<script data-pm-proxy="intercept"></script><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Christopher Messina, Enlightentaining Host of Messy Times]]></title><description><![CDATA[Ultimate Enlightentainment : My Robust Assertion of the Enduring Positive Value of Western Civilization]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TXk!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F746f4584-c299-4a59-b623-ca26a62c1143_1280x1280.png</url><title>Christopher Messina, Enlightentaining Host of Messy Times</title><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 20:37:25 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[christophermessina@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[christophermessina@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[christophermessina@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[christophermessina@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[I survived the Muslim attacks on 9/11 in NYC]]></title><description><![CDATA[Muslim terror organization CAIR developed school curriculum which denies that fact.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/i-survived-the-muslim-attacks-on</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/i-survived-the-muslim-attacks-on</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 29 Aug 2026 10:49:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I often wonder what America&#8217;s news landscape would look like if the <em>New York Post</em> did not exist and if the censorship depredations of the Obama-Biden Regime had succeeded in their efforts to quash &#8220;misinformation.&#8221;</p><p>It turns out that it would look like some weird blend of MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Communist News Network and the Muslim Brotherhood.</p><p>In that, it would look far too much like the lies taught in our schools. </p><blockquote><p>Council on American-Islamic Relations, the US&#8217;s largest Muslim charity, blamed the 9/11 terror attacks on the country&#8217;s &#8220;support of Israel&#8221; and accused it of &#8220;state-sponsored Islamophobia&#8221; in its aftermath,<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcbw8fJmiWa/?img_index=1__;!!F0Stn7g!DaJuzgQDP2yjOJNIPkxNj1XEPOCV49myyVaZOqhdkzeX8oVxv0sbSdpDksZfVDClNHhyVuAeXsf1gMgrt0tNumg$"> according to since-deleted back-to-school material.</a></p><p>The embattled nonprofit released its annual &#8220;Back to school resource guide&#8221; for K-12 students Monday, containing a link outlining the outrageous claims &#8211; but it was inexplicably yanked a day later.</p><p>Screenshots obtained by The Post show the 16-page guide linked to a page that claimed the devastating Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans were masterminded not by Islamic terrorists but a &#8220;group self-identifying as Al Quaeda hailing from the mountains of Afghanistan.&#8221;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BJs5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BJs5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BJs5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BJs5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BJs5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BJs5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png" width="629" height="344" 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/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BJs5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BJs5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BJs5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F387d53d6-ce6a-4fe6-8aaa-8c0e7e0b4fd5_629x344.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div></blockquote><p>You get the gist. The usual set of lies these evil bastards peddle all day long.</p><p>The more time that passes from 9/11, this new generation of kids will learn to blame our country if we allow these Islamist terrorists to push their twisted lies. </p><p>While glibly glossing over the Islamic terror responsible for the devastation of 9/11, CAIR&#8217;s materials shifted focus to the aftermath, which they claim led to &#8220;the rise in hate crimes and discrimination against American Muslim and perceived- Muslim communities.&#8221;  It is the exact playbook used in the UN Report on the atrocities committed by Gazans and UNRWA workers on 7 October 2023 which begins with a sentence which says, &#8220;On October 8, 2023, Israel invaded Gaza.&#8221; </p><p>If you were unaware, Evil has a face and wears a tie.  I guess that is &#8220;traditional Muslim garb,&#8221; so I should be concerned about people attacking me when I am anywhere in America on the way to a business meeting.  Here is the treasonous criminal scumbag named Nihad Awad, who is the Executive Director of this America-hating cesspool of evil. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!R0cJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F386ae39f-9bb4-4687-b41f-6d7534e6117b_570x516.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!R0cJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F386ae39f-9bb4-4687-b41f-6d7534e6117b_570x516.png 424w, 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/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F386ae39f-9bb4-4687-b41f-6d7534e6117b_570x516.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!R0cJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F386ae39f-9bb4-4687-b41f-6d7534e6117b_570x516.png" width="570" height="516" 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/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F386ae39f-9bb4-4687-b41f-6d7534e6117b_570x516.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!R0cJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F386ae39f-9bb4-4687-b41f-6d7534e6117b_570x516.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!R0cJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F386ae39f-9bb4-4687-b41f-6d7534e6117b_570x516.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!R0cJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F386ae39f-9bb4-4687-b41f-6d7534e6117b_570x516.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The Face of Pure Evil:  Nihad Awad, CAIR Executive Director</figcaption></figure></div><p>I went to CAIR&#8217;s Instagram account and found this gem:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png" width="715" height="319" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:319,&quot;width&quot;:715,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:134988,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/i/213259192?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_tub!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F29417a51-0a11-46b3-b3ee-ce0798a47b11_715x319.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>I assume Maggie will tell these evil Jew Hating America-Hating terrorists to go pound <em>Shari&#8217;ah</em> sand.  Why on earth should she apologize when this is what Kabul and Tehran turned into after radical Islamists hell-bent on medieval domination came to power?  If she is too busy telling the truth to her followers to bother to apologize for telling the truth, I&#8217;ll volunteer to tell Nihad to take his curriculum of lies and shove it up his ass.  </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg" width="500" height="750" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:750,&quot;width&quot;:500,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Women in Traditional Burqas in Afghanistan &#183; Free Stock Photo&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Women in Traditional Burqas in Afghanistan &#183; Free Stock Photo" title="Women in Traditional Burqas in Afghanistan &#183; Free Stock Photo" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!P7AJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb450ac0d-08f7-4dc0-91d9-0809e5712fa4_500x750.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg" width="764" height="435" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:435,&quot;width&quot;:764,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;To mask or not to mask? - American Thinker&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="To mask or not to mask? - American Thinker" title="To mask or not to mask? - American Thinker" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!miuG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4385ebda-f28a-468b-9ba4-93bc438c5655_764x435.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Demanding the abolition of an evil oppressive ideology is called Justice here in the United States.  Beyond the rational States of Texas and Florida naming it specifically as a terror organization, CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in Federal terror trials.</p><p>Nihad and his group are feeding American children an ocean of lies on the daily, as is permitted explicitly under Islam&#8217;s belief that lying to the apostate is A-OK with their version of the Heavenly Big Guy.</p><p>You know, these AI tools are getting pretty wonderful.  I asked my system to &#8220;show me Nihad Awad&#8217;s true face&#8221; and it complied instantly.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg" width="1024" height="1024" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1024,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:494096,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/i/213259192?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DApx!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5137870-b545-4f13-92e3-b4812870eccf_1024x1024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">CAIR&#8217;s Nihad Awad when seen through a True Nature Filter.</figcaption></figure></div><p>Kind of looks like Zohran Mamdani, doesn&#8217;t it?  </p><p>Be careful out there. Vote accordingly and demand these bastards be held to account for their lies, while you still can. </p><p>There have been 70,000 acts of Muslim terror globally since the Iranian revolution.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> CAIR will tell you that Islam is &#8220;the religion of Peace.&#8221; Uh-huh. The world sure will be peaceful when everyone they disagree with is dead.</p><blockquote><p><span>While 9/11 was the greatest attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor, Islamic terrorist attacks have been occurring worldwide since the seventh century.</span></p><p><span>Nearly 70,000 Islamic terrorist attacks occurred worldwide in the last 45 years, according</span> <strong><a href="https://www.fondapol.org/app/uploads/2024/10/enquete-terrorisme_2021_gb_2024-09-30_w.pdf">to an analysis</a></strong> <span>by the French think tank Fondation Pour L&#8217;Innovation Politique (Fondapol), which focuses on European integration and a free economy.</span></p><p><span>Fondapol&#8217;s data covers the timeframe after the Iranian Revolution ended in February 1979 through April 2024. It found that at least 66,872 Islamic terrorist attacks occurred during this period, killing at least 249,941 people.</span></p></blockquote><p>I survived the attacks on 9/11 and cannot <em>believe </em>that idiot New Yorkers elected a Jew Hating, America-Hating terror-lover currently pretending to be a Socialist only as long as it takes for his followers to get enough power to kill all the Jews and turn America into their dystopian caliphate.</p><p>Mamdani and Awad masturbate to photoshopped images showing women in burkas stepping over Jewish corpses in the streets of Manhattan.</p><p>Pay attention. CAIR is the American branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist terror organization <em><strong>which is banned in most Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. </strong></em></p><p>Only stupid Westerners permit these demons to operate under the illusion that &#8220;tolerance&#8221; is a more sacred right than protecting citizens from a stated evil ideology that says explicitly it wants to dominate our currently free societies.  </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/i-survived-the-muslim-attacks-on?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/i-survived-the-muslim-attacks-on?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_ef050358-9d5a-432b-addf-a9e899490668.html </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Yotam Budnik won a gold medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics in Uzbekistan]]></title><description><![CDATA[The judges then disqualified his achievement, removed his name from the winners&#8217; list and scrubbed it from the website because, wait for it, he&#8217;s Jewish.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/yotam-budnik-won-a-gold-medal-at</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/yotam-budnik-won-a-gold-medal-at</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:33:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If all of you non-Jews out there think this is not your problem, just you wait. They always start with the Jews, but they never end with the Jews. </p><p><span>Once again, I am delighted to thank the astute</span><strong><span> </span><a href="/__u/substack.com/@breakfreewithkarenhunt"><span>Karen Hunt</span></a><span> </span></strong><span>for bringing this to my attention.</span></p><blockquote><p><a href="/__u/khmezek.substack.com/"><span data-color="#0000ff" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Break Free Media</span></a></p><h4>PLEASE HELP MAKE THIS YOUNG MAN FAMOUS</h4><p>Yotam Budnik, a 12th-grade student from Rehovot [Israel], just won a gold medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics in Uzbekistan but was not allowed to compete under the Israeli flag.</p><p>When Yotam was awarded his medal he stepped onto the podium, pulled an Israeli flag out of his pocket and wore it in defiance of the Anti-Semitic discrimination.</p><p>While the medal was revoked from him for his courage, he has no regrets</p><p>&#8220;The law that prevents me from waving the flag is based only on politics, and I thought there was no place for that in a scientific competition&#8221;, he said.</p><p>The organizers demanded that he return his medal.</p><p>Yotam said no.</p><p>Organizers took away his certificate and removed his ranking from the website.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg" width="492" height="630.4888888888889" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1384,&quot;width&quot;:1080,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:492,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vUJr!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4fb22f94-2eb9-4458-aa17-8ddb34894ea8_1080x1384.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div></blockquote><p>Aside from the evil and the absurdity, I ask you to ponder the puerility of supposed &#8220;adults&#8221; who throw a public temper tantrum and try to strip a teenager of his hard-won intellectual and competitive accomplishments, all because not only is he Jewish but he dares to celebrate that, rather than be ashamed of it. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png" width="1065" height="636" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:636,&quot;width&quot;:1065,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:692841,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/i/211987427?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OgzG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6838fb3c-8b15-4a9b-a34c-67c9da1fde46_1065x636.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Please just pause and dwell on the fact that &#8220;adults&#8221; in Uzbekistan so loathe Jews that they tried to take away a gold medal they had just awarded, then, thwarted in that ridiculous act of petty vengeance at being embarrassed on the world stage by Yotam&#8217;s sneaking an Israeli flag onto the winners&#8217; podium, ripped up his certificate and took the time to erase his name on the website. </p><blockquote><p>&#8220;They decided it was horrible and wanted to take it [the gold medal] just in case, but I knew that if they tried to take it by force it would already be considered a crime, so I just told them &#8216;no&#8217;,&#8221; Budnik told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.</p><p>&#8220;The medal is still in my pocket. The achievement is mine and thanks to myself, their official disqualification doesn&#8217;t mean much.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;During the entire time on stage, my legs were shaking from the stress, but as soon as I waved it, I had no more dilemmas,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I looked at the audience and looked for reactions, but I didn&#8217;t even hear boos. I just smiled and was happy.&#8221;<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a></p></blockquote><p>That is a young man driven to be brave in the face of hostility, standing alone, violating the absurd rules put forward by Jew Hating scum.  I am proud of him, but profoundly angry that he had to be brave at all in this circumstance, which is an international competition for academic achievement. </p><p>Hannah Arendt wrote about the banality of evil.</p><p>I&#8217;m thinking I&#8217;ve got a book in me, demanding to be let out, called <em>The Puerility of Evil. </em></p><p>Sadly, this event will not be Chapter One.</p><p> </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/yotam-budnik-won-a-gold-medal-at?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/yotam-budnik-won-a-gold-medal-at?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>Israeli student stripped of gold medal at computer Olympiad after waving flag on podium - The Jewish Chronicle / https://www.thejc.com/news/world/israeli-student-stripped-gold-medal-computer-olympiad-waving-flag-il28hhij </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[War should always be for complete victory]]></title><description><![CDATA[Anything else against a wildly dangerous enemy the West doesn't understand is a pointless gesture of futile surrender.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/war-should-always-be-for-complete</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/war-should-always-be-for-complete</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:44:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>President Trump&#8217;s initial instincts were correct when the war against the Iranian mullahs began - finally, after 47 years of their oppressive evil and global terror - in January of this year.  </p><p>But his stop-and-start actions since then and his repeated &#8220;FINAL WARNINGS&#8221; on Truth Social, without letting the Marines and Special Operations forces off the leash to take Kharg Island and hunt the IRGC and mullahs throughout Iran in support of the people who want to breathe free means the totalitarian bastards are doing what they have always done which is hunker down, absorb losses and wait out the Administration.  </p><p>It would seem that all the stars have aligned to excise this terror-funding cancer from humanity once and for all.  Iran shot more missiles at the UAE than at Israel during the last few months, and is generally threatening all their Arab neighbors.  So perhaps for the first time in 47 years, the opportunity exists for Israel, her Arab neighbors and the USA to act in coordinated fashion to remove the psychotic regime in Tehran. </p><p>Yet Trump not only hesitates, but allows his Vice President to waste hours of time on podcasts, musing publicly about Israel interfering with and influencing US policy and actions.  The mullahs are adept at playing the West for fools and all of these blusters and public signs of dissension and disarray make them very happy.</p><p>A fine indication of the Iranian regime&#8217;s disdain for Trump&#8217;s Truth Social approach to waging war was reported a few days ago:</p><blockquote><h1><strong>Iranian parliament bill would ban US, Israeli ships from Strait of Hormuz</strong></h1><p>By <a href="https://nypost.com/author/caitlin-doornbos/"><span>Caitlin Doornbos</span></a></p><p><span>Published Aug. 6, 2026, 7:01 p.m. ET, </span><em><span>New York Post</span></em></p><p>WASHINGTON &#8212; Iran&#8217;s parliament is weighing a sweeping new law that would block ships from the US, Israel and other &#8220;hostile&#8221; nations from <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/03/world-news/oman-emerges-as-possible-power-broker-as-iran-sidesteps-us-in-strait-showdown/">sailing through the Strait of Hormuz</a>, according to Tehran&#8217;s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.</p><p>The proposed legislation, dubbed the &#8220;Strategic Action for the Security and Sustainable Development of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf,&#8221; is under review by parliament&#8217;s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Tasnim reported.</p><p>Abbas Salimi, a member of parliament&#8217;s presiding board, told the IRGC-aligned outlet that lawmakers are reviewing the draft bill before it moves forward.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg" width="602" height="400.94140625" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/dab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:682,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:602,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Iranian Parliament session with lawmakers holding red religious flags.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Iranian Parliament session with lawmakers holding red religious flags." title="Iranian Parliament session with lawmakers holding red religious flags." srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iqCU!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdab572dc-0c18-4d2e-920d-f1066ccd677e_1024x682.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The Iranian parliament is considering a bill to ban US and Israeli ships from the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian media. <span>ZUMAPRESS.com</span></figcaption></figure></div><p>Under the proposal, ships belonging to the United States, Israel and other nations Tehran designates as hostile would be barred from transiting the strategic waterway &#8212; a passage point for roughly a fifth of the world&#8217;s oil supply.</p><p>The bill would also prohibit <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/04/us-news/us-may-have-deal-with-iran-to-reopen-strait-of-hormuz-today-or-tomorrow-bessent-says/">military and civilian cargo accused of supporting Israel</a> from coming through the Strait.</p><p>The legislation would go even further by allowing Iran to deny passage to countries and individuals it blames for causing damage to Tehran until compensation is paid, according to Tasnim.</p><p>Violators could face steep penalties, including fines of up to 20% of a ship&#8217;s cargo value &#8212; which could amount to tens of millions of dollars.</p><p>The US is likely to outright reject the Iranian law if passed, as Washington and most of the world considers the strait an international waterway open to ships of all countries.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg" width="582" height="387.62109375" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:682,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:582,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Two ships are anchored off Dubai at sunset.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Two ships are anchored off Dubai at sunset." title="Two ships are anchored off Dubai at sunset." srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT84!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd57a23a2-5d88-4dd5-acd7-30ba9554bd63_1024x682.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The proposed bill would also ban any ships accused of providing aid to Israel. <span>AFP via Getty Images</span></figcaption></figure></div><p>The proposal comes as Tehran seeks to tighten its grip over the Strait of Hormuz after months of war with the United States brought shipping levels down to just a fraction of pre-war traffic.</p><p>The legislation also comes as Iran and Oman negotiate a separate framework for <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/05/us-news/us-nears-temporary-deal-with-iran-to-open-strait-of-hormuz-and-it-doesnt-include-tolls-report/">managing maritime traffic through the strait</a>, possibly creating one temporary, central shipping lane jointly managed by the two countries.</p></blockquote><p>These are not the actions of a nation trembling in fear over another blistering social media post from a President whose own War Department is allowing published reports of the exhaustion of our armaments supply. </p><p>Trump has the opportunity to do something no President since the feckless Jew Hating Jimmy Carter has been able to do which is remove the Islamist terror regime from around the Iranians&#8217; necks.  Properly governed, Iran would become an economic and cultural powerhouse, rather than continuing its ruinous path of murdering its own citizens while spending all its money buying bombs for evil lunatics from Gaza to Latin America to blow up Jews. </p><p>But he hesitates to push forward with the unique set of historical gifts this moment in time has offered him. </p><p>The American Left have become a pack of pusillanimous traitors fed by billions of Qatari jihadist dollars and Communist-inspired street mobs, while too many Republicans have bought into the belief that isolationism is better than dealing with the harsh demands of <em>realpolitik.  </em></p><p>I can only hope some gear shifts in the Administration so that we rectify the error of Jimmy Carter in ever allowing the damned Ayatollah to return to Iran from exile in the first place.  </p><p>The whole Gulf region and the whole world will be better off without this Iranian regime in power.  Ideally, I see a world in which one could do a leisurely drive from Tel Aviv to Tehran without encountering anything more dangerous than one would driving from Lisbon to Budapest. </p><p>That world is possible, if only Trump pushes down the correct path.  If he fails to grasp this moment, who knows how many more years or decades of dealing with Iranian-funded Islamist terror lies ahead for us all?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/war-should-always-be-for-complete?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/war-should-always-be-for-complete?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Philip Cohen would be 85 today]]></title><description><![CDATA[I am thinking about him and what his life should have been.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/philip-cohen-would-be-85-today</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/philip-cohen-would-be-85-today</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 09 Aug 2026 11:40:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg" width="1456" height="1943" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/eb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1943,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kp4p!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb733793-7bd0-4b63-b592-c63146446ee5_1535x2048.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><em>I would like to thank <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Karen Hunt&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:18565897,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/65c39b06-7e55-41dc-9ff0-47a704679333_528x528.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;273160a0-d187-411f-ac31-69aa65464ddd&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> for posting this today:</em></p><blockquote><p>It feels like the world has gone mad. We learn nothing. This hatred should have ended. Yet it is worse than ever.</p><p>So much sorrow.</p></blockquote><p>&#8220;Philip Cohen | Died Sobibor, June 1943</p><p>1941 &#8211; 1943</p><p>Philip Cohen was 2 years old, born in 1941 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.</p><p>He was the youngest of the large Cohen family &#8212; brother to Samuel, Simon, Mozes, Miriam, Hannah, Judith, Abraham, and Lea Cohen.</p><p>Philip was born under occupation and never knew life without the yellow star.</p><p>From age 1 he wore the star on his tiny coat.</p><p>He was too young to understand why he could not play outside.</p><p>In spring 1943 the Cohen family was arrested during a razzia and sent to Kamp Vught.</p><p>Philip was placed in the toddler group in the children&#8217;s barracks.</p><p>His older sisters took turns holding him at night.</p><p>On 6 June 1943 Philip was carried onto the children&#8217;s transport to Westerbork.</p><p>On 8 June 1943 he was deported to Sobibor.</p><p>He arrived on 11 June 1943 after three days of crying and thirst.</p><p>Murdered on arrival, Philip was killed at age 2.</p><p>He was murdered the same day as his eight siblings and cousins.</p><p>We remember Philip Cohen.</p><p>Never Forget &#8220;</p><p>David Attenborough</p><div><hr></div><p>I publish this knowing it will be delightful pornography to &#8220;people&#8221; like that evil scum Zohran Mamdani, his nasty terror-loving wife Ruma Duwaji, brother-marrying immigration-law fraudster Ilhan Omar and the Michigan Democrats&#8217; most recent choice for US f*&amp;#ing <em>Senator </em>and Muslim Brotherhood member Abdulrahman Al-Sayed. </p><p>I publish it to make sure no one looks away from a 2-year-old boy&#8217;s pointless suffering and murder as well as the modern celebration of this very same evil by all the idiots marching in the streets screaming &#8220;from the river to the sea&#8221; or who claim - insanely, against all empirical data - that a democratically-elected government defending its people against terrorism is &#8220;committing genocide&#8221; on the Fakestinian excuse for a society that spawns the terrorists and has only increased in population since this so-called &#8220;genocide&#8221; was supposed to have begun. </p><p>I publish it to remember little Philip who cried locked in a cattle car for three days without water or food, holding his sister&#8217;s hand and his teddy bear, only to be killed by the same &#8220;brave&#8221; kind of people who murdered the little Bibas brothers snatched from their homes and abducted into Gaza with their mother Shiri.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg" width="505" height="675" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:675,&quot;width&quot;:505,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:105903,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Coffin with Shiri Bibas allegedly returned to Israel | Fox News&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Coffin with Shiri Bibas allegedly returned to Israel | Fox News" title="Coffin with Shiri Bibas allegedly returned to Israel | Fox News" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MoSn!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb18407d1-0b57-4ae5-82dd-ea4bc98cfd9c_505x675.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The Fakestinian scum in Gaza - meaning every single one of them - had a celebratory parade with expensive printed banners showing the world proudly their tiny little coffins before their evil enablers at the Red Cross ferried them back home to Israel. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg" width="1280" height="640" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:640,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Hamas&#8217;s Coffin Parade in Gaza - WSJ&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Hamas&#8217;s Coffin Parade in Gaza - WSJ" title="Hamas&#8217;s Coffin Parade in Gaza - WSJ" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s-Gb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd570ae9-d5ae-44ac-ad98-00dcca0b7caa_1280x640.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><em>This </em>is what traitors like Fakestinian Rashida Tlaib <em>love </em>to see.</p><p>The moral portions of humanity should wake up, take note and take action to keep evil scum like her and this slick bastard Abulrahman Mohamed Al-Sayed from power. </p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/philip-cohen-would-be-85-today?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/philip-cohen-would-be-85-today?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[December 2022 Reminder: Sam Bankman-Fried; Who gave this twerp money?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Four excellent guests on Messy Times provide invaluable perspectives on the FTX fraud.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/december-2022-reminder-sam-bankman</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/december-2022-reminder-sam-bankman</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 26 Jul 2026 18:12:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EDpt!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F45c40dd3-39e1-4946-b037-fb7c5d6bc2bb_511x515.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<h4>I am reposting this piece from 8 December 2022 because this colossal scumbag Sam Bankman-Fried is lobbying<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> the Trump Administration for a pardon.  While there is no current information suggesting he&#8217;ll get one, I thought I&#8217;d remind everyone that this product of the Democrat-fundraising machine stole <em>billions </em>of dollars from American investors. </h4><p>Ponder if you will the supposedly &#8220;smart&#8221; people that gave these two stoned children billions of dollars with zero due diligence. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EDpt!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F45c40dd3-39e1-4946-b037-fb7c5d6bc2bb_511x515.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EDpt!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F45c40dd3-39e1-4946-b037-fb7c5d6bc2bb_511x515.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EDpt!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F45c40dd3-39e1-4946-b037-fb7c5d6bc2bb_511x515.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EDpt!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, 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/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F11bbfcd9-d3d3-48c1-a829-7db39e1ac059_507x452.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!B2RG!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F11bbfcd9-d3d3-48c1-a829-7db39e1ac059_507x452.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div id="youtube2-y77uUE-nmpc" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;y77uUE-nmpc&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/y77uUE-nmpc?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p>If you care at all about justice and a functioning economy, including capital markets the average person can trust, please drop the White House a note to add your voice to the chorus telling the President that this little scumbag Sam should rot in prison for the full 25 years of his sentence. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Christopher Messina, Messy Times&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Christopher Messina, Messy Times</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p></p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/08/sam-bankman-fried-requests-trump-pardon/90463590007/ </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Don't Ever Quit. From Green Beret to Kalashnikov USA CEO.]]></title><description><![CDATA[When asked his opinion on those Special Operations candidates who go from qualifying for training induction all the way through to graduation and deployment, US Army Colonel (ret.) Joshua Potter says, "3 simple words.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/dont-ever-quit-from-green-beret-to</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/dont-ever-quit-from-green-beret-to</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:33:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/207943104/0d0d4921a19daeb05e2ab4717ba4cf28.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span>When asked his opinion on those Special Operations candidates who go from qualifying for training induction all the way through to graduation and deployment, US Army Colonel (ret.) Joshua Potter says, "3 simple words. Don't. Ever. Quit." </span></p><p><span>Have a listen to Josh's story from the Pacific Northwest to West Point, through multiple deployments, to his time at SOCOM (Special Operations Command) and onto his current role as CEO of Kalashnikov USA.</span></p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/dont-ever-quit-from-green-beret-to?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/dont-ever-quit-from-green-beret-to?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Every few generations, the world finds a reason to feed Jewish communities into the fire.]]></title><description><![CDATA[The excuse changes. The choice never does.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/every-few-generations-the-world-finds</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/every-few-generations-the-world-finds</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:08:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HwAR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7082fa5a-7910-494a-8c81-5aa9385de48f_1024x1024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;Bad artists borrow.  Good artists steal.&#8221;  - Oscar Wilde</p><p><strong><a href="/__u/substack.com/@thelionesswrites"><span>Melissa Brodsky</span></a><span> </span></strong><span>is one of my favorite writers.</span></p><p><span>Her Substack, </span><strong><a href="/__u/melissabrodsky.substack.com/"><span>The Lioness Writes</span></a><span>, </span></strong><span>is indispensable reading. To widen her reach, I have republished her recent piece below </span><em><span>in toto.</span></em><span> Please consider subscribing to her directly. </span></p><div><hr></div><p>Every few generations, the world finds a reason to feed Jewish communities into the fire. A plague, a crusade, a war, a peace table nobody&#8217;s willing to sit at. The excuse changes. The choice never does.</p><p>In 63 BCE, Pompey&#8217;s conquest of Jerusalem killed 12,000 Jews and scattered the survivors across the Roman empire. That&#8217;s the opening chapter, not an isolated one. In 1096, Crusaders slaughtered thousands of Jews in the Rhineland before they&#8217;d even reached the enemy they claimed to be fighting. Practice, basically. The violence that followed over the next few centuries was so relentless that modern DNA analysis shows the entire Ashkenazi Jewish population got crushed down to roughly 350 surviving founders. Three hundred fifty. That&#8217;s how close the world came to finishing what it kept starting.</p><p>By 1290, England didn&#8217;t need a mob. King Edward I banished all 16,000 Jews in the country by royal decree and kept their property. Clean and legal.</p><p>During the Black Death, Europe needed someone to blame for a disease it didn&#8217;t understand, so it picked the same people it always picks. Over 900 were burned alive in Strasbourg alone. Nobody needed proof. They just needed a target.</p><p>Spain took that same impulse and built an institution out of it. Starting in the 1480s, the Spanish Inquisition tortured and executed thousands of Jews who had converted to Christianity, on suspicion that the conversion wasn&#8217;t sincere. Then in 1492 came the Alhambra Decree: up to 200,000 Jews forced out of the only home many of their families had ever known, with countless deaths along the way. Spain didn&#8217;t just want Jews gone. It wanted to punish the ones who&#8217;d tried to stay by becoming someone else.</p><p>A century and a half later, Cossack uprisings tore through Ukraine and Poland. Between 1648 and 1657, the Khmelnytsky massacres killed somewhere between 15,000 and 100,000 Jews, wiping entire communities off the map. Historians still argue about where it ranks, but many call it the worst massacre of Jews before the twentieth century.</p><p>The next round didn&#8217;t come with torches. It came with paperwork. In 1894, France convicted Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, of treason on fabricated evidence, because it was easier to believe a Jew did it than to admit the real traitor was a gentile officer protected by the military&#8217;s own leadership. The country split over it for more than a decade. Watching it unfold helped convince Theodor Herzl that Jews would never be safe as a minority, no matter how assimilated, no matter how loyal, no matter how French they tried to be.</p><p>In 1903, a rumor that Jews had murdered a Christian child for ritual purposes sparked the Kishinev pogrom in the Russian Empire. Around 49 people were killed. The rumor was false. The bodies weren&#8217;t. It became an international scandal and pushed another wave of Jews toward the exits, toward America, toward anywhere that wasn&#8217;t there.</p><p>Then came a decision that changed the trajectory of Jews forever. In 1941, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem sat across from Hitler in Berlin and asked him to finish the job in the Arab world too. That same year, British officials were turning refugee ships back toward the continent that was murdering their passengers, because keeping Arab leadership calm mattered more than keeping Jews alive. A government had the power to save people and used it to send them back instead.</p><p>That decision didn&#8217;t end with the war. It became the blueprint. When Israel was founded in 1948, close to a million Jews were forced out of homes their families had lived in for a thousand years, across a dozen countries, in the span of a few years. Baghdad. Tripoli. Cairo. The Farhud killed roughly 180 Jews in Baghdad in 1941. The Tripolitania pogroms killed more than 140 in Libya in 1945. Nobody called it ethnic cleansing at the time. They called it politics.</p><p>The world kept obliging. After 1967, Arab states formalized their refusal to even acknowledge Israel&#8217;s right to exist. After 1973, they wouldn&#8217;t sit in the same room as Israeli negotiators, so terms got carried by plane, back and forth, for weeks, because direct contact with Jews at a table was apparently too much to ask. Nobody in power called that out for what it was. They called it diplomacy and kept the seats separated.</p><p>Every time the world had a choice between confronting the people making threats and handing over the people with no leverage, it picked the second option. Across two thousand years, across a dozen governments and religions and excuses, the choice barely changed. People kept choosing the easy sacrifice over the hard fight, generation after generation, and calling it stability.</p><p>This isn&#8217;t ancient history that stopped mattering. This bad habit never disappeared. </p><p>It just stopped needing torches.  </p><p></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HwAR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7082fa5a-7910-494a-8c81-5aa9385de48f_1024x1024.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HwAR!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7082fa5a-7910-494a-8c81-5aa9385de48f_1024x1024.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HwAR!, 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y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Melissa&#8217;s biggest fan,</figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/every-few-generations-the-world-finds?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" 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length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I love living in the Last Free State in America, Florida. As all <em>legal </em>immigrants do, my fervor is more robust than some of the natives because I came here from the belly of the Marxist beast, the Peoples&#8217; Republic of NewYorkistan. The never-ending stupidity of Democrats to tax their productive citizens until they leave is astonishing. </p><p>As the Democrat party lurches further into full Communist mandates, state by state, businesses are leaving to move to friendlier climes.  </p><p>Ari Hoffman wrote a piece<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> today about the results of his freedom of information requests from his home State of Washington, regarding the tax increases that are now pummeling the people.   He found that the Governor and legislator had been provided ample warning by the business community that raising taxes would cause people to flee Washington, thereby reducing any tax receipts they were planning on getting from higher taxes.</p><p>Politicians are some of the stupidest people on the planet.  <em><strong>Despite being told that layoffs and business closures in Washington would happen with higher taxes, they effectively shoved their fingers in their ears and refused to believe it.</strong></em></p><blockquote><p>By the time of the April 15 meeting at Starbucks headquarters, [Governor] Ferguson&#8217;s own staff had documented the scale of the company&#8217;s flight from Washington.</p><p>Two rounds of corporate and retail layoffs had affected nearly 1,300 Washington workers. Almost 40 stores had permanently closed.</p><p>Employment at Starbucks&#8217; Seattle headquarters had fallen from roughly 3,750 workers in 2023 to about 2,800.</p><p>The records also showed [Starbucks CEO] Niccol identified public safety around Starbucks&#8217; Seattle headquarters as a major concern.</p><p>That prompted another public-records request. Was Starbucks an isolated case?</p><p>It wasn&#8217;t.</p><p>T-Mobile had also written lawmakers warning that Washington&#8217;s expanded sales tax on advertising services punished companies for keeping headquarters jobs in the state.</p><p>&#8220;Companies headquartered in Washington, with marketing teams or decision makers located here, incur this tax,&#8221; CEO Srini Gopalan wrote. &#8220;Companies headquartered outside Washington do not.&#8221;</p><p>The company warned that the tax created &#8220;an unintended competitive disadvantage for companies that choose to headquarter and employ workers in our state.&#8221;</p><p>Lawmakers left the tax in place.</p><p>T-Mobile has laid off nearly 400 Washington employees while continuing to expand campuses in Kansas, Texas and Georgia.</p><p>Before meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Ferguson received another briefing memo discussing obstacles to <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/25/sports/nba-votes-to-open-seattle-las-vegas-expansion-bids-in-possible-20b-boon/">bringing the Seattle SuperSonics home.</a></p><p>Among the anticipated topics were the income tax affecting the recruitment of top players and questions about whether Seattle remained an attractive place for investors after prominent businesses and leaders relocated to Florida.</p><p>Major employers weren&#8217;t blindsiding the governor and lawmakers with announcements after decisions had already been made.</p><p>They were warning state leaders, in writing, that Democrats&#8217; tax policy was making Washington less competitive.</p><p>The governor knew. His staff knew. Lawmakers knew.</p><p>The conversations were happening. The warnings were delivered. The concerns were documented.</p><p>The public simply wasn&#8217;t part of them.</p><p>Seattle-area startups raised just $2.7 billion across 163 venture-capital deals during the first half of 2026, down about 40% from $4.5 billion across 210 deals a year earlier.</p><p>Among the nation&#8217;s 10 largest venture-capital markets, Seattle fell from fifth to seventh in dollars invested and ranked last in deal count during that time.</p><p>Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Oracle and other Seattle-area tech companies have eliminated tens of thousands of Washington jobs since January.</p><p>Seattle office vacancy sits at roughly 37%, and statewide unemployment is 5.2%, a full percentage point above the national average.</p><p>Washington&#8217;s largest employers repeatedly warned state leaders that higher taxes would make the state less competitive.</p><p>Those warnings weren&#8217;t ignored because officials never heard them. They were ignored because they didn&#8217;t care.</p><p>And now Washington is paying the price.</p></blockquote><p>Every Democrat-run state is following the same tax-us-into-bankruptcy playbook.  The Democrats who used to argue for workers getting more of the free market pie are now being captured by the insane nutcases of the Democratic Socialists of America, who are just Communists with a more marketing-friendly name. </p><p>This madness is not inevitable.  But if the bulk of Americans don&#8217;t put down their screens and quit watching TV for just a few hours a month to pay attention to local and national politicians&#8217; antics, the continued slide of the USA will accelerate. </p><p>After fifteen years of research and modeling, I published <a href="https://a.co/d/0hXCAk8E">my book</a> on fixing the fiscal mess of the bankrupt corporation known as the United States of America. </p><p>I&#8217;ve sold many copies, but I see no evidence of a change in direction.  DOGE was a good idea, but poorly implemented and half-assed.  It made a few good changes, a few ham-fisted ones and then rolled up stakes and vanished like the mist at dawn. </p><p>Logic dies where Politics begins.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://a.co/d/0hXCAk8E" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zIyu!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09211536-3506-461a-aff4-c4b908e81e72_3496x4960.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zIyu!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, 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/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09211536-3506-461a-aff4-c4b908e81e72_3496x4960.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zIyu!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09211536-3506-461a-aff4-c4b908e81e72_3496x4960.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zIyu!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09211536-3506-461a-aff4-c4b908e81e72_3496x4960.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zIyu!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09211536-3506-461a-aff4-c4b908e81e72_3496x4960.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p> Benjamin Franklin&#8217;s warning about the Founders bequeathing us a &#8220;Republic, if [we] can keep it,&#8221; is rarely taken to mean, &#8220;A free country if you idiots don&#8217;t tax your productive class into bankruptcy or flight,&#8221; but it should be the primary meaning for us all today.  </p><p><strong>Democrats love jobs and hate job creators.</strong></p><p>Once you grasp that, your voting choices should be a whole lot clearer.</p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/we-should-write-all-this-down-so?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/we-should-write-all-this-down-so?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>https://nypost.com/2026/07/20/opinion/my-state-of-washington-ignored-warnings-about-tax-hikes-and-now-were-paying-the-price/ </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Who physically does the Boy Rapper Mayor of New York believe will "arrest" Netanyahu?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Leaving aside his pure evil, this terror loving Jew Hater lives in a childish fantasy world.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/whp-physically-does-the-boy-rapper</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/whp-physically-does-the-boy-rapper</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 18 Jul 2026 21:42:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Does this Jew Hating idiot believe that NYPD cops are going to get into a shootout against Israeli and US federal security in trying to arrest the Prime Minister of Israel?  </p><blockquote><p>Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he&#8217;s desperately seeking a legal loophole <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/08/us-news/israeli-foreign-minister-laughs-off-mamdanis-threats-to-arrest-netanyahu/">to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a> for alleged war crimes when he visits in NYC in September.</p><p>The Pro-Palestine, Israel-hating, socialist pol said in an interview published Saturday that it&#8217;s unclear whether he has the authority to order the NYPD to arrest Netanyahu during the prime minister&#8217;s expected trip to the Big Apple for the UN General Assembly &#8211; but is in an &#8220;active conversation&#8221; with the city&#8217;s Law Department about the matter.</p><p>&#8220;I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/nyregion/mamdani-netanyahu-interview.html">Mamdani bluntly told The New York Times</a>, referring to the United Nations&#8217; International Court of Justice.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that it is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.&#8221;<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a></p></blockquote><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png" width="694" height="524" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:524,&quot;width&quot;:694,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:452548,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/i/207596469?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TLud!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce2c1ca3-b2e7-4437-a612-947515e06c38_694x524.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>In this delusional little shit&#8217;s hollow skull, what bizarre fantasies are playing out?  </p><p>He claims he&#8217;s trying to find a &#8220;legal loophole&#8221; to let a mere mayor of an American city become an arresting officer for the ICC, to which the USA is not a signatory. </p><p>Leaving aside that stupidity, <em>even if </em>he were to find such a &#8220;loophole,&#8221; does he think this is some clever theoretical game?  Does he think he&#8217;s going to present this wonderful legal loophole to - someone, I guess - and then Benjamin Netanyahu is going to surrender himself into the custody of a spoiled brat Ugandan Twelver Shiite whose family committed immigration fraud<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a> to become American citizens? </p><p>Does he really believe the city police department&#8217;s officers are going to attempt to physically detain a sitting Head of State, over a nothingburger of a &#8220;warrant&#8221; that the US federal government thinks is absurd?  Does he think the NYPD Police Commissioner is going to follow that order, if issued?  Does he think a single NYPD member would try to do something basically suicidal - careerwise, if not literally?  The PM travels with his own security who I can assure you are not going to let some random cop - or anyone, for that matter - lay hands on the Israeli head of state. </p><p>What I would <em>love </em>to see is for Zohran himself to attempt this &#8220;arrest&#8221; pursuant to an absurd &#8220;warrant&#8221; from the leftist Jew Haters in The Hague. Let&#8217;s see this pussy put his tough talk into action, if he so fervently believes Netanyahu should be arrested.    </p><p>That would be phenomenally fun theatre.  I hope the cameras are rolling when Israeli security beats the living shit out of him as he tries to grab Netanyahu to make the arrest.  It&#8217;d be fun to see the wide-angle view, too, as the NYPD and various US federal law enforcement stand around doing nothing while Zohran gets his face stomped in by Israelis.</p><p>I can only dream.  Pussies like Zohran never do their own thug enforcement, so my dream will remain just that.  </p><p>How did we get to such a simultaneously ridiculously unserious point that is also insanely dangerous because of the sheer public Jew Hatred it evinces that the mayor of an American city - New York or &#8220;Hymietown&#8221; as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton call it - is speaking publicly about trying to arrest the Prime Minister of Israel, an ally of the United States? </p><p>It&#8217;s beyond absurd.</p><p>Is this madness ground to revoke this evil little scumbag&#8217;s citizenship and send his terrorist Jew Hating ass back to Uganda?  Really.  When is enough going to be enough?</p><p>I hope Marco Rubio, Todd Blanche and Kash Patel are considering that question seriously. </p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/whp-physically-does-the-boy-rapper?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/whp-physically-does-the-boy-rapper?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>https://nypost.com/2026/07/18/us-news/zohran-mamdani-in-talks-over-arresting-benjamin-netanyahu-when-israel-pm-visits-nyc/ </p></div></div><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-2" href="#footnote-anchor-2" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">2</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>As his father preaches Jew Hatred and the destruction of the West as a Professor at Columbia, his mother is on the Qatari payroll alongside Hamas and he himself calls for the destruction of Israel and America via Communism, I assert they all have violated the oaths naturalized citizens must make swearing fealty to the USA and a renunciation of all treasonous actions against our nation. </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[John Paul II understood he was the leader of a Jewish spiritual movement.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Christians who hate Jews are basically spoiled children with extreme daddy issues.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/john-paul-ii-understood-he-was-the</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/john-paul-ii-understood-he-was-the</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 23:47:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Given the torrents of Jew Hatred which everyone seems suddenly free and happy to spew 24/7, I offer this brief golden nugget of knowledge in the face of a hurricane of evil stupidity.</p><p>There are so many flavors of Jew Hatred - and yet still so few Jews.  I have a few ideas as to why my Tribe lives rent-free in the heads of so many enraged morons, but that is a topic for another day.  Today I am focused on the Roman Catholic Church&#8217;s correction of the attitudes of their faithful regarding centuries of mistreatment of the Jews in their midst.   </p><p>Jew Hating Christians are a particular bafflement to me as the entire Christian religion is based on Jewish ethics, history and revelation.  All Christian dogma in the New Testament refers to how each event in the history of Jesus of Nazareth happened <em><strong>&#8220;in fulfilment of the Scriptures,&#8221;</strong></em> meaning the <em>Jewish </em>Scriptures. </p><p>One particular flavor is the bizarre idiocy of &#8220;Roman Catholics&#8221; who seem stuck in the Middle Ages and unaware of Pope Paul VI&#8217;s clear message in 1965 during the Second Vatican Council that the Jewish people were innocent back during the trial overseen by Roman Governor Pontius Pilate, and were certainly not hereditarily guilty of killing Jesus Christ. </p><p>Though not one of these numbskulls will bother to read this, I put it out into the universe anyway. Maybe one skull will get slightly less numb as a result. </p><p>This piece<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> is taken whole from InfoVaticana.   </p><h1 style="text-align: center;"><strong>John Paul II and our elder brothers (Jews)</strong></h1><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg" width="1000" height="563" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:563,&quot;width&quot;:1000,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;John Paul II and our elder brothers (Jews)&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="John Paul II and our elder brothers (Jews)" title="John Paul II and our elder brothers (Jews)" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ld3B!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc602f366-e82e-47b4-b57a-42943d8d4ab2_1000x563.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption"><em>Pope St. John Paul II is welcomed by the Rabbi Elio Toaff at Rome&#8217;s Synagogue on April 13, 1986 [Source: Vatican News]</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>by The Catholic Thing <span>|</span> April 21, 2026</p><p>By Stephen P. White</p><p>Forty years ago, Pope John Paul II made a historic visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome. He was the first bishop of Rome to visit a synagogue (though it is to be assumed that Peter, at least, showed up at one from time to time). John Paul&#8217;s visit, so laden with symbolism and historical importance, was much more than an occasion for &#8220;interreligious dialogue,&#8221; a phrase that sometimes can suggest a lowest common denominator approach to religious belief.</p><p>Much more than a &#8220;celebration of differences,&#8221; as current language might put it, this was an encounter of <strong>brothers</strong>, as Pope John Paul II famously expressed it on that occasion:</p><p><em>The Church of Christ discovers its &#8220;bond&#8221; with Judaism &#8220;by scrutinizing its own mystery&#8221;&#8230; The Jewish religion is not &#8220;extrinsic&#8221; to us, but in a certain way is &#8220;intrinsic&#8221; to our own religion. Therefore, with Judaism we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our preferred brothers and, in a certain sense, it could be said that you are our elder brothers.</em></p><p>As we know&#8212;or should know from history, the Scriptures, and perhaps from personal experience&#8212;the friendship between brothers can be something sublime. In the same way, few things are more bitter than enmity between brothers.</p><p>This affirmation of brotherhood between Christians and Jews is perhaps more significant than we might recognize at first glance.</p><p>Forty years ago (and 1986 was itself barely forty years after the end of World War II), for a pope to claim brotherhood with the Jewish people was an unequivocal gesture of reconciliation, of friendship. The fact that it came from a <strong>Polish pope</strong> made it all the more moving.</p><p>From John Paul II&#8217;s childhood home in Wadowice to the open gates of the &#8220;Golgotha of the modern world&#8221; (as he called the Nazi extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau) there are just under 18 miles. That enduring symbol of the Holocaust was in Karol Wojtyla&#8217;s native diocese, the diocese he himself led as archbishop before his election as pope.</p><p>The point is that the horrors of the Holocaust, which were inflicted especially (though far from exclusively) on the Jews, were much more than abstractions of history for Pope John Paul II. These atrocities happened to his neighbors, his friends, and in his own backyard. For the Polish pope, accepting an invitation to Rome&#8217;s synagogue held great personal significance.</p><p>In this context, the kinship&#8212;the brotherhood&#8212;of Christians and Jews was, in the eyes of Pope John Paul II, much more than a mere postwar piety articulated as a vague humanistic affinity. It was a kinship rooted in the historical faith in the God of Abraham. It was also a kinship marked and tested by profound suffering: that of seeking the face of God amid the worst horrors that human beings inflict on one another.</p><p>This kinship of Christians and Jews has always held greater theological importance for Christianity than for Judaism. In short, according to Christianity&#8217;s own claims, the truth of the Christian faith depends on the truth of Judaism. The Church cannot forget, as <em>Nostra aetate</em> says, that she &#8220;is nourished from the root of the good olive tree onto which have been grafted the branches of the wild olive tree that are the Gentiles.&#8221; For all Christians, it is important that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is truly the Lord.</p><p>The reverse is not true. The truth of Christianity is not a theological (much less historical) requirement for Judaism. This means that the Jewish willingness to relate to Christians as brothers always carries a kind of generosity and selflessness. For this reason, it is worth noting that Pope John Paul II was invited to Rome&#8217;s synagogue by Rabbi Elio Toaff, a detail that could easily be overlooked but which has its own importance.</p><p>For Christians to claim kinship with Jews is, in a certain sense, a kind of imposition. I do not mean that it is impertinent for Christians to claim such kinship, but rather that it is an assertion that demands a response, as all such assertions do. To claim kinship is to assert a mutual obligation. To accept friendship is to submit to a debt of mutual responsibility.</p><p>Christians can and should see Jews as our brothers. We can and should hold them in the esteem due to a people with whom God has made unbreakable promises. And we must understand that, in responding to that sense of kinship&#8212;a kinship that their own tradition does not oblige them to recognize&#8212;our Jewish friends are not making a small concession.</p><p>Moreover, and this is a delicate point, Judaism is much less interested in gaining converts than Christianity is, an important difference that, in my experience, is much more likely to be overlooked by Christians than by Jews. When it comes to interreligious dialogue, Jews and Christians sit at the table on remarkably different terms.</p><p>That said, there are good reasons for Jews to seek interreligious dialogue with Christians, even if these are not primarily religious. To put it bluntly, Jewish communities are interested, particularly where they are a small minority, in being on good terms with their more numerous neighbors. Peaceful coexistence is the least that Christians and Jews should be able to offer each other. History provides too many painful counterexamples to ignore.</p><p>And here lies one of the great lessons of Pope John Paul II&#8217;s visit to the Roman synagogue, a lesson that remains relevant today. Catholics like to insist that grace builds on nature and perfects it. True friendship&#8212;sincere, selfless, and for its own sake&#8212;can be a natural good, but natural friendship has a way of being transformed into that highest of the theological virtues: Charity. We Christians should understand that forming such friendships with our Jewish brothers and sisters provides a solid foundation upon which God&#8217;s grace can act in all of us.</p><p><em>About the author</em></p><p><em>Stephen P. White is executive director of the National Shrine of St. John Paul II and a fellow at Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.</em></p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div class="captioned-button-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/john-paul-ii-understood-he-was-the?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="CaptionedButtonToDOM"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Christopher Messina, Enlightentaining Host of Messy Times! This post is public so feel free to share it.</p></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/john-paul-ii-understood-he-was-the?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/john-paul-ii-understood-he-was-the?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p></div><p></p><div class="footnote" data-component-name="FootnoteToDOM"><a id="footnote-1" href="#footnote-anchor-1" class="footnote-number" contenteditable="false" target="_self">1</a><div class="footnote-content"><p>https://infovaticana.com/en/2026/04/21/john-paul-ii-and-our-elder-brothers-jews/ </p><p></p></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Warning: This "Man" Has the Most Annoying Voice Ever]]></title><description><![CDATA[Graham Platner was "vetted" by a man-child named Daniel Moraff, who should be barred from any job ever, anywhere.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/warning-this-man-has-the-most-annoying</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/warning-this-man-has-the-most-annoying</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:57:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gGGb!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9e23dd06-77e6-4b07-963a-e70661aaa61f_639x657.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We need a Constitutional Amendment barring any &#8220;adult&#8221; who speaks in the &#8220;up talk&#8221; made famous by Kylie Minogue in the 1980s from playing any role in our government.</p><p>That would weed out many of our problems before they even get started. </p><p>Up talk is when one ends a statement on an upward lilt as if one were asking a question.  It&#8217;s beyond annoying when a pretty teenage girl does it as an actress on an Aussie sitcom. It is downright appalling when a supposedly adult man does it.  And it is existentially terrifying when it is done by an adult man in charge of &#8220;strategy&#8221; and &#8220;candidate vetting&#8221; for the US Senate. </p><p>&#8220;Cringe&#8221; does not begin to cover it. </p><p>Here is <strong>Daniel Moraff</strong>, the guy in charge of vetting Graham Platner&#8217;s suitability to be a member of the US Senate, one of the most powerful roles in our nation, with his giggling sidekick, being interviewed by the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> about the process he ran to vet Graham Platner, the colossal trainwreck Nazi tattoo-sporting spoiled brat Hotchkiss alumnus, serial philanderer and probable rapist.  The giggling clown next to him is Leanne Fan, his fianc&#233;e and fellow traveler in the Democratic Socialists of America. </p><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;9e85c83d-d527-43f4-8798-f9ccbf11a2ed&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><p>Sometimes participating in participatory republican government can be serious hard yards.  Listening to this colossal clown Daniel Moraff for one minute and thirty-nine seconds is one of the most painful pieces of duty I have ever performed.  And I survived the 9/11 attack, which was the <em>fourth time </em>Islamist terrorists tried to kill me with explosives. </p><p>Beyond the annoying voice, he is sticking to his belief in Graham Platner and stated that none of what has come out about this scumbag matters because Daniel claims that &#8220;the American people do not want candidates grown in vats.&#8221;  Apparently, in what passes for Daniel&#8217;s mind, one is either a fake person &#8220;grown in a vat&#8221; or a Nazi-tattoed spoiled rich kid rapist.  I guess those are the only two options available in his circle of acquaintance.</p><p>Which makes me wonder: <em><strong>Which one are you, Daniel?  Are you a Nazi tattooed rapist or a vat person?  Please lift up your shirt.</strong> </em></p><p>I cannot but compare the Democrat Party&#8217;s waving away as &#8220;nothing&#8221; Graham&#8217;s apparently hundreds of online postings and creepy presence on a platform known to be popular with pedophiles trolling for young teen girls and the rape allegations buried by the New York Times, which the Democrats excused as his &#8220;working through&#8221; PTSD, to their shrieking pearl-clutching about Donald Trump making one off-color joke when he thought he was off-camera.</p><p>Graham Platner was credibly accused of rape, along with all the rest of his disgusting behavior, and the Dems waved it away as &#8220;no one is perfect.&#8221;  Donald Trump made one off-color joking observation about the fact that thousands of pretty young women don&#8217;t object to being manhandled by exceedingly rich older men - like it or not - and that one tasteless joke from 20 years ago is &#8220;enough&#8221; to render him unworthy for office.</p><p>Spare me.  Where would Democrats be without rampant hypocrisy and a complete lack of either shame or irony?</p><p>Listening to idiots like this Moraff loser, and seeing horrible rapist scum like Graham Platner be endorsed by the entire firmament of the Democrat Party makes me ponder things like, &#8220;Hey, what ever happened to the Whig Party?  Weren&#8217;t they a thing for awhile?&#8221;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gGGb!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9e23dd06-77e6-4b07-963a-e70661aaa61f_639x657.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gGGb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9e23dd06-77e6-4b07-963a-e70661aaa61f_639x657.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gGGb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, 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/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9e23dd06-77e6-4b07-963a-e70661aaa61f_639x657.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gGGb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9e23dd06-77e6-4b07-963a-e70661aaa61f_639x657.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gGGb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9e23dd06-77e6-4b07-963a-e70661aaa61f_639x657.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gGGb!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9e23dd06-77e6-4b07-963a-e70661aaa61f_639x657.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>God save America from these horrible people. </p><p></p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/warning-this-man-has-the-most-annoying?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/warning-this-man-has-the-most-annoying?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Wow, the new UK Prime Minister hates Jews MORE than Keir Starmer]]></title><description><![CDATA[To be fair, maybe he hates Jews precisely as much as Keir did. Not worth the quibble.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/wow-the-new-uk-prime-minister-hates</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/wow-the-new-uk-prime-minister-hates</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:14:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_HTR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8786da77-a35d-42f6-83ec-374c9b15a00c_791x433.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Keir Starmer has been such a colossal nightmare that I have stopped traveling to the United Kingdom altogether lest I be arrested at Heathrow for all the justifiable criticism I have printed about him and the rest of the Jew Hating UK politicians. </p><p>So - stupidly, as it turns out - I read this headline on the BBC with delight, thinking at first glance the UK Labour Party had repented of its deep flaws and sins.  This headline popped out at me. </p><blockquote><h1><strong>Burnham apologises for Labour&#8217;s initial response to Gaza war</strong></h1></blockquote><p>I thought, &#8220;Great! Finally some rationality has reared its head in Britain!&#8221;</p><p>Then I continued to read. </p><p><strong><span>James Gregory, </span></strong><span>Political reporter, wrote this piece. </span></p><blockquote><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w8-i!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87492759-1139-4f10-9cb7-b129e74903a4_480x269.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w8-i!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/87492759-1139-4f10-9cb7-b129e74903a4_480x269.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:269,&quot;width&quot;:480,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Getty Images Andy Burnham&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Getty Images Andy Burnham" title="Getty Images Andy Burnham" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w8-i!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87492759-1139-4f10-9cb7-b129e74903a4_480x269.webp 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w8-i!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87492759-1139-4f10-9cb7-b129e74903a4_480x269.webp 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w8-i!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87492759-1139-4f10-9cb7-b129e74903a4_480x269.webp 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w8-i!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87492759-1139-4f10-9cb7-b129e74903a4_480x269.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption"><span>Getty Images</span></figcaption></figure></div><p>Andy Burnham has apologised for Labour&#8217;s initial response to Israel&#8217;s military action in Gaza, saying the party &#8220;didn&#8217;t get it right&#8221; and needs to do better under his leadership.</p></blockquote><p>Okay, so far, so good.  Labour did not &#8220;get it right&#8221; at all when it criticized a democratically elected government for defending itself against terrorists.  This was looking promising&#8230;</p><blockquote><p>Burnham, who is expected to become prime minister later this month, was one of several high-profile Labour figures who were calling for a ceasefire in Gaza by late October 2023 - which at the time put him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer.</p></blockquote><p>Wait. What?  This idiot called for a ceasefire <em>in the exact same month as the October 7th attack, with hundreds of hostages in Gaza while the Israelis were still collecting body parts from the Nova festival fair grounds?</em>  Huh?</p><blockquote><p>&#8220;Labour&#8217;s initial response to the treatment of Gaza caused huge hurt. We got it wrong and I am sorry for that,&#8221; he wrote on social media.</p></blockquote><p>Okay&#8230;  This sounds better.  He is owning up to the terrible idea of demanding the Israelis immediately stop fighting a war that the Fakestinians started.  Okay&#8230;</p><blockquote><p>In a video message, the Makerfield MP also reiterated his condemnation of the 7 October Hamas attack, as well as antisemitic attacks in the UK.</p></blockquote><p>Oh, how nice of him to &#8220;condemn&#8221; the attacks on Jews. Golly. &#8220;Condemnations&#8221; are great because words don&#8217;t actually stop Jews from getting attacked. </p><blockquote><p>During the early weeks of the conflict, Sir Keir had backed humanitarian pauses to help aid reach Gazans but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.</p><p>Compared to a formal ceasefire, humanitarian pauses tend to last for short periods of time, sometimes just a few hours, and are implemented purely with the aim of providing support as opposed to achieving long-term political solutions.</p><p>&#8220;I know that many people feel that at the start of Israel&#8217;s military action in Gaza, my party didn&#8217;t get it right, and I am sorry about that,&#8221; Burnham said in his video message on Thursday.</p></blockquote><p>Right. Spot on. Well done. That&#8217;s proper cricket. </p><blockquote><p>&#8220;The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better.</p></blockquote><p>Absolutely.  Wow, perhaps the influence of Keir Starmer and Yasser Arafat&#8217;s pal Jeremy Corbyn has been expunged from the party.  This seems like progress! </p><blockquote><p>&#8220;The UK was too slow to call for a ceasefire.&#8221;</p></blockquote><p>Wait. What? Hold on. Wrong answer. This new Prime Minister thinks that waiting 14 days to demand a supposed ally stop fighting terrorists was <em>too late?  </em>When should they have demanded Israel stop defending itself and trying to rescue its hostages?  While the bodies of raped girls were still being dragged through the streets of Gaza while delighted Fakestinians of all ages, men and women alike, cheered and spat on and tried to hit the already dead bloody corpses?  Would that have been &#8220;the right time&#8221; to call for a ceasefire?</p><p>When did basic morality leave Britons?</p><blockquote><p>In the early weeks of the conflict, Sir Keir was also criticised for an interview he gave to LBC on 11 October in which he was asked whether it was &#8220;appropriate&#8221; for Israel to cut off the supply of power and water to Gaza.</p><p>&#8220;I think that Israel does have that right,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Obviously everything should be done within international law, but I don&#8217;t want to step away from the core principles that Israel has a right to defend herself.&#8221;</p></blockquote><p>One of the few things Two Tier Keir ever got right, even if by accident. </p><blockquote><p>A spokesman for the Labour leader later said he had only meant to say Israel had a general right to self-defence.</p></blockquote><p>Wow. That is a major misstep for Labour who since Corbyn have believed the Jews should shut up and die when attacked.</p><blockquote><p>Sir Keir&#8217;s stance on a ceasefire at this time was also in line with that of the previous Conservative government, led by Rishi Sunak.</p></blockquote><p>Once someone pointed that out, he had to change tack immediately. </p><blockquote><p>In February 2024, <strong><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68346129">Labour called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict the previous October.</a></strong></p></blockquote><p>The final batch of hostages were returned to Israel on 13 October 2025, a full <strong>20 months </strong>after Labour called for Israel to implement a unilateral &#8220;humanitarian&#8221; ceasefire.  Let that sink in.  How do you tell the world you don&#8217;t give a shit about murdered, raped and tortured Jews without saying you don&#8217;t give a shit about murdered, raped and tortured Jews?  </p><p>Trick question.  You call for a &#8220;humanitarian ceasefire&#8221; on behalf of a government whose people have been massacred by terrorists, the same terrorists still holding and raping its citizens. </p><blockquote><p>Burnham in his video did praise several policies Labour had enacted in government - the recognition of a Palestinian state, placing sanctions on Israeli ministers and settlers, and restrictions on arms licences to Israel.</p></blockquote><p>The UK Parliament has spent more time for two years on bitching about Israel than it has discussing domestic issues in Britain.  Look it up.  A minister gave a speech about it just last month.</p><p><em>Those damned Jews just won&#8217;t die already, it&#8217;s so annoying.</em> That seems to be the Labour Party&#8217;s settled opinion.  </p><blockquote><p>But he said more needed to be done to &#8220;strengthen our approach&#8221;, to &#8220;ensure the Israeli government adheres to international law and to keep the prospect of a two-state solution alive&#8221;.</p></blockquote><p>Firstly, as I have covered <em>ad nauseam, </em>there is no such thing as &#8220;international law.&#8221;  It&#8217;s a flaky phrase Leftists throw around to try to lend legitimacy to their policy preferences.  Law is what prevails within the borders of a given polity.  Everything external to that ranges from norms to binding treaties. </p><p>Second, the <strong>two-state solution</strong> has been refused repeatedly by the Fakestinians.  It is a fabricated fantasy construct of Western idiots.  And after October 7th, it is a dead letter. There is Israel and then there are terrorist scum who must be removed or eradicated since they are hellbent on killing Jews everywhere and destroying Israel. </p><p>The Fakestinians <em>could have </em>turned Gaza, Samaria and Judea into prosperous paradises, like Singapore or Dubai.  Instead, they created hate-fueled death cults that sacrifice their children as &#8220;martyrs,&#8221; meaning &#8220;a life wasted on trying to kill Jews instead of doing something productive.&#8221;</p><blockquote><p>He accused Israel of violating the US-brokered ceasefire agreement and said there had been a surge of settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.</p></blockquote><p>So the new UK Prime Minister is just one more asshole living thousands of miles away and not having his children subject to incoming missiles every damned day opining on abstractions like a &#8220;ceasefire agreement&#8221; that the lying evil terrorists never adhere to. </p><blockquote><p>&#8220;[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu&#8217;s government is clearly attempting to make a two-state solution impossible,&#8221; he said, calling for further sanctions and measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements in the West Bank.</p></blockquote><p>The evil Fakestinians don&#8217;t want a two-state solution.  They want dead Jews and they want Israel eradicated.  </p><blockquote><p>The former Greater Manchester mayor has received praise from several Labour MPs.</p></blockquote><p>No kidding. No way. Really?</p><blockquote><p>Wes Streeting, Sir Keir&#8217;s former health secretary who was seen as a possible challenger to Burnham until he endorsed him last month, said on X: &#8220;This is extremely welcome.&#8221;</p><p>Meanwhile, Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton, said on X: &#8220;High time this is acknowledged and glad something will be done about it&#8221;.</p><p>Several UN reports have accused the Israeli government of committing war crimes which amount to genocide in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied all such allegations.</p></blockquote><p>Golly - the BBC cites the United Jew Hating Nations reports. How nice.  They make no mention of the reports <em>documenting </em>Hamas atrocities and the systematic use of sexual violence by terrorists against Israelis, of course.  </p><blockquote><p>The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.</p></blockquote><p>The final paragraph of the BBC piece.  I wonder how hard an editor had to insist that this be included. </p><p>Nothing new here - the British tried to prevent Israel&#8217;s creation in the first place. </p><p>So they are now being led by one more Jew Hating wanker. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_HTR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8786da77-a35d-42f6-83ec-374c9b15a00c_791x433.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_HTR!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, 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y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Andy Burnham, Manchester Jew Hater</figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div class="captioned-button-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/wow-the-new-uk-prime-minister-hates?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="CaptionedButtonToDOM"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Christopher Messina, Enlightentaining Host of Messy Times! This post is public so feel free to share it.</p></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/wow-the-new-uk-prime-minister-hates?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/wow-the-new-uk-prime-minister-hates?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Western Useful Idiocy Goes to Eleven]]></title><description><![CDATA[We're all used to Communist News Network and The View screeching gibberish at us at top volumes 24/7, turned up to 10. But...]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/western-useful-idiocy-goes-to-eleven</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/western-useful-idiocy-goes-to-eleven</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:59:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I would like to thank the inimitable warrior for truth <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Karen Hunt&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:18565897,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/65c39b06-7e55-41dc-9ff0-47a704679333_528x528.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;c01949cd-8612-4998-b0fa-343f0452a3da&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> for bringing this insane snippet to my attention.</p><p>British &#8216;journalist&#8217; Bushra Shaikh is at Ayatollah Khamenei&#8217;s funeral and describes him as a &#8220;man of peace.&#8221;  It is under 20 seconds long and filled with gems like, &#8220;He stood up for justice. He wanted people to be treated equally.&#8221;  </p><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;69f56ed2-5925-4f12-b9da-95e46a1a5173&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><p>He sure did want people to be treated equally.</p><p>He wanted gays to be beaten and hanged from cranes in public.</p><p>He wanted women who showed an inch of hair in public to be beaten and hanged from cranes in public.</p><p>He wanted Iranian men and women who danced to music to be beaten and hanged from cranes in public.</p><p>He wanted anyone who disagreed with his vision of Islam to be beaten and hanged in public.</p><p>He wanted Jews, Bahais, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists to be beaten and hanged in public.</p><p>&#8220;He wanted wars to end&#8221; in the death of all his enemies and the global domination of his version of Shia Islam.</p><p>Yes, he was a man of peace - because when everyone is dead, the silence sure is peaceful - who treated everyone equally. </p><p>If an ostensibly educated woman in Britain can believe this nonsense, the world is in a very bad place.</p><p>It is past time for those of us who are proud of Western Civilization to stand up, grow a spine once more and fight back against this grave evil enveloping the world. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg" width="542" height="361.5620253164557" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:527,&quot;width&quot;:790,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:542,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;These Amps Go Up to Eleven - Precious Metals International Ltd.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="These Amps Go Up to Eleven - Precious Metals International Ltd." title="These Amps Go Up to Eleven - Precious Metals International Ltd." srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JlG5!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea379493-9193-4cca-8c3c-410fdc00c185_790x527.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap explains how Bushra Sheikh took insane Western Useful Idiocy up to 11.</figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Christopher Messina, Enlightentaining Host of Messy Times is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/western-useful-idiocy-goes-to-eleven?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/western-useful-idiocy-goes-to-eleven?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trump's vacillation on Iran is dangerous and unsettling]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Iranian people deserve to be free of the evil terror regime which has been destroying their nation and society for 47 years.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/trumps-vacillation-on-iran-is-dangerous</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/trumps-vacillation-on-iran-is-dangerous</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2026 18:16:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wnLj!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd082e8c6-ed03-4f5b-b0c7-d5720aeb7afc_3000x2000.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I greeted the start of the joint Israeli-American military action against Iran with true joy. The people of Iran have suffered under the evil yoke of a terrorist theocracy for 47 years. It is long past time for them to be free of those shackles, which not only spell death, torture, misery and despair for the Iranian people but have driven global terror at a scale no other &#8220;nation&#8221; has promulgated. </p><p>At long last, it seemed the scourge of the Middle East was going to be removed. Everyone involved would love to see this evil madness end.</p><p>Then something changed. Instead of staying focused on removing the demonic ayatollahs from power, Trump began issuing posts on social media about &#8220;the great deal&#8221; he was going to strike with the mullahs, the same mullahs who have played this game since Jimmy Jew Hater Carter let the Ayatollah return to Iran from exile in February 1979. </p><p>There is no good &#8220;deal&#8221; to be had with a psychotic death cult. The only positive outcome of the civilized world&#8217;s confrontation with Iran is the removal of the Islamist terror regime. Anything else is a failure of monumental proportions, the damaging repercussions of which we will all have to deal with sooner and later, none with more existential immediacy than the Israeli people.</p><p>Israeli former Ambassador and erudite writer <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Michael Oren&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:26195853,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c4988c8b-d2a5-49c0-9a6c-14133adfdd17_1024x1024.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;08a50ad5-a4aa-4b93-8cbc-553156c0d0ea&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> published a piece today which every American should read. I&#8217;ve copied it here <em>in toto</em> because it&#8217;s a crucial piece of analysis, one which I could not improve on if I tried. </p><blockquote><h1><strong>Between &#8220;Can&#8221; and &#8220;Must&#8221;</strong></h1><h3>Israel&#8217;s choices in the face of the U.S.-Iran agreement.</h3><p><strong><a href="/__u/substack.com/@michaeloren">Michael Oren</a></strong></p><p><strong>Jun 15, 2026</strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wnLj!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd082e8c6-ed03-4f5b-b0c7-d5720aeb7afc_3000x2000.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wnLj!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, 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/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd082e8c6-ed03-4f5b-b0c7-d5720aeb7afc_3000x2000.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wnLj!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd082e8c6-ed03-4f5b-b0c7-d5720aeb7afc_3000x2000.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" 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y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">President Trump and Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East (White House)</figcaption></figure></div><p>Last night, in celebration of President Trump&#8217;s 80th birthday, tens of thousands of spectators gathered on the South Lawn of the White House to watch live UFC fights. The combination of spectacle and violence, many observers agreed, was nothing short of surreal. At the same time, the president announced the imminent signing of &#8220;a landmark moment for American diplomacy ending decades of hostility and bringing stability to the volatile Middle East.&#8221; For Israelis, much like the spectacle on the lawn, the declaration was shocking, bizarre, and brutal.</p><p>Less than four months ago, American forces stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the IDF in the most dramatic display ever of the U.S.-Israel alliance. Our Israeli pilots, soldiers, and commanders worked in the closest possible coordination with their American counterparts in mounting thousands of successful missions. Our leaders, too, appeared to be totally in lockstep in setting the war&#8217;s ultimate goals of overthrowing Iran&#8217;s jihadist regime, eliminating its nuclear and ballistic capabilities, and ending its support for terror. Netanyahu&#8217;s friendship with Trump seemed deep and unbreakable, surpassing that between Yitzhak Rabin and Bill Clinton, perhaps even between Roosevelt and Churchill. The vision of a Middle East freed from the Islamic Republic&#8217;s grip, united in prosperity and peace, truly appeared within reach.</p><p>Then, rapidly, the situation changed. Iran pummeled neighboring oil-producing countries with ballistic missiles and drones and blockaded the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz. Global oil prices skyrocketed, and a growing majority of Americans, already angered by Trump&#8217;s failure to avoid entanglement in endless foreign wars, demanded a ceasefire. The ayatollahs, far more adept at enduring pain, knew they had the upper hand and exploited it to the full, pressuring Trump to stop resisting their missile program and terror network, and to enter into extended talks on the nuclear issues&#8212;all in exchange for reopening the Strait. The Iranians further conditioned the agreement on an end to Israel&#8217;s efforts to defend the north against Hezbollah attacks, even to withdraw IDF troops from Southern Lebanon. When Israel responded to Hezbollah drone strikes by bombing Beirut, Trump <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-confirms-he-called-netanyahu-crazy-phone-call-2026-06-03/">called</a> Netanyahu &#8220;f***ing crazy&#8221; and demanded that he halt all operations.</p><p>The stage is now set for one of the most potentially explosive confrontations ever between U.S. and Israeli leaders. Few, if any, in Israel believe that Trump&#8217;s agreement with Iran will end decades of hostility and bring stability to the Middle East. On the contrary, Israelis are justifiably bracing themselves for further upheavals, even war.</p><p>The situation will confront Israeli leaders with an excruciating choice: either abandon the north or risk a major clash with Washington. The first option poses a possibly existential threat to the entire state&#8212;Hezbollah rockets can easily reach Tel Aviv&#8212;while the second could result in a cut-off of vital munitions and even condemnations in the UN. Moreover, the decision will have to be made when, for the first time in our history, we have no recourse&#8212;no ability to complain to Congress, to the Democrats, or our friends in Europe. Israel, today, stands virtually alone.</p><p>Asked by <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> last night what I thought Netanyahu can do, I <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-iran-deal-lebanon-581695ac">responded</a> by saying that the question is not &#8220;can&#8221; but &#8220;must.&#8221; The prime minister&#8217;s paramount job is to defend the country at virtually any cost, even a backlash from the United States. Like Begin before him in destroying the Iraqi nuclear reactor or Eshkol in initiating the Six-Day War&#8212;both in the face of stiff American opposition&#8212;Netanyahu must place Israel&#8217;s security first.</p><p>Ronald Reagan, a pro-Israel president, responded to Israel&#8217;s raid on the reactor by delaying the shipment of F-16s to the IDF and joining with Iraq in condemning Israel in the Security Council. So, too, today, Israel can weather Trump&#8217;s possible response. But Israel cannot endure the loss of our north and forfeit our fundamental security.</p><p>While continuing to strike Hezbollah and navigating our complex relationship with the United States, we must gird ourselves internally to meet the great challenges ahead. We must rigorously bridge our society&#8217;s rifts between religious and secular, right and left. We must address the Haredi service issue now, vastly expand support for reservists and inhabitants of the North, and preserve our national will to fight. We must invest massively in public diplomacy and <a href="/__u/claritywithmichaeloren.substack.com/p/the-immense-strategic-significance?r=flgul">diversify</a> our foreign policy portfolio, strengthening our ties with Asia, Africa, and South America. Unified and steeled, we will once again prevail.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>Am Israel Chai. </p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/trumps-vacillation-on-iran-is-dangerous?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/trumps-vacillation-on-iran-is-dangerous?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Jew Hatred and Moral Rot at Harvard is a Bottomless Pit]]></title><description><![CDATA[Who would have thought we'd ever long for the good old days of old-fashioned WASP resentment and fear of Jewish "overachievement" as the cause of anti-Jewish bias?]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/the-jew-hatred-and-moral-rot-at-harvard</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/the-jew-hatred-and-moral-rot-at-harvard</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2026 13:11:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dkG9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fede7a2e4-8141-4210-a346-6c65c8e9204e_736x554.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I am tired of the endless stream of Jew Hatred.  But these evil scumbags <em>want </em>me to grow tired, so that I stop pointing our their evil.</p><p>I have just reposted this in its entirety.  I don&#8217;t need to add any comments beyond the usual call for normal Americans to demand universities be stripped of their tax-exempt status when they take billions from Islamist terror sponsors like Qatar.</p><p>I do need to point something out:  This bullshit Jew-Hating, anti-Israel organization is called &#8220;Jewish Voice for Peace&#8221; deliberately, to give the false impression that it is somehow pro-Jewish.  It is an evil tool of those who want to kill all Jews and exterminate Israel. </p><blockquote><p><strong><a href="https://freebeacon.com/campus/">Campus</a></strong></p><h1><strong>Israel&#8217;s &#8216;Genocidal Aims&#8217; Denounced by Harvard Researcher at Harvard-Sponsored Event Days After U.S. Government Files Antisemitism Lawsuit Against University</strong></h1><h2>Boycott of &#8216;apartheid regime&#8217; is urged</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dkG9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fede7a2e4-8141-4210-a346-6c65c8e9204e_736x554.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dkG9!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ede7a2e4-8141-4210-a346-6c65c8e9204e_736x554.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:554,&quot;width&quot;:736,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:574,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dkG9!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fede7a2e4-8141-4210-a346-6c65c8e9204e_736x554.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dkG9!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fede7a2e4-8141-4210-a346-6c65c8e9204e_736x554.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dkG9!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fede7a2e4-8141-4210-a346-6c65c8e9204e_736x554.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dkG9!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fede7a2e4-8141-4210-a346-6c65c8e9204e_736x554.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Harvard &#8220;bioethicist&#8221; Bilal Irfan in a screenshot from a Harvard-sponsored Jewish Voice for Peace event, March 22, 2026</figcaption></figure></div><p><a href="https://freebeacon.com/author/ira-stoll/">Ira Stoll</a></p><p>March 23, 2026</p><p>The weekend after the federal government <a href="https://freebeacon.com/campus/harvard-discriminated-against-jews-u-s-government-says-in-new-lawsuit/">sued Harvard</a> for ongoing &#8220;relentless antisemitic on-campus discrimination,&#8221; Harvard co-sponsored an event with a boycott-Israel advocacy group in which a Harvard researcher accused Israel of &#8220;genocide&#8221; in Gaza.</p><p>Signup for the online <a href="https://fxb.harvard.edu/blog/calendar_event/health-under-siege-with-dr-zeena-salman/">event</a> of the Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council was available via the website of Harvard&#8217;s FXB Center for Health &amp; Human Rights, which sits within Harvard&#8217;s School of Public Health. The &#8220;Harvard FXB program&#8221; was announced at the start of the event as a cosponsor, and the main speaker at the event, Bilal Irfan, was introduced as a bioethicist at &#8220;Harvard&#8217;s Brigham and Women&#8217;s hospital.&#8221;</p><p>After greetings from Alice Rothschild of the <a href="https://www.jvphealth.org/">Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council</a>, which is promoting on its website a report about Israel&#8217;s &#8220;engineered collapse of Palestinian life,&#8221; and Miguel Garcia, global secretary of the <a href="https://phmovement.org/">People&#8217;s Health Movement</a>, which <a href="https://phmovement.org/phm-stands-solidarity-people-lebanon-facing-military-aggression">issued a statement</a> Thursday condemning &#8220;Israel&#8217;s military assaults on Lebanon and the US backing that makes it possible,&#8221; Irfan plunged into a slide presentation that he described as &#8220;documenting the Gaza genocide.&#8221;</p><p>Irfan spoke of what he said was &#8220;Israel&#8217;s policy of destroying the health system,&#8221; which he said was &#8220;a part of the genocidal aims.&#8221; He accused Israel of acting to &#8220;abduct these physicians&#8221; without mentioning that the Israel Defence Forces have <a href="https://ngo-monitor.org/reports/the-campaign-to-whitewash-the-director-of-a-hamas-controlled-hospital/">described</a> at least some Gaza doctors as suspected Hamas terrorist operatives and the released Israeli hostage Sharon Cunio <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-war-hostages-cunio-captivity-869241bb259b00a8f98817edf89b0bc8">said that</a> most of her time in Hamas captivity was spent in a hospital. Irfan did not mention Hamas once in the entire presentation. At one point he referred to October 28, 2023, as &#8220;three weeks into the genocide&#8221; without making any mention of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. He accused Israel of &#8220;targeted attacks on maternity wards,&#8221; without acknowledging that Hamas <a href="https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/israel-at-war/war-on-hamas-2023-resources/weapons-hidden-in-incubators-in-the-kamal-adwan-hospital/">stores weapons in hospital neonatal incubators</a>. He also demonized Israeli doctors: &#8220;there are a number of Israeli health-care providers who are pro-genocide.&#8221;</p><p>Among the other accusations that Irfan made against Israel were &#8220;sexual violence against children&#8221; and detaining children &#8220;in small cages,&#8221; an accusation he said dated to June 2023.</p><p>Irfan complained that he had trouble publishing some of his findings because of pressure from journals and medical societies to &#8220;keep it two-sided&#8221; and because of funding guidelines &#8220;pushing people to not support boycotts of the apartheid regime.&#8221;</p><p>He concluded by urging people to &#8220;continue advocacy in your personal and professional lives.&#8221;</p><p>Harvard&#8217;s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias has singled out the FXB Center for criticism. The task force&#8217;s April 29, 2025, <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/FINAL-Harvard-ASAIB-Report-4.29.25.pdf">report</a> notes that the FXB staff openly and in writing rejected neutrality in favor of advocacy. Three FXB-affiliated individuals, <a href="https://fxb.harvard.edu/blog/directory/bram-wispelwey-md-mph/">Bram Wispelwey</a>, <a href="https://fxb.harvard.edu/blog/directory/sawsan-abdulrahim-phd-mph/">Sawsan Abdulrahim</a>, and <a href="https://fxb.harvard.edu/blog/directory/david-mills-md/">David Mills</a>, wrote a February 2025 <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13031-024-00634-0">article</a> in which they say, &#8220;we join many others who have called for a paradigm shift away from the inertia of supposed objectivity and claimed neutrality that function to perpetuate injustice. Instead, we call for the collective practice of critical advocacy, solidarity with people affected by injustice and oppression, and an emancipatory politics in pursuit of justice in Palestine.&#8221; Wispelwey, Mills, and three other Harvard FXB-affiliated individuals, <a href="https://fxb.harvard.edu/blog/directory/yara-m-asi-phd/">Yara Asi</a>, <a href="https://fxb.harvard.edu/blog/directory/osama-tanous-md/">Osama Tanous</a>, and <a href="https://hsph.harvard.edu/profile/weeam-s-hammoudeh/">Weeam Hammoudeh</a>, wrote a 2024 article, &#8220;<a href="https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271821/1-s2.0-S0277953624X00222/1-s2.0-S027795362400786X/main.pdf">Social medicine education towards structural transformation in Palestine</a>,&#8221; in which they describe a course they taught to Harvard students in which one of three objectives was &#8220;to champion structural health interventions through solidarity, advocacy, and organizing.&#8221;</p><p>The task force also noted that FXB webinars were a subject of student complaints. &#8220;Several students raised concerns with the Task Force about these webinars, alleging that some of the featured speakers presented a demonizing view of Israel and Israelis,&#8221; the April 2025 report said.</p><p>As Robert Friedman, who graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 2024, noted in a November 18, 2025, <a href="https://www.theeditors.com/p/unbridled-brutality-of-israeli-genocide-harvard-fxb-chan-school-public-health-bias-demonization?utm_source=publication-search">report</a> on a previous FXB webinar, the task force report described the FXB webinars about Gaza as &#8220;characterized by bias and misinformation,&#8221; noting, &#8220;The accumulation of dis- and misinformation of this kind about Israel is a form of demonization, and we were told it was experienced as such by Israeli and Jewish members of our campus community.&#8221;  Said Friedman, &#8220;When a webinar like this is presented even <em>after</em> students have complained about the series and <em>after</em> a presidential task force has faulted them&#8212;and even after Harvard became subject to lawsuits and federal investigations for antisemitism&#8212;it raises questions of institutional intent.&#8221; That observation applies a second time around, and with emphasis, again, here.</p><p>In December 2025 the dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, Andrea Baccarelli, <a href="https://hsph.harvard.edu/dean/news/fxb-center-update/">announced</a> a change in the FXB center&#8217;s leadership and focus. That prompted a <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9BY6rPZUDtgPlRG-KHAD82x_wDeIQVMvx10DkDoJkJ2jHaA/viewform">petition</a> for reinstatement of the previous director, Mary Bassett, from signers who saw &#8220;a deeper, troubling pattern of targeted erasure&#8211;especially of Black women whose scholarship confronts structural violence and insists on the dignity of marginalized peoples, including Palestinian.&#8221; The petition said, &#8220;Removing one of the few senior Black women leaders in public health amid heightened suppression of Palestine-related work is not incidental as it signals that both Black leadership and principled human rights scholarship are expendable when they challenge institutional comfort. This decision sends a chilling message that critical scholarship on racial justice and Palestine is unwelcome.&#8221;</p><p>Irfan did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Neither did the new interim director of the FXB Center, Kari Nadeau, or two spokespeople for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Neither did spokespeople for Mass General Brigham, the parent of Brigham and Women&#8217;s Hospital.</p><p>In response to Friday&#8217;s lawsuit from the U.S. government, Harvard issued a statement <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/media-relations/2026/03/20/statement-on-march-20-lawsuit/">claiming</a> &#8220;Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism.&#8221; Whatever steps &#8220;Harvard has taken&#8221; in the case of the FXB Center seem insufficient. Not that Harvard should curb academic freedom or free speech. But neither should it allow an ostensibly research-and-teaching-focused university to be repurposed for &#8220;solidarity, advocacy, and organizing&#8221;&#8212;in the cause of falsely and obsessively demonizing the Jewish state.</p><p>The U.S. Department of Education <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-educations-office-civil-rights-opens-two-new-probes-harvard-university-continued-discrimination-campus">announced</a> March 23 that its Office of Civil Rights has opened two new investigations into Harvard, one related to undergraduate admissions, and the other related to &#8220;alleged ongoing antisemitic harassment on Harvard&#8217;s campus and the institution&#8217;s purported failure to protect Jewish students.&#8221;</p></blockquote><p>Call your Congressional Representatives, Senators and the White House.  Tell them all that Harvard and the rest of these Jew Hating institutions face the full weight of the law. </p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/the-jew-hatred-and-moral-rot-at-harvard?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/the-jew-hatred-and-moral-rot-at-harvard?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Demsplaining that the TEACHER who shot up the Correspondents Dinner is "really" Trump's fault]]></title><description><![CDATA[Robert Reich: Always wrong, never in doubt.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/demsplaining-that-the-teacher-who</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/demsplaining-that-the-teacher-who</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 26 Apr 2026 10:29:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9bZk!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffe00fd00-b2c5-4c4b-823e-dec5d56bbde1_643x389.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Aside from the appalling rudeness of <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Robert Reich&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:626319,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5582b81e-dbe9-404f-8754-98d335acb326_1572x1162.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;05f5d197-3d0e-483f-ae18-ddcfd5be3bda&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> stealing from Hunter Thompson with his cute &#8220;fear and loathing&#8221; line, this morning&#8217;s stupidity from my favorite Boomer is a polished gem of the Leftist Gibberish Agitprop genre. </p><p>The Left has been fomenting and celebrating political violence in this country for a long time, but has been ramping it up ever since the 2016 election. Of course, in the minds of a professional Democrat Boomer like Reich, the fault for that violence is not borne by the people planning, funding and committing the violence. Why, no! Not at all!</p><p>See if you can guess who Reich believes is to blame for a California schoolteacher&#8217;s bringing a gun to the White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner?  Below find Reich&#8217;s essay with my commentary interspersed. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3PJS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3PJS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3PJS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3PJS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3PJS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3PJS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png" width="478" height="513" 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/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3PJS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3PJS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3PJS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbe33a49a-fad0-4cb9-925b-66330e785e7a_478x513.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Cole Allen, California schoolteacher who shot up the White House Correspondents Dinner, seen here in better times.</figcaption></figure></div><p></p><blockquote><h1><strong>Sunday thought: Last Night&#8217;s Correspondents Dinner</strong></h1><h3>Fear and Loathing in Trump&#8217;s Washington</h3><p><strong><a href="/__u/substack.com/@robertreich">Robert Reich</a></strong></p><p><strong>Apr 26, 2026</strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg" width="467" height="311.44024725274727" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:467,&quot;bytes&quot;:1393811,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://robertreich.substack.com/i/195494399?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8HMA!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe3f304ab-2782-4294-8a99-f6f661b642bb_3984x2656.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Friends,</p><p>For as long as I can remember, the White House Correspondents dinner was where the Washington press corps and Washington officials basked in each other&#8217;s celebrity.</p></blockquote><p>Great - two packs of preening parasites ruining the nation gathered together to tell each other how wonderful they all were. </p><blockquote><p>Last night&#8217;s ended abruptly with gunshots, Secret Service officers screaming at attendees to &#8220;get down,&#8221; Trump and other officials being rapidly ushered out of the ballroom, plates crashing and chairs falling, and general pandemonium.</p><p>Last night, the celebrities became normal people feeling panic and fear.</p></blockquote><p>Celebrities have never been normal people - they are egomaniacs who love having everyone else tell them how special they supposedly are.  </p><blockquote><p>Most of the time, Washington is a stage on which actors take on roles and dress up for assigned parts. I remember wearing an uncomfortable tuxedo to the White House Correspondents Dinner, trying to make pleasant conversation with people who had skewered me that very morning.</p></blockquote><p>Pause. The idea that the Democrat media ever &#8220;skewered&#8221; Lefty Robert is risible in the extreme. If the <em>Washington Post </em>ever criticized him, it was because he was not asking Congress to steal <em>more </em>money from hardworking taxpayers to waste on bullshit &#8220;programs&#8221; which funneled billions into corrupt public sector pensions. </p><blockquote><p>The glamor and swish of the event was at such sharp odds with the hard daily slog of my job that the event seemed strangely disembodied, as if everyone had been given a script that they knew was total bullshit.</p></blockquote><p>Given that The Swamp Creatures have been arrogating to themselves huge chunks of micro-control over American lives, We the People have long felt the lash of those bureaucrats&#8217; &#8220;public&#8217;s work&#8221;, I am kind of pleased to hear that the people busy shoving their noses into everyone else&#8217;s business found it difficult. That is great news. </p><blockquote><p>Trump has changed much of this. He has brought a grim hostility to the jobs of doing the public&#8217;s work and reporting on those who do the public&#8217;s work. This was the first White House Correspondents dinner he agreed to attend, and by all accounts he was prepared to give the media pure hell in his remarks.</p></blockquote><p>We are delighted to hear that the Protected Bureaucrats<em> </em>are now finding it as grim as we have found it to be for years.  They have spent decades screwing with normal Americans&#8217; lives and have lived in a cossetted, protected bubble while doing so.</p><p>If Trump was going to waste time with this pack of stuffed shirts, We the People sure expected him to &#8220;give them pure hell,&#8221; although &#8220;pure hell&#8221; in terms of a tongue-lashing bears no relation to the actual pure hell multiple American families have gone through by being victims of violent crime committed by illegal aliens. <em><strong>Democrats during the State of the Union address</strong></em> <em><strong>could not even stand up in respect for fellow Americans who have been raped and murdered because of Biden&#8217;s Violence caused by opening the borders.</strong></em></p><blockquote><p>And then hell erupted in the form of another crazed gunman. As I write this, it appears that one Secret Service agent was injured but none of the luminaries was hurt.</p></blockquote><p>It sure did.  Unlike when &#8220;hell erupted&#8221; when Kathy Giffords was shot at, the Media did not instantly start blaming Democrats for the shooting - which is likely to be proven accurate.</p><blockquote><p>There is a close relationship between Trump and violence &#8212; not just the attempts on his life but also the violence he&#8217;s unleashed on the world, the violence his ICE and Border Patrol agents have caused inside America, the violence he has incited among his followers.</p></blockquote><p>Does <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Robert Reich&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:626319,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5582b81e-dbe9-404f-8754-98d335acb326_1572x1162.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;0d9a6d3b-82d8-486c-bc7d-d692896e955d&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> blame rape victims for dressing scantily, too?  I wish I could write that this paragraph were &#8220;unbelievable,&#8221; but it is not.  Reich is justifying the evil of this California teacher (guess which way he leans politically) by positing some weird &#8220;relationship between Trump and violence,&#8221; implying that Trump is to blame for being shot at.   </p><p><em>You know who else has a &#8220;close relationship with violence,&#8221; Robert, you colossal hack?</em> All of humanity.  Oh, and the Democrats, who let violent criminals out of jail with no bail required, who call for the death of Jews in the streets and who burned down cities during the St. George Floyd Summer of Wuhan Love.</p><p>Reich is long past being ashamed or embarrassed by being a leftwing clown - his bosses the Clintons referred to the Secret Service officers <em>protecting their lives</em> as &#8220;pigs&#8221;, after all - but this is particularly rich.  ICE and Border Patrol agents protecting this nation have <em>not </em>&#8220;caused violence inside America.&#8221; Leftwing terrorists like Antifa, George Soros, Neville Roy Singham and, well, the Democrats have done that by telling Americans that law enforcement officers should not be enforcing our laws by removing millions of people that Joe Biden allowed across the border illegally</p><blockquote><p> (A few of last night&#8217;s attendees were in Congress on January 6, 2021 when Trump&#8217;s thugs attacked the U.S. Capitol.)</p></blockquote><p>How on earth is that a relevant point?  You know who else was there?  People who know the Democrats&#8217; screeching hysterical lies about &#8220;an insurrection&#8221; is pure nonsense manufactured out of thin air. Nonsense, by the way, which ruined lives for no reason at all. </p><p>Give these America-hating bastards credit. They all stay completely on-script, on-message.  There is <em>zero evidence </em>that the protestors at the Capitol that day were &#8220;Trump&#8217;s thugs&#8221; in any way, shape or form.  Fine Americans protesting election theft <em>on one single day</em> are in the Left&#8217;s fervid imaginations the embodiment of evil, but we&#8217;re not supposed to notice that <em>for months in 2020-21</em> these totalitarian bastards asked all of America to stay away from their old relatives dying alone in nursing homes and be banned from religious services while letting Leftists cause billions in damage &#8220;because&#8221; an asshole drug addict serial criminal got high and decided to resist arrest in Minneapolis while the Wuhan Fakedemic was playing 24/7 on the Communist News Network.</p><blockquote><p>Trump&#8217;s violence has resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries. That is no justification for last night&#8217;s attack, of course, but it is part of what he has wrought in America. He has changed the script in Washington.</p></blockquote><p>A quick sop to say, &#8220;What? Me? I&#8217;m not saying Trump is to blame for all this, except that I am.&#8221;</p><p>I have to repeat this line: <strong>&#8220;Trump&#8217;s violence has resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries.&#8221;  </strong>What in the actual fuck do liberals think that stupid sentence even means?  Really? It is clearly a Democrat dog whistle which only the dumb can hear, while the rest of us scratch our heads.  <em>Here&#8217;s a fun idea for you, Robert, if you can handle a thought experiment:</em> </p><ul><li><p>1. Criminal non-citizens in this nation illegally should just self-deport, thereby eliminating the chance of conflict with law enforcement.</p></li><li><p>2. Antifa rioters and dumb ass liberal white women should not drive their cars at ICE agents, again eliminating any chance of harm coming to them from people doing the actual &#8220;public&#8217;s work.&#8221;</p></li><li><p>3. The Iranian mullahs should not have spent 47 years spreading terror around the world, killing Jews, Americans and their own people to keep their evil grip on power, which would mean the American military would not have to risk their lives in eliminating this evil from the world.</p></li></ul><p>I am assuming those are the groups of people that in Robert&#8217;s absurd funhouse mirror of reality are the &#8220;victims&#8221; of &#8220;Trump&#8217;s violence.&#8221;  Are you sensing a pattern?  I sure am - all those supposed victims are the very cause of any harm that may have come their way.</p><blockquote><p>It is no longer the hard slog I remember. The drama in Washington is now a chaotic tragedy, most of whose actors &#8212; those who make the news and those who report it &#8212; live in continuous uncertainty and turmoil.</p></blockquote><p>Ah, memories!  Old Boomer Farts longing for the heady days when only smart people like me and Milton Friedman (along with everyone who works for a living) knew how badly the Democrats were fucking up the country! </p><p><em>Yes, Robert, DC is now a chaotic tragedy because of Marxist assholes upset their punch bowl is being taken away and that real patriots and rational people are finally back in charge of the reins of government. </em></p><p>Last admonition from Robert, girls:  Don&#8217;t wear short skirts and makeup when you go out at night because <em>you </em>might cause yourself to be raped. And you won&#8217;t have dozens of Secret Service Agents around to protect you from the rapey consequences of your provocative actions. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9bZk!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffe00fd00-b2c5-4c4b-823e-dec5d56bbde1_643x389.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9bZk!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffe00fd00-b2c5-4c4b-823e-dec5d56bbde1_643x389.png 424w, 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/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffe00fd00-b2c5-4c4b-823e-dec5d56bbde1_643x389.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9bZk!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffe00fd00-b2c5-4c4b-823e-dec5d56bbde1_643x389.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9bZk!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffe00fd00-b2c5-4c4b-823e-dec5d56bbde1_643x389.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9bZk!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffe00fd00-b2c5-4c4b-823e-dec5d56bbde1_643x389.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Cole Allen did not get too far in his rampage.</figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/demsplaining-that-the-teacher-who?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/demsplaining-that-the-teacher-who?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Another Boomer Bankrupting Us Says Not to Worry]]></title><description><![CDATA[Robert Reich continues his streak of being 100% wrong about everything]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/another-boomer-bankrupting-us-says-31c</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/another-boomer-bankrupting-us-says-31c</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 22:40:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<h4>[Originally published 23 May 2023. It is worth republishing as a constant reminder of how badly mismanaged the US fisc has been and continues to be. For the solution to this insanity, I refer you to <em><strong><a href="https://messinasbudget.com/">Messina&#8217;s Federal Budget</a>, </strong></em>published in April 2024.]</h4><p>I&#8217;ll give Lefty Boomers credit for one thing.  No matter how frequently and for how long they are wrong about something, they never admit it and plunge forward, continuing to insist we do not live in the objective reality we are in, but &#8220;in fact&#8221; are in a separate, inverse reality where their false statements are true. </p><p>Robert Reich - for those who don&#8217;t know - is a Berkeley economist, which should be sufficient information, abused the nation as Clinton&#8217;s Secretary of Labor, loathes free people making free decisions in free markets and has, well, generally been wrong about every single prediction he&#8217;s ever made. </p><p>He of course weighed in gratuitously on the current stupidity of President Biden and the Congress &#8220;debating&#8221; or &#8220;arguing&#8221; or &#8220;kabuki theatering&#8221; about raising the debt limit.  Spending way beyond their means - and for the last two decades - way beyond our grandchildren&#8217;s means - to fund a psychotically bloated Federal Budget is a bipartisan sport.  <em>All</em> these clowns have brought the nation to the sorry fiscal state we find ourselves in.  Here is Reich&#8217;s inane comment and my swift rebuttal.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png" width="929" height="938" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:938,&quot;width&quot;:929,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:152418,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6zI3!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd76a127e-76b8-4d44-b8d2-85ed3f510b3a_929x938.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>No response from Robert, of course.  He never replies when I correct his misstatements and general wrongheadedness. I wonder why.</p><p>Of course, I got the usual set of responses from the know-nothing chorus. Instead of trying to understand my comment, some fellow by the name of Sam offered this piece of brilliant advice, to which I replied.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png" width="930" height="708" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:708,&quot;width&quot;:930,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:105230,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NxK1!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0167d372-4b2d-4ff1-bdcc-50a6e367434b_930x708.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Sam The Economics Expert &amp; Baker couldn&#8217;t let it go:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png" width="912" height="607" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:607,&quot;width&quot;:912,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:93130,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7Wv4!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32ff2513-73f3-473f-9dd0-7e79f59066ba_912x607.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>True to form for fools who know nothing, instead of reading and responding to my point about the difference between real returns and nominal rates of interest, chuckles offered this:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png" width="897" height="428" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:428,&quot;width&quot;:897,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:60781,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I5nS!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb010ae62-9223-4784-a378-6db031bb18c4_897x428.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>To which I gave my now-stock reply to ignorant trolls who don&#8217;t actually want to have a reasoned discussion, but just like getting a response from the Interwebs:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png" width="890" height="915" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:915,&quot;width&quot;:890,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:162360,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IIHz!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bff078c-135d-4548-b01d-d445c8071de7_890x915.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Is my task a futile one?  Should I even bother trying to bring clarity and rationality to folks who poke their heads above the parapet and ask for correction?  With our nation beset on all sides by enemies concrete and ideological, I&#8217;m inclined to keep up the good fight.  </p><p>Is it worth the effort?  I don&#8217;t know.  Let me know in the comments. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png" width="554" height="554" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/dc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1024,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:554,&quot;bytes&quot;:1706694,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A6UQ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc2898f4-2c59-4486-8a9e-f91552f16871_1024x1024.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Hint: the dragons are the money the irresponsible Swamp Creatures have forced our unborn grandchildren to borrow.  Damned Boomers. </figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Christopher Messina, Enlightentaining Host of Messy Times&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Christopher Messina, Enlightentaining Host of Messy Times</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading the Occasional Musings of Christopher Messina, Enlightentaining Host of Messy Times! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support his insanely crucial work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Accused Rapist Eric Swalwell: Utterly Unsurprising]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hubris - it got the Greek gods every time. Eric is not a god, far from it, but he is the near-perfect exemplar of the egomaniac who creates his own destruction.]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/accused-rapist-eric-swalwell-utterly</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/accused-rapist-eric-swalwell-utterly</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 12:03:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Given the horrific damage to the nation this bastard has caused, I feel <em>zero </em>sympathy for him and likely none at all for his wife, either. He spewed a nonstop stream of lies about President Trump - remember all the stupid &#8220;Russian collusion&#8221; nonsense and the idiotic impeachments? - which did tremendous harm to the nation. That was in between voting to throw as much money at giving free healthcare and sanctuary to illegal border jumpers - money the taxpayers were forced to borrow and have no chance of repaying given The Swamp&#8217;s inability to stop blowing cash on idiocy.  </p><p>As for his wife, she signed onto this train of insane lies, thinking it was leading to more and more power and money. </p><p>Adam Schiff is next. (As the kids say, I am &#8220;manifesting&#8221; the desired reality in the magical hope that by saying it, that will make the Universe deliver it. We shall see.)</p><p>The inimitable <em>NY Post</em> has some splendid coverage of this sordid fiasco.  Reading it is like candy for the soul.</p><blockquote><p><strong><a href="https://nypost.com/politics/">Politics</a></strong></p><h1><strong>Eric Swalwell cowers in billionaire pal&#8217;s $26M mansion &#8212; as rape claim sparks career freefall</strong></h1><p>By <a href="https://nypost.com/author/josh-koehn/">Josh Koehn</a></p><p>Published April 11, 2026, 11:38 p.m. ET</p><p>Rep. Eric Swalwell&#8217;s political career is collapsing at a shocking speed.</p><p>Within 24 hours, the Bay Area congressman went from Democratic frontrunner for California governor to facing pressure to not only end his campaign but resign from Congress &#8212; while now being the <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/11/us-news/eric-swalwell-under-investigation-by-manhattan-da-over-alleged-sex-assault-of-staffer/">subject of a criminal sexual assault investigation</a> into allegations by a former staffer she was raped while drunk at an April 2024 charity gala.</p><p>Three other women have made claims about sexual misconduct ranging from inappropriate messages or unwanted contact. The women have claimed they have documented visits to the hospital and contemporaneous messages with friends and family about the incidents.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg" width="334" height="481.712676056338" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1024,&quot;width&quot;:710,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:334,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Eric Swalwell and Brittany Watts holding hands.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Eric Swalwell and Brittany Watts holding hands." title="Eric Swalwell and Brittany Watts holding hands." srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2X-!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87d457d6-2f87-4ec4-92ce-c6607c60f2da_710x1024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Rep. Eric Swalwell apologized to his wife Brittany in a video statement Friday while denying allegations. Getty Images</figcaption></figure></div><p>One staffer has also claimed she woke up naked next to him in a hotel room in 2019 after a heavy night of drinking and didn&#8217;t remember what happened but felt physically like they&#8217;d had sex.</p><p>The Manhattan District Attorney&#8217;s Office launched a criminal probe into the woman&#8217;s rape claim.</p><p>&#8220;I was pushing him off of me, saying no,&#8221; she told CNN. &#8220;He didn&#8217;t stop.&#8221;</p><p>The DA&#8217;s office issued a statement Saturday urging survivors and anyone with knowledge of allegations to contact its Special Victims Division.</p><p>&#8220;Our specially trained prosecutors, investigators and counselors are well-equipped to help you in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered manner,&#8221; officials said.</p><p>Swalwell has furiously denied the allegations of rape and sexual assault, but he did admit to indiscretions in a social media post Friday evening, saying he would be spending time away from the campaign with family and friends.</p><p>However, The Post confirmed that rather than being at home, Swalwell was <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/11/us-news/eric-swalwell-denies-rape-claims-in-video-filmed-at-donors-mansion/">holed up in the $26 million Beverly Hills mansion of his eccentric billionaire benefactor, Stephen Cloobeck</a>.</p><p>Multiple sources confirmed that the video Swalwell recorded was taken from a room inside the 9,700-square-foot home of Cloobeck, who&#8217;s also been<a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/05/us-news/onlyfans-model-accused-of-burgling-rich-old-men-in-la-engaged-to-lefty-billionaire-stephen-cloobeck/"> shacking up with an alleged honeytrapper</a> accused of burglarizing the home of rich, older men in Los Angeles.</p><p>&#8220;A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations, and I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly,&#8221; Swalwell said in his denial video.</p><p>&#8220;These allegations of sexual assault are flat out false.&#8221;</p></blockquote><p>The sharks are circling, right now from within the Democrat Party, most vocally from - surprise, surprise! - other hopeful contenders for The Next Democrat to Ruin California More Horribly.</p><blockquote><p>Katie Porter, a former congressman, was one of many candidates in the race for governor <a href="https://x.com/katieporterca/status/2042752972397122018?s=46&amp;t=pyd4Acn73VWtIC6nuFy7LA">calling on Swalwell to end his campaign</a> and to resign from Congress.</p><p>&#8220;But those decisions do not absolve him of taking responsibility for his misconduct, especially when he has attempted to silence and retaliate against these victims,&#8221; Porter wrote, leading some to note <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/10/10/us-news/katie-porter-dumped-scalding-mashed-potatoes-on-then-husbands-head-resurfaced-divorce-docs-reveal/">allegations that she verbally abused and physically assaulted her ex-husband</a>.</p></blockquote><p>This woman Porter is completely crackers - not just on absurdist policy, which is all Democrats have to offer anymore, but as she has demonstrated on camera, a completely unhinged egomaniac who hurls abuse at everyone around her, beginning with her loser husband.</p><p>When nutcases like Porter are <em>right </em>about something, you know you&#8217;re in trouble.</p><blockquote><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg" width="582" height="359.771484375" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:633,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:582,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Aerial view of Stephen Cloobeck's white luxury home in Beverly Hills.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Aerial view of Stephen Cloobeck's white luxury home in Beverly Hills." title="Aerial view of Stephen Cloobeck's white luxury home in Beverly Hills." srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5BIf!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08f8bf16-6eed-4ee9-99d8-1b32bba62a94_1024x633.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Stephen Cloobeck&#8217;s mansion has served as a haven for Rep, Eric Swalwell since the scandal broke. Google</figcaption></figure></div><p>Michael Trujillo, a Democratic political strategist based in Los Angeles, told The Post he had heard of improper relationships between Swalwell and staff as far back as 2017 &#8212; but even he was taken back by the rape allegations.</p><h1>&#8220;Narcissistic sociopaths think they&#8217;re good guys. So no matter what Eric Swalwell has been accused of, he still thinks he&#8217;s a good person,&#8221; he said.</h1><p>Swalwell&#8217;s resistance to dropping out of the race has done little keep his campaign staff from hemorrhaging.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg" width="514" height="343.837890625" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:685,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:514,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Eric Swalwell speaking at a town hall meeting in Sacramento, California.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Eric Swalwell speaking at a town hall meeting in Sacramento, California." title="Eric Swalwell speaking at a town hall meeting in Sacramento, California." srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Flm6!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F711b3902-ded8-4fc0-bc5c-9cebda18f823_1024x685.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Rep. Eric Swalwell was on the receiving end of a scathing statement by his campaign and office staff. AP</figcaption></figure></div><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re trying to help the staff [find new jobs], people who are new and cared and believed and put their professional lives on the line,&#8221; one campaign source told The Post.</p><p>&#8220;They went to work for someone who has horribly let them down.&#8221;&#8203;</p><p>Senior staffers for both Swalwell&#8217;s campaign and his congressional office issued a joint statement saying they are &#8220;horrified&#8221; by the allegations.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg" width="560" height="372.96875" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:682,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:560,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Exterior of Representative Eric Swalwell's Washington, DC home.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Exterior of Representative Eric Swalwell's Washington, DC home." title="Exterior of Representative Eric Swalwell's Washington, DC home." srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UO9z!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46318827-489b-4b84-abca-28af5dbbff83_1024x682.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Rep. Eric Swalwell&#8217;s financial situation appears messy and includes a mortgage for this home in Washington, D.C. Andrew Thomas/CNP for NY Post</figcaption></figure></div><p>&#8220;The behavior detailed in these reports is abhorrent, beneath the dignity of those serving in public office and betrays the trust of all Californians,&#8221; staffers wrote.</p><p>&#8220;Any decision of staff members to remain in their roles in the interim should not be viewed as support for Eric Swalwell.&#8221;</p><p>David Latterman, a political analyst in San Francisco, said that Swalwell&#8217;s campaign is like a &#8220;dead man walking.&#8221;</p><p>Many of Swalwell&#8217;s Democratic allies in Congress &#8212; from House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries to <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/10/us-news/eric-swalwell-loses-endorsements-for-ca-governor-after-sex-assault-reports/">former speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi</a> &#8212; have called for an investigation and told Swalwell to drop out of the governor&#8217;s race.</p><p>&#8220;Maybe the campaign is the least of his problems right now if he&#8217;s criminally charged and there is real evidence against him,&#8221; Latterman told The Post.</p><p>Swalwell&#8217;s financial disclosures offer one possible explanation for why he has refused to step aside.</p><p>The congressman, who previously worked as a prosecutor in Alameda County, had at least $80,000 in credit card and student loan debt as of last summer, along with a home loan for a property in Washington, D.C. valued between $1 million and $5 million, according to <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial-pdfs/2024/10066827.pdf">economic disclosures he filed</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, his assets included a Bank of America account with as little as $15,000 and a small public pension valued between $1,001 and $15,000.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg" width="560" height="372.96875" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:682,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:560,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Rep. Eric Swalwell, his wife, and their two children, Nelson and Cricket, sitting on a couch.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Rep. Eric Swalwell, his wife, and their two children, Nelson and Cricket, sitting on a couch." title="Rep. Eric Swalwell, his wife, and their two children, Nelson and Cricket, sitting on a couch." srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg 848w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1272, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg 1272w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GoHl!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_1456, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_auto, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5de03b43-798d-4a78-9abb-48b15ae8823b_1024x682.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Brittany Watts and Rep. Eric Swalwell now have three children after marrying in 2016. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images</figcaption></figure></div><p>Swalwell&#8217;s reported stake in AI company Findraiser, which has been <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/27/us-news/desperate-rep-eric-swalwell-may-have-broken-ethics-rules-hitting-up-colleagues-for-ai-cash/">accused of aggressively courting business</a> in a manner that may violate House ethics laws, was valued between $250,000 and $500,000. The technology may be a tougher sell with Swalwell under criminal investigation.&#8203;</p><p>Swalwell, who has claimed to rent a room in Livermore to establish residency in California, now could be on the hook for legal fees to defend himself if a case moves forward.</p><p>The Post visited Swalwell&#8217;s home in Livermore last month and found an empty cottage cheese container on the lawn, and <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/12/us-news/eric-swalwell-claims-he-lives-in-california-neighbors-say-otherwise/">none of his neighbors could recall having ever seen him</a>.</p><p>With money tight, Swalwell&#8217;s past campaigns have offered a lifeline for his family, as he <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article315242030.html">spent $244,000 in campaign funds on childcare</a> from 2019 through 2025, according to the Sacramento Bee. Swalwell and <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/11/us-news/who-is-brittany-watts-wife-of-disgraced-cali-rep-eric-swalwell/">his wife Brittany</a> &#8212; whom he apologized to in his denial video Friday &#8212; have three young children.</p><p>A source familiar with the congressman&#8217;s financial history told The Post that Swalwell&#8217;s money situation may be what&#8217;s driving his refusal to heed calls for him to end his campaign and resign from Congress.</p><p>&#8220;He has no backup,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;I really think so much of this is about a financial path forward.&#8221;</p></blockquote><p>A warning to all the kids out there: if you want to have a successful life, don&#8217;t spend your time spewing absurd lies about the President of the United States in between getting staffers drunk and raping them.</p><p>Words to live by.</p><p>In the meanwhile, I shall butter some more popcorn and enjoy the view of Swalwell&#8217;s demise with unabashed glee. </p><p>Remember: Adam Schiff is next. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/accused-rapist-eric-swalwell-utterly?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/accused-rapist-eric-swalwell-utterly?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Elon saved Free Speech by buying Twitter; but today's X is not reflective of that honorable impulse.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Global bot farms spewing Jew Hatred 25 hours a day, 8 days a week is not "Free Speech."]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/elon-saved-free-speech-by-buying</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/elon-saved-free-speech-by-buying</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 03:07:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TXk!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F746f4584-c299-4a59-b623-ca26a62c1143_1280x1280.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Elon Musk is a busy guy. No matter your opinions about how he invests his money or lives his life, there is no disputing the man has a heaping big full plate. So it is no surprise to me that he finds it hard to exert managerial control over each company he owns. When it comes down to it, his major preoccupation is turning humanity into a Space-Faring species, so anything else aside from that mission likely gets less attention. </p><p>Back during Twitter B.E. (Before Elon), I was thrown off the platform for citing CDC and Italian Institute of Health statistics about the Wuhan Fakedemic which - of course - the Idiot Woke Censors deemed to be &#8220;spreading medical misinformation.&#8221;</p><p>X was OK for a while, but as it became more and more a cesspool of Jew Hatred, I decided it was not worth my mental health to remain on the platform, so I closed my account earlier this year. For whatever reason - likely to find a way to pay for the loans he took to buy the platform - he has not stymied the appalling amounts of Jew Hatred which now seems to consume X. </p><p>Last week, the <a href="https://www.eff.org/">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a> announced that they, too, would be leaving X. The citation on Slashdot explained why:</p><blockquote><h1><strong><a href="https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/04/09/1656219/eff-is-leaving-x">EFF Is Leaving X</a> <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/eff-leaving-x">(eff.org)</a><a href="https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/04/09/1656219/eff-is-leaving-x#comments">181</a></strong></h1><p>Posted by <strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/beauhd/">BeauHD</a></strong> on Thursday April 09, 2026 @02:00PM from the logging-off dept.</p><p>After nearly 20 years on the platform, The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/eff-leaving-x">says it is leaving X</a>. &#8220;This isn&#8217;t a decision we made lightly, but it might be overdue,&#8221; the digital rights group said. &#8220;The math hasn&#8217;t worked out for a while now.&#8221; From the report: We posted to Twitter (now known as X) five to ten times a day in 2018. Those tweets garnered somewhere between 50 and 100 million impressions per month. By 2024, our 2,500 X posts generated around 2 million impressions each month. Last year, our 1,500 posts earned roughly 13 million impressions for the entire year. To put it bluntly, an X post today receives less than 3% of the views a single tweet delivered seven years ago. [...]<br><br>When you go online, your rights should go with you. X is no longer where the fight is happening. The platform Musk took over was imperfect but impactful. What exists today is something else: diminished, and increasingly <em>de minimis</em>.<br><br>EFF takes on big fights, and we win. We do that by putting our time, skills, and our members&#8217; support where they will effect the most change. Right now, that means <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/eff.org">Bluesky</a>, <a href="https://mastodon.social/@eff">Mastodon</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/EFF">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/efforg/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@efforg">TikTok</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/eff">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/efforg">YouTube</a>, and <a href="http://eff.org/">eff.org</a>. We hope you follow us there and keep supporting the work we do. Our work protecting digital rights is needed more than ever before, and we&#8217;re here to help you <a href="http://takebackctrl.org/">take back control</a>.</p></blockquote><p>While I left X for qualitative reasons - too much unchecked or even countered Jew Hatred and other forms of sheer ignorance - the EFF interestingly left for quantitative reasons. </p><p>The two are interlinked.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.eff.org/" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PKBZ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, 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stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>If you are unfamiliar with the EFF&#8217;s work, you shouldn&#8217;t be. I know you&#8217;re online, because you&#8217;re reading this.</p><p>Check them out. The privacy you save may be your own.</p><p></p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/elon-saved-free-speech-by-buying?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="/__u/christophermessina.substack.com/p/elon-saved-free-speech-by-buying?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Department of Justice is NOT an "independent" agency.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Democrats are wonderful at lying incessantly to the American people. Their unending coordinated web of lies is designed to convince you of an entirely false "reality."]]></description><link>https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/the-department-of-justice-is-not</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://christophermessina.substack.com/p/the-department-of-justice-is-not</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Messina]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:17:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1yKJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F80411397-a338-4d05-b26c-05b0596b2638_1748x2480.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I grew up reading <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> in high school<em>. </em>It played no small part in my decision to go into investment banking.  I happened to live in the same dorm my first year in college with the editor&#8217;s daughter. The <em>Journal </em>was once a profoundly valuable source of information about the global capital markets, political policies which - for good or ill - impacted the free flow of business, trade and finance. </p><p>It is now indistinguishable from <em>New York Pravda, </em>more popularly known as <em>The New York Times.</em> Both rags are now Leftist propaganda sheets of no objective value. </p><p>In what can only be called reflexive muscle memory, I grabbed a copy of the paper in a hotel lobby this morning. The front page below the fold has a piece about the Trump DOJ. I got as far as this gem before writing this piece and tossing the <em>Journal</em> to the floor.</p><blockquote><p>The agency&#8217;s shift away from prosecutorial independence has already driven resignations and retirements from the Justice Department in numbers not seen in modern times.</p></blockquote><p>Wow. That is quite a statement.</p><p>Where are the data to support this asserted <em><strong>direct causal effect</strong> </em>of people leaving the DOJ and its supposed &#8220;shift&#8221; away from some hypothetical thing called &#8220;prosecutorial independence?&#8221; None are presented. The current crop of &#8220;reporters&#8221; at this pinko rag cannot be bothered to do things like read 3,400 exit interviews (assuming such are even available to Nosy Parkers who want to violate private H.R. matters) and compile a statistical profile comparing the stated reasons for resignations for these people who left the DOJ since January 2025. What was the distribution of &#8220;reasons for leaving&#8221; provided by respondents?  Nor is this period of time compared against previous 15-month periods of time. What dates bracket &#8220;modern times&#8221; in this reporter&#8217;s mind?  Are 3,400 resignations and retirements an exceptional amount compared to other time periods?  Does the number of resignations rise under Republican Presidents (Because 92% of DC residents are registered Democrats) or is it constant under presidents of both parties?</p><p>I could go on, but why bother?</p><p>As Martin Sheen&#8217;s character in <em>Apocalypse Now </em>stated so eloquently, &#8220;the bullshit in Vietnam piled up so high you needed wings to stay above it.&#8221; </p><p>Whatever the reasons each individual had for leaving the DOJ, the larger point is that the author Mark Maurer - along with the entire Democrat-Media Complex - is wrong fundamentally in his belief that somehow an agency of the Executive Branch should be &#8220;independent&#8221; of the President. </p><p>Here is a helpful tip. Whenever you read someone bemoaning a Federal agency&#8217;s &#8220;lack of independence&#8221; or its supposedly bad &#8220;bending to the will of the President,&#8221; what you are really reading is a sentence which would read honestly as, &#8220;I am a Democrat and I hate it when the people elect a Republican to lead the Executive Branch.&#8221;</p><p>(I have a cash prize for anyone who can provide me one single instance of the Media moaning about an agency&#8217;s &#8220;lack of independence&#8221; under a Democrat President.)</p><p>Every single department and agency funded by the taxpayers <em><strong>is required by Law to listen to the orders of the elected President.</strong></em> That is the entire point of our republican form of government. </p><p>What these liars like Mr. Maurer never try to unpack is the full set of implications involved in their supposed dream of, say, an &#8220;independent Department of Justice.&#8221; </p><p>If the DOJ is to be &#8220;independent&#8221; of the President, then to whom are the staff of the DOJ and Attorney General answerable to? Themselves? </p><p>Every single employee of the Executive Branch is required to obey the orders of the President of the United States. </p><p>Period. </p><p>Find out more fun facts about how our government <em>should </em>operate here:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://messinasbudget.com" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="/__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1yKJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_424, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/c_limit, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/f_webp, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/q_auto:good, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F80411397-a338-4d05-b26c-05b0596b2638_1748x2480.jpeg 424w, /__u/substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1yKJ!, /__u/christophermessina.substack.com/w_848, 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