This week, the world is consumed by the war in Ukraine. There's a lot of bad commentary out there, and a lot of advocacy journalism, making it harder to figure out what's going on, and what we should do about it. Clearly, Russia is the aggressor here, and while NATO has compromised its credibility on the question of invading foreign countries that didn't attack member states first (Serbia, Libya, etc.), there's nothing to justify the first major land war in Europe since 1945 and the attendant humanitarian cost. The simple explanation here is that Russian President Vladimir Putin, boosted by high oil prices and taking advantage of President Joe Biden's weak return to the Obama-Clinton "reset" posture, took the opportunity to seize what he thought he could get easily. It turned out to be not so easy, and while Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, the rest of the world wonders how close we are to a superpower confrontation.
There's more going on, of course. I just returned from a trip to South Africa, and I'll have something to say about that. I've seen a country beginning to wake up from the pandemic -- and dreading a European war that will make recovery that much more difficult by raising fuel prices and depressing global trade. I've also seen the dysfunction of South Africa's governing systems -- and how they portend future disasters in our own system if we don't fix things, and soon.
February's jobs numbers point to a strong economic recovery -- but inflation remains a major problem, and Biden is still looking for ways to spend money. He tried dumping "defund the police" and demanded that Congress "secure the border" in his State of the Union speech this week. Is he for real? Meanwhile, the administration is backing efforts to "codify" Roe v. Wade -- and the bill facing Congress is rather shocking in its brazen "woke" rhetoric about abortion.
All that and more across three hours on the last Sunday of Standard Time...
With special guests:
- NFL great Jack Brewer on America's comeback, at the end of the pandemic
- Melanie Israel on the "Women's Health Protection Act" and abortion
- Grover Norquist on Biden's economic policy and the prospects of inflation
Listen live: SiriusXM 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
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I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
