tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74650723911997605602024-03-19T03:05:18.223-05:00The Wifely Person SpeaksThe Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.comBlogger714125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-39258450955272522352024-03-18T21:21:00.004-05:002024-03-18T21:23:15.107-05:00TWO WORDS<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Watch Iran</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-54803420714480740492024-03-11T21:48:00.000-05:002024-03-11T21:48:22.781-05:00There Is No Accounting for Taste<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHYBqzqv5Z2kA3pMOad30pQgPLOjVEZEHdZLpv6S1UyjPI5j9CF-yh99ruspowjQo6iKy9FPfr1dEDFNAiwYCaq0iCl0xGIKuJK4tHcEFJnUuhsgS3dZdDFzTrWfLUNfAAD8SS92f2tdQ5W1hu31-JmP9gBY45SlqjLmgC_fI_kvhF7H-qPkTpb-HUubc" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="744" data-original-width="600" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHYBqzqv5Z2kA3pMOad30pQgPLOjVEZEHdZLpv6S1UyjPI5j9CF-yh99ruspowjQo6iKy9FPfr1dEDFNAiwYCaq0iCl0xGIKuJK4tHcEFJnUuhsgS3dZdDFzTrWfLUNfAAD8SS92f2tdQ5W1hu31-JmP9gBY45SlqjLmgC_fI_kvhF7H-qPkTpb-HUubc=w133-h164" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">I suppose everyone wants to talk about the Oscars. I've seen a few of the nominated films, hope to see a few more, but will go on record as saying I cannot abide Emma Stone as an actor. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Seriously, I have hated just about everything she's been in, and at the top of my list is <b>La La Land</b>, her other Oscar winning turn. (Okay, I liked <b>THE HELP</b> but thought <i>she</i> was hopelessly miscast.) I may be alone in this, and I'm okay with that, but I think she has a plasticine face that has two expressions: eyes wide open, and puppy-eyes about to cry. She has no range, no passion, she squeaks, and she is boring. Jump on me about this all you will, but I would not cast her as an extra. I will probably see <b>POOR THINGS</b> some time this week. If I change my mind about her, I will let you know. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On the other hand, I saw <b>KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON </b>and thought Lily Gladstone was brilliant. Let's all hope we get to see a lot more of her work.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One film I definitely want to see is <b>ZONE OF INTEREST, </b>mostly because it's from such a different perspective. What I did not appreciate was the subsequent misrepresentation of Jonathan Glazer's speech:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaLNebs7UvIiE2kKvXvSCGG6b0M1qGzm07GdSPUD0H2NOJWTyCDpZAkUM9JX2MpTdDH0oj9MSMyvRASNk3-MLQdLEyh1Dg5FPHW6HgGPdhWt0sg9KwjwHvb3j0XWj8Jxl1sHxRqMYEXloxWksCRnpX3bvIic7_GBK92G6FO_ZozQ-JflBf5ZZLX_buKdU" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="451" data-original-width="457" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaLNebs7UvIiE2kKvXvSCGG6b0M1qGzm07GdSPUD0H2NOJWTyCDpZAkUM9JX2MpTdDH0oj9MSMyvRASNk3-MLQdLEyh1Dg5FPHW6HgGPdhWt0sg9KwjwHvb3j0XWj8Jxl1sHxRqMYEXloxWksCRnpX3bvIic7_GBK92G6FO_ZozQ-JflBf5ZZLX_buKdU=w132-h131" width="132" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Jonathan Glazer</span></td></tr></tbody></table><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">All our choices we made to reflect and confront us in the present, Not to say ‘look what they did then’ — rather, ‘look what we do now.’ Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst. It shaped all of our past and present. </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza — all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?</span></i></span></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Glazer is <b><i>not </i></b>refuting his Jewishness, nor the Holocaust. He is saying what many of us are saying, that <i>using</i> our Jewishness and the Holocaust as some kind of screwed up rationale for what is happening in Israel and in Gaza is antithetical to who we are as a people and as Zionists who believe we have a right to live in our own country.. Based on the anti-government demonstrations in Israel, I suspect most Israelis share that view. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Those who hate Jews use the Holocaust to discredit the right of Israel to exist on our own land. Yes, we say "never again," but conflating that stand with bombing Gaza is just intolerably inaccurate. The birth of the State of Israel came out of the ashes of the Holocaust, but our right to live on our own land in our own country is over 4000 years old. To compare Gaza to the Holocaust is to give credence to the idea that Israel wishes to murder all the people living there and take over the land. Again, ongoing demonstrations in the streets against the radical right of Netanyahu's government demonstrates the exact opposite. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Instead of jumping to inaccurate conclusions, the mouthpieces of major Jewish institutions would have done well to actually read what the guy said, then quote him accurately. I cannot imagine they support the slaughter in Gaza. No one in their right mind wants more civilians to die. That's not Jewish. That's not who we are. And right now, I don't think the government of Israel represents who we are as a people, either. <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In other news...</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="453" data-original-width="584" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLqzyvk2M4VJcUAXJQnyyJa2mDzaWwBgwilvWl9O48WCgMZu2FrVSPGAUsnsrOJ3ZEXmW_YQnDAkD4GGR-HrGiGUDerUxbGUl7RIJmd1r_Vn7tlKzPNYcOR9WrrQgVgkhN5iYYHnGsVwmfAtaxtogv3P3LLBeud-y944EFQklWCxmeK4CF55TJztUr8ck=w175-h136" width="175" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Mark Robinson </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Jeff Jackson won his primary for North Carolina Attorney General by a significant margin even with all the dark money poured into his opponent's campaign. This is a really good thing because the guy running as the GOP candidate for governor, Mark Robinson, is a few cards short of a full deck. He's running on a party line not unlike the one Hershel Walker used in the Georgia senate race. Feckless Loser loves him and during a rally in NC, said he was</span><i style="font-family: arial;"> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: arial;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i></i></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>...M</i></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>artin Luther King on steroids...I told that to Mark. I said, ‘I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.’</i></span></span></div></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Robinson, a long time fan of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, has used his platform to admit to wanting to go back another time. At a Moms for Liberty event last July, he told those moms:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><blockquote style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Whether you’re talking about Adolf Hitler, whether you’re talking about Chairman Mao, whether you’re talking about Stalin, whether you’re talking about Pol Pot, whether you’re talking about Castro in Cuba, or whether you’re talking about a dozen other despots all around the globe, it is time for us to get back and start reading some of those quotes,"</span></span></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Robinson is also a vociferous Holocaust denier:</span></p><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><i>...this foolishness about Hitler disarming MILLIONS of Jews and then marching them off to concentration camps is a bunch of hogwash.</i></span></span></div></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This guy also thinks transgender women should be arrested if they use a women's bathroom and should, instead, go leave the building to relieve themselves:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; text-align: start;"><i>If you are confused, find a corner outside somewhere to go.</i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Crimson Text", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span><i> </i></span></span></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And he longs to return to an earlier, simpler time:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><i></i></span></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn’t vote. Do you know why? Because in those days, we had people who fought for real social change, and they were called Republicans.</span></i></span></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh, yeah....Robinson is running against current NC state Attorney General, Josh Stein. Yup, you read that right. He's Jewish.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">North Carolina, y'all better elect Jeff Johnson cuz y'all gonna need strong AG if Robinson wins.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, back at the ranch....</span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I took an impromptu meeting with the ground last Thursday. Thankfully, it was spongy from all the fine weather we've been having, so I am relatively unscathed. That means nothing broke, not even my glasses which do need an adjustment. My nose is kinda scraped, but nothing grotesque. My torso, however, is another story. Just like <a href="https://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/2022/08/wanna-see-my-vacay-pictures.html">my not-so-flying leap in Boston</a> a couple of years ago, I bruised my right side. Why this hurts to beat the band is a mystery to me, but arnica gel and a rotation of Tylenol, aspirin, Advil, and Aleve make movement reasonably okay. That means I'm not screaming in agony every time I try to get outta the bed in the morning. <br /></span></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While this is all Bialy's fault...she got excited because Poodle Puppy Lucy was returning from her walk...I cannot fault her post-flop behavior. With me for a sleepover, she was incredibly attentive...as in glued to my leg... the rest of the night, and again in the morning. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">She is such a limpet; she insisted on sleeping spooned up against me. Normally, I don't mind having the body on the bed, but she insists on sleeping tight...ergo pushing me off the bed. </span></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEho9o_UV-AfBXaGcc8jRB7zFoic9dsrEAXGK15OG_Wzig3fAt4zA35PEaRcclL0i791iRXPkBNBKyFbRhnRdAtPJmoCy7ox8F8joNQqEHJq3B1hKYoHfAx2ZZ1SnoEvg21dnKXYXp8FyimSBvtfz_4HOhvKAJDkxkfOhX_2zF5SBFNBrzeLgtIshTfh9yg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img data-original-height="734" data-original-width="893" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEho9o_UV-AfBXaGcc8jRB7zFoic9dsrEAXGK15OG_Wzig3fAt4zA35PEaRcclL0i791iRXPkBNBKyFbRhnRdAtPJmoCy7ox8F8joNQqEHJq3B1hKYoHfAx2ZZ1SnoEvg21dnKXYXp8FyimSBvtfz_4HOhvKAJDkxkfOhX_2zF5SBFNBrzeLgtIshTfh9yg=w155-h128" width="155" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">My grandpuppy returns for a whole week with Savata on Thursday while her family heads off on spring break. By the grace of timely gigs, the Senior Son is coming in so I will have back-up for poop-doody. (Yeah, that's weak.) If you're wondering why she doesn't go to a boarding kennel, ask yourself this: would you send your 98 year old grandma who thinks she's 20 to a trampoline park? Well, Bialy is 98 in dog years, but thinks otherwise when outside. No dog camp for you, Miss B!</span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Spending time with Bialy is precious to me. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>I'm so glad she's coming for the week. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6kRYiktgbNC3XHr16kkCxffXAD5xTuveloyiRcc-etouD3e9QZ7AaI1hO1fThCnUJ4Ed8w0TQAK2hpENUXaX-g-2QM-9deuntes8ow7v5_PKJPvFeyQjpdeFfQjGTaUbtDPTMgrjcKDn0aOnPzhgFPrTmr4o5VaISYUzoxL2GatmDbGY2RwhAMlMSggo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="720" data-original-width="540" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6kRYiktgbNC3XHr16kkCxffXAD5xTuveloyiRcc-etouD3e9QZ7AaI1hO1fThCnUJ4Ed8w0TQAK2hpENUXaX-g-2QM-9deuntes8ow7v5_PKJPvFeyQjpdeFfQjGTaUbtDPTMgrjcKDn0aOnPzhgFPrTmr4o5VaISYUzoxL2GatmDbGY2RwhAMlMSggo=w150-h200" width="150" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">FIL and Baby Bialystock</span><br /></i></span></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-46128242875228604782024-03-04T22:41:00.004-06:002024-03-05T09:27:45.181-06:00An Open Letter to SCOTUS<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dear Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHWcC6e0aV-3J7334GPeXK7Iz3iWjkAl-SyrjEarF3N17NE7H2QlnugBd_p_CBqZ423uhKHcWPUKldbV61W3u0cLrUriC0Yi01DO7Agqhnv64zAwHDwfFRTEprtraqXUtanVXbEDKSpOI5ICDzdJZRKGhl-Kh8-rcwXmTldyMAsH5K00rQWcCBhJ4uJ-Y" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1714" data-original-width="1072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHWcC6e0aV-3J7334GPeXK7Iz3iWjkAl-SyrjEarF3N17NE7H2QlnugBd_p_CBqZ423uhKHcWPUKldbV61W3u0cLrUriC0Yi01DO7Agqhnv64zAwHDwfFRTEprtraqXUtanVXbEDKSpOI5ICDzdJZRKGhl-Kh8-rcwXmTldyMAsH5K00rQWcCBhJ4uJ-Y" width="150" /></a></div>In 7th grade, we learned about checks and balances. Keeping in mind that I am a baby-boomer, the first generation after World War II and living amongst a great number of people with numbers tattooed on their arms, I thought checks and balances were the only way to prevent another attempt at genocide because the Supreme Court would uphold the Constitution to protect all citizens, not just a preferred few. I totally believed with a 7th grader's fervor that our representatives represented <i><b>all</b></i> of us when they sat in those two august chambers. That once someone was sworn in as POTUS, he was responsible for the good and welfare of all Americans because he couldn't possibly get elected if he wasn't an honest and upstanding kinda guy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But we weren't blind to the issues of governance. We studied the Civil War. We learned about Reconstruction. We were in New York, so we knew what was on the Statue of Liberty and that when they talked about huddled masses yearning to breathe free, they were talking about a lot of our grandparents. It was all very close to home. Our teachers told us what happened in Germany could NOT happen here because we had checks and balances built into our Constitution. And when push came to shove, the Supreme Court, an apolitical, unbiased institution would have the determining say on what could and could not legally be done. The Supreme Court was established to protect We, the People from those who would behave in unscrupulous ways. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/constitutional.aspx">website for The Supreme Court</a> states: [highlights are mine.]</div><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify;"><i>The Supreme Court is "distinctly American in concept and function," as Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes observed. Few other courts in the world have the same authority of constitutional interpretation and none have exercised it for as long or with as much influence. In 1835, the French political observer Alexis de Tocqueville noted the unique position of the Supreme Court in the history of nations and of jurisprudence. "The representative system of government has been adopted in several states of Europe," he remarked, "but I am unaware that any nation of the globe has hitherto organized a judicial power in the same manner as the Americans. . . . A more imposing judicial power was never constituted by any people."</i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Source Sans Pro", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">The unique position of the Supreme Court stems, in large part, from the deep commitment of the American people to the Rule of Law and to constitutional government. The United States has demonstrated an unprecedented determination to preserve and protect its written Constitution, thereby providing the American "experiment in democracy" with the oldest written Constitution still in force.</span><span face=""Source Sans Pro", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">The complex role of the Supreme Court in this system derives from its authority to invalidate legislation or executive actions which, in the Court’s considered judgment, conflict with the Constitution. </span><span face=""Source Sans Pro", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><b>This power of "judicial review" has given the Court a crucial responsibility in assuring individual rights, as well as in maintaining a "living Constitution" whose broad provisions are continually applied to complicated new situations.</b></span></i></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Why have you abandoned We, the People?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You took away the right of women to determine how our bodies are to be used. You took away the right of parents to choose the life of the mother over the life of the fetus. (<em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left; transition-duration: 0.3s; transition-property: box-shadow, text-shadow, position, display, background-color, min-height, max-height, opacity;"><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/19-1392" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #820263; text-decoration-color: rgb(130, 2, 99); transition: all 0.25s ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization</a></em><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;">,)</span></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;">You refused to rein in Citizens United, thereby putting our elections on the auction block for anyone to spend unlimited amounts to buy votes, thereby overturning precedents dating back 100 years set by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillman_Act_of_1907">Tillman Act of 1907.</a> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;">You refuse to take up the issue of ethics when it comes to personal behavior exhibited by members of the court, most noticeably Justice Clarence Thomas whose purchase price appears to be in reach of several of his robber-baron friends. The corollary issue of Mrs. Thomas' attempts to overturn the election has not yielded any sort of censure from that body. A shocking lack of ethics amongst the justices is not news. In fact, policing/monitoring their personal behavior has, for years, been a buried issue. Everyone knows it's an issue and it remains tidily under the rug. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;">And now, you are working overtime to make sure Feckless Loser is re-elected. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;">Let me clarify one thing: the states do NOT have the power or the discretion to remove him from the ballot. His name must appear. That's a given. But delaying the hearings on his immunity and instigation of the insurrection absolutely ensures the cases won't be heard/resolved before the conventions, and in turn, a convicted felon may very well be the GOP nominee. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a0d1a; text-align: left;">And then what happens? Let's say the trials are delayed until after the election and Feckless Loser becomes Feckless Leader Part Two? If he is a convicted felon, he cannot serve, according to the <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-3/">14th Amendment, Section 3</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><h3 id="14_S3" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Disqualification from Holding Office</span></i></h3><div class="clause" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="color: red;">No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President,</span></b> or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.</i></p></div></blockquote><p>What happens if you delay the hearings and trials for so long that the election takes place and he wins? Do you think he's gonna stand around with his finger up his butt waiting for the paddy wagon to Club Fed? Or, do you think he's capable of summoning <i>his personal </i>military with an eye to suspension of the Constitution? </p><p>Justices of the Supreme Court: guide us; tell us what YOU think is going to happen? Or are you already prepping your retirement on some Caribbean jewel where the agony and disarray that has become America cannot touch you?</p><p>To say I am disappointed in The Supreme Court would be a supreme understatement. I get that this is a highly polarized nation. I understand there is a giant disconnect between the Democrats and the Republicans. I grok the concept that there are three branches of government as designed by the drafters of the Constitution. That division and limitation of powers is supposed to protect us, but you are abrogating your responsibility. You patently ignore the will of the people in light of settled law and then you stage a paper coup to make sure that a candidate with a predisposition to act solely on his own behalf can retake the Oval office.</p><p>What is wrong with you people?</p><p>Recent polls show confidence in the Supreme Court to be at an all-time low. Just for shits and giggles, here are some numbers from the <a href="https://law.marquette.edu/poll/2024/02/20/new-marquette-law-school-national-survey-finds-approval-of-u-s-supreme-court-at-40-public-split-on-removal-of-trump-from-ballot/">Marquette Law School national survey on the Supreme Court</a>:<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuHlszDttqvnB-ixU428cupjfbDshSr28umGjpGxSxytGSrZ6Aq5l69tRdVfgCsvXoHvwCe16LtJijiR1MkcUWmsFc4RKf3mH0PMVuNqKGTHYu-htn2YrZ2MQ070IWwdnG_8YVe7kt7Uk5h-TxLJLMtPwVeRYwVwmoVyzB68UlYMn4CrGqGnuzC2ZUt0U" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1754" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuHlszDttqvnB-ixU428cupjfbDshSr28umGjpGxSxytGSrZ6Aq5l69tRdVfgCsvXoHvwCe16LtJijiR1MkcUWmsFc4RKf3mH0PMVuNqKGTHYu-htn2YrZ2MQ070IWwdnG_8YVe7kt7Uk5h-TxLJLMtPwVeRYwVwmoVyzB68UlYMn4CrGqGnuzC2ZUt0U=w400-h243" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnfrMBTwm5CFCLclgxTGd7iF4quZefChGMdAPoEOv2uFb3nV7xAQ47kUsZQ7zMaGZHxFrJTZYzNGHiflAnBxwmD4hu-LcIza8A8R5II6ke9UszqVwhyctRzzUWqxuU52j_RTcKaXVA6-eifdYsXqtd5u_4yaP27wxPJCx90haUmB8d8kz2gv60gcrAO4s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1754" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnfrMBTwm5CFCLclgxTGd7iF4quZefChGMdAPoEOv2uFb3nV7xAQ47kUsZQ7zMaGZHxFrJTZYzNGHiflAnBxwmD4hu-LcIza8A8R5II6ke9UszqVwhyctRzzUWqxuU52j_RTcKaXVA6-eifdYsXqtd5u_4yaP27wxPJCx90haUmB8d8kz2gv60gcrAO4s=w400-h239" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgs2BBwVRQWCuCf6a2nNHVGMjnII6icGKwH6e_GQW7xjGG9wNS56kLhSEeyAVKSYTattV05gczfQSl5r56rVI431mcdHA4j1loLP2kp7WwEb6BTsM7lH72SNcA6qFbJWKaIbrX4QtdwW6DsnsNLcyASd707oeC2ylKOOUCF8ZCurV77jaNL_7ljV_B3joA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1754" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgs2BBwVRQWCuCf6a2nNHVGMjnII6icGKwH6e_GQW7xjGG9wNS56kLhSEeyAVKSYTattV05gczfQSl5r56rVI431mcdHA4j1loLP2kp7WwEb6BTsM7lH72SNcA6qFbJWKaIbrX4QtdwW6DsnsNLcyASd707oeC2ylKOOUCF8ZCurV77jaNL_7ljV_B3joA=w400-h239" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And the kicker:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmkFg0XceZoVFJMYMHBnm1pmxIPrpCHjAjXW0EjgRLbfZA0xHA1bPVCEw676adyjlihtIs545u6MIRYpbhKBPay-nK14ohhNRHKt11T2s0ESoxrrk5u33UcPhkELyIdMQMeds_ruc_I_Yk1ClrC20t8afPsTiFR2ehrFBuAonxTns-tjJntNs71e5-KWg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1754" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmkFg0XceZoVFJMYMHBnm1pmxIPrpCHjAjXW0EjgRLbfZA0xHA1bPVCEw676adyjlihtIs545u6MIRYpbhKBPay-nK14ohhNRHKt11T2s0ESoxrrk5u33UcPhkELyIdMQMeds_ruc_I_Yk1ClrC20t8afPsTiFR2ehrFBuAonxTns-tjJntNs71e5-KWg=w400-h239" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can see for yourself We, the People, are not thrilled with you. That's because you're supposed to be looking out for all of us, not just your preferred political ideologues. We, the People, understand we might disagree with some of your rulings, but repealing settled law is not in our best interest. The majority of Americans have serious issue with the Dobbs ruling. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin1vDCpxffVhZ5yEQTtIMR1qguIXVJG8RzHlShMNMSU2nqZpZoqeqKWkwIt-WerpiJJqla0rokI2L1X1b1LnLeO3uCbzZ4rpEvlbMddS58MJ5RFenFpYQmANPX_7X7Dxgu0M1-XFAAnXRmrQ759YSwBszIW5eGZvQxvNnUqyWkpDy8MrnhjeJqFaK-ncQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="1202" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin1vDCpxffVhZ5yEQTtIMR1qguIXVJG8RzHlShMNMSU2nqZpZoqeqKWkwIt-WerpiJJqla0rokI2L1X1b1LnLeO3uCbzZ4rpEvlbMddS58MJ5RFenFpYQmANPX_7X7Dxgu0M1-XFAAnXRmrQ759YSwBszIW5eGZvQxvNnUqyWkpDy8MrnhjeJqFaK-ncQ" width="320" /></a></div>Now, all of that aside, allow me to make a recommendation: Clean. Up. Your. Act. Get your ethics house in order first and fast, then start looking out for the rest of us: get those immunity and insurrection hearings up, moving, transparent, and at the very least, transcript available to We, the People. We, the People, deserve to know if this guy is gonna attempt to overthrow the government. And We, the People, need to be prepared.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do you really want to be known as <b><i>The Last Court: The OneThat Failed America</i></b>? I hope not, but folks, you are heading down that road at a pretty scary speed.</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Respectfully submitted,</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Wifely Person</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>I want to believe We, the People,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>are capable of electing proper government. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Then again, I know better than to believe </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>the people behind the curtain.</i></div></div></div></div><p></p><p><br /></p></div></span></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-56702277352574052192024-02-26T22:53:00.004-06:002024-02-26T22:53:58.855-06:00There Is No Explanation<div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: arial;">An active duty Air Force guy self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C, on February 25th. He sent out a bunch of statements on social media about his forthcoming suicide, then live-streamed it. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/25/world/middleeast/israel-embassy-man-on-fire.html?">According to the New York Times</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jmc9WiCULDQ3gkBWi2gB88Mu0k7gS8ZvMb2om5HmK1Mc_v-h9F01XoRhHMtGIyunjkAHFUiAF5t6PaCJ2WlOg8P3MTZDu3IuallyG-4UJa30kM0bp6n14CBELsAVweUNOipuc0vye-agZiSE97FjTuABpgicPjpCGTwexQ-B_zqYlS1GtbeOsIX2S0o/s708/Screenshot%202024-02-26%20at%208.15.30%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="666" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jmc9WiCULDQ3gkBWi2gB88Mu0k7gS8ZvMb2om5HmK1Mc_v-h9F01XoRhHMtGIyunjkAHFUiAF5t6PaCJ2WlOg8P3MTZDu3IuallyG-4UJa30kM0bp6n14CBELsAVweUNOipuc0vye-agZiSE97FjTuABpgicPjpCGTwexQ-B_zqYlS1GtbeOsIX2S0o/w137-h146/Screenshot%202024-02-26%20at%208.15.30%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="137" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">“I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” a man says in the video, echoing language that opponents of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza have used to describe the war. “I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all.”</span></i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </i></div></i></blockquote><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i>Standing in front of the gates of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, he sets his phone down to douse himself in a clear liquid from a metal bottle. He then lights himself on fire while yelling, “Free Palestine!” until he falls to the ground.</i></p></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I cannot fathom why anyone one in their right mind would think this kind of martyrdom is useful. His death is basically meaningless in that he dies; he can no longer fight for his cause. America is fickle on a good day, callously uninterested on most days, so after the initial news report, no one cares. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WSlc6YvfYb7uyLGceOv896qcwLH-OICzAHwZFAl2yp67loqc8ybBhWcSvzh3RCylYJvS2YkBzbMg2OByTc_ULDQdo3nzHTusCVa3gcxV_b2SdDaXH_051H7f4uTIu6Su8fVFUppTAdXqxCT94_YmIDHReJ_Kxpdtp32MPQG4TxTHhNPVcZs-lDEtDD0/s708/Screenshot%202024-02-26%20at%208.22.11%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="666" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WSlc6YvfYb7uyLGceOv896qcwLH-OICzAHwZFAl2yp67loqc8ybBhWcSvzh3RCylYJvS2YkBzbMg2OByTc_ULDQdo3nzHTusCVa3gcxV_b2SdDaXH_051H7f4uTIu6Su8fVFUppTAdXqxCT94_YmIDHReJ_Kxpdtp32MPQG4TxTHhNPVcZs-lDEtDD0/w120-h128/Screenshot%202024-02-26%20at%208.22.11%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="120" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">The guy self-identifies on the video as Aaron Bushnell, 25, of San Antonio. Was he Muslim? Did he have family or other close ties to Gaza? If he's military, how does he not know martyrdom by suicide is basically pointless here? </span><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm not suggesting that he was not passionate about what was happening in Gaza. Clearly he was, but he was an American! How could he not know this is the home of the free to be apathetic? Did he think committing suicide while live streaming would actually change minds? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lots of us remember the days of self-immolating Buddhist monks during the Vietnam War era. And I remember asking my Dad about it. I'd seen photographs of burning monks and honestly? They terrified me. My dad explained that these people believed that sacrificing their lives in that way would help to bring about the end of the war. I asked how that would happen, hoping to find something I could latch onto. His answer, however, was less than satisfying. He said, "I don't know."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The horror experienced while watching his live stream (which has now been scrubbed from the internet) only lasts a few minutes. You can't unsee it. But we also know you can't unsee people being hunted in their houses and the streets by terrorists who live stream that. The difference is one is voluntary; the other is murder in cold blood. I get that it's a protest. I just can't see why anyone would think it would be useful.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But then again, useful isn't always very dramatic and clearly he was going for drama. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Y'know, that's a shortcut. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">We know what he said in his posts, but do we really know what he was thinking? I don't have to agree with his opinions or his passion to say if you wanna make a difference, you have to work at it. In Mr. Bushnell's case, it's </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Poof! He's gone. </i><span style="font-family: arial;"> Any good he might have done is over. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Talking to a friend in Israel this morning, I asked about Rafah. Her answer was, frankly, not surprising. "I'm losing my humanity over this." I don't blame her one bit; I know I'm losing mine. Hostages are yet to be released, UNRWA weapons caches are still being uncovered, and Hamas moves its population around their shrinking chessboard as human shields. Does it only stop when everyone is dead except the guys in Qatar?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I keep asking myself, <i>what happens when it is over? Does Hamas rearm and go for round 2? </i>Well, if Hamas is still controlling Gaza, you better believe they will rearm and attack again. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But where does this leave the Palestinian people? Still starving in squalor because their government will continue to spend all capital on tunnels and arms, never giving their people a thought about an economy to actually have a self-reliant state? Who is responsible for their well-being?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Google Sans Text", "Noto Naskh Arabic UI", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; text-align: start;"><i>Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." </i></span> </span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><span face=""Google Sans Text", "Noto Naskh Arabic UI", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; text-align: start;">Rita Mae Brown <i>in </i><b style="font-style: italic;">Sudden Death </b>(1983)</span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">For over 70 years, the Arab nations have been attacking Israel. Usually with armies, but not this time. The latest attempt to rid Israel of its indigenous inhabitants began on October 7th with an act of terror, not a declaration of war. There was no army involved...only marauders on motorcycles, in trucks, and cars murdering civilians in their homes, in their towns, and at a music festival. Attack, withdraw, repeat. Again and again and again. Insanity, no?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">But now, the world says Israel isn't entitled to defend itself and its citizens, that the genocide attempted and failed on October 7th was really Israeli terrorism. That's like saying Ukrainians are terrorists. The difference between Israel and Ukraine is that Israel has been fighting to survive 70+ years. Give the Ukraine a little more time and before you know it, people will be protesting on behalf of the Russians. Wait for it, folks. It's coming. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, back at the ranch...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The news from North Carolina is curiouser and curiouser. My favorite soon to be ex-congressclown, Jeff Jackson, posted a video about possible tampering with the primaries in his state. Take a moment to listen before you read the rest. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="221" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ts7pa0SZTtw" width="266" youtube-src-id="ts7pa0SZTtw"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Remember this name:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>And Justice For All PAC. </i><a href="https://www.wral.com/story/secretive-conservative-groups-spending-big-to-influence-nc-democratic-primaries/21297705/">From WRAL News:</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>As North Carolina’s 2024 primary elections heat up, it appears that at least hundreds of thousands of dollars have begun pouring in to influence some key races on the Democratic side from an unlikely source: Secretive outside groups tied to top Republican leaders.</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The Democratic primary for attorney general pits U.S. Rep. <a href="https://www.wral.com/story/jeff-jackson-nc-congressman-drawn-out-of-his-seat-will-run-for-nc-attorney-general-to-fight-political-corruption/21115982/" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #2594e3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Jeff Jackson</a> against Durham District Attorney <a href="https://www.wral.com/story/durham-da-jumps-into-nc-attorney-general-s-race/21143198/" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #2594e3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Satana Deberry </a>and Tim Dunn, a lawyer from Fayetteville.On Friday Jackson accused an outside group — which has been heavily promoting Deberry as the more progressive candidate in the race — of being a fake liberal group that’s actually backed by GOP interests, based on <a href="https://www.wfae.org/politics/2024-02-19/mysterious-super-pac-promotes-durham-da-satana-deberrys-campaign-for-attorney-general" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #2594e3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">a report</a> by Charlotte public radio station WFAE.</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“It is now on track to spend $1 million just to beat me in the primary,” Jackson said in a social media video Friday. “But here's the kicker: It's funded by the other party. So I'm now running in a primary where the top spender isn't me or my opponent, it's the other party.” <span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"> </span></i></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Jackson, Deberry and Dunn are running to replace Democrat Josh Stein, who’s running for governor to replace term-limited Gov. Roy Cooper, a fellow Democrat. The winner in the Democratic attorney general primary will face Republican U.S. Rep. <a href="https://www.wral.com/story/u-s-rep-dan-bishop-says-he-ll-run-for-nc-attorney-general/20983972/" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #2594e3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Dan Bishop</a> in the general election. Bishop is running unopposed.<span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"> </span></i></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Deberry criticized Jackson for attributing the mailers backing her candidacy to a secret GOP operation, noting that there's not currently any indication of who paid for the effort.<span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"> </span></i></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"As any candidate for attorney general should know, it's wildly irresponsible to make assumptions about the source of funding without proof," she said.</i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>There’s no direct proof the group behind the pro-Deberry ads, the And Justice For All PAC, is backed by Republicans. In part that’s because almost nothing is publicly known about it. The group only formed this month and has yet to submit paperwork that could show who’s funding it, or other identifying information. The political action committee’s physical address leads to a mail center in Washington, D.C., and its phone number goes straight to voicemail. The group’s listed contact did not respond to a request for comment.<span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"> </span></i></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>But there are some clues about who is behind it.<span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"> </span></i></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">The small, niche bank in Virginia it uses was founded by a former Republican U.S. senator and media reports indicate it serves a clientele </span><a href="https://richmond.com/candidates-stashing-cash-in-small-mclean-bank/article_1acd86f8-18d6-5035-aeed-f151a231659b.html%C2%A0" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #2594e3; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">made up largely of Republican politicians</a><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"> and political groups. The PAC’s ad buyer is Political Communications Advertising, which public records show has worked almost exclusively for Republican clients in the past — mostly the National Republican Congressional Committee, a group run by U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina and a colleague of both Bishop and Jackson in Congress.</span> </i></span></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; text-align: start;">While that PAC is seeking to bolster the more progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for attorney general, a separate dark money group with deep ties to GOP leadership at the state level is taking the opposite tactic.</i></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And you thought Putin was trying to buy elections.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The problem with Jeff Jackson is that he keeps posting these videos about how government really works for transparency's sake. The GOP in NC damn well better be afraid of him if he wins the AG job.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Frankly, I think he should be running for president in 2028.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>If an opportunity arises to do something a little different, you should take it. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Like hosting an impromptu mah jongg game on a Monday </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>instead of writing the blog. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>It was more fun than you can possibly imagine...even if I did lose all my quarters. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2449" data-original-width="3012" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cbrfT4ObW9Dx4paYj4JAn83QwAbXklDaPesDf86jsI7kqM3StcL3yotb9WZOLzs0y9msgGFirS1k5MVkcCdFwGGQdYNb9CfKqzrbSR9W3DGhJiamt0h4PXf_eI-DQODlhNzNUkU0oW6kJGGH_7njTCV56X13_Fe6xy4IQrO7HYDueBA-D8x6BjHxB3w/w200-h163/1%20(2).jpeg" width="200" /></div></i></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-76715240359804815372024-02-19T22:39:00.003-06:002024-02-20T11:05:34.482-06:00To Make Or Break A Community? <div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUAvtQ063mAx3lmukBHhYa9kiZE5RMUeL5yxMTrB5eQB1XFRFoh577xnqzb9XEM9McQb3XR8AoDezJE9bxdfD02HcMuVz2p_Y-Iefsd6STkKdKl8rzSHoVqZryoldOTUtSNaZldPsrLCHo_9B8kLi95oLs103UinW6tp-gb4r4gTcT_uSjunx_KTkASM/s2048/Grand%20Ave.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUAvtQ063mAx3lmukBHhYa9kiZE5RMUeL5yxMTrB5eQB1XFRFoh577xnqzb9XEM9McQb3XR8AoDezJE9bxdfD02HcMuVz2p_Y-Iefsd6STkKdKl8rzSHoVqZryoldOTUtSNaZldPsrLCHo_9B8kLi95oLs103UinW6tp-gb4r4gTcT_uSjunx_KTkASM/w150-h200/Grand%20Ave.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit - D. Getsug</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Today, our beloved Grand Avenue in Saint Paul was papered over with signs. Not the signs we are used to seeing these days, but pictures of Gaza children with the label <i style="font-weight: bold;">MURDERED by Israel. </i>The text on the flyers is very interesting and bears closer scrutiny:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;">
<p class="gmail-p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Since its creation in 1948, Israel has committed the most atrocious crimes on the Palestinian population. Murders and brutalities that extend far beyond October 7th.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></i></p></blockquote></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;">
<p class="gmail-p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>As the world silently watches a systematic genocide, we will continue to raise our voices and our stories - of murder,</i></span></p>
<p class="gmail-p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>mutilation, targeted attacks of civilians, and the grim reality of a</i></span></p>
<p class="gmail-p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">ruthless and bloody apartheid</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></i></p></blockquote></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;">
<p class="gmail-p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Spread the truth. Change the narrative. Take a photo.</i></span></p>
<p class="gmail-p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Palestinians have every right to their land.</i></span></p>
<p class="gmail-p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Palestinians have every right to resist.</i></span></p></blockquote></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Spread the truth? Change the narrative? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What narrative would you like? One that buries the history of the region? Instead, how about facing historically verified the truth and confronting your own historically inaccurate narrative?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Israel was created in 1948? They left off the BCE part. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdD86oizW1GhWde6rclmiAa34J8QfUjFubIr-uyHgxOQkyUUQyq_ZzuKK_TQJNsrGuuBUPm7Qu0DXcRl044holb6Hz9Afv5fv3VLcWfB__WjJRkg-bCTp4vfQSnka397Sf4f5A37QPiZ52Z_tPRoCUt0FkElA8MGdP5rWoh-VA6cvV8Qvn2iHKlg3iPuc/s1670/map.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1670" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdD86oizW1GhWde6rclmiAa34J8QfUjFubIr-uyHgxOQkyUUQyq_ZzuKK_TQJNsrGuuBUPm7Qu0DXcRl044holb6Hz9Afv5fv3VLcWfB__WjJRkg-bCTp4vfQSnka397Sf4f5A37QPiZ52Z_tPRoCUt0FkElA8MGdP5rWoh-VA6cvV8Qvn2iHKlg3iPuc/w400-h246/map.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>Apartheid? Genocide? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How about ethnic cleansing? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They'll never mention the removal of Jews from Arab lands in 1948. Nope. They conveniently forgot about that housecleaning part. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sure, let's forget that since 1948 CE, the Arab countries en masse have been attacking our own indigenous population that is a tiny fraction of the population of the Levant....and can't manage to win. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A calendar that provides an emerging population with events to be celebrated as a unified community is the first step in creating a unified culture. The Hebrew calendar as set down in the Torah gives us our framework to be unified as a community. From shabbat to the biggies like Rosh HaShannah and the harvest trio, we observe momentous events together. This is true for any unified culture. Christians have Christmas and Easter, and a raft of smaller holy days. Islam has Ramadan, Hindus have a whole raft of holy days, the French have Bastille Day, the Welsh have St. David's Day, and the US has Thanksgiving and July 4th. Every country has a calendar. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In his novel, <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history. Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history. Before long that nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was... The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting. ~Milan Kundera">The Book of Laughter and Forgetting</a>, </i>Milan Kundera wrote:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><i><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; text-align: start; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history. Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a </span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; text-align: start; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit;" tabindex="-1"></a></span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; text-align: start; white-space-collapse: preserve;">new culture, invent a new history. Before long that nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was... The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting. </span></i></blockquote></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Isn't that exactly what that poster is doing? The creators deny the history of Israel, refuse to acknowledge that Judaism predates Islam by more than two thousand years, and take no responsibility for their part in keeping a government that uses their own people as human shields, denies humanitarian aid to the population, and openly robs their own population of a working economy that would bring stability...and quite probably statehood...to their own land. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I would present a very different version of truth: the Eben family of Ba'eri, Israel:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJeqkc98shNSP41PJ_7I4RDs5CkORCN5FEm4q_wkoxqjeCMg1J22OcsP2y8vJrvwH4U-j2KUdb0CC510Erer-7yGtDLJTP1hGhmuoLfayND6pkx1iVDQayYWx0s_aTo8eViRkAabtyO3Dom_-c10jSbgidukhrwhHov3kqeVraJpGGnP8I-_S0VPtsTA/s1104/1%20(2).jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="1104" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJeqkc98shNSP41PJ_7I4RDs5CkORCN5FEm4q_wkoxqjeCMg1J22OcsP2y8vJrvwH4U-j2KUdb0CC510Erer-7yGtDLJTP1hGhmuoLfayND6pkx1iVDQayYWx0s_aTo8eViRkAabtyO3Dom_-c10jSbgidukhrwhHov3kqeVraJpGGnP8I-_S0VPtsTA/w200-h199/1%20(2).jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Chen and his wife Rinat and their four children - Alon (16), Idan (14), Tomer (12) and Nir (8) - began to suffocate from the smoke, ran outside and hid in the bushes. They decided to lie in a pile to protect the children. Little Tomer and Nir laying down, with Alon and Ido on top of them and the parents on top of them.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">They were found and shot - Chen, Rinat, Ido and Alon were killed on the spot, while Tomer and Nir were saved. They hid quietly under the bodies of their family members, and in a moment of silence they ran to the window of a neighbor’s apartment and knocked on it. The neighbor opened it and pulled them both in, thus saving their lives.</span></i></span></blockquote></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Comparisons, as Miss Pease, our civics teacher, used to say, are odious, and comparing the tragedy of October 7th to the tragedy of Gaza probably is certainly odious. The genesis of one is really not comparable to the genesis of the other. People asleep in their beds and dancing at a music festival were hunted down, shot, tortured, raped, murdered. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The war came to Gaza with the hostages. Return the hostages, the war stops.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Still, one cannot dismiss the ponderous sadness and disconsolation of both. The children and civilians of Gaza did not ask to be human shields. They were unwitting participants in a battle they may have known little about. I'm certain had they known their leaders were living the high life safely in Qatar and some of the other states while their homes, school, and hospitals sat over miles of weaponized tunnels and armament command centers, they might have been concerned about their own safety. They expected UNRWA and other UN agencies to provide promised humanitarian aid, completely unaware that it was diverted to support Hamas operatives in a grand style. One can hardly blame them for swallowing and digesting all the propaganda fed to them and to their kids in school, blaming Israel and the West for their abhorrent conditions. Never mind that when they went to Israel for medical care, they were cared for just as any Israeli was cared for. But the poison was already in their veins, fed to them by Hamas. All those dead kids and civilians are a tragedy because they didn't have to die. Their leaders chose that fate for them. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Keep in mind that when Hamas held that fateful election in 2006, they ran on a platform of cleaning up corruption and establishing an economy. <a href="https://www.neareastconsulting.com/plc2006/blmain.html">The exit poll for that election</a> is a fascinating study of expectation vs reality. No sooner than Hamas had wrested control, they threw out the rest of the existing government to establish an Islamic state.There have been no real elections since; hence, no opportunity for Gaza to replace them. And beginning a new campaign to replace Hamas is the same as volunteering for a death sentence. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But the reality right now is Hamas controls Gaza and views its only objective to be the dismantling of Israel and the removal of Jews from their own homeland. On the other side of the fence, Israelis are working to get aid into Gaza. They are protesting the actions of their own government on behalf of the people of Gaza. They are NOT celebrating the deaths of Muslims caught in this horrendous war. And therein lies the biggest difference of all.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Only one group wants this war....and it ain't Jews. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluL-Uf1X5tG8VgdDs4BD1OKpRd7TLlS1caH6iRbiGXl6Fc0UD7I5dAvmKvguu5ZPKSvdBU1UeqKQNlSxpm_7S-LiU7xZKEoaJvlG3ewSFFvyUFa6ZeXB2HRr6zhejNj7lzIMtAwpK2L7a5XcaZTzhXANHkNHMFk36cEWKAd47g5h8Mgx-Zf0-wgqYUh4/s1228/Burnsville.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1228" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluL-Uf1X5tG8VgdDs4BD1OKpRd7TLlS1caH6iRbiGXl6Fc0UD7I5dAvmKvguu5ZPKSvdBU1UeqKQNlSxpm_7S-LiU7xZKEoaJvlG3ewSFFvyUFa6ZeXB2HRr6zhejNj7lzIMtAwpK2L7a5XcaZTzhXANHkNHMFk36cEWKAd47g5h8Mgx-Zf0-wgqYUh4/s320/Burnsville.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Meanwhile, b</span><a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/02/19/man-in-fatal-standoff-with-burnsville-police-paramedic-had-gun-rights-revoked" style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">ack in Minnesota, 2 cops and a fireman/EMT were killed </a><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">by a crazy barricaded in his house very early Sunday morning. The two cops were from the Burnsville Police Department, and the fireman/EMT guy was a member of the SWAT first responder team. The EMT guy was killed while tending to one of the fallen cops. You can read about it in the link above. Try not to vomit. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">The shooter had 7 kids in the house, 5 of them were his. In fact, he had been awarded 2/3 custody because he had a "stable, high paying" job. He had priors, as well as an injunction forbidding him to have guns. Like that mattered. According to his ex, the kids adored their dad yet he "invited" them to go with him when he killed himself. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Burnsville isn't far from me. I have friends who live there. It's a suburb like any other, full of just regular people going about their business....while having unfettered access to guns. How is that even possible? I just don't know. This town is shattered. But like everywhere else, nothing will come if it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Yeah, we don't have a gun problem in this country. People kill people.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">But here's the thing, We, the People are proving ourselves to be completely delusional when it comes to politics and politicians. No one is willing to stand up against the epidemic of people killing people. No one wants to confront a seditious old man who lies non-stop every time he's handed a mike. This is something so disturbing about this and I don't know which disgusts me more: the refusal of We, the People, to admit our lawmakers aren't doing their jobs, or that We, the People, keep re-electing them. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">You tell me.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><i><br />My Aunty Gladknit turns 95 this week</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><i>and to celebrate</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><i>she became a first time great-grandmother!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><i>Mazel tov, Aunty G!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4LNINneXkHAWkKUQk5WmLQGHr16wxRoa1rHcXX5SiuRlcGxI00sLcpwAW_DVSuqAuT_TIDmKb4RjEoE-O3e4ioNXelAJT95Bsyj0FYg4MXyP-cFwL9YyoaXGkdpa6aoViCn3My8k3TJf9-0T27WhZyPjNx_pmFHtnYr_RWn1d9-52InupdkOvv_u10M/s685/1%20(2).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="656" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4LNINneXkHAWkKUQk5WmLQGHr16wxRoa1rHcXX5SiuRlcGxI00sLcpwAW_DVSuqAuT_TIDmKb4RjEoE-O3e4ioNXelAJT95Bsyj0FYg4MXyP-cFwL9YyoaXGkdpa6aoViCn3My8k3TJf9-0T27WhZyPjNx_pmFHtnYr_RWn1d9-52InupdkOvv_u10M/w191-h200/1%20(2).jpeg" width="191" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The woman is a total rock star!</span></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-18458832072370244062024-02-12T23:05:00.002-06:002024-02-13T09:51:21.642-06:00Down the Rabbit Hole<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQqu9knq3P16I0bjXtJZpqdY2jiCD_D9WW9YK_nyDWgt768oeHai0wKNWwQrXaDgrboqd5CurWiBuk_NYetp9-vagjvAbAEpg35wZ5BQudkggrcsj1VpK7sRlbZdoF3fwd_ivYlt7WPokYOwvcK45c_G5I-UO9HiAsbbQ3G9k1ysR3Byy7YA1wYEy8tk/s3706/1%20(3).jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2803" data-original-width="3706" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQqu9knq3P16I0bjXtJZpqdY2jiCD_D9WW9YK_nyDWgt768oeHai0wKNWwQrXaDgrboqd5CurWiBuk_NYetp9-vagjvAbAEpg35wZ5BQudkggrcsj1VpK7sRlbZdoF3fwd_ivYlt7WPokYOwvcK45c_G5I-UO9HiAsbbQ3G9k1ysR3Byy7YA1wYEy8tk/w200-h151/1%20(3).jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>This has been a busy week on a whole lotta levels. I learned about stuff I didn't know. Some of it good, some of it not so good, but nothing earth shattering. In between trying to learn how to operate the new car....and I do set a few minutes aside every morning to learn another function... but you still need an engineering degree ...and thinking about war (yeah, I know) I've also had to examine and re-examine some of my previously held-dear concepts. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">First, let's talk cars. I finally got the full accident report on the Rogue and holey buckets! there was one heck of a surprise in there. Big-ass-truck driver was drunk. Yep. Six o'clock on a Saturday evening and he blew a .15 on the ol' </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">breathalyzer</span><span style="font-family: arial;">. Officially drunk in Minnesota is .08. I guess I didn't get close enough to him that night, but apparently he had serious booze-breath because he was "alcohol suspected" on the form. Now I know why he was so freaked out. I have been hit by a drunk before, so I'm not a fan of the drink'n'drive club since that last one almost took out my then 4-year old son. Thank G-d I was in the Volvo that day. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I also learned about Pearl Harbor this week. I mean, long ago I learned the big chunks, but I never paid much attention to the numbers. It was, after all, WWII and lots of people died in that war. But I went down a research rabbit hole on this one. The official death toll at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 was 2,403 and that was military and civilian deaths. There had been no declaration of war prior to December 7th. In fact, the declaration of war from Japan came about two days after the attack. Ergo, we were not at war with Japan even though there were tensions over Japanese expansion into China and restrictions of trade between Japan and the US. Then I thought about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Between 110,000 and 210,000 died from the atom bombs dropped on those cities. They can't be sure of the number because so many people were incinerated. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After reading about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelude_to_the_attack_on_Pearl_Harbor">lead up to Pearl Harbor </a>and the aftermath of <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2020/08/counting-the-dead-at-hiroshima-and-nagasaki/">Hiroshima and Nagasaki</a>, I came to the only conclusion there was: if you start a war, people <i>will</i> die. It's really just that simple. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The bombing probably saved millions of lives: Japanese, Asian, and others. It might've been done with one, not two bombs, but in the end, it stopped the war...and that saved lives...especially in Japan. No, it wasn't humanitarian...it was efficient. In war efficiency used to count. And if it stopped the killing, so be it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">War, however, is never really simple. There are two or more sides. Both sides will skew numbers to their benefit. Both sides think only stupid people cannot see the truth...their version of the truth, at least. And sometimes history set in stone is treated as propaganda, facts are dismissed as convenient fiction, and people on both sides still die. And people will lie forever about the causes. I mean, even Niki Haley didn't think the Civil War was about slavery yet a whole lotta people died for that one. But I digress. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This brought me around to thinking about death. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This month is Adar Alef. This year, there's also an Adar Bet. See, the Hebrew calendar doesn't have a leap <i>day</i>, it has a leap <i>month</i>. Okay, try wrapping your head around this: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; text-align: start;">A leap year in the </span><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/jewish-calendar.html" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;">Jewish calendar</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; text-align: start;"> has 13 months and occurs 7 times in a 19-year cycle. In Hebrew, a leap year is referred to as Shanah Me'uberet, or pregnant year.</span></i></span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCqpJcWxNZpPk0choBu4QxfSBu5uZZ_xo5ICGeFIcou4CTqIFz67_7Ht-XiKTObwnWPViKRxoNFFhsFrBMHY6yxzv7snoxzeI1AT2NfMfInjquVwwxarq7-brx54Cy7GCNFhdsTKDBzfbx80i82_TXvk0YTJXOcogvTsupX1jK0oIt_gYVI5GvJV72Lg/s1178/Screenshot%202024-02-12%20at%2010.27.20%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="888" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCqpJcWxNZpPk0choBu4QxfSBu5uZZ_xo5ICGeFIcou4CTqIFz67_7Ht-XiKTObwnWPViKRxoNFFhsFrBMHY6yxzv7snoxzeI1AT2NfMfInjquVwwxarq7-brx54Cy7GCNFhdsTKDBzfbx80i82_TXvk0YTJXOcogvTsupX1jK0oIt_gYVI5GvJV72Lg/w151-h200/Screenshot%202024-02-12%20at%2010.27.20%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="151" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">L to R: Budge, Dave, Mom</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></td></tr></tbody></table>And I have no idea how this works mathematically, nor do I wanna know. What I do know is that Adar, whether it's Alef or just plain Adar, begins the spring <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahrzeit">yahrzeit</a> parade for me....Grandma Sarah first, then my mom, then my Uncle Dave, then my MIL, then Grandpa Moishe, then Uncle Budge, and finally, Ziggy. There are more yahrzeits than you can shake a stick at...or put a rock on a grave. Whatever. It's a tough time for me and my thoughts do turn to my own demise. <i>Did I do a good enough job for the kids? Did I do right by the old folks? Am I leaving anything undone? </i></span><i style="font-family: arial;">What would Mom have done? </i><i style="font-family: arial;">What can I still fix? </i></div><div><i style="font-family: arial;"><br /></i></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Ah, there she is: the fixer. I want to kiss all the booboos and make them go away. I want to smooth all the paths. I want everyone to love each other and play nice. The truth is, I cannot do that. No one can. But somehow I manage to periodically beat myself up for things I coulda, woulda, shoulda. When I stand at the edge of that particular rabbit hole, I now know enough to force myself back from the edge. A couple of weeks ago, I caught myself wanting to fix something that the conscious me knows can never be fixed because, frankly, it's not a me problem; I simply adopted it because it needed to be fixed and I truly believed in kisses and band-aids. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Which brings me back to, believe it or not, war. Honestly, it must be the flawed end of human nature that makes us fight to the death. Since the very beginning, history has been nothing but a long line of hateful actions that end in war. And we all know if you start a war, people will die. Even the familial/interpersonal wars...those are death by a thousand slights...but pieces of one's heart die when the wars cannot be stopped.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhX8Vzzrh2sHaYOaUg4SkEeRJrmB5yF8VikNBQuWt20p7gCSTXVKf2xdDFSzAyZU7vqeqbyz7p1UoHOYGUa9mmkK_4vtUIApoYmqRqEk0Ku_RdGJVOhmbZPRrcbyYdOQV08BeAT65ZfYLx8LLLNIsHY-qLQhvtpIi-fp17uHb4fgXAVHsSgjlsQw-Q46wA" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1563" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhX8Vzzrh2sHaYOaUg4SkEeRJrmB5yF8VikNBQuWt20p7gCSTXVKf2xdDFSzAyZU7vqeqbyz7p1UoHOYGUa9mmkK_4vtUIApoYmqRqEk0Ku_RdGJVOhmbZPRrcbyYdOQV08BeAT65ZfYLx8LLLNIsHY-qLQhvtpIi-fp17uHb4fgXAVHsSgjlsQw-Q46wA=w200-h119" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">That teeny tiny white speck is Israel</span></td></tr></tbody></table>My heart is dying in pieces for my people, the Jewish people. We make up less than .2% of the world's population. Our traditional homeland, the place where we have continuously lived for over 4,000 years, is about 8,550 square miles, about the size of New Jersey. The Arab nations of North Africa and the Middle East are about 5,000,000 square miles. That means Israel takes up about .17% of the land. A veritable speck. Why do they want to throw us off so tiny a parcel? I</span><span style="font-family: arial;">s there something we could've done to prevent this...I mean short of marching into the sea? Can this be fixed and still have our home intact? I think every one of us asks that question every day.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet, every war that has been started against the modern State of Israel has been lost. Even when statehood was offered, it was refused because Hamas and its predecessors wanted all the land to be <i>Judenrein</i>...Jew free. Why do they hate us? Because. Abraham sent Ishmael away? Because we learned to be portable in exile? Because we have succeeded wherever we have gone without being permitted to own any land?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Or is it because we are a stiff-necked people who refuse to bow down to other versions of God because we have retained our identity as Jews? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Folks, if you are so threatened by this tiny sliver of population on this tiny sliver of land, you have other problems that need fixing and shitting on us isn't gonna fix your issues. Stop wasting your time trying to kill us; we don't die. We reinvent and we survive. Jews playing the victim went out at the end of World War II. We no longer have any interest in placating your issues while dying in the process. Deal with yourself and your own shortcomings. Build yourselves an economy. We did it, and the civilized world wants to help you do it. Build industries, not tunnels. There. Isn't that easy?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In the end, all any of us want as Jews is to be left alone to be Jews in the place we've called home for 4,000 years. You want to share that space? Fabulous...do it respectfully and democratically. Work hard, play hard, send your kids to school, drink potable water and use the electricity. Serve in the government...you get a voice, you know. But understand this: Israel is Israel is Israel is Israel is Israel. It is our home and we're not leaving. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Can you possibly grok that concept? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Still pushing to free Palestine?</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Great idea! Free them from Hamas</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>because that's who's holding them back. </i></span></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-4784966025422855952024-02-05T22:10:00.003-06:002024-02-06T13:10:22.261-06:00The Long Game<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I am not yet in a place where I can write about the news, political, domestic, or international without my head in explode mode. Which, loosely translated, means I have little to say about anything tonight that won't come out like a whiny screed. And that's the last thing I wanna do. So instead, I'm gonna make a few observations, toss 'em into the ring, and see if I ultimately hit the mark farther down the road.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Fi2aNG6TWulvD4_MEuQe_TOGfwe8ZvmEjOgDwf5j0EahniDOFsQYBn5Z7W51_YkDh-TMrqc9A5a-uA33J6wX_QTAkillLtKIJASlTEY4QPjA4m3ZwJuWLyK6FiVGZDql01_5VO057OefbkCIsKk73mhOwa8CyqqbFXF6NscvKoIUw00TWZ8RGc5ug9o/s654/Screenshot%202024-02-05%20at%208.10.10%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="624" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Fi2aNG6TWulvD4_MEuQe_TOGfwe8ZvmEjOgDwf5j0EahniDOFsQYBn5Z7W51_YkDh-TMrqc9A5a-uA33J6wX_QTAkillLtKIJASlTEY4QPjA4m3ZwJuWLyK6FiVGZDql01_5VO057OefbkCIsKk73mhOwa8CyqqbFXF6NscvKoIUw00TWZ8RGc5ug9o/w110-h115/Screenshot%202024-02-05%20at%208.10.10%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="110" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Nikki Haley is one smart cookie and I hope she doesn't drop out of the race. Yeah, I know you're all thinking she's a waste of time and money, but I don't think so. I think she's playing the long game on this one and she's betting on Feckless getting convicted in at least one trial and getting jail time along with it. As a felon, he may not be able to vote in Florida, but apparently there is no prohibition against his serving from a cell if elected. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; text-align: left;">No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. </i><i style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; text-align: left;">But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.</i></blockquote><p>So it's possible. Haley, I suspect, will go after him on sedition if he's convicted and will align herself as an MOR GOP kinda candidate. Not that it would get her elected. IF We, the People see fit to elect a convicted seditionist, the fight is functionally over. As is the Constitution. </p><p>For the moment, Nikki Haley appears to be the only sane person in the room, and that's not sayin' much.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoLa5BwJVny311GdNVdUHSN-A0ywkHTkLQNqRMP61ptLi2PRYX_x-ffkK56QA38znEC_BoKihGFdT43EYdu_MURsGKbYKoCLzRaEfUgVlA_LRkqdE9x41VV0gtCLLwrv-NbRwv0fXLvJqnkzuDDYndB-VQ08_oRPNp-28amzURHTqWxZraP7aaY844BA/s960/Screenshot%202024-02-05%20at%209.48.03%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="754" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoLa5BwJVny311GdNVdUHSN-A0ywkHTkLQNqRMP61ptLi2PRYX_x-ffkK56QA38znEC_BoKihGFdT43EYdu_MURsGKbYKoCLzRaEfUgVlA_LRkqdE9x41VV0gtCLLwrv-NbRwv0fXLvJqnkzuDDYndB-VQ08_oRPNp-28amzURHTqWxZraP7aaY844BA/w80-h102/Screenshot%202024-02-05%20at%209.48.03%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="80" /></a></div></div>At the same time, do I think Taylor Swift is a Pentagon asset? That her romance with Travis Kelce is a sinister plot to influence the election? What is so scary about two people in the early days of a relationship? I mean, really folks. Why can't two high profile people date without absurd speculation? Why is she so scary? Because they are an attractive couple? What magical powers radiate from her friendship bracelets? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">All these fear-mongers do is telegraph their own lack of penis size. What? Her vagina is gonna bite them? They wish. Even failed GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted something that sounds like it's out of a bad novel:</div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face="cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.4px; text-align: start;"><i>And I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple </i>[wink wink]<i> this fall. Just some wild speculation over here, let’s see how it ages over the next 8 months.</i></span><br /></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Ja, sure, you betcha! What is this guy smoking....that makes him think anyone believes this shit?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Oh, wait. We already know they believe Feckless is some kind of messiah figure. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But maybe Taylor should be?</div><p>Look, I am no Swiftie, or a Taylor Swift devotee, or even like her music very much. I don't have a single Taylor Swift song on any playlist. Ed Sheeren? Yup. Imagine Dragons? Fer sure. Stevie Nicks? Absolutely. But that does not keep me from being in total awe of this woman who took on Scooter Braun and the music cabal. I've listened to a boatload of interviews and chat show appearances trying to figure out what makes her so appealing and why I think all girls should grow up emulating her fierce determination to be captain of her own ship. Take the time to listen to her acceptance speech for Billboard's Woman of the Decade speech in 2020. She's really something: smart, erudite, blunt, direct, prescient, and brooks no shit. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="208" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZVpkFb9-fts" width="306" youtube-src-id="ZVpkFb9-fts"></iframe></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">She lays it all on the line and she is spot on. Swift says stuff <i>ALL</i> women artists, whether we're musicians, painters, sculptors, photographers, or writers have and are experiencing. For this speech alone, she should be on a stamp. I know it's long, but if you're not a female artist, or living with a female artist, or the parent of a female artist, you might not fully realize the gender inequity we all face now and will continue to face in a future that will probably be dominated by AI. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Here's the real conspiracy theory: if these pencil dicks manage to win or usurp this election, count on the suspension of the Constitution of These Here United States. Count on the immediate implementation of martial law to "keep the peace."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And kiss democracy, however imperfect, goodbye.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I've said it a billion times: <i>you elect the government you deserve. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Yeah, I know I'm being whiny et al, but folks, it's just too hard to keep quiet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I wish we had a candidate as compelling as Ms. Swift.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I am not suggesting she run for POTUS, </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>only that we should find someone </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>cut from similar cloth. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Preferably a woman.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Lord knows men have been screwing this country long enough.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></span></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-25319528604296187202024-01-29T21:21:00.002-06:002024-01-30T09:49:02.971-06:00Presto! Change-o #2! It's a Hybrid RAV 4<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSOAOlc9j2cySBq9PwXGsm2Vy6VDRRhoJkAZAGzZkPn84hfbE0v-Zvzflk3uJe3efnotbeHztlZZIG2wflYYpdSO0a19gDMNeVCJvMYQfK-KFxIbkjn39SI2n6m3BknRrnIWq2t7CYyo9s_kmQo3SLG9CxRSc9k_iIKPbNT9lPTu9ugLw4fI5IlQYeY2E" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSOAOlc9j2cySBq9PwXGsm2Vy6VDRRhoJkAZAGzZkPn84hfbE0v-Zvzflk3uJe3efnotbeHztlZZIG2wflYYpdSO0a19gDMNeVCJvMYQfK-KFxIbkjn39SI2n6m3BknRrnIWq2t7CYyo9s_kmQo3SLG9CxRSc9k_iIKPbNT9lPTu9ugLw4fI5IlQYeY2E=w133-h200" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Not MN 62, <br />but you get the idea</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Several weeks ago, I was minding my own business as I drove over to the kiddos to kiddo-sit while the Mr. and Mrs. Junior Son went out for the evening. Now, if you know the Twin Cities, you might happen to know that on MN 62, (aka the Crosstown) as you crest the hill by Cedar Avenue, the traffic almost always stops for no apparent reason. Since it was after dark, that long line of red, not moving tail lights was a dead giveaway and frankly, there was ample opportunity to stop on perfectly dry pavement. Assuming, of course, you're paying attention. I was. The car ahead of me wasn't paying quite as much attention and swerved onto the shoulder. I stopped, but left him room to straighten himself out. The BMW behind me was also paying attention, and he was slowing to a stop with ample room behind me. The jackass behind him, however, in the big-ass pick-up truck was not paying attention and slammed into BMW-guy who, in turn, was far enough away from me to just tap my rear bumper. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I pulled off the road and went to see if I sustained any real damage that would keep me from getting to the kids. BMW-guy got outta his car and came running toward me yelling, "Are you okay? Are you okay?" I was fine until I realized BMW-guy running toward me was in one very elegant overcoat <i>and</i> a suit. <i>OMG! A groom hit me! </i>was all I could think because this guy was tailored and no one dresses like that in Minnesota except guys going to their own weddings. He was absolutely adorable and I, not being a cougar type, only wanted to feed him matzah ball chicken soup to make sure he was okay.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I've never been in an accident!" </span><span style="font-family: arial;">he cried, panic in his eyes. "</span><span style="font-family: arial;">What do I do?" </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Not to worry," I reassured him. "I'll call the cops. We hafta do that." We walked over to big-ass truck guy who was freaking out. For good reason. There were truck parts strewn all over the Crosstown. He clearly wasn't paying attention. We got him calmed down, took out licenses and insurance cards to the BMW and thank goodness for cell-phones, we all photographed our stuff. I called 911, got a variety of instructions, and told the guys to return to their cars, get in, and put their seatbelts on. I called the Junior Son and he was able to find me on the highway traffic cam. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Once State Trooper Ostertag appeared on the scene like a Viking materializing out of the mists, I was given the okay to leave with a promise that I'd have the accident report later that night. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dMlxkEaZRJsP7_EAfln4M4stJrMli2uzxIaH0iyO65iM_jSru-A7mlqqGfw1NJP0ROpj9sD2m9DGveE7TND7ZiPOvpP5lXybuLn-7fLZ9iJtAM_X5Jg2GROd-9jgwCpxVlAbBSCfAXvTCMtBHw5RP3OGpIuZiOnE-yq_OhnxkUb8AY4rxSBlF9OgUeQ/s4298/1%20(1).jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3650" data-original-width="4298" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dMlxkEaZRJsP7_EAfln4M4stJrMli2uzxIaH0iyO65iM_jSru-A7mlqqGfw1NJP0ROpj9sD2m9DGveE7TND7ZiPOvpP5lXybuLn-7fLZ9iJtAM_X5Jg2GROd-9jgwCpxVlAbBSCfAXvTCMtBHw5RP3OGpIuZiOnE-yq_OhnxkUb8AY4rxSBlF9OgUeQ/w179-h152/1%20(1).jpeg" width="179" /></a></div>Turns out, I didn't get love-tapped by any ol' guy in a suit. I got tapped by a major sports star whose name I had just heard on the news before I left the house because he had scored the winning goal in a shoot-out. I could not believe I did not recognize the name when I saw it on his license, much less his face....which I have shaded out here, along with his number. Let's just say he was darling. He was clearly shaken after seeing the mess of Silverado all over the road and the back end of his BMW. And he was still worried about the little old lady in the little old silver Rogue. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As it turned out, the Rogue actually needed some repair. Not much, but the rear bumper was cracked. The guys who took over at the body shop (Superior if you're in Eagan...highly recommend) were terrific. As I was picking up the car, Eric, my restoration advocate, pointed out some emerging issues and gently suggested it might be time to begin <i>thinking</i> about a new car. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjl2AV_bWuJghZgq0HDG4LMdYdJuf_bcbNWm3-gqgwzFU8lAJwwiCeUQOHfDc-ZeKv5WKpetTrpCkX2InVZydJ5XDWbN1LzsUUWsEihEMblQxp1MNS31nqo8pCbY_Vy0I28laBqjV43LRe0IE8-4zrJXBagkcDqLPsAPx6NM31c0XFCEgsx9lHbRAIqglY" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjl2AV_bWuJghZgq0HDG4LMdYdJuf_bcbNWm3-gqgwzFU8lAJwwiCeUQOHfDc-ZeKv5WKpetTrpCkX2InVZydJ5XDWbN1LzsUUWsEihEMblQxp1MNS31nqo8pCbY_Vy0I28laBqjV43LRe0IE8-4zrJXBagkcDqLPsAPx6NM31c0XFCEgsx9lHbRAIqglY=w200-h150" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Looks okay for 12 yrs old, eh?<br />See <a href="https://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/2012/07/presto-chang-o-its-rogue.html">Presto! Change-o! It's a Rogue</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Actually, I had already started the process. I really loved my Rogue and thought about just getting another one. The kids wanted me to get a Subaru, but I really wanted a hybrid. It was time to cut my footprint, so I began doing homework back in the summer. I drove the kids' Subarus with some regularity, but they weren't as nimble as I'm used to. There is a hybrid something coming in the 2025 model year according to reports, but getting information about it was almost impossible despite calls to two dealers. Rogue is no longer offering a hybrid so as much as I loved my car, it wasn't gonna happen. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I had three big requirements for a new car: heated, leather super-adjustable seats, a sun/moonroof, and mud flaps. These may sound random to you, but every time I "built" a car online, those were three things I looked for in the accessories packages. I shopped the car types, went over every possible contender, did my homework and </span><span style="font-family: arial;">narrowed the field down to 2 hybrids: the RAV 4 and the Honda CR-V. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My first test drive, the Honda CR-V, was surprisingly good. It handled well and was very responsive on the freeway, but I wasn't crazy about the control screen and the driver's seat. I sit up straight. as high as possible, and pretty far back; I couldn't find a comfortable spot. The sales guy, however, was very nice, unlike the one from 12 years ago when I went to look at cars at that same dealership. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My other stop was Luther Toyota all the way across town, owned by the same group as my Nissan dealership... as good a reason as any to make the trip. Twelve years of using a Luther shop for routine maintenance was enough of a recommendation. Again, it's the lone woman thing and I wanted a place where the management stood behind their cars and treated all customers as equals, something I rather liked about walking into the Nissan dealership. Plus, I was going to see Scott Smith who I've known for years. We have talked about the RAV4 for years. I wanted to hear what he had to say, then drive a car with him. Even if I hadn't known Scott, he made the process easy and I would work with him again in a heartbeat. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It didn't hurt that a RAV4 in the configuration I wanted (but not the color) happened to have just arrived and wasn't sold. Until that minute. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">But I will tell you what actually sold me on the car: the driver's seat. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I love it. I'm still finessing the final position but one of the cool features is that I can set the positions, and if someone else drives, I can get my seat adjusted back to where I want it with a push of a single button. This is seriously handy when other people like to recline the seat so far back so that when I get in, I fall over like a turtle. For some odd reason, they view this as a spectator event and think it's very funny. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVDv4DtK2pqsHdBqXsne56jYtQdNcgyCKi1IIrrMMNjyAWcVAj_CjW5q4ocnMKekm80ll_ytI9AQzrvIZsjBVRXHA_AsIOnQLd67VNlpghrpjyeYW0kqjSzHy3TwdBuxAcSrBAHoZXjImfSYn8DMghpmtOJeIl2Hm0l2DoPJfNAG6k517_SZyMQv3PBKM" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVDv4DtK2pqsHdBqXsne56jYtQdNcgyCKi1IIrrMMNjyAWcVAj_CjW5q4ocnMKekm80ll_ytI9AQzrvIZsjBVRXHA_AsIOnQLd67VNlpghrpjyeYW0kqjSzHy3TwdBuxAcSrBAHoZXjImfSYn8DMghpmtOJeIl2Hm0l2DoPJfNAG6k517_SZyMQv3PBKM=w200-h150" width="200" /></a></div>There are so many bells and whistles on this thing that I make it a point every morning after minyan to take a moment to learn something new. You need a master's degree in engineering to figure out some of this stuff. I will eventually psych it all out and I'll find my radio stations. Yeah, I still listen to the radio.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Side note: </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Apple-head that I am, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">I've never talked much to Siri before, but she's kinda part of the deal. We have come to an understanding. When I say, "Hey, Siri?" she just answers, "Hmmm?" </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I can live with that. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So I said <i>Shehecheyanu, </i>the prayer for firsts, the first time I sat in the car and prepared to drive. Then I stopped off at the Junior house just as Little Miss was getting off the school bus, so we said <i>Shehecheyanu </i>together. Then I leaned over and whispered, <i>with any luck, this is your first car. </i>The look on her face was priceless. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Only you can figure out when it's time to let go of shit,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>when to let it slide off your plate.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial;">Stop thinking there might have been something </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial;">you could've done to fix it. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>To kiss it and make it all better. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Chances are nothing would've helped </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>and it wasn't your job in the first place. </i></span></div></div><p></p>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-45708254442647966912024-01-22T21:23:00.007-06:002024-01-24T21:04:33.588-06:00Be Careful What You Wish For<div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRSIluVkwHoP0bPgZTeo0AmtTxrj8gYlLlVwuCeDSeL1mmG0sx8VurAvzSTFrro-8k5MiJ4eBJ1Gj9M2ycwCjx4iosQt-RVQ0QwBm-UM2pf6VhzX0LqbQ6QVmgrimvZjCoBHO0zOu03obyjObdXD2-eUkkHB6aBwsppY9I1aoxAMuPhVZiKKrhhR8kU4o/s820/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-22%20at%208.21.11%20PM.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="820" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRSIluVkwHoP0bPgZTeo0AmtTxrj8gYlLlVwuCeDSeL1mmG0sx8VurAvzSTFrro-8k5MiJ4eBJ1Gj9M2ycwCjx4iosQt-RVQ0QwBm-UM2pf6VhzX0LqbQ6QVmgrimvZjCoBHO0zOu03obyjObdXD2-eUkkHB6aBwsppY9I1aoxAMuPhVZiKKrhhR8kU4o/w135-h109/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-22%20at%208.21.11%20PM.png" width="135" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Dean Phillips</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">By the time most of you read this, the New Hampshire primary will be underway. It's really not much of a primary; everybody but Niki Haley has bowed out of the GOP side, Biden is the incumbent Democrat, and Congressman Dean Phillips, (MN-D, 3rd District) is running a campaign to give Democrats an alternative to Biden.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">Phillips is an interesting guy. His dad, Artie Pfefer, was killed in Vietnam when he was 6 months old. His mother, DeeDee, married Eddie Phillips (whose mother happened to be Dear Abby) when Dean was about three. Eddie adopted him, hence his surname is Phillips. But that's neither here nor there. What makes him interesting is that he's a three-term Congressclown, having beaten the incumbent GOP clown with 55% of the vote in 2018. No Dem had held that seat since 1961, so that should tell you something about him. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">Like Feckless Loser, he inherited his first conglomerate, Phillips Distilling, but he didn't drive that into the ground. Not at all. As per Wikipedia,</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"><i></i></span><blockquote><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;">Phillips served as the company's president and CEO from 2000 to 2012. He then stepped aside to run one of his other corporate investments, </span>Talenti<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"> gelato, until it was sold for an undisclosed amount to </span>Unilever<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"> in 2014.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"> In 2016 he founded Penny's Coffee, a coffee shop chain he still owns, which has two locations in the </span>Twin Cities<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"> metropolitan area as of 2022.</span></i></blockquote></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><i>[Confession: The best Talenti flavors are Sea Salt Caramel and Pacific Coast Pistachio. And they're all OU. Just sayin.']</i></span></span></p><p>The guy knows how to run a business. He has a proven track record. Plus, he's 55 years old. He appears to be in good health. Is he perfect? No. Is he squeaky clean? Probably not. Am I supporting him? Not at this time. Have I thought about it? Yes. </p><p>I don't think he's undermining Biden; I think he's asking some seriously legitimate questions that need to be asked. There is no small number of voters on both sides looking for an alternative candidate. A third party candidate might be a disaster. But the right candidate might bring a wide enough swath into the voting booth to stop the fall. <span style="background-color: white;">Can one be found? I have no idea, but it's nice someone is trying. </span></p></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><p>As long as the American public continues to drink the Kool-Aid that Biden is lousy for the economy, there may not be a viable path to salvage his campaign. So far, the only one talking loud is Feckless, and his minions don't care what he says. </p><div>I'm gonna go out on a limb here and predict Feckless is gonna get another shot at the presidency. This worries me on two very different planes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first is that of late, he makes speeches that make no sense....the WORDS don't make sense. Two nights ago, in one of his speeches about January 6th, he consistently confused Nancy Pelosi with Nikki Haley, claiming she was the one in charge of security during the January 6th insurrection:</div><blockquote><div><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: start;">Nikki Haley, you know they,</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-weight: 700; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: start;">do you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it, because of lots of things like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people."</span></i></div></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegmsIJMZIz3i3ewARMK_JVJ8232Fyj3TDhMqKSgSVsRqrRlcHA-srLqevfGo3OQKRqV1iDjZz_G63VB72Iaoe0KkuJYfeJSvVPnOvcvKDRRK7Z0tXWSXaNUB0rxMbEy0BKwdxkZJ9F1_GBwKRo8gX53XhUz_GiE4n9Dx2suRZrDMDcSwtTGJC41YiWpg/s842/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-22%20at%209.13.39%20PM.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="842" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegmsIJMZIz3i3ewARMK_JVJ8232Fyj3TDhMqKSgSVsRqrRlcHA-srLqevfGo3OQKRqV1iDjZz_G63VB72Iaoe0KkuJYfeJSvVPnOvcvKDRRK7Z0tXWSXaNUB0rxMbEy0BKwdxkZJ9F1_GBwKRo8gX53XhUz_GiE4n9Dx2suRZrDMDcSwtTGJC41YiWpg/w200-h138/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-22%20at%209.13.39%20PM.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Twins!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span>Haley was never in Congress; she was, however, his representative to the United Nations. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">The gaffs are too numerous to list, but if someone doesn't begin to call this orange's mental acuity and fitness into question, then no one is doing their job. That his followers don't seem to mind that he cannot put together a cogent sentence is terrifying. Are they willing to elect a guy with obvious cognitive decline to carry the nuclear codes in his back pocket?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">Add to that this <i>dictator on day one </i>business. The New York Times printed parts of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/us/politics/trump-fox-news-abuse-power.html">December 5th, 2023 FOX Town Hall with Sean Hannity</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>But Mr. Hannity, a longtime Trump ally, was apparently unsatisfied, and five minutes later, he brought up the issue again. “You are promising America tonight, you would never abuse this power as retribution against anybody?” he said.</i></span></p><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> </i></span></p><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“Except for Day 1,” Mr. Trump said breezily. There was the smallest silence. “Except for—” Mr. Hannity responded, sounding a bit flustered.</i></span></p><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> </i></span></p><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“Look,” Mr. Trump joked to the crowd watching him in Davenport, Iowa. “He’s going crazy.”</i></span></p><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> </i></span></p><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>And even as Mr. Hannity tried to clarify that Mr. Trump had no intention of abusing his office, Mr. Trump did not state a clear aversion to the idea of authoritarian power.</i></span></p><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> </i></span></p><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1.5in;"></p><p class="gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0in 1in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“This guy, he says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’” Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Hannity. “I said, ‘No, no, no — other than Day 1.’ We’re closing the border. And we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.”</i></span></p></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">As we say in Minnesota, <i>Ja, sure, you betcha you're gonna stop. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">During the immunity hearing, the following exchange took place between Judge Florence Pan and Feckless Loser's attorney, D. John Sauer:</span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; text-align: start;"></span></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; text-align: start;">Judge Pan: <i>I asked you a yes-or-no question. Could a president who ordered SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival, who was not impeached, would he be subject to criminal prosecution? </i></span></span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><div>Attorney Sauer: <span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><i>Qualified yes – if he is impeached and convicted first.</i></span></div></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><div><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><i></i></span></div></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">With SCOTUS firmly in his pocket, his belief that he can order a hit on an opposition leader, do you really think the Constitution as we know it will hold up against his promised power grab? I don't. </span></p></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">I think the Constitution will be repealed and dismantled in parts, supported by a court that doesn't give a flying fart in space for anything but their own pockets. And those members of the court who dissent? They will be impeached, disbarred, and disinappeared*. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">Ready for part two? Ever ask yourself <i>What happens if he runs and loses?</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">The idea that he could run and win is not nearly as terrifying as what happens if he loses again.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">This time, it won't be a failed insurrection at the Capitol building. This time, his anti-democracy minions have had more than enough time to not just learn from the January 6th failure, but how to start a civil war. </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> These guys have not stood still. Behind closed doors, deep in the forests, and tucked away in the hills, those guys Feckless Loser told to stand down have done exactly that. They stood down, stepped back, and are planning the demise of the United States as we know it. Feckless, of course, will think he's the dictator, but we all know that's poppycock. He will be the puppet whose strings are jerked by the new versions of Bannon and Miller. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">There is no clear dividing line as there was in the first Civil War. A division will not be cleanly cut. A friend in the military pointed out that most of the brass would uphold their oath to defend the constitution and fight to save a democratic republic such as it is. The troops, on the other hand, may not understand the nuance. That is dangerous on a whole bunch of other levels. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">What happens in the US matters across the globe. If we fall, other democracies will fall without our support...places like Ukraine and Israel. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">And if Israel falls?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><i><b>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><i>Think long and hard about your political choices. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><i>*Disinappeared</i></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;">: <i>an original word by the Senior Son.</i></span></span></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-32965669740850742002024-01-15T22:27:00.005-06:002024-01-16T09:28:10.689-06:00Firing Up The Ol' WABAC Machine for this one. <div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqkZG-XUlAk7pLBHgUvurczMijw4ZMAE6dA7t9wYYybUePfddh5f2T-xpq5xhT_HCftGpRQasloykKjKU7hGMNToRhSBtBH4Vqx2RRpQxlHiu6605GNzIHSFqqW9m5UObw4oHEFU5J7knLvKGiPCKhuTdjWtnv2QzwWRj8hrMZIa7W-G2QGZhtFsSUX0/s936/wayback2016.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="936" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqkZG-XUlAk7pLBHgUvurczMijw4ZMAE6dA7t9wYYybUePfddh5f2T-xpq5xhT_HCftGpRQasloykKjKU7hGMNToRhSBtBH4Vqx2RRpQxlHiu6605GNzIHSFqqW9m5UObw4oHEFU5J7knLvKGiPCKhuTdjWtnv2QzwWRj8hrMZIa7W-G2QGZhtFsSUX0/w179-h126/wayback2016.jpeg" width="179" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you, Senior Son.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">For reasons I cannot readily or flippantly excuse, I fired up Mr. Peabody's ol' <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine_(Peabody%27s_Improbable_History)">WABAC Machine</a> and drifted through posts from 2015 and 2016, wondering about what I said the first time. I remember being fairly prescient about Feckless Loser....referred to back then as Rumpled Trumpskin....and I was already concerned this guy could actually win. There were a whole lotta moving parts at the beginning of 2016. On January 11th, 2016. I wrote:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px;">Not to be left out, the Donald has his own issues. According to the Huffington Post, Herr Trump has received the coveted endorsement of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Freedom_Party" style="background-color: white; color: #001999; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">American Freedom Party.</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px;"> If you are unfamiliar with their True American Platform, you might want to check them out. After all, they have dialed over 200,000 robo-calls in Iowa on Herr Trump's behalf. [</span><a href="http://american3rdposition.com/?p=15932" style="background-color: white; color: #001999; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Listen to the call;</a>]<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px;"> this is the voice of the New America...according to supporters of the Donald. These guys are the direct descendants, and proud ones, at that, of the Brown Shirts. And they have every intention of promoting that cause through the Donald.</span></i></span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And boy did they ever do that. Face it folks, those jackbooted assholes showed just how successful they were when, in the summer of 2017, they took up their tiki torches in Charlotteville. Suddenly, we weren't laughing as loud. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;">It was a confederacy of deceit, although at the time, I don't think anyone, incl</span><span style="font-family: arial;">uding me, fully understood the depths of depravity we were about to witness in the campaign and subsequently in the White House, reaching the apex, but not exactly culminating with the insurrection on January 6th, 2023. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXraKriEmtnNcMjDDE5t6NYUJrFsr5mybSgxn9ybcx9I-s-kEJGUAFlHRGVC1t8l4kq3HJvQoDv5vgHHFmn9QGxUm7ot4EvFt-GmYC_KN82iv0nri-64C6CiE46oMsJrFaUkxlAG4RQQ0JioOwcNxerVTNJ3RqKeyvElCAOYQ7e0FXywudtRiUFb-h3BQ/s1092/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-15%20at%209.58.22%20PM.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1092" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXraKriEmtnNcMjDDE5t6NYUJrFsr5mybSgxn9ybcx9I-s-kEJGUAFlHRGVC1t8l4kq3HJvQoDv5vgHHFmn9QGxUm7ot4EvFt-GmYC_KN82iv0nri-64C6CiE46oMsJrFaUkxlAG4RQQ0JioOwcNxerVTNJ3RqKeyvElCAOYQ7e0FXywudtRiUFb-h3BQ/w200-h194/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-15%20at%209.58.22%20PM.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/results/2024/01/15/iowa-caucus/">From The Washington Post</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">But now, the Iowa caucus numbers are rolling in and while I may not have had all that much respect for people who would voluntarily live in Iowa, I have even less now. One might have hoped Haley would've done better, but she didn't against that mysogynistic box o'anti-semitism Ron DeSanctimonious,,,which should tell you something right there. Iowans are not looking for any sort of middle ground.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With 85% of the vote counted, the yet-to-be-convicted Feloniousa Trump has over 51% of the vote. What does this really say about Iowans?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They actively seek to end the Constitution of the United Stated?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They actively seek to control women as chattal owned by the state and the federal government?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They actively seek to repeal civil rights for those who do not line up with their religious views?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They prefer a philandering, failed business man as their leader?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They prefer a man who cheats, lies, and is clearly suffering from early signs of dementia to lead this nation?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They prefer an oligarchy to control all aspects of financial dealings?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They prefer to allow lower income Americans to starve, freeze, or die from lack of available care?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They believe in Christian Nationalism?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They believe in White Supremacy?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">They actively seek to replace the office of the President of the United States with a dictator?</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Pick a concept, any concept. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course, some GOP voters will tell you that's not what they believe in, yet they vote for a guy who has guaranteed that on day one of this next term he will declare himself dictator. From <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/06/trump-dictator-day-one-hannity/">The Washingon Post, Decmber 6th, 2023:</a></span></div><div><blockquote><div class="teaser-content grid-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; grid-column: 2 / 3; text-align: start;"><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150); text-align: justify;"><i>Fox News host Sean Hannity pressed Trump on two occasions during the event in Davenport, Iowa, on whether he would promise not to abuse his powers upon returning to the White House. In both occasions, Trump circumvented the question and did not outright deny the possibility.</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="teaser-content grid-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; grid-column: 2 / 3; text-align: start;"><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150); text-align: justify;"><i></i><i>“Under no circumstances — you are promising America tonight — you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” Hannity asked Trump during the latter exchange.</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="teaser-content grid-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; grid-column: 2 / 3; text-align: start;"><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150); text-align: justify;"><i></i><i>“Except for Day One,” Trump quickly replied. </i> </div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="teaser-content grid-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; grid-column: 2 / 3; text-align: start;"><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150); text-align: justify;"><span color="var(--wpds-colors-gray40)" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“Except for Day One. Meaning?” Hannity asked.</i></span></span></div><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill,” Trump said as the crowd cheered.</i></span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></p></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="teaser-content grid-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; grid-column: 2 / 3; text-align: start;"><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“That’s not retribution,” Hannity responded.</i></span></p></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="teaser-content grid-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; grid-column: 2 / 3; text-align: start;"><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“We love this guy,” Trump said of Hannity. “He says: ‘You’re not gonna be a dictator, are ya?’ I say: ‘No, no, no — other than Day One.’”</i></span></p></div><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Trump then doubled down on his promise to close the U.S.-Mexico border and expand oil drilling on his first day, adding: “After that, I’m not a dictator.”</i></span></p></div></div></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Sure, you're not. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, back at the ranch...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The Chiefs won their game against the Dolphins, the Eagles continued their downward slide which personally breaks my heart for Wyatt, Ellie, and Bennett Kelce who are faced with Uncle Travvy winning again instead of their father. Truth be told, I'm a Jason fan. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAlyooL9AB27AHIXDSNORVfZp0HHerscAVHpeEDtrXCdsHtQVMzkCSMnYSflFAPyPj2f5eoG-PiudQIkoyh9ZS51UmjrnqvPSi1_P9xU1PO2pMWXcZeTzVKzK7kKi96m-5-uGHHT7zeioEde8bfZ3Cz_qYcLgFCUhhW2aF2KaIo2eV7nEcMV2IsNcfHLg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAlyooL9AB27AHIXDSNORVfZp0HHerscAVHpeEDtrXCdsHtQVMzkCSMnYSflFAPyPj2f5eoG-PiudQIkoyh9ZS51UmjrnqvPSi1_P9xU1PO2pMWXcZeTzVKzK7kKi96m-5-uGHHT7zeioEde8bfZ3Cz_qYcLgFCUhhW2aF2KaIo2eV7nEcMV2IsNcfHLg=w165-h110" width="165" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">And at last, the Wild showed signed of life today, shutting out the Islanders after this weekend's piss poor performances against Philly on Friday, and Arizona on Saturday. I am delighted to say Mats Zuccarello scored the game winning goal at Monday's game. <br /></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">At least the Vikings are done and I don't have to run out to the cemetery in sub-zero weather to make sure Ziggy has clawed his way up.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Who knew I cared?</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: arial;">The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">I am so NOT looking forward to this election cycle. </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">Are you? </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">Probably not, either.</span></i></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span></span></div></blockquote>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-27203641283388016732024-01-08T21:16:00.016-06:002024-01-09T19:38:45.186-06:00Nothing you can know that isn't known...<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKvSOim78E37ViU1MJyV8gRUdxIocgWfwUd8DEPUaRFOdmHSAj5MVFfML6dBN799r2wKz822xYV2ZKjQ6MASiFK5i_LIgqbZpSJPQzzkr7dGLV1CHlwDDk78C77xQVAc2dOAYeEZJknaQZumKC2f03kkcbOHkky7w78u-cf3baAgWfqfVgnoXS53S-F8/s3550/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%208.04.00%20PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1908" data-original-width="3550" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKvSOim78E37ViU1MJyV8gRUdxIocgWfwUd8DEPUaRFOdmHSAj5MVFfML6dBN799r2wKz822xYV2ZKjQ6MASiFK5i_LIgqbZpSJPQzzkr7dGLV1CHlwDDk78C77xQVAc2dOAYeEZJknaQZumKC2f03kkcbOHkky7w78u-cf3baAgWfqfVgnoXS53S-F8/w200-h108/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-28%20at%208.04.00%20PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>I was supposed to be in LA last week, attending an Emmy event on the technical side with one of my cousins, a film editor. I was packed and ready to go when, at 4 a.m., my phone fired up with a text message. All bets were off: COVID arrived in LA ahead of me. I have to say the JW Marriott was lovely and waived the cancellation fee. As did Delta, although now I have an unused ticket. I am certain I can put it toward something. So, instead of wearing a chic little cocktail suit, high heels, and real makeup while chatting up people in the industry, I was puttering around the house in sweats and fuzzy slippers. And yes, I was about as grumpy as I ever get. I'm more of a </span><i style="font-family: courier;">make lemonade</i><span style="font-family: courier;"> kinda person. Or take a nap. One or the other. I opted to split the difference. Not to worry; we'll figure it out. And the most important part....my cousin is finally on the mend. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So now, I have to learn a new skill: screenwriting. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: courier;">INT/ HOME OFFICE - LATE NIGHT. CLUTTERED WITH BOOKS, PAPERS, ELECTRONICS...2 MACS, A PRINTER AND BLUE DENBY TUDOR MUG.</span> </blockquote><p style="text-align: center;">THE AUTHOR </p><blockquote><span style="font-family: courier;">I'm a playwright, damn it; not a screenwriter.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: courier;">[BI</span><span style="font-family: courier;">G GIANT SIGH AS SHE LEANS BACK IN HER CHAIR AND CLOSES HER EYES IN FRUSTRATION. SHE SUDDENLY SNAPS UP.]</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: courier;">Who knew they had cockamamie formats for this? This is insane...but I'm gonna hafta script the pilot myself. Or so I am being told. The look-book is gorgeous they say, the story is compelling, and going forward, they're gonna wanna see some attempt at a screenplay.Bah Humbug! But I'll figure it out and do it. I am tough stuff.</span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, back at the ranch....</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My bull-o'meter is off the scale from city councils adopting resolutions <i>demanding </i>a ceasefire in Gaza. Really? City Councils?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Last time I looked, no city of any size has a role in international politics. Having listened to today's exercise in asininity at the Minneapolis city council, I would be embarrassed to admit it if I voted for some of those people. (I don't live in Minneapolis, thank G-d) One jackass stood up screaming "When I look at Gaza I see genocide!" Really? You got that from looking at the television? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What's happening in Gaza is unspeakably horrible. Most Israelis feel the same way. Netanyahu is routinely hated, but in the middle of a war, it's tough to flush an entire government. I wish they could oust him. The man is single-handedly damaging the entire State of Israel. He should be stopped. But that's another post. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But here's the thing, none of those self-righteous idiots ever gave a damn about Palestinians. Never. Not once. All those years Palestinians were dying at the hands of the Syrians and the Lebanese, where was your outcry? Where was your outrage when:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol><li><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="672" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFVh0tBvBa_ovLvVjXmYCM3BkR_z9JZWA0ejQaHM9zvqXOZchMBNbeyEiHDm924dF5_bZsmZtYVgHOYsLgHJbQscCIfB5eDRUe7Q0oKB1luE1dAbKJvF__ZvGm2MepOeMuO0YztCtfJg6VcVvfI60LpEFxTkwm0H--3XLf_IHnegTD5EazgLmq0p9DMZU=w183-h286" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="183" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C10rmw9L6Tw/ ">Listen to the post</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">...<i>more than 4000 Palestinians in refugee camps were slaughtered in the Syrian civil war</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>...it was exposed that the Palestinian Authority is torturing Palestinian prisoners</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>... 850,000 Palestinians were displaced in the Syrian civil war</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>...the Lebanese militias killed 2500 refugees in refugee camps</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>...Hamas dragged bodies of Palestinians through the streets of Gaza for "cooperating" with Israel</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>...Palestinian women were being raped by their husbands because it is legal in Palestine</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>...innocent people were beheaded in Palestine for being gay? You will never hear about them; you will never hear about their stories, you will never know they even existed.</i></span></li></ol></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I vetted the numbers and she is pretty accurate. And she is certainly correct about rapes and gay men. And yes, many more have died in recent weeks during this war, but she raises a valid point: when did you start caring about the Palestinians?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Or, did it become <i>your</i> issue when Jews/Israelis defended themselves against a terrorist attack of such heinous proportion that it rivaled viciousness of the ghetto attacks during the Holocaust? When did it become not okay to defend your citizens, your homes, your country? Or are you just expecting Jews to be weakling victims? </span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But, wait! What if it's Montreal, Canada raiding Montpelier, Vermont....or Chukchi, Russia attacking Nome, Alaska? Would that make a difference? What do you think those terrorized cities would do? Sit down in sackcloth and ashes?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">City councils across the United State are engaging in nothing more than mental masturbation when it comes to these absurd resolutions. They are opening the door to tacitly sanctioned antisemitic attacks. Jews who live in communities where these ridiculous statements are being made are becoming targets for the haters, and perhaps, what's worse, is the implication that Jews are no longer welcome in those cities. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://bbrebooted.blogspot.com/">Brilliant at Breakfast's</a> Jill in Durham, NC wrote to their mayor after one of these absurdities was presented at the city council meeting:</span></div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Nowhere in Durham's charter is there a call for participation in international affairs. A local resolution does NOTHING for the Palestinian people, but signals Durham's tacit support for Hamas to keep their extermination campaign against Jews going. In turn, the message locally will be of the Council's support for open season on Jews and Jewish businesses in Durham. Passage of a resolution will tell a segment of our city’s population that they are not welcome here. Far from being a message of diversity, equity and inclusion, a resolution from the city council calling for Israel to essentially accept its own extermination by Hamas via a permanent ceasefire, even in the face of continued Hamas attacks, only serves to make the city appear to endorse what is a dog-whistle for antisemitism, not just anti-Zionism.</i></span></span></blockquote></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ljb5iZ5FjexYFXrP5eKN5waWjgaa-B0T0mQ1pOu6IrsexEs8xj_ZgQiN81kfAzF5WoguP4Ju75ybdPdirnnsht7klu1JqCeGfc9Vaxlvjy9btSJpWwZIkMHOgjdg3urXTI6ue54UdjOwjA23-Yd0eRTKBvUiwoFV1YqRuA7-wwA-9L7EszMlEGEUQfQ/s994/Picture1..jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="994" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ljb5iZ5FjexYFXrP5eKN5waWjgaa-B0T0mQ1pOu6IrsexEs8xj_ZgQiN81kfAzF5WoguP4Ju75ybdPdirnnsht7klu1JqCeGfc9Vaxlvjy9btSJpWwZIkMHOgjdg3urXTI6ue54UdjOwjA23-Yd0eRTKBvUiwoFV1YqRuA7-wwA-9L7EszMlEGEUQfQ/w186-h175/Picture1..jpg" width="186" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Better they should demand the return of the hostages....those women, children, and BABIES still in the hands of Hamas...because that would bring an immediate cessation of hostilities. But that will never happen because, after all, we're talking about Jewish babies. And Hamas is not about to give up its biggest bargaining chip...although it would mean saving hundreds of Palestinian lives. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hamas doesn't want you to see what's behind the curtain; they only want you to see the propaganda they manufacture. They don't want you to know if the hostages, especially the children and babies, are dead or alive. For Hamas, there is only one endgame: destroy the State of Israel and rid it of all Jews first, and then on to the other religions. That's not opinion, that's from their charter document. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That, in common parlance, is genocide. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 12px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Nothing you can know that isn't known</i></div><i><span jsname="YS01Ge"><div style="text-align: center;">Nothing you can see that isn't shown</div></span><span jsname="YS01Ge"><div style="text-align: center;">There's nowhere you can be that isn't where</div></span><span jsname="YS01Ge"><div style="text-align: center;">You're meant to be</div></span><span jsname="YS01Ge"><div style="text-align: center;">It's easy</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="text-align: start;">All you need is love....</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: courier;">and a really good screenwriting template. </span></span></i></div></span></i></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-65748188155123933232024-01-01T19:41:00.003-06:002024-01-02T18:44:15.701-06:00What They Really, Really Want<div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9AnzqVpkn0QRy4MJ_Q6mBe3hGBJSjvatb5SDj3PbCsYhX7v1uKeMo6gvSyilCjBQAI4Ih2-avUAkwJTD5Apx4mrkkCohvl3BgQomOro5rXa5r-3s5ycMoOVpSBWH131Iknge05D0VMq9wPECbnGefOAzlng8b1hYl4N1EwO5LN6p8SGrKbYi72L3XDeA" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9AnzqVpkn0QRy4MJ_Q6mBe3hGBJSjvatb5SDj3PbCsYhX7v1uKeMo6gvSyilCjBQAI4Ih2-avUAkwJTD5Apx4mrkkCohvl3BgQomOro5rXa5r-3s5ycMoOVpSBWH131Iknge05D0VMq9wPECbnGefOAzlng8b1hYl4N1EwO5LN6p8SGrKbYi72L3XDeA=w200-h150" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've gotten into the habit of ringing in the New Year on my own. That's not to say I wouldn't accept an invitation to go out, but to date, I've not gotten a better offer than me making something I like to eat, drinking something I like to drink, and reading. I've rarely noticed the ball drop since I left the retail world of china, crystal, and silver when I would watch the Waterford ball drop over Times Square...but that was because I knew the designer of all those crystals triangles and counted Jim O'Leary (z"l) as a good friend. And yes, I do think of him on New Year's Eve as I drink my beverage of choice from a Waterford stem. It's a fine tradition and unless something really enticing comes along, I'm gonna stick with it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This year, however, came with a whole lotta thinking about the state of the world, and the State of Israel, and not much celebrating. It's pretty well known that I detest Bibi, that I think he's the harbinger of the destruction of the State of Israel, at least in the court of public opinion....not that it matters much... and he has reduced the moral imperative to a mere shadow of its former self. I am not so naive as to deny there is a certain mythology within the creation of the State of Israel...from both sides. People will construct their own truth based on what they want that truth to be, whether or not it's fact-based.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As revisionist as Israeli history can be, it doesn't hold a candle to the unmitigated fantasy the Palestinian propaganda machine is pumping out. I'm not going to rehash that here, but let's succinctly say Palestine was NEVER its own country, Jesus was NOT a Palestinian...he was a Jew from the Kingdom of Judea, and the Temple Mount is called that because that's where the original Temple stood in Jerusalem, the capital city of the Kingdom 600 years BEFORE the creation of Islam. This is not opinion; this is historically accurate. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Not that facts ever get in the way of good propaganda. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, here's how I ended the year in thought:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All those people shouting <i>From the river to the sea </i>and <i>Free Palestine, </i>may not fully understand that Palestine would be Judenrein...Jew Free. IF it's supposed to be Jew Free, what happens to the Israelis that already live there? Do they </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol><ol><li><span style="font-family: arial;">move to Brooklyn? </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Move to the middle of Australia? </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Move to Africa?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Or, as Hamas and the other radical jihadists propose, driven into the sea to die?</span></li></ol></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If option 4 is on the table, isn't that the same kind of genocide all those protesters are railing about? Or is it <i>GOIIAJ.....genocide's okay if it's a Jew?</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>I've also been listening carefully to the pro-Palestinian pundits on the talk shows. I read what they say in the media. I hear their podcasts....but I never hear an endgame for what happens to the Israeli population....Jews, Arabs, Christians, Druze, Bedouins, or </span><span face="solitaire-mvb-pro, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1f1e1d; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Bahá’ís...after Palestine is free from the river to the sea. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1f1e1d; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1f1e1d; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Approximately 9 million people live in Israel. Where do they go?</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1f1e1d; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="solitaire-mvb-pro, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f1e1d;">And what's worse, NO ONE seems to be asking that question on the chat shows or even in the press. I </span><span style="color: red;"><b>do</b> </span></span><span face="solitaire-mvb-pro, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1f1e1d; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">think that they are:</span></span></div><div><ol><ol><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Scared of the question</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Scared of the answer</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Scared to ask the question</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Scared to admit their interviewee really is advocating genocide</i></span></li></ol></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I <b><span style="color: red;">don't </span></b>think:</span></div><div><ol><ol><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Hamas, nor Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or Iran have a viable endgame in place</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>no part of their endgame includes Jews remaining alive</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Hamas wants this war to end at all lest they no longer be thought of as victims. </i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>this war is going to end any time soon, so long as Bibi is in power.</i></span></li></ol></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;">As long as the war does go on, it's increasingly difficult to fire Bibi as PM. But that also plays into the Gazans-as-victims playbook, relieving them of any and all responsibility for the massive death toll. The blame falls squarely on Bibi with no other factor in consideration. Never mind that human shields are procured, designated, and deployed rather successfully by Hamas. Instead of bemoaning the result of human shielding, they are called martyrs. Who doesn't want to be a martyr and go straight to heaven?</span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The next time you watch a chat show or read an "in-depth" article or listen to a podcast, ask yourself, <i>What do they really want? </i></span><span style="font-family: arial;">If you're being honest with yourself, the answer can be terrifying. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Just sayin'.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the New Year</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Confronted by pro-Palestine activists?</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Engage in conversation if at all possible.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The question to sneak in is:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If Palestine is free from the river to the sea, </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">where do the Israelis go?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Then, either leave a comment here or</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> send an email with their response.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Inquiring minds want to know.</i></span></div></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-77591619394217363142023-12-25T23:44:00.003-06:002023-12-26T06:58:14.453-06:00'Twas the Night After Christmas...<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Over the years, many Jewish customs have formed around the celebration of Christmas. Some families have Erev Christmas Board Game Nights. Some have Read-A-Loud Night where short stories by Jewish authors like Sholem Aleichem and Isaac Bashevis Singer are shared in Yiddish or English. On Christmas Day we would go bowling in the morning and to the movies in the afternoon. At the local move house, you'd run into everyone from shul...unless it was shabbat....then we would convene at someone's house to do jigsaw puzzles.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGxa1H4wA-wOuXb8voVjgO7Q3Oq2KA0Jt5vVyGNI7_7_XFLkBID3jMAmFqgjUKWFUjZjtwWlT_5z5QFZWFEFvv32W14eGnAN23kHhge_00s038H4-rNqwQml_UNEI8Cjop8975Xfesr9yV6iEnkOOkA5WW66CWD-2sHDQvNSPyvmhM8E-Wy25zBkHLUAA=w169-h211" width="169" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"><i>Note for fussy people: Yes,<br />those are Japanese udon noodles. <br />I wasn't in the mood for rice. </i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But of all the Jewish Christmas traditions, the best known is the eating of Chinese food. This is a peculiarly American tradition. Again, everyone from shul would be at Kwong Ming in Wantagh or Hunan Gourmet in Merrick. Here, we would meet up at The Great Wall in Highland by Lund's. Today was not one of those days.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Today, it was 55°F and raining. In Minnesota. It was like the worst kind of day in March or November. Besides, since Ziggy left the building, I'm not much in the. mood for going without him, even after all these years. So I make my own Chinese food, and I gotta tell you, I'm pretty good at this. This year was crispy chicken with red, green, and chili peppers and Hoisin Sauce (ICYDK: Kikoman's has an OU hechsher.) Anyway, it was particularly good on this miserably chilled night. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the middle of the Kansas City Chiefs game (they lost,) we had a power outage. I guess a chunk of our little village was dark. My first thought was <i>who plugged in the Christmas tree? </i> When I was a kid, one of our neighbors annually went dark when the dad plugged in the Christmas tree. As we got older, we kinda took bets on which string of lights was the fuse-blower. But power was back in time for the Eagles game (they won,) so it wasn't a total loss. There are only so many sappy Christmas movies I can stand!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixVDJEHl8PLhqqKHm01S8bDXzU7QRz0h277FiqVLs0m93Q7986zIRkSa2iNqv8-E5DHj6cjBOWaQ4bp-ddj5NiC4VZHgCagXEg_IoaxnSZF2OZRHiorBLjI4prNNPgsBu8naAbOjAng4YZmOilRc4EuI6pGhOb_lMOaUzqEpTRjmKSircd_woGnlBbXLc" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1243" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixVDJEHl8PLhqqKHm01S8bDXzU7QRz0h277FiqVLs0m93Q7986zIRkSa2iNqv8-E5DHj6cjBOWaQ4bp-ddj5NiC4VZHgCagXEg_IoaxnSZF2OZRHiorBLjI4prNNPgsBu8naAbOjAng4YZmOilRc4EuI6pGhOb_lMOaUzqEpTRjmKSircd_woGnlBbXLc=w146-h123" width="146" /></a></div>Despite the twinkling lights and the udon noodles, I cannot get away from obsessing about the disaster that is the war between Israel and Gaza. It takes much of my headspace on any given day, and I find myself turning off the national news, something I have never really done. At a press conference at the State Department on December 20th, Secretary Anthony Blinken said:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; text-align: start; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What is striking to me is that even as, again, we hear many countries urging the end to this conflict, which we would all like to see, I hear virtually no one saying – demanding of Hamas that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender. This is over tomorrow if Hamas does that. This would have been over a month ago, six weeks ago, if Hamas had done that. How can it be that there are no demands made of the aggressor and only demands made of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; text-align: start; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="-1"></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; text-align: start; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the victim?</span></i></span></blockquote></div></div><p></p></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Why is that? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I don't think there is a Jewish person in the country who is not aggrieved at plight of Gaza civilians. Once upon a time, I would've thought there wasn't a Jewish person in the country who didn't understand what is at risk in this dispute, but now, I'm not so sure about that. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The spin doctors are working overtime to make sure Gazans are portrayed as the only victims of aggression without any responsibility for the massacre of October 7th. Does it make sense to hold all of Gaza's civilian population responsible for this war, or is there any way to get people to understand the vicious cycle of human shields? And what does everyone think will happen if Israel stands down? Golda Meir once warned:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>There cannot be quiet on one side of the border and shelling on the other. We will either have peace on both sides or trouble on both sides. I understand the Arabs want to wipe us out, but do they expect us to cooperate?</i></span></blockquote></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1TUb1eBlSy0tbKN_QFDQfo45aTAW39HxUTMenpRCHCU5ju3uJDSG0Ulceb8006t_fj4cNwdw93eYMdXAWsf7dCqNzkBLHzvkBE0nOkA9-r1aTlxO5uMlCxghhoEmwCcADoKXLI2CMjOJlkQXlnbFiHcd2ejEeNvC1EYTmXhCIYvlI_ZBYrh-GD56HLG0" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1159" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1TUb1eBlSy0tbKN_QFDQfo45aTAW39HxUTMenpRCHCU5ju3uJDSG0Ulceb8006t_fj4cNwdw93eYMdXAWsf7dCqNzkBLHzvkBE0nOkA9-r1aTlxO5uMlCxghhoEmwCcADoKXLI2CMjOJlkQXlnbFiHcd2ejEeNvC1EYTmXhCIYvlI_ZBYrh-GD56HLG0=w107-h148" width="107" /></a></div>Blinken's observation, coupled with Meir's, brings into focus the dichotomy faced by Israel. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #131313;">And that's where this war get particularly ugly. The bombing of Gaza has killed over 20,000 Palestinians. In the eyes of the world, Israel has become the aggressor, the one who has come to kill. In a newsprint world, this would be black or white issue, with no grey in the middle. But how is Israel supposed to respond after 75 years of attempts to get the Palestinians to form a state have failed? After 4 declared wars, in which Israel prevailed each time, there has not been a significant change for the Palestinian doctrine of annihilation of Israel and its population. Golda </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Meir also said:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #131313; font-style: italic;">You cannot negotiate peace with somebody who has come to kill you.</span></blockquote></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><p>But everyone needs to know the war will stop when the hostages are returned and Hamas stops hiding behind its civilians. It's just that simple. </p><p>Meanwhile, back at the ranch:</p><p>There may not be a new blog next Monday, a lousy way to start the year. Something significant is happening next week and while I can't write about it quite yet, I promise full disclosure after the deed is done. </p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week </i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Sometimes, you have to be brave,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>step out of your comfort one,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>and take the leap. </i></div></span></div><p></p>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-43770464886829145972023-12-18T22:52:00.003-06:002023-12-19T00:15:36.007-06:00To Be Or Not To Be... Funny<div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2PvrZjbj9x_UPxQx8i6_ovspLv6uu-QkLEZZSIGpUv6Lh00kIfjulZv8MTBZjaGj5VeNHeMXHIeuXWsa5HG365aosX-yZfi64L-xLGxR_2fO-y2VK0NNYYY2BIADRqcVSD3fZXI3gDj_dOMOcKOjTuU0wfGtvjt3Ymws-m8WL-5otGMOFyeYLwiOgdu8" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="410" data-original-width="410" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2PvrZjbj9x_UPxQx8i6_ovspLv6uu-QkLEZZSIGpUv6Lh00kIfjulZv8MTBZjaGj5VeNHeMXHIeuXWsa5HG365aosX-yZfi64L-xLGxR_2fO-y2VK0NNYYY2BIADRqcVSD3fZXI3gDj_dOMOcKOjTuU0wfGtvjt3Ymws-m8WL-5otGMOFyeYLwiOgdu8=w139-h139" width="139" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Alan Zweibel</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Alan Zweibel, one of the original SNL writers, went to Hebrew school with my big brother, and somehow they have managed to stay in touch. Because of that connection, I became a fan of Alan's work, read his books, gone to hear him speak, and thought he was pretty funny even as a grown up. And then he wrote a piece for <a href="https://airmail.news/" target="_blank">AIRMAIL,</a> a seriously interesting "lively digital digest;" they live up to their own hype. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Zweibel's <a href="https://airmail.news/issues/2023-12-16/the-view-from-here" target="_blank">exceptional essay on Jewish humor in the face of October 7th</a> tackles the issue head on. Often asked why he thought Jews have been prominent in the world of comedy, he posits:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #262635; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Humor is a mindset—a coping mechanism, if you will—that has enabled us to survive the persecution we’ve withstood through the centuries. A deflection of sorts from the horrors of pogroms, expulsions from so many countries, the Holocaust, and the more subtle gentlemen’s agreements that tacitly made it impossible for a Jewish family to move into certain communities. As my friend Rob Reiner said when asked what was at the root of Jewish comedy: “Fear.”</i></span></span></blockquote></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I have long believed fear is the baseline. When my husband complained to my dad about Jewish comedians, saying "There's a huge difference between laughing with us and at us," my dad replied, "any laughter buys us time to get out." Reiner just says it another way. They each are touching one end of the same nerve. Distraction is a powerful tool, to a point. And if we can make 'em laugh.....</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But these days, it's hard to be distracted, much less intentionally funny, let alone laugh. The exponential rise of antisemitism not just in these here United States, but world wide, is terrifying. It's not the words, but the knowledge that we've lived this before....in Shushan, in Spain, in England, in Portugal, and, of course in Germany. Even after the Holocaust we saw it in Poland, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt at the birth of the State of Israel. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1320" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinqw7SlOQgRKmJXCMbgkBZbwIaBo_sRWNZAeK3PEQw6JoejprS8Drw0CzE8mk2eh1YNi4fKWEE4VdPS9WT2-MmOxdTahrrV29dVWLKgkQ1EiW5bc5m8-ZyYkFn9Pv4zlumEThsQCVbape346CUcfNYMBVZbFNzFduPnp9PAbA26JV2JgDSOrhBoxiCno4=w170-h96" width="170" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Rabbi Heschel with Dr. King in Selma</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Obviously, this is not new, in fact, it's been growing steadily. From <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/nazis-racism-charlottesville/536928/">the marchers in Charlottesville</a> chanting will <i>"Jews will not replace us!" </i> in August of 2017, to the <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/is-the-womens-march-melting-down">Women's March in January of 2017</a>, right up to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-sexual-violence-un.html">UN Women ignoring condemnation of the use of rape by Hamas</a> is only a thin slice of virulent populist antisemitism. Hey! Ava Duvernay even removed Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel from the movie <b>Selma</b> rather than show a Jew with Dr. King. In recent months, the bravado that comes with confidence that they will be neither stopped nor held accountable for their action has spurred the antisemites to come out of their closet, especially on college campuses.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But something happened on October 7th that we'd not seen since the 30s and 40s: the wholesale murder of Jews for being Jews. Rape, genital mutilation, beheaded, burning, and shooting of civiian men, women, and children becomes the commodity of war. Hamas filmed their operatives hunting <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D8dyVUwDu52k%26fbclid%3DIwAR3S2wiDJ5BcEYmTkuKPXaM8ZUaxJ07BrF9-w3QO5VbSN89jv6dRmntIomM&h=AT0cOWWNXSm8z_JOtfZRtS-iW4Y826WA-E9JenA14EBGsW7JRUOxRFUy0EHqCBMF5_k-U-hZm0Ym96oUS1ISWWT_I2xf3qYIsUzHis2_qnRRB1CuJbLFqpdHSisQj2eV0xLLGgXrkMB5cHRCVrGng5T8">Jews in the kibbutzim</a>. (Watch it if you dare)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Communities with whom Jews have stood with on the front lines of civil rights, equal rights, and racism are not merely silent; they condone the actions of Hamas. They call them freedom fighters not understanding what their version of freedom means. They shout about <i>From the River To The Sea, </i>not grokking what they're shouting about. But it doesn't much matter because they are actively setting up for an open season on Jews.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How can one be funny after that? Zweibel isn't alone in his confrontation of fear:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; color: #262635; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Then came October 7—when the fear became present. When the unheeded warnings relegated to the past visited us with an unannounced vengeance. When the 78-year-old vow made after the liberation of Auschwitz of “Never again!” came rushing forward, and we realized that “again” was now.</i></span></p><blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #262635; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>I grew up in an assimilated time when a lot of my Jewish friends were admitted to Ivy League schools, people of all religions were using the word “schmuck,” and Sandy Koufax was nationally applauded for refusing to pitch the opening game of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur.</i></span></blockquote><p style="background-color: white; color: #262635; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>It was also the day I found it impossible to focus on my work. As if it would be blasphemous to even look for anything funny when such savagery was rendered upon so many who were doing nothing more than enjoying their lives.</i></span></p></blockquote></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I wondered the same thing every time I laughed at a joke. <i>How can I be so callow as to laugh in the face of the enormity of hate? </i> I did not, nor do I now, have an answer. And yes, I feel guilty each time I smile about something else. Yet, I know as Jews, we will ultimately find humor buried in the rubble. Already I've seen Israeli videos mocking those on campus who support Hamas. Harsh to the point of being cruel, those videos are meant to be laughed at....but with a well-honed razor's edge. </span></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I am certain someone will complain about my even posting this video, but frankly, I don't care if I upset anyone. </span></span></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And although I don't always like what Bill Maher says, his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP-CRXROorw">New Rule</a> segment last Friday on the conflict is fact-based, blunt, and spot on. There are even a few Maher-ian inappropriate jokes, but hey! It's Bill Maher. Still, the segment is worth watching:</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KP-CRXROorw" width="320" youtube-src-id="KP-CRXROorw"></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The fears we are experiencing are very real. Videos shot and released by Hamas demonstrate they are serious about their claims of wiping Israel and Jews off the map. Do we take them at their word that this is their goal? We must, and at the same time understand that should a ceasefire or a truce be set in place, it will not last and we will be under attack again. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Eventually, not long in the future, there will be grim jokes about October 7th. We will laugh because that is what we do when we face our fears. We cannot be afraid and we cannot let them think we are afraid. Like every other time they tried to kill us, we will survive. We will remember the dead, but we will choose to remember them as they were....alive. We will laugh with our dead because that's the only way we will be able to move forward with giant holes in our hearts. In our community heart. In the heart of Am Yisrael....the People of Israel. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Italian author and Holocaust survivor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primo_Levi">Primo Levi</a> wrote:</span></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #262635; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“Monsters exist, but they are too few in numbers to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are … the functionaries ready to believe and act without asking questions.”</i></span></span></blockquote></div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I have believed that for a long time. The monster might set the stage, but it is his/her cabal that carries out the terror. It gives the monster <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_deniability">plausible deniability</a> in the court of public opinion, and allows the monster to go forward. Hamas leadership relies on that scenario as they take their jihad forward. Think I'm making this up? Read <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/doctrine-hamas">The Doctrine of Hamas.</a> Pay close attention to the section called The Movement. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Zweibel closes his essay in a way that speaks to and for many of us. </span></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #262635; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>I also wait. Frightened to think where all this will lead. Frightened that we have a grandson who will soon be applying to colleges. Frightened as my grandparents were when they said, “If it happened, it can happen again.” And silently wondering when I’ll feel comfortable enough to be funny again.</i></span></span></blockquote></div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But right now. At this moment. It's just too fucking hard to laugh. Maybe later.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial;"><i>We may have endless differences amongst ourselves,</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial;"><i>but in the end, we are a single community.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial;"><i>Or so they tell us. </i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i><b>עם ישראל חי</b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial;"><i><b>AM YISRAEL CHAI!</b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The people of Israel Live!</span></i></span></div><p></p>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-76734818375702236472023-12-11T21:16:00.008-06:002023-12-11T23:42:39.409-06:00“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?"<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I am taking a breather to write about something domestic this week: education in America. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgTLL7eMWOnCOpGaRo8fZnSkmHrb1UJg23guGwnwRADZAVubtoXZM-Qxm1GINCqI_zEF00KQBrJFIDLBZEdO_tin5xJKpZpADhK6l420c3EFlCcngJ6joc2aZl0Z0z1VgiQ19JqFcW6dbWBVHOKZ_jo6jBfBFwTOpgmXNIul1VWLZSbTry_sZ1ZX6VDhY" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgTLL7eMWOnCOpGaRo8fZnSkmHrb1UJg23guGwnwRADZAVubtoXZM-Qxm1GINCqI_zEF00KQBrJFIDLBZEdO_tin5xJKpZpADhK6l420c3EFlCcngJ6joc2aZl0Z0z1VgiQ19JqFcW6dbWBVHOKZ_jo6jBfBFwTOpgmXNIul1VWLZSbTry_sZ1ZX6VDhY=w200-h133" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span face="Grot10, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">photo: Kimberly Cambra/Philadelphia Inquirer</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In the last year, good folks of Bucks County had a bit of an issue with the Central Bucks school board. Seems the Republican run school board has been replaced by a whole new crop of Democrats. One-time Republican now turned Democrat Karen Smith was sworn in as school board chair not on a Bible, but on a stack of banned books. The book on top? <b>NIGHT</b> by Elie Wiesel. She chose it because a quote from that book was ordered to be removed from a library due to a board policy that "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">banned staff from advocating beliefs to students on “partisan, political, or social policy issues." </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The removed quote? </span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.</span></i></span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">The other books in the pile?</span><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The Bluest Eye</b> by Toni Morrison: about a child being raped by her father. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lily and Dunkin</span></span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">by Donna Gephart: with a transgender main character</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">All Boys Aren’t Blue</span></span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">by George M. Johnson: about a young man growing up Black and queer.</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Flamer</b></span></span><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>, </b>by Mike Curato: about a teenager grappling with his identity</span></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Beyond Magenta</b></span></span><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>, </b>by Susan Kuklin: about the lives of 6 transgender teens</span></span></span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;">Each of those books confront marginalized groups. Kids need to read books in which they see themselves even when they have not shared that intimate knowledge with others. They need to see they are not alone or weird or abnormal. Each one of those books deals with identity and should never be locked away from readers.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;">Is this what education in the United States has come to? Mob rule? Get elected or appointed and make rules up as you go? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;">Marginalized groups are being terrorized in academic settings and some seek to legitimize that rhetoric. When administrators turn a blind eye and then turn their backs on students of any kind of minority, they are not serving their communities with justice. They are painting targets on kids backs whether or not they fully comprehend the impact of their actions. They are providing tacit approval for bullying and harassment. Doesn't matter if it's gay kids, or trans kids, or Jews, or Muslims, or kids who wear green sneakers. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;">Pull the books about marginalized communities outta the library, tell kids that stuff is bad for them, and the kids will do the rest. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;">Once the target is in place, the potential victim is established, marked, and eventually attacked.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi05WSO9FJiN0qDim8oxg3Gq5qDw6pUAjoYrmcw35dlZusxqDj7Fzqm2cEqbgI7HqMC_pH9YKGEvqCvPPO8j2bXHedagvFbRdzsM0T9rghitR_ufdoFeHPgEJNg81DtAc3S08vN3VpVoiabaUgJnSNK9bm3YSVqbVNjZoIDyk_mM-MlOmLmlOWzAuTnRsc" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="444" data-original-width="650" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi05WSO9FJiN0qDim8oxg3Gq5qDw6pUAjoYrmcw35dlZusxqDj7Fzqm2cEqbgI7HqMC_pH9YKGEvqCvPPO8j2bXHedagvFbRdzsM0T9rghitR_ufdoFeHPgEJNg81DtAc3S08vN3VpVoiabaUgJnSNK9bm3YSVqbVNjZoIDyk_mM-MlOmLmlOWzAuTnRsc=w200-h137" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Ms. Magill, Dr. Kornbluth, and Dr. Gay</span></td></tr></tbody></table>This week, presidents of three prestigious universities testified before a <a href="https://wapo.st/3RlIt4W">congressional House committee</a> about anti-semitism on their campuses. Students across the country are being harassed, attacked, and openly threatened because they are Jews. Those attackers are not going after Israelis per se, they are going after all Jewish students and faculty. Swastikas, threatening graffiti, and physical intimidation are becoming increasingly common on campuses. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;">The presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, and MIT were all asked about what was happening to Jewish students on their respective campuses. All three were asked the same question by Representative Elise Stefanik (R, NY):</span></div><p></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><p></p><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“I am asking, specifically: Calling for the genocide of Jews, does that constitute bullying or harassment?”</i></span></span></div></blockquote><p></p></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All three, Ms. Magill of Penn, Dr. Kornbluth of MIT (who is Jewish), and Dr. Gay of Harvard said it depended on context. While one might argue <i>context </i>may be a factor in prosecutorial conversation, the intent of the speeches, chants, or verbal assaults cannot be dismissed as requiring context. What context would they accept? Someone's head bashed in? Jews herded into a building? Or perhaps a synagogue shot up...like Tree of Life in Pittsburgh or Temple Israel in Albany?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is a point missing from their context-laden speeches...and that is intent. The shouts, the jeers, the slogans are not innocuous; they are meant to incite a reaction. Just as the January 6th insurrectionists were not merely peaceful demonstrators intent on visiting the Capitol to take in the sights, crowds screaming <i>From the River to the Sea, Palestine</i> Must Be Free are not simply trying to make a point. They are trying to rally others to their cause. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What would the three presidents say had the word <i>Jews</i> been changed to <i>Blacks</i>? Would they remain as morally ambiguous as they appeared? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Korbluth did admit to being Jewish during her testimony. She said,</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #101010; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i>As an American, as a Jew, and as a human being, I abhor antisemitism, and my administration is combatting it actively." </i></blockquote></span></span></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Still, she insisted that calls for genocide be tempered by context. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">I wonder how Sally Kornbluth would feel if she was the one being targeted because she was Jewish? Or if her kids were the ones being attacked because they were Jewish? Would that have been enough context for her?</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Maybe someone should've asked that. follow-up question.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>If you're gonna shout slogans,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>at least bother to learn what they mean.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-which-river-to-which-sea-anti-israel-protests-college-student-ignorance-a682463b?st=qplwzpjf9886czp&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink">from the Wall Street Journal - 5 December 2023</a></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeFzWoGWA2UqD-KODVVN7kIb-mrajoqufHPPzo56AxCisZVdEjt2ulLsNi87WDvNBC24LJBtweqGpPaa1me2AEpdB3I3fBDEftGAlL7oPfJcef_XPAI7GVyhCnFdcFcgCaq8uctz94kChqHTq9Xt86qozSd9wk2jjnfnwXjH-MqxVh-vzxBZre7GtoI7I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="1672" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeFzWoGWA2UqD-KODVVN7kIb-mrajoqufHPPzo56AxCisZVdEjt2ulLsNi87WDvNBC24LJBtweqGpPaa1me2AEpdB3I3fBDEftGAlL7oPfJcef_XPAI7GVyhCnFdcFcgCaq8uctz94kChqHTq9Xt86qozSd9wk2jjnfnwXjH-MqxVh-vzxBZre7GtoI7I=w400-h280" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">***********</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>PS: Bonus points if you get the title quote right. Send an email to </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>thewifelyperson@gmail.com</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I'll announce the winner next week. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>There just might be a prize for the first correct email. </i></div></span></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-23749314888696078982023-12-04T22:50:00.004-06:002023-12-05T08:31:36.087-06:00Me too, unless you're a Jew<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEKabGAzM7T6CHD61rdFcfP_07eI_R3x9Z6FiiVbIXRNBH0RrJ7loeCNy23wpXbicaHc1_meuWNuXGPXzHy_9egPEN8fc2vGrDOg9K4utC3Bdc35ctwx-uIE62ISjtukGwCMmWKt6iTrSi7QPL-mbP2wtZdPnvFt10CWUrqR3qVGNQR-bYsL_MyeRLMvE/s2048/UN%20Rally%20by%20Perdie.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEKabGAzM7T6CHD61rdFcfP_07eI_R3x9Z6FiiVbIXRNBH0RrJ7loeCNy23wpXbicaHc1_meuWNuXGPXzHy_9egPEN8fc2vGrDOg9K4utC3Bdc35ctwx-uIE62ISjtukGwCMmWKt6iTrSi7QPL-mbP2wtZdPnvFt10CWUrqR3qVGNQR-bYsL_MyeRLMvE/w200-h150/UN%20Rally%20by%20Perdie.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">December 4th demonstration<br />Photo by Barbara Mazor</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've spent much of this week trying not to give myself a stroke from reading the news. Seriously. I can feel my blood pressure going through the ceiling as I watch and read some of the absolute bullshit batshit going on around the world. I am constantly astounded by how, even now, in the weeks following the massacre in Israel, the voice of Jewish women is ignored. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">UN WOMEN remained silent in the face of the October 7th atrocities against women until forced to issue a statement on December 1st, 2023. Their statement is absurd in its focus. Past some lip service mentioning October 7th, it says nothing about heinousness of the crimes committed against Israeli women. Doubt me? Read the statement:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><div class="Ar Au Ao" id=":1aa"><div aria-controls=":1k1" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Message Body" aria-multiline="true" aria-owns=":1k1" class="Am aiL Al editable LW-avf tS-tW tS-tY" g_editable="true" hidefocus="true" id=":1ae" role="textbox" spellcheck="false" style="direction: ltr; min-height: 433px;" tabindex="1"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">We deeply regret that military operations have resumed in
Gaza, and we reiterate that all women, Israeli women, Palestinian women, as all
others, are entitled to a life lived in safety and free from violence.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">We unequivocally condemn the brutal attacks by Hamas on
Israel on 7 October. We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based
atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks. This is why we have called
for all accounts of gender-based violence to be duly investigated and
prosecuted, with the rights of the victim at the core.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">In all conflicts, UN women fully supports rigorous
investigations and Commissions of Inquiry where they exist. We are actively
supporting the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which began its investigation into sexual
violence very shortly after the attacks occurred. We welcome that the
Commission has opened its call for submissions on gender-based crimes since 7
October. </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">We also welcome that the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten has activated
the UN Action network, of which we are a member, to proactively share
UN-sourced and verified information on incidents, patterns, and trends of
conflict-related sexual violence to aid all investigations.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">We continue to call for accountability for all acts of
gender-based violence committed on and after 7 October, the immediate and
unconditional release of all remaining hostages, and a humanitarian ceasefire.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">For the sake of everyone in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory and Israel, and especially women and children, we call for a return
to a path of peace, a respect for international humanitarian and international
human rights law, and an end to the suffering of people in Gaza and in Israel,
and those families still waiting for their loved ones to return.</span></i></p></div></div></blockquote></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rigorous investigations. Hmmm. They want more tape? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In response to this exercises in absurdity, Jewish women marched on the UN this afternoon...Monday, December 4th, 2023, demanding that our voices be heard. <b>Rape as a weapon of war is a crime against humanity. </b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1u/k1u8mfvmcm?" target="_blank">Hear Our Voices</a> </b>was an event held today at the UN. If you can handle it, watch the whole thing. I will tell you it's hard to do, but I strongly urge <b><i>everyone</i></b> to watch it from start to finish. The list of speakers include Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Superintendent of the Israeli National Police Yael Richert who oversees identification of bodies, Sari Mendes who is part of the chevrah for preparing female IDF soldier...and civilians in the massacre...for burial, Simcha Glaiman of Zaka who was part of the body recovery team, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and others. Each is critical to hear. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJFk8DkKmL-onJuO6vAS6Km8tpi0gZV2cvtyuJpfILOWQOlLNYuKJhYr-F7mskA_p2NOoBJ2LuRVNVgcW1RAgJSwpUtfphs9QvV_E2p1ugjtvnSE0JteRNYKr1imGl4cIt3XDLkI3LJ5_S1djc23voO2qR_4-jZJG-4TRDqZM-p5coKmMd5HyJpGMVE4c" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img data-original-height="656" data-original-width="414" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJFk8DkKmL-onJuO6vAS6Km8tpi0gZV2cvtyuJpfILOWQOlLNYuKJhYr-F7mskA_p2NOoBJ2LuRVNVgcW1RAgJSwpUtfphs9QvV_E2p1ugjtvnSE0JteRNYKr1imGl4cIt3XDLkI3LJ5_S1djc23voO2qR_4-jZJG-4TRDqZM-p5coKmMd5HyJpGMVE4c=w109-h174" width="109" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">But <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C0craZ5PJ25/?hl=en" target="_blank">Mendana Dayani</a>, the last speaker, is an absolute must listen. She calls out all those with whom we have stood with shoulder-to-shoulder to protest violence against women across the globe, to support the Black Live Matter movement, to stand with the LGBTQ+ community for full civil rights to account for the collective silence they have given us since October 7th. She emphasizes that when we, as women, talk about being heard, we are talking about <b>ALL WOMEN</b> and not just a select few. She tells them<br /></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #4d5156;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><i><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">You ignored our pleas.</blockquote></i></span></span></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She calls out the UN's long history of siding against Israel, the demands that the UN do its job for the women and girls who were raped, mutilated, and murdered on October 7th. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is no ignoring the eyewitness testimony, or the audio clips of Hamas terrorists bragging to their families about how many Jews they killed. Recognition of the intentionality, planning, and execution of the attacks cannot be dismissed as acts of passion in war. THEY WERE ORCHESTRATED. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What becomes unfathomable and unconscionable is the silence from our so-called allies in the women's movement. Justifying rape and mutilation because you don't like a particular government or religion is never justifiable. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Or maybe, it does us a favor. It gives us a window into the real-world politics of being a Jew. Maybe, just maybe, it reminds us that we are <i>not </i>one of them. We are white only when it suits their purposes, otherwise, we are <i>the other</i>. That we are not inherently entitled to the same protections under international law. That singling out the only democratic state in the Middle East is okay because it's a Jewish state. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I read a lot about genocide this past week because a certain person asked me what it meant. In this case, we were at MIA's exhibit <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/in-our-hands-native-photography-1890-to-now">In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now</a>, </i>a brilliant and thought-provoking exhibition. The word genocide was used in several of the descriptions of the photographs, and the question was asked. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Considering the age of this certain person, I explained in very broad terms that it basically meant when one group of people tried to permanently get rid of another group of people.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But that, in turn, took me down a rabbit hole on the meaning of genocide when I saw it used in a letter signed by over 1,000 British artists about Israel. Three of the signers happen to be actors I greatly admire: Olivia Coleman, Harriet Walker, and Juliet Stevenson. I always thought they were intelligent women.... but not anymore. It was pretty clear they don't do their homework before signing on to stuff. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The letter as described in the UK's <b><a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/olivia-colman-signs-letter-citing-genocide-of-palestinians-dsoy1ir1">Jewish Chronicle</a></b> cites </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #142233; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>an Israeli “genocide” against the Palestinians" and "</i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #142233; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>accuses cultural institutions across Western countries of “repressing, silencing and stigmatising Palestinian voices and perspectives”.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #142233; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="Ar Au Ao" id=":19z"><div aria-controls=":1u6" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Message Body" aria-multiline="true" aria-owns=":1u6" class="Am aiL Al editable LW-avf tS-tW tS-tY" g_editable="true" hidefocus="true" id=":1ep" role="textbox" spellcheck="false" style="direction: ltr; min-height: 433px;" tabindex="1"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i>The statement says its signatories “refuse to pit one
community against the other, and stand firmly against all forms of racism
including Islamophobia and antisemitism” but does not mention the Hamas
atrocities on October 7 that kick-started the conflict.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i>The letter says: “The scale of violence unfolding in Gaza
demands our collective attention and action. Members of Israel’s far-right
government are openly calling for ethnic cleansing.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i>“The use of starvation as a weapon of war, along with denial
of water and electricity, is cruel beyond words.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i>“The wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure, the
bombing of hospitals, schools, churches and mosques, the killing of 14,500
people in a matter of weeks, amount to a policy of collective punishment
against the Palestinian people.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i>“The United Nations and hundreds of legal scholars have
called on the international community to prevent genocide.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i>The main targets of the letter are arts institutions that,
in the words of the letter, “cancel performances, screenings, talks,
exhibitions and book launches” and “threaten livelihoods of artists and arts
workers who express solidarity with Palestinians”.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i>The letter goes on to say: “While catastrophe unfolds, we
have observed a glaring absence of statements of solidarity with Palestinian
people from most UK arts organisations.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i> </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i>“We find it deeply troubling and, frankly, indicative of a
disturbing double standard that expressions of solidarity, which have been
readily offered to other peoples facing brutal oppression, have not been
extended to Palestinians.”</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><i><br /></i></p></div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Really? Here are some of the standard requirements for the designation of genocide:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li><i>The Palestinian population has flourished and grown exponentially since 1948</i>. </li><ul><li>That's not genocidal.</li></ul><li><i>Law or cultural power excludes groups from full civil rights:</i></li><ul><li>In Gaza: yes. In Israel: no. Israeli Arabs have all civil rights including voting</li></ul><li><i>Victims are identified and separated out because of their ethnic or religious identity</i></li><ul><li>In Gaza: yes. In Israel: no; all religions have equal rights to pray as they see fit. </li></ul><li><i>Killers refer to murder as 'extermination' because they do not believe their victims to be fully human: </i></li><ul><li>In Gaza: yes. See LGBTQ+ legal status. In Israel: No.</li></ul></ul></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">These are just few. When you get into war and war crime, the definitions shift a bit because of offensive and defensive positions. But you can't use those to layer a different set of blames. They get their own, and I think we all understand that. </div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But using the standards above, I'd like to know more about the <i>double</i> standard to which they refer. Is that the one where it's okay to kill Israelis because Israel isn't allowed to defend itself? Or the one where it's okay for Hamas to fire thousands of missiles into towns and villages without fear of reprisal? I particularly like the part about <i>ethnic cleansing. </i>I guess they don't understand that <i>river to the sea</i> requires TOTAL ethnic cleansing...or that the status of homosexuals and trans people in Gaza require execution. Hmmmm. Maybe someone should mention that, not that they would be believed because, after all, it must be a Jewish plot to discredit the kind folks of Gaza City.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipwYLW3vTFPlIRkEMnc8i0MeIpP5YLzbFVvsNYhyKgmk5SBtWp_y_n0DzTFWyyHIASfnsDE3kKvZSSUZyp1t8o41UyUjauypymj8y8flFp60GzZghzKxQLU-XrALEDNiFmuKYU_KgME4CKI9gV-JzG4XOFBMU76sqMo9CrPpceYYVsqlcwLcqJ3Q6fXJE=w158-h158" width="158" /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am so tired of the trope, the hate, the blame-casting, and the refusal to see us a people. We can no longer ask, <i>Do we not bleed? </i>because we have proof in all forms of media that we do, in fact, bleed. But it will never be enough for the Jew haters of the world. <a href="https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1716874448694096095?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1716874448694096095%7Ctwgr%5Eef518da52359fb72873977b91a126a9feaea32a5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fidf-publishes-audio-of-hamas-terrorist-calling-family-to-brag-of-killing-jews%2F">Jewish body count apparently is a thing, and you get to brag about it to your family and friends from your victims cellphones </a> or uploading video to Facebook so families can watch family members die. I guess that's okay, too. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, there are thousands of casualties in Gaza. That's a fact of war. But Israel wasn't preventing them from evacuating; it was Hamas refusing to let their human shields leave the area. If you start a war, Hamas, guess what? Israel will fire back. Israel's obligation is to its citizens; yours, however, is to your bank accounts. When the leaders of Hamas are the richest oligarchs in the region, it's not because your people are successful and thriving; it's because you are stealing from them. They are starving while you're partying in Qatar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But British entertainers don't want to hear that. Nor does the UN or most of the world. No. They are happy to close their eyes and close their drapes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnmNwB30XX8sfaRCFm_BvirILVocRu8jR9374R120mhYXXNYqDOcWF2s_M2RCq4Pny7XK4skXRBMjziV96cRdb_MQGzy5TCXMLly5S_JXs0k0nxWwIzIb_55tF2hEGwCmvbY4TdasdHuUQQAlKzgszEA-SISoB8LUpqh7LHo0yeWBeZCnWckuvs79xQEA" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnmNwB30XX8sfaRCFm_BvirILVocRu8jR9374R120mhYXXNYqDOcWF2s_M2RCq4Pny7XK4skXRBMjziV96cRdb_MQGzy5TCXMLly5S_JXs0k0nxWwIzIb_55tF2hEGwCmvbY4TdasdHuUQQAlKzgszEA-SISoB8LUpqh7LHo0yeWBeZCnWckuvs79xQEA=w200-h133" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Elizabeth Robertson/<br />Inquirer staff photographer</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Don't let yourselves think it ain't here either. It is. Just ask <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/philly-palestine-protest-goldie-center-city-20231203.html">Chef Michael Solomonov of Philadelphia</a>. The Pro-Gaza Gang apparently doesn't like falafel prepared by Jews. Last night they were protesting in front of one of his restaurants. And here, some of you thought it was political. Silly you. Next, they'll be trying to shut down Russ & Daughters or Ben's. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Wanted: New Bucket List destination.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Barcelona's city government is supporting Hamas.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>No </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: left; text-wrap: nowrap;"><i>Antoni Gaudí for me. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: left; text-wrap: nowrap;"><i>(sigh)</i></span></div></span><div><div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #142233; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote></span></span></div></blockquote><p></p><p></p></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-81671295257118642032023-11-27T22:10:00.001-06:002023-11-27T22:10:25.628-06:00There Is No Free Speech....It's all expensive.<div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincZ5tDygn5KLefXhn5w1m58Vwa1gGvIF08wTafFbYjIaSaVhfeoNgeHFzBwRqtXUSRK3ZvaS8tGD-zuXiy_itIkhlM1KzgIi3bjFZiHpByPzeIqDtNJtIk6K8E8Do8GdJKNcFO3Ja8DOvj2qZMGsqimjp5FJ_3ez6RtYM6yRO3o9oGnZtch0UQxitG90/s866/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-27%20at%208.05.26%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="866" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincZ5tDygn5KLefXhn5w1m58Vwa1gGvIF08wTafFbYjIaSaVhfeoNgeHFzBwRqtXUSRK3ZvaS8tGD-zuXiy_itIkhlM1KzgIi3bjFZiHpByPzeIqDtNJtIk6K8E8Do8GdJKNcFO3Ja8DOvj2qZMGsqimjp5FJ_3ez6RtYM6yRO3o9oGnZtch0UQxitG90/w170-h145/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-27%20at%208.05.26%20PM.png" width="170" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Bruce Nestor</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">As I was finishing off tonight's episode, I had the news on in the background. On </span><a href="https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/breaking-the-news/complaint-filed-against-edina-schools-after-muslim-students-suspended-for-pro-palestinian-chant/89-8e3bf539-eec8-4456-831d-45f6ccc236d8" style="font-family: arial;">KARE-11's BREAKING THE NEWS</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, there was a story about the Edina school district being sued over how they handled participants in a pro-Palestinian demonstration that took place on school grounds during school. The issue was not the demonstration itself, it was the chant: </span><i style="font-family: arial;">From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.<br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: arial;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Okay. That stopped me. And the blog. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Two Somali students were suspended over the chant. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">At a press conference Monday afternoon, </span><i style="font-family: arial;"> </i><span style="font-family: arial;">Attorney Bruce Nestor said:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Edina High School authorities and school authorities accused them of being antisemitic, on the basis of using the chant during the walkout of "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." That is a slogan that is used by elected representatives here in the United States, it is used by hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in support of the aspirations of the Palestinian people for freedom</i></span></span></blockquote></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>There is no evidence of an attempt to harm, or discriminate, or be anti semitic. There is nothing objectively true about this statement being characterized as anti semitic.</i></span></span></blockquote></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In their statement to the news station KARE-11, the school district stated:</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote><div class="article__section article__section_type_text utility__text" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 15px 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The District would like to affirm its unwavering support for students’ First Amendment right to free expression and to peacefully advocate for causes that are important to them. Similarly, the District has strong policies prohibiting any type of discrimination against students based on their religion or any other basis protected under the Minnesota Human Rights Act.</span></em><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote><div class="article__section article__section_type_text utility__text" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 15px 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The District cannot comment on any particular students or allegations as that information would be considered private data protected by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). However, students do not have unfettered First Amendment rights while on school property and students do not have a right under the First Amendment to engage in speech that is substantially disruptive or that violates District policies.</span></em><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"> </span></div></em></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote><div class="article__section article__section_type_text utility__text" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 15px 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O</span></em><em style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: proximanova, fallback, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">ur core beliefs in Edina Public Schools are grounded in the inherent dignity of all people. We value and appreciate the diversity of all of our students. Edina Public Schools deeply condemns islamophobia and antisemitism. We will not tolerate hateful or inappropriate comments or behaviors and will work diligently to provide a safe and inclusive environment for our students and staff.</em></div></em></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><div class="article__section article__section_type_text utility__text" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 15px 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial;">The Anti-Defamation League had already issued a statement about the chant:</span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is an antisemitic slogan commonly featured in anti-Israel campaigns and chanted at demonstrations.</i></span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: arial;">This rallying cry has long been used by anti-Israel voices, including supporters of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the PFLP, which seek Israel’s destruction through violent means. It is fundamentally a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, which would mean the dismantling of the Jewish state. It is an antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland.</i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: arial;">Usage of this phrase has the effect of making members of the Jewish and pro-Israel community feel unsafe and ostracized. It is important to note that demanding justice for Palestinians, or calling for a Palestinian state, should not mean, as this hateful phrase posits, denying the right of the State of Israel to exist. </i></p></blockquote></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Is it anti-semitism? Is it an expression of belief? Is it all protected speech....or is it hate speech meant to sanction/encourage violence against Jewish students?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All of the above brings the basic foundations of this country back into the forefront of the nanosecond American news cycle. Clearly, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">verbal and physical assaults continue to be directed at Jews and Muslims in these here United States. Yes, demonstrations can turn violent, but not all do. We cannot muzzle that which we don't like, or we'll ultimately get muzzled right back. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Issues surrounding free speech are endlessly muddied by people who have absolutely no understanding of law and/or the Constitution. It's too easy to be sucked into the vortex of batshit news and bullshit reporting when the people producing these videos have no credentials, no expertise, no understanding, and have never been to the place on which they're pontificating. But batshit and bullshit aside, there is a very fine line between free speech and elective truth-telling that has to be marked, if not respected. So how do you get there?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm not totally sure there is a definitive answer, but </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/where-free-speech-ends-and-lawbreaking-begins">Ilya Shapiro's essay on free speech</a> as it appeared in <a href="https://www.thefp.com/about"><b>THE FREE PRESS</b></a> needs to be read by every American citizen, wanna be citizen, or alien...legal or illegal...because it impacts us all. Shapiro, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;">director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute,<i> </i>knows what he's writing about, and makes a whole lotta sense. I've left his links in because many of them are worth following.</span></span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Where Free Speech Ends and Lawbreaking Begin</i></b></span></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ilya Shapiro </span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">November 27, 2023 </span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Even antisemites have the right to free speech, as Nadine Strossen and Pamela Paresky correctly</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/71201543-0d1e-4a9c-bd75-73752444767f?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw2IaahDItx8Z7kgD4gTf8xn" href="https://substack.com/redirect/71201543-0d1e-4a9c-bd75-73752444767f?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">wrote</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">in</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">The Free Press. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Since the Hamas massacre of October 7, they have been taking full advantage of that right. Especially on college campuses.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Pro-Palestinian groups have harassed and even assaulted Jewish students; protesters have interrupted courses and taken over buildings; Ivy League professors have called Hamas’s attack “</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/d3c93c22-453c-4327-a05d-7e8ffd9026bc?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw3fBwVngj8Ah9LYIodP-hC_" href="https://substack.com/redirect/d3c93c22-453c-4327-a05d-7e8ffd9026bc?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">exhilarating</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">” and “</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/a9827289-c342-4831-b7ad-f683440d5e9c?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw1lY9x7D5LwqycCB7skE2ab" href="https://substack.com/redirect/a9827289-c342-4831-b7ad-f683440d5e9c?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">awesome</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">”; students have torn down posters of missing Israeli children; others have chanted—and even</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/ddc34c1c-02d7-478f-a76e-4337931602cf?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw1HJ4siHg1woRGFTvJ4kQvj" href="https://substack.com/redirect/ddc34c1c-02d7-478f-a76e-4337931602cf?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">projected onto university buildings</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">—slogans, like “from the river to the sea,” “globalize the intifada,” and “glory to our martyrs.”</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">In response to such activities, universities have suspended or banned student groups like Students for Justice in Palestine. Alumni have</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/5beaee37-a116-4eff-908d-01038d0bd8f3?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw2LaRT6DX6arJQ4HnKANYtv" href="https://substack.com/redirect/5beaee37-a116-4eff-908d-01038d0bd8f3?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">pulled their donations</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">and publicly stated that they</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/8c99ea0d-26f8-417b-88c8-00234bbb6c88?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw0Om5ZhFzjQSGnOvMfr-Pco" href="https://substack.com/redirect/8c99ea0d-26f8-417b-88c8-00234bbb6c88?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">won’t hire students</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">who signed letters blaming Israel for the massacre. Republican lawmakers have suggested</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/0441c65a-b2d7-4ded-b4dd-d7b5b4dfdc99?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw1JCNWR5-YX2UUop05BBOD4" href="https://substack.com/redirect/0441c65a-b2d7-4ded-b4dd-d7b5b4dfdc99?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">revoking the student visas</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">of those participating in anti-Israel protests.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Those who care deeply about free speech are asking themselves many questions at this urgent moment: What should we make of the calls to punish Hamas apologists on campus? After all, this is America, where you have the right to say even the vilest things. Yes, many of the same students who on October 6 called for harsh punishment for “microaggressions” are now chanting for the elimination of the world’s only Jewish state. But Americans are entitled to be hypocrites. </i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Don’t these students have the same right to chant Hamas slogans as the neo-Nazis did to march in 1977 in Skokie, Illinois—a town then inhabited by many Holocaust survivors?</i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">I would put my</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/d6a23822-3b8d-46b7-8925-16f80474f694?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw16LYiatQfqXcJg4RRctLEE" href="https://substack.com/redirect/d6a23822-3b8d-46b7-8925-16f80474f694?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">free speech bona fides</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">up against anyone. I’m also a lawyer and sometime law professor who recognizes that not all speech-related questions can be resolved by invoking the words</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">First Amendment</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Much of what we’ve witnessed on campuses over the past few weeks is not, in fact, speech, but</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">conduct </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">designed specifically to harass, intimidate, and terrorize Jews. Other examples involve disruptive speech that can properly be regulated by school rules. Opposing or taking action against such behavior in no way violates the core constitutional principle that the government can’t punish you for expressing your beliefs.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The question, as always, is where to draw the line, and who’s doing the line-drawing. </i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Here are some of the most pressing questions those who care about civil liberties and protecting the rights of Jewish students are asking.</i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>What are some examples of protest activities that are rightly considered conduct rather than speech? </i></span></strong></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>In drawing the line between speech and conduct, some cases are easy. </i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Beating someone up, as has happened at</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f5b94385-2bde-41d1-bdac-1165de186d32?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw1M6DrbAMbQkYqHsSmOn5WO" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f5b94385-2bde-41d1-bdac-1165de186d32?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">Columbia</a><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/1c97aa64-c1e1-4ad6-9ddc-07df834df46a?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw2WKz_zPDLEOMq2Kp1mMGjZ" href="https://substack.com/redirect/1c97aa64-c1e1-4ad6-9ddc-07df834df46a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank"> and Tulane</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, is assault. Crowding around someone in a threatening manner, like</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/8fca0856-15ff-4a8c-b9b0-fa12c3015713?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw2ECJ24OFQUqf5wd77t9M0R" href="https://substack.com/redirect/8fca0856-15ff-4a8c-b9b0-fa12c3015713?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">a group</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">of Harvard students—including</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw178CIT_QIBYBLidvDkPwBW" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">an editor of the </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw178CIT_QIBYBLidvDkPwBW" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="color: #404040;" target="_blank">Harvard</a></span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw178CIT_QIBYBLidvDkPwBW" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw178CIT_QIBYBLidvDkPwBW" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="color: #404040;" target="_blank">Law</a></span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw178CIT_QIBYBLidvDkPwBW" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw178CIT_QIBYBLidvDkPwBW" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f30decfb-f7d0-4199-b216-1aef02ee5366?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="color: #404040;" target="_blank">Review</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">—did to an Israeli student who filmed their protest, is commonly known as the crime of “menacing.” A pattern of actions designed to frighten and harass someone, like</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f0fc61a8-2de2-4898-9fb3-a55ee8f3f7f2?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw34zOYh7__xnIaCHzCxUdWB" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f0fc61a8-2de2-4898-9fb3-a55ee8f3f7f2?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">forcing Jewish students into the Cooper Union library</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">while pounding on the doors and windows, is stalking. Defacing someone’s property by spray-painting swastikas and slogans,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/c2076847-229f-4e3a-a668-98118be21a3e?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw2_O-wpCEHyrYNv-itqsoZI" href="https://substack.com/redirect/c2076847-229f-4e3a-a668-98118be21a3e?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">as happened at American University</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, is vandalism. So is tearing down posters—at least on private property and in most campus settings. And masking at a protest, also a hallmark of events sponsored by the Students for Justice in Palestine organization, is illegal in many states—a remnant of the battle against KKK intimidation.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The proper response to such behavior, regardless of how “expressive” someone may claim it to be, is the same response we’d have to instances of assault, stalking, intimidation, and other crimes in any other context: identify, arrest, and prosecute the perpetrators. And in the campus setting, expel them. </i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Are genocidal slogans like “globalize the intifada” or “from the river to the sea” protected by the First Amendment? </i></span></strong></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>It depends on the context.</i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">First, a clear-cut case: the Cornell student who</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/9eff0351-46af-4df9-9d3f-a960f487cc82?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw0oRmAQAh1cNRw1efW_jwRr" href="https://substack.com/redirect/9eff0351-46af-4df9-9d3f-a960f487cc82?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">posted</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">death threats online to Jewish students was rightly arrested, because, as the Supreme Court</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/38174a89-a23b-4819-bbec-266bcdda21d8?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw3yZPpXOqLanzJRNQtazlfC" href="https://substack.com/redirect/38174a89-a23b-4819-bbec-266bcdda21d8?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">held</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, the Constitution doesn’t protect “those statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals.” </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">In addition to such “</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/84745593-29ed-484a-9de4-ac8c0c96e664?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw3PTwHW0pjbcXrGly_VEXL3" href="https://substack.com/redirect/84745593-29ed-484a-9de4-ac8c0c96e664?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">true threats</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">” (and not simply political hyperbole), the First Amendment does not protect the incitement of violence, which the Supreme Court has</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/a6015f93-401f-4246-a589-a0ba9ed24784?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw3dgJyWrazYdn-U-D7yp-S0" href="https://substack.com/redirect/a6015f93-401f-4246-a589-a0ba9ed24784?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">defined</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">as speech that is “directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.” The courts have set a high bar on meeting this standard—but it’s surely been reached in some recent cases both on and off-campus.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Take, for example, the pro-Palestine rally in Los Angeles, where, in the course of the event, a 69-year-old man holding an Israeli flag</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/fea73bed-bf7f-4ba6-9e15-1ca846b610bb?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw1aFEEb-4qcpsSR1lNPZF_k" href="https://substack.com/redirect/fea73bed-bf7f-4ba6-9e15-1ca846b610bb?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">was struck and killed</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">. Assuming eliminationist or other violent slogans were chanted there, it would be hard to imagine a more direct connection between those chants and actual violence. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>But a group of students marching through campus cheering for Hamas is no different than a group of students celebrating the killing of innocent black people. Though we can imagine how different the campus response to the latter would be, from a First Amendment perspective, both are protected.</i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Wait, but isn’t shouting antisemitic epithets hate speech?</i></span></strong></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Offensive or “hate” speech is constitutionally protected—including</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/ba1b1c9c-967c-4ba0-b0c2-d7d6b597a62a?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw2TP4KtBhDHh1Hpg9n_AafN" href="https://substack.com/redirect/ba1b1c9c-967c-4ba0-b0c2-d7d6b597a62a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">burning a flag</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">or</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/ba80cc10-e3d8-4d68-b49d-2b91e3177e81?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw25K-ZSFxzhfoSa8Rv9cI6A" href="https://substack.com/redirect/ba80cc10-e3d8-4d68-b49d-2b91e3177e81?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">giving a racially charged speech</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">to a restless crowd.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>But even undeniably protected speech can be off-limits in certain contexts. If I come to your neighborhood in the middle of the night and use a bullhorn to tell you what I really think of Joe Biden or Donald Trump, I can be arrested for disturbing the peace. The same thing goes for breaching the terms of a parade permit, or not getting a permit at all and blocking traffic.</i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>So for any particular incident, you have to drill down on the specific facts. Engaging in what someone—even most people—would consider “hate speech” won’t get you in trouble. But doing so outside Jewish students’ dorms at midnight, or following Israeli students around to yell at them, will land you in hot water.</i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>What about the interruption of classes and speakers by protesters? Isn’t this just more speech that’s protected by the First Amendment?</i></span></strong></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">In the campus context, we’ve learned in the last couple of years—</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/d234995c-79ca-4ceb-8f16-6a3ba3baa09b?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw0j-3iZuKdFKSR-sP7puSxR" href="https://substack.com/redirect/d234995c-79ca-4ceb-8f16-6a3ba3baa09b?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">some of us quite personally</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">—that there’s a difference between protest and disruption. Student handbooks typically spell out that it’s generally fine to hold signs, wear t-shirts, give out pamphlets, organize counter-events, and otherwise show displeasure with a speaker. But students aren’t allowed to shut down events, disrupt classes, or otherwise interfere with university programs. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">The week before Thanksgiving, Josh Hammer’s speech at the University of Michigan</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/12aee11d-8d3b-455e-be9d-3e6b08e7ccd0?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw2HXIEgbVZlPFUOceIB1GHY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/12aee11d-8d3b-455e-be9d-3e6b08e7ccd0?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">was disrupted</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">by anti-Israel protesters (Hammer is Jewish). Meantime, a student at MIT</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/d9d7992e-65b4-4818-9c98-12d1d625aad9?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw343rEaykQWpPqZJk_iS4pQ" href="https://substack.com/redirect/d9d7992e-65b4-4818-9c98-12d1d625aad9?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">commandeered</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">a math lecture to protest what he called the “ongoing genocide of Gaza.”</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>It’s in no way a free speech violation to prohibit students from shouting down professors and speakers. To allow such disruption would be to empower a “heckler’s veto,” which is merely another form of censorship. But because of either ideological affinity or administrative weakness—and maybe even a misunderstanding of free speech principles—university officials have been hesitant to discipline students for this sort of behavior. Which is why it continues. </i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">As Yascha Mounk, a liberal fed up with campus illiberalism, explained in a</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/cd713911-1405-494f-963a-d3565a0e86c0?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw013rAdyq4E95BX_UjaeBZe" href="https://substack.com/redirect/cd713911-1405-494f-963a-d3565a0e86c0?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">pithy X thread</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, “part of protecting free speech is to punish students who violate the rules that make free speech possible for everyone else. This includes punishing those who violently disrupt talks—and it also includes punishing those who tear down fliers depicting children kidnapped by Hamas. The answer to this moment isn’t to give up on a culture of free speech on campus. It’s to enforce the rules that sustain it in an impartial manner.”</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Relatedly, students at Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern, and other schools have taken over buildings, threatening to stay until their oft-nebulous demands are met. This conduct, again, is not protected by the First Amendment. The students should be removed and disciplined—up to and including arrest for trespassing—not</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/fcee7d58-5bd5-4442-b26d-851787017c52?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw3lCCY-8tnpcFHNpVrCTuct" href="https://substack.com/redirect/fcee7d58-5bd5-4442-b26d-851787017c52?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">fed burritos</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, as they were at Harvard.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>There have been reports at many campuses of professors celebrating Hamas’s massacre. Is this acceptable speech?</i></span></strong></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Professors have the same free speech rights as anyone else, but HR manuals correctly admonish faculty and administrators</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/896d559a-4eea-4c92-8187-ce4be1407932?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw19vtNT00gOmM8kG6ExRXSi" href="https://substack.com/redirect/896d559a-4eea-4c92-8187-ce4be1407932?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">not to create hostile educational environments</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">So the Stanford lecturer who</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/1e3da0df-76d6-4743-bde3-83ad833d3bb4?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw1aZh6jAtCr1P_UMl40KUe2" href="https://substack.com/redirect/1e3da0df-76d6-4743-bde3-83ad833d3bb4?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">asked Jewish students</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">to leave their belongings and go to the back of the room was rightfully removed from teaching while the school looked into this incident. But Columbia professor Joseph Massad</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/9065bd78-0295-4283-8403-4b07caa5e3e5?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw3_1QUagGQVImDUARA7M8K9" href="https://substack.com/redirect/9065bd78-0295-4283-8403-4b07caa5e3e5?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">can write</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, as he did on October 8, that Hamas’s actions were “awesome.” The question of whether someone like that should be hired in the first place, or granted tenure, is different—but he can’t be punished for such “extramural” speech. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Many of the students who participated in the protests at MIT and elsewhere are foreign nationals. What are their free speech rights as noncitizens? </i></span></strong></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Although foreigners can’t be punished for speech any more than citizens, there can be repercussions for affiliating with certain groups or calling for violence. The Immigration and Nationality Act</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/b10249d6-79a9-4467-80f1-212076ecb620?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw3XylZKfI5gbrwiVWlOsmgB" href="https://substack.com/redirect/b10249d6-79a9-4467-80f1-212076ecb620?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">allows</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">the denial or revocation of a visa of “any alien who. . . endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization.” </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Although the Biden administration is surely loath to deport foreign students, it’s hard to argue against the idea that at least some of those rallying around hang glider logos to show support for Hamas meet that visa-revocation standard. Indeed, the State Department</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/c059a136-5c9d-43aa-9e56-1a75b64d4be7?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw1bo7fylMpJ_9F-r0a4H_aN" href="https://substack.com/redirect/c059a136-5c9d-43aa-9e56-1a75b64d4be7?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">confirmed to Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">that it can revoke the visas of Hamas supporters.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">But MIT</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/01ece500-0547-4a78-a5a2-931153d67431?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw3EW15GWxVWggAIUwM7wXt8" href="https://substack.com/redirect/01ece500-0547-4a78-a5a2-931153d67431?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">declined to take action</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">against demonstrators who prevented Jewish students from attending class, despite warnings that they were violating university policies, precisely because officials knew that many of the harassers were foreign students subject to deportation. The school’s refusal to do so effectively gives foreigners—but not Americans—the right to harass, intimidate, and vandalize. Such appeasement of antisemitism opens the university to claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which brings us to the next question. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>What if an institution knows that Jewish students are being threatened and does nothing, or creates <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/ca6eeb84-be72-4e67-9485-85ddb445c4bf?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700908000&usg=AOvVaw1gNJZSuGuRje_-KpbTwujx" href="https://substack.com/redirect/ca6eeb84-be72-4e67-9485-85ddb445c4bf?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="color: #404040;" target="_blank">impotent task forces</a> without addressing immediate threats? Or what if officials take ideological sides (like an administrator at the University of Chicago <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/ea5fe34e-c998-43a2-8f8b-6b74b0c7a56e?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw3AceDAV8yrBQq3cqmDHijU" href="https://substack.com/redirect/ea5fe34e-c998-43a2-8f8b-6b74b0c7a56e?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="color: #404040;" target="_blank">who marched</a> with SJP protesters) or egg on a mob shouting down a speaker (like Stanford Law’s DEI dean at <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/3a7012d0-819b-4d1d-aefa-1b68d8754125?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw0CYkW8xxOsAl5MBevxmc9j" href="https://substack.com/redirect/3a7012d0-819b-4d1d-aefa-1b68d8754125?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="color: #404040;" target="_blank">Judge Kyle Duncan’s event</a> in March)? </i></span></strong></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>This is where Title VI of the Civil Rights Act comes in.</i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Title VI prohibits any entity that receives federal money (including student loans) from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin, which the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/be09c161-8496-4aad-b911-daa9eb5b345c?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw2bVowCfVF3xEq3U2gA56tT" href="https://substack.com/redirect/be09c161-8496-4aad-b911-daa9eb5b345c?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">understands to include</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">“actual or perceived” ancestry, ethnicity, and religion. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">As part of the launch last May of the Biden administration’s</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/c4e032f4-989e-4294-8cb8-56e2c10b65fe?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw3-jClYo_4--KgystxBf0O3" href="https://substack.com/redirect/c4e032f4-989e-4294-8cb8-56e2c10b65fe?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">national strategy on antisemitism</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, OCR issued guidance to remind K–12 and higher-ed schools of their legal obligation under Title VI to address complaints of discrimination, including harassment, based on Jewish ancestry. “The Department’s most important tool to fight against antisemitism,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/8b0e99e1-59e4-44fa-8f95-ed581302578f?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw0ZI9K_aRU9KQaoZIKVSzF_" href="https://substack.com/redirect/8b0e99e1-59e4-44fa-8f95-ed581302578f?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">reiterated this month</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, “is Title VI.”</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">So the legal landscape is ripe for both administrative complaints and lawsuits alleging that all these hand-wringing academic grandees have failed to address the very real threats to the physical safety of Jewish students. At Cooper Union,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/17a1ac5e-cdf2-40a1-a33f-fde9d94d440a?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw1k8I3WRrkwuSH8-FSJWzWJ" href="https://substack.com/redirect/17a1ac5e-cdf2-40a1-a33f-fde9d94d440a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">a staffer locked</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Jewish students in the library for their own protection in the face of demonstrators shouting, “Free, free Palestine.” I’m not sure offering Jews</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/1ed36df4-77c6-4efe-b203-495fab0b480a?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw2Qqv6-nRL68_Ps-9QuIE_S" href="https://substack.com/redirect/1ed36df4-77c6-4efe-b203-495fab0b480a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">a chance to hide in the attic</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">satisfies Title VI.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Apparently the Department of Education feels similarly: it recently</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f5dd7b71-c446-4cce-960e-c138a4a693a6?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw0n3IuO8kHnOLkQY7C5Yuz5" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f5dd7b71-c446-4cce-960e-c138a4a693a6?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">announced Title VI investigations</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">into Cooper Union and six other schools, including Columbia, Cornell, and Penn. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Jewish students are</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/42ae7123-212f-4ed3-9ec9-f47718d7a0ee?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw187FLbZDUrJRhSt1RflS6D" href="https://substack.com/redirect/42ae7123-212f-4ed3-9ec9-f47718d7a0ee?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">also planning lawsuits:</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">three NYU juniors have already</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/008f2996-79a9-4dd7-96ec-34885b795450?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw2DOpRHOyqhjJTZ9vpLCunn" href="https://substack.com/redirect/008f2996-79a9-4dd7-96ec-34885b795450?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">sued their university</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, asserting a</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/6580d306-1dae-4b83-91b2-ad75b3c38030?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw0boMg0IKZazTj6oNGNt31N" href="https://substack.com/redirect/6580d306-1dae-4b83-91b2-ad75b3c38030?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">variety of federal and state claims</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, including Title VI and breach of contract (not enforcing NYU’s own discrimination and student-conduct policies). </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Is it legal to ban or suspend Students for Justice in Palestine from campus? </i></span></strong></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">SJP is the most prominent anti-Israel—many would say anti-Jewish—organization on college campuses, with</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/43032111-5f7c-432f-b53e-d19b32ec7b00?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw1secLJtdsaOYYBoAMOTIXw" href="https://substack.com/redirect/43032111-5f7c-432f-b53e-d19b32ec7b00?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">hundreds</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">of chapters across the United States and Canada. Immediately following the October 7 attack, its national organization exulted in the atrocities as a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance,” and</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/d90da083-5069-4d32-bd05-e99f4c39157d?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw0NmhZAERE3w8sHnu7qhDe-" href="https://substack.com/redirect/d90da083-5069-4d32-bd05-e99f4c39157d?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">created</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/4f9593b9-16eb-4a4d-876f-23932c14b863?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw2WxS6xDqaH18av0EQONRZ8" href="https://substack.com/redirect/4f9593b9-16eb-4a4d-876f-23932c14b863?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">a toolkit</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">for its chapters to use on their individual campuses. Since then, SJP has organized countless events at which its members and supporters have celebrated Hamas and called for the elimination of Israel.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Some schools have had enough. </i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Earlier this month, Brandeis University</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/3ee21fc6-eae7-48ba-b263-04e42d9cf8ce?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw2_9EuRoIQXCZt2Ruz7x6nS" href="https://substack.com/redirect/3ee21fc6-eae7-48ba-b263-04e42d9cf8ce?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">withdrew recognition</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">of SJP as a student organization. In an</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/12998d63-c2f0-4018-9f26-cf2f857978da?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw3swPVS3aFTYUxv0-s-kfBt" href="https://substack.com/redirect/12998d63-c2f0-4018-9f26-cf2f857978da?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">op-ed in </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/12998d63-c2f0-4018-9f26-cf2f857978da?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw3swPVS3aFTYUxv0-s-kfBt" href="https://substack.com/redirect/12998d63-c2f0-4018-9f26-cf2f857978da?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="color: #404040;" target="_blank">The Boston Globe</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, Ronald Liebowitz, president of Brandeis, wrote: “Specifically, chants and social media posts calling for violence against Jews or the annihilation of the state of Israel must not be tolerated.” </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Such speech is SJP’s specialty. Notwithstanding Brandeis’s robust free speech policy, Liebowitz</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/3ee21fc6-eae7-48ba-b263-04e42d9cf8ce?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw2_9EuRoIQXCZt2Ruz7x6nS" href="https://substack.com/redirect/3ee21fc6-eae7-48ba-b263-04e42d9cf8ce?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">explained</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">that the school was exercising its right to “restrict expression. . . that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment” or that “is otherwise directly incompatible with the functioning of the university.” Other private universities followed suit:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/560bd0de-1057-4966-abdb-08522e57834a?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw2TbClHD5Bg3oCCVh0oaz5q" href="https://substack.com/redirect/560bd0de-1057-4966-abdb-08522e57834a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">Columbia</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">and</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/e9f21689-31d8-44cb-a4a5-2e852a92025e?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw1Q1rFeE6euf-RFilF8Arr0" href="https://substack.com/redirect/e9f21689-31d8-44cb-a4a5-2e852a92025e?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">George Washington University</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">both suspended their SJP chapters for violating basic school rules. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Notably, the Florida public university system also initially ordered the deactivation of SJP chapters, at the behest of Governor Ron DeSantis. (Full disclosure: DeSantis recently appointed me to the board of trustees of Florida Polytechnic University, where there’s no SJP chapter.)</i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">The system’s chancellor, Ray Rodrigues, citing the National SJP’s alleged ties to Hamas,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/614b4765-2351-4dba-ad8a-ff4b960a60dd?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw029rKayyEw7uPgjgbn1MYS" href="https://substack.com/redirect/614b4765-2351-4dba-ad8a-ff4b960a60dd?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">wrote </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">to university presidents, “It is a felony under Florida law to ‘knowingly provide material support. . . to a designated foreign terrorist organization.’ ” </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">He recently</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/4a29b156-c652-4b6c-9286-557a686d6a6a?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw3mMx8dMi5bQAgMj4D32mHS" href="https://substack.com/redirect/4a29b156-c652-4b6c-9286-557a686d6a6a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">walked back the decision to ban the chapters</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">, at least temporarily, after two schools raised concerns about potential personal liability for officials who executed the orders. Rodrigues further announced that he’d be seeking assurances from the chapters that “they reject violence. That they reject they are a part of the Hamas movement. And that they will follow the law.”</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Those conditions are key to the legality of any action by a public university against SJP. Although government actors can’t force student groups to renounce a particular ideology or otherwise express views they don’t actually hold, the phrase “material support for terrorism” reflects both state and federal criminal codes and may provide an avenue for other schools to curtail SJP activities. The question comes down to the nature of the ties among Hamas, the national SJP group, and its chapters. </i></span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">The Supreme Court</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/9e0ada7c-0f56-4c0e-8a21-382708ac61d5?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw0hkrMj3s3Vq5D67GLMad9O" href="https://substack.com/redirect/9e0ada7c-0f56-4c0e-8a21-382708ac61d5?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">has ruled that</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">the government may prohibit even nonviolent “material support” for terrorism, including “advocacy performed in coordination with, or at the direction of, a foreign terrorist organization.” So if a state</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/3c5a16cd-8ac3-4dae-a2ce-7d10e49b892e?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw2TTbPKecOlTkC_sdhq2rRc" href="https://substack.com/redirect/3c5a16cd-8ac3-4dae-a2ce-7d10e49b892e?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">can establish</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">that SJP is in effect acting as Hamas’s PR agency on campuses, governors would be in the clear to stop taxpayer support. As with cases of “true threats” and “incitement,” the devil is in the details, so it’s heartening that public officials like Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares are</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/3d513601-ec39-4562-8d79-e905b6c84cc4?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw2mCJY6eGTc2p-EA4HhP-aO" href="https://substack.com/redirect/3d513601-ec39-4562-8d79-e905b6c84cc4?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">launching investigations</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">of assorted nonprofit organizations with potential terrorist ties.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Some prominent alumni have suggested that businesses not hire students who have joined statements in favor of Hamas. Isn’t that participating in cancel culture?</i></span></strong></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">A dozen CEOs</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/2c19a9eb-075a-4683-b280-cf0afe1e2c58?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw29bLcT8D8rKn3-GS7NThLE" href="https://substack.com/redirect/2c19a9eb-075a-4683-b280-cf0afe1e2c58?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">pledged not to hire</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">the Harvard students who signed an open letter blaming Israel for the attack on itself.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/bef1ac85-baa6-429a-bad9-7820fc2ddcec?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw1qg0O4vYGhH9VytOAX0JFv" href="https://substack.com/redirect/bef1ac85-baa6-429a-bad9-7820fc2ddcec?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">Independent journalists have taken to publicizing</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">the names of students who engage in antisemitic speech and behavior. Law firm Winston & Strawn</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/fc7d4857-aa2b-418b-b624-6a619ec06050?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw35G9_SMVH1UIq-b94euMyA" href="https://substack.com/redirect/fc7d4857-aa2b-418b-b624-6a619ec06050?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">rescinded its offer</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">to NYU Law’s student body president, who sent a campus-wide anti-Israel statement—and then later was caught on camera tearing down posters of kidnapped Israelis.</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">I don’t think that any of this qualifies as cancel culture, at least if one</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/2282a9bc-5063-4f26-b0e2-8dd40e77f3fc?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw3fJ3PlZYHc5CLEscGQNqwT" href="https://substack.com/redirect/2282a9bc-5063-4f26-b0e2-8dd40e77f3fc?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">defines that term</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">as (1) forming a mob (2) to seek to get someone fired or disproportionately punished (3) for statements within the societally permissible range of policy views. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">Perhaps some people think it’s permissible—even understandable—to support Hamas. But I can hardly blame a law firm or Fortune 500 company for not wanting to associate with someone who celebrates gang-rape, mutilation, kidnapping, and live incineration, any more than I can blame them for not wanting to hire someone who</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/6eaa532c-4ca3-4569-8e45-3805c5195dad?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700909000&usg=AOvVaw0BS068tq3cv13RqoIPg6gu" href="https://substack.com/redirect/6eaa532c-4ca3-4569-8e45-3805c5195dad?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;" target="_blank"> yells at a federal judge</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;">“We hope your daughters get raped,” as Stanford law students did. </span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="text-align: justify; width: 564px;"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"></td><td style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" width="1336"><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #404040; text-align: initial;">“I am a 70-year-old Jewish man, but never in my life have I seen or felt the antisemitism of the last few weeks.” That’s how Erwin Chemersinky, the dean of UC Berkeley School of Law,</span><span style="color: #404040; text-align: initial;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/503f6a0b-33d7-4391-8e47-45c36e068c48?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40&source=gmail&ust=1701170700910000&usg=AOvVaw39_uwwQDnq1udidg-k7DkF" href="https://substack.com/redirect/503f6a0b-33d7-4391-8e47-45c36e068c48?j=eyJ1IjoiMXo3aW5qIn0.AdQ5c87pvGDd_-lsTNGI6iL1eN-HRNTYQC6ZA7qBD40" rel="" style="color: #404040; text-align: initial;" target="_blank">described</a><span style="color: #404040; text-align: initial;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; text-align: initial;">recent events on campus. Some of us were less surprised given the anti-Israel, anti-American, and generally anti-Western ideology that has taken root in higher education. Still, the extent and breadth of it has alarmed even the most pessimistic among us.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: initial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>We shouldn’t weaken speech protections, which have made America not only the freest country in the world, but the most tolerant. But sometimes “speech” isn’t speech. Sometimes it rises to the level of conduct that prevents others from being able to live their lives. Right now we need people to discern the difference. </i></span></span></blockquote></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kids have a right and a need to exercise their freedoms. We protested against Vietnam and for the rights of Russian Refusniks. It's how we learned what's worth fighting for...besides ice cream in the food service line. If kids want to support the Palestinian cause, they have a right to do so, but it's incumbent upon them to know and understand what they're supporting. It's pretty clear lots of people don't understand that from the river to the sea is to establish a Jew-free zone, one where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death, where the government that is sharia run and will limit the rights of women. They don't get the big picture because they're only seeing what the Palestinian propaganda machine wants them to see. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How do you teach them to go a step further in learning about the cause they support? How do you get them to examine the issues? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Teach critical thinking and comprehension skills. Kids have to be taught <i>how</i> to read and research, how not to take anything at face value, that there are always two sides whether we like it or not. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If we as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, educators, and community leaders don't lead by example, understand you're not failing just the kids. You're failing this country. If we cannot produce leaders who are compassionate, considerate, and committed to the good of the many, we won't have a country to complain about. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Is that what you really want?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Looking for fun things to do?</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Visit the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>and do have lunch at Fika. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The museum is delightful and the food, spectacular. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2091" data-original-width="3422" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnJ6CwSOFabPQs71NKr9byTDXzEEm0yj1sw3EAxMEd7PRJysBsUb6e0OXTMvA-DQfJJ_S4lklL2YkSSHSmSvnsC6qOeKI3kmtSRrevuEcqxf7H7Xi65FiW5Gsyt7TUfwXjvSPOsZkt21FCJW695U8vVud4amGjFhrlBWYODzFhnU1XHEanrKTU5ek8AQ/w200-h122/FullSizeRender.jpeg" width="200" /></div></i></span></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-62092870010667974892023-11-19T23:45:00.001-06:002023-11-21T00:06:47.667-06:00How Do I Feel.......<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3pPuvzaobID-71zgbpe4nu8km42yAlr18VhLXecKnd55rGC4zPotHZJ_Oe7yBJ6hSDRyLOp6C_-buznpmd4dZMbRBOY2wuJ4Chns5d-JcD1M7juv83SQ2UkGyZ_WrJoefADtnl8YzUJF5AWRWU4_FXMbkhvk6iYMQUok0_zdf9MkroEAfxdwJZNjE4gw" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2734" data-original-width="2882" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3pPuvzaobID-71zgbpe4nu8km42yAlr18VhLXecKnd55rGC4zPotHZJ_Oe7yBJ6hSDRyLOp6C_-buznpmd4dZMbRBOY2wuJ4Chns5d-JcD1M7juv83SQ2UkGyZ_WrJoefADtnl8YzUJF5AWRWU4_FXMbkhvk6iYMQUok0_zdf9MkroEAfxdwJZNjE4gw=w173-h164" width="173" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A dear friend sent me a truly delightful mug and my favorite tea (I am a well known Tazo Zen junkie) because she was concerned about how I was faring with "all the craziness going on in the world, especially in Israel." Obviously, she's a blog regular, but more than that, she instinctively knows how to do the right thing to cheer me up. Had I not been laughing at the mug, I would've cried. Until that moment, I did not realize how smacked about I felt, how sad and how terrified. And how much I wanted to crawl through the hole into that library.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Terrified is as close as I can come to describing what I am feeling. </span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I know for a fact I've not been sleeping well, that I awaken in the night rigid with fear from a bad dream, and I don't ever remember my dreams. But I wake up terrified, listening for a noise or a clue or a hint of something outside. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My Russian grandmother once told me how they hid in the fruit cellar from the Cossacks, and how they could tell what noises they made when the came and what noises they made when they left. She talked about being scared. I could not relate, nor could I imagine what I would do in a fruit cellar.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People keep asking me how it feels to be Jewish in America right now. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I avoid thinking about this because every time it encroaches on the consciousness, I want to throw up, cry, and crawl into a hole, none of which are effective mechanisms for dealing with the tangled mass I have squirming inside me.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mom was still alive the first time I brought up the possibility of the wheels coming off. Feckless was in the middle of primaries and picking up steam. Everyone mocked me, told me I was alarmist, shook their collective heads, and sighed. Well, guess what. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Colleges and universities are supporting Hamas. Do they even know what Hamas stands for, believes, and does? Well, maybe it doesn't much matter because they only go after Jews and homosexuals. I guess that makes it okay.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So the short answer to the question about how I feel about being a Jew in America right now? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I feel terrified. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPsaIpn20uElIT1vG0j18A1H80V2aio3ev7OdCV0tC7q44L6VCX0CeScfPMXTnoqpMs2gpnMgORbHaKPma_ftVO0FMs3Y62hXZAhiGFCtOa1BSa40S7xTbYVeWy6rgUMa40Rs59BGh5S5bnPyDB2YM9Hae_uVxTxd1stdTjzCG3jh6ZVh9FmWyB9bLSGc&source=gmail&ust=1700629470573000&usg=AOvVaw1GmEmnjqNcK6OIEvrWb1e3" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPsaIpn20uElIT1vG0j18A1H80V2aio3ev7OdCV0tC7q44L6VCX0CeScfPMXTnoqpMs2gpnMgORbHaKPma_ftVO0FMs3Y62hXZAhiGFCtOa1BSa40S7xTbYVeWy6rgUMa40Rs59BGh5S5bnPyDB2YM9Hae_uVxTxd1stdTjzCG3jh6ZVh9FmWyB9bLSGc" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #1155cc; float: left; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg-b_fAVmVHFVRS85_Ct34t61RzIE-QmiUywekgrxglOgLALqXaI3Cdxvj25jd7gUbzkHmRXb7btvciBnfM46sjE5RsyJoabEqK-Nf8uaxTlIEfrvsOOhVxWZW5-Qba6hLOeji5vDUCbuIg7FtOn3lb9QggWTSgU9bOOIo0nc1IjTeE07oUjoxOg8lJPYY3FBmFQRXKmbIBJNuF6oKcyVeVugJK2iUdyRzwfC4VnLico__wbbWiLay8o_tpIFwNqZVDpVLt7C8H7xkSa9oMaIEb37IX8FQPuFIv6QsBuXXPUzZQah3Im9ibFHdOSuRpkj5yvD1xUr8O426myanLm3ds2YwufzFK22RZLCqXSH8108gOR3MTwb3zEsleq6n0dB6M223AMmIr-RpHifSf-z1eSwRQpK6QoOCwcYc=s0-d-e1-ft" width="200" /></a></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I am afraid for my grandchildren. When I see the faces of the hostage children, I look to see how many of them look like my grandkids. Because those could all be my grandkids. Every single one of those faces belongs to parents, grandparents, friends, and a country that cares deeply for the lives of all children, not just Jewish kids. But my kids are here, Jewish kids are being bullied and threatened on social media and in the halls of public schools. It's open season on our kids.</span><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Feckless Loser has called for detention centers for immigrants. How far behind are detention centers for Jews? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jewish homes and businesses are being defaced in more than a few cities. How much longer before that hate becomes the norm and a second Krystallnacht happens?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hamas's propaganda machine is unparalleled. We saw it ramped up and fully charged with the bombing of </span><span style="font-family: arial;">al-Ahli Hospital not by Israel, but by Islamic Jihad. Every major news source not only blamed Israel, but published as fact the inflated casualty numbers as provided by Hamas. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: left;">The BBC in particular, rushes to judgment, blames Israel, then is slow to retract, giving the Hamas supporters ample time to come crashing into Jewish lives. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: left;">Campuses are full of "safe spaces," but none of those spaces are safe for Jewish kids who now hide their Magen David necklaces and trade the kippot for baseball caps and beanies. I am terrified for those kids whose world is being turned upside down and stomped into glass shards. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: left;">We cannot trust the Left Wing, the same side of the political coin we marched with, demonstrated with, supported, and believed in their version of social justice was real. It's not real for us, any more than the MAGA and Right Wing screaming <i>Jews will not replace us </i>as they march through the streets. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">If my Grandma Bessie was alive, she would be outfitting the basement with emergency supplies. </span></p></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: left;">I feel betrayed. </span></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: left;">We were your allies. We demonstrated, we marched, we sat-in, and we even died for the causes so important to our country, yet now, none of you stand with us. You seem not to give a damn that homosexuality is illegal in Gaza, as it is in most Muslim countries. How does the LGBTQ+ community feel about solidarity with a movement that wants them dead? Well, I guess it's okay because Jews rank above them on the to be exterminated list.</span></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I feel disgusted.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Whatever happened to the American I was told I was part of? All those alliances we thought we were part of....have evaporated. People I once considered friends tell me we're evil because we won't just let Hamas attack our cities, towns, and villages as they promise over and over on television. October 7th will be repeated again and again. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But know this: When they finish with us, they will come after you. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: arial;">The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Do not be silent in the face of evil.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>That serves no purpose.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><br /><br /></div><p></p>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-84050480821712988162023-11-13T22:37:00.009-06:002023-11-14T00:32:25.899-06:00Living In a Post Factual Society<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The blog I originally drafted for today cannot be published. It's a total screed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjklsGgywbr-fyPLqat5ghl22ntE7E0C9QAG-CCg_TXlcsLIOnczE00q8ZcGiX3nFFgJi_-kuOcDgpCfA29Jf_MoHB_UsUG6kZe666vg7hheKv59Ouir8GVhy7qLB0Hn8CmyGkEuc5DxsK8LrAO4yE7PBKFGybKh8VRRTBu54Ix7L1JuZPRlz6FaFH_Hhw" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="1210" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjklsGgywbr-fyPLqat5ghl22ntE7E0C9QAG-CCg_TXlcsLIOnczE00q8ZcGiX3nFFgJi_-kuOcDgpCfA29Jf_MoHB_UsUG6kZe666vg7hheKv59Ouir8GVhy7qLB0Hn8CmyGkEuc5DxsK8LrAO4yE7PBKFGybKh8VRRTBu54Ix7L1JuZPRlz6FaFH_Hhw=w162-h144" width="162" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Mousa Abu Marouk</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">I am not without compassion for the people of Gaza. They are victims; victimized by their own leadership who park their sorry-ass butts in some posh hotel in Qatar while thousands of the people they supposedly represent die because they are used as human shields, sitting atop tunnels filled with Hamas rockets, bombs, and supplies. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.memri.org/tv/hamas-official-mousa-abu-marzouk-tunnels-gaza-protect-fighters-%20not-civilians">In an interview aired on Russian television, Mousa Abu Marzouk,</a> a Hamas spokesman, was asked:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Many people are asking: Since you have built 500 kilometers of tunnels, why haven't you built bomb shelters, where civilians can hide during bombardment?</i></span> </span></blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">Mousa Abu Marzouk: </b><span style="background-color: white;">We have built the tunnels because we have no other way of protecting ourselves from being targeted and killed. These tunnels are meant to protect us from the airplanes. We are fighting from inside the tunnels. Everybody knows that 75% of the people in the Gaza Strip are refugees, and it is the responsibility of the United Nations to protect them. According to the Geneva Convention, it is the responsibility of the occupation to provide them with all the services as long as they are under occupation.</span></span></i></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In other words, it's not their job to protect their citizens.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Then whose job is it?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Did Hamas really think Israel would <i>not</i> retaliate for the massacre of October 7th? Did their leadership not give a single thought to what would happen when Israel struck back? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Or are they playing a very long game, using the blood of their own civilians cast into harm's way as a new blood libel for Jew hatred?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Yeah, I think they were. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They were depending on 2000 years of anti-Jewish sentiment lying right beneath the surface to bring out the wide swath of haters who would prefer to see Jews back in the gas chambers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>From the river to the sea </i>is absolutely their plan from the get-go, making sure the blood sacrifice of their own people would be the newest blood libel used to kill Jews, thereby attaining their Jew-free goal. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Baked babies, beheaded babies, raped mothers, tortured grandparents...none of that mattered because, after all, they were just Jews. Dead Palestinian babies, mutilated Muslim children, some live ones used to pose as dead kids...only to get up again for repositioning...hospitals bombed by Islamic Jihad, but blamed on Israel, anything they could stage to make sure all Jews...not necessarily Israelis...take the fall to become the enemy worthy of extermination.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And if that's not gruesome enough, the Hamas 07 October invaders filmed themselves performing atrocities, using victims' cell phones to upload these videos to social media so that families got to watch their loved ones' last moments. Yet, when that same footage is shown in public places , supporters of Hamas, the very people who committed these atrocities, protest and, as at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, brawls ensued outside the venue. I should think those supporters should have been cheering to see their acts of depravity shown to the world. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Silly me. </span></p><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;">Those same people talk about ethnic cleansing. Wanna know what's ethnic cleansing? That's when people of one culture/religion/color are forced to leave the place where they've lived for 2500 years. Maybe that question should be directed at the countries that make up the Arab world. </span><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgc-98B1V5HSgeFyzlh_vAm8Fr1oulu3gKH7T-P4wIEK48OZU8qnaWUMvlvbTJjDYiQHI4xYC9EZOp7qDyMjkScq2JLuDUpvSeWXgsORFo3KPMEx57zF4CP9Tp9sUBAzXdgvmf5YZXnPW6HQ7336YteuU4FJ31FqLsPytWx9UNvS0l1Ex4xs-5s_1sVjag" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgc-98B1V5HSgeFyzlh_vAm8Fr1oulu3gKH7T-P4wIEK48OZU8qnaWUMvlvbTJjDYiQHI4xYC9EZOp7qDyMjkScq2JLuDUpvSeWXgsORFo3KPMEx57zF4CP9Tp9sUBAzXdgvmf5YZXnPW6HQ7336YteuU4FJ31FqLsPytWx9UNvS0l1Ex4xs-5s_1sVjag=w200-h150" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div dir="auto" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo</span><span class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> © J. Tocker </span><br /></span></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: start;" /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">In 2019, the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv captured that exodus in an exhibit: <a href="https://www.eretzmuseum.org.il/en/exhibitions/leaving-never-to-return/">Leaving, Never To Return.</a> That slogan was written on the side of the one suitcase each person was allowed to carry out: </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">رحلة بدون رجعة</span></span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span> </span><span style="text-align: start;">which is Arabic for <i>Trip with no return. </i>Hundreds of thousands of Jews with just the clothes on their backs and their single valises had no place to go, so they went home...to Israel where their journeys began in the first place. Where after three thousand years the same language was spoken, the same alphabet was used, and the walls of the cities their ancestors built still stood.<br /></span></span></span><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn1vHkP_2buXkDY19mGtPcja6CJlEg_OVQ9dr-ngT2UkH-oW7ka_m-YAYx0epPici4eu-08v1pFgrkT3rw8vuii2X4I4_dpckIPES1Bzob-nS3P6gsBFAbQxTJsaE6XYESQYkd2XBr4ZRdwiV83ZXG6fZXKtI12tg8pq07MNiREhWMa4jZPkFz0fdDZi4" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img data-original-height="281" data-original-width="487" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn1vHkP_2buXkDY19mGtPcja6CJlEg_OVQ9dr-ngT2UkH-oW7ka_m-YAYx0epPici4eu-08v1pFgrkT3rw8vuii2X4I4_dpckIPES1Bzob-nS3P6gsBFAbQxTJsaE6XYESQYkd2XBr4ZRdwiV83ZXG6fZXKtI12tg8pq07MNiREhWMa4jZPkFz0fdDZi4=w281-h163" width="281" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.scojec.org/news/2019/19iii_uprooted/uprooted.html">From the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Apartheid? Let's talk about that for a moment. Currently, the majority of Israelis would be, at least in this country, considered persons of color. All different colors. Jews are Jews; that's all that matters...not the color of skin, eyes, hair, or shoes. None of that is a barrier to citizenship.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">At the same time, Israeli Arabs are fully Israeli citizens, serving in the IDF, in the police force, as members of Knesset, as doctors, heads of hospitals, lawyers, supreme court justices, voting in elections, establishing political blocs government, getting health care, education, power, water, and passports just like any other Israeli citizen..Jew, Christian, Muslim, Druze, <span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: left;">Bahá’í </span>, whatever. Oh, and Gay Pride is a really big deal in Tel Aviv...and no one even gets thrown off a rooftop for being gay. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">For the record, Israel is a democracy. It is the only functional democracy in the Middle East.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">According to Hamas's charter, Jews are not permitted to live in Palestine and most of the other Arab states. Israelis can visit, but they cannot establish residency. That more closely resembles apartheid.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial;">For the umpteenth time...the only group occupying Gaza is Hamas. If the Palestinians would like to stop being human shields, then they have to get rid of Hamas. Israel is happy to help, as are many other nations, but the Palestinians have to start that process. They must begin to take back their own country. Plenty of nations will step up with economic and humanitarian aid when the funds stop being diverted to rocket launchers, missiles, and terror tunnels.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Keep this in mind: if you want to support Palestinian rights, don't condone the wholesale murder of kids at a music festival. Don't cheer for missiles being lobbed nonstop on schoolyards. You don't want Israelis to cheer when you get bombed, so why would you think Israelis are gonna sit back and let you bomb them without a response? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Not realistic thinking on their part.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Exactly how many ceasefires and suicide bombers do you think it would take for <i>your</i> government to respond <i>appropriately</i>? Unless, of course, you're okay with your children and grandchildren being beheaded, kidnapped, and tortured? If that's okay with you, you should be offering up your family as human shield sacrifices for your staunch belief in the righteousness of Hamas.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>I am damn tired of living in a post factual society, a place where fantasy passes for reality, and people who should know better don't do their homework. Where universities allow departments to spread utter garbage under their logo like the <a href="https://cla.umn.edu/gwss/news-events/news/gwss-faculty-statement-palestine">University of Minnesota's Department of </a></span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://cla.umn.edu/gwss/news-events/news/gwss-faculty-statement-palestine">Gender Women and Sexuality Studies faculty</a></span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.4px; text-align: left;"> </span>has done with their statement on Palestine. Clearly, the writers of that statement drank Hamas Kool-Aid before they put it out instead of doing their homework. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Maybe they should send a delegation of feminists and LGBTQ+ folks to negotiate with Hamas. I'm sure Mousa Abu Marouk would welcome them all with a great rooftop party....if he happens to be in Gaza.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: arial;">The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Day</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">If you're not a fan of Jews, I would strongly urge you to boycott </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">products invented/developed by Jews.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>That means no instant messaging </i></span><i style="font-family: arial;">since IMs, DMs, WhatsApp </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial;">are all derived from ICQ, an Israeli invention.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">No USB Flash drives....Israeli invention.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">No Epilday hair removers.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>No Rummikub or Mastermind games.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>No pressure bandages.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>No mobile or camera phone.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>No polio vaccine.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>No Google. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>One should always be consistent </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>about </i></span><i style="font-family: arial;"><b>not</b> benefitting</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>from those you hate. </i></span></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-81338621062160076812023-11-06T22:12:00.006-06:002023-11-07T17:08:45.763-06:00HAMOUSE IN THE HOUSE<div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiT7cs339RXW46sMKOaaHG2D5OiwobJ4Bihr7nz1cyWYh0-4EnU_LH50fZlJmOKFLhNT78Gxw8tcuXLC5WlCcq_6ScETTljYb9sV8zW5cXohztnIK2ClZj-iz-T0LFLtmEp879F9rxlQV1DB6BmvgUyrMWZbQtMc13KizcCqCLG1Jsa3rhCzo5Hanis3xM=w150-h200" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="150" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mouse-o-Ramp</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Last week, I participated in an event for Washington County where I was a panel member for a middle school kinda job fair...which means I got to talk about being an author. I met lots of seriously interesting kids, learned most middle school boys intend to play for the NBA, while many girls but certainly not all, still leaned toward service fields like nursing and social work. I sat next to a guy who was a rhythmic/music therapist, and he was way more interesting than I was. I drove home in a blinding, unseasonably heavy rainfall and when I walked into the basement, I heard what sounded like water hitting the bucket I keep on the shelf. It wasn't water....it was a mouse trying to escape, but I didn't know that so when I reached up to grab the bucket, the mouse jumped up. I screamed (startled not scared of mice) and dropped the bucket. The bugger ran behind the furnace. "Moron!" I yelled. "Had you stayed in the damn bucket I woulda taken you outside and let you go! Now, I must employ the Death by Peanut Butter </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Mouse-o-Ramp</span><span style="font-family: arial;">!" <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Needless to say, the offending mouse was in the bucket the next morning. Things were quiet for a couple of days, but knowing how mice work in Minnesota, the bucket remained. Then Saturday, I found mouse evidence on the baker's rack in the kitchen, but no mouse upstairs. Sunday morning, there was a mouse in the bucket. This morning, there were 3 in the bucket: mom, dad, and a little guy. It was time to call Dr. Mouselin, my <a href="https://jel.jewish-languages.org/words/359"><i>mechuten</i></a> who knows about these things. We checked the foundation, the basement, and the garage for possible entry points. We found one...and stuffed it with steel wool. We'll see what the next couple of days bring. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mice are a fact of life in suburban and rural Minnesota. Yes, they are cute, no I don't like drowning them, and would prefer to release them back into the wild when possible. HOWEVER, mice are rodents and I would prefer not to share living quarters with guys who spread a variety of diseases. But that does not prevent me from feeling bad about killing them. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilFbZhRCcT644Een0ln8jidnEGTNS7XCOJ3Q3Yz5LnMS-uQfq12HfyPDsdvqcK-twmqKR8U05x-dhIQoER2h4OeyTSISFCCHZ94MXe4g3KcEXZY4wKxViLEUkGdi3EszhJlexrsq3TfXY1GhZ2aID13zfuuxGrTMOUNWNax2FgvtQ4PufD3YSJY_r-T0E" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="385" data-original-width="258" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilFbZhRCcT644Een0ln8jidnEGTNS7XCOJ3Q3Yz5LnMS-uQfq12HfyPDsdvqcK-twmqKR8U05x-dhIQoER2h4OeyTSISFCCHZ94MXe4g3KcEXZY4wKxViLEUkGdi3EszhJlexrsq3TfXY1GhZ2aID13zfuuxGrTMOUNWNax2FgvtQ4PufD3YSJY_r-T0E=w134-h200" width="134" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">They are terrorists in cute, little, furry packets; quiet, sneaky, operating in the dark, with no remorse about destroying/contaminating your food supply.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">So tonight, as I was checking Mouse-o-Ramp before heading off to write tonight's episode, I caught myself saying, "There you go, you little terrorists. Mess with me, will you? You will not win!' </span><span style="font-family: arial;">And then I thought about the movie MOUSEHUNT with Nathan Lane. And then I thought about me calling them terrorists. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I know there are all sorts of metaphors and similes used in the propaganda war surrounding Israel and Hamas, and I do not make light of what's happening there. Not in the least. But the similarities made me think long and hard about my own world view. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Obviously, there is no equivalency here. There just isn't. Or maybe it's my imagination running rampant as I plot the death and destruction of the mouse in the house. Truth is I really don't want to kill mice. Even the thought kinda creeps me out. But the bottom line is that they cannot live in this house. There is no way for me to communicate with them, to convince them to go back outside to be free. They're just lookin' for a warm nest and free food. BUT...and this is an important point....this is my house, and if I take away the bucket prematurely, they will invite all their friends in and this will escalate to something really, really ugly. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And that's the reason there can be no cease-fire with Gaza. Even a humanitarian pause is risky, but less risky than a ceasefire. Gaza has always been the one to break the ceasefire agreements, there is no reason to believe a new one would do anything more than allow them to rearm and regroup...much the same way removing the </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Mouse-o-Ramp will allow mice to return to their friends to invite them in. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Am I a terrible person for not wanting mice in the house? No. Nor am I a terrible person for not wanting to give Hamas any room to rearm. An idiotic, simplistic comparison to be sure, but for reasons I cannot adequately explain, it made me think about my positions, and arrive at the conclusion that a ceasefire is non-negotiable at this time. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">UPDATE: A little terrorist just ran past me and dashed under the fridge! Not to worry, a second </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Mouse-o-Ramp has been deployed. This has got to stop! But now, I may have a clue as to where they're coming from.....</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The other thing that needs discussion is the wide ranging support for Hamas on college campuses and across the 18-28 age group. I think they're called GEN Z, but who knows and who cares? These are the members of the safe-space generation, the ones who think critical thinking is unnecessary for people who support extreme positions, because, quite frankly, thinking isn't one of their strong suits. Whatever. I just want to share this video asking people to sign petitions in support of Hamas.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Please watch this video. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ik3woc9avow" width="320" youtube-src-id="Ik3woc9avow"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A lot of people will complain this is cherry-picking, or manipulating interviews, but they are missing the point. When you see people cheering for Hamas on campuses and in urban demonstrations, when you see LGBTQ folks protesting to free Palestine, they are completely unaware of what Hamas is, what Hamas does, and how Hamas kills its own citizens. When confronted with what they are supporting, not everyone chooses to believe facts on the ground, or admit, at the very least, that they are uninformed. The clip just shows it up close and personal. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Do you think Germans went around saying "Gas the Jews" back in 1932? Probably not. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It is the refusal of an entire generation of Americans to do their own research or homework to understand the positions they are taking. That puts us Jews in the crosshairs on both the extreme Left and the extreme Right wing of each party. And now that it's out in the open, it's apparently okay to talk about it. <a href="https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/holocaust-denier-running-for-roseville-school-board-comes-under-scrutiny">Take this guy Klingenberg running for the school board in Roseville, MN. Did you know that the Nazis were really trying to save Jews? I didn't either. </a> But this guys and his followers make it a point to spread this information as though it was true. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On an interesting note, I do want to comment about Dean Phillips' run against President Biden: do not dismiss this guy out of hand. He is the only one who is playing the long hand. I hope by next week Feckless is sitting is a jail cell, but we can't count on that. Nor can we be so sure that Joe Biden's health will not be impacted by the incredible stress he is under. Oh, yeah, there may be other Dems playing the <i>what if</i> game, but Phillips is the only one currently putting it out there. I think he's cagier than the rest of us....and I'm not convinced he actually wants to be POTUS. Still....</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The GOP is bound and determined to run a criminal with signs of dementia for president. What does that say about this country?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Frankly, I'm afraid to ask.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>I'm writing this on Monday</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Election Day is tomorrow.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Whatever races you have going, GO VOTE.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>Especially in school board elections. </b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>They are way more important than you might think.</i></span></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-45308933932579196372023-10-30T22:05:00.013-05:002023-10-31T10:52:39.047-05:00Maybe, Maybe Not<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I am actually glad my Dad is no longer alive; this America would break his heart. Dad used to say he fought in Germany so we would never have to worry about being Jews again. The events of the last couple of weeks would've decimated him. FIL, too...and he wasn't even Jewish.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFb3eYrJXWjiUft-w4NtUt3gwA3t-Lr7r07-FYdi0TFb59Kn9n-Lo6K6cjveHJh__DAtW9OL39kJQ_PEwqHifr5Jg5RiPgFONKZyrgwmiIyTqjcFwhdvcZPrJRtm4Sg50WUS0M1RUciqMZLdRn2rcrWVLizzH-DOS4o2T1nJc6jXb1N8JNBjSKAEvd0VY" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="960" data-original-width="508" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFb3eYrJXWjiUft-w4NtUt3gwA3t-Lr7r07-FYdi0TFb59Kn9n-Lo6K6cjveHJh__DAtW9OL39kJQ_PEwqHifr5Jg5RiPgFONKZyrgwmiIyTqjcFwhdvcZPrJRtm4Sg50WUS0M1RUciqMZLdRn2rcrWVLizzH-DOS4o2T1nJc6jXb1N8JNBjSKAEvd0VY=w212-h400" width="212" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm not just talking about the slaughter at the Supernova music festival, the kibbutzim, and the Israeli towns near Gaza. I'm not just talking about a raging mob in the Republic of Dagestan hunting for Jews at the airport. I'm not just talking about the crowd at the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/police-investigate-pro-palestinian-protest-sydney-opera-house-over-alleged-anti-2023-10-10/" target="_blank">Sydney Opera House shouting </a><i><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/police-investigate-pro-palestinian-protest-sydney-opera-house-over-alleged-anti-2023-10-10/" target="_blank">Gas the Jews</a>. </i>I'm not even talking about <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/anti-semitism-in-berlin-for-the-first-time-i-understand-what-it-means-to-be-jewish-a-4162f827-ced8-476d-8f25-042c66999c84" target="_blank">Berlin where Jews are becoming afraid to go to the greengrocer</a> because it's an Arab-owned store. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No, I'm talking about America. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm talking about Jewish kids being barricaded in the <a href="https://forward.com/fast-forward/566967/cooper-union-library-jewish-students-hide-protest/">Cooper Union Library</a> because a "pro-Palestinian" mob was trying to break in. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm talking about Cornell University where the threats against Jewish students were so extreme the kosher dining facility and the whole of the Center for Jewish Living is now under police protection. Look at the screenshot on the right. Those are credible threats made against Jewish students. Not Zionists. Not Israeli. No, these are threats against all Jews on campus.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWXtYsfxj5VC540A15gMRsZ3IHFtEsHcm4fd6KMAKpvv_NQG82ZGYQOQHVhmwr_E8EC0yZZq4pRmIydSVM8lZEK9cdbbEHPQUnpRjSWHJkmk3hQhlRypgTSZsHDZD9TNEYQgZx4PXpIJd04hU0xca3tLr1nYSPHcfx95mFNwsBBV4NZJs_F2lc9pMLXxI" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1140" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWXtYsfxj5VC540A15gMRsZ3IHFtEsHcm4fd6KMAKpvv_NQG82ZGYQOQHVhmwr_E8EC0yZZq4pRmIydSVM8lZEK9cdbbEHPQUnpRjSWHJkmk3hQhlRypgTSZsHDZD9TNEYQgZx4PXpIJd04hU0xca3tLr1nYSPHcfx95mFNwsBBV4NZJs_F2lc9pMLXxI" width="320" /></a></div>I'm talking about Jemma Decristo, a professor at US Davis, openly threatening "zionist" journalists...AND their families. In a </span><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article280938278.html" style="font-family: arial;">Sacramento BEE</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> op-ed piece responding to Decristo's post, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Reuven Toff, writes:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Jewish college students across the U.S. have been subjected to antisemitism — and the incidents are only increasing. National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has been at the forefront of demonstrations on campuses. They often use the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in their demonstrations, which is a rallying cry used by terrorist groups, including Hamas, the organization responsible for the recent slaughter of more than 1,400 and the wounding of 3,500 men, women and children.</i></span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Hamas’ Charter unapologetically calls for not just the destruction of Israel, but for the annihilation of the Jewish people. SJP, meanwhile, is routinely permitted by college administrators to spew its hatred toward Jews and Israel. Is it any wonder that Jewish students are increasingly feeling attacked?</i></span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm talking about Stanford, where a professor didn't simply harangue Jewish students, he/she sorted them out of the class and into a corner. According to a report in the British <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/world/stanford-professor-suspended-for-calling-jewish-students-colonisers-kb58h4tMQ225QMAUEwFNj">The Jewish Chronicle:</a></span></div><div><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>According to
details shared by Jewish student leaders at the California university, a
popular lecturer called out “individual students in class based on their
backgrounds and identities,” asking Jewish and Israeli students to identify
themselves during a class entitled “civil, liberal, and global education”. </i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Rabbi Dov
Greenberg, director of the Chabad Stanford Jewish Center, said he was told by
three of the 18 students who were in the room that the lecturer separated them
from their belongings and instructed them to stand in a corner. The non-faculty
lecturer, whose name has not been publicised while the investigation is
ongoing, is then alleged to have said: “This is what Israel does to
Palestinians,” according to the student reports relayed to Greenberg. </i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The instructor
went on to ask how many people died in the Holocaust, to which a student
replied “six million.” </i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The instructor
is alleged by students to have replied: “Yes. Only six million,” and:
“Colonisers killed more than six million. Israel is a coloniser.” </i></span></p></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This has not been uncommon. What's next? Yellow stars? Hamas would love that. Jews would be so instantly recognizable!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">How about </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Let's all be mad at the Jews because they've managed to survive as a recognizable people? </i><span style="font-family: arial;">Maybe you should call </span><span style="font-family: arial;">that</span><i style="font-family: arial;"> people envy.</i></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Israel has been Israel for over 3000 years. When you dig up really old stuff in Israel, it's in Hebrew, the same language then as we speak now. Our language was never a lost language; it was always present in our prayers, our texts, our scrolls. We have the same communal calendar we had then, the same rituals, the same traditions, the same burial practices.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">How are we colonizers in our own land?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And these people who shout "From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free?" Free from what? Homosexuals and homosexualtiy? It's illegal in Gaza. Free from having a functional economy? Free from utilities and potable water?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Or did they really mean Judenrein....Jew Free? I think that's the one they're going for.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If you cannot call Hamas what they are...terrorists...or you find you are making up justifications for their actions, you are a terrorist. Just thought I'd say that out loud. Supporting it, justifying it, rubber stamping it...it makes you one of them. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJmFMCFyFQ3PTGCgt8G3YG0Q3NngwSoSmd6BTvOkEUiz-vWFHhKnYQqWM9IilmbBJYUkiLYfNMsLLl7E4q2juVdUgOG7pa6o1drEkaXGo6UwW8cYbHagiWNw1wtZJvjoNo0U-hsD9wnK9uK0JGIepfNOjXn7gnPU2feqv4n19y8BGCt5khgTV9xsInRrE" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJmFMCFyFQ3PTGCgt8G3YG0Q3NngwSoSmd6BTvOkEUiz-vWFHhKnYQqWM9IilmbBJYUkiLYfNMsLLl7E4q2juVdUgOG7pa6o1drEkaXGo6UwW8cYbHagiWNw1wtZJvjoNo0U-hsD9wnK9uK0JGIepfNOjXn7gnPU2feqv4n19y8BGCt5khgTV9xsInRrE=w248-h330" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Body storage for those <br />yet to be identified.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Arieh O'Sullivan, a reporter for KAN English news in Israel, (and the son of my dear friend Dina,) sent this to his mother this morning when she expressed concern about what was happening in Gaza:</span></div></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i></i></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Here you go mom, bodies of dead Jews, unable to bury yet because the Arabs mutilated the bodies so much they haven't yet been identified. Babies, found burned in ovens, put in alive. Women raped and murdered their faces so cut up they can't be identified. Did u see this on CNN? Don't compare us with the Arabs. All of Gaza is hamas.</i></span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"> </span></blockquote></div></div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet, in spite of that, as Jews, we are told to be concerned about our enemies; even as we celebrate our freedom from bondage, Egyptians died. When we recite the 10 plagues, we remove a drop of wine from our cups for each plague to remember the suffering of those who would have seen us dead. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet, even with the murder and the missiles, there is a prayer we've been reciting at morning minyan that has been adapted from Psalm 91 for the hostages, the IDF and the defenders of Israel. Please note the line I have bolded:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Our God, the One who raised Joseph up
from the pit, be "a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of
trouble"</i></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Send complete rescue and full redemption to those held captive
by the enemy.</i></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Strengthen their spirit and bring them
our prayers that they be protected from all harm.</i></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Implant understanding in the heart of the enemy that they may
return the captives in wholeness of body and spirit.</i></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Grant wisdom to the Israel Defense Forces that they may secure
freedom for the captives without loss of life.</i></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b><span style="color: #222222;">Grant strength of spirit and courage of heart to </span>all <span style="color: #222222;">the sons
and daughters of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar to release bonds of captivity and
allow us all to live in freedom.</span></b></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="background: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"They shall call upon Me, and I will answer them; I will be
with them in distress; I will rescue them, and honor them" </i></span></span></p></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We are not the only ones who live on this planet, we are not interested in world domination or shutting people out. Israel, warts and all, is still a democracy where Arab Israelis serve in government, the IDF, go to school, become doctors, lawyers, supreme court justices, police people, and do everything a Jewish Israeli does. Straight, gay, bi, trans, whatever...you get to live in a society where you can be what you want. Sure, they are crazy haredi that hate everyone who's not like them, but <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Israel#:~:text=In%202022%2C%2045%25%20of%20Israel,%2C%20and%208.3%25%20were%20Christians.">about 78% of Israelis consider themselves non-haredi.</a> In the same breath, we just want to be what we are: Jews living free in the land we've inhabited for 3000 years. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLw4kg6c9ZGbpC2DEMtlfpxe8pBk_YzD8U0ZfTRubneomHnHxVlTTlG9dVh-THug8cBsdqu3z66oBLvyGsCbirK7er3Sjq2THwDNvla21aeAYS1woTZQmVXMBTukVCPHagViGwv9PaxKskIp7PQUZY5Q9dIihip1Cetq0OiYrrJIuSTvk3UIe_3G5UOIY" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="649" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLw4kg6c9ZGbpC2DEMtlfpxe8pBk_YzD8U0ZfTRubneomHnHxVlTTlG9dVh-THug8cBsdqu3z66oBLvyGsCbirK7er3Sjq2THwDNvla21aeAYS1woTZQmVXMBTukVCPHagViGwv9PaxKskIp7PQUZY5Q9dIihip1Cetq0OiYrrJIuSTvk3UIe_3G5UOIY" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm guess most indigenous peoples feel the same way about their original homelands. Some have even come out to support Israel and the hostages. <a href="https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/national/haka-performed-at-rally-for-release-of-israeli-hostages-in-wellington/video/a86d13b038f10641d48461e332fa7378">A group of Maori in Wellington, New Zealand, </a>came together to perform a Haka to send strength and fortitude to IDF and the hostages in Gaza as they demanded their release. Their Haka is a powerful message that we are not alone in our desire to be our own people. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, back at the ranch...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Speaking of that desire to be left alone to practice our religion and our culture without fear of proselytization from those who think they have a lock on religion....the US House of Incredible Stupidity elected an openly christofascist, Mike Johnson, R-LA as its new Speaker of the House. <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/october-29-2023?" target="_blank">From Heather Cox Richardson:</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span face="arial, sans-serif"><i>The rejection of democracy in favor of Christian authoritarianism at the highest levels of our government is an astonishing outcome of the attempt to prevent another Great Depression by creating a government that worked for ordinary Americans rather than a few wealthy men.</i></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span face="arial, sans-serif"><i>But here we are.</i></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span face="arial, sans-serif"><i>After Johnson’s election as speaker, extremist Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida spelled out what it meant for the party…and for the country: “MAGA is ascendant,” Gaetz told former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, “and if you don’t think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement, and where the power of the Republican Party truly lies, then you’re not paying attention.”</i></span></p></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This guy believes his religion belongs squarely in the center of governance. In their article detailing the new Speaker's position, The New York Times reported:</span></div><div><blockquote><p style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Mr. Johnson declined an interview request and did not respond to
a request for comment about whether he considers himself a Christian
nationalist. But the little-known speaker of the House has made clear that his
faith is the most important thing to know about him, and in previous
interviews, he has said he believes <b>“the founders wanted to protect the church
from an encroaching state, not the other</b> way around.”</i></span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Just where does that leave the rest of us? Not so sure it's America if this guy and his cabal have anything to say about it.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Yeah, this stuff keeps me up at night. And I keep thinking about mob rule, and the squeaky wheel, and whether or not America is at the end of our noble experiment in democracy. Or maybe this<i> is</i> the end result of democracy? The majority does rule and if that majority thinks Feckless Loser should be the winner. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">If enough congressclowns are voting a christofascist in as Speaker of the House, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">and enough people are questioning the veracity of our electoral process, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">and if enough people are running for office as right-wing local school board and city council members, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">and enough of those candidates are winning.....that's democracy. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Maybe we who feel differently no longer have a place in these here United States. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ever think of that?</span></div></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-82459440088178188712023-10-23T22:12:00.024-05:002023-10-24T09:14:17.296-05:00JEWISH LIVES DON'T MATTER? Yeah, actually Jewish lives DO matter<blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: right;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhodNbDWsgm8IIF9oSF2aJfdhtifKYzhzMexwh9u3tcUCZ_Kj8bBMoLWhUdcgmDWRTTD1OW4tZRp8KH71OY-03hhEOBkLFSWtGFeb2mGPcmFSrANlGvICHWWtmSh_6Fp_Y9GS_tKCKPIYTArC0pcLepqj4dkcGmPX_K4WLZe543t-_gUNk3vYyw7Mg8PJk" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="1324" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhodNbDWsgm8IIF9oSF2aJfdhtifKYzhzMexwh9u3tcUCZ_Kj8bBMoLWhUdcgmDWRTTD1OW4tZRp8KH71OY-03hhEOBkLFSWtGFeb2mGPcmFSrANlGvICHWWtmSh_6Fp_Y9GS_tKCKPIYTArC0pcLepqj4dkcGmPX_K4WLZe543t-_gUNk3vYyw7Mg8PJk=w200-h180" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Someone close in my inner circle of lunatics announced they were withdrawing from Facebook communication for a while due to the incredible upsurge of Jew-hate on the board. Frankly, I don't blame them in the least. Ergo, I am dedicating this week's episode to the painful reality of being a Jew these days. Not everyone will agree with or support some of what you'll read below, but I can guaran-damn-tee you every Jew who reads this will pause to consider whether or not I'm being too harsh/realistic/paranoid in my rant. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Not that I care at the moment. I'm facing a whole new world and it is closing in around We, The Jewish People. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's set the stage:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-LJnr3YuKg9LOF-ybN5CUS4QXfyePPbhyRaoTJlOl9cc4dfQU_CZjaD_CL7sA4XHw_My_0NrnI7CILhlTNVu_JS8HFH87t6VyNJadjbqeostCGWyPLFkVhQWOKD0BXSGrVpHRiUtz1GvYUtV6BM1jsXbU5uFV2kvDSJU6xcemesifLojsp835JMyAOj4" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1440" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-LJnr3YuKg9LOF-ybN5CUS4QXfyePPbhyRaoTJlOl9cc4dfQU_CZjaD_CL7sA4XHw_My_0NrnI7CILhlTNVu_JS8HFH87t6VyNJadjbqeostCGWyPLFkVhQWOKD0BXSGrVpHRiUtz1GvYUtV6BM1jsXbU5uFV2kvDSJU6xcemesifLojsp835JMyAOj4=w229-h130" width="229" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Hamas bodycam footage</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">On October 7th, terrorists crossed the Gaza border intent on murdering Israeli civilians in their homes. In a well planned raid, they entered towns and kibbutzim where they hunted down residents, broke into homes, to slaughter men, women, children, babies, and the elderly. No one was safe. Not even in the safe rooms. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLSEw2MrogMt-kfnVRsNQ9_QlngTTMhcgymfTJRo9j96pQN9pndlcuoP-gpWgI_ZgVh1TbZf-YPH7IXMVo9npzO787pftlsgQXyS6R1mPruZo9Tv1CQATIZqis1n4Q_Htn5QC8ytMNaRp1qImb-pqssKAGd4Cxx0g8VYhG1kTd4PqmUbjgTTyfpcSNhZY" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1024" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLSEw2MrogMt-kfnVRsNQ9_QlngTTMhcgymfTJRo9j96pQN9pndlcuoP-gpWgI_ZgVh1TbZf-YPH7IXMVo9npzO787pftlsgQXyS6R1mPruZo9Tv1CQATIZqis1n4Q_Htn5QC8ytMNaRp1qImb-pqssKAGd4Cxx0g8VYhG1kTd4PqmUbjgTTyfpcSNhZY=w227-h142" width="227" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a child's bedroom. And yes, that's blood. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">There are also pictures of nurseries where children gathered to play now riddled with bullet holes. These are not a combatant hiding place; they are supposed to be safe places where children can play. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Then again, after Sandy Hook, Parkland, and all the other school shootings, we still don't have sane gun laws in the US, so I guess this is okay, too. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh34ZHl6-uuOvo7G6rUU3RDliGdR3A2CtAMkkaaH0XWe9YR2roM3CS-SHgbR4pAOot5Qav1YWIv0n2H4K2-Hv_ZgB11UTsRacKGx9QptmcAs2yya1ZsmvrLLjHXTThMTDXlgSxcWGVKoV96CBZyiqv-o8q3z0_tWdIMhwaD01lxvP3xAR20oNI0IESCBig" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="553" data-original-width="800" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh34ZHl6-uuOvo7G6rUU3RDliGdR3A2CtAMkkaaH0XWe9YR2roM3CS-SHgbR4pAOot5Qav1YWIv0n2H4K2-Hv_ZgB11UTsRacKGx9QptmcAs2yya1ZsmvrLLjHXTThMTDXlgSxcWGVKoV96CBZyiqv-o8q3z0_tWdIMhwaD01lxvP3xAR20oNI0IESCBig=w226-h156" width="226" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Terrorists went to a music festival where young people had gathered in the desert and slaughtered them like so many fish in a barrel, shooting many as they ran, shooting them sitting in their cars, hunting them like animals. This is a tent full of body bags. 260 kids were murdered at a rock festival. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, I guess it's okay because it wasn't Woodstock or Coachella even if there were Americans and other foreigners there. I guess no one would've minded much if 260 kids were gunned down over at Max Yasgur's place because he was Jewish, too</span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoW-lBeTCTqCzVsmJhR9DAYr4z66TIA5E55Jp03n8ntNA6n3ltMF_6cblUdVDQ75VQVqQuqNkd3HTvgkw55bX1OHm1_s4fU4NGPkH6S6WwPHn9VHaDsKkfcdodDRsr5zfAsj5vzdcrsCg4Fshag7XOErFGHr5iF_8IGy2DoOICfCcCYqhKILal28g5ZV8" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="479" data-original-width="719" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoW-lBeTCTqCzVsmJhR9DAYr4z66TIA5E55Jp03n8ntNA6n3ltMF_6cblUdVDQ75VQVqQuqNkd3HTvgkw55bX1OHm1_s4fU4NGPkH6S6WwPHn9VHaDsKkfcdodDRsr5zfAsj5vzdcrsCg4Fshag7XOErFGHr5iF_8IGy2DoOICfCcCYqhKILal28g5ZV8=w227-h151" width="227" /></a></div></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Over 200 men, women, children, and elderly have been taken hostage to serve as human shields along with every other civilian in Gaza. That's what they do; Hamas has been using human shields since 2005 when Israel left. T</span><span style="font-family: arial;">hey use the population as human shields by setting their launchers in the middle of dense populated neighborhoods, near hospitals, mosques, and schools; a great way to boost casualty numbers. Playing the victim card is a mainstay of this production. Now they have Israeli shields, too.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let me repeat that in case you missed it: Israel left Gaza in 2005. The only ones holding Palestinians hostage is Hamas. Yup, they're the ones standing between Palestinians and modern utilities. Not Israel. Not the US. Not even Egypt. Hamas is decimating its own population.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Israel does not want this war. They will be castigated for any response to the attacks, but that is to be expected. What Israel wants, what Israel has tried for decades to do, is to create a second partner state that would provide all Palestinians with economic stability, education, heath and utility infrastructure, and a partnership for peace, cooperation and growth. It's really hard to do that when your cities are under constant shelling. Face it, Israel doesn't need Gaza or the West Bank economically or for land; a modern, thriving economy exists in Israel. Two states, side by side, supporting each other for growth? That's the ideal. </span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However...</span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hamas has rejected every attempt to create an independent state of Palestine. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas_Charter">The Hamas Charter</a>, however, does not call for a two state solution, it calls for the absolute destruction of Israel and death to all Jews. Not exactly a partner, is it?<br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><i>IF YOU STAND WITH HAMAS</i>, understand you are supporting terrorism, the murder of civilians, and constant bombing of towns, villages, and farms. What you are <b>NOT</b> supporting are the people of Palestine who long for economic freedom, education for their kids, and a peaceful place for families to live and prosper. </div><div><br /></div><div>Hamas has never hidden its intent of genocide for the Jews, even when it exchanged the word Jew for Zionist in the 2017 revision of its charter. Regardless, Hamas wants a Palestine from "the river to the sea" that is Jew free, and getting it to be Jew free requires the "removal" of the Jewish population. While Hamas claims all religions can be practiced in their new state, don't believe them. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/hamas-covenant-israel-attack-war-genocide/675602/">From this month's ATLANTIC:</a></div><blockquote><div><span style="text-align: start;"><i>Tucked into Article 31, toward the end of the delineation of its three dozen guiding principles, Hamas claims that all faiths can “coexist in peace and quiet with each other” under its unique “wing of Islam.” But lest anyone be lulled into believing the promise of this paradise on Earth, Hamas demands as the price of entry full allegiance and unquestioning compliance with its rule: “It is the duty of the followers of other religions to stop disputing the sovereignty of Islam in this region, because the day these followers should take over there will be nothing but carnage, displacement and terror.”</i></span></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, back at the ranch....</div><div><br /></div><div>The only country on the globe that is not permitted to defend itself is Israel. Actions against Israeli civilians are never supposed to be acted upon. Suicide bomber? <i>No problem; just watch out for people in winter coats in July. </i>Endless barrage of rockets fired into towns like Sderot and directed at the school yards or bus depot? <i>That's okay, you Iron Dome, so there's not a real threat there.</i> Missiles fired into the north toward Haifa and Tel Aviv from Hezbollah OCCUPIED Lebanon? <i>Oh, not to worry, they can't reach the population centers. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Israel is resoundingly condemned at each event perpetrated against the civilian population. Sure, there's a moment of <i>Oh, how awful </i>almost immediately followed by cries of <i>occupiers,</i> c<i>olonialists</i>, whatever. If Israel responds to an attack, they are attacked for defending their civilian population because, after all, they're <i>occupiers</i> and <i>colonialists. </i> Forget the facts. Forget they left Gaza and the population elected Hamas in 2006. Never mind there hasn't been an election since 2007.</div><div><br /></div><div>And how poor Gaza suffers at Israeli hands! Shhhh...don't mention the pipes ripped outta the ground to make rocket launchers instead of a clear water supply. If you don't tell anyone about the number of missiles fired by Hamas that didn't quite make it into Israel but fell in Gaza City itself. You can blame Israel for leveling all the buildings, even when they didn't do it...like that hospital last week. Israel didn't bomb that hospital, an Islamic Jihad rocket missed, fell, and blew up a bunch of cars that did the ultimate damage. But it's okay; mainstream media blamed Israel and now everyone believes it rather than all evidence to the contrary. Cries of "gas the Jews, "kill the Jews," and "Jews are baby killers" work well to supply all the kindling you need to light a fire under the <i>Jewish Lives Don't Matter Handbook and Platform. </i>Mass hysteria will take care of the rest.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>IF YOU STAND WITH HAMAS</i>, your Jewish friends do not have a friend in you. They are probably nervous about what's happening around them. Wanna guess why? Can you say Germany in 1938? </div><div><br /></div><div><i>IF YOU STAND WITH HAMAS</i>, try to be honest here...you're gonna be the first ones to close the drapes and ignore what's happening outside your living room window.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>If you have a joke tombstone display for Halloween on your lawn, and one of those tombstones says, "ANNE FRANK," guess what? <i>YOU ALREADY STAND WITH HAMAS</i> and will be one of the drape pullers.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><i>IF YOU STAND WITH HAMAS,</i> you are standing for laws requiring homosexuals to be jailed. Bet you forgot about that one. However, in 2016 Hamas <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;">executed on of their own leaders, Mahmoud Ishtiwi, under allegations of gay sex and theft. I bet their Gay Pride parade more closely resembles lemmings and a cliff rather than a happy event for all LGBTQ folks. Come to think of it, I don't think they have a Pride Parade in Gaza City. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><i>IF YOU STAND WITH HAMAS</i>, I'm guessing you never heard about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September">Black September</a>. <i>That was when the PLO, the forerunner of Hamas, tried to overthrow the Kingdom of Jordan and started a civil war.</i>Y'know, you really have to be otherworldly if you think this is about a land grab in the Middle East, or prevention of statehood for Gaza and/or the West Bank. There is no colonization or occupation by Israel. They don't want Gaz<i>a. Nor does anyone else as long as terrorism is their stock in trade. Egypt already worries about what happens if you let large numbers of known terrorists come into your country. And let's not forget Hezbollah in Lebanon. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah">Now that's an occupation!</a></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>It's not about Israel occupying Gaza. It's about baseline Jew hatred, and in your heart of hearts, thinking the Germans could've done better. It's okay; you don't have to keep it a secret any more. We already know, and frankly it's okay to be honest about it. We, the Jewish People, prefer that to blowing smoke up our collective ass. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>That way, we know right out front who wishes us dead. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>IF YOU STAND WITH HAMAS, you really are the enemy of the people of Gaza. Their choices have been stolen by the people elected to bring them statehood. Instead, those elected have prevented humanitarian aid from reaching those who need it because it was used to dig tunnels under the border to kibbutzim in order to kill civilians. Hamas has used the funds for utility maintenance to line their own pockets as they build bombs and rockets. The last free election in Gaza was in 2005. According to <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/country/gaza-strip/freedom-world/2022">Freedom House:</a></i></div><blockquote><div><i>The PA has not held a presidential election since 2005, when Fatah faction's Mahmoud Abbas won with 62 percent of the vote. Following its win in 2006 legislative elections and a violent rift with Fatah and the West Bank-based PA in 2007, Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip. Abbas's four year electoral mandate expired in 2009 though he has continued to govern in the West Bank. </i></div></blockquote><div><i>IF YOU STAND WITH HAMAS</i>, you are sentencing the civilians of Gaza to economic and political death while you support genocide for Jews all over the world. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Or maybe that's what you're really hoping for. Is that some kind of apocalyptic thing?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I STAND WITH ISRAEL even though I'm not overly happy with the government, especially the Prime Minister, and I worry about the toll the response to the invasion will take on the population in Israel, the Diaspora, and yes, even in Gaza. Are all Israel's responses perfect? No; far from it. But do I support the right of We, the Indigenous People of the tiny Mediterranean strip of land to live there in peace? Absolutely. All of us. Just like they do in Israel. Jew, Muslim, Arab, Mizrahi, European, African, Asian, American. All of us. And if you wanna know the absolute truth? I want Gaza to succeed as a state. I want the Palestinians to have a country they can thrive in, be proud of, and open itself to the world. No one wants them behind barbed wire, but they have to stop sending rockets into schoolyards. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do We, the Jewish People, have the right to defend ourselves? You bet your sweet ass we do. As Charles Krauthammer said,</div></span></div></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="wDYxhc" data-md="61" lang="en-US" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 8px; clear: none; color: #202124; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><div aria-level="3" class="LGOjhe" data-attrid="wa:/description" data-hveid="CBIQAA" role="heading" style="overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 20px; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 48px;"><i>Israel is the very embodiment of Jewish continuity: It is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago.</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;"> </span></div></div></div></blockquote></span></div></span></div></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202124;">Look, we get it. If you're Christian, think about this: I bet Jesus would get it, too, since he's one of us. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202124;">Hamas would have no compunction about killing him, too<span>. </span></span><span style="color: #202124;">Just thought I should remind you about that. In case it makes a difference.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">And breaking news as of 4:30 CST: two more hostages have been released: <span style="text-align: start;"><b>Nurit Cooper,</b> 79, and <b>Yocheved Lifshitz</b>, 85 of Kibbutz Nir Oz. Their husbands, however, remain in Gaza. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Remember this: IF YOU STAND WITH HAMAS, </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>you stand for the extermination of Jews everywhere. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>All of us. No exceptions. Just like the Nazis.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>Even if you don't consider yourself Jewish anymore. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>You're probably <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mischling">Jewish enough</a> for them. </i></span></div></span></div></span></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-58092716278636374152023-10-16T21:48:00.001-05:002023-10-17T10:07:25.524-05:00New Depths of Disgust ....If you're not worried, you should be.<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbHIr7zmPotg4myOVPqlH3FdRhGgUVV3hyjCqWMcuxPmTCavXIzqrh2Y8Hi2IhL_5YcBiI0trNEkqNcp87D7mZiYiBRDhucyPoylWj9FzZbcj4QpXrNdfHvScmgxu-r8nv4TderT2q-Ps0YzDd_FZnGZEjjhZ8wwHcqWGY5G0wgZQy47_Qh7iCpwmQM0/s495/231016-wadea-Al-Fayoume-mn-1407-af6534%20(1).jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="454" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbHIr7zmPotg4myOVPqlH3FdRhGgUVV3hyjCqWMcuxPmTCavXIzqrh2Y8Hi2IhL_5YcBiI0trNEkqNcp87D7mZiYiBRDhucyPoylWj9FzZbcj4QpXrNdfHvScmgxu-r8nv4TderT2q-Ps0YzDd_FZnGZEjjhZ8wwHcqWGY5G0wgZQy47_Qh7iCpwmQM0/w118-h129/231016-wadea-Al-Fayoume-mn-1407-af6534%20(1).jpeg" width="118" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Over the weekend, an act so heinous it's indescribable, took place in Chicago. A little boy was stabbed 26 times because his family is Palestinian-American. His mother was also stabbed multiple times and is currently hospitalized. The perpetrator was their landlord, a man named </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #283741; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Joseph Czuba, who had, in the past, given the child toys and even built him a treehouse. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/us/stabbing-hate-crime-funeral.html">According to the New York Times</a>:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic; text-indent: 0.5in;">In court documents, prosecutors described the landlord, Joseph M. Czuba, 71, who has been charged with murder and hate crimes, as angry, erratic, paranoid and violent.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic; text-indent: 0.5in;">He had been listening to conservative radio coverage of the Middle East war in the days before the attack, the prosecutors said, wanted his Palestinian American tenants to move out of his building and was increasingly concerned that he was in personal danger because of his connection to them.</span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So he stabbed the kid and his mother. In America. In Chicago. In a place that is supposed to be safe...his home. No child should be sacrificed on the altar of political rhetoric. What happened in Chicago is as heinous as what happened in Israel...and Gaza, too. Innocent people died on both sides. Civilians. Children. Grandparents. Non-combatants all, and all are dead because the politics of hate is practiced world-wide. And it's increasingly practiced in these here United States. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Last week, the Twin Cities Jewish community came out for an event in support of Israel. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">When we arrived, the line already snaked around the building. Police and County Sheriffs were positioned around the building, parking lot, and all doors. While they were there because credible threats exist and the intent is to make us all feel safe, I did not feel safe in the slightest. I did not feel safe because I knew Jews and Jewish events in the United States are considered targets. Still, more than 1700 people showed up. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgft9K-IlOonuJKcJjZh1-Jzc93FJGmJGlX9tphOuJAH-R1ZTFoTgX5xVvYq-siqyl17Zx-U2ie7xdZDmsE7M9kxt7S4uteRCNOY37aZsexCxaSc9U_bjRCR5uVtI21RBdLjAkYD6y-IooVPxRCLji40qCMlT3AoEVChExuIUaD-8200HrnkyuUflQr-B4/s3671/IMG_6031.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2162" data-original-width="3671" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgft9K-IlOonuJKcJjZh1-Jzc93FJGmJGlX9tphOuJAH-R1ZTFoTgX5xVvYq-siqyl17Zx-U2ie7xdZDmsE7M9kxt7S4uteRCNOY37aZsexCxaSc9U_bjRCR5uVtI21RBdLjAkYD6y-IooVPxRCLji40qCMlT3AoEVChExuIUaD-8200HrnkyuUflQr-B4/w200-h118/IMG_6031.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>The venue, one of the local synagogues on the Minneapolis side, was filled to the scuppers. Every available seat, every available standing-room space was takens. Hundreds more could not even get into the building, and listened to the live stream in the parking lot on iPads, tablets, and phones. I saw almost every one of our morning minyan regulars as well as dozens of other St. Paul denizens. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">We were lucky; we may have been all the way in the back, but we could hear Senator Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, and Governor Tim Walz clearly denounce the slaughter in Israel. W</span><span style="font-family: arial;">e listened to speaker after speaker pledge unwavering support for Israel, but we also knew in other places we were being called war criminals and murderers. Oh, you know the drill. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">As Israel is held to some bizarre standard that precludes self-defense, <i>all</i> Jews become targets for hate. In Australia, 1,000 protesters in front of the iconic Sydney Opera House chanted <i>Gas The Jews. </i> Jewish students on college campuses across the US are threatened by groups that would silence those who support Israel. Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia, all Ivy League institutions, have become centers for antisemitic actions toward students by other students under the guise of free speech. For the most part, the administrations have remained woefully silent. Google <i>Jew Hatred on Campus </i>and you can check it out for yourself. Claims that this is about Israel just don't hold up; it's about Jews. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">UPenn President Liz Magill, after being faced with unprecedented backlash to the university's lack of response to concerns voiced by Jewish students, alumni, staff, and board members, sent out a letter basically apologizing. She wrote:<br /></span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">At Penn, we are confronting these events in the wake of recent antisemitic acts on campus and individuals, with a public history of speaking out viciously against the Jewish people, appearing on campus as part of the Palestine Writes Literature Festival.</span><br style="background-color: white; text-align: start;" /><br style="background-color: white; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">Many have voiced their anger and frustration about this event. Please know that I hear you. I know how painful the presence of these speakers on Penn’s campus was for the Jewish community, especially during the holiest time of the Jewish year, and at a University deeply proud of its long history of being a welcoming place for Jewish people. The University did not, and emphatically does not, endorse these speakers or their views. While we did communicate, we should have moved faster to share our position strongly and more broadly with the Penn community.</span></i></span></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"A welcoming place for Jewish people."</i> Yup, that's what she said. Maybe it's me, but that one gave me the creeps. Would she have said, "Black people," or "Italian people," or even "Catholic people?" I don't know, but her tone left me ever so slightly unsettled...and suspicious of her motives. Maybe I'm just too sensitized by the rhetoric around me. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Getting rid of Jewish people in general is definitely on a whole lotta tables. The new rhetoric is just like the rhetoric of Nazi Germany, of Imperial Russia, or even the Inquisition...just wrapped up in a white flag with a blue star. When so-called intellectuals rave about supporting Palestine's struggle to be "free," they have no clue that Palestine was never a country to begin with. They rant about Gazans not being able to leave...well, maybe they could if Hamas had officials at the border to check passports...which they don't...which is why the border to Egypt is closed. NOT because the Egyptians or the Israelis closed it. Maybe they'd still have a potable aquifer if they hadn't used all the pipes and funding for rocket launchers... but hey! that was not an Israel problem; that was a Hamas problem, not that anyone would admit to that. As the radical masses carry on about these injustices, they blame Israel, not Hamas for the squalid conditions, in turn, giving the haters open season to hate not Israelis, but all Jews. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We are not safe from the extreme right, nor are we safe from the extreme left. We are oh-so-conveniently stuck in the middle. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJvvScsaLXOY0fOB3oqvBBOieUAyCgcCEyClCM69pnx8_tiUaKWIigafLVXYRNn4i7fsv-17aiiCPbadZDi7I_SBwhnPZhhFvK0aY-3udKY5vb5wtOKM-CVHbI6Bf_-n9OSpAvpQ68irKwTHD1p2WQbHWp86NmBX2w_l8mSWYIkR13UHteGhprKgwjpM/s1269/tempio%20maggiore%20(1).jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="1269" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJvvScsaLXOY0fOB3oqvBBOieUAyCgcCEyClCM69pnx8_tiUaKWIigafLVXYRNn4i7fsv-17aiiCPbadZDi7I_SBwhnPZhhFvK0aY-3udKY5vb5wtOKM-CVHbI6Bf_-n9OSpAvpQ68irKwTHD1p2WQbHWp86NmBX2w_l8mSWYIkR13UHteGhprKgwjpM/w135-h133/tempio%20maggiore%20(1).jpeg" width="135" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Tempio Maggiore</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Every synagogue I know has security details in place on Shabbat. Outside doors are locked, easy, welcoming access is no longer possible. Several years ago, while in Italy, I was told to register before going to the Tempio Maggiore di Firenze for shabbat. I sent an email, then upon arrival in Florence, I went to make sure I made the list on Friday morning. I was stunned to see the fences and soldiers with automatic weapons patrolling in front and on the grounds of the synagogue. Tonight, while I was in Talmud class, a representative of the safety committee popped in to say we could no longer leave an <i>interior</i> chapel door open for people coming in for minyan. Is this what is coming for us? Apparently, and it scares the hell outta me. <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, back at the ranch...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Readers have written asking me what they can do to help. Like I have a magic answer for that? Actually I might: <i><b>send money</b></i>. Right now, Israel has numerous organizations that are crying out for donations for relief, supplies, body armor, you name it....they need it. Below is a list sent </span><span style="font-family: arial;">from my friends in Herzliya</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> of established placed to donate with some I've added:</span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.fidf.org/">Friends of IDF</a> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://secured.israelgives.org/en/pay/lonesoldiercenter">Lone Soldier Center </a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://give.zakaworld.org/">Help ZAKA </a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://israelrescue.org/">United Hatzalah </a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href=" https://secure.afmda.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2340&mfc_pref=T&2340.donation=form1&s_src=OperationSwordofIron&FURL=UR ">Magen David Adom - this link is being matched by Mike Bloomberg: </a></span></p></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.standwithus.com/situationroom ">Stand With Us</a> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">where you’ll also find items to share on your social media</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.leket.org/en/ ">Leket Israel</a> our local food rescue and distribution initiative</span></p></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.shaul.org/ ">Shaul Foundation</a> for families in crisis </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://raisedonors.com/stpaul-jewish-federation/operation-swords-of-iron">St. Paul Federation Israel Emergency Campaign </a></span></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.jafina.org/crisis-in-israel/ ">Jewish Agency: Victims of Terror fund</a> </span> </p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">More agencies can be found Here: <a href="https://tcjewfolk.com/2023/10/09/resources-to-help-israel-during-operation-iron-swords/">TC Jewfolk Resources to Help Israel During Operation Iron Swords.</a></span><a href="https://tcjewfolk.com/2023/10/09/resources-to-help-israel-during-operation-iron-swords/"> </a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The age-old adage, </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial;"><i><b>put your money where your mouth is</b>, </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>applies big time here. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Please find a fund you like and pitch in. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-1155902613172810862023-10-09T21:06:00.006-05:002023-10-10T05:58:29.079-05:00There is no "Yeah, but....."<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSov0qria7rUHRudqpdkWcuveMX1H69qX2DptmLndbzbeZGJnerPdhI9CXEDnKFEPcCBBEOsbSVphYnBo7xWBeJWH0lS6vSJOpAJh9zJUEx9gQKVnChe00w4vuzJuDUOv67nkdUVfF1qF_M-Wue1XwbyV_vdRfcyyhJhcztAU1GhZp8u25-1Kx5AV-RVc/s1080/Kedem%20family.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1080" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSov0qria7rUHRudqpdkWcuveMX1H69qX2DptmLndbzbeZGJnerPdhI9CXEDnKFEPcCBBEOsbSVphYnBo7xWBeJWH0lS6vSJOpAJh9zJUEx9gQKVnChe00w4vuzJuDUOv67nkdUVfF1qF_M-Wue1XwbyV_vdRfcyyhJhcztAU1GhZp8u25-1Kx5AV-RVc/w400-h225/Kedem%20family.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><blockquote><i>The Kedem family (z"l)<br />executed in their home on Nir-oz Kibbutz<br /><br /></i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><i>Tamar Kedem messaged friends in Australia at 2.45pm on Saturday to say they were all inside a bunker inside their home on Kibbutz Nir-oz in southern Israel. </i></span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Playfair Display", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #142233; text-align: start;"><i>“Hi guys, we got into the shelter in our house, we’re all doing okay,” the message said. One hour later, Tamar stopped responding to messages. Shortly afterwards, Hamas terrorists entered the shelter and executed them.</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: right;">from <a href="https://www.thejc.com//news/israel/hours-after-mother-told-relatives-she-was-doing-ok-hamas-executed-her-entire-family-2CsemBfmzt8IqWDWolMUzF?"><i>The Jewish Chronicle </i></a></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Playfair Display", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #142233; text-align: start;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Allow me to make this as simple, clear, and factual as possible.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When terrorists go door-to-door slaughtering civilians, that's not an act of war, that's a <i>pogrom. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>I'm sure you've heard the word bandied about on many occasions, but maybe you don't really know what a <b>pogrom</b> is. According</span><span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202124;"><span style="background-color: white;"> to <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pogrom">Merriam Webster</a>, a pogrom is</span></span><span class="mw_t_bc" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: bolder; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">an </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><b>organized </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">massacre of helpless people</span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">; </span><span class="sd" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">specifically</span><span class="sd" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span class="dtText" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">such a massacre of Jews</span></i></span></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/pogrom">Britannica</a> provides a broader definition:</span> </span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold);">Pogrom</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">, (Russian: “devastation,” or “riot”), a mob attack, either approved or </span>condoned<span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> by authorities, against the persons and property of a religious, racial, or national minority. The term is usually applied to attacks on </span><span id="ref291072" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a;"></span>Jews<span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> in the </span>Russian Empire<span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"> in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.</span></span></i></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In case you're wondering, pogroms did not stop after the early 20th century when Jews fled Russia and the Ukraine. One might (and probably should) call the Holocaust a mega-pogrom, but they did not stop after the Nazis were defeated either. Nope. Pogroms continued in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Jewish_violence_in_Poland,_1944%E2%80%931946">Poland, notably in Krakow and Kielce,</a> Hungary, Slovakia, and even <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sergeants_affair#Reactions_in_Britain">Great Britain</a> in the 40s. Anti-Jewish riots have never really stopped. Ever. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This weekend was just another pogrom in a long line of state-sanctioned hatred of Jews. The difference is, we're fighting back once again. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But why bring up ancient history now? Well, probably because it's not so ancient. Recognizing Hamas for what it is, a state-sponsored terrorist organization, is only the first step in dealing with the disaster that is Gaza. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The propaganda machine will never admit that there has never been an independent or otherwise Palestinian state on that land. The last independent state was during the Second Temple period, and that kingdom, the one where Herod was king, was absorbed into the Roman Empire as a vassal state, which it remained under various empires like the Ottoman and the British until Israel was declared a sovereign state in 1948. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jews, on the other hand, have had viable kingdoms there, built major economies, had currency, government, and state symbols on independent nations on that land. We predate the other Abrahamic siblings; Christianity...remember Jesus was one of us... started in the early years of the Common Era and Islam was founded in 610 C.E., 600 years <i>after </i>Christianity<i>. </i>At no time, not even during the exiles, were all Jews removed from our land. We have been there as an identifiable people since the Iron Age when the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah were established....which is about 1200-1100 B.C.E. That's a pretty substantial history even discounting the Five Books of Moses as a historically accurate source. In other words, we were there as us long before the other faith groups. We ARE the indigenous people.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now that we have that out of the way....</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJ7snd1BEhN3XI3_YNFHKwCpUlTuYMspilOMj4rv3knynBJUCFZYlA9Kdl_Be2m5Ve-ICzc9fdmIe6aSXXwF-Z_0-95KSXdbb8Pmj2gqdDUJ3GCXpUQF-j9Kx2OnvYHrCb8uWkbFb4Ds6mTlwtS5t6bS1djfNMm-zzU-u-pMZbH_Mse2oBLwfwplUFm0/s700/medium_2023-10-09-237bd2902a.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="700" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJ7snd1BEhN3XI3_YNFHKwCpUlTuYMspilOMj4rv3knynBJUCFZYlA9Kdl_Be2m5Ve-ICzc9fdmIe6aSXXwF-Z_0-95KSXdbb8Pmj2gqdDUJ3GCXpUQF-j9Kx2OnvYHrCb8uWkbFb4Ds6mTlwtS5t6bS1djfNMm-zzU-u-pMZbH_Mse2oBLwfwplUFm0/w134-h86/medium_2023-10-09-237bd2902a.jpeg" width="134" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">Noa Argamani's abduction <br />from Supernova.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">First: there is <i>no</i> moral equivalency for the actions of Hamas. No one can call terrorists who execute civilians in their homes and at music festivals "freedom fighters" of any kind. They are murderers. Terrorists. Enemies of all humankind. They deserve to be hunted down just like they did to the families of Kibbutz Nir-oz and the kids at the annual Supernova Rave. If you think there is, then you are an antisemite, hate Jews, and believe in genocide. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Second: </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Israel withdrew all forces from Gaza in 2005, but retained border control...for obvious reasons. In 2006 Hamas won the parliamentary elections, defeating Al Fatah, but a year later, wrested all control of Gaza, tossing out all opposition from Fatah. While this is a gross simplification, it's important to note that Gaza had its own government for a brief moment. Where is that government now?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Third: </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Hamas is a state-sponsored terrorist organization holding the people of Gaza hostage. The people of Gaza have been consistently denied their human rights NOT by Israel, but by Hamas who uses any and all money coming into the territory to promote violence instead of building an economy. Hamas systematically prevents them from having a state, NOT Israel. Hamas prevents open elections, Not Israel. Hamas prevents dissenting opinions from being aired, NOT Israel. Hamas rules Gaza with an iron fist around the throats of the populace.</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Fourth: Hamas claims Gaza has been under siege for decades. I would posit that is not true. <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/palestinian-rocket-and-mortar-attacks-against-israel"> </a></span><a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/palestinian-rocket-and-mortar-attacks-against-israel">Israel has been under siege by Gaza </a> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">since missiles have been constantly and continually fired at border towns and kibbutzim in southern Israel since 2001</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">. Those missiles are aimed at schools, hospitals, and markets, therefore preventing the people of that region from any semblance of normal life. Children of towns like S'derot do not know life without bomb shelters. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Israel has a moral imperative to defend her citizens. If bombs are launched at school yards, buses, and civilian spaces, and </span>terrorists infiltrate cities as suicide bombers, Israel had an obligation to find the source and stop it immediately. No other nation has ever been told to stand by for negotiations while the civilian population is under attack. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">NO OTHER NATION. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then why is Israel the exception?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, you could say because it is prosperous. Or because it has been involved with border issues since the Balfour Declaration. Or maybe it's because it opened its arms to refugees from all over the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Or maybe, just maybe it's because there were mostly <i>Jewish</i> refugees.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm going with that last one. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you don't want Jews in your country, great; that's your loss. But we still get to live peaceably in our homeland. Just like the French. Or the English. Or the Egyptians. Or the Syrians. No one argues with their right to be in France. Or England. Or Egypt. Or even Syria. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But not Jews. We're told we don't have that right.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Do not attempt to revise history so you can claim you pre-date us and bar us from our own homeland. That's total bull-hockey. You don't pre-date us. We've been around that area along the Mediterranean without exception for about 3000 years, give or take a decade. Sorry folks, but we qualify as indigenous.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And do not think for one Jerusalem nano-second that Israel's current domestic issues will impede our ability to defend our own. You'll find out the hard way that even with all the intelligence failures...and good gravy, there are too many to list...if you think Israel is going to fall, you are wrong. It will not. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You can call Israel names yet everyone, including Israeli Arabs, gets to live in Israel. And vote. And get health care. And have access to education. Jews, however, cannot reside in most Arab countries. Still. To this day. You can claim Israel doesn't support civil rights, but have a Palestinian Pride Parade in Gaza and see how long it takes for you to be tossed off a roof. You can <i>say</i> whatever you want, but it does not mean it's true. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet, Israel is singled out again and again for having the temerity to simply exist. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, do you want to talk about all those Hamas Freedom Fighters.....or do you remember this is what Nazis looked like? Jews were routinely rounded up to be shipped off to death camps. If they could get away with it, that's exactly what Hamas would do to us. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh, you don't believe that. Hmmm. The <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp">Hamas Charter of 1988</a> clearly states <i>judenrein, a Jew-free zone, </i>is the intent:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>From the Preamble: </span> </span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left; text-indent: 25px;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Israel will exist and will continue to exist <span style="color: red;">until Islam will obliterate it,</span> just as it obliterated others before it (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).</span></i></span></blockquote><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>From Article 7</b>: <span style="background-color: white; text-align: left; text-indent: 25px;"><i>Moreover, if the links have been distant from each other and if obstacles, placed by those who are the lackeys of Zionism in the way of the fighters obstructed the continuation of the struggle, the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of Allah's promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:</i></span></span></p><blockquote style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.8px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: red;">"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews."</span> (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).</i></span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>From Article 13:</i></b> </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; text-indent: 25px;"><span style="color: red;">There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. </span>Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with.</i></p></blockquote><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>From Article 15:</b> <span style="background-color: white; text-align: left; text-indent: 25px;"><i>The day that enemies usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Moslem. In<span style="color: red;"> face of the Jews' usurpation of Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised.</span> To do this requires the diffusion of Islamic consciousness among the masses, both on the regional, Arab and Islamic levels. It is necessary to instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the nation so that they would confront the enemies and join the ranks of the fighters.</i></span></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></i></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Those are just a few highlights; the <span style="color: red;">red</span> is mine. Read <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp">the whole thing</a> if you really want to check out the actual Hamas agenda. I guarantee it's not what you thought it was. Oh, yeah... it doesn't stop at Jews. Just so you know. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2Eh0zyHqC4rFIfbDEP3BdvjpxieYfNRKiT2OMr_Kbx0cYB7ewNz4VYMBaom8AOZAYJlNDYC-pGUdQf-iBQQBUVh7NnzHoaGneYQUsRsp7kxWExK6whgIgkanuA9F1-c2UdFGdfzvzI4DSjU2dJp5DFKB-20SHuiChtjlQ2se2RdAWpcc8uU9t-a6ekc/s1090/Yaffa%20Adar.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1090" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2Eh0zyHqC4rFIfbDEP3BdvjpxieYfNRKiT2OMr_Kbx0cYB7ewNz4VYMBaom8AOZAYJlNDYC-pGUdQf-iBQQBUVh7NnzHoaGneYQUsRsp7kxWExK6whgIgkanuA9F1-c2UdFGdfzvzI4DSjU2dJp5DFKB-20SHuiChtjlQ2se2RdAWpcc8uU9t-a6ekc/w149-h103/Yaffa%20Adar.png" width="149" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Yaffa Adar</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">So, what happened last Shabbat? Terrorists obliterated border barriers and crossed into Israel. They also went in by sea and by parasailing. The intent was to murder any and all persons, civilian or military, encountered. They executed civilians at point blank rage in their homes and in shelters. The attacked a music festival taking place nearby. According to eyewitnesses, several women at Supernova were raped before being shot at point blank range. More than 260 bodies have been recovered. H</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ostages of all ages, from infants to elderly Israelis, including an 85 year old woman, a Holocaust survivor named Yaffa Adar were abducted at gunpoint from towns, the kibbutz, and the festival. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh, and in many cases, the terrorists were narrating the events on camera for the world to see. I'm not going to post them here...just go to YouTube and search Hamas Social Media. You can watch until you vomit. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Hostages were transported into Gaza; one can only surmise they are being used as human shields, stashed wherever Hamas thinks Israel will bomb because they know Israel will not willingly kill civilians...hostages or otherwise. On PBS Newshour tonight, I heard a Palestinian complaining that this time, Israel did not notify them they were going to bomb his neighborhood so they could get out. What other country notifies targets in advance of airstrikes to get civilians out of the way? (I don't think Russia does that for Ukrainians.) Israel does. The people of Gaza are complaining that Israel did not notify them. Did Hamas notify Kibbutz Nir-oz they were going to execute any Israeli they found? I don't think so. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I have only one question: where are all those Gazans who say they want a real country, one with an economy, one with food on supermarket shelves, and one with petrol for their gas tanks? If they are out there, they are the ones who should be ridding Gaza of these terrorists, not the IDF. They are the ones who should be fighting the thieves and the murderers in their midst. The people of Gaza must decide exactly what they want. otherwise this is an endless cycle. Until they make a viable decision, they are culpable for the actions of Hamas. They are just as guilty as if they pulled the triggers themselves. Kinda like the Germans who closed their drapes and looked away. If you're looking for an equivalency, you can use that one.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Gaza, your victim card has expired; there are no more pathetic excuses for allowing Hamas to run your country. If you want a country, get yourselves an economy instead of a terrorist regime. There are way more of you than there are of them. All that foreign aid they're using to line their own pockets and build tunnels? That's YOUR money, not theirs. They do not have your good and welfare in their sights. After all, Arafat died with a $12,000,000 personal bank account in Paris. If it was good enough for Arafat.....</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Wake up, People of Gaza! Take control of your own future ...if for no other reason than for the sake of your children. When that day comes, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">you will find you actually have partners for peace and economic stability not just next door, but all over the globe. You'd have to be morons to not take advantage of that.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We, the Jewish People, will welcome that day, but We, the Jewish People, will not stand idly by until it comes. We will protect our country.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>We are</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>עם אחד</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>One People</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Yeah, we just showed on the beach at Akko up after WWII. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Not.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTY-ewjediD2LLosJ5AOVQrhCsuP0EGWbd7cUPVVQPqlSG4ffUVc2SsO014DU2o6O9Oaq-dq72dsfstFRKL6xVPnCve-xgwY4I2cpLrl5F5YQGkr11o908EowOZ8wmRAh0B72S2RPkM_Vjingm0a0fEU6ICGlIZEeDHLAYCebVWB38NUhwJWsaUr6Pnu8/s1024/YHD-drachm-both-sides.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="1024" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTY-ewjediD2LLosJ5AOVQrhCsuP0EGWbd7cUPVVQPqlSG4ffUVc2SsO014DU2o6O9Oaq-dq72dsfstFRKL6xVPnCve-xgwY4I2cpLrl5F5YQGkr11o908EowOZ8wmRAh0B72S2RPkM_Vjingm0a0fEU6ICGlIZEeDHLAYCebVWB38NUhwJWsaUr6Pnu8/s320/YHD-drachm-both-sides.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Oldest known coin marked YEHUD...Judea...in Aramaic.<br />5th-4th Century BCE.<br />In other words, we've been there for a long, long time.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b></span></div></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465072391199760560.post-45637804640193641582023-10-02T22:22:00.001-05:002023-10-03T09:20:38.959-05:00Sitting In A Sukkah While Thinking About Stuff. <div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkgQwexqgJPSakPyjXJCgfxRDlDicq_uJ98tNRT1Rz8IinBZX1vadfHndT5_HRPqqEpiMcj1IC6tQA5W-P7UYpVILqDgp54GMnF4Iq6MwIW2hzt85-TGhZV9_9MDPukNqyW5t8Azxi0L0NcMpIBxORoyp-pVMYBbqbIVhf6-YKrLdD5AOXkw3yP0stWI/s2327/IMG_5997.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2327" data-original-width="2089" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkgQwexqgJPSakPyjXJCgfxRDlDicq_uJ98tNRT1Rz8IinBZX1vadfHndT5_HRPqqEpiMcj1IC6tQA5W-P7UYpVILqDgp54GMnF4Iq6MwIW2hzt85-TGhZV9_9MDPukNqyW5t8Azxi0L0NcMpIBxORoyp-pVMYBbqbIVhf6-YKrLdD5AOXkw3yP0stWI/w126-h141/IMG_5997.jpeg" width="126" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rabbi Held</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">In the past, I've written quite a bit about Sukkot when hanging out in these little huts covered in vegetation materials like corn stalks and branches. This year, it's 90°F. It was so hot yesterday, that they cancelled the Twin Cities Marathon due to excessive heat. Last year, it snowed. Go figure. But whatever the weather, our shul has a long standing tradition of eating breakfast in the sukkah after minyan...Even when it's been snowing. (Thank you Neal and Sandy!)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This year, our new education rabbi's first, Rabbi Held held forth with passage of the Bavli Talmud about Sukkah requirements as taken from arguments about its height in the Talmud. See, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_of_Adiabene" style="font-family: arial;">Queen Helena </a><span style="font-family: arial;">of Lod's sukkah was more than 20 cubits high; according to some of the rabbis, this made it "unfit." I won't go into the arguments that went along with that, but Rabbi Held had us all in the palm of his hand. After leading us through the labyrinth of issues with the height and size of her sukkah, he shares the conclusion:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Now that the Tosefta can be explained according to all the
statements cited by the </i>amora’im<i> in the name of Rav, no proof can be cited with
regard to the essence of the dispute between Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbis with
regard to a small sukka more than twenty cubits high.</i></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Before you go asking that age old question, "What's a cubit?" I'll tell you what it is: it's a unit of measure, <span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: start;">an ancient measure of length, approximately equal to the length of a </span><span class="AraNOb" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: start;">forearm...</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: start;"> about 18 inches or 44 cm. I'm guessing that's Noah's forearm they're talking about...but who knows?</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: start;">But wait! There's more! </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: start;">If you want a real experience in Talmudic minutia, read the <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Sukkah.3a.3?">whole argument about the size of the queen's sukkah</a> (the </span>William Davidson Edition Talmud in English.) It's the most confusing, confounding debate about the size...mostly height of a sukkah. And in the case of Queen Helena, the sages seem to decide not to mention the sukkah may not be exactly to their specification. Is it because she's a queen? Or a woman? Or she needs fresh air? Or had a bunch of sons who may or may not be minors living with mom? Whatever the reason, they left her alone to do her thing with her kids. I kinda liked that ending. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Maybe I like it because it's in complete contrast to our own government? I kept thinking about the bull-hockey going on with passing a budget to keep the federal government from shutting down. Lost in all the absurd, devious, mean-spirited, destructive behavior from the right wing cabal, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Caucus">The Freedom Caucus</a>, the notion that these jackasses were elected by the people to run the government for the benefit of We, the People i</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">s inconceivable. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">Probably because they weren't elected by even a lot of the people. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">This is problematic. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxEFJ9Xh9T12irF1-WS9ZuMu1Dd26HAKgvUnRxGKbJorNEA9apSulKHzazTVd6iGHmJ9Px4ClN1meEj5khkf9A2IY-b-zTOdJEv3_7bH4JR4nnkJ1ehdqBgetTx96xwh5TyhlGBWQjD_6dwN-l6gD2GhyphenhyphenK018jvI_JzTJ8Xl4xv9DcTGfeDgIkf3PL5Q/s1538/Milley%20(1).jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1265" data-original-width="1538" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxEFJ9Xh9T12irF1-WS9ZuMu1Dd26HAKgvUnRxGKbJorNEA9apSulKHzazTVd6iGHmJ9Px4ClN1meEj5khkf9A2IY-b-zTOdJEv3_7bH4JR4nnkJ1ehdqBgetTx96xwh5TyhlGBWQjD_6dwN-l6gD2GhyphenhyphenK018jvI_JzTJ8Xl4xv9DcTGfeDgIkf3PL5Q/w134-h110/Milley%20(1).jpeg" width="134" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">General Milley</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Outgoing Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, gave an impassioned speech at his farewell ceremony on September 29th. Milley was Chairman of the Joints during the most tumultuous period of our recent history... when feckless loser attempted to overturn the 2020 election. <a href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-1-2023?">Heather Cox Richardson explained</a>:</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"><blockquote><div style="color: #222222; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Milley had been at Trump’s side at the start of the former president’s march across Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020, to threaten Black Lives Matter protesters, although Milley peeled off when he recognized what was happening and later said he thought they were going to review National Guard troops. Since then, Milley has spoken out against strongman rule and vocally defended the U.S. Constitution.</span><span style="color: #202122;"> </span></i></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="color: #222222; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The day after the debacle, Milley wrote a message to the joint force reminding every member that they swore an oath to the Constitution. “This document is founded on the essential principle that all men and women are born free and equal, and should be treated with respect and dignity. It also gives Americans the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly…. As members of the Joint Force—comprised of all races, colors, and creeds—you embody the ideals of our Constitution,” he wrote. “We all committed our lives to the idea that is America,” he wrote by hand on the memo. “We will stay true to that oath and the American people.”</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But Milley's speech this weekend went a step further. He said, </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><div style="color: #222222; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“You see, we in uniform are unique among the world's armies. We are unique among the world’s militaries. We don’t take an oath to a country. We don’t take an oath to a tribe. We don’t take an oath to a religion. We don’t take an oath to a king or a queen or to a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator. We don’t take an oath to an individual.<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> <br /></i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.…<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> <br /></i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“Those who sacrificed themselves on the altar of freedom in the last two and a half centuries of this country must not have done so in vain. The millions wounded in our nation’s wars did not sacrifice their limbs and shed their blood to see this great experiment in democracy perish from this earth. No. We, the United States military, will always be true to those that came before us. We will never, under any circumstances, turn our back on our duty."</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What a concept! The duty of any official in the service of the United States government... from a private enlistee to the president...takes an oath of office swearing to protect the<b><i> Constitution </i></b>of the United. States:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”</i></span></span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And the Constitution has some pretty definitive stuff in it like separation of church and state, equal rights under the law for all citizens, freedom of assembly, speech, and even to bear arms, although what is meant by the Second Amendment is woefully unclear. Congress and We, the People, have ratified amendments to the Constitution, beginning with the Bill of Rights. But once an amendment is passed, repeal is not at the will of a president, congress, or even SCOTUS. From the ACLU:</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="color: #202124; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>But the president cannot repeal part of the Constitution by executive order. And Congress cannot repeal it by simply passing a new bill. Amending the Constitution would require a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, and also ratification by three-quarters of the states.</i></span></span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet, a cabal has arisen in Congress that seeks to undo that which We, the People, have held sacred for over 200 years: democracy. The Freedom Caucus seeks to hogtie the government in such a way that no laws or actions can occur without their express permission. They are not the Republican Party, nor do they represent most Republicans. However....</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">They have the GOP in such a state of terror that they are afraid of them. Tonight, Matt Gaetz filed a motion to remove the Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy because McCarthy, who is, quite frankly, no prize, worked across the aisle to get a stop-gap bill passed to keep the government running. Interestingly enough, these clowns wanted to shut down the government, leaving the military, the air controllers, and the TSA working without pay...yet congress would not forego their own paychecks. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Congressman Jeff Jackson (who I follow devotedly because the guy is a plain speaking human) wrote the following:</span></div><div><blockquote><i><span face=""SF Pro Display", -apple-system, "system-ui", Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">The fundamental issue is that we’ve got about 20 members of the majority party - the hardcore members of the right-flank - who </span><span face=""SF Pro Display", -apple-system, "system-ui", Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">want</span><span face=""SF Pro Display", -apple-system, "system-ui", Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="color: #404040; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"> to shut down the government. Pulling a stunt like that comes with a media bonanza, and that’s what they’re after.</span></i></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;">That's exactly what they're after. A while ago, Congressman Jackson pointed out those who make the most noise do the least amount of work. Aggrandizement, self or otherwise, is part of the show, the circus, not about governance. So when you listen to the bulloney tossers like Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, know you are listening to an extreme minority with very loud voices. For the record, there are. 45 known members of the Freedom Caucus, but there are 222 Republicans in the House our of 430 Congressional seats. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">45. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">45 Congressclowns hold the entire country hostage. </span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">45 Congressclowns that supported the overturning of the presidential election. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">45 Congressclowns that pretty much supported the January 6th insurrection. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">45 Congressclowns who swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States...and did not. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I guess if lining your pockets is your paramount concern, Congress is a good place to do that. These guys are about power and pocketbooks, not about the good and welfare of We, the People....especially if Some of Us People are not white, Christian, misogynistic, haters-of-others.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">That's not supposed to be who We, the People are, but I am afraid that is exactly what We, the People, are becoming. Too many Americans are closing their living room curtains to ignore what is happening around us. Good Germans all. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>I am less scared of feckless loser winning the 2024 election</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>than I am of his getting the GOP nomination and losing. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></span></div></div>The Wifely Personhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255569339784573469noreply@blogger.com2