?Over 100 years
ago, in 1919, something seemingly impossible happened: The World Series was “fixed.”
The Chicago White Sox were playing the Cincinnati Reds. Chicago was heavily
favored to win until professional gamblers approached eight White Sox players
and offered them bribes. Those players helped Cincinnati to win the Series. The
Cincinnati win meant a lot of money for the gambling syndicate. Eventually, the
story of the fix leaked out, and a grand jury was convened. The eight players
were banned from baseball for life. Among the many tragic details was that Joe
Jackson (known as Shoeless Joe) was, at that time, the greatest player ever. He
had grown up in grinding poverty, was illiterate, and worked in a mill from the
age of six. Had his career not been cut short, he may have become more well
known and celebrated than Babe Ruth. Joe admitted the fix to the grand jury.
After testifying, Shoeless Joe was leaving the courthouse when a little kid,
with tears in his eyes, yelled out, “Say
it ain’t so!” Tragically, it was so!
It took almost two years for the
rumors of the corruption of the 1919 World Series to be confirmed. Now, 104
years later, it has also taken a while for the substantial rumors of the “deep
state” corruption of the FBI to be confirmed in the recent Durham report. While
many peoples’ lives and reputations were sullied or ruined – General Michael
Flynn and George Papadopoulos come to mind – it is clear that the “Russian collusion”
story, which distracted the country for most of the Trump presidency, was a
lie, and the FBI, the Clinton campaign, and the media were among the
co-conspirators. “Say it ain’t so!” Tragically, it is so!
Just like the kid who was shattered
by the reality that Shoeless Joe wasn’t who he believed him to be, I am
shattered that, in my country, the FBI and Justice Department that I always
admired and believed were honest, aren’t. It’s hard for me to process the fact
that our federal agencies were corrupt, and most likely still are. It’s
dangerous and worrying. I’m reminded of a comment attributed to Russian
dictator Joe Stalin’s ruthless head of the KGB, Laverntiy Beria: “Show me the
man, and I’ll show you the crime.” Beria’s model was simple: Target the person,
then fabricate the crime. That is standard operating procedure for all
totalitarian regimes. I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that this
happened in the United States.
Clearly Donald Trump was the victim
of the Russian collusion hoax, but there will be no justice in this matter.
Donald Trump has many terrible traits; indeed, he is a poster child (or maybe
the poster senior) for extreme narcissistic behavior. He is far from a role
model and has, by his behavior, dishonored the office of President in a manner that
makes other poorly behaved presidents look good by comparison. It’s sad because
during his presidency he did some very good things and was a stalwart friend of
Israel. Just as a broken (analog) clock will be correct twice a day, Trump is
correct in this case with his accusations of “a conspiracy worse than
Watergate.”
Tragically,
because most of the media is corrupt and serves the interests of the deep state
establishment, this huge story of abuse of power will mostly be distorted and
improperly reported through the lens of woke bias. Rightfully, there are many in this
conspiracy who should serve long prison terms, but alas, there will likely be
no prosecutions. Similarly, you can be assured that Hunter Biden and his relatives
will also escape prosecution because we are now living in a dystopian reality.
One thing we can count on is that
there will be more woke prosecutions, based upon the KGB model, by individuals
like Alvin Bragg, New York’s woke district attorney.
* * *
Bragg recently charged Daniel Penny,
a former Marine and a good Samaritan, with second-degree murder because of his
intervention to protect commuters on a subway train from a deranged man named
Jordan Neely, who had been arrested 42 times, most recently for assaulting a 67-year-old
woman, breaking her nose and fracturing her eye socket. Nevertheless, that
wasn’t enough to take Neely off the streets. In order to subdue the 30-year-old,
insane Neely, Penny had to place him in a chokehold, from which Neely lost
consciousness and died. Al Sharpton and Ocasio-Cortez claimed that Neely’s “public
execution” was a replay of the George Floyd incident. Protesters were quickly
organized to block subway stations and intimidate riders. By the grace of G-d,
there were sufficient witnesses (of color) on the train who felt that Penny had
saved their lives.
Ron DeSantis, upon hearing of the
charges against Penny, started a defense fund for him and said, “To step up as
a good Samaritan to protect vulnerable, innocent people is an incredibly
selfless thing to do.” DeSantis said Penny should have never been prosecuted; rather,
he should have been recognized for his heroic deed. DeSantis is 100% correct,
but because of New York’s dystopian woke reality, there are those who think
that the good Samaritan should go to prison. As with George Floyd, the corrupt
media conveniently underreported Neely’s violent past. Neely was violently
insane and should have been institutionalized in a lock-down facility.
In the George Floyd case, it is
noteworthy that the officer, Derek Chauvin was rightfully prosecuted for
unintentional murder and manslaughter. After Floyd’s death, Candace Owens, a
Black author and prominent journalist said, “No one thinks that he should have
died during his arrest, but what I find despicable is that everyone is
pretending that this man lived a heroic lifestyle when he didn’t. I refuse to
accept the narrative that this person is a martyr or should be lifted up in the
Black community. He has a long rap sheet. He is an example of a violent
criminal his entire life – up until the very last moment.”
Floyd’s death was “mourned” through
the summer of 2020 with two billion dollars of property destruction, primarily
from arson and looting. There were hundreds of injuries and a number of deaths.
It’s kind of hard to stick to the mainstream media’s “mostly peaceful protests”
narrative, but obviously, the woke definition of “mostly peaceful” and reality
need not intersect. As for Daniel Penny, he should have never been charged.
Great men, true role models for the Black community, who have achieved great
things, such as Justice Clarence Thomas and Dr. Ben Carson, are targets of
distorted (half-truth) reporting because they are neither Progressive Leftists
nor woke. Lately, the woke media is targeting Thomas. Were he woke, he would be
celebrated and honored.
* * *
In life there are times when we
don’t like someone. If such a person is accused falsely of a crime which he or
she didn’t commit then, as much as we may not like that individual, it is our
responsibility, if we are in a position to correct an injustice, to do so.
Truth supersedes feelings – or at least it should. Unfortunately, due to “Trump
derangement syndrome,” many people feel that anything bad that happens to Trump
is deserved. That’s just plain wrong – especially in this particular case - no matter
how repulsive an individual Trump may be.
In the parsha of Shoftim (Devarim 16), we read, “You shall appoint judges
and officers, and they shall govern the people with correct justice. You shall
not judge unfairly, you should not show partiality, you shall not take bribes,
for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just.
Justice, justice shall you pursue.” The underpinning of Jewish law is an honest
judiciary. When the justice system is dishonest, decent people become
disillusioned and rightfully feel insecure and afraid, while dishonest people
feel emboldened.
The esteemed U.S. Senator Joe
Lieberman, a lifelong moderate Democrat, who almost was the vice-president of
our country, became an Independent in 2006. Why? Because a group of Progressive
Leftists in Connecticut worked to defeat him in the state’s 2006 Democrat primary.
They felt that Joe was too “moderate” (extremists can’t tolerate moderation).
Lieberman knew that the majority of the state’s voters supported him, so he ran
as an independent and handily won reelection.
In 2008, Joe Lieberman nominated
Senator John McCain at the Republican National Convention. Obviously, Lieberman
knew that McCain’s vast experience, steadfast support for Israel, and
thoughtful moderate policies made him the better choice for president than
Obama. It is ironic that those who formed the coalition to elect Obama were
voters who had moved way beyond the issue of race. They were part of the 2008
“post-racial” electorate. Now, many of those individuals are being accused of
being racists if they do not subscribe to woke orthodoxy. Ironic indeed –
unless you’re woke.
* * *
It is painful to observe what has
happened to the party of giants like Henry Jackson, Daniel Inouye, Daniel
Patrick Moynihan, and Joe Lieberman. On Israel’s 75th anniversary,
Rashida Tlaib, a virulently anti-Israel, antisemitic congresswoman, organized
an event at the Capitol entitled Nakba (catastrophe), the favored term of the
Palestinians to describe the founding of the State of Israel. She invited other
noted Jew haters to join her commemoration of Nakba. It comes as no surprise
that Bernie Sanders openly supported her efforts, while other Liberal
Progressive Jewish members of Congress remained quiet. Thank G-d, House Speaker
Kevin McCarthy stepped in and used his authority to stop Tlaib from holding the
Nakba event at the Capitol. Just a few years ago it would have been unthinkable
that Tlaib, and her fellow (openly antisemitic) colleagues would sit in
Congress stoking hatred and spewing lies, mostly unchallenged, about Israel.
But here we are.
It is noteworthy that, in 2018, CNN
(no friend of Israel) reported, “Democrats may be approaching a turning point
on Israel.” CNN’s senior analyst, Harry Enten, wrote in 2018, “For the better
part of the past two decades, the establishment wings of both the Republican
and Democratic parties have been largely pro-Israel. While the Republican party
has become more pro-Israel recently, it’s unclear whether the Democratic party
will maintain a pro-Israel tilt. The Democrats are less pro-Israel than they’ve
been in decades. This drop has occurred in a period of just two years since
2016.”
According to Enten, the Democrats
were adopting more pro-Palestinian positions due to pressure from an insurgent
progressive wing. Analyzing the data, it is clear that over 50% of those over
65 who identify as Democrats support Israel, while the majority of those 30 and
under align with the Palestinians. In 2016, Bernie Sanders proposed a plank
calling for Israel to “end occupation and illegal settlements.” Enten states
(in 2018), “It is not too difficult to imagine that the Democratic party will
move towards the Palestinian position over the next few years.”
In December of 2016, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial
entitled, “Obama’s Parting Betrayal of Israel.” The article begins, “Last
Friday, on the eve of Hanukah, Barack Obama stabbed Israel in the front. The
departing president refused to veto UN resolution 2334, a measure clearly
intended to tip the ‘peace process’ toward the Palestinians. Its adoption
wasn’t pretty. But was sadly predictable. Mr. Obama’s refusal to use
Washington’s veto power was more than a graceless parting gesture. Its
consequences pose major challenges for American interests.”
The editorial continues: “President
Trump should echo Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s defiant and ringing 1975
response to the ‘Zionism is racism’ resolution: ‘America does not acknowledge,
and will not abide by, and never acquiesce to this infamous act.’
Even those who suffer from Trump
derangement syndrome should, at the very least, acknowledge that Trump did what
other presidents refused to do: He moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem,
appointed a frum Jew, Daniel Melech Friedman, as our ambassador to Israel, and
appointed Governor Nikki Haley, a true friend of Israel, as UN ambassador.
* * *
On Capitol Hill finding moderates
prior to 2008 was possible. Now, the middle seems to have disappeared. Recently,
Senator Joe Lieberman founded No Labels, a coalition of moderates, some
previously Democrats and others Republicans. They are diligently working to get
third-party moderates on the national ballot in 2024. Lieberman believes that
neither Biden nor Trump should be in the White House. He feels that the vast
majority of Americans want a return to a normal
center, with qualified candidates who are not extreme. Thus far, Lieberman has
70 million dollars (and growing) in pledges for No Labels. A final decision on
a third party White House run will be made early in 2024. In a recent interview,
Lieberman said, “I think that the idea of a bipartisan ticket for president and
vice-president is very appealing to the majority of people in our country.
There is an opportunity now because of the broad dissatisfaction with both
parties and their two leading presidential candidates.”
The challenge, according to
Lieberman, is to find two “qualified and attractive” No Labels candidates and
get them on the ballot nationally. I recently mentioned to the Senator that
third party (outsider) candidates have never succeeded in winning, but they
have caused others to lose. For example, Gore and Lieberman won the national
popular vote but lost the 2000 election by 537 votes in Florida. Had Ralph
Nader not been running as the Green Party candidate, it is more than likely
that Gore and Lieberman would have gone to the White House. Lieberman, who has
always had excellent political instincts, believes that 2024 is a very
different reality, and may just be the precise time to upend the establishment.
The reaction of Gore (and Lieberman)
on Dec 13, 2000, after the Supreme Court certified the election for Bush, is
worth remembering. Gore, before a nationwide audience, said, “While we are
deeply disappointed and sharply disagree with the verdict, partisan rancor must
now be put aside. Tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the
strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.” Maybe read that again in
order to comprehend statesmanship and putting the good of country first. In
just a little over two decades America has slid into a dark abyss. I pray that
Joe Lieberman’s efforts will succeed. Throughout my voting lifetime, I always
voted for the candidate who best represented my values; party affiliation made
little difference to me.
Joe Lieberman is deeply concerned
about the political polarization and leveraged takeover of both parties: the
woke, far-left Democrats and the Trump Republicans. Throughout his career Joe
Lieberman has always been a kiddush Hashem.
By his actions, he encouraged those around him to embrace traditional (Torah)
values. He is a very principled man who leads by example. Many Jews and non-Jews
have been inspired by his books on Jewish topics: The Fifty Day Journey from Egypt to Sinai and Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath. The late John McCain
referred to Lieberman as “the moral conscience of the Senate.”
A
few months ago Joe Lieberman and I had an opportunity to speak about the
current state of our democracy. He said, “Most of my life I have tried to be a
problem solver. I can’t just sit back and do nothing when something must be
done.” It is my fervent hope that No Labels will gain traction and, with G-d’s,
help bring Amer
