It is way past the time for predominantly Liberal American Jews to wake up and smell the anti-Semitism they unknowingly support and/or ignore. (See 1 below.)
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Is a tariff resistance crack beginning to occur? (See 2 below.)
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Addressing Landings incorporation issues. (See 3 below.)
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Hanson on the friendly opposition.
There will only be one Krauthammer, may his soul rest in peace, but Hanson is as close as any op ed writer I have seen and extremely courageous and insightful. (See 4 below.)
I was recently asked, by a retired educator, what happened to a mutual friend and educator, who was pushed out because he would not bend to the demands of the powers that be because his approach towards education was outside the main stream. I commented, educating inner city kids is not the goal of the establishment .
The hypocrisy of those in control is simply amazing. They can cut your throat and,with a straight face, seek to convince others you are not bleeding.
We now are finding out about a staffer of a sensitive Congressional Committee involving only Democrats who was engaged in skulduggery and because he held power over their heads was given a pass by The FBI who were apparently told to stand down and not pursue him. Eventually this has come to light and was, in large measure, what brought down Debby Wasserman Schultz
It may take a long time to get to the facts and truth regarding the Obama Justice Department and FBI but, when it finally comes to light, I believe it will reach right into the Oval Office. This is why Democrats need to win the Mid Terms so they can shut down the ongoing investigations and protect what is left of Obama's fading legacy.
In order to obfuscate their legal responsibilities and keep Congress from prying underneath their skirts, documents that have little, if anything, to do with national security are given protective titles claiming their release would threaten national security. This double speak is actually more a threat to national security. Recently a document was classified regarding a purchase a desk for an outrageous sum of money for instance.
I am speculating but I believe Trey Gowdy will eventually replace either Rosenstein or Sessions.
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Now have packed the cars and heading to Tybee. We cannot take possession of our rental before 4PM so had time to finish this memo.
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Dick
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1) An Israeli Soldier to American Jews: Wake up!
By Hen Mazzig
As a young Israeli who had just completed five years of service in the IDF, I looked forward to my new job educating people in the Pacific Northwest about Israel. I was shocked, however, by the anti-Israel bigotry and hostility I encountered, especially in the greater Seattle area, Oregon, and Berkeley. I had been very liberal, a member of the leftist Zionist party, Meretz, but the anti-Semitism and hatred for Israel that I have seen in the U.S. has changed my outlook personally and politically.
As part of my work as an educator at StandWithUs, between January and May of this year, I traveled to college campuses, high schools and churches, sharing the history of modern Israel. I also shared personal stories about growing up in the Jewish state, and about my family. I always spoke about my military service as an officer in an IDF COGAT unit that attends to the needs of Palestinian civilians who are not involved in the conflict and promotes Palestinian civil society. Each time I would speak and take questions for an hour or more. I have shared my personal story with over 16,000 people at many, many college campuses and high schools, including UC Berkeley, Stanford, the University of Washington, Seattle University and many others. Many of those to whom I spoke were supportive, friendly, and open to hearing about my Israel. But, sadly, far too many were not.
When I served as a soldier in the West Bank, I got used to having ugly things said to me, but nothing prepared me for the misinformation, demonization of Israel, and the gut-wrenching, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic hostility expressed by many students, professors, church members, and even some high school students right here in the Pacific Northwest.
I was further shocked by how unaware the organized Jewish community is and how little they are actually doing to counter this rising anti-Semitism, which motivated me to write this article.
This new form of bigotry against Israel has been called the “new anti-Semitism,” with “Israel” replacing “Jew” in traditional anti-Semitic imagery and canards, singling out and discriminating against the Jewish state, and denying the Jewish people alone the right to self-determination. The new anti-Semitism is packaged in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS), which claims to champion Palestinian rights though its real goal is to erode American support for Israel, discredit Jews who support Israel, and pave the way for eliminating the Jewish state. One of BDS’ central demands is the “complete right of return” for all the descendants of the original Palestinian refugees, subtle language that means the end of Israel as the Jewish homeland because it would turn Israel into a Palestinian-Arab majority state.
It is surprising that an extremist group like BDS is ever taken seriously, but BDS advocates have found receptive audiences in some circles. Their campaigns are well organized and in many cases, well financed. They have lobbied universities, corporations, food co-ops, churches, performing artists, labor unions, and other organizations to boycott Israel and companies that do business with Israel. But even if these groups don’t agree to treat Israel as a pariah state, the BDS activists manage to spread their anti-Israel misinformation, lies and prejudice simply by forcing a debate based on their false claims about Israel.
To give you a taste of the viciousness of the BDS attacks, let me cite just a few of the many shocking experiences I have had. At a BDS event in Portland, a professor from a Seattle university told the assembled crowd that the Jews of Israel have no national rights and should be forced out of the country. When I asked, “Where do you want them to go?” she calmly answered, “I don’t care. I don’t care if they don’t have any place else to go. They should not be there.” When I responded that she was calling for ethnic cleansing, both she and her supporters denied it. And during a presentation in Seattle, I spoke about my longing for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. When I was done, a woman in her 60’s stood up and yelled at me, “You are worse than the Nazis. You are just like the Nazi youth!” A number of times I was repeatedly accused of being a killer, though I have never hurt anyone in my life. On other occasions, anti-Israel activists called me a rapist. The claims go beyond being absurd – in one case, a professor asked me if I knew how many Palestinians have been raped by IDF forces. I answered that as far as I knew, none. She triumphantly responded that I was right, because, she said, “You IDF soldiers don’t rape Palestinians because Israelis are so racist and disgusted by them that you won’t touch them.”
Such irrational accusations are symptomatic of dangerous anti-Semitism. Yet, alarmingly, most mainstream American Jews are completely oblivious to this ugly movement and the threat it poses. They seem to be asleep, unaware that this anti-Jewish bigotry is peddled on campuses, by speakers in high schools, churches, and communities, and is often deceptively camouflaged in the rhetoric of human rights.
The American Jewish community and its leaders are not providing a united front to combat this latest threat. Unfortunately, this repeats a pattern of Jewish communal groups failing to unite in a timely way to counter threats against us individually and as a community.
Shockingly, a small but very vocal number of Jews actively support BDS. They often belong to organizations that prominently include “Jewish” in their names, like Jewish Voice for Peace, to give cover to BDS and the anti-Semitism that animates it. A question that we, as a Jewish community must ask ourselves, is whether it is ever appropriate to include and accept Jews who support BDS and directly or indirectly advocate the ultimate elimination of the Jewish State of Israel.
I think it is not.
My experiences in America have changed me. I never expected to encounter such hatred and lies. I never believed that such anti-Semitism still existed, especially in the U.S. I never knew that the battlefield was not just Gaza, the West Bank, and hostile Middle Eastern countries wanting to destroy Israel and kill our citizens and soldiers. It is also here in America, where a battle must be waged against prejudice and lies.
I implore American Jews: do more.
Israel cannot fight this big battle alone. If you are affiliated with a Jewish organization, let it know you want it to actively, openly and unequivocally oppose the BDS campaign and those who support it. Inform yourself, your friends and families, by visiting websites of organizations like StandWithUs, Jewish Virtual Library, AIPAC, AJC and others that will update you and provide information about BDS and anti-Semitism.
I urge the organized Jewish community and its members to wake up and stand up for the Jewish state of Israel, and for all it represents, and for all it works to achieve.
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2)
Germany willing to cut tariffs on US cars, lifting automakers’ shares
Germany’s chancellor said Thursday she’s willing to back lower tariffs on U.S. auto imports as a potential European Union (EU) concession to the Trump administration – just one day after CEOs of Germany’s biggest carmakers reportedly voiced support for eliminating such tariffs entirely.
Angela Merkel said she would be ready to support lowering the tariffs, though the measure couldn’t just apply to the U.S.
"I would be ready to support negotiations on reducing tariffs but we would not be able to do this only with the U.S.," she said, as reported by Reuters, adding that singling out one country would violate World Trade Organization rules.
On Wednesday, the chief executives of prominent German auto companies – including Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen – “liked” a Trump administration proposal for both sides to reduce those tariffs to zero, according to German business news outlet Handelsblatt. The proposal was said to have been made by U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell during a meeting at the U.S. embassy.
The EU tariff rate on all U.S. car imports is 10% while the U.S. tariff on imported European cars is 2.5%.
Auto stocks, including Ford, Fiat and General Motors, rose on the news Thursday.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | %Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 11.06 | +0.01 | +0.09% |
| GM | GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY | 39.16 | -0.31 | -0.79% |
| FCAU | FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES N.V. | 20.00 | -0.03 | -0.15% |
Last week, President Trump threatened to impose a 20% tariff on imports of all vehicles assembled in the EU, though he is reportedly willing to scrap those plans if the EU reduces its levies. The potential tariff would hit Germany particularly hard as cars are one of their key exports: manufacturers in the country exported more than 4.3 million vehicles in 2017.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to meet with President Trump later this month to discuss trade concerns.
Trump has been vocal about the need for automakers to manufacture vehicles in the United States, and has said there are too many German cars on the roads.
The Commerce Department is currently investigating whether foreign auto imports pose a risk to national security.
Meanwhile, while tensions appear to be easing with the EU, another round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are due to go into effect on Friday. The levies would be placed on $34 billion worth of goods.
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3)Concerns to be addressed for Skidaway Island City Incorporation
1. The
perception of many people at the Landings is that if we don’t rush to incorporate,
the city of Savannah will annex Skidaway Island and we will have no say in the
matter. This perception was derived
from points made during the presentation, rumors and other speculation. According to State Senator Ben Watson, who
discussed this at one of the meetings, there is absolutely
no truth in this and there is no effort underway to do so. There have been discussions of funding a future
consolidation study to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a consolidated city/county
metropolitan government, which is substantially different from Skidaway Island being
involuntarily annexed by the city of Savannah.
He also indicated that based on the failed effort to consolidate the
City and County Police, it will probably not happen. Also, the recent request for State funding of
the consolidation study was not approved.
One of the major points for incorporation, shown in the
presentation, was: “Potential merger of Savannah and unincorporated Chatham
County.” Another item, listed as a PRO,
was: “Eliminate possible future involuntary annexation.” This is probably where
many people became confused. The
possibility of some future study to look at the feasibility of a consolidated
Savannah/Chatham Metropolitan government is not an imminent threat of
annexation by the city of Savannah. Additionally,
Georgia Code requires that the boundaries of properties to be annexed,
including unincorporated islands, must be contiguous to the annexing city. Skidaway Island does not meet this criterion. People are either being misled, misinformed
or they are simply confused about this issue.
2. Misconception
that Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds will automatically be provided to the City
of Skidaway Island. At the meeting it
was implied that, in addition to the Special Services District funds, LOST
money would automatically come to the City of Skidaway Island. This is not exactly true. Negotiations between the City and County would
be required and we could end up getting only a small portion of it. This should be made clear in future
presentations. There are no guarantees here. Negotiations to acquire a fair portion of
LOST funds could result in costly litigation between the City and County
governments, which has previously occurred in Chatham County.
3. Lack of a
commercial tax base on Skidaway Island.
Comparing Skidaway Island to a city like Sandy Springs, Pooler, or even
Tybee Island is not appropriate since those cities have many commercial
entities to bolster the tax base. It needs to be made clear to the residents of
Skidaway Island that, without a strong commercial tax base to support us, funding
for City operations would be required to come almost entirely from residential
property taxes. Many people don’t
believe our property taxes will be reduced and are concerned that after a year
or two of operation taxes will actually have to increase substantially. The occurrence of a natural disaster or
having to repave McWhorter and Green Island roads would be major impacts to the
City budget. These added costs would be
passed on to City residents in the form of higher property taxes. Establishing a separate city, without a
substantial commercial tax base, may not be a viable way to reduce property
taxes. The costs may far outweigh the
benefits, in the long run.
4. Flood
insurance. As mentioned in the
presentation, flood insurance would increase since we would no longer receive
the current community discount. This needs to be clarified in future
presentations and what impact it would have on residents of the new city. The presentation only states “some” residents
would be affected, but no definitive number.
How many would actually be impacted?
The presentation also indicated “Under Study for Options”. Hopefully, these options will be addressed by
the Study Committee, in the near future.
5. Consolidated
Savannah/Chatham Metropolitan Government: The Study Committee stated that a
potential merger of Chatham County/Savannah into a combined metropolitan
government was a major reason for incorporating. This was simply a statement on a viewgraph
without any clarification or substantiation as to why this is something to be
avoided. There was no analysis,
comparison or supporting data to show the impact of this or that it would even
be detrimental to Skidaway Island residents. State Senator Ben Watson stated,
at one of the presentations, that in the Macon area it resulted in improved
services and a 20-25% reduction in property taxes within 5 years. What analysis has the study committee done to
assess the impact of a consolidated City/County government on the residents of Skidaway
Island? This information (pros and cons)
should be included in future presentations, rather than just assuming that a
consolidated Savannah/Chatham government would be unfavorable for Skidaway
Island.
6. Many have
commented that the information provided in the presentation appeared biased
toward incorporation. There were several
positives discussed but any negatives were simply glossed over. The Study Committee mentioned only three
“CONS” in the entire presentation with no elaboration at all. Many individuals believe that there are
considerably more than three negatives and they should be addressed objectively
and without bias. Also, there is the
feeling among some Landings residents that certain members of the study committees
would be in a position to profit from Skidaway Island becoming a city, and that
may be one reason why the presentation seemed biased. Future presentations need
to address both the positive and negative aspects with equal emphasis, objective
research and backup information.
7. There is a strong feeling, among many
residents, that The Landings Association Board has taken a firm position in
favor of incorporation. Since the
Association represents the property owners, and the fact that there has not yet
been a vote on incorporation, many believe that The Landings Association,
and the Board, should remain completely neutral on this issue.
8. The residents of South Harbor, Modena and
other individual property owners have concerns that even though they would have
representation on the city council, any issue voted upon by the residents would
essentially be controlled by how the residents of The Landings voted. There are also concerns that the City of
Skidaway Island would be in a position to impose new, more restrictive city
ordinances affecting those living outside The Landings. One concern mentioned was the possibility of
the City Council imposing some of the restrictions, currently in effect within
The Landings, to those properties located outside The Landings.
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By Victor Davis Hanson
Key Trump administration officials have been confronted at restaurants. Representative Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) urged protesters to hound Trump officials at restaurants, gas stations, or department stores.
Progressive pundits and the liberal media almost daily think up new ways of characterizing President Trump as a Nazi, fascist, tyrant, or buffoon. Celebrities openly fantasize about doing harm to Trump.
What is behind the unprecedented furor?
Just as Barack Obama was not a centrist, neither is Trump. Obama promised to fundamentally transform the United States. Trump pledged to do the same and more — but in the exact opposite direction.
The Trump agenda enrages the Left in much the same manner that Obamacare, the Obama tax hikes, Obama’s liberal Supreme Court picks, and the Iran nuclear deal goaded the Right.
Yet the current progressive meltdown is about more than just political differences. The outrage is mostly about power — or rather, the utter and unexpected loss of it.
In 2009, Obama seemed to usher in a progressive revolution for a generation.
Democrats controlled the House. They had a supermajority in the Senate. Obama had a chance to ensure a liberal majority on the Supreme Court for years.
Democrats had gained on Republicans at the state and local levels. The media, universities, professional sports, Hollywood, and popular culture were all solidly left-wing.
A Republican had not won 51 percent of the popular vote in a presidential election since George H.W. Bush’s 1988 defeat of Democrat Michael Dukakis. Before 2016, Republicans had lost the popular vote in five of the previous six presidential elections.
And then visions of a generation of progressive grandeur abruptly vanished.
Obama left behind a polarized nation. Democrats lost both the House and the Senate. During Obama’s tenure, Democrats lost more than 1,000 seats at the state level.
Presumptive winner Hillary Clinton blew the 2016 presidential election.
Foolishly, Clinton tried to ensure a landslide victory by wasting precious campaign time in unwinnable red states such as Arizona and Georgia. Meanwhile, she too often neglected winnable purple states such as Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all of which Obama had won in 2008 and 2012. Clinton apparently forgot that the Electoral College, not the popular vote, elects a president.
After his election, President Trump did not implode as predicted. By following the Obama precedent of relying on executive orders, Trump began recalibrating everything from immigration enforcement to energy development.
To progressives, Trump became not an opponent to be beaten with a better agenda, but an evil to be destroyed. Moderate Democrats were written off as dense; left-wing fringe elements were praised as clever.
Abroad, Trump did what no other Republican president would have dared, bombing ISIS into submission, canceling the Iran deal, seeking to denuclearize North Korea, pulling out of the Paris climate accord, and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The U.S. economy took off with new tax cuts and deregulation. Radical improvement in unemployment, economic growth, and oil and natural-gas production created new consumer and business confidence.
Despite his frequent crudeness, Trump is inching toward a 50 percent approval rating in a few polls. That has only made an impotent opposition grow even more furious — both at the other half of the country for supporting Trump, and at a buoyant Trump himself for baiting and ridiculing progressives in the fashion of no prior president.
Worse still, much of the loss of progressive power was at least partly self-inflicted.
Former Democratic Senate majority leader Harry Reid foolishly dropped the number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster for executive appointments and most judicial nominations in 2013. That blunder ensured Republicans the chance to remake the Supreme Court when they took over the Senate in 2014.
Obama chose not to try to win over his opposition, but to alienate it by veering hard left in his second term. Hillary Clinton foolishly got herself into a number of personal scandals that embarrassed her party and helped lead to her defeat.
In reaction to the sudden loss of political power, Democrats would have been wise to run to the center, as did Bill Clinton, who all but ended the era of the Reagan Republicans.
They could have dropped their obsession with identity politics and instead attempted to win over blue-collar voters with more inclusive class appeals rather than racial appeals.
Instead, Democrats have endlessly replayed the 2016 election. In Groundhog Day fashion, Hillary Clinton repeatedly offered tired excuses for her loss.
To progressives, Trump became not an opponent to be beaten with a better agenda, but an evil to be destroyed. Moderate Democrats were written off as dense; left-wing fringe elements were praised as clever.
Voters in 2016 bristled at redistribution, open borders, bigger government, and higher taxes, but progressives are now promising those voters even more of what they didn’t want.
Furious over the sudden and unexpected loss of power, enraged progressives have so far done almost everything to lose even more of it.
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