Exchange of Prisoners – An Absurd Imbalance

I read that Israel is giving up five prisoners including Samir Kuntar, the convicted Lebanese terrorist who received a sentence of 542 years in prison for his infamous role in the 1979 infiltration into the quiet coastal town of Nahariya where he butchered a young Israeli father, Danny Haran, in front of his four-year-old daughter, then smashed her skull against a rock with his rifle butt, killing her too. Tragically, her two-year-old sister was accidentally smothered to death while her mother tried to keep her quiet so that Kuntar would not discover them. Kuntar has now claimed that on his release he would return to terrorism.

The only problem is we are now given to understand by Israel’s intelligence services that the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers, Regev and Goldwasser, who are the subject of the exchange, are no longer alive, whether because of their possibly serious wounds at the time of their abduction or because of torture or intentionally deficient medical care by Hezbollah. (Hezbollah has always refused all contact and any information about the two Israelis - apparently, giving comfort or closure to the families concerned is not a pressing priority for Hezbollah.)

The exchange would make both pragmatic, political and moral sense if the Israelis were to ensure that their prisoners were transferred to Hezbollah in the same state and condition as the two Israelis being received. A body for a body, a corpse for a corpse. Perhaps then in future these terrorist regimes might be better tempted to follow the Geneva Convention and take the most rudimentary care of their prisoners. - Leslie J. Sacks

SideBear: Amen Brother (Emphasis added by The Bear)

Down We Go

First, Denver’s child Mayor Hickenlooper, rewards a black activist, mediocrity with the honor of singing the National Anthem at his torturous oration on the State of the City.

Then said mediocrity launches into some awful ditty, which she claims is the “Black National Anthem”, whatever the hell that’s supposed to signify, except that this woman is desperately in need of intense psychiatric care. At any rate her rendition, no doubt had dogs in the vicinity shrieking at the sound of it.

Though the applause was mild, it remains that not a single one of these municipal stalwarts had the guts to stand up and shout:

“That’s not our National Anthem, lady. If you don’t know it, shut up and sit down!”

Too bad loopy weasel, and Obama man, Hickenlooper didn’t at least respond to her later like this:

“Miss Marie you agreed to do, what I requested. You lied to me. Even in Denver we call such people, “liars”.

Miss Marie, you were quoted as saying, “I want to express how I feel about living in the United States as a black woman, as a black person.”

Did it ever occur to you, that we don’t care how you feel, but we do care about your abuse, both of the honor that I bestowed on you, and the event, which you decided to ruin, when you made it a stage for your selfish tantrum.

You will certainly not be invited back here, Miss Marie, and I can only hope those who might attend your performances will now think twice before endorsing either your minimal talents, or your infantile behavior.” - Jim Mc

Elect No-One

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a pres ident to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ, it’s because they want them in IRAQ.

If they are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way .

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like ‘the economy,’ ‘inflation,’ or ‘politics’ that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do. - Charlie Reese

Congressional Power

Congressional power is like a toddler with a hammer. There is no limit to the damage that can be done before it is taken away from them. – Bill in Texas

Tags: Politics and Culture

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