Losing It

This is just getting weird...

As elections are coming up in just a week, Democrats should be pretty positive. They look to have a decent shot at taking over either one of the two houses, particularly the Senate. And yet, oddly, a few of them seem to be losing it - particularly among the leadership. Charlie Rangel and John Kerry were the best examples of the day.

Vice President Cheney spoke out against Rangel, who would take over the tax-writing panel if the Dems won, by criticizing how Rangel would act on the committee:

"Charlie has said there's not a single one of the Bush tax cuts he thinks should be extended. And he could achieve that objective simply by not acting. Unless there's an affirmative action by Congress, legislation passed to keep those rates low, those rates are going back up, and he'd have a massive tax increase,"

This seems to be a fair attack, on the issue at hand. But Rangel took this particularly personally:

"He's such a real son of a b****, he just enjoys a confrontation," Rangel said, describing himself to the newspaper as "warm and personable." He told the newspaper Cheney may need to go to "rehab" for "whatever personality deficit he may have suffered."

"When you have those sorts of problems, you're supposed to seek help," Rangel said. "He acknowledged that he has problems with communication."

Does that mean Rangel will be voting to keep the tax cuts? I'm not sure. But John Kerry seems to think that US troops are dumb:

Kerry's bitter words for the administration were sparked by his own comments a day earlier to a group of students during a campaign stop at Pasadena City College for California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides.

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq," he said.

I have so much I could say on that, but I think it speaks far better for itself. Sick, sick, sick. (He has also refused to apologize, calling it a "botched joke" and blaming the Bush administration's policies in Iraq.)

Finally, blame both parties for this sad statistic:

An assessment of campaign advertising spending shows that in this campaign season, the political parties have spent about $160 million in negative ads compared to about $17 million on positive image message, a rate of about $1 of nice for every $10 of nasty.

Pathetic. Shame on all politicians.

Ezzie's Blog Roundup, 10/30: Top Ten Posts

I rarely have the time to do these anymore, but there were a number of great posts all over and I just felt they were great to point out to everybody, as you likely haven't seen all of them...

10) The first one is actually not a great post per se but a great milestone: PsychoToddler recorded hit #100,000 today. So did A Simple Jew.

9) Balaboosteh points out a cute, heart-warming site: Kids expressing their love for Israel in drawings.

8) Hayom reminds us how we should portray gedolim (great Rabbinic leaders).

7) I just realized I only have 9, so I'm skipping this one. :)

6) TafkaPP has the comment of the day:

Do you know- if it wasn't so funny how we Olim all try to out-Israeli-fy each other, it would actually be quite tragic. For where, indeed, does one draw the line?!
Speak/work/live/breathe/dream only Hebrew? Avoid the homeland by not having Cable TV? Make your own Humus every morning and learn to recite the recipe in Arabic? Marry into an established IDF family? Live on a hill, farm goats and play an ancient Akkadian flute to them as they graze? The list goes on. But hey, however we "score", at least we make *ourselves* feel better that we are authentic Israelis by always having someone underneath us- namely, the constant stream of newbies!

Heh. Okay, now for the Top 5...

5) Harry Maryles' "Near & Dear" guests and discusses The Other Side of the Coin and all the positives (and some pitfalls) of a year in Israel. Excellent.

4) Elie's daughter learns a lesson from a Small Act of Kindness - an act which isn't so small to the recipient. Beautiful.

3) Kasamba is freaking hilarious.


2) SJ tells us about many large acts of kindness by a community working together selflessly. This is what it's all about, people.

1) WestBankMama relates a story from her past, and lessons for life. Wow.

Enjoy!

Tags: Ezzie, Blog, Roundup, Tshuva, Israel, Lessons, Chesed, Kindness.

Quote of the Day

"We can do all things through Christ. It is time to put those words into action for tomorrow’s patriots." - US Senate candidate, earlier this week on the campaign trail.

I'm somewhat surprised this isn't a bigger story. Does a quote like this bother you? Not bother you? Why (or why not)? I have my own opinions, but I'm curious as to what others think first... Contrast it also with the praise and criticism other politicians have received (George W. Bush and Ariel Sharon for example) for invoking God in speeches.

False Advertisement?

As bloggers, we often state our opinions on subjects without necessarily possessing the expertise we perhaps should have. Personally, I think this is absolutely fine. Nobody expects us to be experts in any particular subject, we're not claiming to be, and as long as we're not making claims that have no basis, I don't see a problem with it.

I do think a different standard applies to advertisements. If you are presenting an ad for a product or idea, you should have some understanding of what you're presenting. That doesn't mean a pro athlete should understand the science of a product, as he isn't expected to do so. But if - for example - someone were filming an ad about a political issue or amendment, they should at least know what the amendment says. At the very least, they should know the main theme and some important details of the amendment.

Last week, there was a hubbub over Michael J. Fox's filming an ad in Missouri. This hubbub may or may not have been warranted; likely not. What is more disturbing, however, is that Fox admitted to ABC that he doesn't know exactly what the amendment says. While he does get credit for being honest about this, this is a bit troubling. In his interview with ABC, Fox states that he is against cloning - which is the same reason Jim Talent has given for opposing the amendment. Fox doesn't believe that the amendment would actually end up allowing cloning, but admits:

"I don't think that's true. ... I have to qualify it by saying I'm not qualified to speak on the page-to-page content of the initiative. Although, I am quite sure that I'll agree with it in spirit, I don't know. On full disclosure, I haven't read it, and that's why I didn't put myself up for it distinctly," Fox said.

Yet he backed the Democratic candidate based on this issue. I don't understand how that's honest advertising.

Extra Hours

Shoshana put up Haveil Havalim #91 - quite impressive, great stuff there. Check it out!

We're off to some more training today for part of the day - fun fun. I'll be sitting there unable to move after yesterday's football game, which we won 26-12 despite absolutely crazy winds. Our defense picked it up a bit after an early adjustment (and a couple of dropped interceptions) and ended up with three INT's, including one returned for a touchdown, and forcing a safety. This was despite missing two of six starters. The offense had a rough time because of the wind, as it was forced to keep everything short, but it picked it up in the second half to score three touchdowns.

We're 2-0, tied for first in the division - and of course, playing the other 2-0 division team next week. Big game...

And now, back to the fascinating discussion below.

Are you prepared to lie to the Shadchan about....

After some very interesting Shabbos table discussions, I'm left trying to formulate an opinion on what seems to be a big issue. So I turn to those faithful SerandEz readers for your thoughts, in the hope that someone inspires me.

The question: How should issues like eating disorders and depression be treated in the Shidduch-world? If a "teenage problem" is "solved" by the time a girl or boy returns from his/her year in israel, does a prospective spouse need to know about it?
(notice the strategic placement of quotation marks; hamayvin yavin.)

Breaking the Law & Making a Kiddush Hashem?

(Hat tip: Yeshiva World)

Here's an interesting case... the yeshiva in Waterbury was in the news recently for using private homes as dormitories. All in all, the news coverage was quite good - sticking to the facts, airing both sides of the story, etc. Basically, Waterbury has been using these homes as temporary dorms with the full intention of building actual dorms on campus within 1-2 years. With the large growth of the school, they've put people in homes - which they own - nearby. It wasn't clear if they realized this was or wasn't illegal from the story, and interestingly, the neighbors don't (generally) seem to mind them:

Several neighbors said the yeshiva students are a welcome addition to their neighborhood. They drive like Brooklyn cab drivers, but who cares? said 74-year-old William Regan, a roofing contractor recovering at home from pneumonia. Ive never had any problems with them.

They’re just kids, dear, interjected Regans wife, Barbara. She recalled one boy insisted on helping her carry groceries when her husband was in the hospital. If there was a problem, Id be the first to complain, Barbara Regan said. I find them very respectful.

Yeshiva student Eli Lang, 16, said he can understand noise complaints, but stressed his classmates do their best to fit in. The schools rabbis have impressed upon them the need to be courteous and respectful, he said.

We are not looking to make enemies. We want to make friends, Lang said.

The latest round of city interest in the dorms was sparked by Alderman Denis Odle, who asked the Zoning Commission to order Sequin to enforce the city’s zoning codes. Odle said he has received nearly two dozen complaints about poorly maintained properties and wild driving by the youths.

Both of those problems are easily fixed, as the yeshiva could put a bit of money into fixing or have the guys themselves fix the place up. And, they could easily ban those under a certain age from driving as many schools (such as my own high school) do.

The yeshiva also doesn't seem to have been hiding the issue, either: They have bought more houses and applied for them to be taken off the tax rolls because they're a tax-exempt entity. The article seems to show that the issue is more of the city allowing it, to the point that they actually specifically met with the yeshiva about it:

The dorms are an obvious breach of the city’s land-use regulations, City Planner James Sequin told the Zoning Commission this week. But city staffers were leery of infringing on the students religious rights, he said. So, after meeting with yeshiva leaders, city officials agreed to allow things to continue as long as there were no flagrant problems, Sequin said.

The city’s fire marshal also inspected, and cleared, the dormitories, he said.

All in all, this is a weird case. Clearly, what they're doing is illegal - but nobody really seems to be much bothered by it. The city seems to be trying to figure out how to best work this out, as the yeshiva (and presumably, community) growth seems to be a positive for the city. The students seem to be polite and trying their best to "make friends" with their neighbors, their poor driving skills notwithstanding, and the neighbors themselves seem to like having them around. Obviously the law is something that cannot and should not be broken, but the approach by the yeshiva and the city in working together toward a solution is nice to see. There is none of the all-too-common bickering, the claims on one side that the Jews are 'creating their own set of rules' and on the other side that people are 'out to get us'. This is how all disputes should be handled: Quietly, calmly, honestly, and with proper derekh eretz*.

Who knew that breaking the law could create such a kiddush Hashem**?

* loosely: manners
** lit: santification of God's name

Tags: Waterbury, Yeshiva, Housing, Dorms, Odle, Alderman, Sequin, Private, Zoning, Kiddush Hashem

SerandEz PSA

Remember to change your clocks back. It would be annoying to show up an hour early for your football game, ya know? :) [Haven't played in 45mph winds in a long time... should be fun.]

Quote of the Day

"The best part about living in Ramat Beit Shemesh: Israel is only 2 hours away."

(Sorry, you two... and a bunch of other bloggers.)

In The Oval Office

Excellent editorial by Daniel Hellinger in today's Wall Street Journal. The interview with President Bush that he puts pieces of in the article are very telling and - in my opinion - Bush's statements are right on the mark.

An important question to me is - and has been - why the Republicans aren't making those same points across the board. I've seen some of them, but most of them are couched in political speech and other garbage. They're relying on people disliking the Democrats and what they want to do (or the fact that they aren't giving alternative options) instead of driving the message of what needs to be done for the sake of this country.

Perhaps this is why this other editorial (also in the Journal) sadly makes so much sense: Many conservatives think that the GOP needs to lose Congress (or at least the House) to be reminded of what they're in office for.

I'm hoping they'll remember on their own. I still do think the GOP will hold the Senate, and likely the House as well, but one point should be clear: It is better for the GOP to lose the House and remember what they are there for than to win it and keep thinking everything is okay. If the latter happens, a Democrat will almost certainly win in 2008 - and they'll take Congress then, too.

So Little Time...

I wanted to put up a whole bunch of posts, but between Blogger problems and my own going out I simply didn't have the time. A few quick notes:

• The post before this was the 1,300th post on SerandEz. Wow.
• I'm shocked that the Cards are up 3-1 in the World Series.
• My camera is back from Canon - long story, but I have quite the moral dilemma now; so far, we're taking the probably overly nice route and losing money that we may not have to.
• On a similar (oooh, related?) note, we're getting to keep a lot of rent money - but that's because we still don't have a kitchen (not to mention other problems). I hate Home Depot, who has spun a fabulous series of lies and promises... while putting on an incredible show of incompetence.
• I've met a few more bloggers recently, with Irina the latest victim. So far, it seems like all the blawgers I know (lawyer/law student bloggers) are nice, blowing stereotypes out of the water.
• I was finally able to attend TheShmuz. Solid. Need to go a few more times before I can write a good deal about it. Impressive crowd for an average Monday night in KGH - 50 people.
  

I had wanted to do a quick roundup, but that's not happening. One random blog note: I miss RenReb. (We hope all is well, and that you come back when is good for you...) I miss Orthomom, too, though she's not really missing, just a bit bogged down. On the flip side of those genres, Shifra and Ariella have been great lately and been posting a lot more often. Layla tov!

Noah, this is the Lord speaking...

G found the famous, classic, hilarious Bill Cosby routine. It's funny every time...

The Ultimate Championship

Ohio State. Michigan. The best rivalry in college football. This year is a dream year for the two colleges, as they are currently ranked #1 and #2, respectively, with joke-easy schedules remaining until Michigan visits Columbus in November for the last game of the season. They are both undefeated, having blown out pretty much everybody they've faced - including some top-tier teams. The consensus seems to be that whoever wins that game will play in the championship game against some other team that will likely have one loss on their record. This is simply because after a loss, teams tend to drop in the rankings which are big factors in determining who goes to the championship.

But why? Think about this: Let's say Ohio State beats Michigan in a tough, close, nail-biter in Columbus on November 18th. This is somewhat likely. Now, Michigan will be 11-1 with its sole loss to Ohio State - the best team in the country - on the road, in a huge conference championship game, in a tight game, in one of the best rivalries of any sport. The fact that it happened on the last game of the season should not make it therefore have more weight than (say) a loss by Florida to Auburn by 10 points this past week, an Auburn home loss to Arkansas the week before, or an Arkansas blowout loss to USC in the first week. Barring USC or perhaps West Virginia remaining undefeated, Michigan should retain their #2 ranking and play in the championship - against their utter rivals, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Michigan vs. Ohio State for the national championship in a rematch of a game played just a few weeks prior. Wouldn't that be incredible?

Get a Jump on the Parsha (Funny Commercial)

(Hat tip: Sara K)

Acting or Not...

There's a controversy over recent ads by the Democratic Party fueled by criticism from Rush Limbaugh. Personally, I have no clue if Limbaugh is right or not, and I don't think it matters. The issue is simple: Michael J. Fox, a great actor who is suffering from the terrible disease of Parkinson's, appeared in ads promoting stem cell research and claiming that the GOP is against it in the states in which it airs. This doesn't seem to be true - Missouri Senator Jim Talent (R) has supported research as long as it doesn't include cloning or destroying a human embryo, which is why he's against a current amendment, as it does include cloning. But the controversy is over whether Fox is acting in the commercials - while we all know he has Parkinson's, is he acting the symptoms for the commercials to bring in greater sympathy and to draw voters? After all, he's acted in TV shows as recently as this year without the ill effects, which are "on and off". Limbaugh thinks that he's acting for the commercials (though later he said he could be mistaken).

To me, I have no clue if he's acting or not. I'm inclined to believe that he is not, but that brings a greater question to my mind. The ill effects of Parkinson's (the shaking, etc.) are "on and off". Did the Democrats wait until Fox was suffering to film the commercial, just to score political points? Fox has been an amazing spokesman for sufferers of Parkinson's for years - and without the shaking. I still remember the very simple but powerful ads they used to show during Spin City reruns late at night - he would say his piece and sit there, unmoving, staring at the camera. It just seems wrong to try and wait for a time where he can't control his shaking to film the commercial solely for political points, especially as he's noted the difficulty acting and how painful it is when he is shaking. Throw in the false claims of the ads, and it just seems that the Democrats are sinking to deep lows in their quest for Congress in some races around the country.

They could have easily run a solid ad with Fox claiming that Democrats are stronger supporters of greater forms of stem cell research. The GOP would have countered that they are against certain forms of research because of moral issues. Both would have been true, and would have allowed voters to make their own decisions. Instead, these ads have twisted the debate from what it should be about. It's sad.

Jewish Economics - Pitfall #1

A must-read to start is (Orthonomics) Sephardi Lady's latest, Budgeting Tool #1: Monthly Budget Tracking & Budget Summary. She has an excellent, thorough listing of what you can, should and must do - and how to do it. I want to mention a couple of the pitfalls you may run into in trying to do them, so you can avoid them.

Fixed vs. variable expenses: People - especially young couples, especially young about-to-be couples - sometimes underestimate just how much their fixed expenses are going to be. I still remember the 'Woah' look on my friend's face when I went through it with him a couple of years ago. But usually, people have a pretty good handle on their fixed expenses after a while if they're paying any attention to their budget. The tricky part is variable expenses. Even if a couple is paying attention to their expenses, the variable expenses add up to a lot more than people realize. People will estimate, then add a good 30% assuming they aren't thinking of everything... add when the month ends, they can't figure out how they have no money left when they thought they'd have plenty. It's amazing how much the little drugstore buys and extra food and whatnot add up to. Mind-boggling, really. Be careful to try and track those variable expenses as much as possible to see how much they're adding up to. Don't drive yourself nuts - it's not worth it - but if (say) you are using a debit card, those purchases will be on your statement. Cash purchases you may need to write down.

Don't forget about basic expenses. I know this sounds obvious, but it's amazing to see how easily people forget to include expenses such as: Gas and electric, cell phones, home phones, DSL/Cable, car insurance, health insurance, gas, etc.

There were more, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment. Plus, it's good to see only a few bits and pieces at a time. One final note, that SL already touched on but is worth spending more time on: Interest. For those people who are using credit cards and aren't paying them off in full, they often neglect to add in the interest into their budgeting when figuring out how much money they're spending. I would tell people not to get into credit debt in the first place, but it's often either unavoidable or too late for that: But it's not too late to start tracking it.

Just as an example of the first part above, here's what our basic fixed costs were for our old 1-bedroom apartment (on average):

1. $983.25 Rent
2. $125 Gas/Electric
3. $396 Health
4. $70 Phone + DSL
5. $140 Cell phones
6. $100 Transportation
TOTAL: $1814.25/month [$21,771/year]

For everyone, especially young couples - and especially couples-to-be [Y'all know who you are ;) ] - make sure you're well aware of these numbers. We didn't (and don't) have a car, which would have knocked it up many thousands more. We did have tuition, but I'm not even going to touch that here, as that both varies highly from person to person and is a completely different story. Please feel free to point out anything I may have missed, especially as it pertains to what I've tried to cover in this particular post (or SL's post). Thanks.

The Great Waterfall of Sukkos

My brother OD, nephew Ben, and niece Henna Bayla (sitting on OD's lap) relaxing at the waterfall downtown.

Photo Credit: My sister-in-law SIL.

Best Blog Names

I don't want to put up too many posts too fast, and I have almost nothing to post at the moment, but AbbaGav has a fun post up about blog names:

Of course there's more to a great blog than a great name, but it's a good place to start. Here are a few of the blog names that have tickled my fancy even before the blogging began

He has his own list, including one of mine. The ones that really stuck out at me:

PsychoToddler, Jameel @ the Muqata, Renegade Rebbetzin, Wild Tumor*, Godol Hador (now here), and Kefirot.

I would say Hirhurim but I knew what it was before I started blogging. Which ones stuck out at you?

* Before anyone gets insulted, he actually works in the field. Okay? Good.

Bloody Rude

Some good reading this Monday morning...

DAG gets asked a question that's more wrong than rude; Sephardi Lady gets a suggestion that is more rude than anything you've ever heard; and DAG notes the difference between being good and being ehrliche. (Ah, I've always loved R' Salanter.)

On a more positive note, SJ has an excellent and eloquent post about bashing New Yorkers (or not) that is a must read for all to understand what's going on. She's new to blogging, but so far her blog is top-notch. Plus, she's a great Shabbos guest. :)

Finally, a hearty Mazel Tov! to JH on the birth of baby boy!

Also, I'm loving the great posts below by MordyS and Pobody's Nerfect. Check them out.

Israel for the Chagim

While it’s still somewhat fresh in my mind, I want to tell the world (or maybe just SerandEz readers) about my trip to Israel for Yom Kippur and Succos. Yes, if I seemed MIA during the chagim that was the reason why. I had this idea before I left the states of starting a blog and posting all the things I did on my trip but it proved a much more daunting task than I originally thought. I was actually annoyed for the first few days that I wasn’t going to be able to keep to it, but then my friend pointed out that I was on vacation and that I should just enjoy the trip. So enjoy the trip I did.

When people ask me how it was I’ve been saying that it felt a lot like my first year in Israel. When I got to Israel in 2002 for my first year of yeshiva I knew nothing about the land of Israel, not a word of Hebrew, and just had no clue what Israel was like. I went with the intention of just soaking everything in. I didn’t get there and say that I’m going to try to learn everything I can about Israel. I just went there with an open mind thinking that whatever happens, happens and whatever I learn, I’ll learn. To this day I still tell all the kids I meet that are going to Israel for the year that they should just go there with an open mind and suck everything up. I tell them to observe everything, ask questions, and just see how all the different types of people in Israel live their lives.

During that first year in Israel I met and talked to a lot of different types of people from all different walks of life and learned a lot about the country, the people, the politics and all the different angles and views that make up our great homeland. This trip had a lot of the same feelings. I’m annoyed that the blog idea didn’t work out because almost every day of this trip contained another interesting story or incident that I probably could have written at least a page about.

Out of all the little things that happened though, there is one little conversation I had that I’m realizing was not as insignificant as I thought.

One night during the week between Yom Kippur and Succos I met up with my friend Avi and we had nothing to do so we started roaming around Ben Yehuda talking about what was up and how our trips were going. We got on a bus and headed over to the Tachane Merkazit to meet up with some friends of his and while on the bus we started talking about yarmulkes and how he was experimenting with different yarmulkes and he felt like he was getting different reactions from people based on which yarmulke he wore. We both realized that was way too deep of a conversation and we weren’t interested in discussing the depth of yarmulke psychology at the moment (that’s for another post). But then he told me this little thing that happened that day. He had a locksmith over to change the locks on his parents’ apartment where he was staying for the chag and the guy didn’t look frum or not frum. He just looked like a regular Israeli and he wasn’t wearing a yarmulke. After the locksmith finished Avi offered him a drink and he said yeah. But first he asked if he could borrow a kippah to make a bracha. That was the story. The guy wouldn’t take the drink without having a yarmulke on his head to make a bracha. No big deal. People like to make brochos. And maybe he was Sefardi and some don’t always wear a yarmulke because that’s their minhag. Not a big thing at all.

And it hits me. I love that. I love those little things that only happen in Israel. There are all those lists that people have of things you only see in Israel or the lists of reasons why Israel is so great. And those lists are great and I love them and the fact that people can list endless amounts of little things that are so great about Israel makes us all feel warm and fuzzy inside. But when it comes down to it I realized that I live for those little things in a completely practical sense. Those little stories give me so much chizuk when I think about how I’m going to eventually make aliyah and how I’m going to have to support a family and raise children in a country I wasn’t born in and didn’t grow up in. People can talk all about how great it is to be in a Jewish country or about the Medina, or how the foods better, or how the air is better for learning Torah or whatever, but that’s all the big picture. I know the big pictures already. I spent years figuring out the big picture and thank God I get it in some sense. I know that God gave us Israel and how many wars have been fought for our land and I know there are so many great things about being in the land, and what the Torah says about our land and all that stuff. But it’s all about the little things. It seems almost like Ba'al Tshuvas who have all this insipiration when they first become frum and then they have to learn how to make the inspiration into reality and incorporate it into their daily lives as a frum indivduals. (Isn't that an interesting comparison? Olim to Ba'al Tshuvas? Something to think about.) I know it’s going to be hard to make a living and I know I’m going to have to worry about all types of things when I move there, but if I could hear just one of those little anecdotes a month I feel like I’d be good to go. If I can continue to be as conscious of those little things that lift my spirits when I move there as I am when I go there for the chagim every year, I know I’ll have no trouble fitting right in.