A Personal Story on Israeli Independence Day

full article here

It is always refreshing to hear people express national pride, especially from a country so demonized by many. In my opinion, people do not have enough pride for the country of their birth, or of their homeland (in the case of Sara Miller). Happy Independence Day, Sara.

Independence Day / I am a Zionist and I am proud

By Sara Miller

"I'll give you six months," said a close relative the day before I packed my life into two rucksacks and schlepped them 2,000 miles from Britain. A decade on, I'm still here, and proud to be an olah vatika (veteran immigrant). Even within Israel the concept of Aliyah for Zionism's sake is often an alien one. Young Israelis in particular cannot understand why someone from an evidently prosperous country, with a culture-rich and progressive society and which is relatively terrorism free, would choose to throw it all over, leave their family and friends and move to a country so riddled with internal problems and violence. My motivation can be summed up in one word. Zionism. In recent decades Zionism has become a dirty word in the world. It has been used as an insulting and disrespectful collective noun for the Jewish people, shorthand for the State of Israel within the context of its conflict with the Palestinians and even a synonym for the settlement movement.

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Ironically, I found it is the Israeli working class, beset as it is by economic hardship, which seems the most accepting and understanding of my decision. Their pride in the homeland is real, joyous and unrelenting. Israel is where I belong. This is where Jews belong, whether they live here, visit or simply feel a spiritual connection to the place. It is the embodiment of thousands of years of aspiration, through pogroms, persecution and genocide. Not that I was the victim of any real anti-Semitism in my life in Britain, but there are always ominous undertones.

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I may well be a product of my environment in Britain - Jewish youth movement, Jewish education, Jewish home - and there are many things that disturb, scare and sadden me about Israel, such as its inability to reconcile to the reality of our Palestinian neighbors, its capricious attitude to war and the religious intolerance from secular and religious Jews alike. But here I am. This is my tenth Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut as an Israeli. It's been frequently tough, sometimes lonely, occasionally frightening, but never a cause for regret. I am always in Rabin Square for the siren for the dead, and for the dancing for the living. I am a Zionist, and I am proud. This is my country and I love it. Here I will remain.

Sara Miller is the editor of Haaretz.com

Jim McDermott: Proud to Steal for His Constituents

Though I am not surprised, I am still sickened. I guess it is pretty much par for McDermott to crow about grubbing even more pork, despite the current state of economic affairs. Way to show some integrity, Jim.

McDermott's website

Rep. McDermott Announces His Earmarks in Omnibus Legislation

March 11, 2009 - Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) today released a comprehensive list of federal earmarks he requested and/or supported as a Member of the Washington delegation that were included in the Omnibus legislation passed in the Senate last night. The legislation had already passed the House of Representatives, and the President indicated today that he will sign the bill into law. Overall, 32 earmarks are associated with Rep. McDermott and they total $18,695,000. The independent Taxpayers for Common Sense ranked Rep. McDermott #150 in the House of Representatives.

Obama and Government

This is an essay I wrote, not long after Obama was elected. It was too long to be submitted as a 'Letter to the Editor' so, it languished on my harddrive for all these months:

What’s so cool about government, Mr. Obama?

Over two hundred years ago, our forefathers fought to throw off the yoke of excessive governance, and become free citizens of a free and independent nation. The unfair taxes, trade restrictions, and quartering troops in private homes, pressed a yoke down upon their necks to the point that they could no longer bear.

Out of that style of governance, the Founding Fathers crafted a new style of government. In doing so, they understood that government was a necessary evil. Thomas Jefferson eloquently stated that governments are necessary to secure the rights endowed upon us by our Creator. Those men rejected the idea of excessive government (tyranny, to be specific) to forge this great nation.

Mr. Obama believes it his duty to “…make government cool again.” When was government “cool”, to begin with?

I doubt any of the signers of the Declaration thought it “cool” to sit in Philadelphia, away from homes, fields, and families, hammering out agreements and all but putting nooses around their necks as they signed the Declaration.

Did President Lincoln consider government “cool”, as he sought to bind our young country together, as it battled to come to grips with the rights of the States and the responsibilities to the Republic? Maybe “coolness” swept over him as he stood on the field at Gettysburg, where some months before nearly 8,000 Americans had been killed and another 27,000 wounded.

Did a recently-promoted President Truman feel hip as he ordered the Enola Gay to begin her flight towards Japan? I presume not, in both cases.

What does Mr. Obama mean, then? Does he mean being a part of something dynamic, exciting, and new? Imbued with ‘hope’ and ‘change’, perhaps? I can think of several such occasions, throughout history, which might fit that bill.

The French Revolution brought about a complete disposal of the absolute monarchy and a descent into the Reign of Terror. A “cool” time, if you were a Jacobin, I suppose. The Russian Revolution was another exciting time, if you were on the winning side. Is Mr. Obama exhorting us to join his side, as the “other side” will not be much fun?

In our own history, we can look back on FDR’s New Deal as a time of excitement, dynamic change, and experimentation; if you were on the right side. Being a part of the Brain Trust, or in the upper tiers of the alphabet soup of administrations or programs, must have been pretty exciting (hoping that your wacky ideas would work). Imagine having an entire country on which to test your pet theories! How cool would that be? LBJ’s Great Society was another dynamic “America-as-Petri-dish” time for government programs (many of which still exist).

A similar thread weaves through these examples, with the exception of the Great Society, and that is they all came about out of societal or economic turmoil. Additionally, each of these instances involved a growth in governmental reach and power.

In the American examples, higher taxes and larger governmental programs came about which limited freedom, choices, and affected the marketplace. Is this what’s “cool” about government, Mr. Obama?

A grander, more intrusive government is what our forefathers desired to escape when they sailed to this land, and our Founding Fathers succeeded in throwing off that yoke. In their doing, a system was created in which any man can pursue his dreams, build a future, and chart his own path, with minimal resistance.

Mr. Obama seeks to change that and, by doing so, change the fabric of this great nation. That, Mr. Obama, does not sound “cool.”

GW