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Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Hamas Captive Released: American Citizen Edan Alexander

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this time.” (That’s the blessing you can hear Edan’s grandmother reciting in Hebrew) (X). Foundation for the Defense of Democracies: American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander was freed on May 12 after spending 584 days in captivity following his abduction by Hamas during the Iran-backed terrorist organization’s atrocities on October 7, 2023. The 21-year-old IDF soldier, believed to have been the last living American citizen held hostage in Gaza, was handed over to a Red Cross delegation by Hamas before being transferred to Israeli forces and returned to Israel. To facilitate a safe transfer, the IDF reportedly paused airstrikes and artillery barrages against Hamas positions to establish a secure corridor in Gaza (FDD). Reunited with family: (X). His treatment in captivity: … he was held for a long period in a cage, bound hand and foot. As a result of the prolonged restraint, he suffered significant weakness in his legs and struggled to walk upon his release. Red Cross personnel had to assist him into the vehicle during his transfer. Alexander was held alongside other hostages in the southern Gaza Strip, including Matan Zangauker, in a tunnel without daylight. There, he endured severe food shortages, according to a report by Kan 11. Only in recent months did he begin to receive more food, and in the final weeks before his release, the terrorists reportedly took to calling him “the American.” Footage from his hometown in New Jersey: (Jerusalem Post). Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin (who lost their son at the hands of Hamas) extend their best wishes: (X).

Republicans Release Draft of Tax Bill

For their “one big, beautiful bill.” Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT): Republicans are aligned on making President Trump’s tax cuts permanent and avoiding a $4 trillion tax increase on hardworking Americans (X). Bloomberg: President Donald Trump’s campaign tax pledges—no taxes on tips and overtime pay, plus new tax breaks for car buyers and seniors—are the centerpiece of a multitrillion dollar package that will serve as Republicans’ signature legislative effort. In a draft version of the tax bill released on Monday, House Republicans highlighted the president’s populist priorities in a package that would enact those cuts through 2028. The bill would also make the lower individual tax rates Trump signed in 2017 permanent. The bill addressed a tax issue that has been dividing lawmakers since it was first restricted by Trump in 2017: the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction. The plan raises the SALT limit to $30,000, but with limits for individuals earning more than $200,000 or couples making twice that (Bloomberg). Text of the draft bill: (Washington Examiner).

Markets Soar After Announcement of Trade Agreement With China

Wall Street Journal: U.S. stocks surged, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite entering a new bull market, after the U.S. and China agreed to slash punishingly high tariffs on each other’s goods. The decision by the world’s two largest economies represents a major thaw in trade relations that resets the tone between the countries from outright conflict to constructive engagement. After two days of weekend talks in Geneva: President Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff on China will fall to 10% from 125%; A separate 20% tariff the president imposed over what he described as China’s role in the fentanyl trade will remain; Beijing will cut its retaliatory levies on U.S. goods to 10% from 125%; the U.S. said reductions will last 90 days while talks continue (Wall Street Journal). Stephen Moore: If this blockbuster deal materializes, Wall Street’s bullish response signals confidence, boosting the American economy and benefiting businesses across the board. Naysayers doubted President Trump, but he showcased his deal-making prowess! (X). David Bahnsen: this is, of course, what markets love to hear (X).

Trump Departs to Middle East

He’ll begin in Saudi Arabia, where he already has a big win: even before leaving Washington, Trump had already secured an important win from Riyadh in the form of extra crude oil that has contributed to a drop in oil prices. The oil market was surprised in early April when a subset of eight members of the OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) producer group announced it would be increasing supply at triple the previously expected rate. That’s because the Saudi-led coalition had worked assiduously for more than a year to keep supply tight—twice postponing a program to very gradually add barrels until the market was strong enough to support the move. Suddenly, in early April (just as financial markets were reeling from the trade war), the producer group announced it would be hiking May output by 411,000 barrels per day—three times the volume it had previously publicized. And just last week, it doubled down, maintaining the faster supply rate for June (CSIS). New York Times: President Trump will tour the Gulf this week in search of one thing above all else: business deals. Planes. Nuclear power. Artificial intelligence investments. Arms. Anything that puts a signature on the bottom of a page. While planning the first major overseas trip of his second term, a four-day swing through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Trump told his advisers that he wanted to announce deals that would be worth more than $1 trillion (New York Times).

Qatar Offering U.S. a Boeing 747-8

A temporary Air Force One: President Trump confirmed reports Sunday that his administration is planning to accept a luxury jet, a Boeing 747-8, from the Qatari government. Trump insisted the gift would be received by the Defense Department “in a very public and transparent transaction,” as he pushed back on criticism from Democrats who described the arrangement as a grift. The luxury jet would temporarily replace Air Force One and then be transferred over to the Trump presidential library at the end of his term. Boeing has had a contract with the U.S. government to deliver a new Air Force One jet, but it’s been faced with a host of delays (The Hill). Behind the Qatari offer is Trump’s frustration with Boeing over delays in a new Air Force One: “We’re very disappointed that it’s taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,” Trump told reporters at the White House — noting that the current presidential aircraft is 40 years old and not in the same “ball game” as current planes used by other heads of state, especially in the Arab world. Trump has been criticizing Boeing for months for not being on schedule in their delivery of an updated plane for presidential use (New York Post).

Qatar Has a Decades-Long History of Sponsoring Islamist Terror

The Qatar leg of the trip has given angst to those tracking with the dark history of the nation. Most recently, many will remember they gave safe shelter to Hamas leaders, an arrangement that ended late last year (CNN). MEMRI has pulled together a report on the history of Qatar and terror support, focused on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM): who has admitted his responsibility for planning and executing terrorist attacks against American targets, including being the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, funding the first World Trade Center (WTC) attack in 1993, as well as personally beheading the Wall Street Journal reporter and American citizen Daniel Pearl. KSM also planned to assassinate then-President Bill Clinton. Additionally, according to Richard A. Clarke, counterterrorism advisor to Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush, when the FBI came to arrest KSM and informed the Emir, KSM disappeared within hours…. Qatar provided a safe haven for Al-Qaeda’s Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, who became the chief architect of 9/11. From 1993-1996 KSM was based in Qatar, from where he was able to plan and orchestrate a series of attacks directed against the United States (MEMRI).

Planned Parenthood Releases Annual Report; Abortion Numbers “an all-time high number for the organization”

Michael New: Over the past 10 yrs: Abortions: 22.8% increase; Taxpayer Funding: 49.9% increase; Pregnancy Tests: 16.4% decrease; Prenatal Care: 62.8% decrease; Cancer Screenings: 54.4% decrease. More tax dollars, more abortions, less health care (X). National Right to Life: This report is the first full account following the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Women’s Health Services that overturned Roe v. Wade. The report shows that Planned Parenthood performed 402,230 abortions, or about 4 of every 10 abortions nationwide, and that abortions outnumbered prenatal care 57 to 1. “Planned Parenthood performed a record number of abortions and continues to promote abortion for any reason and at any time,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “The abortion giant’s primary mission to destroy preborn children cannot be more clear” (NRLC). National Review: Overall, this new report shows that Planned Parenthood performed 402,230 abortions in 2023. This marks the first time that Planned Parenthood has reported performing over 400,000 abortions in a given year — and represents an all-time high number for the organization. Overall, Planned Parenthood performs over 39 percent of the abortions that take place in the United States…. With Republicans controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, pro-lifers have a unique opportunity to defund Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood’s annual report indicates it receives 39 percent of its revenue from the government. Thus, a federal funding cutoff would do substantial harm to the abortion giant. House Republicans unveiled legislation on Sunday that would defund Planned Parenthood. Let’s hope this report gives Congressional Republicans the ammunition they need to continue their efforts and finally end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood (National Review). It’s worth noting: Most abortion now comes by way of the abortion pill, adding another layer of sobriety to these numbers (Guttmacher).

Trump Approval at 52 Percent in Latest Rasmussen Poll

52-46 in the latest report (Rasmussen). The right direction-wrong direction numbers look good for the 47^th president as well. Nick Arama of Red State: Rasmussen’s Mark Mitchell commented on what they found in their polling: “In 20 years, the % of people who say the US is headed in the Right Direction has never been higher than today.” Forty-nine percent thought we were going in the “Right Direction.” Forty-six percent thought we were on the “Wrong Track.” That’s a three-point net positive. The previous record was 48 percent, with a net plus one point positive. He said the right direction number had never been this high. Mitchell thought that if the trend continued, he might soon be able to say that a majority of Americans thought we were on the right track. That would be astonishing, since the right track number is generally a pessimistic number (Red State).

Biden and Team Squirming as Release Date of Tell-All Book Approaches

The book: “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson comes out May 20 (Amazon). New York Sun: In two weeks, the most anticipated book alleging a cover-up of President Biden’s mental decline hits shelves. To counterprogram, the former president is deploying a spinner, Chris Meagher, Politico reports. The strategy harkens back to generations ago, but its chances of success today are slim. Clips of Mr. Biden, offered as proof of his infirmities, are fixtures on social media. Mr. Meagher’s record as a spinner includes a stint last year as a Pentagon spokesman during which he helped hide Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization from even the president…. “Original Sin” promises to illuminate “how big the problem was” and states that it “raises fundamental issues of accountability and responsibility that will continue for decades.” For Mr. Biden and his supporters, the issue is more immediate and personal…. The Biden team appears to have served as the “bodyguard of lies” that Winston Churchill said “should always” protect “the truth.” Churchill was speaking of “wartime,” deception in combat, which is how Democrats could frame their fight against Mr. Trump. Good luck. That would require humiliating admissions of ends justifying means (New York Sun).

10.

The Decivilizing of America

Victor Davis Hanson: …what we suffered from 2021 to 2025 was unprecedented. It was an intentional administration effort to de-civilize the nation by destroying its borders—as if to return to the premodern era, when there were no clearly defined or secure borders, and nomadic peoples migrated as they pleased. Stranger still, illegal aliens were at times given precedence over citizens—as immigration law was simply discarded. Without IDs, illegal aliens boarded U.S. flights, while the government ordered citizens to obtain more secure “real” IDs. Some 8,500 veteran soldiers were drummed out of the military for refusing the experimental mRNA vaccinations. Yet 10 million simply walked across the southern border into America, without a care from the Biden administration whether they were vaccinated, ill, or had criminal records…. Why is America decivilizing? In part, our mediocre schools have not produced competent stewards to maintain and expand the sophisticated infrastructure and ethos of a prior, far more capable generation. In part, the sheer richness of our inheritance lulled our Lotus-Eater generations to consume what they inherited rather than reinvest it, given that since birth they had been insulated from the elemental and unchanging human and natural challenges to civilization. And in part, a nihilism arose that despised the hard work of civilization and instead romanticized the wild—clueless that natural man, without the bridles of civilization, is a very dangerous beast, as we so often and lamentably see today (Victor Hanson).

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