Charlie Hustle's Slow Walk to Cooperstown

Charlie Hustle’s Slow Walk to Cooperstown
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
October 10, 2024

Years ago I said I believe our great national pastime of baseball will exact its final revenge on Pete Rose by posthumously inducting him into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY a year or two after his ultimate demise. That clock began ticking on Monday, September 30, 2024, when Rose’s heart stopped ticking.

I did not like Pete Rose. I told him as much upon meeting him in, of all places, Las Vegas. In late December 2006 I was in Caesar’s Palace, outside the confines of the physical casino. Walking around the shopping area of Caesar’s Palace I spied a note, inconspicuously taped to a wall, handwritten on lined notebook paper, in pen, not even a dark marker, announcing an autograph signing that very day, featuring Rose and former Dodgers and Padres All Star Steve Garvey.

Noticing the poorly advertised event was slated to begin in about 20 minutes, I made my way to the sports memorabilia shop within Caesar’s. A small shop with terribly overpriced items only a naive, gullible faux sports fan with more money than he or she knows what to do with would make a purchase, had a folding table and two chairs set up for the event. About 10 minutes prior to the start of this event, I remained the only potential customer in the shop. A few minutes later, Rose and Garvey entered together and unassumingly set up a few items on the folding table no bigger than a restaurant table for four.

I don’t pay for autographs - never have, never will, thus I had no intention of getting in line. That said, I still remained the lone possible patron in the shop. I seized the moment and my opportunity to approach Pete Rose. I walked up to the table, we exchanged greetings - I had no reason not to remain polite. Then, again politely, I said to Rose, “I don’t like you.” (How many thousands of times had he heard that, he probably didn’t even hear it any longer.) “I don’t like you, and I’m going to tell you why,” I continued. “I’m a lifelong Mets fan.” Before I could utter another syllable Rose smiled knowing exactly why.

Game Three of the National League Championship Series in October 1973 and the brawl between Rose and New York Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson, who sadly, also died this year, on January 10. That is the reason for my animus. During game three of the best of five playoff series between Harrelson’s Mets and Rose’s Cincinnati Reds, in the top of the fifth inning at Shea Stadium, Rose singled.  On a ground ball from Joe Morgan, Rose slid hard into second base and Harrelson to break up a potential double play, and thus the eruption of fisticuffs between Rose and Harrelson. The Mets emerged victorious that afternoon, and defeated the Reds in the playoffs three games to two, only to lose the World Series in seven games to the Oakland A’s.

Rose, who earned the nickname Charlie Hustle dating back to spring training 1963, when opposing players from the New York Yankees, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle, noted Rose’s all out hard-nosed play - even in spring training. The name stuck, and infamously in the 1970 All Star game Rose’s full steam ahead attitude destroyed the career of American League All Star Ray Fosse. In the bottom of the 12th inning following a Rose single, two batters later, in a close play at the plate, Rose bulldozed Fosse to score the winning run for the National League at Riverfront Stadium, the newly opened home of Rose’s Reds. Fosse remained flat on his back for several seconds while manager and teammates checked on the injured catcher. While Rose missed three games with a thigh bruise, Fosse would play the remainder of the season with a fractured and separated left shoulder which healed in the wrong place.

Fosse’s career would never be the same. Rose would continue on his trajectory toward record-breaking status. On September 11, 1985, in the first inning of a home game against the San Diego Padres, Pete Rose laced a single off pitcher Eric Show, into left-center field. That hit gave Rose 4,192 - the most hits ever in Major League Baseball history, surpassing Ty Cobb, who held the record since 1928. Rose would retire as an active player after the 1986 season while continuing his role as Reds manager. His record 4,256 hits remains intact. Rose, Rookie of the Year in 1963, MVP in 1973, played 24 seasons with the Reds, Phillies, and Expos, winning three batting titles, leading the league in hits seven times, winning two Gold Gloves, and selected to 17 all star teams, yet is still plaqueless in Cooperstown.

Mired in a gambling scandal, Rose found himself banned from baseball - permanently. Players banned from baseball are not eligible for the Hall of Fame - the fate suffered most famously by eight players from the Chicago White Sox 1919 World Series fixing season. While not splitting hairs, the infamous Black Sox, as they were dubbed, earned their banishment for agreeing to accept bribes in exchange for throwing the World Series, while Rose’s transgression had been betting on baseball games. And, yes, there is a difference.

The White Sox players conspired with a criminal element to throw a World Series, intentionally performing in a deleterious manner to impact the outcome of the games. Rose gambled on, but did not impact the result of games on which he wagered. This includes games in which his team played. Anyone even slightly familiar with Rose would understand that Rose and his level of competitiveness simply would not have allowed him to wager against his own teams.

While gambling on baseball had been frowned upon for more than a century, it seems that Major League Baseball has a much more relaxed stance on gambling. So much so, to not consider Rose for enshrinement in the Hall would be hypocritical. Stadiums have advertising from casinos and gambling websites on outfield walls and elsewhere. Television and radio advertisements also include casinos and gaming sites such as FanDuel and Draft Kings. Betting lines typically appear on the bottom of television screens for fans. Each of these betting services include a disclaimer for those in need of help if they are gambling addicts, but it sure seems that professional and even college sports are comfortably in bed with legalized sports betting.

“I don’t like you,” I reiterated, before adding, “but I do think you belong in the Hall of Fame.” Rose thanked me, I exchanged greetings with Garvey, then departed the shop feeling satisfied. 

I don’t condone gambling in sports either Rose’s way, or that of the 1919 White Sox. I don’t condone philandering and unfaithfulness either; yet how many Hall of Famers fall into that category? I don’t condone racism or antisemitism; yet how many Hall of Famers subjected Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Hank Greenberg and myriad others to such unwarranted abuse - either verbal or physical? The Hall of Fame has been a player’s final reward for a great career on the field of play. As long as Major League Baseball has embraced gambling, it should shed its hypocrisy and give Rose his due in Cooperstown.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He is also a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Importance of 10/7 During the Holiest of Days

The Importance of 10/7 During the Holiest of Days
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
September 26, 2024

“On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed.” 

These words are part of the solemn High Holy Days liturgy “Unetanneh Tokef,” (Let us express the mighty holiness of this day) a most powerful poem credited to the martyr Rabbi Amnon of Maintz more than 800 years ago. The advent of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year observing the Day of Creation of the World, or the Birthday of the World, ushers in a 10 day period of spiritual introspection and repentance culminating with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

In part, the poem asks unanswerable questions that are more than thought provoking about the existence of man in G-d’s world.

“On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
How many shall pass on, and how many shall be born;
Who shall live, and who shall die;
Who in his time, and who before his time;
Who by fire, and who by water;
Who by sword, and who by beast;
Who by hunger, and who by thirst;
Who by storm, and who by plague…;
Who shall rest, and who shall wander…;
Who shall be at peace, and who shall suffer;
Who shall become poor, and who shall become rich;
Who shall fall, and who shall rise.
But repentance, prayer, and charity revoke the evil decree.” (www.Chabad.org) 

This passionate poem was penned during a dark time for the Jewish people, rife with antisemitism, forced conversions, pogroms, and massacres. More than a thousand years later the Jewish people are once again being confronted with unprovoked massacres, deadly assaults, kidnappings, rapes, bombings, and college campus antisemitism that has reached a level heretofore not seen before. We approach the first year remembrance of the dastardly acts perpetrated against the Jewish people on October 7, 2023 in Israel right between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

For many, October 7, 2023 will be remembered with the same reverence and magnitude as September 11, 2001 - its heinousness as barbaric as September 11, and with an even greater proportionality than September 11. That’s how horrific and diabolical October 7 is felt in Israel, and quite frankly amongst Jews the world over, as well as the Christians who support Israel.

On that clear Shabbat morning, Hamas, a Gaza-based terrorist organization, funded and sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran invaded Israel unprovoked and slaughtered upwards of 1,200 innocent children, women, and men. This would be the largest single-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust of European Jewry. Hamas terrorists launched a surprise, sneak attack from Gaza across the border into southern Israel. Hamas perpetrated ground attacks on Ashkelon, Be’ eri, Erez Crossing, Kfar Aza,  Magen, Nir Am, Nir Oz, Ofakim, Re’ im Army Base, Sderot, and Zikim Base. Additional assaults found their targets in Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, and Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, as well as Be’ er Sheva, Kerem Shalom, Kibbutz Re’ im, Kibbutz Sufa, Kissufim, Nahal Oz, Netiv Haasara, and Yakhini. Within 24 hours the militant, radical, Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah launched a dozen rockets into Israel from Lebanon. To date, Hezbollah has launched more than 10,000 rockets at Israel. This is now a three front conflagration with Hezbollah attacking from the north along with Hamas invading from the Gaza Strip, and the Houthis from the east. 

Kfar Aza saw perhaps the most unconscionable measure of depravity one could imagine - or not imagine - 40 babies slaughtered, many beheaded - decapitated, left strewn about, among the more than 200 corpses discovered by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). Some of the parents witnessed the executions of their babies, just before Hamas terrorists killed those very parents. More stories of man’s inhumanity to man could be witnessed on the very videos shot by the Hamas terrorists themselves as acts of pride. (It seems Hamas took a page out of the Nazis playbook as there are films of Nazis slaughtering Jews en masse.) Entire families burned alive. A murdered woman with her newborn baby still attached to the mother’s umbilical cord could be found. These reports were multi-sourced. 

Israeli soldiers invited the media to bear witness to the unspeakable carnage and report the truth. A truth including what many said featured the “smell of death.” Additional atrocities as reported by i24 News Israel included 70 Hamas terrorists butchering their way through a town of 700. And the taking of hostages - women and children of all ages from infants to the elderly and infirmed in wheelchairs, even an 85 year old Holocaust survivor - victimized again, for the second time in her life, this time by Palestinian Nazis.

Videos of kidnappings, shootings - bodies found with a dozen, 20, or more bullet holes. These Hamas terrorists kept killing the Israelis even after they were dead. These soulless ghouls pulling people out of their vehicles, invading their homes, dragging people out of their beds, conducting house to house and apartment to apartment searches reminiscent of the methodical searches for Jewish people masterminded by the Nazis during the Holocaust. And there was the wanton massacre of 260 young people simply attending and enjoying a music festival in the Negev Region near Kibbutz Re’ im as bullets rained down upon them.

Israel does not start wars, but Israel will do everything necessary to ensure its survival. The day Israel loses a war, is the day Israel ceases to exist. Israelis would prefer not to enter into armed conflict. They don’t suffer from the same maniacal bloodlust as Hamas, Hezbollah, Isis, the Taliban, the Houthis, and al-Qaeda, among, sadly, many others who have mastered deviance and moral turpitude to an art form.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said it best more than 50 years ago. “When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.” Meir’s sentiment continues to ring true in 2024.

This should not be political, but Kamala Harris and most of the Congressional Democrats have made this political - supporting Hamas, demanding a ceasefire from Israel specifically, condemning Israel for killing Palestinians, and not giving enough aid to the Gazans. There continues to be a double standard where Israel is concerned. Only Israel provides humanitarian aid and warns their enemies of pending retaliatory military strikes. What other nation at war behaves with such benevolence? And yet, the so-called squad and myriad Democrats have, time and time again, consistently voted against support of Israel, and even against condemning antisemitism. 

Israel stands for, and desires peace. “Israel was attacked on October 7 by Hamas, and October 8 by Hezbollah. Israel never would have fired a single rocket, or shot, or killed a single person in Gaza or in Lebanon if they [Israel] hadn’t been attacked,” said Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tis past week. “Israel chooses the blessing of peace,” he added.

This should not be political, but Harris and her far left Democrats have supported the  egregious antisemitism on numerous college campuses. Jewish students and even faculty are not safe on or near their campuses. Harris has said she understands the emotions of the Hamas supporters, the antisemites, the anti-Zionists - they burn both American and Israeli flags as they parade around campus chanting “death to America, death to Israel,” as well as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” These are serious threats against Jewish students on campus, and Jewish communities at-large.

This should not be political, but it is when supporting a two-state solution is supporting terrorism and the right of terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran, to continue in their quests, as written in their charters, calling for the evisceration of Israel and the slaughter of the Jewish people. Hamas vowed after October 7 that there would be not 10, not 100, but 1,000 more October sevens. When terrorists speak of their plans of death and destruction, take them at their word. It’s ironic that when Israel rejects a two-state solution they get lambasted by the Biden-Harris administration, the progressives, and the media. Yet when the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis reject a two-state solution, which to them means the destruction of Israel and the elimination of the Jewish people, nary a word of pushback is uttered.

This should not be political, but it is when Harris and others say they support the right of Israel to defend itself, but want to handcuff that defense. Threatening to withhold vital military aid is not evidence of supporting Israel’s right of self defense. Israel is a sovereign nation and does not need permission to defend itself. It is political when Harris and the Democrats demand that defense be tempered and scaled back. Was the October 7 invasion of Israel and slaughter of 1,200 innocent men, women, and children tempered or scaled back?

Immediately following the Hamas incursion of Israel there was a global demand for a ceasefire. A ceasefire existed on October 6, until violated by Hamas with its invasion of Israel and massacre of 1,200 people and the taking of more than 250 hostages, many of whom are dead or status unknown. The hostages, like the murdered, are from the United States, Israel, and dozens of other countries. And let the record show, Hamas has rejected all overtures for a ceasefire, and Hezbollah is now also rejecting calls for a ceasefire.

This should not be political, but it is, as on the American homefront, the war initiated by Hamas is a key debating point in the campaign for president between former president Donald Trump and VP Harris. Trump is a proven strong supporter of Israel as evidenced through his words and deeds, while Harris offers campaign rhetoric and lip-service in a failed attempt to placate both Jewish and Muslim voters.

And as the campaign presses on toward November 5, Jewish communities are observing the first High Holy Days since October 7, 2023. Shuls/synagogues have typically been protected for a number of years now during this period of high traffic at shuls by visible law enforcement. (Thank them for their presence while heading into services.) Unfortunately the shuls, Chabads, and campus Hillels must take extra precautions to keep their students and buildings safe. Students must not allow themselves to be intimidated or prevented by protesters from entering these buildings to observe the High Holy Days. These protesters - some fellow students, some imported agitators - are ignorant of the truth and real history.

This period of introspection and repentance must not be marred anywhere by protesters. The protesters certainly have the right of free speech, as afforded by the First Amendment. They do not have the right to elevate that speech to threats of violence or actual violence. They do not have the right to prevent anyone from freely observing their faith. Shortly after these 10 days of solemnity there is another nine days for Sukkot, the celebration of the harvest where people enjoy their meals in a festive hut, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah which celebrates the completion of the yearly cycle of the Torah, and immediately begins anew, reading the first portion of the Torah, and dancing with the Torah scrolls. Anyone and everyone participating in these observances and celebrations must be able to do so unmolested by protesters in a free and open manner without fear of retribution or for one’s safety and well being. Let not the United States of America become Germany in 1938.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Trump's 2nd Would Be Assassin Nabbed - Dems Victim Blame

Trump’s 2nd Would Be Assassin Nabbed - Dems Victim Blame
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
September 17, 2024

For the second time in 64 days former President Donald Trump’s life stood in the crosshairs of a would be assassin. Fortunately no harm came to the former president, but the hypocritical Democrats or Hypocrats, have been victim blaming since news broke from Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday September 15.

In the ultimate victim blaming, so-called journalists on MSNBC’s “Alex Witt Reports” asked if the TRUMP team would finally tone down the rhetoric and violence. The Trump team is not promoting violence - political or otherwise nor are they prompting anti-Trump behavior. Both would be assassins - on July 13, and September 15 voiced anti-Trump sentiments in one form or another, clearly influenced by the Democrats. Apparently it’s more than acceptable to victim blame when it fits the liberal, progressive, Democrat narrative. Otherwise, they are the first to shame the shamers.

“Donald Trump is an existential threat to our democracy and our most fundamental freedoms,” said Democrat nominee for president Kamala Harris on July 24.

“Are they [Trump and JD Vance] a threat to democracy? Yes? Are they going to take our rights away? Yes,” said Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), nominee for vice president, on July 27 in St. Cloud, MN.

“He’s [Trump] a genuine danger to American security,” said Joe Biden. He also said, “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye,” during a private telephone call with donors, just days before the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump. Of course nothing remains private for long in the world of politics, and such words could be terribly influential to a would-be assassin.

“He [Trump] is destructive to our democracy and has to be eliminated,” said US Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) on “The Inside Interview” on MSNBC in November 2023. That is most certainly an emboldening statement offered by the Congressman.

Donald Trump is not the threat to democracy as so many Democrats claim. They are simply deflecting off of themselves, as it is the Democrat Party that is the true threat to “democracy.” (The United States is a republic.) Consider that the Democrats selected, not elected, their party’s nominee - Kamala Harris - a person who entered not a single Democrat primary, who earned not a single vote during said primaries. Harris received a modern day coronation after participating in the palace coup that removed Biden from his candidacy.

In addition to the incendiary language used against Trump by a number of very high ranked Democrats, there has been a breach in security provided by the Secret Service, which falls into the rather incapable hands of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Secret Service handled the first assassination attempt with all the skill and ineptitude of the Keystone Kops. Yet, it turned out to be no laughing matter, as in addition to Trump getting shot, two other rally attendees suffered wounds, and a third, retired firefighter Corey Comperatore suffered fatal wounds while protecting his family at the rally in Pennsylvania. 

Trump’s security detail should have been doubled, tripled, whatever it takes to keep a presidential candidate alive and free to travel the country from coast to coast campaigning before the American people. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw should have been fired following the potential assassination at Trump International for glibly saying that Trump is not the current president and thus has all the protection he needs. If the events of the last two months are any indication, Trump clearly lacks the security he requires, and as a veteran sheriff, Bradshaw should know  better.

Adding insult to injury, as if the tendentious remarks made by myriad Democrats weren’t enough, many more are suggesting that Trump should be limited in his travels and especially his outdoor activities. Of course they want Trump as incapacitated and inconvenienced as much as possible to keep him off the campaign trail, to prevent him from holding the enormous rallies that are so popular with his supporters. These Democrats want Trump to hunker in the bunker, a la Biden in 2020. The only difference being Biden wanted to hide in the basement and run out the clock. That is not how Trump operates. Witness, following the debate on September 10, while Harris attended a debate party, Trump took to the spin room in a very unprecedented manner, and fielded questions from the media.

Trump requires as much security as any sitting president would command, after all, Trump is a former president, making his circumstances a bit more extraordinary, something Bradshaw should have remembered when suggesting Trump had all the security he needed. And not because it is Trump. All major party candidates for president should have as much security as is necessary to keep them properly protected. This is not about Trump - this is about the sanctity of the American electoral process. We the people, as Americans, don’t go around eliminating political rivals - assassinating political leaders. This is the United States of America. Not Haiti, not Libya, not Guinea-Bissau, not Serbia and Montenegro, not Nepal, not the Democratic Republic of the Congo - all of which have seen their leaders assassinated this century.

This is the United States of America - the supposed leader of the free world - the nation by which all others measure their freedoms, rights, and body politic - a republic with supposedly free and fair elections, not some banana republic floating around the deepest recesses of some enormous body of water. After the first assassination attempt, the Democrats, at their convention in August, at the very least, their nominees Harris and Walz should have expressed thankfulness that Trump is alive and physically well and that political violence has no place in the United States; lead by example in front of the thousands of convention partisans and the millions watching around the country. 

Harris and Walz failed to seize the moment for a conciliatory gesture. Instead they continue to lead by antagonistic, contentious, and truculent language creating a more divisive union - the same brand of divisiveness the Democrats employ via DEI and CRT in the workplace and the schools. And these are just some of the myriad reasons Donald Trump must be returned to the White House. The people have to deliver a strong message that they will not be intimidated, nor will they succumb to the lies, half truths, and misinformation spread by a party and people so desperate to retain their power even at the risk of permanently destroying the union.

Abraham Lincoln, in his 1838 speech before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois spoke of a potential downfall of the republic. “At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”

As a nation, the United States of America is at a crossroads. It is up to we the people, in the quadrennial occasion of our presidential election to determine the direction the nation will traverse - maintaining the republic or a more sinister direction toward our own destruction led by hypocrites who are the true threat to the future of America. Look at the records of the last two administrations - they speak for themselves. The time is now as the Ronald Reagan campaign said in 1980, as it also asked the people if they were better off than they were four years prior. Reagan helped make America great again then, and Trump can help Make America Great Again now.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

9/11 at 23 - Are We Too Far Removed?

9/11 at 23 - Are We Too Far Removed? 
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
September 6, 2024

On Wednesday, September 11, for the 23rd consecutive year the names of the 2,977 innocent souls, murdered by 19 Islamic extremist terrorists who skyjacked four American airplanes with the express purpose of inflicting as much damage as possible against people, property, and the body politic, will be read.

The reading of those names will only be interrupted by the peal of bells serving as a reminder of the exact time the deeds of unconscionable evil were perpetrated. But most of us need no reminder - we bore witness to these homicidal tragedies, lost friends and/or loved ones. Undoubtedly there isn’t a person who was alive on that fateful September 11, 2001 who hasn’t a connection to that day and who doesn’t carry the scars of history with them.

For the 23rd year we will, and we must, pay homage and respect to the fallen who were murdered by Islamic extremist terrorists on that clear, crisp, Tuesday morning when the screaming airplanes permeated the sunshine, penetrated their steel and glass targets, plunging the world into darkness and chaos.

But are we too far removed from that calamitous and fateful day?

On August 23, 2023 DailyMail.com reported that the “architect of 9/11 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and fellow co-conspirators may be spared the death penalty under a new plea deal being considered by the federal government.” They would plead guilty - actually admit their guilt in exchange for having their lives spared.

Just a couple weeks shy of a year later, this plea deal, which still had not yet been resolved, ended up on the cutting room floor, thanks to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. On Friday, August 2 of this year, Austin “issued a terse memo canceling the agreement prosecutors had concluded was the best - and perhaps only - way to resolve a case marred by allegations that the U.S. tortured the defendants. The deal would have kept the defendants in prison for life, taking the death penalty off the table in exchange for guilty pleas,” according to The Wall Street Journal (08/05/24) Is it more important to get an admission of guilt and keep these miserable excuses for human flesh alive? And on the backs of the American taxpayers? In revoking the agreement, Austin stated the three would, in fact, face the death penalty - as they should, especially after 23 years of life beyond that which their victims have been denied.

Yet, also according to The Wall Street Journal, “the defendants have at times claimed responsibility for the Sept. 11 attacks.” (08/05/24) 

These criminal terrorists have been given more rights than they gave their victims. This legal minutiae and a game of legal Twister© has contorted and even mocked the judicial system in the face of protecting the so-called rights of admitted terrorists; of admitted murderers. This alleged treatment of the admitted terrorists is what initially prompted the plea deal. If they have already admitted to their heinous acts under alleged questionable circumstances, what makes this deal acceptable simply because they admit guilt before a military tribunal? Guilty is guilty. If the terrorists have admitted guilt on more than one occasion, a plea deal should never have been entertained in the first place.

How, after 23 years, are any of these stains on humanity still breathing air? Walid Bin Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawasawi, and of course Mohammed should have been executed two decades ago. Instead, we the people, the American taxpayers, have spent millions and millions of dollars keeping these G-dless bastards alive, fed, and reasonably comfortable. All while the families of the 2,977 victims continue to mourn and grieve their loved ones as this gaping wound remains open, still fresh, and astoundingly painful.

“When we tell the world that America is not prepared to bring justice against terrorists, we’re going to get more terror,” said former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Fox News Live, August 3. “Just like when we trade terrorists for hostages, we’re going to get more American hostages. These things are all deeply connected. The bad guys can see weakness, and they smell it today - and we’re in a dangerous place the next few months with President Biden,” said Pompeo, who served during the Trump administration.

A brief timeline of the harrowing and disturbing events of September 11, 2001:

Between 7:59 AM and 8:42 AM four flights depart Boston’s Logan, Washington’s Dulles, and                 Newark airports, headed for Los Angeles except the Newark flight, headed to San Francisco.

        8:46 AM: American Airlines flight #11 is flown into #1 World Trade Center - the North Tower - by         five Muslim extremist hijackers murdering the 11 crew, 76 passengers and hundreds inside the                tower instantly. 

9:03 AM: United Airlines flight #175 is flown into #2 World Trade Center - the South Tower - by            five Muslim extremist hijackers murdering the nine crew, 51 passengers, and hundreds inside the            tower instantly. 

9:05 AM: President George W. Bush is alerted to what is now believed to be terrorist attacks.                  “Terrorism against our nation will not stand,” said Bush.

9:37 AM: American Airlines flight #77 is flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, VA by five Muslim         extremist hijackers murdering the six crew, 53 passengers, as well as 125 military and civilian                personnel on the ground.

        9:59 AM: The South Tower collapses in 10 seconds after burning for 56 minutes. More than 800            civilians and first responders are murdered. 

10:03 AM: United Airlines flight #93 crashes into a field in Shanksville, PA when passengers and           crew storm the cockpit. There are no survivors of the seven crew and 33 passengers due to the                 murderous plot by the four Muslim extremist hijackers. Flight #93 was 20 minutes from                         Washington, DC where the White House or the Capitol Building were the presumed targets. 

10:15 AM: The damaged section of the Pentagon E-Ring collapses.

        10:28 AM: The North Tower collapses after burning for 102 minutes. More than 1,600 civilians             and first responders are murdered. 

8:30 PM: President George W. Bush addresses the nation.

Tunnel to Towers (www.t2t.org) is a most worthy charity which to contribute. Frank Siller is the founder and Chairman/CEO of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Frank’s youngest brother, Stephen, served as a firefighter who, having just come off the previous night’s shift, heard about the towers being struck and he did what any loyal firefighter would do - headed right back to work. Upon reaching the closed to traffic Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, Stephen Siller strapped on his gear and ran the remaining three kilometers through that tunnel. He successfully made one trip in and out of the South Tower. Unfortunately, his second trip into the South Tower was less successful. Stephen Siller, 34, was one of more than 330 firefighters to lose their lives on and since September 11, 2001.

I do not work for the charity. I do not benefit in any way from this charity other than to know that as a contributor, my donation and yours, should you make one, is used at a rate of 95.1 percent for the programs, such as paying the mortgages of disabled first responders and veterans, along with those of the widows and widowers of first responders and veterans. Don’t take my word for it - visit www.charitynavigator.org. 

May the memories of the 2,977 murdered on September 11, 2001 always be for a Blessing. This must never be forgotten.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He grew up in northern New Jersey in the shadow of the Twin Towers. On September 11, 2001, he was writing for a newspaper in northern Virginia, 10 minutes from the Pentagon. His annual 9/11 column is dedicated to the memory of the 2,977 murdered that day and the hundreds who have died since due to its unhealthy aftermath.

IDF Recovers Bodies of Six More Hostages

IDF Recovers Bodies of Six More Hostages
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
September 1, 2024

With much sadness, but little surprise, the deaths of six hostages held in Gaza, including one American, are confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as reported on Fox News, and in The Epoch Times. It is believed Hamas murdered the hostages within the past day or two, also according to the IDF.

The six most recently murdered hostages include Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, kidnapped by Islamic extremist terrorist group Hamas from the Nova music festival in southern Israel last October 7. Goldberg-Polin attended the music festival with friends in celebration of his birthday. The other five murdered hostages are Master Sergeant Ori Danino, 25, Carmel Gat, 40, Alex Lubnov, 32, Almog Sarusi, 25, and Eden Yerushalmi, 24.

Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, spoke on August 21, Day Three of the Democrat National Convention. “This is a political convention. But needing our only son - and all of the cherished hostages - home, is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” said an impassioned Polin.

This tragic news broke on Sunday morning, 330 days following the October 7, 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel, the slaughter of more than 1,400 people, and the kidnapping of 250 men, women, and children ranging in ages from, on that date, a few months to over 85 years of age. Of the eight Americans among the hostages, at least four are known dead. The status of more than 100 hostages, including up to four Americans, remains unknown. What is known, is that the IDF recovered the bodies of the six murdered hostages from an underground tunnel in Khan Yunis, Gaza. This is a tunnel the IDF recently captured from Hamas in Rafah. 

“A few hours ago, we informed the families that the bodies of their loved ones had been located by IDF troops in an underground tunnel in Rafah. According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” said IDF spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Hamas is responsible for the October 7 invasion of Israel and the massacre of more than 1,400 innocent men, women, and children - the largest massacre of Jewish people in a singular incident since the Holocaust of World War II where the Nazis murdered more than six million Jews. Hamas didn’t simply murder more than 1,400 people, they recorded many of their atrocities including the rape of women and children, the slaughter of children in front of their parents - only to murder the parents, the burning alive of children, also in front of their parents before murdering the parents.

Included in the October 7 massacre by Hamas were more than 200 people from foreign countries outside of Israel, most of whom carried dual citizenship with Israel. The following countries lost the denoted number of nationals - murdered at the hands of Hamas, according to The Times of Israel: France (35), Thailand (33), United States (31), Ukraine (21), Russia (19), United Kingdom (12), Germany (10), Nepal (10), Argentina (9), Canada (6), Romania (5), Austria, China, Philippines, Portugal (4 each), Belarus, Brazil, Italy, Peru (3 each), South Africa (2), and Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey (1 each). Most of these same countries had or still have hostages held by Hamas of indeterminate numbers.

Addressing his nation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal,” in Hebrew.

Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris expressed their outrage regarding the murder of the six hostages by Hamas. “It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” said Biden. Quite frankly, for a  man who has been AWOL from the White House the past two weeks, Biden’s words ring hollow. How will he make the Hamas leaders pay for their crimes? He has done nothing since October 8.

Harris’s words carry no more confidence than Biden’s. “I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world. As Vice President, I have no higher priority than the safety of American citizens, wherever they are in the world,” said Harris.

Yet, it continues to be the feckless “leadership” of the Biden-Harris administration that emboldens not just Hamas, but Hezbollah, another Islamic extremist terrorist group, to continue their bombings and shootings in their attempts to destroy Israel, the world’s lone Jewish nation on the planet. They have attempted to handcuff Israel at every turn in an attempt to secure a ceasefire, which will only make the administration look good, keep Hamas alive and breathing, without making Israel one bit more secure.

Biden and Harris have blood on their hands. While attempting to walk both sides of the street in telling Israel how they have the right to defend themselves, as if Israel needs permission from anyone as an independent sovereign nation, Biden and Harris are also attempting to placate the Hamas wing of their Democrat Party. The ever-growing radical, far-left of the Democrat Party, thousands of whom voted uncommitted during the primaries, have not only demanded an immediate ceasefire since October 8, but don’t even support the right of Israel to exist - taking their marching orders from Hamas and Hezbollah, who in turn are taking their marching orders from the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is the same Iran that during the Trump administration, could not lift a finger against either the US or Israel. Now, thanks to Biden and Harris’s funding of Iran and lifting of sanctions against Iran, has returned the Islamic Republic to its former strength in efforts to build nuclear weaponry to be used against the “Great Satan,” and the “Little Satan.”

Both Biden and Harris continue talking out of both sides of their mouths. Calling for an immediate ceasefire since October 8 supports Hamas, gives Hamas new life, while endangering Israel further. Telling Israel they have the right to defend itself, while also demanding Israel exercise caution and limit their response to the terrorism intended to end the very existence of Israel, certainly is not terribly supportive.

Harris in particular has demonstrated more support for Hamas and the Palestinians by approving the pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, antisemitic rallies, marches, and violence on myriad American college campuses since October 8. Harris has repeatedly said she understands the outrage of their venomous and criminal behavior. She has, on numerous occasions, relied upon statistics provided by Hamas in condemning Israel for the alleged number of Palestinians killed since the Hamas invasion of Israel and slaughter of 1,400 Israelis. The sad reality is Hamas hides among its own people, intentionally putting them in harm’s way and actually killing many of their own people in an effort to curry global support via the media. Hamas, receiving 80 percent of the vote among the Gazans for Hamas to be the elected rulers of Gaza, in addition to hiding among their own people, hides and stores their weaponry in elementary schools, hospitals, residences, and yes, even mosques. 

Additionally, Biden and Harris accuse Israel of withholding food and medical supplies from the people of Gaza, when in reality it is Hamas that hijacks the thousands of trucks rolling into Gaza, and keeps those supplies from their own people, starving them and allowing them to die.

Harris has specifically warned Israel against moving on Rafah, which would be strategically important for Israel to end the war sooner rather than later. “We have been clear in multiple conversations and in every way, that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake,” said Harris on ABC, on March 24. Is she dictating to Israel? And let’s not forget, Harris, the sitting vice president seeking a promotion this November, boycotted PM Netanyahu’s address before Congress in July.

Biden and Harris simply want to end the war. Israel wants and must win the war. There is an enormous difference. Ending the war allows Hamas to live another day and continue its terror campaign in its effort to eliminate the only Jewish nation on the planet. Winning the war allows Israel to exist, and its people to live and thrive peacefully. Hamas is a terrorist organization hell bent on ending the existence of Israel and killing the Jewish people, while Israel is a legitimate sovereign nation. Hamas and Israel should under no circumstance ever be equated with one another. The fact is, if Hamas puts down their weapons, there will be no more war. If Israel puts down its weapons, there will be no more Israel. May the memories of the hostages forever be for a Blessing.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Harris Doubles Down on Bidenomics in Scripted Ad

Harris Doubles Down on Bidenomics in Scripted Ad
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
August 30, 2024

Smiling and nodding dutifully like an adoring and approving father, Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) joined Vice President Kamala Harris (D) on CNN Thursday night (08/29) in what should have been her first live real sit-down, one-on-one interview with a member of the press. Instead, for the duration of the hour-long program, Harris spoke for 16 minutes and 47 seconds according to multiple sources, in what can only be considered a scripted infomercial, pre-recorded and edited.

Dana Bash, who conducted the interview, is a rather capable reporter, and actually asked a couple of good questions. She failed, however, to jump on myriad opportunities for obvious follow-up questions. And, Bash did begin the program with two lies before even asking her first question to Harris. Viewers were told the interview was coming live from Savannah, GA and that they would see the interview in its entirety. Neither notion carried an ounce of truth with it - see above.

Bash tossed an obvious softball to begin the proceedings, asking what Harris would do on Day One. That is a disingenuous question, as Harris has been in the White House as Vice President since January 20, 2021 and thus, has had three and one half years to work with Joe Biden to accomplish anything she might want to do starting January 20, 2025. To be fair to Harris, she did say that the middle class would be her priority on Day One, that “people are ready for a new way forward,” without defining that new way. If based upon previous statements Harris’s “new way forward” include price controls and increased government interference in the lives of the American people, that “new way forward” more likely than not, will bankrupt the United States.

When Bash again asked about Day One, Harris said there would be “an opportunity economy,” a mantra oft repeated on her television campaign ads. Harris neither defined nor explained what an opportunity economy looks like with Bash or in the advertisements. 

Harris said she would bring down the cost of everyday goods, invest in small businesses, and invest in families. Price controls will never bring down the cost of goods and services. There will be shortages leading to price gouging, the thing Harris hopes to prevent. How will she invest in small businesses or families? A question neither asked by Bash or explained by Harris when she mentioned it the first time. The closest Harris came to answering that question came when she called for a $6,000 child tax credit for a child’s first year. Will that be just for the first child, or every child a woman chooses to have? As a tax credit, money the government will not collect, what spending cuts did Harris propose to offset those tax credits? None.

Bash does get credit for responding to Harris about how the country is not going back, presumably to the Trump era, by reminding the Democratic nominee for president that the cost of groceries and housing were lower under President Trump.

Another possible economic policy proposed by Harris seemed to confuse her as much as it must have confused viewers at home. Harris talked about bringing the cost of housing down. She initially suggested a $25,000 tax credit for first time home buyers. Harris also suggested such a tax credit could be used for the down payment on said house. What will prevent the cost of housing to rise by that same $25,000, and how will a tax credit cover the actual down payment? If a new home buyer is relying upon a $25,000 tax credit, they probably can’t afford the house - the monthly mortgage (which thanks to Biden-Harris could have an interest rate upwards of nine percent), the property taxes, and all that encampasses home ownership.

Bash asked a good question wanting to know why haven’t Biden and Harris implemented any of these changes during the past three-plus years. Harris said “we had to recover as an economy.” Doesn’t the country still have to recover from the failed Biden-Harris economy? If those plans would not have worked then, why will they succeed now? “I’m very proud of the work we’ve done… brought inflation down to three percent,” said Harris ignoring the fact that when Biden-Harris entered the White House in 2021, inflation was 1.4 percent, and shot up to over nine percent during this term - something upon which Bash did not call out Harris.

Another mathematical quandary emerged during the Harris-Walz infomercial. Harris took pride in claiming to see insulin prices capped at $35 per month for seniors. Then Harris went on to say the cost of insulin for seniors has been capped at $2,000 a year. The trusty calculator says 35 X 12 = 420; so how does Harris get to $2,000? When it came to the impact of the child tax credit, Walz said it would reduce child poverty by one-third, while Harris put the reduction at 50 percent. Seems the left hand doesn't know what the other left hand is doing.

During the CNN program Harris claimed her administration would bring business back to America. How does that mesh with Harris calling for corporate income tax rates to increase from 21 percent to 28 percent? Two things could happen here. Corporations will move their headquarters overseas, to a country like Ireland that imposes a friendlier tax rate. Corporations willing to “accept” the proposed tax increase will simply pass that increase on to their clientele and customers, thus raising taxes on the very people Harris claimed would not have their taxes raised - the middle and lower socio-economic rungs of the ladder in America. Oh, taxes will be raised on the rich; they just won’t feel its impact as badly. Harris has no economic acumen of which to speak. Bash neither pursued the tax issue nor the faulty math regarding insulin. 

Bash turned her attention to fracking - yet another issue on which Harris has flip-flopped. In 2019 Harris said, “No question I’m in favor of banning fracking.” Since the DNC and during the Bash infomercial Harris claimed she will not ban fracking. “My values have not changed… I believe it is very important that we take seriously what we must do to guard against what is a clear crisis in terms of the climate. And to do that, we can do what we have accomplished thus far,” said Harris.

There’s quite a bit to unpack in that confusing statement fit for a vegetarian, as it is a classic Kamala Harris Word Salad. Either she’s against fracking because she thinks there is a climate crisis that would be negatively impacted by fracking, and that runs contrary to her immediately stated support to defend fracking, or, and this is more likely, Harris’s values are whichever way the wind blows.

When Bash pivoted to the border crisis, Harris immediately blamed Trump for killing a so-called bipartisan bill that would allow for more fentanyl to be seized. Why didn’t Biden-Harris issue an executive order three-plus years ago if this is such a serious issue, and it is terribly serious. But the Biden-Harris open border policies since taking office is the main reason for the astronomical influx of the fatal drug. An open border Harris supports, as Bash noted Harris raised her hand during a 2019 Democrat debate calling for the decriminalization of illegal border crossing. Bash asked Harris if she still took that position. “I believe there should be consequence - we have laws - they have to be followed and enforced, that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally, and there should be consequences.” It again begs the question why the laws already on the books failed to be enforced as record numbers of illegal aliens invaded the United States during Biden-Harris. When Harris said she recognized the problem, there was no follow up from Bash asking why, after three-plus years the problem still remains unchecked.

From there, Harris offered up another word salad. “My values haven’t changed. You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed and I have worked on it - that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter, to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time. We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act. We have set goals for the United States, and by extension the globe, around when we should meet certain standards for reduction of certain greenhouse gasses, as an example. That value has not changed,” said a convoluted Harris with Walz sitting there nodding like a stooge.

When Bash asked Harris about her experiences as a district attorney and attorney general, Harris said,”Let me be clear, in this race, I am the only person who has prosecuted transnational criminals who traffic in guns, drugs, and human beings. I recognize the problem.” If Harris recognized the problem, why is illegal immigration rampant in her state of California, and at its worst in the United States as a whole? Harris then turned to her mantra of the campaign, that this is “the prosecutor versus the felon,” expecting that to be the be-all-end-all path to the White House.

Harris didn’t sound much better talking about the war between Hamas and Israel. Bash noted how Biden-Harris has failed for months and months to secure a ceasefire. “Let me be clear. I’m unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself, and that’s not gonna change. But, let’s take a step back. October 7, 1,200 people were murdered, many young people who [sic] simply attending a music festival. Women were horribly raped - as I said then - I say today, Israel has a right to defend itself - we would - and how it does matters. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed and we have got to get a deal done. This war must end and we must get a deal that is about getting the hostages out…. I’ve been committed since I’ve been on October 8 to what we must do to work toward a two-state solution,” said Harris, in yet another garbled response. In this two-state solution Harris envisions, how much more land does she expect to be stolen from Israel?

Harris wasn‘t the only one to struggle verbally during the interview with Bash. Walz dodged the question, referring to him lying about carrying weapons of war into combat, calling it an attack on him. He was not asked about his lying about his military rank. First he said people are just getting to know him, then a minute later said, the people know him. Which is it? And in response to his lie about IVF versus IUI, Walz said, “I don’t think they’re cutting hairs on IVF or IUI. I think they’re cutting hairs on is an abortion ban and the ability to be able to deny families to have a beautiful child.”

Walz is most certainly not battle-tested for the rigors of a national campaign, which with 10 weeks before Election Day, is now a sprint to the November 5 finish line. Harris, while she has experience in a national campaign having run in 2020, still lacks the capability to string together coherent sentences to explain whatever makeshift Marxist policies she is conjuring up. She’s walking a tightrope - a balancing act of remaining loyal to her boss, Joe Biden, who gave her the chance of a lifetime - twice - once by naming her his choice for vice president, and again when he announced he would be dropping out of the race for president and endorsing Harris, and paving her own way by moving away from the Biden-Harris record. 

Regardless how fast or far Harris runs, she will not be able to shed the stink of the Biden-Harris administration, nor avoid questions about Biden’s mental health. During the infomercial with Bash, Harris doubled-down in her defense of Biden, saying he has the abilities to serve another four year term, that Biden was “extraordinarily strong” following his disastrous debate with Trump in June. Harris said she has no regrets about what she told the American people about Biden. “I have spent hours and hours with him, whether in the Oval Office or the Situation Room - he has the intelligence, the commitment, the judgment, and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president. In contrast, the former president has none of that,” said Harris, adding she has been proud to serve with Biden.

The next set of whoppers delivered by Harris were even more shocking. She bragged about having invested in “new economies.” Such as, Bash should have asked, but did not. “I think history is going to show not only has Joe Biden led an administration that achieved extraordinary successes, but the character of the man is one that he has been in his life and career, including as a president, quite selfless, and put the American people first,” said Harris, offering up yet another word salad.

Is this the best Kamala Harris has to offer? After shunning the media for 40 days and 40 nights, with a campaign website bereft of policy issues, it is apparent Harris is trying to run the clock out, hoping as many people as possible vote early. Harris is  attempting to hide in plain sight among the American people saying nothing of value or substance. It is up to the American people to see through the Harris facade, remember this election is not about personality, but the damage done to our collective pocketbooks and wallets. Trust your own eyes and ears, not the pandering Democrat’s campaign ads, not the Harris word salads or the Walz lies.

Ronald Reagan asked, in 1980, if the American people were better off then in 1980, than they were four years prior. The American people are intelligent enough to know what is in their bank account, how much their groceries, gas, and lodging cost, how few vacations they can afford compared to the four years of the Trump administration. The American people are smart enough to know who stands for the American people, not illegals, and who will work hard for the American people to Make America Great Again.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Abbey Gate 13 Honored with Trump Patriotism; Harris Pettiness

Abbey Gate 13 Honored with Trump Patriotism; Harris Pettiness
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
August 28, 2024 (addendum included September 12, 2024)

In what started out as a mostly quiet, unobtrusive event to memorialize 13 fallen heroes of the American military, ended up as front page fodder due to the pettiness of one person - Vice President Kamala Harris. The 13 Gold Star families planned a simple, yet meaningful, wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday August 26 to remember and celebrate their children’s lives lost at Abbey Gate during a suicide bombing.

The Gold Star families of the Afghanistan 13 invited former President Donald Trump to join them in honoring the memories of their sons and daughters who unceremoniously lost their lives on August 26, 2021 during the failed and chaotic withdrawal from Kabul. In an unprecedented evacuation, the Biden-Harris administration pulled the military troops from Afghanistan first, not last, as should be protocol. In fact, Harris doubled-down indicating only she and Biden remained in the room where the disastrous decision emerged, and still to this day continues to call it a “success.” The families of the 13 fallen troops most certainly know better.

This is the same Biden-Harris administration that saw Biden check his watch on occasion during the dignified transfer of the remains of the Afghanistan 13, and Harris failed to attend at all. Biden and Harris have done nothing but insult the memories of the fallen as well as their families, and yes, Harris made it political by condemning Trump for attending an event to which he was invited.

Say the names of the fallen:

Marines:

Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichard, 25, Lawrence, MA

Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, Sacramento, CA

Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, Salt Lake City, UT

Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, Indio, CA

Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, Omaha, NE

Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, Logansport, IN

Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, Rio Bravo, TX

Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, St. Charles, MO

Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, Jackson, WY

Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, Norco, CA

Navy:

Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, Berlin Heights, OH

Army:

Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, Corryton, TN

“Let me be clear,” began Harris. “The former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt. If there is one thing on which we as Americans can all agree, it’s that our veterans, military families, and service members should be honored, never disparaged, and treated with nothing less than our highest respect and gratitude,” wrote Harris on X. Harris’s words ring hollow, as her deeds speak volumes. Harris has yet to meet with the Gold Star families. And quite frankly any attempt to do so would be disingenuous at best, insulting to be sure.

Naturally, Trump accepted the invitation offered by the Gold Star families, and spoke little, while spending as much time as the families wanted just listening to their memories of their children. Both Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg (Ret.) a former National Security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, now a supporter of Trump, said the former president comported himself with dignity, respect, and reverence to the memories of the fallen as well as their families.

Another criticism levied by Harris indicated Trump turned the event into a photo session as people snapped photos and even filmed a video. Much ado about nothing as the photos and filming came at the behest of the families, and Trump appropriately acquiesced. Photos requested by grieving families trumps the rules or laws - no pun intended.

Asked about the video, Kelly Barnett, mother of Darin T. Hoover, responded, “we’re just so tired - we’ve been disrespected so much in the last three years - it’s been three years - no response from them [Biden-Harris, who were invited to the wreath laying]. No ‘I’m sorry,’ no ‘we stand with you,’ no ‘we know it was a mistake, we know it went down wrong, because we know mistakes happen in war.’ It was just important that we let Donald Trump know - because he’s been there for us. He’s been our rock. He’s been there for us to give us a little bit of peace, and carry that grief with us for a little while, and that’s what he did that day,” said Barnett.

“Absolutely hypocritical,” is how Jim McCollum, father of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, described Harris’s comments toward Trump. “We invited President Trump to be there, the families that were in Arlington asked him to bring his filming crew to capture the moment. My understanding is that they didn’t want people on their phones. They wanted them to be in the moment, to be present. Trump was gracious enough to be there, for one, which I thought was an absolutely beautiful thing - it made me proud that he was there representing all 13 kids…. Much like the RNC, where our kid’s names were finally recognized, this was some recognition that we’d been longing for. It was absolutely beautiful for me to see, and in a blink of an eye, she [Harris] turned it political and into something it absolutely was not,” said McCollum.

On CNN Dana Bash called Afghanistan a “sore spot” for Biden and Harris. “A sore spot? They murdered my son,” said Alicia Lopez, mother of Cpl. Hunter Lopez. “They murdered the other 12. I don’t think that would be a sore spot. I think they have a lot of explaining to do and they’re choosing not to and they’re choosing to politicize something that was meant to be an experience between a former president and the families and honoring our children. Instead, she’s turning it into something to get the attention away from him,” said Lopez.

Asked what she would say to Harris, given the opportunity, Lopez said with a grin, “I probably can’t say those words on national TV. I don’t think she qualifies to be the Commander in Chief, so I would kindly ask her to step down and let President Trump be our Commander in Chief so that he can take care of our military,” said Lopez.

In a video presented on The Chris Salcedo Show on Newsmax on Monday, September 2, another parent weighed in about Harris’s comments. “This is Mark Schmitz, Gold Star father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz. The irony behind your post, that you give a rat’s ass about our military or our veterans - Jared’s brothers and sisters in arms - the rest of the 12… is an outright lie. We’re living proof of that. You’re despicable. You have zero business running this country. And I pray to G-d Americans wake the hell up and get your ass out of office. You have spit in our face for the last f-ing time,” said a still grieving Schmitz, and rightfully so.

On Tuesday, September 10, after three years and two weeks, official recognition of the Abbey Gate 13 came in the form of a ceremony posthumously issuing all 13 servicemen and women the Congressional Gold Medal, as voted unanimously by Congress. Along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award. This recognition, obviously long overdue, helped the surviving family members take one step toward closure, something unlikely to ever be achieved by the families of the fallen. 

The Abbey Gate families, and the families of all the fallen during the Afghanistan War deserve that, and so much more. They, and the nation, deserve a Commander in Chief that will lead via peace through strength so as to not require sending American troops into harm’s way in foreign wars. After 20 years, Afghanistan is once again under the tyrannical thumb of the Taliban, due in part to the fecklessness of Biden and Harris. The rights of women and girls have once again been stripped away. Actress Meryl Streep said a “squirrel has more rights than Afghan girls.” Can’t argue with that, but what is arguable is why Streep supports Harris. This would not have happened under a Trump administration. After all, Kamala Harris supports the right of transgender women, actually biological males, to participate in female sports, while Donald Trump vehemently opposes this. Trump will end this insanity about bio-boys invading women’s spaces, restore order with the military, and give the homeless veterans the help they need and deserve, all on the way to Making America Great Again.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.