Beltway Insider: Biden/Israel Pause in Combat, Prisoner Release, House Upheaval, JFK Remembered, Black Friday

Details: Category: Beltway Insider; Published on Sunday, 26 November 2023 09:03; Written by Janet Walker

President Biden on this Thanksgiving weekend closely monitored the Israeli-Palestinian prisoner/hostage exchange and remained in contact to Qatari officials to ensure both sides honored the terms of the cease fire agreement in hopes of an extension.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending November 26, 2023 decreased by 0.1% to 38.9% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness decreased by 0.5% to 55.0% of those polled who disapprove of his effectiveness. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Beltway Insider: Biden/Israel Pause in Combat, Saudi/Yemen Famine, GOP Debate, Brit Gov Shakeup, Roslyn Carter, Thanksgiving

Israel/Hamas War Casualties

Prime Minister Benjamín Netanyahu had announced when the IDF had bombed the tunnels that two top Hamas military leaders have been killed. In a statement from Hamas' military branch the IDF has killed four of the top commanders responsible for the October 7, 2023, massacre.

"Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and remove it from power in Gaza after the terror group carried out a devastating cross-border attack on October 7 that killed over 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. Around 240 people were abducted and taken hostage in Gaza as thousands of terrorists rampaged for hours through southern areas," TheTimesofIsrael.com reported.

The Hamas leaders, who initiated the terrorist attacks have continued to use the most vulnerable to as human shields expecting civility to rule verses the possibility of dead children and body parts to be broadcast around the world enflaming other hibernating cells to activate. The rules of engagement were permanently changed when Hamas stormed the border with murderous rage.

Hostage Release Could be Extended

The possibility of an extension of the cease fire agreement has been presented to Hamas leaders as Israel is prepared to extend the cease fire to gain the release of more hostages and release more prisoners. The decision, however, is in the hands of Hamas leadership.

"It could be that the pause is extended for another day, or two days, or three days or even more," Sullivan tells ABC's "This Week." "The ball is in Hamas's court on that because what Israel has said is that it is prepared to pause another day of fighting for every 10 hostages that Hamas releases," TimesofIsreal.com reported.

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House of Representatives Is Convulsing

The United States House of Representatives, a 435-member body of elected officials, is still reeling from the Trump years, who hopeful GOP candidates crafted themselves along the lines of his dividing message and won a seat in the halls of power.

The only issue is that as with the former president many of the GOP representatives have constructed their political life and history on a crumbling foundation of lies. From the actions of Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) embracing of the January 6 insurrections to George Santos (R-NY) and his substantial ethics violations, not to mention the factions of republicans that ousted Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) or the 15 full house votes to elect him as Speaker of the House only to be ousted by his own party and essentially a vote of no confidence, which was more like a vendetta by Representative Matt Goetz, (R-FL) a Trump loyalist.

The upheaval in the Republican house is good for the democrats and will play heavily into the next election, which is less than 12 months away.

"How many House seats are up for election in 2024? All of them. That's right, the entire chamber sheds its skin every two years, making it (almost) always an election cycle for U.S. representatives. This year, Democrats face a tough map if they hope to regain control of the House, while Republicans have a slight advantage in growing their majority," USAToday.com reported.

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Coronavirus Totals

The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens, should receive at least one shot of an updated covid vaccine.

Mandates have been altered or lifted in most urban areas with limited exceptions, and the population is encouraged to maintain personal protective practices. Masks are optional and tolerated. Vaccines and boosters are still considered the most effective agents against contracting the Coronavirus.

For the 7-day period ending November 26, 2023, the total of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide reached 771,820,937 confirmed cases, an increase over the past 7 days of 141,319 cases worldwide. The total worldwide death toll increased by 1,152 to 6,978,175 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated November 8, 2023, from The World Health Organization).

COVID U.S. Totals

As hospitalizations and infection rates continue to rise in the United States, some jurisdictions are suggesting new mask mandates. For the 7-day period ending November 26, 2023, new Covid hospitalizations in the U.S. increased by 15,752 to 6,484,329. The coronavirus has claimed 1,153,910 total U.S. deaths, adding 2,161 deaths, over the past week. (Data updated November 11, 2023, posted November 17, 2023, from the CDC).

JFK Remembered

Sixty years ago, November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy, the young, impassioned leader who saw a new America emerging, one of altruism, and a genuine empathy for those less fortunate and equality for all, was assassinated.

The account of the assassination for the President has been visited, and revisited, and each year remembered as those who were supposed to be his detail were more than one car length behind him, come forward with stories or other previously untold accounts, which other than the main historical fact, cannot be verified.

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Masters of cinema have visited the topic peeking into the once taboo truths of the president's personal life, authors of great renown, also and in each account one fact remains unearthed. The intent is not to tarnish Kennedy's reputation as a great leader. The intent is to unearth the truth.

Two powerful forces were in play in Washington, DC, during President Kennedy's tenure. And it wasn't politics. Kennedy was, as many have alluded to, sexually robust. And that is critical in an investigation as the personal life of a president, then, would never have been examined as a motive. The other powerful force was J. Edgar Hoover's alleged sexual predilection for men and cross dressing, an appetite he found so heinous in himself that it was his Justice Department's goal to eradicate this plague.

Hoover was the justice department, at that time he had been the only director of the Justice Department, and Kennedy the young handsome, and quite sexually active. This fact would have created a volcano of seething uncontrollable rage in someone who was forced to hide.

Morality was fading in America, and Hoover was determined to restore honor to the White House, in a belief that doing so would somehow stop the encroaching change that was mushrooming everywhere. Getting rid of Kennedy for the older, sedate, Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson, was the perfect solution. Yes, it would send the nation into a season of mourning, which Hoover could rationalize as an abatement of the forces of change, only he didn't have the wisdom to see the effect of how a national Post traumatic stress disorder would manifest. What Hoover was desperately trying to stop would be ushered in by the assassination.

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Black Friday Isn't What It Used To Be

Black Friday, the traditional Friday after Thanksgiving Holiday, when retailers hope that shoppers will show up in mass to drive sales up through the roof, which can make or break some retailers and even force others to consider the inevitable bankruptcy or brick-and-mortar closure in the online era.

For many who remember the madness of Black Friday's past, shoppers lining up for hours, hoping against hope to be one of the few who snagged that hot, riot-causing toy, or newest electronic gizmo or gadget, at the sound of the bell rushing in the store, adrenaline pumping, mob mentality taking over, knocking down the weak and those who didn't realize this was the gladiator games, the quiet, solitude and the more gentler shopping experience is a welcome take down. Welcome to the Black Friday internet age.

"Thanksgiving Day saw $5.6 billion in online spending, up 5.5% year over year, Adobe found. Black Friday generated $9.8 billion in online sales — up 7.5% from last year. But Cyber Monday is still expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the year, driving a record $12 billion in spending. That's up about 6% year over year," RetailDive.com reported.

With the month leading into the Christmas holidays, and for retailers Santa is arriving early in the form of one full extra weekend of shopping as Christmas falls on a Monday, what is being billed as Super Saturday, should be the biggest shopping day of the season, as consumers will have a firm grasp on what has arrived and more importantly what has not.

'Tis the season to be . . . well for retailer's 'tis the season to be spenders!

Let the games begin.

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For more information on President Joe Biden w ww.whitehouse.gov.