Ten for Tuesday


 

1)      Each week 72,000 jobless Americans will lose their unemployment benefits unless Congress acts.  These people will stop seeking work and will could drive the unemployment rate down by 0.2% in January.

2)      The New England Patriots and Coach Bill Belichick are about to play in their 8th AFC Championship in the last 13 years.  The closest team to that run is the Pittsburgh Steelers with five AFC Championship appearances.  That’s dominance.

3)      According to Crime & Delinquency journal, by the age of 23 49% of black males, 44% of Hispanic males, and 38% of white males have been arrested.  Incarceration nation.

4)      You can’t blame the violence in Iraq because the Obama administration removed all of the troops while ignoring the fact we shouldn’t have been there to begin with in the first place.

5)      The Bush administration did a bang up job spreading democracy in the Middle East, if by democracy you mean sectarian fighting.

6)      If the Obama administration chose not to prosecute the CIA interrogators who may have tortured detainees at Guantanamo Bay, does that not  suggest Snowden should get pardoned?

7)      Prime suspect in the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that claimed the lives of ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans was a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay.  Abu Sufian bun Qumu was released in 2007 and sent back to Libya.  Hmm 2007, wasn’t that during the Bush administration?  I am sure Darrell Issa will call for an investigation.

8)      Is it any wonder that New York City with the global financial hub of the universe Wall St. has such a wide income disparity?  I don’t think Mayor De Blasio will be able to make a significant dent.

9)       While you can argue the effectiveness, legality, and morality of stop and frisk, there were 2,245 murders in New York City in 1990 and only 334 in 2013.

10)   Retired Florida captain Curtis Reeves Jr. shot and killed Chad Oulson because the victim was texting during the previews at a screening of Lone Survivor. Apparently Stand Your Ground now includes threats from Twizzlers and Hot Buttered Popcorn.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being a good Jew and what is the Christian thing to do

This weekend we are at the nexus of Christianity’s Easter and Judaism’s Passover, which isn’t too surprising considering the Last Supper was actually a Seder; I did lean something on my tour of Jerusalem.   This weekend Christians observe the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus while Jews celebrate the Moses led exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, meaning this weekend we can expect Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, The Robe, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and many other films to be broadcast.   So on this weekend where the Judeo-Christian faiths observe very important holidays, I ask: What is a good Jew?   What is the Christian thing to do?   These are not flippant or frivolous questions.   Do people practice what they preach?   Does going to a place of worship make you a better person?   Is Deepak Chopra correct when he says “All religions are cults with many followers.”? Full disclosure, I was raised Jewish, was Bat Mitzvah’d at 13, attended Frid...
Read more

A Secular American Jew and a Love for Israel

As many of you know, I have dedicated many postings to the State of Israel on a range of topics including: it’s history, the present day government, the Jewish-Palestinian question, and the region in general.   Growing up in a liberal conservative Jewish household (the oxymoron is quite common as American Jews were almost exclusively political liberals and the conservative branch of Judaism the most common) and attending Hebrew school as a kid you obviously build an affinity for the State of Israel.   I do not remember the Six-Day War of 1967, but I have vivid memories of celebrating Israel’s 25 th anniversary in 1973 and the Yom Kippur War later that year.   As a ten year old attending Yom Kippur services I saw the worried looks on my parents and the other adults at the shul as members of the congregation would periodically step outside to get news reports from car radios and transistor radios (We still drove and used electrical appliances during the high holidays, thou...
Read more

We live in a world of imperfect choices

“We live in a world of imperfect choices.” Those words were spoken today by President Obama during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.   Eight simple words that adeptly describe most geopolitical situations and the decisions world leaders face.   We live in an uncertain world were the only certainty is being second guessed.   Second guessed by political pundits and opposition mouth pieces whose only skill is Monday morning quarterbacking and backseat driving. Imperfect choices indeed. Syria: Get involved to stop the slaughter and risk getting bogged down in another Middle East Muslim nation.   Force regime change to get rid of a despotic butcher, only to risk replacing him with a failed state home to terrorists or a radical Sunni regime committed to attacking Israel.   Arm the rebels so they can defend themselves, and in the process increase the rate of killing and perhaps arming the same guys we way fight in the near future. Egyp...
Read more