Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Chag Sameach! Happy Passover!
The Pessah (Passover) holiday starts tonight, and th eprep has been heavy duty...which is why there hasn't been much in the way of new pieces for the past couple of days. Although I may try and squeeze a few more things out before the balloon goes up, so to speak.
Passover is a familiar holiday even to non-Jews. The story of the Exodus is well known, but here are a few things you might find interesting...
Today, according to Jewish tradition, the sun, moon and stars are in the exact position they were when G-d created the Earth. This exact configuration occurs only once every 28 years,when the sun resets to its original starting point so it's an occasion for religious Jews to say a special prayer, Birkas HaChama (Blessing of the sun)which is said at sunrise, although some people say it at mid-day. It's normally said in a large group.
It's a prayer recognizing G-d's creation ( which according to Genesis 1:16 happened on the fourth day, the very first Wednesday in time), and reminding us not to take it for granted. The sun is 92,960,000 miles away from us. If it was closer or farther away, life would be impossible on earth.
Passover is a spring festival but also a festival of freedom. For many Jews in countries like America with a large degree of freedom, it's a time not only to celebrate that freedom but to look at things we may have enslaved ourselves to.
Jews celebrate Passover with festival dinners known as seders, which include prayers and meditations on the holiday and a re-telling of the Exodus story. Jesus Christ's famous Last Supper was a Passover Seder in Jerusalem.
And, of course, there's matzoh, lotsa matzoh.
My pal Ya'akov over atThe Dry Bones Blog explains everything you ever wanted to know about matzoh....
And of course, there's always the maniacs over at JibJab's `Matzoh Rap'!JibJab.comCongressional Black Caucus Hearts Fidel
“The fifty-year embargo just hasn’t worked,” CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Ca.) told reporters last night at a DC press conference. “The bottom line is that we believe its time to open dialogue with Cuba.”
The bottom line is that Barbara Lee, Berkely's congresswoman has never met a violent, totalitarian commie she didn't love. And pushing for normalization with Cuba has been a cause dear to her rancid little heart for years.
She and the other useful idiots in hergroup went out of their way to tell the world how warm and sympathetic Castro was. I take it that Castro's concentration camp on the Isle of Pines where dissidents are imprisoned wasn't part of the tour.
Ex-Black Panther Bobby Rush (D-Il) said, “It was almost like listening to an old friend. In my household I told Castro he is known as the ultimate survivor.”
Two others along for the ride were Emanuel Cleaver ( D-Mo) and Laura Richardson (D-CA), who were likewise impressed by the Cuban dictator.
Richardson gushed, "He looked right into my eyes and he said, 'How can we help? How can we help President Obama?'"
Richardson, of course, knows all about `help'. In an unrelated matter, Richardson purchased a home in Sacramento with no money down and a subprime loan from WAMU which she later simply walked away from and stopped paying on within two years of receiving the $578,000 mortgage. The house actually was cited by the City of Sacramento as a public nuisance. WAMU foreclosed, the house was sold and then the magic happened...WAMU rescinded the sale after the fact, which never happens in the real world and paid a hefty settlement to the new owner when he sued.
Richardson's line was that she had 'worked out a payment agreement' with WAMU, something that's unlikely since the property went to trustee's sale and Richardson never sued WAMU after what was supposedly an improper sale.
For that matter, she went into default on her primary residence in Long Beach and is in foreclosure on another property she owns in SanPedro - all bought with sweetheart no money down loans.
Washington Mutual's 'help' to Richardson was absolutely unprecedented, legally suspect and was obviously a case of a lender working out a sweetheart deal under pressure from an influential legislator.
I mention this solely to help you understand the kind of people we're dealing with.
For Americans of any self-respect to get down on their knees in front of the Castro brothers and open wide by praising their totalitarian regime is not only morally repugnant but a direct slap at thousands of Cubans who lost family members and property to the regime. Many of them endured appalling conditions and physical danger to flee that 90 miles to freedom...and the idea that the likes of Bobby Rush, Barbara Lee and Laura Richardson want to 'open dialogue' with these butchers is obscene.
Although it does say a great deal about them, doesn't it?
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Seven members of the Congressional Black Caucus came back from a visit to Castro's Carribean gulag and couldn't say enough about how much they loved it and him.
Posts
