No time now for a long post, but I feel a real sense of loss for a man who stood firmly for his convictions, who spoke up for faith and for morality�regardless of the many personal attacks against him�and who, not at all coincidentally,�was an almost peerless friend to Jews and defender of Israel.
I think that Israel’s political cartoonist, Yaakov Kirschen, is overall the cleverest, clearest-thinking English language political cartoonist in the business. His (generally) 4-panel format allows him some latitude in making his points, by creating dynamics of progression and punchline, which he uses well.
In response to Nancy Pelosi’s frightening flirtation with Middle-East policy, the Republican Jewish Coalition launched�this 30-second spot.� It’s excellent because it’s actually understated - the RJC is able to rely almost entirely on the Washington Post’s juicy adjectives.
Check out this devastating video, full of Rudy in his own words - and it truly is the tippy tip of this iceberg. There must be hundreds, even thousands, of clips like this.
So,�major league�Democrat Wesley Clark blames the war on Jews - and the Dems are silent; minor league Republican Whatshisname blames the war on Jews -�and the GOP tosses his rear end overboard.
In a post on this site, Heather Robinson ponders Hillary’s presidential intentions re:Israel and Iran.� While one should question the wisdom of taking at face value anything Hillary says about anything - particularly Israel - while she’s campaigning for president (i.e., anything she’s said since she started her New York senate campaign in 2000), Heather makes a good point about the accommodationist dangers lurking even in Hillary’s attempts to sound hawkish.
The Forward is carrying a piece (by a Barak flack) “breaking” something which has been circulating for years - that Sharon warned Bush against trying to implant democracy in Iraq. The word they’re using is “prescient,” which it may have been, although the word implies a unique or particularly impressive piece of anticipation while the only thing impressive about this is how extraordanarily “duh” and obvious it is and was then, as well.
While liberal Jewish groups giddily congratulate themselves for the influx of liberal policymakers to DC, Daily Kos continues to demonstrate the liberal mindset…in this case, an argument that Iran has legal and moral justification for a first strike against Israel and the US. (Hat tip LGF.)
As if Amadmanjihad (or his Hezbollah surrogates) are awaiting permission to attack, rather than opportunity…
Julia, the enormity of 9/11 has made people forget the first real sign that President Bush cared deeply about Jews and Israel - and that was his refusal to participate in the anti-Semitic Durban international hate-fest. Leading the opposition - and a disgraceful delegation to Durban - was your pal and mine, John Conyers.
When Mel Gibson, a drunken actor, incoherently and privately blamed the Jews for the world’s wars, America went so crazy that he wasn’t even permitted to apologize, despite his repeated attempts to do so.
I remember once, about ten years ago, getting a snide comment thrown my way from a liberal colleague (in an office where I, in fact, only had liberal colleagues). While I can�t recall the exact wording, the thrust of his remark was that conservatives and Republicans are cheap, mean and uncaring (stop me if you�ve heard this before).
The Holocaust has become iconic. It is depicted as �an event.� But it only is in hindsight that we label the convergence of incidents, the coalescence of movements, politics, ideologies, hatreds as �Holocaust.�
Over at The Corner, Andy McCarthy has a shocking story of slavery and rape in Colorado.� Per McCarthy, the slaveowner, an influential Saudi, declined to apologize at his sentencing because, he said, he was engaged in “traditional Muslim behaviors” and thus did not commit any crimes.� Res Ipsa Loquitur.
There is a perverse condescension in the �pluralist� �multicultural� West�s refusal to acknowledge the depth, reality, power and consequences of alternate cultures, let alone organized faith.
Let’s revisit the Jerusalem “honor killings” story. It is, in so many ways, a perfect microcosm of how the West defeats itself when it prefers liberal elitist claptrap to simple facts (that link is to a Palestinian woman’s defense of honor killing so blood-curdling as to seem a spoof…see this for a Western report on honor killing).
Jerusalem, 2006 - a�Palestinian woman is suspected of infidelity.� She seeks shelter with her parents.� Her father orders her brother to kill her.
Take Bob Wexler.� A perfectly likeable guy, who clearly likes Israel.� A Jew - in fact a fairly traditional one - whose community cares about Israel, too.� I’ve spoken with Wexler a couple of times and we have friends in common, including one of his rabbis.
Hands down the funniest political commentary ever - Steve Colbert’s rant last night when he “conceded” the House. You’ll need to click on Part 7 of the “Midterm Midtacular” at Comedy Central’s website.
In recent weeks, even as the Democrats� fortunes skyrocket everywhere else, the National Jewish Democratic Council is in crisis management mode responding to a series of Republican Jewish Coalition advertisements which clearly have drawn blood. The RJC ads publicize recent polls and public comments highlighting the substantial philosophical gap between Republicans and Democrats on the issue of Israel. The ads are factual, not hysterical, and therefore devastating.
Nobody seriously disputes that Rick Santorum is as unrelenting and die-hard an Israel supporter as has ever been seen in Washington. Recently, a friend of mine was solicited (unsuccessfully) to contribute to the Casey campaign.�The solicitation was by a former high-ranking AIPAC employee, currently a big AIPAC donor, using his AIPAC credentials for credibility.