MEDIA Comments turned off

New York Times Frustrated That Ron DeSantis Isn’t Dumb Enough To Be One Of Their Staff Writers By: Eddie Scarry

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://thefederalist.com/2023/02/27/new-york-times-frustrated-that-ron-desantis-isnt-dumb-enough-to-be-one-of-their-staff-writers/

I’m sure it’s frustrating. Maybe the Times staff should stick to what they know.

A couple of recent articles in The New York Times show just how annoyed the national media is getting at so far being unable to find something wrong with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Why hasn’t he called Donald Trump a fathead on Twitter yet?! Where are all the women who want to accuse him of being a rapist?! Why won’t he back down from positions that are popular with voters?!

Admittedly, it’s never too late for any one of those scenarios to become a reality, and Republicans rarely justify high hopes. But for now, the Times has had to settle on attacking DeSantis for not being more readily attackable.

To that end, Times book reviewer Jennifer Szalai’s take on DeSantis’ newly published book is that it’s a mega letdown, “free of anything that resembles charisma, or a discernible sense of humor.” Whereas a previous book DeSantis wrote was “weird and esoteric,” Szalai was disappointed in the new one that “reads like a politician’s memoir churned out by ChatGPT.”

Translation: Why wasn’t there anything for me to call racist?! Why Didn’t Ron include something that’s readily mocked as “election denialism”?!

I have no doubt the book is a bore. Politician books always are. (Especially Trump’s, which is why you’ve never seen a single line from it quoted anywhere.) But if that’s the No. 1 problem with a likely presidential candidate who has engaged — and won! — some highly consequential political battles, it seems to be slightly beside the point.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

The Palestinians’ New Terror Groups by Bassam Tawil

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19440/palestinians-new-terror-groups

If the Biden Administration were serious about de-escalating tensions and preventing further violence between Israelis and Palestinians, it could have achieved this goal by demanding that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas take action against the numerous armed gangs roaming Palestinian streets.

Instead of holding a summit in Jordan or any other country, the Biden Administration needs to make clear to Abbas that he cannot have it both ways. He cannot turn a blind eye to the terror groups operating under his nose, and at the same time condemn Israel for launching counter-terrorism operations to protect Jews and prevent further terrorist attacks.

The Biden Administration could at least have demanded that Abbas rein in the terror attacks against Jews instead of glorifying terrorists and rewarding them and their families financially as part of his “pay-for-slay” incentive to go murder Jews.

Instead of condemning terrorism, Abbas and senior Palestinian officials… regularly castigate Israel for launching pre-emptive operations to prevent terror attacks that harm its people.

The Biden administration seems not to understand that by failing to condemn the murder of innocent Israeli civilians, Abbas is signaling to his people that he has no problem with the terrorists so long as they target only Jews and not him.

“Except for the Palestinian Police and Israeli military forces, no other armed forces shall be established or operate in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” — Oslo Accords Interim Agreement, September 28, 1995.

[N]ot only do both the West Bank and Gaza Strip have dozens of militias and terror groups; worse, the Gaza Strip — which was handed by Israel to the Palestinian Authority in 2005 — is currently controlled by terror organizations such as the Iranian-backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Abbas is saying that the Israelis have no right to defend themselves or go after those who are planning to kill Jews.

[I]t means that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, which is backed by Iran, could penetrate the security forces of Abbas’s Fatah.

The US State Department, after the summit in Jordan, published a “joint communiqué” that totally ignored the role of the Palestinian terror groups in the latest flare-up of violence. The communiqué did not include a commitment by the Palestinian leadership to rein in the terrorists operating in Palestinian-controlled areas. It did not include a demand to the Palestinian leaders to halt their poisonous incitement against Israel. It did not even call for Abbas to stop financially rewarding terrorists for murdering Jews.

The communiqué instead talked about the need for Israelis and Palestinians to “end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months.” The only measure it mentions, however, is the building of new housing for Jews.

The Biden Administration appears to believe that building a home for a Jew constitutes a greater threat than gangs and terror groups carrying out lethal attacks against Jews.

As part of its effort to de-escalate tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, the Biden Administration invited the two parties to a summit in Jordan on February 26 to discuss ways to “prevent further violence.”

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Are You Freer than You Were Two Years Ago? By Jeffrey Folks

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/02/are_you_freer_than_you_were_two_years_ago.html

Everywhere you look, you’re told what to think, what to say, what to do, what to buy.  We are enslaved as never before in this country, and half of us want more enslavement and for government to “take care of us,” even at the cost of enslavement.

What does it mean, to be enslaved?  First and foremost, it means that we have lost freedom of choice, and with it, acceptance of the fact that choices have consequences.  That blank stare at the screen that I see in so many viewers reveals just how brainwashed they have become.  Vote for Biden — yes, vote for Biden.  Biden for democracy, Biden for prosperity, Biden for your Social Security, Biden for another COVID check or loan forgiveness.  And half of Americans vote for Biden.

At the heart of freedom is independent thinking, and to think independently, one must ditch the media, even the media one normally agrees with.  It’s not enough to let Fox News do the thinking for us.  We must be ferociously independent, and we must respect one another’s independence.  I enjoy talking with those who have different ideas about the border, the budget, or socialized medicine so long as they are not mental zombies.  Nothing is more refreshing than meeting an actual free-thinking human being, one whose beliefs emerge from independent thinking and true concern for others.

That kind of thinking is independent of party or ideology, but it is inherently conservative since it is conservatives, not liberals, who think deeply and compassionately about choice, consequences, self-reliance, and human happiness.  One cannot think in this way if one is a liberal or progressive.

After all, the ultimate goal for progressives is global enslavement under the aegis of a world government following the abolition of nation-states and the destruction of individual freedom.  The progressive world order would look a lot like North Korea, which we would do well to study if we wish to understand the enemy we face.  Most North Koreans are not forced to support Kim Jong-un — they love Kim Jong-un because long ago they surrendered their freedom of thought and traded their human rights in exchange for what they believed to be the security of an average 2,032 calories per day, much of it noodles and vegetables.

When Kim speaks, there is silent acquiescence to every syllable, and, again, not just for fear of disagreeing.  Within a totalitarian state, most people want to agree.  On April 15, the Day of the Sun (the anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founder and eternal president, Kim Il-sung), the crowds that gather are not just bussed in or conscripted from nearby apartment blocks, as some believe.  They worship Kim Il-sung and his heirs not because they are afraid to think for themselves, but because they have lost the ability to think for themselves.  And that is what progressives wish for America.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

The Two-State Solution Hoax Reigniting the trap.Therese Zrihen-Dvir

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-two-state-solution-hoax/

Yair Lapid, while leading as Israel interim Prime Minister, declared a few months ago at the UN podium that he was in favor of the two-state solution: one next to the other, Israel and Palestine in peace.

Why not adopt this revolutionary solution in European states that are suffering from an uninterrupted migratory invasion of Muslims? A quick question for our Western friends: who among you would like to have Arab-Palestinians as your neighbors?

The idea of putting the two-state solution back on the negotiating table is aimed above all at the naive and gullible Israeli Left, because it is impossible to implement. It is also the desire of Israeli Arabs who already form an antagonistic element in the Israeli government with unscrupulous Jewish deputies who yearn for their votes.

It’s not without reason that, since the deadly Oslo agreements, this solution has not been implemented despite the West and the U.S.’s ridiculous and tenacious insistence. No one can impose peace when one of the parties is fundamentally against it. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

First of all, for all those who still believe in this chimera, there is no Palestinian entity capable of executing this solution and creating a normal, functioning state structure. The non-existent Palestinian people are, in large part, nothing more than a vulgar collection of small groups of terrorists, who hold in their iron claws the few Arabs originating from all the neighboring countries and whom the Russian KGB has baptized “Palestinian people”.

Then, there is a basically insoluble geographical problem. Israel can never accept the suicidal 1948 armistice lines — the so-called green line that leaves a distance of only 39 km between Nablus and Netanya, not to mention other cities whose distance from Palestinian villages is maybe two or three kilometers.

We must also take into consideration the very nature of said Palestinian people, a significant number of whom are radical, Islamist, anti-Semitic, barbaric, unscrupulous, and lazy individuals who use their co-religionists as human shields, in Gaza and/or in Judea and Samaria.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The Forgotten Town Biden, East Palestine, and callous indifference. by Armstrong Williams

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-forgotten-town/

A catastrophic train derailment has unleashed toxic fumes and pollutants into the air and water of East Palestine, Ohio, leaving the town’s inhabitants reeling with uncertainty about their future. The once-thriving community now stands in a state of disarray, with residents left wondering whether they will face long-term health consequences and whether their town will ever be the same again.

Despite the severity of the situation, weeks after the disaster, President Joe Biden has failed to visit. To make matters worse, he decided to instead visit Ukraine. This move has only served to exacerbate the sense of betrayal felt by the people of East Palestine. With this move, he has turned the concept of “America first” on its head, treating Americans last, and leaving many Americans feeling as if they are last in line for his attention and concern.

The people of East Palestine are not political pawns to be ignored or overlooked. They are hardworking citizens who deserve compassion, empathy and a strong leader who will take their concerns seriously. Rural America has been hit hard in recent years, and East Palestine is no different. It is time for our elected officials to prioritize the needs of all Americans, regardless of their location or background, and work toward creating a brighter future for everyone.

East Palestine is a town that has endured its fair share of challenges. Once a bustling community centered around coal mining, the town has been dealt a severe blow by the industry’s decline. Job losses and economic hardship have become a way of life for many residents, despite the valiant efforts of local leaders to attract fresh investment and industries. Compounding the town’s woes is the opioid epidemic, which has wreaked havoc on the lives of many, leaving them struggling with addiction and the resulting social and economic consequences.

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

WHO Pandemic Treaty: The Back Door to CCP Control Over America The stakes are higher than ever. by Scott S. Powell

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://www.frontpagemag.com/who-pandemic-treaty-the-back-door-to-ccp-control-over-america/

America’s enemies never stop scheming about the ways in which they can bring the United States down. China, our greatest external strategic enemy, already has a plan to gain control of America through the next pandemic and United Nations agency channels. The first stage of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accomplishing this was gaining controlling influence over the U.N.’s World Health Organization (WHO), which was achieved when the Chinese groomed Tedros Adhanom Ghbreyesus as a candidate and then got him elected as Director-General of the WHO in 2017.

The WHO’s misguided recommendations and harmful policy responses to the Covid-19 China virus included lockdowns and disruptions of holidays; school, church, synagogue, and business closures; social distancing and masking that retarded children’s’ social development—all of which led to economic contraction, bankruptcies, supply chain disruptions and inflation. That record doesn’t enhance the WHO’s trust factor, and its ability to deal with future health emergencies and pandemics. In fact, the CCP views the WHO’s COVID-19 policy results in terms of power politics rather than health care results. The COVID-19 responses are part of a test run analysis for the greater medical tyranny they may impose with the next health emergency or pandemic.

The second stage of the CCP’s gaining control of American health care policy is to forge an agreement between the WHO and its member states (including the U.S.) in which they all  enter into a “legally binding” accord that would give the United Nations health agency the authority to dictate policies during a pandemic.

Admittedly, Biden may be compelled to turn over the sovereignty of U.S. health care policy to the China-controlled World Health Organization (WHO) because of the CCP’s preponderant controlling influence of the Biden administration. We know from the sworn testimony of Tony Bobulinksi, the former business partner of Hunter Biden,  that the Biden family has been “compromised” by Chinese money.  We know from the Hunter Biden laptop records that the monetary value of that compromise involving multiple Chinese deals was at least $31 million, which is significant bribe money.

MEDIA Comments turned off

Get Tomorrow’s Disinformation Today!

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/02/28/get-tomorrows-disinformation-today/

This disinformation business sure has gotten complicated lately.

In the past few days, a key federal agency concluded that COVID was likely the result of a Chinese lab leak. A prestigious medical journal reported that natural immunity is better than vaccines against COVID. Another that mask mandates were worthless. And President Joe Biden’s advanced age is now, according to Biden, a legitimate issue.

All of these claims had been labeled as “disinformation” by the mainstream press, by “independent” fact-checkers, by social media platforms. Anyone who espoused them was attacked as a crazy anti-vaxxer, 4Chan racist, Russian stooge who deserved to be de-platformed, demonetized, and discredited.

Take the lab-leak story. The Energy Department, “citing new intelligence,” changed its view on the origins of COVID-19 and now thinks it did, in fact, escape from a lab in Wuhan, China.

It wasn’t long ago that such a claim opened you up to ridicule or worse.

A-list journalist Anne Applebaum once compared Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to a Soviet propagandist for suggesting that COVID came from a lab. A New York Times reporter said the lab-leak theory had “racist roots.” The editor in chief of Scientific American called it a “conspiracy theory.”  CNN said it was “like something out of a comic book.”

Politifact, one of the supposed independent guardians against disinformation, said that any such claim was “inaccurate and ridiculous. We rate it Pants on Fire!” Facebook banned posts mentioning the lab-leak theory.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

We Need to Talk About Mark Levin’s Interview With Ron DeSantis Last Night By Paula Bolyard

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://pjmedia.com/columns/paula-bolyard/2023/02/27/we-need-to-talk-about-mark-levins-interview-with-ron-desantis-last-night-n1674153

On Sunday night, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared on “Life, Liberty, and Levin” on Fox News, purportedly to promote his new book, The Courage to Be Free, which comes out this week.

While DeSantis has not yet declared that he’s running for president, he certainly sounded like a man who’s making the case for his candidacy. Or, if not, he’s making a case for conservatism as the path to American success and prosperity— the subtitle of the book is “Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.”

As my colleague Stephen Green pointed out earlier today:

DeSantis isn’t traveling to early presidential primary states like Iowa or New Hamphire, at least not yet. Instead, his most recent tour was through three struggling Deep Blue cities to tout what he’s done differently in Florida… DeSantis is calmly but quite publicly holding up his state as a model for the nation, just like a governor running for president would do. Except that he has yet to announce that he’s running. He hasn’t even formed one of those exploratory committees that allows a not-yet candidate to fundraise.

I don’t see how it’s a bad thing for DeSantis to wait to announce, if he does indeed plan to run. Does anyone really think the primary season is too short and needs to be lengthened? The 2016 primary seemed like it would never end—and the personal attacks and circular firing squad did nothing to help spread the message about the benefits of conservatism.

We’re still more than a year out from the primaries. What’s the rush? If DeSantis can run a soft campaign, while continuing to notch more conservative wins on his Florida belt, he can stay above the fray and avoid some of the pitfalls that early announcers often run into, including candidate fatigue. Remember how sick to death we all were of hearing from the 2016 candidates, many of whom we previously liked? For what that’s worth, a lot of formerly vociferous Trump supporters are sick of his bellyaching on social media day and night and his silly attacks on DeSantis, who is one of the few Republicans actually getting anything meaningful done.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

A Season for Swamp Draining The new House seeks to restrain federal bureaucrats. Do we dare to dream? James Freeman

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-season-for-swamp-draining-21cf59f5?mod=opinion_lead_pos11

Two weeks ago this column shared the cheery news that the 118th Congress had so far managed to avoid doing anything of consequence to us. The lucky streak continues and this welcome respite from the misguided frenzy of Biden lawmaking could be just the start. Now some taxpayers are beginning to dream that Beltway lawmakers might be able to achieve even less than nothing—an actual reduction in the burdens Washington imposes on the citizenry.

Lisa Rein and Jacqueline Alemany report for the Washington Post:

At a House hearing this month on fraud and waste in pandemic aid, some Republicans zeroed in on one group in particular for criticism: the federal employees overseeing the money.
“Fire people if they don’t do things they’re supposed to do,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said. “That is our biggest problem in the federal government. Nobody can be held accountable.”
That sentiment is animating a newly empowered GOP House majority eager to ramp up scrutiny of the army of civil servants who run the government’s day-to-day operations. The effort includes seeking testimony from middle- and lower-level workers who are part of what Republicans have long derided as the “deep state,” while some lawmakers are drafting bills that have little chance of passing the Democrat-led Senate but give Republicans a chance to argue for reining in the federal bureaucracy of 2.1 million employees.

Why not take the chance, especially given the surging cost of maintaining this vast unproductive enterprise? The Post report continues:

…House Republican leaders have told almost all of their committees to come up with plans by March to slash spending and beef up oversight of federal agencies in their jurisdiction.

MEDICINE AND HEALTH Comments turned off

The ‘Not a Consensus’ Wuhan Covid Dodge The White House tries to downplay the news of ‘new’ virus information.

Posted By on February 28th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-energy-department-covid-lab-china-national-security-john-kirby-299ee360?mod=opinion_lead_pos4

White House spokespersons played the press corps like a Stradivarius on Monday as they ducked questions about Sunday’s report that the Energy Department has concluded the Covid virus probably originated in a Chinese laboratory.

“There is not a consensus right now in the U.S. government about exactly how Covid started,” said John Kirby, the White House national-security spokesman. “There is just not an intelligence community consensus.”

So what? When was the last time there was an intelligence community consensus on anything? No reporter asked Mr. Kirby that question, but we don’t mind doing so.

By its very nature, intelligence is usually murky and open to different interpretations. That’s why agencies attach terms like “low confidence” or “moderate confidence” to their judgments. A difference in agency views can be useful because it means there is less chance of groupthink influencing policy choices.