Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy, 10/14

[SVPete]

You Hear the Sob Story, Not the Back Story

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/10/14/you-hear-the-sob-story-not-the-back-story-n3807815

While I do believe that illegal aliens have no right to be here and that they should leave or be deported (and if they leave voluntarily, they should have the opportunity to apply like anybody else), I don't relish cruelty for cruelty's sake. So when I read some stories, I cringe, both because I wish that we were not at the point where the only way to solve our illegal immigrant crisis was mass deportations, and because I know that my liberal friends will try to force me to justify to them whatever cruel thing they read about.

But then I remember: most of these stories are made up or distorted beyond recognition.

A case in point:

Embedded sob-story X post
...
We got the sob story. The mother. A good boy. Nothing but cruelty. Emotional torture. You know the drill.

Only...

Embedded responsive X post

Well, it turns out that the boy was indeed young, but he surely was not innocent. He was arrested with a gun and a large knife, and had quite the rap sheet.

The Boston Globe framed the story in the most incendiary way possible, omitting the facts about the young man that seem quite relevant--he is a violent criminal and was carrying a firearm (ever notice how liberals keep wanting to pass gun laws, but never enforce them against violent criminals?). I'm pretty sure he wasn't hunting pheasant that day, you know...

Any time you see an anti-ICE sob story, you can assume there is almost always context that, ummmmmm, inconveniences the anti-ICE narrative. Unsurprising lying by omission.

[SVPete]

Letitia James' 'Tenant' in Mortgage Fraud Home Is a Niece Who Is a Fugitive From North Carolina

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/10/14/letitia-james-tenant-in-mortgage-fraud-home-is-a-niece-who-is-a-fugitive-from-north-carolina-n3807802

Letitia James is out on the campaign trail, fresh off her indictment for mortgage fraud.

Campaigning for Zohran Mamdani, of course. She is defiant, claiming to be a victim of lawfare, which is about as rich as you can possibly get, considering that she built her entire political career on the premise that she would somehow get Donald Trump. She didn't know how at the time, but she promised that if elected she would put him in jail.
...
She didn't, of course, but she did manage to harass him and win a bogus trial and try to bankrupt him. That case will evaporate, but the one against her may well blow up her career.

I make no predictions about the outcome of this case because I am not a lawyer, don't play one on TV, and as we saw with Trump, cases that touch on politics are not always decided on solely by legal standards. But on its face, the case seems solid.

Regardless of the outcome, if you are not a Letitia James acolyte, it's hard not to admit that her behavior stinks. Not only did she lie on a legal form to secure a better mortgage rate, claiming she would move to Virginia while continuing as the Attorney General of New York (and simultaneously prosecuting Donald Trump), but the house she bought is currently the residence of her niece.

The authorities want her fugitive niece, who absconded from North Carolina. She bought a home so that her relative could escape the law.

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but I'm pretty sure that harboring a fugitive criminal is criminal, probably even felonious.

[SVPete]

Hamas Hokey Pokey on Dead Hostages?

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2025/10/14/hamas-hokey-pokey-on-dead-hostages-n3807820

It didn't take long for the Hamas Hokey Pokey to return. This time, the terrorists are dancing with the dead -- but Israel refuses to dance along with them.

The Wall Street Journal reported today on Hamas' lack of commitment to returning the remains of hostages that died in captivity or who were transported after being murdered in the October 7 massacre. Hamas released the living hostages under pressure from Donald Trump and the Israeli army, and also committed to the return of the dead. Shortly after the first exchange of four bodies, though, Hamas has basically shrugged its shoulders on producing any more of the remaining 24 murdered Israelis:

It didn't take long for the Israeli government to respond. The IDF will not return to offensive operations, the Jerusalem Post reported, but they aren't budging from their current positions either. Until Hamas meets its obligations under Trump's deal, the Rafah crossing will remain in Israeli control -- and that means aid will slow down significantly, too:

Unsurprising bad faith by Hamas.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but I'm pretty sure that harboring a fugitive criminal is criminal, probably even felonious.

DOJ needs to get James to make a sworn statement ASAP that she did not know her relative was a fugitive. Then, once the truth comes out, the DOJ can charge her with aiding and abetting a known fugitive and making false statements.

[SVPete]

What Christiane Amanpour Said About Israeli Hostages Was So Bad, CNN Made Her Apologize

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/10/14/what-christiane-amanpour-said-about-israeli-hostages-was-so-bad-cnn-made-her-apologize-n4944832

CNN International's Christiane Amanpour found herself in a world of trouble this week after making one of the most tone-deaf comments imaginable about the Israeli hostages finally released from Hamas captivity. What she said was so stunningly offensive and the backlash so intense, that she was forced to issue a scripted apology.

During a segment on CNN News Central, Amanpour had the audacity to suggest that Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists for two years were “probably being treated better than the average Gazan.”

“And I think for sure, people who start to talk to the hostages, who have only just been released, will find that it will take a long, long time for them to recover physically, but also mentally,” she began. “It's been a terrible, terrible two years for them because not only are they, they're — you know — they're probably being treated better than the average Gazan, because they are the pawns and the chips that Hamas had. Now, Hamas has given up all its leverage, by the way, by giving them all up. So, that is a victory for the Israeli side.”
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The backlash was swift and fierce, and it didn't take long for CNN brass to realize they had to do something about this.

Amanpour issued an on-air apology during her own show, reading from what was clearly a prepared statement on the teleprompter. "Earlier live on air, I spoke about what a day of real joy this is, for Israeli families whose loved ones are finally being returned from two years of horrific Hamas captivity, and for civilians in Gaza, who have finally had a reprieve from two years of brutal, deadly war," she said. "I noted that for the hostages who are finally home, it will take a long time for them to recover mentally and physically. But I regret also saying that they may have been treated better than many Gazans because Hamas used these hostages as pawns and bargaining chips. It was insensitive and wrong. From speaking to many former hostages and their families, like everyone, I've been horrified at what Hamas has subjected them to over two long years. They've told me their stories of barely being able to breathe in the tunnels, not being allowed to cry, being starved and made to dig their own graves — and of course, today, some of the hostages are coming back in body bags."

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

The NYT is reporting that James bought the house because her relatives needed "tranquility." That suggests James was aware of her relatives' circumstances and knowingly aided them:

https://youtu.be/PBop1BZPYCo

Jump to 3:30

By trying to make excuses for her, the NYT may have just nailed a conspiracy charge to her.