Month: January 2020

Kairos Palestine Responds to Trump’s Middle East “Peace” Plan

Kairos Palestine is an organization made up of Palestinian Christians living in the West Bank who advocate for peace and justice on behalf of all the Palestinian people.

Some years ago I had the opportunity of visiting their offices and speaking with several of their volunteers. Our time together was delightful as we discussed the ethics of Israel’s military occupation and its consequences.

Today Kairos Palestine released a press statement in response to Trump’s unveiling of his administration’s obscene pretense of a “peace plan.” (You can read a few of my thoughts about Trump’s plan  here.)

Below is an excerpt of Kairos Palestine’s press release. You can read the entire statement here:

“Peace, peace, they say when there is no peace”

(Jeremiah: 6:14)

The position announced by the U.S. administration regarding what they termed as the ‘deal of the century’ was in fact an insult to history, humanity, the Palestinian people, and the American dignity itself.

The American-Israeli proposal is premised on consolidating Israeli control over all of Palestine’s land, making sure that the Palestinian people are subjected to this control, in return for economic promises that are closer to a deal for buying the people and their spirit with money.

This proposal seeks to legitimize the Israeli occupation and revoke the history of the Palestinian people and their legitimate inalienable rights, particularly the right of return for the Palestinian refugees and the right to self-determination in an attempt to eliminate the Palestinian question completely and definitively…

…Through this declaration, the U.S. has proclaimed itself clearly as a party to the conflict rather than a peace broker, as it considered this deal, that has no reference to the international law or the UN resolutions, as the final offer to the Palestinians holding them fully responsible, should they reject it, for all the ensuing repercussions.

Israel and the U.S. are yet to listen to the voice of God commanding them, here in the Holy Land and in the world as a whole: do not steal, do not kill, in order to stop killing the Palestinian people and stealing away their lands.

Israel and the U.S. are yet to listen to God’s voice, to the voice of conscience, and realize the truth that cannot be subdued: the Palestinian people are alive, consistently demanding their rights over the past hundred years till this date. The Palestinian people will continue to demand their rights until they obtain them. The only path to peace is that of full equality between the two peoples. Israel peace is preconditioned by Palestinian peace, in fact, Israeli mere survival is based on the just peace for Palestinians. Otherwise, Israel, despite all its power, will live in fear and anticipation of an unknown future. As we already stated in the Kairos document ‘Moment of Truth’ , “our and their future are but one. Either a cycle of violence whereby we all perish, or peace whereby we all thrive.” 

Observations on the Trump/Netanyahu Apartheid Plan for the Middle East

Trump and Netanyahu unveil the “plan of the century” — remembering, of course, that the century is merely 10 years old.

The Impeached and the Indicted are on the campaign trail together with a shamelessly ridiculous plan for permanent apartheid in Palestine, all under the guise of an Israel-Palestine peace plan producing a viable two-state solution.

Well, attention Mr. Impeached President and Mr. Indicted Israeli Prime Minister — a two-state solution died long, long ago.

Israel’s continuous multiplication of illegal Jewish-only settlements throughout the occupied West Bank put a stake through that two-state dream like a knife cutting through butter.

And the US stood on the sidelines and watched.

Take a look at the map provided with the plan (which you can read for yourself here). By the way, the extremely right-wing Jerusalem Post is thrilled that Trump’s plan comes with a map. They absolutely gush, It is the first plan to come with a map!

Oh joy, I guess the editors at JP like their books to come with big two-tone pictures.

But the map does illustrate one thing clearly. There ain’t no Palestinian state with contiguous borders (as Jared Kushner, the plans’ main presenter, insists there is).

Perhaps someone in the White House needs to explain the meaning of “contiguous” to Mr. Kushner.

The dark blue areas are the holes in the tiny piece of Swiss-cheese that Israel has left for the Palestinians to nibble on. These very non-contiguous dots are what is being called “a Palestinian state.”

They are like tiny Indian reservations linked together by underground tunnels and elevated bridges, all of which will be heavily monitored by the Israel military. So much for freedom of travel and assembly in the new Palestine.

Trump also made it very clear that those ungrateful Palestinian mice ought to be darn thankful for the meager crumbs of cheese left to them by their oh-so generous benefactors, Israel and America.

Take a moment to scan this map tracking the loss of Palestinian land ownership throughout the years of Israel’s settlement expansion and illegal occupation.

A few other details to remember include:

  • The new state of Palestine is prohibited from having any treaties or diplomatic connections with other countries. This is Israel’s idea of Palestinian national sovereignty.
  • Palestine is prohibited from having its own, independent security forces. Whatever forces they have must always support Israeli security interests.
  • None of the Palestinian refugees inhabiting the camps of neighboring nations since their displacement in the wars of 1948 and 1967 may return to Palestine. The Israelis insist, No more of your refugees jumping on the bed!
  • There is a strong likelihood that many Israeli-Palestinians, possessing Israeli passports and citizenship, will be stripped of those possessions and forcibly transported to the new “state.” (Which, by the way, is a violation of International law. But Israel excels at such illegal dealings.)
  • Along with all the other stolen land, Israel has also decided to annex the entire Jordan Valley, displacing all the Palestinian farmers who have owned and cultivated that land for as long as anyone can remember.

And the list could go on.

President Carter called for Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid in his 2006 book by the same name. But I am afraid that forcing brutal apartheid onto the Palestinian people has been the name of the game in Israeli and American politics for decades.

For the one-two punch of ethnic cleansing and apartheid are Israel’s favorite original sin. They just can’t break their national addiction to war crimes, racism and oppression.

And there is no sign of national repentance anytime soon.

Palestinian outrage over the Trump plan is already evident throughout the region, and justly so.  I expect that we may see a Third Intifada on the horizon sometime soon. Frankly, I’d love to be there to join them.

Heck, if I weren’t a Christian and a pacifist, I would be stockpiling rocks and organizing revolutionary resistance right now.

The Difference Between Truth and Falsehood is Supposed to Matter to Christians. When Did that Stop?

In my neck of the woods in NW Montana, talking with a new church acquaintance invariably includes a question about my devotion to Fox News.

When I say that I do not depend on Fox for my news information, that I

Rupert Murdoch, founder of the Fox network

watch Fox mainly for research purposes; and that Fox is not a reliable source for information about the world, the eyes of my new acquaintance invariably go wide, very wide.

“But Fox gives us the Christian perspective,” I am told in a variety of different ways. “It’s the source for the truth.”

“Not really,” I say. “Fox News has always been an outlet for partisan, Republican propaganda. Just as MSNBC serves that purpose for Democratic party propaganda.”

If they haven’t walked away from me by this point (which has also happened), I’ll offer some evidence.

“First, did you know that Rupert Murdoch got his start in American ‘news’ by answering President Reagan’s call for someone to spread Republican ‘talking points’ (double-speak for propaganda) to the American public?”

(No one has ever answered “yes” to this question. You can read an investigative account of the Reagan-Murdoch arrangement here, written by a real journalist. It’s not hard to find similar stories if you look.)

“Second, did you know that leaked Fox memos have revealed that the Fox News desk receives regular updates from the Republican leadership instructing them in the latest party talking-points, which they are required to repeat?”

“In fact, did you know that this practice continues today, as demonstrated  by a New York Times story revealing that the official White House talking-points for Fox News impeachment coverage, instructing them in how to discuss the day’s testimony, was accidentally sent to the Democrats?”

The truth is, Fox news has NEVER been about news reporting. It has ALWAYS been a propaganda arm of the Republican party. And it is a serious indictment of American evangelicalism that Fox has been elevated to such an idolatrous, ask-no-questions-please position.

The ONLY reason conservative Christians love Fox as they do is because it provides a daily dose of jingoistic reinforcement for conservative Christianity’s very conservative, Republican politics (which is another sort of indictment against the evangelical church).

Such information idolatry is referred to as confirmation bias. We all prefer to read and listen to the things that conform to and reaffirm what we already believe.

In other words, don’t challenge me, don’t make me uncomfortable, and never make me think.

The simple mantra for the devoted, Christian audience of Fox news clap-trap is: Don’t confuse me with the facts.

Such intellectual and moral laziness is evidence of the age-old human condition. It’s called sin. Nothing new to see here, EXCEPT when American Christians decide to place more of their trust and confidence in something like Fox than they do in Jesus Christ and his teaching.

Which is where vast swaths of the morally moribund evangelical church finds itself today. Frankly, it is impossible to be a Christian with such personal default settings at work in one’s life.

Why?

Because challenging me, making me uncomfortable, and causing me to think are three things that Jesus will always do to every disciple every day.

Let me share another story to illustrate my point:

A few months ago I was having a version of this Fox news conversation with the leader of my church small group leader. It was predictable, but became especially disturbing when he raised a few  issues that I had written about in my book, I Pledge Allegiance: A Believer’s Guide to Kingdom Citizenship in 21st Century America (Eerdmans, 2018).

To give you the short version. Of course, I took issue with what he was saying, and I suggested that I’d buy him a copy of my book and we could make some time to talk about the issues. I assured him that I attempted to root all my conclusions in very careful Biblical interpretation,  so we’d also be studying scripture together.

Without a moment’s reflection, he immediately said, “No. I don’t have the time. Besides, anyone can make the Bible say whatever they want.”

Oh really?

I ignored the intended insult — a gross slap in the face to anyone who has spent the majority of their life speaking and writing about the historical aspects of the Christian faith — and that was the end of that.

Perhaps you are already thinking of the many obvious questions left hanging in the air. For instance:

Among all the abusive scripture-twisters in the world, which now apparently includes me, how do you decide which teachers and which “doctrines” to believe?

What are your criteria for selection and how do you apply them?

What role do historical evidence and logical argument play in your decision-making process?

How do you know that the things you believe right now are not the result of someone else’s sly ability to “make the Bible say whatever they want it to say”?

At the end of the day, Christians, of ALL people, must be hound-dogs for THE TRUTH.  We should all want to know the truth and nothing but the truth, in all things.

Believing in the necessity of Truth requires that we reject falsehood, whenever and wherever we find it.

Lies, of any type, regarding any arena of interest, should never find a place of comfort in a Christian’s life.

The real problem was not this man’s single-minded devotion to one particular news network, but his refusal to investigate (much less admit) the possibility that he was being deceived (and welcoming it!).

His attitude really was, “Don’t confuse or challenge me with unwanted evidence.”

Even worse, he refused to investigate God’s word with an interested brother in order to discover if he might learn something new (and have fellowship with a new friend).

I am sorry, but all of this adds up to a dangerous, wide-spread disinterest in standing up for the Truth — absolutely THE WORST position any follower of Jesus Christ can ever take.

And it is all on national display in every Fox interview with president

The mass suicide at Jonestown when everyone drank the poisoned kool-aid.

Trump, his defense attorneys (including the one who says he is a Christian), and elected, Republican officials ad nauseam.

While the evangelical church is drinking it all up like the kool-aid served at Jonestown.

The Republican Strategy: Lie, Distract, Repeat (Pound the Table, if Necessary)

Yesterday, I posted an explanation of Step One in the Republican strategy for defending Donald Trump — LIE.

Lie through your teeth, boldly. Spread falsehoods and misinformation whenever possible. Twist the words of your opponent. Or, better yet, put words never spoken into his mouth.

After all, who will know the difference? The majority of viewers don’t pay close enough attention to spot the lies when they occur. Many are so highly partisan that they will believe anything spouted by a member of their “team” and never bother to investigate it for themselves.

To illustrate this point, yesterday’s post focused  on one of Trump’s defense attorneys, self-professed evangelical, Jay Sekulow.

Unfortunately, Sekulow shows himself to be far too comfortable with lying

Jay Sekulow

for anyone claiming to follow Jesus of Nazareth, as illustrated by only one of  the many possible video clips available online.

But lying is only step one.

The Second Step is distraction.

Distraction is easily accomplished by changing the subject or going on a tangent (often an emotional tangent) about seemingly related, but materially irrelevant, information.

Since this is the Republican’s only “defense” option, you will see this step on display any time a Trump defender speaks about the case against the president.

So, let’s return to Sekulow and watch his mastery, not only of the art of deception, but also of distraction.

Pay attention to Sekulow’s arguments. Let’s review. He insists that:

  • The aid to Ukraine was eventually released
  • Trump’s aid to Ukraine was superior to President Obama’s
  • Ukraine defensive capabilities were not affected by the delay
  • Obama temporarily withheld aid to Egypt
  • Trump also withheld aid from other countries
  • He concludes by asking for the whistle-blower

The obvious question is: What bearing does ANY of this have on rebutting the impeachment charge accusing Trump of offering a quid pro quo for his own personal benefit?

The answer is — NONE. But Sekulow is trusting we won’t notice.

However, a careful listener will observe:

  • No one has denied that the aid was eventually released. The accusation is that it was only released after Trump’s scheme had been revealed publicly. So, what’s the  point?
  • Obama’s aid packages have nothing to with anything in this conversation. This is mere deflection. He is hoping we are like the dog suddenly distracted by the squirrel.
  • Ukraine’s defensive ability is irrelevant to the point at issue. (Personally, I don’t buy the Democrats’ emphasis on how the aid delay posed a threat to US “national security.” This is political establishment balderdash.)
  • So what if Obama once withheld aid from Egypt? Foreign aid is regularly conditional, with government sanctioned conditions built in. Trump’s aid delay was not approved by anyone outside the Oval Office. Again, what’s the  point?
  • So, Trump also withheld aid from other countries. And…?? Notice that Sekulow has nothing to say about whether those delays were matters of official US policy or more instances of Trump’s personal quid pro quos. Perhaps more investigations should begin…
  • Concluding with an off-handed remark about the whistle-blower is an instance of throwing red meat to the masses. After the extensive testimony presented by multiple witnesses to the House committees, and the Democrats many requests for witnesses to appear before the Senate, the whistle-blower has become almost irrelevant.

Notice what Sekulow has accomplished with this speech.

He speaks forcefully with confidence, like a good attorney should. He gives the appearance of having command of contrary evidence, demonstrating the president’s innocence. The image is compelling.

BUT when you listen closely at what Sekulow says and think about it, you see that it has all been a grand parlor trick. Nothing he talks about has direct bearing on the facts in evidence. Sekulow’s “facts” fail to undermine the Democrats’ presentation of the evidence because his facts (which may well be entirely true!) are not relevant to the actual charges brought against the president.

The goal of such distraction is to confuse the audience, just as magicians do with their dramatic antics.

Sekulow, like every other Trump defender, is tossing dust into our eyes and hoping we won’t notice as he picks our pockets.

A meaningful defense would be able to take the same body of evidence gathered by the House committees, now being presented to the Senate, and provide a superior, more cogent, comprehensive explanation of the behavior demonstrated by that evidence to have actually taken place.

And THAT, my friends, is the one thing I have yet to hear a single Republican be able to do.

Instead, all we hear are more lies and distraction.

 

“The Lack of Integrity Among Republican Members is Stunning”

Marjorie Cohn is emeritus professor of law at Thomas Jefferson School of

(150320) — WASHINGTON D.C., March 20, 2015 (Xinhua) –Marjorie Cohn, professor of Thomas Jefferson School of Law .

Law and former president of the National Lawyers Guild (an organization that once saved my legal bacon).

Today she was interviewed by The Real News and asked about her view of the ongoing Senate impeachment trial. Her legal insights are informative, helpful, and very troubling for those of us who are concerned about the permanent damage Trump’s presidency may create for America’s future.

At one point she marvels, “The lack of integrity among Republican members [of Congress] is stunning.”

I’m no lawyer, but she took the words right out of my mouth. The interview is 14 minutes long.

Lying and Perjury are Contrary to Sound Doctrine, 1 Timothy 1:10

In addition to its historical significance, the primary reason I decided to write a few posts about Trump’s impeachment trial is because of ongoing heavy investment of evangelical Christian energies into the president’s defense.

The overwhelming majority of white evangelicals continue to support Trump, regardless of his behavior. The majority of conservative Christians are equally (if not more) conservative in their politics. Which means that their major source of political information is Fox News.

I have no idea what percentage of American viewers are watching the Senate trial, or how many watched the witness testimony collected in the House committee hearings. But I suspect that few Americans watch the testimony and arguments live and in full.

Rather, public opinion is formed by the short clips and editorializing provided by favorite news stations. Again, for conservative Christians this source of information is gained overwhelming from Fox.

One of President Trumps defense lawyers is Jay Sekulow, an evangelical

Jay Sekulow

Christian and media darling of Fox News. He is Fox’s natural go-to guy for commentary on the Senate trial proceedings.

Sekulow is also the host, with his son, of a radio/television talk show broadcast on various Christian media outlets. I  listen to Sekulow’s program regularly.

There is nothing particularly “Christian” about it. Instead, Sekulow’s show serves as one more supposed news outlet, like Fox, that exists to repeat Republican  party talking-points.

Which is why I am saddened, but not surprised, to see Sekulow and others on Trump’s defense team stand up on the Senate floor and lie to the American people.

I cannot believe that they do not know exactly what they are doing. Deliberate lying is the only way to describe Sekulow’s behavior.

While all of Trump’s legislative supporters are doing it, Sekulow claims to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And THAT makes Sekulow’s lies especially abhorrent.

Lying is one thing, but lying deliberately in defense of a favored politician is inexcusable for anyone who claims to follow Jesus Christ.

I will mention only two examples to illustrate Mr. Sekulow’s problem:

First, Sekulow’s opening statement to the Senate repeated the Republican complaint that the president was denied due process during the House investigations, saying that Trump and his lawyers were shut out of the committee hearings. Watch Sekulow repeat this charge here (beginning at the 1:00 minute mark).

This is an oft repeated Republican lie.

This lie has been repeatedly rebutted by the Democratic impeachment managers. In fact, you can watch a news report below describing the Judicial Committee’s invitation to President Trump, asking him to attend their meetings in November, 2019.

I remember watching a segment of the House investigation where they explained that the president had been invited to tell his side of the story with his own lawyers present (calling Jay Sekulow!) so they could cross-examine witnesses!

Yet, Sekulow and others repeat this lie shamelessly. The fact is that Trump declined the invitation and instructed everyone in the Executive branch to ignore all Congressional subpoenas.

Second, Sekulow was interviewed yesterday about his upcoming strategy. He said that he intended to rebut the Democratic charge that the president had solicited Ukraine for a “quid pro quo;” that is, you scratch my back (by announcing an investigation into the Bidens) and I’ll scratch yours (by releasing the hold on the weapons that you want).

Sekulow strangely insisted that this charge is phony because the first article of impeachment never says anything about a quid pro quo. What Sekulow fails to mention, however, is that the article explains, in plain English, how the president’s request of Ukraine amounted to an actual quid pro quo.

Watch this clip with Jake Tapper exposing Sekulow’s lie by putting the actual article of impeachment on the screen explaining how Trump’s quid pro quo worked, without using the words themselves (beginning at 1:40).

These two examples are only the tip of the iceberg of egregious lies constructed by the Republicans and repeated on partisan “news” programs by lawyers, like Jay Sekulow, who are willing to deceive the public with a straight face.

I am sorry, but this is not the behavior of a Christian lawyer.

“It’s Like We Are Witnessing the Death of Democracy”

Yesterday, Democracy Now began their coverage of the Senate impeachment trial with a discussion of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s newly devised procedural rules for the trial’s conduct.

In short, these rules limit the trial to less than one week.  By comparison, Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial lasted for two months. Bill Clinton’s Senate trial took a full month.

In addition, McConnell’s rules for Donald Trump’s impeachment trial prohibits both the admission of relevant documents and the calling of witnesses to testify.

Journalists are also banned from the Senate during the “trial.”

Furthermore, the entire time permitted for each side to present their cases is restricted to three days (an expansion from the original limit of two days).

Think about this:

How many trials have you heard of where the judge ruled, before the trial began, that no documentary evidence or witness testimony will be allowed, all arguments must be finished in three days, no matter what, and all journalists are banned from the court room?

I’ll tell you — NONE, for the simple reason that what is happening now in the halls of Congress is not a trial.  It is a Republican orchestrated farce, as ANY fair-minded person has to admit.

Kristen Clarke

Amy Goodman’s 18 minute interview with Kristen Clarke and Rick Perlstein helps to place the current Senate travesty in historical context.

Ms. Clarke is a civil rights attorney and the Executive Director of The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Mr. Perlstein is

Rick Perlstein

an American historian and journalist who has written several books about Richard Nixon, including his impeachment investigation, and Ronald Reagan.

In my view, their insights into the farcical events now unfolding in the US Senate are ominous warnings about the twilight years of American democracy.

I Never Imagine I Would Miss Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater

Republican Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell

As Trump’s impeachment trial approaches, Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, continues his draconian measures to prohibit any new evidence from being including in the Senate proceedings.

Unlike past impeachment trials, which have allowed additional witnesses to be called (in fact, during the Clinton impeachment Republicans insisted they be allowed to call new witnesses), McConnell is refusing to permit additional witnesses to testify before Congress.

He has good reason to fear for his president, but his actions only contribute further to his reputation as the most corrupt Republican majority leader in recent history.

John Bolton (Photo by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

John Bolton (former National Security Adviser who referred to Trump’s Ukrainian quid pro quo scheme a “drug deal” he wanted nothing to do with) and Lev Parnas (Rudy Guliani’s business associate who operated as Rudy’s “fixer” in coercing Ukrainian government officials to yield to Trump’s demands) have both said they are willing to testify if asked.

Rudy Giuliani has coffee with Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, U.S. September 20, 2019. REUTERS/Aram Roston/File Photo – RC18E5EEDD00

Furthermore, a boatload of new documents have also been handed over to House investigators which not only confirm the previous House testimony against Trump, but adds new information as well.

For instance, copies of whatsapp messages reveal that one Robert F. Hyde, a Republican congressional candidate from

Former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch

Connecticut, had the US ambassador Marie Yovanovitch “under physical, and possibly electronic, surveillance.”

At one point, Hyde suggested that he could increase the pressure on Yovanovitch (who was working to end political corruption in the country) but it would require enlisting Ukrainian security forces — an obvious threat against the ambassador’s personal safety.

Here is an excerpt from an article in The Guardian explaining this section of the texts:

“In March 2019, Hyde wrote to Parnas, ‘Wow. Can’t believe Trumo [sic] hasn’t fired this bitch. I’ll get right in [sic] that.’

“The two men then exchanged a string of messages about the ambassador’s whereabouts.

“’She under heavy protection outside Kiev,’ Hyde wrote to Parnas, adding two days later: ‘They are moving her tomorrow.’

“’The guys over there asked me what I would like to do and what is in it for them,’ wrote Hyde, who has posted pictures of himself with Trump and Giuliani on social media. ‘She’s talked to three people. Her phone is off. Computer is off. She’s next to the embassy. Not in the embassy.’

“’They are willing to help if you/we would like a price,’ said Hyde.

“’Guess you can do anything in Ukraine with money … what I was told,’ Hyde wrote in another text, to which, Parnas responded: ‘LOL.’”

The State Department finally removed Yovanovitch from Ukraine because, she was told, they had information indicating her safety was at risk.

Hmmmmmm. I wonder who was threatening her safety?

Remember the reconstruction of Trump’s Oval Office call with the Ukrainian president? Remember when he told President Zelensky that Yovanovitch “was going to go through some things”?

What a coincidence…

Lev Parnas has obviously struck a deal since his recent arrest and is talking freely with reporters. Watch this interview by Anderson Cooper where Parnas not only implicates Trump but states that Trump was in regular communication with him and Giuliani being updated on everything the two were doing in Ukraine.

Parnas confirms what honest observers have always known: Donald Trump is a liar. More than that, he is a pathological liar, and he lied when he said he didn’t know Lev Parnas.

But, never mind, because Mitch McConnell is working overtime to prevent any of these documents and witnesses and from contributing to Trump’s impeachment trial.

Why muddy the waters with more evidence of the truth?

And this explains why I find myself surprisingly “nostalgic” for men like Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater (I can’t believe I just wrote this sentence).

On the eve of Nixon’s impeachment proceedings in 1974, Senator Barry Goldwater (a fire-breathing conservative if there ever was one) led a delegation of his fellow Republicans to meet with Nixon in the Oval Office.

These three Congressmen told Nixon that he had lost all Congressional support. There was no way he could survive an impeachment process. His presidency was over, one way or the other. The meeting came to be called the “Goldwater moment.”

President Nixon announced his resignation the next day.

Senator Goldwater, whose politics I abhorred, represents a very different

President Nixon resigns on national television

period in the evolution of the US Congress. His was an era where party loyalties were not always allowed to eclipse the evidence of White House criminality.

Goldwater reminds us that highly conservative, Republican politicians can maintain their personal integrity in times of political crisis. Politics need not always blind its players to the facts.

Sadly, these are qualities of personal character are sorely lacking in today’s players. Mitch McConnell, Rep. Jim Jordan and their partisan ilk are political barbarians — clever and crafty, no doubt; but bloody barbarians, nonetheless — when compared even to a Manichean madman like Barry Goldwater.

And what about Nixon?

Nixon’s decision to resign his presidency revealed that even “Tricky Dick” had some semblance of shame. He knew when to quit, when it was time to stop lying.

Tragically, today’s White House occupant has no sense of shame whatsoever. He is a malignant narcissist hard-wired to lie. Lying is Donald Trump’s raison d’être.

And the nation’s Congressional barbarians have grown corpulent feasting at the White House trough.

Even Nixon and Goldwater are rolling over in their graves.

Liars Beat the Drums of War. Part 3 — US Lies About Iran

Dan Kovalik is another person to whom I always pay attention.  He is a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh Law School, as well as an active labor and human rights attorney.

A peace activist and prolific author, his most recent book is The Plot to Attack Iran: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Iran. I have read many of his articles and just ordered the book for myself.

The independent, investigative journalist, Abby Martin, recently interviewed Kovalik to get his perspective on the recent US assassination of Qassam Soleimani.

I strongly encourage you to watch this YouTube video of their conversation.

It is must see viewing for Americans who are in desperate need of a strong antidote to the barrage of Establishment propaganda shoveled out by every corporate news company in the USA.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Kovalik and Martin expose the long history of unprovoked American aggression against the Iranian people.

Beginning with the CIA coup that overthrew Iran’s democratically elected president in 1953, Kovalik shows how the US is continuing to lie about (1) Iran’s “quest” for nuclear weapons, (2) Iran’s fictional role as “the world’s largest exporter of state-sponsored terrorism”, and (3) Iran’s “continued attacks” against “innocent” Americans.

In 2013, the CIA publicly confessed its responsibility for the 1953 overthrow of the Iranian government, which we toppled in order to regain control (together with Great Britain) over Iran’s oil resources.

You can read the CIA confession and all the details  here in the National Security Archives.

Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

America continues its efforts to lie, cheat, and steal its way into controlling Iranian resources again.

And our  government, together with all its mindless, media minions, will continue to lie, lie, lie and then lie some more in its efforts to brainwash the public, bedazzling us into stupefied silence — or better yet, heart-felt. patriotic approval — when our bloodthirsty government finally unleashes the savage dogs of war.

DON’T FALL FOR IT!

Christians, you are citizens of the kingdom of God, first! Your membership in the American body politic is nothing compared with this spiritual truth. Your #1 loyalty is to the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth.

He is the Redeemer who calls us to embrace truth not lies, and peace,not war.

If you claim to be a follower of Jesus, then understand that in this moment  every Christian’s motto must be:

No War With Iran!

Liars Beat the Drums of War. Part 2 — The News Media and Establishment Propaganda

A key to successful propaganda is having the appearance of knowledge and authority while disseminating falsehoods and misrepresentations.

A key ingredient to the success of US corporate news broadcasts in their spreading of government-backed lies is their use of “expert” commentators. These talking-heads, periodically trotted out for their supposed expertise on a subject, are typically former members of the US military, the intelligence community, and political leaders waiting for their next government gig.

Invariably these professional commentators provide off-the-cuff “analysis” which, in one way or another, endorses the worldview necessary  for the expansion of American empire.

Whether that requires more bombing, another invasion, a tighter security apparatus, a larger military budget, you name it, these folks make a living by persuading the public that more American aggression is essential to peace and prosperity around the world.

We recently heard Donald Trump say that he bombed Qassam Soleimani, not to start a war, but to prevent a war.

Right.

Just as George W. Bush was forced to start a war in order to prevent the mythical mushroom cloud.

I am old enough to remember the Army’s justification of free-fire zones in the Vietnam war, where soldiers were free to kill anything on sight and destroy entire villages, by saying that “we had to destroy the village in order to save the village.”

Give me a break.

I wasn’t stupid enough to believe the propaganda then. And I’m not stupid enough to swallow it now.

What our TV news networks never disclose to us is that virtually ALL of these so-called expert commentators maintain profession relationships with the military-security-intelligence-industrial complex while working for the corporate news media.

After all, they have invested their entire professional lives into climbing the ladders of power inside the war rooms of the American empire. They are not about to give that up now.

Very few leopards ever change their spots, folks.

Lawrence Wilkerson is a rare breed.

So, it is not surprising that this class of propagandist is invariably are on the payroll of weapons manufacturers, military consulting firms, and surveillance companies, etc. Just as the execution of Gen. Soleimani sent the stock prices of Raytheon and other weapons manufacturers through the roof, so these talking-heads work to further enhance the financial and ideological investments that they have spent their entire lives helping to construct.

Below is a video report by The Intercept explaining only a few of these corrupt financial connections. Of course, none of the networks ever mention these connections to their viewers.

For instance, Fox News hired a retired general who naturally justifies US military strikes, but never mentions that he is a partner at SCP Partners, a venture capital fund that invests in defense contractors.

Similarly CBS hired another retired general who now works for Kohlberg Kravis Robers & Co., an investment firm with major holdings in  some of the largest US defense contractors.

These men and women do offer expert analysis. They are trying to sell us more snake oil at the very high cost of human lives around the globe.