Morning Wire - Colleges Show Support for Hamas & California Prostitution | 10.14.23

Episode Date: October 14, 2023

Several college campuses show support for Hamas and Palestinians, prostitution goes public in California and the parental rights trial of Maya Kowalski. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After its brutal attack on Israel, Hamas is being saluted on college campuses across the country. Which student organizations are behind the events and how are the events being received? I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Vickley with Georgia Howe. It's October 14th, and this is a Saturday edition of Morning Wire. After California's Gavin Newsom signed a controversial bill, residents are now complaining about barely-clothed prostitutes roaming the streets in broad daylight. What we're seeing now is we've had these open sex markets, 24 hours a day, 365 days out of the year. And a court case so sensational it was made into a Netflix special is highlighting the issue of parental rights. They were trying to even manipulate me into thinking that my mom was sick and therefore making me sick.

Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Following last week's devastating terror attacks in Israel, college campuses nationwide have seen an explosion in support for Hamas, sparking bitter protests and pushback from administrators. Here with more on the controversy is Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips. So Cabot, a lot of people are pretty shocked by this. What are we seeing? Yeah, well, it's no secret that campuses are hotbeds for political activism.

But this week, many campuses have seen a rise in activism that has stunned and outraged many Americans around the country. Throughout the last week, thousands of college students at 100 plus campuses have held demonstrations and issued statements supporting Hamas. And it's worth noting, these are not one-off examples. This is being seen around the country at some of the most prestigious universities in the world. Now, who's organizing the events? Are they spontaneous or are they coordinated? Well, the activism has been led in large part by the organization Students for Justice in Palestine, or SJP, which has chapters on over 100 campuses and has drawn controversy in the past, because they received funding from organizations and individuals known to patronize Hamas and Hezbollah.

The group led a, quote, day of resistance on Thursday and sent out a toolkit to members, which was obtained by the Daily Wire. Among other things, that toolkit referred to the terrorist attack as a, quote, historic win and told students that, quote, liberating colonized land requires confrontation by any means necessary. It also offered students messaging advice, telling them no one in Israel should be considered a civilian because, quote, settlers are not civilians. The toolkit also included a number of templates for flyers to be used around campus. One of those templates includes a large image of a paraglider, paying homage to the terrorists who stormed a music festival in Israel with parachutes.

SJP chapters then used that language in those flyers to organize events of their own, sparking outrage on campuses nationwide. So what are some specific examples of campuses where we're seeing this? Yeah, there are a lot to choose from. So at UC Berkeley, for example, the group issued a statement saying, quote, we support the resistance and indisputably support the uprising, before adding, we invariably reject Israel's framing as a victim. At the University of Virginia, the group said the attacks against Israel

were a, quote, stepped towards a free Palestine and reiterated their, quote, solidarity with Palestinian resistance fighters. At UC San Diego, students held a, quote, honor our martyrs vigil for the Moss terrorists killed during the attacks. At George Washington University in D.C., the SJP chapter issued a statement calling the terrorist freedom fighters. The group hosted a rally with around 100 students this week, chanting in support of the terrorists who they referred to as martyrs.

All our children, sons and daughters. And here's a large group of protesters at the University of Wisconsin. Glory to the murders! Now, the campus getting the most attention this week, though, is Harvard. Tell us about the controversy there. So shortly after the terrorist attacks Saturday, more than 30 student groups representing more than 1,000 students at Harvard, issued a joint statement claiming Israel was, quote, entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.

Those comments and the relative lack of condemnation from Harvard leadership garnered swift condemnation from a number of influential politicians and business leaders, including the school's former president and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who said he was sickened by the support of Hamas, as well as the school's lack of support for Israel. Elsewhere, a number of CEOs, including billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, called on Harvard to release the names of every student who signed the letter so they could avoid hiring them in the future.

And on Thursday, a large truck drove through campus with a district. digital billboard displaying the names and pictures of students behind the letter, calling them, quote, Harvard's leading anti-Semites. Now, for their part, the university issued a tepid statement addressing the attacks right after they happened, but did not mention the letter from those 30 student groups. However, after facing quite a bit of backlash for multiple days, the school's new president finally issued a new statement condemning the, quote, terrorist atrocities and saying that, quote, while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group, not even 30 student groups,

speaks for Harvard University or its leadership. Well, not hard to see why people were so outraged. Cabot, thanks for reporting. Any time. Following the passage of a controversial bill signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, citizens are complaining about prostitutes wearing next to nothing,

prowling the streets in broad daylight looking for customers. Here to discuss the aftermath of Senate Bill 357 is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestige-Ockom. So Amanda, before we break down this bill, tell us exactly what are California residents observing. Hey, Georgia. So a video from the Bay Area in San Diego in particular shows some really shocking footage. Women are walking the streets in G-strings, bras, and high heels, sometimes bending over in traffic at all times of the day. There was a CBS report from this summer, and in one single frame, you could see what appears to be up to six prostitutes. And again, this is in broad daylight.

residents have routinely complained about the noise, the fighting, the drug use, and how it's just wildly inappropriate for this to be around children. The residents who have spoken out, typically anonymously, they also worry for these women and fear they could be sex trafficking victims. Now, this boom and prostitution is believed to be tied to Senate Bill 357, correct? Right. Now, remind us, what does this law do exactly? So the law, which was authored by Democratic State Senator Scott Weiner and backed by the ACLU, it decriminalizes loitering with the intent to commit prostitution.

Critics say that effectively decriminalizes prostitution, and that's why we're seeing this spike. National City Mayor Ron Morrison, who's an independent, he said the law, which was signed by Governor Newsom in July of last year, it ties the hands of law enforcement, stating that the moment the bill was signed by Newsom, quote, everyone knew the rules were out the window. San Diego Police Chief Dave Nislyte told me the new law makes it much harder to intervene when they suspect a woman is being trafficked. So in the past, you know, when we were able to contact women or those involved in sex trafficking, we could use the lording with intent after we watched them. Once they decriminalize that, we really don't have an entryway into making that contact anymore. Morrison did note that police also can't apprehend women for indecent exposure, since the way, that law is written. If their genitals are covered, they can't be arrested. Chief Nisleit told me the law hurt sex trafficking victims the most. And again, that was a primary concern from residents, too.

Those that are put out there involuntary has made it much harder for us to rescue those victims. You know, it's just because you decriminalize something doesn't mean the impact on the victim, those that are being trafficked or on the community goes away. In fact, and sometimes like this, it increases. So what was the rationale for this law in the first place? Well, Weiner said he drafted the legislation to protect trans and black and brown women, whom he claims are harassed by police for merely their identity. Anti-sex trafficking advocates and local leaders, including both Democrats and Republicans,

are currently working to repeal SB 357, but thus far, those efforts have fallen short. The law continues to have strong support from Democrats in the state Senate. In March, for example, Senate Democrats voted against a repeal effort 29 to 8. Well, I would encourage everyone listening to check out some interviews with some of these women involved in this work. In a lot of cases, there's extreme coercion going on behind the scenes. Amanda, thanks for reporting. You're welcome. Key witnesses took the stand this week in the case of Maya Kowalski, a young girl whose parents were dubiously accused of abuse after taking her to a hospital.

The Kowalski case is bringing attention to the ease with which the state can take a child from parents due to an ever-expanding definition of abuse and the low threshold of proof required. Here to give us the details of the trial is Daily Wire contributor Charlotte Pence Bond. So Charlotte, Maya Kowalski is the subject of a major Netflix documentary earlier this year. Can you give us some background on this case? Hi, Georgia. So the subject of the case is 17-year-old Maya Kowalski who was treated at Johns Hopkins all children. hospital when she was 10 years old because she was suffering from extreme pain. She was then for then forcibly separated from her parents for about three months due to unproven suspicions

of child abuse, leveled primarily by one CPS contractor. And what was Maya being treated for? Prior to arriving at Johns Hopkins, Maya was previously diagnosed with CRPS, which is complex regional pain syndrome. It's a neurological disorder causing intense pain in a person's extremities, and it's actually tragically called the suicide disease. Here's Maya's father, Jack Kowalski, describing the symptoms at trial. This child was screaming and crying. If she took a shower, the droplets of the water would make her scream. You put a sheet over her legs, she would scream.

She looked out the window, see her friends playing, and you knew that she's not faking this. It's a very rare syndrome, and after years of suffering, Maya was finally referred for an extreme treatment that was only available in Mexico that actually worked. The treatment involved giving a huge dose of ketamine and putting her in a medically induced coma for several days. The treatment was successful and she went essentially in remission for a period of time, but unfortunately the pain eventually returned and that's when her parents brought her to Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital. So what triggered concerns about abuse with the staff

there? Her mother, Biaa, forcefully insisted that Maya needed to receive ketamine because it was the only thing that helped the pain. Ketamine is a controlled substance and the doses Biaata was asking for seemed very high to the staff and that raised concerns. After a series of confrontational interactions in which Biaata was perceived by staff as being extremely pushy, a CPS contractor, Dr. Sally Smith, got involved and ended up diagnosing Biazza, that's Maya's mother again, with Munchausen syndrome by proxy. This is when a parent intentionally makes a child sick or face a child's illness to gain sympathy. At that point, the hospital, refused to let Maya go home with her parents and she was put in state custody. She was held for

almost three months, unable to speak freely with her parents. This was despite receiving documentation of her diagnosis in treatment from her previous doctor. Here's Maya on the stand on the ninth talking about how tightly the hospital staff controlled her outside communication. I remember that my mom was on this phone call and the person who she was speaking to, a person at the hospital. I'm not sure what role they had, but they claimed that I never asked to speak

to my mom. I was doing fine. I was okay in my room. I hadn't had any questions about why my parents weren't allowed to see me. And that it feriated me so much because all I did for days on end was demand to speak to my

parents. That's all I wanted to do. The kicker is, during this whole three months, the hospital was billing Maya's insurance for the treatment of CRPS, which is exactly the diagnosis they publicly claimed she didn't have. The family is now suing the Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital for $220 million. The trial is going on now and is expected to continue for the next several weeks. Dr. Sally Smith and her employer settled last year. So what is it about this case that's getting so much attention? Well, the strain on the Kowalski family ended up having tragic consequences. It ultimately led to the

suicide of Maya's mother while Maya was in state custody. Beyond that, the Kowalski's fight ended up exposing hundreds of other families in similar situations. According to family advocates, if just one CPS employee has suspicions of abuse for any reason, with or without proof, the law is very often not on the parent side. Well, I actually saw this documentary. I found it shocking, highly recommend. Charlotte, thanks for reporting. Thanks for having me, Georgia. That was Daily Wire contributor, Charlotte Pence Bond. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.

We'll be back this afternoon with an extra edition of Morning Wire.