Cross-Examination

• Joe’s Mother’s Day message: Mother’s Day is supposed to be about mothers, right? And yet yesterday, Joe Biden and his handlers couldn’t resist their biological urge to make Mother’s Day about … Donald Trump. But it wasn’t enough to simply denounce the Orange Man in a Mother’s Day press release: “Daughters Have Fewer Rights than their Mothers or Grandmothers Did Because of Donald Trump,” went the headline, and the brief body copy wasn’t any better: “Happy Mother’s Day. At the Biden campaign, we are asking Americans to do the moms in their lives a favor. Stop Trump.” In a sad way, we can hardly blame Team Biden. Never before has a reelection team had as little to work with as this one, and never before has an incumbent been as desperate as this one. But that message wasn’t the only gift Biden and crew had in store for America’s moms yesterday. In addition, they trotted out a video whose caption read: “Donald Trump wants to separate mothers from their children and allow laws that rip away IVF access and monitor women’s pregnancies. This Mother’s Day, do the moms in your life a favor: Stop Trump.” The video then proceeded to show what appears to be an illegal immigrant family crying out as they’re being separated, but for all we know, it could’ve been Obama-era footage — although to be fair, the video doesn’t show any of those Obama-era cages. In any case, Trump the counterpuncher came back hard: “What a sad, miserable, cowardly existence Crooked Joe Biden and his campaign must have to make such a disgusting ad on such a joyous day,” said the Trump campaign. “Their lives are obviously filled with anger, hate, and resentment because they clearly suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome. President Trump continues to live rent-free in their pea-sized brains, even on Mother’s Day.”

• Constitutional right to lop off body parts: The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that West Virginia’s Medicaid plan must cover gender mutilation surgeries. The state’s law explicitly noted that its health program “covers mastectomies to treat cancer, but not to treat gender dysphoria,” which the court found unconstitutional based upon a rather tortuous application of the 14th Amendment. The court justified its decision by pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock ruling that the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bans employers from discriminating based on sex, also includes homosexuality and “transgender” identity. Asserting the false notion that sex is assigned rather than confirmed at birth, the Fourth Circuit found that the law violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment because those expressing a “transgender” identity were being discriminated against. In fact, the actual discrimination that the Court engaged in was against the reality of immutable biological sex distinctions. This case is likely headed to the Supreme Court.

• Biden intel hostility and UN revision on Gaza deaths: The Biden administration has withheld from Israel intelligence on the location of senior Hamas officials in an effort to prevent the Israel Defense Forces from invading Rafah, the last holdout of Hamas. Of course, one of the primary driving forces for Israel in this war is the rescue of hostages (including five Americans), and senior Hamas officials would know their location. In fact, those officials are likely using many of those hostages as personal human shields. Joe Biden’s concern is purely political, as he recently stated, “I made it clear that … if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah.” The publicly expressed reason is a concern for protecting civilians, as Hamas apologists falsely accuse Israel of killing thousands of Palestinian civilians indiscriminately. Exposing the bogus nature of this narrative is the UN’s recent revision to the number of deaths of Palestinian women and children. The initially reported number of over 14,500 was halved to 7,797. But what are the reasons to believe that even the revised numbers are accurate? Even if they are, Hamas is notorious for using women and children as human shields.

• Gaza protest roundup: Another Ivy League president, this time Cornell University President Martha Pollack, has announced her resignation after months of anti-Semitic protests have riled the campus. Pollack is now the third Ivy League president to resign since last year. Speaking of university anti-Semites, Jerry Seinfeld received an honorary degree and spoke at Duke University’s commencement on Sunday. Not only was the famous comedian booed by students when he took the stage, but several dozen graduates also walked out to protest his presence. Meanwhile, down in Florida, a group calling itself “Queers for Palestine” foolishly sought to block the interstate near Orlando. After stopping their vehicles on the roadway, they held out signs that read, “Free, Free Palestine” and “No business as usual during the genocide.” Their illegal protest didn’t last long; all were arrested within 11 minutes by the Florida Highway Patrol. In New York City, a 16-year-old was arrested over the weekend and charged with vandalism. He was caught on camera defacing a WWI monument honoring the 107th United States Infantry regiment. He spray-painted “Gaza” on the memorial. How about a one-way ticket to Gaza for these goons?

• Target’s “Pride” collection was successfully targeted: Hey, we get results. Last year, in addition to selling Satan-friendly gear, Target targeted children with “Pride” clothes and — let’s face it — grotesque swimsuits that were “tuck-friendly.” Justifiable outrage ensued, as did the boycotts, which caused Target’s stock to plunge right along with its reduced earnings. We hated to see it. But it appears that Target has since gotten the message, at least grudgingly so. As National Review reports: “Target is cutting back on its LGBT Pride month collection following the consumer backlash to last summer’s assortment that sent its sales tumbling. The retailer will only be selling its LGBT merchandise in select stores after some locations faced boycotts for selling LGBT Pride items, including transgender-oriented bathing suits and children’s items designed by a brand that also sells Satanist-inspired merchandise.” So the company is strategically “curating” its Rainbow Mafia gear, but, as we said, only grudgingly so. The company will continue holding internal LGBT Pride events and joining Pride events in its home base of Minneapolis, as well as funneling money to left-wing LGBT activist organizations.

• Gay male couple sues for IVF benefits: The idea that two men could sue an American city — New York City — for denying in vitro fertilization benefits to thousands of homosexual male city employees and their partners would be downright hilarious if it weren’t such an undeniable symbol of our nation’s decline. On the one hand, we couldn’t wish such a lawsuit on a more deserving city — a city that went 85-15 for Joe Biden in 2020. But on the other hand, don’t we have more important things to worry about? The class-action lawsuit, as The Washington Post reports, is the first of its kind, as it claims that “the city’s denial of IVF benefits constitutes discrimination against gay men.” The Post sympathetically continues: “Brooklyn-based couple Nicholas Maggipinto, 38, and Corey Briskin, 35, claim the city is discriminating against male same-sex couples and violating federal, state and local laws by denying them IVF insurance benefits that other city employees are able to access. ‘We were disheartened to say the least when we were told that we aren’t eligible for the IVF benefit because of the way the policy is phrased. We are entitled to equal treatment under the law,’ said Briskin.” If this suit is successful, the possibilities for “equal treatment” are endless. So let’s hope, for our nation’s sake, that this suit ultimately finds its way before a right-thinking judge.

• Panama president vows to shut migrant route: While Mexico’s leftist president is using the migrant crisis to leverage his agenda against the U.S. down in Panama, a different story is playing out. Newly elected Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino vows to shut down illegal alien migration through his country. “Panama and our Darien [Gap] are not a transit route. It is our border,” Mulino said. This represents a significant policy change for the Central American nation, which previously helped migrants cross through. “Because when we start to deport people here in an immediate deportation plan, the interest for sneaking through Panama will decrease,” Mulino explained. “I assure you they are going to say that going through Panama is not attractive because they are deporting you.” This is welcome news for the U.S. and Panama.

• Acne-mask teens exonerated on “blackface” charge: Leftists see racism wherever they look, even when they’re looking at zit-faced kids. In a story that sounds almost as outrageous as one about the little Native American Kansas City Chiefs fan who donned KC-colored warpaint during a Chiefs game only to be libeled by a mediocre Deadspin sports “writer” named Carron (pronounced Karen) Phillips, this story involves two teens who were accused of wearing blackface and then booted from their elite Catholic school in California. Only trouble is, it was a lie from the pits of hell. As it turns out, these two pimply-faced adolescents were simply wearing green acne masks. So, in addition to being race-obsessed, their accusers were also colorblind. As the New York Post reports: “The then-students at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View were just 14 when they took a photo during a sleepover in 2017 of them wearing the treatment in solidarity with a friend suffering from severe acne, their lawsuit said. The treatment, bought by one of the boys’ mom, was light green when applied and turned dark green once dry.” The happy ending is that the teens have been jointly awarded more than $1 million for their troubles.

Headlines

• Michael Cohen stands to make or break Trump hush money case (The Hill)

• Senator Bob Menendez corruption trial set to begin in New York (Roll Call)

• Israel moves toward a full assault on Rafah despite increased pressure from the U.S. (Washington Times)

• Biden administration plans to raise tariffs on electric vehicles from China (NBC News)

• Coalition of 22 state AGs calls on Biden to reject treaty drastically expanding WHO authority (American Greatness)

• Hillary Clinton’s Broadway show bombs (Hot Air)

• Fentanyl pill seizures are skyrocketing, 115 million pills seized in 2023 (The Hill)

• Mexico’s president says he won’t fight drug cartels on U.S. orders, calls it a “Mexico First” policy (AP) | AMLO claims that criminal groups are “respectful” and “respect the citizenry” (AP) | Mexico’s cartels pick candidates, kill rivals (WaPo)

• Putin to replace longtime Russian defense minister (Axios)

• Humor: “Why would I get my wife a Mother’s Day gift, she’s not my mom,” says dead man (Babylon Bee)

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