Don't You Dare Disrespect Dr. Biden

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Call me uninformed, but for years when I heard Jill Biden referred to as "Dr Jill Biden", I thought she was a practicing physician. It wasn't until the Democratic convention that I learned that she was actually a former teacher with a PhD. Truth be told, there has been lots of misleading information surrounding the Biden family, but I will stay with this specific topic.

It seems that the Jacobins at Northwestern University are all upset that a former NW English teacher has written an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal advising Jill to drop the Dr title because it is misleading. 

https://www.foxnews.com/media/wsj-op-ed-on-dr-jill-biden-gets-writer-canceled-by-northwestern-university

Here is what the Daily Northwestern has to say about all this:

https://dailynorthwestern.com/2020/12/12/lateststories/nu-condemns-former-english-lecturer-joseph-epsteins-op-ed-calling-jill-biden-to-drop-doctor-title/

“Northwestern is firmly committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and strongly disagrees with Mr. Epstein’s misogynistic views,” the University wrote.

Is there a university in the Land that doesn't use this by-line? But I digress.

Personally, calling someone with a PhD "Dr" is appropriate in a university setting or when that person is being addressed in their capacity as an academic. To use it as an everyday title the way Jill Biden has been using it does strike me as a bit presumptuous.  

And unlike Whoopi Goldberg, I never presumed that Jill Biden was an "amazing" doctor who should be surgeon general.

Rashida Tlaib, Anti-Semitism, and "From the River to the Sea"

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Hat tip JNS and Times of Israel

"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free"

As is always the case with controversial people, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has been in the news a lot lately. No, she didn't call President Trump a "motherf-----" (at least, not that I know of). Tlaib raised eyebrows just days ago when it was revealed that she was slated to appear December 15 on a virtual panel with three other controversial individuals-Israel haters all- to discuss the topic of anti-Semitism.

Julius Streicher and Hitler were unavailable. 

"From the Oder to the Rhine, Germany will be Judenrein"

https://www.jns.org/tlaib-and-others-peddling-anti-jewish-rhetoric-to-speak-on-panel-about-anti-semitism/

Of course, people like Tlaib and her ilk have their own slant on what anti-Semitism is all about. Tlaib, of course, denies that she is anti-Jewish; after all, being of Palestinian stock, how could she possibly be?

If Tlaib's inclusion on such a panel on anti-Semitism wasn't ironic enough, she managed to underline the hypocrisy when she re-tweeted a cute little jingle on the occasion of Palestinian-Something Day (November 29). The jingle goes like this:

"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".

https://www.timesofisrael.com/democrat-tlaib-shares-tweet-alluding-to-israels-elimination/

If you haven't been on a college campus lately, the meaning is simple: From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, Palestine will be free. Those are the borders of Israel. It means that there will be no more Israel and no more Jews. Only a state called Palestine made up of and run by Palestinians. Oh, people like Tlaib might tell you that such a state could also include Jews in a multi-ethnic society, but we all know that if they were not driven out or slaughtered, they would be forced to live as minority dhimmis under the thumb of the Palestinians. Tlaib knows exactly what it means.

In November, the voters of her district in Michigan, which includes parts of Detroit and Dearborn, had the chance to correct their mistake of 2018 and vote Tlaib out on her can. That they chose to re-elect her says tons about this district.

2019 FBI Hate Crime Report

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

This article first appeared in Times of Israel Blogs.

The FBI has released its annual report for hate crimes in 2019. What is significant is that Jews seemed to be the biggest target of religious hate crimes. There was not only a 14% increase in attacks against Jews but, as victims, they accounted for 60% of the total religious hate crimes. The numbers may shock some, but they didn’t shock me. I have been watching this problem fester for almost 15 years now.

 I first began paying attention around 2006 when I was teaching part-time at the University of California at Irvine and saw how the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activism on our campus was often spilling over into unabashed Jew-hatred. The purveyors of this modern-day anti-Semitism tried to disguise it in the form of “anti-Zionism”. They denied they were anti-Semitic. Many of the anti-Israel professors and speakers invited to campus by Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Union were themselves Jewish. That could not change the fact that vicious anti-Semites like Oakland-based imam, Amir Abdel Malik Ali, and Washington DC-based imams, Mohamed al-Asi and Abdul Alim Musa also came to our campus and engaged in heated anti-Jewish rhetoric. I know. I was present on several such occasions. 

 It was just this specific situation at UC Irvine that made me an activist though I myself am not Jewish. As a student of the history of the Third Reich, I was already sensitive to the issue of anti-Semitism. As I watched the deteriorating situation for Jews in Europe, I realized that anti-Semitism was enjoying a resurgence in the US as well. The focal point for that resurgence was on our university campuses, and the entire University of California system was a particular hotspot, though it must be pointed out that the problem exists in universities all over the US and Canada. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the latest example of campus under the microscope as a result of numerous complaints from Jewish students. And the spark that lights the fire on campuses across the country is the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It is one of the biggest hot-button issues on countless university campuses.

 From the campuses, the problem has now metastasized across society. This is purely anecdotal and personal, and I don’t have the empirical evidence for this, but when I first got involved back in 2006-7, my impression was that it was a campus problem. The local Jewish community did not seem to be overly aware of what was happening on campus in the peaceful bedroom community of Irvine. Indeed, we struggled to bring the problem to the attention of the local community. In that effort, we and Jewish students who wanted to speak out and fight back were thwarted in our efforts by national Jewish organizations like the Jewish Federation (Orange County) and Hillel, both of whom were too embedded and invested in the university to want to make waves. Meanwhile, the ADL was simply missing in action. They prefer to this day to concentrate on anti-Semitism coming from white nationalists.

 Not to defend white anti-Semites; they are to be condemned as well. I just don’t believe they account for the major part of the problem. Then again, I don’t have the empirical evidence at my fingertips. I hope that the FBI report gets wide dissemination. The public must demand action from the government. Not to get political, but under the Trump administration, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has taken an active role in addressing this issue. If Joe Biden becomes our next president, as it appears he will, I hope that policy will continue. I fear, however, that the Biden administration is going to be more Palestinian-friendly. That will have repercussions not only with our Israel policy but on our campuses as well. Jew-hatred has always been an issue that cuts across ethnic lines. 

Next year’s FBI report will surely include the May 2020 pogrom that occurred in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles, largely carried out by Black Lives Matter thugs in the wake of the George Floyd death. The truth is that we all need to examine anti-Semitism within our own communities and within our own ethnic groups, white, black, Muslim, etc. Here in the US, our universities also need to address this issue. After all, at least in my opinion, this is where it began to explode.

University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) Commits to Confronting Anti-Semitism

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Hat tip Jewish Insider

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has taken a major step forward in confronting what has been an on-going problem of anti-Semitism on its campus. Here is a joint statement issued by the University, Jewish United Fund Chicago, Illini Hillel, Hillel International, Illini Chabad, Arnold & Porter, and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.

Having followed the events at UIUC over the past couple of years (see previous articles here and here), I applaud Chancellor Robert Jones for this action and his statements in support of Jewish students. I think it is also notable that the university statement, rather than simply condemn anti-Semitism in general terms, has specifically included language that makes it clear that at least a portion of the problem is due to anti-Zionist feelings toward Israel. My own personal opinion, generally speaking, is that opposition to Israel is the major aspect of campus anti-Semitism in our universities. While it is not necessarily anti-Semitic to be critical of Israel's policies vis-a-vis the Palestinian issue, I have personally seen how it has all-too-often spilled over into pure Jew-hatred. All too often, we have seen and heard anti-Jewish canards that have been around for centuries and pre-date the establishment of the modern state of Israel used against Jews in general.

It is not just the University of Illinois. This problem has spread to campuses all over the country and must be stopped in its tracks. Student governments are being paralyzed every year by forced debate and votes on whether to boycott companies doing business with Israel-as if this has anything to do with student life on campus. Campus police have their hands full anytime a speaker who might be pro-Israel is invited to come at speak because disruptions by Students for Justice in Palestine and/or the local Muslim Student Association are sure to result. Meanwhile, vicious anti-Israel/anti-Jewish speakers appear regularly on campuses. And the result of all this is bullying and intimidation directed at Jewish students.

I have met many Jewish alumni from various universities who have recounted to me how they don't look back on their alma maters with fond memories because of the harassment they suffered and the lack of support they received from the university in question-and, in many cases, the lack of support they received from major Jewish organizations who are supposed to look out for Jewish students in these situations.

But to the specific case at hand, UIUC has had problems which they have acknowledged and pledged to make things right. This is a positive step, but it must be followed up on. The above statement should not just be something to stick in the files as "documentation" that the problem is being addressed. The coming months and years will tell us whether UIUC has become a safe campus for Jews.

The Barrett Confirmation: It's Been a Good Week for Trump

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

President Trump may or may not be re-elected next week. Today, however, he achieved a great victory-not only for himself, but for the country. Amy Coney-Barrett, in spite of the childish efforts of the Democrats in the Senate to stop her, has been confirmed as a justice to the Supreme Court replacing the deceased Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The conservatives now have a 6-3 majority. (Maybe 5-1/2 if you consider John Roberts.) What President Trump has done in his first term is to place three conservatives on the Court. It will have a significant-and positive- effect for years to come. With the prospect of a looming Biden-Harris administration, the importance is magnified. Whatever the final verdict on Trump and his presidency-be it four years or eight years- his impact on the Supreme Court is historic. 

The Democrats knew that they had no realistic way of stopping the nomination, but they played their childish games nonetheless and made asses of themselves. At one point, they stayed outside the chamber with only Chuck Schumer present, who argued that the proceedings could not go forward since there was no significant quorum (2 members of the minority being present). Lindsey Graham brushed that away, and the process continued. Then Schumer objected to Vice President Pence being present for the final Senate vote since somebody might catch the Covid virus from Pence, who was coming from the virus-infected White House, blah blah blah. In the end, Barrett passed 52-48.

Immediately, "The Squad", a coalition of four radical female dopes in the House of Representatives, (Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Ayanna Pressley) began clamoring to expand the court. Joe Biden, for his part, is now mumbling something about rotating courts, rotating justices, or anything that sounds halfway coherent.

Aside from that, as I have already noted, I think the debate went well for Trump. More people are now aware of who Hunter Biden is and what he is all about. More importantly, people are waking up to Joe Biden's involvement in his son's shady business deals with China and Ukraine thanks to the infamous laptop. Now the internet is filled not only with those compromising emails, but XXX-rated videos of Hunter playing hide the baloney with various bimbos while smoking what certainly appears to be crack. We shouldn't hold that against Old Joe, but the business stuff with China and Ukraine? And to think that Trump was impeached over a phone call in which he asked the president of Ukraine to investigate it all.

And don't think that 60 Minutes interview by Leslie Stahl hurt Trump. I viewed the version that Trump released. You don't see Stahl's face, and her voice is not very audible, but she acted outrageously. All she did was argue with the President. When Trump brought up what was done to him during and after the election and the Hunter Biden mess, she claimed that both were unverified. 60 Minutes can yell all they want about Trump ending the interview early, but Stahl's comportment was embarrassing.

On the foreign policy side, Trump also scored a victory this week with Sudan agreeing to normalize relations with Israel. 

One other thing gives me encouragement. The crowds turning out not only to see the President speak, but just to demonstrate their support in other cities, are amazing. The polls, just as they did in 2016, are telling us that Trump trails, but something is happening that we don't see in the polls and certainly not in our disgraced media. Old Joe, meanwhile, if he even holds an event, can't draw much more than his Secret Service protection detail. Are we really going to elect this tired old man, who is drifting into senility, who is now mired in a serious scandal, and has as his running mate, a radical leftist with the charm of Hillary Clinton? I don't know, and I won't know until next week, but this past week has given me encouragement.

Joe and Hunter Biden: Where Is the News Media?

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

This article first appeared in New English Review. 

This week, in a truly shocking development, a CBS reporter named Bo Erickson actually asked Joe Biden to comment on the revelations surrounding a laptop purported to belong to his son, Hunter. Former Vice President Biden, who was boarding an airplane, was clearly agitated and refused to comment, calling it a "smear" and basically insulting the reporter.

"I have no response. I know you’d ask it. I have no response, it’s another smear campaign, right up your alley, those are the questions you always ask.”

That is about as close as the mainstream media has come to trying to find out the truth about the laptop and the alleged emails to and from Hunter Biden indicating that he was trading on his father's name in order to do business with China and Ukraine. Other than Fox News, the New York Post, which broke the story, and Mr Erickson, our media is trying its best to bury this story.

CNN continues to ignore the story while trying to deal with the latest in their own embarrassing stories with one of their talking heads, this time, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who is "taking some time off". Over at MSNBC, Joy Reid used it to bring up a hit piece on President Trump's children while calling the Hunter Biden story, "fake".

Meanwhile, over on Capitol Hill, Adam Schiff (D-CA) is calling the story another Russian government disinformation piece designed to interfere in our election. Never mind that he has no basis for making such a charge and zero evidence to support it. In rebuttal, the FBI and Justice Department have gone on record this week stating that there is no "Russian connection" to this scandal.

Here is something else that is worth noting. Neither Biden nor his campaign has made any specific denial that the laptop in question (which was turned over to the FBI) belongs to Hunter Biden. Nor are they denying the emails that have been reported. The most that Joe Biden has said to this point that I am aware of is that it is a "smear" and that neither he nor his family has traded on the Biden name as has been alleged. Wouldn't you expect those type of specific denials from Joe Biden? And where is Hunter Biden these days? Where are the reporters camped out in front of his house? Does anyone even know where to look for him?

Of course, the Bidens know that there is a living witness to the story-the computer repair shop owner, who saw the material on the laptop and who apparently stands ready to corroborate everything. It has also been revealed this week that there is a receipt with Hunter Biden's signature on it. Joe Biden also knows that the laptop in question is in FBI custody and has been referred to the US Attorney's office in Delaware.

What we have not heard from Biden or his camp is a statement along the lines of: "the laptop in question does not belong to Hunter Biden", or, "the emails that have been reported are false". He might also throw in something like, "any reports that the laptop shows Hunter using crack cocaine and engaging in sex acts are false". None of that. Instead, they are attacking Rudy Giuliani for his role in the turning over of the material.

As far as the alleged meeting in 2015 in Washington with a Burisma official named Vadiym Pozharskyi, the Biden camp has stated that a review of then-Vice President Biden's schedule reflects no such meeting as being scheduled. That is hardly conclusive. Unscheduled meetings happen all the time with Washington officials. 

Then there is Joe Biden's reference to the CBS reporter about the "smear". It's an ugly word with all sorts of negative connotations, but sometimes, a smear can be true.  For example, when people bring up Monica Lewinsky and her affair then-President Bill Clinton, that is a smear against Clinton-but it is a true smear. So Joe Biden calling the story a "smear" is not really a denial.

Of course, all this is going to be asked of Joe Biden in Thursday's debate, right? It's the elephant in the back of the room, and it should be the first question asked, right?  Don't get your hopes up. The debate is being moderated by pro-Biden Democrat Kristin Welker of NBC. In addition, the Commission on Presidential Debates intends to cut off the microphone of the candidate(s) when "appropriate". So if Welker says nothing about the Hunter Biden issue, and Trump tries to bring it up, we can now look forward to his microphone being cut off. 

And then there are social media giants, Facebook and Twitter, trying to short-circuit any discussions about this story while they "fact-check" it.

And to cap it all off, should Biden win this election, once the new administration comes into office and a new attorney general sets up the new Justice Department, we can rest assured that any further investigation of Hunter Biden will quietly disappear-just as the on-going investigations into the corrupt practices of the Obama administration in trying to take Trump down before, during, and subsequent to the 2016 election- will also quietly disappear.

An old colleague of mine once said decades ago, "the only thing the people need to know is the ball scores". That thought may now be coming true. At least we will know who won the World Series.

MPAC's Virtual Town Hall on Bigotry

 Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Last night, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) held a virtual town hall against bigotry (their words, not mine). The featured participant was Senator Bernie Sanders. So far, no problem although I would add that Sanders' presence shows MPAC's attachment to the far left. It is the remaining participants who raise eyebrows if your town hall is supposed to be against bigotry. Here is MPAC's Twitter announcement:

 https://twitter.com/mpac_national/status/1316059105178521602

First of all, why would people like Keith Ellison, Ilhan Omar ("It's the Benjamins, Baby") and Rashida Tlaib be participating? All have had charges of anti-Semitism leveled against them. Ellison, who has a history of troubled relations with the Jewish community, has never satisfactorily explained his history of association with the Nation of Islam and its leader, Louis Farrakhan. Tlaib's open opposition to the Jewish state of Israel, critics charge, has often crossed the line into anti-Semitism.

As for Dr Abdul El-Sayed, I hope somebody asked him why he made such a fuss over an Israeli actress being chosen to play Cleopatra in a movie instead of an Egyptian actress. Just asking since the topic was supposed to be against bigotry.

Finally, I would ask Senator Sanders, who I have no reason to call a bigot, why he would appear with such a cast of characters.

Reza Aslan on the Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

 Hat tip Newsthud.com

No sooner has Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, and the left is already promising more violence if President Trump and the Republicans in Congress try to fill the seat. One of the most obnoxious statements is coming from Muslim activist and UC Riverside professor Reza Aslan. Here is what he tweeted.

Really, Professor?

Of course, UC Riverside administrators will no doubt decline to take any action against Aslan citing his right to freedom of speech especially on his own personal, social media. I myself am not advocating he be arrested. However, given the actions recently taken against professors at places like Cornell and UCLA who merely criticize Black Lives Matter or refuse to give special test breaks to black students, UCR would be well advised to at least consider what statements like Aslan's do to their reputation as a university. This is a guy who has a history of threatening to punch people in the nose-not to mention eating human brains on TV. I myself have seen this arrogant twit speak twice in person, and take it from me, he is a strange duck indeed.

                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                    Aslan in happier times

No doubt there will be more threats of violence coming from academia and other quarters, more than I can keep up with. All it does is sully the memory of Ginsburg, by all accounts, a decent person to whom we should be paying proper respect  even if we disagreed with her judicial philosophy.

 

Anti-Jew Hatred Rally in Los Angeles September 7

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com



Yesterday, I reported that a rally is planned September 7 in Los Angeles as a protest against Jew hatred. I have updated information, which I am cutting and pasting below. The event is supported by The Lawfare Project and is a response to recent incidents at the University of Southern California (USC).

The Lawfare Project is providing legal support to the new social justice movement #EndJewHatred. It is a civil rights movement dedicated to ensuring Jewish liberation and justice through peaceful direct action. The movement is organizing a protest to #EndJewHatred on campus, specifically the bigotry taking place at the University of Southern California (USC). The protest will take place on: Monday, September 7th from 3 PM – 5 PM PDT Location: The corner of S Fairfax Avenue & W 3rd Street in Los Angeles (The Grove) Protestors are demanding that Rick Caruso, Chair of the Board of Trustees at the University of Southern California, act now to #EndJewHatred at USC. He has supported other ethnic groups, and is now being asked to support the Jewish community. In recent months, many Jews across the United States have rallied to support racial justice causes. Jews have been at the forefront of campaigns for equality because we know how important it is to secure liberty and justice for all. But none of these campaigns has been a movement that seeks to end unjust discrimination against Jews. #EndJewHatred is that Jewish civil rights movement. Visit www.endjewhatred.com to discover more about their important work. Their mission is to eradicate Jew hatred from culture once and for all. Please spread the word about this important movement and the protest on Monday with your friends and colleagues. History has taught us that, if Jews do not stand up for ourselves, no one else will. We at The Lawfare Project appreciate your continued support. ×

The Lawfare Project is a global network of legal professionals that contribute their skills, time, and expertise to defending the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and pro-Israel community, and fighting discrimination wherever they see it.

The Latest Outrage From Portland

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


Hat tip Legal Insurrection





What is happening in Portland and other cities is past the point of saying, "Enough is enough"! Now we see the sickening video of a Black Lives Matter/Antifa  mob in Portland, dragging a white couple out of a truck and beating the man senseless, perhaps even killing him. You can read all about it and watch the sickening video at the below link from Legal Insurrection. It is graphic.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/08/portland-blm-mob-causes-man-to-crash-beats-him-unconscious/comment-page-1/#comment-1077475

Keep in mind that the editor of the above blog, Professor William Jacobson of Cornell University is under intense fire for his past criticisms of BLM.

I am sick and tired of seeing this senseless violence in our cities while police are told to stand down and are being defunded and even abolished as we speak. It is time for the police, National Guard, and military, if needed, to go in there are take back our streets-by any means necessary. These are people who need to be put away for a long time.

Make no mistake: If Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are elected, these forces of anarchy will take over our entire country. If Biden and Harris are elected, and the Democrats keep the House and take over the Senate, it's goodbye to our democracy.

And the rest of the world will quickly follow. Just look at Europe today.

Vote. Vote like the survival of our county depends on it-because it does.

Defending the indefensible (the Steele Dossier)

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


Hat tip American Greatness

“The dossier holds up well over time, and none of it, to our knowledge, has been disproven,' wrote Chuck Rosenberg and Sarah Grant in a judgment that did not hold up well over time." 
-Chuck Rosenberg and Sarah Grant
December 2018

I am cross-posting an article by Julie Kelly  in American Greatness. It regards a December 2018 report published in Lawfare, a project of the liberal Brookings Institution think tank which actually defended the notorious Steele dossier. The report was authored by Chuck Rosenberg and Sarah Grant.

https://amgreatness.com/2020/07/23/brookings-institution-a-key-collusion-collaborator/

Mr Rosenberg, as noted by Kelly, was a US Attorney (Eastern District of Virginia), a high-ranking FBI official under former director James Comey, and later was appointed acting administrator of DEA. At odds with the Trump Administration, he stepped down in 2017. More recently, he has been one of MSNBCs legal contributors.

While I was long-retired from DEA when Rosenberg took over, I do know that he was not well-regarded within the ranks of the agency. Not only is he not missed since his departure, he seemingly doesn't even want to be identified as having served as DEA administrator.

Perhaps, Rosenberg and Grant should have waited until Robert Mueller came out with his report in April 2019 because we now know that the Steele dossier has not held up well over time. It was the product of a highly biased ex-British spy named Christopher Steele, who, by his own admissions, hates President Trump, and who under oath in a British court, could not attest to the accuracy of his own report. His work, which was based on sloppy, uncorroborated hearsay from dubious Russian sources, was actually financed and paid for by the DNC and Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The FBI, even though they had ample reason not to trust the dossier and Steele himself, used it as a basis to obtain a FISA warrant on Carter Page, who was connected to the Trump campaign. The architects of that warrant (Comey, Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe and others) were colluding to destroy Trump as a candidate then as president-elect and finally as sitting president-all based on the lie that he and his campaign were colluding with Russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 election. Mueller's investigation failed to support any of the alleged charges. Subsequent revelations through release of FBI documents showed far worse details of what the FBI and Justice Department did to try and bring down a duly-elected president. That is just the first course. We now await the report of investigation by Attorney General William Barr into government misdeeds.

In all, time has shown that the article by Rosenberg and Grant is embarrassing-to themselves. As for Rosenberg, it buttresses my opinion of him as a partisan political hack. MSNBC is a fitting place for him.

"The Most Important Election of our Lifetimes"? Yes, it Really is

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
garyfouse.blogspot.com


 seems like the past 20 years or so when presidential elections and/or mid-terms roll around, we are told by our pundits and political leaders that it is the most important election of our lifetimes. In spite of our occasional electoral mistakes, the country has survived. This time, I fear that November 2020 really will be the most important election of our lifetimes.

Who we elect as president and who we elect to the Senate and House of Representatives is going to have a huge impact on the direction this country is going to take.  It is no longer just a choice between liberal policies and conservative policies because the liberals, represented by the Democrats and a presidential candidate who is clearly drifting into senility, has gone so far to the left that they literally want to tear down the country and start all over.

What do I mean by "tear down the country"?

The last election brought people into government (Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others) who truly despise the country and want to tear down the system. Omar said that as recently as this week. She and Tlaib are Muslim extremists and anti-Semites who oppose our alliance with Israel. They are ample proof of why we fear increasing  Islamic influence in our politics and our culture.

Now, with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which no decent person is defending, we have gone back to the images of 1968. This time, it was not just riots and deaths, but an abject surrender of our police, mandated by their Democrat mayors and governments while shops were destroyed, synagogues attacked, police, Jews and whites physically attacked, and in the cases of Seattle and Minneapolis, precinct stations evacuated and handed over to the raging mobs of Antifa and Black Lives Matter. This was followed by demands to either de-fund or abolish the police. Laughable, you say? The Minneapolis City Council voted to abolish their entire police force. Other cities like Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York are massively cutting police funding. Police officers, totally disillusioned, are retiring and quitting in large numbers. And in virtually all of our major cities, the mayors are Democrats. These cities have been solidly in the hands of the Democrat party going back decades, and they are never held accountable by the voters.

In the streets of certain cities, it is open season on whites, be they men, women, children, or elderly. All in the name of "racial justice". How has it come to this, that after so many decades of progress, we are now back in the 60s with white and black citizens viewing each other with fear and distrust?

Now we have dopey TV personalities like Nick Cannon openly and publicly discussing with rappers why whites and Jews are "sub-human". Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, Desean Jackson, has trashed Jews publicly. The reaction from the National Football League? Yawn. The Black Lives Matter organization, in spite of their benign-sounding name, openly talks trash about whites and Jews, praises Marxism, and shows itself to be nothing more than a supremacist organization hiding behind the mask of human rights.

And who is standing in the background applauding all this hate and lawlessness while egging them on? Not only Democrat politicians like Nancy Pelosi, but the media, the universities, and Hollywood. They will do anything-even keep our societies and economy shut down over the Covid virus- in order to defeat President Trump.

And don't be misled by Joe Biden's long history in Washington as a center-left moderate. He is folding like a house of cards as his mental capacity becomes weaker. Green New Deal? De-fund police? Sure, where do I sign? Joe Biden will be putty in the hands of the far-left wing, which is taking over the Democrat party. Odds are that he will not even finish his four years in office, which means say hello to whatever woman he chooses to be his vice presidential running mate, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, or some other nightmare.

Nothing I have said above should be construed to suggest that I have given up on race relations in America, and neither should you. Not all blacks are buying into BLM, and I for one, will never forget the blacks I served in the military and federal law enforcement with. Never forget the black men who laid down their lives for this country, especially in the Vietnam war.

I am not a Republican. I have never belonged to any political party, but we must turn out in record numbers in November and support President Trump and the Republican party. You may not like Trump, but hold your nose in that case because the alternative is much worse. We cannot allow these forces to take over our country under the banner of the Democrat party.  I have usually been cynical on this point, but this time I really believe that only Trump, the Republican party, and We the People stand between the loss of our democratic freedoms and the eventual collapse of our great country.

For God's sake, vote.

The Red-Green Alliance on Campus

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


This article first appeared in New English Review.


We hear a lot of talk these days about the so-called "red-green alliance", which describes what I would call as the marriage of convenience between the radical left (red) and Islamists pushing the Islamic political agenda (green). Why red and green? Because red is the color of communism while green is the color of Islam.  I expect, given the way the world is going, particularly the US, that we will hear much more on the red-green alliance in the years to come.

Perhaps, nowhere is this alliance more in evidence than on our politically-correct university campuses across the nation. Having taught for 18 years (1998-2016) on a major university campus (UC Irvine), I had a chance to see the growth of this alliance up close and personal when I began attending the ever-present anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian events (as well as their own disruptions of pro-Israel events).

Make no mistake: The pro-Palestinian movement, which includes BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions), has  found solid support from the left, which does not  hesitate to engage in their favored practice of "intersectionality", a convoluted thinking process that links every world problem (real or perceived)  to each other, especially the Israeli-Palestinian  conflict. The most glaring example of this today is the theme that black Americans are being oppressed to some extent by Israel based on the fact that some American police have received training from their Israeli counterparts in counter-terrorism. For example, Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis cop who killed George Floyd, was not  taught that choking tactic by the Israelis (or anyone else in law enforcement), but it was revealed that some Minneapolis officers had received some sort of counter-terrorism training by Israeli police at a 2012 seminar in Chicago (which means absolutely nothing).

So the Palestinian movement and Black Lives Matter have discovered each other. You will see Palestinian flags at BLM protests, and BLM, the organization, has publicly voiced its support for the Palestinians. It is an example of how anti-Semitism has pervaded the ranks of BLM as perfectly exemplified by the May 30 pogrom in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles where synagogues were defaced with "Free Palestine" graffiti, Jewish shops were ransacked, and people yelled, "F--- Jews!" out their car windows. Was that in the name of Black Lives Matter or the Palestinians? Take your pick. It is a classic example of the cynical drive by Islamist activists to connect with other so-called victim groups.

Returning to the campus, however, it is here that intersectionality is actually being taught to our kids by leftist professors, especially those opposed to Israel. Of course, they won't talk about the intersectionality between anti-Israel campaigns and anti-Semitism. Their response is that it is not anti-Semitic, per se, to oppose Israeli policies, which is partially true depending how one acts out or speaks out that opposition. That is a topic for a different discussion. Suffice to say, I have personally seen and heard how opposition to Israel has spilled over into Jew hatred on campus.

It is on our campuses that anti-Israel agitation is at its worst, and, indeed, the skillful activists for the Palestinian cause have succeeded into making the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into one of academia's biggest hot button issues, as if that conflict impacts the lives of your average college student in America. Every year, student governments have to spend hours and hours debating and voting on resolutions supporting BDS. As more and more Muslim students get into student governments (while Jews are often kept out), it is insured that  BDS resolutions will be brought up over and over until they pass.

The two biggest purveyors of the pro-Palestinian campaign on campus are Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the various chapters of the Muslim Student Association-or Muslim Student Union as in the case of UC Irvine. SJP was co-founded by then- San Francisco State student-now UC Berkeley professor, Hatem Bazian, who for years, has been accused of making anti-Jewish statements. (Unlike the MSA, SJP consists of both Muslim and non-Muslim students). Aside from the Palestinian issue (He himself is Palestinian.) Bazian's other issue is "Islamophobia". He is co-founder of the Islamophobia Documentation and Research Center at UC Berkeley.

The above groups enjoy support from a number of leftist organizations including Jewish Voice for Peace, CAIR, Americans for Palestine (also co-founded by Bazian), and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). The NLG was founded in the 1930s as a legal arm of the Communist Party USA. Name a leftist cause, and they are there to support it, including the recent Occupy movement. You will see them at various leftist demonstrations as "legal observers", distinctive in their lime green baseball caps with National Lawyers Guild across the front. The Palestinian cause is one they are very active in. Their Los Angeles director, James Lafferty, headed up the Occupy LA movement and has spoken at various colleges on behalf of the SJP and MSA-including at UC Irvine, where I saw him speak once.

Incidentally, the NLG has an affiliation with the UC Irvine Law School (a left-wing activist training ground), as they do with many other law schools. The lime green hats have shown up at SJP-MSU disruptions of pro-Israel events on the UC Irvine campus in recent years including one in my presence in May 2017. They were also present that same week at UC Irvine as part of the SJP-MSU annual week of anti-Israel demonstrations.

It is also problematic that these groups also enjoy support from leftist faculty and entire, leftist-dominated academic departments, who love to bring in anti-Israel speakers like BDS founder Omar Barghouti, but will never sponsor a pro-Israel speaker. Those have to be invited by conservative or Jewish student groups-and they can expect to be disrupted. Likewise, universities will invite Muslim speakers to come and spread their disinformation about Islam on campus, but will not invite critics of Islam to speak. Similarly, they have to be invited by conservative student groups-and can expect to be disrupted.

As I have said many times, in the US, the focal point for the resurgence in anti-Semitism is on our college campuses. That aspect of anti-Semitism does not come from white nationalists or white hate groups as they have no currency on campus. It comes from the pro-Palestinian quarter. In my view, the issue is not so much about land as it is about religion. That is why the MSA, who have Muslim members with origins from countries far from the Middle East (like Pakistan, for example) uniformly line up behind the Palestinians.

As for the campus newspapers, they are invariably liberal and politically correct, in fact, embarrassingly so, given the youth and inexperience of the student journalists. The talking points of BLM are repeated as if gospel truth. In covering the Israeli-Palestinian flareups on campus, many campus papers will publish op-eds by both sides, but in doing a "straight news" report, they tend to quote Palestinian expressions like "occupation" and "oppression" without question or qualification.

With few exceptions, American college campuses are almost totally dominated by leftist ideology employing fascist methods of thought control to suppress conservative thought. It spills over into many issues of the day including abortion, political parties, President Trump etc. It also includes issues like Israel and Islamophobia. Unfortunately for Jewish students, anything pertaining to the Israel-Palestine issue impacts them-especially if they support Israel and identify with their Jewish identity. The fact that universities have been so blind to the problem of anti-Semitism on campus illustrates that the campuses support the Palestinian cause as they do every other liberal cause. They also fear lawsuits from groups like CAIR. All in all, it is a perfect example of how anti-Semitism today in America comes mostly from the left.

Of course, there are a few issues, like abortion, women's equality, or homosexuality, where the green cannot align with the red for religious reasons.  The green has been largely successful, nonetheless, in muting the voices of feminist groups or gay rights groups in the US as to the obvious problems that exist for women and gays in Muslim societies. Why are most American feminists and gay activists so silent? Generally speaking, American feminists and gay activists tend to be on the left of the political spectrum. For the left, criticizing Islam (other than terror groups like ISIS) is not considered cool. Islamophobia, you know.

And if you want to know where all this thinking is incubated, it is right on our university campuses where our kids are being taught. The Palestinians, BLM, gays, Islamophobia, Democrat politics, Trump, abortion, immigrant rights, Dreamers, and on and on. It's all one big red and green grab bag.

The Case of Prof. Gordon Klein at UCLA

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


Orange County Rabbi Dov Fischer has written an important piece in The American Spectator on the suspension of UCLA accounting professor Gordon Klein. I am cross-posting it here. Fischer was actually a student of Klein's at UCLA and what struck me was the fact that Klein would never express his political opinions in the classroom. That was the position I took when I taught English to foreign students at UC Irvine for 18 years-though I was very active in causes on campus outside the classroom.

Here is Rabbi Fischer's article.

https://spectator.org/and-now-a-ucla-crucifix-for-prof-gordon-klein-along-academias-appian-way/

There is little to add other than to express my agreement with Rabbi Fischer. We are living in perilous times now. The fascism that I personally observed at UC Irvine, which was tolerated if not encouraged by faculty and administrators, is now in open view on our streets.

Professor Klein crossed the line of political correctness in trying to explain to a student why special consideration should not be given to a certain class of students. In addition to his suspension, he has been threatened and in need of police protection. This is an intolerable situation on our college campuses.

It is ultimately demeaning to black people in general that they should always be given special consideration because of our troubled racial history. Let's be honest: There are many blacks who do not want special treatment, only equal treatment, and that is worth supporting. There are also many paternalistic whites who practice their virtue signalling by demanding that blacks be treated as handicapped children who cannot get through life without help from liberal whites.

Having recently written about the harassment of Cornell Law Professor William Jacobson, I am gratified that Rabbi Fischer continues to follow the goings on in academia because this is where much of this current insanity was incubated.

I'm sure some people must be writing letters to UCLA and the Anderson School of Management, and I plan to join in. If you wish to support Professor Klein, you may write to:

Dean Antonio Bernardo
UCLA Anderson School of Management
antonio.bernardo@anderson.ucla.edu

Gene Block
Chancellor
chancellor@ucla.edu


Please be respectful.


*Update: Below is the text  of the email I have sent this evening to Chancellor Block and Dean Bernardo:

Dear Chancellor Block/Dean Bernardo,

My name is Gary Fouse, and I am a former adjunct teacher at UC Irvine Extension (English as second language). I am writing to express my deep concern over the suspension and overall treatment of  accounting Professor Gordon Klein. 

As you know, we are living in difficult times, and the Klein issue is connected to the unrest we are experiencing today stemming from the police killing of George Floyd. As a retired law enforcement officer (DEA), there is no way I can justify the police action that caused Mr Floyd's death. I support the prosecution, and I support the peaceful protests. What I do not support is the violence and rioting that has ensued. Nor do I support thought controls especially in academia. We should not be training our children to become fascists. What are UCLA students to make about what is happening to Professor Klein? 

The fact that Professor Klein refused to grant special treatment to his African-American students is no cause for the actions taken against him, not just his suspension, but threats against him that require police protection. That is unconscionable on a university campus.

I would hope that the suspension of Professor Klein will be reconsidered.

Respectfully,

Gary  Fouse

Last Night's Riot Coverage

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


Aside from going out to dinner last night, I spent the evening transfixed in front of my TV set switching back and forth between Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and local Los Angeles channels watching the riots across America. How sad. Three people dead in Indianapolis, a shop owner in Dallas possibly beaten to death, a cop in New York  hit by a brick and suffering a fractured skull, and a  Molotov cocktail thrown into a police vehicle in New York with four cops inside. True, thousands of protesters came out to rightfully protest the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, it was all hijacked by the thugs who took advantage of the tragedy to loot and burn.

And don't blame it all on black people. Many of the rioters were white and brown. Aside from Black Lives Matter, there is also Antifa, a national organization of anarchist thugs, who are overwhelmingly white. Many mayors and police chiefs are saying that many, if not most of the rioters were from out of town or out of state. No doubt there is some degree of national coordination going on here.

In terms of coverage, Fox mostly focused on the outrage of the violence and destruction, as they should have. At the same, they did not minimize the gravity of the Floyd death, and they acknowledged that most people had come to peacefully protest. I had no problem with the CNN coverage until Don Lemon came on and all but became hysterical on the air calling out the names of famous  people who (according to him) have been silent. In fact, Lemon at times, made it sound like it was all about him, referring to previous statements he had made calling out celebrities. He went on to ask why these celebrities "were not assisting these young people". After repeating that several times, he finally added that he was not referring to those carrying out the violence. His interview with Kamala Harris was sickening as she laid the blame on America.

But even that paled compared to MSNBC, which focused entirely on bad police, American racism, and, of course, Trump. MSNBC talking head, Ali Velshi, a Canadian, while broadcasting on the street from Minneapolis, spent half the time reporting and half the time editorializing about American racism and racist cops.

Last night was an Oktoberfest of university professors and liberal journalists pontificating on the evils of America.  In short, American journalism took another hit last night. Virtually all of the networks made the mistake of referring to those engaged in violence, burning, and looting as "protesters".

That is in no way meant to defend the actions of the four Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of Mr Floyd, especially the one who knelt on Floyd's neck. I expect some sort of charges will be also brought against the other three. Being retired law enforcement myself, I am on several retired law enforcement chat sites, and nobody there is defending the actions of those cops.

In this case, protests are warranted, and I support the legitimate protesters, not just their right to protest, but their anger as well. That support does not extend to the rioters. That support does not extend to those on television who want to indict all police officers. From what I saw, police all over the country were acting with professionalism and restraint. They are paying the price for the actions of four cops in Minneapolis.

Two Names on a Wall (Annual Re-Post)

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com





As I have done in recent years on Memorial Day, I re-post an article I wrote in December 2007 after hearing that the Vietnam Memorial had been defaced. The article concerns two of my high school friends who gave their lives in Vietnam.
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http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2007/12/two-names-on-wall.html
Dorian Jan Houser (1946-1967)
Michael G Vinassa (1946-1966)


The recent news that someone had defaced the Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington served to bring back my memories of two of my childhood friends whose names appear on that wall. Mike Vinassa and Dorian Houser were both from west Los Angeles, where I also grew up. We belonged to the same high school social club. All three of us entered military service after high school. I was assigned to Germany; they were sent to Viet Nam. I returned and went on with the rest of my life. They died in Viet Nam. Forty years later, with our country once again at war and American soldiers sacrificing their lives for America, we should also remember those that gave their lives in Viet Nam.

Dorian

I first knew Dorian in the 1950s. He and his brother, Lee, played on my little league team. Their father was our coach. Later, my relationship with Dory continued in school. In high school, we both belonged to a club called the Chancellors of Venice. As was common in west LA, there were many (off-campus) clubs formed for social purposes. We all had our club jackets, with the name of the club and locale (Venice or WLA) embroidered on the back. The colors of the clubs varied (ours was green). As we ended our high school days, these clubs disbanded as we went our separate ways-off to college, work or military service. In Dory's case, he entered the Marines in 1966, and after training, was sent to Viet Nam. On May 10, 1967, one month before his 21st birthday, he was killed in Quang Tin. He was hit in the chest by shrapnel and killed instantly.

I happened to be home on leave from Germany when we got the news that Dory was dead. I was able to attend his funeral before returning back to Germany. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it after all these years, but I chose not to wear my uniform to the funeral, simply because I was afraid his family might react emotionally to it. I have always regretted that decision.

Dory was the kind of guy that no one could dislike. He was friendly and unassuming. Needless to say, his funeral was a sad and emotional event. In the last couple of years, I have visited his grave a couple of times since my mother-in-law is interred in the same cemetery. About a year ago, I came across a posting about Dory by his sister. She described her brother and was looking for anyone who knew Dory and remembered him. I answered her post, but the email is no longer valid. As yet, I have not been able to contact her.

Mike

Mike Vinassa was also a member of the Chancellors. He was a stout, barrel-chested kid with a big tattoo on his shoulder, something unusual at the time for someone so young (still in high school). Needless to say, he was tough and didn't mind a good fight. Most other kids knew not to mess with him, but among his friends, he was well-liked. I remember one night we were at a party and he wanted to (playfully) roughhouse with me. We started slap-fighting and wrestling on the front yard of the house, and (somehow) I was able to throw him to the ground and fall on top of him. As you may know, innocent roughhousing among teenagers can easily turn into a real fight, and I remember thinking that Mike might suddenly get mad, so I rolled over and let him get on top, thus letting him win the match.

After high school, I went on to complete 2 years of college before I entered the Army. I basically lost touch with Mike and Dory at that time.

I had recently arrived at my post of duty in Germany when I came across Mike's name while reading the Viet Nam obituaries in the Army Times. It wasn't until several months ago that I learned the circumstances of Mike's death, which occurred on May 22, 1966.

Mike was a member of C Co, Ist Bn, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cav Division (US Army). Ironically, Mike was a short-timer, soon to return to the US, and, on that day, assigned to non-combat duties. Yet he insisted on accompanying his unit on a final combat mission in the Vinh Thanh Valley. It was on that final mission, that Mike lost his life-under heroic conditions. He personally led a group of his comrades in charging and taking out a machine gun nest that was pinning down his unit, but was fatally shot in the process. For his actions, Mike was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. His sole survivor was his mother.

In subsequent years, I have been able to find both their names on the Viet Nam Memorial. (I was living in the Washington area at the time.) As stated, I have visited Dory's grave, but as yet, have not identified Mike's cemetery. When I look back at my life after the Army, I contemplate how I finished college, began my career, got married, had children, retired, and now find myself in my 60s. But as I looked down on Dory's grave, I realized that he and Mike are frozen in time-forever 20 years old. I wonder what became of their parents, the rest of the families.

In a sense, today's soldiers are more fortunate than those who went to Viet Nam. The overwhelming majority of the American people greatly respect them (with the notable exception of the usual mindless idiots who are not worth further mention in this essay). Soldiers returning from Viet Nam were often subject to despicable treatment from those of their own generation who did everything they could to avoid military service. Once the Viet Nam War ended, the country wanted to forget about it as quickly as possible-after all, it was just a tragic period in our history. We also forgot about our Viet Nam veterans who came back alive-in so many cases, as walking wounded. They deserved so much better from us. They are still among us, and in many cases, still wounded.

All of us who lost friends or family members in Viet Nam should try to keep their memories alive and honor them. God rest their souls.

Michael G Vinassa- Panel 07E, line 104
Dorian Jan Houser- Panel 19E, line 082--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, I received a Facebook posting from Judy Houser, younger sister of Dorian Houser, in memory of her brother. It is moving, and since she has granted permission to use it, I would like to share it with you this Memorial Day weekend.
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"I want to share with all of my Mar Vista friends, my memories of my big brother, Dory Houser (Dorian Jan Houser), who was killed in action in Vietnam on May 10, 1967. He was seven weeks shy of his 21st birthday. I was not quite 12 years old. Some of you knew him. We all went to St. Augustine’s and Dory went to St. Bernard’s for one or two years, then to Venice High where he graduated in 1964. He was a great guy, a great brother. He was cute, he was funny, he was honest, he was sweet, and he was a rascal, and smiling most of the time. And he had such cute freckles that the rest of us didn’t have. He had three little sisters that he loved, and we had so much fun, we were always playing. He was so good to us. He used to call me “squirt”.

Dory also had a serious side, like most young men who were facing the draft. He had a very high draft number but made the decision to join the Marines rather than go in the Army, maybe because our dad was a Marine in WW II.

Dory was left handed, was a great athlete, and played a lot of baseball. We lived on Westminster Place which is a cul de sac. My brothers (Lee and Dory) and neighbor kids would play ball on our street because hardly any cars drove on it. Dory would always let me use his baseball mit because I’m also left handed. It was so big on my little hand, well worn in, and it was like a huge hug every time I wore it.

Yesterday I opened the box that has all the letters my mom wrote to Dory when he was in boot camp, in Oceanside. And in the box were all the letters he wrote to us. Once he got to Vietnam I think we only received two letters from him. We all lived in fear, waiting to hear something, anything. It was such a horrible feeling, the waiting. Reading some of the letters yesterday was crushing to my heart and soul, all over again. I’ve read these letters so many times over the years but yesterday I just couldn’t finish. It does not get one bit easier after all these years. Losing my big brother was the greatest loss in my life and it altered me as a human being, forever.

I know that everyone here was impacted by the Vietnam war. A lot of you were in the service, men and women, and many of you went to Vietnam, Germany, and maybe other countries, sometimes serving more than one tour. Strange to call it a tour.

I know this is a somber post, and it’s very painful to write. I want this post to be about Dory and all of you. Please feel free to share anything you’d like on this post, on this Memorial Day weekend, as it relates to Memorial Day. I think of Dory often, whatever the day may be. Maybe we can all heal just a little bit more.

This is the best place I can share my memories of my brother, with my Mar Vista peeps. You are the best! Love to all of you.

My mom often used to say “the Mar Vista boys” like she was referring to the Little Rascals, but she was also talking about the men they became, or didn’t get the chance to become. I always knew exactly who she meant, it was endearing and felt safe, like she was talking about all my big brothers.

Peace.

Judy Houser

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Thank you, Judy. May Dory, Mike, and all the others who sacrificed their lives in Vietnam rest in eternal peace.