23 Comments

Allen,

I once voted for Spock though am now conservative for past 50+ years. When your argument is better than mine, you've changed my mind. That's only fair. I learn nothing from my friends that agree with me.

I once heard you say; If you were a founder you would not have approved of the 2nd amendment.

After Oct 7 have you changed your opinion?

Think how history might have changed had the German Jews, Gypsies, Gays, Undesirables, et al, had access to 3D printers. They could have manufactured a single shot 9mm pistol. Used those single shot 3D printed pistols to relieve a sentry of their Mauser, ammo, handgrenades, bayonets, etc. Officers of their Lugers, ammunition, etc. and not walked into the death camps resistless prey. They could have mounted an armed resistance. The same for Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Chavez, Castro, pick a name throughout history. October 7th comes to mind. I find many Jews at my range that on October 6th were anti 2nd amendment but now want to arm themselves to protect their families and others.

Our armed population has a God given right to self defense and most importantly resistance to an oppressive government. It keeps them honest.

The concept of an armed citizen was mandatory in civilizations going back a couple thousand years.

Our founders studied whey Republics and Democracies failed. In every instance it was the tyranny of the majority over an unarmed population and ultimately ended in authoritarian rule.

Our American experiment of 235 years is rooted in the founders as revolutionaries and armed resistance. It's what keeps us free.

Expand full comment

I feel the same way. I didn’t watch the silly Oscars, but I was appalled that so many uninformed “stars” were wearing that Red hand button. Were they all hypnotized into supporting murderers and rapists from the Oct 7th massacre? It’s the Israelis who should be supported. Not the barbarians.

Expand full comment

There is certainly a correlation between old men and women, and a love for war.

And I suspect that sudden "toughness" comes from the very fact that they can use "age" as an excuse to otherwise not participate.

Mitt Romney, Scott Sumner, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, and so many others were little wimps when they were younger, seeking draft deferments, claiming they had bone spurs, or knee problems, LOL.

But now they're so tough. I swear to god that only way to end war is to pass legislation that forces anyone, regardless of age, to participate on the front lines of war if they vote in favor of that war.

Expand full comment

Trump also side-stepped Vietnam. But at least he admits that he did so purposefully. He is not a hawk. He doesn't start wars. For four years America was peaceful. Let's hope he wins. Or RFK jr. Otherwise, we are heading towards WW3

Expand full comment

"There is a correlation between old... [etc.]"

This is too clever by half. It tells us nothing whatsoever about the merit of fighting any individual war. I see this as a substitute for doing the hard work required to think through the specific issues at hand. Would you have urged the Union to have said a peaceful farewell to the Confederacy? Would you have urged the Chinese to have welcomed the Japanese invaders in 1931? Do you think the US erred by entering World War II in 1941? Ought the Russians to have surrendered to Hitler? Should Israel turn the other cheek when its citizens are targeted for murder, rape and desecration? Do the prejudices and biases of "old men and women" have anything to do with the answers to these questions? Does it really matter whether they're "tough"?

Expand full comment

Some of the anti Israel protesters are either ignorant of, or dismissive of the history you and Professor Dershowitz correctly argue as proper context.

Expand full comment
Mar 11·edited Mar 11

I simply believe that if one calls for war, for whatever reason, then they should have to participate. In World War 2, we were attacked. We had to defend our homeland. However, since ww2, by which I mean Iraq, Libya, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Vietnam, Laos, Canbodia, Syria, Russia (in this case Donbas), never attacked the United States. But the old war hawks, and I am sorry, but they are always old and wrinkled, felt the need to flex their little weak muscles and use other peoples children to engage in "regime change". The united states has become a global terror organization. I speak as an American, not as an Israeli. Israel was attacked. They can defend themselves, but I do find it ironic that the people who call for war are generally old, generally incapable of going themselves, and they always say: "if I was younger, I'd be on the front lines." Well, I simply propose that we flip the script. No longer should one be able to claim that they are "too old". You vote for war, then you go to war. Grab a rifle. If that was the law, we would have far fewer conflicts, and would only be at war if there was no other option.

Expand full comment

Although I agree that there are many instances in contemporary U.S. history where war was a tragic choice, it’s unfair to dismiss older leaders of any political bent. Many of them are veterans, or decided for example that grad school was a wiser choice than fighting in Vietnam. Many of them have children in the military. As history provides needed perspective, so does age. Wisdom? Not always.

Expand full comment

You make a good case. I wouldn't agree to your characterization of the US as a "global terror organization", though I agree more or less with your assessment of some of the wars you list. What I think you have seriously to contend with is the possibility that, absent American support for free trade (basically by policing the high seas since 1945) and our long resistance to Soviet expansion, the world would have been a far bloodier and more dangerous place for Americans since the end of World War II. I'm not sure the same thing is true in the years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. NATO expansion, for example, has been sheer lunacy. But pushing Saddam out of Kuwait? I think that worked as intended.

Expand full comment

If Israel is to become "...a beacon of light to the nations" it needs to be more creative in dealing with Hamas. "Preventing a recurrence of October 7" does not require killing 30,000 Palestinians.

It requires better tunnel detection, better drone defense, better missile defense, less reliance on the US, and returning the West Bank and Gaza to Palestinians. Then build on that goodwill with relentless diplomacy to show the Arabs that they will be better off supporting Israel. Things can change.

Expand full comment

The oppressors vs. the oppressed boils down to the haves and the have nots.

Expand full comment

Test!!

Is this the login??

Expand full comment

Why send young people to commit war crimes and risk a life of regret? You should go now that you're in life's last stages and have no regrets for your genocidal instincts.

Expand full comment

Me too Professor. Me too. Thank you for your courage in saying this. God Bless.

Expand full comment

Finally some humor in this propagandistic podcast. Dershowitz in the iDF. A stand-up comic's dream. Imagine Woody Allen, a man without the racism, sprinting from one foxhole to another. Or imagine Dr Josef Goebbels in the Wehrmacht on the Russian Front. Dershowitz is a match. Google a couple of the old Firing Line shows where Alan appeared with his youngman huge Jimi Hendrix style hair without an ounce of Hendrix sex appeal., Alan has never had technical capacity, as shown by his need to discontinue his podcast when Elon goes off on an excursion. So WTF use would a 25 year old Alan be for the IDF.? Alan was a classic, little, muscle-minus nerd, no physical capacity other than rising from his chair, standing awhile trying to make an impression, and finding a seat again. And he is really little. Alan in the IDF would be however a big advantsge for the Hamas fighters, putting his fellow IDF soldiers in great risk at all times. sm, WTF good would Alan be for the IDF were he still 25? Go back to the Firing Line TV broadcasts where Dershowitz is shown. Yes, Mr Blinken, offer Dershowitz to the IDF frontline, with a wheelchair to make up for the 85 y.o.legs. The ensuing IDF casualties could result in the reality of Palestine, from river to the sea.

Expand full comment

A pseudonymous keyboard warrior, stewed in resentment, lusting for blood and humiliation. Does he see the irony? Of course not.

Expand full comment

Interestingly uncertainly aimed invective. Like a Hamas rocket. Aimed at me or the suspected pedophile? Since it is not I who revels in genocide of Arab families, and humiliation is never on my my list of interests, ande "stewed in resentment is not a personal description, odds are you mean the Jeffrey Epstein associate. Most of my irony about the suspected pedophile connects in some way to his status of suspect who gets away without prosecution despite the invalidity of his hokey immunity agreement... But young people just do not know his background., just as they do not know facts at all.

Expand full comment

Interesting Dershowitz includes criticism of Jewish "leadership" for minimizing antisemitism - however he forgot to include himself in that critique - he voted for Obama and always Democrats despite destructive DEI, anti-Israel policies and antisemitic attitudes that he ought to have denounced from the outset - he is part of the problem created - and he too was "comfortable" with the status quo where it is not taboo to be antisemitic, excusing Dems continuously or studiously ignoring it. Dershowitz preferred to hobnob with and namedrop Kennedys and Obamas rather than shun the pretense and act with moral clarity. The new lens he has on this issue is too little too late, or maybe better late than never, but if he were honest he would attribute guilt to himself for his part in tolerating the phenomenon of the self-loathing Jew.

Expand full comment
Mar 11·edited Mar 11

I support Israel's right to defend itself. I don't support U.S. involvement on either side, because I dont agree with an interventionist foreign policy. That is not what the framers wanted. You know Madisons famous quote about not looking for "monsters to destroy". There is a middle ground between isolationism and being the worlds police force, and America used to represent that middle ground before WW2.

You're right about the social justice foot soldiers in academy. Those brainwashed commies will be Americas undoing. And American jews, along with the MAGA capitalists will have to find a new home. There will be an American diaspora.

Dangerous times are ahead.

Expand full comment

How Many Of You Work For The American Department Of Defense, The American Pentagon, The United Nations Or The British Parliament ?? Here Are A Few Individuals Who Currently Work For These American Top Government Agencies, Or Have Worked In The Past: Scott Ritter, Jeffery Sachs, Colonel Douglas MacGregor, Colonel & Senator Richard Black, George Galloway, Governor & Special Forces Member Jesse Ventura, Judge Napolitano & Hundreds Of Others Are Giving Daily Updates And Sounding The Alarms Against The Broken Fake American Governments. Gaza & Ukraine Are Only Two Active War Zones Out Of Over 20 Active War Zones In Over 20 Different Countries. And The Same Broken Fake American Governments, Who Are In Continues Violations Against The American Constitution, Are The Core Reason For All Of These Illegal Wars. How Does Any Options Matter, When The Top Professionals Who Work For The Top American Agencies Are Givings Daily Updated Reports. No More Illegal Wars With America's Stolen Tax Dollars. We Are The Real Americans Who Have Fought In America's Wars Dating Back To The Civil War. The Simple Truth Will Always Win. "The American Resistance & Corrections" International Developments, austonmatthews@yahoo.com, + 1 332 250 1756 Whatsapp Also

Expand full comment

So would I, and I have experience with the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam.

Expand full comment

Thank you for pointing out the obvious

Expand full comment