15 March 2014

Hotdish for Jesus

Michele Bachmann said that Jewish Americans hate Israel. If we ignore for a moment the fact that Michele Bachmann is legally insane, she accidentally makes a good point. I have never understood why Jewish Americans routinely vote for Democrats and why Democrats routinely favour ruthless dictatorships over progressive democracies. I have been told by Americans that I cannot understand this because I am not American. In other words, you have to be American to understand the twisted American logic. But that does not explain why so many Americans, many of whom are not nearly as batshit crazy as Bachmann, are just as confused as I am. Americans by definition, regardless of political party affiliation, are supposed to favour progressive democracies over ruthless dictatorships. But we all know that history has shown otherwise.

Bachmann’s main argument is that Jewish Americans should not have voted for Obama because he is the antichrist. Clearly, she knows very little about Jewish theology. Obviously there is no antichrist in Judaism. People like Mel Gibson would even argue that all Jews are anti-Christ.

Bachmann’s secondary argument is that the United States should continue with sanctions against Iran. She and her gang do not want to sanction Iran just because Israel wants to sanction Iran. Their position has nothing to do with Israel. They simply hate Iran. They would hate Iran even if Israel and Iran were friends.

Bachmann assumes that all Jewish Americans should vote according to whatever is in Israel’s best interests. This makes no sense to me. These people are American, not Israeli. Most Americans, Jewish or otherwise, have no idea what life is like in Israel. I would hope that they vote according to whatever is in America’s best interests. Do all Catholic Americans consider how Italy might feel when they vote? How often do Hindu Americans consult with India before voting?

Some people think that there is a separation of church and state in the United States. And some people want to revise their own history to make all of the founding fathers bible fisted televangelists. Either way, Americans of any religion are still Americans.

What people like Michele Bachmann will never understand is that being Jewish does not mean one has to automatically agree with everything Israel says and does. In fact, the vast majority of Israelis will never agree with everything Israel says and does. Unlike our ruthless dictatorship neighbours, we are a democracy. We can complain about our government. And we do it all the time.

13 March 2014

Your Very First Kiss was Your First Kiss Goodbye

Oscar Pistorius may or may not have murdered his girlfriend. I was not there so I cannot say. What I know is that he fired at a closed door into a room without having any idea who or what was in the room. According to him. That would make him an exceptionally reckless person who should not under any circumstances be allowed to handle any firearms.

Everybody who knows anything about firearms knows that you never fire at something you cannot see. Shooting the bad guy through a door might make for a nice dramatic movie moment but it should never be done in the real world. The very obvious consequence of firing at something you cannot see is that you will likely hit somebody or something that you never intended to hit. Even if you know with absolute certainty that the bad guy is on the other side of the door, you cannot control shots fired into a blind location. If you have no idea what is on the other side of the door, you just might end up killing your girlfriend. Pistorius lived with somebody who could have easily been in that room at that time. Assuming that the noise you hear in a room from which you cannot see must be an intruder is stupid. Firing blindly into that room is criminally reckless.

I have no idea if he murdered his girlfriend or simply killed her accidentally. But I do know that any legal right for him to operate a firearm should be revoked permanently. We all hear bumps in the night. Anybody who shoots first and ask questions later should not be allowed to even hold a gun.

Oscar Pistorius was a star athlete. I say was because no matter what happens in his murder trial, his career is over. The only thing we love more than putting celebrities up on pedestals is shooting them down.