NYC Terror Attack
A demonstration this weekend against public Islamic prayers in New York City nearly turned deadly. The demonstration was organized by social media influencer Jake Lang and took place outside of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City.
But after a mob of Muslim counter-protesters showed up, someone threw two explosive devices at Lang’s demonstration. A third explosive device was discovered Sunday morning. Thankfully, the devices did not explode.
Police arrested two suspects—Emir Balat (18) and Ibrahim Kayumi (19). Federal law enforcement officials said one of the suspects yelled, “Allahu Akbar.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a statement condemning Jake Lang as a “White supremacist” and said nothing about the radical Islamists who tried to kill him.
Balat’s parents came from Turkey and became naturalized citizens in 2017. Kayumi’s parents came from Afghanistan and became naturalized citizens in 2004 and 2009. Perhaps the parents assimilated, but their sons did not. They became Islamic extremists and drove from Pennsylvania to New York City to murder people.
Our problems go beyond just illegal immigration.
Here’s more evidence.
During an interview last week with a Lebanon-based media outlet affiliated with Hezbollah, Khalid Turaani expressed his desire to “get rid of this occupying, Zionist, Israeli entity, once and for all.” Khalid Turaani isn’t a Hezbollah commander or an Iranian cleric. He is the executive director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Rama Duwaji, Mayor Mamdani’s wife, liked numerous social media posts praising the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack against innocent Israelis. When asked about his wife’s apparent antisemitism and support for Islamic terrorism, Mamdani said that his wife is “a private person who has held no formal position on my campaign or in my City Hall.”
That wasn’t the question. The real question, Mr. Mayor, is why are you comfortable having a wife that celebrates the murder of Jewish women, children, and the elderly?
Dangerous Democrats
It’s day 24 of the Democrat shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. If the Republicans did that when a Democrat president was in office, that’s all the media would be talking about—especially if there was a conflict raging in the Middle East and a heightened risk of terrorism here in our homeland.
Over the weekend, TSA lines at multiple airports, including Atlanta, were three to five hours long. In the Middle East right now, brave men and women in the Coast Guard are deployed, and they are now not getting paid to take care of their families because of Democrat obstructionism. There is no pressure from Big Media calling out the Democrat Party.
Fear & Panic
The financial markets are roiling. Panic is in the air. Welcome to a world that lives and dies on 24/7 mass communication. If it bleeds, it leads. And, as always, the people most at risk are the men and women who defend us.
But the media hysteria is just a bunch of noise. If we all soak it in, the fear and panic will sap the will of the American people and possibly force us to give up and not do what needs to be done.
If we persevere, communist China, Russia, and North Korea will all learn an important lesson about the determination of the United States of America to protect our interests. But the Democrat Party and their media allies are trying to spread the fear that permeates our “elites.”
If that fear prevails, communist China, Russia, and North Korea, as well as Iran, will learn a different lesson. If there is anything to be afraid of, it is the appearance of weakness in a dangerous world.
If our enemies learn the lesson that America may be the most powerful nation in the world, but its people have no will, then you may as well learn how to speak Chinese now.
Oil’s Rise
Oil prices have jumped significantly since the start of Operation Epic Fury. One reason this rise is so dramatic is because Donald Trump and his “Drill, Baby, Drill” philosophy brought oil prices down so much. Under Biden, the price of a barrel of oil peaked at $138. A barrel of oil sold for $72.48 in late February.
This is not a supply problem. It’s an access to the supply problem. Unless Iran turns its entire nation into a “suicide bomber” and destroys the oil infrastructure of the entire Middle East, prices will fall as quickly as they went up as soon as we have accomplished our key objectives.
Once the Strait of Hormuz fully reopens, the problem will be processing all that excess oil coming out of the Persian Gulf. By the way, Iran has not closed down the Strait of Hormuz. That was done by insurance companies. Ponder that.
In spite of the Democrats’ resistance, we are much less dependent on Middle East oil than we were during Jimmy Carter’s gas lines. But some major economic powers, such as China and Japan, have no domestic oil production.
China imports at least half of its oil from the Middle East. Japan imports 95% of its oil from the Middle East. If they can’t get it from the Middle East, they have to buy it from other sources, which drives up the global price.
By the way, that little gambit Trump successfully pulled off with Venezuela is looking pretty good right now!
Market Predictions
If we accomplish our goals in a reasonable amount of time and can legitimately say, “We won,” the price of a barrel of oil and a gallon of gas will drop rapidly. One of the ways you can see the evidence of that is by looking at the oil market itself.
A barrel of oil for delivery in March or April costs somewhere around $109. Some experts are saying that it could go as high as $150 a barrel before this conflict is over.
But if you wanted to sign a contract now to have a barrel of oil delivered to you in June, you would only pay $89. If you want a contract for a barrel of oil delivered to you later in the year, you’re going to pay only around $72 a barrel.
In other words, the price goes down as more time goes by. So, the experts who regularly buy and sell oil believe this conflict will be over sooner rather than later.
Will We Run Out?
There is some concern our military could run out of ammunition and certain weapons depending on how long Operation Epic Fury goes on. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth downplayed the concerns, saying current stockpiles are sufficient to “sustain this campaign as long as we need to.”
But why is the greatest military power in the world worried about running out of ammunition? The answer is that Joe Biden, the Democrat Party, the media, and other powerful forces were all in on sending Ukraine whatever weapons it needed. That meant we were not building up our stockpiles during the Biden years. We were dramatically drawing them down.
Any time there was even the slightest attempt to redirect resources to our military and our interests, Democrats and the media went crazy. After President Trump took out Iran’s nuclear weapons program last year, we briefly paused shipments of Patriot missile interceptors to Ukraine to evaluate our stockpiles. Democrats went ballistic. (Pun intended.)
Going all the way back to Ronald Reagan, anytime a Republican president pushed to develop systems to destroy enemy missiles, Democrats mocked it as “Star Wars” and tried to defund it. (Here and here.) The only political force in America that, decade after decade, has fought for the things that kept us safe has been the Republican Party.
Propaganda Polls
The Left has tried to convince us that the American people are overwhelmingly opposed to President Trump’s action in Iran. The first Reuters poll reported that only 27% of Americans supported the strikes on Iran, while 43% disapproved, and the rest couldn’t make up their minds. Later, a Fox News poll showed the public was divided 50/50.
The latest CBS News poll asked respondents if they approved of military action against Iran based on how long the conflict lasts. The results were remarkable:
- If the conflict lasts days or weeks, then 76% of Americans would support strikes against Iran, while 24% oppose them.
- If the conflict lasts two or more months (more than seven weeks), 46% would support the strikes and 54% would then oppose them.
- If the conflict lasts years, then, of course, support tanks to just 13%. Nobody is for that, including the president.
If the conflict ends by mid-April, this poll shows that Democrats would be on the wrong side of yet another 80/20 issue.
Tune In To Family Talk
Please tune in to Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk radio show. On today’s broadcast, I speak with entrepreneur Ken Eldred, who launched several multi-billion-dollar companies while maintaining clear priorities: God, family, and then work. Discover how biblical principles can transform your business, too.
Find station listings here. Listen online here.