In response to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's opinion piece "So You Want to Be Rich?" regarding the evils of working for an investment bank, I sent him the following e-mail:

Rabbi Boteach,

My wife and I are big fans of your show, "Shalom in the Home" and we own several of your books regarding family life.

Having just read your article "So You Want to Be Rich" in the Jerusalem Post, I wanted to respond as someone who has worked in and around Investment Banking for almost 20 years, most of the time alongside the multi-millionaire bankers you feel so strongly about.

Firstly, I don't believe that anyone, regardless of their profession, can easily avoid the rarefied air of the wealthy that you describe if they are successful in their field. There are plenty of doctors and lawyers who spend the majority of their time in the exclusive boardrooms and country clubs of America, far away from family and "friends". The question becomes, "why do they all work so hard"? Is it merely for the accumulation of wealth and comfort? Could it be a fear of failure? What of those who never had a large or well-off family to support them, knowing that everyone relies on them, and them alone?

I am a Conservative Jew living in a large sunbelt city. If it were not for working a 55-60 hour a week job in Investment Banking, I'm not sure that I could afford a Jewish dayschool education for my two girls, membership in my shul, keeping a kosher kitchen, maintenance of an appropriate level of tzedakah, etc.

Please also do some research on the tzedakah given by some of the Investment Bankers you criticize. Millions have been donated to hospitals, universities, etc. to assist the doctors and lawyers who I think it fair to say, we both admire. In one of my recent positions, I helped to process the paperwork for many extremely generous donations to charitable organizations which in turn are chaired and managed by Wall Street's rich and famous.

We all do our part to the best of our abilities. With any luck, we remember where we came from and try help others to have the future they desire.

I realize that in your position as an opinion-maker that a strong viewpoint garners more attention, but please don't paint everyone in my industry with the same broad brush. Some of us are just trying to do what we feel is best for ourselves, our family, and our community.

It's hard to imagine in today's world that America will ever take part in another "just" war. The kind of fight where you actually root for the American soldier to vanquish the enemy, with no doubts in your mind as to right or wrong.

Ruibcon3 has a video preview of About Face, the story of newly arrived Jewish immigrants who returned to continental Europe to fight against the Nazis in WWII. Would anyone question these soldier's duty to do what they had done?

Perhaps this question is easier to answer with the hindsight of 60 years of peace in most of Europe.

Photos relating to the discovery of King Herod's tomb can be found at National Geographic.

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AUSTIN – Relief from soaring summer gas prices may soon be on the way.

The Texas House tentatively adopted a measure Tuesday that would suspend the state's 20-cent gas tax through the summer months.

That would mean an immediate 20-cent drop in the price per gallon.

Right - until the oil companies jack up the price by 20 cents so that no one notices the difference. The tax itself may be a bad idea, but removing it now won't save the average Joe a penny in the long run.

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Governor Rick Perry signed an executive order in February requiring the immunization of 6th grade girls against an STD which could lead to cancer. One imagines he was concerned about saving young women's lives. Now that the state legislature has passed a bill to override his order, he won't veto it since the veto will be overriden anyway.

I guess it's OK for people to die then - that, or he never believed in it in the first place. At least take a stand, Governor.

(I admittedly got the idea for this post from a local talk radio show).

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Cate Blanchett looking creepily thin.

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Saw this bumper sticker on a car the other day. Have to admit it's funny.


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Missed this story about a month ago - Large, drunken man falls on woman at Shea Stadium, breaking her back. Woman is a lawyer, sues everyone who ever wore a Mets hat. No one has seen the drunken jerk who actually caused the problem since, everyone else is screwed. REVENGE! REVENGE!

Gothamist covered it back then, including a picture of the victim, enjoying the game before the incident.

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An archaeologist who has spent 35 years looking for Herod's tomb has found it, according to Hebrew University which was planning a press conference tomorrow before the story broke in Ha'aretz.

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Beth Sholom, a soaring glass-and-concrete temple just outside Philadelphia designed by U.S. architect Frank Lloyd Wright, has been designated a National Historic Site.

The Democratic Governer of Kansas, Kathleen Sibelius, worries about the toll that Iraq has taken on the Kansas National Guard's ability to respond to the recent disaster in Greensburg. "About 50 percent of our trucks are gone...and we can't borrow them from other states because their equipment is gone".

There are some at Little Green Footballs who were quick to jump on the Governor's words as being affected by Bush Derangement Syndrome. The fact is that she didn't say Bush caused the tornado, just that the response would be slower, which is actually quite logical. We conservatives have to suck it up and admit that a decent chunk of our National Guard is serving in Iraq, Kosovo, on the Mexican border etc., and their bodies and equipment are not replaced in-state on a one-to-one basis.

That being said, here's some interesting information released today, several days after the tornado, from the Department of Defense.

Currently, the Kansas National Guard has 88 percent of its forces available, 60 percent of its Army Guard dual-use equipment on hand, and more than 85 percent of its Air Guard equipment on hand, said Randal Noller, public affairs officer for the National Guard Bureau. Under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a national partnership agreement that allows state-to-state assistance during governor or federally declared emergencies, Kansas has more than 400,000 Guardsmen available to it, he pointed out. However, Kansas has not yet requested assistance from other states.

The Bush administration's argument that there's plenty enough from other states to move around in cases of emergency is no doubt true. Let's face it - Greensburg isn't New Orleans, nor is it an area the size of England which was the actually size of the zone afffected by Katrina. It should not be unmanageable.

Well, at least they can't say there's any lack of help because Bush hates white people.

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The New York Times brings us the plight of a former Palestinian "militant" and wants us to feel sorry for what his poor descisions have done to his family. Unfortunately for them, the aren't refugees under Israeli authority, where at least they'd have some rights. They are currently non-persons in Lebanon.

Of course if Israel would just let every Palestinian return (including the militants of course) everything would be solved, so it's really their fault anyway.
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Apparently, 3-D printing has been a reality for some time, and in a few years may become a consumer technology. No mention of porn though, which is the motherf***er of all invention.

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The Earthquake That Rocked Yellowstone - August 17, 1959

I was thinking of writing something along these lines, but the guys at Powerline beat me to it.

The U.S. has now seen the leadership of both France and Germany pass to figures who believe, as a general matter, that American power is a force for good in the world, and not something that needs persistently to be constrained. Let's hope that in 2009 the U.S. still has a leader who concurs.

Granted, I'm sure it was economic malaise more than American policy that turned the tide, but I'll take the support however it comes.

Meanwhile at home, the ecomomy is humming along pretty peacefully, yet President Bush has Jimmy Carter level ratings. There is very little chance that this decade will be written as anything other than one of steady growth, historically low interest rates, low inflation and low unemployment (with a blip around 9/11). It just goes to show how Bush's Iraq policy is the be all and end all of his legacy. This decade may be remembered as one where the people and the press followed Bush's lead for a time and then revolted, but Bush will never be accused of pandering to polls as did his predecessor, the "Pander Bear".

I'm a big Shmuley fan. "Spread Jewish Radiance" talks about the success of his Shalom in the Home series in getting non-Jews more interested in the Jewish faith.

Whether or not non-Jews decide to actively embrace the faith is entirely up to them. Even if they do not, they can still extract elements of the religion which they find healing and uplifting.

That is a great attitude to have. How much easier would all Jews' lives be if there was just a little more understanding of all those things that the observant among us do that seem so non-sensical to others, but in fact are due to thousands of years of study and debate.

I wonder how many Jews there are like myself who would love to be more observant but are afraid of the reaction that otheres might have. I can pretend to be a confident extrovert when the need arises, but if I forget to take off my yarmulke after services and I waltz into the local Kroger, I need another trip to the therapist.

I would fly to Toronto just to see this. The Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour. I hope one of their performances comes out on video.

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Newsweek has a long excerpt about President Truman and his friend Eddie Jacobson's role in the founding of the State of Israel. I was familiar with the story in general, but the details are fascinating. The excerpt comes from the book, "Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America 1789-1989". It's very interesting trying to sort out Truman's love/hate relationship with Jews and Zionists.

Wow.

Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure.

No wonder he didn't jump up with surprise at that Florida elementary school!

That means in essence that a solid majority of Democrats can't say with certainty that the President of the United States did nothing to prevent an attack that was designed to kill tens of thousands of Americans, cripple the military and destroy the U.S. Capitol. Do you think he told Giuliani too?

Whether they're right or not, I don't think I want to live in their cynical world. I'm thinking of building a "separation wall" around my nice Republican town.

An aerial video of the terrible damage done by the tornado that destroyed Greensburg Kansas can be seen here. Day after reporting here. It is being reported that the tornado was at least a mile wide. The videos really do look like the old photos you've seen of Hiroshima after an atomic bomb blast. It's a miracle that fewer than a dozen people have been reported killed. The town of 1,500 suffered "100 percent damage" in the words of the city administrator.

If people want to help with recovery, the Red Cross is encouraging donations, or volunteers can check in at 114 N Main Street in Pratt. They will likely be assigned to the shelter areas. To donate, call 800-REDCROSS.

The Salvation Army will also have pastors on hand to provide spiritual comfort. Anyone wishing to donate to The Salvation Army's emergency disaster relief efforts may do so by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

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In related news, a man has reconstructed Noah's Ark in the Netherlands.

Needless to say polls taken on blogs are incredibly unscientific. However, I found it intriguing that after almost 6,000 votes (as of 10:19AM ET) readers of Little Green Footballs are almost equally divided regarding Rudy Giuliani's declared position on abortion. I voted in favor.

Paris Hilton sentenced to 45 days in jail.



Does this mean she can't ever be President now? Oh, the humanity! Her mom is upset of course...at the judge. What can Paris expect behind bars?

You know I just have to write it because I think it's one of the great word inventions of the 21st century.....what a celebutard.

Interesting......

Treasury Dept policy states that "while pennies are legal tender as payment for a contractual debt or payment to a government organization, private merchants are free to determine whatever legal tender they do and do not want to accept."

Hat tip to Gothamist which posts about the brou-ha-ha about a Chinese restaurant in NY which reportedly refused to accept pennies (and not as payment for the whole bill - just as part of the change).

Plan for Arabic School in Brooklyn Spurs Protests

The Khalil Gibran International Academy was conceived as a public embrace of New York City’s growing Arab population and of internationalism, the first public school dedicated to the study of the Arabic language and culture and open to students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.

But nearly three months after plans for the middle school were first announced, a beleaguered Department of Education is fending off attacks from two angry camps: parents from Public School 282, the elementary school in Park Slope, Brooklyn, that was assigned to share building space with the Khalil Gibran school, and a handful of columnists who have called the proposed academy a madrassa, which teaches the Koran.

Daniel Pipes, the famous (or infamous) anti-Islamist has multiple concerns. Normally, I tend to agree with him on various issues, but here he seems a little paranoid, especially given that the proposed school is seeking to be part of the NYC education system, not apart from it. I would be much more concerned with real-life madrassas that might be open privately.

I found this post 9/11 article written by the proposed principal, Yemini-American Debbie Almontaser. I can't believe that this woman would run anything but a school that was for the benefit of every American.

By the way, Khalil Gibran was a Lebanese Christian poet who came to America at the age of 12 over a hundred years ago.

A sample of his writings can be found here.

THE WISE DOG

One day there passed by a company of cats a wise dog.

And as he came near and saw that they were very intent and heeded him not, he stopped.

Then there arose in the midst of the company a large, grave cat and looked upon them and said, “Brethren, pray ye; and when ye have prayed again and yet again, nothing doubting, verily then it shall rain mice.”

And when the dog heard this he laughed in his heart and turned from them saying, “O blind and foolish cats, has it not been written and have I not known and my fathers before me, that that which raineth for prayer and faith and supplication is not mice but bones.”

Three of the Republican candidates for President apparently do not believe in evolution. Most of the country does not believe in Republicans - so there you go.

Each of the last three weeks, we've had some pretty powerful storms move through the Dallas area. The latest was Wednesday evening at about 7PM. This video was taken from someone's home in Arlington. Although I live a good 30 miles away, the worst of what you see is exactly how we experienced the storm for a solid 15-20 minutes. It was like a hurricane.

This picture was taken by a Dallas Morning News reader within walking distance of our house. Luckily we just had a small branch come off one of our trees. My parents had a few tiles blown off their roof on the other side of town.

For a great insight into the Jewish community in Buenos Aires, check out Nathan Englander's "cover" story over at Nextbook - "This Country of Mothers". A related podcast can be found here. Englander is the author of "The Ministry of Special Cases" which deals with both Argentina's Dirty War and the dark legacy of Jewish whores and pimps who plied their trade as newly arrived immigrants a generation earlier.

Another book that is receiving quite a bit of attention is "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon - a "what if" story about a post-World War II enclave created in Alaska for two million displaced Jews.

Best response to a debate moderator's question ever....

Williams: Senator Biden, words have, in the past, gotten you in trouble, words that were borrowed and words that some found hateful.

An editorial in the Los Angeles Times said, "In addition to his uncontrolled verbosity, Biden is a gaff machine."

Can you reassure voters in this country that you would have the discipline you would need on the world stage, Senator?

Biden: Yes.

Earlier today, General Petraeus gave a press conference on the current state of affairs in Iraq. The transcript of that press conference is here. Allow me to quote the General. If you haven't read the news accounts yet, please don't cheat by checking now.

The operational environment in Iraq is the most complex and challenging I have ever seen -- much more complex than it was when I left last in September 2005.....

The situation is, in short, exceedingly challenging, though as I will briefly explain, there has been progress in several areas in recent months despite the sensational attacks by al Qaeda.....

We have achieved some notable successes in the past two months, killing the security emir of eastern Anbar province, detaining a number of key network leaders, discovering how various elements of al Qaeda Iraq operate, taking apart a car bomb network that had killed 650 citizens of Baghdad, and destroying several significant car bomb factories. Nonetheless, al Qaeda Iraq remains a formidable foe with considerable resilience and a capability to produce horrific attacks, but a group whose ideology and methods have increasingly alienated many in Iraq.

This group's activities must be significantly disrupted, at the least, for the new Iraq to succeed, and it has been heartening to see Sunni Arabs in Anbar province and several other areas turning against al Qaeda and joining the Iraqi security forces to fight against it. That has been a very significant development.....

The extremist militias in Iraq also are a substantial problem and must be significantly disrupted. There can be no sustainable outcome if militia death squads are allowed to lie low during the surge (they are no longer active now - ed.) only to resurface later and resume killing and intimidation. There have been some significant successes in this arena as well..... However, while we continue to battle a number of such groups, we are seeing some others joining Sunni Arab tribes in turning against al Qaeda Iraq and helping transform Anbar province and other areas from being assessed as lost as little as six months ago to being relatively heartening.....

....progress on key laws has been slow, though there has been some progress....

The presence of coalition and Iraqi forces and increased operational tempo, especially in areas where until recently we had no sustained presence, have begun to produce results. Most significantly, Iraqi and coalition forces have helped to bring about a substantial reduction in the rate of sectarian murders each month from January until now in Baghdad, a reduction of about two-thirds. There have also been increases in weapons caches seized and the number of actionable tips received.

In the Ramadi area, for example, U.S. and Iraqi forces have found nearly as many caches in the first four months of this year as they found in all of last year.

Beyond this, we are seeing a revival of markets, renewed commerce, the return of some displaced families and the slow resumption of services, though I want to be very clear that there is vastly more work to be done across the board and in many areas, and I again note that we are really just getting started with the new effort.....

Our achievements have not come without sacrifice. Our increase in operational tempo, location of our forces in the populations they are securing and conduct of operations in areas where we previously had no presence...have led to an increase in our losses. Our Iraqi partners have sacrificed heavily as well, with losses generally two to three times ours or even more.
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Now, based on this, I might suggest that the headline could be "Surge Shows Signs Of Slow and Steady Progress" or "Improvements Seen in Ramadi and Anbar Hot Spots" or "Extrajudicial Killings in Iraq down by Two-Thirds - Families Begin to Return". Even "Losses Increasing Amid Signs of Improvement". But noooooooooo....

The NY Times apparently felt "Petraeus Eyes Long Commitment in Iraq" is more appropriate. MSNBC leads with "Iraq War May Get Tougher". CBS News has "War May Get Harder". All of these reports were sourced through the Associated Press. This twisting of words apparently comes primarily from the following exchange....

Q General Petraeus, you said that things may get worse before they get better in this effort. Can you expand a little on what the American and Iraqi public should be potentially braced for?

And are higher U.S. casualties inevitable as a result of your new approach? You mentioned that your losses have gone up since you moved into the neighborhoods. Is that likely to continue? Is that something they should also be braced for?

GEN. PETRAEUS: I mentioned this because as you move into areas that you've not operated in before, as you contend with elements that were in those areas that in some cases were not challenged -- I mean, there are some element -- areas that were -- that had become, to some degree, sanctuaries for certain extremist organizations.

As that takes place, I think there is a very real possibility that there's going to be more combat action and that, therefore, there could be more casualties, and that's really all that I am implying with that. I don't want that to become the central message of this by any means.

Nevertheless, this did become the central message, even though it should be pretty obvious to any idiot that when you step up military operations against the enemy you will have more casualties. Everything mentioned at the top of this post was totally ignored.

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en·e·my (ĕn'ə-mē)
n., pl. -mies.

1. One who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another; a foe.

The Associated Press reporter is clearly an enemy. At least of the General.

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I should mention that Petraeus did also say, "Because we are operating in new areas and challenging elements in those areas, this effort may get harder before it gets easier."

There is a big difference between "harder" and "worse". "Harder" is an expectation, "worse" is an outcome. Of course the AP reporter doesn't see the distinction.

Q General, Lolita Baldor with AP. You said just now that things are likely to get -- may get worse before they get better. (At least she caught herself with the subconscious "likely" slip of the tongue). Again, Petraeus didn't say this. And later another reporter parrots their AP colleague's mistake.

And I return to the statement above.

Q General Petraeus, you said that things may get worse before they get better in this effort. Can you expand a little on what the American and Iraqi public should be potentially braced for?

If you comment, please do not tell me how the war is screwed up and Bush is a failed commander in chief. I won't deny that. I am strictly talking about how the themes of this press conference are being transmitted to the American people, relatively few of whom will bother to read or watch the entire event.