* Dennis Prager: “The greatest human task is to see people different from us as fully human. One of the few places to embark on this task is America.”
* Was it hard for you to grow up to see other groups as fully human? Blacks or women or Reform Jews?
* Do you feel any comfort with Genesis being filled with dysfunctional families and imperfect people?
* Orthodox rabbi Emmanuel Rackman said God created doubt. If we didn’t have doubt, we wouldn’t have freedom of choice. Does anything affect your faith in God and in the divine status of Torah? Sexual tension is a good thing. Is tension with God good? Do you struggle with God? Do children born deformed affect your faith? How about the Holocaust?
* Do you have a favorite book of the Bible? Or character? Do you think your life has been easier than Joseph’s or Jacob’s or Isaac’s or Abraham’s? Do we expect too much from family?
* Rabbi Rabbs posts to FB: Ugh! I just witnessed some frightening child abuse right in front of everyone, and none of us did a damn thing about it. I got so much anger right now.
i’m living proof that years of therapy doesn’t do jack. shrinks are a fraud. I CANNOT STAND UP FOR MYSELF OR FOR OTHERS AGAINST ABUSIVE ASSHOLES and all the therapy in the world can’t changed that.
* When the Torah commands us to love the stranger, does that mean that we learn to love the stranger in ourselves? Our shadow? How is your self-esteem? Have you learned to love yourself?
* Dennis Prager: “The greatest human task is to see people different from us as fully human. One of the few places to embark on this task is America.”
* Was it hard for you to grow up to see other groups as fully human? Blacks or women or Reform Jews?
* Do you feel any comfort with Genesis being filled with dysfunctional families and imperfect people?
* Orthodox rabbi Emmanuel Rackman said God created doubt. If we didn’t have doubt, we wouldn’t have freedom of choice. Does anything affect your faith in God and in the divine status of Torah? Sexual tension is a good thing. Is tension with God good? Do you struggle with God? Do children born deformed affect your faith? How about the Holocaust?
* Do you have a favorite book of the Bible? Or character? Do you think your life has been easier than Joseph’s or Jacob’s or Isaac’s or Abraham’s? Do we expect too much from family?
* Rabbi Rabbs posts to FB: Ugh! I just witnessed some frightening child abuse right in front of everyone, and none of us did a damn thing about it. I got so much anger right now.
i’m living proof that years of therapy doesn’t do jack. shrinks are a fraud. I CANNOT STAND UP FOR MYSELF OR FOR OTHERS AGAINST ABUSIVE ASSHOLES and all the therapy in the world can’t changed that.
This week we will discuss our Torah portion of Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27).
* Jews were shepherds. Egyptians despised that profession, just as Christians despised money lenders in the Middle Ages and pornographers today.
Jews wanted their own area and Egyptians wanted to put them in their own area.
It’s important to know your place in life.
Should Jews live in their own enclaves as they did at Goshen?
* Awareness of being strangers in Egypt left a profound impression on the Jewish consciousness and is a source of numerous statements in the Torah such as to the love the stranger.
This week we will discuss our Torah portion of Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27).
* When God identifies himself, he does it as the concrete God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, rather than as the universal source of morality. The latter would not have worked. Abstract moral principles are not enough, you need a concrete people to live them and the only way to maintain a commitment to principles is through ritual observance. Rituals guard ethics (Dennis Prager).
* Judaism isn’t stoical. Jews give vent to their emotions from Genesis to the present day. This is dramatic to me as I was raised a stoical Protestant. So the patriarchs and other Biblical characters are much more real and accessible to me since I converted to Judaism. As a Christian, they were also my ancestors, but they lived contrary to Protestantism. They had dietary laws. They were very emotional. They lusted. They observed mourning rituals. They were tribal. They had attachments to places such as Israel.
* Jews were shepherds. Egyptians despised that profession, just as Christians despised money lenders in the Middle Ages and pornographers today.
Jews wanted their own area and Egyptians wanted to put them in their own area.
It’s important to know your place in life.
Should Jews live in their own enclaves as they did at Goshen?
* Awareness of being strangers in Egypt left a profound impression on the Jewish consciousness and is a source of numerous statements in the Torah such as to the love the stranger.
This week we will discuss our Torah portion of Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27).
* When Joseph tells his brothers not to be distressed for selling him into slavery (Gen. 45:6), does he mean it or is he just trying to comfort them? When he says it was part of God’s plan, does he mean it?
* Joseph lavishes special favors on Benjamin and then sends his brothers home to Jacob with the instruction to not quarrel. (Gen. 45:24)
* The Torah is obsessed with justice. So are Jews. The Torah wants a world of balance. If you lie, there should be equivalent punishment. Eye for an eye is just. Jacob does not believe the brothers when they say that Joseph rules Egypt. When the brothers deceived about Joseph being dead, Jacob believed them. When they say truth, not believe.
* Then Jacob sees the wagons that Joseph sent. Money talk more powerfully than words.
* Artscroll on Gen. 45:27 says the divine spirit rests only amid joy.
Thursday, December 09, 2010 Radio Show H1: One Puff Prager H1: The Surgeon General contends that inhaling a single puff of cigarette smoke, even second-hand, can kill you… We have all the energy we need right here in North America… Dennis highlights another great Imprimis speech; this one by Richard John Neuhaus in 1982 about the importance of religion to America’s past, present and future.
Thursday, December 09, 2010 Radio Show H2: Sarah Hate Prager H2: There is no limit to the Left’s hatred of Sarah Palin. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s obscenity-filled screed in The Huffington Post is the latest example… Dennis talks to Ron Christie, professor of political science and strategy at George Washington University and Haverford College. His new book is Acting White: The Curious History of a Racial Slur.
Thursday, December 09, 2010 Radio Show H3: The Emperor of All Maladies Prager H3: Dennis talks to Siddhartha Mukherjee, oncologist and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. His new book is Emperor of All Maladies: a Biography of Cancer. Dennis also revisits the killer puff and hate Sarah issues.
Thursday, December 09, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 2:02 PM
Dennis talks to Siddhartha Mukherjee, oncologist and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. His new book is Emperor of All Maladies: a Biography of Cancer.
Thursday, December 09, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 1:36 PM
Dennis talks to Ron Christie, professor of political science and strategy at George Washington University and Haverford College. His new book is Acting White: The Curious History of a Racial Slur
Thursday, December 09, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 12:57 PM
Here's a link to Richard John Neuhaus' speech in 1982 about the importance of religion to America -- past, present and future. Dennis quoted a few key passages, but it's very much worth reading in full. Great speeches and great ideas don't date; they only become more relevant. Hillsdale College is famous for its distinguished speaker series. You can receive a transcript of each new speech by signing up for their monthly publication, Imprimis, here.
Thursday, December 09, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 12:48 PM
We have all the energy we need. But it's not "green," so who knows if we'll ever be able to get it. If the Left really wanted us off of foreign oil, we'd be going after all the shale and natural gas we could find and building new nuclear power plants.
Thursday, December 09, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 12:08 PM
This is the latest hysterical report from the Surgeon General. Does anybody beside the anti-smoking fanatics really believe it -- one cigarette is going to alter your life?
Wednesday, December 08, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 12:43 PM
A terrific piece about the President's favorite target: Mr. Straw Man. His arguments are crazy and easily demolished and nobody does it better than our Chief Executive.
On his radio show today, Dennis Prager said that none of the candidates (about a dozen) he donated money to won.
“The New York Times says President Obama has not explained himself well enough. I agree. The New York Times should be listened to by the president. He should now speak to the country every day. It should be like a diary. He’s already out-spoken every president in history.
“The problem is not that he can’t sell what he does. The irony is that he didn’t even try to. If he would try to sell what he has done, he would’ve been even more defeated. He never spoke in defense of the healthcare bill or cap-and-trade. He spoke about how we don’t know where the money is coming from for all of these Republican ads. He didn’t try to explain his policies.”
“I’ve never had the clarity I’ve had about any politician as I think I have about this politician. I thank you, sir. You have created a conservative movement beyond my dreams. You have clarified left-right differences better than anyone in public life.”
“This president is a leftist. He has never surprised me. Asking him to change would be like asking Ronald Reagan to change.”
Here’s the headline on JewishJournal.com right now: “GOP sweep makes one Jew a star, unseats and disempowers many others”
You can’t make this up. They want to portray the Republican victories as disempowering Jews. Yeah, we’re all walking around America today fearing a pogrom.
What kind of wanker uses the word ‘disempower’? Only a real tool. No manly man would use that kind of language.
I don’t know about you, but where I come from, when we meet people who use the word “disempower” or who describe themselves politically as “progressive”, we drag them behind trucks until they stop. Usually sorts them right out after a mile or two. Then we leave them for the bloody dingos.
Only a wanker would call himself a “progressive.” A manly man on the left would say he’s a leftist just like a manly man homo calls himself a homo or a poof or a fagella or a twink or light in his loafers or a sodomite or a Reconstructionist rabbi but he ain’t ever “gay” unless he’s particularly happy.
While girls have come and gone from my life over the past 33 years, I’ve loved only one football team — the Dallas Cowboys.
This year, the Cowboys have one victory in seven games. They are virtually eliminated from the playoffs.
I tell myself that I love football and I watch other games not involving Dallas but I just can’t get excited. I find that I just don’t care about anyone else but Dallas. If I can’t be with Dallas, well, I just want to study Torah.
I wonder if I’ll ever find a woman who I love as much and as constantly as I love the Dallas Cowboys. I feel pretty proud of myself when I love just one woman in a year, let alone for 33 years. And even when I am in love with one woman, I often find myself thinking about other women and how much fun it would be to play football with them. Yet when I am with Dallas, I never find myself thinking about playing with other teams.
On his radio show today, Dennis Prager said: “President Obama did something so troubling yesterday that it needs to be addressed. The president was in the country in the world with the largest number of Muslims [and he criticized Israel for building housing in Jerusalem, Israel's capitol city].”
Jerusalem is not a settlement.
The Indonesian government (like almost every Muslim country) prevents Israeli citizens from visiting its country.
The president wants America and himself to be loved in the world, particularly by Muslim countries.
He’s using the worst possible way to try to ingratiate himself with a Muslim audience — to crap on Israel. It is the easiest and the cheapest and the worst. All you do is feed the worst part of the Muslim world today — its hatred of Israel. If the Muslim world accepted a tiny Jewish state within its midst, it would be an enormous step forward for the Muslim world.
There aren’t many wonderful countries in the world. Israel is one of them. For us to have a president with deep ambivalence about Israel…
On his radio show today, Dennis Prager said: “Tone is very important. The thing that I am told the most by people who listen to this show is the tone. Just not yelling at people was a major advantage of this program.”
Dennis interviews Philippe Karsenty, vice mayor of the city of Neuilly, France and documentary film-maker.
Karsenty says: “France was a communist country that used to work. Now it is a communist country that doesn’t work any more.”
According to a poll, most French youth want to work for the government bureaucracy.
“When people in the USSR used to watch the news on TV, they knew it was lies. When people in France watch the news, they think it is real news. That’s insane. The devastating effect on the people is that you are brainwashing them.”
On his radio show Nov. 17, Dennis Prager said: “Bob Herbert is reliably liberal. Society causes a lot of problems for blacks. We need government intervention.”
“I’ve said [that black life in the inner city is a tragedy] because I care deeply for Americans of every color but most whites don’t talk about this because they are afraid of being called racist. If you are absolutely certain that you are not something, you don’t fear being called it. I am absolutely certain that I don’t have a racist bone in my body.”
“How can a majority of black men without a high school diploma spend time in prison but there is no relationship between a policeman’s work in inner cities and race? Only a liberal who wishes away reality [could believe that]. It is a sad fact, a catastrophic fact, that black males disproportionately commit violent crime.”
“The moment you learn that the government won’t help you, you learn to help yourself. He laments it. He is a liberal. He laments that government won’t rescue black life from this catastrophe. No one will do what you need to do for yourself.”
“Government has tried to help black life all of my life. And it has failed horribly. My anger is at the left-liberal idea that government can help people when they should help themselves.”
I’m walking on Pico Blvd Friday afternoon when a stream of urine appears in front of me. I trace the stream to its source — it is a black boy, about nine years of age, pissing out from the bus stop.
The sheer comedy of the moment seizes me and I look the kid in the eye and give him a goofy grin.
Immediately, the boy and his friend start accusing me of being gay.
Ashamed and frightened, I hurry on my way.
I must learn to control my reactions when I encounter people urinating in public.
Would A Former Drill Sergeant Make A Good Alexander Technique Teacher?
OK, new recruit, stand up straight. No slouching or slumping. Other programs might allow you to get away with that but we don’t hold with that here. Where I come from, when we catch somebody tightening their necks and pulling down, well, we drag ‘em behind trucks until they release their heads forward and up.
OK, give me ten up-downs in the chair without tightening your neck.
New recruit, ARE YOU TIGHTENING YOUR NECK? IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE YOU ARE TIGHTENING YOUR NECK.
Do you like tightening your neck? Is that the way your mother raised you? Well, new recruit, for the next three years, I’m going to be your mother and your father and I don’t hold with tightening the neck.
You little maggot. You ball of puss. Walk to the door while thinking free neck, head moving forward and up, shoulders dropping off to the sides, back lengthening and widening, and your knees going forward. Release your lower back, you septic tank. Stop compressing yourself.
On his radio show today, Dennis Prager says about Obamacare: “This is classic liberal legislation. It feels good. We pass it. We worry about the consequences later.”
“There is a childlike element to all left-wing positions. We will do good because we feel good, not because it actually does good. We mean good. We want to take care of 40 million Americans who don’t have health insurance. To solve a smaller problem, they create larger problems.”
Most Americans favor the new scanning and pat-downs in airports, but people who are OK with it have little incentive to speak out. So we only hear from the whining minority.
On his radio show today, Dennis Prager said: “The image in the scanner is not you. You wouldn’t recognize you. If you saw the scan of you, you wouldn’t know it’s you, so how is it an invasion of your privacy?
“There’s over-reaction here… It seems commonsensical that if we can not find a non-metallic device on a person but now we will be able, it seems to me an outline is worth the price.”
Regarding Israel: “Do you support a police state vs. a free state in any other instance? Why do people change every one of their values when it comes to the Jewish state? I am certain it is because it’s the Jewish state. When people are consistent in every arena but one, you have to account for that one.
“I find it fascinating when gays support Palestinians when you can not come out of the closet in Palestine, but you can in Israel. The entire country [of Palestine] is not allowed to criticize religion.”
Second hour. Dennis talks to Scott Stewart, VP of Tactical Intelligence for STRATFOR, a global intelligence company about the effectiveness of the new scanners.
I find few things as distancing as receiving contempt.
As a guy, I hate to acknowledge a lack of competence in my man tasks, but since February 1988, I’ve been hamstrung by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and therefore been unable to accomplish as much as I would like.
I’ve had to carefully choose which tasks my limited energy will allow me to complete each day. For instance, over the past two years, I’ve sacrificed much of my life so that I can train to be an Alexander Technique teacher.
And when I shared that with a close friend this week, she said, “Puh-lease!”
At other times she’s said, “I’m glad I have a job that forces me to leave the house each day.” In other words, if she didn’t have such work, she’d be as pathetic as me.
I’m reading this story from the Drudge Report and thinking about the Happy Minyan. Its stalwarts Stuart and Enny Wax regularly had Shabbat dinner for a hundred people for about two years until they had kids.
The kind of hospitality featured in this story is a regular occurrence in Orthodox Judaism. Many Chabad shuls host meals on Shabbat for more than a hundred people.
Dennis Prager said on his radio show Nov. 30, 2010: “I remember in high school thinking that the boys who were unbelievably confident in their dealings with girls were not the finest of the guys. I was very nervous about asking a girl out for a date, so much so that I would sit by the phone with prepared notes so that I wouldn’t grope for words and I would have a handkerchief to wipe the sweat because I was so nervous.”
On his radio show Wednesday, Dennis Prager said: A man needs most from a woman in a relationship is to be admired. Not loved. You love a puppy, but you don’t admire a puppy. You love your children, but you may or may not admire your children.
The reason the denial of sex is so terrible to a man is not primarily the biological deprivation, but he translates it in his mind as a lack of taking him seriously, a lack of admiration and love.
There is really only one thing that can not be overcome by most men in a marriage — being held in contempt by his wife.
In 2010, I paid Kaiser Permanente $330 a month for coverage. In 2011, my coverage will cost me $381. Why the big jump? Obamacare’s new rules, including the mandatory coverage of dependents through age 26.
On his radio show today, Dennis Prager talked about a song named “F*** You” nominated for Grammy Record of the Year.
“In the video, everyone in it was a black American. I just wonder if any other community would not find this a little disgraceful? I’m sure many black Americans do. If everybody there wore a cross, at least impersonating Christians, I think the Christian community would say something. This doesn’t represent us.
“There is an inner-city culture that the general society tolerates, does not condemn as anti-civilizational because of fear of being called racist, and that is racist because they would say it if anyone else did this, let alone nominate it for a Grammy award.”
“Barbarians always exist. The difference between a great civilization and a failing civilization is not the presence or absence of barbarians. Barbarians will always exists, but what matters is that the civilization condemns the barbarian. When the civilization honors the barbarian, we have gone from condemnation to toleration to adoration.
“I would not have talked about this song if it was just out there. That it was nominated for a Grammy… That the elite find this profanity-laced crap worthy of an award shows that the barbarians govern in the world of the elite, in the arts and education… The rot is at the head, not the tail.”
Surgery went fine. Surgeon recommended against fixing deviated septum, too minor, just did some other tweaks so i can breathe easier.
Now I just have to stay off the coke for six weeks. I am live on my cam, hoping to milk this moment for all the attention i can get.
I have to abstain from strenuous activity for two weeks so I guess that means no yoga and no doing the Jean-Louis move in Alexander Technique (standing at the end of a table and reaching down over someone’s head and chest to help promote width in their lower back, this fancy pants move requires that I tuck in my beard, my shirt and my belly).
I’d probably be feeling a helluva lot better right now if the Dallas Cowboys had only won their game yesterday.
Saturday. 3 pm. He walks east on Robertson Blvd and within two blocks he’s already outside of Torah Town. He passes a small Chabad and then a tiny Knesset Israel and then there’s no sign of Yiddishkeit.
The sun drops in the horizon.
He didn’t think his life would turn out like this.
At Hamilton High School, he walks west and eventually joins with National Blvd. He passes children playing roughly on the streets and wonders how many of them are criminally violent. This is an entirely different class of people from Beverlywood. They’re much rougher. They look less educated, less successful, and more indulgent. They’d punch him in the face if they knew what he was thinking so he doesn’t make eye contact.
He passes a group of winos. “Nice beard!” one says.
He thinks that these people are less inhibited than his own kind. They’re less constipated about talking to strangers. They don’t look at the outside world as the enemy to be debunked.
He could’ve waited for the end of the Sabbath and then driven to his Alexander Technique soiree but then he would’ve arrived two hours late.
He’s curious about the public dialogue with his teacher. Teach hasn’t been the same of late. He’s never seemed so vulnerable. Why? Teach is a master showman who’s taught the Technique thousands of times. This is his element. He knows he’ll shine. So why the long face?
Wednesday, December 08, 2010 Radio Show H1: Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Prager H1: Who is proposing tax cuts for the wealthy? All the Republicans asked for is to extend the current tax rates. Dennis reviews the tax compromise and the President’s “tax cuts for the wealthy” rhetoric. Callers weigh in.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010 Radio Show H2: Male/Female Hour: What Women Want Prager H2: Last week Dennis discussed what men most want from their spouse. This week, what women most want from their men is the topic.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010 Radio Show H3: What’s Wrong with Kansas? Prager H3: If tax cuts for the wealthy are the “holy grail” for Republicans, why do so many people who are not wealthy vote for GOP?.. New study reveals that allergies have been over diagnosed. That’s putting it mildy… Parent revolt over their poor school in Los Angeles… Daniel Ortega, the President of Nicaragua, is in the pocket of Hugo Chavez, getting suitcases full of cash to fund his campaign to bribe judges and rewrite that nation’s constitution.
Roy Beck's closing analysis of the DREAM Act is quite powerful and damning. He argues that, because there are no penalties to lying on a DREAM application, and because once you file the application you get a work permit good for 10 years (while you comply with the Act's requirements), the Act is basically a 10 year free pass to any illegal in a broad under-35ish age range who either qualifies or is willing to say he qualifies even if he doesn't.
Why wouldn't an illegal immigrant who didn't qualify file a false application? The rewards are very large. (Even if you don't qualify you get 10 legal years.) The risks are low. (Even if your application's rejected you are highly unlikely to get kicked out), It's an easy choice to rationalize—you just want to work, the politicians should have passed "comprehensive" reform, etc.—and there will be friendly pro-immigrant activists to help rationalize it for those who hesitate. I'm not sure any group of individuals anywhere in the world could withstand that temptation. Beck thinks
up to 2 million illegal aliens could legitimately qualify for the opening application, and perhaps a couple million more might be or look young enough to fraudulently apply.
After 10 years these millions would either have met the requirements for permanent legalization under DREAM (by spending two yers in college or the military)—or else they could still apply for a "hardship" exemption.
It's not as big an amnesty as I'd thought. It's much, much bigger.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010 Radio Show H1: Such Things Tragedies Are Made of Prager H1: A teenage boy does something very stupid in Israel and 42 people die. Countless lives are impacted… Dennis talks to John Eastman, founding Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, about the latest legal developments of California’s constitutional amendment to define marriage as one man and one woman, Prop 8.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010 Radio Show H2: The Inquisition Prager H2: The President and the Republicans reached a deal on taxes. The Left is furious… 19 countries are boycotting the Nobel Peace Prize Award. The recipient is a Chinese dissident… The music industry has covered itself in shame once again. This year’s Grammy nominees for Record of the Year are typical.
Dennis talks to Alex Pollock, scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a director of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. His new book is Boom and Bust: Financial Cycles and Human Prosperity.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010 Radio Show H3: Ultimate Issues Hour: The Founders and Deism Prager H3: Were the Founders of the United States of America deists who didn’t believe in the Judeo-Christian ethical monotheistic view of God? Were they really atheists?
Narcissistic personality disorder, characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and the need for constant attention, has been eliminated from the upcoming manual of mental disorders, which psychiatrists use to diagnose mental illness.
As Charles Zanor reports in today’s Science Times, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — due out in 2013 and known as D.S.M.-5 — has eliminated five of the 10 personality disorders that are listed in the current edition. The best known of these is narcissistic personality disorder.
It is a puzzle why the manual’s committee on personality disorders has decided to throw N.P.D. off the bus. Many experts in the field are not happy about it….One of the sharpest critics of the D.S.M. committee on personality disorders is a Harvard psychiatrist, Dr. John Gunderson, an old lion in the field of personality disorders and the person who led the personality disorders committee for the current manual.
Asked what he thought about the elimination of narcissistic personality disorder, he said it showed how “unenlightened” the personality disorders committee is. “They have little appreciation for the damage they could be doing.” He said the diagnosis is important in terms of organizing and planning treatment.
Monday, December 06, 2010 Radio Show H1: Solutionism Prager H1: Dennis interviewed the Vice Prime Minister of Israel, Moshe Ya’alon,on Sunday. In response to a question Dennis asked about why the Left doesn’t support Israel, the minister used a new term that Dennis loved “solutionism.” If there’s a problem, there has to be a solution, even if the solution is absurd and unworkable… A new Pew poll suggests most Muslims favor Sharia law, including death for those who convert out of the faith.
Monday, December 06, 2010 Radio Show H2: Chasing Away Christmas Prager H2: A local branch of Chase Bank in Fort Worth, Texas removes the Christmas tree from its lobby because it might offend someone… Dennis talks to Thomas Kidd, associate professor of history at Baylor University. His new book is God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution… Frank Rich thinks Chris Christie is popular solely because he takes a strong stand on issues, something he doesn’t think the President does.
Monday, December 06, 2010 Radio Show H3: All Praise Ixchel Prager H3: The Mayan moon goddess was invoked to bless the proceedings of the Cancun Global Warming Conference… Dennis talks to Zahid Hussain, award-winning journalist and writer, a senior editor with Newsline and a correspondent for The Times of London, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. His new book is The Scorpion's Tail: The Relentless Rise of Islamic Militants in Pakistan-And How It Threatens America… A man marries his dog in Australia.
Monday, December 06, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 2:17 PM
Dennis will be speaking at the Jericho Jewish Center on Sunday, December 12 at 430 North Broadway, Jericho, NY. For tickets, email Rabbi@thechaicenter.com or call (631) 351-8672 and ask for Miss Goodman.
Monday, December 06, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 2:00 PM
Dennis talks to Zahid Hussain, award-winning journalist and writer, a senior editor with Newsline and a correspondent for The Times of London, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. His new book is The Scorpion's Tail: The Relentless Rise of Islamic Militants in Pakistan-And How It Threatens America
Monday, December 06, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 1:00 PM
Dennis talks to Thomas Kidd, associate professor of history at Baylor University. His new book is God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution
Monday, December 06, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 12:58 PM
A Chase Bank branch took down their Christmas tree after getting a memo from corporate headquarters.The mantra is "we don't want to offend anyone." And its sunk deep into the culture. We have to fight against it. Call Chase and tell them (very nicely) how you feel or email their director of corporate responsibility. annmarie.hauser@jpmchase.com
1. Estimating the Impact of the DREAM Act (Memorandum) 2. DREAM On (Op-Ed) 3. Amnesty Advocates Trumpet Distinction Without a Difference (Blog) 4. GAO Reports Fraud and Abuse in H-2B Program (Blog) 5. Straw Man Arguments and Chutzpah Used to Defend Tuition Break for Illegals (Blog)
Excerpt: This Memorandum examines the costs and likely impact of the DREAM Act currently being considered by Congress. The act offers permanent legal status to illegal immigrants up to age 35 who arrived in the United States before age 16 provided they complete two years of college. Under the act, beneficiaries would receive in-state tuition. Given the low income of illegal immigrants, most can be expected to attend state schools, with a cost to taxpayers in the billions of dollars. As both funds and slots are limited at state universities and community colleges, the act may reduce the educational opportunities available to U.S. citizens.
Excerpt: There’s no doubt that this is the most sympathetic group of illegal immigrants. That is precisely why DREAM has been dangled as bait for the more general amnesty proposals described as “comprehensive immigration reform,” with amnesty advocates brandishing the situation of these young people as justification for a broader amnesty. (Though no one seems to have stopped to ask: If such a comprehensive bill would provide amnesty for all illegals, then why would we need DREAM?)
Nonetheless, now that the amnesty crowd has belatedly decided to move ahead on DREAM as a standalone measure, many in the public and Congress are open to the idea of addressing the situation of such young people. But the DREAM Act, in every one of its iterations over the years, has four fatal flaws . . .
Excerpt: The ever-creative advocates of amnesty for illegal aliens are pressing what they regard as a historical argument for the proposed DREAM and AgJobs Acts – that those kinds of specialized programs, not general amnesties, are, in effect, the American Way. That's their position.
Excerpt: The H-2B program for unskilled non-agricultural migrant workers is one of the nation's many alien worker programs, and one that, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, is subject to extensive fraud and abuse.
Excerpt: Those supporting tuition breaks for illegal aliens attending college sometimes use both straw man arguments and chutzpah math to advance their cause.
There is, for example, a November 23 article in the Fresno Bee headed 'Illegal immigrants are not getting free college education, Calif. official says.'
Rabbi Hershel Rabbs Remer: TONIGHT’S SHOW features a full line-up of topics, including: Lusting after Persian chicks, trashing shrinks and socialized health care, answering your questions from last week’s chat room, and time permitting, discussing Chanukah and cluing Luke Ford in on this week’s parshah.
Joseph goes from interpreting the dream for pharoah to giving advice. This from a guy fresh out of prison. It takes a lot of self-confidence. Jews do not generally lack for confidence.
Joseph interpreting dreams sounds like modern psycho-therapy. Today we turn to shrinks to interpret our dreams.
Rabbi Hershel Rabbs Remer: TONIGHT’S SHOW features a full line-up of topics, including: Lusting after Persian chicks, trashing shrinks and socialized health care, answering your questions from last week’s chat room, and time permitting, discussing Chanukah and cluing Luke Ford in on this week’s parshah.
Joseph goes from interpreting the dream for pharoah to giving advice. This from a guy fresh out of prison. It takes a lot of self-confidence. Jews do not generally lack for confidence.
Joseph interpreting dreams sounds like modern psycho-therapy. Today we turn to shrinks to interpret our dreams.
Rabbi Hershel Rabbs Remer: TONIGHT’S SHOW features a full line-up of topics, including: Lusting after Persian chicks, trashing shrinks and socialized health care, answering your questions from last week’s chat room, and time permitting, discussing Chanukah and cluing Luke Ford in on this week’s parshah.
Joseph goes from interpreting the dream for pharoah to giving advice. This from a guy fresh out of prison. It takes a lot of self-confidence. Jews do not generally lack for confidence.
Joseph interpreting dreams sounds like modern psycho-therapy. Today we turn to shrinks to interpret our dreams.
Rabbi Hershel Rabbs Remer: TONIGHT’S SHOW features a full line-up of topics, including: Lusting after Persian chicks, trashing shrinks and socialized health care, answering your questions from last week’s chat room, and time permitting, discussing Chanukah and cluing Luke Ford in on this week’s parshah.
Joseph goes from interpreting the dream for pharoah to giving advice. This from a guy fresh out of prison. It takes a lot of self-confidence. Jews do not generally lack for confidence.
Joseph interpreting dreams sounds like modern psycho-therapy. Today we turn to shrinks to interpret our dreams.
Rabbi Hershel Rabbs Remer: TONIGHT’S SHOW features a full line-up of topics, including: Lusting after Persian chicks, trashing shrinks and socialized health care, answering your questions from last week’s chat room, and time permitting, discussing Chanukah and cluing Luke Ford in on this week’s parshah.
* Gen. 42:24. Joseph weeps. How much easier is it to weep for people than to do something to alleviate their suffering?
* Gen. 42:25. Does Joseph have money put in his brother’s sacks to provide them with the opportunity for atoning for selling him into slavery or to torture them?
* Gen. 42:28. This reminds me of the story of The Count of Monte Cristo. R S.R. Hirsch says: “Joseph wanted the brothers to realize how fully they were in his power and that he could as he pleased with them.”
* Gen. 43:34 Joseph has Benjamin served five times as much as any other brother. Creepy!
* What is the connection, if any, between this week’s parsha and Chanukkah?
* The Somali teen in Portland who was planning a big terror attack on Christmas was named Mohammed Mohammed.
* Does Joseph need to do anything to make his dream-prophecies come true? Why not just leave that to God? Did Joseph’s ego need to have his brothers bow down to him?
AS: “Were it not for his obligation to carry out the dreams, Joseph would never have allowed his father to languish for so many years without knowing that his beloved Joseph was alive.”
I have many fervent dreams but I’ve never made anyone suffer so that I could accomplish them. Perhaps I am more righteous than Joseph?
* Joseph seems to have assimilated into Egyptian values. He practices divination (Gen. 44:5). He’s shaved his beard. He dresses like an Egyptian and follows their practice of not eating with non-Egyptians (religious Jews will only eat kosher food but they have no problem hosting non-Jews for meals).
* Why does Joseph practice divination? (Gen. 44:5)
* Gen. 42:9. Joseph accuses his brothers of being spies. I also wonder what you’ve got to hide when you accuse me of being a spy. What’s Joseph got to hide? How secure is he in his position? How common was it for Egypt to be ruled by a non-Egyptian? The goyim often don’t like this.
* Gen. 42:1. “Live and not die.” In ancient Hebrew thought, severe poverty is like death. Nothing in Judaism says poverty is good. That’s a Christian perspective.
* Jacob tells his sons in Gen. 42:1: “Why do make yourselves conspicuous?”
AS: “Jacob’s rhetorical question has been the theme of many leaders who exhorted their fellow Jews not to flaunt their wealth and success to envious and often anti-Semitic neighbors. Whatever food Jacob’s family had was honestly acquired, but even honest resources should be displayed judiciously.”
Is this why Rabbs lives in poverty? So the goyim won’t get envious?
* Why didn’t Joseph get in touch with Jacob and let him know he was OK? Why did he name his first son for making him forget his childhood?
* Gen. 42:7. Why is Joseph so rough on his brothers? According to one Christian commentary, it is part of the Jewish penchant for vengeance (as opposed to Christian charity).
Joseph goes from interpreting the dream for pharoah to giving advice. This from a guy fresh out of prison. It takes a lot of self-confidence. Jews do not generally lack for confidence.
Joseph interpreting dreams sounds like modern psycho-therapy. Today we turn to shrinks to interpret our dreams.
AS: “According to the Tanchuma, Pharoah gave a changed version of the dream in order to confuse and test Joseph, but Joseph corrected him every time, until Pharoah was amazed and exclaimed, “Were you eavesdropping on my dreams?”"
A good therapist detects the thru-line in your session even if you go off course and say contradictory things. A good shrink doesn’t accept your recapitulation of events as gospel truth. He asks questions and probes for truths not immediately in your ken.
That’s why I often feel like I understand myself better after psycho-therapy.
In a sermon at Stephen S. Wise one Sabbath morning in 1998, Dennis Prager shared this story: After his first divorce, he entered therapy. When he relayed a painful story from childhood, the psychiatrist said, “I suspect that didn’t happen the way you relayed it.”
And Dennis said he doubled up in pain.
One of the characteristics of a leader is that they don’t only try to tell you things you want to hear.
I took a cold shower before the show, as I do every week, and it brought me out of my post-surgery slump.
Rabbi Hershel Rabbs Remer: TONIGHT’S SHOW features a full line-up of topics, including: Lusting after Persian chicks, trashing shrinks and socialized health care, answering your questions from last week’s chat room, and time permitting, discussing Chanukah and cluing Luke Ford in on this week’s parshah.
My nephew Jacob Kleidman rocks, and because of his amazing generosity, after his penniless uncle’s router died last night cutting Rabbi Rabbs off permanently from the Internet, as soon as Yaacov’s red eye flight landed this morning, he bought a brand new router and paid to have it shipped overnight.
Joseph goes from interpreting the dream for pharoah to giving advice. This from a guy fresh out of prison. It takes a lot of self-confidence. Jews do not generally lack for confidence.
Joseph interpreting dreams sounds like modern psycho-therapy. Today we turn to shrinks to interpret our dreams.
Friday, December 03, 2010 Radio Show H1: F*** You Prager H1: That’s the title of a song nominated for Grammy Record of the Year. The lyrics of the song are as deep as the title suggests. Gershwin, Cole Porter, Cee Lo Green. And, so a civilization declines… A FCC commissioner sounds like a Soviet commissar in an interview to BBC… The CT murderer says he welcomes death. How about next week? His defense attorney makes usual "death penalty makes us all murderers" argument. Pass the vomit bag.
Friday, December 03, 2010 Radio Show H2: Happiness Hour: Hobbies Prager H2: The more things in life that bring you joy, the happier you will be. Hobbies are a great source of happiness.
Friday, December 03, 2010 Radio Show H3: Open Lines Prager H3: Per usual, callers set the agenda. Issues raised include: how important is self-esteem; does Dennis use an electric razor; Allen and Dennis do a honey tasting; is it okay for a young son to buy his father a cigar as a gift; what’s so bad about saying “happy holidays”; what is the Old Testament attitude toward premarital sex.
Thursday, December 02, 2010 Radio Show H1: Christmas Returns Prager H1: The Mayor of Philadelphia has re-instituted Christmas in that city… The Smithsonian is hosting a homo-erotic exhibit that featured a video of a crucified Jesus crawling with ants. As a result of public outrage, this video has been withdrawn, but the exhibit is still in place… Alexander Solzhenitsyn gave an important speech at Hillsdale College 35 years ago.
Thursday, December 02, 2010 Radio Show H2: Hauser’s Law Prager H2: The government gets 19% of GDP in taxes whether rates are high or low, according to Hauser’s Law. Thus lower rates are better because it means more money flows into the public treasury. Pretty simple. If true, it destroys the "tax the rich" argument. Dennis talks to Tarek Fatah, journalist and founder of the liberal Muslim organization the Muslim Canadian Congress. His new book is The Jew is Not My Enemy.
Thursday, December 02, 2010 Radio Show H3: Dress Up Prager H3: Should a mother raise no objections if her son wants to dress up as a girl?.. Dennis talks to Roger Pielke, Jr. professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado. His new book is The Climate Fix: What Scientists and Politicians Won't Tell You About Global Warming…Where are our liberties most threatened?
Wednesday, December 01, 2010 Radio Show H1: Why Is the Left Anti-American? Prager H1: What is Julian Assange’s motive for leaking thousand of State Department documents? Look to the Left… In Philadelphia, Christmas has been cancelled because a few people feel offended.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010 Radio Show H2: Male/Female Hour: What Men Want Prager H2: What do men really want? The joke response is a naked woman and food. Of course, there’s a lot of truth to that. But it’s not the core desire. Dennis has the answer.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010 Radio Show H3: Second Hand Stupidity Prager H3: A new study claims that 600K people die every year of second-hand smoke. Name one… Want to know the economy is stuck in neutral? Two stories tell the tale – the EPA regulates even when it doesn’t know what its own regulations are; and Obama says no off shore drilling on East Coast… Dennis talks to Elliot Abrams, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about the damage caused by Wikileaks.
Thursday, December 02, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 2:22 PM
Dennis talks to Roger Pielke, Jr. professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado. His new book is The Climate Fix: What Scientists and Politicians Won't Tell You About Global Warming.
Thursday, December 02, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 1:19 PM
Dennis talks to Tarek Fatah, journalist and founder of the liberal Muslim organization the Muslim Canadian Congress. His new book is The Jew is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism.
Thursday, December 02, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 1:08 PM
The government gets 19% of GDP in taxes whether rates are high or low. Thus lower rates are better because it means more money flows into the public treasury. Pretty simple. If true, it destroys the "tax the rich" argument.
Thursday, December 02, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 12:38 PM
Here's a link to Alexander Solzhenitsyn's memorable speech at Hillsdale College in 1975.. It's worth reading in full. This is living history. To get the transcript of great speeches every month given at Hillsdale, sign up for Imprimus here.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 2:28 PM
Here are two stories that help to explain why the economy is stuck in neutral and will stay there. Story one -- EPA regulates even though they don't know what the regulations are. Story two: no off shore drilling on East Coast.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 1:51 PM
According to a new WHO report published in The Lancet, 600K people die every year of second-hand smoke. Really? Name one. Another phony report discredits real science.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010 | Posted by: Allen Estrin at 12:15 PM
Here is your classic smoking gun. The NY Times didn't like Climategate documents, so it self-righteously didn't publish them. But the Wikileaks documents embarrass the United States, so here they are.
Act Likely to Adversely Affect American College Students
WASHINGTON (December 1, 2010) – A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies examines the costs and likely impact of the DREAM Act currently being considered by Congress. The act offers permanent legal status to illegal immigrants up to age 35, who arrived in the United States before age 16, provided they complete two years of college. Under the act, beneficiaries would receive in-state tuition. Given the low income of illegal immigrants, most can be expected to attend state schools, with a cost to taxpayers in the billions of dollars. As both funds and slots are limited at state universities and community colleges, the act may reduce the educational opportunities available to U.S. citizens.
Assuming no fraud, we conservatively estimate that 1.03 million illegal immigrants will eventually enroll in public institutions (state universities or community colleges) as a result of the DREAM Act. That is, they met the residence and age requirements of the act, have graduated high school, or will do so, and will come forward.
On average each illegal immigrant who attends a public institution will receive a tuition subsidy from taxpayers of nearly $6,000 for each year he or she attends for total cost of $6.2 billion a year, not including other forms of financial assistance that they may also receive.
The above estimate is for the number who will enroll in public institutions. A large share of those who attend college may not complete the two full years necessary to receive permanent residence.
The cost estimate assumes that the overwhelming majority will enroll in community colleges, which are much cheaper for students and taxpayers than state universities.
The estimate is only for new students not yet enrolled. It does not include illegal immigrants currently enrolled at public institutions or those who have already completed two years of college. Moreover, it does not include the modest number of illegal immigrants who are expected to attend private institutions.
The DREAM Act does not provide funding to states and counties to cover the costs it imposes. Since enrollment and funding are limited at public institutions, the act’s passage will require some combination of tuition increases, tax increases to expand enrollment or a reduction in spaces available for American citizens at these schools.
Tuition hikes will be particular difficult for students, as many Americans already find it difficult to pay for college. Research indicates that one out of three college students drop out before receiving a degree. Costs are a major reason for the high dropout rate.
In 2009 there were 10.2 million U.S. citizens under age 35 who have dropped out of college without receiving a degree. There was an additional 15.2 million citizens under age 35 who have completed high school, but have never attended college.
Lawmakers need to consider the strains the DREAM Act will create and the impact of adding one roughly million students to state universities and community colleges on the educational opportunities available to American citizens.
Providing state schools with added financial support to offset the costs of the DREAM Act would avoid the fiscal costs at the state and local level, but it would shift the costs to federal taxpayer.
Advocates of the DREAM Act argue that it will significantly increase tax revenue, because with a college education, recipients will earn more and pay more in taxes over their lifetime. However, several factors need to be considered when evaluating this argument:
Any hoped-for tax benefit is in the long-term, and will not help public institutions deal with the large influx of new students the act creates in the short-term.
Given limited spaces at public institutions, there will almost certainly be some crowding out of U.S. citizens รข”€ reducing their lifetime earnings and tax payments.
The DREAM Act only requires two years of college, no degree is necessary. The income gains for having some college, but no degree, are modest.
Because college dropout rates are high, many illegal immigrants who enroll at public institutions will not complete the two years the act requires, so taxpayers will bear the expense without a long term benefit.
Data Source: The analysis in this report is based on one developed by the Migration Policy Institute, which is based on the 2006 to 2008 Current Population Survey (CPS) collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. We have updated their analysis using the 2009 and 2010 CPS. The above estimates focus on the number of illegal immigrants likely to enroll in state universities or community college. It must be emphasized that it is not an estimate of the number of individuals who are eligible for the DREAM Act amnesty or the number that will ultimately meet all the requirements for permanent residence.
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The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent non-partisan research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States.
