Remember Khizr Khan? He was the scourge of Donald Trump in 2016, the bereaved Muslim father of a fallen U.S. soldier who died in Iraq. He excoriated Trump at the Democratic National Convention over the issue of Trump's views on Islam, and he became a national hero.
Remember Trump's supposed comments about dead troops being "suckers" and "losers"? That story in the Atlantic that no one seemed to be able to confirm, and which anyone in a position to know -- even disloyal officials -- denied, yet became a cable news staple?
That's how Democrats and the media use veterans, and fallen heroes -- to attack Republican candidates. And it usually works, because shellshocked Republicans like veterans so much that they fear pushing back, even when the attacks are based on total distortions.
Then there are the Gold Star families of the Afghanistan 13 -- those men and women who were killed by a terrorist bombing in the chaotic U.S. evacuation from Kabul. (Many were wounded as well.) They have been treated like dirt by President Biden for two years.
As Logan Dobson pointed out on Twitter, the cable news networks -- other than Fox -- ignored the Gold Star families' memorial ceremony yesterday. Yet they couldn't get enough of the "suckers" story. Maybe next time, we should recognize their' abuse of veterans for what it is.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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