A Jewish Redneck?

So the most common question I get is around the handle “Jewish Redneck.” People think it’s an oxymoron and that the two terms are mutually exclusive.

How I got the name was pretty simple: A few people started asking me if I was a Jewish Redneck, then referring to me as one. I have a truck, I use typical southern/Texan terms like y’all and coke (small “c” referring to all sodas, or pops as you will) I like shooting guns, I like to work with my hands, I *love* my cowboy boots and I am, most certainly, a religious Jew. So where does that leave me?

I never gave much thought to the name until I started getting the questions about the apparent incongruence of it. To me it was easy; I was both. And then it hit me. Much like other times in my life I realized my vocabulary definitions weren’t necessarily the equivalent of others around me, the rebel flag being the zenith of those incongruent declarations in my life.*

So what is a “redneck?” The term originated in the late 1800s as a reference to poor, white farmers, the salt of the earth if you will. They worked the fields and through a combination of the red southern dirt and the sun, their necks became red far beyond that of the rest of their skin. In the 1910s-1930s the term was co-opted by coal miner unions, then unions in general, and went so far as the simple placement of a red handkerchief/bandana on someone denoted their union membership. Taking it a step further the red bandana went on to be associated simply with a hard working class person, blue collar if you will. Didn’t you ever wonder why you always saw red bandanas and not a million other colors?

To me redneck had much the same connotation. Someone who worked hard, put their nose to the grindstone and did what had to be done, not necessarily what they wanted to do. They believed in an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, no more, no less. These were family men (and later, women) who believed in G-d, honesty, family, freedom, etc. Are these not the same exact ideals that Judaism teaches us? They are. Family, faith, honesty, these create a shared ideal between Judaism and “redneck.”

So although they seem to be mutually exclusive at first brush, they’re not. I can daven (pray) with a southern drawl, go to shul in my cowboy boots, and work on the roofs of Habitat for Humanity houses while secretly singing Fiddler on the Roof in my head. No matter what the pieces of your life are on their own they still add up to you, so be the best Jew, redneck, whatever, that you can.

* NOTE: To this day I refer to it as the rebel flag, because that was what it was to me growing up. It didn’t have the connotation of slavery or oppression, and certainly wasn’t the “Confederate flag.” Instead it was simply an emblem for southern pride and represented what I consider a core American value; that is, the right of a people to self-determine their future. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I began to understand what this symbol meant to other people. Based upon that new understanding, I don’t endorse the rebel flag as an appropriate sign of southern pride.

The “Confederate” flag is not the red flag with a blue “X” on it encrusted with white stars. That is actually “The battle flag of the Confederacy” which was adopted for the battle field since the actual Confederate flag was very similar to that of the United States, thus causing much confusion in battle. Since the Southern states were considered “rebels” for trying to leave the Union, the association with those who rebelled against the dominate power came into being. Also, “Stars and Bars” is also not the proper term for the battle/rebel flag, but actually refers to the Confederate States of America national flag as well.

41,000 Hours of Your Life

What would you do with over 4.5 years of your life? That's about 57 months or 1,700 days, or 41,000 hours. In that time you could earn your bachelor’s degree with time to spare, or two master's degrees. You could conceive and deliver up to 5 new lives, or you could have created something called Facebook and grown it into a multi-billion dollar company reaching over 150 million people. You could create unknown amounts of art, poetry, or other creations. The options seem limitless. Hell, how many governments have been overthrown in that time?

For the past 1,700 days Gilad Shalit hasn’t had any of these opportunities. He has sat in an unknown prison with no medical aid and no contact from the outside world. Not even the International Red Cross/Crescent has been allowed to see him and he’s been afforded no rights that should be granted under the Geneva Convention. Why? Because he's an Israeli Jew. I’ve written before about this topic in 2008 and again in 2009 and laid out plenty of information I won’t regurgitate here, but unfortunately, this situation still hasn’t been resolved. There is plenty of blame to pass around for this, not the least of which goes to his Arab captors, but I want to go beyond that.

Besides trying to gain his freedom and working towards a lasting peace in the Middle East, I believe we owe Gilad Shalit a little more. Each and every one of us, regardless of political persuasion, religious/ethnic background or country of origin owe him this: to live each and every day to its fullest. We often take for granted the freedoms we have and focus on what we don’t have. We turn to procrastination and apathy because it’s the easier option. Today, on the 1,700^th day of Gilad’s illegal, immoral and unjust imprisonment, take a moment to think about what you’ve accomplished over the last 1,700 days and about what your life would be like if you hadn’t had the opportunity to do them. Think next of what you want to accomplish over the next 1,700 days as well. What have you been meaning to do, but put off? What good deed do you keep meaning to do, but somehow it always gets put off until later, and later never comes? Have you been meaning to volunteer at a homeless shelter? Then do it. Have you been meaning to call you mother more (because you know, she does worry), take the initiative and do it starting now. Did you want to start painting the kitchen because you know your significant other has wanted it? Time to go to the paint store.

We hear the overused and watered-down phrase “freedom isn’t free.” Well, whether it is or isn’t, you have it, now start making use of it. Leave the world a better place than you received it and start now, before now becomes then and then becomes too late.

“No man is rich enough to buy back his past.” ~Oscar Wilde

--JR

By Any Other Name

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” –Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

One-hundred and fifty years ago, without even knowing it, Charles Dickens encapsulated what social networking has become. It does provide the best of times; finding old friends, keeping touch with family, seeing weekly picture updates as a grandchild grows up somewhere across the country.

And, it is the worst of times. People being fired for Facebook status updates, on-line social stalkers, identity theft.

But in what should be an age of wisdom with unfettered access to more information in .29 seconds than Voltaire, Socrates, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Einstein had access to ever in their combined lives, we continue to prove this the age of foolishness, at least, social foolishness.

Luckily (insert sarcasm HERE), technology providers are finding new and inventive ways to help us shoot our own eyes out. Microsoft has released the Outlook Social Connector for Microsoft Office Outlook. Basically, this connects all your Outlook contacts to their information on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and more. You’ll see status updates, comments, messages and alerts from the social networking sites all in one place for your contacts. Cool for you, but also remember the flipside. Now your boss, co-worker, neighbor, stalker, vendor, customer, and crazy Aunt Sally can all follow your social doings in one place without even having to try.

For some (this guy included) this raises the question of privacy and Big Brother and how much is too much? How “connected” and transparent do you really want your life to be? For many like myself we try to keep two separate identities in the social space; one business appropriate, the other inner-circle friend appropriate and “never the twain shall meet.” (Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of East and West) However, this is becoming more and more problematic as advances such as the Outlook Social Connector spider out and aggregate material on the fly.

Your best defense? Don’t be stupid. Sounds easy enough, yet a week doesn’t pass where you can’t find mention of someone getting fired or not getting a job because of what information lies in the social aether (yes, this is the correct traditional spelling used in this sense). Use the rule of thumb I was taught as a child. Don’t do anything you’d be embarrassed about if your grandma read it on the front page of tomorrow’s paper. So, don’t post without thinking. Mistakes can follow you forever, just ask Monica Lewinsky, Roger Clemens or Tiger Woods.

Also, use your knowledge to set up as good a firewall between your two personas as possible. Know what Facebook is publishing publicly and control it. If you don’t care, trust me, they sure as heck don’t.

Remember, this information never dies. Digital copy is around forever. Just because you delete it doesn’t mean it’s gone. It could be days, months or years before it shows back up, but it can and does.

I began with a famous beginning, let me end with a famous ending. Just know information, like plague bacillus, never disappears for good.

“He knew what those jubilant crowds did not know but could have learned from books: that the plague bacillus never dies or disappears for good; that it can lie dormant for years and years in furniture and linen-chests; that it bides its time in bedrooms, cellars, trunks, and bookshelves; and that perhaps the day would come when, for the bane and the enlightening of men, it would rouse up its rats again and send them forth to die in a happy city.” - Albert Camus, The Plague

Humanity lost, humanity gained

We’re on our way to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and I’m not sure what to expect. I know what I’m supposed to think and feel, but that that translates into reality remains to be seen.

As we walked up to the entrance it was strange, and a bit disturbing, to see that houses have been built right across the road from the camp. Not across a highway, not across a four lane major street, no, right across the two lane, busted pavement road. Who would want such a house? It simply seemed wrong. As we continued the walk I froze as I looked into the camp and saw smoke billowing from a chimney that appeared just inside the walls. A moment of actual, palpable panic set in even as I realized it was simply a heating vent. Is it maybe we see what we want to see, or perhaps what we were expecting to see? I don’t know, but my heart did race and I did feel a moment of heightened alertness not expected while “on vacation.”

Hours after the camp and the group’s reactions seemed to range from completely indifferent to clearly moved and upset. I also notice a few people having, what appears to me, a delayed sense of distress. My reactions… well, I don’t know. I know, since when am I one to struggle for words? I simply didn’t feel the connection I thought I would. I think there’s two reasons for this. One, I have no personal family connection to this place as my family’s history lies in Lithuania. Secondly, no mass crematoriums. This was a true concentration camp and not a death camp. People were murdered and tortured and humiliated here, but not on the mass scale as a full death camp. The difference has never been as apparent to me as it is now.

I guess I also feel hopeful. Here we were, a group of Jews with varied backgrounds and different family stories, after a near total annihilation of European Jewry, standing at what was, for Judaism, death’s doorstep; living, praying, thriving. What’s more, we’re not here in secret, some clandestine action designed to smuggle Jews into forbidden territory so they are able to feel a sense of history up close. No, we were here, in part, at the request of the German government. We were here not to mourn the past nor as a token gesture of reconciliation, instead, we were here to engage modern Germans in cultural, theological and simply personal dialog. To learn together, to educate one another and to make the “other” take form of someone real, someone tangible, someone with a name and a face. Germans are no longer simply “them” or “they” to me, rather Germans are people with names like Nadine, Sascha, Esther and Johanna. I hope we have made a similar impact. After all, it was humanity that was lost in the Shoah, not just humans.

Berlin Day 3- Shabbos

Walking through the memorial of the murdered Jews of Europe was disappointing, if not upsetting. Let me first explain the structures. A large plot of land covered with 2,711 gray columns of various heights in a very symmetrical layout. The ground undulates up and down throughout the exhibit as you walk toward the center. The varying heights and slight directional confusion of the obelisks, due to the undulating ground, causes moments of disorientation. The sounds of the city go quieter and quieter as you move to the center until you feel almost alone, with nothing but the sight of cars and people in the distance keeping you centered in your reality. Below all this is a museum with much more detailed information and is very well setup in its own right.

The physical structure itself is a very well designed monument. You can agree or disagree with the minimalist nature on the outside, but you can’t argue that is it a work of art and one paying tribute appropriately. My issue comes with the upkeep and the demeanor of the visitors. Cigarette butts, gum and trash are strewn about the memorial. People are jumping from one column to the next and even playing hide-and-go-seek. Not children, but adults! They clearly don’t get it and it worries me that the message will be completely lost and the site itself will become a trivial byproduct of what some might view as collective guilt. The juxtaposition of these activities and attitudes from Germany to that of the United States amazes me. I thought we were the lazy, lax ones and Germany was the structured one. Goes to show you what assumptions do. I was fully expecting the type of cleanliness and reverence I see anytime I visit Washington, D.C. memorials. You don’t see people climbing up to jump off Lincoln’s lap or cigarette butts and trash lining the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Perhaps I need to adjust my expectations… then again, there are certain types of respect that don’t need translation.

Berlin Day 1

NOTE: Although the trip is over I want to continue posting my diary comments in order. The lack of sufficient internet access quite limited all of our ability to upload during the trip, but I will continue doing so over the next few days.

Ok, so I had my very first moment of being an uncomfortable Jew in Germany. After dinner me and two other guys, one local, one participant (Elliot), headed to a local neighborhood bar away from the touristy stuff. As we walked in I was keenly aware that we were definitely dressed differently and thus, weren’t the average locals. We walked up the steps and turned right and there, about 10 yards away was the bar with the most Aryan looking guy ever. Tall, dark facial hair, bald head and wearing a tight black t-shirt. I swear straight out of a movie. We walk in and past him and all I can think is, there’s got to be a punch line in there somewhere. “Three Jews walk into an Aryan bar in Berlin…” Thus the journey begins.

In the "Now"

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently, not that that is much different from normal. My mind is almost constantly running at several thousand RPMs. Back in the day they called it “not paying attention,” nowadays I believe they call it attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. I like to call it “multi-tasking.”

I guess the difference the last few months is I’ve been really focusing on my upcoming trip, which just happens to start tomorrow. Here’s a brief overview of the trip. I was selected to be one of 15 “young Jewish leaders” (their words) from around North America to go to Germany as part of an AJC (American Jewish Committee) trip focusing on interreligious dialog, and in particular, the Oberammergau Passion play. (Press release) Now I’ll be posting plenty more on this as the trip wears on, providing WiFi access is as readily available as it seems from my reading, but here’s the rest of the itinerary.

After 10 days of the program I’ll head to Freising where I’ll work a few days at my company’s Germany office. After that, I’m off to play! First I’ll be heading to Prague, then Vienna, Bratislava and finally Budapest where I’ll eventually catch my plane home. Sounds like there’s a joke in there somewhere… “A Jewish Texan walks into a bar in Bratislava…” And before anyone freaks out about me posting I’ll be away from my house, as the good folks at http://pleaserobme.com/ have pointed out, I want to ease your mind. First off, I’ve got an alarm. Second, two separate neighbors don’t work and are home all the time, and know I’m out of town and are thus keeping an eye on things. Finally, honestly folks, I was thinking about it and I have nothing anyone would want to steal. An 11 year old big screen? Take it. A dining room table? Have at it if you can figure out how to get it out of the house without taking it apart. My extensive beer collection? Just make sure you close the fridge when you’re done. I was actually kind of sad when I really thought about it. My house would be the worst place for someone to rob! No jewelry, no cash, I’ll have my passport with me, no good financial stuff as every one of my accounts is password protected with a password that’s never been written down; I guess a single guy just doesn’t have that much good shit to steal. This really did kind of bother me. Oh well, I’m over it.

So, back the point (Yes, there will be one). With all my focus on the upcoming trip I realized something yesterday. I’ve been looking ahead so much I’m afraid I’ll forget to just be in the now when the trip gets here. Seriously, how much do we do that in this day and age? So I’m making a promise to myself to NOT look past a single day of the trip. There’s been lots of planning and there is a ton of excitement right now, but with a 3 ½ week trip looming I can’t constantly be looking ahead. I think I’ve simply gotten caught up in the hustle and bustle of running the rat race. My G-d, it’s already May, MAY for G-d’s sake! Where the fuck did 2010 go already? Wasn’t it just yesterday we were in 2005 and feeling like the date didn’t meet our expectations? I mean really, I still want my flying car. But that’s just it, we’re constantly looking to the next great thing. Yeah sure, “stop and smell the roses” is a clichéd saying, but there really is something to it. I think part of what caused this to hit me was reading my buddy Jared’s blog about his travels, http://theunload.blogspot.com/, and coming to the part about being in a small bar. I won’t retell the story, it’s there if you want to read it. Search for the part about “Mikos” if you want to cut right to the chase. Anyway, in my mindset from 3 days ago I never would have had that type of encounter because my head simply wasn’t in it. I’m challenging myself to stay in the moment during this trip, and then, to try to do the same when I get back.

Each day brings something new, but usually we’re simply too busy to see it. I’m committing to pull back the blinders and hope you can too. Don’t let it take a major trip, or a major life event to trigger your awareness. Search for the “now” now, not later.

… to continue in English, press two

I went to pay a ticket the other day and, although paying online is an option, when searching for my ticket number the database returned “no citation found.” So I called the police to see what the deal is. (Side note: found out that the ticket will post sometime in 30-45 days; however, you have to have paid your ticket or requested a court date within 21 days of receiving the citation, otherwise a bench warrant is issued. Your tax dollars at work.)

So I call this number (214-670-0109) as directed on the Dallas City Hall webpage (http://www.dallascityhall.com/courts/court_online_payments.html). As usual an automated message picks up and confirms, yes, I’ve called the Dallas Court Services line, just as expected. Next, it launched into the exact same speech in Spanish. Ok, this is a 50/50 proposition these days, but not a surprise when calling the DPD. What happened next made my jaw drop. In Spanish the message continued on passed the greeting and asked you to press one (1) if you wanted to continue in Spanish. Then, in English, it came back and asked you to press two (2) if you wanted to proceed in English. Yes, you read that right, one for Spanish, two for English. Call it for yourself; again, 214-670-0109.

Now I’m no foe to diversity and I believe in most tenants of the various equal rights organizations, and even support some of them monetarily and with my time. But isn’t this the United States of America? I know full well that the United States has no “official” language, but you can also note that, as of this writing, 28 states do, in fact, have English as their “official” language. And official or not, there is no disputing English is the language of commerce and law of this land.

Are my expectations so out of whack? If I were to move to another country I would full well expect to have to learn the native tongue. When I travel abroad the first thing I do when I know I’m going is look up key phrases and memorize them, then begin building myself a pocket cheat-sheet of other useful phrases in the local language. Why? Because when I’m in a country where another language is spoken I fully expect it is ME who needs to change, not them. When my great-great grandparents came to this new land that offered them an opportunity to prosper, they learned English, and without all the help that is now available such as English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

Now is this really about having to wait an extra 5 seconds and then press 2 for English? No, it’s about the implication of this and other such actions we see happening. Diversity is a good thing, something to be celebrated, as long as diversity doesn’t mean complete division. Yes, we support new immigrants with ESL classes in public schools; yes, we provide help by making available multiple language forms at the DOT (DMV in some states) as well as hospitals and other public buildings, as we should. But I ask, where does it stop? I won’t be so bold as to say I know the answer, but I can say that pressing 1, not 2 for English would be a good place to start.

So why is it everyone sues to make sure they are “included,” yet in areas where they need to make an effort to be included all the sudden we have to make special arrangements? We are a land of immigrants and this past is part of what gives us strength as a nation; what binds those otherwise singular strengths together is our sense of community, one nation, together. Together in our own unique ways, but together for the common good.

"The strength of the United States is not the gold at Fort Knox or the weapons of mass destruction that we have, but the sum total of the education and the character of our people." United States Senator Claiborne Pell, for whom the Pell Grant is named.

The social degradation of any society begins with the language. Once communication skills are hampered, collapse of other social institutions is inevitable. We need to begin to expect more from our newly welcomed immigrants. Keep your traditions, keep the best parts of you and your heritage, but join us in becoming “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

How late is too late… for a Nazi?

The headline reads: “90-year-old man charged over Nazi massacre.” Ok, you have my attention. Here is the article if you’d like to read it in its entirety, but here’s the synopsis. German officials have charged a 90-year-old man in the execution of 57 Jewish slave laborers just weeks before the end of the WWII. Claims are this man was part of the SS stationed in what is now Austria.

So, I got to thinking: How late is too late to pay for a crime? Here in the United States we have statute of limitations on many crimes; these basically restrict the amount of time after a crime is committed in which charges may be filed against the defendant. If time has expired it doesn’t matter if the person is guilty or not, they cannot be imprisoned for the crime. Of course, there are always exclusions, but you get the idea. That said, however, there is no statute of limitation on murder. This seems to be the crux of our social contract, you don’t kill me and I won’t kill you. Everything else comes after that first agreement. If you violate this primary agreement though, you can’t escape justice for a crime of taking another human’s life by hiding it long enough; you must inevitably pay the piper.

Which brings us to this 90-year-old man. The time has come for him to pay the piper, or has it? Just because we can charge someone with a crime doesn’t mean we should. At 90 years old how much time does he have left? What a different person he may have become after all these years. Where is the compassion in us that he was lacking so long ago? Is incarcerating a 90-year-old really going to be justice? Execution, is that the justice those 57 dead deserve? I struggled with this at first, but my unequivocal answer now is no. This man does not deserve prison nor the death penalty. Hear me out… the best way he can serve humanity, to pay his debt to those 57 Jews he executed mercilessly, is to live on and share his firsthand account every day of his life he has remaining.

This man’s sentence should be to help educate the world about the atrocities the Nazi regime committed. He should be a living example for all to hear and see of what hate and extremism lead too. Have his sentence be paid by going from city to city, classroom to classroom, person to person and have him tell of the atrocities committed. Force him to answer the question every day of his life, “Why?” For those Shoah (Holocaust) deniers the world now sees all too many of, this man can be yet another brushstroke in the tapestry of proof we offer, but this time, from one of the very criminals they say didn’t commit crimes. Bloodlust is not a Jewish value, but education is.

Should he refuse? Remind him the piper gets paid, one way or another.

Watered-down Nazis

For years now we’ve seen an increase in use of the word Nazi to indicate something or someone we don’t like or who is too strict. Someone too strict at work? The “office Nazi.” A woman that proclaims too much or too loudly feminist ideals? ‘Feminazi,” a term widely popularized by Rush Limbaugh. Honestly, of all people, I blame a Jew for this. Yes, Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” seemed to be the opening of the flood gates for the use of this colloquialism. It seemed to signal to the general public that the taboo had expired and the term no longer heralded the ultimate in evil, but rather, a watered-down word that no longer carried the burden of a constrained reference.

Recently we’ve seen a dramatic rise in its use as a result of the healthcare debate. Rush Limbaugh (still a big, fat idiot) has compared the healthcare logo to that of the Nazi party. (See image at right). We’ve seen Nazi “SS” signs and armbands at healthcare protests and increasingly the reference to “Nazi SS death panels” as part of the healthcare reform. (Side note, I’ve read the section and it’s complete crap. Read it for yourself and don’t rely on me or any other pundit.) Swastikas have even been painted on a pro-healthcare reform congressman’s office sign.

Now this article isn’t about being pro or anti healthcare reform. Again, read it for yourself and make up your own mind. Don’t let the media or political hacks decide for you. What this is about is the trivialization of the true meaning of the terms. The word “Nazi” should be reserved for exactly what it is; a reference to the most evil and vile, dehumanizing political and sadistic organization the world has ever seen. It represents pure, unadulterated evil. There is no comparison. Hell, even “Neo Nazis” don’t have shit on the 1930’s Nazis. If you don’t believe me, go sit down with a Holocaust survivor or even a German citizen from that time. I dare you to listen to the stories not from a text book, but from a real person who witnessed these atrocities with their own eyes.

So my request of you. It’s time to take healthcare reform talks back to a civil discussion about what’s best for America. It’s time to honor the memory of ours and other Allies’ fallen soldiers from WWII and those who perished in the Shoah, the Holocaust. These are the people who paid the ultimate price at the hands of the “Nazis” and the “SS” death squads. If we continue to water-down these terms how else can we possibly explain to future generations the true horror that Nazis actually represent?

Polarization and Michael Jackson

So I’ve tried to stay silent on the whole Michael Jackson issue, but I simply can’t any longer. It’s not so much the death or associated drama, rather, it’s the posturing of celebrities and media that I simply can’t shake.

Take for instance the recent article by Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and the response to his article by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, head of the Reform movement. Texts can be found here and here. Short summations:
Rabbi Boteach: Was a friend of Jackson’s and believed he was a good person, one who was partially a victim of circumstances, but none-the-less someone Rabbi Boteach writes, whose death is an “American tragedy.”
Rabbi Yoffie: He’s a child molester, what more do you need to know?!?

Yes, these are over simplified summations so I encourage you to read the text for yourself. What I want to focus on is the black and white nature, the absolutism that is going on here. I’ve complained about this for years now and we only seem to be entrenching it further in our lives. We make absolutist statements declaring something either this or that, black or white, good or evil, without ever accepting the notion that most of the world and our lives are lived in the gray part that lies between. Being a self avowed Bush hater (W, not Sr.), I do blame much of this rhetoric on him and his neo-con cohorts. His decree to other nations from November, 2001 of “you’re either with us or against us” carried over to the domestic agenda. The clever play inserted only two options into American media and culture: Either you’re for the war and support our troops or you support terrorism, period. There are no other choices. Those who vocalized their support of our troops, but their opposition to the war were immediately and summarily labeled as soft on terrorists. (As a short aside, how many of the terrorists from 9/11 were from Iraq or trained in Iraq again? ‘Nuf said.) There was no acknowledgement of a middle ground, somewhere you could support our troops, love America, bleed red, white and blue, yet disagree with the policies of the then President. Forget the hypocrisy, forget the politics, forget the emotions; rather, think about the statements in and of themselves. Do we really want to become a nation of absolutists? Isn’t that one of the tactics the hardliners in Iran and elsewhere used to take complete control of those countries?

So back to Michael Jackson. Why is it he’s either a pop icon and a “noble spirit,” someone whose tragedy should be looked upon and the question asked, “Was there no one to save him from himself?” clearly portraying him as a victim; OR, he’s a child molester who should be held accountable for his actions and remembered by this and shown to be the perfect example of how not to live your life? Isn’t there some in-between in there somewhere?

We need to address this issue as all others that face us in our lives. Although it’s easier to label something black or white, good or bad, making it a one or a zero thus forcing a digitized version of our world view, for in doing so we cut lose so much of what life is made. We live in gray areas and experience the world in shades, some gravitating to one side or the other, but very few falling solidly in one convenient bucket. We like those buckets though because making something either this or that is easier. We can avoid the hard questions and the spiritual and moral dilemmas that come along with dipping our toes into the gray.

Michael Jackson was an immensely talented performer, one who clearly influenced a generation and whose influences will continue to be felt decades after his death. His music inspired and comforted millions upon millions of people the world over. For this he will be missed. But he was also a flawed man, one who had difficulty facing up to the consequences of his actions. In the end, he and he alone was responsible for his inappropriate acts. For this he should serve as a warning to others and a disappointment to fans.

I’m not failing down the slippery slope of situational ethics or moral relativism as some would warn. We must agree that there are certain constants of objective ethics we all adhere to regardless of religion, creed or nationality. After all, that’s what our social contract is based upon. What I am saying is we cannot allow ourselves as a nation to continue to fall down the rabbit hole of absolutes. Account for all sides of an issue, and know that sometimes the answer really does fall in that tough gray area.

How I fought “The Man,” and won…

So I’ve been e-mailed and called numerous times since I posted my status update about beating “The Man” the other day when I went to protest my property taxes in Dallas County. Honestly, I’m tired of retyping or retelling what I did or any tricks that may help others, so here it is.

First, I’ve fought my property taxes twice now, once formally and once informally. The difference? Easy, for the informal you walk into the Dallas Central Appraisal District’s office on the designated days, wait your turn, and then meet with a DCAD assessor. The formal process is exactly that, more formal. You have to submit your challenge in writing, then you are assigned a hearing date. At this hearing you appear before a panel, state your case, and the tax assessor’s office has someone in there to state their case on why the property shouldn’t be devaluated. The panel of three really old people confers and a decision is made.

The time for the informal process has come and gone for this year, but keep it in mind for future years. I found it to be faster and less stressful, but still got a good result. For the informal I showed up on a Saturday morning. In hand I had several items: copy of comparable houses from the MLS listings (thanks to Jason Friedman at Keller Williams Realty Plano Jason@dfwhomesandloans.com for all your home and insurance needs), pictures of damage to the house (must be major, minor doesn’t count) and a calculation of what I thought the price should be. It’s very important to note that all information is relevant to the market and condition of the house as of January 1st as that is when the assessments are made. So, if the market tanked in February, tough. What was the going rate as of January 1st? That’s what matters. Also, just because the county lowered your value doesn’t mean you can’t fight for them to lower it more. In this year’s assessment they lower my property value by $2,400. I went in and got another $12,500 added onto this, making my total taxable value go down by almost $15,000 instead of only $2,400.

So once in the office here’s what happened. Oh, and going in dressed like you aren’t a homeless person helps. The guy even stated when we were discussing that I obviously looked like a guy who knew what he was talking about. I was only in jeans and a nice button up, but you should see the clowns that show up! So he asks why I think the property value should be lower. My first answer was the entire market has dropped 18% over the last year. He said that wasn’t a reason. At this point I thought I was in for a fight. Next, I said I had comps that indicated the values had dropped from when I purchased my house. Now remember, numbers are what you make of them. Don’t lie as they will probably catch you, but what constitutes a comparable house is partially subjective. Be smart… don’t pick the house that last sold for $20/sq. ft. more than yours did. So, he looked at my comps and asked if I had them done up by a realtor. I said yes. At this point he said the comment about I clearly look like I know what I’m doing and he simply asked what I thought the property should be at. I told him a number $17,000 below what they had said, he told me he couldn’t get there because of a few comps he pulled up on his computer. He then asked what I could live with since he couldn’t meet that. Well of course I said as little above that as possible, but he said to state a number. I stated $12,000 below their number, he punched it in and said he could do that. Bam! 25 minutes of waiting, 5 minutes in his office and I lowered my value by $12k. It really was that easy.

So, for those of you headed to the formal hearing, here’s my story on that. My property value went up by $5,000 on their appraisal. I showed up, waited for about 15 minutes in the office, and then was called into a conference room. I was asked to state my case, and did so as above and had copies of the financial breakout and comps for all three panel members. The county tax guy made his case and pulled up on the overhead several houses in my area as comps. There were some questions back-and-forth for both of us from the panel, took about 15 minutes or so, and then they conferred and made a decision. I was asking to drop the value by $25,000, they agreed on dropping it $10,000. After the decision one of the panel members even told me I needed to come back the following year because the market hadn’t really tanked until after January 1st, 2008 and thus, they couldn’t lower it that much. He said I’d have a better case for the January 1st 2009 as the market really sunk later in 2008.

All-in-all the time spent was well worth it. Here are the key things to remember:
1) Be prepared with documentation relevant as of January 1st
2) Dress decently
3) Be friendly (they’re usually getting yelled at and appreciate a nice person)
4) Have your case and reasons logically laid out

If you have additional questions I didn’t answer please post them in the comments as I’m sure others will have the same questions and I’ll answer them as best I can. Also, share your success stories or tips you pick up when fighting, “The Man.” Lol.
--J.R.

Meat Cards: Another reason the world hates us

I ran across this website and honestly, very little surprises me these days, but I must admit, I didn’t see this one coming. I’ve had to ponder this thing for a day or two, as well, I did my research to make sure it’s not just a hoax, and low-and-behold, and sadly, it’s real.

With over ¼ of the world’s population living in extreme poverty (defined as living on less than $1.25 per day) and many third world countries having a an extreme poverty rate of >80%, we wonder sometimes why these people largely hate the United States of America and Western culture overall. Well, there are many reasons, but I need to add this one to the list.

Meetcards.com is devoted to bringing us the first and finest in beef jerky based business cards. Yes, 100% edible jerky with your business information seared onto them. So some poor bastard in the third world can’t feed himself or his family, and we are so gluttonous as to hand out business cards made of food. I’m not sure if this is a reason to think America is the greatest country in the world, or perhaps it’s simply a sign of an impending apocalypse with North America at the epicenter.

No matter what it is, check out http://www.meatcards.com/ and ponder the consequences for yourself. --J.R.

Outrage! And I still remember Gilad Shalit

Today, Youssef Magied al-Molqui was released from an Italian prison after serving 24 years of a 30 year sentence. He was released for “good behavior.” Forget the fact that he escaped once and was then recaptured and sent back to Italy to continue serving his prison term. I guess “good behavior” translates differently in Italian than English.

Who is Youssef Magied al-Molqui? He was the leader of four Palestinian hijackers who, in October 1985, took control of the Italian cruise liner Achilli Lauro. The hijackers, these days we call them “pirates” apparently, shot and killed a disabled American tourist, 69-year-old Leon Klinghoffer, and threw his body overboard with his wheelchair. Why? They said because he “created troubles” as one of the terrorists later commented. A 69-year-old elderly man in a wheelchair caused four heavily armed terrorists “troubles?!?” So much so they decided to execute him in his wheelchair, then dump the body overboard? You must be asking yourself, “am I missing something here?” Oh, did I fail to mention Mr. Klinghoffer was Jewish? Read more about the Achilli Lauro story here.

So Al-Molqui is released and ordered expelled from Italy. I’m sure he’ll enjoy a hero’s welcome in any Arab country because, he did after all, kill a Jew. So heroic, executing a wheelchair bound 69-year-old. So for hijacking a cruise ship, executing a disabled man and escaping prison this man ends up with the penalty of 24 years in prison and expulsion from a country that has never been his home?
This brings me to Gilad Shalit. It is coming up on almost 3 years now that he has been held captive, without basic human rights afforded by the Geneva Convention, and denied all access to the Red Cross or any other human rights organization or medical attention which even the captors say he needs. And why, what is his crime? He’s a Jew, kidnapped from his army position by Hamas terrorists. You can read more about Gilad here in a blog post I made back in November of 2008.

My point? I’m tired. I’m tired of the double standard. I’m tired of Hamas and other such groups being given such carte blanche leeway by the EU and others. Mostly, I’m tired of the fact that Gilad Shalit is still being held captive, for no other reason than because he’s a Jew. Wake up, someone, anyone! It’s time for the U.S. to put its foot down and say, no more aid, no more food, no more weapons for any state that harbors terrorists. Instead, feed the starving here in the States, save our taxpayer dollars and let the world know we don’t just hand out carrots to anyone hoping they come around to being our friends in peace. It’s time to pay the piper world or the music gets turned off.

Where to start? Nothing more in aid for the Palestinians until they release Gilad Shalit, alive. How much less could we ask?

Peace and remembrance on this day and all days… -J.R.

The Pope on Trial: Guilty of Manslaughter

Sorry for the delay in postings. Sometimes time just sneaks past you.

So I’ve debating posting this as it may be considered offensive by some of my Catholic friends, but I cannot, in good conscious, let this pass without addressing it. You’ve seen, by now, the statements Pope Benedict XVI made regarding HIV/Aids and condom use in Africa. The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease and Pope Benedict has stated, “The traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.”

He continues, “You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem.”

Wait, what?!? Did I just hear the Pope, Catholicism’s leader and unquestioned holder of the hotline to G-d, say that condoms will actually INCREASE the HIV/Aids epidemic? I’ve read multiple sources for these statements and in the end, yes, he is staying exactly that. I understand he is advocating abstinence as the best solution, and while I agree in the ideal world it would be, that course of action has clearly, and unequivocally, failed. A few numbers…

- More than 60% of the world’s 40 million HIV infected people live in sub-Sahara Africa
- In three southern African countries, the national adult HIV prevalence rate has now exceeds 20%! These countries are Botswana (23.9%), Lesotho (23.2%) and Swaziland (26.1%)
- Average life expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa is now down to 47 years, when it could be 62 without AIDS

Imagine that. Think of your 3 closest friends or family members. Now think that one of you has HIV. That’s reality in some of these countries. There is no magic bullet to solve this crisis; there is no Dr. Salk waiting in the wings with a miracle cure. But it can be fought.

Effective HIV prevention campaigns have been carried out in Senegal, which is reflected in the relatively low adult HIV prevalence rate of 0.9%. Also, Uganda shows us that a widespread AIDS epidemic can be brought under control. HIV prevalence in Uganda fell from around 15% in the early 1990s to around 5% by 2001. This was done through prevention education, early detection and advanced drug treatment. Prevention education included teaching how the disease spreads, advocating abstinence, and the distribution of condoms.

Abstinence only programs are like plugging Niagara Falls with a few rocks: you may slow the downpour a little, but in the end it will all come over the ledge. A comprehensive prevention program is what is needed. Yes, advocate for abstinence, but don’t put all your money on one horse, because time has shown us that that one horse is a long-term loser.

From the legal definition of involuntary manslaughter:
“An omission to act or a failure to perform a duty constitutes criminally negligent manslaughter. The existence of the duty is essential. Since the law does not recognize that an ordinary person has a duty to aid or rescue another in distress, a death resulting from an ordinary person's failure to act is not manslaughter. On the other hand, an omission by someone who has a duty, such as a failure to attempt to save a drowning person by a lifeguard, might constitute involuntary manslaughter.”

I think we can all agree that by the nature of his position Pope Benedict XVI is not an “ordinary person.” He has a duty to protect life as he demonstrates repeatedly in other areas, including Pro-Life, that he is willing to be held up as an authority and one responsible for leading the moral and spiritual lives of over one billion people. Is he not the lifeguard of these billion plus people? Is he not responsible for helping to educate them, properly, about how to protect their lives and those of their children?

Pope Benedict XVI is engaging in criminal behavior by endangering millions of people by discouraging the use of condoms. I understand wanting to hold fast to an ideology and to religious precepts, but as a rational human being (remember, G-d made us this way) I would expect one should use the knowledge gained through proper scientific method. Assuming one cannot condone condoms, surely one has a duty to not speak out against them in the global fight against HIV. Advocate your preferred method, but don’t put millions of lives at risk by proclaiming condoms as a cause and denouncing them as an effective method to stem the continued transmission of a disease that carries a certain death sentence.

I have had many issues with the current Pope, from his questionable revoking of excommunicated, Holocaust denying Bishops, to him reinstating the Tridentine rite, to my unapologetic subjective view that he is but a shell of the man and religious leader Pope John Paul II was. But to me, this act constitutes criminally negligent, involuntary manslaughter and is a terrible miscarriage of truth. I also believe it clearly breaks the 6th (5th for Catholics) commandment, “You shall not murder.” Although he himself is not pulling the trigger and taking a man’s life, he is instructing them how, and telling them it is the right thing to do to, to load the proverbial gun by advocating against condom use.

The Catholic Church needs to reevaluate their long standing opinion on condoms and “unnatural” birth control devices. It is no longer about preventing life from being made, but about saving lives that are already here.
--J.R.

A Time to Laugh

So, we’ve had a rough time of it lately folks. The economy is in the crapper and our illustrious political leaders can’t even agree on what color it is we see in the toilet. The stock market plunge not only cost people their jobs, but for some it has pushed out that all too righteous reward for 50 years of hard work called “retirement.” If you aren’t yourself laid off you certainly know more than a handful of people who have been. Around our offices we’ve lost not just co-workers, but friends and mentors. At home, families sit around the kitchen table deciding on whether to cut little Jimmy’s baseball league or little Sally’s dance lessons; and sometimes both. Vacations are postponed and cancelled, the little fixes around the home have to wait, and for some, the local food pantry provides a vital pathway, if not an embarrassing one for some, to continue to put food on the table. We are in a recession and it sucks all around.

I’ve thought a lot about this as many of you have. What should I be doing differently? What is the answer for America? Am I the next one to be tossed out into the cold, fighting for the few open positions out there? Amidst all this and the echoes of “biggest recession since the 30s” resonating in my head, I asked a pretty simple question. Why the hell don’t we ask our grandparents what they did in the 30s? Too obvious for our government to do, I know, but for our own personal situations why not? Unfortunately, I am no longer blessed with any of my grandparents, but I know exactly what my grandmother (may her memory be a blessing) would say. How? Because we talked about it, the tough times, what it was like and what she did. What would she say now? You need to laugh. Every single day, no matter how bad it is, she said there was always something you could find to give you a good laugh. And she lived this. Even at the end when things were bad, I have a great memory, my last of her, of the family in the living room laughing. She had moments of clarity, and what shone through was her humor. So there, with her sick and unable to even stand, the family was momentarily whisked away on the wings of simple laughter. The family squabbles were set aside, the warmth pushed through the cold chill of eminent death in the air, and the giddiness of laughing like children overtook a group of adults in their 30s, 50s, 60s and one in her 90s. What we laughed about is irrelevant, and honestly, my memory to keep locked away for those tough days when I need it.

Laughter won’t cure illness, it won’t restart a seemingly lifeless economy and no, it can’t prevent wars. But what it can do is to rekindle a spark of hope. It can magically take us away from our troubles, if only for a fleeting moment. It can, in the end, renew the spirit to give it enough for just one more day. And day by day and laugh by laugh we get by. It isn’t the endgame we should relish, but rather, the little moments that get us there one day at a time.

So in this spirit, and that of George Carlin and Lenny Bruce, let’s laugh at what we shouldn’t. I’ve lost employees, mentors, and good friends from my job to layoffs as most of you have. But hey, there’s always a brighter side to it. Or at the very least, something to give us a spark of laughter, if only for a moment or two.

Top 5 reasons work is better since the layoffs

1) Three words, “front row parking.”
2) You now have at least 6 months to blame everything on someone who was laid off. “Yeah, that report… uhh… Jack was working on it. Boy, he must’ve screwed it up before he left.”
3) More coffee for the rest of us.
4) Lines in the cafeteria are shorter, and the servers are much nicer now too!
5) Not only are your chances of winning Buzzword Bingo greater now, but you have a full list of new words to use (RIF- reduction in force, right sizing, rethinking the paradigm, doing more with less, resource reallocation).

Keep smiling folks. And don’t be afraid to put up your list of things I missed above.
--J.R.

Top ten phrases I can do without in 2009

It’s a new year, so let’s try to make it a good one by putting some phrases, acronyms and words in the ground, 6 feet under, to never, ever, ever be seen or uttered again. The world will truly be a better place without them.

10) WMD. Seriously, I can’t take this crap anymore. It’s been 7 years. They weren’t there, America suffered in the world of public opinion, let’s move on.

9) Literally. This word has lost all meaning. I hear it all the time and I can’t take it. “I literally almost died!” Unless you missed getting hit by a bus by 2 inches or found yourself getting lit up with shock paddles in the ambulance, then no you didn’t you dolt! If society can’t use it correctly then let’s just kill it. That’s why we can’t have nice words around here kids, you just break them.

8) Web2.0. WTF is this anyway? No one can define it for me, so I guess in that way it’s like porn. No one can define it, but they know it when they see it. Thanks Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart.

7) Economic crisis. Ok, we get it, we’re in the worst recession in over a generation. Got it. Understood. Totally comprehend. Now let’s focus on how to fix it you do-nothing, waste of public dollars politicians.

6) Rocket surgery. It was stupid the first time we heard it. Now, it’s just embarrassing.

5) Maverick. Not only has the word lost all meaning thanks to the beating about of it by the McCain campaign, but the real killer here is every time I see, read or hear the word the only thing that I can think of is the unholy, live cat being put through a meat grinder tail first, demonic sound of Sarah Palin screeching “Maverick!” at the top of her lungs. I honestly feel auditorily violated each and every time.

4) Dick Cheney. Enough said.

3) Going green. This falls close to Web2.0. Put three people in a room and ask them to define “going green” and you’ll end up with four answers. Time to retire this phrase and focus on actually doing something good for the environment.

2) “Hope” and “Change”. For those that think I exclusively hate on Republicans, this one’s for you. Enough talk of hope for the future and change in America. The hope is spiraling down faster than my 401K did last year and enough talking about change. Stop talking about it and make it happen!

1) Reality TV. For the love of all that is holy, can we please agree that these “reality” shows are about as real and unscripted as professional wrestling? They’ve had their 15 minutes and made their millionaires, now let them go the way of Gilligan’s Island and shelve them never to be seen or heard of again.

So, what did I miss folks? Drop your most hated phrases into the comment section and we’ll try to bury them too.

Open letter to my representatives

Please go to http://www.congress.org, input your zip code, and you will automatically be able to write an e-mail to all of your political representatives in government. It’s that easy.

Open letter to:
President George W. Bush (R),
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX),
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX),
Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX 30th),

As a registered voter, I call on you to support the State of Israel not in blind devotion, but based on the following truths. As a national leader you have the unique ability to support freedom and democracy and reaffirm each country's right to freedom from terror and pursuit of happiness and peace.

Whereas, Hamas is an Islamic extremist terrorist organization, as designated by both the United States and the European Union, which calls for the eradication of the State of Israel;

Whereas, Hamas rockets from Gaza have purposefully targeted vulnerable southern Israeli cities, specifically landing on or near private homes, schools, colleges, hospitals, daycares and recreation centers;

Whereas, no sovereign government in the world would stand by and allow its citizens to be under steady and heavy attack;

Whereas, Hamas continues to hold hostage Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped on June 25, 2006, in southern Israel and refuses even basic humanitarian conditions or international Red Cross involvement;

Whereas, Israel is taking maximum precautions to avoid harming civilians in Gaza;

Therefore, let it be known that the State of Israel, the strongest standing democracy in the Middle East and long-time friend to The United States of America, has every right to defend their citizens from outside attack.

Let it also be known that The United States of America supports Israel unequivocally in its pursuit of measured and targeted military response and pursuit of peace within its borders and the region.

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.