jackk-
1) We seem to be going in circles over here. He lied under oath (regardless of how minimal it was) – it’s been proven and you agree to that. He committed perjury which is a misdemeanor (you agree that a misdemeanor is an impeachable offense). Until you show me where in the Constitution it says that a misdemeanor isn’t impeachable if it’s regarding a personal relationship and that the Senate has the discretion to decide if the House should have impeached him in the first place; I think this part of the conversation is over.
The Democrats made a mockery of the impeachment process as we discussed before (and you didn’t seem to disagree)- did you expect anyone to take them seriously when they started using it as a political weapon? A judge has the discretion to throw out a nuisance lawsuit which is similar to what that was. The Democrats tried to tarnish his name and waste time from getting productive things done- they knew from the start that there was a 0% chance that he’d be removed from office. You still didn’t answer my question as to whether or not you recall Nancy Pelosi giggling as she gave out impeachment souvenir pens.
He tried to dig up dirt on a political rival? Get real- Joe Biden announced the dirt on himself. He’s the one that publicly announced that he threatened to withhold $1 Billion in loan guarantees if the prosecutor investigating Burisma, the company his son was raking in millions from, wasn’t fired within 6 hours- and then he got fired! I would expect that the admission of corruption from a former vice president who wanted to run for president should have been investigated. However, when the president asked for his comments to be investigated- he gets impeached while the person trying to obstruct justice with his threats gets elected!
2) I agree with you regarding the way others here represent the Republican Party and they don’t always come across as educated. If you’re going to defend the Democratic Party so forcefully I do think you need to make it clear that you do have some issues with some of their views and moral values. This is the first time I recall you saying that you’re against redefining the word marriage or killing babies.
Whether or not we are arguing about the Torah, if you are a Frum Yid you shouldn’t be taking lightly the things that the Torah stresses very strongly. When you belittle the issue by saying that it’s just a piece of paper it makes everyone think that you’re taking it lightly. In general, I wouldn’t question whether you put on Tefillin every day but if you said about someone else “Who cares if he puts on Tefillin or not, it’s just some leather?” then I’d have reason to doubt if you put on Tefillin every day.
Similarly- you seemed to justify the issue of killing babies by comparing it to the Republicans not banning assault weapons. It makes one wonder if you’re really bothered by the slaughter. So to bring in the Shabbos example- you wouldn’t normally have to declare that you keep Shabbos but if you’d justify someone else driving on Shabbos because you saw a Christian driving on Sunday, his day of rest- you’d have to explicitly say that you do keep Shabbos.
3 & 5) Resolving the crime issues in the U.S. as well as the health care crisis is indeed a long discussion and beyond the scope of this thread but the points that I raised are much smaller. Instead of dismissing (or deferring) the topics can you just answer these “Yes” or “No” questions?
a) Do you agree that someone stealing less than $950 shouldn’t be arrested?
b) Do you agree that a person who’s arrested for a violent crime should be released without having to post cash bail?
c) Does not arresting or immediately releasing these criminals create an atmosphere of lawlessness?
d) Do you agree that the ACA caused serious financially harm many middle class families (e.g. the ones that had more than adequate health insurance beforehand and now spends over $10,000 more per year for equal or less coverage)?
When I discussed voting Democrat earlier on I was referring to politicians that can make decisions that have a national effect (i.e. the president, senators, congress and to a lesser extent governors). In the past decade or so the parties have been split nearly in half and voting as a bloc (on major issues) so an individual senator can wield an enormous amount of power. If there’s a local politician running on the Democratic ticket whose sole agenda is to make life more pleasant for his constituents then go right ahead and vote for him.
There may be some politically active Liberals that are not trying to destroy the moral fabric of society but they don’t realize that by trying to keep everyone happy they are destroying the moral fabric of society. The people that think they’re going to be nice and let people marry whoever they want to are not intending to destroy the moral fabric of society but down the road- that’s what’s going to happen. Like I mentioned earlier on- some of these Liberals who thought they were being nice by allowing anyone to use the restroom that they feel more comfortable with now have to contend with perverts following their daughters into the girl’s locker room under the guise that they identify as a female.
I agree with your comment about the freedom to be a Frum Yid in America but my concern is that once they force their agenda on society our religious freedom will be restricted. They have the freedom to be immoral where it doesn’t affect anyone else- no one is trying to stop what they do behind closed doors- the fight is to stop them from forcing the rest of society from having to deal with their immorality. Would you want your Rov to be sued for not officiating at a redefined marriage. What’s going to stop that?
I didn’t say that the Rosh Hayeshivas made an announcement or told me how to vote- I said that they provided guidance. The guidance that I was referring to was when I asked who they were voting for. I only mentioned that they were members of the Moetzes so that you wouldn’t think the Rov I asked was my colleagues wife. (I specifically didn’t mention any names as it may lead to uncalled for comments.)
As a side point- some time ago there was a Frum politician running on the Democratic ticket and there were Kol Koreis, loudspeakers, comments on YWN and you name it all over the place against him. I went to daven with my Rosh Hayeshiva on election morning and asked him who he’s voting for. He mentioned that he is voting for that politician and invited me to come with him after davening and watch (the volunteers at the voting station didn’t let me into the booth to watch). I did vote for him.
Is there a reason why you didn’t give a straight answer when I asked if you have a Rov that you consult?