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EITC man dachar shemay? I was responding to Avram’s Odessey.

Since you bring it up, EITC is the same category as EBT – but PELL grants are different. It is for society’s benefit that we offer college aid to lower income people – we are afraid of losing out on the receipient’s potential contributions that would only be possible with academic study. The person himself could lead a wonderful life without pursuing higher education, it is not a welfare entitlement.

Health – iz kumpt zei is accurate. That’s why its called entitlements. Now its not to say that people can’t get upset at those who milk the system and exploit loopholes in order to live a middle class lifestyle off of money perceived as intended for the poorest of society. That is your right. I personally agree with that way of thinking – before unzerer figured this all out braodscale, it was in vogue to bemoan welfare queens.

There’s a world of difference between taking HUD and EBT vs. child tax credits. The former are welfare programs, while the latter is part of a progressive tax system and/or social engineering incentives. Joseph’s examples are social engineering incentives too, no comparison to welfare.

Avram – its stated openly in the HUD contract that the owner is not a family member of the renter. In the link below, see section 8c. I’d say it smells a bit crimey, not sure I understand the doubt expressed here.

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=DOC_11737.pdf

The owner (including a principal or other interested party) is not the parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sister, or brother of any member of the family, unless the PHA has determined (and has notified the owner and the family of such determination) that approving rental of the unit, notwithstanding such relationship, would provide reasonable accommodation for a family member who is a person with disabilities

#YehivnaLachDemaiPalgaSeudascha

I have several about which I have been told “yehai munach”

DY – you’re taking this in circles… what other negatives? This was the one, no?

A yeshiva that lets Touro is clearly doing so b’dieved or they’d be sending the boys to a different college. Plus they do nothing to offer the boys in the way of role models or educated rabbeim who can help them navigate. Ner Yisroel is different though, and although I don’t know much about how it is there now, I can tell you that not too long ago they were definitely the role models of how to ensure yeshiva boys graduate college (anyone can send a yeshiva boy to college, but very often a college boy graduates). There was even one rebbi who had a list of books that certain classes would cover and for some of them the advice was skip the reading and skip those sessions. It lowers your grade but no one says you have to get an A in every class if you can get a C by being selective.

This is for literature. As for science, no part of what is taught can possibly result in exchanging belief systems if one has access to an educated mentor. Charlie is right – anyone who thinks so has a poor understanding of both science and of our religion.

Those were approved?! What happened to standards?

The mindset of folks like old man and zahavasdad is proof of why Modern Orthodoxy will not last another 50 years. The products of that system are bathed in dissonance and confusion – on the one hand we have the torah, but on the other hand modern society does not allow one to hold values such as “chosen people” or “daas torah”.

For a while they were able to hold together despite the dissonance by focusing and uniting on the fledgling state of israel to shut out the dichotomy raging within them. Now that israel is mature, and all but the most ridiculous factions support its survival equally, being an Israel supporter no longer is enough to justify being modern orthodox.

In the near future, all of MO will either become right wing, following RIETS – or leave the fold, following YCT/JTS.

The only thing I can say after reading the story about R’ Mattisyahu is if you ask a stupid question you deserve a stupid answer. I was present when a person asked one of the freierdige gedolai hador whether it is a bad thing to be called “zeide” by your grandchildren because we daven 3 times a day “v’hazeidim mihaira yikaraisu”. The Rov answered him with a straight face, demonstrating his gadlus and sensitivity, while I was doubled over in laughter, demonstrating why no one asks me stupid questions.

Uphill, with no shoes

Two adages apply here… doctor, heal thyself. And, tov sheberofiim ligehinnom.

No one needs an excuse to live in golus during golus. When Moshiach comes he will gather us.

The profreikeit posters are (perhaps deliberately) missing the point. Not for a second does AI imagine that writing a letter is going to make the OO or even the MO change their ways, so enough with the straw men.

We know that children don’t yet have a yetzer tov, so the only possible reason he showed interest in the siddur was because of your tefillos for his neshama. And you almost beat the yetzer hara! Keep up the good work!

Unfortunately the Moetzes seems to lack the shortsightedness and narrowmindedness of some individuals who object to the kol korei. They seem instead to be a victim of inverse of the adage that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to see it repeated. I will explain.

It is narrowminded to think that because OO is not an issue in Lakewood that it does not need to be addressed at all. What of the Orthodox communities spread out around the world, who may not have enough members to logically justify excluding members of OO from sharing their shuls and schools?

It is shortsighted to think that because OO has a weak foothold today that it will always be this way. OO has appeal as what I call emotional religion, which is one of the most common lines of criticism of Orthodox today. Where is our respect for women, or for people who have different orientations, or for people with different ideologies than our own? The OO movement, sad to say, has tremendous potential to snowball, and it takes but a bit of wisdom to perceive it.

History has taught us well about these types of movements. The obvious (due to its recency) parallel is Reform of the 19th century. That was a movement with intellectual appeal, as opposed to mere emotional appeal, but the threat is the same. Both seek to undermine the Torah at all costs in order to promote conformity to the present day society. Those familiar with the history know that there were two approaches to dealing with the Reform movement, and know well which was successful. The attempts at “achdus”, as some like to term it, led only to making compromises of greater and greater sacrifice, while neither gaining the respect of nor increased commitment from the members of the deviant movement.

Thus, there is only one course of action left to us, and it is not one that can be taken lightly nor is it one that any but the leaders of the generation can declare is the right reaction. And history guides us in showing that though it can be painful, it is the only way to preserve the Torah values. The KK serves as a psak to those who may be faced with the challenges of implementing it.

Austritt.

Because formaldehyde is in vaccines, and we’ve all learned that vaccines are evil, so why would we put them in our bread?

Credibility of the WHO is a factor, remember that this is the org that blew swine flu and sars waaay out of proportion. They publish or perish. So it should come as no surprise that the causation is not even close to proven in their study – it is at best loosely linked.

Don’t even begin to compare that to smoking, which has been proven beyond possible doubt and was conclusively demonstrated in the surgeon generals 1962 report.

The WHO should be condemned for its irresponsibility.

Gym membership ftw

Because racks and thumbscrews werent invented until thousands of years later, in the midieval, and waterboarding not for hundreds of years more.

I don’t take things lightly but I think this is an example of some people being impressed too easily. There were many other tetrads that you guys didn’t list, and even the ones you did list weren’t when you say they were. The 1948 one for example was in 1949-1950. The 1492 one was in 1493-1494.

When moshiach comes, we will find out from an internet post or a TV braodcast, not some nerdy astronomy event :p

More twins are being born because of better prenatal care. Many single births started as twins and along the way one fetus consumed the other.

Celestial events occur with great frequency. It is no trick to link an event to a celestial event that occurred in the same general time frame. I would think this to be obvious, but so many people seem to find mystical meaning in natural and predictable events that it that it clearly is not obvious to many. Perhaps our general education is lacking, and that is what causes our people to be superstitious.

I was only complaining about the religious fanatic mumbo jumbo… there are several tetrads every century, not “7 in the last 2000 years”… a few of them may have coincided with significant dates in history, which is not at all surprising considering it hits 10-12 years of each 100… not to mention that plenty of equally significant events occurred when no tetrad or even single blood moon was in sight… trying to drum up fear that this somehow means the end of the universe – which is ridiculous, since we all know the end of the world will come from global warming. Superstitious drivel.

To be fair, the war in Iraq would not have been half as stupid if there had been some American interests served (instead of merely Bush interests). For example, even if we had to invade (a separate debate) we could have also seen to it that the war led to stabilizing the oil market instead of sending it into a period of instability as bad as ’73 (except this time price did the rationing). Stupid (and weak) leader makes for stupid war more than anything else.

Keep that in mind when you next see a Bush on your ticket.

Ignorance is 90% of the law.