This week, I'm back in sunny Los Angeles -- remember last week, when I was near the action on the Israel/Lebanon border? Crazy stuff -- and I'll be looking at what the recent congressional votes mean for our politics, going forward.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected after a revolt, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), against Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), ostensibly because McCarthy had become an emissary of the DC establishment, the "uniparty."
As I noted at the time, McCarthy had passed a continuing resolution to fund the government without including funding for Ukraine. This was something the rebels overlooked. (I said Johnson would end up funding Ukraine; I was right.)
Anyway -- on Friday, Johnson pushed through a vote to reauthorize the much-abused FISA; and then on Saturday, he pushed through a bill to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, while Democrats waved Ukrainian flags on the floor.
He had to do all of that with Democrat votes, as he did not have the majority of his caucus behind him for the FISA or Ukraine votes. So where does this put the GOP in the middle of an election year? We'll try to figure that out.
We'll also discuss the latest in the Trump trial in Manhattan, with the jury now fully selected. What are the prospects for a conviction, or a hung jury? An acquittal seems out of the question, given the venue. But we'll look into it.
We'll also discuss the Biden administration's decision to sanction an IDF unit that is composed of religious soldiers. It's a bizarre decision that sends all the wrong signals during wartime and could even put American soldiers at risk.
I'll also interview my cousin, Adrian Perkel, who has written a new book about the psychological roots of aggression. Aggressors often perceive themselves as victims; so in a conflict, how do we decide which side is really the victim?
Finally, we'll discuss the Passover holiday, the Jewish festival of freedom, which starts Monday night. This year, Passover is particularly poignant, because there are actual Jewish slaves in Gaza. Their freedom is an urgent priority.
Special guests:
- Matthew Boyle - Breitbart News DC editor, on Congress and the fallout
- Ken Klukowski - Breitbart News legal editor, on the Trump trial in Manhattan
- Adrian Perkel - clinical psychologist and scholar, on the nature of aggression
- Rich Goldberg - Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, on sanctions
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
