News and Views: July 7, 2025

At least 89 dead from Texas floods as rescuers search for survivors  At least 89 people are confirmed dead after flash floods swept through central Texas over the Fourth of July holiday.

   With more rain forecasted, rescuers continued searching Monday for the dozens still missing, including multiple girls from Camp Mystic. Screenshot

‘Unimaginable tragedy’: 27 girls, counselors confirmed dead at Texas Christian Camp Mystic hit by flooding 

The Theological Mystery Of Camp Mystic 

Where Was God In The Flood That Swept Away Little Girls? 

Essay by Rod Dreher

--------------------------------

A Very Consequential Two Weeks for Donald Trump's Presidency   It is hard to dispute that Trump is a man of consequence following the U.S. strikes in Iran, the ceasefire struck only 12 days after the war began between Israel and Iran, and his brokering of a deal to increase defense contributions across NATO dramatically.

      And this all happened in under two weeks, beginning with Trump signing the U.S. Steel deal on June 13 and continuing Friday morning with the Supreme Court ruling that individual judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions. The latter was a breathtaking victory for Trump, who has been hampered by activist judges throwing up everything but the kitchen sink to try to curtail his agenda.

--------------------------------

US Expands Militarized Zones To One Third Of Southern Border  

The move places long stretches of the border under the supervision of nearby military bases, empowering U.S. troops to detain people who enter the country illegally and sidestep a law prohibiting military involvement in civilian law enforcement. It is done under the authority of the national emergency on the border declared by President Donald Trump on his first day in office.

   U.S. authorities say the zones are needed to close gaps in border enforcement and help in the wider fight against human smuggling networks and brutal drug cartels. Image

--------------------------------

NYC Campaign Finance Board Rigs Elections to Benefit Mamdani  In a city and state dominated by the Left, lawmakers are using taxpayer money to boost the nonprofit radical advocacy industrial complex, which then orchestrates their reelection.

   The CFB doles out more taxpayer money, pretending the process is fair.

   Time to eliminate the CFB, let taxpayers off the hook, and devise another method to make elections fair. Image

The Frightening Dream House of Zoran Mamdani -VD Hanson  For Mamdani, whose parents rank in the top one percent of income and educational brackets, the America his family sought as a refuge must be transformed into one of the socialist-communist nations of the sort that have failed everywhere.

   The glib Mamdani has canned answers for all of his past embarrassments—except one.

   Why would he wish to turn New York City into a social basket-case like Uganda, which his now-rich parents fled to reach America in the first place?

--------------------------------

American Jews — and Jews Around the World — Need to Wake Up 

This week, it emerged that a student at Nysmith School-a prestigious K-8 private school in Virginia -submitted a portrait of Adolf Hitler, no less, for a classroom project on “strong historical leaders.”

   You might expect that the school would treat this as a serious misstep, an opportunity to teach boundaries and basic decency. Instead, they proudly displayed the artwork.

   And when one Jewish student’s parents, understandably horrified, raised their concerns, the school’s response wasn’t an apology — it was dismissal. Their 11-year-old daughter, they were told, needed to “toughen up.”

   Then, in a twist that belongs in some dark satirical novel, all three of that family’s children were expelled. Let that sink in. Expelled!

--------------------------------