in Judgement...

To the God that has prepared me for judgement...
I know that my punishment is not some external penalty
Some act of vengeance for some serious Wrongdoings...
I know it is the ultimate form of
Love..I stand before you...
To the one that purifies those that trust him...in judgement..
I know that..You don’t punish us for bad and even horrible thoughts..
And I know why...
Because...Machshava is our soul..which is the part of us
That is you...
To the One that knows our thoughts..on the day of judgement..
.....you’re willing to go through all the abuse in the world...
And the worst captivity..through..
Being subjucated to the whims and lusts...
Because.....it's not about you...
To the One...who suppresses.............anger.....in judgement..
Its never about you..its about...
Our ultimate good...
We trust..
To the one that watches over those that love him...
Please watch over us...
.........who love you
on this day of judgement...


Wishing everyone a Ksiva V'Chasima Tova




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Accountability

I find the latest financial mess frightening on a number of levels...

This idea that we’ve been living on money that just is not there. That our whole society is structured on this model. And that there eventually comes a day of reckoning when we have to face that we’ve been borrowing and borrowing and that we have nothing to pay back...

Sometimes I look around at all the old people in my life and wonder..
I stand with my grandfather in his cold hospital room as the Doctor pokes and prods his frail body..
I watch my uncle barely walk..so frail..
I see loneliness in so many, once vibrant eyes.
I avert my eyes from the humiliation of malfuctioning bodily functions.
I hear hoarse moans of pain...
I sense this sense of pending doom in the knowledge that they’re so close to the end...

And I can’t help but wonder...
Is this how we repay the debts accumulating on account of the carefree spending of our youth?
The years of borrowing excess with empty bank accounts?

And I'm not sure if I find that..frightening..
....or comforting



.

.

Tzedaka...Tzedaka....

I noticed him out of the corner of my eye. That familiar swagger and cool dark glasses. I instinctively tensed up as my hands wound my tefillin around its case.
I thought to myself...
There’s something very wrong with the system, when an able bodied male spends his days collecting money for himself.
Why don’t these people work??
Mexicans come here and work day and night.
Every other group comes here and works. So why is there a parade of very able collectors coming from Israel with their hands outstretched and a sense of entitelement?
My great grandfather came to the United States in the 1920s on business trips to be able to send back money to Poland. He would cringe at the sight of these collectors.
The closer he came the more nervous I got, the way he throws around wisecracks. If you’re going to collect for yourself at least have a humble air about you and a sense of gratitude, not entitlement.
His grating staccato was now one table away..Tzedaka Tzedaka....Tzedaka..the faint smell of cigarettes precursing his arrival, irritating me even more. Why do I have to give him a daily allowance?
Why do I have to fund his vices? His cool glasses and expensive habits...?
I kissed my Tefillin and placed it in the bag.
My hand reached into my pocket and pulled out a dollar. I found myself placing it in his warm hand..and nodding slightly.

Sometimes I think..it’s our only chance...

K'Dalim U'CheRoshim Dofaknu Delosecho....


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Science Digest

Every once in awhile we devote a post to the latest discoveries in the world of Science and Nature.

Have you noticed lately that time seems to be going really fast?
Well Scientists now believe that the much touted Large Hadron Collidor is to blame.
For those of you wondering what that is, it's that huge tunnel straddling the border of Switzerland and France, or rather straddled by the border of Switzerland and France. This 17 mile subterranean racetrack has tiny particles racing toward one other at mind boggling speeds. Scientists can then observe the way they interact when they collide (hence the name) and at best case scenario uncover all the secrets of the universe and at the very least at least hope for some clues into what kind of hidden dimensions do lost luggage and socks get sucked into.

So it appears Einstein might have been right when he predicted that there might be more than 3 dimensions, as a matter of fact there might be 12 dimensions, but since we're so used to a 3 dimensional world we have no clue what a 12 dimensional world would be like. Well it appears that one of the 3 dimensions currently sharing the limelight, time might be condensing itself to make room for more dimensions.
Who knows? Only time will tell...

Unfortunately the Collider project is not working as planned.
While the particles on the Swiss side are firing off as planned, those on the French side have been observed lounging around sipping Chardonnay in no rush to go anywhere.




This weeks second startling news item involves the discovery of an ancient writing tablet in the caves of the Pyrenee Mountains of Spain. It is believed that the tablet contains the Alphabet used by the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon homininans popularly known as Cavemen.
Liguists and historians were shocked to learn that the cavemen alphabet did not contain the letters Z G B or R as popularly believed. As a matter of fact the most common sounds used were the equivalent of the modern day Qu and soft C along with the soft Th.
This latest finding sent thousands of writers, cartoonists and humorists back to the drawing board...


.

Wheel of Life

What a perfect day...
For a day at play..
Breezey popcorn scents...
Thrilling suspense...
Delightful..shrieking..
Teenagers seeking..
Climbing...nerve racking need..
Dropping...windswept speed..
Sheeeeer
.......peer
pressure cooker..in the sun...
As we swirl around and around
Straddling the line between
Wanting...and
Not wanting...
And around.....this colorful...world
Of amusement..(and fun...)

Suddenly I found myself...
(isn’t it interesting..?)
Next in line..
The ferris wheel...
The one that dwarfs...
everything...
Its funny..how they put those signs...
After waiting..for an hour..
......yea
Sitting rising...
Munching..
Higher
Higher...
Suddenly remembering..my
..my
ACROPHOBIA
As the...
.........trees..dissapear..
The gripping fear...
That << GRIPPPS >> you..
From dizzying head...
To tingling bottom..
..and of course..it has to stop...
and stop again..
then stop..at the
Very top..
and rock...
and ro c k...
as I vividly envision...
How it’ll feel when the basket..
comes undone..
Suddenly noticing how rusty..
the metal seems to be..
100 ft..in the air...
Making..promises to
God..(yes..I remember you..)
then mercifully...
(thank you)
Slowly...down...
As the breeze washes..
and cleanses...my skin..
And then...back up
but a funny thing happens..
The time at the top.. so much shorter..
and then..down..
and then faster...
Up...(tingle)
Down....
Up ..(tingle)
Down..
Faster..
Ahhhhhhh
Such is life..








.

Thoughts on the RNC (updated)

Just a few quick thoughts on the Republican Convention...

McCain's speech was really boring in the beginning and he seemed to have trouble following the tele-prompters.
But when he spoke about himself and his experiences it was very poignant. I think that's something that has to resonate with everyone.

My favorite moment though was 5 seconds after he said "..if you see an adult illiterate teach him to read and write.." (or something like that) the camera panned to someone holding a sign that read "John the Mavrick)...
lol

(for those wondering...that's not how you spell Maverick)

Looking around the the convention delegates made me feel like I'm in aisle 4 in Walmart. But I suppose that's the core of the Republican party but I wonder if the number of social conservative voters is growing or shrinking in this country.
Polls consistently show the under 25 age to be far more liberal than older groups.
I've always thought that the Republicans were 10 years behind the Democrats in terms of social issues.
Is this the last hurrah for strong conservatism? Will future Republican platforms have to be more accepting and open minded for them to win the popular vote?
Or is the Evangelical base strong enough to sustain and grow?

I do have to say that Sarah Palin has generated alot of excitement and enthusiasm and that goes a long way in November.
There's a media frenzy to try to find negatives on her.. I mean, what's with this incessant comparing Sarah Palins experience with Barack Obama?? Obama is running for President..he has to lead from day 1. The Vice President has only made it to the job a handful of times..and by then hopefully she'll have alot more experience (as long as McCain doesnt pull a Harrison on us..(he's the guy that died a month after his inauguration))
Although as I said in my last post, it has alot to do with her good looks and charm.
If she looked like Janet Reno we'd all be puking at the thought of her eating a mooseburger..
In any case..I think she should shore up the support and excitement of her hick constituency by naming the new baby..something cutesy yet gross like Phlegm.


.

David does politics

Ok. I generally do not like to write about politics much but this political season is just too exciting to resist.

First there was Barack blowing everyone away with his speech last Thursday then McCain blew everyone away with his announcement on Friday, then Gustav blew everyone away over the weekend now Bristol Palin is blowing Gustav off the headlines...

There's Obama who I really like and think can be a great president. He's very smart and love the way he thinks things through. He also has the gift of getting his message through by his great speaking and writing skills.
Unfortunately, while he paints great abstract paintings I'm not so sure of the nitty gritty details of his policies, especially on the economic front.

There's McCain, while I like his heroic background and the fact that he doesn't blindly tow the party line, I have serious doubts about his intellectual capacity. The last thing I want is another Bush in the White House.
Then he goes out and picks this very likable woman as his Vice Presidential pick and before long, her pristine image is as tainted as the Arctic National Refuge with oil rigs.
I mean seriously if she looked like Janet Reno would people be all excited about her eating moosebergers?

Before I go picking a candidate I'd like to go through some of my political views...

Abortion:
The Torah view of abortion is not quite as extreme as the Pro Life stance on abortion. It is not considered murder, yet is only allowed when the mothers life is threatened. According to this..it should be an issue of separation of church and state.

I have to say I think the Left Wings framing of this issue is ridiculously brilliant. They somehow managed to get this an issue about a womans "right to choose".."pro choice" etc...
As if this is about men limiting women's right to choose.
We allow women to choose everything. They can choose between oranges and tangerines, between a red or blue ipod even between allowing themselves to live or ordering DNR instructions but nooooooooo THIS is where we draw the line. We're anti a woman's right to choose. If men would be pregnant we'd all be pro choice. And somehow this crazy labeling stuck in the publics mind.

Gay Rights:
This issue does not scare as much as it seems to scare others. I can't see any straight person becoming gay if gays are afforded more rights.

I do take issue with the idea that it should be called marriage. While I don't think the word "sacred" has any place in a government that separates church and state, I just don't think you suddenly change the meaning of the act of marriage after thousands of years just because some people that were born differently feel left out.

Even evolutionists agree that marriage evolved because of a need for a safe institution to raise another generation of homo sapiens.
I cannot even fathom how people can compare the struggle for gay marriage with the struggle for intermarriage rights of the 1960s. How can you compare trying to re-define the act of marriage to bigotry against who gets married to whom?

Capital Punishment:
I've already posted a poem about my opposition to the death penalty.
Hypocrisy

......to be continued