Jordan’s King Abdullah ‘Playing With Fire’

Posted on: November 7th, 2012

Muslim thugs in Jordan last weekend attacked a large group of young men and women who had gathered at a coffee shop in Amman to celebrate Halloween. The thugs were members of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and the Salafi group. They claimed that the party was being held by "worshippers of the devil" and said Halloween was in violation of the teachings of Islam.

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Obama’s Re-Election: Game Called on Account of Darkness

Posted on: November 7th, 2012

Readers will notice that my blog, Sultan Knish, did not predict any Romney landslides. It did not engage in empty cheers or promise that he would win half the country and restore moral leadership. That's not what this site is about. This site is about the hard truths and now as we sit in the dark, let's pass out some of those around the room. We can blame Chris Christie, Sandy or Romney's last debate performance. But let's look at the actual election.

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The Mourning After Obama’s Re-Election

Posted on: November 7th, 2012

Wednesday morning political quarterbacks are like the Monday sports variety, only you hear from the former two days later. Similar to literary critics, the "I told you so" crowd usually stays above the fray and then comes down only to shoot the wounded. With such caveats in mind, we assess the Romney loss and the prospects of an Obama second term.

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How in Losing a Congressional Race I Found More of Myself

Posted on: November 7th, 2012

A few hours ago I lost my bid to unseat Congressman Bill Pascrell in New Jersey’s Ninth District. But thank G-d, I’m in a good place and miraculously in a good frame of mind. I’m writing this late at night to capture my thoughts and feelings after investing approximately seven months of my life in this endeavor.

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Obama Administration Secret Talks with Iran Confirmed

Posted on: November 6th, 2012

The story was broken by Alex Fishman, defense correspondent of Yediot Aharnot, Israel’s largest newspaper. Fishman is considered to be a reliable reporter with good sources in the Israeli government.

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It’s Not Always Critical

Posted on: November 6th, 2012

As the worse in now behind us, and yet with restorations efforts still ahead of us, I believe that the terms utilized so widely this week to describe a terrible predicament should force us to reconsider their use when, thankfully, tragedy doesn’t strike. Though my heart and soul are with those hurt by the storm, I am disturbed that so many of these very adjectives are commonly used to describe common occurrences, a far cry from the critical situation that so many Americans on the East Coast are facing.

Voting isn’t Revenge, it’s ResistanceVoting Isn’t Revenge

Posted on: November 6th, 2012

There are plenty of ways to cast the divisions between parties and movements, but the elemental act of voting divides rhetoric from motive. Obama called voting the best revenge, because for a sizable portion of his base that's exactly what voting is. Their votes are a violent act, a spiteful assault on a country that they can never participate in for economic or cultural reasons. Change for them is not a positive program, but a negative assault on the national majority. Bankrupting the country by robbing it for their own benefit is their revenge.

Dick Morris: Romney by a Landslide: 325 – 213

Posted on: November 6th, 2012

Morris says all the baby-blue states Democrats have grown to love and think of as their own (with the exception of Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina) are really pink states. Romney is going to sweep them, and end up with 55% to Obama's 45% of the national vote, if not an even wider margin.

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Daniel Pipes: Why I am Voting Republican

Posted on: November 5th, 2012

I vote Republican because I support the party's core message of individualism, patriotism, and respect for tradition, in contrast to the core Democratic message of dependence, self-criticism, and "progress." I am inspired by the original reading of the U.S. Constitution, by ideals of personal freedom and American exceptionalism. I vote for small government, for a return of power to the states, for a strong military, and an assertive pursuit of national interests.

Politicians Promise to Help Israel: Will It Be Too Little, Too Late?

Posted on: November 5th, 2012

"If Israel is attacked" is a phrase heard often by mostly well-meaning politicians from both American parties when they are out on the campaign trail, or even while holding office, to express their intent to come to the aid of the Jewish state. But as anyone who both follows current events and has any semblance of logic knows, not only is the phrase trite, but it reveals a certain unfamiliarity with the Middle East today and is even dangerous as pertains to Iran.

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The Islamists’ Need to Feel Wronged

Posted on: November 5th, 2012

When the truth finally came out that three loyal Americans and the American Ambassador had been murdered in Benghazi, Libya, on 9/11/12 as the result of a calculated terror attack and not, as the White House had been insisting for two weeks, a YouTube video made privately by an American and released months earlier, the President abruptly changed his discredited story, and surreally tried to slip the world into believing he had called that attack an act of terror all along.

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The Sunni-Shia Conflict Will Be The Major Feature of Middle East Politics for Decades

Posted on: November 5th, 2012

Once upon a time, Arab nationalism ruled the Middle East. Its doctrine saw Arab identity as the key to political success. Some regarded Islam as important; others were secular. Yet there was no doubt that national identity was in charge. All Arabs should unite, said the radical nationalists who ruled in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere, to destroy Israel, expel Western influence, and create a utopian single state in the region. Instead, of course, the period was characterized by battles among the radical Arab states for leadership. The less extreme ones sought survival through a combination of giving lip service to radical slogans, paying off the stronger regimes, and getting Western help.

Can Romney Win? A Tale of Three Maps

Posted on: November 5th, 2012

Clearly, neither candidate has been able to get even close to the needed 270 electoral votes. They've been stuck with these numbers since the debates, and the numbers show that the country, both on a national and on a state-by-state level, thinks both candidates are equally qualified for the job. That, by itself, is a big advantage for Romney.

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Daniel Pipes: Superficiality Reigns Before the Election

Posted on: November 4th, 2012

It happens every four years, as U.S. presidential elections roll around: I feel like a stranger. That's because news reports blare out what's not of interest: trivial statistics (171,000 jobs added in October; jobless rate up 0.1 percent to 7.9 percent), biographical irrelevancies (claims that Romney outsourced jobs to other countries when at Bain Capital), and forgettable gaffes (Obama saying that "Voting is the best revenge"). This limited discussion misses the main points.

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Even After Sandy – It’s Still Romney for President

Posted on: November 4th, 2012

One thing this storm has done is to give the President an advantage in the election this coming Tuesday. If there are no glitches, the President gets to look Presidential. This is something Romney can’t do. He is only a candidate. This will surely tip the close race in the President’s favor. But I hope it doesn’t. Although I don’t think Obama is a bad President, I don’t think he is the best President for the country right now.

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Mordechai Kedar: Iran has Defeated the US in Iraq

Posted on: November 4th, 2012

Saddam fell, the evil regime that he established fell with him and the people of Iraq could finally breathe freely.

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What the West is Funding: Palestinian Suppression of Free Speech

Posted on: November 4th, 2012

The Palestinian Authority leadership in the West Bank [Judea and Samaria -ed.] has come up with a new method to silence its Palestinian critics. From now on, any Palestinian writer or journalist who dares to criticize Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his policies or demand an end to corruption will be accused of "belittling the dignity of the state." Since the beginning of this year, at least 10 Palestinian journalists, bloggers and political opponents have been detained by various Palestinian Authority security services for writing about corruption and criticizing the Palestinian leadership.

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Troops in the Streets

Posted on: November 4th, 2012

Every now and then an email comes my way warning about the day when the government unleashes the military against its own citizens. This day isn't likely to come because for one thing the current regime is not particularly fond of the military. The Obama Administration isn't inflicting massive cuts on the military, cutting their health care and pushing veteran officers out the door because it likes the military as an institution. It doesn't.

Why Has New Jersey Been Forsaken?

Posted on: November 4th, 2012

Aren’t we the nation that rebuilt Iraq and have done tons of nation-building in Afghanistan? Can’t we put the lights and heat back on New Jersey? Is it asking too much to bring a bunch of fuel tankers here and end the 100 vehicle long lines that are growing larger by the day? Just getting from point A to point B has been like navigating an labyrinth since the gas lines have cut off so many of the streets. President Obama declared this area to be a Federal Disaster Area. But where is FEMA? Where are the troops? Where are the gas tankers?

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Writer’s Profile: An Interview With Erica Lyons

Posted on: November 4th, 2012

I grew up in Edison, New Jersey and lived in the same house until I left for college. My parent had moved in several years before I was born. I had the same rabbi for my baby naming, my bat mitzvah and my wedding (this was a first for him). My husband and I even brought our daughter back to my old ­synagogue for her naming.