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Democrats kicked off their campaign with a pander-fest | By Steve Cortes

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/commentary/fl-op-com-cortes-dems-pander-campaign-

Hispanics got a masterclass in pathetic political pandering during the first round of Democrat presidential debates in Miami.

Split into two groups of ten because of the vast size of the 2020 Democratic field, each of the candidates vying for the Democratic presidential nomination only had a few brief opportunities to win us over.

As a result, viewers were subjected to a barrage of contrived soundbites from candidates seeking to make the most out of what could very well be their only opportunity to set themselves apart from the crowded, far-left field.

Since Florida has a large Hispanic population, the Democrats naturally went out of their way to deliver several of those sound bites in Spanish.

Despite the wishes of the Associated Press, though, not one of the candidates who occupied either stage is a “native speaker” of Spanish —not even extreme long-shot Julian Castro. Unlike Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, the Irishman who routinely sprinkles lines of Spanish throughout his speeches, Castro had largely resisted the temptation to “throw a few lines of espanol in there” in his previous remarks. Under the glare of the debate spotlight, though, even Castro couldn’t help joining the other candidates in a shameless display of linguistic pandering.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The Anti-Trump Circus By Victor Davis Hanson

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/06/30/the-anti-trump-circus/

We are now in the fourth year of an anti-Trump mania, and about reaching the point of caricature.

The Left should have learned something after the failed celebrity appeal to undermine the Electoral College, the initial articles of impeachment, the empty invocations of the Logan Act, the Emoluments Clause, and the 25th Amendment, the 22-month, $35 million Mueller investigation deflation, the periodical silly “bombshell” announcements of perennially wrong and comical Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the pathetic palace coup attempt of Andrew McCabe, the assassination chic from the likes of Madonna, Snoop Dogg, or Kathy Griffin, or the deification of the slimy prophet Michael Avenatti.

Not at all. An entire new cast of carnival characters has arrived on the scene to take up where the now imploded Left off. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) has replaced Schiff in the unhinged congressional investigative limelight. In his latest hearing, Nadler obtusely insisted on addressing former Trump White House aide Hope Hicks as “Ms. Lewandowski.” Even Democrats were puzzled—given that Nadler’s supposed “slip of the tongue” was repeated three times until Hicks finally corrected him.

Even in the age of gender transitioning and speech reduced to Twitter-like grunts, sane people still do not confuse the four-syllable name of the male Lewandowski as some sort of homophone for the one syllable name of the female Hicks.

Was Nadler in tawdry fashion then trying repeatedly to traffic in stale and unfounded rumors that the married Lewandowski had had an affair with Hicks? In the age of #MeToo was the enlightened feminist Nadler implying that Hicks was somehow the sexually compromised tool of the former controversial Trump aide? Or was he so unhinged in his hatred of the president to the point of conflating his make-believe enemies into some sort of composite delusionary specter? Did a Republican committee member ever repeatedly address witness Lisa Page as “Ms. Strzok”? That “slip of the tongue” or “confusing”of two one-syllable names at least would have been fueled by a real and substantiated affair.

HOMELAND SECURITY, IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

Dems Determined to Leave America Borderless And hence, defenseless. July 1, 2019 Michael Cutler

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274150/dems-determined-leave-america-borderless-michael-cutler

The quintessential example of “Chutzpah” is the young man who kills both of his parents and then pleads for mercy arguing that he is an orphan.

The Democrats have succeeded in providing an even more egregious example of demonstrating chutzpah by betraying their oaths of office and betraying their constituents and, indeed, all Americans.

The official report, 9/11 and  Terrorist Travel begins with the following paragraph:

It is perhaps obvious to state that terrorists cannot plan and carry out attacks in the United States if they are unable to enter the country. Yet prior to September 11, while there were efforts to enhance border security, no agency of the U.S. government thought of border security as a tool in the counterterrorism arsenal. Indeed, even after 19 hijackers demonstrated the relative ease of obtaining a U.S. visa and gaining admission into the United States, border security still is not considered a cornerstone of national security policy. We believe, for reasons we discuss in the following pages, that it must be made one.

The Democrats continue to refuse to provide the funding for DHS to address the border crisis that exists along the dangerous and highly porous U.S./Mexican border while complaining about the conditions in which illegal aliens, particularly alien children, are being housed in detention facilities that were never designed to handle the number of aliens currently being housed within their over-crowded confines.

On June 25, 2019 Fox News reported, “Dem-led House passes $4.5B bill to aid migrants at border, setting up showdown with GOP-led Senate.”

While the Democrats balk at the funding of a border wall that would deter the massive tsunami of unprecedented levels of illegal immigration and drug smuggling, their “leaders” are happy to spend huge sums of tax-payer provided cash on caring for illegal aliens who should not be here in the first place!

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Antifa Thugs Brutalize Journalist Andy Ngo Leftist fascist mob finds meaning in terror. Matthew Vadum

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274178/antifa-thugs-brutalize-journalist-andy-ngo-matthew-vadum

Independent journalist Andy Ngo, known for documenting Antifa’s violence, was himself assaulted by members of the radical leftist group June 29 in Portland, Oregon.

The Quillette editor and photojournalist suffered a brain hemorrhage that required him to stay in a hospital overnight, Quillette reports.

The day before the assault, Ngo tweeted his anxieties about covering the June 29 demonstration.

“I am nervous about tomorrow’s Portland Antifa rally. They’re promising ‘physical confrontation’ & have singled me out to be assaulted. I went on Tucker Carlson last year to explain why I think they’re doing this: They’re seeking meaning through violence.”

According to Quillette, “[t]he scene was captured by local reporter Jim Ryan, whose video can be accessed at the link below.”

Quillette offered a warning to potential viewers of the video:

We caution readers that it is an unsettling spectacle—by which we mean not only the violence itself, but the unconstrained glee this pack of mostly young men exhibit as they brutalize a journalist whom they’d spent months demonizing on social media, and whom they’d explicitly singled out for attack.

The attack on Ngo is yet another reminder that the totalitarianism-loving domestic terrorists of Antifa, who call themselves anti-fascist activists, are the real fascists in today’s America because, among other things, they use violent tactics pioneered by the real-live fascist storm-troopers of Weimar Germany, the Sturmabteilung (SA). These Antifa goons opposed the Nazis but eagerly copied their tactics, using their fists to shut down political opponents and break up meetings and rallies. Some Antifa today even dress like Nazis, wearing black and red, the anarchist colors which traditionally have also been used by Nazis.

FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

Trump and Kim Jong-Un at the Korean DMZ U.S. president makes historic crossing into North Korea — as his bold gamble pays off. Joseph Klein

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274176/trump-and-kim-jong-un-korean-dmz-joseph-klein

President Trump took an historic step on Sunday by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to cross into North Korea, after shaking hands with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un across the border at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Kim hailed the president’s move as a “courageous and determined act” that “means that we want to bring an end to the unpleasant past.” President Trump said, “Stepping across that line was a great honor. I think it’s historic, it’s a great day for the world.” After Kim crossed the demarcation line to enter South Korea, President Trump said that he would invite Kim at some point to visit the White House. The two leaders held a 50-minute meeting at the Demilitarized Zone, resulting in their decision to designate teams for the resumption of nuclear negotiations that have stalled since the failed summit meeting in Vietnam earlier this year. President Trump noted, following the meeting, that “speed is not the object.” He added, “We’re looking to get it right.”

All of this came about because of President Trump’s willingness to break the mold of formal diplomacy. “The United States, under the Trump administration, has disrupted the longstanding, but failing, US policies of past administrations by seeking to build trust from the top down,” said Barry Pavel, senior vice president and director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. About a day prior to President Trump’s face-to-face talk with Kim, while the president was still at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, the president took a bold gamble. He tweeted the suggestion that he and Kim meet at the Korean Demilitarized Zone for a quick hello and handshake. Much to the president’s relief, he avoided the embarrassment of a no-show when his North Korean counterpart accepted the invitation. “It is good to see you again,” Kim said to the president through an interpreter. “I never expected to meet you in this place.” The hello and handshake turned into a nearly hour-long substantive meeting.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

Michael Oren :’We need to take advantage of Trump’s time in office’ Reported by Ariel Kahane

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/07/01/we-need-to-take-advantage-of-trumps-time-in-office/
“The Trump administration is the most friendly toward Israel since the state was founded. In this administration, there isn’t a single official who is problematic for Israel,” says former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren. “We haven’t lost bipartisan support, but it is being challenged when it comes to the question of what issue is being discussed,” he says.

There were plenty of difficult discussions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Barack Obama. In one of the last they held, Netanyahu asked for the US to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel. This was when the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran was being signed. Obama threw all his weight behind that deal, and Netanyahu was waging a war against it, the like of which had never been seen in the history of relations between the two countries. The battle ended with the deal being implemented but not ratified by the Senate, and a meeting was set for the two leaders in November 2015. Historian and former Israeli Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren prepared a “compensatory” list of demands for Netanyahu to present to Obama.

“At the time, I was no longer the ambassador,” Oren tells Israel Hayom.

“I was serving as an MK, but I suggested, among other things, that the US and Israel prepare a document in which they would jointly define what would be considered a violation of the nuclear deal and agree ahead of time on how the US would respond to any violations. At the end of the list, I included a request for American recognition of the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory. Netanyahu brought the matter up, but Obama laughed in his face,” Oren says.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Russia completes deployment of S-300 missile defenses in northern Syria by  Daniel Siryoti

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/07/01/russia-completes-deployment-of-s-300-missile-defenses-in-northern-syria/

Until now, only three of Syria’s four surface-to-air missile launchers were fully erected.

Russia has completed the deployment of its S-300 air defense system in Masyaf in northwestern Syria, not far from the cities of Homs and Hama, both of which have been targeted by airstrikes attributed to Israel.

An image published Sunday by ImageSat International shows four S-300 missile batteries alongside two advanced radar systems designed to be used in conjunction with anti-aircraft weaponry.

On Sunday, the IDF announced that new satellite imagery revealed Syria’s S-300 air defense system was fully operational.

An Israeli satellite imagery analysis company said that until now, only three of Syria’s four surface-to-air missile launchers had been seen fully erected.

In 2017, airstrikes attributed to Israel targeted a Syrian weapons factory in the city Masyaf that was believed to have been attached to a Syrian research center that was developing precision surface-to-surface missiles. The center was believed to be developing chemical weapons for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

Palestinians: “Hamas Is Not Afraid of Elections” by Khaled Abu Toameh

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14466/palestinians-hamas-elections

New elections [the initiative of Mahmoud Abbas] are certain to result in the creation of another Hamas-controlled entity in the West Bank. The Palestinians would end up with two Hamas-run mini-states, one in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.

If Fatah members are being systematically targeted and tortured by Hamas for expressing their views, how will they ever be allowed to conduct election campaigns that challenge the rulers of Hamas in the Gaza Strip?

“Hamas is not afraid of elections. In fact, it’s Abbas who’s afraid of elections because public opinion polls have shown that he and Fatah will be defeated by Hamas. Despite our mistakes, Hamas remains the conscience of the Palestinians because it does not conduct security coordination [with Israel] and does not steal the money of the people.” — Mohammed Nazzal, senior leader, Hamas.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says that he is ready to hold long-overdue presidential and parliamentary elections, and has even instructed the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to start preparing for the vote.

Abbas seems to be taking quite a gamble. There is a real possibility that his rivals in Hamas will manage to push him off the presidential throne he has been occupying so persistently for the past fourteen years.

Hamas leaders have responded by welcoming the initiative to hold new elections. The leaders say they are not afraid of elections: they are confident that their movement will win.

Hamas leaders are clearly hoping that if and when new elections are held, they would facilitate its takeover of the Palestinian Authority (PA) presidency and the Palestinian Legislative Council.

POLITICS Comments turned off

For 2020 Democrats, It’s ‘Ignore The Economy, Stupid’

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://issuesinsights.com/2019/07/01/for-2020-democrats-its-ignore-the-economy-stupid/

How do Democrats sell their policies when the economy is doing well and unemployment at 50-year lows? By avoiding the subject. At least, that’s what Democrats did during the two nights of debating.

The very first question asked in the first debate, by Savannah Guthrie, was about whether the Democrats’ far-left agenda would risk the economic growth we’ve been enjoying.

“Seventy-one percent of Americans say the economy is doing well, including 60% of Democrats,” she said. “What do you say to those who worry this kind of significant change could be risky to the economy?”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the first to answer, pretended not hear the question. Instead, she went on a rant about how the economy is “doing great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top.”  But if that were true, why are six in ten of her fellow Democrats are happy with the way things are going? No one bothered to ask her that.

A word cloud of the debates shows that “economy” barely got mentioned over the two nights. Democrats talked almost as much about guns and they did jobs.

And when Democrats did talk about the economy, it was in grim, Dickensian terms.

HISTORY Comments turned off

From Islam’s Shahada To Communism’s Credo: Shared Totalitarian “Religious” Visions Andrew Bostom

Posted By on July 1st, 2019

https://www.andrewbostom.org/2019/06/from-islams-shahada-to-communisms-credo-shared-totalitarian-religious-visions/

A century ago, in April, 1918, the Burlington Vermont Daily News, captured, unintentionally, the quintessential, shared ideological roots of Neo-Marxist Bernie Sanders’ Red [Communism]- Green [Islam] Alliance, foreshadowing the ugly consequences of this nexus:

 “[M]any of the Protestant churches in Germany are no more than empty shells. This lack of horizon, spiritually speaking, has led to the growth of socialism to a marked degree in Germany. Karl Marx was its founder and its slogan is ‘There is no God, and Karl Marx is his prophet.’”

Even earlier, five years before the October, 1917 Bolshevik Revolution would begin to impose Communist totalitarianism on Russia, Henry C. Vedder, observed in his 1912 study of Socialism, that the Marxist Social Labor Federation of Britain had adopted Karl Marx’s “Das Kapital” [Capital] as their infallible authority, “an article of faith from which they will permit no dissent, on pain of excommunication.”  Vedder, a Professor of Church History at the Upland, Pennsylvania Crozer Theological Seminary, added that this British Marxist organization rejected the orthodoxy of its own votaries unless they too professed as their credo, “There is no God, and Karl Marx is his prophet.”— mirroring the Islamic declaration of faith (p.730), or “shahada”—“There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.”

Late doyen of Islamic studies, Bernard Lewis, had erroneously attributed the origins of this Communist profession of faith to an unnamed mid-20th century “humorist” in his 1954 essay, “Communism and Islam”. Despite that rather egregious error—attributing the established, obligatory creed of humorless Marxists, some four decades after the fact, to a witty quip by some anonymous comic—Lewis did keenly point out how this statement highlighted “real affinity” between Islamic and Communist totalitarianism, a theme his essay developed quite well, and at some length.