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Beyond a joke. Trump has spent the past 6 years calling the Dems “radical socialists”, “America haters”, etc. etc. He has personally vilified his opponents based on their physical appearances, racial and ethnic attributes and of course failure to geneflect in his direction. He has disparaged his own appointees for their failure to agree with and indulge his mishugaas. I’m glad Biden finally found his voice to speak out against Trump and his MAGA enablers.
Its called balance. For virtually ANY professional, some level of advanced study of secular study will be needed to stay current in their fields and each individual seeks a balance of time for this professional advancement and limud torah. Also, the study of certain secular topics can enhance one’s understanding of torah matters and sharpen one’s learning skills.
AAQ: I don’t think many consider the CFO of BBB who jumped out of an 18th floor window in NYC erev shabbos OR the Lukoil executive who also jumped out of a hospital window last week Moscow to be gedolim avoiding a yichud situation. The former was likely “avoiding” an insider trading investigation and the latter apparently was not a big fan of Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Bird feeders are a great option if done with care and in the right locations. Only use “shell free” seeds to minimize the mess under the feeders. Also use “squirrel proof” feeders (Yankee flipper or Droll are the best and available on Amazon). Done wrong, they attract vermin and leave a mess around the feeder, not always on the same property if houses are closes together. Otherwise, great entertainment and visual treat year-round if you live in the right area.
“There are a multitude of stories about gedolim jumping out of windows to avoid yichud, and the like…
I’ve never heard such stories of “gedolim” purposely risking self-harm or even death by jumping out of a window to avoid yichud.
“Tzadikim are extremely sensitive, and need more shmirah from women than regular people….”
You miss the point. Tzadikim ARE regular people who are able to live their lives in strict accordance with daas torah. The concept of lamud vov tzadikim (also referenced as the Nistarim is premised on these individuals living their daily lives within their communities without being necessarily being known as big tzadikim. A big element of their “tzadikus” (if you buy into the concept) is that they emerge from their self-imposed concealment to avert threatened disasters and persecution and then return to their anonymity as soon as their task is accomplished concealing’ themselves once again in a Jewish community wherein they are relatively unknown.
One cannot troll about one’s own trolling status since that would constitute a deliberate effort to be provocative which is anathema to a trollster.
Trump and the MAGA Trumpkopfs are truly a threat to our democracy. So too are the left wing loonies among the Dems…..Both have gained undue control of their respective parties and moderate voices have either retired or are being marginalized.
“If your listening to it [kol isha] and it causes hirhurim its obviously assur…”
Some of the posts here in the CR send tingles up my spine yet are not flagged as assur by the Mods….
So now the consensus is that not all ervah is the same and there are variants with different levels of risk to consider (e.g. a woman singing in short sleeves is less assur than one singing in a swimsuit??) Perhaps another common sense rule is to simply follow the guidance of your LRP (which some will caveat that is fine as long as he didn’t get his semicha from Chovevei Torah)
“I have two”
UJM: Thats good to know. Do you still have “date nights” with Mrs. UJM or do nos. 2 and 3 just leave you exhausted?BDE. For many of us, its like losing a member of our own family.
Considering the current 6-3 conservative majority, its quite likely there will be at least 5 SCOTUS votes supporting the rights of a religiously focused college/university to deny formal recognition of any LGBTQ affinity group while simultaneously avoiding explicit discrimination against individual students.
NOT…
“Everyone’s opinion is NOT relevant, because they don’t send the children to that school distict..”
commonsaychel: The parents and administrators of that school district are entitled to do whatever they want as allowable under state law and deal with the consequences of their policy decision. The OP is obviously seeking views of CR readers on the generic question of returning corporal punishment to schools.Sam Klein: Get some help! “Millions” of American die each year but even the most wingnut MAGA crazies never claimed the actual number of deaths in 2020, 2021 or thusfar in 2022 directly linked to Covid was “in the millions”. In fact most Fauci critics claim the much lower numbers cited by CDC are exaggerated.
“Millions of Americans” did not die from Covid and even the most tortured conspiracy theories don’t rationally link those deaths to any Trump administration officials (including Fauci, Birks, etc) Second, I wasn’t aware that our current President and VP were niftar or sleeping in a cemetery. Other than that, totally objective post not warranting comment.
Third, where does it say that Mods can’t go to the mountains??Our health care system is collapsing before our eyes and we don’t seem capable of responding. My regular physician (who was board certified in cardiology and internal medicine) closed his group practice, “fired” about 2/3 of his patients and started a “concierge practice” with two colleagues that doesn’t accept insurance and only the more affluent could afford. They are accessible 24×7 thereby avoiding some ER visits and in true emergencies, assist in arranging “expedited access” to one or two local hospital ERs.
We always had a two-tier health care system based on income and education but in a post-Covid world, the differentials are even more extreme as thousands of traditional independent family and primary care practices are bought out by the big hospital chains and converted into assembly line medicine. Even those, however, are better than those with NO primary care who use the ER as the last resort. Instead, we are celebrating new legislation that will give certain seniors lower drug costs beginning in 2026 on only a dozen or so commonly used generic medications out of over 1800 in the Pharmacia listings.Many yeshivos did stop using corporal punishment a decade ago. There are still some that do but they are in a minority given what they perceive are the litigation and insurance risks, even in cases where they have “consent” from parents. Good parenting and teaching w/o reliance on physical force are quite possible.
I guess the Mods are all on vacation enjoying the last week of summer…..
“My thought was that today the papers shouldn’t be respecting someone who played a massive part in such a thing…’
Cancel culture….two sides that will be weighed differently in terms of potential harms had they been “left alone” knowing what we know today about subsequent Islamic radicalism in some of those countries
CommonSaychel: Hybrids, I hope for the z’chus of tikun olam (mitzvah No. 614)
Sort of hypocritical that some of those who identify with and support frum communities that have the HIGHEST rates of welfare dependence in NY and NJ and feel no guilt about taking tax money from others to support their families are nonetheless complaining about social welfare transfer programs that benefit others in need.
“What advice do u wish you’d have received when you were younger”
Don’t grow older….its not nearly as great as its made out to be.
When the Inspector General of DHS/Secret Service is himself under investigation for failing to disclose the “coincidental” deletion of SS text mails for the 1/6 time frame as part of a “routine system upgrade” it only affirms the craziness of the times we live in. No proof whatsoever that those deleted texts are hidden along with Hillary’s email server somewhere in Uman.
If the Mods were tasked with assuring the relevance of each response to the OP, we would not only lose time in posting but also miss some of the unique comic relief offered by our regular off-topic CRniks.
AD: Generally speaking, its easier to respond to your own questions rather than addressing the OP or subsequent on-topic responses, no matter how well thought-out and reasoned.
“UJM…are you serious or just a troll?..
Thats like asking the Chicken on the way to the shlachthois what size plumba he prefers.
Sadly, I find myself in total agreement with Smerel. The inmates at any federal prison would seek an immediate “compassionate release” if forced to share a cellblock with the prior POTUS.
If you travel anywhere in the world, it is not unusual to see road sighs bilingual or trilingual to reflect either large segments of the locals speaking a second language or accommodating tourists. When hiking in Patagonia earlier this summer, we were amused by the frequent national park signs reminding us in English, Spanish and HEBREW to carry out our trash.
A bit of irony that the two highest profile Trumpkopfs serving prison time are named Cohen and Weisselberg….several other erhliche yidden would still be in prison but for 11th hour pardons….
What do you mean by a “weekend”?? There are several hotels/resorts with good hashgacha with different types of activities. Are you looking for a “singles” weekend, something involving “group activities”, a “learners weekend”??
CA: I suspect all of us engage in a degree of hyperbole on certain trigger issues in which we are emotionally invested. Doesn’t really mean we were “wrong” but certainly could have expressed our views or disagreement in more civil or artful terms.
“He is popular for the same reason Trump was popular: he does not lie….
Azoy….Trump is by far the most flagrant and pervasive liar among all contemporary politicians to the extent he can no longer even remember a lie he told an hour ago. All politicians lie but Trump clearly has exceeded any modern record of inventing facts real time and his loyal Trumpkopfs believe whatever he says is true at any point in time. I don’t think BG is a liar per se; he just exploits the fears of younger voters very effectively.
Actually, I thought so on one occasion but on further reflection I realized I was wrong.
Moishalah: Didn’t you know there is a shidduch crisis?? The CR provides a “safe” environment to meet your beschert. Ask any of the three Mrs. UJMs or Rebbitzen Milhouse all of whom found a segulah by posting here in the CR.
Wear WHATEVER you want and makes you feel good about yourself and conforms to the norms of your hashkafah and minhag hamokom. If following the minhag of your father/grandfather is important to you, than do so but ultimately, be yourself. The ebeshter won’t judge you because of your sense of fashion or lack thereof and your chelek of olam haboh is not contingent on a wearing a gartel or the size of your kipah.
” There is something humane here that we need to appreciate even if there are some quirks in character….”
For some of us, we are dealing with actions and attributes that are so far beyond what might reasonably be considered “quirks in character” that its unlikely we will ever find common ground. Both sides view another 4 years of Trump as an existential issue for our country with no compromise possible. My often expressed wish is for BOTH sides to find new candidates without the baggage of the geriatric incumbents. Hope springs eternal
Perhaps a minor technicality but the statutes cited in the warrant under which Trump arguably might be charged are based on the term “National Defense Information” not “classified” information. The definition of this term is informed by extensive case law.
Jack….I’d be the last person to “trust” Trump with anything. My comment about “showing off” was more directed at some stupid photo of him cavorting with Kim il Sung or a compromising email intercept about French President’s Macron’s alleged infidelity. My sense is that while some of the documents are classified, if the DOJ really thought there was anything at Mar a Lago that literally jeopardized national security or nuclear weapons programs, they wouldn’t have waited months to “negotiate” for their return. I could be wrong but just don’t think we are dealing with existential documents. That having been said, I certainly hope they nail him for what he has illegally taken from the WH.
Syag: All this is just Act 29, scene 7 of an ongoing screenplay that seems to be written in real time by some former writers for West Wing with a dark sense of humor nibbling on hallucinogenic mushrooms with a questionable hashgacha. The naive Dems keep thinking that somehow THIS will be the straw that broke the camel’s back and finally result in Trump being skewered. The even more gullible MAGAs (formerly known as Republicans) keep gulping the cool aid and making believe Trump’s actions are “normal” and allowing themselves to be shafted (w/o the benefit of preparation X) and accepting this as the “new normal” for their leader. Even if showing early signs of dementia, at least Biden kept his promise to be “boring” since I really believe Garland is running this investigation w/o any WH input.
I’ve always suspected that deep inside many Litvishe yiddin beats the heart of a chassidishe fashion wanabee waiting to break out of the rigid black and white world of conformity and find some sartorial element to let their inner fashionista shine (without, of course, being accused of borderline tzinius violations for calling too much attention to their non-conforming Litvishe lvush).
Comparisons to the Rosenbergs and suggestions of espionage charges actually being brought against Trump and meshugaas from the left. We already have enough garbage from the right so this stuff is totally counterproductive. My sense is that Trump simply wanted to hold on stuff he could bring out and show off to visitors or possibly even use for financial gain. I don’t think he ever considered “selling” classified information to our enemies since he would be too dumb to pull of such a stunt and no foreign adversary would take anything he offered seriously.
“Trump has the authority to declassify and transfer to his personal ownership [documents taken during the FBI search of Mar a Lago]
We keep hearing this mantra from Trump and his chevrah. It is only partially true. Trump does have ultimate declassification authority but certain documents cannot be declassified at all and others require certain minimal procedures be followed. However, even after declassification, he CANNOT simply “transfer” (aka steal”) the documents and hide in his office and bedroom. They remain the property of the U.S. government (with the exception of certain momentos (aka gifts) from foreign governments of nominal value. Otherwise, they remain accessible to an ex-President but under the custody and control of the National Archives.
AAQ: I read Dershowitz’s op ed and rather convoluted effort to bring back Hillary into the debate. The FBI/Comey intrusion into the 2016 election with his 11th hour news conference on the “server” and the “emails) was a key factor in her loss (along with her being a generally unlikable candidate). The facts of the Clinton cases, whether you agree with the tactical decision to get a warrant or not, were materially different from a legal perspective and the operative regs than Trump simply stuffing boxes with classified or top secret documents and hauling them home and storing them in his bedroom at a public country club and in the basement next to the basement storage room for the bar (albeit with an “extra lock” requested by the government attorneys trying to recover those documents after his lawyers lied about even having them).
When confronted with the fact that under statute and clear language in the CFR an outgoing President (nor anyone acting on his behalf) cannot simply “remove” government-documents from the WH and take them home regardless of whether or not they were “declassified” (in his own mind), Trump’s lawyer was at first silent for about 15 seconds and then changed the subject to Obama’s 30 million documents at his home in Chicago. When then confronted with the fact that those 30 million documents are under the control of the national archives at a secure government warehouse, the lawyer quickly pivoted “what about Clinton” and then offered the most bizarre argument that somehow “all the documents” taken from Mar a Lago were “privileged” communications w/o explaining what “privilege” would apply to a President’s communications with foreign leaders, top-secret national security intercepts, etc.
Same game over and over again. Deny, obfuscate, change the story, accuse everyone else of having done the same thing, attribute it all to those out to get you, rinse, wash repeat.Wear a blue shirt and all these problems go away.
Syag: The warrant and the “inventory” of documents seized will be released later this afternoon. I’m hoping they don’t redact the descriptive information.