Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
SPOT ON Robert on all counts
Thanks Larry...
Ocasio-Cortez blames unnamed staffer for Green New deal fiasco
By Thomas Lifson
She really is a Twat
The buck stops somewhere well below the exalted personage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I wonder if she even knows who Harry Truman was? President Truman famously acknowledged that the boss has to take the blame when his people screw-up with the slogan “The buck stops here.” He even had a sign on his presidential desk with that motto on it. (Many years ago, I bought a copy at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, but you can get them nowadays on Amazon, though the price seems rather steep.)
Ocasio-Cortez, who enjoyed an infomercial yesterday on MSNBC in the form of a televised town hall meeting in her district, disagrees with this theory of executive leadership, preferring to blame her staff for the release of an early FAQ on her Green New Deal that contained absurdities about banning cows and airplanes. Matt Whitlock captured the moment of blame-denial in a video clip tweet:
Note the automatic posture as a victim – of her own staff and those who “seize upon” her staff’s mistake.
The production values on the infomercial were pretty impressive for district meeting of a a freshman congressperson with less than 3 months in office, somplete with a camera on a crane arm, zooming around, and the seal of the House of Representatives on the stage floor, right under her stiletto heels.
Most peeps would never catch this as an obvious tool to advance her agenda
YouTube screen grab
Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/03/ocasiocortez_blames_unnamed_staffer_for_green_new_deal_fiasco.html#ixzz5jezsXKaY
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook
As Trump vows to shut the border to illegals, Gavin Newsom makes a suspicious trip to El Salvador
By Monica Showalter
Enemy to the State
With 1.5 million illegal immigrants from Central America rolling into the U.S., President Trump has declared an emergency in order to construct a badly needed wall at the border, and now has threatened to shut the gates of the border down, too, unless Mexico's government quits enabling the problem. It's a major issue, and a recent poll shows that many Americans want it dealt with as a top priority.
Who should show up to throw a stick into these turning wheels but California's Gov. Gavin Newsom, who's announced his first gubernatorial trip abroad to El Salvador for the purpose of "lifting up our immigrant communities and understanding the root causes of migration."
Oh, really? Here's his tell-nothing statement about it for the press:
“While the Trump Administration demonizes those who are fleeing violence from Central America, California is committed to lifting up our immigrant communities and understanding the root causes of migration,” Newsom said in a statement. “I am looking forward to traveling to El Salvador in April to talk with the nation’s leaders and activists while deepening the bond between our families and communities.”
One can just picture how this trip looks from the Salvadoran side of things. Here come Big Daddy, the California governor, the gringo who's already laid out a banquet of goodies for Salvadorans in California, from free health care to free education, to sanctuary state protections to enable illegals to work, coming there supposedly to find out how he can offer ... even more goodies to Salvador's uneducated lower middle classes. The idea of course is to get even more of them to come over. Big Daddy comes down with the Santa sack full of goodies.
From the Salvadoran perspective, his reception is likely to be very warm from the Salvadoran government, which benefits hugely from the remittances sent home by El Salvador's mostly illegal immigrants, allowing it to finance itself and employ ever larger numbers of bureaucrats without having to house, educate, or medically care for its nationals. This is one reason why remittance economies tends to underdevelop a country, according to the World Bank.
Last year in fact, that game was going full speed. El Salvador's remittances hit a record $5.47 billion. Literally one out of six Salvadorans now lives in the U.S., and 680,000 of those make their home in benefit-rich California. Salvadoran politicians actually campaign for office in California, owing to the sizable number of Salvadoran voters, many of whom are here illegally., signalling that there's a lot of work to be had for the newest (and least likely to be legal) migrants in the states now, most of which is coming from California. From the Salvadoran private sector, maybe not so much, given that the country is losing a critical component of its work force and is already looking at labor shortages even as the government grows bigger and more powerful from the remittances. Big California Daddy coming in to scoop up more of the Salvadoran labor force may well prompt some anger and disgust in those quarters.
Newsom doesn't care about any of that, because that's economics, and he's a leftist.
Obviously, his mission is domestic: To undercut President Trump's effort to control the border at a time of national emergency, with very large numbers of Salvadorans now planning to come to the U.S. without authorization. The technical infrastructure has emerged with new (and supercharged) phenomenon of the caravans, aided also by the fact that the U.S. is legally powerless to stop them, so the numbers are projected to soar. Why not goose them up a bit? It leaves the question on the table of what Newsom's plotting with the foreigners, and why this isn't classified as subversion.
Newsom's already signalled his strong support for "sanctuary state" policies, as well as pulled U.S. National Guard troops from the California border, creating a good entry point for the caravans on the long stretches of California's wide open border. This, in addition to all the free health care, housing, education, drivers licenses, and legal privileges he's set up for the Salvadorans and other illegal migrants. What more can he offer them? He's met with the farthest of the far-left Salvadoran "community leaders" here, excluding any reasonably minded Salvadorans, and now he's going down to El Salvador to find out how.
It's nothing but a bid to trawl for votes, legal or otherwise, since legality no longer seems to matter to California's ruling class.
It's worth noting that Newsom has already pulled this stunt once before, shortly before he was sworn in to office, right when President Trump shut the border last November. Remember this one, reported by Politico?
As President Donald Trump threatens to shut down the Mexican border access and demands $5 billion from Congress to build a wall, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and state lawmakers are heading to Mexico City this week to celebrate the inauguration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The message: The country's most populous state wants to work with Mexico despite the president's rhetoric.
The purpose was declared to be this:
"We're ushering in new leadership and there is a vital strategic interest for the state of California for continued economic growth on both sides of the border, with collaboration and cooperation that benefits both California and Mexico, regardless of Washington's lack of leadership," said state Sen. Kevin de León, the former Senate leader who authored California's "sanctuary state" law. "A lot of folks view foreign policy through the prism of Washington, D.C., however, because California has the fifth-largest economy in the world and because we share a border with our neighbor to the south, we have many shared interests."
He's as transparent as crystal glassware on that. It's about time he be called out on it - and maybe sanctioned, too - at the national level.
Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/03/as_trump_vows_to_shut_the_border_to_illegals_gavin_newsom_makes_a_suspicious_trip_to_el_salvador.html#ixzz5jexrPl10
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook
Maybe their accent??..LOL
I do love to listen to my birds...even the Mocking Birds have a little different chirp.
Oh crap maybe too early for momma to dye the babies??...
Holy Cow...now only is he an incredible illusionist but he has incredible leg strength...thanks Larry
About 20 years ago I planted Red Tipped Photinias in the back and a row of three in front to shield my walk...both the cardinals and Doves love them and Nest in them...I love the Doves cooing in the mornings and evenings and the Cardinals are chatterboxes all day...even Dianna can hear them on SKYPE.
Morning Bull...glad you keeping the bunnies safe...Easter is right around the corner...Ummm what color are the babies???...
Morning Larry and the board...about to have my first cuppa
Because their time change isn't until tonight...it's still an hour before DiTime...laundry is in the dryer...going to be a nice day today with a front coming through.
I can go for that...thanks for the update...morning TH
Well played Sparty...hope that bone bruise doesn't hurt too bad...
Yep in their delusional fake bubble...let them...they're just hanging themselves...and CNN MSNBC...watch your ratings continue to plummet...Lets get that little Schitt to continue to make a fool of himself...right now Brenner has to be puckering...LOL
Thanks...I had a change of plans...forgot Sparty was playing.
Time for Big Bang, Andy and Gomer...catch you later...
March 29 is National Vietnam Veterans Day
VA says Welcome Home and Thank You
/salute...thank you EZ and all the Vietnam Vets on this board
Of the approximately 8,744,000 servicemen and women who served during the Vietnam era, approximately 3.4 million were stationed in the Southeast Asia theater, including flight crews based in Thailand, along with aviators and sailors in the adjacent South China Sea.
In a nation where less than one percent of the population has worn the uniform, military service is now recognized and appreciated as the act of service it is.
A grateful nation says Welcome Home and Thank You for your service.
We would like you to meet just two of the many thousands of Vietnam Veterans. Click on the links to read their complete stories.
Fred Judkins II
Fred Judkins II
A Second Homecoming Saves A Life
One in a series of weekly articles highlighting and celebrating Vietnam Veterans in advance of Vietnam Veterans Day 2019
If it weren’t for the New England accent, you’d probably think Fred Judkins II was born in North Florida. It feels like he’s been here for years. If there is a meeting related to helping Veterans he’s there – like the monthly Flag breakfast meeting at Brown’s restaurant in Alachua, Florida.
If there is a focus group on initiatives to enhance the delivery of care to Veterans by the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Judkins is not only on it but recruiting additional members and contacting the director and key staff via email and social media whenever he has an idea that will help.
Vietnam
“One day I was scheduled to fly Cobra front seat but got pulled two hours before the mission because they needed a commissioned officer on the front line with the South Vietnamese for communications support,” Judkins recalled, “I heard over the radio that the pilots sent in my place were shot down in Laos. They were recovered, but that was just the nature of the war.”
Coming home was hard. Alcohol. Prison. Suicidal.
One day he heard banging on his door. His daughter Nicole and son Nathan had come to intervene. Nicole moved him home with her to Gainesville, Fla., the next morning.
“I was driving the other day and saw a Vietnam Veteran sticker on a car and beeped and they smiled and waved. I think it made both of us feel good. I have a Vespa 150 scooter. I was going down 39th Ave and I passed four Harleys,” Judkins said with a wink.
Tom Equels
Tom Equels
One in a series of weekly articles highlighting and celebrating Vietnam Veterans in advance of Vietnam Veterans Day 2019
A Renaissance Soldier Honors A Friend
Tom Equels is a busy guy. He serves as CEO of an immunology research and development company working hard toward finding a better way to treat solid tumor cancers.
He operates a 100-acre thoroughbred horse farm where he raises 17 of his own animals, including several newborns — and another 75 horses who board on his property.
And, when he’s not multitasking from those two, he oversees fundraisers for his local Catholic church, is a grandfather to three rambunctious boys and is an artist.
A rather accomplished artist in fact.
His oil paintings grace the walls of Our Lady of St. Teresa Catholic Church in Belleview, Florida, and numerous other public and church offices and places of worship as far away as the United Kingdom.
Vietnam
Equels graduated at the top of his flight training class and was given the choice to pick his type of helicopter and decided on Cobra gunships. He went to Vietnam in January of 1972 and was in-country through January 1973. He flew more than 300 missions. In the spring of 1972, he received word that his helicopter school classmate Wilson, along with his flight crew, went down in the aftermath of a North Vietnamese offensive that included five of their divisions. The flight crew was listed as missing until 2000.
Painting a tribute to a fallen friend
The painting above, “Lest We Forget,” is a beautiful tribute to a fallen friend whom Equels trained to fly with and served with during the same period in Vietnam. The 66-year-old artist and Purple Heart recipient thought it appropriate to share his work with former service members at The Villages VA Outpatient Clinic in Florida where he receives care.
The North Florida South Georgia Health Care System, like most VA medical centers across America is holding special ceremonies for National Vietnam Veterans Day.
https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/58052/march-29-national-vietnam-veterans-day/
March 29 is National Vietnam Veterans Day
VA says Welcome Home and Thank You
/salute...thank you EZ and all the Vietnam Vets on this board
Of the approximately 8,744,000 servicemen and women who served during the Vietnam era, approximately 3.4 million were stationed in the Southeast Asia theater, including flight crews based in Thailand, along with aviators and sailors in the adjacent South China Sea.
In a nation where less than one percent of the population has worn the uniform, military service is now recognized and appreciated as the act of service it is.
A grateful nation says Welcome Home and Thank You for your service.
We would like you to meet just two of the many thousands of Vietnam Veterans. Click on the links to read their complete stories.
Fred Judkins II
Fred Judkins II
A Second Homecoming Saves A Life
One in a series of weekly articles highlighting and celebrating Vietnam Veterans in advance of Vietnam Veterans Day 2019
If it weren’t for the New England accent, you’d probably think Fred Judkins II was born in North Florida. It feels like he’s been here for years. If there is a meeting related to helping Veterans he’s there – like the monthly Flag breakfast meeting at Brown’s restaurant in Alachua, Florida.
If there is a focus group on initiatives to enhance the delivery of care to Veterans by the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Judkins is not only on it but recruiting additional members and contacting the director and key staff via email and social media whenever he has an idea that will help.
Vietnam
“One day I was scheduled to fly Cobra front seat but got pulled two hours before the mission because they needed a commissioned officer on the front line with the South Vietnamese for communications support,” Judkins recalled, “I heard over the radio that the pilots sent in my place were shot down in Laos. They were recovered, but that was just the nature of the war.”
Coming home was hard. Alcohol. Prison. Suicidal.
One day he heard banging on his door. His daughter Nicole and son Nathan had come to intervene. Nicole moved him home with her to Gainesville, Fla., the next morning.
“I was driving the other day and saw a Vietnam Veteran sticker on a car and beeped and they smiled and waved. I think it made both of us feel good. I have a Vespa 150 scooter. I was going down 39th Ave and I passed four Harleys,” Judkins said with a wink.
Tom Equels
Tom Equels
One in a series of weekly articles highlighting and celebrating Vietnam Veterans in advance of Vietnam Veterans Day 2019
A Renaissance Soldier Honors A Friend
Tom Equels is a busy guy. He serves as CEO of an immunology research and development company working hard toward finding a better way to treat solid tumor cancers.
He operates a 100-acre thoroughbred horse farm where he raises 17 of his own animals, including several newborns — and another 75 horses who board on his property.
And, when he’s not multitasking from those two, he oversees fundraisers for his local Catholic church, is a grandfather to three rambunctious boys and is an artist.
A rather accomplished artist in fact.
His oil paintings grace the walls of Our Lady of St. Teresa Catholic Church in Belleview, Florida, and numerous other public and church offices and places of worship as far away as the United Kingdom.
Vietnam
Equels graduated at the top of his flight training class and was given the choice to pick his type of helicopter and decided on Cobra gunships. He went to Vietnam in January of 1972 and was in-country through January 1973. He flew more than 300 missions. In the spring of 1972, he received word that his helicopter school classmate Wilson, along with his flight crew, went down in the aftermath of a North Vietnamese offensive that included five of their divisions. The flight crew was listed as missing until 2000.
Painting a tribute to a fallen friend
The painting above, “Lest We Forget,” is a beautiful tribute to a fallen friend whom Equels trained to fly with and served with during the same period in Vietnam. The 66-year-old artist and Purple Heart recipient thought it appropriate to share his work with former service members at The Villages VA Outpatient Clinic in Florida where he receives care.
The North Florida South Georgia Health Care System, like most VA medical centers across America is holding special ceremonies for National Vietnam Veterans Day.
https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/58052/march-29-national-vietnam-veterans-day/
Absolutely...loving watching the Libs bury themselves right now...just crazy.
Is it just me or is Mueller looking older by the day???
Fantastic Larry...I know where Brandenburg is... been there a few times...stone throw away my arse...you sir should be playing outfield in the Majors...LOL
Average salaries of 70K...nothing to sneeze at..woot woot
Once again Kunstler is SPOT ON
President Trump Responds To 50% Approval Rating, Promises To Keep Working Hard
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 9:42 AM PT — Friday, March 29, 2019
President Trump recently took a moment to thank Americans for their support of his job performance. In a tweet Thursday, the president said he will continue to work hard as a Rasmussen poll now shows his approval rating is at 50-percent. This rating is three-points higher than Barack Obama had during the same point of his first term.
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
Donald J. Trump
?
@realDonaldTrump
Working hard, thank you! #MAGA
80.9K
10:23 PM - Mar 28, 2019
33.5K people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
President Trump’s approval rating is expected to climb even higher as a separate Harris Poll found 24-percent of voters are now more likely to support him, following the conclusion of the Mueller probe.
Meanwhile, Democrats appear to be lacking support from voters as they push for more investigations into the president and his administration.
According to a Rasmussen poll released Thursday, 61-percent of all likely voters believe it is time for the party to move on now that the special counsel has finished the Russia investigation. Only 31-percent of likely voters sided with congressional Democrats.
Over a thousand people took part in the survey, which was conducted the day after Attorney General William Barr released his summary of the Mueller report.
https://www.oann.com/president-trump-responds-to-50-approval-rating-promises-to-keep-working-hard/
Oh the day just got better...now Julian here with KC Donuts donut holes...yum
Ouch...it hurts to even try to visualize that TH...I've only been to a few races...never witnessed one...Damn That Rap Music
LOL and no dogs to clean up the mess...
Is ok...now another excuse to see the grand kids this weekend...I can toast his new adventure while there with a Lonestar...***CHEERS***
When she was at SXSW in downtown...THAT was too close already...LOL
You think we have a corrupt system here??...THEY have a totally fooked up mess their MP's are totally disconnected from the people
AND...as a bonus...yard fertilized as well...BRILLIANT
K2 is always aiding and abetting...just save the post...lol
Very much so...wish I hadn't left the cake on the butcher block...oops
Trust me...they will NOT be invited by any BBQ I have...LOL
TGIF...woot woot...eating Tacos from Robbie...Boston Cream Donuts from George...Beeeeeutiful day and weekend in store...and I even got to mock our Company in front of the GM...without being obvious...as they say in Florida...LIG
LOL morning P_S_H
they also have a 5 inch for about 2500.00...personally I would just rent one when needed...
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Brush-Master-3-in-11-HP-Gas-Powered-Commercial-Duty-Chipper-Shredder-CH8M17/302873993
Kim Foxx, Jussie Smollett, and the Democrats’ belief in narrative-based politics
By Thomas Lifson
See also: Facing an FBI and DoJ investigation of Smollett case, Kim Foxx is panicking and changing her story
Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx inadvertently gave away the game -- what’s really behind the bizarre dropping of charges and sealing of court records of the slam-dunk case put together by Chicago Police on Jussie Smollett’s fake hate crime report -- when she explained to two reporters for Chicago public radio station WBEZ in an interview:
I don’t believe it is in the interest of the people of Cook County to engage in a narrative that is anything other than all of us working collectively for the public safety of the people of Cook County.
The dominant factions of the Democrats now believe that truth and facts matter not at all if a convincing narrative can be constructed and sold to the public. With a near monopoly on mass media and entertainment, fantasies can be sold to the public and a critical mass can be persuaded to embrace the fiction. Postmodernism, the pernicious doctrine that there is no truth, only narratives, has moved beyond the campus into the power structure of the Left. The Democrats dominate Hollywood, and now Hollywood – the world capital of creating and selling fictional narratives (and the world in which Jussie Smollett lives) – dominates the Democrats, or at least the rising new guard Social Justice Warrior forces that are rapidly taking over the party.
Foxx let Jussie Smollett walk away from the felonies he was facing for the bargain price of ten grand and a few hours helping out Jessie Jackson’s operation because she was talked into the notion that it was critical that the narrative be changed. The narrative of a fake hate crime threatens the key strategy of the Democrats, standing up for the victims against the oppressors – whites, males, Republicans, and the rich (except for rich actors and other “woke” donors to the Democrats).
Jussie and his lawyers immediately started constructing their own narrative that Jussie was in fact the victim, and he might even sue the Chicago Police. An absurd whiteface narrative – that the two Nigerian brothers caught on a surveillance camera buying the supplies for the attack were the real perps who fooled Jussie into believing they were white MAGA supporters was soon on offer.
Of course, it is ludicrous, but people who are in the fantasy business believe they are able to sell imaginary stories, and the ones who are stars reap big rewards for the success in doing so. For her part, Foxx, steeped in social justice theory as well as the postmodernism that is its intellectual foundation, was persuadable. In an excellent article, Heather Mac Donald explains the ideological predispoitions that led Foxx to take this course of action:
Foxx is a leading figure in the recent national wave of progressive local prosecutors who came to power by playing race politics. She campaigned on the Critical Race Theory credo that the criminal-justice system is endemically biased. She inveighed against the so-called school-to-prison pipeline and promised to reduce racial disparities in prosecutions. Last month, she dismissed aggravated battery charges against a 16-year-old student who had attacked two Chicago police officers; the Chicago police union argued that her dismissal of the charges fit a pattern of favoring offenders over police officers. Foxx operates in a cultural milieu that holds that the fact that a hate crime is a hoax is less important than the fact that it could have been true. Prosecuting Smollett could have sent another black man to prison. Is there a race-based system of justice here?
Selling this scheme was helped by the fact that Foxx appears to be a genuine fool, the kind of fool who doesn’t follow the rules and is exceedingly sloppy. Lisa Eustachewich reports for Page Six:
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx did not “formally” recuse herself from the Jussie Smollett case — she only did so “colloquially,” prosecutors said on Wednesday.
This position, that she is casual in her “colloquial” use of technical terms of law, utterly contradicts the explanation she gave to the WBEZ reporters about why her move is so difficult for the public, so ignorant of the technicalities of law, to understand:
I think the confusion for people who don't understand the intricacies of the justice system, who don't understand alternative prosecution or diversion or alternate outcomes outside of prison or lengthy probation, it's a hard thing for people to process.
I suspect that Foxx was talked into believing that with the presumed support of the Obamas – whose former close associate Tina Tchen first intervened with Foxx to try to save Jussie’s bacon – the narrative could be sold, and questions could be avoided with the usual techniques of citing her own authority, secret technicalities, sealed records, sympathy for the victim Jussie, and ultimately crying racism.
Foxx was so stupid (and perhaps a little star-struck) that she did not predict the vehement opposition of Rahm Emanuel and police superintendent Eddie Johnson. I wonder if any mention was made to her of the award from the NAACP that Jussie was scheduled to receive – if only he were free to travel to California.
Of course, it is all going to fall apart. The FBI and DoJ are investigating, and Rahm Emanuel has demanded Jussie pay the costs of investigating his false claim.
The city on Thursday laid out the cost of the investigation into the alleged hate crime against actor Jussie Smollett and demanded the “Empire” star pay pay the city more than $130,000. (snip)
The city threatened to take legal action under the municipal code of Chicago if the actor did not pay up.
“If the amount is not timely paid, the Department of Law may prosecute you [Mr. Smollett] for making a false statement to the City under section 1-21-010 of the Municipal Code of Chicago or pursue any other legal remedy available at law,” it reads. “A violation of the false statement ordinance imposes a fine of not less than $500 and a maximum of $1,000, plus up to three times the amount of damages the City sustains as a result of the violation. The City may also seek to recover court costs, collection costs, and attorney’s fees.”
Discovery in civil law cases can be very powerful, while the evidentiary standards are much lower – a preponderance of evidence instead of beyond a reasonabke doubt.
But even angry Rahm is buying into narrative building, disgracefully blaming President Trump for the phony “hate crime” attack that was intended to incriminate his supporters, and by implication himself:
I believe this is what is called “blaming the victim.”
Fantasy + stupidity of the audience works well in the entertainment world, and sometimes in politics. But, I think that it will not work out well for Foxx. People are fed up and paying attention too closely and most of them are so uneducated by the postmodernists that they still believe in truth.
Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/03/kim_foxx_jussie_smollett_and_the_democrats_belief_in_narrativebased_politics.html#ixzz5jZDR5SQJ
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook
Why Israel Should Annex at Least Most of Judea and Samaria
By Steve Postal
On March 27, U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo vowed to "broaden the debate" and shed old "parameters" governing negotiations for a final status peace agreement between Arabs and Israelis. In the spirit of Secretary Pompeo's words, Israel should annex at least most of Judea and Samaria, commonly referred to as the "West Bank." Twenty-eight out of the 30 Likud members of Knesset, with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Benny Begin being the only exceptions, have explicitly supported Israel applying sovereignty to Judea and Samaria. Forty-two percent of the Israeli population now supports either partial or full annexation of Judea and Samaria.
Judea and Samaria's Deep Historical Roots
As the indigenous people, Jews had sovereignty and pseudo-sovereignty of Judea and Samaria from 1010 BCE to 617 C.E. (a mere twenty years before the Arab occupation of Jerusalem in 637 C.E.). After the Jews lost political power in Judea and Samaria, they continued to reside there until the modern period, with interludes when occupying powers forbade them from living in places like Hebron and Jerusalem. In fact, during Israel's War of Independence (1947–1949), approximately 10,000 Jews were kicked out of or killed in Jewish communities in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
Judea and Samaria's Strategic Importance
Israel doesn't have much room to negotiate over Judea and Samaria because most of this land is of vital strategic importance to Israel. Shortly after the Six-Day War, the heads of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a now declassified report in which they recommended that Israel retain at least half of Judea and Samaria, and this would provide Israel with "a militarily defensible border."
Israel should retain Judea and Samaria's mountain ridge. The ridge looks down on Israel's coastal plain, which contains 70 percent of Israel's population and 80 percent of its industry, and surrounds Jerusalem on three sides. The ridge looks down on Tel Aviv (12 miles from the Green Line, or the 1949 armistice line between Israel and Jordan), and Ben Gurion International Airport (6 miles from the Green Line), among other vital areas. If Israel withdrew from these mountains, it would be extremely vulnerable to rocket attacks from its east. The "narrow waist" of Israel before the Six Day War was eight miles wide. Israel could be overrun quickly in a future war if it ever withdrew to the Green Line.
Israel should retain the settlements surrounding Jerusalem, as they are important to protect it against terrorism and invasion. The E-1 Corridor, an area of land between eastern Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim, is also critical to connect the two. This would prevent Ma'aleh Adumim from being isolated and indefensible in wartime, as Jerusalem was in Israel's War of Independence.
Retention of the Jordan Valley is vital, given the prevention of smuggling of weapons, infiltration of terrorists, and land invasions. With control of the Jordan Valley, Israel needs to patrol only a 62-mile-long border instead of the 223-mile-long Green Line.
Furthermore, Judea and Samaria are home to about 400,000 Israeli citizens, most of whom live in Area C of Judea and Samaria. This area constitutes approximately 60% of Judea and Samaria. It is ridiculous to assume that Israel will evacuate these civilians in a final peace agreement, given that its evacuation of approximately 9,000 of its citizens from Gaza in the 2005 disengagement brought Israel to the brink of civil war.
The Arabs Don't Want Judea and Samaria Anyway
Even if Israel wanted to give Judea and Samaria to the Arabs, the Arabs don't want it. The Arabs have shown through their own actions that they do not want sovereignty in the land. The Arabs rejected proposals to gain sovereignty of Judea and Samaria in 1937, 1947, 1967–1968, 2000, 2001, and 2008.
The Peace Process Hasn't Given Israel Peace...
Israel should abandon existing paradigms of "land for peace" with the Arab world. "Land for peace" in an Orwellian way has brought more war upon Israel. Israel's withdrawals from parts of Gaza and Judea and Samaria during the Oslo Accords in the 1990s were met with the Second Intifada (2000–2005). Israel's full withdrawals from southern Lebanon in 2000 and Gaza in 2005 were met with at least four wars, and the massive arming of Hezb'allah and Hamas. Lastly, while the benefits of Israel's peace with Egypt should not be understated, there are now jihadi groups in Sinai targeting Israel, despite Israel completely withdrawing its civilian population from there in the 1980s.
...So Israel Should Try Something Else
Instead of pursuing the same failed policies, Israel should try something new to enhance chances of a true peace. In any new paradigm, in order to maintain its strength and its Jewish and democratic character, Israel should 1) retain as much of Judea and Samaria as possible and practical and 2) absorb the smallest number of additional Arabs.
Some options that are not necessarily mutually exclusive include:
Israel annexes Area C of Judea and Samaria. Arabs in Area C are given Israeli citizenship, while Arabs in Areas A and B are given self-rule.
The Arabs in Judea and Samaria receive self-rule in seven Arab "emirates" in Judea and Samaria based on the seven major Arab population centers there, with Gaza functioning as the eighth emirate. Israel then annexes the remaining land and gives citizenship to those Arabs not living in Gaza or the seven other emirates.
Israel annexes all of Judea and Samaria and grants all Arabs in Judea and Samaria citizenship. This option is based on data indicating that Jews currently constitute a stable majority (60%) of the population from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, excluding Gaza, and that this majority will grow to 70% in 2059.
Jordan gives land to the Arabs living in Judea and Samaria. In compensation, Saudi Arabia gives land to Jordan. In compensation, Egypt returns two islands to Saudi Arabia.
Egypt gives land in the Sinai to expand Gaza, and this becomes the Palestinian state.
Israel annexes all of Judea and Samaria. The Arabs in Judea and Samaria stay where they are and become citizens of Jordan and residents of Israel.
Israel annexes all of Judea and Samaria. The Arabs in Judea and Samaria stay where they are and become citizens of Arab countries, such as the Gulf States, and residents of Israel.
Israel annexes all of Judea and Samaria. The Arabs in Judea and Samaria stay where they are and vote in local, not federal elections, like Puerto Rico's relationship with the United States.
Israel conducts a partial, after-the-fact population exchange with the Arab world. In exchange for Israel absorbing 850,000 Jews that fled or were kicked out of the Arab world during 1948, Israel financially compensates Arabs in Judea and Samaria to leave Judea and Samaria.
Conclusion
The Arabs have responded to Israel's "land for peace" initiatives with violence, and the Arabs have rejected Israel's (and the international community's) multiple offers of Arab sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. Israel should logically respond to these developments by annexing at least most of Judea and Samaria and offer a path forward. Hopefully then will peace become a reality.
Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/03/why_israel_should_annex_at_least_most_of_judea_and_samaria.html#ixzz5jZ0ca1at
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook
LOL better late then never...
LOL I thought it would be...you can hear the breeze because IU Sucks
Will gladly pass it along...he is bringing TACOS for us...what a guy
He will be working for the State...will start at about the same pay but they will pay him to get his Certs...once he does that...he will probably go to the private sector at about twice the pay...kids smarter than his Pop...
I think I know where this is going...I'll bite...how???
Even son Trump was awesome in GR...had the crowd chanting AOC suks...LOL...I got to hear THAT on my way to work...
LOL it was a matter of time...just amazing he made it that far...now I'll be sitting pretty in the Bracket if Baghdad beats Ky today
Yes sir...99-94...very exciting...Blue let me down but I have Gonzaga beating them any way...now...Sparty needs to get it done today