Debate Night
Five candidates for the 2016 Democrat presidential nomination will take the stage tonight in Las Vegas for their first debate. The event will air live on CNN at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Former Governors Martin O'Malley (MD) and Lincoln Chafee (RI), former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will be participating.
Meanwhile, as the Democrat candidates are getting ready for tonight's debate, CNN reached out to several public figures for questions they'd ask the candidates. You can read mine here.
GOP Money Race
Politico reports that billionaire Sheldon Adelson may be on the verge of endorsing Florida Senator Marco Rubio and committing his considerable wealth to backing the junior senator's candidacy. This would be a huge development.
Adelson is the Republican Party's biggest donor. He spent $100 million in 2012. If Adelson commits to Rubio, he could single-handedly neutralize Jeb Bush's financial advantage.
Rubio overtook Bush in the polls three weeks ago, following the second GOP debate. In the RealClearPolitics.com average of polls, Rubio now stands in third place with 10%, behind Donald Trump (24%) and Ben Carson (19%). Jeb Bush, who trails Carly Fiorina (9%), is in fifth place with 7%.
Adelson's move could cause other mega-donors to abandon Bush and rally around Rubio, triggering an establishment battle between the two Florida politicians.
The Silence Is Deafening
Day after day, Israelis have been subjected to unrelenting attacks by Palestinian extremists. Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, noted, "In 72 hours alone, 11 terror attacks have taken place in cities across Israel, and the Security Council stands by in silence."
That was Friday. There have been more than a dozen attacks since then. But imagine if the situation were reversed -- if Jews were systematically stabbing Palestinian civilians.
President Obama would be suspending aid to Israel. There would be massive rallies in New York and Los Angeles. But the world seems to have a high tolerance for dead Jews.
These attacks are not just random acts of violence. They are acts of terror, encouraged at all levels of Palestinian society. Consider these excerpts of a sermon delivered at a Gaza mosque Friday -- by a knife-wielding imam:
"Brothers, we must constantly remind the world, and everyone who has forgotten. . . This is Gaza! This is the place of trenches and guns! This is the West Bank! This is the place of bombs and daggers! . . . Today, we realize why the [Jews] build walls. They do not do this to stop missiles, but to prevent the slitting of their throats. . . .
"Oh people of Al-Abrar Mosque . . . from this mosque of yours, you have the honor of delivering these messages to the men of the West Bank: Form stabbing squads. We don't want just a single stabber. . . . Attack in threes and fours. Some should restrain the victim, while others attack him with axes and butcher knives. . . . Oh men of the West Bank, next time, attack in a group of three, four, or five. Attack them in groups. Cut them into body parts."
Our government insists that the Palestinian people should have their own state. We are told that the Palestinians would live side-by-side with Israelis in peace. Really? The headlines from Jerusalem and the message from the Al-Abrar Mosque suggest otherwise.
Graham Speaks Out
Reverend Franklin Graham is speaking out against the deafening silence of world leaders regarding the genocide of Christians by the Islamic State. In a Facebook post yesterday, Rev. Graham wrote:
"It is genocide -- and the world seems largely silent about it. Genocide perpetrated by the Islamic State against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities of Syria and Iraq. And their methods are unimaginably cruel and heinous. Just a few days ago it was revealed that three Assyrian Christians were executed on September 23, which is the Muslim 'Feast of Sacrifice'. . .
"Why were they killed? For refusing to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ. Eyewitnesses said that ISIS militants crucified a 12-year-old Christian boy and his Syrian missionary father. . . They cut off the boy's fingertips to try to get his father to convert to Islam. They left their bodies hanging on the crosses for two days under signs reading 'infidels.'"
There are disturbing reports that ISIS is about to execute 180 Assyrian Christians after ransom negotiations failed.
Obama Attacks Faith Again
While Franklin Graham is sounding the alarm against the genocide of Christians in the Middle East, President Obama is still preoccupied with Christians in America. During a recent conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson, Obama asked:
"How do you reconcile the idea of faith being really important to you . . . with the fact that, at least in our democracy and our civic discourse, it seems as if folks who take religion the most seriously sometimes are also those who are suspicious of those not like them?"
Obama's reference to "folks who take religion most seriously" appears aimed at American conservative Christians. But while Obama frets about Christians in our democracy, radical Islamists are cutting off heads of "infidels," murdering Jews, enslaving Christian girls and even blowing up mosques attended by different Muslim sects.