Sen. Tom Cotton introduces bill to mandate federal usage of term 'Judea and Samaria' instead of 'West Bank'

US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) has introduced legislation that would ban the term "West Bank" by the federal government and use the term "Judea and Samaria" instead.

On Thursday, Senator Cotton introduced a bill called the "Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel's Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria (RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria) Act." He explained that this new law would "align US policy language with the geographical and cultural significance of the region."

“The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years. The US should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel,” Cotton stated.

U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney from New York, who is known for her strong support for Israel, also backed the bill. She said that using the names Judea and Samaria officially is important for "defending the integrity of the Jewish state."

“The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria, and at this critical moment in history, the United States must reaffirm this,” Tenney said. “This bill reaffirms Israel’s rightful claim to its territory. I remain committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish state and fully supporting Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”

US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has vowed to use the words Judea and Samaria instead of the West Bank.

“I can’t say something I don’t believe. As you well know, I’ve never been willing to use the term ‘West Bank.’ There is no such thing. I speak of Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee told Israeli media outlet Arutz Sheva in an interview. “I tell people there is no ‘occupation.’ It is a land that is ‘occupied’ by the people who have had a rightful deed to the place for 3,500 years, since the time of Abraham.”

If the US federal government were to officially use Judea and Samaria instead of the West Bank, it would be adopting terminology favored by Israel. This could show that US policy is moving closer to supporting Israel and might encourage more Jewish settlements in the area.

However, critics argue that changing the language could stir up more conflict in the Middle East, making it harder to achieve a two-state solution for peace between Israel and Palestine.

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, where Israel gained independence, Jordan began using the term "West Bank" for the region west of the Jordan River that it controlled. Since Israel took over this area during the Six-Day War in 1967, it has referred to it as Judea and Samaria.

Tweet

Tom Cotton ridicules 'partisans and obstructionists' in DOD who reportedly plan to block Trump's plans

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) strongly criticized any individuals [aka obstructionists] within the Department of Defense who are attempting to protect specific norms or policies that they anticipate will be challenged by the incoming Trump administration.

"It appears that partisans and obstructionists inside the Department of Defense are laying groundwork to defy or circumvent President Trump’s plans for both military and civil-service reform," Cotton wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in reference to reports of such strategizing among DOD employees.

"These actions undermine civilian control of the military and our constitutional structure of government."

[H/T Fox News Digital]

There were "informal discussions" earlier in the month among Pentagon officials regarding what the department would do if President Trump, as Commander in Chief, ordered the military for a domestic purpose or even if he simply fired a substantial number of useless employees.

One anonymous defense official was quoted in the report telling CNN, "Troops are compelled by law to disobey unlawful orders." 

"But the question is what happens then – do we see resignations from senior military leaders? Or would they view that as abandoning their people?" they reportedly asked.

But the other question is, if illegal aliens are flooding into the country posing a threat to America as it's known that some are terrorists, murderers and otherwise criminals, isn't the military supposed to protect the people? 

Israel and Ukraine know the answer to that question.

Trump promised during his campaign to shake up the federal government, whether it be through staffing changes or reorganization. Some reports have indicated specific people, those who are as useless as a monkey wrench for a trout, are being looked at for termination once he enters office again. 

In fact, the majority of Americans, those who voted for President-elect Trump, want to see the government shrunk in size, and Vivek Ramaswamy, who was tapped by Trump along with Elon Musk to do the job, agrees with the American people.

Ramaswamy and Musk will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Trump's administration with the goal of reducing the size of our bloated government and cutting spending while increasing efficiency.

Senator Cotton criticized the progressive Defense Secretary in his letter for "promulgating false claims that the incoming administration plans to arbitrarily fire uniformed leaders."

He also slammed Lloyd for a message after the election that the military would specifically follow "lawful orders" from Trump. Cotton said this was "a thinly veiled and baseless insinuation that President Trump will issue unlawful orders."

Lloyd is that aforementioned monkey wrench, as he has made the military an experiment in woke ideology. He has supported gender dysphoric people in the military and has fully supported make-believe President Biden's directive allowing transgender people to serve openly. In fact there have been cases under Lloyd's tenure where the taxpayers footed the bill for several military members to have their members removed and dress as women soldiers and sailors.

"I have to observe that these actions and reports only prove the need for reform and fundamental change at the Department of Defense. And, of course, while inappropriate and annoying, these tactics are also useless because no action by the outgoing administration can limit the incoming president’s constitutional authority as commander-in-chief," Cotton wrote.

Cotton was elected to serve as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference in the new Congress. He is also expected to take Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-FL) place as the head of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Tweet

Biden's DOJ nominee supports ditching the police

"No justice, no police." That seems to be the cry from some on the Lunatic Left.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) warned in a statement Thursday night that Vanita Gupta would make the country less safe for citizens and more safe for criminals based on her far-left policy of defunding the police.

“Vanita Gupta, President Biden’s nominee for Associate Attorney General, would make America less safe. She must be stopped,” Cotton tweeted on social media. “More than 83k Americans died from drug overdoses last year, but Gupta wants to ‘decriminalize’ possession of ALL drugs, even fentanyl. Opioids are already ravaging our communities—we shouldn’t give fentanyl, heroin, or cocaine dealers get-out-of-jail-free cards.”

“As recently as last summer, Vanita Gupta called to defund the police,” Cotton continued. “Her allies in the jailbreak industry—who are clamoring for access to the Biden DOJ—are now trying to deny what she said. But see for yourself where Vanita Gupta stands on defunding the police.”

Sen. Cotton included a statement that Gupta made to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary last summer. Her statements were made concurrent to the Antifa and BLM riots that were perpetrated across the country in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, who likely died of a drug overdose while being arrested for a different crime.

Gupta said:

While front-end systems changes are important, it is also critical for state and local leaders to heed calls from Black Lives Matter and Movement for Black Lives activists to decrease police budgets and the scope, role, and responsibility of police in our lives. [My emphasis.]

As recently as last summer, Vanita Gupta called to defund the police. Her allies in the jailbreak industry—who are clamoring for access to the Biden DOJ—are now trying to deny what she said.

But see for yourself where Vanita Gupta stands on defunding the police: pic.twitter.com/juU9zf08ws

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 5, 2021

Cotton continued:

“No wonder Soros prosecutors like Chesa Boudin in San Francisco have endorsed Gupta. Gupta would promote their pro-crime agenda. Soros prosecutors caused a massive spike in crime in major cities across the country by refusing to prosecute criminals. Why would we trust their judgment for the Department of Justice? The Senate should be suspicious of anyone they endorse.”

The senator concluded by encouraging Biden to withdraw Gupta's nomination and select someone who would "uphold the law."

The Washington Free Beacon pointed out that there are potential conflicts of interest with Gupta’s nomination to a top DOJ spot, which she withheld from the U.S. Senate.

“Her father is Rajiv L. Gupta, a chemicals magnate turned Wall Street adviser and board member for Fortune 500 companies,” the report said. “Gupta made no mention of her father’s sprawling corporate network on a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire that asked her to identify prospective conflicts, despite the fact that the Justice Department has repeatedly sparred with her father’s businesses in recent years.”

Legal Newsline this week reported that Attorneys General from five states are urging Biden to withdraw Gupta's nomination for associate AG, which is the number three position at the DOJ.

“Ms. Gupta’s past comments and track record have demonstrated her disinterest in meaningful police reform in favor of destructive policies that would defund the police,” the AGs from Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas wrote in a March 1 letter to the president. “ Her nomination will further divide our nation instead of implementing policies to protect our communities and support law enforcement.”

The letter said that while some of Gupta’s backers claim she supports police, past comments show that she actually supports defunding the police.

“In fact, she wants to get away from a ‘policing approach’ and has urged Congress to ‘redirect government dollars away from policing practices rooted in the criminal-legal system,’ the AGs wrote. “Calling on Congress to shift resources from police to other priorities is a call for defunding the police, and that is not something Americans support. This is a time when our local law enforcement agencies need additional resources, not fewer.”

The Federalist reported that in September Gupta’s interest group, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, urged Congress to “redirect government dollars away from policing practices rooted in the criminal-legal system and carceral state and toward practices that reflect a vision of public safety that promotes community health and rebuilds trust.”

Yes, one can safely say that "redirecting" government money away from "policing practices" is the same thing as defunding the police. If you remove my wallet from my back pocket and redirect my money from it, you've defunded me, even if you used that money to buy something for your momma.

In March 2019, Gupta's organization published a 416-page report calling to remove police in all schools, and advocated for “community policing” over “real” policing measures carried out by trained law enforcement.

“Police officers should have no role in student disciplinary matters,” the report posits. “Even leaders who express a commitment to community policing sometimes view it as separate and distinct from ‘real’ law enforcement. Some delegate the task of cultivating community relationships to a handful of officers and assign others to patrolling streets and responding to calls.”

Of course, it all becomes "real" law enforcement the moment the law is broken and violence begins.

While I don't know this as fact and I'm just spitballing, I suspect Gupta's two sons, if they are of school-age, attend private schools with good security. If you know this as fact, or that I'm mistaken, please feel free to comment.

Please consider subscribing to Brain Flushings and check out the ads on these pages. It costs nothing to subscribe and it's worth every penny. And remember, every ad you click on, you help in the fight against the China virus

Tweet