This week, we'll be focusing on the 2024 election. I'll start with a few points.
1. The situation is exactly as I expected: a close race, with Democrats having a slight edge and Republicans needing some surprises. That is how it will always be, in any situation in which Republicans actually have a chance to prevail.
2. Kamala Harris has a losing strategy: left-wing running mate, no stated policies, rhetoric that insults half the country, pandering to the left, etc. She is not going for independents; she's mobilizing the Democrats' left-wing base.
3. Trump doesn't yet have a winning strategy. Winning, for Trump, means being able to motivate Trump voters to participate in a process they consider to be rigged, and giving them hope of achieving victory, as well as a vision of victory.
Right now, Trump isn't doing #3 yet. I offer my book, THE AGENDA, as a solution. But really -- Trump can win this thing. If he gets his act together.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/164821116X
Special guests:
Scott Johnson -- expert on Minnesota politics, founder of PowerLine blog
Dylan Gwinn -- Breitbart News sports editor, on the Olympics and the NFL
Charles Jacobs -- founder of the African-Jewish alliance, on the Middle East
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET (4-7 p.m. PT)
Call in: 866-957-2874
My son’s Little League All-Star team won a tournament yesterday. He went 2-for-2 with a single (here) and a double, both solid hits.
This is probably the biggest week of the election. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will face off in the first (and probably the only) presidential debate of 2024. It's also one of Harris's few unscripted appearances, raising the stakes.
What do I think will happen? I've been saying the debate doesn't matter -- that Harris's supporters will simply see the debate they want to see, and will focus on male/female dynamics. Trump supporters, too, will overlook any of his mistakes.
But Harris has a lot at stake. If she comes across in a presidential manner, she could shore up what looks (at the moment) to be slightly sagging support. If she fails, she will likely boost Trump's momentum. There won't be second chances.
Based on past debates, I think she will do fine. She has considerable presence onstage, and will come across as officious and dignified. She has no doubt been practicing her talking points and will deliver them. So I don't foresee collapse.
However, I have not been particularly impressed ...
This week's portion begins with Moses's instructions to the people to set up a judicial system in the Land of Israel. Moses given the people other instructions, including about monarchy, rules of war, relations among neighbors, and more.
There is the famous line: "Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving you." (16:20). That line is often misquoted as a justification for "social justice" -- often by people who are not terribly enthusiastic about modern-day Israel possessing the land of Israel.
We are so preoccupied with the adjective "social" that we forget about the noun "justice." There's no "social justice" in the Torah -- just "justice justice."
Justice is the noun, and justice is the adjective. Justice -- defined by what we deserve. If we do right, we deserve good; if we do wrong, we deserve evil, and only our prayers and repentance and charity can do anything about it.
...
