For the men who had everything, Epstein

The alleged Trump birthday note captures the essence of Epstein's gig

The estate of Jeffrey Epstein released a birthday note they claim was signed by Donald Trump in 2003. “There must be more to life than having everything,” the text printed on a line drawing suggestive of a woman’s nude torso. “We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.” Now I wouldn’t want to be the lawyer having to prove that Trump actually drew, wrote, or signed the note. But I also wouldn’t want to be the lawyer that is tasked to defend Trump by claiming it’s a total fake. For these two men, speaking in the open, were saying out loud what men who have everything quietly buried.

Not all men, of course. Some men of incredible power, also possess incredible self-control. But we know that, when it comes to things that men who have everything fall to, both Trump and Epstein were not among them. It really doesn’t matter that the White House claims Trump never actually signed the note. Based on other things Trump did sign in the early 2000s, it’s his signature. The very fact that Epstein treasured notes like this speaks to the truth of who gave it to him.

Epstein was a guy who wanted to sail with the very rich and powerful, and to a large degree, did, posing as a financier when his real talent was providing for men who have everything, the things they held as “more to life.” Even those who may have possessed enough self-control not to fully indulge in Epstein’s debauchery were pulled into its orbit. Bill Gates saw his marriage dissolve over hidden links to Epstein.

It’s well known that Bill Clinton flew in and out of Epstein’s private island, on Epstein’s private jet. Epstein himself was not a financial genius. His skill was more along the lines of the man who Democrats in Congress are saying penned the note wishing every day “be another wonderful secret” for Epstein. In other words, Epstein was a man bent on keeping up the appearance of wealth and power, but really providing things that men who already have it don’t risk indulging for their own self-interest.

They indulge it when someone else, someone who has many secrets and keeps them, can provide it. Then again, how many big, powerful men—politicians, stars, movie producers, finance scions—found themselves indulging on their own? They trusted their power and wealth to protect their secrets. They trusted Jeffrey Epstein, and Epstein was undone.

The birthday note from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein came at a time when Epstein was moving from hosting lavish parties, with a side of debauchery, to mainline debauchery hidden behind the patina of a rich party boy’s club. Then again, mainstream America winks and nods and knows such things go on. They’ve been going on, even normalized, since Pompeii was a Roman trade port, where the rich painted sexual iconography on walls of rooms dedicated to debauchery, so the illiterate slaves would know exactly what act is expected of them.

There is little difference between the men who gathered in ancient Rome, passing statues of Priapus in the entryways of villas, and the men who flew to Epstein’s private island.

It doesn’t matter if Trump really signed the note to Epstein in 2003. Everyone knows what Trump thought of beautiful women, before then, and since. As for me, I think he signed the note. I think he might have even contributed to its content, editorially. Donald Trump would not sign something with which he wasn’t personally satisfied. Apparently, whatever the relationship that may have existed between the two men, Trump felt satisfied he and Epstein had something in common. The note, in its essence, expresses exactly what it was.

I would not want to be someone whose job depended on refuting that assertion.

Israel has the right to win. Let’s say that Palestine was a state (is a state). Let’s say that Gaza is a self-governing, sovereign nation, with a people, government, and the right to do what sovereign nations do. On October 7, 2023, that nation declared war on Israel. Whether it was a formal declaration of war, or simply a sneak attack, it was an all-out act of war against Israel. In the past, when nations declared war on Israel, Israel defended itself. In 1973, when Syria and Egypt nearly defeated Israel in the first 36 hours of the Yom Kippur War, Israel was able to fully mobilize and take ground. In 1967, Israel could have marched on Damascus and on Cairo.

In 2003, Hamas, encouraged by Iran and its proxies, enabled by well-funded organizations like Islamic Jihad, protected by Hezbollah, the Houthis, the IRGC, and other related entities, executed a plan to hobble Israel, taking several hundred hostages and killing around 1,200 citizens.

Israel responded by unleashing hell. It held nothing back, and even used plans that had been long-buried, like the pagers and radios that Hezbollah carried. This war has not been quick, but it has turned back on those who started it. Iran is neutered, Hezbollah is dismantled. Syria is overturned. Hamas is no longer an organized fighting force.

But let’s say Palestine is a nation. Israel has the right to fight this war to the end, until the enemy with which it is at war surrenders and agrees to an armistice. So far, Hamas has not agreed to one. They would rather claim that their entire population is about to starve, that they are being occupied and oppressed, than to simply agree to stop fighting.

In this case, Israel has the right to win, in order to secure an end to this war. Doing otherwise means that no nation could ever win a war, and all wars must continue forever. Perhaps the days of conquest are over (ask Ukraine, they are not). But Israel doesn’t want to conquer Gaza. It simply wants Hamas to agree to stop fighting, to return the hostages, and to take care of its people. But that’s not who Hamas is. Hamas is not a government. Pretending it is, in order to recognize Palestine as a nation, is a foolish fantasy. The world would be better to assist in crushing Hamas, because it doesn’t deserve to exist.

But the world wants Israel to lose, not win.

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