Kerckhoff Coffeehouse

Yosemite Accommodations - Accommodation in Yosemite : Yosemite Park

2010-08-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

Yosemite Accommodations - Accommodation in Yosemite : Yosemite Park

Black Americans

2008-11-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

After watching President-elect Obama's acceptance speech last night, I wrote to some friends, "I imagine that blacks across the country feel more like Americans today than they ever have."

One friend responded that he saw racism in blacks voting for and being overwhelmingly extatic at a black man's rise to the presidency. I responded with the below:

I don't know if it's racISM. It's certainly racIAL. I don't have a problem with it. For most of the country's history, blacks have NOT been part of the game. Blacks were brought to this country against their will, in most cases, and forced to serve their white owners. While that ended in 1865, they continued to be systematically excluded from mainstream Americain in both official and unofficial ways. Until very recently, blacks were still being forced to sit in the backs of buses, drink from different fountains, attend different schools, and use different bathrooms. Institutionalized and ad-hoc racism continued well after the 60s at golf and tennis clubs, in taxi cabs, and at traffic stops across the country.

I'm fully appreciative of the fact that we've come a long way, but blacks of our generation were raised by parents who grew up during segregation (in the
South) or who often experienced similarly hideous treatment in cities across "the North" like Buffalo, NYC and Boston. If your parents grew up with that, your beliefs in the state of your country are going to be forever influenced by their treatment. That's just reality. The fact that subtle (and often not-so-subtle) forms of anti-black racism continue today serves to further solidify the belief among many of our generation that they aren't getting a fair stake in their country; that this is a white man's country, and they're just residents. For their parents' generation and their parents', that feeling is backed up by years of direct experience.

It is also true that men like Jesse Jackson have fought to insure that this attitude persists, even in light of dramatic changes. That's dispicable. But the truth remains that, for many blacks of all generations there has been a feeling of not having a stake. Sometimes this feeling is based on legitimate experience (first and second hand). Sometimes it's based on perception. But it's real.

I believe that the dynamic changed irrevocably last night. A black man will become the leader of this entire country in January. Blacks across the country can now legitimately feel that they have a stake. Maybe that leads to blacks taking a greater interest in their own success and taking greater responsibility for their lives (and that's broadly generalizing/stereotyping the nature of black America in the interests of brevity). That is not a bad thing.

Pacifists can't stop war

2008-09-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

The link read, "Radio Host says pacifists couldn't stop Auschwitz." I knew it had to be Dennis Prager. At a gathering for Jewish Republicans at the convention, he spoke about what seems to me to be utterly uncontroversial: if the pacifists urging the US to stay our of WWII had been heeded, Auschwitz would not have been liberated. How is this a provactive statement?

Here's what one unnamed critic, quoted in the article, had to say:

“The Holocaust is a unique episode in world history and is an issue that should not be used for contrast and comparison with other political or nonpolitical events,” he said. “I think it lessens the memory of those who were murdered in the Holocaust.”

If that's true, then we'd better stop invoking the Holocaust when advocating for end to genocide in, say, Darfur.

"As I've said on numerous occasions"

2008-09-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

Whenever Obama begins a sentence with "as I've said on numerous occasions" or something similar, prepare to hear something he's never said before that thoroughly contradicts the things he has said before.

Home Run

2008-09-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Palin needed to hit it big last night, and she delivered. Her speech started slowly, and built up steam. By the end, I was simply wowed. Her ability to communicate reminded me of Ronald Reagan's. Great pick.

Now, getting back to the subliminal aspects of these speeches, was that Old Faithful erupting on the big screen behind her at right about the climax of her speech?

Nanny mail

2008-09-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I don't print a lot of email. No need too, of course. Maybe a travel itinerary so I can take it along.

But I think I'm going to start printing every message I receive that includes a boilerplate note telling me to consider my "environmental responsibility before printing this message."

Yipes.

2008-09-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

Um, is it too late to nominate Harriet Myers?

Pouncing on Palin

2008-08-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

Man - the democrats have wasted no time in jumping all over Palin. Yesterday no one knew anything about her. Today everyone's facebook status proclaims her an inexperienced fire-breathing radical. Hopefully this is a sign that they're spooked.

At least no one ever complained about W's VP choice.

In any case, I loved her on Monty Python. No, wait, I'm thinking of John Cleese. Nevermind.

Author's Mistake (More Subliminal Music: Hendrix "Are You Experienced" lyrics in Hillary's Intro)

2008-08-26T19:39:00.002-07:00

UPDATE: THANKS TO SOME MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE FOLKS, I CAN PUT THIS CONSPIRACY THEORY TO REST... THE LINE IS FROM LENNY KRAVITZ'S ""ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY" MEA CULPA.

I'm watching a replay of the Hillary introductory video, and shortly before "American Girl" plays, there's a musical montage that includes what I am sure is Jimmi Hendrix. The clip goes: "What I really want to know is" and then cuts out to other music. Everyone who knows the song knows the next phrase:

"ARE YOU EXPERIENCED"

This CAN'T be by accident. Obama's number one vulnerability is his lack of experience, and in Hillary's introduction, someone has placed the question.

What I must know is who put this together? I've got this on my DVR. I'll see if I can find it online. Absent that, I'll try to post it.

Update (forward to 1:33):

I Love You

2008-08-26T19:39:00.001-07:00

And you really have to hand it to Bill for the "I love you, I love you, I love you" when the camera panned to him. I love him for his shamelessness. He even managed partial tearing.

"American Girl?"

2008-08-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

Given Michelle Obama's clear purpose to identify herself as "one of you," during last night's Democratic festivities, the choice of "American Girl" (Tom Petty) as Hillary's introductory music seems like a really poor choice. Just reeks of the subtext, "here's the white, fair-haired, REAL American girl. Sure, Michelle's like us too, but..."

Yeah, it's nitpicking, but this convention so far just seems riddled with mistakes.

Observation: Susan Estrich...

2008-08-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

...is getting better looking with age.

Obamas: We're Just Like You - Mistake

2008-08-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

I think this approach is a big mistake for the Obamas. Obama's success to date has been predicated on how special he is. He's supposed to transcend politics as usual, and deliver change that mere mortals can't or won't. McCain successfully punctured this balloon with the celeb adds, aided by Obama overplaying his celebrity with his world tour. But McCain's successful attack is, in my opinion, paying extra dividends, in that it forced Obama to take the "we're just like you" tack.

It's like the Wizard of Oz opening his own curtain without the help of Dorothy's dog Toto. "Hey everyone! I'm just an ordinary guy with an ordinary family, complete with kids that sound annoying when someone hands them a microphone in front of adult company." Strips him of his grandeur, and I'm not sure what's left as a selling point once that's gone.

Blankley on Obama's Arrogance

2008-08-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a man who talked almost contemptuously of Gen. Petraeus. Explaining His differences with the general, He said that His "job is to think about the national security interest as a whole; (the generals') job is just to get their job done (in Iraq)." Of course, right at the moment, the junior senator from Illinois doesn't yet have "His" job, while Gen. Petraeus, as confirmed Centcom commander, has direct responsibility for both Afghanistan and Iraq and everything in between and around them. But in the mind of Sen. I Am, He already is, while He thinks the man who is perhaps our greatest general in two generations is just another flunky carrying out routine orders. It is repulsive to see such a mentality in a man who would be president.

A Reason Why McCain is Going to Win

2008-08-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

He's winning the old people.

From a Dick Morris piece last week...

Among those in their 40s, men back McCain by 11 points and women support him by four. And for those over 50, men vote for the Republican by a nine-point margin while women prefer him by three points.

Morris makes the point that "for a Democrat to be losing among women over 40 is without precedent in the past 20 years."

This is big news for McCain. The prospect that younger voters are going to somehow turn out in record numbers is unlikely. This point is backed up by some numbers in Michael Barone's piece from Saturday:

The first bit of evidence comes from the July 10-13 ABC/Washington Post poll. It asked registered voters if they were "certain" to vote. Only 46 percent of voters under 30 said they were -- substantially lower than the 66 percent who said so in the ABC/Washington Post poll taken Feb. 28-March 2, at a time when Obama was enjoying a string of primary and caucus victories and before the sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright were circulated on youtube.com on March 13. The 46 percent of young voters saying in July they were certain to vote was far lower than the 79 percent of 65 and over voters who said they were.

Old people vote. Young people don't. That's electoral reality. McCain's winning among the people who vote. That's why he'll win in November.

McCain is Going to Win Comfortably in the End

2008-08-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

I buy the dogma that this election is about Obama, and at the end of the day, Obama just isn't going to appeal to mainstream America enough to defeat a palatable middle-of-the-roader like McCain.

His positions are too extreme, his associations too scary, and his attitude too condescendingly arrogant. The primary claim of his campaign of a change in politics just isn't going to sell, given the cynical, disingenuous politics-as-usual approach into which he's descended.

Obama has already passed his high-water mark. His slim lead in the polls has pretty much evaporated. As people learn more about him, they are less likely to want him occupying the Oval Office; not more. He can continue to attempt to obscure his actual positions on everything under the sun, but his propensity to meander when questioned continues to expose his radical ideologies.

You heard it here first; McCain wins comfortably.

Does the word "duh" mean anything to you?

2007-10-11T10:52:00.001-07:00

"Israeli military intelligence said next month's Israeli-Palestinian peace parley will not yield useful results."

For this I went to Israeli military intelligence school?

This is an outrage!

2007-10-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

According to the JTA, "Syria took journalists on a tour of the site Israel allegedly bombed last month, calling it an agricultural research center."

That's ridiculous. It was obviously a baby milk factory.

Why I stopped blogging

2007-10-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

Seems indulgent to blog about why I'm not blogging anymore. But I got tagged by the PT, and I've always wanted to be tagged (is that sad?), so here goes.

10. The Jewish Holidays.

Well, not really. I slowed down to a crawl and eventually stopped way before that. See that picture of fireworks on the side there? That's from July 4. 1987. The point is the holidays had nothing to do with it.

9. Losing my job.

I was actually on the job for several months, lame-ducking it while I helped train my replacements (I hate myself). So you'd think I'd have lots of time to blog, and maybe I did, but I don't remember, and I'm too lazy to check my archives. From what I recall, I spent most of my online time at useless job listing sites and useless company job listing pages.

8. Contracting.

When my real job finally disappeared for real, I got an hourly job. I felt weird billing for time spent blogging, and since I wanted to get home at a reasonable hour, I did not blog. At least, not that I recall. Again, lazy.

7. Getting a new job.

Got a new job. Lots to learn, lots to do, no time to blog.

6. Facebook.

Not really. I did accept an invitation to join, and have connected with some childhood friends and/or acquaintances, but there's no way I'm getting stuck in this time-sink. I think this is where I officially let the kids take over and I start wearing plaid shorts with black knee-high socks.

5. TV

Well, sorta. My wife and I were addicted to 24 and burned through the first 5 seasons (6 isn't out on DVD yet, and I hear it was awful anyway). Then we turned to Ugly Betty - pretty good show, actually. And I'm really into the Office (US version), which I hadn't seen much of before. Just starting season 3. I tried to get into Heroes - I really wanted to like it, and it started getting interesting around episode 6 or so, but I couldn't bring myself to continue. Part of it was that Mrs. R was totally not into it, and I don't get too much TV time on my own.

4. Learning

Laughable. My learning has really dropped off (related to item 5?), but I try to get a few minutes in every day.

3. Exercise.

Laughable as well. Bought a dirt-cheap clearance sale floor model elliptical, and used it a couple of times. But I'm trying. And at least I get to watch TV on my own while I'm using it.

2. Writing

Any spare time is devoted to writing - a little for pay (copy writing for a tech company's website & email newsletters), a little for no pay and no audience (screenplay, sitcom spec, etc.). I've done embarrassingly little of the creative writing since I started the contract job. Thought I'd have a lot more time once the full-time job started but I don't. Or maybe I do, and I just don't write anyway.

1. Family

A. Trying to spend more time with the wife & kids, you know, like, when I'm at home.
B. Baby doesn't sleep well, and when she sleeps all night, "all night" ends around 5, 5:30 AM. So I'm a pretty tired dude.

But all that's just excuses. The real reason is I'm just not that into it anymore. I prefer to leave witty and/or pithy comments on others' blogs. And it's not like anyone's reading this anymore, anyway. Blog fatigue deals the fatal blow.

Becoming Julia

2007-08-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

Becoming Jane? Anne Hathaway has officially become Julia Roberts.

1st annual kohen-levi conference

2007-07-19T11:13:00.001-07:00

Bean - how could we have missed this? I could have washed your hands!

There's always next year...

Work Update

2007-07-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

For the three-or-so of you who read this blog, I just wanted to let you know that I started my full-time job last week, at the same company. In fact, supporting the very team in India that took my old job... so things are good.

Tragedy

2007-06-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: I am sad to say that Batya Rafaela did not make it. The funeral was yesterday. Shiva continues until Monday morning. May God bring comfort to her family.

------------
The baby daughter (less than 2) of one of the families of our shul nearly drowned on Thursday. She is in dire condition - on life support. The family has asked that the community pray for her:

Batya Rafaela bat Hadassah

72 Virgins - The Motion Picture

2007-06-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

Or the trailer, at least. View it, and cast your vote - should they make the movie?

Personally I say no - it's pretty one-note. But the trailer is hilarious.

Paging Dinkins

2007-06-19T17:35:00.001-07:00

First Giuliani.

Now Bloomberg?

What gives? It's just a city, people.

Theodicy

2007-06-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

"There is no suffering without sin."

Professor David Shatz has just quoted what he says is most talmud-learned people's response to the question of why bad things happen. But, he says, people don't seem to be aware that this was not a generic statement uttered by the anonymous sages, but a specific argument of a particular man, Rav Ami.

Dr. Shatz is speaking at the Fourth Annual Ariel Avrech ZT'L Yahrtzeit Lecture in Los Angeles. And he says that at the end of this passage in the Talmud (I apologize for forgetting which tractate), the rabbis refute this statement. Rava (in Moed Kattan, I think - I knew I should have saved the source sheet) went as far as to say that suffering is determined by nothing but "mazal." (Mazal can mean anything from luck to zodiac sign, but I think here it has to do with some sort of mystical flow of the universe or something.)

An aside: Early in my returning-to-Judaism years, I was a guest at a family's Shabbat table. Someone mentioned that a neighbor was recently hit by car. I'll never forget what the mother of the family said, without hesitation: "She must not have given enough tzedakah." I was repulsed by this sentiment. I'm afraid she's not the only religious person - of any religion - to have such an attitude.

The topic of this year's lecture was "Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on the Problem of Evil." The Rav (Rabbi Soloveitchik, that is), being the Rav, frames the discussion in halachic terms. I forget the exact parameters that the professor laid out, so please bear with me. He spoke of two approaches to halacha (Jewish law): the topical and the, um, sub-topical. That which goes deeper, I suppose. He used the example of Shabbat.

Shabbat, in purely legalistic terms, is a day of things you must do and thing you must not do. That's the topical view of Shabbat. But of course Shabbat is much more than that; it's a day in which we withdraw from the material and attempt to create a spiritual oasis. We focus on our families, and hopefully on God and on our souls as well.

But just like we cannot remove the yoke of the positive and negative rules on Shabbat regardless of whether we are achieving our spiritual ideals, so too we cannot abandon what is required of us when it comes to suffering and to evil. Namely, alleviating suffering and squashing evil.

On this point Dr. Shatz admitted that the Rav went even further, and basically focused exclusively on the topical. That is, the meaning of suffering is almost irrelevant - what's important is how we respond to it. And we must respond in full force to remove it, from ourselves and from others.

I agree with that sentiment up to a point. That is, we cannot allow ourselves to come to the conclusion that suffering and evil have meaning and therefore should be allowed to flourish. And I guess there is some danger of this happening - could there be an inkling of this sentiment behind pacifism? In any case, the Talmud in Brachot states that even if we know that some good will come out of a negatve event - let's say you know that the heavy rain that destroyed your crops this year will actually help your crops next year - you still must relate to it in the here-and-now. So in this sense, the meaning really is irrelevant.

And yet this avoids the initial question. At the end of the lecture, Dr. Shatz brought a Ramban stating that we must investigate the cause of negative events because people want peace of mind. The professor said that this disparity of approach reflects the Rav's worldview that the religious personality should be one of tension and conflict. Ultimately, however, I don't think that assigning reason to bad things removes conflict. While that might seem counterintuitive, I think it's because it pits the intellect against the emotion. And intellect and emotions have to co-exist.

Before the lecture, I read Rabbi Yitchok Kirzner's Making Sense of Suffering. This book records a series of lectures that Rabbi Kirzner delivered when he himself was going through some sort of life crises (the editors don't mention what it was). Rabbi Kirzner lays out the traditional Jewish response to suffering. Some examples, to put it simplistically, are to bring the sufferer to repent, or to give some pain in this world in order to remove it from the next.

According to Dr. Shatz, the Rav would respond that these explanations provide their own conflicts: if someone needs to suffer for a particular reason, then this means that helping that person would actually be a disservice! After all, alleviating suffering in these cases would mean either that you are holding back a person from necessary repentance, or ensuring that his experience in the next world will be worse than it could be.

I see the point, here of course. But I think it's almost too on-the-nose. If we're engaging in speculation, then why not say that the suffering that occurs before or despite necessary intervention is what we're finding meaning for. Doesn't this merge the two sides just a bit? In other words, just as (in a halachic system) making Shabbat beautiful takes for granted that the rules are being followed, can't the search for meaning within evil take for granted that we are striving to end that evil?

But of course our question is so much more emotional than the issue of creating a Shabbat atmosphere. This is one of the points that Rabbi Kirzner makes, and that I hinted at above. That while one may understand the tradition's search for meaning, it doesn't necessarily reduce the emotional impact of a bad event any easier to swallow - nor should it.

Here's how it breaks down in my mind. The emotional aspect is for the public sphere: we fight injustice. We visit the sick. We comfort the mourner. We say kaddish.

The intellectual aspect is for the private sphere. We can assign meaning to our own suffering - we can use it as an impetus to change ourselves or change the world. But it is no one's place to tell someone else why they are suffering, or its implications. Not only is it meaningless, it is destructive (and, let's face it, obnoxious).

Rabbi Kirzner's book is actually more about spirituality, in my opinion. Yes, it lists the traditional approaches to suffering. But I found that most of the content was about connecting to God.

Please note that this post represents my recollections of the lecture. I apologize in advance any errors on my part in reporting Dr. Shatz's presentation. For a better view, see his book, which his lecture was based on: Out of the Whirlwind

Cocaine

2007-06-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

You can proceed the title of this post with some Eric Clapton lyrics, if you like. My point is that I was just in the min-mart in my office complex and saw an energy drink called "Cocaine." According to its website, the product is now defunct. Guess I'll have to wait for Heroin.

In the meantime, if I want to be energized I'll have to stick with Pimp Juice.

Anti-Semitism in Kindergarten

2007-06-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Our public-school-attending kindergartner came home a few days ago and informed us that one of the girls in her class said that her mother told her she wasn't allowed to have playdates with Jews. Now, my daughter is a pretty good liar when it comes to getting out of punishments, but she's not the type to make up a story whole cloth. It seemed odd, though, since the two girls are friends. That is, there's never been any animosity or anything in the past.

The next morning I spoke with her teacher and asked her how she thought I should proceed. She told me that she would talk to the mother of the child in question.

That afternoon, when my wife went to pick up our daughter, the girl's grandmother approached, mortified. She couldn't believe it, didn't know where her granddaughter picked up such an idea, was so, so sorry. Apparently the teacher spoke with her about it in the morning and she had been sick about it all day long.

Only it wasn't her granddaughter. The teacher had approached the wrong person. That poor woman spent a whole day worrying about where her grandchild had gone wrong. We felt absolutely terrible. It wasn't out fault, of course (I am sure I said the correct name).

And I don't know if the teacher has spoken to the parents of the real culprit. Schools done next week anyway. I am sure (I hope) this is all a big misunderstanding, and Penina didn't seem too upset about it, but I want her to know that this sort of thing ain't OK.

Another reason I know I'm old and/or just out of it

2007-05-31T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what a "hoodie" is.

Addicted to 24

2007-05-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

The wife and I are seriously addicted to "24." Really. It's a problem. The kids could be outside playing in traffic for all we know, as long as they leave us alone so we can watch the next episode. We've been ripping through the first five seasons on DVD and are just about finished. We'd head bad things about the last few seasons but we like 'em just fine. There's something about avoiding commercials and week-long gaps in viewing.

One thing I've come away with is that if our real federal agencies are as inept as CTU - Counter-Terrorist Unit - we're all in trouble. Sure, Jack always saves the country and possibly the world, but the agency itself is a joke. They've been bombed, gassed, infiltrated, have moles all the time and basically just seem to let anyone hang out there wherever and whenever they like.

Anyway, here's to Season 6 coming out on DVD soon...

Netanyahu on the difference between Al Qaeda and Hezbollah

2007-05-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

"I think one wants to send us back to the ninth century and one wants to send us back to the seventh century."

Great stuff in the WSJ.

Bean fix

2007-05-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Miss the Bean? The good doctor has a guest post over at Psychotoddler.

Traitor.

Badump-bump

2007-05-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

It's hard to find good help these days: Our housekeeper is demanding to work remotely.

When Restaurants Die

2007-05-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

The other night I stopped by my (and my family's) favorite kosher eatery for some take-out and found it closed. The posted sign read, "Closed for Filming." I found it odd, but figured they had rented out the joint for a restaurant scene on some cable show. Yesterday I ran into the owner at a lag b'omer street fair, and he told me he sold it and that the new owner was opening a different, non-kosher restaurant in its place.

This was quite a blow to my family. My kids even cried and demanded that the restaurant hold a goodbye party. Alas, it is not to be. Kosushi / Pasta Vino (yes, it's a hybrid sushi/italian restaurant) is no more.

True, there's a kosher Subway opening around the corner, but it's just not the same.

Through the looking glass

2007-05-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

Today's march for illegal immigrants in downtown LA is slightly less populated than last year's estimated 650,000. This year there's only around 100. Not 100,000: 100.

But that's not what moved me to write this post. The LA times blog is at the scene of the paltry march, interviewing illegal immigrants who, despite their lives led in fear, seem to have no qualms about giving their full names. Here's a snippet of an interview:

"This is not right," said Andres Meza, 41, an electrician from Placentia in Orange County who immigrated illegally from Mexico nearly 20 years ago.

Meza said the lack of comprehensive immigration reform has left him a life full of uncertainty, and prevented him from doing things like taking his 15 year-old daughter Arleth, a student of Japanese, to Japan, or even reporting simple crimes.

Here's what struck me: Meza says that "the lack of comprehensive immigration reform has left him a life full of uncertainty..." I guess that's one way of looking at it. But isn't there another way of looking at it, namely, that he lives a life of uncertainty because he immigrated illegally?

I've actually been thinking about this a lot lately - how I feel like I live in an opposite world from others I listen to or read about. Some people live in a world where the Bush administration has ruined diplomatic relations even with many of our friends abroad (overheard at Shabbat lunch). I live in a world where, say, France attacks America and criticizes the liberation of Iraq because of its own economic interests. Some people live in a world where Bush lied about weapons to lead us to war (read in the letters section of a newspaper - I know the letter writer). I live in a world where the U.S. Senate authorization of the use of force included around 20 other reasons, not mention where every other nation's intelligence believed Iraq to have the weapons. Some people live in a world where a U.S. withdrawal would make the world safer for America. I live in a world where a U.S. withdrawal would make the world safer for Al Qaeda.

We can't both be right, can we?

Dennis Miller on the airwaves

2007-04-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

It's true. Dennis Miller now has a three-hour radio show. In Los Angeles, it's on 870 AM KRLA, 6-9 PM (unfortunately it's not live so I can't call in) . I am giddy. I think I'm going to start planning my day so I can be on the road home from work at 6. The first segment of his show - at least last night, the first time I heard it - is basically a 10-minute monologue about current events. This is the first time I've wanted three hours free a day so I could listen to a radio program. Of course, that's not gonna happen, so I'm glad to know that downloads of particular interviews are available on the website. I think you can listen to full shows there as well, but, again, the free three hours...

Don Ho, RIP

2007-04-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

Don Ho died this weekend. Yep. he's taking the ultimate nap. The dirt nap. Guess you could call him a nappy Ho.

Calling Jane Austen

2007-04-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

We were at a friend's house yesterday, and their 12-year-old daughter was reading Pride and Prejudice - not for school, just for fun. She asked my wife if she had read it, and my wife replied that she did, but probably about 20 years ago.

"It's that old?" the girl asked.

Apparently she thought it was just written about the old days, not in the old days. I guess that says something good about the book... not sure what it says about the kid...

Kosher for Passover and Year-Round Use

2007-04-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

I love that designation on Passover products. As if somehow something could be kosher for Passover but not for any other time.

There are great reasons to use Passover products year-round, of course. The worst-kept secret is probably kosher-for-Passover Coca-Cola. Since it uses sugar instead of corn syrup, this is the closest you're gonna get to real original formula Coke.

We like passover ketchup and jelly for the same reason - no high-fructose corn syrup, just good ol' fashioned sugar. I'm going to try to stock up at the post-holiday sales this year.

As for Matza that is kosher for all times other than Passover (due to a variety of factors), I don't understand why these exist at all. Who's eating matza when it's not Passover (yeast allergies excluded)?

Hermit Kingdom Invaded by Magician

2007-04-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

Vincent Price III, professional magician and grandson of the late film star, pulled off an amazing and foolhardy stunt – he snuck into North Korea and returned to tell about it!

About a month and a half ago, VP3 concluded a series of performances in the South Korean city of Hwangcheong, near the North Korean border. He and his corporate sponsors had gotten drunk during the New Year celebration and decided to sneak into North Korea. Apparently, there are non-strategic sections of “the most militarized border in the world” that are surprisingly easy to penetrate.

So they sneak up to the border under cover of darkness, throw a board over a barbed wire fence, and VP3 – in black cape and top hat! – ventures into the DMZ. He disappears for over an hour, scaring the crap out of his buddies, and then he returns to say he had made it as far as a North Korean farm before turning around.

There is an article on Korea-DMZ that claims the story is false, but VP3 swears that it is true. Way to go, Vince!

Interview with the Ninja

2007-03-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

Ask a Ninja interviews Will Ferrell and the guy from Napoleon Dynamite.

Don't miss it.

Lieberman on Iraq

2007-03-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

In the "Opposing View" section of USA Today:

"The deadline for retreat that Congress wants to impose is both arbitrary and inflexible. American troops would be forced to begin withdrawing regardless of conditions in Iraq, regardless of the recommendations of our military commanders, and regardless of what impact a hasty retreat would have on America's security and credibility — in short, regardless of reality."

I especially appreciate his being described as an "Independent Democrat." You can say that again.

Splitting Matzah

2007-03-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

Right down the middle.

Check it out.

(Do not try this at home - especially if you hold be gebrokts)

UCLA Beats Pitt, Thwarts Half-Baked Marriage Plan

2007-03-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

There is a site that I have been visiting every week for the past several weeks - PostSecret - and I discovered this postcard on it.

PostSecret is a blog that publishes handmade postcards with the sender's anonymous "secret" printed on it. It is a compelling blog; the secrets are often poignant. This one is especially touching, don't ya think?

WSJ and the Jewish Question

2007-03-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

There is almost always an article of Jewish interest in the Friday edition of the Wall Street Journal's editorial page. Well, at least on Fridays on opinionjournal.com. This is, of course, because the Jews control both the media and the financial world. I mean, duh.

Anyway, today there's a nice apologist article (and I use the term "apologist" in the most positive sense) about the mechitza, the divider between men and women in Orthodox synagogues.

Sorry for the lack in postings lately - Starbucks was trying to buy us out and I had to spend all my efforts keeping them at bay. But we're back in business, even if our offerings will continue to be somewhat sparse.

Brrrr

2007-01-14T07:35:00.000-08:00

It's 36 degrees F right now. This is not why I moved to Los Angeles.

Judaism-related hipness

2007-01-12T13:55:00.000-08:00

I may be a little late to this party, square that I am, but did you know that Christina Aguilera has a tattoo on the small of her back that reads, "Ani L'Dodi v'dodi li," in Hebrew? (This phrase, a quote from Song of Songs, means, "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.) Apparently she's engaged to a Jewish dude.

I caught a glimpse of it while channel surfing - it was on a program such as "Entertainment Tonight." I almost spit up my coffee. It was pretty disturbing.

House raises minimum wage

2007-01-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

That didn't take long. Why do the democrats want to stick it to small business owners?

Mass resignation from Carter Center

2007-01-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

It's nice to see (or at least read about) people standing up for their convictions.

Pink Camo

2007-01-10T12:20:00.000-08:00

My 7-year-old daughter's favorite fabric pattern these days is pink camoflauge. And it seems to be pretty popular - I've seen just about every article of clothing in the stores available in pink camo.

My question is, Which branch of the military uses pink camoflauge? I can't seem to recall. One thing's for sure - whoever's got it has pretty much thrown "don't ask-don't tell" out the window.

Tigger Gets Tough

2007-01-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

Foxnews hasvideo of Tigger hitting a Disneyland patron. This brought me back to a childhood visit to DisneyWorld... when Mickey Mouse hit me.

I was a little over five years old, and it was Mickey's 40th birthday or something. My parents thought it would be cute if I played "Happy Birthday" for Mickey on my violin. We somehow got the violin into the park, and spotted Mickey greeting kids. I whipped out my fiddle and tried to get his attention, but I couldn't seem to drag him away from his adoring hordes. So I tugged on the overgrown rodent's ear - and he gave me the ol' backhand right in the kisser. I screamed and cried, of course, and Mick played it off as an accident.

Through my tears, I managed to get off a rendition of Happy Birthday. I'm not sure what we did with the violin for the rest of the day.

I have to give my parents credit. I can't imagine schlepping my kid's violin across the country to entertain some sweaty loser with a part-time job.

Most predictable response in recent history?

2007-01-08T07:35:00.000-08:00

Dems + Press: We need more troops. Why doesn't Bush send more troops? All the generals say more troops - why is Bush ignoring them? More troops!

Bush: I think it's time to send in more troops.

Press + Dems: Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's the rush? We're not sure that's such a good idea...

Bakery, Coffeehouse...

2007-01-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

So I'm at the bakery this morning, buying some whole wheat bread (delicious, I'm telling you). They have a TV to entertain the customers while standing in line, and this morning it was tuned to the Today Show on NBC. Meredith Viera was talking to Chris Matthews (I think) about an apparent Bush plan to send more troops to Iraq.

Matthews was pooh-poohing the idea, saying that it's just playing with numbers to get an advantage in the press. I thought, that's funny, I thought that's what the antiwar crowd was doing when it prepared responses and events to commemorate the 3,000th U.S. death in Iraq. Sure enough, Matthews brings up the magic number 3,000 to emphasize his point about getting out of the war. So in practically the same breath he says that sending more troops is just a numbers game, but then plays the same game himself from the other side of the court.

Stuff I've Read Since July

2006-12-29T17:34:00.000-08:00

I just finished one of the greatest books of all time - The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck - and I was sad when it was over. I have not been so touched by a book in a long time, perhaps since All Quiet On The Western Front, which must have been at least a couple of years ago.

The Good Earth was the best-selling book of 1931 and 1932. It is the story of Wang Lung, a Chinese farmer. I won't say one more thing about it, because you should read it for yourself. Go to your library or book store today and get your hands on a copy. Read at least through Chapter 3. If you aren't interested after the first three chapters, then you can let it go, but not until then. I attempted The Good Earth years ago (my wife highly recommended it) and made the mistake of giving up before I had completed the first chapter.

I went to the One Book List to read the reviews and I was astonished that The Good Earth is not mentioned.

I read other books, and some were quite good, but nothing in the recent past compares to The Good Earth. Have I raved enough? I'll move on.

Dracula, by Bram Stoker, was surprisingly, unexpectedly good. It gets a little wild and disjointed at the end, but the strengths of the story - the intensity and the imagery - win out.

Stag: A Story About Coming of Age - In a Bar, by Tim Relf was also a pleasant surprise. I picked this one at random from the library shelves because I liked the cover (a plastic man falling into a pint of beer) and it was just a couple minutes until closing time at the library. It was Stag or nothing to read that night, and I have to read. This one is about a likable young British guy who drinks too much because he never wants to grow up and he's got inadequacy issues. I found him a sympathetic character. The author is a good storyteller. I think this is his first book, and it came out just last year.

Numbered Account, by Christopher Reich, is another first book. The protagonist, an ex-special forces guy who is searching for his father's murderer, goes to work in a Swiss bank and deals with shady characters. I thought the setting - a secretive Swiss bank - would be a lot more interesting than it turned out to be. I had hoped for more.

Not a Day Goes By, by E. Lynn Harris, was entertaining enough, and another of my random selections. It's the story of an African American bisexual former football player and his diva girlfriend. I'll leave it at that.

Now go out and get The Good Earth.

So Few Posts, So Much Time

2006-12-28T12:49:00.000-08:00

In recent months I have missed many opportunities to post on topics that are of interest to me. The list includes What I Did Over My Summer Vacation; Bruin Football; Midterm Elections; Global Warming; Thanksgiving; Christmas; and Investing. My primary reason for not posting is advertent. There are many demands on my time and I am deliberately weeding out those things that compete with my job, my family, my work around the house, my church work, and my son's Cub Scout Den. I hate to admit it, but there is not much time left over when I have taken care of the important stuff, and then I am too tired to post.

I am making an exception today not because there is nothing more important to do (there always is), but because I feel like it and it appears that no one has been in this pathetic coffeehouse in quite a while.

Parting shot - my last visit to the Chinese restaurant near my work yielded this message: Prosperity is our God given right. I like that! May you (all seven or eight of you) have a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

Magritte at LACMA

2006-11-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has an amazing exhibition of the works of Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte. It is an astounding collection of his works. (Unfortunately, there is also some modern garbage "inspired" by Magritte - most of it is either complete trash or completely derivative.) The best part, though, might be that all of the docents were wearing bowler hats.

A Thanksgiving Memory

2006-11-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

From a friend of mine that posts on a sports forum I frequent:

Several years ago, I was post padding on a military forum, and the topic was what was everyone's most memorable Thanksgiving. Everyone had such great memories of Thanksgivings past with their families and friends. I had alotta those same memories, but I couldn't get what happened Thanksgiving Day, 1970 outta my head.

I was on patrol with my recon team, RT California, on that part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that passed from North Vietnam thru Laos into South Vietnam. We'd been walking right down the middle of the HCMT for acuppola hours, looking for enemy storage depots, and had found none.

We decided to take a security break under a big tree right nextta the HCMT and take turns eating our lunch. When it was my turn, I opened up a C-Ration can of Turkey Loaf that I'd been sandbaggin for Thanksgiving Day, along with a bag of indigenous rice, a C-Ration can of peaches, and a can of C-Ration pound cake.

As I sat there under that tree eating my "feast", I reflected on the incongruity of it all, and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. And I jes couldn't stop thinkin, "Man, it jes doesn't get any better'n this."

Today, I count that day amongst my most cherised Thanksgiving memories, and I Thank God for the men and women of our armed services who won't be with their families for the holidays cuz they're in harms way.

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!

I won't even try to improve on that.

Happy Thanksgiving.

More on the Light Hurricane Season

2006-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, it occurred to me that the weather fear mongers had been a little quiet lately, and that, DANG! it's been a mild hurricane season.

So, today, I'm having my morning tea, and I see that Captain's Quarters
has picked up the story (and Reuters).

Reuters reporting left readers scratching their heads, too. It just seems like the story missed something familiar, right on the tips of our tongues ....

Oh, yeah. Global warming.

Good piece. Read it. :)

Rabbis checking the eruv via helicopter

2006-11-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

Must be seen to be believed.

(What's an eruv? I like to think of it, fondly, as a magic schlepping circle, as a detractor once said.)

Outsourced

2006-11-14T22:23:00.000-08:00

My whole team has been outsourced to India. Well, I guess our jobs have been outsourced - we're not going anywhere. Except home, I suppose.

It's not that dire - we're still employed during the long transition, which should take about three months. Then we have severance that takes us well into the spring. Still, bummer.

Wretch.

2006-11-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

I just threw up.

As I write, Virginia is still looking like a possible hold, Missouri and Montana are still too close to call, and Maryland could be a surprise pickup.

If any one of these break the right way, the GOP will hold on to the Senate. Which is the best we can hope for tonight.

Even if that good result takes place, yuck. Nancy freakin' Pelosi? Oh GAWD.

The Only Issue This Election Day

2006-11-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

This lengthy piece by a Democrat nails the importance of this election:

The Only Issue This Election Day

It begins:

There is only one issue in this election that will matter five or ten years from now, and that's the War on Terror.

And the success of the War on Terror now teeters on the fulcrum of this election.

If control of the House passes into Democratic hands, there are enough withdraw-on-a-timetable Democrats in positions of prominence that it will not only seem to be a victory for our enemies, it will be one.

Unfortunately, the opposite is not the case -- if the Republican Party remains in control of both houses of Congress there is no guarantee that the outcome of the present war will be favorable for us or anyone else.

But at least there will be a chance.

I say this as a Democrat, for whom the Republican domination of government threatens many values that I hold to be important to America's role as a light among nations.

But there are no values that matter to me that will not be gravely endangered if we lose this war. And since the Democratic Party seems hellbent on losing it -- and in the most damaging possible way -- I have no choice but to advocate that my party be kept from getting its hands on the reins of national power, until it proves itself once again to be capable of recognizing our core national interests instead of its own temporary partisan advantages.

To all intents and purposes, when the Democratic Party jettisoned Joseph Lieberman over the issue of his support of this war, they kicked me out as well. The party of Harry Truman and Daniel Patrick Moynihan -- the party I joined back in the 1970s -- is dead. Of suicide.

and continues on for a few pages.

We stand on the verge of ceding vital authority over our nation's security to a group of people who don't understand the nature of the threat, and have demonstrated every willingness to use our own defeat in this war as a political tool by which to reaquire power. Please keep this in mind when your disgust over pork-barrell spending, and your distaste over other Republican shortcomings start to make you uncomfortable with again casting your vote in favor of the GOP.

The stakes here are as high as they have ever been for this country. A retreat from Iraq would be an open invitation for the rise of an aggressive, and unopposed Islamic threat to everything we hold dear in the West. Save your other issues for another election, and cast your vote in favor of continuing to fight the defining battle of our generation.

Odd suggestions

2006-11-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

On the new releases wall at Blockbuster, certain DVDs are paired with "alternate titles." Something along the lines of "If you like X-Men 3, you'll like Spiderman 2, Batman Begins, etc."

The alt titles for "United 93" are "Passenger 57" and "Con Air."

Um, I guess they're similar in that they all feature bad guys on airplanes... but I think that these alternate titles might be slightly different thematically from "United 93."

Inconvenient Fact?

2006-11-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or has this hurricane season been pretty wimpy? Since the 2005 season was apparently a harbinger of a catastrophic global sauna (or so I was led to believe), does the mild zephyr, that to date has characterized this season, mean we're headed for another ice age?

Soldiers in Need

2006-11-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

Found this photo on the Drudge Report. Needs no elaboration.

Borat lives

2006-11-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

Reading about all things Borat reminds me of a long-ago encounter with a foreigner with a shaky grasp on English and on appropriate topics of conversation. Actually, in this case I was the foreigner, but the other guy had the shaky grasp on things. It was at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where I spent my junior year of college.

I was talking with a group of Palestinians, two of whom lived on my dorm floor. (I mean, not on the floor of my dorm room, but.. well, you understand.) So most of them spoke English fluently, and we were having a pleasant conversation. They asked where I was from and I told them my hometown. Someone asked if anyone else from the same city was currently at Hebrew U, and I replied that yes, in fact, there is one woman here from said town. One guy who had been quiet the whole time suddenly piped up and asked something in heavily accented English and made a bit of a punching motion with his fist. I didn't quite catch what he said, so I asked him to repeat himself.

"You are f***ing her?" he said, repeating the punching motion.

"Um, I gotta go," I said, and quickly took my leave.

I wonder if I was being filmed?

Ted

2006-10-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

The last place I lived in Westwood was a few miles from campus. I shared a house with 3 people. One of the girls had an unassuming basic black cat named Ted. Ted was about as ordinary as it gets in the feline world. Fairly friendly, often affectionate, but occassionally stand-offish. Fit in well with the rest of the household. Didn't cause trouble.

So, one evening, I'm alone in the house, studying for finals. It's just Ted and me. I had a simple approach to cooking during finals week; cook one thing one time, and cook a lot of it. On the menu this week was bean dip. I was on day 3 of finals week, and aside from a few snacks on campus, my diet had consisted almost exclusively of bean dip for the previous 72 hours.

So it came to pass that I was laying on the couch on my stomach studying, and Ted decides my back would be a warm place to sleep. So, Ted jumps up on my back, stretches, and lays down with his face nestled right in the crack of my ass.

Predictably, he hadn't been asleep for very long when he got a shock. Poor Ted. Face full of fart, he attempted to stand up, wobbled a little bit, and I kid you not, old Ted fell sideways right off of my ass and onto the hardwood floor. It's the one and only time I've ever witnessed a cat fall, and not land on his feet.

He shook his head a bit to get his wits back about him, and attempted to retain some dignity as he stumbled out of the room. It was 20 minutes before I could stop laughing long enough to even think about studying again. Ted didn't return to the living room.

I honestly don't think Ted ever trusted me again after that night. I mean, sure, he'd still come up and seek a little affection here and there, he wouldn't turn down a meal... but it was never the same between us. I imagine he carried it with him for the rest of his life.

Neighbor update

2006-10-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

This morning I saw the neighbor in question out walking his dog. I told him that it's none of my business, but I hope he's not moving because of the note. He said his girlfriend (Girlfriend? Living in sin! Somebody write another letter!) was freaked out by it and wanted to move. He also said that sometime last year both of their cars were keyed up and cost $5,000 to fix (seem a little steep?). I couldn't quite tell if he was connecting the two issues, but either way he should get over a million for it.

When one nut tries to speak for the neighborhood

2006-09-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

As we returned home from lunch Saturday afternoon (actually it was already evening), the first day of Rosh Hashanah, I noticed something on the front porch. My wife picked it up, and turned out to be two pieces of paper stapled together. The top piece was a typed (or printed, more likely) letter, from a neighbor whom we had never met, dated the current day. The letter was an apology for the noise the neighbor had made during the day repairing a major sewage break to the tune of about $5,000. He said that he did not intend to disturb the tranquility of the holy day, and that indeed he had moved into our neighborhood because he is Jewish, albeit non-observant.

This letter was a response to the second piece of paper, a photocopy of a hand-written, obscenity-laced tirade that was apparently delivered anonymously earlier in the day. This missive slammed the neighbor for using "jackhammers" on this "holiest day of the year" in our "Jewish neighborhood." After calling the homeowner a number of foul names, the author concluded, "Why don't you just move?"

Hopefully it should be obvious to anyone that the tone and language used in this letter is not what one would expect from a member of the orthodox Jewish community, which overwhelmingly gives our neighborhood its Jewish feel. In addition to that important point, I should note for the uninitiated that writing is forbidden by Jewish law on Rosh Hashanah and many other holidays, as well as on Shabbat. Saturday was both Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah. Lastly, if this nutjob had been in synagogue where he belonged, he wouldn't have heard a thing!

(For the record, no one in our household heard anything, synagogue or no synagogue.)

I was mortified when I read this - a true descecration of God's name, even though to me it was clear that it was not written by a Torah-observant Jew. The recipient wouldn't necessarily know that! I went by the house in question and found the owner sipping a glass of wine on his front porch. I profusely apologized - not that I had done anything wrong, but sort of for the neighborhood as a whole, though I suppose no one elected me to such a task. I tried to explain how this note was anti-Torah in the ways I described here above. He was very understanding, and actually apologetic if he had disturbed anyone. I told him that the letter was ridiculous and preposterous. That of course he is welcome in this neighborhood, even if he weren't Jewish (again, I hope this is obvious to you, Dear Reader). After a bit of small talk, he thanked me for coming by and I returned home.

On Monday there was a For Sale sign on his lawn.

Grisly, Man.

2006-09-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Mrs. R and I started watching Grizzly Man last night. This is a documentary about a man who lived every summer for 13 years in Alaska among Grizzly bears. 13 turned out to be his unlucky number, as he (and his girlfriend) got ate up.

One of the helicopter pilots who assisted in the post-mauling cleanup is interviewed on camera ("I must have hauled four bags of... people"). He said the obvious - that as much as some people feel a kinship with the bears, as much as they want to make them into something spiritual or something else that they are not, the bears remain bears. And they will eat you, no matter how much you like them or want to understand them.

I turned to Mrs. R and said, "That sounds exactly like a description of terrorist sympathizers*." She replied, "I was going to say the same thing." I love that woman.

On a very related note: When I was a kid, my favorite animal was the Giant Panda. I had a stuffed animal collection and several books about these animals (I didn't say I was a popular kid). And what any Panda expert could tell you back then was, Pandas aren't bears. They're actually a relative of the raccoon. We Panda lovers scoffed at the term "Panda Bear." They were nothing of the sort!

In the early 2000s, I took my own kids to the National Zoo in D.C. to see the pandas. A zookeeper stood outside the exhibit with some education items, such as a skull and some, um, panda poop. I asked the zookeeper, for the benefit of the kids, "Isn't it true that the panda is not a bear, and is actually related to the raccoon?" "Actually," she replied, "recent DNA analysis shows that they are bears, after all."

Imagine that! This big creature, that looked like a regular old bear except for its coloring... turns out to be a bear! I felt like quite an idiot. And then I thought, hey, sounds just like Arafat... the experts keep saying he's a statesman, he's a diplomat... but in the end he's still just a terrorist.

*Or, as I like to call them, the Terrorati

Blood Libel

2006-09-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

At the end of the article "Red Cross hit with $4.2 million blood fine," you'll find this sentence:

"The Red Cross provides nearly half the nation's blood supply, selling blood products to health facilities."

Am I the only one who thought that they just, uh, gave it to whomever needed it? As I recall, they don't pay for, um, donations.

Politics are National

2006-09-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

According to Carl Cameron on Fox News, we could look forward to the following, should Democrats take control of the House of Representatives:

Speaker of the House: Nancy Pelosi
Chairman of the Government Reform Committee: Henry Waxman
Chairman of the Financial Services Committee: Barney Frank
Chairman of the Judiciary Committee: John Conyers
Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee: Charlie Rangel
Chairman of the Intelligence Committee: Alcee Hastings

Dear Mr. Indiana moderate, when you're alone in that booth, ready to pull the lever for your the favorite moderate Democrat, keep in mind how far to one end of the political spectrum the folks he or she is going to put in charge are.

Here's some more from the Wall Street Journal: Back to the Congressional Future

With a little more than two months to go before midterm elections, the polls show Democrats well positioned to win the House after 12 years out of power. So it's not too soon to consider who these Democrats are and how they would govern.

All the more so because we've seen most of these faces and their agenda before. While Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi would be a new Speaker of the House, the 19 primary committee chairmen who would dominate hearings, issue subpoenas and write legislation are agents of change only in the sense of going back to the future. They represent the same liberal priorities that bedeviled Bill Clinton's attempt to govern as a New Democrat from 1993-94, and before that Jimmy Carter in the 1970s. To pick one example, 13 of the 19 voted against the welfare reform that Mr. Clinton signed in 1996 and hailed this month as a triumph of "bipartisanship."...

More Hollywood Bravery

2006-09-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Clever stuff from Galley Slaves:

"How some people in Hollywood find the courage to stand up to the Christianists again and again is one of the great and beautiful mysteries of our culture. All across the globe, Christians are perpetrating terrible crimes right now: blowing up buildings, bombing hotels and markets, kidnapping and decapitating prisoners, stoning homosexuals and sexually active girls, forcing heathens to convert at the barrel of a gun. The fortitude it requires of our artists to take these people on . . . well, what more can you say?"

Yoni Sez: Get a Gun

2006-08-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

After reviewing recent domestic terror attacks on Jewish targets (did you know there was a terror attack in San Francisco yesterday?), Yoni advises taking advantage of the 2nd Amendment:

"I know that for many of you owning a gun ranks up there with the idea of eating pork.

But if you were on island and the only source of food were wild swine the Torah demands of you to hold your nose and survive by eating.

The same holds true today with owning a firearm.

Hold your nose and go buy a gun and then go to a gun range and learn to use it.

If not for you, then for your children."

I don't own one myself, and even if I did I don't see how I'd have it ready in public. It's hard here in CA to get a concealed weapons permit, and I can't see myself just wearing it in shoulder holster or something... Nevertheless, an interesting analogy.

Workplace security

2006-08-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

So I'm using the facilities at work the other day and I notice something. All the screws - from the ones holding the doors on the stalls to the ones holding the hooks on the doors - are one-way security screws. Has there been a rash of lavatory furnishing robberies I was not aware of? Are our water closet fixtures really so at risk?

Note to Building Management: if you really want to focus on fighting crime in the workplace, how about getting people to stop stealing my pudding? And here's a helpful hint: if the perpetrators weren't deterred by the existing anti-theft rules detailed in our civic code and in the, um, Bible, I don't think the yellow sign taped to the fridge, asking us to respect our co-worker's food and/or foodstuffs, is gonna cut it.

Peace the Old-Fashioned Way

2006-08-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

Saw a peace sign decal on a car today. At least, that's what I thought it was, until I got closer:

The image is small, so in case you can't make it out, it says "Peace the Old-Fashioned Way" and the peace sign is actually a bomber in a circle.

Excellent.

For sale here.

Kudos where they're due

2006-08-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

We stick it the New York Times here in the Coffeehouse. But you gotta give props today. Check out today's story titled On the Web, Pedophiles Extend Their Reach. It's an investigation into the online world of pedophiles - not online kiddie porn, but rather things such as newsgroups where these sickos share both their rationalizations and their methodologies. Major yikes.

Adding to the creepiness factor: as of this posting, the "printer-friendly" version of this story is sponsored by a movie called "Little Miss Sunshine," which is about a beauty pageant for little girls. Priceless.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to lock my three girls in a cave with no Internet access or other exposure to the outside world.

Snakes on a Plane

2006-08-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

In case you're thinking that you should see this movie because it will be so bad, it's good... don't.

It's just bad.

Netanyahu speaks

2006-08-17T22:49:00.000-07:00

By now you've received an email or seen a blog post about Netanyahu's BBC interview. The one where he says, "You don't want to ask that question." I wanted to hear it for myself, so I searched the BBC site and found this.

It's not exactly like the emails and posts (that may be a different interview or just an error), but it is fascinating. All I wanted to hear was the money quote, so I was annoyed when I had to install Real Audio and even moreso when I saw that the interview is 23 minutes long.

But once I started I couldn't turn it off. Bibi is masterful. The British host is utterly idiotic, but Netanyahu doesn't scowl at him and call him an idiot like, well, I would.

The craziest part to me is that the host keeps dismissing the analogy to German civilians killed by the Royal Air Force in WWII on the basis that it was "50 years ago" (60 but who's counting?). Were the German civilians less civilian because it was so long ago?

The sad part about the interview, which took place before the pathetic ceasefire, is that Bibi keeps hitting home the objectives that must be met, whether militarily or diplomatically - the return of the kidnapped soldiers and the disarming and destruction of Hizbullah. We know now, of course, that none of that was to be.

Take 20 minutes and give it a look-see.

Young Useful Idiots

2006-08-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here's what the youth leadership of the Reform movement is saying:

"We applaud the Union for condemning Hezbollah's and Hamas' violent and terrifying rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, who have been put in grave danger by the ongoing conflict," said the letter delivered Tuesday to leaders of the Union for Reform Judaism. But it adds: "We urge the Union to likewise condemn the Israeli Defense Force's killing of unarmed Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, as well as its premeditated targeting of civilian infrastructure, which has put additional lives at risk and hampered relief efforts."

Oh, well, no one ever said college and high school students were smart.

Red State Jews

2006-08-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

No doubt you've already seen this mea culpa by a former Tikkun editor in the Wall Street Journal. He is waking up to the reality that maybe the Arabs don't want peace after all.

A number of these pieces have cropped up recently in, of all places, the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Here are a few:

Painful lessons emerge from war in Lebanon by Michael Berenbaum

Europe displaying disproportionate pacifism by Jeffry V. Mallow

Left-leaning Jewish groups out-of-touch now by Gary Wexler

...and of course you have some pieces defending the Jewish liberal status quo, such as this response to Wexler's article:

Don't discard liberal Jewish groups by David Pine

and plenty more in the Letters section.

While I'm on the subject, this week's edition also had a very nice open letter to President Bush by a local rabbi who claims to be apolitical in his public life:

Mr. President, Thank You for Standing by Israel by Rabbi Steven Z. Leder

(Be sure to check the letters section again next week for the foaming-at-the-mouth responses to this open letter)

Greetings from 2008

2006-08-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Talk about a Kerckhoff Coffeehouse exclusive! I have just returned from Summer 2008 and have exciting news to report!

The U.N. Security Council has unanimously passed Resolution 1938. This resolution states that Israel must immediately cease its offensive military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, and grants the right to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah, to continue its defensive actions of firing missiles into civilian centers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as needed for the security of the Palestinian People. As you recall, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza and the West Bank in the summers of 2005 and 2007, respectively. The Resolution also calls for funds from the U.S. and the E.U. to rebuild all nursery school/missle depots.

In the North, the resolution calls for Hizbullah to pull back to Haifa where from there to all points north it will set up charitable community centers and baby milk factories for Hizbullistan (formerly Lebanon and northern Israel) citizens. Since Iran became a nuclear power in 2007, Israel's ability to fight back against Hizbullah was even weaker than its laughable attempt in 2006. Additionally, the resolution calls for the implementation of resolution 1701 which in turn calls for the implementation of resolution 1559. The only difference is that instead of calling for UNIFIL & the Lebanese army to disarm Hizbullah, it now calls for the Hizbullistan army to disarm Hizbullah.

This might sound somewhat bleak to those of you stuck in 2006, but the fighting has stopped! That means there's peace!

"...the world will see who the aggressor is and will understand us"

2006-08-13T22:58:00.000-07:00

This is so sad. According to the Jerusalem Post, Olmert believes that Hezbullah will not honor the cease-fire. Or at least a "source close to Olmert" believes this, to be fair. Here's what the source says:

"When Hizbullah violates the cease-fire, the world will see who the aggressor is and will understand us."

This is sheer delusion. Wasn't the world supposed to see who the aggressor is after Israel retreated from all of Lebanon? Shouldn't the world have seen who the aggressor is when, unprovoked, a terrorist militia crosses an internationally recognized border and kills and kidnaps soldiers? How about when they indiscriminately lob rockets into civilian centers?

Dear Source: The world will never, never, ever, "see who the aggressor is." They already know in their hearts that Israel is the aggressor, and no amount of cold, hard, reality will change that. Any chance you can conduct this war accordingly?

Yoni the Blogger

2006-08-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

More astute analysis from :Yoni, whom you may or may not know from the Hugh Hewitt show: "Olmert has made every mistake one could make in this war. When he should have gone into Lebanon a month ago with 40,000 troops, he had the blessing of the USA, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordon.

Instead he has let Israel be hit with over 3,000 rockets, which has cost over a hundred dead ruined the economy of the north, and most important destroyed the mystic [sic] of the IDF.

Now when the diplomacy of the world has caught up with the events on the ground he gives the orders to march, putting Israel at odds with the USA and the UN."

Tree Huggers for Terrorists

2006-08-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

I often try to think of ways to get the Terrorati - that is, Leftist apologists for terrorists - to see the errors of their ways. First I tried to speak their language. For example, calling the Iranian Mad Mullahs mean. Because, as you know, Mean People Suck. I also tried to point out that they and others like them such as Saddam and the Saudis are oil-rich fatcats. Doesn't the fact that these people have made billions on oil make them evil by default?

You'd think it would be enough for these people to know that with every act of terror, another Republican is created. For that reason alone the Left should be unequivocally against all terrorists and their supporters.

But now there is a new reason. Something even Al Gore can get behind: They're killing the trees!

British Authorities Say Plot to Blow Up Airliners Was Foiled

2006-08-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

You don't need to come to the Coffeehouse for breaking news, that's for sure. By now you know all about the foiled terror plot and new round of airline security measures (no liquids allowed! buy your sunscreen when you get to your destination!). Imagine what would be happening if, God forbid, these animals had succeeded.

Being a partisan cynic, the first thing that came to my mind was the uproar over the government reviewing records of incoming and outgoing phone calls to and from known Al Qaeda members (not the actual calls, mind you). Let's keep pressing that campaign! Wouldn't wanna catch any more terrorists! And if, God forbid, something like this plan does occur because we can't do little things like that, believe you me that the public pressure for even greater pressures on privacy will skyrocket.

Or don't believe me. Now, if you don't mind, I have to fedex some suntan oil, hairspray, and claritin syrup to the Bahamas so they'll be there when I arrive.

2006-08-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

For the record, I despise Cynthia KcKinney. She is the worst kind of victocrat Trotskyite. This however, is funny. What can you do when your constituents are too dumb to vote for you?

"At 8:14 AM, McKinney’s election blog stated:

'Less than one hour into the voting day, multiple problems with the electronic voting machines have arisen. McKinney precinct watchers are reporting machines down already, insecure machines, and at least one 4th Congressional District precinct without McKinney's name on the ballot, but with her opponent's name on it.'
People working closely with challenger Hank Johnson's campaign haven't reported similar problems. Nor have they confirmed or denied any of McKinney's claims.

"I haven't received any reports of any problems," said spokeswoman Deb McGhee-Speights.

Earlier, another member of his election committee reported receiving a call that "neither of the candidates names was on a ballot."

Seeking to resolve these and similar issues, Sinkule said that it appears that most of the controversies involve people who couldn’t find Rep. McKinney on their ballots because they mistakenly believed they were in her district, or because they had registered to vote as Republicans. This does not seem to address the specific claim that fourth district ballots listed Johnson, but not McKinney."

Production of Armaments in Israel at Fever Pitch

2006-08-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

Israeli weapons manufacturers are working around the clock to meet the tremendous demands placed on them since Mideast hostilities broke out over three weeks ago.

What else can you do but shake your head?

2006-08-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

"Israel's offensives in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip will help it carry out planned withdrawals in the West Bank, Ehud Olmert said."
More here.

*** Hole of the Week...

2006-08-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

... is of course, Mel Gibson for his naked anti-semitism during his DUI arrest earlier this week, and presumably in his private thoughts when the world's not watching.

I didn't see "The Passion". Didn't really care to, not being religious, or into gore; I know the story, and didn't see the real benefit in playing it out on-screen graphically.

At the time, I thought some of the cries about Gibson's motives were probably over-the-top, and reflexive. Sadly, it turns out they were pretty much spot on.

Gibson's a hateful, petty *** hole. I throw a tomato at him as he makes his graceless exit from center stage.

Fidel Castro in Failing Health

2006-08-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have often supposed that the U.S. would normalize relations with Cuba during my lifetime. That outcome may be closer at hand now that Fidel Castro (almost 80) has fallen ill and ceded power to his brother, Raul (75).

Fidel has vowed that the socialist state in Cuba would long outlast him. After the severe recession of the 1990s caused by the loss of Soviet subsidies, Cuba would be wise to consider all its options. It has a measly $3,500 per capita GDP. One possibility is that Cuba may adopt a Chinese system of socialism - fairly free markets, some limited ownership of the means of production, but no real political freedoms. Then again, with a prosperous superpower so close at hand, might the Cubans make a play for total freedom?

It seems unlikely that Cuba will remain estranged from the U.S. forever. With Fidel out of the way, the U.S. may make some diplomatic inroads. Raul is a dyed-in-the-wool communist, but he too is an old man, and Cubans are frustrated with their relative poverty.

Muslims come to pay respects to victim of Seattle shooting

2006-07-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/localnews1329/13.html

The light is better over here

2006-07-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

You know that old joke, the one where the guy is looking under a streetlight for his keys because the light is better there than where he actually lost them? That's what comes to my mind when people say that Israel should be attacking Syria and sparing poor Lebanon. Syria's really behind it, they say, but Israel doesn't have the stones to attack her.

This assumes, of course, that Israel is trying to punish Lebanon. That's not the case, of course - Israel is simply trying to destroy Hizbullah. And Hizbullah is in Lebanon. You can't attack Syria just because the light is better there.

And let's face it - if Israel did attack Syria, then Syria's civilian population would be in the same situation as Lebanon's. And it's not the civilians' fault that their unelected "government" chooses to fund and supply terrorists. I don't expect the world would give Israel a pass if Syria's civilian population were at risk instead of Lebanon's.

Lebanon crisis reveals an Anti-Jewish Israeli State

2006-07-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

I can't bring myself to read this entire article. Suffice it to say that it has a caption that characterizes Leo Strauss as "a Zionist who sought to re-create German Nazism in a scheme of 'World Domination'" and features a photoshopped image of an Israeli soldier pointing a machine gun at a woman and two children. And, yes, it was written by a Jew and appears in "Canada's new socially progressive and cross-cultural national newspaper." Of course it does.

"Today’s calls for peace are calls for Israeli surrender"

2006-07-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

Israel Deserves our Support

Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky

President, The Board of Rabbis of Southern California

It seems that it all happened in the flash of an eye. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Israel is at war again, its air force and navy bombing sites throughout Lebanon. The usual calls for Israeli restraint have been issued. The claim that Israel is acting disproportionately has been repeatedly asserted. Both non-Jews and Jews have called for Israel to return to the paths of peace and non-violence.

But this conflict did not begin in the flash of an eye, nor did it come out of nowhere. And all of the criticisms of Israel’s actions at this time are the result of the failure to understand these facts. Hezbollah, sworn to Israel’s destruction, has been parked on the border between Israel and Lebanon since Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon six years ago. Syria and Iran have conspired to provide Hezbollah with the necessary training and arms to kill Israeli civilians in the north, harass the Israeli troops that guard the border, and generally wreak havoc whenever the prospect of real progress toward peace is in the air. The Lebanese government has been unable and unwilling to fulfill its UN-declared obligation to disarm Hezbollah. The violence we are seeing today has been in the works for years, waiting only for Hezbollah’s (or Syria’s or Iran’s) decision that the moment had come to begin the shooting war.

What is the “proportional” response to an enemy whose objective is to destroy you utterly? How much more restraint could Israel have shown beyond the decision to not attack preemptively? And what can peace even mean when confronting a foe which exists for the sole purpose of seeing to it that peace is never ever achieved?

Every attempt that has been made to bring peace to the Middle East – including the successful ones between Israel and Egypt and Israel and Jordan - have all been premised on the readiness of all parties to recognize the right of the other to live as a State in peace. The reason that Israel does not have peace today with the Palestinians is simply that Yasir Arafat never sincerely accepted this premise (as was dramatically evidenced by his rejection of the Camp David accords in July of 2000), and because Hamas explicitly rejects the idea. The only way that Israel could achieve peace with Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria, or Iran is by agreeing to dismantle itself. Today’s calls for peace are, in effect, calls for Israeli surrender.

Israel deserves our support in the same way that any nation victimized by terror deserves our support. And beyond that, Israel deserves our support as a democratic nation that wakes up every morning with radical Islamic anti-Western forces within easy rocket distance of its civilian population. Support of Israel when it faces off against these forces, is the only thing that will one day – may it come soon – bring peace.

In a vacuum, who could argue with calls for restraint and calls for peace when innocent civilians are in harms way? But Israel isn’t in a vacuum. It is in the Middle East.

I am Peace

2006-07-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

I see PT's Psalm 83 and raise him Psalm 120:

A Song of Ascents. In my distress I called unto the LORD, and He answered me.

O LORD, deliver my soul from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.

What shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee, thou deceitful tongue?

Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of broom.

Woe is me, that I sojourn with Meshech, that I dwell beside the tents of Kedar!

My soul hath full long had her dwelling with him that hateth peace.

I am peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

Let's not forget...

2006-07-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

...that on top of the crisis in the north and in the south, the usual suicide bombing attempts
and West Bank ambushes are continuing apace.

That's a lotta stuff.

Protests against Israeli military actions

2006-07-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

...in Tel Aviv.

Funny, no one's protesting up in Metulla...

I mean, hey, there's self-hating and then there's self-hating.

Treppenwitz: Handy 'To-Do' List

2006-07-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

Things to do to support Israel

Vatican condemns Israel for attacks on Lebanon

2006-07-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

Vatican condemns Israel for attacks on Lebanon

The Vatican on Friday strongly deplored Israel's strikes on Lebanon, saying they were "an attack" on a sovereign and free nation.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano said Pope Benedict and his aides were very worried that the developments in the Middle East risked degenerating into "a conflict with international repercussions."

"In particular, the Holy See deplores right now the attack on Lebanon, a free and sovereign nation, and assures its closeness to these people who already have suffered so much to defend their independence," he told Vatican Radio.

I call bull****.

Ed at Captain's Quarter's elaborates.

Forgive me, Father Sodano, but that argument has no bearing on reality. I do not necessarilly think that attacking Lebanon makes the best strategy, but Israel has plenty of justification for it. The attack on Israel also came against a "free and sovereign nation". Hezbollah's armed forces exist with the complicity of the Lebanese government, and they launched their attacks from Lebanon's sovereign territory. That constitutes an act of war, and Israel has the right to respond militarily to destroy the threat to their own sovereignty. etc.