Always_Ask_Questions

amom > Why would anyone want to go to Montreal now- they have strict covid rules.

Maybe that could be a reason? Someone here vacations in your place annually to visit family and both last times came back coughing.

jackk > Trump was and will be the only president who responded daily to very single criticism of him.

jackk, first I hope you will agree with the premise that R- presidents are in a much worse position. It was way worse before talk radios and cable TV and access to multiple papers online. Even now, most media is left-wing.

So, Trump responding on Twitter directly is a revolutionary way to respond directly without being misquoted and “put into context”. Obama did not need that. Papers created a favorable environment for him.

I don’t think there is one answer for everyone.

First, there is an issue of teaching an honest trade (Kiddushin 30) as Avira is mentioning. Some may want to become plumbers and electricians and may not require a lot of time in high school. Other professions require more. As one Rav taught me – everyone needs to grow up a substitute in this world – a Rav needs to grow a Rav, a plumber – a plumber, a scientist – a scientist, as the world needs all.

Second, there is an issue of appreciating science. Avira is against, but R Twersky is for learning, as an example, physiology to appreciate wonders of the world that Hashem created. Some tietch Borchi Nafshi that it includes appreciation of wonders/gadlus and vastness/rabot of Hashem’s creation. Maybe initial reluctance comes because initial effect of learning science (and as was presented by haskala) is decrease of wonders – hey, we can explain rainbow, seasons, aurora, viruses, etc. At the same time, more mature understanding of science leads first to more appreciation of vastness of Hashem’s creations – in the air, under the sea, on other plants, and at the next level of wonders – how atmosphere and earth orbit, and even gravity constant are such that makes the world and our lives possible.

coffee, my forecast: the lefties get excited about Bibi’s fall, right gets majority based on anti-Bibi voters, Likud fires prosecutors, finds errors and Russian disinformation in case 1000, cancels Bibi’s plea deal, Bibi becomes prime minister for life.

ujm, looks like 2004, not yet “decades” yet

jackk, most of what you are writing is pure propaganda and you know it: spending other people’s money is easy, the question is always – what was the alternative. And even those that you mention are mostly in the future or past – nothing new on vaccines; covid tests during next 6 months when crisis was last month; roads will be repaired in the future.

what is worth noting is your view of economy – by unemployment rate. Please take a minute to study “labor participation rate” that is a better measure that includes people who stopped (or started) looking for work. For a big picture:
Carter 2% up 62 to 64% (1966 to 1989 grows at almost constant rate)
Reagan – 3% up from 64% to 67%
Bush I – 1% down
Clinton 1% up
Bush II 1% down
Obama 3.5% down (decline 2008-14 then constant) – 63% – 1% lower than at start of Reagan
Trump 0.5% up, 3% lost to Covid, 1.3% recovered, for a total -1.2% down
Biden so far 0.4% up (1.5% below pre-covid)

so, on this measure Biden’s continue recovery similar to how it was going at the end of Trump term, not bad, not exceptional either. Overall trend after Reagan is down, with Clinton a little up, and Obama most down.

Montreal. Closest place where they speak and serve French this side of Mississippi.

Maybe one way to be yashar about your preferences is statistical: admit that any kashrus supervision has a reasonable chance of being non-kosher and then view some agencies more likely to provide a kosher product due to more supervision and chumros providing geder around other issues. In theory, this would mean that mashgiach tmidi with lower standards would be more acceptable that OOT Super-chareidi one, Not sure if such situation exists in practice.

smerel > I know I’m in the minority

You are one of 20%, maybe even less – 40% are always D-, 40% always R-. Your 20% believed Biden’s positioning and now abandoned him in droves. Currently, you are the majority within that 20%. I would not say he deceived that he is moderate/consensus builder/competent. First, he believes it himself, 2nd, his main inclination seems to be moderate in many cases. There were some flattering articles before elections quoting Israelis saying that he was an only one on Obama’s team who did not see Israel as an aggressor, bur remembered Yom Kippur war, etc and understood Israeli challenges. It might have been propaganda, but it ringed true. I am not sure why he is choosing to behave differently. Partly, it is advisors that control him and his message (during some recent Manchin’s weekend surprises, insider talk about how “white house got angry, called him”, “he notified white house only 30 minutes before”, some confusion, etc, all implicit that these were staffers, not President, involved. Was he was fishing, sleeping, watching Fox? Maybe J6 commission can find out. But maybe also power went to his head, he was always slighted – from nuns to mediocre law student at a mediocre law school to being a barely tolerated VP for 8 years and ignored in 2016. So, he wants to be a transformative president and people around him flatter him?

RW, re: connection on Trump and vaccine. How did I feel you are going to mention vaccines there? It seems that his pro-vaccine position (obvious for two years) somehow jarred you.

What is not clear why you are making such a big deal on “mandates” v. vaccines. You are happy to discuss this mandate issue that is something that government does, while there is a simple thing that each of people could do to protect themselves and others, and everyone from R Kanevsky to, l’havdil, AAQ, to Trump, to hospital statistics are telling you the same thing and you are still worrying about a government policy. Fix yourself first before pointing at others.

> wake up, Jews, he only liked us because

this is a great psychological way to avoid gratitude. You can always explain why someone did something good to you because of some ulterior motive.

RW,
maybe yo are right and vaccine and, kal bvehomer booster, affected him! His RNA is now different, his DNA is different ….

Most likely, he had covid side effects in October leading to “brain fog” that might have stopped him from taking advantage of Biden’s stare during debates – once when he was under covid and could not stop talking. It is also known that covid stays in various body parts, even in brain, way after a person is sick (shown by pathology). He most likely was still under brain fog even on J6 … Now when he took boosters and spends healthy time on the golf course, his brain fog cured and he realized that he needs to speak out and save lives and health of his supporters, as he need their vote in 2 years! So, hopefully you take his example, take the vaccine and continue protesting mandates. Gezunte heig.

First time ever, I am actually rolling on the floor laughing. When I saw first line “trump looks different”, I wanted to joke “is this because he got the booster?”. Then, in the 3rd paragraph you actually say that!

How did you miss the whole 2020 where Trump focused on vaccine development, spent billions on it, appointed a general to organize distribution even while results were not available, the whole country was waiting for Phase 3 results, and Trump hoped to get them before elections (if you want to look for a conspiracy look into how results were reported after elections upon some FDA changing rules).

you are right, moose take 700 lives per year, and they only live in the north.

jackk, Republicans ran Romney – an opposite of Trump in many ways: decent family man, self-made millionaire, great businessman, his father also a decent politician and businessman. He ran a high-road campaign. All opposite to Trump. He ran against a President who performed better that Biden but not by much. He was abused and laughed at by everyone from newspapers to just-deceased Senate leader. When he answered that Russia is our greatest enemy, he was shown to be a clown (that was 2 years before Russian annexed Crimea). So Republicans rightly concluded that running such candidates is honorable but hopeless. At the end, Trump implemented a lot of things that Romney would have done, many possibly in a better way. And pray for Manchin not to break filibuster, as you don’t want to see what will angry Republicans pass in 2024. I don’t want to see that either. Risk of further polarization is very high, we should stop going there.

RebE, “not recommended” works if the other party trusts you and you have very similar minhagim and attitudes; or at least you know well where the other party stands, and the pther parties knows that you know.

Drivers are a much higher threat to drivers than deer. 200 people are killed in US annually by deer collisions and 40,000 from other traffic accidents.

Maybe Hashem is sending deer to remind people to drive slower?

If Dems run a progressive candidate against Trump, then there will be space in between for a third-party moderate candidate. Romney/Manchin.

Charile, So, this served a great purpose, hopefully convincing some people that this particular election event had integrity. I think it will be healthy if there will be multiple probes that will make people more confident. Probably not all, but at least some.

As to methodology, I don’t know details, but it makes sense from your description. you apply approximate automated matching process that identifies cases of potential errors. Then, they presumably report it to lawmakers who have an ability to go verify those errors. As you are saying here, this establishes an upper bound on the error.

Still, if you think that this will reduce enthusiasm of Trump supporters, I think you are wrong. Overall feeling of “injustice” is based on the history of multiple unfounded attacks on Trump over his whole term, and on “legitimate” changes to the voting process that made it easier for “low affinity” voters to drop their ballot in the mail. Some people are channeling their frustration into out-there theories but these theories re not the root cause of the voter frustration.

YS: on a more serious note,
instead of competing between computers and people as often happens in industry – “can computer/robot substitute for the cashier? driver? architect?”, a better approach is how to make two
work together better. This involves computers taking charge up to the point it estimates it is not doing well and then summarizing information to people that will make decisions. For example, during Covid,
many decision making tools that were based on expert rules or machine learning started failing due to changing environment. Humans can look ahead without having all data to prove. Of course, some of FDA/CDC people work more like algorithms than humans – only make decision when absolutely proven. This is discussed re: a studen of Rav Yehuda who disbelieved his teacher describing Yerushalaim gates during time of Moschiach. So, he walked out and went into business. After some time, he saw adream with exactly same gates. So, he came back and said “Rebbe, you were right”.
R Yehuda looked at him “and there is a sack of bones in front of him” or something like that.

from Megila Daf:
Beis din used to send inspectors and fine people who did not take care of kilaim first thing in the spring. Not sure, is this concern about community (would resulting fruit be not kosher?) or are we coercing people in doing their mitzvos?

RebE, the question from the drash (that I don’t remember source of, maybe Sephardi as people here seems not to have heard it) – is this enough to be reading instructions and maybe writing more books about the instructions, or are we supposed to engage with the world and follow instructions.

One thing here is that parnosa is usually addressed as a need to be supported, and then challenges or opportunities for mitzvos that occur within it, usually refusing good money to avoid an averira or dishonesty. There is another aspect, though – engaging and improving the world according to Hashem’s instructions: making people respec Hashem/Jews more, feeding them, curing them, making them laugh … If someone gives $20 to a poor man, he is giving tzedoka. If the same person creates a job for that poor man, or makes an affordable product for hi, or builds him a house – it is just a “parnosa”.

Think of say, Fritz Haber, written out of history of science for his sins of creating poison gases during WW1. His development of fertilizer changed modern agriculture and saved billions of people from starvation. With that and his assisting Jews with connection when they were being expelled by Nazis (they did not dare touch Haber himself for a while, until he left himself and died from a heart attack while contemplating going to EY) – what is his place in Olam Habo based just on his “parnosa”?

We always argue here about whether something does not work. Why not look at successes and see if we can emulate? Not going to other countries, but stats consistently show that “Asians” have 1/3 of casualties than other groups. I don’t know what exactly is the reason – their useless vaccinating or their masks that do not work, or Chinese food, or they are all introverts and WFH – but they are doing something right. Can we find it out what and do the same?

Quebec is announcing a tax on unvaccinated, motivated by healthcare cost. They are saying that unvaxxed 10% are taking 50% of ICUs. Given their “free” medicine, it is essentially saying that unvaxxed should pay for insurance for the additional risk. Any Canadians here?

Torah is literally instruction on what to do in the world. It is a profound argument on what is more important – learning l’shma or l’maan laasot, nothing personal here.

For example, Avoda Zara 17b: Rav Huna says: Anyone who occupies himself with Torah study alone is considered like one who does not have a God. The alternative offered there is tzedokah. Obviously, one needs to have funds to do tzedokah, whether inherited or earned.

Again, I am not making a silly argument one v. another in modern practical world. I am saying that those who insist on “only learning” (or “only working”) have to prove their case and not pretend that other opinions are outrageous. These opinions are all over Gemora and later. You can justify deviations, but do not make deviations normal, and normal devious.