It was hurtful to read Brett Stephen’s op-ed piece today. The point of the essay was one sided. Stephens says Israel is too aggressive, combative, competitive and so self-centered that it deserves the denunciation it receives from others.  Critics include Jews in Israel, Jews in the US, students and people around the world that had/have a dislike for Jews since 1500BCE. At the UN it is commonplace for the US and Israel to vote against every other member of the organization.

I hasten to remind Stephens that Jews have been around for nearly 4,000 years. During that time, they have been murdered, raped and pillaged by virtually every group throughout the world. It is telling  19that there are only 17 million Jews throughout the world while Islam worshippers have a population of about 1.7 billion. The reason for the discrepancy is that Jews are frequently targeted by people who are under duress. In 1938 there were 16.6 million Jews and by 1945 the number decreased to about 11 million as Germans and others directed their venom against Jews for bad economic conditions. The population of Jews today would have been significantly higher if there was no Holocaust. The point is that Anti-Semitic groups have killed off millions of Jews in the course of history. This is the reason why Jews are taught to look over the shoulder.

Jews have joined forces with the US to deal with combative Arabs, specifically Iran. Iran has funded terrorist attacks on Jews ever since the founding of Israel. Israel has taken the brunt of anti-Semitic fervor. With the US at its side, it can now respond to radicals who have assaulted and killed Israelis as part of a murderous spree and be close to shutting down Iran’s nuclear project. Be sure, Israel would be the first country to experience a nuclear attack by Iran. 

I wrote an essay about the Rolling Stones on June 13, 2024. I thought my readers would like to read this blog after such an enthusiastic response to my blog about meeting Mick Jagger..

Some things never get old. For me, attending Rolling Stones’ concerts is an experience I have enjoyed over and over for 55 years. I attended my first concert in 1969 where I witnessed Mick Jagger for the first time. I was blown away as Jagger strutted across the stage in his Omega Man outfit. I’ve lost count, but I believe I’ve gone to about 14 more concerts since my first.

The Stones personify rock and roll around the world. They are the recognized royalty of rock. Their performances have been lauded by fans for over 60 years. That’s a long time for anyone to listen to Gimme Shelter and Satisfaction over and over again.

What makes The Rolling Stones so special? For one thing their longevity is remarkable. No singer or band has entertained the masses for the length of time that the Stones have. No musicians have dared to perform so many different music sub-genres as the Stones- hard rock, country, country rock, ballads, soul, dancing tunes, etc. The band has captured the interest of billions of people worldwide.

Keep in mind, the critical band members are now 80 years old, and Charlie Watts is now gone. Jagger still dances, teases and sexualizes Stones’ music. Richards is the person who provides the tempo and leads the band. He is a maestro rhythm guitar player.

The diversity of the Stones has enabled them to create a truly iconic portfolio of songs that concert attendees have enjoyed for so long. The old songs are so good that new tracks created by Jagger and Richards have no chance of replacing them.

The Stones play their new music, and the audience patiently waits for Jagger to sing the old favorites, Honky Tonk Woman, Gimme Shelter, Start Me Up, She’s a Rainbow and Satisfaction.

I attended two Stones’ concerts in the past month and will attend another one in July. I’m distraught that the band may be reaching a point where they cannot or will not play any longer be it because of death, old age or just being tired of playing the same songs over and over. It brings a tear to my eye that this miraculous career of the Stones must end.

As I watched Jagger perform with so much energy, I sometimes wish the Stones could play forever. Stones’ music reflects my younger days; I’m a child of the 60s. Protest, war, social injustice, contempt for authority and all the things that young people want to stress in this day and age are issues I experienced 50+ years ago. Unfortunately, there are two problems with this observation. The issues of 2024 are not as striking as those of 1965 to 1975 (Vietnam- 50,000 dead soldiers and serious civil rights abuses), and the music industry does not have any leaders of the same stature as Mick Jagger who can still evoke the strong feelings reminiscent of 1970.

Gimme Shelter is a plea for peace and tranquility. The feelings that it stirs are horrifying. The plethora of females who have sung the song with Jagger reflect the trouble of the 60s and 70s. When Jagger’s partners take the stage during Gimme Shelter it’s a sad and wondrous moment.

I would like to be asked to eulogize Jagger when his time passes. Corresponding, I would like him to sing at my funeral, when I’m gone. Not sure which song I would select, probably Gimme Shelter or Satisfaction.

Long live the Stones. Long live their music. Long live rock and roll.

My wife and I attended the New York City Ballet Spring Gala last night. Mick Jagger, the superstar lead singer of the Rolling Stones, made a cameo appearance to kick off the affair.

The guests were guided into the second-floor area where the tables were already set for dinner. My wife said Mick was only a few tables away from us, and that I should go meet him.

I made a bee line to Mick and introduced myself. I tried to tell him that I’m his greatest fan and grabbed his hand to shake it. I told him to keep singing and dancing.

What a moment! I finally got a chance to meet my rock and roll idol. It was the thrill of my life.

A few years ago, I met Ronnie Wood at a hotel in NY and chatted with him. I’ll be looking to meet Keith Richards next.

I’m the guy with the gray hair.

The leaders of Iran are not going to yield to the US so easily. They will stall, misdirect and lie to obtain favorable terms from US negotiators, especially pertaining to nuclear weapons. In fact, they said today that the US demands were “impossible.” Given the devastation of the Iran’s military including its Navy, Air Force and missile program, it does not seem logical for the powers that be to hold out much longer. The country is in dire financial condition. Yet it is incredible that Iran is so aggressive and negotiating as if they held cards in the game. For sure, after the dust settles, Iran will not be an ally of the US.

It’s not clear whether the US negotiators are focusing on the most critically important issue. If all the bombing and name calling enables the US to shut down Iran’s nuclear effort once and for all, the whole Iranian adventure would likely be deemed a success.

A nuclear bomb in the hands of the radical Iranian government is an existential risk for the whole world. If Iran somehow uses a nuclear device on its neighbors in the Middle East, Israel or America, the whole world will be in turmoil, and the resultant bloodshed will be devastating.

As far as Iran rebuilding itself is concerned, it has no hope of recovering militarily, socially or economically for 20 or 50 years. The big question is will the group that eventually leads Iran be peaceful or will Iran become a proxy for radical groups in the Middle East or elsewhere (such as China, Russia and theocratic governments in the in the region)?

Trump’s name calling is useless, unprofessional and is being overused by the US president. Iran has already been destroyed. The US is responsible for the destruction of Iran and the ultimate impact of oil on the world looking ahead. Surely oil nations in the region will try to take advantage of countries that need the fossil fuels.

The most likely outcome will be an Iran with scores of revolutionaries and a deep hatred of the US. That fact could very well inspire US efforts to decrease the usage of fossil fuels in the short term.

It is doubtful that Iran will be able to rebuild its infrastructure and become a self-sustaining country in the foreseeable future. With lower petroleum needs, the world will likely shy away from Iran for at least a generation. Another interesting question is what effect will Iran’s downfall have on the Shia sect of Islam. Will Sunni countries attempt to gain a foot hold as Iran begins to rebuild?

The New York Times and other liberal news organizations have been spending a lot of time discussing the issues relating to a deal with Iran to end the hostilities. It’s so misleading to say that the US and Iran have been negotiating a treaty that will bring peace to the Middle East. The US controls the situation completely. And to say that Iran has any leverage at the bargaining table is frankly laughable. The meetings between the US and Iran are mostly to discuss conditions Iran will have to accept.

Let’s first consider the current state of Iran from military, economic and diplomatic points of view. Iran’s military has been destroyed. Its army is in shambles. Iranian foot soldiers appear to have no power of persuasion over the government. And the government has very few influential religious leaders and politicians who understand the gravity of the situation and/or are qualified to conduct high level diplomatic negotiations.

Second, Iran cannot muster a large group of willing soldiers to counter-attack the US. Iran’s ground forces are mostly rockets with dubious effectiveness. In fact, most missiles launched at Israel and Lebanon were shot down with anti-missiles.

Iran will have to turn over its remaining nuclear material to the US or Trump is going to attack infrastructure targets with air power. There is absolutely no way Iran will have the ability or the money to rebuild a nuclear arsenal.

The Times is trying to give credibility to Iran’s fighting forces. It’s a total distortion. Before long, the US is going to finish off any remnants of military capability. Iran will have to sign whatever the US puts in front of its negotiators.

President Trump stood up to Iran about six weeks ago. The US defeated the rogue country in a very short period of time.  

Hezbollah was tormenting Israel with missile strikes from Lebanon. Israel’s Netanyahu was screaming for the US to respond to actions by Hezbollah and by Iran’s other proxies. It was time to take the next step in the Iran saga- 50 years of bad behavior and loss of lives in the thousands.

Trump called for the complete destruction of Iran’s nuclear weapons production. This has been accomplished with a miniscule number of US casualties and little damage to US armaments. The battle plan was a complete success.

In spite of his success on the battle front, the liberal press has not commented positively about Trump’s accomplishments. The US military leaders have estimated that US forces have destroyed 75% of Iran’s critical assets. Whether Trump decides to destroy the remaining assets of Iran, primarily infrastructure, will depend upon Iran’s leadership accepting the US terms of Iran surrender.

All of the important considerations relating to going to war have been under advisement. Safety of the US military, effectiveness of US military assets and eliminating collateral damage have all been carefully thought through by US generals.

And yet, all we hear about is utter nonsense from the left. The war only lasted six weeks and the most dangerous murders since WWII have been killed. And the Middle East no longer needs to be concerned about crazy ayatollahs using nuclear weapons to intimidate others.

But now I want to ask the most important question relating to Iran. Would any US citizen choose to go back in time? Iran would be what it was just several weeks ago. That means that Iran would be on the verge of building nuclear bombs, Iran proxies would be tormenting the Middle East and the US would be threatening Iran.

You must consider that Iran has been neutered. It has no military and the odds of a nuclear war are slim to none. Would you really want the crazy ayatollahs near the buttons to launch nuclear weapons at Isael and at US troops in the region? I think we should be thankful that the risks of a nuclear war are zero.

Americans against the war with Iran are resorting to morality reasons for their protests. War is immoral. Dropping bombs on innocent people is immoral. Forcing people out of their homes is immoral. Is America’s invasion justifiable. Is the assault criminal and/or immoral.

One definition of morality is the distinction between right and wrong, or good and evil. Of course, everyone has their own moral compass, which may not jive with others.

Is Iran’s behavior for the past five decades immoral? Ask an ayatollah and he would say of course his country is moral. It is the duty of religious men to flush out the evil doers. Some “holy people” in Iran think that encouraging mayhem and murder of others, who do not worship God in a certain way, is justifiable and moral (but I don’t).

Who is the ultimate judge of what is moral and immoral? Most would say Nazi Germany was an immoral country and needed to be destroyed. The actions of Iran are very similar to what happened during WWII. Thousands of Iranians have been killed or incarcerated.

President Trump has independently judged Iran an evil country that will always be immoral under rule of its theocracy government. The US Congress did not vote on whether the US is acting morally in its efforts to cause a regime change. Trump believes his intentions are righteous based upon the behavior of the rogue state. It would be “more righteous” if Congress voted on the invasion of Iran.

There are many people who agree with Trump, both Americans and others around the world. The president said many times that Iran’s bellicose actions are immoral, and the US has a duty to come to the aid of its allies, primarily Israel and Sunni nations. There is no court to seek justice. There is no legal body to judge whether the US is acting morally.

And so, the US bombarded Iran unmercifully. In the US, we believe we are always on the side of righteousness. Our actions might be criticized publicly, but there is nothing any courts can do about it.

Even Pope Leo has jumped on the bandwagon. He claims the US is not righteous in its actions. I hasten to remind the pontiff that he still needs to take care of the pedophilia epidemic in his own church.

So what do we do? After the destruction and negotiations, Iran still is resisting the will of a of the US. The American military has come very far in its efforts to destroy Iraq’s military and nuclear aspirations. Certainly, the desire of all nations is to prevent Iran from having and using nuclear weapons. Not only that, it’s an existential situation that needs to be taken care of once and for the benefit of mankind.

What would have been the best way for the US to respond to Iran’s rogue government? I think that many more people would be on the side of Donald Trump if he had solicited permission from Congress to move forward with the invasion. Then again, if the president feels a situation deteriorating dangerously, he should be obligated to take action.

Donald Trump has greatly riled his opponents during his second term as president. Besides changing a plethora of laws and outdated practices relating to immigration, crime, states’ rights and numerous societal issues, he is fighting a war to take down one of the most despicable countries in history.

Instead of suggesting needed legislation and tracking a good war plan, The New York Times and CNN (along with other liberal news outlets) are constantly complaining that the president is acting like a deity or a dictator on important issues.

Surely, Trump has an elevated opinion of himself. He gets off by bragging about the things that he has accomplished along with structures that have his name and photo on them. Examples include buildings, streets, battleships, etc.

Many in Washington believe that you should be dead before the government puts your name on federal property. Bernie Sanders’s has proposed a law that would not allow presidents still alive to have their names affixed to federal buildings.

Trump has a god-like attitude for sure. He thinks he is more intelligent, better looking and better equipped to be a president than any other person alive.

Personally, I could care less about the snide Trump anecdotes that are rising about Trump’s personality. What I’m concerned about is ridding the world of bad leaders and human rights violators, who want to develop nuclear weapons and who destabilize the world. Trump brags about his accomplishments. It is annoying and not becoming for a president to strut around acting like a diva. But if he does the job, good for him.

Seven past presidents were unable to effectively deal with the ayatollahs in Iran. These horrible men want to convert all Arabs to the same sect of Islam. They want to lead the Arab world and will use military action to do so. Iran is a male dominated society that tortures its people for breaking petty restrictions about clothing, dancing and happiness.

Iran also wants to destroy the US and Israel. It funds an extensive group of proxies to harass and intimidate its neighbors. But most of all, Iran wants to develop a nuclear weapon, with which it will greatly influence the Near East.

The aforementioned American oopresidents were unable to rein in Iran. Obama gave Iran a nod to build a nuclear bomb in the near term. Trump, however, could no longer put up with ayatollahs’ lies and misbehavior and decided to take out the country’s nuclear weapons development program, destroy Iran’s Navy and military assets and shut down the country’s oil business pop pop to bankrupt Iran. The ayatollahs are acting like they have choices as part of a ceasefire. But, it isn’t true. The Iranian negotiators have no cards to play.

Trump is doing a good job dealing with Iran. He has accomplished things that other presidents could not do. Give him a little more time and he will get the job done. The world will soon no longer fret about Iranian aggression.

Let me be clear, I totally support the military operations against Iran conducted by the US. Since the takeover of the government by the ayatollahs 50 years ago, this group of fanatics and murderers has traumatized Sunni Arabs, Israel, most of Iran’s neighbors and the US.

But I would like to call your attention to the thousands of people who have lost their homes, families and their lives as the Iran war continues. All the rhetoric about legality of the conflict and the role of Congress is moot. Real people are suffering greatly.

The US must consider the morality of its actions. War means people are being killed by bureaucrats. The US cannot be the police force for the entire world and held to an unattainable standard. We cannot solve every problem that arises around the world. But, wait a minute, maybe we are the go-to protector when a calamity occurs. History certainly proves this to be the case.

I think Iran is a morally corrupt country drawn to extremes by religious radicals. Iran is practicing a misguided form of Islam; it prescribes death to the non-believers. So why, you ask, were so many people in the US marching against the actions of the US in the Middle East? Too often, skeptics say that Trump is a despot and his orders to bomb Iran are sinful, or illegal or inappropriate or antisocial. You should remember the hundreds of Americans killed by Iran’s proxies. And the thousands of Israelis that have been killed during the last 6,000 years. And also, the 30,000 Iranians who recently participated peacefully in protest and were shot dead in the streets.

The US has assumed a great responsibility. It funds its actions with taxes paid by hard working Americans. All the jets, warships and soldiers that are fighting the Israeli war are doing so with our tax money. And, Great Britain, Spain and France would not allow US planes to refuel in their countries on the way to targets in Iran. Europe expects the US to flip the bill for any wars that occur.

US Presidents have taken the responsibility of crushing enemies across the globe. We cannot stand by and watch aggressive nations as they declare war for no good reason.

It should be noted that the US budget for defense is nearly $1 trillion per year per annum. It takes a lot of money to police the world.

But money is not everything. Americans are against sending ground troops into battle. We prefer to drop bombs and launch missiles to kill our enemies. This does not obfuscate the need to consider what we are doing when there is a great collateral damage. This is when bombing kills innocent people while fighting the enemy.

Thou shall not kill, so says the Bible. Our leaders should have a clear rationale for going into war that includes the cost, collateral damage, destruction of infrastructure and damage to cultural institutions. And finally, every new military excursion should have a time limit. It would be sinful to have our soldiers on duty for extended period of time, such as Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Hopefully, the US is entering the last phase of the war with Iran. Naturally, talking heads, politicians and run of the middle Americans have vastly different perspectives about the US taking on Iran. Some people are concerned that the US is not justified unleashing its military might on a country several thousand miles away. Others are concerned with Iran having a nuclear weapon, which experts believed would have been available shortly before the war started.

In may be useful to take a few steps backwards to analyze the options and decisions our president had during the past several weeks.

No one believes Iran is a productive and cooperative member of the world’s community of nations. The country is dominated by a group of crazed ayatollahs who hate the West and America and are determined to murder others who do not share the same religious beliefs. Iran has been creating serious problems for its neighbors for about five decades. It is a theocracy that is determined to control the Middle East and to convert non-believers to the Shiite sect of Islam. Iran has been funding allies in the Middle East, known as proxies, to disrupt others who do not worship God in the same way that they do.

Israel has been evaluating every action of Iran for decades. It’s likely that Netanyahu convinced Trump that Iran was very close to being able to build a nuclear weapon and potentially use it to threaten and intimidate other countries. This warning by Netanyahu was the final one. It appears that the existential threat of a nuclear device was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Trump, without support of NATO allies, invaded Iran.

The US completely overwhelmed and destroyed Iran’s Navy, Air Force and ability to launch missiles. Additionally, Trump followed up with another tranche of attacks on strategic and military assets to ensure that Iran’s nuclear operation was disseminated.

The US killed the leaders of Iran. Then killed another group of leaders several days later leaving the country without any government officials. It is this situation that is causing serious problems in finding a way to end the conflict.

It’s really disturbing that some people are not concerned by one country blowing up another country. I think the Iran war was a conflict that had to happen. Iran was close to producing weapons that would be used to disrupt the Near East.

It is a serious decision to invade another country. Having said this, Iran has been antagonizing its neighbors and making it impossible to bring peace to the region. It’s good to know that the US is really the strongest military country in the world. This fact should make peace easier to find looking ahead. But, the deaths of thousands of innocent bystanders are not something the US should undertake without extensive assessment.

I believe the Iran war was inevitable and that the US has accomplished something that will bring peace to the region.

Hopefully, the US is entering the last phase of the war with Iran. Naturally, talking heads, politicians and run of the middle Americans have vastly different perspectives about the US taking on Iran. Some people are concerned that the US is not justified unleashing its military might on a country several thousand miles away. Others are concerned with Iran having a nuclear weapon, which experts believed would have been available shortly before the war started.

In may be useful to take a few steps backwards to analyze the options and decisions our president had during the past several weeks.

No one believes Iran is a productive and cooperative member of the world’s community of nations. The country is dominated by a group of crazed ayatollahs who hate the West and America and are determined to murder others who do not share the same religious beliefs. Iran has been creating serious problems for its neighbors for about five decades. It is a theocracy that is determined to control the Middle East and to convert non-believers to the Shiite sect of Islam. Iran has been funding allies in the Middle East, known as proxies, to disrupt others who do not worship God in the same way that they do.

Israel has been evaluating every action of Iran for decades. It’s likely that Netanyahu convinced Trump that Iran was very close to being able to build a nuclear weapon and potentially use it to threaten and intimidate other countries. This warning by Netanyahu was the final one. It appears that the existential threat of a nuclear device was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Trump, without support of NATO allies, invaded Iran.

The US completely overwhelmed and destroyed Iran’s Navy, Air Force and ability to launch missiles. Additionally, Trump followed up with another tranche of attacks on strategic and military assets to ensure that Iran’s nuclear operation was disseminated.

The US killed the leaders of Iran. Then killed another group of leaders several days later leaving the country without any government officials. It is this situation that is causing serious problems in finding a way to end the conflict.

It’s really disturbing that some people are not concerned by one country blowing up another country. I think the Iran war was a conflict that had to happen. Iran was close to producing weapons that would be used to disrupt the Near East.

It is a serious decision to invade another country. Having said this, Iran has been antagonizing its neighbors and making it impossible to bring peace to the region. It’s good to know that the US is really the strongest military country in the world. This fact should make peace easier to find looking ahead. But, the deaths of thousands of innocent bystanders are not something the US should undertake without extensive assessment.

I believe the Iran war was inevitable and that the US has accomplished something that will bring peace to the region.