The Price of Protest: An Open Letter to America’s Children

The following words were inspired by the anti-Zionist protests in “elite colleges and universities” across the United States which in turn were inspired by Hamas declaring war on Israel.  Full disclosure: the author of this piece is a Zionist, someone who affirms that the Jewish state of Israel has the right to exist, even if that right is based solely on the spoils of war.  I also declare that I, like so many Israelis, want Benjamin Netanyahu gone.  I further declare that anti-Zionism is 100% antisemitism, that it is 100% Jew hatred, both of which sentiments are quite legal in these United States, as sentiments.

Alexei Navalny

R.I.P. Alexei Navalny, 4 June 1976 – 16 February 2024

A Brief for Israel

It is April 5th, 2024.  But this needs to go upfront.  As an American who numbers Jews among my very best friends, as an American who is a sincere friend of the state of Israel, I am nonetheless deeply disturbed and horrified at the number of civilian deaths – even as "collateral damage" in wartime – in Gaza at the hands of the IDF under PM Benjamin Netanyahu.  But for 75 years, the policy and practice of Palestinians  – whether under Hamas, the Palestinian Authority or the Palestine Liberation Organization – has been the deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians.  Where was the outrage?

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While many of us bemoan the ascendancy of Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel's Donald Trump?) and his supporters, you have to wonder: if you were an Israeli Jew, would you still be patient with the daily threats of bloodshed posed by Palestinians?  Yes, perhaps Israel has over-reacted to Palestinian violence, but what would you have done?

It is my conviction that a lot of anti-Israel sentiment in these United States, especially among young people, is due to a lack of historical perspective.

Bias and Donald Trump

This piece is too long for a letter to the editor and too short for an Op Ed piece or even a Ben Paine blog post.  Here it is anyway.   When I write I publish.

On September 11th, 2023, the NY Times published an article: Trump Seeks Recusal of Judge in Federal Elections Case, as she had shown bias against him.  In the end, can Donald Trump get a fair trial anywhere?  Can this, or any, judge sit in judgment on Donald Trump without bias?

Who Can You Trust?

I have a young friend whose politics are informed by a lack of trust in government, a position that I am sympathetic toward.  Our presidents have lied to us, especially about the most momentous thing of all – going to war!  Woodrow Wilson lied to us, FDR lied to us, LBJ and Richard Nixon lied to us.  Donald Trump lied to us when he need not have.  But mistrusting the establishment and/or the mainstream media has its perils, like compelling you to ask: who do you trust?  One answer is, no one: but that kind of nihilism leads nowhere.  Another answer is the anti-establishment.  But who are they?  Donald Trump, the Prince of Lies, has tens of millions of Americans who trust him, despite the clear evidence that no one else in the American tradition has ever been accused, justly, of SO treating the simple truth like poison. 

Perspective

Both Carl Sagan and his god son Neil deGrasse Tyson had “cosmic perspectives.”  That is, they thought about the cosmos, the universe, everything.  Although they both were professional astronomers/astrophysicists, their cosmic perspective forced them to include physics, chemistry, biology, zoology, botany, and a host of human sciences in their quiver of useful knowledge.  As scientists in the public eye, who never ceased to enjoy teaching us stuff we didn’t know, their true roles were as advocates for scientific literacy.

On Being Trans

Miss Netherlands, a trans woman

How long did it take Dick Cheney, vice president under George W Bush and a real “conservative” Republican, to change his thinking about gay rights when his own daughter came out?  What do you think?  A minute?  20 seconds?  Somewhere between 5% and 10% of us are not straight.  That is, 20 million of us are not straight.  Which means that most extended families have a gay member or two.  And when that person came out, the family got behind him or her.  Without blinking an eye.  The person who didn’t was probably ostracized by the rest of the family.  The huge number of families with gay members explains why gay rights is no longer an issue among presidents, senators, House members, and even most SCOTUS justices.

Our Secular Nation

The United States is a secular nation, not a Christian nation, and this blog post is an explanation why this is OK and even necessary, even if you are a Christian.

If we were a Christian nation, what would that look like?  According to latest (2020) estimates, 69.7% of us are Christian. 

“See, that proves we are a Christian nation!”

Powers, Rights, Privileges

In a constitutionally limited representative democratic republic,

• A power belongs to a government, to compel a non-governmental entity to perform some action or to prevent a non-governmental entity from performing some action.  The sole powers that any such government has are always defined and limited by a constitution, either federal or state.
• A right belongs to an individual or a natural person, to do or not to do as he sees fit.  A right is absolute protection against governmental power. 

The U.S. Bill of Rights

Dear Reader:

It's been 10 years, maybe 30 years or more, since you read, and thought about, our Bill of Rights.  It's time for a refresher.  At less than 1000 words, it should take you five minutes to read this post.  Take ten minutes, at least, to understand what you are reading.