A THIEF'S HAT IS BURNING

There is a Yiddish expression, “auf a ganif brent der hittel” (a thief’s hat is burning). It refers to someone who keeps expressing his innocence because he knows he is guilty. This is what we are seeing with Donald Trump. He keeps repeating “no collusion” which indicates that he is probably guilty of collusion (conspiring with Vladimir Putin to influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election). He keeps calling the investigation of Russian meddling into our elections a “witch hunt” because he sees the investigators bearing down on him. It frightens him greatly because he is aware of his guilt and his “hat is burning.”

RUSSIA

Russia has excelled in the arts and literature. It has produced great musicians (Haifetz, Rubenstein, and others), composers (Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, and others), writers (Dostoyevsky, Chekov, Tolstoy,and others), ballet dancers (Pavlova, Nijinsky, and others). In the sciences, the Russian chemist Mendeleev formulated the periodic table of elements, the physiologist Pavlov did research in conditioning behavior. There have been many other great Russian scientists. One might say that out of one of the largest populations in the world one is bound to find some talented people, but nonetheless one can not deny that the Russian people have excelled in the arts and sciences.

However, when it comes to government, Russia has fallen behind both historically and in the present. Russia lived through centuries of oppressive Czarist rule, but during most of that time most countries were monarchies. The end of serfdom came late to Russia when Alexander II (probably the most progressive of all Russian czars) freed the serfs in 1861, but after he was assassinated in 1881 his son Alexander III became one of the most repressive czars. After the first Russian Revolution in 1917 the Provisional Government led by Alexander Kerensky attempted democracy but failed and was overturned after 8 months by the October Revolution which brought in the Communist government lead by Lenin, later Stalin, and then a succession of other leaders. The Communist government ultimately brought order and socialism combined with authoritarianism which became particularly repressive under Stalin. Communism ended and the Soviet Union broke up into 15 independent republics in 1991, leaving Russia as smaller than the Soviet Union but still one of the largest countries in the world. The socialist side of communism then ended in Russia bringing a reactive extreme capitalism. Russia under Boris Yeltsen became afflicted with chaos and poverty. Then Putin stepped in and brought order but also extreme authoritarianism, nativism, and repression of anyone who opposed him. Russia’s brief and poorly executed flirtation with democracy ended, which is where Russia is today.

Russia has long been an introvert country with a fear of intrusion from the West. The idea of their former republics and satellites joining the West and bringing NATO to their western border drives them crazy. In Putin’s view, his mission is to protect Russia by undermining and weakening the West, especially the USA. This policy is a continuation of what the Communist Soviet union did during the cold war. But now instead of the communist Soviet Union dictatorship it is an oligarchical kleptocratic Russian dictatorship. It is still the same Russian paranoia and anti-globalism. It is Putin’s view that democracy brings chaos and dictatorship brings stability. Now Putin’s intelligence services have compromised a number of leaders in their former satellites and beyond. It appears that they have been successful at the present time in compromising the American president (Trump) and a number of gullible Trump supporter including those in the American Congress. However, the election of Trump has awakened the American people to the threat. Since Trump’s election, Americans have demonstrated in large numbers and have joined campaigns to encourage voters. The free press which at first tried to be even handed finally realized that it is impossible to be even handed with a perpetual liar like Trump. Our intelligence services which Putin thought were asleep have been watching Putin’s hackers all along and compiling the truth.

Unlike Russia, we have an almost 250 years history of democracy, immigration, and diversity. Democracy appears to be fragile, but here in America now awakened, it will come roaring back. And when it returns, our alliance with NATO will be stronger than ever.

One last thing, we hear in the news about Russian hacking and the Russian threat. The enemy is Putin, not all the Russians. There are people in Russia who would oppose him, but it is not safe to do so. A number of his opponents have been assassinated. Democracy does not always come easily. Perhaps one day it will come to Russia.

A NOTE TO NETANYAHU CONCERNING TRUMP

Mr. Netanyahu,
Your love affair with Donald Trump goes against the interests of the Jewish people and makes Israel less safe. Most Jews in America oppose Trump and are turned off by your support of him. The American Jews are Israel’s most numerous and important supporters in the Diaspora, but your support of Trump drives a wedge between American Jewry and Israel. Most of us are ardent supporters of Israel but you create a conflict which weakens that support. We are now torn between our concern for Israel and our concern for our own country which has been taken over by a tyrant in the service of Vladimir Putin.

Trump colludes with Putin in his attack on democracy and has broken our alliance with the western democratic nations including Canada, Western Europe, and others. In the long run it is in Israel’s interest to be part of the democratic world and not part of an autocratic axis led by Putin and followed by Trump.

I know you are opposed to the Iran deal, but it is actually a fairly good deal with verifications that have been working and therefore protects Israel. If we are lucky, Europe will keep it going despite Trump. As for moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, any benefit to Israel is only symbolic while it further isolates Israel, removes America as a broker in future negotiations, and mainly benefits Israel’s enemies. The good that Israel is doing is being drowned out by the bad. And you can not blame it all on Israel’s enemies. Much of it is self-inflicted by the Hard Right leaders and settlers to whom you pander.

Trump is temporary. Americans are increasingly becoming fed up with Trump’s corruption, immorality, incompetence, and treason in the service of Putin. Mr. Netanyahu, your affair with Trump is putting Israel on the wrong side of history. The Mueller Investigation is closing in on Trump, and after the November election he will most likely no longer have control over Congress. Trump might very well be impeached and removed from the presidency. When Trump is gone, we Jews in America will still support Israel, but that support will be more difficult, and Israel will have to repair the damage it will have done to itself.

 

WHY I OPPOSE TRUMP

Trump lies continually.

Trump steals children from immigrants and holds them hostage for his unnecessary expensive border wall.

Trump is a bigot and bases his political successes on playing to bigots.

Trump's trade war and tax scam will lead to an economic crash like the one at the end of the Bush presidency which Obama was in the process of fixing.

Trump pretends to be a patriot and supportive of the military, but he dodged the draft during the Vietnam War.

Trump is alienating our allies.

Trump colluded with Putin and endorsed Putin's hacking of the American election in 2016.

Trump scuttled TPP and opposes NAFTA which appeals to his base but puts America at an economic disadvantage.

Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice in doing all he can to stop the Mueller investigation and before that firing James Comey.

The list goes on and on.

ECONOMIC CYCLE

The Republican party claims to be the party of fiscal responsibility, but are they? Under the Republicans we saw the overheated economy of the roaring Twenties ending with the Great Depression beginning in 1929. Roosevelt and the Democrats came in 1933 and over the following years built the American economy back up. That growth continued during the post war years under both Republican and Democratic administrations, but eventually inevitably stopped. Bill Clinton brought in a Democratic economic policy of enough income tax that was able to balance the budget and maintain social policies. During the Republican Bush administration taxes were lowered to benefit the richest people while an expensive war was conducted on borrowed money in order to keep the low taxes low. This resulted in a collapse of the economy at the end of that administration. Then the Obama Democratic administration started the slow process of rebuilding the economy and reinstituting social justice. Now the Trump Republican administration has taken credit for the economic growth begun by Obama while instituting a tax policy which will rob our treasury and while creating isolationist tariffs against our allies which will adversely affect trade. The effects of economic policies take time to to take effect. After Trump is out of office and the damage becomes obvious, Trump will then blame anyone but himself.
So in summary, the cycles have been short term economic gains at the expense of the middle class and social programs until the economy collapses. The Democrats then come in to clean up the mess, but the results are often too slow for the public which then elects another Republican government, and the cycle starts all over again. To make matters worse, this time we have Trumpism mixed in the soup which brings in dishonesty, tribalism, bigotry, alienation of our allies, opposition to immigration, collusion with a foreign dictator, corruption, and attacks on American justice to protect that corruption. We have survived the economic cycles in the past. Let us hope that Trump's attacks on American norms and America's allies are also correctable.

FIRST TRIP TO ISRAEL

It has been almost 50 years since our first trip to Israel in November 1968. Rose and I had just been married about 4 or 5 months. I was in my last year of a dermatology residency training. It was the year after the 6 Day War and the territory controlled by Israel now included the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Sinai Peninsula as well as pre1967 Israel. Rose was working for Northwest Orient Airline. The trip was a package by El Al Airline for employees of other airlines at an unbelievably cheap price. Each airline would offer such trips to employees of other airlines to encourage referrals. It was a concentrated trip of about 5 days. Israel was young and we were young. We still were pre-children, mortgage, and other obligations. Israel was thrust from a position of underdog independent social democracy into being an occupier and guardian of unwilling Palestinian Arabs living in that occupied land.
The trip began with a flight from Chicago to New York. After a quick subway trip into Manhattan to visit relatives, we returned to the airport to meet up with the American segment of the tour. We left late at night and during the next day we stopped in Rome where we picked up 2 segments from Germany and Italy, then on to Israel. As it turned out the 3 segments were as interesting as the trip itself.
After arrival in Israel, we went to Jerusalem where we were housed in an Arab hotel in East Jerusalem. Apparently the reason for East Jerusalem was that the Israeli government wanted to encourage the economy in the Arab sector. The next day the tour took us to King David's tomb on Mount Zion. While we were standing there outside, we saw a puff of smoke in the distance and then heard a dull boom. We asked the guide what it was, but he did not know. Later after we were done visiting the tomb, we heard that a terrorist bomb had been set off in the Machane Yehudah Market Place. Later in the evening during supper at the hotel, we heard jeeps rolling in the street. At one point we heard gun shots. The Arab waiters then began drawing the drapes in the dining room. The waiters appeared to be silently resentful. The time was also an event in the Moslem calendar. So during the night as we tried to sleep, we could hear calls from  the minarets over loud speakers alternating with the sound of jeeps. We had planned to visit relatives in Jerusalem whom we had never previously met, but next morning the time in Jerusalem was cut short, and we left early on a drive across the West Bank to a Kibbutz in the Galilee. The Italians sat in the back of the bus and serenaded us with endless Italian songs. The Germans sat quietly and seemed somewhat ill at ease. This was 23 years after the end of the Holocaust, and we were in a land of Jews many of whom were holocaust survivors. We stopped at an Arab village in the West Bank for what our guide called "coffee in and coffee out." The Italians purchased noodles there, After leaving the village, the Italians asked the guide if they might make spaghetti at the Kibbutz in the Galilee. The guide promised to inquire when we would arrive. After arrival and after negotiating with the Kibbutz kitchen people concerning the kashrut of the noodles, it was determined that the noodles were kosher and the kibbutz kitchen would supply the rest of the ingredients. At dinner we each had a choice between the regular kibbutz dinner or spaghetti. After dinner Rose asked the guide if there was anywhere in the area for dancing. The guide responded that if Ari the bus driver would be willing to drive us, there was a discotheque nearby called the Blue Beat (or maybe it was called the Blue Beach). Ari agreed, so off we all went. The discotheque was dimly lit with blue light and was overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Our group made up a significant part of the clientele that night. The rest were young Israeli men and women. Most of the men were soldiers in uniform. There were a number of single young women in our group, mostly in the German segment. The Israeli soldiers went up to the German girls and asked them to dance. It was a magical evening, the discotheque, the location, the view, the blue light. It broke the ice for the Germans. They became relaxed for the rest of the trip. After Galilee and then Haifa, we ended our trip in Tel Aviv where after sight seeing with the group, we had some free time to meet relatives.
A number of months later, after I had finished my residency training and before starting a dermatology practice, we took a trip to Europe and included a few days back to Israel to see some of the things we had missed on the first trip and to meet our Jerusalem relatives. After that trip we progressed into adult life. We have not been back to Israel, but it appears from a distant view that along with maturity, much has changed there, some for the better, some for worse. But that is another discussion.

THREE BOOKS

Three interesting books have come on the market recently which touch on the Trump presidency. The first is "Fire and Fury" by Michael Wolff. This is a fly on the wall book. The author was able to get access to sit in the West Wing of the White House to observe the Trump administration. The strength of the book is not so much in the author's opinions as in in his observations. He demonstrates the chaos and dysfunction that many have suspected but were not sure about.
The second book is "The Plot to Hack America" by Malcolm Nance, an American intelligence person. This book is a cut and dried presentation of how the Russian intelligence service under Vladimir Putin has attacked democracy in America and other western nations by cultivating influence over compromised American and other western citizens and by hacking into internet emails and web sites to gain information and create fake information to influence and degrade democratic institutions in America and elsewhere. They even were apparently successful in compromising Donald Trump and tipping the scale to get him elected to the presidency of the USA.
The third book is "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership" by James Comey. I am still reading it having read about half way through. It is the most meaty and introspective of the 3 books. The author shows an obsession with honesty and integrity. He is also obsessively protective of the American justice system. It seems to me that it was those obsessions that got him into trouble in the matter of the Hillary Clinton emails. It goes into his personal life and how it influenced the various decisions that he has made. It discusses the recent events for which he has become famous, the Clinton emails, the investigation into the apparent collusion of Trump and Putin leading to Comey being fired as FBI director, and the efforts by Trump and his people to obstruct the collusion investigation, both that of Comey as FBI director and then of the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.
All three books are important in understanding the present political situation in America and how America interacts with the world. Wolff presents information. Nance presents and assesses information. Comey presents, assesses information, and describes how a human being in an important position interacts with problems presented to him and makes decisions to meet those problems. While Wolff and Nance present and assess using the means at their disposal, Comey is actually part of his story and relates that story in great detail.