Category: Opinion

Israeli leaders have approved a cease-fire to end nearly two weeks of combat with Hamas militants who have been launching rocket barrages out of the Gaza Strip since last Monday, according to regional media.

U.S. leaders had urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to exercise restraint in the conflict, even as they reiterate support for Israel’s right to defend itself.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said during a news conference earlier Thursday that he expected a cease-fire soon and was going to speak with Israel’s foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, shortly after leaving the meeting with reporters.

The two had also talked about a possible end to the violence Wednesday.

Other world leaders as well as the U.N. were also urging de-escalation, and Egypt helped broker the truce, according to a report in Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper.

Netanyahu’s office told the paper that defense leaders had accepted a “mutual” cease-fire without preconditions.

Hamas hardened the cease-fire in a statement to Fox News.

“We were informed by our brothers in Egypt that an agreement had been reached for a mutual and simultaneous ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, starting at 2 a.m. on Friday, May 21, 2021,” the statement read. “And that the Palestinian resistance will abide by this agreement as long as the occupation is committed.”

The clashes left at least 12 Israelis and 230 Palestinians dead in the crossfire in the worst breakout of violence since the 2014 Gaza war. Hundreds more people were wounded, and protesters took to the streets in favor of both sides around the world, even as global leaders urged de-escalation.

Netanyahu had summoned his Security Cabinet for an emergency meeting earlier in the day, and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a news briefing that talks of a cease-fire were “clearly encouraging.”

Hamas has fired over 4,000 rockets into Israel over the past 11 days in retaliation to a clash between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters, and the IDF responded back with devastating airstrikes. The fighting was still raging as of Thursday morning.

During an interview, Former President George W. Bush commented on the current situation middle-east saying that Iran is “dangerous” for the stability there. He also criticized a two-state solution during the deadly Israeli-Palestinian conflict saying it would be “very difficult at this stage.”

Bush appeared for an interview with Fox News to discuss his new book, “Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants,” and pointed out the story of Mariam Memarsadeghi, an immigrant from Iran who came to the United States in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution and has since dedicated her career to bringing democracy to Iran. 

When asked about the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence, Bush told Fox News that what “you’re seeing playing out is Iranian influence targeted toward Israel.”

“I think the best approach with regard to Iran is to understand that their influence is dangerous for world peace, that they are very much involved with extremist movements in Lebanon and Syria and Yemen, and they are aiming to spread their influence,” Bush told Fox News, when asked about how the U.S. should engage with Tehran.

“Any deal that is done has got to not only focus on its nuclear capabilities but also its influence in the Middle East,” Bush continued. “And you know, any deal, you’ve got to keep in mind the dangers of an aggressive Iran to our allies, and to stability, so it has to be a comprehensive look.”

Bush’s comments come as Israeli-Palestinian violence continues – the worst violence since 2014.

The Biden White House said that its strategy is “through quiet, intensive diplomacy” and Bush agreed adding that if he were in office he “would be working quietly.”

“There is a lot of pressure, obviously, on the White House,” the former president said. “I don’t know all the circumstances, but I think the U.S. does have a role in trying to deal with violence.”

Demonstrators swarmed Washington from all over the country to protest what they believe is unjustified and excessive military interference from Israel.

Hundreds of protestors flooded the streets around the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., to speak out against Israel’s response to a bombardment of deadly rocket attacks from Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.

Attendees could be heard shouting anti-Israel slogans throughout the day, including “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Another chant heard throughout the afternoon was far more direct in calling for the end of Israel. In unison, hundreds of attendees shouted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Israel has got to go.”

Some of the attendees openly questioned Israel’s right to exist.

One protester named Sam, who traveled to the event from New York and asked to be identified by his first name only, said he was at the rally to “finally put an end to the [Israeli] occupation” and that “Israel as it exists, as a settler colony, does not have the right to exist.”

Another protester, who commuted from Maryland, said she was there to oppose U.S. policies toward Israel. “Our tax dollars are going to fund Israel murdering children and we need to stand up and stop that,” she said.

The same protester argued that her race made it difficult to say whether Israel has the right to exist. “I personally do not have a specific opinion on [Israel’s right to exist]. I think that that is the thing of Palestinian people whose land has been occupied to decide, and not me. My place as a person, as a White person and as a person of the United States, is to support them in what they’re doing, and they’re doing amazing.”

It has been reported that Israel has really taken a beating with more than 3,400 rockets in the week since the conflict began resulting in 28 deaths so far.

A Florida woman is facing two counts of child abuse and two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor after crashing a children’s birthday party and allegedly raping a 17-year-old boy — in front of another child.

Jessica Rae Good, 43, was arrested Wednesday after the 17-year-old boy told employees at his high school that he was sexually assaulted over the weekend during a birthday bash at a home in Port Charlotte.

Good had been out drinking before crashing the celebration for another teen on May 9th after her drinking buddy went to bed.

“After returning home intoxicated, Good continued to “hang out” with the juveniles while allegedly making extremely inappropriate sexual comments and providing the 17-year-old victim with alcohol,” sheriff officials said in a statement.

A 12-year-old girl at the party told deputies that she was awoken by sounds of two people having sex just a foot away from her. The girl said that the 17-year-old teen whispered to her to help him as Good continued to force herself on the boy.

The boy later told deputies that he was unable to push Good, who is 250 pounds, off of him due to her size.

At one point, the boy got up to use the bathroom, where he vomited, the 12-year-old girl told deputies. The pair continued having sex and Good then got her belongings and left the home, according to the report.

Good told investigators she had “blacked out” and claimed to not remember most of the illicit sexual contact, the arrest report states.

It’s illegal in Florida for an adult to have sex with a minor, even if the activity is consensual — although some exceptions exist, sheriff officials said.

Good, of Punta Gorda, was charged with two counts of child abuse and two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. She has been released after posting a $150,000 bail.

President Biden made an attempt at a joke when he talked about running over a journalist with a truck as he took questions while test-driving the new electric Ford F-150 Lightning.

While taking a tour of the Ford plant in Michigan this week, Biden pulled up to a group of pool reporters, many of whom only asked him easy questions about how he liked the truck that he was driving.

However, one reporter spoke up and questioned Biden about the ongoing Middle East crisis.

“Mr. President, can I ask you a quick question on Israel before you drive away since it’s so important?” the reporter asked.

“No, you can’t,” Biden responded. “Not unless you get in front of the car as I step on it.”

“I’m only teasing,” the president added quickly driving off.

REPORTER: Mr. President, can I ask you a quick question on Israel before you drive away since it’s so important?

BIDEN: No you can’t. Not unless you get in front of the car as I step on it. I’m only teasing.pic.twitter.com/A3jrsIi5mR

— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) May 18, 2021

Critics criticized the president’s comment on social media.

“To quote Joe Biden: ‘C’mon, man,’” journalist Alheli Picazo wrote.

“what a HILARIOUS context in which to joke about attacking journalists!” tweeted former Washington Post journalist Max J. Rosenthal.

“This is a terrifying threat against America’s free press and I trust impeachment proceedings will soon follow. cc @brianstelter @Acosta,” wrote Grabien founder and news editor Tom Elliott, poking fun at CNN stars Brian Stelter and Jim Acosta after spending years pretending like Trump was a threat to journalism.

“This would be a five-alarm fire of a news cycle if Joe Biden was a Republican and said this to a reporter,” Ted Cruz aide Steve Guest said.

To quote Joe Biden: "C'mon, man." https://t.co/9uqL1hnUAb

— Alheli Picazo (@a_picazo) May 18, 2021

https://twitter.com/maxjrosenthal/status/1394736605496217600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1394736605496217600%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fmedia%2Fbiden-jokes-about-running-over-reporter-with-vehicle-when-asked-about-israel-during-ford-test-drive

"Not unless you get in front of the car as I step on it."

This would be a five-alarm fire of a news cycle if Joe Biden was a Republican and said this to a reporter. https://t.co/nFb8AzBTDB

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) May 18, 2021

A media company founded by three former Obama aides is facing backlash for allegedly supporting a charity that has ties to the terrorist organization Hamas, which is responsible for the thousands of rockets being fired at Israel recently.

Their company, Crooked Media, which was first launched in 2017 by Obama speechwriters Jon Lovitt and Jon Favreau along with Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor, posted a list of charities on social media that they claim was doing “great” work helping the people in Gaza during the worsening conflict in the Middle East.

The media company wrote, “Here’s who’s doing great on the ground work to aid the people of Gaza. Support them if you can!”

The tweet horribly backfired when The Washington Free Beacon pointed out that one of the charities Crooked Media plugged was Islamic Relief, which has supposedly been “banned” in many countries for “allegedly funneling money to Hamas.”

Prior to this, the State Department cut all ties with Islamic Relief Worldwide when allegations of anti-Semitism began to spread.

Nearly a year ago, a leader of the IRW was forced to step down over making a social media post referring to Jews as the “grandchildren of monkeys and pigs.”

Islamic Relief, a division of IRW, has already been classified by Israel as a supporter of terrorism. Its also been reported that IRW has connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The company’s tweet promoting Islamic relief was quickly deleted and Crooked Media posted a revised list without the terrorist-linked charity.

The CDC finally announced that anyone who has been vaccinated is no longer required to wear a mask but some people are still not happy about it. In areas heavily affected by national issues like BLM and climate change a new health emergency has developed: a mental health crisis.

Shockingly, there are many Americans who are still afraid to take off their masks and wish to hide behind a paper shield. This behavior is irrational and a neurosis, like washing your hands several times in a row, they can’t get cleaner every time. Now, this mindset is spreading fast just as if it were its own virus.

Just last week, an anchor on “CBS This Morning” confessed that she had been suffering from extreme anxiety at the thought of walking around in public without a mask on.

GAYLE KING: Dr Fauci please help us with the mask situation. I know we were told we don’t have to wear it outside but I’m telling you, I was in New York where I live, walking down the street I just stopped a random lady and I said have you been vaccinated and she said yes. I said “Me too. Why are we wearing our masks?” and she goes “I don’t know.” I said me too, ma’am, me too. I think we all feel either guilty or we feel it’s not time. Monkey see monkey do. Do you really think it’s ok?

This is not an isolated phenomenon. CNN just published a piece by a psychologist named John Duffy. Duffy describes his patients’ “anxious nightmares” over going maskless. Some patients, he reported, “feel obsessive or compulsive about mask-wearing and distance, and are concerned that obsession will not simply abate because of the CDC announcement.” The announcement telling them they don’t have to do this.

Duffy also said the saddest part is that children are suffering from the condition. He said, “Some of our youngest kids may not remember a time before we were all wearing masks and remaining far apart. It’s going to take a bit of time for them to emotionally unravel this tangle of anxiety.”

A Washington state man used his own gun to save himself and his fellow Americans, by shooting a man on a violent rampage armed with a metal baton. Police responded to the scene in Everett last Monday on reports of an “assault with a weapon.”

The on-scene officers discovered a man in his early 30s who had been shot multiple times. He later died from his injuries at a hospital.

The case appears to represent a clear example of an armed citizen stepping in to protect others. A suspect allegedly threatened, chased and hit the innocent. Other men reportedly attempted to stop the threat, but it took an armed citizen to ultimately end the attacks.

Witnesses told police the man was walking his dog around the Silver Lake neighborhood when he started yelling and became aggressive toward people – including a grandmother and her young granddaughter.

“A guy was yelling at these two ladies,” said Howard Rohdy, who was fishing nearby with a friend, reported Komo News. “We don’t know why so we go running down.”

“There was like a little scuffle, went on about, and then he pepper-sprayed me,” Rohdy said, reported Komo News. “He had a baton out, it was a metal baton and he whomped me in the head with it.”

Another man eventually joined in the fight. The unidentified suspect allegedly attempted to use pepper spray on that man as well, reported Komo News. But this time, the man fought back and pulled a gun. That’s when the Washington armed citizen intervened, dropping the attacker for good.

“So he used his Second Amendment right and shot him, ended the situation and protected us all,” Rohdy said, reported Komo News.

Authorities took the suspect to a local hospital for treatment, where officials pronounced him dead, reported Komo News. Meanwhile, the armed citizen reportedly stayed on the scene and cooperated, speaking with police detectives.

Everett Police Department said that the investigation was ongoing and would reveal more details at a later date. No charges have been filed against the man who shot the attacker.

In the most recent push by liberals to impose “transgenderism onto children,” a liberal knitting group called Stitchbug Studio has decided to bring to market knitted penis prosthetics. This prosthetic, known as “soft packers,” is being pushed towards children to serve the “trans and non-binary community.”

“Bitty Bug® soft packer is a custom prosthetic packer in youth sizes, made from soft durable yarn and polyester filling,” the description of the product reads. “It is easy to wear pinned to underclothes or tucked in a packing pouch, and can be felt by the wearer without being visible externally (shown in a pair of undies to demonstrate).”

“Silicone prosthetics do not come in sizes appropriate for smaller bodies,” the site notes, “and can create unsightly and age-inappropriate shape. The Bitty Bug® is lightweight, comfortable, low maintenance, and can be tossed in the washing machine.”

Though the “Bitty Bug® soft packer” is made for children, the company says they also make “the Lil’ Big® and Little’ Bug Jr.® in sizes suitable for teens and adults.”

This is all totally normal, there's nothing to see here. Just a bit of knitting for your child's underwear. Nothing weird, perverted, or sexual about it in the slightest. pic.twitter.com/8NCCcn1ojS

— TheGenderMapper (@GenderMapper) May 16, 2021

This is just the latest attempt that left-wing activists have pushed transgenderism onto children.

Dr. Rachel Levine tapped as President Joe Biden’s Assistant Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has expressly stated support for the use of puberty blockers and the medical transition of minors who “just start puberty” as a way to make sure they don’t “go through the wrong puberty.”

Levine spoke about past patients, including a 16-year-old boy who “always felt female.” The minor was directed to counseling, given hormones, and transitioned. Likewise, another patient of Levine’s, a 17-year-old girl who “always felt male,” went through the same medical process and transitioned to the male gender.

Prepubescent children do not receive medical treatment, Levine said. But as soon as a gender-confused child starts puberty, they could be given puberty blockers so they “never go through the wrong puberty.”

Home surveillance video taken at a Dallas home shows a horrifying moment when a 4-year-old boy was snatched from his bed over the weekend. The video revealed the identity of the 18-year-old man who is the prime suspend of the kidnapping and brutal murder of the child leaving his lifeless body out on the street.

Darriynn Brown, shown on video dressed in a hoodie and wearing a backpack, allegedly broke into a Dallas home and snatched Cash Gernon from his crib during the early Saturday morning hours. Gernon had been asleep near his twin brother when he was kidnapped.

Brown can be seen hovering over the child while he slept. Suddenly Brown grabs the boy from underneath the blanket and rushes him out of the room.

Horror moment Cash Gernon is snatched from his crib by intruder https://t.co/yLLm9auY7r via @MailOnline

— Biden's America (@WokeAndBrokeUSA) May 19, 2021

Gernon’s body was found about an hour and 45 minutes later with multiple wounds lying in a pool of blood on a street about a half-mile from the home. A jogger found the body in a residential neighborhood. Authorities said he was stabbed with an “edged weapon.”

The jogger who found the boy’s lifeless body, Antwainese Square, 39, told the DailyMail she initially thought she stumbled upon the body of a dog.

“I turned into the street and thought I saw a dog lying there. We have a lot of loose dogs around here,” she said. “I called my mom, because the only thing I could see at first was the hair. I said, ‘Mom, it’s weird, it’s not moving.’”

She then called 911 and was asked by a dispatcher to check for signs of life.

“They asked me to walk right up to the body in case the little boy was still alive. And if he was, for me to try to save his life,” she said. “I saw ants crawling all over his bare feet and he had blood over his face. He had no shoes, no socks, no shirt, none of that.”

“He was only wearing a pair of bottoms, shorts. I just keep remembering those ants at the bottom of that baby’s feet,” she continued.

Brown has not offered an explanation for why he allegedly took the boy. He has remained in jail set with a $1.5 million bond since Tuesday. He faces charges of kidnapping and burglary and police said they anticipate additional charges after a forensic analysis is completed.

The Daily Mail also reported Brown was seen in a second video clip returning to the boys’ room later that morning – around 7 a.m. – about two hours after his initial entry. Brown is seen hovering over Gernon’s twin brother but eventually leaves without harming the child.

Seconds later, the twin awakens and appears to search for his missing brother before walking out of the camera’s view.