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.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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