I don't think anyone can really understand the government shutdown that is supposed to begin on Sunday. I understood the 2013 shutdown in protest against Obamacare; I'm not sure I get what is going on this time. Something about Matt Gaetz. Or Ukraine.
I would look into it, but I've stopped caring enough to write about it. Shutdowns happen; Republicans (usually) get blamed; we move on.
I think we're also numb to the stories (some of them legitimate) about hardship caused by these temporary interruptions in pay and government operations. There are private-sector hardships all the time. No one writes about how terrible it is not to get a paycheck on time, or at all. You're expected to suck it up, and most people do.
I'm sure it will be resolved. Ukraine needs its money, after all.
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 ...
