Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Because This Is How We Make Policy

Well damn, if 57% of Americans think Israel is right, it must be right.
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After all, more than 57% thought Iraqis would greet us with flowers and cookies.  More than 57% that thought Iranians would kill all the hostages.  Hell more than 57% believe ghosts, UFOs and Angels are real and interact with us regularly.
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Getting 57% of Americans to believe something for a while is no big trick.
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I am not saying Israel is wrong, but I am saying American opinions don't mean much in a conflict that is thousands of miles away in a region where we are pretty consistently clueless.
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For me, Israel could be "in the right" and still be pretty damn awful.  They have killed over 100 kids, 550 people for no benefit.  It seems to me that this continues so Israeli politicians can stand in front of their voters and say, "Look how tough I am."
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And their cause isn't helped by having thousands of Israeli Supporters in Times Square this week-end cheering the targeting of children ("then they shouldn't put rockets in hospitals" without proof they did - or the great line an Israeli supporter had on TV, "Those kids shouldn't have been playing on a beach during a war").  Cheering and parading for killing people, to show support for Israel is, well, horrible.
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In fact, it is what turned most Americans against the Palestinian cause.  When Palestinian supporters cheered bombings of buses and cafes, Americans were sickened.  Israeli supporters cheering the slaughter of civilians might, someday, a similar effect.  It has already started to.