CONSERVATIVE HAVEN OR LIBERAL S***HOLE?

THE GREAT ESCAPE

     I finally escaped from the tyranny of a Socialist one-party state. About 3 months ago, I moved from Baltimore County, Maryland, out of a neighborhood only about 3 miles from the murder capital of the country, Baltimore City.  I bought a better house for less money in a Conservative town, in a Conservative County in Middle Tennessee. The sky looks bluer and the grass really is greener. I realize that I am in the honeymoon stage with Tennessee. I know that there is no place on earth that is perfect, but right now I am head over heals in love with my new home state. Every day I find something new to love about her. I know that one day I may wake up and begin to see a flaw here and there, but right now she is absolutely lovely! The only thing that concerns me is the real possibility that the Progressives are on their way.

    

FLEEING THE S***HOLE  

    I am  not sure who coined this word in the media this week. Trump may have said it, or Durbin made it up, but the media loved it. I must have heard it a thousand times. Let me explain what one actually is. The Democrats/Socialists/Progressives will not be happy until they have overtaken every Conservative oases in this country and turned them into  s***hole cities similar to those they can already take credit for like Baltimore, Detroit, and Chicago. That is not a racist adjective. It is describing an area with unlivable conditions. I grant you, it is crude and it is foul language. I ask those who are offended to forgive me, but I want to make a point. It is an adjective that immediately creates a word picture in your mind of generational poverty, violence, high crime rates, bad schools (no matter how much money you put into them), bad roads (no matter how much money you put into them), high unemployment, run-down real estate (no matter how high the taxes), drug addiction and drug dealers, all of which have created a hopeless environment where their only envied amenity is that they are social service hubs. There is no color in that picture, unless despair has a color. 

    

MY CHILDHOOD NEIGHBORHOOD

     The neighborhood that I grew up in is within walking distance to Baltimore City, which has been overtaken by a blood lust and has no respect for human life. People living in this city, which is Democratic through and through and has been for decades, live and die in survival mode. Three miles used to seem like a safe distance, but now it is bleeding over into the county like a rotten cancer. I only returned to take care of my mother. She was 80 years old, going blind, and rarely left the house. She didn't know that she should be terrified. I thank God she won't be around to see it completely sink into the abyss of Democratic despair.

NOW A S***HOLE

     There used to be rows of manicured laws, new awnings, and mostly well-maintained homes. The streets were full of children playing and parents called to one another from their porches or cooked out together in their backyards. People respected their property and the properties of others. Children respected the adults. When I returned home in 2013 I could see that the neighborhood was in decline. By the time that I left in 2017 it had become unlivable by my standards. The crime, the poverty, the drugs, the violence, the despair has bled across the city-county line and is flowing up and down every street. I would sit out on the porch where I used to be able to get some fresh air and some peace, but there is no more peace. First I noticed that most of the homes were becoming rental properties. This is a bad sign because the property will only be as good as the landlord. Tenants in rental properties in areas that are in decline rarely improve the property or the neighborhood. They just don't. They don't have any investment in it. Then I saw the drug scourge hitting my street. A grandson to an elderly neighbor who lived there all my life died suddenly of an overdose.  He was a nice young man, and I found this to be terribly sad. A few doors up lived a couple of heroin addicts on the methadone program. They could be seen daily passed out head down on their chests after a visit to the clinic. The next street over a couple got into a fight over who used the last pain pill and a man shot the woman dead on her front lawn. All hours of the day and night there were fights that I was forced to hear if not see them out on the street. I couldn't open a window without a constant stream of the F-word invading my home because some drunk or druggie was on a rampage. Children playing yelled obscenities to one another. I haven't heard the F-word, or any curse word (except s***hole on network news), since I came to Tennessee. Burglaries and thefts were increasing. In one week alone there were three armed robberies within three blocks of my home. This was unheard of in the past, but now it didn't even make the news. If I didn't use a crime app on-line, I'd have never known. I installed outdoor cameras, and at night the rats in my backyard would set them off. I used to camp out in my backyard as a child, and felt safe from man and beast!

THE COLOR CHANGE WAS NOT THE PROBLEM

Yes, the neighborhood was changing color, and I had no problem with that, except that I'd watch local and network news and see the media stirring up racial tension on a daily basis. It was like they were feeding the hate. Baltimore City infamously had race riots, and the possibility for more hung in the air and was hard to ignore. The racially charged news reports were provocative and frightening. I didn't care if I was the very last white person on my street. In the past I bought a house where I was nearly the only white person in the neighborhood. I do care, however, if I am the only white person and every one else has been intentionally stirred up to hate me just because I am white! For instance, I visited a thrift store in a mostly non-white neighborhood next to mine. Race was the furthest thing from my mind that day. I went to the register to pay for something, and a man invited me to go in front of him because he saw that I use a cane. The cashiers and the other customers went ballistic. The kind man, who happened to be brown, got so mad at them, he was screaming, "It's the right thing to do!" Finally, he threw his merchandise down and walked out, as did I. 

TIME TO FLEE

It was only going to get worse, so it was time to go. My parents took perfect care of their home in hopes of leaving me a nice place to live with no mortgage. I resent that my childhood neighborhood had come to this. I resent that I was being forced out. The place was becoming a  s***hole and there wasn't a thing I could do about it, but leave. I know the Democratic policies that have led to this. I wanted to find a place where those policies don't exist. 

    

So I made a list:

1. red state, red county, red town (not called a racist just for voting Republican);
2. Christian-friendly;
3. an atmosphere of freedom (no PC anti-American strongholds and no oppressive code enforcement); 
4. lower crime rates; 
5. Second Amendment compliant; 
6. affordable real estate; 
7. lower cost of living; and yes,
8. a population that doesn't want to kill me just because I am white (if I do something worth hating, I can take the punishment).

With the list in mind, a friend of mine and I traveled all over the mid-west. I thought I had settled on a town in Iowa. It fit all of the criteria, but it is a cold climate. Plus we were getting the idea that we weren't wanted. When realtors and property owners found out we were coming from Baltimore, the property would suddenly go off the market or was just sold that morning. One time we rode all the way out to Iowa, and they knew we were coming. While en route we checked in with the realtor and they asked where were coming from. Once we got there no one would show us the house! It has been sold that morning. No backup contracts accepted..."they paid cash". This happened enough that we finally realized that they thought we were going to bring the Baltimore unrest to their area. I couldn't blame them. As one last effort, my friend did an on-line search for a property near water. Tennessee popped up, so we began to travel south.  

    

PLANET TENNESSEE

     I found a place on a beautiful property with a stream in Western Tennessee. On the way to see it, my friend decided to get off of the highway and take some backroads. The first town we passed through was Sparta. We were blown away. In the center of their square, known as Liberty Square, stood a large and looming courthouse with In God We Trust hanging over the door on all four sides of the building. It must have been a little like when the wall in Germany came down  and the people tasted freedom! We were in another world where God was allowed! American flags hung from nearly every business, on many houses, and even on cars. These people still love our country? We thought that we must be in a time warp. We saw an eternal flame for our fallen veterans and memorials to veterans of every war. Respect for the military? Well we had an appointment to see a house, so we couldn't linger. As we traveled west in TN we saw many signs on the side of the road with scriptures from the Bible. Towns were lined with American flags. We were in awe that a place like this still existed. I wound up putting a contract on that house, but once again it fell through. I was about to give up when I saw a cute little cottage on a river in a small town...you guessed it, Sparta. The rest is history. 

I NEED TENNESSEE POLITICS FOR DUMMIES

     I feel safe. I feel understood. Except for my accent people get me! I don't feel like I am being sized up or judged or accused or threatened. I also feel completely politically ignorant, and that is a new and unlikely state for me to find myself. I don't know whether to fix it or embrace it. I keep talking to myself and praying about letting go of politics, and I gladly would, except that I don't want my new love to be overtaken by Progressives. I realize that right now almost everyone in office and out of office is at the very least a Republican if not a Conservative.  I also have learned that the larger cities like Memphis and Nashville and a few others have already taken the Liberal bait. They've already drank the Kool-Aid. They have been infected with the Liberal disease. It would be unthinkable for me to allow it to spread to my new home without putting up a fight. Many of these local Republicans have no idea how oppressive it can get. A little here and a little there, here a RINO, there a RINO...well you get it. I feel compelled to be vigilant and watch for the enemy. I'd rather let it go because I am starting from scratch. I have to learn Tennessee politics, policies, procedures, and the players on all sides. It seems like a daunting task, but my new love is so worth it. 

THE GOOD NEWS...

     I registered to vote and I found out two things. The first is that you don't register with a Party, and no Party affiliation is on your voter registration card. Second, You must show I.D. to vote in the state of Tennessee. Isn't she sweet? 

    Of course I did a search to see who my representatives are at every level. I was encouraged to see that nearly everyone is a Republican, but I don't know one Republican from another. I mostly need to get information on candidates for the office of Governor on down. The state legislature and U.S. representatives should be easier. Luckily, the local newspaper runs a weekly Democratic column, and the writer not-so-very-kindly educated me on the Republican candidates for Governor. What she meant for evil turned out for good. Funny thing...the more she hated a candidate the more I liked them. There are also op-ed columns for Republicans and Constitutionalists.

    What I really find encouraging are the headlines about the low unemployment rate (lower than the national average), the constant goal to remain debt free, announcements of new police cars, more police, new equipment, new roads, etc., and all without adding debt. That is with NO STATE TAXES and very low property taxes. My house here is worth about the same as the one in Baltimore, yet I paid $2000 a year in taxes in Baltimore and only $485 a year in TN for a better house. The roads are amazing. The towns look amazing. Our town has a skateboard park, an amphitheater with a concession stand, a river with a boat dock, an actual scenic trail that goes along the river and around the outside of the town to a beautiful park. How do they do it? I call it a consumption tax, but it is a higher sales tax. Works for me! We pay for what we consume, not what others consume, what we as individuals consume. They took in more than expected last quarter. 

    

2018 ISSUE

     The only issue that may be lacking is health insurance. That remains to be seen. I need to do my research. Tennessee did not take the Obamacare Medicare expansion money. Of course the Libs are screaming that they should have. This I do know: in Baltimore, I had to pay monthly my Medicare for $110, Medicare supplemental insurance for $142, and prescription coverage for $30 a month. This is a total of $302 a month out of my Social Security check. When I moved to TN, they have no supplemental insurance and the insurance I had would cost over $300 to keep. Good news though! Instead I have Blue Sapphire, a BCBS Medicare-contracted policy that costs $0 a month and includes some dental and vision, prescriptions, and all with low co-pays. Another win for TN. I will admit that the person that I rent a room to is a pre-retirement aged man who works a job that he doesn't really like in order to keep health insurance. I remember when most of us did that. Some of us were lucky and also liked our job, but for health benefits we were willing to work for a little less money, maybe work a little harder for a little longer at a job we didn't really like, especially if we had a family. This ended with Obamacare, when the workers in states who bought into it either lost their good insurance or were forced to pay more for less insurance with outrageous deductibles. They might as well not be covered because they can't afford to use it. The only people who made out were those who weren't working because they received subsidies. I think this will be the one issue where the Libs could make some traction unless somebody stands up with a dose of reality. The truth will have to be told when they start selling the collective lie against individual freedom. 

    

     I better get up to speed as quickly as possible because they are crouching at the door...and I am done with the word s***hole and the kind of Democratic places it denotes. 

    

     

             I TENNESSEE!

TRUMP: SAVIOR OF THE US OR THE ANTI-CHRIST?

The Republican Party Split
This may come to a shock to some of  you but...Republicans don't all think alike. Seriously. Not so long ago, the Republican Party used to only be divided between two schools of thought: Republicans In Name Only (RINOs) and the Conservatives (fiscally conservative and adherence to the U.S. Constitution). The Republican platform and the U.S. Constitution were negotiable for RINOS, but non-negotiable for Conservatives. It was pretty easy to know where you fit between these two. When the Tea Party first formed in 2008-09, Conservatives flocked together, including fiscally conservative Democrats, to take a stand against TARP and the bailouts and Obamacare. At our meetings we agreed to avoid Rs and Ds and to focus on what brought us together, which were the issues that affected our economy. We would not discuss social issues. It worked. I was in DC the day that there was a half a million beautiful Americans protesting against these issues. No one was fighting. No one was taking a crap on a police car. No one was raped or beat up. There was not even a piece of trash left behind. It was a beautiful thing.

Conservatives Splintered
Now, the Conservatives have splintered into several different realms of thought. Here are just a few: Libertarians (seem to want their own identity now), Constitutional purists (Constitution as originally thought and written), Constitutional pragmatists (Constitution and its amendment process catching up to modern-day issues--sometimes there is a season of catching up.), Never Trumpers, Always Trumpers, Conspiracy Theorists (Illuminati, Free Masons, Satanists, antichrists, etc.), teachers of Bible prophesy, and every degree of isolationist. I could write another post describing each of these and how they relate to one another. I will stick to the topic of President Trump for now. Each of these splinter groups have or are developing a different view on Donald Trump. Conservatives are very principled and outspoken people, and they tend to be very involved in the political process. I am proud of that fact. This is a good thing, until they splintered. I started to notice this beginning in 2010 because I was in leadership in my local Tea Party, and I was in charge of organizing events. At first I could fill 6 buses to DC with one weeks notice to the group, but by this time I could barely fill one with a months notice. I started to hear things like, "That's not my issue. My issue is ____." Everyone was beginning to get into their own canoes according to their issue. We were losing our "presence" in DC and Annapolis. Now, we have people in their own canoes and they have installed weaponry in order to lob their ammo of choice at fellow Conservatives in the next canoe. We have all of these Conservative thinkers squabbling amongst each other, and they have almost completely forgotten their real enemy, the Left.

The Left and the Leftist media haven't forgotten about us. They are very busy planning the downfall of President Trump and a return to power. They aren't squabbling. They remain united. They don't even have to understand each other's issues. All they know is that they have a common enemy, the Right, and they are cemented together very tightly in their mission. If one of their causes takes a stand, they all jump in the fight. It doesn't matter what the cause. If it is anti-Right...they are all in.

Do you get the picture yet?

Conservative In-fighting
When President Trump bombed Syria, ostensibly in response to the chemical attack on Syrian citizens and children, this created an absolute brawl amongst Conservatives. I have Facebook friends from every stripe of Conservative listed above, so my Facebook feed got bloody pretty quickly. I was still scratching my head over what happened when President Trump tried to repeal and replace Obamacare. I was pretty dismayed at our behavior at that point, but after the bombing, the gloves were off.

• "You can never again call yourself a Conservative."
• "You call yourself a Christian?"
• "Unless you denounce Trump from this moment forward...I will unfriend you on Facebook."
• "I am about to block half of my Conservative friends on Facebook."
• "You are a liar if you say you are a Constitutionalist and do not denounce Trump."

...and on it went. If you said nothing, you were being called out. Where do you stand? What are you going to do?

Again, I was still trying to figure out what happened to healthcare, so I will begin by taking a stand on that issue. However, I can't even do that until I first make it clear where I stand regarding President Trump.

President Donald J. Trump

I was not a Never Trumper and I am not an Always Trumper. I am old enough to know that the words "I'll never" and "I'll always" should rarely be used because the minute I use them something immediately happens to test me. There is often an exception to the rule. Granted not all things have exceptions. I am a Bible fundamentalist. If the Bible says it then it is never and always for eternity in my mind. Most other things, I'm very careful about proclamations of never and always, particularly in politics. Your adversary on one issue may be your advocate on the next. Good politics takes strategy. When you start with the I'll nevers and I'll always...your strategy becomes very limited and you become ineffective as a politician and an activist.   

Trump was not my first choice.
My first choice was Dr. Ben Carson. His humbleness was taken as weakness. I still think his quiet strength would have been the best choice for America, but that's a moot point. When he dropped out of the race I went with Ted Cruz. I wanted an outsider, but I just didn't trust Trump. His use of eminent domain troubled me greatly. I could not reconcile what he was saying about freedom and less government with his willingness to take property from others for his own profit and "the good of all". I wasn't dead set against him. I voted for Ted Cruz in the primary.

Trump versus Hillary: This was a no-brainer.
I would have voted for anyone other than Hillary, for obvious reasons that I won't go into. Again, a moot point. I did get angry at the Never Trumpers for vowing not to vote or to vote for a 3rd-Party sure loser. They had grander principles than the rest of us, and they didn't care if Hillary had to win to prove it. There is no way of knowing, but I suspect that many of them wound up voting for Trump. My principles were anti-Hillary when it came to voting.

I am also angry with Never Trumpers when/if they will not support him when he is doing good things, or when he is at least doing way better than we ever imagined, even if it's not perfect. Remember our enemy? It's not President Trump; at least not yet. There could be a time when he reveals himself to be deserving of a Conservative competitor in the next election. We are not even close to that situation. Until then, I will make the best of it. After he was elected, it would be counter-productive to fight against him or sit out the process just because I don't personally like him or because I disagree with him on some issues. I have taken a wait-and-see attitude. I had doubts. I was hoping and praying for the best. As far as an Always Trumper, I am not a blind devotee of anyone holding any office. That is cultish, and I belonged to a cult once, so I watch for and eschew anything resembling cultish behavior. I will back Trump when he is representing my principles, and I will call him out when he clearly is not. I will not cave into pressure from any of my peers to denounce him completely every time he is not a perfect Conservative, as defined and judged by perfect Conservatives, whoever they are.

The Bandwagon.
I am not a bandwagon-kind of girl. I haven't even gotten completely on the Trump wagon (praying and watching), when some of the same Conservatives (Always Trumpers) who tried to bully me onto the Trump bandwagon are now trying to bully me onto the anti-Trump bandwagon. The Never Trumpers seem to have found ammunition (pardon the pun) with the strike on Syria to continue their war on Trump. This is not the Cryps and the Bloods. This is not a child's play. A lot of time and energy and political capital is being wasted on in-fighting. We have to get some political game or we are going to squander this God-given opportunity. 


Healthcare Bill
Really? Conservatives, this was the best that we could do? I don't blame Trump. I don't even blame the RINOs for this one. I blame the dysfunctional Conservatives. I know I am speaking blasphemy against some of the self-proclaimed leaders of the Conservative movement...but come on! If it isn't perfect we'll pass? The Left took Obamacare as a stepping stone towards single-payer healthcare and considered it a huge victory even though they didn't get everything that they wanted. Did they fuss and fume at one another? No! They fussed and fumed at us! Did they want all or nothing? No! They are pros at pushing issues leftward one step at a time and celebrating every victory...against us!

Don't get me wrong. I would have preferred to have a full repeal. I would have preferred a complete rewrite, not an editing of Obamacare. I was disappointed. However, I was not willing to throw it all away because I didn't get what I wanted. We keep winning elections but continue to fail at furthering our agenda. This is why. We refuse to unite. We refuse to negotiate. We don't take advantage of our opportunities. How long have we wanted to repeal Obamacare? If only we had the House. Got it. If only we had the Senate. Got it. If only we had the presidency. Got it. We can not seem to get it done no matter what our advantage. Those Independents and Democrats who gave us the election must be shaking their heads...no their fists...at us! They were so close to getting out from under those mandated policies and premiums with outrageous deductibles, not to mention the penalties. Nope, we have principles. They will just have to suck it up. Do you think that they will vote with us next time? Not to mention that Planned Parenthood would have lost funding, but it wasn't long enough (for now), so we told President Trump to stick it.

Trump asked us to trust him. He had three phases planned. I understand that we have been betrayed many times before by the Left and by the RINOs. You all wanted an outsider and we have one. He doesn't get the politics, especially the in-fighting. He is a businessman looking for a deal. He asked us to trust him, and I was inclined to do so. He may be our last chance to turn things around. Many of you were all about Trump (way more than I was), but when he asked you to trust him, you wouldn't do it. I hope we get another chance at it. Who knows? Maybe we will get a better deal. We might get a worse deal or no deal. Not only that, but we have held him back moving forward on other things that this would have affected positively. I heard a Democrat who voted for Trump say that Trump lost the healthcare battle and he was disappointed in him. He mocked Trump and the Conservatives. Good job Conservatives. I wonder if we'll ever get that vote on our side again. I think we blew the moment and the momentum. I hope not.

Bombing of Syria
Like I said before, this is where it really got ugly. I was still mulling over healthcare when the big brouhaha started over the bombing. Facebook friends were getting nasty and demanding. I would have preferred that President Trump went to Congress. For my purest Constitutionalist friends, yes he should have. Neither the US nor our interests were under imminent threat. Trump says now that it was because we have people there. I'm not sure that's enough. Was there an American that was injured or killed by chemicals? He had time to go to Congress. That said, I will not jump on the denounce Trump bandwagon over it. I will decide when or if I will denounce Trump, and I will not be bullied into it. I'm sorry conspiracy theorists, but telling me that because he holds his fingers a certain way, that this is proof that he had other nefarious motives other than the dead children, that doesn't cut it for me (not that I write you guys off entirely). I just don't think it had anything to do with bombing Syria. The Constitutionalists are the ones who really made me mad. Some of them actually said that those who did not denounce Trump immediately could never call themselves Conservatives again. They even wondered how we could call ourselves Christians. Yes I call you Super Duper Conservatives! Who do you think you are?

Savior or Anti-Christ?

Savior
I call no man my savior but Jesus Christ. However, it is my personal opinion that this could be our last chance to turn things around. The globalists wanted to spread our wealth around and diminish us in the world arena. They were succeeding. The Left wanted to overburden our entitlements programs as encouraged in the Coward-Piven Strategy. The goal was to sabotage and destroy the welfare system to cause it to collapse, which would ignite a political and financial crisis that would be so severe that poor people would rise in revolt, and then the rest of society would accept their demands. They create a crisis and then offer their Socialist solution. They were succeeding. This mass immigration that we've been experiencing and them stirring up racial tension has been a part of that plan. They wanted to take or limit our Constitutionally-protected (God-given) freedoms by using political correctness to make us afraid to speak out. They were succeeding. They wanted to leave us defenseless by limiting or taking away our ability to defend ourselves. They were succeeding. They wanted to make the killing of babies more convenient and more affordable, and God help us, they were succeeding. They were succeeding on every front. They thought they had Hillary in the bag, and that would finish us off as a Constitutional Republic and they would usher us right into the globalist dream. But God said, "Not so fast!" We have someone who is willing, and I believe able if we will work with him, to turn things around in the other direction. God help us if we mess this up. 

Anti-Christ
The conspiracy theorists shouldn't be entirely discounted. I am a Bible believer, so I know that in the last days there will be a globalist society, and there will be strong delusion. There will be a lot of deception in high places. I know that a leader (Gog) of one country (Magog) will make a pact with Israel and then break it betraying them. Is it possible that President Trump is part of a larger deception? It's possible.

Final Thoughts
I have hope that President Trump will turn things around. I plan to support his efforts on issues that are important to me. I believe that Conservatives need to get behind him. If he is using us, well I will use him back. We have to have a strategy. We have to unite. We have to stop fighting one another. We can privately and respectfully disagree, but if we shut each other out we will lose it all, and right now it is all ours to win or lose. However, I am being vigilant. I'm educating myself to some of the conspiracy theories. I am watching Bible prophecy unfold. I am praying for discernment. When he clearly messes up, I will say so, but I will not be bullied into denouncing him. If I decide to denounce him, I will do it and do it "big league".

NEVER TRUMP: NEVER SAY NEVER...UNLESS IT'S NEVER HILLARY

   I am not stupid. I do have common sense. I am not a blind devotee of Trump. I'm not irrational. I do not wish to shame or otherwise hurt anyone emotionally. I do not need to hand in my Conservative card. These are just a few of the things that have been said to me lately. I will defend myself one last time regarding the Never Trump Republicans' accusations, and then I am done.  

First, People before Politics

    When the TEA Party first began, we often said "Principles before Party!" After about seven years in the TEA Party, I changed my mantra to "People before politics!" I made a decision about a year ago to let this blog die because I had gotten to a place where politics were no longer my passion. Politics had become that thing that was sucking the joy out of my life. I had been so active for so long with very disappointing results. The Liberals kept winning because of the complicity of the so-called RINOs, many who posed as Conservatives to get elected.  We had become the Uniparty of corruption where Republicans were and still are willing to sell our country out and the Republican platform for financial gain and personal status.  We had the TEA Party now actually becoming an arm of the Republican Party, no longer  making any effort to hide it, even when it spit in their face over and over again. What really burned me up was with every loss the establishment Republicans and the TEA Party would both try to spin them as obscure victories in order to keep the funds coming in. Come on, does the leader of a national Tea Party really need to make $400K and still beg for money even though wins are rare and unimpressive?
  

    On a personal level, I was facing tough times taking care of my mother until her death and also dealing with my own health issues.  I realized that I had become my politics. Lynda Givens Evans was politics with not much else to offer. I really had no stand-by-you kind of friends...I had connections. It was my own fault. I was so busy being an activist that I failed to nurture friendships. People only saw politics and what I may be able to do for or against their agendas. When I was no longer able to jump on their causes I had no purpose. Again, my own fault. So I decided to lay down politics, during an election year, and try to reorganize my priorities. I knew that politics would go on without me. No one is indispensable. You'd be surprised how quickly that hole closes up around you when you step out of a picture.
   
    Of course, I still love my country, and I am still opinionated, and I will still be a good citizen and vote. I had decided that I was not going to "promote" anyone this campaign season. I wasn't going to waste one more second of my time promoting people who only use you to get into office and then kick you and your principles to the curb.
   
Not a Trump Blind Devotee

   We had many choices on the Republican side. Right from the start I supported Ben Carson. To me he was the best choice and I still believe it. His quiet strength and intelligence was no match for Trump's loud and proud rhetoric. I get that. When Carson dropped out I supported Cruz. I saw Cruz fighting the Liberals and RINOs all along, so I felt I could reasonably trust him to continue once elected. I was disappointed at how much special interest money that he took, but I get it, it takes money to run an effective campaign. I voted for Cruz in the primary, knowing that Trump already had a large enough lead to make it feel like my vote didn't count. Besides, this is Maryland. It doesn't count, but I voted for Cruz.

   I didn't jump on the Trump bandwagon, even though his rhetoric made me want to stand up and shout amen, because his actions in the very recent past gave me pause. In particular, his use of  eminent domain (the power of a state or a national government to take private property for public use) in his business dealings. To me, that is the  most un-American act one could use on a fellow citizen for your own gain. I thought if he would do that in business, what would he do as the leader of the free world? To me it wasn't worth the risk, even though at the time he was saying everything that I wanted to hear on some important issues.

I Respect the Voters

   

    Cruz lost. Trump won. We cannot say that we respect our Constitutional Republic and then disrespect the will of the voters. When Obama won a second term I wanted to vomit, but the voters had spoken. I had to live with it until the next election. That is how it works. So how is it that I am called a "blind devotee" when all I am doing is respecting the voters and dealing with the choices handed to me? If the Republican National Committee sought to override the will of the voters I would be furious! That would be disrespectful to the voters and an affront to the integrity of our election process. Besides, does anyone think that they would put up Cruz in Trump's place? No! It would be some complicit RINO, but it doesn't matter who they put up, it would be wrong to do it.

   Given the choices, the rest are basic statistics. It's not irrational. It is not without principles. It's math. It's not stupid or a lack of common sense; quite the contrary. Lets reason together:

1.  The choices are Hillary, Trump, third party Gary Johnson, or no vote.  

2.  Trump will need every vote to beat Hillary.

3.  I know 100% that Hillary will finish off this country.

4.  I have a 50%-50% chance that Trump will either be the best or the worst president ever.  See#2.

5.  I know that Gary Johnson has 0% chance of winning. If Ross Perot couldn't win with the populous movement that was behind him then Johnson does not have a chance. See #2.

6.  No vote is vote for Hillary because...see #2.

Pretty simple really.

Never Trump Republicans

    It escapes me how this is even a thing!

    First, Conservatives and RINOs (lip service) alike have been railing against the unconstitutional actions of Obama for 8 years, yet they cannot accept that the voters have spoken. Some would throw aside the election process!

    Second, simple statistics (see #2) show pretty clearly that a vote against Trump is in fact a vote for Hillary, yet some Republicans are ready to not only trash the election process, but also their own Party. They are willing to hand this country over to Hillary on a silver platter, renounce the election process, and renounce their Party because they cannot accept the choice of the voters.

    Worse yet, people in prominent Republican positions are selling out their Party (FYI, I am no longer a Republican). If you are sitting on a Republican Central Committee and cannot support the Republican candidate that the Republican voters have chosen, you need to step down because it is your job to support him.  

    When the highest ranking Republican in the state publicly denounces the Republican candidate chosen by the voters of his state, and in doing so promotes Hillary (see #2), I have to ask myself if he deserves my Conservative vote much less the votes of Republicans in his next election. Yes, Hillary is that bad. If she is elected, it will no longer matter who is Governor of Maryland. The fundamental change will swiftly continue full speed ahead until its completion.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I will not continue to defend myself regarding Trump. If you don't like what I say on my own Facebook page, you are free to leave. 

One more thing... I have a little hope that Trump will firmly handle the problem of Islam. I have no hope at all that Hillary will (see #2).

Saudi Writer Schools US Infidels on Bigotry: Hypocrisy at Its Worst

Trump's Bigotry at its Worst http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/848226 written by
Abulateef Al-Mulhim

I am furious at the hypocrisy of this Saudi writer scolding a country where he has had the freedom to come and go across its borders and take advantage of our schools and lifestyle his entire life, while we cannot enter his closed society because we are infidels! They are the most bigoted against those of other religions, against the black race, against women, and let's not forget homosexuals. Their bigotry often leads to life and death situations for these individuals. Yet this writer wants to school us on what he believes is our moral obligation while under constant attack by Muslims?

Trump does not want to rid the country of Latinos. That is a ridiculous statement. He wants to protect our borders from those who want to come into our country ILLEGALLY. It just so happens that the Mexican border is our most porous. Trump does not want to rid the country of Muslims. He is just saying let's stop immigration of Muslims, especially this large scale influx that we are currently experiencing from countries who hate us, who have pledged to kill us and who in fact are attacking us almost on a daily basis, until we can figure out how to stop these attacks.  This is basic national security. Look at Saudi Arabia's own immigration policy. Islam has declared war on the US, from large organizations down to the individuals who decide to act on a military base or a Christmas party. At some point we have the moral right to take a look at what we need to do to protect ourselves.

Inciting violence against innocent Muslims? Where? When? Even though Muslims have savagely murdered many...I have yet to hear of a retaliation of violence against innocent Muslims. That's rhetoric intended to make Muslims the victims instead of the attackers and enablers of the attackers.  If it did happen I would be appalled and loudly denounce it, unlike our Muslim population who say or do little to nothing to decry the violence done in the name of Islam.

I know this writer, and decades ago I considered him a friend, but I am livid about this outrageous article. I am undecided on my vote for president, but if Trump is giving notice to our enemies that we will not tolerate these attacks and they are taking note...maybe Trump is who we need in the WH.

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black: Bruchey vs Spong (with Bruchey's Response)

  I haven't written about politics in Washington County or the City of Hagerstown for quite sometime. My last post regarding Washington County was an interview with County Commissioner Woody Spong (http://tinyurl.com/otoq3eh). Coincidentally it is a matter regarding Commr. Spong that compels me to write again about issues in Washington County. 

     
ISSUE 1: Commr. Spong is accused of making a "vulgar, inappropriate, and sexist" comment to BOE President, Donna Brightman. Was it sexist or does it actually diminish the seriousness of real acts of sexism?  

Brightman wrote a letter to the Herald Mail claiming that he said:

"FACTS are like whores, once you get them on their back, they'll do whatever."

 She said that it was in a conversation just between the two of them where they: 

"were talking about facts and figures that had been presented about the school board's budget."        

 My first reaction was to wonder if she swooned and had to have someone with smelling salts to bring her back after such a blow to her....facts and figures. He clearly was not talking about her, or about women, and definitely not about the women on the BOE. In context, the statement may not be PC or polite, and maybe it was a little vulgar and inappropriate with someone of Brightman's sensitivities, but:

It made his point that facts and figures can be manipulated.

Commr. Spong later, much later, claimed that he said "lady of the night." It is her word against his. Whatever. Sometimes you have to learn how to react and handle other professional's unprofessional behavior professionally.     
    It would have been far more inappropriate had he blurted it out in a public forum. At most I might have winced at his lack of social skills. It would kind of be like the time when Mayor Bob Bruchey,in a public forum, talked about not being able to find a strapless bra for his wife in downtown Hagerstown because everything closed up too early. However, even if it were a conversation between me and my most vicious adversary it would have rolled off of me like water off of a duck's back. (I hope I am not offending any ducks.) 
    I started my career in the 1970's in the then male-dominated field of electronics. I was the only female as an electronic technician for two years, and later the only female engineering writer for about the first three years. I grew the thick skin necessary to succeed. As a technician, I faced income inequality, no chance of promotion, sexual harassment, bullying, and sexual assault. I received a little more respect from most of my colleagues and customers as a writer, but there was the occasional good old boy with no sense of boundaries. With this in mind, I find petty accusations of sexism to be counterproductive to the cause of women. I had to choose my battles when the battles were new and fierce. So I find it laughable that a strong, intelligent, professional like Donna Brightman is cut to the core over the word "whore" as an adjective for facts and figures. To be a female political activist I have also had to have very thick skin. In my opinion, if Brightman is going to serve as president over an organization as large as the BOE and participate in the necessary politics...she is going to have to learn to handle uncomfortable conversations without running to the local newspaper. I pick my battles and fight the ones that I choose wholeheartedly. Of course I am a crusty old woman from Baltimore, but Commr. Spong's comment would not even make it onto my radar.  
    In my opinion the letter to the local newspaper was not about Brightman's feminine sensitivities to the word whore, but more about offending her facts and figures and thwarting her plans. I would not be surprised to find out that Brightman has been encouraged to make this big to-do-over-nothing by Commr. Spong's haters. Make no mistake. He has them.

ISSUE 2:  Was this comment so egregious that Commr.Spong should be forced to resign from the Board of County Commissioner? 

    We have people ready to rend their clothes and wear sackcloth and ashes in the square until Commr. Spong is driven from politics. It is no surprise that it is the same people who were spitting mad about his appointment. It has been suggested that because he spoke to a lawyer he must know that he is guilty of being a sexist. Are you kidding me? The sexist card used by political adversaries can be as destructive as the race card. It can ruin careers and lives. It can lead to lawsuits and your assets could be threatened. It can adversely affect your family. Of course he spoke to a lawyer first. Anyone who is saying that in his position they would not have been concerned...even afraid...is a liar. As I said before, I don't think a remark is sexist just because it has the word whore in it, especially as an adjective for facts and figures in a political discussion. I absolutely do not think it is grounds to have him removed from the Board of County Commissioners. 
   
ISSUE 3:  Are politicians and other political operatives exploiting this accusation for political purposes?  

    It appears that the same people who were so vociferously against Commr. Spong's appointment are the same people who appear to be exploiting this situation to try to have him removed from office and replaced with someone that they deem more suitable. I know because of the phone calls, texts, Facebook messages, flaming blogs, etc, that I received when I interviewed Commr. Spong just after he was appointed. I see the same people spreading it all over Facebook, writing flaming blogs, and going on the amateur local talk show, The Flip Side, to keep it alive and in the public eye. There have been whole segments on this show about this non-issue of a sexist remark. On all of the other unrelated segments there have been obvious attempts to bring it up even when it doesn't quite make sense. I don't see any serious activist for women's rights taking note of this comment. It is only Commr. Spong's detractors keeping it alive. 

ISSUE 4:  Is it acceptable for politicians to be hypocrites, or should they be called out on blatant acts of hypocrisy? 

   I am not a fan, friend, or  foe of Commr. Spong. I have not thought about him again since interviewing him in May 2015. I wouldn't have written this blog at all had I not watched an episode of The Flip Side and witnessed a politician shamelessly not only exploiting this lame comment, but the hypocrisy was mind blowing. This was a politician who I often find to be offensive, sometimes sexist, and certainly inappropriate beating that dead horse about Commr. Spong's alleged offense. This is the pot calling the kettle black and his name is Bob Bruchey.  Bruchey has said things and overlooked sexist statements said to me by others. They weren't so offensive that I ran to the local newspaper. In fact I never spoke of it. It was something that did hit my radar, but I am can handle it. Only after watching him angling for opportunities to disparage and disgrace Commr. Spong in every segment of the show did I sit up and take note of this issue. I was thinking of all the people....he needs to shut up. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and contacted him online via Messenger to ask him why he kept harping on Commr. Spong's comment when he is not exactly against rude and sexist remarks. For example:

"Nah, you never bothered me. After all, I enjoy a smart woman who can stand up and give me shit. Well, just as long as she sits back down and keeps her mouth shut afterwards I mean."

    This is not a she-said-he-said. I saved the conversation on Messenger. I found this much more offensive and sexist than the whore analogy of facts and figures. There is no question that this statement is sexist and was meant to put me in my place. As you can see in the picture below, I took a deep breath and decided to keep it classy, but when I saw him repeatedly raking Commr. Spong over the coals for being not even half as obnoxious it made me angry.

   There is another incident that I feel depicts Bruchey's lack of regard for belittling women. This one is my word against his, but I bet I could find it if I looked hard enough. Bruchey didn't deny it when I asked him about it on Messenger. I had jumped into a political discussion on Facebook that included Bruchey and his most public admirer who will remain unnamed at this point. This guy loves Bruchey. He never misses an opportunity to flatter and fluff him publicly. So we were talking about Hagerstown issues when Bruchey's friend said to me,

"Why are you even in this conversation? Shouldn't you be in the kitchen making me lasagna?"

I was stunned. I think I responded that I do indeed make a mean lasagna, but I can also carry my own in a political discussion. Bruchey never said a word. I think that could be called offensive, inappropriate, and sexist. There was not one single word in my defense from Bruchey. In contrast, he can't stop talking about what poor Donna Brightman endured from that "stupid" man Woody Spong. When I asked Bruchey about this incident he said that he confronts this guy all of the time about the things that he posts on Facebook, but he does it privately. He even denied being his friend. He went on to explain, "We don't hang out together or have beers at each other's houses on the weekend." I pointed out that that was the exact same thing that Commr. Spong said about his relationship with Terry Baker when he was unfairly accused without evidence of getting the appointment because of his "friendship" with Baker. Ironic or hypocritical?

    I got the same "explanations" from Bruchey that Commr. Spong's haters are calling "excuses". He didn't really mean it like I took it. I should have known that he was joking. Why should Bruchey get the benefit of the doubt that he would not allow Commr. Spong? 

    Hypocrites can't take their own advice. 

     On The Flip Side, Bruchey said that all Commr. Spong had to do was apologize. If he had taken his own advice and apologized to me when I contacted him I would not have written this blog. He didn't. He is a politician; he doesn't have to apologize to someone like me. In my opinion he owes me an apology and Commr. Spong too. I saw the flipside of Bob Bruchey, and I didn't like it. He said that The Flip Side is "just entertainment...nothing more, nothing less." Let's see how entertaining he finds this blog. 

God I hope another Republican runs for mayor!

Bob Bruchey's Response

"Lynda, as I read your post, blog and subsequent comments, I was saddened. I have always enjoyed our back and forth on issues. If I had known that the private message from 10 months ago had offended you, I would have immediately apologized. I sincerely thought I was joking around with you and absolutely wasn’t trying to say anything that would hurt your feelings. I also didn’t realize that I needed to defend you against negative comments, since you can most definitely stand your ground with anyone. You and I have been friends for quite some time and I don’t take friendship lightly; therefore I stick up for friends that I think are being mistreated.  I do apologize if I have offended you it was definitely never my intention to do so. Hopefully we can remain fb and real friends and continue to converse on subjects important to you and I. I respect your opinions and enjoy your, at times, humorous posts. Again, I hope you can accept my apology and I look forward to many more conversations."

Bob, How could someone who is so concerned about Cmmr. Spong's comment not have known that his own comment was offensive? I think you are being a bit disingenuous.

Would you say:

I like a smart black who can stand up and give me shit. Well, just as long as he sits down and keeps his mouth shut afterwards I mean. How about a smart Jew? A smart homosexual?  Of course this would have to be said to a black, Jew, or  homosexual to make it truly comparable. Would you expect them to get "the joke"? Of course not, and neither were you joking to me. It was your passive aggressive way to put me in my place.

This is your apology to me? Answering via a comment on a post on Facebook? I wonder if you would let Cmmr. Spong get away with that?

You are right that you don't need to defend me against sexist comments made by your friends in your company, but you should have. I guess it didn't have the political expediency as you had hoped Cmmr. Spong's comment would have.

You said that we have been friends for a long time. Not so. We should be friends. It's actually quite mystifying to me because although we belong to the same party, I have most often found myself at the opposite end of issues regarding taxpayer money and how it should or shouldn't be spent. I can't ever recall being anything more than a Facebook friend, which we all know doesn't amount to much in the real world. Whether or not we remain so is up to you.

None of this matters to me at all. I could care less if you talk down to me. What bothered me was how you publicly raked Cmmr. Spong over the coals for so much less! Are you going to apologize to him? Are you going to publicly admit that you really have done worse? You are running for mayor again, so I am sure that you want this to blow over. Couldn't you have allowed the same for Cmmr. Spong? I have to say that I have never seen a politician so viciously attacked before ever casting a vote much less from his own Party as Cmmr. Spong. I don't know him, and he may vote like a Liberal for all I know, but you and others are crossing lines in your hatred of him and your displeasure with his appointment. This Donna Brightman hysteria was not a fair fight and you exploited it.

On your last segment of The Flip Side you were softer, yet you found Cmmr. Spong's waiting 6 days to apologize unexplainable and unforgivable. Well it took you being called out after 10 months for this lame apology. Something tells me that Cmmr. Spong will be waiting much longer. 

   

    

A Catastrophic Deal for Israel, America, and the World

    "No, it is not a good deal; it is not a bad deal. It is a catastrophic deal."

     Less than 36 hours before the announcement of a deal between Iran and the West, I attended an event at the B'nai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation in Towson, Maryland. The speaker was David Hazony, the senior editor of the Tower Magazine, and a senior member of The Israel Project. The speech is available in its entirety at David Hazony from The Israel Project: Israel and Iran, including a few closing words from their rabbi, Rabbi Hauer.
   Hazony gave a sobering speech on Israel's two-front war (the battlefield and the media), the threat concerning Iran's nuclear program, the new challenges facing Israel, and he was supposed to offer ways that the pro-Israel community can address those challenges.
    As I looked around the sanctuary, I noticed various levels of "orthodoxy" judging by the attire of those in attendance. I am sure that I wasn't the only gentile in attendance. One thing that everyone wore was a face set firm with deep concern. This was an attentive audience.
    He began by stating the obvious--politicians will spin information-- in order to explain what he does in his position at TIP. He said that he has the  difficult job of helping the public and those in the media understand when they are being played. He stated:

"I've always believed that all you have to do is say the truth in a deep enough and compelling way...and you'll win." [Bless his heart.] 

    He believes that beginning with Israel's war last summer with Hamas and the Palestinians, Israel is fighting on two fronts: the battlefield and the media. While Israel consistently wins on the battlefield, she loses in the media. His theory of why Hamas continued to fire on Israel even though the iron dome was blocking their missiles is that they wanted Israel to react so that they could take the battle to the media. They did and it was effective. This lead to the discussion about the Iranian negotiations because there has been an information war surrounding those as well.
    The negotiations were first presented to Israel and the American public as an alternative to war. War was the buzz word meant to neutralize those who were for increasing sanctions and against the negotiations. If you disagreed, you must be a war monger. You must want war. The original premise of the negotiations was the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program first, followed by the lifting of sanctions, with all options on the table in the absence of an agreement. After about a year an a half, the U.S. stopped using the word dismantle and took the use of military force off the table.

"The Americans and the West were progressively capitulating on very crucial elements of what a reasonable nuclear deal had to be...one after another, after another, of what they themselves declared to be red lines."

    Hazony predicted that the deal will be significantly worse than the one agreed upon in Switzerland, which in itself he thought was a very bad deal. They have had good information and have been proven right about what's been going on in the negotiations all along.  
    He began by defining three parts to the deal:

1. What the Iranians must give up
2. What the Iranians receive
3. What does not change at all

What the Iranians Give Up

     The Iranians give us a commitment to not develop a nuclear program that is unverifiable, unenforceable, temporary, and dangerous. The negotiations began with an expectation of anywhere-anytime-access, which has been capitulated to something called managed access. If the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants access they have to ask the Iranians. There is no easy mechanism to reinstate the sanctions if they do not comply. Instead there is a political process where all of the countries involved in this deal come together to discuss and vote on it. Some of those votes are predictable. The U.S. vote will depend on who is in office.

What the Iranians Receive

    The Iranians receive money, the lifting of the arms embargo, they retain the infrastructure of their nuclear program, complete legitimization, and a success for this regime. It is estimated that their upfront signing bonus alone will be between $50B-$150B. If they receive only the $50B and spent only 20 percent ($10B) towards expansionism and terror that will double their current annual budget for their aggressive activities in the world (estimated now to be approximately $6B-$12B). Lifting the arms embargo will flood the most volatile region in the world with weapons. Retaining the infrastructure of their nuclear program will enable them to quickly restore and expand after 10 years or covertly without ceasing. Until now their nuclear program has been illegal. Now it will be legitimized and difficult if not impossible to get the UN Security Council to act against them. Hazony believes the most dangerous thing that we are giving the Iranians is a success for the current regime for them to tout to their people and to the world.

What Does Not Change at All

   What does not change at all are human rights abuses, support for terrorism in the world, their expansionism, and their open hatred of the West, the U.S., and Israel. 

"No, it is not a good deal; it is not a bad deal. It is a catastrophic deal."

 

Q&A

The answers are direct quotes from Hazony. 

1. How do we stop it?
The deck is stacked against stopping it through congressional action. They have 60 days to review the deal. If they vote against it, the president can and will veto it. Then it would take a 2/3 vote to overturn the veto. We can work really hard to make sure that Congress knows the facts and understands what's at stake. For public opinion and the media we have to make a lot of noise. There was a time when we would take it to the streets, but I understand that this has become old-fashioned. We need to show how much we care during that 60-day period.

2. What about the other countries? 
The Russians want the deal in order to shrink the power of the U.S. in the world. The Germans won't stand up to the Russians because of oil. The U.S. has already decided for it. The British and the French won't standup against the U.S. The U.S. initially lead the charge for the sanctions and has a large influence on global economies, so it is pretty much up to the U.S.

3. (a) Why does this administration and this so-called president want this deal?
I can give my personal theory. The president was elected to stop U.S. overreach in the world. The Middle East is chaotic and Iran at least appears orderly. I think that the president has made a decision to empower Iran.
    (b) How will they try to sell this deal? What will be the spin?
This will be sold as a "historic agreement" and a "defining moment" in history. The word "war" will be used a lot as if that is the only alternative and to try to scare people into accepting the deal.

 4. Do you think that Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan could collaborate regarding Iran? 
They already are behind the scenes and publically in small ways as never seen before. It is a little trickier for Saudi Arabia because of the Palestinian issue. That is a hurdle to overcome, but they are already showing signs of willingness.

5. What would make Kerry walk away from the negotiating table?
It is too late for him to walk away. He had warned, "We won't sit here forever". In the Middle East that is a very weak threat.

6. Would Hillary Clinton be any different than Obama?
Democratic candidates cannot stand up to a Democratic president. Later in the campaign they will have to somewhat in order to defeat the Republicans. [stuttering and stammering] I give people the benefit of the doubt. She has given me no reason to doubt her. 

A Word from the Rabbi

   The rabbi encouraged everyone to call their representatives in Congress. He told them not to write letters (USPS) or email, but to call. He told them to speak calmly and try not to sound like a "nut case". He discouraged rallies and marches saying those were for a more broader and organized Jewish community and not for their local community.

We want to be able to look ourselves in the mirror and say that in a time of crisis like this for the Jewish people, we didn't just sit around waiting for the next news story. We did what we could do.

Great Speech but Short On Action

    It said on the flier for this event that Hazony "would offer ways for the pro-Israel community to address those [new] challenges". I was disappointed when he finished his speech without doing so. To me, the call to action should have been the most important part of his speech. If indeed this is a catastrophic deal, why talk for an hour without a desperate plea to act? He stated that the likelihood of the U.S. voting to reinstate sanctions should Iran not comply "depends on who is in office". This would have been a great time to make it clear that Progressive Democrats are turning their loyalties towards the Palestinians. He could have pointed out how many times our Democratic president has acted against the interests of Israel. This would have been the perfect time to tell them that elections count, and that they need to ask themselves why statistically the Jews voted for Obama and typically vote Democrat. He could have explained how the  Progressives have changed the Democratic Party. He didn't.
   He could not avoid it entirely because the first question during Q&A was how do we stop this deal? He accurately described the unlikelihood of Congress overturning Obama's certain veto, but he failed to say it is because the 2/3 vote needed would not happen because the Democrats will vote with Obama. He then went on to make rallies and marches seem unseemly. He did say that they need to make some noise to let Congress know that they care. I guess by noise he meant telephones ringing? In a word...lame. 
    He was asked directly during Q&A if he thought that Hillary would be any different than Obama? This was an open door to explain Progressivism. He stuttered and stammered so much trying to avoid the truth that Hillary is very likely not to be any different than Obama regarding Israel. How many Jewish people will vote straight Democrat in 2016? His failure to "explain to them how they are being played," as he described his job function, will not lead to a better outcome in 2016.
    The Rabbi also asked them to call their representatives in Congress. He told them not to write letters or emails, but to just call. He didn't encourage his congregation to unite with a broader more organized Jewish community for rallies and marches, etc.  
    I was heartsick when it ended without any solutions or ways to fight back. Everyone looked more pensive than at the start. I felt a heaviness in my chest, and I wanted to stand up and admonish them.  Let me make it as simple as I can: vote Conservative, call your representatives, email your representatives, FAX your representatives, snail mail your representatives, unite with other Jewish communities, rally, and march. Flood your social media with pro-Israel information. Write letters to the editors of your local newspapers. Be careful to whom you give your donations. Do not financially support politicians, groups, or schools who do not absolutely stand with Israel. Do your homework and be informed. If you are able but not willing to do these things, you might as well have stayed home and skipped the speech. Just saying.  

If there was ever a time to get involved, to get dramatic, to take to the streets, to make noise, to make waves....to act...it is now or never. If not now, when? If not you, who?