Michael Lumish
I spoke with a friend recently who strongly suggested that while I consistently criticize the Left, I fail to do so of the Right.
That is not an unfair criticism.
I tend to be harder on the Left because I am a liberal who leans Left, particularly on domestic issues.
But she is not incorrect. I am harder on the Left because I expect very little from the right-wing, to begin with.
I was born in 1963 and when I was growing up in New York and Connecticut almost everyone that I knew was more-or-less on the Left. We were a bit too young to oppose the Vietnam War, but we opposed it, anyway.
We opposed what seemed to us as the militarism of the Right and the Republican Party... despite the fact that the Vietnam War was mainly a Democratic Party war.
We opposed unbridled capitalism.
We supported a strong social-economic safety-net for American workers. We supported environmental regulations to combat pollution and global warming. We supported a woman's right to choose an abortion and Gay rights, including the right to marriage. And, needless to say, we supported safety-rights for American industrial workers.
In fact, two of my best friends in the world found themselves featured as examples of Gay marriage on Fox News with the Bill O'Reilly filming of same-sex weddings in 2004, under the direction of Mayor Gavin Newsom. In fact, Kevin actually called up the station requesting a copy of that footage given that he and his husband were featured in it without their awareness. Fox refused the accommodation.
But the truth is that the American right-wing has dragged its heels on these kinds of issues.
It has rarely supported the interests of the working class, which includes almost all Americans.
In truth, within Congress, it has rarely supported the interests of anyone other than than the wealthy within the United States.
I guess that I am writing this note as an acknowledgment to my friend who is mighty pissed-off at me for my continual criticism of the progressive-left.
We can have ongoing differences going forward. I just hope that it does not ruin our friendship.
The Day of the Dhimmi is Done - Michael Lumish, PhD, proprietor. (mike.lumish@gmail.com)
Seems like a reasonable explanation to me and it resonates with my thinking. The RIGHT is doing stuff the left SHOULD be doing re: Israel. The left, my lifetime position, has beclowned itself with their hysterical hatred of Trump. It really is embarrassing. And it has abandoned reason on many important issues just so it doesn't appear to be the right. That's no way to form policy.
ReplyDeleteI would only add in the Left's thinking on Israel. There is a range there, but none of it is good.
DeleteOh, also, it all has become too far left for my liking. Way too far.
ReplyDeleteYou are from the left, and you are dissatisfied with some very worrying trends. It is only natural for you to be focusing criticism on the left. There is no shortage of people on the left who are quite uncritical of the left, and save all their powder for the right, right to wrong.
ReplyDeleteWould criticism of the right make criticism of the left more palatable? Would it make criticism of the left less true?
I'll tell you what. I see Nancy Pelosi bringing a resolution to the house floor which essentially says, "you can say whatever you want about Trump, true or false, and the Democratic Party will have your back. Make the rhetoric as dangerous as you like. It's O.K., but forget about condemnations of antisemitism in the U.S. House of Represantives. We want power, the ends justifies the means."
Now, I think wha Trump said the other day was incredibly idiotic - at least the way he chose to express himself. Talk about an own goal. BUT, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats (and the media) had the chance to dampen down all the rhetoric, and chose to go the the narrative over the truth. There is no way that any objective and knowledgeable person could have looked at the response yesterday from the WOC gang of four and not seen that narrative on full display. Despite the awful nativist rhetoric the POTUS invoked, he mostly got them right.
I will agree with Doodad that the Dems have gone too far to the left.
And today they are saying again that they hate Trump so much, that they are wiling to tolerate any and all destructive speech coming from their side, as long as it leads to power.
I am not going to sit comfortably anywhere where I would have to play pretend to a false history of, say, the Arab-Israel conflict.
Curious how much your friend criticizes the Left. It's not a balancing game. 90% of news stories about Trump are negative. In fact, it's mainstream to make derogatory comments about Trump in public. Can one wear a MAGA hat without any fear of repercussions. Only Pussy hats allowed. In other words, it seems like a dumb question.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHere's the left; the Progressives; the POC crowd. All I can do is shake my head at their stupidity and the naivety of those who would limit criticism of them:
ReplyDelete"
Former CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill claimed that news outlets like NBC and ABC were “Zionist organizations” that produced “Zionist content,” during a panel on Friday at the annual Netroots Nation summit held by progressive activists in Philadelphia.
He made his comments during a panel on “embedding Palestinian rights in the 2020 agenda,” which also featured statements that Israel was engaged in a “white supremacist” project.
“They’re like, I want to work for Fox, or I want to work for ABC or NBC or whoever. I want to tell these stories,” he said. “You have to make choices about where you want to work. And if you work for a Zionist organization, you’re going to get Zionist content. And no matter how vigorous you are in the newsroom, there are going to be two, three, four, 17, or maybe one powerful person — not going to suggest a conspiracy — all news outlets have a point of a view. And if your point of view competes with the point of view of the institution, you’re going to have challenges.”
https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/274325/marc-lamont-hill-netroots-media-run-jews-daniel-greenfield
How many times does this classic antisemitic claim have to be spoken by a hero of the left/Progressives/Dems before they get woke enough to realize they are freaking nasty Jew haters? They don't belong in civilized company. If you are still one of them you should hide your head in shame because you have some really nasty messed up friends.
“The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one’s time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.”
ReplyDeleteH. L. Mencken
Love this poem posted by The New Neo:
ReplyDelete" A CASE FOR JEFFERSON
Harrison loves my country too,
But wants it all made over new.
He’s Freudian Viennese by night.
By day he’s Marxian Muscovite.
It isn’t because he’s Russian Jew.
He’s Puritan Yankee through and through.
He dotes on Saturday pork and beans.
But his mind is hardly out of his teens:
With him the love of country means
Blowing it all to smithereens
And having it all made over new."
https://www.thenewneo.com/2019/07/15/trump-tweets-and-the-uproar-ensues/
Yigal Carmon [President of MEMRI dot org] said:
ReplyDeleteA popular Arab saying goes,
“The Americans are good people —
they can easily be deceived.”
SOURCE: Americans are good people —
just ask the Qatari Emir by Yigal Carmon, 2019/7/14
www.jns.org/opinion/the-americans-are-good-people-just-ask-the-qatari-emir
Yigal Carmon [President of MEMRI dot org] said:
ReplyDelete“For over two decades, Qatar has been
fostering and advancing nearly every
terrorist organization that has murdered
Americans. It praised Osama bin Laden,
and after him Ayman Al-Zawahiri [leader of
Al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden], to the skies.”
SOURCE: Americans are good people —
just ask the Qatari Emir by Yigal Carmon, 2019/7/14
www.jns.org/opinion/the-americans-are-good-people-just-ask-the-qatari-emir/
Yigal Carmon [President of MEMRI dot org] said:
ReplyDeleteTwo months before 9/11, on Qatar’s
state-run Al-Jazeera TV, bin Laden
was lionized in a show dedicated to him.
He was called “the No. 1 Arab and Islamic hero”
and “the conscience of the Arab and Islamic world.”
The program host underlined that as
“the nation thirsts deeply for someone
who will confront America...
not with words and slogans,”
and said that bin Laden was
“the right man for this important role.”
And indeed he was.
SOURCE: Americans are good people —
just ask the Qatari Emir by Yigal Carmon, 2019/7/14
www.jns.org/opinion/the-americans-are-good-people-just-ask-the-qatari-emir
Yigal Carmon [President of MEMRI dot org] said:
ReplyDelete...Qatar cultivates anti-Semitism,
even allowing Muslim Brotherhood
spiritual leader Yusuf Al-Qaradawi,
hosted and protected for decades by
Qatar, to call on its airwaves for a
new Holocaust to be carried
out “at the hands of the Muslims.”
SOURCE: Americans are good people —
just ask the Qatari Emir by Yigal Carmon, 2019/7/14
www.jns.org/opinion/the-americans-are-good-people-just-ask-the-qatari-emir/
In the end it seems the Nazis were a squeamish about what they had done. No such problem with the Muslim/Arab Jew haters. They glory in the gore.
Deletebut what good is any of the decent stuff the left wants if we Jews become 2nd class citizens? Preserving our social standing trumps all. MAGA
ReplyDeleteWill the Democrats choose a leader like Corbyn? The recent BBC programming showed the reality of life to look forward to under the likes of these Jew haters. They are not coming from the Right. It's not only Jews, but all deplorables in their sights. If it's about what Trump says, should he apologize for fighting those out to destroy him, by any means necessary? If he has done more than just alienate those deranged, something actually involving malfeasance in office, let's hear it. Let's also hear some self-criticism of the type requested. 90% to 10% is kind of a tell of what's going on.
ReplyDeleteI just saw Cornell West on TV. No matter what anyone else is saying he just seems to have a need to say "Palestinians." What's up with that? Why is "the brother" so involved in something which has no relation to him. Why does it come off his lips, it seems to me, every time I see this guy? Why do some American black academics have this yearning to harass Jews? And yes, if you listen carefully, that is what it is.
ReplyDeleteBut I really hate his shuck & jive routine where he advises the Jew not to be so mean to the peaceful "indigenous" "Palestinians." I think he is a disgusting clown.
If he's being paid to think, he's being overpaid.
Oh, so anyway, Cornell West starts talking about how the Jews suffered a crime against humanity, but guess what? So did a lot of other people, which neither he nor any of his buddies ever mention except when they want to segue into their favorite lefty subject.....'palestinians'! Get it?
DeleteCornell West condescendingly acts out the part of the wise man who will attempt to teach the Jews the meaning of morality which he is privy to but is beyond their grasp for their is something lacking in them, empathy.
What he really needs is a cherry nose and some big flappy shoes.
Now, I see that, "America's most important intellectual," according to himself, Marc Lamont Hill, has called ABC and NBC, "Zionist organizations."
Can any of us ever even imagine being as brilliant as Marc Lamont Hill?! LOL
I mean, I wouldn't want to ever have to debate him, with all that "America's most important intellectual"TM brain power he's got on hand, huh? Posing as an intellectual - I'd never have thought to try it. Just another race huckster.
Both these men are black, or, African-American (an expression I don't like).
So, am I a racist for calling out their ignorant anti-Israeli/antisemitic bullshit? It's a question we need to answer definitively and soon.
Should we Jews allow ourselves to victimized by such quackery?
I'm bored. If I was in Israel at least I could go cut down a few thousand Olive trees to slake my blood lust. And my Eye Dr said, no, he couldn't install Laser Eyes in place of my regular eyes. Shoot. Back to Netflix I guess. I was really countin' on those Laser Eyes.
ReplyDeleteAt Elder's joint today:
ReplyDeletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_mRM87XUAALyqU.jpg
lol Jeff. So appropriate.
DeleteTrump is about to win again. Omar is introducing a bill supporting BDS.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/07/ilham-omar-pro-bds-legislation-trump-israel.html#ixzz5tws8maX6
Only 2 Dems support BDS: Tlaib and Omar. Only 20% of American voters support it. It's a loser bill with Dems and Americans but it gives Trump more ammo to paint Omar and Tlaib as Israel haters and tar the Dems with the same brush if they support Omar as they invariably have. They make it so easy for Trump to brand Dems as the party of antisemitism.
Got the stat here Jeff FWIW
Deletehttps://jewishjournal.com/news/nation/293646/poll-20-of-americans-support-bds/
And, yes, it's time for the world to take on Muslim antisemitism because it has got worse since 9/11 when our consciousness was raised about Muslims in general and we were taught not to hate them because of a few extremists; they got a free hand to hate with few repercussions as we see with the Omar and Tlaib situation. Obviously the Dems are NOT the ones to do this while Trump says,"Hold my beer."
Oh, I wasn't questioning the percentage, just a little freaked out that it is that high.
DeleteIf you haven't heard of that OTHER Dynamic young Latino woman protecting your country, "Ice Bae." You need to have a look
ReplyDeletehttps://heavy.com/news/2019/07/kiara-c-cervantes-ice-bae/