If you want a good argument for keeping the inheritance tax,
you have it now. What you need to do is argue that no son deserves to inherit
what the father has built up; not even his good name in some cases. Here is a
good example of that; it is the saga of Landes and Landes. You see, Richard
Landes is the son, and he wrote “Romney Is Right on Culture and the Wealth of
Nations,” an article that was published in the Wall Street Journal on August 6,
2012” It also has the subtitle: “A 2002 United Nations report written by Arab
intellectuals acknowledges the problems the Republican candidate pointed out.”
The reason why Richard wrote the article is that: “Mitt
Romney caused a firestorm last week … by commenting on the cultural dimensions
of Israeli economic growth.” And because: “Mr. Romney cited two books: [one
being] 'the Wealth and poverty of Nations' by economist David Landes (my
father).” But if the late David Landes was an economist, what is Richard? Well,
he is a medieval historian, we are told. But that's not all because he is also
a very active blogger. He has two websites of his own, a third that he
established for other writers to blog on his favorite subject; the
justification of Israeli and Jewish crimes. And he also blogs for a major
newspaper.
You put all this together and the first thing that comes to
mind is that the current article is not an economic discussion. It is not even
a lesson on history because even sincere and well intentioned Jewish historians
are simply incapable of writing history without mutilating it. Their culture is
such that they cannot separate reality from the fantasy concerning their
identity; something they absorb with their mothers' milk. And when you have
someone who is as fanatic as Richard Landes -- to believe that he can write
good history is to believe in the existence of big footed unicorns living and
thriving in Saskatchewan .
No, Richard is no David.
After a few meaningless paragraphs, he gets to discuss his
theory. This is what he writes: “there are cultures whose favored mode is not
voluntary but coerced and zero-sum relations … The elites in such cultures …
emphasize rote learning and unquestioned respect for those in authority …
Powerful actors acquire wealth by taking, rather than making.” Well, when you
put together “unquestioned respect for those in authority” and “actors
acquiring wealth by taking, rather than making,” you get Wall Street in Tokyo and in Shanghai .
You also get Mitt Romney at Bain Capital.
So then, what does Richard make of this? Here is his point,
believe it or not: “Few cultures ... better illustrate the latter traits than
the Arab world, a fact outlined in painful detail by the 2002 United Nations
report written by Arab intellectuals.” Guess what my friend, Arab intellectuals
(read academics) are no better than American academics in that they too sit
comfortably in their ivory towers and pontificate on what ails their societies.
Examine what the Arabs said about their societies 10 years ago, and you will find
it to be less “politically correct” than what their North American counterparts
say now about their own societies.
But there is a difference somewhere else. It is that the
Arabs spoke up because they knew they were a free people. And so did the
intelligent people everywhere else in the world where they read the works of
the Arabs to understand them, not to make hay out of them or make cheap
propaganda. By contrast, the dummies that are full of themselves over here –
such as Richard Landes, Charles Krauthammer and Tom Friedman – first assured
their readers that the Arabs were not free to speak up, and then quoted them as
if they had spoken the words of the infallible gospel. Go figure.
Richard now takes a paragraph to talk about corruption in
the Arab countries. When someone does that, and still maintains a straight face
as if there was no corruption anywhere else in the world when, in fact, the
Jewish Madoffs make up the bulk of the tricksters that plague Wall Street, Tel
Aviv and the other financial capitals, you get turned off and wonder why you're
still reading the piece of trash you're reading. But you keep reading anyway,
hoping to hit on something more intelligent.
And you do hit on something when you continue to read the
article. As to whether or not it counts as being intelligent, well you judge
for yourself. Here is what he says: “Strikingly, Palestinian culture compares
favorably with that of other Arabs. Palestinians have higher education, a
strong work ethic and successful entrepreneurs.” But where is the proof, you
ask? He does not give one. And the reason why he does not give proof is that
the Palestinians have been successful abroad -- mostly in the other Arab
countries -- where there is no American made jets and helicopters bearing the
Star of David, to savagely destroy what the Palestinians keep rebuilding.
Now Landes does something that is very Jewish, very
disgusting and very sickly. He says that the Palestinians owe their success to Israel and the
Jews. Well, my friend, I am not going to illustrate this point because I see no
point discussing the worst opinion of a low life. Let him wiggle among the
worms and the lice down there all he wants; I am not going to spend time
studying the reason for his descent.
And he concludes that: “when Westerners denounce Mr. Romney
for his 'gaffe' they actually do a great disservice to the Palestinians … Had
Western observers criticized Mr. Erekat … they might have strengthened those
Palestinians who could lead their people to the promised land of independence
and prosperity.”
Guess what, Richard; the Promised Land is where the
Westerners want to lead the Palestinian people, having caused them injury the
day that they considered the made-up Jewish religion as something other than
the crown achievement of Satan.