“We have become so focused on what we are individually against that we are losing sight of what we are collectively for. The real challenge we must confront lies in ourselves, our neighborhoods and in our communities. Civility and discourse itself will soon be lost if we cannot engage in uncomfortable discussions and find solutions together as Americans.
We are at a national tipping point. There is really only one question we have to answer: Is America going to be the country of me or the country of we? Our collective destiny hangs in the balance based on how we answer.”
— Excerpt from “United We Stand, Divided We . . . .,” by Jim Crupi, American consultant, speaker, and president & founder of Strategic Leadership Solutions, Cumming, Georgia.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Once again, I urge you to come and hear Director Bill Eiland noon, Wednesday, July 25. Bill will discuss the State of Georgia Art Museum which is housed on the University of Georgia Campus in Athens. His discussion will take place at The Adult Learning Center at 3025 Bull Street.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For more information contact Debbie Hornsby (dhornsby@seniorcitizens-inc.org or call 236 0363.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sent to me by a dear friend and fellow memo reader. Is Government incest rife? (See 1 below.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Even the Swedes are beginning to see the light:https://www.bloombergquint.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After a period of time being sensible and temperate becomes boring. (See 2 below.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Trump travel ban upheld. (See 3 below.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There comes a time when even a powerful nation tires of playing and paying the price of being top dog.
Part of America's supposed withdrawal is a consequence of our allies allowing us to pay their bar tab. We allowed Europe to become moochers and eventually we tired of losing our nation's youth in defense of mutual interests. Also, the mounting costs of doing so has sapped our ability.
All crew teams must row in unison.
If America is withdrawing our, so called, allies come in for some of the blame. Neither can you blame Trump for America's plight and exhaustion. You can blame him solely for how he responds.(See 4 below.)
And then:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Finally some personal random rants:
The direction the Democrat Party has chosen for itself and the embrace by the Peter Fonda, DeNiro extremist Hollywood crowd and the ravings of Maxine Waters is a dangerous, disturbing and sick trend. These type of extremes begin small and only grow/multiply. The silence from the Democrat side is even worse.
Was James Hodgkinson an anomaly?
Seems the No. 1 goal of all governments, historically, is to control and dominate their own citizens..." I believe, the Number One goal of government should be protective, ie. defend its citizens.
Distrust forms the basis of liberal's love of big government. Conservatives are less likely to distrust and understand bigness is costly, dangerous and inefficient. That said, both political parties have basically morphed into one and there is little difference between them because: "Big Brother" is alive, well and amoebic.
Obama and "Up Chuck's" brand of government ( presidential pen and cell phone) is autocratic, despotic and imperial. It is outside the scope of what The Founding Father's intended and is constitutionally dangerous. It also relieves Congress of their representative responsibilities.
Was James Hodgkinson an anomaly?
Seems the No. 1 goal of all governments, historically, is to control and dominate their own citizens..." I believe, the Number One goal of government should be protective, ie. defend its citizens.
Distrust forms the basis of liberal's love of big government. Conservatives are less likely to distrust and understand bigness is costly, dangerous and inefficient. That said, both political parties have basically morphed into one and there is little difference between them because: "Big Brother" is alive, well and amoebic.
Obama and "Up Chuck's" brand of government ( presidential pen and cell phone) is autocratic, despotic and imperial. It is outside the scope of what The Founding Father's intended and is constitutionally dangerous. It also relieves Congress of their representative responsibilities.
History will show Obama was one of the most dangerous presidents our nation ever endured and the best I can say regarding Comey is perhaps he was ensnared in Obama's collusion.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dick
______________________________________
1)Lets learn a little about Mrs. Lisa H Barsoomian’s background.
Lisa H Barsoomian a US Attorney that graduated from Georgetown Law, she’s a protege of James Comey and Robert Muller.
Barsoomian, with her boss R. Craig Lawrence, represented Bill Clinton in 1998
Lawrence also represented:
Robert Muller three times
James Comey five times
Barack Obama 45 times
Kathleen Sebelius 56 times
Bill Clinton 40 times and
Hillary Clinton 17 times
Between 1998 and 2017 Barsoomian herself represented the FBI at least five times
You may be saying to yourself, okay who cares, who cares about the work history of this Barsoomian woman?
Apparently someone does BECAUSE : Someone out there cares so much that they’ve “purged” all Barsoomian court documents for her Clinton representation in Hamburg vs. Clinton in 1998 and its appeal in 1999 from the DC District and Appeals court dockets (?) Someone out there cares so much that the internet has been “purged” of all information pertaining to Barsoomian.
Historically this indicates that the individual is a protected CIA operative.
Additionally Lisa Barsoomian has specialized in opposing Freedom of Information Act requests on behalf of the intelligence community
And although Barsoomian has been involved in hundreds of cases representing the DC Office of the US Attorney her email address is Lisa Barsoomian at NIH gov. The NIH stands for National Institutes of Health.
This is a tactic routinely used by the CIA to protect an operative by using another government organization to shield their activities. It’s a cover, so big deal right, I mean what does one more attorney with ties to the US intelligence community really matter.
It deals with Trump and his recent tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports, the border wall, DACA, everything coming out of California, the Uniparty unrelenting opposition to President Trump, the Clapper leaks, the Comey leaks, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recusal and subsequent 14 month nap with occasional forays into the marijuana legalization mix …. and last but not least Muller’s never-ending investigation into collusion between the Trump team and the Russians
Why does Barsoomian, CIA operative, merit any mention?
BECAUSE….
She is Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s WIFE….That’s why!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2)Why don’t Europeans get it? | The Jerusalem post
As the memory of the Holocaust fades, traditional antisemitism that turns into anti-Israel attitudes is no longer politically incorrect.
A major Supreme Court opinion was released on Tuesday morning upholding Trump's travel ban. In a vote of 5-4, the justices affirmed that the travel ban was constitutional in the case of Trump v. Hawaii.
This opinion has been highly anticipated and follows lengthy litigation concerning President Trump's travel ban.
The original was struck down, and the Trump administration rewrote the guidelines using more narrowly tailored language. This was challenged and again had to go through the legal process.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote the opinion for the court. Stating that this order was within the scope of presidential powers granted by the Immigration and Nationality Act. Pointing out that nowhere in the order was religion mentioned while taking the opportunity to slam the dissent for providing no sound rebuttal.
1)Lets learn a little about Mrs. Lisa H Barsoomian’s background.
Lisa H Barsoomian a US Attorney that graduated from Georgetown Law, she’s a protege of James Comey and Robert Muller.
Barsoomian, with her boss R. Craig Lawrence, represented Bill Clinton in 1998
Lawrence also represented:
Robert Muller three times
James Comey five times
Barack Obama 45 times
Kathleen Sebelius 56 times
Bill Clinton 40 times and
Hillary Clinton 17 times
Between 1998 and 2017 Barsoomian herself represented the FBI at least five times
You may be saying to yourself, okay who cares, who cares about the work history of this Barsoomian woman?
Apparently someone does BECAUSE : Someone out there cares so much that they’ve “purged” all Barsoomian court documents for her Clinton representation in Hamburg vs. Clinton in 1998 and its appeal in 1999 from the DC District and Appeals court dockets (?) Someone out there cares so much that the internet has been “purged” of all information pertaining to Barsoomian.
Historically this indicates that the individual is a protected CIA operative.
Additionally Lisa Barsoomian has specialized in opposing Freedom of Information Act requests on behalf of the intelligence community
And although Barsoomian has been involved in hundreds of cases representing the DC Office of the US Attorney her email address is Lisa Barsoomian at NIH gov. The NIH stands for National Institutes of Health.
This is a tactic routinely used by the CIA to protect an operative by using another government organization to shield their activities. It’s a cover, so big deal right, I mean what does one more attorney with ties to the US intelligence community really matter.
It deals with Trump and his recent tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports, the border wall, DACA, everything coming out of California, the Uniparty unrelenting opposition to President Trump, the Clapper leaks, the Comey leaks, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recusal and subsequent 14 month nap with occasional forays into the marijuana legalization mix …. and last but not least Muller’s never-ending investigation into collusion between the Trump team and the Russians
Why does Barsoomian, CIA operative, merit any mention?
BECAUSE….
She is Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s WIFE….That’s why!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2)Why don’t Europeans get it? | The Jerusalem post
Why don’t Europeans get it?
By EFRAIM INBAR
As the memory of the Holocaust fades, traditional antisemitism that turns into anti-Israel attitudes is no longer politically incorrect.
Many Israelis complain about the failures of their country’s public diplomacy. Why is it so difficult to explain what most Israelis see as normal behavior of a state fighting terrorism and abysmal hatred?
Yet it is not easy to make the case for Israel in Europe. There is ingrained antisemitism at all levels of European society. Europe has never been a friendly host for Jews, who for centuries suffered prejudice, discrimination, pogroms, expulsions and finally the worst of all – genocide.
Moreover, as the memory of the Holocaust fades, traditional antisemitism that turns into anti-Israel attitudes is no longer politically incorrect.
Unfortunately, Europe was not successful in purging itself of the antisemitic malaise. The Muslim immigration only added another layer of antisemitism. A Jew wearing a kipah, or displaying a Magen David is not safe on the streets of most West European capitals. It is a shame that Jewish institutions need to be guarded by the local police.
Another angle that places Israel is an unfavorable light for many Europeans is the correct perception of Israel as an American ally. The gap between Europe and the US is gradually widening, particularly since Donald Trump became President.
The strategic culture of the US is very different than the European and much closer to Israeli strategic thinking.
This inevitably reflects badly on Israel.
European feelings of guilt for their colonial past also put Israel at disadvantage as the colonial prism is applied to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Viewing Israel as European colonists displacing native Palestinians is disregarding the Jewish historic connections to their ancient homeland.
Moreover, it fosters a forgiving attitude to the Palestinian corrupt and dictatorial entities (the Palestinian Authority and Hamas-ruled Gaza) and their systematic violation of human rights.
Above all, Europeans hardly have the intellectual capability to grasp the grim realities of the Middle East, which lives in a different time zone. In contrast to peaceful Europe, the Middle East is a conflict-ridden region. In the Middle East, states go to war to attain political goals. The use of force is part and parcel of the rules of the game and of the toolbox available to heads of state.
While in Europe, particularly in its western parts, use of force is viewed as anachronistic, in our part of the world military actions are popular.
Saddam Hussein was the hero of the Arab world when taking Kuwait by force. Ankara’s military intervention in Syria is hailed by the Turkish masses and Riyadh’s bloody war in Yemen elicits no criticism at home. It is hard to envision current European military action without anti-war demonstrations at home.
Of course, the high levels of threat perception of all Middle East states and societies are not fully appreciated by the Europeans, who think they have achieved a strategic paradise.
They are not ready to spend money on defense, taking a ride on the American security umbrella. In contrast, Middle Eastern states devote large chunks of their GDP to national security needs. Moreover, all states in the region are suspicious of and fear their neighbors. The fear of politicide (destruction of a political entity) is not held only by Israel. For years, Syria refused to recognize the independence of Lebanon, while Iraq claimed Kuwait as its 17th province.
The EU states do not experience any challenges to the legitimacy of their borders. In contrast, there are many border disputes among Mideastern states, such as between Syria and Turkey, or Iran and Iraq. In addition, Pan-Arabism that undermined the legitimacy of the Arab rulers and the statist structures was largely replaced by another transnational ideology, Pan-Islamism, having similar repercussions.
Both transnational movements tend toward violent measures.
Religion is also a poorly understood political factor in a mostly secular Europe. The intellectual influence of Max Weber and Karl Marx created a blindness to religious behavior. Most people in Middle East are to some degree religious and their identity is shaped by holy texts. This is true of the Arabs, Turks, Persians and Jews.
In contrast to a post-Reformation Europe, the separation of church and state is an alien concept in our part of the world. The tremendous power of religious conviction in motivating people for action and for willingness to sustain great pain is incomprehensible to the average European.
The Middle East is the hotbed for religious radicalism. Europeans are ill-equipped to understand the zealots of the Islamic state.
While there are islands of support for Israel in the old continent, living in today’s Europe does not prepare you for understanding Middle East realities. Therefore, the lack of understanding for Israeli policies and its use of force cannot be corrected by a better public diplomacy. The biased European attitudes are a result of a cultural baggage and an entirely different set of attitudes to defense and foreign policy issues.
The writer is president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies (jiss.org.il) and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Yet it is not easy to make the case for Israel in Europe. There is ingrained antisemitism at all levels of European society. Europe has never been a friendly host for Jews, who for centuries suffered prejudice, discrimination, pogroms, expulsions and finally the worst of all – genocide.
Moreover, as the memory of the Holocaust fades, traditional antisemitism that turns into anti-Israel attitudes is no longer politically incorrect.
Unfortunately, Europe was not successful in purging itself of the antisemitic malaise. The Muslim immigration only added another layer of antisemitism. A Jew wearing a kipah, or displaying a Magen David is not safe on the streets of most West European capitals. It is a shame that Jewish institutions need to be guarded by the local police.
Another angle that places Israel is an unfavorable light for many Europeans is the correct perception of Israel as an American ally. The gap between Europe and the US is gradually widening, particularly since Donald Trump became President.
The strategic culture of the US is very different than the European and much closer to Israeli strategic thinking.
This inevitably reflects badly on Israel.
European feelings of guilt for their colonial past also put Israel at disadvantage as the colonial prism is applied to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Viewing Israel as European colonists displacing native Palestinians is disregarding the Jewish historic connections to their ancient homeland.
Moreover, it fosters a forgiving attitude to the Palestinian corrupt and dictatorial entities (the Palestinian Authority and Hamas-ruled Gaza) and their systematic violation of human rights.
Above all, Europeans hardly have the intellectual capability to grasp the grim realities of the Middle East, which lives in a different time zone. In contrast to peaceful Europe, the Middle East is a conflict-ridden region. In the Middle East, states go to war to attain political goals. The use of force is part and parcel of the rules of the game and of the toolbox available to heads of state.
While in Europe, particularly in its western parts, use of force is viewed as anachronistic, in our part of the world military actions are popular.
Saddam Hussein was the hero of the Arab world when taking Kuwait by force. Ankara’s military intervention in Syria is hailed by the Turkish masses and Riyadh’s bloody war in Yemen elicits no criticism at home. It is hard to envision current European military action without anti-war demonstrations at home.
Of course, the high levels of threat perception of all Middle East states and societies are not fully appreciated by the Europeans, who think they have achieved a strategic paradise.
They are not ready to spend money on defense, taking a ride on the American security umbrella. In contrast, Middle Eastern states devote large chunks of their GDP to national security needs. Moreover, all states in the region are suspicious of and fear their neighbors. The fear of politicide (destruction of a political entity) is not held only by Israel. For years, Syria refused to recognize the independence of Lebanon, while Iraq claimed Kuwait as its 17th province.
The EU states do not experience any challenges to the legitimacy of their borders. In contrast, there are many border disputes among Mideastern states, such as between Syria and Turkey, or Iran and Iraq. In addition, Pan-Arabism that undermined the legitimacy of the Arab rulers and the statist structures was largely replaced by another transnational ideology, Pan-Islamism, having similar repercussions.
Both transnational movements tend toward violent measures.
Religion is also a poorly understood political factor in a mostly secular Europe. The intellectual influence of Max Weber and Karl Marx created a blindness to religious behavior. Most people in Middle East are to some degree religious and their identity is shaped by holy texts. This is true of the Arabs, Turks, Persians and Jews.
In contrast to a post-Reformation Europe, the separation of church and state is an alien concept in our part of the world. The tremendous power of religious conviction in motivating people for action and for willingness to sustain great pain is incomprehensible to the average European.
The Middle East is the hotbed for religious radicalism. Europeans are ill-equipped to understand the zealots of the Islamic state.
While there are islands of support for Israel in the old continent, living in today’s Europe does not prepare you for understanding Middle East realities. Therefore, the lack of understanding for Israeli policies and its use of force cannot be corrected by a better public diplomacy. The biased European attitudes are a result of a cultural baggage and an entirely different set of attitudes to defense and foreign policy issues.
The writer is president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies (jiss.org.il) and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
3) Travel Ban Upheld
A major Supreme Court opinion was released on Tuesday morning upholding Trump's travel ban. In a vote of 5-4, the justices affirmed that the travel ban was constitutional in the case of Trump v. Hawaii.
This opinion has been highly anticipated and follows lengthy litigation concerning President Trump's travel ban.
The original was struck down, and the Trump administration rewrote the guidelines using more narrowly tailored language. This was challenged and again had to go through the legal process.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote the opinion for the court. Stating that this order was within the scope of presidential powers granted by the Immigration and Nationality Act. Pointing out that nowhere in the order was religion mentioned while taking the opportunity to slam the dissent for providing no sound rebuttal.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4) Is America Retreating Into Uni-solationism?
Recent Trump administration foreign-policy decisions ‘a strange mix of unilateralism and isolationism,’ one French diplomat says
By Gerald F. Seib
François Delattre is a French diplomat, but he knows the U.S. well, having served as France’s ambassador to the U.S. and consul general in New York before taking his current job as its ambassador to the United Nations.
So it is worth sitting up and taking notice when he says that what he sees now in American foreign policy spells trouble, for America’s relations with its allies, and even, potentially, for peace in the world.
The U.S., he says, has moved into a “Jacksonian moment,” a throwback to the populist attitudes of President Andrew Jackson. Recent Trump administration foreign-policy decisions—including the imposition of tariffs on imports and retreat from the Iranian nuclear deal—illustrate “a strange mix of unilateralism and isolationism that I would name ‘uni-solationism,’” he says.
“Whether we like it or not, this school of thought is very much part of American history,” he adds. “There is therefore no reason to believe it will disappear after the current administration. The disengagement started before President Trump, and I tend to believe it will last after him.”
That fretful European view forms the backdrop for the trip national security adviser John Bolton is planning to take this week to visit allies in Europe, and then on to Moscow to plan for a possible summit meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Next month comes a meeting of Mr. Trump and other European heads of state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.This attitude has produced a kind of “American retreat” from the traditional world order. And that, in turn, is leading to what Mr. Delattre calls “a new world disorder” in which there is no longer an America willing or able to be the “last-resort enforcer of international order.” History shows that, in the absence of a functioning multilateral system, the world tends to devolve into “spheres of influence,” Mr. Delattre says. “That’s the best recipe for confrontation, not to mention war.”
The table-setters for this summer of trans-Atlantic diplomacy are growing trade disputes between the U.S. and its European allies; this month’s Group of Seven summit meeting of the leaders of big industrialized nations, which devolved into a nasty dispute between President Trump and the leaders of Canada and France; and a Trump tweet last week declaring that Germans “are turning against their leadership” over immigration policies, which struck many as an overt attempt to undermine German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
As a result, the mood among European officials is one of a “big crisis” in the trans-Atlantic partnership, says Nicholas Burns, a career diplomat who served as under-secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration. He is traveling in Europe right now and he, too, sees “a very dangerous moment.”
There have been, Mr. Burns notes, other moments of crisis in the American relationship with its European partners. Those notably include the Suez crisis in 1956, when President Dwight Eisenhower had a tense standoff with Britain and France over control of the Suez Canal; the Euro-missile crisis in the 1980s, when Europe erupted into protests over President Ronald Reagan’s plans to deploy midrange nuclear missiles there; and the Iraq war of 2003, when the U.S.’s invasion of Iraq was widely opposed on the continent.
“In each of those three crises neither side felt that either one was abandoning the West, abandoning the basic contract that we’re allies,” Mr. Burns says. “I think what makes this crisis different is that many European leaders have concluded that President Trump doesn’t believe in the same values that Truman or Eisenhower or Bush believed in.”
The U.S. should want to preserve a strong partnership with Europe “for reasons of self-interest, not romanticism,” Mr. Burns says. “Europe is our largest trade partner. Europe is the largest investor in the American economy. Europe is the largest collection of military allies...Do we want to be alone in the world? Do we want our soldiers to fight alone?”
Europeans bear plenty of their own responsibility for trans-Atlantic tensions, of course. NATO partners resisted, across multiple American administrations, pleas to honor pledges to increase defense spending (though that is finally, happening). They have perpetuated some unfair trade practices.
But the European partners also stepped up immediately after the 9/11 terror attacks, and their soldiers still stand with American forces in Afghanistan. Moreover, at a time when both Russia and China are growing more assertive, a united Western front figures to become more important, not less.
France’s Mr. Delattre notes that, absent American leadership, allies could turn to other venues—the United Nations, ad hoc coalitions—to organize international action: “Lacking some organizing bodies, we have to either recreate or reorganize some.”
But that course isn’t European leaders’ first choice. Beneath the tensions, they still want American leadership.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No comments:
Post a Comment