The Messing Link

By now you've probably heard about how Trump apparently called for Hillary Clinton's assassination if she appoints Supreme Court Justices who favor gun control.

Nate Silver recently tweeted

Don't think people are really grasping how plausible it is that Trump could become president. It's a close election right now.

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) July 23, 2016

The following is a list of recommended readings about Donald Trump.  I have provided brief comments and quoted highlights from most of these articles.  This will give you a Reader's Digest version of the articles, but I encourage you to click on the links to read the articles in their entirety.  This is very much a work in progress.  I will be adding more articles as time permits.

Gretchen Carlson is suing Fox News Director Roger Ailes for quid pro quo sexual harassment.  She claims that he fired her because she refused to sleep with him.    Unfortunately for Ailes, New York Magazine columnist Gabriel Sherman wrote that at least 6 more women have stepped forward  accusing him of sexual harassment or attempted rape.

Dear Drs. West and Zogby,

Thank you for your magnificent job in trying to convince your fellow platform writers to embrace a more balanced approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, your arguments did not persuade your fellow committee members and the national security of both Israel and the U.S. are endangered by their failure to heed your advice.  While your questions were powerful and accurate, there were a number of points that you did not raise that should be considered when deciding whether to acknowledge that Palestinians live under occupation. I therefore provide the following analysis in the hopes that it will help you convince your fellow platform committee members to modify the current draft recommendations on Israel and Palestine and to take a more balanced approach.  

Donald Trump's Achilles' heel is this: He is not worth nearly as much as he claims to be. I've been thinking about this for a while. It explains why he is such a charity cheapskate.

Do you remember when Donald Trump said he was so rich he can't be bought?

This was a great point of pride for Trump when he announced in June 2015 that he was running for President.

I don't need anybody's money. It's nice. I don't need anybody's money.

I'm using my own money. I'm not using the lobbyists. I'm not using donors. I don't care. I'm really rich. 

An Israeli solder shot and killed Abed Fatah al Sharif, a Palestinian "terrorist" last week in Hebron.  (The soldier's name has been kept secret under a gag order within Israel, but he has been identified in the Western media as Elor Azarya) That a soldier shot a "terrorist" in the West Bank is hardly news.  But this shooting was different.  It was caught on high definition video, and the "terrorist" was helpless  at the time he was shot.  See for yourself.

Those who read this blog probably know I'm not a big fan of Israel or its propaganda (hasbara).  I despise the settlements and the apartheid regime in the West Bank.  I dislike that Palestinians are treated like second class citizens even within the Green Line.  And I loathe how Israel and its supporters tried to sucker us into an unnecessary war with Iran by doing everything they could to sabotage the nuclear deal. 

A few days ago I wrote an article about an anti-free speech resolution pending before the University of California Board of Regents that would conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.  Unfortunately, the resolution passed.  Fortunately, it was watered down somewhat before it was passed.  I encourage you to read this article by Robert Mackey at the Intercept.