Returning Her Stuff

Now that she was gone, he felt utterly alone.
He couldn't believe it hadn't been a month yet. He added up the days and saw it was only 23 since she'd told him and only 11 since he'd emailed her and told her how he felt aka that he never wanted to talk to her again.
He was shocked that she hadn't come crawling back. He'd felt sure they still had a charge left. That they had at least two more break-ups in them. That she wouldn't want to go on without him. That she'd feel empty without him and wouldn't want to go on. He was irreplacable.
Now he saw that she was irreplacable.
He felt utterly alone.
He could no longer lose himself in her body, in her soul, in dreams of the two of them growing old together.
He had to face his low social status, how few girls wanted him, how, precisely, no hot chicks in Los Angeles wanted him.
He had to walk down Pico Blvd and receive not one sincere "Shabbat shalom."
He had to force himself to shul and then to battle his claustrophobia until he'd put in at least half an hour before walking home. Alone.
He told himself that it was better that they ended now. She wasn't religious. She hated Orthodox Judaism. How could he have been so foolish as to expect fidelity from a pagan?
They'd never discussed if they were monogamous. He had taken it for granted, but all along he'd felt like he was punching above his weight class, that she was out of his league, and that the only reason she felt OK hooking up with him was that she had things going on the side.
She never called him her boyfriend. She'd only once said, "I love you!", and that was when he'd given her every one of his five inches (a week later, she claimed not to remember saying this, that she'd gotten together with him for the sex but had grown fond of him and didn't know what to do, he remembered now that was their last night together).
Upon her asking him July 9 how he felt about her "fooling around" with her ex-girlfriend the night of July 3, Shabbat!, he'd felt sick for days and now he saw everything they'd shared together in a new light, the blinding light of a horror film. Those few days after they first had sex, when she said she'd gone alone to a hotel in Santa Monica to spend the weekend, he'd felt sick.
Alone? Right. Who goes alone to spend the weekend in a hotel? That made no sense.
When she said she had to do her routine on Friday nights of boxing and going to a movie alone, well, he realized now she probably wasn't alone.
He drowned his worries in movies. And then he tossed and turned and tried to sleep.
Shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday he finally drifted off and dreamed they were talking things out.
"How many people have you been with since we started?" he asked.
"Four," she said.
He woke up.
It was 4:42 a.m.
He put on the fourth CD of Julia Cameron's "Walking in this World: The Practical Art of Creativity."
He realized he needed to get rid of her stuff. Sunday morning would be the best time. He'd be least likely to run into her or her lovers. He'd wait until light to return her stuff, but for now he would gather it all up and put it in a bag.
He went to his upper left drawer and wedged it open. He saw her pink undies and grey bra. He gathered them to his face and breathed in.
He wanted to cry. He wanted to take them to bed and put them on his pillow and then lay his face on them and cry some more. Then he wanted to lay them out geometrically and remember how she was when she was with him.
But they had no smell. She had not left her mark. There was nothing special here. Run along little white boy.
He started grabbing plastic bags from beside the frig. The first three were wet inside. The fourth was dry and he put her underwear in there along with her book by A. Scott Berg, "Maxwell Perkins: Editor of Genius."
He wanted to add something to the bag, some eloquent way to say goodbye.
He brought his attention to his bowels and realized they were empty, so he went back to bed and listened to the path of the artist.
At 5:40 a.m., he rose for his ritual cold shower. The tub was dirty. If he ever got a woman again in the hovel, he'd definitely have to clean up.
He brushed his teeth and his tongue until he retched.
He said "Moden Ani" and put on his tzitzit and said the right bracha.
He ate two FRS lemon lime energy chews -- no hashgacha -- without a bracha.
He put on his white Apple t-shirt (it was wet and cold, the dryer at the ghetto cleaner late Friday afternoon didn't work) and his blue jeans and his black yarmulke.
He walked through the early morning mist. It felt wet on his face. I'll write "He walked through the early morning mist," he thought.
He looked both ways on Pico Blvd and then ran across to his ex-girlfriend's apartment where he kept his car in her garage. He'd put more than that in her garage if she wasn't so fat.
After moving her little thing out of the way, he fired up his monster and to his surprise, it caught right away. He decided he'd do a writing exercise when he got home -- 50 Things I Like About Myself.
He thought about his therapist who first did that exercise with him last year. Their last session would be in eight days. She'd promised a "good, positive ending."
Hah!
All women leave.
No endings of anything good were positive.
Arriving at his PO Box, he turned the key, moved the LA Times inside, and saw the same black woman sitting at her same seat by the phone.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"About 6:30," he said and got his magazines and his cell-phone bill.
He drove north on La Cienega to Santa Monica. Then he turned right for a mile and then right again and parked beside a fire hydrant.
His adrenalin pumped. He felt like a stalker. He figured the odds were about 1 in 20 of running into her or one of her lovers. Perhaps she'd be walking the dog and he'd hand off her stuff without a word.
He couldn't see her car and imagined she spent the night somewhere else.
He walked down the street looking for her yellow apartment building and then he saw her car and it looked clean and neat. Nothing in it said, "I'm a cheater!"
He stared at her car and remembered she was a responsible woman. Perhaps she had always told the truth? After all, he'd never caught her in a lie. She had told him she'd cheated.
He walked towards the third and final stairway. His blood rushed into his face. He imagined he'd hear shrieks of ecstasy as he climbed the stairs and they'd be answered by either a man or a woman. He hoped it would be a woman. He hoped she wasn't getting a lot of cock. He hoped she wasn't getting black cock.
Either way, he decided, it would be good for his writing. He'd sit on the stairs for a minute and listen to her getting porked and it would drive him to write.
She had always said she was intuitive. Perhaps she sensed that he was coming and she'd hear his step and she'd fling open the door and embrace him. He'd turn to leave and she'd say, "Luke, I wasn't with anyone but you," and then he turn back to her and go inside her and take possession of the Promised Land that God had given him.
He walked up the stairs and it wasn't what he expected. He could hear nothing. He put the bag against her door and paused for a second.
When it didn't fly open, he turned around and tripped down the stairs and on the bottom one, he finally fell.
He tumbled silently to the cement and skinned his left knee and right wrist.
Pushing himself up and walking away, he felt relieved that nothing was broken. How humiliating and yet how perfect that would be. He'd have to ring her doorbell and tell her to call an ambulance. And her door would be opened by the other woman and his downfall would be complete.
He drove to Melrose and turned right and had to wait for the light at Fairfax. He checked his cell phone. She hadn't called.
By the time he was a mile away, by the time he'd crossed Wilshire, he felt relieved.
As he walked home, through the squeaking of his new shoes, he felt lighter and taller. He was careful not to over-stride and he thought forward and up.

Love in the Time of Pets

Khunrum emails: I could write an interesting short story on dating women with pets. The beasts always eye you like you're there to toss them in the stew pot. Women insist on sleeping with them. The litter box smells to high heaven. Fleas. A friend was doing the boom boom with a lady and her cat peed on his suit. Another chum was going at it on the couch when her dog trotted over and took a smelly dump right next to them. I was sleeping uncomfortably one evening when something crawled over my face. I thought it was a rat and woke up in mild terror. It was her cat. I got dressed and went home. You'd think a single gal would increase her chances of landing a guy by going petless until the poor bastard said "I DO". But no....they must have that dog or cat to sleep with. Thank G-d I married a lady from a country where dogs and cats could eventually end up on the barbeque spit. No pets in this house.

The Day I Knew The Relationship Was Doomed

Talking to her on the phone that Sunday, I realized the only way I would see her that day would be if she could fit me in around her dog-sitting.
She finally invited me to dinner that night at the home of friends.
I took a shower after yoga but was not sure how to dress as she would be accompanied by her friend's big black dog.
We went to Trader Joe's so she could pick up wine.
Though plenty of kosher wines were available, she deliberately chose non-kosher wine.
Over dinner, she had a couple of glasses. That bothered me because she was driving us home.
Drink and drive on your own time, woman!
Her conversation that evening was 50% about dogs. A minute of conversation about dogs is about all I can handle before my eyes glaze over.
I wouldn't talk about football for an hour over dinner if I knew that at least half of my audience had zero interest in the topic.
When she dropped me off, we hugged for a minute in the car (with the big black dog drooling over us) but anything further was not possible because of the dog.
A bunch of little things that day made me realize I didn't rate very highly in her priorities.
That was the night I gave up on us.
I kept seeing her for a few weeks out of inertia but then we ended with a bang.

Scenes From A Shabbos Table

The father walks around and gives brachas (blessings) to his children. Then his wife says her husband will give blessings to anyone who wants one. That the neighbor, a lady in her eighties, got her first blessing of her life at this Shabbos table and she broke down in tears.

"I can see how deeply moved your boy was by his bracha," I said. "Look at how he is sawing at his wrist with his knife."

The bloody kid was sliding the knife back and forth.

Cheating

A friend of mine was cheated on. He felt devastated. He questioned his worth. A rabbi-friend advises him: she cheated on you.....That sucks.

and - free unwanted and unsolicited advice from you friend.

your depth and goodness is independent of her.

so while there is hurt - the wounds of love.

there is not the searing pain when your very existence and value has been called into question.

that stems from you decency - integrity - compassion - and divine image realized in her life.

nothing she can do can touch that.

My favorite sentence of 2009

"Get away from me with that thing!"
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My therapist was right

I've been walking around for days thinking of all the things I'd like to say to somebody who hurt me, yet I was too proud to say them. Last night I emailed off my feelings and immediately felt better, lighter, cleansed.
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Starbucks meeting

I'm sitting beside a meeting of Starbucks managers. They tell each other not to say to customers, "Price increase", but rather "Price adjustment." Don't mention that these increases are "tests."

They report to each other that McDonalds big coffee experiment is a giant failure.
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'For that I will give you my daughter'

I have so many accomplishments and yet no father has said that to me.
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In The Holy Bible, God commands Hosea to marry a whore

In real life, He has commanded me to date one.
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A LUKE FORD /JEWISH NEWS CONNECTION!

EXCLUSIVE: 'JOURNALIST' FOR NEW NBC NEWS SHOW: THE WANTED - FORMER FIRED CIA LAWYER <http://theenterprisereport.typepad.com/news/2009/07/exclusive-journalist-for-new-nbc-news-show-the-wanted-former-fired-cia-lawyer.html>

Rabbi Jason Weiner Leaves YICC

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From: Young Israel of Century City

Dear Member,

We have important news that we prefer you learn from the shul rather than from another source. We would normally send this by snail mail, but given the time sensitive nature of the announcement, we had to use e-mail.

Rabbi Weiner has been offered a full time position as the Jewish Chaplain of Cedar-Sinai Medical Center. Rabbi Weiner's affiliation with the hospital began when Rabbi Levi Meier A"H took ill and could not continue full time at the hospital without some relief. A number of members, together with Rabbi Muskin, suggested that Rabbi Weiner could and should assist Rabbi Meier. Over the course of his two years at the hospital, Rabbi Weiner has already had wide reaching influence, such that when the executive search group Isaacson Miller made its recommendation concluding a six month national search process, Rabbi Weiner was the unanimous choice. He was chosen over people twenty years his senior, over people with degrees in chaplaincy and over a number of PhD's. The search committee recognized Rabbi Weiner's sterling personal qualities, his steadfastness and commitment, and his youth and energy.

The hospital understandably desires Rabbi Weiner's full time commitment and as such Rabbi Weiner will conclude his third year with us on August 14th (the hospital is allowing Rabbi Weiner to devote time to wind down his administrative commitments to the shul between July 20th when he starts there and August 14th) and then leave our payroll. A press release is going out on Monday afternoon and an e-mail to Cedar Sinai's 11,000 employees. Rabbi Weiner desires to keep a strong association with the shul and will continue giving a series of adult education courses and organizing a rotation of Rabbanim (including himself) to cover the 9:30 minyan while we determine our future course. At the upcoming board meeting on the 20th, we will suggest that the new administration be given a chance to get their bearings and to appoint a search committee for Rabbi Weiner's ultimate replacement and to determine the nature of that position in the future.

As an aside, while the departure of Rabbi Weiner from our payroll will certainly help in our efforts to cut costs in the short term, on July 20th, the Board will be entertaining significant cuts (to the tune of 10% of the shul's operating budget) suggested by the Cost-Cutting Committee - independent of the savings on Rabbi Weiner's salary and benefits. A more detailed explanation of these cuts will be explained in a letter to the membership -- following the 20th -- to the extent that the Board approves any or all of them.

While Rabbi Weiner, Lauren and their family will continue to live and work in our midst, and while Rabbi Weiner will continue serving us in a voluntary capacity, the Weiner family is closing a chapter in their lives with us. We were blessed to have such a wonderful couple alongside the Muskin's at our helm. I know that you all join us in thanking them for three rich and productive years and in wishing them Hatzlacha Rabba in their next set of endeavors.

Best to all,

Rabbi Muskin Seth Berkowitz Suzanne Schlanger

New from the Center for Immigration Studies

Support the Center for Immigration Studies by donating on line here: http://www.cis.org/support.html

[FYI --

1. Blog: 'On a Roll'
2. Blog: 'One Step Forward, Three Steps Back'
3. Blog: 'At CFR, No Clarity on Family Unification'
4. Blog: 'Saddam's BFFs Coming to a Town Near You'
5. Blog: 'Obama Supports Secure Borders'
6. Blog: 'Another Bad Sign for the Amnesty Crowd'
7. Blog: 'Bad Poetry Makes for Bad Policy'

-- Mark Krikorian]


1.
On a Roll
By Mark Krikorian
CIS Blog, July 10, 2009
http://www.cis.org/Krikorian/SenateAmendments

Excerpt: Wednesday and Thursday saw Senate approval of four good immigration amendments to the Homeland Security appropriations bill — not silver bullets that will solve everything, but real steps in the right direction nonetheless. A measure sponsored by Sen. Jeff Sessions would permanently reauthorize E-Verify and require federal contractors to use it (the similar contractor rule hyped by the administration is much narrower and riddled with loopholes). This amendment had failed in March by a vote of 47–50, but passed this week 53–44, with eight Democrats switching from no to yes votes (and two switching the other way). Every single Republican voted for it. A measure to require completion of the border fencing passed 54–44, and two other amnedments passed by voice vote — i.e., unanimously: one requires implementation of the Social Security No-Match Rule (overturning the administration announcement Wednesday to rescind the rule), while the other would permit employers to screen their existing workforce with the E-Verify system, which now may be used only for new hires.

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2.
One Step Forward, Three Steps Back
By Mark Krikorian
CIS Blog, July 9, 2009
http://www.cis.org/Krikorian/NoMatchRecinded

Excerpt: The administration has announced that it's abandoning an important immigration initative that would have identified large numbers of illegal immigrants in the workforce. To camouflage this capitulation, the same press release reiterates a promise to finally implement a different, much smaller initative.

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3.
At CFR, No Clarity on Family Unification
By Jerry Kammer
CIS Blog, July 8, 2009
http://www.cis.org/Kammer/CFR-Recommendations

Excerpt: As the Council on Foreign Relations rolled out its recommendations for immigration policy reform on Wednesday, a panel discussion covered ground that is familiar to advocates of the comprehensive reform proposals.

The CFR task force wants to combine calls for tough enforcement against illegal immigration with sweeping legalization of those who are already here. The panelists, who sat on the task force, said there was strong agreement that a demonstrated commitment to enforcement was essential to the effort to win support for “earned legalization.”

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4.
Saddam's BFFs Coming to a Town Near You
By Mark Krikorian
CIS Blog, July 8, 2009
http://www.cis.org/Krikorian/SaddamsBFFs

Excerpt: Besides the specific problem of welcoming to our shores people who danced in the streets at the destruction of the Twin Towers, there's the more general issue of resettling as refugees people who have somewhere else to go. There are 21 members of the Arab League, other than Iraq, that could take these Palestinians, and if they don't want to (and they don't) then we should apply pressure to our 'friends' in the Arab world to make them do so. Resettlement in America, regardless of the total numbers (and I obviously prefer lower numbers), should be reserved only for those who can't stay where they are and will never have anywhere else to go. Many, perhaps most, of those resettled here as refugees don't fit that description, these Palestinians being simply the latest example.

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5.
Obama Supports Secure Borders
By Jon Feere
CIS Blog, July 7, 2009
http://www.cis.org/Feere/ObamaOnSecureBorders

Excerpt: As the last sentence indicates, the president’s words were aimed at Russia. But this is powerful language that must be reiterated if and when the president begins pushing illegal alien amnesty. Obama cannot back peddle from this statement without losing credibility on both an international and national scale.

Time will tell if Obama’s a man of his words.

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6.
Another Bad Sign for the Amnesty Crowd
By Mark Krikorian
CIS Blog, July 7, 2009
http://www.cis.org/node/1294

Excerpt: From Politico: 'Labor declares war on Chamber', as in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This story doesn't touch on immigration, but the two big union federations already gave business the finger in agreeing to oppose any guest-worker plan as part of an amnesty bill. And amnesty just isn't making it through Congress unless business and labor are swapping spit in the shower.

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7.
Bad Poetry Makes for Bad Policy
By Mark Krikorian
CIS Blog, July 6, 2009
http://www.cis.org/Krikorian/StrangersAmongUs

Excerpt: Roberto Suro, a former WaPo reporter turned professor at USC, is no restrictionist but he is a contrarian on immigration. His 1998 book Strangers Among Us is anathema to the open-borders crowd, with its assertion that stopping illegal immigration is necessary to improve the lives of low-skilled immigrants already here and its confidence that enforcement is actually feasible.

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Tired of the Excuses

From: Vicki Polin

Tired of the Excuses

Over the last ten years that I've been involved in the orthodox world, I have been told something over and over again. The way to determine if someone is orthodox is if they keep kosher and are shomer shabbos (keep the sabbath). If the individual is a man, he is also required to be a part of a minyan (a group of 10 men praying together), praying three times a day if possible.

Whenever there is an individual who follows the above rules, yet does something that brings negative attention to the orthodox world, then I am told that they are not really frum, haredi, orthodox, or practicing Judaism. To be honest I see this as a lame excuse to perpetuate the vision that those who are orthodox are perfect.

I personally believe that when someone parades around in the orthodox traditional clothing, keeps kosher and shabbos, and when the individual davens three times a day in a minyan, usually at an orthodox synagogue -- even if they do something against the cultural norms, they are still considered orthodox, haredi, frum or what ever else you want to call it. The rest of the world will not buy into the excuse that keeps being given.

Those who perpetrate sex crimes against children come from all cultural backgrounds. This includes those of other faiths, neo-nazi's, and the orthodox Jewish community.

I've also recently been given the excuse that the haredi men in Jerusalem that are rioting against the parking lot being open on shabbos are "not really practicing Judaism" or ar not really orthodox.

To the rest of the world they are seen as Jews. It doesn't matter if one group does not feel they are practicing Judaism correctly or not. They are all seen as Jews. As a people we need to do something about this, besides saying they are not really practicing or doing it correctly. We are one people, no matter what our skin color is, how we daven (pray) or don't pray. We are all responsible for each other. We must stop being in denial and face the fact that there are those who are orthodox who also molest children, sexual assault adults, and act in ways in which one does not feel an orthodox person should behave. The first step in healing is recognizing the problem. Denial will get us no where, except to allow more children and adults to become the next victim of sex crimes and or more journalists to be spit at, or worse.

Vicki Polin, MA, NCC, LCPC, ATR-BC

Founder and CEO

The Awareness Center, Inc.

(the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault)

P.O. Box 65273, Baltimore, MD 21209

www.theawarenesscenter.org

443-857-5560

Was there anything I could've done?

Was there something missing in our relationship? Was I an inadequate boyfriend? Lover?

What would you have needed so you would not have opened that door Friday night?

What would you need from me to let go of the safety valve of contact with your exes?
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And then came relief

At first he just felt sick. He felt like his balls had been cut off. And then he felt relief that it was over. Terminar. Finito. Completo. Done. And he felt glad that he would never look back and wonder what he could've done differently.
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C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community

This book will change my life. It stresses the importance of writers finding community with their fellow writers. Encouragement is often the difference between successful and unsuccessful writers. I must join a writers group and get an MFA in creative writing.
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Petition to Protect Precious American Jobs from Being Taken by Illegal Aliens when We Have 16 MILLION UNEMPLOYED

From: Stephen Steinlight
Subject: Petition to Protect Precious American Jobs from Being Taken by Illegal Aliens when We Have 16 MILLION UNEMPLOYED

Hello, friend, Please sign the petition and pass this along to your friends. We wish to flood the White House today. The Senate just passed 4 (FOUR!) amendments to accomplish these goals, but the White House could work behind the scenes to kill them. Let the President know that charity begins at home. Best to all, Steve

Jobs for American Workers, NOT Illegal Aliens

Stop Pelosi, Obama and Reid from stripping workplace enforcement like they did last winter.

Send this petition to keep E-Verify, Fence and No-Match amendments in the Homeland Security Bill and open up jobs to unemployed Americans.

To: President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid,

Defend unemployed Americans. Keep the four E-Verify, Fence and No-Match amendments in the Homeland Security spending bill. The Senate overwhelmingly passed these amendments to ensure that returning veterans and other unemployed Americans get jobs and that illegal foreign workers not be able to take the jobs from them.

The nation's eyes are upon you; we will not tolerate the stripping of these measures in a secret conference as you did with the House E-Verify provisions this past February.

Millions of unemployed Americans are counting on you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is NumbersUSA and why are we behind this petition?
Who is handling this petition?
Can I send this to other people?
How will the petition be delivered?
What is your privacy policy?

Who is NumbersUSA and why are we behind this petition?

NumbersUSA Action is a non-profit, non-partisan, public policy organization that opposes efforts to use federal immigration policies to force mass U.S. population growth and to depress wages of vulnerable workers. NumbersUSA Action is pro-environment, pro-worker, pro-liberty and pro-immigrant. Activists in the NumbersUSA Action network are Americans of all races and include many immigrants and the spouses, children and parents of immigrants. Our goal is to carry out the immigration-reduction recommendations from two national commissions of the 1990s:

1) The bi-partisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform urged reduction in immigration numbers that are now so high as to harm the most vulnerable American workers and their families
2) To achieve an environmentally sustainable society, the President's Council on Sustainable Development urged reducing immigration numbers to a level that will allow the U.S. population to stabilize.

Who is handling this petition?

Petitions are handled by NumbersUSA, a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Arlington, Virginia, with more than 860,000 activists committed to reducing immigration.

Can I send this to other people?

Yes, after filling out the fields to the right and hitting the "sign petition" button. You will then be redirected to a referral page where you can email the petition along to others.

How will the petition be delivered?

The petition will be delivered electronically to the person(s) or organization stated above.

What is your privacy policy?

Your information will NOT be shared, rented or sold to any entity or group.

Petitions are handled by NumbersUSA, a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Arlington, Virginia, with more than 900,000 activists committed to reducing immigration. By signing this petition, you have agreed to receive periodic updates from NumbersUSA via email; you may opt out at any time.

Leave E-Verify Amendments in Homeland Security Bill

4838 citizens have signed since July 12!

Name: (required)

City: (required)

State: (required) Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Zip: (required)

Email: (required)

Your petition will immediately be delivered electronically to the White House.

PRIVACY POLICY: Your information will NOT be shared, rented or sold to any entity or group.

Petitions are handled by NumbersUSA, a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Arlington, Virginia, with more than 900,000 activists committed to reducing immigration. By signing this petition, you have agreed to receive periodic updates from NumbersUSA via email; you may opt out at any time.

Help get more signatures!

Already signed? You can still help by urging others to sign the petition!

© 2009 NumbersUSA Action, 1601 N Kent St, Suite 1100, Arlington, VA 22209, All Rights Reserved

Part 2: All the News that's Fit to Steal

From: EvanGahr@aol.com
Subject: Part 2: All the News that's Fit to Steal

I left a voice mail message early last week for NYT Washington Bureau Chief Dean Baquet, saying the Times policy is to credit the first publication to report something exclusively so why didn't they give proper credit.

I was pessimistic anything would come of this because I dealt with him two years ago about another one of my stories I wanted the Times to follow up and he repeatedly made promises he didn't keep: first he promised to have a reporter call me. He didn't. When I reminded him weeks later he promised again. Nobody called. Then he promised to call me and didn't.

But you never know.

I was pleasantly surprised when he called back this time. I repeated what I said on the voice mail about proper credit. He said actualy we reported this during the campaign.

Actually, they didn't. The Times and other publications reported about a poli sci thesis that Obama supposedly wrote at Colubmia but it never surfaced. The only thing he wrote at Columbia that anyone found is the Sundial essay.

I subsequently told him this and he agreed he was mistaken.

I said you wrote it's "unclear" how the essay "surfaced" on the internet but how could it be unclear if it was in the Washington Post and Politico?

"You're acting like a jerk," he explained, but "I'll look into it."

A jerk? He's Washington Bureau Chief of the New York Times and he can't come up with a more sophisticated term than jerk?

How about petulant?

A jerk? What is he a girl? "That guy is such a jerk" goes one popular refrain.

I probably was a little petulant on the phone but the plain reality is that if he has integrity he'll issue a correction, if he doesn't he won't. It's not going to turn on my less than stellar phone manners.

It's remarkably deceitful what the Times did. They used the "unclear" line because saying it was in the Washington Post and Politico would have made they look foolish for writing about something six months after it was in two major publications and one highly visible conservative one. (When I attacked Obama last year over his ties to rappers--a few months before the rest of the media reported the connection--I got attacked by people on Huffington Post and elsewhere plus heard from conservatives who read it.)

Anyway, "unclear" makes it sound like the Times in its infinite wisdom found the essay that had been overlooked and now brings it to readers' attention.

I was playing the conversation over in my head and remembered that he said "I get calls like this all the time" but you're the only one who acts like a jerk.

"Calls like this all the time?" Does that mean the Times is ripping people off on a regular basis?

So who's jerking who around?

A Jewish Bloggers Circle

I want a modern Knights of the Roundtable where likeminded Jews would sit around and listen to readings of prospective tweets, Facebook status updates, and blog posts, providing helpful feedback and raising the moral tone of the internet.
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