Some Sober Weekend Thoughts

Read this:

The voice recordings from the doomed aircraft reveal that as the jet began its rapid descent, the passengers were quiet. There was probably some nervous laughter, confusion, a bit of comforting chatter with seatmates, followed by a brief period in which anxiety had not yet metastasized into terror. 

It was only near the end of the 8 minute plunge that everyone finally understood what was really happening. Only near the end when they began to scream. 

Like those passengers, a growing number of Americans feel a helpless dread as they come to the inescapable conclusion that our nation's decline is an act of choice rather than of chance.The choice of one man who is in full control of our 8 year plunge. 

A man who has locked everyone out.

I can only imagine how my friends in Israel must feel as we hurtle toward the abyss. William Krystal yesterday spent some time with Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the rapidly shrinking Free World, and wrote this:

But counting on prominent and wealthy Jewish liberals to speak up against their friends in the face of existential threats to the Jewish people has never been a good bet. Benzion Netanyahu saw this up close in June 1940, when mainstream American Jewish leaders boycotted his mentor Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s speech in New York when Jabotinsky sounded the alarm about what was happening in Europe. 

Now his son, Benjamin Netanyahu, is sounding the alarm about what is happening today. He has made the case, in my view irrefutably, that no friend of Israel can support the forthcoming deal with the Iranian regime. Nor is such a deal in any way in the broader American national interest. Yet a misguided American administration is on a path to choosing dishonor and setting the stage for future wars. It is up to American leaders in both parties and all walks of life to do their best to avert this outcome. And if it is left to Israel to act, the least Americans can do is support our democratic ally, just as the least Americans could honorably do in 1940 was support Britain as, in her finest hour, she stood and fought alone.

This is a more analytical article from Edward Morrissey at The Fiscal Times that helps explain our situation and puts it in context:

It has become abundantly clear that Obama wants a deal for the sake of claiming a foreign policy achievement, no matter what the cost, and no matter what it does to our allies, especially Israel. The situation is reminiscent of another confrontation between Western powers and an extremist dictatorship that professed its own destiny to rule the world, and where the dictator even wrote out his plans for world domination and practically begged everyone to read them. 

In both cases, Western leaders told themselves that the extremist rhetoric was only intended for domestic consumption. Also in both cases, they treated with contempt their allies whose very existence was threatened by the new hegemon, who kept breaking international agreements and stalling negotiations until the West appeased them by betraying those same allies -- even locking their democratic allies out of the negotiations. 

At least Neville Chamberlain learned his lesson after Munich, albeit far too late for the Czechoslovakians, Eastern Europe, and millions of Jews. Obama and Kerry seem determined to repeat those same mistakes. That can be described many ways, but smart power isn’t one of them.

I don't know…I do think if you're not worried you're not paying attention. I think we might talk a little bit about prepping this Wednesday…

…and meanwhile, on the Home Front...

...from The New Yorker, America's arbiter of progressive thought, this "thoughtful" piece from the inestimable Lena Dunham titled, "Dog or Jewish Boyfriend?" Here's just a yummy sample:

13. He doesn’t tip.
14. And he never brings his wallet anywhere.
15. He came with me to therapy once and was restless and unexpressive.
16. When I go out of town on a business trip, he sleeps with a pair of my underwear.

I can just imagine the editors at The New Yorker rolling on their asses laughing when this came in! "Man, Lena really nailed it this time! Jews are like dogs!" Maybe glance around the swank New Yorker offices, make sure that none of the [fingers make quote marks in the air] "wrong" people are listening. After all, there's always been something…off-putting…about those Jews…their funny little hats and their crazy prehistoric diet rules…the way they lord it over those poor Palestinians…and they're so greedy…it's like those big noses only smell money! It's getting easier and easier to understand why our President doesn't want to deal with those…Jews...and that filthy little man who leads them.

Sadly, not everyone agrees with our progressive opinion-makers...

4. To dehumanize people, one of the first steps is to call them non-people or animals. The whole “Jew and Dog” thing, in my mind, is pretty played out. But Lena, you’re not the first one to think that the two should be addressed in the same piece, or equated to one another. You don’t even have to go as far back in time as Nazi Germany to find people equating Jewish people to dogs. I mean, look at this nice café in Belgium just last year that posted a sign saying, “Dogs are allowed in this establishment, but Jews are not, under any circumstances.” Also last year, a Turkish café in Istanbul posted a sign saying “Jew-dogs” are banned from entering. So all around the world, there are not-so-nice people who equate Jews and dogs. Welcome to their ranks, Lena. Are you proud to be there?

That's from Jordana Horn, who up until yesterday counted herself as a fan of Ms. Dunham. Never mind that…I'm sure Ms. Horn will come around…

Or else.