Disgusting Exhibition

As CBS News reported

Three people were arrested Sunday as hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-protesters gathered at a bike ride boycott that targeted several Philadelphia businesses for their alleged support of Israel.

The bike ride organized by Philly Bike On Your Left targeted businesses that have "materially and ideologically supported the state of Israel and its ongoing genocide in Palestine."

Crowds started gathering before noon in Rittenhouse Square. Protesters carrying Palestinian flags were seen and were met by counter-protesters at some businesses targeted in the protest. Supporters of the businesses carried signs and Israeli flags, waving them as riders went by.

Police said there were roughly 300 pro-Palestinian demonstrators, including 200 on bikes, and 200 pro-Israeli counter-protesters.

Three people were arrested during the protests.... 

Police said two officers were treated for minor injuries during an apprehension, but neither required medical treatment. ...All demonstrations dispersed around 1:15 p.m. and no property was damaged, police said.

Around 1:15 p.m.? It was a Sunday in autumn and even in an extremely disappointing season, there was an Eagles game to watch.

Nonetheless, the counter-protestors deserve a lot of credit, as do those local and state officials who condemned the attack on businesses on the basis of the religious affiliation of the owner. In a triumph of timing, the boycott was called for a day before the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when "members of the Nazi movement, who espoused racist and antisemitic beliefs and were led by Adolf Hitler, looted 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses in Germany and destroyed Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools and homes. They also burned more than 1,000 synagogues." 

The organizer has no website or Facebook page while operating through its Instagram account.There and in a statement sent to CNN, it maintained early Saturday moring that the group had been "grossly misrepresented" and is a "non-violent social cycling page" which is "firmly against racism and opporession of all forms, including fascism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and colonialism." But not cancellation of opposing political views or religious beliefs, apparently.

We all anticipate an upcoming protest against Russian and Chinese colonialism, fascism in Myanmar, and against oppression of Muslims (Islamophobia?) in India, Pakistan, Russia, and dozens of other countries.

I won't say that it is ironic that an organization which claims it is anti-anti-Semitic is demonstrating virulent hostility toward Jews  Nor does it have anything to do with rcism because Judaism is not a religion and Jews are not characterized by race.  But it is curious that among its opposition to all the isms- fascism, antisemitism, colonialism, anti-Islamism- Philly Bike On Your Left omitted Trumpism. 

Trump strikes back at his enemies and it'a nor surprising that this organization exhibits cowardice as well as other faults.  Little else needs to be said other than what Micahel Smerconish did within minutes of the opening of this display of hatred 

 

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You Have No Right to Exist Without My Consent

Abdul el-Sayed repeats the widespread lie that Israel is committing genocide and practicing apartheid. But he also states something far more subtle.

MSNOW: What is your message now to Jewish voters nationally and what you will do to protect them? Abdul El-Sayed: I’m committed to Jewish safety, and we are united against discrimination. The U.S. spends billions to carry out genocide and apartheid against Palestinians. The genocide in Gaza with our complicity is continuing right now. Nobody wants to talk about that.

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) November 5, 2026

In his 60 Minutes interview broadcast two nights before the election, el-Sayed refused to state definitively whether Israel  "right to exist". Ross Douthat could have added ".... as a Jewish state" but even without that clarification, the then-candidate remained cryptic, appearing  to suggest that Israel could exist if Palestinians approve. You the reader have a right to your safety as long as the mugger approves.

In the above video, Senator-elect Abdul el-Sayed is permitted by Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough to go on and on with feel-good rhetoric. However, at 2:23, he states "We have to separate between Judaism and the Jewish people, and Israel and its actions.

El-Sayed's comments on Morning Joe were verbal and not written, so it is impossible to detrmine if I added the punctuation- a comma between "people" and "Israel" accurately reflects el-Sayed's meaning. However, as he stated it- and considering prior comments- it appears the Senator-elect was equating Judaism and the Jewish people; and Israel and its actions. Jews are fine, he is likely saying- but Israel is not.  

For those of us old enough to remember, this should remind us of a famous headline from the (New York) Daily News of October 29, 1975:

Of course, Gerald Ford was President and his sentiment thus was far more significant than that of the incoming senator Abdul el-Sayed. Different jurisdiction, different time, same sentiment.

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Sure Thing

This very good ex-NFL wide receiver is correct that the Republican Party got an "ass beating" because voters demanded affordability and accountability, not a "Kumbaya" moment.

Hakeem Jeffries is not built for this moment … this was a historical ass beating because the people want AFFORDABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY … not some “kumbaya” moment. Yall tried that after the 2008 election and you got the Tea Party and Donald Trump

— Donté L. Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) November 4, 2026

Hakeem Jeffries is not "built for this moment", even if he were built for any moment. However, he will prevail, for a reason that has nothing to do with demonstrated effectiveness or merit.

Everyone has an agenda, whether it is a politician needing to be re-nominated in order to get re-elected; a pundit who cammpt afford tp be camcelled; or a social media influencer who does not want to lose his/her audience nor be subjected to vile, bile, and hatred.   Alas, I get no money for this blog, will never be a candidate in any general election, and have no job to lose. So I'll point out what many- if not most- people realize but will not acknowledge.

It is clear that Jeffries, whom most progressives and many others realize has been a poor leader of his chamber's Democrats and is out-of-touch with Democratic voters, inevitably will be the next Speaker of the House. The following headlines from a search of Google jubilantly tell the woke story:

NPR; Hakeem Jeffries poised to be first Black Speaker of the House

MS Now: Inside Hakeem Jeffries' historic road to the speakership

AP News: Democrat Hakeem Jeffries poised to make history as the first Black speaker of the House

News From The States: Who is Hakeem Jeffries? Meet the likely first Black speaker of the House

CNN: Hakeem Jeffries, on track to make House Speaker history, sees "mandate for dramatic change"

If not deaf, dumb, and blind, you'll notice the pattern:  history!  There is not a snowball's chance in hell that anyone will make a serious challenge to deny Jeffries, and little more than a snowball's chance in hell that there will be even a token challenge to his election as Speaker of the House. His rise to the position is nearly as unlikely as Benjamin Netanyahu leaving Likud to join the Palestinian Authority- and arguably no more likely than Netanyahu joining Hamas

If there were any chance to block the Brooklyn, NY born and raised legislator, it ended once the narrative emerged that his election would be "historic". To paraphrase the late, crooked and not-great Louisiana Democratic governor Edwin Edwards: "The only way Hakeem Jeffries can lose this election is if he's caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy."  And then it would be 50-50.  

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Sweet

If you think Cindy Hyde-Smith was an awful candidate, check out the Republican Party's- or rather, Donald Trump's- nominee for the United States Senate from Texas.

She was a poor candidate. Appointed into the position and was barely carried in 2020. She spent the last five plus years refusing to engage with constituents and was shielded by staff. It caught up with her and those in the MSGOP. I voted for her. Actually, I voted against her opponent. No one ever made the case for her. Only against Colom.

— Chris Hinkle (@TheChrisHinkle) November 4, 2026

As of this moment (and probably well beyond this moment, or today), the election for the seat from Mississippi is too close to call. However, a victory for Scott Colom would be particularly sweet because in April of 2023, Mississippi's junior US Senator blocked

President Joe Biden’s nomination of Scott Colom, a northeast Mississippi district attorney, to serve as U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi. The Republican senator announced the decision Tuesday, citing the Black nominee’s support for transgender rights and support he received from a  PAC funded by billionaire philanthropist and Holocaust survivor George Soros in 2015.

Under Senate tradition, senators can block judicial nominees from their home states by refusing to grant approval by returning a piece of paper known as a “blue slip” to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Mississippi’s other U.S. senator, Republican Roger Wicker, has already granted Colom his approval.

“I visited with the District Attorney recently, and I recognize that he is smart and well liked in his district,” the Republican senator said in a statement Tuesday. “However, there are a number of concerns I have regarding his record. As someone with a strong interest in protecting the rights of girls and women, I am concerned about Scott Colom’s opposition to legislation to protect female athletes.”

In 2021, Mississippi enacted a law banning transgender student athletes from participating on teams that match their gender identity. Colom has not directly addressed that issue, but did sign a letter in 2021 opposing “ongoing efforts to criminalize transgender people and gender-affirming healthcare across the country,” including efforts to “criminalize parents who allow their children to receive medically recommended treatments.” The letter did not mention sports. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a law banning gender-affirming care for anyone under age 18, including puberty blockers and hormone treatments, last month.

At the same time, the Alliance for Justice, in endorsing the nomination, noted

During the last two years of President Obama’s presidency, blue slips helped Republican senators block judicial nominations, allowing only 20 confirmations while leaving 106 vacancies that President Trump then could fill. While Senate Democrats returned over 130 blue slips for nominees during the Trump administration, Senate Republicans have only returned 13 during the Biden administration.

IOKIYAR, It's O.K. if you're a Republican. Republicans play by a different set of rules than do Democrats. Once in power in Congress in 62 days, Democrats need to remember that what goes around, comes around. 

There are several ways Democrats can do that. Their current Senate leader, Chuck Schumer, can notify current Senate Majority Leader John Thune that if a conservative Supreme Court Justice (Samuel Alito or other) announces his resignation to take effect before the new Congress is convened, Thune must not seriously move to confirm the individual President Trump's proposed replacement. If the South Dakotan instead does Trump's bidding, Schumer needs to tell him, Democrats will remember in the 120th Congress.

November 3, 2026- the beginning of the beginning.  Thanks to the unpopularity of the President, aided by the quality of those candidates he virtually handpicked, the GOP has been smacked in the face. Or elsewhere..  

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Bad Scene in The Midwest

If it seems I'm obsessessed about the US Senate race in Michigan, it's only because I am. The twists and turns in this general election campaign would sprain anyone's ankle and at each step, I've been surprised by the response from the main actors. On Friday, Jewish Insider reported

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Friday rejected an appeal from Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) for him to publicly condemn an antisemitic ad in support of his campaign, which Stevens had made a condition of appearing at a joint event on Sunday.

Instead, El-Sayed attacked Stevens, his former Democratic primary opponent, days before the general election.

Stevens said in a statement Friday that she had been told that El-Sayed planned to condemn the Rebellion PAC ad, which blamed support of Israel on higher food prices. She also asked him to apologize for his own rhetoric on Israel and take down a campaign ad featuring Tucker Carlson, after having warned that he was alienating undecided Jewish and Black voters.

El-Sayed rejected those requests, and sounded a defiant note against the Democratic lawmaker, who endorsed him immediately after the primary and maintained as of Wednesday that she still planned to vote for him. 

“While Congresswoman Stevens seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago, let’s all focus on the task at hand: that’s beating Mike Rogers, holding Trump accountable, and getting money out of politics, putting money in pockets, and passing Medicare for All,” he said.

The campaign added that El-Sayed has “always been focused on addressing the most critical challenges Michiganders are facing” which is “why our people-powered campaign defeated a historic $70M in outside spending from big corporations and AIPAC on behalf of Congresswoman Stevens.”

The campaign statement echoes El-Sayed’s own responses throughout the week to Stevens, her fiancé and other voters Stevens said are concerned about his rhetoric, arguing that anyone not supporting him isn’t focused on the issues that matter.

Stevens should have made her demands simpler, clearer, and sufficiently realistic for el-Sayed to meet. The immediate controversy began with posting of the offensive ad by the Pac headed by Cenk Uygur, uncle of Hasan Piker. The Democratic congresswoman from Michigan's 11th congressional district could have merely asked the candidate who defeated her in the primaryto denounce the ad. (El-Sayed's campaign had distanced itself from, but not repudiated, it.)

That request would have been relatively easy to accomodate and had el-Sayed refused, it would have told us more about him than about his critic. Instead, Stevens imposed upon her former rival a high bar to surmount, and el-Sayed  well, gave her the middle finger. Had he agreed, he would have seemed to have capitulated.

Agreement by el-Sayed may have been Stevens' condition for appearing at a campaign rally at an African-American church in Detroit on Sunday. Whether or not it was, the nominee disinvited the congresswoman, noting it would have been a "distraction" (sort of like referring to Hurricane Katrina as a "weather event").  For Stevens, that's called "overplaying your hand".

Rather than taking the "L" for now, Stevens, whose fiancee already had announced that he was voting for Mike Rogers, endorsed the Republican, to no little anger from fellow Democrats  It also will be of no benefit to Stevens, who previously had avoided el-Sayed directly while 

We can't know for sure why Stevens challenged the Democratic nominee to this extent. However, Rogers is partially right in the tweet below. It's wrong to suggest, without evidence, that Stevens was doing her husband's bidding or that is mentally ill or even merely emotionally fragile. The concept of feminism evidently is quite malleable.

It is wildly insulting that Debbie Dingell and Mallory McMorrow are insinuating that Congresswoman Stevens is mentally ill and that Jason influences her decision making in an unhealthy way. Congresswoman Stevens should be commended for her courage to stand up to hate and put Michigan first. https://t.co/7I9528TEWO

— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) November 2, 2026

It is weird, though.  Stevens reportedly had assured fellow Democrats as late as Saturday night that she was still behind el-Sayed, reportedly, allegedly, then abruptly changed course overnight and appeared at an African-American church with Rogers on Sunday moring. And her decision to back Rogers at a point in which all opinion polls indicate el-Sayed leading by more than the margin of error has the smell of the late, formerTexas governor, John Connally 

Connally was a Democrat who endorsed Richard Nixon for re-election as President in 1972, primarily because of policy differences with Democratic nominee George McGovern. In May, 1973 he left the Democratic Party to become a Republican, possibly because he anticipated the departure from the vice presidency of Spiro Agnew while not foreseeing the forced resignation of the disgraced President Nixon in August, 1974. He was passed up then, as he was on two other occasions, probably because his switch in party satisfied virtually no one. Bad, bad timing.

The present sordid affair in Michiganhas covered nobody in glory, not Stevens, el-Sayed, Senate President Schumer (who had helped persuade Stevens to launch her bid for the nomination), not even Representative Dingell nor Mallory McMorrow. However, at least the latter got it right when 

Stevens could have made a continuing argument that she is one Democrat, among a minority in the Party, which not only rejects hatred of Jews but also supports Israel as a democratic nation and Jewish state. She does argue "I'm not turning my back on Democrats. It is this one vote."  The flaw in that reasoning, as everyone realizes, is that that one Senate race may determine control of the upper chamber. If it does, Stevens position will have proven to have been more dangerous, and roughly as wrongheaded, as the critics irresponsibly attributing her stance to mental or emotional defect.

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This Would Have Been Easier If Michigan Primary Voters Hadn't Taken Leave of Their Senses

The clash between Haley Stevens and Abdul el-Sayed is one big cluster- well, you know. However, the powers that be in the Democratic Party are not covering themselves with glory by their unwillingness to take a clear position. With a few modifications, this tweet from David Frum on Halloween would be spot-on.

It would be more reassuring if national Democrats could say

"Everybody in Democratic leadership will combine to curb the ugliest instincts of a Senator el-Sayed. We'll vote funds to protect Jewish institutions from the antisemitic violence that el-Sayed made excuses for. We'll assign him to healthcare committees and keep him far, far away from Homeland Security. We desperately need this seat to hold the Trump administration accountable, but we're not going to lie to you and pretend the guy is anything other than what he is. That would be disrespectful and dishonest. Trump is the main issue here. You have our promise that this nomination is a one-time aberration - and that the rest of us will continue to uphold Jewish safety at home and the US-Israel alliance overseas."

He starts out very strongly with

Everybody in Democratic leadershp will combine to curb the ugliest instincts of a Senator-el-Sayed. We'll vote funds to protect Jewish institutions from the antisemitic violence that el-Sayed made excuses for. We'll assign him to healthcare committees and keep him far, far away from Homeland Security. We desperately need this seat to hold the Trump administration accountable.

The goal must be to hold the Trump administration accountable- "accountability," at least in the abstract, always is popular.  No one ever says "I'm not accountable" or even "we shouldn't hold X person or instituion accountable".

The idea of keeping el-Sayed off the Senate Homeland Security committee is excellent, and one can only hope a lack of imagination is the only reason no Democrat has recommended it.  And assigning him specifically to health care committes would be a stroke of genius because el-Sayed is- at least rhetorically- supportive of Medicare for All.  Great!

Nonetheless, "we're not going to lie to you and pretend the guy is anything other than what he is" is unnecessarily contentious. :While Donald Trump is in fact "the main issue here", describing el-Sayed's primary victory as "a one-time aberration" would send voter flocking to his opponent- and would do nothing to improve the Democratic brand, long-term or short-term.

So to clean Frum's idea up a little, we would have

Everybody in Democratic leadership will combine to curb the ugliest instincts of anyone, including our own members. We'll vote funds to protect Jewish institutions from antisemitic violence encouraged by either Republicans or Democrats. We'll assign Senator el-Sayed to healthcare committees and keep him far, far away from Homeland Security. We desperately need this seat to hold the Administration accountable because corrupt President Trump, king of the deep state, is the main issue here and across the country.

The current cliche is "two things can be true at once", which was shortened from the more precise "two contradictory things can be true at once".  Ideally, the Democratic Party would have been wise to work hard in the twelve of the thirteen Senate races which the Cook Political Report has deemed "leans Democratic", "toss up", or "leans Republican", which would exclude the contest in Michigan.  But prominent Democrats, led by President Obama- who disliked Israel but never had the backbone to challenge Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu- decided that boosting an anti-Semitic candidate would be a swell idea.

Maybe it's only simple math. With a victory by el-Sayed, Democrats probably would end up with 50, 51, or 52 Senators (53 in a tsunami).  Fifty is insufficient. Fifty-one theoretically is sufficient, but the concessions then offered John Fetterman to match those he'd be offered by Republicans might be excruciating.  Sadly, 52 thus may be necessary. Not stumping for the candidate in Michigan would be a big gamble.

That may be why Barack Obama and other Democrats- Haley Stevens an obvious exception- don't want to be the last to grab a seat on the anti-Semite train. If it's more than that, the Party's problems are going to prove much greater than one disreputable candidate in one Midwestern state.

     

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Hatred of Jews Rolls on

James Fishback recently ran for the GOP nomination for governor of Florida and came in third, trailing Florida's Lieutenant Governor and the winner, Byron Donalds. More notably, he has a very sketch past and made Donalds seem like, well, the Executive Director of the (B'nai B'rith) Anti-Defamation League.

Sincere or not, Fishback is continuing to prmote himself as a hero of the anti-Jewish right.

A young student at Liberty University asked me a question about "the chosen people" My response: "There are people out there by the way, who do blame everything on the Jews. That's low IQ anti-Semitism. It is wrong, it should be condemned. The reason why banana prices are high, a new ad is running in Michigan, is not because of the Jews." "Now it just so happens that the reason why diesel prices are high is because Benjamin Netanyahu lied us into another war. But that's Israel and so I think that good faith Americans on both sides should, and largely are, separating genuine substantive criticisms of the Israeli government" "With respect to the Old Testament whether it's in Jeremiah or commonly in Genesis 12 this covenant that says that those who bless will be blessed those who curse will be cursed. I would ask you to turn to what St. Paul wrote in Galatians 6 which is that neither Gentile nor Jew neither man or woman, we are all one in Christ. That new covenant is Jesus Christ full stop end of story."

— James Fishback (@jamesfishback) October 29, 2026

Fishback alleged "Now it just so happens that the reason why diesel prices are is because Benjamin Netanyahu lied us into another war. But that's Israel and so I think that good faith Americans on both sides should, and largely are, separating genuine substantive criticisms of the Israeli government."

Banana prices are not high because of "the Jews". Diesel prices are not high because of "the Jews". And Benjamin Netanyahu did not "lie us into another war".

We do not know whether Prime Minister Netanyahu lied to President Trump and neither does James Fishback. He certainly did not "lie to us, the American people, which is precisely an event Fishback wants us to believe took place.

The Saudi government and the Israeli government both encouraged President Trump to make war against Iran because they believed that was in the interest of their respective countries, and very likely though it was in the best interest of the United States of America. The Saudis are still at it.

Donald Trump is quite capable of making his own decisions and this is one he made on his own. And he did it despite repeatedly telling the American people over the past ten years that he was anti-war to his core.

On at least three occassions he explicitly promised to keep the USA out of any war. On March 4, 2023 he told the CPAC convention "No new wars. I finished some old wars." In the first week of August, 2024, he told Kick streamer Adin Ross "And we won't have wars again". And in his acceptance speech on November 6, 2024, he declared "He will start a war.  "I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars."

The Scriptural references are merely a cover story. Fishback had two points to make, neither of them remotely valid.  He was not even trying to make it appear that he was blaming Israel and not Jews generally. When he say says "Benjamin Netanyahu lied us into another war" (another war?) and "but that's Israel," he knows that a receptive audience realizes he is blaming Jews.

Less obviously, he is sending this message: don't blame President Trump. He didn't lie us into war. It was Benjamin Netanyahu, again, though we aren't told when the first time was. So this is another Republican running interference for Donald Trump, and doing so as an anti-Semite. There are too many of them.

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