Blaze Media's own Ashton DeGroot says her husband and brother-in-law are stranded in Israel



As Israel is at war due to Hamas' brutal attacks that have killed many, including children, TheBlaze's own Ashton DeGroot says that her husband and brother-in-law are among the American citizens currently stranded in Israel.

"He's already experienced rockets exploding overhead on multiple occasions," DeGroot said in a video posted on social media, adding that "we still have no answers as to when he can return home to me and our children."

— (@)

DeGroot, who has three children, told TheBlaze that her husband Joshua and his brother Caleb were on the trip abroad to do work related to a Messianic Jewish ministry.

She is desperately working to ensure that her husband can evacuate the country, but so far, she says the U.S. Embassy has not been any help. DeGroot told TheBlaze that when she contacted the U.S. Embassy, she was asked if she had filled out paperwork. When she indicated that she had done the paperwork, the embassy then told her that they would call later.

She is pleading for anyone who has the power to act, "to do something, please," she said.

"My husband, brother in law and their crew is from Fort Worth TX and is currently in Jerusalem," she wrote in a post on X. "Please help me make those in power aware that we need to BRING OUR PEOPLE HOME."

— (@)

Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey has fired off a letter pressing President Joe Biden to take action to ensure that Americans are evacuated from the dangerous war zone.

"I urge you to use all appropriate U.S. resources and tools to arrange for the immediate evacuation of American citizens in Israel who are desperately trying to return home," Smith wrote in his letter that is dated Oct. 9. "In the past thirty-six hours I have received many reports from constituents who are U.S. citizens currently in Israel, or whose relatives and friends are U.S. citizens currently in Israel, and who seek to return to the United States as soon as possible but are unable to do so."

Former GOP Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas, who is currently running in a Republican congressional primary in a bid to return to office, has noted that she has relatives stranded in Israel.

"Right now, I have family members stuck in Israel with no way of getting out. The Biden Administration has no plans to evacuate United States citizens from Israel. I am praying for their safety and evacuation—because apparently that’s all our country can do at this point," Flores tweeted.

Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida has said that dozens of his constituents are stuck in Israel.

"50+ of my constituents remain in Israel at this hour and Americans are being held hostage. Where's the evacuation plan? It’s time to activate the Civil Reserve Air Fleet and get our people home," Donalds tweeted.

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York is calling for the Biden administration to use military aircraft to evacuate Americans out of the Jewish state.

"Given the immediate challenges with getting US commercial airlines into Israel, it’s imperative that the administration use military planes to help get US citizens out of Israel as expeditiously as possible," Lawler tweeted. "In addition, we must take steps to indemnify the commercial airline carriers to get them flying back into Israel as quickly as possible — as it stands we are looking at November as the earliest time they will fly into Israel," he added.

"I am being told by multiple people in Congress right now that while they are inundated w/requests there is currently no known plan from the Biden admin to get Americans out of Israel. Few flights out are available & the American embassy is not operating...efficiently," Blaze Media editor in chief Matthew Peterson wrote in a post on X that has been retweeted by GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.

— (@)

An American Ph.D. student at Tel Aviv University who preferred to remain anonymous told TheBlaze, "We are now living in a country at war. Not a small operation like Israel has had in the past, of which I myself have gone through two. No, this is a full-scale war, complete with the most unimaginable atrocities committed by man. This is not just another conflict with Gaza, this is something completely new that Israel has not faced in many decades."

DeGroot's husband and brother-in-law have been posting updates online, and while they are currently stuck in Israel, both appear to be in good spirits.

Israel at War - Day 4 update #israelwar #hamasattack #gazaunderattack www.youtube.com

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Disney star shares Christian gospel at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards



Disney star Joshua Bassett shared the message of the Christian gospel with viewers during an acceptance speech at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Saturday.

"There's a very real God who loves you," 22-year-old Bassett said in part as he accepted an award for Favorite Male TV Star.

The Disney standout plays Ricky Bowen in "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series," which airs on the network's streaming platform, Disney+.

Bassett began by thanking his supporters and the cast and crew of HSMTMTS.

"And I'd love to thank my savior, Jesus Christ," the young man then said, the crowd cheering in the background.

"I want to say something. There are a lot of people here who are burdened, brokenhearted, and have been beated down by life," he said, while holding the distinctive, orange, blimp-shaped trophy.

"And I'm here to tell you. For those of you who've lost hope, there's a very real God who loves you more than you will ever possibly know, ok?" Bassett said.

"His promise is peace, and my testimony is my healing," he also said.

Like any good sermon, Bassett delivered three points for his young fans as takeaways.

"Remember: Forgive quickly, love freely, and walk courageously," he concluded gesturing on each point in turn.

"Love always wins in the end," he concluded.

Bassett, who is openly gay, made headlines in February after he was baptized during a filmed worship service at Bethel Church in Redding, California.

He shared a video clip on social media confessing his faith in Jesus Christ February 13.

"Hi, my name is Joshua," Bassett begins, standing on stage at the church. "And long story short, I grew up Christian, and I ran the other way as far as I could go in pursuit of 'truth,' and that only ended in addiction, depression, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, etc."

"No other teacher gave me anywhere near the peace that Jesus Christ did," Bassett also said, to massive audience applause.

"I’m here to publicly declare him as my Lord and Savior," he concluded in the 28-second clip.

\u201chttps://t.co/npQt9z5xqm\u201d
— Joshua Bassett (@Joshua Bassett) 1676310415

Later that day, Bassett again took to social media to say he did not endorse all of Bethel's policies and beliefs, adding, "[M]y heart is for Christ and Christ alone."

\u201ci visited this church and happened to get baptized here- i was unaware of some of their policies and beliefs, and do not endorse all of them. \nmy heart is for Christ and Christ alone!\u201d
— Joshua Bassett (@Joshua Bassett) 1676315117

Bassett may have been referencing the megachurch's alleged "glamorizing" of "conversion therapy," as described in Out in 2019.

Billboard magazine noted some fans had expressed "concern" about Bassett's recent conversion to Christianity as well as his choice of venues at which to be baptized.

Watch Bassett's acceptance speech below.

\u201cDisney star Joshua Bassett declared his faith in Jesus during his acceptance speech at the #KidsChoiceAward2023.\n\n"...there\u2019s a very real God who loves you..."\u201d
— Caleb Parke (@Caleb Parke) 1678207979

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Teen athlete's legs mangled in encounter with man Kim Gardner kept out of jail, prompting Missouri AG to demand the Soros prosecutor's resignation by high noon



Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has given St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner until high noon Thursday to resign or be removed. This ultimatum comes amid outcry over the reported destruction of a teen athlete's legs by an accused robber whom the Soros-backed prosecutor kept out of jail.

Bailey minced no words about his reason for seeking the Democrat attorney's resignation: "Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them. My office will do everything in its power to restore order, and eliminate the chaos in St. Louis caused by Kim Gardner’s neglect of her office."

Gardner, the Soros-backed attorney who cut loose BLM rioters in 2020 and sought to punish Mark and Patricia McCloskey for having attempted to defend their home, has a long history of going lax on criminals and seeking politically motivated prosecutions.

The last straw appears to be the maiming of a 16-year-old volleyball player, Janae Edmondson of Tennessee, who had been looking forward to playing Division II volleyball in college. She had one leg mangled and the other severely damaged after a man freed from jail with pending robbery charges allegedly hit her, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Fox News Digital indicated that Edmondson was visiting St. Louis with her family for a volleyball tournament. A driver going 20 mph over the limit failed to yield and struck Edmondson in downtown St. Louis around 8:40 p.m. The victim was pinned between two cars and ultimately had both legs amputated.

21-year-old Daniel Riley was reportedly the man behind the wheel of the speeding car.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Riley was supposed to be under house arrest while out on bond for a 2020 robbery and armed criminal action. He violated his bond at least 50 times, including seven times in February. Gardner failed to put him back in jail.

Jeff Wismer, the assistant director at Middle Tennessee Volleyball Club, told KMOV, "A wonderful kid with a great smile, a three-sport athlete. ... She has lost both limbs below her waist, so for us, how do you find words to explain our sorrow? We really can’t."

Following the incident, there has been significant backlash, with many St. Louis residents and businesses alleging it could have been avoided had Gardner done her job properly.

"This crime was as preventable as it is tragic," said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis Inc., the region's premier business organization. "While this tragedy may serve as a turning point in the efforts to strengthen public safety, it only highlights the lingering issues that have gone unaddressed for far too long. We need immediate action. These issues are not new, and solving them requires all of us stepping up and coming together as one metro to develop a regional strategy to reduce crime and strengthen public safety."

Hall added, "The ongoing failures of the Circuit Attorney’s office — with regard to the individual involved in this case as well as a litany of other cases that have not been brought to justice — are unforgiveable."

Bailey evidently agreed, demanding Gardner's resignation Wednesday evening and noting, "If she refuses, she will face immediate removal proceedings in the form of a writ of quo warranto brought by our office."

\u201cWe are giving Kim Gardner until noon tomorrow to resign. If she refuses, she will face immediate removal proceedings in the form of a writ of quo warranto brought by our office.\u201d
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@Attorney General Andrew Bailey) 1677114038

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden said that Gardner "should resign or I will systematically and aggressively work with my colleagues in the #MOLeg to ensure her incompetence isn’t putting more lives in danger. The people of #STL deserve better and Missouri deserves better," adding that "Gardner is incompetent and grossly unfit to hold her office."

\u201cKim Gardner is incompetent and grossly unfit to hold her office.\n\nShe should resign or I will systematically and aggressively work with my colleagues in the #MOLeg to ensure her incompetence isn\u2019t putting more lives in danger. \n\nThe people of #STL deserve better and Missouri\u2026\u201d
— Caleb Rowden (@Caleb Rowden) 1677072476

Gardner was denounced by members of her own party as well.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, a Democrat, said that the Soros-backed prosecutor had "lost the trust of the people."

Former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt previously highlighted how "Kim Gardner has an abysmal record in prosecuting violent crime, has recently released and been complicit in the release of dozens and dozens of inmates who have been charged with violent crimes, and has a record of making politically motivated decisions not based on the law."

Gardner is the radical prosecutor who originally charged Mark and Patricia McCloskey in 2020 with felonies after they defended their home from BLM protesters who had demolished a fence and trespassed onto their property. The BLM trespassers were not prosecuted.

While she sought to punish the McCloskeys for defending their home, Gardner alternatively saw fit to release at least 36 BLM rioters arrested on suspicion of trespassing, burglary, causing property damage, stealing, and assault.

The Soros-backed attorney was later removed from the case against Mark McCloskey after Circuit Judge Thomas Clark II indicated that improper fundraising emails by Gardner's campaign infringed on the McCloskeys' right to a fair trial.

Gardner was accused in 2020 of traveling across the country and world on a criminal justice reform organization's dime without reporting it, in apparent violation of city and state law.

City Journal reported that Gardner was also reprimanded and fined by the Missouri Supreme Court for being untruthful during a failed prosecution of a political rival. Gardener "admitted to failing to produce documents and failing to correct misstatements during the course of the investigation."

St. Louis' homicide rate (per 100,000) skyrocketed from 64.5 in 2019 to 87.2 in 2020 under Gardner's watch. According to Neighborhood Scout, St. Louis ranks 1 (with 100 being the safest) on the crime index. The likelihood of becoming a victim of a violent crime under Gardner's watch is 1 in 67. The likelihood of becoming a victim of a property crime is 1 in 18.

Missouri Senate leader calls for Kim Gardner's resignation youtu.be

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Trump irks conservatives, could be damaging his political career by attacking DeSantis



Former President Donald Trump may be damaging himself politically by attacking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican figure who has become enormously popular on the political right.

Trump, who is widely expected to mount another White House bid, has been taking shots at the Sunshine State governor — in addition to referring to him as "Ron DeSanctimonious," Trump has threatened to dish unflattering information about DeSantis if the governor runs for president. "I think if he runs he could hurt himself very badly," Trump said, according to the Wall Street Journal. "I think the base would not like it."

DeSantis clobbered Democratic challenger Charlie Crist during Florida's gubernatorial contest. While Trump said earlier this week that he had voted for DeSantis, on Thursday, the former president issued a lengthy statement in which he targeted the Florida politician, calling him "an average REPUBLICAN Governor."

"NewsCorp, which is Fox, the Wall Street Journal, and the no longer great New York Post (bring back Col!), is all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious, an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations, who didn’t have to close up his State, but did, unlike other Republican Governors, whose overall numbers for a Republican, were just average—middle of the pack—including COVID, and who has the advantage of SUNSHINE, where people from badly run States up North would go no matter who the Governor was, just like I did!" Trump wrote at the beginning of the long statement.

Some on the right took issue with Trump's rant and were critical of the former president.

"This is exactly why you’re bleeding extremely staunch supporters like me Trump. The great Governor has done nothing 'sanctimonious' to deserve that super lame nickname, or these lies about his (much better than yours) Covid policies. DeSantis 2024," tweeted Storm Paglia of Townhall.

"Why? Why do this, man?" Townhall's Matt Vespa tweeted about Trump's statement. In another post, he said that the former president "is just self-destructing."

"I was genuinely excited to see a primary fight between these two. I think that's what would be best for the country. But apparently Trump is going to just embarrass himself and go down in flames and I'll be honest, it saddens me a little. Not how the Trump era should end," Jesse Kelly tweeted. "If Trump is dumb enough to attack the guy EVERY Republican in America is currently happy with, this primary is already over. He’s gonna lose at least half his support to DeSantis overnight," he added in another tweet.

\u201cI was genuinely excited to see a primary fight between these two. I think that\u2019s what would be best for the country. \n\nBut apparently Trump is going to just embarrass himself and go down in flames and I\u2019ll be honest, it saddens me a little. Not how the Trump era should end.\u201d
— Jesse Kelly (@Jesse Kelly) 1668122177

"Yikes. If this is real, Trump might have just cost himself the primary in 2024," Justin T. Haskins tweeted.

"I voted for Trump twice and campaigned for him. He did some great things in office. But Trump's selfishness really hurt us this election and it's time to move on from him. He's playing right into Democrats’ hands right now by attacking DeSantis and he's lost me," Caleb Hull tweeted.

\u201cI voted for Trump twice and campaigned for him. He did some great things in office. But Trump\u2019s selfishness really hurt us this election and it\u2019s time to move on from him. He\u2019s playing right into Democrats\u2019 hands right now by attacking DeSantis and he\u2019s lost me.\u201d
— Caleb Hull (@Caleb Hull) 1668126810

CNN host left visually shocked when guest bucks narrative on Jen Psaki's insult of Peter Doocy: 'Hmm, right'



CNN host Brian Stelter was seemingly left surprised on Sunday after a guest on "Reliable Sources" bucked his narrative on White House press secretary Jen Psaki's alleged insult of reporter Peter Doocy.

What is the background?

In January, President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic calling Doocy, a White House correspondent for Fox News, a "stupid son of a b****."

During an interview on the left-wing podcast "Pod Save America" last week, Psaki was asked whether she agrees with Biden's insult.

"He works for a network that provides people with questions that, nothing personal to any individual including Peter Doocy, but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a b****," Psaki responded, adding that she appreciated how Doocy handled Biden's insult with "grace."

What happened on CNN?

Whereas Stelter defended Psaki, Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, condemned Psaki for being unprofessional.

"She got lulled into losing her discipline. This podcast is made by her friends. They go back to the Kerry campaign. They worked in the Obama White House," Sweet said.

"She was forgetting what her real job is, which is to communicate on behalf of the president. OK? She even repeated some of the swear words that the questioner asked in the question, upping the ante," she added

After commending Psaki for acknowledging Doocy's "grace," Sweet said, "One other quick thing: It’s not a negative to consult your colleagues on what question to ask."

Stelter responded to Sweet's remarks with a puzzled look, only uttering, "Hmm, right," before moving on.

However on Sunday @LynnSweet had a "little different view," saying Psaki "was forgetting what her real job is," and she appeared to catch @BrianStelter off-guard in saying, "it\u2019s not a negative to consult your colleagues on what question to ask." https://mediaite.com/a/zkxnq\u00a0pic.twitter.com/itpC91lYa6
— Caleb Howe (@Caleb Howe) 1650244190

Last Friday, Stelter defended Psaki and suggested that Doocy is a puppet for Fox News, the exact point that Sweet chided last.

"I think the point she's trying to say there is that Fox pushes storylines that are sometimes nonsense. Doocy does that in the briefing room," Stelter said.

"I think Jen Psaki’s like — remember in senior year, spring of your senior year, you're about to graduate and you're just tired of all this? I think we're seeing that from Jen Psaki," Stelter went on to say. "She's about to leave the White house. She's going to go to a job likely at MSNBC, so she’s kind of relaxing and maybe sharing how she really feels.

"But, to be fair, she didn’t really criticize [Doocy] directly," Stelter excused. "She was really criticizing Fox News as an organization."

Russia warns that Biden's sanctions could cause it to drop the International Space Station on the United States



Russian leadership threatened to allow the International Space Station (ISS) to crash into the United States or one of its allies following President Joe Biden’s recently announced sanctions on Russia.

Biden issued sanctions on Russia that target the country’s “aerospace industry, including their space program,” the U.S. Sun reported.

In response to Biden’s sanctions, Dimitry Rogozin, the Director-General of Roscomos, suggested that the United States wants to “destroy our cooperation on the ISS.”

Russian leadership claimed that the United States needs to cooperate with Russia if they want to prevent the ISS from falling on the United States or Europe.

Rogozin said, “If you block cooperation with us, who will save the International Space Station (ISS) from an uncontrolled de-orbit and fall into the United States or … Europe?”

He added, “There is also the possibility of a 500-ton structure falling on India and China.”

The world is so insane right now that we're all breezing by the fact that the head of the Russian space agency threatened to... drop the International Space Station on us...??pic.twitter.com/VTR4GcOHe3
— Caleb Watney (@Caleb Watney) 1645822483

NASA has sought to ease tensions with its Russian counterparts.

A spokesperson for the agency said, “NASA continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station.”

“The new export control measures will continue to allow US-Russia civil space cooperation,” the spokesperson added, “No changes are planned to the agency’s support for the ongoing in orbit and ground station operations.”

Brandon J. Weichert, a geopolitical and space expert, suggested that Russia has a “decade to 12-year advantage on the U.S. in the galaxies.”

Weichert said that the United States are in “no way fit” to deal with the challenges posed by Russia.

He said, “We are going to get hit very hard soon in space. It is going to be the most debilitating strike on America possibly ever. And, we may not recover from it in a timely fashion. This could be how we lose our first war on Earth is losing the war in space.”

Weichert criticized politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. for not having the foresight to ward off rivals in space exploration after the Cold War.

He said, “They thought there would never be a need for any kind of preventive security measure because we thought we would always be dominant, and we thought no one would be crazy enough to challenge us.”

Weichert added, “Here we are 30 years later, and you have Russia, China, North Korea, and even Iran showing us that it was the wrong assumption.”

Actress dragged over ABSURD ode to Vladimir Putin: 'Forget Ukraine. Send ground troops to Hollywood'



AnnaLynne McCord‘s cringeworthy poem apologizing to Russian President Vladimir Putin for not being his mother — because if he had been lovingly raised by a Hollywood celeb he would never have invaded Ukraine, of course — is not getting quite the response the "90210" actress was probably expecting.

There's really no describing the awfulness of this video, so you'll just have to try to watch for yourself:


Dear Mister President Vladimir Putin\u2026pic.twitter.com/LbDFBHVWJf
— AnnaLynne McCord (@AnnaLynne McCord) 1645718391

Sorry about that, but it was the only way to explain the wrath of those who tweeted in response to McCord‘s utterly absurd performance:

This might be the worst tweet of all time. This alone should land you a spot in The Hague
— Rayyvana\ud83d\ude80 (@Rayyvana\ud83d\ude80) 1645725023
Jesus christ the self centeredness of this all is mind numbingpic.twitter.com/EQAJGGP4gz
— haer\ud83c\udf80\ud83e\udd42(Ukraine arc\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) (@haer\ud83c\udf80\ud83e\udd42(Ukraine arc\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6)) 1645723545
yes more tummy time would have prevented this
— Jessica O\u2019Donnell (@Jessica O\u2019Donnell) 1645728393
pic.twitter.com/r0NBW6KrPP
— Caleb Hull (@Caleb Hull) 1645726531
This is the cringiest thing I think I've ever seen and I follow @SirajAHashmihttps://twitter.com/IAMannalynnemcc/status/1496877541772062727\u00a0\u2026
— RIP Terez Paylor \ud83d\ude4f (@RIP Terez Paylor \ud83d\ude4f) 1645725739
Forget Ukraine. Send ground troops to Hollywood.https://twitter.com/IAMannalynnemcc/status/1496877541772062727\u00a0\u2026
— Noam Blum (@Noam Blum) 1645726061

Asked if he 'may have underestimated Putin', Biden stares blankly, picks his teeth



At a virtual event on Tuesday, President Joe Biden had several of his embarrassingly confused moments, like the time he couldn't quite remember if his secretary of energy is Governor Granholm or Senator Granholm or Secretary Granholm or former governor, well, you know, the thing.

"That's why I've asked the Secretary of Energy, Governor Granholm\u2014Senator Granholm. Senator! Secretary Granholm, but you're my governor, former governor."pic.twitter.com/mjJb0r76FC
— RNC Research (@RNC Research) 1645563837

Or when he asked permission to continue speaking:

Biden asks for permission to continue speaking: "Do I go on?"pic.twitter.com/DkFZULUfFE
— RNC Research (@RNC Research) 1645564179

Or when he asked permission to stop speaking:

Biden to staff: "Um, now, you gotta let me know when I'm supposed to, uh, stop here, but..."pic.twitter.com/RB3kN6M65Y
— RNC Research (@RNC Research) 1645564695

But one of the most reassuring moments had to be when a reporter asked the president if he thinks he "may have underestimated" Russian President Vladimir Putin. At this point, Biden stared blankly for a few beats before grinning weirdly and then ... picking at his teeth. To be fair, it sounded as though Biden was told by his puppeteers that question time was at an end. But someone really should have let him know the cameras were still rolling.



REPORTER: \u201cDo you think you may have underestimated Putin?\u201d \n\nBIDEN: *stares blankly, picks at his teeth*pic.twitter.com/tRVewZbwFc
— RNC Research (@RNC Research) 1645565155


Unlike the president, the folks on Twitter are never at a loss for words:

What is he smiling about? We are getting embarrassed on the world stage and Russia is rolling through Europe... so what is there to smile about?
— Caleb (@Caleb) 1645571687
Well, nothing instills confidence like petulance (assuming he heard the question) and old man tooth picking
— Fully Vexed Gwendolyn Sims (@Fully Vexed Gwendolyn Sims) 1645565639
he is thinking -that stupid son of a bitch
— Karen Norton (@Karen Norton) 1645574098
Literally living in the Twilight Zone. Is this a parallel universe? Did we go through a black hole and not been told about it ? Something is very very wrong. How much more of this joke can we take?
— RobW (@RobW) 1645575008


This is the darkness to which even the demons themselves bow in awe...
— Mole Fly (@Mole Fly) 1645572194
God have mercy on America
— Fringe Minority\u2122\ufe0f, Racist\u2122\ufe0f BeltwayBleu (@Fringe Minority\u2122\ufe0f, Racist\u2122\ufe0f BeltwayBleu) 1645567039


We are fucked beyond all belief...
— Dr. American Jesus Ph.D, DDS, Pharm.D, FACS, Esq. (@Dr. American Jesus Ph.D, DDS, Pharm.D, FACS, Esq.) 1645570371

But give a guy a break. After all, he was probably all tuckered out after the inspiring speech he gave earlier on Tuesday announcing new sanctions against Russia. Here's an impressive clip from that speech:


Jon Stewart blisters legacy media while defending Joe Rogan, asks who gets to decide what is misinformation



For the second time in the past two weeks, liberal Jon Stewart defended Joe Rogan. In his latest defense of Rogan, Stewart highlighted a major news narrative that the corporate media previously got incorrect, while simply wondering who gets to decide what is misinformation.

Legacy media pundits and musician Neil Young have accused Rogan of spreading COVID-19 pandemic misinformation, which the prolific podcaster has refuted.

During a recent episode of "The Problem with Jon Stewart" podcast, the former host of the "Daily Show" warned of "shifting sands" when reporting ever-changing news. Stewart rehashed how legacy media pushed the "weapons of mass destruction" narrative in the early 2000s that led up to the Iraq War. In 2005, the CIA's top weapons inspector in Iraq declared that Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction – which the premise was used to justify the 2003 invasion.

"In the Iraq War, I was on the side of what you would think on the mainstream is misinformation," Stewart said. "I was promoting what they would call misinformation."

"But it turned out to be right years later and the establishment media was wrong," he continued. "And not only were they wrong, in some respects, you could make the case that they enabled a war that killed hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people and never paid a price for it and never had accountability. And just having an ombudsman print a retraction to me isn't accountability."

"The New York Times,right, was a giant purveyor of misinformation, and disinformation," Stewart recalled. "I don't know if the Times was purposeful, but misinformation. And that’s as vaunted a media organization as you can find, but there was no accountability for them."

"And I think where I get nervous is in the run-up to the Iraq War and in the prosecution of the Iraq War, I was very vocal … about that. But the mainstream view, the New York Times, was, ‘They have weapons of mass destruction, they have these tubes that can only be used for nuclear war, Saddam Hussein is this, he's that.'"

Stewart notes that his beliefs weren't labeled as "misinformation" at the time and wasn't censored by Comedy Central or Viacom when he railed against the popular legacy media narrative regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

"So it's very easy to attack Rogan … and I'm not saying that that's not your right and that there aren't things there to talk about, but what I'm saying is let's be careful because the sands can shift," Stewart added.

"These are shifting sands." Jon Stewart makes such an excellent point here on Joe Rogan flap, one of the most important. "Who gets to decide" what's considered "misinformation."\n(Full clip: https://mediaite.com/a/lyvse\u00a0) via @mediaite @leia_idlibypic.twitter.com/pHiuAGxDrA
— Caleb Howe (@Caleb Howe) 1644525765

Earlier this month, Stewart defended Rogan.

"Don't leave, don't abandon, don't censor, engage," Stewart advised critics of "The Joe Rogan Experience" host. He emphasized, "Someone like a Joe Rogan who is not, in my mind, an ideologue in any way," is a "person that you can engage with."

Another person who pointed out that the legacy media has been "so catastrophically wrong about so many important things" is political commentator Dave Smith.

In a recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" featuring Smith, he listed all the "lies" that the mainstream media propagated in the past 20 years, including weapons of mass destruction.

"These are lies where hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of the lies," Smith said. "So not just spreading misinformation, misinformation with catastrophic consequences where real human beings have had their lives ruined."

The libertarian podcaster also noted that the corporate media spreads misinformation about Rogan, making a reference to CNN repeatedly claiming that Rogan used "horse dewormer" to treat COVID-19.

I think this was my favorite part of the episode.https://twitter.com/illinoisexposed/status/1492283953373495303\u00a0\u2026
— Dave Smith (@Dave Smith) 1644623741


CNN anchor receives career advice after lamenting she is 'officially out of ideas' on what to do about Joe Rogan



CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota lamented Wednesday that she is fresh out of ideas on how Joe Rogan should atone for his transgressions.

What is the background?

Rogan addressed new controversy on his podcast this week that centers on him using the N-word in old podcast episodes. The podcasts were on the internet for years but only became a problem last week.

"In a lot of ways ... all this is a relief,” Rogan said, adding that the video of him using the N-word had always been on the internet.

"This is a political hit job. And so they’re taking all this stuff that I’ve ever said that’s wrong and smushing it all together," Rogan added. "It’s good 'cause it makes me address some s**t that I really wish wasn’t out there."

What happened on CNN?

Reacting to Rogan's declaration that he is the target of a "political hit job," Camerota said, "Well, I'll admit, I'm out of ideas for what to do about Joe Rogan."

"I'm officially out of ideas," she added.

Alisyn Camerota is "officially out of ideas" for "what to do about Joe Rogan."pic.twitter.com/3zyYIV3RBK
— Caleb Howe (@Caleb Howe) 1644437679

Camerota's colleague, co-anchor Victor Blackwell, responded by questioning Rogan's motives for apologizing.

"I’m confused by both 'it’s always been out there, but this is a political hit job. It feels good that it's out, but then also I really need to address this,'" Blackwell said. "I mean, it seems like there are at least three different narratives that are coming here."

"Listen, I think that he's saying out loud things that we want people who are caught doing horrible things to say, which is, 'I'm going to do better, I feel ashamed of this, I'm sorry about this.' And so I think that all of that is great," Camerota responded. "I think that where there's the misalignment is that, basically he just said, 'How dumb are you if you're taking medical advice from me,' OK? I posed that same question about Joe Rogan. The people who were taking medical advice from him, how dumb are they? But he has this huge platform that does influence, you know, millions of people. So there's a misalignment between this sort of personal responsibility and the size of his platform."

In the end, Blackwell said that Rogan's COVID controversy is a "separate conversation" from his use of the N-word, but again questioned the sincerity of Rogan's apology.

"We'll see if there's accountability — not cancellation, which some people conflate — accountability," Blackwell added.

What was the reaction?

Camerota — the same CNN employee who repeatedly voiced outrage over Jeff Zucker's ouster — learned quickly that, in fact, no one was asking for her opinion on Rogan.

But if people were, critics had a poignant answer to Camerota's problem: Do your job or turn off the podcast if you do not like Rogan.

  • "Here is a novel idea: Got Free Speech? Why not use free speech to counter what you view as bad speech rather than try to silence him?" constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley said.
  • "We should absolutely not listen to people spreading COVID misinformation, but I remain steadfast in not wanting to ban CNN," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) responded.
  • "Do the same thing I do with @cnn, @AlisynCamerota ... Change the channel," Dr. Pradheep Shanker said.
  • "This is why Alisyn Camerota is so upset about losing Zucker. Hr paid a lot of on-air talent significant money for them to behave like activists while alienating large segments of a potential audience. She is rightly worried that a responsible replacement will clean house," another person said.
  • "Context aside it is interesting what she thinks her job is," one person observed.
  • "Alisyn Camerota has been out of ideas for a very long time. None of them had to do with Joe Rogan though," one person mocked.
  • "As if getting a podcast cancelled will bring all of those listeners over to CNN? How about CNN just focuses on learning how to deliver OBJECTIVE NEWS instead of playing [social justice warrior], that would be a great start," one person mocked.
  • "A grateful nation rejoices upon hearing that Alisyn Camerota is officially out of ideas for what to do about Joe Rogan, and fervently prays that should any new ideas come to her for what to do about anything - anything at all, she will keep them to herself," another person mocked.
  • "She could try to report news. I know I'm asking too much," one person said.