Pro-Israel Neo-Nazis?

From the file of “WTF” comes a story with the perfect definition of contradiction. As you may have already read out there in the webosphere, there is a new group out of Germany calling itself the “National Socialists For Israel.” (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/990228.html The link on the name takes you to their homepage, which is mostly in German. Read the second link for a brief summary.)

Seriously? Well, the members have yet to publicly declare themselves and hide behind the anonymity of their website, fueling speculation this may simply be a German leftist plot to simply stir things up. You can read plenty about this elsewhere on the web, but what I want to focus on is the underlining nature of such support, if it reveals itself as legitimate, not just to Israel and the Jewish people, but universally.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” This ancient Arab and/or Chinese proverb has not only shown up in both the Hebrew and Christian bibles in similar form (Exodus, Chapter 23:22), but has also served as foreign policy and even business guidelines for the modern era. We’ve all taken it with a grain of salt for the most part, but something this ideologically converse in such tangible measures really forces us to ask the question, is the enemy of my enemy my friend? In short, would this group prove to be a true and honest effort on behalf of the organizers and members, should we willingly accept and embrace their support?

This reminds me of the outpouring of support from the religious right, especially following the 1994 “Republican Revolution,” for Israel. The question then, as it remains to this day, is should Israel and the Jewish community accept the support considering the motives behind the support? Evangelicals support Israel not for Israel’s sake, not out of an altruistic love of freedom and democracy in a sweltering pot of Muslim despotism, but rather for their own religious beliefs and hopes. Beliefs, I remind you, that the “Second Coming” of Jesus will happen only when the “Ingathering’ of Jews to Israel takes place (See Pat Robertson, among others).

Are we really all enemies? Of course not. Are we completely in line with each other’s motivations and beliefs? Obviously not. So, where does the acceptance of support end? Should it end with Neo-Nazis, and their support for Israel based on Social Darwinian precepts and espoused eugenic rationalization?

As a child I was taught you say a lot about yourself by the company you keep. Although good advice for our personal lives, we also need to view our political beliefs in similar reference. As a Zionist can I and should I accept support from a group who bases its support for Israel on a dogma that completely and wholeheartedly disgusts me?

I’ve struggled with this for years when considering the evangelical support. I like the ADL’s response, in form of an article by Abraham Foxman, in which he states we should accept evangelical support, but only in accordance with holding to our principles and faith and, in such, that we do not offer a quid pro quo, nor are asked for one. I humbly embrace the evangelical support for Israel and do so with the expectation that although our basis for doing so is different, both come from a genuine and well intentioned origin.

As for the “National Socialists For Israel,” well, as we continue to wait for the true identities of the organizers and something more than a website and some bumper stickers, I will, at this time, have to decline your support for my beloved Israel. I cannot, in good conscience, accept support based on Social Darwinism and pseudo-eugenics, the ideas of which were used in Hitler’s Nazi Germany as a means of justification for the genocide of the Shoah. Yes we are a people of few numbers and perhaps should welcome support from wherever it comes from, but in order to be the People of the Book, the people we are and the ones we aspire to be, we must chose our friends wisely and distance ourselves from this organization.

Your thoughts?

Jobless claims and the virgin theft

Just a quick one, but I simply had to comment. It was announced that jobless claims have hit a 16-year high (Mmm… 16 years ago who became President?) and those continuing on the roles and receiving benefits is near a 26-year high (Mmm… who was Prez in 1982?). Interesting facts that I expect we will see get worse before they get better. Expect an absolutely brutal December… and get ready to invest in some real gems on Wall Street come January. This downturn is going to produce an awful lot of millionaires 10 years from now.

But on the heels of this news comes, well, what I hope is NOT something we will see more of. In Newport Beach , California last Friday, a ~5-foot bronze statue of the Virgin Mary was stolen from Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church. The thieves had to bust the statue out of the cement base and carry off this not-so-light 5-foot virgin. How heavy? Well, at 550 pounds per cubic foot, I’d have to say she was a hollow statue, and would still weigh in the thousands of pounds.

So what’s the connection between jobless claims and the statue theft? Well, investigators believe the statue was stolen simply for its recycling scrap metal value. At about $1 per pound, that’s an awful lot of work for a few bucks.

60 days until we remove the virus known as “W” from our body politic.

“Goodwill” gestures? Tell that to Gilad Schalit

Question: when was the last time an Arab country did anything to demonstrate “goodwill” towards Israel?

Just ponder that question a while.

This week it was announced that Israel plans to release 250 Palestinian prisoners in a “goodwill” gesture toward Fatah leader and PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas prior to next month’s Muslim celebration of the Eid al-Adha feast.

Israel last freed Palestinian prisoners on Aug. 25, 2008, during a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice was visiting to help push peace talks along between the two sides. At the time, the release of the 198 prisoners was billed as a way to bolster Abbas, whom the U.S. and Israel see as the best chance for a peaceful solution from the Palestinian side.

Prior to that, Israel freed five Hezbollah militants and 200 bodies of terrorists on July 16th, 2008 as part of a deal in which they received the bodies of two soldiers, Sgt. First Class Ehud Goldwasser and Staff Sgt. Eldad Regev, captured and killed by Hezbollah in 2006. One of the five militants released was Samir Kantar, who had been serving multiple life terms in Israel for a grisly 1979 attack in which, among other atrocities, he executed 28-year-old Danny Haran in front of his 4-year-old daughter just before smashing her skull in with the butt of his gun.

Through all this, Staff Sargent Gilad Schalit has remained a prisoner within the Gaza Strip. Since June 25th, 2006 Gilad has been used by the Palestinians as a negotiating piece. They’ve gone as far as agreeing to a prisoner swap in October of 2006 as mediated by Egypt, but then reneged without explanation. It is speculated that Iran applied pressure to prevent the release of Shalit.

"Since Gilad was captured, more than two years ago, Israel has released approximately one thousand Palestinian prisoners, in several goodwill gestures. But these gestures have not pushed Gilad's release even by a millimeter, and have even increased the appetite of Hamas and its demands," Noam Schalit, Gilad’s father, said.

During his entire captivity, Gilad has been refused even basic rights provided by the Geneva Convention and other such treaties. He’s even been denied access to the Red Cross or any other human rights organization.
To see a full timeline of Gilad’s kidnapping and imprisonment go to: http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672631/apps/s/content.asp?ct=4007269

So I ask you again, when was the last “goodwill” gesture from the Arab world towards Israel? I can’t come up with one and I question Israel’s constant appeal to these types of gestures as a naïve way forward in peace talks. It’s clear Israelis place a higher value on the dead bodies of their fallen comrades than Arabs do of their living ones. So why does Israel keep trying to offer something of clearly little value to them for something we hold dearly?

The time is up and we must get serious about securing Gilad Shalit’s release. In addition, we can no longer afford, nor tollorate these one-sided trades or “goodwill” gestures. It’s time the other side bellies up to the table and gets serious about the peace process. Releasing Gilad would be a step in the right direction.

Change has come to America

“Change has come to America.” -- Barack Obama

Is it wrong for me to say I told you so? Honestly, I don’t care. President elect Obama took Ohio and won. I told you back in August if Obama took Ohio or Florida then he’d win hands down. As of 9pm central time I felt the pressure lifted. My shoulders relaxed, my eyes grew less tense, and I enjoyed watching the rest of the people continue to stress out. I knew though; I knew as soon as Ohio was called by Fox News that McCain was doomed to fail. It was simply an insurmountable mountain for him to climb to achieve the magic 270.

So now what? Now, we revel in the glorious change we have ahead. Not what you think I mean, but the fact that once again we have proven we are in the greatest nation on earth. We have, as we have 44 times before, peacefully changed our head of state by means of a democratic decision. For over 200 years we’ve handed the mantel of power from man-to-man, from generation-to-generation. Amazing when you think of how much blood has been spilt as power has transitioned over the last 200 years in other countries around the world.

And now, we must do as John McCain said. We must join together, as Americans, to make this country the best it can be. We’ve failed at that over the last 8 years, perhaps even more. Let’s take this time to dedicate ourselves to making America the land of opportunity, land of liberty and the land of freedom; together as Americans.

"My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on Earth enjoy!" -- Thomas Jefferson

Facebook causes death?

Which causes more deaths per year, saccharin or Facebook? (Answer below.)

Imagine this. You just broke up with a significant other and upon the next Facebook login you realize you are no longer considered “in a relationship” or “married.” Thus, you change your status to “single.” Nothing out of the ordinary here, right? I’m sure many of you have done this exact thing. Seems pretty innocuous.

Well, not in this day and age. Mr. Wayne Forrester of Croydon, England was on the other end of such a Facebook experience and decided to take things into his own hands. I mean, how dare his soon to be ex-wife tell her friends via Facebook that she and her husband have split.

Hell, we share everything else on there. The idea of personal privacy has certainly changed in the last decade or two. Imagine in 1984 if you were told your friends knew your every move (granted at the time my friends and I thought girls had cooties and Danny White was the best quarterback ever, but just pretend.) Most people would have had two reactions: first that of disbelief, and then of outrage.

“Surely no one has such an ability, and if they did what an affront to personal liberty!”

The cry of the fruition of an Orwellian future would sure bring people to act in outrage. They would rise up against Big Brother and shed their shackles of doublespeak.

Nowadays many of us couldn’t imagine not knowing everything as soon as it happened. With tools like Twitter we’re actually broadcasting, sometimes to complete strangers, our every activity. And, we do it in our own type of doublespeak.

WTF? @TEOTD IMHO we r nutz & F2F comm will die AFDN. But, wca?

You understand it? You know at least half of it I’m sure. Translation: “What the fuck? At the end of the day we are nuts and face-to-face communication will die any fucking day now. But, who cares anyways?”

Yes, these are all accepted, if not commonly used “words” in the new doublespeak. So, have we entered into the beginning phase of Orwell’s futuristic society? If we have, are we the ones to blame? There’s plenty more to talk about regarding privacy and liberty in our present day, but I’ll leave you with this.

Mr. Forrester of Croydon arrived at his old house in the early hours of the morning and, upon entering, attacked his ex Emma with a kitchen knife and a meat cleaver. He stabbed and hacked her to death. His defense? The Facebook posting “ totally devastated and humiliated” him. Unfortunately, this violent act based on on-line communication isn’t an isolated incident.

So, to answer the question, Facebook causes more deaths. Saccharin has never been proven to be a carcinogen and as of 2000 the USDA has proclaimed saccharin as safe.

Next time you reach the keyboard to update your status, pause and think. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7676285.stm

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Added a new feature that lets you "follow" this and other blogs. I dunno, check it out and let me know if you like it.

$700 billion can buy a lot of apple pies

$700 billion can buy a lot of apple pies. In fact, it could buy over 2,000 McDonald’s apple pies for each and every American today. Thanks CNN, glad we got some perspective on it.

All I can think of is that I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. Our government has fucked up again, pure and simple. I don’t even know where to start. Maybe with a question of how adding a $700 billion government bailout for the private sector is sound free market economics, but ensuring every American citizen can get health care is somehow socialistic. We can’t have it both ways Republicans. Or perhaps that we are providing $700 billion in tax money to the private sector as a loan for people who’ve already shown us they can’t run a damn business or pay the obligations they have. An apropos equivalent would be taking a family that can’t afford their mortgage payments and go ahead and give them more money/ loans to pay off that mortgage, thinking somehow a new loan means new responsibility or ability to pay. If I went to a bank and said I just lost my business because I made bad investment after bad investment and then asked for a loan because, hey, this time I got a good feeling, they’d toss me out on my butt. How is it that seemingly smart, rational people get elected and the minute they cross the Washington, D.C. city limits they turn into morons? (Now I’m looking at both of you Republicans and Democrats.) Could it be special interests or protecting their fat-cat friends and donors? Well, that’s another blog entry for another time.

Perhaps my favorite in this whole mess is Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s quote about the terms under which he’d accept the bailout. “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” WTF?!?!?!?

Seriously? Here’s a $700 billion blank check to a guy who 6 months earlier (March 16, 2008) said “our institutions, our banks and investment banks are strong.” He gave a full endorsement that our economy is strong and sound. So are we to believe that in 6 months the entire industry went from great to flat on their face? Not even a crack head with a gambling problem could do that. He’s shown he is either incompetent or dishonest. Either way, Mr. Paulson has shown he doesn’t deserve our trust nor our confidence as Treasury Secretary, be it because he’s incapable or because he’s a liar.

So to sum it up, we’re giving a government bailout loan to institutions that clamor for more free market economics and less government intervention, who have already shown they can’t run a business and we’re going to do it via a person’s oversight who didn’t even see the writing on the wall that the failure was coming, and he won’t have any oversight or have to answer to anyone in how he allocates the $700 billion. It’s like sending a sex addict through a whore house unattended with a fist full of hundred dollar bills that belong to us to pay the mortgage. We’re sending someone we don’t trust, with no oversight or accountability through a maze he’s already shown he can’t handle to do something vitally important.

If you’re not mad then you’re not paying attention folks. Or, perhaps George Bernard Shaw was right when he said, "Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve." I think we deserve better. Perhaps I should run for political office. Nah… people wouldn’t vote for me; I make too much sense and that’s clearly not what they want. They prefer polished BS over the cold, hard truth. Besides, given our current polarization there’s no way anyone who is moderate could make it out of a primary race on either side of the isle. What do you think? Seriously, I’d like to see some comments here. America is in trouble and it’s up to every one of us to make a stand and make a difference.

Defensive Driving

So a few weeks ago I got caught going 72mph on highway 75. Seriously, the posted limit is 60, but it’s Texas. More so, it’s Dallas! No one goes the speed limit. The speed limit signs are more of suggestions I thought, general rules of thumb like “watch your step” signs and the such.
To get out of the ticket I chose to take defensive driving. Not only will I have the ticket cleared from my record, but I’ll save $80 a year on my insurance. Whippie, but I guess it’s the best way I can get back at the man this week. So I’ll take my $80 sir!

Now, where to take said defensive driving class? Well, I’m not one for sitting in a classroom for 6 hours straight on a weekend. I don’t own a working VCR so no defensive driving via tape. I think they have DVDs, but I am simply too lazy to go to Blockbuster to find out. So I settle on an on-line course. I figure that way I can drop in and out over my lunch period and at nights and over a week or two get the required hours in. Turns out it was even better. I dropped in between drug induced comas. (yes, prescription because of my surgery.)

I look for two things: something to keep me from offing myself during it; and something cheap. I thought I found this in www. comedydriving.com. Come on, it says comedy right in the name and it’s only $25. Holy cow was I wrong! This has got to be the worst attempt at humor ever. I would have rather watched paint dry or flies procreate. Poorly done voice impersonations plus shitty animation combined with horrible jokes (if you can even call them that; calling police “pigs” seemed to be the most reoccurring) and sprinkle liberally on an already painful topic equals disaster. Seriously, I’m recovering from surgery and am on some great pain killers and I still want to take the cord from the mouse and hang myself. At least they had a continual countdown showing me how many painful minutes remained ahead of me until completion.

I guess the old adage is true: if something seems too good to believe, it probably is. Funny, on-line convenience and cheap was just too good to be real. So my advice for all you looking to erase a ticket or lower your insurance in the state of Texas, AVOID comedydriving.com or risk suicide. Or, just don’t speed. I guess that’s a good option too.

Israeli this and that...

So back to my Israel stories I have been neglecting to pass along.

Here are some tidbits that weren’t long enough in and of themselves for a post, but nonetheless are some good little postings.

One day, when we were in Jerusalem, there was an interesting dose of reality that “hit” us, or rather, our bus. We had been dropped off in the old city and did some walking tour type stuff. It was time to return to the bus and as we approached it, it was clear the glass in the door had been shattered. When David (the bus driver) got off, I asked him what happened. He replied that he had driven around the city to get to the parking area and had passed by the Muslim quarter. Our bus was clearly marked with “Birthright” which confirms it’s a bunch of Jews on board. Well, a couple of Arabs popped out from an alley and started throwing rocks at the bus. The Israeli’s reactions that were with us kind of surprised me. They weren’t surprised. They weren’t really mad. It was complete disgust/ disappointment. For me, after some time to think, I’m not mad. As the guilt trip goes, I’m simply disappointed.

Now onto a good item. I’ve discovered Israeli crack. It’s called Bamba. Bamba is unlike anything I’ve had before. Take cheesy poofs, not Cheetos, they’re crunchy, but the fluffy cheesy poofs. Now instead of a cheese flavor, make it peanut butter flavored. I know, sounds weird. I had my doubts too, but this is seriously the greatest snack food ever. I’m now on a hunt to find it in Dallas.

If you haven't seen my pictures from the trip yet, e-mail me and I'll send you the link.

Politics: Early predictions

Since I called the Democratic VP candidate as Biden about a month before the announcement, I'll toss out another early prediction...

Looking at the electoral map there are a few situations that could play out. If Obama gets Ohio OR Florida he wins, period. McCain MUST carry both states.

If McCain pulls Wisconsin and Michigan away from Obama, McCain wins. Obama should keep both, but it will cost him millions to do so. If he struggles with cash late in the campaign he could very well lose one of those states. If he loses one, it still comes down to my final verdict below.

Final verdict... you heard it hear first, and probably last...
North Carolina could very well be the decider. (No, not as in GW is the "decider.") And the deciding factor will be voter turnout. Obama better pray for large turnouts, especially of first time voters and Clintonian Republicans who've stayed home in the last few elections.

The challenge? Being on the East Coast polls will close before the rest of the states and thus, no last minute push could be swayed by how the other states go.

This is all academic though if Obama can pull one out in either Ohio or Florida, Florida being the more likely of the two. McCain could very well take Wisconsin so look for large amounts of money being poured into that state soon after the conventions are over. If there is a protracted fight there it will come down to a dollars game. Who has more for last minute media blitzes.

My Electoral Map

PS- McCain takes Mitt as VP.

I told you so... oil, sweet oil

This goes out to all the idiots out there who were buying sweet crude futures at $165 a barrel and above. I'm glad you're losing your shirt, or Timmy's college money or your retirement. Trying to capitalize on war and tough times is simply wrong. You tried to pull a fast one and got caught with your hand in the cookie jar. You deserve it.

For those not sure what I'm talking about oil dropped below the $118 a barrel mark this week after having been going through the roof and hitting almost $150 a barrel just one month before. Why was it going through the roof? It could have been global economic pressures caused by the continued industrialization of China, India and other such countries, or it could have been the prospect of America falling into another quagmire with an OPEC nation (Iran), or it may have simply been overall demand rising in the U.S. itself. It could have been, and all these played a role, but another driver no one wanted to talk about was the idiots buying the oil futures at well above current projections. What happens then? People get scared and jump on the bandwagon. Then, more people are buying at even hire prices. Fear and the lemur mentality take over.

Next time, don't follow the rest of the pack into the on-coming truck. And more importantly, don't try to make a quick buck at someone else's misfortune.

Trip to Israel, Part I (the highlight)

So, I’m back from Israel and am still attempting to get my sleeping patterns straightened out, but oh what a time! I will be posting several stories over the next few days and will hopefully get to posting the pictures this weekend. All-in-all, it was an amazing trip.

So everyone keeps asking me what was the most amazing part of the trip. There are so many moments that stand out, both good and bad, that although it sounds cheesy and cliché, it really is hard to chose just one. After thinking about it though, I’d have to say spending Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest) in Jerusalem was what stands out the most.

There are several reasons for this. The first is, well, I’ve never prayed with that many Jews before! Friday night at the Kotel (Western Wall) was truly amazing. Thousands of people dancing, celebrating and praying, all from different backgrounds, from so many different countries around the world, but all with the single binding fact of being Jewish. For my Christian friends that probably doesn’t sound like much, but to put it in perspective, think that only 2 people out of 100 in the United States are Jewish, and that’s the second highest percentage behind only Israel! Jews make up 0.2% of the world’s population. They’re ain’t many of us out there!

But you ask, “Redneck, there are so many other religions out there too, surely they are just as small.”

Well, here is a list of just a few of the religions that have more adherents than Judaism:
Christianity (duh), Islam (double duh), Hinduism, Buddhism, primal-indigenous, African tribal, Sikhism, Chinese traditional, secular humanism and Spiritism. Never heard of some of these? Neither have I. You get the point. So, for someone from outside Israel to be surrounded by 90% Jewish people, it is truly a rare event and one that is hard to articulate.

Looking across the Kotel and seeing the shtreimel (fur covered hats of mostly Russian Jews), spodiks (somewhat taller fur hats) and kippot (a.k.a. yarmulkes) of all kinds and colors was beyond surreal. Call it Kafkaesque, but without the bad hangover. :)

The other amazing part is I have never been in a city that almost completely shuts down for Shabbos. After sunset (when Shabbat begins- remember, no Rolexes 3,000 years ago) the city streets of Jerusalem are almost completely empty of cars. We enjoyed a leisurely walk back to the hotel and spent half of it walking in the middle of the street. The following morning we walked to services and even stopped, waiting on people to catch up, in a rotunda that the day before was like the Indy 500. Saturday morning though, not a car in sight. It was like a post-apocalyptic zombie movie, sans the blood and the brain eaters.

There was a calm, peaceful quiet about the city. Shops were closed, streets were quiet except for people talking and their laughs echoing down the street. Even the air seemed a little lighter and crisper than before. Whether you believe in G-d or not, you would have to agree that seeing a city of 750,000 people come to a near complete halt for 24 hours has a calming influence that we rarely encounter, and is something we have a hard time comprehending.

If you feel like it, in the comments share the moment in your life where it seemed the calmest your world ever was.

Israel

Well, I wish I was posting under better conditions. An Arab left a construction site on a bulldozer today in downtown Jerusalem and overturned cars and tried to crush civilians. He was shot and killed, but not until after there were at least 2 civilian deaths and unknown number hurt.

The mood on the bus was tense. Many of these participants have never closely followed Israeli news and thus, don't know what happens or what kind of reaction to expect. The Israeli soldiers joined us yesterday for the remainder of the trip. I think this was good so the Americans could see their reactions and discuss with them after the attack.

The trip so far has been quiet and nothing major to write about. Tiberius was neat and due to schedule changes we could only spend a few hours in Safed. Eilat today was beautiful and the beaches and snorkleing were great, but damn it's hot!! The guys from Brooklyn are melting. :) We also hiked Masada pre-dawn to see the sunrise over the Dead Sea, swam in it and in Eilat swam in the Red Sea. It was weird to swim were you could easily cross over into Jordan with a small fishing boat.

We are heading to Tel Aviv tomorrow and then on to Jerusalem. Shabbos at the Kotel should be amazing and I'm really looking forward to it.

Ok, I've got carpel tunnel from tapping this out on my blackberry so I'm signing off.

From your favorite Jewish Redneck, smack dab in the middle of the Negev desert.

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to Israel I go…

Yes, the redneck is headed to Eretz Israel (Land of Israel). My friend Regan called me this past weekend and the first question was, “You have lots of vacation, right?” That is usually a loaded question; however, this time it was great news. The male counselor dropped from the trip she was leading and needed a last minute (8 days notice) fill-in. How lucky am I that I answered the phone?!?

So, all I have to do is get to NYC (not as pricey as you’d think) and the rest is free courtesy of Birthright Israel! So, a quick call to book a flight and BAM!, I’m going to Israel virtually free. Airfare, hotels, activities and most meals. My luck really has turned around!

I’m working double-time this week to get things set at work so I can be gone for almost two weeks. I leave July, 15th and come back on the 27th. While I’m there I will be able to check e-mail at my yahoo address and facebook (what did we do before Black Berries?). If you don’t have these, odds are I don’t want to hear from you. If you think this is a mistake, give me a call.

I also plan on trying to drop a few updates on here while I'm there to keep everyone in the know. I look forward to some great insights to share.

Ok, off to get things in order.

Happy 4th of July?

Happy birthday America! Wow, you sure look a young 230-something. You know, they say the 230s are really the new 220s. So rock out with your cock out this birthday.

Since patriotism is the natural topic of the day, let me share a little something with you. Now when people talk about civil liberties and freedoms the mind instantly focuses on the war in Iraq/ Afghanistan and the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Let’s leave that alone this 4th of July and focus instead on something closer to home.

I, your humble Jewish redneck blogger, am considered a terror threat by the TSA and the U.S. government. I am a second class citizen when it comes to travel or large loan amounts. Many of you know of my Kafkaesque experiences when purchasing and wire transferring money for the purchase of my two homes over the years, but as I draw within 24 hours of once again boarding a plane for a simple jog down to Austin for a long weekend, I once again am faced with the accusations of an unknown, faceless complainant. I’ve pursued the available actions for recourse with the end result being, I’m still in the “no-fly” list and the government continues to deny to inform me why. When asked, the response comes back, “The U.S. government doesn’t have to give out that kind of information.” And they don’t.

You’ve heard of babies being on the list, Nelson Mandela and his entire African National Congress (the governing body of South Africa), and of course, Ted Kennedy. Seriously, were they afraid he’d drink them dry of gin and send the entire city of Washington, D.C. into a panic if he got on a plane back from Vegas? Well, now you can say you actually know someone on the list.

Yes, this American born, tax paying, voting, working citizen, Jewish 30-something is on the terror watch list. Why? I have no idea. What I do know is I get extra special attention at the airport, I can’t check-in on-line or even at the airport kiosks, and I’m sick and tired of it.

How can we claim to be fighting for the freedom of others when we continue to deny even basic due process to our own citizens? How can we let OUR government continue to flip their nose up at the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments to OUR precious Constitution? Will we continue to offer up our freedoms and liberties in an effort to protect ourselves from those we claim are coming to steal it?

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniencies attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." Thomas Jefferson, December 23, 1791.

This holiday weekend, think long and hard what being an American means to you. Then, consider what the reality of being an American in this day and age really means.

Have a safe 4th of July weekend.

And you thought you were screwed up

In the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. Jerald J. Block, M.D. proposes that “Internet Addiction” be added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the official field guide for mental disorders. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/165/3/306

For all the statistics and details read the short article, but what I want to focus on is the whole idea from the 50,000 foot level. I mean, really, is there anything in this f’ed up world we CAN’T turn into an addiction? Why can’t we just call a spade a spade and say: “Hey, that is f’ed up and you need to take some personal responsibility and control your damn self!” Instead we hand out mental illness badges like the cub scouts hand out the art merit badge: if you can’t get one, seriously, time to reevaluate if being the fry cook might be aiming a little too high for you.

Have we really “advanced” so far in the last 30 years that “Internet Addiction” is really something we need to actively diagnose? For as “addicted” as I am to my blackberry, laptop, the internet, etc. as I am, give me a chance to turn it all off and I’m in heaven. A few years ago I spent 3 weeks backpacking through Peru. Besides the amazing views the greatest part was knowing I wouldn’t hear a cell phone ring in the middle of the Amazon, or that no of keyboards would be heard 14,000 feet above sea level in the middle of the Andes. Is it truly a mental illness if someone doesn’t have enough personal control to put the mouse down and take 5 from playing Halo3? If that’s the case, I must have suffered terribly from “Homework Avoidance Addiction” and never should have been put in the horrible situation where I was asked to actually do homework.

When I was growing up this type of “addiction” was immediately remedied by a parental unit. If you were an adult and suffered from a similar “addiction” it was remedied by a spouse, the bill collector or you were simply dubbed, the lazy a$$hole who couldn’t hold a job. Pretty cut and dry to me.

So despite my ramblings, I come to offer two points. The first point is that by calling such things “mental disorders” simply demeans and trivializes those who truly do suffer from mental illness. As a society, we have already stigmatized mental illness. Until you see someone you care for deal with not only the pressure of the illness, but also the societal stigma surrounding it, I don’t believe you can truly understand how helpless you are to aide them. There are real and powerful illnesses out there that merit the research and treatment dedicated to mental illness and we must avoid trivializing them by adding in slackers and losers. It’s time to draw a line.

Secondly, we once again have given an out to the lazy, lethargic and slothful among us. Our political correctness will be one of the sledge hammers that undo the pillars of society we current reside on.

Stand up, grow up and take accountability for yourself and hold other accountable for themselves.

UPDATE: New blog location

Ok, so I've finally moved my blog out of “facebook only” to blogger.com so more of y'all can read it. Why someone would read my ramblings I have no idea; something to discuss with your therapist in your next session.

So, the address is http://jewishredneck.blogspot.com/ and I plan on keeping it posted within facebook via a mirror application. I also moved most of the old postings to this new blog, but the dates are obviously wrong since it lists the upload date and the comments couldn’t be transferred either. Please keep them coming though.

That’s it for now!

Shalom in your shtetl!

Update on my status... and what happened

First, thank you to everyone for the offers of help. So here’s the story:
Second softball game this morning a hard hit liner took a bad hop and I caught it with my face. :) The field was in pretty bad shape and the ball simply took a bad hop. I was knocked out for a few seconds and lost a ton of blood. Seriously, there was a ton! All-in-all it could have been much worse.

One of the bonuses of playing in a Jewish softball league? You know there’ll be a doctor available! :) Several came over from other fields/ games and got my blood pressure stabilized before moving me. Honestly, I think a few of the guys on the field were palerthan I was because of all the blood. I noticed my nose was a bit out of whack while holding the towels to it and so I reset the broken nose right there. I was surprised that it didn’t hurt more. Either that, or I was still so whacked out I couldn’t feel it.

They took me to the ER and I had a CT scan done. Nothing too bad. I had a slight concussion, my nose is broken and I look like I got beat like a government mule, but again, could have been much worse. I have a few cuts from the sunglasses I was wearing, but they probably saved my eye socket by deflecting/ dispersing just enough of the force.

I’ll not be driving for at least 24 hours and icing my cheek bone and nose a lot. I’ll see a specialist later this week to make sure the bone is healing properly and hopefully won’t have to have surgery. I’ll be sure to post some pics this week as I’m gonna have one heck of a black eye!

Thanks for all the concern. If I talked to you earlier today I may not remember because of the concussion, but I know I talked with several of you and I’ll be sure to let you know if I need anything.

Lessons for the day:
1) Don’t try to catch a smoked two hopper with your nasal passages.
2) Blackberries are fun to play with while you’re a little loopy in the ER waiting for the CT scan.
3) Swallowing a ton of blood makes you sick to your stomach. Who knew?
4) Finally, as my grandma always said, you gotta laugh.

This week's sign the apocalypse is almost upon us

This might also fall into a, “you can’t make this stuff up” category, but for now I’ll assume it’s simply part of society turning on itself and quickening the end of times. This ride will be so much fun!

So a 13 year old kid, from of all places Texas, stole his Dad’s credit card and ordered two hookers. Seriously? I didn’t even know what a hooker was at 13, much less that the hell I’d do with her!

The best part? When the hookers got suspicious, the boy and his friend told them they were people of “restricted growth” working with a traveling circus. Texas State law folks… you cannot discriminate against those with disabilities, so the prostitutes felt they had no right to refuse them, and stayed and played XBox with the kids.

I’m rethinking this whole, ‘having kids’ thing. Well folks, “be fruitful and multiply” at your own peril.

http://www.money.co.uk/article/1000390-13-year-old-steals-dads-credit-card-to-buy-hookers.htm

This week's sign the apocalypse is almost upon us

What does the new wave Finnish rock band called The Leningrad Cowboys (A.K.A.the Sleepy Sleepers), the Red Army Choir from Russia and “Sweet Home Alabama” all have in common?

All made an appearance in Russia before thousands of concert goers at the same time, on the same stage. Seriously, can’t make this up. Check out the link for the rockin’ concert and be sure to make note of the band’s hair.

Finally, someone besides an American looking stupid for the whole world to see. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the week they hate the Russians more than us. I doubt it, but I can dream, can’t I? Now, who has their Halloween costume picked out after watching this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lNFRLrP014

Canada y'all?

OMG! It is everything I can do in a very important customer meeting to NOT laugh. The customer I’m meeting with is leading the meeting right now and he has a very usual Texas drawl like most of us. Subtle, almost unnoticeable to most of us, but would stand out to Northerners.

Then, like a thunder bolt through the room, a crash in the middle of calm, BAM! a Canadian accent sneaks out in a word or two. Surely I heard this wrong. Nope, there it is again. OMG… “schedule” comes out with the Canadian “ou” and sounds like “ske-duel” with that “ou” thing in the second half. I’m dying here folks… a Canadian redneck; who knew? Now if only I can figure out how to get him to say, “This schedule tool is like a boot stuck in the Canadian mud.” :)

From the section, "You can't make this stuff up"

Life really does imitate art, but seriously, could someone have actually thought this one up as a story line? I don’t think so, only reality (and not the “reality” crap Fox pumps into our homes) could deal us a plot of having a U.S. wide matzah shortage. Seriously, people are going crazying because they can’t find their matzah.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/22matzo.html
http://www.news.com/i/bto/20080421/Photo_042008_001_270x202.jpg

Then you simply have the greedy ones who waste matzah for other’s enjoyment. (Seriously, watch this.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMSEFCQCKPo

Well, Happy Passover and guard your matzah closely. I may offer my remaining matzah on craigslist, or maybe ebay it for charity! :)

This week's sign the apocalypse is almost upon us

The New Kids on the Block are planning tour dates. Please G-d, bring the end of days sooner rather than later.
http://www.nkotb.com/

Finally... Jewish refugees acknowledged!

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=970998&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1

Fitna the movie

There is nothing I can say that would add to this film. Watch it for yourself; agree, disagree, but don’t be indifferent. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7d9_1206624103

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -
and there was no one left to speak for me.”

A poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) as translated at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Willie Nelson at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Yep, that really did happen and I really was there! In fact, I splurged for sixth row seats for the first time at the Meyerson Symphony Center. The first half of the concert was Willie and the DSO performing together and after intermission it was Willie and his band.

Before I get into any details, let me say one thing. For over 50 years Willie has been performing and has cemented himself in legend and lore. He owes fans and the music world absolutely nothing at this point. Given all that, he still goes out and pushed himself into unknown territory. Kudos to him and to the DSO for trying something musically challenging and outside of the normal comfort zone.

The concert started with the DSO performing a few pieces and then Willie came out to join them. He was dressed in a black suit, complete with slacks and highlighted with black cowboy boots and a black cowboy hat. He even had his signature hair tucked into the back of his shirt.
As the combination of the DSO and Willie began it was immediately evident that Willie was out of his comfort zone and looking for queues from the conductor. That said, once he got his entrance queues the combination of symphonic melody and classic Willie crooning was something to truly behold. Words can’t do the unique combination justice.

After intermission it was like the Meyerson was transformed into a small smoky bar with Willie and his band having a jam session. No glitz, no neon, just good music and great entertainment in an intimate setting. As the mix of classics and new songs came out Willie relaxed more and more until it seemed he was finally in his element; joking with the audience and pulling us into singing along, his charm shined brightly.

After two encores the show was over, but Willie wasn’t done. He stayed around for at least 30 minutes signing autographs, posing for pictures and hamming it up for the fans who stuck around. I got my autograph (thanks to Jenn) and headed home. All-in-all, worth every penny!