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Something that has irked me of late, while reading or listening to certain elements within the “conservative” (non-Leftist) alternative media, is the assertion that it is somehow courageous to come out of hiding, as it were, and dare to criticize Israel. The Left engages in this exercise all the time, but in recent years the phenomenon has spread to unlikely precincts.
To grasp the full depth of this charade, let us take a step back in time. I spent most of the 1980s and 90s working in the realm of international relations, much of it focused on Middle East affairs. During that era, I began my day by perusing the New York Times, glancing at the headlines, reading full articles as needed. (And yes, I became an expert in the “subway fold.”) This is what everyone did, because the Times really was the newspaper of record. Many collegial conversations began with “did you see the article in the Times….?” What struck me most about that esteemed publication was the constant badgering of Israel, in every way, shape, and form imaginable. Every single day, one could see an article, usually on the front page, decrying some grave transgression committed by the evil Israelis. Because of my work and travels, I knew that the allegations ranged from manipulated half-truth to outright fabrication. This treatment also was the rule for almost the entirety of the American and European media. From John Chancellor and NBC’s scandalous coverage of the 1982 Lebanon war, to the whitewashing of Yasir Arafat’s jihadist rhetoric just after signing the Oslo “peace” accords, to the Muhammed al-Dura affair (2000), and beyond, mainstream media outlets in the West have functioned as the propaganda arm of the Arab world. Then there is the United Nations. With their Israel obsession, one would think that there are no other conflicts anywhere, and no region of any interest other than the Middle East. Israel-bashing developed into a cottage industry, involving many of the infamous NGOs that sponsor mischief and mayhem worldwide. UNRWA is only one of a multitude of corrupt and nefarious actors. Then there is academia. I noticed, back in the day, a pattern emerging in the organization of university panel discussions on the Arab-Israel conflict. Typically, there would be a four-person panel: Someone to take the Israeli side; another for the Arab side; a representative of the clergy or some touchy-feely NGO; and a policy wonk, usually from a think tank, sometimes from the media or State Department. Inevitably, the pro-Israel representative would be alone in arguing his case, as the Arab and the two “non-partisan” speakers united in their condemnations of Israel. It never failed. The universities became incubators for every flavor of anti-Israel agitation, egged on by the neo-Marxist professoriate. Small wonder that recently, “elite” college students took a break from jeremiads about climate change and the Trumphitler to become mouthpieces for the most bloodthirsty organization on the face of the earth. Much of this can be explained by the dominance of the Left. They took their cue from the USSR, which beginning in the 1960s lent its prestige and resources to the Arab campaign. Israel is considered by the Left to be the oppressor par excellence because the state was founded as a European-style parliamentary democracy, with the leadership looking rather “white,” facing off against “people of color” who are particularly degenerate and violent. It would be strange indeed if the latter did not become the darlings of the Left; a poster-child of “oppression.” Despite this massive international campaign lasting decades, we now hear assertions that it is taboo to criticize Israel. It is easy to recognize the classic Leftist playbook. The Palestinian Arabs, in their portrayal as the eternal victim, are analogous to the George Floyd story. They all behave as depraved criminals; when the authorities finally put their foot down, well, it is racism, fascism, Nazis, and all the rest. Parroting the “poor oppressed Palestinians” narrative is tantamount to endorsing the core principles of the Left. In fact, when I hear “our” people doing this, I begin to question their conservative bona fides. Sometimes, you scratch a little, and find a Leftist trapped in a conservative body. The Arab-Israel conflict offers the perfect opportunity to satisfy one’s inner Leftist, to weep for the supposed downtrodden, at little or no cost to one’s overall political image. Even in Israel, it is daunting to be pro-Israel. People in the U.S. are not aware of how influential and nasty the Leftist Establishment is over there. I laugh when I hear that Prime Minister Netanyahu exercises control over various aspects of U.S. foreign policy—he doesn’t even control Israeli foreign policy! The veto power of the American Deep State over the actions of President Trump, acquired through the judiciary and other mechanisms, is child’s play compared to the equivalent game in Israel. Sometimes we hear that “Tel Aviv” (or the “Israel lobby”) controls U.S. foreign policy, or at least Mideast policy. According to this line of thinking, all U.S. wars in the region are fought for the benefit of Israel. Any serious student of U.S. Mideast policy knows that the heavy hitters in this arena are (in no particular order): American defense contractors; the Pentagon; the State Department; Saudi Arabia; the oil industry; and the ideologues of the far Left, embedded everywhere. What Israel or its supporters in the U.S. want or need is an afterthought. It should be mentioned that the pro-Israel movement, especially within the American Jewish community, is famously inept at getting its message across, in part because of the time and money spent fighting off the influence of the woke zeitgeist by which it is surrounded. While the anti-Israel side goes for the jugular with no compunction, the supporters of Israel hem and haw, producing “talking points” that will not “alienate the moderates.” My objection is not to criticism of Israel. Have at it, I say; make your case and present your facts. Love the country, hate it, or be indifferent to its fate. The sticking point is the nauseating spectacle of moral preening, wearing the mantle of “courage” in breaching the alleged wall of censorship. The preening includes bouts of hand-wringing and exaggerated sighs, together with insistence that they have nothing against Jews or Israelis, but “we can no longer be silent.” Well, if the past fifty years have been silent, what does noise look like? If these brave souls were to parade through London, the campus of Harvard University, or Boulder, Colorado, would they feel safer flying the Israeli flag or the Hamas flag? Which takes more guts? And if you worked for the Associated Press, or the BBC, or at the Quai d’Orsay, how long would your employment last if you defended an Israeli military action in Gaza or Lebanon? When it comes to “conservatives,” perhaps all the hand-wringing is the result of their conscience rebelling at the adoption of a stance fundamentally at odds with the core principles of conservatism, and indeed of common sense. Or maybe there is some residual embarrassment over aligning themselves with the most villainous ideological forces of the modern era.
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The Left has been ruling America for so long that everyone pretty much takes it for granted. Their grip on the country’s institutions is so ingrained and so extensive that it is almost impossible to escape its clutches. Trump 1.0 couldn’t pry loose even one finger. Trump 2.0 is undoubtedly an improvement, but the stranglehold remains largely in place.
When a particular ideology and set of behavioral patterns are entrenched over the course of multiple generations, it becomes the norm, the default setting. No one alive today was around when America was a constitutional republic. During the first few decades of the twentieth century (some would argue earlier), the original republic was replaced with a cantankerous democracy that at least purported to operate under the rule of law, and with an overall sense that adults were in charge. This was, however, an increasingly flimsy arrangement that drew its last breath around the 1990s. The younger generation today cannot even conceive of what that society looked like; their entire lives have been lived in a steadily ratcheting tyranny based on Progressive ideology, as normal to them as the sun rising in the east. One reason why Trump 2.0 has been unable to break the mold is that it cannot attain legitimacy. Admittedly, any challenge to the rule of the Deep State would lack this quality from the get-go. If you presume to govern in place of whom everyone—consciously or unconsciously—assumes to be the default rulers, then ipso facto you are an upstart. The current Administration has not been able to transcend this perception. The reason is simple: If one fails to knock the Left decisively off its pedestal, and to crush their inevitable attempts at usurpation of power, legitimacy can never be attained. Right out of the gate, it looked as though Trump 2.0 would comfortably settle into the White House, and finally bring sanity to America. A prime example: the closing of the border, and the dramatic ICE raids around the country. But it was never a complete and thorough assertion of power. Witness the arrogant boasting by several governors that they are defying the federal government, continuing to give shelter to illegals, thus aiding and abetting the commission of felony crimes. Equally threatening is the scandalous episode of the rogue judges. The fact that this power grab continues unabated, and that the authority of these traitors to seize control of the executive functions of the president is acknowledged by those in government, is a huge blow to the Trump Administration’s legitimacy, prestige, and ability to govern. It has emboldened the Left, and demoralized the supporters of reform. Thus we have the visits to El Salvador, a direct outcome of this weakness. Another blow is the failure to prosecute anyone involved in the crimes of the Biden regime: the stolen election, the poison-jab mandates, the January 6th witch hunt, Mueller, the Russiagate hoax, etc. Remember all that? The perpetrators are walking around free, awaiting the return to their desks. If the new Administration cannot avenge that orgy of criminality, why should anyone take them seriously? Legitimacy is also lost by kowtowing to the propaganda organs of the Deep State. One self-inflicted wound to the presidency is the spectacle of the never-ending press conference. This ritual drags the President down to the level of the omnipresent Leftist hacks (the “media”) who represent the Deep State. Whatever Trump says or does, they are right there to state their opinion. It doesn’t matter that he responds well to their infantile blather; they have the opportunity, almost every day, to spit in the President’s face. And the spitting is rebroadcast and regurgitated endlessly by the propaganda organs. Once again, they are emboldened. Trump and his associates believe that they are overwhelming the gaggle of Leftist scribes (and their supporters at home) with stories of “winning,” of great victories for America. But the little woke slimebags couldn’t care less whether America is coming out ahead; all they care about is the next opportunity to get Trump. The whole spectacle resembles Louis XVI being dragged out to the guillotine, every single day all over again. Their goal is to destroy him by any means necessary, and restore The Party to its rightful place as the legitimate and permanent ruler of the United States. They call this “saving our democracy.” (On the topic of relations between the federal government and the Deep State’s propaganda organs, see my Feb. 24 post Banish the Apparatchiks.) What is needed is distance, not proximity. When the sovereign holds court, the only ones present should be the decision makers themselves, along with guests whose input is needed. Governing should be conducted behind closed doors. After policy is determined, an announcement can be made through a variety of channels, an easy task in the Age of the Internet. If necessary, a lower-level functionary, such as the press secretary, can deliver the news in person. From time to time, the President can make a speech, or conduct a fireside chat. The propaganda organs should never be present. If you are going to stage a revolution, then you better go all the way, and fully replace and discredit the tyrannical regime and its lackeys. Especially when that regime has the unquestioned support of half the country’s population, and of the lion’s share of the chattering classes. "When I was on the other side of the wall, I never really liked the term 'fake news'. Now that I am on the inside, and I can see what they’re reporting, I think the term 'fake news' probably isn’t strong enough."
— U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent By now everyone has probably heard about the unfathomable stupidity and ignorance of “journalist” Margaret Brennan, host of CBS’s Face the Nation, who put forth a peculiar thesis about the Holocaust. In a February 16 interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, she expressed her horror that Vice-President JD Vance, in his visit to Germany, was meeting with representatives of “the far-right party known as the AfD.” To add to her dismay, Vance “was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide.”
Just when you thought these neo-Marxist apparatchiks could not possibly be more biased, ignorant, and corrupt, they come up with something like this. But it’s par for the course, and no one should be surprised. The Trump Administration has announced measures to combat the Fake News industry. These include ethics probes by the FCC, cancellation of subscriptions, and elimination of privileges given to certain outlets at the White House and the Pentagon. This in addition to the ongoing elimination of Federal slush funds for Leftist organizations (such as the BBC), money that had been laundered via US AID and other channels. These are excellent first steps, but much more is needed. If the goal is to stop and reverse this malignant disease, we first need a more accurate diagnosis. As happens so often, the road to recovery begins with the use of correct terminology. Calling them the Mainstream media or even the Legacy media gives them credibility as news media. When Americans, particularly the older cohort, think of the press, we naively imagine hard-nosed reporters fighting organized crime or city hall, and otherwise serving the public, like this. But anything remotely resembling this quaint image ceased to exist years ago. The likes of CNN, the New York Times, Yahoo, CBS, the Washington Post, Associated Press, etc. are not news media. They are propaganda organs of the Leftist establishment; its public relations arm, if you will. They serve the same function as Pravda in the Soviet Union. We must stop referring to them as “the media,” of any kind whatsoever. There is no reason to have Soviet-style propaganda organs present at any government event, especially press conferences—which should be reserved for the press. Why on earth should these degenerates-in-a-suit be there, badgering the President (or some other official) with lies, distortions, and “gotcha” questions? Any “journalists” engaging in this practise should be forthwith excluded from the privilege of attending a press conference. Everyone has their personal biases, but shifty and deceitful Leftist behavior should not be tolerated. Instead, reserve these slots for legitimate producers of news. The internet is bursting at the seams with organizations and individuals who fit the bill. They are the real media, serving the public by providing useful information in an intelligent manner. The Trump Administration is cleaning house, eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse throughout Washington, DC. They are vigorously purging entrenched woke ideologues from all government institutions. There should be no exemption for the Deep State’s propaganda mouthpieces. Cut off the money and cut off the access. They can exercise their First Amendment rights from their mother’s basement. We began this post with the Nazis; let us end there: Allowing these fraudsters to be the filter through which millions of people receive information about the government would be like the Allied armies, after crossing the Rhine into Germany in 1945, appointing Joseph Goebbels as their press secretary. |
Dystopian literatureWelcome to the blog! While you're here, check out the six dystopian novels by Gary Wolf. His latest is The Cubist Supremacy. 
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