Censoring...

I've been getting involved in what's turning out to be a nice, lively, healthy discussion on tuition over at YWN. I've put a few posts up there and the tone of the discussion is suprisingly civil and intelligent.

I made some interesting comments in a few of my posts. I suggested that our entire community (laymen and leaders alike) have possibly had our collective heads in the sand in ignorance of basic economics vis a vis our current and future tuition obligations and burdens as they relate to COLA (cost of living). I merely brought up the issue of family size, without really alluding to it as such, but did not advocate or condemn. I suggested that perhaps the very likely burden current and future families will have may not be the true ratzon Hashem (chas rachmana al m'mona shel yisrael), as the tuition issue and crisis is largely of our own making.

My posts got posted, oh yes. But these salient points which I INTENDED to be included to merely stir discussion and which I tried as carefully as I could to word innocuously got left out; lost in the cyberspace mail perhaps? Hardly. I saw a big fat EDITED at the bottom of all my posts that contained this "salacious" material.

This really P***** ME OFF. I don't think anything I wrote is beyond the pale at all. What, I'm not allowed to even obliquely suggest mild criticism of communal leaders? Not even when I lump everyone, the whole community in together?? What, is a subsection of Yahadus so perfect and omniscient as to be beyond any human reproach whatsoever?? Is merely suggesting that leaders are human and may take, from time to time, constructive criticism from the klal a heresy? Or do we live under ideals that Kim Jong Il would be proud of...? I'm not allowed to suggest issues and thoughts that are intended to get discussions moving, such as ratzon Hashem, number of children, etc? Not allowed to mildly inject things into the discussion just to try to open people up and face and tackle tough issues in an attempt to consensually solve a very serious problem??

It's not the censorship itself that really bothers me. It's the thinking behind it: All leaders are completely beyond reproach. Their actions are inviolable and not subject to even mild questioning or gentle criticism. They are all knowing and can see into the future. Tough, gnarly subjects such as family size, the will of God, etc are to be avoided at all costs in any discussion. These are inviolable, even if they're used as a tool to hash out issues and help with possible solutions to very complicated questions. I'm not suggesting that our leaders are doddering, that we should all have no more than two kids, and we can always deign to know exactly what the razton Hashem is. But these are complicated and tough issues, the introduction of which may help in opening up other issues and helping solve problems within the discussion. But for fear that someone may get the wrong idea about all this and be 'porek ol', etc, etc, etc....

The faint sense of paranoia just seems to linger on and fester and suffocate our ability to dialogue and thrash out very complicated issues and complicated answers. And, as Steve "Turtleneck" Jobs would say, oh, and one more thing. This was in reference to a discussion on tuition. If we pay so much $$$ for quality education, why the paranoia that even the slightest hint of a suggestion of a hint will cause 'prikas ol' en masse? If we are so convinced of the frailty of our billion-dollar chinuch system's message, wouldn't it then be better to just have cheaper, "1984" and "Brave New World" style education modalities where subliminal messages are played into our kids' ears as they sleep and all our kids sit on chairs in an auditorium and throw garbage at the Satans of this world as they appear onscreen...?

A good idea, part II

I came across another good idea (boy, the web seems to be full of them).

The Tax Foundation has an article posted regarding complete (as in, not only medical), taxed, controlled legalization of marijuana for personal consumption and use and for cultivation. I think this is a great idea. I think it's ridiculous that we allow (controlled and taxed) consumption and cultivation of tobacco and alcohol which are substances that can do significant damage to a person's body and can impair one's activities - but criminalize and stigmatize marijuana use. Legalized marijuana use and cultivation is now actually a ballot initiative in California.

Billions upon billions of dollars are completely wasted in the law enforcement and counter-terrorism areas of federal and state governments in waging a "war" on marijuana (among other drugs). I say wasted because approximately 100 million Americans admit to have used marijuana in the past - that's one third of the entire population. More and more will use as time passes, I have little doubt. Yet we wage a "war" on this use and spend billions upon billions doing it, with almost zero results. People still use and all manner of crimes still get committed in relation to the cultivation, sale, and use of the drug.

Legalizing marijuana could have numerous beneficial effects. It could increase tax revenue significantly to the states who so desperately need income. It could serve as a cost savings to the federal, state, and local governments by reducing the costs associated with the "war on drugs". It could remove the undeserving social stigma from casual users of marijuana, whose use parallels a casual drinker or smoker (do we stigmatize they guy or gal who goes out for a drink every week??). It could allow easier access to those that need the drug for medical use. It could help reduce or eliminate the violent crime, trafficking and other nasty activities associated with the current cultivation and trade of marijuana (though also eliminate and entire Hollywood genre in the same stroke). Lastly, it could help provide secondary or alternative streams of revenue for  individuals, thereby producing more tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments.

No one's proposing that we just legalize all willy-nilly; that would be inappropriate. What the state of California's ballot initiative proposes is a controlled and taxed legalization, similar to how the state (or almost any other state for that matter) controls and taxes alcohol or cigarettes (no sale, gift, or smoking to or around minors, require license to sell, minimum legal age, can't use while driving or operating machinery, etc). I urge everyone to read or skim through the actual text of the ballot proposal, found here.

I think it's utterly ridiculous that we the people have no problem with allowing people to drink alcoholic drinks and smoke or chew tobacco, and that we don't view a (casual) smoker or drinker as 'bad', but are unwilling to allow a person to smoke marijuana or remove his or her social stigma. Part of that stigma comes as a result of the illegality of the act. Marijuana doesn't have the same horrible side effects as do cocaine, heroin, etc; those substances should be and are illegal. I do understand that allowing marijuana could lead us down a "slippery slope", but we need to recognize that the cost/benefit analysis could probably end up a net positive and that the reality is that many people can and do use the drug.

This post isn't meant as a personal statement on whether or not I think marijuana is good for you or not, or whether smoking it is a great thing or not. I'm just saying that we need to see the realities on the ground and adapt to them, and pursue the policy that's in America's best interests.

A good idea...

See this post on HonestlyFrum's blog:

A good idea... will we run with it?

So it continues...

The sad, twisted saga of Martin Grossman's "sainthood" continues. Kolel Shomrei Hachomos recently established a tzedaka fund in memory of Mr. Grossman. The fund is a g'mach that makes free loans to various families and individuals in need in Jerusalem. It says that mishnayos will be learned and a candle l'zecher nishmas will be lit for his soul, and, presumably, some of the merit of the fund will 'rub off' on his soul as well.

This is madness; it just goes on and on. At least the comments here on VIN seem to tend towards that sentiment. These comments in particular (sic)- "When a chashover Tzaddik Kollel Yungerman dies leaving over yesomim Kollel Shomrei Hachomos does nothing yet when a convicted murderer gets executed they open a gmach lzecher nishmaso? What on earth?" and "This is a Purim gag, right? I have to go. The Jeffrey Dahmer Community Center near me is having a party" - struck me as particularly poignant. The guy MURDERED someone, for God's sake!

Well, I can strike this tzedaka from my list. I know, I know - "but they do good work!". So what? I have plenty of other tzedakos doing works just as good to which I can contribute that aren't hoisting a murderer up on a pedestal, no matter how deserving or undeserving he was of his ultimate fate.

As long as we're on the discussion of tzedaka mosdos that I can cross off my list, did anyone see the latest Kupat Ha'ir mailing? I mean, did the all those gedolim really 'instruct' all of us to give all our matanos l'evyonim (and presumably, maos chittim) dollars to Kupat Ha'ir exclusively? Don't think so. Did Kupat Ha'ir lightly twist something that those gedolim actually did say or write? Probably. Granted, Kupat Ha'ir does very good work. But I don't appreciate deceptive, dishonestly tinged marketing practices. Sure, we all know that mosdos and tzedakos are hurting because of the recession. That doesn't give any one of them a right to lie, cheat, or steal their budgeted revenue in any way, shape or form.

Follow up...

Just noticed this post by the woman who drafted the letter to Mrs. Margaret Park that I posted on this blog a few days ago.

It's nice to read. Nice to see that our signatures made a bit of an impact.

Please read

I was alerted to a post on Matzav.com by a Mrs. Miriam Pearlmutter, who lives in Mrs. Margaret Park's neighborhood. Mrs. Park is the mother of deceased Florida Fish & Wildlife Officer Peggy Park, whom Mr. Martin Grossman was just executed for killing. Don't read the comments section if you just ate lunch.

Miriam Pearlmutter, I guess, was shocked at the amount of abuse and invective leveled at Mrs. Park from elements of the frum community. She composed this letter of deep regret and apology to Mrs. Park on behalf of the Jewish community to attempt to reverse this terrible chillul Hashem.

I urge EVERYONE who reads this to sign this letter. I don't think it makes a difference whether you believed in clemency or not for Mr. Grossman, or if you signed the petition itself to save his life. It certainly makes no difference at all that the harassment was probably (dear God, I hope) perpetrated by a miniscule segment of the Jewish community; that's not a fact that Mrs. Park, who has been grieving over her slain daughter for 25 years, is likely to realize. What she sees is that Jews are behaving abhorrently - and we need to correct that misrepresentation by showing her the humanity and sensitivity that Judaism demands, whatever the positions we had on the clemency appeal itself. I admit, the letter is a bit slanted towards the "no clemency" camp. I don't think that matters though - that's not the point of the letter. I think we all know what the point is and what we can accomplish.

Please sign the letter. Mrs. Pearlmutter has given us an opportunity as a community to right our wrongs.

http://matzav.com/a-letter-to-mrs-park

One word comes to mind...

See this Youtube post.

I'm not going to say anything philosophical or theological about it - all have different opinions about what this signifies, is it right, etc. We can all debate about that separately.

I just bring it to everyone's attention to one historical word that comes to mind - I just found it humorous, that's all, and to show that history does repeat itself and IS important to study and understand...

Luddite.

Barrabbas redux????

I assume that most people have been following the Martin Grossman story. If you weren't, Mr. Grossman was convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection around 25 years ago for his 1984 murder at age 19 of Florida Fish and Wildlife officer Margaret ("Peggy") Parks. The facts of the case as sealed by the verdict are as follows, in summary. Officer Parks found Mr. Grossman and a friend in possession of a stolen firearm, which violated the terms of a prior probation. When she tried to radio in the violation from her car (some allege that Mr. Grossman pleaded with Officer Parks to not report the incident), Mr. Grossman attacked her with her flashlight, beating her numerous times on the head and shoulders. Officer Parks tried to fight back (some allege she fired a warning shot); Mr. Grossman took her gun away from her and shot her in the back of the head, killing her. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. He sat on death row for 25 years, (ed. - presumably held up with appeals), until he was executed by the State of Florida on February 16, 2010. Jewish organizations (as well as the Pope) such as Agudah, etc, led a grass-roots campaign to petition FL Governor Charlie Crist for a 60 day stay so as to submit an appeal for clemency, sparing Mr. Grossman's life and allowing him to serve his debt to society with life imprisonment instead. The appeals claimed the support of gedolim and called on a public communications blitz (email, phone, etc). Governor Crist sent out a response to the 50,000 some-odd callers and emailers - you can read it here, on YWN.

The death penalty, which FL revived in 1976, can be an extremely emotional and sensitive topic and this post is NOT meant to argue it's merits and demerits, nor am I intending to offend anyone's sensitivities. With that said, I don't have a problem with appeals for clemency per se, but I believe the nature and tone of this whole clemency campaign to be a misguided, poorly conceived project that was doomed to accomplish absolutely nothing and cause some unintended consequences in the process. There are problems with the campaign that I see on many levels that I'll attempt to tackle point by point.

Point 1 - The methods of the clemency seekers seem somewhat deceptive. Please read the campaign's official petition very carefully and compare to the facts of the case, as stated by Gov Crist (link posted above - these facts are documented elswhere - they aren't exclusive to Gov Crist). Do you see a difference? The petitioners obviously have an agenda (not necessarily wrong) and lightly twisted the facts of the case in such a way that softens the heinousness of what Mr. Grossman actually did and insinuates that Mr. Grossman can't be held that responsible for his actions. They say that Mr Grossman was said to have an IQ of 77, possibly lightly insinuate that the act of murder may have resulted from a (minor) epileptic seizure, and suggest that Mr. Grossman acted out of (self-perceived?) self-defense ("...which resulted in the officer reaching for her own gun. Then Martin panicked, snatched her gun and shot her."). All of these aren't necessarily problematic in and of themselves; they can be re-interpretations of a "he-said, she-said" situation where nobody really knows what exactly happened or what was going through Mr. Grossman's mind. But the petitioners deliberately leave out other salient points of the case, like the fact that he brutally beat the officer with her flashlight, some 20-30 times on the head and shoulders, which she almost died from (deep lacerations and fractured skull points attest to this in the autopsy).
Hat tip to Orthonomics for pointing this out.

Point 2 - The argument that clemency seekers make doesn't stand firmly on it's own logic. The main thrust of the argument (the official and unofficial arguments) to me was that Mr. Grossman didn't really have full control over his faculties and didn't realize the enormity of his actions, has served enough time and paid his debt, and is remorseful and repentant. He was young (19), possibly high on drugs, maybe had a seizure prior to the act, his acts were triggered by deep-seated psychosis stemming from bad upbringing, the murder wasn't premeditated (intent to kill), he has served enough time, etc etc etc etc. OK. He was young, only 19. So what? He's over the age of a minor and can be tried as an adult. He was mentally deficient for various reasons (low IQ, 'bad upbringing', high, etc) and therefore should be imprisoned for life instead of being executed. Why exactly should he rot in prison for life? This basis for clemency would logically call for an appeal for retrial (never going to happen) or transfer to a psychiatric facility instead of cold, hard life behind iron bars! His actions weren't premeditated, they were a spontaneous, psychotic act. So he gets scared he's going to get thrown in the clink again (she's going to report probation violation). So he beats her with flashlight to "silence" her ("OK, that didn't kill her..."). Then he grabs her gun and shoots her in the head ("OK, that worked"), then he covers up the murder ("Oops, I did a baddie. Gotta make sure I don't get caught"). That doesn't add up to premeditation at all??? Not a possibility for a jury to mull over? Premeditation doesn't have to necessarily refer to a case where a murderer carefully plans out his (or her) act over months or years. And, isn't any act of murder, I mean the act itself, a psychotic act?? "Mr. Grossman has been on death row for over 25 years!" He has served enough time already, he's paid his debt to society. Wait a minute - if he's served enough time, why are we asking for life imprisonment as an alternative? And, he hasn't paid his debt to society! His debt requires him, as far as the State of Florida is concerned, to be executed, which he would've been right away had there not been numerous appeals keeping him on death row for 25 years. All in all, arguing vs the merits of the death penalty itself (while it wouldn't have accomplished anything anyway) would've been a better route than making an argument with holes so big you could drive a truck through them. He was repentant, he has expressed regret and remorse for what he's done. So, does that make his debt to society any less? Many murderers feel remorse down the line - should we allow them to truncate the severity of their sentence (whether death or life imprisonment) because of it? We certainly don't believe that in Yahadus. The only kappara for taking a life is to part neshama from body, isn't it??

Point 3 - Involving the "plebeian" masses in this campaign and making it such a public spectacle was a very, very, very, very, very, very big mistake. This a most important point. OK, it's possible this point is a "20/20 in hindsight" sort of thing. But, an issue IMHO nonetheless. Appealing for clemency for a person who, let's face it, spontaneously OR premeditated, brutally beat and murdered a young woman is always rife with the toxic danger of PR fallout, no matter what. This is a "gimme" that those smart people who have leadership brains should have seen beforehand, period; even a person who doesn't have "daas Torah" could have spotted this. But somehow this was overlooked. Instead of recognizing the grave PR danger of making a public appeal on this very sensitive case and doing it quietly and firmly, those seeking clemency threw caution to the winds and created a ripe atmosphere in which this case could be blown up into a PR nightmare by snowballing a hysterically urgent, very public message that sites like YWN picked up on; messages there like Call NOW!!! There's not a MOMENT TO LOSE!!! on those sites seemed to have rapidly snowballed into messages such as PIDYON SHEVUYIM!! and THE GEDOLIM HAVE SAID THAT HE WHO SAVES THE LIFE OF A FELLOW JEW SAVES THE WHOLE WORLD!!! and WE MUST DAVEN FOR REB MICHOEL YECHIEL BEN AVRAHAM'S (apparently Mr. Grossman's name) HOLY, REPENTANT NESHOMA!!!! and HIS DEFENSE WAS INADEQUATE; THOSE MAMZERS ARE KILLING HIM BECAUSE HE'S A JEW!! and other such nonsense. If you don't believe me, just search for articles relating to the appeal on YWN, Matzav, VIN, and general Google searches. Read the comments extensively; heck, read the comments on Gov Crist's response to callers - some of them paint the Gov as some anti-semitic hack who is just a total, evil bastard. What? Read this article for more of the same. Are you kidding me? Then, the piece de resistance, read this article, where Gov Crist attempts to explain his rejection of the appeal, and the comments that ensue. They are a bit nauseating and stomach-turning. Some comments bash Gov Crist by totally sidestepping the issues ("he's an incompetent governor on the way out"). Some just dismiss any legitimacy Gov Crist has because of... his name ("sounds like Christ, that MAMZER!!"). Some comments actually contain a voice of sanity. In reading many of these comments though, I don't know whether to laugh or cry (or both). The comments are so riddled with words of insanity and idiocy that I can't possibly list them all here.

Then we have reports of people calling up Officer Parks' (the victim) family, harassing them, possibly calling them 'Nazi' for supporting and invoking the death penalty, and other such terms.

There are comments, websites, newspapers, etc publishing sentiments that are elevating Mr. Grossman to quasi-saint status (!!!), calling him a 'true baal-teshuva', a person who died a 'kadosh', and other blathering. These are too numerous to post - just search around the web and you'll see what I'm talking about. We have footage from the funeral - held in Monsey, NY - that can seem to paint Mr. Grossman (if this footage is true and relates to the story at hand) as some sort of "lamed vav-nik" or something given the size, scope, and raw emotion in the eulogy. IT'S ON YOUTUBE, FOR G-D'S SAKE! How more public can one get?

Then we get the Pope involved. I see. So we're not allowed to have anything to do with the Pope vis a vis dialogue on interfaith relations (not interfaith doctrine), but we'll gladly take his support when it suits us.

The bottom line really lies in an article written by R' Yair Hoffman for VIN and a well written response written here. ED. COMMENT - I just came across this interview of R' Hoffman on the Dov Hikind show where he respectfully defends his strong opinion - it's not long as is worthwhile listening to. There are others - just search. Not all that possess "daas Torah" are on the same side of the fence; others far greater than I (such as R' Hoffman above) have expressed publicly and in open forums much shock and dismay at the lack of preparation for the campaign as well as disgust for what it's become. The bottom line is that the man brutally murdered and snuffed out the life of a young woman. The bottom line is that many people are erroneously, too vocally and publicly, elevating the status of the murderer to some sort of sainthood. The bottom line is that there is another (non-Jewish) family suffering terribly because of Mr. Grossman's actions, and we as a people need to be sensitive to that. The bottom line is that the Jewish community, as a unit, acted in a horridly insensitive, non-sensical, hysterical and inappropriate way, whether you believe the appeal for clemency itself is appropriate or not.

The bottom line is that this campaign sowed the seeds of potential chillul Hashem and too many of our brethren may very well reap that foul harvest.

I am not arguing the merits or demerits of the death penalty. I'm not even discussing whether or not Mr. Grossman deserves clemency, philosophically or otherwise. What I am is critical of the way this campaign was waged and utterly disgusted of what it's become. I never thought I'd say this or feel this, but I am truly ashamed of many of my fellow Jews who so ridiculously and hysterically hijacked this "cause" and transformed it into what could very well be a public circus and chillul Hashem, as if we needed more of that. This could have been done in a dignified manner, but it degenerated into a circus. I am appalled and astounded at the horrid lack of foresight shown by those we deign to call and who deign to assume the mantle of "leaders". Haven't we learned from the various chillulei Hashem scandals in the past? Haven't we learned from the kidney scandals, the pedophilia "cover-ups", the conversion firestorms, the financial frauds, etc etc etc about the importance of political fallout? When will we wake up and realize that we need to be cognizant of every action, reaction, word and turn of phrase that we engage in and utter??? The notion that "'the goyim' are just going hate us anyway and what do they know and they'll never treat us fairly" needs to be discarded or modified, because it's not that simple, has gotten us in more trouble than it's worth, and may very well have done nothing but besmirch the standards of Judaism in the public eye.

Like one of the blog posts I linked to above, I didn't want to discuss this. I'm trying to wind down my "rantiness" here because that does nothing any good and isn't always appropriate. This is also a sensitive and emotional issue itself and I don't want to tread on anyone's toes. But the Jewish people as a unit have gone too far, from what I can see. People will see the youtube videos. These comments and sentiments elevating Mr. Grossman to sainthood will make their way around the internet and print media, like it or not. It's not Jews I'm worried about reading these things - it's non-Jews Googling the story and stumbling upon some pretty weird and vile comments in cyberspace. The way many people acted just makes me so sick and disgusted I feel like I have to write about this.

In the end, I hold Yahadus dear. Besides everything else, I love and am grateful to HKB"H for blessing me with a wonderful wife and child. I will not stand idly by while His name could be dragged through the mud, again.

This will rattle the Jewish world!

Interesting article posted on VIN today...

OK, the headline is sensationalist. But this is an interesting statement nonetheless. Is it accurate? Revisionist? A Torah troof?

You decide...

I found THE solution to the tuition, economic, and tznius "crises"!

I stumbled across this while browsing the very funny frumsatire.net. Brilliant! This will solve all economic and tznius "crises" in one fell swoop!