We were getting used to the new normal in the House of Representatives. The clown show started with a 15-round election for the Speaker of the House.

“Hey, that’s me.”

But alas, McCarthy lasted nearly nine months, the third shortest tenure in American history. The band of seven, led by nine Matt Gaetz, told McCarthy to step down as the Speaker of the House. They were thoughtful enough to allow McCarthy to keep the sign.

The battle for McCarthy’s successor rages. Rep. Scalise had more votes than Rep. Jordon within the Republican caucus. Nonetheless, Scalise doesn’t have 217 votes if it was taken to the floor. Rep. Jordon was next on the chopping block.

McCarthy did nothing as the Speaker of the House, and the House can’t do anything more than McCarthy without a Speaker. That is the new and stupid new normal. Even if the Republicans could elect a new Speaker, which is questionable, the Senate and the president’s approval is necessary. The House is in a governmental quagmire as they continue to send in the clowns.

Send in the clowns.

As the House vainly attempts to de-quagmire itself, last Saturday, Hamas stormed across the border separating Gaza from Israel. Israel has faced decades of wars with Hamas. However, this attack resulted in a new normal. A week ago, Hamas crossed into Israel and killed or captured some hostages. Unless we are careful, this new normal will wind up with a far worse new normal than expected.

What we call the Holy Lands is a misnomer. Dating back to the invasion of Canaan by the Hebrews in 1250 BCE, religions have killed or been killed by the followers of the correct deity. Believers of a specific religion determine the correct deity. For over three millennia, each of the three major religions in the Middle East believed they followed the right religion. That mindset allowed believers to act on behalf of their particular religion.

Last week, another new normal reared its new normal mindset. The theological mindset is based upon that mindset; my religion is correct. This belief is maintained by Jews,

Christians, and Muslims. Someone needs to remind each religion that they worship the same God.

For the sake of my argument, let’s assume that I am the deity from which Judaism, Christianity, and Islam developed. Instead of residing in Crown Point, IN, I live in heaven above the Earth. This is a photo taken by one of my followers several years ago.

This is a painting of me.

Okay, I might have ruffled some feathers of my readers by playing God. I yield my divine status to you. You are now God. How would you feel as an omnipotent deity in the Middle East? You now are the God of the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

In my previous essay about one of my mentors, T.E. Lawrence, I wrote, “Lawrence resigned from the British army while in Damascus. He had longstanding issues with the British, especially with the Balfour Declaration. He saw the Arabs as more trustworthy than the British and said, ‘I will have such difficulty in becoming English again.’”

I should have fleshed out that comment. Israel hadn’t existed for two millennia as a country until Zionists declared the State of Israel in 1947. The British and French controlled much of the Middle East after WWI. The British Foreign Secretary, Lord Balfour, replied to Lord Rothschild’s request for the creation of Israel.

The Balfour Declaration

Due to various issues between the two wars, nothing resulted in the Balfour Declaration. At the end of WWII, many Jews immigrated to Palestine from Europe. Then, the Zionists invaded Palestine and created the State of Israel in 1948.