Jerusalem

Keeping Score On Just One Week


Reading time – 2:55; Viewing time – 4:20  .  .  .

Kim Jong-un, the murderous dictator of North Korea, has played Donald Trump like he’s a marionette. Kim freed 3 American prisoners for whom he had no further use. He already had the nuclear bomb technology he wanted, so it was a freebie to promise no further nuclear testing, and he smiled for the cameras, promising talks with South Korea. All of that came at absolutely no cost to North Korea. What Kim got was exactly what he wanted: high level talks with America so he would be seen as an equal on the world stage. Kim has no further need for Trump, so the summit may never happen and the talks with South Korea are already threatened. Score: Kim Jong-un 1, America 0.

The new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem opened this week to great fanfare and violent, deadly protests in Gaza. Every president before Trump recognized the self-defeating nature of placing our embassy in Jerusalem and refrained from making that move because it was sure to be an incitement to violence and an impediment to lasting peace. Trump hasn’t the sense or mental sophistication to see beyond just making a deal – any deal – regardless of the cost to others. He bears responsibility for those deaths in Gaza. Score: Everyone 0.

It isn’t proven yet, but there is a most suspicious intersection of Trump saving 70,000 jobs for telecom company ZTE in China and the new Chinese infusion of half a billion dollars into Trump’s private resort project in Indonesia. Note that the Chinese government uses ZTE’s cheap cell phones to spy on America. Trump just gave them a green flag and an open lane to do just that. This looks a lot like emoluments and bribery while selling out America. Score: China 2, Trump 1, America 0.

All of these issues are substantive and they weaken American security and influence around the world.

As of the time of this writing on Friday, at least 9 students and one teacher have been killed and about 10 others were wounded by a student with 3 firearms at Santa Fe High School in the Houston, TX area.

Brace yourself now, as Wayne LaPierre and Dana Loesch of the NRA crank up their lunacy and once again invoke good guys with guns and insist on teachers being armed so we can have shootouts in school hallways.

There will be much wringing of hands and thoughts and prayers will be offered by spineless leaders all across the country. See the attached picture taken at the March For Our Lives demonstration in Chicago for a proper response to our jellyfish politicians.

Do you think Friday’s event will trigger a thought among our legislators that easy access to firearms might not be a good idea? Any chance politicians will be willing to invest in mental health services or require trigger locks and universal background checks, the very things that 92% of us want?

We – through our politicians – continue to allow our children to be killed every week, so I don’t have any confidence that this latest mass murder will result in legislative actions to deter future shootings of our kids. Score: NRA 2, politicians 1, American kids 0.

Do not send your thoughts and prayers to the Santa Fe, TX victims and their loved ones. Instead,

DEMAND THAT YOUR STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATORS PUT ON THEIR BIG BOY AND BIG GIRL PANTS AND ENACT SENSIBLE GUN SAFETY LAWS.

Use these links: www.Senate.Gov  www.House.Gov

I’ll say it again:

A vote for an NRA backed candidate is a vote for dead children.

Remember that when you vote on November 6.

And remember, too, that all of this, the international betrayals, the murders of our kids and a resulting score for America of 0 happened in just one week. This level of craziness plays out every week in the ongoing drama that is the Trump administration and our pay-to-play, spineless Congress that lets it all happen.

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Ed. note: I don’t want your money (DON’T donate) or your signature on a petition. I want you to spread the word so that we make a critical difference. That’s the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people, so:

YOUR ACTION STEPS:

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all be better informed.

Thanks!


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Duplicity


Reading time – 2:56; Viewing time – 4:27 .  .  .

The congressional act that followed the 1995 Oslo Accords called for the U.S. to recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel, as well as move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. There was an escape clause in the act that allowed the President to delay recognition and the move by 6 months. That escape clause has been exercised twice a year ever since – until now. There are at least two noteworthy observations to make about these events.

When Bill Clinton first exercised the escape clause in 1996 he was viciously attacked by Republicans, notably by Senator John Kyle (R-AZ) and Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS, now the bankrupting governor of his state), claiming that Clinton was in contempt of Congress. You may recall that this was during the Newt Gingrich, Contract With America era, when the Republicans in Congress made it clear that they had the sole objective of opposing anything Clinton.

What was so very odd is that each time George W. Bush signed that same escape clause, which he did 16 times, neither Kyle nor Brownback nor any other Republican seemed to have a problem with that. And that same kind of duplicity on every issue is exactly what happened in the Obama era, those heady Republican days when Mitch McConnell reminded us that job one for Republicans was ensuring that Obama would be a one-term President. Let’s look at this type of behavior in another context.

During the Clinton presidency Gingrich and his howlers appointed Ken Starr to be Independent Counsel to investigate Clinton’s dealings in the failed real estate deal known as Whitewater. Finding nothing legally actionable there, Starr proceeded to investigate every nuance of both Clintons for five years and continued to find nothing actionable until the the Monica Lewinsky affair at last allowed them to smear the President publicly. There were no Republicans then claiming that Starr’s wandering investigation was a witch hunt. There were no objections to partisan digging for dirt, no attacks on the Department of Justice, no wailing of improper actions on the part of the Independent Counsel.

Now, though, there is a chorus of Republicans in Congress with abhorrent accusations against both the FBI and Robert Mueller, as he conducts his investigation into Trump campaign collusion with the Russians. It’s the same kind of duplicity as for the Jerusalem issue. That leads to the second point.

I’ve scoured sources looking for an upside to the U.S. of Trump’s declaration of formally recognizing Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel. That’s something that most nations have not done, this in an effort to avoid becoming an obstacle to a peaceful solution to the strife in the region. What is the possible good that will come of recognizing Jerusalem as the capitol and of moving the embassy?

Trump’s declaration has surely been good for militant Palestinians and Muslims around the world, as they have already reacted with demonstrations and violence. Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli hardliners like the in-your-face value that comes of Trump’s declaration, but what about value for the U.S.?

All I can find of value here is the pleasure that so-called Evangelicals derive from some self-satisfying biblical notions they hold, as well as the glee of hard-core Trump supporters for his sticking it to somebody. That might garner more votes for Roy Moore to become Senator Pedophile and keep that Alabama Senate seat Republican. That, in turn, may help Trump to further destroy American culture and values. Truly, I have not found a single benefit to the United States beyond that, if you can truly call those benefits.

Meanwhile, connect the dots to congressional Republicans. Where is their outrage over Trump sabotaging the possibility for peace in the Middle East? What happened to conservative calls for what serves this country?

This isn’t my father’s Republican Party and we are the worse for that.

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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we’re on a path to continually fail to make things better. It’s my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That’s the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!) and engage.  Thanks!

Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

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