That’s what Larisa Alexandrovna sez:
Take for example the latest Alan Dershowitz column in the Wall Street Journal. Aside from getting the new meme on Mukasey about how the Democrats are beholden to MoveOn.org - echoed by meister Rove, President Bush, Dick Cheney, and the right wing propaganda machine as if one ring ruled them all - Dershowitz actually writes this:
“There are some who claim that torture is a nonissue because it never works—it only produces false information. This is simply not true, as evidenced by the many decent members of the French Resistance who, under Nazi torture, disclosed the locations of their closest friends and relatives.”This statement defies logic. Even if in some instances Nazi tactics worked, why would anyone endorse them for any reason, especially a Jewish man? Dershowitz, and others like him - Joe Lieberman, et al - do not speak for Jews, nor do they speak for Israel. In fact, the far right regime that has co-opted Israel and the US both is not representative of Judaism or Christianity for that matter. Whatever or whomever it is they represent, it is not the Israeli people or the American people. It is as though a multi-national organized crime syndicate has taken over both countries and is using the cover of religion as a shield against criticism.
Fine, Larissa. I’ll buy that…exactly when the majority of Jews/Israelis the Druze PUBLICALLY ANNOUNCE THEIR REPUDIATION OF/REVULSION WITH the Dershowitzs and Liebermans (to say nothing of the Doug Feiths, Paul Wolfowitzs, Richard Perles, the Elliot Abrams, the Podhoretzs, pere et fils, the Kristols, et al).
Exactly the way I’ll accept the ’honest charity of Christians” when the expel the Fred Sheltons, Pat Robertsons, James Dobsons, et al.
These religious fux cannot have it both ways: Either the fundie fux (Jewish Druze or Xian) are members of their ’confessions,’ or they are not. If they are not, then the ’leaders’ of the ’responsible sects’ need to disavow their bug-shit crazy ’bretheren’ and join the SECULAR community of citizens in abhoring the shitwhistling fucknozzles in their ranks who work for Theocracy, Armageddon, their own Rapture, and the 2nd Coming.
Front page
Consider
Does William Kristol speak for the majority of Americans? How about Michael Ledeen? Or Pat Robertson?
No? Well, I agree with you.
How many Americans support the Iraq War, or the trashing of the Constitution?
Not many you say? Well, I agree with you.
But you might as well say:
Exactly how do we do that when all the main$tream media is owned by war profiteers?
Exactly how do the majority of Israelis do the same- and believe me, the majority of Israelis and Jews I know do so- when both medias, governments, and electoral processes are controlled by the very same people who profit on the endless posturing and the endless war?
I’m open to suggestions. But please don’t give me the marching in the streets with torches and pitchforks scenarios. In both countries, Israel and America, the cops are better armed than the people and utterly ruthless about using those arms.
And every time we elect “leaders”, they get bought out.
No Hell below us
Above us, only sky
Um...Um...Um...
I’m Jewish and I’m frankly offended that I’m somehow required to repudiate them publicly because of my ethnicity. You could say that oh, but you’re a SECULAR Jew and therefore I’m not talking about YOU! But that’s still offensive. You should know better about Jews and the way Jewishness works.
Have you received oral sex from a woman other than your wife, like Bill Clinton? Because all Democrats have, and I will continue to believe this until the majority of Democrats states publicly that they do not cheat on their spouses. I’ll start with myself — Bill Clinton’s sexcapades do not speak for my own sexual life. How’s that? Just 100 million more to go…
Let me also say that you’re treading very near to anti-Semitic waters here, with implications that the Jews are trying to take over the major institutions of the world. It’s a small step from here to the Illuminati, Jew-controlled media, and so on. These are silly conspiracy theories believed by anti-Semites, and they imply that those people at the top who happen to be Jews are somehow trying to keep all control in Jewish hands for some nefarious purpose. I’m just letting you know so that you don’t get into more trouble over this later. If you really believe what you said about Jews in your post, you should really read up on anti-Semitism before you fall into that trap again.
Let me mention finally that the state of Israel is a very hard issue for many Jews, since we have to find fault in something we’ve been taught to cherish since babyhood. It’s very hard to accept that Israel, the Promised Land, the Jewish state, is responsible for the aggression it’s responsible for and so on. I’d venture to say that Jews feel more of a need to defend Israel than Americans do to defend America’s shady past, but that might just be me. Jewishness is defined not by religion but by ethnicity, and therefore we have this collective consciousness of a “home country” where we aren’t “from” somewhere else, and we like that home to be blameless even though it isn’t. It’s very difficult. I say this as an extremely atheist and non-observing Jew. I’m also Brazilian, and I get offended whenever someone else says bad things about Brazil — I want it to be perfect, even though I’m in the US because Brazil sucks balls, or at least did in 1994. So I wouldn’t expect the majority of Jews to publicly speak against the actions of Israel, at least not in the Diaspora. You’ll probably have much better luck in Israel itself.
Woody, pardon me for borrowing your Caps Lock key...
I PUBLICALLY (sic) ANNOUNCE MY REPUDIATION OF/REVULSION WITH THIS OFFENSIVE POST.
Demanding loyalty oaths from an ethnic/religious group!? Boy, this is progressive commentary at its finest!
While you’re at it, since Israelis are Asians, make sure they repudiate Pearl Harbor, as well. You just can’t be too careful….
But is it good for the Druze?
I corrected WHAT I must imagine ARE typos in the post; I want to congratulate Woody for paying such close attention to THE details of Lebanese religious factionalism, and particularly for holding all Druze RESPONSIBLE for the views OF some….
We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan