A bummer GOOD MORNING!!! to you all! Yup, last of the Oregon State/ UofO “Civil War” done. OSU got their doors blown off. To add insult to injury, the coach left for Michigan State. Well Smith…may your losing seasons be plentiful until they fire you!
Monday Musings Ed-vise today. Cause it’s MONDAY! So GET AFTER IT!
I’ve been paying pretty close attention to this little flare up with Israel and Hamas. Probably because of the huge ramifications surrounding it.
I’ve also been paying attention to the rhetoric being said by many, MANY people if you happen to criticize one particular side. That being the Israel side.
Now, I have my opinion on how this skirmish is being conducted. But that is not what I was musing about over the long weekend.
What caught my eye was a little article written by Human Rights Watch.
There are 28 states that have laws that prevent any business from boycotting Israel.
A business in one of those 28 states can boycott any other nation. Just not Israel.
Interesting.
The company, Air BnB, decided to not list houses in Israel or the Occupied Territories because they did not want to support the government of Israel due to their activities.
The states which do not allow such activity prevented houses from being listed by Air BnB. So, Air BnB changed their position and started re-listing those houses in Israel.
Ben and Jerry’s ice cream stopped selling their ice cream in Israel. Several of those 28 states boycotted Ben and Jerry’s. Ben and Jerry’s is still available in Israel, just under a different business arrangement.
Get the picture?
Now, take that to an extreme.
Apple has facilities in Israel for production of their stuff. Apple is based in California which is one of those 28 states.
If Apple decided to shut down their facilities or halt production in Israel because they do not support the government of Israel, they would face real problems in the state of California.
A company can NOT like another countries government for any number of reasons. The taxes go up; the government is messing with the companies infrastructure; the government decides to arrest Apple employees for no cause. Pick a reason or make one up. That company should have the ability to leave that country.
Yet, with those 28 states, it would be considered a boycott and that company would be stuck. Unable to leave and subject to the whims of that government.
I seem to recall a point in history when these here U-nited States all got together and defeated Great Britain so that we could do what we wanted. As individuals and as groups. Part of that “doing what we want” is being able to say “I don’t like what you are doing.” Another part is being able to say “I am not going to do business with you because I don’t like what you are doing.”
Yet, if you have a business in one of those 28 states, you LOSE that freedom. Which falls where in the Constitution? FIRST AMENDMENT, folks. The Big 1A!
Funny how all those literal interpreters of the Constitution FAIL to catch the limits that 28 states have placed on businesses by stripping them of their 1A right.
I’m just saying
That’s it for today. Be the person a stranger will do CPR on. Check in on each other and remember the guy who stole an Advent Calendar got…TWENTY FIVE DAYS! BWAHAHAHAHHAHA…HO HO HO!
Peace
Ed-vise 