Too Tough on Jews

Not all Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the United States, but the Jewish outcry about the Hegel appointment has aroused my worst fears about Jewish disloyalty.

I really didn't think that much about Israel and the Jews until I was assigned to Poland in the mid-1990s.    First, as part of the acculturation process we went to visit the Holocaust museum which was just opening in Washington.  While it was moving, I was not pleased with the criticism of President Roosevelt for failing to come to the aid of the Jews in Europe sooner.  I suppose we will have more museums on the National Mall that are critical of America's history: museums condemning Washington and Jefferson for being slave owners and condemning the US Army for war crimes against Indians, etc.  But the Holocaust did not even occur in America, and none of the victims were Americans.

Then, in Poland in 1995, it was the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, and Clinton and Gore both came to mark different events.  It was all-Holocaust all the time.  There was no celebration of the Allied victory, in which my father fought.  It was just about the millions of Jews who died.  Of course, it's not clear in Poland what the war meant.  The US lost much less than one million killed in WW II.  The Soviets lost about twice as many killed as the 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.  The Jews did not really fight.  One of the biggest Jewish battles was the Warsaw ghetto uprising, but that uprising was insignificant compared to the Warsaw uprising by the whole city's population.  The ghetto uprising was put down fairly easily by the Germans; the Warsaw uprising led to the destruction of the whole city during the fierce battle with the Germans.

Of course, the Allies never made it to Poland; they hardly made it to Berlin.  The Soviet Union ended up controlling Poland.  It's questionable whether Britain and the US could have defeated Germany without the Soviet Union, which suffered horrendous casualties.  So, the Poles didn't have much to celebrate about the Allied victory.  The Jews didn't have much to celebrate either, except of the fact that some survived and wnt on to post-WW II lives, often in the US or Israel.  During the commemorations, I was not put off by those who had actually survived the death camps, but I was somewhat put off by the younger Jews who had not been through the Holocaust.  The survivors seemed to be grateful; the next generation seemed to have an attitude of, "You owe me,"  The West had not responded quickly enough, and they were there to collect for the West's failings.  There was some of the same attitude from the Poles for being abandoned to the Soviets, but in 1995 the were more joyful at finally getting out from under Soviet domination.

In any case, two years in Poland pounded the Holocaust into my head, not always in a good way.  Now Jews want Americans to hate themselves for not invading France sooner during WW II.  And to make up for not doing so, we must pay reparations to Israel, giving them billions and billions of dollars.  And making sure that we do is AIPAC, which is a Jewish lobby as well as an Israeli lobby, because many Jews cannot separate being Jewish from loving Israel.

Many Jews Hate Gentiles, Starting with Hegel

The Hegel confirmation hearings have illustrated Jewish hatred of gentiles.  I don't understand why gentiles like McCain, Graham, and other senators from the South join them in what is essentially self-loathing.  Meanwhile, the New York Times, which is owned by Jews, and which displays its nondiscriminatory policy by running an article about Israeli race hatred directed at Muslims on the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team.   No wonder Republicans hate the Times; compared to the Times they look like Nazi storm troopers.

Chambliss Leaving

I am disappointed that Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss is leaving the Senate because he has been too liberal and cooperative.  I will never respect him because of the campaign he ran against Max Cleland, a disabled Vietnam veteran, questioning Cleland's patriotism.  Chambliss did not serve in the military and received draft deferments during the Vietnam war.  He is a Republican chicken hawk.

Need for Seriousness on Debt

Paul Krugman has been campaigning against taking action on the US debt until the recession is over.  I would be more supportive if there were some plan to address the debt in the future, but I don't see any plan.  Krugman seems to claim that addressing the debt is and will be painless.  We shouldn't do it now while we are in a recession, and when the recession ends, growth in the economy and tax receipts will automatically take care of the problem.  But this is not the government of the 1970s,  Medicare is huge, and tax rates have been slashed.  The recession was imposed on a country that was already badly out of whack.

It looks like Krugman's plan is to wait for inflation.  It is relatively painless to run up debt now, while interest rates are low.  When interest rates go up, or when we decide that our debt is unsustainable, we will just allow (or encourage) inflation to take off.  Then we can pay off our huge debt with dollars worth much less than they are today.  However, that does not  bode well for whoever is living in the US when that time comes.

We need a plan now to address the budget deficit and the national debt, even if it doesn't go into effect immediately.  Obama's decision to accept the Republican definition of $450,000 income annually as middle class does not help.