I'm writing on battery power, with the electricity having been cut off at 7:00 a.m. I suppose the authorities figure that with sunrise, people should no longer have to depend on heating, and if you happen to have forgotten to boil your water early on a Sunday morning, that's tough for you. Not a good way to live.
This country has so much potential, but is being destroyed by: 1) anarchy; 2) corruption; 3) radical trade unions and political parties; 4) left-wing elites. The solution is to return to enforce laws and return to the practical, common-sense solutions that people -- regardless of race, gender, or political affiliation -- end up embracing when times are tough, and often too late to prevent real damage.
I still think South Africa has a very important role to play in the world. Not just as an example of what not to do, though I have written about that; not just as an example of how things can be turned around, which I have also written about; but also as an example of exactly what needs to change if western civilization is going to save itself from its enemies and from self-destruction.
I think one of the things that made Rhoda Kadalie so special is that she followed a revolutionary path until she saw revolution, then realized that what needed to be preserved was more important than the radical changes she hoped to make. She saw through race, gender, ideology -- all of that. She saw that western civilization, for all its flaws, was worth saving and that the task was urgent.
I think the turning point in South Africa is where revolution and redistribution are set aside in favor of the embrace of rules -- laws to be enforced, boundaries to be followed in private life. I think that leaves plenty of room for change and dynamism and fun. But it's because of the boundaries that we can have all of the good things, all of the progress and joy of life. The boundaries do matter.
It is important that the group previously dispossessed and victimized comes to that understanding, however grudgingly. It is also important that the group that previously benefited from an unjust system accept responsibility -- but without endless guilt. When they, too, defend the rules and principles without a sense of shame, there is hope for turning South Africa -- and America -- around.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
