Today's hearings

Elliot Ganchrow writes:

We saw some real profiles in courage as Senators from both parties ripped into Goldman Sachs representatives. As Goldman is very unpopular right now, it is quite easy to knock them while they are down. It is a sport in Washington to demonize industries which are extremely profitable- we constanty hear that oil companies, insurance companies and investment banks are driven by greed. Corporations should not feel the need to apologize for huge profits and Congress should not focus their time on holding hearings in order to hammer companies that make money for their shareholders. What a complete waste of time today's hearings were. Its part of the reason that Congress' approval rating has never been lower and why Gallup found the enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats to be a whopping 20 points. Only six more months till we hear from the American people.

Schumer/Koch

Elliot Ganchrow writes:

Kudos to Senator Schumer for publicly criticizing the Obama's despicable treatment of Israel. As reported on Politico.com, Schumer, appearing on Nachum Segal's radio show, said that the Obama approach on Israel was conterproductive and had to stop. The White House surely heard his words, since Robert Gibbs responded that the White House did not agree with Schumer. Whether the White House publicly agrees or not is not important- whats important is that the message from the third ranking Senate Democrat was heard.

On the same point, Ed Koch, in this week's Jewish Press, rips the Democratic Party for its silence in challenging Obama on Israel. Koch points rightfully, that the silence, except for Schumer's recent statement, has been "deafening". He singles out Senators John Kerry, Chris Dodd, Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy for not signing last week's letter to Hillary Clinton which reminded the administration of the important US-Israeli alliance. Democrats may come to regret the President's move aginst Israel.

Gates' Admission/Goldman Followup

Elliot Ganchrow writes:

The disclosure that Defense Secretary Gates wrote a memo which concludes that America doesn't have an effective policy to deal with Iran is not exactly a shocking admission. Anyone who has paid even a little bit of attention to the Administration's Iran policy would know that there is no coherant policy in place. What is puzzling to me is why Gates picked Iran over North Korea, Israel, Syria, Honduras, Columbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, Poland etc. After all, the President lacks an effective (or coherant policy) with respect to most of the hot spots in the world- Gates' memo could have referenced all of these areas.It is frightening that a year and a half into his Presidency, Obama still has no effective policy on Iran.

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Two further revelations have fueled speculation that the case against Goldman Sachs probably should not have been brought by the SEC. First, the vote with respect to bringing charges was 3-2, with the 2 Republican commissioners voting no. Second, one of Paulson's officials testified that ACA Management (the main investor in the securities) knew that Paulson was shorting the securities. Both of these facts lend more credence to the theory that the White House was playing politics when the SEC brought these charges against Goldman.

Goldman Sachs

Elliot Ganchrow writes:

As they frequently do, the federal government made a big deal of the complaint that the SEC filed on Friday against Goldman. Yet as today's Wall Street Journal story and editorial explains, the investors who were going long on the subprime mortgages weren't mom and pop, rather they were sophisticated investors. In fact Goldman itself lost money on the investment. It seems that the government did not allow Goldman to respond to the charges (as would be normal) before they were filed. It seems these charges have more to do with the financial regulation bill that is currently before Congress. It wouldn't surpise me if Goldman ultimately beats these charges.

Stevens/Hank Johnson

Justice Stevens, who is retiring at the end of the Court's term, will be remembered as one of the most liberal members of the Court and a Justice who was consistently on the wrong side of the Court's decisions. He was the author of the infamous Kelo decision which allowed the government to use eminent domain to seize privately owned real property for another private business use. He also recently read his dissent in the Citizens United case from the bench- the Citizens United case was an important case for those of us who believe the First Amendment is an important feature of American life. Stevens will not be missed. What is important to point out is that Stevens (like the recently retired liberal Justice, David Souter) was appointed by a Republican president (Ford). Many times Republicans are their own worst enemy. As we get closer to an election which should be a Republican landslide, Republicans need to avoid silly mistakes, such as shoddy fund raising practices and Confederacy month celebrations that leave out slavery.

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If you haven't seen Congressman Hank Johnson ask a question about his concerns that Guam may tip over, you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNZczIgVXjg. You wonder how voters allow themselves to be represented in Wahington by such clowns.

Nuclear Summit/2010

Elliot Ganchrow writes:

The 47 nation summit on nuclear weapons tackled an important issue- keeping nuclear weapons from terrorists. However, by ignoring the most important issue of our time, keeping nuclear weapons from Iran, the President demonstrated (again) that he just doesn't get it. The time for talking about possibly imposing sanctions on Iran has long ago passed - either impose crippling sanctions immediately or unleash Israel to do the military job that the US should have done already.

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Republicans received a bit of bad news when former Gov. Pataki announced that he won't be challenging Senator Gillibrand, who is extremely vulnerable. If the Republicans cannot find a first rate challenger to Gillibrand, it would represent a huge blown opportunity to take a Senate seat from the Democrats. At the same time former Governor Tommy Thompson is expected to announce tomorrow that he won't be challenging Senator Feingold of Wisconsin. These twin announcements put a crimp in the Republicans drive to take back the Senate in 2010. In a future blog we will take a closer look at the 2010 Senate outlook. An interesting piece that was posted on the RealClearPolitics website stated that it is possible that the Republicans in the House can outdo their 1994 performance in which they picked up 54 seats.

Obama and Israel

Elliot Ganchrow writes:

By now, it is no secret that President Obama and his advisors are not friends of Israel. This was something that was predicted during the 2008 campaign by many pro-Israel observers (including the main contributer of this blog). A great editorial in this week's Weekly Standard written by Bill Kristol gives one explanation for Obama's hostility toward Israel. He writes that Obama wants to be popular around the world and therefore Obama's "turn against Israel is ultimately a key part of what Obamaism is all about. That's why there's been so little attempt by the administration to reassure fiends of Israel that Obama has been acting more in sorrow than in anger. Obama's proud of his anger at the stiff-necked Jewish state. It puts him in sync with the rest of the world." The negative atmosphere put forward by the White House does not mean all is lost- in the past week both houses of Congress sent letters to Secretary of State Clinton reminding her that our relationship with Israel is of the upmost importance. The Senate letter was signed by 77 Senators and the House letter was signed by 377 Members (the letters are posted on the AIPAC website). The message is pretty clear- the American public remains solidly behind Israel. I hope the White House is listening.

The aftermath of Obamacare

Elliot Ganchrow writes:

One of the theories put forth by the Democrats and their media allies prior to the decisive House vote on Obamacare was that once the bill was signed into law, Americans would reward the Democrats for this big accomplishment. This theory, so far, does not seem to hold much water. The latest polls taken after the Obamacare vote (other than those taken by the left leaning Daily Kos which always seem a bit skewed) show Obama and various 2010 Democratic incumbents/candidates continuing to lag in the polls. In fact the latest CBS News poll puts Obama at only 44% and Fox News has him at 43%. Democrats who are waiting for a big positive turnaround based on the Obamacare vote are most likely fooling themselves.

The new treaty needs examination

We would all welcome a world without war,and one without the threat of nuclear weapons.Unfortunately with countries like N. Korea and Iran the danger of aggressive attacks-EVEN WITHOUT WARNING IS REAL.
The agreement signed today between Russia and the US perhaps is a step in the right direction.To come to a full conclusion we will have to read the fine print,
However if as rumored it takes away our ability to have a defensive shield against Iranian missiles within Eastern European countries,then it is a bad deal.
The treaty requires 67 votes,and there should be bi-partisan hearings,based upon our security needs and not partisan politics.

We leave Sat nite for Israel with my Talmud shiur.This is our 5th trip as a group.I will try to deliver a report when we return.From Israel, my wife and I are going to China-Hong Kong.We were last there 23 years ago. We will be back May 5th.
My son Elli will try to write the blog-schedule permitting during my absence.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DISAPPOINTMENT

Sadly the Orthodox wing of American Jewry does not represent the majority points of view of American Jewry.We just came back from the Passover program at thew olg Granit Hotel where I spoke 4 times.The Obama support was probably in low single digits.
Today scanning the news we see why.A trial balloon regarding an imposed peace plan,engineered by every anti-Israel has-been in the foreign policy apparatus-ala Brezinski.
Then there is the trial balloon where Islamic Jihadists and Fundamentalists will not be so described-We don't know their new name-perhaps "unhappy warriors"with a bent for suicide and mayhem.
To top it off today,we are told,that even if we were attacked with bio-chemical weapons, we will never respond with nuclear weapons, if the attacker is a NON-NUCLEAR POWER.
A really great day for those who love Israel,and A STRONG AMERICA!










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