I did watch a lot of the first Republican debate. It seemed to me that the only ones with any chance were DeSantis, Haley, Pence and Ramaswamy. The first three are serious people. But they each had their issues. DeSantis looked around at the others in order to see if they raised their hands, when asked who would vote for Trump if he was the party's nominee. Haley played the female/identity politics card, even if she intended it only in jest. Pence was too wrapped up in his religious beliefs, which I respect, but we are a secular country. And Ramaswamy, filled with youthful exuberance, is completely naive with regards to world affairs.
On the plus side, DeSantis has a mostly good record in Florida. Pence has a history of being a strong conservative, even though many objected to his comments about Trump and his attorneys. Haley gave the Republican Party a needed voice on how to address the abortion issue. And as US Ambassador to the UN, she demonstrated her toughness, and was not intimidated by the world's bad actors and bullies. And Ramaswamy is strong on domestic issues, but has much to learn about foreign policy.
The Jerusalem Post reported that 2023 has been a very bad year with regards to terrorist attacks. Apparently, the worst since the second intifada. As of 8/31/23, they reported that 34 people had been murdered in terrorist attacks. That's more than all of last year, with four months still left in the year. A big thank you to Joe Biden for reinstating the funding to the terrorist supporting Palestinian Authority. Funding that Trump had ceased until the PA agreed they would not use that money to support the killing of Jews.
The numbers are staggering! It was simply too much for the Los Angeles City Council to tolerate. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has caused 435,000 people to be bused to the City of Angels. Just kidding. 4,350 people. No again. 435 people. Yep, that's it. To a city of 4 million people. The second largest city in the country. Los Angeles is a sanctuary city in a sanctuary state. But it was just too much. So the city council voted - unanimously - "to pursue a lawsuit and criminal probe against Texas over its migrant busing program..."
Meanwhile, the California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, has his sites set on another group of dastardly people. He announced he is suing the Chino Valley Unified School District. What did the school Board do to incur his wrath? They passed a measure that requires schools to advise parents if their children change their gender or pronouns. But in the People's Republic of California, as in all communist societies, the government does not believe in the primacy of the family unit. Rather, the state knows best, always, and therefore is in the best position to know what is in the best interests of every child.
This week's Jewish Journal of Los Angeles had a very interesting article about Marissa Streit, the CEO of Prager U. Prager U is the brainchild of author and radio host, Dennis Prager and his producer, Allen Estrin. They air 5 minute (more or less) videos on numerous topics. Prager used to say "we teach what isn't taught." Now he says "we teach what should be taught." They claim to have had 8 billion ("b" as in billion) views so far. One can only hope. Because they push back against all the left-wing, politically correct, woke crap that passes for education these days.
Streit recalls a story when, as a young child of 13, she toured Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum. She tells of asking the docent why people did not fight back. She asked, "did they not understand what could happen (to them) if they didn't fight?" She said the docent's reply is etched in her memory: "Well young lady, most people don't fight until it's too late and most people rely on others to do the fighting for them." I'm certainly not Prager or Hannity or any of the other conservative voices, who reach millions of viewers. But if you ask me why I take hours every other weekend to write this blog, it is to fight back - for Israel, for America, and for fundamental Judeo-Christian values.
