Commotion in the Pews

In spite of the mess in Washington, our family in Naples is doing well. I’m off to the veterinarian in a few for Lily’s first physical as a family member. Yes, Lily: a 9 year-old Sheltie mix who came to us out of rescue. 

She’s smart, loving, talkative (aren’t all Shelties) and fitting right in. She’s been here a few weeks, and she’s even got Chewy interested in playing with toys. He’s never played with a stuffed animal or ball since we got him, unless it was full of kibble and he rolled it around the floor getting snacks.

Here she is:

Next up, a new audio book. To say that Rabbi Juan Bejarano-Gutierrez is a patient man would be an understatement. He gently guided me into pronouncing a lot of Hebrew words that I tried to turn into Yiddish, German, or Arabic. But we got it done and WHAT IS KOSHER? is the resulting audio book, on sale now. If you’re curious about Kosher, how it came to impact Jewish culture, or just love my voice enough to listen to me talk about food, this is the book:

Finally, I’ve agreed (in principle) to record four new audio books in the next few months. I will be a busy boy, as one of them is huge!

If you’re of a mind, please pray for my wife, Kip, as she’s undergoing a shoulder replacement surgery this next week. Yes, the other shoulder is now being replaced. It won’t be easy, and your prayers will help.

For those of you who have missed my political stuff, you’re about to be happy. For those of you who think #LGB is rude, you will want to go back to watching THE VIEW (no link for those evil creatures) and come back next week.

The Congressional hearings into the events of January 6, 2021 are a simple show trial. There is nothing being investigated, there will be no new knowledge presented to the public. This is all about painting the political opposition as evil. That’s it.

Now, I’d like to point out that a pox should be cast upon both sides in Congress. They are so far from what the Founding Fathers envisioned that Jefferson and company would load powder and eliminate many of the scoundrels without pause. The Congress was never meant to be a lifetime sinecure for useless bloviators, those who sleep with Chinese spies, and advanced alcoholics with serious Botox issues. 

But since we haven’t forced them into term limits (yet) we’re stuck with the morons that morons elect. Your morons, my morons, most are indeed morons.

The hearings will simply try to convince a rather gullible American public that a few hundred unarmed rioters who wandered around the Capitol and broke some furniture and doors are guilty of insurrection. 

Let me assure you, when an insurrection takes place it involves explosives, guns, tear gas, shields, snipers – wait, was that Portland I was describing? Perhaps Minneapolis? Certainly Chicago or New York. Yet none of those major events were considered insurrection because they were on the left and endorsed the views of the current occupant of the White House and the leadership in Congress. 

No, January 6th was not an insurrection. If you actually watch the videos, as opposed to listening to the commentary of the media, you will see the Capital Police opening doors, moving aside barricades, and generally having a relatively cordial exchange with the protestors. Some entered the Congress, through open doors, and wandered around the building causing minor damage. The only person to die directly due to the action that day was Ashli Babbit, a protestor. The police officer who shot her was never tried, or even indicted. Try that in Tampa and see how it works. Special rules for Congress you see.

Were the protesters wrong to steal Nancy Pelosi’s podium? Yes. Were they wrong to assault police officers? Yes. Were the police in the basement of the building wrong in their assaulting of protestors? Yes. 

You see, the reality is that it’s not as simple as “That evil Trump sent his minions to overthrow the government.” Nope. He was speaking far from the events. He cautioned the people to be nonviolent but let their voices be heard. He did not issue forth a mob for the purposes of insurrection. I should think the most recent attempt to impeach him would answer that question. 

But deeper still, has anyone been indicted for insurrection in the last 15 months? No. Trespass. A misdemeanor. Seditious Conspiracy in a dozen cases. And, this is choice, the group they selected to pursue was Oath Keepers. A group composed of veterans and law enforcement officers in many cases, that hold their oath to the constitution as sacred. They are not a “rightwing paramilitary” as some of the media has dubbed them.

What about all of the people arrested since January 6th? They are still held without bail in many cases. I think that’s a political crime and nothing but. The kind of thing that totalitarian regimes do. Not America. But it is the case. 

So, my friends, don’t get your hopes up about learning anything useful over the next few nights as the hearings are televised. The lies will persist. You can hate Trump, you can say the election was all hunky-dory and no cheating happened. But there are about 50% of your fellow citizens who still have questions. It was okay to claim Trump stole the election with the help of the Russians in 2016 if you follow mainstream media. But none of the investigations have found any truth to that claim except for a few hundred thousand in Facebook advertising costs – and that’s the high figure. 

No, if you have doubts you should be shunned for you are a conspiracy nut. I’m sure some who read this will put me in that camp. But now here’s the challenge: what other writings have I posted over the years that were “anti-government” conspiracy ravings? Seriously. I didn’t like most of the previous residents of the White House, and I questioned their political judgement. I’ve never trusted Biden – I lived in the 80s when his duplicitous behavior was first fully exposed. But I’m not some nut job with burning urge to overthrow the government. I’m an educated citizen who is very suspicious of any governmental action that isn’t transparent. And hiding things from the public seems to be a specialty of the current leadership, both Executive and Congress. 

Ask questions. Question authority. It was all good until the left that used it as a mantra came into power. Now, why is that…..