Debate

So, I watched the debate last night between Obama and Clinton. It was mostly civil, and the ideas they shared were good. Their main differences lie in healthcare and how they would treat "enemy" states. However, I'd have to say Obama won the debate hands-down. He kept himself civil the entire time. She, once again, tried to denigrate him by bringing up the plagiarism "issue." She made fun of Obama, saying it's not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox. This statement actually earned her the only booing in the debate! To his credit, Obama didn't angry. He simply said his friend and co-chairperson of his campaign, Deval Patrick, told him to use the lines and Obama stated that not giving credit and making an issue of it was entering into political "silly season!" He tried to stay on track and made a statement that shut her up about this burning, in her mind at least, "issue." He said this was not a time to tear each other down but to lift up this country.

When she tried, yet again, to accuse of him of being all speeches and non-substantive, he answered that means millions of campaign workers and voters who've been paying attention were just suffering from mass delusion. Good comeback!

The rest of the debate, however, was mostly civil, with Hillary even stating (and it was pretty good political maneuvering) that she was simply honored to be sharing the stage with Obama. And she had a pretty good moment at the end when she mentioned her trials in life (a thinly veiled reference to Bill's "indescretions") were nothing compared to the trials she sees people facing every day, be they wounded soldiers, people stricken by povery, or people losing their homes.

One of the best, ongoing parts of the debate was watching both Clinton AND Obama BASHING the Bush administration in general and the president in particular! Lots of applause on that all around! It was great!

I must confess, after watching her, while I still hate the negative campaigning and rhetoric on her part, many of her ideas are the same as Obama's, and I do have a bit more respect for her. By no choice of her own, and I'm sure by the prodding of her campaign managers, she was mostly civil and pleasant. But I still find Obama to be the far superior candidate and look forward to him being president come January 20th, 2009.

Polls update: At this point, Obama has caught up to Clinton in the polls in Texas and has pulled to within seven points in Ohio, pretty assuring that even if Clinton wins those states, she still won't get the landslide she needs to pull ahead. Which is a GREAT thing. With about ten days left before elections in Ohio and Texas, Barack Obama has the chance to do what he has consistently done in the past ten primaries/caucuses; Pull ahead and pull off stunning victories. We can only hope! My Obama yard sign is going up on my front lawn on Monday, as soon as I get it!

Stargate's Farscape Spoof

Having recently finished watching Farscape, I found the following clip. It's from the 200th episode of Stargate SG-1 and spoofs Farscape. I got it then, but I got it even more now! Enjoy!

Hillary Said Today:

I want you to think, Who do you want to have in the White House answering the phone at 3 o'clock in the morning when some crisis breaks out around the world? Who is best prepared to be commander in chief on day one?

Ok. I'm thinking. Hmm. Thinking. SHHH!!! Don't bother me! I'm thinking!

OK, OK, I think I got it.

Um, Barack Obama?

Yeah. Barack Obama. Know why? I trust him. Know why not you, Hillary? Because I don't trust you. At all. You're just some more of that old time politics with which we're all disgusted.

Concluded the former First Lady

We need to have someone who is prepared with solutions to our problems, not just speeches

Again, that'd be Obama. In the couple of days since Obama's Wisconsin win, Hillary has been going on and on and on and on about how Obama's just about words with no substance. In the meantime, Obama's kept quiet, ignoring Hillary and going about his campaign, garnering more and more of Hillary's core would-be voters. So, Hillary, while you're yakkin' it up with the same old lines about Obama's lack of readiness and experience, lines that have not only failed you, but have also backfired on you. Sucks for you, doesn't it? It sucks to have your thunder stolen. You thought you were going to be the best choice out there and it KILLS you that there's someone out there WAY better qualified than you to be president. It must be really eating you up inside, so much so that you can't come up with anything but feeble repeat attempts to discredit someone you have so far failed to discredit.

So, yeah. Hillary, don't ask questions like that. You won't like the answers, as the last eleven primaries have already shown.

I say eleven. In case you hadn't heard, Obama also won the Democrats Abroad primary, the results of which were published today. Not many delegates, but it's still a win, nevertheless.

Had to Post This Comic Strip

I was eating breakfast and nearly sprayed the food in my mouth all over the place in a nearly failed attempt to keep my mouth shut because I was laughing so hard... Of course, my ringtone is the theme from Indiana Jones, and when it's not that, it's the Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back (you know, Darth Vader's music).

Smear Campaign

The New York Times seems to be implying McCain had a bit of hanky-panky and special interest/lobbyist things going on.

Tell me, does the media REALLY believe this is what the public wants? More smear campaigns? More negativity? This is SO tiresome! There is a reason Barack Obama is making so much headway. This country has been without a positive attitude (myself included) and without much hope for a change in the way things are done, it's been so long since the government was a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, that Obama is a breath of fresh air in the stale environment of hopelessness we've had to endure for so long.

I'm not one to necessarily defend John McCain, though I do have respect for him as a hero and statesman, because I believe he would, in the end, be more of the same and not good as this country's leader. However, I think we've grown, at this point, passed smearing. Haven't we?

Now, if this were to be an official investigation whether McCain caters to lobbyists and special interest, that'd be fine. But to put in the smear part about an affair is just ridiculous and negative and all that needs to just stop. Don't you agree?

Some More on Barack Obama's Legislative Accomplishments

Very good article. Just because he doesn't have much national experience doesn't mean he doesn't have experience.

And here's a good one. Some of the arguments I saw out there yesterday stated he has not EXECUTIVE experience.

I'm sorry, but how many SENATORS who run for president have EXECUTIVE experience? McCain doesn't. Bush basically played golf (video and real), vacationed, vetoed stays of execution, and created Jesus Day. Wow. That's sure a lot of experience. Yippee.

It's really stupid when people, anyone, goes around making assumptions and accusations without actually researching their "facts." It's like the rumor going around that has many people still believing Obama is a Muslim who won't recite the Pledge of Allegiance and had himself sworn in on the Koran. Well, guess what? Here's some news: It's NOT true. Any of it. But hey! It's obviously more fun to believe crap than do a little research and find out what this person is really about and what his amazing accomplishments, both as a human being and as a legislature, have been.

Perhaps, if some of you out there stopped hiding behind party lines and using party line excuses that are just stupid, maybe you can do a bit of research yourself and find out Obama wants UNITY in this country, not the division caused MOSTLY by the Republican/Conservative/Right Wing movements.

Unfortunately, that's probably TOO optimistic of me, even though I fully believe in Obama's campaign of hope, because it's so much easier to be ignorant and hateful than knowledgeable and accepting.

Obama Speech in Texas After Winning Wisconsin... Part Two

Part Two (Please scroll down to the post directly below this one for part one):

Obama Speech in Texas After Winning Wisconsin...

Part One:

I Think Today I Posted the Most Posts I've Ever Posted in a Single Day

Well, heck, there was a lot to talk about today!

Kirk Watson on Barack Obama

Click! I saw this this morning and he just couldn't answer the question of what are some of Barack Obama's legislative accomplishments. This guy, Kirk Watson, just COULDN'T answer. Not for a lack of accomplishments to list, but because he was taken by surprise by the question when he was really expecting to talk about Obama's big win in the Wisconsin primary. But, here are some of the accomplishment Watson lists in his article:

Senator Obama’s fight for universal children’s health care in Illinois.

His success bringing Republicans and Democrats together (a huge selling point for me in general) on bills such as the one in Illinois requiring police interrogations and confessions to be videotaped.

His leadership on ethics reform in Washington (the bill that lobbyists and special interests are complaining about right now has his name on it).

His bill to make the federal budget far more transparent and accessible to Americans via the Internet – we could use that openness in Texas.

And his vital work with Republicans to lock down nuclear weapons around the world.

So, yeah, you Conservatives and RWNJs (Right Wing Nut Jobs), especially you Jewish ones (and shame on all you for going Republican), can say all you want about Obama's lack of experience, but the man knows how to get things done quickly, efficiently, and he gets it right when he pursues a goal.

Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight!

And on a completely unrelated note, there will be a total lunar eclipse tonight, beginning at 8:43 PM EST. Here's the article about it:

Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 20 February 2008
08:25 am ET
A total eclipse of the moon tonight is expected to delight skywatchers across the United States and much of the world.

It will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2010.

The easy-to-watch event will play out in several stages as Earth's shadow blocks sunlight from shining on the moon. Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible from all locations in the United States, according to NASA. Along the Oregon and northern California coasts, the moon will rise during the early stages of the eclipse, however.

When to watch

Eclipses occur only at full moon when the sun, Earth and moon are in a perfect line. Because the moon's orbit around Earth is not perfectly aligned with the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun, eclipses do not occur at every full moon.

The moon will enter Earth's umbral shadow (the full shadow) at 8:43 p.m. ET (that's 7:43 p.m. Central, 6:43 p.m. Mountain and 5:43 p.m. Pacific) on Wednesday, Feb. 20. It will appear as though an ever-larger bite is being taken out of the moon.

Some 78 minutes later, the moon will slip into full eclipse. About 51 minutes later, a bright scallop will appear as the moon starts emerging. It will be completely out of the umbral shadow at 9:09 p.m. Pacific time, which is 12:09 a.m. ET on Thursday morning.

For Europe and Africa, the eclipse is a predawn Thursday event, with the moon starting entry to the umbral shadow at 1:43 Greenwich (or Universal) Time.

What you'll see

Look for the moon to possibly turn red during the total portion of the eclipse. "The exact color that the moon appears depends on the amount of dust and clouds in the atmosphere," according to a NASA statement. "If there are extra particles in the atmosphere, from say a recent volcanic eruption, the moon will appear a darker shade of red."

The redness occurs because while the moon is in total shadow, some light from the sun passes through Earth's atmosphere and is bent toward the moon. The effect is to cast all the planet's sunrises and sunsets on the moon.

Christopher Columbus famously used a blood-red eclipse in 1504 to frighten natives on Jamaica into feeding his crew.

The planet Saturn and the bright star Regulus will form a broad triangle with the moon's ruddy disk, according to Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching Columnist.

You don't need any special equipment to watch a lunar eclipse. Comfortable chairs and warm clothing are good ideas. A telescope will bring out interesting details of the lunar surface, and even a small telescope will reveal Saturn's stunning rings.

If you've got clear skies, take a look-see! It'll be your last chance until December 2010 (by which time Obama will have hopefully been in office for nearly two years and the war in Iraq will be but a bad memory and the economy will be back on track to recovery...)

Ben and Jerry (Yes, the Ice Cream) have endorsed Barack Obama for President!

Now we KNOW he MUST become the next president! After all, how ice creams have ever endorsed a candidate before? :)

Hillary's Latest Plea...

I think she's getting desperate:

"His plans just don't hold up to scrutiny," she told an NBC television affiliate in Ohio. "So please, look at a candidate who is ready, willing and able to do it. Don't give up on this, let's make it happen."

I'm sorry, Hillary, did you point out exactly which parts of his plans don't hold up to scrutiny? Can you please point out those parts?

The tone of this latest statement from the former First Lady sounds a bit desperate...

Clinton ridicules Obama in comeback bid

Very mature, Hillary. Very mature. And you wonder why you're losing?! Has it occurred to you that perhaps people are SICK TO DEATH OF NEGATIVE AND OLD TIME POLITICS?! Has it occurred to you that maybe people just DON'T want to hear it anymore?

Now, we all know Hillary and her campaign are looking for something, ANYTHING, to trip up Obama, and they have to find something big, something they probably won't be able to find, simply because it doesn't exist. So, instead of waging a positive campaign based on HER policies and what SHE will do for the US and its citizens, she is instead turning to that good old mainstay of American politics: mudslinging.

Only this time, it's not working. The more she slings, the more people end up voting for Obama because, as I stated above, we are ALL sick of this negative campaigning. And to be honest, McCain's doing the same thing and it's going to cause him to lose.

Tax Cuts

It's really and truly amazing how many people believe that having a Democrat in office will raise taxes for everyone. What a stupid misbelief that people fall for all around the country.

When Democrats talk about raising taxes or ending tax cuts, it has nothing to do with the middle or lower (poorer) classes. It has everything to do with the one or two percent wealthiest Americans who do not pay nearly enough in taxes and do not do their fair share, forcing the majority of us in the middle and poorer classes to carry a huge burden that could be alleviated if only the rich paid more in taxes and if only corporations stopped receiving unfair tax cuts while at the same time sending more and more jobs overseas.

For all of you who swallow yet another Republican/Conservative fear tactic, that of raising taxes: DON'T BELIEVE THEM!! THEY ARE ONLY AFRAID BECAUSE A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF RICH PEOPLE ARE REPUBLICANS/CONSERVATIVES AND THEY DON'T WANT TO PAY MORE (IF ANY) TAXES.

Shame on You, Hillary

Shame on you, Hillary Clinton. It is traditional, when defeated, to give a concession speech and congratulate the winner. But you haven't done so at all. Not after the Potomac races and not after last night, when Obama soundly defeated you in Wisconsin and Hawaii (as well as the second part, apparently, of the Washington state primary). You simply behaved as if none of these victories, ten (eleven, if you count Washington State) in a row. You simply ignored these defeats and continued on as if you were the winner in these races.

Hillary, you're just not really a likable person, you are of the "old" politics school, and you are not as pro-labor as you claimed you were last night. After all, if you were, you wouldn't have supported NAFTA, now, would you have? You have not acted appropriately, and all you've done is run a negative campaign against a very positive, hopeful person who shows and has a lot of promise. You've bashed him on non-issues, keep claiming you have all the experience and he has none, and you keep saying how wonderful and original you are with your ideas and how he has no substance or potential.

Hillary, KNOCK IT OFF! You are being divisive when this country needs unity. You are acting selfishly instead of in the best interests of the American people. We don't need you and we don't want you. You and your generation are no longer good for this country. We need someone new, with good ideas, someone who, when in Washington, won't allow the good ideas that get there to die, as you would likely do.

Hillary, act like a good loser. Concede defeat when you are defeated and congratulate the winner. Otherwise, all the public sees is a sore loser.

That's GOTTA Hurt!

From yet another article this evening:

In a clear sign of their standing in the race, most cable television networks abruptly cut away from coverage of Clinton's rally when Obama began to speak in Texas.

OUCH!! That's really gotta cut deep!

Oh, Yeah. I Forgot...

They're projecting with relative confidence that Obama has one his ninth state in a row and is expected to win Hawaii as well, giving him ten in a row. This will hopefully give him the momentum to win Ohio and Texas as well, giving him a pretty decisive lead that even super delegates like Ohio governor Strickland can't ignore.

And This Is Why Hillary's Going to Get Messed Up in the Midwest

Click!

It's because of the last paragraph in this article, which states:

The economy and trade were key issues in the race, and seven in 10 voters said international trade has resulted in lost jobs in Wisconsin. Fewer than one in five said trade has created more jobs than it has lost.

How can anyone truly believe in Hillary and vote for her when she still believes NAFTA was a good thing when it put so many people out of business? And no one was more hurt by NAFTA than blue collar workers in Middle America, like Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Although, I'm not quite sure how "fewer than one in five works..." :)

Healthcare

One of the issues with which Obama, and to be fair, Clinton, have been dealing is healthcare and the need for reform in that area. Frankly, I couldn't agree more. The US is the ONLY first world country that does NOT provide universal healthcare for its citizens. Instead, we're stuck with either health insurance from one's place of employment, which works fine for many people. But it can also get expensive. On a personal level, for instance, my wife's health insurance from her company (I'm self-employed and don't make all that much money, so no insurance from my end) cover the two of us, but not our two children, as that would nearly TRIPLE the cost, and we just can't afford it. So we pay for the children as we go and pray they stay healthy. This is really NOT a good way to live, but at this point, we have no choice, so I'm all for healthcare reform, not just because it greatly affects me, but also because it's a huge issue in US living.

In the meantime, though, the only other option is private insurance. Ok, so for those of you out there who know me personally, you know I'm overweight. Very overweight. A few years ago, I worked diligently at losing weight and lost ninety-four pounds, a large percentage of which I've since gained back. I know, it sucks. But, I'm trying to work on it.

So, let's say I wanted to get private insurance. Here's how the conversation/exam would go:

Insurance agent: "Do you smoke?"
Me: "No."
IA: "Drink?"
Me: "No."
IA: "Do drugs?" (Ok, they wouldn't ask in those words, but that IS what they ask...
Me:"No." Or, if I'm in a feisty mood: "You're kidding, right? And if I did, do you think I would admit it?!"
IA: "How much do you weight?"
Me: "three-hundred plus pounds."
IA: "I'm sorry sir, but we can't insure you. You have a pre-existing condition."
Me: "But aside from the weight, I'm in perfect health!"
IA: "I'm really sorry, but you have a pre-existing condition which prohibits us from insuring you. Have a nice day."

End of conversation.

Except here's scenario number two:

We have insurance through a place of employment (in this case, my wife's). I'm really serious about losing weight again, but as we all know, like other addictions, it's nearly impossible without some kind of support, especially medical so a doctor can monitor progress, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood-work, and whatever else. Make phone call to insurance company. Here's how that conversation goes:

Me: "Hi! I'm calling to find out about weight loss coverage. I'm very over-weight and have a doctor who has a program to help me lose all the weight. Is that covered?"
IA: "No. We don't cover weight loss."
Me: "Why not?"
IA: "We don't really consider it a medical condition."
Me: "Why not?"
IA: "We just don't. You gained the weight, you can lose it. Like smoking. You started, you can stop."
Me (aside): "Yeah, like that really works"
Me (to IA): "Now let me get this straight. If I were to call you to apply for insurance, you would deny me because I'm grossly overweight, right?"
IA: "Correct." Ok, they wouldn't really come out and say that, probably because they're not allowed to, but when you get through all the fluff, that is what they end up saying. Need proof? See the first scenario, above. It actually happened to me.
Me: "And you would deny me insurance because it's a pre-existing condition, right?"
IA: "Right."
Me: "And yet, here I am, calling you about my 'condition' and asking you to cover my medically monitored weight loss, a 'condition' you are implying is medical because you would deny me coverage if I was applying for private health insurance, and you're telling me it's NOT a medical condition. So, um, which is it, because you really can't have it both ways."
IA: "Well, sir (a whole bunch of gobbledegook about how it is but isn't, depending on which side of the insurance you, whether you have it or not)."
Me: "Aha. So you're basically saying if I don't have insurance, I can't get it because I have a pre-existing medical condition, but if I do have insurance, the insurance won't cover the weight loss because this is not a medical matter and because I can just lose the weight on my own. Have I got that straight?"
IA: "Yes, sir."
Me: "Do you have ANY idea how incredibly ridiculous you sound?"
IA: "No, sir. I'm sorry, sir, but that's policy. Sir."
Me: "OK, now let me ask you this. Do you cover gastric bypass surgery?" (For those who don't know, click here. It's a complicated surgery that does help with weight loss, but can be dangerous and can lead to all sorts of other problems, both psychological and physical.)
IA: "Yes. Yes, we do."
Me: "Uh-huh. So, then, you cover gastric bypass surgery, a costly medical procedure SPECIFICALLY geared toward allowing a person to lose weight, a condition you just told me was non-medical and therefore not covered. But you won't cover MUCH less expensive (downright inexpensive, comparatively) medically monitored weight loss. Explain that, please."
IA: "Um. Ah. I'm... Um. Well, sir, I'm not sure I can, but that is company policy. Sir."
Me: "So, just to get this straight, so I have it for my records: You will not cover medically monitored weight-loss because you don't consider obesity to be a medical condition, and you wouldn't cover me if I was applying for private insurance because it's a pre-existing condition. Correct?"
IA: "Yes, sir. That is correct."
Me: "So which one is it?"
IA: "I'm sorry sir, but that is company policy."
Me: "Alright, then. You have a great day!"
IA: "You too, sir, and thank you for choosing Hypocrisy Medical."

Oh, and just for the record, even though I knew how the conversation would go, I still called my insurance company and had the conversation anyway, just to prove myself right. And I did. And when I asked her the question about obesity as a medical condition when applying for insurance but not when you already have it, she agreed that it made no sense. Then she said some nonsense to me about if they covered medical, non-surgical weight loss, they'd have to cover other things, like going to a health spa. That one really took me by surprise! Imaging if the insurance companies covered health spas! "Hi, my doctor said I need to go to Club Med for three weeks, and since my doctor prescribed Club Med, you guys get to cover my excursion! Thanks!!" How stupid is THAT?!

All joking aside, though, this is a VERY serious issue, at least for me and for the MILLIONS of overweight Americans. The medical community across the country has for YEARS been stating obesity is not only a serious medical condition, but a SERIOUS medical condition that afflicts MILLIONS of people. And yet, the all-powerful insurance companies choose to ignore this. Worse, they use it as an excuse to NOT offer coverage to people, further causing even more people to be forced to live without insurance.

Commandante en Jeffe

The big news this morning is that Fidel Castro, ruler over Cuba for nearly fifty years, is stepping down, turning, it seems, the reigns over to his brother, Raul (who isn't all that much younger than Fidel).

I've always wondered what the deal was with Cuba and the US Embargo that has been in place for nearly as long as Castro has been in power. I've been reading up on it a bit today.

So, first there was a US Arms embargo in place beginning when Castro began a conflict with the Batista government that would ultimately lead to Castro's seizure of power in 1959. At that point, the Cuban government, which had been formally recognized by the US (even though Batista was a US-backed dictator - big surprise there...), expropriated major American land-holdings, leading to the trade embargo. Castro, a Communist, had close ties with the Soviet government, which supplemented the Cuban economy.

Well, at this point, Cuba is now seeing the US as an enemy, despite earlier close relations, and decides to have even closer ties with the Soviet Union. This leads to even wider restrictions (apparently, this is when even Cuban cigars are outlawed and apparently, President Kennedy ordered the purchase of thousands of Cuban cigars before enforcing the even more prohibitive embargo).

The US, now getting really pissed at Castro's cozy ties with the Soviet Union, decides to invade and assassinate Castro. This was the Bay of Pigs invasion, which, as we all know, turned out to be a disaster for the US. This leads to Castro naming Cuba a Socialist Republic and formalizing ties with the Soviets.

Now, one can imagine just how pissed the US was now.

Then came along the Cuban Missile Crisis, a really dark moment in Human history when nuclear war very nearly became a reality. In short, Castro allowed the Soviet Union to place missiles on the islands, nice and close to US soil. So close, in fact, that had the Soviets decided to use them, there was no way they could have missed.

After the resolution of that crisis, the US then imposed travel restrictions to Cuba. The US also froze all Cuban assets in the US.

In short, the US just doesn't like Cuba because it's Communist and because of its earlier communist ties to a now defunct Communist union. That really is the core issue.

So, here's the big question: If that is the case, which it certainly seems to be (sure it started with Cuba expropriating US held land in Cuba, but come on! If the US had backed Batista, who was, after all, the US backed dictator of Cuba, none of this would've happened! It's really amazing how the US always seems to back the wrong dictator - Hussein, Noriega, etc.), then WHY DOESN'T THE US PLACE A TRADE EMBARGO ON CHINA?! I mean, seriously, they are still a Communist country, they are still not on great terms with the US, they treat their citizens like crap, they essentially use slave-labor to manufacture goods, goods for which the US is the biggest customer, and they have taken thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of jobs away from the US because all the huge manufacturing corporations have a carte blanche to trade with China!

Imagine, then, how much stronger the US economy would be here if all the jobs were here instead of in a COMMUNIST COUNTRY!!!

Oh, and lest I forget: US policy is apparently to NOT change its stance toward Cuba because Cuba is NOT a democracy. Again, how does that make it any different from China?

Gasp! He Plagiarized Lines!!

This is about the dumbest non-issue that could possibly have come up in a lousy, really poor attempt to discredit Barack Obama. He used lines in a speech borrowed from the speech of a friend, a speech made over a year ago, and forgot to give credit. Now, would it have been better to give credit? Sure. Does this disqualify the man? NO!! How stupid is this?! He forgot to give credit! Big deal? How many of us have used lines heard from other people without giving those people credit? Thousands!! And all the time!! Enough with the idiotic nit-picking and bashing. It accomplishes nothing.

Republicans Bite Themselves in the Rear, or, Republican Boneheaded Idiocy of the Week...

And that's saying it nicely! Apparently, because John McCain, the frontrunner and very likely Republican nominee for president, doesn't quite jive with Republican ideologues (at least according to far Right Wing Nut Job icons like Rush Limbaugh), some Republicans are saying they would rather NOT vote than vote for McCain, long considered a "liberal" Republican, or Conservative, or whatever.

In other words, these RWNJs are saying they'd rather not vote for a Republican because he's too liberal for their tastes, thus giving whoever ends up being the Democratic nominee (hopefully Obama) an even better chance of winning the elections in November and taking the White House away from the Republican party!

How, pray tell, does this make sense?! And these are the people with whom Chareidi RWNJs like Toby Katz and Yaakov Menken want to associate and identify and for whom they want to vote?!

Here's the pertinent quote from an article about this:

In one indication of doubts about McCain, evangelical leader James Dobson said this month he would not vote for McCain if he became the nominee, raising the possibility that some Republicans would sit out the November 4 election.

To see the Reuters article, click.

Is This Why I Don't Like Her?

I'm sure it's part of the reason. I just can't get myself to like her. I don't know. Maybe if I met her.

In the meantime, I'm off with my kids to Barack Obama's Cleveland headquarters!!

O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! :)

Minhagim

So, my wife and I have been having this debate (even though we're both pretty much on the same side of the debate) about minhagim and the status of many minhagim as actual halacha. It seems some minhagim can just be chucked, while others we're stuck with forever.

For example: I grew Lubavitch. Around the time Artscroll published its first all Hebrew siddur, I decided enough was enough and chose to no longer be a Lubavitcher (a decision I have NEVER regretted in any way). So, I stopped keeping Chalav Yisrael (a concept at which the Yeshivish community then scoffed and now holds to be unbreakable halach to KEEP this chumra in the US). I started davening Nussach Ashkenaz. I stopped putting on Rabbeinu Tam teffilin (do you ANY idea what a pain in the rear THAT was?). My rabbanim then and since then have never had a problem with this. In fact, they felt I had finally gotten on the correct path and were more than happy to encourage me in this direction.

So, how are those minhagim different from others, like waiting six hours between eating meat/poultry and dairy? Or not eating Kitniyos on Pesach? Or, to suggest an even greater extreme, keeping two days of Yom Tov? No one seems able to give me a straight answer. It seems that, because my dad, when he became a Ba'al Teshuva, took on the chumrah of waiting six hours, that I'm now stuck with this chumrah/minhag as well and have no choice but to continue this idiotic "mesorah" of waiting six hours between meat and dairy. How is this any different than the other I mentioned above? I can never seem to get a straight answer, or more of one than, "well, that's what your family does." When my wife became a Ba'alas Teshuva, she kept six hours, not realizing she had a choice. Now, she's stuck too.

So, why can't I chuck minhagim with which I'm not comfortable? It's not halacha. In fact, the Gemara mentions several instances of how long certain rabbanim waited between meals, and it had to do with how often they ate, not how long they felt they should wait.

I just don't get it...

Who Knew this Comic Strip Had Rabbis In It? :)

Oh, and Just Out of Curiosity

What the hell was with the McCain-Romney argument about who is more Conservative? Who the hell cares?! And the important question here is, whoever the Conservatives in question are, WHAT ARE THEY CONSERVING?

Old School, New School

Hillary: Old School. Here's her strategy:

Clinton, the one-time front-runner for her party's nomination who now finds herself in political peril, intensified her attack as she was forced to scramble for sweeping victories in Ohio and Texas on March 4 and in Pennsylvania on April 22.

Said the former First Lady,

That's the difference between me and my opponent. My opponent makes speeches. I offer solutions. It is one thing to get people excited. I want to empower you.

And let's not leave out this statement:

Clinton portrayed herself as a fighter and Obama as someone who makes a lot of speeches that sound good but do not offer solutions.

Except that he has addressed issues, laid out plans, and exudes more honesty than any politician in recent memory. Hillary, on the other hand, is just the same old school, old boys' (and now girls') club politics who wants to run things the same way they've been run for far too long. Hillary is just more of the same who doesn't really want to change anything and who voted FOR the war.

Obama: New School. Here's his strategy. We need change in this country. We need to lower the cost of living. We need to provide affordable or universal healthcare for ALL Americans. We need to bring our troops home. He voted AGAINST the war. He wants to bring jobs BACK to this country, jobs that have disappeared because Hillary's husband signed NAFTA into law. He talks about unifying this country, regardless of political affiliation. This is new school. This is fresh. This is politics untainted by the dirt of Washington, lobbies and lobbyists, and money. This is how what this nation needs. You know the old cliche: Out with the old, in with the new. Let's welcome the new with open arms and allow this country to heal itself and the rift created by the old-time politics we've had to endure until now.

Obama on Israel

Sound to me like it's a lot better than The Idiot's (you know, Bush) cowboy diplomacy that is only extending the conflict...

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN TO STRENGTHEN THE U.S.-ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP 

Barack Obama has established a strong record as a true friend of Israel, a stalwart defender of Israel’s security, 

and an effective advocate of strengthening the steadfast U.S.-Israel relationship.  He believes that Israel’s right 

to exist as a Jewish state should never be challenged.  As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 

Obama has consistently emphasized his commitment to our ally Israel, and has been an active supporter of 

legislation helping to ensure the support and security of the Middle East’s only established democracy.   Obama 

continually works with a number of his colleagues in the Senate to promote a closer relationship between the 

U.S. and Israel on a range of fronts – security, economic, political, and cultural.     

Ensure a Strong U.S.-Israel Partnership:  Barack Obama strongly supports the U.S.-Israel relationship, a 

mutually beneficial bond strengthened by common values, histories, and dedication to democracy.  Obama 

believes that our first and incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel, 

America’s strongest ally in the Middle East.  Expressing his support for this reality, Obama delivered the 

message to Palestinian university students in Ramallah that the United States would never distance itself from 

Israel. Before the Palestinian elections, Obama asserted that the United States would never recognize Hamas 

unless it renounced its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel and he continues to insist that Hamas recognize 

Israel, abandon violence, and abide by previous agreements made between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.  

Support Israel’s Right to Self Defense:  During the July 2006 Lebanon war, Barack Obama stood up strongly 

for Israel’s right to defend itself from Hezbollah raids and rocket attacks.  Obama is an original cosponsor of the 

Senate resolution expressing support for Israel, condemning the attacks, and calling for strong action against 

Iran and Syria.  Throughout the war, Barack Obama made clear that Israel should not be pressured into a 

ceasefire that did not deal with the threat of Hezbollah missiles.  In addition, Obama signed a letter to the 

European Union pressing the EU to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. 

Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons:  Concerned about Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and 

regional ambitions, Barack Obama has been a strong voice warning of the dangers to both the United States and 

Israel if Iran successfully develops these weapons.  Obama has been consistently outspoken about the growing 

influence of Iran in the region, especially Iraq, saying, “Make no mistake – if the Iranians and Syrians think 

they can use Iraq as another Afghanistan or a staging area from which to attack Israel or other countries, they 

are badly mistaken” [Speech to Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 11/20/06]   Obama has called for stronger 

international sanctions against Iran to persuade it to halt uranium enrichment.  He is a cosponsor of the Durbin- 

Smith Senate Bill, the Iran Counter Proliferation Act, which calls for sanctions on Iran and other countries for 

assisting Iran in developing a nuclear program.  Believing that Americans must do more to prevent Iran from 

acquiring nuclear weapons, Obama authored and introduced as the primary sponsor, the Iran Sanctions Enabling 

Act in May, 2007.  Obama’s Bill makes it easier for state and local governments to divest their pension funds of 

companies that invest in Iran's energy sector, providing the revenue Iran uses to pursue nuclear weapons and 

sponsor terrorism. Divestment is a useful tool to bring additional economic pressure to bear on Iran.  Senator 

Obama has conducted an active dialogue with a range of Israeli political leaders and security officials regarding 

Iran and the threat it poses to the United States and Israel.   

Support Foreign Assistance to Israel:  Barack Obama has consistently supported foreign assistance to Israel.  

He defends and supports the annual foreign aid package that involves both military and economic assistance to 

Israel and has advocated increased foreign aid budgets to ensure that these funding priorities are met.  

Additionally, he has called for sustaining the unique U.S.-Israel defense relationship by fully funding military 

assistance and continuing cooperative work on missile defense programs, such as the Arrow. 

 

Work toward Two States Living Side by Side in Peace and Security:  Barack Obama believes in working 

towards a two-state solution, with both states living side by side in peace and security. Obama is a cosponsor of 

the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006.  Introduced in the wake of Hamas’ victory in the Palestinian 

elections, this act outlaws direct assistance to any entity of the Palestinian Authority controlled by Hamas until 

it meets the conditions of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations to renounce 

violence, recognize Israel, and agree to abide by all agreements signed by the Palestinian Authority.  Obama 

signed a letter urging President Bush to make it clear to Palestinian leaders that terrorist groups must either 

disarm or be barred from the political process.  Since the elections, Obama has stated that Israelis must have a 

true Palestinian partner for peace.  He has sought to encourage Palestinian moderates who seek peace and to 

isolate Hamas and other extremists who are committed to Israel’s destruction. 

 

Help Palestinian Families Get the Aid They Need Without Supporting Terrorism:  Barack Obama supports 

U.S. efforts to provide aid directly to the Palestinian people by bypassing any Hamas-led government that 

refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel’s right to exist.  Obama believes that a better life for 

Palestinian families is good for both Israelis and Palestinians. 

 

Limit Hezbollah’s Influence in the Region:  Barack Obama is concerned about the rapid re-arming of 

Hezbollah in Lebanon.  He has called for the end of Syrian and Iranian support of Hezbollah via arms shipments 

and funding.  Obama urged the enforcement of UN Resolution 1701, which demands the cessation of arms 

shipments to Hezbollah, a resolution that Syria and Iran continue to disregard.  Long before the July 2006 

conflict, Barack Obama worked to limit Hezbollah’s influence in the region, signing a letter urging President 

Bush to place al-Manar, the official television station of Hezbollah, on the Treasury Department’s Specially 

Designated Global Terrorist Entity list and to aggressively target organizations that aid in its broadcast. 

 

Support U.S.-Israel Research and Development: As a strong supporter of broadening and deepening the 

U.S.-Israel relationship, Barack Obama cosponsored the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act.  This bill would 

establish a grant program to support joint U.S.-Israeli research and development efforts in the areas of 

alternative and renewable energy sources – a key step toward energy independence, which is very much in the 

national security interests of the U.S. and Israel.   

Achieve Energy Independence: Looking for innovative ways to enhance U.S. and Israeli security through 

energy independence, Obama has pushed a number of initiatives – from E-85 to CAFE reform to biofuels.  The 

purpose of these initiatives is to reduce U.S. dependence on oil from the Middle East, limiting the influence of 

oil-producing nations and increasing U.S. and Israeli national security.

Indiana Jones Trailer Today!!!

The teaser trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Adventures in the Geriatric Ward... Um, I mean, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, will be available sometime today at the Yahoo! Movies website!!

Or, you may view it here!

McCain's Idiot Statement of the Week

We do not know for certain who will have the honor of being the Democratic Party's nominee for president. But we know where either of their candidates will lead this country, and we dare not let them.

Um, you dare not let them what? End the illegal, useless war in Iraq? Fix the economy the idiot currently ruling from the White House so handily destroy? Make healthcare more affordable? Lower the cost of living in this country so people can actually afford to live here and not be poor and insanely in debt?

Or is it that we do dare allow the Republicans to remain in power and cause this country to slide further into decline, depression, bad economy, higher education only for the rich, and outsourcing of jobs to other countries, thereby putting hard-working Americans out of work and into debt and poverty.

Hmm. Tough choice there, John.

The Infallibility of Kefirah

Very important essay by Rabbi Natan Slifkin responding to claims of Kefirah against him. For more about the anti-Slifkin Chareidi "controversy" and the banning of his books, click. It is interesting to note that the loudest voices against Rabbi Slifkin are not those of the so-called "Gedolim." Rather, the loudest voices are those, of course, of lower tiered "askanim" who act on their own without really knowing what their "Gadol" says or thinks. And here's a great line:

It has become clear that many people, even disciples of Rav Moshe, do not properly understand his position and appreciate its uniqueness.

Rabbi Slifkin, in this essay, presents a letter written by R. Moshe Shapiro to a person who had given his Haskamah to a book of Rabbi Slifkin's. First line already presents a problem:

Several extracts from Slifkin’s books were read before me in a verbatim translation.

So tell me, Rabbi Shapiro, was the ENTIRE book read to you? Or just the parts that state the age of the universe without any explanation? Did the Askanim with whom you deal not tell you they weren't giving you the entire story and explanation? Or is it that your world was shattered by the fact that Chazal were indeed fallible? Perhaps, Rabbi, you should learn some English and read the ENTIRE book for yourself find out Rav Slifkin is in NO way a kofer, while you have besmirched this poor man's name and helped drag it through the mud, thereby actually transgressing the prohibition against being a "Motzi Shem Ra."

And a few great points for Rav Slifkin:

Second, Maharal actually read Me’or Einayim. Rav Moshe did not read any part of my books, but merely had some extracts read to him in translation. Those who spoke with him suspect that he was given a very flawed impression of the books, and that his translators were zealots who did not even possess skills of reading comprehension. One Rosh Yeshivah told me that Rav Moshe had been told that my books say that “one should be skeptical of Chazal” – the original statement in my book was very different. Now, I do not doubt that even if Rav Moshe would have read my books, he would still have opposed them. Still, I do think that his opposition would have been greatly lessened. I am sure that Rav Moshe is unaware of the extent to which I presented his favored approach – that of Maharal – in my books.

Third, when Maharal condemned de Rossi’s approach to difficulties in the Gemara, he accompanied it with a presentation of his own approach to solving these difficulties, in Be’er HaGolah. Rav Moshe, on the other hand, is not presenting any alternate approach to the specific problems addressed by my books, merely making sweeping and vague statements about the supremacy of Divine wisdom.

Fourth, while Rav Moshe gives the impression that the condemnation of Me’or Einayim was unequivocal, nothing could be further from the truth. Subsequent to Maharal’s condemnation, Me’or Einayim was still cited approvingly by many Torah works, including Magen Avraham, Kenesses HaGedolah, Yad Melachi, Be’er Sheva, Toldos Adam, and even by the Maharal’s own disciples, such as Rabbi Yom Tov Lippman Heller in Tosafos Yom Tov and Rabbi Dovid Gans in Nechmad V’Na’im.

Hmm. But today's "Gedolim" never hide the truth or misrepresent it, do they?

And what I find most admirable about Rav Slifkin is something sorely missing in Rabbi Shapiro, and that is respect. No matter how virulently anti Rav Slifkin Shapiro became, Rav Slifkin still has deep respect for Rabbi Shapiro and Shapiro's Torah knowledge, a respect not reciprocated in any way by Rabbi Shapiro. Rav Slifkin, in his attitude, proves himself to be a beautiful example of how a frum Jew should act, while Rabbi Shapiro has acted in a disgusting manner completely unbefitting a "Gadol B'Yisrael..."

Anyway, it's a really long, but very good essay and well worth reading.

Apocryphal Megillah? Yes!

As I was writing a post yesterday, I did a google search to find Hebrew text of Megillas Esther in order to provide the original in that post. Imagine my complete and utter surprise when, quite by accident, I came across the little known Apocryphal latter part of the tenth chapter (beyond the first three verses) plus another SIX chapters of the Megillah! Yes! The original Megillas Esther actually consisted of SIXTEEN chapters, not ten (or nine plus three verses).

Interestingly, the very first verse of these Apocryphal chapter is "Then Mordechai said, 'God hath done these things.'" Which explains quite nicely why this was cut out of the Megiallah as we know it. After all, the whole point of Esther is "Hester Panim" - God hiding his face, and the Megillah is supposed to be an exercise in Emunah, faith. Do we believe everything that happens in the Book of Esther is a coincidence of fortuitous events that led to the salvation of the Jews? Or do we believe God had his hand in all this, but orchestrated these events behind the scenes, intentionally leaving it ambiguous whether He had anything to with anything at all. Here is the end of the tenth chapter of Megillas Esther:

4 Then Mordechai said, God hath done these things.

5 For I remember a dream which I saw concerning these matters, and nothing thereof hath failed.

6 A little fountain became a river, and there was light, and the sun, and much water: this river is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen:

7 And the two dragons are I and Aman.

8 And the nations were those that were assembled to destroy the name of the Jews:

9 And my nation is this Israel, which cried to God, and were saved: for the Lord hath saved his people, and the Lord hath delivered us from all those evils, and God hath wrought signs and great wonders, which have not been done among the Gentiles.

10 Therefore hath he made two lots, one for the people of God, and another for all the Gentiles.

11 And these two lots came at the hour, and time, and day of judgment, before God among all nations.

12 So God remembered his people, and justified his inheritance.

13 Therefore those days shall be unto them in the month Adar, the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the same month, with an assembly, and joy, and with gladness before God, according to the generations for ever among his people.

Chapter eleven goes on to tell of the dream Mordechai mentions in verses 5-8. The final chapters recount, more briefly, the story of the Megillah, with much focus on the prayers of Mordechai and Esther to God, very explicitly mentioning God's name several times, something that does not happen in the first nine chapters and in the first three verses of chapter ten.

Now, I can understand why chapter twelve through sixteen were edited out of the Canonical works of Tanach by Anshei Knesses Ha'Gedolah, the Great Rabbinic Assembly of the late Babylonian Exile and early Second Temple era. Frankly, it's just a repeat of the story (and who wants to stand in shul for another six chapters while still fasting...), though the tefillos, prayers, of Mordechai and Esther are quite inspirational and beautiful. But why delete the latter part, or rather, most of, chapter ten? It's relevant, and gives God credit for the miracle? Did the members of Anshei Knesses Ha'Gedolah do so with the purpose of allowing the reader to decide for himself, as mentioned above, how to accept the events chronicled in the Megillah? I don't know. I have a feeling they did, even though the Midrash about this (coincidence or God's handiwork) was written MUCH later, perhaps even late enough that they weren't even very aware of Apocryphal part of the Megillah. But it does make me wonder what the motivation here was in cutting away the latter part of chapter ten.

However, if the motivation was to allow the reader to decide whether the events depicted in the Megillah were coincidence or Divine Providence, I propose they did a very poor job of allowing that choice. Just by being taught that we have that choice takes away that choice. We are all taught, when learning Megillas Esther, there was Hester Panim, that God "hid" Himself, yet performed the miracle of Purim nevertheless. If one celebrates Purim, obviously one believes it was God's hand in the events, not coincidence. So where's the challenge? After all, the essence of the Purim celebration (and I'm not talking about the costuming of children, which in itself is supposed to be a form of Hester Panim) is celebrating the miracle GOD performed in saving the Jewish people from the evil plans of Haman. Further, in davening and bentching, we recite "Al Hanissim... She'Asissa La'Avoseinu" - we praise God for the miracles He performed for our forefathers! So again, where's the challenge? Was it worth it to leave out the latter part of chapter ten of Megillas Esther just to pretend we have a choice to decide whether the events in Megillas Esther were coincidence or Yad Hashem?

To be honest, I find Mordechai telling of his dream after the Megillah tells the entire story may strengthen, not weaken the idea of Hester Panim in the story. It is only after we've had a chance to see the entire story and, at least in theory, decide for ourselves what to believe, that Mordechai tells us that EVEN THOUGH it looked like it was all a coincidence, it was, nevertheless, Yad Hashem all along, at which point the Megillah, at least the Apocryphal part of it, then segues into the dream and retells the story WITH God's presence. Perhaps the final chapters could have been read on Purim day as a contrast to the Purim night reading. As is the case with Apologetics, a subject I've visited several times in this blog, I think the editors of Tanach missed the boat in this case as well. In Tanach, when someone does something wrong, there's always some Meforshim or member of Chazal who like to sugar-coat the incident and "show" us that the person really didn't screw up. I find these commentaries offensive because I love seeing Tanach personalities being HUMAN, not God-like. I find, when great people such as Moshe Rabbeinu or Dovid Hamelech screw up a situation, these stories to be VERY meaningful because the results of those screw-ups is that the person making the mistake repents, realizes he was in the wrong, and becomes a greater person for it. By sugar-coating these stories with Apologetics, the story loses meaning and the commentaries and rabbis who are guilty of sugar-coating rob us of a great opportunity to learn how to be a good, and better, person.

The same applies to the Apocryphal chapters of the Megillah. Why leave them out? Why not read them on Purim Day and give us the chance to see the difference in the two ways of seeing events and allow us to appreciate even more the greatness of the miracles God performs for us every day and every moment of our lives? I find the contrast between the first nine chapters and the final seven chapters of the Megillah to be stunning. In the first nine chapters, the authors show us events through the eyes of "every person." We see a series of events that lead to salvation without seeing Yad Hashem in all of it.

But, in the latter chapters, the authors show us what really happened. They open our eyes to the miracle that is Purim, a miracle that could not, did not, happen without God's intervention. Now, isn't that a much more powerful lesson? I think it is.

Barack Obama, the Female Vote, and Why this Matters at Work

Quality post about why one should vote for Barack Obama, regardless of race and gender, and how one needn't have to vote for Hillary to be pro-woman. It's about being pro-humanity at this point.

This Actually Happened to Me at a Kosher Store Where I Live...

This happened when I was relatively new in town. Coming from LA, I was pretty used to taking care of all my kosher needs at one store, like Pico Glatt Mart, or Glatt Mart before it burned to the ground. So I walk into this store soon after I moved to the Midwest. They carried everything. Baked goods. frozen stuff, dairy, snacks, deli, and prepared food. I looked all over the store for fresh poultry and meat, but could find nothing. I asked the person at the register where the meat and poultry was located. She said they didn't carry that. I said, "Why not? You carry everything else!" And she replied, "Well, what do you want? We're just a bakery, you know..." I stopped shopping there completely when I walked in with my then four-month-old daughter intending to buy some deli meats. The owner of the store was behind the counter smoking a cigarette over the food. He looked at me and my daughter and asked, quite gruffly, what he could do for me. I told him nothing, never mind, because I refuse to buy any food from a store because of the smoking. The guy gave me a dirty look as I left, and I haven't been back since then. Ick. How do you smoke in a store where people come in with babies? Oh, by the way, it's illegal here to do so and I did report him to the County Health Department. I later heard they actually came to inspect and that he did get in trouble. Serves him right for smoking around children.

To Be Fair, I'd Like to Post This Mirror Music Featuring John McCain. Enjoy.

Hattip: My brother-in-law, Jack. Thanks, Jack!! :)

Right Wing Chareidim and Obama

I guess 'tis the season to be talking politics, and in its own way, this subject circles back to Chareidi/Yeshivish hypocrisy. One reason the RWNJs (Right Wing Nut Jobs) like Toby Katz and Yaakov Menken hate the Democratic Party is because the RWJNs hate liberal politics, a concept that has, especially in recent decades, been part of the image of the Democratic Party. Democrats, they will tell you, have no or bad values, have no or bad family values, and have no or bad morals.

And so the Jewish RWNJ movement, headed by our dear friends over at Cross-Loving Currents, Yeshiva World, and many far right wing institutions and individuals, side with the Christian, Evangelical, family values "loaded" Republican Party (a party whose member have been caught many more times, proportionally, than members of the Democratic Party, by the way) rather than the more fair-minded Democratic Party.

Here's the kicker. One major issue we Jews have had for many centuries is a lack of Achdus, as stated in Megillas Esther (it is Adar, now, after all...): "יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם-אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים" - there is a nation scattered and SEPARATED amongst the nations. In current politics, I've only seen one candidate state over and over again that we need to bring this country back together again as ONE NATION, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of whether a person is a Democrat, an Independent, or a Republican. We are ONE nation in the United States. Have you heard McCain, Huckabee, Romney, or Guiliani, or even Hillary Clinton stating this? No. Because none of them believe in this. They all have their own agendas that have nothing to do with the good of the country. They are old-school politics and it's time to be rid of them.

Obama has spoken of issues that have everything to do with good moral standing: He calls for healthcare for everyone, education for everyone, bringing jobs back to this country, ending poverty, and lowering the cost of living. Not once has he mentioned gay marriage, a huge sticking point for RWNJs. And you know why? I don't think he finds that to be a major issue, or even a minor one, when this country faces so many other challenges that actually affect the population of the US as a whole. He refuses to use 9/11 as a scare tactic to get votes, as Giuliani and the other Republicans tried to do. He wants to save the lives of American troops BY BRINGING THEM HOME.

Obama isn't calling for change just for the sake of change, as so many Republicans keep claiming. He's calling for change of specific issues and situations that, if allowed to go unchecked, will ruin this country even more than Bush and his Republican cronies have ruined it up to now.

And above all, he's calling for the unity of this country. He's calling for us to be AMERICANS, not Democrats, or Republicans, or anything in between. Just AMERICANS.

So I ask: What is so bad about calling for Achdus? Well, from a Chareidi/Yeshivish standpoint, this means allowing acknowledging people they'd just as soon never acknowledge.

"...יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם-אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים"

Barack Obama Speaks at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in VA

Watch this speech. This is why I want this man to be president. I believe he's not only saying what he's saying because it's what we want to hear. I believe he's saying these things because HE WILL DO THEM!!!

Yes, We Can...

Here is a VERY inspirational music video based on a speech Barack Obama gave after the New Hampshire primary on January 9. Below it is the video of the full speech. I find Obama to be a highly inspirational candidate who isn't feeding us the same crap the other candidates are. He is also very respectful of the other candidates, whether Democrat OR Republican. He wants change, as do many of us. And many out there deride Obama by saying he just want's change for the sake of change. This is not true by any means. Watch both videos below. Perhaps you'll be inspired. Perhaps you'll recognize this country cannot continue on this road of, as Obama put it, political darkness. The gap between the Haves and the Have Nots is widening. The Middle class is shrinking. To those saying anyone can have the opportunity to become successful, I say YOU ARE WRONG!! Not the way things are today.

Yes, we can. We can make things better. We can make this country great again. We can affordable make healthcare available to all. Yes, we can.

I suppose you can take this to mean that I am throwing my full support, however small and insignificant, behind Barack Obama.

Watch Out for Distractions from the Media!

Farscape!

When Farscape first came on the air in 1999, I watched the first episode and thought, "this is crap! It's exactly like Star Trek Voyager, which was also crap! I'm not wasting my time on this!"

Boy, was I WRONG!!! I just finished watching the entire series, including the concluding four hour mini-series, The Peacekeeper Wars, and it is one of the VERY best science fiction shows I've EVER seen! It was loony, nutty (there was even a cartoon episode!), funny, adventurous, emotional, and just plain edge-of-your-seat fun! In a way I'm glad I didn't watch the show when it was on originally because it is so intricate and involved that watching it beginning to end in a short period of time was much better than watching it over the four years it was on and then waiting another year for the mini-series to come about and conclude the story.

If you like Science Fiction and are looking for a really good show, this is the one to watch. I just can't believe the Sci Fi channel let this gem of a show get cancelled. Seriously? It's really some of the best Science Fiction I've ever seen, and will, over time, probably become my all-time favorite Sci Fi show...

Note of caution: The first season is NOT available at stores or at netflix. Also, the company that produced the DVD sets only put an average of two episodes per dvd, so if you get them from Netflix, you'll only get to see a very limited number of episodes at a time, which I found very difficult to do. You can download the entire series from the following sites here and here. The first site is missing the second or third episode of the fourth season.

So Who IS Running for President...

I don't often agree with the artist of this comic strip (though, for a conservative, he does have a VERY strong anti-Chinese products stance), but I do agree with what he's been saying about Hillary Clinton. Who actually IS running here? A candidate should run and win based on his, or her, own mudslinging, uh, I mean pros and issues, without having someone else fight that candidate's battles. I pray Hillary loses the primaries because if she wins the primaries, she is GUARANTEED to lose the presidential election.

Terror Threat!

Be careful for whom you vote. I know the strip is funny, but a politician who threatens not voting for him will lead to terrorist attacks in the US is in and of itself a form a terrorism.

Political News

So, Romney has dropped out of the race. This is obviously very bad news for the Chareidim in the US, since he was far more Conservative than Senator John McCain. I'm not sure if Romney received Jewish RWNJ (Right Wing Nut Job) endorsements from the likes of Yaakov Menken and Toby Katz, but he must have as his support from the the non-Jewish RWNJ world came from Rush Limbaugh and everyone's favorite slutty anti-Semite, Ann Coulter. And we all know how much Yaakov Menken and Toby Katz just LOVE Ann Coulter (and no, I'm not being sarcastic; they really do LOVE her and will defend her anti-Semitism to the ends of the Earth...).

The problem is this. If Hillary wins the the Democratic Primaries and she runs against John McCain, SHE WILL LOSE and we will be stuck with yet another Republican for at least another four years. Hillary is neither likable nor electable and if she does win the Primaries, it will spell doom for the Democrats in yet another presidential election. This is NOT a good thing. For the first time in many years, the Democrats have a dynamic, wonderful candidate in Barack Obama and I hope they don't screw it up by letting Hillary win. The good news about that is that it's at least John McCain, who is neither stupid nor evil, a deep contrast to our current, fearless leader...

Side note: I still one one of the funniest phrases of the century to be "California Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneger."

White Guy...

I was watching an old episode of Quantum Leap recently. For those who don't know the premise of the show, it's about a scientist who time travels into other people and "puts right what once went wrong..." In each episode, he looks in a mirror to show the audience what he looks like. He's been black, white, and a women. It was a fun show and I still enjoy watching it. Well in this one, Sam, the protagonist, "leaps" into the body of a young Native American. He looks in the mirror and says, "Oh, boy! I'm an Indian!" The older Native American with him says, "Could be worse! You could be a White Man, eh?"

I love that! White man, a world minority, has been running things far too long. As Jews, we've suffered more under the White Man (who speaks with forked tongue) than under any other regime, including Arab. When asked, I never say I'm white or Caucasian. I always fill in "other" and type in Jewish. I'm not white and would never want to be considered a "white" man. Ever.

The reason I find this year's election so fascinating is I'm truly hoping Obama is elected president. I think it'd be great to have a young member of the minority in power and show the world not everything depends on the White Man, or woman, for that matter...

Based on a Comic Strip I Read Today...

So, many toy dinosaurs are made of plastic, which is made of petroleum, which comes from fossil fuel made by dinosaurs. See? Dinosaurs still exist... :)

This is How I'VE Always Felt About Sports...

Well, at least professional sports are pointless. It's all about a bunch of overgrown children getting paid WAY too much money (that could benefit society in so many different ways if distributed properly like helping the poor, providing healthcare to those who can't afford it, stimulating city economies, creating jobs, etc.) to play a GAME!!! It's really just sick.

And The Truth Shall Set Us Free...

Couldn't have said it better myself...

Well, So Much for Fatah Being "Moderate..."

Click...