RICHARD C LYONS: What Comes as No Surprise.

It is not surprising that last August, the Democrat Biden administration finalized an appeasement policy deal to free $6 Billion of Iranian assets frozen in South Korean banks since 2019 sanctions were imposed by the Trump administration.

It is not surprising that, since the appeasement deal was OK’d in August and funding was in the pipeline, there have been bi-weekly meetings in Lebanon and Syria between such terrorist luminaries as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Hamas military chief Saleh al-Arouri, and Iran’s Republican Guard’s “Quds Force” head Ismail Qaani. Or that at least two of these meetings were attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

After all, Iran has been funding Hamas and Hezbollah with $100 Million and $700 Million, respectively, on an annual basis for years. And they had just received a vocal promise of $6 billion for further operations. And these are not the only terrorist organizations Iran funds for military operations: there are 19 terrorist organizations operating as Iranian proxies on every border of U.S. ally Israel at this moment.

What is not a surprise is that, since the invasion, Hamas militants are threatening to kill hostages if Israel uses further military force to defeat Hamas.

Read the whole thing.

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: Israeli student beaten with stick outside Columbia University library.

A 19-year-old woman attacked a 24-year-old male Israeli student with a stick outside of Columbia University’s main library amid division on campus regarding the Israel-Hamas war.

The police responded to a report of the assault in Morningside Heights – outside Butler Library – at 6:10 p.m. on Wednesday, cops said.

The attack occurred when the victim confronted the woman after watching her tear down flyers displaying the names and pictures of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas last weekend, according to the Columbia Daily Spectator, which first reported the attack.

The victim, who asked to be referred to as I.A. in an interview with The Spectator for fear of his safety, suffered minor injuries that include a bruised hand and broken ring finger.

I.A. will not be returning to campus for several days, and warned other Jewish and Israeli students about hostilities on campus as protests over the war continue.

“We were all kinds of shocked that this stuff can happen on our own campus, which should be a safe haven,” I.A. said.

That hasn’t been true for a long time.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Scalise Is Out, So the GOP Drama in the House Is Over, Right? “Kudos to Scalise for not lingering until the last possible moment before yielding to the inevitable. His hope that some of his colleagues might opt for the greater good rather than their delicate little feelings might be a bit Pollyanna-ish though.”

WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH GAZA?

OUCH: Build Back Better? Mortgage Rates Hit 20-Year High.

I’M OK WITH THIS: Big Tech Struggles to Turn AI Hype Into Profits.

AI often doesn’t have the economies of scale of standard software because it can require intense new calculations for each query. The more customers use the products, the more expensive it is to cover the infrastructure bills. These running costs expose companies charging flat fees for AI to potential losses.

Microsoft used AI from its partner OpenAI to launch GitHub Copilot, a service that helps programmers create, fix and translate code. It has been popular with coders—more than 1.5 million people have used it and it is helping build nearly half of Copilot users’ code—because it slashes the time and effort needed to program.

It has also been a money loser because it is so expensive to run.

ndividuals pay $10 a month for the AI assistant. In the first few months of this year, the company was losing on average more than $20 a month per user, according to a person familiar with the figures, who said some users were costing the company as much as $80 a month.

Microsoft and GitHub didn’t respond to requests for comment on whether the service is earning money.

Then it isn’t.

INITIATIVE: Ron DeSantis Leads, Authorizes Rescue of Floridians Stranded in Israel.

UGH: Verifying the Hamas Baby Beheading.

I CERTAINLY HOPE THIS IS TRUE: US Blocks Iran From Accessing $6 Billion Fund After Hamas Attack.

QUESTION ASKED AND (PARTLY) ANSWERED [VIP]: What the Hell Is Wrong with the People of Gaza? “Even if I were a Gazan in good standing, dedicated to the destruction of Israel, I imagine I’d be pretty upset if my local officials were tearing up the neighborhood’s water pipes to make weapons. Sure, ‘Kill the Jews’ and all that but I’d still like some fresh water for taking showers and cooking meals for my kids. Admittedly, I weigh these options as a bourgeois 21st-century man from middle America, and so I lack the fine moral perceptions of a Rashida Tlaib or a Hamas freedom fighter hacking the head off a Filipino guest worker with a garden hoe.”

MEGAN FOX: Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Depositions Reveal Terrifying Reality for Moms With Sick Kids.

WOW: Woke MSNBC loses 33% of primetime audience during coverage of the Israel Hamas war as it insists on publishing a joint death toll – while Fox and CNN see double-digit increases on viewing figures.

IT USUALLY IS: White House Cover-Up of Biden Classified Docs Scandal Worse Than Previously Thought.

CDR SALAMANDER: Gaza COA Decision Brief. “Like I said … [Israel’s promise that ‘Gaza will never return to what it was’] had me ditch two of the my three COA [Course of Action] from this weekend. If you wanted to know how it shifted, my most dovish COA is gone, and my most harsh COA is now the center of my Overton Window. A planner must try to align with CI and D&G as it is understood – not how he wishes it to be.”

Here they are:

COA-A: Germany 1945

• The Gaza Strip will be segmented and block by block, field by field, be demilitarized. Person by person will be identified biometrically with the primary goal to “de-Hamas” the entire population. Responsible leaders will be found to administer civil requirements. Zero tolerance for breaking the peace. Peaceful civilians can stay. Violence will result in non-subsidized exile or imprisonment followed by exile. (NB: the voluntary or involuntary exile of Gazans is a problem in all COA. If you look from London, to Sydney, to NYC, the West does not need to import any more of those who want to bring their sectarianism to the West. Any of these highlighted nations will suffice.) After appropriate security environment is achieved, transition to home rule for all but military or diplomatic areas can continue.

COA-B: Danzig 1945

• As with COA-A, the Gaza Strip will be segmented, etc. The exception here is the humane (as opposed to the rather brutal 45-47 depopulation of Danzig (now Gdansk)) depopulation of the Gaza Strip. As German Danzig is now Polish Gdansk – and Danzig will never be the same as it was – so too could Gaza no longer be non-Israeli. As German excesses (understatement) in WWII opened the window for otherwise unacceptable exile of an entire population, Hamas Gaza’s beheading of infants and Einsatzgruppen LARPing through neighboring kibbutzim has opened that window for Gaza. Israel suffered for decades terror from Gaza and in 2005 gave them a chance to be self-governing. Instead, they became a nest of death squads. An Israeli-annexed Gaza would not have that problem. COA-B is the entry level response if you want to make a statement to enemies that will last generations, while still maintaining humanity – especially if exile is subsidized. Per capita income in Gaza is $2,764. Upon exile with no right for return, each will receive $3,000 in three installments over three years; $9,000 total. Cost: ~$6 billion a year for three years, $18 billion total.

COA-C: Carthage

• Segmentation and subsidized exile as per COA-B, but no immediate Israeli settlement for 50-years. Inventory World Heritage Sites, religious sites that existed prior to 1950, and cemeteries. Protect and preserve. Level every other building in the Gaza Strip except for needed infrastructure and national security related locations. Allow the strip to rewild and turned to a nature preserve. Allow for a reevaluation of Gaza’s status in 2073. Want the lesson to be remembered? Want to make sure the threat does not return? Want to make Gaza unlike it was? That will do it, yet allow the nation of Israel to maintain its humanity.

If A) seemed too harsh for most people’s tastes on Sunday and C) seemed impossible, just remember that once an Overton Window begins to shift, it can move far, rapidly.

BREAKING: Israel Bombs Damascus Airport, Reportedly Preventing Iranian Foreign Minister, Weapons from Landing.

CRUEL BUT FAIR:

I’M FEELING IT: Bidenomics Has People More Stressed Out Than Obamanomics Ever Did. “Say, maybe Biden really is more accomplished than Obama.”

HATE ISN’T HATE WHEN IT’S DIRECTED AT THE CORRECT VICTIMS: SPLC Silent as Leftists Appear to Celebrate Hamas Terrorist Attacks Against Israel.

Students for Justice in Palestine, a U.S. pro-Palestinian group that has reportedly harassed Jews on college campuses, has organized a national “day of resistance” for Thursday. The organization’s document does not call for “peaceful protests” and only mentions peace in the context of condemning the Jewish state. “The occupation, the day to day and the existence of Israel is not peaceful; there is no ‘maintaining the peace’ with a violent settler state,” it reads.

The Anti-Defamation League expressed concerns about the Students for Justice in Palestine event. “Although these are all nonviolent tactics, they raise the real possibility of creating a hostile environment for Jewish students, and the confrontational spirit that permeates the toolkit raises the concern that these actions could lead to acts of harassment or vandalism targeting Jewish students and organizations,” the ADL Center on Extremism, an SPLC ally, wrote.

For its part, Hamas issued a “Declaration of General Mobilization” Tuesday, in what an expert warned was an “unambiguous call to arms” for supporters across the world.

This war started in Gaza but it doesn’t seem likely to stay there.

PAULA BOLYARD: The Propaganda Is Off the Charts. “Our job at PJ Media is to sort out fact from fiction and do our best to bring you the unvarnished truth. Even when it’s ugly, and we’re sickened at having to watch the videos of the massacre and report on the stories. Even when it documents unadulterated evil. And especially when the Real Journalists™ would have you focus on minor Republican Party squabbles rather than Joe Biden’s malfeasance in enabling Iran to fund Hamas’s terrorism.”

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Why downsizing will cost homeowners MORE: Soaring house prices and elevated mortgage rates mean retirees can no longer afford to move.

Downsizing has traditionally made sense for retirees looking to settle down and shore up their nest eggs for their later years.

But moving to a smaller home may no longer be a way for Americans to save money in the current market, experts warn.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has soared to 7.49 percent, according to latest data from lender Freddie Mac, while many homeowners are locked into much cheaper 2 or 3 percent deals on their current homes.

Meanwhile the number of smaller houses for sale has diminished in recent years, according to listing website Realtor.com – pushing up the price of the limited inventory on the market.

The number of properties for sale that measure 750 to 1,750 square feet – the size range people who are downsizing tend to purchase – has dropped by more than 50 percent since 2016, according to Realtor.com.
…
Downsizing is most expensive for those who are locked into historically low mortgage rates – and who would need to take out a loan on a smaller home.

They might not be able to afford to stay, either, as property taxes go nowhere but up on their appreciating homes.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH “SMELLY CAT?” Phillies Fans Get Needlessly Worked up Over the Atlanta Braves Organist’s Music Choices.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE JOE’S ABILITY TO F*** THINGS UP: Biden’s depletion of emergency oil stocks comes back into focus amid Israel-Hamas war, price surge.

Background: Well, Biden Screwed Us Forever on Another Damn Thing.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Even Now, Democrats Are Having a Hard Time Breaking Up With Their Terrorist Pals. “There isn’t any ambiguity in what’s going on in Israel. It shouldn’t be difficult to come up with a variety of ways to disparage and condemn Hamas and anyone who supports them. Unless, of course, you too support evil.”

WHEN THEY TELL YOU WHO THEY ARE, BELIEVE THEM: Democrats walk out as North Carolina House votes for resolution urging Congress to support Israel.

Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, led the debate as the NC House voted unanimously Tuesday for House Resolution 897. It urges Congress to support Israel in response to unprovoked attacks from terrorist group Hamas.

However, a group of 12 House Democrats walked out of the chamber rather than vote on the resolution. It passed, 104-0.

The official House record records the following Democrats as “not voting”: Rep. John Autry of Mecklenburg County; Rep. Amber Baker, Forsyth; Rep. Gloristine Brown, Pitt; Rep. Kanika Brown, Forsyth; Rep. Maria Cervania, Wake; Rep. Terence Everitt, Wake; Rep. Pricey Harrison, Guilford; Rep. Nasif Majeed, Mecklenburg; Rep. Marcia Morey, Durham; Rep. Renee Price, Orange; Rep. Diamond Staton-Williams, Cabarrus; and Rep. Julie von Haefen, Wake.

Gestures matter and those 12 Democrats certainly made one.

KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY: Hamas Calls for Global Pro-Terrorism Rallies on Friday.