Is abortion the only issue that affects women’s lives? In my view, the Democrat Party is brazenly erasing womankind across the board. They support gender not sex-based rights, which seems to mean the end of sports for girls and women and the weird requests to identify one’s gender “assigned at birth” and how one identifies now on medical forms and school applications. Iran, China, and Russia are waging a war against the West. This is real, not a paranoid fantasy. It also means the balkanization of identities into black, Hispanic, tribal, Native Indian, ethnic, LGBTQ+, etc. The Democrats sponsored caucuses divided up in precisely this way. Harris and Walz support trans “rights for children” above and beyond parental authority, and a trans rights movement that is essentially powered by Big Pharma, Big Surgery, Big Mental Health, and by a very angry Men’s Rights movement. (READ MORE from Phyllis Chesler: Silence of the Feminist Lambs: Not a Word on Hamas Horrors) The Democrats also support legalized surrogacy, despite the potentially negative consequences to the birthmother and to the child created for the purpose of being adopted away from their birthmother. These are all economic growth industries for everyone involved. To me, and to my generation of pioneering radical feminists, this erasure of biological women is regressive, not progressive. Islamism and Women However, and just as important, the Democrat Party and their presidential and vice-presidential candidates also lend their support to fascism and Islamist terrorism, which they consider to be a form of “resistance,” or “freedom fighting.” The Democrat National Convention featured a panel on Palestinian rights subtitled: “We Need to Restore the Soul of the Democratic Party.” Speakers were prominent Islamists and anti-Zionist Jew haters including James Zogby, the founder of the Arab American Institute, Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General, and Hala Hijazi, a “Democratic organizer and fundraiser who’s had over 100 family members killed in Gaza.” Palestine and Human Rights? But not a panel devoted to Sudan, where real genocide and mass starvation is underway. There was no special panel about human rights in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, North Korea, China, or in any of the Arab Muslim states. This tells me that the Democrats are perfectly willing to continue sacrificing the women and dissidents of Iran and Afghanistan — as well as all those civilians in the West whom Iran has targeted for destruction — beginning with it’s plan to wipe Israel off the planet, half of whose population are women, and “people of color.” This party also supports Iran’s and its proxies’ killing American soldiers and Hamas’s kidnapping of Americans as hostages; Obama-Biden’s funding of Iran’s nuclear program, and Iran’s funding of Hamas’s terrorist underground tunnels which run the entire length of the Gaza strip. Lots of women and children, Hamas’s human shields, live or once lived there. This is also the party that has restrained Israel in terms of fighting back in what is an existential battle for its’ survival. Harris backs the embargoing of arms to Israel and has “emphasized Palestinian suffering due to Israel’s punishing military operations.” Iran, China, and Russia are waging a war against the West. This is real, not a paranoid fantasy. And the Democrats seem willing to continue appeasing these countries. Women and Crime Women live in every city, every state, including women of color. The Democrat Party’s position, across the country, is no bail, de-fund the police, catch and release criminals and migrants of color no matter how grievous a crime they have committed. Borders? They do not believe in any. However, women are also the victims of such policies, with Mexican cartels now utilizing rape as a form of currency for female migrants trying to cross the border. (READ MORE: Immigration of Cultures Hostile to the West Must End) Even those who suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome or who feel deeply about women’s reproductive freedom and about anti-sexism in general, should begin to factor in these concerns as well. The post The Stakes for Women in This Election Are Enormous appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Walter Russell Mead, writing in Foreign Affairs, advocates a return to “Hamiltonian statecraft,” based on the geopolitical approach of Alexander Hamilton, our first Treasury Secretary and President George Washington’s most important adviser. Hamiltonian statecraft, according to Mead, “offers a grand strategy that actively promotes U.S. commerce, American patriotism, and enlightened realism in foreign affairs.” This goes for American businesses, too. Corporations that consider themselves “citizens of the world” …  are not patriots. Hamilton was first and foremost an unrepentant nationalist. His sole focus was on promoting America’s national interest. This manifested itself in President Washington’s neutrality proclamation in the midst of war between France, which helped us become a nation, and Great Britain, which tried to prevent us from becoming a nation. Sentiment and emotion counseled siding with France against our recent enemy. Realism and a commitment to our national interests counseled neutrality. Washington, taking Hamilton’s advice and rejecting the advice of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, chose neutrality. (READ MORE from Francis P. Sempa: Biden Says Anti-Israeli Protesters ‘Have a Point’ at DNC) Later, in Washington’s Farewell Address, which Hamilton greatly contributed to, the president urged his countrymen to avoid permanent alliances, promote trade with all nations, eschew sentimental attachments to foreign powers, and build a strong national defense that would enable us to choose peace or war as dictated by our interests. Mead notes that Hamilton also understood that “economic policy is strategy, and vice versa.” There is, Mead writes, a “relationship between business and national security,” and U.S. foreign policy must incorporate economic diplomacy and national security. Hamiltonian statecraft, Mead explains, combines “pragmatism, financial prudence, strategic focus, and, when necessary, ruthlessness.” Mead places Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dean Acheson, and George Shultz in the Hamiltonian tradition. He could have added John Quincy Adams, whose approach to foreign policy mirrored Hamilton’s. And he could have added Donald Trump. Although Mead does not expressly place Trump in the tradition of Hamiltonian statecraft, he does favorably mention “America first.” Mead calls for a “more nation-centric foreign policy,” instead of the globalism that minimizes patriotism and criticizes nationalism. Hamilton, Mead writes, was above all a patriot. “Nationalism,” Mead argues, “is a moral necessity, not a moral failing” as the globalists contend. Americans, he writes, “have obligations to their fellow citizens that do not extend to all humankind.” There are echoes here of John Quincy Adams’ famous remark that America is the well-wisher of freedom to all, but the champion and vindicator only of her own. This goes for American businesses, too. Corporations that consider themselves “citizens of the world” as well as “leaders who feel no special obligation toward the American people” are not patriots. Mead decries what he describes as the “shift from national Hamiltonianism to globalism across much of the post-Cold War American elite.” Hamilton and Realism The third, and arguably most important, aspect of Hamilton’s legacy is his adherence to realism. Mead characterizes it as “enlightened realism,” but it is realism all the same. Hamilton had a dim view of human nature. “[H]e did not believe,” Mead notes, “that humanity was naturally good or naturally disposed to settle down in democratic and egalitarian societies, all harmoniously at peace with one another.” Just societies, honest governments, fair international orders were for Hamilton a chimera — the stuff of dreams. Hamilton distrusted appeals to international crusades. He didn’t see any merit in America attempting to promote democracy around the world. Realists understand that U.S. national interests may at times require us to make temporary alliances with murderous regimes — we did that when we allied with Stalin in World War II, and we did it again when we allied with Mao against the Soviets in the 1970s and 1980s. In this sense, Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan were realists, though Roosevelt’s realism was quite temporary and Reagan’s realism was sometimes masked by ideological rhetoric. Realism at its essence means that as a leader you approach the world understanding that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Is Donald Trump a Hamiltonian realist? British historian Niall Ferguson thinks so. In a recent column, Ferguson dismissed the notion that Trump is an isolationist, instead seeing him as returning the Republican Party back to the realism of Nixon and Reagan, and turning away from the neoconservatism that has plagued the GOP since George W. Bush’s presidency. (READ MORE: Another Little Known Great John Wayne Film) Trump, Ferguson writes, supports ending the conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, so the United States can focus on deterring China in the western Pacific. It was President Lincoln, after all, who in the midst of the Civil War when political leaders and even members of his own Cabinet were urging escalation with Great Britain over the so-called Trent Affair, who replied: “One war at a time.” The post Hamiltonian Statecraft is ‘America First’ appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

When you don’t have much of a record, you have to run on values, and yes — joy. Listening to the Democratic National Convention last week, a waggish chap could be forgiven if he thought the Berlin Wall had just fallen to the strains of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, “Ode to Joy,” now also known as the Anthem of Europe, symbolizing humanistic values such as freedom and solidarity. Harris has presided as vice president with our borders in chaos from unlawful entrants. The emphasis of the Kamala Harris campaign on values is a dire necessity, because Harris has been an undefined vice president and political sinecure, in an administration that has lurched from crisis to crisis, generally playing defense and not offense. Thus far we have seen mostly clichés, pablum, and talk about vision. For almost four years, the Biden Administration has been flatfooted on an array of domestic and international issues — without accountability. And now we are supposed to think that Harris has experienced a transformation from a faithful senior acolyte and clumsy speaker unable to express herself succinctly to a tough-minded commander-in-chief, prepared to face off against the Kremlin, the Chinese Politburo, the Iranian mullahs, and the trigger-happy men in Pyongyang — with the software of Armageddon at her elbow at all times. Our adversaries tremble not, and they must be slyly licking their chops, wondering what Western interests they can grab or damage next. Hers is a preposterous metamorphosis: Not only have the media recreated and rebranded her, but they have also flown aircover by not questioning whether she is ready for the job of president. They have not vetted her earlier life; nor have they done much investigation into the Marxist ideals of her father, and to what extent she has embraced them.  To the contrary, the media have gushed with excitement, swiftly endorsing her candidacy without critical thinking. Harris has performed with blandness as vice president, studiously ignoring the immigration crisis on our southern border and trying to distract us with the need for long term solutions. Her reported responsibility, assigned by President Biden, was  “to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle … in stemming the movement of … migration to our southern border.” Harris’ Economic Illiteracy Further, her understanding of economics seems worthy of a course in Marxist/Leninist studies at the University of Havana.  Flagellating corporate America and threatening price controls on food products is a populist way of causing shortages and lines outside supermarkets, and damaging the American farm sector. It is well known that price controls actually lead to shortages because companies will supply less. Moreover, government efforts to reduce drug prices sounds noble but has a major downside: Research and development budgets of leading pharmaceutical companies will be cut. With the notable and outsized exception of Eli Lilly, stock prices of major companies such as Merck, Johnson and Johnson, Abbott, and Gilead have appreciated in total in the range of 22 percent to 35 percent over the past five years, plus dividends in the 3 percent to 6 percent range; Bristol-Myers Squibb has been flat and Pfizer negative 13 percent. These are not robber baron or venture capital returns and simply approximate performance of mature enterprises, with higher dividends in some cases to offset weak stock performance. (READ MORE: Five Quick Things: The DNC-Free 5QT)   Government intervention by the Biden administration is causing travails in the U.S. auto industry. The mandate that 67 percent of certain vehicles be electric by 2023 (up nearly 8 percent last year) was recognized as unrealistic and is now being moderated. Very recently Ford announced it was cutting or delaying capital expenditures on EVs by $12 billion in view of consumer reluctance.  Under Harris we can certainly expect more such whiplash due to the imposition of government. Harris is also identified with the worst inflation since the Carter administration. At Biden’s inauguration in January of 2021, the year-over-year rate was 1.4 percent, peaking at 9.1 percent on Biden’s watch. Foreign Policy and Immigration Harris is said to have learned much on foreign policy while serving under President Biden, whom Foreign Policy calls the “most experienced U.S. leader on foreign policy since President George H.W. Bush.” One need not be the equivalent of a Nobel laureate in political science to see the fallacy of this statement. Harris has presided as vice president with our borders in chaos from unlawful entrants; the withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disgrace; Russia was not deterred from invading Ukraine, and supportive armaments for that country were delayed for months; Iran, appeased by the U.S. and undeterred in its nuclear aspirations, has rained fire on U.S. and Western assets either through proxies or directly; China has upped the ante in its bullying tactics against U.S. allies, especially the Philippines; and North Korea has continued with its missile testing provocations. Except for strengthening NATO in which 23 of its 32 member nations will now pay at least 2 percent of GDP on defense in 2024 (with pressure initiated by President Trump), the Biden administration’s record on foreign policy has been dismal — with an underlying theme of perceived weakness. At the DNC convention, Harris eloquently touted her foreign policy credentials. An appropriate reaction would be “interesting, if true.” (READ MORE: This Is No Longer The Presidential Race You Think It Is) Thus far we have seen the specter of socialism haunting the Harris campaign. And we have yet to see any specific plans to restore confidence in American foreign policy. The Harris campaign is able to project only values and emotion — but in a charged populist body politic, that pablum may sell. Frank Schell is a business strategy consultant and former senior vice president of the First National Bank of Chicago. He was a Lecturer at the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago and is a contributor of opinion pieces to various journals. The post From Harris, America Needs Action, Not Pablum appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Strong client states help keep America first, and that includes Ukraine. Rome was at her strongest and her military  most efficient when she maintained a vibrant system of clients along the marches of the empire from the days of the republic to the early empire. Every British tribal warrior, Armenian spearman, or soldier of Judea guarding the frontiers was one less Roman legionnaire needed to man the frontier forts along the periphery of the empire. Trump is perhaps the greatest transactional politician of his generation. As Edward Luttwak points out in his seminal work, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, Rome was able to control most of the known world with an army about the size of today’s Marine Corps. If a threat presented  itself that was beyond the power of the client king or queen, Rome had adequate reserves to deal with the crisis, but such situations were the exception rather than a rule. (READ MORE: Foreign Adversaries React to Assassination Attempt on Trump) This was a way of keeping Rome first. That is the model America firsters should be thinking about with our string of client nations and alliances such as NATO, Japan, Israel, Egypt, and even Ukraine where the war with Russia won’t last forever. Rome’s relationship to her clients was only benign to a point where the client ruler ceased being competent or became a liability. At that point, the iron fist came out of the velvet glove. (READ MORE from Gary Anderson: Tim Walz, Unreformed Summer Soldier) Trump and the Client States Here is the irony regarding Donald Trump. He is perhaps the best American client manager since the days of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Under Trump, NATO members, Japan, and South Korea began to ante up their fair share of the defense burden. Joe Biden likes being loved by our allies, but respect and fear have been absent.. Trump elicits that fear and respect. Donald Trump is the one American politician best positioned to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. He has leverage over Ukraine in the way of aid, and he is the only major American politician still on speaking terms with Vladimir Putin. Trump has alluded to his willingness to help broker such a deal, and he should make this a major element of his campaign pitch. Richard Nixon garnered many votes with his promise to end the war in Vietnam. It took him some time to do it, but he eventually did. Rome’s use of client states was strictly transactional. One of the most successful clients was Herod the Great of Judea. He was a thoroughly detestable individual and is still reviled by Christians and Jews alike, but he was a competent client who kept the borders stable. It was not until less competent successors lost control of the Jewish population that the Romans had to step in and turn the area into a province. That was done at great expense to the Roman treasury and in Roman lives. Trump is perhaps the greatest transactional politician of his generation and  dealing with friends and adversaries in the next four years will require transactional skills. It is one of Mr. Trump’s greatest strengths. He should play to it. That includes convincing the America First portion of his constituency that strong clients save America both money and manpower. Gary Anderson contrasted Roman and American client management strategies in Toward a Pax Universalis, one of the Naval War College Newport Paper   The post Trump Is an Extraordinary Manager of Client Nations appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

from Sarah Westall: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

by Eric Zuesse, The Duran: NBC News on August 21st headlined “Ukraine launches massive drone attack on Moscow” and interviewed an anonymous U.S. veteran and now volunteer fighter against Russia who had participated in Ukraine’s attack against Kursk in Russia, and he said, “We didn’t start this. We are simply helping freedom-loving people against a totalitarian regime.” He went on to […]

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched widespread strikes against Hezbollah terrorist positions in southern Lebanon during the early morning hours on Sunday after receiving intelligence that Hezbollah was about to launch a large scale attack on Israel. Axios reported that the strike was launched after Israeli and U.S. intelligence officials obtained intelligence indicating that Hezbollah’s attack was imminent. Israel coordinated with the U.S. in advance of the strike. IDF attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon following intelligence that indicated the group was preparing to launch rockets against Israel. I'm assuming the IDF is referring to a retaliation for the Shukr killing. pic.twitter.com/QtNRRWqV9Q — Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) August 25, 2024 Additional footage purportedly shows strikes in southern Lebanon during preemptively Israeli strikes against Hezbollah targets. pic.twitter.com/zXatuoAHN8 — Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) August 25, 2024 تغطية صحفية: من الغارات العنيفة التي شنتها طائرات الاحتلال على جنوب لبنان pic.twitter.com/14ReU4p6hK — شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) August 25, 2024 “A short while ago, the IDF identified the Hezbollah terrorist organization preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory,” said IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari in a statement. ‌”‏In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.” The strikes come after Hezbollah has fired more than 6,700 rockets, missiles, and explosive drones at Israeli families, homes, and communities since October 8th. Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you. “Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs, towards Israeli territory,” said Hagari. ‌”‏We will shortly update the Home Front Command Defensive guidelines for those in Israel. ‌‏From right next to the homes of Lebanese civilians in the South of Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians.” “‏We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating, to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety. Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel- and the whole region- into a wider escalation,” he concluded. ‌”‏Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah’s attacks on our civilians. ‌‏We are operating in self defense from Hezbollah – and any other enemy that joins in their attacks against us- and we are ready to do everything we need to defend the people of Israel.” “In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.” Listen to an update from IDF Spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari, regarding Hezbollah’s plans to attack… pic.twitter.com/fKvbUVSmbT — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 25, 2024

In a heartwarming video, a 96-year-old man named Samuel shared his unique outlook on life. He credited that outlook with helping him have such a long, happy life. This gentleman delivered a truly inspirational message that can benefit us all. 96-Year-Old Man Shares His Wisdom & Happy Life Samuel was stopped on the street and interviewed by the Instagram account @polleksandra. In this interview, he was asked, “What life advice would you give people?” Samuel had the perfect answer. He didn’t give a one-lined response. Instead, he gave a well-thought-out, robust answer. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Oleksandra Al Zakhran (@polleksandra) He began his response with a soft chuckle, seeming to reflect on his many years of life experience. Then, he delved into his first piece of advice. He said, “I don’t like going back.” Then he explained how the past is in the past, and there is no changing that. He continued, “Accept where you are at and move on. Try to be in the present.” While we all have mistakes and moments we are not proud of, those moments are behind us. Additionally, while we may see others moving more rapidly than us, it is best to be in the present moment. As this smart 96-year-old advised, we should accept where we are in life, make the most of it, and be happy. Heartwarming Advice Samuel’s heartwarming advice didn’t stop there. As the video progressed, he further dug into his answer. He tackled the art of gratitude. He said, “You have gratitude for what you have.” Gratitude has been proven to have healing effects. Focusing on the pleasant things in your life that you are thankful for draws focus away from the parts that are not so grand. A study even showed that expressing gratitude regularly helped lower physical symptoms “such as headaches, shortness of breath, sore muscles, and nausea” compared to those who did not practice gratitude. From there, he moved on to the theme of compassion. Based on this lovely man’s presence, it is safe to assume that he lived his life with the same gratitude and compassion that he preached. Closing Thoughts As the interview slowly wound down, this 96-year-old left the audience with one final piece of advice. He said, “Accept what is. If you can change it, okay. But there are some things that you need to accept that you can’t change. And if you can’t change it, let it go.” What an incredibly powerful message! As long as they heed this inspiring 96-year-old’s words, all those who listen to Samuel’s words are sure to live long, happy lives. This story’s featured image can be found here. The post 96-Year-Old Shares Simple Advice For A Long, Happy Life appeared first on InspireMore.