21 Jan Speak Your Vues
CHANGE YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION
Dear Editor,
If you are registered to vote as a Republican, Conservative, Independent, or unaffiliated to a party in New York State, this message is for you. Dangerous times are upon us – antisemitism is rampant, with more than 200 hate crimes targeting Jews in 2019. The streets of Jersey City and Monsey are forever stained with Jewish blood, and our own home borough of Brooklyn has seen dozens of attacks against us. Progressive liberals are winning elections all around us, and passing the laws that are making it unsafe for us to be Jewish in America. Just last year, lawmakers in Albany passed a law that allows criminals to walk free without bail – even in cases of violent crimes. Who are the lawmakers who pushed for this bail reform? A young, newly elected crop of public officials who identify with the likes of extreme progressives and democratic socialists. How did they get elected? They ran in primary elections against moderate, commonsense Democrats. Why did they win? Because people who have been disillusioned by the Democratic Party have registered to vote as Republicans. These voters gave up their voices by removing themselves as potential voters in primary elections. It’s time to face the facts – New York City is primarily a Democratic city. Democrats hold most elected positions including city, state, and federal seats. Primary elections – where two or more Democrats face off – are the determining elections in over 90% of elections here in New York City. You have to be in it to win it. If you are registered as a Republican, you cannot vote in vital primary elections. That means you are handing over your power to the most progressive voices in our city. Fight back – by changing your voter registration. You have the power to have a voice in primary elections if you change your party registration to Democrat. This has no effect on your vote in national elections. You can still vote for whomever you want to in November elections, and that includes electing your choice for United States President. Changing your party registration gives you the power to have a say in who is representing you locally, and that includes in the United States Congress. Let’s seize back the Democratic Party from the clutches of the most extreme, leftist voices. The deadline to change your party registration is fast approaching on February 14th, so I’m going to make this really easy for you. Follow the links below to check or change your party registration. If you would prefer to fill out a paper copy, email me at votebrooklyn@gmail. com, and I will have one hand-delivered to your front door. We must fight back against the scourge of hatred and anti-religious bigotry that has infiltrated our city. Your participation is vital to this effort.
Links: Check your registration: https://voterlookup.elections. ny.gov/ Change your registration: https://voterreg. dmv.ny.gov/MotorVoter/
Respectfully, Councilman Chaim Deutsch
Editor’s Note: Thank you Chaim for all the work you do for the community!
ARE DEMOCRATS REALLY COMPASSIONATE
Dear Editor:
This might surprise you, but in 1999 Donald Trump proposed the passage of a “National Wealth Tax” of 14.25% on all individuals with a net-worth and net-wealth of $10 million and higher. You can look it up online.
Wealth differs from income. He wanted the money generated from it to pay off the entire national debt with the remainder being placed into the Social Security Trust Fund to make it more solvent for additional years. That is NOT something that conservative-Republicans believe in.
“USA Today” newspaper Opinion Editor Darrell M. West loves the idea.
So do I. So should all “liberal/progressive” Democrats as well as many “moderates”, “centrists”, and “independents.” Right?
Take from the super-rich and give to help everyone else. It is like “Robin Hood.”
It is part of my own platform and agenda. So why are Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Tom Steyer the only national Democrats who support any version to it? It is the ONLY WAY to pay for the new social programs that people like AOC want. It is the ONLY WAY to raise enough money to help people.
Why is a political NOBODY like me seemingly the only person pointing this out to the American people?
Why are the so-called “compassionate”, “caring”, “loving”, and “justice-seeking” liberal/progressive Democrats so silent and mute about this possibility?
Is it because it was Trump’s idea?
Sincerely,
Stewart B. E
Editor’s Note: If Trump would say free health care for all, the Democrats would attack it.
ANTI-SEMITISM REVISITED
Dear Editor:
In response to my letter to the editor last week, titled “anti-Semitism”:
I apologize that I unintentionally implied a generality that all Blacks are Anti-Semitic. My intention and my main point was that people, media and politicians not attempt to hide or divert which groups of people have been causing most of the recent attacks. Stating what occurred by whom is an acknowledgement of the facts as they are without necessarily making any implication that an entire racial group shares this behavior. Apparently, my letter did not sufficiently clarify this point.
To be fair, Gentiles assign blame to all Jews when one Jew commits a crime or offense. I certainly don’t suggest that this is a fair evaluation. However, mentioning the offending group frequently offers a means where the responsible group can denounce, criticize and correct the offensive behavior. If it is ignored, there is an impression that the offenders are absolved of wrongdoing, or worse, that no one will protect the victims from future crimes by these same people or other members of that group.
So, again, please accept my apologies for making the wrong impression by generalizing. I realize that sometimes dispensing truth requires boundaries.
DF
Editor’s Note: Thank you for your clarification. As Jews we are expected to be on a higher standard and need to stop comparing ourselves to others who make mistakes.
MUSIC AND AUTISM
Dear Editor:
I am writing to you as I feel that this is a nice/feel good story about someone with autism taking his music to greater heights. I think this would be a good idea for a news story; someone overcoming their own disability to perform music on the highest levels. We have lived in White Plains for the last 20 years.
My son Ethan is 18 and autistic. Ethan is somewhat verbal. One of the things that Ethan excels in is music. When Ethan sings or performs on his violin or piano, one can’t tell that Ethan has autism. Ethan has performed locally in Westchester the National Anthem for such teams as the Westchester Knicks, Iona College men’s and women’s basketball and the Rockland Boulders Baseball team.
This Wednesday, Ethan will be performing the National Anthem for the Seton Hall Pirates as they take on Providence at the Prudential Center.
Ethan has performed for St. John’s, Seton Hall and Rutgers College Basketball for the men’s and women’s team, just to name a few.
Last year, Ethan performed on Father’s Day for the Mets at Citi Field singing G-d Bless America. Ethan was asked to perform the National Anthem for the Yankees last July. Ethan was asked to perform for the Devils in February. Unfortunately, due to scheduling complications, Ethan will perform for the Yankees, Devils and Mets again this upcoming season.
Ethan has performed in the chorus at Carnegie Hall earlier this year. Ethan also has a credit on IMDB for a song he wrote for the movie Victims, currently playing on Amazon Prime.
I hope you find this story newsworthy. Please reach out to me with any questions.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks,
Jeff D (Dad)
Editor’s Note: How inspiring!
WHERE IS THE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT
Dear Editor:
President Trump has done it! He has forced Democrats to choose to either be quiet or to say something absolutely ludicrous. 2 weeks ago President Trump ordered the killing of Soleimani, a former leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Soleimani is responsible for hundreds of deaths from people from America, Iran and etc. Conventionally, these kind of incidents get bipartisan support like for example when President Obama ordered the killing of Osama Bin Laden. There were republicans including; Republican Speaker Of the House John Boehner, Rep. Peter King, 2012 Presidential Republican Candidate Mitt Romney and Rush Limbaugh that gave credit to President Obama for his courageous action. Looking at the killing of Soleimani, Democrats released their required statement that “no one is mourning his death, but.. President Trump has now escalated tensions.” The “yes-but” statements just show how much Democrats can’t stand President Trump. There was a high ranking Democrat named, Rep. Jackie Spier that even when so far to blame President Trump for the people that got killed on the Ukrainian airplane in Iran. Basically she just said the same talking point of the leader of Iran. When the investigation into the “accident” concluded that Iran shot down the plane, Ali Kahemenei said that it was just an accident and they mourn the loss, but ultimately it was the US’s fault. These ludicrous statements are just a further demonstration who the Democrats are. They say they support Nancy Pelosi’s For The People’s Agenda, but when it comes to national security threats like General Soleimani they say in the words of Greta Thunberg, “How dare you” not tell us about this attack and furthermore this attack is “racist“ in the words of Colin Kaepernick. Apparently, the Democrats really thought that the bigger national security threat is President Trump than Soleimani. If that was true, Nancy Pelosi would have sent the Articles of Impeachment weeks ago, but no, she didn’t. Whatever the situation or logic, Donald Trump is the enemy and it is his fault. These are the Democrats. The Democrats love blaming Trump for everything but the one thing they don’t blame him for, is when he beat Hillary Clinton, there they blame the Russians, of course!
Sincerely,
Donny Simcha G
Editor’s Note: If Hitler would run against Trump they would vote for Hitler!
PHOTOS AND SHIDDUCHIM
Dear Editor:
I saw this poem online and needed to share.
You need to see my photo?
Why, I’m so glad that you asked,
See a picture is so vital,
For this most noble task.
For if you want to know me,
A picture’s all it takes,
To show what kind of girl I am,
And what kind of wife I’d make.
In my sixty-carat necklace,
You can see my heart of gold,
You can tell I’ll be a nurturer,
Until I’m grey and old.
You can sense my love of Torah,
From the earrings that I’ve chosen;
My warmth and my compassion,
From the stance I chose to pose in.
My top’s the latest style.
That should show you that I know,
How to care for my new husband,
To help him learn and grow.
I’ve got that perfect smile.
(On the fifty-seventh try,)
Now you know that I’m b’simcha,
And you’ll never see me cry.
My hair just so behind my ear,
Show’s I’ll always pay attention,
The holiness, it radiates,
From this dimension,
My tznius is exemplary,
I’m sure that’s why you need,
To pass my picture all around,
For every eye to see.
For this bachur’s a ben Torah,
He wants to live a Torah life,
And what more noble way to quantify,
Who deserves to be his wife?
So here-please take my picture,
Go share it with the world,
And allow those puny pixels,
To define our precious girls.
Rachel J
Editor’s Note: Wow, It is sad that it has gotten to this point!
20 MINUTE DAF
Dear Editor:
What’s the story with this 20 minute daf? Why does every daf maggid shiur need to come up with a gimmick?
Editor’s Note: If one person learns the daf thru any gimmick it is worth it.
JEWISH MUSIC SHOULD STAY JEWISH
Dear Editor:
It looks like we’ve lost all sense of appropriateness and hashkafah when it comes to Jewish music and the marketing of it. As long as we say it’s Jewish and we talk about people becoming closer to G-d, it’s okay?
Since when do Jewish singers and marketers talk about marketing their music to the masses? When did it become mainstream to talk publicly about music recorded by Jewish music artists in connection with the Grammys and the Oscars? Where do we draw the line?
Maybe once people started calling Jewish music jobs “gigs,” I should have realized that we’ve lost any sense of Yiddishe taam in what’s being done in Jewish music today.
I’m not going to conclude with a sharp “Shame on them” rant – I’ll leave that to others – but I will say that conversations about recording non-Jewish music, marketing to the non-Jewish market, and allowing the infiltration of non-Jewish music, values and ideals into our machaneh should be removed from any and all platforms so that the wrong message is not sent to our youth – and ourselves. Re-record the conversation and ensure that the proper message is being conveyed.
And in case there is any doubt, let there be a consult with those rabbonim who are ostensibly reviewing and approving the moves being made toward the subtle and not-so-subtle shifts in Jewish music hashkafah. I have a hard time believing that such conversation would receive their stamp of approval
A Jew in Pain that We’ve Lost Any Sense of Proper Hashkafah
Far Rockaway, NY
Editor’s Note: Like every thing else when you are not in that business it is easy to criticize. Everyone should first look in the mirror!
IMPEACHMENT
Dear Editor:
Can we openly discuss the donkey in the room?
Joe Biden bragged, on a now widely disseminated video, about threatening to withhold money that was promised to Ukraine, unless a specific prosecutor was fired.
There was a fear that that prosecutor would make things a bit hot for the interests of at least one of the Bidens.
Should Joe and his boss Obama, whom he openly implicated, in that same video, have been impeached?
If yes, why is it OK for Joe to now run for president undisturbed by that?
If not can we please get a logical rational explanation of why, and how it is materially different than what trump is accused of?
Chacham Y
Editor’s Note: If he gets elected the Republicans will definitely impeach him! This will be the new norm for Congress just trying to impeach the sitting President!
IMPEACHMENT
Dear Editor:
How should Trump Respond to the impeachment? I think he should take the actual articles of impeachment, (or a copy of them), frame it and hang it in the oval office.
It would show ultimate disdain for the partisan shenanigan, while making them totally berserk with fury.
”Here! You think you got me with your dumb games? I’ll proudly hang it where everyone can see it! ”
It’s like when an anti Semite calls you ”dumb Jew ” in public.
If you straighten up and loudly and proudly respond
That’s right I’m as Jewish as can be and I’m proud of it!”
It takes all his sting and venom out. (It may not be wise to do in my example because the guy might respond by assaulting you, but In trumps case, he really has nothing to lose. Anything they can throw at him, they already are. So it’s just a game of one up manship.)
Chacham G
Editor’s Note: It still won’t go away. He needs to get a Republican Congress and Republican Senate then He will be able to do his job.
MENTAL ILLNESS
Dear Editor:
In the latest news in Israel this has been written:
New data shows that 32.9% do not enlist at all and another 15% do not complete their military service.
Nearly half of Israeli youth do not start or finish their military service, with at least a third of males getting exemptions for mental health reasons.
The alarming figure based on new IDF data, first published by Yediot Aharonot, shows that 32.9% of men will receive an exemption from the military. With an average of 15% dropping out during their service, nearly half of Israeli men (47.9%) do not complete their military service.
The disturbing trend is even more severe for women, with 44.3% being exempt from their military service.
According to the report in Yediot, the figures show a clear downward trend in IDF enlistment among both sexes. For example, in 2007 a quarter of males did not enlist in the Israeli military, and in 2015 the figure rose to 26.9% for men and 30% last year.
In addition to the skyrocketing increase in medical exemptions for mental health reasons, the general recruitment figures for combat units have also seen a general decline over the past decade, from four-fifths (81%) in 2011 to less than two-thirds (65%) in 2018.
While the IDF’s Manpower Directorate has pointed to a range of circumstances behind the increase in exemptions, a large number are said to be because of recruits coming in with medical documents claiming they have mental illnesses preventing them from serving.
But the directorate is said to believe that the trend is not due to a sudden increase in mental illness, but rather to a decrease in motivation to serve in the military leading youth to fake mental illness in order to avoid military service.
Exemption from military service in Israel is covered by the Israeli Security Service Law, which allows recruits to be exempt on grounds of medical or psychological reasons as well as pregnancy, religion (women and studying in a yeshiva), as well as conscientious objection.
Yankel J
Editor’s Note: But the Charedi and Yeshivaleit bashing won’t stop!
FRUM TRAINER
Dear Editor:
Hi!
Anyone know of frum gyms or trainers with good hours like Motzai Shabbos and not too pricey for men in Brooklyn?
Thanks
Yitzy H
Editor’s Note: That would be a great idea!
STOP THE BAN
Dear Editor:
My Rebbe tried stopping us from watching super bowl. This is my response. The efforts to ban things, or to make restrictions on others are predictable failures. For those who will watch the game, most will find some way to do so, perhaps concealing it. Banning smart phones rarely stops someone who feels he/she needs it. They just get two phones, and hide one. It’s called circumventing, and it’s nearly universal.
When bochurim value their Avodas Hakodesh more than the enjoyment of the Super Bowl, they will engage in it. The approach is to focus on that, not on making the game into an issur.
Editor’s Note: You wish it were that simple!