A Few Words From A Few People

The Los Angeles Times reprinted some letters to the editor that they printed shortly after the historic Moon landing of July 20, 1969. Said one: "It is inconceivable to me that persons on earth should go hungry, uneducated, die of cancer while technology has put a man on the moon." Fast forward to July, 2019, and we have this letter to the editor of the New York Times: "Through increased wildfires, storm damage, flooding, rising sea levels and a thousand other cuts, climate change is already costing us lives and conflict and billions of dollars. We need a moonshot, all right - a moonshot effort to stop and reverse climate change. We cannot afford both." In fairness, allow me to acknowledge my own bias - I have always been interested in the space program and astronomy. Nevertheless, there will always be those on the left who cannot enjoy life because...(fill in the blank of some problems or difficulties somewhere). As noted in the July 4th post, some people were unable to celebrate our nation's birthday because of issues with the border. I prefer the "can do" attitude to the "I can't be excited about anything when suffering exists anywhere." I am not heartless, but I am neither morose nor pessimistic about our capabilities.

Here is another one that I simply cannot understand. One letter writer to the LA Times was a self-described daughter of Holocaust survivors, her father and grandfather both having escaped Nazi Germany. Which makes it all the more inconceivable that she would write: "It may seem hyperbolic to liken our president to Adolf Hitler, though his playbook looks very much the same." Really? The writer was upset by President Trump's comments about "The Squad." (See the last post.) But a Holocaust survivor's daughter draws a comparison between Trump and Hitler? Is she racing to leave this country, fearful for her life? I am curious, did this Jewish letter writer get equally offended by the frequent anti-Semitic comments by Ilhan Omar? I would bet not.

Recall that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Speaker Nancy Pelosi of singling out the newly elected women of color. Before Trump opened his mouth and united the Democrats, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd expressed her displeasure with the Democratic infighting. (See her July 14 column "Scaling Wokeback Mountain.") Dowd: "The progressives act as though anyone who dares disagree with them is bad. Not wrong, but bad, guilty of some human failing, some impurity that is a moral evil that justifies their venom." That is just precious. I guess Dowd is unaware that what she described is exactly how the left thinks about and treats all conservatives.

In the July 19th LA Times was a page 2 article by columnist Caroline Engelmayer, attempting to explain why Trump verbally attacked Ilhan Omar. Her article is a perfect example of what Trump calls the "fake news." Engelmayer discusses the various anti-Semitic remarks by Omar, then saying she always apologized, except after the last comment alleging Israel's supporters only have allegiance to a foreign country. Why would Engelmayer believe a single apology was sincere when Omar continued making one anti-Semitic comment after the next? Then, Engelmayer claims that after Omar's "allegiance to a foreign country" claim, the "House passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism." No, that is a lie, or at best a half-truth. As discussed in the last post, the House refused to pass any resolution condemning Omar. The House refused to pass a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Rather, the resolution that passed condemned all bigotry, such as Islamophobia, even though the original motivating factor and purpose was to condemn Omar and her anti-Semitism.

Not surprisingly, the left was unhappy with Trump's July 4th celebration observing our country's birthday. After all, there were two stationary tanks there, along with some flyovers. You would think that no other president ever displayed any military hardware. It is pure nonsense. And, G-d forbid, Trump claimed "we all were made by the same almighty G-d." According to one letter writer to the LA Times, "that pious take ignored how 'G-d' has numerous disparate definitions, and how more than 30 million Americans hold nontheistic beliefs." So what? As one Op-Ed in the July 8 USA Today noted: "Mentioning G-d annoys the left." To which I might add: what doesn't? I am sure, however, that this letter writer always complained when Obama mentioned G-d.

In the 7/21 edition of the LA Times is a page 3 article discussing how Benjamin Netanyahu has now become the longest serving Prime Minister in the history of modern Israel. Early in the article they acknowledge that Netanyahu "has ruled Israel for a full decade of economic and diplomatic achievements." As the paper views Netanyahu as "a hard-line rightest and close ally of President Trump," most of the article is, obviously, not flattering. Then, they quote a left-wing writer for the left-wing Israeli paper Ha'aretz. The Times quotes Anshel Pfeffer: "His (referring to Netanyahu) legacy is longevity, and precious little else." What? Why would the Times put that quote in the article after they acknowledged Netanyahu's economic and diplomatic achievements? Further, it is patently false, another example of "fake news" from the mainstream media. Under Netanyahu, Israel has become an economic and technological powerhouse. Diplomatically, he has improved relations with the Sunni Arab nations. And he has been a leading statesman on the world stage. But...he is a "close ally of President Trump."