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You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Iran Sees Zion in London 2012 Olympics Logo

rabbifink — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:01:57 +0000

The headline says it all.

The 2012 London Olympics have a gosh-awful logo and Iran wants to boycott the Olympics because of the logo. Except they don’t object to its awfulness, they have a much more “reasonable” objection.

It seems that in Iran, if you look at the logo, somehow you see the word Zion. And somehow this is offensive. I know. It sounds insane. But it’s true.

Even sillier is the fact that apparently it takes FOUR years to notice the word zion in the logo. Seeing as the logo was anounced (and criticized for its ridiculous design) FOUR YEARS AGO.

In a statement, a commonly used front for official proclomations in Iran said:

As internet documents have proved, using the word Zion in the logo of the 2012 Olympic Games is a disgracing action and against the Olympics’ valuable mottos.

“There is no doubt that negligence of the issue from your side may affect the presence of some countries in the Games, especially Iran which abides by commitment to the values and principles.”

I always like the Olympics because it gives countries a chance to set aside differences and compete. Part of that competition is trying to best your rival countries. It seems Iran wants no part of it.

Either that, or they are afraid of LOSING!

Link: Guardian UK

Vicious Tree Killer Arrested

rabbifink — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:40:40 +0000

Filed under ridiculous:

Auburn University won the BCS Championship Game to become the National College Football Champions. After their victory celebrating supporters of Auburn gathered where they always gather. They reveled Toomer’s Corner, home to 130 year old Oak trees. Part of the celebration includes draping the trees in toilet paper. Charming, I know. (No pun intended) And classy.

Auburn’s chief sports rival is Alabama. A 62 year old Alabama supporter had seen enough celebrating at Toomer’s Corner and decided to put an end to it. He used Spike 80df pesticide to poison the trees and they are almost certainly going to die. Yes, a 62 year old man. Yes, he killed 130 year old oak trees.

As if this wasn’t idiotic enough, a man named Al from Dadeville called a local radio show and boasted that he was the one who poisoned the trees. The police found him and arrested him. Al’s real name is Harvey Almorn Updyke and he is in big trouble. He’s been charged with criminal mischief and is being held on $50,000 bail. The Feds are involved and those charges carry up to a 10 year prison sentence.

Sports are fun. But when it turn you into a crazy person they aren’t fun anymore.

And killing 130 year old trees is just idiotic. They take 130 years to grow back! That’s not a prank. That’s being an idiot.

Enjoy prison, Al from Dadeville…

Link: SB Nation Atlanta

Is the Rubashkin Saga / Trial Anti-Semitic?

rabbifink — Fri, 14 May 2010 05:55:11 +0000

This post has been cross-posted to DovBear. More discussion there. (Link)

If you are like me, you have been reading about the Rubashkin saga for months. What began with a Federal raid at a meat processing plant to ferret out hundreds of illegal alien employees is now culminating with a federal and state trial. (Link)

If you are like me, you have been hearing that the raid was “disproportionate” and fueled by anti-semitism.

If you are like me you have been hearing that he was denied bail because of an anti-semitic fear that Rubashkin was a flight risk and would flee to Israel.

If you are like me, you have been hearing that his federal sentencing recommendation was anti-semitic. (Link)

If you are like me, you have been hearing how the county jail was anti-semitic in not providing food that was kosher “to Rubashkin’s standards” and not permitting him to wear religious garb (tzitzis / tzitzit). (Link)

I have three things I want to say.

1) I feel terribly for Rubashkin. I feel terribly for any criminal who is sentenced to prison but more-so when the criminal is a family member of mine. As a fellow Jew, Rubashkin is family and it pains me to see him in this state. I support asking for leniency is a mentshlach way.

2) Rubashkin is the cause of much of the animosity towards him from the prosecution and judiciary. It is NOT, I repeat, NOT because he is Jewish, nor is it anti-semitic.

3) Even those who cry anti-semitism in this case are grossly misusing the term.

I think #1 is a well represented opinion throughout the Jewish community. It does not require any more attention from me. Consider me to have said “ditto”.

Number 2 is something that has been so wildly misunderstood it almost seems blatant. The reason Rubashkin’s plant was raided was NOT due to a plan hatched in the bowels of a Ku Klux Klan facility. The reason his plant was raided was because he snubbed the Unions by hiring illegals and the Unions were none-too-happy. They made the infractions known to the Feds and they raided the plant. Were there too many helicopters and fancy weapons? Probably. Was it anti-semitic? Probably not. The people who make these kinds of choices don’t, actually, CAN’T have vendettas against minorities. This is the Federal Government of the most benevolent host the Jewish people have ever had. Use your noodle people! There is no conspiracy! Who was president at the time? Our best friend George W. Bush. The federal agents were in his employ. Dare we think that the “anti-semitic raid” was orchestrated by our dear friend? Of course not.

Rubashkin was considered a flight-risk because agents found $10,000 cash in a packed bag with passports. Under normal circumstances that is a flight-risk. A packed bag with cash and passports could be reasonably interpreted as a “just-in-case” bag. Maybe it was a “just-in-case Moshiach comes bag”. I am willing to believe that was the case. But what would you think if you saw that bag and he wasn’t a frum Jew? Is it anti-semitism to draw the logical conclusion from finding that bag and denying him bail? Certainly not.

The sentencing recommendation was well within Federal guidelines. I was talking about the case to a lawyer friend of mine who works for the Court of Appeals and who knew nothing about the case. I told him some of the facts about the bank fraud. His immediate reaction was, “that’s a life sentence”. He didn’t know the crook was a Jew. He didn’t know the crook was accused of other crimes. He only knew about the bank fraud and he said “that’s a life sentence”. Is he anti-semitic? Who cares?! He didn’t know the cases involved a Jew when he said a life sentence was what the crook deserved!

Also, much has been made of “comparable criminals”. It is an unfair comparison because Rubashkin has not been cooperative. He was not willing to accept any plea deals. He maintains his complete, 100% innocence and is a difficult person for the court to deal with. He has many special requests and claims he is being victimized. He has offered only one half-baked apology since this saga began and has not taken any responsibility.

While in jail, Rubashkin has made special requests. Some have been honored and some have not. Some of the requests that have been honored and he has stated that he not satisfied with the kashrus of the food. It is kosher, just not kosher enough. Is it anti-semitic if they give him kosher food that most orthodox Jews would eat?

Also, Rubashkin will not walk without wearing Tzitzis. He states that his religion will not allow him to walk. So he has been carried around so that he will not violate this religious law. The problem is that he is with ignorant of the law or is just trying to be annoying. The law is that when one wears a four-cornered garment (think of a poncho or rectangular wrap) the garment must have a certain formula of strings attached to the garment at the corners. One is not required to wear such a garment. However it has become customary to wear one of these garments with the strings attached for prayer as well as during the day. But if you are not wearing a four-cornered garment the law does not require that you wear the strings (like a button-down shirt or blazer don’t need the strings). So why is Rubashkin making a stink out of an issue that is not religious? Is it anti-semitic if the jail does not cooperate with this?

I think it is clear enough that for every “anti-semitic” act against Rubashkin, there is a plausible non-anti-semitic explanation as well. Let’s just stop with the anti-semitism cries.

As for #3, I dare you to look a Holocaust survivor in the eye and call this anti-semitism. Try telling it to a Jew who was thrown out of Spain and Portugal for not bowing to the Cross. Or how about Jews who were slaughtered during pogroms? Being prosecuted for actual crimes is not anti-semitism. Anti-semitism is hatred and cruelty to Jews for no reason other than the fact that they are Jewish. That is not the case here.

I have more to say about anti-semitism in general. Stay tuned…

Green Gone Wild

rabbifink — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 07:24:09 +0000

I am really appreciative to MSNBC.com for the great publicity they gave our Shul with the Escape Into America photo-film as I mentioned here: Pacific Jewish Center Featured on MSNBC.com. In addition, I now need to thank MSNBC for informing me of one of the craziest ideas I have ever heard.

Today is Earth Day and I have gone on record supporting conservation and many green initiatives. I believe conservation is an important part of a Torah lifestyle. (See Earth Day and Torah, Green Post and The Story of Bottled Water Review: Important Video, Way Over the Top.)

While I love the idea of being environmentally conscious, to me it is just a factor in making choices. We all weigh our priorities when we make choices and Going Green is something to consider among other factors.

To illustrate, if one was confronted with the theoretical choice of saving a life or making a more Green choice, it would be obscene to suggest that the Green choice would be more important than saving the life.

There is a woman who was on MSNBC who suggested that people consider the environmental effects of having children.

Yes, having children.

She has all sorts of lovely data about the carbon footprint each child makes on the environment and therefore she urges people to consider those factors while decided if they should become parents.

All with a straight face.

If one is uninterested in procreating that is their own personal choice. But to evangelize in favor of not bearing children because of a reason like “carbon footprint” is, in my opinion, obscene. Thinking “green” does not mean that one should cease to think about anything other green. It means that we should consider the environment when making choices.

It barely even makes sense. I thought one of the main reasons people are concerned with the environment is so our children will have a safe and clean planet to enjoy. Who are we saving the planet for, if not for the next generation? Yes, I know, OTHERS will have children, but the point remains.

The right to bear and beget children is considered a Fundamental Right implicit in the Constitution. It’s a big deal. You don’t whiff on parenthood because of environmental concerns!

I recommend reading her article on grist.org to see if it makes any sense to you.

The best part is when she says “I have lots of friends with children”. That is just like the “I have lots of [insert minority] friends to “prove” you’re not a racist. It means nothing with regard to racism and it means nothing in this context as well.

Then she has the whole “parents lose out on so much” argument. What do parents miss out on? and I quote:

Time and emotional energy to invest in friendships and a romantic partnership. Space to focus on a career or education or avocation. Uninterrupted “grown-up” conversations. Travel that’s truly impulsive or leisurely or adventurous (and never involves zoos). Unpremeditated Saturday nights on the town and Sunday brunches out. Opportunities for political or community engagement. Stretches of quiet for reading or writing or relaxing. A non-child-proofed, non-toy-strewn, non-goldfish-cracker-crumb-riddled home. Eight peaceful, uninterrupted hours of sleep a night. All without any guilt that one should be spending more quality time with the kid.

First of all, parents do not “miss out” on all of that stuff. I know parents who enjoy many of those activities. Second, are these really compelling reasons? Those are the top things parents are missing? Sounds like trying to live a permanently immature lifestyle. Enjoy that.

Of course, Ms. Hymas would never want someone who was going to have children, not have children. This article is just for all the people who are on the fence or need something to use an excuse for why they are comfortable not having children. I just don’t get it.

Even that silly logo up top (taken from her article) is inane.

Also, it seems Ms. Hymas has a very immature view of the benefits of having children. And I quote:

Yes, as a childfree person, I’ll miss out on a lot: The miracle of childbirth (though, truth be told, I don’t feel so bad about skipping that one). The hilariously perceptive things that only kids say. A respectable excuse for rereading the Harry Potter series. The hope that my kid will be smarter and cooler and better looking than I ever was. More boisterous holiday celebrations. Someone to carry on the family name (assuming I won the arm-wrestling match with my partner over whose name the kid would actually get). Maybe even the satisfaction of helping a child grow into a well-educated, well-adjusted adult, and the peace of mind of knowing there’s someone to take care of me in my old age.

Is she serious? These are the reasons people have children? To read Harry Potter? Hilarious things kids say? Seriously?

In my view, being a parent is great opportunity to grow as a human being. Learning how to give and love unconditionally and with no expectation of reciprocation is an opportunity. Not a burden. It is a chance to grow up and become a more complete person. Parenthood is about places another’s need ahead of your own sometimes. Being a parent means working on yourself to be a better person so your child will have a more complete role model. Sure, there are fun things about parenting too, but it is so much more than that.

The only thing I can think of to make sense out of all this, is that when one has no core values one can imagine up any value to the primary value. I find this pretty offensive myself, but I think that is what happened to Ms. Hymas. In her worldview “going green” trumps procreation. I can’t imagine that is a very popular opinion but I guess it is possible.

Either that, or she’s just looking for attention and publicity. In that case, she got what she wanted.

Here she is on the Dylan Ratigan Show:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If the video is not showing up in your browser, I blame MSNBC.com for terrible embed support. Just click the link above to see it there. Sorry.

The Story of Bottled Water Review: Important Video, Way Over the Top

rabbifink — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:49:53 +0000

Last year I blogged about a wildly popular video called “The Story of Stuff” in my Green Post. At the time I lauded the video’s very important message but was disappointed in the means used to deliver that message.

The video used hyperbole and tactics reminiscent of propoganda materials to sway its viewer. I feel that when the facts are so compelling and the message so simple, the theatrics only serve to obscure the importance of the message.

Apparantly, Annie Leonard does not read my blog. (Shocking, I know…) Because she is at it again with a new video with an equally important message and equally disturbing imagery.

The facts are there. The message is important. The point is made. Why then does the video need to be so “over the top “?

The video teaches its viewer that many recycled materials are not actually recycled: problem. The video teaches its viewer that that most water bottles end up in landfills: problem. The video teaches its viewer that sometimes demand is created by corporations: problem. The video teaches its viewer that mass production takes a toll on the environment and our natural resources: problem. And there are many more worthy examples of good, universal truths found in the video.

Why then, does the video need to use imagery that is so blatantly used to evoke feelings of disgust from the viewer but are unrelated to the message of the video? It is reminiscent of a striking woman in an advertisement selling a copy-machine. The copy-machine’s value is in no way increased by the woman. Right? It’s just slippery sales and marketing. Why taint this important message with this type of sludge?

Example: In the intro the consumer is buying a product with packaging that has skulls and crossbones on it. Is that necessary?

Example: The only stick-figures smiling in the video is the cashier doffed in his top hat taking your money and the bottled water salesman.

Example: “Carrying bottled water is on its way to being as cool as smoking while pregnant”.

And I am sure my eagle-eyed readers will find many other examples in the video. I just wish they could impart the important messages of the video without going insane…

But I guess that really is too much to ask.

Video below, watch and pay attention. We only have one earth, let’s treat it right…

Mad Men Era Lives On in the White House

rabbifink — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:53:39 +0000

Has the White House traveled back in time and space to the Mad Men era? To a place in time where women are 2nd class citizens and were refused equal opportunities?

Most people would say, “of course not”. But there are those who disagree.

Just ask Terry O’Neill the president for the National Organizatin of Women (NOW) about it. O’Neill says that this is a real issue.

The brouhaha started with the President’s pickup basketball games. Apparently, only men have been invited to play so far. According to O’Neill, this is an affront to women everywhere.

Yes, she is serious.

It’s hard to believe, as the Obama Administration has been the portrayed as the most inclusive and minority friendly administration to inhabit the White House.

It’s ridiculous because women don’t play NBA basketball. It is not because they are discriminated against, but just because they are not as good as the men. Women don’t have the same physical bodies that men have.

O’Neill takes this to mean that women are 2nd class. That is her problem. She can take it how she wants, but it would be prudent to be rational about it , as opposed to politically charged and driven. Here is her take:

“we need to see the White House leading the way for desegregating the work places all around the country and it is troubling.” (Hat tip ABC News Blog)

The NY Times is reporting that the Obama Administration does not think there is a problem here. But the NY Times digs deeper and sees that there is a sense of of “manliness” in the White House. And somehow that is a big problem as well.

“Still, some high-profile sectors of the White House — economics and national security, for instance — are filled with men and exude an unmistakable male vibe.

So apparantly, not only are women offended by not being invited to play basketball, but women are offended by “manly” men in the White House? Is it a crime for a man to be masculine. That sounds to me like discrimination against men!

Women are not expected to be men and men should not be expected to be like women!

Why can’t we all just be what we are and get along?

We’ve come a long way from the Mad Men era, I think this could be the start of the Mad Women era.

But don’t worry too much. This just in! Obama has invited a female aide to play golf with him. This is a first and not a moment too soon. Who thinks O’Neill will be happy with this?

(Not me)

Crosses Honor Fallen Soldiers of All Faiths

rabbifink — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:01:43 +0000

We took the family to Santa Monica Pier on Sunday and our six year old son proved to be smarter than a Supreme Court Justice!

It is so beautiful to walk along the beach and observe all the excitement along the boardwalk and pier. As always, we had a great time in Santa Monica.

For the last few years there has been a protest / exhibit just north of the pier. The protestors are against war in general, the Iraq war in specific and pretty much the entire defense budget of the United States.

They call it Arlington West and they have set up a faux graveyard in the sand representing the fallen soldiers in what they call a criminal war.

It can be quite powerful when you see it.

As we walked by the lines and lines of crosses on this occasion, my 6 year old son asks, “How do they know all the soldiers who died were Christian? If they were Jewish or Muslim or ‘nothing’ they probably wouldn’t want a cross.”

Excellent point kiddo! Score one for the six year old.

In fact you may have heard about this exact issue arising in the Supreme Court of the United States in Salazar v. Buono. The issue in the case is an eight-foot high cross that was erected as a memorial to fallen soldiers in foreign wars.

The case made recent headlines when Justice Scalia could not fathom that a non-Christian would perhaps be offended by a Christian symbol as a memorial for the dead. The exchange between Justice Scalia and ACLU lawyer Peter J. Eliasburg went something like this:

JUSTICE SCALIA: The cross doesn’t honor non-Christians who fought in the war? Is that — is that –

MR. ELIASBERG: I believe that’s actually correct.

JUSTICE SCALIA: Where does it say that?

MR. ELIASBERG: It doesn’t say that, but a cross is the predominant symbol of Christianity and it signifies that Jesus is the son of God and died to redeem mankind for our sins, and I believe that’s why the Jewish war veterans –

JUSTICE SCALIA: It’s erected as a war memorial. I assume it is erected in honor of all of the war dead. It’s the — the cross is the — is the most common symbol of — of — of the resting place of the dead, and it doesn’t seem to me — what would you have them erect? A cross — some conglomerate of a cross, a Star of David, and you know, a Moslem half moon and star?

MR. ELIASBERG: Well, Justice Scalia, if I may go to your first point. The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of Christians. I have been in Jewish cemeteries. There is never a cross on a tombstone of a Jew. (Laughter.)

MR. ELIASBERG: So it is the most common symbol to honor Christians.

JUSTICE SCALIA: I don’t think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead that that cross honors are the Christian war dead. I think that’s an outrageous conclusion.

MR. ELIASBERG: Well, my — the point of my — point here is to say that there is a reason the Jewish war veterans came in and said we don’t feel honored by this cross. This cross can’t honor us because it is a religious symbol of another religion.

(Credit: Huffington Post)

DovBear posted about this last week (Impeach Scalia) click for discussion there.

What amazes me is how my 6 year old son can see something so patently obvious and yet Justice Scalia can’t seem to process the concept…

Incredible.

NASA Spending Millions To Find Water On The Moon

rabbifink — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:18:07 +0000

Am I missing something?

Normally I stay out of politics. But I think this issue transcends politics.

Friday October 9, 2009 at approximately 7:31 AM EST NASA is going to bomb the moon. This is an exercise designed to confirm or deny the existence of water on the moon. Video of the anticipated explosion is below.

The cost for such an exercise? $79,000,000. Yes. Seventy-nine million dollars. Are we running out of water on the Blue Planet that we need to find water on the moon!?

I plan a longer post on my opinion on Space Exploration, but in honor of tomorrow’s bombing I will provide you with just one figure that is sure to blow your mind.

NASA has a public record of their yearly budget request. Take a look at it by clicking NASA Budget 2010.

If you dig around there for a few minutes you’ll find what I found. The actual 2010 NASA Budget Request from the Federal Government is enumerated. The number? Astronomical (hehe).

$18.686 Billion. Yes. That is right. $18,686,000,000

We spend a lot of money each year on space exploration. Is this the best use of such extravagant funding?

So again. Am I missing something?

If you want to see $79,000,000 explode in outer space you can find links by clicking here for Gizmodo’s links.

And as promised, here is the video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Today's Sign The Apocalypse Is Upon Us

rabbifink — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:43:14 +0000

Yesterday morning I received a blogging gift.

Sometimes there is just not much to write and that’s every bloggers worst nightmare. I had a few things that were on my mind that I wished to share but none of those ideas fermented into anything worth posting.

I love blogging and I think it is important to supply fresh content as often as possible. It is no fun to see the same posts every day. I needed something new.

Then I went outside and I found what is perhaps the most disturbing flyer I have ever seen attached to my car.

Before my blogging days, I may have been annoyed with the person who stuck the flyer to my windsheield. But not this day. This flyer was so outrageous that I felt I must share it with you.

I present you with “alibisnpaybacks”.

Authentic Judaism and Authentic Charity

rabbifink — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:32:10 +0000

This post is really two Public Service Announcements.

Please read both and if you are able to help in any way possible, it is much appreciated.

One great thing about blogging is the opportunity to connect with other people for the sake of an important cause. Today, I present you with two important causes.

First, there is a blogger who writes vitriolic, hate laced blog posts against anyone with whom he disagrees. He does so under the guise of Authentic Judaism. He makes no real arguments, just yells loudly at those he views as a threat (read: anyone who thinks differently than he). Apparently, he thinks that God spoke to him directly and gave him Torah and nobody else. A number of bloggers are trying to snatch the Google search result ranking from his blog.

I am here to help.

More importantly, DovBear is looking for some kind souls to help a family in desperate financial need. The economic downturn has claimed some more victims and from what I understand, their situation is dire. It is really easy to help, Just click here and click donate in the upper right hand sidebar and donate just a little money. Type in the amount you can give and indicate it is for #famliyneedsdough. If you can give just a few dollars it would make a tremendous difference to this family. Every penny donated will be given directly to the needy family.

I appreciate any relief you can provide.

Brett Favre, Treason and Teshuva

rabbifink — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:17:17 +0000

This week’s big sports news involved my favorite athlete to hate, Brett Favre.

I mentioned Favre a while back in a post about immaturity and athletes. Back then, I was contrasting the complimentary way in which Favre is recognized for his youthful exuberance and the way athletes who act immaturely and hold out for money or take PEDs are lambasted. (Read all about it here.)

I dislike Favre, but it is not really his fault. ESPN makes me hate Favre with over-reporting and unprofessional, blatant favoritism and flattery of Favre. It is just impossible to like a guy who is in the news that much.

For others, the hatred toward Favre is due to his “treachery”. To illustrate I have some photos for you.

You see, to most people the “real” Brett Favre is the one on left. He is wearing a Green Bay Packers jersey. Favre became a superstar in Green Bay and carried the franchise for a decade and half. Then he retired.

Retirement did not suit Favre well and he came out of retirement and was traded to the New York Jets, that is the middle picture. The Jets had to guarantee they would not parlay Favre to the hated Minnesota Vikings, lest they suffer a tremendous penalty. The season started well for Favre and his Jets, but the season was derailed and injury forced Favre into retirement, again.

In February 2009, Favre unequivocally stated that he will stay retired this time.

In June 2009, Favre expressed interest in returning to the NFL once again, this time as a Minnesota Viking. After flirting with the idea, Favre clearly expressed that he was not returning to the NFL and he was staying retired.

Yesterday, Favre signed a 2 year deal with the Vikings. That is the picture on the right.

To Packers fans this was treason. Like a Hatfield becoming a McCoy, a Montague becoming a Capulet or a Jet becoming a Shark, this was perfidy.

Packers fans are burning Favre jerseys in effigy for his mutiny.

Is it reasonable for an athlete or even a fan to think that treachery is possible in sports? How is this normal? Are sports so powerful that it becomes like a religion, a marriage or nationalism that is so important that if one changes teams it is treason?

Seriously. People take sports way too seriously. I enjoy sports, I follow sports and I watch a lot of sports. Don’t think for one second that I treat it like a religion. In fact I can prove it. I am a sports polygamist (see here for definition and the opposing point of view). I like a few teams in every sport. People look at me in horror when I explain to them that I like 2 NFL teams equally. Or that I follow 7 or 8 baseball teams. They don’t “accept me” as a real fan. “You can only root for one team” they say. Says who? Is it like religion where you need to choose? Is it like marriage, one wife or husband per person?

Favre sees through those “sports as religion” fanatics. Favre sees it as a game, as a business and as entertainment, and that is exactly what it is. He wants to play, he is going to play and he doesn’t care for whom.

There can only be treason when something is so important and vital that reneging on that thing is harmful. Sports are not in that category.

Another example of placing too much meaning in sports comes up in the Performance Enhancing Drugs in basbeall argumnent. You will hear critics say that the PEDs besmirch the sanctity of the game. Is there anything more self contradictory than “sanctity of a game”?!?! The whole is that is it is a game! An escape from sanctity! Sanctity is part of religion, not baseball. Sports are a game, entertainment. There is no sanctity and there is no treason.

But there are things that have sanctity and there is treason. As a Rabbi, I think it is supremely important for everyone to develop a theology that they believe in strongly. That belief should be strongly enough that reneging on that belief would be treacherous. We should constantly reevaluate our position,and perhaps treason is the right decision at some point, ala Raoul Wallenberg. The point is that we should find things in our life that we believe with conviction. We need an understanding of what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false.

As I heard many times from Rabbi Motti Berger, “Truth is something worth dying for and in some cases, worth killing for”. What is that truth?

Tonight is the first day of Elul. the last month of the Jewish calendar. That means judgment day is just a month away. It is high time to kick into gear and work out our true beliefs. Only when we know what we are willing to die for can we begin to live for something.

Have You Been Invited To A Brachos Party Or An Amen Party?

rabbifink — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:24:34 +0000

This post has been cross-posted to DovBear – more discussion there.

The newswires have been full reporting the massive scandal in NY / NJ the last few days. There is a strong correlation between the scandal and something prevalent in contemporary Orthodox Jewish society.

You may think you are far from a money-laundering, tax evading, kidney-dealing, FBI snitching, tax-evading, “knucklehead”. You may even be have the cleanest books on Wall Street and third party audits to prove it. Yet, our entire generation is infected with the same virus that the “knucklehead” are carrying.

The instant gratification / no effort, big payoff virus. (Yeah, I know, the name needs work, help me out in the comments.)

We, as a group are all looking for shortcuts. For some folks, the shortcuts are business shortcuts. Those are the “knuckleheads” who are going to jail. For others, the shortcuts are in the form of Jewish Magic (sometimes known as Segulos).

We have become overly reliant on the practice of Segulos. We want instant answers, we want instant gratification, we want an incantation to make things better, we want protection from evil all with minimal effort.

(There may be a place for Segulos in Judaism. What irks me is the proliferation of pop-Segulos. I may have mentioned this with regard to Kupat Ha’ir as well.)

Case in point: The Brachos Party (aka the Amen Party). Women (usually younger women) gather on a weekday evening. A little bit of food from each of the Brachos categories are brought to the table, beginning with some grape juice and ending with a jelly bean. Prior to each blessing a kabbalistic interpretation is provided including ideas like “making a mezonos will provide parnasa” and “making a haetz will bring children”. Then the blessing is made, a resounding amen is heard. People really do this. I am not kidding.

There also less formal, impromptu amen parties. Like in a summer camp, when everyone goes to wash netilas yadayim, girls calls over all of their friends (waiting for them to come, motioning and making a halachic hefsek) so they can hear her blessing and say amen.

Sounds pretty harmless, right? I disagree.

This is another shortcut.

Chazal reported that there are special benefits to a blessing and an amen recited properly. The point of this is to remind us to take our blessings seriously and to constantly include God in our physical lives. In fact this is a main theme throughout Torah. We are physical beings with the ability to transform the mundane into the sublime by our actions. One of the beautiful parts of Judaism is the constant tension and connection between our physical and spiritual existence. Blessings are a major part of that connection.

By relegating blessings to magic tricks, we lose the whole point of the blessing.

Further, the Aruch HaShulchan writes that one may not use “tricks” to get to the 100 blessing a day threshold mentioned in halacha. It must come organically. Additionally, he writes, saying amen to an “unnecessary blessing” is a terrible thing to do. These are not “unnecessary blessings” but a random drink of grape juice on a Wednesday, purely for the sake of making a blessing is awfully close.

When challenged, an “on the fence Brachos Party participant” told me that she learned that the whole reason we eat is to make blessings, so it is harmless to make more.

That really got me. The reason we eat is to live. When we are eating to live we make blessings. This integrates spirituality into our physical life as stated above. Further, the food “belongs to God”, making a blessing gives us the right to enjoy His world as per His instructions to us.

Eating so we make brachos is like going to the bathroom so we can make an Asher Yatzar. We go to the bathroom because otherwise we would burst. When we go successfully we acknowledge and thank God.

Here’s an idea. When you are done eating and drinking at the brachos party, go make an Asher Yatzar party!

I truly believe this is another symptom of the instant gratification / no effort, big payoff virus. We want to reap the benefits of the blessing so we invent ways to try and get those benefits.

It doesn’t work like that. There are no freebies in Judaism. Judaism is about working hard to follow the Mitzvos and refine one’s character. If the bored women want to do something to help the world, volunteer at Tomche Shabbos or homeless shelter, or go to a Torah class, or even say some Tehillim.

You can’t fool God. You can try and scam the government, you can try and scam your business associates and you will probably get caught or turned in, but please do not try and scam God.

How Many Is Too Many?

rabbifink — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:55:44 +0000

This post has been cross-posted to DovBear – more discussion there.

An article on Ynet.com featured on VIN caught my ire this afternoon.

The writer, a woman, calls upon all Orthodox Jews to reject “the evil feminists” of Kolech and “have as many children as possible, as soon as possible”. For there is no greater joy in life than having many children.

Her arguments are weak (read it for yourself) and the ending says it all: “Trust me”. Why should I trust her?

As a proud father of 2 beautiful boys (a 6 year old and 8 month old) I can attest to the joys of parenthood. Giving the gift of life to one’s offspring is both very powerful and oftentimes emotional. I cannot imagine my life without my family.

I must take issue with this woman’s assertion that “the greatest gift we can give our families is a big family. Very big”.

In the VIN comments, there is a quote from R’ Shlomo Zalman Aurbach. When approached with a shaila regarding a woman who had 6 children and suffered a nervous breakdown for a heter to use birth control. His response, “why are you asking me, ask the Rav who gave her a heter to have 6 children in the first place!?”

Reb Moshe Feinstein writes in his Tshuvos that if the mother would suffer any physical, psychological or emotional harm from bearing more children she must use birth control.

Having a large family is not rooted in halacha. It is rooted in a social pressure to conform.

What has happened is the children of the “survivors” and that generation had a social calling to have large families. They were able to bear it (for the most part) with a low cost of living and 9-5 jobs, leaving time and money to spare. Enough to support many of those children in Kollel.

For many people pregnancy and childbirth as well as child rearing are difficult. For many families the cost of living is too high to support a large family. Work hours are long and the money does not go as far as it used to go.

Today’s society requires different approaches to life’s challenges from previous generations. The cost of living is higher. This forces most families to need a dual income. Who is going to raise these large families? What about the marriages? Husbands and wives who work full time, come home tired with children who need their time and attention. The idea of marriage in Judaism is to develop a relationship with a significant other. This cannot be ignored either!

Our schools are suffering from unprecedented deficits and budget cutting. Parents are having a hard time paying the tuition bills. Large families may be all of “your joy” but they can be an unfair burden on the tzibbur.

I am not calling for a “child cap” ala China. I am saying use your sechel and please don’t tell me what is good for you is good for everyone. Please don’t preach to me about what you think is right when it is not based on halacha.

Bitachon does not allow for recklessness. We cannot overburden ourselves or the system and expect bitachon to bail us out. There are children of large families who I know resented the lack of attention they received, the handouts they needed and the hustle and bustle of their busy homes. Those parents were likely ill equipped to deal with the large family dynamics and their children felt it.

Also, I happen to think that there are folks who have lots of kids to distract themselves from their unhappy lives, or their unhappy marriages (yes like a drug). Those folks need help. Not bigger families.

Shame on Gizmodo | Shame on Us Too

rabbifink — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:21:20 +0000

One of my favorite gadget blogs ran a despicable headline for a post yesterday. Gizmodo is a great blog when it comes to getting information, reviews and opinions on the latest technology and gadgets. Unfortunately, yesterday they disgraced their reputation with a pretty offensive headline.

The headline garnered enough attention that they ultimately changed it to something less offensive.

There is a normal Orthodox Jewish couple who have a vacation home. Originally, the building did not have motion sensing lights but recently changed the system to a motion sensing system. On Shabbos the couple did not wish to be forced to walk in a hallway that would trigger the lights on. They requested the building swap the new system for the old one at their expense. The building refused. The couple sued.

Gizmodo posted the following headline: “Orthodox Couple Imprisoned By Superstition Blame Motion Sensing Light Instead”.

Proof:

Subsequently, the headline was changed to “Orthodox Jewish Couple Sues Over Motion Sensing Light“.

I posted the link on Facebook hoping to get some comments from my Facebook friends. I got a few interesting responses.

One commenter hit the two points that I want to discuss on this blog.

1 – The halachic ramifications of motion sensors and Shabbos for the Orthodox Jew.

2 – The reaction of a non-Jew to a halacha adherent Jew.

I do not want to get into a nitty gritty halachic discourse of motion sensors on Shabbos. Suffice to say, the issue is not black and white. On Shabbos one may not act in a way that will automatically produce a desired result that violates Shabbos. Completing a circuit to turn on a light is a violation of Shabbos. By activated the sensor, one automatically produced the desired result of turning on the light.

There is leeway when the result is not automatic or when the result is not desired.

I am all for striving to keep halacha. When I am met with a choice between what I want and what halacha demands I try my best to choose halacha. So for example, if I am driving late at night and I pull into a rest stop and they have a fast food joint serving burgers that are not kosher I have a choice. I want a burger but halacha demands that my burgers be kosher. I choose to leave the rest stop burgerless. I will not sue the restaurant for not providing kosher burgers. Right?

Now, I know this is a little different from the vacation home. But, it is the same principle. If halacha will not allow for me act a certain way, guess what? I am not going to act that way. Even if I really, really, really want to. So, I know that in the vacation home there are other factors, such as broken promises and flawed reasoning. However, if it were me, or anyone that I advise I would trade that place for a new one.

Adhering to halacha is about making a choice to allow halacha to control your life and not your whims and desires at any given moment. There will be times where the choice is hard or the alternative is very tempting, those are the times where you show your strength of character by making what you believe to be the right choice. Those are not the times to sue because you have been made uncomfortable in your adherence to halacha.

There may be great merit to the lawsuit. I find that all irrelevant. I think, avoiding a legal brouhaha over halacha is more important than the principle of who is right and who is wrong in this situation.

Second, the offensive headline that originally appeared on Gizmodo bothered me. I am NOT an overly sensitive person. I do not cry “Anti-Semitism at every opportunity I get (ala Uncle Leo). I don’t even call this “Anti-Semitism”, I call this insensitivity.

There is nothing against Jewish people, per se, when calling religion a superstition. But there is a tremendous breach of sensitivity.

Gizmodo writer, Jack Lofton doesn’t believe in religion in general and that’s okay. I am not going to call him names about his lack of faith or question his theology publicly. That is just not appropriate for a gadget blog. If he were writing on a religion blog, or even an anti-religion blog then Jack’s opinion about religion might be relevant. Here, it was not and inserting his bigoted opinion was insensitive.

I do not read the headline as an affront to Judaism or even religion in general. I read the headline as an affront to civility.

We live in a big world, with a lot of people. Not everyone is going to agree. You can try and convince everyone you are right or lash out against those who do not. But ultimately, we are not all going to agree. So let agree on this, let’s choose not to fight about our disagreements and otherwise be friends. I mantioned this revolutionary concept on this blog a little while ago. We have more in common than not. Let’s stop fighting about God, or anything else we feel strongly about and move on.

Also, Jack, Gizmodo is the wrong place to make your point about religion.

Time and place, Jack. Showing your prejudice against religion is ugly, it is especially ugly when it is not at all connected to the content of your post. I read Gizmodo for technology news and content. Just because you have a soapbox does not mean you can shout whatever you want whenever you want. Time and place.

Jack, please don’t make fun of other people’s beliefs on one of my favorite gadget blogs. Thanks.

Update: To his credit, the writer apologized.

Misleading Charity Campaign

rabbifink — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:15:21 +0000

A Religious charity in Israel has embarked on what I and many others feel to be a misleadeing charity campaign.

Promises 0f safety from danger, special perks and privileges and out of context quotes from great Rabbis permeate the campaign.

I wrote all ab0ut in on DovBear. You can check it out by clicking below.

What Is Going On With Kupat Ha’ir?

I Am So Disturbed

rabbifink — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:19:34 +0000

UPDATE: Friday morning 6/25/09 I updated the post to more accurately reflect the protagonist’s personality.

I am so disturbed right now.

My wife and I have a summer camp for pre-school children in Monsey NY. That is why we left Los Angeles / Venice for the summer. We don’t own our own camp grounds so during the year we store everything in a shed at my in-laws’ home in Monsey.

Sometime before camp begins we need to get everything from the in-laws to our summer location. Today was moving day. What I heard during the move was disturbing enough to share with you.

We hired a fellow who runs a local moving outfit called B!ny@m!n the Shlepper (BTS). He’s been doing this for 20 years and he basically manages the move while he sits in his truck and his workers do the “Shlepping”, he pays them quite well for their work and then takes his profit. Much of his work is in the Frum community. BTS is not known as a cordial guy to most (he is not a jerk, just not the most personable guy) (AND I think they are wrong) and has had his share of run-ins (customers refusing to pay, customers yelling at him etc) with his customers.

Today, I made an error in my estimated items needing to be moved. Immediately his sensors go off – “is this another Frum guy trying to rip me off?”. Of course it was an honest mistake and I was willing to pay for the extra work.

I apologized profusely. He goes off on a (perfectly understandable) tirade, “you don’t think I am a person”, “you people always try to cheat me” etc. I continued to apologize and we began to talk.

BTS tells me horrible stories of externally observant Jews who have cheated him, spoken rudely with him and treated him like a second class citizen. He drives a large moving truck and when he drives and traffic is jammed, he notes that he gets cut off all the time. He also notes that he gets cut off all the time by religiously dressed Jews. “Why can’t they just let me go first?”.

Now, Binyamin is actually not Frum himself. Very spiritual and personal growth, but not religious. What he can’t understand is why people who claim to be religious and perform mitzvos all the time, very often lack common courtesy and decency.

As we talk I see past the outer crust of his personality and beyond the veneer he is truly a wonderful guy. We laughed together, told some great stories and even a little bit of Torah was discussed. We really had a great conversation and I was actually disappointed when the job was over and our shmooze had to end.

In response to his complaints about externally religious Jews, I remarked that they are so busy being religious they forget to be human! ©

The truth is, I was embarrassed that this Jewish guy had such a bad feeling about religious Jews.We spoke for a while and I tried to assure him that he doesn’t notice all the great things. I also tried to remind him that all the negative stuff he hears sticks out to him, but people don’t remember when others act appropriately.

Bottom line, it was damage control.

Folks, get your priorities straight!

Step One: Act like decent human being. – Derech Eretz Kadma L’Torah, common courtesy precedes Torah.

Step Two: Integrate Torah and Mitzvos into your life.

Rinse, wash, repeat.

If you dress like a religious Jew, you are expected to act like it. It boggles my mind how insensitive, unaware and obtuse some Torah observant Jews can be. The same Torah that says keep Kosher, lay Tefillin, observe Shabbos, study Torah, Shofar, Lulav, Yom Kippur ALSO says to treat people with respect, honor our planet, act humanely towards animals and love your neighbor. We need to work on keeping all of those.

Please, I beg you, realize that you are representing the Jewish people. Act like it.

Thanks.

Atheists and Believers LA Times Smackdown

rabbifink — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:54:24 +0000

“Flamewar” is a prolonged exchange of deliberately hostile messages over the Internet. – Wikipedia

Last week I blogged about the battle of the wings. The political Left Wing and the Right Wing are battling it out to the death.

The vitriol and hyperbole on both sides is so disproportionate with reality. Left wingers are not communists and right wingers are not corporate overlords. We are all really much closer to the middle.

One area that there is no real middle is on the issue of God.

The recent LA Times flamewar pretty much proves that point. Last week the most emailed column on LATimes.com was an op-ed piece by Charlotte Allen titled, Atheists: No God, No Reason, Just Whining.

The column is really silly. It overstates things like, atheists are angry for being flogged in Church and all atheists think that believers are not as intelligent as they are. We even get some name calling, “Atheists are boring”.

Lost in all the hyperbole are some good points, like many believers easily reconcile evolution with their beliefs (as Jewish people believe), as well as the point that many arguments against God’s existence are empty, like, if there is a God why do bad things happen? (that’s no contradiction…).

Even better are the responses by the infuriated Atheists. Using the Jews as his muse, Hemant Mehta writes, Jews are boring, they complain, they are never have a serious conversation about God etc. He then points out that those statements are bigoted and off the wall. Just like Charlotte Allen. Point well taken. Let’s call it a day.

Then you get to the comments. More vitriol tossed the believer’s way.

Belief in God is a major issue. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs. Why the name-calling? Why toss out implausible arguments and faux-intellectualism on your behalf?

Who does that benefit?

Wouldn’t it be better for all of us if we agreed to disagree on God and moved on to the next topic. I understand there is no middle ground here, so let’s forget about this issue and discuss something worthwhile.

Enough with the flamewars already. Politics, religion, God. Let’s use our minds, resources and time to help our world instead of fighting each other.

Is that something that we could all agree upon?

Green Post

rabbifink — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:35:54 +0000

Green.

It used to be an innocent color. Now, it means so much more.

Previously, I talked about the Torah approach to Earth Day. Today, I am going to take a brief dip into Green Politics. Normally, I steer clear of politics. One exception was when I wrote about Political Discrimination. Now that technology gives us the ability to figure out who believes in what politics, it is possible to discriminate against people whom you never knew, because of their politics.

My general opinion in politics is that red / blue, left / right, new / old, liberal / conservative are terms too broad for today’s sophisticated world. I can agree and disagree with policies based on my understanding, not based on party. I really have no political agenda, I don’t care which “party” is in control. I care about issues.

Parties were needed when the public wasn’t educated on the issues. But now with 24/7 news cycles, Twitter, Facebook, blogs and more information produced than ever before, folks are capable of thinking on their own.

After seeing this post on DovBear.Blogspot.com a thought occured to me. A bit of a disturbing trend has evolved. When idiots on the right say dumb things or make bad decisions, the other side attacks them. However, the attacks are getting less and less sophisticated and more and more ridiculous.

John Stewart is never going to be taken really seriously because he is seen on Comedy Central. However, another, more disturbing attack is more serious.

A video called “The Story of Stuff” has been circulated the web and been introduced into the middle school classrooms of many schools. The broader message of the video is great. We need to be careful about our consumption and waste is bad.

Even better is the criticism of our need for replacing what we have and our disposable culture. The video critiques our values as we place spending above all else. These are great lessons. So what is wrong with the video?

Watch the video (or at least watch the intro).

Did you notice anything strange?

Portraying our government as an army tank?

Corporations as big, ballooning, fat, men?

Calling our products “toxic and contaminated”?

The point is that the message could be delivered without all the harsh, hyperbolic name-calling. The way of conservation and care for our planet and its resources is such simple and beautiful concept. Why are they fouling it up with strong symbolism and propaganda?

The answer is because of the political parties in our country. One can’t agree with an issue, one needs to choose a side. And when you are choosing sides it is war. And in war we pull our all the stops.

This is not good for America, nor is it good for the good causes on each side of the political spectrum. For all the talk of “Bipartisan-ism” have we seen any results other than one senator turning on his constituents to switch parties. Which is the opposite of Bipartisan-ism!

To paraphrase Rodney King, “can we all get along?”

Yeah, I know this is never gonna happen, but we can dream right? (and point out the flaws in the terrible system we have now).

Please, regardless of your politics, conserve, don’t use plastics unnecessarily, don’t waste what you have, use what have, appreciate what you have, help our society escape its never ending cycle of consumption and make sure the world is as beautiful when we leave as it was when we got here.

It’s not a hotel room, no-one is coming to clean up our mess after we check out.

Disturbing Poll of the Day

rabbifink — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:09:52 +0000

Look, I enjoy sports. (Go Lakers). But this is getting ridiculous!

Nearly 48 thousand people have voted (as of this posting) on the current poll in ESPN.com that asks the following query:

Who do you know more about?

- Potential First Round Picks in the NFL Draft

- People in your office/class

I am surprised by the results.

So there you have it!

49% of People know more about compete strangers than the people that they are around on a daily basis.

This is just wrong.

This week we celebrated Earth Day. A prevailing message of the Day was sensitivity to our environment.

Maybe we should have “People Day” – a day to work on our sensitivity to each other! Everyone could use a smile, a hey, what up? or a friendly how you doing?

But it can’t stop there, we need to talk to each other and more importantly listen to each other. Maybe we should try this People Day more than once a year… Maybe we should always act with sensitivity to on another…

Who is with me?

People Day is every day.

Shame on Gizmodo | Shame on Us Too

Your Unique Voice and A Kafkaesque Experience

rabbifink — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:26:08 +0000

Last week, Facebook disabled my account. No explanation, no reason, no apology, just gone.

There are terms that each member of Facebook agrees to abide by and I have not violated any of those terms. I have emailed Facebook asking for an explanation or at the very least an acknowledgement that my account has been disabled. So far… nothing.

If you are so inclined, send Facebook an email on my behalf requesting they reinstate my account.

It is incredible how I have come to rely on Facebook as a means to maintaining relationships. I have become accustomed to knowing how my friends and family are doing by reading their Facebook posts. Now I wonder what they are up to…?

Perhaps more profoundly, I have become accustomed to others knowing about my life. Incredibly, I somehow think that others may want to read what I find interesting and listen to my thoughts on current events and social commentary. Now, without Facebook, I feel like a radio show host with no microphone. My voice has been silenced and I do not like it one bit.

Facebook is a social networking site. I think that is a misnomer. Aside from providing networking, Facebook provides a platform. For now, I am without it.

The entire experience has been Kafkaesque and it feels strange to be stripped of your online identity. Thankfully, I have spread my voice out among a few channels. I am on Twitter. What is Twitter? Sign up and you will find out it is like Facebook but just the status updates. So there are no applications, groups or photo albums but there is much more updating. I recommend it for anyone in school or business. Follow my updates by clicking here.

Then there is this blog. I write, but does anyone read? Yes, there are some readers. Would I want more people to read and interact on the blog? Yes. So, if you enjoy the blog, spread the word and link to the blog on your Facebook account or your own blog.

I am happy to reciprocate if I find your content worthwhile.

It is clear, that we all need to be heard. In the 21st century we all have the opportunity to be heard, the harder thing is to filter the noise and find the music you want to hear.

This reminds me of a great Jewish idea. The Jewish people adhere to the precepts of the Torah. We all study Torah and we all find Its depth infinite. As infinite as the Torah is, every single person whe studies the Torah has an opportunity to create a novel idea in the Torah. This is called a Chiddush. Our tradition teaches us that each person can and does create one or several Chiddush thoughts in their lifetime. This is their idea and would have not been heard without that person’s thought.

Each person brings their personality, personal history and world view to their study. Thus, each person can create their own Chiddush which is theirs and always will be theirs. The Torah provides infinite opportunities for everyone’s voice to be heard, to be unique and to be eternal.

The internet is incredible. It has given a voice to anyone who desires to be heard and more importantly, gives all of us the chance to hear those voices. If you like my voice, share it with others.

Do Not Send Your Money To Nigeria!

rabbifink — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:49:57 +0000

I just found this on the NY Times website. Citibank is my bank. I love their service and they have a great online banking website. Unfortunately there are people who run the bank who may have brains the size of peanuts (not very big).

We all get emails that try to elicit our personal information. The scammers want us send them our personal information. Then they use that information to build trust and then BAM! you get scammed for millions of dollars.

Most people do not fall for these scams.

Sometimes people do.

Sometimes even banks do.

Yes – the NY Times is reporting that Citibank sent $27 Million to Nigerian scammers.

This is a public service announcement to all readers of this blog – it is also a public service announcement for Citibank!

You know those emails you get from your Nigerian friend that sound like this:

THIS IS TO OFFICIALLY INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE VERIFIED YOUR INHERITANCE FILE AND FOUND OUT THAT WHY YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR PAYMENT IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT FULFILLED THE OBLIGATIONS GIVEN TO YOU IN RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT/INHERITANCE PAYMENT.

SECONDLY WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT YOU ARE STILL DEALING WITH THE NONE OFFICIALS IN THE BANK YOUR ENTIRE ATTEMPT TO SECURE THE RELEASE OF THE FUND TO YOU. WE WISH TO ADVISE YOU THAT SUCH AN ILLEGAL ACT LIKE THESE HAVE TO STOP IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT SINCE WE HAVE DECIDED TO BRING A SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ARRANGED YOUR PAYMENT THROUGH OUR SWIFT CARD PAYMENT CENTER ASIA PACIFIC THAT IS THE LATEST INSTRUCTION FROM MR.PRESIDENT,UMARU YAR’ADUA (GCFR) FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AND FBI.

THIS CARD CENTER WILL SEND YOU AN ATM CARD WHICH YOU WILL USE TO WITHDRAW YOUR MONEY IN ANY ATM MACHINE IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD, BUT THE MAXIMUM IS FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER DAY, SO IF YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND THIS WAY PLEASE LET US KNOW BY CONTACTING THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDS DEPARTMENT CARD PAYMENT CENTER. YOUR CODE OF CONDUCT IS (ATM-822) YOU HAVE TO INDICATE THIS CODE WHEN CONTACTING THE CARD CENTER BY USING IT AS YOUR SUBJECT.

MRS. LINDA HILL ON HER EMAIL
ADDRESS: lindahill01@live.com
AND ALSO SEND THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

1. YOUR FULL NAME
2. PHONE AND FAX NUMBER
3. COUNTRY/ADDRESS WERE YOU WANT THEM TO SEND THE ATM CARD
4. YOUR AGE AND CURRENT OCCUPATION

THE ATM CARD PAYMENT CENTER HAS BEEN MANDATED TO ISSUE OUT USD6.8MILLION AS PART PAYMENT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR 2008. ALSO FOR YOUR INFORMATION, YOU HAVE TO STOP ANY FURTHER COMMUNICATION WITH ANY OTHER PERSON(S) OR OFFICE(S) TO AVOID ANY HITCHES IN RECEIVING YOUR PAYMENT.

KINDEST REGARDS,

MR. DAVID MARK.
SENATE PRESIDENT.

THEY ARE FAKE!!! I know you think they are real and some Nigerian really wants to give you millions of dollars but do not be fooled. Please. Especially if you are my bank!

And then you wonder how the economic crisis began??!!

Comments On America's Standard of Living

rabbifink — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:53:46 +0000

Today I read about the declining standard of living in our country. Salaries are coming down, more and more people are getting laid off and credit is harder to find.

“Rampant consumerism” will be a necessary casualty of the current economy. That is a good thing. We need to curb our spending as a country and reinvest in our future.

What really opened my eyes were some of the comments.

Here is the first comment:

Sensible enough. America has had a decidedly different approach to spending than Europeans / Asians etc. and it cannot be bad for us to learn from them.

Next comment:This one is a little disturbing. It says “I don’t mind if my children and grandchildren need to sacrifice, but I am not willing to sacrifice for them”. This is exactly what got us in this mess. Mortgaging the future for the present was the root of this entire economic mess. America became a superpower because of the willingness of its citizens to work hard and sacrifice for their children and grandchildren. Now, there is a sense of entitlement which has taken hold of our country. People just want their lives to be comfortable and they don’t care what happens next. We need a shift in attitude to turn the economy around and this is a great place to start. You can read more of my thoughts on this idea here.

Last comment:This one is just disturbing. People are so desperate for meat that they are eating roadkill? If you need any motivation to try and help us turn this country around just think about this comment.

Change is hard but that is what makes it worth it.

Political Discrimination

rabbifink — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:40:48 +0000

Yesterday I wrote about tolerance. Democracy is built on tolerance. We are each entitled to our opinions and are not subject to discrimination based on our political beliefs.

We all love democracy. It sure beats the alternatives.

One major benefit to democracy is the right to voice your opinion anonymously in a vote. That is how we choose our law and policy makers in the USA. This is great because one cannot be persecuted or discriminated against based upon your political choices if you choose to keep your choices a secret.

Right now that is being put to the test. More and more people are being discriminated against for their political views.

It seems that we have a new problem in our Democratic country. The NY Times is reporting that there is a website which makes this really easy to do. I have seen this myself in Los Angeles. Protesters picketed a very popular local restaurant. There was even a little bit of violence! Using a website it is possible to see who donated to Prop 8 and correspondingly figure out who doesn’t support Gay marriage. It’s really irrelevant what you believe, what is relevant is the secret ballot is the worst kept secret ever. Technology is great but sometimes progress leads to a regress. This type of website is a regression.

Now anyone who wants to discriminate based upon political views can do so quite easily. All political donations are public information and if someone wants to know how you feel on an issue they can find out pretty easily if you’ve ever made a political donation.

This has a negative effect in two ways. One, you may think twice before making that donation. That can’t be good. Two, if you’re opinion is not popular, you may be suffering the consequences quickly. That’s definitely not good.

Democracy is great but we need to figure out how to curb this problem before it eradicates the democratic roots of our country!

Ladies and Gentlemen, A Moment of Silence for… A Moment of Silence

rabbifink — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:43:00 +0000

Yes. It is true. The Moment of Silence in Public Schools in Illinois is unconstitutional. Let’s take a moment of silence to remember the moment of silence.

A total of 18 states have similar statutes in their legislation giving students a moment of silence or prayer during school time.

In 1969 the Illinois legislature passed the following act:

Illinois Complied Statutes, Chapter 105 Act 20, § 1. In each public school classroom the teacher in charge shall observe a brief period of silence with the participation of all the pupils therein assembled at the opening of every school day. This period shall not be conducted as a religious exercise but shall be an opportunity for silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated activities of the day.

Today, a federal judge ruled that this act is in violation of the constitutional line which separates church and state.

The suit was filed by “outspoken atheist” Rob Sherman. His claim is that the teachers in the younger grades were teaching the students to pray. In my opinion the teachers were in violation of a very good statute. The statute is very clear about its intentions. Give students a moment to reflect on their day and some may use this for prayer and some may choose not to pray.

I think we all need a moment to reflect and meditate on our day. In fact psychologists claim that meditation makes you calmer and happier. Jewish prayer is supposed to be part prayer and part meditation. Meaning that we use prayer as a time to focus and center in addition to thanking and recognizing God.

If the statute is being followed it is clearly beneficial. I wonder why the plaintiff did not attempt to require strict adherence to this great statute and instead decided to lash out against the idea completely and have the statute removed? Wouldn’t that be better? If the teachers followed the statute it would okay – right?

Or maybe the “outspoken atheist” does not want anybody to meditate and reflect? Maybe that is too dangerous? Maybe if you meditate or reflect you are one step closer to prayer, which is one step closer to belief in God (“God forbid”)?

Next time there is a moment of silence at a concert, ball game or at the White House I expect the “outspoken atheist” to protest.

Winners and Losers | A New Yorker Cartoon (and I get it, and it is funny!)

rabbifink — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:13:14 +0000

Thanks to The Seinfeld Episode: The Cartoon whenever I see The New Yorker magazine I check to see if the cartoons are actually funny. One of my professors mentioned a New Yorker article last night about inaugural addresses so I went to check it out online. This cartoon was inset in a completely different article I was reading (which I did not “get”) and I just had to blog about the cartoon (which i do “get”)!

Don’t we all miss the days when a winner won and a loser lost?

Now it seems there is no winning and no losing. We are almost more concerned that the losers not feel bad than the winners feel good. When my younger brother played in Little League as a 6 year old the rule was “no keeping score allowed” but he always knew who won anyway… I guess they think that means that we are all winners.

I think that it may mean that we are all losers!

Seriously, rewarding success is very important and we need to balance that with making certain that people don’t get too down about their lack of success. One place that has preserved this quite effectively is Loyola Law School. We are graded on a hard curve which results in a handful of “A” students, a few more “A-” students and mostly “B+” – “C” students. Only the best get the “A”. But the rest can get that really nice trophy in the cartoon…

Breaking News! Ad@lf Hitl&r Campbell Update

rabbifink — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:54:33 +0000

A few weeks ago I commented on the idiots who named their children Adolf Hitler Campbell and Aryan Nation Campbell. They had a problem getting a birthday cake. Awwww, too bad.

Now they have a new problem on their hands. They will need to be invited by the authorities for the next birthday party. It seems that they are in a bit of hot water with the child protections agency. The children have been removed from the custody of the parents. The newspaper has conflicting reports on what their reasons were for removing the children from their home.

Apparently, the children were removed but NOT because of their names. So that just means that the parents were idiots when they named their kids and they continue to be idiots enough to warrant taking their children away!

I can’t say I am happy when a child is taken away from its parents but this might actually be a good thing…

All About Manners

rabbifink — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:28:33 +0000

This NY Times article written by a pediatrician follows the usual course of “today’s generation has bad manners, but it is not a new problem, it has always been this way… etc.”. The doctor recommends a book called Miss Manners’ Guide to Rearing Perfect Children. Great title by the way. Perfect? Really? Where do I sign up? Maybe a bit of hyperbole there…?

The aforementioned book makes one very important point that we have been underlining over and over again in our Messilas Yesharim classes. The idea that we are all born as selfish children. The book has its own approach to dealing with this issue. I raise the issue here to remind myself that that childishness that we are born with, the child inside us, he never grows up, he is with us until we leave this earth. Our challenge is to channel that child and not allow the selfishness inside us dictate our decisions. When we recognize that the child inside us that used to say “gimme, gimme” and if it had the chance would eat jellybeans for every meal is actually still inside us we can begin to deal with it. The child’s message changes from jellybeans to newer more sophisticated version of jellybeans. But he is still there and always will be there. Our job is to the boss of that child and allow our adult, mature loving selves to persevere. You may find some real good advice in the Messilas Yesharim classes in this regard.

Well, actually the doctor’s favorite part of the book is to me a big mistake as well the root of these problems in the first place! Here is the excerpt from the article where the doctor praises Miss Manners approach…

“I like Miss Manners’ approach because it lets a parent respect a child’s intellectual and emotional privacy: I’m not telling you to like your teacher; I’m telling you to treat her with courtesy. I’m not telling you that you can’t hate Tommy; I’m telling you that you can’t hit Tommy. Your feelings are your own private business; your behavior is public.”

The message here is that you can think whatever you want just you need to keep it to yourself. This is actually good advice as a last resort but it cannot be the right way to develop good people. The only way to develop good people is to develop the skills necessary to be good people. Hiding your feelings is a useful tool but it is not the most important skill in becoming a good person.

The missing ingredient here is trying to see the good in others as opposed to finding their flaws and then “hating” them for it – privately of course. If a child says that they dislike someone then the way to help correct that behavior is by helping the child see all the good that the other person does and all the nice things about that other person. This is a very rare and very basic skill. If we only see bad in the other person to the point that we feel negatively towards them then we need to adjust how we view them. We can do this and this is actually developing the adult in us and taking charge of our child inside us.

Imagine if the entire world was teaching their children to see the good in other people instead of the negative. The world would definitely be a better place! Not to mention all the therapy and other side-effects that would be avoided by people not having to suppress their negative feelings!

I am going to start imagining that world now, so I will end this post…

Adolf Hitler Campbell can't get a birthday cake

rabbifink — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:55:41 +0000

Here’s a good one…

We just named our baby and honestly a lot of thought goes into it!

This family decided a good name for their bundle of sweetness and joy is ADOLF HITLER Campbell! Imagine this kid going through life with a name like that!

Sometimes you wonder if these people even think about what they are doing!?

Well it seems that they certainly know what they are doing – another one their other children is named “Aryan Nation” and this photo gallery indicates their feelings towards Nazism…

UPDATE