The Unsinkable Hatred of the Jew

The killing of one and the wounding of three at the Chabad Synagogue in Poway, CA, the killing of 11 Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and anti-Semitic strikes having risen 57%  in the United States forces the embers of my anger to reverberate once again in my soul, to rise up again in my consciousness and to yet again decade after torturous decade prod me to ask why. 

Shakespeare writes of Shylock the Jew in The Merchant Of Venice Act 3, scene 1, 58–68 circa 1596:

"I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal'd by the same means, warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If
you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that."
Shylock's questions are profound and yet the answers to his questions remain to this day illusive.  Why one Jew or why 6 million Jews killed beggars the imagination so we strive with dizzying thought to find rationality in the irrational.  How does a religion whose Son of God is a Jew, whose people were Jews, and whose religious practices were Jewish become the missile of world-wide vitriolic AntiSemitic hatred throws?

The answers incomplete as they are lie, of course, in two thousand years of text, bounced around over history's net in the spoken word from one generation to the next so that even utterly mendacious and insipid untruths appear as fact and are used in some ritual or another as a reason to torture and murder Jews at any time, at any place and for any reason.  Old canards are by the murder at Poway used to mix with even older accusations of deicide taken from some New Testament texts to aid in his rationale for murder.  Anti-Semitism evolves.   “You are not forgotten Simon of Trent, the horror that you and countless children have endured at the hands of the Jews will never be forgiven,” the killer wrote using the Internet as his servant.  "His thoughts reached millions around the world. But the hatred at its core could have been plucked directly from the 15th century" or even the second century to contemporary antisemitism that boasts "Jews will not replace us" as if Jews everywhere were looking to do just that. 

The longest hatred has albeit evolved over time so that it is able to neatly mix with the prevailing cultural milieu endeavoring to strike fear in the hearts of white Christian men and women everywhere that prompts them toward violence in service of it. Accusations against the Jew by white Nationalists as the polluter of whatever the white Christian race is serves up a fundamental ingredient of anti Semitism and a rationale for the murdering of all Jews. But, no, that is not enough.  Anti Semitism must rest on its initial accusation some two thousand years ago of God killer.  Who could argue with killing a people whose ancestors were guilty of committing that?  I could and you should -- all of you -- lest this Republic Franklin admonished us to keep will not be kept and this oldest of hatreds will become unsinkable.

Danger: Angry Trump supporter showed up at Hillary Clinton's home to demand her arrest

Will the toxicity of right wingnuts in their land of idiocy never give it up? The irony of it all that they still carry the burning cross tar and feathers for Hillary from a campaign three years old instead of looking at their crime syndicate lover Donald Drumpf.

Trump's crimes are ENORMOUS and his unconstitutional behavior mind numbing. You idiot, Mr. Cross Hat, take a look at Matthew 7:5: "You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of another."

Hillary's "crimes" if she even had any which she does not pale by comparison to Donald the Emolument's Clause violator, the obstruction of justice and abuse of power, money laundering, self dealing, mendacious criminal Trump!

 

 

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/24/1852755/-Danger-Angry-Trump-supporter-showed-up-at-Hillary-Clinton-s-home-yesterday-to-demand-her-arrest?detail=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3Gdk8d6kxUOU-I1ZnVuyJ_idwwbhSe1JiU03eoB9S60dPYzV4OeJ4cmaY

Where I stand -- the Mueller Report -- lives of generations

Where do I stand?  The short answer is I am not sure.  The issues are not only complex but of the gravest nature that Democrats get it right.  The Report was as impeccable in substance as it was long in length (448 pages.)  I am of two minds one of which was formed by a political ally and compatriot. 

 

My first thoughts last evening:  If Democrats controlled the Senate there would absolutely positively be enough -- more than enough -- evidence to impeach this so called president.  He would not only be impeached but he would be the first president in US history to be convicted and removed from office. Three presidents in American history are of impeachment note -- Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868, Richard Nixon in 1974 (resigned before certain impeachment and certain conviction in the Senate) and Bill Clinton.  No president has been convicted ... yet.  Today the Democrats do not control the Senate Republicans do.  Because of that conviction on impeachment would be nearly impossible and, as many say, would be a waste of time. 

Maybe it would not be a waste of time. Looking at the Clinton impeachment.  In 2000 the electorate gave Republicans the presidency.  It gave them the House and the Senate through 2007. Maybe we could have our cake and eat it too. Trump could definitely be impeached by a Democratic control of the House. Although there would be no conviction in the Senate that impeachment in the House would historically stand. It would be an eternal stain on Trump and his presidency even if he could not be convicted in the Senate. The election of 2020 because of the shameful stain of impeachment as well as a huge amount of evidence against him on obstruction could throw the 2020 election entirely in Democratic hands.  From what I have investigated after the Clinton embarrassment impeachment and during the contentious 2000 Bush presidential election the Republican Party kept control of both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate until 2007. This time Democrats could take it all.

Another view:

"In the case of this lunatic president, the House going after him would be throwing raw meat to his base. The last thing we want is to have him re-elected! To some extent we need to listen to Nancy and the House Committee Chairs. Remember that the chairs will investigate and may get lots more incriminating evidence on him, including the financial information. Once he is out of office, he could be a busy boy in court for some time" If found guilty no one would be there to pardon him.  He could end up in jail.

Presidential historian John Meacham believes in the Constitutional process which leaves it to Congress to remove a president from office.  While this would be the optimum way to proceed practicalities may need to dictate otherwise.  There are serious cases against Trump and others in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere.  Trump will, I believe, pay and pay dearly.  Perhaps, we should not court even the possibility of handing impeachment red meat to Republicans during the 2020 campaign. Perhaps we should let the exposé which Mueller has iterated en masse to perfection in his Report which we should read and let the massive obstruction of justice and other malevolent acts do its electoral job.

Note Bene: Listening to Congressman Tim Ryan 3rd District of Ohio on Morning Joe who attended a town meeting last night.  He said no one in two hours of discussion mentioned the Mueller Report.  He said no one cared about the Mueller Report but they cared about making ends meet, jobs and they cared about their children.  That says a lot and from my observation tragically so.  Nothing less than our democracy is at stake.  It envelopes all issues economic, political and most importantly international.  Life and death issues are mandated by a president.  It is one of the most important choices we can make.  We must think about who we are and who we want to be.  Nothing short of the lives of generations are at stake.

Survival of a Nation: Reconstruction--America After the Civil War

I watched Part II of this two part work of excellence on PBS, Reconstruction--America After the Civil War. Part 1 dealt with the beginnings of slavery to the end of it in 1865. The first slave ship arrived in Jamestown in 1619. Slavery ended as an economic practice in 1865. For nearly 250 years persons of color had to endure conditions beasts of burden did not even have to endure.

Worse still once the Lincoln assassination occurred persons of color slowly but surely began to endure a second humiliating institutional reality almost mirroring the slave system itself. Reconstitution Part II deals with the reality of Jim Crow in the late 1800's and the federal government relinquishing enforcement of the freedom that the union Civil War victory brought. How persons of color had to endure such indignities for so many years I will never know. Even Courts including the Supreme Court of that time would not protect them.

Sound familiar as the immoral right wing so called "conservative" justices of our time call our society a "post racial" one. It has given racist whites free rein to think of creative ways to deny persons of color the vote and has eradicated that part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that oversaw those states, especially in the south, which most egregiously flouted civil rights law.

Think about it. What have both state and federal white Representatives, Senators, and Presidents done by placing right wing extremist judges on both lower courts and the Supreme Court?  They have packed the courts with extremist right judges undermining the last vestige of hope to maintain racial equality.

How ironic that the very first bone of contention slavery may result 400 years later in a permanent civil schism in our nation in our time. Watch these episodes narrated by the historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. and then RESIST the cancer of Trump and his presidency that permanently threatens our body politic today. The price of Trump's corrupt presidency is not only felt today but may survive for decades to come IF our nation survives at all.  VOTE DEMOCRAT IN 2020 to make sure that it does.

Video: Pete Buttigieg Speaks French During French TV Interview on Notre Dame Fire

https://www.newsweek.com/pete-buttigieg-notre-dame-cathedral-speaking-french-notre-dame-fire-gerard-1397610

WHAT A GUY!!!

Richard Engel -- on Assignment -- a must see

Not only does Richard Engel do a segment on Steve Bannon's attempt at subverting Pope Francis and creating an uber conservative Catholic Church but he also does a segment on Russian systems in Moscow and maybe elsewhere that are dedicated to foment discord among adversarial groups especially in the western democracies.

It is why those of us dedicated to humanitarian causes and nonviolence should not get into shouting matches with extremist right wing fanatics religious or otherwise or use profane language in heated arguments. I will try to follow my own advice.

The best way to fight this onslaught is either by not reacting or by reacting with peaceful sentiment and humanitarian beliefs. Watch Richard Engel's On Assignment if you haven't to see how this is being done. [linked below].  The Russian attempt is brazen and getting worse as time goes by probably into the 2020 election!

Think for yourself and do not allow them to destroy what is good and humane in our nation.  Pass this on to anyone.

https://www.msnbc.com/onassignment

The Politics of Peace--My letter to Congresswoman Rashida Talib

Dear Congresswoman Talib: I want to address the right wing violence and ugly verbiage levied against you in particular and Muslims in general.  I am a Jewish woman and heretofore an ardent supporter of the State of Israel. Since, however, the election of the aggressive and in my view closed minded Netanyau with the help of the corrupt, inhumane, mendacious and cruel Trump I have changed. I want to tell you why I have changed which includes both the etiology of my historical position and the one to which I subscribe today. My political bent has formed since 1958 when I as a child viewed the first film on the Holocaust. The devastating Holocaust history of the Jewish people became the footing on which my politics stood. My politics is still left of center BUT the historical rationals in our era have changed. I joined J Street, a progressive Jewish organization, which seeks peace not against Palestinians but WITH Palestinians. I believe in fundamental fairness, justice, and I believe human beings can work together to find that commonality which can work against violence, against war, against hate but for understanding and peace. I seek not to move away from what you say but urge you to soften what you say so that it falls on more receptive ears. I ask you to try to use my experience as your own guide to speak to Palestinian hardship as well as the Jewish Holocaust experience to talk to people with an understanding of both sides and a standing against hate both Netanyahu and Trump perpetuate but do not ameliorate.

I was against placing the US embassy in Jerusalem, so cavalierly talking about expanding settlements and the appropriation of the West Bank. This cruel and inhuman treatment of Palestinians cannot stand and should not stand. Recognizing the Holocaust taught us to speak out against injustice and is its most profound instruction. Those of us who desire humanitarian and just politics must not let cruelty stand because I believe it will mean more violence and death for both Palestinians and Israelis if not to the world at large. Your points are listened to by me. References to old antiSemitic memes provoke anger in all Jews but understanding of both positions will speak for truth, justice and peace! That is what must be emphasized by you and should speak to the politics not of war and hate but of understanding and peace.

Assange innocent?

The US is surely not the only aggressive nation on planet earth. I would put, without a doubt, Russia into that illustrious group and Putin one of the worlds most belligerent and corrupt authoritarian dictators at the helm. Assange played footsie with Russia and Putin. I submit he was no choir boy. Moreover, from accounts of those who worked with Assange he was a beast and allegedly no joy for whom to work.

Assange I suspect, but have no evidence of this, was paid by Russia and had a hand in the electoral 2016 cabal. I am politically left of center BUT that does not mean I am willing to look the other way when it comes to nation states whose behavior is egregiously immoral and people like Assange do not do that or Snowden for that matter takes cover in Russia. In my opinion, it is a world where the lesser of evils must be taken into account. Putin and his oligarchic friends kill their opposition with mind numbing cruelty and invade neighboring nations to rule with an iron fist. I would like someone like Glenn Greenwald or Noam Chomsky for once to be an equal opportunity employer and call out a nation like Russia or Saudi Arabia and many more whose behavior is worthy of scorn!  Going on RT (Russia TV) and proclaiming Assange's innocence is laughable and more laughable is Putin proclaiming Assange's capture was a violation of freedom of the press.  Hah! Putin is no civil libertarian. Go there, criticize Putin, and see which area of Siberia you end up or worse and most probably so you will end up dead killed in Saudia Arabian brutal form.

I say follow the money. Assange stole classified information and it has been alleged got paid mucho dolares to release it and worse played into Trump's hands. Oh how Trump loved Wikileaks he said 160 times. That alone puts Assange in the unethical dumpster!

Yes, it is a cruel world and a spy vs. spy world. The US must play that game too and be protective of itself to survive. I'll take the US any day over so many others most especially Russia but I want to take it WITHOUT the democracy destroying Trump!

White House proposed releasing immigrant detainees in sanctuary cities, targeting political foes+ my short comment

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/white-house-proposed-releasing-immigrant-detainees-in-sanctuary-cities-targeting-political-foes/2019/04/11/72839bc8-5c68-11e9-9625-01d48d50ef75_story.html?utm_term=.d2e0aae9fdc8&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

My Comment Trump is a bastard! He is the worst president in US history bar none. Something has to be done as he is leaving this nation unsecured vacancies everywhere. He knows nothing about anything. He cares NOTHING of homeland security but wants to penalize those who are the neediest. Christ would be leading Sanctuary Cities.

Trump is the evil ANTI-Christ who needs to be taken down by the Republicans who staggeringly support him and the worst of the worst policies and department heads who know nothing about the department they lead. He lies ALL the time. He is a corrupt conman who has taken his base for the ride of the century.  He is a beast and Dems better get the gd word out and do it FAST or you will be seeing him for god forbid four more years ruling over the death of our Republic.

Perhaps Israel will be an option for me if the unthinkable happens. RESIST AND GET OUT THE GD VOTE!

In a heartbeat

Allow me the privilege of copying and pasting the essence of one of our best Democratic candidates who both served in Iraq and is also a Rhodes Scholar.  It is a bit lengthy but I ask you to read it because elections matter and it is important.  I will have a short comment about it below.  Please feel free to share.

Pete Buttigieg got this question from CNN's Jake Tapper: "If elected President, you would have the most military experience of a commander-in-chief since George H.W. Bush, who fought in WWII. Barack Obama didn't have any military experience. Does it matter? It's certainly an important part of your biography, and we honor it, but does it matter as a part of your resume for President that you serve?"
Pete: "I think so. I don't mean to say that you have to have served in the military to be eligible to run, but I do think that it brings a lot of perspective. First of all, again, you can never lose touch with why politics matters, with why it matters who's sitting at that desk. When you have had the experience of writing a letter and then putting it in an envelope marked 'just in case', and putting it where you know your family can find it, and packing your bags and leaving, you have a sense of the gravity and the weight of the decisions that are made in the White House. But there's something else about serving that I think the generation of George HW Bush and JFK experienced, which is that it brings you together with other Americans. When I got into the vehicle - a big part of my job was just driving and guarding vehicles on movements around Kabul, or occasionally between Kabul and Bagram. You know, when somebody got in my car, my vehicle, they didn't care whether I was a Republican or a Democrat, they didn't care if I was going home to a girlfriend or a boyfriend. They wanted to know if I was doing my job well and if I could keep them safe, and we learned to trust each other with our lives, even though our politics and our lives back home were so different. And I think we need to get back to that. It shouldn't require going to war to get that. But one reason I'm a big believer in expanding opportunities for national service is that we need more common experiences, in this world that's divvied up into Twittersphere bubbles and ideological echo chambers, we need more of those experiences that can bring us together even when we have nothing in common except the fact that we're American."

My Comment:  To have a chief executive who has not only the ability to fight but the ability to empathize with the heart of his/her nation that liberated Europe nearly 75 years ago; a nation and its military which was staggered by the carnage of what our men saw with incredulous eyes and then freed with the help of a commander in chief whose values convinced a nation that democracy was worth fighting for. Those values are the thread that weaves the common quilt of America. A president, yes, needs a hard fist, but also needs a soft heart. This man has it all. A Rhodes scholar brilliant but the understanding of the working and middle class too. He has the ability to rise out of his own being and relate to the experience of others especially those who understand what it is like by an accident of birth not to have been born into riches or if he has then the ability to relate to those who have not. I would vote for him in a heartbeat.

Sunday service unites parishioners after three historic black churches go up in flames

Not just a coincidence!  I hope I am wrong but I  suspect I am not!   RESIST,

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sunday-service-unites-parishioners-after-three-historic-black-churches-go-n991876?fbclid=IwAR1HobB6uQtmCJUnbkILtbBkgxHViBz99PaK79BRyz9yVyRr0a6dkd26Fbc

In Dramatic Shift, Netanyahu Vows To Annex West Bank Settlements If Re-Elected

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/netanyahu-annex-west-bank-election_n_5ca95261e4b047edf95b4a0b

This is insanity and spells eternal war.  It is a political move on Drumpf's part to get the Jewish vote. This Jew says NO don't fall for it. Drumpf is as anti Semitic as he is anti Black. He is racist to the core and is shaking hands with Netanyahu the Belligerent because he thinks he will get the Jewish vote. Drumpf would NEVER get my vote and he WON'T get the majority of the Jewish vote. Here's hoping this vile handshake spells doom for Netanyahu the Corrupt. Birds of a feather!

Film recommendation--GREEN BOOK

I just LOVED this film. Send a copy to Trump, et al they need it. Black lives DO matter. They matter a lot! Never give up, never give in

RESIST AS YOU HAVE NEVER RESISTED BEFORE!

• Never Forget: Shwerner, Chaney & Goodman. They did NOT die in vain!

                                                                                                                                                   

The Truth -- Barr's folly

The plot just thickened on William Barr and the Mueller report

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/04/plot-just-thickened-mueller-report/?utm_term=.1bf4fecff928&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

 I have been posting on FB and on various blogs my frustration with the Barr so called "summary" of Mueller's Report ruling the day.   Barr clearly is a Trump lackey, does not want to make the same mistake the previous Attorney General Sessions made and is doing his best to propagandize the Mueller report to suit Trump's wishes making Trump's victory laps possible. 

I have been saying because this is so and because Barr is ignoring Congress's request and threatened subpoena of the Mueller Report that Muller and/or his Team should make an end run around Barr's bar and release the Report in its entirety now, not tomorrow, not in weeks but now.  The American people want it and they paid millions for it.  Clearly the Mueller Team is springing leaks because they are consummately frustrated with Barr's coughing up the Party line to make Trump look good and able to take his courtly bows.  Victory laps are not in order and probably will never be.   Trump is probably guiltier then his victory laps suggest.

Mueller and his Team have copies of their unredacted report which I hope they will submit to Congress forthwith.  Clearly, it is not the whitewash of the Barr summary absolving the President of guilt at least with respect to Russian collusion and certainly not with respect to obstruction of justice.  Barr's action, to say the least, is unacceptable.  Barr is thwarting the will of Congress and the people.  He should be stopped immediately.  For Barr to think his own report "summary" of the Mueller Report will suffice is abject folly.   The American public demand, for once, the truth and Mueller can provide it!