Thomas Friedman's political fantasy
By Jerold S. Auerbach
Israel Hayom
April 19, 2020
In a New York Times column on April 7, Thomas Friedman listed his preferred choices for various posts in a Joe Biden administration. Among those serving in his fantasy government would be Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the pro-Palestinian leftist whose uninformed and invariably hostile comments about Israel have verged on anti-Semitism, as ambassador to the United Nations.
Ocasio-Cortez has insisted that "criticizing the occupation of Palestine doesn't make you anti-Israel." Indeed, Palestinians have no choice but to "riot" because they are "marginalized" by Israel. But to her credit, she has conceded: "I am not the expert on geopolitics on this issue. I am just repeating terms I think I saw on Facebook once. I have no idea what they mean."
How could Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who served as Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief between 1984-88 and a columnist ever since, endorse Ocasio-Cortez for anything but a kindergarten class on Israel and the Middle East? A cursory glance at Friedman's biography might provide answers.
Growing up in "a rather typical middle-class American Jewish family," Friedman identified himself as a "three-day-a-year" Jew until the Six-Day War ignited "my Jewish identity." After three summers as a kibbutz volunteer, he conceded, his identification with Israel had become "insufferable."
But not for long. Smitten by Arab culture after a summer visit to Cairo, he resumed undergraduate study at Brandeis University as a member of the "Middle East Peace Group." It joined Breira ("alternative"), an organization comprising left-wing rabbis and Jewish intellectuals who endorsed Palestinian national aspirations.
Hired by The New York Times in 1981, Friedman covered the Israel-Lebanon war, which buried "every illusion I ever held about the Jewish state." Then, posted as Jerusalem Bureau Chief, he relied for guidance upon Peace Now advocate Yaron Ezrahi, peace activist Avraham Burg and Rabbi David Hartman, his mentor for explaining Israel's moral deficiencies.
As a Times columnist, Friedman blamed "feckless American Jewish leaders" and neo-conservatives for supporting "a colonial Israeli occupation." Friedman reminded readers: "One should never forget just how crazy some of Israel's Jewish settlers are. They assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin when he tried to cede part of the West Bank for peace."
Rabin's assassin, Yigal Amir, lived in the Israeli city of Herzliya.
As a relentless chronicler of Israel's failings, he claimed that he was helping to preserve its moral integrity.
For Friedman, Israeli settlement building was "sheer madness." He predicted that without a two-state solution, "Israel will be stuck with an apartheid-like, democracy-sapping, permanent occupation of the West Bank." How Israel could "occupy" its biblical homeland was not explained. He seemed surprised that "Palestinian" and "terrorist" were "fused together in the minds of people the world over."
Enamored of former US President Barack Obama, whose hostility to Israel was palpable, Friedman preposterously claimed that the only question was whether he was "the most pro-Israel president in history or just one of the most." The answer, to be sure, was neither.
In fact, Obama was the least friendly towards the Jewish state. During his first official visit to Israel, the Times gushed a chorus of praise for his peace effort. Obama, Friedman wrote, "embraced Israelis with both understanding and honesty" by suggesting that Israel "collaborate with Palestinians to build a West Bank state that is modern, secular and Westernizing." Otherwise, "scary religious nationalist zealots" might lead Israel into the "dark corner" of a "South African future," or a binational state "controlled by Jewish extremists."
It long ago became evident that Friedman's "insufferable" boyhood identification with Israel had faded away. Indeed, unbeknown to him, his path closely followed that of Joseph Levy, hired by the Times in 1928 as its first "Palestine correspondent." A year later, when Arab riots erupted, Levy participated in covert discussions with H. St. John Philby, a former British civil servant who had denounced the Balfour Declaration as "an act of betrayal for whose parallel … we have to go back to the Garden of Gethsemane"; Judah Magnes, Hebrew University Chancellor who advocated a binational state in Palestine; and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, convicted of inciting the 1921 riots.
Levy funneled lengthy statements by Magnes and Philby into the Times. Guided by Levy, it became a welcoming platform for anti-Zionist critics.
If Joseph Levy sought to undermine the Zionist pursuit of Jewish statehood, Thomas Friedman has relentlessly lacerated its Israeli reality. Perhaps the only consolation is that he did not propose Ocasio-Cortez as ambassador to Israel.
EDITOR'S NOTE: "Enamored of former US President Barack Obama... Friedman preposterously claimed that the only question was whether he was 'the most pro-Israel president in history or just one of the most.'" The truth is that Obama was consumed with a hatred of Israeli PM Netanyah and he was the most unfriendly president to Israel since that nation's birth.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
WANNA BUY A JEW OR THE ASHES OF A JEW?
Appalling: 'HoloCoin' seeks to trade in ashes of Jews killed in Holocaust
By Shiryn Ghermezian
JNS
April 20, 2020
An anti-Semitic website that is now shut down offered users the opportunity to trade a cryptocurrency called the "HoloCoin," a reference to the Holocaust, in which Jews and the ashes of Jews burnt can be purchased or sold.
TheHolocoin.net, which was purchased on April 2 and registered with the website-building platform SquareSpace, is no longer accessible. However, the valueless virtual currency is still being traded on trading platforms such as ForkDelta.
StopAntisemitism.org was one of the first to draw attention to the anti-Semitic cryptocurrency.
"This has to be one of the most vile and atrocious anti-Semitic incidents we have yet to come across," Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntiSemitism.org, said. "For someone to erect and orchestrate a plan where they can buy the ashes of dead Jews as currency on a trading platform clearly shows the blatant hatred of Jews that exists in society today."
Holocoin.net offered two currencies – "JEWS" and "ASH" – and its founders are online users that go by the usernames "Smaug Hitler" and "30YearOldHimmler." The virtual currency is being promoted as an "ERC-20" token, which means it is designed for use on the Ethereum platform, an open-source blockchain-based distributed computing platform, and may be transferred to a cryptowallet.
The cryptocurrency quickly found its way onto online forums and social media sites.
A page on the website Reddit that promotes HoloCoin describes it as "a cryptocurrency that recreates the Holocaust" and says that "15,300,000 JEWS were created, the team is airdropping JEWS and [it] is up to you if you wanna save them or let them burn."
A thread on the website 4chan about the HoloCoin discusses those who purchased the cryptocurrency, saying, "Thank you to everybody who signed up and received your initial shipment of 500 JEWS. While initial shipments have ended, any wallet that registers according to instructions on TheHoloCoin.net will receive 50 JEWS every other week. JEWS may be purchased anytime."
The message continued saying, "Any JEWS neither airdropped nor purchased will continue to burn at the rate of 4,107 per day – the rate at which 6 million are burned in four years. Thank you goyim for saving JEWS. Please continue to save JEWS, before they are burned and turned to ASH."
The 4chan thread also features the cryptocurrency's emblem: a large circle with "Remember The 6 Million" around its border with a large blue Star of David in the center, along with the letters "HC." The banner photo for HoloCoin's Twitter page has a Star of David that says "ash" around it, with a shadow in the background of the Pepe the Frog meme.
By Shiryn Ghermezian
JNS
April 20, 2020
An anti-Semitic website that is now shut down offered users the opportunity to trade a cryptocurrency called the "HoloCoin," a reference to the Holocaust, in which Jews and the ashes of Jews burnt can be purchased or sold.
TheHolocoin.net, which was purchased on April 2 and registered with the website-building platform SquareSpace, is no longer accessible. However, the valueless virtual currency is still being traded on trading platforms such as ForkDelta.
StopAntisemitism.org was one of the first to draw attention to the anti-Semitic cryptocurrency.
"This has to be one of the most vile and atrocious anti-Semitic incidents we have yet to come across," Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntiSemitism.org, said. "For someone to erect and orchestrate a plan where they can buy the ashes of dead Jews as currency on a trading platform clearly shows the blatant hatred of Jews that exists in society today."
Holocoin.net offered two currencies – "JEWS" and "ASH" – and its founders are online users that go by the usernames "Smaug Hitler" and "30YearOldHimmler." The virtual currency is being promoted as an "ERC-20" token, which means it is designed for use on the Ethereum platform, an open-source blockchain-based distributed computing platform, and may be transferred to a cryptowallet.
The cryptocurrency quickly found its way onto online forums and social media sites.
A page on the website Reddit that promotes HoloCoin describes it as "a cryptocurrency that recreates the Holocaust" and says that "15,300,000 JEWS were created, the team is airdropping JEWS and [it] is up to you if you wanna save them or let them burn."
A thread on the website 4chan about the HoloCoin discusses those who purchased the cryptocurrency, saying, "Thank you to everybody who signed up and received your initial shipment of 500 JEWS. While initial shipments have ended, any wallet that registers according to instructions on TheHoloCoin.net will receive 50 JEWS every other week. JEWS may be purchased anytime."
The message continued saying, "Any JEWS neither airdropped nor purchased will continue to burn at the rate of 4,107 per day – the rate at which 6 million are burned in four years. Thank you goyim for saving JEWS. Please continue to save JEWS, before they are burned and turned to ASH."
The 4chan thread also features the cryptocurrency's emblem: a large circle with "Remember The 6 Million" around its border with a large blue Star of David in the center, along with the letters "HC." The banner photo for HoloCoin's Twitter page has a Star of David that says "ash" around it, with a shadow in the background of the Pepe the Frog meme.
FINALLY, AFTER A YEAT OF POLITICAL PARALYSIS, ISRAEL'S GOVERNMENT CRISIS APPEARS OVER
Israel's Netanyahu and Gantz sign unity government deal
BBC
April 20, 2020
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival, Benny Gantz, have signed an agreement to form an emergency unity government.
The deal will see the pair rotating the leadership of the country, with Mr Netanyahu going first as PM.
It brings political certainty to Israel after three inconclusive elections and a year of political paralysis.
Both men had faced calls to avoid a fourth election and form a coalition to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The Israeli health ministry has reported more than 13,700 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 177 associated deaths.
Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gantz signed the coalition deal at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem on Monday night, as Israel remained in near-total lockdown.
"I promised the State of Israel a national emergency government that will act to save the lives and livelihoods of Israeli citizens," Mr Netanyahu tweeted afterwards.
Mr Gantz wrote: "We have prevented a fourth election. We will protect democracy. We will fight coronavirus and care for all Israel's citizens."
The agreement will see positions in the government shared between Mr Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and Mr Gantz's centrist Blue and White alliance.
Mr Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, will remain in post for 18 months, during which time his delayed trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust is due to start. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Gantz, a former military chief who was elected speaker of parliament three weeks ago, will start off by serving as deputy prime minister and defence minister, before taking over as prime minister in October 2021 for another 18 months.
No legislation unrelated to the battle against the coronavirus will be brought before parliament for a period of six months without consent, according to the agreement.
However, Mr Netanyahu will be allowed to advance legislation to annex Jewish settlements and other land in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in line with the peace plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump in January. The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
The BBC's Tom Bateman in Jerusalem says the agreement marks an end to one of the most turbulent periods in Israeli political history and amounts to a victory for Mr Netanyahu, who stays in office despite a criminal indictment and a country deeply divided over his leadership.
Mr Gantz, our correspondent adds, has ditched half of the political alliance he built over three elections - it had fractured under the strain of Mr Netanyahu's manoeuvres, with the coronavirus emergency providing a backdrop of urgency.
Some of Mr Gantz's former allies accused him of betrayal by joining his former adversary in government.
He had pledged not to serve under Mr Netanyahu because he was facing criminal charges. But he backtracked last month, saying that "these are not normal times and they call for unusual decisions".
Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party was quoted by the Jerusalem Post newspaper as saying: "The man who was supposed to be the prime minister who would bring change decided to raise a white flag instead of winning."
"This is not an emergency government, but there is an emergency situation for our democracy," she added.
US ambassador David Friedman said he was "delighted" by the agreement.
"The United States looks forward to working closely with the new gov't to advance our shared values and interests bilaterally and across the world," he tweeted.
But Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh condemned the formation of "an Israeli annexation government", which he said meant "ending the two-state solution and the dismantling of the rights of the people of Palestine as established under international law and resolutions".
__________
ISRAEL'S NEW GOVERNMENT MAKES LEFTISTS, ARABS FURIOUS
It might prevent a fourth election, for now, but Netanyahu-Gantz coalition is dangerously fragile
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
April 21, 2020
Liberal Israelis and most Palestinian Arabs are never pleased when a new right-wing government takes power in the Jewish state. But the new government that came into being on Monday night was especially appalling to rivals.
The three election campaigns over the past year made clear that the top three issues were:
1. A referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued rule, in particular now that he is under criminal indictment;
2. Whether or not Israel’s Jewish character should be enshrined in law;
3. Annexation of the Jordan Valley.
Left-wing Israelis are furious that Netanyahu will remain prime minister and get a chance to advance his agenda on the other two points thanks to Benny Gantz, who until a couple weeks ago was the leader of the opposition and the face of the “Just Not Bibi” movement.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh decried what he called an “annexation government” that will effectively bring about the end of the “two-state solution and the dismantling of the rights of the people of Palestine as established under international law and resolutions.”
Many secular right-wingers were also none-too-pleased. Represented largely in the figure of Avigdor Liberman, they have long expressed displeasure over Netanyahu’s reliance on, and therefore overreaching concessions to, the ultra-Orthodox political parties.
While Liberman had insisted on a unity government between Netanyahu and Gantz, the coalition that emerged on Monday was a far cry from what he envisioned, given that Netanyahu’s bloc remains dominant and partnered with the ultra-Orthodox.
“This is another government of Netanyahu and his Haredi-messianic bloc with a fig leaf of two senior generals,” Liberman wrote on Facebook, referring to the fact that both Gantz and his number two, Gabi Ashkenazi, are former IDF chiefs of staff.
Unideal, fragile, but necessary
Netanyahu and Gantz on Monday finally hammered out a unity coalition agreement that both men say is necessary to enable Israel to successfully weather the coronavirus crisis.
The key points of that agreement are as follows:
__Netanyahu will remain prime minister for 18 months, then in September of 2021 will hand the reins to Gantz, who will govern for the final 18 months;
__The government will initially have 32 ministers, with the number swelling to 36, the most in Israel’s history, as soon as the coronavirus crisis has ended. The ministerial portfolios will be equally split between Netanyahu and Gantz, even though the latter brings far fewer Knesset seats into the coalition;
__For its first six months, the government will focus solely on the coronavirus crisis and its effects. Legislation on all matters not related to the coronavirus will be shelved until after the crisis has ended;
__After July 1, assuming the coronavirus crisis has abated, the government will bring to a vote the annexation of the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank, in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s so-called “deal of the century.” But, coalition members will be free to vote as they see fit on the matter;
__Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc will enjoy greater influence over the judicial system with effective veto power over judicial appointments and the installment of Likud MK Yariv Levin, a critic of the Supreme Court, as the new Speaker of the Knesset;
__Gantz’s “Blue and White” will control the powerful Knesset House Committee, which steers the legislative agenda in parliament.
Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc brings 53 MKs to the coalition, even without the right-wing Yamina party that has threatened to join the opposition over concessions made to Gantz.
Gantz’s party and allies bring another 19 MKs, meaning the new government has a solid 72-seat majority in Knesset. But, while the situation might look stable, it is anything but.
Ideologically, the two blocs remain very much divided, especially on the three top electoral issues listed above. There is a very justified concern that Israel could find itself once again facing early elections should Netanyahu’s criminal trial go against him, the right-wing bloc begin to throw its weight around, the left-wing bloc get cold feet on annexing the Jordan Valley, or a hundred other possibilities.
In other words, despite having the numbers, this is one of modern Israel’s more fragile governing coalitions.
BBC
April 20, 2020
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival, Benny Gantz, have signed an agreement to form an emergency unity government.
The deal will see the pair rotating the leadership of the country, with Mr Netanyahu going first as PM.
It brings political certainty to Israel after three inconclusive elections and a year of political paralysis.
Both men had faced calls to avoid a fourth election and form a coalition to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The Israeli health ministry has reported more than 13,700 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 177 associated deaths.
Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gantz signed the coalition deal at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem on Monday night, as Israel remained in near-total lockdown.
"I promised the State of Israel a national emergency government that will act to save the lives and livelihoods of Israeli citizens," Mr Netanyahu tweeted afterwards.
Mr Gantz wrote: "We have prevented a fourth election. We will protect democracy. We will fight coronavirus and care for all Israel's citizens."
The agreement will see positions in the government shared between Mr Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and Mr Gantz's centrist Blue and White alliance.
Mr Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, will remain in post for 18 months, during which time his delayed trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust is due to start. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Gantz, a former military chief who was elected speaker of parliament three weeks ago, will start off by serving as deputy prime minister and defence minister, before taking over as prime minister in October 2021 for another 18 months.
No legislation unrelated to the battle against the coronavirus will be brought before parliament for a period of six months without consent, according to the agreement.
However, Mr Netanyahu will be allowed to advance legislation to annex Jewish settlements and other land in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in line with the peace plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump in January. The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
The BBC's Tom Bateman in Jerusalem says the agreement marks an end to one of the most turbulent periods in Israeli political history and amounts to a victory for Mr Netanyahu, who stays in office despite a criminal indictment and a country deeply divided over his leadership.
Mr Gantz, our correspondent adds, has ditched half of the political alliance he built over three elections - it had fractured under the strain of Mr Netanyahu's manoeuvres, with the coronavirus emergency providing a backdrop of urgency.
Some of Mr Gantz's former allies accused him of betrayal by joining his former adversary in government.
He had pledged not to serve under Mr Netanyahu because he was facing criminal charges. But he backtracked last month, saying that "these are not normal times and they call for unusual decisions".
Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party was quoted by the Jerusalem Post newspaper as saying: "The man who was supposed to be the prime minister who would bring change decided to raise a white flag instead of winning."
"This is not an emergency government, but there is an emergency situation for our democracy," she added.
US ambassador David Friedman said he was "delighted" by the agreement.
"The United States looks forward to working closely with the new gov't to advance our shared values and interests bilaterally and across the world," he tweeted.
But Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh condemned the formation of "an Israeli annexation government", which he said meant "ending the two-state solution and the dismantling of the rights of the people of Palestine as established under international law and resolutions".
__________
ISRAEL'S NEW GOVERNMENT MAKES LEFTISTS, ARABS FURIOUS
It might prevent a fourth election, for now, but Netanyahu-Gantz coalition is dangerously fragile
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
April 21, 2020
Liberal Israelis and most Palestinian Arabs are never pleased when a new right-wing government takes power in the Jewish state. But the new government that came into being on Monday night was especially appalling to rivals.
The three election campaigns over the past year made clear that the top three issues were:
1. A referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued rule, in particular now that he is under criminal indictment;
2. Whether or not Israel’s Jewish character should be enshrined in law;
3. Annexation of the Jordan Valley.
Left-wing Israelis are furious that Netanyahu will remain prime minister and get a chance to advance his agenda on the other two points thanks to Benny Gantz, who until a couple weeks ago was the leader of the opposition and the face of the “Just Not Bibi” movement.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh decried what he called an “annexation government” that will effectively bring about the end of the “two-state solution and the dismantling of the rights of the people of Palestine as established under international law and resolutions.”
Many secular right-wingers were also none-too-pleased. Represented largely in the figure of Avigdor Liberman, they have long expressed displeasure over Netanyahu’s reliance on, and therefore overreaching concessions to, the ultra-Orthodox political parties.
While Liberman had insisted on a unity government between Netanyahu and Gantz, the coalition that emerged on Monday was a far cry from what he envisioned, given that Netanyahu’s bloc remains dominant and partnered with the ultra-Orthodox.
“This is another government of Netanyahu and his Haredi-messianic bloc with a fig leaf of two senior generals,” Liberman wrote on Facebook, referring to the fact that both Gantz and his number two, Gabi Ashkenazi, are former IDF chiefs of staff.
Unideal, fragile, but necessary
Netanyahu and Gantz on Monday finally hammered out a unity coalition agreement that both men say is necessary to enable Israel to successfully weather the coronavirus crisis.
The key points of that agreement are as follows:
__Netanyahu will remain prime minister for 18 months, then in September of 2021 will hand the reins to Gantz, who will govern for the final 18 months;
__The government will initially have 32 ministers, with the number swelling to 36, the most in Israel’s history, as soon as the coronavirus crisis has ended. The ministerial portfolios will be equally split between Netanyahu and Gantz, even though the latter brings far fewer Knesset seats into the coalition;
__For its first six months, the government will focus solely on the coronavirus crisis and its effects. Legislation on all matters not related to the coronavirus will be shelved until after the crisis has ended;
__After July 1, assuming the coronavirus crisis has abated, the government will bring to a vote the annexation of the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank, in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s so-called “deal of the century.” But, coalition members will be free to vote as they see fit on the matter;
__Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc will enjoy greater influence over the judicial system with effective veto power over judicial appointments and the installment of Likud MK Yariv Levin, a critic of the Supreme Court, as the new Speaker of the Knesset;
__Gantz’s “Blue and White” will control the powerful Knesset House Committee, which steers the legislative agenda in parliament.
Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc brings 53 MKs to the coalition, even without the right-wing Yamina party that has threatened to join the opposition over concessions made to Gantz.
Gantz’s party and allies bring another 19 MKs, meaning the new government has a solid 72-seat majority in Knesset. But, while the situation might look stable, it is anything but.
Ideologically, the two blocs remain very much divided, especially on the three top electoral issues listed above. There is a very justified concern that Israel could find itself once again facing early elections should Netanyahu’s criminal trial go against him, the right-wing bloc begin to throw its weight around, the left-wing bloc get cold feet on annexing the Jordan Valley, or a hundred other possibilities.
In other words, despite having the numbers, this is one of modern Israel’s more fragile governing coalitions.
Monday, April 20, 2020
UNFORTUNATELY, IT LOOKS MORE AND MORE LIKE A BIDEN VICTORY
22 million are now jobless and the economy is unlikely to fully recover by October
By Howie Katz
Big Jolly Times
April 18, 2020
Call me a pessimist, but unfortunately it looks more and more like we are headed toward a Biden presidency. The lockdown has savaged America's economy and the country is unlikely to fully recover before 2021.
22 million Americans are now out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic and many of them are Trump supporters. Among the jobless are 45,000 employees of Houston's billionaire Rockets owner and restaurant, hotel and casino mogul Tillman Fertitta. He had the audacity to say that by furloughing his employees, he was doing them a favor because they would be first in the unemployment line. A favor? I seriously doubt that any of those now 45,000 jobless Fertitta employees think he did them a favor by leaving them standing in long unemployment lines to apply for checks that will be smaller than what they got while employed, thus also forcing many of them to wait in long food bank lines.
Even when the economy is reopened , a significant number of the now jobless will not get their jobs back. Although they are receiving stimulus money, some of the small businesses will not reopen. Among the large businesses, Macy and J C Penney are facing bankruptcy and if they survive, it will be with far fewer stores, leaving thousands unemployed.
The jobless Trump supporters are not likely to stick with the president if they are still unemployed by October. Economists and virologists agree that the pandemic will prevent a full recovery of the economy before some time in 2021. If the economy has not recovered substantially by October and/or the unemployment rate remains high, history tells us that Biden will kick Trump's ass out of the White House.
Trump is not helping his cause any. He has been heading down the path of self-destruction. It has become apparent that he is suffering from a bad case of egomania, claiming he has absolute power over the states, having his name put on the relief checks and threatening to shut down the Senate because it won't confirm his appointments.
"When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total and that’s the way it’s gonna be. It’s total. It’s total. The governors know that." That was Trump's answer when asked if he could order the governors to end the lockdown and reopen the economy. He was immediately schooled by NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo about the 10th Amendment of the Constitution, which states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
When governors on the East and West coasts formed pacts to decide when to reopen their economies, Trump accused them of mutiny and threatened to withhold coronavirus aid to their states. He tweeted: "Tell the Democrat Governors that 'Mutiny On The Bounty' was one of my all time favorite movies. A good old fashioned mutiny every now and then is an exciting and invigorating thing to watch, especially when the mutineers need so much from the Captain. Too easy!" Now we have Trump depicting himself as Captain Bligh.
Further evidence of egomania is Trump ordering the IRS to put his signature on the coronavirus stimulus checks. Informed by the Treasury Department that would be illegal, the IRS complied when he then ordered that his name appear somewhere on the relief checks. Nancy Pelosi called Trump's order "shameful." Placing Trump's name on those checks caused a delay in sending them out.
Trump's latest daily news briefings and tweets of fake facts and unsustainable threats have cost him some supporters. Daily Mail columnist Piers Morgan, who has been a personal friend of the president and a fierce critic of the Democrats and the media for their relentless and unfair treatment of Trump, now calls him "deluded, boastful, petty and spiteful."
An ardent Trumper responded to Morgan's attack by belittling the columnist and saying: "President Trump makes mistakes. Everyone does." But calling Trump's threats and constitutional ignorance mistakes is akin to saying a person who commits a crime has made a mistake. A mistake is multiplying 3 by 2 and coming up with 5, or going to the grocery store and picking up a container of cottage cheese when you intended to buy sour cream.
Trump's self-destructive ramblings are not helping him in his campaign to defeat Joe Biden who will be a formidable opponent with his pick of a woman for vice president - probably Amy Klobuchar - even if the economy is robust again by October. And with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren endorsing him, the Bernie Bros, as well as Warren's supporters, who craved their socialist agenda are now likely to vote for Biden instead of sitting out the election.
It will be a downright shame if Biden wins the presidency. He will restore all the Obama regulations that Trump has rightfully done away with. He will appoint Beto 'Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47' O'Rourke as his point man on gun control. He will restore the controversial Iran nuclear arms agreement and return to the Paris climate accord. He will disavow Trump's recognition of Israel's settlements as being legal and its sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Biden will restore funding to the UN agencies that have been constantly demonizing the Jewish state. And he will appoint liberal anti-gun, pro-abortion and criminal-cuddling Democrats to the Supreme Court. Look for Biden to replace a retiring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with former Obama AG Eric Holder.
If the liberals become a majority of Justices on the Supreme Court, the Second Amendment will be interpreted as applying only to the military and the police, the wall will be torn down and the gates on our southern border will be opened, and the death penalty will be flushed down the crapper.
Caroline B. Glick, an Israeli columnist, has like Piers Morgan been a fierce critic of the Democrats and the anti-Trump media. She believes Trump has been getting bad advice from the experts. Glick says "Trump needs to figure out a way to get the US back to work within weeks while minimizing the infection and death rate even as he is receiving bad advice from his experts."
Glick also sums it up correctly, saying: "If Trump does not find the advisors that will help him to successfully shepherd the US through the coronavirus crisis and save the US economy from depression and collapse, the coronavirus will beat him in November."
If Trump achieves a robust economy by October, he will be considered a political genius and should defeat the 'White Obama.' If however, he reopens the economy too soon and the nation suffers more coronavirus deaths as a result, Trump will go down in history as the worst president ever.
In 2016, I held my nose as I voted against Hillary Clinton. Even though Trump kept his presidential campaign promises and did make America great again, this time around I won't hold my nose because my conscience won't let me vote for a deluded, boastful, petty and spiteful egomaniac. Although I want Trump to defeat Biden, I will be casting my ballot, not for Donald Trump, but for another Donald ... I'll be writing in Donald Duck.
By Howie Katz
Big Jolly Times
April 18, 2020
Call me a pessimist, but unfortunately it looks more and more like we are headed toward a Biden presidency. The lockdown has savaged America's economy and the country is unlikely to fully recover before 2021.
22 million Americans are now out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic and many of them are Trump supporters. Among the jobless are 45,000 employees of Houston's billionaire Rockets owner and restaurant, hotel and casino mogul Tillman Fertitta. He had the audacity to say that by furloughing his employees, he was doing them a favor because they would be first in the unemployment line. A favor? I seriously doubt that any of those now 45,000 jobless Fertitta employees think he did them a favor by leaving them standing in long unemployment lines to apply for checks that will be smaller than what they got while employed, thus also forcing many of them to wait in long food bank lines.
Even when the economy is reopened , a significant number of the now jobless will not get their jobs back. Although they are receiving stimulus money, some of the small businesses will not reopen. Among the large businesses, Macy and J C Penney are facing bankruptcy and if they survive, it will be with far fewer stores, leaving thousands unemployed.
The jobless Trump supporters are not likely to stick with the president if they are still unemployed by October. Economists and virologists agree that the pandemic will prevent a full recovery of the economy before some time in 2021. If the economy has not recovered substantially by October and/or the unemployment rate remains high, history tells us that Biden will kick Trump's ass out of the White House.
Trump is not helping his cause any. He has been heading down the path of self-destruction. It has become apparent that he is suffering from a bad case of egomania, claiming he has absolute power over the states, having his name put on the relief checks and threatening to shut down the Senate because it won't confirm his appointments.
"When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total and that’s the way it’s gonna be. It’s total. It’s total. The governors know that." That was Trump's answer when asked if he could order the governors to end the lockdown and reopen the economy. He was immediately schooled by NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo about the 10th Amendment of the Constitution, which states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
When governors on the East and West coasts formed pacts to decide when to reopen their economies, Trump accused them of mutiny and threatened to withhold coronavirus aid to their states. He tweeted: "Tell the Democrat Governors that 'Mutiny On The Bounty' was one of my all time favorite movies. A good old fashioned mutiny every now and then is an exciting and invigorating thing to watch, especially when the mutineers need so much from the Captain. Too easy!" Now we have Trump depicting himself as Captain Bligh.
Further evidence of egomania is Trump ordering the IRS to put his signature on the coronavirus stimulus checks. Informed by the Treasury Department that would be illegal, the IRS complied when he then ordered that his name appear somewhere on the relief checks. Nancy Pelosi called Trump's order "shameful." Placing Trump's name on those checks caused a delay in sending them out.
Trump's latest daily news briefings and tweets of fake facts and unsustainable threats have cost him some supporters. Daily Mail columnist Piers Morgan, who has been a personal friend of the president and a fierce critic of the Democrats and the media for their relentless and unfair treatment of Trump, now calls him "deluded, boastful, petty and spiteful."
An ardent Trumper responded to Morgan's attack by belittling the columnist and saying: "President Trump makes mistakes. Everyone does." But calling Trump's threats and constitutional ignorance mistakes is akin to saying a person who commits a crime has made a mistake. A mistake is multiplying 3 by 2 and coming up with 5, or going to the grocery store and picking up a container of cottage cheese when you intended to buy sour cream.
Trump's self-destructive ramblings are not helping him in his campaign to defeat Joe Biden who will be a formidable opponent with his pick of a woman for vice president - probably Amy Klobuchar - even if the economy is robust again by October. And with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren endorsing him, the Bernie Bros, as well as Warren's supporters, who craved their socialist agenda are now likely to vote for Biden instead of sitting out the election.
It will be a downright shame if Biden wins the presidency. He will restore all the Obama regulations that Trump has rightfully done away with. He will appoint Beto 'Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47' O'Rourke as his point man on gun control. He will restore the controversial Iran nuclear arms agreement and return to the Paris climate accord. He will disavow Trump's recognition of Israel's settlements as being legal and its sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Biden will restore funding to the UN agencies that have been constantly demonizing the Jewish state. And he will appoint liberal anti-gun, pro-abortion and criminal-cuddling Democrats to the Supreme Court. Look for Biden to replace a retiring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with former Obama AG Eric Holder.
If the liberals become a majority of Justices on the Supreme Court, the Second Amendment will be interpreted as applying only to the military and the police, the wall will be torn down and the gates on our southern border will be opened, and the death penalty will be flushed down the crapper.
Caroline B. Glick, an Israeli columnist, has like Piers Morgan been a fierce critic of the Democrats and the anti-Trump media. She believes Trump has been getting bad advice from the experts. Glick says "Trump needs to figure out a way to get the US back to work within weeks while minimizing the infection and death rate even as he is receiving bad advice from his experts."
Glick also sums it up correctly, saying: "If Trump does not find the advisors that will help him to successfully shepherd the US through the coronavirus crisis and save the US economy from depression and collapse, the coronavirus will beat him in November."
If Trump achieves a robust economy by October, he will be considered a political genius and should defeat the 'White Obama.' If however, he reopens the economy too soon and the nation suffers more coronavirus deaths as a result, Trump will go down in history as the worst president ever.
In 2016, I held my nose as I voted against Hillary Clinton. Even though Trump kept his presidential campaign promises and did make America great again, this time around I won't hold my nose because my conscience won't let me vote for a deluded, boastful, petty and spiteful egomaniac. Although I want Trump to defeat Biden, I will be casting my ballot, not for Donald Trump, but for another Donald ... I'll be writing in Donald Duck.
VERY INTERESTING "STAND YOUR GROUND" CASE
by Bob Walsh
This is one of those cases where there is no dispute about what really happened but significant difference of opinion about the fallout.
About five years ago John DeRossett, 60, was arrested for the attempted murder of a police officer in Port St. John, Florida. The deputies showed up to arrest his niece for prostitution. She started screaming "Help" as though her life depended on it. Her uncle responded with as gun and opened fire. He hit one deputy in the gut. The deputy has since recovered. Both DeRossett and his niece, Mary Ellis DeRossett, 47, suffered minor gunshot wounds in the exchange.
His defense was that he was acting to defend his niece from an apparently severe threat. He had no idea he was shooting at cops (so he says). The cops position was that if you allow criminal activity in your home you need to expect the cops to drop in once in a while.
The Fifth District Court of Appeals has backed DeRossett in the matter. They dismissed all charges against him. He had been in the slammer for almost five years but was finally allowed out on bond.
It is common for whores and dope runners to start screaming for help when they are braced by plain-clothes officers in hopes that by-standers will help them escape. I have no information on whether or not the deputies who came to the DeRossett residence were in uniform or not.
This is one of those cases where there is no dispute about what really happened but significant difference of opinion about the fallout.
About five years ago John DeRossett, 60, was arrested for the attempted murder of a police officer in Port St. John, Florida. The deputies showed up to arrest his niece for prostitution. She started screaming "Help" as though her life depended on it. Her uncle responded with as gun and opened fire. He hit one deputy in the gut. The deputy has since recovered. Both DeRossett and his niece, Mary Ellis DeRossett, 47, suffered minor gunshot wounds in the exchange.
His defense was that he was acting to defend his niece from an apparently severe threat. He had no idea he was shooting at cops (so he says). The cops position was that if you allow criminal activity in your home you need to expect the cops to drop in once in a while.
The Fifth District Court of Appeals has backed DeRossett in the matter. They dismissed all charges against him. He had been in the slammer for almost five years but was finally allowed out on bond.
It is common for whores and dope runners to start screaming for help when they are braced by plain-clothes officers in hopes that by-standers will help them escape. I have no information on whether or not the deputies who came to the DeRossett residence were in uniform or not.
PLAGUE REPORT UPDATE FROM STOCKTON
by Bob Walsh
I actually had to run some legit errands today (Saturday). I was going to a gun show which the promoters said was going on but cancelled on Friday. I was irritated, but not surprised. There is supposed to be one next week in the Sacramento area but I am confident it will be cancelled too. Sac is getting nasty about "unnecessary" movement.
Hit both Raley's and Safeway today. Still some obvious spot shortages, like TP and some sorts of pasta, cereal, etc. Paper towels are coming back in decent supply. Frozen foods are spotty. I wanted some frozen sirloin tips and gravy but couldn't find any in either store.
Stopped at gun store to get some cleaning supplies. No problem there. They are handing out numbers for the gun counter to keep the customer load down. Can't say as I blame them.
Traffic is still way down, to the point where CalTrans is doing road work during the day instead of at night. It is having almost no impact on traffic.
Pretty much everybody is now wearing masks anytime they go out. Store clerks are doing so and there are sneeze guards up all over the place. The plastic supply people must be making a fortune.
Weather is nice. I will probably go out front tomorrow and do some sanding and whatnot on my prehistoric Mustang. I am trying to do a lot of the prep work myself so I can have it painted for less than the price of my house.
Only one homicide in Stockton in the last two days. A security guard at an apartment complex terminally rehabilitated someone on Friday.
They are talking seriously about starting a incremental release to semi-normalcy in 2-3 weeks. That would make me happy. Then I could get my injection into my bum knee so maybe I can walk a little bit.
I actually had to run some legit errands today (Saturday). I was going to a gun show which the promoters said was going on but cancelled on Friday. I was irritated, but not surprised. There is supposed to be one next week in the Sacramento area but I am confident it will be cancelled too. Sac is getting nasty about "unnecessary" movement.
Hit both Raley's and Safeway today. Still some obvious spot shortages, like TP and some sorts of pasta, cereal, etc. Paper towels are coming back in decent supply. Frozen foods are spotty. I wanted some frozen sirloin tips and gravy but couldn't find any in either store.
Stopped at gun store to get some cleaning supplies. No problem there. They are handing out numbers for the gun counter to keep the customer load down. Can't say as I blame them.
Traffic is still way down, to the point where CalTrans is doing road work during the day instead of at night. It is having almost no impact on traffic.
Pretty much everybody is now wearing masks anytime they go out. Store clerks are doing so and there are sneeze guards up all over the place. The plastic supply people must be making a fortune.
Weather is nice. I will probably go out front tomorrow and do some sanding and whatnot on my prehistoric Mustang. I am trying to do a lot of the prep work myself so I can have it painted for less than the price of my house.
Only one homicide in Stockton in the last two days. A security guard at an apartment complex terminally rehabilitated someone on Friday.
They are talking seriously about starting a incremental release to semi-normalcy in 2-3 weeks. That would make me happy. Then I could get my injection into my bum knee so maybe I can walk a little bit.
LONG-TERM DROUGHT IN CA NOW HISTORIC ..... MAYBE
by Bob Walsh
It seems that the south-west region of the United States is now in what they are calling a mega-drought.
For some reason or other the people who study such things are looking at a 19-year chunk of time, from 2000-2019 and comparing it to similar lengths of time. One of the chief methods of doing this is careful analysis of tree rings. They have studied 30,000 trees in over 1,500 locations. The only time they can find when it was drier in the western region was from 1576-1603.
Lake Mead is now at 44% of capacity. This lake is considered to be a better long-term indicator of what is going on than the smaller reservoirs in the west.
The study blames "at least half" of the current mega-drought on man-made global warming, so there is a significant political component to the thing.
It seems that the south-west region of the United States is now in what they are calling a mega-drought.
For some reason or other the people who study such things are looking at a 19-year chunk of time, from 2000-2019 and comparing it to similar lengths of time. One of the chief methods of doing this is careful analysis of tree rings. They have studied 30,000 trees in over 1,500 locations. The only time they can find when it was drier in the western region was from 1576-1603.
Lake Mead is now at 44% of capacity. This lake is considered to be a better long-term indicator of what is going on than the smaller reservoirs in the west.
The study blames "at least half" of the current mega-drought on man-made global warming, so there is a significant political component to the thing.
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