Displaying the most recent of 91523 posts written by

Ruth King

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

An Anatomy of the Post-Debate Detritus Victor Davis Hanson

By on September 16th, 2024

https://amgreatness.com/2024/09/16/an-anatomy-of-the-post-debate-detritus/

While Harris initially appeared to win the September 2024 presidential debate by sticking to prepped strategy and benefiting from biased moderation, she’s failed to gain a lasting boost in the polls.

After the September 10, 2024, presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the Harris campaign became giddy.

And why not?

Pre-debate conventional wisdom had assured the country that underdog Harris would shock the nation with her endless wash/rinse/spin word salads of repeated phrases and memorized sound bites.

She supposedly would prove as shaky as Trump—the veteran of several presidential debates—would prove merciless in eviscerating her.

That did not happen. Post-debate polls of the first 24 hours showed clearly that the public felt Harris had won.

Why?

She stuck religiously to her pre-debate prep. It was not difficult to anticipate what her tripartite script would be. Joe Biden’s failed debate with Trump offered a model, along with the need to avoid Harris’s own known linguistic and cognitive liabilities:

One, Harris was told to bait the touchy Trump with smears and slights about his failed rallies, his racism, and his shaky businesses. That way she could trigger him to lose his cool, go off-topic, rant, and turn off viewers.

And he did just that and often. Trump clearly did not prepare detailed answers, was not ready to be insulted, and was not reminded to relax—and smile, joke, and in Reaganesque fashion sluff off her certain slurs.

Two, she was not supposed to try thinking on her feet, no matter what the question asked.

Continue reading →
BOOKS Comments turned off

CHAPTER 36: “When They Say ‘We’re Coming for Your Children,’ Believe Them”__Space Is No Longer the Final Frontier—Reality Is* by Linda Goudsmit

By on September 16th, 2024

https://goudsmit.pundicity.com/28060/chapter-36-when-they-say-were-coming-for-your

goudsmit.pundicity.com  and website: lindagoudsmit.com 

Canadian columnist Barbara Kay published an exceptional article, “When They Say ‘We’re Coming for Your Children,’ Believe Them,”[i] in The Epoch Times on July 10, 2023. Kay provides an outstanding analysis of Marxist educational indoctrination in Canada, its parallels in the United States, and the awakening of the public to its catastrophic consequences. It is a thoughtful article that begins with acknowledging Canadians as an extremely tolerant people who have found the limit of their tolerance:

The only domain in which we are witnessing a groundswell of citizen resistance is K–12 pedagogy, where Queer Theory—a gendered form of Marxism that rejects the “normal” in sexuality, including the notion of childhood “innocence”—is systematically imposed on vulnerable minds, with or without parental consent. Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) has become the cynosure of parental disquiet.

A recent video clip of naked Pride marchers chanting “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re coming for your children” went viral. LGBTQ spin doctors claimed the words were “taken out of context.” Which begs the question of why male drag queens no longer stay in their lane of adult entertainment. What acceptable “context” encourages teaching children to “twerk” (“you just move your bum up and down like that”)—an action simulating sexual intercourse?

A majority of Canadians feel such organized sexualized messaging to young children is a bridge too far. They no longer believe DQSH is “family-friendly” or pure “entertainment.” Some are calling it out for what it is: “grooming,” building children’s trust in men with an agenda that goes far beyond teaching about “diversity.” They are saying so in protests against such events as a four-day drag theatre camp in B.C.

In a news report, a progressive journalist deplored this surge of opposition, in particular some protesters’ use of the word “groomer” as a “homophobic” trope, which, the journalist writes, “advocates say was used to vilify the LGBTQ2+ community in the 1970s and 1980s.” It is true, that a vocal subset of gays was vilified in the 1970s and 1980s. A little research, though, would have uncovered information that might have tempered the journalist’s indignation.

In 1969 the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE), a special interest group that advocated for abrogation of the age of sexual consent, became the first LGBT organization in Scotland, branding gay rights activism and child abuse lobbying as closely entwined goals there. From 1974 to 1984, PIE openly campaigned throughout the United Kingdom to normalize pedophilia as a legally and culturally acceptable practice. Such were the sexually freewheeling times, they were taken seriously at elite levels, even winning support from then Labour Health Minister Patricia Hewitt for such policies as reducing the age of consent to 10, and the decriminalization of incest. PIE activists were tactically sophisticated in their networking, branding pedophiles as an oppressed sexual minority, just like gays and lesbians.

Continue reading →
NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Trump Safe After What F.B.I. Describes as an Assassination Attempt

By on September 16th, 2024

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/15/us/politics/trump-shooting-golf-course.html?nl=from-the-times&regi_id=2636639&segment_id=177904

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating what appeared to be a second assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump.

Former President Donald J. Trump was playing golf on Sunday afternoon in Florida when a Secret Service agent spotted a man with a rifle standing by a chain-link fence on the perimeter of the course, law enforcement officials said.

The agents opened fire, and the man fled in a black Nissan but was eventually taken into custody, the officials said.

While Mr. Trump was safe and unharmed, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the episode as an apparent attempted assassination, the second one against the former president in just over two months. Mr. Trump was wounded in a previous attempt during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pa.

The suspected gunman was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, according to a law enforcement official who was granted anonymity to describe an open investigation.

Continue reading →
BOOKS, ISRAEL Comments turned off

‘The world will respect Israel when it respects itself’ Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman puts forth a political strategy that advocates for Israeli sovereignty over all of the Land of Israel. David Friedman

By on September 16th, 2024

https://www.jns.org/the-world-will-respect-israel-when-it-respects-itself/

Mr. Friedman is former U.S. Ambasador to Israel.

Former U.S. Ambassador David Friedman’s new book, One Jewish State: The Last, Best Hope to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, currently being launched and distributed, presents a coherent political doctrine aimed at shifting approaches and perceptions.

In it, he argues that Israeli rule over the entire territory not only aligns with Israel’s historical, biblical right to the land but will also benefit all parties involved, both Jews and Arabs.

Friedman has drawn on his years of policy experience, which played a significant role in key actions such as relocating the American embassy to Jerusalem and securing U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory, to write his book addressing a wide range of political, security, civil and economic issues. Friedman is well aware of the multifaceted challenges involved in such a political plan.

We held a three-way conversation about this topic with him and MK Ohad Tal, a key figure in advancing President Donald Trump’s plan within the Israeli political arena.

At the outset, Friedman summarizes the main points of his plan, which views the application of sovereignty as a step towards achieving the political goal of securing two things.

“No. 1 to bring stability, safety, security, prosperity for the State of Israel. No. 2 is to be faithful to the will of God with regard to the way in which the Jewish people should hold the Land of Israel. These are achieved through sovereignty. But it’s not about achieving sovereignty. It’s about achieving these two goals.”

Friedman outlines the path to his goal in several stages. “I don’t think it can happen overnight. The most important thing is for the State of Israel, by a meaningful consensus, to decide this is the right thing for the State of Israel, before any other country gets involved. The State of Israel has to decide that. And I think the State of Israel should decide that through a process which is deep and robust and thoughtful. I mean, I think people really need to discuss it.”

Friedman cautiously adds that while he doesn’t mean to offend anyone, the discussion around such a move needs to be approached somewhat differently from the hasty manner in which the judicial reform was promoted “by a narrow majority that created a lot of dissension. This issue is much bigger and if it’s going to go forward, it must do so with the support of a significant majority of the people in Israel.”

An expansion of the Abraham Accords

Continue reading →
ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Joe Biden preps to sell the economy — to boost his legacy and help Harris Biden is determined to convince a skeptical public that he strengthened the economy.By Adam Cancryn

By on September 16th, 2024

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/15/joe-biden-economy-legacy-harris-00179194

Joe Biden is determined to use the waning days of his political career to overcome public skepticism and defend his economic record — both for his sake and for Kamala Harris.

The president is putting together a national campaign to persuade voters who have so far resisted his efforts to argue that his administration achieved what will one day be viewed as major economic progress, even if most voters don’t believe it because of the huge spike in prices that followed the pandemic.

He needs it for his legacy. Harris needs it to have one.

“These are epochal, economy-changing, history changing accomplishments — and instead, everybody is talking about the price of eggs,” said one adviser to the White House, granted anonymity to speak candidly on the challenge facing Biden. “It’s all personal. Every bit of it is personal.”

In swing-state speeches, White House events and a social media push, Biden plans to cast the last four years as a turning point that altered the U.S.’s trajectory and expanded benefits for a generation of voters — even if, to Biden’s frustration, most say they don’t yet feel it.

The multi-state travel in coming weeks — a mix of official and campaign events — aims to show off neighborhoods and communities where Biden believes his policies are finally making a measurable difference, while doubling as a supplement to Harris’ own stretch run to November.

The decision to spend much of Biden’s final months on his economic record reflects a bid to finally solve the paradox that’s long challenged the White House and undercut the president’s popularity: The working-class voters Biden crafted his agenda to help the most have been among the hardest to convince of its benefits.

Biden’s challenge in achieving short-term political credit isn’t helped by his unusual position as a first-term president relegated to a supporting role in a campaign that hinges on convincing voters his vice president will take the country in a new direction.

Continue reading →
ELECTIONS Comments turned off

When Kamala Actually Said Something-An Event We’re Waiting For

By on September 16th, 2024

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/09/16/when-kamala-actually-said-something/

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris sat down for an interview late last week. It was the equivalent of a Friday news dump, done when most of the country was to busy otherwise to pay attention. But it did serve a purpose: Her campaign can say she’s done a solo interview, even if she, as is her practice, said nothing of substance.

The interview was with Brian Taff, news anchor at ABC’s Philadelphia affiliate. He asked five questions and the exclusive affair lasted all of 11 minutes

When the vice president asked if she had “one or two specific things” in mind for “bringing down prices and making life more affordable for people,” she came up entirely empty. For more than three painful minutes she droned on about growing up as a middle-class kid, her mother saving enough to buy their first house when she was a teenager, being raised in a hard-working neighborhood where people were “very proud of their lawn.” She never provided anything that even remotely resembled a policy proposal to tame inflation.

That was the first question. From there, the interview deteriorated further. Anyone who wants to see for themselves can watch here. But be warned: It’s overflowing with meaningless jabber, a too-practiced performance, let-me-lecture-you hand gestures – and obvious lies about her positions.

Millions have now watched the interview. If any of them vote for Harris in November, they are either hopeless ideologues or they have even less intellectual firepower than she does. If it’s not clear by now that she is an empty head who will be nothing more than the face of the Democratic Party’s oligarchy that is constantly chasing one-party rule in this country, it never will be to some Americans. That’s a sad indictment of who we’ve become.

Continue reading →
ISRAEL Comments turned off

Hochstein and Hezbollah: Ruthie Blum

By on September 16th, 2024

https://www.jns.org/hochstein-and-hezbollah/

Amos Hochstein, deputy assistant to the U.S. president and senior adviser for energy and investment, is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday, in yet another attempt to block Israel from defending itself against Hezbollah in Lebanon. That’s not how his boss in Washington—whoever that actually is at this point—would characterize the special envoy’s visit, of course.

No, the American administration, now led by out-of-commission figurehead Joe Biden, refers to Hochstein’s efforts as necessary to prevent an “escalation” of tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, and to keep the latter from opening up another front in the current war.

Right.

As though the dominant Iran-backed terrorists in Lebanon didn’t already declare war on Israel on Oct. 8, the day after Hamas launched an assault on the Jewish state the likes of which haven’t been seen since the Holocaust.
As if Hezbollah hasn’t been daily firing dozens of missiles and drones since then on northern Israel, large swaths of which have been evacuated of their imperiled residents.
Golan and Galilee denizens weren’t the only ones bombarded over the weekend by hostile projectiles, however. Early Sunday morning, Israelis all over the center of the country awoke to sirens and loud booms. It emerged that a surface-to-surface ballistic missile from Yemen had hit in an open area, sparking a fire in the Ben Shemen Forest, a few miles from Ben-Gurion Airport.

Naturally, the above was the subject of the weekly Cabinet meeting, which took place mere hours after the Houthis took credit for the assault, and ahead of Hochstein’s latest pointless diplomatic trip.

Continue reading →
ISRAEL Comments turned off

POSITIVE NEWS FROM ISRAEL EVEN DURING WARTIME FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

By on September 15th, 2024

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

At the site see a photo is of Israel’s Walter Bingham, the world’s oldest journalist, who celebrated his 100th birthday by skydiving over Israel.

Bravo to Walter Bingham! Nothing can match his view, but on the ground, nothing can match the stories of Israeli resilience, creativity, and contributions even during wartime delivered weekly by Michael Ordman. rsk

POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
 
He absorbed a bomb but didn’t give up. (TY UWI) Amichay Shindler saved his family by absorbing a bomb planted by Hamas terrorists outside the door to their safe room. Ten months and one prosthetic hand later, it is still not clear how he is alive today. His wife Avital manages a group for the wives of injured Israeli reservists.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/08/07/he-never-gives-up-how-one-israelis-miraculous-oct-7-survival-inspired-support-soldiers-families/
 
Soldier’s recovery and mission. (TY UWI & I24 News) Captain Israel Ben Shitrit, a reservist serving in Khan Yunis, tells his story and future plans. A Hamas terrorist hit his unit with an RPG and he was badly wounded. After three and a half months in rehabilitation, he declares that he is proud to be a Captain in the IDF.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1ivSSk2J7c
 
Wounded soldier returns to his tank. In Nov 2023 IDF tank crewman Sergeant Aharon Shmuel Bryce was severely wounded by a Hamas-fired RPG missile that hit his tank. After 10 months of surgeries, reconstructions and rehabilitation, he has returned to serve in Gaza in the very same tank that he was injured in.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395922
 
Druze girl recovers after Hezbollah attack. Kai Marai, the 11-year-old Druze girl, most seriously wounded in the July 27 Hezbollah rocket attack on the Golan Heights, regained consciousness on Aug 13 surprising doctors at Haifa’s Rambam children’s hospital. Kai’s mother thanked the medical team for saving her daughter’s life.
https://www.jns.org/doctors-surprised-by-rapid-recovery-of-11-year-old-druze-girl-badly-hurt-in-hezbollah-attack/
 
Oct 7 survivor receives her medical degree. Elai Hogeg Golan awoke from a coma 51 days after Hamas terrorists firebombed her home on Oct 7. In May she received her medical degree at an emotional ceremony. She is now finishing her medical internship at Sheba Medical Center, while receiving rehabilitation treatment.
https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/bjoe4ijqr
 
A nation of superheroes. Rony Ben-Zvi Elimelech is completing her doctorate at Israel’s Technion Institute. She is also a mother of two boys, ages 6 years and 16 months, and chief executive officer of Wisemama, which supports women who are combining parenthood and academic studies. Then she was called up for reserve duty.
https://ats.org/our-impact/rony-ben-zvi-elimelech-israel-is-a-nation-of-superheroes/
 
Cooking up resilience. Israel’s Technion Institute held a hackathon, attended by 140 science students, who worked with mental health experts to develop solutions to improve mental resilience. The winning team developed a technology to treat post-traumatic stress disorder through cooking, using a virtual reality headset.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2024/07/technology-for-mental-resilience/
 
US doctor volunteered and then made Aliyah. In Nov, cardiothoracic anesthesiologist Dr. Eugene Rapaport volunteered for two weeks at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center, treating some unique injuries and diverse patients. Then in June he realized his dream and made Aliyah through Nefesh b’Nefesh. A fascinating article.
https://www.jns.org/us-doctor-makes-aliyah-after-volunteering-to-treat-oct-7-victims/
 
Volunteers make a difference. (TY Yanky) Angie Jacobs and Naomi Frankel write about their experiences as volunteers on Kibbutzim, Moshavim, Army bases, children’s homes and more. They really made a difference.
https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/i-needed-to-make-a-difference-why-we-went-to-israel-to-volunteer/
 
Making chocolates under fire. (TY Rhoda) Rhoda’s great-niece Chana Koenig shows typical Israeli resilience by making gourmet chocolates (without preservatives) in Nahariya, northern Israel. For the last 11 months, she has endured near-incessant aerial attacks by Hezbollah from exploding UAVs and rocket fire.
https://davebender.substack.com/p/from-rockets-to-rosh-hashana-an-israeli (link in article is incorrect)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5yO41eBStU  https://www.cacaohagalil.co.il/ (link here is correct)
 
A wish comes true. Miri and her fiancé Roy are both IDF reserve officers and had to postpone their wedding several times due to the war. When they finally fixed the date, they pleaded on Instagram for help getting Miri’s paralyzed, holocaust-survivor grandfather Kim to attend. Thanks to Israel’s Wish Ambulance, he got there.
https://israfan.com/p/wish-ambulance-reunites-holocaust-survivor-at-wedding
https://www.mdais.org/en/activities/wish-ambulance
 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Positive early results of heart repair trial. Israel’s Endospan (see here previously) shared good early news from the trial on 22 patients of its Nexus Aortic Arch Stent Graft System. The trial is being extended to 110 patients. 120,000+ patients suffer thoracic aortic arch disease every year in the USA and Europe.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240130700861/en/Endospan-Releases-Early-TRIOMPHE-IDE-Study-Results-at-Society-of-Thoracic-Surgeons
 
Detecting high risk of pulmonary embolism. Researchers at Ben Gurion University and Israel’s Sheba Medical Center used AI to detect nearly 2,000 patients at high risk of developing a pulmonary embolism (lung blood clot). Sheba used the BGU algorithm to analyze the records of 46,000 patients who were admitted to ER.
https://nocamels.com/2024/08/sheba-study-ai-can-spot-patients-at-risk-of-pulmonary-embolism/
https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e48595
 
Non-invasive cancer treatment. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a sonodynamic cancer therapy – ultrasound that targets sensitive nanoparticles accumulated in the cancerous tissue to treat deep-seated tumors. It destroys tumors without damage to healthy cells.
https://ats.org/our-impact/technion-researchers-develop-promising-treatment-for-tumors/
https://t3.technion.ac.il/technology/drug-delivery-nanoparticles/
 
Valve replacement startup gets approval & funds. Israel’s TruLeaf Medical has received approval from the Helsinki Committee to begin human trials of its minimally invasive Mitral Valve Replacement procedure. The Israel Innovation Authority awarded TruLeaf an additional NIS 1.5 million, to make a total of NIS 11.5 million.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/a-new-era-in-heart-surgery–israeli-biomed-company-truleaf-medicals-two-needle-sticks-procedure-for-mitral-valve-replacement-302194644.html
 
Aquatic plant is good for diabetics. An Israeli clinical trial shows that diabetics who drink a beverage with the Mankai cultivated aquatic plant after meals can reduce blood sugar levels by 20%. It confirms the results of initial tests that Israel’s Ben Gurion University scientists conducted five years ago (see here previously).
https://nocamels.com/2024/08/study-aquatic-plant-reduces-blood-sugar-in-diabetics/
 
A better fish farm. Traditional aquatics uses the wastewater from fish farms to grow hydroponic vegetables. Now scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have also made use of the solid waste from fish by means of anaerobic digestion. The new system produces biogas, higher crop yields, using less energy and less water.
https://www.bgu.ac.il/en/news-and-articles/bgu-researchers-offer-proof-of-concept-for-unique-aquaponics-system/   https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344924003100?via%3Dihub
 
Real-time medical translator. Current and ex-students from Israel’s Technion Institute have developed CommU – a real-time language translation platform that allows doctors to converse with patients in Hebrew, English, Arabic, Russian, and most other European languages.
https://nocamels.com/2024/08/automatic-translator-breaks-language-barrier-for-doctors-patients/
https://commu.ai/
 
AI devices for the hard-of-hearing. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Bettear provides Auracast-based assistive listening solutions to enhance sound experience. Its B-CASTER streamer integrates with hearing aids and cochlear implants. Other products support tour guides, teachers, entertainers, and museums.
https://www.bettear.com/solutions
 
AI contest for Parkinson’s FOG detection. Tel Aviv University researchers ran an international contest to develop an algorithm to detect “Freeze of Gait” (FOG) in Parkinson’s sufferers, using data from 100 patients. The prize of $100,000 attracted nearly 25,000 solutions from AI researchers in 83 countries.
https://english.tau.ac.il/research/fog-detection-ai  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49027-0
 
Treating and reversing DDD. Israel’s Discure Technologies is developing an implantable bioelectronic device designed to treat and reverse degenerative disc disease (DDD). The Discure System restores fluids and nutrients to the affected discs. DDD accounts for 35% of all lower back pain, at a cost of $100 billion in the US alone.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sjvw00d62c
https://www.hcs-capital.com/portfolio/discuretechnologies/

Continue reading →
ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Kamala’s First Solo Interview Was a Total Train Wreck Matt Margolis

By on September 15th, 2024

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2024/09/14/kamalas-first-solo-interview-was-a-total-train-wreck-n4932514

On Friday, Kamala Harris finally gave her first solo interview since Joe Biden was forced out of the presidential race. It’s hard to believe it took her nearly two months finally do an interview on her own.

And yet, the interview proved exactly why she hasn’t.

Taking a page out of Barack Obama’s playbook, Kamala didn’t do an interview with a major news network, but with an ABC News affiliate in Philadelphia. Barack Obama employed this strategy in order to have more leverage over the terms of the interview, and it seems the Obama people who have joined her campaign have advised her to do the same.

So, obviously, you know that she was given a bunch of softball questions from reporter Brian Taft, and yet the short interview was a complete trainwreck.

“Talk about bringing down prices and making life more affordable for people,” Taff began. “What are one or two specific things you have in mind for that?”

“Well, I’ll start with this,” she said. “I grew up a middle-class kid. My mother raised my sister and me. She worked very hard. She was able to finally save up enough money to buy our first house when I was a teenager. I grew up in a community of hardworking people. You know, construction workers and nurses and teachers. I try to explain to some people who might not have had the same experience, but a lot of people will relate to this.”

We heard a version of this at the debate. Remember that? She sure has her lines memorized. Did she answer the question? Nope. But, wait, she wasn’t done.

You know, I grew up in a neighborhood of people who were really proud of their lawn, you know, and I was raised to believe and to know that all people deserve dignity and that we as Americans have a beautiful character. You know, we have ambitions and aspirations and dreams, but not everyone necessarily has access to the resources that can help them fuel those dreams and ambitions. So, when I talk about building an opportunity economy, it is very much with the mind of investing in the ambitions and aspirations and the incredible work ethic of the American people and creating opportunity for people, for example, to start a small business.

So, instead of answering the question, she gave us her trademark word salad instead. You literally can’t get an easier question than this. Yet, rather than offer an answer that could have included a couple of policy proposals she just defaulted to the same script she was practicing for a week for the debate.

Continue reading →
FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

The Unbalanced Foreign Policy of the Biden-Harris Regime The current administration’s overreliance on diplomacy through the State Department, sidelining the Defense Department, has led to disastrous foreign policy failures and weakened national security.

By on September 15th, 2024

https://amgreatness.com/2024/09/15/the-unbalanced-foreign-policy-of-the-biden-harris-regime/

By James E. Fanell and Bradley A. Thayer

One of the hallmarks of the Biden-Harris administration has been their obsession to have the U.S. State Department be the lead agency for all of America’s foreign policy decisions regardless of the situation. This was infamously made evident during the events surrounding the retreat from Afghanistan in August 2021, which was motivated by partisan political reasons to be able to get American troops out of the country before the 20th anniversary of the heinous attacks on 9/11.

In the months leading up to that disastrous decision, the State Department operated as the lead agency of the U.S. government, making all decisions, even after it was clear that a non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) was going to be required. Yet, despite this reality, the Department of Defense was relegated to a subordinate position, which ultimately led to their professional advice being ignored.

The results included the deaths of 13 American military service members, hundreds of Afghani citizens killed, and thousands who had supported the U.S. during the proceeding years being displaced and their lives ruined. Strategically, the loss of our airbase at Bagram was a strategic blow to America’s ability to hold the PRC at risk from their western flank.

Americans have seen similar results from the Biden-Harris administration, which has hobbled American foreign policy by their decision to make the State Department the lead agency rather than being balanced equally with the Defense Department under the President and National Security Council.

Similarly disastrous results have occurred since that failed retreat, for instance in the failure to deter Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and their failure to provide uninterrupted assistance to our ally Israel in the face of the devilish evil that was unleashed on October 7, 2023. The same is occurring as well in the Indo-Pacific as the world watches the PRC daily threaten our national interests with assaults against our treaty ally, the Republic of the Philippines and their increasing military alliance with Russia as their two militaries threaten another treaty ally—Japan.

In each of these tinderbox areas, the Biden-Harris regime has turned America’s decision-making over to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and has openly subordinated the Department of Defense to second-tier status on critical national security issues.

Continue reading →