Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

February 4, 2024

It Comes Down to Leadership

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "It Comes Down to Leadership."

While surely all decent, patriotic American people want to see the United States continue as a beacon of freedom and leadership in the world, the problems this country is facing both internally and externally are wearing down our ability to cope with them. From our economy to our border and national security, from our universities to our urban centers, from radical wokeism to vile protests overcome with hate, racism, and violence, our nation is threatened perhaps like never before.

While there are many factors that contribute to our national success, certainly if we are going to be able to confront the challenges we face both at home and abroad, we must have strong and courageous leadership. Not only to unite us but also to evoke our very best, we need leadership that commands respect from both left and right, with a mighty and passionate vision that moves us not only to farseeing human progress but equally to moral righteousness. With this, we can instill pride in both who we are and where we are going and not be in fear of what’s threatening our streets or our shores anymore.

(AI generated Image via Craiyon)

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April 21, 2023

Pineapple USA

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
 


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February 5, 2023

Stopping China's Spy Balloon

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Stopping China's Spy Balloon."

Unfortunately, the longer we gazed up at the sky, procrastinated, and let this Chinese surveillance craft collect and send important information to China, the worse it was for our global reputation, vital national security, deterrence for future military engagement, and priceless sovereignty and freedom. That balloon should have been found, shot down, and caught in real time off the Alaskan coast, not days later after traversing our country and so near our capital. This has been a national embarrassment and has presumably damaged vital global security interests.

(https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2023/02/Balloon.jpeg)

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November 11, 2022

Thank You To Our Veterans

This is veterans' sacrifice. 

Words of thank you aren't near enough for their service. 

Everyday is veterans day! ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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July 6, 2022

July 4th Nail Polish

Nails that say red, white, and blue.

Perfectly patriotic for the 4th of July!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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July 4, 2022

Kayaking @Lake Needwood

Happy 4th of July!
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4th of July Cookies and Bagels

 

The old Red, White, and Blue. 

Here's to Democracy and Freedom!

(Credit Photos: Dossy Blumenthal)

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June 18, 2022

It’s The Economy Stupid

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "It's The Economy Stupid."
It is incredible that our leaders, economic advisors, and near endless pundits didn’t see what was surely coming down the road in terms of an overheating economy, inflation, and a spiraling national debt now over $30 trillion and growing. Despite economic signals even visible to the layman, the Fed continued to promise to hold the interest rates near zero “for years” to come. The cheap money and free-wheeling government spending became an avalanche with almost no adult in the room willing to stand up and say, “Stop the money madness! Government handouts are not free!”
Aside from the recklessness with which our economy has been handled, let’s not forget that there is a proxy war going on between the superpowers in Ukraine for the last four months, including a frightening blockade on grain shipments (i.e. food terrorism) to tens of millions of people. Further toward the east, China is upping the ante vowing to “fight until the end” for sovereignty over Taiwan. And in the middle, Iran is dismantling the IAEA nuclear monitoring cameras, adding high-speed centrifuges, increasing uranium enrichment, and threatening Israel and the West. Let’s just say all is not copacetic in the world, while a congressional select committee continue to focus on what happened on January 6, 2021 with the U.S. Capitol riots.

People are not blind, deaf, and dumb to what’s going on with the childish gamesmanship, politics of hate, and plenty of recklessness that is driving much of the national debate and (in)action in the country. 

(Credit Photo: Blink O'fanaya; adapted from https://www.flickr.com/photos/blinkofanaye/14913895723/)

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June 14, 2022

USA USA USA

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
 


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January 29, 2022

Goading The Bull In Ukraine

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Goading The Bull In Ukraine."

A few years ago, Israel’s former Foreign Minister, Avigdor Liberman (Soviet-born) cautioned about Israel’s indecision on handling the existential Iranian nuclear threat:
We need decisiveness, determination, not whining…no agreement will stop them. If you want to shoot, shoot, don’t talk.

These days, there is a similar situation with Russia and the U.S.’s threats over Ukraine: too much senseless political bantering and ultimatums that is only ratcheting up tension in the world. The result is that Russia’s ominous military machine including 100,000 troops have surrounded Ukraine (the 2nd largest country in Europe) on three sides and are poised to attack, yet there is a ridiculous song and dance being played out on the world stage In the end, the question is whose strategy will prove to be the winning one: Russia’s daunting finger on the trigger or even an actual devastating invasion of resource-rich Ukraine to try and safeguard their flank on Eastern Europe or the U.S. gambling that Russia will get mired in a no-win Afghan-like military foray that will bankrupt them financially and morally. As we await the answer to this, the world is learning to disregard and disrespect those that talk bull and goad the bull rather than decisively confronting the threat. We can’t afford the consequences to world peace and stability.

(Source Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/trimmers-torero-bullfighters-sales-2314770/)
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January 8, 2022

Discerning The Truth Amid Iran’s Lies

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Discerning The Truth Amid Iran's Lies."
While people can easily utter falsehoods, like Iran saying that their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, the documents and computer drives that Israel captured in 2016 when they courageously raided Iran’s nuclear archive shows that Iran has been pursuing a dangerous nuclear weapons program for decades.

The world has tried to contain Iran for decades: From monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities through the IAEA, to sanctions and covert actions to deter and set back Iran’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and the JCPOA deal to try to contain Iran’s march to nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, nothing has worked, and Iran is intent on getting the bomb.

Moreover, while the costs of a preemptive attack on Iran could be great, the doctrine from former Prime Minister, Menachem Begin that Israel cannot and will not allow countries that threaten Israel’s existence to get the means to carry it out is as true today as in 1981 when Israel took out Iraq’s nuclear reactor in Osirak.
The Jewish people learned from 2,000 years in exile and persecution ending in the Holocaust that killed six million Jews that we must take verbal threats of annihilation supported by facts on the ground against us most seriously. As children of the Holocaust survivors, we must be true to our words of “Never again” and act with courage and determination to confront the enemy covertly and if necessary, with overt action to stop their genocidal pursuit from ever getting off the ground.

(Credit Photo: via https://www.flickr.com/photos/aeneastudio/3657735814 by aeneastudio and adapted by Andy Blumenthal)

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January 2, 2022

U.S. Misses The Boat on Hypersonic Missiles

It's great to be able to fight the old conventional ways. 

But the U.S. spends more than the next top 11 countries combined on defense. 

Yet, we have failed miserably at the next BIG thing in defense: hypersonic weapons!

Both China and Russia have hypersonic weapons ready to use on us.

China even claims they can use they can use their hypersonic missiles with heat seeking technology to destroy our most advanced fighter aircraft the F-35 and F-22.  

Yet as recently as November, the 3rd of the U.S. Air Force's hypersonic missile tests failed!  

Now at best, the U.S. Navy is hoping to be able to perhaps deploy hypersonic weapons by 2025-2028.

In the meantime, the U.S. is vulnerable to its adversaries at a time when Russia and China are rearing their militaries for confrontations in Ukraine and Taiwan, respectively.

And that could be only the beginning, if we don't get our military R&D together and fast. 

How could this happen with all the money we spend on defense?

Eyes wide shut like Pearl Harbor and 9/11 all over again!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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September 13, 2021

All The Presidents Men

Is the lady in the center going to be the first female president or who will it be?

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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August 8, 2021

No Talking To A Terrorist

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "No Talking To A Terrorist."

The fact of the matter is that when a terrorist who hates you and wants to kill you talks, they are telling you that homicidal action is soon forthcoming. It starts with words of disdain, loathing, threats, and hostility, but make no mistake, that those words end in terror and death. Terrorists, like the radical Iranian mullahs are not someone you can sit down with for tea, have a nice conversation, and work out a meaningful or binding diplomatic agreement. Unfortunately, the only thing that a murderous, racist terrorist understands is a punch in the nose! Accordingly, no amount of talking with Iran is going to lead to them ceasing their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction to use against the Jewish State and the United States. In their own very distorted “religious” minds, the irrational Iranian mullahs hate us and want us dead, period. To them, we are the scorned infidels, and they are the holy jihadists on a mission of murder. As much as we want peace with all our neighbors, in this case, a military response is not only necessary, but required.
The Jewish people have learned very well the hard and painful lessons from tyrannical madmen who have sought to destroy us over the centuries. The Holocaust is seared into our present-day consciousness like the tattooed numbers were into their victim’s flesh. We have learned to never let our guard down, to expect the unexpected, and to fight like hell when we have to. I am confident that with G-d’s help, Israel and the United States will not wait until it’s too late or stand by for a genocide to happen again! What Iran “says,” it means, but what Israel “does,” it expertly succeeds at.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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July 28, 2021

Flags and Rugs, Odd Combo Platter

 

What an odd combo.

We sell Flags and Rugs

Maybe like Michelle Obama said: 

When they go low [with rugs], we go high [with flags].

Oh, that's what she meant!  

If the store ever expands, they can add:

And we sell everything in between (like furniture).

Low, high, it's all making me a little dizzy today. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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July 25, 2021

Let Freedom Ring

I saw this van with all this messaging about "Communist China." 

Guy from the truck asks me:

Do you know what CCP is?

Not having heard that acronym, I started to mumble something about communism, and before I could finish, he goes:

It stands for Chinese Communist Party. 

He continued:

That's dictatorship. Do you know what that is?

I responded:

Of course, and the people want to be free.

He goes:

Yes, freedom! We want freedom. 

It's hard to believe that a generation ago the Cold War ended, but here we are still with people battling Communism and repression of basic rights. 

How lucky we are in America, Israel, and other western countries to live in freedom and have basic human rights. 

People around the world fight and die trying to earn their freedom, and we wake up with it every day, and it's just there for us. 

It's an incredible blessing to be free to think, speak, worship, and live how we choose.

We have to safeguard freedom and even fight for it: to have it, to keep it; and we should use it wisely to do and grow good in the world.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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July 4, 2021

@Lake Needwood July 4

 

Beautiful July 4th.

The great outdoors with the family. 

Hiking and sitting by the water just taking a relaxing breather.  

Grateful for Independence here and in the Promised Land!  ;-)

(Credit Photos: Andy Blumenthal)


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June 17, 2021

All American Hummer

Hummer is a large mother car. 

Based on military Humvee, so rules the road. 

They should've never gotten rid of these. 

Big and rugged like you'd expect in America. 

This one has the red, white, and blue colors to prove it!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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May 16, 2021

Fight Terrorism / Support Israel

(Credit Photo: Andy and Dannielle Blumenthal)
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April 27, 2021

Motif For The U.S. Economy


This seems like it could be a major theme of the U.S. economy. 

"Buy Now, Pay Later!"

And then...

"Foreclosure"

You can't borrow infinitely.

It eventually has to be repaid. 

Where will the money come from?  

Print more.

Worth less!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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