Tikkun Olam

My husband and I were panicking, because our extended unemployment benefits were about to expire, and the new emergency bill was stalled in the Senate, because of Senator Jim Bunning (R., Kentucky) who filibustered against it. He ended his filibuster yesterday, and the Senate voted to pass the bill (I received this information first--believe it or not--just a short while ago from my cousin N. in Israel!)

I understand there is a huge government deficit, but cutting unemployment benefits is not the way to reduce it. A better idea would be for the government to call in some of the stimulus money sent to bail out the big corporations, and to stipulate that these stimulus packages may not be used for huge bonuses and company perks such as spas and massages.



And this is what could happen to us (G-d forbid) or to anyone without a job , if unemployment benefits are curtailed:
Justin Julian is one the 1 million people who are desperate for Congress to take action next week. If they don't,…

By now most of you have probably seen or heard of the full-functioning, efficient Israeli field hospital run by the IDF in Haiti, leaving the other nations which sent rescue teams (including the United States's) behind in the dust.

I first saw the video below on A Soldier's Mother and Arlene From Israel. It is now all over the blogosphere (especially the JBlogosphere), but I am reproducing it here specifically for my readers, many of whom are not that familiar with Jewish blogging or blogging in general.

It is a sight to see: CNN, no lover of Israel, praising her for speedily setting up a full-functioning, efficient hospital capable of medical imaging and surgery.
What's in it for Israel, you might ask? First of all, would you ask that of the United States in its humanitarian efforts? All countries should be held by the same standard. However, if that question were asked, hypothetically, the answer would be: what's "in it" for Israel is doing good and saving l…

The question of Barack Hussein Obama's true place of birth is still not-so-quietly percolating.
World Net Daily's Joseph Farah has offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who can prove that he or she was present at Obama's birth.
"Barack Obama claims to have been born in Honolulu Aug. 4, 1961," explains Farah. "His entire constitutional claim to the presidency rests on this premise. Yet, he refuses to release a copy of his long-form birth certificate – the only document that could possibly corroborate his claim. Therefore, in the interest of truth, justice and the Constitution, I am making the extraordinary offer to entice someone to come forward with the facts of his birth – whether it took place in Hawaii or elsewhere."
On the other hand, you would think that the Governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, would have scoped out the facts on Obama's birth certificate way back during his campaign (especially since she is Republican), so it seems unlikely that he coul…

. . . to CNN for it's brilliant, one-sided histrionic reporting-again- with their article entitled In Gaza, Living with Anger and Fear.

I've got an idea: let's subsitute the word "Sderot, Ashkelon or Gedera in the same paragraphs, use Jewish names and paraphrase it, something like THIS:

"Listen, listen to this!" shouts Fida Qishta Re'ut as the crackling of rockets is heard over her phone receiver. "It's difficult for anybody to imagine that in a second, maybe when I am talking to you on the phone, maybe something [will] happen to me or to my family," the Palestinian blogger Israeli mother told CNN from her home in Gaza Sderot, [or Ashkelon, or Gedera, or the rest of Southern Israel].
She has gotten little sleep during the past 10 days as Israel Hamas continues its attacks on her homeland, prompting the [defense] attacks the Jewish state says are designed to stop months years of rocket strikes on southern Israel by Hamas militants terrorists …