Blog

The Israeli Army Doesn’t Have Snipers. It Has Hunters — Gideon Levy

Here is an excerpt from today’s editorial by Gideon Levy at the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz. It is entitled, “The Israeli Army Doesn’t Have Snipers

Israeli journalist, Gideon Levy

on the Gaza Border. It Has Hunters.”

He is addressing the ongoing, daily slaughter of Palestinian men, women and children at the Gaza prison fence.

To date, 8,000 young men have been permanently disabled. The number of deaths is in the hundreds (approximately, 500 I believe) and the serious injuries in the tens of thousands.

And still, the United States and the rest of the world do nothing:

“They’re the best of our boys. One is a “musician from a good high school,” another a “boy scout” who majored in theater.” They’re the snipers who have shot thousands of unarmed protesters along the Gaza border fence.

“In the Gaza Strip there are 8,000 permanently disabled young men as a result of the snipers’ actions. Some are leg amputees, and the shooters are very proud of that. None of the snipers interviewed for Hilo Glazer’s frightening story in Haaretz (March 6) has any regrets. If they are feeling at all apologetic it’s because they didn’t spill more blood. One was mocked in his battalion with “here comes the killer.” They all act like murderers. If their actions don’t show it – more than 200 dead as a result of them – then their statements prove that these young men have lost their moral compass. They are lost. They will go on to study, to have careers and to raise families – and will never recover from their blindness. They disabled their victims physically, but their own disabilities are more severe. Their souls were completely twisted. They will never again be moral individuals. They are a danger to society. They lost their humanity, if they ever had it, on the shooting berms facing the Gaza Strip. They are the sons of our friends and the friends of our sons, the young people from the apartment across the hall. Look how they talk.

“…but it’s hard not to be shocked at the depths to which we have sunk. They recalled the number of knees they shot. ‘I brought in seven-eight knees in one

Israeli soldiers patrol the Gaza fence looking for people to shoot

day. Within a few hours, I almost broke his record.’ ‘He got around 28 knees.’ They shot at unarmed young men and women who were trying in vain to struggle for their freedom, an issue that couldn’t be more just. ‘The regular scenario is supposed to be that you hit, break a bone – in the best case, break the kneecap – within a minute an ambulance comes to evacuate him, and after a week he gets a disability pension.’…

“They chose their victims by their charisma, with a sniper’s precision. Their ‘leadership aura’ has destined young men to a life of disability in the cage that is Gaza. But that was not enough. They become bloodthirsty as only young incited people can be. They wanted more blood, not just blood, a child’s blood. Not just a child’s blood, but in front of his family.

“‘Let me just once take down a kid of 16, even 14, but not with a bullet in the leg – let me blow his head open in front of his whole family and his whole village. Let him spurt blood. And then maybe for a month I won’t have to take off another 20 knees.’

“They wanted blood from a boy’s head only to spare themselves the need to take down 20 more knees. They identified their victims’ age by their shirts: Dress shirts for the older ones, T-shirts for the youngest.

“None was court-martialed. Correction: One got seven days in military jail for shooting a sheep. Soldiers in the world’s most moral army don’t shoot sheep. With 200 dead and 8,000 wounded, they think ‘the restraints on us are shameful.’ That is their shame. They are our shame. They, and their commanders. They and the army that orders them to shoot at protesters as if they were ‘ducks who chose to cross the line.’

“People who shoot ducks aren’t snipers. They’re hunters.”

Read the entire piece here.

 

My Disappointment with Ron Sider and His Blog

It is always disappointing when a person you’ve long admired for their counter-cultural, Christian thinking reveals the decay of a conventional adherence to the status quo.

Thus my growing disappointment in Ron Sider’s blog. A blog, I suspect, that is read by a good many evangelical Christians.

I was a young man when I got my hands on Dr. Sider’s classic book, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.  I have deeply admired him and followed his work ever since. He was kind enough to write a promotional paragraph for my last book, I Pledge Allegiance: I Believer’s Guide to Kingdom Citizenship in 21st-Century America.

Unfortunately, his most recent blog post, entitled “Why Are the Russians Promoting Bernie Sanders,” continues the surprising (at least, to me) revelation that Dr. Sider’s ability at cultural criticism has eroded, his posts merely repeating the predictable canards of our corporate news outlets and the Democratic establishment.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

I won’t repeat my deep skepticism of the world-weary “Russian hacking/collusion” conspiracy started by Hillary Clinton as a malicious fig- leaf used to distract from her terrible presidential campaign.

I will only point my readers to the numerous — and consistently vindicated — reports (both in print and online) from real investigative journalists like Glenn Greenwald (here, here at The Intercept), Matt Taibbi (here, here at the Rolling Stone), Max Blumenthal (here, here, and Aaron Mate (here, here, here, here, and here  both at the Greyzone Project and The Nation magazine).

Each of these men exposed the Russia-gate (I hate that term) narrative as a complete lie, perpetuated by the Dems as a useful tool to attack Donald Trump.

The new “intelligence reports” of ongoing election interference, on behalf of both Trump and Sanders, is even more dubious. Notice that we are never given any evidence to support the charges.

We are just supposed to take the intelligence community’s word for it.  Excuse me, but does anyone remember when Iraq’s WMDs were a “slam dunk” according to our CIA director?

Or, more recently, remember the Congressional intelligence briefing (regarding the assassination of Iranian general, Soleimani) where Congress-people left the meeting complaining about the complete lack of evidence presented to them. One Congressman called it “a farce” another “a disaster.”

We discover much wiser counsel from Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who urges all citizens to “condemn” the malicious, anti-democratic “election interference by US intelligence agencies“! Please read what she says as a sitting member on the House Armed Services Committee.

In her article, Gabbard vehemently — and quite rightly — condemns such in-house intelligence tactics as the new McCarthyism. And she is absolutely right.

Not only am I deeply chagrined to see Sider uncritically repeating the establishment mantra about Russia, but he is also mimicking the DNC talking points against Bernie Sanders’ unelectability.

I won’t indulge in long counter-arguments here. I will only say, “Phewey on all that malarkey!”

Instead, I will give you a few short informative video clips to watch below.

Check out:

Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, debunks the 6 common criticisms made against Sanders with data and evidence, not Democratic establishment talking points. Spoiler alert: numerous polls predict Sanders would beat Trump in a general election.

Jeremy Scahill, at The Intercept, talks about Sanders’ life-long opposition to America’s vicious  wars of imperialism here, and how red-baiting is a long-standing tactic for fear-mongering and the deflection of public attention away from the virtues of an anti-establishment candidate like Sen. Sanders.

Finally, watch this ad from the organization Jews for Bernie explaining why they support Sen. Sanders, as do I.

So, I will probably continue to read Dr. Sider’s blog, but I stopped anticipating helpful political insights.

They are not to be found.

 

In Israel, Zionism is the #1 Religion — Gideon Levy

Those of you who follow Israeli politics know that they recently held their third national election in less than a year. And once again Benjamin Netanyahu, despite the numerous legal indictments against him, is again in the top position to form the new government.

Despite its frequent claims to being the only democracy in the Middle East,

Israeli journalist, Gideon Levy

Israeli-Palestinians still confront an all pervasive Zionist system of Jim Crow laws that suppress Palestinian involvement in government.

Twenty-first century Israel is the Middle Eastern equivalent of Louisiana, Alabama,Georgia, and Mississippi in the early nineteen-hundreds. Palestinians are Israel’s “Negroes.”

Israeli Zionism is the ideological equivalent of the white supremacy, baptized with Christian lingo and accouterments, so idolized by the southern Klansmen who burned crosses to terrorize anyone who forgot “their place.”

Gideon Levy is an opinion writer for the Israeli, daily newspaper, Haaretz. His is a rare voice speaking the truth about anti-Palestinian racism in his homeland. Levy’s  recent analysis of the Israeli elections is entitled, “In Israel, Zionism is a Religion, And It’s Mandatory.” (Note: the joint list is an alliance of the majority-Palestinian parties in Israel.)

Here is an excerpt:

“Voting for a party that doesn’t have the Zionist banner flying over it is a painful, almost impossible step. That’s the result of 100 years of indoctrination that is practically unmatched. With the exception of North Korea, no other country has such a ruling ideology that is not to be doubted or deviated from. Aside from Iran, no other country has a mandatory religion. In Israel, Zionism is a religion, and it is mandatory.

“A Jew who votes for the Joint List is still considered a traitor, or at least a person who has some kind of screw loose. In our childhood, this is how we viewed activists from Rakah and Matzpen, and we shunned them like lepers. The Rakah office on Maza Street in Tel Aviv was like a mysterious, menacing headquarters of an enemy army. You didn’t want to be seen anywhere near it. I remember the first time I went there: I was terrified.

“These were the adolescent growing pains of a young country. But when a strong, thriving country disqualifies a legal ideology and makes it illegitimate, something has gone wrong with its democracy.

“Zionism is a worldview like any other. One can see its attractive and unattractive sides. It is not a religion in which doubters are denounced as heretics – yet it is forbidden to reject Zionism. Why? Because Zionism is not sure of itself. It knows that it brought a catastrophe upon another people and it knows that the fire of evil and injustice is burning beneath the carpet upon which it treads. If Zionism were certain of its righteousness, it would put itself to the test like any other worldview and it would be permissible to doubt it. Israel in 2020 is not yet ready for that. A true left will only arise here when we wean ourselves of the addiction to Zionism and free ourselves from its chains.”

You can read the entire editorial here.

Why is Israel’s Occupation and Annexation of Palestinian Land Illegal?

I won’t go into the various ways in which Israel has taken over (“expropriated”) privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank (and even within Israel itself). But they do it on a regular basis.

In this post I will focus on the provisions of International Law being violated by Israel’s steady encroachment into the Occupied Territory/West

Israel’s Annexation/ Separation Barrier separating Palestinians from Israel. Observe that it’s not hard to climb. It was not built to stop terrorism, but to steal more land.

Bank.

The Geneva Convention declares that land conquered through war (1) cannot be kept by the conquering power. (2) Neither can it be incorporation as a part of the victorious country. (3) Nor can the conquering country move its own citizens into the occupied region for colonization.

Israel is violating all of these legal requirements.

Here is what International Law says:

Article 49, paragraph 6 of the 1949 Geneva Convention IV says, “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”

Article 85(4)(a) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I adds that “the transfer by

Palestinians live under military occupation. Trump’s plan will expand and deepen its oppression

the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” is a serious breach of the protocol.

Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the 1998 Statute of the International Criminal Court states that “[t]he transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” is a war crime.

Why were these restrictions on the ancient attitude of “to the victor goes the spoils” put in place?

The answer is simple. And you’d think Israel might be especially sensitive to this part of the story.

Adolf Hitler.

As I will explain in my next book, during the Second World War, Adolf Hitler

Hitler’s plans for population transfers throughout Eastern Europe — remove the natives and replace them with ethnic Germans

undertook ethnic cleansing in parts of eastern Europe.  He then resettled these areas with ethnic Germans, planning to incorporate the newly settled territories into an expanded German state.

For only one example, the Nazis expelled nearly 122,000 Poles from German occupied Pomerania in 1939-40. They were replaced by 130,000 ethnic Germans who were resettled in place of the former Pomerania population.

German settlement expansion in eastern Europe was a part of Hitler’s “Germanization” program, referred to as Generalplan Ost (the GPO).

The Geneva Convention, at the instigation of the United States, hoped to prevent (or, at least, to outlaw) similar population transfers via warfare in the future.

Israel first violated this part of international law in 1948-49 when it conquered 50% of the territory allotted by the United Nations for a Palestinian state.

Israel continues its violation of international law in the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan during the 1967 war.  The West Bank has remained under military occupation ever since, hence its identification as Occupied Territory.

Now it becomes United States policy to endorse the violation of international law. Only a few weeks ago Trump announced that the US considers all Israeli settlements in the West Bank as “legal.”

This week’s Apartheid Plan endorses the illegal annexation and Jewish settlement of the entire Jordan Valley, displacing the many Palestinians farmers from their own property.

All of the Palestinian lands stolen by Israeli fiat, and built up by illegal

Illegal Jewish settlers in the Jordan Valley. They have been breaking the law for a long time. Trump now says it’s OK

Israeli settlers, throughout the West Bank will be officially annexed as a part of Israel.

I know this will offend some and appear an exaggeration by many, but facts are facts. They don’t change because some folks are offended.

  1. Israel is a rogue nation. The international community must condemn its avaricious, illegal, inhumane behavior now.
  2. The United States is the world’s most far-reaching enabler of such rogue behavior, not just in the Middle East, but around the globe.
  3. Sadly, nobly intentioned international law has failed to stop the ghost of racist, ethnic nationalism from stealing from and oppressing other human beings.
  4. The ghost of Hitler hangs heavy over the United States, Israel, Donald Trump, and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Professor Erakat Talks About Trump’s Middle East Plan for Israeli Apartheid

Noura Erakat is assistant professor of criminal law at Rutgers University, specializing in international and humanitarian law. You can check out her faculty page here.

Her most recent book, which I read not long ago and highly recommend, is entitled Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford, 2019). In this book, she examines the modern history of Palestine through the lens of international law. (I’ll give you a head’s up: Israel has regularly violated, and continues its violations, of international law flagrantly and persistently.)

Recently, Ms. Erakat was interviewed by Aaron Mate, one of my favorite journalists for his independence and investigative abilities, on the Grayzone program, Push Back.

Their conversation concerns the practical effects of President Trump’s recently announced Apartheid Plan for Israeli/Palestinian relations.

Please take the time to watch the complete interview here. It is approximately 15 minutes long.

Her summary: “This plan is much more dangerous than I originally thought.”

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.