Taxpayer-supported National Public Radio has picked sides in the Israel-Hamas war‚ supporting the students/terrorist supporters camping on the quads of progressive colleges campuses. This is how NPR’s Up First newsletter (a summary of what NPR considers the must-know stories of the day) on Wednesday morning described the illegal occupation by pro-Hamas agitators at Columbia University: NPR's Brian Mann tells Up First that Columbia students were shocked‚ dismayed‚ and stunned by the overwhelming force used by police. Columbia spokesman Ben Chang said in a press conference that protesters were frightening other students. Mann adds that despite this‚ there’s been a lot of community support for these encampments. Lena Whitney‚ a City College graduate who witnessed the police action last night‚ told NPR‚ “These students are putting their lives at risk; they’re putting their jobs‚ their diplomas at risk because they’re fighting for something bigger -- the right to life for Palestinians.” One would have to dig up the online transcript of Mann’s report‚ which aired first on Wednesday’s Morning Edition --“NYC police used force to clear a pro-Palestinian student encampment at Columbia” -- to confirm the campus disruptors at Columbia heard on the report's background tape were in fact chanting “intifada‚” support for the killing of Jews. A Martinez‚ Host: ….Across the country‚ the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University is gone this morning‚ and the campus building that protesters had seized is empty. Police forced their way into the building and arrested and zip-tied the hands of dozens of students who began their demonstration two weeks ago…. NPR’s reporter Mann committed bias by omission‚ reporting only that “Hundreds of students were defiant at first‚ A. They were chanting anti-Israel slogans and calling for divestment from doing business with Israel.” Calling for Israel’s destruction via “intifada” -- which Mann didn’t even acknowledge directly -- isn’t just an “anti-Israel slogan” and certainly isn’t a mere call for divestment. It calls up memories of the Second Intifada and the suicide bombers who murdered hundreds of Israeli civilians on buses and in cafes. Unidentified Protester: (Chanting) Intifada‚ intifada. Unidentified Protesters: (Chanting) Intifada‚ intifada. Unidentified Protester: (Chanting) Long live the intifada. Unidentified Protesters: (Chanting) Long live the intifada. Still‚ NPR stuck up for the terrorist supporters and their (illegal) occupation of a campus building. Mann: At one point‚ A‚ a student appeared on top of Hamilton Hall. That's the building they occupied Monday night. That student waved a Palestinian flag. But then around 9:30 p.m. last night‚ a huge number of NYPD officers in riot gear charged the campus. And the student crowd fell back. They were clearly frightened. The NYPD used a massive armored vehicle to push a bridge into a window of Hamilton Hall…. Martinez: Wow‚ what a scene. How did students react to all this&;#63; Mann: Yeah‚ with shock and dismay. I spoke to one student who was stunned by the overwhelming force. She wouldn't give her name because she fears reprisal by Columbia University. Unidentified Student: Myself and many other students have just felt horror seeing the swiftness with which the NYPD came and deploy themselves onto our campus. Mann ran a bite from a Columbia spokesman who said protesters had “created a threatening environment for many‚ including our Jewish students and faculty.” Still‚ the reporter located “a lot of community support” for the agitators‚ including the bystander Up First found interesting. Mann: You know‚ many politicians in New York City‚ including bipartisan members of Congress have condemned these protests‚ describing them as unlawful and antisemitic. That's a charge many students reject. There's also been a lot of community support for these encampments. NPR spoke last night with Leena Widdi‚ who watched this police action. She's a graduate of City College. Leena Widdi: Students are putting their lives at risk. They're putting their jobs‚ their diplomas at risk 'cause they know that they're fighting for something bigger‚ which is the right to life for Palestinians.

The 2024 election is shaping up to be yet another critical one for the American family. Over the last few months‚ Joe Biden has made it clear that promoting the sexual mutilation of gender-confused children is one of the main priorities of his administration. While Kennedy’s message may seem appealing on the surface‚ the truth is that his record of elusiveness makes it impossible to trust him. Biden’s Department of Education two weeks ago announced that it had reinterpreted Title IX to require schools to allow boys into girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. Shortly before that‚ his administration also “reinterpreted” federal law to require doctors and hospitals to provide sex-change drugs and surgeries on demand to everyone‚ including children‚ regardless of their best medical judgment. And‚ of course‚ during his State of the Union address‚ the president called on Congress to permanently implement all these policies through federal legislation. Although Biden’s dash to the far left may have solidified his support among the “Queers for Palestine‚” it has left many families desperately searching for saner alternatives. This has created an opening for third-party candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‚ who has sought to style himself as a moderate on the campaign trail. But that’s simply not the case. While Kennedy’s message may seem appealing on the surface‚ the truth is that his record of elusiveness makes it impossible to trust him. His comments on transgender issues provide a perfect case in point. For his entire campaign‚ Kennedy has refused to answer any serious question about what he would do as president to protect kids from the predatory transgender industry. Instead‚ he obfuscates‚ trying to con voters into thinking he’s on their side while taking no firm position. For example‚ when asked in December by Patrick Bet-David what he would do to prevent children under the age of 18 from falling victim to castration and mutilation at the hands of so-called “gender-affirming” doctors‚ Kennedy hemmed and hawed for minute after minute‚ during which it became clear that the answer is absolutely nothing. “I don’t know enough about it‚ Patrick‚ to — to say that it should be completely illegal [under 18]‚” Kennedy stammered uncomfortably. Over the next two minutes‚ he would repeat “I don’t know” seven more times. Amid the word salad‚ Kennedy even suggested that mutilating children was an example of the type of “freedom” he wants to defend. In the end‚ Kennedy just gave up — “I’m just telling you the truth‚ I don’t have a position on this” — and pivoted to a long‚ unrelated speech about food allergies. One would think that Kennedy‚ whose entire public persona is centered around fighting corporate and medical malpractice‚ would be up in arms about the multimillion-dollar industry deliberately sterilizing an entire generation of children. But disturbingly‚ it appears that he’s not. His terrible non-answer also puts his previous response to related questions in a much different and more troubling light. Kennedy has said that he thinks allowing men in women’s sports is unfair. But he has never said what he specifically wants to do to stop it. He has said that parents should have a say in their children’s education‚ but has never opined one way or the other on whether he would allow federally funded transgender indoctrination in schools to continue to take place. This also calls to mind Kennedy’s now-infamous decision to publicly withdraw from a Moms for Liberty event where he had agreed to speak. That episode ended with him slandering the group as somehow against “gay rights‚” as if there was something wrong with not wanting to make graphic obscenity freely available to children in an elementary school library. Kennedy’s record looks especially bad once one contrasts it to the outside challenger he is trying unsuccessfully to mimic: Donald Trump. Unlike Kennedy‚ Trump has made absolutely clear where he stands on these issues. He has laid out the most extensive and detailed plan for protecting children from the transgender industry of any politician in the country. Trump has promised to investigate‚ defund‚ and ultimately ban the mutilation of children in all 50 states. That’s about as strong a position as you get on this issue. He has also promised to task his Department of Education with going after federally funded schools that teach children they could be trapped in the wrong body. And he wants Congress to not only pass legislation to keep men from participating in women’s sports but also declare outright that there are only two genders — and that all of our laws should reflect that. For pro-family voters‚ there’s only one choice in November. It’s not Joe Biden‚ obviously. But it’s not RFK Jr.‚ either. Nobody should fall for the con. However much Kennedy tries to sound reasonable‚ anyone incapable of answering whether doctors should be allowed to cut off a confused child’s body parts is a coward at best and a moral monster at worst. Either way‚ such a person belongs nowhere close to the White House.

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” George Orwell’s “1984” was supposed to serve as a warning‚ not a how-to guide for journalists protecting the radical left. Unlike many 2016 media postmortems‚ the biased coverage of Donald Trump isn’t a result of cultural differences. It is by design. In April‚ NPR editor Uri Berliner — no Trump fan — wrote a scathing op-ed outlining his outlet’s intentional anti-Trump bias. He was subsequently fired‚ his warnings unheeded. This week‚ Time magazine pulled an NPR and published an issue devoted to what happens‚ “If He Wins.” Eric Cortellessa implies Trump will be a dictator even though he’s run cover for Joe Biden’s unconstitutional executive actions. “He‚” of course‚ is the Bad Orange Man himself. As part of the special issue‚ Time’s Eric Cortellessa provided analysis of the magazine’s two interviews with the 45th president and multiple interviews with his former advisers. The analysis reads more like a fever dream of a dystopian future under Trump than anything rooted in reality. Cortellessa’s entire piece paints a distorted narrative. But the fifth paragraph is especially instructive to show how the media ratchets up the fear. Let’s take it point by point. Cortellessa starts: What emerged in two interviews with Trump‚ and conversations with more than a dozen of his closest advisers and confidants‚ were the outlines of an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world. An “imperial presidency‚” that would “reshape America and its role in the world.” How sinister&;#33; Cortellessa is obviously trying to evoke images of absolute rulers in the mold of a Caesar‚ Putin‚ Hitler‚ or maybe even Sheev Palpatine rising to power from his humble beginnings on Coruscant. Every presidency of the modern era has bordered on imperial as the executive branch has gained more power and as the legislative branch has abrogated its responsibility as a check and balance. Cortellessa implies Trump will be a dictator even though he’s run cover for Joe Biden’s unconstitutional executive actions. When it came to absolving borrowers of their student loan responsibilities‚ Biden acted in a dictatorial fashion. That’s when Cortellessa fell in line behind Biden and “fact-checked” criticisms of the plan later deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. When the tyrannical undemocratic powers are used for things regime stenographers like‚ “journalists” such as Cortellessa write: “It is easier to take a gamble when there’s reason to believe you can still win by losing.” Here’s his next point: To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country‚ Trump told me‚ he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military‚ both at the border and inland. The media elite push the narrative that securing the border is somehow tyrannical. Most Americans are not on their side. An exclusive poll released last month by Axios showed that a majority of Americans support the mass deportation of illegal aliens. Axios writes‚ “Americans are open to former President Trump’s harshest immigration plans‚ spurred on by a record surge of illegal border crossings and a relentless messaging war waged by Republicans.” The nation is being invaded by a wave of illegal immigration never seen before in American history. It is funded by left-wing groups and carried out by cartels that act as human smugglers and traffickers. There is precedent in military action to stem trans-border incursions by paramilitary and criminal groups. Pancho Villa would like to enter the chat. Cortellessa continues: He would let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans. The Supreme Court said loudly in the Dobbs decision that absent a law passed by Congress and signed by the president‚ the issue of abortion is left to the states. If Cortellessa were playing it straight‚ he would simply acknowledge that Trump said he would uphold the law. To many Americans‚ even some who are pro-choice‚ abortion is the killing of a baby. Cortellessa also has some scary things to say about perfectly constitutional actions that presidents have taken since the early 1800s: He would‚ at his personal discretion‚ withhold funds appropriated by Congress‚ according to top advisers. This is all perfectly normal. Trump‚ like many presidents from Thomas Jefferson through the modern age‚ would impound appropriated funds. Loaded phrases like “personal discretion” play to the hatred of Trump the media is trying to bolster. What’s laughable is yes‚ the president is a person and can use “discretion” exactly as his predecessors have. What about Trump’s plans for the Justice Department&;#63; Cortellessa wants you to be very afraid: He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone‚ breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates from America’s founding. The feigned shock here is brilliant in its effect. As Cortellessa no doubt knows‚ there is not and never has been “independent law enforcement” in this country. The notion is a myth. The Constitution gives the president sole executive power. Whether Cortellessa likes it or not‚ the president is the chief law enforcement officer of the country. But never mind that. Trump is going to pardon “domestic terrorists”&;#33; He is weighing pardons for every one of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6‚ 2021‚ more than 800 of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury. Notwithstanding that many of the convictions of the Jan. 6 defendants may be overturned by the Supreme Court‚ there is precedent of presidents pardoning FALN Puerto Rican nationalists who were convicted of crimes ranging from bomb-making to sedition. FALN was suspected in the bombings of multiple federal office buildings in New York. As Blaze Media’s Steve Baker has reported at length‚ there is much wrong with the mainstream media narrative surrounding the events of January 6‚ 2021. He won’t be a good ally&;#33; He might not come to the aid of an attacked ally in Europe or Asia if he felt that country wasn’t paying enough for its own defense. In 2014‚ when Barack Obama was president‚ NATO allies agreed to spend 2% of GDP for defense. NATO itself says‚ “The 2% of GDP guideline is an important indicator of the political resolve of individual Allies to contribute to NATO’s common defense efforts.” At that time only three of the members of NATO spent that much. The United States disproportionately bears the heaviest burden of funding the alliance. Trump has been a long-standing critic of our allies not spending enough on their own defense. Back in the 1980s he took out a full-page ad imploring countries to pay their fair share for defense. This is neither a new nor especially controversial stance by the former president. Even the current front-runner to head NATO agrees with Trump. Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte‚ the front-runner to replace the current NATO secretary-general‚ told Bloomberg at Davos earlier this year‚ “This was exactly Trump’s main issue‚ that we were not spending enough‚ and he was right. He was right.” But never mind that. Trump will change the entire nature of government&;#33; He would gut the U.S. civil service‚ deploy the National Guard to American cities as he sees fit‚ close the White House pandemic-preparedness office‚ and staff his Administration with acolytes who back his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen. The civil service today is synonymous with the administrative state‚ the unelected shadow government that actually runs the country. The permanent bureaucracy is the unholy child of the Progressive Era‚ brought into being by Woodrow Wilson to “professionalize the government.” What it has done has shifted responsibility of governing from elected officials to career bureaucrats. Each year elected officials have less and less control over government. “Democracy dies in darkness‚” indeed&;#33; As the chief executive officer of the United States‚ the president has the sole executive authority to fire government employees. The Supreme Court in Myers v. United States sided with the president’s power to do just that when it sided with Wilson in his decision to fire a postmaster in Portland‚ Oregon. Returning control of the government to elected officials is something to be celebrated‚ not denigrated as tyrannical. “Freedom is slavery.” The left and its mainstream media acolytes have added to that more Newspeak: “Less government is tyranny.” As for the claim that Trump would “staff his administration with acolytes who back” his 2020 election claims‚ the chief propagandist of the Biden regime‚ Karine Jean-Pierre‚ is a noted 2016 election denier. Cortellessa’s analysis conclusively proves that distortion to fit narratives isn’t the result of some cultural disconnect. It is by design.

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