Why I've Not Exactly Been In The Game For a While

1. I, so to speak, needed to let the fields fallow over for a while, anyway. Neither overplanting nor overharvesting are good.
2. I've really hardly yielded results. I was actually amazed when, e.g., Donna Foley Marby actually thanked me for the defense of her and her book "Maude". As far as I can tell, I hardly ever yield results like that. Besides, I expect what I usually yield—backlash! After a while, that "damned if you do, damned if you don't, and damned if you neither do nor don't" conundrum just brings ennui at best and an exacerbation of Depression at worst—and I have admitted that the only reason that I have not taken Great-Granddad's path is because I would not want to risk the negative effects of surviving an attempt to go down his path.
3. I've been busy with Reilly—another reason, by the way, as to why I haven't taken Great-Granddad's path.
4. I've been busy with dealing with my Depression and other matters.
5. Today, I woke up with a cold and muscle aches.

I assure you, by the way, that I'm not the only one who's in my kind of situation. People in similar situations, e.g.:

1. Need to let their fields fallow over once in a while as well.
2. Feel ennui, melancholy (or exacerbation of Depression), and/or even worse if they feel that their attempts at tikun ha'olam don't yield anything, let alone anything good—whether for themselves or, most importantly, others.
3. Sometimes have outside commitments and circumstances. 

Incidentally, the coming year is HaShanah shel HaSh'mitah b'Eretz Yisra'el.

The Seahawks, Like Moses and Jeremiah?

This reminds me of when the Golden Calf incident happened. Yet, how did the Seattle Seahawks sin? The New England Patriots cheated:

"And Moses besought יהוה his God, and said: 'יהוה, why doth Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people, that Thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, saying: For evil did He bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against Thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou didst swear by Thine own self, and saidst unto them: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.' And יהוה repented of the evil which He said He would do unto His people."

I know that יהוה can and does show that cheating, etc. is not acceptable. Right now, though, the Seahawks must be feeling like Moses as they see the Egypt-like Patriots: "'Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, saying: For evil did He bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?'" They must also be feeling like Jeremiah:

Right wouldest Thou be, O יהוה, were I to contend with Thee, yet will I reason with Thee: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they secure that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root; they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit; Thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins. But Thou, O יהוה, knowest me, Thou seest me, and triest my heart toward Thee; pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

I'm also thinking of, "Where is their God?" I'm even thinking "Does 'Thou shalt not steal' mean anything? Does 'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor' mean anything? Does that יהוה hates dishonest scales and measures, and other forms of lying mean anything?"

Incidentally, why on Earth did יהוה assign Julian Edelman to a team that does not respect Him, the God of Julian's fathers?

I'm Not the Only One Kvetching About Netanyahu

As if PM Netanyahu's rebuttal to MK Livni did not already reek of dictatorial language:

"Prime Minister Netanyahu is the only leader in the world openly leading the struggle against the signing of a dangerous deal that will turn Iran into a nuclear-threshold state. Tzipi Livni is mistaken and misleading Israel’s citizens. Instead of supporting the prime minister in the big process of stopping a nuclear Iran, Tzipi is busy with personal insults and small politics. In complete contrast to what she says, the legislative initiative to apply additional sanctions on Iran has not been abandoned. Ten Democrat senators announced today that they will support passing more sanctions if Iran does not abide by the required clauses for a general agreement.”

No wonder, then, that I called PM Netanyahu "Manhig Yakar"! I and others saw trouble a long time ago. Why didn't more people see trouble? For example, giving 86% of the West Bank away should've been a huge sign that Netanyahu is a haredi posing as a chiloni! He "has [even] expressed support in principle for a Palestinian state"! 

Isn't that a clue that he, like many other Haredim, believe that the current Medinat Yisra'el is a treif medina?! Also, Agudat Yisra'el, the party in control, opposes Medinat Yisra'el! 

Next, in 1905, came Reb Judah Aryeh Leib Alter's eldest son, Abraham Mordecai Alter (1866-1948), who was perhaps the most influential of all Gerer tsadikim. He was nicknamed "Imrei Emet" (Speaker of Truth). Under his leadership the Gerer court reached its height of influence, gaining a reputation of excellence throughout the Hasidic world. Imrei Emet was also among the founders ofAgudat Israel , a conservative anti-Zionist religious political party that stepped into the difficult and diverse political world of the 20th century, articulating their view of what the essentials needs were for Jewish survival in Poland.

Ding! Ding! Is a bell ringing now?! David ben-Gurion let himself be a self-hating pawn! If there is any conspiracy going on, the conspiracy is on the part of self-hating/Anti-Semitic Haredim to dismantle Medinat Yisra'el until whom they believe to be Moshiach would come!

They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I remember them, saith the Lord.¹  And R. Zera?²  — That text¹ refers³  to the vessels of ministry.⁴  And Rab Judah? — Another text also is available:³  I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field, [that ye awaken not, nor stir up love,⁵  until it please]'.⁶  And R. Zera? — That⁷  implies that Israel shall not go up [all together as if surrounded] by a wall.⁸  And Rab Judah? — Another 'I adjure you'⁹  is written in Scripture. And R. Zera? — That text is required for [an exposition] like that of R. Jose son of R. Hanina who said: 'What was the purpose of those three adjurations?¹⁰  — One, that Israel shall not go up [all together as if surrounded] by a wall;⁸  the second, that whereby the Holy One, blessed be He, adjured Israel that they shall not rebel against the nations of the world; and the third is that whereby the Holy One, blessed be He, adjured the idolaters that they shall not oppress Israel too much'. And Rab Judah? — It is written in Scripture, That ye awaken not, nor stir up.¹¹  And R. Zera? — That text is required for [an exposition] like that of R. Levi who stated: 'What was the purpose of those six adjurations?¹²  — Three for the purposes just mentioned and the others, that [the prophets] shall not make known the end,¹³  that [the people] shall not¹⁴ delay¹⁵  the end,¹³  and that they shall not reveal the secret¹⁶  to the idolaters'.

By the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field.¹⁷  R. Eleazar explained: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, 'If you will keep the adjuration, well and good; but if not, I will permit your flesh [to be a prey] like [that of] the gazelles and the hinds of the field'.

As for Netanyahu, Artuz Eser surmises:

[W]ith the current poll findings[,] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could form a 68 member governing coalition by joining forces with Jewish Home, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Kahlon, Yishai and Yisrael Beytenu. Opposition leader Isaac Herzog would be harder pressed to form a government, having to rope in both the ultra-Orthodox and Yesh Atid to form a fragile ruling coalition of 61 seats.

This is why Amir Hetsroni wrote:

What does Israel have to offer? It is easier to find kosher meat here and there is more variety of synagogues. To young people, Israel also offers the dubious pleasure of devoting two or three years of your life to the army.

Sounds tempting? Perhaps to Netanyahu and Benett, but not in the eyes of hundreds of thousands of Israelis who desperately search their family vaults for a proof that would grant them EU passport and not long ago took part in the popular Olim LeBerlin (“ascending to Berlin”) protest that expressed a wish to immigrate to Europe. Perhaps, Israel is a case wherein what looks nice from a distance is less attractive when you take a close-up shot.

By the way, that the Haredim are drying up Israel's economy may explain the low wages, etc..

Ted Bauer, Insularity, and Industries—Including the Technology and News Industries

With dread about the electrical grid being struck and Luddite sentiment, Ted Bauer's article about the technology industry is relevant. After all, many industries indeed become like the technology industry—"insular", monopolized, hegemonic, nepotistic, and oligarchical. For example, where in the news-reporting world is one going to find a muckraker who's willing to expose many under-the-radar matters anymore? As has been noted in many different ways, many people want complacently-sensationalistic soundbites and graphics from "trusted" veteran reporters (whether or not they are actually trustworthy and willing to produce work that at least meets journalistic standards).

One example is with regard to PM Netanyahu, Congress, and the President of the United States. Very few reporters, analysts, commentators, and other news-connected figures would care to bring up, let alone report, that PM Netanyahu is actually violating Section Three of Article Two of the U.S. Constitution by addressing Congress without first having President Obama convene the House and/ore the Senator. When one commentator/analyst and one journalist (the former being Baruch Maoz and the latter being Geraldo Rivera) did bring that point up, they were sorely lambasted (Geraldo Rivera in particular and directly was lambasted. Anyone who concurred with Baruch Maoz was through whom the lambasters attempted to excoriate Pastor Maoz.).

The "report to support Netanyahu and Congress" line was expected to be toed. Never mind that the Constitution should have been brought into the reporting of PM Netanyahu's addressing Congress without being received by the President.

My Own 25th Birthday, And a Scary Realization...

Now I'm 25 years old by both Biblical and Gregorian standards. Meanwhile, I (no pun intended) am stopped dead in my tracks by a horrifying realization: I am as old as Great-Granddad Czarnecki was when the 1929 Great Depression happened. Also, I just read about the hardly-explained suicide of Madison Holleran—and all while I had been browsing to find out the age of a public figure whose age was not given on Wikipedia. One thing really can lead to another!

At that point, reading about Miss Holleran's suicide led to my reading comments about it—including the evil-hearted one from "Bc". Typing a response to him made me realize (at least more of) what happened to Great-Granddad, etc. (Incidentally—or maybe not—the day-and-date scheme was the same in 1964 as it was in 2014. By the way, "50" and "25" are multiples of "25" and "five". The numbers in it all, too. Needless to say, numbers and patterns alone should prove that there are no coincidences in life.):

That's easy for you to say. Could you go in back in time and, e.g., talk to my Great-Granddad Czarnecki:

Born on October 24, 1904, he was a pogrom survivor who had to become a Crypto Jew, who lost his father (who, by the way, was an alcoholic and a terrible husband) when he was 17 going on 18, his sister Regina when he was 20 (and she was 16. She died of cholera [sic.].), his mother when he was 31 going on 32 (after he already had a complicated relationship with her), his firstborn son, and his youngest brother (who was a Holocaust victim whose cause of death was murder due to serving in the U.S. Military and being fatally injured by a Nazi soldier. He took almost 18 years to die, by the way, since that's how botched the surgery to remove the shrapnel from his head was; and he died from a schizophrenic reaction and a coronary occlusion). He also lost other siblings, all of whom died when they were infants.

Add to that, that he lost his three right middle toes and his leg up to his knee when he worked as a lawnmower operator at an apartment complex (and because he lost his previous job in the hard-hit Sugar Notch, Pennsylvania coal mines). The job losses and limb loss either affected the onset of or exacerbated his Depression, for which the medication that he took was ineffective.

So, after 60 years, a month, a week, and a day of pain (i.e., 21,954 days of pain), he attempted suicide; and although his attempt didn't work and he changed his mind at the last minute, his death certificate reads that he died of suicide by drowning.

By the way, the Great Depression began on his 9,131st day (his 25th birthday). He also had other pain (that is, besides what I mentioned, including how his 25th birthday was marred and the Pogrom of Pogroms thus far at that time—the Holocaust—began on that day).

You tell me, then, how willing he was to consider that, e.g., "tomorrow is another to borrow the words of some one else". Your lack of critical thinking, empathy, and compassion astounds me.

What a sobering reality! By the way, let me add what I originally commented:

Sure; expectations of perfection, etc. can affect the onset of Depression and suicide affected by Depression. Frankly, though, it does seem unusual (even weird). What didn't Madison tell?

By the way, I know that this isn't about me; although I have Depression, and my father's paternal grandfather, the maternal grandfather of my father's maternal grandmother, and two maternal uncles of father's maternal grandmother all committed suicide. My father's sister attempted suicide as well, and I ended up in Sheppard Pratt for threatening suicide (and there are days where the temptation of suicide still assails me.

So, I know from experience that more than just expectations of perfection, etc. had to be in play. Incidentally, I have never seen my great-granddad's suicide note; and I figured out that my great-grandmother's maternal grandfather (who was in his 50s when he died) committed suicide because I noted that two of his six sons (and two of his seven children) committed suicide (so, mathematically, for him to not commit suicide would have been impossible.

I will add other links later [6:04 PM EST].

The links have been added [10:45 PM EST].

The Type Of Matters That I Want To Bring To the Forefront, And...

I can't bring up those matters when I'm being crushed under the weight of my own burdens. For example:

Catholic teaching prohibits the use of artificial contraception but allows the use of the so-called rhythm method, where couples avoid unwanted pregnancy by planning sex on days during the woman's menstrual cycle on which she is less likely to conceive.

Then some wondered why I was furious when a Facebook friend suggested that I "[m]arry Jesus in [my] heart." As I told him, my family suffered enough under the Roman and Byzantine Catholic Churches. Need I bring up Great-Granddad's family again, for example? Besides, I know exactly what "marry[ing] Jesus" means:

1. As if I'm not already a Christian? Fur shanda! 
2. I saw when, for instance, the SSND women at UNDM had on wedding bands to represent that they were "brides of Christ" (and I was reminded of that term when I read The Staircase recently).

I told him quite frankly:

"Marry Jesus"? What; become a nun? I'm a non-proselytizing Jewish Christian; and quite frankly, my paternal family dealt with enough from the Roman and Byzantine (e.g., Russian Orthodox) Catholic Churches for centuries—which is why my and other branches became Anusim.

Also, this matter reminded me of why people complain about the Roman Catholic Church. After all, even Acts 15 prevents menstrual sex!  Again, my own paternal family dealt with enough from the Roman and Byzantine (e.g., Russian Orthodox) Catholic Churches for centuries—and part of that included watching and hearing as the Roman Catholic Church contradicted even the B'rit Chadashah, let alone (the rest of) Tanakh.

My Own Response To the SOTU Address of 2015

"Mr. President, with all due respect, I must sadly sum up your address as the following: promises with catches, at-maximum-half truths, and simply outright lies. I should also remind you that the Constitution states, 'He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union'. As I read that statement, I do not find it to mean, 'He shall at an annual interval give to the American people and his compatriots in the American government a self reaffirmation of his worldview and his Executive governance in light of the worldview.'"