J Street has an unfortunate history of being very anti-Israel. J Street condemned Israel for its Gaza offensive against Hamas calling it a “disproportionate response.” It routinely attacks AIPAC and lobbies the Obama administration to put a stop to Israeli settlements. Their list of offenses goes on and on.

As a conservative and frankly as an American I firmly support Israel. Like most Americans and nearly all conservatives I see Israel as a place that must be defended. Not only is it a place that’s sacred to both Jews and Christians, but like us the Israeli people are under constant threat from radical Islam. The Jewish State is a lone beacon of freedom and democracy in a sea of militant, repressive, barbaric Islam. Also, the Jewish people have a hard working and entrepreneurial spirit just like Americans do.

As of 2010, the tiny state of Israel ranked #2 among foreign countries with the most companies listed on US stock exchanges. That is simply amazing.

In short, we have everything in common with Jewish people and nothing in common with Muslims (regardless of Obama’s rhetoric in Cairo).

So why then is there Jewish support in America for organizations that seem to undermine Israel? Moreover, why in the heck is the Jewish community primarily Democrat?

For the answer to the second question I suggest you read Norman Podhoretz’s book “Why Are Jews Liberal?” As for the first question, I’ll try to aide in answering it here.

I’ve never understood why Jewish Americans who profess to care about Israel would support groups and politicians who clearly don’t care about Israel or are outright hostile to it.

My friend Jeff Pozmantier has written a fascinating piece over at BumpSpot on this very issue. Jeff is a Jewish American who makes regular trips to Israel and knows many of the players in the Israeli government. He’s also a liberal who strongly supports J Street.

Jeff lays out the clearest and most sensible argument I’ve read on this question. He says the battle is between “Loyalists” and “Independents” but considers both factions ultimately pro-Israel.

The Loyalists  looks outward.   They see  virtually any Jewish criticism of  an Israeli policy or action as akin to helping  countries and terrorist groups that aren’t Israel fans make their delegitimization arguments. They see “in the family” criticism making it easier for a democratic Israel to suffer unfair and unbalanced attacks from autocratic countries that severely discriminate against women, restrict freedom of speech and, in some cases, shelter terrorists and develop weapons of mass destruction. Some  Loyalists see  Independent wing members as self-hating or disloyal  or both.  A tinier percentage even view  them as “capo”- like facilitators for Israel’s enemies.

However, if  the Loyalists  were  to become  more self-reflective and turn their gaze inward they would see several problems, not the least of which is generational. With  the majority of American Jews born  well after Israel reached a peace agreement with Egypt and Jordan, the point of reference between  many Pro Israel party members greatly differs.

Loyalists tend to be older and  frame their concerns and actions against the backdrop of the Holocaust and the various wars and intifadas  many of them have directly or indirectly experienced since Israel’s founding.  (Living in  fear of Israel’s extinction does heighten one’s sensitivities.) They tend  to  view  most of the Palestinian leadership as untrustworthy and (not without some historical justification)  incapable of  organizing effectively enough to actually deliver on any commitments they might make.  The Middle East  is seen as largely a zero sum game.

On the other hand,  many of the Independents  tend to be younger. They  feel less threatened and are, in their minds, safely assimilated in America.  They read in their history books and “on line” about what   many Loyalists have lived through.  Independents  tend to ask more questions and  are far less likely to offer 100% support for every Israeli policy or action.   Many Independents have experienced some portion of the Mideast conflict,  but it has been through a much different, more occluded lens.  The Palestinian narrative has more resonance for  Independents as it carries a human rights appeal that connects with their traditional Jewish  values.  They are less likely to view the Palestinian leadership as monolithic and  more likely to view  Israeli concessions on issues  (such as  settlements) in the context of peace negotiations that they feel are  in Israel’s interest just  as much as they are in the Palestinians’  interest.

So when an organization like J Street  takes a position that criticism and support for Israel are no more mutually exclusive than is criticism and support for America, the argument has great appeal. It also has great, perhaps unrecognized value:  Any hesitation to enthusiastically support Israel is removed as Independents don’t feel constrained by a fear that  a public disagreement over Israel’s tactics will be seen as anti-Israel.

I encourage everyone to click over and read Jeff’s entire piece. Even if you don’t agree with it you’ll better understand where Jewish support for organizations like J Street comes from. I routinely read Jeff’s articles because he tends to bring a point of view to Middle East issues I might not otherwise be exposed to. I recommend putting BumpSpot on your regular reading list.

When it comes to killing jobs and shipping them to China nothing accomplishes it faster than the phony “Green” movement. Idiots like Sen. Barbara Boxer have spent decades dismantling California’s economy with their environmental extremism.

The election of Barack Obama took California’s job killing green crusade nationwide. Now we’re all paying the price for Al Gore’s fantasies about a warming earth.

The Washington Post is reporting on the closure of the last GE factory in the US that makes incandescent light bulbs. The 200+ workers at that plant are about to join the millions of other Americans who are out of work.

Why did this happen? Because politicians in Washington decided what kind of light bulb we should use. In 2007, a so-called “energy conservation measure” passed by Congress set standards that basically banned the manufacture of incandescent light bulbs by 2014 (a mere 4 years from now).

The politicians theorized that banning incandescent bulbs would force factories to begin making compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) instead. The end result would be that every home in America was more energy efficient whether they wanted to be or not! Ha! What a perfect plan, right?

It didn’t quite work out that way (which only comes as a surprise in DC). See, it’s much more expensive to make CFLs, because the twisted spiral glass tubes require more hand labor. What kind of hand labor do you figure would be making those bulbs? How about…union labor! What is union labor? Expensive! So if you were GE what would you do? Make them in China for a fraction of the cost? Ha, so would I.

Of course the government could interfere once again and simply force companies to make the light bulbs here, right? I’m sure unions would f*cking love that. But then increased cost of making the bulbs would be passed on to consumers causing light bulbs to become ridiculously expensive. Since the old bulbs are banned, if you’re unable to afford the pricey new light bulbs you’re going to be eating by candle light.

This is what happens when the government sticks their snout into everything. If the politicians would’ve left our f*cking light bulbs alone in 2007 those 200 workers plus thousands of others just like them would still be employed.

We need to put the brakes on the out-of-control environmental movement. Think about that when you  cast your vote this November.

Originally posted at The Hot Joints

Assuming this is not in fact an acid flashback on my part, this marks the first time since the election that MSNBC has NOT run cover for this administration. Frankly, this is bigger news than the oil spill.

Did they get new management over there or something? What the hell is going on?

Click the link above and see for yourself.

While I was watching that clip something kept nagging at me that I really think should be discussed.

I know they say Obama’s speech sucked because it lacked specifics, but I get the feeling having a black man in The White House is what’s really bothering them. They seem unwilling to accept that America is a more diverse society now and people of color have every right to run this nation.

When Matthews said he heard “ a lot of meritocracy, a lot of blue ribbon talk” I think that was code for calling the president “uppity.”

How can MSNBC allow that kind of racism to stink up the airwaves? I for one am outraged.

Originally posted at The Hot Joints

A submarine from the DPRK (North Korea) launched a torpedo at a South Korean Navy ship causing it to sink. 46 South Korean sailors lost their lives in the explosion. I repeat 46 sailors died in the attack. I don’t think you have to be Dick Cheney to call that a pretty clear act of war.

What’s the worlds response to this? Officials from South Korea and the US are calling it a “provocative action.” Yeah, I’d say sinking a Navy ship and killing 46 sailors is pretty f*cking provocative alright, but let’s be clear — it was an act of war.

Now, Hillary Clinton is acting all blustery at the UN demanding that the world “send a clear message to North Korea that provocative actions have consequences.” I’m sure Kim Jong-iL is beside himself with worry.

What this means is that we’ll see the usual dog and pony show at the UN and out of that we’ll get a “strongly worded statement” of condemnation to add to the pile of other strongly worded statements to North Korea and that will be that.

It’s pretty clear that Kim Jong-iL is constantly testing the US and its allies. He’s constantly testing to see how far he can go before we hit back. So far, he’s been able to do whatever he wants.

What’s important to realize is that every so-called “provocative action” by the North is a little more extreme and little more dangerous than the previous one. They’ve gotten away with detonating nukes and firing ballistic missiles and sinking ships. Maybe next time they’ll try firing a ballistic missile into Seoul. Maybe they’ll see what happens if they detonate a dirty bomb close to the DMZ. Who knows? Kim Jong-iL is a despicable mass murdering dictator — calm and rational thought is not exactly his strong suit.

North Korea is probably the most pathetic broken down country on the planet. I can’t believe the South are such pussies that they’re going to let the DPRK get away with this. The South has an awesome military that’s practically a mirror image of our own with top of the line fighter aircraft, etc.

The South should have immediately launched air strikes against the naval base the North Korean submarine launched from. They should have destroyed the entire base and every submarine and surface ship docked there.

That would have been a very clear message to the thugs in the North. For the first time in decades someone would have sent the North Koreans a message they could understand.

Originally posted at The Hot Joints

Joe became an unlikely champion of average Americans and even went on the road with the McCain campaign. Joe went from being an unlicensed plumber to being a media star. He was booked on all the best shows, became a correspondent for Pajamas Media, and even “wrote” a book.

Fast forward to today and the plumber turned political pundit is bitter and angry. He now says McCain “used” him and really screwed his life up.

He also said angrily that he no longer supports Sarah Palin because she’s planning to campaign for John McCain. “He’s no public servant”, Joe says of McCain.

Keep in mind Joe said all of this during a speech endorsing state Representative Sam Rohrer at his Mobilize for Liberty event in Harrisburg.

Rohrer is allegedly one of more than 200 politicians seeking Joe The Plumber’s endorsement, of which he’s only backing five so far.

Yet, when it was pointed out to Joe that he would be a big fat nobody if it weren’t for John McCain and Sarah Palin he said, “I don’t owe him sh*t. He really screwed up my life is how I look at it.”

I’m not sure how becoming a coveted endorsement of more than 200 politicians and having national media access has screwed up Joe’s life, but I guess I’ll have to take his word for it.

It seems to me that Joe has let his newly acquired fame go to his head. He reminds of the Tommy Gunn character in Rocky V. Like Gunn, Joe The Plumber is biting the hand that fed him.

I’m no fan of John McCain, but I’m a big fan of loyalty. I’m a big fan of remembering the people who got you where you are. I believe in dancing with the one that brung you.

I respect Sarah Palin for supporting John McCain. They may have differing political philosophies, but she’s not going to throw the man who took a chance on her under the bus. That’s the way people with class treat their friends. Furthermore, John McCain was a strong voice against ObamaCare — even if he was wrong on immigration and interrogation.

Joe doesn’t have to support John McCain, but he doesn’t have to publicly trash him either. Joe is acting like the hobo you give $20 bucks to and as you’re walking away he hits you over the head and takes your wallet. I may not like phony Conservatives like John McCain, but I really don’t like arrogant, backstabbing punks.

Joe doesn’t owe John McCain sh*t, but Joe wouldn’t have sh*t if it weren’t for John McCain and he would do well to remember that little fact.

Orginally posted at The Hot Joints

Schmidt addressed some of the behind-the-scenes “revelations” in the newly released book Game Change about the 2008 election. It’s the same book that brought us the Harry Reid “negro dialect” remark.

As Politico points out, it’s unprecedented for a former campaign strategist to so publicly tear down the very candidate he tried to build up just a few months prior.

The funny thing is that almost every single so-called revelation in the book Game Change involving Palin, was addressed by Palin herself in her own book, Going Rogue.

Even before all the votes were tallied and Obama declared the winner, cowardly anonymous aides began smearing Palin in the press.

The media chortled as reports that Palin was a “whack job” and a “diva” began leaking out. We heard how Palin was a nightmare to manage and unlike her public face was angry and hostile in private.

The list of despicable smears against her emanating from the McCain camp post-election are too numerous to name.

Schmidt’s reasons for going after Palin go way beyond anger over his portrayal in her book, however. Just as many on the left do, Schmidt fears Palin.

He all but said it on “60 Minutes.” He picked her at the last minute to run for VP with McCain, but didn’t intend on her becoming a political force in her own right. He figured she would serve her purpose and then go back to Alaska and never be heard from again.

Steve Schmidt is an establishment Republican. He’s a progressive cloaked in GOP attire just like John McCain and so many others. Establishment Republicans want candidates who will go along to get along and play the Washington dance.

Schmidt’s worst nightmare is for a true Conservative like Sarah Palin to sweep in and throw the phony Republicans out on their ass.

Real Conservatives like Palin are a mortal threat to the big spending, government expanding, corrupt, phony Republicans that currently hold power in the GOP.

Palin is despised by Republicans and Democrats alike from Alaska to Washington. She doesn’t give a damn if you have an (R) by your name if you act just like a (D).

You can expect more attacks on Palin as we get closer to 2012 from the phony elitist “intellectuals” within the party like David Brooks, and establishment GOP cronies and hacks like Steve Schmidt.

The McCain campaign was horribly managed. It was amateur hour throughout the whole damn race. As chief strategist, Steve Schmidt is to blame for that. His strategy sucked and everyone in Washington knows it.

I wouldn’t hire Schmidt to run a campaign for the local PTA. He’s a know-it-all jerk who in reality doesn’t know dick.

Originally posted at The Hot Joints

If President Obama replaced the entire DHS leadership tomorrow we would be in the same exact predicament. It’s the culture at our various agencies that is the problem. It’s a failure of leadership by President Bush and to a larger degree President Obama for creating that culture.

What’s worse, we have the most pathetic attorney general in our nation’s history during the most dangerous time in our nation’s history. Eric Holder is the kind of jerk you expect to see running things in a place like Denmark. Every single politician from either party who voted for his confirmation should never work in government again. Their judgement is simply too flawed for them to be trusted with the awesome responsibility of creating our laws.

Political correctness permeates every level of bureaucracy at the FBI, CIA, DHS, and every agency in between. Our entire national security strategy is to give the appearance of security in the hopes that our enemies won’t call our bluff and try something. Guess what, our bluff was called.

What they call “airport security” is carefully choreographed theater to make us all believe we’re safe and the government is doing everything it can to protect. That was bullshit before 9/11, bullshit after 9/11, and continues to be bullshit as I write this. Oh, and it will be bullshit even if Obama gets thrown out of office and a republican administration takes over.

We simply lack the will and frankly the balls to do what is necessary to keep this country safe. Really making our airports secure will require us to hurt some people’s feelings. It will require suffering through hysterical op-ed’s in the NY Times and lawsuits from the ACLU.

Above all what we need is a president willing to admit who the enemy is and what their real motivations are. A president who can understand that closing Gitmo and unclenching his/her fist is not going to deter an enemy motivated by religious fanaticism. Our enemy believes that he is doing God’s work by killing us and his reward for doing that work is a guaranteed place in heaven (flanked by 72 virgins). You cannot reason with an enemy like that. He will keep attacking until he’s dead, you’re dead, or both.

Our enemy dresses like us and acts like us in the hopes of staying under the radar until he’s ready to start killing. Our answer to this must not be to randomly select every 25th or 48th passenger for secondary screening and hope we get lucky. We cannot work from the premise that taking off more articles of clothing or bringing less stuff on an airplane will fool our enemy into believing it’s impossible to beat our security. Someone on a mission from God will do whatever it takes to be successful. Don’t forget, there’s a place in heaven on the line here.

The only way to stop an enemy like that is to recognize the one thing all the terrorists have in common and start from there. I’m of course talking about Islam. What we know for sure about our enemy is that he or she is a Muslim. You start with that fact and put together a screening or dare I say “profiling” system built around that premise. The Israelis have this system down to a science. It runs like an efficient, well oiled machine. The occasional passenger may get offended from time to time or a bruised ego, but in the end everyone stays alive. There is not an illusion of security on an Israeli airplane, a series of stupid human tricks designed to make you feel safe.

Instead, your personal safety is a non-issue. You are certain of your security, because the people in charge know who the enemy is watch for them. Should the profiling system fail for whatever reason (it hasn’t yet) you have nothing to fear, because a highly trained air marshal is on every flight. The Christmas bomber would have been shot dead before he could light the fuse. The Israeli system is so good that no terrorist has even made an attempt to breach it. That’s saying a lot considering the only thing our enemy loves more than dead Americans are dead Jews (even more so in some cases).

It’s time to stop worrying about the small vocal minority of left-wingers who decry “profiling” and start getting serious about security. This is not a joke. This is not about hurt feelings or not offending this group or that group. This about life and death. This is about protecting our way of life from a fanatical enemy bent on our destruction.

Originally posted at The Hot Joints

There is no better example of this than what may happen in Chicago soon. A city that boasts one the highest murder rates in the country and is governed by the most corrupt politicians in the country.

So, what then could the corrupt leftists in charge possibly do to make things worse? How about scrap the police entrance exam in the name of diversity!

The Chicago Police Department is seriously considering scrapping the police entrance exam, sources tell Fran Spielman.

Dropping the exam would bolster minority hiring and avert legal battles, according to one source, while others confirm that the exam could be scrapped to open the process to as many people as possible.

However, the lack of an exam would make Chicago the lone major city without one, and experts contend that the exam is integral to eliminating unqualified applicants.

Integral to eliminating unqualified applicants? I guess those are racist code words for keeping the black man down, right?

In my opinion it’s pretty damned racist for these liberal bureaucrats to suggest the only way for people of color to achieve anything is to remove all barriers to entry. If you’re a minority you don’t need a test — your skin color makes you automatically qualified.

This social engineering experiment may result in a police department filled with incompetent, illiterate boobs — but it will certainly be colorful.

The fact that an idea as spectacularly moronic as this one could even be whispered in polite company shows how Chicago came to be the basket case it is today.

The city is flat broke and crime is out of control and this is what the stupid jerks at city hall are worried about — diversity.

Originally posted at The Hot Joints

In his latest column , Brooks waxes poetic about the current plight of the “educated class” in America. By “educated class” he’s of course referring to ivy league a-holes who talk like he and the president do.

Brooks and his hideous elitism make me want to vomit. It’s the so-called “intellectual class” that has brought this country to its f*cking knees.

What this country needs is a president and a party that relies on common sense rather than phony intellectualism.

Just because you went to Harvard or Princeton doesn’t mean you know dick about running the country. All it proves is that you’re good at going to school. Show me what you’ve done in the real world.

I’ll take a self-educated businessman who creates something from nothing over some jerk with a bunch of fancy degrees any day of the week.

Originally posted at The Hot Joints

JERUSALEM (AP) – A group of Israeli military officers called off an official visit to Britain last week, fearing they could face arrest on war crimes charges, officials said Tuesday.

The four unidentified officers, holding ranks from major to colonel, are the latest in a string of Israeli politicians and military officials forced to call off travel to Britain over fears of legal prosecution relating to last year’s offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Britain is one of the European pioneers of universal jurisdiction, a broad legal concept that empowers judges to issue arrest warrants for nearly any visitor accused of committing war crimes anywhere in the world.

Pro-Palestinian activists have sought to use this concept to press charges against Israelis involved in military operations in Palestinian territories, particularly since last year’s Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. British officials have vowed to change the law.

When are the good people of the UK going to wake up and realize that radical leftists and political correctness is literally destroying their society? What a disgrace that Israeli military officials cannot travel freely throughout Europe and the UK for fear of prosecution.

The murdering dogs (aka Palestinians) are using the UK justice system and the phony leftist concept of “universal jurisdiction” to prosecute Israelis for simply defending themselves.

The lengths to which the Israelis go to keep from killing innocent civilians in Gaza and throughout the territories is unprecedented in modern warfare.

The Gaza Strip is one of the most congested pieces of real estate on earth. It’s an urban jungle with human beings packed in like sardines.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza that took place early last year went on for three weeks and was broadcast live around the world. We watched Israeli jets bomb the hell out of Hamas positions and target terrorist leaders with Apache helicopters. Israel acted decisively and with overwhelming force while fully respecting the laws of war.

An extensive investigation by the IDF put the number of Palestinians killed at around 1,166 — 709 of which were Hamas combatants or other militants. 162 deaths were inconclusive and 295 civilians were killed.

It’s absolutely stunning that the Israelis were able to drop thousands of pounds of ordinance in a dense urban environment and only kill 295 civilians. It speaks to the skill of Israeli pilots and the careful planning by their commanders. They don’t drop unless they know what they’re hitting.

For critics of Israel (of which they are many) to howl about war crimes when it’s clear Israel went above and beyond to protect civilian life is an outrage.

Hamas on the other hand follows no rules of war whatsoever. They deliberately target Israeli civilians with rocket attacks, suicide bombings, and kidnappings. Men, women, and children are all fair game at any time day or night.

The fact that critics of Israel decry supposed war crimes by The Jewish State, but ignore actual war crimes by Palestinians proves this is more about hating Jews than hating war crimes.

Originally posted at The Hot Joints