Jimmy Carter, Jr.

I’ve been seething for the past two weeks. I thought I’d be over my anger by now, but I’m not and so I must descend from the usual trivial topics I write about in this space into the murky netherworld of politics. I am so incensed by the phony, manufactured crisis with the American Administration and the humiliation of the Prime Minister of Israel that I must speak out.

When Obama first stopped the peace talks almost a year ago by demanding a settlement freeze, I thought it was just a rookie blunder by a man who’d been elected despite having no executive experience and no qualifications for the job. He’s now done it again, just when indirect talks were supposed to begin, by demanding that Israel stop building in Jerusalem. Jerusalem – our capital! This time I don’t think it’s a mistake. I think it’s intentional.

The Palestinians refuse to talk, for which they receive not a whisper of criticism. Instead, Israel is heaped with calumny for the stalled peace process thereby setting the stage. For what, you ask? For an imposed solution. I think Obama, a man with more hubris than any collection of Greek tragedies, wants to impose a solution on Israel including the division of Jerusalem and a return to the indefensible 1949 armistice lines. Of course, any such solution would just be an intermediate stage before our final destruction.

Let me be clear: I don’t like Obama. Never have. I don’t like his arrogance and I don’t like the way he mocks ordinary people, witness Joe the Plumber and Scott Brown and his truck. And now, like the cowardly schoolyard bully who picks on the kid who won’t fight back, he slaps Prime Minister Netanyahu around as if Israel is a banana republic and not a sovereign state. This from the man who bows before Saudi royalty, begs Ahmedinajad to sit and talk with him and has nary a cross word to say as the Russians announce their intention to keep on helping Iran build a bomb.

I don’t know what I’m worried about. Mr. Netanyahu is a smart guy who can be trusted to defend our interests. I’d be so happy, I’d swell with pride if he’d tell Obama to stick it, but of course he’d never be that blunt. In any case, with an estimated national debt of $20 trillion in the next 10 years, America won’t be a superpower for much longer. In the meantime, we will continue building housing in Jerusalem and anywhere else we see fit.

At this holiday time, let me wish everyone a happy Passover. Next year in the rebuilt Jerusalem.

Oslo Comedy Central

It’s been a long time since I laughed so hard. The Nobel Committee has awarded the Peace Prize to Barack Obama for – absolutely nothing. In one stroke they have turned a once-venerable political award into vaudevillian slapstick. The Norwegians are such comedians! Who knew?

Usually I stay well away from politics in this space. But I cannot let this pass. A Nobel Prize has been awarded to a man who has not accomplished anything other than getting elected apparently for making a few speeches. And he didn’t even write those. Of course, Obama does know how to read a teleprompter. That’s worthy of an award. Plus he did manage single handedly to stop the peace talks in our part of the world. By loudly demanding that Israel stop building houses in all “settlements” including Jerusalem, something no self-respecting Israeli government would ever submit to, he caused the Palestinian Authority to refuse to negotiate until this demand was met. Nice going, Barack. No wonder they adore you in Oslo.

Who was passed over so that Obama could be rewarded? Only some people who actually risked their lives to do a bit of good in the world. People like Dr. Sima Samar who fought for women’s rights in Afghanistan against the Taliban and who really ought to try to find a way to sue the Nobel Committee for malpractice. It is here that the Norwegian joke falls a little flat.

Still, those wild and crazy Norwegians – who can resist them? The Committee might find itself winning a Tony for Best Performance in a Farce. In any case, I invite speculation on next year’s winner. Paris Hilton? Hugo Chavez? I’ve got it: Homer Simpson!