El – El’s View from the Crow’s Nest

I am a “Progressive Zionist”

I am a “Progressive Zionist.” What does that even mean?

Let’s start with “Progressive”:

The progressive agenda encompasses a range of political philosophies and policy goals that advocate for social reform and a more active, expanded government to address societal ills. While the historical Progressive Era (late 19th and early 20th centuries) focused on issues like trust-busting and women’s suffrage, the modern progressive agenda has evolved to include specific priorities in economic, social, and environmental justice.

Core Principles of Modern Progressivism
Modern progressive thought is generally rooted in the concept of social justice and the idea that unregulated capitalist markets create inherent inequalities that must be managed through government regulation and social protections. Key principles include

- Economic Justice: Advocating for policies that reduce income and wealth inequality.
- Environmental Protection: Emphasizing strong climate action and measures to eliminate pollution, noting the link between environmental harm and marginalized communities.
- Strong Democracy: Working to get money out of politics, eliminate corruption, and protect and expand access to voting rights.
- Global Peace and Diplomacy: Prioritizing diplomacy over military intervention, cutting the defense budget, and promoting a rights-based international order

Key Policy Proposals:
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has outlined a specific legislative agenda, often referred to as the “Progressive Promise” or the “Progressive Proposition Agenda,” that includes proposals such as

Healthcare: Realizing a universal, high-quality healthcare system (often “Medicare for All” or expanding Medicare) and lowering healthcare costs.
Wages and Labor: Securing a living wage (e.g., a federal minimum wage of $15/hour or more), protecting the right to organize unions and bargain collectively, and ensuring paid family leave.
- Tax Reform: Reforming the tax code to ensure the wealthy and large corporations pay their “fair share,” including measures like a billionaire minimum tax and increased taxes on corporations with large CEO-to-worker pay gaps.
- Climate Change: Taking urgent and transformative action on climate change, building on legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and ending subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.
- Social Safety Net: Expanding Social Security benefits, investing in care for seniors and people with disabilities, and providing affordable childcare and debt-free college options.
- Criminal Justice and Immigration: Ending mass incarceration, advancing equal justice under the law, and establishing humane and fair immigration laws with a path to citizenship

These policies aim to deliver structural change that empowers working people and addresses systemic inequalities

What is a “Zionist?”

A Zionist is a person who supports the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. generally in the form of the State of Israel. What makes someone a Zionist is the belief that the Jewish people form a distinct nation and, like all other peoples, have a moral and historical right to a sovereign state and a safe haven in the Land of Israel.

Key Aspects of Zionism and Being a Zionist:

A Political and Nationalist Movement: Modern Zionism emerged in the late 19th century in Europe as a secular political movement, largely in response to widespread antisemitism and the rise of ethnic nationalism, which argued that Jews would only be safe in their own sovereign state.
Support for Israel’s Existence: Today, the term primarily refers to support for the continued existence and security of the State of Israel as a Jewish homeland.
Diverse Perspectives: Zionism is a broad, “big tent” movement that includes people with a wide range of political and religious views, including progressives, conservatives, secular individuals, and the religiously observant Zionists often disagree on specific Israeli government policies, such as the specifics of borders or the settlement movement.

In summary, a person becomes a Zionist by subscribing to the core belief in Jewish self-determination in the Land of Israel and supporting the existence and protection of the modern State of Israel as the embodiment of that right.

Some say that being a Progressive and being a Zionist are oxymoronic, but the fact of the matter is that there is nothing contradictory in the two positions and in fact they are complimentary.

The State of Israel as it exists today embodies and demonstrates everything within the Progressive agenda:

1) All citizens of Israel, Jew, Moslem, Arab, Druze, Christian, atheist or agnostic enjoy all of the rights outlined in the

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

2) All citizens (and resident non-citizens)of Israel enjoy free universal, healthcare (something Progressives in the United States have fought for for decades).

3) FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION: Education from age 3 through age 18 is not only free but compulsory.
4) All citizens of Israel have the right to enter any profession they wish.
5) All citizens of Israel have the right to vote in all elections for representatives in the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament), as well as all elected offices such as local mayors.
6) All citizens of Israel have the right to marry or form domestic partnerships with whomever they may choose, and with anyone that chooses them.

Contrast that, with “Progressives” who today support the Palestinian cause:

From September 2005, Palestinians living in Gaza have for all intents and purposes enjoyed the rights and privileges of having their own country, and electing their own government. Since withdrawing all Jews from Gaza, Israel has, with a few exceptions, allowed Gaza to be free. Gazans elected the terrorist group, Hamas, to be their government on January 25, 2006. Since then womens rights within Gaza have been practically eliminated and women are coerced into wearing Hijab. In other countries under Islamic Sharia Law, women wear the head-to-toe Burqa. Educational opportunities for women have been severely restricted, and women my not leave their homes without a male chaperone.

One thing I noticed from watching news stories coming from hospitals in Gaza: no women work in hospitals, or at least I have not seen any.

In Gaza, LGBTQ rights have been eliminated, and the death penalty has been implemented against Gazans who are found out to be Gay or Lesbian.
Gazans have no right to vote. The last election held was the one on January 25, 2006.

In conclusion: it is obvious to me, as it should be to you, that support for the State of Israel is the only logical stand that true Progressive can take.

Programming my next incarnation

MY BIRTH DAY, DAY ONE:

It is sometime between November 15 2053, and November 15, 2073. A few hours ago I fell asleep. I have awoken to a dream, a bright light like at the end of a tunnel is opening up before me. I can hear the muffled sound of machines, and people voices and alarms coming from the light, which I now see is a portal. I am being swept along, closer and closer to the light.

As I am discharged from my mother’s womb, I have to close my eyes. The light is too bright. I feel the slight pain as my umbilical cord is clipped and I am totally separated from my mother. I am being passed around from person to person, and finally my mother takes me in her arms, “what a beautiful boy you are,” she says to me and kisses me. She is SO HUGE! Everyone and everything is huge! It finally dawns on me what has happened: a few hours, days, weeks, ago I was a retired journalist living with my wife in Eureka California. Now I am a new born infant. The last thing I remember from my old life was Ceridwen, my wife and soul mate of many lifetimes, kissing me and saying good night. I have no memories of anything between then and now.

My mother presents her teat to me, and I greedily suck down her nourishing milk. There is nothing much I can do at this point. I don’t seem to have any control over my eliminatory system, not can I walk. I realize that I need to recover, to grow and evolve. I can do that. But right now I need to sleep.

I awake a few hours later. I look around the room I am in, but the high walls of the bassinette I am in don’t let me see too much. The only way I have to communicate is to cry as loud as I can, so that’s what I do. Also, my butt and genitals are wet and kind of mushy, and I am hungry.

A man comes to me and takes me from the bassinette. I’m trying to get a good look at him. I know this is not my mother. He strips the diaper from me, cleans me up with some cloths and puts a fresh diaper no me. Then he carries me into another room, where my mother awaits in her bed. He hands me over to her, and she once again presents her breast to me. I hungrily take in as much of her milk as I can, and I fall asleep in the process.

I have roughly figured out that about six days have passed since my birth. I have ascertained that from what I can remember from past lives, when I raised children of my own. Days seem to be twenty four hours long. The first few days after my birth, the breast was presented to me about every hour. After a few days this was cut down to every two hours. Now it happens every three. In between feedings I sleep, but I am starting to take time to think about what is happening to me, and also to calculate the passage of time, and I am starting to take note of my surroundings.

The man who comes to me sometimes when I cry I think must be my father. He’s a big guy (well, everyone is big except me). He has hair on his face which I can reach for with my hands and pull. This makes him laugh. He is also wearing some metal object that covers his eyes. I grab at that too. He picks me up and holds my chest against his shoulder. I can see what is behind him. I notice he wears something on his head. I grab at that, but it is attached somehow. He has lots of hair on his head. I have no hair. Not anywhere. He hands me off to mother.

DAY EIGHT:

After I drink her milk. She looks at me and says, “It has been eight days since you came into my life. Your father and I have something special planned. We’re going to Temple now. We’re going to see the mohel!”

My mother has dressed me up. I can’t really see how I look, but from the way she is looking at me I must look pretty good. They bundle me up and place me in a special chair, sitting upright and I am in the car and facing the back of the seat. I can’t tell where we are going.

I am taken into a building. There are lots of adults there, but also smaller versions of themselves, all milling around. I hear music for the first time in my life. I think I remember this first song from my past life: “Kol od balevav penimah…” I hear some men speaking, praying. Four men and my father now surround me. I am on my back looking up at them. I see my mothers face peering lovingly at me, from just behind my father, so I have no fear. The men all have beards (hair on their faces) and are all wearing the little hat like my father wears They are also wearing a kind of white and blue cape like thing. As the men pray they take my diaper off, and then …..OUCH! I cry. That really, really hurt! Then a mass celebration happens. There is singing and dancing and I am paraded about on my fathers shoulders, and I forget about the pain I have just endured. Then my mother comes and gets me, and presents her breast. I drink and fall asleep.

SIX MONTHS:

Mom withheld her breast today, at least at first. She gave something fruity and somewhat solid. It was pretty good. After that she gave me her breast and I then I fell asleep.

1 YEAR, 4 MONTHS:

Mom has been withholding her breast more and more, and feeding me other food from a spoon more and more. Today, after breakfast she took my diaper off, but she didn’t replace it. Instead she sat me on the toilet. It was big! And kinda scary. She told me to let her or dad know if I had to pee or poop. To not go in my pants.

I started speaking about five months ago, to wear I am now pretty proficient at telling my parents what I need. My dad has started to teach me how to read english, and my communication skills have vastly improved because of that.

1 YEAR, 6 MONTHS:

Today was the last day my mother breastfed me. I am pretty proficient at using a spoon and a sippy cup. I have not worn a diaper over night for the past three months and I rarely have an accident. Also, I have started to dress myself. I haven’t quite mastered tying my shoes yet. But I’m getting better.

2 YEARS:

My father has started to speak in another language to me, and has shown me some books in that language. It is called French. I am also learning a third language when we go to Temple on Saturday mornings. This one is harder. It has a whole different alphabet. But many of the songs and prayers I am learning are in this language so I am really putting a lot of effort into it.

My father is a Rabbi. My mother is a gynecologist. We live in the new city of Jerusalem in Israel. In addition to being a medical doctor my mother is also the department head of the gynecology dept at Hebrew University Medical School.

4 YEARS:

I start preschool this year. My parents have relocated to a Kibbutz that is mostly made up of people in the professions and the tech industries. I’ve been in pre-school for six weeks. My teachers don’t think I belong there. I am so much more advanced than the other kids. In January the decision was made to advance me to Second Grade, as my reading proficiency is far beyond what I’ve been exposed to in pre-school.

5 YEARS:

I’ve been reading books from our Kibbutiz library computer. The books I was given in Second Grade just weren’t challenging to me. I stated to read some classic Science Fiction, like Heinlein, Asimov and some fantasy like Tolkein.

5 YEARS 2 MONTHS:

When I arrived at school today I was ushered into the headmasters office. My test results came back, and it has been decided to advance me into the Eighth Grade.

The thing that has been happening, over and over again, is that when new material is presented to me I already know it. It’s like it’s been lying dormant in a corner of my mind, waiting to be coxed out. They tell me that my reading level is at Ninth Grade level, and my mathematics skills are bordering on calculous. History has been a breeze, since, as mentioned before, I know historical information before it is presented. It is almost as if I had learned all this stuff in a past life, and retained it all as memory.

7 YEARS, 6 MONTHS:

I have a baby sister! Her name is Ruth. I plan on teaching her all that I know. Just as soon as she quits using diapers.

12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS:

I graduated from High School today. Next week is my Junior College graduation. I’ve already started on my Junior Year at Hebrew University.

13 YEARS:

I was Bar Mitsvah today. My dad was the presiding Rabbi.

14 YEARS:

Received my Bachelors Degree in Applied Science from Hebrew University.

15 YEARS:

Received my Masters Degree in Astrophysics.

15 YEARS, 3 MONTHS:

Awarded a PHD in Astrophysics. At this rate I should get a Nobel Prize by the time I reach 21. Maybe.

Started my job at Hebrew University. I’ll be a teaching professor in Astronomy. In the meantime I am studying exoplanets in the Andromeda Galaxy. I’ve been granted access to the newly deployed Tyson (Named after the late Neil Degrasse Tyson) Space Telescope.

18 YEARS:

I’ve been dating a girl from our kibbutz for about a year now. Her mother is from Korea (and has converted to Judaism) and her father is a close friend of my mothers who is a neurosurgeon. Her name is Zelda and we have many of the same interests, including Science Fiction and roll playing games. She’s studying to be an astrophysicist too. She’s about two years older that I am, but that’s not something I am worried about.

18 YEARS, 7 MONTHS:

Zelda just informed me that she is pregnant. We will meet with all four of our parents at Shabbat dinner tonight. This does not promise to be a very pleasant evening.

19 YEARS, 10 MONTHS:

Zelda and I were married today. The wedding was held in the Kibbutz park, and the entire community attended, as well as most of the staff from Hebrew University. My father presided, my best friend Jacob, was best man, and my sister Ruth was the flower girl.

19 YEARS, 11 MONTHS:

My sister Ruth had her Bat-Mitzvah today. She did really well reading the Torah portion.

20 YEARS, 3 MONTHS:

Zelda gave birth to twins. I am a dad.

21 YEARS:

On a lark Zelda and I took a night off from the kids and drove into Sefad, the Kabbalistic “capital” of Israel. We visited a psychic medium named Deva who told Zelda some things that I immediately concurred with. In her immediate past life, Zelda’s name was Ceridwen. We were married at that time, and in fact have spent many, many lifetimes together. In our immediate past life, she had grown up in Upper Michigan and I in Chicago. We met each other at age 46 in California, circa 1998. Zelda and Ceridwen apparently had more in common than just, well, me: Both were fascinated by the ancient Celts and specifically Wales and Scotland. Both were enamoured of Highland “coos.” Both of them were astrologers.

Now I know what “on the nose” means.

5 reasons why Israel IS NOT committing genocide in Gaza

**1. “Genocide” refers to the physical destruction of an entire group in whole or in part that has been targeted on the basis of its identity. This is not Israel’s objective in Gaza.**

Raphael Lemkin, a Polish lawyer of Jewish descent, introduced the term genocide in 1944 to refer to events including the Nazis’ systematic extermination of Jews.

Lemkin explained the need for a new legal term to describe this horror, saying: “there has been no serious endeavor hitherto to prevent and punish the murder and destruction of millions…. there was not even an adequate name for such a phenomenon.”

The United Nations General Assembly recognized genocide as a crime under international law in 1946 and it was codified in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948.

Israel Is Not Committing Genocide

The Convention defines genocide as the commission of grave harm against members of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group – such as by killing, causing serious physical or mental harm, inflicting conditions that bring about physical destruction, imposing measures to prevent births or forcibly taking away children – with the intent to destroy the group as such.

Genocide means targeting members of a group because of their group identity and not something they are individually thought to have done.

Israel’s war is against Hamas: Israel is not seeking to destroy the Palestinian people or the Palestinian population of Gaza, which is what would need to happen in order to correctly apply the term “genocide.” Israel’s leaders have repeatedly asserted that their campaign in Gaza is solely against the terrorist organization Hamas. In fact, this type of military campaign is the exact opposite of reflecting an attempt to eliminate the Palestinian population.

2. Is Genocide Happening in Gaza? No. Israel is responding to a genocidal attack by Hamas

Since October 7, Israel’s objective in Gaza has been to destroy Hamas, a terrorist organization that carried out an unprecedented and brutal massacre against its people, including infants, children, elderly and disabled people.

A recent report concluded that Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war during and after the October 7 attack that Hamas terrorists, using widespread and systematic sexual violence across geographic locations, and against hostages in captivity.

The goal of Hamas is to wipe Israel and Jews off the map, and in the aftermath of the October 7 terror attack, its representatives reiterated that they will never stop pursuing it. That’s an example of genocidal intent.

While Hamas’s military capacity has been largely decimated by Israel, it still retains control over areas of Gaza and still continues to hold Israeli hostages.

Israel is fully justified in using military force to respond to Hamas’s October 7 attack (read AJC’s explainer on Israel, Hamas, and international law). Israel’s use of military force in Gaza in the face of such an ongoing threat is not evidence of genocide, but completely consistent with international law.

3. Israel’s actions reflect its desire to spare Palestinian civilians from harm, not to deliberately harm them

The IDF’s practices also disprove claims of genocidal intent, as the Israeli military has repeatedly relocated Palestinian civilians within Gaza in an effort to ensure they are out of harm’s way as it undertakes its legitimate military campaign to destroy Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure.

In fact, since the start of the war, Israel has called for the temporary evacuation of t local populations in every part of the Gaza Strip where it deemed military action appropriate, and delays its ground operations in Gaza for weeks to allow civilians time to heed Israel’s warnings. It goes to great lengths to designate humanitarian corridors, or safe routes for Palestinian civilians to relocate from northern Gaza.

The IDF still endeavors to warn Gazans prior to attacks and has allowed humanitarian aid for civilians to be delivered under arrangements intended to prevent Hamas from diverting aid or controlling its distribution to reinforce its authority.

4. Hamas’ actions are designed to cause harm to Palestinian civilians and blame Israel

In the months that followed the October 7 attacks, Hamas fired thousands of missiles on Israeli towns and cities. Those missiles were fired from civilian neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip, and from inside, next to, and underneath nominally civilian areas in Gaza like residential buildings, schools, mosques, and hospitals. Hamas’s actions transformed what were once protected civilian sites into legitimate military targets that Israeli forces are now working to dismantle.

Hamas puts civilians in harm’s way: While Israel goes to great lengths to avoid harming civilians as it targets Hamas’s weapons and operations centers in Gaza, Hamas typically proceeds to place Palestinian civilians directly in the path of the IDF’s targets. It has repeatedly called on Palestinian civilians to ignore Israel’s warnings about impending strikes and reportedly forced civilians to remain in the vicinity of military objectives, using them, like its hostages from Israel, as human shields.

Hamas’ actions are not only aimed at protecting its leaders, weapons, and property but also at vying for leverage in the public opinion war by inflating the number of civilian casualties.

Through its actions in Gaza, Hamas greatly increases the likelihood that military actions by Israel that are permissible in war and not prohibited by the law of war – let alone by the Genocide Convention – will nevertheless result in some harm to civilians. International law does not prohibit Israel from undertaking legitimate actions that will likely result in civilian harm unless the expected civilian harm will clearly exceed the anticipated military advantage from the attack.

While Israel takes many steps to minimize civilian harm resulting from its attacks against Hamas targets, as much as it can, it cannot eliminate it entirely. This is a horrible outcome of war, but it is not illegal, and it certainly is not genocide.

**5. The “facts” of the genocide charge don’t add up**

Those who claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza not only misunderstand the legal definition of genocide and what the laws of war permit; they also base the charge on unsubstantiated claims, such as a report issued by Amnesty International.

It is unquestionable that many civilians in Gaza have died and even more have suffered immensely since October 7. However, there are so many “unknowns” with an important bearing on Israel’s conduct in this war that it is impossible to say with certainty that it is acting wrongfully.

The number of “innocents” vs. terrorists that have died: This is impossible to know given that the Ministry of Health in Gaza is under the control of and susceptible to influence by Hamas, and does not separate innocent civilians from fighters in its announced death tolls.
The circumstances in which numerous innocents have been killed in Gaza: This includes whether they died because of attacks carried out by the IDF or because of intentional or unintentional harmful actions by Hamas or other Palestinian armed groups. A key example is the explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, which the U.S. and other governments have determined was caused by a failed rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and not, as Hamas, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza, and many other sources claimed, by the IDF.
The nature of the military objective of attacks carried out by the IDF in which Palestinian civilians have died: Given that it is not possible for independent assessments to be conducted into whether a Hamas leader, tunnel, and/or weapons cache was present at the site of any specific IDF attack in Gaza, which Hamas still largely controls.

While some of those who claim Israel is engaged in genocide in Gaza are doing so for malign purposes – for example, justifying Hamas’ October 7 massacre by claiming Israel is ‘worse,’ many others have been deliberately misled. Their goal of ending the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza would be far better served by placing blame for that suffering where it lies – with Hamas – and supporting efforts to bring about its defeat so that Palestinian and Israeli civilians can have the peace and security they all deserve as quickly as possible.

Accusing Israel of “genocide” has been effective due to the emotional power of the word, and so it manipulates people who would be otherwise rational into embracing irrational claims that are provably wrong.

Am I a hypocrite?

Maybe. There are lifestyle modalities that I have promoted and taught to people over the years that, for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to practice myself. But I don’t believe that it is totally my own fault. Is it?

Back in High School, my best friend, Louis Dolmon gifted me with a copy of Robert Heinlein’s Stranger In A Strange Land (SiaSL). This book had a major impact on me, and in fact still does to this day. There were a few other novels of Heinlein’s that I enjoyed and which shared some of the same themes. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, The Door Into Summer, and Friday, to name just a few. The particular themes that I most responded to were those of Polyfidelity (group marriage), naturism, (social nudity) and intentional community. I have taught the merits of all of these over my “Pagan” career, and encouraged people to practice them. However, personally, I have only partaken of one of these myself, and even then not for a very long time. I live in Israel for the better part of 1974 in an intentional community; a kibbutz.

The rest? Not so much. Well, not at all. But we (Ceridwen and I) tried to make things manifest.

NATURISM (AKA, Nudism, AKA, social nudity):

Prior to Ceridwen, I was “married” to Qadisha, and lived in Santa Cruz County, CA. She knew of my interest in naturism, but oddly, never allowed me to be exposed to it, even though there was plenty of opportunity in Santa Cruz. There were five clothing optional beaches, two hot tub “spas” with community tubs, and there was Lupin Lodge up in the Santa Cruz mountains. I went to a clothing optional beach exactly once, by myself. I also went to Kiva a couple times, by myself. I also enjoyed a free pass to Lupin Lodge once. I loved all of it, but I hated being by myself. Also, as I discovered at Lupin, single males are discouraged from this lifestyle. I like people. I wanted friends who had shared interests, but Qadisha, I guess, was “protecting” me. I remember going to Well Within once with Qadisha, who did not know that I knew the nature of the business. She asked me to stay in the car while she went in to conduct some business (was she scoring some weed?).

While living in Santa Cruz, I joined the Church of All Worlds (CAW), and attended a meeting at the home of Tom and Joy Williams, who were leaders in CAW. CAW (as it was inspired by SiaSL) held a reputation for promoting polyfidelity and naturism. The meeting was intended to organize a “nest” (congregation) of CAW. Nothing really jelled with that, but I did meet the man who would become my Santa Cruz “best friend,” Duane Adam Rostoker (aka: “Adam Walks Between Worlds”).

In 1998 we moved from Santa Cruz to Ashland OR, and that was the end of opportunities for naturist adventures.

It was in Ashland that my relationship with Qadisha ended, and my relationship with Ceridwen began. It should be noted that Ceridwen, prior to meeting me, had regularly engaged in naturist activities. She lived in Santa Cruz, and there was/is an abundance of opportunity there to be “clothing optional.”

Ceridwen was the driving force that instigated the evolution of Order of the Mithril Star (OMS) (which Adam and I conceived) into the Reformed Druids of Gaia (RDG), and in fact RDG was her vision.

In 2004 we moved from Grants Pass OR to Eureka CA (where we still live today). The main reason was that OMS’ (and later RDG’s) sacred tree is the Coast Redwood (Sequoia Sempervirons). The thing is that there are no Redwoods in Oregon. Since OMS’ sacred tree is the Redwood, and we were the leaders of OMS, it seemed logical that we should live where the Redwood is indigenous. Eureka, in it’s heyday, was the center of the logging industry which reduced the Coast Redwood to 3.5% of what it once was. Happily, there hasn’t been any significant logging activity for about the past two decades.

RDG held yearly Reformed Druid gatherings at Humboldt Redwoods State Park. People were informed that these gatherings, owing to the privacy of the camp ground we retained, were clothing optional events. RDG’s course in how to be a Druid, The Druid Path includes text promoting nudity for ritual and social activities, since RDG is most definitely an SiaSL inspired “organism.” So one might expect that some would take the opportunity to shed their cloths.

No one ever took their clothes off.

POLYFIDELITY:

This means a group relationship involving any number of men and women (Gay and/or Straight) who make a commitment to one another to love, honor, and protect each other; possibly raise children, and to restrict sexual activity to only those in the contract. Group Marriage. One temporarily successful group marriage was the Kerista Commune. They lasted about twenty years, and it is said that a remnant of the group still exists on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

As an SiaSL inspired organization, we have promoted polyfidelity, and Ceridwen and I seriously sought after another wife or husband (or more). We actually had one really good shot at it. A woman from Southern California who was a member of OMS “courted” us for about three months, even visiting us when Ceridwen and I lived in King Salmon (just south of Eureka). As things developed, it turned out that she wasn’t so much interested in a relationship with Ceridwen and I as she was in one with me. Ceridwen and I are a package deal, so, no deal. After that we never again met anyone who was at all interested. We had a series of female house mates over from 2004 until 2019, and we hoped that at least one of them would evolved into the “third” that we desired. When it came time to replace our ageing queen size mattress, we opted for an Eastern King, to at least “prime the pump” for a polyamorous relationship to develop (an Eastern King will easily sleep three).

Prior to Ceridwen, Qadisha expressed interest in polyamory (polyfidelities’ poor cousin). In a simple ritual, we pledged we would pursue polyamory. As it turned out, what she really wanted was to sleep with her ex-boyfriend in Eugene OR. She wasn’t interested in my pursuing a poly relationship (with anyone) at all.

Ceridwen had over time participated in various polyfideletous relationships, both when she lived in Madison WI, and again in Santa Cruz.

One of our Archdruids actually had a poly relationship involving her boy friend and another woman. It was not so successful. After about nine months, our AD came home from work to find that her boy friend and her “sister wife” had left her. This also happened to another couple whom I stayed with in Santa Cruz.

Ceridwen and I will turn seventy-two very soon. Her in a few days from now, and myself in mid-November. We haven’t totally given up on acquiring a “sister wife” or “brother husband,” but we’re not going to hold our breathe either.

INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY:
We’ve had a business plan and outline for a “Druid Monastery” for well over twenty years now (click here) but we’ve experienced nothing but tsuris for our efforts. When we first exposed OMS members to the idea, we were inundated with a lot of complaining from members, that we couldn’t possibly raise the kind of money for the infrastructure we would require, and “…anyway it’s just yours and Ceridwen’s selfish retirement plan.”

Over the last twenty-five years, we’ve raised $1,050 towards this plan. So, there’s still hope, right?

Anti-Zionist (antisemitic) protests as Arcata’s City Council meeting(s)

NOTE to READER: This post got me placed in “NextDoor Jail” for six weeks (which is to say I was denied access to my NextDoor account). I am afraid we are becoming a fascist state.

It’s becoming a bad habit. Antisemitic protesters have been regularly showing up at Arcata City Council meetings, spreading their insidious lies and propaganda. The latest protest was especially vile.

First off, news anchor Erica Sutherland began the report by calling the Gaza/Israel war a “genocide,” (which I wrote to her about) but the real “star” of the show was this absolutely deranged woman who was screaming at the top of her lungs about how the city council should be ashamed of themselves for not supporting Palestine. Then she demanded that they divest from CalPers (which apparently has investments in Israeli businesses). She was very disruptive, disrespectful, and, well, at one time I worked as a mental health technician, and I think she’d be a good candidate for Thorazine.

I wrote to Erica Sutherland:
“You called the situation in Gaza “… the ongoing genocide.” Genocide requires the INTENTION to wipe out a people. If anything Israel has bent over backwards to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. Stop spreading Hamas propaganda! I’m a huge fan of yours. Please take my concerns seriously.”
“See my blog for the whole truth about Israel: https://el.urgod.org/everything-israel/”

Rather than address my concern, Erica excused herself:
“Hey you need to email Ross. I didn’t write the story. So I’m not informed about this situation. Email news@redwoodnews.tv”

So, I did:
“Last night (I watch the 11:00 stream on Zeam) Erica Sutherland started the story by calling Israel’s war with Hamas a “genocide.” Although it has become popular among some Progressives (I am one) to characterize the situation as a “genocide perpetrated by Israel,” this is not the case at all. What is being repeated is Hamas propaganda. As a journalist, you are charged with telling the truth, not spreading lies. I don’t want to get into a long diatribe about this, but please, take the time to read my blog on the subject: https://el.urgod.org. Scroll down the right-hand menu to “EVERYTHING ISRAEL.”

Ross, I admire your work and that of the whole Redwood News team. I’ve been watching since my wife and I moved to Eureka in 2004. Please endeavor to speak the truth about Israel, and stop just repeating what is popular.

Namaste!”

He wrote back almost immediately:

“Hello sir,

I’ll need to get our reporter who interviewed the protesters on this topic. Here is the story as we aired it.
We said this in the introduction to the story:

LAST NIGHT TWO DIFFERENT PROTESTS WERE HELD AT THE ARCATA CITY COUNCIL MEETING AND TENSIONS WERE HIGH. ONE GROUP WAS PROTESTING ARCATA’S ALLEGED INVESTMENTS IN ISRAEL AND DEMANDED

THE CITY DIVEST DUE TO THE ONGOING GENOCIDE IN GAZA.
What we SHOULD have said was;

” ….. Demanded the city divest due to what the protesters call
the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

There is a big difference in whether Redwood News is saying there is an ongoing genocide in Gaza and what the people in the context of the report believe is occurring in Gaza.

You are correct. I will discuss it with the reporter/producer.

Shame on us for not catching the way that intro was presented.

Thanks for sending us your concerns.

Ross Rowley
News Director – Redwood News
KIEM-NBC3 / KVIQ-CBS17
Eureka, CA
707-443-6666 / 707-496-0626

I feel really good about this. I feel vindicated. Here is my final response to Ross:

“Thank you for your due diligence.
Actually, it has happened more than once over the past year. Abraham Nevaro (sp?) repeated the same phrase a few months ago in another story concerning local protesters.
I didn’t say anything at the time. But with the rapid escalation of antisemitism in our country I think active correction of these errors is way overdue.

Again, than you for your attention to this matter.”

Ross Rowley’s email address in news@redwoodnews.tv

REMEMBER, THERE WAS A CEASEFIRE IN PLACE ON OCTOBER 7, 2023.

WHEN YOU CRITICIZE ISRAEL, you are supporting Hamas.

Stop supporting Hamas!

REMEMBER, THERE WAS A CEASEFIRE IN PLACE ON OCTOBER 7, 2023.

FACTS: The “palestinians” have actually had numerous opportunities to create an independent state, but have repeatedly rejected the offers:

• In 1937, the Peel Commission proposed the partition of “palestine” and the creation of an Arab state.
• In 1939, the British White Paper proposed the creation of a unitary Arab state.
• In 1947, the UN would have created an even larger Arab state as part of its partition plan.
• The 1979 Egypt-Israel peace negotiations offered the “palestinians” autonomy, which would almost certainly have led to full independence.
• The Oslo agreements of the 1990s laid out a path for “palestinian” independence, but the process was derailed by terrorism.
• In 2000, Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered to create a “palestinian” state in all of Gaza and 97% of the “West Bank.”
• In 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered to withdraw from almost the entire West Bank and partition Jerusalem on a demographic basis.
• In 2015, “palestinian” Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has publicly confirmed for the first time that he turned down a peace offer in 2008 that would have provided for an independent “palestinian” state containing all of the Gaza Strip, much of the West Bank (with land swaps), and a tunnel connecting the two areas.
• In addition 1948 to 1967, Israel did not control the “West Bank.” The “palestinians” could have demanded an independent state from the Jordanians. On the contrary whilst Jordan was in control Arafat said there was no longer a claim as it was no longer part of “palestine.” Once it was back in Israeli hands it miraculously became disputed land again! This is one of many reasons Jews and Israelis are cynical.

Also, it should be noted that Israel has peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt (In 1988, in it’s treaty with Israel, Jordan relinquished all claim to “the West Bank” (Judea / Samaria) so there is no internationally recognized “occupation” there).

The Palestinians have spurned each of these opportunities. Anyone that is against Israel should satisfy themselves as why this may have been? I believe, when it comes to the “palestinians,” “They Want It All”. Denying Israel’s right to exist.

Over the last decade+, Hamas has invested millions of dollars into digging extensive tunnel infrastructure below the surface of the Gaza Strip. Much of Hamas’s infrastructure is built in the heart of crowded civilian areas in the Gaza Strip, which means that military targets, including command and control centers, weapons production, weapons depots, military infrastructure, shafts for terrorist tunnels and combat management centers are all inside of civilian neighborhoods. Hamas uses its own people as shields. My heart breaks for all the innocent children. It’s the children who suffer. But Stop rewriting history!

ENOUGH PROPAGANDA!

*** The estimated global Jewish population in 2022 is approximately 15.3 million, with around 7.2 million residing in Israel. This means that nearly 48% of the world’s Jewish population calls Israel home.

In contrast, the Arab world population in 2022 is estimated to be around 464.7 million, spanning across 22 countries. ****

MORE FACTS: Scholars believe the name “palestine” is derived from the Egyptian and Hebrew word peleshet. Roughly translated to mean rolling or migratory, the term was used to describe the inhabitants of the land to the northeast of Egypt – the Philistines. The Philistines were an Aegean people – more closely related to the Greeks and with no connection ethnically, linguistically or historically with Arabia – who conquered in the 12th Century BCE the Mediterranean coastal plain that is now Israel and Gaza. A derivative of the name “palestine” first appears in Greek literature in the 5th Century BCE when the historian Herodotus called the area Peleistine. In the 2nd century CE, the Romans crushed the revolt of Shimon Bar Kokhba (132 CE), during which Jerusalem and Judea were regained and the area of Judea was renamed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian “Syria Palaestina” in an attempt to minimize Jewish identification with the land of Israel.

At the end of World War I, the territory of the Ottoman Empire was divided between the French and the British, in accordance with the Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916. When the British gained control of the region, at the close of World War I they adopted the name “Palestine” and its inhabitants Jewish, Muslim or otherwise were known as Palestinians. And then, during the 1920s, the nascent Palestinian national movement adopted the appellation “Palestinian” as its own.

The idea that “palestinians” are colonized depends entirely on the fake history promulgated by the Arabs and their supporters. Their narrative tells us that their “people” lived in “palestine” for hundreds or even thousands of years, before the European Zionists came along and threw them out. In reality, with the exception of the very small number that were descendants of the Arab colonizers of the 7th century (and those who were descended from Jews that the Romans missed in 135), most “palestinian” Arabs came to the land in the 19th and 20th centuries as economic migrants. This explains why there is so little specifically “palestinian” content to their culture, which is much the same as that of the Arabs in the surrounding region. There is no language called “palestinian,” and no unique religion. What true “palestinianism” that exists comes from their conflict with the Jewish residents of the land in the past hundred years or so.

LEARN THE HISTORY!

Israel is one of the most open societies in the world. Out of a population of 9.6 million, 21% of the population are Arabs, and 5.3% are non-Arab Christians and people who have no religion listed.

• Arabs in Israel have equal voting rights; in fact, it is one of the few places in the Middle East where Arab women may vote.

• Arabic, like Hebrew, is an official language in Israel.

• Today, more than 300,000 Arab children attend Israeli schools. At the time of Israel’s founding, there was but a single Arab high school in the country. Today, there are hundreds of Arab schools.

• Israel has one of the broadest anti-discrimination laws of any country. According to the State Department, “The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, or sexual orientation. The law also prohibits discrimination by both government and nongovernment entities on the basis of race, religion, political beliefs, and age.”

Israel isn’t evil and it’s not the enemy. I hate how our country is filled with antisemitism. And ignorance on the topic.

It should also be noted that Israel is a strategic ally and US relations with Israel strengthen the US presence in the Middle East. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) is intended to promote US national security by contributing to global stability, strengthening military support for democratically elected governments and containing transnational threats, including terrorism and trafficking of weapons.

Anti-Zionism = Anti-Semitism

Anti-semitism, also known as anti-zionism (yes, they really are one and the same thing) is growing by leaps and bounds across our nation. We used to expect this kind of unwarranted hatred from the Right, and to this day they have taken the lead in waging a propaganda war using Jew hatred as their MO. But increasingly we are starting to see it on the Left as well.

They like to call it antizionism: “No, I don’t hate Jews, just the zionists,” but the problem is that zionism is now and always has been an integral part of Judaism. For example, for the past 2,500 years, we have ended the Passover Seder with the words, “… and next year in Jerusalem.”

They try to pass off criticism of Israel, and increasingly emotional accusations against the Jewish state (“Apartheid,””Genocide,””Occupation,””Ethnic cleansing,”) as just exercising their freedom of speech. But by repeating and propagating these heinous lies on Social Media and elsewhere, they are priming the pump of hate crimes and violence against Jews. Here are some recent examples of the results of spreading this antisemitic propaganda:

🔴 Two young diplomats were brutally gunned down after attending a Jewish event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.

🔴 Demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, were attacked by a man who threw Molotov cocktails at them during a peaceful march in support of the hostages held in Gaza. An 82 year-old Holocaust survivor died from her burns.

🔴 The home of the Jewish governor of Pennsylvania was set on fire during Passover as his

🔴 In San Francisco, a beloved, Jewish-owned cafe has been repeatedly vandalized.

🔴 In Yonkers, New York, a high school basketball game was canceled because of vile antisemitic slurs hurled at young players.

All of these incidents can properly be placed at the feet of those who chant slogans such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!,” “Free Palestine,” “Globalize the intifada!,” “Hitler was right!,” etc., ad adinfinitum, ad nauseum.

People who repeat these slogans are instigating violence toward Jews and vandalism against Jewish owned businesses and buildings, including outright murder as has happened in a few cases.

Violence, vandalism and murder are not Progressive values. The people who shout these slogans are not Progressives, even if that is what they pretend to be.

ALL ANTISEMITISM ORIGINATES IN RIGHT WING FASCISM.

An open letter to my Progressive comrades

The following is my reply to an email from info@weareprogressives.org which was asking me for money to support “Progressive” candidates:

Hey Progressives:

I am a Progressive. A Progressive Zionist. I agree with all the causes you folks are behind, except one: your stance on Israel, and the so called “palestinians” is wrong and based on Trump level lies. I guess Mr. Trump has made it fashionable to lie now, so now even Progressives are doing it.

I agree with everything “the Squad” embraces, except they are wrong about Israel. They are backing the wrong horse. Islam, as practiced today in Gaza, is anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ, anti-1st Amendment, and has instituted Sharia Law, which is 1,000 times worse then the agenda put forth by Project 2025. The difference is that our oppressors are Christian Nationalists and theirs are Jihadi Islamists.

Until you get your agenda regarding Israel and Islam straight, you’ll get not one penny from me.

Sorry.

Ellis S. Arseneau
“purveyor of unconventional wisdom”
Progressive Zionist
Lifelong Democrat

I remember the MacMullen family reunions

I think the last time I was in attendance at one of these was maybe 1963, or earlier. My maternal grandmothers family, the MacMullens used to hold a “clan gathering” (family reunion) every year at Kankakee River State Park. This always occurred on the Sunday closest to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Torah to Moses and therefore to Israel. Now days Moses is said to be the first person to download data from the cloud unto a tablet.

I know what you are thinking: a Scottish clan? Jews? Yep. Like many European Jewish families, my grandmothers family was chased around the continent a bit. From somewhere in the Balkans, the Bonewitzes<sp?> were chased away, probably as the result of a pogrom or pogroms, and eventually landed in the Scottish Highlands. There they changed their name to MacMullen and adopted that clans tartan, as well as a boatload of Scottish custom. So the MacMullen clan gathering was a mixture of Jewish and Scottish cultural adaptations.

I remember the men wearing kilts with matching kippah, some wonderful BBQ chicken, burgers, and assortments of salads, chips and deserts. There was a little train ride that carried kids all around the park. There were bagpipes and Highland Games including the tug-o-war, the hammer throw and tossing the caber. The Rabbi from our synagogue on the south side of Chicago was also in attendance.

I remember some of us discovering that if you ate a lot of angel-food cake you could drink all the Coca Cola you wanted without getting sick.

A Scots-Jewish “kippah,” made from the official Jewish tartan

I don’t remember attending one of these after Shavuot 1963 (when I was going to turn 10 years old). Whoever was the organizer of this even either passed away or got sick or just stopped. So this has become a fond but very vague memory after all these years.

Why do we pay taxes? Two answers

I saw this on Facebook today:

The author of this meme doesn’t seem to understand the purpose or benefit of taxation. Rather, they seem to believe that taxation is some sort of punishment. I’ve seen this before. It is a popular notion among Ayn Rand devotees (aka: Libertarians).

WHY DO WE PAY TAXES? Two answers:

ANSWER ONE:
Taxes fund public services and infrastructure that benefit society.
Here’s a breakdown of why taxes are paid:

1. Funding Public Goods and Services:
Essential Services: Taxes finance fundamental services like national defense, law enforcement, fire protection, and the justice system.
Infrastructure: Taxes are used to build and maintain roads, bridges, public transportation, and other vital infrastructure.
Education: Public schools, universities, and other educational programs are funded through taxes.
Healthcare: Taxes support public healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
Social Welfare Programs: Taxes fund programs that provide assistance to those in need, such as unemployment benefits and welfare programs.

2. Promoting Social Well-being:
Public Safety: Taxes help fund police and fire departments, contributing to a safer environment.
Parks and Recreation: Taxes support the maintenance of parks, libraries, and recreational facilities.
Environmental Protection: Taxes can be used to fund environmental conservation efforts and address pollution.

3. Ensuring a Functioning Society:
Government Operations: Taxes pay for the salaries of government employees and the cost of running government agencies.
Economic Stability: Taxes can be used to manage the economy and promote economic growth.
In essence, taxes are a collective contribution that enables a functioning and prosperous society by funding the essential services and programs that benefit everyone.

ANSWER TWO:
Why you would not want to live in a country with no taxes

While the prospect of living in a country with no taxes might seem appealing at first glance, there are several reasons why this might not be a desirable or even viable option in the long run.

Here are some key considerations:

1. Reduced or Non-existent Public Services:

Limited infrastructure: Countries without taxes might struggle to fund essential infrastructure like roads, bridges, public transportation, and reliable utilities (water, electricity, internet).
Poorly funded education: Public education systems may be weak, understaffed, or even non-existent, potentially impacting the future prospects of residents and the overall workforce.
- Inadequate healthcare: Access to affordable and quality healthcare might be severely limited, forcing individuals to rely on expensive private care or travel abroad for treatment.
- Weak or absent social safety nets: There may be a lack of social welfare programs to support the elderly, disabled, unemployed, or those facing hardship.
- Limited public safety and security: Law enforcement, emergency services, and a functioning justice system might be underfunded or unreliable, potentially leading to higher crime rates and reduced security.
2. Economic Instability and Uncertainty:
- Reliance on volatile revenue sources: Countries without taxes often depend on alternative revenue streams like natural resource extraction (e.g., oil, gas) or tourism, which can fluctuate significantly and create economic instability.
- Lack of investment in long-term development: Without a stable tax base, governments may be unable to invest in long-term economic growth, research, and development, potentially hindering future prosperity.
  - Potential for corruption and inequality: A lack of transparency and accountability in the absence of a well-defined tax system can create opportunities for corruption and exacerbate wealth inequality.
  3. Quality of Life Concerns:
  - Lower overall quality of life: The combination of limited public services, potential economic instability, and a lack of social safety nets can negatively impact the overall quality of life for residents.
  - Increased personal expenses: Residents might have to pay out-of-pocket for services typically funded by taxes, such as education, healthcare, and even basic infrastructure maintenance, leading to higher living costs.
  - Potential for social unrest: A lack of basic services and economic opportunities can lead to social unrest, instability, and even political upheaval.
    In conclusion: While eliminating taxes can seem appealing in theory, the practical implications of living in a country with no taxes are significant and can lead to a diminished quality of life, economic instability, and a lack of essential public services. Most developed nations rely on tax revenue to fund vital infrastructure, social programs, and services that contribute to a stable and prosperous society.

There are some countries that do not have an income tax: