I compose on X with greater facility than here on BackChannels because the urge to explain the state of affairs has been reliable provoked and the publishing, so far, decisive and immediate. The impact, however, feels low, and the site overall appears untrustworthy, more the tool of the bigot from South Africa’s power than representative of the power of responsible and truthful media. Be that as it may, I’m still active on the X platform but very tired of relaying and repeating the truth about Donald, his criminality, and his pirating the state for himself.
The Constitution emphasizes equality for all beneath the law and forbids the establishment of a relationship between the state and any church, mosque, synagogue, or other symbol of faith. ALL are free here to practice their faith — in private and at private expense — in a civil and lawful manner.
The United States is a Christian-majority state, but it is not a Christian state by law or even exclusively so within the spirit of its laws. It’s true inheritance may be characterized as “Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian”. To the extent that Islam has borrowed from Judaism and recognized Christianity and in the better aspects of the Qur’an, say those emphasizing freedom of religion (“There is no compulsion”) and integrity (Muhammad’s emphasis speaking the truth), we’re good as a secular humanist society.
If one were to take the coldest view of the political science attending “Allahu Akbar Terrorism”, it would be to note that each attack has naturally promoted traditional patriotic nationalist and religious responses. “Damned Arabs, damned Muzzies” shouts a part of the public and off it goes to Brexit in one state and resurgent white bread Christianity in another.
The truth about that comfortable extremism — often our own! — may be anchored elsewhere.
Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan told Al-Monitor, “The Meshaal-Lavrov meeting shows Russia’s interest in the Palestinian cause and comes as a continuation of the periodic meetings held by Hamas with regional and international parties. However, there were no discussions in the meeting regarding the possibility of Russia playing the role of a mediator to reactivate the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, although Lavrov and Meshaal have stressed its importance in general.”
This blog also may be searched for “Russia, anti-Semitism” for further enrichment — but as much may return this note to the wisdom of secular governance and its producing for all of its constituents equality under the law and zero, zilch, nada, never ever compulsion to either choose an “official religion” nor feel intimidated in the classroom or anywhere else as regards having by way of choice or legacy a different minority path.
Track the themes – 1, 2, and 3 – and have your say as I’ve had mine.
Intervening and other variables:
— President Elect Trump may be getting the education through briefings that he seems not to have had when standing before the public as Candidate Trump.
–President Elect Trump has not “stepped off” as President in either action or words.
IF in his foreign affairs he gives NATO full support and continues blocking neo-imperial Moscow at Crimea and continues the struggle with Syria, good, but if he caves to his authoritarian narcissism in the manner of Erdogan and Orban, we may never recover our meaning or stature — and Moscow will happily continue spreading its absolutism and the chaos and destruction it pushes ahead of itself.
Not only America but the free world — EU, NATO, the “democratic open societies of the west” and other democratic societies worldwide — have worries with President Elect Trump.
Those who have suffered beyond imagination in Syria in relation to Bashar al-Assad’s shaping of that war into “Assad vs The Terrorists” exist today inside a purgatory special to totalitarian Hell, a place between Assad’s sadism matched by Moscow’s own and its military presence, and, sigh, “The Terrorists”, whom Assad helped developed (go ahead and click and look over the points and references made the earlier BackChannels post).
Ukraine, which “leaned west” in its revolt against Viktor Yanukovych and his manner of little black book keeping, works with a different problem, i.e., Moscow’s occupation of Crimea, but it has the same worry: what does America mean today? What does and what will “Washington” represent in the spectrum of politics between “political absolutism” — autocracy, fascism, kleptocracy, totalitarianism — and a responsible and responsive democratic governance possessed of integrity?
L., in our so-far cooperative, democratic, open society (let’s all memorize the phrase), Americans may purchase just about any firearm they wish — and then some.
Note that I said “just about” because efforts by gun-control advocates may (or have) imposed some limits on high-magazine automatic firearms, a move that immediately spurred sales of the AR-15 class of weapons and related munitions.
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Peterson inquired about the tank on the lawn. “It’s an M1A1, from World War II,” Clancy said, gazing over at it. “My wife gave it to me for Christmas.”
“Geez,” Peterson said, “how much does a tank cost?”
“I don’t know,” Clancy replied with a slight smile. “Do you ask your wife what your Christmas presents cost?”
The American landscape is dotted with militia and sporting gun clubs and their ranges, and that includes private Muslim compounds as well as the enclaves of good ol’ Christian boys. In principle, what is legal and allowed for one group must apply equally to all, and that’s what we do. It takes the commission of a crime for the government, any level, to get into the business of a person or organization, gun owner or gun club.
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Where there are brakes involving the private ownership of firearms, the laws focus on behavior (required registration, training certification, etc.) rather than ownership.
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Finally, for the Facebook short-form of writing, lol, small home defense to corporate security involves a lot more than the mere possession of a weapon. As we have a reliable police force, outbound emergency communications count a great deal in any incident; as most American violence of interest involves domestic and personal issues (and alcohol), the paths to battery and murder may get far along and out of reach of both a weapon or telephone device; as regards break-ins, the fearful-with-guns often make mistakes involving their perception of intrusion and fatal accidents involving loved ones take place.
Perhaps the underlying threats in a peaceful land are largely psychological — and so are the comforts of owning some hardware.
In Pakistan, you are perhaps out on the edge of a wild frontier, but even so, what are the crimes that would be forestalled by the robed man of the house descending a staircase with a revolver? Would it not be better to call the police and retire to a safe room?
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It may be a fair test of American democracy and the values of the people that, overall, we are armed to the teeth and haven’t even one mainline domestic issue sufficient to launch even one general internecine low-intensity conflict. Instead, from time to time, organizations on the political fringe arm up, go “off the hook”, commit a crime or several — assassinations, bank robberies, bombings, etc. — bringing on a thorough reaming by the FBI and the invitation to sit in an electric chair or look forward to “three hots and a cot” for life.
This, which was inspired within correspondence this morning, may be more revealing than I like, and yet should even one Democratic or Republican stalwart read it, it might do a little something (I believe in the pebble in the pond, the outbound ripples and the reflection of their energy off the surfaces they encounter).
Beneath the surface of the two-party systems, Americans may pick up on the necessity of building a new, more centered political machine. This last election became not only obscenely polarized but silly in its inability to distinguish between true issues and trivia. I hate to say it, but I think Obama got in on women’s rights, which I support, liberal morality, which I support, and a politics of inclusion, which I support, and such have been the hallmarks of the Democratic Party. These idiots drifting off to Hezbollalaland and running up their numbers to as much as 50 percent of that party essentially block me from supporting the party.
As investments support my sorry ass, I have also got my feet planted in the other camp!
My wallet tells me it’s really a Republican.
And then Jewish identity, character, and ethics tell me neither of these parties are working for me. Or representing me. The Democrats least of all; the Republicans not much.
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