A Jewish Scorecard: Trump vs. Sanders

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called “A Jewish Scorecard: Trump vs. Sanders.”

In nine months, we will go to the polls again to elect the next President of the United States. Right now, it’s looking like it will be Donald J. Trump versus Bernie Sanders. What is the scorecard of these two men when it comes to the State of Israel⁠—the Jewish homeland that we have returned to after 2,000 years of exile, persecution, and deep yearning, and where the majority of the world’s Jewish people currently reside?

In the end, no candidate is perfect, and each has their own critical flaws. However, you, as the voters will need to tally the score for yourselves and decide who will be President in 2020 and what that means for this country as well as for the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

(Photo: Adapted from Flickr post by The White House (Public Domain) and Linda Sarsour’s Twitter account profile picture)

Remember 9/11 + The Global War on Terror

Just thinking about this lately…

How quickly we forget what happened on 9/11.

After 2001, we said:

9/11 was “the day that changed everything” and we shed blood and treasure on a global “war on terror”

In 2019, radical American politicians are:

Referring to 9/11 as “Some people did something”

Laughing at Americans for fearing ISIS

Refusing to condemn terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda or Sharia practices such as female genital mutilation

Calling for Open Borders and Sanctuary Cities, including not cooperating with Federal law enforcement

Promoting Socialism over Democracy, including healthcare for illegal immigrants and forgiving all student loan debt

Urging the release of jailed Muslim Brotherhood terrorist leader 

Endorsing corrupt Venezuelan dictator, Nicholas Maduro rather than the democratic opposition.

Blaming the U.S. for “thousands of Somalis killed by American Forces” during Black Hawk Down

Saying “It’s all about the Benjamin’s baby” and supporting anti-Semitic, anti-Israel practices like BDS

Comparing Immigrant Detention Camps to Concentration Camps

Reflecting on a “calming feeling” when thinking about the Holocaust

I hope all Americans will realize the absolutely frightening enemy within that our nation now faces and votes accordingly in 2020.

Border Security – The Facts

So in this longest of U.S. government shutdowns, one thing that is missing from the debate are an articulation of the facts. 

All I hear day-in and -out is that President Trump wants to build a wall or barrier on the Southern border because there is a crisis. And the Democrats in turn say it’s not necessary, it’s a waste of money, and even that it’s immoral, and that they will resist Trump!

But this is not a reasoned debate!

Who cares who wants what and who hates who in politics.

We need to be presented with a solid communication of facts, figures, and why should we support a position or not. 

Yes, an endorsement by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is helpful, but the opposition can just claim partisan politics. 

So here are some simple facts to inform the discussion:

Gun Trafficking:

– Over 253,000 guns annually cross the border from the U.S. to Mexico.

Drug Trafficking:

– Cartels send $64,000,000,000 of drugs annually from Mexico to U.S. 

Human Trafficking:

– Between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked annually into the U.S. 

Gang Members:

– Almost 6,000 gang members in 2018 were deported by ICE.

Illegal Immigrants:

– The U.S. and Customer and Border Protection apprehended more than 500,000 illegals trying to enter in 2008, and there are between 12 to 22 million illegals in the U.S, today. 

Looking at these numbers, I am not sure how anyone can say that the current border situation is secure–it isn’t. 

So whatever we are doing with agents, sensors, surveillance, intelligence, inspection, and interdiction –no matter how good it is–it is not enough. 

Certainly a request for Border Wall funding for $5 billion out of a $4.4 trillion dollar budget and placing barriers on hundreds of miles out of a 2,000 mile border, does not seem at all extreme!

While I do not like to be on a government shutdown, I certainly don’t see why this can’t be resolved with some reasoned border security funding that includes among the other security measures, a wall/barrier. 

A strategically-placed border barrier only stands to reason in a layered defense/system of systems approach to security. 

For some of those that don’t want the wall, and only want votes from a broken immigration system, this is a fight for power, rather than a genuine argument on how to help secure the country. 

(Source Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)

Trump Is Right On The Border Wall

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “We Need To Stand Strong On The Wall.“

By themselves, walls do not work to fill us spiritually or protect us physically. Rather, they are a necessary component in a normal and healthy toolbox for living our lives. Spiritually, we need to not just pray toward the holy wall in Jerusalem, but we must augment this with following G-d commandments–doing good in our service to Hashem and in how we treat others. Likewise with protecting us physically, we need a strong mix of “gates, guards, and guns.” A wall is a critical component of our overall spiritual and physical well-being and protection.

 

Until Mashiach comes and the temple is rebuilt and there is peace on earth, we need to pray to the Western Wall (Kotel) for our spiritual well-being and have border walls to protect us physically.

 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

At The Border: Immigration Or War

So it’s interesting how this whole immigration crisis is playing out in real life and simultaneously on TV. 

In real life, we have a caravan of thousands of people marching from Central America (Honduras and Guatemala) to the U.S. border seeking asylum, mostly for economic reasons. 

On TV, we have the Last Ship Season 5, where South and Central America are at war with the U.S., “no longer willing to sit at the children’s table of international politics,” and they are coming to the U.S. to fight.

In the U.S. today, there are over 40 million people that were born in another country.  Of these, there are over 12 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S. (55% from Mexico), and we know that we need immigration reform.  

In the truest sense, we are almost all of us immigrants to this country, with ourselves or our families coming over at one time or another, and we are grateful for the generosity and open doors that allowed us to come here and make a good life.

Of course, we want to pay it forward and give others the same asylum and opportunity that we had and which they as human beings deserve. 

Yet, the country continues to debate the mix of compassion and giving to the oppressed and needy versus the merit principles for bringing in needed skills, talents, and investment, and how many is the “right” number to allow in at any one time.

In real life, we are beefing up border agents, building a wall, and calling in the military to halt the illegal flow of immigrants, so that we can channel immigrates through a process and vetting that leads to legal and safe immigration to this country

On TV, we are fighting in the air, on land, and at sea an alliance of countries from the south and central that want to take over the U.S., and we are also holding our own and holding them back.

In both cases, we need to have and maintain borders to be a sovereign country, to protect our country, and to ensure that caravans of illegal immigrants or foreign troops are not crossing the border and doing harm. 

It’s high time for true immigration reform that is compassionate yet principled, but overrunning the border isn’t an option that is practical or fair.  😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Stop Playing Politics With Our Security

Another terrorist attack in NYC, not far from the World Trade Center, now memorial!

Radical Islamist mows down pedestrians and bicycle riders in a bike lane along the West Side Highway. 

– 8 innocent people dead.

– Another dozen wounded. 

Now, the Mayor and pundits say, ah maybe we should’ve had barricades up there so someone with a darn truck couldn’t do this. 

And better double up on security for the Halloween parade tonight and NYC Marathon on Sunday.

Well, as they say:

“Better late than never!”

And so it is with our nation’s borders.

As the President tries to erect a border wall and to restrict visas from countries that have not put in the necessary screening security, certain lawmakers and liberal judges keep blocking these actions. 

They don’t want to discriminate against anyone, which I agree is a noble cause. 

However, as every news station was reporting again tonight, the terrorist in NY today was shouting in Arabic that G-d is great!

This was not an innocent vehicular accident. 

There ARE people out there that want to kill us and inflict serious harm on our country. 

To those people that continue to fight rational, reasonable security measures to protect our homeland and our citizens, I say to you:

You have blood on your hands!

And unfortunately, we can rest assured that our enemies are planning plenty more to come in their incessant attacks on the West (may G-d have mercy on us).

It is time for the people of this country to demand security…to insist on a border wall…to assert our right to restrict visas to those countries that won’t ensure proper screening procedures. 

How long will we wait–how much blood will be spilled–before we stop playing politics with national and homeland security! 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Gorgeous Border Wall

Hey, I’m not for erecting walls when there is no need for them.

Who instead doesn’t love to build bridges–full of peace and brotherhood, definitely. 

But after 9/11 and the ongoing, endless wave of global terrorism and serious threats that we are confronting (including from WMD), let’s face it…we need secure borders.

This is called common sense security, and it’s been highly regarded and employed throughout history and all around the world. 

That doesn’t mean that good people don’t come in…only that we have a thoughtful and effective way to work to filter the bad people out. 

Anyway, it seems that the bake-off of border wall prototypes has yielded this brilliant design.

If it’s truly rugged and includes intelligent border security mechanisms such as sensors, surveillance cameras, biometrics, and so on, then this could be an awesome looking and functional option.

Time to stop the bickering and time to start moving forward with security. 😉

(Source Photo: here with attribution to True Pundit) 

Needed: A Giving Hand With Smart Border Security

While we should certainly help immigrant refugees and those in need, we also need to provide adequate vetting and border security for our people. 

This does not mean that all immigrants are bad or that we are mean or paranoid, bur rather that we need to take smart and measured precautions in the dangerous times we are living in.

Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other such brutal terrorist organizations have shown they mean murderous business, and they are vowing to strike at the hearts of America and the West.

So while we open our hearts, we can’t close our eyes!

Safeguard America and the good decent people already here, and at the same time be merciful and giving to immigrants, but don’t sacrifice one for the other. 😉

(Source Graphic: Andy Blumenthal with photos adapted from here and here and with attribution to the New York Times and Alan Silver)

When Little Girls Are Not Princesses

Normally, little girls dream of and are treated as the beautiful princesses that they are. 

But not in Rockville, Maryland last Thursday, where a 14-year old, 9th grade girl was brutally raped by two immigrants (17- and 18-years old) in the bathroom of their high school. 

She was mercilessly raped multiple times “vaginally, orally, and sodomized.”

One of the attackers had previously been detained at the border, but then released as per the lax standards of border security that were in place by the prior administration. 

It is incredible that as a superpower nation, we have not secured our own borders and our homeland. 

Unfortunately, there are many stories like this, and I personally know of a girl from the Bronx who was similarly raped in the stairwell of her school. 

Forget education or competitiveness, when we can’t even provide a safe and secure school environment for our children. 

It is not a strength to let our enemies gain the upper hand, but rather a weakness of our national character–to let bleeding hearts undermine our security.

Sure, we must be empathetic and caring for all people, but this must come hand-in-hand with proper vetting and due precautions. 

Every child in the United deserves to be a princess and a prince, and no one here legally or illegally should be allowed to destroy that present or future. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Depends On Who You Ban

So the alt-left and media are all aghast at President Trump placing a temporary travel ban from 7 muslim-majority nations for national security reasons!

That’s out of more than 50 majority Muslim nations in the world or less than 14%.

And these were the countries identified by the former President Obama as the “countries of concern” because of terrorism!

See the 7 nations (out of 50+) highlighted below:

Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Brunei
Burkina Faso
Chad
Comoros
Djibouti
Egypt
Guinea
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Libya
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Mauritania
Mayotte
Morocco
Niger
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan
Syria
Tajikistan
The Gambia
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Western Sahara
Yemen

What is also unbelievably amazing is that 6 of these 7 Muslim nations with a temporary ban from President Trump, plus 10 more countries, for a total of 16 Muslim countries have a permanent ban placed on Israeli Jews!

Where is the alt-left and media outrage about this travel ban on Jews?

Oh, apparently for the alt-left, compassion, dignity, equality, and human rights don’t apply to Jews today any more than they did during the Holocaust where 6,000,000 were left to die in a genocide at the brutal hands of the Nazi’s.

To them, a permanent ban on Jews is apparently fine and national security of the United States who cares–that’s what talking out of both sides of the mouth is all about.

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)