
"Bash interjected, "But no change in policy in terms of arms so forth?"
"Harris said a perfunctory "no," repeating, "I —we —have to get a deal done. Dana, we have to get a deal done. When you look at the significance of this to the families, to the people who are living in that region, a deal is not only the right thing to do to end this war, but will unlock so much of what must happen next."
"Not a mention of Hamas's refusal to accept any deal that doesn't guarantee its continued reign, nor of the inconvenient fact that it never agreed to release all the hostages." . . .
"Harris was admitting that, from the day after Palestinian terrorists committed the worst atrocities against Jews since the Holocaust —before Israeli boots even touched the ground in Gaza, but while rockets continued to be launched from the Strip into the south, and Hezbollah in Lebanon fired missile barrages on the north —Team Biden was promoting a narrative of moral equivalence between perpetrator and victim." . . .
Sun was the Chief of Staff for Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) when Meng was a member of the New York State Assembly, then worked for Cuomo in multiple positions: Director of Asian American Affairs, Deputy Chief Diversity Officer, and Deputy Superintendent for Intergovermental Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer. After Hochul took office in August 2021 Sun became Deputy Chief of Staff, then left that job in November 2022 to become the Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Business Development at the New York State Department of Labor." . . .
Hamas today taunted the families of the six Israeli and A merican hostages executed by Hamas in a Gaza tunnel by releasing haunting new footage of the victims — and warning that the gut-wrenching clips were only a teaser to their “last messages.”
"The hostages, looking gaunt and exhausted, identify themselves for the camera before the footage transitions to still frames — including one threatening to release the captives’ full statements in a matter of hours, according to the terrorist propaganda video posted on Telegram.
"Hamas previously released similar videos of Oct. 7 hostages — footage that the Israeli government has denounced as a form of psychological warfare. Israeli media outlets did not carry the traumatizing video clips.
"Past Hamas videos included a brief message from Goldberg-Polin. It was released in April. In the video, Goldberg-Polin identified himself as Israeli and said he had been held captive for “nearly 200 days,” which suggested that the video was taken shortly before it was released.
"The dual American-Israeli citizen was missing part of his left arm, which was blown off by a Hamas grenade when the Palestinian terror group descended on the Nova music festival in southern Negev during the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. His body and those of the five other slain hostages found Saturday were released to their families over the weekend." . . .
Screenshot from the Hamas video. They have no fear of public pressure on them, but enjoy the benefits of it on the Israeli government. Comment to the post:
"Hamas operatives embedded in the groups of protesters in America have certainly done their job. They have tried to make this look like it is an Israel problem, when really, it is a Hamas problem. Israel has every right to wipe out Hamas after what happened on October 7th, and I sympathize obviously with the families of the hostages, but you cannot let up in terms of destroying Hamas or else October 7th will happen again and again. This is particularly true given that Hamas now sees that they have sympathizers in the West who won't care if they do so. The world has gone crazy. Trump cannot be elected soon enough, this is Biden/Harris's mess."
"Banish all thoughts that she is an incumbent vice president and co-owns the last four years of the Biden administration". . ."She is always to be from Oakland—never Berkeley."
"How do accomplished radicals elect a mediocre far-left presidential candidate?
"The task might at first seem impossible.
"Kamala Harris is currently a radical incumbent vice president. For more than three years, she was second in command to an unprecedentedly unliked Democrat president, his failed policies, and his unpopular record.Harris herself had compiled a hard-left trail over her own entire career while loudly boasting indiscreetly to leftist audiences of being proudly “woke” and “radical.”
"Most challenging for a Harris candidacy makeover was the long, entrenched Democratic Party’s reluctance to remove a debilitated President Joe Biden from the Democratic ticket.
"Why?
"Because Harris was deemed such a liability that she had become a Spiro Agnew-like insurance policy for a failing Biden.
"Until just recently, Democrats had considered an unpopular and enfeebled Biden nonetheless far preferable to an incoherent, lightweight, and widely ridiculed potential replacement Vice President Harris.
"After all, she had never before entered a presidential primary. She never won a single delegate by voting. She failed miserably as a candidate in 2020.
"And she co-owns the unpopular record of an even more unpopular president.
"The complete Harris makeover requires 15 radical rules followed to the letter:" . . .
Election 2024: Here's what Harris' past debates show before a faceoff with Trump | AP NewsA former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, Harris has long presented her debating prowess as a strength, and her sharp questioning of opponents has produced many a career highlight. But she has also had testy exchanges that didn’t play as well." . . .
. . ."Gabbard said Harris “put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.” With the audience roaring, Gabbard further accused Harris of having “blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so.”
"Gabbard now says she was surprised that Harris’ record hadn’t been more carefully scrutinized during the primary. She said she uncovered the issues she raised not with opposition research, but by using Google.
" 'I was surprised at how unprepared she was to respond to them. Just from, you know, I would imagine that you’d prepare before going into a debate,” Gabbard said in an interview. “And also that she made no attempt to deny them or frankly justify them, if she was proud of those decisions.” . . .
“ 'Last night clarified the stakes of this election,” Harris said.
"Her event in Las Vegas and her television interviews after Biden’s debate were apparent efforts to calm Democratic panic. Hours earlier in Raleigh, North Carolina, Biden appeared to acknowledge the criticism of his performance, saying ”I don’t debate as well as I used to.' ” . . .
The controversy underscores the high stakes of this election, where every move is scrutinized, and every decision could have far-reaching consequences. For now, the focus is on whether Harris will confront Trump under the traditional debate rules or whether her campaign will succeed in negotiating the modifications they are reportedly seeking.
Harris Campaign’s Cheap New Debate Gambit Reveals Its Fears | National Review . . .“Debates don’t matter . . . unless someone faceplants.” Of course, back then, the first debate may well have mattered significantly: Donald Trump didn’t exactly faceplant, but — because he was suffering from an as-yet-undisclosed bout of Covid himself, one that put Chris Christie, his unlucky debate-prep partner, in the hospital and nearly in his grave — he gave a disastrously interrupting, impatient performance that night. ' . . .
. . ."So, what would I say about Harris as a debater? She gets high marks for poise and being able to recall and deliver messages. She prefers to use notes, which makes sense given her legal background—she used the time before the moderators got started to reproduce notes on the notepaper we were given. (Note: I did the exact same thing.) She certainly has the stamina for a 90-minute debate. She'll expect hostility from Trump, and I expect her to be steady and strong. She was taken by surprise by Tulsi Gabbard's pointed and persistent attacks four years ago but there will be no surprise here. Outside of the primaries, she debated former Vice President Mike Pence four years ago, and I thought that she was clear and composed throughout." . . .
The crew spent 20 days at the site and returned to Providence, Rhode Island, on Aug. 9. They captured more than 2 million of the highest resolution pictures of the site ever to exist, the company said.
"A bronze statue from the Titanic — not seen in decades and feared to be lost for good — is among the discoveries made by the company with salvage rights to the wreck site on its first expedition there in many years.
"RMS Titanic Inc., a Georgia-based company that holds thelegal rights to the 112-year-old wreck, has completed its first trip since 2010 and released images from the expedition on Monday. The pictures show a site that continues to change more than a century later.
"The trip to the remote corner of the North Atlantic Ocean where the Titanic sank happened as theU.S. Coast Guard investigatesthe June 2023 implosion of the Titan,an experimental submersibleowned by a different company. The Titan submersible disaster killed all five people on board, includingPaul-Henri Nargeolet, who was director of underwater research for RMS Titanic.
"The findings from this summer’s trip “showcase a bittersweet mix of preservation and loss,” RMS Titanic said in a statement. A highlight was the rediscovery of the statue “Diana of Versaille,” last seen in 1986, and the statue now has a clear and updated image, the company said." . . .
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