“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.”
Psalm 122: 6
________________________________________
#####
Good Riddance—Indict Corrupt Politicians
In a 14-count indictment, a federal grand jury charged former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell and his wife with corruption. According to Jim Nolan at the Richmond Times Dispatch,
In the first criminal indictment of a Virginia governor in modern times, a federal grand jury Tuesday charged that former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, violated federal corruption laws by using their positions to benefit a wealthy businessman who showered them with thousands in gifts and loans.
The 14-count indictment, obtained by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District in Richmond, paints a detailed portrait of how McDonnell and the former first lady accepted more than $135,000 in direct payments as gifts and loans from former Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams Sr. as they allegedly promoted the struggling company’s new product.
According to the indictment, from April 2011 through March, 2013, the McDonnells “participated in a scheme to use the former governor’s official position to enrich themselves and their family members by soliciting and obtaining payments, loans gifts and other things of value from Star Scientific, a Virginia-based corporation and J.W.,” an apparent reference to Williams, then Star’s CEO.
“The McDonnells obtained the things of value in exchange for the former governor performing official actions on an as-needed basis to legitimize, promote and obtain research studies,” for Anatabloc.
The indictment also alleges that the McDonnells “attempted to conceal the things of value received from J.W. and Star to hide the nature and scope of their dealings with J.W. from the citizens of Virginia, by … routing things of value from family members and corporate entities controlled by the former governor to avoid annual disclosure requirements.”
Tuesday night, a defiant McDonnell made appearance in the lobby of a Richmond law firm accompanied by his wife; their daughter, Cailin Young; and her husband Chris Young.
“I come before you as someone who has been falsely and wrongfully accused, and whose public service has been wrongfully attacked,” McDonnell said in a seven-minute statement aimed at “the people of Virginia.”
The former governor apologized again for “my poor judgment” in accepting what he termed “legal gifts and loans” from Williams, but he said, “I repeat again emphatically, I did nothing illegal for Mr. Williams in exchange for what I believed was his personal friendship and his generosity.”
“I never promised or attempted to influence anyone to give Mr. Williams or his company any official state benefits,” he said.
McDonnell lashed out at the federal government, saying its “case rests entirely on a misguided legal theory, and that is that facilitating an introduction for a meeting, appearing at a reception or expressing support for a Virginia business is a serious federal crime if it involves a political donor or someone who gave an official a gift.”
I can’t say anything specific about the McDonnell case because I don’t know the facts, but I can say this: holding politicians accountable for their actions is long overdue. If they violate the law, they should be charged with crimes. If they are found guilty, they should be sent to jail—and I don’t mean country club prisons. They should be treated just like everyone else—no better and no worse. Anything else is patently unfair.
The list of potential targets for criminal investigations is long. It includes former Senator Christopher Dodd, former Representative Barney Frank, Senator Harry Reid, Attorney General Eric Holder, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and President Barack Obama to name just a few. There is abundant evidence that they should be investigated for possible criminal activity, and anyone who reads the news, watches the news on television, or listens to the news on radio knows it because it’s not a closely guarded secret.
Corruption by government officials undermines the legitimacy of our system. Ordinary citizens have become so disillusioned with government at the local, state, and federal levels that they make jokes about it incessantly. It’s gallows humor, and it suggests that they know the truth. Since nothing has been done to address the problem, they think that government is a cesspool—a place where people go when they want to commit crimes with impunity and get rich. By the looks of things, that’s exactly what government has become for a large number of our elected and appointed officials.
Among other things, they commit perjury; they exploit privileged information to feather their own nests; they divert our hard-earned tax dollars to pay off friends who help them win elections; they use their political power to press unwarranted criminal cases against their political opponents and others with whom they have differences; and, as I said, they do these things with impunity under the not-so-watchful eyes of the media and local, state, and federal prosecutors. Prosecutors in particular who are suspected or criminal wrongdoing deserve special scrutiny since they are supposed to be vigilant on our behalf.
Under the prevailing conditions, it’s no wonder that people are disillusioned, and it’s no surprise that our nation is on the slippery slope of moral decay. Criminal behavior by our elected and appointed officials helps to foster an “anything goes” mentality, and that is a prelude to disaster.
It’s time to drain the swamp. Again, I can’t say anything about the merits of the federal government’s case against McDonnell and his wife, but if their indictment is the first of many to come, then I say good riddance. As Thomas Jefferson said, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.”
This SnyderTalk editorial first appeared in American Thinker.
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Netanyahu: Israel isn’t what’s wrong with Middle East, it’s what’s right with Middle East
‘US perceives Israel as encouraging anti-Obama backlash among Jews’
Netanyahu: Rouhani continues trying to fool the world
Rouhani: Iran wants good relations ‘with all countries we officially recognize’
Former PLO negotiator calls on PA to endorse ‘resistance’ against Israel
Palestinian man arrested for naming baby after Morsi
Ben-Dahan call for greater accountability met with protests from rabbis
Syrian peace talks overshadowed by intensified regional sectarian conflict
Lapid: Press the world to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel
Israel’s elderly have highest poverty rates in the developed world
#####
________________________________________
#####
US Hints Shin Bet Misled Government Over ‘Al Qaeda Plot’
Netanyahu: European Pressure could Harden Israel’s Positions
Poll Shows Right and Left Tied
#Blocked: Hamas Complains Over Suspended Twitter Account
Homefront Minister Threatens to Quit
Australian Money-Laundering Scam Funding Hezbollah
‘Livni Playing into the Hands of Boycott Threats’
Likud Ministers: Peres ‘Shot His Mouth Off Again’
Egyptian: We Should Teach Hamas a Lesson
Elkin Tells EU to End Hypocrisy Towards Israel
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Al-Qaeda planned to blow up US Embassy in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem convention center
Netanyahu: We can’t have a ‘Palestine’ run by Iran
EU envoy: Naturally, Israel will be blamed if settlements wreck the peace process
Israeli leaders pan Rouhani’s ‘deceptive’ speech
Rouhani bids for better ties with all, except Israel
Iran: We did not agree to dismantle anything
Schools to cut back on mandatory Arabic studies
In Jerusalem’s no man’s land, awaiting a political decision
On second day of Syria talks, compromise doubtful
If it were up to voters, Israel’s next president would be… Shimon Peres
#####
________________________________________
#####
Did Netanyahu Invent the Demand that Israel Be Recognized as a Jewish State? No.
Fatah Threatens on its Facebook Page to Bomb Tel Aviv
Syria Talks Begin in Rancor; Syrian Foreign Minister Lashes Out at Kerry
Iran makes pitch for tourists as Americans languish in its prisons
European businesses rushing toward Iran in hope of new deals as first sanctions are suspended
Birthright Expands Eligibility for Free Trips to Israel
Israeli Channel Exposes False Claim of Arab MK Who Heckled PM Harper
Russian Police to Get Counter-Terrorism Training in Israel
Scarlett Johansson Stands Tall Against Israel Boycotters
Boycott of Israel’s SodaStream May Affect Palestinian Workers
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Jonathan S. Tobin: Will Obama Bypass Congress on Iran?— Over the past several weeks, the White House has been waging an increasingly nasty fight to stop congressional action to put new Iran sanctions in place in the event that the current round of nuclear talks fail. Although 58 senators have co-sponsored the proposed legislation that would tighten the restrictions on doing business with the tyrannical Islamist regime, the Obama administration seems to have acquired the upper hand in the battle. This is largely because of specious arguments claiming those who want to give the president more leverage in the next round of negotiations are actually seeking war rather than a diplomatic solution when the reality is just the opposite. The only hope for a deal that would avert an outcome in which the U.S. would have to choose between the use of force and a nuclear Iran is the adoption of tougher sanctions that would force the ayatollahs to give up their nuclear dreams.
Anne Bayefsky: 2014 – The UN Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People—All visitors to UN Headquarters in New York, including school children from across America, walk off the elevator straight into the “Palestine” exhibit. According to the display, Palestinians are the new Jews, having suffered an “exodus” in 1948. Total Arab rejection of a Jewish state (contrary to the 1947 UN partition resolution) and repeated efforts to annihilate Israel are not mentioned. Instead, in 1948 “the first Arab-Israeli war breaks out.” There are triumphant photos of Yasser Arafat and lots of photos of miserable-looking Arab children. Not a Jewish victim in sight.
Coalition for Israel: Chronology of Obama’s Overt Actions to Enable Radical Muslim Brotherhood to Infiltrate the US Gov’t— Many in the media are condemning Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and four other congressmen who sent a letter to the State Department Deputy Inspector General, and the IGs of four other agencies, calling for investigations into the possible infiltration by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) of the State Department and other agencies. What’s gotten the most attention is the fact that the letter to the State Department singled out Huma Abedin, the State Department’s Deputy Chief of Staff, who has been a close aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton going all the way back to her time as First Lady, during the Clinton administration. Abedin is also the wife of the disgraced former congressman from New York, Anthony Weiner.
J. Christian Adams: Stop Giving Obama Radicals the Benefit of the Doubt— In the Spring of 2011, National Security Council staffer Samantha Power sent emails to top Pentagon officials. Her emails contained GPS coordinates in Libya. She demanded that the Pentagon launch immediate air strikes on top of these coordinates, no questions asked. Power, you see, had friends in NGOs on the ground in Libya looking to borrow American might for a moment or two. Her emails were ignored at the Pentagon. But her cavalier and hasty email demand that American airmen be launched on a dangerous mission to benefit her friends might seem incompetent and reckless.
Mike Shedlock: When Will Interest on US National Debt Exceed $1 Trillion? When Will the Fed Hike Rates?— With all the talk of tapering and expected hikes in interest rates by the Fed, inquiring minds are likely interested in what happens to interest on the national debt if the Fed ever does hike. I asked my friend Tim Wallace to graph that idea. The following charts from Wallace provide a clear answer. In these charts we make the assumption that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is accurate in its assessment of future budget deficits. Neither Wallace nor I believe those estimates, nor do we believe the Fed is going to be in a position to tighten when they suggest they might, but here are the charts for discussion.
Wall Street Journal: The Iran Gold Rush— Sanctions on Iran are easing only a very little bit. That is the Obama Administration’s soothing refrain to Congress and nervous U.S. allies from Riyadh to Jerusalem regarding the interim nuclear agreement with Iran. The concessions to Tehran, the White House says, are “limited, temporary, targeted, and reversible.” The mullahs beg to differ—and so do the growing number of European governments and businesses moving to cash in on the opening created by the interim agreement. In the two months since the accord was struck in Geneva, Tehran’s trading partners have lifted sanctions, sent delegations, agreed to export deals and signaled their readiness to expand ties across nearly every major industry.
Soeren Kern: European Jihadists in Syria: More and Younger— European security officials say that in recent weeks they have noticed an “alarming acceleration” in the number of European jihadists traveling to Syria to obtain combat experience with Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda. “France, Germany and the U.K. may have the largest foreign fighter contingents in Syria, but Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Austria have contributed a much higher proportion of their population… [and] may have a larger problem on their hands than do their bigger European neighbors.” — Thomas Hegghammer, Norwegian political scientist.
Bernard Starr: Why Are We Silent About the Falsification of Biblical History in Artworks?— When I recently visited the impressive Marc Chagall exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York City, I was surprised that more than half of the 31 paintings include a crucifixion theme. More surprising, the dying Jesus is clearly a Jew, frequently shown wearing a Jewish prayer shawl rather than a plain loin cloth. For Chagall, the crucifixion represented the common ground of suffering of Christians and Jews. In reminding us of Jesus’ Jewish identity, Chagall departed from the massive numbers of artworks that have falsely pictured Jesus as strictly Christian, thus fueling the historic rift between Christians and Jews.
Jeffrey White: Assad’s Indispensable Foreign Legions—Since 2012, the Syrian regime has created a force of foreign combatants that has become essential to its survival. According to Assad’s narrative, the Syrian Army is winning the fight against the rebels, but it is the foreign legions from Iran, Hizbullah and Iraq that have made such claims possible. Based on reported casualties and the estimated effects of defection, desertion, and unreliability, the regime’s regular forces have been whittled down from over 300,000 to perhaps less than 100,000, with even fewer available for combat operations. Without foreign forces, the regime would likely be unable to undertake significant ground offensives at this point in the war, and it would have difficulty defending some areas of the country where it is still holding on.
Shaul Shay: The Threat of the “Salafi Crescent”—In the last decades an Iran-dominated Shia Crescent was considered the main threat to Israeli and regional security. However, the growing involvement of Sunni Salafi jihadis in Iraq (since 2003), among the rebels in Syria (since 2011), and in Lebanon has created a “Salafi Crescent,” reflecting a Sunni ambition to establish a caliphate controlling much of the Middle East. Such a Sunni jihadist-dominated region would become a safe haven for Islamic terror groups and a platform to launch jihad against Israel and moderate Arab countries.
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
Email Distribution List:
I have created an email distribution list that I use to notify people when I post a new SnyderTalk. If you would like to be on that list, send your email address to nhsny@yahoo.com, and put “add me to your distribution list” in the subject line. If you know others who are interested in SnyderTalk content, tell them to send me their email address, and I’ll put them on the list.
________________________________________
Zephaniah 3: 1-4
Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the tyrannical city! She heeded no voice, she accepted no instruction. She did not trust in Yahweh, she did not draw near to her God. Her princes within her are roaring lions, her judges are wolves at evening; they leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.
________________________________________
His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback. It’s also available for free in PDF format.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
________________________________________
#####
Click here to download the entire audio presentation for free and with no strings attached. Share it as often as you want.
#####
________________________________________
Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
________________________________________
Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
