“How long did it take you to qualify as a sharpshooter in the IDF?”

“Not too long. I had a natural aptitude with the rifle. I started out at 15 meters, then moved up to 30, 50, 100, 400 then all the way up to,” she hesitates, “classified meters.”

Israeli soldiers are famously and appropriately tight-lipped regarding training and operational details.

Yael—not her real name—is an unbelievably beautiful young Israeli woman. Her moca skin—flawless, like dark glass—testifies to a Bukharin father and Yemenite mother, a genetic mix I strongly recommend. She looks like the American supermodel Tyra Banks, only slimmer, more beautiful — and far more lethal.

Yael sits ram-rod straight. Her neck is swan-like, and her fingernails—lacquered red as a Chinese vase—are sharp as switchblades. Melting over her head is raven hair with a sprinkling of bronze highlights that give her the look of a post-punk goddess.

It’s Friday night, Shabbos in Israel, my wife Karen and I are visiting our childhood friend Deborah. We all went to the Yeshiva of Flatbush together. Deborah married an Israeli and has been living in Israel ever since. Yael is Deborah’s daughter-in-law.

“Are you also proficient with a pistol?” I ask

“Sure, I qualify with the polymer Jericho.”

“I understand you’re also a black belt in Karate.”

“Yes.”

I look at Yael’s husband, an unassuming and bookish young man.

“What happens when you guys have an argument?”

“She wins,” he deadpans.

“When you shoot do you have such long fingernails?”

She glances fondly at her dagger-like tips, shakes her head side to side.

“No, of course not. When I shoot, these are off.”

She folds her hands in her lap. Yael’s fingers are long and tapered, perfect little animals for trigger-pulling. I notice that she has the ability to stay still as a pilaster. Her stillness is taut, like a coiled steel spring, stillness that reminds me of a cobra.

Welcome to Israel, where men and men and women are, um, beautifully lethal.

“The Mossad tried to recruit me to go to foreign countries to train special units in counterterrorist tactics,” Yael says.

“What countries?”

“Tsk, tsk, I cannot say.”

“Fair enough.”

“We know how to operate in urban environments, three-dimensional warfare. We have lots of experience,” she adds.

Hmm, I have heard rumors that the U.S. has quietly brought over Israeli soldiers, consultants to help train our troops for the rigors and complexities of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, warfare against the Islamist enemy.

“They were paying so much money,” she sighs.

“What happened?”

“I decided to stay home. Take care of my man.”

“Lucky guy.”

“Yes, he is.”

Yael’s husband cheerfully nods.

“Tell me something, what was your motivation?”

“Moti-what?”

“Your reasons for becoming a sharpshooter?”

She shrugs, ponders a moment: “It was a challenge. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. That I’ve got the talent.”

Talent.

“That’s it?”

“What, there has to be more?”

I’m just a dopey screenwriter. I expect grand speeches about patriotism, fighting the Arab Muslim terrorists, protecting the Jewish state.

But Yael is a tough Israeli woman. She lives in a dangerous neighborhood and that’s something she takes for granted. Thus, her motivation boils down to a somewhat casual, but down to earth approach to her craft.

“What about the future,” I probe.

“Children. I want to be a mother.”

Yael glances at her husband. He offers a crisp salute.

Like a little girl, the sharpshooter giggles.

Deborah’s husband, Yael’s father-in-law, fought with General Ariel Sharon’s brigade in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the unit that crossed the Suez and enveloped the Egyptian Third Army, Operation Gazelle. He promises to sit down with me and record his memories of that legendary maneuver.

Karen and I walk back to our hotel.

We pass the Cafe Hillel.

A tiny gasp bobs from Karen’s throat.

We remember Dr. David Applebaum, his daughter, Nava and seven innocents who were butchered by an Arab Muslim homicide bomber.

Further down the block we pass another cafe that has twice been targeted by homicide bombers, but each time brave security guards blocked the terrorist’s path.

How long will it be before these homicide bombers explode themselves in cafes in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. I have no doubt it will happen, for Israel is the testing ground for all murderous jihadist tactics. And when the world excuses their Jew killing, when the world willingly accepts their lies and their grievances as legitimate, well, the terrorists are emboldened, and they realize that any dumb, half-baked grievance will do, because grievances are a dime a dozen — thus the Islamist fascists are given the green light to kill anyone, anywhere.

The latest fashion in makeup for female Israeli soldiers.

Copyright © Robert J. Avrech

Shabbat in the Israeli town of Efrat is a deeply spiritual experience.

The sun falls, gently folding itself into the surrounding hills and valleys. The same Judean hills where Jews have lived, worked and fought since Biblical times.

The unearthly light makes a final golden splash.

My wife Karen and I are visiting Karen’s brother David, his wife Elana, and their four children, residents of Efrat.

Attending Sabbath services in an Efrat synagogue, out of the corner of my eye, I spot “Larry.”

Security requires that I do not use his real name.

We’re both from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, a tough neighborhood even by Brooklyn standards. Together, we attended high school, Brooklyn Talmudic Academy, a tough Yeshiva even by San Quentin standards.

We have been friends forever.

Larry’s parents are Holocaust survivors and as Larry often tells me, his father is obsessed over the fact that so many Jews were unprepared, mentally and physically, to fight the Nazis.

“He’s written thousands of pages about this,” Larry confides.

Thus, it is only fitting and somewhat ironic that several years ago, in an Efrat supermarket, Larry bravely confronted an Arab Muslim homicide bomber and deleted the terrorist.

Larry and I discuss the killing which probably saved dozens of innocent lives, men, women, children and infants.

“How’d you know he was a terrorist?”

“I didn’t. I mean I knew him. He worked on a construction crew here in Efrat. For years.”

“So what made you suspect that he was dangerous?”

Larry is no John Wayne. He’s middle-aged, doughy around the mid-section, has an infectious smile, and wears a yarmulke. Larry is, well, just a regular guy from Brooklyn.

“Look,” says Larry, “he was an Arab worker, we got along just fine. But the day I saw him wasn’t one of the days he was supposed to be here. Also, he was heading into the supermarket, a place he never ever went to. And he was wearing an overcoat on a very hot day. It was all wrong.”

“What did you do?”

“I was outside when I spotted him. I followed him into the supermarket and I looked at his face and he looked, I dunno, spacey, all drugged up.”

Hamas—a proudly Jew-hating and genocidal yearning terrorist organization— often medicate their homicide bombers. Drugs dull the edge of fear.

“How did you know you weren’t shooting an innocent man?”

“He sizzled.”

“Excuse me?”

“He tried to self-detonate. There was a malfunction. I saw smoke. But homicide bombers are almost always armed with redundancy, a second detonator. I didn’t want to take a chance on him hitting the backup trigger. We were in a supermarket. Women and children all around. I drew and and shot him in the chest.”

“You shot to kill.”

Larry nods.

“How did you feel when you saw him go down?”

My buddy ponders for a long moment: “Scared, relieved. I dunno. You do what you gotta do.”

“Not everybody would have had the presence of mind.”

Larry shrugs and half smiles: “Hey, us Bensonhurst kids had to grow up tough, right?”

“I guess.”

We study each others’ faces. We are older, middle-aged, we have children and grandchildren, but we are still our impish and dopey childhood selves.

“Nobody lives in the old neighborhood anymore,” Larry sighs.

“Yup, they’re all gone.”

We step outside where men and women gather before heading home for the Sabbath meal. Friends make plans to visit, share coffee, dessert and lively conversation.

Jeremy, David and Elana’s son is home, on leave from active duty somewhere quite dangerous in the land of Israel.

Meet my nephew Jeremy. Again, for reasons of security I can’t reveal his face, but he looks like Paul Newman in Exodus. Seriously.

A fresh, evening breeze dances through the winding streets of Efrat.

Together, Larry and I stroll along. I press my friend for more information. Details are all important in counter-terrorism. And Americans better get wise to the details in order to effectively deal with the emerging grassroots Islamist terrorist threat. The United States is, after Israel, ground zero for the Caliphate Islamists.

“The Glock is a good weapon when every millisecond counts,” says Larry. “There’s no safety, which can take precious time away from shooting. You can keep a round in the chamber, then just draw and fire.”

Larry totes his Glock in a Fobus speed holster.

“What kind of rounds did you use?”

“I keep hollow points in the Glock, but my spare magazine has full metal jackets. The day I killed the terrorist, I put him down with the hollow points. Don’t want to use full metal jackets in a crowded supermarket, they’ll go right through and kill an innocent bystander.”

“The supermarket was crowded?”

“At that time of day, sure. That’s why it was chosen as the target. Look, the terrorist was here,” Larry demonstrates using his body and mine, “and behind him were several women and children.”

“How close were you to the the terrorist?”

“About fourteen feet.”

I shiver.

Most gunfights, contrary to popular mythology, take place within seven feet. Fourteen feet can seem like a yawning chasm when the adrenalin is pumping, innocent bystanders are all around, and a determined terrorist has his finger on the detonator.

“The full metal slugs would have gone right through him and there’s no telling…”

Larry’s voice trails off.

My childhood buddy is a sweet man, a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. There is no bravado in Larry. He’s fine with killing the terrorist, but it does not define who he is.

Me, I’d script a self-glorifying movie, get all aw’ shucks on talk shows, try and cash in, big time.

It’s time to go home and enjoy the evening meal. It’s time to enjoy the miracle of the Jewish Sabbath.

There is an entire culture and religion bent on eradicating Israel and Jews.

We are so few, and we are so vulnerable.

But there are, thank G-d, many men and women like Larry in the Jewish state, the land of Israel.

Larry and I hug.

I say: “You’re my hero.”

Larry chuckles.

Copyright © Robert J. Avrech

So the U.S. and Iran just had what’s been called “significant” talks concerning Tehran’s nuclear plans. The goal for us, was two fold: to get Iran to “shift course,” and to prove President Bush was an idiot for not negotiating with a gentleman who denies the Holocaust and wants to wipe Israel off the map.

So how tough have we been so far?

Well, while administration officials said that gaining access to Iran’s uranium enrichment facility is super important, we sure as heck won’t walk away from the table if they refuse (which they haven’t). And let’s not go too fast on those sanctions either.

That’s just rude.

So essentially, we’ve not only met with Iran without preconditions, but also, without any measurable objectives. Meaning, we’re okay leaving the table with less than what we arrived with. Well, if you wanted to show a sharp break from the days of old, giving in is a sure bet.

Could you imagine using this logic in a playground? Imagine surrendering the reigns of leadership of a grade school, just so you can chat with the most weaponized, belligerent bully. “Look, we don’t like you threatening to kill the Jewish kids, or your continued work on your massive numchuk factory – but we’re pleased you’re here to listen. More punch? It’s the kind you like! Sharkleberry fin!”

The good news is – these talks only lasted one day. If they’d gone on any longer, we probably would have returned the Louisiana Purchase.

(Iran had it originally, right?)

Lastly, the state department warns against making a snap judgment – for we should “evaluate the willingness of Iran to engage on these issues.”

Which leads me to my final thought: how come no one ever questions our willingness to engage?

Tonight, we’ve got the great actor Robert Carlyle! Also Diana Falzone, Clayton Morris and Jonathan Hoenig. Other stuff, too!

There were about fifteen of us—bloggers mostly, including my good friend, the brilliant blogger, Omri Ceren of Mere Rhetoric—gathered in the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Ambassador Dore Gold

Ambassador Gold, looking like a sleepy walrus, spoke in measured, diplomatic tones. But he was fiercely passionate and profoundly knowledgeable about Iranian history, culture, and diplomacy, past and present.

Point by point, Gold emphasized his main thesis:

The Iranian nuclear threat is not just a danger to Israel and the Middle East, but to the West. International complacency, as the Iranians reach the nuclear finish line, warned Gold, is deeply disturbing. This is a subject that should be in the headlines every single day, instead we are confronted with quietism, and yawns expressing an attitude of: “So what?”

The international community, explained Gold, points to Pakistan and North Korea as unstable regimes that possess nuclear weapons and yet they have been contained. Thus, why not view Iran in the same light?

The weakness of this argument reflects a misreading of Iran’s long term strategic goals. Neither Pakistan nor North Korea are attempting regional supremacy. Pakistan is focused on its bottomless conflict with India, and North Korea has no plans to conquer Japan; the Norks, in fact, are focused on maintaining their iron grip on the reins of power.

Iran, on the other hand, is an imperialist Islamic theocracy seeking to export their Shia revolution.

For instance, the Mullahs consider Bahrain to be a lost Persian province, and they also lay claim to slices of Iraq that are home to a Shia majority, including the holy cities of Nadjaf and Karballah. And of course, Iran has threatened, numerous times, to wipe Israel off the map. Further, unlike Pakistan or North Korea, there is no deterrence with Iran.

The Mullahs are prepared to sacrifice millions in order to achieve their expansionist aims.

This was proven during the bloody eight-year war with Iraq. The Iranians recovered territory snatched by Iraq after just two years, but chose to continue warfare for six long years at the cost of hundreds of thousands of Iranian lives.

The Revolutionary Guard used children—wearing plastic keys to heaven around their necks—as human minesweepers.

A regime that so callously murders its own young—martyrdom operations—is, by definition, capable of anything in the name of Allah.

Hence, the calculus of Cold War deterrence—Mutual Assured Destruction—no longer applies.

“Remember,” said Ambassador Gold, “there were no Communist suicide bombers.” Contrast this to the Arab Muslim world where suicide bombers and their families enjoy enormous status.

Iran, emphasized Ambassador Gold, is the world’s greatest exporter of terror. Through various, well-funded proxy armies—Hizbullah, Hamas, etc.—the Iranians have been kidnapping, torturing and killing Americans and Israelis since Ayatollah Khomenei’s Islamic revolution in 1979. And the West has never punished the Iranians for their murderous behavior. Thus the Iranians are encouraged to keep killing for there is never any payback.

The West consistently views Iranian behavior and intentions through the prism of Western values. This is a mistake the West repeats over and over again, refusing to learn from past experience. Gold’s book is filled with footnoted facts about countless Iranian outrages.

Ambassador Gold emphasized that, contrary to popular opinion, every American administration, from Carter to Obama—including George Bush—has engaged Iran in vigorous diplomacy. And every single administration has been snookered by the Iranians, who consider it perfectly acceptable to lie to the enemy. The Islamic doctrine of taquia, elevates this behavior to a religious duty.

And make no mistake about it, the Iranians are intractable in their belief that the West, Christians and Jews, are the eternal enemy.

Time and again, the Iranians have skillfully used dialog and diplomacy to buy time in order to achieve their regional ambitions.

Ambassador Gold would not comment on Israeli military plans for Iran. Nor would he be drawn into commenting on American military cooperation with Israel.

But Gold was quite adamant on two points:

1. Iran is determined to cross the nuclear finish line.

2. Sanctions cannot work.

On my notepad, I scribbled one word in bold script at the end of the briefing: Sobering.

I have always believed that military action is the only option that will be effective against the Mullahs. It’s not a pretty option, but it’s far better than allowing this cruel state to achieve nuclear breakout.

Ponder this scenario: if Iran achieves nuclear capability, transnational Islamic terrorism will be sheltered by a nuclear umbrella, a deterrence—military and diplomatic—that will shield them from any consequences of their terrorist outrages. Further, nuclear weapons—suitcase dirty bombs—will proliferate among non-state Islamic terrorists, and nuclear blackmail will become coin of the realm.

This scenario could easily tip the balance of world power in favor of the Islamist radicals who are determined to subjugate the West and bring about a barbaric 7th century Caliphite.

The laughter you hear over the soundtrack are the Iranians snickering at the credulity of the West.

Currently, the Iranians mock Obama, correctly sensing an administration whose only strategy is: “More talk.”

The Europeans, gutless appeasers, have turned a blind eye. The Russians and the Chinese enable the Iranians at most every turn.

So once again, as with Iraq’s Osirik nuclear reactor, it’s up to Israel to protect itself—and Western civilization.

Copyright © Robert J. Avrech

Photo: © Robert J. Avrech

A quote from Oliver Stone’s soccer body, Hugo Chavez:

“The question is not whether the Israelis want to exterminate the Palestinians. They’re doing it openly,” Chavez said in an interview with Le Figaro[.] …

“What was it if not genocide? … The Israelis were looking for an excuse to exterminate the Palestinians,” Chavez said, adding that sanctions should have been slapped on Israel.

It must’ve been the “sugar tits” comment that made Mel Gibson a pariah in Hollywood, because Hugo’s defaming the Jews and Hollywood still loves them some Hugo.

Look, I applaud Sylvester Stallone’s heroic stance against human traffickers and kidnappers – for I know there will be quite an outcry especially from the large and very influential human trafficking and kidnapper lobby.

Of course, this movie comes on the heels of two other edgy ventures: The G.I Joe flick – which turned a gritty American icon into an airbrushed Benneton ad, and “Inglourious Basterds” a fantasy that has average Jews hacking Nazi soldiers to pieces.

These three movies have two things in common:
1) They avoid present, real danger in the world and instead choose villains that are not just safe, but politically correct to hate. You’d think it would be easy for Quentin Tarantino to find a present day enemy for the Jews (like, say, a terrorist group that denies the Holocaust and wants to wipe Israel off the map), but maybe none exist! And what of those guys who flew planes into the World Trade Center? I suppose in the era of the “unclenched fist,” we must be more sensitive to “backlash” than barbarism.

2) They want to make money. And to make money these days, it means putting the world first, not America. Global tickets sales mean eliminating any scent of American justice – that evil Cowboy mentality that reminds the world we’re reliably awesome. But most important, it’s distasteful to consider a battle between good and evil when it’s happening today.

Because then, you have to choose.

Tonight we’ve got the lovely Lauren Sivan, Carl Cameron, Ron Geraci, and Dr. David Tolin, from the great show “Hoarders!” (love that show)

What is wrong with our leaders?  Are they worried that they won’t be invited to those cool Ramadan parties?  The Islamists have been actively at war with us for 30 years and generally at war with western civilization for well over a thousand years, and still we pay lip service to these people in a way we never did with Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan or the Soviet Union.  Is it because the Muslims commit sadism and murder in the name of religion and not country?  If anything, I would think that would make their evil acts all the more contemptible.

Still, I would contend that Hezbollah and al Qaeda are not as dangerous as America’s liberals.  The Islamic terrorists can only kill so many people, but those on the Left are doing everything in their power to eviscerate America.  Cap and Trade can destroy our industrial might; Obama’s trillion dollar stimulus programs combined with his delusional health care plan will not only bankrupt our nation, but lead inevitably to a rate of inflation that will impress even Jimmy Carter; and the budget cuts directed at our military and our missile defense system will make us increasingly vulnerable to our various enemies.

The problem is that liberals are not only nuts, but inconsistent.  They very much want to send our military to Africa to stop the savagery in the Sudan, but didn’t want to see it employed against the equally barbaric Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot or Ho Chi Minh.  Funny how you never hear them insist that we have no business in Darfur because Sudan didn’t attack us on 9/11 or point out that we have no compelling interest in sub-Sahara Africa.  But that’s to be expected when people get their information from Bill Maher and Jon Stewart and their talking points from the likes of Bono and the Dixie Chicks.

Clearly, the Left wants America to be a toothless tiger, rather like the U.N.  What they fail to grasp is that as America goes, so goes freedom everywhere.  Or perhaps they think the French will do a better job of policing the world.  The French, alas, can’t even police Paris.

Speaking of liberals, the irony is that so many of them who never believed God even existed are now convinced that He is alive and well and going out on date nights with Michelle.

Getting back to Muslims, there are people who would insist that we should distinguish between those who cut off the heads of their innocent victims and those who just want to live and let live.  Well, I keep trying, heaven knows, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.

For instance, recently I read about a stomach-turning incident that took place in Phoenix, Arizona.  It seems that four boys between the ages of nine and 14 lured an eight-year-old girl into a shed and took turns raping her.  While that was pretty damn loathsome, what was even more disgusting is what took place afterward.  In the little girl’s presence, her father, a Muslim refugee from Liberia, told the police, “Take her.  I don’t want her.”

It seems that in what passes for their culture, the child had brought shame on the family.

Now I understand that any country that keeps electing people like Bill Clinton, Barney Frank, Barbara Boxer and Barack Obama, the killer B’s as it were, doesn’t have terribly high standards, but assuming we have any at all, will someone please explain how degenerates like these get into the country?

The protestors of “Not in Our Name” believed that President Bush was not speaking for them when he took actions that they did not approve. According to their website they wanted to create a ‘culture of resistance.’ “Not in Our Name”, along with other leftist protest groups were very successful in demonizing President Bush and the war effort both in Afghanistan and Iraq. Barack Obama was elected largely as an anti-war President. “Not in Our Name” disbanded in 2008. On their website  they encourage their followers to join similar groups like “Code Pink” and “United for Peace and Justice.” Whether they will re-emerge to protest the widening war in Afghanistan will be an interesting family food fight for the left. 

That phase “Not in our Name” now makes sense to me after months of disastrous foreign policy and domestic actions by the Obama administration. They made me angry enough to admit the Left’s concept was correct. Conservatives need to develop a “culture of resistance.”

My anger began with the Cairo speech when the President equated the slaughter of six million Jews in the Holocaust with the alleged daily humiliations of Palestinians. Then came the ‘World Apology Tour’. The President apologized for the past sins of America’s ‘arrogance’ all over the world. It was embarrassing. But this cringe producing rhetoric is the basic leftist ‘blame America” mantra.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is apologizing too. The Left really believes that any foreign policy issue we are facing can be traced back to some reprehensible act of the United States that was committed prior to Obama’s transformative election! I wanted to shout “you don’t speak for me”

On his trip to Russia the President should have pressed Russia on their aggression in Georgia, nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea and missile defense in a dangerous world. Instead the President wanted to offer concessions in order to cut back on Russian nuclear weapons which are no threat to us.

But it got worse. Iran erupted in protests against their own government over a rigged election. The brave people in the streets of Tehran were being beaten and killed. What was the President’s emotionless response? “That’s not how a government should interact with its people” Would any American say that after they stared at bloody pictures from Iran transmitted by cell phone or Twitter. It took a lot of complaining for the White House to finally use the words “shocked and appalled” to describe it. America has always been a beacon of hope to oppressed people in the world because it stood for democracy and personal freedom. Ronald Reagan was not afraid to call the Soviets an “Evil Empire’ at a time when they had nuclear weapons pointed at us. What has happened to our moral compass? In the Honduran crisis, the administration sided with the Castro brothers and Hugo Chavez and against the constitution of Honduras. Since when do we support the efforts of a leader to extend his term in office outside the law.  Do you think Obama would have supported a right wing South American President if he wanted to extend his term? After all of that I understood why “Not in Our Name” was formed.

Americans voted for “change we can believe in” not the dismantling of the capitalist system in favor of a state run economy. Many independents and Republicans said in justifying their support for Obama in the belief that he was a pragmatist not an ideologue. He would use the smartest people to come up with the best solutions to the problems facing us. Those of us who said he was a leftist radical were ridiculed. But actions speak louder than words.

All the legislative and administrative actions on the domestic front are geared to consolidating the power of the state. Obama has appointed 34 separate Czars of everything who usurp the powers of the Cabinet Secretaries and Congress and report to the White House. It is a parallel government. The President has pushed the stimulus package, cap and trade, health care through so fast that no one can read the bills. All of these policies have been tried in Europe. Their governments are moving away from them.

The recent push back from Democrats on health care has created panic in the administration. The public is waking up to what government health-care rationing would mean and what it would cost. Conservative Democrats have to go back to their districts and explain their votes. The Tea Party movement has decided to take on health care as an issue. I am sure they can come up with some creative signs like “Don’t let Grandma die, we still love her!”

Actions by the President make me respond to the phrase “Not in Our Name” also regard something as basis as our religious heritage. When the President spoke at Georgetown University, the White House requested that the initials IHS, a symbol for Jesus, and the cross above the GU seal be covered during his speech. Georgetown University was founded by the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. Its Catholic faith is a vital part of its history and identity.  By accepting the invitation, the President, a Christian, should have shown respect for its heritage and the place of religion in our country. Does this mean that if the President speaks at my graduate school-Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, he will request that the Star of David or the Ten Commandments be covered? Has the White House forgotten that ‘endowed by our Creator” is in the Declaration of Independence?

All this has made me conclude that the Left had the right idea about protest. They have always been better at it than our side. It’s a group thing. Conservatives prize individualism. So it is against our nature to do this. But we can learn from their success.

The Left learned organizing in the 60’s when they protested against the Vietnam War. They were always on the side of resisting the establishment which included our parents. I remember a party at Boston University in the sixties. I was dressed in my coordinated skirt, sweater and matching flats. The other students were not as well dressed. But the grungy guy I was with was cute. We sat together as a few of his friends agreed that the “revolution” was coming soon. As I sipped beer I didn’t like, I was straining to understand. I thought to myself “what revolution are they talking about?”

In the 60’s college kids were protesting the establishment- the war machine, government, parental authority, the constraints of the culture-remember free love and drugs. They wanted the breakdown of existing authority which was deemed to be evil, to create this free utopia where they could do anything they wanted.

The real Left, the older radicals, knew the truth. The new order had to be authoritarian to put in place a socialist form of government. The college kids didn’t get that part. Socialism has to be authoritarian to be effective. The power structure has to control the means of production and services. It is always an elite group at the top that makes the decisions.

The Left is still expecting the “revolution”. But now they control of the government. They are making the revolution happen from the inside. The radicals that were the counter-culture are now the establishment. Therefore conservatives must create a “culture of resistance” and become the counter-culture. We must resist the authoritarian system. We must call for “freedom”. We must demand choice in health care, freedom from taxes that fund programs we don’t agree with and freedom to celebrate the religious heritage of our country.  We must also say loudly “you don’t speak for me” when the President does not put the national interests of the United States first!

Our “culture of resistance” must be an aggressive constant thorn in the side of the new radical establishment. Let’s see how the Left likes being on the other side of the barricades!

For all I know, things might have begun sliding the very first time some slack-jawed teenager struck a pose and struck a chord on an imaginary guitar.  There was a time, after all, when most American kids were actually given music lessons and learned how to play an actual instrument, and even saved up their allowance to buy sheet music. 

Whenever the slide began, in the months since Obama was crowned, we’ve slid faster and further than I would have dreamed possible.  Obama keeps huffing and puffing and the federal government just keeps expanding like a gigantic balloon.  It’s only a matter of time until it blows up in all our faces. 

Not in my wildest nightmares would I have imagined that an American president would travel to countries we’ve bled and died to defend, and apologize for our arrogance.  Neither would I have ever expected that the same man who casually dismissed our special relationship with England would curtsy to a Saudi prince; refer to a blood-thirsty Muslim cleric, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the Supreme Leader; and butter up a Russian tyrant who cut his eye teeth working for the barbaric KGB. 

After all that, I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Obama joined Hugo Chavez and the Castro brothers in demanding that Honduras allow dictator-wannabe Manuel Zelaya back in the country to resume his assault on democracy. 

Obama’s groupies in and out of the media used to cry “Foul!” during the campaign whenever people would question the character of a man whose intimate circle included a corrupt Chicago lobbyist, an unrepentant domestic terrorist, a racist minister and a spouse who announced that America was a mean country.  It seems that in the past several months, his circle has grown in size, but unfortunately not in character. 

The President’s good friend, Al Gore, who stands to clean up, thanks to the Cap and Trade bill, has long campaigned for the greening of America.  How long will it take people to wake up to the fact that his major concern is the greening of Al Gore?  For good measure, the greedy oaf recently compared the battle over global warming to the war against the Nazis.  And, to think, some folks thought PETA was over the top when they compared a chicken farm to Auschwitz. 

Speaking of Nazis and Auschwitz reminds me that I wish Israel, a haven for many of those who survived the concentration camps, would stop referring to portions of their country as settlements.  Israel was attacked by its Arab enemies, fought back and won.  Part of what the Israelis won was turf.  It’s how just about every country on earth wound up having its present dimensions.  Referring to the land as settlements makes it sound like they’re only borrowing it until the rightful owners come by and pick it up.  You might as well call California, Texas and Arizona settlements.  Well, come to think of it, I guess La Raza does. 

As hard as it is to accept, there’s no getting around the fact that Al Franken is a U.S. Senator.  On the upside, just as people used to say that any boy could grow up to be president, now people can say that any comedian who’s smug, obnoxious and not the least bit funny, can grow up to be a senator.  That being the case, I guess it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that Sen. Franken might one day be joined by the likes of Bill Maher and David Letterman. 

It is appropriate, though, that Franken represents Minnesota.  Its state bird, after all, is the loon. 

Before signing off, I found myself wondering the other day why it is, now that Afghanistan is Obama’s war, I don’t hear the Democrats or their lap dogs in the media referring to it as a quagmire, pointing out that the Taliban didn’t attack us on 9/11, and demanding that President Obama announce his exit strategy?

A few days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a speech in we he agreed for the first time to the possibility of a two state solution. To many countries in the world, this is considered a major breakthrough in the Palestinian conflict. For the first time in recent memory, Israel is ready to consider giving the Palestinians a homeland. The entire western world applauded the concessions. Of course, the Palestinians did not: they condemned them.

Why? Part of Netanyahu’s concessions consisted of two demands upon the Palestinians. Unfortunately, for the rest of the world, the Palestinian leaders refuse to accept them. For one, Palestine must accept that the capital of Israel is Jerusalem. And two, the Arab World and particularly the Palestinians must recognize Israel’s right to exist.

First, we will discuss the Jerusalem situation as this is the most complicated. Jerusalem is the natural homeland to all three of the major western religions. Christians, Moslems and Jews all consider it sacred. It has always been the natural center of Israel and the home of the original Jewish Temple built by David.

When Israel was created in 1948, all of Jerusalem was not within its borders. The city was completely taken by Israel in one of its many wars about forty years ago. The Moslem world has always felt that it should not remain part of Israel because of this and because it is the city in which one of the most sacred and important Mosques stands. Since the conflict in which Israel took Jerusalem, this has always been one of the major stumbling blocks in any peace accord.

In my opinion Israel will never concede any of Jerusalem and it should not. As this is the home of Judaism, Israel must retain it within its borders. The Palestinians must concede on this issue. Jerusalem was never part of Palestine as Palestine would be a newly created state. This was not a stumbling block to peace with Egypt and it should not be a stumbling block to a resolution to the Palestinian situation.

As for the second issue, I simply cannot understand why the Palestinians would not recognize Israel’s right to exist. After all this time and after the majority of the entire world has accepted Israel, why would the Palestinians not concede on this point? The reason is very simple and gets to the heart of the whole conflict. The Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world care more about the existence of a Jewish homeland than they care about the existence of a Palestinian homeland.

A quick review of the history of the region shows that every time the Palestinians were offered a homeland, they have always turned it down. This has been done at least four times since the creation of Israel. The Palestinians always say no because they do not really want a homeland, they want Israel to cease to exist, plain and simple. Until the Palestinians change their position on this, there will never be peace in the region.

President Obama should immediately put as much pressure on the Palestinians as he has put on Israel to change its position. He cannot continue to favor Palestine in this debate over Israel. He must change his viewpoint and take a firm stand. Netanyahu has made a major concession. Now, Obama must force the Palestinian leaders to do the same. If he does not, he is proving that he is not a true friend of Israel, which is still the only true democracy in the region.

Or, might that be changing?

Since the obviously fixed Iranian election last week, the people of Iran have been protesting by the thousands. In fact, the protests which started peacefully last week have now turned violent since the Supreme Commander of Iran has decided that they should be quashed in the same manner as the Chinese quashed the protests in Tiananmen Square. In fact, the bloodshed of the last few days actually is beginning to look exactly like the Chinese bloodshed 20 years ago.

It all started when the current President was declared the victor in the nationwide election in less than two days after the election took place. Considering that all of the ballots in Iran are handwritten, I simply do not understand how the current government of Iran would actually believe that the world would accept these results as being anything other than fixed. How is it possible to count 39 million ballots in a 48 hour period?

The opposition leader immediately declared the election a sham and told his supporters to take to the streets. And, they have! By the thousands! The protests which started in Tehran have spread to all sections of the country and most importantly, include women which in the Arab world is a major surprise.

At first the current regime allowed the protests. But, as they have become larger with each passing day, the dictators realized that their regime was in danger of collapsing. On Friday, the Supreme Leader, the current Ayatollah stated that any continued protests would be done at the peril of the demonstrators. Since this statement, the government has completely eliminated the press from the country and the bloodshed began. The only source of information from Iran is now coming from internet networking sites and Twitter of all places. Imagine Twitter is a proponent of a populist revolution.

And, what has our Supreme Leader Mr. Obama done while this was going on? a Absolutely nothing except to comment that the “The World is Watching You,” to the Iranian leaders. Of course, this plays well with dictators. Hitler listened very carefully when Mr. Chamberlain sold off a Czechoslovakia in 1938 and came back to the UK and said, “Peace in our time.”

President Obama must immediately put the same level of pressure on the Iranian government that he has put on the Israeli government. The Iranian election that was obviously a sham should be thrown out and a new election under the watch of the United Nations should be had.

Yet, President Obama does nothing except say our watchful eye is upon you. As of this writing, he has not, even so much as condemned the election results. The Iranians protest and lose their lives and President Obama just watches. In fact, a poll was recently released which shows only single digits of Americans approve of the President’s handling of this situation. Even approval among Democrats is in the single digits.

I guess Mr. Obama is just living up to his campaign promise of being a pragmatist in this situation. I just wish he would finally do something before something happens that he will woefully regret. Remember, Iran either has or is very close to having nuclear weapons. I’m quite sure the current dictator and the Supreme Leader will have no problem using them if necessary either against Israel or his own people to quell the uprising!

© 2009 by Frank T. DeMartini. Permission to copy will be given freely upon request.