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ARTICLES

What makes me a Jewish political conservative

What makes me a Jewish political conservative

Opinion
 July 16, 2013 |  By Alan Bergstein

I was raised by my hard working immigrant parents in a Brooklyn, two bedroom, one bath apartment shared by five. No automobile, clothes were washed in the bathtub and the phone was located in Weinstein’s drug store down the block. My brother and I never complained, got educations and became professionals. And as many of my Jewish brethren around the country, through the years, we prospered and outgrew our traditional, lower economic surroundings and attitudes. We had homes, cars, traveled and our humble beginnings thankfully faded away.

We also matured politically, chucking our socialist upbringings out the window and taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities this great country offered us: the reason, of course, that our parents came here in the first place! So why are so many who were raised as we were and today living in prosperity, still mired in the “one bathroom” political mentality in which they were raised? Their origins of the Lower East Side and Brownsville have long since faded from their memories. Are they or their kids still operating sewing machines in the garment district? Are they earning livings driving cabs or trucks, selling door to door, packing cartons or stocking shelves as in the days of yore? No way! They have stormed into the upper middle class strata based on their drive, intelligence and fortitude. And the government had very little to do with their success.

My question then, is why are they for higher taxes, the reduction our defenses and clamoring for the redistribution of (their) income? Why are they in support of a president who castigates the free enterprise system that gave them the incredible opportunity to thrive in ways that their parents could have only dreamed? What reasons do they have for supporting the denigration of individual accomplishment? Most of them, in a wink, will tell you of their kids’ financial prosperity, successes and accomplishments, encouraged and prodded by this free, capitalistic, competitive society. So why do they yearn and vote for the return to their lives of yesteryear? It makes no sense to me for I refuse to even consider going back to that pathetic Brooklyn mentality even as much as I refuse to go back to my “Roosevelt” days.

However, there is hope on the horizon for the growth of political Conservatism among Jews. The younger population, more affluent than their parents at the same time in their lives, has little or no knowledge of the Depression years, of union membership or of religious discrimination. They earn big bucks, enjoy their well earned prosperity and want to stay that way. They have no interest in giving up that for which they have worked and studied so hard, in order to share with those who have not. Their attitude reflects the American way. And thanks to the actions of Barack Hussein Obama, Jews of all ages are moving toward the conservative political philosophy, recognizing the animosity the Left has for Israel and the Democrat Party’s wooing of the hostile Muslim world. I celebrate the removal of the term, “Jewish umbilical-cord Democrat” from my lexicon in describing the political wisdom of modern American Jewry. May G-d bless this nation and those who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms.

Alan Bergstein is a retired NYC school administrator residing in Boca Raton for the past 22 years. He is a columnist, public speaker, father of four and prides himself as being a staunch Jewish activist.

The above was published in the Sun-Sentinel at http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-07-16/florida-jewish-journal/fl-jjps-bergstein-0717-20130716_1_union-membership-prosperity-parents

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ARTICLES ELECTIONS

Florida’s Congressional challengers slow to raise campaign dollars

Florida Congressional Map

Most challengers to the state’s 27 U.S. House members posted light fund-raising quarters, which could require a re-evaluation of the competitiveness of some seats or a need to draw bigger-named candidates off the sidelines.

Based on money raised between April 1 and June 30, two races are relatively competitive — involving the seats held by Republican Congressmen Steve Southerland of Panama City and Bill Young of Indian Shores. Other contests show potential to tighten as the November 2014 elections approach, despite financially underperforming challengers.

But so far, incumbents in potentially competitive districts, including Democrats Joe Garcia of Miami, Patrick Murphy of Jupiter and Alan Grayson of Orlando, and Republicans Vern Buchanan of Sarasota and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami, face little financial threat, despite optimism from across the political aisle.

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Wed, Jul. 17, 2013
from The Miami Herald
By Jim Turner News Service of Florida
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ARTICLES

After Trayvon Martin Slaying, Holder Blasts ‘Stand Your Ground’

HolderEricObamafromRandysRoundtable  NAACP Logo

After Trayvon Martin Slaying, Holder Blasts ‘Stand Your Ground’

Attorney General Says Such Laws Cause More Violence Than They Prevent

Attorney General Eric Holder blasted “stand-your-ground laws” in the wake of the acquittal of George Zimmerman for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin—saying such laws cause more violence than they prevent.

Mr. Holder, speaking to the NAACP Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla., not far from where Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted last week, took direct aim at stand-your-ground laws, which say a person can use force in self-defense without first attempting to retreat from the situation.

“Separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation’s attention, it’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods,” Mr. Holder said, according to his prepared remarks.

In speaking out publicly against such laws for the first time, Mr. Holder is taking aim at the gun-rights groups that promote such laws and linking them to the death of Trayvon Martin.

Twenty-five states, including Florida, have adopted some version of stand-your-ground laws. While the law was a factor in the initial investigation of the Martin shooting, lawyers for Mr. Zimmerman didn’t base their defense on the law, arguing instead that their client had no option of retreat, and therefore the stand-your-ground principle didn’t apply.

The speech marked the second day in a row that Mr. Holder spoke publicly about the Martin killing. Mr. Zimmerman over the weekend was found not guilty of all charges in the case, a decision that sparked protests across the country, and some rioting in Los Angeles Monday night.

Mr. Martin, a black teenager, was walking to his father’s house in Sanford, Fla., from a nearby convenience store in the early evening when he was spotted by Mr. Zimmerman, a neighborhood-watch volunteer who thought Mr. Martin was suspicious. Mr. Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, called 911 and began following Mr. Martin, leading to a confrontation in which the 29-year-old Mr. Zimmerman shot the teenager.

Mr. Holder’s Justice Department is investigating Mr. Zimmerman to see if he should be charged with federal hate crimes or civil-rights violations, but legal experts say the chances of such charges being filed—or won in court—are small.

Mr. Holder’s remarks echo comments made by gun-control advocates following the Zimmerman verdict, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has said “stand your ground” promotes a “shoot first” approach to public confrontations.

“These laws try to fix something that was never broken,” Mr. Holder argued, saying pre-existing self-defense law allowed the use of deadly force if no safe retreat is possible. If a person is attacked in their own home, there is no duty to retreat.

“By allowing—and perhaps encouraging—violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety,” Mr. Holder said. “We must stand our ground to ensure that our laws reduce violence, and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent.”

Wall Street Journal

July 16, 2013

By DEVLIN BARRETT

Write to Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com

URL: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324348504578610113097977142.html
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ARTICLES FEATURED

2014 Senate Map Shifts in GOP’s Favor

Larry Sabato Senate Map

 

2014 Senate Map Shifts in GOP’s Favor

Next year’s Senate landscape has long been regarded as treacherous terrain for Democrats.  In 2008, Barack Obama’s blue wave swept many Democrats into office, including more than a few from red and purple states.  That year’s Senate class will soon be up for re-election in a non-presidential year — which means a smaller, more informed, more Republican electorate, and no help at the top of the ticket.  As Dan reported over the weekend, Democrats’ top recruit to run for Max Baucus’ soon-to-be-vacant seat (former Gov. Brian Schweitzer) has begged off.  Instead, the party will likely nominate either a failed 2010 Congressional candidate, or the president of an organization devoted to abortion.  This development has many political handicappers sliding the Montana race into the “leans GOP” column, alongside two other contests for open seats in red states.  Republicans are favored to win in West Virginia, where Sen. Jay Rockefeller is retiring, as well as South Dakota, where Tim Johnson is stepping down.

If they carry the day in those three races, Republicans would be halfway home to securing a Senate majority.

(Editor’s Note: this map was prepared before Montana’s Dem. Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s decision against running for Senate from that state.)

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Taken from: www.townhall.com | Jul 15, 2013 | Guy Benson

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ARTICLES FEATURED

There Already are TWO STATES: Israel AND Gaza

john-kerry-benjamin-netanyahu-shaking-hands

There Already are TWO STATES:  Israel AND Gaza

Secretary of State Kerry is, once again, attempting to gin up yet another Middle East peace process to replace the one the Palestinian Authority (PA) violated by declaring their “statehood” at the U.N. A few months ago, before a U.S. House committee, he sadly intoned, “I believe the window for a two-state solution is shutting. I think we have some period of time – a year to year-and-a-half to two years, or it’s over.” More recently, Kerry was invited by fellow travelers in Israel to a meeting in Jerusalem with a Knesset caucus favoring a “two-state solution.”

There is one major problem with this diplomatic speak, though – how can there be a “two-state solution” when there already is a second state in the Israel/Palestine area? It is called Gaza, and it is ruled by the Islamist terror group Hamas….

The Palestinians now have their “second state.” So, Secretary Kerry et al., let’s stop talking about a “two-state solution” to the Palestinian Arab-Israeli conflict. What we really should be discussing is whether the Palestinians really deserve yet another (third) state. In other words, is there a “three-state solution” to the Arab-Israeli hostilities?

The answer to that question is, by the way, a clear no.

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by Adam Turner, June 17, 2013, from EMET (www.emetonline.org)

Adam Turner serves as staff counsel to the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET). He is a former counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee where he focused on national security law.

 

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