August 9

August 9, 2006

The Fisher Rx
Good for What Ails Us!

In This Patient File

"The Exam Room" - The Issue
"The Diagnosis" - What's Ailing Us?
"The Prescription" - Dr. Fisher's Solution
The Patient File - Press Release
"Get Your Dr. Fisher Prescription Filled" - Upcoming Appearances

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Dear Friend,

Thank you for reading this week's edition of "The Fisher Rx." Today, we're talking about the Israeli dilemma. I look forward to hearing from you on this issue and others that are important to you. Please take the opportunity to forward this email to others by clicking the "Forward Email" link at the bottom of this email. Doing so will help us make the 12th District the best place to live in America. I welcome your vote, your financial support, and your comments.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ada M. Fisher

"The Exam Room" - The Issue
The Israeli Dilemma

In the new Judea Reform Temple of Durham, NC, my hometown, I sat with sadness pondering what is going on in the Middle East. I remember my father, a Baptist minister, talking about the religious traditions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity when I was a kid. I also recall my two week sojourn to Israel, Egypt and other Middle Eastern sites. I am torn as I watch the carnage and assaults on my people.

What do we do when people are being persecuted on the basis of their religion, particularly the smallest monotheistic group, which sits at the heart of all beliefs in one God? What do we do when some people still deny that the Holocaust really happened? What do we do when our support is crucial for Israel's survival? What do we do when we don't understand the Israeli or Islamic mindsets to appreciate their common intransient support of Zionist ideologies, which could push us truly to World War III and world annihilation? And what do we do when we must honestly appreciate that many of our own people harbor those anti-Semitic biases from envy or our misperceived notions that the Jews are all rich, control the banks or money supply and are arrogant in maintaining that they are "God's chosen people," per our very own Bible which then leaves out many who are professing faith? What are we to believe?

"The Diagnosis" - What's Ailing Us?
Religious Wars with a Drop of Oil

When W. E. B. DuBois wrote that the problem of the 20th century was the color line, people put the emphasis on blacks in the USA. Though ours is a continual struggle about racism real and imagined, religion has been the world problem through all generations and ages. So here's the rub:

Israel is surrounded in a hostile land where its neighbors don't want them and their very right to exist is threatened daily. The USA has been an unabashed supporter of that Jewish state appreciating with Israel in the Middle East; we were more likely to have a friend to help protect our interest there. George W. Bush has openly supported Israel without apology; however, this has bred distrust among Arab states and people so associated.

Israel does have the right to defend itself. The Palestinians are a part of the peoples of that area and won't be absorbed by their own for their warring nature is proving a threat to them as well. Though the UN agreement on the apportionment of that land is a done deal and led to Ralph Bunche's (a black American) receipt of the Nobel Prize, many Palestinians will always feel it was not done right and cast them off the land. The skirmishes and wars have continued. No one who has ever won a war has been required to give land back as Israel was asked to do after the 1967 clash. Without a buffer zone or secure borders Israel is not likely to make more concessions.

The recent attacks have brought the nation of Israel together like nothing else. Its retaliatory self- defense attacks have hardened the hearts of its neighbors against her. The beauty of a Sadat or a Begin or Netanyahu, Sharon or Middle Eastern leaders who were true soldiers is that they lived in a revolution and served in a war. Talking the game is far different than having lived the experience. Ask any veteran.

"The Prescription" - Dr. Fisher's Solution
Reality Checks for All of God's People

Now, it's a new game of chess in the Middle East on many levels and the stakes have changed. Living day in and day out with terrorism, it seems unlikely that a compromise is going to hold for trust is gone and the flames of faith flicker dimly. So here are some truths--Israel has the atomic bomb and will use it if pushed against the wall for as they say of Masada, "Never Again."

Iran and Iraq have the oil that others want and they know it. They will use it to minimize support for Israel. For it is written, they will let the deserts burn/set the wells of fire rather than let folks have it.

In addition, as long as that one small nation in the area who is perceived as a common enemy has atomic weaponry, others will want the same.

Peace in the Middle East can only be had via a walk on the path, which will require sacrifice, commitment and unselfish vigilance. The uncomfortable choice is that we must be willing to die to try to make peace or live with a non-ending war on terrorism.

The Fisher Rx:

The first step to peace in the Middle East must be the development and widespread use of alternative energy sources by other nations to neutralize the oil wars and global dependency on this form of energy. What are they going to do with useless fields of "Black Gold?" There will be less warring if oil was devalued by alternative energy sources. That isn't likely to happen in the near future; but remember, we can pay now or pay later.

Secondly, a shared agreement on "the Holy Land” which houses the sacred grounds for the major monotheistic religions must be a point of respectful agreement.

Third, the United Nations must develop some intestinal fortitude and stand for what is right based on the needs of its members. With the suffering around the world including much of war torn and starving Africa as well as responses required to deal with worldwide global disasters, there must be some true peacekeepers and honest brokers in the world with no vested interest in self gain as was done with Anan's family ties to food for oil. The Holy Lands and antiquities should be spared the ravages of war via protecting their hallowed grounds and keeping them accessible to all instead of being used as shelters for terrorism. I'm not sure how we do it. Maybe it’s time for more of our Political Science majors to look at careers in diplomacy or civil affairs instead of law school.

Fourth, the United States must hold true to its constitution that we are "...endowed with certain unalienable rights..." and as it is further written in the biblical text, “to those whom much is given, much is expected.”

The Patient File - Press Release
Watt Dupes Blacks on Wages says Fisher

Reviewing the congressional votes on the minimum wage legislation, Dr. Ada M. Fisher, 12th US Congressional District Republican Candidate was struck by Congressman Melvin Watt’s No vote on raising the minimum wage to $7.15/over three years, which was also attached to Estate Tax Legislation.