Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Major Republican Victory!

As of this writing the Republicans have taken back the US Senate, with 52 seats to 45 for the Democrats, and three still pending. Of those three it is believed that the Republicans have a chance to pick up two more.

In the House, the Republicans have so far picked up 12 more seats, apparently nearing their all time high from about 70 years ago.

And for those who believe certain states are permanently locked in to one party or the other - not so fast. In the very blue states of Maryland, Massachusetts and Illinois, Republicans have won the governorships.

The Democrat candidates who campaigned on the "war on women" fell flat. And a black Republican was elected to the US Senate from South Carolina, a very conservative state. According to one web site (Vox) Tim Scott is the first black to win a statewide office in South Carolina since Reconstruction; and the first black elected to the Senate from any Southern state.

While Democrat candidates from around the country ran away from Obama, Obama nevertheless said (to the Dems chagrin) that his policies were on the ballot. If so, the American people just expressed their huge disappointment with him and his policies. For those who will claim racism dictated tonight's result (Obama and Holder will certainly think that even if they do not say so), take a look at the above paragraph.

So what now? Obama has never been one to compromise. In fact, he does not care that much for governing, as his own party has complained about his lack of interest in even meeting with Democrat Senators and Congressmen. He likes to campaign; he likes to hang out with the rich and famous; and he prefers Executive Orders.

Republicans need to pass legislation that will help the economy. They need to pass bills that will eliminate the worst provisions of Obamacare. And they need to act as a bulwark against our dwindling military capabilities, and a disastrous foreign policy. I suspect the Israelis are breathing a little easier tonight, as Republicans have been staunch supporters.

If, however, the Republicans do not act wisely, my readers can count on me to say so. A reader commented on one of my last posts ("You Really Want to Elect These People") and basically said if the Republicans win they will get all the blame for Obama's last two years of failures. But, with only controlling the House, Republicans get all the blame from the mainstream media already - the "obstructionist" Republicans. Now, Republicans will actually be able to pass legislation that Harry Reid had prevented from coming to a vote in the Senate.

The question will be, if Obama vetoes what the Republicans pass, what spin will the mainstream media put on it to still blame the Republicans? We know they will not blame or criticize Obama. Tonight, however, it feels good to have the brakes put on Obama's far left agenda.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Anti-Semitism at Your Door

If you live in or near New York City you would have had the opportunity to attend a performance at the Metropolitan Opera of "The Death of Klinghoffer." Recall that Leon Klinghoffer was a 69 year old disabled American Jew who had taken a cruise with his wife Marilyn. In 1985 they were on the ship Achille Lauro when it was hijacked by members of the Palestine Liberation Front. These terrorists shot and killed Klinghoffer and then threw his body and his wheelchair overboard.

The October 22, 2014 New York Times had a review of the opera done by Anthony Tommasini. Said Tommasini: "This opera tries to explore what drove these Palestinians to take that ship and murder its most vulnerable passenger." Said Klinghoffer's two daughters, who issued their own statement regarding this opera: "It presents false moral equivalences without context, and offers no real insight into the historical reality and the senseless murder of an American Jew."

But that's the point. For the left there are always moral equivalencies - because they have no sense of good and evil. Those are religious concepts, and the left tends to lack a religious foundation. You want to know why the Palestinians do what they do? Because it is what they believe.

Go back to the 1920s when Arabs massacred Jews in the land of Palestine, then under the British Mandate. Or World War II when the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem supported Hitler. Or to 1947 before the UN voted for partition of the Mandate area, creating a Jewish state and an Arab state - when the Arabs said they would never accept the existence of a Jewish State.

You want to know why such an opera is acceptable in polite society? Because the Palestinians are perceived to be the underdogs, and the underdogs are always right and can do no bad. Isn't that why Obama and Kerry ask nothing in return from the Palestinians when they give hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to people who murder and attempt to murder innocent Jews? Then the Palestinians reward the murderers with money, and name schools and parks after their "martyrs." And then Obama rewards them some more.

In her 10/24/14 column, Caroline Glick notes numerous incidents of anti-Semitism at AEPi frat houses across the country. AEPi is the Jewish fraternity. Swastikas were painted on the AEPi house at Emory University. Glick notes that recently AEPi members from across the country put up a video on You Tube documenting various assaults and batteries against their members. The University of Arizona AEPi president was violently attacked while trying to stop a large group from entering their house. He suffered a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain and a concussion.

The Jewish director of a community center had attended an exhibition game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Maccabi Tel Aviv team in Brooklyn. Afterwards, while walking with his two young sons, they were accosted by a group of people yelling "your people are murderers." The director was punched in the face and sustained a broken nose. There are plenty of other incidents mentioned in the Glick article, but you get the point.

At many colleges and universities across this country you will find groups such as The Muslim Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine, Direct Action for Palestine and Adalah and others. Are we nearing a point in time when Jewish students need to hide their Jewishness in order to feel safe on campus? Should they not wear their kippah (skull cap) in public? Are we now like Europe where Jews in major cities are told exactly that? They are told not to wear any Jewish-identifying garments in public; and to not linger outside Jewish places of worship.

Glick notes how in September of this year hundreds of protestors interfered with longshoremen who were to offload cargo from an Israeli ship. The ship was forced to unload its cargo in Los Angeles. Glick notes that none of the protesters were arrested.

Glick suggests supporting groups that help students on campus, such as StandWithUs, CAMERA, and the Zionist Organization of America and other similar groups. She believes Jewish lawyers should start filing lawsuits against groups that interfere with the speech and religious rights of Jewish students. (Personally, I might suggest making a complaint to the office of the Attorney General Eric Holder, Civil Rights Division. But let's be honest, if you are not black he's not likely to care.)

I am proud of, and thankful for, my Christian friends (and the millions of Christians whom I do not know) who are extremely supportive of Israel. Because today, anti-Semitism often takes the form of anti-Zionism and anti-Israel advocacy. And I remind my fellow Jews of that famous quote from 2000 years ago by Hillel: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?...And if not now, when?"

You Really Want to Elect These People?

With the election only two days away, here are just a few democrat viewpoints you should know. For my friends and readers who are democrats, are these the ideas and policies you want to see promulgated by your government?

Recently, Hillary Clinton said this: "Don't let anybody tell you it's corporations and businesses (that) create jobs." After getting some push back she subsequently backpedaled on that; but do not think for one minute it was just a slip of the tongue. It reflects leftist thinking that the government creates jobs. And it tracks Obama's comment from a couple of years ago: "If you've got a business - you didn't build that - somebody else made that happen."

Attorney General Eric Holder said this: "I think it's pretty clear that the need for wholesale change in that department (referring to the Ferguson P.D.) is appropriate." A white police officer shot Michael Brown, a black youth. Has the officer been charged with any crime? No. Is he likely to be charged with any crime? Not in this writer's opinion. But so what? Obama and Holder can only see race - not right and wrong.

You think Al Sharpton should be an adviser or confidante to the President of the United States? The same guy who supported the lies of young Tawana Brawley, who claimed she was raped by white men. It turned out to be a hoax, but Sharpton had already accused a white prosecutor of the crime. The prosecutor sued and won - but Sharpton refused to pay the judgment.

The same guy who did his best to raise tensions after a young man who was Hasidic accidentally drove his car into - and killed - a 7 year old black child. Al was there yelling "No justice, no peace," over a car accident. After 3 days of riots a young rabbinical student was murdered - beaten to death. Did that even the score for Al?

Or how about Al owing millions in back taxes? I think it's fairly clear that the IRS chooses who to go after - that would be Republicans and Tea Partiers under Obama. (Information in this paragraph and above two from an article in the WSJ of 10/25-26/14 by Heather MacDonald.)

None of the above keeps Al from being a host on one of MSNBC's shows, or having his own radio show, or being close to the President. Only 72 hours after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Sharpton was at the White House. "There's a trust factor with the Rev from the Oval Office on down," as told by a White House aide to Politico (and reported in Newsmax on 8/22/14). Which explains why Obama appeared with Sharpton at a rally in April, and also recently called into his radio show.

On the other hand, Obama does not have the same warm feelings for the leader of our closest Mid-East ally, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. Someone in the Obama Administration said this: "The thing about Bibi (Netanyahu's nickname) is, he's a chickenshit." Several years ago Netanyahu was at the White House and had to tell Obama directly that the 1967 borders (proposed by Obama and Kerry as the borders for a Palestinian state) were out of the question, because those borders could not be defended and would threaten the very existence of Israel.

But no fear. In his relentless pursuit of making deals - any deals - just so long as he can be the one who gets the credit, Obama is again sending Kerry to the Mid-East. He's got two years left in office to be the one to create "peace" between Israel and the Arabs. Because Obama believes that a piece of paper is all it takes for there to be peace.

Recall that Abbas wants to present the UN Security Council with a resolution establishing the state of "Palestine" based upon the 1967 borders. If such a resolution got the necessary 9 of 15 votes it would pass - unless it was vetoed by one of the five permanent members (the US, England, France, Russia and China). The question is - would Obama exercise the veto? According to my son (who is fluent in Hebrew) some of the Israeli press is reporting that Obama has threatened Netanyahu with the withholding of a veto. If that is true, it certainly sounds like an ultimatum - make "peace" with the Palestinians on Obama's terms or suffer defeat at the UN on the Palestinian's terms. Frankly, I am not sure that I can tell the difference.

On a positive note, I have heard from two moderate to liberal Jewish friends, indicating they are pretty much done with Obama, especially with regards to his mistreatment of Netanyahu and Israel. They seem to be willing to give the Republicans a chance. If the Republicans keep the House and take the Senate, Obama will still be in office for two more years. However, a Republican Congress may be able to lessen the harm that Obama might do during that time. Vote carefully my friends.