Happy Thursday!

And boy, today is practically a pitcher of Brew.

Pro-Hamas Agitators Take Over House Office Building … And Help Run DHS

A large group of Pro-Palestinian protesters swarmed the Cannon House Office Building Wednesday, demanding a ceasefire in Israel and refusing to leave. Others disrupted a Senate hearing. (In other words, precisely the crime that’s landed so many J6 demonstrators in solitary and prison for long stretches.) 

The scene in the Cannon House Office Building rotunda on Capitol Hill as Hamas sympathizers chant under a banner calling for a “CEASEFIRE.” Of note, demonstrations are not allowed in congressional buildings, per Capitol Police. pic.twitter.com/9RcCIjUzud

— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) October 18, 2023

The U.S. Capitol Police pointed out that “Demonstrations are not allowed inside Congressional Buildings.” Well, that told them.

Here’s a head-scratcher: Support people who cry “Death to America” and you get the run of the place. Support people who say “Make America Great Again” and you get hard time and the DOJ demanding ever longer sentences.

Even more worrisome than pro-Hamas demonstrators in the Capitol is pro-Hamas, former PLO officials, working at high levels of the DHS. When you thought you couldn’t be any more amazed and appalled at the hiring practices of the federal government, the Daily Wire breaks a doozy.

The Department of Homeland Security has in high position a former PLO-spokeswoman who publicly puts her loyalty to Palestine over her loyalty to America … and in the wake of the bloodiest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust posted: “F*** Israel, the government, and its military. Are you ready for your downfall?” Her name is Nejwa Ali. And you know what her job is? She helps decide who qualifies for refugee status.

Cross-dressing nuclear waste experts with a fetish for stealing woman’s luggage is one thing. Showtune-singing Orwellian censorship czars another. But a bloodthirsty terrorist sympathizer gets to decide who enters our country?

UPDATE: Now that her heart of hate has been exposed, Ali has been put on “administrative leave.” 

U.S. Analysis Shows Israel Not Responsible for Hospital Explosion

American analysis of the explosion that devastated a hospital in Gaza indicates Israel was not responsible. The blast was caused by a misfired rocket from Palestinian terrorists. Hamas immediately blamed Israel, as did most of the global media, igniting protests through the Middle East and Europe. Our embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, came under siege, evoking memories of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Iran.

Joe Biden shared this analysis while in Israel, though with cringe-worthy casualness: “It appears it was done by the other team.” Does he think this is a game? Presumably not, but in this situation “team” not only minimizes the horror but implies equivalency.

He also announced U.S. taxpayers are dropping another $100 million on Gaza and West Bank for “humanitarian aid.” Promised mechanisms are in place to keep the aid out of the hands of Hamas. Oh. Okay. Just three days ago, the United Nations relief agency UNWRA reported that Hamas had stolen fuel and medical equipment from the agency’s compound in Gaza City. It later changed its tune, denying any theft had happened. However, as National Review noted, the left-leaning Haaretz news organization in Israel confirmed the materials were stolen.

7 Months for a Joke Meme About Hillary Clinton

A pro-Trump meme-maker named Douglass Mackery has been sentenced to 7 months in prison for making memes gaslighting Hillary Clinton and her supporters. Mackery was convicted for “election interference.” For memes.

So let’s get this straight. If you do an obvious prank meme about Hillary Clinton, you get 7 months in prison for “election interference.” However, if you are Hillary Clinton and orchestrate the Trump-Russia Collusion hoax, roping in the DOJ, FBI, State Department, Defense Department, media and foreign governments you get …. um … um …

Rep. Jim Jordan Loses Support in 2nd Vote for Speaker

Rep. Jim Jordan lost ground Wednesday in his bid to become Speaker of the House. In the 2nd round of voting, 22 Republicans voted against him. Up 2 from round one. And so the Speaker saga continues. The last ensemble to work this hard to look foolish was Monty Python.

Another vote is expected Thursday.

Celebrity Row: The Good, the Bad and the Sorrowful

Calling it “one of the most agonizing things I’ve ever experienced,” pop star Britney Spears admits in her new autobiography that she was pressured to have an abortion by then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake when she was 19.

“It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated,” she writes in The Woman in Me. “But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.”

“To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life. If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”

(She’s not alone in that, of course. A study published earlier this year shows fully 60% of women who had an abortion felt pressured to so.)

All children are precious. Each one lost through abortion is a tragedy. The loss to the world is irreplaceable. And certainly you can question what role the trauma of aborting her child against her will played in her later mental and emotional issues. One prays for Britney as we do all women. (And Timberlake as well.) But one can’t help but wonder what the world may have lost by being denied the progeny of Spears and Timberlake.

Spears would go on to have two sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

From the tragic to the ugly … .

Alicia Keys, Hamas Supporter?

From our “talent don’t equal smarts” category, singer Alicia Keys stepped in it this week when an Instagram post of hers strongly suggested sympathy for the Hamas murderers. Or at the very least a truly sick joke.

On Monday Keys posted “What would you do if you weren’t afraid of anything? I’ve had my eyes on Paragliding.”

Alicia Keys accused of pro-terrorist messaging in now-deleted post about "paragliding" while wearing Hamas colorshttps://t.co/MECfKFSxRp

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 17, 2023

Keys quickly deleted the post. And insisted “The post I shared was COMPLETELY unrelated in any way to the recent devastating loss of innocent lives. My heart has been breaking … . I pray for and stand for peace.” Working in Keys’ favor? According to Hollywood Reporter, Keys took a lot of grief in 2013 for playing a show in Israel. She lives in an area of San Diego noted for paragliding and has spoken of it in the past. And according to her former manager, Guy Oseary, who is Jewish: “There was a specific word in her post that our community at this very painful time find very triggering, but it was absolutely not connected in any way. I spoke to Alicia and she was horrified to learn what the word implied and immediately took it down.”

Working against Keys: Talking about paragliders a week after they were used in a slaughter and are being used as a symbol of the “resistance” and “triumph” of Hamas? And not knowing that was a no-no? C’mon.

Meanwhile …

Jewish Voice Actor Dumped From Animated Show for Publicly Showing Support for Israel

Veteran voice actress Tara Strong was fired from the animated show Boxtown over “controversial” social media posts about the Hamas attack on Israel. Strong claims she was fired simply “for being Jewish.” The producers of Boxtown admit she was fired for her views, after she posted a series of messages condemning Hamas and blasting those cheering on the terror group.

Bandit Mill animation said, “We believe our public platform gives us a duty to be careful when it comes to hateful messages and misinformation online. This extends to our cast and crew.”

Here’s one of Strong’s “hateful” messages:

World’s gone crazy. People ARGUING online about whether or not the mass raping, shooting & kidnapping of innocent young women from around the world at a music festival is justified! Could happen at ANY music festival! Supporting terrorists empowers them & that’s globally terrifying.

Props to Mel Gibson

Actor-director Mel Gibson is stepping up to address a crisis that is getting far too little attention: The ethnic cleansing of Armenian Christians by Azerbaijan.

Gibson warned of a new genocide of Armenian Christians and blasted the media for its silence.

BREAKING: Mel Gibson calls on the international community to show humanitarian support for the Armenians amid their forced displacement

“To the people of Armenia, God is with you!” pic.twitter.com/On7c6LvzIy

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 17, 2023

Starting one month ago, Azerbaijan’s military began purging the Armenians Christians from the Nagorno-Karabakh region, forcing an estimated 120,000 people to flee to Armenia. Azerbaijan is 96% Muslim, while most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region is Christian. Or shall we say was. Somehow Israel asking Palestians to move south within their own Gaza Strip to avoid bomb and tanks is ethnic cleansing and a horror to behold. But Muslims forcing 120,000 to flee for their lives so as to claim the territory from Christians is barely worth a yawn.

Said Gibson in conclusion: “To the Armenian people who still suffer, I say, ‘Don’t lose heart, God is with you.’”

Along The Stream

Stream contributor Mark Judge is back with “Bored With Comparing Trump to Hitler, This Author Compares Him to … Chairman Mao.”

Brace yourself. Tomorrow you get John Z pouring your Brew.