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“it is not going to happen, The unions are too strong to get this passed at least not in NY State”
Nor will voters support the massive tax increases that would result.
“the US government cannot dictate to a private school what religion they may or may not teach”
It absolutely can if the school gets even a dime if government money — even a tax break.
“Taxpayers do not have a right, nor should they have a right, to determine how private schools spend money to educate children, even if partially tax funded. “
Actually, taxpayers DO have such a right. You take government money you accept government strings.
And if such a plan as you suggest ever becomes law, you know very well that some Jewish head of school who pretends to be Orthodox will improperly spend the money and there will be a massive Chilul HaShem.
It should also be noted that the government has the right to regulate private schools even when there is no funding because education is something necessary for the good of society. That was established in Judaism back when the Temple was still standing! New York State has regulated private schools since 1784.
“The teachers union and other union whose member work in the schools know if school choices was ever available,it would be the end of public schools”
Almost all Catholic schools have unionized faculty and staff.
“these tax break are based on IRS regulations.”
Actually exemptions from property taxes are based on state law, not federal law.
“There is no need for government socialized education. Let government get out of the education business and allow the private sector to operate schools”
I know that it is politically incorrect to suggest that the United States might benefit from looking at what other countries do, but in Ireland, almost all schools below the university level are run by religious organizations and funded by the government. As a result, religious schools must accept students not from their own religion and teach other religions. The one Jewish school has many Christian students and teaches Christianity and past chief rabbis developed courses in Judaism to be taught in the Catholic and Protestant schools.
Be careful what you wish for.
“Everything is chukas akum unless proven otherwise.”
I can prove that fedora hats are NOT chukat akum. They were popularized by a Jewish woman, Sarah Bernhardt, who was an apostate notorious for her hedonistic licentious lifestyle. But she was a Jew.
They are, however, begged ishah. 😉
The only way to insure that Iran won’t get nuclear weapons is a major war leading to regime change. It would require a huge tax increase, a huge increase in the national debt, and possibly the reinstitution of the military draft.
Given the tiny number of frum people currently serving in the US military, we aren’t the best people to be calling for such a war.
To anyone who thinks that Monopoly is about money….
I will sell you my Monopoly money for real US dollars and give you a ten percent commission to sweeten the deal.
If you think that Monopoly is about money you will accept the deal.
“it deals with money”
No, it doesn’t.
Fundraising by shuls DOES deal with money and it is mutar. (Never understood why.)
“have nothing to say about the slaughter of the three Jewish boys in E”Y a year ago, the drowning,fire-setting, beheading, throat-slitting etc. by ISIS and their ilk, or anything that is going on in any foreign country where innocent people are being terrorized and murdered. “
Speak for yourself. I have had a lot to say about those other issues.
“no girl is ever allowed to speak to the opposite gender”
Not true, a single girl is permitted to speak to a single boy to determine whether or not they might be a shidduch.
There is a woman in my community who got a severe dressing down while she was in her charedi high school because she was talking to a boy. She later married him.
“All you are saying is that charliehall believes he fits the criteria for release. “
My belief is irrelevant. The statute mandates his release.
“The judgement of the board, who must evaluate these criteria is at least partially subjective. The parole, though seemingly likely, is NOT automatic.”
In Pollard’s case, it IS automatic. Review the two conditions:
(1) he has seriously or frequently violated institution rules and regulations
It is an objectively true statement that he has not done so.
(2) there is a reasonable probability that he will commit any Federal, State, or local crime.
His only crimes were his activity related to his espionage. He cannot engage in any espionage any more because he has had no access to national security information for 30 years. And most of what he used to have access to has likely been declassified anyway.
He did the crime, he has done the time. Let him go peacefully.
He should be forced to reimburse the people of Zimbabwe for the lost tourism revenue.
I have known many deer hunters in the US. After they bag a deer they eat venison for a month and if they have too much meet they donate it to a homeless shelter. While Jews should not participate in deer hunting, it is not a wasteful sport. This kind of trophy hunting has no rationale and it should be banned worldwide.
It should also be mentioned that lions are an endangered species. Are we to second guess HaShem and claim that lions shouldn’t exist?
The now-repealed law that applies to Pollard is 18 USC 4206(d):
” (d) Any prisoner, serving a sentence of five years or longer, who is not earlier released under this section or any other applicable provision of law, shall be released on parole after having served two-thirds of each consecutive term or terms, or after serving thirty years of each consecutive term or terms of more than forty-five years including any life term, whichever is earlier: Provided, however, That the Commission shall not release such prisoner if it determines that he has seriously or frequently violated institution rules and regulations or that there is a reasonable probability that he will commit any Federal, State, or local crime.”
Like most articles on the subject, the WSJ got it wrong. The Parole is mandatory, not optional. And Obama has nothing to do with this.
“Who says that if we annex we need to give them all citizenship?”
If you annex and deny citizenship, you will truly have a South African Apartheid situation. You can’t have 1/3 of your population with no civil rights and expect to be called a democracy. Israel will be slapped with UN sanctions and Jews in the US will (correctly) support such. Another Intifada will ensue and the entire would will support the Arabs.
The US gave citizenship to French citizens when it annexed Louisiana, to Spanish subjects when it annexed Florida (and later Puerto Rico), to Texas citizens when it annexed Texas, to Mexican Citizens when it annexed the Southwest (including Mexicans who had just served in the Mexican Army against the US), to Russian subjects when it annexed Alaska, and to Hawaii citizens when it annexed Hawaii.
Not a scoop. Not even news. The law says that he gets automatic parole after serving 30 years. His release date has always been November 21, 2015.
Hard to avoid scantily clad women in the hot summers. I always have a sefer and or an audio shiur with me when I take subways and buses to keep my mind on the kadosh rather than the chol.
I remembered that there was a thread but I had to use the search engine to find it.
I typed “tisha b’av” into yutorah.org and got 707 results. All no charge. Add to that 239 shiurim on Iyov, which is permitted to be learned on Tisha B’Av. No need to pay to learn, although it is a mitzvah to support the torah scholars who create these learning opportunities.
You can also get .pdf files for the entire Soncino translation online, one file per tractate.
Koren also sells its English translation in .pdf form.
I know that we don’t usually bring back dead threads, but regarding the question of whether Rashi’s identification of oats as one of the five grains is accurate, just published today is a description of what was found at an ancient archeological site in Israel:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131422
Avena sterils is a wild relative, possibly the ancestor, of the common domestic oat Avena sativa.
Rashi may have had a tradition that has been since lost, or he may have been writing with Ruach HaKodesh. But in any case, the claim that oats were not eaten in the Land of Israel in ancient times has now been disproven. It is also interesting that two of the other grains found were forms of wheat and barley.
“Nobody is paying any debt.”
Germany did not pay off its World War I debt until 2010. The UK only paid off its World War I debt a few months ago.
And they complain about Greece???
“Reagen is dead sadly”
Ronald Reagan is the President to gave armaments to Iran.
“It is not a crime to be in the United States illegally.”
There is one exception: When you have been previously deported. The Obama administration has aggressively prosecuted such cases. When I served on a federal grand jury six years ago, 80% of our indictments were such cases.
“now they are illegal immigrants and are considered violent criminals just because of their immigration status. “
They aren’t criminals at all. It is not a crime to be in the United States illegally. It is a civil violation, like a parking ticket.
I like flowers! I belong to the New York Botanical Garden and visit there often. And I’m not female.
“i’ll give you alternatives
1) keeping sanctions
2) increasing sanctions
3) holding out for a better deal
“
The sanctions failed. Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than ever. And this may be the best deal that could be gotten. The deal much more reflects the framework released by the US a few months ago than the claims of conservative pundits over the past few weeks, and other media reports were that Putin was having the Russians basically side with Iran in the final negotiations.
Furthermore, air strikes would only make a small dent in Iran’s nuclear capability, and might lead to World War III for which the US is not prepared. We would have to enact a massive tax increase, a massive increase in the national debt, and probably bring back the military draft. Republicans would shut down the government in response to the first two and the latter would likely bring civil unrest.
” The last non-politician President we had was Eisenhower and he did a pretty good job”
Not in the Middle East. He threatened Israel with UN sanctions for not withdrawing from the Suez and Gaza in 1957 in exchange for…nothing. And he promoted alliances with Arab states that were hostile to Israel; one — Iraq — was in a state of hot war with Israel (and still is).
“Is a Kohein equal to a Yisroel?”
Yes, just a lot of different mitzvot.
” Are rabbonim equal to laymen?”
Only when the rabbi is a greater talmid chacham.
” Are men equal to women?”
Yes, just a small number of different mitzvot.
” Is a Talmid Chochom equal to am ha’aretz? Of course not.”
Of course not. Next question.
“Why does every profession today need to be composed of half men and half women?”
They don’t. Next question.
“Men don’t become nurses, women become nurses! “
I have known many nurses who are men.
“There are significant differences in the structure and function of male and female brains.”
No, there aren’t. The within-sex differences overwhelm the between-sex differences.
“I’m not knowledgeable enough in the biology and chemistry behind this to understand and explain it all”
That is obvious!
” to mutilate gender roles”
Given that in many frum communities it is entirely women who are the family breadwinners we really shouldn’t be complaining.
Unemployment in the Atlanta area is now 5.9%. New York is only 5.6%. If you really want a strong job market, try Fargo, North Dakota: 2.5% unemployment with a Chabad. .
“The stickers are merely a marketing scam to get people to purchase the product from a frum store instead of CVS or Walmart.”
There is a wonderful health food store on White Plains Road in the Bronx, right off Pelham Parkway that has the ones with the stickers.
I just checked and Delta as 35 daily flights from Atlanta to New York between 6am and 10pm. There are seven additional flights to the Westchester County Airport. I flew to Atlanta from NY just last week for $250 RT. The flights go to all NY airports and take about 2 1/2 hours.
“Animals have no rights since they can not exercise any rights. The real issue is that we have responsibilities toward animals to treat them humanely and should not tolerate abuses of any kind.”
Well said.
My wife and I often play Scrabble on Shabat. We can’t write down scores so we use bookmarks in books. We also use only the flat boards with the loose letter tiles so that it is clear that nothing is being fixed in place. It is a lot of fun although she beats me about 2/3 of the time.
“All these programs only help bureaucrats.”
I don’t see us turning down the money. And in fact our lobbyists were out in full force in Albany for the past few months trying to soak taxpayers for every dime we could.
“Does it still apply considering the Supreme Court’s recent blunder.”
Given that Jews participated enthusiastically in a huge celebration in the then-capital of Philadelphia on July 4, 1788 in honor of the ratification of the Constitution that provided that an idolater could become President of the United States, I would think so.
“The legalization of divorce, and the decriminalization of non-marital intimacy”
HaShem legalized divorce over 3,000 years ago.
And most of us don’t really want the government to be snooping into our bedrooms.
“Under the law at the time of the Revolution, the Canon law of the Church of England applied to all Christians (even if they were Catholics). “
Only in Maryland and Virginia. The other states where the Church of England was the official established Church (The Carolinas, Georgia, and New York) weren’t theocracies. The New England colonies other than Rhode Island were Puritan, not Anglican, and as I have mentioned neither Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, or New Jersey ever had any official Church.
” it appealed to Heaven for the right to rebel under the moral principles of the Creator”
Note that it was written by someone whom Christians would justly consider an infidel.
“You can get married at 16 in virtually any State. In New York you can get married at 14.”
Only with the consent of your parents and a judge. Nowhere today in the United States can one get married without parental consent under the age of 18.
“Did they rule that all States must ALLOW same-sex marriage or did they rule that all states must RECOGNIZE same-sex marriage.”
Both, in separate cases. The recognition issue should have been a slam-dunk 9-0 decision. My father’s first cousin got married without her parents knowledge or permission at the age of 17 when that was illegal in most states (although not where she got married). No state, however, ever would question the validity of her marriage. (She and her husband were married for 66 years, until her husband finally died in his late 80s.)
The allow issue should have been decided purely on equal protection grounds; there are many, many legal and financial benefits to marriage that were unavailable to same sex couples that were available to opposite sex couples. This could have been fixed by enacting civil union laws in every state, but the anti-gay crowd was every bit as opposed to that as to marriage. That strategy has proven disastrous.
“When the constitution was written, the government didn’t allow anyone to marry – it was still governed by religious law (Jews by halacha, Christians by the Canon law of the established church – meaning Jews could divorce easily and Christians were married for life).”
That isn’t really true; most states had disestablished their official churches by then. (The exceptions were Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Georgia, and South Carolina — but other than the first two the churches would be disestablished within a year or two.) And Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Rhode Island never did have established churches.
My point was that polytheism is clearly prohibited for non-Jews and yet about half the Orthodox Jews voted for a leader in a polytheistic religious movement. (The Republican Jewish Coalition exit poll said that Obama beat Romney among Orthodox Jews by 4%, which is about his margin among all non-Jews nationwide. As others have pointed out, there are reliable sources that say that ordinary Trinitarian Christianity is mutar.) I am aware of nobody pointing out any problems with this, and yet large number of frum Jews today are objecting to a different prohibition being waived by the government. It looks like we are picking and choosing halachah based on our personal feelings.
I am not flying rainbow flags, but I note that it seems that most Orthodox folks who are objecting to this decision voted for a polytheist in the last Presidential election.
“does this mean that blood relatives can get married, a man with his his pet, or even polygamy”
States seem to be be able to prohibit or to allow first cousin marriages. Pets aren’t people so there is no issue. Laws against polygamy may be constitutionally problematic.
“how old is the Mesorah to wear the Beged Isha called a Fedora?”
Probably less than a century. Prior to then it was indeed Beged Ishah and in fact it was a symbol of decadent lifestyles. I frankly don’t understand how any frum Jew would have chosen to wear one had he known its history.