![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/305\/2022\/03\/cranach1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAnother war breaks out, a bipartisan effort to punish bipartisan effort, and paying Trump not to run.<\/p>\n
Another War Breaks Out<\/h4>\n
Israel declared war<\/a> on Hamas, the Islamic radicals who govern the Gaza Strip.\u00a0 Hamas forces staged a massive, co-ordinated surprise attack on Israel from land, sea, and air.\u00a0 They fired some 3,500 rockets on 22 towns and cities as far north as Tel Aviv, as ground forces estimated at around 1,000 troops<\/a> broke through barriers and glided in on parasails, roaming through Israeli towns gunning down civilians.<\/p>\n At last count<\/a>, 1,100 Israelis were killed, with over 2000 wounded.\u00a0 Many soldiers and civilians were reportedly captured.\u00a0 Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is vowing harsh retaliation, promising a \u201cmighty vengeance<\/a>\u201d that will reduce Gaza to \u201crubble.\u201d\u00a0 Israeli planes have started bombing Palestinian sites.<\/p>\n The vaunted Israeli intelligence<\/a> system was caught completely by surprise.\u00a0 And the army, some of which was on strike protesting attempts to reform the Supreme Court, was caught unprepared, leaving rural settlements defenseless.<\/a><\/p>\n Might other Islamic forces join the war?\u00a0 Might Iran, who has formed an Axis with Russia and China?\u00a0 Is this the apocalyptic war for the annihilation of Israel that jihadists have dreamed of?<\/p>\n And what will the U.S. do, if Israel is truly threatened?<\/p>\n UPDATE:\u00a0 Iran-backed Hezbollah<\/a> has attacked Israel with artillery fire from Lebanon.<\/p>\n America\u2019s political polarization has metastasized to another level.\u00a0 Not only are the two poles, the conservatives and the progressives, at each other\u2019s throat.\u00a0 The conservative pole is polarized within itself.<\/p>\n In the House of Representatives, eight Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) were upset with speaker Kevin McCarthy for co-operating with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.\u00a0 So they themselves co-operated with Democrats to throw him out of office<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gaetz said McCarthy was \u201cDemocrat-owned<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 So why did the Democrats vote to get rid of him?<\/p>\n No issues were at stake, as far as anyone can tell.\u00a0 Both Gaetz and McCarthy are Trump supporters.\u00a0 Gaetz reportedly resented McCarthy for not stopping an ethics investigation against him.<\/p>\n But now the one branch of the government the Republicans control is in a state of chaos.<\/p>\n More broadly, the various tribes of conservatives\u2013the NatCons, the FreeCons, the NeoCons, the LibCons, the LifeCons, the BroCons, the ChristCons\u2013are vilifying each other and tearing each other into pieces.<\/p>\n In contrast, the Democrats, though they have their differences, are voting as a bloc\u2013glad to join in the punishment of McCarthy for working with them\u2013and are rallying behind the candidacy of the deeply flawed Joe Biden.<\/p>\n What political party do you think is in the best shape to win a national election?<\/p>\n Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto-currency tycoon now on trial for fraud and conspiracy, was way into a branch of \u201ceffective philanthropy\u201d called \u201clongtermism.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the view that wealthy individuals should give money that will do the greatest good for the greatest number, and, specifically, to save the future of humanity.\u00a0 We blogged about this.<\/a><\/p>\n This has resulted in our Tech Lords indulging in some very creative philanthropic projects, such as Elon Musk\u2019s plans to save the human race by colonizing Mars.<\/p>\n Bankman-Fried also had a creative idea.\u00a0 He assumed that Donald Trump is an existential threat to American democracy.\u00a0 The usual course for people with money who believe that would be to give money to Trump\u2019s political opponents, so as to help prevent Trump from getting elected again.<\/p>\n But, according to a new book by Michael Lewis, Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon<\/a>, as reported in the Jerusalem Post<\/a>, Bankman-Fried wondered if he could just pay Trump not to run.<\/p>\n He reportedly floated the idea to the Trump organization, who told him that Trump would agree not to run if Bankman-Fried gave him $5 billion.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s true, Trump had his price, but it was too rich for Bankman-Fried\u2019s blood.<\/p>\n Maybe Trump\u2019s foes from both the left and the right could start a GoFundMe drive.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nA Bipartisan Effort to Punish Bipartisan Effort<\/h4>\n
Paying Trump Not to Run<\/h4>\n