DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: The political ramifications of money, greed, power – and the American people funding a war it knows little about

I know many people think that when they read my column I am a Republican.

One past editor did not want to work with me anymore accusing me of being a Trumpster – that made me laugh. 

Said editor was wrong.

I’m not a Trump or Biden fan.

I lean toward the right in that it makes more sense to me. 

However as a journalist, my goal is to not just lean toward, but to tell the truth on both sides of the aisle.

So, this Israel and Hamas (i.e., Palestine) war and my reporting on it today might surprise you. 

I am against war.

Particularly wars that are manufactured due to greed, power, and money. 

Oh wait, that’s what every war is about, that and fueling the coffers of the companies making war products. 

They truly are the only winners in this chess game as we remake the map of the world based on money-hungry globalists who think they have a right to shape our future.

America, we can do better.

Do Americans even know all that is going on when it comes to the “why” of Israel and Palestine and the excessive bombing? 

I know it’s Hamas, but you might want to look at that a little deeper. 

Even if you don’t agree with me, do your research anyway. 

How many terrorists are in Hamas – are they just in the Gaza Strip? Read this (www.dni.gov/nctc/ftos/hamas_fto.html#:~:text=HAMAS%20has%20been%20the%20de,the%20Palestinian%20Authority%20from%20power.&text=Primarily%20in%20Gaza%3B%20also%20maintains,Qatar%2C%20and%20Cairo%2C%20Egypt). 

Hamas is primarily in Gaza, but also has a presence in the West Bank, Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and in Doha, Qatar and Cairo, Egypt.

Are we going to annihilate those countries too?

I know people will say killing civilians is how it goes with war. I’ve said that myself in the past. However, the days when you think you are watching real news on mainstream media my friends – those days are long gone. 

What we are watching now is the narrative being vomited out by those who own mainstream media (and you should already know who that is).

And then there is social media – people from around the world posting photos without doing their due diligence. 

So, do you really know what to believe anymore?

And should you be confused while reading this column – no, I am not a Muslim sympathizer. 

Nor am I a Jewish sympathizer.

And I am not a Christian sympathizer either. 

I am an American.

And the bottom line is that in the world we live in these days, the wars you think you are watching from a distance, they can come here. 

And most are wag the dog wars anyway – distraction and death.

We’re not in Kansas anymore sweetie, and the folks we have in office in DC, you better make darn sure they’re not voting what the lobbyist group called American Israel Public Affairs Committee is telling them to vote for in exchange for big money in the case of this war. 

Is your congressperson or senator voting on behalf of you, the constituent, when they say it is okay to annihilate civilians? Or, are they greenlighting billions of American dollars for wars because of lobbyists groups like AIPAC?

AIPAC delivered more than $3.7 million in November to the campaigns of U.S. lawmakers, the most it’s ever doled out in a single month, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission. 

The largest recipient was New York Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres at $201,000. He’s a young Democratic politician fiercely pushing the Israeli agenda, and opposed to those in the so-called “squad” of progressives who are against the bombing.

I get it – we don’t like the squad because they too have an agenda that’s clearly not American in reported cases. 

But I also don’t like the fact that lobbyist groups seem to be controlling America’s war narrative. 

US Senate majority leader/Democrat Chuck Schumer said of his devotion to Israel, “For as long as I live, I will unflinchingly and with all of my strength” (short version) “be a guardian of Israel?” 

How about being a guardian of the USA, Chuckie? That’s what your constituents voted you in for after all. 

Chuckie started playing politics in 1980 immediately after graduating university. A career politician – and you can bet AIPAC knows him well. 

Oh yes, and little Nancy Pelosi said, “If this capital crumbles to the ground the only thing that would remain is our commitment to our aid and cooperation to Israel.”

Really? What about the USA Fancy Nancy, isn’t that where your commitment should lie – to your constituents? 

It was reported Lyndsey Graham’s top campaign contributor is the “Republican Jewish Coalition.” 

And the list goes on. 

In my column last week, a reader contacted me about my stating it was “reported 89% of Congress and Senators hold dual citizenship with Israel.” 

Both he and I were not able to find this statistic, so I wanted to be transparent. 

The 89% number is accurate regarding the number AIPAC supports who get voted into office. Read this article for interesting details on that: (www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/11/american-israel-public-affairs-committee-backed-candidates-won-midterm-races-following-big-spending-by-groups-super-pac).

Like I said earlier, you might think the war is over there – it could end up here. 

Do you have any idea what has been allowed to enter the USA by way of the southern border? Let that sink in, and if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, go back and read my other columns. 

Not that anyone is listening to Joe Joe anymore, particularly since last week the special counsel did not recommend charging him for keeping classified documents because there could be no conviction based on his age, mental fitness, and hazy memory. 

Even he reportedly acknowledged Israel was losing international legitimacy for what he called indiscriminate bombing. That didn’t stop Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, because Sunday night during the Superbowl Israel started bombing again.

This time in Rafah, where there are over one million civilians who were told by Israel to go to Rafah for refuge. Now they’ve been funneled to the south where they can be bombed there.

And where the heck is Hamas now? When was the last time we heard anything about what they’re doing?

When does it end? When we decimate every Muslim because they are Muslim? 

I know Christians have a problem with Muslims – maybe that’s what brings the Jews and the Christians together. 

I’m quite sure the New Testament WAS NOT about annihilating an entire race of people. That was the Old Testament (that private school training for 12 years finally came in handy).

According to my recollection, Christians think Jews are wrong anyway because they do not believe in the New Testament. And Muslims, do not care about the Bible at all. 

It is not okay to annihilate any race of people. 

Why aren’t the other Arab countries doing anything to help their fellow Muslim friends? 

If it is the Israeli/USA plan to destroy the entire Muslim world take note, that will might be a little bit more than the United States of America should bite off – we will not win. 

It might not seem important, but from this view America is going to end up standing behind the wrong group because of greed. 

Here is the list of countries so far who have ordered diplomats back from their embassies in Israel: South Africa, Chile, Turkey, Honduras, Jordan, Lebanon, Chad, Bahrain (halting all economic ties), China removed Israel from its online maps, Yemen has declared war on Israel, and Oman is prohibiting Israeli planes to fly over its airspace.

I’m going to ask an unthinkable question. Is it possible Israel allowed Hamas’ attack to justify further violence regarding Palestine?

I ask because I came across this information as to how Israel, with its much praised surveillance program, did not notice Hamas was building up this attack?

Oh wait, they did know: (www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html).

Israel knew of the attack plan more than a year ago with a blueprint in detail. They reportedly ignored it.

And for my CNN lovers, www.cnn.com/2023/10/13/politics/us-intelligence-warnings-potential-gaza-clash-days-before-attack/index.html reported, “An October 5 wire from the CIA warned generally of the increasing possibility of violence by Hamas. Then, on October 6, the day before the attack, US officials circulated reporting from Israel indicating unusual activity by Hamas.”

With the Palestinian death toll in Gaza now surpassing 20,000 do we know how many were actually targeted Hamas? 

A ceasefire is not the worst idea. Especially since it means saving civilians who are not part of Hamas.

When was the last time it was reported Hamas had attacked Israel. I cannot find that information. Yes, we know Oct. 7, 2023. It will go down in history like 9/11 and Jan. 6, and we know what has been uncovered now about those two latter dates, not what was originally reported.

Do you know who is going to end up paying for this mess? The American people!

Maybe if we get rid of lobbyists all together, we could then get back to having honorable politicians.

After all, there are apparently rules of war, which have always left me stunned. If we can have rules of war, why can’t we not have war at all?

And why is there an unusual number of journalists being killed these days? 

As of December 31, 2023, at least 77 journalists and media workers were killed in just the Israel/Hamas war (cpj.org/2023/12/israel-gaza-war-takes-record-toll-on-journalists/#:~:text=Update%3A%20As%20of%20December%2031,year%2C%20according%20to%20CPJ%20data) – more journalists were killed in the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year.

Real journalists on the scene of the war are the story tellers for history. If you kill the storyteller, the winner can lie and make up a false truth and no one can argue it. It’s been happening for years.

So, my friends, don’t just think this is business as usual and march to the beat of someone else’s drum. 

Do your research, because when you back madmen into a corner their only way out is through violence. That’s happening now around the globe. Don’t get caught up in the propaganda – get caught up in the truth.

Rita Cook is a freelance writer for The Ellis County Press. She can be reached at rcook13@earthlink.net.