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Thursday’s Final Word – HotAir

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May 14, 2026
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Thursday's Final Word – HotAir

He stands like a statue, becomes part of the machine, feelin’ all the tabs, always playin’ clean …





Ed: On one hand, an excellent step. On the other hand, it’s been 16 months since Trump took office. The Senate needs to pick up the pace and get these nominees confirmed. 

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Free Beacon: Wikipedia editors are fighting to keep Democrat Adam Hamawy’s yearslong friendship with terrorist mastermind Omar Abdel-Rahman, the notorious “Blind Sheikh,” off his Wikipedia page.

Hamawy, a plastic surgeon, is the frontrunner in a crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman in New Jersey’s deep blue 12th district.

The Egyptian-born doctor served as a defense witness for Abdel-Rahman,  who was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the deadly 1993 World Trade Center bombings and plotting myriad other attacks. (The Blind Sheikh died in prison in 2017. In its coverage of the sensational 1995 trial, the New York Times called Hamawy “a supporter” of Abdel-Rahman.)

But despite Hamawy’s ties to—and support of—Abdel-Rahman being well-documented from his sworn testimony, his supporters are doing their best to downplay his terror ties, with a major effort underway to clean up Hamawy’s Wikipedia entry, one of the top search results for his name.

Ed: It’s only been 25 years since 9/11, and 33 years since the first WTC bombing. No one could have predicted that New York City would elect a Hamas sympathizer as mayor within 25 years, or New Jersey Democrats attempt to nominate an apologist for the radical Islamist behind the 1993 terror attack. It’s stunning in all the worst ways. 

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Personally, I would rather judge Kristof on his own merits, rather than his father’s crimes 8 decades ago. 

In Kristof’s own words, “myriad mistakes punctuate my career.”

Kristof has a history of falling for fabricated accounts invented by his sources. In the past, the New York Times demanded accountability. This time around, they seem more interested in defending their brand. 

It could be that Kristof made inflammatory claims about systemic prison rape without evidence out of some misplaced guilt for his father’s crimes. 

Or it could be that he is just continuing his own personal legacy: making up stories to become famous.





Ed: I’ve seen this floating around today, but like Mazzig, I fail to see the relevance. Kristof is his own person, and the issue isn’t what his father did OR how it might impact Kristof’s perspective, if it’s true at all. I don’t need a deep dive into Kristof’s psyche. His work should be judged on its own merits/demerits, and his own track record speaks pretty clearly to his credibility. Also, serving as a grunt in your nation’s army doesn’t necessarily implicate you in its foreign policy. It’s not like Kristof’s dad got a Totenkopf tattoo. 

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Libby Sternberg: More recently, however, the murder of Jews on a mass scale took place on October 7, 2023 when approximately 1200 people were killed in Israel by Hamas terrorists, many in gruesome ways. (I don’t recommend reading the report at the link over breakfast – I couldn’t stomach reading anything but highlights from it.)

Recognizing these horrible massacres leads most reasonable people to agree with Jews when they say “never again.”

But how can you show your support for Jewish people and combat the anti-semitism that leads to these killings and other attacks (on synagogues and individual Jews)? Obviously, by demonstrating in words and deeds that you will not tolerate blatant antisemitism, the kind that manifests itself in wild beliefs — that Jews are schemers who control banking and Hollywood and more and that they are capable of malevolent acts due to their extraordinary abilities to manipulate everything from technology to the animal world in service to their mastermind agenda. In other words, call out anyone who believes that….crap….bull….stuff for the conspiracy-minded idiocy that it is. The Jewish people are not responsible for the world’s problems, let alone any individual’s.

Beyond individual interactions, however, here is a guide to three simple steps to fight anti-semitism in other ways[.]

Ed: Be sure to read this all. We all have a role to play in fighting anti-Semitism. I did enjoy Libby’s “simple three steps” conclusion, but as I am certain she’d agree, we need to do more than just retreat from the propagandists. We need to hold their feet to the fire of accountability, by calling them out and making sure that their egregious corruption remains a constant topic of conversation – and support alternatives to the propagandists. 





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Jordan: “When you make campaign statements, those aren’t true? You’re not being honest with your voters?”

Ed: Descano may have been more honest than most politicians. Most politicians won’t admit that their policies are different than their campaign promises. To quote from the film Thank You For Smoking: “Let it be known that the public beating has not gone out of style.” Thankfully.  

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The Week: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Wednesday called a June 17 special legislative session to redraw the state’s congressional map for the 2028 elections. The redistricting push follows a rush of GOP-led Southern states moving to eliminate mostly Black Democratic districts this year after the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision neutered the Voting Rights Act. …

After their party’s “miserable two weeks in the redistricting wars,” Politico said, Maryland Democrats are pushing to eliminate the state’s sole Republican seat, “arguing there is still time to wade in for this year’s elections.” Republicans “have won the Great Redistricting War of 2026,” Reuters said, but their potential 12-seat gain “may not be enough” to keep the House.

Ed: Two thoughts. First, Georgia and other states likely will have no choice but to redistrict after Callais, as their current maps are based on racial-districting that has been ruled unconstitutional. Kemp is just preparing for an onslaught of challenges from the DoJ to existing pre-Callais maps, and not just in the South. Second, when reading that second paragraph, don’t forget how the Protection Racket Media tried telling us two weeks ago that Democrats and Hakeem Jeffries had won the war and the GOP’s strategy had fatally backfired in the midterms. 

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Ed: Jones had better not argue before the Supreme Court, ever. He can’t even beat a CNN anchor. As author Blaine Pardot quipped after seeing this, “His law school should be asking for his degree back.” That much was obvious after reading the grammar and spelling errors in his SCOTUS submission. How many state AGs misspell the name of their own state in legal briefs?

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The Spectator: A book published this week in France claims that Brigitte slapped her husband after discovering “a steamy message” on Emmanuel’s phone sent by an actress.

The books says the sender was Iranian-born Golshifteh Farahani, who came to prominence in 2008 when she starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the Ridley Scott film, Body of Lies.

Brigitte allegedly found the message as the presidential jet landed at Hanoi airport in May last year. In a fit of rage she was seen swinging a right at Macron just as the doors of the aircraft opened. …

Tardif also shines a light on a “mysterious intern who worked in the diplomatic unit” during Macron’s first term in office. Known as “Scheherazade,” the young woman was attractive, intelligent, ambitious and determined to seduce the new president. She was also a foreign national. “She tried to get close to the president – more out of ambition than love,” says Tardif. One of Macron’s advisors is quoted as saying that Scheherazade “used her charm to get what she wanted.”

Ed: Sacre bleu! Who does Macron think he is … Eric Swalwell? More seriously, if these allegations are true – and they should be taking with a grain of salt – then he’s compromised on issues of foreign policy and security. As was Swalwell. 

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Ed: This reminds me of a quote apocryphally attributed to Samuel Goldwyn: “The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made.” For that to succeed, though, you have to be smart enough to hide the fact that you’re faking it. It’s hardly surprising to see Buttigieg lacking that competence. 





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Andrew C. McCarthy at NRO: 

As I said in the column, I’m skeptical. I’m willing to assume that the report’s numerical assessments accurately reflect what our spy agencies are telling the Times reporters. What gives me pause, however, is the implication that these ostensibly disturbing numbers translate into Iran’s ready access to a robust, turnkey ballistic missile arsenal.

“Restored operational access” is a strained phrase. It isn’t the same as saying that Iran has restored operation of over 90 percent of its missile sites along the strait. Having access to the sites is not the same as having access to the missiles (much less to fully functioning missiles).

And how could they not have access to the sites? …

Institutionally, the 18-agency intelligence community, or at least swaths of it, had been dedicated to the propositions that the best way forward with Iran would be diplomacy and that Iran’s regime was rife with moderates who, despite the hard-liners’ virulently anti-American rhetoric and terrorist support, would eventually take control, cut a deal, and arrive at a tolerable modus vivendi with the United States. I have never believed that was realistic, but there is no doubt that the intelligence community became more enamored of this view in the dozen years that it was controlled and staffed by the Obama and Biden administrations.

How surprised should we be if operatives of those agencies are leaking to the New York Times a carefully crafted massage of damage assessments, suitable for a narrative that Iran’s regime is too resilient and that it’s time for Trump to cut his losses?

Ed: I too am skeptical. Cam and I discussed this on our VIP Gold Chat yesterday. To some extent, this may be the media misinterpreting the report, which appears to be talking about narrow tactical capacities in missiles and drones. That does not equate to strategic capabilities or even long-term strength in these tactical areas. Iran has no blue-water navy, for instance, and without it cannot project power for long in the Strait of Hormuz. We are decimating its littoral navy now (the fast-attack boats). Their entire military-industrial infrastructure has been defenestrated, so the regime will run out of even these narrow tactical capacities soon enough. 





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Ed: The media has had a three-day wonder with Trump’s extemporaneous answer. He could have crafted it more artfully – he’s a professional too – but it was very clear what he meant. His focus in the Iran war is to prevent the IRGC from building or acquiring a nuclear weapon, not on the short-term economic effects of the mission. Alas, this is the way politics is played, but at least John Fetterman has enough integrity to point out the obvious. 

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ABC News: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he has issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL regarding the Rooney Rule.

Uthmeier, who threatened possible enforcement actions against the league in March if it didn’t suspend the 23-year-old rule, sent the subpoena along with a letter to NFL executive vice president and attorney Ted Ullyot on Wednesday.

“All in all, the Rooney Rule and the NFL’s related ‘inclusive hiring’ policies — and the NFL’s representations about these policies — continue to raise significant concerns under Florida law,” Uthmeier wrote in the letter.

The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates for head coach, general manager and coordinator positions. At least one minority candidate must be interviewed for the quarterbacks coach position.

Ed: Is the juice worth the squeeze here? I’m no fan of DEI quotas in hiring, but that’s not what the Rooney Rule does or did. At the time the NFL implemented it, the head coaching ranks did not reflect the player profile in the league at all. The rule did not necessarily require teams to hire black candidates as head coaches, but it did put those candidates on the map and raised their profile. That’s not terribly discriminatory, unless Uthmeier can prove that the league has used it more privately to institute a *hiring* quota. There may be an argument that the Rooney Rule is no longer necessary, but that’s a choice the NFL can make. 





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Ed: Yes, and that portion includes America’s mainstream media outlets and Democrats. Not exclusively, but … mainly. 

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Ed: Encore!


Editor’s note: If we thought our job in pushing back against the Academia/media/Democrat censorship complex was over with the election, think again. This is going to be a long fight. If you’re digging these Final Word posts and want to join the conversation in the comments — and support independent platforms — why not join our VIP Membership program? Choose VIP to support Hot Air and access our premium content, VIP Gold to extend your access to all Townhall Media platforms and participate in this show, or VIP Platinum to get access to even more content and discounts on merchandise. Use the promo code FIGHT to join or to upgrade your existing membership level today, and get 60% off!





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