Judicial Watch: New Documents Reveal D.C. Training for Noncitizen Voting thumbnail

Judicial Watch: New Documents Reveal D.C. Training for Noncitizen Voting

By Judicial Watch

Washington, D.C. — Judicial Watch announced today that it received 13-pages of records in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the District of Columbia, explaining to illegal aliens and other noncitizens how they can register to vote in local elections.

 The records came in response to an April 12, 2024, FOIA request for: 

  1. Materials presented and/or provided at the training;
  2. Communications advertising/promoting the training; and
  3. Materials provided to participants/attendees after the training.

 On April 10, 2024, DC held a training event titled ”Non-Citizen Voting Education Virtual Training” in which DC announced noncitizen voting would begin in 2024.

 The PowerPoint presentation explains:

Non-US citizen residents of the District of Columbia can vote in local elections under the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022. Non-US citizen residents can vote in District elections for the offices of Mayor, Attorney General, Chairman or member(s) of the DC Council, member(s) of the State [sic] Board of Education, or Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner(s) Non-US citizen residents cannot vote for Federal Offices

To register to vote in the District of Columbia as a non-citizen, you must: Be at least 17 years old and 18 years old by the next General Election; Maintain residency in the District of Columbia for at least 30 days prior to the election in which you intend to vote; Not claim voting residence or the right to vote in any state, territory, or country; Not been found by a court to be legally incompetent to vote.

You must provide proof of your address in the District of Columbia at an Early Vote Center prior to Election Day or at the polling place assigned to your address on Election Day.

In 2023 the DC Council amended the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to expand the definition of the term qualified elector to include otherwise eligible noncitizen residents, including illegal aliens.

DC’s law went a step further than those jurisdictions, though, by extending the franchise to undocumented immigrants.

The District’s action was opposed by congressional Republicans but they failed to overturn the measure.

“Illegal aliens and noncitizens should not vote in any elections,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “That Congress allows the votes of citizens to be legally stolen by illegal aliens in our nation’s capital is inexcusable.”

According to federal law, only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections, but a growing number of state and local elections allow noncitizens to vote, among them San Francisco and Oakland, California, along with some cities in Maryland and Vermont. In February, a state appeals court ruled a similar New York City law violates the state constitution.

RELATED ARTICLES:

‘Needs to Be Stopped’: Lawmakers Decry D.C.’s Non-Citizen Voting Training

FARRELL: Biden’s Crimes Against Humanity at The Border

Illegal migrants are being ‘encouraged’ to vote, top Republican warns after shocking documents reveals ‘training’ for noncitizens to cast ballots in Washington D.C.

Report: Flyers Urging Illegals To Vote For Biden Found In Left-Wing Group’s Office In Mexico

POST ON X:

Republicans announce election bill to stop Illegals from voting.pic.twitter.com/iqE4xnWWzc

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 8, 2024

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

Study: 10% to 27% of Non-Citizens Are Illegally Registered to Vote thumbnail

Study: 10% to 27% of Non-Citizens Are Illegally Registered to Vote

By James D. Agresti

Based on the latest available data and an enhanced version of a stress-tested methodology from a scholarly journal, a new study by Just Facts has found that about 10% to 27% of non-citizen adults in the U.S. are now illegally registered to vote.

The U.S. Census recorded more than 19 million adult non-citizens living in the U.S. during 2022. Given their voter registration rates, this means that about two million to five million of them are illegally registered to vote. These figures are potentially high enough to overturn the will of the American people in major elections, including congressional seats and the presidency.

Background

In 2014, the academic journal Electoral Studies published a groundbreaking study by three scholars who estimated how frequently non-citizens were illegally voting. Based on data for the 2008 presidential and congressional elections, the study found that:

  • “roughly one quarter of non-citizens” in the U.S. “were likely registered to vote.”
  • 6.4% of non-citizens actually voted.”
  • 81.8% of them “reported voting for Barack Obama.”
  • illegal votes cast by non-citizens “likely” changed “important election outcomes” in favor of Democrats, “including Electoral College votes” and a “pivotal” U.S. Senate race that enabled Democrats to pass Obamacare.

The study’s voter registration rate was estimated with data from two key sources:

  1. A national survey in which 14.8% of non-citizens admitted that they were registered to vote.
  2. A database of registered voters that reveals what portion of the surveyed non-citizens “were in fact registered” even though “they claimed not to be registered.”

By combining these data, the author’s “best” estimate was that 25.1% of non-citizens were illegally registered to vote.

The authors calculated voter turnout with the same datasets, but their methodology yielded a best estimate that 6.4% of non-citizens voted in 2008—lower than the 8.0% of non-citizens who stated “I definitely voted” and explicitly named the candidate they voted for. This and other matters led Just Facts to engage in extensive correspondence with the lead author of the study to verify practically every detail of it.

Just Facts then conducted a comparable study that used the same datasets, a more straightforward methodology, and related studies to constrain assumptions. This found that roughly 27% of non-citizens were registered to vote and about 16% of them voted in the 2008 national elections.

As is often the case with studies of illegal actions where enforcement is limited, both Just Facts’ study and the one from Electoral Studies have sizeable margins of uncertainty. This is due to relatively small sample sizes and other possible sources of error—some that could produce overcounts and others undercounts.

“Fact Checks”

So-called fact checkers and certain scholars have repeatedly tried to dispute the Electoral Studies paper and Just Facts’ study. However, their criticisms were mathematically illiterate and laced with unrealistic assumptionsempty argumentshalf-truths, and outright falsehoods.

Now, the Washington Post’s lead “fact checker,” Glenn Kessler, claims to have uncovered new evidence that undercuts the results of the 2014 Electoral Studies paper and Just Facts’ research. This consists of a previously sealed “Expert Report” on non-citizen voting for a 2023 Arizona court case.

Notably, the report was written by the lead author of the Electoral Studies paper, Dr. Jesse Richman, an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Old Dominion University.

In an article titled “The Truth About Noncitizen Voting in Federal Elections,” Kessler quotes several figures from Richman’s 2023 report suggesting that about 1% of non-citizens are registered to vote. This is drastically below the “best” estimate of 25% from Richman’s 2014 paper.

The glaring disparity between the 2014 and 2023 figures prompted Just Facts to scrutinize the methodologies used to produce them. This research revealed that all of the 1% figures are lowball estimates. This was confirmed when Just Facts questioned Richman, who responded:

An important element of context for the Arizona report is that it was written as an expert report in a court case (and indeed it was a confidential part of the case until it got subpoenaed). In that context my focus was on identifying and explicating the evidence most robust to cross-examination. Thus, my goal was to explain to the court the results and the datasets where as many possible counter-arguments concerning how the estimate could be biased upwards were closed off. Of course, no choice about which analyses to focus on comes without tradeoffs. And the tradeoff from focus on analyses where one can minimize the risk that the estimate could be biased upwards is that there is potentially an increased risk that the estimate could be biased downwards.

Beyond portraying minimums as best estimates, Kessler also misleads his readers with a half-truth that the 2014 paper estimated “6.4 percent of noncitizens voted in 2008 and 2.2 percent voted in 2010.” What Kessler fails to reveal is that 2010 was a mid-term election, and Richman explained in Kessler’s newspaper that “these are the patterns one would expect to see if the measures retained validity and non-citizens were a group mobilized more in presidential election years than midterms.”

In another ruse, Kessler criticizes and links to a study by Just Facts while coyly describing it as the work of “one researcher.” This avoids the scholarly track record of the organization and the fact that two Ph.D.’s who specialize in data analytics vetted the study and described it as “methodologically sound,” “fair in its conclusions,” and “credible.”

Kessler also misreports the results of Just Facts’ study by claiming that it found non-citizens gave Biden “almost an additional 18,000 votes” in Arizona in 2020. In reality, the study plainly states that non-citizens gave Biden an “extra” “51,081 ± 17,689” votes in Arizona. This equals 33,000 to 69,000—not 18,000.

Ironically, Donald Trump was indicted by a D.C. grand jury for accurately citing the lower bound of those figures.

The redeeming element of Kessler’s article is that it alerted Just Facts to the existence of non-citizen voter registration data from 2022. This enabled Just Facts to update previous studies on this issue with the latest available information.

Using an enhanced version of the methodology that yielded the same “best” registration rate as the 2014 Electoral Studies paper, Just Facts’ new study finds that roughly 10% to 27% of non-citizen adults in the U.S. are now registered to vote.

The data and methodology of the study are detailed in this spreadsheet. Enhancements over previous studies include:

  • a more precise formula to calculate sampling margins of error.
  • the use of dual methodologies to account for varying possibilities.
  • multiple citizenship questions in the survey that limit the possibility of honest mistakes by survey respondents.

As with other studies of illegal actions, there are uncertainties in the results. For example, the study assumes that all people who claim to be “citizens” in the survey actually are citizens. This is unlikely given that the journal Demographic Research published a study in 2013 which found that certain major groups of non-citizens often falsely claim to be citizens in Census surveys. If these dishonest survey respondents register to vote at higher or lower rates than other non-citizens, this could skew the results of the study.

Standards for high quality research require that assumptions be “explicit and justified” to provide “a fully ethical presentation of scientific data.” This standard has been brazenly and repeatedly flouted by scholars who downplay voting by non-citizens. In contrast, the assumptions and justifications of Just Facts’ study are provided here.

In presidential elections, roughly half of non-citizens who are registered turn out to vote. Given that about 10% to 27% of them are currently registered, this means about 5% to 13% of them will illegally vote in the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.

The U.S. Census recorded a population of 19.7 million voting-age non-citizens in the U.S. during 2022. This is an absolute minimum because the Census doesn’t count masses of non-citizens who falsely claim to be citizens or don’t fill out Census surveys.

Also, the figure of 19.7 million doesn’t include multitudes of non-citizens who’ve entered since 2022. This includes people who legally immigrated, crossed the border illegally, or were allowed into the country under the Biden administration’s parole policies.

Based on the data above, roughly 1.0 million to 2.7 million non-citizens will illegally vote in the 2024 presidential and congressional elections unless stronger election integrity measures are implemented.

To prevent illegal voting by non-citizens, Congressional Republicans recently introduced a 22-page bill to “require proof of United States citizenship” to register to vote in federal elections.

While reporting on a press conference announcing the legislation, media outlets like the Associated PressCNNNBC NewsRolling Stone, and NPR attacked the bill as unnecessary. NPR, for instance, reported that “it’s already illegal” for non-citizens to vote in federal elections and “there’s never been evidence to support the idea noncitizens are voting at anything other than miniscule numbers.”

Those claims—which echo the Biden administration’s statement on this matter—are refuted by the Electoral Studies paperJust Facts’ research, and the following facts that prove there are wide openings for non-citizens to vote.

All 50 states require people to be U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in federal elections, and federal law forbids non-citizens from falsely claiming citizenship to register to vote. However, enforcement mechanisms for such laws are limited, and opportunities to get around them are ample.

For a prime example, federal law requires all states to register voters for federal elections via a form developed by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The form requires people to declare that they are U.S. citizens, but it doesn’t require them to prove it.

Several states, including Arizona and Georgia, tried to require people who register with the federal form to provide “documentary evidence” of citizenship, but they were blocked by court rulings supported by the Obama administration.

So instead of proof of citizenship, the federal form allows people to register and vote with assorted forms of “identification” like a “utility bill” or “bank statement.”

The federal form also has state-specific instructions which are rife with loopholes that could allow non-citizens to register. The instructions for New Jersey are typical of most states:

The last four digits of your Social Security number OR your New Jersey Driver’s License number is required for voter registration. If you do not possess either of these identifications, please write “NONE” on the form. The State will assign a number that will serve to identify you for voter registration purposes.

Likewise, the NJ State form—which provides another avenue to register for federal elections—contains a checkbox that allows people to register without a Social Security or driver’s license number if they “provide a COPY of a current and valid photo ID, or a document with your name and current address on it.” This can be anything from a “store membership ID” or “student ID” to a “rent receipt” or “government check.”

Ignoring those facts, the New York Times recently criticized Elon Musk for saying that illegal immigrants “are not prevented from voting in federal elections” and “you don’t need government issued ID to vote.”

The Times claimed that Musk was wrong because “federal law requires identification verification from voters when they register.” That hyperlink leads to a document by the liberal Brennan Center for Justice which claims that “new identification requirements” in a 2002 federal voting law “may severely threaten voters’ rights….”

What the Times fails to reveal is that the Brennan Center describes the identification requirements in the law, which don’t require government-issued ID or proof of citizenship—just as Musk wrote. The Center even notes that a “utility bill” or “bank statement” is enough to comply with the law. The text of the 2002 legislation and the current U.S. election code law confirm this.

The lack of enforcement against illegal voting by non-citizens was aptly summarized by Barack Obama shortly before the 2016 U.S. presidential election when actress Gina Rodriguez asked him if “Dreamers” and “undocumented citizens” would be deported if they voted. Obama replied:

Not true. And the reason is, first of all, when you vote, you are a citizen yourself. And there is not a situation where the voting rolls somehow are transferred over, and people start investigating, etcetera.

After dodging the fact that Dreamers and other unauthorized immigrants are not citizens, Obama’s clear message was that there is no effective way to enforce the law that prohibits them from voting.

Republicans are proposing to fix that situation, while Democrats and the media are telling people it doesn’t exist despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Even if the federal government or states adopted a law that requires official government IDs or Social Security numbers for voter registration, this wouldn’t constitute proof of citizenship because identity fraud is rampant among non-citizens.

For a prime example, the chief actuary of the U.S. Social Security Administration estimated in 2013 that:

  • 0.7 million illegal immigrants worked in 2010 by using Social Security numbers obtained by using “fraudulent birth certificates.”
  • another 1.8 million illegal immigrants worked in 2010 by using Social Security numbers “that did not match their name.”

Likewise, a 2002 investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that “the use of fraudulent documents by aliens is extensive.” For instance, immigration officials in Los Angeles “seized nearly two million counterfeit documents” in November 1998, including “permanent resident cards and Social Security cards, which were headed for distribution points around the country.”

Similarly, the New York Times reported in 2005, “Currently available for about $150 on street corners in just about any immigrant neighborhood in California, a typical fake ID package includes a green card and a Social Security card.”

Perhaps most revealingly, California Senate Leader and Democrat Kevin De Leon publicly stated in 2017:

I can tell you half of my family would be eligible for deportation under [Trump’s] executive order, because if they got a false Social Security card, if they got a false identification, if they got a false driver’s license … if they got a false green card. And anyone who has family members who are undocumented knows that almost entirely everybody has secured some sort of false identification.

In 2017, President Trump’s Advisory Commission on Election Integrity asked the states for “detailed, publicly available voter-roll data” that could be cross-checked against other databases with information on citizenship status. However, states refused to turn over the data and filed a flurry of lawsuits to stop the commission.

In the words of California’s Secretary of State:

While the commission is allowed to request the personal data of California voters, they cannot compel me to provide it. Let me reassure California voters: I will not provide the Commission with any personal voter data….

Yesterday’s ruling is merely the first in a string of lawsuits challenging the Commission. Those lawsuits send a strong message—the Commission will face opposition at every step of the way from those who are fighting to protect our voting rights, our privacy, and our democratic principles.

Note that California claims the commission asked for “personal data,” but in reality, the commission explicitly requested “publicly available voter-roll data.” California’s deceptive refusal of this request and the ample openings for non-citizens to vote take on added significance in the light of this next topic.

In the 2008 presidential election, 82% of non-citizens who admitted that they voted stated that they voted for Democrat Barack Obama, while only 18% said they voted for Republican John McCain. Showing this was not a fluke, Richman found in multiple surveys conducted from 2006 to 2022 that 73% to 82% of non-citizens supported Democratic candidates.

Those outcomes accord with the promises and actions of Democrat politicians to give wide-ranging welfare and full amnesty to people who immigrate to the United States legally or illegally. The implications of this are further highlighted by facts like the following:

  • A nationally representative bilingual survey of 784 immigrant Latinos conducted by Pew Research in 2011 found that 81% said they would prefer “a bigger government providing more services,” and 12% said they would prefer “a smaller government with fewer services.” In stark contrast, 41% of the general U.S. population said they would prefer a bigger government, and 48% said they want a smaller one.
  • Surveys conducted by YouGov in 2008 and 2012 found that 60% to 71% of non-citizens identified as Democrats, while only 16% to 17% identified as Republicans.
  • A nationally representative bilingual survey of 800 Hispanic adults conducted by McLaughlin & Associates in 2013 found that 59% were born outside the U.S., 53% considered themselves to be Democrats, and 12% considered themselves to be Republicans.

Every illegal vote cast by a non-citizen nullifies the legal vote of a citizen, thereby subverting their Constitutional right to vote.

A wealth of data and corroborating facts show that:

  • non-citizens have ample openings to illegally vote.
  • roughly 10% to 27% of them are registered to vote.
  • about 5% to 13% of them vote in presidential elections.
  • the vast bulk of them vote for Democrats.

Given the estimates above and the fact that more than 20 million non-citizen adults live in the U.S., roughly 1.0 million to 2.7 million of them will illegally vote in 2024 unless stronger election integrity measures are implemented. This could easily overturn the will of the American people in close major elections.

Instead of reporting these facts or mitigating this threat to every citizen’s right to vote, “fact checkers,” major media outlets, and elected Democrats are denying this problem exists.

*****

This article was published by Just Facts and is reproduced with permission.

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

A Marxist Professor’s (Failed) Attempt to Explain How Socialism Would Deliver a PS5 thumbnail

A Marxist Professor’s (Failed) Attempt to Explain How Socialism Would Deliver a PS5

By Jon Miltimore

This doesn’t make socialism look very attractive.

My family got a PlayStation 5 a few years ago. It’s a decision I sometimes regret because my youngest son, who is 7, likes to play it too much. (And that’s when it gets unplugged and stashed away.)

But it’s easy to forget what a modern marvel the PS5 is.

When I started playing video games in the early to mid ’80s, Galaga was the most popular game at the local arcade, which was basically a few gaming machines in the warming house at the ice-skating rink. I went through pockets full of quarters to play a game that looked like this.

When we got an Atari gaming system in 1984, I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world, even though my favorite game, Jungle Hunt, looked much worse than Galaga. Atari used only 128 bytes of RAM, and had a max resolution of 160 pixels in height and 192 pixels in width.

When you compare these games to the experience users get today on the PS5, which can be purchased for less than $400 (game included), it’s a reminder of how good today’s gamers have it. (PS5s have 16 gigabytes of RAM, or 16 billion bytes.)

I bring all of this up partly because a clip going viral on social media reveals that this marvelous invention could only be produced in a capitalist system. The clip, which has amassed five million views on X after being shared by Dylan Allman, features Marxist economist Richard Wolff, who was interviewed by the American live-streamer Destiny in 2022.

In the interview, a listener asks Wolff a provocative question: “Under your system of worker cooperatives, would I still get my PlayStation 5?”

Wolff, a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, offered this response:

Absolutely. You’d have to struggle a little bit for it. You’d have to talk to your fellow workers. You’d have to talk about the distribution of income. You’d have to compare your desire for PlayStation against all the other interests against all the other people. It wouldn’t be something you worked out on your own with your particular boss, in any way. It would have to be a democratic decision. You’d have to come to terms with that the way you do with democratic decisions now in our society to the extent that we have them.

It’s a long, meandering, virtually incoherent response. Wolff answers yes, you’d absolutely have a PS5 — and then proceeds to illustrate all the reasons a PS5 wouldn’t be created in a socialist system.

Of Prices and Consumers

When Wolff says “You’d have to compare your desire for PlayStation against all the other interests of all the other people,” he’s asking the impossible.

There is no way to measure desire any more than there is to determine something’s innate value.

Value is subjective. Some people couldn’t care less if they had a PS5, while others break down in tears of joy when they receive a PS5 for Christmas. And then there’s the matter of context. I currently value my PS5 a lot more than I value my shoes and the 20 ounce ribeye in my freezer. But if I didn’t have any shoes or had barely eaten in days, that could change real fast.

This is why we have prices. In a free market, entrepreneurs demonstrate their demand for resources — capital, labor, space, on and on — by the price they are willing to pay for them, much like consumers decide whether to buy a product at a given price or use their money elsewhere.

Prices are a pillar of a free-market economy. They are signals that indicate supply and demand to buyers and sellers alike, and the best tool in the universe for allocating scarce resources efficiently.

Wolff makes no mention of prices at all while discussing constructing a PS5, but we’re left to believe that the listener will get his video game console so long as he can convince his fellow workers that his desire for one warrants it when factored against the interests of “all the other people.”

This is backward economic thinking, and it gets at a major point that separates a socialist system and a capitalist one. Traditionally, under socialism, it has not been entrepreneurs and consumers who dictate what is produced, but central planners. This is the opposite of capitalism, where consumers ultimately decide what products fail and succeed. The economist Ludwig von Mises described this as consumer sovereignty:

The capitalists, the enterprisers, and the farmers are instrumental in the conduct of economic affairs. They are at the helm and steer the ship. But they are not free to shape its course. They are not supreme, they are steersmen only, bound to obey unconditionally the captain’s orders. The captain is the consumer.

If you doubt this, we need only look at the history of Atari.

Atari: A Brief History

The Atari 2600 gaming console came on the scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s like a juggernaut. In the space of a few years, annual revenue exploded from $75 million to $2 billion.

Atari was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, who saw the market potential of the emerging technology of video games. In 1979, Atari, which had been purchased by Warner Communications in 1976 for $28 million, sold a million home-console units. By 1982, it was selling 10 million.

Warner Communications, which had pumped tremendous amounts of capital into developing and promoting Atari’s new game console, was reaping the rewards.

“Atari’s revenues comprised a huge 70 percent of Warner’s income,” says Dagogo Altraide in a documentary of Atari at ColdFusion.

All of this success invited competition, however. Everyone wanted in on the video game action.

Soon the Atari 2600 was not just competing against old rivals like the Magnavox Odyssey, Mattel’s Intellivision, and the Bally Astrocade, but a host of other newly developed gaming consoles like the ColecoVision, which launched in August 1982.

Companies were investing massive amounts of capital into their own video game consoles in an attempt to dethrone Atari. What followed was an event that has been labeled the Video Game Crash of 1983, “a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985.”

Many would argue that the crash was the result of “market failure,” but this overlooks the next chapter in the history of video games. The “recession” ended with the arrival of a legendary new gaming console: the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

‘Incessantly Destroying the Old One, Incessantly Creating a New One’

The rise of the NES marked the end of Atari’s dominance in gaming. Industry statistics show that by 1987, Atari’s market share of video game consoles fell from 80 percent to 24 percent.

Nintendo, in turn, faced relentless pressure from competitors. It would fend off other challengers, like Sega’s Genesis, by rolling out new-and-improved systems, like the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. Eventually Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation would dethrone Nintendo, though the company would make a comeback in 2017 with its Nintendo Switch (on which you can now play classic Sega Genesis games).

It is this continual process of creation, innovation, and destruction in the pursuit of profits that socialism can never rival. It’s not as if socialist countries can’t produce video games or video game consoles. They can and have.

Many will forget that video games were quite popular in the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and 1980s, and the Soviets even sold their own video game console.

The Turnir was a console released in 1978 by the USSR’s Ministry of the Electronics Industry. It was priced at 150 rubles (about $750 in 2024 USD) and was manufactured until 1982. The Turnir was one of a few game consoles that emerged in the USSR, but what’s notable is the absence of improvement in these models.

Indeed, the lack of innovation was so bad that, in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, the most popular video game console in Russia and former Soviet states was the Dendy, a cheap knock-off version of Nintendo’s popular NES.

The decades-long competition for primacy in video games that saw the NES replace Atari, and the Xbox replace Nintendo, and the PS5 eventually — but not permanently — replace them all (sorry, Xbox fans) is not a feature of socialism. It’s a feature of capitalism.

The persistent innovation of gaming systems to meet the desires of consumers is a textbook example of what the economist Joseph Schumpeter described as creative destruction, wherein the economic structure is “incessantly revolutionize[d]…from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one.”

This process of creative destruction, which Schumpeter rightly saw as the engine of prosperity and commercial innovation, is conspicuously absent in socialist systems, and for good reason: Marx and his disciples loathed it.

Whereas Schumpeter celebrated creative destruction, Marx saw it as “annihilation.”

“…the destruction of capital through crises means the depreciation of values which prevents them from later renewing their reproduction process as capital on the same scale,” Marx ponderously wrote in Das Kapital. He continued:

What one loses, the other gains. Values used as capital are prevented from acting again as capital in the hands of the same person. The old capitalists go bankrupt. … A large part of the nominal capital of the society, i.e., of the exchange-value of the existing capital, is once for all destroyed, although this very destruction, since it does not affect the use-value, may very much expedite the new reproduction. This is also the period during which moneyed interest enriches itself at the cost of industrial interest.

From these words (and others), one can see that the very process Schumpeter recognized as the engine of innovation and dynamism in a market economy Marx saw as an inherent flaw.

Wolff, like Marx, seems completely unaware of what drives market innovation. To believe that a PS5 would emerge from a process of individuals talking to one another about how much they should be paid and weighing one’s interest for a gaming system against the interests of co-workers who desire something else is to ignore both history and the fundamentals of economics.

But perhaps this should not surprise us.

“If socialists understood economics,” the Nobel Prize-winning economist F. A. Hayek once quipped, “they wouldn’t be socialists.”

*****

This article was produced by The Foundation For Economic Education and is reproduced with permission.

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

Biden Challenges Trump To Audience—Free Debates On His Friendliest Networks thumbnail

Biden Challenges Trump To Audience—Free Debates On His Friendliest Networks

By The Daily Caller

President Joe Biden proposed two dates to debate former President Donald Trump Wednesday morning, with a list of guardrails including no live audience, according to The New York Times.

Biden suggested that Trump and himself face off in two televised debates, one in June and one in September, though the president said he will not participate in an event put on by the Commission on Presidential Debates, according to the NYT. The president also said he did not want to debate in front of a live audience, rather his team wants the debates held in a television studio to avoid the reaction from in-person viewers.

“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal, I’ll even do it twice,” Biden said in a Wednesday debate message.

“So let’s pick dates Donald, I hear you’re free Wednesdays,” the president continued, alluding to Trump’s court appearances.

Later Wednesday morning, Biden said that he “received and accepted” a debate invitation from CNN scheduled for June 27, before telling Trump, “anywhere, any time, any place.” Trump accepted the invitation as well, setting the stage for the first debate in the general election.

I’ve received and accepted an invitation from @CNN for a debate on June 27th. Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 15, 2024

Biden then announced shortly before noon that he “received and accepted” a debate invitation from ABC scheduled for Sept. 10. Trump also accepted the ABC offer.

I’ve also received and accepted an invitation to a debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday, September 10th.

Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation. I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 15, 2024

*TRUMP ACCEPTS ABC NEWS OFFER TO DEBATE BIDEN ON SEPT. 10

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) May 15, 2024

As a part of their debate dates proposal Biden also only wants networks that hosted the 2016 Republican primary debates and the 2020 Democratic primary debates in 2020, the NYT reported. Those networks include CNN, ABC News, Telemundo and CBS News.

“There should be firm time limits for answers, and alternate turns to speak — so that the time is evenly divided and we have an exchange of views, not a spectacle of mutual interruption,” Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden campaign chair, said in a letter obtained by the NYT.

“A candidate’s microphone should only be active when it is his turn to speak, to promote adherence to the rules and orderly proceedings,” she continued.

Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate.

Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again.

Well, make my day, pal. pic.twitter.com/AkPmvs2q4u

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 15, 2024

The Biden campaign also wrote that they wanted to keep the forum to two candidates, excluding independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, the NYT reported. If the debates were handled by the Commission on Presidential Debates, Kennedy has potential to reach the 15% polling threshold, the qualifying number to be on the stage. Kennedy did announce Wednesday evening that he “will meet the criteria” to participate in CNN’s debate before the deadline.

“I look forward to holding Presidents Biden and Trump accountable for their records in Atlanta on June 27 to give Americans the debate they deserve,” he said.

I’m happy to report that I will meet the criteria to participate in the @CNN debate before the June 20 deadline. I look forward to holding Presidents Biden and Trump accountable for their records in Atlanta on June 27 to give Americans the debate they deserve. #KennedyShanahan24

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 15, 2024

Trump responded to the proposal, agreeing to the time of the event, in a statement on Truth Social.

“I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds,” Trump wrote. “That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll get there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!’”

Outside of the forums proposed by Biden, the former president said in a social media post that he agreed to attend a debate on Fox News set for Oct. 2.

pic.twitter.com/nzmdynxQRh

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) May 15, 2024

The Trump campaign had been calling on Biden to debate the former president after the president admitted in an interview with Howard Stern that he was interested in debating. 

“I don’t know if you’re gonna debate your opponent,” Stern said.

“I am, somewhere. I don’t know when, but I’m happy to debate him,” Biden replied.

Trump responded with a message of his own on May 9, telling Biden to set up a debate.

“Let’s set it up right now,” Trump said in a video message on Truth Social. “I’m ready to go anywhere that you are.”

The Biden campaign justified their decision to ditch the Commission on Presidential Debates, citing concerns about the original dates proposed, the Washington Post reported. The campaign also voiced concerns over the ability to get candidates to stay within the rules of the commission, the letter reportedly read.

“The Commission’s model of building huge spectacles with large audiences at great expense simply isn’t necessary or conducive to good debates,” Dillon wrote in a letter obtained by the Washington Post. “The debates should be conducted for the benefit of the American voters, watching on television and at home — not as entertainment for an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors, who consume valuable debate time with noisy spectacles of approval or jeering.”

AUTHOR

REAGAN REESE

White House correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter,

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

4 Things to Know About Biden’s Latest Attack on Gun Ownership and Firearms Industry thumbnail

4 Things to Know About Biden’s Latest Attack on Gun Ownership and Firearms Industry

By Amy Swearer

It’s an open secret that the Biden administration disdains lawful civilian gun owners almost as much as it does the lawful gun industry. But in case there was any doubt, new gun export regulations published late last month by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security make the administration’s position painfully clear: It doesn’t think ordinary civilians can be trusted with firearms.

The interim final rule on gun exports, published April 30, significantly alters licensing policies for U.S. companies seeking to lawfully export guns and ammunition to civilian markets in other countries. And although it doesn’t necessarily affect American gun owners, it does show the Biden administration’s true colors on the natural right of self-defense—but projected into the international arena.

Here are four things to know about how the rule attacks the lawful gun industry and civilian gun ownership more broadly.

1. The rule on gun exports has been many months in the making. The Commerce Department’s rule on gun exports appears to be the end result of a much longer plan to attack the lawful gun industry by imposing more stringent processes for gun export licenses.

Last fall, Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued a sudden, largely unexplained 90-day “pause” on issuing new export licenses for guns and ammo meant for foreign civilian markets, while keeping the process unchanged for exports to foreign governments.

Despite congressional demands for answers, the bureau extended the pause for several more months even as leaked draft regulations made clear that the Biden administration was in fact looking to make life more complicated for exporters to legal civilian markets.

2. The rule creates a bureaucratic nightmare and expands U.S. world-policing efforts. Among the changes to export licensing rules are some that appear designed to do little more than impose arbitrary burdens on the lawful U.S. gun industry.

For example, although U.S. companies currently obtain export licenses that last for four years, under the new rule they will be required to seek a new export license on an annual basis.

Additionally, the Bureau of Industry and Security will revoke thousands of currently valid export licenses and require those businesses to reapply under new, more stringent application review processes.

This will inevitably result in licensees being perpetually entangled in bureaucratic red tape, as the Commerce Department agency now will have to process thousands of additional licenses every year without adequate staff, almost ensuring significant backlogs.

Other changes found in the rule will increase the federal government’ efforts to police not only civilian gun markets in other countries, but also thousands of individual foreign citizens who legally buy American-made firearms in certain foreign countries.

That’s particularly concerning for Israelis who buy U.S. gun exports, as it opens doors for the Biden administration to follow through on threats to their visas if they use firearms in self-defense against terrorists.

3. The rule wrongly blames lawful gun owners for criminal gun trafficking. It creates a list of over 30 countries for which export licenses to civilian end-users will be subjected to a “presumption of denial.”

In short, exports to government entities in these countries, such as militaries and police forces, may continue as usual, but the Commerce Department bureau will presumptively deny applications to export guns to civilian markets in those same countries.

Many of the countries are located in regions full of instability and notorious for both criminal gun violence and longstanding problems with government corruption, such as Central America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia.

The Bureau of Industry and Security defends this change by claiming—erroneously—that firearms lawfully exported to civilians are more likely to be diverted into black markets than firearms lawfully sold to foreign militaries and police agencies.

Here, BIS bites hook, line, and sinker into the international gun control narrative that, far from a human right to self-defense, there’s actually a human right to strict gun control. Apparently, the bureau believes even corrupt and inept governments are inherently more trustworthy with American-made guns than are ordinary civilians living under those governments.

This is, in a sense, an international projection of the Biden administration’s stance on lawful gun owners in the U.S.—they’re always the ones to blame for criminal violence.

In reality, just as studies on gun violence in the United States routinely show that lawful gun owners aren’t the major driving force behind criminal gun violence domestically, studies on crime, violence, and instability in other nations routinely point to government stockpiles and illegal imports—not lawful civilian purchases of legally imported guns—as the primary sources of criminal gun violence.

Consider one recent comprehensive analysis of the illicit firearms trade, which asserted that “research in a number of [global] regions has found that military stockpiles are one of the most common sources of weapons” that end up in the hands of criminal actors and terrorists.

This seems particularly true in the countries singled out by the new rule for a “presumption of denial” with respect to civilian exports. Contrary to BIS assertions that even corrupt governments are better able than civilians to secure their guns, a 2022 United Nations report on arms trafficking in East Africa concluded that “the diversion of firearms and ammunition from state stockpiles is a significant source of illicit firearms” in the region, “and is often facilitated by corrupt officials with access to weapons stores, including police and military stores, or others under the control of wildlife or custodial services.”

Meanwhile, experts in Central American arms trafficking insist that a major part of the problem is “endemic uncertainty” over the inventories and security of state arsenals, and that “[government] weapons are often ‘lost.’” Those “lost” firearms often end up diverted to criminal elements.

Other U.N. reports identify the largest sources of illegal firearms in Latin America as being “military and police stockpiles in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala,” all three of which now have been blacklisted for civilian (but not government) exports.

4. The rule relies on half-truths and misrepresentations. Just as concerning as the Bureau of Industry and Security’s misplaced blame on lawful gun owners is its reliance on half-truths and misrepresentations to justify that blame.

BIS relies on two government studies, one by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and one by the Government Accountability Office, both of which were conducted under a Biden administration that already has shown a propensity for trafficking in bad firearms data.

Additionally, the GAO report is essentially an earlier and more time-limited analysis of the same data used in the ATF report, which assessed the origins of crime guns submitted by foreign governments to ATF for tracing.

The Bureau of Industry and Security claims that these two reports show that “a substantial number of firearms recovered by foreign law enforcement agencies were lawfully exported from the United States,” including “nearly 20%” of crime-linked guns submitted for tracing in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, all four of which the new rule puts on the “presumption of denial” list.

But this characterization buries the lede: ATF admits in its report that “in many cases, trace requests are not submitted for firearms recovered in the four countries.” In fact, the government of Guatemala only submitted, at best, only 60% to 70% of all recovered guns used in crimes for tracing; the government of Honduras submitted trace requests for just 10% of recovered guns tied to crimes.

In other words, lawful U.S. exports didn’t comprise “nearly 20%” of all crime-linked guns in those countries. Rather, the exports accounted for 19% of the 10% of guns for which Honduras requested a trace, and 19% of the 60% to 70% of guns for which Guatemala requested a trace, and so on.

Moreover, the GAO report clarifies that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lumps all U.S.-sourced exports into one category, regardless of whether they were exports to government or civilian end-users. So that number of 19% includes all lawful exports, including those exported to foreign governments for use by their military or police forces.

Yet, despite the weight of the evidence demonstrating that this is largely a problem with government corruption and ineptitude, Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security flippantly places the blame squarely on the shoulders of civilian buyers.

The alternative intuitively makes more sense, given how incredibly difficult it is for ordinary civilians to legally obtain firearms in many of these countries in the first place.

In Papua New Guinea, for example, gun owners must obtain a license for every firearm, which will be issued only for “substantial cause” and expire after one year. Illegal possession of a firearm carries a sentence of up to 50 years in prison.

Meanwhile, in Panama, applicants for a gun license must submit certification from a licensed psychologist verifying their mental and emotional stability, pass a drug test, and complete a government-certified shooting range exam proving proficiency with the specific type of gun for which the permit is sought.

Additionally, for nearly a decade between 2011 and 2020, Panama’s  government imposed a complete ban on the importation of firearms for civilian use, causing the price even of used guns on the lawful civilian market to skyrocket to as high as $3,500 in U.S. currency. The civilian market in that country remains incredibly limited and expensive.

Realistically, what reason is there to believe that gun exports to civilians in these countries are truly to blame for any illicit arms trafficking?

Ordinary, law-abiding civilians who are willing to jump through incredibly expensive and time-consuming hoops just to possess a firearm—and who face lengthy criminal sanctions for minor missteps—typically are invested in acting responsibly and maintaining physical possession of their firearms.

Now a bureau of the Commerce Department is willing to draw a conclusion contrary to all rationality and the best available evidence. Why? Because it simply cannot fathom that ordinary civilians are less at fault for international arms trafficking than corrupt and inept governments.

Few seriously doubt that there are, at times, circumstances where U.S. security interests might require us to reevaluate and scrutinize gun exports to certain countries. In a sane world, we could have those discussions without fear that they’d devolve into bad-faith attacks on the merits of civilian gun ownership.

Instead, we have an administration that believes, fundamentally, that only governments should be trusted with guns. And the administration is willing to push this narrative with as many manipulated half-truths as necessary to undermine civilian owners—apparently both here and abroad.

*****

This article was published by Daily Signal and is reproduced with permission.

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WEEKEND READ: The Betrayal of Israel by the US Administration Is Almost Complete thumbnail

WEEKEND READ: The Betrayal of Israel by the US Administration Is Almost Complete

By Guy Millière,

The genocidal anti-Semitic attack on October 7, 2023 by the Islamic terrorists of Hamas at first aroused horror throughout the Western world. It took only a few hours, however for the horror to fade — long before Israel had even begun to respond. Demonstrations against Israel, and in support of the terrorist group, Hamas — sometimes “cleaned up” to be labeled “pro-Palestinian” — exploded just hours later on October 8, before hundreds of charred bodies had been removed from their homes. These well-planned and well-funded professional demonstrations, complete with instant Palestinian flags and, later, instant identical tents — rapidly metastasized throughout North America and Europe.

The slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” — calls for the total destruction of Israel, which, by coincidence, happens to be located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – and “Death to America” were chanted by tens of thousands of self-described “progressives,” Muslims and their followers. The campuses of several American and European universities — including, among other places, YaleHarvardPrincetonColumbia and New York University — became sites of acts of pure anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic violence, under the guise of “free speech.” If the demonstrations had been against gays or Blacks, does anyone think that “free speech,” or violence masquerading as “free speech, would have lasted five minutes? Whatever happened to all those demonstrations against China’s genocide of the Uyghurs, or crushing Hong Kong; or Russia’s scorched-earth war in Ukraine; or Iran’s rape, torture and execution of womenchildren and, now, rappers, or North Korea‘s “murder, enslavement, torture, [and] enforced disappearances”?

“Stop Calling Them ‘Pro-Palestine’ Rallies,’” wrote the Rochester Institute of Technology’s A.J. Caschetta. In blunt Australia, euphemisms were dispensed with altogether in favor of “Gas the Jews” and “F—k the Jews.”

The whitewash of the terrorist group Hamas had begun. European politicians in France and Belgium, supporting Hamas, call it a “resistance movement.”

As Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip progressed — meticulously crafted to avoid harming Palestinian civilians — many European leaders turned on Israel. They falsely accused it of acting “disproportionately” while Hamas’s widespread use of its own civilians as human shields was almost totally ignored. As Hamas also meticulously plans, the gullible international community accuses Israel of killing innocent civilians, not the Palestinian officials in Gaza who intentionally place them in harm’s way, even shooting at them to keep them from fleeing to safety in the south as the Israelis were urging them to do.

Also ignored is that Hamas officials seize virtually all of the free humanitarian aid, then give it to their terrorists or sell it to civilians on the black market for extortionate prices.

Although there is “‘no food shortage’ in Gaza,” several of Israel’s most steadfastly hostile critics, such as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, nevertheless falsely accuse Israel of causing a “famine” in Gaza.

As early as March 19, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, like so many European political leaders, falsely accused Israel, not Hamas, of “causing a famine” in Gaza. He even added that “100 percent of the population in Gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity”. Israel is now forced to allow hundreds of trucks into Gaza that Israeli soldiers escort. Gaza, in fact, reportedly receives far more food than the population of Gaza needs. Gee, what could be happening to it?

Soon, all the mainstream European media stopped talking about the horrors of Hamas and instead turned their attention to the suffering Palestinians of Gaza – without noting that the people responsible for their fate and the death count are Hamas. Hamas even freely admits that its strategy is to use human shields. As far as Hamas is concerned, the higher the Palestinian death-count, the better.

The United States has been Israel’s main ally for decades, discounting occasional fluctuations here and there. Historically, American leaders’ support for Israel has been unwavering – until now. In February, America’s Democrat politicians voted to block aid to Israel. As the Israeli author and historian Gadi Taub noted last week:

“The U.S. is holding Israel on a leash by rationing the American-made ammunition on which the war effort depends; it has forced us to supply our enemies with ‘humanitarian aid’ which Hamas controls and which sustains its ability to fight; the U.S. is building a port to subvert our control of the flow of goods into Gaza; it refrained from vetoing an anti-Israel decision at the U.N. Security Council at the end of March; it leaked its intention to recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally; it allowed Iran to attack us directly with a barrage of over 300 rockets and drones without paying any price whatsoever; and then told us that Israel’s successful defense against that strike (which was mostly stopped by a combination of superior Israeli tech and faulty Iranian missiles that crashed all over the Middle East, and to some extent by U.S. interceptors) should be considered “victory”; it consistently protects Hezbollah from a full-fledged Israeli attack; it did all it can to prevent the ground invasion of Rafah, which is necessary for winning the war; it is trying to stop the war with a hostage deal that would ensure Hamas’ survival.

“The U.S. is not protecting Israel from the kangaroo courts in The Hague which now threaten to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and others. Instead, it is goosing those warrants, in part by itself threatening to impose sanctions on a unit of the IDF, thus subverting the chain of command and pressuring IDF units to comply with American demands rather than with orders from their superiors. “

By now, most mainstream American media are as negative towards Israel as most mainstream European media.

In the days that followed October 7, the Biden administration generously provided arms and ammunition to Israel, as well as positioning several warships in the area, presumably to keep the conflict from spreading. Yet even then, pressure was put on Israel’s government. US President Joe Biden bizarrely asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “not to be consumed by rage”. Soon, as the Israeli military countered the terrorist threat in Gaza, US pressure on Israel was accompanied by harsh –and curiously public — criticism.

On January 9, despite unprecedented Israeli precautions to avoid harming civilians, Blinken announced, “the daily toll of war on civilians in Gaza is far too high”, and accused the Israeli Defense Forces of “indiscriminate bombing” — an accusation, as Blinken must have known, that could not have been less accurate.

John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point, wrote:

“The Israel Defense Forces conducted an operation at al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip to root out Hamas terrorists recently, once again taking unique precautions as it entered the facility to protect the innocent; Israeli media reported that doctors accompanied the forces to help Palestinian patients if needed. They were also reported to be carrying food, water and medical supplies for the civilians inside

“None of this meant anything to Israel’s critics, of course, who immediately pounced. The critics, as usual, didn’t call out Hamas for using protected facilities like hospitals for its military activity. Nor did they mention the efforts of the IDF to minimize civilian casualties.”

Not only were Blinken’s comments untrue, they seemed intended to give arguments to Israel’s enemies.

On February 7, Blinken went further and said that the October 7 massacre did not give Israel — trying to defend itself in a war it did not start — a “license to dehumanize others.” Unfortunately for Blinken, that is the last thing Israel is doing, but the main thing Hamas, Hezbollah, Qatar and Iran are doing.

On February 8, Biden himself said abruptly, “A lot of innocent people are starving. A lot of innocent people are in trouble and dying. And it’s got to stop.”

All right. If it has “got to stop”, why not demand that Hamas, Iran and Qatar stop it?

On March 25, the Biden administration refused to use the American veto and allowed the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution, proposed by Algeria, demanding an immediate unilateral ceasefire from Israel — with no condemnation of Hamas.

On April 4, Blinken tried to create a false moral equivalence between a terrorist group and a liberal democracy by charging that Israel had no reverence for human life and that if Israel did not do more to protect civilians in Gaza, Hamas and Israel could become “indistinguishable“. He then cited an old Jewish saying — that “whoever saves a life, saves the entire world” – contortedly, grotesquely implying that the Israel’s attempt to defend its own country and people is in contravention of the values of Judaism itself.

On April 4, according to journalist Barak Ravid:

“President Biden laid out an ultimatum to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their call on Thursday: If Israel doesn’t change course in Gaza, ‘we won’t be able to support you,’ he said, according to three sources with knowledge of the call.”

According to the Times of Israel:

“During a security cabinet meeting after the call, Netanyahu noted that the White House readout similarly didn’t explicitly condition a ceasefire on a hostage deal. It said that Biden told the Israeli premier ‘that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians…’”

The Biden administration does not appear ever to have issued the slightest threat, warning or ultimatum to the authors of the war: Hamas, Iran or Qatar. Hamas in Gaza, like the Taliban in Afghanistan, is now most likely seen universally as the tail wagging the American dog.

Although the UN Security Council resolution of March 25 was not binding, any further ceasefire would mean Hamas won the war, simply by surviving to repeat the October 7 attack, time and again, until Israel is annihilated, as Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said.

Hamas, on October 6, 2023, had a ceasefire with Israel. On October 7, Hamas violated it. Hamas did accept a second ceasefire a few weeks into the war and exchanged nearly half the hostages it held. A ceasefire now, especially a “temporary” one that would surely be pressured into becoming permanent, would just enable Hamas to regroup, rearm, and replenish its supply of terrorists from Israeli prisons.

US Senator Chuck Schumer, after declaring himself a friend and defender of Israel, suggested overthrowing Israel’s democratically elected prime minister, and — as if Israel, and not America, were within his jurisdiction — called for new elections:

“If Prime Minister Netanyahu’s current coalition remains in power after the war begins to wind down and continues to pursue dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing US standards for assistance, then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course.”

Schumer’s speech, yet again putting America’s outsized foot in the middle of Israel’s domestic policy, and ordering its ally to take direction from the Biden administration — including accepting a terrorist Palestinian state on its borders — and effectively disregard what the Israeli people have democratically chosen — was seen by most in Israel as a vicious blow.

Biden immediately backed Schumer up. “He made a good speech,” the president said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Ireland’s prime minister. “I think he expressed serious concerns shared not only by him but by many Americans”.

Biden, it seems, is frustrated that Netanyahu is objecting to humanitarian aid — which basically resupplies Hamas. Hamas, Israel’s argument goes, released hostages only after unremitting pressure. Relieving that pressure by backing Hamas makes the probability of seeing any more hostages released less likely. Biden is also reportedly frustrated that Netanyahu, for some inexplicable reason, objects to the creation of a terrorist Palestinian state next door.

Hamas would doubtless love as many humanitarian aid workers in Gaza as possible; they would provide Hamas with a fresh batch of human shields to prevent Israel from entering Rafah and removing Hamas’s remaining four battalions and terrorist leaders. Hamas is apparently already killing aid workers to steal food. How much better if they could be used to obstruct Israeli soldiers from entering the tunnels where the remaining hostages are believed hidden.

Netanyahu, accused by his adversaries of needing a war to avoid new elections, is being praised by others as “Israel’s Churchill.” Israelis remember that he was the leader who had the courage to address the US Congress in 2015 to counter President Barack Obama lethal, illegitimate “Iran nuclear deal,” officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Netanyahu, who has not been short on courage, either in combat or in refusing to submit to US pressure to go along with the JCPOA — despite the Obama administration’s interference in an Israeli election — may feel an overriding obligation, as he has said from the beginning, to make sure that Hamas will never again be able to launch another October 7; to take out the terrorist leaders presumed to be concealed in tunnels, as well as the four remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah, and above all, to rescue the hostages — many of whom may have since been murdered.

Meanwhile in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where anti-government demonstrations began again, one of their leaders, Ami Dror, revealed on social media that the demonstrations and riots are part of a plan by the Biden administration to bring down the Netanyahu government.

The US, according to Gadi Taub, is intent on removing the democratically elected Netanyahu and replacing him with someone more, shall we say, compliant:

“In the eyes of the Biden administration Hamas is the smaller problem. The bigger problem is Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. is willing to live with Iran’s proxies everywhere, as part of its “regional integration” policy—i.e., appeasing Iran. But they are unwilling to live with Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition…. Netanyahu clearly does not want to learn from his would-be tutors like U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken how to “share the neighborhood” with genocidaires in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, and Tehran, whom his electorate understands to be bent on murdering them.

“If the Netanyahu problem is too big to contain, then it follows that it must be solved. And it seems that the Biden administration has zeroed in on…finding a local proxy who will impose the U.S. agenda on a reluctant Israeli electorate…..According to the leaders of the Never-Bibi demonstrators, the White House is in constant touch with them for coordination.”

The US State Department has, for more than a year, been providing financial support for protests hostile to the Netanyahu government. They took place every week in Israel for three quarters of 2023, and were accompanied by Israeli military reservists proclaiming that they would refuse to serve — a vow that no doubt helped to invite Hamas’s October 7 invasion.

One cannot leave aside that the Biden administration, through ignoring sanctions on Iranian oil, has allowed the Iran’s regime to earn up to an estimated $100 billion. Some of these funds were most likely used by the mullahs to finance their own militia, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in addition to Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthi militias, and of course to accelerate Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

Without those funds, the massacre of October 7 would not have been possible, Hezbollah would not have been able to fire so many missiles into Israel from Lebanon, and Iran itself would not have been able to launch more than 300 drones and ballistic missiles at Israel in April, and to attack US troops more than 150 times on, just since October 7, 2023 — evidently in an attempt to drive the US out of the Middle East.

The Biden administration, it seems, does not want a definitive end of the conflict — as with Ukraine as well — especially if the end would entail the defeat of Hamas or Russia. Hamas is a protégé of Qatar and Iran, the world’s two leading state sponsors of terrorism. The Biden administration has been rewarding them — Iran with money and Qatar with renewing its protection by Al-Udeid Air Base, headquarters of America’s CENTCOM, as well as controlling the new terror pier the US has built in Gaza At the same time, the Biden administration is falsely accusing Israel of violating human rights.

As the great historian Bernard Lewis wrote, “America is harmless as an enemy but treacherous as a friend.”

The Biden administration may even be complicit in the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli officials that might be issued by the International Criminal Court – possibly as a way to dispense with him. So far at least, the US administration has not lifted a finger to stop it.

Without the billions of dollars the Biden administration bestowed on Iran through sanctions waivers, the situation for Israel — and the stability and security of the entire region, including that of the United States — would have been quite different.

On April 1, a strike attributed to Israel destroyed a building defined as an annex of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus and eliminated seven members of the Quds Force, including General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who had reportedly been directing hostile operations in Israel. Once an embassy – or a school or a mosque or a church – is used to engage in military operations, it loses its status as a site that is officially “protected”. Iran blamed Israel and vowed retaliation. US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said that the Biden administration had “no involvement or advanced knowledge” in the attack, but he did not condemn Iran’s threats to Israel.

A report in the Jerusalem Postnoted that Iran informed Turkey of its desire to strike Israel and that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in turn, informed the Biden administration. The Biden administration the report adds, asked that the Iranians remain “within certain limits” –implying that the Biden administration accepted Iran’s attack on Israel, the same way he implied that he would accept a “minor incursion” into Ukraine by Russia.

On April 13, Iran in fact launched a massive strike against Israel: 300 attack drones and ballistic missiles launched at a country smaller than New Jersey. Sadly, a 7-year-old Bedouin girl was wounded. Fortunately, apart from that, not much damage was done. American, British, Jordanian and Saudi militaries helped as well.

Biden then told Israel to “take the win” — not to retaliate and risk escalating the conflict. He warned that that the US would not help in any military offensive against Iran. Thwarting an attack, however is not the same as a “win”, and certainty does not prevent an aggressor from trying again.

Israel’s subsequent strikes nevertheless revealed that if Israel decided to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities near Isfahan, they could be hit. Iran seems eager not to have strikes on its territory; presumably that is why it has proxies in the first place — to launch attacks so that any retaliation will have to be absorbed by them, not Iran. The mullahs are, in effect, using their proxies – Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and so on — as their “human shields”.

“What happened last night [in Isfahan]”, Iranian FM Hossein Amir-Abdollahian nevertheless insisted “was not a strike”.

The Biden administration has placed the existence of Israel in danger to protect Biden from the dangerous voters of Michigan.

When Israel shows unshakable determination, noted the American journalist Jonathan Tobin, Israel is respected. He recommended Israel should fight without wavering. It is because Israel appears invincible, he stated, that its enemies do not attack it; Israel must reestablish its invincibility.

Another American journalist, Matthew Continetti, wrote:

“The political heroes of this moment are the men and women who have retained the ability to make clear distinctions … between freedom, equality, and the rule of law and violence, terror, and fear”.

Continetti emphasized the need for “moral clarity”. What is threatened in the Middle East today, he wrote, are the values of our civilization.”[T]he fate of our society, our nation, and our civilization depends on Israeli victory.”

It is to be hoped that the Biden administration, which, right after October 7 had been supportive of Israel, will regain its moral clarity.

“There is no way to describe Biden’s actions except as a complete betrayal of Israel”, wrote political commentator Eric Levine. In a devastating about-face, presumably aimed at the voters of Michigan, the Biden administration is “delaying” precision-guided weapons to Israel. The irony, of course, is that after the Biden administration complained to Israel that its attacks were “indiscriminate“, it is actually forcing Israel to be indiscriminate, and then will presumably blame Israel.

Worse, with the Biden administration now having come down squarely against Israel and on the side of Iran, Qatar and Hamas, they have to feel no inclination to agree to anything. Why should they? Iran’s mullahs have a new proxy, the United States, backing their terrorism for them.

Even worse, at almost the same time as the US told Israel it was withholding arms shipments that Congress had already approved (a move for which Democrats tried to impeach then President Donald Trump), the Biden administration waived sanctions for arms purchases by Lebanon, Qatar and Iraq — countries that host groups working to destroy Israel.

Worst of all, if you are Ukraine, Taiwan, China, Russia, Japan – just about any US ally or foe — you probably cannot avoid thinking something like: We have watched the supposedly mighty US surrender Afghanistan, its ally of 20 years, to a bunch of terrorists, the Taliban. Now we are watching the US surrender its closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, the only democracy there, to terrorists: to Hezbollah in Lebanon with 150,000 rockets and missiles pointed at Israel, and to Hamas in Gaza by sending “humanitarian aid,” that will used by terrorists.

Israel, meanwhile, surrounded by a terrorist “ring of fire“, is fighting for its existence.

Even some Democrats, such as US Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), are telling the Biden administration:

“Innocent Israelis were the victims of a terrorist attack… We must support Israel in their efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children. Hamas does not want peace, they want to destroy Israel. We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized.”

The Biden administration has failed to counter attacks on Israel by the United Nations, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court — all prosecuting Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces officials for alleged but unsubstantiated “war crimes”. Israel and the US are not even affiliated with the ICC . Where are any prosecutions or sanctions by the UN and international courts for war crimes and human rights violations on countries such as Qatar (here and here), ChinaRussiaIranNorth KoreaCubaVenezuelaNigeriaIndonesiaPakistanTurkeyYemen and Sudan?

The Biden administration was even considering placing unprecedented sanctions on units in the Israel Defense Forces, based on unfounded allegations coming from an anti-Israel non-governmental organization, DAWN, “Democracy for the Arab World Now.” According to the meticulous NGO Monitor:

“[A] number of DAWN officials, including board members, have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and have voiced support for the Hamas terrorist group. According to the NGO, ‘Many of DAWN’s donors remain anonymous‘; however, NGO Monitor was able to identify the sources for approximately 44% of DAWN’s 2022 income, including from Open Society FoundationsFord FoundationRockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Arca Foundation.”

The Biden administration also does not even try to cut the funding used for the murder-for-hire program, run the Palestinian Authority and its President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestinians are incentivized to murder or attempt to murder Jews by being rewarded with a salary for life, as well as an apparently supra-official promise of Paradise.

Currently, the Biden administration appears to want three things: Netanyahu OUT – reportedly to be replaced by a puppet who will do whatever the US tells him; a terrorist Palestinian state IN, and to preserve Iran and Qatar’s client, the terrorist group, Hamas. So far, all the pressure from Washington has been on Israel, none at all on Hamas or on its patrons, Qatar and Iran. The fighting could indeed stop tomorrow if either of them or the US seriously ordered Hamas to stop fighting and immediately return the 132 remaining hostages.

Did the Biden Administration even ask?

*****

This article was published by the Gatestone Institute and is reproduced with permission.

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

Don’t Expand DEI. Dismantle It thumbnail

Don’t Expand DEI. Dismantle It

By Christopher F. Rufo and Jenin Younes

We come from two sides of the political spectrum, write Christopher F. Rufo and Jenin Younes. But both of us agree that the Antisemitism Awareness Act is profoundly misguided.

What should be done about the turmoil, violence, and explicit antisemitism that have engulfed college campuses over the past months? Political leaders in Washington have reacted to the escalating chaos with an understandable and predictable instinct: do something.

In this case, the student protests have motivated a bipartisan coalition of legislators in the House of Representatives to compose the Antisemitism Awareness Act. It passed on May 1 with 320 votes (and 91 against). 

The goal of the Act is noble: to prohibit discrimination against Jewish students and employees on campus. As is often the case, however, the impulse to “do something,” even when supported by a bipartisan majority, does not always mean the resulting actions are wise or productive.

We come from two sides of the political spectrum. One of us (Christopher) is a conservative, and the other (Jenin) is on the left. We also take very different positions on Israel—one of us believes that Israel deserves America’s support in its fight against Hamas; one of us believes that the denial of Palestinians’ right to self-determination is the primary impediment to peace. But both of us agree that the Antisemitism Awareness Act is profoundly misguided.

First, the main purpose of the legislation is to codify a definition of “antisemitism” as a point of reference for civil rights enforcement on college campuses. Legislators outsourced this definition to a nonprofit, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which defines antisemitic conduct and speech in a broad manner. Under this standard, “claiming the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis,” and “accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel” will be deemed antisemitism.

It’s important to note, despite the hysteria of many online, that the Antisemitism Awareness Act does not, in itself, criminalize such speech. What it does is instruct bureaucrats to apply what could be, in effect, “hate speech” analysis to civil rights complaints. The Department of Education would gain the authority to withhold funding to institutions of higher education that do not punish violators.

This is a move in the wrong direction.

Existing laws against trespassing, violence, and property destruction are sufficient to deal with unlawful expressions of antisemitism on campus. And campus codes of conduct, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity, cover much else.

“Hate speech” provisions, on the other hand, are unnecessary, ill-defined, and often in conflict with fundamental First Amendment rights. Contrary to popular belief, the First Amendment protects “hate speech,” in part precisely because of the difficulty defining the term, and also because such determinations are subjective. Under this new legislation, certain phrases and arguments, some of which are subject to reasonable contestation, could be treated as de facto evidence of discriminatory intent. (For example, arguing in favor of a one-state solution to the Israeli-Hamas conflict could be deemed violative on the grounds it denies the Jewish people a right to a state.)

Rather than enacting dubious legislation, the proper approach is to protect the rights of protesters to express their opinions, even when those opinions are abhorrent, while enforcing laws and regulations that prohibit tent encampments, campus disruption, and acts of violence.

The second problem with the Antisemitism Awareness Act, especially for conservatives and civil libertarians, is that it operates using the same coercive and corrosive principles as DEI. The legislation codifies an ideologically charged definition of antisemitism into law, provides special protections based on group identity, and expands anti-discrimination enforcement to include constitutionally protected speech. 

*****

Continue reading this article at The Free Press.

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

The Unpersoning of John Eastman thumbnail

The Unpersoning of John Eastman

By TJ Harker

The regime is set on full-spectrum destruction of its enemies.

John Eastman is a legal scholar of the first rank. He has argued before the Supreme Court, testified in Congress, and cultivated a deserved reputation as an expert in constitutional law. He has practiced at a prestigious law firm, served as both professor and Dean at Chapman University Law School, and, of course, represented many notable figures, including Donald Trump. Unlike many lawyers, he earned a reputation for integrity, intelligence, and moral courage. Like all lawyers, he maintained a bank account with a major financial institution and, of course, a state license to practice law—in his case, in California, one of the hardest bar licenses to earn.

Those sound like the trappings of a good life—the reputational and material fruits of a lifetime of honest hard work. It used to be the case that once earned, such fruits were then possessed of right. And no person—certainly no American—would dare to deprive Eastman of his right to them merely because of his legal work or political speech. Indeed, it was not so long ago that even suggesting as much would have been considered un-American. Not any longer.

Today, extremely powerful people in government, high-finance, big law, big business, state bar associations, academia, and elsewhere have decided to destroy John Eastman because of his legal work and political speech on behalf of Donald Trump in late 2020 and early 2021. Some hated his courageous challenge to “their” democracy. Others feared his intellect. Still others saw an opportunity to increase their middling stature by bringing low a greater mind, while fantasizing that by disagreeing with Eastman they fulfilled an “oath to God.” All have worked to destroy Eastman because he challenged the regime.

George Orwell called this coordinated process of erasing one’s official identity “unpersoning.” By depriving John Eastman of his employment, employability, law license, reputation, access to money, and even his freedom, the regime seeks to send a message. That message is not to John Eastman. It is to you: Don’t you dare challenge the regime, or you too will be unpersoned.

Take His Law License

The regime is stocked with clever lawyers at big law firms and non-profit activist organizations. Recently, these clever lawyers have stumbled upon a new lawfare tactic: deprive their opponents of access to the courts by depriving them of lawyers. Organizations like the 65 Project and States United Democracy Center (SUDC) exist to take the licenses of lawyers with the courage to advance legal actions that threaten the regime. After Biden’s inauguration, they targeted John Eastman.

On October 4, 2021, SUDC filed a 30-page complaint against Eastman with the State Bar of California, where Eastman is licensed. On July 28, 2022, the 65 Project filed a similar complaint with the Supreme Court of the United States. These memoranda attempted to persuade the licensing authorities to disbar Eastman, arguing that his advocacy on behalf of Donald Trump amounted to conduct “unbecoming a member of the Bar.” In April, SUDC succeeded. Following a 35-day trial, Judge Yvette Roland (a partisan Democrat) issued a 138-page order recommending that Eastman lose his license.

A judicial order is supposed to be the product of a rigorous application of the law to the facts. Roland inverted that process. She applied SUDC’s facts to Eastman’s legal analysis—taking as fact that there was no fraud in the 2020 election and reaching her own conclusions about confusing legal issues (like the Electoral Count Act) to conclude that Eastman’s lawyering must have been dishonest. This inverts the very purpose of adjudication.

At any rate, Judge Roland persisted. In concluding, she recommended that Eastman be disbarred because he: (1) signed off on a motion to intervene in Texas v. Pennsylvania, a case brought by the state of Texas challenging the election laws in Pennsylvania and elsewhere; (2) “provided legal advice on Trump v. Raffensperger, a case filed against the Georgia Secretary of State; (3) “signed a Verified Complaint” in Trump v. Kemp; (4) “worked mightily…to encourage Republicans in the seven ‘contested states’ to” meet and vote on alternate slates of electors; (5) “drafted and sent a two-page legal memorandum” to some Trump attorneys; (6) appeared on Steve Bannon’s War Room; and (7) wrote an article in The American Mind.

In other words, Eastman helped to bring lawsuits in various courts, wrote and filed complaints, wrote legal memos, and “worked mightily” to get state legislators to vote. He also appeared on television and wrote articles. If you suspect these activities are routine for litigators, you’re right. Eastman’s sin, however, was doing them on behalf of Donald Trump.

Roland twisted herself into knots explaining why the seven points listed above were unethical, drawing factual findings and legal conclusions of astonishing breadth in the process. Among others, her findings include: the First Amendment does not protect Eastman’s political speech on Bannon’s War Room, his article in The American Mind, or even the things he said to Vice President Pence, because this speech was “false” and “employed as a tool in the commission of a crime.” It was false, Judge Roland assured us in circular fashion, because “the 2020 presidential election was the most secure in American history” and “the court has already determined that [no] fraud occurred in the 2020 election” (points I refute here and here). And they were in furtherance of a crime because a beleaguered district attorney in another state charged Eastman with one. This isn’t legal reasoning, it’s a perverse combination of bootstrapping and begging the question.

Next, Roland determined that a complaint filed with the United States Supreme Court by the State of Texas was “false” because it argued that Pennsylvania (and other states) violated the Constitution in ignoring their own election laws. Having determined that the arguments were “false,” she heaped responsibility on Eastman because he moved for Trump to join Texas as a plaintiff, thereby tacitly adopting Texas’s “false” arguments. This is weird, since Justices Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch stated “there is a strong likelihood that [Pennsylvania] violate[d] the Federal Constitution,” just as Texas and Eastman said.

Roland also dismissed a century’s worth of legal wrangling about the meaning of the Electoral Count Act, the 12th Amendment, and the role of State legislatures, Governors, and the Vice President in certifying and counting electoral votes. In sweeping this morass aside, she simply declared that Eastman’s legal interpretation of these issues was a “lie,” repeatedly declaring in her order that “the court has already determined…that Eastman’s statements…regarding the powers of the Vice President were false.” But her court does not have the jurisdiction to “determine” any of these constitutional or election integrity issues. Indeed, other than vis-à-vis Eastman’s law license, Roland’s determination has no more authority than would your book club, were it to “determine” the scope of the First Amendment, the meaning of the 12th Amendment or Electoral Count Act, or the existence of election fraud throughout the land in 2020.

The idea that a single judge with no constitutional law experience, in a backwater non-federal court with narrow subject-matter jurisdiction, in a single state, had the authority or capacity to make sweeping legal pronouncements that span the entire continent and 200 years of jurisprudence, is, well, not serious. But Roland had to make these findings to justify taking Eastman’s law license. So, she did. The outcome was predetermined.

Debank Him

If the 65 Project, SUDC, and Judge Roland at least gave “reasons” to deprive Eastman of his capacity to earn a living, Bank of America and USAA have no such scruples. They’re more than content to unperson Eastman without even an explanation.

More than a decade ago, when political debanking first came to the public’s attention, banks went out of their way to blame the industries in which their former customers operated. Gun manufacturers and ammunition dealers, tobacco sellers, pornographers, and others made easy targets precisely because they operated in controversial industries. Their controversial nature was a convenient cover for banks. The banks cited “reputational concerns” when they closed the accounts of companies in those industries.

Having inured the American public to the fact of debanking, however, woke institutions like Bank of America dispensed with the cover and expanded their attacks to include Christians and other groups disfavored by the regime. Today, “debanking” is obviously part of the unpersoning playbook. Bank of America is notorious for unpersoning those on the political right and is powerful enough to scoff at attempts to restrain its misconduct. It is so powerful, in fact, that it lies about its politically-motivated debanking with impunity.

Thus, it was no surprise that in September 2023, Bank of America debanked John Eastman, closing his accounts and denying him access to essential financial services (such as, for example, paying for things). It did all of this without so much as an explanation, Eastman’s 40-year relationship with the bank notwithstanding. USAA Federal Savings Bank followed suit shortly thereafter, debanking Eastman in November of last year.

The banks’ decision to unperson John Eastman in California may have been occasioned by a separate decision in Fulton County, Georgia to unperson Donald Trump, John Eastman, and 16 others by indicting them for political crimes against the regime. That indictment, unsealed in August 2023, would have given Bank of America and USAA the pretext to pretend that the Bank Secrecy Act required them to debank Eastman and not to tell him why.

Given my experience as a white collar prosecutor for DOJ, it wouldn’t surprise me if both banks drafted “suspicious activity reports” suggesting that Eastman engaged in money laundering, perhaps by raising money for his legal defense on GiveSendGo. If so, the idea that this is money laundering is preposterous and they know it. (Full Disclosure: I recently gave to Eastman’s defense on GiveSendGo and encourage you to do so as well.)

Bankrupt Him and Take His Freedom

In “Criminalizing Trivialities” and “Show Trial, American Style,” I explained how left-wing prosecutors use “fraud-type” offenses to shoehorn political activity into the four corners of a criminal statute, abusing the legislative intent behind those statutes in the process. That’s exactly what Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and federal prosecutor Jack Smith have done to Donald Trump.

It’s also exactly what Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did to the former president and 18 others who worked with him, John Eastman included. I won’t provide a detailed takedown of Willis’s case here. Instead, I observe only that Willis charged Eastman with crimes like impersonation, forgery, false statements, filing false documents, and conspiracy to do the foregoing. These are the same “fraud-type” offenses abused by Bragg and Smith, which I addressed in those other articles. These statutes are not germane to the alleged facts underlying Willis’ indictment of Trump and Eastman, even if those facts are true. White collar prosecutors without a political axe to grind understand this point.

But, like the 65 Project, SUDC, Judge Roland, Alvin Bragg, Jack Smith, Bank of America, and USAA, Fani Willis has a political axe to grind. As such, she’s more than willing to serve her role in the unpersoning process, doing her part to drown Eastman in legal bills and, if she has her way, incarcerate him.

Destroy His Reputation and Get Him Fired

Shortly before Biden took office, more than one hundred Chapman University faculty mounted a pressure campaign to terminate John Eastman from his position as tenured professor and Dean of Chapman University Law School, his competent stewardship notwithstanding.

Everybody knows that the purpose of tenure is to secure academic freedom. Historically, this principle would have been sufficient to rebuff these attacks. But, with the Left’s new dedication to unpersoning, lofty principles like academic freedom don’t weigh in the balance. Eastman’s refusal to bend his knee to regime shibboleths and his vigorous defense of our constitutional order against regime corruption were all the evidence such faculty needed when they signed their “letter of outrage.” Though it’s worth noting that none of the law faculty signed the letter, it had its intended unpersoning effect. Eastman resigned his positions with the law school despite having spent his entire academic career there.

In less than than 20 years, the regime has normalized the process of unpersoning. We’re inured to it. But we haven’t seen the end. Indeed, as described above, the regime already prosecutes its political opponents while conditioning ongoing employment, access to banking services, and maintenance of professional licenses on obeisance to accepted narratives. These were the hard cultural norms to breach. As such, we should expect unpersoning to spread to less weighty things like access to cell service and internet providers, mortgage lenders and commercial airlines, sports teams and entertainment venues, restaurants and movie theaters. I anticipate we will see more unpersoning before we see less. At least, until we learn to fight back.

How do we do that?

More than 200 years ago, John Adams defended the legal rights of unpopular British sailors wrongfully accused of murder. At the time, he was criticized by his fellow countrymen. But history weighed in, and for the ensuing two centuries, Americans in general and lawyers in particular celebrated Adams for his courageous defense of politically unpopular defendants. We held Adams up as an exemplar of legal courage. This is the future for John Eastman. When the dust settles, he will be celebrated for his courage and his unfaltering conviction. In the present, however, we must continue fighting the corruption of our legal system, our culture, and our government by the lesser figures mentioned in this essay.

John Eastman shows us how.

*****

This article was published by The American Mind and is reproduced with permission.

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

Voters Move Away from Biden’s Israel Policies in Droves as Swing State Poll Numbers Crumble thumbnail

Voters Move Away from Biden’s Israel Policies in Droves as Swing State Poll Numbers Crumble

By Family Research Council

Amid polls showing that President Joe Biden’s wavering support for Israel is alienating voters on all sides, another major poll released Monday has revealed that former President Donald Trump has opened up a significant lead over Biden in five key battleground states as the November elections loom.

A New York Times/Siena/Philadelphia Inquirer survey found that Trump is leading Biden among registered voters by a substantial amount outside of the margin of error in four prominent swing states, including Arizona (49%-42%), Georgia (49%-39%), Michigan (49%-42%), and Nevada (50%-38%). In addition, Trump leads Biden in Pennsylvania 47%-44%.

The poll also found the presumptive Republican presidential nominee leading Biden among likely voters in Arizona (49%-43%), Georgia (50%-41%), Nevada (51%-38%), Pennsylvania (48%-45%), and Wisconsin (47%-46%).

“These results cannot be dismissed,” Matt Carpenter, director of FRC Action, told The Washington Stand. “If I’m the Biden campaign I’m hitting the panic button. With less than six months until Election Day, and early voting starting in closer to four months, voters are making up their minds as to whom they will support, and increasingly they are shifting away from Biden in the states he needs to secure reelection.”

Carpenter added, “What’s more, segments of the electorate that historically back Democrats are leading the shift away from Biden — young, black, and Hispanic voters — which explains why states with higher non-white populations like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada have a bigger gap than do whiter states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.”

A Gallup poll conducted in April confirmed this shift, as affiliation with the Republican Party saw an 11-point swing against the Democratic Party when compared to the numbers from 2016. The survey found that 47% of Independent voters leaned toward the GOP, a five-point increase since 2016.

On the flip side, the Democrats suffered a six-point loss since 2016 with voters who said they leaned toward their party. The swing is likely fueled by black and Hispanic voters leaving Biden’s party. A February Gallup poll recorded a 20% decrease in black support of the Democratic Party in three years. It also found that Hispanic support the president’s party among voters aged 18-29 had plummeted by almost the same amount.

The poll results come as Biden’s policy decisions surrounding Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist group prove to be increasingly unpopular with supermajorities of U.S. citizens. As noted by National Review, “The latest Harvard-Harris poll found that people support Israel over Hamas by 80-20, and believe that Israel is trying to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, 67-33. Even voters ages 18-24 support Israel in this survey, 57 to 43, and believe that Israel is trying to minimize casualties, 64-36.”

“At this stage in the election, the Biden campaign should be focusing on persuading swing voters and identifying base voters to drive to the polls,” Carpenter remarked in comments to TWS. “Instead, they have what looks like a mutiny on their hands. The Trump campaign cannot afford to rest on their laurels, however. In 2022, Democrats succeeded in halting what appeared to be a red wave by running campaigns focused on the election process — requesting and collecting mail-in ballots. At the end of the day, the only poll that matters is the one on Election Day.”

AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

‘They Don’t Understand War’: Experts Slam Biden’s Denial of Arms to Israel thumbnail

‘They Don’t Understand War’: Experts Slam Biden’s Denial of Arms to Israel

By Family Research Council

As stunned outrage escalated in reaction to President Joe Biden’s decision to halt arms shipments to Israel in the midst of its battle against the Hamas terrorist group, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Thursday that the Jewish state would “stand alone” and “fight with our fingernails” in the face of a lack of military aid.

“I hope that’s a senior moment,” remarked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in reaction to Biden’s announcement. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) stated that they were “appalled that the administration paused crucial arms shipments to Israel,” adding that “this disastrous policy decision was undertaken in secret and deliberately hidden from Congress and the American people.”

Democrats also expressed frustration with the decision. “As the leader of the free world, America cannot claim that its commitment to Israel is ‘iron-clad’ and then proceed to withhold aid from Israel,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) wrote. “The mixed messaging makes a mockery of our credibility as an ally. No one will take our word seriously.”

Meanwhile, ceasefire talks in Cairo between Israel and Hamas that were pushed by the U.S. stalled on Thursday, as Hamas continued its refusal to release 132 hostages, 38 of whom are believed to no longer be alive. As experts on the ground in Israel are pointing out, despite Hamas’s unprovoked October 7 attack that killed the most Jews since World War II and despite the unreleased hostages, the Biden administration has been undermining Israel’s military response for at least four months.

“Beginning in January, we started getting first reports that the Biden administration was slow walking munitions to Israel, including specifically ordnance for our aircraft and 155 millimeter artillery shells and tank shells,” explained Caroline Glick, senior contributing editor at the Jewish News Syndicate, on Thursday’s edition of “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.” “So these are the basic tools of war that the Biden administration and the Obama administration convinced Israel we didn’t have to produce at home [because] the United States would be the steady supplier of all of these things.”

Glick went on to detail how the Biden administration went back on its word to give military aid to Israel.

“[T]hey double-crossed us, Speaker Johnson, and the House and Senate Republicans,” she underscored. “They … made aid for Israel contingent on aid for Ukraine, knowing full well that the Republicans opposed the aid for Ukraine. … [T]hat’s just the way the Democrats fly. They didn’t want to allow Israel to be a standalone legislation. They forced the Republicans’ hand. Speaker Johnson wanted to get the aid to Israel [and] he risked his position in his party in order to push it through with the aid for Ukraine. And then as soon as Biden got what he wanted from the Republicans specifically for Ukraine, he turned around and he double-crossed them and said, ‘Nope, we’re not giving Israel what they want.’”

Glick further described how the administration is setting expectations for how Israel should conduct its war against terrorists.

“[N]ow what he said is, ‘We’re willing to give Israel the means to intercept incoming projectiles from Iran or from Lebanon or from Gaza, but they may not cause Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, the Houthis, any of them, to pay any price for their aggression. All you can do is intercept incoming, but you can’t downgrade their power in any way. You cannot take the war to your enemies. They are allowed to attack you, and they will be completely immune from any sort of counter assault by Israel.’ That’s what the United States wants, and their long-term game is to transform Israel into a weak, totally dependent protectorate of the Democratic Party. … [I]t’s inviting the expansion of the war to other theaters in a major way.”

In addition, Glick enumerated how President Biden has personally inserted himself between Israel and other nations who have indicated their desire to provide military aid to the Jewish state. “[E]arly on [after October 7], the German chancellor came to Israel and met with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” she recounted. “And then after a series of conversations between the two leaders, the Germans agreed to sell us tank shells. … [T]wo hours after the announcement was made, President Biden was on the phone with Chancellor [Olaf] Scholz and essentially push[ed] him to cancel the arms sale.”

The response within Israel has been to increase domestic production of munitions, Glick relayed. “[We’re] massively ramping up our domestic production. … [It’s] not productive enough to suit all of our needs, but we’re moving very quickly towards that goal. It will take a number of months, but we’re doing it. … They’ve opened up new lines of the Israel military industries in various cities around the country, and they’re hiring more and more employees to work the lines. … So we’re just going to have to build it ourselves as quickly as possible. We have to be the arsenal for our own democracy.”

Glick concluded by contending that the Biden administration is in over its head in its dealings with Israel’s war against terrorism. “U.S. foreign policy under the Biden administration is … extremely shallow,” she argued. “[T]hey think that war is a game or some sort of graduate seminar that you can somehow or another resolve through all kinds of fancy ideas about deterrence and balance of power. They don’t understand war.”

“They don’t know what they’re dealing with,” Glick continued. “They attribute monstrous intentions through good people — the good people of Israel. And they project the goodness of the people of Israel on the monstrous enemies that are fighting us, whether it’s the Iranian regime that seeks our genocide through nuclear weapons and its terror proxy war, … or whether it’s Hamas. And we saw what they did on October 7th, and we understand what it means when they say that they want to kill [us]. [W]e see it with Hezbollah. … [W]e found dozens of subterranean tunnels over the years that they’ve dug into Israel from Lebanon with the goal of infiltrating our villages and capturing and slaughtering our people. So this is not a game.”

AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Biden makes common cause with Hamas

Nova October 7 Exhibit Reminds Us That Israel Is Fighting against Evil

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University Protests Are Evidence of a Failed Education System

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

OVER 100K ATTEND NEW JERSEY TRUMP RALLY : ‘I Support Israel’s Right to Win Its War on Terror!’ thumbnail

OVER 100K ATTEND NEW JERSEY TRUMP RALLY : ‘I Support Israel’s Right to Win Its War on Terror!’

By The Geller Report

‘”[Biden]Total Moron, I Support Israel’s Right to Win Its War on Terror, Biggest Betrayal in the History of the USA to its Ally.” — President Donald J. Trump, New Jersey rally 2024.


Wow — unprecedented crowd. President Trump’s latest rally in NJ was the biggest in the state’s history, a blue state, no less.

Remember in November when they steal the election again.

Trump blasts Biden as ‘total moron’ before crowd of 100K at NJ rally: ‘Whole world is laughing at him’

By: Diana Glebova and Steve Janosk, NY Post, May 11, 2024 ET

WILDWOOD, NJ — Donald Trump recited all his greatest hits at a massive Saturday evening rally in Wildwood, NJ — but managed to avoid violating his court-imposed gag order by focusing on President Biden, whom he called a “total moron” and blamed for his web of legal troubles.

Trump — wearing his typical blue suit, blood-red tie and “Make America Great Again” cap — railed about inflation, offshore windmills, electric cars, the press and Chris Christie.

But unsurprisingly, it was Biden who drew his most intense vitriol.

“You could take the 10 worst presidents in the history of our country, and add them up .. and they haven’t done the damage to our country that this total moron has done,” Trump, 77, said to a cheering crowd of tens of thousands.

“He’s a fool, he’s not a smart man. He never was,” Trump said.

“He was considered stupid. I talk about him differently now because now, the gloves are off. He’s a bad guy … he’s the worst president ever, of any country. The whole world is laughing at him, he’s a fool.”

The former president also alluded to his own plethora of indictments, which allege he committed a variety of crimes before, during and after the 2016 and 2020 elections.

He blamed Biden, 81, for his legal troubles, saying, “You don’t do that to your opponents.

“It’s done in third-world countries, it’s done in banana republics, it’s not done in the United States of America.”

The crowd — which Wildwood officials estimated was between 80,000 and 100,000, a record for a Garden State political rally — cheered wildly throughout the long, but controlled speech.

Continue reading.

FULL SPEECH: President Trump Delivers Remarks at Rally in Wildwood, New Jersey — 5/11/24

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

RELATED ARTICLES:

Biden Regime’s Betrayal of Israel is Not Just to Get Votes; It’s Also Because of Infiltration

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

CNN Correspondent Says Swing-State Voters Tell Him They Are ‘Disgusted’ And ‘Tired’ With Trump Trial thumbnail

CNN Correspondent Says Swing-State Voters Tell Him They Are ‘Disgusted’ And ‘Tired’ With Trump Trial

By The Daily Caller

CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny said Monday that swing-state voters informed him they are sickened and bored of former President Donald Trump’s trial.

Trump is leading President Joe Biden by 13% among likely Nevada voters, 9% in Georgia, 6% in Arizona, 3% in Pennsylvania and 1% in Wisconsin, according to New York Times/Siena College polling published on Monday. Zeleny said the polling indicates that there has not been a political downside to Trump’s trial thus far, also saying voters currently care more about the economy.

“This is a reminder … that we have no idea at all, the political fallout from this, if there is any, from this trial,” Zeleny said. “It’s kind of remarkable to think that there wouldn’t be, but if you look at these battleground states that are going to be central to this reelection, the former president is beating the current president outside the margin of error in every state but two, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.”

WATCH:

“We will have to wait and see what this verdict is and how voters are assessing it,” he added. “But as I talk to voters across the country in these battleground states … many of them aren’t paying attention at all and are disgusted and sort of tired with this, but the numbers beyond the horse race are so interesting. The reason that President Biden is having problems, it’s because of young voters, voters of color, inflation. That is the issue on the minds of voters, not this.”

Trump has shrunk his deficit to Biden among black and Hispanic Americans, the NYT poll found. Biden leads 70% to 18% among black voters and 47% to 42% among Hispanic voters in the six swing states.

“So it’s still the economy, stupid?” host Wolf Blitzer asked, clarifying he was referring to the classic line rather than calling Zeleny dumb.

“It seems to be. Inflation really is at the heart of so much of this. We’ll see how much this is going to play a part. But as of now, it’s actually helped Donald Trump,” Zeleny said.

Trump is the defendant in a New York trial, where he faces 34 felony counts pertaining to allegedly falsifying business documents when reimbursing Michael Cohen for a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Several polls published since the start of jury selection have found that a conviction of the former president would not deter voters from backing Trump in November.

Many Americans also say they do not believe Trump acted illegally or is experiencing fair treatment in the case, polling shows.

“It’s not the hush money trial, stupid,” Blitzer quipped.

AUTHOR

JASON COHEN

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLES:

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Daily Caller Columnist Rips Kamala Harris’ Lack Of ‘Decorum’ During Summit Speech

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


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

America’s Summer Of Discontent thumbnail

America’s Summer Of Discontent

By Neland Nobel

This summer will likely be a crucible from which election results will emerge this fall.  By available polling data, it appears Americans are unhappy with the direction of the country and unhappy with the enfeebled, protected, coddled, and coached President Joe Biden.  The most recent polls show some shifts favorable to Donald Trump.

The real question is whether American voters will connect Biden’s policies with the Democrat party at large.  If so, this discontent will resonate with down-ballot voting for lower offices.

There is a good chance that voters will make the connection.  The main reason is it is so obvious that Biden is a cut-out President.  There is little about his Administration that seems to come from his limited intellect.  Rather, he is put forward for show; a puppet show.  The real strings are being pulled by a cadre of Democrat operatives, largely holdovers from the Obama Administration, and hence his policies reflect the deep mechanisms of the Democrat Party.

It will do little good to simply vote against Biden and vote for other Democrats.   Otherwise, it would be just cosmetic change and the once great Democrat Party will remain in the hands of a narrow band of ultra-rich radicals.

Whether it be the transgender activists invading women’s sports or anti-Semites on campus, they draw support from local Democrat prosecutors, mayors, judges, school boards, and school administrators.  The corruption of Democrat rule is evident at all levels of government.  Indeed, some of the most radical proposals, such as the elimination of women’s sports and anti-white racism are being enforced at the local level, with support from above.

To shake out the radicals, and restore the Democrat Party to some semblance of its past, they must receive a thorough thrashing at every level of governance.

There is always a stage where radicals tend to “eat their own.”  Violence at the political conventions of both parties has the potential to show this ugly process to the general public.  As we will see, economic concerns top the list of public concerns, Gaza is very much down on the list, and overwhelmingly the public supports Israel.

Where are the American people on a variety of these issues?  A series of recent polls give us an idea of what voters think.

The most obvious is the use of lawfare has not yielded the results anticipated.  The more Trump is attacked in court, the more the public understands that this is election interference and the more Donald Trump goes up in the polls.  The latest Real Clear polling shows the race tied, with a widening edge for Trump in key battleground states.

The economy is always a top issue and it is here that Biden faces a real problem.  After spending lavishly to buy votes, he seems to be gaining little benefit because those very policies have touched off the worst inflation in 50 years.  According to a recent Gallup survey, Biden has one of the lowest ratings as an economic leader of any President since they started their polling. 

In other Gallup surveys,  for the third year in a row, the percentage of Americans naming inflation or the high cost of living as the most important financial problem facing their family has reached a new high. 

Other economic concerns like home affordability, debt, and low wages indicate there is a widespread concern across economic rankings about maintaining a standard of living.

While touting low unemployment, the Biden Administration has throttled growth with a new wave of environmental and income redistribution regulations.  The American people, however, according to Rasmussen, prefer economic growth over redistribution, or what Democrats call “fairness.” According to a poll in late March, 55% believe growth to float all boats higher is preferred to 34% who think income “fairness” is most important.

When it comes to the border crisis, Pew Research indicates that nearly 80% of Americans think the government is doing a poor job at controlling the border. Interestingly, Republicans tend to refer to the invasion of illegal immigrants as a “crisis”, while Democrats describe it as a “problem.”  Still, a vast majority think the whole thing is being mishandled.

When it comes to support of Israel in the war against Hamas, most support Israel, but there has been some slippage in the past few months.  However, a recent ABC News Poll found Trump has about an 8% lead on Biden as to which candidate would thread the needle best in the Middle East.

According to the Daily Mail,Harvard CAPS-Harris survey found 80 percent of registered voters support Israel more in the war while only 20 percent say they support Hamas terrorists more.  Meanwhile, there is widespread disgust with campus protests, with almost half of Americans believing college demonstrations should be banned altogether.  Democrats are heavily identified with these rioters as they were with the George Floyd riots.  This should be used to counter the January 6 “insurrection” narrative that frames Republicans as violent.

Where Democrats are doing marginally better is on the issue of abortion.  Recent Gallup surveys indicate that 52% of those polled call themselves “pro-choice” while 44% say they are “pro-life.”  But if you ask the question a different way, such as do you favor some reasonable restrictions on abortion, 51% say abortion should be legal under some circumstances, while 34% say abortion should be legal under all circumstances.  Clearly, the majority is open to a reasonable compromise that allows for abortion if the mother’s health is in danger while only 13% believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.  Of course, the devil is in the details.  What constitutes a danger to the mother?  Physical danger or mental anguish?  Should babies be aborted full term or very early stage before they likely feel pain?

At least by the polls, the public is willing to compromise on the issue, which is a lot better than codifying Roe vs. Wade.

In addition, the Republicans can counter that Democrats are not supporting women by pushing the transgender agendaIndeed, how can Democrats be “pro-woman” if they don’t even recognize women as a separate sex?

The Biden Administration is pushing the transgender initiatives with gusto, with new interpretations of Title IX. This means mixing the sexes in school bathrooms and showers, allowing men to compete in women’s sports, and exposing women to sexual predators in prison.  If local school districts and jurisdictions don’t cave into the plan, Biden threatens to cut off Federal funds. Republicans must make sure women know of these issues and not let Democrats seem pro-woman because they push for unlimited government-subsidized abortions.

Furthermore, women are a major factor in the workforce, and a strong economy and economic opportunity are important to them.  Public safety, crime and discipline in schools,  quality schools, and school choice, are also of interest to women with children.

On the issue of transgendered in women’s sports, 69% of Americans believe they should compete based on their birth gender, hence preserving women’s sport.  This runs into direct conflict with Biden’s new Title IX initiative.

Republicans are vulnerable on abortion and we suggest they take a nuanced approach at this time.

But neither abortion nor the Mid-East rank as high in the levels of concern as the economy and the border.

Generally speaking, Democrats have sizable advantages on climate, and health care policy while Republicans have the lead on economy, crime, and immigration.

Since the economy and immigration ratings are the highest-ranked concerns, that gives Republicans some advantage.

Therefore, Republicans must emphasize the economy, crime, and illegal immigration.  But they also need articulate positions on abortion, healthcare, and “climate change.”

Republicans often have played the role of the hapless Washington Generals.  This is the team put on the basketball court to get humiliated by the Harlem Globetrotters purposely.  It is part of the show. Too often, Republicans put up token resistance, only so the Democrats can have an opportunity to trounce.  Moreover, it falsely makes the political system look competitive, but the designed feeble opposition has been part of the “uni-party” show.  This has caused some to feel Republicans are not serious about gaining and using power.  We hope they are wrong.  However, never underestimate the ability of Republicans to screw things up.

A Trump-infused Republican Party seems more combative than in the past, but Republicans have historically had problems framing issues properly.  Likely this is because the left dominates our communications, ranging from national TV networks,  magazines, local newspapers, and internet and social media.  It has not been easy to overcome the monopoly in media.

However, new media and citizen journalism like the Prickly Pear are making some inroads.  Traditional Talk Radio and Fox News also help as does Elon Musk’s X. Given that Conservatives do not control the communication nodes of the culture,  it is doubly incumbent upon Republicans to make clear and compassionate arguments that will resonate with the public.

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Endorses Democrats’ Unpopular Abortion Until Birth Agenda thumbnail

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Endorses Democrats’ Unpopular Abortion Until Birth Agenda

By Jordan Boyd

Editors’ Note:  RFK, Jr. has said some interesting things. His views seem to integrate with Conservatives on issues of free speech, the collusion of government and media to influence election outcomes, the Administrative State, and the abuses of the medical establishment. Because of this, some “conservatives” who are not in love with Trump, have seen him as a possible alternative.  But when it comes to environmental policy, abortion, and the overall size and role of government, he is very much a Democrat.  His choice of Vice Presidential running mate has also raised eyebrows. We admire his courage and appreciate his views on many topics. However, Trump with all his faults, remains the best chance to advance the conservative agenda on a broad front. He also has a mostly united party behind him. The latter will be required to have a successful second term. Thus, he has by far the higher odds of being elected. It will likely be another close race with election skullduggery on full display. Conservatives must marshal their resources, unite disparate factions within the Republican Party, and not waste their votes. We prefer a less extreme position that at least recognizes the separate humanity of a baby and its ability to feel pain. Public polling strongly agrees.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made headlines for his ability to entice Republican voters fed up with establishment politicians, but his endorsement of Democrats’ unlimited abortion agenda proves his loyalty lies with the left.

In a no-shoes sitdown with former ESPN SportsCenter Host Sage Steele, Kennedy said he believes a woman should be allowed to kill her baby through all nine months of gestation.

“Should there be a limit? Are you saying all the way up through full term a woman has a right to have an abortion?” Steele asked.

“Yeah,” Kennedy replied.

Kennedy said he doesn’t believe any woman gets pregnant with the intention of obtaining a late-term abortion, but as Steele noted, that scenario has happened “too many times to count.”

The Democrat, undeterred by Steele’s pushback, doubled down and framed unlimited, on-demand abortion as a personal issue instead of the moral issue most voters see it as.

“Ultimately, I don’t trust government to have jurisdiction over people’s bodies,” Kennedy said. “I think we need to leave it to the woman, her pastor, and to, you know, her spiritual advisors or advisor or physician, whatever, to make those decisions.”

Only 7 percent of U.S. adults believe abortion is “morally acceptable in all cases.” In fact, most Americans support limiting the barbaric practice to the first trimester. Yet Kennedy expressed support for the legalized butchering of full-term babies as long as it’s desired by the woman carrying the child.

“In my belief, we should leave it to the woman. We shouldn’t have government involved,” Kennedy said.

“Even if it’s full term?” Steele questioned.

“Even if it’s full term,” Kennedy confirmed.

The candidate acknowledged that every abortion is a “tragedy” and “many of them leave permanent trauma.” He even went so far as to suggest that the state has “a[n] interest in protecting a fully formed fetus,” but repeatedly claimed women should get the final say over whether a child lives or dies.

“I absolutely think that that argument is very convincing. And again, I come down to the fact that I don’t trust the state, and I think we need to trust the woman,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy’s position is not foreign to the Democratic Party, which has made abortion through all nine months of pregnancy a hallmark of its campaigns and legislative schemes. Even if they refuse to directly state how they feel about late-term abortions, Democrats often vote for bills that permit women to abort at any time “regardless of their circumstances and without interference and discrimination.”

Babies who are born alive and breathing also risk execution by abortionists outside of the womb because Democrats refuse to support protections for unborn and newborn children consistent with their right to life.

*****

This article was published by The Federalist and is reproduced with permission.

Image Credit: YouTube screenshot

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill Trustees Vote To Cut DEI Programs, Redirect Funds To Campus Police thumbnail

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill Trustees Vote To Cut DEI Programs, Redirect Funds To Campus Police

By Julianna Frieman

The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees unanimously voted Monday morning to cut Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs and redirect funds to campus police.

Approximately $2.3 million was rerouted from UNC-Chapel Hill’s DEI programs into “public safety” during a special board meeting, WUNC reported.

Marty Kotis, vice chair of the board’s budget and finance committee, reportedly brought forth the “flex cut amendment” responsible for shutting down the university’s DEI programs, which he called “discriminatory and divisive.” It is not yet known whether layoffs will occur following the board’s decision, according to the outlet.

“I think that DEI in a lot of people’s minds is divisions, exclusion and indoctrination,” Kotis reportedly said. “We need more unity and togetherness, more dialogue, more diversity of thought.”

Anti-Israel demonstrations have taken place on college campuses across the U.S., including at UNC-Chapel Hill. Kotis emphasized the importance of police receiving additional funding as pro-Palestinian groups seek to “disrupt the university’s operations,” the outlet reported.

“When you destroy property or you take down the U.S. flag and you have to put up gates around it — that costs money,” Kotis reportedly said. “It’s imperative that we have the proper resources for law enforcement to protect the campus.”

UNC-Chapel Hill’s Pi Kappa Phi fraternity recently shielded the U.S. national flag at Polk Place, a quadrangle named after the 11th U.S. President James K. Polk, from pro-Palestinian demonstrators who previously replaced it with a Palestinian flag. (RELATED: Boos Erupt As Anti-Israel Graduates Protest Legendary Comedian’s Commencement Address)

*****

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

Invitation to join the Global Prayer for Israel on May 15th, 2024 thumbnail

Invitation to join the Global Prayer for Israel on May 15th, 2024

By Dr. Rich Swier

Shalom from Jerusalem, I pray this finds you well.

I am pleased to share that the Genesis 123 Foundation will be producing a very special prayer event for Israel, the Global Prayer for Israel on May 15.  The date is significant because it’s the day that Israel’s enemies call the “nakba,” the catastrophe of Israel’s birth. With a war still raging in Israel that may get much worse before it gets better, and rampant antisemitism threatening Jews all around the world, the time is urgent.

Global Prayer for Israel – May 15, 2024

We are bringing thousands of Jews and Christians together on ONE live platform globally to pray for Israel’s safety and protection at this perilous season. Each of the first three hours will be according to the following prayer points:

  • praying for ALL the 133 hostages to be released,
  • praying for the IDF’s safety and success, and
  • praying that God will change the hearts of Israel’s enemies.

The same themes will be repeated in the second three hours, and the final hour plus will be in Spanish.

I am pleased to invite you to join us. 

We will also be thrilled for help promoting the Global Prayer for Israel, using this registration link, attached graphic, this short promotional video, and perhaps a personal note of endorsement about why this is so important, and why now.

In order to defray costs, we are asking all participants to join as sponsors and hope that you’ll consider doing so using this link.

If you haven’t registered yet, please do so today. Either way, please share widely.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to your positive response and participation.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

Jonathan Feldstein
President, Genesis 123 Foundation
+972-53-761-4220
www.Genesis123.co 

©2024. Dr. Rich Swier. All rights reserved.

As Americans prepare for their election, a look back at Nixon thumbnail

As Americans prepare for their election, a look back at Nixon

By MercatorNet – Navigating Modern Complexities

It is election year and one candidate divides Americans like nobody else.

Reviled with an intense fury by many, he is adored as a protector by many others aghast at developments being pushed by social radicals.

His previous — and graceless — fall from power was accompanied by assurances from the great and good that his career was over and that he could never return.

Now, thanks to his extraordinary political skills, he has recaptured and remade the Republican Party.

In so doing, he has broadened its base by attracting voters from groups that were long part of the Democratic coalition, thus redrawing America’s political map.

On the Democratic side, an incumbent president who achieved major legislative victories early on still finds himself out of touch with a new generation of cultural revolutionaries.

College campuses are in a state of uproar, as the social radicals protest wars in distant lands, and a nervous Democratic Party prepares for a Chicago convention which could turn ugly.

This election will be knife-edge close, and the possibility of a popular third-party wildcard candidate makes the outcome impossible to call.

Donald Trump and Richard Nixon were not similar men. Yet there are eerie similarities between the 2024 and 1968 presidential elections.

The best way of understanding that era is by reading Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America, which Newsweek declared to be the “best book written about the 1960s”.

Nixonland is one part of Perlstein’s magisterial four-part history of modern American conservatism, roughly covering a period between 1960-1980, culminating in the landslide election victory of Ronald Reagan.

Although Perlstein is well to the Left politically, the fact that his books have mostly been well-received by conservatives attests to their quality.

His writing style differs from most historians. Like his other books, Nixonland is long and extremely detailed, as the author describes the political and cultural context of the Sixties in painstaking detail, often drawing up newspaper reports and television coverage as primary sources.

Polarised

What set this decade apart, according to the author, was the heightened partisanship and the breakdown of the consensus which had existed in America in the decades leading up to this.

Nixonland, Perlstein wrote, “is the America where two separate and irreconcilable sets of apocalyptic fears coexist in the minds of two separate and irreconcilable groups of Americans.”

He adds that during Nixon’s quest for election and his subsequent presidency, this divisiveness “came to encompass the entire political culture of the United States.”

The obvious parallels with the current moment and the aforementioned similarities between the Republican candidates should not be exaggerated.

Where Trump is a fundamentally unserious human being, Richard was the exact opposite.

He was always slightly uncomfortable in campaign mode, and in his element when dealing with complex domestic public policy or considering the multi-faceted nuances of international affairs.

Perlstein observes that Nixon’s interest in foreign policy and his sincere wish to create a lasting peace in the world was “the deepest thing Nixon possessed,” writing that this was why he remained in the profession of politics to which he was in many ways badly unsuited.

Nixon was extremely bright and his introversion and self-discipline allowed him to cultivate that intellect through careful reading throughout his life.

His years out of office after the painful defeat to John F. Kennedy in 1960 were tough, but he used this time to consider global developments in greater detail: particularly the tensions between the Soviet Union and China which would later allow him to skilfully balance one off the other in order to achieve greater stability and reduce the risk of nuclear war.

Perlstein’s obvious dislike of Nixon the man and his occasional lapses into leftist sniping are a blight on an otherwise absorbing book.

Yet it is impossible to disagree with the author’s conclusions about how Nixon’s resentments and paranoia clouded his judgement and paved the way for the Watergate scandal that ruined him.

Populism

Nixonland is ultimately about the nation rather than the man who eventually led it. The lessons contained in these pages are of the greatest relevance to the current era.

The swing to the right would not have occurred in America in the 1968 and 1972 elections had a broad portion of the population not been repulsed by the Democratic Party’s embrace of the worst parts of the Sixties social revolution.

Speaking off the record, one Democratic Senator would label the party’s 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern as being for “amnesty, acid and abortion” — meaning amnesty for Vietnam draft dodgers coupled with the legalisation of drugs and abortion.

Nixon’s 49-state drubbing of McGovern showed conclusively where ordinary Americans stood at the time, much to the horror of the liberal elite.

Even centrists and progressives were concerned about the societal breakdown around them, though. Perlstein quotes the novelist John Steinbeck, who was disgusted by “the mistrust and revolt against all authority” which many young people were engaged in, and who lamented the ending of a more peaceful era where “the rules were understood and accepted by everyone.”

Again, parallels can be drawn. However, societal decay (as measured by family structure, religious belief, church attendance and so forth) has grown much worse over the last half-century.

Traditional values and norms are not nearly as popular, as many people in today’s world have not experienced them to the same degree.

Moreover, Donald Trump lacks the ability to finesse his message in the way that the infinitely more measured Richard Nixon did. This gives the Democrats more reason to hope than they should have, given Joe Biden’s record.

The fact that Trump remains popular, especially with lower-income and non-college-educated voters, is a key reason why modern liberals are adopting an elitist language and policy approach, which Perlstein first identifies in the 1960s.

“Liberal intellectuals were betraying themselves in a moment of crisis for liberal ideology. They saw themselves as tribunes of the people, Republicans as the people’s traducers,” Perlstein writes, adding that prominent liberals began to develop a “distaste” for those voters who thought differently, including when it came to the merits or demerits of Richard Nixon.

We are much further down that path now, as the “basket of deplorables” threatens to elect Donald Trump a second time.

Fifteen years after Nixonland was published, Perlstein’s assertion about the “rise of two American identities” has never seemed more accurate.

His previously startling question to readers — “Do Americans not hate each other enough to fantasise about killing one another, in cold blood, over political and cultural disagreements?” — is far less shocking, not least given that the popular new movie Civil War presents this exact scenario.

For anyone who wants to understand the political dynamics at play in today’s America, Nixonland is essential reading.


What do you think about the current condition of the United States? Leave a comment below. 


AUTHOR

JAMES BRADSHAW

James Bradshaw writes from Ireland on topics including politics, history, culture, film and literature.

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

Our Daughters Will Reap The Consequences Of Feminists Killing Boy Scouts thumbnail

Our Daughters Will Reap The Consequences Of Feminists Killing Boy Scouts

By Mary Rooke

Editors’ Note: The author makes an excellent point. The arguments made by feminists that there should be no differences between men and women and that they should be “equal” in all regards has led to the transgender movement, which is erasing the very concept of womanhood. In addition, if there can be no places for men to be with men, and boys to be with boys, then why should there be special places for women?  We think there should be special places for both. In addition, the constant man-hating of some feminists undermines the role of fatherhood with severe attendant problems for the formation of two-parent families. Women often complain about the lack of decent and competent men. We agree it is a problem. But how do they think decent men are formed?

While women are demanding the respect of “female-only spaces” free from the transgender cult, little is talked about how feminism opened the door to this harmful ideology by attacking men.

The Boy Scouts changed their name to Scouting America, signaling the latest step in their decline from what was once a premier club for young boys before feminism dug its claws in. The cracks in the Boy Scout armor started in 1991 when the parents of Margot Goldstein, then Margo Mankes, sued the club for sex-based discrimination when their daughter was denied access to an all-boys sleep-away camp and kicked out of her pack.

The Mankes were longtime members of the Boy Scouts. Both parents were leaders, and their two older sons were scouts. One even rose to the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. Despite apparently knowing the group’s bylaws, they signed their daughter up for their local Cub Scout Pack.

This move went unnoticed by the national organization until Goldstein was set to join other troops at a Boy Scout summer overnight camp. She was denied entry because it was a boys-only event. Her parents then sued the organization to allow her to join the camp, which would have made her the first girl to be admitted to the event. (ROOKE: Tom Brady’s Haters Expose One Of Feminism’s Worst Tropes)

“Keeping girls out of the Boy Scouts deprives them of the opportunity to get the companionship and the competition that they need in order to be able to prepare themselves for the future,” Mark Rubin, the family’s attorney, argued.

Goldstein was already a member of the Girl Scouts. However, she told the media that she felt “kind of bored” while at the girls-only club and wanted to be a part of an organization that her brothers had thrived in.

When the Boy Scouts decided in 2017 to open their doors to girls, Goldstein told TIME magazine it wasn’t enough. “It’s nice to see them making steps and progressing in a good direction,” she told the outlet. ” … but it’s still not the same as what I was fighting for.” Goldstein didn’t just want to be allowed to be part of a single-gender pack; she wanted to be allowed into the boys’ space.

“Our feeling is that the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts were specifically designed to meet the needs for young boys. And the needs for young boys are very different from young girls,” said Blake Lewis, a Dallas-based Boy Scouts spokesman, while defending the organization in 1991. (ROOKE: We Have One Shot To Save Female Sports, Or It’s All Over)

Englishman Sir Robert Baden-Powell ignited the Boy Scout movement in 1908 to instill morality and good citizenship among the younger generation. The organization was meant to foster Christian Western culture in young boys by teaching them to “First: Love and serve God. Second: Love and serve your neighbor,” as Baden-Powell wrote in “Scouting for Boys.”

“There is a vast reserve of loyal patriotism and Christian spirit lying dormant in our nation today, mainly because it sees no direct opportunity for expressing itself … In this joyous brotherhood, there is vast opportunity open to all … It gives every man his chance of service for his fellow-men and for God,” Baden-Powell wrote.

Feminism is the straight line from “shattering glass ceilings” of boys’ clubs to seeing a biological male in a dress in a female locker room.

Women should have opportunities that allow them to learn important skills and how to thrive via competition without being forced to include biological men in their organizations. And men deserve the same opportunities without being forced to include women. Both can be true at the same time.

However, liberal women capitalizing on the so-called female rights gained from the sexual revolution ruined this for everyone with their attack on masculinity.

There was already a space for girls with the wide availability of the Girl Scouts, but like Goldstein said, most girls found the curriculum boring. Still, the move was not to neuter a club meant to turn boys into capable men but to create an equal version of that for girls.

If they wanted to have a wilderness survival club, they should’ve remade the Girl Scouts into something other than the cookie-selling MLM it is today. But feminism isn’t a builder of cultures. It is designed to destroy tradition. (ROOKE: The Boys Will Be Alright, But What About Our Young Women?)

Men have experienced the destruction of their spaces, and the direct consequences are felt in the everyday attack on their inherent masculinity, which liberal women classify as toxic. Now, women are shocked that the march of feminism has taken them along, largely because they never thought a movement that supposedly supported women would pave the way for actual male toxicity to harm them.

But where were women when men’s spaces came under attack? In the cheering section, pushing to end them.

It seems very obvious to anyone who enjoys the freedom and safety of tradition that if men are attacked and told they aren’t allowed to acknowledge unique qualities, women will eventually feel the repercussions. America’s daughters are fighting for their right to change their clothes and compete in sports without the inclusion of biological males, and yet that same freedom was stripped from boys decades before with the praise and adoration of women.

In the end, the battle of the sexes became the greatest destroyer of our culture. The transgender cult has thrived in the absence of strong men. If we have any hope of fixing this travesty, it simply starts with allowing men the freedom to learn how to be keepers of society.

*****

This article was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation and is reproduced with permission.

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

NYPD Says Protesters Had Weapons, Gas Masks And ‘Death to America!’ Pamphlets thumbnail

NYPD Says Protesters Had Weapons, Gas Masks And ‘Death to America!’ Pamphlets

By Tom Gantert

A high-ranking official with the New York Police Department said protesters had weapons including knives and hammers as well as pamphlets with “Death to America!” written on them.

Michael Kemper, a NYPD’s chief of transit, posted photos Friday of what police confiscated from the protesters.

“For those romanticizing the protests occurring on college campuses, ‘Death to America!’ is one sentiment that runs counter to what we believe in, what we stand for, and what many have fought for on behalf of this country,” Kemper stated on X. “And if you think the words written on this piece of paper are disturbing … you should hear the vile, disgusting, hateful, & threatening words coming out of the mouths of far too many of these so called ‘peaceful protestors.’”

Kemper posted a video of a pamphlet that stated, “Death to Israeli Real Estate” and “Death to America!” The pamphlet also stated, “DISRUPT/RECLAIM/DESTROY Zionist business interests everywhere!”

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry posted on X photos of items he said the police confiscated from protesters who took over Hamilton Hall at Columbia University. The photo showed gas masks, ear plugs, helmets, goggles, tape, hammers, knives, ropes, and a book on terrorism. The book is by Charles Townshend, Professor of International History at Keele University in England. It was published in 2011 and is 161 pages.

“These are not the tools of students protesting, these are the tools of agitators, of people who were working on something nefarious,” Daughtry said on X. “Thankfully, your NYPD was able to prevent whatever they were planning and stop them before they could do it.”

Kemper asked who was organizing the protests.

“However, as we have been stating for the past 2 weeks, there is an underlying radical indoctrination of some of these students. Vulnerable and young people being influenced by professional agitators. Who is funding and leading this movement?” Kemper asked on X.

Kemper also posted a letter from The New School requesting the NYPD’s assistance in removing protesters from their campus on Friday.

“The actions and continuing escalation of these individuals are a substantial disruption of the educational environment and regular operations of the university,” the letter stated.

The New School is a university in New York City. It closed all academic building on Friday and classes were moved to online. The college said classes on campus would resume Saturday.

Fox News reported that 56 protesters were arrested at The New School and New York University.

*****

This article was published by The Center Square and is reproduced with permission.

Image Credit:YouTube Screenshot

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY 2024: How was the name ‘Israel’ chosen for the Jewish State? thumbnail

ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY 2024: How was the name ‘Israel’ chosen for the Jewish State?

By NEWSRAEL Telling the Israeli Story

Tonight we will celebrate the country’s birthday, but do you know the story behind the scenes of giving the name Israel to the country on the way?

On Wednesday, May 12, 1948, the leadership of the Hebrew settlement sat down in an attempt to find the most suitable name for the upcoming declaration of the state.

During the debate, the national executive (which later became the provisional government) sat on the preparation of the declaration on the establishment of a Jewish state.

After the announcement was decided, the question of the name came up, which required an immediate solution.

The members of the committee put forward a number of proposals, and to your surprise (perhaps) Israel was not the first…

During the discussion, various proposals were made.

The most requested name, the name that was supposed to be the name of the new state would be Judea.

However, when they came to examine the name, the name became problematic.

The area assigned to the Jewish state by the United Nations was entirely outside the territories of historical Judea, when the reunification of Jerusalem with the Jewish state was then seen as a distant vision.

As attached to the photo of the partition proposal, the territory of Yehuda was not at all within the territories of the partition proposal.

The next idea that came up was to call the country Zion (remember the name of this country ZION from the Matrix?), as the name of the renewed Zionist movement in Israel, but this name was also rejected due to the fact that Mount Zion is in East Jerusalem, an area that was not part of the partition proposal.

The next proposal on the agenda was the state of the Sabra, as the name of the thorny plant that became a characteristic of the local residents of the settlement with the thorns on the outside, but the sweet fruit on the inside.

But there were those who said that the plant came from Central America to Europe and was not mentioned in our sources (which Ben-Gurion considered very much in his reliance on the vision of the prophets in establishing the National House in his third round).

It was Ben-Gurion, to put the name “Israel” on the table.

The name Israel appears as the name given by the angel to Jacob as a blessing after the struggle with him:

Genesis 32:9, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

And also later in the verse: “And all the congregation that come from Israel” — 2 Chronicles 3:25.

The Kingdom of Israel was the name of the northern kingdom of the two Hebrew kingdoms, which according to the Bible existed in the days of the First Temple. According to what is told in the Bible, the division of the United Kingdom of Israel occurred after the death of King Solomon when his son Rehoboam ascended to the throne.

The ruling symbols of the State of Israel were also seen later in history, on the “Israeli shekel” coin that was minted as part of the independent symbols of the administration of the Great Revolt between the years 66 and 70 AD.

After slight doubts, the name was accepted by the opinion of the majority of the board members and confirmed by a vote: seven (out of ten participants of the yeshiva) voted in favor of the name: Israel.

AUTHOR

Dr. Kobby Barda

Dr. Barda holds a Ph.D. in American Political history and International Affairs, specializing in research on Grassroots lobbies groups and their influence on Israel-U.S. relations. A senior researcher at the Haifa Laboratory for Religious Studies at the University of Haifa, Israel. Host and owner of the podcast “America Baby”.

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