Einstein, in his “God letter,” as the New York Times called it, wrote, “And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong, and in whose mentality I feel profoundly anchored, still for me does not have any different kind of dignity from all other peoples. As far as my experience goes, they are in fact no better than other human groups, even if they are protected from the worst excesses by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot perceive anything ‘chosen’ about them.”

Now, some Jews, the Zionists, are corrupted by the worst excesses of power. Netanyahu is on trial on multiple corruption charges in Israel and is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. He won’t attend the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz because Poland says they will arrest him. Yet he is “wagging the dog,” somehow getting Congress to fund and equip Israel’s “extermination” of Gaza, as Human Rights Watch calls it, as well as violate six U.S. laws, including the Leahy Law, and to give him more ovations than any president in history. Decorated IDF veteran, and former Defense Minister and Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon says Israel is becoming a “corrupt and leprous fascist Messianic state“!

The Boulder Progressives, violating real progressive principles, also seem to have been corrupted by the arrogance of power.

They went off the rails endorsing Junie Joseph for State Representative. She ticks the identity politician boxes as a black female immigrant, but now co-chairs the so-called Aerospace Defense Caucus at the Capitol. This means she promotes Colorado war industries. When I questioned her she touted the spin-offs of the military, omitting the biggest spin-off, excess weapons given to U.S. police, who often use them to attack protesters — and kill black people!

The Aerospace Industry Association website says 53% of its money comes from the so-called Defense Department. Since more than half of “Aerospace” is for “defense” and the “Defense” Department was the War Department until just after WWII, it’s mostly the War Caucus! As long as the U.S. perpetuates wars, peace, love, truth, beauty, justice and the climate have no chance.

Boulder Progressives also went off the rails endorsing Aaron Brockett for mayor. Aaron went on the city’s big junket to Oregon in 2016 to look at legal homeless camps and tiny home villages and he advocated for that for years — until the 2021 election when a Progressive council majority was elected that might do it. Then he apparently flip-flopped and instead led the decision to spend about $12 million in 4 years to keep “sweeping” the homeless from camp to camp, so they are in our parks and along our creeks instead of designated locations like the hundreds of Hoovervilles during the Great Depression. I see kicking the homeless while they’re down as a form of preparation for “leaders” for grownup atrocities like those mentioned above — and we know Brockett seeks higher office, as he applied for the job Joseph got.

Boulder Progressives have gotten the City to increase housing density, but without enough incentives to make that housing affordable (or for people to go car-free as I’d like as a full-time cyclist). As the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless says in their 2023 State of Homelessness report, “Supply without affordability does not create more affordable housing,” the only thing in bold in their report. Boulder and Denver are already the densest cities in Boulder and also the least affordable, except for resort towns.

So the Boulder Progressives abandon peace, the homeless, the middle class, whatever, to gain power and back pliable “winning” personalities without ethics to maintain power.

“Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it,” as Plato said.

(This guest opinion has links to sources you can see in the online Camera or by emailing me: eravitz@gmail.com.)

Evan Ravitz was voted Best Activist by Daily Camera readers in 1992 for helping get four new types of permits for the Pearl St. Mall, where he did his tightrope show, for leading the fight for the 13th St. Bike Path downtown, and for promoting direct democracy. In 2013 his informal petition got the City to legalize e-bikes on the multi-use paths and in 2018 he spearheaded into the City Charter the only legal online petitioning for direct democracy in the country.