It’s been more than a week since the Hamas attack on Israel, and it still dominates every news program. Air attacks on Gaza have been going on for some while, and Israeli troops are massing for what could be a re-occupation. If there is anything else going on in the world, it’s having a hard time getting anyone’s attention.
From the news networks’ treatment of the topic, I gather their ratings must be up. But not because of people like me. I find I’m having a hard time watching. I tune into my usual programs, check that no surprising new development has transpired, and then go stream a drama or watch a sports event.
This isn’t normal for me. Ordinarily, I have a very thick skin for the news, even news that includes a lot of human suffering. So I’ve had to introspect about what’s going on with my emotions: Why is this so hard to watch? That’s the topic of this week’s featured post. For those of you who are also avoiding the news these days, I’ll summarize: This war has been flashing me back to 9-11; not so much the events of that day as the way it felt afterwards — that heady sense of my country being the avatar of Good in its eternal battle with Evil.
America got carried away with that mythic identification, and as a result we did horrible things. We’re still paying for those mistakes. So hearing echoes of those emotions now is terrifying; it makes me feel as if I’m about to do something I’ll regret for a long time.
That post, “My 9-11 Flashbacks”, should be out soon.
The weekly summary includes some less self-centered accounts of the war. It also discusses the continuing dysfunction of the House of Representatives. Everything else has gotten snowed under this week, so it will be covered by short notes. A scheduling conflict doesn’t give me as much time this morning, so the summary will have to post by around 11.
The Weekly Sift 
Comments
It’s sad to see babies beheaded and grandmas raped simply because they are Jewish and where Hamas has built 480 km of underground tunnels and an arsenal of modern respond funded by money U.S. and EU have given pretending it went to helping the Palestine people and by money and guidance by Iran theocratic dictatorship that just beat a woman to death for not covering her face. Now while Israel delays justified counter attack to destroy these ISIS type of terrorists by dropping warning leaflets , the terrorists use them as human shields stopping them from leaving.
Why first Obama sent plane loads of cash to Iran and Biden just before released $6 billion to Iran, when common sense clearly shows their footprints that they are the spider in the evil web – I’m sure supporters of Obama Biden will try to explain somehow but if one is Jewish or has a brain and don’t like killing of babies by burning alive or beheading …it’s clear it enabled Iran to feel comfortable supporting this Holocaustic attack.
Thinking back a few years ago when NK did not launch any missiles, Xi did not openly threaten TaIwan, Putin did not cross into Ukraine and Iran was quiet – is it still surprising Trump leads in the polls?
Only asking for all peace loving friends …
Professor Tom?
Easier to spot than a full moon on a crystal clear night.
One glaring error is that the $6B of impounded-from-sanctions oil revenue that was part of the US prisoner exchange (getting US citizens back is still a good thing I hope) was deposited and kept under control of the Bank of Qatar, to be used strictly for humanitarian aid in Iran. And, not a penny of it had been disbursed.
But pesky details such as this are beyond the simplistic comprehension abilities of some, and don’t serve propaganda agendas, so instead the lies are halfway around the world before truth gets its pants on.
If you watch news on some 7 channels to get some objectivity you will see the morgue where more than 900 bodies of Jews brutally murdered are collected to determine cause of death by these ISLAMIST TERRORIST HAMAS!
Tearing a baby in half with a wire only one chosen way together with burning alive proven by the lungs still signs of breathing.
If there ever was a reason to eradicate ..