The Liberty Podcast - April 11, 2024

Welcome back, friends.

More than six months after Iran-funded Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, six Americans are still held hostage (unless, as some fear, they have been murdered). They are among 130 or more hostages who are languishing in Hamas controlled territories. Five of the six American-born hostages are young adults; the sixth is a former Chapel Hill, NC, resident, 64, who has lived in Israel for more than four decades.

Adding to the tragic scenario, three young men were serving as volunteers within the Israeli military when Hamas launched its surprise attack on October 7, 2023. One, a New Jersey teen, 19, recently graduated from high school and deferred enrollment into a U.S. college in order to serve in his adopted homeland of Israel.

The U.S. response to the hostage crisis under the Biden regime offers little reason for optimism among their family members. Instead, "President" Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken continue to badger Israel to declare a cease-fire, and to do so minus a hostage release provision imposed on Hamas.

Freshman U.S. Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) proposes a novel approach that also is a long shot given Democrat control of the Senate. Budd and two fellow Republicans co-sponsored a bill that cuts off funding to Qatar (why do we send Qatar a dime?) unless and until it stops providing refuge to the sinister leaders of Hamas. It's not merely refuge; it's a luxury lifestyle, complete with high-rise penthouses and fast cars.

Closer to home, NC Senate Republicans are expected to take up a bill to require universal compliance by state sheriffs interacting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Passage of the law -- already approved by the state House -- would require all 100 NC sheriffs to turn over illegals to ICE within 48 hours. Believe it or not, sheriffs in several large, Democrat counties refuse to deal with ICE personnel, claiming the removal of illegals is inhumane. You can't make it up when it comes to the delusion of the Left.

An intelligence community provision known as FISA Section 702 was intended to make it easier to spy on bad guys aboard. But rampant corruption within the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation led to cases in which warrantless FISA activity was abused to target Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and his subsequent presidency. With an April 19, 2024, deadline looming to extend FISA protocols, several House conservatives are demanding a dramatic overhaul to protect innocent Americans from their political enemies. Among them: firebrand U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop (NC-08).

Despite the ranting of the Left and its media surrogates about inflation's incredible disappearing act (nothing to see here), inflation is making a comeback. During the first three months of the year, the Consumer Price Index has risen with persistence, by 0.3% (January), 0.4% (February) and 0.4% (March). The data arrives as no surprise to consumers, who have listened with astonishment as Biden and fellow Democrats have assured them that the economy is "roaring" and that pandemic-era inflation is no more.

A new book by an unlikely author, a Washington Post reporter, chronicles the ascent of the MAGA movement within the Republican Party. MAGA field commander Steve Bannon cautions conservatives inclined to dismiss "Finish What We Started" as a hit job intended to demean and diminish the Trump-led movement. Despite claims that MAGA's goal is to "end Democracy", Bannon advises that the book actually confirms that MAGA is legitimate force that terrifies radical Obama-inspired Democrats. It's readily available to order via Amazon.