I believe I know what would make the world feel better about Israel

The first thing they would need to do is close their universities, medical and dental schools, and their advanced scientific research facilities on Day 1. Then imprison all academics who would protest this action, preferably in cells depicted in the film Ben-Hur

Then they would need to round up all the LGBTQ+ individuals who have identified as such and place them in a segregated gulag in the desert down by Eilat, and deport them to the West.

Following this, they would nationalize and close all the corporate research and development company facilities, whose work in the past has changed the face of modern technology.

Then of course, the women should be subjected to the ultra-Orthodox customs of head-shaving, wig-wearing, and ultra-modest clothing. All religious holidays would be observed to the letter and any variation would be punishable by the harshest means.

Finally, the Israel Defense Forces would be disbanded and the surrounding Arab states would have free rein to enter and appropriate land and belongings since they have been so aggrieved for 75 years and are entitled to recompense.

A few Jews would be kept alive so there would always be someone to blame for problems which would most certainly arise, and those who fled in the Modern Diaspora would continue to pray to G-d and exclaim “next year in Jerusalem” even though all hope is lost forever.

Yes…. I believe that this would put a smile on the faces of many in this world. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for civilization this is not going to happen. Now or ever.

I really do find it fascinating...

In 1967, the Arab armies were massing along Israel’s borders, and the prophets of doom were saying in the media that Israel’s existence, at that time for 19 years, was about to be eradicated. Within literally minutes after the war began, Egypt’s Air Force, as the great historical writer Michael Oren wrote, simply ceased to exist. In six days, Israel had conquered the Sinai, driven back the Syrians, defeated and vanquished the Jordanians and secured the northern border.

Immediately, those involved in predicting Israel’s demise, and I must say, rather “objectively“ without a trace of emotion, even though it had only been 22 years since the end of the Holocaust , began decrying Israel’s possession of the West Bank, Sinai, and other territories, which they had seized in a military campaign, which was not initiated by them but by their sworn enemies.

Interestingly, in America, there were sufficient number of veterans of World War II, who fully understood the nature of war, and its aftermath to grant that the Israelis were entitled to the land which they had won in a defensive war. In the end, they wound up giving back the Sinai to Egypt, a mistake, which was quite demonstrated in 1973, and have since been on the international defensive about the fact that their military is quite honestly better than anyone else’s in the region.

Since the Day of Independence in 1948, they have basically been in a constant state of war, avoiding terrorism and ruthlessness of the first magnitude. There is no question, and I mean no question, that if Israel allowed these forces to overtake the populace, complete annihilation of Jews would ensue. Everyone knows this, but Israel is the one who has to prove that they have humanity. How ironic.

With all that was going on, the Israeli hospitals welcomed sick, Palestinian children, who were born with birth defects, or contracted diseases, cured them, or helped them considerably, and sent them back to their families. If an Israeli child were to wander into a hospital controlled by Hamas, they would skin it alive, then burn it, and then behead it. How do I know this? Because they just did it, just not in the hospital.

Now we just had an incident here in the USA with one individual assassinated, 18 people and wounded at least 13 others in a shooting incident. Everything in America stopped to watch, wait, search for, apprehend, and then the ascertain the death of this killer, and rightfully so. This fellow was a danger to innocent people and needed to be stopped cold. I would venture to say that whatever means would have had to have been used to stop him, had not committed suicide, would have been justified in the minds of at least 95% of people. Now over there, 1400 people were butchered in a well-planned Massacre, and there is no issue made of “mental illness“ or “childhood disturbances ““ or “girlfriend problems“. These people are genocidal killers, and must need to be dispensed with immediately and totally. Perhaps the people of Gaza will now understand what it means when they tolerate individuals and governments, like this, and will act to not let this happen again. Actions have consequences and the consequences for Hamas are going to be total and final. As they should be.

Now that the ground troops' mission has "widened"

I’m going to rely upon the experienced, militarily competent, battle-hardened, battle-tested, veteran correspondents of CNN, Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper for their insightful and schooled critique of the Israeli Defense Forces.

All jokes aside, I can only imagine if they were covering the hijacking to Entebbe. Or the initiation of the Six Day War. I can hear Anderson (Yeah, we are on a first-name basis since he’s in my living room nightly. Or at least he used to be before Chris Licht) saying: “The juggernaut which is the Egyptian Air Force May soon lay waste to greater Israel. Oh…wait….all their warplanes were destroyed on the ground by a pre-emptive strike? Well…that’s a turn of events I hadn’t expected. Jake, how are the Jordanians managing in their March to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv? Oh….well….we are going to have to leave it there. Back to you, Wolf….“

Let’s see what the Israelis have planned. They’ve had a few years to come up with a battle plan.

Eye-rolling news "coverage"...

During my lifetime, news programs and anchors have metamorphosed from strict reporting of what was believed to be fact at the time to a form of extended commentary and frankly, guesswork. Much of this verbiage relies upon “what if’s”, many of which are grounded in untruth, poor assumptions, inability to understand complex issues, relative ignorance of the individual broadcaster, and many other factors.

The most glaring example in my experience was the prelude to the Gulf War. On program after program on all the networks we were subjected to a series of projected catastrophic results for United States troops. Much was made of the vaunted Republican Guard of Saddam Hussein and the “incredible training“ which they were masters of, and that we stood to lose tremendous numbers on the battlefield, possibly in the hundreds of thousands. I distinctly recall my father, who was the survivor of four years of combat platoons in World War II saying to me “This is all bullshit. When the American Army shows up in force along with the Air Force, nothing, but nothing can stop it from taking its objective. They are facing the basically tinhorn military, and will eradicate them like mosquitos.”

And right he was about that. I cannot recall offhand how many hours it took for us to cause the Iraqi army to simply cease to exist, but it was a devastating blow. I distinctly recall General Schwarzkopf saying that there would be no resistance between the troops and their convoys which had been annihilated in the desert and Baghdad. Of course, as soon as the objective of capturing Kuwait was achieved, hostility ceased at that time and Saddam lived to fight another day.

The second event, which comes to mind in this regard was the O.J. Simpson trial. For weeks and months we listened to hundreds of so-called experts in law, trial work, forensic analysis, and gossip columnists talk incessantly about what was going to happen during the trial, and how it would be received by the jury and every conceivable permutation thereof. Except that there were permutations which had not been considered, and once again, truth turned out in the end to be stranger than fiction. All that energy wasted on guesswork to absolutely no end. (Well, not quite… It did create the Kardashian clan/dynasty, which has taken America and certain NBA players, by storm).

Of course, there are many examples such as the two listed above, but I would like to suggest that the follow up to the election of 2020 takes the cake. As we have discovered during the months and years following, none of the crack reporters from all these networks even began to fathom a priori the depth and breadth of the conspiracy to basically destroy the American government as we know it. And they still have not -consider the aiding and abetting by elected Representatives and Senators in this regard. Of course, “fringe” people, such as we in this particular website, were positing many of these goings-on and the implications and connections therefrom but the mainstream media was and is still doing very little investigating of certain obvious issues, such as what went on in the war room for the days and weeks prior to 6 January. They appeared to rely upon press releases of the Trump campaign as gospel truth and breathlessly were following his plan to upset the apple cart. It was only when correspondents themselves were clearly in danger on that fateful day that these media types began to awaken as to what was going on. By then, it was too little too late.

Of course, in the weeks and months following, the events of the day were mitigated by the dust of time, and a very well-oiled Republican machine insured that this would all be, if not forgotten, minimized. It took the creation of the January 6 committee to re-awaken them once again.

Now, during this very frightening time, Israel’s war with Hamas, coupled with the massacre in Maine, we can observe shallowness of these so-called reporters. The repeated questioning cannot even be described as banal. Virtually all of them are variations of: “What went through your mind when you heard that your husband and daughter were kidnapped by terrorists?“. Really, and then followed by. “Tell me something about your fill in the blank. What kind of person is he/she?” Followed by the requisite, said, shaking of the head and a quiet. Thanks for taking the time to share this awful story.

Yes, I know this is supposed to humanize the victims. But similarly and at the same time, what they are not reporting, because the viewer is ostensibly, too sensitive to watch or listen, Are the descriptions of the true horrors perpetrated during any of these massacres, or what happens when a bomb falls on a building and women children and babies are crushed beneath tens of thousands of pounds of stone. “We do not wish to subject the viewer to these horrible descriptions, or video.“. This is why we can have repeated shootings with weapons of war -that we don’t show the true horrors of the outcomes.

This disingenuous reportage is a combination of feel good TV and propaganda. It is not news. If you were to obtain one of the very fine documentaries about the Watergate scandal, it would be of no resemblance to what is proffered today as “news coverage“. Opinion was kept to minimum And rumor was, if reported, later denied as fact or apologized for.

And now the reason for this post. Last night, I objectively watched the surrounding of the perpetrators, pardon me, alleged perpetrator‘s home by the FBI with the spotlights and the bull horns and the armored vehicles. The reporters were breathlessly discussing what was taking place and had absolutely no idea and would barely acknowledge the fact that quite possibly there was no one inside the house. Listening to the anchors in the studio reiterating the same opinions about what might be going on, what should be going on, what may yet be going on is positively painful. Of course, in the end, it was Without resolve, and that is not to say that the FBI was not doing their job. The people not doing their job were the reporters who just needed to shut up and observe, state only what was or was not going on, rather than ridiculous hyperbole about , what might occur any moment. It was insipid beyond belief. On Chicken Noodle News, Erin Burnett was searching for questions and interrupting the coverage on the scene with what can best be described as half-assed attempts at keeping the program filled with noise. I was embarrassed for her, that’s how bad it was.

We need to do better.

It's all OK...really it is...no worries...

To be quite blunt and honest about it, there are a great many Americans, and I mean a HUGE number, maybe 65% or even more, who, in their heart of hearts, don't care what happens in the nation or the world, unless it happens to them personally. Don't get me wrong: many people express outrage over, say, a mass killing spree or a terrorist attack, or a jetliner crash, but when push comes to shove, they're emoting and expressing anguish because it is the socially correct behavior. I'm not referring of course to YOU, you are legitimately grieving upon hearing or visualizing others' tragedies. Of course you are...I know this. Really I do.

No...I'm talking about other folk. People who are endlessly fascinated by death and destruction which they watch continuously in film and television, disaster movies, alien invasion movies, slasher movies, teenagers-trapped-in-haunted-house movies, realistic war movies, Marvel and DC movies where whole cities are laid waste and millions are killed by implication. Do note that the Right Wing Nazi Party which used to be known as the Republican Party saw fit only to criticize social aspects of the Barbie movie, because, well, just because. Deaths of people by increasingly creative violent means, as seen in the Saw movies, have inured the populace to not react to real-life horrors. After all, just because a Hamas terrorist murdered a pregnant woman, cut out her baby from her abdomen, and slit its throat...well, I've seen worse, believe it or not.

Well, no, actually, I have not seen worse. I've seen a movie with fake blood and guts and a contrived situation which resolves all to the good when the director yells "Cut!". But fantasy has become reality for millions and people are more and more failing to discern the difference between fiction and reality. Until of course, it happens to them or to their nuclear family.

COVID was a perfect example of many individuals conflating movies about contagions with reality. In the theater, it's an engrossing experience to watch the protagonist argue with the naysayers until its almost too late and then find a way to beat the microbe at its own game. In real life, its people suffocating and/or choking to death on their own mucus and blood in a horrifyingly painful and often violent manner. Of course, the idiocy and denial ran deep and the virus for some strange reason, didn't seem to care what an individual's personal beliefs were and also apparently did not check the voter registration rolls to see if the host organism was registered Republican or, in the minds of Republicans these days, Democrat/Traitor.

So we had another mass shooting, this time by someone who's trained in the use and management of weapons of personal mass destruction. So instead of Sylvester Stallone playing a fundamentally good-guy Rambo, killing hundreds of people, we have the equivalent of a Christopher Walken character doing the same. Walken of course, became the next generation Bruce Dern, but on steroids in terms of his performance of insanity. Right now at this moment, the pro-Assault weapon people are, once again, biding their time until they can discuss the constitutional merits of owning these human-killing machines. Soon enough, they will be out in force discussing Second Amendment rights with that horrifyingly flawed logic, but hey...it's so well-rehearsed that it's going to flow as smoothly as a soliloquy by Al Pacino. For life is unquestioningly imitating art, and we have become a society motivated and educated by movies and television.

To close, I avoided the use of the word "film" for two reasons. First, humorously sort of, it ain't film no more. Second, the term "film" I personally use to imply that there's an artistic merit and many of these movies produced for a porno-violent loving audience, utterly lack any class whatsoever. All I know, is that no scriptwriter could possibly craft a work which would encompass the election of President Obama to the Present Day. Good luck to us all, we are going to need it.

I'm going to go out on a limb here...

Not that what I think or don’t think makes a difference.

I am an avowed Zionist and supporter of Israel as a nation similarly to how I support the United States as a nation even when a miscreant like Trump was in power. These countries are essential to the well-being of the world and this is non-debatable. In its 75 years, despite its involvements in wars and constant threats of violence, Israel has made advances scientifically, artistically, culturally, and militarily which have changed civilization as we know it.

When Hamas was voted in by the citizens of Gaza, anyone with any sense knew exactly what was going to happen. Virtually the entire country became militarized against Israel -fair enough - and like Germany, Italy and Japan, the vast bulk of the citizenry sides with the autocratic government leaders. Hamas’ charter states that it was formed in order to destroy the State of Israel. I would state without hesitation that you cannot coexist with an entity that wants you dead.

But these terrorists are not stupid. They set themselves up to benefit from the civilized world’s double standards of war-making. We ostensibly operate under constructs and constraints. The terrorists do no such thing, but you know: “two wrongs do not make a right.” As a digression I would state that the popularity of the Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry films negates that supposition, but that is a subject for another day. The terrorists hide among civilians, place munitions near or in school and hospitals, and like a certain Western politician whom we know all too well, lie and blame the “other” side continuously such that it no longer offends when we hear patent lies.

I will get to my point: this situation is causing a political divide unlike any we have seen before. The choice is clear, you’re either on the side of democracy and democratically elected individuals within a society with codified laws, or you’re on the side of autocrats who have demonstrated that they are amoral to the nth degree. Yes, I understand that unfortunately there are going to be countless personal tragedies “on both sides” but Hamas and its backers knew this was going to happen.

Israel controls the water and energy pipelines into Gaza, they control the traffic flow and the importation of goods. Hamas knew that the populace would be devastated post facto, and they don’t care. If it takes 700 years, they have infinite patience. Their leaders are most likely sitting in Qatar or a country like that, and are sacrificing all of these people, both civilian and terrorist.

And they could not care less. They know the pressures upon their victims’ country of origin, Israel, and I can guarantee you that they’re smirking at the softness and humanity of the West. I would submit that the Israeli military is well-aware of how terrific the judgement and sensibilities of American politicians and how abysmally we handled 9/11. They will do what they see fit. Remember Entebbe, right? Hopeless…Idi Amin….can’t be done. Well, that was a fallacious supposition.

Penultimately, I propose a hypothetical: suppose in the 1960’s the French Separatists took over Canada and a radical anti-American movement took hold. Periodically, missiles were launched from the population centers of Toronto and Montreal toward Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse with possible capabilities of reaching New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia at some point in the near future. What do you believe that the United States would do?

One thing that would not occur would be a media blitz decrying the civilian casualties in the Canadian cities. There would be calls for carpet bombing and occupation/annexation of the country after the photos of a decimated Kodak Park industrial center, of the Carrier manufacturing facility, and the port in Buffalo being rendered unusable.

But it’s not Canada, it’s not your family under constant threat of violent death or worse, it’s the Jews, “and we all know about the Jews, right?” Jews are “different” -somehow….”don’t really get how but they are.” I admit that we are…not better, not worse, but different. In America we have many groups which are “different”. We are not alone in that regard.

And finally, I would like to say that we all know that if the Israelis just put their weapons down, they would be absolutely annihilated - Hitler’s Dream would be realized. Anyone who feels that there is a trace of humanity in these terrorists or their millions of acolytes, and believe me, there are tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of them, is mightily mistaken. Israel will take care of business with the assistance of their allies because that is what they do.

I am sincerely curious as to what other DUers think in this regard...

I was driving to work this morning and listening to Morning Joe, and Chuck Rosenberg came on. That you understand I was listening not watching. I have found that they are two entirely different experiences.

I can best describe Mr. Rosenberg’s answer to a legal question when asked by Mika as thus in simplistic terms:

Question: “What is a synonym for miscreant?”

Answer: “ As you know, there are 26 letters in the alphabet. Some of those letters are used more than others, such as S, T, M, E and the like. I believe we can agree. Then, there are other letters which are used less frequently, such as X, Q, Z, and sometimes Y. Many of these letters are combined to form words which are then used in sentences, which may then be segregated within paragraphs. Now you need to be cautious because there are also entities called diphthongs, which differ from letters, but have a particular sound, and although one may think that one has mastered a fair combination of words, such that one can express oneself, it remains to be seen as to whether people truly understand them in the figurative, literal, and hypothetical senses. I have had experiences wherein I myself have searched for a word, and was unable to identify it promptly, leading to my difficulty in expressing my thought. This, of course, is not unusual, and has been a subject of many psychologists, psychiatrists, and those who analyze behavior for a living. That being said, it does not necessarily secure a conviction of another individual that I am incapable of expressing myself and, of course, they are entitled to their opinion, but history proves in most cases that the individual is simply distracted, as writers block, or is dissatisfied with his or her initial selection of verbiage.”

What I’m trying to say is that he restated when asked a question about a hypothetical outcome, all the facts which are known, ad nauseam, and, of course, never answered her question, because he was busy, giving us a brief, or not so brief, history lesson telling the audience what they already know.

If I am mistaken, please tell me. Perhaps I expect too much from people.

For your information:

Hey media stars and wannabes:

Remember Saddam Hussein? You used to quote him and imply his veracity as though he were Albert Schweitzer. “Today, Saddam Hussein stated that there were no political prisoners being held…”. And then of course it would come out that there were 20000 prisoners being held in jails reminiscent of those in the film Ben Hur. No retractions, no explanations for idiotic quotes without some decent amount of skepticism.

So yesterday, a hospital exploded and the MSNBC correspondent stated that this most certainly be a “turning point” and that it “changes everything”. Well, apparently Hamas bombed its own ammo dump, conveniently located next to a hospital, rather than a school this time, and I’m waiting for the “we screwed up once again” self-repudiations. I gather that I will be waiting a long time.

The statement may be distilled down as this: we believed Hamas when they told us of this horror but require proof beyond any reasonable doubt that Israel didn’t bomb the hospital. Intercepted transmissions, video, and satellite imagery may not be enough to persuade us. We will have to think about this. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

Ya gotta "love" the sophistication of American media...

1. “What went through your mind when you heard that your child was kidnapped by terrorists?”

2. “Have you considered the fact that if you destroy Hamas, who would be able to manage Gaza?”

3. “How long is this going to last? You know, Americans have a short attention span and little stomach for any war which lasts more than a week or two.”

I swear I heard these questions today and came very close to losing my lunch over it. I think that these individuals think that you can have a two page typed summary of how to conduct a hostage rescue/termination of a terrorist organization. It doesn’t work that way.

I recall the Gulf War preamble, and all these individuals who claimed to be experts on military operations stating that the Iraqi Army, particularly the Revolutionary Guard was incredibly powerful and the Americans risked catastrophe. Well, the vaunted Iraqi forces were annihilated and vanquished in hours. Their army ceased to exist. General Schwarzkopf stated that there was no resistance between our forces and Baghdad. All these expert’s disappeared from tv until the War with Iraq at which time they were a mite more circumspect. Let’s wait and see what happens here -actually we have no choice. We are merely observers on a message board.