Democrats Are Telling Their Reps They Want Blood in the Streets

Axios has a blockbuster story about how Democratic Party activists are literally asking for blood in their fight against Trump. (Axios):  Many lawmakers said these voters tend to be white, well-educated and live in upscale suburban or urban neighborhoods. “What I have seen is a demand that we get ourselves arrested intentionally or allow ourselves to be victims of violence, and … a lot of times that’s coming from economically very secure white people,” said an eighth House Democrat. “Not only would that be a gift to Donald Trump, not only would it make the job of Republicans in Congress easier if we were all mired in legal troubles … [we are] a group that is disproportionately people of color, women, LGBTQ people — people who do not fare very well in prison.” The bottom line: “The expectations aren’t just unreal. They’re dangerous,” the eighth House Democrat said. (Axios) David Strom of Hot Air: Remember when democracy itself was at stake if Trump won? The Democrats weren’t kidding–their view is that unless they win by democratic means, they will use other means to get their way. (Hot Air).

Armed Gunman Attacks Border Patrol Office

Three officers were shot outside a Border Patrol office in a pre-planned attack in which the assailant was killed. The FBI is still investigating. USA Today: “This morning an individual opened fire at the entrance of the United States Border Patrol sector annex in McAllen,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in an email. The city in South Texas is in Hidalgo County along the Mexican border. “Both Border Patrol agents and local police helped neutralize the shooter,” McLaughlin said. Two officers and one Border Patrol employee suffered injuries in the incident, including one shot in the knee, the spokesperson said. (USA Today). The shooting took place on the same day that Axios reported that Democratic constituents are demanding blood and politicians are calling for ICE agents to have their identities revealed.

No Epstein client list?

Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino are taking a lot of heat for a memo announcing the closure of the Jeffrey Epstein case. The memo concluded that there is no client list, there was no blackmail, and that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. Many people are not buying what they are being sold, especially after Pam Bondi promised that the list was real and that more prosecutions were forthcoming. The memo began circulating yesterday in Axios, and was acknowledged to be real by the White House today. (Axios, Axios). ABC: The memo is also likely to generate outrage among those who have claimed Epstein’s known high-profile associates could be implicated in his crimes. According to the FBI and DOJ review, no further charges are expected in connection with their probes into Epstein, as investigators “did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.” ABC is right about that. X exploded with outrage from conservatives who believe Bondi hasn’t delivered on her promises. (X, X, X, X, X, X). Bondi got herself in trouble by promising a lot before she knew what she had. NEW YORK POST: Back in February, Trump’s DOJ released Epstein’s contact list as part of a long-awaited trove of documents connected to the notorious sex predator. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Alec Baldwin and Mick Jagger were among the high-profile names on Epstein’s contact list.  But the hyped-up February release was panned by critics as containing little to no new information about Epstein’s case. (New York Post). Karolyn Leavitt is taking it on the chin defending Bondi. (Peter Doocy on X).

PolitiFact, Without the ‘Fact’

PolitiFact by the Poynter Institute is taking a lot of heat for standing by their conclusion that Zohran Mamdani is not a communist. The kerfuffle began with Trump’s “Truth” accusing the Democratic Party’s candidate for Mayor of New York of being a communist, which PolitiFact “fact-checked” as “false.” PolitiFact: “Mamdani is NOT a communist,” wrote Anna Grzymala-Busse, Stanford University professor of international studies, in an email to PolitiFact. He is not calling for any of this.”Accusing Democrats of being communists or communist sympathisers is a frequent misleading attack line by some Republicans. It is a red scare tactic that has existed in U.S. politics for decades, but has been transformed by the success of some democratic socialists, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. (PolitiFact) As evidence piled up of Mamdani calling for seizing the means of production, quoting Marx, and even calling himself a “Bolshevik,” PolitiFact stuck to its guns. PolitiFact: Geoffrey Kurtz, an associate political science professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College, said listening to the video clip and watching Mamdani, “I had the impression that Mamdani intended that phrase as lighthearted hyperbole. I see no reason to assume that the phrase conveys anything precise about what he thinks.” (PolitiFact). Mamdani may want to explain why he has also tweeted out sayings from Marx, such as Each according to their need, each according to their ability (Zohran Mamdani on X)

Hamas Losing Control of Gaza

Hamas is spent, according to a senior officer in Hamas’s security forces. It’s leadership is dead, its ammunition almost gone, and the IDF has taken control over most of its territory. BBC: The officer painted a picture of Hamas’s internal disintegration and the near-total collapse of security across Gaza, which the group governed before the conflict. “Let’s be realistic here – there’s barely anything left of the security structure. Most of the leadership, about 95%, are now dead… The active figures have all been killed,” he said. “So really, what’s stopping Israel from continuing this war?” “Logically, it has to continue until the end. All the conditions are aligned: Israel has the upper hand, the world is silent, the Arab regimes are silent, criminal gangs are everywhere, society is collapsing.” “About the security situation, let me be clear: it has completely collapsed. Totally gone. There’s no control anywhere,” he said. (BBC). Of course, if Israel withdraws, there will be a power vacuum, and the remnants of Hamas might remain the de facto rulers. Ed Morrissey of Hot Air: That may well be true, but it doesn’t necessarily equate to the end of Hamas in Gaza. The problem is that there aren’t any competing structures arising in Gaza for policing or security, except the IDF in limited areas. If fighting stopped tomorrow, the remnants of Hamas would still have a near-monopoly on force in the territory apart from the IDF and could assert control again in short order. New leaders would arise, although the short-term prospects would likely tend toward an internecine fight among them for control of the Hamas gangs, the status to which they have been reduced. (Ed Morrissey).

Outpouring of Love…and Hate Online for Texas Victims

Social media may be the best place to get up-to-the-minute news about the flash flood tragedy in Texas, but along with the news, you get exposed to the best and the worst humanity has to offer. First, the best: as the floods receded, people from around Texas and the region poured resources into the area. Starlink units were distributed and donations poured in. Stories of heroism spread like wildfire. New York Post: Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan saved 165 lives in the Texas flash floods. The 26-year-old, a former KPMG accountant, directed Army Blackhawk 60s and MH-65s to survivors and helped get them to safety, according to the New York Post. “Ruskan spearheaded a high-risk rescue mission under the worst possible environmental conditions, which in the end saw 165 brought to safety,” the NYP reported. “I’m just doing a job,” he told the NYP. (X, White House, New York Post). Unfortunately, not all was sweetness and light. A raft of liberals spat bile at the victims, blaming them for their own misfortune because they live in a Trump-supporting area. Already, a pediatrician was fired for expressing vile sentiments about the victims. Mediaite: In a now-deleted post that was shared by screenshots on X, Propst, under her old Facebook username Chris Tina, wrote about the flooding and expressed apparent ill-will toward MAGA voters in affected areas, suggesting they should ‘get what they voted for.’ “May all visitors, children, non-MAGA voters and pets be safe and dry,” the original post read. “Kerr County MAGA voted to gut FEMA. They deny climate change. May they get what they voted for. Bless their hearts.” (Mediaite) There were plenty of similar posts from Democrats expressing disdain for the victims. Sentiments such as “they deserved it” and “Good, I’m glad” were scattered across social media. (X). This is not the first time that liberals have laughed at the misfortune of others. David Strom at Hot Air: The glee with which a certain kind of liberal responded to the tragedy is not an outlier–during COVID, liberals were quite open about their desire for conservatives to die. Democrats wanted to put vaccine skeptics in camps, take away their children, deny them health care (and in many cases did deny them health care–in many places you still can’t get an organ transplant without getting a COVID vaccine). Jimmy Kimmel famously joked that unvaccinated people with heart attacks should be left to die. (Hot Air).

Democrats Spreading Hoaxes About Texas Floods

Speaking of the tragedy in Texas, it was dispiriting to see that the Democrats and many in the media created a hoax that the National Weather Service failed to warn that flash floods were coming due to staffing shortages. Neither claim was true, but that didn’t stop it spreading like wildfire. RNC Research: Following the tragic  news, Democrats over the weekend peddled grossly  false and disgusting  narratives in an attempt to politicize this natural disaster. Senator Chris Murphy: “There are consequences to Trump’s brainless attacks…” Democrat House Leader Hakeem Jeffries: “Republicans spent months threatening to condition disaster assistance…” Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro : “I don’t think it’s helpful to have missing key personnel from the National Weather Service not in place to help prevent these tragedies.” Vermont Congresswoman Becca Balint: “We knew that these cuts would have deadly consequences.” Democrat Senate Leader Chuck Schumer even opened a partisan investigation.All of these attacks – attempting to blame these floods on the Trump administration and spending cuts – have one thing in common: they’re lies. The NWS said its “forecasting offices were operating normally at the time of the disaster.” Meteorologists say the National Weather Service did its job in Texas and even “had extra staff on duty during the storms.” Houston meteorologist Matt Lanza: “We have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that current staffing or budget issues within NOAA and the NWS played any role at all in this event. Anyone using this event to claim that is being dishonest.” CBS Austin Meteorologist Avery Tomasco: “The National Weather Service … did their job and they did it well.” Even far-left Ohio Democrat Nina Turner said that attempts by the left to capitalize on this tragedy were “morally bankrupt.” (RNC Research) The Associated Press, WIRED, and many other publications looked into the allegations and all concluded that the accusations were false. (Associated Press, WIRED).

Tucker Carlson Interviews Iran’s President

Tucker Carlson has a knack for getting interviews with guests nobody else can or wants to. He stirred up controversy when he interviewed Vladimir Putin, and his interview with Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, is likely to generate further controversy. Pezeshkian insists that Iranians are the most peaceful people on Earth. I am skeptical. (Tucker Carlson). Tucker critics had a field day taking him to task for platforming Pezeshkian. Examples: What I learned from Tucker’s Pezeshkian interview: 1) If your grandmother needs help crossing the road, call the IRGC; 2) If your daughter needs a science tutor, call the IRGC; & 3) Those who say otherwise have had their minds poisoned by the devilish machinations of the Jews. (X). Redstate’s Bonchie: I’m pretty tired of people demanding we ignore the obvious pattern with Tucker Carlson to sanitize his motives. When you get every prediction about Iran wrong, attack those who were right, and then give a softball interview to an Iranian puppet, that’s not just idle journalism. (Bonchie).

AOC Controversy Intensifies

AOC presents herself as a working-class girl from the Bronx, but a user on X dug up her high school yearbook, and it turns out that she grew up in a tony suburb of New York and adopted the persona in order to run for Congress. What began as a small controversy has ballooned into something bigger as AOC explains herself. New York Post: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to ridicule over calling herself a “Bronx girl” by claiming she grew up “between” the city and the leafy suburbs — but locals near her childhood home are still confused. People from Yorktown — many of whom grew up in the Bronx themselves — chimed in on the liberal firebrand’s narrative about her youth after her yearbook photos recirculated on social media and AOC fundraised off the criticisms but still avoided saying she lived in upper Westchester County. “You can tell right out of the gate she isn’t from the Bronx. Listen to her!” insisted retired FDNY firefighter Billy, a 47-year-old with a Bronx accent… (New York Post). The story is likely sticking because people are saying the Democrats are “theater kids” playing a role in Washington.

John Brennan Facing Perjury Charges?

Could John Brennan be facing perjury charges? Miranda Devine at the New York Post reveals that this is a real possibility. Miranda Devine: John Brennan, the disgraced former Obama CIA director, may have opened himself up to perjury charges after a new email was uncovered in a scathing internal review by CIA career professionals of the agency’s 2016 Trump-Russia collusion assessment. Brennan is said to be under renewed scrutiny by authorities over discrepancies between his sworn testimony to federal investigations and his written orders to underlings conducting the Intelligence Community Assessment commissioned by President Barack Obama in December 2016 that found Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Donald Trump. The review, declassified last week, found that Brennan insisted on the inclusion of the discredited Steele dossier, over the strong objections of the CIA’s two most senior Russia experts, who said it “did not meet even the most basic tradecraft standards.” (New York Post).