Thursday's Final Word

hotair.com

Slappin' the tabs ...

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Ed: Indeed. My friend's beautiful reminder contrasts the amnesia in the folks who just voted to use NYC to "globalize the intifada." 

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New York City’s business community — stunned by the apparent primary victory of socialist Zohran Mamdani and fearing a leftward shift in America’s biggest city — appears to be abandoning its grudging support for former Governor Andrew Cuomo and organizing more desperately around Mayor Eric Adams in a last ditch effort to block Mamdani in November’s general election.

Some of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s biggest backers hinted in fluid, panicked conversations Wednesday that they’ll put their money behind Adams, who was elected in 2021 as a tough-but-fair ex-cop, and now, after a federal corruption indictment and the removal of his inner circle, is running on his policy successes and frankly fun personality.

Ed: Funny how desperation resets certain incentives, eh? I'm not crazy about Adams, but he's by far the least-worst choice coming out of the Left in the Big Apple. However, maybe all that money should be spent on Republicans for leadership. It's be a change from all the failures of the past several years, at least. 

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Ed: They most certainly did NOT include those terms in their first report. They deliberately left them out to spread a false impression of what the early intelligence found. 

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And then last October, and I believe this is notable, Natasha Bertrand published an article in Politico from the intelligence agency. She said that John Ratcliffe was speaking without any evidence when he said Iran was attempting to undermine President Trump's presidential campaign. And then we, of course, found out that was absolutely true.

In fact, the Biden administration declassed an intel report, which said they had high confidence that Iran had done exactly what Ratcliffe alleged. They did run an influence campaign to hurt President Trump's candidacy. In fact, we know the Iranians tried to take President Trump's life.

And so this is a reporter who has been unfortunately used by people who dislike Donald Trump in this government to push fake and false narratives. She should be ashamed of herself. And that's not what reporting is.

Ed: It is on CNN, apparently. If CNN were a news organization, a reporter with that kind of a track record would get canned for being a sap and getting manipulated by her sources. CNN, however, is like the rest of the Protection Racket Media -- a propaganda industry that pushes the progressive elite's narratives. 

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Ed: CNN stands by to amplify the propaganda! 

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The president’s bunker buster f-bomb generated pearl-clutch headlines around the globe (“Breaking Another Presidential Norm,” scolded NPR; “It’s Not Unheard Of,” defended The New York Post; “The Internet Is Losing It,” enthused Buzzfeed). While The New York Times considered Trump’s usage so significant that editors actually printed the word instead of opting for one of their usual polite substitutes (such as saying the speaker “used a vulgar expression” — which typically prompts Times readers to think of many swears as they try to figure out what was censored; like playing some four-letter version of Wordle).

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Even before Trump’s viral interview, Democrat leaders had been publicly using the f-word with increasing frequency. In one memorable instance, Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) declared during a rally, “I don’t swear in public very well, but we have to f[***] Trump” — which probably was not the best way to phrase that.

But our political leaders cursing into hot mics was really just the final boss of “f[***]” becoming so commonplace that it’s lost all its punch and provocation.

Ed: I'm not a fan of normalizing its use either, but it seemed to be more genuine with Trump, a measure of his frustration in the moment. Democrats seem to have made it a strategy to sound more like people on the street, which is (a) not really true, and (b) of the tenor of Steve Buscemi's famous and hilarious take on "21 Jump Street." 'How do you do, fellow working class stiffs"!                     

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Ed: Wow. When you've lost Peter Orszag ... and I mean that seriously. 

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When Israeli planes crossed Iranian skies for 12 days through Syria, Tehran closely monitored the operation, as did the office of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Syrian leader, in Damascus. According to Baram, the conclusions drawn by the Syrian leader could help stabilize our northern border for the years to come.

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"If I were in al-Sharaa's place, I would tell my people that even if I could make it difficult for the Israel Air Force, I have no interest in doing so," Baram said, explaining the new Syrian thinking. "I have an interest in the Israelis attacking Iran as much as possible."

The Syrian interest is clear: Any blow to Iran weakens the largest strategic rival of the new regime in Damascus. "Every blow to Iran is pure benefit to al-Sharaa's regime," Baram asserted, explaining why the Syrians would not interfere with the Israeli operation, even if they had the capability to do so.

Ed: Spoiler alert: they don't. However, al-Sharaa could have made a public objection to those flights, or even told Israel to choose other flight paths, which they probably had already gamed out. Just by staying silent, al-Sharaa spoke volumes. 

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Ed: I think they don't want the IAEA to confirm the extent of the destruction of their nuclear program. They do seem to have realized that they can't pretend any longer that the strikes didn't do significant damage, though. 

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Regarding your editorial “The People’s Republic of New York City” (June 26): The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is more important to national elections and the future of the Democratic Party than the Upper West Side of Manhattan. America doesn’t necessarily go the way of the Big Apple. The New Jersey gubernatorial primary—and the lack of one in Virginia—will prove more informative for Democrats’ fortunes in 2026 and 2028.

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Recognizing that the American dream is unaffordable and inaccessible and that working hard no longer guarantees getting ahead isn’t a socialist observation; it’s clear to people of all political stripes. Affordable healthcare, lifetime retirement security and affordable community college are as American as apple pie, but they won’t be realized by consulting the Democratic Socialists of America’s playbook.

Rahm Emanuel

Ed: Er ... no, the Yoopers are not "more important" to the future of the Democrat Party. And it's not just New York City, but also Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Portland OR, and more. Democrats have gone full-on radical-Left, including in Chicago, and the Yoopers will notice it ... and the Yinzers, the Texicans, and so on. 

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Ed: While I think there is a good debate to be had on the War Powers Act, it's politically moronic to take it up in the wake of an obvious success. Voters are not going to penalize Trump for making the world safer. Fetterman's smart enough to understand that. 

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Ed: I saw this earlier today, and it infuriated me. This delicacy about frisking detained females is not just anachronistic, but dangerous -- as this episode showed. Cops wear bodycams now, so any claims of abuse can be easily settled. Any cop should be able to do a full frisk on anyone they detain, regardless of the sex of the detainee and the law enforcement officer. 

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Ed: As Nate says, "You can't make this stuff up."