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September 2024

Why Is Hamas So Confident That It’s Winning? by Jonathan S. Tobin

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20947/hamas-confident-in-winning

O]ne of the key fronts in this war is not in the Middle East. It’s in the United States.

[T]he political battle over the war in Gaza has been going pretty much the way the terrorists wanted it to. That’s reflected in Mashaal’s confidence, as well as Hamas’s negotiating tactics and its strategy in Gaza. After Oct. 7, the terrorists have been doing nothing but playing for time. And they expected that the time they needed to outlast the Israeli offensive would be provided to them by Israel’s closest ally.

President Joe Biden’s initial response to the Oct. 7 massacre was to join Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in saying that the only proper response to this atrocious crime was for Hamas to be “eliminated.” But almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Biden began to slowly back away from that position.

Over the next several months, as Israel’s counter-offensive into Gaza began, the United States played a double game. On the one hand, Washington continued to supply Jerusalem with munitions badly needed by the IDF. Eventually, however, it was reported that the Pentagon slow-walked its delivery to maintain leverage over the Israelis.

While the public pressure on Israel was bad, even worse was the duress the administration was employing against Netanyahu behind the scenes as it sought to delay every Israeli effort at finishing off the terrorists.

Administration officials were soon parroting the defeatist line about Hamas being an “idea” that could not be defeated, rather than a terrorist force that could be eliminated. Plenty of “ideas” have been militarily defeated, such as Nazism, which didn’t survive the defeat of Adolf Hitler’s genocidal regime. But to Americans and Israeli liberals, Hamas is regarded as an eternal force. By adopting this position, the opportunity to convince Palestinians to give up their fantasies about Israel’s elimination was thrown away and their century-long war on Zionism prolonged.

As Mashaal told the Times, Hamas viewed all of this as encouragement for its plan to simply… hold out until U.S. and international pressure — heightened by the anti-Israel bias of the mainstream media — forced Israel to stand down and allow the Islamists to emerge as the victor in the war.

The families of the remaining hostages and Netanyahu’s political opposition now seek to pressure him to give up the war and sign a ceasefire agreement, even if it means essentially handing Gaza back to Hamas and ensuring a repeat of the horrors of Oct. 7…. Hamas is counting on that sentiment.

But above all, Hamas views American pressure on Israel as its ace in the hole. As Mashaal pointed out, the way that the hostage negotiations have been handled by Washington has amounted to American “recognition” of Hamas as a diplomatic partner as opposed to a despised and outlawed terrorist organization. He is right about that.

This wasn’t a war crime – it was an audacious assault on anti-Semites The left’s crazy wailing over the exploding Hezbollah pagers shows that Israel can’t do right for doing wrong. Brendan O’Neill

https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/09/18/this-wasnt-a-war-crime-it-was-an-audacious-assault-on-anti-semites/

Getting your balls blown off by a primed pager has got to be the most ‘f**k around, find out’ thing that has ever happened. It took place in Lebanon yesterday. To the approval of both supporters of Israel and meme-makers everywhere, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives suddenly exploded. The footage coming out of Lebanon is extraordinary. A man’s trouser pocket erupting in a supermarket, a man writhing in agony in the middle of the road after his trusted comms device turned on him. The battle of the pagers will surely be recorded as one of the most unusual and audacious acts in the entire history of human warfare.

All eyes are on Israel, naturally. Experts suspect Mossad intercepted a massive stash of pagers destined for Hezbollah militants and planted explosive material in the batteries. Then they sent a signal, from hundreds of miles away, that caused the batteries to overheat and eventually to blow up. The planning required for such a spectacular op blows the mind – no pun intended. I know Israelophobia is the default position of the influential classes, but surely even they will admit this was an ingenious way for the Jewish State to take out the adherents to a self-styled ‘army of god’ that has sworn itself to excising the ‘cancerous growth’ of Zionism from the Middle East. (They mean Jews.)

Much remains unclear about the operation. Israel has not claimed responsibility. It is reported that 12 people were killed. Tragically, two of them were children. The others included Hezbollah fighters. Around 3,000 were injured, including Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani. Of course, the West’s leftists are too busy slamming evil Israel to ask why an Iranian official was in such close proximity to a Hezbollah pager. But then, we all know why. Yet for all the questions that still hang over this techno-assault on medieval militants, some observers seem unshakeably certain about one thing: it was terrorism. It was a war crime. It was yet more proof of what a uniquely nasty nation Israel is.

Invective is flying and tears are flowing across social media. The demonic state strikes again, radicals wail.

The Green Agenda Would Punish Lower-Income Households the Most, Environmentalists Admit By James Lynch

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/the-green-agenda-would-punish-lower-income-households-the-most-experts-say/

The costs of rapidly transitioning the world economy from natural gas to green energy sources over the coming decades will fall onto lower-income households the most, a reality that even proponents of many of those environmental policies now acknowledge.

The governor of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta, acknowledged the potential negative impacts of a transition to “net-zero” carbon emissions while addressing an international energy conference on Monday.

“In fact, most climate change mitigation policies, such as carbon pricing, put pressure on the energy bills of businesses and households,” said Panetta, a former member of the European Central Bank governing council. “The consumption baskets of less affluent households are heavily weighted toward energy goods. They will therefore be disproportionately affected by the gradual increase in energy costs required for the transition.”

European and American consumers felt the burden of higher energy costs when oil prices spiked two years ago during the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine and inflation reached levels not seen since the 1970s. Inflation remains a top issue for American and European voters, as incumbent parties across Europe face difficult election prospects because of populist backlash.

“It is quite telling that a [former] member of the European Central Bank Governing Council who believes all of the fictitious asserted benefits of reducing carbon dioxide emissions feels compelled to warn just how expensive and devastating to consumers — and especially lower income consumers — carbon dioxide reductions will be,” said James Taylor, president of the Heartland Institute, a free-market think-tank.

Why the Secrecy around the Foreign Source of the Springfield Hoax Bomb Threats?By Jim Geraghty

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/why-the-secrecy-around-the-foreign-source-of-the-springfield-hoax-bomb-threats/

The office of Ohio governor Mike DeWine is not disclosing which country is responsible for some of the bomb-threat hoaxes called into Springfield schools. The aim is to “discourage further threats to the schools and other buildings.”

This is more than a little frustrating because the general public already has a short suspect list. The FBI has already publicly discussed the desire of Russia, China, and Iran to influence the 2024 election and how “sowing discord and undermining democracy is consistent across the board.” Earlier this month, an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters:

The big three foreign influence actors, Russia, Iran, and China are all trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in U.S. society for their own benefit, and see election periods as moments of vulnerability. These actors most likely judge that amplifying controversial issues and rhetoric that seeks to divide Americans can serve their interests by making the U.S. and its democratic system look weak, and by keeping the U.S. Government distracted with internal issues instead of pushing back on their hostile behavior globally.

…The IC continues to assess that Russia is the pre-eminent and most active foreign influence threat to this year’s U.S. elections. Russia is looking to amplify divisive rhetoric and influence electoral outcomes, which both speak to Moscow’s broader foreign policy goals of weakening the United States and undermining Washington’s support for Ukraine.

Israel’s Critics Will Only Be Satisfied If It Loses Jeffrey Blehar The nation is held to impossible standards of moral perfection in combat, even when launching a preemptive strike that ultimately saves civilian lives Jeffrey Blehar

https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/09/israels-critics-will-only-be-satisfied-if-it-loses/

Once again, the nation is held to impossible standards of moral perfection, even when launching a daring preemptive strike that ultimately saves civilian lives in the long run.

In June of this year, when Israel rescued four hostages alive and unharmed from Hamas captivity, I well recall the perversity of the mainstream-media coverage of the event. Instead of celebrating the audacity and bravery of an impossibly complicated mission that freed innocent civilians from the clutches of murderous terrorists, the media narrative instead became about the “collateral damage” the bloodthirsty Israelis had caused.

Fake casualty numbers were immediately announced by Hamas, to be instantly and unquestioningly spread by journalists whose credulity verged on complicity. Israel was castigated for such things as the cruel and senseless murder of Palestine Chronicle journalist Abdallah Aljamal, who happened to be holding three of the Israeli hostages in his own home when the IDF found him. It was then that I concluded that the game was rigged, and that in terms of narrative framing, Israel would forever only be able to do wrong in the eyes of the media. And I am reminded of that sobering conclusion by the emergent reaction to Israel’s latest intelligence coup, which — though more muted — tracks closely along those same lines, with the same complaints levied by precisely the same suspects.

To catch up all those folks who have been out of the loop and away from their communications devices over the past day and a half, let me start by saying: If yours didn’t explode, then congratulations! You are likely not a member of Hezbollah! Because pretty much all of theirs just did: Yesterday, the encrypted pagers of Hezbollah personnel across Lebanon simultaneously exploded, and just a few hours ago, their entire supply of walkie-talkies went up in an even larger series of remote detonations. Several people died outright, and many others have been brutally maimed in an area particularly sensitive to the pride of military-aged jihadists. These explosions were remotely triggered by Israel, of course, which has been fighting an all but declared war with Iran against its proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, on Israel’s northern border, ever since the October 7 massacre.

State Dept Officials Colluded to Protect Iran Envoy Under FBI Investigation “The State Department never reported Malley’s suspension to the OIG, in violation of federal law” by Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/state-dept-officials-colluded-to-protect-iran-envoy-under-fbi-investigation/

Classified information is a very serious matter. Except 99% of the time when it’s not. About the only time that classified information is really a serious issue is when it can be used to raid a certain Florida venue.

The rest of the time it just doesn’t matter. Just ask Rob Malley and an entire administration that covered for him.

The Harris-Biden administration’s suspended Iran envoy Robert Malley may have taken part in a “classified White House-organized” call after his top secret security clearance was frozen over allegations of misconduct, according to the State Department’s internal watchdog.

The watchdog report politely describes this as deviating from normal standards. Much like Al Capone was deviating from normal negotiating procedures.

An official at the heart of the Iran outreach program had multiple State Department officials cover for him, lie on his behalf to Congress and to foreign governments to cover up the fact that he was under FBI investigation.

And it got worse from there.

On April 22, 2023, the State Department notified Malley of his clearance suspension and barred him from accessing the department’s “Sensitive But Unclassified [SBU] information system.”

However, days later, under pressure from senior officials, Malley’s access to sensitive information was restored, as was his access to his State Department email account.

American Leviathan A new book explains how to break the bloated DC bureaucracy and restore the Founding Fathers’ vision. by Mark Tapson

https://www.frontpagemag.com/american-leviathan/

Conservatives have been complaining for a long time – at least as far back as the Reagan era – about reducing the bloated sea monster of our government bureaucracy, but not only does the state never get any smaller, it just keeps expanding, aggrandizing more power, and extending more tentacles grasping for our freedoms. What would the Founding Fathers think of what we have allowed to become of the limited-power, Constitutional Republic they left us?

Ned Ryun addresses this question in his new book American Leviathan, and traces the history of the progressive movement to undermine that Republic and replace it with an all-powerful state. Subtitled “The Birth of the Administrative State and Progressive Authoritarianism,” American Leviathan explores how our current government has little if anything in common with the free American Republic that was intended by the Founding Fathers and shaped by the original intent of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Ryun then asks, “What is the right size and scope of government for us today?” and proceeds to lay out a blueprint for rolling back this gargantuan, increasingly authoritarian bureaucracy.

The Lilliputian Dems Still Struggling to Keep Trump Bound You can’t beat something with nothing. by Bruce Thornton

https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-lilliputian-dems-still-struggling-to-keep-trump-bound/

Ganging up with the debate moderators, Kamala Harris still hasn’t immobilized Donald Trump. The Dems thought their fellow Lilliputian press agents masquerading as “journalists” and “moderators,” along with some mean-girl snark from Harris, could bait Trump enough to make him hang himself, and so distract millions of voters from noticing that Harris is still dodging questions about her complicity with Biden’s disastrous term, his cognitive decline, and the far-left policy proposals that have marked her entire political career.

Despite the post-debate crowing about Harris’s victory, their ropes still aren’t tight enough to keep Trump down. For eight years, the progressive Democrats have labored to restrain Trump, but he keeps loosening his bonds. Let’s hope that the Dems don’t catch on that you can’t beat something with nothing.

Trump’s term was still young when federal agencies began trying to tie Trump down. The Russia, Russia, Russia hoax; turning an unexceptional phone call with Ukraine’s president Zelensky into a flimsy impeachable offense; Trump’s private conversation in 2005 Access Hollywood leaked that turned some sexual braggadocio into evidence for a sexual assaults; numerous statements by Trump distorted with selective editing, like the “very fine people” comment edited to hide’s Trump’s exclusion of neo-Nazis and white supremacists; and the Big Lie that on January 6 Trump instigated an “insurrection” when he told attendees at a rally to march “patriotically and peacefully” to protest at the capital. And don’t forget the multiple indictments by four Dem prosecutors, all based on creative if not duplicitous reading of the laws.

All those efforts and hundreds more failed to end Trump’s political career and clear the decks for a Democrat president. In fact, they’ve increased the size of his support. So now the lies are proliferating beyond those fed to a compliant media–– just like Harris, the moderators, and the media flacks during the debate every time they opened their mouths. But what else do they have to convince voters? They can’t run on the Biden and Harris record in the White House, which is as useless as Jimmy Carter’s record was in 1980.

Biden-Harris Price Controls Causing Senior Drug Prices to Skyrocket A recent analysis warns that drug price controls scheduled to begin in 2026 will likely lead to higher costs for millions of seniors and disabled Americans who rely on Medicare Part D. Martin Hoyt

https://amgreatness.com/2024/09/19/biden-harris-price-controls-causing-senior-drug-prices-to-skyrocket/

If there’s one axiom, we all know about Washington, D.C., is that it’s full of well-intentioned policies and unintended (read: harmful) consequences. A recent reminder of unintended policy consequences is the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA was passed in August 2022, and according to its champions in Congress and the White House, it was intended to reduce the federal government budget deficit, make investments in renewable energy, lower drug prices, and fight inflation.

Two years later, we’ve unfortunately re-learned that noble intentions don’t necessarily produce good policy. The IRA has failed to achieve its objectives in many ways. One significant problem involves the introduction of drug price controls, which take effect in 2026. Due to the IRA, the federal government now has wide-ranging authority to set the price of drugs through what’s known as the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.

A recent analysis warns that these pricing provisions will likely lead to higher costs for millions of seniors and disabled Americans who rely on Medicare Part D. This shouldn’t come as a surprise – price controls simply don’t work, and when they’re implemented, someone will eventually have to pick up the tab.  Nor should it be surprising that government spending doesn’t reduce inflation. History shows quite the opposite.

The first group of impacted drugs includes ten medicines that have been selected to have a “maximum fair price” (MFP) set under the IRA. In 2024, Medicare beneficiaries typically pay fixed copays for most of these drugs. For millions of these beneficiaries, artificially fixed-drug costs will slow their progression toward their Part D out-of-pocket limit, making them pay more in out-of-pocket costs.

Trump Didn’t Start The Fire

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/09/19/trump-didnt-start-the-fire/

Could Trump tone down his rhetoric? Sure. But why should he go first?

For the second time in as many months, an assassin targeted Donald Trump, and the left blamed … Donald Trump. It’s his violent rhetoric, you see, that is poisoning the body politic and causing everyone to go crazy. Or something like that.

Never mind that the second would-be assassin, Ryan Routh, had written a book in which he called on Iran to assassinate Trump, gave money to Democrats, and posted on X in April using the exact same language Democrats have been pushing for years – “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose. We cannot afford to fail. The world is counting on us to show the way.”

David Frum, who we called scum in this space after he wrote in immediate wake of the last assassination attempt that Trump reaped what he sowed, was back at it again. “For a decade, this dangerous political environment has been uniquely inflamed by Trump’s hate-filled rhetoric,” he wrote this week. Plus, he said, Trump supports gun rights. Implication? Trump had it coming.

Others, such as the Cincinnati Enquirer, put it more plainly: “Donald Trump brings a lot of this stuff on himself.”