Closing the tabs …
President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, former real estate attorney and investor Steve Witkoff, has left administration insiders distressed by his approach to negotiating with two of America’s greatest adversaries — with one calling the 68-year-old a “bumbling f—ing idiot” over his conduct.
Witkoff, who has become Trump’s de facto personal ambassador to Russian President Vladimir Putin in addition to taking on the Middle East portfolio, takes part in high-level meetings alone — and is said to have even occasionally leaned on Kremlin translators — in a break with longstanding diplomatic procedure, multiple sources told The Post. …
“His assumption that actors like Hamas or Iran are primarily motivated by a desire to live — and can therefore be reasoned with through direct engagement — reflects a dangerous misunderstanding of their long-term ideological goals,” said Shiri Fein-Grossman, the former Head of Regional Affairs at the Israel National Security Council said.
Ed: I am equally concerned that Witkoff is getting outmatched. He fell for Hamas’ rhetoric the last time, and does not appear to be presenting a formidable figure with Russia or Iran. I understand Trump’s reluctance to rely on “deep state” insiders, but he needs someone with a more realistic understanding of Hamas, Iran, and Russia. And it seems notable that administration figures are getting frustrated enough to leak to the New York Post.
===
Excellent response, particularly on weapons and the West https://t.co/QEHjhoNYpX
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) April 30, 2025
===
Yale University officially revoked the registration of its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter after members defied university warnings and staged an unauthorized encampment protest that allegedly included anti-Semitic harassment.
The protest, which took place on the night of April 23, saw activists erect eight tents and chant radical slogans demanding Yale cut ties with Israel. Demonstrators formed a barricade around the area, blocking Jewish students from passing through and verbally harassing them, according to footage shared on social media. …
“Last night, when I should have been completing my senior thesis, I instead found myself being physically blocked—along with other Jewish peers—from walking through sections of Yale’s Beinecke Plaza.”
“Our non-Jewish classmates were allowed to pass freely through the newly formed pro-Palestinian encampment while we were shoved, pushed, and called ‘scum,’” he added.
Ed: Yale must have figured it would be next on Trump’s list for crackdowns on Academia — and they should be, if they don’t expel the students who participated in this intimidation campaign. This is precisely the conduct that should trigger Title VII sanctions by the federal government, especially the suspension of federal funds. The Free Beacon has more on this, too.
===
🚨This is NUTS: Secretary Rubio just announced that he found DOZENS of files kept by Joe Biden’s State Department that classified American citizens as “vectors of disinformation” — with the intention of censoring them.
That’s not all.
Marco Rubio says that there’s someone in… pic.twitter.com/Q8FcrNp9M9
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 30, 2025
Ed: I bet it was Elon. He was the one who stopped this nonsense on Twitter and then exposed the corrupt efforts at State and HHS to censor Americans who debated and dissented from the official narratives of the pandemic. If it was Elon, expect to see the dossier on X.
===
This morning, the Ethics and Public Policy Center released the results of a new study on the health risks of chemical abortions. Obtaining data from a private health insurance registry, they were able to analyze health outcomes from over 800,000 women who obtained chemical abortions between 2017 and 2023. They found that over 4 percent of these women visited an emergency room and that nearly 11 percent suffered a serious adverse event. These risks are far greater than the health risks reported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This study is important for several reasons. First, it considers relatively recent data on the health outcomes of women who obtained chemical abortions. Most of the previous research on the safety of chemical abortions analyzed older data. Prior to 2016, women obtaining chemical abortions had to make multiple in-person visits to a medical professional. Additionally, only pregnant women at less than seven weeks’ gestation could obtain chemical abortions.
Ed: This is good analysis from Michael New. Be sure to read it all.
===
I’m not sure this is a winning message! https://t.co/hU9GIeq07Z
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 30, 2025
Ed: Uh … it’s not. It’s the same thinking that led Barack Obama to declare, “At some point, you’ve made enough money.” Shortages and austerity don’t sell where austerity REALLY matters, and especially not for children’s toys.
===
Since being sworn in this month, civil rights director Harmeet K. Dhillon has redirected her staff to focus on combating antisemitism, the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports and what Trump and his allies have described as anti-Christian bias and the Democrats’ “woke ideology.” …
More than 100 division attorneys have already said they will leave their jobs, Dhillon told conservative podcaster Glenn Beck during an appearance on his show Saturday. Many departed because they disagree with the division’s new direction, she said.
The division had about 380 attorneys when Trump began his second term in the White House. Approximately half have left or said they will leave, according to people familiar with the division, and Dhillon told Beck she had no problem with their departures.
Ed: The “woke ideology” in question has resulted in race-based discrimination in hiring, higher-ed admissions, access to grants at the state and local levels, and now even in the application of justice in Minnesota and elsewhere. If attorneys in the Civil Rights Division don’t see that as a problem, then … well, bye!
===
The Obama administration literally had an (unannounced) policy that it would not take cases in which the victims of civil rights laws violations were white. It stacked DOJ’s CRD with lawyers who were on board with this. Good riddance. https://t.co/ciMtzADQKv
— David Bernstein (@ProfDBernstein) April 29, 2025
Ed: David put it better!
===
As a millenniums-old symbol of Christian faith, the cross would seem somewhat immune to trendiness. But cross necklaces and pendants have been in vogue before and may be again as some feel more comfortable embracing their faith and seek community with others.
On red carpets, on social media, at protests by high-ranking Democrats and in the White House, necklaces with cross pendants are appearing with renewed prevalence. Chappell Roan wore an oversize one to the MTV Video Music Awards in September, and one dangled from Sabrina Carpenter’s neck in the music video for her single “Please Please Please.” The trendy online store Ssense sells them in nearly 50 variations, and mainstream jewelers like Kendra Scott and Zales carry numerous designs.
Ed: File this under “Headlines from 1984.” Didn’t we cover this “the cross as a fashion item” with Madonna?
===
This is hilarious.
Yes, Tim, saying men need tampons is totally bro code.
What a fraud. https://t.co/raDfdvONLn
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) April 30, 2025
Ed: I already covered this in my post early this afternoon, but Katie’s comment is pure gold. Plus, I didn’t have the video of Walz making these remarks. And what great progressive policies have improved lives in Minnesota? Letting riots burn out the urban cores of Minneapolis and St. Paul?
