In America, All Cultures Must Assimilate

 To assimilate does not mean to become identical.  What it means is that we must all share basic American political values as set forth in our Constitution and as interpreted by our Supreme Court.  Let's look at some examples of where the assimilation took place with a degree of difficulty.  Let's consider the Irish wave of immigration.  These immigrants were not received with open arms.  But the Irish famine gave them few options.  Despite the chilly reception they received upon their arrival, they were mostly shielded by the rights granted them under our constitution.

Consider the Italians.  Some were actually rounded up and interned during WW II.  These injustices were not practiced everywhere in America.  But to the extent that they were practiced at all should fill us with sorrow.  Japanese-Americans were also interned during that war.  But, again, it was not uniformly practiced.  Japanese-Americans in California were interned, but not Japanese-Americans in Hawaii.  In short, America was a great country, but it had its flaws.

Jews were a group not welcomed as far back as Peter Stuyvesant.   Nor were they admitted to this country from Europe when the Germans were busy killing off half of all the Jews living in Europe.  But like the Irish and like the Italians and like the Latinos after them, they made America their home and contributed to its prosperity.

The negroes, colored people, African-Americans, Blacks, or whatever label is in vogue, followed a very different path.  First, they didn't come voluntarily.  They were captured and taken from their homes by members of hostile tribes and sold to the slave ships waiting in anchor off the west coast of Africa.  From there they were shipped to Brazil, the Caribbean, and America to work on various plantation crops such as sugar, cotton or tobacco. The slavers were Portuguese,  Spanish, Dutch, American etc.  Ultimately, Americans, mostly in the north recognized slavery for what it was; namely, the inhuman subjection of one people by another.  After a massive conflagration slavery was ended.  But more work had to be done.

Slavery was followed by Jim Crow.  That lasted until the '60s when civil rights legistlation was passed.  We now track the progress made by various groups by statistics on employment, education, family assets, and so forth.  Some statistics puzzle us.  Why do Black immigrants from Africa or the Caribbean seem to do better than American Blacks?  Why are there so many killings of Black youths by Black youths in our major American cities?  Clearly, more work needs to be done.

But what does "Black Lives Matter" bring to this situation.  It seems to separate Blacks from other Americans.  If separation were the answer, Farrakhan would have solved the Black problem ages ago.  In time, Blacks will learn that BLM is just one more blind alley.

Fancy Analysis Not Needed To Know The Bidens Were On Take

Some months ago, newspapers carried a photo of Joe Biden seated in a plane with his son besides him.  The plane was about to depart for Ukraine.  Joe was to have discussions with someone or other in Ukraine.  We don't know why he was going to Ukraine.  It doesn't matter.  He was about to run for the presidency of the U.S. and in that position it was logical that he visit a country that had some bearing on U.S. foreign policy.

But, his son sitting next to him caused all sorts of red flags begin fluttering.  Why was his son sitting there next to him?  This wasn't a vacation trip.  His son wasn't an elected official or appointed American official.  Indeed, if you had to label him, the most likely label was "business man."  But, what sort of business man?  What was his expertise?  Foreign relations?  Banking?  Commerce?  Mergers and acquisitions?  It took little research to realize, Hunter Biden had almost no background in anything.

He's got only one thing going for him; namely, close proximity to his father.

If you're a potato farmer, or an electronic chip maker, you might want someone close to the pinnacle of political power.  But, if you're China, or Russia, or even Ukraine, do you really need to pay someone to be heard by an American political leader? 

That one photo is all anyone needed to see the greed and dishonesty of this political family,

Truly Depressing Times

 The news these days is truly depressing.  First, they want to erase all reference to people like Washington, Jefferson, Columbus and goodness knows who else.  There is no question that some of them  had Black slaves.  There is also no question that some were misogynists.

But what our rewriters of history fail to understand is that man did not hatch from an egg into a perfect world.  The world two thousand years ago was a very different place than today.  It reached its present day level of liberty and justice only after horrendous wars.  It was hardly a one step process.  Many steps had to be taken before we reached present day levels of health and well being.

People who don't understand this really know nothing of  history.  The earliest Americans came here to free themselves from the religious intolerance and servitude existing in Europe. How we got from there to here is a fascinating story.  Suffice it to say it wasn't always easy.  But we have achieved a level of property never achieved before.  

 True, not everyone has shared equally.  Why is that so?  A couple of reasons.  Recent immigrants have the challenge of first having to learn English.  Some do it better than others.  Some come better educated than others.  Some are just luckier than others.

But what about those who have been here for generations?  Some come from two parent homes where they are nurtured and supported in their early years to an extent far better than others.  Blacks complain that they and fellow Blacks haven't kept up with the good things in life.  And that seems to be true.  But why do so many blacks who immigrate from Africa or countries in the Caribbean do so much better than Blacks who have been here for generations?

A recent troubling phenomenon is the rise of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization, an organization that presumably protests the murder of Black people by the police.  But, frankly, it's a political power grab.  Police abuse and murder of Blacks is infinitesimal when compared to Blacks murdering fellow Blacks.  And, infinitesimal is what it should be.  No one wants Blacks abused by the police.  

But, it's really not that easy to fix when you review the cases that have come before us.  The Blacks murdered by police are generally people with a police record that speaks of violence.  To put it another way, we are not talking about J-walkers.  It's not a situation where two gun slingers confront one another and the faster gun wins.  The officer has a job to do.  He represents the society in which we make our home.  The officer has a right; indeed, a duty, to check out suspicious activity.  That's what he's paid to do.  And people whether innocent or guilty must comply.

Even the young lady shot by the police in a no-knock entry was a person who consorted with drug dealers.  Her boy friend was with her at the time.  When, he heard the police entering the darkened apartment, he fired a shot.  He wasn't hit in the return fire but the girl was.  Do we expect our police to protect us from drug dealers?  This young lady worked in a hospital.  Had  she never encountered people addicted to drugs?

The BLM has morphed into an organized mob that enters a town and loots and vandalizes businesses; some large, many small, single family owned stores where the proprietor is often Black.  Owners have begun hanging signs in their windows reading "BLM" in the hope the mob will spare their store. How different is this from Germany, 1938, when store proprietors hung swastikas in the windows so that the Nazi youth wouldn't break them?

What has become of our country that this is considered appropriate behavior and has the mayor of many towns saying that the solution is a smaller police force?  It's the world turned upside down.

 

A Word From The Swamp

The people in the State Department, in Washington DC, were once said to be working in a place called "Foggy Bottom."  They felt they were brighter than the average American.  Of course, there never was any evidence to support this contention.  The Dulles brothers had their theory of falling dominos and why America simply had to take over from the French in Vietnam.  The brothers had always been hostile to Israel and were not happy when Truman caste America's vote for Israeli statehood in the UN.

Foggy Bottom has become more overt in matters of American politics, going so far as to work actively against the President's policies.  They are no longer "Foggy Bottom"; they have now become denizens of the Swamp.  On Friday, 8/21/20, they ran an ad under the heading, "Statement by Former Republican National Security Officials."  I won't list all their names; just three, to show the type of official signing off on this ad.

Adm Steve Abbot, Fmr Dep Homeland Securtiry Advisor . . . .  Mary Catherine Andrews, Fmr Special  Asst to the President . . . . . .Richard Armitage,  Fmr. Deputy Secretary of State . . . . . . . .

The ad listed 10 points as follows (presented in abreviated form):

1. Donald Trump has damaged America's role as a world leader.
Really!  Because he told Germany if they didn't pick up their fair share of the costs of their defense, the U.S. would reduce it's support.  Or was it Trump seeking to end China's predatory trade practices.  He supported the UK's Brexit. He left the ridiculous agreement our previous president had signed with Iran in concert with other European countries, but which was violated by the Iranians).  What a terrible president, to bring hope for peace in the Mideast.

2.  Donald Trump's failure in dealing with the coronavirus.  Really?  He cut off movement between the US and China before anyone took this Chinese virus seriously.  He marshaled the resources of the states and of major American industries  to take appropriate actions to produce needed supplies and gave full throated support for them to produce medicines faster than had ever been done before.

3.  He is claimed to have solicited foreign influence to promote his election.  This was a smear begun even before Trump had been sworn into office.  That the swamp would try to resurrect this lie when it's been so thoroughly discredited is beyond belief.

4. They charge Trump with having aligned himself with dictators at the expense of American values. I've got to ask: Aren't the people who raise this point supposed to be experts in foreign affairs?  Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia have democratic leaders.  Are we to leave them to fight this out among themselves?  Shouldn't we help an ally?  What does it even mean to align oneself with a nondemocratic power?  Is Egypt democratic?

5.  Yes, in the heat of the campaign for the presidency in 1916, Trump made some foolish statements.  One example that springs to mind is him saying McCain was no war hero.  Of course he was.  Trump should never have said that about McCain.  But in the heat of a campaign one can hear some pretty stupid stuff.  Trump not knowing all the players meant he had to engage in some trial and error.  He chose Tillerson from a major oil company to fill the post of Secretary of State.  He soon realized it was a mistake.  But, he got rid of him and ultimately appointed Pompeo, who proved to be a brilliant choice.

6.  Trump is accused of undermining the rule of law.  Ridiculous.  I think it fair to say, most journalists lean to the left.  If you work for the NYTimes you'd better lean to the left.  Recently a young writer who didn't follow the party line was forced out.  As for the pardons he has issued, such as, perhaps, one for Flynn, is one that was truly warranted.

7.  Elections in America tend to be rough and tumble affairs.  Trump didn't create the rules.  Calling Elizebeth Warren "Pocahontas" was Trump's way of pointing out that Ms. Warren had once ensured her admission to a prestigious college by seeking to be seen as a minority and  claiming lineage to a distant native American.  I, for one, do not see Trump's remark as inappropriate.  Referring to Joe Bidan as "sleepy Joe" simply underscores the lack of energy in Bidens we all see in Biden when he gets up to speak.

8. Has Trump divided Americans?  No, for my money,  it's been the Democrats.  Generally, when a new person is elected president, he gets to enjoy a honeymoon period.  With Trump, the Democrats sought to  shoot him down even before he entered office.  First, it was the Russian investigation.  When that didn't stick they called him a racist.  Americans understand the need to have secure borders.  That requires appropriate fencing.  The Democrats fought him on this as they've fought him on everything else.  If we have a divided nation, let's put the blame where it belongs; namely, on the Democrats.

9. As regards immigrants:  Trump loves immigrants, but immigrants who come in legally.  It should be noted that most immigrants, including Latinos do come to America legally.  They're a terrific people and a great asset to America.  We also have Black immigrants who have arrived legally.  But someone jumping a fence willy nilly is quite another matter.  There is one other point that really deserves to be mentioned; namely, the Sharia that Islamic immigrants on occasion wish to impose on our culture.  Is this a bugaboo?  I think not.  Take a look at Europe, where Islamists have defaced synagogues, and where Jews have been beaten and killed.  Churches too have been defaced.  And, local girls are expected to observe Islamic dress codes.  Why?

10. Trump's dismissing and replacing members from various national security positions is really what occasioned this ad.  The  73 signers of the ad, people, who at one time held nice position in the government, were found to be wanting.  If not themselves the holders of such positions, then otheres who held elected positions and who now found that time had passed them by.  Names I did not see listed were Clapper, Brennan and Comey.   They really should have been on the ad too.

American Exceptionalism

I participated in my local Socrates Cafe meeting down here in Delray Beach, FL.  (These sessions are now conducted on Zoom.)  Today's topic was "American Exceptionalism: Are We Indeed Exceptional?"  And, oh yes, comments were to be kept non-political.  It was something no participant attempted to adhere to.  With a subject like this,  the only way to keep it from slipping into politics would be to keep the subject strictly on a historical footing.  No one made such an effort.

What I learned saddened me.  The group avoided using Trump's name, but almost everyone who spoke viewed the "current administration" with disdain.  There were no Trump voters here.  But, if you're in the game, you try to play it as best you can.  Here is what I mean:

Slavery was mentioned:

I pointed out that yes indeed America had slavery.  About the same as Caribbean nations, which were mostly European colonies and that far greater numbers of slaves were sent to Brazil.  I was not intending to dismiss the horror of slavery.  But I pointed out that quite a few Americans died to end the practice.  The Jim Crow that followed was also a horror.  But men like John Lewis and white religious leaders worked together to fight for equal rights and brought an end to America's legalized discrimination against Blacks.  The fight today has been 98% won.

However, there are parts of the slavery story that are rarely taught; namely, how it was black tribes in Africa that fought neighboring tribes to take them as prisoners and then sell them as prisoners to the slave ships waiting on Africa's western coast.  Also, rarely mentioned is that slavery continues to this day in Africa.

America was mentioned as a colonizer:

This was an argument easily refuted.  America kicked the Spanish out of the Philippines and gave the people the freedom to fashion their own country.  We did the same for Puerto Rico.  It was the Puerto Ricans who rejected the idea of forming their own country.  They also rejected the idea of becoming another American state.  Their preference was to become a commonwealth with ties to America.  They can change their status anytime they wish.

Vietnam:

No one mentioned Vietnam, although this would have been the easiest sore spot to poke at had the  Socrates group chosen to do so.  Here was a country that we had wanted to deny freedom of choice.  It was a French colony that had decided to throw the French out.  The French then turned to the Americans to achieve that which they could not achieve themselves.  Regrettably, we had a president with a weak spot for the French.  (And it wasn't Eisenhower.) Interestingly, despite our losing struggle with the Vienamese, this communist nation has now established excellent relations with America.


Antifa:

This is another dreadful situation that received no attention from the Socrates Cafe crowd.  With Antifa we have a group that wants to change the structure of American cities according Antifa's own social design.  Americans seem oblivious to their actions.  The arrogance of this group to want to change things through their thuggishness instead of using the time tested method of our democracy; namely, elections seems to bother few of our fellow citizens.  They seem not to realize that there is no short cut to creating a better society.  It surprises me that more Americans aren't outraged that these thugs are allowed to break store front windows, burn buildings and physically assault police officers.  When an Antifa thug is arrested, he is promptly released by district attorneys who seems oblivious to the harm being done to their communities.


Black Lives Matter  (BLM)

This group arose with a slogan coined by Rev. Al Sharpton at the time of the Ferguson riots.  It didn't matter that the cop who shot Michael Brown had little choice.   Its all on the record.  a. Mr. Brown first struck the officer as the officer was seated in the police car.  b.  Mr. Brown had reached into the car's open window to get at the officer's weapon (he failed).  c.  When the officer got out of his car and told Mr. Brown to halt, Mr. Brown, a hulking young man well over six feet, with the physique of a linebacker, turned, lowered his head and charged at the officer.  That's when the officer fired and shot him dead.  The posture of Mr. Brown, as he charged the officer, was confirmed by the autopsy.

This incident launched the vandalism and the looting and mayhem that destroyed Ferguson.  Those most harmed financially were the Black members of this Black community.

Today, the BLM movement has aligned itself with members of Antifa.  I might add that BLM has morphed into a strongly anti-Semitic group.

Immigration

The Socrates Cafe crowd mentioned, on more than one occasion, that Trump has tried to close the doors to immigrants.   They bemoaned that he seems to have abandoned the words found at the base of our Statue of Liberty that read in part, "give me your tired, your poor, . . ."

They seem to have been unaware that these poor and tired masses arriving third class had to pass through Ellis Island.  If an immigrant were found to have an illness, he or she was promptly sent back to wherever he or she had come from.  Today, they get medical attention.   And, that's all to the good. But, it's not reasonable to provide medical care to whoever is able to reach our borders.

Also, not all immigrants are the same.   I believe we are lucky to have people from the Caribbean and Latin America.  These immigrants like earlier immigrants want to be productive  They understand the value of living under American law and within an American culture.  The same can not be said of all people seeking entry to America.

Consider Europe, which has been overwhelmed with immigrants from the middle east.  These immigrants, mostly Muslims, want to share in the good things Europe has to offer.  However, they want to bring their Islamic culture with them; namely,  Sharia Law.  It's proven to be a horrible experience for the Europeans.  With these immigrants comes anti-Semitism.  Jews in German, France England, Belgium and other European countries are beginning to leave in large numbers to make a new life in Israel.  No, not all immigrants are the same.

Russia and China

In my opinion, Russia can be dealt with.  But China is a monster.  I need only mention Tibet, the Uighers, Taiwan, India and the broken promise to the citizens of Hong Kong.   The nonsense of turning rocks barely visible above the waters of the China Seas and calling them Chinese islands and building airfields on them is illegal in terms of maritime law.

No, we Americans have little for which to apologize.

                                         #                                 #                           #

Republican or Democrat: What Station Do You Watch?

The media (newspapers, TV, radio or whatever) pretty much determines your party affiliation.  My wife, a far better historian than I, tells me it has always been this way. Whether Hamilton versus Jefferson, or FDR versus Hoover, it seems always to have been a war between various media outlets.

Fox News -- Republican.  MSNBC -- anti-Trump.  Wall Street Journal -- leans to the right, but is as neutral as you'll find.  PBS -- definitely to the left.

When I wake up in the morning, I turn on the TV and tune into Fox News to see what happened while I was sleeping.  After a half hour of that (damn those long commercials) I turn on Squawk Box to see how the market is doing and whether it's on track to rise or fall.  After that I go to MSNBC to see what crimes Trump committed while I was sleeping.

This morning. it was a Saturday, so no Squawk box.  On Fox I got the latest statistics on the pandemic; namely, how many new cases reported and the latest death toll.  And, then, on to the mayhem being carried out in various American cities.  The destruction has been carried on for weeks.  But why?

At MSNBC, it's all about the pandemic, and, how Trump has screwed up.  All those lives lost because of him. As to the flaming American cities -- what flaming cities?

You want to know what's going on?  Talk to a cop.


                              #                                         #                                    #

To My Liberal Friends -- Trump vs. Biden

Those of my friends who define themselves as liberal, by an large hate Trump.  Perhaps I should have written "dislike" instead of "hate".  But when asked what they think Trump, their response is visceral.
And, I understand that.  So why should anyone favor Trump?

Let me first list his negatives.  He exaggerates.  If he tells you how many attended one of his rallies, he'll generally give an exaggerated figure.  This is not to diminish the size of his rallies.  He usually gets excellent attendance.  But he is known to guild the lilly.  And, he's said some really awful things such as that John McCann was no hero.  He was a hero.  He just wasn't a great candidate for the presidency of this country.  Moving on.

Right to life:  As one who strongly endorses women's right, I believe that whether to have an abortion or not, is strictly a decision for the woman to make.  The supreme court's decisions have pretty much supported this position.  It's time for Trump to more on.  He no longer has to worry about the right-to-lifers.  Let the Supreme Court take the heat.

Regarding the pandemic which we are now facing:  I don't believe in a total, national shut down, but studies do show that wearing a face mask is an excellent technique for avoiding infection.
( Being 86, I surely don't want to get infected.)  Trump has excellent medical advisors.  He should be getting behind having the public wear face masks.  If people want to sit closer to one another at a rally it's something I wouldn't support.  But, I'd leave it up to the people.  But endorsing a face mask deserves Trump's whole hearted support.  I am very disappointed that he hasn't gotten behind it.

From my perspective, there are indeed items for which we can fault Trump.  But then let's look at some of the other issues.

Racism in America.  In my opinion, it exists at a relatively low level.  One troublesome intersection in American society is racism encountered in police work; especially when facing low level criminal behavior, and on the road when driving.  When a person, black or white, is found slumped in a drunken stupor behind the wheel of a car, it's a situation that calls for special caution.  Intoxicated people, whether black or white require special attention.  This must be a part of police training.  And, when a black person is seen driving; someone who has followed all the rules of the road, police behavior must be above reproach and most certainly not be intrusive.

On the other hand, incidents such as the tragic killing of a black man, such as George Floyd by an out-of-control police officer are truly uncommon when compared to the size of the total American population.  It most certainly does not call for mayhem in the streets, the smashing of storefronts and the looting which we've recently witnessed.  A larger issue by far is the many killings of black youth by black youth that occurs most weekends in cities like Detroit and Chicago.

The tearing down of statues of people little known to those those tearing them downed  is outrageous.  If they wish to remove statues of military leaders that fought for the confederacy, in essence, fought to maintain slavery, there are legal ways of doing it.  But this must be a decision of the citizenry, not the mob.  And, I am aghast that people would tear down statues of people like Washington, Jefferson and Columbus.

On matters such as those just discussed, I support Trump's position over that of spokespeople who pander to black voters.  Our union of states, as it has evolved to this day, represents a governance that is far from perfect.  But, in my opinion it's superior by far to anything I see among U.N. member nations.  Some would have you believe that pride in America is some sort of jingoistic attitude.  But, I'm not one of them.  When I see athletes take a knee rather than stand for our national anthem, I say to myself, yes, it's their right, but I, nevertheless, hold them in very low esteem.

I believe that a vibrant economy, as someone once said, lifts all the ships.  It certainly improves the unemployment statistics of even the lowest paid workers.  I don't think Biden would disagree.  I don't think Biden has much of an opinion on much of anything.  But Elizabeth Warren certainly does and her opinions will no doubt guide Biden.  That would spell tragedy for this country.

In the area of foreign affairs it took a Trump to call out China for its theft of American technology and know-how.  What previous president had been willing to call out China on this issue?  Germany wanted the U.S. to put our soldiers on their soil but was unwilling to pay for them.  It was also unwilling to change its subservience to Russia, by continuing to rely on Russian energy.

Finally, back home, we have a U.S. representative like Ilhan Omar from Somalia who wants to remake America.  What? Like Somalia?

Then we have the issue of Israel and the Palestinians.  Need I say more?


                                    #                         #                     #

Annexing Judea and Samaria.

I was just reading the NY Times editorial, Sunday, May 31, to get their point of view.  It's the point of view of those against Israel annexing Judea and Samaria, land designated as Area C in the Oslo accord.  It was part of the land that was to be negotiated with the Palestinian Authority as part of a peace treaty.

First, let's be clear,  Arafat and then Abbas wanted nothing to do with any peace treaty despite the generous offers made by Israeli prime ministers.  My guess is that they figured they could make more money for themselves by leaving the matter unresolved.  From the funding they've received from Europe, Iran and the U.S. they may have been on to something.

But in the affairs of nations, nothing stands still.  We have come to a point where Israel offers far more to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE than do the Palestinians.  For Russia and China the analysis gets more complex, but working with Israel would seem to also offer more to them than working with the Palestinians.

So what's holding up Israel's annexation?

International Law?  That's what the NYTimes would argue, but they'd be wrong.

The international community and their organizations would be displeased and the UN would condemn it.  So argues the NY Times.  No kidding.  These world bodies condemn everything that Israel does  and for behavior far less egregious than that of other member nations.  The only time that Israel received a serious blow is when Obama failed to veto a Security Counsel resolution.  But, that was Obama.  Who knows?  Maybe Biden would follow in the footsteps of Obama.  This time, however,  Israel has more cards to play.

Could the Palestinians make trouble?  Sure.  But the days of bombing Israeli buses are over.  Today it's incendiary balloons launched by Hamas.  I think Israel will be able to cope.

The peace process is a unicorn that no longer exists.  And, truth be told, if Israel found itself having to find employment for the Palestinians in the land left to them, it would be the best thing that had ever happened to the Palestinians.  Suddenly  the Palestinians would find themselves freed of the yoke of corruption and from leaders who have no interest in their welfare.

Antifa: A Conspiracy Theoretical No More

When a society is weakened by forces unforeseen, viruses that are generally held in check are sometimes released that threaten the well being of its citizens.  That's what's happened in America.
The unanticipated force that suddenly buffeted America was the Corona virus.  This shocked the America's economy and led to a sudden surge in unemployment.  All that was now needed was a match.  And, that match was the murder of George Floyd by a police officer.

The man standing around with the gasoline was, as usual, Rev. Al Sharpton; the same Sharpton that gave us Tawana Brawley, the burning of the record store at 125th Street in Harlem, the riot in Brooklyn leading to the death of a Yeshiva student from Australia, and the Ferguson riots that burned out any number of black owned businesses.  It was the riot that gave birth to the Black Lives Matter movement.  The fact that in the Ferguson case, the youth that was shot and killed was Michael Brown. And, that in charging the police officer from whom he had earlier attempted to take his gun,.had invited his own death.

Instead of sitting down and working out a much needed code of conduct for police officers, we find Congressional Democrats sniping at Republicans instead of working with them to establish much needed guidelines for use in police work.

Now enter the anarchists, who go by the name of Antifa.  These are people drunk on their own righteousness, who would destroy one of the world's finest systems of government.  They mostly come from middle and upper class families, but have prepared themselves for no meaningful work.

The Antifa people are using a misguided and antisocial black youth to smash the windows of stores and  steal the merchandise.  Often they'll set fire to the building.  They attack police officers, burn the American flag and mindlessly take down statues of men they know next to nothing about.

Their message is that America is a corrupt and worthless country and must be brought to it's knees so that they, like Lenin before them, can build a righteous dictatorship to be guided by themselves.

For their funding we can most likely thank George Soros.

Righteous Demonstrations: The Achilles Heel Of Vandalism And Anarchy

There are times and places were demonstrations are appropriate.

However like any social tool, they must be done in ways that will not destroy innocent people.  Regrettably we have seen demonstrations sparked by the murder of George Floyd result in vandalism,  injury and even death.  Indeed, it took the life of an officer guarding a federal building in Washington D.C.

This can not be tolerated.  A demonstration held in a public space by more than 5 persons, should be registered as to time and location.  Without that, as we have seen repeatedly, a demonstration can morph into something very ugly.
 
                                       *                                  *                             *

The Murder of George Floyd

Most of us know the story, recently covered in the press:
A black man, George Floyd, is on the ground, face down, and handcuffed.  A white cop rests on top of him with his knee on Floyd's neck.  Floyd begs the cop to get off; he can't breath.
The cop doesn't move and George Floyd dies.  More precisely, he's killed.

Three things can be extrapolated from this murder.

1. For justice to prevail,  the cop who murdered George Floyd must be prosecuted in a timely manner.  Not yet indicted, the cops who stood around doing nothing while Mr. Floyd's life was being taken.  Justice requires that they be indicted for having done nothing to save Mr Floyd from the officer who murdered him.

2. We, as a society, should review our race relations in America.  From a historical perspective, we have made considerable progress.  Yet it must be acknowledged that we started at a very low place; namely, slavery.

The path up from slavery was not easy.  It took the war between the states and the many lives lost in that war.  But we were still nowhere near where a civilized nation should be. We were now in the time referred to as Jim Crow, a terrible time of segregation; a time of blacks being lynched, especially in America's south. The road from Jim Crow to where we are today, was long and not easy.

But here we are.  Men of color can be found at the pinnacle of corporate America.  They also serve as judges and in our military where they have served with valor and distinction, side by side with white service men.  However cultural differences remain.  In housing, the Irish will often live in Irish neighborhoods, Italians in Italian neighborhoods, Jews in Jewish neighborhoods. and Koreans in Korean neighborhoods.  But even there, the times are changing, with the advent of more blended marriages.

Have we arrived at nirvana?  Hardly; but although more progress is called for in race relations, we have reached a good lever.  Nevertheless, further progress remains to be made.

3. Despite our progress, there are forces that would drive us apart.  Let me throw out a name: Al Sharpton.  His disreputable approach to race relations goes back years; to the Tawana Brawley affair.  Then there was the incident in Brooklyn were  a young child of color dashed into a street from between two parked cars.  A car that was going up the street had no chance to react to the child as he darted out from between the cars.  He was hit and died.  This was a terrible accident but it was no crime.  Sharpton whipped up a demonstration a day or so later fanning a hatred of the Jewish community.  A young Jewish student from Australia was knifed to death as he watched a demonstration occasioned by the child's death.

Then there was the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri.  We won't dwell on the thieving ways of young Mr. Brown.  Suffice it to say, he punched an officer sitting in his patrol car, and reached over, attempting to take his holstered service pistol.  Failing in that, Mr. Brown, who was well over 6 feet, weighing roughly 230 pounds and built like a linebacker, began walking down the middle of the street.  The officer, getting out of his patrol car, ordered him to stop.  With that, Mr. Brown lowered his head and charged the officer.

The officer had no option.  He shot the charging Mr. Brown.  A witness testified that Mr. Brown walked towards the officer with his head and arms raised high.  However, an autopsy made clear that Mr. Brown's head was lowered like that of a charging bull.

From this event in Ferguson,  Rev. Sharpton spun the tale of an innocent young man shot dead by a rogue cop.  He lead demonstrations in behalf of the dead youth and created an organization, he called "Black Lives Matter."

As a society, despite the progress we've made, we must do more to improve relations between blacks and whites.  But one barrier yet to be overcome are people like the Reverent Al Sharpton.

                                     #                                  #                               #

The Never Ending Attack On An American Ally, MSB

A little over a year ago, in this column, I wrote of the mindless attack on the current Saudi head of state, Mohammed bin Salman.  I was very troubled by the spin the press was giving the story.  Wasn't MBS a stanch ally of the U.S.?  Of course. Yet we now have a book by Ben Hubbard, Key To the Kingdom,  that once again works strenuously to tarnish MSB's image and discredit America's relations with him.

First, there's the matter of the New York Times phraseology.  It shows clearly that Hubbard is their man.  For example, in the NY Times review of Hubbard's book, written by Christopher Dickey, we read that MSB is the "de facto ruler of (Saudi Arabia)".  Yes, he is the de facto ruler.  He's also the accredited ruler.  Would you call Xi the de facto ruler of China or Putin the de facto ruler of Russia?  Countries have different political systems.  China has one that permits the chairman to declare himself Chairman for Life.  Putin's Russia enable him to get subservient legislature to enable him to also remain as chairman for life.   Saudi Arabia is a country has evolved from a tribal system that allows someone like MSB to become the ruler of his country.  What's the difference?

Did he get to his position by cunning?  Sure.  But cunning is not in short supply when it comes to leaders of even those countries we think of as democracies.


Next point: the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Dickey lists the usual talking points:
a. Khashoggi was a columnist for the Washington Post.
b. They dismembered Khashoggi.

Let's start at the top and go along with the allegation that Khashogge was eliminated (murdered) at the instructions of MSB.  Large countries do it with frequency.  Putin is certainly not shy about knocking of someone whom he finds to be an irritant.  What about China?  What about Saudi Arabia's arch enemy, Iran. If we go down this road we soon have a very, very long list.

The second point; namely, that Khashoggi was a columnist for an American newspaper, one not friendly to the Trump administration. Being a reporter was once the best cover one could get for a spy.  Think of Kim Philby, the British double agent who was placed (as a reporter) in Beirut.  Unfortunately for the British, Philby's allegiance was to Russia.

Being a columnist is even a better cover than that of a reporter.  As a columnist you can decide what you want to write about.  You don't necessarily have to limit your work to war reporting or the behavior of this or that legislature.  You cover what you want and go where you want.

But why would anybody suggest that Khashoggi was spying, or, even more sinister, that he was an undercover operative?  Well, for starters, he had an especially  close relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood.  This made him warmly received by the Turks and a sworn enemy of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

This does raise an even more important question?  Did the Washington Post know of his affiliation with the Brotherhood and if they did, did they care?  This is where I'd like to see an investigative reporter do some digging and bring out his book.  I daresay it won't be Ben Hubbard.

Hubbard also waves about the fact that Khashoggi was dismembered.  It's not a pretty image.  But that's the point.  The image is more important than explaining the dismemberment.  It is nowhere suggested that Khashoggi was tortured.  That could really have been messy.  No, death no doubt came quickly.  The assassins had no time for anything other than to get Khashoggi who was not about to surrender.  As one who spied for the Muslim Brotherhood, he would be done to as the Muslim Brotherhood had done to its enemies; indeed, as they had done to Anwar Sadat.

The assassins had two goals.  One, get Khashoggi and, two, get out unscathed.  The first was pretty simple.  They either throttled him or hit him over the head.  Shooting him would have been too bloody.  It may sound unbecoming but dismembering the corpse made sense.  They could hardly cremate Khashoggi.  And taking the body out of the consulate whole wouldn't work.  No the best way for them to get Khshoggi out, in the light of Turkish surveillance, was in pieces.

Hubbard hits two other false notes.  The first deals with Yeman.  If I've read Hubbard correctly (as outlined by Dickey) MSB involves himself in a civil was taking place inYemen.  His needless involvement in that conflict has resulted in a huge and needless lose of civilian lives.

Really?  Does he really mean to suggest that Iran is oblivious to the advantage of controlling Yemen and thereby controlling the shipping lanes that go to the Red Sea?  Is he unaware of the huge stocks of sophisticated weapons, weapons that could never have been built by the Yemenis, have been funneled into Yemen by Iran and that these weapons can be directed at the Saudi heartland?

And, finally, he mentions with scant praise that MSB defanged the Saudi morality police.  He does mention that MSB has made it possible for Saudi women to drive cars.  There is little mention that this means that they can now travel free of a male escort.  In other words, MSB has begun to change the Saudi Islamic culture to a more modern culture.  And, if he knows anything, Hubbard ought to know that one of the most difficult things to change in a nation is its culture.  MSB has begun to do it without having enjoyed an Eaton education or having lived handsomely for a portion of his life in Europe.

It seems to me that those who knock MSB are those who would have Saudi Arabia remain in a semi-feudal state.  Or, maybe, they're just plain stupid.