Happy Tuesday!

Today’s Brew starts with the passionate, grieving voices of Gold Star families.

Parents of Marines Killed in Afghanistan Withdrawal Chaos Share Their Heartbreak and Anger

August 26, 2021: Thirteen heroic Marines helping with the botched evacuation from Afghanistan were killed by a suicide bomber. On Monday, family members of the 13 gathered at Camp Pendleton for a hearing. To finally be heard.

Anguishing is barely the word.

Their grieving continues … and the toll grows. According to Coral Briseno, mother of one of the fallen Marines, Humberto Sanchez, seven of Humberto’s comrades have committed suicide since that awful day.

An awful day, an unnecessary day, a preventable day for which no American military or civilian leader has been held to account.

Sgt. Nicole Gee’s mother-in-law, Christy Shamblin, spoke of the pain at hearing Joe Biden call the Afghanistan evacuation a “success.” “It is like a knife in our heart,” she said.

Christy Shamblin, Mother-In-Law of U.S. Marine Nicole Gee, who was killed in the Afghanistan withdrawal, sends a powerful message to President Biden.

Hearing our Commander-in-Chief call this operation a success as if there should be a celebration, is like a knife in the heart. pic.twitter.com/vsH5Ng4ZuB

— MRCTV (@mrctv) August 7, 2023

Listen to Darin Hoover, father of slain Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, demand that leaders, from those on the ground in Afghanistan to Joe Biden himself, do the honorable thing and resign.

Darin Hoover, father of fallen Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, Jr., tells Biden over the botched Afghanistan withdrawal:

"Do what our son did — be a grown ass man. Admit to your mistakes … resign immediately." pic.twitter.com/cgTi7TDlwe

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 7, 2023

Taylor’s mother, Kelly Barnett, claimed the military lied about how her son died. “I was told to my face, he died on impact. That’s not true. The only reason that I know this is because witnesses told me the truth. I was lied to and basically told to shut up.”

Barnett also testified her son told her of the “chaos, no communication, lack of leadership” he’d found upon arriving in Afghanistan. Taylor reported Marines were ordered to “clean up the airport” because “we can’t leave it dirty for the Taliban.”

Barnett continued, through tears:

What kind of disrespect? What kind of hatred for our military? What kind of mess? Confusion. Deceit. Lost. Angry. Sad. Heartbroken and disgusted. These are the feelings that the service members felt. And are still feeling. These are the feelings I’m feeling.

Still, Barnett would say, “We’re not victims. We’re parents to some mighty heroes. I want you to know that.”

We know.

The Stream will have more on Monday’s emotional … and crucial … hearing.

In the meantime, you can watch the whole hearing here:

Speaking Out Works: Porsche Apologizes After Removing Iconic Christ Statue From Commercial

The Porsche 911 can go from zero to sixty in between 3 to 5 seconds, depending on the model. Now we know how fast Porsche can go backwards. The German car company is profoundly apologizing after an ad celebrating the car’s 60 years removed a famous statue of Christ from the shot.

The ad depicts the scenes of the car over the decades. In one scene, a Porsche whizzes by the iconic “Christo Rei” or (“Christ is King”) statue in Portugal. Except in the original version of the ad, the statue of Jesus Christ was digitally removed.

Sharp-eyes caught the removal and brought down a heap of complaints onto the company.

Hey, @Porsche , why did you erase the statue of Jesus Christ from your video filmed in Lisbon? pic.twitter.com/VxcfUBrN8D

— Alex B. (@maisumcarneiro) August 5, 2023

Porsche responded by releasing a new version of the ad and apologizing for their “mistake.” A spokesman told the Daily Mail,

“In a previously uploaded version of the 911 S/T launch film, a landmark was removed. This was a mistake, and we apologise for any offence caused. The original film is online now.”

The company told Fox Business, “In an early version of a film created in Europe, the Cristo Rei Statue does not appear. We are truly sorry and can fully understand the hurt this has caused. This film has been removed.”

Area Around Fulton County Courthouse Locked Down in Anticipation of Trump Indictment

The week or so before the Oscars, the normally bustling traffic near Hollywood and Vine is gone. The streets are closed off, crowd barriers put up, and television crews are building their sets and scaffolding in anticipation of the Academy Awards and red carpet show.

For some reason that image comes to mind with news that the area around the Fulton County courthouse has been shut down in preparation of Fulton County’s radical Soros-Funded D.A. Fani Willis’ likely indictment of former President Donald Trump.

Willis is pushing to nail Trump on a charge of trying to overturn Georgia’s election results in 2020. (Yes, that’s the same Georgia where Stacy Abrams has spent the past five years insisting she was elected governor.) We’ll have plenty to say when the time comes.

To set the stage for the indictment, Gateway Pundit has launched a three-part series looking into Georgia and the 2020 election. Part One’s eye-opening reporting covers how Coffee County’s complaints about scanners and election equipment were ignored.

Meanwhile, the judge in the classified documents case gave Special Counsel Jack Smith a bit of a kick Monday. Judge Aileen Cannon wants to know by August 22 about the “legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the instant indicated matter in this district.” In other words, why is Smith using a D.C. grand jury (in a town where 94% voted for Biden) for a matter taking place in Florida?

She also struck down Smith’s request to keep filings sealed. As Julie Kelly reports, this was part of Smith’s efforts to get lawyer Stanley Woodward booted from the defense. Woodward’s the one who claims Smith’s team threatened his chances at a judgeship he’s up for if he didn’t play ball.

Along The Stream

Though The Stream does not recommend R-rated movies, let alone horror movies, Mark Judge uses a new release to talk about the dangers of the occult, and the virtue of purity. “Talk to Me is a Horror Film That Warns How the Occult Leads to Hell.”

While on the topic of movies and the occult, William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist, has passed away at age 87.

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.