Surprising Hope In The Streets Of Paris
Posted By: Judy W., 6/8/2025 6:37:59 PM
I told you all that I would write Monday’s newsletter at the end of Monday, Paris time, after I had been out in Chartres for the end of the pilgrimage. (Snip)I cannot remember the last time I wrote a story that made me so happy. I knew that I would like it in principle — young Catholics walking three days from Paris to Chartres, singing and praying all the way — but I had no real idea what to expect. After spending just two hours mingling with the crowd at the start of the event, I can tell you that I came away feeling more hopeful about things than I have
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Judy W."
Shayetet 13, the elite IDF naval unit, intercepted the Gaza Freedom Flotilla early on Monday morning at around 3 a.m., according to the ship's operators and military officials.
The IDF boarded the Madleen, and took the crew and the ship to the Port of Ashdod, where they would be sent back to their respective countries, with Defense Minister Israel Katz instructing that the passengers view footage from Hamas's October 7 attacks. (Snip)
The ministry later announced that the flotilla, referring to it as the "selfie yacht," was making its way to Israeli shores, and announced that all passengers are expected to return to their home countries.
Surprising Hope In The Streets Of Paris
4 replies
I told you all that I would write Monday’s newsletter at the end of Monday, Paris time, after I had been out in Chartres for the end of the pilgrimage. (Snip)I cannot remember the last time I wrote a story that made me so happy. I knew that I would like it in principle — young Catholics walking three days from Paris to Chartres, singing and praying all the way — but I had no real idea what to expect.
After spending just two hours mingling with the crowd at the start of the event, I can tell you that I came away feeling more hopeful about things than I have
Supreme Court Gives Trump a Quiet, Yet
Potentially Large Victory Against Administrative State 17 replies
Potentially Large Victory Against Administrative State 17 replies
As Americans began to prepare for Memorial Day weekend, the Supreme Court quietly handed President Donald Trump a significant victory in the fight to rein in the rogue D.C. bureaucracy.
In a short, two-page order, the court stayed a district court order that directed Trump to reinstate two federal officials whom he had fired.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett voted for the stay. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
The obvious effect is that the two officials (Snip) cannot retake their positions in either agency unless they win their lawsuits.
Do Not Be Fooled by Iran: What They Really
Want Is to Destroy America, Israel Is
Just in the Way 18 replies
Want Is to Destroy America, Israel Is
Just in the Way 18 replies
The real nakba [catastrophe, for Palestinians] was that they started a war and lost it. Well, if you start a war, that is what can happen.
The Trump administration should beware of countries where the mouth says one thing but the legs do the opposite. Believe the legs. The Iranians and Palestinians have not given up their dream of eliminating Israel and America.
Iran's leaders do the same thing. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reassures Americans that "We are not seeking war, we favor negotiation and dialogue." Meanwhile, Khamenei calls for the elimination of the "Zionist regime" and endorses "Death to America."
R.I.P. Michael Ledeen
3 replies
“I often say to people, you’ve all seen these demonstrations in the streets of Iran, thousands of people chanting, “Death to America.” What do you think they mean?What is that all about anyway? Is that some local street festival? Is it something they do to amuse themselves? And the answer is no. That’s exactly what they have in mind.”
That was Michael Ledeen at the David Horowitz Freedom Center’s Restoration Weekend ten years ago. Obama was clinging to power in his last years and Ledeen let him have it in characteristically direct terms. Then, as he had always been, Ledeen was direct, compelling and unequivocal in standing up to evil.
Unwinding the bureaucracy’s grip on American life will take an effort that outlasts this president and the next. But last week’s executive order is a start.
The second Trump administration contains multitudes. Rhetorically — and, often, practically — it has advanced an expansive view of executive power that echoes its leader’s famous, l’état-c’est-moi-esque declaration that “I alone can fix it.” And yet, in its concurrent attempts to rein in the most egregious excesses of our presumptuous and recalcitrant federal bureaucracy, it has tasked itself with effecting reforms that run in precisely the opposite direction.
Clarice Feldman is on vacation, so I borrowed from my 'week in review' column an editor's pick of the week's top stories, modified for the article format.
There are more than three big stories this week to sum up this time. Americans are beginning to get a sense of the new pope. Tariffs are having their impact. The CPI shows inflation shrinking. The U.K. continues to appall us with its wokesterly governance, which is now seeing some backtracking on immigration, as is Gavin Newsom's California. We can also add news of how bad Joe Biden's mental decline was and the press that covered it up. But these are honorable mentions.
Iran appears to be using diplomacy to stall, deceive and advance its nuclear capabilities behind closed doors, while securing financial and geopolitical concessions from the West.
The disturbing part is not that Iran's mullahs are following their usual tactics. The horror is that American officials and Western leaders appear to be falling for this shell-game all over again.
The problem with enriching hostile regimes to "buy quiet" is that this is the money they use to build nuclear weapons with which to attack us.
An additional problem, unfortunately, is that the Iranian regime has a well-documented history of lying.
From my perch at American Thinker, rumors sometimes come my way. One of them, seemingly a solid one, is that a well-financed effort is underway to acquire several major conservative outlets, including Human Events, The Post Millennial, and The Daily Caller, to roll them up under a single owner. According to what I’ve heard, the forces behind this effort are donors sympathetic to the vision of the Republican Party that Liz Cheney, Mike Pence, Paul Ryan, and Mitt Romney espouse.
As a matter of principle, I’m deeply opposed to the idea of a consortium controlling multiple once-independent websites.
Big Trump Action Goes Mostly Unnoticed
5 replies
Donald Trump just made it harder to go to federal prison.
On Friday, President Trump issued a new executive order with a remarkably broad scope and deep implications, under the title “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.” It starts with plain, clear, direct language:
The Code of Federal Regulations contains over 48,000 sections, stretching over 175,000 pages — far more than any citizen can possibly read, let alone fully understand. Worse, many carry potential criminal penalties for violations. The situation has become so dire that no one — likely including those charged with enforcing our criminal laws at the Department of Justice — knows how many separate criminal offenses are contained in the
The Imaginary Casey Means
15 replies
Yes, there is a fight right now among MAHA activists. Yes, it has to do with the announcement on May 7 2025 that “wellness influencer” and bestselling author Casey Means was replacing Dr Janette Nesheiwat as President Trump’s nominee for the office of Surgeon General. Dr Nesheiwat, it emerged, had misrepresented her medical credentials.
A post by former Vice Presidential Candidate Nicole Shanahan, without whose financial and strategic support for RFK Jr’s candidacy, neither he nor President Trump would be in power right now, has been widely circulated. Shanahan found it “strange” that a direct assurance to her from RFK Jr, in exchange for her support for his confirmation,
The Destroyer
17 replies
Don’t be discouraged, but this is the worst, most horrifying story I have ever had to cover. Whatever we believed the trafficking problem was, things were much worse, much more literally demonic, and much more widespread than anyone imagined. The first clue appeared yesterday in FBI Director Kash Patel’s astonishing tweet:
(Snip) Deeply disturbing is an understatement. For whatever reason, the media isn’t reporting the whole story. But the Trump Administration has initiated one of the largest and most urgent federal law enforcement responses in history. The ABC article buried the lede, which was that the entire FBI is now involved in responding to an altogether new and horrifying threat.
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L.A. Police Chief Admits Officers ‘Overwhelmed’
as Thousands of Rioters Block Freeway,
Torch Cars 25 replies
as Thousands of Rioters Block Freeway,
Torch Cars 25 replies
Thousands of anti-ICE rioters descended on a major freeway in downtown Los Angeles Sunday evening, blocking traffic in both directions, while rioters downtown set off fireworks and torched several self-driving cars.
Police officers were eventually able to force the mob down an exit ramp, restoring the free flow of traffic on the 101 Freeway, but Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell admitted that his officers were “overwhelmed” by the scale of the riots, which have continued for four consecutive days in Los Angeles.
“We are overwhelmed,” McDonnell said in a Sunday night press conference. “Tonight, we had individuals out there shooting commercial-grade fireworks at our officers. That can kill you.”
Eva Longoria and Chrissy Teigen were among the Hollywood stars speaking out on social media about the ongoing protests in Los Angeles over ICE raids ordered by President Donald Trump. Multiple stars took to platforms such as Instagram amid news Trump ordered 2000 troops with California’s National Guard to the area amid ongoing unrest, to the objection of California Governor Gavin Newsom. On her Instagram Stories, Longoria reposted a tweet from Newsom in which he criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his threat to deploy active-duty marines into the area to quell the resistance to Trump's policy. Hegseth said via
California Gov. Gavin Newsom added fuel to the fire after daring President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan to arrest him for failing to crack down on violent anti-ICE agitators in his state. “Come after me. Arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy,” the defiant Democrat told NBC News on Sunday. Newsom’s taunt came soon after Homan had warned that the governor and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could both face federal charges for trying to thwart ICE raids throughout the city.
Democrats are trying to make “TACO” — or “Trump always chickens out”— a new political slogan to get under the president’s skin. But it is not as clever a quip as they think it is, and it creates a perverse incentive for Trump to push the red buttons they don’t want him to push. (snip) it is straightforwardly wrongheaded as a political slogan. Why on Earth would Democrats dare Trump to follow through on his most extreme tariff threats? If this slogan were to really work, (snip)it would nudge him and his allies to cling more tightly to the most extreme versions of Trump’s bad economic policies.
California governor plans to file lawsuit
against Trump over National Guard deployment
to protests 21 replies
against Trump over National Guard deployment
to protests 21 replies
LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he planned to file a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump in response to the administration’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard to confront immigration protesters who took to the streets in Los Angeles.
“Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” Newsom, a Democrat, told MSNBC on Sunday. The streets of the sprawling city of 4 million people were quiet Monday morning, but the smell of smoke hung in the air downtown, one day after crowds blocked off a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as police responded with tear gas, rubber
Australian news reporter shot with rubber
bullet live on air while covering LA anti-ICE riots 20 replies
bullet live on air while covering LA anti-ICE riots 20 replies
An Australian news reporter was shot with a rubber bullet live on air while reporting on the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles on Sunday, shocking video shows. Nine News’ US correspondent Lauren Tomasi was covering the violent protests against President Trump’s immigration policies when she was hit on camera. Video shows Tomasi yelp in pain after she was struck in the leg by the bullet fired from a Los Angeles Police Department officer. Tomasi had been reporting on the stand-off situation, which she said had “rapidly deteriorated” moments before she was caught in the crossfire.
Marc Thiessen commented on the Trump administration's new strategy for dealing with sanctuary cities on this week's "FOX News Sunday" panel: (snip) Donald Trump has beaten the Democrats, powered by illegal immigration, and they still can’t seem to get it right.
You have people literally burning cars, throwing rocks at ICE agents, and the Democrats are siding with the protesters over the administration trying to restore law and order.
And what has the left riled up, and what’s causing all this, is that the Trump administration has figured out a way around sanctuary city laws.
George Soros-Funded PAC to Launch
‘Blue Texas’ Effort After Democrats
Fail to Flip the State 16 replies
‘Blue Texas’ Effort After Democrats
Fail to Flip the State 16 replies
Democrats are reportedly gearing up to try and flip Texas blue with help from leftist billionaire and mega-donor George Soros.
The group known as Texas Majority PAC is set to launch its “Blue Texas” initiative on Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The newspaper said the Texas Democrat Party and other county parties will join the effort that will culminate in the midterm elections next year.
Soros has tried but failed in the past to turn Texas blue by throwing millions of dollars into the effort. The WSJ article said he recently donated $1 million to the Texas Majority PAC:
Texas has been a Republican stronghold for decades, providing the GOP
Shayetet 13, the elite IDF naval unit, intercepted the Gaza Freedom Flotilla early on Monday morning at around 3 a.m., according to the ship's operators and military officials.
The IDF boarded the Madleen, and took the crew and the ship to the Port of Ashdod, where they would be sent back to their respective countries, with Defense Minister Israel Katz instructing that the passengers view footage from Hamas's October 7 attacks. (Snip)
The ministry later announced that the flotilla, referring to it as the "selfie yacht," was making its way to Israeli shores, and announced that all passengers are expected to return to their home countries.
Ever since President Trump federalized the National Guard to restore order in Los Angeles and protect federal officers from violent left-wing mobs, the left has been screeching the same tired lie: that Trump “refused” to send the Guard to the Capitol on January 6. It’s a narrative being pushed by Democrat hacks, legacy media mouthpieces, and keyboard warriors who conveniently ignore the facts. The truth? Trump absolutely did authorize and recommend the deployment of National Guard troops ahead of January 6—multiple times.
The Hard Truth about ‘L’Affaire Chauvin’
14 replies
A week or so ago, I received an email from an old friend in the intelligence community—let’s call him “Smiley”—commenting on my research into the case of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in April 2021 of murdering chronic felon and drug abuser George Floyd a year prior.
Said Smiley, “Time for you to write a ‘J’accuse’ piece--naming names.” He was referring to the powerful public letter French author Emile Zola wrote in 1898 damning the people responsible for the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of French Army Captain Alfred Dreyfus four years prior.
The U.S. military is set to temporarily deploy about 700 Marines to Los Angeles while additional National Guard troops arrive in the city, a U.S. official told Reuters on Monday. The deployment comes as the city enters its fourth day of protests over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement policies.
About 300 California National Guard troops were already deployed to Los Angeles streets on Sunday, a move Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom called unlawful. The anonymous U.S. official confirmed that a Marine battalion would be sent to provide support, though the Insurrection Act is not expected to be invoked at this time.
The National Guard presence is expected to expand dramatically,
Comments:
This brought me to tears. France, where secularism is the official religion! I've recently read pieces about American young people increasingly attending church, and searching for authentic religion, not the distorted modern liberal kind. God is answering our prayers.