Faith Based Soviet Union

The Soviet Union was a faith based government. Their faith was atheism. I believe that faith base was a contributing factor to their collapse. Because of that faith base, they made all other religions illegal and in so doing unnecessarily restricted the personal lives of their people. Had they been more pragmatic, less ideological, less concerned about pushing their ideas on everyone else, and had a true separation of church and state, the Soviet Union might still exist.

Which Party is Monetarily Responsible?

Listening to the Speeches at the Republican Convention, it is interesting to hear the old Republican mantra that they are for "lower taxes, less spending, and small government" as opposed to those Democrats who favor "high taxes, more spending, and big government." But this is so blatantly untrue. George Bush inherited a balanced budget and destroyed it. When it comes to spending, the Republicans are not shy about it. They just spend on different interests. In the past 8 years, the money we spent in Iraq makes any money spent on public welfare look like small change. And how did the Republicans spend so much without raising taxes? They borrowed the money. And who will pay this debt? You and I.

What is Best for Us as Jews

We Jews have historically fared best in communities that have enjoyed peace, quiet, and prosperity. In times of disruption and discontent, we have not fared so well. During the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance times, my ancestors in the Kingdom of Poland were part of the fabric of that country, brought prosperity to Poland, and were able to live a better life than in most of the rest of Europe. That is why so many of us have an East European heritage. When the Polish Kingdom crumbled in the late 17th Century and ultimately was gobbled up by Russia, Prussia, and Austria in the 18th Century, the Jewish position deteriorated. We became unneccessary foreigners in the land which we had supported for centuries. We remained so in post World War I nationalist Poland and under communism in the Ukraine and Belarus which had once been the eastern part of the Polish Kingdom and were now part of the Soviet Union. These Jewish communities were ultimately annihilated by the holocaust brought by a Germany that was dissatisfied with the results of World War I and its aftermath, and which found the Jews a convenient scape goat.
Another example was the relative quiet that Jews enjoyed in the Islamic world of the Middle Ages when Islam enjoyed greater prosperity and enlightenment than Europe, and when Jews contributed greatly to that prosperity and enlightenment. In modern times with the decline of the Islamic world, Jews have become persona non grata. They say that the Israel-Palestine conflict is at the center of the problems in the Region. In other words, get rid of the Jews and everything will be just fine. Instead of embracing Israel and using its technical know how to develop their part of the world and to bring Islam back to what it once was, they have used it as a scape goat for their own shortcomings.
This brings us to our own country, the USA, where we Jews have fared well to a great extent because of our country's freedom and prosperity. Now in our present election, we must choose between 2 candidates for president. Both candidates have openly expressed support for Israel. Obama has the vision, intelligence, and leadership ability to bring normalcy to America and restore real prosperity. He also has at least a shot at bringing some measure of normalcy to the world including maybe the Middle East. Mc Cain, although he has a history of being a moderate Republican, since running for president, has abandoned moderation. He supports Bush's ill conceived and poorly managed adventure in Iraq which has allowed Al Queda to remain entrenched in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area. Even worse, he has chosen Sarah Palin as his vice president candidate. She is a radical rightist who has supported Pat Buchanan (an enemy of Israel and probably Jews in general). Her radical policies and ineptness would bring continued war and financial ruin to our country. Mc Cain has a history of multiple bouts of melanoma. Do we really want that crazy lady to be a heartbeat away from an ailing old president?

An Uncomfortable Moment

Did you see the look on Mc Cain's face when he introduced Palin? He really looked uncomfortable. I guess he needs her to pander to the "Religious" Right. She is out of sync with the original Centrist Mc Cain and in sync with the new Rightist Mc Cain. Perhaps Mc Cain is uncomfortable with the new Mc Cain although it is politically necessary. Obama is fortunate in being really a Centrist who has been painted a Leftist. The move to the Center is easy for him because he has always been there.

Separation of Church and State

I am against mixing politics and religion not so much for the effect of religion on politics as much as for the perversion of religion by politics. Belief in God is Man's way of giving meaning to what otherwise appears to be a chaotic ultimately tragic existence. What does that have to do with politics? Why should anyone care which religion anyone else uses to meet this need? People who mix religion and politics are usually using religion to promote some political or other secular goal.

Berkely Radio Station

I was driving in Northern California recently and picked up a radio station from Berkely. The program was a leftist discussion group. It sounded like the worst of Fox News upside down. There were 2 things about their discussion which I found interesting (and maybe a little scary).
1. They were all unhappy with both major candidates for president. While one considered Obama less offensive than Mc Cain, the other actually preferred to see Obama lose because he feared a minority candidate winning would have a calming effect on minorities and make them less likely to rise up. Are they in touch with real life? Obama is a Centrist with a slightly left tilt while Mc Cain is a Centrist with a slightly right tilt. They are the nominees because they represent what "the people" want, a rational pragmatic direction. The radical Left and Right represent only themselves. I favor Obama because he is smarter and more effective.
2. The other scary item was their rabid hatred of Israel. They seem oblivious to the facts that Israel is a multiracial Democracy where all citizens (including Israeli Arabs) have an equal vote surrounded by countries that at best tolerate Israel and at worst want to destroy it. They were concerned that if Iran were to nuke Israel ( a proposal that Iran's leader has proposed publicly) a retaliation would kill innocent Iranians. How antisemitic can one get? Like the lives of Israelis (mostly Jews) don't matter?

Wealth

Monetary wealth is spending less money than one earns. Poverty is spending more than one earns.