How's it going America,
Check out our latest episode of The Pod Millennial! I'm joined by New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz, who discusses leaving New York City, the decline of urban leadership, and the long-term damage COVID school closures inflicted on education. Then I interview Natalya Murakhver, director of the documentary 15 Days, about the political decisions behind prolonged school shutdowns and the lasting consequences for an entire generation of children. Listen, rate (5 stars, of course!), and subscribe!
Let's get into it:
Two terror attacks were carried out yesterday in the United States. At Virginia's Old Dominion University, Mohammad Bailor Jalloh broke into a classroom, confirmed that it was for the ROTC, and opened fire. In Michigan, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali drove his car into a synagogue and school. What are the odds that both men would have the name of the Prophet of Islam?
The Michigan Mohamed was a Lebanese immigrant, 41-years-old, who became a US citizen in 2016. He was living in the primarily Muslim Dearborn Heights and worked at a shawarma restaurant. He was killed by a security guard during the attack and was not able to kill anyone himself. A security guard was transported to a local hospital, however, for injuries. Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun said that the man has "lost several members of his own family, including his niece and nephew, in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon."
These remarks are meant to make him seem more sympathetic, to indicate that he was acting out of grief, but instead, they make me wonder how many relatives of people who have been killed or will be killed in the United States' Iran entanglement will attempt to take out their anger on American Jewish children. Officials, apparently, are still looking for a motive, but his neighbors, interviewed by local reporters, knew right away that the attack would have been retaliation for the loss of his brother, they said. It looks like that brother was part of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
At Old Dominion in Norfolk, VA, just an hour before the attack in Michigan, Mohammad Bailor Jalloh stormed into a classroom, verified it was for the ROTC, screamed "Allahu Akbar," and opened fire. He was attacked and killed by students, but not before he got off enough rounds to kill the professor, Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. So who was this Mohammad?
This wasn't Jalloh's first offense, either. He'd previously been convicted of trying to provide material services to ISIS. He'd traveled to Africa for training. He was born in Sierra Leone, was a naturalized citizen, and was a member of the VA National Guard who quit in 2017 when he discovered the joys of Al Qaeda. After he was convicted, prosecutors asked for 240 months of prison time, which was the US Sentencing Guidelines range, but instead, the judge only gave him 132 months. Now a Lt. Col. is dead.
Libby