Stories Told by the Ghosts of Babyn Yar By Janet Levy

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/06/stories_told_by_the_ghosts_of_babyn_yar.html

No monument stands over Babi Yar. A drop sheer as a crude gravestone. I am afraid. Today I am as old in years as all the Jewish people. Now I seem to be a Jew.

So begins Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s heart-wrenching poem Babi Yar, published in 1961.  Written to protest antisemitism, it shames communist leaders by saying their hands are “unclean” for having erased the memory of the gunning down of over 34,000 Jews by the Nazis in Babyn Yar, a ravine on the outskirts of Kyiv on September 29–30, 1941.

The poem wasn’t proscribed, but censors ensured that for 22 years, it wasn’t published in any of Yevtushenko’s collections.  Dimitri Shostakovich’s Symphony 13, inspired by the poem, suffered a similar fate: performances faced bureaucratic interference and disruptions, and the lyrics, an interlinked collage of Yevtushenko’s poems, had to be changed off and on.

But such is the irony of how human nature and memory respond to suppression that everyone came to know Yevtushenko’s poem anyway.  And Symphony 13, which resonated deeply with audiences in the Soviet Union, came to be known as the Babyn Yar symphony.  A massacre to which even a cold memorial plaque was denied thus became enshrined in collective memory through the power of art whose creators defied an authoritarian regime.

In The Ravine of Memory: Babyn Yar Between the Holocaust and the Great Patriotic War, published in March this year, Shay A. Pilnik presents the story of that internal memorialization of the Babyn Yar massacre through literature.  For there were many other writers, too, who wrote essays, poems, stories, and other works about Babyn Yar.

In the introduction, Pilnik quotes James Young, author of a seminal study of Holocaust memorials: “The more memory comes to rest in its externalized forms, the less it is experienced internally….”  Then, speaking of the story his book tells, Pilnik says: “Ours is a story of the most effective memorial one could think of — albeit not one made out of stones, but rather of words — calling its memory-bearers to act rather than simply to recall, galvanizing a literary, social, and national movement to revolve around it.”

THEY GOT HIM: Minnesota Shooter Vance Boelter Apprehended by Matt Margolis

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/06/16/minnesota-shooter-vance-boelter-apprehended-n4940833

The manhunt is over. Vance Boelter—the suspect in the shocking assassination-style shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers—has been taken into custody. Authorities say he was arrested in rural Sibley County, Minnesota.

Boelter shot and killed Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark early Saturday morning at their home in Brooklyn Park. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also targeted in a similar attack at their home in Champlin.

The Sibley County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News that Boelter “verbally” identified himself to authorities Sunday evening.

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office posted a photo of his arrest, calling it “the face of evil.” “After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody,” the department said. “Thanks to the dedication of multiple agencies working together along with support from the community, justice is one step closer.”

BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said Boelter was being pursued on both federal and local warrants. “There is information that led us to do the searches…in Sibley County,” Evans said, adding that Boelter’s vehicle and a hat were found nearby.

Evans urged anyone in the area to stay alert. “If you see anything suspicious,” he said, “please contact police.”

The manhunt is over—but the investigation into Boelter’s motives is just getting started.

June 14: America on Parade—and on Edge June 14 brought flags, parades, protests, a fake senator scuffle, a political shooting, and Iran’s unraveling—all under the shadow of Trump’s birthday. By Roger Kimball

https://amgreatness.com/2025/06/15/june-14-america-on-parade-and-on-edge/

I write on June 14, a full-docket news day. You’ll have heard some of the news. For one thing, June 14 is Flag Day in the United States, an opportunity to rally ’round and ponder the significance of its history and iconography. After all, “the Stars and Stripes” is not merely a heraldic description: it is also a distillation or epitome of a sentiment, a world view, and a political achievement.

June 14 is also the birthday of Donald Trump, the President of the United States. Given his celebration of an “America First” MAGA political program, it seems more than coincidental that he should share his birthday with a national holiday called “Flag Day.”

Ditto the fact that June 14 was the date of Trump’s big military parade in Washington. The date was chosen to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the United States Army. Sclerotic legacy outlets like The Atlantic (“The Shame of Trump’s Parade”) and The New York Times are throwing one of their signature snits about the parade. It’s just like military displays in the Soviet Union and other authoritarian states, they say.

I take the opposite view. I think the parade is both a salutary celebration of the army and a condign expression of American national pride. As the commentator Irving Kristol put it in the 1990s, “There is nothing like a parade to elicit the proper respect for the military from the populace.” I agree.

Moving from the sublime to the ridiculous, I note that June 14 was also the day on which some 2000 protests were scheduled to unfold across the nation. What were they protesting? The official title was “No Kings.” The protesters, you see, were claiming that Donald Trump was acting like a king by deploying the police power of the state to deport illegal aliens and to protect the immigration officials tasked with the job. Were the organizers harkening back to the origins of the Roman Republic in 509 BC when Brutus, avenging the death of Lucretia, declared that never again would Rome be ruled by a king? Maybe. It’s possible.

Probably not. In the event, the protests seem to have attracted a motley crew of aging boomers, paid professional protesters, disaffected academics, and confused teenagers.

Christopher F. Rufo, Ryan Thorpe Whistleblower: Lockheed Martin Awarded Bonuses Based on Race The company allegedly required managers to reward employees “on the basis of their skin color alone and contrary to documented performance.”

https://www.city-journal.org/article/lockheed-martin-civil-rights-law-bonuses-race-merit

Many believe that masculine industries, such as military and defense, are naturally immune to left-wing race and gender ideologies. This is mostly a myth. These institutions are organized according to prestige and profit—and when those signals point to “woke,” industry leaders have dutifully followed.

Take America’s largest defense contractor, Lockheed Martin. As we have previously reported, after the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, Lockheed adopted radical DEI policies and, in one instance, required white men in leadership positions to attend a racial reeducation program and atone for their “white male privilege.”

Now, a whistleblower has come forward to claim that Lockheed executives were so committed to DEI policies that they awarded some year-end bonuses based on employees’ skin color, rather than performance—in open violation of civil rights law.

The story began in December 2022, when the whistleblower was preparing recommendations for the aeronautics division’s year-end bonuses. The whistleblower was proud of the work the team had done to calculate awards. But soon after the bonuses were submitted for approval, higher-ups told the whistleblower that there was a problem: the “Comp Adder” list, which named recipients of bonus compensation, had too many white employees on it.

Santiago Bulnes, a vice president who now leads engineering on Lockheed’s F-35 program, wrote an email to the whistleblower. “I got a call from [human resources director] La Wanda [Moorer] last night regarding diversity stats on comp adder,” Bulnes, who did not respond to a request for comment, said. “They took a run at getting your few approved and we’re told that we need to fit in the box. I asked her to send you the list of diversity names to simplify the task of finding the best in the group.”

Sanctuary States, Sleeper Cells, and a Nation on the Brink You can thank the Biden regime’s deliberate sabotage of border enforcement. by Kevin McCullough

https://www.frontpagemag.com/sanctuary-states-sleeper-cells-and-a-nation-on-the-brink/

Last week, in what is being called the largest-ever ICE enforcement operation, nearly 1,500 illegal foreign nationals were arrested—most of them hiding in so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. That’s not just a number. That’s a blunt warning: there are thousands more just like them—living, working, and perhaps plotting among us, thanks to open-border ideologues and their enablers in blue-state leadership.

These weren’t friendly tourists who overstayed a visa to see the Statue of Liberty one more time. These were criminal aliens—some with convictions for rape, murder, kidnapping, and terror-related charges. They were swept up in Democrat-run strongholds like California, Illinois, and New York, where the local governments actively thwart federal immigration enforcement.

Let that sink in: Your government is risking your life to score cheap political points.

The operation was described as a “major success” by top Homeland Security officials under Secretary Kristi Noem, who has brought a radically different tone and urgency to the department since taking over. Unlike her predecessor Alejandro Mayorkas—who presided over record-setting illegal crossings and national security apathy—Noem has made it clear: illegal entry will not be ignored, and criminal aliens will not be protected by politics.

But the deeper question lingers like a storm cloud over our national security: Is it enough?

Or more to the point: Is it in time?

Israel’s War of Survival Stopping Tehran from becoming a nuclear-armed terror state. Joseph Klein

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm-plus/israels-war-of-survival/

Israel faced the Hobbesian choice of passing the point of no return and exposing itself to the risk of a nuclear attack by Iran or taking military action in time to prevent that catastrophe from happening. Israel wisely chose the latter course. Israel conducted “preemptive” strikes against Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities (including the Natanz enrichment site), long-range missile facilities, and aerial defenses on June 12th, which also killed several military commanders and nuclear scientists.

The United States did not participate in the Israeli strikes inside Iran. However, when the Iranian regime responded with barrages of drones and ballistic missiles aimed at Israeli population centers, the U.S. helped Israel to intercept as many of them as possible. Although some of Iran’s missiles managed to get through Israel’s multilayered defense systems and hit their targets, many lives were undoubtedly saved by U.S-Israeli defense cooperation.

Israel haters leaped at the chance to blame Israel for taking forceful military action to defend itself against the rapidly approaching existential threat of nuclear annihilation at Iran’s hands.

For example, the extremist leftwing group Code Pink said,

“We strongly condemn Israel’s unprovoked and reckless attack on Iran, which risks igniting a catastrophic regional war. This dangerous escalation threatens millions of lives across the entire Middle East. The U.S. must not continue to support and enable this illegal act of aggression.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) declared:

“We condemn Israel’s offensive strike on Iran and the broader pattern of aggression it represents. Netanyahu is using American weapons and taxpayer dollars to launch illegal and destabilizing wars across the region. President Trump must act immediately to suspend all military support to Israel and stop allowing U.S. arms to fuel war crimes, mass civilian death, and regional collapse.”

Pro-Hamas campus groups in the United States rallied around Hamas’s puppet master Iran. “We reject the US/Zionist attack on Iran, and affirm Iran’s right to self-defense, sovereignty, and self-determination,” Columbia University’s pro-Hamas student organization Apartheid Divest posted following Israel’s strikes. “No to the imperialist was of encroachment — from Syria to Lebanon to Iran — and YES [sic] to the people’s struggle for Palestinian liberation.”

All of this is, of course, pure falsehood.

Khamenei’s Bunker By Aynaz Anni Cyrus The final act of a dying regime.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/khameneis-bunker/

As missiles close in, the Supreme Leader hides underground with his close aides, security and family. But this game if “survival” won’t save the Islamic Republic—only delay its collapse.

Two well-placed sources inside Iran told Iran International that shortly after Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran early Friday morning, Ali Khamenei was moved to an underground bunker located in Lavizan, in northeastern Tehran.

According to the report, all members of the Supreme Leader’s family—including his influential son Mojtaba—are currently sheltering with him.

Sources added that this is not the first time the Khamenei family has taken refuge underground. During both phases of Israel’s earlier True Promise operations, the family was also relocated to secure locations. At that time, Mojtaba stayed close to his father, but Khamenei’s two other sons, Masoud and Mostafa, were notably absent.

The Israeli strikes have continued into Sunday, expanding beyond Tehran to multiple Iranian cities. For the first time, Israel targeted the city of Mashhad—located 2,300 kilometers from Israel’s borders.

A diplomatic source in the Middle East told Iran International that the strike on Mashhad was intended as a personal warning to Khamenei: there is no safe place left in Iran.

Will Biden’s Age-Related Mental Issues Ever Be Investigated? Americans Hope So: I&I/TIPP Poll Terry Jones

https://issuesinsights.com/2025/06/16/will-bidens-age-related-mental-issues-ever-be-investigated-americans-hope-so-ii-tipp-poll/

he Los Angeles riots, the “No Kings” protests, and Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities have taken attention away from the growing scandal of former President Joe Biden’s age-related mental issues and whether White House aides illegally made decisions on the ailing commander in chief’s behalf.

But the scandal remains and, as the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows, a majority of Americans want an investigation.

It’s a scandal of huge proportions, with the media covering it up and rogue political actors both inside and outside of the White House hiding Biden’s mental problems and, possibly, even making decisions for a president mentally unfit for duty.

A recent book authored by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios writer Alex Thompson. “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” detailed how underlings exercised presidential power and concealed Biden’s growing mental issues.

“One of the things that really, I think, comes out in our reporting here,” Thompson explained on Fox News, “is that if you believe — and I think a lot of these people do sincerely believe — that Donald Trump was and is an existential threat to democracy, you can rationalize anything, including sometimes doing undemocratic things, which I think is what this person is talking about.”

So, how do Americans feel about this?

The online national I&I/TIPP Poll, taken from May 28-30, asked 1,395 adults the following question: “A new book claims that some White House aides tried to hide President Biden’s mental health problems to prevent Donald Trump from winning reelection. What should be done next about this matter?”

Time for hesitation is over

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/time-for-hesitation-is-over/ar-AA1GJzIf?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=d4a97576140543e8e4387c3b15ae2a70&ei=24

Sir Keir Starmer has not covered himself in glory with his response to the conflict between Israel and Iran. The first instinct of the Prime Minister and his colleagues, confronted with Jerusalem’s attempts to bar Tehran’s progress towards a nuclear weapon, was to call for ­“de-escalation” and an effective return to the status quo.

If the Prime Minister wishes to preach the virtues of de-escalation, he should surely be doing so to the leaders of Iran, who have responded to Israel’s targeted strikes of military assets with a seemingly indiscriminate bombardment of civilian areas, and whose reckless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction has utterly destabilised the Middle East.

Sir Keir’s track record on foreign policy is poor. In his short time in office he has displayed a lamentable tendency to hesitation and an unwillingness to express straightforward backing of Britain’s interests or those of its allies, which has left our country at significant disadvantage. But even he is surely unable to hold in his mind a belief that Iran would not commit atrocities if ever given the chance, or that it is not in our interest and to some degree our power to diminish its ability to do so.

Has Israel Given Oppressed Iranians a Chance to Seize Freedom? Catherine Salgado

https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2025/06/14/has-israel-given-oppressed-iranians-a-chance-to-seize-freedom-n4940798?state=

Has the nation of Israel given the Iranian people an opening to rise up against their brutal dictators? Is this the beginning of the end of the terror-sponsoring, mass murdering Islamic regime in Iran?

Such questions are speculation, and as such have no definite answer, but while much of the terrorist apparatus is still in place in Iran, the country just lost numerous top military leaders and a good deal of its major weapons and nuclear facilities. Depending on how this conflict goes in the next week or two, this might be a desperate opportunity for domestic rebellion as the Iranian regime is also pummeled from overseas.

It is an unfortunate fact that when the people of Iran periodically try to rise up against the Islamic dictators there, they garner little to no support from any other governments or powerful international entities, including the USA. When tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets in protest of the vicious sharia “morality” police in 2022, where was the outpouring of international aid and support that was provided for the jihad-loving Gazans ever since Oct. 2023? It wasn’t provided for Iranians. Countless protestors were arrested, raped, tortured, and killed, as Americans and other Westerners looked the other way.

That is why Iranian dissidents have been the most loyal in praising Israel and condemning Hamas and the other terror proxies of the Iranian regime. They have experienced the horror of living under a genocidal Islamic dictatorship, and they not only want to break free themselves, they want Israel to be triumphant. Perhaps Israel is returning the favor.

Houman David Hemmati, a doctor who fled Iran for the USA when he was young, certainly sees this Israeli strike as a sign of hope for his fellow Iranians that Persia in its former greatness might rise again, that the oppressed people will see the demise of their oppressors. He posted on X:

I fled Iran as a child, carrying in my heart the memories of women beaten in the streets for daring to wear makeup, of girls whose only crime was letting a strand of hair escape their scarves, and of neighbors dragged off to prison for refusing to bend to the regime’s cruelty. Tonight, as I watched the news of Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, I felt a surge of hope: not for the destruction itself, but for the first glimmer of freedom for the people trapped under a government that gouges out women’s eyes for their clothes and tortures dissidents for daring to think differently. This regime has forced every schoolchild to chant “Death to America,” has backed the October 7 terror on Israel, has sent suicide drones against our troops at sea, and has spent decades sharpening its tools of oppression.