70.02/ So many self-appointed smart guys told me that Garland was doing nothing. They were wrong & caused panic because they are impatient Dunning-Kruger cynics seized by the #Literalist fallacy that if they didn't see DOJ's work, it didn't exist. washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
70.03/ I’m just one man, but if the supply chain problems are caused by not enough little packets of soy sauce/spicy mustard/duck sauce then I can help out immediately.
I’m also willing to propose they be functionally considered currency instead of bitcryptocoins.
70.04/ Early motzei-Shabbas is movie night in my house and I showed them "The Maltese Falcon" b/c (a) it's awesome (b) they'll better understand the parodies of hard-boiled detectives specifically (c) Noir Spiderman. Also: Han Solo wishes he was Sam Spade en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Malte…
70.06/ Today I learned, prompted by my wordsmith daughter, the difference between a hart and hind (mature male & female deer respectively). I knew hart was a deer but I didn't know what kind. We found it droll that they are also homophones for body parts. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart_(dee…
70.07/ Really fun thread about Q&A in a popular Jewish paper from 1912. Akin to when you see a sugya inside and realize your issues with a topic were brought up by the Gemara too, so it is with a lot of these questions.
70.08/ I'm not as angry about the #Steelers tie as other fans IMO b/c (1) we always lose in these types of games, a tie is better (2) my local CBS forces me to see Jets games all season; I've seen the dark side (3) no HoF QB, no Watt, no Haden, no Claypool & slippery weather etc
70.09/ [CW]
Rittenhouse is Kavanaugh is Trump (ym'sh).
Each an apotheosis of cardinal sins: murder, rape, and corruption. All 3 are supported by the same crowd, those who will claw & kill so to maintain a culture of cruel impunity. To them, justice/consequences are anathema.
70.09b/ Related: This was the first I heard about this monster's crimes & kol ha-Kavod to @MordyGetz for the brave, just, & necessary action to safeguard our community from horrible people & their enablers. "Cancel culture" is what we call "Kiddush Hashem"
70.10/ Great news from Rutgers: they are collaborating with Tel Aviv Univ. to create a major research hub in NJ. rutgers.edu/news/rutgers-a…
This is a win-win and a bit of teshuva for when the Univ. *apologized* for condemning antisemitism a few months ago. timesofisrael.com/rutgers-univer…
In my observation evil people think they are the universe's main heroic character. It's an Enlightenment fallacy - like categorically stating people are rational - to believe otherwise.
(Wearing my Humor Dissection Science Hat: I guess it's a sampling issue: the type of people who work hard to get to the position to run this type of program have the mindset that this is how you get a laugh.)
70.16/ Unless you follow the #Steelers, this may be an esoteric point, but it's so on the nose. Tomlin - who is IMO a HoF coach - has never had a losing season. But like on Sunday, that's a record built on ties (8-8).
70.17/ It is reassuring and yes a reminder that in the internet age the loudest voices are NOT representative of the group. In fact, that's the core of science - don't let your attention drift to shiny priors, let the data give you your answers.
70.19/ Libertarian tech-bros and their crypto-fascist fellow travelers apotheosize ‘free speech’ but only in a way that supports structural power. The 'free' of this speech is the same freedom seen in dictator elections. All surface, no substance. cfr.org/blog/guest-pos…
70.20/ Looking forward to hearing @Doc_RPS this coming Saturday night. And I'm happy to say that my wife will be introducing and moderating her lecture. Fun for the whole family! orthodoxjewishforum.dreamhosters.com/hpedison/
70.21/ Most people have no consistent coherent political philosophy exhibit eleventy-billion.
70.22/ #NFL#Steelers interlude: I agree with this assessment. Ironically when we heard that Rudolph had a first round grade I guess that meant "as mediocre as a ill-advised R1 QB that desperate teams with bad scouting choose instead of best player avail."
70.23/ Watching the Falcons get obliterated by the Patriots is a version of "ravenfraude" - the pain a fan of team A feels watching terrible team B try to beat team C (rival to team A). I want NE to lose so I'm rooting for ATL and it's referred pain.
70.24a/ There's a vexatious thing I've seen under the sun (i.e. Twitter), when experts will reply "you're just learning this now?!" when another person learns something for the first time.
Congrats, smarmy misanthrope, you know something another person doesn't. You want a medal?
70.24b/ I have 4 graduate degrees. And I'm still learning. Because I have to, I want to, and - as a rabbi I'd say - that the goal of life is to continue learning.
That they belittle & don't use the opportunity to teach a now eager student shows they're selfish about knowledge.
70.25/ These are my "Grammar guys" - it's topic I love to read because I'm not good enough to do it myself. Any others?
70.26/ I'm glad it's becoming more common knowledge/conventional wisdom that Google search has deteriorated into decrepitude over the past few years. Monopolies always do this: they get control then ruin the product because their users are trapped.
70.27/ This is a great way to put it. And the trust is multi-faceted because I now have the responsibility of protecting the network & maintaining the autonomy of the secret-sharers. They're in charge of what I can do for them. No egotistical vigilantism.
70.29/ These two threads illuminate how the current GOP is a continuation of the "Lost Cause" South; same ideology, same tactics, same rotten core. 1. Chiding critics of slavery for being annoying:
70.31/ Yes, there is no greater feeling. It's the spiritual bliss of closeness to Hakadosh Barukh Hu. This is how I understand the Rambam: the reward of "Gan Eden" is the soul's constant joy of the Presence. And Gehenom is the pain of it's total absence.
70.32/ I bought an external keyboard that looked good. Except the psychos who designed it added three non-standard keys which I discovered in horror after I pressed the red-circled one: Power. Who needs this? Who does this? Basically it's a Doofenshmirtz self-destruct button!
70.33/ This does bear repeating. This is a cold-Civil War by the GOP and their reactionary hordes. They fight with paramilitaries and with propaganda. FoxNews/Facebook is the equivalent of Lord Haw Haw en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Haw-…
70.34/ Very much agree. "Canceling" is actually how we protect the innocent even more than punishing the guilty. In this case, Gibson is a vile hate-bag and anyone who works with him does so knowingly.
70.35/ I really appreciate @RVAwonk's work & it's impressive how she can coolly describe the harassment campaign against her by both state actors & Twitter personalities who thrived in the TFG years. Saw it happen in real time. It was obvious & disgusting.
70.36/ Mentally I had prepared for this likely result but emotionally it's still horrible and frightening. The GOP has rallied behind this violent criminal because he embodies their goal of paramilitary enforcement of white supremacy. It's a dark day.
70.37/ Illuminating thread about the background for the Walder scandal. This was entirely outside of my life, I don't own his books & I'm not even slightly Charedi. The whole thing is a terrible tragedy & I applaud any steps to protect innocents.
70.38/ #NachasAlert: My oldest got his first Dvar Torah published in his high school weekly. Very proud of his self-directed effort. This was his own idea as well (this is getting to be a trend!) parshasheets.com/newsletter/bko…
70.39/ I don't know if the inventors of single-sheet aluminum foil were frum, but it's a benefit to humanity that earns a chelek in Olam Haba, up there with crockpots, hot-plates, electric timers, the two day weekend, and Stella d'Oro Swiss Fudge Cookies.
70.40/ Shabbas is coming and we're so happy (and pressed for time). #ShabbatShalom everyone!
1/ Some #Vayeitzei thoughts. First, Prof. Nahum Sarna translates the "sulam" (usually translated as "ladder") as "steps" likely of a Ziggurat, a human-made 'mountain' which in Mesopotamian culture simulated the mountains where gods lived (e.g. Olympus). balashon.com/2006/07/haslam…
This means, yes, that the "sulam" was a stairway to heaven. Hey, sometimes words have two meanings.
3/ Second: Possibly the most important, overlooked, character in the Chumash is Leah.
She's mother of half 6 of the 12 tribes, step-mother to 2 more, and the only daughter. Her children are the kings (Yehudah), priests (Levi) and scholars (Yisacchar).
68.03/ #Dune is an incredibly flawed book that's nonetheless fascinating. Also, as a kid I thought the (pseudo) Arabic was Hebrew. e.g. "Kwisatz Haderach" which I eventually recognized from Midrash (from last week's parsha! God "shortened Eliezer's way"): sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genes…
67.03/ 1. Sara is absolutely correct: the ketuba is a pre-nup; the husband pledges a sum of money to the wife in event of divorce or death. 2. In addition, as an officiant, I *require* a pre-nup. Specifically the one from the RCA: theprenup.org
66.03/ I plan to save these pictures of a Talmud class being held in the London Underground during the Blitz to remind myself that I've had it pretty good in my life. Pretty good. (h.t. @DBashIdeas)