9/11 beat: Libs’ Deep Denial on Islamist Evil
As the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks was observed, many major media organizations shifted their focus from the Islamist terror assault itself to the discrimination Muslims allegedly faced afterward, writes Spiked’s Tom Slater. For decades, he argues, liberal commentators have sought to recast the meaning of 9/11, often treating the mass murder committed by Islamists as less consequential than the alleged sins of American foreign policy. That line of thinking echoes the post-attack claim that the United States somehow “had it coming,” he says. Slater warns that the instinct to center Muslims in every discussion of 9/11 becomes dangerous when it downplays Islamist violence and fails to recognize what he describes as an ongoing threat to Western society.
Dissident: Punish Putin, not Russians
Developments in Ottawa and Strasbourg offer another illustration of the West’s inconsistent approach to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Kara-Murza writes in The Washington Post. Canada has recently removed sanctions from certain Kremlin-connected figures, while the European Court of Human Rights dismissed hundreds of cases brought by Russians alleging abuses by their own government. Broad restrictions on Russian travelers, he adds, can also hurt people who oppose Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship and the war. Rather than isolating all Russians, Kara-Murza argues, Western governments should intensify sanctions against the Kremlin while preserving contact with Russian civil society, where opposition to both the regime and the conflict is becoming increasingly apparent.
From the left: OpenAI Hired Chuck’s Daughter
OpenAI has strengthened its Washington influence operation by bringing aboard three prominent lobbyists with connections across the political spectrum, The American Prospect’s Dylan Gyauch-Lewis reports. Two arrived from major tech firms Amazon and Meta, while Jessica Schumer is departing her role leading Amazon’s public-policy efforts in New York. Beyond her Democratic political experience, she is the daughter of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — a relationship that, the article notes, carries the kind of access and insider familiarity associated with powerful political families. The recruitment drive offers a window into the influence industry’s dependence on well-connected dynasties. In sports parlance, OpenAI did not merely add depth to its roster; it landed a first-string player.
READ MORE: Fox News Pundit Says McConnell Should Step Down If He Won’t Return
Health beat: Dems’ Latest ObamaCare Oops
“Since when was Jesus an antitrust attorney?” asks The Wall Street Journal editorial board, taking aim at Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico. Talarico recently said his Christian faith would guide him to dismantle large health-care monopolies. But the board argues that Democratic-backed government policies — particularly ObamaCare — helped spur consolidation among American hospitals and pharmacies in the first place. The answer, it contends, is not simply breaking up large firms, but rolling back regulations that limit market competition. The Journal further argues that the left ultimately favors a single-payer health-care model, in which Washington officials would decide which treatments patients receive. If Talarico were candid about that objective, the board concludes, he would say so.
Republican: Pass Our Bipartisan Crypto Bill
The Clarity Act represents an increasingly rare bipartisan deal on crypto regulation, Sen. Cynthia Lummis writes in The Hill. The legislation, crafted alongside Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand after a year of negotiations, is designed to provide the digital asset sector with clearer rules while adding consumer safeguards, she says. Lummis notes that President Trump accepted ethics provisions applying to him as well as other Democratic priorities. For lawmakers concerned about Trump’s cryptocurrency investments, she argues, approving the measure would offer a more effective response than blocking it. The crypto industry will not disappear if Congress fails to act, she warns; it could relocate to financial hubs such as London, Singapore or Abu Dhabi, taking American jobs, tax revenue and regulatory oversight with it.
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board