The Passing of Common Sense.

By George:

From time to time, as you know I like to re-publish words of wisdom I glean from emails or other sources. This time I saw this item as a comment posting, and since this was the first time I have see this, I will attribute it to: Retired Marine MSgt in Marana, Az.


The Passing of Common Sense.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, *Common Sense*, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

• Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
• Why the early bird gets the worm;
• Life isn’t always fair;
• and maybe it was my fault.

The Hypocrisy of Equivalence

By George:

During the recent joyful Jewish Holiday of Succoth (a.k.a. Feast of Tabernacles), my wife and I spent time with our family in Brooklyn, New York. I will not belabor the "Feast" part of the Holiday except to say that for now the operative word is "diet". But as a balance to the carnal overindulgence, we were spiritually buoyed by the uplifting services at the magnificent Young Israel Beth El Synagogue, highlighted by the vocal gymnastics of Cantor Miller and the Choir, and complemented by Rabbi Moshe Snow's highly inspiring and cerebral Sermons.  And as I was submerged in one of his artfully imparted messages, I realized that I had to share those words with the readers of my blog.

I will not attempt to relay the Sermon verbatim, but I will paraphrase the gist of it, and then embellish it with sprinklings of my own commentary. Apologies to Rabbi Snow for any divergence from his intended statement..

The Secret Power of Herman Cain.

By George:

From time to time I like to sit back, relax, and try to take the "big picture" view of a topic, and analyze it with my impeccable logic. This time my Logic Alert was triggered by the "surprising" surge of Herman Cain.

I follow the political scene, but mostly I try to put myself in the shoes (not literally - ugh!) of the majority of Americans who might end up voting on Election Day. Having studied people throughout my life, I have come to the realization that the way people react to Political candidates has nothing to do with logic or the candidate's competency. It has everything to do with the voter's "indoctrination" and visceral reaction. Bear in mind that I will be referring to the General Public, not the cadre of Political Aficionados.

What a Mysterious Waste of a Truck.

By George:

When I first started this blog in September of 2010, I didn't want to start off with anything controversial, so I chose to do a story about a tractor trailer truck that I have been walking past for many months.  The truck was almost brand new, parked next to an abandoned building, and has not moved for about 6 months when I wrote the article.  If you don't know what I am referring to, read the article here before continuing.

As mentioned above, I wrote that article as a lark just to get my "feet wet" in the blogging business, and then continued with more important topics. But as the months progressed, I continued to trek past this selfsame truck, and questions percolated through my curious, and now suspicious mind. Why would someone park a truck worth about a quarter million dollars, keep it in running condition, yet not use it? So I started to do some inquiries.

I'm in a Seattle Frame of Mind.

By: George 


Recently we had two new GRANDsons in the space of a few weeks, one was in Las Vegas, then the second in Seattle. I flew out to Vegas (no wife) for a 23 hour turnaround, and I wrote about that visit in my article The Eternal Covenant along with some pictures. Then a few weeks later my wife and I went to Seattle for a few days to celebrate the second grandson's circumcision. I started to write that one up too, but my daughter didn't want me to put it on the blog, so I didn't.


However, I will give you a cute little vignette from our Seattle visit. The last day we were there, we went for a walk downtown of the little town where they live. While my wife and daughter went into a shoe store, I hung around outside to soak up some rays. Right in front of the shoe store was a big beautiful shiny motorcycle, with the chrome polished to a showroom sheen. I called my 6 year old grandson over to look at it, figuring that he would enjoy it (the grandkids in Vegas and Israel go ga-ga for stuff like this).

He ambles over, gives the motorcycle a serious once-over and says "This thing produces more pollution than a car". After I recovered my voice, I asked him why he would say that. He pointed to the double chrome exhaust pipes and said "This has 2 exhaust pipes, but a car has only one". I smiled knowingly, and explained to him that it only seems that way to him because the 4 to 6 cylinders of a car are routed to one exhaust, while each of the 2 cylinders of the motorbike has its own exhaust pipe. He thought about that for a moment and declared, "What a waste of metal!" I had no answer for that.


So that's how they raise the kids in Seattle. (I did NOT paraphrase his words, but quoted him exactly).

The Eternal Covenant

By George:
(Published at www.unmitigated-truth.com)

I know that it's not in good taste to congratulate one's self, but in this case I would like to congratulate myself and my wife on the birth of a new grandson. The blessed event took place in Las Vegas, and since we of the Hebrew Faith take our Covenant with God seriously, all male children have a "Bris" (are circumcised) on the eight day after birth, as part of our side of the Covenant (assuming a healthy child, or as soon after as possible).

In Defense of Morality.

By George:
(Published at www.unmitigated-truth.com)

In a previous post I have discussed the moral implications of New York State's homosexual "marriage" law. I would like to expand on the topic as an extension of the previous post, but before we continue with the scrutiny regarding issues surrounding the justification of public homosexual lifestyles, we first have to set certain parameters.

As human beings, we live in societies that have to conform to certain rules and regulations in order to be able to function. Failing this, we fall into anarchy, which is outside of the purview of this analysis. These rules, or "laws", have to be established, monitored and enforced. So then the question is, who will create these societal laws and who will monitor and enforce them? Since there needs to be two distinct levels of laws, the answer is multifaceted.

Party On Dudes - But Why MUST it be Called a Marriage?

By George:

The topic of "gay" marriage has dominated the news cycle lately, especially in New York State, so I will offer my insights and opinions on this subject from my own Orthodox Jewish perspective.

So let's start by asking, why is it called a "gay" lifestyle? Let us call it what it is, and that is "homosexual" lifestyle. Oh, oh.. did I offend anyone? Am I being politically incorrect? If they were to now rename it "heroic" or "heavenly" lifestyle, it would still be simply "homosexual". To use a favorite Liberal saying from the past, "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it will still only be a pig". The cosmetic renaming of their chosen mode of behavior will not make it any more condonable as a "normal" societal standard.

The TRUTH as expressed by Abraham Lincoln.

By George:

"Nearly all men can withstand adversity; if you want to test a man's character, give him power"

Isn't it amazing how the TRUTH never goes out of date. This is just as true now, as it was when Honest Abe uttered it.

The TRUTH about Islam vs. Israel - Why Muslims will NEVER accept Israel.

By: George

Last week at work, my friend Alton, who is aware that I have studied the Middle East situation, asked me the following question. "George, do you think there ever will be peace between Israel and her neighbors?" Since this was a no-brainer, my immediate response was a resounding "NO". Then I explained to him, as follows, why this was the only possible answer.

The answer starts with the understanding of Islam, and by that I am talking about the Mainstream Islamic teachings, not just the extreme position. By the way, this will only be the "Cliff Notes" version of the Muslim - Israel history. To get a detail understanding, read The Middle East by Bernard Lewis and Islamic Imperialism by Ephraim Karsh.

I was NOT a Birther, but what the......

By George:

Not quite two months ago I wrote a tongue-in-cheek post about an email I was forwarding for your perusal about President Obama admitting that he was not born in America. I forwarded the email and video and was hoping to make you smile. Then I went back to more serious business.

Since that time, due to the prodding by Donald Trump, the White House decided to slap down all "birther" talk and released the Official Birth Certificate on the whitehouse.gov site. Great, I sighed, now we can discuss more important topics, because now we have the definitive proof that Obama was born in America. Brilliant logistical move on Obama's part.

At least that's what I thought at the time.

My Passover Travelogue

By George:

Tuesday, March 1
With the advent of the Passover Holidays, my wife and I decide to try to spend it with family in Israel. Of course the price of airline tickets at this peak season is at a premium, and since our budget mirrors a large segment of the American population, I have to find more reasonably priced airfare. Something that we could afford without printing more money or borrowing from the Chinese. (Oops - sorry, but I had to get that in.)

Tuesday, March 22
After an exhaustive search, I find affordable tickets to Israel on a Russian airline called Transaero, with one stopover for 13 hours in Moscow. I say to my wife, "Great, we have never seen the Kremlin, so here is our chance to do a little sightseeing on the way." Of course, knowing something about politics, I call the airline and ask whether a Visa is needed for a half day tour of Moscow, and I am assured that with an American Passport and only for a half day, a Visa is not needed. I book the flight. I email the itinerary to my daughter in Israel so she can arrange to pick us up.

Happy Birthday, ISRAEL

By George:


This coming Tuesday is the State of Israel's 63rd Birthday. In honor of this milestone, with a tip of the hat to aish.com, I am offering my readers a few glimpses into the side of Israel that is seldom seen on the mainstream media. Your reaction is always welcome.

And when you have seen these videos, you might want to check out my personal diary of our trip to Israel for the recent Passover Holidays

But first.....

Examining our Social (in)Security.

By George:

I recently received the interesting article included below, from a good friend who knows that I enjoy receiving interesting articles. I present it for your perusal and edification. I have not done any fact-checking on it, but I am sure that my readers will. (I am POSITIVE that Prosey will.) So I present to you... (Slightly edited for readability.)

********** Start of Email **********
History Lesson On Your Social Security Card

Dick Kantenberger
Gifted Education Writer
Examiner.com

Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn't know this. It's easy to check out, if you don't believe it. Be sure and show it to your family and friends. They need a little history lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts.

The Budget - Quick Crummey Explanation

By George:

The US Government is currently going through the "Budget Battle" pitting the Republicans against the Democrats, with President Obama stirring the pot.

Lots of people have been offering explanations of the Billions and Trillions and Debt Ceilings etc.. Ordinary people listening to these explanations tend to glaze over and walk away without any better idea of what is happening.

Great news for all those who really want to understand what the heck is going on.

If you listened to todays's Joe Crummey Show on WABC, you got an explanation that brought it home to you. No big words, no grandiose Politi-speak, no obfuscation, just a simple family scenario. You can get the Podcast of this show at The Joe Crummey Show, Friday 4-8. However, there is no need for that, since I will give you Joe's explanation right here.