Posted originally on the conservative tree house April 25, 2021 | Sundance | 137 Comments
Senator Rand Paul appears on Maria Bartiromo to discuss the ongoing ramification from current leftist policy as being produced on Capitol Hill. The interview begins with Senator Paul discussing the leftist definitions of ‘infrastructure’ and how left-wing groups are beneficiaries of trillions of taxpayer funds.
On the economic ramifications Senator Paul notes the impact of massive capital gains increases and how increasing corporate income taxes only provides incentives for national companies to establish themselves overseas to avoid tax liability. The multinational corps, those already positioned overseas, do not have the same risk exposure to corporate tax increases, thus they do not oppose legislation that hurts national business and small U.S. corporations.
Overall the points made by Rand Paul are all valid; however, those in DC still hold back from pointing out the intent of the JoeBama group – that’s frustrating. This game where incompetence is claimed under the guise of ‘benefit of doubt’ is a severe weakness within the GOP. The refusal to aggressively confront Obama 3.0 is beyond frustrating.
Anyone who believes Democrats own exclusive opposition to the America First principles are completely ignoring the deliberate construct of the republican party. There are just as many -if not more- natural enemies within the Republican apparatus as there are within the Democrat group. “America-First” is antithetical to the UniParty.
The frustration amid the MAGA community is valid. Everything about it is righteous. The mechanisms that run the system in DC must be deconstructed if we are to win the battles and the war against this massive enemy. We have the largest coalition of American patriots on our side; however, there are only a handful of representatives willing to confront with the needed ferocity.
Multinationals want control; some call that corporatism…. but the names are moot. Multinationals want control, and capitalism does not allow them control; that is why multinationals do not want capitalism. Multinationals use lobbyists to generate regulations that stall competition.
Multinationals do not want competition; they are, by nature of their interest, anti-capitalists.
This misunderstanding is everywhere.
Most people think when they vote for a federal politician -a House or Senate representative- they are voting for a person who will go to Washington DC and write or enact legislation. This is the old-fashioned “schoolhouse rock” perspective based on decades past.
There is not a single person in congress writing legislation or laws. In modern politics not a single member of the House of Representatives or Senator writes a law, or puts pen to paper to write out a legislative construct. This simply doesn’t happen.
Over the past several decades a system of constructing legislation has taken over Washington DC that more resembles a business operation than a legislative body.
The for-profit groups (mostly multinational corporations) have a purpose in Washington DC to shape policy, legislation and laws favorable to their interests. They have fully staffed offices just like any business would – only their ‘business‘ is getting legislation for their unique interests.
These groups are filled with highly-paid lawyers who represent the interests of the entity and actually write laws and legislation briefs.
In the modern era this is actually the origination of the laws that we eventually see passed by congress. Within the walls of these buildings within Washington DC is where the ‘sausage’ is actually made. Again, no elected official is usually part of this law origination process.
Almost all legislation created is not ‘high profile’, they are obscure changes to current laws, regulations or policies that no-one pays attention to. The passage of the general bills within legislation is not covered in media. Ninety-nine percent of legislative activity happens without anyone outside the system even paying any attention to it.
Once the corporation (multinational) or representative organizational entity has written the law they want to see passed – they hand it off to the lobbyists.
The lobbyists are people who have deep contacts within the political bodies of the legislative branch, usually former House/Senate staff or former House/Senate politicians themselves.
The lobbyist takes the written brief, the legislative construct, and it’s their job to go to congress and sell it. “Selling it” means finding politicians who will accept the brief, sponsor their bill and eventually get it to a vote and passage.
Corporations (special interest group) write the legislation. Lobbyists take the law and go find politician(s) to support it. Politicians get support from their peers using tenure and status etc. Eventually, if things go according to norm, the legislation gets a vote.
Within every step of the process there are expense account lunches, dinners, trips, venue tickets and a host of other customary financial way-points to generate/leverage a successful outcome. The amount of money spent is proportional to the benefit derived from the outcome.
The important part to remember is that the origination of the entire process is EXTERNAL to congress.
Congress does not write laws or legislation, special interest groups do. Lobbyists are paid, some very well paid, to get politicians to go along with the need of the legislative group. When a House or Senate member becomes educated on the intent of the legislation, they have attended the sales pitch; and when they find out the likelihood of support for that legislation; they can then position their own (or their families) financial interests to benefit from the consequence of passage. It is a process similar to insider trading on Wall Street, except the trading is based on knowing who will benefit from a legislative passage.
When we understand the business of DC, we understand the difference between legislation with a traditional purpose and modern legislation with a financial and political agenda.
If you know a better solution to this mess than repeal of the 17th amendment, I am all ears.
If, as the constitution outlined, the Senate were still a place where all legislation required a 2/3 majority for passage; and if, as the constitution outlined, the Senate were a body filled with representatives selected by State Houses instead of popular election – then perhaps Senators could not be purchased by multinational interests. Alas it is not.
Passage of the 17th amendment took away the very intentional roadblock of the Republican framework that Jefferson spoke of when he called it a saucer to cool the hot emotional tea of short-sighted legislation. The constitution outlined consent as “two-thirds” (66), which was progressively watered down to become “three-fifths” (60) as the majority rule; and substantively, as it now stands according to democrats objectives, one-half plus one (51).
We are on the precipice and the GOP operate as if the constitution burning can be restored if they just reach across the aisle more.
The Ox is the second of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. The Ox was about to be the first to arrive, but Rat tricked Ox into giving him a ride. Then, just as they arrived, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox. Thus, Ox became the second animal.
From a cyclical perspective, these are years that do correspond to important shifts in trends. The year 1913 was the year of the Ox when both the income tax and the Federal Reserve were created. (125 was the year the bull market really began to take off and real estate was the first to peak 2 years later. Of court 1949 was the first currency devaluation under Bretton Woods. Even 1961 was Kennedy election, 1973 OPEC, 1985 peak in dollar birth of G5, 1997 Asia Currency Crisis, 2009 bottom in the 2007 Financial Crisis, and now 2021 looks to be shaping up as a disaster and Biden takes control. The next will be 2033 one year after our model peaks in 2032.
The PLO’s continuing refusal to negotiate with Israel on President Trump’s Peace Plan—whilst also denouncing the peace treaties signed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain with Israel—sees West Bank and Gazan Arabs remaining captive to accepting these disastrous PLO decisions without any rights to vote or emigrate.
These disenfranchised, beleaguered and long-suffering populations have seen the PLO reject proposals for peace flowing from:
1993 Oslo Accords,
2000 Camp David Summit,
2003 Bush Road Map,
Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza 2005
2007 Annapolis Conference,
2014 Kerry negotiations and
Trump’s 2020 deal of the century—reportedly endorsed by Qatar.
Financial assistance to improve their miserable lives has been lost—including:
America terminating its payment of 22% of UNESCO’s annual budget following UNESCO’s admission of the “State of Palestine” as a member contrary to American domestic law and in contravention of UNESCO’s own constitution
$28.5 billion that would have flown from international donors at the Manama Conference held on June 25/26, 2019 if the Trump Peace Plan was implemented.
The UAE voiced its support for the Manama Conference and what it hoped would be achieved:
“The UAE supports all international efforts aimed at supporting economic progress and increasing opportunities in the region, and alleviating the suffering of people in the region, particularly our brothers in Palestine… It (the Conference) aims to lift the Palestinian people out of misery and to enable them for a stable and prosperous future,”
Hamas and the PLO violently opposed and boycotted the Manama Conference.
Hamas—which turned Gaza into a hell hole following Israel’s unilateral disengagement in 2005—had the gall to warn the Manama Conference Arab attendees:
“We warn Arab states against the malicious activities aimed to pave the way for normalisation with the Israeli occupation and involvement in the deal of the century,”
The UAE and Bahrain wisely rejected this advice at the White House last week.
PLO spokesman Saeb Erekat—expressed his opposition to the Manama Conference claiming:
“there will be no economic prosperity in Palestine without the end of the occupation.”
Tens of millions of desperate people have fled their birthplaces for economic reasons in recent years seeking to enter other countries illegally.
Policies espoused by both Hamas and the PLO in relation to Israel have wrought disaster:
Materially affecting West Bank and Gazan Arabs’ personal lives and
Wrecking hopes for peace and a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Many West Bank and Gazan Arabs would want to emigrate after Erekat’s depressing prediction—especially to Arab countries prepared to accept them legally.
Employment, economic prosperity and better lives tantalisingly beckon West Bank and Gazan Arabs in:
Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project—a planned US$500 billion mega city.
The project includes a bridge spanning the Red Sea, connecting the proposed city to Africa.
Some 25,900 square kilometres—the size of Israel—has been allocated for the project—which will be close to the borders of Jordan and Egypt.
The planned relocation of the Egyptian Government offices from Cairo to a new $58 billion administrative capital city 45 km east of Cairo covering an area of 741 square km.
West Bank and Gazan Arabs—caught up in three decades of disastrous decisions and continuing internecine in-fighting between their corrupt governments—should be allowed to vote with their feet and move—with international financial assistance—to other countries willing to accept them.
The PLO and Hamas should be spurned world-wide until they let their citizens emigrate.
Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog
The member states of the United Nations plan to adopt a declaration next week marking the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and committing to a reinvigorated multilateralism, according to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. They will also invite the Secretary General “to report on our common agenda for the future,” Mr. Guterres told reporters at a press conference in which reporters participated both in person and virtually. “This will be an important process of reflection and I will report back with analysis and recommendations.”
Secretary General presented a false choice between “global solidarity” through globalist institutions like the United Nations versus “go-it-alone nationalist approaches”
One wonders why the Secretary General is not already prepared to offer his concrete analysis and specific recommendations for keeping the UN relevant in the years ahead. It’s not as if he is new to the job. Secretary General Guterres is in his fourth year of a five-year term and presumably has already been thinking ahead to a possible second term. However, the Secretary General was short on specifics in his opening remarks to reporters. He fell back instead on his usual platitudes, calling for global solidarity to deal with climate change, the coronavirus, a global ceasefire, eradicating poverty and the like. Secretary General Guterres said nothing about trying to fix the UN’s own problems of trust caused by its lack of accountability for misdeeds by UN personnel and its lack of transparency.
“People are thinking big – about transforming the global economy, accelerating the transition to zero carbon, ensuring universal health coverage, moving towards a universal basic income and making decision-making more open and inclusive,” Secretary General Guterres said. “They are also expressing an intense yearning for global solidarity – and rejecting go-it-alone nationalist approaches and divisive populist appeals. Now is the time to respond to these aspirations and realize these aims. In this 75th anniversary year, we face our own 1945 moment.”
The Secretary General presented a false choice between “global solidarity” through globalist institutions like the United Nations versus “go-it-alone nationalist approaches.” There is a responsible third choice that is most consistent with the UN Charter – smart, targeted multilateralism to address manageable transnational problems without giving up each nation’s sovereignty in the process.
United Nations does not have the authority “to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state”
The Charter of the United Nations, as designed by the victors of World War II who created the UN seventy-five years ago, does not compel the UN’s member states to forfeit their sovereignty to a global governance body. Quite the opposite. The United Nations was founded to bring sovereign nations together for the purpose of cooperating to solve common problems while taking collective action where warranted against threats to international peace and security. In fact, the United Nations Charter specifically recognizes the sovereign status of the member states. It stipulates that the United Nations does not have the authority “to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.”
Only the Security Council has enforcement powers under Chapter VII of the Charter to impose sanctions and authorize the use of collective military force to maintain or restore international peace and security, subject to the veto power of its five permanent members. Everything else about United Nations governance outside of paying assessed dues is voluntary.
As President Trump said in his remarks to the UN General Assembly last year, “The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to sovereign and independent nations who protect their citizens, respect their neighbors, and honor the differences that make each country special and unique.” At the same time, President Trump stressed that the United States “is ready to embrace friendship with all who genuinely seek peace and respect. America knows that while anyone can make war, only the most courageous can choose peace.”
While Secretary General Guterres speaks in abstract about a “collective push for peace,” President Trump has worked with other nations in a multilateral fashion to achieve real results in the pursuit of peace.
UN’s myopic obsession on the Palestinian cause
Most notably, on September 15th at the White House, peace agreements were signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain. Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain will establish embassies, exchange ambassadors, and embark on a cooperative relationship involving such matters as trade, healthcare, and security.
Inexplicably, Secretary General Guterres neglected to mention these historic agreements in his opening remarks. In response to a question about the agreements, Secretary General Guterres claimed they “managed one very important result, and that was the suspension of the annexation of occupied territory.” Typical of the UN’s myopic obsession on the Palestinian cause, the Secretary General downplayed the importance of two Arab countries reaching peace accords with Israel for the first time since Israel and Jordan signed their Treaty of Peace 26 years ago. The only other peace agreement signed by Israel with an Arab country was the Camp David Accords with Egypt in 1979.
As commentators in the Arab world are increasingly recognizing, Middle East peace is not all about satisfying the Palestinian leadership’s maximalist demands. The commentators were disgusted with the Palestinian leaders’ reflexive denunciations of normalizing relations between Israel and the two Arab Gulf countries. They are beginning to see through the Palestinians’ lies and self-dealing at the expense of the Palestinian people and genuine peace.
A Saudi writer, for example, wrote the following, as transcribed by MEMRI:
The UN is continuing its decades-old role as the enabler of Palestinian rejectionists
“The situation of our Palestinian brothers is regrettable. For over 60 years, their politicians have cashed in on their cause, and persisted in not reaching an arrangement, in destroying the negotiations, and in opposing every peace initiative, whether proposed by the Israelis or by the other international elements. The Palestinian politician has inflicted this on his cause and his people in order to profit from leaving things as they are, since the way he has chosen for decades was the only way to guarantee that he would remain in the picture and [benefit from the] influx of funds, donations and aid flowing from all directions, particularly from the Arab and Islamic world, into his coffers and his European bank accounts. Today, the situation is different, because the peoples who once identified with the Palestinian cause are completely aware of this manipulation and the way it is done.”
A Saudi Member of Parliament wrote, as transcribed by MEMRI:
“The Palestinians must understand… that today’s Arabs and Muslims are different than the past [generations], for the young generation has gained awareness and can no longer be deceived or exploited. The Palestinians have kept their cause exclusively under their own control, traded in it, and missed opportunities one by one, until their rights evaporated.”
Sadly, the United Nations, under Mr. Guterres’ leadership, is legitimizing the Palestinian leaders’ deceptions and exploitation. The UN is continuing its decades-old role as the enabler of Palestinian rejectionists who still insist on a Palestinian state stretching from “the river to the sea.” This is not the way to move forward successfully with Mr. Guterres’ desired “collective push for peace.”
President Donald Trump commemorated the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania by paying tribute in person to the occupants of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa.
“Nineteen years ago, on this day, at this very hour, on this field, 40 brave men and women triumphed over terror and gave their lives in defense of our nation. Their names and their stories are forever inscribed on the eternal roll call of American heroes. Today, we pay tribute to their sacrifice, and we mourn deeply for the nearly 3,000 precious and beautiful souls who were taken from us on September 11th, 2001,” he said.
President Trump delivered a remarkable tribute to the heroes of Flight #93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania as he and the first lady pay their respects: “The heroes of Flight 93 are an everlasting reminder that no matter the danger, no matter the threat, no matter the odds, America will always rise up, stand tall, and fight back.” – – – “The only thing that stood between the enemy and a deadly strike at the heart of American democracy was the courage and resolve of 40 men and women.”
“Our sacred task, our righteous duty, and our solemn pledge, is to carry forward the noble legacy of the brave souls who gave their lives for us 19 years ago.” … “In their memory, we resolve to stand united as one American nation, to defend our freedoms – to uphold our values – to love our neighbors – to cherish our country – to care for our communities – to honor our heroes – and to never forget.” [Full Video and Full Transcript Below]
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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, David, very much. It’s a great honor to be with you.
Nineteen years ago, on this day, at this very hour, on this field, 40 brave men and women triumphed over terror and gave their lives in defense of our nation. Their names and their stories are forever inscribed on the eternal roll call of American heroes.
Today, we pay tribute to their sacrifice, and we mourn deeply for the nearly 3,000 precious and beautiful souls who were taken from us on September 11th, 2001.
To the family members of Flight 93: Today, every heartbeat in America is wedded to yours. Your pain and anguish is the shared grief of our whole nation. The memory of your treasured loved ones will inspire America for all time to come.
The heroes of Flight 93 are an everlasting reminder that no matter the danger, no matter the threat, no matter the odds, America will always rise up, stand tall, and fight back.
To every 9/11 member all across this nation: The First Lady and I come to this hallowed ground deeply aware that we cannot fill the void in your heart or erase the terrible sorrow of this day. The agony renewed, the nightmare relived, the wounds reopened, the last treasured words played over and over again in your minds.
But while we cannot erase your pain, we can help to shoulder your burden. We promise that unwavering love that you so want and need, support, devotion — and the very special devotion — of all Americans.
On that September morning, when America was under attack, the battle turned in the skies above this field. Soon after taking off from Newark, New Jersey, radical Islamic terrorists seized control of United 93. Other hijacked planes struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center, and then the South Tower, and then the Pentagon.
The terrorists on Flight 93 had a fourth target in mind. It was called: our nation’s capital. They were just 20 minutes away from reaching their sinister objective. The only thing that stood between the enemy and a deadly strike at the heart of American democracy was the courage and resolve of 40 men and women — the amazing passengers and crew of Flight 93.
Donald and Jean Peterson were grandparents traveling to vacation in California. Deora Bodley was a student headed back to college. Richard Guadagno was returning from celebrating his grandmother’s 100th birthday. Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas was three months pregnant with her first child. Every passenger and crewmember on the plane had a life filled with love and joy, friends and family, radiant hopes and limitless dreams.
When the plane was hijacked, they called their families and learned that America was also under attack. Then they faced the most fateful moment of their lives.
Through the heartache and the tears, they prayed to God, they placed their last calls home, they whispered the immortal words, “I love you.” Today, those words ring out across these sacred grounds, and they shine down on us from Heaven above.
When terrorists raced to destroy the seat of our democracy, the 40 of Flight 93 did the most American of things: They took a vote, and then they acted. Together, they charged the cockpit, they confronted the pure evil, and in their last act on this Earth, they saved our capital.
In this Pennsylvania field, the 40 intrepid souls of Flight 93 died as true heroes. Their momentous deeds will outlive us all.
In the days and weeks after 9/11, citizens of all faiths, backgrounds, colors, and creeds came together, prayed together, mourned together, and rebuilt together.
The song “God Bless America” became a rallying cry for the nation. We were united by our conviction that America was the world’s most exceptional country, blessed with the most incredible heroes, and that this was a land worth defending with our very last breath. It was a unity based on love for our families, care for our neighbors, loyalty to our fellow citizens, pride in our great flag, gratitude for our police and first responders, faith in God, and a refusal to bend our will to the depraved forces of violence, intimidation, oppression, and evil.
In New York, Arlington, and Shanksville, people raced into the suffocating smoke and rubble. At Ground Zero, the world witnessed the miracle of American courage and sacrifice. As ash rained down, police officers, first responders, and firefighters ran into the fires of hell.
On that day, more than 400 first responders gave their lives, including 23 New York City police officers, 37 Port Authority workers, and 343 New York City firefighters. Today, we honor their extraordinary sacrifice and every first responder who keeps America safe.
With us today is David DeMato, a retired Chicago police officer and a current officer of the Navy Reserves. On 9/11, he drove from Chicago to Ground Zero. As David says, “While the sights and smells of working at Ground Zero will forever be etched in my mind, what is more profound is the way this country came together afterwards. The police officers and firemen were revered as the heroes they truly are; the military was appreciated in a manner not seen in decades; and common people found new meaning in values like friendship, kindness, and selflessness.”
Thank you, David. Such beautiful words. And thank you to every member of law enforcement who risks their lives to ensure our safety and uphold our peace.
This morning, we also remember the 183 people who were killed in the attack on the Pentagon and the remarkable service members who crawled straight through the raging blaze to rescue their comrades.
We express our undying loyalty to the nearly 6 million young men and women who have enlisted in the United States armed forces since September 11th, 2001.
More than 7,000 military heroes have laid down their lives since 9/11 to preserve our freedom. No words can express the summit of their glory or the infinite depth of our gratitude. But we will strive every single day to repay our immeasurable debt and prove worthy of their supreme sacrifice.
America will never relent in pursuing terrorists that threaten our people. Less than one year ago, American warriors took out the savage killer and leader of ISIS, Al-Baghdadi. Soon after, our warriors ended the brutal reign of the Iranian butcher who murdered thousands of American service members. The world’s top terrorist, Qasem Soleimani, is dead.
Here in Shanksville, this community locked arms and hearts in the wake of tragedy. With us today is Chuck Wagner, a heavy equipment operator who lives just a few miles away. Very soon after the attack, Chuck helped search for the black box. He was so changed by what he experienced that he joined with several members of his church to become what they call “Ambassadors” for the 40 men and women on Flight 93.
Chuck and his neighbors learned about each person, cared for their families, and each day, rain or shine, they took shifts standing vigil over their final resting place.
Long before this place was a national memorial, back when it was marked by a simple wooden cross, Chuck and his fellow Ambassadors were always here waiting to tell visitors about those we lost. Nineteen years later, Chuck says his life is devoted to three things: his family, his church, and preserving the memory of the men and women of Flight 93.
To Chuck, his wife Jayne — (applause) — thank you very much. Thank you very much. To Chuck and his wife Jayne, thank you so much for being here. And to the over 40 Ambassadors with us today, please stand and receive America’s thanks. And this is a very deep thanks. Please. (Applause.) Thank you very much.
Also with us is Marine veteran Jason Thomas, from Long Island. On September 11th, Jason had just retired from the Marines. But he immediately put back on his uniform and raced into the nightmare of ash and debris. At Ground Zero, he found a fellow Marine, Dave Karnes. Together, they began to call out: “United States Marines! United States Marines! If you can hear us, yell, tap. Do whatever you can do. We’re the United States Marines.” Soon they heard a shout for help. Two police officers were trapped beneath 20 feet of rubble. Jason and Dave dug for hours on end knowing that, at any moment, the wreckage could come down on them, crushing them alive. At one point, someone told Jason to stop. Jason replied, “I’m a Marine. I don’t go back. I go forward.”
That day, Jason helped save the lives of those two officers. For years, Jason said nothing about what he did on 9/11. He did not even tell his five children. But when he saw the rescue recounted on TV, he decided to meet those officers. One of them gave him a gift: a steel cross made from a beam that Jason helped lift to free them from the hell on Earth.
As Jason said about the cross, “It means a lot. It’s a symbol of what we are as Americans. Because that day, we all came together and stood as a nation, as Americans. It didn’t matter what race you were, what religion you were. It didn’t matter. We all came together to help one another. I’d die for this country. I’d die for this country.”
Jason, thank you very much for bearing witness to the character of our nation. Jason, thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you, Jason.
The men and women of Flight 93 were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives. Nothing could have prepared them for the dreadful events of that morning. But when the moment came, when history called, they did not hesitate, they did not waver. Forty towering patriots rose up, took charge, made their stand, turned the tide, and changed the course of history forever.
Our sacred task, our righteous duty, and our solemn pledge is to carry forward the noble legacy of the brave souls who gave their lives for us 19 years ago. In their memory, we resolve to stand united as one American nation, to defend our freedoms, to uphold our values, to love our neighbors, to cherish our country, to care for our communities, to honor our heroes, and to never, ever forget.
Thank you. God bless you. God bless the heroes of Flight 93. God bless all of the families. 9/11 — we’ll never forget. God bless you all, and God bless America. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
September 11, 2001, is a date that will forever be known simply as 9-11. As we reflect on the day we think of those we lost in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC; and we remember the courage and bravery of the heroic first responders. We will never forget.
I found The Book of Trees, by Leanne Lieberman, to be an unusual reading experience. I was struck by its inauthenticity, as the author clearly had a list of grievances and concocted a story line to convey them. Her intent was to disparage and delegitimize Israel as a nation and the Jews as a people – indeed to challenge their very existence – revealing her opinion through Mia.
***
Mia is the 17-year-old daughter of unwed parents in Canada. Her mother is an irreligious, Jewish, Bohemian-type remnant of the 1960s; her father, an atheist, lapsed Catholic, and a travelling musician who was often absent. She is lonely, in need of spiritual grounding. Alluding to her Jewish grandmother, she responded to a Jewish outreach poster and accepted a scholarship to study in Israel with a friend, Aviva Blume, for the summer between high school and university.
From the first day that she can run off on her own, Mia finds beauty in the endless desert and in the mosque on the Temple Mount and the Armenian church within the Old City. She disparages all else – Mrs. Blume, who hosted Mia’s first Shabbat dinner in Canada, as “frumpy”; Mr. Blume, as “fat and middle-aged,” although Mia was touched by the evening and the traditional love song. In Israel, she finds the tourists “dorky,” the Kotel “just a stone wall,” and the wigs worn by orthodox women for modesty “weirded me out.” The young man in class is cute, but “geeky.” The teacher’s kerchief is “ugly” and classes about the laws of kashruth (Jewish religious laws of the suitability of food) are “ridiculous” and “disappointing.”She is often dizzy, her head aches from clenching her teeth, and she was “nauseated” during prayers.However, she finds the non-Jewish American guitarist, Andrew, attractive, and she makes a feeble attempt at limiting her association. The author’s opinions about Judaism and Jews have become obvious.
She takes her first bus trip with Aviva into the Judean Desert, its name derived from Judah, one of the sons of the Jewish Patriarch, Jacob, also known as Israel, but the author has obvious reasons for overlooking the connection. Also ignored are the 3,000 years of recorded Jewish history on this land, including verified accounts of kings, prophets, characters that define the people, their artifacts and values, preferring to imagine credibility for Arabs who have no historical ties whatsoever.
Mia criticizes a grove of neatly spaced trees that had been planted by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), saying they looked unnatural, lacking the undergrowth of a northern forest. “It felt dead, like a tree graveyard.” She belittles the monument that commemorates the soldiers who took the hill in the 1948 War of Independence, battling five Arab armies that attacked the new sovereign state. Aviva suggests that the trees were probably planted over what had been an Arab village, to which Mia responds, “I guess they were determined to keep their homeland,” again endorsing the Muslim story line.
Rather than fact-check prior to writing, Lieberman recently reviewed her own book for credibility; book sales are weak, perhaps due to her tenacious bias. Mia cries for trees she imagines have been planted over Arab villages, but not for the Israelis murdered by those Arab villagers, or for diners killed, crippled or blinded by a jihadi’s explosive belt; or for the homes and playgrounds and thousands of agricultural acreage and wildlife preserves burned to cinders by their youths’ incendiary balloons. She repeats the Palestinian lie of Israeli oppression, and accuses Israel of apartheid, the charges never substantiated. During the pandemic, the Palestinian Authority continues to prioritize payments to convicted terrorists and their families over their people’s well-being. Even though Israel’s economy has suffered and people have died, the Jewish state continues to send aid to the PA and Gaza.
Muslim citizens enjoy more rights in Israel than they do under Islamic rule. The 20th century is packed with Arab raids, terrorism, massacres, revolts, numerous wars, intifadas, and suicide bombings worldwide. Azzam Pasha, secretary-general of the Arab League, declared of Israel on May 15, 1948, “This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.” Islam has been the cause of mass slaughter, devastation and annihilation since its inception and responsible for the more than 37,483 deadly attacks, worldwide (to 8/18/20), since 9/11. They have never declared a desire for peace as Lieberman suggests. and have never enacted laws to abolish slavery or grant individual freedoms. The Book of Trees is a mission in deception for the Palestinian narrative, and it is time to drop the legend of indigenous Palestinians.
The 600,000 – 750,000 Arabs who left Israel according to their own armies’ commands were part of the displaced masses from the Arab-initiated war, and should have been welcomed back to Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Egypt is 36:1 the size of Israel, Iraq 15.7:1, Syria 6.6:1, and Jordan 3.2:1, and the Naqba is the betrayal by their own. Lieberman’s hope that Israel will welcome their avowed enemy and descendants is a wish for Israel’s annihilation. She does not advocate that the 850,000 displaced Jews be permitted to return to the Islamic countries from which they fled at the same time. Yasser Arafat declared that a Palestinian state would be Jew-free, yet the author and others expect Israel to be overwhelmed by their enemy.
From her new lover, Andrew, Mia learns that the Palestinians are “a poor native people who have been uprooted,” and that they want clean water and good schools – basic human rights. She does not know that Israel supplies large amounts of water from its own provisions to Palestinians and Jordan because this desert country has become a world leader of water conservation and desalination, overcoming almost insurmountable obstacles, while Hamas-controlled Gazans refuse to cooperate to improve their lot, and use the water as a political issue. Similarly, Mia seems not to know that Palestinians refused every opportunity to create their own country on land offered by the UN and Israel, and unaware that their children are raised to be murderous jihadis. And how is “good schools” defined when they teach hate against Israel and all Jews, and how to behead their perceived enemy. After the Arabs lost their War of 1967, they still declared, NO peace with Israel, NO recognition of Israel, and NO negotiation with Israel.
Mia learns about the checkpoints, but not of their effectiveness at apprehending terrorists before they can gain entry into Israel and discharge their explosive devices among the citizens. Lieberman describes the West Bank as a third-world country, with no infrastructure, their economy in ruins, but appears to be unaware that their more-than-generous funding (among the world’s largest per-capita aid recipients) gets funneled to Palestinian officials, for armaments against Israel and for mothers of jihadi martyrs. Funds earmarked for cement for housing are instead used to construct miles of terror tunnels, and the elite reside in grandeur.
Andrew tells Mia that he volunteers to teach music and tutor English at a Palestinian school, and he rebuilds Arab homes razed by the Israeli military. Once again, Lieberman withholds why these homes have been destroyed. Some were built as illegal acts of defiance by the United Nations against Israeli law; others were erected by nomadic tribes on land that lacked infrastructure and deemed unsuitable for housing (Israel offers to move Bedouins!); and still others were intentionally demolished as reprisal for the families of murderous martyrs.
Upon seeing the Kotel, the remaining Western Wall of the ancient Jewish Temple and Jewry’s holiest shrine (built in 2nd century BCE, destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE), Mia criticizes their prayer customs of thousands of years. (Doubtful that she would be this respectful with other religions.) Lieberman uses Andrew to remind the reader once again, that the Palestinians were “violently” expelled in 1948, their trees and groves destroyed, the innocents killed or imprisoned by the Israeli army. (Read Arab accounts here) Lieberman’s choices of informational sources are no different than if she had contacted Josef Goebbels for data about the Holocaust.
Despite the attempts to discredit and delegitimize Israel, the truth is known. Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, an Arab Muslim leader, told the Peel Commission in 1937: “There is no such country as Palestine! Palestine is a term the Zionists invented. (TK – The Romans invented the term as an affront to the Jews.) There is no Palestine in the Bible. Our country was for centuries part of Syria.” In 1946, Arab-American historian Philip Hitti testified before the 1946 Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry: “There is no such thing as Palestine in history, absolutely not,” – meaning that there had never been a nation bearing this name.
Syrian President Hafez Assad told Yasser Arafat, “Palestine is an integral part of Syria,” and Prince Hassan of the Jordanian National Assembly said, on February 2, 1970, “Palestine is Jordan and Jordan is Palestine.”
PLO executive committee member, Zahir Muhsein, said, “The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel.” in short, its only purpose is to oppose Zionism and this is one of many war tactics.
Of the numerous Muslim-majority states worldwide, they may all have begun as small parcels of land, no-go zones within cities that expand by force under Islamic rule, but an independent Arab Palestine has never existed – not under Ottoman rule or British rule, not under the United Nations Partition Plan, and not under Jordanian or Egyptian rule. For now, it remains a myth based on deception, and Lieberman’s book for vulnerable children and young adults a sad symptom of our times.
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This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
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