Michael T. Lester

Your government is doing things in your name that you don't know about.

Marine. Naval Academy. Desert Storm veteran. I have receipts.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

Congress just dishonored every American veteran.

I served in the U.S. Marine Corps. I dedicated years of my life to this country, our way of life, and our beliefs. I lost friends. I watched wives hold their babies and choke back tears at my friends' funerals.

For that sacrifice, our country recognizes service members. They can proudly say "I served" and carry the title of Veteran.

Now Congress wants to grant that same recognition to service in a foreign military, for the sole benefit of that foreign country, in an ongoing military action being investigated for war crimes against civilians.

That cheapens every veteran's sacrifice. It undermines the honor of military service. And it dishonors this country.

Repost this. Americans need to know. Veterans need to know. The families of service members and veterans need to know. And Congress needs to know we are not ok with this.

[Sentinel @sentinelnews360]

The Abdul Effect: Hope and Love Can Overcome Hate and Fear.

Despite the Islamophobia, fearmongering, and millions spent trying to defeat him, Abdul El-Sayed prevailed.

A Michigan exit poll found that nearly 60% of Jewish early voters supported Abdul, a Muslim candidate who refused to compromise his principles.

This is America at its best.

Jewish Americans supporting a Muslim candidate. Americans looking beyond religion, race, and political labels to vote for someone they believe will represent them.

Abdul demonstrated that you don't have to spread hate to win elections. You don't have to demonize another religion or divide Americans to earn their trust.

Authenticity, integrity, compassion, and a message of hope can still win.

That's the Abdul Effect.

America needs more leaders who unite us rather than divide us.

One Nation. One People.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

Does anyone think we're not occupied?

It's not even hidden anymore. AIPAC is bragging about how many bought politicians they have and how they will vote for Israel.

They specifically mention Schumer and Jeffries. Jeffries took $933,000 from AIPAC. Schumer took $43,000 direct from SIPAC and over $1.7 from pro-Israel supporters, more than any other senator.

–------------+
Their post:

AIPAC congratulates the hundreds of pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans who won their elections last night. More than 234 candidates supported by AIPAC members have already won, with many additional races still too close to call. We congratulate Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on the resounding victories for their caucuses.

AIPAC members are determined to expand their political activism in the cycles ahead. Our community will increase its support for Democrats and Republicans who recognize that a strong partnership with Israel helps keep both countries secure, advances peace and stability, promotes democratic values, and grows our economy through trade and innovation.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

NOW is the time to act before the new congress takes their seats. Demand Country before Party! If Hakeem Jeffries is elected by the Democrats to be the Speaker of the House, then just expect more of the same with a different label. The same master with a different name isn’t a change, it’s just marketing. A “New and Improved” label doesn’t make the actions new and improved, and new and improved is what we want and need!

Open minded, intelligent Americans, of both parties, voted yesterday to replace the old guard that failed to act in our best interests, and we should celebrate that! It was an amazing step in the right direction.

Democrats now have the majority vote in the House and Senate, and the danger is that they just continue the same playbook.

Don’t rest! Now is the time to write to your congressmen and senators and let them know that the election was a message. A message they should listen carefully to. We truly want America and Americans first. We want our tax money to go to us, our families, and our children, not to others. We don’t want new wars, and we don’t need a military larger than the next 10 countries combined, and we don’t need to send aid to other countries when we need it at home.

[GenXGirl @GenXGirl1994]

Trump cutting aid to Israel is uber gaslighting.

They are replacing it with a whole-of-government takeover by Israel.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

Israel is called the only democracy in the Middle East.

You decide.

About 7 million Palestinians live under Israeli control. Roughly 5 million of them in the West Bank and Gaza have no vote for the government that rules them.
The 2 million who are Israeli citizens can vote. Last week they turned out in record numbers and won 19 Knesset seats.

Netanyahu's bloc fell short of a majority. His response? The Arabs "stole" the election.

Ben Gvir demanded the arrest of Arab party leaders. Netanyahu's allies called for police at Arab polling stations and a do-over vote.
Israel's own election committee, police, and Shin Bet chief all said the vote was clean.

Does that sound like democracy to you?

Closer to home, it's Election Day. Want to bet that by Thursday morning someone here is claiming it was stolen?

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

Non-citizen voting is a diversion. Michigan found 16 illegal votes out of 5.7 million.

Meanwhile, $11.1 billion went into 2024 political ads targeting specific demographics.

Why recruit illegal voters when you can buy legal ones?

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

This is what power based on ego produces. Logic, planning, and analysis get ignored. Consequences don’t matter.

February: wages were beating inflation by 1.2%. September: losing by 0.7%. That’s the war tax, and the grocery bill hasn’t caught up yet.

Here's your bill:

These organizations told us Iran had no nuclear weapon and no active plan to build one:

U.S. Intelligence Community (ODNI)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Israel’s own Mossad (2012)

The world's bill, per the World Bank:

Global commodity prices: +23% in 2026
Energy: +32%
Oil supply: -5.2%, worst drop in 40 years outside 2020
Food: +18% from 2025 to 2027
Metals: +25%
Fertilizer: +14%
Up to 40 million more people pushed into extreme poverty

One year ago, before this year’s war with Iran, the World Bank forecast that 2026 prices would fall 7%.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

@notAllenFunt Honestly, the media. Most of the money is for political ads. Statistically, whoever spends the most wins 94% of the time.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

Money buys power. And when power feels threatened, it buys more.

The 2026 midterms are projected to be the most expensive election in American history. $11.6 billion in political ads alone. That tops the 2024 presidential race.

The 50 biggest donors have put in $2.77 billion. Sixty percent went to Republican-aligned groups, the party trying to hold the White House, the House, and the Senate all at once.

Elon Musk alone: $446 million.

In September he gave $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund in two checks. Both times, the next day, the identical amount moved to the super PAC backing Ken Paxton in Texas.

Democrats aren’t clean. Soros gave $102 million. Bloomberg gave $84 million. Their allied nonprofits, which don’t disclose donors, added nearly $200 million more.

The legal limit for giving to a candidate is $3,500. Super PACs have no limit.

Four people have each spent more than $100 million on this election.

Should there be any limit on what one person, organization, or corporation can spend to influence a federal election?

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

@IaidoTheory Too True! Citizens United and SpeachNow birthed the Super PAC and the Venality of office.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

@truckuover Absolutely, Repeal Citizen's United. I have an entire chapter on why in my upcoming book. The Citizens United decision, coupled with SpeachNow decision gave rise to the Super PACs, and made buying the government legal.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

AIPAC's own spokesperson told JTA: "Our mission and strategy remain the same."

Believe them.

The bigger shift is earmarking. AIPAC says its members gave over $90 million to candidates this cycle, much of it routed through its portal, which put AIPAC's name on the FEC filing. Staff will keep recommending candidates and coordinating the giving. The checks will now show up as ordinary individual donations.

The money still goes to the same candidates. It just won't say AIPAC on it anymore.

https://t.co/hYK67QGGvE

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

AIPAC announced Wednesday it will stop endorsing candidates, stop giving directly through its PAC, and stop earmarking member donations.

DON'T BE FOOLED. This is brand protection, not a change in strategy.

The PAC was the small change. It could give a candidate $5,000. Their super PAC, United Democracy Project (UDP), keeps running. It has spent more than $83 million this cycle, including over $30 million in a single Michigan Senate primary.

A super PAC has no spending limit and doesn't need the candidate's permission. Its attack ads often never mention Israel. Voters see a hit piece on crime or taxes and never learn why it was paid for.

That's the point. An AIPAC endorsement has become a liability now that people are seeing what it stands for. Now a candidate can say "AIPAC didn't endorse me and didn't give me a dime" while UDP spends millions on threir behalf.

It's the same money, just with fewer fingerprints and harder to trace.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

@OptimusPrime612 They are getting unmasked and are trying hard to hide their tracks now, but it is too late.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

Nope! Not even close, but it would take a book to explain why. In fact, that is why I wrote "We Are The Bad Guys."

But the world is opening it's eyes and see Israel for what it is. I fought for your right to say what you want, even if it is uneducated, misguided, and naive. Enjoy that freedom. Israel is attempting to remove the citizenship of people in Israel who said what they wanted. It's good to be clear that that is what you support.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

Posts like this would be humorous if they weren't so transparently pathetic in their attempt to make historical Jews more important than they were.

He wasn't forgotten. There is a 1975 postage stamp of him and a statue in Chicago. He didn't affect the battle of Yorktown. The money Washington needed came from Rochambeau. Salomon did broker some loans, for which he took a commission, which puts him in the category of every other banker of the time. Hardly a patriot or instrumental in the founding of The United States.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

@VerminusM Seriously. You can't possibly be this obtuse, so your post is nothing but click-bait to drive interaction.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

And when there was no Hebrew word for something, what did he do? He took the word from Arabic and modified it to fit the pronunciation of Hebrew.

So... Something that had died out because it was no longer native to the area was resurrected in part from the people who didn't leave and continued the Levant traditions and language of their ancestors. Then those of the new language claimed an unbroken chain of presence and demanded that those who did have an unbroken change leave so they could "return."

Yeah. That makes sense.

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

𝑾𝒆 𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒅 𝑮𝒖𝒚𝒔 https://t.co/RpLPpmcT68

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

Power lives in the shadows.

Everyone, including myself, talks about AIPAC. Almost nobody talks about 𝐉𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀 .

The 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 (𝐉𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀) has been around since 1976. It doesn’t need $100 million election cycles. It goes after something more valuable. Trust.

The American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF) flies members of Congress to Israel to sell them Israel’s version of reality. JINSA does the same thing, but with retired U.S. generals and admirals. They meet Israel’s prime minister, defense minister, IDF chief of staff, and the head of Mossad.

Then they come home. At least 55 of 83 recent program alumni have held defense industry jobs. Gen. Frank McKenzie went on the trip, became a JINSA fellow, and now appears on CBS as a supposedly neutral “retired CENTCOM commander” with no mention of JINSA.

Now JINSA runs programs for congressional staffers too. These are the people who write defense and foreign policy language. This August, JINSA publicly took credit for shaping multiple provisions in this year’s NDAA. That includes Section 219 of the House bill, which creates a single executive agent to synchronize U.S.-Israel military cooperation across nine categories, from AI and quantum tech to virtually every category of weapons.

Let that sink in. An organization built to advance a foreign country’s interests inside the American government openly takes credit for writing American defense policy. And that policy just happens to favor the foreign country .

All of this is under a 501(c)(3). It’s tax-deductible, with no foreign agent registration.

AIPAC works Congress. JINSA works the Pentagon.

I spent my career in uniform. I know how much weight a retired general’s opinion carries. That’s exactly why this matters.

I covered much of this at length in Chapter 30 of my book, 𝑊𝑒 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑎𝑑 𝐺𝑢𝑦𝑠 .

[Michael T. Lester @MichaelTLester]

Meet the U.S. Generals and Admirals advancing Israel's Policy
https://t.co/Sp3Pt4scXD