Recognizing Jerusalem
When is your capital, not really your capital?
If you’re the nation of Israel this isn’t a ridiculous question.
Even though their capital is Jerusalem, most of the world just acts like it’s not. Why? Well, we wouldn’t want to make terrorists angry, would we?
Today President Trump is expected to announce his decision about whether or not to keep the American Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Trump’s intention is to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the embassy there.
Logistically, it’s a move that makes sense. It's also conveniently the truth. Now, symbolically, it’s going to piss off a bunch of terrorists who hate the Jews. But, guess what? We don’t base our policy on the wishes of terrorists that hate Jews. Or at least, we don’t anymore.
I’m glad Trump is finally standing up to the decades of bullying.
By recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the United States is sending a clear message that threats of violence by the Palestinians and others in this area will no longer be tolerated.
It’s also sending the message that official US policy should not be ignored.
Let’s go back to a time when Bill Clinton was in office for a second.
In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act that required the American embassy to relocate from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Let me say that again * REQUIRED * the embassy to relocate to Jerusalem. In that act, it states that Jerusalem should be undivided and recognized as the capital of Israel.
Oh, and just a side note, that act passed 93-5 in the Senate and 374-37 in the House. The move can only be canceled if we overtly stop it every 6 months. And we’ve done just that, every 6 months, for 22 years.
It’s a law that is 22 years late in being enacted. It’s embarrassing that it has taken this long and it's a slap in the face to our trusted ally.
It needed to be implemented then, and should certainly be implemented now.
If Trump actually follows through on this, it’s a brave move that he deserves a lot of credit for.
And if he does, Israel will finally be able to let everyone know that their capital is really their capital.
Russia Banned From the Olympics
Each night during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Dr. R waited for delivery of the list. The list contained names of Russian athletes so elite and on top of their sport, that they had to cheat by taking steroids.
Just after midnight, a secret signal told Dr. R it was time to go to Room 124, the secret room built by the Russians attached to Room 125 – the gold room. Not where the Olympic gold medals were stored. This room held liquid gold. This was the Olympics’ urine sample lab.
Once Dr. R was in place, another Russian official in the gold room passed urine samples through a secret hole in the wall. He had to have good aim, but once he calibrated, a steady stream of urine – samples mind you – flowed through the hole in the wall to Dr. R. Then, because these were special, Swiss-engineered urine sample bottles, Dr. R passed them to a Russian F.S.B. agent who wizzed – I mean, whisked them to a secret building nearby where the tamper-proof bottle caps were completely tampered with.
A few hours later, the bottles were returned to Dr. R, with the caps magically loosened. Now Dr. R got to work, emptying the bottles, cleaning them, and replacing them with non-steroid urine. Then the bottles were slipped back through the hole in the wall to Room 125, and voila, Vladimir Putin got to have his cake and eat it too – hosting the Olympics and winning 33 medals – a third of which were won by Russian athletes who were part of the government’s elaborate doping program.
It was all fun and games, until two whistle-blowers – one of whom was Dr. R – blew the tamper-proof lid off Russia’s doping scheme. Yesterday, for the first time in its history, the International Olympic Committee banned Russia from participating in the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Vladimir Putin says this is just a U.S. conspiracy in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in our presidential election last year. Yeah, I don’t think America cares that much about the Winter Olympics, but nice thought.
If I were the International Olympic Committee members, I’d look into joining the witness protection program, like Dr. R already has. He is currently living in an undisclosed location in the U.S.
Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. Russia can. But you can’t.
Time Person of the Year
Time just announced their Person of the Year: The Silence Breakers.
It sounds like a band name for a boy band, but I digress.
The Silence Breakers are the men and women who have finally come forward to talk about the sexual misconduct or assault they experienced at the hands of powerful people.
By speaking up about their assaults at the hands of Harvey Weinstein and others like him, Time claims that these victims have humbled and humanized Hollywood. They write, “Movie stars are supposedly nothing like you and me. They're svelte, glamorous, self-possessed. They wear dresses we can't afford and live in houses we can only dream of. Yet it turns out that—in the most painful and personal ways—movie stars are more like you and me than we ever knew.”
It's a fitting homage by Time given the past three months of nonstop allegations. But I have one problem with it.
Juanita Broderick and Paula Jones are never mentioned by name in Time’s article.
Does that mean you’re only a silence breaker only if you claimed sexual assault in the past three months?
Woman have been speaking out for years against the powerful people who have abused them. It’s only now that we’re actually believing them.
There are many lessons to be learned from the Silence Breakers.
You are not alone. Even movie stars experience the ugly parts of life. Don’t be afraid to speak out.
If you experience assault of any kind, there is no shame in going to the Police immediately. It’s the most powerful thing you can do.
And as we’ve seen recently, the court of public opinion is a very dangerous place. An allegation doesn’t immediately make you guilty. Let’s continue to hold up due process and ensure justice prevails for everyone.
