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OCTOBER 12-13,  2023

LITTLE BY LITTLE:  Please remember that the Israel/Hamas war is only a week old.   We like quick results in this country, but let's not be more unrealistic than we have to.  Israel was able to announce a major blow to the enemy earlier tonight.  From the New York Post: 

Murad Abu Murad, a top Hamas official who helped orchestrate last week’s murderous attack in Israel, was killed during an overnight airstrike, according to the Israeli Air Force.
Murad is the head of Hamas’s Air Force, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing Hebrew media.

Israel also recovered the bodies of several missing citizens during a raid on Gaza, the IDF confirmed.

The remains were transported back to Israel.

On Friday, Israel dropped thousands of fliers in Gaza imploring citizens to “leave immediately” while Hamas urged residents to disregard the orders.

Israel directed the massive evacuation of up to 1.1 million Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip within the next 24 hours ahead of a possible ground invasion targeting Hamas terrorists. Meanwhile, Hamas dismissed the warning and told citizens to “remain steadfast in your homes,” and to “stand firm in the face of this disgusting psychological war.”

The death toll now stands at 1,300 in Israel, including 27 Americans, and another 1,900 in Gaza.

COMMENT:   One of Israel's major goals is to take out the top management of Hamas.  This follows, logically, Israel's elimination over the years of some of Iran's senior nuclear scientists.  It's a dirty business, but it has to be done.  Cut off the head of the snake.  Expect more stories like this.

There are no indications yet that the Israeli forces have located the estimated 100 to 150 hostages taken by Hamas in the first stages of its terror attack last week.

October 13, 2023       Permalink 

WE'RE DEALING WITH TWO MAJOR STORIES, STILL DEVELOPING – THE GROWING WAR BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE TERROR GROUP HAMAS, AND THE GOVERNMENTAL CRISIS IN OUR OWN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WHERE THE REPUBLICAN MAJORITY CANNOT GET ITS ACT TOGETHER AND SELECT A NEW SPEAKER:

We seem to be at a key moment in the Israel-Hamas war.  Israel has given a 24-hour deadline for about a million Gazans to be moved south, for their own safety.  The UN replied that the move was impossible in such a short time.  Israel severely criticized the UN for its sluggishness and indifference.  The UN clearly takes the Arab side. 

The Israeli demand, according to many experts, is a sign that the ground war in Gaza is about to begin, with Israel inserting large numbers of troops and special units to obliterate Hamas and its infrastructure.  And these experts warn that this kind of urban-fighting campaign can get very nasty and bloody.   This war is just beginning.

In the United States, government chaos is the isssue.  One day after winning the House Republican caucus nomination to be speaker, Majority Leader Steve Scalise withdrew from the contest.  He simply did not have the number of votes necessary on the floor to guarantee his election.  From Fox: 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., has dropped out of the race for House speaker. 

He announced the decision following a closed-door meeting with fellow House Republicans Thursday evening.

In a press conference following his decision to step aside, Scalise called for the Republican Party to come together for the country over its members' own political agendas.

"If you look over the last few weeks, if you look at where our conference is, there's still work to be done. Our conference still has to come together and is not there. There are still some people that have their own agendas. And I was very clear we have to have everybody put their agendas on the side and focus on what this country needs. This country is counting on us to come back together," he said.

"This House of Representatives needs a speaker, and we need to open up the House again. But clearly, not everybody is there. And they're still schisms that have to get resolved. I never came here for a title I've had some great titles. I'm the Majority Leader of the House, and I love the job I have," he added

Scalise went on to say that he would push for a new speaker to be elected quickly, but stopped short of making any endorsement.

COMMENT:  The Republican Party has worked hard over the years to lose elections.  They've kind of perfected the art form.  And they're headed for another loss unless they can discipline their House delegation and start working for the American people.  This situation is beyond embarrassing.

Maybe they can break the mold and just nominate Lassie to be speaker.  She's perfect for today's society.  She's female.  A female of color.  She's single and has rejected the traditional nuclear family.   Okay, it's obvious that she's a Democrat, but the Republicans are desperate.

October 13, 2023       Permalink

OCTOBER 10-11,  2023

REGARDING THE STORY JUST BELOW:  NYPD is springing into action.  Other cities please copy.  From the New York Post: 

The NYPD has ordered all cops to report in uniform starting Friday in anticipation of potential unrest stemming from a call by the former leader of Hamas to stage global demonstrations in support of Palestinians, The Post has learned.

“All uniformed members of the service in every rank, will perform duty in the uniform of the day and be prepared for deployment,” read a Wednesday night memo sent to all NYPD members.

Cops will not be granted excusals or shift changes and the order will remain in effect “until further notice,” according to the memo.

The directive was issued after Khaled Meshaal, who served as chief of Hamas from 2004 to 2017, called on the Islamic world to stage the protests on Friday.

The NYPD is also beefing up security at all of its 77 police precincts, assigning additional cops to monitor entryways and parking areas at the station houses, according to the internal memo.

Additionally, the department activated its Joint Operations Center (JOC) at its Manhattan headquarters in anticipation of the possible mayhem.

Multiple agencies — including the Sanitation Department, Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority and the FDNY — will be required to alert the JOC “as soon as they become aware of any incidents related to this event” from Thursday through Sunday, the memo states.

The call from Meshaal came as Israeli forces continued to hit back at the Gaza Strip in response to the bloody sneak attack Hamas launched over the weekend.

COMMENT:  We have not seen specific evidence of planned attacks against American cities, but it must be assumed that Hamas will be thinking in those terms.  The NYPD is acting wisely. The WOKE crowd could not be reached for comment.

October 11,  2023     Permalink 

THE COMING QUESTION:  We have all watched in horror the news reports coming from the Mideast.  The sheer intensity of the coverage, a credit to a news industry we ordinarily like to criticize, has forced us to see things we hoped we'd never see. 

But a question is now being asked, on news programs and in newspaper columns:  Could it happen here?  Our southern border is practically wide open.  The assumption that all those who cross illegally into this country are from South or Central American societies has been shattered repeatedly.  If truth be told, a number of young men of fighting age, and from the Mideast, have made their way into this country through our porous southern border, and we don't know who they are.

Fewer than 20 men carried out the 9-11 attacks.  Are we preparing the way for another 9-11?  From Fox: 

Thousands of "special interest aliens" from numerous countries, including the Middle East, have been arrested by Border Patrol agents while attempting to cross the U.S. southern border illegally over the last two years, according to internal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data leaked to Fox News.

"Special interest aliens" are people from countries identified by the U.S. government as having conditions that promote or protect terrorism or potentially pose some sort of national security threat to the U.S.

That data, confirmed by multiple CBP sources and reflects apprehensions between ports of entry between October 2021 and October 2023, shows that agents encountered 6,386 nationals from Afghanistan in that period as well as 3,153 from Egypt, 659 from Iran and 538 from Syria.

Agents also encountered 13,624 from Uzbekistan, 30,830 from Turkey, 1,613 from Pakistan, 164 from Lebanon, 185 from Jordan, 139 from Yemen, 123 from Iraq and 15,594 from Mauritania. The data does not include information on how many of those migrants were removed or who were released into the U.S. with a court date.

COMMENT:  That is a chilling picture.  I have to believe that some, or most, of those who slipped in are trained terrorists.  I have to believe that they're working right now to do something awful on American soil. 

But is anyone showing any sense of urgency?  Or are we asleep again, as we were before Pearl Harbor, or 9-11?

October 11, 2023       Permalink