This week, I'm back in sunny Los Angeles -- remember last week, when I was near the action on the Israel/Lebanon border? Crazy stuff -- and I'll be looking at what the recent congressional votes mean for our politics, going forward.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected after a revolt, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), against Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), ostensibly because McCarthy had become an emissary of the DC establishment, the "uniparty."
As I noted at the time, McCarthy had passed a continuing resolution to fund the government without including funding for Ukraine. This was something the rebels overlooked. (I said Johnson would end up funding Ukraine; I was right.)
Anyway -- on Friday, Johnson pushed through a vote to reauthorize the much-abused FISA; and then on Saturday, he pushed through a bill to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, while Democrats waved Ukrainian flags on the floor.
He had to do all of that with Democrat votes, as he did not have the majority of his caucus behind him for the FISA or Ukraine votes. So where does this put the GOP in the middle of an election year? We'll try to figure that out.
We'll also discuss the latest in the Trump trial in Manhattan, with the jury now fully selected. What are the prospects for a conviction, or a hung jury? An acquittal seems out of the question, given the venue. But we'll look into it.
We'll also discuss the Biden administration's decision to sanction an IDF unit that is composed of religious soldiers. It's a bizarre decision that sends all the wrong signals during wartime and could even put American soldiers at risk.
I'll also interview my cousin, Adrian Perkel, who has written a new book about the psychological roots of aggression. Aggressors often perceive themselves as victims; so in a conflict, how do we decide which side is really the victim?
Finally, we'll discuss the Passover holiday, the Jewish festival of freedom, which starts Monday night. This year, Passover is particularly poignant, because there are actual Jewish slaves in Gaza. Their freedom is an urgent priority.
Special guests:
- Matthew Boyle - Breitbart News DC editor, on Congress and the fallout
- Ken Klukowski - Breitbart News legal editor, on the Trump trial in Manhattan
- Adrian Perkel - clinical psychologist and scholar, on the nature of aggression
- Rich Goldberg - Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, on sanctions
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: 866-957-2874
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 ...
