Peter Beinart: Barred from Atlanta’s Jewish book festival
UPDATE: As the AJC’s Rosalind Bentley reports, tonight’s presentation by Peter Beinart at the Margaret Mitchell House has been sold out.
—————————–
Peter Beinart was raised in the Jewish faith, attends an Orthodox synagogue in New York City, keeps kosher and says “I love Israel and believe in the Zionist experiment.” He was also just named one of the “Forward 50” by the Jewish Daily Forward, a listing that marks him among those “who have made a significant impact on the Jewish story in the past year.”
Peter Beinart
So how does Beinart become persona non grata at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, his invitation to speak this week suddenly withdrawn? Beinart himself is in some ways mystified, noting that “I speak to Jewish audiences all the time — at synagogues and community centers,” and had never previously been disinvited. However, he also recognizes that in his new book “The Crisis in Zionism,” he says things that have angered and perhaps even frightened America’s Jewish establishment.
In brief, Beinart sees Israel becoming less and less democratic — both in spirit and reality — as it attempts to swallow the occupied territories without granting basic human rights to the millions of Palestinians who live there. And he warns that over time, an abandonment of Israel’s democratic heritage will jeopardize its support among young Jewish Americans by forcing them to choose between Israel and their support for democracy and equal rights.
Last month, an opinion poll released in Israel highlighted the risks cited by Beinart. The poll found that 42 percent of Israeli Jews did not want their children to attend class with the children of Israeli Arabs; only 19 percent would give Palestinians the right to vote if the territories were permanently annexed into Israel. And just six years after Jimmy Carter was strongly condemned for using the term “apartheid” to describe Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, 59 percent of Israeli Jews admit point-blank that apartheid now exists in their country.
It is absolutely true, of course, that a similar poll of the Arab nations that surround Israel would find overwhelming, even vicious anti-Jewish sentiment. It is equally true that even today, Israeli Arabs enjoy a degree of free speech unavailable in almost any Arab country.
But it is also true that the United States maintains no “special relationship” with those Arab countries. Some may be U.S. allies, but it is an alliance of mere convenience, not an alliance based on deeply shared values and traditions. Beinart fears that if Israel abandons a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem and attempts permanent subjugation of the Palestinian people, even many Jewish Americans will begin to detach themselves from the country, with dangerous consequences.
As he writes in his book, Israel “must not do to others what Jews found hateful when done to them.”
Beinart is hardly the first to make that argument, and is far from the most forceful. But such things are generally said in Israel, by Israelis, not here in America. For example, Gideon Levy, a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, wrote that the poll cited above “lays bare an image of Israeli society, and the picture is a very, very sick one. Now it is not just critics at home and abroad, but Israelis themselves who are openly, shamelessly, and guiltlessly defining themselves as nationalistic racists.”
Beinart has been invited to Israel to speak and debate its future, and has received a respectful welcome. “In general, the conversation in Israel is less confined,” he says. “Israelis don’t worry about whether they have the standing to comment.”
So he can say these things in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, but not at the Book Festival of the MJCCA?
“Our membership isn’t closed to anyone or any one idea, but the negative reaction was significant,” Steven Cadranel, president of the MJCCA, told Rosalind Bentley of the AJC. “We believe this is a message best presented away from our facility.”
As a result, Beinart’s presentation has been stripped from the book festival listing and rescheduled for Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. at the Margaret Mitchell House. As he put it last week, “There’s something not quite Jewish about trying to deny someone a public forum to discuss public issues.”
– Jay Bookman
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547 comments Add your comment
Brosephus™
November 13th, 2012
9:15 pm
Jay’s got a stack of cards ready to issue. Looks like a bit of competition between the opinion writers.
They BOTH suck
November 13th, 2012
9:15 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDIQ7Otf1mw
They BOTH suck
November 13th, 2012
9:18 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi4L90_UCmc
They BOTH suck
November 13th, 2012
9:20 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDAQm2qWnYw
Mick
November 13th, 2012
9:32 pm
heathen
It all starts with someone enlisting the help of an agent then along the way, blows up! Just another thing where you have an illusion of control – you don’t…
They BOTH suck
November 13th, 2012
9:37 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVGrsH57Pl0&feature=related
paulo977
November 13th, 2012
9:39 pm
HAPPY DIWALI
“For everything that lives is holy, life delights in life”
WILLIAM BLAKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Voa6nQ9HU
Tipper Kanoo
November 13th, 2012
9:46 pm
It looks like Beinart draws skepticism from liberal jews and support from anti-semites.
The Israeli Desert
Peter Beinart thought his new book on Israel would be a rallying cry for liberal Zionism. Instead, it’s been attacked by many of his peers and embraced by some whose views he finds terrifying.
“Peter’s a Jew.” He mentions the religion scholar Elaine Pagels’s book The Origin of Satan. “Satan was a figure devised by Jews to demonize other Jews going back 2,200 years,” Goldberg says. “It’s the intimate-enemy problem. Jews have a unique ability to tear each other apart.” But there is undeniably a deeply personal element to Goldberg’s disagreement with Beinart. “Peter asked me why I dismissed his book but gave a very positive review to Gershom Gorenberg’s book,” Goldberg says. “And I thought to myself, Do you really have to ask? One of you has skin in the game. If Gershom Gorenberg is wrong, then his family might die. If Peter Beinart is wrong, well, Manhattan will survive.”
Phillip Weiss otoh embraces Beinart’s views.
Not surprisingly, some Jew-haters see Weiss as a native informer, telling the plain truth about the Zionist octopus. “Philip Weiss is a unique American Jewish voice—a Jew without all the usual rationalizations and blind spots–at least most of them,” Kevin MacDonald, a leading anti-Semitic theorist, wrote last May. MacDonald has bandied the idea of taxes on Jews and quotas against them in order to “achieve parity between Jews and other ethnic groups.”—tabletmag.com
YouLibs
November 13th, 2012
9:53 pm
Tipper Kanoo
Interesting post.
Dr. Pagels has untangled so much of what has confused me about the Bible. I will put your referred work on my reading list.
Thanks.
MiltonMan
November 13th, 2012
9:56 pm
Maybe if the jews had done what God commanded them to do – smite those that occupied the Promise Land, this would not be an issue.
USA Patriot
November 13th, 2012
10:45 pm
Wow, JB, bet you’re glad you brought this topic up! Maybe you ought to stick with slamming the GOP? Seems like safer territory for you and your lemmings. Didn’t realize you libs are such anti-jew! The “party of inclusion” -what a bunch of BS!
JamVet
November 13th, 2012
10:54 pm
Didn’t realize you libs are such anti-jew!
Right you are , faketriot.
That is why we Jews always vote OVERWHELMINGLY against you fascistic right wing nutjobs.
(Because like Those People we are too stupid to realize you Republicans are our best friends, right?!)
Go sell your stupid at Stormfront…
Shaul
November 14th, 2012
12:37 am
While slanting against Israel, Jay Bookman forgets that the USA has a special relationship with Egypt, providing billions of dollars in aid each year. Yet the new President of Egypt, President Morsi was present in October at a TV broadcast calling for the crushing of “infidels” and the destruction of Israel, and the crushing of all Jews. Would Jay ever write a column about this? See the translation by the respected translation service MEMRI:
http://memri.convio.net/site/R?i=PnyrR3LRfJR0s552NkFPfg
Shaul
November 14th, 2012
12:48 am
Bookman claims Israel is trying to “swallow the occupied territories”. Huh? It has granted the Palestinian Authority control over much of the latter. It offered to give away the West Bank in 2001, 2010, … . Bookman forgets that the Palestinian Authority has repeatedly rejected negotiations; rejected ever recognizing Israel as a Jewish homeland; denies any Jewish connections to Jerusalem; and is seeking unilateral statehood without peace. Then there is Hamas which is launching 100’s of missiles into Israel in recent days – but which the AJC doesn;t report. Why blame Israel for decades of Palestinian rejection of a two-state solution?
Jm
November 14th, 2012
12:53 am
Boy, if there is one group that drives me bonkers, it is anti-Semitic Semites.
Sheesh.
Herbert Grossman
November 14th, 2012
1:09 am
As Bookman must know, the poll that he cites didn’t say what Ha’aretz and Gideon Levy said it did. It said just the opposite — that Israeli Jews are very tolerant of Arabs. Ha’aretz and Levy have issued mealy-mouthed apologies (excuse me, “clarifications”) for their slanderous attack on the Jews of Israel after critics pointed out the falsity of their poll interpretations, although one has not been forthcoming from Beinart, who does the same in his dishonest book, in which he does all he can to ingratiate himself with the anti-Semites at the expense of Israel and its American supporters. Readers should Google CAMERA on Haaretz and Levy to see the full extent of their duplicity. If Beinart were one of my relatives, I would ban him from my household and I am gratified that the book festival did the same. He finds plenty of speaking engagements on college campuses where modern day antisemitism is in full swing in the guise of anti-Zionism and where he burnishes his self-proclaimed “progressive” credentials by selling out his own people.
Malkie
November 14th, 2012
5:46 am
I’m pleasantly surprised! Beinart changed his views on significant Israeli policies recently. All Jewish groups have every right to re-evaluate their position based on his new, very public beliefs.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
November 14th, 2012
5:51 am
“That is why we Jews always vote OVERWHELMINGLY against you fascistic right wing nutjobs.”
yeppers … Democrats are racist and anti-semitic … which is why people of color and non-Christians vote for them overwhelmingly.
“up” really is the new “down” for folks on the right, isn’t it …
Jim Philips
November 14th, 2012
5:59 am
It isn’t like Beinart is sending a message of hate. He’s making an honest moral argument. Those people who can’t tolerate that need to ask themselves if they still believe in democracy.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
6:00 am
mornin’.
Readers should Google CAMERA
…oh yes, by all means they should.
CAMERA were these right wing nutbags who provided a reliable, weekly one-page ad insertion in the New Republic year in, year out, screaming (generally) lunatic screeds about some topic or another that wasn’t being covered quite hawkishly enough, that wasn’t casting them A-rabs as sufficiently subhuman and/or treacherous, in the mainstream media.
those adverts were good for hours of entertainment, back in the day. I can’t imagine that outfit has grown any more rational of late, but ya never know.
I’d google them myself, but, you know, there’s my beautiful mind to consider.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
November 14th, 2012
6:02 am
“It isn’t like Beinart is sending a message of hate. He’s making an honest moral argument. ”
and that’s the problem.
anything that questions Israeli actions – no matter how honest or moral – will not be tolerated.
Corbin Sharpe. I think, therefore I am...I think.
November 14th, 2012
6:12 am
Good morning all y’all…
The new Republican bubbly…
http://cheezburger.com/6761078784
GuyWritingThis
November 14th, 2012
6:14 am
As a mostly right wing Jewish guy who grew up in the Atlanta Jewish community and thinks Beinert is maliciously wrong… I find this action by the community center to be atrocious. Don’t invite the guy in the first place, but don’t disinvite someone you’ve already extended an invitation to. You look (and act) like a bunch of jerks! And you help to prove the point of those who accuse American Jews of having dual loyalties which put Israeli interests before the US’s.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
November 14th, 2012
6:22 am
Corbin …
that is the most brilliantest thing … ever.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
November 14th, 2012
6:38 am
for Brocephus …
http://cheezburger.com/6637780480
this is EVERY TRIP to and from the US for me …
Orange12
November 14th, 2012
6:48 am
Sgt. Schultz Obama: “I hear nothing.” “I see nothing.”
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
November 14th, 2012
6:49 am
poor Orange.
FOX is so desperate to sell the nothing-burger that is Benghazi … but nobody’s buying …
Mick
November 14th, 2012
6:51 am
Republican colonel klink – obama what are you up to now???
Mick
November 14th, 2012
7:01 am
Secession?
Milbank nails it…bye, bye, takers-
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-the-confederacy-of-takers/2012/11/13/d8adc7ee-2dd4-11e2-beb2-4b4cf5087636_story.html?hpid=z2
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
7:26 am
Paul, I saw this wayyy upthread:
Okay, so you’re saying American superreligions neocon Republicans absolutely adore a country that’s pretty socialist and has communal living and practices it takes a village to raise a child?!
and I larfed. for the record.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
7:28 am
anything that questions Israeli actions – no matter how honest or moral – will not be tolerated.
“…by some right wing elements within the US.”
You needed to add that. Alas, it might appear that this festival might have joined with those elements. (I don’t claim to know enough to make that call, though.)
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
7:31 am
from Milbanks piece linked by UnU:
Possibly, the new United States would need to negotiate certain protectorates in the Confederacy — Austin, New Orleans, South Florida and the like — the way the British did in Hong Kong.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s paying attention to this particular detail. Sorry, Texass, you’re not taking Austin. Similarly, Loseranna doesn’t get Nawlins.
(I don’t really care about south Florida; America’s Dong can go it alone for all I care.)
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
7:33 am
Love me some Fear-and-Ballast Headlines from Fox “News” in the AM:
“NOT BACKING DOWN: West Asks Court to Force Recount in House Race”
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
7:39 am
Guess everyone’s waiting for something new from Jay, but in the meantime–did anyone have a peek at the voter turnout chart Nate posted?
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/turnout-steady-in-swing-states-and-down-in-others-but-many-votes-remain-uncounted/
yes, many are still being counted (I couldn’t easily find an updated chart like Nate’s to see what’s changed since Monday). But I was particularly surprised by the state with the biggest percentage drop-off–Alaska. -31.7%? Holy crap, that’s big.
It’s kind of hard to see that and not think a whole lot less of that state’s residents, frankly. I can get *some* discouragement, but that level of apathy probably deserves some kind of collective punishment.
Brosephus™
November 14th, 2012
7:49 am
USinner
Can’t see it here, but I’ll check it out later….
—————————
Mick
I read that one last night. Started to leave a comment on his thread, but I was one tired SOB.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
7:52 am
Mick, sorry about the linkee mis-attribution @ 7.31.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
November 14th, 2012
7:55 am
Secession?
The response?
“Please create a sedition register of those signing a petition for their state’s secession from the United States
Establish a register of those espousing sedition by petitioning for secession of their state. Use the FBI to establish actual identities and conduct monthly interviews with registrants to assess any emerging threats. Where found necessary, use collected information to accelerate processes for removal of citizenship and deportation to Libertarian paradise of Mogadishu or to initiate criminal court procedure to address treason.”
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/please-create-sedition-register-those-signing-petition-their-states-secession-united-states/hrW331Qq
PUSH BACK. HARD,Soft or funny
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
7:55 am
Started to leave a comment on his thread, but I was one tired SOB.
Honestly, I would just as soon simply know that the whiniest states tend to be the “takiest” and leave it at that. Cuz at this point, I’m one tired SOB trying to explain that kind of stuff to people who refuse to learn.
(see also my little exchange with RB in the previous thread, where he called me everything but a Caucasian for my failure to regard Mittens as a “producer.”)
Tundra Dude
November 14th, 2012
7:57 am
SFD wrote, in part:
Guess everyone’s waiting for something new from Jay, but in the meantime–did anyone have a peek at the voter turnout chart Nate posted?
I knew Jay B……..Jay B was a friend of mine……. You, sir, are no Jay.B
(sorry, I couldn’t resist)
Why should they be punished?
How has the nation been harmed by non-participation?
fair and balanced
November 14th, 2012
7:58 am
JAY- MISLEADING REPORTING-This event is sponsored by J- Street a PAC that is offensive to the 30% of Jews who are Repub. and got scorched last week. This book fair was not intended to be a political event. Your views are in line with J-Street and they supported numerous Dem. candidates who won las tweek. They opposed the phony political views of Romney on Israel that included demeaning all Palestinians and telling wealthy Jewish Donors that a two state solution was hopeless. However J-Street if you read their web site is aligned with right wing Israeli views on Iran, Hamas, terrorism, etc. Jay- the story stinks for leaving this out.
“”"”"”"”"Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflicts is a paramount foreign policy interest of the United States. As the United States withdraws troops from Iraq, works to stabilize Afghanistan and pursue a resolution to the crisis with Iran, strengthening alliances in the region to create stability and protect the United States is essential. Restoring America’s image in the international arena is a top priority for Washington. Toward that goal, the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly through a regional, comprehensive approach, is critical for the United States.
On the other hand, another interminable or failed peace process only depletes America’s credibility and strategic relevance abroad. The urgency on the ground requires a final-status agreement and cannot be stalled by unrealistic preconditions, political maneuvering, and processes that leave core issues unsettled. This would undermine Israel’s future as a democracy and a national home for the Jewish people and compromise America’s interests in the region. The United States, therefore, should lead a peace effort that serves its own interests.
The United States is Israel’s closest ally and it is always important to demonstrate that it will stand with its allies when they are under threat. Ensuring Israel’s security from both local and regional threats is in America’s best interest. It is also in the interest of both Israel and the United States to honor similar values-systems, including the tenets of democracy, justice, and equality. America best serves our historic friendship with Israel when it is actively working to resolve conflicts and advance peace, which ultimately ensures Israel’s existence and security in the Middle East. An Israel at peace with its neighbors is both a US and Israeli interest. Israel has an interest in a strong and reinvigorated American role in the world, and the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is part of securing that.”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
http://jstreet.org/blog/post/us-interests-in-the-middle-east_1
30% of American Jews had a problem with that and were defeated last week-that is
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:00 am
JC on a crutch…
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/abc-denver-channel-broadwell-all-in.php
a) don’t know how I didn’t see this until today, and
b) this is the greatest live-on-TeeVee hijacking ever, ever, ever. Well, at least since this one.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:04 am
Why should they be punished?
I was kidding. Collective punishment is up there on the Bad List of Bad Things Governments Must Never Do.
Perhaps next time I speculate about the efficacy of sending uncooperative conservatives to re-education camps, I’ll need to add a disclaimer, as well.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:07 am
…that said, Tundra friend, I did happen upon this piece that gives an alternative view to mine, if only to put the issue of non-participation in some perspective.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-opinion/ci_21966833/their-view-low-voter-turnout-nothing-worry-about
[A] citizen can make a perfectly rational decision not to vote. One might actually not care about the outcome of the issues that fire committed partisans: Supreme Court appointments, for instance. Another might feel insufficiently informed on matters of great complexity: the effect of marginal tax rates on economic growth, say. Others might decide that politics is a mean and ugly distraction from more attractive pursuits. I’m not sure that the brilliant artist who refuses to put down her brush on Election Day is doing a national disservice.
The point is that voting, though an important measure of civic responsibility, is far from the only one. There is no obvious reason that raising the rate of voter turnout is a more laudable goal than raising the rate of charitable giving.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:11 am
…and to elaborate (emphasis on the “bore”)–
it just seemed a bit tacky that you had such a huge drop-off in Alaska, in particular. It kind of reinforced the stereotype I have of that state’s residents as being kinda full of themselves, only participating in a communal event like the general election when they have a dog in the fight, otherwise just happy to get their checks from Uncle Sam whilst pretending to be rugged Galtian individuals.
alex
November 14th, 2012
8:15 am
Jay,awaait your am blog….Press conference. Lithium levels in Atl water must be dropping, see this am’s posts. Why do people gravitate to web sites reflecting their own bias,answer: it’s easier than being challenged….
@ Granny, no need for a list, seems like the FBI has access to e-mails anyway……someone is watching you……..wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, the horror , the horror…..
Edward
November 14th, 2012
8:17 am
Why was apartheid inappropriate for South Africa but is condoned for Israel? Israel is not above reproach and the current regime is just as much a problem as the stubborn Palestinians. Both sides need a serious slap in the face to hopefully jar them back into reality. And American Jewish Neo-Cons need to STFU.
Lord Help Us
November 14th, 2012
8:17 am
‘Sorry, Texass, you’re not taking Austin. Similarly, Loseranna doesn’t get Nawlins.’
And, by Austin, we mean enough of a geographic area to include Salt Lick BBQ, not just the City Limits…If we have to give up NO, we will have to…
JamVet
November 14th, 2012
8:19 am
Corbin, I do love to laugh at your funnies in the AM! Such a good way to start a day!
(Then there is O12!)
Washington (CNN) — When the incoming U.S. House freshmen of the 113th Congress take their class photo, the image will reflect two very different visions of the nation.
On the Democratic side: Women and minorities — a coalition that, along with young voters, largely helped re-elect President Barack Obama — collectively will for the first time in the nation’s history outnumber white male Democrats.
On the Republican side: The majority of the House seats will be held by white men — a group which far outnumbers the now dwindled numbers of House GOP women and minorities after the losses of two minority members and about a half dozen women from that caucus.
Georgia
November 14th, 2012
8:19 am
Isn’t Lady Gaza Jewish? “Cant read my, cant read my, no you can’t read a my Kosher face….”
Brosephus™
November 14th, 2012
8:22 am
Cuz at this point, I’m one tired SOB trying to explain that kind of stuff to people who refuse to learn.
Yeah, that too. I saw that exchange.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:24 am
Use the FBI to establish actual identities and conduct monthly interviews with registrants to assess any emerging threats.
What? and divert valuable resources from crotch-sniffing?
JamVet
November 14th, 2012
8:24 am
Democrats picked up three seats in the election so far and lead in five others yet to be resolved. A sixth race will be decided in a runoff between two Republicans.
Including Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, a former state senator, who defeated Republican Vernon Parker, the former mayor of Paradise Valley.
“… We’re seeing a record number of Democratic women elected to office,” said Jess McIntosh, a spokeswoman with Emily’s List, an organization that works to help pro-choice, Democratic women get elected to office.
The GOP’s insanely misguided War on Women/Sluts, Prostitutes and FemiNazis backfired badly, huh?
Keep up the good work, xenophobes…
Jefferson
November 14th, 2012
8:25 am
The GOP can’t even run a blog without running it in the ditch.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:28 am
And, by Austin, we mean enough of a geographic area to include Salt Lick BBQ
…and Paul. We definitely get to keep Paul, and anyone who’s ever been friendly to him.
aw hell. We’re keeping Texas. It’s gonna turn blue in a few years anyways. ¡Hola!
JamVet
November 14th, 2012
8:28 am
(CNN) – While Republicans and Democrats have expressed confidence in their ability to negotiate a deal to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff,” a new poll released Tuesday indicates the public is wary about lawmakers’ ability to reach a common ground on the nation’s budget.
In a post-election survey concerning the fiscal cliff conducted by Pew Research Center, about half of respondents believe Congress will fail to reach an agreement to reduce the nation’s deficit compared to only 38% who said a deal will be met.
If the two sides fail to find common ground on reducing the deficit, 53% said congressional Republicans will be to blame while 29% said the responsibility falls on President Barack Obama.
Stay the intransigent course, cons.
It’s working out really well for you…
Stevie Ray
November 14th, 2012
8:28 am
fair and balanced
November 14th, 2012
7:58 am
Appreciate your comments which confirm there are always three sides to every story.
I do disagree with you about america’s global credibility if nothing changes re Arab Israeli conflicts…as evidenced by increased tensions since the Zionist got their wish 60 some odd years ago, the experiment is a failure and laying the burden of cleaning up the mess created by both parties, on US needs to be changed…we need to let someone else figure it out..
I’m not sure about what our true “interests” are in the region besides oil….oddly our main ally has none…seems to me that it is the “interests” of zionists that we are currently “responsible” for protected…just my opinion..
Brosephus™
November 14th, 2012
8:28 am
dB @ 8:00
WOW!!!!!!
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
November 14th, 2012
8:30 am
alex
got nothing to hide or hide from
do you?
i find comfort knowing they are watching you too.
indigo
November 14th, 2012
8:31 am
stands – 8:00
I can only wish that had shown up on a nationwide nightly news broadcast. It’s just too funny.
Tundra Dude
November 14th, 2012
8:31 am
Las Cruces article:
There is no obvious reason that raising the rate of voter turnout is a more laudable goal than raising the rate of charitable giving.
Democrats might think it’s laudable…if they’ve seen the PEW poll of non-voters, just b4 the election.
BO got over 50%, Romney 24%
The NVA (non-voters of america) is 90 million strong.
If we ever instituted compulsory voting, the Reds would never win again.
Rabbit
November 14th, 2012
8:33 am
Let’s start with the proposition that oppression is wrong for any reason. What is hard for people to appreciate is that being Israel is like being Macon and having Atlanta, Tifton, Augusta, and Columbus, all violently wishing there was no Macon.
We are protected by oceans and mainly friendly neighbors, yet still exhibit high levels of paranoia. Remember the waterboarding discussion that we had not long ago? So, put in context, it’s not hard to understand Israel’s tendency to over-defend.
But this author should have a voice in the discussion. No one says democracy and balancing security and human rights is easy. History shows, however, that denial of basic human rights and ‘apartheid’ is not an effective security strategy.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
November 14th, 2012
8:33 am
What? We don’t get a vote on whether to keep Paul? That’s not very democratic. I was hoping to create a SuperPac and raise a few hundred million (with a very nice salary and perks) just to campaign for Paul.
This message could have been brought to you by the “Paul’s Heartfelt United Citzens to Keep in US”.
Georgia
November 14th, 2012
8:35 am
Patraeus resigned. Who’s running the CIA? His replacement? How about a little reporting, Jay.
Welcome to the Occupation
November 14th, 2012
8:37 am
Odd isn’t it that we’re making such a big to-do about the sexual peccadilloes of the leader of what amounts to a giant death squad.
Morning everybody.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:38 am
Democrats might think it’s laudable…if they’ve seen the PEW poll of non-voters, just b4 the election.
BO got over 50%, Romney 24%
The NVA (non-voters of america) is 90 million strong.
If we ever instituted compulsory voting, the Reds would never win again.
TD, I had a lot of problems with that innocuous-sounding editorial I’d linked, glad you picked up on that particular aspect.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
November 14th, 2012
8:39 am
“How about a little reporting, Jay.”
um. yeah. this is an opinion blog.
Tundra Dude
November 14th, 2012
8:39 am
seems like the FBI has access to e-mails anyway……someone is watching
EZ to outsmart them. First, give your lover or partner in crime, your email password.
Then park your emails in the Draft folder, don’t actually send them.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
November 14th, 2012
8:41 am
Keep
There’s money to be made in super-pac-ing…
Ask Karl Rove and Stephen Colbert
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:41 am
having Atlanta, Tifton, Augusta, and Columbus, all violently wishing there was no Macon.
you say that like it’s a bad thing.
JamVet
November 14th, 2012
8:41 am
Professional Religious Con ManFormer Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee tells Newsmax it’s an “absolute certainty” there has been a cover-up involving the Benghazi terrorist attack and the White House “flat-out lied” to the American people about it.He also maintains that Mitt Romney and the Republicans lost the election not because their message was wrong but because the Obama “machinery” was “staggeringly good.”
And Huckabee, who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, says he won’t rule out another White House run in 2016.
Great.
Only time will tell if the next GOP slate of presidential candidates is as absurdly laughable as the last two…
Rabbit
November 14th, 2012
8:42 am
sfb
somebody strike the snare drum.
Rabbit
November 14th, 2012
8:43 am
sfd, not sfb
somebody strike the snare
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:44 am
Huckabee, who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, says he won’t rule out another White House run in 2016.
If Huck and Chrissie run, at least we’ll first hear the ground shaking from miles away.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:45 am
I’d think a rabbit would avoid a snare.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
November 14th, 2012
8:45 am
”
On the Democratic side: Women and minorities — a coalition that, along with young voters, largely helped re-elect President Barack Obama — collectively will for the first time in the nation’s history outnumber white male Democrats.
On the Republican side: The majority of the House seats will be held by white men — a group which far outnumbers the now dwindled numbers of House GOP women and minorities after the losses of two minority members and about a half dozen women from that caucus.”
oh, HELL yes.
that just made my day.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
November 14th, 2012
8:46 am
Granny, absolutely. You just have to find the rich suckers that contribute millions.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
November 14th, 2012
8:46 am
“And Huckabee, who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, says he won’t rule out another White House run in 2016.”
woohoo!!!
the circus is startin’ early, folks!!
JamVet
November 14th, 2012
8:49 am
Glad you liked it USinner!
The Limbaugh-led Masters of the Uterus are in huge political peril these days!
And given Hucksterbee’s quote that “Republicans lost the election not because their message was wrong” proves the reactionaries are still in full speed reverse.
Denial, not just a river in Egypt…
Barack's the best
November 14th, 2012
8:49 am
Jay – please ban jimbob; he is a load that would’ve been better off swallowed.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:49 am
I hope most of the people here read this and say well yeah, of course sexism is driving a f-ckload of the media narrative, we not only get that but we are smarter than that…
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/opinion/bruni-the-siren-and-the-spook.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0
tex
November 14th, 2012
8:50 am
Why do staunch democrats have such hatred for Jews that actually defend other Jews, and Jews that refuse to bow down to US leaders?
Incidentally, India and numerous other countries are better friends of Israel than the US government. India doesn’t routinely send leaders over there to whitewash the history of Islamic naziism and to make the genocide of Jews look really cool and hip.
DannyX
November 14th, 2012
8:52 am
Huckabee is the early, and I mean early, Republican favorite according to a PPP poll released last week.
Huckabee…15%
Ryan…12%
Rubio…12%
Christie…12%
Rice…9%
2016 Huckabee vs Clinton, Clinton in a landslide.
Dirty Dawg
November 14th, 2012
8:52 am
Sadly, but predictably, much of Atlanta’s Jewish community leaders are as radical on this subject as Netenyahu and his Party. It vilifies Jimmy Carter and Cynthia McKinney for merely suggesting that Palestinians deserve better…and in Cynthia’s case raising huge campaign funds for her opponents – any of em. So it’s not surprising that Beinart is dis-invited. When it comes to rightwing politics, here or in Israel, democracy is a rigged game.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:52 am
staunch democrats have such hatred for Jews
Keep sellin’ that stupid, “tex”–it’s been working out so well for you of late.
tex
November 14th, 2012
8:53 am
Beinart and Jay should really be more objective and educate the reader on the role that the nazi Hajj Amin al Husseini played in this ‘Arab nationalism’ business, as well as the role of the British, Germans, and now US governments in funding and stoking this antisemitism.
Barack's the best
November 14th, 2012
8:53 am
tex – what the hell are you talking about? (note: i’m one of those staunch Jewish democrats).
Brosephus™
November 14th, 2012
8:54 am
dB @ 8:49
I’m not reading that crap. The more we click on crap, the more crap the media attempts to feed us.
tex
November 14th, 2012
8:54 am
There’s nothing to sell. Staunchly ‘democrat’ websites and columnists hold views indistinguishable from those of David Duke.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
November 14th, 2012
8:55 am
tex
November 14th, 2012
8:50 am
Why do staunch democrats have such hatred for Jews that actually defend other Jews, and Jews that refuse to bow down to US leaders?
.
.
.
Whoa there TEX,/strong>
(I always wanted to say that)
It’s you we hate Mr. Silly Pants!
(just kidding about the hate thing, it’s more like pity)
You see my little buckaroo, it’s not what you think that matters, it’s what they think that does.
They like us and we like them.
It’s been in the papers and everything.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
November 14th, 2012
8:55 am
“Why do staunch democrats have such hatred for Jews that actually defend other Jews, and Jews that refuse to bow down to US leaders?”
why do conservatives turn a blind eye to what the Israelis are doing to the Palestinians?
OH! wait!! I know!! it’s because it’s EXACTLY what the US did to the Native Americans (minus the small-pox infested blankets) – and conservatives don’t have a problem with that, either.
JamVet
November 14th, 2012
8:55 am
Rep. Allen West continued Tuesday to insist that his refusal to concede to his Democratic challenger is about restoring “integrity” to the electoral process.
Trailing his 29-year-old opponent, Patrick Murphy, by some 2442 votes, the Florida Republican filed suit Tuesday preventing St. Lucie County from certifying the election results. The lawsuit demanded a full recount of all early votes, citing what West referred to as “a series of irregularities, missteps, and math” he said does not add up.
“This is not about me. This is not about
my opponentthe very future of McCarthyism in the GOP!” West whined during a brief telephone interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.As Ace Ventura noted, la who zaher.
tex
November 14th, 2012
8:56 am
Since when is the NYT considered remotely objective and truthful about anything? The most misinformed people are the ones that think that NYT/Fox/CNN are providing all the facts, and providing them in an objective manner.
They’re just disinformation outlets.
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:56 am
I’m not reading that crap. The more we click on crap, the more crap the media attempts to feed us.
well, it’s not crap, actually. It might be “stuff-you-already-get,” however.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
November 14th, 2012
8:57 am
now can we play with
tex’s “Islamic naziism”?
Please?
Toss that around for a while…
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 14th, 2012
8:58 am
Interesting 42 minute interview with Lee Atwater in which he describes the “Southern Strategy.”
Here is the birthplace of Boortz, Limbaugh, Hannity, and Rove.
http://www.thenation.com/article/170841/exclusive-lee-atwaters-infamous-1981-interview-southern-strategy
stands for decibels
November 14th, 2012
8:58 am
from the piece:
The Web site Business Insider posted an interview with an unnamed former colleague of Petraeus’s who knew Broadwell and characterized her as “a shameless self-promoting prom queen.” The colleague all but exonerated Petraeus by saying: “You’re a 60-year-old man and an attractive woman almost half your age makes herself available to you — that would be a test for anyone.”
The headline of The Washington Post story that weighed in on Broadwell’s wardrobe asserted that he “let his guard down,” a phrase that portrays him as passive, possibly even a victim. The story notes that his former aides considered him “the consummate gentleman and family man.”
It goes on to say that Broadwell was “willing to take full advantage of her special access” to him.
An article in Slate asked “how could he — this acclaimed leader and figure of rectitude — _allow_ such a thing to a happen?” The italics are mine, because the verb is a telling one. “She went a bit ga-ga for the general,” the article later observes, adding: “She may have made herself irresistible.”
Such adamant women, such pregnable men.
/back after a bit…
tex
November 14th, 2012
8:58 am
“USinUK ” should be banned for repeated lying. Of course all sane people are not going to make any big deal about the fictional and non-existent tormenting of non-Israelis done by Israelis.
You must be a very bitter and angry person to repeatedly lie about others. Israelis bend over backwards to support the most psychotic Jewhaters and you have the temerity to slander them for not climbing even *more* eagerly into the (figurative) ovens? Sick.
JamVet
November 14th, 2012
8:58 am
tex/jimbob/???
If that clown has even seen a horse or a cow, I’d be surprised!
(He’s just highly PO’d that his beloved Lily White Party was on the reviving end of a second consecutive McCaining…)
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
November 14th, 2012
8:59 am
Islamic naziism
freepers…..
Lord Help Us
November 14th, 2012
8:59 am
Sock puppets…geez…