🇺🇸 Figure of Speech

POWERED BY

Good morning and happy Wednesday! Scientists say knee replacements could have a major breakthrough as soon as next year, thanks to hydrogel…

Plus, rocks keep falling from “the blood splatter” of the solar system…

Also, serve the world’s most popular beverage in style with this Flag Find…

FLAG POLLS

📉 President Biden Job Approval: Approve 43, Disapprove 55 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐘 Florida Governor - DeSantis vs. Fried: DeSantis 50, Fried 43 (Univ. of North Florida)

🐘 Florida Governor - DeSantis vs. Crist: DeSantis 50, Crist 42 (Univ. of North Florida)

TRENDING

Left: Sean Hannity Says Trump Could Run Again As A Felon (Huffington Post)

Left: Did Democrats Really Just Make a “Devil’s Bargain”? (Mother Jones)

Left: Top House Democrats accuse DHS watchdog of obstructing investigation (CNN Politics)

Right: White House not saying when the Inflation Reduction Act will begin to cut inflation (Fox News)

Right: Florida won't be 'woke dumpster fire': DeSantis announces teacher plan (Washington Examiner)

Right: New York Times drops repeat contributor who called for the genocide of Jews (Blaze Media)

POWERED BY MYINJURYCLAIMCENTER

Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

If you lived on the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. It’s been determined that contaminated water has led to cancer and other health problems.

Anyone who lived at Camp Lejeune between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, for at least 30 days, could qualify. This includes military personnel and their families. Experts are standing by and ready to help. Click here to enter a brief questionnaire and determine eligibility.

QUICK CLICKS

Biden Signs Big Bill, First Lady Test Positive, Trump Proves Passports

US: Biden signs massive climate and health care legislation (AP)

US: Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19 (Yahoo)

US: Trump proves his passports were taken in FBI raid after CBS anchor O’Donnell reports otherwise (NY Post)

US: Liz Cheney may lose Wyoming primary but says it's the "beginning of a battle" that will go on (CBS)

US: Union agreement putting White teachers at disadvantage may violate constitution (Fox News)

US: Sources: Longtime Trump Organization executive is negotiating guilty plea to fraud (NPR)

US: Feds cut Colorado River allocation to Arizona, Nevada as talks fail (The Hill)

World: Brazil’s presidential campaign launches amid fears of violence and upheaval (The Guardian)

US: Around 2 million infant swings recalled after death reported (NBC)

US: New York City public schools keeping most COVID protocols -- with one big change (ABC)

Sports: Sources -- Tiger Woods to meet with group of players at BMW Championship, rally support for PGA Tour against rival LIV series (ESPN)

US: Alec Baldwin Tells Chris Cuomo He Did Not Pull Trigger On ‘Rust’ Set, Questions Who Put Live Round In Gun (Deadline)

CULTURE

Figure of Speech

Last week author Salman Rushdie was stabbed at a public speaking event in Buffalo, New York. His attacker was subdued and has been charged with attempted murder. Rushdie is recovering in the hospital and has been able to speak but reportedly experienced “life-changing” wounds.

News Coverage from the Right: Iran Blames Salman Rushdie ‘and His Supporters’ for Getting Stabbed (Breitbart)

News Coverage from the Left: 'Buy a book:' Salman Rushdie interviewer suggests a way to support critically wounded author (CNN)

From The Flag: In 1989 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, issued a fatwa calling for the death of Rushdie and his publishers after deeming his novel “The Satanic Verses” had blasphemed Islam. Iran has denied any involvement in this attack but also said it's justified. Here’s more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Our Increasingly Violent World Requires Fervent Defense of Free Speech

• The attack on Rushdie should highlight the importance of free speech is, and how dangerous book bans can be.

• As our society becomes increasingly hostile and unaccepting of dissent, attacks like these will continue.

• In reality the fatwa issued against Rushdie was a political act that looked to take advantage of turmoil in Pakistan, India, and beyond.

“​​Salman Rushdie has risked his life for decades; US must stand up against censorship, too” Rafia Zakaria, CNN Opinion: “When the September 11 attacks took place, I felt that if the Western world had truly listened to Rushdie it would not have been taken aback by the violent religious obscurantists who plotted the attack on the twin towers. … In some red states, vaguely worded laws now allow all sorts of books to be banned. … The horrendous attack on Rushdie, an author who has been a champion for free speech and intellectual freedom by putting his life on the line, should be a lesson to the people of his chosen country. Stifling freedom of expression isn't justified -- whether it's the extreme action of an ayatollah condemning an author to death for his work or book bans by zealots who believe that America can only be made ‘great’ again by furthering the cause of white supremacy.”

“The attack on Salman Rushdie is a warning about where we’re headed” Matt Bai, Washington Post Opinion: “If you’re too young to remember the late 80s, you might not understand what a pervasive symbol of Western freedom Rushdie became. … If there was debate in this country over the rightness of Rushdie’s cause, I don’t recall it; even Jimmy Carter, who condemned the book in a pusillanimous New York Times op-ed, defended Rushdie’s right to be heard. Back then, pretty much everyone agreed that democracy demanded basic tolerance and free expression, even if we sometimes argued vehemently over what kind of speech was appropriate in the public square. Those were the days when the ACLU defended the rights of Nazi sympathizers to march down the street in Illinois. And when even Republican presidents exalted the American press as a contrast to communist repression and theocratic rule — despite their evident disdain for what journalists wrote.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Ayatollah Khomeini Never Read Salman Rushdie’s Book Robin Wright, The New Yorker

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Iran’s Meddling, and Islamic Violence, Can No Longer Be Tolerated

• Iran’s role in this stabbing cannot be understated and the Biden administration must address that fact.

• It’s beyond time that we confront the violent reality behind Islam and how it drives generations toward radical thinking.

• Most Western media outlets have adopted a “see no evil” attitude toward Islam, much to the detriment of journalism and America.

“The Rushdie Wake-Up Call” The Editors, National Review: “The brutal stabbing of Salman Rushdie last week ought to be a wake-up call for the Biden administration. … In its wake, the administration has hemmed and hawed, almost certainly to shield its talks with Tehran from the fallout over this incident. But the blame for this heinous assault falls squarely on the Iranian regime. … Iran’s commitment to the fatwa has waxed and waned… (but) was never lifted, and as recently as six years ago, the regime increased its financial award for anyone who carried it out. Tellingly, Rushdie was attacked just days after federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment targeting a Tehran-based member of the Revolutionary Guards for hiring a hitman to kill John Bolton. The writer was also attacked just over a week after a man with a gun was arrested outside the house of Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn. Numerous other US officials and journalists remain at risk, incredibly, on US soil.”

“Salman Rushdie attack: Why the world gives Islam such a long rope” Abhijit Majumder, Firstpost Opinion: “Exactly 33 years and six months after Valentine’s Day of 1989, on which Iran’s religious figurehead Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa to kill Salman Rushdie for his The Satanic Verses, a young man has honoured his decree with the author’s blood. Hadi Matar, who repeatedly stabbed Rushdie in New York on Friday, was born to Lebanese parents nine years after the fatwa was issued. He was from far away from Middle East’s Islamist hotbed in the nursery of the liberal world, California. And yet, he wrote laudatory posts on Iran’s religiously inspired military unit Revolutionary Guards and agonized over Israel’s treatment of Palestine. But more importantly, he grew up feeling compelled to complete the Ayatollah’s proclamation made even before his birth. That is how Islam works. … A code held over Constitutions, humanitarian consensus, and every contract of the civilized world.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Rushdie & Our Permanent Fatwa Culture Rod Dreher, The American Conservative

FLAG THIS

Tracking Decades of Data: Islam, Fatwa, Rushdie

In the 20 years since 9/11 Americans have increasingly said “yes” when asked if Islam is more likely than other religions to incite violence. Polling released last year found half of all respondents agreed with that statement, up from just 25% in 2002 (Pew Research).

Going back to 1989 when the fatwa was issued against Salman Rushdie 28% of British Muslims admitted they wanted the author dead (Harris).

FLAG FINDS

Bottle of Red, Tea for Two, Festive Fall Lights

🍷 Entertain and serve guests with ease – and style. This mobile bar/wine cart combines wood and steel to deliver a sharp and functional piece of furniture. Store up to four bottles of wine and nine glasses in the upside down holders. Snag yours here at an 18% discount.

🫖 This versatile tea pot has you covered no matter what your hot beverage of choice is. Loose leaf tea can be placed right in its built-in diffuser, or just boil water for more delicate fruit teas. Makes a great gift for a tea drinker, and includes a silicone coaster. Marked down 50% at this link.

🍁 Get ready to celebrate the arrival of autumn with these festive lights. Shaped like little brown acorns, these will brighten up any space and help celebrate the harvest, Thanksgiving, or “sweater” season. Grab a set 40% off right here.

WATERCOOLER

Woodstock Ends, Radical Frugality, The Queen Sound

On August 17, 1969, one of the all-time grooviest events in music history–the Woodstock Music & Art Fair–drew to a close after three days of peace, love, and rock ‘n’ roll in upstate New York. Above is a photograph of the massive number of festival attendees.

YES!: The Work of Radical Frugality

BBC: How mammals won the dinosaurs' world

Time: Inside the Massive Effort to Change the Way Kids Are Taught to Read

Today I Learned Queen guitarist Brian May uses banjo strings on his electric guitars. Banjo strings are much lighter (thinner) and can bend much easier, making that signature Queen sound.