Gotta agree with these.
Must have been excruciatingly difficult to pick just five!
Monday, December 31, 2012
New Canadian Mentorship Program is Not Colour Blind
Wow.
Take a read of this article. What do you think?
I judge people by their character and opinions, the way they live their life, by the people they associate with and what they do with their time.
In reading the story of mentorship programs geared to pairing black kids with role models who "look like them" I had two thoughts.
First, that role models also should not be judged by the colour of their skin.
My only positive thought about this is that the black community is stepping up for its own kids and acknowledging a problem within the community-I salute that.
But it troubles me that colour is an issue when it comes to deciding whether someone is an appropriate mentor.
Aren't we all Canadians?
Shouldn't we be colour blind when it comes to the people who inspire us?
Just because we look like someone, that doesn't mean we have anything in common with them, and it doesn't mean we should necessarily have anything to do with them.
Take a read of this article. What do you think?
I judge people by their character and opinions, the way they live their life, by the people they associate with and what they do with their time.
In reading the story of mentorship programs geared to pairing black kids with role models who "look like them" I had two thoughts.
First, that role models also should not be judged by the colour of their skin.
My only positive thought about this is that the black community is stepping up for its own kids and acknowledging a problem within the community-I salute that.
But it troubles me that colour is an issue when it comes to deciding whether someone is an appropriate mentor.
Aren't we all Canadians?
Shouldn't we be colour blind when it comes to the people who inspire us?
Just because we look like someone, that doesn't mean we have anything in common with them, and it doesn't mean we should necessarily have anything to do with them.
Faster Deportations Needed in Israel
A "migrant" has been arrested over the repeated rape of an 83 year old woman.
At least Netanyahu understands how to deter them from coming into Israel. Significantly less of them have been infiltrating since tighter border controls have been put into place in the south.
At least Netanyahu understands how to deter them from coming into Israel. Significantly less of them have been infiltrating since tighter border controls have been put into place in the south.
The Year of the Exquisitely Offended
If only more people didn't give a crap about what people think about them, the world would be a better place.
Jim Goad on 2012: The Year in PC.
Jim Goad on 2012: The Year in PC.
Rich, Spoiled NY Brats Found With Weapons Cache
These brats grew up with as much privilege as is possible in America and gravitated toward leftist nihilism.
Money and privilege have nothing to do with the seething anger that leftists and Islamists have toward the West-the very society that enabled them to live like kings and queens, and have the most expensive education the West has ever offered.
Their affliction therefore is spiritual in nature. Their motivation is hatred.
Just like the affluent Saudis and Pakistanis who are doctors and engineers but aspire to suicide bombings, so too are the American brats diseased with rotting souls and meaningless lives.
They aspire to destruction because of their material lives, not in spite of them.
Poverty does not cause terrorism.
A desire to terrorize and murder causes terrorism, whether domestic or foreign.
Money and privilege have nothing to do with the seething anger that leftists and Islamists have toward the West-the very society that enabled them to live like kings and queens, and have the most expensive education the West has ever offered.
Their affliction therefore is spiritual in nature. Their motivation is hatred.
Just like the affluent Saudis and Pakistanis who are doctors and engineers but aspire to suicide bombings, so too are the American brats diseased with rotting souls and meaningless lives.
They aspire to destruction because of their material lives, not in spite of them.
Poverty does not cause terrorism.
A desire to terrorize and murder causes terrorism, whether domestic or foreign.
American Sheeple
Shuffling from desk to desk, filling out forms, never complaining because they are the government and they are here to help you.
The UK Is Screwed
Behold, the culture of death in Europe.
Totally "fantastic" that 60,000 British patients have been put on the death pathway in Britain without being told.
Fantastic!
Totally "fantastic" that 60,000 British patients have been put on the death pathway in Britain without being told.
Fantastic!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Book Review: Terror and Liberalism And Terror
I just finished reading Terror and Liberalism by Paul Berman.
You can definitely skip this one.
It was easy reading, but really pretty superficial. Berman basically argues that man has always had a taste for blood and for murder-just not on the same scale as we have seen since about 1800 or so.
He argues that Islam is now the vehicle for totalitarian blood lust and murder, but that it's just the current incarnation of totalitarianism. He is optimistic that it may change, and modernize, citing facts about nations that were thought to be incapable of democratic/liberal living actually becoming democratic and or liberalized.
The reason I don't think we can be as optimistic about Islam is precisely because of the fact that he articulates in the book-that in Islam, there is no separation of "church" and "state". There never can be, and there never will be.
Anyway, it was intellectually not very challenging, but two points were interesting. This book was published in 2003, so it's out of date anyway, however it was interesting to see him talking about how Bernard Lewis had predicted that if there were to be elections in Saudi Arabia and/or Egypt, that Islamists would be "democratically" elected-and that Iran had more of an inclination toward democracy.
Also, there was a passage that he quoted from Sayyid Qutb, one of the most influential Sunni Islamist writers. (Berman quotes extensively from Qutb in the book, he has done his homework.)
"In one of the strictures against the Jews in his Koranic commentaries, he observers, "The Koran points to another contemptible characteristic of the Jews: their craven desire to live, no matter at what price and regardless of quality, honor and dignity."
And there you have it, life and a culture of life rules supreme among the Jews. That is what they hate about us. They are a culture of death and I don't see that changing any time in the near future.
You can definitely skip this one.
It was easy reading, but really pretty superficial. Berman basically argues that man has always had a taste for blood and for murder-just not on the same scale as we have seen since about 1800 or so.
He argues that Islam is now the vehicle for totalitarian blood lust and murder, but that it's just the current incarnation of totalitarianism. He is optimistic that it may change, and modernize, citing facts about nations that were thought to be incapable of democratic/liberal living actually becoming democratic and or liberalized.
The reason I don't think we can be as optimistic about Islam is precisely because of the fact that he articulates in the book-that in Islam, there is no separation of "church" and "state". There never can be, and there never will be.
Anyway, it was intellectually not very challenging, but two points were interesting. This book was published in 2003, so it's out of date anyway, however it was interesting to see him talking about how Bernard Lewis had predicted that if there were to be elections in Saudi Arabia and/or Egypt, that Islamists would be "democratically" elected-and that Iran had more of an inclination toward democracy.
Also, there was a passage that he quoted from Sayyid Qutb, one of the most influential Sunni Islamist writers. (Berman quotes extensively from Qutb in the book, he has done his homework.)
"In one of the strictures against the Jews in his Koranic commentaries, he observers, "The Koran points to another contemptible characteristic of the Jews: their craven desire to live, no matter at what price and regardless of quality, honor and dignity."
And there you have it, life and a culture of life rules supreme among the Jews. That is what they hate about us. They are a culture of death and I don't see that changing any time in the near future.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
The Persecution of Christians in the UK Continues
A terrible ruling but fitting for such a decrepit mess of a once inspiring nation.
Stop the Torture of Palestinians!
There is torture going on, and Palestinians are suffering.
STOP THE TORTURE!
(Says...wait for it...Arab Human Rights Group!)
STOP THE TORTURE!
(Says...wait for it...Arab Human Rights Group!)
Friday, December 28, 2012
Being Pro Palestinian Means A Lot of Things
It means you are filled with Jew hate and are OK with slaughtering Jews any place they are, at any age, by any means.
It means you hate women as well, because you agree with this.
It basically means you are rotten to the core.
It means you hate women as well, because you agree with this.
It basically means you are rotten to the core.
Missing the Point on Murder in Chicago
The 500th murder of the year in Chicago means that murder is big business in Chicago.
It means that life is pretty cheap there, and that not many people care about how cheap life is there.
The lack of coverage of the individual victims means that their lives are simply valued less than other lives in America.
It means that "gun control" is an Orwellian fantasy that liberals are willing to believe in as long as it doesn't affect their lilly white children in private schools, in the Upper West Side and in other high-priced non-diverse neighbourhoods in America.
It means that the fact that there have been 500 murders doesn't matter to anyone, it is a nuisance fact that interferes with the liberal myth that it is the weapon-and not the evil, wicked criminal that is the problem.
If only we could ban stupidity in policy-making.
If only we could legislate extreme leftists to live among their beloved criminals in Chicago's South Side and other enclaves of violence.
They have the luxury of living in the 'do as I say, not as I do' tradition and that won't change. Money acts as a cultural and political layer of insulation in America that drowns out the screams of black victims of black violence.
It means that life is pretty cheap there, and that not many people care about how cheap life is there.
The lack of coverage of the individual victims means that their lives are simply valued less than other lives in America.
It means that "gun control" is an Orwellian fantasy that liberals are willing to believe in as long as it doesn't affect their lilly white children in private schools, in the Upper West Side and in other high-priced non-diverse neighbourhoods in America.
It means that the fact that there have been 500 murders doesn't matter to anyone, it is a nuisance fact that interferes with the liberal myth that it is the weapon-and not the evil, wicked criminal that is the problem.
If only we could ban stupidity in policy-making.
If only we could legislate extreme leftists to live among their beloved criminals in Chicago's South Side and other enclaves of violence.
They have the luxury of living in the 'do as I say, not as I do' tradition and that won't change. Money acts as a cultural and political layer of insulation in America that drowns out the screams of black victims of black violence.
China is Full of Pathetic Loser Communists
Wow.
Imagine this-having to legislate young, selfish Chinese people to visiting their elderly relatives.
Disgusting and pathetic. China sucks and is an infinitely inferior society to Judeo-Christian society.
There is a reason why "Honour Your Parents" is one of the Ten Commandments. As Dennis Prager has pointed out-it is not "love" your parents. It is "honor" them. They gave you life. You might not like them, or love them, but you have to honour them.
This is another example of how communism sucks and turns humans into unfeeling robots. Disgraceful.
Imagine this-having to legislate young, selfish Chinese people to visiting their elderly relatives.
Disgusting and pathetic. China sucks and is an infinitely inferior society to Judeo-Christian society.
There is a reason why "Honour Your Parents" is one of the Ten Commandments. As Dennis Prager has pointed out-it is not "love" your parents. It is "honor" them. They gave you life. You might not like them, or love them, but you have to honour them.
This is another example of how communism sucks and turns humans into unfeeling robots. Disgraceful.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
"Miracle" Drugs
All my kids are vaccinated-up to date. I am not a crazy anti-vaccine person.
However, I view this acne drug with deep suspicion. I think that people in general, underestimate the affect that allegedly innocuous drugs of all kinds have on their brains.
NEVERMIND the drugs that are supposed to affect your brain (see the boys on fat doses of ADHD drugs, their brains are fried, total mush), and I include prescription drugs and recreational ones ESPECIALLY pot in that category.
In fact, most people I know who use pot have a very, very chippy side.
They are pretty pissy and angry when they are not stoned. They get even more angry and chippy when you try to tell them that they are addicted, or that pot is (in many cases) worse for your brain than the occasional indulgence in alcohol.
However, I view this acne drug with deep suspicion. I think that people in general, underestimate the affect that allegedly innocuous drugs of all kinds have on their brains.
NEVERMIND the drugs that are supposed to affect your brain (see the boys on fat doses of ADHD drugs, their brains are fried, total mush), and I include prescription drugs and recreational ones ESPECIALLY pot in that category.
In fact, most people I know who use pot have a very, very chippy side.
They are pretty pissy and angry when they are not stoned. They get even more angry and chippy when you try to tell them that they are addicted, or that pot is (in many cases) worse for your brain than the occasional indulgence in alcohol.
Where are All the Fathers?
This is one of the most massive elephants in the American living room.
The absence of the father in the average black American household. It's definitely not exclusively a black issue, but it's just accepted as the way it is-people aren't supposed to talk about it. It's reverse racism. Don't black children deserve a chance to grow up with the best chance of success possible. Or in the case of Chicago-with the best chance of living past their elementary school years?
However, and unfortunately-many other places in the Western world are faring no better.
This is the saddest article I've read over the past few days.
British kids want fathers for Christmas.
The absence of the father in the average black American household. It's definitely not exclusively a black issue, but it's just accepted as the way it is-people aren't supposed to talk about it. It's reverse racism. Don't black children deserve a chance to grow up with the best chance of success possible. Or in the case of Chicago-with the best chance of living past their elementary school years?
However, and unfortunately-many other places in the Western world are faring no better.
This is the saddest article I've read over the past few days.
British kids want fathers for Christmas.
The Family Dinner
Just spotted this at Instapundit.
The family dinner is an important thing, not just for nutrition but also just to hear what people have been up to. I think it keeps families together-even if people are somewhat at each other's throats during said family meal.
I hear from my oldest that she is one of the only people she knows, in her circle of friends, that has dinner with the whole family every night. Other kids either eat in their rooms, watching TV, or only a few people eat at a time, or there are restaurants and take-out with incredible frequency.
A real pity.
The family dinner is an important thing, not just for nutrition but also just to hear what people have been up to. I think it keeps families together-even if people are somewhat at each other's throats during said family meal.
I hear from my oldest that she is one of the only people she knows, in her circle of friends, that has dinner with the whole family every night. Other kids either eat in their rooms, watching TV, or only a few people eat at a time, or there are restaurants and take-out with incredible frequency.
A real pity.
More New York Moments
A few more thoughts from our New York City family road trip.
New Yorkers are tough as nails, but are softies at heart. Only in New York can you go out for coffee in the morning, get checked out up and down by burly construction workers despite being middle aged, while passing by a dry cleaners with a huge "God Loves You" sign in the window.
And you see this the morning after you take the kids for a walk around town and watch someone almost run into a cab, crossing the light on a red, pound the cab for almost running into him, all while the cab driver rolls down the window and screams at him: NEXT TIME I'M GONNA KILL YOU MUTHF&CKAHHHH-much to the giggles of my children.
New York cheesecake is the real deal. It tastes even better in a "take away" container-we Canadians say "take out", and eaten with coffee from the hotel coffee maker and cream-all of us poised around the little hotel table, watching Christmas specials on TV-taking a rest from the walking.
I heard a lot of Spanish spoken, probably more than English. The buildings are tall and impressive, the Christmas decorations lovely. It's a big, bustling city where everyone busts their chops, and every inch of sidewalk has capitalistic potential.
The hallal schwarma stands are making a killing, it smells great (nisht for us, not kosher), but the husband and I agreed that whatever they were shaving off the spit did not look like meat at all.
Another thing I noticed was that a lot of the purse/schmatta vendors with their carts are African Muslims. In the freezing cold of Manhattan, I watched one of them unroll a scraggly prayer mat, put it down on the sidewalk behind his cart and pray. And I thought to myself, there is the religious devotion that we need to both watch out for and learn from. I do see Jews take time out for prayer in public places-but not often in North America, but all the time in Israel.
I don't remember the last time I saw any group of Christians spontaneously pray in public.
We should not be afraid of prayer, of pride in Judeo-Christian faith and prayer. It should be more conspicuous and our faith is something to be proud of.
We met up for a beer with someone I've known for a long time from the blogging world (from that blog, that used to be conservative, with the funny name...) and he said that his aim right now is protecting his nuclear family from the encroaching socialism in America. He's putting his head down and nose to the grindstone to protect his immediate circle.
I can't say I blame him.
So those are some more reflections from a nice few days away.
Bear with me as I put another load of laundry on and get caught up!
New Yorkers are tough as nails, but are softies at heart. Only in New York can you go out for coffee in the morning, get checked out up and down by burly construction workers despite being middle aged, while passing by a dry cleaners with a huge "God Loves You" sign in the window.
And you see this the morning after you take the kids for a walk around town and watch someone almost run into a cab, crossing the light on a red, pound the cab for almost running into him, all while the cab driver rolls down the window and screams at him: NEXT TIME I'M GONNA KILL YOU MUTHF&CKAHHHH-much to the giggles of my children.
New York cheesecake is the real deal. It tastes even better in a "take away" container-we Canadians say "take out", and eaten with coffee from the hotel coffee maker and cream-all of us poised around the little hotel table, watching Christmas specials on TV-taking a rest from the walking.
I heard a lot of Spanish spoken, probably more than English. The buildings are tall and impressive, the Christmas decorations lovely. It's a big, bustling city where everyone busts their chops, and every inch of sidewalk has capitalistic potential.
The hallal schwarma stands are making a killing, it smells great (nisht for us, not kosher), but the husband and I agreed that whatever they were shaving off the spit did not look like meat at all.
Another thing I noticed was that a lot of the purse/schmatta vendors with their carts are African Muslims. In the freezing cold of Manhattan, I watched one of them unroll a scraggly prayer mat, put it down on the sidewalk behind his cart and pray. And I thought to myself, there is the religious devotion that we need to both watch out for and learn from. I do see Jews take time out for prayer in public places-but not often in North America, but all the time in Israel.
I don't remember the last time I saw any group of Christians spontaneously pray in public.
We should not be afraid of prayer, of pride in Judeo-Christian faith and prayer. It should be more conspicuous and our faith is something to be proud of.
We met up for a beer with someone I've known for a long time from the blogging world (from that blog, that used to be conservative, with the funny name...) and he said that his aim right now is protecting his nuclear family from the encroaching socialism in America. He's putting his head down and nose to the grindstone to protect his immediate circle.
I can't say I blame him.
So those are some more reflections from a nice few days away.
Bear with me as I put another load of laundry on and get caught up!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
A Little Jewish Christmas Miracle in New York
Have I mentioned that I love New York? And New Yorkers are the best.
Yesterday each of the kids knocked off a must-do from the to do list for NYC. We went to Central Park and played on the little concrete maze and rock climbing thing, and wings and slides. Very nice. Walked down Fifth Avenue and another kid visited The Strand bookstore-a big hit.
The afternoon was meant to be a stroll through Little Italy and Chinatown-we caught the subway down, got off at Canal and then-YIKES. The special needs stroller! A flat tire! Somebody's errant earring got stuck in the tire-FLAT CITY.
My special needs kid can walk, but not for big distances-without the special needs stroller, we are literally grounded. Panic time as we starting looking all around for a hardware store that could possibly patch it up. One guy at a hardware store tried-he was very sympathetic, but the pump wasn't working. Then, we thought-a bike store, they would have wheels. We asked the souvenir vendor where the nearest bike store was and ran over-CLOSED. Of course it was closed. It's Erev Christmas, I reminded myself. We're screwed!
Then we thought, OK let's try to find a kid store to buy a lightweight stroller just as a temporary fix.
Nothing!
Then, a cellular phone store. Now you're thinking a cellular phone store? What is she nuts? But I had a plan.
A sympathetic clerk helped us locate the next nearest bike store, and even called to see if they were still open and if they could help. Yes! Open till 6. We thanked him and trekked down Broadway, through the shopping masses with the limping stroller-stressed!
Went up to the bike level and a lovely young guy said, sure we can help. He started to work on it, but then realized that they didn't have the right size inner tube. So, he called a competing bike store down the street and asked if they had the right size. And they did. So, having heard the story-that it was for a disabled kid's mobility-he walked the part down to the store himself.
Another staffer smiled at my son, and went right to work on the tire-expertly. She was amazing. We thanked them all, and then went to pay. She spoke to her manager and from what I could see, asked for permission NOT to charge us for labour. They would only take $5 for the part. The manager told me he had two kids of his own, so he understood.
And then, we were mobile and on our way again. Absolutely amazing.
So, I'm going to write some formal thank you notes to these folks but let me say that Rachel at Eastern Mountain Sports on Broadway saved our vacation. And Antonio, the salesman at Verizon at Broadway and Canal also was a huge help and put us onto Eastern Mountain Sports. Without these sensitive people, we would have been really stuck.
New Yorkers are the best. Tough as nails, but among the most thoughtful people ever. And, I'm not sorry any of it happened, because now we have learned to keep extra parts on hand-better to learn that now, in New York City rather than in the middle of nowhere.
Then, a snowy, wet walk to dinner, a less wet walk back and then a good sleep.
Merry Christmas to all and G-d bless America.
Yesterday each of the kids knocked off a must-do from the to do list for NYC. We went to Central Park and played on the little concrete maze and rock climbing thing, and wings and slides. Very nice. Walked down Fifth Avenue and another kid visited The Strand bookstore-a big hit.
The afternoon was meant to be a stroll through Little Italy and Chinatown-we caught the subway down, got off at Canal and then-YIKES. The special needs stroller! A flat tire! Somebody's errant earring got stuck in the tire-FLAT CITY.
My special needs kid can walk, but not for big distances-without the special needs stroller, we are literally grounded. Panic time as we starting looking all around for a hardware store that could possibly patch it up. One guy at a hardware store tried-he was very sympathetic, but the pump wasn't working. Then, we thought-a bike store, they would have wheels. We asked the souvenir vendor where the nearest bike store was and ran over-CLOSED. Of course it was closed. It's Erev Christmas, I reminded myself. We're screwed!
Then we thought, OK let's try to find a kid store to buy a lightweight stroller just as a temporary fix.
Nothing!
Then, a cellular phone store. Now you're thinking a cellular phone store? What is she nuts? But I had a plan.
A sympathetic clerk helped us locate the next nearest bike store, and even called to see if they were still open and if they could help. Yes! Open till 6. We thanked him and trekked down Broadway, through the shopping masses with the limping stroller-stressed!
Went up to the bike level and a lovely young guy said, sure we can help. He started to work on it, but then realized that they didn't have the right size inner tube. So, he called a competing bike store down the street and asked if they had the right size. And they did. So, having heard the story-that it was for a disabled kid's mobility-he walked the part down to the store himself.
Another staffer smiled at my son, and went right to work on the tire-expertly. She was amazing. We thanked them all, and then went to pay. She spoke to her manager and from what I could see, asked for permission NOT to charge us for labour. They would only take $5 for the part. The manager told me he had two kids of his own, so he understood.
And then, we were mobile and on our way again. Absolutely amazing.
So, I'm going to write some formal thank you notes to these folks but let me say that Rachel at Eastern Mountain Sports on Broadway saved our vacation. And Antonio, the salesman at Verizon at Broadway and Canal also was a huge help and put us onto Eastern Mountain Sports. Without these sensitive people, we would have been really stuck.
New Yorkers are the best. Tough as nails, but among the most thoughtful people ever. And, I'm not sorry any of it happened, because now we have learned to keep extra parts on hand-better to learn that now, in New York City rather than in the middle of nowhere.
Then, a snowy, wet walk to dinner, a less wet walk back and then a good sleep.
Merry Christmas to all and G-d bless America.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Gotta Love New York
Had a nice drive through the mountains and am once again, loving New York City. What a town. I'm still in love with America.
One the way here, we saw a lot of beat up Volvos with tons of lefty bumper stickers-I think covering your car in stickers is a clear sign of mental illness. Tattoos are the human equivalent.
Anyway the prize for weirdest ensemble goes to the elderly woman who had alien and zombie stickers on the back of her car with "I Believe" stickers prominently posted beside the alien heads.
OK THEN!!!!
We laughed our heads off.
Since being in New York City, we have socialized with the Statue of Liberty, Elmo (kept him FAR AWAY FROM THE BOYS), Cookie Monster and family.
Kosher eats here are totally yum.
I love America, but THIS IS RIDICULOUS.
The City of Philadelphia ought to have better things to do with taxpayer dollars! Gah!
More later.
One the way here, we saw a lot of beat up Volvos with tons of lefty bumper stickers-I think covering your car in stickers is a clear sign of mental illness. Tattoos are the human equivalent.
Anyway the prize for weirdest ensemble goes to the elderly woman who had alien and zombie stickers on the back of her car with "I Believe" stickers prominently posted beside the alien heads.
OK THEN!!!!
We laughed our heads off.
Since being in New York City, we have socialized with the Statue of Liberty, Elmo (kept him FAR AWAY FROM THE BOYS), Cookie Monster and family.
Kosher eats here are totally yum.
I love America, but THIS IS RIDICULOUS.
The City of Philadelphia ought to have better things to do with taxpayer dollars! Gah!
More later.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Blog Break!
Taking a few days off for the holidays.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
Blogging will be sporadic until Thursday the 27th depending on my wi-fi access.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
Blogging will be sporadic until Thursday the 27th depending on my wi-fi access.
Steyn: Searching in Vain for Meaning
Written as a parent, deftly identifying trends and correctly asserting that there is no meaning in the murder of children.
There are only holes in parent's lives, gaping holes of bereavement, unnatural mourning and sorrow.
No answers. No comfort, only a daily struggle to live with the worst human pain imaginable.
There are only holes in parent's lives, gaping holes of bereavement, unnatural mourning and sorrow.
No answers. No comfort, only a daily struggle to live with the worst human pain imaginable.
The Story of the Jews
This is why the Jews need Israel-because for all of our history, the choice has been "suitcase" or "coffin".
Well put.
Do read this piece on how Algeria "lost" its Jews.
Well put.
Do read this piece on how Algeria "lost" its Jews.
As I Suspected
The nurse in the UK who killed herself after the DJ prank used suicide as a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
At the time, I thought the honour/shame culture might have something to do with it.
Turns out she had attempted suicide previously.
The DJs were not to blame for her suicide.
At the time, I thought the honour/shame culture might have something to do with it.
Turns out she had attempted suicide previously.
The DJs were not to blame for her suicide.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Pollard's Defenders Have Been Vindicated?
Just saw this, but haven't read the whole thing yet.
Will read over the weekend. Interesting.
I hope he is released before he dies in jail.
Will read over the weekend. Interesting.
I hope he is released before he dies in jail.
Faking It-Roger Scruton on the Big Swindle
I'm in love with this article.
"The fake intellectual invites you to conspire in his own self-deception, to join in creating a fantasy world."
"He is the teacher of genius, you the brilliant pupil. Faking is a social activity in which people act together to draw a veil over unwanted realities and encourage each other in the exercise of their illusory powers. The arrival of fake thought and fake scholarship in our universities should not therefore be attributed to any explicit desire to deceive. It has come about through the complicit opening of territory to the propagation of nonsense. Nonsense of this kind is a bid to be accepted."
This is a fantastic description of the pathetic left and its faux-intellectual gurus in the media, academy and in the arts.
"The fake intellectual invites you to conspire in his own self-deception, to join in creating a fantasy world."
"He is the teacher of genius, you the brilliant pupil. Faking is a social activity in which people act together to draw a veil over unwanted realities and encourage each other in the exercise of their illusory powers. The arrival of fake thought and fake scholarship in our universities should not therefore be attributed to any explicit desire to deceive. It has come about through the complicit opening of territory to the propagation of nonsense. Nonsense of this kind is a bid to be accepted."
This is a fantastic description of the pathetic left and its faux-intellectual gurus in the media, academy and in the arts.
Dalrymple: Newton's Unanswerable Questions
Do read it all.
"Yet, except in one case, I found no evidence that the low standard of practice had actually resulted in a preventable killing, despite the immense power of the retrospectoscope—the medical instrument that provides us with wisdom after the event and that sometimes does lead to improvements in practice that saves lives, though at other times it provides us only with scapegoats."
Yet:
"A further point: it is unlikely that we will ever have a full medical explanation of events such as the Newtown killings."
However:
"In an article in Le Monde, a professor of sociology at Strasbourg University, David Le Breton, quotes a German schoolboy who killed 15 people in a school in Winnenden in 2009: “I’m fed up, I’ve had enough of this meaningless life which is always the same. Everyone ignores me, no one recognises my potential.”
"This reeks of resentful, narcissistic grandiosity, the result of an imperative to be an individual at a time when individuation is more difficult than ever"
"Yet, except in one case, I found no evidence that the low standard of practice had actually resulted in a preventable killing, despite the immense power of the retrospectoscope—the medical instrument that provides us with wisdom after the event and that sometimes does lead to improvements in practice that saves lives, though at other times it provides us only with scapegoats."
Yet:
"A further point: it is unlikely that we will ever have a full medical explanation of events such as the Newtown killings."
However:
"In an article in Le Monde, a professor of sociology at Strasbourg University, David Le Breton, quotes a German schoolboy who killed 15 people in a school in Winnenden in 2009: “I’m fed up, I’ve had enough of this meaningless life which is always the same. Everyone ignores me, no one recognises my potential.”
"This reeks of resentful, narcissistic grandiosity, the result of an imperative to be an individual at a time when individuation is more difficult than ever"
It's the Demographics, Stupid
It's official.
The Muslim population of the UK has doubled.
"The national census for England and Wales has come out, and, as usual, this once-a-decade event has had all of its most significant points overlooked."
"By any measure, what it reveals is a country undergoing seismic change."
"Over the course of a decade up to four million more people have entered the country to live. In the capital, London, people identifying themselves as "white British" have for the first time become a minority. Perhaps most strikingly, the national Muslim population has doubled."
"This last fact is perhaps one of the least considered of the census so far. Doubled? Surely not. This has to be the claim of Mark Steyn or some other demographics-obsessed nut. Well no, it isn't, and it is now official: between 2001 and 2011 the Muslim population of the UK rose from 1.5 million to 2.7 million. Otherwise put, that is an increase from 3 percent to 4.8 percent of the overall population."
The Muslim population of the UK has doubled.
"The national census for England and Wales has come out, and, as usual, this once-a-decade event has had all of its most significant points overlooked."
"By any measure, what it reveals is a country undergoing seismic change."
"Over the course of a decade up to four million more people have entered the country to live. In the capital, London, people identifying themselves as "white British" have for the first time become a minority. Perhaps most strikingly, the national Muslim population has doubled."
"This last fact is perhaps one of the least considered of the census so far. Doubled? Surely not. This has to be the claim of Mark Steyn or some other demographics-obsessed nut. Well no, it isn't, and it is now official: between 2001 and 2011 the Muslim population of the UK rose from 1.5 million to 2.7 million. Otherwise put, that is an increase from 3 percent to 4.8 percent of the overall population."
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Britain Takes a Step Back From the Free Speech Abyss
Finally, a little bit of common sense from the UK of all places!
New guidelines have been issued to 'raise the bar' on the online comments that distinguish between offensive and criminal.
New guidelines have been issued to 'raise the bar' on the online comments that distinguish between offensive and criminal.
"Under the new guidelines, most if not all of a recent
rash of high-profile cases would probably not have been prosecuted,
including a youth who was sent to jail for 12 weeks for posting crude
jokes about two kidnapped girls and another young man who was sentenced
to 240 hours of community service for declaring on Facebook that British
soldiers “should die and go to hell.”
"Critics of the prosecutions noted that such comments
might raise eyebrows and draw disapproving looks if spoken aloud in a
pub, but online they suddenly become criminal offenses. Civil-liberties
activists warned of a chilling effect on free speech. Starmer agreed, and consulted lawyers, police and other experts on setting a higher threshold for prosecution."
A Bereaved Father in Israel Asks for You To Help Keep His Daughter's Memory Alive
I just read this story about Tal Kherman z"l, who was 17 years old when she was murdered in a terrorist attack on a Haifa bus.
Tal loved camels, and her father is trying to keep his daughter's memory alive with this project. Her diaries had camels that were drawn, but not coloured, so he's asking the public to colour in the camels.
The web site is here.
Drawings from all over the world are posted here.
May her memory be a blessing.
Tal loved camels, and her father is trying to keep his daughter's memory alive with this project. Her diaries had camels that were drawn, but not coloured, so he's asking the public to colour in the camels.
The web site is here.
Drawings from all over the world are posted here.
May her memory be a blessing.
Educators
Your moral and intellectual superiors.
Showing a risque transgendered-positive Christmas video to Grade 4 students.
What could possibly be wrong with that?
Showing a risque transgendered-positive Christmas video to Grade 4 students.
What could possibly be wrong with that?
American Moral Decay
Ted Nugent expresses some of the thoughts I have had over the past week.
"We’ve embraced a culture of contempt that attacks the very institutions that make for a healthy and strong society, and then we’re shocked when it spirals out of control. The only thing I’m shocked about is that anybody is shocked."
"As with most things, the cure to this mess begins and ends with the family. Traditional family values have been under siege for decades by our culture of contempt. In the absence of a solid family, the whole thing slowly unravels and rots."
I have no personal connection to the murders, but I have been purposely avoided all the news stories and all the pictures because just the thought of the children makes me tremble with sadness. I've been in a bit of a daze all week, trying to avoid thinking about it. I'm just waiting for time to pass, when for me-it becomes more of a distant memory of something terrible, instead of something terrible that resonates so personally with me as a parent.
There is no greater pain that a human can experience.
But I've also been thinking about how to stop the shootings.
My conclusion is that you can't.
Why?
Because there will always be evil humans. And drugged up ones. And antisocial ones who do terrible things. There will always be industries-either psychological, therapy, pharmaceutical or Alinksy-based family wreckers that try to rationalize away all anti-social behaviours and tear to shreds what has worked for humans for thousands of years.
We can't legislate away bad individual choices. We can only try to deter humans from making them and punish (my preference of course, is capital punishment) those who have no regard for the sanctity of human life.
So, my conclusion is based on what I have also seen in Israel. You can't stop terrorism.
You can prevent as much as possible, but the only way to stop the terrorism is to stop the terrorist.
If that makes you uncomfortable, good.
It should.
"We’ve embraced a culture of contempt that attacks the very institutions that make for a healthy and strong society, and then we’re shocked when it spirals out of control. The only thing I’m shocked about is that anybody is shocked."
"As with most things, the cure to this mess begins and ends with the family. Traditional family values have been under siege for decades by our culture of contempt. In the absence of a solid family, the whole thing slowly unravels and rots."
I have no personal connection to the murders, but I have been purposely avoided all the news stories and all the pictures because just the thought of the children makes me tremble with sadness. I've been in a bit of a daze all week, trying to avoid thinking about it. I'm just waiting for time to pass, when for me-it becomes more of a distant memory of something terrible, instead of something terrible that resonates so personally with me as a parent.
There is no greater pain that a human can experience.
But I've also been thinking about how to stop the shootings.
My conclusion is that you can't.
Why?
Because there will always be evil humans. And drugged up ones. And antisocial ones who do terrible things. There will always be industries-either psychological, therapy, pharmaceutical or Alinksy-based family wreckers that try to rationalize away all anti-social behaviours and tear to shreds what has worked for humans for thousands of years.
We can't legislate away bad individual choices. We can only try to deter humans from making them and punish (my preference of course, is capital punishment) those who have no regard for the sanctity of human life.
So, my conclusion is based on what I have also seen in Israel. You can't stop terrorism.
You can prevent as much as possible, but the only way to stop the terrorism is to stop the terrorist.
The only way to stop the mass shootings in America is to stop the individual shooter.
That might mean that they are locked away, or killed in the very seconds that they start to do something destructive.
Jim Goad wrote an outstanding essay on Taki Magazine about the extent to which these shooters are drugged up the wazoo.
Nobody seems to be talking about that. I urge you to read his entire piece. It is really a must-read.
Jim Goad wrote an outstanding essay on Taki Magazine about the extent to which these shooters are drugged up the wazoo.
Nobody seems to be talking about that. I urge you to read his entire piece. It is really a must-read.
Frankly, I would trust a bible-thumping, Christian, G-d believing, "hillbilly", "good old boy", "Redneck", gun-toting, bacon-eating, beer-drinking southerner with my kids, more than I would EVER, and I mean EVER EVER trust them around ANY secular, emasculated, atheist, video-game addicted, young, single, liberal (virgin), "edgy", "goth", vegan men who have their mother's last name, who seem to universally have single mothers, and in the care of psychologists. The ones who are buried in the basement, never have learned how to be social, and are attached to something electronic all the time instead of partaking in real life.
No girls are mass murderers of this sort (except Palestinian women, and that also turns human nature upside down, no other "culture" sends its own children to death voluntarily and to kill as many other people in the process as possible).
Legions of Western women, particularly in America are clearly too busy being groomed to destroy men and families.
And yes-some of those guys end up being encouraged to be day care workers and nurses and I'm wary of them.
(UPDATE: Some of them become teachers, in elementary schools.)
Legions of Western women, particularly in America are clearly too busy being groomed to destroy men and families.
And yes-some of those guys end up being encouraged to be day care workers and nurses and I'm wary of them.
(UPDATE: Some of them become teachers, in elementary schools.)
If that makes you uncomfortable, good.
It should.
Neutralizing evil is the only way to deal with it.
You can try to prevent it as much as you can, but you can't eradicate it.
You can try to prevent it as much as you can, but you can't eradicate it.
In short, America-the people with any brains in America should change the language of the conversation about these murders.
It's terrorism, and America can take a page from Israel on the best prevention methods.
No free society can stop terrorism entirely, but a combination of very strong deterrence, good intelligence, and killing the terrorists is the best option that we have at this junction in human civilization.
"A Sliver of Sunshine" at Walter Reed
What a beautiful program, G-d bless Arthur Bloom and the wounded, musical warriors at Walter Reed.
Put these folks on your Christmas list.
Put these folks on your Christmas list.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The Real War Against Women
Here are two thoughtful pieces for your consideration, both poignant and touching for different reasons.
As is usually the case, the allegedly meanest "conservatives" always seem to care more about the rights of women-to live and to be free.
It is conservatives, not women on the left, who stand for women's right to be born, and their right to be free.
Consider Dalrymple on The Silence of the Feminists:
"She begged to be allowed to go to work, but at first her family said that this would heighten the shame she had brought on them by running away and refusing to marry her cousin....Eventually, however, they gave way; the money might be useful. She had been working ever since, for about ten years."
"When she described her work, her manner changed. She became animated, almost passionate, having been subdued before. Though her work was only in a clerical capacity (she had been promoted once or twice), she spoke of it with love. It was her daily release from prison, the only time she was allowed out; it was her window on the world; it was the entirety of her social life; it was air after suffocation."
And Barbara Kay on the gendercide disguised as "choice":
"Sex-selective abortion is feminist pro-choicers’ Achilles heel. For it is clearly an aberration of abortion’s original purpose — just as it would be an aberration if technology could identify sexuality in the womb, and homophobic parents were choosing to abort gay and lesbian babies."
"Yet feminists decades ago made absolute freedom of choice the litmus test for support of women’s rights. Thus, regulation for any reason whatsoever is seen as anathema to the movement."
"Silence is indifference. Gendercide is a hateful practice. Let that much at least be said."
As is usually the case, the allegedly meanest "conservatives" always seem to care more about the rights of women-to live and to be free.
It is conservatives, not women on the left, who stand for women's right to be born, and their right to be free.
Consider Dalrymple on The Silence of the Feminists:
"She begged to be allowed to go to work, but at first her family said that this would heighten the shame she had brought on them by running away and refusing to marry her cousin....Eventually, however, they gave way; the money might be useful. She had been working ever since, for about ten years."
"When she described her work, her manner changed. She became animated, almost passionate, having been subdued before. Though her work was only in a clerical capacity (she had been promoted once or twice), she spoke of it with love. It was her daily release from prison, the only time she was allowed out; it was her window on the world; it was the entirety of her social life; it was air after suffocation."
And Barbara Kay on the gendercide disguised as "choice":
"Sex-selective abortion is feminist pro-choicers’ Achilles heel. For it is clearly an aberration of abortion’s original purpose — just as it would be an aberration if technology could identify sexuality in the womb, and homophobic parents were choosing to abort gay and lesbian babies."
"Yet feminists decades ago made absolute freedom of choice the litmus test for support of women’s rights. Thus, regulation for any reason whatsoever is seen as anathema to the movement."
"Silence is indifference. Gendercide is a hateful practice. Let that much at least be said."
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
I'll Say It Again
"Dr. Lastname" is one of the smartest people on the Internet.
These two columns are chock-filled with VERY GOOD ADVICE and lots of wisdom.
This dude is very, very clever.
I wish he would write a book, or do a talk show or something because him and his writing partner are an absolutely fantastic team.
Read both of these posts.
SUCH
GOOD
ADVICE
These two columns are chock-filled with VERY GOOD ADVICE and lots of wisdom.
This dude is very, very clever.
I wish he would write a book, or do a talk show or something because him and his writing partner are an absolutely fantastic team.
Read both of these posts.
SUCH
GOOD
ADVICE
Warning to Instagram Users
Your photos, and your children's photos can be used at their whim, for commercial purposes if you continue to use Instagram.
Perpeptual rights. I hope people out there understand this concept. That is FOREVER.
If your kids use Instagram on their phones, you may want to consider having them remove that app.
Perpeptual rights. I hope people out there understand this concept. That is FOREVER.
If your kids use Instagram on their phones, you may want to consider having them remove that app.
Monday, December 17, 2012
So, An African Albino Walks Into A Bar in Canada And Gets Offended
This is the farce of "human rights" in Canada.
An African Albino immigrant to Canada is offended by the name of Albino Rhino Beer.
YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY
Ikponwosa Ero thinks that it is offensive, and is hauling Earl's restaurant in B.C to the B.C Human Rights Tribunal-the same kangaroo court that recently "tried" noted human rights activist and Nobel Prize winning Canadian author and lounge lizard/Christmas crooner Mark Steyn.
Ironically, Ms. Ero came to Canada so that she presumably would not have been "persecuted" in Africa for being an Albino.
And when I say "persecuted", I mean butchered, eaten, made into powder for spells, etc...
Does Earl's restaurant sell their beer outside of B.C?
Because I would order a crate of Albino Rhino in support/solidarity.
Markets, and not "human rights" industries should be determining what stays on the market.
I would say "this is a joke" if it wasn't so damned serious and such a threat to our personal liberty and drain on the taxpayer's purse.
An African Albino immigrant to Canada is offended by the name of Albino Rhino Beer.
YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY
Ikponwosa Ero thinks that it is offensive, and is hauling Earl's restaurant in B.C to the B.C Human Rights Tribunal-the same kangaroo court that recently "tried" noted human rights activist and Nobel Prize winning Canadian author and lounge lizard/Christmas crooner Mark Steyn.
Ironically, Ms. Ero came to Canada so that she presumably would not have been "persecuted" in Africa for being an Albino.
And when I say "persecuted", I mean butchered, eaten, made into powder for spells, etc...
Does Earl's restaurant sell their beer outside of B.C?
Because I would order a crate of Albino Rhino in support/solidarity.
Markets, and not "human rights" industries should be determining what stays on the market.
I would say "this is a joke" if it wasn't so damned serious and such a threat to our personal liberty and drain on the taxpayer's purse.
Bottom Story of the Day
See what I did there?
Heh!
So, how much of a total idiot does someone have to be not to think that the advertisement alone "Discount Buttocks Implants" should perhaps, just perhaps think twice about purchasing said product/service?
I mean COME ON.
Do people seriously not know about Caveat Emptor?!?!?!
I'm just not particularly sympathetic to women who fill themselves with plastic.
I recently read a woman who said that women used to have time to adjust to their older selves, and their older face during a time called "middle age"-it was a normal, transition.
Now, they are encouraged to go from their twenties straight to the embalming experts.
Do men actually like all the fake stuff?
I'm wondering because I see a lot of women with extremely fake boobs and nails and lip fillers, and all with the same noses, and cat eyes and wind-blown faces, and you know what that indicates to me?
That they are the kind of silly women who think that boob jobs and fake nails and lip implants are the most important things to men-and I'm just not convinced that they are. It means that they are spending money on those things-whose money?
Growing older is harder on women than men, but my opinion is that the money is better invested in fitness, good clothes, hair and make up that is age-appropriate and not dated.
Plus, fake nails with sparkly things, big hair, expensive bags and/or slut shoes or boots do not cancel out obesity.They just don't. Sorry.
Heh!
So, how much of a total idiot does someone have to be not to think that the advertisement alone "Discount Buttocks Implants" should perhaps, just perhaps think twice about purchasing said product/service?
I mean COME ON.
Do people seriously not know about Caveat Emptor?!?!?!
I'm just not particularly sympathetic to women who fill themselves with plastic.
I recently read a woman who said that women used to have time to adjust to their older selves, and their older face during a time called "middle age"-it was a normal, transition.
Now, they are encouraged to go from their twenties straight to the embalming experts.
Do men actually like all the fake stuff?
I'm wondering because I see a lot of women with extremely fake boobs and nails and lip fillers, and all with the same noses, and cat eyes and wind-blown faces, and you know what that indicates to me?
That they are the kind of silly women who think that boob jobs and fake nails and lip implants are the most important things to men-and I'm just not convinced that they are. It means that they are spending money on those things-whose money?
Growing older is harder on women than men, but my opinion is that the money is better invested in fitness, good clothes, hair and make up that is age-appropriate and not dated.
Plus, fake nails with sparkly things, big hair, expensive bags and/or slut shoes or boots do not cancel out obesity.They just don't. Sorry.
Oh Mah Gawd A National Review Steynvalanche!!!
Welcome NRO readers!
Please pull up a chair, and makes yourselves at home.
Please pull up a chair, and makes yourselves at home.
"We Might As Well Turn Out the Lights On Civilized Society"
Orwell lives.
Meet the new "independent" mothers.
Completely government dependent, independent mothers.
If they are so independent, where did the sperm come from? Also from the government?
Woe unto us as a society for enabling the ripping apart of the family unit.
The communists understood this very well. Destroy the nuclear family and destroy society.
Fatherless homes are not healthy homes.
Meet the new "independent" mothers.
Completely government dependent, independent mothers.
If they are so independent, where did the sperm come from? Also from the government?
Woe unto us as a society for enabling the ripping apart of the family unit.
The communists understood this very well. Destroy the nuclear family and destroy society.
Fatherless homes are not healthy homes.
Egyptian Spring!
Women without hijabs prevented from voting in Egypt.
Flashback:
Obama speech in Cairo:
"Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state in our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That's why the United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab and to punish those who would deny it. (Applause.)"
"The sixth issue -- the sixth issue that I want to address is women's rights. (Applause.) I know –- I know -- and you can tell from this audience, that there is a healthy debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. (Applause.) And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well educated are far more likely to be prosperous."
Bonus Ripping of Thomas Friedman at Legal Insurrection!
Flashback:
Obama speech in Cairo:
"Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state in our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That's why the United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab and to punish those who would deny it. (Applause.)"
"The sixth issue -- the sixth issue that I want to address is women's rights. (Applause.) I know –- I know -- and you can tell from this audience, that there is a healthy debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. (Applause.) And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well educated are far more likely to be prosperous."
Bonus Ripping of Thomas Friedman at Legal Insurrection!
Steyn: The Doctor Won't See You Now
In this piece, Mark Steyn comments on the future of American health care.
*Spoiler alert: HEAD FOR THE HILLS!!!!*
Americans really have no idea what they are in for, but I've lived in two countries now that have socialized medicine-Canada and Israel. Israel at least has a private system as well, so you can purchase additional coverage if you like. Their socialized system is also stretched to the wire. There was a doctor's strike last year and a nursing strike a few days ago. It's a mess.
Here in Ontario, almost 50% of our province's GDP is spent on health care. As Lefty likes to say, it's "unsustainable".
Americans have no idea what it means to have to wait months and months to see a specialist or for specialized (read: expensive) tests.
I've gotten quite expert at navigating the system, but I started out with an advantage-a doctor in the family.
(Hi Dad!!!)
Plus, I've cultivated relationships with the nurses, the receptionists-the works.
As Steyn points out, Americans have to deal with massive levels of bureaucracy with their insurers-no wonder people doctors are going back to a simpler system-patient pays doctor directly for service.
Anyway, the whole essay is great, but actually this part was my favourite.
"It's a good thing the email is secure at American pharmacies because nothing else is. Last Christmas, while guest-hosting at Fox News in New York, I had a spot of ill health and went to pick up a prescription at Duane Reade on Sixth Avenue."
"The woman ahead of me was having some difficulties. She was a stylish lady d'un certain age, and she caught my wandering eye. After prolonged consultation with the computer, the "pharmacist" informed her (and the rest of us within earshot) that her insurer had approved her Ortho but denied her Valtrex."
"I was thinking of asking her for cocktails at the Plaza, when I noticed the other women in line tittering. It seems that Ortho is a birth-control pill, and Valtrex is a herpes medication. So good luck retaining any meaningful doctor-patient confidentiality in a system in which more people – insurers, employers, government commissars, TSA Obergropinführers, federal incentive-program auditors – will be able to access your medical records than in any other nation on Earth."
America in a nutshell.
*Spoiler alert: HEAD FOR THE HILLS!!!!*
Americans really have no idea what they are in for, but I've lived in two countries now that have socialized medicine-Canada and Israel. Israel at least has a private system as well, so you can purchase additional coverage if you like. Their socialized system is also stretched to the wire. There was a doctor's strike last year and a nursing strike a few days ago. It's a mess.
Here in Ontario, almost 50% of our province's GDP is spent on health care. As Lefty likes to say, it's "unsustainable".
Americans have no idea what it means to have to wait months and months to see a specialist or for specialized (read: expensive) tests.
I've gotten quite expert at navigating the system, but I started out with an advantage-a doctor in the family.
(Hi Dad!!!)
Plus, I've cultivated relationships with the nurses, the receptionists-the works.
As Steyn points out, Americans have to deal with massive levels of bureaucracy with their insurers-no wonder people doctors are going back to a simpler system-patient pays doctor directly for service.
Anyway, the whole essay is great, but actually this part was my favourite.
"It's a good thing the email is secure at American pharmacies because nothing else is. Last Christmas, while guest-hosting at Fox News in New York, I had a spot of ill health and went to pick up a prescription at Duane Reade on Sixth Avenue."
"The woman ahead of me was having some difficulties. She was a stylish lady d'un certain age, and she caught my wandering eye. After prolonged consultation with the computer, the "pharmacist" informed her (and the rest of us within earshot) that her insurer had approved her Ortho but denied her Valtrex."
"I was thinking of asking her for cocktails at the Plaza, when I noticed the other women in line tittering. It seems that Ortho is a birth-control pill, and Valtrex is a herpes medication. So good luck retaining any meaningful doctor-patient confidentiality in a system in which more people – insurers, employers, government commissars, TSA Obergropinführers, federal incentive-program auditors – will be able to access your medical records than in any other nation on Earth."
America in a nutshell.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
David Mamet on the Jewish left
Excellent.
Again, if you want to understand lefty Jews, you have to understand that leftism is their religion and they just happened to have been born Jewish.
It's all clear here. And the phrase "Third Generation Congenital Democrats" is a keeper. I am so stealing that.
Again, if you want to understand lefty Jews, you have to understand that leftism is their religion and they just happened to have been born Jewish.
It's all clear here. And the phrase "Third Generation Congenital Democrats" is a keeper. I am so stealing that.
Our Own Worst Enemies
Even in Israel, Holocaust survivors are just expected to die quietly-some never having received the respect and financial compensation that they deserve.
Shame on every Jew that kept even a single shekel, dollar or mark meant for survivors.
Shame on every Jew that kept even a single shekel, dollar or mark meant for survivors.
Those Who Believe In Soulmates.....
Are more likely to end up being divorced, according to a study quoted by Dr. Helen.
I think that a lot of people get divorced because they can't put aside the really irritating, small things that will NEVER, EVER change between married people. In my experience, you can ask for or even beg for minor behaviour adjustments from your partner that can often be "won", but that's about it. By that I mean-toilet seat up or down, just being polite and smiling at various family activities with the outlaws, etc..By that I mean that it's just not possible or realistic or healthy to expect/demand major personality overhauls.
I never got the whole "soulmate" gushy idea and I certainly don't think the "he/she's my lover and MY BEST FRIEND" thing is healthy either. To that I say: YUCK.
People need chemistry, a pretty similar view on G-d, religion and on raising children. A lot of other cursory things just meld together as you live longer with each other. That's my experience anyway.
So many young women get fed a steady princess diet, and that everything leads up to their fairy tale, poofy dress, bridezilla wedding and then BOOM. The wedding is over and it goes downhill from there. And that's a real shame.
Marriage is not for weaklings. It's hard work, with many, many joys.
As democracy is the worst system of governance except for anything else, so it marriage the worst way for men and women to live except for anything else.
I think that a lot of people get divorced because they can't put aside the really irritating, small things that will NEVER, EVER change between married people. In my experience, you can ask for or even beg for minor behaviour adjustments from your partner that can often be "won", but that's about it. By that I mean-toilet seat up or down, just being polite and smiling at various family activities with the outlaws, etc..By that I mean that it's just not possible or realistic or healthy to expect/demand major personality overhauls.
I never got the whole "soulmate" gushy idea and I certainly don't think the "he/she's my lover and MY BEST FRIEND" thing is healthy either. To that I say: YUCK.
People need chemistry, a pretty similar view on G-d, religion and on raising children. A lot of other cursory things just meld together as you live longer with each other. That's my experience anyway.
So many young women get fed a steady princess diet, and that everything leads up to their fairy tale, poofy dress, bridezilla wedding and then BOOM. The wedding is over and it goes downhill from there. And that's a real shame.
Marriage is not for weaklings. It's hard work, with many, many joys.
As democracy is the worst system of governance except for anything else, so it marriage the worst way for men and women to live except for anything else.
Barry Rubin: Israel Has No Other Alternative
But the alternative it has is a good one.
So says Barry Rubin! And I have to agree with him. Read the whole thing:
"What has the world's behavior taught us? Very simply this: Nothing we can do will suffice."
So says Barry Rubin! And I have to agree with him. Read the whole thing:
"What has the world's behavior taught us? Very simply this: Nothing we can do will suffice."
"Israel's fate
includes to be slandered, its actions and society so often distorted by
those responsible for conveying accurate information to their own
societies. And that also means to be attacked violently by its
neighbors, though it can minimize the effectiveness of that violence.
Like our ancestors we have to deal with this bizarre situation, this
mistreatment that others don't even understand still exists."
"But we cannot let this nonsensical excuse for reality drive us mad or make us mad."
"There are
only three ways, which must be combined, to survive: to believe truthful
things, do constructive things, and laugh at the absurdity of the
situation."Friday, December 14, 2012
When Bad Things Happen
I decided not to look at the news today after the news of the shooting in Connecticut hit. I fall apart when I read about bad things happening to children, and have to avoid that kind of news to preserve my sanity and to function best for my own family.
About a year ago, a young man who I knew only very peripherally through special needs circles was ill, and having multiple surgeries. The details are not important, but I tried to be as helpful as I was able until I realized that my suggestions were being ignored-either because they were not actually helpful, or because the person I was directing my advice to either couldn't or wouldn't respond-for whatever reason.
At that point, me and another mother who was also peripherally involved, had a conversation and I said that this situation may not end well. That young man, I said, may die. But then, I told my friend-as cold as this sounds-it's not "our" sad.
I've had my own sad. Not just me-but my family.
We've been the family that the news stories were written about.
We've been the people who get the calls at those twilight hours when you know it's not a happy call.
I've been the mother in the hospital, collapsing to the floor, thinking my baby was dying-thank G-d he did not. I've been the mother who felt the Angel of Death chill my house as he had a seizure.
I've been the mother who was angry, who downright wrestled with G-d after, walking about in a trance, trying to function, trying to make sense out of the nonsensical.
But right now, it's not "my" sad and I find that as I get older, I have to exercise even more restraint and control to try and balance the lines of empathy, of human sympathy and not internalizing the devastating things that happen to others. I'm getting better at it.
Bad things happen all the time. Sometimes they happen to you. Sometimes they happen to the people you love. And sometimes, they happen to people in other places, even other countries, but you still feel the anguish and the human pain behind the stories.
Every day that goes by that is not marred by something truly terrible in your life, by loss or illness or bereavement-each of those quiet days have to be celebrated and we have to be thankful for the boring, mundane, every day healthy days.
Bad stuff happens. Bad people will always be out there doing terrible things. We have to be grateful for every moment not in pain, not experienced in sorrow.
So if you are sad about these shootings-as any civilized person would be, that is natural and understandable. But if it's not your personal sadness, then you have to double up your efforts to focus on your immediate circle, your family and your friends and that is the way that you put goodness into the world.
Be grateful for this day.
About a year ago, a young man who I knew only very peripherally through special needs circles was ill, and having multiple surgeries. The details are not important, but I tried to be as helpful as I was able until I realized that my suggestions were being ignored-either because they were not actually helpful, or because the person I was directing my advice to either couldn't or wouldn't respond-for whatever reason.
At that point, me and another mother who was also peripherally involved, had a conversation and I said that this situation may not end well. That young man, I said, may die. But then, I told my friend-as cold as this sounds-it's not "our" sad.
I've had my own sad. Not just me-but my family.
We've been the family that the news stories were written about.
We've been the people who get the calls at those twilight hours when you know it's not a happy call.
I've been the mother in the hospital, collapsing to the floor, thinking my baby was dying-thank G-d he did not. I've been the mother who felt the Angel of Death chill my house as he had a seizure.
I've been the mother who was angry, who downright wrestled with G-d after, walking about in a trance, trying to function, trying to make sense out of the nonsensical.
But right now, it's not "my" sad and I find that as I get older, I have to exercise even more restraint and control to try and balance the lines of empathy, of human sympathy and not internalizing the devastating things that happen to others. I'm getting better at it.
Bad things happen all the time. Sometimes they happen to you. Sometimes they happen to the people you love. And sometimes, they happen to people in other places, even other countries, but you still feel the anguish and the human pain behind the stories.
Every day that goes by that is not marred by something truly terrible in your life, by loss or illness or bereavement-each of those quiet days have to be celebrated and we have to be thankful for the boring, mundane, every day healthy days.
Bad stuff happens. Bad people will always be out there doing terrible things. We have to be grateful for every moment not in pain, not experienced in sorrow.
So if you are sad about these shootings-as any civilized person would be, that is natural and understandable. But if it's not your personal sadness, then you have to double up your efforts to focus on your immediate circle, your family and your friends and that is the way that you put goodness into the world.
Be grateful for this day.
The TSA in America Sucks
They get their jollies making children cry-like this 12 year old girl, with bone disease, IN A WHEELCHAIR, cry.
America is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Can't anyone in America stop these morons?
America is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Can't anyone in America stop these morons?
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Most Outstanding Read of the Day
From David Goldstein at Tablet Magazine.
This is a spectacularly beautiful personal essay that really resonated with me personally.
Please read the whole thing-it's sad, but beautiful and inspiring.
Thank you, David Goldstein for sharing your memories with us and may your grandfather's memory be a blessing to you and your family.
This is a spectacularly beautiful personal essay that really resonated with me personally.
Please read the whole thing-it's sad, but beautiful and inspiring.
Thank you, David Goldstein for sharing your memories with us and may your grandfather's memory be a blessing to you and your family.
"After the war Papa owned a supermarket in the
Bronx, which he sold around the time I was born. Without the store to
occupy his time, he was perpetually restless. There was an unmistakable
sadness to him, his cheeks lean and hollowed, his icy blue eyes a shade
too big for his face. Whenever he visited, he’d take me onto his lap,
kiss the top of my head, and tell me that I was his lawyer. It was a
joke I didn’t understand then, and it makes little sense to me now. He
was gentle and sweet, and I was his lawyer. Then he disappeared. I’ve
been searching for him for 30 years now."
By Their Words You Shall Know Them
Here's an interesting find from Kathy, that all relates to Justin Trudeau heading toward a Hamas-friendly gathering here in Canada.
I read both the articles that Kathy posted.
This one really had some chilling rhetoric.
I found these points revealing.
"They ought to show respect to Muslims who deserve to be treated with respect like everyone else. Muslims are mature enough to choose what conference to attend and they don't need bullies to dictate what to do and which speaker to listen to."
"Shame on these bullies for trying to spread intolerance and confusion out of hate and animosity towards the peaceful and law abiding community.They take advantage of every opportunity they can find to create panic in the society as if Muslims are coming to take over the land, slit the throats of babies and force their beliefs on everyone."
Of all the choices of words, in the entire world-why on earth would anyone trying to make a case that they are not belligerent, not wanting to 'take over the land' and not slit the throats of babies', and not 'force their beliefs on everyone' use those words exactly?
Just as a reminder:
A baby whose throat was slit by Muslims, who want to take over the land of Israel.
Or more recently in France.
I read both the articles that Kathy posted.
This one really had some chilling rhetoric.
I found these points revealing.
"They ought to show respect to Muslims who deserve to be treated with respect like everyone else. Muslims are mature enough to choose what conference to attend and they don't need bullies to dictate what to do and which speaker to listen to."
"Shame on these bullies for trying to spread intolerance and confusion out of hate and animosity towards the peaceful and law abiding community.They take advantage of every opportunity they can find to create panic in the society as if Muslims are coming to take over the land, slit the throats of babies and force their beliefs on everyone."
Of all the choices of words, in the entire world-why on earth would anyone trying to make a case that they are not belligerent, not wanting to 'take over the land' and not slit the throats of babies', and not 'force their beliefs on everyone' use those words exactly?
Just as a reminder:
A baby whose throat was slit by Muslims, who want to take over the land of Israel.
Or more recently in France.
Steyn and Coren!
Noted human rights activist and Nobel Prize winner Mark Steyn talks to Michael Coren about Detroit, unions, Christmas and loving musicals whilst not being gay or Jewish!
A Love Story
How lovely, that two hearts do almost beat as one.
Joe O'Connor is one of the best feature writers in Canada today. Period.
This article made me cry over breakfast.
Rest in peace, JJ and Moll.
Another similar love story hit the news today as well.
I got completely verklempt over Joe's story. Such a fine writer.
So, I'm putting up this tune because it's about love, and it's groovy, and the groovy will cancel out the weepy.
SO THERE!
Joe O'Connor is one of the best feature writers in Canada today. Period.
This article made me cry over breakfast.
Rest in peace, JJ and Moll.
Another similar love story hit the news today as well.
I got completely verklempt over Joe's story. Such a fine writer.
So, I'm putting up this tune because it's about love, and it's groovy, and the groovy will cancel out the weepy.
SO THERE!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Ghosts of Detroit
A Steynian "After America" vision of Detroit, posted with the thought that many more American cities (particularly in California) are sure to follow.
Spain: A Tepid "Welcome Back" for Spanish Jews
This kind of reminds me of those sort of awkward times when you run into somebody that you were sort of friends with and they say HEY WE SHOULD HAVE LUNCH. And then you say OH YEAH WE SHOULD REALLY HAVE LUNCH, but neither of you really thinks that would necessarily be a fabulous idea-but it's sort of a societal convention that is better than saying "hey-see ya never", or "OK, I'll be at your funeral".
Actually, on second thought, it's more like when you are in the Middle East and there is this fake, gushing hospitality honour/shame thing where people insist that you should come over, but what they really mean is PLEASE DON'T COME OVER.
So, here we have Spain saying "hey, welcome back, Jews", but what they really mean is PLEASE JUST STAY AWAY, THANKYOUVERYMUCH.
Actually, on second thought, it's more like when you are in the Middle East and there is this fake, gushing hospitality honour/shame thing where people insist that you should come over, but what they really mean is PLEASE DON'T COME OVER.
So, here we have Spain saying "hey, welcome back, Jews", but what they really mean is PLEASE JUST STAY AWAY, THANKYOUVERYMUCH.
Democrats: A "Mostly Peaceful" Law Abiding Bunch
MEET THE TOLERANT LEFT
Accidental head-bashing of girlfriend, with bonus guilty plea, of course post-voter fraud instruction.
Like father like son?
"Mostly peaceful" though, even when conservative comedian Steven Crowder got punched out.
"Mostly peaceful" and a law-abiding bunch.
Accidental head-bashing of girlfriend, with bonus guilty plea, of course post-voter fraud instruction.
Like father like son?
"Mostly peaceful" though, even when conservative comedian Steven Crowder got punched out.
"Mostly peaceful" and a law-abiding bunch.
Like Freedom?
If you like freedom and freedom of speech, please consider making a contribution to the Blazing Cat Fur legal fund.
Arnie and Kathy have faced a lot of lawsuits and they are not backing down now.
If you like their blogs, please consider making a contribution to help them fight the latest round.
MORE DETAILS HERE
Arnie and Kathy have faced a lot of lawsuits and they are not backing down now.
If you like their blogs, please consider making a contribution to help them fight the latest round.
MORE DETAILS HERE
Will Aging, Childless (and Childish) Voters Enslave My Future Grandchildren
Why yes!
"If demography is destiny, democracy is toast-at least those democracies where citizens can vote themselves a living at someone else's expense. It doesn't take a mathematical genius to see that governments' addiction to intergenerational income redistribution is not sustainable unless someone keeps supplying babies at an accelerating pace"
"The root cause of the economic disaster that lies ahead is the kamikaze drive of democratic governments to displace the functions of the family, including the care of relatives in their old age. Since time immemorial, in every human society that ever was, and buttressed by social mores central to every religion ever practiced, children, grandchildren, and kin did what governments the world over now promise to do."
And of course, a big part of the problem is women like Ikea Monkey Woman.
This woman is a real estate lawyer. But there are plenty of women, bred and raised on a steady diet of man-hate and feminzism that will never get married or have children.
"If demography is destiny, democracy is toast-at least those democracies where citizens can vote themselves a living at someone else's expense. It doesn't take a mathematical genius to see that governments' addiction to intergenerational income redistribution is not sustainable unless someone keeps supplying babies at an accelerating pace"
"The root cause of the economic disaster that lies ahead is the kamikaze drive of democratic governments to displace the functions of the family, including the care of relatives in their old age. Since time immemorial, in every human society that ever was, and buttressed by social mores central to every religion ever practiced, children, grandchildren, and kin did what governments the world over now promise to do."
And of course, a big part of the problem is women like Ikea Monkey Woman.
This woman is a real estate lawyer. But there are plenty of women, bred and raised on a steady diet of man-hate and feminzism that will never get married or have children.
A Feast for the Eyes
Lovely photos from The Telegraph of all the cool cats: Sinatra, James Dean, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor.
Tasteful and cool.
Tasteful and cool.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Language Nazis Very Busy in Australia
Apparently not a g'day today, mate?!?!?
WTF!?!?
I would use that phrase ELEVENTY BILLION times a day if I were in Australia and by doing so-tell the language Nazis to screw themselves.
That's all you have to do-just push back.
Take back the language.
This story is once again that censorship is about controlling people's behaviour-not just their speech.
Just push back.
WTF!?!?
I would use that phrase ELEVENTY BILLION times a day if I were in Australia and by doing so-tell the language Nazis to screw themselves.
That's all you have to do-just push back.
Take back the language.
This story is once again that censorship is about controlling people's behaviour-not just their speech.
Just push back.
Math is Hard
But apparently, teaching children how to read in Detroit is even harder.
Only 7% of Detroit public school 8th grade students are grade-level proficient in reading.
Yet, there remain no consequences for such abominable statistics.
There is no punishment for the teachers' role in raising a generation of illiterates in one of the most dysfunctional, broke cities in America.
Welcome to the vice-grip of unions, to the soul-crushing reality of Democratic run municipalities.
A disgrace.
Only 7% of Detroit public school 8th grade students are grade-level proficient in reading.
Yet, there remain no consequences for such abominable statistics.
There is no punishment for the teachers' role in raising a generation of illiterates in one of the most dysfunctional, broke cities in America.
Welcome to the vice-grip of unions, to the soul-crushing reality of Democratic run municipalities.
A disgrace.
Monday, December 10, 2012
The Abuse of the Disabled
Twelve hours after the state took her disabled daughter away-by force-not by will-her daughter was dead.
This is a lesson on the dangers of the nanny state.
Unbridled government intervention in private lives kills vulnerable citizens.
The state of Florida murdered this girl.
Please spread the word about this story.
Hat tip: TalkinKamel
This is a lesson on the dangers of the nanny state.
Unbridled government intervention in private lives kills vulnerable citizens.
The state of Florida murdered this girl.
Please spread the word about this story.
Hat tip: TalkinKamel
The DJs and the Hospital Prank
There is an awful lot of hand wringing going on about this prank.
The DJs are not to blame for this suicide. The person who took their own life is responsible for this terrible choice.
Suicide-the permanent solution to a temporary problem.
I wonder if the shame/honour culture had anything to do with the disproportional response (suicide) to the temporary problem of being embarrassed or disciplined at work.
The DJs are not to blame for this suicide. The person who took their own life is responsible for this terrible choice.
Suicide-the permanent solution to a temporary problem.
I wonder if the shame/honour culture had anything to do with the disproportional response (suicide) to the temporary problem of being embarrassed or disciplined at work.
Musical Monday!
I am obsessed with this song and with this version in particular.
Hat tip: my daughter.
Listen to this version of Somebody That I Used to Know.
It's gorgeous.
Hat tip: my daughter.
Listen to this version of Somebody That I Used to Know.
It's gorgeous.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Happy Chanukah
The second candle of Chanukah was lit tonight.
Lots of good stuff about Chanukah here.
I had the pleasure last night of attending a party with the Sephardic Jewish community of Toronto. Jews come in all colours, shapes and sizes, and from every country and speak so many languages. This party was with the Rockin' Moroccans of the Greater Toronto Area and it was loads of fun. There was pizza, a clown, a DJ-my goodness, good times!
Earlier this evenings, we had our Cousin's Club Chanukah party and it was also great. We have an actual club made up of all the cousins on my father's side. Anyway, it's been running since 1968 and my generation is determined to keep it running, which is great.
I've had a few too many latkes and it's only the second candle!
So Chag Sameach, Happy Chanukah to Kol Am Yisrael.
Lots of good stuff about Chanukah here.
I had the pleasure last night of attending a party with the Sephardic Jewish community of Toronto. Jews come in all colours, shapes and sizes, and from every country and speak so many languages. This party was with the Rockin' Moroccans of the Greater Toronto Area and it was loads of fun. There was pizza, a clown, a DJ-my goodness, good times!
Earlier this evenings, we had our Cousin's Club Chanukah party and it was also great. We have an actual club made up of all the cousins on my father's side. Anyway, it's been running since 1968 and my generation is determined to keep it running, which is great.
I've had a few too many latkes and it's only the second candle!
So Chag Sameach, Happy Chanukah to Kol Am Yisrael.
Refuah Shlemah
Refuah Shlemah means a full recovery in Hebrew.
This is what we wish people who have been injured or are ill.
This is what we need to talk about when people talk about the Palestinians "only" having rocks as weapons.
Rocks are lethal weapons.
This is what we wish people who have been injured or are ill.
This is what we need to talk about when people talk about the Palestinians "only" having rocks as weapons.
Rocks are lethal weapons.
Delicious!
Swedes anger Iran by putting the dreaded infidel shoe of disrespect into Eichmedinejad's face.
Given what a disgusting cesspool of Judenhaas Sweden is, I'm delighted to see them incur the wrath of their beloved terrorists.
Given what a disgusting cesspool of Judenhaas Sweden is, I'm delighted to see them incur the wrath of their beloved terrorists.
The Jewish Propagandists for Hamas
The author seems to be puzzled by the Jews who support Hamas.
I am not puzzled at all.
Once again, these are vicious Jew-hating Marxist/Communist/Leftists who just happened to have been born Jewish. Some of them even were born Israeli. Big deal.
Their religion is leftism. The rest is commentary.
I am not puzzled at all.
Once again, these are vicious Jew-hating Marxist/Communist/Leftists who just happened to have been born Jewish. Some of them even were born Israeli. Big deal.
Their religion is leftism. The rest is commentary.
Explain Something to Me
If in the UK, people are marrying outside their "race" all the time, why do they actually *need* a mammoth anti-racism, diversity-is-our-strenth industry?
It's like here in North America. How can anyone credibly claim that their is "rampant" antisemitism in North America when assimilation and intermarriage rates are about 50%?
WEIRD.
It's like here in North America. How can anyone credibly claim that their is "rampant" antisemitism in North America when assimilation and intermarriage rates are about 50%?
WEIRD.
Canada Rocks
What more can be said about Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper? I mean, really-what more???
Canada is full of intelligent, wise, philosemitc gentiles. And don't let any fear mongering Jewish liberals tell you otherwise.
Read these two articles by the incredible Lord Conrad Black to get the picture.
This one is from the weekend National Post, and this one is from the National Review. Both outstanding.
Canada is full of intelligent, wise, philosemitc gentiles. And don't let any fear mongering Jewish liberals tell you otherwise.
Read these two articles by the incredible Lord Conrad Black to get the picture.
This one is from the weekend National Post, and this one is from the National Review. Both outstanding.
New Epidemic Wave of Stupidity Hits British Women
Epic narcissism and stupidity in the UK.
I'm really glad that the NHS has money for Post Vajazzle Trauma Syndrome as opposed to better elder care, infection control, end of life care, etc...
I'm really glad that the NHS has money for Post Vajazzle Trauma Syndrome as opposed to better elder care, infection control, end of life care, etc...
Friday, December 7, 2012
Instapundit (Rightly) Asks:
Who is dumb enough to tangle with Kathy Shaidle???
Please do read Kathy's absolutely EPIC smackdown of Warren Kinsella.
It is a work of art.
Too bad irony is incomprehensible to these helmet heads.
PS: We should all call it GAMIL GHARBI DAY!
Please do read Kathy's absolutely EPIC smackdown of Warren Kinsella.
It is a work of art.
Too bad irony is incomprehensible to these helmet heads.
PS: We should all call it GAMIL GHARBI DAY!
Welcome to After America
Good grief!
Have you seen this on Drudge?
The After-Americanization of America is really happening in front of our eyes.
I was in Detroit a couple of times recently, and there were so many depressing things about it that it's hard to mention them all.
There was the total absence of a busy downtown. The shops were boarded up, no hustle and bustle in the downtown area. There was the crumbling infrastructure. Highways falling apart, unmarked exits, and dozens of boarded up buildings and industrial complexes all over the downtown area.
Then I had a first-hand encounter with the disgusting unions who hijack the city. I got a quote for something, and upon examination 25% of the quote was for union labour. It was shocking. But that's one of the reasons that we are at this stage now.
The other reason of course is the broken spirit of freedom and liberty and of individual responsibility. Too many generations now have been all too happy to look at the nanny state as their Big Sugar Daddy. The one who flashes a wad of cash, and promises always to be there for you. They are the Generation of Julia, the single mothers, the fatherless children, the welfare dependent masses, the millions of Americans who have concluded that hard work just doesn't pay.
I felt when visiting Detroit that it was pretty much irredeemable. The amount of money that would be required to "fix" things there would not be worth it. And money can only fix structures anyway, but not heal souls.
Perhaps it is darkest before the dawn. One can hope this is the case in Detroit.
There are hopeful signs: Michigan will now be a "Right to Work' state.
Have you seen this on Drudge?
The After-Americanization of America is really happening in front of our eyes.
I was in Detroit a couple of times recently, and there were so many depressing things about it that it's hard to mention them all.
There was the total absence of a busy downtown. The shops were boarded up, no hustle and bustle in the downtown area. There was the crumbling infrastructure. Highways falling apart, unmarked exits, and dozens of boarded up buildings and industrial complexes all over the downtown area.
Then I had a first-hand encounter with the disgusting unions who hijack the city. I got a quote for something, and upon examination 25% of the quote was for union labour. It was shocking. But that's one of the reasons that we are at this stage now.
The other reason of course is the broken spirit of freedom and liberty and of individual responsibility. Too many generations now have been all too happy to look at the nanny state as their Big Sugar Daddy. The one who flashes a wad of cash, and promises always to be there for you. They are the Generation of Julia, the single mothers, the fatherless children, the welfare dependent masses, the millions of Americans who have concluded that hard work just doesn't pay.
I felt when visiting Detroit that it was pretty much irredeemable. The amount of money that would be required to "fix" things there would not be worth it. And money can only fix structures anyway, but not heal souls.
Perhaps it is darkest before the dawn. One can hope this is the case in Detroit.
There are hopeful signs: Michigan will now be a "Right to Work' state.
US Marines Getting Meditation Training
Do you think there could be benefits to this?
Or is it just another move in the complete wussification of men?
Seems to me that there are forces that want to castrate the US Marine Corps.
Or is it just another move in the complete wussification of men?
Seems to me that there are forces that want to castrate the US Marine Corps.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Journalists
Your moral superiors.
A veteran reporter from Cape Cod is being accused of making up sources for articles. This may have been going on since 1981.
A veteran reporter from Cape Cod is being accused of making up sources for articles. This may have been going on since 1981.
Dear Jews, Please Get Out of Sweden
Swedish Jews-why are you pretending that you can have a community there?
Sweden has explicitly expressed its preference for a Judenrein country. The indications are everywhere. Jews are beat up there, synagogues attacked, Rabbis threatened, kippa-wearing Jews accosted. There is not Jewish future in Sweden particularly and in Europe generally.
From Arutz 7:
Swedish Jewish Community 'Dying of 1,000 Cuts'
"Sweden's Jewish community is in “grave danger” after a series of anti-Semitic attacks, warns the European Jewish Congress. The statement came in the wake of an attack on two Jewish women earlier this week in the city of Malmo."
"The situation is intolerable for Jews in Malmo, and every week we hear of another attack,” said EJC President Dr. Moshe Kantor.
"The community is slowly being pushed out; it is dying of 'a thousand cuts.' Each attack should be seen and dealt with as a part of a greater pattern to make Jewish life unsustainable in Sweden,” he reported.
And perhaps most symbolic:
Swedish artist uses Shoah victims' ashes for painting.
Salomon Schulman, a leading member of Sweden's Jewish wrote in a letter to a local newspaper:
"Who knows, maybe some of the ashes originated from my relatives. No one knows where they were deported: All my mother's siblings and their children, and my grandparents… I am sickened by his work and obsession with necrophilia."
Sweden has explicitly expressed its preference for a Judenrein country. The indications are everywhere. Jews are beat up there, synagogues attacked, Rabbis threatened, kippa-wearing Jews accosted. There is not Jewish future in Sweden particularly and in Europe generally.
From Arutz 7:
Swedish Jewish Community 'Dying of 1,000 Cuts'
"Sweden's Jewish community is in “grave danger” after a series of anti-Semitic attacks, warns the European Jewish Congress. The statement came in the wake of an attack on two Jewish women earlier this week in the city of Malmo."
"The situation is intolerable for Jews in Malmo, and every week we hear of another attack,” said EJC President Dr. Moshe Kantor.
"The community is slowly being pushed out; it is dying of 'a thousand cuts.' Each attack should be seen and dealt with as a part of a greater pattern to make Jewish life unsustainable in Sweden,” he reported.
And perhaps most symbolic:
Swedish artist uses Shoah victims' ashes for painting.
Salomon Schulman, a leading member of Sweden's Jewish wrote in a letter to a local newspaper:
"Who knows, maybe some of the ashes originated from my relatives. No one knows where they were deported: All my mother's siblings and their children, and my grandparents… I am sickened by his work and obsession with necrophilia."
From Our Bulging "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" File
Behold: City government fining Hurricane Sandy victims for "Failure to Maintain Property" citations, when it's city trees that have to be removed from said properties.
Had enough government yet? Betcha can't wait to have these people making decisions about your health care!
I hope all the people in NY who voted for Obama are happy now!
Had enough government yet? Betcha can't wait to have these people making decisions about your health care!
I hope all the people in NY who voted for Obama are happy now!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Jew Time!
Very nice clip from Tablet with Rabbi Harold Kushner, who is the author of the 1981 best seller: When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
Here he talks about his new book: The Book of Job, When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person.
I like that he reminds us that it's OK, it's a very Jewish tradition to wrestle with G-d. I've done that myself, I have felt that very deep in my soul-and it had to do with a time where I thought my son was dying in my arms. When I felt the Angel of Death in the house-a chill.
After that episode, I wrestled with G-d. I asked why, how. Not all the answers that I felt were satisfactory, nor are they even now. But I need that opportunity to spiritually wrestle. It was actually faith-affirming for me, but I can easily see how it could have been faith-crushing for others.
That kind of soul searching is very Jewish.
And speaking of that, maybe the Jews who are involved with Human Rights Watch might consider asking themselves if they really, really think that it's worth the time and effort to try to dissuade a clearly Jew-hating organization that Iranian genocide against Israel is a bad thing?
My idiot people. They never learn.
Well, that's not entirely true.
Some do see the light, but most just let the utopian 'can't we all get along' assimilation just blind them into writing cheques, and carrying on with their path of wishing away antisemitism and becoming ever more devout members, militant and blind members of the Church of Liberalism.
Here he talks about his new book: The Book of Job, When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person.
I like that he reminds us that it's OK, it's a very Jewish tradition to wrestle with G-d. I've done that myself, I have felt that very deep in my soul-and it had to do with a time where I thought my son was dying in my arms. When I felt the Angel of Death in the house-a chill.
After that episode, I wrestled with G-d. I asked why, how. Not all the answers that I felt were satisfactory, nor are they even now. But I need that opportunity to spiritually wrestle. It was actually faith-affirming for me, but I can easily see how it could have been faith-crushing for others.
That kind of soul searching is very Jewish.
And speaking of that, maybe the Jews who are involved with Human Rights Watch might consider asking themselves if they really, really think that it's worth the time and effort to try to dissuade a clearly Jew-hating organization that Iranian genocide against Israel is a bad thing?
My idiot people. They never learn.
Well, that's not entirely true.
Some do see the light, but most just let the utopian 'can't we all get along' assimilation just blind them into writing cheques, and carrying on with their path of wishing away antisemitism and becoming ever more devout members, militant and blind members of the Church of Liberalism.
Jonas: Kill the Human Rights Commissions Before They Kill Our Freedom
An absolutely excellent column by George Jonas.
Every paragraph is delicious, so read the whole thing.
The whole thing is amazing, but this little bit about the Lesbian Who Walked into A Muslim Barber Shop issue:
"For barbers who refuse, invoking religion is, to put it mildly, overkill. “Sorry, I don’t do ladies’ hair” is all that need be said by anyone who finds it more congenial or lucrative to shave male customers."
It would be damned well horrifying to have to shave female customers!!!
Furthermore:
"Human Rights Commissions exist for the purpose of limiting otherwise lawful conduct in the name of some higher interest or ideal. Their beat is the ostensibly free zone where people choose their employees, customers, associates and corporate culture; where they decide what to think or say."
Every paragraph is delicious, so read the whole thing.
The whole thing is amazing, but this little bit about the Lesbian Who Walked into A Muslim Barber Shop issue:
"For barbers who refuse, invoking religion is, to put it mildly, overkill. “Sorry, I don’t do ladies’ hair” is all that need be said by anyone who finds it more congenial or lucrative to shave male customers."
It would be damned well horrifying to have to shave female customers!!!
Furthermore:
"Human Rights Commissions exist for the purpose of limiting otherwise lawful conduct in the name of some higher interest or ideal. Their beat is the ostensibly free zone where people choose their employees, customers, associates and corporate culture; where they decide what to think or say."
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Best Article About the "Fiscal Cliff" To Date
I love Thomas Sowell.
LOOOOOOVE.
Read this whole thing. He is such a dude.
"No previous administration in the entire history of the nation ever finished the year with a trillion dollar deficit. The Obama administration has done so every single year. Yet political and media discussions of the financial crisis have been focussed overwhelmingly on how to get more tax revenue to pay for past and future spending."
"The very catchwords and phrases used by the Obama administration betray how phony this all is. For example, "We are just asking the rich to pay a little more."
"This is an insult to our intelligence. The government doesn't "ask" anybody to pay anything. It orders you to pay the taxes they impose and you can go to prison if you don't. Then there are all the fancy substitute words for plain old spending-- words like "stimulus" or "investing in the industries of the future."
"Using lofty words to obscure tawdry realities extends beyond the White House. Referring to the Federal Reserve System's creation of hundreds of billions of new dollars out of thin air as "quantitative easing" makes it seem as if this is some soothing and esoteric process, rather than amounting essentially to nothing more than printing more money."
"Debasing the value of money by creating more of it is nothing new or esoteric. Irresponsible governments have done this, not just for centuries, but for thousands of years. It is a way to take people's wealth from them without having to openly raise taxes. Inflation is the most universal tax of all."
LOOOOOOVE.
Read this whole thing. He is such a dude.
"No previous administration in the entire history of the nation ever finished the year with a trillion dollar deficit. The Obama administration has done so every single year. Yet political and media discussions of the financial crisis have been focussed overwhelmingly on how to get more tax revenue to pay for past and future spending."
"The very catchwords and phrases used by the Obama administration betray how phony this all is. For example, "We are just asking the rich to pay a little more."
"This is an insult to our intelligence. The government doesn't "ask" anybody to pay anything. It orders you to pay the taxes they impose and you can go to prison if you don't. Then there are all the fancy substitute words for plain old spending-- words like "stimulus" or "investing in the industries of the future."
"Using lofty words to obscure tawdry realities extends beyond the White House. Referring to the Federal Reserve System's creation of hundreds of billions of new dollars out of thin air as "quantitative easing" makes it seem as if this is some soothing and esoteric process, rather than amounting essentially to nothing more than printing more money."
"Debasing the value of money by creating more of it is nothing new or esoteric. Irresponsible governments have done this, not just for centuries, but for thousands of years. It is a way to take people's wealth from them without having to openly raise taxes. Inflation is the most universal tax of all."
Must Read Prager: Why Public Nudity Is Wrong
Another outstanding essay from Dennis Prager.
First of all, it is so important to look at leftism as a religion-this is key to understanding the mentality. But he really lays out the issues in simple terms.
"Leftism seeks to undo most of the values that are distinct to Judeo-Christian religion. The Left has always been anti-religious, and especially anti-Christian. Karl Marx understood that a vibrant leftism and a vibrant Christianity could not coexist. He was right."
"Two of the many areas of conflict between Judeo-Christian values and leftism concern the separation between the holy and the profane and the separation between humans and animals."
"The essence of the Hebrew Bible, transmitted by Christianity, is separation: between life and death, nature and God, good and evil, man and woman, and the holy and the profane. The reasons to oppose public nudity emanate from this Judeo-Christian list of separations."
First of all, it is so important to look at leftism as a religion-this is key to understanding the mentality. But he really lays out the issues in simple terms.
"Leftism seeks to undo most of the values that are distinct to Judeo-Christian religion. The Left has always been anti-religious, and especially anti-Christian. Karl Marx understood that a vibrant leftism and a vibrant Christianity could not coexist. He was right."
"Two of the many areas of conflict between Judeo-Christian values and leftism concern the separation between the holy and the profane and the separation between humans and animals."
"The essence of the Hebrew Bible, transmitted by Christianity, is separation: between life and death, nature and God, good and evil, man and woman, and the holy and the profane. The reasons to oppose public nudity emanate from this Judeo-Christian list of separations."
If I Had a Son...
(Shamelessly ripped liberated from Kate at Small Dead Animals...)
He'd look like Trayvon.
But if I had a social media team, it would be lilly, and I mean lilly white-o-rama and look like my white granny!
He'd look like Trayvon.
But if I had a social media team, it would be lilly, and I mean lilly white-o-rama and look like my white granny!
The Great Transference
A very well-phrased piece from The American Thinker.
“One of the
fundamental problems of the welfare state, and one that has long been
understood as among the most morally and culturally deleterious of its social
effects and costs, is the great transference of the consciousness of and
responsibility for the care for the poor and needy among us from individuals
and local communities to distant, impersonal bureaucratic institutions
associated with the state, and especially with the central, federal government.”
“This has had a
number of negative effects upon the culture and upon several generations of
Americans who have grown up believing that it is not primarily the individual,
out of his own heart and personal compassion who is to give alms, but Caesar
and his vast concourses of bureaucrats, case workers, social workers, and
experts in the nature of the human condition working tirelessly for
"social justice."
“The welfare
state has transferred to the daycare center state -- whose welfare agencies owe
their existence, funding, and political influence to the existence of the poor
-- the responsibilities of good Samaritanship once centered in the individual
and the local community, where poverty and the unique conditions surrounding it
actually impact human lives. The psychological and moral consequences of this
great transference have been profound.”
Read the whole thing.
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