Moby-Dick

(My sincerest apologies for those of you who were disappointed by the lack of a great drum solo. Sorry. Yet I'm sure you'll know where to find that one!)

Mental Meltdown

Watch this! Hilarious!


And now for the poll:
What is the rabbi's favorite literature:
A. Haemtza
B. Hirhurim
C. R' Norman Lamm's Books

Certainly sounds influenced by them!

Rock Hard, Ride Free

The spoken word has a certain elegance and finesse the spoken word is missing. In addition, the ‘tone’ of a word being read can be subjective and misleading. But the spoken word is more immediate, intimate. Technology also plays a role in this game, as I hinted earlier. So I’m now officially going audio, and if it’s good it’ll stay that way. I’d appreciate your comments and thoughts on the matter and any suggestions are welcome. Happy reading hearing.

From the Paper Clips Project & ride to remember: ... Kornbluth said 11 million paper clips of the 30 million that had been collected were placed inside the rail car to remember all of the people who died in the Holocaust, not only the Jewish victims. A children's Holocaust monument was built and 11 million paper clips were placed inside that location. The children of Whitwell decided that they wanted to give the remaining eight million paper clips they had collected to other children who wanted to study the Holocaust or related topics. As a result of the project, Holocaust survivors came to speak with the students. In 2004 the film "Paper Clips" was released which chronicled the story of the Whitwell project. The project was also the inspiration for the 2006 Paper Clips Ride to Remember, a fundraiser for the Whitwell Middle School, Kornbluth said. Read whole article.

Jewish bikers

The Paper Clips Project

Hell Bent For Leather

There's many who tried to prove that they're faster
But they didn't last and they died as they tried
- "Hell Bent For Leather", Judas Priest (Killing Machine, 1978)

Every time the Charedi rabbis dare voice their opinion, be it a takanah, psak, or advice on any matter imaginable, the Jewish blogging world goes bananas: the haredi-haters bellow out in rage “how dare they! Down with them!” while others criticize respectfully. The common denominator is that they attribute the rabbis’ attitude to overprotectiveness, their desire to further cut their community from the world, and their utter resistance to technical advancement. While there might be some truth to this, there is something that they fail to see, either willfully or unwillingly.
With all the rage and criticism hurled at them, we should keep in mind that Kollel students are a minority of Charedim, Charedim are a minority of Orthodoxy, Orthodoxy is a minority of Jews, and Jews are a minority in the world. Yet it seems that for one reason or another, many among us have a fixation with Charedim and Kollel people, and can’t refrain from endlessly debasing them. Although there is, unfortunately, a strong basis for the criticism against them, and against Charedim and Orthodoxy in general, there is certainly no justification for the virulent hatred ubiquitous in the so-called Jewish literature, media and websites. And sadly, that’s the way it was for centuries – the only change is that many who claim to be genuine, authentic Jews have joined our enemies. Or at least they sound all too much like them. Is there any wonder our rabbis have become overprotective and defensive? In a world where everything goes, where the “call of the wild” is literally omnipresent at every corner, animosity from many angles, the immense antagonism of the culture and lifestyles surrounding us, there must be a set of strict rules to do the utmost to preserve the little that’s left of our social makeup and its core beliefs. In this day and age, living up to the belief that life down here is just a strange illusion, and that we’re preparing ourselves for the real world, where our entire personality, our mere being will be our bodyless self, the soul, is not any easy task at all.

This is why there are “official” guidelines, such as opposition to higher education, minimizing the contacts with the outer world, its cultures and lifestyles, internet ban et al. Unlike what the skeptics may want you to believe, these rules have many exceptions, especially when one asks for them individually. In addition, many of these “bans” are issued with the full knowledge that they will be mostly ignored or circumvented one way or another. Many roshei Yeshivos will advise individuals to take this or that course or to go to learn in a college, etc.

The fact of the matter is, that despite any and all protective walls, outside influence cannot be kept form everyone. Man’s natural desires and urges crave what secular society has to offer, and that society is at hands’ reach. The fact that many had contact with that society at this or that level and were left unscathed –or so they believe- is no guarantee that other won’t be affected by it. Leaving a world of leisure and pleasure behind for the sake of bending over a gmora and living in relative poverty is no easy feat for anyone. And it is certainly more dignified than shaking your pelvis with slush in one hand and cell phone in the other. The small and fragile core of such ‘fanatic zealots’ must be preserved at all costs. After all, despite the fact that some may be loathe to admit it, they are the core of Yiddishkeit, with all their imperfections. Those surrounding them are like protective layers around it, often supporters, having in turn another ‘layer’ between them and the secular world. Why would one hate them so much is beyond me, but I suspect that for certain people an ‘ehrliche yid’ –and especially a not-so ehrliche one- who gives up worldly possessions and pleasures for the sake of Torah is as much a reproach as any Jew was, for the past 2000 years, to those whose god he refused to accept.

Sweet Bluesmaker

Ain’t it priceless to come home, look at your desk and find this…










Sweet little 7 years old made a B-day card for her Tatty… Little does she know of the world’s true nature…

And then I started wondering… there are people on this planet who would gladly take these sweet little angels and slit their throats… cut their eyeballs out as their parents watch… And then you have other people who call the first type of people “insurgents”… “kooks, nuts, crazies”. They claim that those monsters have legitimate grievances. The same people also call me a nut, a kook, a crazy… Just like those who blow up school buses. Why? Because I wear a hat and jacket to shul. Because I refuse to spit on rabbis who forbid sitting in a pizza parlor (only let home delivery). Same as the taliban, no? Same as executing a woman because she was raped by four of her uncles, no?

Such people prevented saving their Jewish brothers from the hellfires of Auschwitz. And now they want to instigate another brothers’ war, to prevent us from being prepared against terrorism (or other calamities).

Thanks for your brotherly love.

Demolition (Israel Syndrome - intermezzo)

Includes vague references to Part I
Part II
Part III

מי האיש החכם ויבן את זאת ואשר דבר פי ה' אליו ויגדה ל מה אבדה הארץ ונצתה כמדבר מבלי עבר
Who is the wise man who shall understand this, which the mouth of G-d spake to him, and tell why the land was lost and desolated as a desert with no passers through

The gmora in Bove Metsie (85a/b) interprets this posuk as a question “why was the land lost?” i.e. the Temple’s destruction and the exile. The sages, the prophets and the angels could not answer it, so The Holy One Bessed Be He answered himself “עַל-עָזְבָם אֶת-תּוֹרָתִי, אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לִפְנֵיהֶם; וְלֹא-שָׁמְעוּ בְקוֹלִי, וְלֹא-הָלְכוּ בָהּ. – for they have forsaken my Torah that I gave before them and haven’t heeded my word and haven’t gone in it[s teachings]”. The gmora explains that this doesn’t mean that there was no Torah learning – but that the people wouldn’t “שלא ברכו בתורה תחלה…. They [the people] didn’t bless the Torah first”. According to the commentators, this means that the Torah wasn’t important in their eyes and was disrespected. Which is an oxymoron – how is it possible to toil day and night over the Torah and not holding dearly important?
But this explanation does not match any of the reasons given in various gmoras. According to the simple understanding, this refers to the first Temple’s destruction, as this is a verse in Yirmiyohu. But in Yirmiyohu’s times the Torah was literally abandoned – the sages and prophets needn’t have to be consulted on the matter. We also know that idol worship, adultery and bloodshed were ubiquitous, and this reason for the destruction is spelled out in scriptures. Furthermore, the land was not ‘lost’, in the sense that the Jews returned from exile seventy years later.

Joseph’s dreams have come true in a way he never dreamt himself; the tribes were not separated anymore – for they were lost… And still, there was no unity between them.
In the era of the second Temple’s destruction, there was intense Torah learning, and it was destroyed because of sinas chinom, baseless, vain or “free” hatred. So how was the land lost due to a lack of proper Blessings for Torah? And why was that so terrible as to cause the destruction and the exile?

Our sages explain that the word ברכה is rooted in בריכה – pool, in the sense of container, a storing of sorts, or source, from which the ‘blessing’ emanates. In other words, when we “make a brocha”, we acknowledge that G-d is the source and giver of that which we have. Meaning that it’s not us who ‘bless’ the Creator, but rather acknowledge him as the source of our blessing. This word ברכה is always used with the preposition על - on (for). We make a brocha on an apple etc. But here the gmora states “ שלא ברכו בתורה תחלה…. They didn’t bless in the Torah first”. This makes absolutely no sense. Blessing in something has no meaning. So why does the gmora expresses itself this way?

The utmost disrespect for something, or someone, is to know it well, deal with it on a daily basis, and blatantly ignore it, flying in its face. Achdus Yisroel, the unity of the Jewish people is the absolute crucial and central concept of the Torah. The revelation of the Torah would not have been possible without perfect and sincere unity. Toiling in torah has for its purpose the perfection of the soul, the polishing of the self, to achieve closeness to the Infinite. And perhaps the clearest indicator to such closeness and perfection is the love, the true brotherhood to the fellow Jew. And it’s also the hardest. Since the Torah has so many facets and aspects, and our History and backgrounds are so turbulent and different, it is a real challenge to respect one another without compromising our beliefs and the way Torah is. But it must be achieved – and it can; to cite “e pluribus unum”, for the sake of a cheesy cliché.

Maybe this is the true meaning of “שלא ברכו בתורה תחלה…. They didn’t bless in the Torah first”, they wouldn’t acknowledge that the blessing was in the Torah, the obligation of unity and solidarity. That the fulfillment of this commandment is also a condition, - a condition for G-d’s bestowing his blessing and protection on us. If there was sinas chinom, if the crucial concept in Torah, the very condition for its deliverance in the hands of our Nation, is abandoned, that is the utmost disrespect. And if the cornerstone is missing, the entire building collapses. Than all other rituals are meaningless motions – the Temple lost its unifying power, and as a result was destroyed.

May we open our eyes and begin to unite – in sincere brotherhood, despite our differences.

May we merit to be united, in life, and see our Temple’s building soon.

Private Investigation

I've got to give it up
That stuff
I have got to give it up
That’s tough
Tell my mama go and tell my pa
That their fine young son didn't get any far
He made it to the end of a bottle
Sitting in a sleazy bar
- “Give It Up”, Thin Lizzy (Black Rose, 1979)


Words lack the power to convey certain experiences and emotions. Sometimes, in order to fully understand certain things, one just has to experience them. But I only have words to convey such a thing, so words are what I’ll use.

There I was, doing what I do everyday. A little more garlic, a little less salt, some oil, there we go. Rub the meat, put in the oven, prep salads, take roast out, yadda yadda. But I wasn’t really there. My arms, hands and feet were moving, doing what they’ve learned to do a thousand times, but my brain was somewhere else. I was deeply engrossed in the music coming out of the speakers, taking in each note, each little detail of the guitar, the bass, the piano, the saxophone, the drums, the bongos. Maybe only a third generation melo-maniac from birth can understand how people get so involved with music. But that’s just the way it is, and today was no different. It’s like you’re on a totally different planet, you put your body on auto-pilot and you just soar with the music. That’s when it hit me.

Totally indescribable, like a flash of light, so bright, so penetrating - sharper than a razor blade, faster than lightning. The realization just hits you, truth stares you in the face in a way you can’t escape. As if you were taking a tranquil stroll in a quiet forest, on the banks of a sweet river, taking in the view, drinking beauty with your eyes. Out of nowhere, a train comes and hits you at 475mph, but you live on as it takes you with it and you can’t escape. That’s how I felt. “What are you doing? What the hell are you doing here? Which part of “בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשְׁךָ, וּבְכָל-מְאֹדֶךָ” don’t you understand? Which part of “וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם--עַל-לְבָבֶךָ... וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ, וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ. ”don’t you understand? Don’t you know that you’re here for a different purpose? You know full and well that you’ll have to give full account of your every minute and second and breath! You full and well know that you were put in charge of a bronco to break in, a stallion to tame, a bull to ride. These are not just cute words – this is reality. “Not ossur” won’t fly! “Permissible by halocha” won’t fly. Of course it’s not easy. Of course it is not pleasant. Of course it costs blood sweat and tears. But that’s what you’re here for. The abundance and ease ubiquitous today are at the same time obstacles and aids in achieving this goal. Don’t you realize that a time is coming when you will be told “put down pen and paper – the test is over!” and you’ll have to answer to the King Of Kings, the Creator Of The Universe for every millisecond, every thought and every breath in your life? Do you think you’ll have it easy then?”

These thoughts were not articulated in words, as usual when one thinks. It was just a sudden, deep realization of these truths that struck without a warning.

It occurred to me that overabundance and excessive well-being are inherently intertwined not only with rebellion against a Higher Authority, but also with baseless hatred.

It took eight spies to carry one bunch of grapes, and one spy had to carry a fig which he couldn’t possibly consume alone. They came to a dire realization: in order to be able to succeed in this prosperity, tremendous unity is required: each will have to yield his leadership to carry the burden with his equals. And sometimes one will have to toil to share his earnings with others. Nope. Too hard, too dangerous. It won’t work – they reasoned. Let’s just get back to the Mann, of which each one had to gather an עֹמֶר לַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת – one "omer" measure per skull. Huh? Skull? Not per 'man', or per 'soul' but per skull? Why skull for heaven’s sake? Perhaps skull is the barest, most exclusively descriptive of ‘self’, the bare individual. A 'man' or a 'soul' has many dependents, and can often be understood in a context of family, clan, or plural (a group). But skull is very individual, not shared. Perhaps in the desert, when they were closely monitored and pampered by the Master Of The Universe, the accent wasn’t so much on unity, or it came natural. Food was but a “necessary evil”, (perhaps at the level of what excretion is today) in a world of spirituality, sacrifices, Torah straight from Moshe and a quasi-supernatural intimacy with the Creator.

Maybe that is what the spies didn’t get. That spiritual unity in a world of material abundance is achievable – and required. Perhaps overcoming our addiction to luxuries, delicacies and comfort goes hand in hand with unity. It is possible that one helps the other. Maybe if we fight our addictions and exigencies for more and more we can be more united – and maybe if we’re more united it is easier to give up some our addictions to entertainment, leisure etc.

This addiction to well-being and constantly wanting more and more is very instrumental not only in breeding selfishness and taking life’s boons for granted, but it also numbs the senses to uncomfortable truths. We are so afraid to give up the slightest pleasure, we’re so unwilling to sacrifice the smallest thing that we rather ignore all the turmoil brewing all around us. The world markets, the worldwide rise of Islam, Terrorism, the rise of Communism in South and Central America and the far East, a radical Shintoist revival in Japan are but a few warning signs written on the wall.

Will we march to our deaths again? Will we have to see out babies burned again? Well, in Israel it happens almost daily – and the most frightening, tragic and appalling thing is that they have gotten used to it. Another attack, another day. And it started here too, on a smaller scale. Of course, there is no empirical proofs that the shootings at LAX airport, the Seattle JCC shootings, the Salt Lake City mall shootings, the SUV’s driving into people on several occasions have anything to do with terrorism. Or that the government is willfully turning a blind eye to the problem.

It is late, but not too late yet to prepare for the worst of the worst and try to prevent it. But for that we must wake up, put aside our favorite luxuries, leisures and differences before it is too late. I know I can’t scare you enough with horror stories from the Shoah or the terrorists. I know that the loss of your life and your children’s lives doesn’t impress you. So I must tell you something even more terrible, even more horrible, even more shocking – you may just lose your comfy lifestyle, the cozy home, the cool car, and most of all, your favorite hobby of your fellow Jew. A major WWIII doesn’t even has to happen for that – a little shake from China, a little rocking from South America and bammm – there comes the recession, there comes overt anti-Semitism, there goes your job, your car, your home.

Tshuva doesn’t just mean a stern face and harder shockeling while davening. It is meant to be a deeper, long lasting meaningful impact on your life. And it is crucial in bein odom lechaveiro too.

This house is on fire –wake up.

We All Fall Down

Fly like an eagle
Fly, touch the sun
…
Now his wings turn to ashes, to ashes his grave
- “Flight Of Icarus”, Iron Maiden (Piece Of Mind, 1983)

A brilliant article, or rather interview with rabbi Ber’l Wein appeared in Mishpacha magazine. Actually, it’s not so much the article that’s brilliant, but the fact that it got published in an orthodox publication. The documentation of historical events, until the return from the first exile, was part and parcel of the scriptures. But ever since, it was neglected to one extent or another, and has become the lot of secular historians. Ber’l Wein bemoans our forsaking the knowledge of our Nation’s chronicles, rightly so, and wants to maistreamize and re-introduce it in Orthodox curricula. Rabbi Wein’s straightforward approach and the magazine’s willingness to openly aboard the subject are a great step forward. And in no way should it be seen as a step ‘charedim’ took toward Western Civilization (to which it has already come dangerously close – but we’ll save that subject for a rainy day) – au contraire: if Rabbi Wein succeeds in his efforts, average people will be able to learn history from books written by “our guys”, not outsiders. Rabbi Wein has a professional, no-nonsense and honest approach to history. On one hand, he won’t hide facts such as Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato –author of Mesilas Yesharim and Derech HaChayim- having written plays, poems and psalms, yet he won’t present him as a bohemian from Sheinkin either. Of course, there are far more important elements, such as incorporating Jewish History in world history, as well as correcting distortions by secular historians. Two thumbs up to Ber’l Wein and his efforts on behalf of Klal Yisroel’s history.

*
* *

Three weeks ago, an Israeli-American Orthodox businessman was on his way to JFK airport to board a flight to Teal-Aviv, where he was going on business. Due to harsh weather he was running late, so he called to notify EL-Al, who promised him that they would let him on board. He arrived 45 minutes before scheduled departure, but in typical Israeli incompetence, the moron who took his call failed to notify anyone else. Finally, he was let on board, but his seat in business class was given to someone else. He was told that he’d have to travel economy and would not be reimbursed the difference in price. He started to argue, but agreed to travel economy. As he was sitting down the Captain came out and informed him that he refuses to leave with him on board. He was finally dragged off the plane by two NYC cops. I didn’t write about it as I was convinced that the J-blogs would be abuzz with the story. But nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Not important; wasn’t on Yediot Acharonot’s front page – didn’t happen.

As a matter of fact, I would not have been so hast to inculpate El-Al of anti-Semitism. These are troubled times after all, the Captain may not have had all the facts right; he was probably tense and jittery. It is known that the Captain wasn’t informed on time about the late passenger, and we can’t know whether he saw the latecomer and knew that he was religious before he took the decision not to take him.

What really amazes me is that no one on board had the nerve to stand up, walk up to the Captain and tell him very calmly, yet very firmly: “Sir, this is an injustice. The man called and was informed that he could board the plane. He agreed to take an economy seat for the price of business class. If you don’t let him on board, I’ll leave the plane with him. Then you will have to wait four hours until they take my luggage out, and I’ll make sure that you won’t fly another plane with El Al.” That would have solved the problem, I can guarantee you. I’ll assume that no one knew the guy personally nor was familiar with the details to take full responsibility for him.

Last week a few bums in Bet-Shemesh illegally hung up a sign and started a brawl with the police. The act was widely decried on blogs, which is perfectly understandable. Unfortunately, everyone automatically took the police and the secular business owners’ side. And not only weren’t the miscreants harshly condemned, but their entire community, or rather communities, were also inculpated as accomplices in the act. But worst of all, these accusations were touted as a call for love, peace and solidarity. In the name of the three weeks and mourning over our past sinas chinom, is dissemination of negative information the answer? Did we stop for a moment to think what we would accomplish by that? Will we really stop these actions by throwing more oil on the flames? Why not apply “hate the sin, not the sinner”, as so many preach in other cases? In such cases, all charedim are invariably guilty. Why? Why not only the miscreants, or their families, their chassidus, yeshiva, neighborhood, what have you? How come that such broad accusations pass as the promotion of peace and brotherhood? How come only the cop and the secular are considered brothers, but your fellow Orthodox Jew is lower than dirt? Had the same exact thing happened with Irish people, Kurds, Basques, Bretons, Palestinians, etc., had your reaction been the same? How come so many respect and feel solidarity with the oppressed minorities despite their murderous violence, yet when it comes to his own brothers, the coin all of a sudden has only one side? I really can’t make heads and tails of it…

*
* *

In an address to the Institute For Holocaust Studies last month, Seymour Reich, former president of Bnai Brith international, officially admitted for the first time that his organization’s WWII era leaders actually sabotaged the rescue efforts of the Bergson Group. (Until now these events were documented almost exclusively in Ben Hecht’s “Perfidy”, which has been written off as a “Satmarist conspiracy theory”, though Hecht remained Zionist, denouncing only the treacherous leaders.) This is a huge step for reform/secular Zionism, as they’re finally starting to face the facts as they are - and they should be applauded for that. And we should follow example as well. A worthy quote from the speech “…On Monday, Goldman picks up the paper and reads that Hungarian Jews are being deported to death camps. On Tuesday he goes to the State Department and complains against Bergson. And he tells the State Department that Stephen Weiss considers Bergson as dangerous as Hitler!” Reich explained that the Bnai Brith leaders’ opposition to rescue was motivated by several factors, among them competition and ideological opposition to other groups. He concludes: “Had Jewish leaders single-mindedly focused on the Holocaust, as they should have been, then it would not have mattered how many people signed Bergson’s latest ad or which radio network interviewed him. Instead of writing to foreign embassies about Bergson, Jewish leaders should have been writing these embassies to rescue Jewish refugees. Instead of mobilizing chapters around the country to attack Bergson, they should have challenged the FDR administration’s failure to take serious steps to rescue Jews. … These leaders seem to have lost sight of their primary responsibilities… …maintaining their positions and prestige became more important than anything else. … power can corrupt, in the Jewish leadership like anywhere else.” (I strongly urge you to read the whole article on the Wyman Institute's website.)

I guess by now you understand what I’m getting at. We are steeped in a world of materialism, extreme comfort and complacence. When we talk poverty, we don’t mean going to sleep hungry or not having shoes to one’s feet. We mean “poor” as in “no prime rib steaks four times a week”. Or poor as in “no new Ferrari this year! Oy vey!” The abundance we enjoy now is unprecedented, but with all the ease and comfort it also breeds selfishness and coveting for more and more. We take our good fortune for granted and party like there’s no tomorrow. Yes, I full and well know that there are hardships, but we must put them in perspective. I bet many of you are far better off than me, yet all we do is complain, complain, complain, and want more, more, more. We use and abuse our ideologies to put down one another, to further advance our own agendas and we use other people’s misfortunes to vindicate ourselves. Do we really care about Bais Hamikdosh? Do we really mourn the loss of the Nation’s heart and soul, or are we just going through the motions? Or even worse – is even the Churban used to repeat the very factor that caused it? Can’t we see the writing on the wall? Are we again causing our own demise?

My good friends, my brothers my sisters, I have something sad to tell you. We are now just like those past Bnai Brith leaders. When the Nazis YM”S made soap bars of our grandfathers and grandmothers, they didn’t ask them before: “So, Moishi, what kind of soap would you like to be? Modern Orthodox or Satmar? Good, good, we won’t make you into one bar with those stupid Yeshivishers, OK?” In a short while, we will say day by day “forgive us, our father, for we have sinned”. Will we really mean what we say, or will we really mean “they have sinned?”

The real tragedy is not so much that our rabbis and leaders still stand in Beth-El and Dan – it’s that we dance around them and justify them. They let us go on with our sweet addictions – and we keep them in power for that.

Yes, we all fall down.

Very special thanks to Mr. Steg, who turned the intended fire and brimstone of this post into sweet waters.

Live And Dangerous

The holy [rock’n’]rollers at the Live Earth concert seem to know nothing about global warming. Several of them were interviewed, and the deep, blatant and shocking primitive stupidity spurting forth from their mouths would make your average Satmarer seem as a genius. Some didn’t even know what global warming is! I’m not sure they knew how much CO2 they produced by raising awareness to the problem, but who care, as long as they had a good time. Of course, Al Gore’s CO & CO2 emissions were offset by duly purchasing “carbon credits”. What are ‘carbon credits’? Well, just like in the good old days of the Inquisition, if you committed some sins, you could buy absolution for money. If you didn’t have money? Tough luck – “To the stake! Now!” Similarly, every manufacturing plant in the us is issued a ‘carbon limit’, i.e. how much CO2 they can use. But what if they need to exceed it? Well, they’ll go to a manufacturing plant which per its nature doesn’t emit CO2 – such as a dairy company, for example, and the CO2 emitting plant can buy up these “carbon credits” and further pollute the air. Classic Clintonism, no? So mega-billionnaires like Al Gore, who made his wealth on Occidental Petroleum, can now produce in a month twice as much CO2 emissions as an average citizen does in a year. No big news ainnit? Of course, these are the people accusing the right of being corrupt and out of touch. Wonderful! Reminds me of a thing or two in our community…

Today’s links you won’t find on “Dog Bare”:

Don’t worry about terror – why spend your last day in nervousness? “Eat and drink for tomorrow we shall die…”

Chertoff: Islamist threat a hoax.

England England unter alles…

What? Libby not the cause of the Holocaust, global warming and famine in Sudan? How come? Let Ed Koch tell you.

Immigration – what a wonderful thing! How could we ever do without it?

Why is Carter “the innocent” still relevant?

Fighting The World

We spoke before of the misleading reports about the Ramapo/Monsey Wal-Mart controversy; it was presented as a conflict between an over-religious, insular group and Corporate America. The NYT article was misleading, and those who couldn’t get enough information on Monsey’s turbulent history from an older resident during chazoras haShatz, were seemingly too lazy to perform a simple internet search. In any event, blaming the entire problem on the “Charedim”’s insularity is foolish at best. The Charedim are themselves split on the Wal-Mart issue, and if the Hassidim are actually as insular as Harry Maryles implies, I wonder why they can be seen at all times of the day and the year in the Tallman Wal-Mart, two miles down the road from the controversial site, shopping for anything from DVD’s to lingerie to “bratz” dolls? (Yes, I’ve actually seen that. More than once.) A scant glimpse into only one of many intricate components merging into a nexus of the crises – the origin of storms, is obviously inadequate to understand the rather complicated dynamics of this diverse region.

You don’t have to be an Orthodox Jew to understand that when you buy a house, you don’t just want the lot and the walls – obviously, the neighborhood is a key factor in your decision. But if you are an Orthodox Jew, you understand it tenfold better than anyone else. Orthodox schools, synagogues, mikvahs, kosher shopping are not just luxuries or added bonuses – they’re vital essentials. Only thing is, Uncle Sam doesn’t give a hoot about your religious needs. Uncle Sam provides every American (and every illegal immigrant as well) with ‘free’ public education. Free in this case – as in many others – means that Uncle Sam takes money from those who have it, operates mostly shabby institutions which it proudly labels as ‘educational’, and then magnanimously asks you to say “thank you”. Of course, if you’re rich, you say it’s unfair that you should pay so much taxes and get so few in return – if you’re poor, you say it’s unfair that your kid gets such bad education because those rich parents buy Jaguars instead of paying more taxes. If you’re an Orthodox Jew, you say it’s unfair that you should pay so much tax for someone else’s education, and in addition pay your private school tuition, too.

But in American mentality private education is not only a luxury – it is the last luxury to afford – after the nice home, the vacation home, the two-car garage, the three fancy SUVs in the two-car garage, after the money set aside for the kids’ higher education, after the two yearly family vacations to the Caribbeans, after the fifteen rifles, golf clubs, Cuban cigars and exclusive bars – if you still have extra money can go further into debt, then, and only then, can you send the kids to private school.

Truth be told, if the school system were the only factor here, the Orthodox community would be on the right side of the argument – in a locality where the vast majority of residents do not use the PS system – why pay so much in school taxes? Sadly, the answer is, because every other property is tax exempt – many fraudulently so, and because a great portion of the private school using community lives off government handouts. The third issue is that the Hassidic communities get away with building 200 units on an area zoned for 15. The permit is ‘only’ for about 160, but houses are never demolished, nor are residents evicted. A closed community which knows exactly what it wants, and often operated by a leader’s remote-control will vote en bloc for whoever promises the sweetest deals. But “sweet” is defined differently by different communities, and politicians know that in order to stay in office, they have to deliver the goods. That is why many Hassidic neighborhoods (Vizhnitz has actually incorporated the areas that they have “conquered”, under the name “Village of Kaser”) are de-facto exempt from property tax.)

Fair or not, the original residents of Ramapo have no one but themselves to blame for not having voted in a favorable candidate for so many years. Heck, no politician will pander to people who spend a good deal of their lives sitting mesmerized in front of a TV set, then argue for hours about the ballgame, instead of figuring out what’s really good for them, when they have six to ten thousand votes on a silver platter with a clearly spelled out plan.

And clearly, those who now protest the out-of-control overbuilding, overpopulation, inadequate sewage, traffic congestion and now Wal-Mart, are accomplices in creating this situation. They sat idle while their businesses profited from the newcomers; they kept quiet while nearby Spring Valley got overpopulated by illegal immigrants and communities of poor, uneducated minorities who provided cheap labor; they kept quiet when cops were paid 90G in a virtually zero-crime area, who pull you over for doing 32 in the 30 zone, but close their eyes to insurance fraud and different government fund defrauding scams as well as illegal immigration.

So the situation is not so simple. But one way or another, things will have to be sorted out. If a major conflict is to be avoided, people on both sides will have to come together and make some painful concessions. Yes, I’ve said that. And though I was brought up in a staunch anti-Communist family, I have no choice but to repeat a famous Bolshevik catchphrase –and fully agree with it-

Religion is the “OPM” of the masses…

PS - this article about the Hassidim's inpact on their neighbors just went up on Haemtza - dig it, as well as the links therein. An eye-opener.

Eyes Of The World

Do you think the J-blogosphere’s einsatscommander will ever publish this story about the lawyer who got people to invent injuries and then sue the beeeeeeeg eeeeeeeval KKKorporations for bullion? Yep. Unlike Ken Lay, whose blood is on the left’s hands (not that they care) this filthy pig will probably buy his way out of prison and live his life off on the billions he reaped/raped.
Oh yes – I forgot to mention he was a major Democratic donor. Incredible isn’t it?
Nah, probably Bush made the whole thing up.

Marines finally starting to see the light. Hopefully Tim McGirk and John Murtha (one of the biggest profiteers of the war) will end like Nifong (in Bung Beetle's arms).

Another one to the Marines.

Another bogus case of "torture" starts to see the daylight...

Terror cops? In Britain? Can't be! The peaceful country that bans Shoah studies and boycotts Jews, sure wouldn't employ a terrorist as a cop!

Democrat party's biggest supporter wants to unveil political sex scandals. In the other party only, of course. (Ain't those non-national socialists very similar? Behaves just like DB. And the unbiased media, and non-lying leftists bloggers.)

Thank you, Mr. Traitor W. Bush, for continuing Clinton's legacy. And giving his beloved wife the presidency oon a silver platter, as you promised your democratic buddies in retur for propping you up in the GOP.
And at least learn the good things from your Chinese buddies to whom you have sold usa out. Import their legal system - can't be worse than ours...

No bad lefties exists... Oh there are nuts in every political orientation? So why is the media covering up the real motives...?

Gays nicest people in the world - making it so much safer and healthier...

More on Cheshani's trial.

T-Rex Tracks Texas Taxis Taxes

Say this about two thousand times fast enough – and you have the US tax code before your very… ears. But worry not – that’s only for income taxes, and chances are you’re not so rich as to be too concerned about all of it. What you should know, though, is the different taxes you pay, how you benefit from them and how they interact.

I was thrilled to read that a prominent rabbi regularly speaks against tax evasion before tax deadlines. I cannot mention his name because it came from an anonymous source, and I was unable to verify the exactitude of the speech contents. But if only tax evasion was mentioned, that rabbi is very mistaken. Tax evasion per-se is not at all easy, is very risky, and for those who make under 100G/yr –the majority of taxpayers- the legal provisions and gray areas are simply far more profitable –certainly less dangerous- than tax evasion. Besides, many taxes are practically unevadable: the sales tax and different taxes calcualted in nearly everything you buy, plus the taxes rolled over at every phase of the raw product until it reaches your hands. A far more widespread ‘hobby’ is abusing the governmental welfare systems. These are more closely regulated by local authorities, which in turn are easier to influence by the voting bases. Although the funding for welfare services such as Medicaid, WIC, Food Stamps, HUD-sec8, Welfare checks, different educational benefits, early intervention and therapies and scores of other ‘government goodies’ formally come from different authorities (Fed, state, county, town etc.,) they all come from the taxpayer’s pockets. Unfortunately, this behavior is ubiquitous in all communities, and not only by communities stereotyped as ‘poor’. Unfortunately even in well-to-do MO places this is the norm. Yes, even people with big PhD’s and MD’s sometimes do not-so-honest things, whatever the reason may be – to be able to show off, to save face instead of begging for a tuition break, what have you.

I sincerely hope that the aforementioned rabbi went thorough all the details and forbade all forms of theft – legal or otherwise. Wrong is wrong, and should be corrected wherever and whenever it emerges. But to use this as a weapon to single out and attack a community in order to show how much better “your” community is, is simply beyond crass. It’s pure hatred and sexual fantasy.

I fully understand that we are overtaxed, and that is a burden. But beating the system is not a solution. In fact, it just adds to the burden. Voting for candidates who would fight overtaxation is a good idea – but those candidates generally oppose too much handouts. If you really want to be a big shot, try a tax revolt. But please don’t milk the government for my buck.