It's a bunch of mostly modern Orthodox Jews - men in crocheted kippot, women in hats and skirts. And it's been fun, mostly. The smaller kids, fascinated by the yarn I was winding, gravitated to me, and I ended up making both a tiny hat and a tiny purse - dolly sized.
But there's also politics. And this crowd believes that the only focus should be Israel, and many also believe that only Republicans care about Israel (and yes, a lot are plain scared of Obama. *Shakes head.*)
I am focused on Israel. I think it is important. However, I also believe that the best protection Israel has is not a US that says, "We support you" but a US that is strong militarily and economically, and is respected overseas.
That is not us. That has not been us for a long time now. We are fighting two wars, our economy is falling and the rest of the world thinks we're willing to attack on a whim. All bad things. All under Israel's great friend Bush. Who actually doesn't care about Israelis anyway - just his religious goals.
Anyway, I heard praises for Fox News, I heard men repeating rumors (we don't know anything about Obama, we don't even know where he was born, we haven't investigated the Ayers thing - all things that were, in fact, investigated. And found to be nothing.) One man thought that the Republicans have found a connection between Madoff and Obama and therefore Obama would not become president.
1. This shows a sad lack of knowledge of the US Constitution, since there is no mechanism for removing a president-elect before inaugauration.
2. If the Republicans could have done something, if they actually knew something, they'd have done it already.
3. I cannot imagine what that sort of connection could be, besides maybe Obama had ALSO been scammed,and there's no evidence of that. Blagojevich is a bigger threat and yet, he isn't one.
My biggest amusement - all of these things? From the web and Fox news, but I was naive for believing the web and MSNBC (which I am aware is biased. It's biased mostly my way, but I know it is.)
But there's also politics. And this crowd believes that the only focus should be Israel, and many also believe that only Republicans care about Israel (and yes, a lot are plain scared of Obama. *Shakes head.*)
I am focused on Israel. I think it is important. However, I also believe that the best protection Israel has is not a US that says, "We support you" but a US that is strong militarily and economically, and is respected overseas.
That is not us. That has not been us for a long time now. We are fighting two wars, our economy is falling and the rest of the world thinks we're willing to attack on a whim. All bad things. All under Israel's great friend Bush. Who actually doesn't care about Israelis anyway - just his religious goals.
Anyway, I heard praises for Fox News, I heard men repeating rumors (we don't know anything about Obama, we don't even know where he was born, we haven't investigated the Ayers thing - all things that were, in fact, investigated. And found to be nothing.) One man thought that the Republicans have found a connection between Madoff and Obama and therefore Obama would not become president.
1. This shows a sad lack of knowledge of the US Constitution, since there is no mechanism for removing a president-elect before inaugauration.
2. If the Republicans could have done something, if they actually knew something, they'd have done it already.
3. I cannot imagine what that sort of connection could be, besides maybe Obama had ALSO been scammed,and there's no evidence of that. Blagojevich is a bigger threat and yet, he isn't one.
My biggest amusement - all of these things? From the web and Fox news, but I was naive for believing the web and MSNBC (which I am aware is biased. It's biased mostly my way, but I know it is.)
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2 comments:
Thank you very much for this post. I have been heartened in the past week or so to see less flamage on the political blogs about the situation in Gaza than I expected. My expectations, of course, were "instant conflagration", so it didn't take much -- but it's definitely a move in the right direction.
Have you seen J Street? It's a new organization with a largely-Jewish membership, devoted to lobbying for peaceful, pro-Israel solutions. I was very much struck, going over their list of big-name supporters, at the absence of Conservative and Orthodox affiliations. I don't really understand why they are so resolutely aligned with Likud and the militaristic factions in Israel -- if it's something about their interpretation of Torah and the role of Eretz Israel, or if it has to do with US politics.
(Admittedly, I'm making gross generalizations here, but) Wow, I didn't realize attitudes like that (being scared of Obama, praising Fox news) were prevalent even in the kippah srugah communities. (I grew up black hat but have left the fold entirely.)
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