The High Price of Historical Illiteracy
Posted By: Garnet, 10/16/2023 12:50:46 AM
Thomas Jefferson, in an 1816 letter to a member of the Virginia General Assembly, made this observation: “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” He wrote this passage to highlight the need for a system of primary schools in the Old Dominion. Eventually, the Commonwealth did establish a public school system, though Jefferson didn’t live to see it. That is just as well, perhaps. He would certainly be horrified by the ignorance of the people who attend and receive diplomas from our public schools.
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Life Comes at Hakeem Jeffries Fast After
Democrats Accuse Jim Jordan of ‘Election Denialism’ 7 replies
Democrats Accuse Jim Jordan of ‘Election Denialism’ 7 replies
One of the weapons House Democrats have been trotting out of their arsenal to use against GOP House Speaker nominee Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) during the contentious debate surrounding his candidacy is that he's an alleged election denier because he objected to the certification of the 2020 presidential election.During a recent press conference held in front of the Capitol, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) was one of a number of Democrats to accuse Jordan of engaging in "peddling lies and conspiracy theories" to the American people regarding the 2020 election and other issues:
“House Republicans have selected as their nominee to be the speaker of the people’s
It’s why many national security experts are looking at Tehran, not Gaza, regarding the training and logistics needed to carry out the heinous October 7 attack committed by Hamas against Israel. Around 1,000 terrorists stormed the Gaza border, killing over 1,200 Israelis in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. It was an invasion with the only goal being to kill as many Israelis as possible. Newly discovered top-secret Hamas documents show a detailed layout of the kibbutzim, methodically collecting intelligence on each community. Iran has already said they helped Hamas plan this attack for at least the past several weeks (via NBC News):
The High Price of Historical Illiteracy
9 replies
Thomas Jefferson, in an 1816 letter to a member of the Virginia General Assembly, made this observation: “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” He wrote this passage to highlight the need for a system of primary schools in the Old Dominion. Eventually, the Commonwealth did establish a public school system, though Jefferson didn’t live to see it. That is just as well, perhaps. He would certainly be horrified by the ignorance of the people who attend and receive diplomas from our public schools.
How Hard Is It to Condemn Atrocities?
12 replies
After Hamas terrorists murdered 260-plus mostly young people enjoying a “peace” concert near the Gaza border and slaughtered families in their homes, normal people were utterly outraged and sympathetic to the Israeli victims. Others — mostly university professors, progressive activists and “journalists,” and even some members of Congress — couldn’t bring themselves to condemn the violence. Some even excused it.I would have offered my free public-relations pro-tip to some of these folks but didn’t bother given that productive suggestions don’t go very far on social media. But here goes: Even if you have no sympathy for the Jewish victims, despise the Israeli government and its treatment of
On my radio program yesterday, I interviewed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who made a fair amount of news during our conversation. I also welcomed back to the show former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had not yet publicly addressed the barbaric terrorist attack in Israel last weekend. She called the massacre "shocking" and "nothing like" Gaza crises she'd dealt with while in office. She also told me what she would tell Israeli leaders if they reached out for her counsel, (correctly) asserted that Iran's "fingerprints are all over" the deadly plot, and responded to my question about whether the Bush administration had made a mistake in
Biden’s Latest Economic Alibi
7 replies
It’s hardly news that Americans are deeply dissatisfied with President Biden’s stewardship of the economy. The polls consistently show his approval rating well below 40 percent on this critical issue. Yet the President insists that this isn’t an accurate reflection of his economic record. As recently as last Friday, when asked by a reporter why so many Americans don’t feel good about the economy, he responded with this howler: “You get more legs when you’re reporting something that’s negative. I don’t mean you’re picking on me. It’s just the nature of things.” Biden actually claimed that adverse media coverage is to blame for the public’s low opinion of “Bidenomics.”
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson said Wednesday that former President Trump is afraid of being poisoned.
“He does have a very potent fear of being poisoned,” Hutchinson told comedian Jimmy Kimmel on his late night show. “So he uses and prefers the small Heinz glass ketchup bottles, because he likes to hear his valet or whoever’s serving him his meal, he likes to hear the ‘pop.’”Her comments came after Kimmel referenced her testimony in front of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the Capitol, in which she said she found ketchup dripping from the wall of the West Wing dining room after Trump threw his
Below is my column in The Messenger on Hunter Biden’s curious new defense in the federal gun case: he had a moment of sobriety just before he signed his gun form. It appears that the defense is lifting Hunter’s blackout dates on his long addiction defense.
Here is the column:
Hunter Biden returned to court today on the felony indictment for his possession of a handgun, including allegations that he lied on an Oct.12, 2018, form by denying that he was a drug user. His counsel is expected to continue to insist that the form was accurate because Hunter had ended his addiction to drugs and alcohol.
The Biden administration’s now-suspended Iran envoy Robert Malley helped to fund, support, and direct an Iranian intelligence operation designed to influence the United States and allied governments, according to a trove of purloined Iranian government emails. The emails, which were reported on by veteran Wall Street Journal correspondent Jay Solomon, writing in Semafor, and by Iran International, the London-based émigré opposition outlet which is the most widely read independent news source inside Iran, were published last week
Congress averted a government shutdown this weekend, agreeing to 45 days of funding to give members time to pass appropriations bills for the full year. Incredibly, Democrats seemed prepared to shut down the government over their desire for increases in Ukraine war funding. Republicans, by contrast, bucked Senate leader Mitch McConnell to keep the government open without such funding.
While shutdown battles have become common, this one had absurd moments. Democrats tried to delay votes with everything from “magic minutes,” which allow party leaders to speak at length, to Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulling a fire alarm in the middle of a vote, forcing the evacuation of a House office building.
President Biden has received a lot of bad news recently, including major polls showing that two-thirds of Democrats don’t want him to run for a second term and former President Trump is leading him in hypothetical 2024 match-ups. Even worse, despite shrill denials from the White House and the negligence of the news media, recent polls show that a majority of voters believe Biden was involved in his family’s corrupt influence peddling. With all of this to contend with, the last thing our embattled President needs is a serious third-party challenge from a high-profile public figure who could well garner enough general election votes to deprive him of another term.
For Some, Open Border Chaos Is the Goal
2 replies
Free Apple watches, bus and plane tickets all across the continental United States, and sophisticated lawyers standing by to counsel migrants on how to best navigate border officials’ scrutiny of asylum on the occasions when they are actually required to defend their asylum claims. These benefits being offered to illegal border crossers have left the public shocked, angry, and in many cases, feeling the issue closer to home than ever before. Many cities and states have also been overwhelmed as the consequences of the crisis have migrated well beyond the southern border states. Recently, New York City Mayor Eric Adams made news when he emphatically declared that the now-regular
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Iran says Hamas ready to release hostages
if Israel stops airstrikes as at least
199 now known taken 44 replies
if Israel stops airstrikes as at least
199 now known taken 44 replies
Iran’s Foreign Ministry claimed Monday that Hamas was ready to release its hostages if Israel ceases its airstrikes along the Gaza Strip — as the number known to have been taken by the terrorist group rose to at least 199.
Hamas officials are “ready” to release hostages, but doing so would be “impossible” under Israeli airstrikes in the region, Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani relayed at a news conference in Tehran.
The terror group “stated that they are ready to take necessary measures to release the citizens and civilians held by resistant groups, but their point was that such measures require preparations that are impossible under daily bombardment by the Zionists
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will travel to Israel this week, putting himself in harm’s way to show that he stands squarely with the country as it reels from Hamas’ surprise attack and prepares a ground invasion meant to wipe out the militant group on its border.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the trip — the president's second foray into an active war zone this year, having traveled to Ukraine in February under the tightest secrecy. Biden is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders during the trip, which may also include a visit to neighboring Egypt. U.S. officials have been discussing with Egypt
The media and punditry are saying it’s the pressure of Jordan, but really, it’s the pressure of the voters that’s scaring the crap out of the Republicans in the House.
The block of opposition to Jim Jordan’s nomination in the House is crumbling, as their phones, emails and fax machines are being lit up by voters demanding support and threatening a removal primary against any House member who tries to stand in the way of the people.
Jordan has vowed to take his nomination to a House floor vote and force the Republican Party to take a stand. This is a solid strategy that puts any no vote against the will
President Joe Biden left the White House on Tuesday afternoon to fly to Israel, a nation still mourning its dead even as it prepares a ground invasion of Gaza and a mission to wipe Hamas from the face of the earth.
Officials say his whistle-stop mission is two fold: To show solidarity with Israel and to help deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Written into that is an even bigger ask. Analysts say Biden must walk a fine line between helping Israel ensure that Hamas terrorists can never repeat of last weekend's murder spree, when they killed at least 1,300 people, without letting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military operation
Representative Jim Jordan fell short of the necessary 217 votes to become the next speaker of the House in the first round of voting on Tuesday, as a significant number of moderates within the Republican caucus refused to fall in line behind the hardline Ohio lawmaker.
While Republicans remain divided on Jordan, the Democrats unanimously backed House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.), just as they did when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) was elected in January.
At the end of the first ballot, Jeffries garnered 212 votes while Jordan received 200 and 20 others voted against the latter. Neither received a majority
Harvard's Arab Alumni Association has appealed for donations to help students' mental health after they were subjected to 'relentless bullying and intimidation' for blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks of October 7.
The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee issued a letter on October 7, co-signed by 33 other Harvard student organizations, stating: 'We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.'
The students leading the 33 organizations and the Solidarity Committee were named and faced calls to be blacklisted from future employment. They included the son of British businesswoman Jo Malone.
While the White House dithered around, sending Americans trapped in Israel to Cyprus and other foreign locations, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cut through the bureaucratic red tape to fly nearly 300 Floridians home to safety on Sunday. Last week, just five days after the attack on Israel, which left thousands dead and injured, DeSantis signed an executive order “authorizing rescue operations in Israel to bring Floridians home,” according to his X post on Oct. 12. “We will not leave our residents behind. To the many Floridians who are stuck in Israel, trying to get home—help is on the way.”
CNN commentator Adam Kinzinger said Tuesday on CNN’s “News Central” that he was “very proud” of the 20 Republicans who voted against Rep. Jim Jorden (R-OH) for speaker.
Kinzinger said, “I’m impressed that there’s 20. I was worried this morning because a lot of the hard opposition to Jordan had been capitulating in the last 24 hours, like Mike Rogers from Alabama, Ann Wagner from Missouri. They were ‘hell no’ until they were all in. This is embarrassing for Jim Jordan.”
He continued, “I think this is going to be hard for him to fix. I mean the only thing I can imagine is if he starts cutting deals
The charred remains were so disfigured that at first they did not realise it was two people.
But when pathologists gently began to examine, they could see the bodies were those of an adult and a child. And they were hugging tightly.
That is how it had ended for them, trapped in a room as Hamas terrorists set fire to their home. As the horror of burning to death came to them, the adult had nothing left to offer but to hold that terrified child in their arms.And as unbearable as that is, it is by no means an isolated case here at Israel's National Centre of Forensic Medicine, where the bodies
Interesting development….
(Via Wall Street Journal) – The U.S. military has selected roughly 2,000 troops to prepare for a potential deployment to support Israel, U.S. defense officials said.
The troops are tasked with missions like advising and medical support, the officials said, and they are from across the U.S. armed services. They aren’t intended to serve in a combat role, the officials said. No infantry have been put on prepare-to-deploy order.
President Joe Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is ordering its employees to defy biological reality by referring to transgender coworkers by their “preferred pronouns.”
The HHS, which employs approximately 80,000 people in the United States and abroad, imposed its new “Gender Identity and Non-Discrimination Guidance” late last week, which outlines “employee rights and protections related to gender identity,” according to an alleged HHS email sent to employees and obtained by Catholic News Agency (CNA).
Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian leading the polls in Argentina’s presidential election this month, has made a lot of contentious statements in recent years: Humans did not cause climate change; people should be able to sell their organs; his nation’s currency “is not even good as manure.”
But, to many Argentines, he has done something far worse: attacked the pope.
In 2020, Mr. Milei, a self-identifying Catholic, called Pope Francis an “imbecile” and “the representative of the Evil One on earth” because he defends “social justice.”