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The Democrats promised to do something to force people to stop consuming gasoline. Raising prices is one way. This reflects a quasi-religious belief that carbon emissions are a threat to human existence. The Democrats won the election (fair and square, with a bit of help from Trump’s bungling), and they are keeping their campaign promises. Biden keeps his promises – blame the voters who elected him.
Also if you are pay $70/tank for a not too big car, you should consider moving to a state that support pipelines, refineries and therefore, lower gas prices.
Language constantly evolves. it is interesting, something historians and authors like to study (e.g. how to make a character set in the 1980s not sound like some one today, or someone from a century ago). One shouldn’t get bent our of shape.
If you a language that doesn’t change, stick to Sumerian, Etruscan and Latin.
The Democrats were like that in the period after-Watergate, which reached a climax in the election of 1984. Unless the Republicans do something incredibly stupid, it seems the Democrats are earning a repeat of what happened in 1984 (in the real world, not the novel).
He might run, or he might decide to settle for being the kingmaker and senior statesmen. There is no way he can unify the Republicans, and running without a strong party behind him will result in the Democrats winning (unless they also fragment).
Trump also may allow his views to evolve, e.g. switch from isolationist to hawkish leader of the free world. A lot his views on domestic issues may prove a problem unless he apologizes and says his views have been revised to reflect changing conditions (declaring a state of emergency for Covid, opposing immigration during a period of serious labor shortages). Instead of complaining the election was stolen, the Republicans need to both argue for more security in voting and making a serious “turn out the vote” effort for mail-in ballots.
Once quinoa becomes widely acceptable, and we get used to having bread, pita and pizza made from quinoa, it will be very hard to convince people they shouldn’t use corn (maize). They are both American Indian crops that aren’t among the prohibited grains, and that were used by the American Indians in lieu of the prohibited grains (since before 1492, they prohibited grains were unavailable in America). If you say quinoa is kosher le-pesach, you are calling into question the halacha against kitniyos.
So it seems there is agreement that the debate on quinoa is really a debate on whether one can use all kitniyos, in other words, if we can have hallah, pita and pizza made from grains (rice, corn/maize, quinoa) other than the one’s listed in Humash.
In legalese, there are distinctions. Canon law (which determined the legalese in most western languages) considers a cult to be a subset with specific laws and customs (e.g. the “Oriental Catholic” rites), but at still part of the normative religion. By that standard, Ashkenazim and Sefardim would be “cults” of Judaism.
In some modern legal systems, a “cult” may be defined such as to allow its persecution even though “religion” is respected (consider “Scientology” which is banned is some countries that otherwise hold by freedom of religion). From a Jewish perspective, “Reform” would be probably considered a “cult”, as would be Christianity and Islam.
In popular American usage, a “cult” is a religion that you disrespect.
A factor to consider is whether members of the groups in question freely intermarry without asking one party to convert. That in part gets to the definition of a sect.
I don’t see how it is any more problematic that maize (called “corn”, or technically “Indian corn”, in North America)? They are both “New World” grains used to make bread.
One should note that the machmir opinion in the gemara is that anything you make bread from should be treated as hametz (in that case, they were talking about rice), but the Ashkenazi opinion is more liberal and treat them as kitniyos. It does seem that someone who holds by eating rice and corn, should have no issues with quinoa, though there might be issues with making hallah, pita or pizza our of them.
Personally, I don’t use any of them, at least for food for humans.
Wouldn’t that question depend on whether you are talking about (as examples), a Ben Torah who lives off tsadakah versus a Baal ha-Bayis running a successful business?
If you are committed to a permanent war in the hopes of eventual victory (as the Palestinian nationalists are), it makes sense to attack those Jews who if in power would be inclined to make peace. The core zionist demand is that Eretz Yisrael is ruled by Jews, and any goyim therein are at “sufferance” (similar to the traditional status of Jews in Christian and Muslim countries) – which guarantees a permanent state of war with the Palestinian Muslims, since Muslims will never accept being treated the same way they have always treated Jews (racist bigots are like that – no golden rule for them). The Hareidim are more interest in autonomy and being able to have a Torah-oriented lifestyle, and unlike the zionists, would be able to “do business” with the Palestinian Muslims. So if you are a Palestinian unwilling to ever accept a zionist state, it makes sense to focus on killing those who might end the conflict (including both Hareidim, and Arabs who also favor peace).
The Hareidim can makes compromises necessary to make peace, whereas the zionists’ “red line” precludes ever making base with the Arab Muslims. The terrorists want the war to go indefinitely in the hope that someday the tide will turn in their favor. It makes sense that they attack those who would be willing to compromise on the zionist character of the state in return for peace since the last thing the terrorists want is peace, and the attacks are designed to cause the Hareidim to become more pro-zionists (not to mention that Hareidim are less likely to be armed).
Looking back, a bad case of flu but only life threatening to a small percentage of the population BUT a bad case of governments making things worse. At least public attention throughout the world has turned away from fighting a virus. Instead the government is focusing its problem solving skills on Ukraine.
Any chance they will develop a vaccine that works against political leaders (of more general application than Torah and Mitsvos, which only work for a small percentage of the population).
There are many professional athletes and performers who are not covered by the mayor’s “heter” not to be vaccinated. The key factor is whether you are producing large amount of revenue for the city and/or the mayor.
If team bias were a factor, the dispensation would have been only to teams based in Queens. If race were a factor, it would not have been extend to the NHL. An important factor is that the city employees being fired were guilty of independent thought, meaning they probably weren’t good Democrats (let’s be honest, thinking and being a Democrat is a bit of a contradiction), and of course, that the owner of the Mets is a big campaign contributor.
1. Israel and the Middle East will be affected more than the United States, since they import foodstuffs from Russia and Ukraine. While other regions can replace what is lost, it will cost more. And since markets are globalized, prices will rise everywhere. Only Ukraine itself will have serious shortages, but these will be made up for with foreign assistance. Farmers and shippers in regions far removed from the war zone will be the big winners.
2. “Profiteers” are everyone. Who has a job where they asked for a lower salary since they refuse to be a profiteer? What tuition committee would be sympathetic to someone who insists on working as a volunteer (and relying a tsadakah) rather than taking a paying job?
In countries that produce their own food, and export (e.g. the United States), there will be NO shortages other than local ones caused by supply chain disruptions (which appear to be caused by dumb government policies and labor shortages), though prices will probably rise since demand elsewhere raises prices everywhere (e.g you may be offering $10 for a quantity of wheat, but someone around the world will be offering $25 for the quantity, and if transportation only costs $5, guess who the American farmer will sell to). For American farmers, this will probably be a happy time.
In countries that do not produce there own food and rely on imports, there will be serious inflation and possible shortages. In Ukraine, there will probably be severe inflation and shortages.
The economy is hardly in ruins. In many countries there will be steadily rising wages (in part due to falling labor supply, largely caused by low fertility for the last few generations), and a increased demand for many goods and services (e.g. tanks, fighter planes, ammunition, coffins, etc.).
Of course, if the powers that be decide to nuke the world, that will have a serious impact on the economy and food supply (though it will probably mitigate the problem of global warming since soot in the air blocks sunlight – the world wars created bad winters, but a nuclear war could cause multiple years of “no summer”). This is probably an unlikely scenario (as we can all rely on the integrity of good judgment of Mr. Putin and and Mr. Biden, right???).
Not the end of the world. For frum men working outside our community, it will be a problem getting to minyan in the morning (possible solution, have more “downtown” minyanim, closer to the places of employment). But those working for Jewish organizations or businesses, or teleworking, can adjust hours. And of course, women won’t be affected.
It will give people more time to get home on Friday afternoon, and more time to finish Shabbos preparations in the winter.
Buying enemy bonds in war time is unpatriotic. You end up with having to file a claim with the Alien Property Custodian. And you may have a long wait to get paid (note that claims from the Mexican War, fought almost 200 years ago, or still being litigated).
Typically when countries go to war, the seize each other’s assets (and round up each others citizens). In the past, the Swiss arranged for transportation home for the people, and after the war the lawyers take care of the assets (note that the litigation from World War II is not over). So if you are stuck on the wrong side of the line when you become an “enemy alien”, it is hardly the end of the world, if you are a lawyer for someone whose property is in the wrong country there is light at the end of the tunnel, and if your property is on the wrong side you might get something back after the war if your team wins and your lawyers are clever.
I would never make it as a politician. Same problem I had when I wanted to be a lawyer. Same problem when I tried to play poker. When I lie, it is too obvious. And being a politician involves a great deal of lying, bluffing, distorting truth, etc.
Just as someone who has an inclination to spill blood should consider a career as a Shochet, someone who has an inclination to lie and cheat should but those traits to good use, and become a politician.
During World War II (when the US was neutral), American firms made plans for the British, and then transported them to the Canadian border, and British (which back then included Canadian) workers walked them over the border. If they had been flown from the US to British controlled territory it would have been an act of war, and the US was trying to be neutral. This might be a problem now since even if the planes could be driven (using their wheels, not flying) over the border, the moment the entered Ukraine they could be attacked.
At this point, Putin is failing miserably at his objectives, and might feel the only way to salvage the situation is to use nuclear weapons. The question is whether Biden (and the American people) would be willing to fight a nuclear war, with fatalities perhaps in the billions, in response to Russia blowing up Warsaw or Bucharest or Vilna. As it is, most Democrats believe that America’s days of greatness lay in the past, and remembering Vietnam and more recently Afghanistan, don’t believe there is any will of the American people to go to war. Trump’s views are not all that different that Biden’s, but whereas Trump is challenged within his party by the “old fashioned” Republicans of the Reaganesque style, the “Progressive” Democrats are super-doves and Biden feels he can’t risk antagonizing them.
1. High gas prices is seen by Democrats as a “feature”, not a “bug”. He is accomplishing his goal. Most of what went wrong with Carter was in spite of his policies (i.e. his policies didn’t work).
2. Comparing Afghanistan to Ukraine (and rejecting the idea that the difference is that the Afganis are “off-white” Muslims), it appears the Biden is capable of learning from his mistakes. Most politicians tend to feel if something doesn’t work, they need just to keep trying. We should note that Carter’s stance of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which continued under Reagan, was a major factor in destroying the “evil empire”.
3. So far, Biden has managed to get Ukraine to tie up Russia in knots without starting World War III. This all might fall apart, but so far it hasn’t. Failure (for Biden) would, on one extreme, mean that within a few hours Putin had installed a puppet government in Kiev and effectively annexed Ukraine (back) into Russia – or on the other hand, started a full scale war (in which case, we would all be Olam ha-Ba).
An excellent argument all Jews refusing to live in Europe or American, or frankly in any Christian country. The reality is that in almost all European countries, a considerable number of people went out of their way to help the Nazis, and that doesn’t include Germans who “were following orders”. While the government (or others) executed many collaborators after the war, for the good of peace most Europeans decided on deliberate amnesia.
Many Ukrainians fought for the Allies, and some collaborated with the Germans. There is no hiddush here. And that is true almost everywhere in Europe.
How far back should we be mad? Should we boycott anything to do with Spain (including Latin America) since we’re mad over 1492? Should we have support the majority in view in America in 1939 that the US should not get involved since we were mad at England for the expulsion of Jews? Should we refuse to have anything to do with the United States and Britain since their elected leaders, with full knowledge of the Holocaust (in close to real time, as we now know from the declassified Engima decryptions) did nothing to facilitate Jews escaping from Europe. Should we support the Iranians since they are the ones who facilitated the building of Bayis Sheini?
It is one thing to say that those who forget history get to do it over again. It’s another thing to be so lost in the past that you cease to be able to function in the present.
Thus he is drawing Syria (and its distinct conflicts with both Turkey and Israel) into the European War, which will get Iran involved. Given that the Syrians whom Russia is allied with in Syria (where Russia has a significant military presence) tend to be the most friendly towards Christians, it doesn’t seem to be a “look, we’ve recruited savages” thing. It may be part of a desire of Russia to represent itself as the champion of Eastern Christianity (heck, if they can say Ukraine is run by a Nazi, why not claim Putin is defending Christianity).
Russia has many IOU’s from Syria and probably wants non-Russians for canon fodder. How use soldiers with no experience in a European climate and geographic conditions would be is questionable. The real danger is that this will make it more likely for Turkey to decide its a wonderful time to invade Syria. While the Israelis aren’t involved, having a war in your neighborhood can be problematic.
One would need to check ancestry back to the the Russian Revolution (that would be his great-grandmother) and probably back to beginning of the “Haskalah” in the Russian Empire (another few generations earlier) which was in the mid-19th century. Unless someone is frum (meaning many hazakahs/presumption about yichus apply), or at least remembers when his family was frum, one should probably assume there is a safek, i.e. rescue him on Shabbos, don’t buy hametz from him after Pesach BUT don’t let him handle non-mevushal wine and don’t marry (with doing more research).
But the conservatives (Republicans) and liberals (Democrats) and splitting. While it won’t be clear until the State of the Union, it appears that the centrist wing of the Democrats (Biden) is turning back to the ideals of John Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt (post 1939, after he gave up on being an isolationist) and preparing for a new (and perhaps, somewhat warmer) cold war, while the Progressives (socialists) are reluctant to give up their domestic agenda and embrace national security. The Republicans appear to be splitting, though the Trump branch (with an “America First” isolationism) doesn’t appear to have made up its mind yet and may end up rejoining the Reaganesque mainstream in support a muscular “freedom agenda”.
In response to YungermanS: if we acted as you said then Messiach would come and we would have to come with millions of unemployed pundits, politician wannabees and self-proclaimed social media stars who would have nothing to do and would be quite annoyed with us.
Russia objects to Ukraine being independent. It has object to Ukrainian membership in the EU, and has insisted it be a “satellite” state, and object to free elections in Ukraine. And to make it clear, the have invaded the country several times.
Non-interference and non-use of military force has been the based of European relations and has brought peace to a region that had been wracked by warfare. By breaking treaties guaranteeing Ukrainian independence and starting a war, Russia serious told the European to either submit to Russian domination, or be prepared to fight for your independence. Much to Putin’s horror, the Ukrainians and the Europeans are willing to fight.
Biden definitely misled Putin by surrendering in Afghanistan, and Putin thought that the US had sent a message that it would not object to tyrants conquering their neighbor.
To the original “question” – probably because they are incredible nobodies. Unlike the Democratic anti-semites, who dominate a major wing of the Democratic party, Republican anti-semites are marginalized.
Charliehall: Your OBAMA is the one who got us into the mess when he dishonored the treaty with Ukraine the required us to protect the borders (a treaty they paid for by giving up nuclear weapons). Obama and the Democrats stabbed the Ukrainians in the back when Crimea was invaded. And Obama and Biden were always looking for ways to cut the defense budget, meaning that unless the US wants to start full scale mobilization there is no way the US can do anything other the meaningless sanctions (consider what the world would be like if in 1939 the British announce that if Hitler invaded he Poland he wouldn’t be allowed to have a London bank account). And by Biden having surrendered in Afghanistan, he sent Putin a message that the US will no longer support democracies against would be conquerors, and Biden was too stupid realize that announcing the US would never again honor promises to defend others (how MAGA of him) he would set off people like Putin.
Patience. This is more like the conquests of Manchuria, Ethiopia and Czechoslovokia (for WWII examples). If the British and French had responded to the invasion of Poland with sanctions, and telling Hitler he couldn’t have a bank account in London, or go sightseeing in Paris, imagine how that would have turned out?
And it turns out now that the Ukrainians are fighting the Russians with the weapons that Trump sent them, and the Obama had refused to send after Russia first started invading Ukraine, and arguably under the treaty signed by President Clinton (but never submitted for ratification) the US is obligated to defend Ukraine if attacked.
Biden had firmly told the Russians that invading Ukraine is very naughty. He hasn’t responded in a meaningful manner such as by applying the trading with the enemy act (banning all trade with Russia), deporting non-immigrants Russians (other than refugees seeking asylum) from the United States, calling up Reserves and National Guard, sending serious reinforcements to Europe or asking Congress for a significant increase in the Defense budget.
Trump armed the Ukraine, and built up the military. The Democrats owe him an apology for defaming him. The real traitor was Obama who gave blessed the Russian invasion on Ukraine and broke the American promise to protect the Ukraine.
worst: gunpowder, nuclear energy, alcohol, social media
best: antibiotics, printing, writing, anesthesia, alcoholIf you go bowling regularly, you will probably buy your own bowling shoes since they fit better and are much cheaper than renting.
Davidf: As illustrated by whom they elected, the secular Israelis hate frum Yidden, no more and no less than they did 100+ years ago. The core belief of zionism is in having a secular Jewish state (a people free from the yoke of Torah of Mitsvos), and the continued existence of the frum community is incompatible with that. Note that Lieberman’s chief enablers are religious zionists, not the socialists or Arabs.
From the point of view of the zionists, anything that would enable them to marginalize frum Jews and encourage them to emigrate is a fulfillment of a dream going back to Herzl. In golus, frum Jews can usually pick a career that allows taking off Shabbos, even if that precludes a majority of jobs. It is unlikely the zionists could manage a seven day work week, but they probably want one that includes Shabbos as a workday. A trend that has benefited Yidden in golus is the shrinking work week that a century ago was uniformly six day a week with Sunday as a mandatory day off, and for many jobs is moving towards a four day work week.
There is nothing to prevent you from sneaking over the border when no one is looking (and you would probably be in a lot less trouble than aliens trying the same thing, though you can be certain that if they caught you they would assume you were up to no good).
If an alien (with or without the proper papers for entry) shows up at the airport or dock or land crossing, they are subject to the same rules as a citizen except that unlike a citizen they can be denied entrance to the United States. Under well established rules, the public health service can quarantine anyone entering the country whom they suspect is carrying a dangerous disease (n.b. I’m not discuss whether Covid is “dangerous” – that’s a different matter).
The Federal government has statutory rights to make health regulations for common carriers engaged in interstate travel. If you cross a state boundary on foot or in a car, it is up to the state government to decide what to do (Biden and Trump were told that by the courts). If you insist on flying between states without a mask, you are free to rent an airplane.
One can make an “arbitrary and capricious” argument against the Covid rules, but as both parties (i.e. Trump and Biden) have agreed that Covid justifies emergency rules (I suspect future historians will be more skeptical), it would be hard to argue that anti-Covid rules are legally valid. Note the from a legal perspective, whether a regulation is wise is not relevant – what is wise is the for politicians to decide.
The creation of the United States. Without it, the Third Reich would still control all of Europe, and probably the Middle East.
He won because he got more votes. That happened since Trump ran an amazingly inept campaign that caused many Republicans to avoid voting for president (that’s why the Republicans did well, while Trump lost). And Trump actively suppressed the Republican vote be discouraging use of postal ballots.
Why does Ha-Shem make politicians stupid? That’s like asking why Ha-Shem makes fools foolish, or villians evil?
There’s a sucker born every minute, and many of them are: 1) working for the government which “buys” the tests and/or requires people to buy them; 2) in deathly fear of COVID since they confuse it with smallpox or plague
If the fire pan is too hot, feel free to jump into the fire.
If you accept as a fact, as our enemies assert, that Jews have no claims to Eretz Yisrael, that the Jews today have no relationship to the Jews referred to in the Bible and/or that Taanach is merely a collection of myths with no basis in reality – then their assertions are rationale (and that the Jewish people have no right to live anywhere, which does explain why the continued existence of unassimilated Jews is an offense against political correctness and a challenge to the WOKE political advocates).
Bigots tend never to let facts and logic get away from what they want to believe. While on can argue with bigots, as demonstrated by the successful manner in which the Americans won their argues with the Nazis.
Circular firing squad. Trump lost (or won, whichever is irrelevant) by a minuscule margin. To win in 2024 he needs more votes, not fewer. The Republicans should be working on fence building and reconciliation, rather than passing a resolution designed to encourage people who would otherwise vote Republican to instead support Joe Biden (or worse) in 2024.
Still. Many troops from other countries are also getting ready to rumble, though no one, and that includes Russia and Ukraine, have started a full scale mobilization of reserves.
Remember this is like a chess game, which only gets to be a problem if someone tips over the board. Think of August 1914 or September 1939 for what board tipping over looks like.
It has been happening since Theodore Roosevelt was president (stopped a little for Harding and Coolidge, but that’s it). This is one thing both parties are equally guilty of. There has also been a major shift of power away from state and local governments and to the Federal government. It has probably been very destabilizing, and to a certain extent explains the current radical polarization. I suspect if you brought some politicians from the 19th century to visit, they would being saying “I told you so”.
A president who rules by decree reduces the utility of any politics other than the election of the president. Switching power to the Federal government means that which group of states has control allows them to go after policies that are absurd to the rest of the country. It means if the Feds oppose gas-powered cars, people in areas where electric cars aren’t practical are angry. Most of the “culture war” issues become “hot” since by definition a federal solution is being imposed on all states whereas in the past states had more options.
The truth is the most Americans regard the word “race” (in reference to a group of humans) as referring exclusively to skin color. By this definition the Nazis were not racist (they had no problem with recruiting dark skinned Aryans for India who were anxious to fight the Brits). In the WOKE world, it is a point of faith the skin color is what matters, and aspects such as culture, ethnicity, community, ancestry, or language are irrelevant except to the extent they correlate with skin color. And to the WOKE, facts are automatically ignored when they clash with their dogmas of political correctness.
And like many WOKE personalities, she got confused when having to deal with facts that contradict political correctness.
Ethnicity and religion have always been factors in judicial nominees, along with politics. However Biden is the first president, ever, to announce that gender and race are the ONLY factors he’ll consider. All the other presidents claimed that all their nominations were based on the the qualifications of the person nominated (and what a surprise, it turns out to be the candidate supported by the person I owe a favor to, wink wink). This suggest that Biden is perhaps a bit mentally challenged, or (to be dan le-kaf zechus) he has decided that in his old age, he can afford to be honest about such matters.
arguably, Cholent is a type of Hamim
The anti-zionist hareidim (who don’t depend on government funding) can engage in open resistance, and possibly do great damage to Israel’s image abroad (for example, having frum Jews complaining to international human rights groups, or requesting asylum as refugees from anti-Jewish persecution).
The more “establishment” hareidim (who happen to have been accepting money from the zionists, and would have real problems without that funding) have a real problem. They have been supporting the medinah for over a generation. It will be a real loss of face to for them to start resisting the zionists.
If this isn’t reversed, the big winners will be Neturei Karta, the Eidos Hareidos (Badats) and Satmar, since they will have been vindicated in their anti-zionism. If the zionists attempt to conscript members of groups that have always opposed the medinah, they will be liable to be violating international human rights norms on conscientious objection (which would not be the case of those hareidim who have been supported by the government).
either will do.
As with all languages, vowels frequently shift between dialects, and some Yiddish dialects said “oo” (as in “boo” or “moo”) and some said “oh” (as in “go” or “so”).
Having dumb and incompetent enemies is definitely a bracha min ha-Shamayim.
Ukraine has a Jewish president. At this point it would be hard to argue that either Russia or Ukraine is more, or less, anti-semitic. Suggesting that foreign policy is based on something that happened in the Cossack rebellion 350 years is ridiculous. From a Jewish perspective, we should be strongly be encouraging a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
From an American perspective, if the US (which guaranteed Ukraine’s territorial integrity in return for their giving up nuclear weapons, a promise made under Clinton, and dishonored under Obama) tolerates Russian conquest of Ukraine,they will be inviting Russian attempts to take over other countries in Eastern Europe. As was shown in the 1930s, appeasing bullies just encourages them.
Given that the US under Biden is cutting back its military resources, the US will have less and less influence, which will be bad for Jews since over the century, it has been the Americans who have been critical in defeating anti-Jewish forces (the Nazis, the Communists, and now the more radical Muslims). A situation in which the United States is militarily weak, and no longer committed to support freedom abroad, will be “bad for the Jews”.