Morning Update (with commentary!)

The Hashmonean has a fantastic rundown of why Olmert hasn't approved the IDF incursion into northern Gaza:

However, pressure by the international community not to escalate the situation seems to be a significant factor preventing the widening of Operation Summer Rains into northern Gaza. Criticism by the foreign minister of the G8 countries, alongside a clear call by the US secretary of state for "Israeli restraint" in Gaza came before a decision to delay, taken by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday afternoon.

Apparently, "The Army is upset at the Defense Minister, the PM is upset at the Army, and operations in the North of Gaza appear scrapped.." at least for now.

Daled Amos reports:

Little Green Footballs links approvingly to the Fox News Website which reports on its home page:

Israel Hits Palestinian Interior Ministry
Warplanes pummel Gaza; Hamas thugs reportedly offer conditional release of kidnapped soldier [emphasis added]

He calls the description of Hamas as 'thugs'--'honest'.

Of course it's nice that in the age of political correctness that shuns the use of the word 'terrorist,' Fox is using a substitute term that sidesteps the positive 'freedom fighter' or terms likes 'militant' or 'activist.' But the fact remains that Hamas are not a bunch of thugs, hoodlums, goons, punks, or toughs.

Fox News makes me sick. Really, I used to be a huge fan of the channel and I still think their 2004 election coverage was award-worthy. It's just that *after* the election, Fox News (and the Bush Administration) took nothing short of a nosedive, so much so that now, watching Fox News is like watching an episode of COPS crossed with the local news report from Lawrence, Kansas, hosted by Shep Smith.

Which brings me to my greater point, and a rather ironic one given the upcoming Fourth of July holiday: America has gone down the drain, and if the Evangelicals want to rescue it, they'd better start plunging FAST.

I have no problem with the American SYSTEM of government. Representative democracy is Biblical (check your Torah) and is, therefore, the best system of government known to man. I do, however, take great issue with the people in power. To try and untangle the mess is too hard for most Americans, so they prefer to blame George W. Bush instead of recognizing him for the patsy he is. What many don't realize and/or understand is that the State Department has pretty much run this country (at least the Federal branch and all of the responsibilities therein) for years. The State Department controls foreign policy. It also takes its orders from the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission, which effects our actions both abroad and at home. Outside of some grass-roots attempts to "ban the UN" and such, Americans remain willfully ignorant of the fact that our country is being taken over by a small group of very powerful organizations that seek to implement a one-world government. (Which, by the way, is also Biblical-- read your prophets.)

Of course, we average citizens don't see the underpinnings of what is really going on; we aren't exposed to the players and the game plan. We are, however, exposed to the effects. Our rights as citizens in this country are being eroded in very real ways. In a few years, The Security & Prosperity Partnership will go into effect, turning us from American citizens to NORTH American citizens. Kiss your Bill of Rights goodbye. After hearing news of the SPP on Israel National Radio, I sent links to both the show and Jerome Corsi's articles to major blogs who had yet to link up to the story. Do you think they did anything? Nothing. Nothing at all. Evil thrives when good men do nothing.

The effects of the one-world philosophy are most keenly noticeable in Israel. (Surprise, surprise.) Why? Why do you think the prophets spent so much time talking about the nations uniting to fight against Israel? Here's a hint: it wasn't because they were tired of playing checkers in the Temple courtyard. Israel is the physical, vital, living proof that HaShem exists and is all-powerful, that democracy is truth, and that the individual has free will to choose their own path in life. Israel is everything the one-worlders are not; moreover, Israel proves them wrong. Therefore, Israel must be destroyed.

Of course, entities like the European Union are plainly anti-Israel. Herein lies the quagmire: common knowledge says that the United States is the sole supporter of Israel. When you hold the US up to the EU or any other government, this axiom holds true.

However, when you look at US/Israel relations, the idea that the United States is a strong ally to Israel is blown out of the water.

The United States is as much pro-Arab as your average BBC newscaster. Moreover, America is more keenly anti-Israel than the rest; like a street magician asking you to follow the magic ball, only the United States knows what both their left and right hands are doing at the same time. This is why the United States is the most powerful nation on the planet: they have the unique ability to please the international community while looking like a savior to the Jewish people. This is how the American government has become useful to the one world plan, this is her role in the revolution: to fool Israel into thinking she has a chance while slowly murdering her people, stealing her land, and "driving her into the sea."

Why do you think the United States, a nation so seemingly devoted to establishing democracy around the world, is doing everything in her power to dissuade the Israeli government from defending herself against the same terrorists America is "fighting" in Iraq? It's senseless, and so is chaos, and chaos is what these powermongers want among the masses, because chaos causes confusion, and confusion leads to distraction, and distraction leads to dictators claiming power. (Read Whittaker Chambers's Witness if you don't believe me.)

Nowhere is this distraction enacted more blatantly than in the American media. Sure, CNN can present us with the same intellectual pro-palestinian garble that they have for the past 20 years. However, when they start blatantly disregarding the Israeli side of the story, choosing instead to station their reporters in Gaza City as if it were London during the Blitz, they take bias to a whole new level. When Fox News reduces reports on the WAR in Israel to ticker broadcasts and occasional Internet reports referring to an American-armed army as "thugs" they do nothing less than re-define the cliche "lip-service." American news has been nothing short of incompetent, even juvenile in covering this war, and it is in their incompetency, their childish ignorance of the situation, that we can see very clearly the seeds of anti-Israelism take root and begin to grow.

But most average Americans believe the same common knowledge most Israelis do: that, in the end, the United States is pro-Israel. And that's enough for them. The ones who really may give a damn about Israel are the Evangelicals. They go to church every Sunday and hear Genesis 12:3, "I will bless those who bless [Israel] and curse those who curse [Israel]." Then, they go home and hear the President condemn the latest suicide bombing and they figure all is right in their world. Very few take the time to really pay attention to what is going on; the ones who do are usually classified as "apocalyptic" at the least and, at the worst, "doomsday theorists."

And what of the Jewish people in America? Again, the ones who actually pay attention are in the minority. Most Jewish Americans are too busy embracing the new faussimilation as they cuddle into their fancy houses in gentile neighborhoods with their latest copy of Heeb thinking that, finally, they have what their ancestors wanted: the best of both worlds. The ones who do care about Israel send checks to charities and figure they've done their part. Many Jewish Americans don't comment on Israeli politics because they don't feel that they have the right since they aren't Israeli citizens. Some go so far as to condemn the State, but we won't even go there. (I can only handle so much frustration in a day.)

And what about Messianic Jews in America? Let's set aside arguments over their Jewishness for a minute and focus on the central issue: you have a group of people who identify as Jews and claim to support Israel. So, what's their take on the issue? Well, after many Messianic groups masterfully handled the eviction from Gush Katif in August '05 you'd think they'd be raring to go with commentary on the IDF's triumphant (if "restrained") return. Oh, wait a second, it's conference week for the MJAA. I guess that means that they don't have to give a damn, even if their conference theme is Zealous for Zion. What kind of message does this send to the critics of Messianic Judaism? How does this testify to our adherance to Torah and our faith in Messiah? The short answer: it doesn't.

So, Happy Birthday, America. Congratulations and thanks to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and all their buddies for fighting tooth and nail to establish this country. To all you under-armed, untrained, average colonial footsoldiers who died, spent years in a British prison boat, and/or risked death too many times to count, thanks for all your hard work. Here, have a gold watch to commemorate the occasion. It's even engraved! Now, clean out your desk and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Shabbat Shalom, Israel. I'm sorry. On behalf of the nation where I was born, I'm sorry for failing you. Take it from someone on the inside: don't trust the United States government. Trust HaShem. And, even though our government is your enemy and our people are blind, there are a few of us in this country who are standing in the gap for you, Israel, and will gladly be the foreigners who carry you on our backs into Zion, who will be pleased to be your servants as you reconstitute shop in Eretz Yisrael.

Israel, America, Operation Summer Rains, Jewish, IDF, Gaza, Fourth of July, Independence Day