UPDATED, 8:18: First Lady Melania Trump Evokes Children's 'Melodic Laughter' in Personal Letter to Russia's Putin

 UPDATED, Mon; 8/18: Melania Trump’s Letter to Putin Stands Up for Abducted Children - American Thinker 

. . . "Ukraine has documented nearly 20,000 kidnapped children, though the true number could be many times higher. These boys and girls are not just displaced — they are forced into Russian families, indoctrinated with propaganda, punished for speaking their native tongue, and in some cases subjected to military training. Reports have even exposed online “catalogs” where children are sorted by eye color or hair color for adoption in Russia. This is not wartime collateral damage, but a deliberate campaign to erase a nation by erasing its children." . . .

Dare we expect Greta Thunberg and hundreds of college agers to demonstrate in favor of Putin and his victimizers while blaming Ukraine for "genocide"?

 Fox News.  

"Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter," the first lady wrote. "In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone—you serve humanity itself."

"EXCLUSIVE: First Lady Melania Trump wrote a "peace letter" to Russian President Vladimir Putin telling him "it is time" to protect children and future generations around the globe, Fox News Digital has learned.

"Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the "peace letter" the first lady penned to Putin, which  President Trump hand-delivered to the Russian leader before their summit in Alaska, Fox News Digital has learned." 

"Dear President Putin," the first lady’s letter begins. "Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger."

"As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope," the letter continued. "As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few."

"Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded," read the letter. "A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology." . . .  Full article here...

Schiff urged to 'resign immediately' after bombshell allegations REVEALED

 Fox News   "Rep. Mariannette Miller‑Meeks, R-Iowa, joins 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the bombshell allegations against Adam Schiff, why she believes he should step down, and [also] a surge in female military recruitment."

Trump hand-delivered Putin a letter from First Lady Melania on ‘plight of children in Ukraine and Russia’:

  White House | The Independent 

" 'I go home, I tell the first lady, ‘I spoke to Vladimir today, we had a wonderful conversation.’ And she says, ‘Oh really, another city was just hit,” he said from the Oval Office."

"President Donald Trump hand-delivered Russian President Vladimir Putin a letter from First Lady Melania Trump on the “plight of children in Ukraine and Russia,” according to a new report that cites White House officials.

"Trump met with Putin for nearly three hours on Friday at a U.S. military base in Anchorage, Alaska. In their first meeting in six years the two leaders discussed the war in Ukraine. Trump has pushed for peace in the region but no ceasefire deal came out of the talks.

"Melania Trump, who was born in Slovenia, wrote Putin a letter that mentioned the abductions of children in the over three-year war, which Trump gave to Putin at the summit, two White House officials told Reuters.

"While the exact number of missing children remains unclear, the Institute for the Study of War reported in March Ukraine verified nearly 19,500 children have been deported by Russia. But the research non-profit said, “The true figure is likely to be much higher because Russia frequently targets vulnerable children without anyone to speak for them.”

"In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of the war crimes of unlawfully deporting children and unlawfully transferring them from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

"Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the questions raised by the ICC “outrageous and unacceptable,” Reuters reported at the time. He also mentioned Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court, so “any decisions of this kind are null and void” for the country.

"Prior to Friday’s summit, Trump had spoken on the phone with Putin on several occasions, but it didn’t seem to move the needle on the war in Ukraine. In recent months, Trump grew more frustrated with the Russian leader, as he continued his military campaign in Ukraine. 

"Last month, Trump talked about Melania reminding him of the deadly toll of Russia’s bombardments on Ukraine." . . .

Democrats Betray Democracy to Stop Trump

 Victor Davis Hanson   

"But you’re angry because you’re impotent, and you’ve created false narratives that Donald Trump is doing what you have actually done. And what is that? Destroying democracy." 

. . . "The Democrats have a new narrative, the Left in general does, that they are saving democracy from President Donald Trump. And that justifies “almost any means” necessary to achieve the end of destroying or preventing Donald Trump from governing effectively. 

"The problem with all of this is they are destroying democracy to destroy Donald Trump.

"What do I mean? One of the issues that they are agitating is the redistricting of congressional districts in Texas and California now. And the general problem the Left has is, if you look at gerrymandering to make these jigsaw puzzle piece-like districts, the Left is way ahead of the Right. In other words, states that have proportions of 30% to 40% to 50% for Donald Trump do not have that level of representation in the Congress.

"And there’s been sophisticated studies of gerrymandering. And it boils down to the Republicans are short some six to 10 seats in the House, based on the proportion of the national vote they have received.

"The Democrats know that, but they’re angry about the Texas reapportionment and gerrymandering. And their attitude is: “We’ve already gerrymandered our states to the maximum. Don’t dare try to emulate us.”

"James Carville said that they have to get tougher. That’s the new mantra: Gotta get tougher. Gotta get meaner. Sen. Cory Booker screams and yells and throws a fit about every three weeks in the Senate. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries picks up his baseball bat. There’s usually a video with “the squad” or representatives using the word “s—” or the F-word, kind of pornographic. Rep. Jasmine Crockett periodically calls Donald Trump names that can’t be repeated on air. But you can see the anger." . . .

Toronto Film Festival Changes Mind, Will Show October 7 Documentary

 Legal Insurrection  TIFF worried about anti-Israel protesters and…Hamas copyright claims.

   "The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) changed its mind and will screen a documentary about the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7.

From The New York Post:

TIFF’s turnaround comes only as the festival faced outrage over reports that “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” wouldn’t be screened, because the filmmakers used footage filmed by Hamas but didn’t obtain the rights for the clips.Festival CEO Cameron Bailey defended the earlier decision to bump the documentary from its September lineup, denying accusations that “censorship” played a role.“I want to be clear: Claims that the film was rejected due to censorship are unequivocally false. I remain committed to working with the filmmaker to meet TIFF’s screening requirements to allow the film to be screened at this year’s festival,” Bailey wrote on social media.“I have asked our legal team to work with the filmmaker on considering all options available,” he added.But the documentary’s filmmakers said the film has not been reinstated at the festival.“As it stands, TIFF has not communicated to us in writing that it has reversed its decision. This continues to be a negotiation.”

" Leslie wrote about TIFF banning the documentary because the Hamas footage came from the terrorists live stream of the attack.

"TIFF worried about anti-Israel protesters and…Hamas copyright claims.

"What a joke.

"Documentary producer Talia Harris said the live streamed footage puts it in the public domain." . . .

The Week In Pictures: Democrats All-In For Crime Edition

  Power Line

"There was a lot of news this week. Texas Democrats, emulating their brethren in Wisconsin and Minnesota, fled to greener pastures in hyper-gerrymandered Illinois. The battle over illegal immigration continued. As of this writing, President Trump and Vladimir Putin are conferring in Alaska.

"But the overwhelming favorite of meme-creators was President Trump’s effort to get crime in the District of Columbia under control. That seems like a laudable objective, but every Democrat, without exception as far as I know, has lined up on the side of the criminals. The District has sued to stop Trump from saving residents from violence and disorder. And the Deep State, in the person of Sean Dunn, a Department of Justice employee, summed up the irrationality and futility of the Democrats’ position by throwing a Subway sandwich at an FBI agent.

"Dunn has been described as a “theater kid” from–sadly!–South Dakota. No doubt he thought he was acting nobly, like all Democrats, and is surprised to find himself fired and facing a felony count. Assault with a deadly sandwich. Meme-creators couldn’t resist.

"So here we go:" . . .

The Week In Pictures:

Gaza Part One: The Situation: Hamas wages war through terror and propaganda, while Israel is blamed for crimes it did not commit—facts ignored as the world embraces a false narrative.

  American Greatness  This is the first installment of a three-part series on the Gaza situation, political fallout, root causes, and real-world ramifications.

Hamas has deliberately adopted a strategy of maximizing civilian casualties by operating from hospitals, schools, and crowded neighborhoods, forcing the IDF to fight in civilian areas. 

"The movement among key members of the international community to recognize a Palestinian state must be seen in the broader context of the war between Israel and Hamas—beginning with an analysis of the facts on the ground, free from the deceits of propaganda.

"First and foremost, Hamas is a radical Islamist terrorist organization that continues to hold both living hostages and the bodies of those they have already slain—a reality far too many in the feckless international community ignore.

"Hamas is a radical Sunni Muslim organization that has repeatedly declared its intent not only to destroy the State of Israel but also to murder as many Jews as possible, regardless of nationality. As a confirmed proponent of Islamic jihadism, Hamas also seeks to recreate a second Caliphate, in which Islam would reign supreme over the entire world. Hamas, therefore, also seeks to subjugate Christians (dhimmitude) and will kill as many of them as is necessary to attain this aim. As the jihadist slogan goes, first the Saturday people (the Jews), then the Sunday people (the Christians).

"A barbarous cog in the global jihad movement, Hamas has evidenced its rejection of Western values of democracy and human rights through murder, rape, and kidnapping in pursuit of power.

"Hamas launched the war on October 7, 2023, when it invaded Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and foreign residents, and kidnapping 250 people. Hamas murdered its victims in incredibly barbaric ways, including burning families to death, beheading babies, and raping and mutilating women before slaughtering them. Hamas filmed their vile atrocities and broadcast them on public media so the world could witness their crimes and cruelty, and either cower or celebrate in the face of them.

"The attacked and aggrieved nation, Israel, didn’t immediately counterattack. When it did, the Israel Defense Forces (“the IDF”) made an unprecedented attempt to protect Gaza’s citizens. Before attacking certain areas, the IDF called Gazans on their cell phones and dropped leaflets announcing where the attacks would take place and where the Gazans should go to avoid being caught in a war zone. While civilians have died, the civilian-to-soldier death ratio has been historically low. Expert military historians, including John Spencer, have hailed the IDF for its efforts to minimize civilian casualties." . . .

Did you ‘misgender’ the mentally ill? You may be entitled to refugee status.

 Olivia Murray- American Thinker   

"A young Brazilian woman who was facing twenty-five years in prison for “social racism” after “misgendering a transgender politician” on social media has been granted refugee status in an undisclosed European nation."

. . . "Now, how gayness/queerness is a race is beyond me, but like I noted above, those five counts of “social racism” came with almost three decades in jail. For context, the prison sentence that Cêpa was facing is lengthier than what most child rapists in Brazil receive upon conviction: non-violent sex with a child under 14 will get you 6–10 years, violent sex comes with a penalty of 8–12 years, and if the child dies while you rape him or her? 12–30 years. In fact, you can murder someone, and get around half, or equal the punishment that Cêpa was fixing to receive. (Murder comes with a prison sentence between 12 and 30 years.)

"When the justice system becomes so unjust, what legitimacy does it have anymore?

"Despite all Europe’s (very serious) flaws, free speech didn’t die today. Sure, free speech is dead in Brazil, but that’s what happens when communists take over, and you have a Supreme Court that can issue arrests, and be the jury, judge, and executioner."

There Won't be a Biden Presidential Library

 Douglas Schwartz - American Thinker

"Don’t be disappointed if you’re anxious to attend the Biden Presidential Library’s opening. It almost certainly will never exist. D.C. swampsters are trying to bury the record, hoping the public forgets how bad things were. Its subject will soon be either in the ground or too incapacitated to solicit funding. Biden staffers retaining criminal defense counsel have no interest in a library containing evidence for prosecutors to mine. No reporters from press outlets complicit in enabling chaos are hounding Biden. DOGE revelations testify to his administration's wholesale graft. FBI servers were purged of controversial data, unburdening what had been." 

"There theoretically is a Joseph R. Biden Presidential Library. But it’s only virtual. The closest to a physical library was boxes stacked in his garage next to the Corvette. Biden has no plans, saying, “I’ve talked to former presidents – apparently building the library is a gigantic undertaking...And so I haven’t made that decision yet.” A Biden library would only occur if his entourage of grifters sought a vehicle for raising cash, taking a page from Clinton’s and Obama’s playbooks.

"Too much Biden administration funny business must never see daylight. Why would the Big Guy showcase incriminating evidence, even that which isn’t a Schedule II controlled substance? The linked headlines below reveal the empty reality. . . More...

Douglas Schwartz blogs at The Great Class War, applying pattern recognition of historical cycles to place current events into context.

Putin: ‘I can confirm’ Ukraine war would have never started if Trump was president (Video) | New York Post   "Putin spoke first at the press conference with Trump in Alaska and said the meeting between Russia and the United States was long overdue. As the war in Ukraine has raged on, Trump has consistently maintained that the conflict would have never started if he were President. "I can confirm that," Putin said."

The Trump-Putin Alaska Summit Is About More Than the Ukraine War

 At the Alaska summit, Trump aims to press Putin for a Ukraine cease-fire, vowing “severe consequences” if Russia resists ending the war.

American Greatness  

The summit might not be successful. Trump may walk away from a bad deal. But regardless of whether the summit succeeds or fails, this event is another sign of how the global leadership that President Trump is demonstrating indicates that his second term will be a historic and consequential presidency.

 "Although the stated purpose of today’s Trump-Putin summit in Alaska is to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine, the meeting will also be an important demonstration of how Trump is restoring America’s leadership on the world stage and establishing himself as one of America’s most powerful and influential presidents.

"Trump’s critics predictably claim Putin manipulated him with his proposal to hold a summit to stop the crippling energy sanctions that Trump was about to impose on Russia and to buy time to continue the war.

"Putin may be planning to use the summit to manipulate Trump. If he does, I believe Trump will abruptly end the meeting and implement the energy sanctions. Indeed, Trump warned this week that there will be “severe consequences” if he determines Putin is not serious at the summit about ending the war. It is clear that in recent weeks, Trump has become increasingly angry with Putin for defying his diplomatic efforts to end the war. CNN reported on Wednesday that Trump’s anger with Putin was “palpable.”

"Given Trump’s much-reported frustration with Putin and several decisive foreign policy moves by the president during his second term, especially Trump’s decision to bomb Iran, I believe Putin realizes that Trump will react harshly against Russia if he does not come to the summit ready to negotiate an end to the war or presses for demands that Trump views as unreasonable.

"Trump is sure to encourage Putin to agree to a cease-fire. He will argue that he is the only leader on the world stage—now and in the foreseeable future—who will ever make the Russian leader a deal to halt the war that will end Russia’s isolation and restore Russia’s economy. This is consistent with Trump’s landmark speech in Saudi Arabia last May, when he said America should no longer have permanent enemies and that he wants to promote a new world order of global security through trade and prosperity.

"Trump will also discuss other global issues with Putin on which the U.S. and Russia might cooperate, such as global trade, the Israel-Hamas war, Iran’s nuclear weapons program, North Korea, Arctic energy cooperation, and terrorism. Such discussions could be part of a broader deal to begin new U.S.-Russia partnerships on global security and economic matters." . . . More...

Democrat betas think the F word will make them alphas

 Bet a beta Beto is the best the boy can be.  

"So, why are Democrats spouting the F word as eagerly as fourth graders who just learned it?  Several reasons. First, they’ve always been just a step from the gutter."

"There’s a Democrat in Texas (yes, really!) who lost a race for senator, and then lost a race for governor. He’s a designated loser.

"His name is Robert but he has a nickname. Since he’s proven himself not exactly an Alpha, you might assume his nickname is “Beta.”

"Close. It’s “Beto.” Beto has a lot more in common with “Beta” than with “Rambo.”   

"Beto/Beta attended elite private boarding schools and then Columbia where he took a degree in English Literature. It was probably Shakespeare that taught him not to be.

"But Beto/Beta has a strategy to show his toughness and finally rise to leader of the pack. He says the F word. A lot.

"When he lost the senate race, he informed his supporters, “I’m so f***ing proud of you!” He and his supporters promptly regrouped and went on to lose the gubernatorial race.

"Offering incisive commentary on Donald Trump, he exclaimed, “What the f***?” Significantly, the object of his invective is now President; Beto/Beta is not.

"His brave response to a mass shooting was, “This is f***ed up.” Shooters everywhere scurried.

"His recent legal argument in opposition to the Texas rules requiring state legislators to, well, legislate rather than flee the jurisdiction, was, “F*** the rules!” The Democrat lawbreaking lawmakers caved yesterday. Beto/Beta fought the rules, and the rules won." . . .More...

Soros-Backed Group, Beto O’Rourke PAC Pick Up Tab For Texas Democrats’ Gerrymandering Stunt

 Daily Caller News Foundation.

   “Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto Bribe will be held accountable,” said Paxton."

Daddy Soros, Sr.

"Groups tied to billionaire megadonor George Soros and failed candidate Beto O’Rourke are picking up the tab for Texas Democrats who fled the state to block a GOP redistricting plan, according to The Texas Tribune.

"Since Sunday, dozens of Texas House Democrats have taken refuge in blue states such as Illinois to deny the state House a quorum needed to pass a new congressional map that could net Republicans up to five additional seats. The absent democrats face a $500 fine for each day they are absent, but O’Rourke’s Powered by People PAC and the Soros-backed Texas Majority PAC are covering much of the cost, according to The Texas Tribune.

"Since the Texas House Democrats fled the Lone Star State, Powered by People has directed all donations towards supporting the effort, according to the Texas Tribune. O’Rourke’s political outfit has reportedly paid for lawmakers’ expenses, including travel, including private flights, hotel rooms, meals and logistical support, a source familiar with the matter told the outlet.

"O’Rourke personally called lawmakers in recent weeks, urging them to flee the state to block the GOP redistricting efforts, The Texas Tribune reported.

"Meanwhile, the Texas Majority PAC is reportedly coordinating with national Democratic groups to court the party’s biggest donors to fund the lawmakers’ ongoing absence. The PAC is bankrolled by Soros and was founded by alumni of O’Rourke’s failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

"Texas Majority spent over $9 million during the 2024 election cycle, with nearly two-thirds coming from Soros, according to the Texas Tribune. Despite significant spending in the state, former Vice President Kamala Harris lost Texas to President Donald Trump by nearly 14 points in 2024, and Sen. Ted Cruz defeated Democratic Rep. Colin Allred by 8.5 points." . . .