“Apartheid”. Like most leftist smears, it reflects projection. Arab citizens inside Israel—over half of whom are Muslims—vote, run for office, and have organized political parties. As a fifth of the population, they enjoy more security,…
“Apartheid”. Like most leftist smears, it reflects projection. Arab citizens inside Israel—over half of whom are Muslims—vote, run for office, and have organized political parties. As a fifth of the population, they enjoy more security, prosperity, and freedom than do their counterparts in the surrounding Arab nations.
In contrast, can one envision non-Arab Christian or Jewish residents of Gaza voting, running for office, forming political parties, or criticizing Hamas? This projected charge of apartheid, it applies to Hamas, which considers anyone other than Arab Muslims as inferiors to be kept out of Gaza.
“Ceasefire”. A ceasefire, truce, or armistice rarely ends the conflict for good unless both sides are worn out, and mutually agree that neither can win and the war is thus regrettable—a rare phenomenon in military history. More often, ceasefires are mere breathers for one or both sides to frantically resupply and rearm for rounds two, three, four…
Ultimately, wars—even those that last decades—end when one side loses and the other wins (often most clearly via‘unconditional’ surrender), or both suffer such calamitous losses that each believes victory is unachievable and will in the future continue to be so. Unless the antithetical political agendas that lead to war are resolved, then breathers and truces and time-outs eventually ensure lengthy or multiple wars. Victory leading to the loser’s abandonment of political agendas more often leads to lasting peace.
“Disproportionate”. Can anyone recall a war won by proportionate measures?
When war is proportionate it more often turns into a Stalingrad—or perhaps an Ukraine—until one side finds a disproportionate response that will change endless stasis to victory.
World War II was not won by a proportionate response to Pearl Harbor. And what would be a proportionate response to the murder of a thousand civilians?
Under the logic of “proportionality,” ought the Israeli state then invade Gaza and likewise murder a thousand of its civilians? The whole concept of a “proportionate” response to an unprovoked massacre of women and children asleep in their homes and during a peace is absurd.
“Civilian casualties”. In this war, almost all intentional civilian deaths are due to Hamas. The civilian dead consist of three unfortunate categories:
1) Over a thousand Jewish civilians, at a time of holiday, butchered by invading Hamas killer squads.
2) Gazan civilian shields whose homes and places of work are deliberately used to protect and enable Hamas rocketeers and shooters to wage war with impunity—in the expectation that Israel regards Gazan life as more valuable than does Hamas, and therefore won’t retaliate to missile launches by indiscriminately killing civilian shields. Hamas expects, even hopes, that they will be killed and thus bring them political advantage by their numerous deaths.
3) The general population of Gaza. The charter of Hamas ensures that its apparat will wage perpetual war at any cost against Israel. Hamas has no interest in a two-state solution, lasting armistices, or using billions of dollars in foreign aid to ensure modern power, water, and sewage plants for its people. Instead, it treats its own population as expendable and subordinate to its own tunnel-making and rocket-launching.
“Cycle of violence”. This phrase almost suggests that violence is organic, autonomous, without culpability, and thus not incited by one side. War, however, never works that way. Instead, there is usually definable 51% and more culpability on one side.
In the case of October 7, who invaded the country of another to enact a year-long preplanned plan of savagely murdering and mutilating women and children?
Was Israel intent on violence or was Hamas? Did Hamas call up their intended targets and urge them to flee before they arrived? Is that IDF trait even conceivable within Hamas?
While Hamas spent the year planning the precivilizational massacres of Jewish women and children, Israel—naively convinced that Hamas was concentrating on domestic affairs rather than its usual savage agenda of torching, stabbing, and shooting Jews—was at the time negotiating détente with Saudi Arabia and inviting nearly 20,000 Gazans a day to enter Israel to work and earn a living?
“Innocents”. All collateral damage is tragic, and, for example, children in Gaza are obviously innocent. But, while any noncombatant can be an innocent civilian, not all innocent civilians are created equal. Their collective innocence or guilt may not be absolute, but it can be fairly determined by their support for the agendas of its combatants and government. That is—whether they are empowering something like the SS or trying to stop it.
If bands of Israeli soldiers surprise-invaded Gaza with orders to grab hostages and focus on murdering women and children and then desecrating their corpses in hopes of psychologically devastating Gazans, they would likely be brought up on charges by the IDF or shunned and ostracized by their own people.
In contrast, when hostages were paraded in Gaza, civilians there seemed to enjoy spitting on and striking them. The return from Israel of the Gazan hostage-takers and murderers was met by ecstatic crowds.
The German population, similarly ruled by a “one man, one vote, once” dictatorship, was ebullient over Hitler’s success from 1939 to 1941, but lost their enthusiasm from 1942 to 1945, and feigned innocence (out of alleged ignorance or powerlessness) after the war was over.
So too, Gazans on Saturday, October 7 were enthralled on news of a thousand murdered Jews—only two weeks later to pose as innocent civilians not deserving retaliation for the inhuman violence against the innocent that they had so recently and so eagerly supported and cheered on.”
Yes. The news is the R party is loaded with traitors who work for donors, not voters.
BREAKING: Jim Jordan just met privately with Steve Scalise requesting help in the Speaker race. Scalise would NOT commit and according to CNN's congressional reporter Annie Grayer, is "not being a team player."
~ WASHINGTON—Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) appeared likely to again fall short of the votes needed to be elected House speaker in a second ballot Wednesday, prompting lawmakers to more seriously consider other avenues for breaking the impasse that has paralyzed the chamber.
More than two weeks after former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) was ousted, Republicans remained gripped in a fierce internal struggle over who to elect to lead them. Jordan, a favorite of the party’s populist wing but viewed skeptically by centrist and GOP establishment lawmakers, lost 20 Republican votes in the first ballot Tuesday afternoon, exceeding the handful of defections he can afford in the narrowly divided House with all Democrats opposed.
The chamber’s operations have ground to a halt with no elected speaker. The House can’t take any steps to provide additional aid to Israel or Ukraine, fueling frustration among lawmakers over the stalemate. Congress also faces a crucial deadline next month, when the federal government’s current funding runs out. The lack of progress toward a new leader has reignited talk of assigning more powers to speaker pro tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.) to get critical work done. … ~
Another good piece in World about reading the news in times of war and other ‘foggy’ atmospheres (and why it sometimes takes a while to ferret it all out — getting it right takes time and careful reporting readers may not always be able to rely on instant analysis of events — it takes work and time also by news consumers, which is all of us):
_________________
*The fog of war and “seeing through” the news*
It’s important to be skeptical of sensational claims without being cynical
~ Hamas murdered children with a brutalism that’s too much to bear. That was the most grotesque storyline from Hamas’s recent heinous and tragic attack on Israel. And yet, no sooner than it was reported, the news was doubted. It was too gross, too specific—a perfect case of incitement. So, in the face of doubts, the Israeli government did something extraordinary. They published pictures of dead babies. This story adds to the horrific nature of this latest round of terrorism.
It also raises an important point about the role of skepticism and the news. Who do we trust? How should Christians see through the fog of war?
In times of turmoil, we must not have a gullible disposition. But neither can we tolerate a cynical spirit. Instead, Christians must make sure that our caution is always combined with a sincere desire for the truth.
There have, of course, been many false stories in the reporting about Hamas and Israel. Fake news is real. On Oct. 9, several X (formerly known as Twitter) accounts claimed that “Israel just blew up the third oldest church in the world.” But this wasn’t true. In fact, no actual news outlet broke the story. “Reports” on the internet, which appeared to be news outlets (but weren’t), all merely pointed back to X for their proof. Within a few hours, representatives of the church in question corrected the record. There had been no attack. The church was unharmed. It was fake news.
The story about the murdered children has some similarities to this. It is an extremely emotional claim. Children are weak and vulnerable. Beheading them goes above and beyond any normal notion of collateral damage. It shows barbarism and should predictably elicit a dramatic response.
But the differences are important, too. This story doesn’t rest on a tweet. It was first reported by an official news outlet. And after questioning, that reporter stood by her claims. There have also been several other witnesses. CBS News found a source who claimed to have seen beheaded babies. Similarly, a CNN reporter on the ground said that men, women, and children were bound, executed, and had their heads cut off, though he doesn’t specify which people suffered which fate. The BBC was also able to find a source who claimed firsthand testimony of the beheadings. This is the distinction between truth and fake news. Multiple sources went into print with names attached, citing firsthand testimony.
At the same time, there are still a lot of questions. It’s important to notice that the original story does not say, as many claimed, that 40 babies were beheaded. It says that at least 40 bodies were carried away, some of whom were infants, and that some of these had been beheaded.
A recent article from Sky News confirms the reports of brutal murder and torture, and it states that at least one victim was found beheaded. It does not state that a large group of babies were beheaded. And so our conclusion should be that an enormous war crime was committed. Innocent men, women, children, and even babies were murdered, some of whom were tortured and some of whom were beheaded. The claim that “40 babies were beheaded” was a misunderstanding of the original reporting, but the attack was nonetheless barbaric and cruel beyond measure.
The reality is that in a world of 24-hour news and nonstop social media there will always be both outright fake stories and true stories that are mixed with misperceptions and errors. We must learn to tell the difference, and, with some work, we can. The only solution to disinformation is our own consumption habits and the filters in our heads and hearts. Christians have to remember how to ask questions and how to find answers. No one is going to do it for us. Still, we also have to believe that those answers can be found. There actually are less trustworthy sources and more trustworthy ones. We can ask reasonable questions to decide if a story is likely. We can decide how much challenge it deserves.
Behind all of this lies the danger of cynicism. Having been let down in the past, we can adopt a permanently critical posture towards all news. It’s all fake, we might say. “They” are lying.
Christians have to keep looking for the truth. We must remember the standard for truth, God’s word, as well as those natural measures of intelligibility and reason He gives to all. We must question but question rightly. And we must never give up believing that the truth is there and can be found.
We also need to keep the right perspective. What is the goal of our doubting? In the case of the story of the murdered children, the reality is a nightmare. Let’s guard our hearts. We must never let debates about the news take away our basic capacity for revulsion. And we must call out evil. The alternative is sheer madness. ~
____________________
Too many RINOs with TDS are terribly afraid of a Speaker Jim Jordan. Jordan would (will) be an excellent Speaker!
I ask them: Where is your heart? Is it for God, country, family? Or what? Americans are waiting (but running out of patience)… let’s honor our Constitutional Republic.
“The House can’t take any steps to provide additional aid to Israel or Ukraine, fueling frustration among lawmakers over the stalemate.”
——-
Israel has all the billions in aid it needs. It had plenty of ammo too, until Biden raided it for Ukraine while useless Rs stood by and did nothing under McCarthy.
And I could care less if Ukraine gets another dime to launder back to the Biden Crime Family. The majority of R voters agree with me, not the Defense Contractor beholden sellouts in the RINO/Establishment wing.
—
Next up.
“Congress also faces a crucial deadline next month, when the federal government’s current funding runs out.”
Maybe if they did their damned jobs in the first place, they’d pass an actual budget, you know, like the constitution requires they do. Instead it’s pass the buck and run up the tab with Continuing Resolutions. They resolutely continue to not do their job.
The govt has run up an additional 2 trillion in debt since McCarthy and the RINO/Establishment wing gave Biden a blank check with no debt limit 2 years ago. They’ve done nothing to fix or stop it. So who really gives a crap if they shut down, they’re useless anyway, and would waste far less taxpayer money if they did.
Giving RINO McHenry more power just ensures this continues. Yet somehow these people think voters are behind them?
Tychicus, the “Republican” Party (not even sure what that means anymore) is deeply divided with significant sub-parties on either side that are at odds (and will continue to be, from the looks of it).
Successful political parties are coalitions that represent some differences but within a side of the political spectrum where *general* consensus can usually be reached.
The GOP is no longer a party that can function — and is, essentially, I believe, now dysfunctional.
What that means for the future I’m to sure, perhaps a formal split into smaller parties? But a party this divided — and mini-parties breaking off — don’t bode well for winning a national election.
We’ll see how 2024 pans out, but while both parties appear weak, the GOP is in a much weaker position right now.
The IDF has released a phone call allegedly between 2 Hamas operatives where one informs the other that the Islamic Jihad missile was launched from a cemetery near the hospital and the shrapnel is consistent with one of their missiles. pic.twitter.com/LFkwBs52m7
We also had a clear announcement at 19:00 by Hamas that they would be launching rockets at Israel. The first announcement of the hospital being hit was exactly 10 minutes later. https://t.co/L3pU4OXTjFpic.twitter.com/DCcO48Sbf8
We have video from an Al Jazeera livestream showing a rocket being launched, misfiring, and then part of the payload falling down nearby that is from 18:59 (within a minute of the Hamas announcement). pic.twitter.com/IMaR5axAId
Polls are snapshots that aren’t always applicable on the big-picture scale, and they should be taken as that, with a grain of salt perhaps; but this one came up with some interesting (surprising? not-surprising?) results:
Miami Herald
Large portion of Americans doubt democracy and view violence as acceptable, poll finds
~ A large portion of Americans on both sides of the aisle favor getting rid of democracy and imposing violence on their political opponents, among other authoritarian measures, according to a new poll.
Thirty-one percent of Donald Trump supporters and 24% of President Joe Biden supporters said democracy is “no longer viable” and an alternative system should be tried, according to an October poll from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
The poll surveyed 2,008 registered voters from Aug. 25 to Sept. 11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
Other key findings:
When asked whether it is acceptable to employ violence to stop political opponents from attaining their goals, 41% of Biden supporters and 38% of Trump supporters said yes.
30% of Trump supporters and 25% of Biden supporters said elections should be suspended in times of crisis.
41% of Trump supporters and 30% of Biden supporters said they favor either conservative or liberal states seceding from the union.
Nearly half of Biden supporters, 47%, and 35% of Trump supporters said the government should restrict the expression of views “considered discriminatory or offensive.” … ~
In Summary: There is now substantial evidence that the explosion was the result of a misfired missile for Islamic Jihad. The only evidence of an Israeli air strike, or even the casualty count that was reported, appears to be the word of a terrorist group that regularly murders… https://t.co/kpEZNjOS9L
“In Summary: There is now substantial evidence that the explosion was the result of a misfired missile for Islamic Jihad. The only evidence of an Israeli air strike, or even the casualty count that was reported, appears to be the word of a terrorist group that regularly murders Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
The media’s choice in rushing to judgement and taking the word of that terrorist group appears to be the worst media screwup of my lifetime. It will lead to extensive violence.
The fact that 2 members of Congress ran with the blood libel without waiting for the facts and one continues to double down is beyond shameful. They should resign.”
So yesterday, @oneunderscore__ retweeted a post lamenting how hard it is to tell what's real from fake on this site, while also pushing the idea that 500 people were killed in a hospital bombing. Maybe one good way to determine if a story is valid is to ignore Ben Collins. pic.twitter.com/tbznydBvJP
Look at the front page picture of the NYT. The juxtaposition of the picture of a destroyed building and the headline about the hospital implies that it's a picture of the hospital. https://t.co/86fqELzUDu
— kweansmom #JusticeForMalkiRoth 🇮🇱 (@kweansmom) October 18, 2023
I didn’t even think about that. NYT used a picture from a completely different location while (falsely) blaming the strike on Israel because the hospital location doesn’t have any destroyed buildings. https://t.co/lWreWz3rZv
This is turning into a huge embarrassment for the @nytimes. False headline, wrong picture. Total journalistic malpractice. Literally “fake news.” https://t.co/Oqqqt1Ekcd
The Idaho Republican Party has been inundated with emails and phone calls from registered Idaho voters expressing their profound disappointment with Congressman Mike Simpson’s decision today. Their voices are invaluable to us, and they have…
“The Idaho Republican Party has been inundated with emails and phone calls from registered Idaho voters expressing their profound disappointment with Congressman Mike Simpson’s decision today. Their voices are invaluable to us, and they have made it clear that they expected our representative to stand firmly with the Republican caucus and to set games aside and put the business of the American people first.
As such, we would like to express our disappointment in our Republican U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson (ID-2) for not voting with the Republican caucus for Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House today. Our party has always championed fair and open deliberation, and it is disheartening to see one of our own Idaho congressmen deviate from a fair process to emphasize the same message as the radical Democrat members of the House.
Congressman Simpson’s inclination to engage in inside-the-Beltway political games rather than focusing on the pressing business that truly matters to our constituents is disappointing. Representative Simpson has served in congress for decades. Perhaps all this time away from Idaho has caused him to lose sight of the real work that Americans need on the important issues that impact them and their families.
We urge our Congressman to reconsider his position and refocus his efforts on addressing the significant issues confronting our constituents — rather than waste his time engaging in protest votes and parliamentary delay tactics. The people of Idaho expect Mike Simpson to represent their concerns and prioritize their needs above political games and partisan divisions. The true measure of his success will be in his steadfast defense of the constitution and the tangible benefits he delivers to the hardworking families of Idaho. We will be watching.”
Why is Biden currently in the Middle East? To delay Israeli plans for a ground invasion into Gaza. Look for other world leaders to head over to Israel as well in the coming days…
A french nun tackled one of the environmentalist wackos trying to blockade the construction site of a new church over its carbon footprint. pic.twitter.com/VTRqqPPgYp
When nuns are physically assaulting you, it might be a subtle indication that your movement does not enjoy widespread public approval. https://t.co/1aVvXXqsg7
Next Speaker vote set for Thursday as Jordan looks to win backers: live updates
BY THE HILL STAFF –
~ Fifteen days after Kevin McCarthy was removed as House Speaker, the chamber remains at a standstill and will not hold another vote to find a leader on Wednesday, a source familiar with the situation told The Hill.
House members cast a second round of ballots for Speaker, but House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) fared no better, in fact losing support from the first vote on Tuesday. The final Speaker vote was 199 for Jordan, 212 for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and 22 for someone else.
But speaking after the vote, Jordan was undeterred in his work to reach 217 votes and flip holdouts. The next vote will be Thursday.
“We picked up some today, a couple dropped off, but they voted for me before. I think they can come back again. So we’ll keep talking to members. Keep working on it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the push to expand the power of Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is heating up as the fractured GOP conference struggles to see a way forward. ~
_________________________
I tried to email Ken Buck but his site would not allow me to do so because I don’t live in “his” district! I live in the stinkin’ state he supposedly represents but he couldn’t care less. Garbage…..
Wandering Views 
The real Aj
“Apartheid”. Like most leftist smears, it reflects projection. Arab citizens inside Israel—over half of whom are Muslims—vote, run for office, and have organized political parties. As a fifth of the population, they enjoy more security, prosperity, and freedom than do their counterparts in the surrounding Arab nations.
In contrast, can one envision non-Arab Christian or Jewish residents of Gaza voting, running for office, forming political parties, or criticizing Hamas? This projected charge of apartheid, it applies to Hamas, which considers anyone other than Arab Muslims as inferiors to be kept out of Gaza.
“Ceasefire”. A ceasefire, truce, or armistice rarely ends the conflict for good unless both sides are worn out, and mutually agree that neither can win and the war is thus regrettable—a rare phenomenon in military history. More often, ceasefires are mere breathers for one or both sides to frantically resupply and rearm for rounds two, three, four…
Ultimately, wars—even those that last decades—end when one side loses and the other wins (often most clearly via‘unconditional’ surrender), or both suffer such calamitous losses that each believes victory is unachievable and will in the future continue to be so. Unless the antithetical political agendas that lead to war are resolved, then breathers and truces and time-outs eventually ensure lengthy or multiple wars. Victory leading to the loser’s abandonment of political agendas more often leads to lasting peace.
“Disproportionate”. Can anyone recall a war won by proportionate measures?
When war is proportionate it more often turns into a Stalingrad—or perhaps an Ukraine—until one side finds a disproportionate response that will change endless stasis to victory.
World War II was not won by a proportionate response to Pearl Harbor. And what would be a proportionate response to the murder of a thousand civilians?
Under the logic of “proportionality,” ought the Israeli state then invade Gaza and likewise murder a thousand of its civilians? The whole concept of a “proportionate” response to an unprovoked massacre of women and children asleep in their homes and during a peace is absurd.
“Civilian casualties”. In this war, almost all intentional civilian deaths are due to Hamas. The civilian dead consist of three unfortunate categories:
1) Over a thousand Jewish civilians, at a time of holiday, butchered by invading Hamas killer squads.
2) Gazan civilian shields whose homes and places of work are deliberately used to protect and enable Hamas rocketeers and shooters to wage war with impunity—in the expectation that Israel regards Gazan life as more valuable than does Hamas, and therefore won’t retaliate to missile launches by indiscriminately killing civilian shields. Hamas expects, even hopes, that they will be killed and thus bring them political advantage by their numerous deaths.
3) The general population of Gaza. The charter of Hamas ensures that its apparat will wage perpetual war at any cost against Israel. Hamas has no interest in a two-state solution, lasting armistices, or using billions of dollars in foreign aid to ensure modern power, water, and sewage plants for its people. Instead, it treats its own population as expendable and subordinate to its own tunnel-making and rocket-launching.
“Cycle of violence”. This phrase almost suggests that violence is organic, autonomous, without culpability, and thus not incited by one side. War, however, never works that way. Instead, there is usually definable 51% and more culpability on one side.
In the case of October 7, who invaded the country of another to enact a year-long preplanned plan of savagely murdering and mutilating women and children?
Was Israel intent on violence or was Hamas? Did Hamas call up their intended targets and urge them to flee before they arrived? Is that IDF trait even conceivable within Hamas?
While Hamas spent the year planning the precivilizational massacres of Jewish women and children, Israel—naively convinced that Hamas was concentrating on domestic affairs rather than its usual savage agenda of torching, stabbing, and shooting Jews—was at the time negotiating détente with Saudi Arabia and inviting nearly 20,000 Gazans a day to enter Israel to work and earn a living?
“Innocents”. All collateral damage is tragic, and, for example, children in Gaza are obviously innocent. But, while any noncombatant can be an innocent civilian, not all innocent civilians are created equal. Their collective innocence or guilt may not be absolute, but it can be fairly determined by their support for the agendas of its combatants and government. That is—whether they are empowering something like the SS or trying to stop it.
If bands of Israeli soldiers surprise-invaded Gaza with orders to grab hostages and focus on murdering women and children and then desecrating their corpses in hopes of psychologically devastating Gazans, they would likely be brought up on charges by the IDF or shunned and ostracized by their own people.
In contrast, when hostages were paraded in Gaza, civilians there seemed to enjoy spitting on and striking them. The return from Israel of the Gazan hostage-takers and murderers was met by ecstatic crowds.
The German population, similarly ruled by a “one man, one vote, once” dictatorship, was ebullient over Hitler’s success from 1939 to 1941, but lost their enthusiasm from 1942 to 1945, and feigned innocence (out of alleged ignorance or powerlessness) after the war was over.
So too, Gazans on Saturday, October 7 were enthralled on news of a thousand murdered Jews—only two weeks later to pose as innocent civilians not deserving retaliation for the inhuman violence against the innocent that they had so recently and so eagerly supported and cheered on.”
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Any news on the Speaker of the House?
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The real Aj
Yes. The news is the R party is loaded with traitors who work for donors, not voters.
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The real Aj
I told you the ADL is compromised by leftists. Institutional capture is a real thing.
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The real Aj
If only the media policed their own, and held them accountable for the lies they push.
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Like I said, traitors, to voters, the party, and their so called “principles”….
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Janice (just the news 🙂 ) :
~ WASHINGTON—Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) appeared likely to again fall short of the votes needed to be elected House speaker in a second ballot Wednesday, prompting lawmakers to more seriously consider other avenues for breaking the impasse that has paralyzed the chamber.
More than two weeks after former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) was ousted, Republicans remained gripped in a fierce internal struggle over who to elect to lead them. Jordan, a favorite of the party’s populist wing but viewed skeptically by centrist and GOP establishment lawmakers, lost 20 Republican votes in the first ballot Tuesday afternoon, exceeding the handful of defections he can afford in the narrowly divided House with all Democrats opposed.
The chamber’s operations have ground to a halt with no elected speaker. The House can’t take any steps to provide additional aid to Israel or Ukraine, fueling frustration among lawmakers over the stalemate. Congress also faces a crucial deadline next month, when the federal government’s current funding runs out. The lack of progress toward a new leader has reignited talk of assigning more powers to speaker pro tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.) to get critical work done. … ~
-dj
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Another good piece in World about reading the news in times of war and other ‘foggy’ atmospheres (and why it sometimes takes a while to ferret it all out — getting it right takes time and careful reporting readers may not always be able to rely on instant analysis of events — it takes work and time also by news consumers, which is all of us):
_________________
*The fog of war and “seeing through” the news*
It’s important to be skeptical of sensational claims without being cynical
~ Hamas murdered children with a brutalism that’s too much to bear. That was the most grotesque storyline from Hamas’s recent heinous and tragic attack on Israel. And yet, no sooner than it was reported, the news was doubted. It was too gross, too specific—a perfect case of incitement. So, in the face of doubts, the Israeli government did something extraordinary. They published pictures of dead babies. This story adds to the horrific nature of this latest round of terrorism.
It also raises an important point about the role of skepticism and the news. Who do we trust? How should Christians see through the fog of war?
In times of turmoil, we must not have a gullible disposition. But neither can we tolerate a cynical spirit. Instead, Christians must make sure that our caution is always combined with a sincere desire for the truth.
There have, of course, been many false stories in the reporting about Hamas and Israel. Fake news is real. On Oct. 9, several X (formerly known as Twitter) accounts claimed that “Israel just blew up the third oldest church in the world.” But this wasn’t true. In fact, no actual news outlet broke the story. “Reports” on the internet, which appeared to be news outlets (but weren’t), all merely pointed back to X for their proof. Within a few hours, representatives of the church in question corrected the record. There had been no attack. The church was unharmed. It was fake news.
The story about the murdered children has some similarities to this. It is an extremely emotional claim. Children are weak and vulnerable. Beheading them goes above and beyond any normal notion of collateral damage. It shows barbarism and should predictably elicit a dramatic response.
But the differences are important, too. This story doesn’t rest on a tweet. It was first reported by an official news outlet. And after questioning, that reporter stood by her claims. There have also been several other witnesses. CBS News found a source who claimed to have seen beheaded babies. Similarly, a CNN reporter on the ground said that men, women, and children were bound, executed, and had their heads cut off, though he doesn’t specify which people suffered which fate. The BBC was also able to find a source who claimed firsthand testimony of the beheadings. This is the distinction between truth and fake news. Multiple sources went into print with names attached, citing firsthand testimony.
At the same time, there are still a lot of questions. It’s important to notice that the original story does not say, as many claimed, that 40 babies were beheaded. It says that at least 40 bodies were carried away, some of whom were infants, and that some of these had been beheaded.
A recent article from Sky News confirms the reports of brutal murder and torture, and it states that at least one victim was found beheaded. It does not state that a large group of babies were beheaded. And so our conclusion should be that an enormous war crime was committed. Innocent men, women, children, and even babies were murdered, some of whom were tortured and some of whom were beheaded. The claim that “40 babies were beheaded” was a misunderstanding of the original reporting, but the attack was nonetheless barbaric and cruel beyond measure.
The reality is that in a world of 24-hour news and nonstop social media there will always be both outright fake stories and true stories that are mixed with misperceptions and errors. We must learn to tell the difference, and, with some work, we can. The only solution to disinformation is our own consumption habits and the filters in our heads and hearts. Christians have to remember how to ask questions and how to find answers. No one is going to do it for us. Still, we also have to believe that those answers can be found. There actually are less trustworthy sources and more trustworthy ones. We can ask reasonable questions to decide if a story is likely. We can decide how much challenge it deserves.
Behind all of this lies the danger of cynicism. Having been let down in the past, we can adopt a permanently critical posture towards all news. It’s all fake, we might say. “They” are lying.
Christians have to keep looking for the truth. We must remember the standard for truth, God’s word, as well as those natural measures of intelligibility and reason He gives to all. We must question but question rightly. And we must never give up believing that the truth is there and can be found.
We also need to keep the right perspective. What is the goal of our doubting? In the case of the story of the murdered children, the reality is a nightmare. Let’s guard our hearts. We must never let debates about the news take away our basic capacity for revulsion. And we must call out evil. The alternative is sheer madness. ~
____________________
-dj
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Too many RINOs with TDS are terribly afraid of a Speaker Jim Jordan. Jordan would (will) be an excellent Speaker!
I ask them: Where is your heart? Is it for God, country, family? Or what? Americans are waiting (but running out of patience)… let’s honor our Constitutional Republic.
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The anti-American agitators are currently causing chaos at the US Capitol…
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DJ at 10:44….
That’s laughable. 🙂
Let’s start with this doozy….
“The House can’t take any steps to provide additional aid to Israel or Ukraine, fueling frustration among lawmakers over the stalemate.”
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Israel has all the billions in aid it needs. It had plenty of ammo too, until Biden raided it for Ukraine while useless Rs stood by and did nothing under McCarthy.
And I could care less if Ukraine gets another dime to launder back to the Biden Crime Family. The majority of R voters agree with me, not the Defense Contractor beholden sellouts in the RINO/Establishment wing.
—
Next up.
“Congress also faces a crucial deadline next month, when the federal government’s current funding runs out.”
Maybe if they did their damned jobs in the first place, they’d pass an actual budget, you know, like the constitution requires they do. Instead it’s pass the buck and run up the tab with Continuing Resolutions. They resolutely continue to not do their job.
The govt has run up an additional 2 trillion in debt since McCarthy and the RINO/Establishment wing gave Biden a blank check with no debt limit 2 years ago. They’ve done nothing to fix or stop it. So who really gives a crap if they shut down, they’re useless anyway, and would waste far less taxpayer money if they did.
Giving RINO McHenry more power just ensures this continues. Yet somehow these people think voters are behind them?
Give me a break.
#USELESS GOP
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The real Aj
Since you forgot the link, where did that tripe come from exactly?
So I know to avoid them….
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Tychicus, the “Republican” Party (not even sure what that means anymore) is deeply divided with significant sub-parties on either side that are at odds (and will continue to be, from the looks of it).
Successful political parties are coalitions that represent some differences but within a side of the political spectrum where *general* consensus can usually be reached.
The GOP is no longer a party that can function — and is, essentially, I believe, now dysfunctional.
What that means for the future I’m to sure, perhaps a formal split into smaller parties? But a party this divided — and mini-parties breaking off — don’t bode well for winning a national election.
We’ll see how 2024 pans out, but while both parties appear weak, the GOP is in a much weaker position right now.
-dj
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Tychicus…..
Looks insurrectiony……
I guess some pigs really are more equal than others….
Since Democrats elected their Hamas Caucus, Omar, Talib, and the rest of the enemies within.
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X Twitter once again has to fact check the fake news spreaders in the MSM.
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Gee, why does no one trust us they ask….
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Polls are snapshots that aren’t always applicable on the big-picture scale, and they should be taken as that, with a grain of salt perhaps; but this one came up with some interesting (surprising? not-surprising?) results:
Miami Herald
Large portion of Americans doubt democracy and view violence as acceptable, poll finds
~ A large portion of Americans on both sides of the aisle favor getting rid of democracy and imposing violence on their political opponents, among other authoritarian measures, according to a new poll.
Thirty-one percent of Donald Trump supporters and 24% of President Joe Biden supporters said democracy is “no longer viable” and an alternative system should be tried, according to an October poll from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
The poll surveyed 2,008 registered voters from Aug. 25 to Sept. 11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
Other key findings:
When asked whether it is acceptable to employ violence to stop political opponents from attaining their goals, 41% of Biden supporters and 38% of Trump supporters said yes.
30% of Trump supporters and 25% of Biden supporters said elections should be suspended in times of crisis.
41% of Trump supporters and 30% of Biden supporters said they favor either conservative or liberal states seceding from the union.
Nearly half of Biden supporters, 47%, and 35% of Trump supporters said the government should restrict the expression of views “considered discriminatory or offensive.” … ~
— https://news.yahoo.com/large-portion-americans-doubt-democracy-160659069.html
– dj
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It’s just another indictment of pathetic US media that Al-Jazeera gets it right, yet they didn’t.
“In Summary: There is now substantial evidence that the explosion was the result of a misfired missile for Islamic Jihad. The only evidence of an Israeli air strike, or even the casualty count that was reported, appears to be the word of a terrorist group that regularly murders Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
The media’s choice in rushing to judgement and taking the word of that terrorist group appears to be the worst media screwup of my lifetime. It will lead to extensive violence.
The fact that 2 members of Congress ran with the blood libel without waiting for the facts and one continues to double down is beyond shameful. They should resign.”
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AJ, if you’re referring the World article, my apologies, I should have left the link:
https://wng.org/opinions/the-fog-of-war-and-seeing-through-the-news-1697580215
-dj
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Clowns…..
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Democrats will continue to fund the terrorists, with the help of the #USELESS GOP, of course.
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Trash.
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Yep.
Maybe they’ll win another Pulitzer for this too.
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So principled the traitors are.
Just kidding.
This isn’t a poll, it’s actual voters.
“The Idaho Republican Party has been inundated with emails and phone calls from registered Idaho voters expressing their profound disappointment with Congressman Mike Simpson’s decision today. Their voices are invaluable to us, and they have made it clear that they expected our representative to stand firmly with the Republican caucus and to set games aside and put the business of the American people first.
As such, we would like to express our disappointment in our Republican U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson (ID-2) for not voting with the Republican caucus for Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House today. Our party has always championed fair and open deliberation, and it is disheartening to see one of our own Idaho congressmen deviate from a fair process to emphasize the same message as the radical Democrat members of the House.
Congressman Simpson’s inclination to engage in inside-the-Beltway political games rather than focusing on the pressing business that truly matters to our constituents is disappointing. Representative Simpson has served in congress for decades. Perhaps all this time away from Idaho has caused him to lose sight of the real work that Americans need on the important issues that impact them and their families.
We urge our Congressman to reconsider his position and refocus his efforts on addressing the significant issues confronting our constituents — rather than waste his time engaging in protest votes and parliamentary delay tactics. The people of Idaho expect Mike Simpson to represent their concerns and prioritize their needs above political games and partisan divisions. The true measure of his success will be in his steadfast defense of the constitution and the tangible benefits he delivers to the hardworking families of Idaho. We will be watching.”
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Why is Biden currently in the Middle East? To delay Israeli plans for a ground invasion into Gaza. Look for other world leaders to head over to Israel as well in the coming days…
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Some US Christians would certainly disapprove….
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Oh, you were talking about the earlier post, I believe it was WSJ, graphs from a news story.
But maybe that’s not the “tripe” you were referring to? lol
There is another post that’s just from me, so maybe that was it. 🙂
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Another news update (from The Hill):
__________________
Link: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4262180-calls-mchenry-rise-jordan-speaker-vote-live-coverage/
Next Speaker vote set for Thursday as Jordan looks to win backers: live updates
BY THE HILL STAFF –
~ Fifteen days after Kevin McCarthy was removed as House Speaker, the chamber remains at a standstill and will not hold another vote to find a leader on Wednesday, a source familiar with the situation told The Hill.
House members cast a second round of ballots for Speaker, but House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) fared no better, in fact losing support from the first vote on Tuesday. The final Speaker vote was 199 for Jordan, 212 for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and 22 for someone else.
But speaking after the vote, Jordan was undeterred in his work to reach 217 votes and flip holdouts. The next vote will be Thursday.
“We picked up some today, a couple dropped off, but they voted for me before. I think they can come back again. So we’ll keep talking to members. Keep working on it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the push to expand the power of Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is heating up as the fractured GOP conference struggles to see a way forward. ~
_________________________
-dj
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I tried to email Ken Buck but his site would not allow me to do so because I don’t live in “his” district! I live in the stinkin’ state he supposedly represents but he couldn’t care less. Garbage…..
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The flying nun!
mumsee
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