09 March 2006

Forget School. Read Books.

Pennsylvania School Bans IDF T-Shirts

I've never liked educational institutions. Quite frankly, they're the most idiotic bureaucracies in existence. Whether they be public or private, secular or religious, schools today are absolutely useless wastes of time. My advice to any young person out there seeking an education: Drop out of school. Get your GED, move on to college, and get out as fast as you can. I tell you this only because you need a diploma in order to obtain any kind of employment in today's world-- not because I feel a college education will benefit you in any way.

If you desire to learn, which you should and you must if you intend on being intelligent or wise in any regard, read books on your own. Read great books, not trash. Immerse yourself in the classics, in the arts as well as the sciences, in fiction as well as non-fiction. Surround yourself with words and ideas that will build your lexicons of verbiage, emotion, and philosophy. Read to understand where you came from, why you're here, and where you're going, so that you may know clearly what you wish to become and become it with success.

Live life. Travel. See the world. Don't be afraid to try new things, to take on a variety of jobs, to get involved in a variety of organizations, to live in different places for extended periods of time. Surround yourself with as many different people as you can, from the blue collar to the white collar, the poor to the affluent, the liberal to the conservative. Learn about life by living it, not just reading about it out of a book or taking some teacher's word for it.

Above all, research everything for yourself-- never, ever accept someone else's opinion as truth or gospel. Never stop reading. Never stop listening. Never stop questioning or seeking out answers to those questions. Learn to trust yourself, your senses, your wisdom.

Grow close to G-d. Grow closer to G-d.

Be as independent as you can possibly be without being a loner or lonely, but don't be afraid to be alone. Do not be afraid of anything. Respect fear as a motivating force, and let it motivate you to conquer it and become a better person for it.

Rest on your convictions and be convicted never to stop learning. Be willing to take on responsibilities and meet challenges head-on with confidence in yourself and your ability to succeed.

And when you come across trouble, which you inevitably will at some point, don't pick a fight. Stay in the shadows, remain unseen. That way, when you have to attack, you can do it to your advantage. When you are ready, you will know. Don't second-guess yourself; if you're going to attack, throw the first punch and walk away clean.

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07 March 2006

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

South Dakota Bans Most Abortions [AP]

The bill would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life. It would make no exception for cases of rape or incest but such victims could get emergency contraception.

Under the new law, doctors could get up to five years in prison for performing an illegal abortion.


And South Dakota, the little state that could, hands the Supreme Court the golden ticket to reverse Roe v. Wade in our lifetime. Quick, everyone, take a picture!

The NJ State Legislature Strikes Again! a.k.a. Trenton is known for pork roll, but this is ridiculous. Let's violate a person's right to privacy and freedom of speech in the name of Esteem Legislation!

SYNOPSIS: Makes certain operators of interactive computer services and Internet service providers liable to persons injured by false or defamatory messages posted on public forum websites.

...2. The operator of any interactive computer service or an Internet service provider shall establish, maintain and enforce a policy to require any information content provider who posts written messages on a public forum website either to be identified by a legal name and address, or to register a legal name and address with the operator of the interactive computer service or the Internet service provider through which the information content provider gains access to the interactive computer service or Internet, as appropriate.

3. An operator of an interactive computer service or an Internet service provider shall establish and maintain reasonable procedures to enable any person to request and obtain disclosure of the legal name and address of an information content provider who posts false or defamatory information about the person on a public forum website.

4. Any person who is damaged by false or defamatory written messages that originate from an information content provider who posts such messages on a public forum website may file suit in Superior Court against an operator or provider that fails to establish, maintain and enforce the policy required pursuant to section 2 of P.L., c. (C.) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and may recover compensatory and punitive damages and the cost of the suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee, cost of investigation and litigation from such operator or provider.


The World Bank is transferring $42 million to the Palestinians, even though the world itself owes Israel $23 billion. Though you may not hear about it, the bombings haven't stopped in Israel. Olmert's answer? Give more land to the Palestinians who are already being funded by the E.U., receiving moral support from Russia and France, and getting bombing tips from Al Qaeda. Oh, and if you've ever wondered about the Nazi/Arab connection, the latest move by Hamas in the "Palestinian Parliament" should leave no room for doubt in your mind-- at least if you're at all familiar with German politics circa 1933.

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04 March 2006

To Everything There is a Season

...a time and purpose under heaven.

Right now, it's time for me to spend less time online. No more four posts a day, ten posts a week for me. A big part of being a witness is in the watching and waiting for HaShem to act. I have no doubt that He will do so in the days ahead, fulfilling his promises to Israel for her future and hope. When He does, I'll be the first to jump on here and attest to His mercy and love for my people (and the crazy goys out there, too). For now, though, I feel as if I've said everything that need be said to such a degree that I feel as if I can relate to the prophets themselves, or at least their desire to pull their hair out from time to time. To my fellow Israelites and lovers of Israel out there, I bid you to work while there is yet light, knowing that my prayers and support are with you and all of our people who fight so righteously on HaShem's side.

Baruch haba B'Shem Adonai.

Shalom.

02 March 2006

Duh.

'Fanaticism Spreading among American Moslems' [Arutz 7]

An article in the London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds warns that religious extremism is spreading among young American Moslems. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported that the article describes Moslem clerics as "working in an organized manner to brainwash" youth.





And in the end...

What happens in America doesn't really matter. What happens in Europe, in Russia, in Asia, in Africa, none of it really matters. The personalities, the sanctions, the militarizations, the famines, the massacres, the injustices, the starvations, the empires that rise and fall-- all of these things are mere effects stemming from one root cause. Ronald Reagan conservatives like to call it the battle of good versus evil. It's generic. It's non-sectarian. In a subjective society, it can't really offend anyone, because anyone can decide for themselves whether they're "good" or "evil" so nobody needs to feel bad about anything.

It really isn't about good versus evil.

It's about HaShem versus Satan; it's about Israel versus the rest of the world.

You know, if people dared to comprehend simple allegorical statements, human beings the world over would understand the Biblical nature of what's going on a lot more clearly. Think about it: Pick up a scripture and read it. What do you read about? Here's the Cliff Notes version:

HaShem created human beings. They screwed up. HaShem realized he'd have to set up some rules. Human beings still screwed up. HaShem realized he'd have to give us a visual, in this case, a living example of the success we can achieve when we follow the rules. Knowing that even the most simple example wouldn't be enough, HaShem even decided to use this living example as a channel through which he would save the entire world. HaShem calls on Abraham and establishes his chosen people to be that "light unto the nations" type of living example of what we're supposed to be doing while we're hanging out on this planet. As a bonus, HaShem even sets it all up so that the Messiah will come straight through the family line.

Israel-- that living example-- follows HaShem's rules and is blessed. Instead of following the example, the rest of the world grows jealous and hates Israel. In the meantime, Israel gets a bit too big for her britches and decides she doesn't need HaShem anymore. HaShem says "Fine, you wanna be like everyone else? Go ahead." Israel screws up and gets in trouble-- big time. We're talking famines, wars, and even exile here, people. Why? Israel disobeyed the covenant, therefore, HaShem's protection is gone. The world sees a soft spot and takes advantage, attacking Israel out of jealousy and sheer rage that they should be so blessed by HaShem.

Israel gets scared. Big time. Everything they try to do to save themselves fails. Israel prays. HaShem, having seen all this, hears their cries and, true to his word, answers. Israel's blessings are restored, and the cycle begins anew. The world sees this, and continues to hate Israel's guts.

Why else would such a tiny strip of land on the edge of a barren desert be so freaking important in this world? Provinces in Africa that are twice the size of the Gaza Strip have been warred over for kajillions of years and we're never, ever going to hear about it on the 7 o'clock news. Why? Because that little strip in Africa is not part of the land that represents the covenant between HaShem and the people he set apart to be an example to this entire world, and through which he would save this world from eternal damnation!

Now comes the part where you tell me that I can't be right, because your religion tells you this, or your pastor tells you that, or your imam has programmed you to believe the other. Yada, yada, yada. I'm going to take a cue from HaShem and give an allegorical answer to all of your complaints. If all this talk about Israel in the media is pure hype, if all of this concentrated world-wide hatred of Israel is over exaggerated, then why did a bunch of Muslim Turks feel the need to close up the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem in 1530? I'll give you one guess.

This entire fight is about more than Islamic nutcases blowing themselves up in public. It's about whether you as a human being are willing to admit that there's a boatload of wrong in this world and there's no way you can fix it on your own. It's about admitting that alliances aren't formed on political or religious or national grounds, but are grounded in your faith in HaShem. It's about whether you're brave enough to admit your faith in Him. It's about whether you're as chicken as Orpa, or as brave as Ruth. It's about fearlessly proclaiming I AM ISRAEL, not only for the glory of HaShem, not only for your own sake, but for the sake of this entire, miserable world.

The battle isn't going to change. It isn't going to suddenly get better. In the end HaShem will win, no matter what. So you can continue to be the ostrich with your head in the sand and your ass sticking out like a target in the open air, or you can do your duty on this earth and be a witness to the truth. As Mordecai once warned Queen Esther, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Stop picking at the scab and start disinfecting the wound. Until the good guys in this world acknowledge the reality of this battle, we have no hope of winning the war.