MAGA!

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

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Jewish Groups Cheer Obama’s Transgender Protections

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

Why do Jewish groups care about the transgendered? Because a society that will tolerate trannies deciding which sex they are and which bathroom they will use are more likely to tolerate Jews.

There’s nothing in Torah about protecting transgendered rights. In fact, the opposite. There is a very strict prohibition on men dressing in women’s clothing.

(JTA) — Amid controversy over new protections President Barack Obama has extended to transgender people, a number of Jewish groups have welcomed them.
A statement Friday from the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center praised the guidance issued the same day by the Justice and Education departments requiring that schools receiving federal funds end discrimination based on sexual identification.
“We urge all public schools to swiftly and fully comply with this directive so that transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” the RAC statement said.
The guidance, which warns that failure to comply could cost schools federal money, says students must access restrooms, shower facilities and other sex-segregated areas based on their gender identity, not on their gender as recorded at birth.
A number of states and local authorities have said they will ignore the guidance; some have threatened to sue the federal government over it.
The National Council for Jewish Women said the guidance “provides needed clarity and best practices for public school districts and institutions of higher learning.”
Also praising the guidance was Rabbi Jack Moline, who directs Interfaith Alliance, a coalition that includes major Jewish national groups.
“No matter whether antipathy toward transgender Americans is motivated by ignorance or a particular – misguided, I believe – theological understanding of gender, neither has a place in our public schools,” he said in a statement.
A statement from Bend the Arc praised both the guidance to schools and a new rule from the Department of Health and Human Services extending protections to those discriminated against because of their gender identity.
The rule will have the effect of requiring insurers to at least consider coverage of procedures related to gender change, and doctors to provide care to patients suffering from illnesses more commonly associated with their birth gender. There have been reports that transgender males have been frustrated in obtaining treatment for breast cancer.
“Now, more children can go to school knowing that they will be treated with dignity and respect, and many more Americans will have access to the high-quality health care they deserve,” Bend the Arc said.
The Anti-Defamation League meantime praised U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch for suing North Carolina, which last month passed a far-reaching law limiting LGBT rights, including restricting restroom use to birth-gender.
“The Justice Department’s civil rights complaint filed in federal court in North Carolina sends an important message that discrimination against transgender people is both unlawful and unacceptable,” the ADL said in a statement.
The North Carolina Jewish federations in Greensboro, Durham-Chapel Hill and Raleigh last month jointly resolved that the North Carolina law was “detrimental.”
“We stand with, support, and welcome all members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community,” the joint resolution released April 26 said. “At our facilities, all individuals are and will continue to be able to use the restrooms or locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity and/or expression, regardless of their biological sex.”

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Law School Joke

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

This was a joke at a top five law school:

A students become law professors.
B students become corporate lawyers.
C students become judges.
D students become contingency lawyers and drives Mercedes and out-earn them all.

Graduates of the top law schools don’t become contingency lawyers.

* Orthodox friend has a teen kid with four chickens. The big black chicken is called Queen Latifah. The black and white one is Oreo. The two small white ones are named David and Duke. “There’s a huge under-current of racism among the youth, particularly the boys,” he reports, “as a reaction to all the anti-racism propaganda they get.”

The kid loves Donald J. Trump and loves to post on 4chan about the various racial face shapes.

* A while ago, a friend of mine gave me a huge job recommendation: “Once you get past his personality dysfunction, he’s a brilliant guy and can do anything you need.”

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Khomeini: Sexually Assaulting Crying and screaming 4 year old Girl, with parental consent

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, The Supreme Leader of Iran, the Shia Grand Ayatollah, 1979-89 said in his official statements:

“A man can quench his sexual lusts with a child as young as a baby. However, he should not penetrate. Sodomizing the baby is halal (ALLOWED BY SHARIA). If the man penetrates and damages the child, then he should be responsible for her subsistence all her life. This girl, however, does not count as one of his four permanent wives. The man will not be eligible to marry the girl’s sister. It is better for a girl to marry when her menstruation starts, and at her husband’s house rather than her father’s home. Any father marrying his daughter so young will have a permanent place in heaven.”

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News: Some Jewish Groups Waffle on Donald Trump’s Anti-Muslim Push

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

Remember when this Trump ban on Muslims was a big deal? Now it is just taken for granted.

December 8, 2015 The Forward:

Amid widespread denunciations of Donald Trump’s proposal to bar Muslims from entering the United States, a handful of Jewish groups have failed to condemn the Republican presidential candidate’s controversial plan.
In a December 7 statement, Trump’s campaign said that the real estate developer was “calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

Mainstream and left-leaning Jewish groups joined both Republican and Democratic honchos in condemning the statement. But some Jewish leaders were more equivocal in their responses.
Zionist Organization of America national president Mort Klein said banning all Muslims from entering the country was “going too far.” But he went on to rationalize Trump’s position: “Few people would oppose Hindus or Buddhists, or Christians coming to America, but Hindus or Buddhists or Christians are not saying or doing things that threaten people’s lives,” Klein said. “Muslims are.”
Klein said that the ZOA’s board recently voted unanimously to oppose “Syrian Muslims coming to America.”
Congressman Lee Zeldin, the only Jewish Republican in the House of Representatives, did not answer directly when asked what he thought of Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering the country.
Instead, he too focused on the issue of Syrians.
“Focus at the moment should be on improving the visa waiver program, stopping the influx of Syrian refugees due to current vulnerabilities in the vetting process, and defeating ISIS altogether,” Zeldin wrote in a statement.
The Orthodox Union, meanwhile, a large centrist Orthodox umbrella group, said that it had “no position” on Trump’s Muslim ban. The group and its advocacy arm are often vocal on foreign affairs issues, and rallied loudly on Capitol Hill against the Iran deal.
The Rabbinical Council of America, a Modern Orthodox group, did not respond to a request for comment about Trump’s plan. The group has made statements in recent months on terror attacks in Israel and Paris, and on the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
Groups that did condemn Trump include the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, J Street, and the Israel Policy Forum, according to a JTA report.
Blogger and activist Pamela Geller, who the Southern Poverty Law Center calls “the anti-Muslim movement’s most visible and flamboyant figurehead,” told the Forward that Trump’s proposal doesn’t go far enough.
“Trump didn’t call for a complete ban, but only a temporary one,” Geller wrote in an email.

DECEMBER 10, 2015:

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Two prominent modern Orthodox Jewish groups issued a joint statement rejecting Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

The Conservative movement also issued a statement Thursday condemning Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim entry. Together with the condemnation of the Reform movement earlier this week, Trump’s plan has now been rejected by groups from every major American Jewish religious stream.

Unlike a number of other groups that have condemned the call by the Republican presidential candidate, the Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America did not name Trump or mention Muslims specifically in their statement.

Instead, the two organizations said they “reject calls to limit immigration to the United States based on religion.”

“We call on all Americans to reaffirm that discrimination of any group solely upon religion is wrong and anathema to the great traditions of religious and personal freedoms upon which this country was founded,” O.U. Executive Vice President Allen Fagin said in the statement.

RCA President Rabbi Shalom Baum said threats of terrorism are real and need to be addressed, but “in sober and responsible ways.”

The statement quoted Natan Sharansky, a former prisoner of the Soviet gulag and now the chairman of the Jewish Agency, who said of Trump’s call: “We should not permit ourselves to turn our legitimate fears and threats and challenges of terror into hatred of the other, into dismissing whole national or religious groups of people.”

The Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly also did not name Trump in its statement.

“It is inexcusable to stigmatize or discriminate against a group based solely on religion or race,” its statement said. “Of course, we recognize the need to be vigilant in providing security and protection from those who seek to do our country harm, but discriminating against an entire religion is wrong and dangerous.”

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Antisemitic Endorsements on Current-Affairs Website Elicit Outcry From Major Jewish Groups

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

I love how just calling a website “anti-Semitic” and other slurs is supposed to be a powerful argument.

There is no such thing as “racism” or “bigotry” or “anti-Semitism.” There are just conflicting group interests. Arabs and Muslims are not “anti-Semitic” for not wanting a Jewish state in land they believe belongs to them. They are simply pursuing their group interests. Israelis are not anti-Arab for wanting all Palestinians to disappear, they are simply following their group interest.

American whites who want all blacks gone from America are not “racist,” they are simply following their perception of their group interest. Blacks who hate whites and Jews are similarly following their group interests.

All groups are competing for scarce resources. It would be weird if we didn’t at times hate each other.

If you really believe in your religion, you are going to find other religions, at best, as weird and disturbing. You’ll likely regard them as demonic.

Algemeiner:

Jewish groups are expressing outrage over an article in a well-known current-affairs publication promoting antisemitic websites as legitimate sources of information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Responding to the piece, published on Monday in Salon, spokesmen from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) told The Algemeiner on Tuesday that the article serves as propaganda against Israel and continues to promote antisemitism.

“Israel is a country like others that has policies one could agree with and disagree with. It is surely not beyond legitimate criticism,” said Kenneth Jacobson, deputy national director of the ADL. “Unfortunately, the resources referenced here share one characteristic: the demonization of Israel — in effect blaming Israel entirely or almost entirely for the continuing conflict and the plight of the Palestinians.”

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the SWC, said the Salon article is “a hit piece on Israel and an excellent summation of the toxic anti-Israel Kool Aid which the author and many others have imbibed.”

David Palumbo-Liu’s article — “Brutal, ugly & illegal: 9 things you need to know about the Israeli occupation of Palestine” — instructs readers to turn to known anti-Israel sites, such as Mondoweiss, Electronic Intifada and B’Tselem, for explanations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Do not rely solely on the US mainstream media for your information,” Palumbo-Liu, a professor of comparative literature at Stanford, wrote.

Mondoweiss, as previously reported by The Algemeiner, has been described as a “virulent pusher of antisemitic tropes” and a “website that sprouts antisemitism.” The head of Electronic Intifada, wrote pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon, “openly supports and encourages terrorism against Jews.” The If Americans Knew website originally appeared on the list, but was later removed by the author. A special update in the article notes the removal: “While the organization If Americans Knew, which was previously listed here, provides much useful information from reliable, neutral sources, I disagree with many of the public comments of its director. I have removed the original reference to prevent any confusion.”

Alison Weir, founder of If Americans Knew, is “so toxic in her behavior…that other anti-Israel organizations are treating her like she has the plague,” Elder of Ziyon wrote. In a blog post on her personal website, Weir accuses the “Zionists” of colonizing Western democracies and “turning them into obedient puppets.” She argues that the term antisemitism is “the most powerful weapon in the tribal Jewish verbal armory” used to gain sympathy by the Jewish race.

“Anyone who is interested in spreading anti-Israel propaganda would turn to these sources. Someone interested in balanced coverage would look elsewhere,” said Jacobson. “Unfortunately, Palumbo-Liu would have people seek out information only from sources that share his perspective, including those who demonize Israel and Zionism, such as Electronic Intifada and Mondoweiss. These sources propagate allegations of Israeli apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide and their chiefs are frequent speakers at anti-Israel programs and conferences across the United States.”

Among the many accusations made against Israel in the article, Palumbo-Liu claims that Israel is killing Palestinians “quickly” and “slowly,” violating the human rights of Palestinians and engaging in the “only continuous, ongoing project of colonization in the world.” Cooper characterized the article as “nasty propaganda thinly disguised as journalism.”

“The Salon article, to partially paraphrase its title, is brutal, ugly and dishonest. There is nothing ‘neutral’ about any of the groups and websites invoked by the author,” said Cooper. “The readers are exposed to a Palestinian narrative sans any presentation of the counter-narrative based on 3,500 years of Jewish history and Jewish rights in the Holy Land. Deleting one source changes nothing. The author gets an ‘A’ for style and a ‘D-/F’ for content.”

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Poverty Expert Ta-Nehisi Coates Bails on Newly-Purchased $2.1 Million Home After Media Attention

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

REPORT: Ta-Nehisi Coates, the award-winning journalist and author specializing in racial justice and black poverty, has cancelled plans to move into the posh Brooklyn brownstone he recently purchased for $2.1 million, citing personal safety concerns amid a storm of unwanted media attention.

The New York Post was first to report on the purchase, which was conducted through a limited-liability corporation established by Coates and his wife in an effort to conceal their identity.

Coates has become a prominent thought-leader in part due to the success of his 2015 memoir, “Between the World and Me,” a letter to his son about the history of racial injustice in America. It was one of the most discussed books in the country among university faculty members and New York Times subscribers, and won the National Book Award for non-fiction.

Coates, who used the proceeds from the successful memoir to finance the purchase of the brownstone in the Prospect-Leffert Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, expressed dismay at having to abandon his dream home:

[Y]ou can’t really be a human being and not want some place to retreat into yourself, some place to collapse, some place to be at peace. That’s just neurology. One shouldn’t get in the habit of crying about having a best-selling book. But you can’t really sell enough books to become superhuman, to salve that longing for home.
Coates explained that, after his purchase of the home was publicized, his family would not be able to live there due to safety concerns and the perpetual stream of fans “showing up at your door (this happened once) or waiting for you on your stoop.”

“Our old neighborhood was not as quiet as we thought,” Coates wrote. “Nothing is quiet anymore—least of all us.”

The New York Times published a sympathetic write-up of Coates’ decision to cancel the move without mentioning some of the criticism directed at the author for his expensive taste:

The $2.1 million brownstone is “nestled on a quiet, tree-lined street,” and boast original hardwood floors and fireplace mantels, ornate wedding cake moldings, modern dine-in kitchen, garden terrace, and a “roomy backyard.”

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Jewish Groups are expressing outrage…

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

It seems like half the time I hear the phrase “Jewish groups” in the news, they’re doing something I hate.

So I decided to get scientific about it and put “Jewish groups” into a Google news search and see what came up.

It turns out that I really hate what many of these “Jewish groups” are doing. Parts of organized Jewry are on a suicide mission.

* Jewish Groups Cheer Obama’s Transgender Protections
Forward-3 hours ago
(JTA) — Amid controversy over new protections President Barack Obama has extended to transgender people, a number of Jewish groups …

* Jewish groups unite to defend Muslims from discrimination
The Times of Israel-May 13, 2016
Nearly a dozen Jewish groups are also backing legislation against banning entry to Muslims, prompted by a proposal for such a ban by …

* Jewish Groups Join Fight Against Anti-Muslim Discrimination
Forward-May 12, 2016
The statement noted that Jewish groups, including the AJC, backed legislation passed in 1988 that allowed servicemen to wear religious garb …
Nine Jewish groups back legislation to prevent US immigration ban
Jweekly.com-May 12, 2016

* Donald Trump Puzzles Jewish Groups by Failing To Create …
Forward-May 9, 2016
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s popularity is rooted in his outsider status, and that’s left Jewish and pro-Israel groups a bit stumped. After all …

* 9 Jewish Groups Push Back Against Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban
Forward-May 10, 2016
WASHINGTON ( JTA ) — Nine Jewish groups are among over 30 organizations backing a bill that would bar banning entry to the United States …

* Jewish groups unite against proposed Muslim ban in US entries
Daily Sabah-May 13, 2016
“Concerns about national security are mixing with unchecked anti-Muslim bigotry and fomenting unjust fear and scrutiny of Muslim refugees …

* Satmar Rebbe Rails Against Secular Education Bill; Moderate …
Forward-May 12, 2016
Moderate Jewish groups that are normally vocal on religious education issues, meanwhile, are staying stayed silent. The bill, introduced by …

* YouTube video of Markus Meechan’s pug giving Nazi salute is …
Daily Mail-Apr 20, 2016
Jewish groups have spoken of their revulsion after a man apparently taught his dog to do a Nazi salute and respond to racist slogans. Prankster …

* French Jews protest screening of Munich massacre film at Cannes
i24news-5 hours ago
Jewish groups in France have expressed their concern over the planned marketing at the Cannes Film Festival of a film they claim falsely …

* Canada prevents anti-Semitic comedian Dieudonne from entering …
Jewish Telegraphic Agency-May 11, 2016
Jewish groups had pressured Ottawa for two weeks to keep Dieudonne from entering Canada based on his numerous convictions in Europe …

* How Jewish groups plan to protest Trump at AIPAC
Jewish Telegraphic Agency-Mar 18, 2016
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Walk in wearing stickers. Stay out bearing placards. Get up and walk out when Trump walks in. Just don’t go. Go but …

* One way we can show our support for mothers in the paid workforce is to provide paid family leave. This past year more than 100 Jewish groups committed to doing so, bringing their policies into alignment with their Jewish values. But this step, by no means comprehensive even in the Jewish community, a long time in coming, took a great deal of convincing.

* Ted Nugent Blasted by Jewish Groups (and Gun Owners) Over …
TheBlaze.com-Feb 9, 2016
Rock musician Ted Nugent was criticized by Jewish groups Monday after posting a graphic on Facebook that branded prominent …

* Jewish groups call for swift Senate consideration of Obama’s …
Jewish Telegraphic Agency-Feb 19, 2016
WASHINGTON (JTA) — An array of Jewish groups joined a call on Senate leaders to consider whomever President Barack Obama nominates …

* Pittsburgh Jews Welcome Syrians As Trump Warns Of Danger
The Jewish Week-Apr 27, 2016
Among the other Jewish groups helping Syrian refugees is the Afya Foundation in Yonkers. Founded in 2007 by Danielle Butin, it makes …

* LGBT, Jewish groups respond to hate-filled anti-Israel protest at …
Jewish United Fund-Jan 28, 2016
LGBT, Jewish groups respond to hate-filled anti-Israel protest at Chicago conference. awb anti israel protest

* Rabbi Pruzansky’s Dismissive Comments on Rape Draws Outcry …
Haaretz-Apr 13, 2016
Rabbi Pruzansky’s Dismissive Comments on Rape Draws Outcry Among Jewish Groups. Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance calls for …

* Some Jewish Groups Waffle on Donald Trump Anti-Muslim Push
Forward-Dec 8, 2015
Amid widespread denunciations of Donald Trump’s proposal to bar Muslims from entering the United States, a handful of Jewish groups have …

* US Jewish groups back Obama on gun control initiatives
Jerusalem Post Israel News-Jan 5, 2016
Jewish groups praised new executive actions by President Barack Obama to reduce gun violence. On Tuesday, in an emotional White House …

* Ten Jewish Groups Urge Congress to Allow Syrian Refugees Into US
Haaretz-Nov 18, 2015
While Congress members consider not admitting Syrian refugees after the Paris attacks, Jewish groups argue that ‘turning our back on …

* Jewish Groups Call On President Obama To Take In Syrian Refugees
Huffington Post-Sep 17, 2015
LOS ANGELES (RNS) Advocates for Syrian refugee resettlement found unexpected allies as major Jewish groups have called on President ..

* Jewish groups slam Trump’s call for a database of US Muslims
Jewish Telegraphic Agency-Nov 21, 2015
(JTA) — Three Jewish groups expressed outrage and concern about Donald Trump’s claim that he would create a database to track all …

* Orthodox bodies, Conservatives join Jewish groups rejecting Trump …
Jewish Telegraphic Agency-Dec 10, 2015
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Two prominent modern Orthodox Jewish groups issued a joint statement rejecting Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims …

* Jewish groups join call for sponsorship scheme for Syrian refugees
Jewish Chronicle-Dec 13, 2015
The Jewish groups were joined by the Muslim Council of Britain, the Methodist Church, the Bishop of Barking, the Diocese of Chelmsford and ..

* 11 Jewish groups join call urging Congress to accept Syrian refugees
Jweekly.com-Nov 19, 2015
Eleven Jewish groups are among 81 signers on a letter urging members of Congress not to roll back plans to accept Syrian refugees.

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My UCLA Economics Prof Interviewed By The WSJ

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

LINK: Mr. Roberts is decidedly not in the materialist camp. He has described himself as a believer, a religious Jew, and he has a penchant for literature. One of his books is an “economic romance” about a young high-school teacher who woos a colleague over talk of the invisible hand. In another of his novels, a heavenly magistrate sends a 19th-century economist back to America to discredit protectionism…

Several years ago, Mr. Roberts was pressed by a reporter to put a number on how many jobs the North American Free Trade Agreement had created. When Mr. Roberts replied that he had no idea, the reporter accused him of ducking the question. “He said—he literally said this—‘But you’re a professional economist,’ ” Mr. Roberts recounts. “He meant, ‘Isn’t that what you do? Isn’t that your job?’ And of course my answer is no. We’re not good at that.”

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‘These are refugees who simply want to get to safety they say’

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Luke Ford

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