Saturday, January 18, 2020

REMEMBERING SACRED GROUND AND A SACRED CAUSE

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT TO CONSIDER . . .

The other day I made another visit to sacred ground.  To a field on FREEMAN'S Farm near Saratoga New York.

To remember a time when America's fate could a have gone another way. However, Providence favored the rebels.

It was the Winter of 1777. BEFORE the French supported the Continental Army in our Revolution against the British. The Revolution was not going well. And the battle of Saratoga was pivotal.

The Continental Army General Gates chose the high ground for his stand against British General Burgoyne. Burgoyne was leading the British on a campaign that planned to take every Continental Fort as he led his troops southward from Canada along the Hudson River. They had just taken Fort Ticonderoga to the north.

General Gates and his rag-tag ill-equipped, starving and freezing men had built fortifications to hold the high ground. They were as ready as they could be to face the fire of the most powerful army in the world that had never been defeated.

Many of Gates's soldiers were militia who walked long distances from other colonies to join the fight. They left behind family and friends. Many left their blood, limbs and lives on the field of battle. There was no treatment for PTSD for those whose body survived.

Their valor and sacrifice turned the direction of the Revolutionary War.

Today, with so much confusion about America's identity it is worth remembering.  They fought for self-determination and they died for LIBERTY! NOT SOCIALISM!!

They fought to Make America!


Tuesday, January 14, 2020

MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN


The tables have turned.  0101■2020 will be a year of contrasts.

For 40+ years we have watched Iranians burn American and Israeli flags.  Thanks to President Trump's foreign policy we see this FIRST. (Watch the video.) They aren't chanting "death to America" now!!

The totalitarian theocratic leaders in Iran are struggling to hold on. Protests are breaking out across the country.

OUR PRESIDENT IS MASTERFUL!!!
The Ayatollah is in check and the Ayatollah knows that his next move may put him in checkmate. Consider how President Trump has him boxed with the following steps:

1. WARNINGS - Trump has issued public warnings.
a)  If the Ayatollah sheds American blood the USA will make the leadership pay an enormous price.
b) Stop killing the protesters.
c) Stating that the USA has already identified over 50 targets and is ready to strike them underscores the stakes and puts impossible pressure and stress on the regime to figure out how to defend these sites. Now the USA intelligence can observe the Iranian defense movements to calculate which targets Iran is most concerned about. Very revealing!

2. ACTIONS - Trump's actions, such as killing Soleimani, make his warnings and threats highly credible.

They also make it clear that Trump is targeting Iran's leadership and it's ability to wage war and commit terrorism, NOT the Iranian people!  Iran's people now know they have more to fear from their leadership than from Trump.

Trump's actions are in sharp contrast to Obama's appeasement actions such as turning his back on the "green movement" Iranian protesters and sending piles of cash. Trump immediately walked away from the insane Iran Nuclear deal which Obama made despite the stern objections of both Israel and most in the USA Congress, including Democrats. Trump issued crushing sanctions that have drained the Iranian regime's capacity to terrorize the region.

3. READINESS = DETERRENCE - Notice how Trump keeps repeating that he has rebuilt the USA'S military.  Readiness and tremendous military superiority coupled with his "warnings" and "credible actions" are a powerful deterrent.

4. SOLIDARITY - From the beginning of his Administration with his historical Middle East Summit to his recent now famous Farsi tweet, Trump has made his high praise and support for the Iranian PEOPLE (Persians) clear.

The Iranian people have come to view their own government as the enemy and the USA President as their ally in their struggle for Liberty.  We share solidarity in our desire for freedom and Democracy. This is profound!!

5. SOVEREIGNTY - Since President Trump's tremendous U.N. General Assembly speech almost two years ago, the President has consistently stressed SOVEREIGNTY! By emphasizing "Sovereignty" Trump has countered the "imperialist" reputation that our enemies in the Middle East, particularly the Ayatollah, have accused the USA of for nearly a half century.

6. A CLEAR NON-NEGOTIABLE DEMAND - In sharp contrast to the Iranian nuclear deal by Obama which put Iran on the road to nuclear weapons 3 years from now, Trump immediately declared clear demands. Iran must never have nuclear weapons. Iran must stop promoting terrorism and threatening the region.


MAKE AMERICA GREAT = MAKE IRAN GREAT.
Trump wants every national leader to focus on making their country and it's people prosperous. Trump has sent the message to the people of Iran and others around the world that he believes -
All human beings deserve the same inalienable right to Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Trump's recurring message is that every country should be great and celebrate it's unique history.

With respect to Iran, Trump wants what's best for the Iranian people more than their leaders do. And now the Iranian people know that. Nothing represents that contrast better than the short video clip of Iranian students refusing to walk on the flags of the USA and Israel.

A WORLDWIDE MESSAGE - The effects of Trump's policies, communications and message have been heard around the world. From Hong Kong to Taiwan to Iran to Europe.

Everywhere where people long for Liberty, prosperity and the right to pursue happiness, Trump and the USA have become the beacon of hope America once was. This may be in one sense the most important way Trump has made America Great again.

DESTRUCTION and REBIRTH
🙏STAY CALM🙏

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

ANTI-SEMITISM IS DIFFERENT THAN ORDINARY HATE

It is pretty well excepted that hate is a large and growing problem.  Not just in America. It is as much of a problem in Europe, maybe more. 

Anti-Semitism is considered hate. But is different than your garden variety hate. 

For one thing, some say it is the oldest hate. It has biblical roots that trace back to Genesis and the Abraham. 

Another characteristic of anti-Semitism is that it comes at Jews from all sides.  Anti-Semitism exists in all nations, all cultures, all ethnic and religious groups, all levels of society. It is hard to defend yourself when you are being attacked from all sides. 

A classic Jewish humorous line puts Jewish history and experience this way, "I know we are the Chosen People, but why did you have to choose us."

The history of the Jewish people is summed up with this classic Jewish humorous phrase:
They tried to kill us. We survived. Let's eat.
From biblical times, through the dark ages and medieval times, through the American Revolution, WWII to today, Jews have had to deal with people accusing us of many things and blaming us for a lot more. 

Jews have responded to the hate we faced over thousands of years in very constructive ways. From our sense of humor to how we practice our faith and keep traditions to our entrepreneurial spirit and professional tendencies, Jews have strengthened themselves in response to hate.  

Anti-Semitism isn't just a type hate, it is a measure of hate in all forms in a society. Anti-Semitism is a gauge that applies to society at large!!  The surest sign of a healthy society is how it treats it's Jews.  

It is said that God chose the Jews to be a Light to all the nations of the world.  I don't believe that means that God ensured the salvation of the Jews more than any other nation of people.

Jews are to be a light to the world by showing the world how to be behave by walking in the says of the Torah. 

The obvious implication is that we are to demonstrate God's laws, his Commandments and Mitzvot for the world to see. We are supposed to show others to "love their fellow as themselves."  

Yeshua (Jesus) was a Jew who took this message one step further and showed us both a life and a death that was dedicated to God's ways, and was for purposes of saving us from our personal failings to do so.

God rewarded Nations that honor the Jews who honor the Torah. Such Nations have a healthy and prosperous society. They are blessed. God is to be feared as well, and Nations that curse the Jews have been cursed.  

In conclusion, anti-Semitism is different. I offer a different way to view anti-Semitism -- a paradigm shift. 

The more that there is "hate in the hearts" of the people of any nation, the more anti-Semitism rises in that nation!  Anti-Semitism is the RESULT of hate. regardless of whether that hate is for Jews or others. 

In other words, anti-Semitism is an indication of a dysfunctional society.  That is why Jews have been referred to as the "canary in a coal mine" -- Jews are an "early warning system" of society or nation with a toxic level of hate. 

Therefore, anti-Semitism is as much a result of the hate people have for Trump OR Hillary as it is for the hate people have for other things including Jews. 

Regardless of whether hate is rising on the Right OR the Left, it elevates anti-Semitism.  And when it is coming from both sides, which it is today in America, as well as Europe, the rise in anti-Semitism is that much greater. 
Anti-Semitism is a measure of the overall hate in a society. 
When people say that love is the answer, they are right in the sense that Love is the opposite of hate. So a society in which loving kindness is predominant, hate is pushed down and therefore anti-Semitism declines as a result.

That is not to say we should love and tolerate any anti-semite let alone any form of hate.

What it is clear to me is that the dramatic rise in anti-Semitism in America and Europe is telling us that our world is allowing hate to win.

What frightens me most is the way some Jews are acting today.  We nurture hate when we reason it, justify it and especially when we deny it.

Our media and culture are fanning the flames of hate.  Fake news from either side is contributing. So are many politicians who are exploiting fear as means for motivation and dominance - POWER.
GOD IS OUR ROCK.  GOD'S WORD IS THE TRUTH. FAITH IS THE SOURCE OF OUR STRENGTH.  
We aren't just the victims of anti-Semitism. If we hate others, whether it is Trump and his supporters or Hillary and her supporters, whether it is people who have different views on climate or attitudes towards the 2nd Amendment, hate is hate and our hate adds to the dysfunction.

The rapid rise of anti-Semitism in America is warning us to check our politics. When our politics has become a partisan battle for power, and domination is the only means to an end, we have failed as a Nation.

The Father of our Nation, George  Washington warned us in his Farewell Letter how we might fail.  The writing has been on the wall for nearly 250 years.  But Americans today are just not reading it.

The writing came down from on High. It was delivered to the world on Mount Sinai. And it is in our Bible.
"Do not hate your fellow in your heart. Reprove. Don't nurture a grudge and take sin unto yourself.  Love your fellow as yourself. I am the LORD."

P.S. Please read my previous blog post Beyond Hate -- The Rise of Rage. 

Sunday, January 5, 2020

BEYOND HATE -- THE RISE OF RAGE

What would be the implication if 20-30 million Americans went temporarily insane in a fit of rage? 
According to psychologists there are three ways people react in a situation that makes us angry. These are: Passive Aggression, Open Aggression, and Assertive Anger. 

The function of all three expressions of anger, is to protect vulnerability and neutralize threat.  

In humans, the threat is almost always to the ego. 

Open aggression comes from a need to be in control. 

Anger is considered a secondary emotion. Typically, one of the primary emotions, like fear or sadness, can be found underneath the anger. Fear includes things like anxiety and worry, and sadness comes from the experience of loss, disappointment or discouragement.

Anger is the most physical of emotions. Angry and resentful people often get into trouble, especially in intimate relationships, without doing anything wrong, as their bodies and facial expressions devalue, demean, and express hostility outside their conscious awareness.  

With Open Aggression people have a tendency to lash out in anger and rage, becoming physically or verbally aggressive.

Examples of acting out Open Aggression include fighting, bullying, blackmailing, accusing, shouting, bickering, sarcasm and criticism. 

Being around angry and resentful people makes us resentful, even when they say nothing offensive. This is something that politicians who exploit public anger don’t seem to realize. The short-term gain they get from stirring anger will eventually turn against them. 
Those who live by the angry vote die by it.
Anger and rage are related to each other.  Most people do not find any hard difference between the two. Both anger and rage are emotional outbursts. Anger is a feeling or emotion that a person has when being offended or when wronged. 
Rage is an extreme expression of anger.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

A COINCIDENCE DIDN'T HAPPEN TODAY!



TODAY, 0101■2020 A "COINCIDENCE" DIDN'T HAPPEN.  IT STARTED NEARLY 97 YEARS AGO!! 

Today an amazing moment happened and it wasn't New Year's.

It started on the first day of Rosh Hashanah approximately 97 years ago, in the Hebrew year 5684.  Which "happened" to fall on 9.11 (1923).


On 0101■2020 92,000 Jewish people filled the seats at MetLife for this year's event, 20,000 others gathered in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, along with thousands more at satellite locations across the U.S. and Israel to celebrate the SIYUM HASHAS.

Before continuing with my blog post please take just a moment to watch this video which explains the Siyum HaShas.

Siyum HaShas celebrates completion of the study of the Talmud, which is said to be among the most challenging religious texts in the world. It is a daily regimen of learning that takes seven-and-a-half years to complete studying with one page read per day.


The Talmud is comprised of 2,711 densely written double-sides pages. Each called a Daf Yomi (דף יומי) "page of the day" or "daily folio."

This 0101■2020 Siyum HaShas marked the completion of the 13th cycle! 

13 is a very significant number in Judaism.  It is also the 13th letter in Hebrew alphabet -- the letter Mem
משה
Moses or Moshe משה begins with the letter mem. So does Messiah or Mashiach in Hebrew.

The gematria (numeric value and meaning) of mem is forty. Forty is the number of days it rained upon the earth during the Flood. Forty is also the num­ber of days Moses spent on Mount Sinai. Moses actually ascended the mountain three separate times. The first forty-day sojourn took place when he received the Torah. 

Mem, 13, is the age when a Jewish boy "comes of age" - he has become a Bar Mitzvah. He is also recognized as having the same rights and responsibilities as an adult. As such, he is obligated to observe the commandments. A girl is Bat Mitzvah at age 12.)

The Maimonides states that the number 13 represents the number of principles of Jewish faith .

In addition, the foundations of Judaism  are based on the original 13 Tribes of Israel: the 11 sons of Jacob and the 2 sons of Joseph.

According to the Talmud, the core of the Selichot (Supplication) prayers (Jewish penitential prayers and poems for forgiveness) is the 13 Attributes of Mercy that G-d taught Moses .

So today, on New Year's Day (the 4th day in the Hebrew month of TEVET in the year 5780), marking the completion of the 13th cycle of Talmud study, Jews around the world prayed for the Messiah.

I do not know what will happen tomorrow. All I know is that today, 0101■2020, a coincidence didn't happen.

DESTRUCTION and REBIRTH

WHAT IF .... click here.

P.S. Unfortunately, I have not studied Talmud. I am still working on the Bible. God willing I will live long enough to finish one cycle of studying the Talmud.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

IS THE WORLD READY? OF COURSE NOT. BUT ARE YOU?


WHAT IF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT NEVER LEFT? WHAT IF IT WAS REVEALED AT THIS TIME?

The ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was built to excruciating detail to house the Ark of the Covenant which was also constucted in precise detail.  It was carried through the desert and guarded for hundreds of years and through the rein on many many Jewish Kings.

The Jews knew math and science. They knew prophecy and that they had a role in God's plan. They also knew they would be attacked again and again by large human forces.

Do you really think the ancient Jews would not have had a preconceived intricate and superior plan for hiding and securing the Ark of the Covenant.  And would not such a plan include creating decoys and myths to distract and confuse their enemies and treasure hunters???

What IF the Jews did prepare for the siege and the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem?  What if the Ark has been hidden in Jerusalem for some 2 millennium?  And what IF it were to APPEAR in our time?

IS THE WORLD READY FOR THAT? ARE YOU READY FOR THAT?

Chassidic (mystics) teachings explain that "In general, G‑d has two opposite modes with which He operates: revealed (the natural) or concealed (the supernatural). Nature, with its seeming lack of Divinity, is a result of G‑d’s power to conceal Himself. Miracles, on the other hand, when the laws of nature are broken, are the very expression of G‑dliness, His power openly revealed. In truth, however, G‑d is beyond both of those, He is neither entirely concealed, nor revealed. Neither locked into operating in a hidden, limited manner, nor bound by his infinitude. He is beyond both, and can unite the two modalities if He so desires."

The Ark exists/operates in both modalities - natural and supernatural (miracles).

They say, when it is time, the Holy of Holies and the Ark will just show up.

(If these thoughts intrigue you then you should find the following video interesting.)

Sunday, December 29, 2019

WHAT DOES A TRUMP MANDATE LOOK LIKE?


Blacks are walking away from the Democratic party at an astonishing pace. Hispanics aren't far behind. Independents are choosing Trump as well. And the Republicans who crossed over to support Hillary in 2016 are back and will vote for Trump in 2020.

When you add it up you don't just get Trump elected for 4 more years. You get the greatest Presidential landslide victory since 1936.

Trump's apt to start his second term with a strong mandate. It is notable that this is the opposite of how Obama started his seond term.

Plus there is a reasonable possibility that Republicans will have the majority of both the House and Senate.

If this comes to be, the question is what will Trump and Congress do with both a mandate and control of Congress?

Trump made many promises during his 2016 campaign.  He's done a remarkable job at keeping them. So much so that the popular catch phrase, "Promises made. Promises kept," is often used to describe Trump's success.

As the calendar turns over and we start 2020 the Democrats had hoped Trump and the country would be concerned with and distracted by Trump's impeachment. That plan has backfired on Democrats and will even contribute to Trump's victory. Here is a quote by Trump the night that the House voted.
"IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE AN IMPEACHMENT."  
Trump is going to hit 2020 with full determination to get relected. He will also be campaigning hard to win seats in the House and keep the Senate. Every Republican Congressperson running in 2020 wants to be seen with Trump at a rally in their state.

6'3" DONALD J TRUMP REMINDS ME OF THE 5'10" TEDDY ROOSEVELT IN THE SENSE THAT BOTH SEEM BIGGER THAN LIFE.
Trump leads. He dreams big  He makes big bold promises. 
Trump paints a picture of the future he intends to lead us to. He drives that vision into our head by repeating a phrase he chooses over & over and over again, like a broken record.

So what does Trump stand to accomplish in his second term? Here are my TOP TEN TRUMP TO-DO'S:

1. More Federal Judges. Several more District Courts will flip to Conservative majority.

2. At least one more Conservative Supreme Court appointment.

3. Immigration Reform and completion of the Border Wall. Resolution of DACA including a path to citizenship for most. At the same time more illegal aliens with violent offenses are deported.  As the number of undocumented and illegal aliens goes down it will be offset by an increase in the number of legal documented tax paying immigrants goes up.

4. Better Mental Health policies and funding for new mental health and drug rehabilitation facilities.

5. Further changes on taxes. Closing loopholes while decreasing rates and making his previous changes permanent.

6. The Builder in Trump will shine biggly! We are going to get a ton of Infrastructure investment including major a improvement to our electric grid, upgrades related to aviation, and focus on big needed repairs to bridges, waste & water, etc.  These improvements are going to go a long way in creating cleaner air and water as well as reducing greenhouse gases.
Trump wants to say he REBUILT America!
7. A dramatic new Middle East peace plan that works!  This is truly the biggest deal ever. Trump wants it bad! He is gonna get it and he is going to go down in history for it.

8. Tort reform and strong laws against slander and false reporting.  Fake news needs to clean up it's act.

9. Voter registration and identification to clean up roles and reduce fraud.

10. Major improvements in military readiness combined with new strategic and tactical defense methods. Lots of change and rebalancing by the Pentagon. With NATO nations investing more there will be greater reason for joint training.  NATO allies will take a larger share of the expense and oversight of US Foreign bases.

(If I had my wish, I'd also like to see the "Expulsion," or at least the "Censure and Reprimand" of Nadler, Schiff and Pelosi who truly abused their power, as well as Ilhan Omar amd Rashida Tlaib for remarks unwitting for a Congressperson.)
Trump accomplished an amazing amount in his first term, while swimming upstream against a difficult current. It is exciting to think of what he can accomplish with the current going his way!

TRUMP DID WHAT HE PROMISED IN HIS FIRST TERM. HE NEVER QUITS! HIS MOST SUCCESSFUL TERM IS JUST AHEAD. 

Check out my 2020 Predictions.