Howard's Political Commentary

As more news comes out about the "coup" in Honduras, I am inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to the current government that removed former President Zelaya from power. Nobody disputes that Zelaya was trying to run an illegal referendum to allow himself to get re-elected President. The Honduran constitution does not allow a president to serve more than one term. As I understand it, that particular item in the constitution is not amendable in order to prevent the creation of a "President for Life" which is as big a problem in Latin American countries as military dictators. Apparently, the Honduran courts and legislators decided that a president breaking the laws and trying to subvert their constitution and rule of law is someone no longer fit to hold office. They directed the military to arrest Zelaya and escort him out of the country. Perhaps, they should have just put him on trial, convicted him, and sent him to prison inside Honduras. The legislature elected

In view of continued North Korean nuclear weapons development, missile testing, and the recent arrest and conviction (kidnapping) of two American women journalists, I think my proposal made over 5 years ago bears some review. If the United States does not demonstrate that it is serious about countering North Korean nuclear weaponry including long range missiles, we will have to face the consequences of other nations not being able to count on us for protection. This opens up the prospect of Japan and possibly other Far Eastern countries acquiring nuclear weapons for their own self defence. The only worse prospect would be currently pro-western countries in the Far East falling into either China's sphere of influence or paying tribute to North Korea to avoid being attacked. In essence, by supplying food, oil, and money to North Korea in exchange for saying they will limit development of nuclear weapons and long range rockets, the United States has been paying tribute to North Korea

Of the two major political parties, the Republican Party is the one closest to advocating for freedom from government control. Democrats consistently support higher taxes and more regulations to permit government officials to control our lives. They support political (group) decision making over empowering individuals to make their own decisions. We have come to expect Democrats to support increasing the power of government at the expense of individual freedom. It is sad and dangerous, though, when Republicans support government power over individual freedom. If the Republican Party is not strong in its stand for freedom and individual rights against the power of government, then our Republic is in danger of deteriorating into a (we hope benevolent) despotism because people distrust or forbid individuals to run their own lives make their own decisions. Over the past few years, I have encountered Republicans who believe these things: The food school children eat should be controlled by

This is a response to this opinion piece in the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. In his opinion piece, “Taxes Far More Than Necessary Evil,” Rabbi Strauss demonstrates why he should stick to his “day job” as a synagogue spiritual leader. His writing on both Halacha and tax issues is filled with misinformation and erroneous reasoning. Rabbi Strauss cites the tax to support the Mishkan as proof that taxes have been a legitimate part of Jewish life since we left Egypt. Of course, that was a poll tax that was imposed on every adult male regardless of income or wealth. He goes on to immediately say that Jewish sources tell us that there is an obligation to provide universal education and health care for the poor – using taxes to finance it. His Jewish sources must be liberal Jewish editorial writers since the Torah requires only supporting Torah education rather than general education – and only in cases where the family is unable to afford it. According to our tradition, parents have

The conflict in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Israel is being covered as if Israel is callously killing civilians while Hamas is just trying to protect its population against ruthless Israeli invaders. This is a horrible distortion of the truth and is just the opposite of what is really going on. For months, Israelis have been subject to Hamas artillery attacks that have threatened the southern third of Israel. Hamas has been trying to kill civilians - it deliberately targets them. In contrast, Israel has targeted Hamas leaders and soldiers to protect itself from attack. Civilians have been killed as a consequence of these counter-attacks, but that is largely because Hamas conducts its "military" operations from civilian areas in order to use civilians as human shields. Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Even after Israel conceded territory to the Palestinians and gave Gaza autonomy, they used this opportunity to increase attacks on Israel instead of build th