Daily Archives: October 17, 2023
10 Things Every New Christian Should Know | ChurchLeaders
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Recently, a 20-something friend became a new Christian, and he asked me, “What are the top 10 things for a new Christian to learn within the first year?” (Apparently, he is a David Letterman fan.)
This is a wise question because if you are off by a few degrees at the start and you travel that path for a while, you will be off by miles later. I know that from experience. I have been a Christian for over 25 years, and God has had to redirect me on multiple things because of what I mistakenly believed early on about being a Christian. And it is better to learn sooner than later.
10 Things a New Christian Should Know Within the 1st Year
So here are the 10 things (not necessarily in any particular order) that I thought my new Christian friend should sink down deep into his heart, head and hands as he travels his first year with Jesus:
1. God Loves Us
The one thing that the Bible emphasizes more than us loving God and people is that God loves us. He loves us first and most. God isn’t in heaven plucking a daisy saying, “I love you” when you obey and “I love you not” when you sin. He cannot not love you (Rom. 5:8 and 1 Jn. 4:16).
2. Relationship First!
Your motivation to and the purpose of learning, serving, worshipping, giving, reaching, reading, praying, etc. is to grow relationally more in love with God and people (Mt. 22:36-40).
3. You not only are saved by grace; you grow by it, too.
A common trap for new and growing Christians is trying to clean up their lives without God’s help. This is a false equation: The less you sin = the less you need God’s grace. You can’t sin less and love more without the strength of God’s grace.
4. Don’t trample over the Great Commandment trying to obey the Great Commission.
New and enthusiastic Christians often do this. Instead, lead people to Jesus by loving people to Jesus (1 Cor. 13:1-3). If they ask you why you live the way you do, humbly and simply share with them why you put your hope in Jesus.
5. Love your neighbors—your literal neighbors.
Do this because you are a Christian, not just because you want them to be Christians.
6. It’s All About Jesus.
Focus on Jesus, His cross, His resurrection and His kingdom. When you confessed Jesus as the living Lord and Messiah, you never said—and will never say—anything more meaningful. Jesus is God with skin. No other “religious leader” (Moses, Buddha, Muhammad) is His equal. They were mere men; Jesus is God who became a man. He is the center and circumference—the hub and rim of all of life and creation. All of the world’s greatest gifts—love, life, truth, grace, etc.—have a name. Jesus.
7. God cares about your whole life, not just your “spiritual life.”
It is a mistake to think that God is only concerned about a section of your life called “your soul” or “your spirit.” God cares about and is to be Lord of all of your life—personal, emotional, social, familial, financial, physical, vocational, sexual, intellectual and so on.
8. Love other Christians, even when they are different.
Unfortunately, many Christians and churches view their “brand” of Christianity as the only true or most true type of Christianity. They may not think they are the only Christians, but they do think they are the best or most right ones. This is a prideful and sinful attitude that grieves Jesus and dismembers His body. Strive for unity in the body of Christ by praying humbly and thankfully for other Christians.
9. Pray with your Bible open.
There are many different spiritual exercises (fasting, solitude, serving, etc.), but the two most important ones are communicating and communing with God through prayer and listening to and learning about God through the Scriptures. Prayerfully read about Jesus (in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Prayerfully read about the beginning of the church in a book called Acts. Prayerfully read some letters written by Christians for Christians—some good ones to start with are James, Philippians and Ephesians.
10. Find a Christian mentor.
You will need help and encouragement in this journey with Jesus. Ask an older Christian (of the same gender as you) to mentor you. Look for someone who displays the attitudes and actions that were described above. Be a blessing to them in return.
Christianity is not a list, but a life; it’s not a chart, but a charter. But a new Christian will learn new things. Some of those things will be true but not important. Some things will be off by degrees that can lead them astray. Other things will be just plain wrong. Help a new Christian learn to follow Jesus by being their best at what matters most to Him.
Rest in All Thy Goings | VCY
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee restExodus 33:14
Precious promise! Lord, enable me to appropriate it as all my own.
We must go at certain times from our abode, for here we have no continuing city. It often happens that when we feel most at home in a place, we are suddenly called away from it. Here is the antidote for this ill. The Lord Himself will keep us company. His presence, which includes His favor, His fellowship, His care, and His power, shall be ever with us in every one of our marchings. This means far more than it says; for, in fact, it means all things. If we have God present with us, we have possession of heaven and earth. Go with me, Lord, and then command me where Thou wilt!
But we hope to find a place of rest. The text promises it. We are to have rest of God’s own giving, making, and preserving. His presence will cause us to rest even when we are on the march, yea, even in the midst of battle. Rest! Thrice blessed word. Can it ever be enjoyed by mortals? Yes, there is the promise, and by faith we plead it. Rest comes from the Comforter, from the Prince of Peace, and from the glorious Father who rested on the seventh day from all His works. To be with God is to rest in the most emphatic sense.
How Dare He? | Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God.
A local Christian radio personality relayed how she was driving down the road when a cop flashed his lights and motioned her to pull over. She admitted her blood pressure rose and her teeth clenched because she wasn’t speeding. How dare he?!
Then he told her that around the blind curve was a huge obstacle in the road and the road was very poorly lit. At highway speeds, she’d have careened into it. Other policemen were removing it now. Would she mind waiting about ten minutes.
After she sputtered and nodded, the officer jumped in his car, and with lights flashing, swirled around to block the road for the oncoming vehicles behind her. She publicly thanked the policeman on the radio and apologized for her initial reaction.
It made me wonder how often God blocks my path and I grouse out about it. How often does He detour me from danger and I complain because things are not happening “my way“? How often were those irritating moments that delayed me –like the cat hacking a fur ball in my shoe just before I went to slip it on, or a button snapping that I have to quickly repair, or the moving van blocking my exit from my apartment complex for a few minutes– actually work to my advantage without me knowing it?
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Lord, forgive me. Let me publicly say thank you to You for putting obstacles in my path and delays in my day. Thank you for the story on the radio today that stepped on my spiritual toes a bit. Next time, I will try to be more patient and praise You in all circumstances. Through Your Son and by Your Spirit I pray, Amen.
By Julie Cosgrove
Used by Permission
From: https://wheredidyoufindgodtoday.com/
Further Reading
• Waiting God’s Way – by Kathy Cheek
• Willing to Wait for God’s Way – by Charles Stanley
• Show Me Your Ways – by Phil Ware
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The post How Dare He? can be found online at Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God.
The Roadblocks of Life | Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God.
“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” Ecclesiastes 7:9
When I looked out of the front of my house, I noticed that the local authorities had placed barricades saying “road closed”. They also erected similar signs in several places as far as a half mile away, along with detour signs. Surprisingly many cars ignored the warnings and came right up to my driveway to turn around. One man even got out and tried to remove the barricades and another drove through the side yard and out the front of my neighbor’s yard.
We don’t like roadblocks, do we?
Roadblocks slow us down. They get in our way. They are an inconvenience. They impede our progress. For some reason, we think the signs are for people who don’t have as much sense as we do.
God will sometimes position roadblocks in front of us that call for our immediate decision to stop or go in another direction. We need to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit and go in the direction He tells us to go.
I’ve heard of people at railroad crossings who saw the red lights flashing, bells ringing, the train approaching, and still they attempted to race across the tracks. Some people have been fortunate to “outrun” the train. Some people have not been so fortunate.
The same is true of people who drive around roadblocks set up during flooding. These people see the water running over the bridge, but the water appears low enough to go across safely. Regrettably, halfway across, the vehicle they’re in stalls and they have to be pulled out by a rescue team. Or worse, the driver gets washed away.
How many times have you and I been so headstrong and plowed ahead ignoring all the visible signs to stop? If you disobey the Spirit’s leading, the odds of ending in failure are greater than the odds of ending in success. When things aren’t working according to your plans, you must believe God has put the roadblock up for your own protection.
Roadblocks, whether placed by man or by God are for our protection. Sometimes God wants to protect us. Sometimes He wants to lead us in a different direction. And, sometimes God wants to just slow us down and wait. Whatever the reasons, roadblocks are there for our benefit. God wants us to grow and sometimes that means going in a different direction.
How do you respond to the roadblocks of life?
By John Grant
Used by Permission
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney
Further Reading
• The Map of Life – by John Grant
• The Road Ahead – by Laura Rath
• Don’t Turn Back – by Katherine Kehler
The post The Roadblocks of Life can be found online at Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God.
17 Oct 2023 News Briefing
Anti-woke Republican Jeff Landry wins Louisiana governor’s election, flipping seat red
Louisiana Republican Attorney General won election over the weekend to become the state’s next governor, flipping the office to GOP hands after the tenure of term-limited Democrat incumbent John Bel Edwards.
New York Supreme Court Upholds Ban On COVID Vaccine Mandate For Health Workers
New York’s Supreme Court has upheld its previous ruling invalidating the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, a decision that will have ramifications on the power of the state’s executive.
Top Jim Jordan Opponent Ends up Endorsing His Bid for House Speaker
A top Republican congressman who opposed House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan’s campaign to become the speaker of the House of Representatives has said that he will now vote for Jordan on the floor, according to a post on X.
The Wishes Of Hamas, Hezbollah, And Iran Will Not Come To Pass—Israel Will Not Cease Being A Nation
As we watch the atrocities unfold in Israel and mourn the devastating loss of life, our minds ask the questions, “How long oh Lord? How much longer will evil bring pain and suffering into this world and impact the lives of your people?” Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and those supporting their efforts to destroy the Jews and the nation of Israel, are fighting against the plan of God, but they will not prevail.
Majority of Americans Believe Israel’s Military Response to Hamas Justified, Poll Finds
A large majority of Americans believe that Israel’s military response to Hamas is justified in the wake of the Palestinian terrorist group’s brutal invasion of the Jewish state last weekend that left over 1,400 Israelis dead, according to a new poll.
IDF Spokesperson: Hamas is at war against humanity, not just Israel
“The Israel Defense Forces will destroy Hamas for the sake of Israel, Gaza, and the entire world,” he concluded. UNRWA on Monday reported that Hamas terrorists stole fuel and medical supplies from one of its facilities in Gaza, but later deleted the original tweet which reported the theft. Following the deletion of the post, Israel’s Foreign Ministry asked, “Has Hamas also hacked into your Twitter account or are you just afraid to disappoint your terrorist friends?”
Top Hamas official who handled Shalit file eliminated
Palestinian Arab media reported on Monday evening that Dr. Osama al-Mazini, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, was eliminated in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit later confirmed that Mazini was eliminated, saying in a statement, “The IDF and ISA killed Osama Mazini, the head of the Shura Council of Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Stri
US Defense Secretary to Gallant: US committed to expediting assistance to Israel
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on Monday with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. In a statement following the call, the Pentagon said that the purpose of the call was “to continue discussions on Israel’s operations to restore security following Hamas brutal October 7 attack.”
Why has the Gaza ground invasion been delayed since Friday?
Is Hezbollah waiting to strike until forces are in a Gaza quagmire? The drum beat toward an invasion had started as early as Sunday-Monday and was only getting louder, with the air force having already paved the way with several days of withering bombing. Yet, now we have arrived at late Monday, and if anything, the signs (which could also be psychological warfare) are that the invasion is further away, and not yet imminent. What changed?
Biden to visit Israel this week as US deploys troops nearby
Biden is gearing up for a significant visit to Israel, as confirmed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a late-night meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Iran threatens Israel and the US
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland in Beirut on Saturday. Amir-Abdollahian stressed that Iran has its red lines. He said that if the Israeli military operation continues — and especially if Israel follows through on its promise of a ground offensive in Gaza — Iran will have to respond,
Ahead of ground op, IDF chief says strike Hamas ’everywhere’
“Our responsibility now is to enter Gaza, to go to the places where Hamas is preparing, acting, planning, launching. Attack them everywhere, every commander, every operative, destroy infrastructure. In one word, to win,” said Halevi during an address to soldiers of the IDF’s 162nd Armored Division.
MIRACULOUS RESCUE FROM HAMAS TERRORISTS: ‘God came down and saved my parents’
On Saturday, Oct. 7, the horrific day of the Hamas invasion, David and Rachel Edry – a retired Jewish couple living in the small Israeli community of Ofakim near the Gaza border – woke up to the sounds of explosions and automatic gunfire. They were distant at first, but getting closer. Rachel immediately called their son, Evi, a police officer, to find out what was going on.
Hospice patients are being quietly killed as Medicare incentivizes ‘stealth euthanasia’
A report on hospice corruption sparked outrage earlier this year. But as long as Medicare’s time-limit cap on funding exists, the killing of patients by bad actors will remain a temptation.
M3.6 earthquake and new seismic swarm recorded in Campi Flegrei supervolcano, Italy
An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.6 ± 0.3 was recorded in Campi Flegrei, Italy, at 12:36 UTC on October 16, 2023, coinciding with the start of a new earthquake swarm. The event comes amid rising concerns over the area’s seismic activity.
Massive sandstorm engulfs parts of Jordan
A massive sandstorm swept through several areas of Jordan, including the city of Azraq and the capital Amman, on October 15, 2023. The event resulted in drastically reduced visibility and poor air quality, prompting local authorities to issue multiple safety warnings.
Strong M6.4 earthquake hits Andreanof Islands, Alaska
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.4 hit Andreanof Islands, Alaska at 11:35 UTC on October 16, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 187 km (116 miles).
Death toll reaches 100 in flash floods and GLOF events in Sikkim and West Bengal, India
As of October 15, 2023, devastating flash floods and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) have resulted in 100 fatalities in the states of Sikkim and West Bengal in northeastern India. The events, which began on October 4 along the Teesta River, have also left 76 people missing, 30 injured, and have displaced 2 321 individuals into 20 relief camps.
BREAKING: Israel Bombs Damascus & Aleppo Airports Before Iran’s Foreign Minister Due To Arrive
Iranian state sources say foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian’s plane has landed in Baghdad. It’s unclear whether he will continue on his trip to visit Syria, which some reports say is scheduled for tomorrow.
The Attack on Israel is Religious, Meant to Awaken Islamic Messiah Mahdi
It’s entirely understandable that most Westerners believe the current 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel is simply lust for revenge and anger over Gaza’s conditions. But, wait! Instead, it’s astounding to know the ultimate impulse in Iran funding Hamas is to usher in the age of the Mahdi, as their mighty savior. This war to utterly destroy Israel is now led by Iran’s Shia Islam and seeks to bring the End of Days. So, Biden’s gift of $6 billion to Iran guaranteed war would result, given their theology. See below…
Carbon Passports Are The Next Dystopian Surveillance Threat
The digital ID agenda is already on the horizon. But it doesn’t stop there. Digital carbon passports are the next big proposal. Travel enthusiasts worldwide might soon face a drastic change in exploring international borders, with global warming triggering the implementation of carbon passports that could limit their wanderlust, asserts Intrepid Travel in a recently published report.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Declares Support for Hamas a Crime Punishable with Up to 14 Years in Prison
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters on Monday that support of Hamas is a crime punishable with up to 14 years in prison.
SICK! New York City Nightclub Hosts Pro-Hamas “Intifada FundRaver”
A New York City nightclub called The End, located in Brooklyn, is hosting a pro-Hamas “Intifada FundRaver” Sunday night. The event is being promoted with a video that features Hamas videos of last weekend’s surprise attack on Israel that among its over 1,300 victims included 260 civilians slaughtered by Hamas at an outdoor rave. The promotor claims the funds raised at this rave will go to “PALESTINE CHILDREN’S RELIEF FUND & MEDICAL AID FOR PALESTINE.” The rave is set to go on into early morning–unless law enforcement shuts down the terrorist supporting event.
We Are Literally On The Brink Of An Apocalyptic War Between Israel And Iran
The crisis in the Middle East has taken another very ominous turn. Iran is threatening to get directly involved in the conflict, and that should deeply alarm all of us. For a long time, I have been specifically warning my readers that an apocalyptic conflict between Israel and Iran would be coming. Sadly, now we are literally on the verge of seeing that happen. Both nations possess weapons of immense destructive power, and there is going to be so much death and destruction in the days ahead.
Stanford Instructor Suspended for Targeting Jewish Students as ‘Colonizers’ After Hamas Terror Attack
An instructor at Stanford University has been suspended after targeting Jewish students as “colonizers” and making them stand in a corner of the room. The pro-terrorist Stanford instructor then told the students, “This is what Israel does to the Palestinians.”
Headlines – 10/17/2023
Middle East on ‘verge of the abyss,’ UN warns as Gaza suffers and Israel prepares for offensive
Ground offensive will be aimed at destroying Hamas from bottom up
Iran says Hamas will release Israeli hostages to end Gaza bombardment
IDF says over 200 Hamas, Islamic Jihad targets hit in overnight Gaza strikes
Israel Says It Has Killed a Top Hamas Official
Commentary: It Was Not About Reclaiming The Land, It Was A 21st Century Pogrom
Hundreds of Israeli bodies remain unidentified 10 days after Hamas attack
IDF Official: Hamas Made Victims ‘Unrecognizable’
Hamas is using Gazans as pawns – editorial
‘People are terrified’: Gaza’s main hospital overflows with the living and the dead
Israel denies okaying ceasefire so Egypt crossing can open for aid, foreigners’ exit
Governor Ron DeSantis greets hundreds of Americans evacuated from Israel as they land in Tampa
Birnbaum: Hamas Attack Has Unified Israel Politically
Netanyahu says Israel ‘will not stop’ until it’s destroyed Hamas in call with Putin
The US is mounting a frantic effort to head off a wider Middle East war
Blinken, Netanyahu Shelter in Bunker During Hamas Missile Attack
Joe Biden is visiting Israel on Wednesday in a surprise move
Biden to make wartime ‘solidarity’ visit to Israel on Wednesday
Biden to visit Israel in ‘critical moment’ for the region, says Blinken
Senator Murphy: President Biden’s trip to Israel will ‘send incredibly strong signal to Hamas’
Iran considers US ‘militarily involved’ in Israel’s war with Hamas
Hezbollah shoots at IDF posts, fires missile at tank in fresh Lebanon border clashes
Hezbollah destroys Israeli surveillance cameras along the Lebanese border
Like Star Wars: Israel May Deploy Its Defense Treasure ‘Iron Beam’ Against Hamas
FBI Director Warns About Rising Threat of Hamas-Style Terror Attacks Coming to US
Trump Foreign Policy Adviser Walid Phares warns that Hezbollah could active sleepers cells in U.S.
Trump vows to reinstate and expand travel ban amid Israel-Hamas conflict
New York City nightclub hosts anti-Israel ‘Intifada FundRaver’
Seattle Antifa, anti-Israel activists threaten to block Israeli cargo ships from offloading supplies
Colombia lashes out at Israeli envoy amid spat over war with Hamas
Cornell University Professor Says News of Hamas Terrorist Attack ‘Exhilarating’ and ‘Exciting’
BBC Under Fire as Journalists Appear to Praise Hamas Terror Attacks on Israel
French School Evacuated Again: Bomb Threat Days After Fatal ‘Day of Jihad’ Knife Attack
France’s Macron: Brussels was hit by ‘Islamist terrorist attack’ again
Two Swedes shot dead in Brussels, Belgium raises terror alert to top level
Gunman screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ kills two Swedish tourists in Brussels
Macron Calls for ‘Ruthless’ Deportation of All Migrants with Ties to Islamic Extremism from France
Anti-Israel sentiment leads to Berlin official to reluctantly ask Jews to hide their faith
Security Council rejects Russian resolution on Gaza war that made no mention of Hamas
How the Israel-Hamas War Is Tilting the Global Power Balance in Favor of Russia, China
Putin arrives in China ahead of talks with ‘dear friend’ Xi on ‘international issues’
Biden’s treasury sec says US can ‘absolutely’ afford more war
Biden Halves US Oil Reserves Ahead of Mideast Crisis
DeSantis: Trump Did Allow Iran to Get Oil Money by Relaxing Sanctions
6-Month Sudanese War Has Claimed 9,000 Lives: Humanitarian Situation Dire, Says UN
McCarthy Confident Jim Jordan Will Be New House Speaker
New ad targets Jordan, Republican supporters over 2020 election, Jan. 6
House Oversight Probes Alleged Criminal Violations in Biden’s Classified Document Scandal
Donald Trump Sues British Ex-Spy Steele Over Infamous Dossier
Obama judge hits Trump with gag order – then lectures Trump attorneys on election interference
Judge agrees to ‘narrow’ gag order limiting Trump attacks on witnesses in Jan. 6 case
Judge Chutkan Unloads on Donald Trump in Fiery Exchange Before Ruling on ‘Gag Order’
Trump Campaign: Gag Order in January 6 Case an ‘Absolute Abomination’
Judge Napolitano: ‘Trump Should Test’ Gag Order
Trump to Appeal ‘Unconstitutional’ Gag Order
Proud Boy Pleads Guilty to Obstruction in Jan. 6 Attack
Zuckerberg Suffers Defeat As Yet Another State Bans His Election Funding
Pro-democracy hackers attack Guatemala government webpages
City-size comet racing toward Earth regrows ‘horns’ after massive volcanic eruption
Afghanistan is hit by fourth 6.3-magnitude quake in just over a week
‘No one will sleep in their house’: Photos show impact of devastating Afghanistan earthquakes
Aid groups warn of humanitarian crisis after repeated Afghan quakes
5.5 magnitude earthquake hits near Bandar Abbas, Iran
5.1 magnitude earthquake hits southern Iran
5.0 magnitude earthquake hits near San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina
M3.6 earthquake and new seismic swarm recorded in Campi Flegrei supervolcano, Italy
Klyuchevskoy volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 27,000ft
Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 25,000ft
Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupts to 23,000ft
Sangay volcano in Ecuador erupts to 22,000ft
Popocateptl volcano in Mexico erupts to 20,000ft
Bezymianny volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 17,000ft
Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 15,000ft
Reventador volcano in Ecuador erupts to 15,000ft
Semeru volcano in Indonesia erupts to 14,000ft
Sakurajima volcano on Japan erupts to 11,000ft
Death toll reaches 100 in flash floods and GLOF events in Sikkim and West Bengal, India
Record wildfires and drought hit the Amazon, drying up rivers and smothering Brazil in smoke
Amazon rainforest port records lowest water level in 121 years amid drought
Gulf Stream weakening now 99% certain, and ramifications will be global
Blue state delivers crippling blow to green energy development, jeopardizing Biden’s climate goals
Illegal Alien Shelter Emptied Out After Fire Marshall Shows Up: Report
McCarthy: Because of Biden’s Open Border ‘We Don’t Know’ if There Are Terrorist Cells in America
Elon Musk Sparks Outrage With Strong Statement in Defense of the Second Amendment
Elon Musk stands up for 2A: ‘Armed citizens are essential to the defense of democracy’
Portland businessman allegedly murders man in broad daylight and then shoots tourist who recorded it
Whoopi Goldberg meets with Pope Francis, champions his acceptance of homosexuality
Trump Slams New California ‘Sanctuary Law’ for ‘Gender-Confused Children’
Opponents of Ohio Abortion Amendment Have ‘Mountain to Climb’
Pfizer Takes Big Loss From Reduced Use of Their ‘COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapies’
The Psychological Playbook: Brainwashing Techniques to Increase “Vaccine” Uptake
Fauci Says YOU Are the Reason He Needs Personal Security: “I Am a Big, Big Target”
Mid-Day Snapshot · October 17, 2023
“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.
THE FOUNDATION
“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted … if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.” —George Washington (1783)
| Fellow Patriots, on this day in 1916, the USS Arizona was commissioned at the New York Naval Shipyard. She operated in both the Atlantic and Pacific for 25 years before being sunk by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. Some 1,177 crewmen were killed aboard during the attack, and about 1,000 sailors remain entombed there today. The price of Liberty can sometimes be high. —Mark Alexander |
IN TODAY’S DIGEST
- The Gaza Refugee Problem
- Moral Equivalence Means Either Moral Confusion or Hatred of Israel
- Executive News Summary
- The College Reckoning Cometh
- Biden’s Nonsensical Junk Fee Fixation
- More Victimization of Kids
- DAILY FEATURES: Reader Comments, Videos, Best of Right Opinion, Short Cuts, Memes, and Cartoons.
ON THE WEB
- Stephen Moore: Our Public Schools Are a National Disaster
- Douglas Andrews: Decent Humans Tune Out MSNBC
- In Brief: Civilizational Suicide
FEATURED ANALYSIS
The Gaza Refugee Problem
The truth is nobody wants Palestinian Arabs, which Hamas has used to its advantage.
Thomas Gallatin
As much as Palestinian apologists bemoan Israel’s supposed “oppression” of the Arab population living in the Gaza Strip, the truth is that nobody wants them. With Hamas terrorists running the show in Gaza, it’s effectively a situation of the inmates running their own prison. Palestinians are suffering in Gaza primarily because of Hamas, not Israel.
So, with this latest war between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians will once again be the biggest losers. Israel is on the cusp of launching a massive ground assault through which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to eradicate Hamas once and for all. Yet the Islamic Middle Eastern nations that feign concern for the Palestinians are absolutely unwilling to accept them as refugees.
Egypt could open its border with Gaza to let the million or so fleeing refugees in, but it won’t. This works in Hamas’s favor, as its jihadists use civilians as human shields to protect themselves from Israel’s military assault, banking on a high civilian casualty count to win sympathy from the rest of the world that has been duped into overlooking its genetical anti-Semitic credo.
At least one European official sees clearly through Hamas’s gambit. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock insightfully observed: “Hamas brings nothing but suffering and death to the people — in Israel and in Gaza. It is Hamas’s perfidious strategy to use the civilian population as a human shield. Terrorism’s cynical plan must not be allowed to take hold. Civilians need safe spaces where they can find protection and have their essential needs met.”
But as noted above, Egypt won’t provide that “safe space.” So, is Egypt the bad guy here? Or Jordan? Or Saudi Arabia?
What these Middle Eastern nations know is that accepting a massive influx of refugees is no small matter, as it can create politically and economically destabilizing events. And there is no guarantee that Hamas terrorists won’t slip in with the Palestinian refugees.
Most of the cultural instability that has been rankling Europe is tied directly to its open-border embrace of massive numbers of migrants. This was on full display in major European cities, and even in the U.S., where groups of foreigners celebrated Hamas’s murderous attack.
Like Europe, Joe Biden’s de facto open-border policy threatens and undermines America. As millions of illegal aliens have entered the U.S. on Biden’s watch, among them are an unknown number of Islamists from the Middle East. More than 600 suspected terrorists were apprehended. We don’t know how many weren’t. Obviously, jihadi terrorists see the open U.S. southern border as a prime means of gaining entry and establishing terror cells within America.
Nevertheless, many Democrats insist that we open our borders further. “The international community as well as the United States should be prepared to welcome refugees from Palestine while being very careful to vet and not allow members of Hamas,” declared New York Democrat Congressman Jamaal “Fire Alarm” Bowman.
Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis recognizes this as a problem. “I don’t know what Biden’s gonna do, but we cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees,” he argued. “I am not going to do that. If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all anti-Semitic. None of them believe in Israel’s right to exist.”
DeSantis’s message is clear. The basic standard for anyone seeking to enter the U.S. is that if you object to our value system, if you object to our nation, then you should not be allowed in, period.
“We’ve got some serious problems in this country,” DeSantis added. “We’ve allowed a lot of these problems to fester. But my view is very simple: If you don’t like this country, if you hate America, you should not come to this country. We’ve got to start being smart about this.” Exactly.
Love of country demands that one priorities the protection of country over all others. If refugees hate our country, they should not be brought in because all they will do is seek to destroy the U.S., not seek to build up the country. Exhibit A is Jamaal’s “Squad” pal, Minnesota Democrat Representative Ilhan Omar, who continuously voices anti-American views and preaches false narratives about our founding and our history.
As that old expression goes, good fences make good neighbors. In other words, the respecting of others’ boundaries and property is key to respecting each other. Those who seek to undermine the boundaries don’t have their neighbors’ best interests at heart.
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Moral Equivalence Means Either Moral Confusion or Hatred of Israel
The moral problem is not the cycle of violence; it is Palestinian violence.
Dennis Prager
Moral equivalence has two purposes. One is to enable the morally confused to hide their confusion. The other is to enable the immoral to hide their immorality.
Here are two examples as applied to the Israeli-Arab conflict:
One is the assertion we hear regarding the latest Israel-Hamas war by members of the Western Left, by Muslim supporters of the Palestinians and even by a few individuals on the right: “Palestinian babies are as precious as Israeli babies.”
Professor Cornel West, a lifelong progressive running for president as a Democrat: “As I have said for the past 50 years, a precious Palestinian child has the same value as a precious Israeli child.”
David Cronin, an editor at Electronic Intifada, a large pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel website: “Palestinian babies are just as precious as my new daughter.” A second example is to avoid condemning Hamas for the wars they start by instead condemning the “cycle of violence.”
Let’s analyze the two statements.
That the lives of Palestinian children are as precious as those of Israeli children is a given. But it is meaningless given that virtually no Israeli or Israel-supporter has ever claimed otherwise. Indeed, it is usually worse than meaningless. It is usually a nice-sounding way to attack Israel and its supporters.
Would those who make this assertion have made it during World War II? After all, it is certainly true that Japanese and German children are as precious as American children. But what purpose would such an assertion have served? Would it have meant that Americans should drop no bombs on Japan or Germany? Presumably not. And if it would have, the statement would have been nothing more than a pro-German or pro-Japanese sentiment. Or would it have meant that America should avoid gratuitously killing Japanese and German civilians? If so, it would have served little purpose, since even if American pilots bombed only military and industrial targets inside Japan and Germany, many Japanese and German civilians, including children, would still have been killed. And, to cite the best-known example, the killing of Japanese civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war in the Pacific, thereby saving an exponentially greater number of Japanese and American lives.
The reason America, Britain, and Canada dropped bombs on Germany, and the reason America dropped bombs on Japan, was solely because Germany and Japan started World War II and because they committed horrific evils. Defeating those two countries was as clear a moral imperative as there could ever be. The Germans unleashed the unique slaughter known as the Holocaust and committed a massive number of atrocities against civilians in every country they conquered. The Japanese committed mass murder and Nazi-like atrocities on Chinese, Korean and Filipino civilians (such as grotesque medical experiments on non-anesthetized Chinese and the use of conquered women to be gang-raped on a daily basis by Japanese soldiers).
Therefore, why would someone have noted during World War II that Japanese and German babies are as precious as American or British babies? If it were to encourage the Allies to avoid gratuitous civilian deaths, and the maker of the statement were clear about the necessity and morality of bombing those terrible countries, no one would have disputed the statement. But if it were to draw some moral equivalence between the Allies and Japan and Germany, between their bombings and the Allied bombings, the person would be abettor of evil.
The same holds true for all those who now assert that Israeli and Palestinian children are equally precious. Given that the Palestinian regime in Gaza, i.e., Hamas, is dedicated to murdering every Jew in Israel — great-grandmothers down to infants; given that Hamas and all their Muslim and non-Muslim left-wing supporters around the world seek to annihilate the nation of Israel; given that Israel has, almost uniquely among the nations of the world, regularly warned Gaza civilians to evacuate buildings that Israel planned to bomb (thereby losing the advantage of a surprise attack on Hamas operatives); and given that Hamas places its leaders and weapons in schools, hospitals and apartment buildings for the express purpose of bringing death down on women and children, what exactly do those who assert that Israeli and Palestinian babies are equally precious seek to accomplish?
Unless accompanied by a completely unambiguous condemnation of the Hamas attacks on Israel via thousands of rockets and directly on Jewish parents and children, including babies, as war crimes and utter evil; and unless accompanied by a clear moral distinction between Israel and Hamas, the only reason for announcing that Israeli and Palestinian babies are equally precious is to engage in anti-Israel moral relativism.
Indeed, the only context in which this assertion would be useful is if it were directed at Hamas and its Muslim and left-wing supporters. It is they who do not believe that Israeli and Palestinian children are equally precious. As Al-Monitor, a non-partisan Mideast news website founded by an Arab-American, reported:
“The Israeli medical staff of Tel Hashomer Hospital is fighting for the life of a 6-month-old Palestinian infant abandoned by her parents. … Cancer-stricken children from the West Bank and Gaza have always been treated there alongside children from Israel.”
As regards the “cycle of violence,” it is hard to imagine a more anodyne description of the Israel-Hamas war.
Again, did anyone ever use this as a description of World War II? Why not? There certainly was a cycle of violence. But no one ever used the term, because it would have been an immoral description of what was happening. The “cycle of violence” was not the problem; Japanese and German violence was the problem.
And that is the case now. The moral problem is not the cycle of violence; it is Palestinian violence.
Without violence from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, there would be no “cycle of violence.”
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Executive News Summary
Jordan still working to nail down votes, Trump’s “tailored” gag order, Hamas apologists backtrack, and more.
Nate Jackson & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
- Jordan still working for 217 votes: Ohio Republican Jim Jordan won the nomination to run for speaker of the House, but he’s still working to nail down 217 votes to secure the spot. Fellow Ohioan Mike Turner said this morning that he’s “confident” we’ll have a speaker when the House votes later today. That’s good news considering that there were 55 Republicans who said Friday they were a “no” on Jordan. Nebraska’s Don Bacon said of the seeming stalemate: “We had a small group of folks who broke our rules and got rid of Kevin [McCarthy], and then a small group broke our rules and blocked Steve [Scalise]. Now, they want us to follow the rules and support Jim, and I don’t like that. I don’t play a game where the other guy can break the rules and win.” There will be inevitable horse trading behind closed doors before the public vote later today.
- That Trump gag order: Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan really doesn’t like Donald Trump, and on Monday she imposed a “tailored” gag order in Jack Smith’s case against the former president for his actions after the 2020 election. “Mr. Trump can certainly claim he’s being unfairly prosecuted,” Chutkan acknowledged. “But I cannot imagine any other criminal case in which a defendant is permitted to call the prosecutor deranged, or a thug, and I will not permit it here simply because the defendant is running a political campaign.” We’ll certainly grant that Trump is a rather unique defendant, one with his own social media network to boot. But Chutkan too readily dismisses the First Amendment freedoms of an active presidential candidate in a case she almost certainly has already prejudged. The Leftmedia cheered on the “narrow” and “limited” order as a show of restraint on Chutkan’s part. Now Trump gets to justifiably and loudly grumble about that, if not defy it altogether.
- More Americans think Biden’s corrupt: The Biden Crime Family may get away with their lucrative corruption legally, but more and more Americans — despite the wagon-circling of the media — know that the president has been up to no good. According to a recent Associated Press poll, “35% of U.S. adults believe the president himself has done something illegal,” while “an additional 33% say they think the Democratic president behaved unethically, but not illegally.” Just 30% think Biden is pure as the wind-driven snow, and one wonders what reality they inhabit. The AP, of course, downplays the whole thing as just over “ethical concerns,” but the poll shows that more Americans are getting wise to the game.
- Hamas bucks: The jihadists of Hamas receive a lot of backing from Iran, which is why our Mark Alexander said last week that Iran had attacked Israel. The Biden administration, of course, has spent nearly three years appeasing Iran, and that was after Barack Obama did likewise for eight years — literally sending pallets full of cash to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Hamas attacked not long after Team Biden unfroze $6 billion in Iranian assets. In an effort to cover that blunder, Biden said he’d once again limit access to that money. But Andrew McCarthy insists that hasn’t actually happened — and can’t happen because “the United States government no longer has power to freeze the funds.” Meanwhile, we’re learning that, just before Hamas’s assault, the Biden administration sent $75 million to Gaza, ostensibly for food. Always remember that money is fungible.
- Hamas apologists backtrack: To the consternation and alarm of decent human beings, too many people — primarily radical leftists — came out of the woodwork to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause against their Israeli “oppressors.” From Harvard to Congress, it’s been a disgraceful display. The good news is that some of these folks are backtracking in the face of public backlash. Several Harvard student groups distanced themselves from the infamous joint statement. The University of Pennsylvania quickly quelled pro-terrorist sentiments in the face of losing donors like former Utah Governor and U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman. Chicago’s chapter of Black Lives Matter apologized for messages “we aren’t proud of.” Media organizations are suspending or firing scribes and talkingheads who spout anti-Semitism. Free speech isn’t always free of consequences.
- Iranians at the border: Joe Biden’s open southern border is a huge humanitarian and economic crisis, but it’s also a matter of national security as potential terrorists make their way into our nation from the south. “From Oct. 1, 2022, to Aug. 31, 2023, Customs and Border Protection reported encountering 151 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist between ports of entry on the southern border, plus 76 more at ports of entry,” reports The Daily Signal. “This number does not include an unknown number of ‘gotaways’ who successfully evaded Border Patrol agents and entered the interior of the U.S.” The apprehensions include two Iranians whom the Border Patrol said could “pose a significant security threat.” The simple fact is that when millions of people illegally cross your wide-open border, not all of them are sweet families seeking a better life.
Headlines
- Joe Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday (Townhall)
- Hamas releases first hostage video in disgusting propaganda push (RedState)
- Neither Jordan nor Egypt will accept refugees fleeing Gaza Strip (Breitbart)
- Why has the Gaza ground invasion been delayed since Friday? (Jerusalem Post)
- U.S. selects 2,000 troops for potential deployment to support Israel (Daily Wire)
- Brussels shooting: Police shoot dead terrorist who killed Swedes (BBC)
- Tom Cotton says federal law requires DHS to deport foreign nationals who “expressed support for Hamas” (Daily Wire)
- Biden admin reaches deal with migrants separated from their families under Trump (NBC News)
- What would we do without experts? Runaway inflation “unlikely” to be reeled in under Biden administration, experts say (Daily Caller)
- Satire: Terrifying haunted house just displays current gas and grocery prices along dark, creepy hallways (Babylon Bee)
For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.
The College Reckoning Cometh
Employers are rightly rethinking the need for a college degree.
Douglas Andrews
A little more than three years ago, we penned a piece under an overly optimistic headline: “Is the Collegiate Death Spiral Coming Soon?”
We know, we know. It was wishful thinking.
“Our colleges and universities have for years,” we wrote, “grown unchecked by free-market principles, fully enabled by a corrupt deal between spiraling tuition costs and endless government subsidies. And all this while serving as leftist indoctrination camps for our children. It’s a noxious bubble that can’t burst soon enough.”
Since then, little has changed to improve the college experience. In fact, runaway student debt and rampant wokeism have made it even worse. It’d be bad enough if these institutions were cranking out debt-ridden little Maoists who were are least capable of making it in the modern world. But they’re not. A study published earlier this year in, appropriately enough, the journal Intelligence suggests that, for the first time in nearly 100 years, the American people’s average IQ is declining.
And get this: The greatest difference in annual IQ scores is in the 18-22 age group — the college age group. Not surprisingly, the study’s authors believe this decline might be related to the quality of edukation our studints iz getting. So the sales pitch for higher ed now goes something like this: Give us all your money, and we’ll use it to load up our pensions, grease the palms of Democrat politicians, and make you less intelligent.
It’s not exactly a bargain, is it?
A subsection of the American people has already incurred a stunning $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. When will enough be enough? According to CNBC, the days of easy student loans may be over: “Roughly two dozen schools have introduced ‘no-loan’ policies, which means they are eliminating student loans altogether from their financial aid packages.” The idea is that these schools can meet the financial needs of their students without loans.
It’s a start, we suppose. And perhaps that death spiral, that bursting of the higher-ed bubble, is instead coming in the form of a slow leak. One recent development is especially noteworthy. As Fox News reports: “American businesses are increasingly eliminating college degrees as part of their requirements for corporate roles, which is part of a wider trend in the U.S. job market that is de-emphasizing the value of a four-year diploma, according to experts. American companies like Walmart, IBM, Accenture, Bank of America, and Google have announced plans to reduce the number of jobs that require college degrees.” Here are some specifics:
Between 2017 and 2019, 46% of “middle-skill occupations” and 31% of “high-skill occupations” saw a drop in college degree requirements which “could have major implications for how employers find talent and open up opportunities for the two-thirds of Americans without a college education,” according to a report from the Burning Glass Institute. In line with the trend, the report projected the move could open up 1.4 million jobs for American workers without college degrees over the next five years.
The college degree had long ago become a substitute for the aptitude tests that many employers used to winnow their candidate fields. Now, perhaps, with the college degree having been exposed, employers will find new ways to determine their best job candidates.
As entrepreneur Ted Jenkin puts it: “If you are going to work for a tech company, what’s more important? A college degree or practical experience that you can code. It’s becoming clear with the out-of-control cost of college education that the very word ‘degree’ is getting watered down and companies want to hire people who can prove they can get things done.”
Why, it almost sounds like something Mike Rowe would say.
This revolution, or radical reform, is long overdue. Colleges and universities, with rare exceptions, have lost their way. As former Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder writes: “We have lost sight of the basics: Are our young learning a lot about things that prepare them to be responsible and productive citizens in the future? Are we downplaying the dissemination of truth and beauty in favor of spending resources on other things? For example, do universities really need umpteen bureaucrats who neither teach nor do research that might help future generations?”
Does the University of Michigan, for example, really need 163 employees with formal responsibility for providing so-called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming and services?
Furthermore, do we really need a college degree to make it in the world? Three of the most successful businessmen in modern history — Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg — all dropped out of college. Elon Musk, too, dropped out of his Ph.D. program, but, in fairness, the world’s richest African American credits his college years as “the time when his passions took off.”
Historian and classicist Victor Davis Hanson saw the higher-ed reckoning coming years ago. “What,” he asked in 2019, “do widely diverse crises such as declining demography, increasing indebtedness, Generation Z’s indifference to religion and patriotism, static rates of home ownership, and a national epidemic of ignorance about American history and traditions all have in common? In a word, 21st-century higher education.”
As Professor Vedder concludes: “For years, the American public unflinchingly accepted the siren calls of the ‘college for all’ crowd: You will not succeed in life unless you go to college. They increasingly are rejecting that … [and] the trust in colleges being the path to opportunity in America has severely eroded.”
Economist Herb Stein once famously said of our national debt, “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” That logic might appear obvious, but our nation’s colleges and universities have in recent decades seemed impervious to it.
Maybe now, Stein’s Law is finally exerting its influence.
Biden’s Nonsensical Junk Fee Fixation
While his economic policies are busting family budgets, Joe Biden is focused on the trivial.
Michael Swartz
This author recently bought tickets to attend a concert at a local megachurch. There was a price up front, but buried in the fine print before paying online was a “ticket fee” of $7 per ticket, then a “processing fee” of $3.72. These fees added another $17.72 to the total — and that’s in a state where there’s no sales tax. It’s unlikely that the church or the bands are getting that money. Instead, the money just disappears into the pockets of some middlemen.
Such things are frustrating, and no amount of pontificating by The Wall Street Journal that a ban on junk fees will “reduce competition and harm low-income Americans” is going to convince folks that they’re not being ripped off by their ticket seller, their bank, their hotel, or their utility company.
And Joe Biden made sure in recent remarks to tell the American people that his new edict was for their own good. “Unfair fees known as junk fees — those hidden charges that companies sneak into your bill to make you pay more because they can, simply because they can,” said Biden in a Rose Garden speech. “Charges that are taking real money out of the pockets of American families. These junk fees can add hundreds of dollars, weighing down family budgets, making it harder to pay family bills.” We’ll come back to those remarks in a moment, but did the “there oughta be a law” crowd notice something missing there?
How about in the following lede from USA Today: “The Biden administration is proposing a new rule to prohibit companies across the private sector from hiding fees from consumers, the president’s most sweeping action yet on ‘junk fees.’”
USA Today continues: “The Federal Trade Commission’s rule would require all industries under its jurisdiction to show the full price up front to consumers, including for concert and sports tickets, hotel rooms, and apartment and car rentals. Violators would be subject to financial penalties and be required to compensate customers.”
Notice there was no mention of Congress either in Biden’s remarks or in USA Today’s reporting. That’s because this proposed rule is just another top-down, pen-and-phone effort by the Biden regime to dictate how businesses operate, and it’s already scared several companies like Airbnb and Ticketmaster into compliance.
Not surprisingly, Washington Post opinion writer Catherine Rampell called the junk fee crackdown “good government at its most boring, pedestrian best.” Rampell added, “This is as things should be. Companies should be competing on price and quality — not on how good they are at tricking customers.” We certainly agree with Rampell’s “price and quality” point, but there’s a process to be adhered to and not regularly abused by an overzealous executive branch that can’t wait for Congress to hammer out a compromise bill that’s fair to all sides.
But more to the point, when did government meddling ever make things better?
While Biden’s working on fees that might cost consumers a few hundred dollars a year, he’s done little to curtail inflation that’s nearly double where the Federal Reserve wants it to be, or that’s up more than 17% across the board since he took office. To put it mildly, real wages are having a hard time keeping up. Inflation’s cost to the middle class can be measured in thousands of dollars a year, not hundreds.
There’s yet another cost that can be laid at Biden’s feet, though, and this one is measured in a weary resignation. Just ask teacher and essayist Auguste Meyrat, whose trip to a local pumpkin patch with his family set him back $60 just for admission. One could call it a Millennial’s lament, but he’s not wrong when he concludes: “So long as the federal government continues to print more money to cover expenses, inflation will continue. So long as the housing supply fails to keep up with demand, housing will be expensive. So long as car manufacturing is tied up with idiotic environmental regulations, new cars will also be expensive. And so long as domestic energy production is tied up in regulation, all economic activity and utilities will cost more and more. … What we have now has been a recipe for economic decline. We’re all feeling it, some of us more than others.”
Once again, Joe Biden is missing the forest for the trees. In his nonsensical grand scheme of things, it’s far more important to fix a few dollars in junk fees with more layers of red tape than it is to restrain the government and let the people prosper with their own handiwork.
The American Dream was once very attainable, but then Biden-style government got in the way.
More Victimization of Kids
Some recent instances of degenerate leftist priorities regarding children and gender ideology.
Emmy Griffin
As our degenerate media, public school officials, and elected Democrats continue to make or report on school policy, there is more gender ideology indoctrination that has been foisted on our kids. Here are some recent instances that are of note.
According to NBC News, the real issue at hand with our older students is that there is not enough sex education for those who identify as LGBTQ+. According to the report: “Many LGBTQ students say they have not felt represented in sex education classes. To learn about their identities and how to build healthy, safe relationships, they often have had to look elsewhere.” That “elsewhere” being the internet.
Ironically, this is a true statement, but it’s too narrow. Even heterosexual kids resort to other means of information on sex ed.
Which leads one to question: What is the purpose of having sex education in schools? This topic is at once too important and too personal for proper guidance to be achieved in the school setting. This sort of discussion should be under the purview of parents. Sadly, the purpose of sex education seems to be about either indoctrination in gender ideology or giving confusing messages on what constitutes safe sex and what are sexually transmitted diseases. Having a more inclusive sex education course — which, again, would apply to only a small margin of the population — is ridiculous.
But growing that particular population is part of the plan.
Wisconsin’s Superior School District, as part of its health education curriculum, has added a gender identity section for fourth and fifth grade students. Moms for Liberty member Scarlett Johnson uncovered this new addition to the curriculum and also shared this propaganda video explaining how sex and gender are supposedly different things.
Why are fourth and fifth graders being taught about “gender identity”? The answer is devilishly simple. They are pre-pubescent kids, and if the ideologues can convince enough of them that they are gender confused, they can start these kids down the rabbit hole of hormone blockers and surgeries that have ruined the lives and mental health of so many already.
That’s not the only craziness coming out of Wisconsin. The Badger State has also been discussing how to address “transgender” girls (read: boys) in women’s sports. Thankfully, the legislature voted against women’s erasure and in favor of having gender-confused boys sticking to their biological reality. It will probably not go any further since the governor of Wisconsin is a Democrat, but there is an insane assemblyman named Dave Considine who had some thoughts.
First, he declared that girls who wanted to preserve the integrity of their sports and keep boys out of their leagues were “selfish.” He went on to compare keeping boys and girls sports separate to Jim Crow-era segregation laws in the South. He declared that “separate but equal is not equal.” His last salvo toward these young girls was that they simply need to work harder.
These are absurd words from someone who probably hasn’t played a sport in a few years. But since his party is ostensibly the party of science, let’s give him a lesson in human biology. Boys, regardless of their feelings about gender, have a biological advantage both in body frame and in their process of going through male puberty. They are stronger and faster than most females as a result. They are made to compete with other boys. If they compete with girls, not only is it an unfair advantage physically and hormonally, but it puts the girls in danger of serious bodily harm. There is no amount of “working harder” that is going to overcome that physical difference. It’s also not selfish to want to protect yourself and your teammates from the incursion of boys who for various reasons wish to join a girls’ team.
Considine’s racial segregation comparison is just idiotic and degrades the actual oppression of black Americans in the Democrat-controlled Jim Crow South. But that is par for the course with leftists. They take something that has deep meaning and misuse the word until it means nothing.
With adults like these speaking into the lives of our children through their bilge and “policy,” who needs enemies? They are already setting up dangerous precedents for kids, indoctrinating them and tearing them away from reason and sanity. And for what? It’s certainly not for the benefit of the kids. They are merely the victims of left-wing social experiments.
READER COMMENTS
Editor’s Note: Each week we receive hundreds of comments and correspondences — and we read every one of them. Click here for a few thought-provoking comments about specific articles. The views expressed therein don’t necessarily reflect those of The Patriot Post.
VIDEOS
- Wobbly, Stumbling Biden — Joe Biden almost wipes out going up a short flight of stairs.
- Will Smith Just Slapped Himself — The actor opened up with a statement after Jada Pinkett Smith’s memoir.
- We’re About to Experience a Propaganda War — Fox News host Greg Gutfeld discusses the reaction to Hamas’s terror attack in Israel.
- 17 Broward County Deputies Charged With PPP Loan Fraud — An internal investigation revealed that around 100 employees with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) applied for PPP loans.
- Why EVs Are Piling Up at Dealerships — In August 2023, it took about twice as long to sell an EV in the U.S. as it did the previous January.
- Peterson Hits Back Over ‘Just a Man in a Waistcoat’ — Feminist author Caitlin Moran said during a podcast that Dr. Jordan Peterson is “not the smartest guy in the world.”
- Buying a House as a Millennial vs. a Boomer — Either way, the whole endeavor feels pretty hopeless these days.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
- CHRISTINE FLOWERSWe Must Condemn Hamas and Those Among Us Who Support the Terror
- RICH LOWRYThe Trump Doctrine
- DANIEL MCCARTHYLiberals’ Dilemma: Immigration or Israel?
- SALENA ZITOJD Vance’s Support for UAW Should Surprise No One, Given His Life Experiences
- THE WASHINGTON STANDFive False Claims Jill Biden Made While Speaking to LGBT Activist Group
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion.
SHORT CUTS
Can’t Fix Stupid
“I don’t have any regrets about [the letter claiming Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation]. My concern was to alert the public [about] disinformation. … Frankly, I haven’t seen any evidence from any intelligence agency that that was not the case.” —former CIA Director Leon Panetta
Grand Delusions
“The American economy is doing extremely well.” —Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
“We are not attempting to decouple from China. … We need to cooperate on a variety of global challenges, and I would say climate change is an obvious example.” —Janet Yellen
Demagogue
“This is not your father’s Republican Party. Thirty percent of it is made up of these MAGA Republicans who are maybe — democracy is something they don’t look at at the same way you and I look at democracy.” —Joe Biden
Theater of the Absurd
“The United States has a responsibility to ensure accountability to human rights, to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, and to ensure that horrors do not happen in the names of victims who do not want their tragedy used to justify further violence and injustice.” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
“Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people.” —Joe Biden (Actually, yes, the Palestinians elected Hamas.)
Observations
“We are the only country that allows its enemies to move here, live here and plant their own flag here. Unfortunately, after fifty years, our niceness and generosity has resulted in our ideological enemies being able to infiltrate our education systems and poison many of our youths against us. We need to wake up and fix that.” —Micheal Reagan
“Every day the odds grow that we will wake up one morning to the same horror Israel suffered … because Joe Biden and his party refuse to secure the border.” —Gary Bauer
“Americans need to stop illegal immigration and restore their southern border, while ceasing all immigration from unhinged, hostile nations. The military must return to its deterrent role and fire its woke commissariat. Our leaders must accept that in the last three years of the Biden administration, serial American appeasement abroad, disunity at home, and social chaos have encouraged an entire host of enemies — China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Middle East illiberal regimes, and former friends like Turkey and Qatar. And our enemies dream of doing to us what we just saw in Israel.” —Victor Davis Hanson
“Everyone the world over now faces a decision: Are you with the Islamist savages who committed unspeakable Nazi-level atrocities, or are you against them? Some conflicts are not so black-or-white; some have a third way. But there is really no third way here. One must choose a side.” —Josh Hammer
“We are … in the bizarre position of being dependent on our potential enemy for the materials we’d need in a war with that enemy. China has a dominant position in the market for rare earth metals — so important to the production of high-end weapons — and is the world leader in cast products. There is no easy way out of the hole we’ve dug ourselves.” —Rich Lowry
“It now should be a matter of the highest national priority to use every lever of government and the private sector to bolster the defense-industrial base in all its aspects. The Biden administration should care about this at least as much as incentivizing the production of electric vehicles most people don’t want to buy.” —Rich Lowry
TODAY’S MEME
For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union.
TODAY’S CARTOON
For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive.
“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.
Iran’s Direct Help to Hamas’s October 7 War on Israel
- The precise details of Iran’s direct role in authorising the attack are gradually coming to light, with officials involved in the investigation insisting that both Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah (a terrorist organization Iran controls) were involved in the planning of the Hamas terrorist operation.
- This is hardly surprising given the estimated $100 million a year Tehran gives Hamas to help develop its terrorist infrastructure, part of the £13.1 billion Iran has spent on developing its terrorist network throughout the Middle East during the past decade, from supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen to Shia militias in Iraq.
- The true extent of Iran’s military support for Hamas was recently laid bare by the movement’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, when he revealed that funds received from Tehran had helped to fund the development of missile and defence systems designed and built in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
- The significance of Iran’s involvement with Hamas’s terrorist activity was also evident at the weekend, when Haniyeh met with Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in Qatar, a country that also has a long history of funding Hamas.
- The extent of Iran’s meddling in the current war in the Middle East should certainly serve as a wake-up call to the US and its European allies about the danger Iran poses not just to the region, but the wider world.
- With the Saudi negotiations now on hold, the US and its allies should accept the folly of trying to maintain a diplomatic dialogue with Tehran in the hope that the Iranian regime may be persuaded to sign up to a new nuclear deal.
- As Iran’s open support for Hamas has demonstrated, the ayatollahs have no interest in reaching a peaceful accommodation with the West.
- The Iranian regime is only concerned with supporting groups that carry out unimaginable acts of violence against innocent civilians, and should be treated with serious deterrence, if not more, and with the enemy status they fully deserve.
Source: Iran’s Direct Help to Hamas’s October 7 War on Israel
Stuart Varney: Biden is staking his presidency on wartime trip to Israel | Fox Business
During his “My Take,” Tuesday, “Varney & Co.” host Stuart Varney discussed Biden’s wartime trip to Tel Aviv where he is expected to pledge full support for Israel as it responds to Hamas’ terror attacks.
STUART VARNEY: President Biden will arrive in Israel tomorrow.
It’s a show of solidarity, perhaps a last-ditch attempt to avoid a full-scale invasion of Gaza.
ISRAEL’S HUNT FOR HAMAS TERROR GROUP LEADER YAHYA SINWAR: ‘DEAD MAN WALKING’
He will also meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egypt’s President El-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
They will discuss aid to the one million Palestinians trying to flee Gaza.
With two aircraft carrier battle groups in the region, plus the Secretary of State and the Defense Secretary, this is clearly an all-hands-on-deck wartime situation.
Biden is staking his presidency on this.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: BIDEN TO VISIT ISRAEL ON WEDNESDAY IN SHOW OF SUPPORT
He wants to limit the casualties in Gaza without interfering in Israel’s crushing of Hamas.
He’s talking to Israel’s neighbors about who runs Gaza when Hamas is out.
Most of all, he wants to avoid a wider war with Iran.
That’s why American military power is on full display. That’s why Biden laid down a red line. “Don’t interfere.”
None of this will be easy, but all of it is necessary.
We can argue that this wouldn’t have happened if Biden hadn’t shown such weakness in so many areas, but this is where we are.
MILITARY EXPERTS WARN BIDEN’S IRAN DEAL ‘IS NOT GOOD,’ SENDS ‘WRONG MESSAGE’
It’s high anxiety time. Biden leads a divided party.
College campuses allow the antisemites full reign.
There’s a risk of an attack from border-crossing terrorists, and always the risk that, again, Iran will upend an American president.
Judgment on Joe Biden comes this week.
Source: Stuart Varney: Biden is staking his presidency on wartime trip to Israel
King Abdullah II Issues A Fiery Declaration That Neither Jordan Nor Egypt Will Accept Any Palestinian Refugees As It Would Be A ‘Red Line’ To Cross • Now The End Begins
‘I think I can speak here on behalf of Jordan … but also our friends in Egypt: This is a red line … no refugees to Jordan and also no refugees to Egypt,’ King Abdullah II said at the press conference.
Incredible news coming out of the Middle East today as King Abdullah II of Jordan, speaking on behalf of both Jordan and Egypt, has said that under no condition will any Palestinian refugees from Gaza be allowed into either nation. What about the ‘poor oppressed Palestinian’? They want nothing to do with them because they know that if you let them in, Hamas comes in right behind them. You know what King Abdullah is? He’s smart, a whole lot smarter than any of the jackasses in Washington wanting to import hundreds of thousands of them.
“Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;” Joel 3:4 (KJB)
The Hashemite kingdom of Jordan is a place near and dear to our hearts for one outstanding reason. It is the land where Selah Petra resides, the place where the Jewish remnant will flee to at the start of the Matthew 24:15 time of great tribulation. Christian, if you’re watching the news coming out of the Middle East and the hair is not standing up on the back of your head, then you’re only reading the news and not your King James Bible. Whether you can see it or not, it’s happening at an astonishing rate of speed.
King Abdullah of Jordan tells Olaf Scholz: We won’t take and Palestinian refugees from Gaza
FROM POLITICO: The king of Jordan poured cold water on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s hopes that neighboring Arab countries could take in Palestinian refugees who are fleeing the Gaza Strip ahead of an anticipated ground offensive by the Israeli army.
The rebuff by King Abdullah II was made Tuesday morning at a press conference with Scholz following a meeting in the chancellery in Berlin, which Scholz also used to issue a warning to Iran and to Hezbollah against intervening in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“I think I can speak here on behalf of Jordan … but also our friends in Egypt: This is a red line … no refugees to Jordan and also no refugees to Egypt,” King Abdullah said at the press conference.
The remarks come just ahead of a trip by Scholz to Israel and Egypt, where the chancellor hopes to de-escalate tensions and improve the situation for Palestinians seeking to flee the conflict zone. A main hope for Scholz and other Western leaders is that Egypt could open its border with Gaza to allow in refugees. However, the Jordanian king downplayed the likelihood of such an event: “This is a situation that has to be handled within Gaza and the West Bank. And you don’t have to do it on the shoulders of others.”
Following the violent attack by Hamas on Israel, during which it killed more than 1,300 people, Israel told civilians to evacuate the north of the Gaza Strip as it may launch a ground offensive in a bid to eradicate Hamas and free hostages.
Scholz is heading to Israel on Tuesday to express his solidarity with the country. The chancellor will continue to Egypt on Tuesday evening, and is scheduled to meet President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Wednesday morning.
“It is imperative that the suffering civilian population, who are being used as human shields by Hamas, receives humanitarian aid,” Scholz said at the press conference, adding that “the Palestinians are not Hamas … the Palestinian population is also a victim of Hamas.”
Scholz also issued a warning that the war must not escalate further: “I again specifically warn Hezbollah and Iran not to intervene in the conflict.” READ MORE
Biden Admits Terrorism Threats In America Are Up But Won’t Stop Welcoming Them Over The Border
In the face of heightened terrorism, Biden has no concrete plans to cut off the biggest potential terrorist pipeline into the United States.
Source: Biden Admits Terrorism Threats In America Are Up But Won’t Stop Welcoming Them Over The Border
Enemies in all directions | The Log College
Christianity is the rock against the sand of extremism
by Carl Trueman; WORLD MAGAZINE
Supporters of Palestinians rally in Chicago.Associated Press/Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times
The predictably equivocal, even positive response from many on the political left to Hamas’s attack on Israel offers a fascinating glimpse into the strange fate of progressive politics in the West. Indeed, if Karl Marx were alive today, he would no doubt be utterly confused by those like the left-wing journalist Rivkah Brown who now claim to speak for the oppressed and extol the necessity of bloodshed for revolution while sipping their carbon-neutral lattes in London or Manhattan.
Marx was a critic of capitalism, but he was also clear that it was a dramatic improvement on the feudalism and religiously controlled world that preceded it. Thus, even somebody with a Wikipedia-level knowledge of Marxist thought should know that, in any war between capitalists and those committed to an old-style feudalism, reinforced with an intolerant religious ideology, the supporters of liberation should back the former. Israel may not be the end of history, but for a Marxist, it is closer to that goal than those who look to Iran as the model for society. Thus, when those on the left back Hamas over Israel, they expose their real commitments: They simply hate the West upon which they are parasitically dependent.
It is especially odd that the American left is so equivocal. It has spent the years since 2016 warning us all about the existential threat posed to democracy by fascism and fascists, from Donald Trump to those terrifying Moms for Liberty. The same goes for racism. Apparently, it is everywhere, and all are guilty of it, hence the need for costly action, such as wealthy sports stars taking the knee before a game and countless Facebook accounts sporting Black Lives Matter logos. But now that we have some real fascists on the block, the left seems oddly conflicted. When, I wonder, was the last time we saw men, women, and children (even infants) rounded up because they were Jews and carried off to be raped and murdered?
The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend, and, as soon as I start thinking he is, I might find myself on the way to excusing or even justifying evil.
Actually, I don’t wonder at all. We all know very well who did that sort of thing and when. Isn’t it funny how that seems to have been conveniently forgotten by the left, and moral equivalence and even racism (as long as it is against Jews) is now so in vogue? But then again, it is so much easier to take the knee, to stick a logo on a personal website, or to protest against the middle-aged housewives who think biology is actually real than to fight the gun-toting fascists on the actual frontlines.
There is a lesson here for us all in this current political climate: The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend, and, as soon as I start thinking he is, I might find myself on the way to excusing or even justifying evil. And this is no monopoly of the left. The current penchant in some quarters for the claim “No enemies to the right!” is merely the mirror image of the excesses of the progressive left.
For the Christian—indeed, for anyone who has a basic concern for our common humanity—such silly rhetoric cannot be adopted without serious moral cost. If there is some left-wing progressive who thinks killing Jewish children is acceptable, then he is an enemy of all right-thinking people. But if there is some right-wing misogynist who thinks women—your mother, your wife, your sister, your daughter—are just pieces of sexualized meat, then he, too, is your enemy. Christians cannot let the rhetoric and the power games of our immediate political culture pervert our commitment to a morality built upon the character of God and the notion that all are made in his image, regardless of race, sex, nationality, political allegiance, or economic status.
Carl R. Trueman taught on the faculties of the Universities of Nottingham and Aberdeen before moving to the United States in 2001 to teach at Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. In 2017-18 he was the William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Since 2018, he has served as a professor at Grove City College. He is also a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a contributing editor at First Things. Trueman’s latest book is the bestselling The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. He is married with two adult children and is ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
VIDEO: The Prophetic Significance of Israeli – Hamas War – Mark Hitchcock
This week on Marking the End Times, I discuss the war in Israel. I take this time to explain the background and history of Israel, who the Palestinians really are, and an update on what is happening in Israel. Access the short video at the link below or above . . . . . .
Source: VIDEO: The Prophetic Significance of Israeli – Hamas War – Mark Hitchcock
The Iran connection between Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas | JNS
The Iranian regime’s entrance into the Palestinian area threatens the stability of the entire Middle East.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (right) embraces Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Source: Khamenei’s Twitter account, posted May 24, 2021.
Erfan Fard is a counter-terrorism analyst and Middle East Studies researcher based in Washington, D.C.
The eruption of the latest Israel-Hamas conflict highlights the fragility of stability in the Middle East, challenging previous assumptions that a more peaceful period was at hand.
The emerging diplomatic efforts in the Persian Gulf, notably in regard to Tehran, appeared positive, but they always risked diminishing U.S. regional influence and strengthening Iran’s power. We now know the risk was very real. This emphasizes the need for the U.S. to bolster its security commitments to its Gulf partners, foster closer ties between Gulf states and Israel, and enhance the Gulf states’ self-defense capabilities to prepare for potential future conflicts. All this must be part of a long-term strategic approach.
In the volatile world of geopolitics, certain relationships stand out for their potential to shape and disrupt international stability. One such intricate web of connections exists between the mullahs’ regime in Iran and the terrorist groups Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas. This nexus intertwines ideologies and practical cooperation with significant implications for the Middle East, particularly in the Palestinian arena.
Since it seized power in 1979, the Iranian regime has always sought to export its destructive revolutionary ideology, known as Khomeinism, beyond its borders. Initially confined to Shiite movements, this ideology’s allure expanded to Sunni-dominated regions, including the Palestinian-ruled territories. PIJ in particular has emerged as a Sunni movement inspired by Iran’s revolutionary zeal, despite the predominantly Shiite character of the Iranian regime’s ideology.
Throughout the 1980s, the relationship between Iran and PIJ remained one-sided, with the Palestinian movement responding to Iran’s spiritual influence. However, the dynamics shifted in the late 1980s after the Iran-Iraq War, when Iran broadened its focus beyond Shiite domains. This shift coincided with the eruption of First Intifada in 1987, an uprising that jumpstarted Islamic militancy among groups like PIJ and, more prominently, Hamas. Following the deportation of the PIJ leadership to Lebanon in 1988, the Iranian regime’s involvement with the terrorist organization significantly escalated.
Concurrently, Iran sought to widen its influence in the Palestinian sphere by strengthening its relations with Hamas, initially with limited success. This changed after the Gulf War and the 1991 Madrid Conference, when Iran’s interests and Hamas’s objectives converged.
For Iran, Hamas offered several advantages: It served as a platform to showcase Iran’s Islamic leadership and enabled Iranian involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Hamas, steadfast in its rejection of Israel’s right to exist and dedicated to the use of terrorism, was by nature aligned with the Iranian regime’s doctrines and tactics, encouraging Iranian support.
Iran’s efforts to export its Khomeinist ideology were underscored in a series of moves undertaken from 1990 onwards. Key landmarks included the 1990 Islamic Conference on Palestine in Tehran and the 1991 International Conference to Support the Islamic Revolution of the People of Palestine. These events showcased the growing cooperation and coordination between Iran and the Palestinian Islamic movements, with all parties uniting to thwart the Oslo peace process.
Ideologically, the impact of the Iranian revolt on PIJ was profound. The movement adopted core tenets of Khomeini’s interpretation of Shiite Islam, placing a strong emphasis on jihad as a symbol of activism and sacrifice. The Iranian Islamic/Marxist terrorist revolt in 1979 became an ideal model for PIJ to implement on the Palestinian stage, showcasing the immense ideological influence of Iran’s revolutionary Khomeinist vision. In essence, the current Iranian regime initially ascended to power with the aid of a transnational network of Islamic terrorism. Over time, it has sustained its authority by employing terrorism as a strategic tool of the state. This approach positions the core of this influence in Tehran, making it a central hub in this web of control.
In contrast, Hamas, founded as a Sunni movement, maintained an anti-Shiite stance. Despite a growing political affinity with Iran beginning in the early 1990s, Hamas resisted attempts to bridge the Sunni-Shiite theological divide. Politically, Hamas remained more independent compared to PIJ, taking an ambivalent stance during the Gulf War.
Practical cooperation between Iran and the Palestinian Islamic movements was political, financial and military. Iran’s financial aid and military training, facilitated through proxies like Hezbollah, significantly bolstered PIJ’s capabilities. Evidence suggests that Iranian support also played a crucial role in shaping PIJ’s tactics and operations.
In the case of Hamas, the extent of military and financial assistance from Iran remains unclear. While Hamas cooperates with Iran politically, especially after the Gulf War and the Madrid Conference, the magnitude of direct military support from Iran is difficult to ascertain. Hamas, with its well-established infrastructure and armed capabilities, may not be reliant on external military aid.
The cooperation between Iran, PIJ and Hamas poses a challenge to the stability of the entire region. The Iranian revolution’s exportation to the Palestinian arena represents a significant threat. PIJ, a fervent and fanatical organization, could be a potent tool for Iran to undermine any potential peace process and exert its influence in the region.
Addressing this challenge is crucial to fostering peace and stability in the Middle East. The Iranian regime may soon activate other terrorist groups in support of Hamas. While there are significant differences between them, Iran, PIJ and Hamas are on parallel paths.
The opinions and facts presented in this article are those of the author, and neither JNS nor its partners assume any responsibility for them.
Source: The Iran connection between Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas
Caroline Glick: As Biden turns against Israel, Netanyahu must stand strong | JNS
If Netanyahu fails to stand up to the United States, if he buckles, the pressure from Washington won’t stop.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 20, 2023 in New York. Photo by Avi Ohayon/GPO.
Caroline B. Glick is the senior contributing editor of Jewish News Syndicate and host of the “Caroline Glick Show” on JNS. She is also the diplomatic commentator for Israel’s Channel 14, as well as a columnist for Newsweek. Glick is the senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Center for Security Policy in Washington and a lecturer at Israel’s College of Statesmanship.
On Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan all announced that the United States expects Israel to permit “humanitarian aid” into Gaza.
The implications of this position are devastating for Israel. According to reports, there are “hundreds of trucks” lined up on the border in Egypt to enter the Gaza Strip carrying so-called “humanitarian aid.” These trucks, if permitted to enter, will not be inspected in any significant way. There is no reason to believe they are carrying baby formula and foodstuffs that will be delivered to the needy. There is every reason to believe they are carrying war materiel and jihadist fighters who have arrived to augment Hamas.
To the extent that there is food in the trucks, who will it feed? The hostages? The infirm? Who will the medicine be delivered to? The hostages? Will the fuel in the trucks be used in refrigerators to feed the captive Israelis?
Of course not.
Hamas is Gaza. All the “ministries” in Gaza are Hamas. All hospitals are Hamas. Hamas’s military headquarters is located under Shifa Hospital.
So whatever and whoever is in the trucks carrying “humanitarian aid,” all of it will be delivered to Hamas and will be distributed to benefit Hamas.
The idea that it could be otherwise is absurd. And the fact that the Biden administration is arguing this absurdity is an outrage.
Even if the “hundreds of trucks” are completely empty—and they manifestly are not—the trucks themselves are instruments of war. Their presence in Gaza will also advance Hamas’s military effort against Israel. They will augment Hamas’s capacity to kill and wound untold numbers of IDF soldiers now poised at the border waiting for the Netanyahu government to finally order them to enter Gaza.
Biden, Blinken and Sullivan—like their counterparts in Europe and the United Nations—insist that they want to give Hamas the trucks to avert a humanitarian disaster in Gaza. But their position is actually devastating for Gaza’s civilians.
By barring civilians from escaping Gaza to its territory, even for the purpose of transiting to third countries, Egypt is collaborating with Hamas’s war effort. By enabling Egypt to maintain its position, and demanding that Israel allow Hamas to resupply while calling that resupply “humanitarian aid,” the Biden administration is trapping the civilians of Gaza it claims to care about protecting. They will remain under Hamas’s jackboot. They will remain its human shields and cannon fodder.
Similarly, the United States is providing material support for Hamas’s propaganda campaign blaming Israel for the carnage of which Hamas is the sole author—in Israel and Gaza alike.
The United States is also acting in breach of binding international law. As professor Avi Bell of the Bar Ilan University and University of San Diego law schools explained in an interview on “The Caroline Glick Show” on Sunday, while Biden and his aides have insisted repeatedly that they expect Israel to respect the international laws of war in its prosecution of its war effort against Hamas, the administration’s positions in relation to that war are illegal.
Following the Sept. 11, 2001 jihadist attacks on the United States, the U.N. Security Council passed resolution 1373 under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. Chapter 7 resolutions, unlike others, are binding on all U.N. member nations.
Resolution 1373 stipulates that all U.N. member nations must “Refrain from providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts.”
Any provision of any aid to Gaza, which is completely controlled by Hamas, is of course either “active or passive” assistance to Hamas, and hence illegal.
Resolution 1373 also requires all U.N. member states to “Deny safe haven to those who finance, plan, support or commit terrorist acts, or provide safe havens.”
Following Blinken’s visit to Israel last Thursday, he traveled to Qatar. Qatar houses Hamas’s top terror masters. They planned their atrocities from Qatar. Iran’s cash and arms are funneled to Hamas through Qatar. Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite channel is an integral component of Hamas’s terror machine. On Monday morning, the IDF announced that Al Jazeera reporters are transferring information about IDF troop placements and numbers to Hamas both directly and through their broadcasts.
Qatar is Hamas.
Rather than designate Qatar officially as a state sponsor of terrorism, last Friday Blinken embraced Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassin Al Thani as an ally. And that makes sense because from the administration’s perspective, Hamas’s host is a U.S. ally. Shortly after entering office, the Biden administration designated Qatar a major non-NATO ally—the same designation Israel enjoys.
By embracing Qatar as an ally rather than punishing it for its central role at all levels of Hamas’s terror infrastructure, the administration is breaching international law, yet again. It is also betraying Israel.
In his interview with 60 Minutes, Biden said that the United States opposes Israel’s war goal of obliterating Hamas and destroying its capacity to govern in any way in Gaza. Instead, Biden drew an obscene, imaginary distinction between Hamas and “extreme elements in Hamas.”
Biden also endorsed the idea that Israel should knock down Hamas a few notches, but not conquer Gaza. Instead, he intimated that the PLO-controlled Palestinian Authority, which supports Hamas and is serving as its foreign ministry at the United Nations and in world capitals, should rule Gaza.
As a superpower, the United States is in a position to side with Israel and Hamas simultaneously. And that is clearly the Biden administration’s current policy. The administration’s goal, apparently, is to block Israel from winning and force it to fight to a draw—in the best-case scenario. This is perfect for Hamas, which would survive, and with its friends in the United States, the United Nations, Iran, Qatar and throughout the Arab and Western world, rebuild itself stronger than ever.
For Israel, it would be a calamity of biblical proportions. Alone in the world, and treated infamously by its ostensible U.S. ally, Israel would emerge from the war with its regional position in tatters. The peace with Egypt and Jordan would likely not long survive. The Abraham Accords would be undone. And the very notion of normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia would be pushed down the memory hole. Iran would stand as the regional superpower, and within months could be expected to test a nuclear weapon. Israel’s future, in short, would be bleak.
On the face of things, with the Israeli public now united behind the goal of eradicating Hamas, the administration’s position should be impossible to sell to the people of Israel. Apparently recognizing this state of affairs, during his brief visit to Israel on Oct. 12, Blinken made a point of meeting with the Brothers in Arms paramilitary organization. Until the war, Brothers in Arms was a shock force comprising the backbone of the anti-government riots. Its members routinely assaulted government ministers and Knesset members from Netanyahu’s governing coalition as well as academics, businessmen and journalists who support the Netanyahu government. Brothers in Arms worked to undermine the readiness of the IDF by calling for members of key reserve units, first and foremost Air Force pilots, to refuse to serve under the Netanyahu government.
Since the atrocities of Oct. 7, with the support of its billionaire funders, Brothers in Arms has launched an extraordinary, massive civilian assistance campaign for the south—second to none in the national war effort. Its operation has won it the legitimate plaudits from all sectors of Israeli society.
All the same, Blinken’s visit to their aid operation was a signal to Netanyahu. Likewise regarding his decision to meet with opposition Leader Yair Lapid during his visit on Monday. To wit, if Netanyahu fails to bow to the administration’s pressure to save Hamas, the administration will turn to the likes of Brothers in Arms and Lapid to undermine the internal stability and cohesion of Israeli society once again, this time at the height of the ground operation in Gaza.
Netanyahu, hobbled politically by the assault, may be living through his final days as national leader. Even many of his most fervent supporters are intimating that he may be forced to resign when the war has ended. Whether Netanyahu sees the end before him, or believes he will be able to stay in power once the war is over, his future and his legacy are now on the line.
If Netanyahu stands up to the United States, he may face a renewal of the violent protests against him and his government. If it happens, the goal of the operatives organizing the protests will be to undermine morale in a time of war. Judging by media coverage to date, the rioters will be supported by nearly every media organ in the country.
On the other hand, if he stands up to Biden, Netanyahu will give the soldiers and commanders of the IDF the opportunity to fight this war to victory and secure Israel for the next many years.
If Netanyahu fails to stand up to the United States, if he buckles, the pressure from Washington won’t stop. By buckling, he will merely whet the appetites of the likes of U.S. envoy to the Palestinians Hady Amr—who has a public record of supporting Hamas (and worked in Doha, Qatar during the Trump years). Amr and his colleagues will pocket Israel’s first concession and demand more, and more, and more, in coordination with Hamas, the PLO, Qatar and Egypt.
Following the war, Netanyahu will be pushed out of office, his legacy in tatters forever. The Israel he will leave behind will be one where Jewish sovereignty will be placed in doubt for the first time in 75 years. Now is no time to go wobbly.
Source: Caroline Glick: As Biden turns against Israel, Netanyahu must stand strong
New Poll Shows Biden Hitting New Lows on Almost Every Single Issue – Including Support for Israel Against Hamas appThe Western Journal.
If there’s one thing Americans can usually agree on, politically, it’s that we’re divided. Radically divided. So divided, in fact, that every Thanksgiving there are countless articles giving us advice about how not to hit your hidebound, conservative uncle or purple-haired, they/them-pronouns-in-profile nephew over the head with an overcooked turkey leg.
Well, rejoice, denizens of the United States. As we approach the holiday season, a new ABC/Ipsos poll finds that Americans are reaching concord on another major political matter: Joe Biden stinks at this whole president thing.
In a survey conducted Friday and Saturday among 518 adults, Biden plumbed new lows in approval in every category the organization polls on and didn’t fare so well, either, on two new and rather pressing categories included in this survey: the war between Israel and Hamas, and foreign policy toward Iran.
“About two in five approve of President Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, matching his approval rating on the situation with Russia and Ukraine,” Ipsos said in a news release on Sunday.
“Although a majority disapprove of Biden’s handling of each conflict, his approval rating in these areas is higher than his handling of crime, inflation, immigration, and other key issues in the United States.”
You can say that again. And again. And again.
For instance, let’s start with the economy. In this survey, 36 percent approved and 61 percent disapproved of how Biden is handling things. Compare this with 38 percent who approved in a January survey, or a high of 60 percent who approved in a March 2021 edition of the poll.
On crime: Thirty-three percent approved of how Biden is handling it and 64 percent disapproved, compared with 40 percent approval and 58 percent disapproval in January. It’s worth noting that Biden’s numbers were never particularly high in this category, hitting a high of 46 percent approval in August 2021.
On climate change: Thirty-nine percent approval versus 57 percent disapproval in this poll, 48 percent approval and 50 percent disapproval in January.
Do you think Biden has done a good job as president?Yes No
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On inflation, which we’re constantly told is getting better: Twenty-nine percent approval versus 69 percent disapproval. That was at 31 percent approval and 67 percent disapproval in January. However, to be absolutely fair to the president, this is the only category in which Biden didn’t hit or match an all-time low in the ABC/Ipsos poll. (In December 2021, he only had 28 percent approval versus 69 percent disapproval on the matter.)
Immigration and border security: Twenty-six percent approval versus 70 percent disapproval; that’s a 5 percentage-point movement downward in approval since January. He lopped another 5 percentage points off the approval of his handling of the Ukraine-Russia war, with 41 percent approval now compared with 46 percent approval in January.
And then there was the war between Israel and Hamas, which was roughly a week old when this survey was taken. Those polled already had seen enough that only 41 percent approved of Biden’s handling of the situation versus 54 percent disapproval.
In terms of foreign policy toward Iran — a nation strongly suspected of helping plan and green-light Hamas’ attacks against Israel — only 33 percent approved compared with 62 percent who disapproved.
Americans do not give Biden high marks on anything, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll:
📉 26% approval on immigration/border security (net -44)
📉 29% approval on inflation (-40)
📉 32% approval on gun violence (-33)
📉 33% approval on crime (-31)
📉 33% approval on Iran…— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 17, 2023
The margin of sampling error for the survey was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
The poll more or less tracks with Biden’s trends in the RealClearPolitics polling aggregate, which had him at a 40.5 overall approval rating and a 54.8 disapproval rating as of Tuesday morning — a negative 14.3 percentage-point spread.
Yes, former President Donald Trump — the leading GOP contender in the 2024 presidential race — remains contentious, and a rematch between the two men would be a close call. That said, America has more or less spoken on Biden, “Bidenomics” and virtually everything else he’s “accomplished” in a little under three years. Conclusion? It stinks.
Yet, this is the alternate reality the Biden White House still inhabits:
Spending on manufacturing construction in America hit an all-time high last month.
That’s Bidenomics.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 6, 2023
Folks, the emissions reductions from our Hydrogen Hubs – sites that are generating, storing, and transporting clean hydrogen – will be the equivalent of taking 5.5 million gasoline cars off the road.
That’s no joke. pic.twitter.com/eT5IyNHK2S
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 13, 2023
Tonight, America says clearly to the Israeli people, to the world, and to terrorists everywhere that we stand with Israel.
That will never change. pic.twitter.com/uFhvmXf7bO
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 10, 2023
In 2020, voters judged Joe Biden on his words. In 2024, they’ll judge him on his actions.
All you need to do is look at the numbers to see America doesn’t believe those words on social media translate to action in the real world.
The United States may be a profoundly divided country, but it’s not a stupid one.
The post New Poll Shows Biden Hitting New Lows on Almost Every Single Issue – Including Support for Israel Against Hamas appeared first on The Western Journal.
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