Monday, September 1, 2025
Victor Davis Hanson: The Left’s Disturbing Defense of Violent Criminals
“Crime apologist” is not a strong enough term to describe the hysteria and vitriol that’s infected the modern-day Left.
"For the sake of ideology, left-wing leaders and activists are willing to sacrifice public safety and justice—from sanctuary cities releasing violent offenders to outrage over federal intervention that actually reduced crime in Washington, D.C. Victor Davis Hanson warns of the dire consequences of this mindset if left unchecked on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”
“ Do you remember the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson? He was a person from the middle class, was born without status or advantages or money, and he worked himself up to the leadership position of one of the largest health care concerns in the United States. And Luigi Mangione—a 25- or 26-year-old wealthy, well-educated kid, high status, privileged—decided that he was an enemy of the people because health care was not universal and UnitedHealthcare may have refused coverage to certain people in need. So, he decided he was going to kill him. And he did kill him. He murdered him. It's on tape. And what was the reaction of the Left? Some on the left canonized him.
"The left’s “heroes” are too often liars, criminals, or violent radicals—canonized not for virtue, but for their usefulness to the progressive cause."
. . . "So it became easy to immortalize a Garcia—as long as he does not live next door.
It is virtuous to praise publicly a Mangione—unless he is armed and hiding in wait for your parents.
Smollett is a noble victim, at least when you’re not a cop at 3 AM trying to sort out all the preposterous lies of Jussie’s noose, bleach, and “bruises.”
“Hands up, don’t shoot” is a catchy civil-rights call to arms—at least when Michael Brown is not strong-arming you in a store or he is not charging you head down." ...
Sunday, August 31, 2025
Thanks to Hamas, He Came Back Alive, But Not Whole
Eleven months in the presence of evil.
Quora; Israel Observer "On one side of the story, time looks frozen—a soldier in uniform, standing tall and proud, his fiancée leaning into him with love and certainty. Their future looked secure, full of promise.
"But on the other side, everything had changed. Eleven months in captivity left him hollowed out. His body was reduced to skin and bones, his face etched with pain. The same woman stood beside him, her love unshaken, but now holding on to fragility instead of strength.
"Yes, he came home. But he wasn’t fully home." . . .
"He whispered about the days in the cell—airless rooms, the smell of rot, the belt strikes, the freezing water that made his skin burn, nights spent shivering on cold concrete.
“ 'We didn’t count people,” he said. “We counted shadows.”
"Survival isn’t the same as living.
"Back home, the war followed him. Darkness made him tremble. The sound of the doorbell froze him in place. The mirror often reflected not himself, but the prisoner he once was. His fiancée tried everything—her voice, her touch, her presence—but when she tried to reach that locked place inside him, the answer was always the same:
“ 'Don’t come in. I haven’t left there yet.”
"And so, the war continued. Not with bombs or bullets anymore, but in their home. In silence. In memory.
"Because some wounds don’t bleed on the outside. Some wars don’t end when the fighting stops." . . . More...
Graphic video shows Israeli father throw himself on grenade to save sons during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack
Greta Thunberg, are you watching? Never mind; she and her handlers refuse to watch this propaganda.
NY Post "A new terrifying video shows the moment Hamas soldiers slaughtered an Israeli firefighter in front of his two young sons on Oct. 7 — and helped themselves to Coca-Cola while the wounded boys screamed in horror.
"The filmed attack on the Taasa family was shown as part of a roughly 45-minute compilation of clips from the terror group’s deadly 2023 assault that killed 1,2000 Israelis.
"It was presented to world leaders, diplomats and journalists Friday."
 |
| The father's body is blurred out after he threw himself on the grenade. |
. . . "Inside, the pair of brothers inspected one another’s wounds.
"Koren revealed he cannot hear out of his left ear, while Shay said he can’t see out of his eye — with Sabine later describing that her little one’s eye is “hanging half out of its socket.”
"That’s when the elder brother told Shay, “Dad’s dead, Shay. I’m not joking. It’s really not a prank.”
"The younger boy tragically replied: “I know. I saw.”
"The boys both suffered a series of emotions, with both wailing that they didn’t want to die like their father had and questioning why Hamas had left them alive." . . .
"The Taasa family also lost their oldest son Or Taasa, 17, that same morning while he was on his way to the Zikim beach to fish with his friends.
"A separate video taken in the aftermath of that massacre showed the bloodied bodies of several civilians inside a bathroom." . . .
From the comments:
"Kindly force every single protester and activist who supports these terrorists watch the horrific footage from that day, including the members of Congress that openly abandon their Oath of Office by supporting our enemies. Godspeed to the families who have endured such tragic losses."
WARNING, VERY GRAPHIC! Video out of Israel shows room full of children massacred by Hamas
'Lazy Butt': Gavin Newsom Comes for Sen. Kennedy in Crime Debate, Probably Wishes He Hadn't
Sen John Kennedy: Newsom Put The Funk Into Dysfunction
"One of the tactics Gavin Newsom has used over the last several weeks to try and get the upper hand in the crime debate is using misleading and, in some cases, false crime data impressions in an attempt to make the case that red states have bigger crime issues than California, while proclaiming crime in California's biggest blue cities is allegedly down by double digits."I've watched Governor Newsom for years and to quote one of my favorite columnists, he's put the funk into dysfunction. Every year that he's been governor, crime and violence has gotten worse in California. Why? Because… pic.twitter.com/pUFbamtRcd
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) August 29, 2025
"A frequent target for Newsom and his Baghdad Bob School of Communications graduates has been Louisiana, not just because it's a red state but also because it's home to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
"In a recent interview with left-wing YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen, for instance, Newsom said, "I think [President Trump] should start with Shreveport, Louisiana, and Speaker Johnson's district, that has six-plus times the per capita murder rate of Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco. What about the carnage, Mr. President, in Shreveport? Why aren't you protecting the folks there?"
"As usual, however, Newsom - and his handlers - were way off the mark. The vast majority of Shreveport is in Rep. Cleo Fields' district. He's a Democrat.
"As we've also reported, Sen John Kennedy (R-LA) has had a lot to say about Newsom's seeming "conversion" to crimefighter, something Kennedy instinctively understands has everything to do with the Trump Effect, where Newsom has been shamed at the national level by the POTUS into taking action.
" 'Now you don't have to be a senior at Caltech to know that [Newsom's law enforcement surge is] in response to the Trump administration's threat to send in federal law enforcement officials," Kennedy stated Friday during a Fox News segment. "But look, I'll take it, if that's what it takes to get Gov. Newsom to stop being a princess, I'll take that, too."
"Newsom, in turn, filed a hurt feelings report over being called a princess, responding to a tweet from Kennedy by claiming without evidence that, "We’ve been doing this work for years. Perhaps you should take a page out of our book. Your state’s homicide rate is 380% higher than California’s."
"Naturally, Kennedy - who has previously referred to Newsom as a "weenie" - has responded accordingly to Newsom's attacks on his state as only he can: . . ." More...
A California school district goes trans crazy
To the TVUSD, any girl who wants to preserve feminine modesty and privacy is mentally ill. Guys who want to ogle girls and wave their junk in the shower are the very model of modern gender sanity. Trans boys aren’t a problem, sane, decent girls are. They’re depriving Johnny/Joan of her/their trans rights!
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| Here in Nevada, we need to stand firm. Our daughters deserve dignity, safety, and privacy – without needing a government permission slip. |
"Gavin Newsom’s California is crazy and proud of it. Californians are particularly nuts when it comes to trans. While the reelection of Donald Trump has given most of America cultural and legal permission to restore sanity to that issue and others, releasing a national sigh of relief, California seems determined to die on that political hill.
"For much of California, “trans rights” which don’t exist in the Constitution or anywhere else, smother the rights of girls and women, particularly where the trans is a guy pretending to be a girl. Such mentally ill boys, or even merely perverse boys who want access to naked girls in bathrooms and locker rooms, must be praised and protected at all costs. The Temecula Valley Unified School District is leading that ignoble battle:" . . .
"Such is the case with today’s Democrat (they’re not democratic)* party. Much has been written on their being on the wrong side of every 80/20 issue. I have previously noted here that the party appears to be aligned with the demonic principles of Baal and Jezebel. How else does one explain their celebration of abortion, the chemical and surgical castration of children, placing graphic pornography in K–12 schools, and welcoming thousands of vicious South American gang members into our country?" *Emphasis mine. TD
AOC Mocked for Bragging About Installing New Trash Cans
"Despite the optics, AOC continues to advocate for the decriminalization of prostitution, a policy many residents say exacerbates the red-light corridor problem."
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) faced immediate backlash after boasting about installing new trash cans on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.
"The congresswoman, a Democrat and founding member of the socialist “Squad,” took to social media earlier this month to celebrate what she called her “war on trash.” . . .
. . . "“Of course, AOC won’t speak about what’s really happening here so she can keep up the facade that her district is amazing and a paradise,” Frias added.
"Locals told The Post they have repeatedly complained about rampant crime and prostitution along the corridor. Some even urged the FBI to investigate alleged links between the Market of Sweethearts and organized crime.
"“I have not personally seen Ocasio-Cortez since she’s been elected. I have seen her in a parade — that’s it,” said Rosa Sanchez, president of the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition." . . . More
AOC Touts New Trash Cans on NYC's Notorious 'Market of Sweethearts'
"There's clueless, then there's abysmally clueless. Then, somewhere beneath that, there's New York's own, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), or AOC.
"In her most recent eye-roller, AOC is bragging about the new trash cans she caused to be placed along the "Avenue of Sweethearts" - Roosevelt Avenue, in Queens, still the greatest place for one-stop shopping for prostitution, drugs, and gangs, as the NY Post reported exclusively. Oh, she got the trash cans, but the trash remains." . . .
While her constituents are struggling with rampant crime, AOC is attending Met galas (for which she's taking some ethical heat) and going on the modern version of a whistle-stop campaign with the daffy old Bolshevik from Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), to promote socialism. What a joke.
How Bruce Springsteen Fooled America; I love his music but wish it was from a better man (TD)
"Springsteen will always have defenders who insist his criticisms are rooted in love. But love doesn’t look like constant contempt. Love doesn’t sound like sneering at the very country that gave you unimaginable success."
"Bruce Springsteen is considered by many to be the voice of America. A patriot. A hero. The blue-collar troubadour who stood shoulder to shoulder with working men and sang their stories back to them. But according to Aaron Lewis, that image is a fraud. He’s right. The evidence is impossible to ignore.
"Lewis rose in the late 1990s as frontman of Staind, one of the era’s biggest rock bands, selling millions and filling arenas. In recent years, he has reinvented himself as a solo country artist. Unlike most musicians parroting Hollywood politics, he wears his patriotism openly. His songs are bluntly pro-American, his shows draped in the Stars and Stripes. Mocked and scorned, he hasn’t backed down. That’s why his criticism of Springsteen carries weight.
"During a recent discussion with Tucker Carlson, Lewis called Born in the U.S.A. “one of the most anti-American songs ever written.” To a casual listener, that might sound absurd. After all, the title itself sounds like a celebration. The chorus is shouted like a stadium anthem. Politicians from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton have used it as campaign music. For decades, it has been played at parades and fireworks displays as if it were no different from “God Bless America.”
"But the verses of Born in the U.S.A. don’t honor America. They attack it. The song tells the story of a Vietnam veteran who comes home to find only unemployment and rejection. It describes the United States not as a land of opportunity, but as a cold and ungrateful country that discards its own citizens. It’s a protest song wrapped in a patriotic-sounding package. And millions of Americans, too distracted by the chorus, never realized they were singing along to an indictment of their own nation.
"The truth is that anti-American sentiment runs through much of Springsteen’s catalogue. He built his image on denim, guitars, and the language of hard work. But again and again, his lyrics frame the country not as a place of promise but as a failed experiment. The River doesn’t just mourn economic despair; it tells the story of young love crushed under the weight of lost jobs and broken promises, a couple forced into early marriage and left with nothing but regret. It paints the American dream as a cruel bait-and-switch, where factory closings and hard times overshadow any sense of hope. "Youngstown goes even further, naming the steel mills, tracing the legacy of American industry, and then turning on the very country that built them. “Them big boys did what Hitler couldn’t do,” Springsteen sings, blaming America itself for gutting its own workers. The song doesn’t search for renewal; it wallows in anger, portraying the nation as a betrayer rather than a builder." . . .My own column, published years ago: Springsteen writes for the wrong generation ~ ThePrincessDiana Quoting myself: "I love Bruce Springsteen's music and can listen to it all day, many songs making me stop to just enjoy the experience of listening to them, their refrains bouncing around in my head for hours afterward.
But then I pay attention to what the man is saying."
Sadly, I do feel our nation and it's principles have generally been superior to those of most of her inhabitants. That was true during slavery and Jim Crow and is so now in our present culture which calls good evil and evil good
This twenty-first century decline of America is the stuff of songs, but there seems to be nobody capable of writing them, including Bruce Springsteen.
The Rhetoric and Realities of Gun Control
"In the meantime, politicians and pundits will continue to call for “major gun reform” without addressing the constitutional limits on such action."
 |
| Broc Smith |
"Within minutes of the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic Church Mass on Wednesday, politicians and pundits were calling for new gun control measures and blaming conservatives for the deaths of the children. These are the same calls that have emerged after past shootings for everything from a ban on “assault weapons” to a total ban on all guns. What the public is not being told is the limited range of options under existing constitutional precedent.
"The inconvenient fact in these interviews was that Minnesota has some of the nation’s strictest gun controls, and these weapons were acquired legally in that state by the shooter. The state has “red flag” laws and other provisions, but this was someone who did not raise “red flags” or other barriers. The state is at or near the maximal level of gun controls permitted under the Constitution. What remains are bans that would trigger greater serious constitutional challenges.
"After calling for more limits, Sen. Tina Smith (D., Minn.) admitted to CNN that the guns were legally obtained in her state, but insisted that “there are only so many things that an individual state can do, because guns pour into Minneapolis and Minnesota from all other parts of the country.”
"Over at MSNBC, pundits were suggesting that it may be time for an Australian-like ban and seizure of all guns. The Trace reporter Mike Spies told MSNBC’s Katy Tur that “[guns are] too powerful, even handguns too, again, that’s why in Australia … The only thing that really works, if you really wanted to bring down gun violence, was to do what Australia did and to do what many other countries in Europe do.”
"The problem, of course, is that this is not Australia, and we have a Second Amendment protection of gun ownership with over 490 million guns in private hands back in 2022. In 2008, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, recognizing the Second Amendment as encompassing an individual right to bear arms. The Supreme Court further strengthened the right in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen.
"Politicians know that, but continue to call for measures that would be presumptively unconstitutional. Any Australian ban would require a constitutional amendment, absent the most extreme interpretation of the Second Amendment to flip its meaning.
"As I have previously written, these calls often appear entirely disconnected from the actual crime or the constitutional protections afforded gun owners, including President Biden demanding a ban on assault weapons after a shooting with a handgun. Biden and others often collectively call these guns “assault weapons,” a standard reference to such popular models as the AR-15.
"The AR-15 is the most popular gun in America and the number of these guns in private hands is continuing to rise rapidly, with one AR-15 purchased in every five new firearms sales. These AR-15s clearly are not being purchased for armored deer. Many are purchased for personal and home protection; it is also popular for target shooting and hunting. Many gun owners like the AR-15 because it is modular; depending on the model, you can swap out barrels, bolts and high-capacity magazines, or add a variety of accessories. While it does more damage than a typical handgun, it is not the most powerful gun sold in terms of caliber; many guns have equal or greater caliber.
"That is why laws to ban or curtail the sale of the AR-15 would likely run into constitutional barriers. Even the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down a California ban on adults under 21 purchasing semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15." . . .
Saturday, August 30, 2025
While Democrats Exploit School Shooting Victims, Thomas Massie Just Offered a Real Solution
My Safe Students Act, HR 5066, would repeal the dangerous Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, ending the default federal policy of making schools soft targets.HR 5066 would make it easier for state governments and school boards to unambiguously set their own firearm policies." . . .
. . . "Massie’s bill would repeal the federal prohibition on carrying firearms in school zones and remove the penalties for doing so. In essence, it would amount to a full repeal of the Gun-Free School Zones Act." . . .
"Anti-gunners immediately jumped on the opportunity to exploit the victims of the Minneapolis school shooting to promote more restrictions on firearms.
"However, none of them have shown which gun control laws would have prevented Robert “Robin” Westman from killing two young students and injuring over a dozen more. That’s because gun control doesn’t work.
"Earlier this year, the Crime Prevention Research Center published a report challenging the popular anti-gunner myth that armed civilians don’t stop active shooters. Researchers analyzed 512 active shooter incidents between 2014 and 2023, showing that a “good guy with a gun” were more effective at stopping would-be mass shooters than members of law enforcement.
"The study revealed that “according to police, armed citizens have stopped 57 active shooter events which otherwise were likely to have escalated into mass public shootings” and that “armed citizens reduce the number of people killed by 49 percent while police increase the number killed by 16 percent.” . . .
Too Funny! Maxine Waters Invokes 25th Amendment Against Trump - She Might Want to Look in a Mirror
"Of course, outside of California's 43rd Congressional District, nobody has taken Maxine Waters seriously since the late Mesozoic."
" 'Mad Max" Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has surfaced again, and is in her usual form: Incoherent, unhinged, irrational, and nonsensical. She's an embarrassment to the people of her Congressional district, or she should be, if the voters in her district were capable of embarrassment; Mad Max's continued re-elections make that seem unlikely. She's also an embarrassment to the people of the state of California (the same disclaimer applies) and the United States of America.
"Now she's calling for 25th Amendment proceedings against President Trump, based on the president's mental state. This is a piece of irony the size of the Virgo Supercluster.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., called for the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to be used against President Donald Trump on Friday, suggesting he was unfit, during a discussion about his removal of Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors.
"It is time to call for Article [Amendment] 25 of the Constitution of the United States of America to determine his unfitness, to determine that something’s wrong with this president. And I would suggest that we move very aggressively to talk about the danger to this country and to our democracy and not play around with this, because this is absolutely one of the most destructive things that this president could do," Waters said during an appearance on MSNBC's "The Weeknight."
"Ah. MSNBC. Of course. There is no one so unhinged, so disconnected from reality, that someone on MSNBC won't give them a hearing."
Mad Maxine Is at It Again – You Won't Believe What She Said About Trump This Time
"During an appearance on MSNBC, Waters discussed Cook’s firing and why it somehow indicates that Trump’s cabinet should take steps to remove him from office." Video; Maxine and MSNow
Democrats were once a capable party. Now we have the likes of "The Squad", Corey Booker, Ted Lieu, Purple Rosa De Lauro, Frederica Wilson, Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, Jasmine Crockett, Hank "Guam" Johnson, Shri Thanedar, Summer Lee, Al Green, Pramila Jayapal, and others in the shadows of Congressional nincompoopery. TD
The Missiles of Anti-Israel Misinformation Must Be Pre-Empted, Stopped in Their Tracks, Sent Back to Hell
"I do not want to see Israel in exile, pogroms everywhere, anywhere. Not me. Please don't call upon me..."
. . . "Remember the IDF women who were guarding Israel's southern perimeter right up against the border with Gaza? Remember that they were monitoring Hamas’ movements, looking out for incoming trouble? We do not yet fully understand why their superior officers did not listen to them. Yes, we know that some were asleep, had turned off their cellphones, had been sent home, along with the entire IDF, for both Shabbat and Simchat Torah. We understand that their superiors apparently had no advance intelligence and for many possible reasons. We've also been told that PM Netanyahu had not been fully informed of any possible trouble gaining traction. If this turns out to be true, will we be looking at another similar case, that which involved PM Golda being fed disinformation by Moshe Dayan right before the 1973 Yom Kippur War? Is this even conceivable?
"I do not know anything. I was not in the room--as they say. What really happened remains to be explored. Was part of the problem that it was always impossible for even the best Israeli spies to live in Gaza for more than an hour without being discovered, kidnapped, or murdered? Gaza is a small strip. Or was it the absolutely arrogant belief that the long-term Israeli strategy of paying off Qatar and Hamas was succeeding? (This strategy is known as "mowing the grass.")
"My point: In a very small and humble way, I am like those front-line observers of the fence between southern Israel and Gaza. Their warnings were not heeded. Nor have those of mine and others of my cohort. We've been at it a far longer time than these young warriors but, for many reasons, both Jewish organizations and Israeli organizations did not think that our warnings were as important as nobly donating to hospitals and medical services, and the IDF; less nobly to left-wing NGOS, left-wing political candidates, etc.
"Point taken. And yet, allow me to assure everyone that while Israel absolutely needs to be able to militarily defend itself in any way it deems necessary, defensively, preemptively, and offensively, so, too, do both Israel and the Jews need to do so in terms of the massive and monstrous disinformation campaign that has been successfully launched against us.
"Some serious scholars now suggest that Israel had better cut its losses and make the best deal it can--but that's in part due to the success of Israel's global demonization. Both Israel itself and its global reputation need to be well defended." . . .
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