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I’ve been out of town. However, I have to say that responses like yours frustrate me a lot. What does it say that when a lot of frum Jews get together they create a culture that is so unappealing to intelligent, free thinking people? Your argument is that frum Jews are okay in small groups. Well fine, but excuse me if that’s not good enough for me. I am now part of a group of people that is wonderful to live among – whether the community is large or small.
–gitty
gitty, nobody said jew are only ok in small groups. What some people were suggesting is that you personally may feel more comfortable in a place where there are small groups. Some like that better while others feel more comfortable in the larger frum communities.
You’ve said that you were turned off from yidishkeit because you are a person who hates structure and being told what to do and when to do it. Although i hope that one day you willl see the simcha of keeping the mitzvos and not just the rigidity involved, I understand that this turned you off and I am not judgemental about this. I have no way of knowing if I would have reacted differently if I was in your shoes.
However I did want to suggest something that I hope that you will consider with an open mind and with objectivity. Perhaps your antipathy towards Judaism (because of your dislike of structure) caused you to see the frum community in a bad light, and not the reverse.
Can I perhaps show you some brighter aspects of the frum community you may have overlooked? You say that the community of secular free thinkers are better to live among than a large community of frum people. If your car gets stuck is there a secular version of chaveirim which will come in minutes to change a tire, unlock the door etc. and not only refuse payment but even try to refuse a thank you? The frum version of chaveirim would be there for you in a heartbeat if you call them even though you aren’t frum anymore. Is there a secular version of hatzoloh whose members will drop everything at any time to run save a life of another human being while not receiving any compensation? When someone is in the hospital, is there a secular organization that provides a pantry stocked with food, free for the taking? And apartments where relatives from out of the area can stay while caring for the patient, all at no charge? Are there secular g’machs which lend out tens of millions of dollars every year to those who need it, and with 0% interest?
Are there problems in the frum community? of course there are, we aren’t all perfect. You’ve mentioned the obsession with materialism. Yes, many people unfortunately can’t control their yetzer horah for materialism but that is not caused by being frum it is in spite of it. Last I checked, Hollywood and the Hamptons which although they are quite materialistic, are kinda secular and not frum to say the least. Yes, I know, you don’t associate with those types of secular people. Well, that brings us back to the out-of-town option, one can remain frum and not associate with the overly materialistic members of the frum society just as you can be secular and not associate with the more materialistic members of that society. And even in Monsey, Brooklyn and Lakewood you can find plenty of non-materialistic people who don’t live for their next custom wig and SUV. You just need to open your eyes and your mind to see them.
I hope you will not take offense by this post, offending you is the last thing I want to do. I just wanted to share another perspective with you about our culture that seems to be so appealing to the thousands of intelligent, free thinking secular jews who have become ba’alei tshuva over the past couple of decades.
gawker,
I don’t know whether azi was right or not to go there, but you owe him a brocho for not being don lkaf zchus and assuming he went inside and not just to the door as he later said. I also don’t know why you assume he didn’t ask a rav, maybe he did. But one thing I can’t understand is your suggestion to send his wife. I totally agree with “anon for this” that she would be extremely vulnerable and unsafe walking into a place like that.
I heard from one of the ziknei roshei hayeshiva in eretz yisroel that the pshat is that the aron was nosei es nos’av, it carried those who appeared to be carrying it. His mistake was to think that without his help the aron would fall and he is the one who is preventing the fall. By a sefer torah in a shul this wouldn’t seem to apply, only the aron of the mishkan had this attribute that it carried those who carry it.
before a man gets married, he’s incomplete. After he gets married he’s finished.
is the name blue ridge an anti-red statement? 🙂
feivel,
for number 3 I’d guess a woman receiving a get. The kosher get becomes posul (it can’t be reused by someone else), and the married woman who was assur to marry another man is now divorced and muttar.
Notice to All Employees
As of November 5, 2008, when President Obama is officially elected into office, our company will install a few new policies which are in keeping with his new, inspiring issues of change and fairness:
1. All salespeople will be pooling their sales and bonuses into a common pool that will be divided equally between all of you. This will serve to give those of you who are underachieving a “fair shake.”
2. All low level workers will be pooling their wages, including overtime, into a common pool, dividing it equally amongst yourselves. This will help those who are “too busy for overtime” to reap the rewards from those who have more spare time and can work extra hours.
3. All top management will now be referred to as “the government.” We will not participate in this “pooling” experience because the law doesn’t apply to us.
4. The “government” will give eloquent speeches to all employees every week, encouraging it’s workers to continue to work hard “for the good of all.”
5. The employees will be thrilled with these new policies because it’s “good to spread the wealth.” Those of you who have underachieved will finally get an opportunity; those of you who have worked hard and had success will feel more “patriotic.”
6. The last few people who were hired should clean out their desks. Don’t feel bad, though, because President Obama will give you free healthcare, free handouts, free oil for heating your home, free food stamps, and he’ll let you stay in your home for as long as you want even if you can’t pay your mortgage. If you appeal directly to our democratic congress, you might even get a free flat screen TV and a coupon for free haircuts (shouldn’t all Americans be entitled to nice looking hair?) !!!
If for any reason you are not happy with the new policies, you may want to rethink your vote on November 4th.
gila, it sounds like you are a cancer patient. If you are, I wish you a refuah shleima b’korov.
it is to give us a chance to earn amazing rewards in olam habah.
gitty, I understand that some things happened in your life that gave you negative feelings towards yiddishkeit and made you want to leave. I also understand that you’ve come into contact with people who had frum shaitels and kitchens but treif hearts. And I do understand that you do feel happy in your new life and don’t feel that you are missing anything by leaving. I’m also really happy that your parents still show you that they love you and welcome you to visit, that shows that you couldn’t have picked better parents who I’m sure did their utmost to show you the beauty of yidishkeit.
However I truly hope that one day you will see for yourself the beauty of the Torah and the mitzvos and that you will meet up with truly frum people who are frum inside and out and treat you with respect. And I hope that thru them you will yourself come back and find an inner happiness in judaism that is even greater than the happiness and peace of mind that you have found in the secular world. That amazing connection to judaism exists and the type of people I described exist. I hope you come in contact with them soon.
NEW STOCK MARKET TERMS
CEO –Chief Embezzlement Officer.
CFO– Corporate Fraud Officer.
BULL MARKET — A random market movement causing an investor to
mistake himself for a financial genius.
BEAR MARKET — A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no
allowance and the wife gets no jewelry.
VALUE INVESTING — The art of buying low and selling lower.
BROKER — What my broker has made me.
STANDARD & POOR — Your life in a nutshell.
STOCK ANALYST — Idiot who just downgraded your stock.
STOCK SPLIT — When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your
assets equally between themselves.
FINANCIAL PLANNER — A guy whose phone has been disconnected.
MARKET CORRECTION — The day after you buy stocks.
CASH FLOW– The movement your money makes as it disappears
down the toilet.
YAHOO — What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker
for $240 per share.
WINDOWS — What you jump out of when you’re the sucker who
bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR — Past year investor who’s now locked
up in a nuthouse.
PROFIT — An archaic word no longer in use.
disposition,
If someone does you a chesed then you owe them hakoras hatov even if they are paid for doing that chesed. All the more so if someone is mezakeh the rabbim, they deserve praise even if they are making a profit. (And I hope the editor will make lots of profits!!)
teenager,
I’ll be happy to work with you on a letter for you to send to rabbonim. I won’t have time today, but hopefully over the weekend or on monday.
thanks ICOT and mariner for all that info. I think I will try to go wireless – I’m glad that setup is not that complicated and that my fears were unfounded – I am most certainly not a high value target with high value documents.
I don’t know anything about WPA but at least I’ve heard of it. MAC addresses are completely new to me, lol. I’ll do some reading and figure it out. Thanks so much for all your time and advice.
ICOT,
I do plan on getting the router and I hear what you’re saying about avoiding ICS. Does the router also allow me to share files between computers, or do I still need my network switch for that?
I have avoided wireless for 2 reasons which are both based on my not trusting myself to secure it properly. The first is that my kids have a computer without internet access – just for games and word processing etc. If they attached a wire to my computer (or the new router) to sneak onto the internet, I would see it. But if I have wireless, then if they get hold of a wireless card for their computer they will have access without me being the wiser, assuming I don’t secure it properly. The other reason is just basic security. I don’t want anyone to be able to access the files on my computer or to spread a virus to it. After hearing stories like the one a few years ago where identity thieves sat in Best Buy parking lots and picked up credit card numbers from the wireless cash registers, I just got scared off from even trying. But then again maybe I should get over my network phobia, buy the dummies book and learn how it all works.
thanks for all the other info. I have indeed gone to cnet in the past, but lately I’m too busy here in the coffee room to have time to go there. 😉
teenager,
thanks for your kind words. I will try to think of ideas, and if you can think of anything I can do to help, please let me know.
One thing to think about I think, is what someone mentioned before – that this hangout should be only for kids who have been doing worse stuff and it therefore will be a step up for them, not for kids who have never done bad stuff and would be heading downhill by coming. Do you agree? if yes, how can that be enforced?
Also, there is a Rabbi Blobstein in Monsey who has a program for boys who are struggling with their yidishkeit and I’ve heard that he is very successful. Maybe he can get this rolling. Do any of the guys you hang out with know him or are part of his program?
someone parked his car in Washington blocking the entrance and exit to the Congress. A policeman ca me running over shouting “Don’t park there! All the members of congress will be coming out soon!”
“That’s ok” answered the man. “I have the Club.”
getting back to teenager’s suggestion is there anyone in a position to put her ideas into practice in Monsey (in a non co-ed setting, which she was agreeable to)? Unfortunately, I don’t think I can be much help, although I’d love to. I don’t have any cash to put out and I’m also not the outgoing extravert type-A personality that I think would be needed to organize this. Any other takers though? IMHO the s’char for this would be enormous.
I heard an amazing story several years ago. I’m not sure if I remember all the details correctly – maybe someone here has heard it and can correct any errors I make.
Basically someone non-frum owned a large store which was open on shabbos. Somehow he came in contact with a gadol (reb Moshe?) who promised him much hatzlocho if he were to close on shabbos. He decided he would do that. As shabbos approached, the store was packed with customers and he was unsuccessful in getting them to leave. Close to the start of shabbos, he screamed “Fire!!” and everyone ran out – many with unpaid for merchandise, and he quickly locked up the store in time for shabbos.
After that day his business grew tremendously, beyond anything he could have anticipated.
mariner,
thanks so much for all your time and valuable info. that apartment building example made it very clear. (you should write for the “for dummies” series – you’re good at explaining things to a layman). In general I am fairly proficient with computers and have helped neighbors/relatives/friends with their issues, but when it comes to networking I have a mental block it seems. I am completely clueless.
I’ll get the router, a new modem and spybot, and then hopefully the computer will live happily ever after. thanks again!
teenager,
You answered my questions about the hangout idea very well, and it now makes a lot of sense to me although as others have said I don’t think co-ed is the way to do it.
As for mentors, I don’t know much about project yes but isn’t the purpose of the organization to find mentors for kids in your situation? Does it not work the way its supposed to?
IMHO, I think that in addition to a mentor you would surely gain from professional help in dealing with the trauma of being molested. Have you ever received any professional help? Do your parents know about it and will they pay for therapy? I hope you don’t mind the personal questions – please don’t feel the need to answer if its too personal or painful to talk about.
Also, never give up no matter how many rejections you’ve gotten. You obviously have a great neshama the way you want to grow and help your friends grow. Keep reaching out and daven hard to have the strength not to give up. You can daven in your own words, Hashem will understand. And our tears and heartfelt tefillos can create amazing results. Big people sometimes get big tests and i’m sure that in the end you’ll pass with flying colors.
And one more thing – if you post an email address here, please be very very careful about who you reveal your identity to and who you actually phsically meet thru that address. Even a person who seems online to be a caring middle-aged choshuva person may just be a manipulative abuser who is out to gain your trust and then take advantage of you. I’m sure you know this well, but a reminder can never hurt.
I agree with those who’ve thanked the editor for this great site. And the posts are definitely being approved much faster. Makes it much easier to have a conversation.
BTW, I see no advantage in having vista as opposed to XP. When I got the computer I discovered that I had to spend tons of money on new versions of software because the old versions don’t work on vista. This included MS office ( I had office 97 which worked fine for me but won’t run on vista), quickbooks, photoshop elements and I think there were more. Had I known this in advance I would have bought a computer with XP.
mariner and ICOT,
thanks for all that info. I don’t think its the rain or anything like that because it happens often – several times per week, sometimes more than once a day, not just once in a blue moon when maybe there was a big storm somewhere.
I do have the rectangle cable modem that optimum gave me and no router – I thought you only need a router to share the modem between several computers, never knew it was unsafe. Why is that? the router blocks viruses and spyware? Also, the modem is connected directly to the computer via USB cable not ethernet cable. Would the latter be better?
some background in case it helps: I own a network switch (pardon my ignorance, but that’s not the same thing as a router is it?), not wireless just 5 or 6 ports to plug ethernet cables into. Before I got my vista computer, I had an XP box and also used the switch to connect an XP laptop to it to share files and to share the desktop’s internet connection via windows ICS. (this way I could use the laptop while my wife is using the desktop or vice versa). At that time I had zone alarm pro on both computers and everything worked fine.
When I got the vista box I was unable to get the networking between the laptop and the desktop to work properly so I gave up and manage with just one computer. The ethernet switch is not connected anymore to anything. I also no longer have zone alarm pro (Wanted to save money, my free updates ran out and I would have needed an update for it to work on vista). Windows firewall is on.
I also have avast free antivirus – do you or anyone else here know whether that is reliable?
It happened again this morning and I did ipconfig before and after the reboot and the ip address was unchanged. (I assume you are referring to the IPv4 address, not the subnet mask or default gateway?)
I’ll download spybot search and destroy, I used to have it but then stopped because I realized I have no way of knowing if its legit or if its full of its own spyware and trojans like the screensavers etc that you mentioned above. But if you trust it, I’ll download it again – you obviously know your stuff. I’ll also ask cablevision for a new modem. (BTW, I only have internet with them not cable TV or phone service).
Any particular router you’d recommend that’s not too expensive but does the job properly?
teenager,
I am not a teen but I have a question for you. I am trying to undersand why you and your friends hang out in bad places and do bad stuff. Is it because you are bored and therefore having a kosher hangout will simply get rid of the boredom and completely solve the problem, or is it that you all have other issues (I think you mentioned that you were abused – that is awful and I feel terrible for you) and you feel a need to rebel to let out your pain. If this is the case, then I don’t see how a kosher hangout will solve anything. Suppose there was 3 hours on motzai shabbos of bowling, pizza and interesting shiurim etc. After it ends would kids just go home or would they head straight to 7-11 or wherever else they currently hang out? I am not trying to knock your suggestion, just trying to understand it better.
I think a better solution may be for you individually to find an older adult you can respect and confide in. From your response to smartgal you seem to crave that. Maybe the rebetzin of a shul? Maybe a teacher you once had, whether in elementary school, high school or seminary. Maybe a neighbor or a friend of your mother? Maybe project yes can find you someone? Maybe smartgal?
It would seem to me that this would get to the root of the problem more than just being kept busy for a few hours in a kosher environment. Am I making any sense?
mariner,
I agree with havesomeseichel that you seem to know your stuff. I have a different problem that maybe you know a solution for. Every once in a while I lose internet connectivity completely. IE will say the page is unavailable no matter what website I try and my email (Eudora) also can’t connect. I don’t know if the problem is with windows (vista), my ISP (optonline) or perhaps my free antivirus software (avast home edition), or maybe something else that I didn’t think of. The windows don’t freeze so I assume its not a RAM issue but I don’t know how to figure out what it is. The only way I know of to get back online is to reboot. That works every time. Any ideas?
feivel,
normally I’d agree with you but today the posts are showing up very quickly. Great job, editor. (With my luck this post won’t be visible for 4 days, lol.)
Also mazel tov to the editor on hitting 5,000 posts today in the coffee room. Please don’t anyone ask why I noticed that. 😉 May you continue to have hatzlacha with this site
SJSinNYC,
you raise some valid points. I agree that when your kid is getting married they should hopefully be able to understand taht you can’t spend more than you can afford just because other ppl do so.
But what about younger kids? Should I get outdated clearance clothing, shoes or glasses for my kids for pennies instead of buying a more up to date style for them? On one hand its good to teach them money management. On the other hand how will their self esteem be affected if they feel like nerds and get ridiculed by the jones’s kids in their class who have more up to date stuff? And what if ALL the kids in their class have the up to date look? Can a young child handle being so different? At what age do you start?
anonymouse1079,
there is an entire thread discussing the questions you raise about mitzvah tanzes. IMHO, there’s no need for everyone to rehash it all over again on this thread.
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/mitzvah-tantz-what-the-prob-exactly
some of it is lack of education, but with the younger folks part of it is that they are used to IM which has its own set of shortcuts to save keystrokes, such as skool for school or sum1 for someone, and completely ignores punctuation.
Recently I worked on a project where the project manager would IM me work related stuff in that form. It took me longer to figure out her question than the amount of time she savesd on extra keystrokes, lol. (lol=laughing out loud).
an example – u dont hv any changes or anything lk tht rt (You don’t have any changes or anything like that, right?)
another: u cud do tht 2day or 2morow tho i ges (you could do that today or tomorrow though, I guess)
intellegent,
I moved to monsey a bunch of years ago for the same reasons as you cite. Not money hungry but you gotta live. When I moved here there were very few young yeshivish families but it has grown. There are now several new kollelim and a street called Dykstra Way which looks like any lakewood street – lots of kollel families kain yirbu.
RE: Squeak’s idea.
Does anybody here know if Torah Umesorah runs their day schools from one centralized location with very limited administative functions at the individual schools? If yes, is their cost per child a lot less than the typical yeshiva? I’m curious to know, as this could show whether squeak’s idea can actually cut costs in practice.
Jewess,
That was excellent!
Here’s another one for your collection:
Why do we drive on the parkway and park in the driveway?
blue shirt,
your comparison is totally off. When a father sends his daughter to sem or sleep-away camp he is still in control because he chooses which camp or sem to send to and is therefore deciding who will be responsible for his daughter and keep an eye on her. He is delegating that control to someone he trusts. With sherut le’umi you don’t get those choices. A secular (possibly anti-religious) person will be making the decisions of how, where and with whom she spends her day. And there is absolutely nothing the father can do about it.
godaven.com to find a minyan anywhere
rabbiofberlin,
the brisker rov zt”l who was niftar before Rav Hutner zt”l said that the rebbe thinks he’s moshiach. It wasn’t out in the open yet, but our gedolim were able to foresee what was coming.
Pashute,
Yes, there are valid reasons for some people not to sleep in the sukka if it won’t be taishvu k’ein taduru due to the cold, being in an unsafe neighborood, not being with the wife etc – each person should ask their rov.
But that’s not what I was talking about. By Lubavitch, even bochurim in warm climates in safe neighborhoods do not sleep in the sukka. The reason I have heard (and if anyone knows differently please tell me) is that the rebbe said the shechina is in the sukka and its painful to sleep there so its not teishvu k’ein taduru. And if you are not pained by sleeping where the shechina is because you are not on such a high madreiga, then that itself is painful and therefore its not k’ain taduru. The problem with that reasoning is that this would be a reason for every yid in every generation in every climate not to sleep in the sukka. So why did chazal in mesechta sukka talk about sleeping in the sukka?????
Joseph (pg 2),
I have always wished I could hear an answer to that question from a meshichist. But why stop at the Baal Shem Tov? If a dead person can be moshiach, why can’t it be Dovid Hamelech himself?
jent,
yes, that’s him.
Regarding the similarity to christianity, soon after the rebbe was niftar there were billboards from jews for J with a huge picture of the rebbe. The caption was “Right Idea. Wrong Guy.”
I didn’t see the billboard but heard about it from a prominent godol.
Don’t forget the Parsha Potpourri and Daily Halacha sections of YWN.
YW Editor,
Do I get some sort of platinum membership to the coffee room for that? 🙂
anon for this,
That must have been a horrible experience. I hope this admin finds a heart or loses his job.
But the main difference is that Paul changed the religion totally, by abolishing all the mitzvos except for a few. (No kashrus, Yom kippur, shabbos, shatnez, sitting in a sukkah, etc.).
–Pashuteh Yid
you should’ve left sukka off your list. The rebbe abolished the mitzvah of sleeping in a sukka. And also Shaloch Seudos if I’m not mistaken.
And i’ll also join with those who think its hilarious to knock the Gedolei Yisroel based on a diyuk by Norman Lam (the title rabbi was intentionally omitted). Cantoresq, maybe you can ask Dr. Lam the brilliant question of “I can only Try” about how he would translate Emunas Hashem?
cherrybim,
you gotta be kidding! UJM wasn’t calling ChanieE by her first name but by her screenname, which may or may not be her real name. How else can he respond to her? Its not at all the same as calling a woman in real life by her first name.
suraschier (or for cherrybim’s sake, Mrs./Miss schier),
If you can’t understand the difference between wearing a bright red miniskirt with a slit and a single girl wearing hair which is not so short, then you are the one who needs help.
yossi,
it doesn’t always work, although I agree that it does sometimes. A friend of mine recently got 5 tickets from a ramapo cop, 3 of which were totally ridiculous. Another person told me he got 4 at one time from a Ramapo cop. This concept of giving multiple tickets for every imaginable reason seems to be the new policing trend. Maybe its a way to quickly fill your quota and still have time for donuts?
jphone,
I mix things up all the time so don’t worry about it. 🙂
I agree that if an employee is looking for a higher paying job it wouldn’t be a problem. I was talking about an employer poaching someone else’s employee, which is the original topic of this thread.
BTW, That same tosfos also adds that the ani hamehapech problem will also apply to an employee who tries to get a job which is already filled by someone else – stealing his job from him. Tosfos says you can’t do that unless the employer says he was anyway planning to fire the first employee. This halacha is also paskened in the shulchan oruch.
Matisyohu28
you really think its better for a woman to shop online than to go to a store????
All the rabbonim have spoken out against going online for non-business purposes. and you’re saying that lechatchila its preferable to do that??
and yes, I know I shouldn’t be on YWN either because its not business related, but I admit that its my own shortcoming. I admit I shouldn’t be here. But that’s very different than saying its the lechatchila thing to do.
Jphone:
you wrote that “Ani Hamehapech Bicharara doesnt apply to employees”
That’s only true if you can’t find a better employee elsewhere as per the tosfos I quoted above – which I checked and it is paskened like that in the shulchan oruch. That tosfos is on the sugya of ani hamehapech bacharara.
You then wrote “To the one who quoted the gemara about rebbeim. The gemara is clear that a rebbe is an EXCEPTION to normal rules because of the rule “kinaas sofrim taarbe chachma”.
Firstly, I quoted a tosfos not a gemara. Also, where is this gemara that says clearly that a rebbe is an exception? I don’t think it exists because if it does then tosfos is very shver for not bringing down that gemara and saying it based on a sevara instead. And although your sevara of kinas sofrim maybe good its not how the shulchan oruch paskens. He paskens like the tosfos that its because you can say you can’t find a better rebbe, and he doesn’t say a word about kinas sofrim. The s”ma explains that this is gufa part of the halacha of oni hamehapech – that it doesn’t apply if you will lose out by not chapping it first – such as by hefker, not that its some unique exception by rebbeim. I didn’t see the kinas sofrim sevara in any of the other nosei kailim either. Maybe other rishonim hold that way?
Tosfos (Kiddushin 59A end of dibbur hamaschil Oni – sorry I don’t know how to type in lashon hakodesh) says that one is permitted to hire a rebbe for his son who is already employed by someone else to teach that person’s son – basically stealing someone else’s hired rebbe. The first employer cannot stop him by saying go find another rebbe, because the second person can say that he can’t find someone else who can teach his kid as well as this one.
A few thoughts I’d add:
1. it would seem that a rebbe is just an example of an employee and whatever halacha applies to stealing a rebbe would apply to stealing a cleaning lady. Is there any choshen mishpat difference?
2. it would seem that according to tosfos you can only steal the cleaning lady if she is better at cleaning than anyone else out there (or maybe if there is a shortage of help out there and you can’t find another one without stealing from somebody?), not just because you’re too lazy to look for another one.
3. even according to tosfos, its muttar but perhaps he would agree that al pi mussar you shouldn’t do it?
4. a disclaimer that we can’t pasken from a tosfos. Other rishonim may disagree and the shulchan oruch and poskim may not pasken like this tosfos, I don’t know – ask your rov.
5. another disclaimer that I didn’t look at the meforshim as i don’t have any seforim here at work (I looked at the tosfos itself on e-daf), so if anyone knows that the acharonim or maybe the other rishonim explain tosfos differently then please correct me.
illini,
I agree with think big, but would add that mccain has said what he would do to fix things – he’ll lower taxes to stimualte the economy, he advocates drilling for oil now that the prices have become unbearably high, I think he has a track record of being pro-Israel. And he was not for cutting and running in Iraq even when the going was tough, making me feel that he’ll be a good leader in the fight against the terrorists. He has also been consistently against pork spending by congress.
What has obama accomplished to make you feel he’d be a great president other than giving speeches that are full of hot air? Is it just the fact that he’s a liberal that makes you want him to be pres?