Equipping Readers with The Truth

'Pathetic': Mom Charged with Falsely Reporting 5 Kids' Christmas Gifts Stolen, Receiving Donations

A Florida woman who claimed last month that thieves broke into her home and stole Christmas presents she had wrapped for her five children has been charged with making a false report to law enforcement.

Shana Hudson, 39, a resident of Lee County, reported the theft Nov. 19, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

“The report made to deputies claimed property, to include recently purchased Christmas gifts were stolen from inside her home, leaving her kids without gifts this holiday season,” the report stated.

At the time, Hudson went public with how bad her situation was.

“Eight fishing poles, they took some clothes, ’cause I bought clothes for my five kids,” Hudson told WBBH-TV in November.

“I wanted my kids to have a pretty much decent Christmas. But now they ain’t going to have Christmas at all some thief came and stole our s—,” she said then.



While being interviewed, she sent a message to the alleged thief.

“Turn yourself in and bring us back our stuff so me and my kids can have a good Christmas,” she said then.

Overall, she said, about $2,000 worth of items were taken, according to WBBH-TV.

In the spirit of the holidays, investigators worked to “coordinate a donation from the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 323 Lehigh Acres as well as funds from LCSO’s Shop With a Cop, to surprise the mother with new gifts,” the office said in its Facebook post.

Then came a tip to SWFL Crime Stoppers.

On Monday, deputies searched the home of one of Hudson’s relatives, according to WBBH-TV.

What they found were items Hudson listed as stolen, including the Christmas gifts and other items, such as TVs found under bed sheets, hidden fishing poles and a basket of Bath and Body Works.

WBBH said this time, Hudson had nothing to say as police arrested her.

“This pathetic behavior is unacceptable, especially given the circumstances this holiday season,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in the Facebook post. “This woman took advantage of the system and is now paying the price for her selfish choices.”

Hudson was taken to jail, where, in the words of the Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook post, “this Grinch will have plenty of time to think twice about stealing Christmas.”

The post added two hashtags at the end: #YoureAMeanOne and #StealingChristmasBackfired.

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The post 'Pathetic': Mom Charged with Falsely Reporting 5 Kids' Christmas Gifts Stolen, Receiving Donations appeared first on The Western Journal.

Fauci Says He Doesn't Need Church Anymore, Claims His 'Personal Ethics on Life' Are 'Enough'

Before he passed, my grandfather used to say that he didn’t need to go to church, because he could worship God in nature — in a sunset, for example, which was his favorite example.

All well and good, except, as my father used to point out, he never actually did.

Anthony Fauci, former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases, seems to be deluding himself about his need for church in a similar, though obviously not identical, fashion.

During an interview with BBC News, Fauci pointed out Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart, where he and his wife were married in 1985. That gave rise to the question of whether he still attends church.

“No, I don’t,” he said, which natural led to the follow-up question from interviewer Katy Kay: “Why?”

“A number of complicated reasons,” he said, but Kay wasn’t satisfied with that, and encouraged him to go on.

“First of all, I think my own personal ethics on life are, I think, enough to keep me going on the right path,” he said, adding that the “organizational church” had “enough negative aspects,” though he didn’t clarify what “enough” meant in that context.

Enough for what? To keep him from going? Enough that they didn’t need to add one more negative aspect with his attendance?

I don’t think that’s what he meant; as the old saying goes: The church is full of hypocrites, but that shouldn’t keep you from going. There’s always room for one more.

“I’m not against it,” he said, almost apologetically. “I identify myself as a Catholic. I was raised, I was baptized, I was confirmed. I was married in the church. My children were baptized in the church.

“But as far as practicing it, it seems almost like a pro forma thing that I don’t really need to do.”

I’ll break that down a bit, but before I do, you can watch the entire interview below (we’ve queue up the video to the segment quoted above).



Responses to a clip of this section of the interview posted to X were often critical, including this one from Pierre Bayle (presumably not the Pierre Bayle, who died in 1706, but presumably an admirer of his).

Fauci seems to have fallen into an error similar to that of my grandfather’s, an ironic — and dangerous — mix of thinking that we only go to church for ourselves and that it’s possible to not need that community for ourselves. Both thoughts are wrong and, frankly, obviously so.

Hebrews 10 tells believers directly that we need to go to church — not necessarily the big white building on the corner, but some organized body of believers.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24,25)

Each of us, as members of the body of Christ, is responsible for the other members of the body of Christ. Cain claimed not to have been his brother’s keeper, as you will remember — but I’m pretty sure Cain isn’t the example you want to be following. We are, in fact, our brothers’ keepers, and we will be held accountable on the Day mentioned in this passage for how much, or how little, we “stir[red] up one another to love and good works” and “encourag[ed] one another.”

My grandfather never did that with a sunset, and Fauci isn’t going to do it with his “personal ethics on life.”

But just as we are required to provide that encouragement, so we, if we are actually trying to follow Jesus, find ourselves in need of that encourage from others. Yes, sometimes you might find it in a sunset. Other times it will come directly from God’s Word and through individual prayer. But often — more often than I like to admit, honestly — we need it from other people.

Is church an important part of your life?

Fauci’s commitment to his own ethical code may be admirable, but when he faces the Father on that Day, he will be judged not in accordance with how well he lived up to his own standards, but by how well he lived up to God’s. (Just as we all will.)

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” the writer of Hebrews notes, only a few verses later (v. 31).

Indeed it is, unless we are covered by the blood of Christ. But if we make that claim, we must obey Him: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” Christ Himself once famously asked. (Luke 6:46)

If we don’t obey Him whom we call Lord, who are we like? James, the half-brother of Christ, compared such people to demons.

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder!” he wrote in James 2:19, arguing that supposed faith without obedience isn’t really faith at all.

Of course, none of us obeys Jesus perfectly, even when we have the best of intentions. I have no idea what Fauci’s intentions are, having never spoken to the man, so I won’t attempt to judge him on that. Abiding by a personal code of ethics is another matter completely; it’s easy to tweak our own standards when we fail to live up to them. But we can’t adjust God’s standards — no matter how our culture might try.

Thus, we need other in the church — to point out our flaws, to pick up us when we stumble, to get us moving again in the right direction.

I know I need that. It’s apparent that Fauci needs it as well.

And so, my friend, do you.

A Note from Our Founder:

 

Every morning, we at The Western Journal wake up and pursue our mission of giving you the important information you need about what’s happening in America.

We can’t do that without your help.

 

America has been on the receiving end of false narratives. The purpose of these false narratives is to make you feel powerless. The Western Journal empowers you by breaking these false narratives.

But I wouldn’t be honest with you today if I didn’t let you know that the future of The Western Journal is in jeopardy without your help.

 

Silicon Valley and the Big Tech tyrants have done everything they can to put The Western Journal out of business. Our faithful donors and subscribers have kept us going.

If you’ve never chosen to donate, let me be honest: We need your help today.

Please don’t wait one minute. Donate right now – our situation in America is dire. If you would rather become a WJ member outright, we would welcome that too.  Our country hangs by a thread, and The Western Journal stands for truth in this difficult time.

 

Please stand with us by donating today.
Floyd G. Brown
Founder of The Western Journal

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Venezuela's Plan for Neighboring Country Gets Complicated as US Aircraft Appear Overhead

He may have faded from the headlines, given that he no longer faces a credible threat to his dictatorship and fresher international crises have replaced him the headlines, but socialist hardliner Nicolás Maduro is still leading Venezuela — and he’s still a danger to his country and the world.

Thankfully for his neighbors — particularly Guyana — the United States military has their back.

After calls by Maduro to seize oil-rich territory from its smaller South American neighbor in recent weeks, a U.S. flyover of Guyana’s border region on Thursday showed Maduro’s thugs in Caracas that America still means business.

“In collaboration with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) will conduct flight operations within Guyana on December 7,” the U.S. Embassy in Guyana said in a news release.

“This exercise builds upon routine engagement and operations to enhance security partnership between the United States and Guyana, and to strengthen regional cooperation.”

The embassy added that “USSOUTHCOM will continue its collaboration with the GDF in the areas of disaster preparedness, aerial and maritime security, and countering transnational criminal organizations.

“The U.S. will continue its commitment as Guyana’s trusted security partner and promoting regional cooperation and interoperability.”

Not mentioned in the statement, but underlined by recent events, is that a potential border conflict has been in the works between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region, which CBS News notes “has been administered and controlled by Guyana for more than a century, although Venezuela also claims the disputed area.”

“Venezuela recently conducted a referendum, which it claims citizens supported, that aims to give Venezuela authority over the Essequibo region,” CBS News said in a Thursday report. “Guyanese officials said in response that the country is preparing to defend itself and its borders in case of an invasion.”

The current borders were set by international arbitrators in an 1899 ruling, according to CNN. But on Tuesday, Maduro told legislators in his country they should set aside that ruling and accept a “new map” that includes the Guyanese territory.

Even with its recent difficulties — Venezuela’s troubles are so great that the United Nations reports it’s the site of “the second largest international displacement crisis in the world with 7.3 million Venezuelans displaced globally” — it still remains an exponentially more powerful nation militarily than Guyana does.

As of 2019, according to Newsweek, Venezuela’s armed forces had 515,000 personnel with about 130,000 troops on the front lines. Compare this to Guyana’s military strength of roughly 3,000 personnel in the same year, according to an analysis by Macrotrends.

However, that massive numerical advantage is totally useless if the United States lends some measure of support to Guyana in the event of an invasion — which, given the flyover, seems like a given.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Venezuelan officials complained loudly about the show of force.

“This unfortunate provocation by the United States in favor… of ExxonMobil in Guyana is another step in the wrong direction,” said Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez in a statement on social media, according to Barron’s.

“We warn that we will not be diverted from our future actions for the recovery of the Essequibo,” he added.

However, it seems unlikely that the Venezuelan government would risk trying to take a region of Guyana that’s home to about 125,000 of the country’s roughly 800,000 citizens if it was assured of armed conflict where the United States commits some aid and training — if not directly contributing troops, which could be problematic in terms of a longer conflict —  to the Guyanese. And that does appear to be the tack President Joe Biden’s administration is taking with the crisis, given that Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Guyanese President Irfaan Ali that America has “unwavering support for Guyana’s sovereignty.”

Of course, there’s potentially something to be said for the fact that the Biden administration’s weakness on foreign policy could be seen as a factor in the saber-rattling from Caracas to begin with, as it has been an inducement for the likes of Vladimir Putin and Hamas to take on Ukraine and Israel, respectively. In this case, though, the White House seems to be signalling it will both speak loudly and carry a big stick in the region.

President Ali also underlined to CBS News that Guyana’s “first line of defense is diplomacy” and that the country had reached out to allies in the hope “they can encourage Venezuela to do what is right, and ensure that they do not act in a reckless or adventurous manner that could disrupt the peace within this zone.”

And, at least at the moment, Venezuela seems willing to sit down and talk about it.

Reuters reported on Saturday that Maduro would meet with Ali on Thursday for bilateral talks, with Ali’s office emphasizing that “Guyana’s land boundary is not up for discussion.” Venezuela, meanwhile, said the talks were “in order to preserve our aspiration to maintain Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace.”

All Maduro and his country have to do to ensure that outcome, of course, is nothing: no invasion, no flimsy plebiscite pretext to take the territory, no war for oil. If he refuses, all bets are off — and Guyanese pilots have both extra training and backup if things get hairy.

A Note from Our Founder:

 

Every morning, we at The Western Journal wake up and pursue our mission of giving you the important information you need about what’s happening in America.

We can’t do that without your help.

 

America has been on the receiving end of false narratives. The purpose of these false narratives is to make you feel powerless. The Western Journal empowers you by breaking these false narratives.

But I wouldn’t be honest with you today if I didn’t let you know that the future of The Western Journal is in jeopardy without your help.

 

Silicon Valley and the Big Tech tyrants have done everything they can to put The Western Journal out of business. Our faithful donors and subscribers have kept us going.

If you’ve never chosen to donate, let me be honest: We need your help today.

Please don’t wait one minute. Donate right now – our situation in America is dire. If you would rather become a WJ member outright, we would welcome that too.  Our country hangs by a thread, and The Western Journal stands for truth in this difficult time.

 

Please stand with us by donating today.
Floyd G. Brown
Founder of The Western Journal

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Has the RNC Given Up on the GOP Debates? Org Makes Decision on the Future

If you haven’t seen enough debating to make up your mind regarding which candidate you’re going to support in the GOP primaries, the Republican National Committee apparently thinks you should have been watching closer.

After last week’s debate in Alabama, Axios reported, the RNC announced Friday that it will not participate in future such shindigs in the primary campaign.

“It is now time for Republican primary voters to decide who will be our next President,” a statement from the RNC declared.

And, to be fair, it’s not as if the decision will really move the needle one way in the other. Aside from a boost for former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley after the first of the four events, no one has come away with a breakthrough moment or landed a punch that’s ended a candidacy.

Perhaps most importantly, the biggest winner outside of Haley — according to polling aggregator RealClearPolitics as of Monday morning — has been the person who’s been absent: Former President Donald Trump, who now holds a 60.3 percent average in GOP primary polls.

Second place goes to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with 12.7 percent, ahead of Haley at 12.3 percent, businessman and activist Vivek Ramaswamy at 5 percent, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 3.0 percent. While none of these polls have taken place since the fourth RNC debate on Wednesday, scrutiny of the event evinces nothing that would materially change these numbers, with coverage reflecting that. (Sample headline at conservative outlet National Review: “A Desperate Debate Ends in a Draw.”)

Since the first debate, moreover, viewership has steadily dropped, with only 4.1 million people tuning in to the Wednesday night tilt on cable-news also-ran NewsNation.

Now, to be fair, the lack of RNC involvement doesn’t mean that there won’t be any more debates. In fact, as CBS News noted, three more are scheduled: One in Iowa hosted by CNN on Jan. 10, before the Jan. 15 first-in-the-nation caucuses there, followed by two debates in New Hampshire hosted by CNN and ABC/WMUR-TV, respectively.

The RNC, meanwhile, has made a decision that it will “release candidates from a requirement  that they only participate in RNC-sanctioned forums,” as The Hill reported on Friday.

The question now is who will show up.

“Candidates’ ability to participate will hinge on meeting requirements laid out by each organization hosting the debates,” CBS News reported. “But as of Friday evening, Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign was the only one to tell CBS News that the Ohio entrepreneur intends to be at each of the upcoming trio of debates, which were announced earlier this week.”

“More debate and free speech is better than less!” said Ramaswamy’s press secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, adding: “We’re in.”

While DeSantis has indicated on social media that he’s “[l]ooking forward” to future debates, he also seemed to indicate he’d like to see Trump show up in the future.

“I think he [Trump] has a lot to say on his keyboard but he should get on stage and stand up there for two hours and take the questions that everybody else does, I think would be useful. And I know a lot of voters here will expect that because they take this process very seriously,” DeSantis said in Iowa on Thursday, according to CBS.

This could be a way for DeSantis to indicate he’s “looking forward” to the debates so long as they’re not a big fat waste of his time — which, to be fair, they might indeed be without Trump’s participation.

The former president hasn’t participated in any of the four scrums so far and, according to CBS News, “did not respond to a request for comment about whether he would participate in the upcoming January debates.” One gets the feeling this is because of his campaign’s contempt for CBS News, however, rather than because he’s waffling about participation.

And why should he? His lead has never been in serious jeopardy, even after the failure of the GOP in the midterms was partially ascribed to the underwhelming performance of candidates Trump endorsed — particularly in Senate races — and has steadily grown since the debates began.

As for a second choice — well, by this juncture, if you’ve been kicking the tires for a non-Trump choice, you’ve seen about eight hours worth of the four non-Trump candidates still polling at above 1 percent in the RealClearPolitics aggregate, plus way more Doug Burgum and Asa Hutchinson than you probably ever have before if you didn’t live in the states they governed. (Quick, try and name them. Odds are that you’re either 1) a political junkie, 2) wrong or 3) insanely lucky.)

What’s been proved so far? The most prominent takeaway from the back-and-forth has been a heated rivalry between Haley and Ramaswamy which — if both weren’t married with families, one would be forgiven for assuming was the first act to the worst Hallmark Channel romance ever. (“Can an internationalist former ambassador to the U.N. find a place in her heart for the younger biotech CEO-turned-conservative activist she called “scum” on national TV? Find out — or don’t. Really, nobody cares anymore.”)

Haley hates TikTok. Ramaswamy hates foreign interventionism. Christie hates Trump. DeSantis hates the physical act of smiling. Nobody likes China, Hamas or wokeness.

There, that’s the TL;DR version of eight hours of these four alternatives to Trump. Nothing changed last week, either. It got to the point where these were the kind of hot social media takes one was coming across during and after the proceedings on Wednesday:

Insightful. And that’s from an adviser to Trump, by the way, which shows just how seriously the former president’s camp is treating the substantive points being made in the front-runner’s absence.

Endless debates were the bane of the 2016 and 2020 electoral processes — and those were competitive affairs, with significant volatility in the polls before the primaries began and with several key upsets once they got underway.

Absent an electoral plot twist so major as to confound the imagination — say, Trump firing a privately owned nuke at the state of Michigan just for laughs — or an inbuilt statistical error in current polling models so great that the whole practice should be abolished, the former president will also be the 2024 GOP standard-bearer. Period.

There are full series on Netflix that are shorter than the amount of time these candidates have spent on stage and the only critical development is that Haley might end primary season in second place, not DeSantis. Whoop-de-doo.

CNN, ABC News and WMUR-TV can do as they wish. Those outlets apparently need to fill the airtime desperately. As for the RNC, it has given the candidates more than enough time to make a persuasive case that Donald Trump shouldn’t be the nominee, and it’s only strengthened his position.

Thanks for coming, everyone. Good luck in your future endeavors, which almost certainly won’t involve being the 2024 GOP presidential nominee.

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The post Has the RNC Given Up on the GOP Debates? Org Makes Decision on the Future appeared first on The Western Journal.

Man Who Allegedly Killed 6 Had Previously Been Bailed Out by Soros-Backed Group

The money of billionaire philanthropist George Soros continues to be found in the darkest of places.

KSAT-TV in San Antonio first revealed a man charged with killing six people in a series of deadly shootings last week was previously bailed out of jail by the Texas Organizing Project.

The organization, which claims its purpose is to advocate for bail reform, has received more than $1.2 million from one of Soros’ liberal nonprofits, Fox News reported Thursday.

“The Open Society Policy Center, the advocacy nonprofit in the Soros-funded Open Society Foundations network, provided $700,000 to the Texas Organizing Project in 2019 for organizational support,” the outlet reported. “Later, in 2021, the policy center gave the group $565,000 to ‘support policy advocacy on democracy reform and government accountability in Texas,’ according to its grant database.”

The suspect behind the shootings, Shane James, served as a U.S. Army infantry officer between February 2013 to August 2015.

In January 2022, James was charged with aggravated assault against his immediate family members but was bailed out by TOP’s statewide policy coordinator, Laquita Garcia, KSAT reported.

He was arrested Tuesday and charged in four fatal shootings in Austin. James is also suspected of killing his parents near San Antonio, according to CNN.

TOP said in a statement Wednesday that it was “profoundly saddened and deeply troubled by the recent tragic events involving Shane James.”

“We condemn his most recent egregious acts, full stop,” the group said.

“Through our justice program, we bailed out James in coordination with the Bexar County’s public defender’s office, nearly two years ago in February 2022 on misdemeanor charges where his bond fees totaled $300,” it said.

“The events that have unfolded are devastating, and we recognize the pain and suffering this incident has caused.”

“We take our responsibilities seriously and acknowledge that we must address both the immediate impact of this tragedy and the broader implications for our bail program.”

In a Friday post on social media, however, TOP’s co-executive director, Michelle Tremillo, said the group was “unwavering” in its support for the bail program.

Parker Thayer, an investigative researcher at the Capital Research Center, told Fox News that the killings were a predictable consequence of their misguided activism.

“The Texas Organizing Project, like its major donor, Mr. Soros, thinks that our justice system is an arbitrary social construct that can be torn down and reshaped however they see fit with no consequences,” Thayer said.

“There are always consequences, and this time, six people lost their lives because a billionaire wanted to feel morally superior by funding activists with too many college degrees and not enough common sense.”

A Note from Our Founder:

 

Every morning, we at The Western Journal wake up and pursue our mission of giving you the important information you need about what’s happening in America.

We can’t do that without your help.

 

America has been on the receiving end of false narratives. The purpose of these false narratives is to make you feel powerless. The Western Journal empowers you by breaking these false narratives.

But I wouldn’t be honest with you today if I didn’t let you know that the future of The Western Journal is in jeopardy without your help.

 

Silicon Valley and the Big Tech tyrants have done everything they can to put The Western Journal out of business. Our faithful donors and subscribers have kept us going.

If you’ve never chosen to donate, let me be honest: We need your help today.

Please don’t wait one minute. Donate right now – our situation in America is dire. If you would rather become a WJ member outright, we would welcome that too.  Our country hangs by a thread, and The Western Journal stands for truth in this difficult time.

 

Please stand with us by donating today.
Floyd G. Brown
Founder of The Western Journal

The post Man Who Allegedly Killed 6 Had Previously Been Bailed Out by Soros-Backed Group appeared first on The Western Journal.

Leftist Bill Maher Defends Jason Aldean's 'Try That In a Small Town' in Exchange with CNN Analyst

During Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” liberal comedian and host Bill Maher took a stance on country star Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” hit that may have surprised his left-wing fans.

As the show progressed, according to Deadline, Maher and his guests discussed a range of very serious topics, including the left’s recent drive to curtail free speech, the war between Ukraine and Russia, anti-Semitism on American campuses, inflation, and rising crime.

It was during the discussion of crime that Maher took a startling position. At least one that may startle left-wingers.

It all came about when guest Jane Ferguson, a PBS NewsHour correspondent, began talking about crime, noting she herself had been randomly attacked while riding the New York subway system.

The admission brought fellow panelist John Avlon, CNN analyst and former editor of the left-wing website “The Daily Beast,” to note that, “we brought down crime in the mid-1990s. We seem to have forgotten a lot of those lessons,” according to Deadline.

That is when Maher jumped in to bring up country star Jason Aldean and the recent smash hit song, “Try That in a Small Town.”

The song’s basic message is that small town life is safer because residents and police know each other and don’t put up with the sort of wildly spiraling crime plaguing the country’s deep-blue cities.

WARNING: The following video contains language that some viewers may find offensive.



The song itself was released in May, but it was the video’s release in July that went viral as it became an instant target of attack from left-wingers who claimed that Aldean was somehow “dogwhistling” with the message that blacks should be lynched over crime.

The left’s shrill attack on the song quickly drove the weak spines at CMT to ban the video from its rotation.

Despite the left’s attempt to destroy the song, though, “Try That in a Small Town” quickly jumped to the top of the charts.

With all that hanging over its head, it is interesting that Maher cited the song on “Real Time” on Friday.

“I ain’t mad at it,” Maher said of Aldean’s tune. He went on, saying that “I wish we could have that in big cities.” (Though he also insisted that “crime in red states is just as high.”)

That was not the first time Maher revealed that he feels differently about the song than the average left-winger.

In November, during a “Club Random Podcast” discussion with actor James Brolin, Maher blasted the sincerity of leftists who falsely claimed that Aldean’s song was about “lynching” black people.

Maher slammed the left’s “bad faith” attacks on the song by citing black writer Coleman Hughes, who wrote in a substack piece in July that the accusation that Aldean’s song was about lynching was ridiculous.

The piece was titled, unapologetically: “Jason Aldean Isn’t ‘Pro-Lynching.’ And His Critics Know It.”

Do you agree with Bill Maher?

In the same Friday show, Maher also excoriated leftists on American campuses for allowing calls for genocide against Jewish people to flourish, and also blasted the left’s rising obsession about eliminating free speech in the U.S.

It all might cause a clear-thinking person to fear that we have gotten so far down the road to left-wing totalitarianism that even a leftist like Bill Maher has become alarmed.

A Note from Our Founder:

 

Every morning, we at The Western Journal wake up and pursue our mission of giving you the important information you need about what’s happening in America.

We can’t do that without your help.

 

America has been on the receiving end of false narratives. The purpose of these false narratives is to make you feel powerless. The Western Journal empowers you by breaking these false narratives.

But I wouldn’t be honest with you today if I didn’t let you know that the future of The Western Journal is in jeopardy without your help.

 

Silicon Valley and the Big Tech tyrants have done everything they can to put The Western Journal out of business. Our faithful donors and subscribers have kept us going.

If you’ve never chosen to donate, let me be honest: We need your help today.

Please don’t wait one minute. Donate right now – our situation in America is dire. If you would rather become a WJ member outright, we would welcome that too.  Our country hangs by a thread, and The Western Journal stands for truth in this difficult time.

 

Please stand with us by donating today.
Floyd G. Brown
Founder of The Western Journal

The post Leftist Bill Maher Defends Jason Aldean's 'Try That In a Small Town' in Exchange with CNN Analyst appeared first on The Western Journal.

Patrick Mahomes Throws Tantrum on Sideline as Chiefs Lose Second Straight Game

Sean McDermott thought for a moment that a difficult week for himself and the Buffalo Bills would end with one last gut punch, an audacious touchdown pass by the Kansas City Chiefs with just over a minute left to steal a win Sunday.

Then the Bills’ coach saw the yellow flag on the field.

The pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, which the tight end lateraled across the field to receiver Kadarius Toney for a 49-yard score, was called back by an offside penalty on none other than Toney himself.

And when the Bills proceeded to hold the Chiefs on downs, they escaped from Arrowhead Stadium with a heart-stopping 20-17 victory.

“As the play unfolded,” McDermott said, “Kelce got wide open. The play after he caught the ball, I’ve never seen a play like that in the NFL. But I saw the referees signaling that direction. I didn’t know if it was a pick or what. It turned out to be offside.”

Rarely is offside called on an offensive player, but replays showed that Toney’s foot was well across the line of scrimmage.

That didn’t make the call sit any better with Mahomes, who chased after three different officials for an explanation.

Or with Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who was still incensed after walking out of the locker room afterward.

“It’s a bit embarrassing for the National Football League for that to take place,” Reid said.

It was the second straight week the Chiefs (8-5) were dealing with questionable officiating. Last week in Green Bay, they were left wondering why pass interference was not called on a pass intended for Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the closing minutes of that game.

“Loss for words, man,” Mahomes said. “To end another game and we’re talking about referees, it’s bad for the NFL.”

It was good for the Bills (7-6), though, and they sure needed something positive to happen.

Their week began with questions swirling around pass rusher Von Miller, who turned himself in to police during their bye and is facing a charge of third-degree felony assault of a pregnant woman.

And the week ended with criticism aimed at McDermott, who in 2019 had used the hijackers from Sept. 11, 2001, in a team meeting to stress the importance of communication, and was left apologizing again — just as he did after realizing how his mistake four years ago.

“Just so thankful. I’m grateful for so many things,” McDermott said. “So many people that reached out. Andy Reid, many of their staff after the game. I know quite a few of the coaches on their staff. They’re a class act. I appreciate that.”

The Bills’ Josh Allen threw for 233 yards with touchdowns running and throwing, though he also threw an interception for the ninth consecutive game. James Cook had 58 yards rushing and caught five passes for 83 yards and a score.

The Bills had been 2-6 in games decided by six points or fewer, and they had lost a lead in the final two minutes in three losses.

“It wasn’t the prettiest of wins. We all know that,” Allen said. “But the defense played fantastic.”

Mahomes finished with 271 yards passing and a touchdown with an interception, and Rashee Rice had seven catches for 72 yards and the score. But it wasn’t enough to keep the Chiefs from losing for the fourth time in six games.

“It’s a gut check,” Chiefs guard Trey Smith said. “You got to dig down deep. We still have games left to play.”

The Chiefs continued a recent track record of lousy starts on Sunday. Mahomes was intercepted by A.J. Epenesa on their first series, they punted on each of their next three, and it wasn’t until the closing minutes of the first half that Kansas City was able to sustain a drive that ended with Jerick McKinnon’s touchdown run.

By that point, the Bills had already reached the end zone twice.

The first touchdown came when Cook was unchecked coming out of the backfield, caught a flick from Allen and breezed 25 yards for the score. The second came at the end of a 73-yard drive, when Allen kept the ball over the right side and was stood up at the Kansas City 4, only for the entire Bills offense to gather behind him and shove into the end zone.

If the Eagles have the “brotherly shove”/“tush push,” the Bills offered their “team trample.”

Buffalo added a field goal out of halftime, but the momentum quickly tilted Kansas City’s way. Mahomes led a nine-play, 75-yard march that ended with Rice’s touchdown catch, then the Chiefs’ defense forced back-to-back punts before another drive ended with Harrison Butker’s tying field goal with 11 1/2 minutes to go.

The Bills had one last scoring drive in them, which ended with Tyler Bass’ go-ahead field goal with 1:54 left in the game.

The Chiefs thought they did, too, until they saw a penalty flag on the field.

“I’ve played seven years in the National Football League and never had offensive offside called,” Mahomes said, still seething in his postgame news conference. “You want until a minute left to make a call like that?”

INJURIES

Buffalo lost Epenesa in the first quarter, shortly after he had batted a pass into the air and picked it off. … FS Micah Hyde left late in the first half with a stinger. He was replaced by Taylor Rapp in the second half.

Kansas City RB Isiah Pacheco (shoulder), LT Donovan Smith (neck) and LB Drue Tranquill (concussion) were inactive.

UP NEXT

Buffalo plays Dallas next Sunday.

Kansas City visits New England next Sunday.

The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.

The post Patrick Mahomes Throws Tantrum on Sideline as Chiefs Lose Second Straight Game appeared first on The Western Journal.

Netanyahu Warns Hamas This Is the 'The End' as 'Leaked' Video Seems to Show Surrendering Terrorists

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a stern warning to Hamas terrorists: It’s over and you’re better off surrendering.

Netanyahu made the comments on Sunday, according to The Times of Israel, and the remarks come as a shocking “leaked” video began making the rounds on social media on Saturday.

The video in question purports to show Hamas operatives, all in their underwear, grouped together in a war-torn street in northern Gaza Strip.

In the video, one of the Hamas members slowly separates from the group, holding up a rifle and what appears to be a handgun (or some smaller weapon), and places both in front of Israel Defense Forces members.

You can watch the clip for yourself below:

“Leaked footage from the northern Gaza Strip today shows an apparent Hamas operative slowly placing an assault rifle on the ground, as dozens of Palestinian men surrendered to IDF troops,” Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel Fabian posted to X early Saturday.

That video hit social media just days after a Thursday viral post showed more purported Hamas operatives surrendering.

The Thursday post similarly showed a number of Hamas members in their underwear, huddled together in a decimated street:

In the wake of those videos, Netanyahu is pressing the psychological advantage and verbally running down Hamas.

“In the past few days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered before our forces. They put down their weapons and turn themselves over to our brave fighters,” Netanyahu said via video, per The Times.

Netanyahu added that while there is still fighting left to be done, he thinks the war has reached its endgame.

“It will take more time, the war is still in full force, but this is the beginning of the end of Hamas,” he noted.

The prime minister than directly spoke to Hamas, while referencing the group’s Gaza chief, Yahya Sinwar: “I say to the terrorists of Hamas: It’s over. Don’t die for Sinwar. Surrender now.”

You can watch Netanyahu’s untranslated remarks below:

Netanyahu’s message was echoed by Israeli government representative Eylon Levy, who posted to X on Sunday that “Hamas’ grip on power is crumbling.”

This latest conflict began Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists launched a brutal and barbaric invasion of southern Israel, killing countless innocent women and children in the process.

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Poll Shocker: 20% of Gen Z Think Holocaust Is a Myth, 28% Believe Jews Have Too Much Power in US

The philosopher George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

But no one could have predicted that it would take less than 100 years for us to forget one of the most heinous atrocities committed against one people group in modern history — the Holocaust.

A recent survey on Holocaust knowledge in America unveiled a profound and disturbing ignorance among young adults about the attempted genocide of the Jewish people, according to U.K. outlet The Guardian.


Commissioned by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the survey polled 1,000 adults aged 18-39 nationwide about basic facts concerning the Nazi extermination of 6 million European Jews. The results were alarming.

Nearly two-thirds of young Americans do not even know that six million Jews died in the Holocaust. Over a third believe 2 million or less perished — a staggering underestimate.

Almost half of millennial and Gen Z adults aged between 18 and 39 could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto — emblems of Nazi brutality and the infrastructure of genocide.

Even more shocking numbers of young adults have bought into dangerous Holocaust denialism and distortion, the survey revealed.

Nearly a quarter believe the Holocaust has been exaggerated or are not even sure it happened. One in eight have never heard of it at all.

Over half have seen Nazi symbols promoted on social media.

In addition, 28 percent in the 18-29 demographic believe “Jews have too much power in America,” according to the poll.

The survey was the first to drill down to the state level to determine beliefs about the Holocaust.

It ranked states from highest to lowest Holocaust knowledge based on residents’ awareness of basic facts. Wisconsin scored highest, while Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas ranked lowest nationwide.

Almost one in five New Yorkers blamed the Jews as the cause of the very Holocaust that destroyed their ancestors. Louisiana, Tennessee, Montana and other states display similar shameful statistics.

Gideon Taylor, president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, said, “The results are both shocking and saddening, and they underscore why we must act now while Holocaust survivors are still with us to voice their stories.”

“This needs to serve as a wake-up call to us all, and as a road map of where government officials need to act,” Taylor added.

A large portion of the blame for this lack of education can be placed on educational institutions, which have pushed Marxist ideologies, including Holocaust denial.

The shameful testimonies of the presidents of Harvard, Penn, and MIT, as reported by this week are clear evidence of the culture being promoted in these so-called elite institutions.

But the memories of Americans are even shorter than that.

Last month, the hashtag #lettertoamerica went viral on TikTok as thousands of Tiktokers encouraged their millions of followers to read Osama bin Laden’s 2002 “Letter to America,” claiming it revealed “truths” about Israel and Middle East foreign policy they aren’t taught in school, according to The National Desk.

Warning: This video contains language that may be offensive to some people. 

It took a bunch of smirking elite university presidents’ blatantly admitting to Congress that calling for the genocide of Jews only violates the rules of conduct of their university depending on the “context” to bring attention to the Marxist ideology and historical whitewashing happening to young people in educational institutions, leading to threats of pulled back donations, according to CNN.


But that will not be enough to reverse the damage.

Let us pray it will not take another attack on American soil before American youth realize the depravity of the positions they have adopted.

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