Israel

Donald Trump Has Gone Bonkers By His Action To Withdraw US Forces Fighting ISIS In Syria

Ronald 5 Comments

The absolutely worst moments of Donald Trump’s Presidency are upon us.

Trump, totally ignorant and clueless on American foreign policy, has ordered the complete, rapid withdrawal of all US forces from Syria, at a time when ISIS is still a threat, and many enemies gain by our withdrawal.

Russia, Iran, Turkey, the murderous regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, and the terrorist group Hezbollah all gain.

The NATO allies–Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada and the rest–, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Kurdish allies who are anti Turkish and anti Assad, all are major losers.

Total disarray and gains for authoritarian governments is the result, and we will rue the day that we decided to leave the fight against ISIS, which is not yet totally defeated.

This is all part of a clear plan by Trump to help his friend Vladimir Putin, and Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and ironically, the major enemy of Israel and Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Our President is clearly a menace, and many Republicans, including Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Jeff Flake of Nebraska, are coming out of the woodwork to express their disgust and disdain of what the President is doing.

This is the time for James Mattis, Secretary of Defense; Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State; and John Bolton, National Security Adviser, all of whom were strong supporters of remaining in Syria, to announce their mass resignation, and call for Donald Trump to resign.

As I finish this essay, Mattis has announced his resignation, making ever more dangerous the reality that there are no real “adults'” advising Trump on military policy.

Meanwhile, the stock market has been in free fall, and it looks as if the government will be shut down over Christmas, due to the insistence of Donald Trump that there be a 2,000 mile built across our boundary with Mexico, an insane and wasteful idea that will not guarantee security.

It is time for Vice President Mike Pence to speak out against the President, and show some guts and courage to speak his mind.

Donald Trump Not Only Manipulated By Russia, But Also By Other Foreign Nations, And It Undermines America

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Donald Trump is clearly not very bright, and does not understand how other nations’s leaders have figured out how to humor and flatter him to get their way, and appeal to his vanity and narcissism.

It is not just Russia and Vladimir Putin.

It is China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey. Qatar. the United Arab Emirates, Israel, the Philippines, and India.

These nations, with the exception of Israel, and India, are all authoritarian dictatorship, who stroke Trump’s ego, and show him on the surface respect and adulation, when he visits, particularly evident in China and Saudi Arabia. And they make deals that benefit their nations, without Trump realizing the United States has been taken advantage of in a major way.

Trump is more interested in business and real estate dealings than protecting the national interest and security, which explains his erratic, often contradictory behavior, and constant change of mind.

But meanwhile, he has created frustration among our allies which are democracies, including Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.

Killing Of Dozens And Wounding Of Thousands At Israeli-Palestinian Border Reprehensible, Ending Israeli Moral “High Ground”, And Promoting Endless Warfare

Ronald 5 Comments

This author and blogger is Jewish, and has always been supportive of the nation state of Israel, now celebrating its 70th birthday, recognized by the United States and the United Nations on May 14, 1948.

Being supportive of the Israeli nation and wanting its success and survival, however, does not mean endorsement of the right wing government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu and its tactics.

It is also NOT endorsement of the decision of the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, taking the future status of the Holy City off the negotiation table with its Arab neighbors, the Palestinians.

War and constant tension has existed in the Middle East now in an unceasing manner, and it is acknowledged that there is no easy solution to the morass.

But Donald Trump made a major blunder in caving in to right wing religious demands of the Israeli government. It is also a disgrace that Israel’s government caves in to the born again Christians who see Jerusalem as their city, even though they harbor strong antisemitic beliefs, seeing Jews as going to hell if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their savior, conveniently forgetting that Jesus was Jewish.

To have extremist right wing pastors speak at the symbolic opening of the US Embassy yesterday was disgraceful and disgusting. To have Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner speak as dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were murdered by Israeli soldiers, while thousands were wounded, creates a terrible image that will harm the United States and Israel for the long term.

Between the controversy over Jerusalem, and the unjustified breaking of the Iran agreement last week by Donald Trump, these events insure future warfare and people dying on both sides of the Middle East cauldron for the long haul.

One can condemn Hamas, the terrorist organization which runs the government of the Gaza Strip, and yet agree that their conditions are an open air prison, and the hatred built up insures the death of more Israelis over time.

Israel has the right to defend itself, but the tactics used yesterday make Israel look horrible on the international scene, and Jerusalem’s status should have been left to negotiation, not become the political football it has evolved into, due to the despicable leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump.

It also further isolates the United States in international affairs, as its allies are being alienated, in the name of reckless foreign policy.

The Truth About The Evangelical Right: Racist, Nativist, Misogynistic, Homophobic, Corrupt To The Core, And Money Making Machine!

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The Evangelical Right is a mockery of Christianity, clear and simple.

It is a movement in America that is clearly racist, nativist, misogynistic, homophobic, and corrupt to the core, and a money making machine.

It exploits millions of gullible, clueless suckers, many of whom are poor, and send their last dollar to one or another evangelist, such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Jr, or Franklin Graham and other charlatans.

It has a history of being against civil rights for African Americans, until they were forced by civil rights laws in the 1960s and since, to stop being openly racist. And yet, there are African Americans who back them, totally naive and unaware of the history.

It has a history of nativism, first against Irish and German Catholics in the mid 19th century, then against Jews (and still antisemitic although they claim support of the nation of Israel, but with the intent of converting Jews to Christianity), and more recently, supporting action against immigrants who are Hispanic or Asian in identity. And yet, there are those of these backgrounds who support such bigots, often totally unaware of the truth.

It has a history of treating women as second class citizens, wishing women to stay behind their man, obey him, never challenge his authority, and avoid anything other than motherhood and not complaining about sexual harassment and abuse, just accepting their plight in life. And yet, there are millions of such women who back them, clearly brain washed.

It has a history of being openly homophobic, and repudiating their children who are gay and lesbian, proving that their so called belief in “family values” is a farce. They encourage repudiation, and total rejection, and in so doing, encourage violence, and many such families have their progeny homeless, poor, and exploited due to their promotion of hatred against people on their natural sexual inclinations.

It has a history of being corrupt, with many such evangelists and preachers having multiple affairs outside of marriage, and stealing large amounts of funds to promote a luxury life style, while their congregants live in deprivation, and they have no moral conscience or ethics. They lie, cheat, and deceive without any sense of guilt. They have become a money making machine while preaching just the opposite, so are totally hypocritical.

For such so called “religious” people to throw in their lot with the most corrupt. immoral, unethical President of the United States, Donald Trump, is proof of their massive sin in the name of Jesus Christ, who would never have endorsed or approved in any fashion, the massive sins of the Evangelical Right, which is undermining any respect for organized religion, by intelligent, thoughtful, considerate and decent Americans.

Fortunately, the percentage that follows this despicable “Cult” is declining rapidly, and will be continuing to deteriorate, due to the rapidly diversifying of the American population in the next few decades.

The Outrageous Statement Of Donald Trump On Wanting To Be President For Life, As The President Of China: NO WAY EVER!

Ronald 4 Comments

Over this past weekend, Donald Trump went one step further, a big step further, in his destruction of the traditions and accomplishments of America’s previous 43 Presidents.

Trump stated how much he admires the President Of China for becoming a person who did not have to gain approval anymore, and had declared himself President for life, effectively a totalitarian dictator, in the vein of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung. Trump has already praised the leaders of the Philippines, Turkey, Egypt, and China earlier, and has not a word of criticism against Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who has clearly undermined our election system, a declaration of war by means of technology.

Trump envisions himself in this manner, and yet the Republican leadership in Congress, which should have reacted in denunciation immediately, has remained silent, making them guilty of collusion with a person who clearly has Fascist tendencies, and is a danger to all civilized nations, as well as the American people.

This is a man who, by starting a trade war with tariffs against the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and South Korea, is likely to lead us to another Great Depression, vastly increasing consumer prices, and destroying the ability of our nation to export goods overseas.

At the same time, he is clearly on the way to war with North Korea, including the possibility of nuclear war, which would kill millions, not only in North Korea, but in our allies, South Korea and Japan. And his goal to go to war against iran was emphasized today by visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu, who like Trump, is power hungry and corrupt to the extreme, and in danger of being removed, as much as Trump is.

So we could have two wars at the same time, against North Korea and Iran, and Trump’s Russian collusion is getting clearer, and means our national security is threatened.

Trump is a man that is unhinged and unstable to the extreme, and is capable of declaring martial law, and suspending the Constitution.

Trump has already violated human rights of immigrants, racial minorities, women, and gays and lesbians, and has destroyed consumer and worker rights, and done great damage to the environment, and he has no limits in his attack on the entire American tradition and accomplishments of presidents of both parties from Theodore Roosevelt to Barack Obama.

Trump is a clear and present danger to all of us, including his irrational, clueless followers, and he MUST be removed from office rapidly, as the American people and nation are under direct threat from his maniacal behavior and actions.

Mass demonstrations and marches are now required, or else the history of this nation will be permanently damaged, and we have not survived the Civil War, Great Depression, Cold War, and some failed Presidents, and some dangerous Presidents such as Richard Nixon, to sit back and accept the dissolution of the American nation, the best hope of freedom loving people everywhere!

Donald Trump Goes Bonkers, Unleashes Twitter Storm Against Three Nuclear Powers (North Korea, Iran, Pakistan) And Palestinians

Ronald 11 Comments

Since the New Year of 2018 began, Donald Trump has gone totally bonkers, unleashing a Twitter storm against three nuclear powers–North Korea, Iran, Pakistan–and also further caused massive disarray in the Middle East by attacking the Palestinian Authority.

He has threatened cutoff of aid to Pakistan and the Palestinians, not understanding what damage that will do in the fight against terrorism.

Trump has demonstrated his willingness to threaten nuclear war against Kim Jong Un of North Korea, while also making clear he will destroy the Iran Nuclear Agreement, not realizing that North Korea will have no desire to negotiate when they see that the US is ready to rip up an agreement that five other nations still wish to enforce with Iran.

Why would any nation take the US seriously on negotiations, when Trump is so inconsistent?

And for Trump to talk about the size of his nuclear “button” as compared to that of North Korea, is to make Trump look like a bully on a school playground making himself look like a total jerk!

And declaring Jerusalem to be the Israeli capital, and taking that issue off the table with the Palestinians, and then threatening cutoff of aid for the people who are living under such horrible circumstances in the Palestinian held territories, only convinces the Palestinians that no negotiations with Israel are possible, insuring further bloodshed and violence in the Middle East.

Starting to antagonize Pakistan only insures further troubles as America continues a war in Afghanistan with no end game, and makes for tilting too far toward India, and the India-Pakistan tensions, as both are nuclear powers, is only encouraged by Trump threatening cut off of aid to Pakistan.

Trump is destroying American foreign policy in a manner which will take decades to recover, and our once strong allies in Western Europe, as well as Canada, Australia, Mexico, Japan and South Korea are exasperated over what Donald Trump has wrought.

The Battle To Succeed Rex Tillerson As Secretary Of State: Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, Bob Corker, Lindsey Graham

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It is clear that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will not survive beyond the first month or two of 2018.

Tillerson has been the absolute worst Secretary of State in modern times, and maybe all time, totally unqualified, totally inexperienced, totally incompetent in defending the State Department and its diplomatic corps against attempts of Donald Trump to destroy our foreign policy, in the name of supporting Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The fact that Tillerson was the head of Exxon, and received an award from Putin in 2015, does not help promote confidence in his leadership.

But at the same time, Tillerson has clearly opposed Trump on many issues, and even said he was a “F—– Moron”, although refusing to give credibility to that press report.

Tillerson has tried, in his own inefficient manner, to stop the destructive tendencies and rhetoric of his boss, often contradicting Trump, and working to prevent conflict and turmoil as much as he can, including promoting diplomacy with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

The question is who should replace him, and right now, it seems as if CIA head Mike Pompeo, previously a Republican Congressman from Kansas, is the front runner, but Pompeo has a very hard line view on many issues, which makes him far from desirable.

Also, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley may have a chance to get the job, but she has just lost credibility by her threats to UN members over their vote against US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. However, by showing loyalty to Donald Trump, she may have advanced her case to become the top diplomat, and one can hope that her action at the UN was more political than anything else, and that she would provide a comparatively more stable course in American diplomacy, and that Donald Trump might listen to her more than he does to Rex Tillerson.

Then, there are the wild cards of Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has recently been highly critical of Trump, and who Trump has regularly denounced; and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a good friend of Arizona Senator John McCain, who has played golf a lot with Trump lately, and has curbed his criticism of Trump dramatically, as has Bob Corker, who has been backtracking in an amazing reversal this past few days.

Both Corker and Graham now seem totally unprincipled, but it could be a tactic to try and change Donald Trump’s view of the world, much like it might be the strategy of Nikki Haley.

In the new month or two, we shall see what transpires, and as always, coverage of Donald Trump is never boring!

Two Women Politicians Who Have Lost Esteem Recently: Kirsten Gillibrand And Nikki Haley, Both Potential Presidential Candidates In Future

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Two women politicians—Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Republican Governor of South Carolina—have both been in the news this year, but both, in different ways, have done harm to their reputations by recent actions.

Gillibrand, hailed for working on the subject of sexual harassment in the military and on college campuses, recently became the leader of a group of women Senators of her party going after fellow Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota for incidents of sexual harassment. Originally this blogger, being shocked by instances of Franken acting inappropriately, saw Gillibrand become engaged in what seems as bullyism, pressuring Franken to resign rather than face a Senate Ethics Committee hearing, getting his “day in court”, and seeing if the charges are legitimate, and serious enough to force him out of the Senate. Franken caved in, and will leave, and just gave his farewell address in the Senate. It seems very unfair and a mistake in political judgment by Gillibrand and others against a fellow Senator with an excellent record of public service, including forcing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself in the Russian collusion scandal, a major factor in the ongoing investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Franken deserved a chance to defend himself, but now that is gone.

Nikki Haley has had an admirable record as South Carolina Governor and now, UN Ambassador, and this blogger thought she was the best person in the Trump Administration by far. But now, suddenly, she has become a bully at the United Nations, demanding loyalty on the US recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, which did not convince any major country to support the United States on this non binding resolution. She embarrassed herself and the American people, by claiming she was going to “take names”, and that foreign assistance to various nations might be affected, forgetting that our foreign aid to other nations benefits us, as well as those nations. And now she is holding a party for the small number of insignificant nations who supported us, a laughable and ridiculous action.

So this blogger would say that while Kirsten Gillibrand and Nikki Haley once had stars that shone brightly, now both women have lost a great amount of credibility, and future Presidential yearnings have been heavily damaged by their recent actions.

Donald Trump Promotes Holy War, Anarchy And Chaos In Middle East By Making The US Only Nation To Accept Jerusalem As Capital Of Israel

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Donald Trump has opened up a Pandora’s Box by making the decision to accept Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel, when every other nation in the world sees Jerusalem as a city under possible future negotiation as the capitol of a Palestinian state, and instead accepts Tel Aviv as the effective Israeli capital.

What Trump has done is introduce holy war, anarchy and chaos into the Middle East cauldron, and it will make Israel a much more dangerous place for tourists from all nations, as well as citizens of Israel, already under constant threat and danger.

There will be no possibility of negotiations over a potential Palestinian state in the future, if Jerusalem is totally off the table for negotiation for Muslims to feel they have a place in its future.

It is not that this blogger, who is Jewish, wishes to see a divided Jerusalem, but unilaterally taking this action will NOT promote any possibility of peace negotiations in the future.

Muslim terrorism will grow by leaps and bounds with this decision, and many Jews and Israelis agree that it is primarily designed to promote Benjamin Netanyahu’s right wing political agenda, and also to keep the evangelical Christian base in America behind Donald Trump.

With every nation deploring the development, Donald Trump will not benefit from his action, and it insures no chance of peace at any point in the future, and lots of death and destruction, and no positive side to the situation.

The Attack On Transgenders In The Military A Major Step Backward On Human Rights, And Must Be Resisted In Any Way Possible!

Ronald 2 Comments

The decision of Donald Trump to declare that transgender individuals are not to be allowed to serve in the military is a major step backwards on human rights.

Transgender men and women have served in the military heroically in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they serve in the military in Israel, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and other advanced democracies with no troubles or complications.

This is simply an appeal to the bigoted Religious Right of Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, and other preachers who claim wrongly to speak for Jesus Christ, who would reject their prejudice and hypocrisy.

It is also an attempt to take attention off the failed Health Care attempts to destroy ObamaCare, and also to take people’s minds off the investigation of the Russian collusion of the Trump campaign and Presidency.

It undermines the great progress made on gay rights and gay marriage, and now, the Attorney General Jeff Sessions is arguing that gays and lesbians and transgenders should not be considered as covered under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a total outrage!

Leave it to the right wing whackos, and we might see a future situation where women’s rights to an abortion, and even interracial marriages, might be reversed by a right wing Supreme Court majority.

It is good to see that the military is not, at least at this point, obeying a tweet of our unstable President, and hopefully, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will fight against it, and convince Trump that this will undermine military discipline and morale, and endanger the declared Transgenders already out in the military.

One can sadly expect more prejudice and discrimination against transgenders now in society, and some will die as a result.

Ironically, this bigoted, ignorant, and prejudiced statement by Trump occurred on the 69th anniversary of Harry Truman integrating the military in 1948, and one can be certain that if Truman were alive, he would have appropriate salty language visited upon Trump, and would probably wish to give Trump a swift kick in his rear end and in his private area as well, something million of Americans would cheer!