The Vicious Babushka

EPIC FAIL: Morris Allen Has A Sad Nobody Wants His Faux Kosher Stamp of Approval

So righteous: He got thousands of illegals deported and a Jew sent to prison for 30 years for pissing off the 1%.

Chewish Drooly Forverts sobs:

Robert Kaiser, a science teacher from New Hampshire with an interest in finding ethically produced kosher food, was excited when he learned of Magen Tzedek, a seal that would combine Jewish values and social justice in food production, spanning from the treatment of workers to environmental impact.

But almost four years after the Magen Tzedek Commission drafted its first standards, not one product bears the initiative’s seal. Kaiser recently voiced his complaints on the organization’s Facebook page, which displayed only two posts by the group since last May.

“Your arguments for ethical meat make a lot of sense; I agree with you,” he wrote. “Yet the four years of silence on the topic… speak volumes.”

Kaiser recently told the Forward, “When I look up what they do, I don’t see very much there. At the moment it’s a bit of a disappointment.”

Five years after the federal government’s largest ever immigration raid exposed rampant worker abuse at the country’s biggest kosher slaughterhouse, Magen Tzedek, which was meant to respond to the scandal, appears hardly more active today than Agriprocessors, the plant in Postville, Iowa, that the feds’ raid shut down. There is little evidence that the project has capitalized on the calls the scandal sparked for ethically created kosher food.

That is a far cry from what Morris Allen, Magen Tzedek’s program director, predicted in 2010. By the end of the year, he said then, 15 companies would be on board with his group’s seal. In an interview May 14, Allen told the Forward that his group is currently in talks with “three or four” companies.

Allen said he has learned not to make such bold predictions anymore.

“I don’t want to say any date, I’ve been burned too often,” he said.

But personal misjudgments by Allen — a Conservative rabbi with no prior food certification experience — are not the only reasons that Magen Tzedek remains a dream: There is also wariness toward the seal on the part of kosher meat producers.

Read more: http://forward.com/articles/176814/magen-tzedek-ethical-kosher-seal-stalled-amid-orth/?p=all#ixzz2U2VNb2Vc

If Morris Allen had started out giving his stamp of righteousness to non-food products, for example clothing manufactured in fair trade conditions, he would have had much more support for his efforts. But the whining, entitled little crybaby wanted a cut of that "sweet kosher endorsement money" that "the Orthodox have a monopoly of."

Mashgichim (kosher supervisors) do not make a whole bunch of money. They get paid about the same as anyone else in the food service industry, which is to say, bupkies. Also, they have EXPERIENCE in what is required to maintain standards of halachic kashrus, something that Morris Allen knows very little about since he has made up his "all new" set of standards but want to use the old-fashioned word "kosher" thereby creating confusion. Kosher food producers wanted to avoid mixing "answering to a higher authority" with Morris Allen's "right" to have his logo on stuff.

Since he knows nothing about kosher food production, what exactly is it that he is going to monitor with his stamp of approval? "Ethical business practices"? What exactly does that even mean? Does this mean that he is an accountant and HR manager who will have intimate access to the payroll, employee time sheets and accounting books? What business, that already has a staff of accountants and HR professionals AND FREAKING LAWYERS, would even want this busybody, who is not even an IRS employee, examining their confidential records?

DOOFUS OF THE DAY: TN Rep Thinks the Bible Says Poor Kids Should Not Eat

No gruel for you!

Addicting Info reports:

As the GOP keeps looking for somewhere to cut government spending that won’t affect their pockets at all, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is now in their sights for cuts that could potentially devastate families who need it most.

Almost 47 million Americans are now receiving benefits under SNAP, also known as ‘food stamps’, and many of those are children, elderly, disabled, or working poor. As expected in troubled economic times, enrollment in the program skyrocketed and with it the costs of the program, which more than doubled to $80 billion. What many people don’t know is that food stamps are funded under the Farm Bill, the same bill that funds Federal subsidies for farmers.

So as the House Agriculture Committee debated this week over how much to cut from SNAP, it was not surprising that Representative Juan Vargas, a California Democrat, would remind the committee to follow the example set forth by Jesus, who said that how we treat the least among us is how we treat him. Of course, not to be out-Bibled, Representative Stephen Fincher, a Tennessee Republican, came back with his own Bible verse, quoting the Old Testament when he said, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” [Actually this quote is from the New Testament, Thessalonians 3:10--VB]

Really? Is that how we see the least fortunate among us? As lazy? Last I checked, there were laws against child labor in this country, and children make up almost half of all SNAP beneficiaries. Further, since many of the jobs that have been created since the economic recovery began are low wage jobs, it is to be expected that many of the families on the program are what are called ‘working poor’; families that do work but do not make a living wage.

But Rep. Fincher certainly doesn’t fall under this category. The Fincher family owns a 2500 acre farm in western Tennessee that brings in MILLIONS of dollars in Federal farm subsidies from the very bill he says needs to be targeted for its food stamps benefits. Make no mistake, this is no small family farm. Not one to miss out on any free government money, Fincher also took a grant from the state of Tennessee, as did his father, that allowed for taxpayers to buy them new farm equipment. That’s free to them. Free work related materials. FREE.

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/21/tn-rep-the-bible-says-not-to-feed-the-unwilling-to-work-so-we-should-cut-food-stamps-to-kids/#ixzz2Tw1NqjAD

Workers Sacked After Joke About "Baking Jews" in Toy Oven

Des Moines Register reports:

Two northern Iowa women were fired from their jobs at a New Hampton assembly plant for allegedly joking about “burning the Jews” inside a toy oven they were carrying.

Christina Ott of New Hampton and her sister, Susan Ott of Lawler, were fired in late January from the Trimark Corp. assembly plant in New Hampton.

According to plant officials’ testimony at two public unemployment claims hearings, five Trimark workers reported seeing the two walk through an area of the plant Dec. 19, carrying a toy Easy Bake oven with gingerbread men inside.

One of the workers said the women told their colleagues, “Happy Hanukkah. We’re burning the Jews.” The other workers were some distance away and said they didn’t hear any such comments by the women.

After the two were fired, they applied for unemployment benefits and the state scheduled separate public hearings to deal with each claim. Both women testified that they didn’t make the comment, and said the only reason they were carrying the toy oven around was so they could participate in a Christmas sweater contest at the plant.

“We did not have a Christmas sweater, so we decided to give out gingerbread men instead,” Susan Ott testified.

Read more at Des Moines Register.

 

Chabad of Thornhill Convinced to Cancel Appearance by Hateblogger Pamela Geller

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan as Toronto police chaplain

Toronto Sun reports:

TORONTO - York Regional Police threatened to remove a rabbi as one of the force’s chaplains if he hosted a controversial anti-Islamist speaker at his Thornhill synagogue.

Insp. Ricky Veerappan, of the force’s diversity, equity and inclusion bureau, confirmed he and officers from the service’s hate crimes unit met with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue on Tuesday.

They expressed concern about an upcoming talk to be given by Pamela Geller, a vocal critic of radical Islam. She protested past plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, and has posted anti-Jihad messages in that city’s subway system.

Subsequent to his meeting with police, Kaplan cancelled Geller’s May 13 talk, which was sponsored by the Jewish Defence League (JDL) — a hard-line advocacy group that had rented space in Kaplan’s synagogue for the event.

“I think the police are turning a blind eye to who they should be keeping an eye on,” said the JDL’s Meir Weinstein, referring to radical Islamists. Weinstein said another location will be chosen for Geller’s appearance.

Veerappan said he told Kaplan that Geller’s speech “would not be endorsed by York Regional Police” and that the rabbi’s role as a force chaplain would be thrown into question if he were to permit the event.

“If he did (host Geller), then we’d have to reassess our relationship with (Kaplan),” Veerappan said. “We serve the needs of the entire community. Some of the stuff that Ms. Geller speaks about runs contrary to the values of York Regional Police and the work we do in engaging our communities.”

Veerappan said a member of York Region's Muslim community, whom he wouldn’t identify, brought Geller’s scheduled talk to the attention of police.

York Regional Police enlist eight chaplains of different faiths to counsel police officers and their families. Among them is a Muslim chaplain, Imam Abdul Hai Patel.

Read more at Toronto Sun.

Pamela, of course, is shrieking that this is "Sharia' suppressing her "Free Speech" even though Canada has no First Amendment.

Kudos to the Toronto police for their prompt action in warning the clueless Mendel Kaplan about the piece of poison he was about to ingest.

Co-Opting the Holocaust: End Times Host Claims American Christians Are So the Next Holocaust Victims!!

End Times Rick Wiles

Right Wing Watch reports:

On Friday's radio broadcast, End Times radio host Rick Wiles and his guest, John McTernan, engaged in a long discussion about how things like abortion and homosexuality are bringing a curse on America.  Eventually McTernan and Wiles asserted that President Obama is linked "at the hip" with Kermit Gosnell before declaring that what is happening to Christians in America is just what happened to Jews in Nazi Germany, meaning that the next victims of a holocaust will be American Christians:

McTernan: We've murdered 60 million babies. And they've got the case in Pennsylvania, I don't know if you've been following or not ...

Wiles: Yes, Gosnell.

McTernan: I mean ... how do you describe this? Well, this is what Obama stands for.

Wiles: Barbaric.

McTernan: Obama is linked arm in arm, at the hip with this butcher.

Wiles: He hasn't denounced it. He's expressed no sorrow over what this butcher did to those children.

McTernan: And I must warn your listeners, that cold-heartedness that you see in Obama will translate into physical violence against us.

Wiles: That's right.

McTernan: He can't do it right now. Just like the Nazis, when they took power in Germany, the next day they couldn't kill the Jews.  They wanted to, but it took preparation and they had to get society ready for it. They had to marginalize the Jews, demonize the Jews, blame them for everything.  Well, that's the process that's going on in America now.

Wiles: And the Christians are the new Jews.

McTernan: We're the new Jews.

Wiles: The next holocaust are American Christians.  That's what's coming.

Read more at Right Wing Watch.

Of course they don't really want to be hauled away to die in gas chambers and stuff and they totally know that's never going to happen, they just want to get straight to claiming Angel Victim Status because they are, you know, so much more deserving than those Juice.

*FACE PALM* Michigan Mom Complains "Diary of Anne Frank" is PORNOGRAPHIC

NY Daily News reports:

A mother in Northville, Mich., has filed a formal complaint against her daughter’s school district, stating that some passages in the definitive edition of “The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank” are too graphic for seventh graders.

As Detroit’s Fox 2 reports, parent Gail Horalek says the unedited version of the diary, published in 1996, is too graphic for her daughter’s seventh grade class at Meads Mill Middle School. In the book, Frank describes in some detail the discovery of her genitalia. 

 

Horalek told the Northville Patch that the school should have asked for parents’ permission before assigning seventh graders a book that she describes as “pornographic.”

“The problem is the school is giving the seventh graders inappropriate material and not explaining it to the parents,” Horalek told the Patch.

Horalek said the school should have sent a letter home to parents, as it has with similarly sensitive material.

“If they watch any kind of movie with a swear word in it, I have to sign a permission slip," Horalek said.

Horalek also claimed that every parent she spoke to was unaware of the passages in the unedited version. Her daughter brought them to her attention when she told Horalek that reading the book made her uncomfortable.

Given that the book is a firsthand account of Frank’s experiences during the Holocaust as a young Jewish girl, Horalek originally thought her daughter’s discomfort was due to the book’s depressing nature. It wasn’t until her daughter pointed out the book’s allegedly graphic passages that Horalek became concerned.

Now Horalek says she wants the unedited version of the diary, which became part of the school’s curriculum last year, removed from classrooms.

Read more at NY Daily News.

The paragraph in question is reprinted at Fox News Detroit. This passage did not appear in any of the previously published editions, it was edited out by Otto Frank for a reason. The unedited diary should be studied by historians and academics, but school children can read the classic.

DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Borough Park Man Goes All Westboro

World's Most Offensive Bumper Stickers

Gothamist reports:

Last week we published a photo of a car in Brooklyn plastered with a ridiculous amount of offensive bumper stickers. That car turned out to belong to Heshi Fried—Fried is a Hardei, which is considered the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. Considering our negative take on his vehicle, we were pretty surprised when Fried called us this week to thank us for writing about him. "I think it was great, and you know, most people are very much with me, the people who are religious are basically all giving me a thumbs up," Fried said. "Except secular Jews, who usually like, express shock. They feel like I'm causing anti-Semitism or something. They feel really embarrassed."

Fried, who was a follower of Rabbi Avigdor Miller, was incredibly civil during our 30 minute conversation, during which we tried to pose questions based around the offensive bumper stickers he so proudly shows up. Fried confirmed he used to be a member of the fringe Hasidic group Jewish Political Action Committee, but after the big "Jews against the internet" protest at Citi Field a few years ago, they removed their website. "[The Rabbis] didn't want us to have anything that may cause religious kids to go look at the internet to see what's going on. So that's one of reasons we removed the website."

As for those bumper stickers, which he makes himself, Fried says it's part of his goal to make as many people more observant as possible. He proceeded to explain each bumper sticker to us in detail, and how it stems from some passage in the Torah. But we pushed him about the Hurricane Sandy sticker in particular—how can someone possibly connect a weather phenomenon with a legislative action? Below, you can read Fried's answer, which involves a very vengeance-happy, hail-and-brimstone Old Testament reading of God.

Read more at Gothamist.

Well, I just feel like I want to Throw Up. It's very disturbing to read about a religious Jew who embraces the crackpot ideas of the Westboro cult and the extreme creationists. Babushka remembers Avigdor Miller from the 1970's. He was a fire-and-brimstone stand-up comedian-preacher whose lectures about young-earth creationism and anti-gay diatribes were taken primarily from fundamentalist Christian sources and crackpots like Emanuel Velikovsky. It's very embarrassing to recall that at one time I actually thought he was entertaining, kind of the same way that Rush Limbaugh used to be funny back in the day.

Having these hateful notions is one thing--a person really ought to work on his middos (good qualities), keep hateful feelings to oneself and concentrate on loving one's fellow human, even if that person has different beliefs, skin color, or sexual orientation. To plaster one's vehicle with hateful messages just invites reciprocal hatred, key-scratching, tire-slashing and windshield smashing.

Hateful people suck.

DOOFUS OF THE DAY: OK Legislator Apologizes to Jews who were Offended by Anti-Jewish Slur

 

An Oklahoma lawmaker who was advocating that the state drop a 70-year-old law protecting small businesses from large retails stores apologized on Wednesday after he used the slur “Jew me down” during a debate on the state House floor.

Republican state Rep. Dennis Johnson on Wednesday insisted to his colleagues that Senate Bill 550, which gives an advantage to large stores by repealing a ban on “loss-leader” selling, would not hurt small businesses because they offered better customer service.

“What you do, you find out what you do better than somebody else and that’s what you market, that’s what you advertise, that’s what you do as a small business and then you get the reward of success,” he explained. “People come back to you, they like what you do, they like the service they get. And they don’t ask me — they might try to Jew me down on a price, that’s fine. You know what? That’s free market as well.”

After a few more moments of rambling about how small businesses could buy merchandise at lower prices than large retailers, someone on the House floor advised Johnson that he had made an offensive comment.

“Did I?” he asked.

“I apologize to the Jews,” Johnson added, smiling in response to laughter that could be heard off camera. “They’re good small businessmen as well.”

MOAR FAIL at RawStory.

My Message to the Congregations Who Invited Pamela Geller to Speak, After She Was Turned Away by Great Neck Synagogue:

Hate Speech is Not Free Speech

I am sure that you are familiar with all the anti-Semitic myths and libels that have been going around for centuries, and the excuses that anti-Semites make for themselves.

“The Talmud says that Jews are commanded to hate Goyim!”
“Circumcision is cruelty to little babies!”
“Jews make you pay a Kosher Tax on food!”
“Jewish ritual slaughter is cruelty to animals!”
“Mikvah is degrading to women!”
“A Jew was convicted of child molesting, so all Jews must be child molesters!”
“I don’t hate all Jews but those Ultra-Orthodox sure are scary!”
“We must ban those rabbinical courts that judge according to Halachah!”

You have heard them all.

You are probably also aware that some of the people who believe in these myths are active in movements to ban brit milah [circumcision] and shechitah [kosher slaughter], to prevent Jews from constructing eruvin [Sabbath boundaries] and have joined with neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers. If they are not marginalized in society, they can do a lot of damage to our community.

Would you invite such a person into your shul, to address your congregation? Or would you say they can enjoy their right to free speech, somewhere far away from you?

Yet you invited Pamela Geller to speak at your shul, after she was turned away from another synagogue who realized that her message is identical to the myths and libels that I have listed above, yet substituting “Koran” for “Talmud,” “Halal” for “kosher” and “Sharia” for “Halachah.” Her accusations against Muslims are just as false and offensive as the same accusations that are made against us. She may have a right to free speech according to the law of the land, but that does not mean any right to any venue.

I am deeply disappointed as an Orthodox Jew, that you have offered a platform to someone who spreads hate speech and is affiliated with neo-Nazis.

We should not stand for the same hatred and intolerance towards others that we have endured for so many long centuries.

Sincerely,

The Vicious Babushka

Bridge Troll Sues U.S. State Department, TSA, DHS and Canada to Protect Bridge Monopoly

The Troll & His Bridge

WASHINGTON -- The owner of the Ambassador Bridge has filed a lawsuit against a number of federal officials -- the U.S. secretaries of state, transportation and homeland security among them -- and the Canadian government as the company tries to block the building of a rival Detroit River bridge, and force approval for its own second span to Windsor.

The new complaint, now quietly winding its way through federal court in Washington, D.C., was filed in February but was dated Nov. 9, just three days after last year's referendum in which Michigan voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have required a statewide and local vote before the state spent any money on a new international bridge or tunnel to Canada.

In the lawsuit, the Detroit International Bridge Co., the family business controlled by Manuel (Matty) Moroun that owns the 84-year-old Ambassador Bridge, claims a "perpetual and exclusive franchise right" to operate the crossing free of competition from another span. It says the proposed New International Trade Crossing would "destroy" the value of its franchise, and argues that the process by which the State Department would approve a deal between Michigan and Canada to build the rival bridge is unconstitutional.

Read more at Detroit Free Press.

Polish Academic Claims Jews Were Responsible for the Holocaust

KRAKOW – Krzysztof Jasiewicz, a professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences and a well known expert on Polish-Jewish relations, has caused outrage by claiming in an interview with Polish magazine Focus last week that Jews took an active part in the murder of other Jews during WWII.

The interview appeared in a special edition of the magazine focusing on the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising this week.

In the interview, titled “Are the Jews themselves guilty?” Jasiewicz shared views that sound like they were taken from a Nazi propaganda bulletin.

“This nonsense about Jews being killed mostly by Poles was created to hide the biggest Jewish secret. The scale of the German crime was only possible because the Jews themselves participated in the murder of their own people,” Jasiewicz said.

Jasiewicz also said that the Jews brought the Holocaust on themselves.

“For many generations, the Jews, not the Catholic Church, worked to bring the Holocaust about. It looks like the Jews haven’t learned their lesson and haven’t come to any conclusions yet,” he said.

He continued, accusing the Jewish people of harming their relations with Poles.

“The Jews have a problem because they are convinced they are the chosen people.

They feel that they are entitled to interpret everything, including Catholic doctrine. They will always criticize whatever we did or will do. It will never be enough, it will always be wrong and not generous enough. I am convinced that there is no point in a dialogue with the Jews, because it leads nowhere,” said Jasiewicz.

Read more at Jerusalem Post.

HOW did this colossal douche bag become an "expert on Jewish-Polish relations"?

13 Annoying Things Most People Assume About Orthodox Jews

Because Juice are scary!

You likely base your knowledge of Orthodox Jews on ridiculous caricatures which were dreamed up in Hollywood and the headlines that capture the worst in our community. It's time to straighten things out.

By JewintheCity

1. You guys have sex through a hole in the sheet, right?

No, but I've been asked this numerous times — once even by my cleaning lady. Which is pretty funny because she's SEEN my sheets. I'm thinking,"Hey, lady, you make my bed! Ever seen any hole anywhere? Nuh-uh? It's cause we don't got 'em!" People assume that because we're outwardly modest that our modesty continues behind closed doors. It doesn't. (News flash: We also shower like regular people!) It's a big mitzvah for a husband and wife to be together — and not just for procreation. A wife's sexual satisfaction is actually part of her marital contract, and if her husband doesn't fulfill his end of the deal, it's grounds for divorce. Don't assume that because you don't see us being overtly sexual we aren't doing so in private places. That's the point: We believe these matters are *private.*

2. You wear a wig? Oh, so then you shave your head, right?

No, actually, I don't. And none of my friends who cover their hair do either. It's only a small segment of the Hasidic community that does. Why do I cover my hair in the first place, then, and with *gasp* a wig that makes me look beautiful? Well, that's a longer discussion than we have time for in BuzzFeed land, but I'll keep it simple: Jewish modesty is not about looking unattractive, it's about keeping certain parts of yourself private. The wig creates a barrier between me and the rest of the male population, and there's only one man who can cross that barrier. Again, there's no space to do the topic justice, but let's get one thing straight, folks: If you see a wig, assume there's hair underneath, because there usually is.

3. You're a woman, so you're subjugated, right?

No. I'm not, and I don't think any of the women in my community are either. But of course there are SOME subjugated Orthodox women in the world because there are jerky men everywhere including in the Orthodox world. Orthodox Jews have many shared values with second-wave feminists, and the vast majority of Orthodox women that I've come across feel respected and are choosing their way of life. Does Judaism consider men and women to be different physically, emotionally, and spiritually? Heck, yeah! But different in a yin-and-yang sort of way, not a in a Coke-Pepsi sort of way (Coke clearly being the superior of the two). Orthodox Jews are second-wave feminists. We believe in celebrating women's unique womanhood, not trying to make her more like a man.

But don't take my word for it! Go out and meet some Orthodox Jewish women yourself and see directly from them how they're treated. You can come to us for Shabbos, if you'd like. (Did I mention that my husband is an excellent cook?! ;) )

4. You're a woman, so you don't work, right?

Actually, I do. And most of us do. I once literally had a fight with a reporter from a major news outlet about this because she wouldn't believe me. She had no real knowledge of the Orthodox community, yet she INSISTED that Orthodox women don't (and can't) work. She noted at one point that "maybe my secular bias is getting in the way." (Ya think?!) When she finally conceded that Orthodox women could work, she asked, "Well, what do they do — run shops?" *Eye roll.* "Well," I began, "Some run shops, and some run companies" (like Rickie Freeman, CEO of Teri Jon). "And some run hospital departments" (like Dr. Laurel Steinherz, director of pediatric cardiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering.) "And some run legal cases at major law firms" (like Lydia Kess, a Hasidic Jew who was the first *female* partner at Davis Polk — one of the most prestigious law firms in the country). And frankly, there's more Orthodox Jewish woman - from all walks of Orthodox life — excelling in so many more professions than I even have space to mention. [Such as Vicious Babushka, who works in the auto industry--VB]

Read more at Buzzfeed.

George Washington Never Said That! The Zombie Fake Quotes That Can't Be Killed!

Bogus quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson, attributed here to LOLCat.

Various quotations, attributed to famous people, are frequently cited on The Internet in support of this or that popular cause. This in itself is a logical fallacy, the "Appeal to Authority." The argument is, "This famous person supports our cause! So how can you not support our cause? Do you know more than this famous person?" The argument fails if the famous person being quoted is not an acknowledged authority on the subject, or if there is disagreement among authorities, or if the famous person's quotation is taken out of context. The argument certainly fails is the famous person never even said what is attributed to him.

Here is a sample of some of the bogus quotations that are being circulated, mostly on Twitter and Facebook, attributed to various of the United States "founding fathers" on the subject of gun control.

1. "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Attributed to Thomas Jefferson (spoofed above in LOLCat.)

Monticello.org has this to say:

Earliest known appearance in print: No appearances in print found.

Earliest known appearance in print, attributed to Thomas Jefferson: See above.

Other attributions: None known.

Status: We have not found any evidence that Thomas Jefferson said or wrote, "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."

The pro-gun website SAF.org sourly has this to say about the fake Jefferson quotes: "Thomas Jefferson has many confirmed quotes on our website. Why anyone felt it necessary to make up a quote is ludicrous. Maybe an anti-gunner did it to discredit all the real quotes."

2. "A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."--George Washington.

This is the Zombie Fake Quote that can't be killed! What makes it so pernicious is that Washington did say something very similar, but the Fake Quote has been manipulated in order to give it a meaning that is quite different from the original context. Here is the authentic Washington quote:

"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies."

The original quotation shows that Washington clearly intended a country to have industrial independence. The bogus, manipulated quotation attempts to insinuate that people need to have weapons in order to resist their own government, a sentiment that Washington clearly did not share when he forcibly put down the Whisky Rebellion and Shay's Rebellion.

3. "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence. The church, the plow, the prairie wagon, and citizen's firearms are indelibly related. From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to insure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable." --another bogus George Washington quote.

Guncite.com, a pro-2nd Amendment website, warned its supporters to avoid using this fake quote. Of course nobody listens to them, this bogus quotation is all over the Internet.

This quotation, sometimes called the "liberty teeth" quote, appears nowhere in Washington's papers or speeches, and contains several historical anachronisms: the reference to "prairie wagon" in an America which had yet to even begin settling the Great Plains (which were owned by France at the time), the reference to "the Pilgrims" which implies a modern historical perspective, and particularly the attempt by "Washington" to defend the utility of firearms (by use of statistics!) to an audience which would have used firearms in their daily lives to obtain food, defend against hostile Indians, and which had only recently won a war for independence.

The "99 99/100 percent" is also an odd phrase for 18th century America, which tended not to use fractional percentages. It's clear that "Washington" is addressing "gun control" arguments which wouldn't exist for another couple of centuries, not to mention doing so in a style that is uncharacteristic of the period, and uncharacteristic of Washington's addresses to Congress, both of which exhibited a high degree of formality.

4. "1935 will go down in History! For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient and the world will follow our lead to the future!"--Attributed to Adolf Hitler IM"S.

From our friends at SAF.org:

This passage sometimes features different punctuation and slight wording changes including a beginning of, ‘For the first time in history, a....’ Various citations include: Adolf Hitler, April 15, 1935, in address to the Reichstag; Adolf Hitler 1935 'Berlin Daily' (Loose English Translation) April 15th, 1935 Page 3 Article 2 by Einleitung Von Eberhard Beckmann -"Abschied vom Hessenland!". "Adolf" is sometimes misspelled as ‘Adolph’ on the Internet.

While the above 'quote' makes a nice T-shirt, there are numerous problems with this alleged statement. (1) It violates the rule of not beginning a sentence with a number. (2) It isn’t phrased in Hitler’s style. (3) Major changes to the German gun laws occurred in 1928 and 1931 (under the Weimar Republic) and in 1938 (under the Nazi’s). No significant changes happened in the gun registration laws in 1935. Furthermore, the changes in 1928 and 1931 were designed to disarm the Nazis and Communists and therefore it is doubtful that Hitler would trumpet the success of any law aimed at his goon squads.

Until then, please click here for some proven Nazi Quotes. (Coming soon)
[Link never provided!--VB]

5. "It's not the people who vote that count, it's the people who count the vote!"--attributed to Josef Stalin.

This one is obviously bogus for a number of reasons. First, Stalin did not speak English, and would not have made a pun in English, but which makes no sense in Russian. Second, votes were not counted in Stalin's Soviet Union. All votes were for the Party, Stalin always received 100% of the vote. 

A similar quote was actually said by William M. "Boss" Tweed, a corrupt 19th-century New York political lord. "As long as I count the vote, what are you going to do about it?" Why don't right-wingers quote "Boss" Tweed? Maybe they don't even know who he was.

6. "You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."--attributed to Abraham Lincoln. Frequently quoted by those who would deny government benefits such as food stamps to poor people.

These silly little aphorisms were actually composed by William John Henry Boetcker, some dude that nobody ever heard of. He seems to have been a 19th-Century Bryan J. Fischer. The first person to mistakenly attribute this collection to Lincoln was none other than everybody's affable granddaddy Ronald Reagan. Snopes has the whole story.

How can you tell if a quote attributed to a famous person is fake?

Generally speaking the rule to identifying Fake Quotes is:

1. If it's on The Internet it is probably fake. (however real quotes have occasionally, although rarely, been found on The Internet)

2. If it's in a book, it is probably authentic. However fake quotes have also appeared in print before there was The Internet.

If you come across any quotes that you think might be bogus, please share them!

NJ Jewish Mother Arrested--And Her Guns Confiscated!-- After Disrupting Community Meeting

Mrs. Hart

Eileen Hart and her husband, Keith, are property owners in Newfield, New Jersey.

On Saturday, March 9 there was an informal meeting at the Gloucester Community Center, to discuss the findings on "revaluations" by Appraisal Systems, Inc.- a company which has been contracted by the state of New Jersey- to assess the fair market property values for each county or borough- for the tax assessor's offices.

There has been much derision caused by these "revaluations" by homeowners, because property values have fallen dramatically- and the real estate market has been hit very hard . There is nothing "fair" about the market or the home values that have been assessed, according to many New Jersey families.

Ms. Hart attended the meeting, armed with- as she said "her Constitution and the facts."

Said Hart "I tried to express my opinion and tell them that my Constitutional rights had been violated. I began quoting the Constitution, line by line.

Ms. Hart tried to explain, that Appraisal Systems, Inc. was attempting to inspect her property without her husband being present. As an Orthodox Jew, this is against the tenets of her religion. Her husband had to be present. According to Ms. Hart, she was unable to express this concern.

A representative of Appraisal Systems, Inc. -(<List of Appraisal System Employees at this link)apparently took offense to her objections and brought in Robyn Glocker-Hammond, the Tax Assessor - who stated that her job was to "enforce the law."

(This writer was under the impression that Tax Collectors collected taxes. They are NOT "law enforcement." But then, I am not a Tax Collector in New Jersey. )

Relates Hart: "She also wouldn't let me speak and told me to sit down and shut up and listen as well. That's when the young man came toward me. I knew he was going to put his hands on me. I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I said to him "Don't you dare touch me." Then they threw us out of the auditorium. The young man from Appraisal Systems, Inc. was the one going postal, and I believe if HE HAD A GUN, he would have shot me, Keith and Khloe on the spot. I was calm the entire time."

When the Harts left the gathering, they were followed into the parking lot of the community center, and the same young man who had been so upset by Ms. Hart's comments in the community center, started screaming and shouting at her, took down the license plate number of her vehicle and said - "See if you are able to pay your property taxes NOW!"

Eileen didn't understand what that shouted threat meant, until she returned to her home with her family.

When they arrived, there were 5 police cars from the Franklinville Police Department. They advised her that the Clayton Police wanted to talk to her about the allegations.

States Hart "For the record, both the police officers DID acknowledge that it was "an allegation."

Her purse was taken from her and she was put into a "paddy wagon," transported to the police station-

Her young daughter witnessed the events and was traumatized to see her mother being treated like a common criminal.

[VB: And now comes the fun part:]

She was arrested and booked for "terroristic threats" and "contempt."

At the police station, she was handcuffed to a chair.

The cops ran a background check- and it revealed that she had absolutely NO criminal record. It also showed that she was the lawful owner of two hand guns. She was advised to turn in the guns over to the court (surrendered or confiscated) - and they would be held for "safe keeping." If she did not- she was told by the police- her bail would be VERY high. And- if she could not make the bail- she would sit in the county jail until an unknown date.

The complaint (in part) states: The State of New Jersey vs. Eileen B. Hart -"The Defendant was yelling and screaming and making the threatening comment. "If the door is locked. I'll be back with a gun."

Ms. Hart denies she ever made this statement, as does her husband, Keith. However, this is how the complaint was written up by Clayton County Sergeant J. Dick- who, it may be noted, was not present during the meeting.

She surrendered her guns and was released on her own recognizance.

Read more at Examiner.com.

This story is currently making the rounds at Breitbart, GatewayPundit and the rest of the usual "Constitution" and "Gun-Lovers" crowd.

We assume that this event took place after sundown on Saturday night, and that Mrs. Hart did not bring her guns to the meeting.

Re-evaluations of the property may have been to inspect property damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

People who do not keep order at public meetings should be escorted from the premises.

DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Of All The Purim Costumes in the World, Why Did Dov Hikind Go Blackface?

EPIC FAIL: Doofus Hikind and Devil Girl

Dov Hikind apolgizes to everyone in the whole wide world for being a horrible Douche:

Some people have marveled at what they’ve characterized as my insensitivity in wearing the costume I wore on Purim. My initial reaction in learning of this was one of shock because my intention was never to hurt or make fun of anyone. Those who know me—in politics and in my personal life—already know this. But others who don’t know me have expressed hurt and outrage, so I am writing to address that once and for all. Unintentional as they were, I recognize now that the connotations of my Purim costume were deeply offensive to many.

The question that is on the tip of everyone's tongue is why did he even do this in the first place? There are like a bazillion different costume choices that could have been made, Mr. Hikind (who is a freaking politician!) had to go with the one that offends the maximum number of people. 

WHATTA FAIL.

Concentration Camp Slogan Found at Old Detroit Automotive Site

Big letters have been placed on the overpass at the Packard Automotive Plant in Detroit that read in German “Work will make you Free,” concerning some metro Detroiters, given the resemblance to an infamous sign at the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz. It’s unclear who put up the letters.

In capital red letters on a white background, the new sign at the decaying site on Detroit’s east side reads: “Arbeit Macht Frei,” the exact same words at the entrance to the concentration camps in Poland where Jews were forced to work and were murdered. The sign, which was used at other Nazi camps, became well known as an international symbol of cruelty.

“I found it disturbing,” said David Schulman, 53, a Huntington Woods resident who came across the Detroit sign while driving home last week from Belle Isle. His grandmother had family members killed in the Holocaust.

“It’s a form of hate speech,” Schulman said. “It really appalled me.”

An attorney who represents the owner of the plant said he wasn’t aware of the sign until contacted by the Free Press, but now intends to remove it or cover it up.

“This is a disgusting act,” said Troy attorney John Bologna, who represents the plant’s owner Dominic Cristini. Cristini is in a legal dispute with the city over the plant’s ownership.

The sign consists of separate white rectangular pieces for each letter. The style of the lettering in the Detroit sign has specific similarities to the Nazi sign at Auschwitz that made it unique: for example, the upper half of the letter “B” in “Arbeit” (“Work”) is bigger than the lower half, just like it is in Auschwitz.

The letters appear to have been hung there sometime this year, said Schulman. He didn’t notice them when driving about a month ago by the overpass, which sits across East Grand Boulevard near Concord Street.

The plant has become a symbol of Detroit’s industrial decline. Designed by the noted architect Albert Kahn, the Packard Plant used to be an auto manufacturing facility where thousands worked and was a symbol of the strength of blue-collar labor in America’s Midwest.

Read more at Detroit Free Press.

"The Daily Show" Rips Detroit Bridge Troll Matty Moroun

 

Leave it to "The Daily Show' to find the absurdity in one of Detroit's oddest political battles.

A segment on the comedy news show hosted by Al Madrigal looked at the plan to build a new bridge to Canada -- free to Michigan taxpayers -- and the surreal opposition to it that's been powered by billionaire Matty Moroun, who happens to own Detroit's other bridge to Windsor.

Watch the video above to see Madrigal go where others can't, as he pokes fun at Detroit, pesters a toll booth operator in search of Moroun, calls out a "soccer mom" for her Canada hating and asks one famed local activist with the New Black Panther Nation why he's working for the man.

"Mo' bridges, mo' problems, am I right?" Madrigal says.

Read more at Huffington Post.

 

DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Columnist Blames Teh Eevil Jooz for the "War on Christmas"

Scary Jew Shadows and their Hanukkah Menorahs Everywhere!

Burt Prelutsky screeches in World Nut Daily:

I never thought I’d live to see the day that Christmas would become a dirty word. You think it hasn’t? Then why is it that people are being prevented from saying it in polite society for fear that it will offend?

Why, after 60 years, is the city of Santa Monica, Calif., no longer allowed to erect its traditional crèche in the palisades overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and why is the governor of Rhode Island insisting on calling the state’s Christmas tree a holiday tree?

Schools are being forced to replace “Christmas vacation” with “winter break” in their printed schedules. At some major retail chains, the word is verboten, replaced as a matter of policy by the generic Happy Holidays. Carols, even instrumental versions, are verboten in certain locales. All across the country, grammar schools are banning Christmas pageants.

How is it, one well might ask, that in a Christian nation this is happening? And in case you find that designation objectionable, would you deny that India is a Hindu country, that Turkey is Muslim, that Poland is Catholic? That doesn’t mean those nations are theocracies. But when the overwhelming majority of a country’s population believe Jesus to be their savior, only a darn fool would deny the obvious.

Although it seems a long time ago, it really wasn’t, that people who came here from other places made every attempt to fit in. Assimilation wasn’t a threat to anyone; it was what the Statue of Liberty represented. E pluribus unum, one out of many, was our motto. The world’s melting pot was our nickname. It didn’t mean that any group of people had to check their customs, culture or cuisine, at the door. It did mean that they, and especially their children, learned English, and that they learned to live and let live.

That has changed, as you may have noticed. And I lay a great deal of the blame at the feet of my fellow Jews. When it comes to pushing the multicultural, anti-Christian agenda, you find Jewish judges, Jewish journalists and the largely Jewish funded ACLU at the forefront. What makes them even more obnoxious is that, by and large, the Jews who are leading the crusade against what is, we should never forget, a national holiday, are secular. So it’s not even a question of their religion being shortchanged; they hate their own, as well. They’re the pinheads who pretend that “separation of church and state” appears in the Constitution.

THIS "GEM" STANDS OUT:

I am getting the idea that these self-righteous secular Jews won’t be happy until they pull off their own version of the Spanish Inquisition, forcing Christians to either deny their faith and convert to agnosticism or suffer the consequences.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/the-jewish-grinch-who-stole-christmas/#Pwu70GKGg9rKAgyo.99 (WARNING: This link goes to a site that is run by delusional stupid crazy people. You may lose brain cells.)

The mind boggles. I thought it was supposed to be Muslims and their "stealth Sharia" who were leading the War Against Christmas! There is so much wrong with this diatribe that I don't even know where to begin. Let's begin with the hysterical claim that wishing somebody "Happy Holidays" is the equivalent of burning somebody to death in an auto-da-fe. Uh, no it's not.

Also, nobody is even being FORCED to say "Happy Holidays." It's just a generic greeting, like "How are you today?" People who say "How are you today?" are not expecting a full run-down of your medical condition.

Now is is possible that some people are concerned that public funds or public space are being designated for religious objects that are not inclusive of many citizens. At the same time, the same "conservatives" who are in such horror of a "War on Christmas" also complain that the White House is spending too much money of holiday decorations during a time of recession and unemployment and OMG a Blackity Black Man is President!

I can look all around and see Christmas symbols everywhere! My favorite TV shows are either pre-empted for Christmas specials, or else have a Christmas episode, but it is very rare to see a TV program that has a Hanukkah episode. Which reminds me, "South Park" has not done a Christmas Special since the infamous "Woodland Critters" episode. I haz a sad!

 

IDF Soldiers Protest Gaza Cease-Fire With "Bibi Loser" Photo

"Bibi Loser" spelled out in Hebrew

Jerusalem - Sixteen IDF soldiers could face court-martial proceedings after posing in uniform for a photograph where their arranged bodies spelled out the phrase “Bibi Loser” in Hebrew letters. Their act is an expression of defiance against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to accept a cease-fire with Hamas instead of sending ground troops into Gaza.

The Times of Israel reports (http://bit.ly/SYd2bf) that the photograph has gone viral, and has received over 3,000 “Likes” and 400 “shares” in one Facebook group alone within just three hours of being posted. Comments on the photo ranged from those calling for the soldiers to be court-martialed to sympathy for the soldiers’ frustration.

Other comments refer to Netanyahu as a coward for keeping the IDF from “giving it to Hamas” and “getting the job done.”

Read more at Vos Iz Neias.

State Department Spokesperson Delivers Smackdown to Belligerent AP Reporter

This is the same Victoria Nuland who is being excoriated by certain "pro-Zionist" bloggers for not being sufficiently "pro-Israel." It's the State Department, folks!