God Bless America(n “democracy”)

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has announced that he will support the other – albeit bankrupted - casino mogul Donald Trump’s candidacy for President of the United States of America, because he would…”be good for Israel”.

Note for teachers: This must be the definition of democracy – one mega rich funding another mega rich to run their country in a way that will further the interests of a foreign country. 

Americans – look at yourselves in the mirror

Every four years the US goes through an election campaign to whittle down the list of presidential candidates and then to elect a president. Such election years, in which the various candidates offer their worldview and make their promises, could serve as a powerful mirror, or more than that, as an X-ray of American society.

Are they looking in their own mirror? Are Americans seeing what we see?   

Take just this week’s crop: Ted Cruze – who won the Republican Iowa caucus – explains that waterboarding is not torture. Question to Mr. Cruz: why – if not to torture and elicit cooperation from the prisoners -  did the CIA use waterboarding? Not to be outdone, Trump – who lost Iowa to Cruze – informed the voters that he would bring waterboarding and even go further than that.

He who promises to be nastiest gets to be president?

Trump Bursts

One regularly hears demands that “moderate” Muslim leaders speak out against extremist Islamists.

Donald Trump, never one to mince words, has now come out with a demand that Muslims should be barred from entering the USA. This is the time for the “moderate” non-Muslim leaders and elites in the US to speak out. Church leaders, intellectuals, politicians must come out in droves and clearly distance themselves and American society from this hate mongering man and his message.  Point the finger at Trump! Boycott the man!

PS: I have given up on the hope that Israeli politicians will speak out against extremist Israeli words and deeds, as most of today’s Israeli politicians are extremists themselves.

Donald Trump and John McCain

Donald Trump decided that it served his purpose (whatever that may be, as even he must know that he will not be the Republicans’ presidential candidate) to insult John McCain where it really hurts: “He’s not a war hero,” said Trump. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

I actually think that Trump is right. Being captured does not make you a hero. Drunk, disorderly and insubordinate McCain had a second rate naval career on which he has based his whole political career. He finished fifth from the bottom in a class of 899 at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. In his very short flying career, he lost several airplanes and when his plane was shot down in Vietnam and he was captured, it was after he had disobeyed orders to abandon the mission. He got away with it all because both his father and his grandfather had been highly decorated admirals.

For once, Trump is right.