ANALYSIS: TRUE. The Media Will Never Forgive Israel for Not Bombing That Hospital.

Few things are as dangerous as the newsroom that wants a story to be true.

An overzealous editor is how the really dangerous stuff gets printed.

The free press is supposed to operate from a set of principles, working within established guardrails to spare readers the publication of false information, including hoaxes and lies that may incite violence or escalate preexisting hostilities. All bets are off, however, when news editors have a deep-seated psychological need for a story to be true. And on this score, American media failed miserably this past week when major outlets falsely reported an Israeli missile strike had hit the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, leveling it completely and killing at least 500 civilians.

The story was suspect from the get-go, considering the sole source of the claim was the Gaza health ministry — in other words, Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization that runs Gaza. But this didn’t matter. The U.S. press wanted the story to be true, as evidenced by the indefensibly slipshod and irresponsible coverage that clogged up newsfeeds around the world.

There was indeed an explosion in the vicinity of the hospital, but the facility still stands. It was not leveled. It wasn’t even struck directly. Whatever exploded did so in a nearby parking lot. The civilian death toll from the explosion is estimated to be “50 at most,” a European intelligence officer told Agence France-Presse. Contrary to Hamas’s claims, there is no evidence of an Israeli missile strike. In fact, separate assessments by both Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies suggest the damage was caused by the failed launch of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket in Gaza, producing an explosion at ground level that killed people gathered near but not in the hospital.

Yet these are the news headlines readers saw this week:

“Israeli strike kills hundreds in hospital, Palestinians say,” declared the New York Times’ breaking news headline. Inexplicably, the photo that went with the front-page headline showed a different building damaged by a completely unrelated airstrike, though one would obviously assume the photo was that of the “destroyed” Al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

Or as America’s Newspaper of Record reported: New York Times Patiently Awaiting Zoom Call From Hamas To See What They Should Print Today.

OUT ON A LIMB: Joe Biden is Jimmy Carter 2.0.

The Democrats have a Hamas problem. It is an alliance of the sick, of the ill, as explained by my friend Charles Lipson in his essay “The Sick Alliance between the Left and Muslim Extremists” here.

“The virulent anti-Israel protests across America and Europe throw a glaring light on the bizarre alliance between left-wing activists and militant Muslims,” Lipson writes. “That odd combination has been the bedrock of political activism at universities and in the streets for years. It began in universities, where it now dominates political discourse, threatens Jewish students, and intimidates anyone brave enough to voice their dissent. We can now see how it has spread far beyond the campus.”

Some readers have already sent messages warning me against making  any Biden Carter comparison. If there was a cage match of today’s Biden now, the president who high steps it across short cut grass, and Carter then, only Carter would walk out on his own two feet. Biden is little more than a meat puppet. He will not debate anyone with a brain and lips to speak, let alone sit for hard-ball news interviews. That scripted puff piece by 60 Minutes shouldn’t count. America watched, horrified as he played Israel for campaign photo ops and could barely recite the lines provided to him by his puppet masters. He could barely focus his gaze.

But Biden is too far gone to be actually running the show. Which means, his current and former boss likely is, and as Glenn noted in 2011 in the Washington Examiner: When Jimmy Carter Is your best-case scenario, you’re in trouble. “Meanwhile, on foreign policy — another Carter weak point — Obama also looks worse. Carter blew it with Iran, encouraging the Iranian armed forces to stay in their barracks, while Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s radical Islamists (whom Carter thought of as ‘reformers’) took power, and then approved the ill-conceived hostage rescue mission that ended with ignominious failure in the desert. Obama, by contrast, could only wish for such success.”

FOLLOW THE MONEY: Biden Paid $2.75 Million in Cash for Beach House After Chinese Shakedown.

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Nine Signs You Might Actually Be The Bad Guy.

7. You have a heavy machine gun mounted in the bed of your 1994 Toyota pickup truck: Unless you live in Kentucky, this is a red flag.

Analysis: True.

ROGER KIMBALL: The George Floyd, Jr. Narrative Unraveled.

You won’t read about it in The New York Times or The Washington Post. Neither CNN nor MSNBC will devote airtime to the story. But other, less establishment  outlets have it. Here, for example, is Alpha News, with the eyebrow-raising headline “Court docs reveal ‘extreme’ public pressure on prosecutors in George Floyd case.”

“New court documents,” the story begins, “expose the ‘extreme pressure’ prosecutors faced in Hennepin County to charge Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers in the death of George Floyd. Several attorneys opposed charging the ‘other three’ officers and withdrew from the case due to ‘professional and ethical rules.’”

Hmm. I’d wager Derek Chauvin would find that interesting.

But not as interesting as what follows.

During her deposition, Sweasy also discussed a revealing conversation she said she had the day after Floyd’s death when she asked Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker about the autopsy.

“I called Dr. Baker early that morning to tell him about the case and to ask him if he would perform the autopsy on Mr. Floyd,” she explained.

“He called me later in the day on that Tuesday and he told me that there were no medical findings that showed any injury to the vital structures of Mr. Floyd’s neck. There were no medical indications of asphyxia or strangulation,” Sweasy said, according to the transcript.

“He said to me, ‘Amy, what happens when the actual evidence doesn’t match up with the public narrative that everyone’s already decided on?’ And then he said, ‘This is the kind of case that ends careers.’”

Read the whole thing.

ISRAEL SAYS IT FOUND HAMAS FILES WITH INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING CYANIDE-BASED WEAPON.

21st CENTURY HEADLINES: Darren Aronofsky Says it Takes 12 People to Use the 18K Sphere Camera.

The music and entertainment arena Sphere opened in September in Las Vegas and the striking venue is the largest spherical building in the world. It features the world’s biggest and highest-resolution screens and its content is captured using a state-of-the-art 18K cinema camera.

Acclaimed filmmaker Darren Aronofsky used the remarkable camera to create his new movie, Postcard From Earth, which is now playing at Sphere. As Screen Rant describes, Aronofsky’s new film is a “technical marvel.”

In a recent appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Aronofsky discussed Postcard From Earth, including some remarkable behind-the-scenes information. Among the fascinating details Aronofsky discusses is that the 18K camera he used requires about a dozen people to operate, including moving it and keeping it from overheating.

Though not from keeping it occasionally showing terrifying images:

I flew into Las Vegas on business this morning, the Sphere was pretty wild 😜 #LasVegas #Sphere #entertainment pic.twitter.com/nZfK0sjkic

— JDean (@JDeanSCS) October 20, 2023

JOHN NOLTE: Taylor Swift Humiliates Hollywood Again — Trounces Leo’s ‘Flower Moon.’

In its second weekend Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour grossed another $32 million, humiliating Leonardo DiCaprio’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which debuted to just $22 million.

Why is this important?

Here’s why…

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was produced by … Taylor Swift and her team. It was also distributed by … Taylor Swift and her team. Swift Inc. froze Hollywood out and went straight to the theater chains. The result has been a box office triumph. In its first weekend, The Eras Tour grossed $93 million domestic and $124 million worldwide. After only three days, Swift already had the highest-grossing concert film in history. Moreover, she enjoyed the second biggest October opening weekend ever. Only Joker (2019) topped her, and…

Hollywood had nothing to do with any of it.

Hollywood did not make one penny off of it.

And…

This so terrifies Hollywood that Hollywood’s palace guards at the far-left Hollywood Reporter spent 1,500 words last week spinning Swift’s box office triumph into a mistake. And what was the mistake? She didn’t distribute The Eras Tour through the same studios that advertise at the far-left Hollywood Reporter.

And if Martin Scorsese is angry at superhero movies, then imagine how he feels about being bested by Taylor Swift.

TO ASK THE QUESTION TO ANSWER IT: Why Are All of You Silent? A few years back you were a bunch of activists. Now Jews are being murdered in cold blood and you haven’t said a word.

MILE MARKERS ON THE ROAD TO DETROIT: Even For San Francisco, This Story Is Almost Too Bizarre to Believe.

We all know that San Francisco has a terrible, awful, horrible, homeless problem with homeless people sleeping everywhere. One homeless man set up camp across from a Catholic grade school. It would have been a curiosity except for the signs he hung outside of his tent.

“Free fentanyl 4 new users” and “Meth for stolen items.”

WARNING: Explicit and potentially upsetting content

A San Francisco man who camped across the street from a school displaying sign offering "free fentanyl for new users," and who has a previous pedophile conviction has been arrested. pic.twitter.com/gmzGcL3azr

— The San Francisco Standard (@sfstandard) October 20, 2023

It’s the failed city of San Francisco in 2023, so of course, it’s totally believable.

NEW CIVILITY WATCH: Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee Allegedly Caught Berating Staff: ‘Two G**d*** Big A** F***ing Idiots.’

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) was allegedly caught on a secret recording obtained by Current Revolt berating her staffers with vulgar language.

The recording comes as Jackson, who has long been considered one of the worst people to work for in Congress, launched a campaign to become the next mayor of Houston.

Lee was allegedly berating her staff over a scheduling issue and the fact that the staffer did not know the exact date that she wanted to know.

The staffer said that he didn’t know the date because another staffer named Jerome had the paper with the date on it.

Vote wisely, Houston:

Leaked audio obtained by @CurrentRevolt shows Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee berating a staffer: "F**king idiots serve no goddamn purpose … Nobody gives a shit about what you're doing and you ain't doing shit!"

(WARNING: Explicit language) pic.twitter.com/Lzl4AmKhkS

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 21, 2023

40-YEAR-OLD DETROIT SYNAGOGUE LEADER SAMANTHA WOLL FOUND FATALLY STABBED OUTSIDE HOME.

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Hundreds Disrupt Classes, March Through Harvard Law School, Kennedy School in Support of Palestine.

As Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana walked to his office in Harvard Yard, students not involved with the protest stopped him and requested a selfie. After Khurana posed in the selfie, the protesters entering the Yard began to shout at him.

“Dean Rakesh, we call on you to use your privilege. We call on you to use your position to free Palestine,” one protester said with a megaphone.

Apparently, courses on the dangers of magical thinking are not taught at Harvard.

Oh, and speaking of Harvard and “privilege:”

Harvard gets 60,000 applicants every year, and if Harvard came to its senses and expelled your genocide-loving asses, 59,300 would happily run over their own grandmothers to fill your spot https://t.co/H1D9Yb3eYV

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) October 20, 2023

HOW IT STARTED: In 1922, The New York Times published its first article about Adolf Hitler. The reporter, Cyril Brown, was aware of his subject’s anti-Jewish animus but he wasn’t buying it.

‘Several reliable, well-informed sources confirmed the idea that Hitler’s anti-Semitism was not so genuine or violent as it sounded,’ Brown wrote, ‘and that he was merely using anti-Semitic propaganda as a bait to catch masses of followers.’ Two years later, the Times published another news item on the future architect of the Holocaust: ‘Hitler Tamed by Prison.’ The Austrian activist, the piece said, ‘looked a much sadder and wiser man,’ and ‘his behavior during his imprisonment convinced the authorities that [he] was no longer to be feared.’

How it’s going: NY Times defends rehiring Gaza journalist who praised Hitler: He’s ‘maintained high journalistic standards.’ Palestinian freelancer Soliman Hijjy contributed to the Times’ widely-panned coverage of the Gaza hospital explosion.

THE MASK COMES OFF: Determined to defend face coverings, a Scientific American article dismisses scientific “rigor.”

In response, [Naomi Oreskes, a Harvard professor of the history of science] claimed that “[t]he Cochrane finding was not that masking didn’t work but that scientists lacked sufficient evidence of sufficient quality to conclude that they worked.” She continues, “Jefferson erased that distinction, in effect arguing that because the authors couldn’t prove that masks did work, one could say that they didn’t work. That’s just wrong.” But Jefferson didn’t simply say that masks don’t work; he said there’s “no evidence” they work. The burden of proof should be on the side of those advocating a medical intervention. Without remotely having met that burden, Oreskes asserts that masks do work. Cochrane, she writes, “gave the false impression that masking didn’t help.”

In fact, 16 RCTs have tested whether masks effectively reduce the spread of viruses. Not onehas found compelling evidence that they do. Two have found statistically significant evidence that masks are counterproductive—that they increase the spread of viruses—probably because masks are frequently moist or dirty, and people often touch them. As for non-RCT evidence, check out this chart by Ian Miller, which shows that mask-mandate and mask-free states registered almost identical Covid-19 case rates.

Surgical masks were designed to protect patients from having open wounds infected by medical personnel, not to prevent the spread of viruses. N95 masks were designed to protect workers from breathing in fumes, smoke, or dust. When N95s were worn in hospitals pre-Covid, it was usually to protect against the spread of tuberculosis bacteria, not to stop the spread of viruses. As an article on the National Institutes of Health website puts it, “Viruses are tiny. . . . Billions can fit on the head of a pin.” Bacteria are huge by comparison: “Bacteria are 10 to 100 times larger than viruses.” Trying to block a virus with a mask is like trying to keep mosquitos out of your yard with a chain-link fence.

Read the whole thing.

THE POWER LINE WEEK IN PICTURES: Insurrection Manque Edition.

INSERT PICARD FACEPALM JPG HERE: Comedian Sarah Silverman claims she was ‘stoned’ when she endorsed Israeli move to shut off Gaza’s water, electricity.

CHANGE: After It Lied About Israel, New York Times’ Verification Badge Removed By X.

In the wake of The New York Times’ false reporting , claiming the Israel Defense Forces bombed a hospital in Gaza, a report which was later totally debunked, X, formerly known as Twitter, removed the Times’ verification badge.

🚨 Breaking: @elonmusk removed New York Times' verification badge, following a flood of false information it published on the Israel-Gaza war 👇 pic.twitter.com/qljbsNRhlN

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) October 20, 2023

The Times ran an article on October 17 that trumpeted, “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say.” The New York Times and CNN were also caught using images from different incidents that showed buildings that had been completely destroyed.

In one of its first tweets about the bomb at al-Ahli al-Arab hospital, The New York Times used a photo from a different bombing site.

I’ve traced the photo to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, which is approximately 25 km from Gaza City where the hospital is located. https://t.co/TJj2HNU9mx pic.twitter.com/VHg8lnjaYP

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 18, 2023

As America’s Newspaper of Record observed on Wednesday: New York Times Patiently Awaiting Zoom Call From Hamas To See What They Should Print Today.

NOT ANTI-WAR, JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE: The U.S. Gov’t Hired A Pro-Hamas PLO Spokeswoman To Handle Asylum Claims. “F*** Israel, the government, and its military. Are you ready for your downfall?” Department of Homeland Security officer Nejwa Ali said.

THE CORBYNIZATION OF THE FAR LEFT CONTINUES APACE: Israeli official slams Greta Thunberg after she backs Palestinians in Gaza.

In reaction, Arye Sharuz Shalicar, spokesman for the Israeli army, told POLITICO: “Whoever identifies with Greta in any way in the future, in my view, is a terror supporter.”

He added: “Because what Greta is doing, that she is now showing solidarity with Gaza while not saying a word about the massacres of Israelis, shows that she is actually not in favor of the Palestinians, but that she is sweeping the terror of the Palestinians or Hamas and Islamic Jihad under the table as if it did not exist.”

Arye Sharuz Shalicar later apologized for his remarks about Thunberg supporters and said, “I spoke out of a deep sense of pain and my words do not reflect my personal views or those of the IDF.”

Too bad — he got it right the first time: Greta Thunberg, milkshake duck.

It seems in Greta’s zeal to show her support for Palestinians, she accidentally included an antisemitic stuffed animal. Don’t you hate it when that happens to you? Cockburn is always embarrassed when he inadvertently includes antisemitic imagery laying around his house and it somehow finds its way into tweets supporting groups dedicated to wiping out a Jewish state. Happens to the best of us!

Heh, indeed.

JIM TREACHER: There Are a LOT More Anti-Semites Out There Than I Thought.

I’m particularly fascinated by the bigots tearing down those posters of Israeli hostages. What do they think they’re accomplishing? How does it help the terrorists they revere? Hamas wants us to know they have those hostages!

Maybe it’s cognitive dissonance. Lefties want to think of themselves as the good guys. So, when presented with direct evidence that their heroes are holding innocent women and children hostage — the Jews they didn’t slaughter on Oct. 7 — these cretins fly into a rage. Seeing those human faces completely destroys their self-conception as champions of justice, so they literally tear down the source of their mental agony. It’s the only thing they can do to ease the pain.

After all, they can’t admit they’re wrong about anything. If they were capable of that, they wouldn’t be leftists.

Then there’s this blithering idiot:

The octopus is a nice touch: “She might be able to claim this was an accident with a more common stuffed animal that has nothing to do with anti-Semitism but … yeah. No:” ‘How Dare Jew’? Greta Thunberg Stands in Anti-Semitic Solidarity with Gaza Then Tries PULLING Post.

SHOW ME THE MONEY: Comer raises questions about $200k ‘direct payment’ from James Biden to Joe Biden in 2018.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said his panel has uncovered evidence that Joe Biden, in 2018, received a “$200,000 direct payment” from his brother James Biden and sister-in-law Sara Biden, and is demanding the president answer questions about “financial arrangements” with members of his family.

Comer, R-Ky., has been leading an investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings since January and whether President Biden was involved in those ventures or “personally benefited” from them.

Comer, in September, issued three subpoenas for the personal and business bank records belonging to both Hunter Biden and James Biden.

Comer, in a video posted to “X,” formerly known as Twitter, detailing his committee’s latest findings. Comer said the check was written by James Biden to President Biden as a “loan repayment,” but questioned the timing.

“Bank records obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability have revealed a $200,000 direct payment from James and Sara Biden to Joe Biden in the form of a personal check,” Comer states.

Comer explains that in 2018, James Biden “received $600,000 in loans from Americore —a financially distressed and failing rural hospital operator.”

“According to bankruptcy court documents, James Biden received these loans based upon representations that his last name Biden, could open doors; and that he could obtain a large investment from the Middle East based on his political connections,” Comer said.

“On March 1, 2018, Americore wired a $200,000 loan into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account—not their business bank account,” he continued. “And then, on the very same day, James Biden wrote a $200,000 check from this same personal bank account to Joe Biden.”

Comer said James Biden “wrote this check to Joe Biden as a ‘loan repayment.’”

Ace of Spades adds, “As we keep seeing*, the Biden Crime Family takes its bribes in the form of “loans” which are not loans are so are never repaid.”

pic.twitter.com/tJUMLMD5iu

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) October 20, 2023

* “We” doesn’t include low information voters still getting their news from the DNC-MSM: After Crying ‘No Evidence,’ ABC/CBS/NBC Ignore Direct Payment to Biden.

DEMOCRACY DIES IN THE NEWSPEAK DICTIONARY:

Interesting choice of words from Washington Post. “detained” 🤔 pic.twitter.com/kiuKHPjIwo

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) October 20, 2023

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: The Ivy League Is Paving The Road To Hell.

Economist Thomas Sowell once said, “The road to hell is paved with Ivy League degrees.” I believe him. I’ve always believed that. Now, the rest of the country might believe him too.

A sense of evil has disseminated across elite campuses since October 7, the day Hamas organized a coordinated offensive on southern Israel by massacring 260 civilians at a music festival.

Hamas presented us with the worst of humanity — the slaughtering of the innocent, the abduction of women, and the beheading of babies. Yet various student bodies responded to the acts of terrorism by supporting them.

You’ve seen the demonstrations across social media and cable news.

Notably, Harvard students signed a letter blaming Israeli victims for the ensuing violence in Gaza.

Students at Columbia walked around campus carrying Palestinian flags, chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” code for “wipe Israel from the map.”

A professor at Columbia called the Hamas attack “awesome.”

And the hits just keep on coming: Trans UC Davis professor threatens ‘Zionist journalists’ & their children, says ‘they should fear us.’

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: CNN Blames Fog Of War For Errant Reporting On Gaza Bombing, Russian Collusion, Jussie Smollett, Covington Catholic, Hunter’s Laptop, The Steele Dossier, Kyle Rittenhouse, Origins Of Covid (Continued In Article Please Click For More).