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ALPERN AT LARGE - It might be controversial that Trump was convicted in New York (half of America thinks it’s justice incarnate, half of America think it’s injustice incarnate), but it is NOT controversial that the Gaza pier, meant to be a lifeline for food and supplies to the Gazans, is a boondoggle for which just about everyone is (and should be) furious.
$320 million for the Gaza pier, and then was damaged and dismantled after a few days in rough waters. Awful with respect to wasting money, and with respect to failing to help get food and supplies to civilians (would Hamas allow the aid to go to civilians, or keep it all to themselves?).
And awful for American credibility. The liberal New Republic is fuming.
And former MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan describes this rapid collapse of the $320 million pier as a “bloody s--- show”.
And both conservatives and libertarians alike are bemoaning both the waste of money and the “keystone cops” optics this has for the image of the United States to the rest of the world.
Pro-Israel and anti-Hamas? You’re angry. Pro-Gaza and anti-Israel? You’re angry.
You should be.
Ditto for the eight or so EV stations that’s been built so far after $7.5 billion was earmarked for 500,000 such stations in the 2021 infrastructure package.
500,000 stations by 2030, and yet we’ve only got 8 (that’s one-digit only, folks, not 80 or 800) built by 2024. Sorry, Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, but either you or President Biden or the rest of the Administration has some credibility problems.
Of course, Mr. Buttigieg tried to defend this lack of progress to host Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation”, but she understandably responded with a laugh.
And why shouldn’t she laugh, or any of us laugh, about this debacle…
…because while it’s NOT funny, laughing is the only option left than screaming in fury and rage at the thought of all these federal tax dollars being tossed away while inflation and lack of spending power destroys the average, ordinary Joe or Jane American.
But it’s NOT funny about the Gaza pier falling apart so quickly, particularly when there were so many cynics and critics decrying the project.
And it’s also NOT funny how so many tax dollars are going to illegal immigrants when our veterans and middle-class are getting their collective future torpedoed.
And it’s also NOT funny how so many tax dollars are being thrown away towards homeless and affordable housing projects that are NOT being built.
Gaslighting and defending the indefensible only goes so far, and for those focusing on the vote this November, and the economic survival of the United States, I suspect that the Trump Trial in New York will get mixed reviews from his opponents and supporters.
I don’t think, however, there will be much of anything but unanimity with respect to the Gaza pier debacle, the EV station debacle, the illegal immigration/border debacle, the inflation debacle, the homeless crisis debacle, and any other debacles that keep popping up during this Administration.
Maybe President Joe Biden IS uniting the nation.
But maybe President Joe Biden is uniting the nation solely with the conclusion that the Democratic Party better choose a different 2024 candidate for the Presidency than the person we now must endure, and choose differently ASAP.
Because Biden’s the only President in power right now, and his “pier reviews” aren’t gonna get better anytime soon.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
