Waking Up to 30+ Year Old Nightmare

 Over 30 years ago I imagined a scary future.  Call it a dream, a fantasy, a nightmare or whatever.  I am sharing it now because it looks to me like it could be actually happening.

https://youtu.be/cTcYdFngowM

BASELESS HATE

 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”  Mishlei

The famous rabbi, Talmudic genius and prodigy, Rabbi Menachem Ziemba (1883–1943) (Hebrew: מנחם זמבה‎) who was gunned down by the Germans in the Warsaw Ghetto during Passover, wrote that there was no logical explanation for Anti-Semitism.  He explains further in this video:

https://youtu.be/Gj7XmL4LZwI

If Rabbi Menachem, one of the greatest Jewish minds in history who experienced the Holocaust first hand, says there is no logical explanation for Anti-Semitism, then why should we think we can explain it?  Where should we turn for a true understanding?

Furthermore, if the explanation given for the Holocaust is Anti-Semitism, but there is no logical explanation for Anti-Semitism, then how can it be a logical explanation of the Holocaust?

I believe an explanation does exist.  As strange as it may seem, the explanation starts with a strange story In the Gemara (the rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah the Oral Torah).

Believe it or not, it is based on a story about a dinner party. This is used to teach about Tisha be’Av (9th day of the month of Av). If one follows through, there are further teachings regarding this banquet which lead to the discovery of an entirely new way to understand the Holocaust and Anti-Semitism through the millennium.

I am of course referring to the story of “Kamtza and Bar Kamtza."  Reference for more on "Kamtza and Bar Kamtza” https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/72848

To understand the Holocaust one must look at the event in the greater context of Tisha B’Av. The Holocaust is one horrific happening in a sequence of other great tragedies befalling the Jewish people going back thousands of years.  All these events in history are connected. They all occurred on the biblical Tisha B’Av. 

• 586 B.C.E. The First Temple, Solomon's Temple was destroyed on the 9th Av by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar. (Many Jews were subsequently forcibly exiled to Babylon).
• 70 C.E. Tisha b'Av (9th of Av) five hundred years later, the 2nd Temple in ancient Jerusalem was destroyed on the same date by the Romans.
• 135 C.E on the 9th Av during the time of the Jewish revolt against Roman rule, soldiers led by Rabbi Simon bar Kochba were massacred in their final battle at Betar. (Proportionately this was more Jews than were killed during the Holocaust.)
• 1096, 9th of Av the Crusades began during which 1.2 million Jews were killed.
• 1290 A.D. 9th Av England expelled the Jews.
• 1306 A.D. France expelled the Jews.
• 1492 The Golden Age of Spain came to a close when Queen Isabella and her husband Ferdinand ordered that the Jews be banished from Spain. The edict of expulsion was signed on the 31st March and the Jews were given exactly four months to put their affairs in order and leave. The Hebrew date of their leaving was to be the 9th of Av!  (That was the date the Columbus was planned to leave Spain backed by a wealthy Jew. Columbus postponed his trip by one day to avoid bad luck!)
• 1670 A.D the Jews were forced out of Vienna Austria.
• 1881 A.D. 22 the Russian Pogroms started.
• 1914 Tisha B'Av marked the declaration of war by Germany on Russia, the two major powers from the two opposing alliances which fought in WWI. Many historians view WWI as one of the major causes of Hitler’s rise to power and the Second World War. In a very real sense, WWI was a direct progenitor of WWII and the Holocaust.
• 1942 On the 9th of Av, Heinrich Himmler presented the Nazi “Final Solution” to wipe out all Jews in Europe.  In 1942, on this same day, the Nazis began to deport all Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to extermination camps.

[There are other tragic events on Tisha B’Av that I have not listed above.]

What is the likelihood of so many terrible events in the history of the Jewish people being associated to one date, Tisha B’Av? There is no logical explanation!  And as Rabbi Menachem wrote as an observer and victim of the Holocaust, there is no logical explanation for Anti-Semitism.

 “Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbors yourself. I am the Lord."  Leviticus 19:17-18

My understanding is the fundamental reason for all of this is what Rashi describes as "Baseless Hate."  I am talking about hate taken into the heart and nurtured into a grudge. Hate which becomes toxic and leads us to sin. 

Baseless hate, as I understand it from my studies, is not your ordinary hate. It is difficult to explain the distinction in the space of this article. I will simply say that it is an unjustified level of hate which is based on "things" that one has severely over-amplified.  I will describe it as an illogical level of hate. 

Hate leads us to covet, lie and steal. Baseless hate leads people to bear fall witness.  Hate leads to idolatry and adultery, to murder and the denial of God. 

Hate is the force which climbs up and down the Ten Commandments.   

Jonah Ritter

But here is the profound twist. The haters in the Rabbi's lessons are Jews, not gentiles!  In other words, the Rabbis say the destruction of the Temple is the result of hate in the heart of Jews, not gentiles. 

God's "chosen people" are a light to Nations. But the Torah is filled with times when Jews disobeyed God and lost faith. Throughout the Torah the Hebrews face near destruction, but for the Covenant and the intercession of Moses, we may have been.

We live in a time that seems to be filled with Baseless Hate.  I see my fellow Jews justifying "baseless hate."  To anyone who believes that history repeats or at least rhymes, I ask a prophetic question. If all this is so, and Tish B’Av is historic as well biblical, then what's to say there will not be another Tisha B'Av? 

Tisha B'Av is the reason that Jewish Identity is a very long story of PTSD.

Justice Robert H. Jackson, Chief of Counsel for the United States, for International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, said the following in his opening statement:

"The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated."

“A person’s tongue is more powerful than his sword. A sword can kill someone who is nearby; a tongue can cause the death of someone who is far away.” Gemara

“Just as the learning of Torah equals all other mitzvas combined, so does speaking loshon hora equal all sins combined.”  The Yerushalmi

Proverbs 6:16-19

Six things Adonai hates,

yes, seven are abominations to Him:

haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart that plots wicked schemes,

feet that run to evil,

a false witness who spouts lies,

and one who stirs up strife among brothers

I will leave it there . . . but I assure you that God will not. 

Epilogue: 

8.14.23 - Here is an excellent teaching I heard recently about Tisha B’Av.

Epilogue:

Rabbi Menachem Ziemba was a prominent rabbinic figure in Warsaw, known for his scholarly contributions and leadership during the Holocaust. In the 1930s, he was a vocal and influential figure within the Jewish community in Poland. One of his notable addresses took place during a gathering of Agudat Yisrael in the 1930s, where he emphasized the need for resilience and adherence to Jewish law even in the face of growing anti-Semitic threats.Unfortunately, specific transcripts of Rabbi Ziemba’s speeches from the 1930s are not readily available online. His later activities, especially his leadership and resistance during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, are well-documented. Rabbi Ziemba's calls for armed resistance against the Nazis marked a significant departure from traditional passive suffering and highlighted a new form of Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God's name), advocating for the sanctification of life and the importance of fighting back against oppression.

Matthew 5:21-22 --

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 

22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

SHOULD I BUY AN EV OR GAS VEHICLE? Hmmm ...

 PERSPECTIVE:

PERSPECTIVE: Best-Selling Electric Vehicles of 2021 (Through Sept.) Hyundai Ioniq Electric (1595 units sold) Tesla Model X (3000 units sold) Tesla Model S (5400 units sold) Porsche Taycan (7228 units sold) Hyundai Kona Electric (7656 units sold) Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback (7793 units sold) Nissan Leaf (10,074 units sold) Volkswagen ID.4 (12,279 units sold) Ford Mustang Mach-E (18,855 units sold) Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV (24,803 units sold) Tesla Model 3 (94,900 units sold) Tesla Model Y (132,000 units sold) Top selling vehicles in America to date: Ford F-Series, 534,831 Ram Pickup, 434,772 Chevrolet Silverado, 407,266 Toyota RAV4, 313,447 Honda CR-V, 290,140 Toyota Camry, 256,769 Nissan Rogue, 234,647 Honda Civic, 216,575 Toyota Highlander, 207,564 Toyota Tacoma, 200,631 Toyota Corolla, 200,225 GMC Sierra, 191,186 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 189,727 Jeep Wrangler, 164,709 Ford Explorer, 160,174 Honda Accord, 157,988 Chevrolet Equinox, 151,110 Mazda CX-5, 137,343 Subaru Forester, 132,254 Subaru Outback Wagon, 122,978

Total Vehicle Sales: Electric - ~290k Gasoline - ~16M

CO2 benefits of EV's:

The electricity that supplies the energy for electric vehicles is generated by burning fossil fuels, including 30% with coal. In many other countries, such as China, the percentage of electricity from coal plants is much higher.

The average electric car uses kWh 0.346kWh per mile. The average kWh of electricity generated by power plants produces 0.85 lbs of CO2. The average gasoline vehicle gets 25.4 miles per US gallon which works out 0.0408 gallons per mile. Every gallon of gasoline burned creates about 8,887 grams of CO2 which works out to 363 grams (.8 lbs) CO2 per mile. Average CO2 Produced Per Mile (Energy used): Electric - .85 lbs Gasoline - .8 lbs

Energy Costs* Per Mile:

Electric - 4.33 cents per mile

Gasoline - 0.13872 cents per mile

*Figures based on 12.5 cents per kWh and $3.40 per gallon.

Dependency: Electric - Lithium (for batteries) supplied 80% by China Gasoline - Gasoline supplied by the USA Taxpayer Subsidies: Electric - $7500-$12,500 Gasoline - $0

Energy Distribution Requirements: Electric - new charging stations nationwide and massive improvement to our Electric grid. Gasoline - existing gas stations

Vehicle Cost - Average Vehicle Selling Price:

Electric - $51k Gasoline - $42k

Selection:

Wider selection of new and used vehicles to choose from. Gas handsdown.

Per Mile energy cost:

Gas advantage. Plus electricity costs are going to rise significantly in coming years!

Range on a charge versus a tank.

Gas advantage

Time to Refill verse Recharge:

Gas advantage

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:

With electric vehicles there is an environmental hazard with dead batteries. EV batteries are larger and heavier than those in regular cars and are made up of several hundred individual lithium-ion cells, all of which need dismantling. They contain hazardous materials, and have an inconvenient tendency to explode if disassembled incorrectly. Gas vehicles have lead batteries that are easily recycled.

Economically viable electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling is rapidly and increasingly needed. But it is very unclear that there is an economical and viable solution. This may substantially increase the end-of-life disposal cost of EV's. This cost is not factored into the comparison, but it could be quit a sizeable disadvantage for EV's in the near future.

One more thing, and its a big thing! You know all that lithium that we are going to need to power the vast number of EV's. Well guess who is the WORLD'S largest miner of lithium? CHINA. And those mines are an environmental nightmare. So we go from depending on OPEC to "energy independence" to relying on China for lithium. UGH!!

BOTTOM LINE:

At this time the only reason an EV stands a chance in competing with gas power vehicles is because of large taxpayers subsidies. Someone has to cover the cost of those EV tax breaks!

There is the benefit of "virtue signaling." Driving an EV shows the world around you that you care about climate change and that makes you a "better person." Really??

CONCLUSION:

Buy an electronic vehicle because you prefer the way it drives, not because you are saving the planet.

There are many more cost effective ways to save energy and reduce greenhouse gases than buying an EV, at least at this point in time. Given all the advantages that Gas vehicles have presently, the choice is pretty clear.

By the same token, the future is not far off, maybe the span of one car lease, when the status of EV'S will be far better. Sunny days are ahead. Check it out.

EV MYTHS - EVs should not be seen as some sort of panacea for dealing with climate change.

Are Electric Vehicles a Scam?

Staying warm in a traffic jam.

WE WERE WARNED

Total U.S. annual primary energy net imports (imports minus exports) generally increased in most years since the mid-1950s.

Donald Trump came to office with a “vision” and a promise for an “America first energy plan”. This included developing new oil fields in the US, creating “at least half a million new jobs” in energy, and promoting natural gas over coal in order to tackle emissions.

Trump delivered on his promise.

In December 2018, the U.S. became a Net Oil Exporter for the First Time in 75 Years!!  In addition, Trump Administration policies resulted in a massive supply of low cost clean natural gas. 

Increases in domestic natural gas production and increases in liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity resulted in The United States becoming a net exporter of natural gas for the first time since the late 1950s. In 2020, natural gas gross exports reached a record high. The USA became the world's largest supplier of gas. The climate benefits of natural gas over coal are very significant. 

The large supply of cheap and clean natural gas drove down demand for coal. As a result, coal production hit a 50-year low in 2020, and 151 coal mines were idled or closed.

On January 27, President Biden issued executive orders which did just the opposite. He revoked the federal permit for the continued construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, (cost 11,000 jobs) and he "temporarily" stopped granting permits for oil and gas operations on federal lands, which will reduce U.S. oil production. There were at least 10 other orders and directives issued aimed at repealing directives issued by Trump.

Biden’s executive orders reduced U.S. oil supplies that reached historic levels of 13 million barrels per day just one year prior.

Biden's terrible energy policies resulted in skyrocketing natural gas prices. This contributed to a giant surge in the usage of the most climate unfriendly form of energy production - coal.

U.S. coal production is actually up significantly this year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects 22% growth in electricity generation from coal this year compared to 2020, partially due to coal's stable prices and the high cost of natural gas.

China is ramping up coal production like crazy. They are opening hundreds of new coal mines to meet energy demands at home and abroad. China, Russia, OPEC, and others including Iran are all too happy to fill the energy gap which Biden policies have contributed to.

Whereas most nations that signed on to the Paris Climate Accord failed to meet their goals and actually increased CO2 emissions, while Trump was President the USA made great strides in reducing greenhouse gases. 

Biden's policies amount to giant tax on consumers. 

The median price of a barrel of oil during Trump's term was approximately $45. Today's price is $85.  (89% increase in 10 months.) The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline during Trump's term was about $2.20. Today's price is about $3.38. (51% increase in 10 months.)

We were winning!

Trump's energy policies were one of his greatest achievements.  During the Trump years the economy and tbe consumer won. He drove down energy prices, lowered greenhouse gases, turned the USA into a net exporter of CLEANER energy supplies. In the process the United States national security interests were served and the world was a safer place. 

We were warned.

Trump warned us the Biden's energy policies would reverse America's supply gains, raise energy prices, help our enemies and make the world less safe. Biden even campaigned on the policies that Trump warned us about. 

WHY DID YOU VOTE FOR JOE BIDEN? SERIOUSLY, WHY?

ONE QUESTION

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST TWO ELECTIONS I HAVE ONE QUESTION TO ASK SOME OF YOU.

Trump pressed on several key themes when he ran for President in 2015/16. As President he made great strides on all of them. So much so that supporters often repeated words that became a mantra - "Promises made, promises kept."

LOOKING BACK AT TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLATFORMS:

1ST TIME - Trump's 2015/16 Campaign Platform:

• A country needs a secure border.
• America is too reliant on exports, we need to bring manufacturing home.
• Past Presidents made stupid deals - renegotiate NAFTA.
• The Paris Climate Accord is bad for the USA. We can have clearer air and water without it.
• The Iran nuclear deal is terrible.
• China is taking advantage of us.
• Our NATO allies are taking advantage of us.
• We need to rebuild our military and project strength 
• Drug companies aren't treating Americans fairly.
• We can become energy independent. That is good for Americans personally and for national security.
• The mainstream fake news is lying about the the Russian Hoax and treats him very badly. Fake news is the enemy of America.  Social media giants are out to get him.
• There is a way to make a Middle East peace deal. 
• We will move the American Embassy to Jerusalem.
• We need to rebuild America's infrastructure. 

2ND TIME - When Trump ran for President the second time he added a bit more: 

• Finish the wall. Biden will open the border.
• We would have a vaccine by the end of 2020. (Politicians and media mocked his prediction. The vaccine was announced 1 week AFTER the election.)
• The world needs to hold China accountable for Covid. China owns Biden and Biden will never do that.
• He will focus on infrastructure in his second term since Democrats didn't let him get his $1 trillion dollar proposal through during his first term. 
• Europe should buy natural gas from it's NATO ally the USA rather than it's NATO enemy Russia.
• Now the USA has achieved energy independence we must maintain it. Biden will kill the XL pipeline and other projects, making the USA dependent again and driving up energy prices.
• Bring more manufacturing home.
• Bring troops back home (he struggled with securing Afghanistan.)
• The economy will enjoy new records and stocks would soar to new highs!
• Hunter Biden did corrupt things and that Joe Biden could not be trusted as President. (The media and the FBI buried the findings on the Hunter Biden laptop.)
• He will not let the far Left Squad run the country and turn the USA into a Socialist Nation.
• There is Deep State corruption in the FBI, DOJ, CIA.
• The Deep State and the Washington Swamp is after you (Patriotic Constitution believing Americans) and Trump is in the way. 
• Cancel culture is a Left Wing movement to overthrow America and it must be stopped.
• The Socialists Left is after God and the Judeo-Christian values our Nation was founded upon. 
• Bidden will raise taxes.
• The Left wants to defund the police - crime is going up. 
• We have to stop teaching Critical Race Theory.
• The Radical Left is going to run this country. Biden doesn't even know where he is.

MY QUESTION: 

WHY DID YOU VOTE FOR JOE BIDEN? SERIOUSLY, WHY?

I believe the answer in a word is: HATE!  Why do I say that? Because it is the best explanation for why you'd vote against what Trump promised. He was right on every one of his campaign points. 

THINK ABOUT THAT!!

https://youtu.be/mXD4zPY4Ai0

KNOW ANY GOOD WITCH DOCTORS?

 

PERSPECTIVE:

Put this under the category of "WTF?"

Check the U.K. on this chart about.  Now consider the fact that to date, 78.9% of the U.K. population over the age of 12 is fully vaccinated for Covid. 

Africa is WAY behind on Vaccinations. Less than 20%. And yet look at their cases on the same chart.

It is true Covid testing in Africa is MUCH lower than in the USA. 6 out of 7 cases are estimated not to be detected there.  

By the same token, they do count deaths. According to WorldData, Africa has had 211k deaths out of population of 1.26 billion. That is a mortality rate of 0.0001674603.  Contrast that with the USA.  We've had 728k deaths, nearly 3.5 times more than Africa.  But our population of 330 million is about 1/4 the sizes!  Our mortality rate is 0.2206060606.  Therefore, if my calculations are correct, the mortality from covid is 1,317 times higher in the USA than Africa. 

This begs a question. Know any good witch doctors? LOL.

I was relieved to get my vaccine early on. And I will be going for my booster as soon as possible.  Plus I had my flu shot like I do every year. I even got the Shingles vaccine. But the data on Covid is disconcerting.  So I'm  not anti-vac!  But I seriously question the mandate.  

Biden's big campaign vow was to lick Covid by July. Like everything else this clown says and does is a failure.

"END OF TIMES" IS TRENDING

Situations that smack of the "End Times" are trending and I see the irony.  

Have you seen the MASSIVE Netflix #1 hit series "SQUID GAME?"

The week of this post, Squid Game topped the charts in 94 countries. With this dystopian drama series Netflix says they have "pierced the cultural zeitgeist. "

So what is the defining spirit of culture at this point in world history? What is the mood of people in the 194 million households that are tuning in?  In a phrase - "End of Days."

Squid Games is a "thought-provoking, emotional viewpoint about society, showing how wealth disparity can often lead people to do the unthinkable for money—even at the expense of their own lives."

The Korean show creator said "Squid Game" was inspired by a game he used to play when he was younger as a child in the schoolyard or the streets of the neighborhood.  He felt that this game could "represent the kind of society we live in today.”

The Holocaust desensitized people. The public, the soldiers, and even the victims. To perform or to experience the actions of the Nazi monsters, people's normal emotions and morals were stripped away or buried. There are so many ways that the entertainment industry is doing this today. From games to TV series to hit movies, we are desensitizing young adults.

I wonder if in some prophetic sense, people are being prepared for what is to come?  "What" the elite call "The Event" -- The thinking that some major crisis triggers a series of other cascading events, together which lead to the breakdown of civilization. 

There are many very wealthy "preppers" who are going to significant lengths to prepare for an apocalyptic like world.  An article from the New Yorker speaks to this.

The writer of this article says "In recent years survivalism has expanded to more affluent quarters, taking root in Silicon Valley and New York City, among technology executives, hedge-fund managers, and others in their economic cohort."

The wealthiest in society who can afford to are taking "prepping" to higher levels.  Examples include buying up land in New Zealand, getting Lasik eye surgery and "hardening" their homes into secure compounds. 

The super rich aren't the only ones who are actively "Doomsday prepping" -- preparing for a political, social, or natural global emergency by stockpiling food, weaponry, and other supplies. Survivalism has been edging deeper into mainstream culture. 

A survey commissioned by National Geographic found that 40% of Americans believed that stocking up on supplies or building a bomb shelter was a wiser investment than a 401(k). 

In 2012, National Geographic Channel launched “Doomsday Preppers,” a reality show featuring a series of Americans bracing for what they called S.H.T.F. (when the “shit hits the fan”). The première drew more than four million viewers, and, by the end of the first season, it was the most popular show in the channel’s history. 

There is no doubt that the Covid pandemic has contributed to the fear that something much worse is on the horizon. But much of [this] predates the outbreak. The divisive political climate has also contributed to what has become increasingly uncertain times. 

The theme of extreme wealth disparity and the desperate lengths humans will go to is played out in Squid Game. Some find the show uncomfortably close to the horror that Jews faced in the ghettos and concentration camps before and during WWII. 

Squid Game isn't Anti-semitiic per say. But it is representative of a trend in thinking that is especially frightening to Jews. Jews know too well that when society breaks down, the Jews are likely to suffer. For thousands of years, the Jew has been the scapegoat. 

For those who believe in God and the Messiah all of this is rather ironic. If "Armageddon" is ahead, and we are truly in the "end times," the way to prepare is with something far more simple and less expensive  - a Bible.  A well stocked pantry is nice, but it WILL run out and then you will have to go outside.

Isaiah 55:11-13 -- "so My word will be that goes out from My mouth. It will not return to Me in vain, but will accomplish what I intend, and will succeed in what I sent it for. “Yes, you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills will break forth before you singing, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands! Instead of the thorn bush, a cypress will come up, and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up, and it will be a memorial to Adonai, as an everlasting sign that will never be cut off.”

🙏PSALM 91🙏