A Great Yiddish Vinkl Curse!

The subject of Harold Ticktin's June 26 Yiddish Vinkl column is the word shlingen, which means swallow.

As an example, he offers this colorful curse from the wonderful YiddishWit.com: “Zol er shlingen a shirem un s’zol zikh im efenen in boykh. – He should swallow an umbrella and may it open in his stomach.”

For some reason, I thought of the Democrats when I read that.

Lots 'o Links

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Stephen Green's Florida Man Friday
Maggie's Farm
Stephen Kruiser's Morning Briefing
Liz Sheld's Morning Greatness
Larwyn's Linx 

What Not To Do During A Pandemic

Today I was hoping that the White House Coronavirus Task Force would have shown blow-ups of appalling scenes like the one above, with the caption "What Not To Do" or "How to Spread COVID-19."

How are we ever going to see the number of cases and deaths decrease if oblivious fools keep acting so recklessly? 

I don't care if morons like this get the disease. I do care that they will give it to me.

A Real Cop-Out

This morning before work, I looked up and saw this headline on the Fox & Friends show: "Growing push to remove police from cities, schools."

I'm sure that mass murderers and terrorists of every stripe must be salivating over the prospect.

Historical and Hysterical

From the Washington Times: "Angry Brits want a royal order founded in 1818 under King George III redesigned because the image of St. Michael crushing the head of Satan reminds them of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on George Floyd."
 
Do these radicals even hear how ridiculous they sound? Grow up already!

And as for the authorities in the UK, the USA, and everywhere else these lunatics are making delusional demands: use common sense and say no instead of continuing to cave in to this PC destruction of history, culture, and tradition.

Jewish Lives Matter. Antisemite Lives Don't.

Surprise, surprise!  The Times of Israel reports on the latest antisemitism:

"Tel Aviv University think tank says libels blaming Jews and Israel for pandemic are spreading, as crisis sparks new iterations of old hatred.   'The new wave of antisemitism includes a range of libels that have one common element: The Jews, the Zionists and/or the state of Israel are to blame for the pandemic and/or stand to gain from it,'  they wrote."

I can only hope that when the successful vaccine is produced, it will be developed by Israel, or by Jewish researchers somewhere. Then these antisemites can decide whether or not to take a lifesaving drug from us evil Jews.

Our Favorite Musical Antisemite is Back

In case you missed Roger Waters, he's back with a vengeance.

United With Israel reports: "Geriatric British rocker Roger Waters recently appeared on Gaza’s Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agency, spewing a filthy, anti-Semitic diatribe that should have made the show’s host blush, but didn’t.
Waters called Jewish mega-philanthropist-businessman Sheldon Adelson a 'fascist, racist bigot,' accusing him of being a 'crazy puppet master' who keeps 'Donald Trump’s little pr**k in his pocket.'
Waters continually stoops to pathetic new lows, and in this clip he makes sure to hit all the disgustingly sour notes called for by the anti-Semitic, Israel haters’ playbook."

Can he please crawl back into the hole he came out of? To paraphrase a Pink Floyd song, "Wish You Weren't Here."

The Real Reason They Destroy Statues

This Washington Post headline tells you everything you need to know: The toxic masculinity behind Civil War monuments. 

Of course!  It's not only historic statues they hate, it's men in general. I love this line: "The Union then planned its own testosterone-packed avenue.."

Boy, these people really need to see a psychiatrist.

Hug Tunnel of Love

What a wonderful idea! We definitely need American Hug Tunnels at our nursing homes right away.

From CNN's Good Stuff newsletter:  Brazilian care home creates 'hug tunnel' so loved ones can embrace elderly relatives

"There are a lot of reasons this pandemic is the absolute worst, but a big one is not being able to embrace, or sometimes even see your elderly loved ones face-to-face. In southern Brazil, a care home has created an incredible solution. It’s a hug tunnel, featuring yards and yards of plastic curtain adorned with hearts and plastic-shrouded hug holes. Residents enter the tunnel, visitors stick their arms in the holes, and both parties are free to hug away. At any other point in history, a plastic cavern full of waving arms would be a phantasmagorical nightmare. But in these topsy-turvy times, it’s an incredible, emotional gift. (Fair warning: If you are, like me, starved of interaction with elderly family, the photos in this article WILL make you cry from a confusing mixture of happiness and heartbreak.)"

Lots 'o Links

Take some Prozac, shut off the TV, and read a variety of good posts at Stephen Kruiser's Morning Briefing;  Larwyn's Linx; Liz Sheld's Morning Greatness; and Maggie's Farm.

The word for Harold Ticktin's June 12 edition of Yiddish Vinkl is moyre, which means fear. He writes, "Perhaps a reflection of Jewish history, moyre is only one of many Yiddish words for fear, i.e. pakhed, farbayflyen, shrekn and farkhaptkay."

Finally: someone who isn't caving in to the politically correct destruction of our history.  French President Macron said this: "We will be inflexible when it comes to tackling racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination, and new strong decisions will be made to reinforce the egality of chances.  But this noble fight is perverted when it turns into communitarianism, into a false rewriting of history. This is unacceptable when it is picked up by separatists. I tell you very clearly tonight my dear fellow citizens, the Republic will not erase any trace or name from its history. It will not forget any of its deeds or take down any statue. What we need to do is to look all together with lucidity on all of our history and all our memory..."

Too Much Time on One's Hands

Is anyone working besides me?  It seems that there are too many people with too much time on their hands to go overboard nitpicking and looking for things that they deem offensive. It's been this way for too long in PC-Land, but the examples are getting more and more preposterous.

Did you know that the Rice Krispies mascots Snap. Crackle, and Pop are "racist" because all three are white?  And that the marvelous Beatles song "Penny Lane" is under attack because the lane has some connection to slavery? It goes on and on.

Remember the days when people were normal and didn't attribute evil motives to every little thing? And Rice Krispies was just a cereal, and "Penny Lane" was a wonderfully nostalgic tribute? Now everything is being ruined by a few fools who need to occupy their time better. There are jobs available despite the pandemic -- go apply for one and do something productive!

"Moving Forward to Improve our Own Lives"

I came across this column by George Montgomery today and I just had to reprint part of it, because he's not only Jewish, but he echoes my own sentiments.

"Let me be blunt — I have a real problem being told about my supposed subconscious racism.  There are some real racists still around, of every skin color, but assuredly, I'm not one of them.  My wife and stepson (and large family of in-laws) are Asian, my goddaughter is black, and there is no need to further list friends and associates who may be of different hues.  I treat everyone I know or may meet in a friendly, fair, and equitable manner, unless or until they give me a concrete reason to act differently.

I'm a pretty simple guy at heart, so let's not make the world any more complicated.  We should focus and be judged on behaviors and overt actions.  As sentient beings, we all have choices to make, and usually are able to think before we act or speak out.  We're motivated by a lifetime of different experiences, and that definitely has an impact on who we are and what we do.  Trying to get inside everyone's head is fraught with problems, so let's Defund the Thought Police without delay.

As a Jewish-American, I'm well aware of what can happen when real racism and evil intent go unchecked.  We have an obligation to never forget the horrors that have been done.  At the same time we don't dwell on the past but do what we can moving forward to improve our own lives."

Groupthink

I am really tired of the assumption that everyone thinks alike and feels the same way.  Everyone seems to be going along with the mob that's been defacing, destroying, and toppling historic statues in our country. Why is this destruction being tolerated and  permitted?  If it's OK to destroy statues of Columbus, or spray graffiti on George Washington, is it also now OK to topple a statue of Martin Luther King?  Will someone deface Mount Rushmore next, or attack the Jefferson Memorial?  How far will this go, and when will it stop?

One of my favorite statues is the famous one of William Tecumseh Sherman by Saint-Gaudens. Look how beautiful that is.

Why can't you be against slavery and for the beauty and history behind the statues and monuments? 

Lots 'o Links

Riots and looters and political correctness - oh my! Read more at Liz Sheld's Morning Greatness; Maggie's Farm; Larwyn's Linx; and Stephen Kruiser's Morning Briefing.

Make sure you read American's Don't Kneel, by Melissa Mackenzie; and No Peace, No Justice, by Rabbi Dov Fischer.

And in case you forgot, we're in the midst of a medical crisis. The Washington Post reports that "The coronavirus pandemic isn’t ending — it’s surging". Do people even care?

A Bit of Good News Among the Bad

From the Washington Post: "Shutdowns prevented 60 million coronavirus infections in the U.S., study finds

"The coronavirus would have infected nearly one in five Americans, 60 million people, in the first few weeks of the outbreak without shutdowns or social distancing, according to a peer-reviewed study led by the University of California at Berkeley. The paper credited quarantine policies with preventing hundreds of millions of cases globally through early April, and a separate study estimated that shutdowns saved at least 3.1 million lives in Europe."

"The two studies, published simultaneously Monday, suggest that government freezes on public activity prevented catastrophic outbreaks in many countries. The downside is that researchers think only a small fraction of the population has been exposed to the virus, leaving ample opportunity for major outbreaks if quarantines are abandoned. 'We’re very far from herd immunity,' the leader author of one study told The Post. 'The risk of a second wave happening if all interventions and precautions are abandoned is very real.'"

It's frightening to think that the virus could have been even more deadly than it is, and of course we're still dealing with it, so we have a very long way to go. But any good news on the coronavirus front is welcome right now.

Jewish Classical

Here's a terrific classical rendition of "Hevenu Shalom Aleichem" by the La Roche Quartett.

Political Correctness in Black & White

I did see Tucker Carlson's monologue last night about children's anger with their their parents over their lack of support for the violent protests.  I had heard about this and thought it sounded to me like a combination of emotional blackmail and indoctrination, or like something you used to hear about in China or the Soviet Union. Now, Hot Air sums up a New York Times op-ed: "White people should stop talking to relatives until they support BLM".

I'm waiting for similar things to happen in the workplace: wear a certain color in support of the protesters or you're a racist; attend indoctrination sessions addressing your "white privilege"; hire blacks even if unqualified, to prove your loyalty. It sounds a lot like brainwashing to me.

Amazing, Self-Reliant Old Folks

Look at the  photographs of these wonderful old people, from an NPR article titled Scenes Of Isolation Amid Pandemic In The Vermont Countryside: ThePicture Show.

Ending the Week on an Up Note

Finally, some encouraging news!

From CNBC:  "May sees biggest jobs increase ever of 2.5 million as economy starts to recover from coronavirus.  Wall Street estimates had been for a decline of 8.3 million and a jobless level of 19.5%, which would have been the worst since the Great Depression era."

Let's hope this trend continues and a cure for COVID-19 is found soon.

Lots 'o Links

Turn off the images on TV and do some reading instead. Try Liz Sheld's Morning Greatness, Maggie's Farm, Larwyn's Linx, Stephen Kruiser's Morning Briefing,  I'll even throw in a liberal website, the Huffington Post, for free.

Ben Stein has "a few words about the criminal looters, arsonists, and murderers — and the good people — of today"

How About an Apology-In?

Remember during the 60s there were protests that included sit-ins, be-ins, sleep-ins, teach-ins, and so forth?  Well, why don't we all now just cave in and give up, like Drew Brees of all people, and have an apology-in, where everyone can kneel and beg forgiveness for being white, for being a white supremacist, for having white privilege, and for any word, phrase, opinion, comment, or thought that may have been viewed as offensive in the course  of your lifetime. Then, we we will be made to sign up for indoctrination courses such as Working Through Whiteness. I feel better already!

Not "Protesters": Terrorists. American Versions of ISIS.

How long are people going to make excuses and PC explanations for these immoral arsonists, looters, rioters, assassins, vandals, destroyers, and terrorists?

Here are just a few of many sickening acts of violence and indecency that have rampaged and repeated themselves across our country. No, this is not "grief" that's being displayed.

Item:  "St.Louis — A retired police captain was shot to death by looters at a St. Louis pawn shop early Tuesday and his killing apparently was broadcast on Facebook Live.  David Dorn, 77, was shot in the torso about 2:30 a.m. He died on the sidewalk in front of the shop, Lee's Pawn & Jewelry, at 4123 Martin Luther King Drive." By the way, he was black, and I thought that black lives matter. They seem to matter only when the killer is white.

Item, from a Jewish section of L.A.: "The looters—part of groups and individuals nationwide protesting the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American, while in police custody in Minneapolis—smashed the pharmacy’s windows, knocked down the shelves and took all the street drugs, including painkillers. Friedman said the protest started at Pan Pacific Park and then police pushed the crowd down Beverly. It was then that they 'looted every single store. They went from store to store. They took hammers out and smashed windows. What’s more upsetting than the theft is that they destroyed everyone’s place of work. People take pride in where they work. They want to come in Monday morning and have their papers in order. They destroyed people’s place of work, which is like their home.'"  Oh well - what's a couple of thousand more people filing for unemployment?

If this doesn't stop soon, the military will have to make it stop, and treat this as the coordinated terrorist attack it is. ISIS and Al Qaeda must be looking on approvingly.