Joel Pollak
Politics • Lifestyle • News • Travel • Writing
I will share my thoughts about American politics, as well as current events in Israel and elsewhere, based on my experiences in the U.S., South Africa, and the Middle East. I will also discuss books and popular culture from the perspective of a somewhat libertarian, religiously observant conservative living in California. I will also share art and ideas that I find useful and helpful, and link to my content at Breitbart News, Amazon, and elsewhere.
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The James Madison election

I'm as frustrated with the presidential debate on Tuesday night as anyone -- though not, perhaps for the same reasons that other conservatives are.

I never expected Trump do destroy her. Here's what I said on Sunday:

"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."

What I had been telling Trump to do (indirectly, and publicly) is to ignore her and speak directly to his voters. Don't try to "win"; understand that there is no winning these things anymore. Just use the platform to reach your base.

He didn't do that. He tried to win, and he got pummeled by the moderators and outrun by Harris, who evaded every important question -- are you better off than you were four years ago? when is it too late to have an abortion? etc.

There won't be another debate because Harris did the best she could by looking strong. She probably didn't sway any voters in the middle -- and she isn't trying to do so. She's just trying to fire up her own base, and ABC helped her do it.

(Once again, as I've been saying: you can get mad over media bias, and it's important to document it, but just remember that the media are doing their job -- which is not to tell the truth but to turn out the Democratic voter base.)

So -- what next? I think Trump scored some important points on the economy and so on, but he's never going to have another opportunity to address America as a whole. He has to fire up his own supporters, and many are demoralized.

What's next, therefore, is this: if you want Trump to win -- and many of us need Trump to win, because we have our lives literally on the line -- then you, and we, are going to have to push him across the finish line ourselves, regardless.

He's amazing -- he stood up with his fist raised when he was shot in the head. That's an example for us to follow -- but it's not something one individual can sustain, on his own, forever. It's time to act, to inspire, to encourage, to vote.

President James Madison comes to mind. Madison is my favorite Founding Father because of the way he sat at a desk for months, studying, before creating the architecture of our Constitution. As a writer, I just love that.

But he was a poor president (though Dolly Madison remains the best First Lady, in my opinion). Madison led the U.S. into the War of 1812 against Britain, which may have been inevitable but was also foolishly begun, and nearly lost.

He won -- and the country survived -- largely because Americans like Andrew Jackson, and his volunteers, stepped up to fight, and did so in ways that the British never anticipated. Madison's presidency was saved by his countrymen.

And so -- if you want Trump to win, or need Trump to win (and I think we need it more than Democrats need Kamala to win), then you can't just wait for him to do it for you. You have to make it happen -- whatever you think that means.

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What else you may like…
Videos
Posts
Time-lapse sunrise at Temescal Falls
00:00:17
This is what is left of my special place in the forest

Burned, then covered in mudslides and rockslides. The river still flows through it. But we have lost so much. I have to believe the spirit still lives on.

00:00:16
The drive home 💔
00:00:46
Weekly Torah reading: Shlach (Numbers 13:1 - 15:41)

This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).

It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.

We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.

The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.

But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...

Weekly Torah portion: Beha'alotecha (Numbers 8:1 - 12:16)

This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).

I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.

https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2495737&jewish=Behaalotecha-Torah-Reading.htm&p=complete

Weekly Torah reading: Naso Numbers 4:21 - 7:89

This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.

https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm

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