WSJ lies about Israel and Obama

The we hate Obama crowd is enjoying a new editorial published by the WSJ which begs a question, and then tries to answer it. Under the heading "Why Obama Is Losing the Jewish Vote?" (Oh, really?) we find a list of bullets, each containing errors, omissions, exaggerations, misstatements of fact, or outright lies. Perhaps in time, I'll point all of them out, but for now, here's a debunking of one, especially egregious error.

• July 2009: Mr. Obama hosted American Jewish leaders at the White House, reportedly telling them that he sought to put "daylight" between America and Israel. "For eight years"—during the Bush administration—"there was no light between the United States and Israel, and nothing got accomplished," he declared

This is not a fair description of what occurred. First of all, common sense ought to tell you something smells fishy here. Would an American president really be foolish enough to announce his plans to screw Israel in front of an audience of American Jewish leaders? And indeed, the facts tell a different story.

Here's the version reported at the time by JTA:
[Malcom] Henlein said that peace progress was likelier when there was "no daylight" between Israel and the United States. Obama agreed that it must always be clear that Israel has unalloyed U.S. support but added that for the past eight years, referring to the Bush administration, there was "no daylight and no progress."

Here's how the New York Times reported it at first 
Participants said some of the toughest questioning of Mr. Obama came from Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Two said that Mr. Hoenlein told the president that diplomatic progress in the Middle East has traditionally occurred when there is “no light” between the positions of the United States and Israel. But Mr. Obama pushed back, citing the administration of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

“He said, ‘I disagree,’ ‘’ said Marla Gilson, director of the Washington action office of Hadassah, the women’s Zionist organization. “He said, ‘For eight years, there was no light between the United States and Israel, and nothing got accomplished.’

Here's how the New York Times reported it later
During the July meeting, held in the Roosevelt Room, Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told Obama that “public disharmony between Israel and the U.S. is beneficial to neither” and that differences “should be dealt with directly by the parties.” The president, according to Hoenlein, leaned back in his chair and said: “I disagree. We had eight years of no daylight” — between George W. Bush and successive Israeli governments — “and no progress.”

From the context it seems absolutely clear that Obama was not threatening Israel, nor was he announcing a policy shift. Rather, he is telling us that he has Israel's best interests at heart, and that he does not believe that Bush's approach was successful.  He wants progress. He wants peace. And he's not afraid to point out that Bush failed to deliver it. This is not scandalous - unless you're unscrupulously searching for any quote or misquote that can be used to hurt the president.

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Search for more information about # at 4torah.com

The Myth of the (Non) Fighting Jew

Cross-posted to Friar Yid.

There was a line in a Haaretz article about the upcoming Defiance movie that rubbed me the wrong way. Actually, most of the article was raising alarm bells. Not because the movie won't be good, I'm sure it will be. But the focus of the piece happened to be remarking on the fact that four or five Bielski grandkids are in the IDF, and tying this in with a family military tradition:

A family of warrior Jews, from partisan to paratrooper

It's a story made for Hollywood. The grandfather fought the Nazis, the son fought in the Yom Kippur War, and last month the American-born grandson decided to make Israel home and join its defense forces.

...While Bielski's native New York may not have presented the same challenges as those suffered by his grandfather in World War II-era Belarus, the 21-year-old has decided to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and immigrate to Israel.

"I came to Israel on birthright when I was a freshman in college," he said. "I loved it. My whole family was in the army here."

Bielski finished college in three years, not even pausing to don a cap and gown. Instead, the day after his last class, he flew to Israel where an Israel Defense Forces uniform was waiting.

The scene was familiar for Elan's Israeli-born father, Yakow, who returned to his native land in 1973 with his brother after a stint in the U.S. to fight in the Yom Kippur War. Zus, who had settled in Israel for ten years after the Holocaust and fought in the 1948 Independence War , was reluctant to see his sons go.

Yakow himself is proud of Elan's decision to join the army, though he said that one of the reasons his own father had left Israel was because of all the wars.

While Elan echoed his father and grandfather's concern of seeing their children enlist in the army, he said: "I'd be proud of my kids to make the same decision I did."

Love, war, and genetics

...In addition to Elan Bielski, two other descendants of the brothers are serving in the IDF, and another is now in the reserves. Bielski's twin sister also plans to move to Israel; his older sister is married in the U.S. with a four-month old named after Zus.

Two, going on three, generations of parental instinct can't seem to stop the Bielskis from joining Israel's army and society. "It's just genetic," Yakow said. We're warrior Jews."

Here's the problem: the whole piece (supported by the comments of Bielski pere and fils) suggests that only "certain families" have it in them to be warrior Jews- which, of course, means that other people don't. The reason the "fighting Jew" myth is so disturbing because it is based on a false premise, and because it libels all who do not neatly fit under it as (sterotypically?) weak pacifists.

This has been part-and-parcel of Jewish sociology for well over one hundred years, since the days when the Bund cells and Hashomer societies first started rallying Jews around the concept of self-defense and pride. Back then, their opponents were the maintainers of the status-quo and the perception that Jews were meek and submissive yeshiva students who would rather beg for their lives or offer their enemy a bribe than crush his skull with a rock- in short, the rabbinical establishment.

Ironically, in those early days of the 1880s and 1900s when the "fighting Jew"/Ghetto Jew dichotomy was being set up by ideologues and propagandists, most of the recruits coming into the Jewish Socialist and Zionist movements were from religious homes whose families did not have specific martial traditions. Yet somehow they adapted when given the proper training, motivation, and community support. The same is mirrored in the history of American Jews and the modern Israeli army- one does not need to be born into a "warrior family" to become a capable soldier or tactician. Yet today in Israel there is an unspoken assumption that the Haredim choose not to fight because they are somehow incapable of fighting- a stereotype that persists despite the existence of units like the Nahal Haredim (as if the long history between the Mafdal and IDF was not proof enough that there is no reason an Orthodox Jew cannot be a warrior as well).

One could even go back further- to use just the example of one country I'm familiar with, Poland, Jews fought for Napoleon at the Battle of Warsaw and in each of that country's Revolutions. This fighting was not restricted to secularists or those drifting from the faith (Berek Joselowicz's unit was known as "The Beardlings" because they would not shave; they also demanded the Sabbath off and would only eat kosher food); there are also cases of revolutionary rabbis. Check out this story about two rabbis you may have heard of, courtesy of an old article in Polin:

Even though the hagiographies of the hasidic leaders neglect Polish politics, there is some evidence that hasidim suppoorted the 1830 revolt. We have an account that Rabbi Menahem Mendel Morgenstern of Kotzk and his pupil Rabbi Isaac Meir Rothernberg, founder of the Ger dynasty, actively encouraged the Jews to aid the Poles in their rebellion and that after the Russian victory both were forced to travel to Lemberg (Lwow), then the capital of the Austrian province of Galicia, to hide from the Russian authorities. They were only able to return to Kotzk after changing their names; Menahem Mendel changed his last name from Halpern to Morgenstern, Isaac Meir from Rothenberg to Alter.

Bet you never heard about that in yeshiva. Neither, mind you, would you have encountered it in any book about these rabbis. This is part of the split Jewish tradition over how to deal with Jews that don't fit the "peaceful" paradigm- which, by the way, is itself a construct, since there are plenty of "fighting Jews" in the Torah- and afterwards! (What would you call the Bar Kochkba revolt, or the Zealots at Massada?) We would prefer to identify "tough Jews" as a vicarious exception to the meek, pious or status-quo Jews that were the standard, rather than taking an objective look at the history and consider that, god forbid, there were revolutionary rabbis or frum soldiers fighting for Napoleon.

Look forward to the twentieth century and you see the same obfuscation when it comes to Jewish criminals- plenty of whom used violence for achieving their goals. Even before the days of Lansky and Siegel, you had organized crime in Warsaw, Lodz and Odessa. Modern Yiddish writers like Sholem Asch freely depicted the "Jewish underground" in novels like Mottke the Theif, and his play God of Vengeance. For crying out loud, prostitution was a cottage industry in Jewish Buenos Aires, and there were many layers of violence involved in maintaining business as usual.

And, ironically, when Jews took a stand against these undesirable elements within their community, preying on their weakest members, it was again, the "fighting Jews" who took action. One notable flare-up was the May 1905 Alphonsenpogrom [Pimp-Pogrom], where the Jewish Bund in Warsaw went on a three-day rampage through the city's red-light district, attacking brothels and cafes. The New York Times wrote about the Socialists' assault on not only the pimps' places of business, but also their worldly possessions:

Wardrobes, pianos and mirrors were thrown out of the windows. The mob in the streets left open spaces for the falling articles and then completed the work of destruction. In one place, a quantity of valuable jewelry was taken out and deliberately smashed with stones.

The Alphonsenpogrom left 8 dead and 100 injured. (Not necessarily the Bund's finest moment, but a "tough Jew" moment? Unquestionably.) And it was not the only incident. According to Prostitution and Prejudice (the primary source for Nathan Englander's latest novel), there were others, as well. In 1903 The Jewish Vigilance Society in Cardiff, Wales, challenged their pimps in street combat and won. In Buenos Aires in 1909, the Poale Zion beat up local white slavers after an altercation in a theater of a play critical of prostitution. In 1910 some young men in Rio de Janero accosted the "pimps' congregation" on their way back from dedicating a new Torah scroll. The pimps were attacked and the Torah scroll given to "more-deserving" folks.

We don't hear about any of this controversial history because the personalities don't fit in with cookie-cutter views of secular or religious Jews, or rich vs. poor. By doing this we do our ancestors, and our descendants, a disservice. By censoring the Jewish past we impair the Jewish present, and further limit the Jewish future to take honest assessments about who we are as a people, based on factual information.

The Bielskis accomplished an amazing thing, and no one is contesting that. But to suggest that being a "fighting Jew" is genetic also means that you are passing a judgment on all the non-warriors in the Jewish family, essentially establishing a caste system between those rough-neck toughs and those meek yeshiva bochurs. The irony is that there are plenty of cases, in history and today, where the two may be brothers. Or one and the same.

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NRA Racist?

A Nazi German cartoon circa 1938 depicts the Jews as an octopus encircling the globe [Wikipedia]

The same image on the cover of the 2001 Egyptian edition of The International Jew by Henry Ford [Wikipedia]

Michael Bloomberg, the Jewish mayor of NYC, depicted as an octopus on the cover of the National Rifle Association's (NRA) magazine.

The story

Hattip: TTC

Down with Debbie

"[a] war criminal and proud Jewish Nazi" Those are the words RW pundit Debbie Schlussel used to describe a Jew and holocaust survivor. Isn't that an Imus-like offense? So where are the wolves? Why aren't they circling?

Blasts from the past

The blogging bug hasn't bit me yet today, so I've been browsing some of my old posts. What follows is an index I found during my browsing that was prepared back in February 2006, covering posts from October 2004 through February 5, 2005. The links the posts lead to are ok [*], I guess, and certainly worthwhile reading for anyone new to the blog.

Does anyone know a fast easy way to index the rest of the blog?

[*] By "ok" I mean "awesome."


Funny PicturesSleep? With Yeshiva boys?
Jackhammers
Tutor wanted
Zipper
Dignity!

ParshaSerach bat Asher
Marrying sisters
Small jugs
Timna
The long way around

Jabbing the GOP Jews
Zman Biur Needs Glasses
Charming Wish of the Season
Today's Orwellian Moment
Farah is a fool & Here too
Courtrooms aren't shuls
Fight terrorism
Did you know this?
Hear o Israel: These are your friends?
Pro-Anti-semitism
Bush Betrayal
Christian Betrayal
Cheney at the Death Camp
George W. Clinton

Slaughtering sacred cowsChanuka 1 2 3
Mixed Seating
Modern?
Upshurin/Bonfires

Commenting on the culture (theirs)Madonna 1 2 3
Fox News 1 2 3
Jewish Press: Be Liberal
Readin' Writin' Racism
Springtime for Hitler

Commenting on the culture (ours)Hammering Hasidim 1
When Yeshivas Attack: 1
Kaballah 1
Makilim
Chanuka Presents & Chanuka Menorot
Rubashkan v Peta 1 2
Crap Miracles
Aish's Chanuka Antics
Shabbos Chanukah mysticism
Teaching bigotry
Magic by mail
Window

Taking on Tsunami Theodicy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

SlifkinAge of the Universe
Ban
No thinking
Action Alert
Venting
5000 Years old? Not according to Chazal
Feldman's follies
Plaut's follies

Pope-a-Palooza
Stealing Kids
Thanks for nothing
Papal sins

War-on-the-War-on-Christmas-Palooza
Maoz Tzur
Slapping Christians
Prelutsky
Donohue
Novak
Vox Populi

Gaza-Palooza
Notes
Rav Kook

Metziztza Palooza 1 2

Friends and neighbors
Lazer Brody 1 2 3 4 5
Shmuly Boteach 1 2
Not the Godol Hador First contact Again
Bill O Reilly 1 2 3 4
Dennis Prager 1 2: Loves Christmas
Yehupitz 1 2 3/a> 4 5
MoChassid 1 2
Gil Student 1

Arafat Death Watch 1 2 3 4
Media criticism
Blogger criticism
Dishonest Reporting
Beating a dead terrorist

Pounding the President
Charles Johnson: [W is an] ignorant puppet
Menken attacks
A boy and his boat
Which one doesn't belongNever go against the family George
Medals for Morons
Bowing to Satan
Bad to Israel

Election 2004
Rav Elyashiv's endorsement

Wolves: We're not terrorists
Bush Hearts Osama
Disrespecting Clinton
An Election Day prayer
Dirty Tricks
God bless the voters
Happy about the resultsSad about the results
Don't care about the results
Let those people go

Funny posts that don't fit
So you don't have to
Help me grow
Sheik's obit
Ding dull
Links
Thanksgiving
The next Protocols is...
Kosher Matzot

Favorites that don't fit
My first post
Aich omrim "thong" b'ivrit?
What would the Vishnitz Rebba say?
Jewish Blood is not cheap
Put on your yarmulka

Oded's Award

This picture, by Oded Balilty, was awarded the Pulitzer prize this week for "Breaking news photography." It shows an Israeli women in Amona "resisting dozens of police who have come to evacuate her."

Today's DovBear Challenge: Conspiracy theorists and arm chair media critics are invited to explain how the Pulitzer committee's decision to recognize this photograph "once again" proves that "the media" hates Jews, Israel, settlers, and the religious.

I know you can do it.

The NYT hearts Jews

My friend Krum had this spot on remark about the paper of record's coverage of the now-famous matzo bus:

Unlike much of the shrill coverage of the matzo bus story (the news clip you posted made it sound like school kids were on the bus while the matzo was being baked), the [New York] Times sounded amused and actually portrayed the baker as thoughtful and creative, if a bit eccentric.

Surprised? Don't be. The NYT is actually very nice to NY Jews, as I have substantively documented in the past. I, II III, IV, IV

I'm making a list...

I don't mind sincere moralists, but pious frauds like Ann Coulter make me reach for my revolver. And there are others like her, who despite their bad manners, and reprehensible views are forever invited to appear on television, and to address conventions. Some of them also are listed on the sidebars of Jewish blogs, and often quoted favorably by bloggers who otherwise present themselves as moral, value-driven, Torah True men and women. (list on request)

This makes no sense.

Unless these bloggers are pious frauds themselves, the only explanation is that they are operating under the misaprehension that Ann and her ilk are good people. So allow me to do the necessary disabusing. What follows is a short list of famous conservative commentators who should be anathema to anyone who claims to care about Torah ideals.

Ann Coulter: I, II, III [Summary]
Michelle Malkin I [Summary]
William Donohue I [Summary]

Add more if you like (and don't be shy about adding liberals, too. I'm well aware that there are some who belong to the same category)

Poll: Hillary Trouncing Rudy In New York

Poll: Hillary Trouncing Rudy In New York State

Hillary Clinton is not just beating Rudy Giuliani in his home state — and her adopted state — of New York, but is trouncing the former Mayor by over 20 points in a new poll. The survey, released today by Crain's New York Business, finds that Hillary is beating Rudy 53%-32%.

Hmmm. I thought the rule was Everybody Hates Hillary and Saint Rudy Is A Hero. Guess not. So, what's the take-away lesson? New Yorkers know Rudy (and Hillary) better than anyone so this means something? I'm not sure.

My feelings about Rudy and Hillary are complicated.

First Rudy:
Pros: (1) He did a great job rebuilding the city after 9/11, and I give him an "A-" for the job he did as mayor. (2)He's a liberal (3) He (to date) hasn't pandered to the wingnuts (like, say Romney) by making a show of embracing any of those those stupid GOP buzz issues.

Cons: (1) Before 9/11, he was best known as a bit of a d**k. (2) He's been a firm and loyal supporter of George W. Bush, which suggests poor judgement. (3) He sponsored Bernie Kerick, which also suggests poor judgement (4) Running NYC is a big job, granted, and he did a good job, but it didn't give him any experience with foreign policy.

Now Hillary:
Pros: (1) By all accounts, she's been a great senator (2) She got those crazy Senate wingnuts like Brownback and Inhofe eating out of her hand, which testifies to her skill as a politician. (3) She's a blue chip talent with a first rate brain.

Cons: (1) She's a carpetbagger. I hated the way she just landed in NY and acted like she deserved to be our senator, ahead of actual New Yorkers who paid their debts. (2) She let Bill humiliate her about 10 times too many which suggests poor judgement. (3) I am opposed to political dynasties. In my lifetime, I don't want to see another Bush or Clinton within 200 yards of the oval office.

Here come the wingnuts!

Sigh

If I've asked it once, I've asked it 1000 times: Why do so many people who pat themselves on the back for being "honest" and "moral" and "value-oriented" support Fox News?

Thanks to JewishAtheist for making me aware of this article.

Liberal Media Alert: Can you define "very, very popular?"

Hey now! Via Media Matters, I see that CNN, the bastion of the liberal MSM, thinks his royal highness the president is "very, very, popular" in Montana. Not just popular. Very very popular.

So what's his approval rating in the Mountain State? 98 percent? 90 percent? 85 percent?

Um, no.

It's 49 percent.

And Montana just elected a Democratic senator.

Well, I suppose Dana Bash, the CNN reporter who uttered that absurdity, lives in NY, or in LA, or in Washington, DC. If Bush is pulling 49 percent in Montana it means he's about three times as popular in Montana then he is in any of those cities. So she's not entirely crazy. She just can't see past her own nose.

More Mainstream RW Racists

Bored? Go read Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always A Muslim in which Fox News contributor, and mainstream RW pundit Debbie Schlussel argues that Barak Obama's middle name is an excellent reason to distrust him.

I agree, but, alas, Debbie stops too soon. Her argument has a logical conclusion, which she refuses to draw, so allow me: Debbie Schlussel: Once a Nazi, Always a Nazi.

Not convinced? Why, the logic, taken entirely from Debbie's recent column, is prefectly infalliable. She has a German-sounding surname! I mean, people, come on! When we're fighting the war of our lives against eeeeevil terrorists who manage to kill fewer people each year than car accidents, should we allow someone with a name like Schlussel to be running around on the loose? Send her to Gitmo, I say!

PS: Somebody go crack Debbie's head open and see if there's anything inside.

Shame on Shafran

Holy Smokes:

Asked to provide comment [on the Kolko case], R’ Avi Shafran replies in an e-mail:

Why would we have comment about the arrest of an individual? Because he was an employee, more than 30 years ago, of one of the camps we run (that have had thousands of employees over the years)? I don’t think that requires comment on our part. We are not even a party anymore to any lawsuit filed against the accused, as I understand it. The suit of the accuser who included Camp Agudah in his action (John Doe #1) has been dismissed (without prejudice, I believe, so it can still be refiled, but hasn’t been)." [On Canonist, via Orthomom]

Let's help Avi out. He asks: "Why would we have comment about the arrest of an individual?"

ANSWERS
1 - Because he was an employee, more than 30 years ago, of one of the camps you run! (Credit Avi Shafran himself for that one)

2 - Because men closly associated with your organization have been running interference for him for 25 years.

3 - Because as an organization, Agudah's takes it upon itself to comment on almost everything that happens in the (right wing) Jewish world. Blogs, for example, were on your agenda at the recent convention. In the past, Agudah has politely ordered schools to participate or to ignore various rallies and campaigns. You make your thoughts known about various acts of legistlation and the position of various rabbis from across the Jewish spectrum. And so on. Why would such a chatty and meddling organization suddenly go silent?

4 - In the past, you, as an individual have published fiery condemnantions of Conservative Judaism, feminism, and religious pluralism. You've had 23 letters published in the New York Times, many of them filled with indignation. And your work on Cross Currents, the worst blog in the world, ranges from attacks on homosexuals to liberals to the media. But now, when a child molester who has enjoyed the protection of Agudah Rabbis is caught in your own back yard, the cat finally catches your famously flapping tounge? Now, the blood pressure medicine begins to work?

I call BS Avi. And your abdiciation of responsibilty here does more to explain the decline in deference for your organization and the Rabbis it represents than do the scribblings of any blogger.

If you agree, please send this post to Avi with my greetings.

RELATED

Last year, I reported that Agudah was working with the Catholic Church to undermine a NY State law which would require parochial schools to report abusive teachers. And at the height of the Lanner scandal, Avi Shafran argued against the creation of a centralized body to deal with the problem of sexual abuse in schools. He said: [Complainants would be encouraged to] “go to the rebbe or community rabbi” on an individual basis. And when that happened during the Kolko case, the people who went to Kolko's boss on an "individual basis" were marginilized, ignored, humiliated and scorned.

Let's get the drum beating: I am calling right now for the resignation of Zweibal, the chief Rabbi of Agudah, and his hack PR flack Avi Shafran. If you agree, please post this on your blogs, and your bulliten boards and distribute it via email to anyone who cares about children.

Who hates Jews?

The brainless among us (psss. Joe. I mean folks like you) imagine that the New York Times has a beat-reporter assigned specifically to stories that embaress Orthodox Jews. You've all heard the chatter at sholosh seudot: The Times hates us.... Beryl Mudcha got arrested again? I bet the Times is so happy.

At the other side of the spectrum in the popular imagination is News Corp, the company the runs Fox News. Swing a cat by its tail in any Jewish neighborhood and you'll hit at least five people who are certain Fox is honest, Fox is true, Fox is fair, Fox is pro-Israel, etc. In fact, a local Hasidic Rabbi once vicited my house to check his email, and while he was on the computer asked if he could also update himself on the news. He clicked to Fox. When I asked why, he said that Fox was likely to have modest photographs. [<--work safe, and funny]

For all these reasons and more, I am pleased to announce that the Ney York Times buried the Kolko story deep in the Metro section, and reported the case using language that was fair and dignified. Meanwhile, the Post, owned by News Corp, put is this way: BROOKLYN RABBI IN PERV BUST.

The secularist are winning

Every year, Bully Bill O'Reilly takes an innocent school event, lies about its context, blows it out of proportion and trumpets the fictional tale of his own creation as further "evidence" of the "War on Christmas." (And every year, some, oh, let's call them "self-hating," conservative Jewish columnists take the bait and write anguished articles defending poor Christmas.)

Well, I am here to tell you the war is real. Why else would a public school choir be singing Carlbach and Shalsheles instead of Silent Night and Joy to the World?

Bill O'Reilly

Still a bully, still a liar.

The laugh I needed

From the comments at Cross (loving) Currents:

I am really sorry that Rabbi Menken is “fed up with Fox.” The Fox news channel has risen to prominence due to its wholesome “we report, you decide” approach and willingness to offer a fair and balanced presentation...

Comment by David N. Friedman — November 18, 2006 @ 11:31 pm

And you thought Jews were smart.

Another fair and balanced moment for the fair and balanced network

FOX NEWS INTERNAL MEMO: "Be On The Lookout For Any Statements From The Iraqi Insurgents who Must Be Thrilled At The Prospect Of A Dem Controlled Congress"

You can't make this up. Ladies and genetlemen, your "liberal" media.

A great day for Christians!

Wal-Mart brings back the "Merry Christmas" greeting

That's right true believers! Wal-Mart is allowing its greeters to say "Merry Christmas" this year. Hallelujah! Oh happy day! I am so, so, happy for those poor Christians who felt just like concentration camp victims last year because they were forced to shop in stores where the clerks said Happy Holidays instead. They must be overjoyed now. Free at last! Right, Christians? This is like Pesach and Junteenth all rolled into one

Well... I suppose Christians like Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson aren't overjoyed because now they need to find a new bogus issue . And... yeah, I guess Christian lovers like Yaakov Mencken aren't overjoyed because its harder for them to complain about secularism when is obvious that Christians are not a poor, persecuted minority in this country.

But everyone else, I am sure, is dancing in the street.

Pelosi Power!

UPDATED

Democrats Take Control of House!

Ok, I'm happy. Let me count the ways:

1 - The god-awful President was given a well-deserved rebuke.
2 - The Republicans in the god-awful House were stripped of their power.
3 - The amen-chorus at Fox News and on talk-radio was unable to frighten the American people into voting against their interests yet again.
4 - Karl Rove finally went down swinging.

But along with the delight, comes a small cloud of pessimism. I know as well as anyone that the modern House of Representives has very little power to pursue an agenda. And because I've watched this president for 6 years, I know he'll put the blame for his every failure on the "Liberals in the House." Without doubt, Fox and Rush and Sean will gleefully second and third the accusation as they work mightily to represent Nancy Pelosi as the worst person in the world. In two years time, the Bushies might be able to parlay their assault on Pelosi and the House into a succesful presidential campaign, and the Democrats, unfortunately, will be deprived of their best line of attack: No longer will they be able to point out to unhappy Americans that Republicans control all three branches of goverment.

Update: It looks like the Democrats have taken the Senate, too! Ok, now it gets serious.

Attention new Congressional Democrats. I expect the following within 100 days:

1 - A bill raising the min wage.
2 - Another bill on stem cell research.
3- A bill implementing the 9/11 Commission's recommendations.

Additionally, I want

4 - Fiscal discipline: No more tax cuts, and no more crazed spending like we saw from the Republican House.
5 - The estate tax preserved. People who get more from this country, should contribute more to its upkeep.
6 - investigations into all instances of Republican corruption, specifically the relationship between DeLay and K-Street.
7 - no more sweet, no-bid contracts for Haliburton. Make the vice president's company work for a living.

And if I ever see you play stupid, partisan wedge games like those idiot Repuiblicans I swear my wrath will rain down on you. Examples of this would include forcing the House and Senate to vote on flag burning, gay marriage and other bogus issues just before an election, while more important business is ignored. Just because Jewish bloggers like [any and every Right Wing Jewish blogger] were happy to fellate the Republican Congress despite all of its criminal flaws does not mean you should expect the same thing from me. I'm holding you to the same standards I've always imposed on the GOP. Get it right, or get out.

You have been warned.