Bringing LIBERTY to
Capitol Hill -- 2008
OZARKS
VIRTUAL TOWN
HALL
Saturday Morning, May 17, 2008, 10:30am
|
A Discussion of The President's Saturday Morning
Radio Address
|
Click here
to listen to a replay of the May 17, 2008 Ozarks Virtual Town
Hall |
Notes and Summary of the President's Address -- 60th
Anniversary of the State of Israel
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I'm speaking to you from the Middle
East, where Laura and I are on a trip to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and
Egypt.
When Air Force One touched down at Ben Gurion
Airport in Tel Aviv, I was greeted by Israel's President and Prime
Minister. I joined them in celebrating an historic milestone: Israel's
60th anniversary as an independent nation. And I assured them that
Israel could count on America as a strong and steady ally long into the
future. (continued below)
How the President Differs from the American vision of
"Liberty Under God":
- The Nation-State called Israel is not a force for "Liberty
Under God."
- There was more liberty for a greater percentage of all the people
living in the Holy Land before 1948 (the founding of the
nation-state of Israel) than there is now.
- The United States government was founded on a policy of
non-intervention in foreign affairs:
| The great rule of conduct for us, in regard
to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations
to have with them as little political connection as
possible." |
|
— Washington, Farewell Address (1796) [Washington’s
emphasis] |
| I deem [one of] the essential principles of
our government, and consequently [one] which ought to shape
its administration,…peace, commerce, and honest friendship
with all nations, entangling alliances with none. |
|
— Jefferson, First Inaugural Address
(1801) |
This policy would preclude U.S. intervention in Arab-Israeli affairs.
- No human being has a divine right to forcibly dispossess someone
of his property.
- No Jewish person, nor the "government" of the
"nation" of Israel has the right to use violence or
initiate force against non-Jews to take possession of their real
estate.
- "Democracy" was not a goal
of America's Founding Fathers.
- Nobody who signed the Declaration of Independence (1776) would
have high praises for any government in the Middle East, including
that of Israel; none are "democratic" in the best sense of
that word.
President
Bush's
Saturday Morning Radio Address
|
Another
Perspective:
"Liberty Under God"
|
| THE
PRESIDENT: Good morning. I'm speaking to you from the Middle East,
where Laura and I are on a trip to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and
Egypt. |
|
| When Air
Force One touched down at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, I was
greeted by Israel's President and Prime Minister. I joined them in
celebrating an historic milestone: Israel's 60th anniversary as an
independent nation. And I assured them that Israel could count on
America as a strong and steady ally long into the future. |
Who
Owns the Holy Land?
Jewish
National Fund: JNF Centennial Celebration - 100 Years, not 60
Myths
of the Middle East compare this article with:
Palestinian-Israeli
Conflict For Beginners
|
| During
our visit I had conversations with Israel's leaders about their
efforts to forge peace with the Palestinians,
and our shared belief that a peace agreement is possible this
year. I also had the opportunity to address members of the
Knesset, Israel's elected legislature. I reminded these democratic
leaders that America was the first nation in the world to
recognize Israel's independence. I told them that 60 years later,
America is proud to be Israel's best friend in the world. I
reaffirmed the principles that make our alliance strong: a love of
liberty, a devotion to justice, and a respect for human dignity.
And I said that standing firm on these ideals is the surest way to
defeat the extremists
and build a future of peace for people throughout the Middle East. |
What
is a Palestinian?
Isn't
it true that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East?
Half
a Democracy -- Ha'aretz Daily
Quiz
Yourself on 'Israeli Democracy' - I do not know if all these
statistics are true.
If "extremist" views are the majority in the
Middle East, shouldn't they be the government policy in a
"democracy?"
The Myth of "Democracy" |
| For
Laura and me, this visit to Israel was an especially moving
experience. We toured the Bible Lands Museum, saw the Dead Sea
Scrolls, and visited Masada -- an inspiring shrine to Jewish
courage and sacrifice in the first century. From the window of our
hotel room we had a magnificent view of the Old City of Jerusalem,
home to some of the holiest sites in Judaism, Christianity and
Islam. And on our final morning in the city we met some of
Israel's young people, talented and hopeful citizens who gave me
confidence in Israel's future. |
This belongs on
"the Travel Channel." |
| On
Friday we visited another of America's friends in the Middle East
-- Saudi Arabia. I had a series of productive meetings with King
Abdullah at his farm. We celebrated the 75th anniversary of
diplomatic relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
We reaffirmed our shared objectives of peace in the Holy Land, a
secure and united Iraq and a sovereign, independent Lebanon that
is free of outside interference. We
talked about oil production and gasoline prices. We
discussed the King's efforts to diversify his nation's economy,
and the importance of political reform.
And I thanked him for Saudi Arabia's strong commitment to
fighting terror.
|
The king pointed out that America's gas price problems are a
result of the U.S. federal government, not Saudi Arabia. Bush was
completely impotent in his attempt to compel Saudi Arabia to bail
out the Bush Administration
17 out of 19 of the alleged 9-11 hijackers were from Saudi
Arabia.
|
| Our
final stop is Egypt, where we are visiting the beautiful resort
city of Sharm el Sheikh. I am meeting with a number of key leaders
from the region, including President Mubarak of Egypt, President
Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, King Abdullah of Jordan,
President Karzai of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Gilani of
Pakistan, and several senior officials from Iraq's democracy. |
Iraq is an
Islamic theocracy. |
| I will
also address the World Economic Forum in the Middle East. I will
stress the importance of building dynamic and diverse economies
that unleash the creativity and enterprise of citizens throughout
the region -- especially women
and young people. I will make clear that the only way to ensure
true prosperity is to expand political and economic freedom. And I
will urge leaders across the region to reject spoilers such as the
regimes in Iran and Syria, move past old grievances and embrace
the changes necessary for a day when societies across the Middle
East are based on justice, tolerance, and freedom. |
What if a majority of the people in the Middle East do not want
the creativity of women "unleashed?" Should their
creativity be unleashed by forcing the majority against their
will?
Bush is correct to say that true prosperity is ensured only by
expanding political and economic freedom. Not a single person who
signed the Constitution would agree that Bush has expanded
political and economic freedom during his 8 years in office.
|
| Reaching
that day will not be easy. But with continued leadership from
America and our friends in the region, I am confident that it can
happen. And when that day arrives, the Middle East will be more
hopeful, the world will be more peaceful, and the American people
will be more secure. |
|
| Thank
you for listening. |
|
Kevin Craig's Platform:
Other Resources
There are many resources on the Arab-Israeli conflict, some of which
have interesting information, but many of which are polluted with
stereotypes and violent prejudices. This is a very emotional issue on
both sides. People are killed over this issue. If the United States had
followed the prescriptions of her Founding Fathers, and had remained a
City Upon a Hill, and a Christian nation, we would not be perceived as a
global bully, but might be seen as a respected voice of mediation and
conciliation.
- Bush
Blusters, Iran "Appeases"
Bush is the one who sounds like Hitler; U.S. Warships Stalk Poland
Iran, Iran takes no action
- John J. Mearsheimer, co-author, with Stephen Walt, of The
Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, interviewed
by Macclean's magazine:
"Imagine a situation with a Palestinian state where there's now
the state of Israel. Instead of Palestinians living in the Occupied
Territories, you have Jews living in the Occupied Territories, with
the Palestinian state taking land away from the Jews, treating them
in brutal ways and denying them a state of their own. There would be
a huge outcry in the West, especially in the United States and
Canada. We would go to enormous lengths to put pressure on the
Palestinian state to stop exploiting and brutalizing the Jews, and
to allow them to have a state of their own. But here we have a
situation where the roles are reversed, and the United States and
Canada support Israel."
- The American
Holocaust: Reducing the Jewish Population
Israel is now home to the largest concentration of Jews anywhere
on earth.
Israel became home to the largest Jewish population on earth in part
because American Jews in the 1990s fell in number from 5.5 million
to 5.2 million, a loss of 300,000, or 6 percent of the U.S. Jewish
population.
According to Charles Krauthammer, by 2050, the U.S. Jewish
population will have shrunk another 50 percent to 2.5 million.
American Jews are slowly vanishing. How and why is this happening?
- Israel
at 60: The cost of U.S. support
- Baptist
Press - Israel celebrates 60th year | reflecting the thought of
millions of conservative Christians
- Israel
at Sixty - by Ran HaCohen | Is the State of Israel
more important than the religion of Israel?
- WhatReallyHappened.com:
ISRAEL Archives
- Israeli
Spying: The Mother of all Scandals | The U.S. can be a friend to
Jews without being a friend to Mossad
Communicating with Government and Media
- Contact Congress -- this
is from the JBS website, powered by "CapWiz," from Capitol
Advantage. Lots of organizations use capwiz. If you don't want to go
through the JBS, search for capwiz
on Google and find another organization that uses it.
Notice that you can also contact media through this webpage.
- Action E-List
Sign up for the JBS Action E-List and be notified when you can
make a critical difference on important issues.
John Adams once wrote that the American
Revolution began in 1761, when Massachusetts attorney James Otis
began legal challenges to the Writs of Assistance. He lost the case, but
"American independence," Adams wrote, "was
then and there born." Now do the math. That means it took 15
years to convince the rest of America to declare Independence (1776).
Then another seven years of war was required before a Peace Treaty was
signed (1783), and then six years before the Constitution was finally
ratified (1789). That's almost 30 years. (And Jefferson said we
shouldn't go 20
years without another rebellion!) How can we hope to convince
Americans to fight for principles they were never taught in government
schools? We need to be in this battle for the long term. "Eternal
Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."
The Democrat Party Radio Address:
Los Angeles Congressman Xavier Becerra delivered the Democratic
Radio Address.
A tribute to Roosevelt's G.I. Bill, Homes for Veterans, a plea for
benefits for Iraq War Veterans
Libertarian Response:
The Democrats' G.I. Bill is another welfare program.
Our priority should be "Liberty Under God," not government
welfare programs.
- The War in Iraq has not served the interests of "Liberty
Under God."
- The government does not serve the interests of veterans.
- Veterans are victims of government cult propaganda, and have come
to believe the lie of #2 above: that signing up for war would be in
their own best interests.
- Veterans need to be "de-programmed." They need to
understand that the government is not their friend, and war is not a
legitimate career option.
- Using the government to serve the interests of veterans does not
serve the interests of "Liberty Under God."
- This is true even if the government is in some important sense the
cause of Veterans' problems.
- Re-phrasing #5: Using compulsion and threats of violence to
redress government wrongs against veterans does not serve the
interests of "Liberty Under God."
Click here
for a replay of this edition of the Ozarks Virtual
Town Hall
|
|