Bits and Pieces #22

It has been an entire year since I wrote my last “Bits and Pieces” column. But obviously there is a whole lot going right now. So, let’s get started.

1. Israel and Iran Conflict: Unless you have been sleeping under a bridge, then you certainly know that Israel attacked Iran in the early hours of 13 June. As usual, there are people on both sides of the proverbial fence. True to form, almost all Democratic representatives and senators are opposed while most Republicans are in favor of the attacks. As for me, as always, I clearly support Israel in this matter.

“But why Rob? Why would you support Israel?” Glad you asked. Let me start with an analogy I have used many times in the past. Let’s say that Sam is living peacefully in his neighborhood. There is nothing above normal complaints that one neighbor might have against another for a crappy lawn. But everybody is able to coexist. Along comes a new family in the neighborhood. And for whatever reason, this family, led by Carl, hates Sam and his family. Immediately, Carl starts making accusatory threats at Sam and his family. When Sam walks out of his house, he is met by Carl and his family, sneering and making threatening gestures.

The next day, Sam sees Carl unloading his car. Carl has just purchased several guns and a lot of ammo. He yells over at Sam and says, “I’m coming for you and your family. You better sleep with one eye open.” The next weekend, Carl throws a party with some of his idiot friends and there are signs on the yard and hanging from the trees saying “Death to Sam” and “Death to Sam’s family.” In the front yard, kids are beating the snot out of a pinata that looks like Sam. Every time they hit it, everybody cheers. “Die, Sam, die!” The next day, Sam sees a full-page ad in the paper saying that when Carl gets the opportunity, he is going to kill Sam and his family. Carl goes to the police (like the UN), once again, but they do nothing. “Suck it up, buddy. You’ll be okay.”

So, you tell me, at what point does Sam have the right to defend himself? Obviously, in a civil situation, there is no such thing as a preemptive strike, but Sam does have the right to prepare for what is coming. Sam has no choice but to take Carl’s threats seriously and plan accordingly so when the attack comes, he can thwart Carl’s efforts. You have no choice but to take people at their word.

In the world of nation vs. nation, preemptive strikes have been used many times in the past. And according to Iranian state doctrine and even public statements over the years, Iran says the primary goal (i.e. objective) of their regime is the annihilation of Israel. Their chants of. “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” are common place in the streets of Iran. In their eyes, Israel has been looked upon as nothing more than a cancer that needs to be destroyed. This is unique in that no other country in the UN has this as a stated strategic objective. So, let there be no doubt about this. Under no conditions could Israel allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Why, because they are Carl. Israel is Sam. Israel is doing what it needs to do to ensure their survival. And no, Israel could not and should not have been expected to sit back and absorb a nuclear strike before retaliating. That is plain stupid. If Iran had a nuke, they would most certainly use it. Nobody on planet earth fears Israel using a nuclear bomb in any kind of first strike attack. Israel, and if the US gets involved militarily, is actually taking Iran at its word. Too bad nations in the 1930s didn’t took Hitler at his word. He called his shots, the West ignored them and ta da, WWII.

It is clear that this conflict is just getting started. Iran thus far is getting duly spanked. I also find it interesting in the Israeli vs. the Iranian way of war. This should surprise absolutely nobody. While Israel is striking military targets with precision, Iran is striking civilian targets indiscriminately. They just hit a hospital this morning. It shows you the mindset of the countries and the level of sophistication of not only the weapons but also the two cultures that are fighting. The current Iranian regime has no problem targeting civilians as their primary objective. I am sure there will be much more to come in following columns. Fasten your seatbelts because things are getting sporty.

2. Minnesota Shooting: In the early hours of 14 June, while posing as a police officer, Vance Boelter shot and killed Dem. House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and shot state Senator John Hoffman and his wife. They survived the attack. There will be more to come on this later. But for now, I would like to focus a little bit on Governor Tim Walz.

Immediately following the shooting, Walz held a solemn and teary-eyed press conference. Among other things he called for decency and denounced “mean tweets” so prevalent in our country today. He also said, “That’s the embodiment of how things are supposed to work. It’s not about hatred. It’s not about mean tweets. It’s not about demeaning someone. It’s leading with grace and compassion and vision and compromise and decency.” Walz finished up with, “One man’s unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota.” Walz then urged the public to “find common ground” with each other. All of these things are admirable and nice. But have we forgotten what Walz said just two weeks before the shootings when he urged fellow Democrats to “be a little meaner” and “bully the s–t” out of people like President Trump.

Apparently, Walz, like many Democrats, have forgotten all of their mean, divisive and threatening language. The list is long. Just the other day, Democrat Representative Eric Swalwell called Trump America’s Hitler. The Hitler reference gets old because it is so stupid and incorrectly used 99% of the time. If you think Trump is like Hitler then there may be no hope for you. In all of my WWII books, for one thing, I cannot find the part where Hitler supported the Jewish people in anyway. What is funny about Walz is that after his “meaner” comments, someone in his state killed a state representative after she stepped off the Democratic reservation and voted with Republicans for defunding more money for illegal immigrants. Now that it was someone in his party that was targeted and killed, according to some sources, in all 46 other Democrats were supposedly on Boelter’s hit list, Walz is now urging people to calm down. You never saw any remorse in Walz’s voice after Trump took a bullet to the ear. But now that he might have been on a political hit list, all people need to calm down.

Personally, I think all people who feel the need to kill in this manner need some help. That is not the way it is supposed to be. Not in this country at least. But if the blowback had to happen, I am glad it happened in Walz’s state. This guy Boelter was just doing what Democrats have been asking for the last several years.

3. 250th Anniversary Army Parade: Holy cow. How much griping have we seen? I will be honest. When I first heard about it, my mind ran to many of the many military parades you seen in other countries. But when I watched the events before the parade and learned of the educational component associated with the day’s events, I quickly changed my mind. I saw thousands of people, looking at the military equipment on display, talking to soldiers, and possibly considering an army career. There was a lot for everybody. I thought there was very little difference between the anniversary events and the dozens of airshows I have seen at Maxwell AFB and around the country since my first airshow in 1976. Then I heard of people complaining about the cost but wondered, certainly this parade does not cost anywhere near what we spend on the Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels every year. Let the Army have their day. Hats off to them. Then of course there was the moronic statement by Governor Walz that he had never prayed so hard for rain, hoping the parade would get rained on. What a small man. He is indeed a useful idiot.

4. Peace Mediators: Believe it or not, Vladmir Putin has apparently floated the idea of Russia brokering a peace deal between Israel and Iran. That is rich considering Russia’s continued attacks in the Ukraine.

5. Ilhan Omar: The annoying and rabidly anti-Semitic squad member from Somalia recently decried that the United States is becoming one of the worst counties in the world. She said that she grew up in a dictatorship and doesn’t remember witnessing anything like what she sees in America today. Wow. Do you think she simply doesn’t remember or know about the 300,000 to over 1 million people who have died in the Somali civil war(s) that have been raging basically non-stop since 1988? Yeah, that is America today. Just go to travel.state.gov and look at the Somali travel advisory. It starts with, “Do not travel to Somalia due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health, kidnapping, piracy, and lack of availability of routine consular services.” And it goes down from there. Over 50% of the population lives in poverty and is a country that doesn’t produce anything of note outside of agricultural items. If you are in the market for some frankincense and myrrh (for real), that is your go to place I suppose. I am not knocking Somalia but to say that America is becoming worse than them is insane; just like Omar. But I will be willing to buy Omar a one-way ticket back to Somalia if she can never set foot in America again. I am sure there is at least one village in Somalia that is missing their idiot and they would like to get her back.

THE VIEWS OF SUBMITTED EDITORIALS MAY NOT BE THE EXPRESS VIEWS OF THE ALABAMA GAZETTE.