#1,094: Promises, Promises, Promises . . . OY
Please note: This week, there are no images in this blog. I am having some technical difficulties and cannot get the edit function to work. Just as soon as we work it out, we’ll get back to putting in photos . . .
With just about 48 days to go until the Midterm elections, Pouter Pidgeon and his crew are feeling beset by a lethal dose of the heebeegeebees; so much so that he/they are making promises they know they won’t be able to keep. These vows range from giving every adult in America a $5,000.00 stipend (which may or may not be taxable) if MAGA can maintain their hold on both Houses of Congress, to ending the war in Iran within days of the election. (And mind you, just days before the "Trumpalooza” midterm convention in Dallas, Felon47 proclaimed that it was not a war). He also promised that just as soon as the war ended, gas prices would drop down to $3.00 per gallon . . . perhaps even as low as $2.00. Just remember, this is the same guy who promised a $2,000.00 “tariff dividend” to every American adult; after more than 10 months, I haven’t received mine. Have you?
Then there was the vow to make damn sure that Sharia Law (the fundamental concept of Islam, be banned from America’s civic/political life so that it does not infect all the good Christians in our midst. . . especially those whose sole knowledge of the Holy Book is Leviticus 18:22, the one about a man lying with a man as he would a woman is a sin punishable by death.
The muttonheads of MAGA savored all 3 of these promises like a gourmet meal at a 5-star fast-food joint. To top things off, during his time on the Trumpalooza dais, Texas Senator Ted Cruz roundly criticized three Democrats with national images: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed (both of whom are practicing Muslims), and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, whom he claimed believed there are 6 sexual genders. After Senator Cruz said each name, a person in the audience yelled out, “He should be shot!” Later on, when asked why he had not taken the high road (à la the late Arizona Senator John McCain, who, during the 2008 presidential campaign, publicly admonished one of his supporters for claiming that Barack Obama was a horrible Muslim) and not condemned the MAGA miscreant, Cruz swore that he hadn’t heard him. Perhaps Cruz needs a trip to an audiologist - or at least take lessons in telling the truth.
Of course, off-the-wall promises and quarter-truths do not a political platform make. Throughout the mini convention, the Fondling Father insisted that his political base (whom he derides as “idiots” and ‘losers’ behind closed doors) remember that He, the “anointed of G-d,” is still on the ballot and that any vote they cast is really a vote for their fearless leader. In matters of truth, outside of the trinity of promises detailed above, MAGA has no concretely meaningful platform. They exist largely on cultural issues and fearmongering. An alien dropping in on the Dallas gathering would likely have thought that the biggest impediments to freedom and American values were - in no particular order - transsexuals playing on NCAA teams... most notably, women’s basketball. (NB: According to the NCAA, more than half a million student-athletes play on various sports teams in the U.S. Leaders have testified before Congress that fewer than 10 known transgender student-athletes compete at the college level. Moreover, according to data highlighted by SF.gov, transgender individuals make up less than 0.002% of all U.S. college sports.
The fear-mongering comes mainly from repeatedly accusing all Democrats (including Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman) of being either “Communists,” “Socialists,” or, counterintuitively, both. As many of my students and readers know, whenever I hear someone accuse a politician or someone they do not like of being a red, I will ask them: “Do you mean Marxist, Leninist, Stalinist, Trotskyite, or Maoist?” The most frequent responses are silence and a sightless stare.
If the issue of banning Sharia law in America weren’t so gosh-darn preposterous and idiotic, it would be laughable. The movement to ban Sharia (الشريعة, Arabic for “the free path) law has been growing over the past 15 years. Today, there is a group in the House numbering no less than 50 (all Republican) that calls itself the “Sharia Free-America Caucus. Originally launched in December 2025 by Texas Reps. Keith Self and Chip Roy, the caucus, in the words of Rep. Self, is “an effort to counter the alarming rise of Sharia in the United States." In his initial statement released to the public, Self wrote: “Sharia is a dominating force that is not compatible with the U.S. Constitution. The formation of the Caucus has earned the support of U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville—the leading voice in the Senate against Sharia.”
As with Communism and Socialism, it is highly unlikely that the overwhelming majority of those supporting anti-Sharia legislation know the first thing about what has them shaking in their shoes. Sharia is not a single, fixed legal book, but rather an overarching framework of Allah’s guidance for humanity. Most of Sharia focuses on personal behavior, ethics, and religious duties rather than strict legal penalties. It is derived from two sources: The Quran, the holy book of Islam, believed to be God's direct revelation. and the Sunnah, the practical examples, actions, and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. And while yes, it does contain some words of hate and exclusivity, it is, largely speaking, a construct that emphasizes peace, ethics, and morality. Those who disagree with what I’ve written and believe that I must be some kind of “closet terrorist” have never read either the Quran or the Sunnah. I have.
In its own way, it is akin to a much, much older system or path: Halacha, which is Hebrew for “The way one proceeds.” Derived from both the written and the oral Torah and thousands upon thousands of commentaries, Halacha guides daily life, religious practice, ethics, and ritual observance across all aspects of personal and communal behavior. It contains 613 mitzvot (commandments) which have, as their major purpose, making the everyday sanctified and the commonplace holy. There are many similarities between Halacha and Sharia. Some of the most basic are:
Both prohibit eating non-kosher (hallal) footstuffs, most notably ham and pork.
Both command multi prayer services on a daily basis (3X for Jews; 5X for Muslims.
The forbidding of usury (charging or paying interest on personal loans.
Profiting from theft, corruption, bribery, cheating, or extortion.
Lying, bearing false witness, slander, and general injustice or oppression
Of course, banning Sharia law is unconstitutional; the First Amendment’s “Establishment Clause” guarantees everybody several personal and communal freedoms, including those of speech, religion, and assembly. Several states (Kansas, Alabama, North Carolina) have instituted bans on Sharia law, claiming that they are not in violation of federal law. All three states’ bans are now in the courts. In matter of fact, a clear majority of American Muslims are against instituting Sharia law, and prefer following American civil law. So what’s this all about? Making sure that MAGA Republicans see a grave threat where there is none.
By the same logic, anti-Semites could also demand banning Halachah from the states. This will never happen, because conservatives - who may or may not hate Jews behind closed doors - have never heard of it, and want to keep those Jewish dollars flowing into their campaign coffers. They should remember, however, that members of our tribe are, for the most part, politically sophisticated and know a scam when we see one.
Christianity, unlike either Islam or Judaism, does not have a comprehensive, universally binding system of religious law for society and daily conduct equivalent to Islamic Sharia or Jewish Halachah. And yet, many fundamentalist Christians are fully behind putting the 10 Commandments in every American classroom, the total abortion ban (“Life begins at conception and ends at birth”), and sidestep such basic concepts as “healing the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and giving shelter to the homeless.” To my mind, this is religious illiteracy - at best - or sheer hypocrisy - at worst.
While it may well be that 47 is not on the ballot, vote as if he were . . . and vote Blue. For the nation we save belongs to all of us.
Copyright ©2026 Kurt Franklin Stone