I have spent 3 days in rural Texas. It's completely different from California -- flat as far as the eye can see, as the Great Plains roll from horizon to horizon. And there's a kind of freedom here -- the ability to do basically what you want, however you want.
That includes the freedom to do some things that ought not be done. We drove by a new suburban housing development that was... super ugly. Identical homes, bunched close together, no character at all, barely any space between the homes -- with so much space around!
I'd call that the downside of Texas. (That, and the heat and humidity in the summer, plus the cold in the winter.) I was reminded of the downside of California, too, when we were working with a tractor and had to remove a device that was required by California regulations.
This device is theoretically supposed to stop gasoline from spilling, in accordance with California law. But it doesn't work, so tractor owners remove it, meaning there is more spillage than there would have been otherwise. I guess you could call that "California stupid."
The orderly life envisioned by California's utopian politicians and is falling apart, because it's not really something made for human beings. (It's also expensive.) Texas is thriving economically -- but it's not the easiest place to live. You have to have some patience.
I wonder if this whole Texas vs. California distinction is even worth observing anymore, given that we are all seeing so more and more of our economy to be dictated by China. Will we raise up our own ways of life, or start building our lives around a new, distant metropole?
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
