BLOOMBERG TRIES TO BUY THE OBAMAS AND THE USA

       Like a lot of American families mine is sharply divided between a conservative wing (my part) and a liberal wing that is best represented by a cousin who shares an interest in astronomy with me. We were once extremely close. In fact, I grew up on the same street with him. But now once a discussion slips past Mars or other science and into politics it quickly becomes unmanageable. About a month ago I asked him if he could support any of the Democrats. At least he said that he couldn’t support an extremist (but that was basically all of them in my opinion). Then he said, “Bloomberg.” At the time Bloomberg was at the bottom of the polls. But now in many states he is near or at the top. So what’s Bloomberg’s story? A lot of it is encoded on the matrix. While he would like to be president he would be almost as happy just to buy the presidency for a patsy like Michelle Obama and control all of us in an unofficial way. On the matrix the axis term is BLOOMBERG. At the same skip is USA. BUYER and CONTROL are at one skip less than the absolute skip of BLOOMBERG. BUYER touches BLOOMBERG. CONTROL touches B. OBAMA which is at skip -1. MONEY is in the open text. MICHELLE and MIKE are both at skip -1. President is not at a special case skip. Hopefully this means that his plan will fail.

STATISTICAL AND POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MATRIX. The matrix is based on the 18th lowest ELS of BLOOMBERG. The most significant a priori term was B. OBAMA. Before factoring in the ELS rank of the axis term, was found against odds of about 376 to 1 when we check for 3 transliterations of the name - the one shown with a final alef, a final hey used in the press) or a final ayin - featured in a recent article where it reads B. H. Obama. Normally I have only search for the final hey (best spelling) or alef (similar to English with a final A. Factoring into the calculation a final ayin (not shown) drops the combined value in half because the hits found at special case skips of +/-1 or the absolute skip of the axis term go up from 1 to 2. Second in value was USA at the skip of the axis term. It was found at a special case skip against odds of about 34.7 to 1. MIKE (Bloomberg's first name) was at a special case skip against odds of about 19.8 to 1. MICHELLE is at the same skip (-1) as her husband B. OBAMA and as MIKE. MICHELLE is at special case skip against odds of about 8.3 to 1. I think the plan all along was to use Bloomberg to break the bank for all the early contenders, horrify the socialist/communist Sanders wing of the party that a capitalist billionaire would get the nomination, and then have Michelle Obama ride to the rescue while Bloomberg graciously backs out - maybe to settle for a Secretary of State or economic position that will allow him buy CONTROL of the president and the USA to recoup the MONEY invested in defeating President Trump. The word BUYER was found against odds of about 3 to 1.  While not at a special case skip it does touch BLOOMBERG. CONTROL was found against odds of about 4 to 1.  While not at a special case skip it touches B. OBAMA. Bloomberg has all the personality of a wet rag. He is absolutely uninspiring. But the Obamas will bow to him the way Barack bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is believed to have paid for his Barack's election. MONEY is in the open text against odds of about 4.5 to 1. Combined odds against the matrix were about 1,452,845 to 1.

JUDAISM AND MY COUSIN’S PICK – MIKE BLOOMBERG

       When it comes to picking a presidential candidate, my top concern is national defense. After that I’m interested in the economy and basic values. Two Jews are running for President this year – Sanders and Bloomberg. Normally I’m not in favor of putting a Jew in the White House because if he (or she) screws up there are a lot of people who will blame all the Jews. To put a Jewish billionaire in the White House is to almost beg serious anti-Semites to violently attack synagogues and other Jewish institutions. Better to be close to the president as an advisor, but not in the job itself (unless the Messiah arrives first).

       Still, how do the two candidates vary in terms of their Judaism? Despite words to the contrary about being proud to be Jewish, if being Jewish is about beliefs rather than genes, in my view Sanders really isn’t Jewish at all. He is an atheist.

       What follows is taken from the Washington Post on January 27, 2020. My comments are in dark blue.

Both men have said they support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; both have pledged to reenter the Iran nuclear deal crafted by the Obama administration, which has major implications for Israel’s security;

COMMENT: The nuclear deal makes both men unacceptable and dangerous to Israel and America.

both oppose the BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) movement that aims to punish or isolate Israel.

But Sanders says he is “not a great fan” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Bloomberg calls a friend. Sanders has criticized Israeli actions and pleaded for Americans to understand Palestinians’ grievances as well — and has espoused the possibility of withholding America’s sizable aid to Israel if Israeli policies don’t change.

COMMENT: This makes Sanders an enemy of Israel

In Florida, Bloomberg vowed not to do that: “As president, I will always have Israel’s back. I will never impose conditions on our military aid, including missile defense — no matter who is prime minister,” he said.

COMMENT: This is likely why my cousin supports him.

Bloomberg said that “revering the miracle that is the state of Israel” is central to his conception of what Judaism is about. He discussed his many trips to the nation and its major institutions, including a hospital wing that he has donated to and that now bear his parents’ names.

He claimed Trump is undermining the American-Israeli relationship by turning Israel into a partisan wedge issue. “There are those who will cite moving the embassy to Jerusalem as a reason to support the president,” he said to the Jewish audience. “To that, I say very clearly: If I am elected, you will never have to choose between supporting Israel and supporting our values here at home. I will defend both.”

Jews make up only 2 percent of the U.S. population but lean heavily Democratic and are a reliable voting bloc for the party. Jewish support is all over the board in the Democratic primary, not clustering with the two Jewish candidates, each of whom has hired a specialist to focus on Jewish outreach for their campaigns. The Forward found in an analysis of Jewish donors that during the first half of 2019, the most money went to former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, an Episcopalian who quotes the New Testament and has criticized Netanyahu.

COMMENT: Most American Jews are not Orthodox. They do not believe that the Torah is from God. Therefore the prohibition against homosexuality is not taken seriously. Buttigieg represents the end of all values. What’s next? People marrying donkeys or chimps? I’m glad Bloomberg likes kosher deli food, but what does he accept with respect to Torah? He belongs to Temple Emanu-El in New York. That’s Reform.  I thought it might imply that Bloomberg accepts none of the ritualistic laws of Torah, including the prohibition of homosexual acts, but GayCityNews.com reveals that he has a long history of opposing homosexuals. His values are basically secular, but he seems to be an opponent of gays rather than neutral or pro-gay. However, on looking further I found him switching positions just as he has switched parties.  Caveat emptor. This guy's values seem to be based on whatever is in his interest at any given moment.

 Neither Sanders nor Bloomberg has concentrated enthusiasm from Jews the way that 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman did when he ran 20 years ago. Rabbi Daniel Zemel, of Temple Micah in Northwest Washington, said times have changed — now that the White House regularly hosts Hanukkah parties and Passover seders, the idea of a Jew in office doesn’t excite Washington Jews quite so much. In addition, neither of the current Jewish candidates is known as much for their faith as Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew who wore a yarmulke, kept kosher and observed Shabbat.

COMMENT: Lieberman got my vote. But Gore was a disappointment. That was the last time I voted for a Democrat.

Steven Windmueller, a professor at Hebrew Union College (Reform) who studies Jewish American political behavior, said that while Lieberman’s Jewish observance drew both tremendous enthusiasm and concerns about anti-Semitism in 2000, Jewish voters today won’t demand religiosity from a candidate. “There’s a general acceptance of the diversity of Jewish expression and behavior,” he said. He believes Jewish Democratic voters are less concerned with electing someone of their faith than with electing “anyone but Donald Trump.”

COMMENT: Outside of the Orthodox wing of Judaism the rest of Judaism in America is dying out. For many Jews the religion is only an ethnic identity rather than a guide to values. If Bloomberg gives money to a hospital it’s not because he really wants to help people. It’s because, as we have seen above, he gets to name a wing of the hospital after his parents, i.e., it's all about his ego.

Zemel recalled that in 2015, Sanders skipped Rosh Hashanah services at a synagogue to deliver a campaign speech at evangelical Liberty University. “He’s ethnically Jewish. He could be culturally Jewish. But his religious Judaism is certainly up for questioning,” Zemel said.

Bloomberg belongs to the prominent Temple Emanu-El in New York, and as mayor he helped a synagogue that had suffered a fire find an alternate space to host High Holy Day services.

But do Jewish voters care about these religious anecdotes? “Only rabbis, maybe,” Zemel said.

COMMENT: Zemel does not speak for Orthodox Jews. We do care.