I seldom, if ever, do this but Lynn has a 14 year old Jaguar which she loves. We quit going to the Hilton Head Jaguar dealer because of distance but mainly because they were very expensive and their mechanics were not the best.
A close friend suggested we try Auto Sport here in town and we did and Ted, the owner, was good.
Ted recently sold the business to a young mechanic and he may be a good mechanic (not even sure about that) but he is a hot head and not customer oriented so we are no longer going there and I suggest, if you are using Kyle at Auto Sport, I would stop. The same friend who recommended Auto Sport also left and he found another mechanic who seems to know what he is doing and is customer oriented.
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No there , there?
Democrats are claiming Trump is trying to lay the groundwork for discrediting anything Mueller's investigation reveals. Meanwhile, more and more is coming out that indicates there was a lot of hanky panky on the part of some in the FBI with respect to helping Hillary and impugning Trump's election.
Is there a secret society within The FBI? What happened to all of these time sensitive and critical e mails The FBI claims were lost? What about the 4 page document Democrats do not want the public to read? As I have said and believe, until proven otherwise, the shenanigans will eventually prove Obama had his hand in making sure Clinton was cleared of any charges.
Time will tell, but each day it appears the Clinton's and their Democrat cronies were up to no good, and tried to hang "The Russian Collusion" charge on Trump, when, in fact, they were instrumental all along. Stay tuned. (See 1 and 1a below.)
If this is not dangerous enough, since it suggests the nations top legal authorities were in political cahoots to smear a duly elected president and obstruct justice, Democrats are now arguing the "Trump" recovery is actually due to Obama and slimy Schumer has also withdrawn his commitment to Trump regarding financing the latter's desire/plan to reduce illegal immigration.
David Perdue, Georgia's Junior Senator, has taken up the defense of Trump. David, like our president, is a no nonsense former business man who is pragmatic and believes Washington and our political system is broken and needs "fixin."
Finding the perfect leader (See 1b below.)
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Israel ranks high. (See 2 below.)
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Dick
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1) SHOCKING Admission Emerges From Mueller Team Member
The more that comes out on the Mueller investigators, the more we see that the President has been subject to a swamp-style Washington witch hunt. That notion isn't one we originated. Peter Strzok, the FBI Agent has grabbed headlines in recent weeks, because of his private exchange with his mistress, FBI lawyer Lisa Paige.
Strzok wrote the following text to Lisa Paige on May 19th, 2017: "You and I both know the odds are nothing. If I thought it was likely, I’d be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern that there’s no big there there. (sic)”
Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) reacted in a radio interview on WISN, saying,"“In other words, Peter Strzok, who was the FBI deputy assistant director of the counterintelligence division, the man who had a plan to do something because he just couldn’t abide Donald Trump being president, is saying that his gut sense is that there’s no big there there (sic) when it comes to the Mueller special counsel investigation.”
After all of this phony scandal-mongering from the swamp's media, one of the partisan investigators conceded in private that "there was no big there there (sic)". Yet, for over a year, Democrats have used this issue to defame the President and attempt to invalidate the will of the 2016 electorate. If more details like this emerge, the Democrat impeachment strategy could backfire in November, as prominent Obama administration officials may face the scrutiny of a special counsel.
1a) If This is True, Our Republic is at an End
By Erick Erickson
Either the FBI engaged in partisan behavior or partisans are trying to undermine basic institutions of law and order.
But the reality is this: if FBI agents collaborated to fabricate or exaggerate allegations about Donald Trump and/or tried to bring down his Presidency through partisan motivations it is game over on the republic. If the civil institutions, we have put in place to ensure law and order apart from politics are infiltrated by politics, there really is no turning back. We are already at a "they started it" mentality in our politics and this will just escalate the breakdown. We have already seen this in the IRS twice in the past fifty years, first with Nixon then with Obama, and the second time was largely given a pass by press.
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Strzok wrote the following text to Lisa Paige on May 19th, 2017: "You and I both know the odds are nothing. If I thought it was likely, I’d be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern that there’s no big there there. (sic)”
Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) reacted in a radio interview on WISN, saying,"“In other words, Peter Strzok, who was the FBI deputy assistant director of the counterintelligence division, the man who had a plan to do something because he just couldn’t abide Donald Trump being president, is saying that his gut sense is that there’s no big there there (sic) when it comes to the Mueller special counsel investigation.”
After all of this phony scandal-mongering from the swamp's media, one of the partisan investigators conceded in private that "there was no big there there (sic)". Yet, for over a year, Democrats have used this issue to defame the President and attempt to invalidate the will of the 2016 electorate. If more details like this emerge, the Democrat impeachment strategy could backfire in November, as prominent Obama administration officials may face the scrutiny of a special counsel.
1a) If This is True, Our Republic is at an End
By Erick Erickson
Either the FBI engaged in partisan behavior or partisans are trying to undermine basic institutions of law and order.
We think the Roman Republic ended with Caesar crossing the Rubicon or with Octavius being declared the first Emperor. In fact, until Diocletian, the Roman Emperor still pretended to keep the trappings of just a first among equals citizen. And before Caesar, there was Sulla, a dictator who reformed the Senate and then left power. Sulla inspired Caesar who thought Sulla nuts to have surrendered power willingly.
Rome kept the resemblance of a republic long after it had actually become a dictatorship in various ways and I am afraid that might be our trajectory. Our Rubicon may have been crossed and we need some honest, sober reflection. Instead, we will get partisan sniping with one side adamant it is not true and the other adamant it is. Truth, in a post-modern America, is hard to come by.
But the reality is this: if FBI agents collaborated to fabricate or exaggerate allegations about Donald Trump and/or tried to bring down his Presidency through partisan motivations it is game over on the republic. If the civil institutions, we have put in place to ensure law and order apart from politics are infiltrated by politics, there really is no turning back. We are already at a "they started it" mentality in our politics and this will just escalate the breakdown. We have already seen this in the IRS twice in the past fifty years, first with Nixon then with Obama, and the second time was largely given a pass by press.
There are now real and troubling allegations stemming from text messages that include agents meeting to discuss an "insurance policy" and agents meeting in a secret society. There are possible missing or willfully deleted text messages.
To be sure, and this is very important, there is also a lot of partisan exaggeration by people trying to protect the President. There is a lot of conflation. But there are serious allegations and there is enough evidence now that we need an investigation. I do not believe we need a special counsel as it would only serve to undermine the existing special counsel and would be seen as such. The Department of Justice should investigate and fully and publicly release its findings.'
Frankly, a closed meeting of congressmen without TV cameras to play to would be advisable as well. The tendency on both sides is to play to cameras to try to keep each side's base motivated for the mid-term elections. Turn off the cameras and take this seriously.
There is another angle to this too. If Republican partisans in Congress are raising these issues to undermine the FBI merely to support their party and the allegations are not true, the Republican Party itself needs to be shut down. The actions of the agents, if true, and the actions of the congressmen if not true are messing with the very integrity of our republic and its civic institutions.
This is no laughing matter. I take the allegations made by Congressmen Gowdy, Ratcliffe, and others to be serious and substantive. The media needs to treat those allegations with the gravity they deserve instead of turning this into a Republican vs. Democrat fight. If this is true, the activity within the FBI must be ruthlessly exposed and publicly stamped out. Otherwise we will see complete trust in government and the institutions of law and order collapse. If this is not true, the activity within the Republican Conference in the House must be ruthlessly exposed and publicly stamped out through Congressional censure and public discipline. Otherwise we will see complete trust in government and the institutions of law and order collapse.
Unfortunately, there are very few, if any, organizations left in this country that both sides view as honest brokers. The partisan sniping in both Houses of Congress and the leaking from Democrats to the press over the past few months leaves the nation without a reservoir of trust on either side.
These then are dangerous times and we need serious answers without all the partisan b.s. I cannot emphasize enough that one side or the other is in the wrong on this and whichever side is wrong must be ruthlessly stamped out for the basic, foundational institutions of our government to preserve integrity.
1b) Seeking the perfect national leader
By Isi Leibler
We expect national leaders to behave in an exemplary manner and act as role models to be emulated.
What most of us seek is a “perfect” leader.
But that is mission impossible. Such a person has never existed.
Some of the greatest American leaders have rich records of blemishes. President Lyndon Johnson was regarded by many as a coarse, brutal ill-tempered lout. President John F. Kennedy’s womanizing would today place him in a category with Harvey Weinstein. President Bill Clinton’s lothario escapades would put him in a similar classification.
Yet, despite the unsavory aspects of their private lives, many of these American presidents still rank as outstanding leaders and have contributed overall to the best interests of the U.S. and the world at large.
The big difference today is the domination of social media and the obsession of the print media to expose anything and everything, including the most intimate aspects of the personal lives of leaders that in the past were considered off limits.
Did the British media excoriate Winston Churchill for consuming vast quantities of expensive brandy and cigars not received as gifts but provided at government expense? Did the media question the state-sponsored banquets and menus Churchill provided guests? It would have been inconceivable.
Of course, neither were all our former Israeli leaders paragons of virtue.
David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding leader, was regarded as intolerant and bloody-minded about political opponents. His wife Paula was a kleptomaniac and he was frequently obliged to send someone to supervise her as she shopped. The media never exposed this.
Moshe Dayan had a reputation as an uninhibited womanizer and was notorious for his illegal appropriation of antiquities for his private collection. Yitzhak Rabin resigned when the media exposed details of an illegal bank account in the United States in the name of his wife. Shimon Peres in his heyday was known as a womanizer and a playboy. Ariel Sharon was allegedly engaged in major financial irregularities prior to his disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
None of these leaders were even remotely subjected to the demonization applied to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family.
The defamatory media campaign against Netanyahu by Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth backed by the TV stations has been unprecedented. Their obsessive hatred has meant that any means are justified to demonize him, including intrusion into the private lives of his children.
Under shrieking front-page headlines, the Netanyahu family was condemned for consuming expensive ice cream, accused of illegally profiting from the return of refundable bottles, excoriated again and again for the “crime” of accepting cigars and champagne from two wealthy admirers. The latest is the obsessive coverage of the crude babbling of Netanyahu’s eldest son, Yair, taped by his driver two years ago outside a nightclub and sold to a TV station a few weeks ago. It certainly put Yair in an odious position. But does this justify three successive days of screaming headlines? Since when are the drunken ravings of a young man two years after the event – the basis for three days of front-page headlines?
Haaretz stooped to such obsessive coverage of this incident that serious news concerning the threat from Iran, terrorism and other important national issues was buried.
In a sense, the same applies to the United States, where the liberal media has institutionalized an unprecedented campaign to discredit President Donald Trump in every way possible.
Of course, Trump, like Netanyahu, is far from perfect. He frequently shoots from the hip and his utterances can be incredibly coarse and vulgar, such as his recent reference to underdeveloped countries as “shitholes.” He despises political correctness and regularly excoriates “fake news.”
But at the same time his instincts and long-term strategies seem to be on target and a blessed contrast to his predecessor, President Barack Obama, who expressed himself in a highly sophisticated and cultured manner but implemented disastrous policies.
Since Trump was elected president, America has experienced an unprecedented economic boom; he has given the Iranians notice that he will not remain idle if they fail to adhere to their commitments or continue their regional terror activities; he has warned the North Koreans that the days of appeasement are over and that they must back down or face harsh consequences; he has allied himself with the Sunni moderates, who today include Saudi Arabia, in a joint venture to prevent Iranian regional hegemony.
His representative to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is a breath of fresh air as she passionately challenges the bias and double standards of the U.N. The U.S. has already resigned from UNESCO because of its myopic attitude toward Israel and has drastically reduced U.S. funding for the U.N. budget.
Trump’s attitude toward Israel has, until now, been exemplary. No other American president has been so honest with the Palestinians. He publicly recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite threats of violence and pressure from Palestinians and other countries, especially the hypocritical Western Europeans.
Moreover, he announced that their free lunches were over. If the Palestinian leaders refuse to negotiate with Israel and continue to pay out millions of dollars as pensions to reward Palestinian terrorists and their families, the U.S. would cease acting as their banker and would terminate subsidies.
When taking these fundamental policy changes into account, one is tempted to concede that, although far from being the perfect leader, Trump is possibly the most supportive American president Israel has ever encountered.
The same applies to Netanyahu. His hedonistic inclinations may irritate many Israelis and his personal political relationships are far from perfect. We are frustrated that the haredi extremist parties hold the balance of power and are able to extort endlessly. But none of this warrants the incessant flow of abuse from his adversaries and the left-wing media.
They conveniently ignore his achievements. Israel has developed one of the most stable economies in the world. The Israel Defense Forces has never been as well-equipped as it is today with a capability of overcoming the combined forces of our adversaries. Our desalinization project is being emulated throughout the world, our hi-tech, bio-medical and other innovations are leaders in many fields, our religious and cultural institutions continue thriving and, despite the pressures and everyday threat of terror, Israelis rank among the happiest people in the world.
In addition to the re-establishment of our close relationship with the U.S., Netanyahu has successfully established good relations with India, Russia, China, South East Asia and Latin America – which 10 years ago would have been inconceivable – and not to mention our new covert relationship with the Saudis and Gulf states.
We have today two national leaders who have human weaknesses and faults. But despite this, both Trump and Netanyahu have, to date, moved in the right direction and any suggestion of unseating them now in the light of their accomplishments would be utterly foolish.
We must look at leaders not through the prism of their private lives and personal peccadilloes but in terms of their records of achievement and the policies they are implementing and the qualities of their probable immediate successors.
Surely Jews concerned with the future of the Jewish state should hope that the tenures of both Trump and Netanyahu are extended to enable them to consolidate what they have achieved.
We should also pray that the Almighty directs them both in the right direction.
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NEW YORK - Two major US publications have listed Israel within their top ten rankings, citing the country’s military prowess and innovation capabilities, respectively.
Web-based publication US News and World Report, best known for its influential ranking lists, named Israel as the 8th most powerful nation in the world. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News listed the Jewish state as the 10th most innovative, hailing its high-tech industry and technological advances. Partnered with global marketing communications company BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, US News surveyed more than 21,000 people from four regions of the world and asked them to associate 80 countries with specific attributes. The power aspect of the survey measured how “economically” and “politically influential” a country was and took into account both its “strong international alliances and strong military alliances.” “Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with cut diamonds, high-technology equipment and pharmaceuticals among its major exports,” US News also noted in its report, adding, however, that the county still “has one of the most unequal economies in the Western world, with significant gaps between the rich and poor.” Rounding out the top 10 after Israel were two Arab rivals: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The online news organization ranked Israel 30th overall in terms of “Best Countries” out of a list of 80. The United States, like last year, was placed at number 1 while Slovenia ranked dead last at number 80. Bloomberg News ranked Israel number 10 on its list of most innovative countries, using an index that annually ranks economies by analyzing seven contributing factors such as research and development, spending and the concentration of public hi-tech companies. “The 2018 ranking process began with more than 200 economies,” Bloomberg stated in its report published Tuesday. “Each was scored on a 0-100 scale based on seven equally weighted categories. Nations that didn’t report data for at least six categories were eliminated, trimming the list to 80. Bloomberg released the top 50 and category scores within this cohort.” South Korea topped the list for the third year in a row, followed by Sweden, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Finland, Denmark and France. The US fell to 11th place from ninth mainly because of an eight-spot slump in the post-secondary, or tertiary, education-efficiency category, which includes the share of new science and engineering graduates in the labor force, Bloomberg said. Like last year, Israel achieved first place in the “researcher concentration category,” or the number of professionals – including postgraduate PhD students – engaged in R&D per million people in the country. The country was ranked second and trailed only South Korea in the “R&D intensity” category, or R&D expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Israel also did well in “hi-tech density” – the number of domestically domiciled hi-tech public companies – placing fifth, just after the South Korea and Germany. |
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