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Jewish Conservatism

Some thoughts from David Goldman.

[Saturday-afternoon update]

American Jewry’s moment of decision:

During the next two months, Obama will be focused on closing his deal with Iran, and Clinton will be avidly seeking to lock up the Democratic nomination for president by building an impregnable fortress of campaign funds. If the American Jewish community uses this critical period to leverage Clinton’s financial requirements to convince her to oppose Obama’s deal that paves the way for a nuclear armed Iran, then they will reassert their relevance in American politics and they will restore support for Israel to its pre-Obama position as a bipartisan position.

If they fail to do so, then Obama’s bid to transform Israel into a partisan issue will succeed. If a Republican wins the White House in 2016, he will face an anti-Israel Democratic opposition. And if Clinton wins the White House, she will have no reason to support Israel.

I’d still like to see the video of the Khalidi birthday party.

[Bumped]

[Sunday-morning update]

There is a storm coming:

In Syria there are real massacres of Palestinians. But where are the Muslim mobs and their European useful idiots? Where are the drones chanting in the streets of Paris? Where are the thousands of tweets we saw in 2014? They don’t exist because Israel was not involved, which reveals the utter hypocrisy and malevolence behind the execrable anti-Jewish and anti-Israel campaign.

Shelley Neese, who is Vice President of a Christian Zionist website called “The Jerusalem Connection”, has produced a remarkable music video “There is a Storm Coming”,about the rise of anti-Jewish prejudice and bigotry.

She compares it to the horrors of seventy years ago. She also warns the French Jewish community that time is short and their future lies in the ancestral and biblical Jewish homeland: Israel.

She was assisted by Andrew McKain, a talented musician and rapper whose hard-hitting lyrics should particularly appeal to young people who so desperately need to learn the past and what the present may foretell.

They should know how the totalitarian movements defeated in the 20th century have mutated and how the Islamo-Nazis and today’s far left are making common cause to the same end as their predecessors — the destruction of the Jews and of freedom worldwide.

When they said “Never again,” they had their fingers crossed behind their backs.

The Non-Voters Support Me

Obama’s presser today reminds me of this Usenet classic:

To the tune of “My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean”.

The lurkers support me in email
They all think I’m great don’t you know.
You posters just don’t understand me
But soon you will reap what you sow.

Lurkers, lurkers, lurkers support me, you’ll see, you’ll see
off in e-mail the lurkers support me, you’ll see.

Oh it’s true, and you know they support me.
There’s thousands of lurkers out there!
They all understand my intentions
you posters are not being fair!

Lurkers, lurkers, lurkers support me, you’ll see, you’ll see
off in e-mail the lurkers support me, you’ll see

The lurkers support me in email
“So why don’t they post?” you all cry
They’re scared of your hostile intentions
they’re not as courageous as I.

Lurkers, lurkers, lurkers support me, you’ll see, you’ll see
off in e-mail the lurkers support me, you’ll see

One day I’ll round up all my lurkers
we’ll have a newsgroup of our own
without all this flak from you morons
my lurkers will post round my throne.

Lurkers, lurkers, lurkers support me, you’ll see, you’ll see
off in e-mail the lurkers support me, you’ll see.

Good times, good times.

George Nield

#NSRC2013 Makes an interesting point that spaceports should be more proactive in expanding industry. Don’t just maintain facilities and wait for customers to show up. Take cue from flight schools and start similar programs for spaceflight. Also, will think that Mojave is a thriving spaceport when there is more spacecraft hardware than windmill parts in the hangar.

The Kickstarter Is Closed

Thanks to all who contributed, but as I wrote in my last update:

I’m over 25% over my goal, but I was hoping for a lot more than that. I’m not sure what this will mean in terms of publicizing, specifically the symposium/presser in DC in February, and distributing books to policy makers. I won’t be able to support it at the current level, though everyone who contributed and requested one will obviously get a book. I’m open to comments as to how to do another Kickstarter for specifically that (e.g., what would the rewards be — more books?).

I guess the next question is (absent a massive flood of last-minute donations) — can I do a press conference or symposium as “performance art” and sell it to Kickstarter on that basis? They rejected my original proposal for this project because I mixed the book publication with the publicity — not clear whether or not they’ll accept a project just for publicizing, because they like to emphasize “creative” projects.

Actually, when it closed, it ended up being 32.5% over the goal, but that, unfortunately, isn’t enough to change the message.

One of the things I’m thinking is to donate X number of books to congressional offices/think-tanks/journalists for each Y bucks in Kickstarter contributions (X and Y being dependent on the economics, as I better understand them), perhaps with book plates indicating the donor. As part of the Kickstarter I’d lay out the costs (e.g., the Washington event in early February will be at least a grand in travel expenses, ignoring costs of the venue, and the cost per book which depends on whether I go offset or not). But I’m welcome to more suggestions, both here and at the Kickstarter.