“NYC Public School Wipes Israel from the Map” reads the headline of Francesca Block’s article in The Free Press today (January 11). The map was supplied to the school‚ PS 261‚ as part of a program that is sponsored by the rulers of Qatar. The idea is‚ of course‚ to normalize to these children the idea of a Middle East from which Israel has been erased. Only terrible determination and the realization that only the greatest of sacrifice will bring real peace. As America was distracted with the 2020 summer of violence‚ the shutdown of schools‚ the impeachment drama‚ and the bizarre presidential campaign‚ the most significant advance in Middle East peace in our lifetimes took place — the Abraham Accords. This was peace as peace should be — chosen because it is in the best interests of all to live peacefully and prosperously with the other. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates joined the peace and within a trice‚ there was a synagogue in Bahrain along with an invitation for Jews to come there to live and there was a Chabad House in UAE‚ and then marvelous pictures from a Chassidic wedding in which members of the Emirates elite were joining the dancing. it was clear — hush hush wink wink — that the Saudi Crown Prince was approving and just waiting for the right moment to join in. (READ MORE from Shmuel Klatzkin: Israel’s High Court Pulls a Dred Scott) Qatar sat it out‚ scowling. The rulers of Qatar do not believe in a peace like that. The map shows what peace it believes in — the peace of absence‚ the peace of emptiness‚ the peace after the Land of Israel is as denuded of living Jews as Syria‚ Iraq‚ Lebanon‚ Algeria‚ Libya‚ Kuwait‚ Jordan‚ the PA‚ and until the IDF made themselves at home‚ Gaza — all of which hosted‚ together‚ more than a million Jews during the early Twentieth Century‚ and in some of which Jews had dwelt in since the time of Nebuchadnezzar. The picture of the map is better than a thousand words to clarify the policy of Qatar’s leaders. Yet it is precisely these eliminationists who are making a play to be seen as disinterested‚ honest brokers. Humanitarians‚ they are‚ if we get the gist of the new smog blowing from Biden’s Foggy Bottom (to be clear‚ I refer to the State Department). Why‚ they have found the magic key‚ if not to Middle East peace‚ then to finding a way to patch together the shredding unity of the Democrats. Why‚ look! We can settle every reasonable demand by splitting the difference — the Israelis (and other) civilians‚ Jews and non-Jews‚ kidnapped‚ tortured‚ raped‚ or otherwise abused by Hamas will be saved and the surviving Hamas leadership will get to go into a protected exile.  What’s wrong with that? What is wrong is that it gives de facto international recognition to indiscriminate slaughter‚ torture‚ rape‚ and abduction of a civilian population as an acceptable way of carrying on “politics by other means.” It will be trumpeted as a victory for the exterminationists of Hamas‚ evidence of the inability of Israel to win a decisive victory over those who seek its extinction.   It will be an endorsement of any policy necessary to achieve that aim‚ to the exclusion of any moral norm whatever. That’s what is wrong with it. The same kind of release was demanded of Israel when the IDF had Yassir Arafat trapped in Beirut. End the war‚ he’ll go to Tunisia‚ you won.  But Arafat turned it into a triumph. He got out of an impossible situation. He parlayed that into a triumphant return to power‚ and eventually‚ now a darling of the State Department‚ into an insincere peace commitment to Israel‚ which he eventually dropped and inflicted a massive terror campaign against the Israeli civilian public‚ taking scores of lives‚ and finally forcing Israel to erect walls to control the terror. Hamas would like to make the same comeback but do it one better — no pretense of a peace. It would cement their reputation as the kings of Salafist macho‚ the ones who will act out the most savage‚ id-soaked fantasies of revenge through torture and enforced sexual degradation.  It seems for the Foggy Bottom boys that‚ since they won’t be affected by the consequences of snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory‚ it will be just fine. They will have squared the political circle‚ getting the old-school Dems who support Israel back together with what they think is the Dem future — the Squad and their like‚ who are ready to go however far beyond the law they can get away with to compel everyone else to bow to their will. (READ MORE: Reject Iran’s Lies) The most powerful argument that will be used is that it saves the lives of the innocent hostages. It would‚ in theory. And only those with hearts of stone would blame the families of the hostages for pleading for their lives. But a moral policy takes responsibility not only for those who can plead for the precious lives of these victims of barbarity‚ but as well‚ for protecting those who have no voice now — those in the future who will suffer from the terror that will certainly happen again and again if Hamas is rewarded with their lives for returning those whom they have held against their will‚ some at the very least under horrible conditions. Hamas would celebrate this as their victory in the war to erase the Jews‚ a kind of a perverse Dunkirk. (Hamas‚ at least‚ have been honest from the onset. Their enemy‚ they affirm in their own documents‚ are Jews wherever they may be. Anti-Zionism‚ they tell those who will listen‚ requires comprehensive antisemitism. And they will carry on as long as they are not finally smashed and held accountable with their lives for the hundreds of lives they snuffed out or savaged with malice aforethought. The real Dunkirk could not have been the salvation that it was had there not been tremendous self-sacrifice. The Nazi forces were ready to roll up the French coast and fall upon the British army helpless on the Dunkirk beach. The only thing in their way was a small British contingent holding out at Calais. Churchill saw that only they could delay the Germans long enough to evacuate the army on the beach. At Churchill’s insistence‚ this was the order that was sent out: Every hour you continue to exist is of the greatest help to the B. E. F. (British Expeditionary Force). Government has therefore decided you must continue to fight. Have greatest possible admiration for your splendid stand. Evacuation will not (repeat not) take place. Churchill described his own feelings after having made this decision that meant the death of almost all the soldiers at Calais: One has to eat and drink in war‚ but I could not help feeling physically sick as we afterwards sat silent at the table. Determined criminal regimes believe that we are too weak to do what it takes to win‚ that they can make the stakes too emotionally high for us. They believe they can overcome all our advantages by controlling us psychologically‚ believing we will not have the determination to pay the psychological price it will take to end Hamas’ rule of terror. When you’re a facing an enemy that uses Hitler for a model‚ you need to use Churchill’s model in response. It values courage over comfort‚ resolve over self-righteousness. Not every enemy is a Hitler; sometimes‚ most times‚ compromise is the best way towards peace.  But Hamas are would-be Hitlers. And compromise won’t work. Only terrible determination and the realization that only the greatest of sacrifice will bring real peace. (READ MORE: A Real Democracy Cannot Protect Hamas) It is a terrible choice we are forced to make‚ Israel and America together. It would be shameful to buy ourselves short-term comfort at the expense of the next victims. The horror will never end until we defeat it. Hamas themselves tells you that. And Qatar are Hamas’ shills‚ their Ribbentrop‚ the suave and wealthy face of genocidal fanaticism. If we don’t stand up to it‚ if we do only what is comfortable‚ our kids will all be educated by our example and the map and mindset of Nazi Islamists and their collaborators.  And we all know that that is no comfort at all. The post Do Not Let Hamas Escape Into Exile appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The Archdiocese of Washington is challenging the constitutionality of Maryland’s new Child Victims Act. The 2023 legislation took effect in October and lifts the statute of limitations for lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse‚ much akin to legislation approved in numerous other states. The Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Archdiocese of Washington‚ which together with the Diocese of Wilmington cover the entirety of Maryland’s Catholic territory‚ have fought against the legislation for years. In November‚ the Archdiocese of Washington argued that those accused of child sexual abuse have a “vested right” to legal immunity once the alleged victim turns 38 years old. Over the past few weeks‚ Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has disputed the Archdiocese’s reasoning. Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Luoma wrote: We are aware of no Maryland case holding that expiration of a statute of limitations or statute of repose provides a defendant with a vested right. What the Archdiocese asks this Court to rule would be unprecedented and would go against the consensus of federal law and the reasoned opinions of many other states. The dispute centers on the difference between a statue of limitations and a statute of repose. A statute of repose‚ generally considered more favorable to defendants than to plaintiffs‚ sets the clock ticking for plaintiffs based on the actions or establishments of the defendants; for example‚ a construction company protected by a statute of repose could only be sued for injuries sustained in or working on a specific building starting at a specific date and time and ending at a specific date and time. A statue of limitations‚ however‚ allows the plaintiff to file a suit or claim based on when an offense or injury occurred to him. (READ MORE from S.A. McCarthy: In 2023‚ Nicaragua Was No Place To Be Catholic) The Archdiocese of Washington is arguing that in 2017 the Maryland state legislature established a statute of repose regarding sex abuse victims and that the General Assembly does not have the constitutional authority to adjust a statute of repose. Luoma responded: Within its ability to set the time periods during which plaintiffs can file suit in court‚ the General Assembly has authority to revive causes of action that otherwise would be time-barred. This principle is well-established by federal courts and the courts of many other states and applies regardless of whether the provision effecting the bar is denominated a statute of limitations or a statute of repose. Legal challenges aside‚ both the Archdiocese of Washington and of Baltimore have staunchly opposed the Child Victims Act for years. Shortly ahead of the legislation going into effect last year‚ the Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy‚ stalling victims’ suits against America’s oldest Catholic diocese and effectively ensuring the expected inundation of lawsuits seeking remuneration for clerical sex abuse would not materialize. Earlier last year‚ the Maryland Attorney General’s office released a damning report on clerical sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The nearly-500-page report condemned the Archdiocese’s “history of repeated dismissal or cover up of that abuse by the Catholic Church hierarchy.” A significant portion of the report focused on Archdiocesan leadership’s failure to protect children and discipline‚ expose‚ or report abusers. Much of that section was redacted‚ at the behest of a lobbying group funded by current Archbishop of Baltimore William Lori. The Child Victims Act‚ which Lori fought against‚ was passed by the Maryland Senate the same day that the report was released. The Archdiocese of Washington is hardly a paragon of virtue when it comes to sexual abuse. One of its most infamous former archbishops is the now-laicized ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick. In 2018‚ McCarrick was exposed for sexually abusing children and young men‚ especially seminarians‚ for decades. During his tenure as Archbishop of Washington‚ McCarrick was still secretly paying out settlements to victims of his abuse. McCarrick’s successor‚ Donald Wuerl‚ was also accused of covering up for McCarrick‚ and The Washington Post reported that Wuerl was aware of allegations against McCarrick as early as 2004‚ 14 years before the cardinal’s abuse became public knowledge‚ when McCarrick was still at the Archdiocese’s helm. (READ MORE: ‘A Simple‚ Humble Laborer in The Vineyard of The Lord’) Wuerl himself also has a spotty record of dealing with sexual abuse. A Pennsylvania grand jury’s 2018 report on clerical sex abuse in the state revealed Wuerl failed‚ as bishop of Pittsburgh‚ in handling multiple cases of clerical sex abuse. His failures there included quietly shuffling abusive priests to other dioceses‚ allowing priests to remain in active ministry even after having manufactured child pornography‚ and covering for a priest even after paying out a $900‚000 abuse settlement. After the report’s release‚ Wuerl defended his record‚ but then-Attorney General (and now Governor) of Pennsylvania Joshua Shapiro shot back‚ “Cardinal Wuerl is not telling the truth. Many of his statements in response to the Grand Jury Report are directly contradicted by the Church’s own documents and records from their Secret Archives. Offering misleading statements now only furthers the cover up.” Wuerl resigned as Archbishop of Washington in 2018‚ one month after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched an investigation into reports of continued clerical sex abuse in the Archdiocese. (READ MORE: Which Way‚ Western Man? Satanic Idols or Christian Morality?) Now‚ the current Archbishop of Washington‚ Wilton Gregory‚ who was identified by the late clerical sex abuse expert Richard Sipe as a homosexual‚ is adding his name to the roster alongside Wuerl’s and McCarrick’s‚ seeking to protect the Archdiocese’s pocketbook instead of its children. The post Archdiocese Challenges Child Abuse Victims Act appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden is under the skin of House Republicans. He made a surprise cameo Wednesday morning at a House Oversight hearing‚ where members were considering holding him in contempt of Congress. As the hearing started‚ President Joe Biden’s son sat in the front row next to attorney Abbe Lowell. After a matter of minutes‚ Biden and Lowell left the proceedings. Rep. Mike Waltz‚ R-Fla.‚ dismissed Hunter Biden’s brief presence as a “PR stunt.” Thing is‚ it was a PR stunt that worked. It made Biden seem sympathetic and Republicans unhinged. Which means the Republicans have every right to throw the book at Hunter Biden. “My first question is‚ who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today?” Rep. Nancy Mace‚ R-S.C‚ asked. She said she believed the president’s son should be sent to jail. In the hallway‚ Lowell later told reporters‚ “Hunter Biden is and was a private citizen. Despite this‚ Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father.” Lowell also said the legal team offered to work with the committee to address “any legitimate inquiry.” As Lowell talked‚ a heckler shouted questions about the younger Biden’s one-time crack cocaine use. (READ MORE from Debra Saunders: Biden Urged Oppressed to Cross Border. Now There Are Caravans.) Hunter Biden has said that he would testify before the committee‚ but only publicly‚ lest Republicans selectively leak his comments. House Republicans rightly counter that committees‚ not witnesses‚ get to decide such things. When Democrats controlled the House‚ they held former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress. And a Washington jury found the two guilty. Which means the Republicans have every right to throw the book at Hunter Biden. To get the public to believe that the lobbyist-turned-artist has an obligation to testify when subpoenaed — even if he takes the Fifth Amendment — all House Republicans needed to do was show the importance of congressional oversight. Alas‚ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‚ R-Ga.‚ saw an opportunity to seize the limelight. She held up posters of alleged nude selfies taken by the president’s son. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‚ D-N.Y.‚ accused Greene of posting “revenge porn.” “This is not ‘The Jerry Springer Show‚'” Rep. Jamie Raskin‚ D-Md.‚ the ranking Democrat‚ countered. But thanks to MTG and Mace‚ it pretty much was. Rep. Jared Moskowitz‚ D-Fla.‚ responded by displaying a photo of former President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. At least they were clothed. (READ MORE: Partisan Efforts to Keep Trump off Ballots) Remember the days when you used to see members of Congress repeating the same talking points over and over again? Now there are too many freelancers and showboats who distract from the real issue. When and after Joe Biden was Vice President‚ his son Hunter was a walking “for sale” sign who invited dubious foreign interests to pay him obscene amounts of money because they wanted access to a man who actually might be president. Both Bidens saw nothing wrong with that arrangement. They still don’t‚ and neither do House Democrats. It’s all about winning. And getting under GOP skin. Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Follow @debrajsaunders on X. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM The post Bipartisan Circus in House as Hunter Biden Makes Cameo appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Just months ago‚ Gov. Kristi Noem endured accusations that she had conducted a yearslong extramarital affair. But you would never guess of the scandal by her actions‚ as the South Dakota governor has remained resolute in her efforts to position herself to become the Republican vice presidential nominee under Donald Trump. Since the beginning of the year‚ Noem has traveled to Iowa to campaign for the former president‚ delivered a State of the State address laden with self-promotion‚ appeared on Fox News‚ and released the next in a series of advertisements starring her that is strategically aimed at both encouraging people to move to South Dakota and raising her public profile. In essence‚ her reaction to the affair scandal has been to act as though it never happened. The allegation that Noem conducted an affair with former Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski broke through a Sept. 13‚ 2023‚ tell-all report that was published by the Daily Mail. The Daily Mail’s report was followed days later by a similar account in the New York Post; the Post supplied an additional five anonymous sources to back up its claims. The Daily Mail’s report went into so much detail as to chart Noem and Lewandowski’s day-to-day travels alongside one another to a bevy of political events (and luxury resorts) as well as the time they spent together at those events. Lewandowski had been an adviser to both Trump and Noem before he was fired from both jobs in 2020 for allegedly sexually harassing the wife of a billionaire donor. (READ MORE from Ellie Gardey: Democratic Presidential Candidate Dean Phillips Is Fed Up With the Liberal Media) When the report was released in September‚ Noem was near the top of the pack of contenders for the role of vice presidential nominee and was all but openly seeking the job. It’s been months since the Daily Mail’s detailed report. And Noem is still running just as openly to become the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee. Moreover‚ she is still viewed as having a high chance of winning the role. Noem has been openly embracing the speculation that Trump could select her to be his vice presidential nominee. Noem has simply denied the report and moved on — and it seems like everyone else is fine with letting the story go as well. Her appearance last week at a Trump campaign event in Sioux City‚ Iowa‚ again demonstrated that the Trump campaign has little concern for the alleged affair. And this week‚ the Atlantic published a profile of Noem that consigned mention of the affair to paragraph 16 of its account. In addition‚ South Dakota politicos have been willing to move on from the report. For instance‚ Lee Schoenbeck‚ the president pro tempore of the South Dakota Senate‚ told Sioux Falls Live in September that “he would be the last to know what Gov. Noem does in her personal life.” Similarly‚ state Rep. Greg Jamison told the same publication‚ “Those kinds of things always seem to come out about people who are a rising political star…. The Kristi Noem that I know doesn’t match any of those descriptions or accounts‚ but Kristi and I don’t chit chat either.” Likewise‚ the state’s House Majority leader called the stories of the alleged affair “tabloid garbage‚” while Spencer Gosch‚ who was South Dakota’s speaker of the House until 2022‚ asserted that he had not “seen anything to corroborate it.” ***** Public news of Noem’s alleged affair first surfaced in a 2021 article published in American Greatness. Noem’s reaction at the time was to totally deny the veracity of the report. She said in response‚ “These rumors are total garbage and a disgusting lie.” But for the Daily Mail’s more detailed report‚ she and Lewandowski both issued responses that were less than adamant denials. The Daily Mail said that when it reached out to Noem for her to comment on its story‚ the governor “issued a statement attacking us for the timing of the article.” Lewandowski‚ meanwhile‚ did not respond to the request for comment. After the Daily Mail’s story was published‚ Noem’s office continued to not comment. Ian Fury‚ Noem’s spokesman‚ told Sioux Falls Live that he would not be commenting “without on-the-record corroboration of the relationship.” Later‚ however‚ Fury came back to Sioux Falls Live and said in a text message‚ “The allegation of an affair is false.” Fury then said in a statement‚ “It is shameful that Sioux Falls Live would report based on a false and inflammatory tabloid rumor. It was also false that Governor Noem did not deny the allegation to the Daily Mail. They failed to print the denial and failed to appropriately correct the story when that failure was pointed out to them.” The allegations of the affair not only cast doubts on Noem’s authenticity as a self-proclaimed champion of family values; they also prompted concerns she was altering her actions in her role as governor to conceal the affair and spend time with Lewandowski. A follow-up story by the Daily Mail quoted an anonymous source from within Noem’s administration who claimed that the governor would not inform her own staffers as to where she would be so that she could conceal the time she spent with Lewandowski from her husband‚ who allegedly knew of the affair and despised Lewandowski. Another staffer alleged that Noem had “secret vacations” and would “simply disappear.” The alleged relationship was also problematic on a professional level given that Noem claimed to have fired Lewandowski following the sexual harassment allegations against him. But it seems as though she continued working with him after she made that announcement. A source told the Daily Mail‚ “When Las Vegas happened‚ she fired him without really firing him.” (READ MORE: Kristi Noem Loses Religious Conservatives) Noem’s entire term as South Dakota’s governor‚ which began in 2019‚ has been dominated by her efforts to position herself on the national stage. Even her advertising campaign encouraging Americans to move to South Dakota has put her front and center. In the most recent iteration of the ads‚ Noem dresses as the types of workers the state is trying to recruit — as an accountant or nurse‚ for example — and encourages people like herself to come to South Dakota. She has traveled far and wide for public events and is a mainstay on Fox News. Noem even built a TV studio in the South Dakota capitol for that purpose. Noem has been openly embracing the speculation that Trump could select her to be his vice presidential nominee. When a reporter asked her while she was campaigning for Trump in Iowa earlier this month whether she would consider accepting the spot of Trump’s vice presidential nominee‚ she said‚ “I think anybody in this country‚ if they were offered it‚ needs to consider it.” Furthermore‚ when a reporter asked her what qualities Trump should look for in a vice presidential nominee‚ she answered‚ “Oh gosh‚ someone who tells him the truth.” When the reporter further inquired as to whether she believes she has that quality‚ Noem answered‚ “Oh yeah‚ but I can think of a lot of people who have those qualities‚ but yeah‚ I’ve been very honest with the president.” Noem has also been playing the long game for the role‚ as she came out early to endorse Trump in September of last year. Noem’s efforts to promote herself and divert attention away from the affair appear to be succeeding‚ as she is currently Trump’s most likely vice presidential nominee‚ according to the betting market. Perhaps an extramarital affair is no longer a major transgression according to the standards of the media and politicians. READ MORE: Dakota Diddling: The Noem–Lewandowski Affair The post Post-Scandal‚ Kristi Noem Does Not Change Course appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

While we wished each other a “Merry Christmas‚” and went about our caroling and exchanging presents‚ at least 140 Christian farmers — and probably 200 or more — were murdered by Moslem herders in the Plateau State of Nigeria. If you missed this amidst our holiday festivities‚ don’t be too hard on yourselves; coverage in our mainstream media was cursory‚ and‚ in large part‚ quickly disappeared. The reported circumstances were horrific‚ and everywhere heartbreaking. Furthermore‚ this represents only the latest in a decades long bloodletting. Open Doors‚ an international organization dedicated to protecting threatened Christian communities‚ has documented years of brutality and repeated massacres‚ mainly targeting Christian farming communities‚ but also moderate Moslem farmers.  We may not be able to defend these Christians with weapons in hand‚ but‚ at the very least‚ perhaps we can speak for them … until the world finally pays attention. Nigerian security forces have been notably useless in addressing the ongoing crisis. Although the recently elected president‚ Bola Ahmed Tinubu‚ took office with promises to bring an end to the slaughter‚ as well as to address repeated human rights violations by Nigerian internal security forces‚ little has been accomplished. The most notable recent intervention‚ a misguided drone attack by the Nigerian military‚ destroyed a village of Moslem farmers‚ at the cost of approximately 100 innocent lives. (READ MORE from James H. McGee: Expect the Worst in 2024) The perpetrators of these multiple horrors‚ going back over a decade‚ are several. The most prominent has been the radical Islamist group‚ Boko Haram‚ which became notorious not quite a decade ago for kidnapping 276 school girls‚ and the kidnappings have continued‚ sometimes attributed to Boko Haram‚ sometimes to ISIS’s so-called “West Africa Province.” In recent years‚ the primary perpetrators of massacres such as the one over Christmas‚ have been Moslem “herders” of the Fulani tribe.  I quote the term “herders” because it figures prominently in the nonsense promoted by many outside observers‚ including our own State Department. Over and over again‚ the massacres‚ overwhelmingly targeting Christians‚ have been attributed to land use conflicts between nomadic herding populations and sedentary farmers. For American ears‚ this evokes the range wars of the late 19th Century between cattlemen and sheep farmers. Interestingly‚ President Tinubu’s predecessor‚ Muhammadu Buhari‚ also served as the president of the Fulani Cattlemen’s association. We should resist the temptation to “contextualize‚” to use a term made popular recently by Ivy League presidents. What is happening in Nigeria cannot and should not be reduced to some kind of West African episode of “Yellowstone‚” or‚ more apposite‚ its “1923” prequel. By all accounts‚ the total number of deaths in our decades-long range wars amounted to scarcely one-fourth of those Christian farmers murdered over the past holiday weekend. This isn’t Rip taking someone to the “train station.” Instead‚ as documented by the group Genocide Watch‚ what we are seeing is a concerted effort‚ on the part of Islamist-motivated Fulani terrorists‚ to eradicate the Christian farming communities of Nigeria. As Genocide Watch noted at the end of 2022‚ more people die in Nigeria every month than in Ukraine‚ over 6‚000 in the first three months of 2022‚ overwhelmingly Christians massacred by Fulani militias. The organization also observed that our State Department refused to acknowledge the religious nature of the massacres‚ preferring to attribute it to the scarcity of arable land and the effects of “climate change.” One might as well view the Holocaust as nothing more than Nazis efforts to achieve Lebensraum‚ “living space” for Aryan agriculturalists.  As recently as yesterday‚ Truth Nigeria.com described how the Nigerian army is‚ in effect‚ providing cover for the Fulani terrorists as they move into the devastated villages and take control of yet another critical asset in the Plateau State‚ the now-abandoned scattered tin mines — so much for poor cattlemen simply looking for a few more acres of grazing land. Let me repeat. The Fulani “militias” are Islamist terrorists‚ pure and simple‚ and while they might not be in league with Hamas‚ or Hezbollah‚ or the Houthis‚ while they might not be supported by Iran or bent on establishing a caliphate‚ they are Islamist terrorists who massacre Christians on a scale comparable to that of Hitler’s Einsatzgruppen. (READ MORE: ‘If Only in My Dreams’: The Poignant Context of a Christmas Classic) And the world pretty much ignores this. In previous American Spectator articles I’ve made plain my disgust at the Hamas monstrosities of October 7‚ and my further disgust at the emergence across Europe and here in the United States of a massive wave of anti-Semitism and blatant support for Hamas. The very idea that this should be “contextualized” is abhorrent. I’ve made clear my support for Ukraine in the face of Putin’s unprovoked and criminal assault. Similarly‚ I’ve also made clear my support for Taiwanese independence and the need to prepare for the very real possibility of a Chinese invasion in the near future. Right now‚ and across the globe‚ and very much here at home‚ across our porous southern border‚ a world filled with hostile actors is converging upon us‚ from a flood of fentanyl from China to missile attacks on critical shipping in the Red Sea. So yes‚ much is happening‚ and it’s easy to set aside the crisis of the Christian community in Nigeria as not worthy of our attention. I think that this is profoundly wrong‚ albeit typical of what passes for leadership in our country these days. We need to stand up for ourselves and for our values‚ both here at home and abroad — the two are not nearly as severable as some would have you believe. Instead of standing for order and for the values of Western civilization‚ instead of standing strong for our Judeo-Christian heritage whenever and wherever it is under attack‚ we seem bent on inflicting our worst “woke” dysfunction on the world at large. This has to stop‚ and hopefully the 2024 elections will signal our renewed commitment to defending American greatness in all of its manifestations. Protecting the West and Christianity We are faced‚ on multiple fronts‚ with assaults on our culture and our civilization‚ many of them from the ideological brethren of the murderous Fulani militias. Order matters‚ whether it’s in the face of riots here at home or massacres abroad. And the Christian communities of Nigeria should matter. We don’t have to chase every conceivable overseas involvement‚ and we shouldn’t go looking‚ willy-nilly‚ for trouble. But trouble has a way of coming after us‚ and ignoring genocide diminishes us in ways we haven’t even begun to measure. And‚ dare I say it‚ Christianity matters and Christians deserve our support‚ no matter how unfashionable that may seem to some. What is happening around the world‚ and‚ very much‚ in Nigeria‚ is not all that far removed from many other challenges‚ including challenges made manifest every day here at home. Last summer‚ in only my second article for American Spectator‚ I evoked The Magnificent Seven in connection with the plight of the Christian communities in Nigeria. I acknowledged that there were no easy answers in a country where corruption is rife‚ where the security forces are compromised by Islamist sympathies‚ and where the Christian communities are defenseless. I insisted then that we needed to speak up for these communities‚ we needed our government to honestly face the fact of a Christian genocide underway. I insisted then that‚ instead of hiding behind climate change and other fantastical explanations‚ we recognize their real plight‚ and exert every possible pressure upon the Nigerian government. This‚ at least‚ didn’t seem too much to ask. (READ MORE: ‘Holocaust Envy’ and the New Anti-Semitism) I also suggested‚ however wistfully and against the position of the Biden administration‚ that the Christian villagers had the right to defend themselves. I further suggested that they deserved being given the means and the skills to do so‚ even as I acknowledged the near-impossibility of making this happen within a nominally friendly country‚ albeit one apparently unwilling to stop the genocide against Christians. I’m currently working on my next thriller novel‚ and while the main plot once again involves a challenge from China‚ I’m building a subplot in which some ex-special forces operatives go into these Christian communities‚ bringing the weapons and training that could thwart the Fulani militias. Sadly‚ it’s much easier to do this in fiction than in the real world.  I re-watched The Magnificent Seven recently‚ and focused on the four graves‚ the four members of the seven who lost their lives in protecting the farmers. I listened yet again to the final words of the Yul Brynner character as he and Steve McQueen ride away. “Only the farmers won. We lost. We always lose.” Perhaps that summarizes our dilemma‚ as played out over and over again in our interventions around the world. Even on those rare occasions when “the farmers” win as the result of our intervention‚ we tend to lose. I’m not a fan of the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven‚ but its concluding message is worth pondering. Emma Cullen‚ the character who engaged the services of the Seven‚ remarks of their efforts and their sacrifice: “Whatever they were in life‚ here‚ at the end‚ each man stood with courage and honor. They fought for the ones who couldn’t fight for themselves‚ and they died for them too. All to win something that didn’t belong to them. It was — magnificent.” We may not be able to defend these Christians with weapons in hand‚ but‚ at the very least‚ perhaps we can speak for them‚ over and again‚ until the world finally pays attention. At the very least‚ as I observed months ago‚ we should respect their desire to defend themselves‚ to “deal in lead” if that’s what it takes.  James H. McGee retired in 2018 after nearly four decades as a national security and counter-terrorism professional‚ working primarily in the nuclear security field. His doctoral dissertation on the early history of the Gestapo can be accessed online by searching “James H. McGee‚ III” and “The Political Police in Bavaria‚ 1919-1936.” Since retiring‚ he’s begun a second career as a thriller writer. His 2022 novel‚ Letter of Reprisal‚ tells the tale of a desperate mission to destroy a Chinese bioweapon facility hidden in the heart of the central African conflict region. You can find it on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback editions‚ and on Kindle Unlimited.  The post The Continuing Assault on Nigeria’s Christian Farmers appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

To be born a Jew is to be born with a target on your back. You go to the same movies others do. Enjoy similar foods‚ although — if you play by the rules — you restrict yourself to kosher ingredients and kosher-certified eating establishments. You root for the same sports teams others do: your sports team of childhood‚ no matter where you later move‚ or maybe for the team in the city where you relocate. On your left at the stadium is a non-Jew and also on your right‚ and you all are shouting “Let’s Go Mets!” in unison‚ Jews and non-Jews. What in the world did the Jews ever do to warrant the dirtbags running South Africa joining with Hamas and Arab Muslim terror? But you still know you have a target on your back. Each and every Jew knows this from childhood. Watch “The Fabelmans‚” where even Spielberg drops his guard to let you know he knows‚ too. Israel is his life insurance policy‚ too. The country that loved “E.T.‚” “Jurassic Park‚” “Star Wars‚” “Indy‚” “Jaws‚” and “Close Encounters” could throw him out just as Germany threw out Billy Wilder and his cohort of great screenwriters‚ actors‚ composers‚ and Einsteins. It makes no sense. If left alone‚ we would be like everyone else. Our voting patterns would be the same. Our everything would be the same. But mindless persecution has made us different — and caused a certain chunk of us‚ like the makers of Chunky Monkey‚ to be not normal‚ even manifestly sick with self-loathing. Ben and Jerry left their ethnically Jewish New York for Vermont‚ to live as colonizers on indigenous Indian land. So did Bernie Sanders from Brooklyn‚ to live not only on indigenous Indian land but also indolently on indulgent women’s money. So some Jews become distorted with self-loathing‚ like a George Soros who grew up as a ward to a Nazi‚ like a cartoon Robin to an Eich Man‚ keeping account books for him of property confiscated from Jews‚ to try proving to “the Goyim” that “We are just like you‚ no different at all. See? We even associate with the worst Jew haters and oppose Israel — just like you. So please don’t kill us. We’ll do the books.” (READ MORE: Claudine Gay: Another DEI Success Story) And‚ yet: News Flash‚ boobie: When a person takes the lead in demonizing people of his own ethnicity for no rational reason‚ and mires himself in the same pigsty where the Rashida Tlaibs‚ Ilhan Omars‚ and Ocasios wallow‚ that is not normal. Normal people do not do that. Irish-Americans don’t. Mexican-Americans don’t boycott Mexico. Italian-Americans don’t attack Italy. Black Americans‚ like civil rights heroes Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton‚ do not lead battles for the women of Congo who face a national epidemic of rape‚ nor challenge Black Lives Matter over the millions that have gone to buy the BLM Communist founder Patrisse Cullors four  houses‚ one more than Commie Bernie’s three. It so much “makes no sense” that it makes perfect sense. Two thousand years of blood libels‚ Crusades to Palestine that got out of hand and turned into bloodbaths along the Rhine and the Seine‚ false accusations of poisoning the wells of Europe‚ mass burnings of Talmuds and others of our holy books and manuscripts‚ false allegations of causing the Black Death‚ autos-da-fé and burnings at the stake‚ mass expulsions from countries‚ forcible conversions to majority religions‚ being confined in ghettoes‚ pogroms‚ Holocausts‚ “Gentleman’s Agreements‚” and such leave some people psychologically distorted. They become deeply sick. This is not about hurling invective; it is diagnosis. Indeed‚ antisemitism is so incomprehensible that many of us Orthodox Jewish theologians believe that antisemitism is G-d’s way of “mowing the lawn” when He sees Jews assimilating too much‚ too many abandoning their Judaic ties‚ being too much like “the Nations” to the degree that they no longer make the Sabbath Day special‚ one of delight‚ and abandon kosher dietary practices. Jew-hatred keeps us in check. Maybe that is why we still are around‚ and will be forever. When too many try to run away‚ He simply closes all other doors. The rabbis of the Talmud say that the evil Haman brought more Jews back to Judaism than did great teachings. We don’t look for it. We don’t want it. But it comes. The little Jew-hating snot‚ Greta Thunberg‚ knows nothing about climate. Antisemitism is in her forecast‚ now and forever. As with all storms‚ it moves from country to country. Where is she from? Sweden? It’s been there forever. It would be nice to have climate change there. Often‚ it comes from outta nowhere‚ just when we never felt safer. Our Golden Age in Spain came in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries‚ when some of our greatest scholars arose: poets and thinkers like Rambam Maimonides‚ Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi‚ Avraham Ibn Ezra‚ and Solomon Ibn Gabirol. And then G-d sent Ferdinand and Isabella to convert us forcibly and to burn at stake any Jews who presented as converts but secretly retained their Judaic faith and practiced Judaic rituals privately. Other countries invited us in‚ and we contributed mightily to their successes‚ ever grateful for the opportunity. “And then there arose a new Pharaoh who knew not Joseph‚” and it was back to the beginning‚ kicked out and searching for a new land that would take in the survivors. We were like baseball superstars who become free agents. All kinds of weaker countries “bid” on us to contribute to their societies when our time expired elsewhere. Then‚ after we bring in the fans and do our part‚ they have a few bad years and trade us for cash and “Three Gentiles To Be Named Later.” Only less gently gentile. We never were secure. We first entered Russia‚ moderately welcomed. Then they turned. We were at the center of the Weimar Republic‚ never felt safer in Germany. And soon they were painting swastikas on stores and on college dorm rooms‚ breaking glass windows‚ burning books and temples‚ and banning us from the universities. DEI. And so it went. Never to find a haven. England expelled us in 1290 and did not let us back until 1648. When King Henry VIII searched for a rabbi to interpret the Torah books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy to provide Biblical justification for the Pope to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon‚ he couldn’t find a single darned rabbi in all of England — because all the Jews had been thrown out 250 years earlier. France threw us out a few years after. We got slaughtered in Germany throughout the 11th through 13th Centuries. Spain threw us out in 1492‚ Portugal in 1497 when King Manuel married Ferdinand’s and Isabella’s daughter. Italy confined us in those ghettoes‚ truly “the world’s largest open-air prisons”; that’s why that word‚ ending in singular in “o‚” sounds Italian. Because it is. (Segué. In my freshman year of college‚ my dormmate turned out to be an antisemite — even before he got to know me. I had no idea until one day a guy from down the hall told me to watch out for him‚ that he hates Jews. I asked how he knew. He told me: “Last night‚ he had a few too many beers and caught me alone while I was watching a movie in the common TV room at the end of the hall. He started ranting how he hates Jews and hates that he was placed on a dorm floor where all the other 118 students are Jews. That he and I are the only ‘Christians’ on this ‘whole damn Jew floor.’ I asked him how he knew I was not a Jew‚ too. He answered: ‘I feel safe with you because you are Italian.’ I asked how he knew. He said “Because your last name ends in an ‘o.’ ” (READ MORE: So Much Thanks to Give as an American) And that is how I learned that my dormmate was a Jew-hater. Because he had opened up‚ after a few beers‚ to Harry Shapiro.) South Africa Hates Jews. Who Knew? And now South Africa has decided to take the lead as the next great world Jew-hating power. Mighty South Africa. Cultural center of the universe. Source of great philosophers and scholars. The locus to which all eyes turn at Nobel Prize season. Suddenly‚ having gotten better control over their cannibals‚ South Africa is ready to advance civilization. What in the world did the Jews ever do to warrant the dirtbags running South Africa joining with Hamas and Arab Muslim terror? If anything‚ Jews were leaders in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa when that was perilous. The most outspoken anti-apartheid parliamentarian in the country was a Jewish woman‚ Helen Suzman. The Jews were mostly quite conservative but deeply anti-apartheid. Apartheid is plain wrong. So South African Jews opposed it. And eventually apartheid fell. And what did the Jews get in return for a decency that Nelson Mandela recognized‚ acknowledged‚ and deeply appreciated? The Jews got a loused-up polity that cannot run its own country‚ a country where 7‚000 of their own people in “peacetime” get murdered every three months — that comes to 28‚000 murders a year‚ the highest numbers they have recorded. Yet‚ those Jew haters file a “legal” case in a corrupt United Nations court‚ accusing Israel of war crimes. Got that? Hamas murderers break into Israel and‚ in one day‚ murder 1‚200 Jews‚ slaughter hundreds at an all-night rave dance party for peaceniks who believe Arab Muslims are their friends‚ then proceed to left-wing Marxist socialist kibbutzim (kibbutzes)‚ populated by leftist Israelis who chose to live near Gaza in order to be peace emissaries to the Arab Muslims in whose good intentions they foolishly believed‚ and slaughter them. In the name of Allah‚ they stabbed and cut throats‚ cut fetuses out of the bellies of living mothers‚ and then stabbed the babies and mothers multiple times to horrible death‚ cut off limbs of living people before murdering them‚ raped dead women‚ raped living women alongside dead women‚ cut off heads‚ in some cases slaughtering so many babies and cutting off so many of their heads in the same nursery room that the religious burial society needed weeks to match the decapitated heads with the right baby torsi for dignified burials consonant with Jewish law; and took other babies and put them in ovens while they still were alive and burned them to death. Tomorrow? It will come from somewhere else that will be so surprising that‚ for me as a student of Jewish history‚ it will not be surprising at all. In 2006‚ Israel gave them a land of their own‚ Gaza‚ along a beautiful Mediterranean coastline that is no different from the beaches and coasts of Tel Aviv. They could have built a Shangri-la. They were sent $4.5 billion from 2014-2020. They could have built villas‚ built a national utilities infrastructure. Instead‚ in 18 years they never built their own electric grid or water system; they chose to rely completely on Israel for it. Instead‚ they took that by-now close to $8 billion from American taxpayers like you‚ and from Europeans and Qataris‚ and they built an underground hell-hole of 300 miles of tunnels that are like the New York City subway system‚ covering every kilometer of Gaza underground. They built them to store rocket-propelled grenades and launchers‚ ammunition‚ rockets and missiles to shoot into Israel‚ hand grenades‚ IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)‚ and to hide themselves. They built them under hospitals‚ UNRWA schools‚ mosques‚ residential apartment buildings‚ even five-star hotels. Israel had to fight five wars they launched‚ and this is the sixth in those 18 years. So it has got to stop‚ whatever it takes. If Hamas insists on hiding behind human shields‚ Israel has to do what America did in Dresden‚ Hiroshima‚ and Nagasaki. There is no choice — or From the River to the Sea‚ Israel Will Cease to Be. (READ MORE: The ‘Innocent’ Civilians of Gaza) America — as weak as we have become under politically correct governance — still would never stand for what Israelis endure daily. If every single hour of every single day for the past 18 years‚ Biden and Blinken and Maddow had to race into bomb shelters — several times daily — to take cover from rockets being fired from Mexico and Canada‚ that would be a red line even Obama would have to cross. Do you know that‚ as part of Israel’s housing construction laws‚ every builder must present architectural plans that include a “rocket-and-missile safe room” in each new apartment unit? Not even “merely” in each building‚ but in each newly built apartment? Cry‚ the Degenerate Country To hell with South Africa. This‚ from the non-partisan Wikipedia: [C]rime‚ poverty and inequality remain widespread‚ with about 40% of the total population being unemployed as of 2021‚ while some 60% of the population lived under the poverty line and a quarter under $2.15 a day…. By 2020‚ numerous warnings have been issued that South Africa is heading towards failed state status with unsustainable government spending‚ high unemployment‚ high crime rates‚ corruption‚ failing government owned enterprises‚ and collapsing infrastructure … Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt said the country is in deep trouble‚ “South Africans have been getting poorer for a decade.” He said he is very concerned because “32 million people get an income from the state. The state cannot afford this anymore.” Neal Froneman‚ CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater‚ said that crime is out of control‚ with ‘mafia-style shakedowns’ for procurement contracts becoming the norm. Professor Eddy Maloka‚ from the Institute of Risk Management‚ “Government has collapsed in areas across the country. We are seeing inner-cities collapse and degenerate.” This‚ from the Arab Muslim Qatari outlet‚ Al Jazeera: Quarterly figures showed that the murder rate rose 14 percent between July and September‚ compared with the same timeframe in 2021‚ when 6‚163 people were killed. Almost 1‚000 women were among those murdered during the period in 2022. More than 13‚000 women were also victims of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm‚ and 1‚277 women were victims of attempted murder. “The rate at which women are abused‚ violated and some killed in South Africa remains worrying and unacceptable‚” Police Minister Bheki Cele told a news conference. The figures also showed that kidnappings doubled to more than 4‚000 compared with the same time last year; and rapes‚ in a country notorious for sex attacks against women and children‚ were up 11 percent‚ with 10‚000 cases opened across the country. Carjackings rose 24 percent to more than 6‚000. And between April and September‚ more than 550 children were killed. Those dirtbags have a Gaza Strip right under their own noses‚ in “peacetime‚” on their watch‚ and yet they bring war crimes charges against Israel? And all the other anti-Israel tropes: Millions of Arab Muslims are immigrants all over Europe‚ though not indigenous there. Are they colonizers? So why are Jewish immigrants to the Land of their Fathers called “colonizers” when they are indigenous‚ predating the Muslims by more than a millennium? Arab Muslim countries expelled 900‚000 Jews in the 1940s and 1950s. Where else did they think those million Jewish immigrants would end up‚ if not in Israel? There was a population exchange‚ as with every major war. End of story. The Soviet Marxists persecuted Jews from 1917. Of course the Jews wanted out. Once they got out‚ where did they expect them to emigrate‚ Saudi Arabia? Yemen? Syria? They already had been expelled from there. Of course they immigrated to Israel. How can Israel be accused of ethnic cleansing and other Nazi terms of annihilation if actual census data instead show that the population of Gaza has increased by 25 percent under Israeli oversight in under ten years?  “Since the publication in 2012 of the UNCT’s report on ‘Gaza 2020’‚ Gaza’s population has increased by 400‚000‚ reaching 2 million people by the end of 2016. Gaza’s population is projected to further increase to 2.2 million by 2020 and to 3.1 million by 2032 — just 12 years away.” And so‚ we Jews never know where it will come from. When I was in college at Columbia in the 1970s‚ I marched against the Soviet Union and communism. I knew that Red China was evil and that my parents’ generation had encountered it from Nazi Germany to Vichy France. I knew where we stood with the Arab Muslim countries. But I never imagined I would see South Africa as a new world center of Jew hatred. And yet‚ I always knew — and know — it will come from somewhere‚ often a slime-hole of murders‚ women abuse‚ kidnappings‚ sex attacks and rapes‚ child killings‚ and carjackings. (READ MORE: Being Vaccinated Against Anti-Semitism) Today‚ South Africa. Yesterday it was from Harvard and Claudine Gay‚ Penn and Liz Magill‚ MIT and Sally Kornbluth‚ and Columbia and Minouche Shafik‚ who somehow evaded Elise Stefanik. The day before from Democrats including The Squad and a swath of hypocrites like Senators Tim Kaine and Chris Van Hollen. Tomorrow? It will come from somewhere else that will be so surprising that‚ for me as a student of Jewish history‚ it will not be surprising at all. For the late Jimmy Buffet‚ who loved to party‚ it was always 5:00 somewhere. For Jews‚ it is always midnight somewhere. Rav Fischer’s recent high-energy no-holds-barred encore interview with the Jewish Republican Alliance appears here. In it‚ he discusses Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza‚ the uselessness of Biden and Kamala‚ the sicknesses on America’s college campuses‚ opines on Charlie Kirk‚ Tucker‚ Candace‚ and the ADL‚ and the 2024 election. His 10-part exciting and fact-based series of one-hour classes on the Jewish Underground liberation movement (Irgun‚ Lechi‚ and Haganah) and the Rise of Modern Israel can be found here. In it‚ he uses historic video clips of Irgun‚ Lechi‚ and Haganah actions‚ decades of past Arab terrorist atrocities‚ as well as stirring musical selections from the Underground and video’d interviews of participants‚ to augment data‚ statistics‚ maps‚ and additional historical records to create a fascinating‚ often gripping‚ and scholarly enriching educational experience about issues that remain deeply relevant today as Israel engages in an existential war in Gaza against Hamas terrorism. His latest deeply moving series of ten informational and inspirational programs on the Hamas Gaza War may be found here. Because of some sensitive subject matter and viewing content relating to Hamas terror‚ YouTube is restricting some of the early programs to viewers 18 and up. The post The Antisemitism of South Africa Should Not Surprise appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has been testifying in closed-door sessions with the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Dr. Fauci reportedly answered “I can’t recall” more than 100 times‚ and during breaks he wasn’t taking questions from reporters. While the transcript awaits‚ embattled Americans might recall Fauci’s take on a deadly episode from the pandemic. LeDuc signed agreements with three Chinese labs … giving China the power to destroy  “secret files‚ materials and equipment‚ without any backups. In December of 2020‚ Dr. Fauci appeared at a press conference with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warning that January would be a tough month with a “substantial proportion of health care providers and people in your nursing homes.” Gov. Cuomo ordered long-term care facilities to accept patients returning from hospitals‚ where 17‚425 died from Covid‚ according to New York Department of Health Statistics. In 2021‚ Cuomo claimed he was only following federal guidelines‚ and Jim Scietto of CNN asked Dr. Fauci if that was indeed the case. (READ MORE from Lloyd Billingsley: Racial Preferences Replay Under Gavin’s Governance) “You know‚ Jim‚ I can’t‚” Fauci responded‚ “ “I mean‚ excuse me. I really am — I’m honestly not trying to erase your question‚ but I’m not really sure of all the details of that‚ and I think if I‚ if you make a statement‚ it might be wrong or taken out of context. So‚ I prefer not to comment on that.” As it happened‚ Fauci was on record that New York responded “properly” and “correctly” to the pandemic. So according to Dr. Fauci‚ sending elderly patients back into nursing homes was the right thing to do. Anthony Fauci earned a medical degree in 1966 but in 1968 he hired on with the National Institutes of Health. His bio showed no advanced degrees in biochemistry or molecular biology‚ but in 1984 the NIH made him head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). According to Nobel laureate Kary Mullis‚ inventor of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‚ Fauci “doesn’t understand electron microscopy and he doesn’t understand medicine. He should not be in a position like he’s in.” But he was‚ for nearly 40 years‚ and as Sen. Rand Paul‚ also a medical doctor‚ pointed out in Deception: the Great Covid Cover-up‚ Fauci was never once confirmed by the Senate. The NIAID boss controlled public health policy and medical research spending‚ a huge concentration of power. Consider the experience of Dr. Jonathan Fishbein‚ an NIH official Fauci fired for exposing dangerous drug experiments. “Dealing with Tony Fauci is like dealing with organized crime‚” Fishbein told Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in The Real Anthony Fauci.  “He’s like the Godfather. He has connections everywhere. He’s always got people that he’s giving money to in powerful positions to make sure he gets his way‚ that he gets what he wants.” Fauci tried to cover up the origin of the Covid virus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Fauci funded the WIV to perform dangerous gain-of-function research that makes viruses more lethal and transmissible. As congressional investigators should know‚ that is only part of the story. (READ MORE: Lessons from the EPA’s Agent 007) In 2020‚ before Fauci took over‚ the government’s main mouthpiece was Dr. Nancy Messonnier‚ longtime director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). In a January 30‚ telebriefing‚ Dr. Messonnier referred to “this new virus” without revealing how it differed from others. In her February 3‚ 2020 telebriefing‚ Dr. Messonnier mentioned five additional infections from the “novel coronavirus‚” four with travel history to Wuhan. On February 5‚ reporters asked about individuals returning from Wuhan. Dr. Messonnier said that was “not something that I’m at liberty to talk about today.” None of the reporters asked which official was laying down the rules for Dr. Messonnier‚ a veteran of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service. The EIS functions as the CDC’s medical CIA‚ and the intrepid “officers” are tasked to prevent viruses from arriving on American soil. With Covid the EIS obviously failed‚ but the failure remains unexamined. As it turns out‚ the EIS includes citizens of other nations‚ including China. Embattled Americans might wonder which nation’s interests the Chinese EIS officers represent‚ and what they were up to before and during the pandemic. In May of 2021‚ Dr. Messonnier suddenly resigned and CDC boss Dr. Rachel Walensky hailed her as a “true hero‚” with “significant contributions” during the pandemic. The select subcommittee might want to bring in Dr. Messonnier for questioning. Another candidate would be CDC official James LeDuc‚ former director of the Galveston National Laboratory (GNL)‚ a high-security biocontainment facility. Under LeDuc‚ the GNL began collaborating with China in 2013 when construction began on the WIV‚ and LeDuc paid a visit in 2017. The following year‚ the State Department expressed concerns over safety at the lab‚ but the GNL boss was not troubled. LeDuc charged that the lab origin of Covid was a “global conspiracy theory‚” that the virus emerged in the wild‚ and “the Chinese just happened to be in the place where this was discovered.” That was straight from Fauci’s play-book‚ but LeDuc took it to another level. (READ MORE: Senate Confirmation Not Required) LeDuc signed agreements with three Chinese labs‚ including the WIV‚ giving China the power to destroy  “secret files‚ materials and equipment‚ without any backups.” The agreements applied to “all cooperation and exchange documents‚ data‚ details‚ and materials‚” were renewable every five years‚ and the confidentiality terms remaining in force even after termination. LeDuc‚ Messonnier‚ and Fauci give the select subcommittee plenty to investigate. The people have suffered enough and have a right to know. The time has come to hold Fauci and friends fully accountable for their actions. Lloyd Billingsley is a policy fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland‚ Calif. The post Fauci‚ Friends‚ and Fallout appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Why do we celebrate a holiday honoring a man who was arrested and jailed twenty-nine times‚ and was ultimately assassinated? What lessons can we learn from this man‚ Martin Luther King‚ Jr. and from American institutions that seem to have forgotten the contributions that made him worthy of a national holiday? Martin Luther King (aka MLK)‚ a powerful pastor and speaker‚ was both the catalyst for and the central figure in the Civil Rights movement that extended from 1955 to 1968. From MLK’s sermons‚ speeches‚ and writings‚ we are struck by a man with an unusual discerning mind grounded in timeless truths. MLK was all about non-violent action to bring about racial and social healing through truth‚ love‚ and peaceful debate and protest. King was also critical of the media‚ stating that “One of the great needs of mankind is to be lifted above the morass of false propaganda.” What is hard to come to grips with is how the power‚ healing‚ and truth of his message could be overshadowed by today’s divisive and demoralizing woke philosophies: Critical Race Theory(CRT) and Diversity‚ Equity and Inclusion (DEI). MLK stressed the importance of bringing people together through constructive dialogue and seeing all people as individuals made in God’s image. In contrast‚ those who have recently claimed to hold up the torch of civil rights‚ such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement‚ generally do so through militant action‚ malicious language‚ and confrontation. (READ MORE: Martin Luther King and I) The woke movement in the United States is largely the progeny of BLM‚ an organization that was founded by Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza‚ who both self-identify as Marxists. For those who relate wokeness with progress‚ a gnawing question still haunts: What good ever came out of Marxism? While some newcomers to the philosophy might idealistically presuppose their cause is about a socialist utopia‚ Marxist rule in practice has a sad history of delivering poverty‚ corruption‚ and mass death across diverse civilizations. Were it possible to resurrect King he would be shocked by the regression that has taken place in America in the three generations since he led the Civil Rights movement. He would reject the primacy of gender and ethnic identity over individual merit and the character-based approach to status and social mobility. King would condemn Critical Race Theory (CRT) because it insists that all people of the same race experience life the same way and perpetuates negative racial stereotypes‚ albeit against whites. King recognized that the self-evident truth in the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal … with certain unalienable Rights” wasn’t realized in 1776‚ nor when the U.S. Constitution was ratified some 14 years later. Nor was Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” proposition “that all men are created equal” fulfilled through the Civil War’s emancipation of slaves. In King’s most famous “I have a dream” speech‚ delivered from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington‚ D.C. on August 28‚ 1963‚ it was as if the Almighty was calling America to rise up and fulfill its spiritual destiny. To the self-evident truth of all people having equal value‚ King added an equally timeless truth‚ that people “should not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” One of the timeless truths King referred to on numerous occasions was Paul’s Letter to the Romans‚ in which he said‚ “Do not conform to the pattern of the world‚ but be transformed in the renewing of your mind.” King drew on Thomas Jefferson’s statement‚ “I have sworn upon the alter of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” He warned in a sermon as early as 1954‚ recorded in his book‚ Strength to Love‚ that‚ “If Americans permit thought-control‚ business-control‚ and freedom-control to continue‚ we shall surely move within the shadows of fascism.” Seventy years later‚ we have moved way beyond shadows and now live in a matrix of authoritarianism that effectively operates throughout most institutions under the camouflage of being diverse‚ equitable‚ and inclusive. Few American leaders have remained as clearheaded about the dangers of groupthink as King. He reminds us of Emerson’s words: “Whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist.” And drawing on Apostle Paul’s teachings‚ King implored that‚ “Any Christian who blindly accepts the opinions of the majority and in fear and timidity follows a path of expediency and social approval is a mental and spiritual slave.” King’s lesser-known speeches and sermons also provide prescient insight on the times in which we live. On numerous occasions‚ he quoted scripture about the need to be “wise as serpents‚ and harmless as doves‚” arguing that people need to have a tough mind and a tender heart. He expressed concern that the “prevalent tendency toward softmindedness is found in man’s unbelievable gullibility.” King further stated that‚ “Few people have the toughness of mind to judge critically and to discern the truth from the false‚ the fact from the fiction.” (READ MORE: Misquoting MLK to Legitimize Violence) King was also critical of the media‚ stating that “One of the great needs of mankind is to be lifted above the morass of false propaganda.” He concluded this theme with the warning that “a nation or a civilization that continues to produce softminded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.” Clearly there is much to learn from and reflect on in the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Most significant and formidable about the man was the unique‚ vital‚ and powerful role he played in the unfinished progress of America. Despite his flaws‚ he rose to the challenge of completing the course of redemption in American history. Nearly two hundred years after the vision expressed in the Declaration of Independence‚ and one hundred years after the Civil War and Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation‚ King fulfilled his redemptive mission‚ sacrificing his life to finish the work he described as making people‚ “free at last‚ free at last.” Scott Powell is senior fellow at Discovery Institute. His recent book‚ Rediscovering America‚ was #1 new release in history for eight straight weeks at Amazon. Reach him at scottp@discovery.org The post Martin Luther King Jr.: More Relevant Than Ever appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay earned his place in the spotlight by putting his spin on classic dishes and his sweet additions to chili are definitely worth trying.