This Sunday <a href="https://youtu.be/SNrRxj8cIME">night</a>, Dirshu’s World Siyum took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The evening celebrated Dirshu participants’ completion of the learning of the seven and half-year cycle of Talmud. A monumental achievement, this is one that requires structure, discipline, and the sort of motivation that Dirshu’s programming affords its participants. Although I myself did not attend the ceremony in person, I was still enthralled by what I saw on the event&#8217;s livestream.
I don’t believe that the Prudential Center has ever hosted an environment as electrifying as the one that the largest Torah organization in the world managed to create. The arena that normally hosts the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League was filled with fathers embracing their children, jointly celebrating this amazing accomplishment of having completed such a substantial amount of learning. I was struck by the sort of joy exhibited on the faces of the fathers holding their sons. The joy in the room was palatable. It was a raw form of happiness — with each man grabbing the arm of his fellow man, dancing and celebrating in unison.
During this time of division, where the seeds of hatred are too commonly sown and the pursuit of materialism too commonly elevated, watching the Dirshu World Siyum was such a refreshing respite. It was a sea of faces of close to 20,000 people dedicated to intellectual growth and to embracing Jewish identity. All in all, there were 11 worldwide events that were a part of the Dirshu World Siyum. With 150,000 participants in total, the events were held in some of the world’s largest venues in cities, from London to Paris to Jerusalem.
There was one obvious question that crossed my mind: Who is it who makes this all possible? The event was a production of epic proportions; and year-round, the costs involved with running an operation that has a presence on every continent are surely astronomical. Yet there were no solicitations throughout the evening. Not a single word about it.
That’s because an unassuming but modest man who founded and leads the organization takes care of the entire operation quietly. Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, the son of Holocaust survivors, created Dirshu as a means to revive Jewish learning to the level where it often was prior to the Holocaust. As Governor Mike Huckabee recently wrote in a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mike-huckabee-sin-of-anti-semitism-must-be-condemned-and-fought-by-people-of-all-faiths">column</a> he penned for Fox News, &#8220;thanks to Rabbi Hofstedter and Dirshu, Jewish scholarship is seeing a great resurgence and is beginning to reach the same levels as seen before the Holocaust.”
In an era where Jews are increasingly under siege, there’s a natural inclination among some to cower under fear. Some inevitably feel intimidated. But the message that Dirshu and Rabbi Hofstedter transmitted through Sunday night’s enormous event is clear: We will continue celebrating our Jewish pride. We will continue promoting our Jewish identity and our Jewish texts. For that reason, a common expression raised during some of the rabbis’ speeches throughout the night was that the greatest form of revenge against Hitler is learning our Jewish texts and celebrating our collective pride in our Judaism. Thanks to Rabbi Hofstedter and the Dirshu World Siyum, the display of Jewish solidarity and consecration of God’s name will surely last for many years to come.
&nbsp;
Follow Jeremy Frankel on <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankelJeremy?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a>.

Jewish Museum of Switzerland. Basel. Old Talmud (1578-1560).

FRANKEL: A Powerful Display Of Jewish Values In New Jersey

Anti-Semitism

Judaism

New Jersey

Last week, the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/01/16/legos-toys-for-stressed-adults/">reported </a>that the iconic toy company, Lego, is now focusing on the new demographic of “stressed-out adults.” According to the report, the 87-year-old company “increasingly bills its brightly colored bricks as a way to drown out the noise of the day and perhaps achieve a measure of mindfulness.” Presumably zeroing in on childhood nostalgia, the product line <a href="https://www.lego.com/en-us/categories/exclusives?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1Lj6sNy15wIVFmKGCh1uYAKLEAAYASAAEgL37PD_BwE&amp;ef_id=EAIaIQobChMI1Lj6sNy15wIVFmKGCh1uYAKLEAAYASAAEgL37PD_BwE:G:s&amp;s_kwcid=AL!790!3!339153893198!e!!g!!lego%20adult%20sets&amp;Buffer&amp;cmp=KAC-INI-GOOGUS-GO-US-EN-PS-BUY-SHOP-General-BC-EX-RN-Adult_Focused">includes</a> the Batman Batmobile, the Millennium Falcon of Star Wars fame, and a set from the 1990s’ sitcom “Friends.”
According to Lego audience marketing strategist Genevieve Capa Cruz:
<blockquote>“Adults with high-pressured jobs are telling us they’re using Lego to disconnect from the mania of the day. They’re looking for a relaxing, calming experience — and they like instructions because that’s what helps them be in the zone.”</blockquote>
While it seems like harmless fun, this effort by Lego is just the latest contributor to the trend of mass infantilization of American adults.
This drift toward mass infantilization is nothing new. We hear stories from college campuses so often that it barely registers in the minds of most people anymore, considering the ever-so-common safe spaces in reaction to certain speakers and protests in reaction to microagressions. Adults throughout the country, displaying an enormous sense of entitlement and narcissism usually found in children, desire the government to take from others and give to them through mass socialism. It’s the foundation for why many people walk around miserable, thinking they are being oppressed by imaginary racism, sexism, bigotry, and various other phobias and “isms.”
What is the reason this is happening? Why is society becoming increasingly immature?
The reason is that humans have a base desire to be taken care of, rather than having to work to reap the fruits of their labor, even if that means losing their liberty. Hence, humans, consciously or not, fight the obligation to grow.
And an immature person will generally believe that whatever they want is rightfully theirs, and will do anything to achieve what they believe they deserve.
Any parent will tell you that this is how their children behave, and through children’s maturation and parents’ proper discipline, kids learn that a knee-jerk sense of entitlement is not the way to live in a civil society.
Constant, default narcissism is the way of a child at birth. A newborn has no compunction about waking up his or her parents, no matter what time of night it is. As a child grows, he or she is taught how to interact with the world, and arguably most importantly, how to put their needs or desires aside if necessary. However, if children are not taught this, they remain children for life in every way other than chronological age.
This is how we end up with Leftists being perpetually miserable and triggered. It’s the foundation for why they believe that anyone who disagrees with them is “dumb” (just ask CNN’s Don Lemon) or a hateful racist. It’s why they never accept the results of elections they lose, most notably President Trump’s election in 2016, but other examples include President Bush’s 2000 election (“selected, not elected”) and the election of Georgia Governor Kemp in 2018 (ask Stacey Abrams if she’s the rightful governor).
And it’s how we reached the point where adults are playing with children’s toys. Because, in reality, they never really grew up at all.
Follow Jeremy Frankel on <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankelJeremy?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a>.

Pieces of lego displayed during the exhibition at Alexandra

FRANKEL: Why Society Is Immature And Refuses To Grow Up

Leftism

Microaggressions

Generally, politicizing tragedy is a scourge that should be avoided. But sometimes, the cause of the tragedy is so obvious that it becomes impossible not to trace it back to politics.
For the last few years, parts of New York, including much of New York City, have become <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/18/nyregion/anti-semitism-brooklyn-new-york.html">hotbeds</a> of anti-Semitic attacks against Jews at random, ranging from beating Jews in the streets to <a href="https://abc7ny.com/vandals-break-window-at-synagogue-in-brooklyn/5142611/">throwing</a> bricks into synagogue windows.
However, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/29/us/jewish-attacks-week-new-york-trnd/index.html">this week</a> saw a new, unprecedented wave of anti-Semitic attacks in New York. An elderly Jew was beaten by a Latino assailant in broad daylight in Midtown Manhattan. A few days <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/28/suspects-released-without-bail-after-shocking-attacks-on-jews/">later</a>, a homeless black attacker hit a Jewish woman in the face with a bag of groceries in front of her son. And over the weekend, multiple Jews were stabbed by an African-American attacker near a Monsey synagogue during a Hanukkah celebration.
This is horrifying, to say the least. I grew up in Monsey. To say I never thought I’d see the day a tragedy such as this one would occur in my own hometown is an understatement.
But this should cause Jews, both in New York and throughout the country, to truly question who in power has their best interests in mind. And it’s becoming increasingly obvious that, try as they may to <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1211376731422113792">deny</a> it, it is the Left that truly has no interest in helping to stop this epidemic of anti-Semitism.
To his credit, however, after the Monday attack, far-left New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted the following:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hate doesn’t have a home in our city. 
In light of recent anti-Semitic attacks, the NYPD will increase their presence in Boro Park, Crown Heights and Williamsburg. 
Anyone who terrorizes our Jewish community WILL face justice.
&mdash; Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1210529913004015617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Still, leftists, even Jewish ones, pounced:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
in a decision that impacts both Black and Jewish New Yorkers, how many Black Jews have you consulted before deciding occupying Black and Jewish communities with more NYPD makes everyone safer?
— rafael (@rafaelshimunov) <a href="https://twitter.com/rafaelshimunov/status/1210613561065705473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
One may wonder why Jews would be upset by this. After all, it seems insane that Jews would be against the notion of protecting their own co-religionists. But the Left’s obsession with race and identity politics leads directly to this logical conclusion.
To the Left, African-Americans and Latino Americans are a perpetual victim class, no matter the progress each community makes over time. As such, leftists feel a visceral guilt about these communities and will excuse any action in which people of these ethnicities participate. And even though Jews are a minority as well, their disproportionate success in America puts them on a pedestal above other minorities, such as African-Americans and Hispanics. As such, leftists will side with the supposed “oppressed” group, no matter what the truth actually is.
Even The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/nyregion/jewish-bias-safety-nyc.html?auth=login-email&amp;login=email">admitted</a> the conundrum for progressives in fighting anti-Semitism, noting that &#8220;[I]t is the varied backgrounds of people who commit hate crimes in the city that make combating and talking about anti-Semitism in New York much harder.&#8221;
How else do you explain New York’s new law <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/new-york-prosecutor-abolishing-bail-will-lead-dangerous-crime-waves-witness-intimidation/">abolishing</a> bail, which clearly will lead to spikes in crime, rampant witness intimidation, and more criminals out on the streets? Or the fact that the endorsement of Rev. Al Sharpton, infamous for his role in the Crown Heights riots of the early 1990s and the 1995 Freddy&#8217;s Fashion Mart massacre, is a de facto <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/the-run/articles/2019-04-02/2020-democrats-flock-to-al-sharptons-national-action-network-to-address-race-gap">gateway</a> to qualifying for the Democratic Party presidential nomination? Or that Democrats in the House leadership have <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/03/anti-semitism-louis-farrakhan-democratic-party/">met</a> with the anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, and none have denounced him as the racist he so clearly is?
The answer is that intersectionality and identity politics are sacred cows to the Left. It is a golden rule that the color of a perpetrator’s skin is always more important than the actions they take. As such, as long as the culprit is not a white supremacist, as white Christian males are on top of the intersectional totem pole, Jewish blood becomes cheap to the Left.
We as Americans cannot let this stand. The cancer to the civil society that is identity politics must end now.

Vigil.

FRANKEL: The Golden Calf of Identity Politics Must Be Destroyed. Jewish Lives Depend On It.

#WalkAway

Intersectionality

Jews

Yesterday, conservative commentator and Fox News contributor Dan Bongino released his new news aggregating website, the <a href="https://bonginoreport.com/">Bongino Report</a>.
Advertised as an alternative to the Drudge Report, likely the most prominent extant conservative news aggregator but lately of an increasingly anti-Trump bent, Bongino’s goal for his new site is to gather news, opinion pieces and video links from many different websites geared toward a conservative, libertarian, and constitutionalist viewpoint.
Bongino has been teasing his new project for the last few weeks on his Twitter account:
https://twitter.com/dbongino/status/1202310391289860098
https://twitter.com/dbongino/status/1199664571994320896
https://twitter.com/dbongino/status/1199835047236456448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&amp;amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-5694703743293036141.ampproject.net%2F1911191835190%2Fframe.html
The Bongino Report has been praised and endorsed by many prominent conservatives, including radio host Mark Levin, Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA), and commentator Raheem Kassam:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Bookmark this<a href="https://t.co/8TwIToGEza">https://t.co/8TwIToGEza</a>
&mdash; Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) <a href="https://twitter.com/marklevinshow/status/1202291562165788674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Bongino Report &#8211; Congratulations to ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/dbongino?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dbongino</a>⁩ <a href="https://t.co/liJtkRH6Qd">https://t.co/liJtkRH6Qd</a>
&mdash; Devin Nunes (@DevinNunes) <a href="https://twitter.com/DevinNunes/status/1202281253166370817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
https://twitter.com/raheemkassam/status/1202293268513513472
The site includes seven main categories: Top Stories, Election 2020, the Impeachment Witch Hunt, Culture War, Economy, Immigration, and All the Rest. It also includes a section highlighting recent conservative video content from YouTube.
Drudge, which came to <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/matt-drudges-website-played-a-major-role-in-the-clinton-impeachment-now-hes-back-for-another-round/2019/09/27/de75991a-e0a4-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html%3foutputType=amp">prominence</a> in 1998 during the Clinton impeachment, has been veering left-ward, and specifically anti-Trump, in recent months. This change by Drudge has even garnered the attention of President Trump himself, who has gone so far as to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/so-anti-trump-president-asks-jared-kushner-to-find-out-whats-going-on-with-drudge">ask</a> his son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, to find out “what’s going on with Drudge.”
Considering that the owner of the site, Matt Drudge, is notoriously private and quite elusive, we may never get an answer as to why the Drudge Report has changed.
According to Derek Hunter at <a href="https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2019/12/03/what-happened-to-drudge-n2557319">Townhall</a>:
<blockquote>How Drudge works is a mystery. I’ve known several people who have worked for him as editors, taking various shifts updating the site as news changes. None have any insights into who Matt Drudge is as a person or what is happening with the clear negative slant the site has taken toward President Donald Trump, a man who was helped into the White House, in no small part, by the coverage of the Drudge Report.</blockquote>
According to <a href="https://amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/dec/5/matt-drudge-picks-another-conservative-competitor-/">The Washington Times</a>, the site has been linking to sites that have a blatant anti-Trump bias, such as CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times. In contrast, the Bongino Report links today to openly conservative sites such as TheBlaze, The Federalist, Independent Women’s Forum, and the Washington Examiner.
The Bongino Report is the newest of a group of aggregators seeking to rival Drudge, including Gab Trends, Citizen Free Press, Whatfinger News, Liberty Daily, Rantingly, and NewsAmmo.
Bongino, host of The Dan Bongino Show on Westwood One and a Fox News contributor, is also a three-time congressional candidate and former Secret Service agent during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations. He resigned in 2011 in order to run for the United States Senate in 2012. He also frequently guest-hosts for Levin and Sean Hannity, the third- and second-most listened-to radio shows in the country, respectively. He is also the author of five books, including Spygate and Exonerated, each of which discusses the Obama administration’s rogue operations in sabotaging Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and later, his presidency.
The Bongino Report is a welcome alternative to Drudge for those who want their news from a strictly conservative standpoint.

Dan Bongino

The Bongino Report: The Newest Conservative News Aggregator

Conservatism

Media

Media Bias

On Thursday, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro gave a speech at Stanford University, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-shapiro-dismantles-the-alt-right-and-radical-lefts-dangerous-game">covering </a>both the radical Left and the &#8220;alt-Right.&#8221; Shapiro explained that both of these movements feed off of each other, because each movement relies on a hierarchy for its existence. But while the radical Left’s intersectional philosophy puts white, Christian males at the bottom as the &#8220;least oppressed group,&#8221; the &#8220;alt-Right&#8221; flips that hierarchy on its head and white people become the desired, most important group of all.
Needless to say, what both of these groups stand for is anathema to Americanism — much less mainstream conservatism. The conservative believes that we are all, in the words of the Declaration of Independence, &#8220;[C]reated equal&#8221; and that all people &#8220;are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.&#8221; To be on the Right means to see no significance whatsoever in race, class, or sexual orientation. We conservatives believe in meritocracy and equality of opportunity for everyone.
However, the question remains, why does anyone in our society consider the &#8220;alt-Right&#8221; to actually be on the political Right?
These racists share nothing in common with conservatives. Indeed, as Shapiro noted in his speech, the Left and &#8220;alt-Right&#8221; are inherently intertwined, as both groups focus almost exclusively on the collective and on superficial external features. They focus on groups competing for hierarchical supremacy and winning awards for being the the most privileged and the most victimized.
This should come as no surprise. The Democratic Party, throughout much of its history, has focused on race, class and the collective, at-large. The Democratic Party was the political party of slavery and Jim Crow in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Until the 1960s, the Democratic Party largely defended school segregation in the South. The party of segregationists, such as Alabama Governor George Wallace and father of American leftism President Woodrow Wilson, is the same party that now endlessly promotes intersectionality and its champions, such as Linda Sarsour and Ilhan Omar.
As a perfect modern encapsulation of this, Massachusetts Senator and 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren tweeted the following last week:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thank you, <a href="https://twitter.com/BlackWomxnFor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlackWomxnFor</a>! Black trans and cis women, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary people are the backbone of our democracy and I don’t take this endorsement lightly. I&#39;m committed to fighting alongside you for the big, structural change our country needs. <a href="https://t.co/KqWsVoRYMb">https://t.co/KqWsVoRYMb</a>
&mdash; Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1192526820559785986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
There are countless examples of the Left pushing this ideology. Warren&#8217;s obvious pander is just the latest example of the Left promoting a group over an individual.
And the &#8220;alt-Right&#8221; agrees with this approach, even if it utilizes it in a different way.
Should we then really call these people &#8220;alt-Right?&#8221;
The answer is no. By even accepting the tacit premise that these people have something in common with conservatives, we are using the Left’s branding and helping them spread this egregious lie — with the tragic result of allowing unvarnished racists to be lumped together with us. The Left’s goal is to confuse the public, brand us as bigots, and expand their own power.
The &#8220;alt-Right&#8221; and the radical Left are two sides of the same coin. We should stop calling them &#8220;Right,&#8221; no matter what the qualifier is. They are, in reality, an intellectual alternative to the Left.

Charlottesville rally memorial

FRANKEL: The ‘Alt-Right’ Is A Leftist Movement. We Should Refer To It As Such.

Alt-Right

Racism

This past Thursday night, The Exodus Movement, an organization focused on raising awareness of the increasing anti-Semitism of the far Left, held an event in Manhattan. It was the group&#8217;s first event since the addition of its PAC branch last month.
The event was hosted by Elizabeth Pipko, founder of The Exodus Movement, as well as Andrea Catsamatidis, who was just recently re-elected as the chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party.
“The fact that Thursday’s event was such a success and members of the Jewish community and supporters of Israel turned out in such force to support the Exodus Movement is so encouraging and exciting. People are finally waking up to the anti-Semitism and hatred coming from the Left and standing up for Jewish values and our great ally Israel. I was extremely proud to be a part of the event and to stand with my Jewish friends,” stated Catsamatidis.
Also in attendance was special guest Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump and senior advisor to Trump’s 2020 campaign. In her speech, she addressed all of the actions the president has taken to show his support for Israel — including moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. She also spoke about how the Democratic Party has turned its back on Israel and has welcomed blatant anti-Semites into its ranks.
“Watching everything come together and seeing a room filled with people all fighting for the same thing and all hopeful for the future was an incredible moment for me. I’m honored to have the support of both Lara and Andrea. And I so look forward to everything the Exodus Movement has planned for the future. This is just the beginning!” stated Pipko.
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Since its addition of its organizational PAC branch, the Exodus Movement is now focusing on moving to more aggressively target persuadable Jewish voters in key states — including Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. When announcing the PAC launch this summer, Pipko stated, “This new 527 organization will hold those to account who don’t support Jewish voters and the issues they care about the most.”
The organization’s chapter program was also announced this summer. Since then, the organization has grown from 11 nationwide chapters to 25.
Note: Author Jeremy Frankel serves as the head of the Bergen County, New Jersey Exodus Movement chapter.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/49224/exclusive-exodus-movement-announces-nationwide-jeremy-frankel">EXCLUSIVE: The Exodus Movement Announces Nationwide Chapter Program</a>

Pharoah’s Downfall

EXCLUSIVE: The Exodus Movement Holds First Event As A PAC

Israel

This past weekend, when we all should have been able to celebrate a three-day weekend to mark the proverbial end of the summer, we were instead hit with both a heartbreaking mass shooting in Texas and a hurricane set to hit the Southeast. The shooting, which occurred in Odessa, Texas, took the lives of at least seven people and injured over 20. Meanwhile, Hurricane Dorian already has accumulated at least five deaths in the Bahamas and has caused mandatory evacuations from numerous counties in Florida — with possibly many more to come.
However, during a time where all of us, as Americans, should unite and rebuild, we instead immediately jump at the opportunity to attack one another. One would think that fighting pure human evil or protecting and helping our neighbors find refuge and rebuild from a devastating storm would be uniting forces. They certainly should be.
But sadly, they aren’t. And worse, this fact ought not to be surprising. The media and the Left immediately milk these events for all they are worth in order to push for the policies their collective side has always wanted. In the case of mass shootings, it’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51283/beto-if-elected-i-am-going-confiscate-your-semi-ryan-saavedra">severe</a> gun control measures, as some of the top 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have already <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/joe-biden-calls-for-elimination-of-gun-magazines-that-can-hold-multiple-bullets-in-them">pushed</a> in lieu of respectfully mourning with their fellow countrymen. In the case of hurricanes, while they should be standing with everyone in the way of the storm, they inevitably turn the conversation to climate change in order to push other left-wing policies — as if humans have the ability to somehow change the fact that hurricanes have been in existence for just about as long as the world itself has existed.
These tactics may be convenient, but they are truly disgusting. And the opportunistic grifters, both in the media and in politics, make us lose our compassion because we all end up at each other’s throats when we should all be embracing each other in mourning and rebuilding.
How much longer, as a society, can we last if all we see in everything is politics and ways to destroy our fellow citizens?
For example, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), polling at 2% in the current Democratic presidential primary and desperate for attention, is now fundraising off his use of the phrase “this is f***ed up” on CNN by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51301/beto-mocks-thoughts-prayers-drops-f-bomb-cnn-now-james-barrett">selling</a> t-shirts with that as a slogan.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) immediately took the opportunity to mock the idea of good people with firearms stopping bad ones:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Big shout out to all the civilian “good guys with guns” who saved lives in Odessa. You know who you are. Thanks a million.
*btw, Texas IS an open carry state. <a href="https://t.co/cWTeyEkBrC">https://t.co/cWTeyEkBrC</a>
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1168238172460998657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Regarding Hurricane Dorian, the Left immediately <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2019/08/31/rudy-giuliani-hurricane-dorian-mar-a-lago-global-warming-politics/">jumps</a> to the idea of climate change, almost as if it is rooting for an outcome that can advance its agenda — rather than rooting for the safety of the people in the eye of the storm. And of course, the Left takes an opportunity to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51286/wire-creator-david-simon-hopes-hurricane-dorian-paul-bois">lambast</a> President Trump, because why not?
These are but a few examples, but it shows how our broader society is in danger. As John Adams once famously stated: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.” And we’re losing our morality quickly by using these tragedies as nothing more than opportunities to club our opponents over the head.
That’s not to say we should never debate, of course. Free speech and civil discourse are staples of our nation and always have been. But demonization and knee-jerk reaction in order to politicize and personally gain from these events is a surefire way to expedite the crumbling of the civil society right before our eyes. And it won’t be the fault of guns or climate change. We’ll have no one else to blame but ourselves.

Real friends are there when you need them

FRANKEL: National Tragedies Should Bring Us Together, Not Tear Us Apart

Climate Change

Guns

It’s no secret that President Donald Trump has severe disdain for the media. He lambasts them constantly, much of the time deservedly so, as the “enemy of the people.” Many on both the Left and Right have taken issue with this, ranging from claiming that Trump’s language is unbecoming for a President, to worries that it could put journalists at risk. Others have said that while the media is generally anti-Trump, it doesn’t do anything to the population other than inform.
However, Trump is right in his critique of the media—they are the enemy of the people.
Here’s why.
Throughout both Trump’s candidacy for the presidency and his tenure as Commander-in-Chief, the media has labeled him as a white supremacist, <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/08/12/msnbc-hosts-trump-hitler/">likened</a> him to Adolf Hitler and blamed him for the country’s racial tensions. However, they cross a line when the smears spread to Trump’s supporters, which include 63 million Americans who voted for him.
And this happens on a frequent basis. For example, CNN political analyst Joe Lockhart tweeted: “Anyone who supports a racist or a racist strategy is a racist themselves. 2020 is a moment or reckoning for America. Vote for @realDonaldTrump and you are a racist. Don’t hide it like a coward. Wear that racist badge proudly and see how it feels.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Anyone who supports a racist or a racist strategy is a racist themselves. 2020 is a moment or reckoning for America. Vote for <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> and you are a racist. Don’t hide it like a coward. Wear that racist badge proudly and see how it feels.
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) <a href="https://twitter.com/joelockhart/status/1155237947035308032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
AZ Central also ran a column last month with the <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2019/07/15/trump-supporters-racist-if-they-refuse-condemn-his-tweets/1732189001/">headline</a>, “If you can’t condemn Trump’s racist tweets, we can no longer be friends.” Still more, Rolling Stone, a publication most known for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/business/media/rape-uva-rolling-stone-frat.html">settling</a> a defamation lawsuit brought by a University of Virginia fraternity about a fake gang-rape story, ran a <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republicans-cant-explain-why-theyre-condemning-the-racism-of-trumps-supporters-but-not-trumps-860764/">headline</a> stating that “Republicans Can’t Explain Why They’re Condemning the Racism of Trump’s Supporters But Not Trump’s.”
But perhaps the most egregious smear of Trump supporters in recent memory came from Donny Deutsch of MSNBC, when he <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/08/09/msnbcs_donny_deutsch_if_you_vote_for_trump_you_own_the_blood_that_happens.html">stated</a> that “if you vote for Trump, you own the blood that happens.” Appearing on “Morning Joe,” Deutsch stated that every Trump voter owns whatever happens in the Trump presidency, and advocated for shaming swing voters. He made the case that you can’t just disagree with Trump on certain issues without also condoning his racism.
Deutsch stated, “ … I think that’s the message that’s got to get out there: ‘You own it. You own the blood that happens. You own Charlottesville. You can’t do it. You get the whole package … [A]nd that’s what swing voters have got to understand and be shamed into.”
There are countless examples of the media shaming Trump supporters and conservatives at large. From blaming the NRA and lawful gun owners for every mass shooting, to blaming xenophobia and racism for opposition to open borders, to NBC&#8217;s Chuck Todd <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/01/02/chuck_todd_im_not_going_to_give_time_to_climate_deniers.html">not allowing</a> “climate deniers” on his show, it’s obvious that the media despises half the country.
In light of this, Trump isn’t just railing on the media because it’s as biased as it is towards him alone. The president understands that the media clearly despise his supporters too; the 63 million Americans who voted for him. And if that doesn’t constitute, by definition, that the media are actually the enemy of the people, what does?

Donald Trump

FRANKEL: Trump Is Right: The Media Are The Enemy Of The People

This past Monday marked the six-month anniversary since the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/962/text">Born-Alive Act</a> was introduced in Congress. At first, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) <a href="https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2019/2/senate-will-have-roll-call-vote-on-born-alive-abortion-survivors-protection-act">brought</a> up the bill with the intent that it should have unanimous consent, that no baby that survives an abortion should be denied medical care and left to die. A failed abortion should remain exactly that — failed.
In bringing up the potential legislation, Sasse stated, &#8220;There are only two sides of the debate on the floor tonight. You&#8217;re either for babies or you&#8217;re defending infanticide.&#8221;
But it&#8217;s clear now which side happily defends this egregious practice. Little did Sasse realize how radical the Left has become, that they would have an issue with outlawing actual murder.
Ever since Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) <a href="https://www.omaha.com/livewellnebraska/ben-sasse-is-blocked-in-push-to-require-medical-care/article_c965c14c-571f-5644-b6d1-16f1b5f17d09.html">denied</a> the unanimous consent’s approval, stating simply that &#8220;we have laws against infanticide in this country,&#8221; and then walking off the floor with no elaboration, and Senate Democrats then blocked the bill that would have threatened prison time for doctors who don&#8217;t try saving the life of infants born alive during failed abortions, House Republicans have continued trying to reintroduce the bill, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has actively blocked a House vote on the bill <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/08/04/pro-life-groups-renew-push-for-born-alive-bill/">80 times</a> since.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) have tried to force a floor vote on the legislation, using a procedural tactic known as a discharge petition, which would require gathering at least 218 signatures from House members to oblige the chamber’s Democrat leadership to bring the bill to the floor for debate and a vote. Sadly, so far the discharge petition has not been successful, with only three Democrats signing on along with all House Republicans.
In his latest FoxNews <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/scalise-dannenfelser-born-alive-act-vote-pelosi-democrats">op-ed</a>, Scalise asks what Pelosi is so afraid of. However, the answer is clearly obvious as to why Pelosi won’t allow a vote on the legislation. A bill outlawing leaving born-alive babies to die should not be controversial. But Pelosi does not want her caucus on record voting for infanticide, as this would expose the Democratic Party as the radicals they truly are. The American people would reject these people outright, as most Americans <a href="https://www.apnews.com/dec1f82c4c630cb97ab7cefc58cf0866">oppose</a> the hideous practice the Left apparently advocates for.
But even more telling is that not all elected Democrats are as &#8220;secretive&#8221; about this. For example, senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has <a href="https://www.lifenews.com/2019/08/07/elizabeth-warren-compared-abortion-to-getting-your-tonsils-out/">compared</a> abortions to getting one&#8217;s tonsils out. Another senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris (D-CA) is one of Planned Parenthood’s proudest and strongest <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-kamala-harris-planned-parenthood-20160407-story.html">supporters</a> in Congress, and as California’s attorney general, <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/27/kamala-harris-planned-parenthood-teamed-up-on-legi/">targeted</a> David Daleiden, a pro-life activist who recorded conversations and video showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing selling aborted fetal body parts.
To put it lightly, the Democratic Party is completly out of touch with the American people and basic morality. This disturbing action committed 80 times by Pelosi and House Democrats just gives America another reason to reject them and ensure they never reach the power they seek.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/49056/hammer-democratic-party-fundamentally-unfit-lead-josh-hammer">HAMMER: The Democratic Party Is Fundamentally Unfit To Lead The United States Of America</a>

nancy_pelosi_gi.jpg

FRANKEL: It Has Been Six Months Since The Born-Alive Act Was Introduced. We Now Know What The Left Really Believes.

Abortion

Democratic Party

Last week, after an interminable investigation and a special counsel report that showed President Donald Trump neither guilty of collusion with Russia nor of obstruction of justice, Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified before two U.S. House of Representative committees regarding his report and investigation. Anyone who watched the hearings understood that Mueller looked uncomfortable, feeble, and reluctant to have to be subject to this Democratic charade.
But nothing is ever enough. No matter what may reveal Trump’s innocence, the Left continues to baselessly insist the president is guilty of being a Russian stooge in the pocket of Vladimir Putin.
However, the question remains as to why the Democratic Party would decide to have Mueller come in to testify and not merely move on — accept the results of the report, admit defeat, and fight on other issues that could benefit them at the ballot box. In fact, the hearing made the Democrats look worse, in the sense that Mueller contradicted himself numerous times and often could not remember what was in his own report.
So why did the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives move along with this sham?
Contrary to what many of us may believe, politicians aren’t stupid. They’re calculating constantly, and unfortunately, can use that for diabolical reasons. These Democratic committee chairmen are no different. And the Left, in particular, is drunk on arrogance.
The entire ideology of progressive leftism is premised upon arrogance. The early progressive thinkers, such as Herbert Crowley, John Dewey, and Woodrow Wilson constantly talked about “the masterminds” controlling the lives of the populace — the heartland yokels who the elitists believed were incapable of governing themselves. We also see this phenomenon today in other contexts: On college campuses, anyone not in lockstep with the Left is shouted down and ostracized. The on-campus Left believes that the only valid opinions are their own.
This is the logical conclusion of progressivism. Its philosophy rests on the notion that the all-powerful, centralized state is the new “god.” It explains why the Left despises authentic religion. However, since God is infallible, that would mean, to the progressive, that the state is infallible. Hence, the Left probably does not recognize its own arrogance, believing that the “group of masterminds” knows more than the lowly, common man.
The great Jewish philosopher Maimonides (1135-1204) was known for looking for the middle ground when assessing character traits. However, he emphatically stated that one should go to the ultimate extreme to avoid certain traits — one of them being arrogance.
As he states in his most famous work, the Mishneh Torah (Hilchot De’ot 2:3):
<blockquote>There are temperaments with regard to which a man is forbidden to follow the middle path. He should move away from one extreme and adopt the other.
Among these is arrogance. If a man is only humble, he is not following a good path. Rather, he must hold himself lowly and his spirit very unassuming. That is why Numbers 12:3 describes our teacher Moses as &#8220;very humble&#8221; and not simply &#8220;humble&#8221;. Therefore, our Sages directed: &#8220;Hold oneself very, very lowly.&#8221; Also, they declared: &#8220;Whoever is arrogant is as if he denied God&#8217;s presence, as implied by Deuteronomy 8:14: &#8216;And your heart will be haughty and you will forget God, your Lord.&#8217; Furthermore, they said: &#8220;Whoever is arrogant should be placed under a ban of ostracism. This applies even if he is only somewhat arrogant.&#8221;</blockquote>
So we see that even a millennium ago, it was obvious that arrogance is a vice to be avoided at all costs — for it will cause man to serve God less or, even worse, to stop serving Him altogether. Arrogance will inevitably convince man that he is akin to God.
Does anything exemplify the progressive movement more than this?
The Left&#8217;s intense desire to warp reality itself is the epitome of arrogance. And sadly for the Left, no matter how hard it keeps trying to ignore objective truth, it will continue to beclown itself.

FRANKEL: The Mueller Hearing Showcases The Vice Of Arrogance

Robert Mueller

U.S. House of Representatives

Sane Americans are all sick of hearing about women’s soccer, but apparently our national media isn’t.
Megan Rapinoe, the captain of the World Cup-champion U.S. women’s soccer team, has made headlines over the last few weeks merely by acting like an obnoxious leftist. From kneeling for the national anthem to using <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/06/25/megan-rapinoe-declares-im-not-going-to-the-f-ing-white-house/">expletives</a> in public regarding a potential visit to the White House to <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/452245-megan-rapinoe-its-time-for-action-on-equal-pay-for-womens">complaining</a> about the mythical gender pay gap and even having the gall to purposely <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/amazing-disrespect-video-shows-us-womens-soccer-team-letting-american-flag-drop-to-ground_2993721.html">drop</a> the American flag in the celebration of the team’s win on Sunday, Rapinoe has become the newest flavor of the week for the Left.
And the media love all of it.
Take, for example, CNN’s Anderson Cooper having Rapinoe on his show this week. Cooper asked her what her message to President Trump would be if she could give him one. Rapinoe <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/cnn/status/1148769016305135616">answered</a>:
<blockquote>“Your message is excluding people. You’re excluding me. You’re excluding people that look like me. You’re excluding people of color. You’re excluding, maybe, Americans that maybe support you. We need to have a reckoning about your message of ‘Make America Great Again,’ I think you’re harking back to an era that wasn’t great for everyone …”</blockquote>
This accusation is ridiculous. Donald Trump has arguably been the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gregory-angelo-trump-gop-pro-gay-state-department-pompeo-pride-flag-ban">most</a> pro-gay President in American history — and the first to actually start his presidency with the stance of supporting gay marriage. But Rapinoe, who happens to be a lesbian, needs a straw man to blame for her imaginary victimhood — even as she is now possibly the most famous soccer player in the world.
Rapinoe also made the rounds on MSNBC. Leftist host Rachel Maddow asked Rapinoe how fans could support the fight for equal pay, and Rapinoe <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/msnbc/status/1148778086164566017">answered</a> that people should “come to games, buy jerseys, become season ticket holders, tell your friends about it” — thereby seeming to answer her own question as to why men’s soccer and other men&#8217;s sports make more money in the first place.
Rapinoe is clearly the Left’s new hero. But in the end, Rapinoe is irrelevant. She’s just another leftist celebrity. But the obsession with her points to a much larger problem, especially with the media.
These Leftist hosts could’ve chosen to have anyone on their shows. They could’ve booked a patriotic athlete, even as a counterpoint to Rapinoe if they still wanted to also have her on. But, unsurprisingly, these media companies want these anti-American celebrities on the air, with as much exposure as possible, because they agree with these celebrities about the country and about the president who serves as its commander-in-chief.
This has been obvious all throughout the Trump era. The media accuses our country of running concentration camps on the southern border, slanders the president as a Russian collaborator, and consistently lambasts conservatives and pro-American patriots as racist, sexist, bigoted fill-in-the-blank-aphobes.
How else can one explain the media&#8217;s reaction to an anodyne national Independence Day celebration other than that the criticism very likely sprouts from hatred for the country itself?
How else can one explain the media&#8217;s constant fawning over former President Barack Obama when he declared as a candidate that he wanted to “fundamentally transform” the country?
Because they in the media, too, want the country transformed. They are radical leftists who despise what America stands for. They despise our founding creed and our founding documents. After all, our Founding Fathers were racist slaveholders, right?
There is a serious anti-American problem in our media. The mainstream media-at-large has become a de facto wing of the radical Left. And until that changes, they will remain, in the words of President Trump, “the enemy of the people.”

FRANKEL: The Media’s Lionization Of Megan Rapinoe Shows How They Truly Are The Enemy Of The People

Megan Rapinoe

Today, The Exodus Movement, a group run by Red Sea Rising, a 501(c)(4) organization, and started by Elizabeth Pipko, announced the launch of their chapter program and the initial wave of chapters across the country. These chapters, which are located in diverse, strategic locales, will serve as a means for supporters of The Exodus Movement to gather and push a platform of opposition to Leftist anti-Semitism and will enable Jewish Americans to unite in support of issues that reflect their Jewish values.*
“Today I am very excited to announce the launch of The Exodus Movement’s local chapter program,” said Elizabeth Pipko, Founder and President of The Exodus Movement. “The creation of these chapters will allow our organization to expand our footprint to effectively communicate our message and educate Jewish Americans – and all Americans more broadly – about the dangerous creep of anti-Semitism emanating from far-left extremists. While this is only the first wave of chapters, we look forward to expanding our footprint into further regions as time progresses.”
The Exodus Movement aims to teach Jews that Leftism, most notably the Democratic Party, is not a friend to Judaism or to Israel. This sad reality is that, especially in recent years, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the party’s national ranks has been tepidly acknowledged at best.
The first wave of chapters of the Exodus Movement will be in the following states: Arizona, California, Florida, Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey (for which I serve as a committee member), New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Teaneck Deputy Mayor Mark Schwartz, a Democrat, stated that he was excited to grow the organization in New Jersey:
<blockquote>“As an American-Jewish elected official in New Jersey, I’ve found that college campuses and local communities are often the front lines of combating anti-Semitism, including for example the appalling BDS movement. Unfortunately, too often our voices in opposition are not adequately heard. Organizations like The Exodus Movement are urgently needed right now in our political discourse to encourage active participation and engagement to confront the very real issues of concern for the Jewish community, such as rising anti-Semitism and security.”</blockquote>
David Ludwig, Maricopa County, Arizona, Exodus Movement Chapter President, stated:
<blockquote>“I’m honored to be working with the Exodus Movement as President of the Maricopa County Chapter here in Arizona. Given the current political climate where supporting Israel and recognizing critical Jewish concerns seems to be taboo among the far-Left, an organization like the Exodus Movement is needed now more than ever. With such a strong, diverse Jewish community in our county and across Arizona, I’m very excited to be involved, helping to highlight the issues that are truly relevant to our people, and encourage broad participation across the spectrum.”</blockquote>
The Exodus Movement has the potential to change the political landscape and national conversation in ways many of us haven’t seen yet, and its message is to remind fellow Jews that they have a home outside the Left.
*Jeremy Frankel serves as a committee member of the Bergen County, New Jersey Exodus Movement chapter.

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