Marxists in our Midst

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AUTHORS NOTE: I wrote the article below in August 2017, eight months after Trump was sworn in as president. Since that time, much of what could easily be foreseen by informed voters has come to pass, including the prediction that Democrats would likely resort to using a police shooting of a black suspect as an excise to incite nationwide race riots in advance of a national election, as happened in the summer of 2020 in response to the police killing of George Floyd. The internal threat to our entire way of life is perilously close to radically changing the kind of country in which your children and grandchildren will live out the rest of their lives.

“Communism is not love; it is a hammer used to crush the enemy. Communism is the death of the soul. It is the organization of total conformity, in short, of tyranny.” — 1956 Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson

“For us in Russia, communism is a dead dog; for many in the West, it is still a living lion.” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn

“Communism never sleeps. It is, as always, plotting and scheming.” — Richard Nixon

“Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out.” — Former American communist David Horowitz

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” — Ronald Reagan

Marxists in Our Midst

The anti-Trump “resistance” is pulling out the long knives.

When will Obama forcefully condemn the anti-Trump violence? Answer: He won’t.

Time is short for patriotic liberals to stand up against the specter of a Marxist America.

Another crazy right-wing conspiracy theory? Please read on.

Jan. 30, 2017—Pro-Democrat Antifa anarchists riot at UC Berkeley

Above: Signs held by masked protestors of the communist front group, Occupy Oakland, called on opponents of President Donald Trump to “become ungovernable” by inciting chaos across America. The picture is from an Occupy Oakland tweet that read: “We won this night. We will liberate this land. We will fight fascists. We will dismantle the state. This is war.”

Their message is clear:

It’s time to bring down this sorry-ass capitalist country by any means necessary. Not a single prominent Democrat has given anything beyond lip service to the escalating anti-Trump violence on college campuses and elsewhere. 

Occupy Oakland is by no means alone.

Literally thousands of similar subversive Marxist groups, all of which support the same political party, are frothing at the mouth for a communist take down of America, and they have a powerful ally on their side. The former president who appointed himself the de facto commander-in-chief of the anti-Trump “resistance” has yet to make a forceful condemnation of the escalating violence carried out by Democrat front groups like Occupy Oakland. There’s a reason Obama hasn’t done that, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out why.

As documented further down, a long trail of circumstantial evidence points to the inescapable conclusion that, despite his claims to the contrary, Barack Obama is, and has been since adolescence, a Marxist revolutionary at heart. A right-wing conspiracy theory? Please keep reading.

In establishing what amounts to nothing less than a shadow government ready to step in should the “resistance” succeed at driving Trump from office before his term is up, Obama has set up a post-presidency political machine known as Organizing For Action, a Soros-funded operation run by top members of his former administration.

With offices in 250 cities, OFA is staffed by an army of 30,000 progressive activists who are fully capable of unleashing sustained violence on the streets of every city in America, most likely by exploiting the police killing of an unarmed black suspect, such as that which  occurred in Ferguson, MO. If the order comes down, OFA will use its massive social networking data base to quickly enlist a legion of eager anarchists who belong to thousands of subversive communist cells like Occupy Oakland. Also in line for enlistment are the tens millions of useful idiot millennials who have been programmed to loathe their country and its capitalist system. Programmed by whom? Many by their Marxist parents, others by Marxist professors who push socialist propaganda on politically malleable young minds at virtually every college and university in America.

Make no mistake. The anti-Trump “resistance” has a formidable army of communist revolutionaries at its disposal. If its commander-in-chief decides the time is right to unleash the Marxist foot soldiers under his command, a breakdown of law and order could quickly follow as America’s cities go up in flames. (Note: That’s exactly what would later happen when BLM, Antifa and other violent Democrat front Groups destroyed $2 billion of public and private property in response to the police killing of George Floyd, all while being tacitly egged on by Democrat elected officials in over 200 U.S. cities.

Meet the kind of anarchists OFA will flood the streets with if the order is given:

Self-avowed American communists arrested for inciting anti-Trump violence in Austin.

A week after the 2016 presidential election, police in Austin, Texas released the identities and mug shots of six American communists arrested for violently protesting the election of Donald Trump. Red Guards Austin, the group to which the suspects belong, describes itself as “a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist collective of community organizers.” The violent revolutionary group is ideologically allied with Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street, the progressive labor movement, pro-illegal immigration & pro-Palestinian militants, hard-left feminist & LGBT groups, and Earth day & People’s Climate March activists, all of which have demonstrated a willingness to use violence, and all of which support, and are supported by, the Democratic Party.

The intentional incitement of anti-Trump violence

It should come as no surprise that Obama looks the other way as Democrat front groups carry out violence in opposition to a lawfully elected president. He’s done it before, and while he was still in office. Dating to the time Trump was nominated, violent protests against him, both before and after his election, have erupted in cities across America. Such lawless incidents were not spontaneous demonstrations by ordinary Americans, as was falsely reported by the complicit mainstream media. The violence was orchestrated by Democrat covert operatives doing the dirty work of the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign. Another crazy right-wing conspiracy theory? Please keep reading.

Prior to the election, investigative journalist James O’Keefe released video of an undercover sting in which long-time Democratic Party covert operative Robert Creamer, pictured in the screenshot below, bragged about a secret operation that sent paid protestors to incite violence at Trump campaign rallies, violence that Democrats and their allies in the corrupt mainstream media blamed on Trump and his supporters. The covert operation was financed by the DNC and the Clinton campaign, and was almost certainly known to then-president Barack Obama. Another crazy right-wing conspiracy theory? Please keep reading.

Bob Creamer is no bit player in the Democratic Party; he and Obama are thick as thieves. Official visitor logs show he was welcomed to the Obama White House 342 times since January 2009, including 47 personal meetings with President Obama, an officially confirmed fact that was buried by corrupt mainstream media when the O’Keefe tapes were released. Even though Creamer’s explosive revelations caused the DNC and the Clinton campaign to distance themselves from him, the president with whom he had nearly four dozen personal White House meetings did nothing to distance himself from Creamer. To the contrary, that president rewarded the disgraced dirty tricks operative. More right-wing hogwash? Please keep reading.

Creamer was honored with a front row seat.

Shown below participating in a standing ovation at Obama’s farewell address in Chicago, the Democrat dirty tricks operative who bragged about an operation that paid left-wing anarchists to incite violence at Trump campaign events was given a seat of honor on the front row, directly in front of the podium where Obama spoke. Such VIP treatment is evidence that in Obama’s eyes, the only mistake Creamer made was getting caught.

Creamer and his wife were given front-and-center seating at Obama’s farewell address.

Since Trump’s election, not a single prominent Democrat has made a full-throated condemnation of the on-going anti-Trump violence. Obama, Hillary, Pelosi and Schumer have said nothing of substance in that regard, yet all four have spoken passionately about their intent to actively participate in the “resistance” against President Trump, comments that give tacit approval for more violence to occur in support of the Democratic Party’s attempt to delegitimize, defy and subvert the authority of a lawfully-elected president. If America’s streets are filled with blood, the blood will be on the hands of those four highly influential Democrats who refuse to denounce the widespread political violence committed by their ideological soul mates.

What has become of the modern Democratic Party?

Here’s what: It’s dominant progressive wing has quietly gone over to the dark side, the side of the hammer and sickle. A party that was once was peaceful and patriotic has morphed itself into a raging, unhinged “resistance” that has zero respect for the constitutional system that made America the greatest country the world has ever known. If patriotic liberal Democrats do not speak out against their party’s subversive “resistance,” the country they love may be pushed into a violent internal conflict. That’s what communists do—if they don’t get their way by peaceful means, Plan B is orchestrated violence. If you think American communists are any different, you’re out of your mind.

Since the human ego is loathe to admit it’s been wrong, especially about politics, good and decent liberals who love their country will likely not speak out until it is too late. Trump has many undesirable traits, but being a communist is not one of them.

Commander in Chief of the “Resistance”

When Barack Obama vowed to fundamentally transform the United States of America, many of those who voted for him never thought to ask themselves, Transform it into what? America always needs improving, but is it such a sorry place that it must be fundamentally transformed? Apparently so, according to Obama. To fundamentally transform a nation means to bring about profound changes to its principles, values and institutions. In the case of America, that means transforming its economic system from capitalism to communism and its governing system from a constitutional republic to one-party totalitarian rule.

In a 2001 interview on Chicago’s public radio station WBEZ-FM, the audio of which has been removed from the Internet, Obama complained that the U.S. Constitution does not provide for “redistributive change,” another term for forced wealth redistribution, the foremost command of communism. It should not be surprising that Obama would be an advocate of wealth redistribution—his parents were Marxists, as were many other people who influenced him over the years, including one of Obama’s most influential adolescent mentors, Frank Marshall Davis.

A 20th century American journalist and labor activist, Davis was an unapologetic communist who loathed his country and its capitalist system. The subject of a 600-page FBI file, Davis was a card-carrying, pro-Soviet member of the Communist Party USA. His loyalty to communism was so complete that he was placed on the FBI Security Index, meaning he was a prime suspect for treason had the U.S. gone to war with the Soviet Union. During the time he lived in Hawaii, Davis was introduced to a young Barack Obama by the latter’s maternal grandfather.

The two developed a close relationship, with Davis serving as one of Obama’s most influential adolescent mentors. In Obama’s 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father, he acknowledged his deep admiration for Davis, mentioning him in flattering terms 22 times without disclosing that Davis was a hardened communist. When Obama released the audio version of his memoir in 2005 as an aspiring presidential candidate, all references to Davis were quietly purged, a fact that went unreported in the mainstream media.

That at least some of Davis’s communist beliefs rubbed off on Obama is evidenced in Dreams From My Father, where Obama acknowledges an affinity he had for Marxist professors and radical student groups when he was in college. When Obama moved to Chicago after graduating from Harvard Law School, he began his political career in the living room of unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, a self-declared communist professor who has devoted his entire adult life to destroying America’s capitalist system: “I wake up every morning and think, today is the day I will end capitalism. I go to bed disappointed every night, but am back at work tomorrow because the is the only way you can do it.”

Although Obama dismissed Ayers as “just a guy who lives in my neighborhood,” the two served together for five years on the boards of two progressive educational groups, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge and The Woods Foundation. Many people believe that Ayers, an English professor, either wrote, or heavily edited, Obama’s memoir Dreams From My Father, an assertion both Ayers and Obama deny.

Along with Bill Ayers, another man who despised America and its capitalist system would become one of Obama’s most influential political mentors. The teachings of Saul Alinsky, a Marxist known as the father of community organizing, carried such sway with Obama that America’s future black president taught Alinsky’s power tactics as a professor at the University of Chicago (see picture below).

Finally, that an American president would stage a photograph of himself defiantly posing in front of a five-story likeness of communist mass-murderer Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara leaves little doubt in the minds of many about the true political ideology of the man who expressed his intent to fundamentally transform the United States of America.

Photograph from article on Washington Examiner.com

©John Edison. All rights reserved.

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What’s the Matter with Kids These Days?

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Today I free my inner crank and tell you to get off my lawn.  I’m an attorney by training and had to pass three bar exams to be licensed to practice in three jurisdictions.  It wasn’t easy, but my clients were assured I knew my stuff.  That would no longer be the case if a proposal to do away with the bar exam carries the day.  The Delaware Supreme Court diversity committee recommended that prospective lawyers be licensed to practice by gathering personal recommendations and working in clerkships instead of taking the bar exam.  The committee said the exam is a “barrier” to blacks and Hispanics.  But in a congressional hearing, Senator Ted Cruz pointed out the obvious racism in this approach, the notion that blacks and Hispanics are too stupid to pass the test.  “Do you believe that there’s something about Hispanics and African-Americans that prevents them from taking the bar exam and doing well on it?” Cruz, who is Hispanic, asked a judicial nominee who is black.  Both took and passed bar exams.  Cruz went on to argue cases at the Supreme Court, reaching a pinnacle of the profession.

If lower standards for lawyers don’t bother you, how about your doctor?  Minorities in some circumstances can now gain admission to the University of Pennsylvania’s med school without taking the MCAT admissions test.  All they have to do is complete college-level science courses.  One doctor noted that doctors are called upon to make life and death decisions.  “The stakes are too high to start lowering standards or taking shortcuts with basic fundamental scientific knowledge necessary for developing critical thinking skills to diagnose and properly treat diseases,” the doctor says.

Lower standards are not just a growing problem at professional schools.  A college instructor at the University of Cincinnati says rules against plagiarism and cheating on tests unfairly affect minority students more than whites.  “[T]he idea of academic integrity is racialized through and through,” he says.  Minority students are more often accused of cheating, so his solution is to relax the rules and not be too “punitive” when cheating is found.  So let me get this straight: minority students will never measure up no matter what, they need crutches to succeed and, on top of that, they need the intercession of a priestly class of professorial fixers if they’re going to make it through life.  How is that not racist?  How is that not ‘learned helplessness’?  How does that not create resentment among anyone who worked hard to meet all the requirements without cheating?

Also in colleges, faculty hiring and tenure decisions in some places now depend in part on adherence to diversity, equity, and inclusion orthodoxy.  This reduces the importance of academic merit and achievement in deciding who gets hired and who gets to stay.  Tuition keeps going up while academic standards keep going down.  At some point, people will figure out it’s no longer worth the money.

Academic standards are declining before college.  I know a philosophy professor who says many students showing up in his classes now are not ready or able to learn.  They haven’t done the work necessary to understand advanced material.  To see how this might have come about, consider a place like Baltimore where a big report on grade-fixing last summer found thousands of grades were changed from ‘fail’ to ‘pass’.  It’s a whole lot easier to pass kids through than it is to meet their learning challenges.

The future of all this is not good – elementary school students who never learn to read, professors whose heads are full of diversity theory instead of real knowledge, less competent professionals, and an adult population half of which is functionally illiterate.  It leads to a society where it is perfectly acceptable to urinate and defecate on the street – ugh!  Encouraging others to achieve less is the wrong way to go, no matter how good the reasons might sound.  The best thing you can do for people is insist they meet high standards.  If you don’t want to meet high standards, get off my lawn.

©Christopher Wright. All rights reserved.

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Understanding How Binge Drinking Damages Organs

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Alcohol can damage the body in various ways, not only in one’s physical health and fitness but also in how the body’s organs function. However, alcohol use takes place in many ways, and each comes with its risks for the health of our organs. Here’s a look at binge drinking, what it is, and how it causes damage to our organs.

What Is Binge Drinking?

In order to understand how and why binge drinking damages the organs, we first need to understand what it is. Binge drinking is a pattern of frequent alcohol use that raises blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) levels in a short time. Binge drinking occurs when someone reaches a BAC of at least 0.08% within two hours of drinking alcohol. This BAC matches what most states consider intoxication, although intoxication can occur below 0.08%, such as in Utah.

However, this does not mean binge drinking is the practice of getting drunk within two hours. While a BAC of 0.08% will most likely involve around five alcoholic drinks for males and four alcoholic drinks for females, a wide range of factors can affect how intoxicated someone is by the time their BAC is 0.08%. These include boy weight, age, and metabolism, just to name a few.

It’s important to note that people who binge drink may not develop alcohol use disorder (AUD). The context of binge drinking is surprisingly widespread, with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism citing data that about 24% of people age 12 and older in the United States participate in binge drinking on a monthly basis. The context of binge drinking typically takes place at parties, a night out with friends, and of course, a celebration of someone’s 21st birthday.

However, binge drinking is especially dangerous because those who do it do not always have AUD. The special occasion of parties or outings means we treat binge drinking as something we can indulge in from time to time. But this perspective means we aren’t paying attention to (or we aren’t aware of) the damage binge drinking can cause.

Expected and Unexpected Damage

Binge drinking is one of the most common factors that contribute to alcohol overdose, meaning that our bodies have an excess amount of alcohol in our bloodstream, and we cannot process all of it. Once alcohol cripples our central nervous system, we start to experience an inability to control things like heart rate, body temperature, breathing, and response to choking. It is vital not to downplay someone who has passed out after binge drinking as hitting their limit. They might be unconscious because their body can’t stay awake, but the excess alcohol is still spreading throughout the body. Far from being safe, people who pass out from binge drinking are at a much higher risk of dying because of not getting enough oxygen, either from their reduced heart and lung function or from choking on vomit while unconscious.

We probably expect these examples of organ damage because they can occur to anyone who experiences an alcohol overdose or uses alcohol long term. But it’s important to remember that binge drinking is not exempt from these dangers. However, there are other unexpected damages that can occur when binge drinking. Alcohol affects the body’s tissues, and excessive alcohol use can lead to chronic diseases, including acute pancreatitis, and an increased risk of cancer, such as colorectal, breast, and esophageal. In adolescents, binge drinking can greatly damage brain development, leading to deficits in attention, memory, and cognitive functions.

Heart disease is another unsuspecting side effect of binge drinking. The reason is that drinking too much alcohol raises blood pressure. This puts a strain on the heart and creates an environment for an increased risk of developing dangerous heart conditions, such as atrial fibrillation, blood clots, stroke, and heart failure.

Is Binge Drinking Damage Reversible?

Once we learn how harmful binging on alcohol is, the big question we should ask is whether the damage caused to our organs is reversible. In this case, time is of the essence. The first thing to do to maintain our organs’ health is to avoid binge drinking altogether. The risks associated with binge drinking are simply not worth the fleeting reward of the moment. However, if we find we cannot avoid binge drinking on our own, it is a high likelihood that we have developed an addiction to alcohol. If this is the case, then avoiding binge drinking will also involve completing a professional detox treatment plan with medical professionals committed to helping you each step of the way.

Sources

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Alcohol Abuse and Addiction Treatment Guide. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/alcohol/

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). How to Quickly Recover After an Alcohol Binge. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/alcohol/recover-from-binge/

Duke University. (n.d.). The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Estimates the Degree of Intoxication. Retrieved https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-2-the-abcs-of-intoxication/content-the-blood-alcohol-concentration-bac-estimates-the-degree-of-intoxication/#:~:text=The%20BAC%20is%20calculated%20from,to%20a%20BAC%20of%200.05%25.

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Is Alcoholism Hereditary? What the Research Shows. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/alcohol/hereditary/

NIH. (2021 Dec). Understanding Binge Drinking. Retrieved https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/binge-drinking

CDC. (2022 Jan 6). Binge Drinking. Retrieved https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm#:~:text=Binge%20drinking%20is%20most%20common,or%20live%20in%20the%20Midwest.

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Alcohol Overdose- Symptoms, Effects on the Body, and Risk of Death. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/alcohol/overdose/

NIH. (2021 Jul 14). Alcohol and Cancer Risk. Retrieved https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet#:~:text=Even%20those%20who%20have%20no,cancers%20(3%E2%80%937).

NIH. (2018 Jan). Effects of Binge Drinking on the Developing Brain. Retrieved https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6104956/

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Alcohol Poisoning: How to Tell, What to Do, and the Health Risks. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/alcohol/alcohol-poisoning/

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Guide to Alcohol Detox: Severity, Dangers, and Timeline. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/alcohol/detox/

American Heart Association. (2016, Oct. 31). Limiting Alcohol to Manage High Blood Pressure. Retrieved https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/limiting-alcohol-to-manage-high-blood-pressure

American Heart Association. (2019, Dec. 30). Is drinking alcohol part of a healthy lifestyle? Retrieved https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/alcohol-and-heart-health

Delphi Health Group. (n.d.). Guide to Drug Addiction: Symptoms, Signs, and Treatment. Retrieved https://delphihealthgroup.com/addiction/

Scientists and Doctors are Talking Through Their Hats on Abortion

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Many of the world’s leading journals are condemning the US Supreme Court’s decision to scrap Roe v. Wade.

On June 24 the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade and declared that there was no right to abortion in the American Constitution. Ever since, the world’s leading scientific and medical journals have been campaigning not just against the ruling, but against the Supreme Court itself.

How have scientists and doctors suddenly become experts on ethics, law, politics, and philosophy? These are fields in which the scientific method is irrelevant. A doctor may declare that the Supreme Court’s decision is immoral. How can such a statement be proved with an experiment? How could such an experiment be replicated?

The core issue in the debate over abortion was not settled by Dobbs: it is whether the foetus in the womb of the mother is a human being or not. No scientist can settle the question one way or another.

This obvious rejoinder to the rivers of anti-Dobbs and pro-abortion sentiment flowing through these learned journals, however, is simply being ignored – that the foetus is a human being and that abortion destroys a human life. As an article in MercatorNet pointed out last week, 1,000,000,000 (one billion) human lives are aborted every 20 years or so (according to a study in The Lancet). A doctor who does not think that this is a burning ethical issue should have his registration revoked.

The latest contribution to the flood of pro-abortion propaganda comes in The New England Journal of Medicine, which may be most influential medical journal in the world. In an opinion article yesterday, Matthew K. Wynia, of the University of Colorado, argued that doctors should engage in a campaign of civil disobedience as a protest against Dobbs.

Incredibly, Dr Wynia enlists the civil rights icon, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and the Christian philosopher and theologian, St Augustine, to support his argument. “An unjust law is no law at all,” said Augustine. True enough, but what special insight qualifies doctors to determine whether an abortion ban is unjust?

Indeed, history suggests doctors have often been on the wrong side on ethical matters – as Dr Wynia acknowledges:

“Historically, physicians have rarely been radical, and most have conformed with bad laws and policies, even horrific ones — such as those authorizing forced-sterilization programs in the United States and Nazi Germany, the use of psychiatric hospitals as political prisons in the Soviet Union, and police brutality under apartheid in South Africa. Too often, organized medicine has failed to fulfill its duty to protect patients when doing so required acting against state authority.”

Why is the opposition of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists – all of whom Dr Wynia cites – any different? If doctors have normally supported the status quo, shouldn’t we expect them to support the status quo on abortion – especially when they profit from it?

At the moment, science is experiencing a crisis of credibility. Peer review is under attack almost as much as Dobbs; so many experiments are never corroborated that talk of a “reproducibility crisis” is common in science journals. And most astonishing of all is the claim by an eminent scholar, John P. Ioannides, that “There is increasing concern that most current published research findings are false.” Most! His dramatic assertion has yet to be refuted.

This is not to say that Science, with a capital S, is false. Research papers which have been were submitted to rigorous peer review and have been replicated are science. How often does that happen with “reproductive health services”? Not as often as the public thinks. And it is certainly not the case with self-interested complaints about the constitutional reasoning of Dobbs and the morality of abortion.

The arguments put forward by the best medical journals are very similar to those marshalled by every interest group which has been defeated in court – my cause is a positive good; my cause is a social good; my cause is supported by the Establishment; and Armageddon looms if my cause is ignored.

They were precisely the arguments used by the South – and Southern doctors – to justify slavery in the 19th century.

In 1836 a representative from South Carolina, James Henry Hammond, rose in Congress to defend slavery. He said:

“Slavery is said to be an evil… But it is no evil. On the contrary, I believe it to be the greatest of all the great blessings which a kind Providence has bestowed upon our glorious region… As a class, I say it boldly; there is not a happier, more contented race upon the face of the earth… Lightly tasked, well clothed, well fed—far better than the free laborers of any country in the world … their lives and persons protected by the law, all their sufferings alleviated by the kindest and most interested care…. Sir, I do firmly believe that domestic slavery regulated as ours is produces the highest toned, the purest, best organization of society that has ever existed on the face of the earth.”

Today, we can only read such words with horror. They are evidence of the moral blindness which strikes men who defend their own interests with every weapon they can lay their hands on. Two hundred years ago, the issue was defending slavery; today, it is defending abortion.

AUTHOR

Michael Cook is the editor of MercatorNet. He lives in Sydney, Australia. More by Michael Cook

EDITORS NOTE: This MercatorNet column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

‘My Son Hunter’: An imperfect but necessary indictment of media’s corruption

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This satirical film reveals a disturbing truth about modern mainstream journalistic standards.

We all love the literary motif of the unwilling prostitute who, at the end of the story, does virtuous deeds to save herself and others. In Crime and Punishment, Sonya is instrumental in Raskolnikov’s redemption. Director Robert Davi uses the same formula to tell the story of President’s Biden son in My Son Hunter.

Grace struggles to pay for her college tuition, so she is a favourite escort of powerful men. As she encounters Hunter Biden in a world of cocaine, wild sex, and rampant corruption, she offers him a path to redemption — and of course, he rejects it.

Now, Davi is no Dostoevsky — nor does he intend to be. My Son Hunter is first and foremost political satire, all-too-frequently engaging in cheap shots. But it does take a stab at Dostoevskyan psychological profundity, and in that endeavour, it partly succeeds.

The shadow of successful Beau Biden — Hunter’s deceased brother — looms large over Hunter, who struggles to find meaning in life. Very much as Raskolnikov, he comes across as a pathological narcissist who engages in criminal activity as a way to prove to himself that he is so great so as to be above the law.

Overblown

Unfortunately, My Son Hunter often goes overboard and loses effectiveness. I lost count of the number of times Joe Biden sniffs the hair of women in the film. Is that necessary? That portrayal runs the risk of playing into the left-wing narrative that criticisms of the Bidens focus on petty things that can be easily dismissed.

The stakes are high, so a more focused and incisive portrayal was needed. Say what you want about Oliver Stone’s leftist politics and penchant for conspiracy theories, but he surely can strike an opponent in his films — Richard Nixon and George W. Bush being the most notorious cases.

The story of Hunter Biden lends itself to Stone’s sober cinematographic style, but My Son Hunter misses an opportunity, to the extent that it aims for low-hanging fruit. Yes, the Bidens are corrupt, but one is left wondering: can they be that corrupt? While the dialogues between Joe and Hunter are clever and amusing, the perversity defies credibility. Perhaps Davi was deliberately aiming more for Saturday Night Live’s lampooning style all along. If so, the film works at some level, but never entirely.

I would have personally enjoyed a more sober style because there is a far darker theme in the film. My Son Hunter is not about the moral failings of a privileged, corrupt drug addict. It is not even about crony capitalism and globalist elites. The real central theme is the media’s rot.

Media manipulation

Two scenes are particularly frightening. At the beginning of the film, Grace is at a Black Lives Matter protest, and records some of her comrades engaging in violent deeds. A fellow activist says: “You can’t post that video… it will make the protest look bad… Those people are too ignorant to understand complex moral issues. You have to withhold things for their own good. We choose truth over facts.” Grace acquiesces.

Towards the end of the film, Grace summons a journalist to expose Hunter’s corruption. The man tells her: “Even if what you are saying is true, it’s not news. We have the chance to take down a fascist dictator [Trump]… I’m sorry Grace, this one is not for me.” We now know that Twitter and Facebook — with their disturbing algorithms — were not the only ones trying to bury Hunter’s laptop under the sand.

As Mark Zuckerberg recently acknowledged, the FBI itself pressured him to do so, because they did not want the bad Orange Man to win the election — all with the excuse that the whole story was Russian disinformation. Later on, both the Washington Post and the New York Times had to reverse their stance and admit that, in fact, the laptop does contain compromising emails.

Plato infamously recommended telling people the Noble Lie. Very much as the Black Lives Matter activist in this film, Plato believed such lies were for people’s own good, as they were too stupid to understand things. In his seminal study of totalitarianism, Karl Popper persuasively argued that Plato’s plan became a central tenet of totalitarian regimes. That is the real fascism.

While being far from a perfect film, My Son Hunter provides meaningful insight on this issue, and hopefully it might become an important step towards much-needed media accountability in this woke age.

For the time being, we need to be realistic. Don’t hold your breath waiting for Hollywood to make an Oliver Stone-like blockbuster about the corruption and hypocrisy of the Left.

Rather, keep an eye out for low-budget productions like My Son Hunter that are bypassing the Hollywood production and distribution system. These include Uncle Tom I and II, various Christian films, such as Run, Hide, Fight.

They will not be great works of art, but at least they will be something. And from there, the quality of such films may gradually improve, until we again see mainstream studios portraying corrupt politicians from both sides of the political spectrum.

AUTHOR

Gabriel Andrade is a university professor originally from Venezuela. He writes about politics, philosophy, history, religion and psychology. More by Gabriel Andrade

EDITORS NOTE: This MercatorNet column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Gun Safety: Good Mother in a Bad Neighborhood

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No matter what country, state, or city you live in, every neighborhood has pros and cons. Most big cities in the United States tend to have “good” areas and “bad” ones, though it is unclear to me exactly what differentiates one from the other. What I do know is that too many neighborhoods are wracked by the (supposed) “gun violence” and abuse of gun ownership.

I had a horrible experience in the past, which made me realize that carrying a firearm for self-defense is vital. I have a 2-year-old child and we live in Tolleson, which is among the 10 most dangerous towns in Arizona, so I am fully committed to protecting myself and my family by arming myself and maintaining gun safety.

Regarding firearm safety and awareness, here are two important things to consider:

Care About Mental Health

DRGO released the story of a young woman, Shayna Lopez-Rivas, who was denied her Second Amendment rights just because she was seeking mental health help for an ongoing case of PTSD. As a rape survivor, this woman had already gone through many painful experiences, so she was simply looking to protect herself just like any other citizen.

Psychiatrist Dr. Robert Young, DRGO Editor [Ed: no relation], explains the importance of gun ownership very clearly. He describes the Right to Keep and Bear Arms using the words of St. George Tucker: “the palladium of liberty”. According to Dr. Young, owning guns is a basic individual right just like all other rights of the American people. He also adds that for society to be successful, it is the responsibility of the individuals to care their own safety and the safety of others.

Shootings are not only a societal problem, but they are also a matter of public health. Not just physically, as commonly held by anti-gun academics, but because they can deeply affect survivors’ mental states. At the same time, you should not want your child to hate or reject guns simply because of the risk of misuse. Teaching gun safety is much more effective than banning guns from the home or society. Every citizen has the right to own a firearm, and this right should not be denied based on someone’s mental health short of dangerous ideas.

Make Sure Your Child is Safe in Other Homes

When my child grows older and asks me to spend time at friends’ houses, I will support that. However, I will make sure that neither he nor his playmates come in contact with unsecured guns while they play. I will share my family’s safety measures and will discuss theirs with the playmates’ parents.

Sadly, many neighborhoods have been targeted for their endemic violence, which has led children and adolescents to poor life outcomes and self-perpetuating cycles of deprivation and crime.

In 2019, Everytown Research reported a study of 7-year-olds, showing that 75% of those who lived in urban neighborhoods had heard gunshots at least once, 18% had seen a dead body, and 61% worried that they might get injured or killed.

To prevent children from developing misconceptions about the use of guns, they must understand the deeper meaning behind gun ownership, which is instilled in the country’s Constitution. Parents have the responsibility to communicate openly with their children, explaining the importance of staying safe when using a gun and how they should behave when they see one. As per the US Constitution, citizens cannot be prohibited from firearm possession. However, parents should be aware that kids have a natural curiosity about guns, therefore lack of education about the matter may cost their life.

Parents should explain to children that if they ever come across a gun, they should immediately leave the area and find an adult. As they get older, conversations may be expanded to discuss the difference between gun use in TV shows and video games vs reality. A good way to keep the topic alive is by using the TV news as a starting point to talk about how dangerous guns can be and how to stay safe.

Among the debates about gun ownership, my focus is on the use of guns for self-defense. In particular, firearm use should be evaluated not by how many people have died in shootings, but by how many lives have been saved because of their defensive use, not even fired in 90% of cases. As a mother, I will teach my son that defensive gun use is much more than just owning and carrying a weapon. Successful gun defense occurs when crimes are prevented rather than when someone gets killed. Numerous studies have shown that defensive gun use is more protective than restrictionist anti-gun laws.

Concluding Remarks

Violence can shape the lives of children who witness it, leaving them living in fear that they will become victims. Showing that you are prepared to defend them reassures them that their lives are precious, that they will be kept safe. Teaching them the rules of firearm safety and shooting skills as they grow up encourages them to take their safety into their own hands, as we all must in the end.

©Marcie Young. All rights reserved.

I’m D.J. Trump and I Approve This Border Security Message by Bill Clinton

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A reader sent us a video on then Democrat President Bill Clinton addressing a joint session of Congress on his steps to secure our borders.

Oh, my! Please watch and share this with everyone you know.

WATCH:

WB wrote,

In 1995 Bill Clinton outlines his plan, in just 1-minute, to stop illegal immigration!

My, how things have changed!

Donald Trump should just televise this Bill Clinton speech from 1995 and then simply state “I’m Donald Trump and I approve this message.”

Please make this video go viral. Not one word of commentary needs to be added.

So, we decided to title this article I’m D. J. Trump and I Approve This Border Security Message by Bill Clinton.

©D.J. Trump and Dr. Rich Swier. All rights reserved.

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DeSantis: ‘There Will Be More’ Illegal Migrant Buses, Flights

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What a fighter. If only the rest of the GOP was like Governor DeSantis. Watch DeSantis dismantle Biden. #DeSantis2028!

DeSantis: ‘There Will Be More’ Illegal Migrant Buses, Flights

By Newsweek, September 17, 2022

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a press conference Friday that “there will be more” flights and buses of migrants to “sanctuary districts” across the country to protect the residents of his state from President Joe Biden’s “reckless” southern border policies.

“I think what we are doing, [what] we need to do, is use every tool at our disposal to insulate the state of Florida from the negative ramifications of [Biden’s] reckless border policies,” DeSantis said in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday. “And that involves helping the transport; it involves suing on ‘catch and release,’ which we have done. It’s involved making sure that contractors are held accountable if they’re facilitating the north state. We have a statewide grand jury that’s looking at different types of practices that may be going on in the state that’s exacerbating the problem. At the end of the day, this is a massive policy failure by the president. This is a massive and intentional policy that is causing a huge amount of damage all across the country, and it’s all rooted in the failure to take care that the laws are faithfully executed and to fulfill his oath of office.”

AUTHOR

Geller Report Staff

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

McDonald’s CEO Warns Chicago Mayor Lightfoot that Soaring Crime is Leaving its Corporate Staff Too Terrified to Return to HQ

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot has allowed criminals to take over the once great city of Chicago. As such, we are now seeing a corporate exodus out of the Windy City. How long before McDonald’s follows Boeing, Citadel, the Chicago Bears and others out of Chicago? Not very long at this rate. The city of Muddy Waters, John Belushi, John Hughes, and Michael Jordan is dying before our eyes. Little to no media coverage on Lightfoot’s willful incompetence. Shameful.

McDonald’s CEO warns Chicago Mayor Lightfoot that soaring crime in burger giant’s home city is leaving its corporate staff too terrified to return to its HQ

  • Chris Kempczinski spoke last and says the violence has been a problem when trying to convince employees to come back
  • He said: ‘Everywhere I go, I’m confronted by the same question: ‘What’s going on in Chicago? There is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis’ 
  • Crime is up 37 percent from this point in 2021, according to the city’s own data 
  • Murders and shootings are down double digits but thefts are up a shocking 64 percent
  • Previously, Kempczinski appeared to blame parents of two children who were shot and killed in a McDonald’s drive-thru in Chicago to Mayor Lori Lightfoot 
  • Kempczinski – who lives in the city with his family – pledged to not only keep the golden arches headquartered in Chicago but build a new innovation center 

By DailyMail.co.uk, Sept 16, 2022

The CEO of McDonald’s is speaking out about the crime crisis in Chicago and believes the lack of safety is keeping employees from returning to the fast food giant’s Windy City HQ in a warning to Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Chris Kempczinski spoke last Wednesday at the Economic Club of Chicago, where he says the violence has been a problem when trying to convince employees to come back.

He said: ‘Everywhere I go, I’m confronted by the same question: ‘What’s going on in Chicago? There is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis.’

View Chicago Crime Statistics Here.

AUTHOR

Geller Report Staff

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Why Living Under the U.S. Constitution Is the ‘Greatest Political Privilege’ of All

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This Constitution Day, let’s remember that it was this document and the system it created that put America on the path to becoming a beacon for the world.

September 17 is Constitution Day, the annual occasion for Americans to pay special tribute to the nation’s most important governing document.

On this day in 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the Constitution. Once ratified by the states, it became the law of the land in 1789. British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone described it a century later as “the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.”

Gladstone was right. In the long history of national constitutions (some countries have had dozens of them and paid little attention to any of them), none approach the magnificence of what our founding generation produced in Philadelphia. Now the oldest written and codified national constitution still in force, it provided the most promising foundation for a system of human liberty the world had ever seen.

Was it perfect? Of course not, and the Founders never claimed it was. If they thought it couldn’t be improved, they wouldn’t have laid out a process for amendments or endorsed the first ten right off the bat (the Bill of Rights).

Did it take liberty as far as it could possibly go? For its day, it likely did. Certainly, it took it much further than any other such document. Its authors put both the spirit and the machinery of liberty in place and on which subsequent generations could build, if they chose to, an ever-freer society.

Critics will say that the Constitution did not prevent the massive growth of the central government over the past century or so and therefore, we must regard it as a failure. But has the Constitution failed, or have we failed the Constitution? The case for the latter is far stronger than the former. In any event, the Constitution is still there any time we decide we want to live up to it once again. I’m not aware of a viable alternative.

Calvin Coolidge’s words are as spot-on today as they were in 1923 when he said, “To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to the human race.” For a short explanation of why the document is so extraordinary, see “The Genius of the Constitution,” as well as the recommended links at the bottom of this article.

On this Constitution Day, let’s remember that it was this document and the system it created that put America on the path to becoming a beacon for the world, the place millions try to get into every year. If we fail to honor it, or if we ignore it or trash it, we do so at our peril, as the following comments about it would suggest:

I join cordially in admiring and revering the Constitution of the United States, the result of the collected wisdom of our country. That wisdom has committed to us the important task of proving by example that a government, if organized in all its parts on the representative principle unadulterated by the infusion of spurious elements and if founded not in the fears and follies of man but on his reason, on his sense of right, on the predominance of the social over his dissocial passions, may be so free as to restrain him in no moral right, and so firm as to protect him from every moral wrong – Thomas Jefferson, 1801.

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice – Martin Luther King Jr., 1963.

I never thought carefully before about the clause of the constitution that counted slaves as three-fifths of a man for purposes of apportionment. Had they been counted as whole persons, it would’ve increased the South’s power in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. Thus, rather than being a provision that disparaged black people, it actually was an effort to diminish the power of their oppressors – Bruce Bartlett, 2008.

In all matters but slavery the framers of the Constitution used the very clearest, shortest, and most direct language. But the Constitution alludes to slavery three times without mentioning it once! The language used becomes ambiguous, roundabout, and mystical…Why didn’t they do it? We cannot doubt that it was done on purpose. Only one reason is possible, and that is supplied us by one of the framers of the Constitution—and it is not possible for man to conceive of any other—they expected and desired that the system would come to an end, and meant that when it did, the Constitution should not show that there ever had been a slave in this good free country of ours! – Abraham Lincoln, 1860.

The Constitution made it clear that the government was not to interfere with productive non-violent human energy. This is the key element that has permitted America’s great achievements. It was a great plan; we should all be thankful for the bravery and wisdom of those who established this nation and secured the Constitution for us. We have been the political and economic envy of the world. We have truly been blessed. The Founders often spoke of “divine providence” and that God willed us this great nation. It has been a grand experiment, but it is important that the fundamental moral premises that underpin this nation are understood and maintained – Ron Paul, 2018.

Twelve Marvelous Quotes on the Bill of Rights by Lawrence W. Reed

The Constitution of the Killing Fields by Lawrence W. Reed

North Korea’s Constitution Makes Me Craugh by Lawrence W. Reed

The Lust for Power Led to Rome’s Decline and Fall by Lawrence W. Reed

The Fall of the Republic by Lawrence W. Reed

America’s Republic: How the Great Experiment Came About by Lawrence W. Reed

The Golden Calf of Democracy by Lawrence W. Reed

Yes, America’s Birthday Deserves to be Celebrated by Lawrence W. Reed

Multiple articles from FEE on the U.S. Constitution

AUTHOR

Lawrence W. Reed

Lawrence W. Reed is FEE’s President Emeritus, Humphreys Family Senior Fellow, and Ron Manners Global Ambassador for Liberty, having served for nearly 11 years as FEE’s president (2008-2019). He is author of the 2020 book, Was Jesus a Socialist? as well as Real Heroes: Incredible True Stories of Courage, Character, and Conviction and Excuse Me, Professor: Challenging the Myths of Progressivism. Follow on LinkedIn and Like his public figure page on Facebook. His website is www.lawrencewreed.com.

EDITORS NOTE: This FEE column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Federal Court Upholds Texas Social Media Bill, Rules Corporations Do Not Have ‘Right’ To Censor

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The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals preserved Texas state law Friday that would stop large social media platforms from restricting particular opinions.

Texas’ HB 20 was signed last year and generally prohibits platforms with over 50 million monthly U.S. users from censoring them based on their viewpoints. The Computer Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and the NetChoice organization, representing social media companies, argued that aspects of the law were unconstitutional but failed to convince the court.

“In urging such sweeping relief, the platforms offer a rather odd inversion of the First Amendment,” the court’s majority decision said. “That Amendment, of course, protects every person’s right to ‘the freedom of speech.’ But the platforms argue that buried somewhere in the person’s enumerated right to free speech lies a corporation’s unenumerated right to muzzle speech.”

The appeals court must give the district court that previously decided the case written instructions for the law to become effective, according to Politico. A 5-4 May U.S. Supreme Court ruling had halted the law from going into force after an emergency request by the CCIA and NetChoice.

Appealing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated the circuit court’s decision Friday, tweeting, “#BigTech CANNOT censor the political voices of ANY Texan! The 5th Circuit ‘reject[s] the idea that corporations have a freewheeling First Amendment right to censor what people say.”

CCIA President Matt Schruers decried the ruling, stating, “Forcing private companies to give equal treatment to all viewpoints on their platforms places foreign propaganda and extremism on equal footing with decent Internet users, and places Americans at risk,” according to The Hill.

The Supreme Court could still be asked to directly consider the law’s validity, the outlet reported.

In May, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a block on enforcing parts of Florida Senate Bill 7072, which would require social media platforms to explain the reasons for individual acts of supposed censorship, deplatforming and shadow banning and stop them from censoring a “journalistic enterprise based on the content of its publication or broadcast,” according to The National Law Review.

“We are disappointed that the Fifth Circuit’s split decision undermines First Amendment protections and creates a circuit split with the unanimous decision of the Eleventh Circuit,” NetChoice Vice President and General Counsel Carl Szabo said in a Friday press release. “We remain convinced that when the U.S. Supreme Court hears one of our cases, it will uphold the First Amendment rights of websites, platforms, and apps.”

NetChoice declined the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. The CCIA did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

TREVOR SCHAKOHL

Legal reporter. 

RELATED ARTICLE: Facebook Spied On Conservative Users’ Private Messages, Fed ‘Leads’ To The FBI: REPORT

EDITORS NOTE: The Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

New Poll Delivers Some Alarming News For Democrats

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Voters overwhelmingly trust Republicans to manage the economy, a new poll ahead of this year’s midterm elections suggests, while

Roughly 52% of voters said that they trust Republicans to manage the economy, compared to 38% for Democrats, while only 1% of respondents said they agreed with the proposals of both parties to manage it, according to a poll conducted by the Times and Siena College, which measured the relative strength of both parties in advance of the election scheduled on Nov. 8. The economy has been the most important issue to voters heading into the polls; in a July edition of the same NYT/Siena poll, 20% called it the “most important problem facing the country today,” while roughly 76% said that it would be “extremely important” to them as they vote.

Democrats have sought to focus their campaign narrative on social issues such as abortion in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s overturning by the Supreme Court, as well as gun regulations following mass shootings across the country over the summer.

However, efforts to place social issues at the forefront of voters’ minds do not appear to be working. The NYT/Sienna poll revealed that voters consider economic issues more important to their voting decision than social issues, by an 18-point margin.

The polls come at a time of bad economic news for the Biden administration before November’s election. The White House recently released an economic blueprint listing its various accomplishments, with President Joe Biden holding a series of events to highlight the “Inflation Reduction Act,” a massive spending package that his administration had proposed to the Democratic-controlled Congress.

The Consumer Price Index, an aggregate measure of inflation, increased by 0.1% from July to August, though tempered by reductions in the price of gasoline even as food costs rose, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The news poorly affected stock markets over the week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 1,600 points beginning Monday, closing for the week at 30,841.05 points.

There was some good news for Democrats, who currently control Congress and the White House. Between July and September, the number of voters who believe the country is “heading on the right track” increased modestly, from 27% to 50% for Democrats, and 9% to 27% for independents; however, 53% expressed disapproval of Biden’s performance in office.

The poll surveyed 1,399 registered voters nationwide from Sept. 6 to 14, 2022, its margin of sampling error was +/- 3.6 percentage points.

The White House and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had not responded to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

AUTHOR

ARJUN SINGH

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

The Death of Queen Elizabeth II

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AUTHORS NOTE: These are my views as a woman living in England, on how the culture and spirit of my country has changed over 50 years.   Why the country does not feel protected or strong any more, how it has lost, and is losing it values and decency, and how we are daily losing our free speech.

This week I attended a Team Away Day from my place of work.  It was one of those events which attempts to bond strangers together.  We had ice-breakers, games, and then a buffet; we did craft and a ‘mindfulness’ exercise in the afternoon slot, before finally listening to a talk about Equality and Diversity in the workplace.    We also had a minute’s silence to remember Queen Elizabeth II who had recently died.

It was a strange correlation to the day.  I came away feeling somewhat ‘groomed’ before being plied with guilt at the end of the day, for my lack of awareness towards my fellow countryman.

However, the announcement on Thursday, 8th September, 2022 of the death of Queen Elizabeth II has come as no surprise to me.

At 96 years of age, a long and relatively health filled life, cannot exist forever

Out of a respect for her passing some shops and local businesses in my area, which is 200 miles from London, have a portrait of Queen Elizabeth in their window and my local corporate supermarket, ‘Tesco’s’ is now playing classical music, instead of Jay Z, in the background whilst you quietly shop and pay alone at your unfriendly self-service checkout.   Aside from this, there is little change to the atmosphere.  Life carries on.

However, in some governmental workplaces, orders have been given not to post derogatory comments on social media about the Queen, and in my own organization where I work, ‘counselling’ is being offered to those who may be affected by her passing.    Some staff are really bewildered by this offer of help.

You see, the last two and half years have been revelational for some, but not for all people.   A plan to divide, conquer, and subject people to the humiliation of being masked and cruelly isolated from each other, even during the sickness and death of loved ones, under the disguise of a pandemic, which has now been proven to be nefarious in its statistics, to say the least, has revealed to a greater extent the plans for a global reset, a new world order, and a plan to de-populate the world through whichever means possible.

For those prepared to go down the rabbit-hole, they are now much more aware, more than ever during any time in history, of how a few people who call themselves the elite class, which includes royalty, controls ever single system in our society for their own benefit, and not ours.

They are aware that in the background, there are people who orchestrate everything, and who hate God and humanity.  Front men do their bidding.  A false image of nobility, voluntary work and caring for others veneers and glosses over the rotten core of the apple.

During my life I have always instinctively known this.  As a child it was always strangely uncomfortable to me to have to stand and pay homage to an anthem whose words honoured a queen and not a country or God.

Back then, the hymn “I vow to thee my country” would have been a more suitable and humble offering in my opinion.

The horrendous mistakes and fear mongering during the past two and a half years have been conveniently swept under the carpet now that a sense of patriotism is attempting to re-install itself.   Suddenly, we all need to come together.   It is like a game of mental Tai-Chi.

I don’t personally believe that after the funeral the acceptance of the Prince of Wales who is now King Charles III, will work.   Similarly, pushing an equality and diversity agenda along with gender issues is still creating division rather than any type of unity.   Many people are also waking up to how these issues are being used against us all.   They know they are being continually ‘played’.   They know they have had enough.

The mourning for the Queen, which I believe is much more evident in London than the rest of the country, is not comparable to the one person who really did change the image of the monarchy, and whose legacy will not quietly vanish or go away.

 Diana – The Princess of Wales.

The grief and the memory of Diana’s death in my country was quite different to the one we are experiencing now.   It was announced 25 years ago on 31st August, 1997.

Her age and the incident itself meant more people identified with the sadness of losing someone.   There was a genuine grief and a shock across the whole of the country.   I understood the grief that others were visibly displaying just about everywhere.

However, Diana was also no angel, but people related much more readily with her vulnerability and her humanity than any other royal they believed they knew.

She stood apart from the rest, not just with her beauty, but by the admission of her infidelity and eating disorders, due to the rejection she had always experienced.   Many people identified with her and felt they knew her more personally which I feel explained the overwhelming sadness which was experienced back then.

There was also a lot of suspicion around the details of her death which she even foresaw and predicted herself.

During those days, there was also much anger towards the monarchy, who made no public announcements to comfort people, did not fly the flag at half mast, and showed little to no acknowledgement about her passing until they were advised to.

Similarly, during the last two and a half years there have been no public messages of comfort or re-assurance from the Church or the Monarchy other than to promote a vaccination.  It is reported that the Queen thought those who did not want to be vaccinated were ‘selfish’.   The doors of the churches were also firmly closed.

The country, in my view, has survived on the humanity of ordinary people who have also attempted to care for each other whilst ever effort has been made to divide, isolate, and conquer them.

Nothing is as it Seems

The UK is still divided and it is not united in grieving for the Queen which is being fashionably reported throughout mainstream media.

The history which we were once proud of and which certainly should not be eradicated, was built upon much more solid values and a decency which supersedes our present-day values.   It would be nice to hold on to these images and pretend things are as they were, but they are not.

To date, I have not listened or watched any coverage that our mainstream media is portraying towards the monarchy.  I am aware that beyond every image is another story.

The Queen has a very respectable image for many people, but these days I can only go on what I physically see and experience for myself.

My disappointment is in the loss of our free speech, the demise of decency and values, and the total destruction of all we hold dear, including the attacks on our children.   Those are issues worth grieving and fighting for.

Let us never erase history or forget it.   The Good and the Bad are important lessons.

The last two and a half years should have revealed to everyone how we are disrespected and hated.   Children and Adults died completely alone.   Dedicated nurses were threatened and persecuted with the loss of a job for not being vaccinated.  People were blackmailed and bribed into medical interventions which have now been proven to not be at all safe.  Many people have died and have been injured.

This Royal family have not been a rock, a comfort or a watchman or spokesperson on my behalf as currently being depicted through our mainstream media.     It will be a time in history I will not forget.

May God Save us All……..

©Shirley Edwards. All rights reserved.

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National Anthem | The Royal Family

Dermot Murnaghan Remembers The Chilling Moment He Had To Announce Princess Diana’s Death | LK – YouTube

Queen dead aged 96: World grieves Britain’s Elizabeth II | Daily Mail Online

The Queen: People who refuse vaccine should think of others, rather than themselves (telegraph.co.uk)

Who is Benny Ganz? His Words and Thoughts.

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The main speaker on the final day of the ICT World Summit on Counterterrorism in Herzliya on 15 September 2022 was Israel’s Defense Minister, Benny Ganz.

Ganz, a former IDF Chief of Staff, led the country militarily. As a budding future Prime Minister, it is important to know what he thinks and how he would lead the country politically.

In his address he reviewed Israel’s many security arenas claiming that the south is quiet due to Israel’s tough reaction to the Islamic Jihad imposed violence while maintaining the civilian humanitarian needs in Gaza.

The fact that a non-descript terror group was able to launch over a thousand rockets into Israel while developing attack cells in the West Bank under the security cover of the Palestinian Authority was a threat that Israel could not ignore. And so, Israel responded in force in both locations.

Hamas, Ganz said, knows our strength and they increasingly knew the economic and painful price they would pay if they intervened. So, they stayed out of the fight and Israel opened the border to assist Gazans needs, including employment in Israel.

To the east in Syria, Ganz said, Israel continues to curb the transportation and transfer of Iranian weaponry. To the north, Ganz warned Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, that Lebanon will pay a heavy price if his terror group attacks Israel’s Karish offshore natural gas rig and sabotages the ongoing US-mediated maritime talks between Israel and Lebanon.

Ganz said ominously that if Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah wants to disrupt the ongoing talks, “he’s welcome to do so, but the price will be Lebanon.”

Ganz said there will be two rigs in the Mediterranean. One Israeli, the other Lebanese. The question, he said, was if there will be an escalation of violence in between.

“We are willing to make an agreement with Lebanon and ready to produce, but if Nasrallah wants to stop this cooperation the first visit we make will be in Lebanon. We are prepared to protect our assets.”

Referring to Judea & Samaria as “the West Bank,” Ganz said this area is more complex. “We see the terror coming from there. Every night we see IDF operations and arrests. It’s always challenging when we go and knock on doors to arrest terrorists,” referring to the safety of soldiers and Israel’s duty not to harm civilians.

He paused to pay tribute to Major Bar Falah who will killed in the process of arresting two Palestinian terrorists the previous day.

Ganz went on, “Counter-terrorism is an integral part of achieving Israel’s strategic objectives. We saw it in Turkey when we, together with the Turks, disrupted several Iranian efforts to hit Israelis in Turkey.”

Naming some of the main challenges facing Israel, Ganz listed Iran, relations with the Palestinian Authority, increasing support for Israel in the international arena, and the development of the Negev and Galilee.

“Iran is a threat to Israel, but Iran is also a world and regional challenge. Who would have thought that Iran would be supplying Russia with technological weapons like drones which Russia is using in Ukraine.”

“Iran’s needs to maintain its regime, and to do this they must maintain instability externally while trying to maintain stability domestically.  Stability in the Middle East is against Iranian interests. That is why it is vitally important for us to widen close connections with neighboring countries.”

Regarding the Iran nuclear deal, Gaza said what is needed is a longer, stronger, and broader deal, not one that rewards Iran with $1B to build up its ballistic capabilities. To counter this, Israel needs to build regional structures and create an anytime, anywhere, operational readiness without any pause.

“We continue to stockpile weaponry. Even if it takes five years, we must take no time out in the process,” referring to political or economic restraints.

For the foreseeable future, there is no choice but to compete with Iran.

Turning to the United States from a military perspective, Ganz said that joining CENTCOM was nothing less than dramatic. “We benefit from the combined strength of Israel and the United States.”

Turning to the Palestinian issue, Ganz said he envisioned what he called a “two-entity situation” in which each concentrate on its own needs and economy. He did not elaborate.

Benny Ganz claimed that he represents where Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin meet. Again, he did not elaborate on how it expresses itself save to say that his vision is based on the premise that” no one is going anywhere.”

Referring to his meetings with Mahmoud Abbas, Ganz claimed that he reviewed a Palestinian horizon with him.  “I couldn’t expect to find someone as moderate as him,” he said of his meetings with the PA leader in which they discussed how to make a political, economic, and a secure future possible.

He added,

“You can’t lecture me about security. We need wider international support to strengthen our situation with a wider world. We are strong and we are also right. We must improve our public diplomacy, to strengthen our connection with Jews around the world. We must reach out to all strands of Judaism in the American Jewish community.”

Turning to domestic issues, Ganz said,

“in Arab towns, their problems are our problems. We must ensure law and order, fight crime, develop their education ad infrastructure. Most Arab citizens are good citizens. My own doctor is from Kfar Kassam. In Arab towns, people are frightened to go out at night. We need to restore law and order.”

Ganz took a swipe at Benjamin Netanyahu accusing him of causing a rift in Israeli society and deepening it.

Ganz said he respected the Israeli ultra-Orthodox deep faith while asking them to be less isolated from Israeli society and become contributing citizens.

Addressing political problems, he said Israel needs government stability,

“I never thought we would have five elections in four years. Israel strategic objectives must include a responsible government.”

Addressing the death of Israel soldiers such as Major Falah and the AJ journalist embedded with Palestinian gunmen, Ganz said the IDF needs to relook at the order of opening fire.

“We try as much as possible to reduce harm to civilians, but we must also re-examine the need to protect our own soldiers”.

About the American call for an investigation into the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, Ganz said,

“Over a hundred journalists all over the world were hit in enemy engagements with US forces, and nobody opened investigations.”

In response to a question about Israel’s security future, Ganz replied,

“I strive for peace with the Palestinians, but I look reality in the eye. As I strive for peace, I know there is no guarantee, but we have our own resilience and moral strength as a people. We are setting the foundations of collaboration with surrounding countries which may take five years or more to come to fruition.”

NOTE: This report is not published to be an endorsement of Benny Ganz or his political party, but to put on record his own words and thoughts at an important global conference.

©Barry Shaw. All rights reserved.

Eyal Hulata—The Man Israel’s Top Decision Makers listen to.

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Eyal Hulata is a man that Israeli decision makers listen to. He has a distinguished history in the Mossad and is, today, Israel’s top National Security Advisor.

Therefore, his assessment was listened to at the 21st World Summit on Counter-Terrorism held at ICT Herzlia in September with close attention. Here are some of the highlights.

Without our technological advantage and its associated industries, Israel would not be able to maintain its unique strategic advantage.

Israel needs to be prepared for all threats, to identify them, and neutralize them.

Israel has many advantages that are getting stronger. Our relationship with the United States is important. Recently, President Biden signed the Jerusalem Agreement that shows the strong connection, even when we don’t see eye to eye.

The importance of the Abraham Accords is not only to expand it but also to strengthen the existing agreements.

Israel joining CENTCOM, the US military Central Command, is a uniquely important cooperation in defense and security in the region.

Israel’s deterrence against escalation is vitally important. There are now significant constraints that our enemies are facing but we need to look reality in the eye and prepare for the future.

It is clear that Iran is approaching nuclear threshold status. There are terror threats in the countries and entities that surround Israel.  The inability of the Palestinian Authority to control the territory they administer. Nasrallah’s Hezbollah threats are increasing. And we have domestic challenges.

Iran is the top and key challenge. Israel insists that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. This is also a top topic with other countries. Iran is not rushing to a deal even though they could get more concessions, but Israel’s position is “Enough is enough!” The deal will not improve Israel’s security. We don’t object to agreements, but they should be longer and stronger. Iran doesn’t volunteer to give up anything. Only if they are in a corner will they make concessions. We have made our thoughts clear to the US Administration and we see results as a response to our viewpoints. Israel will maintain freedom of action, and this was included in the Jerusalem Accord that President Biden signed.

Iran will enhance their proxies against us and to create public opinion against us. When rockets were launched from Yemen to Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. It was done by the Houthis, but it was Iran’s finger on the trigger. Israel extends its hand to our new allies in the Abraham Accords with security and intelligence.

Iran uses its tools against us, against the West, against Israel’s neighbors in the region, and even against their own people. We say to our partners that Iran should pay a price for this. You can’t have a terror list without listing the greatest terror regime in the world.

It is just before the Jewish holy days and Israel’s elections, and we are using our resources to reduce the threat of violence and terror. We are interested that the Palestinian Authority maintain security and quiet in the territories under their control. In a week which saw a senior officer killed we saw the dilemma clearly, but we want quiet and calm.

We completed Operation Breaking Dawn on time, thanks to the assistance of Egypt.

In the north, we are coping with Nasrallah’s threats. Lebanon’s economy is unstable. Israel wants a stable Lebanon. It is as much in our interest as it is in theirs. We want to come to an agreement with them and we do not want Nasrallah to interfere about the Karish natural energy rig. When complete, we will supply energy to Egypt and to Europe.

We are reducing crime and terror in Israel’s Arab society. It is as much in the Arab interest as it is our own.

Israel did not change its policy on the Temple Mount. We still protect freedom of worship and freedom of movement.

We are outing content into our agreements with our Abraham Accord partners and our existing Arab peace partners. We are collaborating with our Arab partners to bring added water resources and an industrial zone to Jordan. We have secure flights to Sharm in Egypt and to the Gulf and beyond. Hopefully, in the future, to Saudi Arabia.

We face many opportunities and challenges. Israel’s strategic balance is mixed but we will continue to maximize our situation.

©Barry Shaw. All rights reserved.