There are many reasons why New York City is a popular destination for tourists. There are many things to do. As locals, we often do not take advantage of what the city has to offer. For a few weekends this time of year, there’s the special Holiday Train. The New York Transit Museum takes old trains out for a ride, and the public is invited. Some people dress up in period clothing, and there is a band. This year it was on the 1 line. Beth and I rode it on Sunday. I was a little disappointed since the trains were from the 1960s, which were in service until 2003. In the past, they had trains from the 1920s onward.
Now on to other news. I was so disappointed that I was unable to get a Trump NFT for $99.99. My favorite was the one of him in front of Trump Tower as a superhero, with lasers coming from his eyes. The amazing part is that they were sold out. Trump knows his supporters would pay for anything, even when the money is going into his pocket. If they made this up in an SNL skit, I would not have believed it. Nevertheless, SNL had a good time making fun of it in their opening on December 17.
It is nice to see that Trump as usual was contrite about his meeting with two well-known anti-Semites in Mar-a-Largo. His response was to attack Jewish leadership. “This lack of loyalty to their greatest friends and allies is why large numbers in Congress, and so many others, have stopped giving support to Israel.” Fortunately, Trump is wrong. Israel still has great support in Congress and in the current administration. Moreover, the implication of Trump’s comments echoes anti-Semitic tropes - that Jews control the government. In other words, Congress supports Israel solely because of American Jews. This is incorrect. America supports Israel because it is in America’s interest to do so. Israel has been a strong ally and friend to America and is one of the few democracies in the Middle East.
I mentioned in a prior column that the New York Democratic Party, through its arrogance and overly-progressive stance, lost a few seats in Congress and in the New York State government. The New York Young Republican Club came to the rescue to remind people why New York is mainly a Democratic Party state. They brought in Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to accept the Richard M. Nixon Award, given to “a citizen who exemplifies the fundamental ideals of Americanism.” The irony is that the award is named after Nixon, who did not exemplify these ideals, being the only president to resign in disgrace and be pardoned. But even Nixon would be turning over in his grave knowing that an award in his name was given to Rep Greene. Greene said that “If Steve Bannon and I organized that [attack on the Capitol], we would have won,” and, “Not to mention, we would’ve been armed.” Some in the audience cheered, clapped, and laughed. The comment and the reaction say much about the speaker and the crowd. Even if it was a joke, there are some incidents you don’t joke about.
If her comments about the January 6 attack weren’t offensive enough, this was not the only bad part. A portion of her speech not mentioned by Moshe Hill in his column defending her (in last week’s issue) was her again calling to defund the FBI and saying that “not a single penny should go to a country called Ukraine whose borders are far away and most of you couldn’t find it on a map. As Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal stated in going through Rep. Greene’s speech: “My point isn’t that she is an idiot, though that appears to be true.”
Also at the dinner were two other individuals who have something in common with Nixon: They were pardoned. But unlike Nixon, both Steve Bannon and Roger Stone were convicted of felonies before they were pardoned. Also, Bannon is on bail pending appeal for another criminal conviction. Other well-known individuals included Rudy Giuliani. Then there were those from the extreme right-wing party in Europe with a history of antisemitism. The fact that various speakers tried to wrap themselves in an American flag does not make them less dangerous. For example, those who stormed the Capitol and attacked police officers were screaming USA and walking with American flags, some of which they used to strike the police officers.
Moshe Hill may not have any problem with this group of misfits and is proud to be with them. Most people in this country, especially in New York, would disagree with him. If the Republican Party wants to continue down this road of right-wing extremism and think the results will be better next time, then go right ahead. Like a drug addict or alcoholic, sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before you change. The Republican Party may need a few more losses before they get rid of the Trumpians and let the traditional Republicans take over. The party of Reagan and Bush was more effective and popular than the party of Trump.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
