Displaying posts published in

September 2021

A Mistaken Pentagon Drone Attack? Evidence builds that the U.S. killed 10 innocents on Aug. 29 in Kabul.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pentagon-drone-attack-10-dead-kabul-investigation-11631477201?mod=opinion_lead_pos3

Did the Biden Administration mistakenly kill 10 innocents, including seven children, as it rushed to the Afghanistan exits last month? That is what a growing body of evidence seems to show, and Congress ought to look for the truth.

On Aug. 29 a U.S. missile blew up a car the Pentagon had been following for hours, as the U.S. evacuation was nearing its end. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called it a “righteous strike” and President Biden mentioned drone strikes as evidence the U.S. was hitting back against ISIS-K for the suicide bomber who killed 13 Americans.

But reporting by the New York Times and Washington Post suggests the attack on the white Toyota Corolla may have been a terrible mistake. It killed Zemari Ahmadi, a longtime employee of the U.S. nonprofit Nutrition and Education International, who had wanted to emigrate to the U.S.

The media accounts are compelling in their detail that Ahmadi wasn’t collecting explosives that day. He had loaded water into the car to bring home because water to his neighborhood had stopped since the Taliban takeover. He stopped during the day at the nonprofit’s office, not an ISIS safe house. The missile that killed him exploded in a crowded neighborhood and the dead included children who approached the car when it backed into a courtyard.

Targeting terrorists is a fraught endeavor, and mistakes are inevitable. But the timing and details of this attack are troubling because the Biden Administration was looking to show it was taking action to protect Americans after the 13 airport deaths.

‘Wounding Warriors’ Review: Ready But Not Able A robust disability program, though well-intentioned, creates disincentives to work and harms the veterans it is meant to help. Sally Satel

https://www.wsj.com/articles/wounding-warriors-review-ready-but-not-able-11631477839?mod=opinion_reviews_pos1

Consider a tale of two Army veterans. Jeff served two terms as an infantry soldier in Afghanistan, moved home to the Midwest, graduated from college and landed a secure job in a utilities firm. Matt fought alongside Jeff, left the Army at the same time and headed home to North Carolina. By the time he was in his 30s, though, Matt was unemployed and dependent on government checks.

Why did Jeff thrive while Matt lost his civilian footing? The answer, according to Daniel M. Gade, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, and Daniel Huang, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, is the Department of Veterans Affairs—in particular, its robust disability system. “Economists have known for decades that disability insurance benefits create a disincentive to work,” they write in “Wounding Warriors.” “Rather than foster resilience, the VA is responsible for breeding passivity.”

In their compelling exposé, the authors show in detail how a well-intended system can inadvertently lure fragile veterans, step by step, away from the worlds of work and community. The trajectory typically starts just before separation from the service. Soldiers meet with VA representatives who emphasize opportunities to collect disability compensation. Jeff, for one, wanted to “get out and get on” with his life, while Matt took the VA agent’s advice “and filed for every condition he could think of.”

Matt’s career plan had been to secure a coveted job in law enforcement, but the field was highly competitive in his hometown. So he took a job with his dad’s construction company. But the physical toll of the job was too much for the former paratrooper’s knees and back. Deeply depressed, now out of work and living in his parents’ home, Matt tried college but felt overwhelmed. Meanwhile, anxious about his future, he kept applying for, and being granted, higher disability ratings—receiving, eventually, a monthly tax-free check exceeding $3,000. One of his disabilities was listed as posttraumatic stress disorder.

Those Still Left Behind in Afghanistan The U.S. isn’t doing nearly enough to free those who are trapped.

https://www.wsj.com/news/opinion?mod=nav_top_section

The Taliban finally let more than 100 Americans, Canadians, Brits, U.S. permanent residents, and others fly out of Afghanistan Thursday and Friday. The State Department said it expects more departures, but the Biden Administration still isn’t doing nearly enough to save thousands of Afghans who earned the right to emigrate to the U.S.

Americans, U.S. residents and endangered Afghans are still scattered throughout the country. The Taliban have effectively taken hundreds hostage at the airport in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Some Americans have been told to travel to Kabul, but no one knows how many can do so safely.

“The United States has pulled every lever available to us to facilitate the departure of these charter flights from Mazar,” a State Department spokesman said Thursday, adding that “we were very clear” they should be allowed to leave. This helplessness is humiliating, and across Afghanistan a massive tragedy is unfolding.

The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program offers a path to U.S. citizenship for Afghans who worked with the American government for at least a year during the war. The process can take years, and hundreds of applicants and family members have been killed over time. A State Department official acknowledged that “the majority” of SIV applicants remained after U.S. forces departed. This is one of the worst wartime betrayals in U.S. history.

“There are about 18,000 so-called principal applicants in the system. Of the 18,000, half are at the very early stages,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in June. “Then there is another 9,000 who are much further along.” Mr. Blinken played down the risk of a quick Afghan government collapse, and Foggy Bottom did little to avert the nightmare now unfolding for thousands of SIV applicants.

James Miervaldis of the nonprofit No One Left Behind says that his organization is aware of some 200 approved SIV applicants and their families hiding throughout the country. Fully vetted with paperwork in hand, they were told by the State Department to remain in place during the chaotic evacuation. Then the last American planes left.

Organizations like No One Left Behind have the financial wherewithal to pay for their flights out of the country, but they’re at the mercy of the Taliban to allow safe passage. Remember these families whenever the White House brags about the scale of the August airlift.

The thousands more still in the 14-step application process should have been evacuated to a secure location months ago. Politicoreports that only 705 SIV applicants left during the evacuation. Some U.S. officials have denied that number but declined to provide their own. Mr. Blinken is testifying before the House and Senate this week, and Congress should demand exact numbers.

The Taliban said last week that it will let only foreign passport- or visa-holders leave the country. Are the thousands of endangered Afghans supposed to wait for the process to play out from Washington? And if they survive long enough to get a visa, who expects the Taliban to grant safe passage? The new government’s security forces are run by a leader of the terrorist Haqqani Network wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Thus Begins Tyranny?

https://issuesinsights.com/2021/09/13/thus-begins-tyranny/

When the Babylon Bee posted a story with the headline “Joe Biden Announces Civil War,” it was intended to be parody. But like much the Bee publishes, it’s painfully close to the truth.

“In a stirring address to the country today, Biden has announced a new Civil War,” the Bee “reported” last week. The site’s masters of lampoon then “quoted” the president saying “we’re gonna force millions of people to get vaccinated against their will,” and in order “to enforce this, we’re just gonna have ourselves a little Civil War.”

Biting humor aside, what Biden actually said when he announced last Thursday that his administration is going to require every employer in the country with 100 or more employees to force their workers to be fully vaccinated “or show a negative test at least once a week” was disturbing. He indicated that he’s going to go beyond the autocratic pen-and-phone methods of the previous Democrat in the White House.

“If these governors won’t help us beat the pandemic, I’ll use my powers as president to get them out of the way,” he said, primarily referring to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who have refused to be bullied by federal pandemic orders.

Later in the day, senior White House adviser Cedric Richmond reiterated the threat, declaring that Biden “will run over” the “governors who stand in the way.” Obviously his handlers, much of his party, and nearly all of the media are in full support of him seizing powers he was never meant to have. 

Both DeSantis and Abbott were duly elected by the voters of their states, as were the other Republican governors who have resisted the White House (an act that not so long ago the Democrats and media said was both virtuous and necessary). No president under our constitutional system of federalism has the authority to move governors “out of the way.” Why would attempting to do so not be a high crime against this nation?

Of course Biden’s words are subject to interpretation. Still, there’s not wide latitude there. He clearly means to at least bypass our federalist system by expanding the powers limited to presidents by the Constitution. This president, again, like the Democrat before him, doesn’t feel constrained by our laws. He doesn’t want to govern within the boundaries, he wants to rule without restraint, and if that means eliminating political rivals, then it has to be done.

The Other Special Relationship: Britain and the UAE by Richard Kemp

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17751/britain-uae

No world leader is better equipped to help us understand and contain this rising threat to Britain and our international interests than Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the greatest foe of radical Islamism in the Arab world.

He helped stem the escalating regional challenge of the Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt; his forces combatted Al Shabab in Somalia, supported the Libyan National Army against its Islamist opponents and fought against Islamic State in Syria and Iran-sponsored Houthi insurgents, Al Qaida and the Islamic State in Yemen.

Lord Trimble, former First Minister of Northern Ireland and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, nominated Mohamed bin Zayed for the same award in recognition of his “historic achievements in advancing peace in the Middle East”.

[W]e should be looking to the UAE’s leadership to further strengthen and broaden them. Britain should stand with them. As with the UAE, we are a close and historic ally of Israel, with significant influence across the Middle East. Freed by Brexit from our stifling dependency on the EU, we should now be ready to play a leading role alongside Abu Dhabi in this strategically important process, both in our own interests and in the interests of peace in the region.

Here in Britain there has been great concern about ruptures to the UK-US special relationship following the catastrophic unilateral US withdrawal from Afghanistan and US President Joe Biden’s intransigence over the emergency evacuation from Kabul.

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Explained by Ambassador (Ret.) Yoram Ettinger

1. Yom Kippur is considered to be a Super Sabbath (Shabbat Shabbaton in Hebrew) – a soul-searching opportunity for pious and evil people alike.2. Yom Kippur is observed on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishrei (September 16, 2021). Tishrei’s astrological sign is Libra (), which symbolizes the key themes of Yom Kippur: optimism, truth, justice, scales, humility and tolerance. Libra is ruled by the planet Venus (Noga – נגה in Hebrew – is the name of my oldest granddaughter), which represents divine light and compassion.

3. Yom Kippur dates back to the Biblical Exodus (Leviticus 23:26-32): “The Lord said to Moses, that the tenth day of this seventh month [Tishrei] is the day of Atonement…. Do not do any work on that day…. This is a lasting ordinance for generations to come….”

4. Yom Kippur (the 10th day of the Jewish year) concludes 10 days of soul-searching, atonement and repentance– the holiest Jewish time – which begins on Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the Jewish year, commemorating the creation of the first human-being, Adam.
Ten, which represents wholesomeness, has a special significance in Jewish history: God’s abbreviation is the 10th Hebrew letter (Yod – י); the 10 Commandments; the 10 Plagues of Egypt; the 10 spheres of the spiritual universe, which were highlighted during the Biblical Creation; 10 reasons for blowing the Shofar (ram’s horn) on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; the 10% Biblical gift to God (tithe); the 10 Martyrs (Jewish leaders), who were tortured/murdered by the Roman Empire; the 10 generations between Adam and Noah and between Noah and Abraham; the 10 divine tests passed by Abraham; the 10-person-quorum (Minyan in Hebrew), which is required for a collective Jewish prayer service; the 10 sons of Haman and the 10 Nazi leaders, who were hung; etc.

5. The Hebrew word Kippur, כיפור (atonement/repentance), is a derivative of the Biblical word Kaporetכפורת ,, which was the cover of the Holy Ark in the Sanctuary, and Kopher, כופר, the cover of Noah’s Ark and the Holy Altar in the Temple.  The day of Yom Kippur resembles a spiritual cover (dome), which separates the holy (Yom Kippur) from the mundane (the rest of the year), between spiritualism and materialism. The Kippah, כיפה (skullcap, yarmulke’), which covers one’s head during prayers, reflects a spiritual dome.

6. Asking forgiveness of fellow human-beings – and not only of God – is a major feature of Yom Kippur. From acrimony and vindictiveness to forgiveness and peace-of-mind. Hence, sinners and criminals are invited to Yom Kippur services. Asking forgiveness is consistent with Leviticus 19:18 (“Love thy neighbor as yourself”), and with the philosophy of Hillel the Elder, a leading 1st century BCE Jewish Sage: “Do not do unto your fellow person that which is hateful to you. That is the essence of the Torah; the rest is commentary….”  Asking forgiveness of fellow human-beings aims at displaying magnanimity, humility, compassion, consideration, responsibility, optimism, faith and genuine-repentance.  It recognizes one’s fallibilities, learning from one’s mistakes, minimizing future missteps, elevating morality and enhancing family and community cohesion.

WASTE OF THE DAY — TARGETING GOVERNMENT WASTE, FRAUD, CORRUPTION, AND TAXPAYER ABUSE.

https://www.realclearpolicy.com/stream/?topic=wasteoftheday

CHECK OUT THE DAILY LINE-UP HERE: WASTE OF THE DAY BY OUR AUDITORS AT OPENTHEBOOKS.COM.

Each day at Real Clear Policy, we are shining a white-hot spotlight on government gone wild — a daily example of how taxpayers are literally getting ripped off.

Institutionalized incompetence at all levels of federal, state, and local government. 

This week, our “Waste of the Week” aired on The National Desk with host Jan Jeffcoat on the Sinclair Broadcast platform of 190 ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox local affiliates across America.

Biden droned the wrong guy, innocent aid worker killed in Kabul strike Steven Nelson

https://nypost.com/2021/09/10/kabul-strike-killed-us-aid-worker-and-family-not-isis-bombers/?u

A US airstrike in Kabul against a supposed Islamic State bomber actually killed an innocent man who worked for a US aid group and his family, according to newly published testimony and footage — raising the specter that the Pentagon lied to the public about the strike.

The reported case of mistaken identity also further tars President Biden for his chaotic pullout of US troops from Afghanistan, which left behind hundreds of US citizens and thousands of at-risk Afghans.

Zemari Ahmadi and nine members of his family, including seven children, were killed in the airstrike on Aug. 29, one day before the final US evacuation flights from Kabul, his brother Romal Ahmadi told the New York Times.

Ahmadi, who was the apparent target of the strike, worked for 14 years as a technical engineer in Afghanistan for the Pasadena, Calif.-based charity group Nutrition and Education International, which feeds hungry Afghans.

The aid group had applied for him to move to the US as a refugee.

New security footage from his workplace shows Ahmadi, whose neighborhood had unreliable water service, filling containers with water at his employer’s office at 2:35 p,m. shortly before he returned home. Fire-damaged containers consistent with the water canisters were photographed by the Times.

He and colleagues, who had driven to work, also were carrying laptop computers that day, according to security footage, possibly explaining the military’s claim that the targeted Toyota Corolla contained carefully wrapped packages.

The Times disputed the Pentagon’s claim that secondary explosions demonstrated that explosive materials were ignited by the US Reaper drone’s Hellfire missile.

Lara Logan drops dynamite Fox News segment on Biden’s sweeping vaccine mandates Jon N. Hall

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/09/lara_logan_drops_dynamite_fox_news_segment_on_bidens_sweeping_vaccine_mandates.html

On Thursday, “President” Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. broke another of his promises by requiring vaccine mandates on most, but not all, American citizens.  The next day, Fox News aired a terrific seven-minute segment by Lara Logan titled “Mandate Nation,” and it’s really worth watching (see below).

Ms. Logan began the show reporting on new directives to OSHA not to report on COVID vaccine side-effects.  She then segued into recent reports from the U.K. and Israel that report on serious problems with the vaccines.

One feature of the segment that conservatives will appreciate is the montages from other channels, like MSNBC and CNN.  Their “commentators” are so crazed that it’s surreal.  These un-American fools actually think Biden “didn’t go far enough.”

The Biden Mandates are a civil rights issue, and they should appall lovers of freedom.  Do watch Lara.  HERE. 

(If YouTube takes down the video, you can also find it at FoxNews.com after you sit through a commercial or two.)

Andrew Yang Leaves Democratic Party to Form His Own Third Party By Eric Lendrum

https://amgreatness.com/2021/09/11/andrew-yang-leaves-democratic-party-to-form-his-own-third-party/

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang will soon be announcing the launch of his very own political party, after he has officially left the Democratic Party, the New York Post reports.

The former entrepreneur is set to announce his new party alongside the release of his new book, “Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy,” which comes out on October 5th. The book’s publisher, Penguin Random House subsidiary Crown, promotes the book as “a powerful and urgent warning that we must step back from the brink and plot a new way forward for our democracy.”

Yang was one of the numerous candidates for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election, which was the largest primary field in American history. Yang’s candidacy, which primarily focused on his unusual promise of a universal basic income of $1,000 per month for all Americans, gained a surprising level of media attention due to his passionate online following.

Despite the sudden “dark horse” status, Yang faced several setbacks on the campaign trail due to his political inexperience, and ultimately dropped out after an eighth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary. But Yang nevertheless continued supporting the Democratic Party, endorsing Joe Biden and actively campaigning for John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, the Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate in Georgia.

Yang’s next campaign was for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of New York City. When he first announced his run, his name recognition saw him top most polls for the nomination; however, as the campaign entered the final months, a number of gaffes and flip-flops ultimately saw his candidacy crumble, and he came in fourth place.