Tucker Carlson used a candidate forum on Friday to wreck the GOP presidential primary field. That wasn't his goal, of course, but that's what happened, because the candidates aren't used to challenges.
Several candidates seemed to believe the line -- where do they get this from? -- that the U.S. must defend Ukraine at almost any cost, rather than seeking some kind of negotiated deal to end a stalemate.
Others seemed plainly out of their depth. Word on the street is that Amb. Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were the only two who really did well. Gov. Ron DeSantis did OK. (Trump didn't go.)
I've not always been a huge fan of Tucker's style -- the cackle is a little much -- but his adversarial style, while abrasive, is useful in separating the wheat from the chaff. Major-league pitching, here.
My friend Mark Levin, similarly, has a hard-hitting book coming out called "The Democrat Party Hates America." I'd never give a book that title. It risks alienating readers and dividing the country even further.
And yet -- there's a use to it. It's hard to forget. And while many on the left are simply well-meaning-but-misguided, a few really do hate the country. It's important to "call that out," to use a popular phrase.
It's important to have a wrecking crew. They might not be the best to build bridges, but they do clear out a lot of what needs removal. A vibrant political movement will have all types, and many approaches.
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
