Zlog

Dilemma

2007-12-17T05:32:00.000-05:00

Here's my problem. Due to a scheduling conflict, we, the men of MNFBBQ have moved the football season ending meeting from two weeks from tonight to this evening. (See Adam? There is no such thing as the end of barbecuing season.) Like all MNFBBQ members on the day of a meeting, I would try to minimize my caloric intake today so as best to enjoy tonight's menu, much like Jews have the commandment to eat little the day before Passover in order to maximize one's appetite for the Seder.

You may be asking yourself what's the problem. Since you may have asked, I will tell you my problem. This evening there will be a small family get-together for my nephew's birthday party. While it will not prevent me from making MNFBBQ at Stale Buns' house, the menu presents a problem. In the past, I have attended other festive events right before an MNFBBQ and eaten just enough so as not to appear rude to the hosts. Tonight's birthday dinner is different. My nephew, who, at nine years old is obviously wise beyond his years, has chosen barbecue for tonight's menu and selected Romanian meats as the specific fare.

Now do you see my problem? This is much like the Talmudic dispute regarding a shopper who, during the week, sees an especially fine cut of meat in the market. Does he buy it and set it aside for the Sabbath, since there is a commandment to have the finest food on the day's holiest week, or does he not wait to eat it and have faith that God will present him with an even better piece before week's end? Also, what if, God forbid, tragedy would prevent me from getting to Stale Buns' house? Won't I regret not seizing the moment?

It's early in the morning and I may not be thinking straight, but my plan as of now is to have one hot dog at the birthday dinner while still leaving plenty of room in my stomach for the evening's main event. I have my doubts whether that is the correct path to take though. I can only pray that God grant me the wisdom and strength to reach a just conclusion to my difficult dilemma.

Just Another Lions Loss

2007-12-10T10:13:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Mrs. Zwicker and I attended her Uncle Mel's funeral in Louisville. When we returned to the in-laws' house to get the Zwickerette and take her to the shiva house, we found the babysitter had the Lions-Cowboys game on the television. I saw that the Lions were winning 27-21 with two minutes left. I confidently declared, "Final score, Cowboys 28, Lions 27, on a last second touchdown." My father-in-law and the babysitter looked at me quizzically, wondering how I could root against my home team. As the Cowboys drove down the field, I explained that any longtime Lions fan hopes for the best but knows that these things will happen.

Most Convincing Public Service Announcement Ever

2007-12-04T15:30:00.000-05:00

An Open Letter To Liberals, Friends and Strangers Alike

2007-11-27T20:38:00.000-05:00

It's not going to work. You're not going to convince me to change my party affiliation. I'm not saying it could never happen. I'm just saying that it won't happen if you don't change the tone of discussion.

It won't happen so long as you assume that I don't apply rational thought and good faith to my political views. I hate to break it to you but I actually read about and listen to a broad array of facts and opinions before reaching a conclusion on how to cast my votes and which causes to support. While the media that I prefer tend more towards the right, I read plenty of left-leaning publications and/or websites. In addition to various newspapers, like the Detroit Free Press and New York Times, I also regularly peruse the Daily Kos and New Republic, among others. Before reaching a conclusion about an important court ruling, I will often read the applicable statutes and do my best to understand the underlying facts.

It won't happen so long as your debate consists of labeling all conservatives as yahoos, haters and hypocrites. Neither the liberal camp nor the conservative camp has a monopoly on intelligence or virtue. Neither camp can totally wash itself clean of the undesirables, whether they be politicians, pundits or just people posting on a blog's message board. Both sides have leaders and spokespersons who want what is best for this country. Some are right and some are wrong and debating which is which is all fine and good. If you don't like something the current administration does or says, explain why it's wrong. I can name a number of issues on which I have disagreed with President Bush. But dismissing everything he does as the act of a moron or evil genius, depending on the day, will never persuade me. If you don't like what Rush Limbaugh has to say, explain rationally why you disagree with him instead of saying he is wrong simply because he's an evil, overweight pill popper.

It won't happen so long as you criticize my plan to vote for President Bush and Vice President Cheney's reelection. What's that you say? They're not running again? Well, in that case, stop whining about what you dislike about them and instead tell me, in rational terms, how your candidate will improve things.

If you want to mock or hate those with whom you disagree, be my guest. Just don't expect me to listen anymore.

Kyle Lagrasso

2007-11-17T19:48:00.000-05:00

Whether or not you are a sports fan or a parent, this video is amazing. It's twelve minutes but well worth every second.

What A Country

2007-11-07T14:39:00.000-05:00

In the 1970's and 1980's, many Jews left Russia for the United States, Israel and other countries where they could enjoy freedom, religious and otherwise. Many such people left their homes with few possessions. Two such people, a young married couple, came to the Detroit area in 1979 because the husband had an uncle here. The young couple left Russia with just a few suitcases. They arrived here with even less than what they had taken.

The couple's first stop upon landing at Metro Airport was the headquarters for Jewish Family Services, which was then on Greenfield Road in Southfield. Through hard work and assistance from family and the community, the family realized the American dream. The husband became a successful engineer and with his wife bought a house in which they raised two daughters.

The older daughter graduated from law school this past May. Last Thursday, she received notice that she passed the Michigan Bar Exam on her first try. She got the good news from her father while she was at her new office, having started her first job as an attorney that very morning. Her office is on Greenfield Road in Southfield-in the very same building that was her parents' first stop in America.

Our Next Rabbis

2007-11-04T16:02:00.000-05:00

With our synagogue's rabbi's recent announcement that he and his family will be leaving us next summer to live in Israel, it is not too early for us to consider who will fill the role next. Some want our congregation to hire someone part time while others want us to wait a year. The last time we faced this conundrum, I floated amongst a small circle of other progressive thinkers my approach. I was obviously ahead of my time but am now confident that, with the magic of Al Gore's Internet, my idea will not only take hold within our community but become a model for congregations of all faiths worldwide.

What is this earth shattering approach, you may ask? Well, you may. Now that you have, I can sum it up in three words-perpetual interviewing process, also known as PIP. The PIP is very simple. Rather than hire one rabbi full time, we continuously interview supposed candidates.

The PIP carries some obvious benefits. First and foremost, the financial savings will be tremendous. Assuming that most candidates will come from the New York area with their spouses, at an average ticket cost of $250 per person for fifty weeks a year (our "search committee" will need some vacation time), our annual cost for airfare for the year should be approximately $25,000 per year. With no benefits like health insurance to pay, $25,000 should be our total cost.

The logical question is what we would do with all the money that we will save by not paying a full time rabbi. While other congregations may have other needs, ours has a major need-a men's clubroom. We can use the savings to build a lounge with recliners, large televisions, beer kegs, etc. Since the room will undoubtedly attract new members, the room will certainly pay for itself in no time.

Another immediate benefit will be the quality of sermons we will hear. Since the "candidates" will be under the impression that they are applying for a real job, they will bring their "A" games each and every time. Also, because they will not want to offend our congregation, we won't have to sit through some hectoring guilt trip. With the promise of top-notch, guilt-free sermons every week, people will flock to and join our congregation, providing revenue in addition to the salary savings.

This idea is so simple and yet, dare I say, ingenious that I cannot believe no other congregation has tried it. As soon as ours does though, it will become the next best thing. Who's with me?

Liberals Are Anti-Semites

2007-10-30T13:50:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, the title of this post really caught your attention. You must be thinking that you are about to read some baseless, heated rhetoric. Hear me out though and you will soon agree with my conclusion, which is utterly logical and empirical. This morning's Detroit Free Press had a little blurb about the upcoming Ann Arbor Folk Festival. In addition to the great and underrated Ben Folds, the lineup has some other noteworthy performers, like Toad the Wet Sprocket, Emmylou Harris and Jill Jack, all of whom Mrs. Zwicker and I would love to see perform.

Alas, being Jewish Sabbath observers, we cannot attend most of the festival because it will be on a Friday and Saturday night. In other words, we are suffering because we are Jews. Who is causing this suffering? Think about it. Ann Arbor, which, in case you couldn't guess on your own from the festival's title, is hosting the musical event. Ann Arbor is also a major hotbed of liberalism. It is therefore quite reasonable to conclude that liberals scheduled the festival. Liberals are therefore causing Jews suffering. Ergo, liberals are anti-Semites. Case closed.

Album Covers

2007-10-24T15:33:00.000-04:00

Today being a slow day at work, I found myself surfing Al Gore's Internet*. I came across Rolling Stone's list of 25 favorite album covers. I think that I share many music fans' opinion that an album cover can be a work of art. I also know that there is no right or wrong when it comes to favorite works of art. At the same time, whoever comprised seemingly chose album covers based not on the artwork but on the music on the album itself. After all, is there really anything great about the covers of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" or Blondie's "Paralell Lines"? They're just pictures of the musical artists. While some of the entries are true classics, like Nirvana's "Nevermind" and the Beatles' "Abbey Road", I would certainly have included, among others, these:

Derek and the Dominoes- "Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs"

The Who- "The Who Sell Out

Cream- "Disraeli Gears"

If anyone is still reading this blog, feel free to nominate other choices.

*NoahDaddy-It's a joke.

UPDATE: For a music list that is much more relevant and well selected, click here.

I'm An Idiot

2007-10-01T11:17:00.000-04:00

Over the years, I have done some pretty stupid things. I volunteered to be gabbai. I wasted time and money to see more than one Police Academy movie. I've even voted for a Democrat on at least one occasion. Last week though, I took the cake.

The Zwickerettes and I drove down to Louisville to spend the first few days of Sukkot with the in-laws. Right before getting on the Southfield Freeway, we were sitting at the CVS drive-through when I commented to Mrs. Zwicker that I felt that I felt that I forgot to pack something in the car, which was my responsibility. Sure enough, six hours later, just fifteen minutes from the in-laws' house, I realized that I forgot to pack all our hanging stuff, including my suits, shirts and ties and Mrs. Zwicker's dresses. I also forgot to pack Mrs. Zwicker's hats.

When I brought my oversight to her attention, Lesley's first reaction was to laugh her butt off. At first, I didn't understand why she wasn't angry. I quickly realized the fallacy of my rookie-like thinking. My boneheadedness meant Mrs. Zwicker's guilt-free shopping for new clothes. We made a detour to the mail, where, hundreds of dollars later, we had new duds for the holiday.

He's Back

2007-09-26T05:49:00.000-04:00

In the summer of 2006, I told you here and here about a con man who, while violating parole, ingratiated himself into our community and defrauded people, businesses and religious institutions of thousands of dollars. After police arrested him outside a local kosher pizzeria, Clifford Schwartz a/k/a Christopher Parker a/k/a Joseph Cohen pled guilty to six counts of what is commonly known as passing bad checks. Despite his parole status and criminal history, Clifford served only one year before his release. He is apparently back in our local community, now under the name of Eliyahu Cohen.

I am not sure what is more appalling, that Clifford got parole already or that he takes us for such fools as to not move his con game to another city or state. For that affront to our collective intelligence alone he should suffer incarceration.

Our Newest Ambassador

2007-09-19T21:48:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, Madonna spent this past Rosh Hashanah in Israel with the people from the Kabbalah Center. The Catholic girl from here in Oakland County proclaimed herself as an "Ambassador for Judaism." When I mentioned the story to my rabbi the other morning, he made an excellent point. Notwithstanding the Kabbalah Center's slide from a legitimate home of Judaism (Disclosure: the Kabbalah Center played a large part in my father-in-law's becoming religious before it became the cult it is now), there are much greater concerns that we Jews have from within. For example, the rabbi asked me, which is worse, the Kabbalah Center or Humanistic Judaism,? The rabbi agreed with my immediate reaction, that Humanistic Judaism (which, for those who don't know, is atheistic Judaism) is far more threatening. After all, Humanistic Judaism aims to indoctrinate Jews into a quasi-religion.

Notwithstanding that Madonna is more a joke and/or nuisance than anything else, I must give props to Ben Shapiro, whose article entitled "Madonna's Fake Judaism" is worth reading. Here is one great part:

Hollywood's fascination with Kabbalah springs from a lust for spiritual reward without spiritual work. The glitterati love any religion that allows them to sleep at night without restricting whom they sleep with.

Read the whole thing here.

Gedaliah Owes Me Big Time

2007-09-16T20:49:00.000-04:00

With the All Candy Expo starting in Chicago tomorrow morning, Mrs. Zwicker had to go to the Windy City today. Since her father will help man the booth, Mrs. Zwicker's mother came to watch the little Zwickerette during the day. Because Mrs. Zwicker was nervous about driving with no assistance if the little one were to go into meltdown mode, I, being the caring and sensitive husband that I am, offered to drive to Chicago and then take a Southwest flight home.

On any other day, I would have made a detour before going to Midway Airport before flying home. Alas, because of some guy named Gedaliah, Ken's was not to be. To quote Tom Petty, "God, it's so painful, something that's so close yet still so far out of reach. Oh yeah, alright, take it easy baby, make it last all night."

Along I-94 I saw a bumper sticker that made me wonder. It read: "I'm a historic preservationist and I vote." Are there politicians who, before casting an important vote or making some important policy pronouncement, asks his or her advisors, "Wait, what do the historic preservationists think about this?"

Before boarding my flight back to Detroit, I visited the restroom. Don't worry, I made sure to maintain a narrow stance and keep my toes firmly on the floor. Being Southwest, I also made sure that I was not showing too much leg or cleavage before boarding my flight.

Merry New Year

2007-09-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

It's been quite a while since I last posted and even longer since I posted regularly. As you probably guessed, other priorities have gotten in the way. With a nanny who doesn't have to leave by 4:00, thereby necessitating my working on a very tight schedule, and with the Zwickerettes away next week, I should be back to regular posting real soon. Whether anyone is still checking this blog to know the difference is another story.

In any case, this has been, thank God, a great year. First and foremost, God blessed me and Mrs. Zwicker with the greatest gift we could imagine. Many of our friends have received the same blessing or will soon. My work has gotten even more interesting, challenging and enjoyable.

In short, I could not ask God for anything more. I try to my best to keep that thought in mind when I say the Modim ("thanks") blessing I say in the prayers three times a day. May this year be one of blessings, good health and happiness for us all, as well as the recoginition and appreciation of the God who grants it all to us.

An Inconvenient Image

2007-08-07T08:53:00.000-04:00

Air, Stale Buns and No Waitress just reached Climax together. Come back for more updates as soon as you have erased that awful visual snapshot from your mind.

Full Circle

2007-08-07T07:50:00.000-04:00

Five years ago, two guys, whom I'll call Air and No Waitress, wanted to dine at the famous Ken's Diner in Chicago. Knowing that their wives would not appreciate their taking a day off work but not spending it with the family, the guys devised a clever scheme. They solicted some sponsors who would receive Ken's burgers and Roumanian meat, with the proceeds going to charity, under the guise of being a drive-a-thon. Air and No Waitress correctly surmised that their wives could not object to spending the day raising money for those in need, even if it was a thinly veiled subterfuge. So, the two packed themselves into a car and headed to Chicago.

To the surprise of many, including yours truly, Air and No Waitress raised a decent amount of money for charity. Realizing they were really onto something, they raised the bar each of the following three years by renting an RV and, amid great fanfare, taking a whole crew, including a filmmaker whose documentary of the day dissapointingly failed to get a deal at Cannes or Sundance. Every year, the drive-a-thon became more successful than in the past.

Today, the drive-a-thon is back on the road. Due to Air's aliyah last year, the great event is taking place in August, while he is visiting town, and without quite the publicity as in the past. Nevertheless, Burger One, with Air, No Waitress and Stale Buns aboard, embarked at approximately 6:55 this morning. Ground Control received word just minutes ago that Burger One, which this year is No Waitress' Grand Cherokee rather than an RV, just passed Jackson. Updates, including pictures, will hopefully appear here throughout the day. Meanwhile, let us all wish those aboard Burger One good luck and Godspeed.

It Was Gatlinburg In Late July

2007-08-01T20:30:00.000-04:00

Some notes from our recent trip to Louisville and Gatlinburg:

-The giant Jesus at exit 29 on I-75 in Ohio was inspiring as usual. It even had me singing this song.

-That sign for Big Bone Lick State Park will always make me laugh.

-The Simpsons and new Harry Potter movie are both definitely worth seeing.

-We went on Sunday to the aquarium in Newport, Kentucky, right across the river from Cincinnati. The aquarium is great on its own but is also part of an amazing complex overlooking the water and the Cincy skyline. It has a top of the line movie theater and a number of good stores, all surrounding a large courtyard with limestone and cobblestone pavement. They have street performers and apparently a number of concerts throughout the summer. It really brings life to the waterfront, an area where many people like to spend time. In other words, it's yet one more thing that Detroit should have done years ago.

-We've discovered that Emma is a Johnny Cash and Diana Ross (separately, as I don't think they ever sang together) fan. They are the only musical performers thus far that can calm her when she's in meltdown mode.

-We had our first night away from Emma since she came home from the hospital when we left her with the in-laws while we spent the night in Gatlinburg. I jolted from sleep at 5:45 in the morning when I had not heard Emma, only to realize where we were.

-The lady playing miniature golf in front of us the other night in Pigeon Forge had the gall to be talking on her cell phone during her game. Talking on a cell phone during a funeral or in a library is one thing, but during a miniature golf game is another. How dare she?

-On a more serious note, I'm about a quarter of the way through Ronald Reagan's recently released diaries. Whether you loved him or hated him, I highly recommend the book. Rather than a whitewashed, after-the-fact autobiography or biography by someone with a bias for or against the subject, a contemporaneous, private diary by one of last century's most consequential men gives great insight into the thoughts of a historic person. It is also interesting to see how much some things have changed, like the collegiality in the Beltway. While they often publicly butted heads, Reagan often wrote fondly of Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill. They considered each other as friends worthy of admiration and respect, even when they disagreed on some very important issues. This is far different from the vitriol and hatred that has come from both sides of the aisle the past fifteen years or so.

Less Artsy More Fartsy

2007-07-19T07:29:00.000-04:00

Some notes from last night's trip to Ann Arbor for the art fairs:

-Even though she sleeps most of the time she's in her stroller, Emma is really a babe magnet. Next year I'll have to leave Mrs. Zwicker at home.

-In a state with an economy as bad as Michigan and competition for the almighty dollar consequently being so tough, nudist colonies should really get better looking spokespeople.

-By placing the booths for the Michigan Atheists and the National Organization for Circumcision Information Resources Center (they're against it) next to each other, the fair organizer did a big favor to the mohel who likes a theological debate but is pressed for time.

-When you run into a casual acquaintance in Ann Arbor of all places and tell him that you and the wife bought his and hers dog collars, it's best to specify that they are for your canines.

-At last year's fair, Mrs. Zwicker and I parked next to a car with a bumper sticker that read: "I'm Wiccan And I Vote." Since then I have wondered if there are any politicians who, before making any decision, says to his or her staff, "Hold on, what's the Wiccan voting bloc's position on this?"

Perspective

2007-07-12T15:12:00.001-04:00

I just sent a contract to a prospective client. After weighing and sealing it, I found the correspondence weighed .8 ounce. I then realized that I forgot to include a return envelope in which the recipient could send a signed contract. After inserting the return envelope and sealing the outer envelope, I weighed it again to make sure that I would affix sufficient postage. I found that the return envelope increased the overall weight by one-fifth of an ounce.

This made me recognize once again what a miracle Emma's being with us is. Each day of Emma's first 28 days in this world, Mrs. Zwicker and I would eagerly anticipate the latest weight report. While a gain of half an ounce was a good sign and a full ounce could really make our day, a gain as little as one-fifth of an ounce was a positive.

In case you are wondering, according to the in-laws' kitchen scale, Emma weighed approximately seven pounds on July 4th. I am still considering O's Fan's suggestion of adding an Emma Weight Counter to the Zlog sidebar and see how old she is before she or Mrs. Zwicker make me remove it. For now, here's a picture of Emma with not-so-little Sammy a few weeks ago.

7/11

2007-07-11T07:17:00.000-04:00

There are those voters who have that one issue that trumps all when deciding who gets their votes for president of this great country. For some, it's abortion. For others, it's gun rights. Some put the environment first while others' primary concern is their own financial well being. With the next presidential election almost sixteen months away, I have decided that, for the very first time, I too will be a single issue voter. What is my most paramount, burning issue that I hold dearest above all, you may ask. You may.

As of today, July 11, 2007, Slurpee Day, whichever candidate first pronounces his or her sincere appreciation for the importance of the most wonderful, effervescent beverage in the world gets my vote. I want, no I demand, a president who will give the Slurpee the honor it so richly deserves. Today, 7/11, should be a national holiday. Access to a Slurpee at any time should be a constitutional right, not just a privilege. It is also a great example of the great melting pot that is this country. For example, if you want to meet an Indian in Delaware, you merely have to go to the nearest 7-11. Just ask Joe Biden.

It's All In The Pursuit

2007-07-02T13:23:00.000-04:00

Mrs. Zwicker and I, along with some friends, watched "The Pursuit of Happyness" the other night. It's based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a down-on-his-luck single father who struggles to make a living to support himself and his son. Gardner, whom Will Smith played quite well, doesn't give up no matter how bad things get, even when he and his son lose their apartment and sleep in a public bathroom those nights Gardner and his son are not fast enough to get to the homeless shelter. Through it all, Gardner maintains not only a positive attitude for himself but for his son as well. The ending is predictable-Gardner gets a job as a stock broker and goes on to make a very nice living for himself.

The movie is meant to be uplifting, showing an otherwise average guy who overcomes the odds to earn a good job so that he can take care of his son. While I usually enjoy those types of movies, assuming they are well done, this one left us all flat. The movie was just so depressing and exhausting until the last scene, which lasted all of two minutes. We would have like a little more showing of the reward for all of Gardner's efforts and perseverance.

As I thought about the movie over the next few days though, I came to appreciate a message that Gardner mentions at one point but remains otherwise unspoken. Gardner refuses to complain about his lot in life and instead maintains a positive attitude. Not only that, but he also acknowledges that society doesn't owe him anything. He correctly says that the Constitution does not guarantee life, liberty and happiness. It instead guarantees life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (the spelling in the title is from the grafitti outside the son's daycare center). As Smith showed, it's up to each person to make the most of his pursuit. With July 4th coming, Chris Gardner reminds us all of what makes America so great.

C'est La Vie Say The Old Folks

2007-06-22T08:28:00.000-04:00

Mrs. Zwicker and I have found ourselves in that wedding invitation no-man's land. You know what I'm talking about. Most of our friends are married, so we rarely attend weddings or Sheva Brachot for friends. When we get an invitation, it is often because we are on the parents' list rather than that or the bride or groom.

The other night, we went to such a Sheva Brachot. I would guess that the bride and groom are only a few years younger than us. The groom's parents, with whom we are friendly from shul, had invited us. We got there a little late to find most of the tables full and very few of our contemporaries there. We saw two empty seats next to our friends, Gil and Rebecca. We made a beeline to them since the few other tables at which our friends were sitting were full and the only other table was in the far corner with four people, three women and a man, all looking to be in their sixties, and not seeming to know anyone else. Alas, the seats next to Gil and Rebecca were already taken, so we headed to the corner thinking that we wouldn't be there very long.

Being friendly, we got to talking to our table-mates. The three women were the groom's mother's co-workers. The man was one of the women's husband. Frankly, he looked like the stereotypical high school shop teacher. After a few minutes of small talk, we learned that he was a career Navy Seal, now retired. During part of his employment, he was on President Richard Nixon's security detail.

We could have sat there all night talking with him, listening to his (non-classified) stories, like his first trip to Israel. He was serving in Vietnam in June of 1967 when he got an assignment to protect a Saudi oil sheik in East Jerusalem just as the Six Day War was about to start. His best line of the evening was regarding being caught in an Arab assault and having to defend himself. "We weren't invited to the party, but once we were there, we were going to dance." Of course, the line loses something when not hearing him say it in his Louisiana drawl. The man is now indeed a high school teacher, of ROTC. His stories about that were not nearly as dramatic but were equally uplifting and intriguing. It goes to show you never can tell.

Ernestine Bradley

2007-06-13T08:21:00.000-04:00

On Monday night, I had the honor of meeting and hearing a speech by Ernestine Bradley. Mrs. Bradley is a non-Jew who was a child in Germany during the Holocaust. As she has done around the world, Mrs. Bradley spoke of her experience in confronting the atrocities that occurred in her homeland. Her speech was very compelling. I hope to read her autobiography soon.

Before the speech, a few of us on the committee that brought Mrs. Bradley to town had dinner with her. Among the many topics were her family. One person asked Mrs. Bradley how she met her husband, NBA Hall of Famer and former United States Senator Bill Bradley. Mrs. Bradley explained that she was working on an educational documentary in which various celebrities were speaking about some topic. One of the interviewees was Bill Bradley. Not being a sports fan at all, the future Mrs. Bradley didn't know much about him. They started talking and, as they say, the rest is history. Someone else asked Mrs. Bradley how her future husband performed in the video. She said that he did well, to which I added that I would have expected as much since he was the star of one my favorite commercials of all time. She had no idea what I was talking about, even after I described the commercial to her. I wonder if she went home and asked him about it or found it herself. Of course, if she is Googling herself and comes across this blog, she can find it right here:

My New Favorite Website

2007-06-12T11:27:00.000-04:00

I know that NoahDaddy is going to love this.

40 Years Later

2007-06-05T15:48:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of Macabee.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

2007-06-03T11:41:00.000-04:00

The front page story this morning across the country is of the foiled plot of destruction at New York's JFK airport. Actually, not every paper has it on the front page. The New York Times, the Paper of Record, which in case you couldn't determine from its name, is a New York newpaper, relegated the news to page 37. Anyway, as I finished the article in this morning's Detroit Free Press, I was left wondering one thing that the Free Press didn't address-to which religion, if any, do these aspiring terrorists belong? Hmm, I wonder.

Mrs. Zwicker and I finally watched the season finale of 24 last night. It was a microcosm of the season as a whole. It started strong but then devolved to a mixture of some good scenes and some unnecessary personal stories that were more appropriate for a soap opera. The last twenty minutes were rather fluffy with all the tying up of loose ends although the last few minutes were great. While the show has previously addressed Jack's tortured soul, the last image of the season being a close-up of his face as he contemplated what his life had become was powerful. The silent clock was very appropos.

Mama I'm Coming Home

2007-05-22T11:47:00.000-04:00

Great news! Emma's weight jumped 2.3 ounces to a whopping total of 3 pounds, 15.4 ounces. The doctor said that she can come home today. It looks like our counting down every night of the Omer worked in the end. Thank you to God for letting us bring home our beautiful baby, safe and sound. Thank you to all our friends and family who have been so supportive and helpful. Last but certainly not least, thank you to Mrs. Zwicker, for spending countless hours at the hospital, giving Emma just a small dose of the love and attention awaiting her at home. I love you both.

Emma Update

2007-05-20T12:35:00.001-04:00

Sorry, especially to Dr. O's Fan, for the lack of postings the last week or so. With my whirlwind tour of Midwest hotspots like Lansing and Toledo, not to mention twice-daily visits to the hospital, I have not had much time to post. Yesterday, Mrs. Zwicker and I again walked the four-plus miles to the hospital to spend Shabbat afternoon with Emma. Don't worry, the nap streak is still alive. Just as important, Emma's weight as of this morning is 3 lbs., 11.2 oz., just 4.8 ounces short of coming home. At the rate at which she has been gaining weight, she should be home by the end of this week. As Cousin AJ pointed out the other day, we might want to slow Emma's weight gain. If she keeps going at this pace, she'll be 182 pounds by the time she's five years old.

Notes From The NICU

2007-05-15T12:41:00.000-04:00

You probably cannot tell it from the pictures but Emma is growing less littler every day, thank God. As of last night she was at 3 lbs., 6.4 oz. She's been guzzling her milk like her daddy drank in law school, albeit a beverage of a different sort. The doctors hope to have her out of the isolette and taking all her feedings via bottle rather than a nose tube within a day or so.

The Cure

2007-05-11T07:22:00.000-04:00

For the past two weeks, while visiting Emma in the hospital two or three times a day, it has bothered me that there are so many sick people in the world. I just wished that I could do something to help even one sick person. Early this morning, while driving to see Emma, I realized the answer when I heard Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear The Reaper." The cure had been right before my eyes all this time. More cowbell! Now i just have to find one that I can take to the hospital and play its soothing melodies as I walk through the halls. Soon enough, Sinai Grace Hospital will have no more patients. I can then go from hospital to hospital, not just in southeast Michigan but around the world, healing all who can hear the glorious cowbell.

Every Ounce Counts

2007-05-10T16:37:00.000-04:00

Little Emma is getting slightly less little each day. As of this morning she weighed 3lbs., 2.6 oz., approximately three ounces above her birth weight. She lost a few ounces her first few days but has gained at least .4 ounce every day but one over the past eight or so days. We hope to have her home in two weeks or so, which was when she was supposed to be born. In case you're wondering, the tube you see going into Emma's nose is just for feeding. She has been drinking more and more from her bottle and less and less from the tube. The other wires are just monitors for her heartbeat and stuff like that.

Last night I changed her diaper for the first time. It wasn't the first time I had changed a diaper, just the first time since I babysat in high school. To give some perspective on how long ago that was, I specifically remembering changing the baby's diaper while watching Mike Scott pitch a no-hitter to clinch the Houston Astros a spot in the 1986 National League playoffs.

Emma Pictures

2007-05-06T20:26:00.000-04:00

I was never a fan of people e-mailing dozens of unsolicited pictures of their children. On the other hand, some of you have asked to see more pictures of Emma. These are for you.

For those keeping score at home, Emma was 3 lbs., 1.4 oz. as of this morning. She's on her way, bli ayin hara.

Introducing Emma

2007-04-30T17:00:00.000-04:00

This past Wednesday, also known as the day after NoahDaddy's birthday, started with a plan, an uneventful plan but a plan nonetheless. Before leaving the house that morning, I spent a few minutes starting a mix of some songs to play in Mrs. Zwicker's delivery room. After minyan, the rabbi and I scheduled a time for the following week at which we could discuss the halachot of going to the hospital vis a vis Shabbat and Yom Tov. After minyan, I went to the office so I could work for an hour or so before going with Mrs. Zwicker to the weekly doctor's visit. I assumed that I would be back in the office by 11:00 and then head to Ann Arbor to do some work at the courthouse there. Well, you know what they say about man planning and God laughing.

Because we had raised the question the previous week of how big the baby was, our doctor ordered an ultrasound for this week's visit. The doctor saw that the baby was undersized, only about three pounds, and was not getting the proper nutrients. Since we were already at 36 weeks, the doctor said it was best to just deliver the baby that day. I freely admit that I went into a panic, imagining all the worst case scenarios. Even more important than our doctor and the neonatal pediatrician assuring us that our baby would be fine in the long run, it was Mrs. Zwicker's calm that brought me back from the ledge. She's the greatest.

Before I knew it, Mrs. Zwicker went into pre-op while I went into another room to don my best surgical gear for the impending c-section. Once in the operating room, I sat with Mrs. Zwicker, holding her hand and telling her how wonderful she was. Soon enough, the doctor told me to stand and look over the curtain to see our baby enter this world. I know that billions of others have had the pleasure of witnessing such a sight, but I cannot imagine anything more amazing than seeing one's own child literally emerge from its mother. Seeing our baby's head, then shoulders, then torso and finally legs and feet, is something that I will never forget. With all the blood and the way it was facing, not to mention the tears of joy in my eyes, I could not tell until our doctor declared its gender that we had a daughter. Mrs. Zwicker said through the past nine months that our baby was a girl. Sure enough, she was correct once again, and she wasted no time in telling me right there, "I told you so."

After the staff took her to the side and cleaned her and did whatever else they do when a baby is first born, I then got to hold my daughter, right next to Mrs. Zwicker's head. As the doctor told us earlier that day, it was a very good sign that we got to stay with our daughter for a good ten minutes or so. At least I think that's how long it was. I'm usually pretty good at keeping track of time without a clock but I was totally lost in the glory of the moment. By the way, I learned later that the time of birth was 2:25.

While Mrs. Zwicker was recuperating, I went upstairs to the neo-natal intensive care unit (pronounced "nik-you" by those in the know) to see our baby girl. She was long and lean, sixteen inches and a tad under three pounds to be exact, but otherwise healthy. She also had a full head of blonde hair. Okay, I will now pause so you can make your "she already has more hair than you do" cracks.

Mrs. Zwicker and I originally planned, if we were to have a girl, on naming her at a siyyum that NoahDaddy and I would make on our impending conclusion of Tractate Moed Katan. Well, with our daughter being a few weeks from going home so she could gain weight first, not to mention NoahDaddy's chronic absences from learning, we decided to just name her the next morning. We still plan on having the siyyum, at which point I will expound on whether one can console someone during the month after the loss of a wife if the widower has already remarried.

The next morning at shul, I gave our little girl her Hebrew name, Chava Emunah. Chava was Mrs. Zwicker's grandmother while Emunah is a name we just liked because it embodied the faith we did our best to maintain while trying to have a child. That same morning we announced the English name, Emma Faye. Both names come from Mrs. Zwicker's grandmothers.

The last few days have been an emotional roller coaster. There is nothing as amazing as seeing and holding our beautiful little Emma. On Friday night, Mrs. Zwicker and I each placed our hands on Emma's head and, with tears in our eyes, blessed her, asking that she follow in our Jewish foremothers' footsteps. On Shabbat afternoon, notwithstanding my less than stellar voice, I soothed Emma by singing to her and then learning the weekly Torah portion next to her incubator. I made sure she heard the part about honoring one's mother and father. Despite all of those and other moments, it has been to tough to leave her in the NICU. We cannot wait until Emma comes home with us for good.

Here is a picture of Emma at one day old in my arms. I'll try to post more pictures soon.

Imus-Kennedy or Condit?

2007-04-17T10:22:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, the only story on the news was the Don Imus imbroglio. Among the various discussions on op-ed pages and the Sunday morning talk shows, including on ESPN, was what does the future hold for the unemployed Imus. Is his career really done or does he just get a time-out for a year or two before getting a new gig on satellite radio, like Opie & Anthony? All of a sudden, with the tragedy at Virginia Tech yesterday, the Imus story is officially yesterday's news. The question, though, remains. History is not necessarily an indication, as the stories of Ted Kennedy and Gary Condit reveal, but it will be interesting to see whether, as cynical as it sounds, Don Imus can now get some breathing room.

On July 18, 1969, Ted Kennedy was in his first full term as a United States Senator. He was driving home from a party with Mary Jo Kopechne, a campaign worker, on Martha's Vineyard. For reasons known only to him, Kennedy's car drove into a pond. Kennedy was able to escape but Kopechne was not so fortunate. She drowned. Legitimate questions regarding Kennedy's culpability in Kopechne's death arose immediately. Just a few days later though, Neil Armstrong took his giant leap for mankind and Kennedy's connection to Kopechne became much less important. While the questions regarding Kopechne's death still abound today and likely have prevented Kennedy from ever mounting a serious presidential bid, there is no doubt that he has risen to great heights in American politics. Historians and commentators have long speculated whether Kennedy's career could have survived without the overshadowing the Kopechne incident received from the moon landing.

On April 30, 2001, United States Congressman Gary Condit was in his sixth term when congressional intern Chandra Levy disappeared. During the investigation into her absence, word that Levy and Condit were having an affair surfaced. He immediately became a suspect, if not in the eyes of the police, then at least in the media. While he never faced any charges, Condit's career was effectively done. The media feeding frenzy may have lasted longer than four months had the 9/11 attacks not occurred. On that fateful morning, Condit immediately became nothing more than a footnote in the history books.

This is not to suggest in any way that Don Imus was happy to see the Virginia Tech massacre occur. I am also in no way equating Kopechne or Levy's death with Imus' statements. I am also in no way equating the moon landing and/or 9/11 with the Virginia Tech massacre. It just raises the question of what effect, if any, it will have on Imus' career. Time will tell.

A Jew Walks Into A Bar

2007-04-16T11:03:00.000-04:00

I am proud to announce that I passed the Florida bar examination. Getting the news wasn't as memorable as when I learned of passing Michigan over twelve years ago, when I found the important letter in the mailbox and literally opened and read it standing by the curb in the rain. The news also didn't come with as much anxiety since I would still have a job regardless of the results. Even so, it's great news.

The only drawback is that there is no other attorney in Florida who shares my first and last name, thereby preventing me from blaming my indiscretions on someone else.

Pot Meet Kettle, Part Two

2007-04-12T11:43:00.000-04:00

If Al Sharpton is good at one thing, besides for his being a shameless huckster in the race business, it's creating sympathy for someone who doesn't otherwise deserve it. When Don Imus' "nappy headed hos" flap first erupted, I didn't really give it much thought. After all, I was never a fan of his. While living in New York, I was partial to Howard Stern. Since returning to Detroit, my morning talk show favorite has been Drew & Mike. Imus just never interested me. He always struck me as angry and mocking. The controversy that he created therefore didn't really concern me too much.

That was before Sharpton once again assumed the position of father confessor for all Americans of color. As I have previously written on the Zlog here, Sharpton repeatedly gets a pass on his own virulent racism. In fact, Sharpton's racist past is much more injurious to others than Imus' recent comment. Sharpton's actions have led to deaths and the irreversible trashing of good people's reputations. On the other hand, I doubt that there were many people who now think any worse of black women in general and Rutgers basketball players in particular than they did before Imus opened his big mouth.

Post-Passover Ramblings

2007-04-11T12:54:00.000-04:00

-On the second night of Passover, Mrs. Zwicker and I started counting not just the Omer but also the countdown to the scheduled arrival of Baby Zwicker. While at the in-laws' place this past weekend, we started discussing the custom of expectant fathers opening the Aron Hakodesh in the last month of pregnancy. When Mother-in-law asked for the reason behind the custom and I explained that it's supposed to be an omen for a easy opening through which the baby can exit, her look and reaction-"that's quite the visual"-made us laugh. We quickly moved to a new topic.

(Spoiler alert for the next paragraph)

-While "24" dragged a little after a strong start to the season, the show has definitely gotten its mojo back. On the other hand, I will not be happy if the rest of the season revolves around saving Audrey. I think I speak for most "24" fans when I say that we all knew she was alive but wish otherwise. My theory is that the United States gave Audrey to the Chinese as security and bait for Jack's return once his mission was complete. Now that Jack has secured the remaining missiles, he has to risk returning to a Chinese prison if he wants to rescue Audrey.

-Mrs. Zwicker and I caught "Reign Over Me" over the recent holiday. We gave it all four thumbs up. As I have previously written, Adam Sandler can do drama, although his uncanny resemblance to mid-80's Bob Dylan was a little distracting. I wonder if it was intentional. Anyway, Sandler was great, as was Don Cheadle, which is no surprise.

-It is utterly ridiculous that the Toronto Blue Jays pulled the below ad starring Frank Thomas. Apparently, people thought it promoted child abuse. The ad is simply hilarious. Someone who beats a kid because of this commercial is like, according to Dennis Miller, the teenagers who supposedly committed suicide in the 1980's after listening to heavy metal music. If someone takes his life because of anything Ozzy Osbourne has to say, that person is probably so far over the edge already anyway.

The Awesome Power of MNFBBQ

2007-03-30T08:09:00.000-04:00

While NoahDaddy did a pretty good job in summarizing another joyous MNFBBQ meeting, he missed a key component. During our most recent soiree, Gil mentioned that he had a meeting at YIOP that evening at 10:30. You may be asking yourself why any meeting would start so late. Well, there is only answer and it is "MNFBBQ."

A few years ago, when NoahDaddy and I were both on the YIOP executive board, the president told us that he had scheduled a meeting for us for the following Monday night at 9:00. NoahDaddy and I immediately both said that we would not attend because it conflicted with the MNFBBQ and we had our priorities. The president fully understood and never scheduled another Monday night meeting. We knew then just how revered the MNFBBQ was.

No Waitress, however, taught us the other night the level of respect that others understandably have for the MNFBBQ. Here he was, part of a group that was meeting to discuss our rabbi's contract and time was of the essence. Nothing, however, was more essential to No Waitress than attending the MNFBBQ. (My attendance has been far from perfect lately and I therefore give No Waitress extra props for taking his stand.) No Waitress' fellow committee members fully understood and thus agreed to not schedule the meeting until 10:30 at night. As it was, No Waitress was still at Stale Bun's house at 10:40 when his cell phone rang, as always. The caller wanted to know when they could expect No Waitress to attend the meeting.

After we all appreciated yet one more sign of the MNFBBQ's awesomeness, we engaged in a discussion of just how great is the respect we have rightfully earned. We had questions. If an MNFBBQ meeting were to occur on Yom Kippur, would the entire holiday be rescheduled or would there just be an allowance for us to eat that night? Should we now reconsider our longstanding policy of not meeting on Passover since the buns are an essential part of MNFBBQ, except when Blackjack gets to them? Feel free to offer your own questions and comments. While the MNFBBQ's membership is exclusive, we are always open to receiving fan mail.

Amazing Finish

2007-03-25T10:30:00.000-04:00

For all the buzz about the NCAA Division I tournament, people forget that there are other college tournaments. Courtesy of DeadSpin comes this finish, from the Division II tournament championship is one of the best ending to any sporting event ever. Enjoy.

High Art

2007-03-20T08:08:00.000-04:00

I was shocked and dismayed this morning to read in this story that the Cincinnati Symphony & Pops Orchestra was cancelling an appearance that the Dukes of Hazzard themed program that the television show's stars, John Schneider and Tom Wopat, were to make. The cancellation was because "some in the community found the show racist and offensive." This story strikes a chord with me, not because I have any great affinity towards the show, but because a well-respected artistic institution was going to have a Dukes of Hazzard themed program in the first place. What's next, The Metropolitan Opera doing a Gomer Pyle set?

Stay Classy Zlog Readers

2007-03-16T11:15:00.000-04:00

To my legion of fans, I must apologize for my paucity of postings as of late. Before the bar exam, I was just too busy with work and studying to post. I am still quite busy at work (O's fan-ixnay on the ournamenttay) but, more importantly, I just haven't had much to say or share. I hope to rejoin the world of active blogging soon. Meanwhile, enjoy this 1970's commercial for a Cleveland news show. Besides its own entertainment value, it makes me appreciate just how well "Anchorman-The Legend of Ron Burgundy" nailed it.

A Purim Thought

2007-03-04T07:14:00.000-05:00

On this day of Purim, when we celebrate the Jewish people's salvation from an enemy that sought to destroy us, an incident that occurred last week has really stuck with me. One of the commandments surrounding this holiday is the requirement to eradicate Amalek. This involves not just physically fighting mortal men who want to end the Jewish people but also battling the evil within us.

Last week, while waiting before one of the sections of the Florida bar examination, I was talking to the young Jewish woman sitting behind me. We were discussing children, her thirteen month old boy and the Baby Zwicker that will arrive shortly and healthy, God willing. The woman, Julie, said that her son has, in her words, the coolest Hebrew name, Zev. Upon my asking, she said that she didn't know his Hebrew middle name. I found her ignorance to be very sad. Julie is not totally assimilated. She is active in her reform temple and is even a Sunday school teacher there. Also, her son is only thirteen months old, barely a year removed from his naming.

In this day and age in the United States, there is not much reason to fear the Jewish people's physical safety. Of the individuals seeking the major party nominations for president next year, there is none whose views on domestic Judaism concern me one way or the other. (Israel, of course, is another story and a post for another day.) What does concern me, and I hardly think I'm alone, about the future of Judaism in this country is the assimilation and ignorance that threaten so many Jews. During yesterday's reading of the commandment to destroy Amalek, I thought of Julie. If she doesn't even know her son's Jewish middle name, what kind of future as a Jew does it promise him? What kind of future awaits so many others?

The war to regain our own people is like many other great conflicts, whether physical or spiritual. While there may be one decisive tipping point in any war, most wars are won and lost through many battles. Some battles are large but most are small and quick. The key is to fight every one of them. In the war against assimilation and ignorance, we must be ever vigilant to show those not as fortunate in Jewish education just how beautiful our religion is. Whether it is inviting someone to a religious event that he or she would not otherwise attend or discussing even a few words of Torah, the opportunities for us to fight this war are endless. It is up to us to seize the opportunities.

Begging For Relevance

2007-02-22T08:45:00.000-05:00

One has to wonder what Jesse Jackson thinks of Barack Obama. On the one hand, assuming he really believes in the advancement of black people, Jackson must be ecstatic that Obama has a real chance at a major party's presidential nomination. On the other hand, Jackson must hate that it's Obama and not the good reverend himself in that position. Even more, Obama has gotten where he is without repeatedely playing the race card, much unlike Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Today's Variety online edition (I cannot believe that I am citing the entertainment trade journal for the second day in a row) is reporting that Jackson is planning a conference in April to discuss the supposed dearth of blacks in the movie industry. Jackson's announcement, coming just days before this Sunday's Oscar awards ceremony, is pretty pathetic. For example, Jackson doesn't think it's enough that five of the twenty, or 25%, of actors nominated this year are black and that three of the four winners could very well be black despite the 2000 United States census showing that 12.3% of Americans are black. Jackson also thinks that whites, who constituted 75.1% of the 2000 United States population, are overrepresented in the 69% of roles that he alleges are reserved for white actors. As an aside, I have no idea where Jackson gets that 69% figure or whether there is any such quota for any race in Hollywood.

My question for Jackson is how much will be enough? I am in no way suggesting that any one group should have a maximum quota, or a minimum quota for that matter, whether it's for jobs, education or whatnot. At the same time, this is just one more example of Jackson playing the race card because that's the all he has in his arsenal.

The Threat Of Israel

2007-02-20T06:08:00.000-05:00

While I don't take what Variety reports as the gospel on politics, this statement by John Edwards, which he reportedly made at a recent Hollywood gathering, is pretty alarming:

"Perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace, Edwards remarked, was the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities."

As Jim Geraghty writes over at the Hillary Spot, "Really? Israel is the biggest threat? Not Ahmedinijad? Not al-Qaeda? Not a coup attempt in Pakistan? Not a complete breakdown in Iraq drawing in the Saudis, Turks, and Iranians?"

Yet One More Reason MNFBBQ Is For Men Only

2007-02-14T10:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the light posting lately but I have the Florida bar exam in two weeks. Studying, along with trying to keep the business running smoothly, really eats into the important things in life. Anyway, I had to post this article that shows that barbecuing is a man's game.

24 Reflecting Reality

2007-02-07T08:09:00.000-05:00

I once heard someone joke that not all Jews are dentists but all dentists are Jews. That joke always comes to my mind when I hear Muslim groups complain about their religion's depiction as violent and terroristic. It is therefore refreshing to see this morning's Wall Street Journal carry an opinion piece by Emilio Karim Dabul on the great television show "24."

For those not sadly not familiar, each season of "24" takes place, in 24 one hour episodes, in real time over the course of a single day. The focus of the show is Jack Bauer and the government agency for which he works, the Counter Terrorism Unit. As his agency's name indicates, Bauer fights terrorism. Rather than skirt around the hard reality of who is committing nearly all of the world's terrorist actions, the show's villains have often been Muslim.

Dabul's article takes a stand against Muslims who complain about these depictions:

I am an Arab-American as well as a fan of "24." The two things are not mutually exclusive, despite what the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other such groups have to say about this season's opening episodes possibly increasing anti-Muslim and anti-Arab prejudice in American society.
Most of the terrorists represented in "24" through the years have been Arab Muslims. Why? Well, probably because most terrorists today are, in fact, Arab Muslims. As a descendant of Syrian Muslims, I am very well aware that the majority of Muslims world-wide are peaceful, hard working, and law abiding. That still does not change the fact that the greatest terrorist threat to the U.S. today comes not from the ETA, the IRA, etc., but from one group: Islamic terrorists.

And this is what makes "24" a compelling drama every week. Instead of pretending Islamic terrorists don't exist, the show presents frighteningly real worst-case scenarios perpetrated by Osama bin Laden's followers. So CAIR thinks it's over the top for the terrorists in "24" to blow up Los Angeles with a nuke? Please, if bin Laden and his crew had nukes, most of us would be way too dead to argue over such points.

Read the whole thing here.

Kos Readers Down On Hillary

2007-02-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

The Daily Kos, one of the most popular liberal blogs, is running a poll asking its readers who is their favorite to be the Democratic Party's 2008 candidate. Here are the current results:

Kucinich
662 votes - 4 %
Obama
3842 votes - 25 %
Gravel
73 votes - 0 %
Richardson
985 votes - 6 %
Clinton
599 votes - 3 %
Clark
2239 votes - 14 %
Biden
89 votes - 0 %
Dodd
72 votes - 0 %
Vilsack
201 votes - 1 %
Edwards
4070 votes - 26 %
Other
1300 votes - 8 %
No Freakin' Clue
1011 votes - 6 %

These results are obviously static, as of this writing. The link to the ever-changing results is here.

It is not so surprising that John Edwards and Barack Obama lead the field. Neither is it surprising that Wesley Clark, he of the recent "New York money people" comment, is running third. The amazing thing here is that Hillary Clinton is in sixth place, trailing Bill Richardson and even Dennis Kucinich.

Having Edwards, Obama, Clark and Richardson lead her in such a poll is one thing. All four are viable, at least in the short term. No matter how unscientific this poll is, this poll's participants choice of Kucinich, the latter of whom has not made any major strides since being a marginal candidate for the 2004 nomination, over Hillary raises a question. Do Hillary's constituents dislike her that much or is the poll just an exercise in wishful thinking?

Spiders On Drugs

2007-02-06T14:41:00.000-05:00

Educational to the very end.

Classic Ad

2007-02-05T10:28:00.001-05:00

With last night's Super Bowl bereft of any really memorable commercials, let's revisit this classic.

Redemption

2007-01-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

It's been a scary few weeks. Following the debacle that was the last meeting of MNFBBQ, the pressure was on me to bring the boys back from the brink. I've been wondering what I could do to return our storied organization back to glory. After many sleepless nights (don't listen to Mrs. Zwicker with that garbage about me being out like a light), an epiphany came to me in the form of a question-what would Brian Boitano do?

Brian Boitano would break out the big Roumanian hot dogs and grill despite the freezing temperatures and falling snow. Brian Boitano would make chili. Brian Boitano would serve pigs in blankets and curly fries. Brian Boitano would lock the dogs away in the guest bedroom, so they wouldn't steal the hot dog buns or bother the guests. Most paramount, Brian Boitano would not show anything resembling "Brokeback Mountain." Brian Boitano would instead show a film featuring roughly drawn cartoon characters and song and dance and dirty words and the first Oscar-nominated performance in MNFBBQ history. Oh, wait a minute, "Brokeback Mountain" got some nods. Forget that Oscar thing, not important. I wouldn't say that it was the greatest MNFBBQ ever. At the same time, our long national nightmare is over. In short, I feel super, thanks for asking. Of course, Gabi hosts next.

I should add that Gabi came to Casa Zwicker after everyone else had left and I had put away the food. He had valiantly tried to make it for at least part of the meeting by charging off the plane and racing, O.J.-like, without the killing of his ex-wife and a Jewish guy, through the airport to get here. Alas, it was not to be. Fortunately, Gabi accepted with grace the fact that his appearing at a host's house after the guests had left and the table was cleared would not count as attendance. Air, I hope you're taking notes.

Shameful

2007-01-26T12:16:00.000-05:00

Scott W. Johnson (who writes for the excellent Power Line blog) has an article at the Weekly Standard's website on how Yasser Arafat literally got away with murder, of an American ambassador, with the State Department's knowledge. Through seven different presidential administrations, Republican and Democratic alike, the State Department had abundant evidence of the following:

Twenty years before he joined Bill Clinton and Yitzhak Rabin in Washington for that famous handshake--and proceeded to become Clinton's most frequent foreign guest at the White House--Yasser Arafat planned and directed the murder of an American ambassador and his deputy chief of mission. From the first moment of the deadly operation, which took place in Khartoum on March 1, 1973, the State Department possessed direct evidence of Arafat's responsibility, yet neither the State Department nor any other government agency made public its knowledge. Indeed, as recently as the summer of 2002, the State Department denied that such evidence existed. Across seven administrations, the State Department hewed to silence and denial.

After some exhaustive reporting, Johnson finishes, very aptly, with this:

Speaking in a 2003 interview from the perspective of an average citizen who was also a firsthand witness to a most significant piece of this tortured history, former NSA analyst Welsh may appropriately be given the last word, at least for the moment: "There are limits to which foreign policy issues should require a man to lower himself. Shaking the hand of a murderer of a U.S. ambassador is such a case. Any peace based upon that hand is a delusion."

Click here for the whole story.

Really Wrong Number

2007-01-26T08:14:00.000-05:00

When I practiced criminal defense law, there were clients for whom I felt sympathy because their arrests stemmed not from good detective work but from bad luck or karma or whatever you want to call it. I certainly wasn't rooting for people to violate laws with impunity but it just sometimes seemed unfair when a good criminal was caught despite a certain level of professionalism, for lack of a better word.

One such criminal, albeit not a client of mine, who gets some sympathy from me this morning is Marvin Lamar McKiver. According to this story, McKiver, who lives in Bladen County, North Carolina, called someone to arrange a drug deal. Unbeknownst to McKiven, he dialed a wrong number. The person on the other end of the line was the local chief of police. Needless to say, McKiven is now in jail.

Via FARK.

How To Create Blog Traffic

2007-01-23T13:41:00.000-05:00

Ken Levine, a baseball announcer who has also worked on various popular television shows over the years as a writer, director and producer, experimented with a unique way to bring traffic to his blog. Check it out here. As his Sitemeter page indicates, his experiment worked. Pretty cool.

Man Of The Year

2007-01-22T12:08:00.000-05:00

After facing well deserved ridicule for naming You as Person of the Year, the Time Magazine editorial board can breathe easy for the next eleven months. The identity of the most important person in 2006 has become obvious. No man means more to society than David Rafner.

You may not know his name but you certainly know his accomplishment and how much it means to us all. Rafner, while working for Honeywell in 1985, developed the idea for the DVR, better known as TiVo. As a cousin of mine said two years ago, "There are two people in this world-those who have TiVo and those who should have TiVo."

Never has Rafner's technological brainchild been more valuable than today. After a riveting and literally explosive four-hour debut last week, "24" is back for more, tonight at 9:00. That happens to be the same time that the excellent "Heroes" returns from hiatus. Not being one given to hyperbole, I can honestly say that I cannot remember there ever being two such good shows opposing each other.

Tonight, unless he cancels on me once again, I will be learning with Noah Daddy at 8:00, which means I won't get home until a few minutes after 9:00. In the days of yore, pre-2005, that would mean that Mrs. Zwicker and I would have had to run two different video recorders in order to tape both shows. We would then have to wait until the shows ended to start watching them. Thanks to the great David Rafner though, that won't be necessary. We can start watching one and, by skipping commercials, finish one on time and then watch the other. The only question now is which to watch first.

Is He An Anti-Semite Yet?

2007-01-18T22:03:00.000-05:00

I've refrained from posting anything about this story until now because I was skeptical of its veracity at first. The story has since whirled all day around the blogosphere, at least the part that won't ignore anti-Semitism from the left, and it looks like it's sadly true.

This morning, It Shines For All, the New York Sun newspaper's blog, reported that, in 1987, Jimmy Carter interceded on behalf of a Nazi SS guard whom the United States was about to deport. The deportee, Martin Bartesch, had admitted to the Justice Department that he had not only served in the SS Death Squad but had volunteered for duty. There was also documented corroboration that Bartesch murdered innocent Jews in the Mauthausen death camp.

After the deportation, Carter received a letter from Bartesch's family complaining about the inhumanity of the former Nazi having to leave his family and adopted country. Carter forwarded the letter to the Justice Department with his own handwritten note asking for "'special consideration for the family for humanitarian reasons." The letter, with the Sun's logo imprinted well after the fact, is here:

The family had approached various members of Congress and other dignitaries asking for assistance. All refrained from helping once they learned from the Justice Department the reasons for Bartesch's deportation. Calls to the Carter Center for an explanation or denial have gone unanswered.

The mainstream media isn't giving this story much coverage yet, and I'm not holding my breath that they will, but this is a story that should not go unnoticed. Carter has shown once and again his disdain for the Jewish people. This most recent revelation is nearly twenty years old yet it speaks volumes about the person that Jimmy Carter is. He advocated for the freedom of an admitted Nazi killer, someone who willingly and actively participated in the Holocaust, merely because it would affect the murderer's family. Some might excuse Carter's intercession for Bartesch as stemming from naivete and sympathy. It doesn't wash. The letter to Carter very clearly indicated that Bartesch was on the "Nazi Watch List." Only a total and conscious disregard for the atrocity that was the Holocaust can explain Carter's failure to preform some due diligence before giving Bartesch's family priority over justice.

That's Master Fifth Grader To You

2007-01-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

School children need to experience a day or two as slaves so they'll know that involuntary servitude is a bad thing. At least that was the idea four years ago, when a teacher in Clarksville, Tennessee, inserted a role playing exercise into her curriculum about the Civil War. According to this article, the teacher had half the students act as slaves for a day while the other half acted as masters. The teacher then switched every child's role the next day, thus assuring that every child enjoyed the full experience.

Alas, the project has come to an end, and not for reasons that you would suspect. The sensible assumption is that some parents complained about the trauma their children endured. What caused the project's demise though was one student who let the project go to her head and refused to do a math assignment, telling her black teacher that she was a "master." If only I knew when I was ten that could bring a halt to my schoolwork by invoking God's name and then burying another person in the desert.

Speaking For The Dead

2007-01-16T19:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the nation observed Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Most people who "honored" King did so by using the day off work to run errands, shop, see a movie or whatnot. Others took the opportunity to pontificate on current political issues by not just guessing but instead confidently stating that, if he were still alive today, King would hold certain opinions, usually those that the speakers themselves have. It is downright arrogant as well as disrespectful.

For example, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia wrote at the Huffington Post that King would demand that we "bring our troops home. He would say that war is an obsolete, ineffective tool of our foreign policy." Hatemonger's Quarterly, a humorous, conservative blog offers the following retort:

Oh, how lame is this? It’s another example of that most common of MLK rhetorical tropes: If Dr. King Were Alive Today, He’d Think Exactly As I Do. Yes, yes, yes: Dr. King would oppose the Iraq War. He’d be upset about NSA wiretapping. He’d be angry at the National Rifle Association. Blah, blah, blah.

Can’t we all just say that we don’t know what Dr. King would think about the vicissitudes of modern politics? To be sure, he was admirably opposed to violent means to carry forward the noble cause of Civil Rights. But does this imply that Dr. King would oppose all state military actions under all circumstances? Tell us, Rep. Lewis: Would Dr. King oppose the use of force to stop the genocide in Darfur?

Why don’t you just admit you have no idea what Martin Luther King Jr. would say about ambiguous political questions. And stop using a great Civil Rights leader as a bludgeon for your ideology.

I'll take HQ's questions one step further. Does Rep. Lewis himself advocate the use of force to stop the genocide of Darfur? According to his own website, yes he does. One of the demands that Rep. Lewis made just last year regarding the ongoing Darfur atrocity is: "UN Peacekeepers – A Chapter 7 UN peacekeeping mission to assist the African Union Mission."

Someone should explain to Rep. Lewis that United Nations peacekeeping operations serve as enforcement of post-conflict agreements. Besides needing someone to use force to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Rep. Lewis might be surprised to learn that the "peacekeepers" use force in order to do their jobs.

Mohammed The Knife

2007-01-15T08:38:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, Mohammed Ghanem will be sentenced in the Wayne County Circuit Court, or Recorder's Court as we old-timers call it. Ghanem's crime, of which a jury of twelve infidels found him guilty, was carrying a concealed weapon. To be more specific, Metro Airport security arrested Ghanem for carrying a knife past security, in the carved-out section of an address book in his luggage. Also in the address book were handwritten notes about jihad actions that would be newsworthy. Oh, yeah, one more thing. Ghanem was about to board a flight for Yemen with a one-way ticket.

As any fair minded American, you must be assuming that Ghanem had an adequate explanation. Well, you assumed correctly. You see, Ghanem has absolutely no idea that the knife was there or who planted it. It makes perfect sense to me.

UPDATE (1/16/07): Ghanem received a sentence of one year in the Wayne County Jail with credit for 131 days in jail. A Michigan law allows an inmate with a sentence of one year or less to petition for a 25% reduction of his sentence. If the judge grants the request, Ghanem has another four months or so to serve. It's not certain whether Ghanem will face deportation.

My New Favorite Commercial

2007-01-14T11:21:00.000-05:00

Noah Daddy and O's Fan know why.

Not Tropic Of Cancer?

2007-01-07T15:55:00.000-05:00

Man pays library $171, 47-year late fee

Twisting By The Pool

2007-01-04T11:43:00.000-05:00

Okay, we didn't do much twisting by the pool. It was more like sitting by the pool. The former is just the title of a Dire Straits song I like. A few items of note:

-A kid asked if he could pet my shark. Get your minds out of the gutter. I was holding a large, inflatable shark for Mrs. Zwicker's sister's boyfriend's son.

-At Shabbat lunch, the shark petter's father, Ron, and another guy approached each other right near our table and said how each looked familiar to the other. Ron asked the other guy where he lived. The other guy answered, "In the city." After an awkward pause, the other guy explained that he lived in Manhattan. Boy, what a doofus Ron is. He clearly doesn't realize that New York is The City, to the exclusion of all others.

-I used to think that nothing could be more lame than "Cherish" by Kool and the Gang. I was wrong. "Cherish" by some Mexican poolside bar band is even lamer.

-Even in Spanish, Austin Powers is still hilarious.

-Not being Christian, I find that Christmas songs and lights just seem wrong when it's 85 degrees.

-There was plenty of fish ceviche. As the AP's know well, the two words rhyme with each other.

-This past Monday night, I lamented missing MNFBBQ. I made a point to eat a hamburger while my compatriots were doing the same in Michigan. I decided to make a bold improvisation and use guacamole dip instead of ketchup. I highly recommend it. Little did I know that I was missing possibly the worst MNFBBQ meeting ever.

Hasta La Vista Baby

2006-12-22T12:49:00.000-05:00

Attention, all faithful Zlog readers. Do not despair over the lack of postings by yours truly over the next two weeks or so. After celebrating Hanukkah and Festivus at the parents' house tonight and tomorrow, Mrs. Zwicker and I will be flying to Michael Vick Country for some R&R. We'll spend the first few days with the in-laws until they leave, after which Mrs. Zwicker will spend our last vacation for just the two of us for the next number of years. Try to survive without me.

In Your Face

2006-12-21T10:16:00.000-05:00

As I wrote in my previous post, former President Jimmy Carter has refused Brandeis University's invitation to its campus to debate Alan Dershowitz. In an op-ed in today's Boston Globe, Dershowitz goes on the offensive. Dershowitz rebuts Carter's claims that Dershowitz is ignorant on the subject. Dershowitz also corrects Carter's feeble complaints that criticisms are coming only from Jews. More importantly, Dershowitz dismantles Carter's claims of objectivity:

Nor is Carter the unbiased observer of the Middle East that he claims to be. He has accepted money and an award from Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan , saying in 2001: "This award has special significance for me because it is named for my personal friend, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan." This is the same Zayed, the long-time ruler of the United Arab Emirates, whose $2.5 million gift to the Harvard Divinity School was returned in 2004 due to Zayed's rampant Jew-hatred. Zayed's personal foundation, the Zayed Center, claims that it was Zionists, rather than Nazis, who "were the people who killed the Jews in Europe" during the Holocaust. It has held lectures on the blood libel and conspiracy theories about Jews and America perpetrating Sept. 11. Carter's acceptance of money from this biased group casts real doubt on his objectivity and creates an obvious conflict of interest.

Dershowitz ends the excellent piece, the whole of which I recommend reading, with this gem:

What most rankles is Carter's insistence that he is somehow brave for attacking Israel and highlighting the plight of the Palestinian people. No other conflict in the world -- not even the genocides in Rwanda and Sudan -- evokes more hand-wringing in the media, universities, and human rights organizations than the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Jimmy Carter isn't brave for beating up on Israel. He's a bully. And like all school-yard bullies, underneath the tough talk and bravado, there's a nagging insecurity and a fear that one day he'll have to answer for himself in a fair fight.

When Jimmy Carter's ready to speak at Brandeis, or anywhere else, I'll be there. If he refuses to debate, I will still be there -- ready and willing to answer falsity with truth in the court of public opinion.

Keep Digging That Hole, Jimmy

2006-12-17T14:30:00.000-05:00

For someone who has been opining on the Israel-Palestinian conflict so much over the past few years, former President Jimmy Carter seems to have avoided his homework and not read much on the subject. In response to allegations that he plagiarized materials from a book by Dennis Ross, Carter responded recently that was impossible since he had never read Ross' book. Such a defense is flabbergasting. Ross was the United States' lead negotiator in the conflict during the Clinton administration. In other words, there is probably no non-Israeli or non-Palestinian who is more intimately familiar with the "peace process" than Ross. According to Carter though, it wasn't worth it to read Ross' accounts of the process.

Carter apparently has also not read Alan Dershowitz's The Case For Israel. That book is as comprehensive a take-down as there is of the Palestinians' claims against Israel. Yet, in refusing Brandeis University's recent invitation to Carter to debate Dershowitz, the former said, "There is no need ... to debate somebody who, in my opinion, knows nothing about the situation in Palestine." (Quote and ellipses courtesy of the Boston Globe here.)

Future Classic

2006-12-13T08:02:00.000-05:00

I'm a big believer, at least with certain things, in planning ahead. One of those things is MNFBBQ. You don't just decide a few hours before hosting to go grocery shopping and see what the store happens to have in stock. Between January and August, when the NFL is in its offseason, you also don't wait until the last minute to get a movie. That's why I was glad, just 10 1/2 weeks before I host next, to find that American Pie 5: The Naked Mile will soon be hitting the shelves at our local Blockbuster.

After Air set the bar pretty high by showing American Pie Presents Band Camp in his MNFBBQ swan song hosting MNFBBQ, I think that I have found another film that will endure in our august organization's distinguished annals. After all, I cannot go wrong with a piece of art for which IMDB provides the following plot summary: The movie will shift its focus on Erik Stifler, the cousin of Matt and Steve (Seann William Scott in the first three films), a youngster who is nothing like his wild relations. Peer pressure starts to turn him to live up to the legacy of the other Stifflers when he attends the 'Naked Mile', a naked run across the college campus. Things get worse when he finds that his cousin Adam is the life of the party down at the campus. If that's not promising enough, the cast of stars guarantees success. Candace Kroslak, fresh off her star-making roles as Hot Chick in the White Christmas episode of Las Vegas and Girl #1 in the Slap Bet episode of How I Met Your Mother, leads the list of actors on IMDB's summary.

I just hope that the two MNFBBQ members who show movies before me don't beat me to the punch.

Mazal Tov

2006-12-12T06:07:00.000-05:00

Mazal tov goes to O's Fan and Dr. O's Fan on the birth yesterday of a baby girl. May her birth be the first of many years of happiness that she brings to her family. Let us also pray that O's Fan sets good precedent and doesn't disappoint his revered father-in-law this coming Saturday afternoon.

Cry Me A River

2006-12-11T13:39:00.000-05:00

Eric Rudolph, an inmate in the federal corrections system, is complaining about the conditions of his confinement. According to a wire story that likely appeared in most of the country's newspapers, Rudolph says that the Supermax prison in which he will likely live the rest of his life has the purpose of isolating its inmates to the point of causing negative emotional and mental effects.

In case you forgot who Eric Rudolph is, he is the psycho who bombed the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, killing one person and injuring over a hundred more. After that, Rudolph bombed at least two abortion clinics and a nightclub, killing at least one other person and injuring dozens more. Pardon me if I shed not a tear.

Defending The Indefensible

2006-12-08T12:45:00.000-05:00

As most of you, especially faithful Zlog readers, are aware, former President Jimmy Carter has recently released a new book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." The title alone should give an indication of what disgusting thesis Carter is propounding. The book's name, in and of itself, is absurd. South Africa's apartheid was meant to restrict the rights of a country's citizens. Israel's separation from "Palestine" is meant solely to preserve Israeli citizens' most basic right, that of life.

In the past few weeks, Carter and his book have come under attack from people defending Israel's right to exist. The attacks have not been coming just from Republicans and conservatives. Some of those who have taken Carter to task are Alan Dershowitz and Kenneth Stein, the latter of whom is an Emory University professor who recently resigned as director of the Carter Center because, in Stein's own words, "[b]eing president doesn't give one the prerogative to bend the facts to reach a prescribed reality."

Well, Carter has decided to defend himself in today's Los Angeles Times. Carter argues that he is coming under attack because of the "the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the American-Israel Political Action Committee and the absence of any significant contrary voices." I guess he has never heard of operations like CAIR. Carter uses words like "oppression" and "persecution" to describe the "Palestinian" lifestyle. He does manage to condemn terrorism but it of course comes in the mealy mouth moral equivalence that we hear from anti-Israel dignitaries right after condemning self-defense measures by the only democracy in the Middle East.

If you think you can stomach it, you can read Carter's pathetic defense here.

Ooh That Smell

2006-12-05T17:09:00.000-05:00

I know it's juvenile, but I had to laugh when I saw this headline: Flatulence, not turbulence forces plane landing in Nashville. If you really want to know the whole story, and you know that you do, click here.

Falling City

2006-12-01T08:09:00.000-05:00

Louisville holds a pretty special place in my heart. It's where Mrs. Zwicker was born and grew up. It's where we got married, albeit with a dairy meal. We've gone back to visit often and have enjoyed good times with Mrs. Zwicker's family. We even won some money at Churchill Downs this past Thanksgiving. Our winnings may have been less than two dollars, but it's better than losing.

Louisville, a city that has a good blend of Midwestern and Southern attitudes, seems to be changing and not in a good way. The city recently banned smoking in all bars and restaurants. I've previously written about my disdain for such rules here. Now there is a proposal before the city council to ban all trans fatty acids from restaurants. Once again, there are those who believe that it is the government's responsibility to tell people what is best for them, even when it hurts nobody else. To top it all off, over a thousand people lined up last night at a local store for a book signing and promotion by former President Jimmy Carter. What was the book? "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." At least the signing was at a Sam's Club.

Miracle Of Life

2006-11-30T09:34:00.000-05:00

Every birth is a miracle but some more than others. The birth of Charley Paz Klein to Erez and Dayna Klein in Seattle on Tuesday is one of those more special cases. Dayna, whose picture is to the left, was working at the Seattle Jewish Federation on July 28th when a Muslim gunman entered the building and started shooting. He aimed directly at Dayna's obviously pregnant belly but her quick and instictive covering of the area with her arm saved the baby. She sustained an injury to her arm and thigh but managed to crawl to her desk and call 911. The gunman pointed his weapon at her head but she handed him the phone and persuaded him to talk to the dispatcher. He eventually surrendered and is now facing charges for the murder of Dayna's co-worker, Pamela Waechter, from whom little Charley got his middle name. The terrorist is also facing attempted murder charges for shooting at Dayna and four others.

The whole story, courtesy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is here. Actually, the whole story isn't there. While the article tells us where the victims worked, it makes no mention of the terrorist's religious affiliation. Sure, it mentions his name, Naveed Haq, but it wouldn't hurt to know that he belonged to the "religion of peace".

Seinfeld's Lost Episode

2006-11-29T14:12:00.000-05:00

Click here.

Catching Up On The Boob Tube

2006-11-27T10:21:00.000-05:00

The only reality show that I watch is The Amazing Race. Unlike some of the other big ones from recent years, like Survivor and The Apprentice, TAR is all about who runs the best race, subject to the luck or karma or whatever that can intrude on any contest of skill. There is no subjectivity or popularity contest. Other than the last leg and with certain exceptions for non-elimination rounds, the last team to get to the finish line goes home. When it's down to three teams, the first team to the finish line wins.

This is now the third season of TAR that I have watched. While the race itself has been up to snuff in terms of challenges and locales, this is the first time where Mrs. Zwicker and I don't really care who wins. Of the four teams, the beauty queens are phony wenches, the 'Bama girls complain too much about how nobody likes them and Rob and Kimberly annoy us with their bitching, usually at each other. That leaves the reformed druggies/models as our favorite team, albeit by process of elimination. We will, of course, keep watching because the contest is still compelling. Also, I was laughing loud and hard last night at the preview of next week's episode, where the locals in an unnamed country pelted Kimberly with tomatoes.
Last night Mrs. Zwicker and I finally caught up on Heroes, the new excellent show on NBC. I have refrained from commenting on it here earlier since we have been behind since the first episode and I didn't want anyone to spoil it for us. We agree with Noah Daddy (ND-it looks like you made a good call on Claire's father) that Heroes is the best new show this year. The concept is a new one for television and the writing and acting are great. The show manages to weave together multiple compelling stories without being contrived. If you cannot get this season's earlier episodes online somewhere, I highly recommend closing your eyes and ears to Heroes and catch it on DVD.

Serenity Now!

2006-11-22T09:33:00.000-05:00

There has been something lost amid all the noise surrounding Kramergate, like the hateful words themselves, the targets of the rant already hiring a lawyer and issuing a thinly veiled threat of a lawsuit on this morning's Today Show and the ruin of the career of the man who played one of television's most beloved characters. The worst part of the whole thing is that any chance we will ever have to again see the infamous "Puerto Rican Day Parade" episode of Seinfeld is likely gone for a very long time.

Immediately after the first showing of the episode, which depicted Kramer accidentally burning a Puerto Rican flag and other things offensive, it faced condemnation. The show's producers immediately pledged to delete the episode from the syndication catalog. According to Wikipedia, the episode started appearing in syndication in 2002 but I don't recall ever seeing it since seeing its original airing. I'm guessing we will not see it again for a long while. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld himself, that offends me not as a Jew but as a fan of comedy.

We Are The Champions

2006-11-20T08:27:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that I have not been following the Lions too closely this season. With the Tigers' magical World Series run, all the Jewish holidays occurring on weekends and the Wolverines still vying for the national championship, there just hasn't been much time to dedicate to a team that over the past few seasons has, to put it mildly, sucked.

It was therefore with much pleasant surprise that I opened the newspaper this morning to discover that the Lions won the championship. That is so awesome!

What did you say? It was only the CFL's Grey Cup that the Lions won? That's okay, every team must start somewhere and something is better than nothing.

What's that? The Grey Cup winners were the British Columbia Lions and not the Detroit Lions? Damn, the Detroit Lions really do suck if they can't even win the stinking CFL. At least they dumped that Millen guy, didn't they? What?!? Sigh.

The Wrath Of Kidman

2006-11-19T09:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we were at our friends' house and I saw the most recent People Magazine sitting on the coffee table. Nobody had notified me yet whether I had made this year Sexiest Man Alive list, so I perused the magazine. After once again discovering that the rag's editors have no taste in men, I flipped to one of my favorite parts of People, the letters to the editors.

The letters usually fall into one of two categories. The first, and predominant, group is that of the "you go girl" kind. The second, and far more entertaining are the ones that complain about the kids-glove treatment some celebrities get. This issue's first few letters were about the struggles of country music star Keith Urban, who recently entered rehab, and his wife, mega-celebrity Nicole Kidman. After the usual "we're pulling for you" letters came one that told Kidman to stop playing the victim, both on and off screen.

What made the letter funnier than usual was that the magazine listed the writer as "Name Withheld" from Rancho Mirage, California. I can only conclude one of two things. Either Kidman has a not-yet-publicized vindictiveness that makes her so scary even for a resident of what appears to be a pretty upscale city in the Palm Springs area or Tom Cruise got creative after growing tired of making phony prank calls on the Urban household.

Farther From Free

2006-11-16T15:06:00.000-05:00

Every so often, two seemingly unrelated news stories have a very ironic connection. Today is one of those examples. This morning's news brought the story of the city of Belmont, California, banning all smoking except in detached, private dwellings. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life and have no intentions to ever do so. I am also well aware of the dangers to which smokers expose themselves as well as those who must inhale secondhand smoke. Having said all that, I still oppose such laws.

There are places, namely government buildings and other "monopoly" places, that non-smokers have no ability to avoid. In those cases, anti-smoking laws are fair and make sense. There should also be restrictions on people subjecting those who cannot decide for themselves, like children, to the dangers of smoke. On the other hand, property owners should have the right to decide whether to allow smoking in their property and then let the people decide whether to frequent such establishments.

Imagine two restaurants next door to each other. They are very similar except for one thing. One allows smoking and the other does not. People can choose at which restaurant to dine. If enough people frequent the "smoking" restaurant and are willing to assume the risk, so be it. It's not the government's place to be the people's nanny.

That story contrasts sharply with this morning's passing of Milton Friedman in San Francisco, which is only around twenty miles from Belmont. Friedman won the Nobel Prize in economics. He was a longtime and outspoken champion of the free market. He professed that the more limits on government interventions on society, within reason, the more that society would thrive. Below is a video in which Friedman, using a number 2 pencil as his only prop, explains in a simple and entertaining yet powerful way how important is the free market to our everyday lives.

Nordberg Strikes Again

2006-11-16T08:29:00.000-05:00

One night in the summer of 1995, my good friend Shanna called me. Shanna and I had gone to college and law school together, albeit on different campuses for undergraduate. Shanna is two years younger than me so she was still in law school after I had already finished my studies there and moved back to Michigan. The conversation went pretty much like this:

S: I am such an idiot!

M: What did you do?

S: As you know, I am taking summer courses. Today, between classes, I was sitting in the student lounge reading. With the O.J. Simpson trial being the only thing apparently happening in the world, that's what the television was showing. I had no interest in it and just tuned it out.

M: Okay.

S: Anyway, some guy, around forty years old dressed in shorts and t-shirt, sits next to me. After a few minutes of him quietly watching the trial, he asked me what I thought of it. I went off on it, saying what a farce it was, how this guy was buying his way out of a murder conviction. He nodded along and walked away. Two minutes late, my friend came over to me and said, "Shanna, what were you and Professor Scheck talking about?"

I tell this story for two reasons. First, it still makes me laugh. Second, Shanna's comments still ring true and very relevant today. With his latest book, "If I Did It," Simpson tells how he would have committed the murders of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman if he were the real perpetrator, someone for whom I assume he is still searching.

If I were a horror movie writer or producer, I would cast my next villain as Simpson. Besides being a real life killer, he keeps popping up no matter how many times you've wished him good riddance. You would think that the man would have some modicum of dignity and live the rest of his life in seclusion and well deserved shame. Instead, he feels the need to inflict himself again and again on American society in general and the families of his victims in particular. To make matters worse, the mainstream media gives him the coverage he so craves.

Scary Office Space

2006-11-09T14:23:00.000-05:00

Some Post-Election Parting Thoughts

2006-11-08T13:02:00.000-05:00

The luckiest man in America right now has to be John Kerry. Right or wrong, had the Democrats not taken control of Congress as had long been expected, the junior senator from Massachusetts would have taken the blame. Any chances of his getting the Democratic nomination for president in 2008 have evaporated, but at least his botched joke will be nothing more than a historical footnote.

It's funny how all those stories of voter suppression that abounded yesterday disappeared once we got the results.

As the party in control of the House of Representatives, the Democratic party has the right and prerogative to appoint its members as committee heads. Hopefully the party will act responsibly and not simply cave to political pressure from the Congressional Black Caucus and appoint Alcee Hastings as head of the Intelligence Committee, which has access to information that is most sensitive and vital to national security. The problem with Mr. Hastings in particular is that the United States Senate convicted him in 1989 of bribery and perjury, one of only six federal judges to ever leave the bench due to impeachment.

One of the good things about the Democratic Party win yesterday was that they will keep using their most recent slogan, "New Direction," which sounds a lot like "Nude Erection."

Masters Of The House

2006-11-07T23:33:00.000-05:00

Between being a political junky and still having adrenaline from playing basketball, I'm still watching the election coverage at 11:30 p.m. As expected, the Democratic party has gained control of the House of Representatives. I'm not angry or surprised by the overall results although certain losses by candidates I favored disappoint me. Rather than offer my own thoughts, I bring you these words that Leonard Pitts, a very liberal, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, published in his syndicated column this morning:

So, if you win power here, please don't assume it validates anything you've done.
If you win, it's because of Mark Foley and Terri Schiavo and Randy ''Duke'' Cunningham and Donald Rumsfeld and George W. Bush and Jack Abramoff and Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter and Dick Cheney and Hurricane Katrina and 2,800 dead soldiers and because, as my mom used to say, enough is enough and too much stinks.
More to the point, you don't win because of you. Heck, I don't even know who you are. Ever since Bill Clinton left town, you have been inept at defining yourself, communicating your ideals with all the clarity of, well, John Kerry trying to tell a joke.
I don't know what you believe, what you plan, where you want to take the country. I daresay that most people don't. A victory here just means that you were the only other game in town. And yet, it would give you a rare oppportunity.
I suspect I speak for many when I say I'm tired of wedge politics. I'm tired of stupid, I'm tired of greed, I'm tired of polarization, I'm tired of red and blue mattering more than red, white and blue.
I want to know what it's like to have a sense of national mission, what it's like to strive for instead of against. I want to be hopeful about the future again, want my country to be looked at with respect again. Most of all, I want to see statesmen again. Meaning men and women who can debate, do battle, compromise and disagree over issues of great importance, but not let party, partisanship or politics stand in the way of doing what is best for the country.
In these years of Republican bacchanal, we have seen the fissures between us widened, minorities among us demonized. All in the name of politics. Yet, we've seen very little of substance get done.
Now, if the prognostications are correct, here comes you, taking power in a nation desperate for change.
Which brings me to my plea. By all means, enjoy the champagne and confetti. But once the bottles are empty and the floor is swept and it's time to go to work I wish you would, for me, for all of us, remember to do one thing with this victory.
Earn it.

For The Consideration Of Those Who Haven't Voted Yet

2006-11-07T16:17:00.000-05:00

Foot In Mouth, Head Up Butt

2006-11-07T08:06:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: I do not watch the Today Show nor did I even know until yesterday that Meredith Vieira has a blog. I only came to this topic while listening yesterday to the excellent Laura Ingraham's radio show, which you can hear locally on 1400 AM. After hearing Ingraham justifiably mock Vieira for what I am about to describe, I did some surfing on Al Gore's invention.

If you read what Today Show host Meredith Vieira wrote on her blog yesterday, you would think she was only somewhat moronic in her interview of actor Russell Crowe:

Russell Crowe was here for an interview and off-camera I said to him “Great to see you again, I interviewed you at The View,” to which he replied “I’ve never been on The View.” I proceeded to insist that indeed he had been on--I even had someone call The View to make sure I was right, and sure enough…I wasn’t.

That was just the half of it. The interview, which you can watch here, was basically the springboard for Crowe to promote his new movie, A Good Year. The interview takes a really weird twist around the 5:00 mark, when Vieira asks Crowe about his infamous phone throwing incident. She asks him if, facing the same situation again, would he throw the phone again, would he do anything differently. Crowe, to his credit, responded by making a joke and asking if she meant did he want to try for two out of three. Vieira, though, thought the question required an answer and asked it again. Crowe remained cool and turned the conversation back to his new film.

Vieira looked like she finally got a clue to how rude and ridiculous her question was when she asked it a third time and then asked if he would throw a phone at her right then and there if there was one available. Crowe is a great actor but I am indifferent about his off-screen life. At the same time, Vieira's questioning was absurd. Did she really expect Crowe to respond, "Yeah, I clocked the guy good and would do it again if I had the chance."?

Death Unbecoming

2006-11-06T14:46:00.000-05:00

I have always been able to joke about death. Maybe it comes from a grandfather with a great sense of humor who was a pulpit rabbi for fifty years and therefore performed so many funerals and unveilings that he had plenty of funny stories. My work also involves doing a lot of research into dead people. Most of the time, my partners, employees and I have been able to laugh at other people's misery.

That being said, mydeathspace.com strikes even me as overly morbid. You can see the latest articles of people's demise. Since the site seems to be an offshoot of myspace.com, almost all the stories are of teenagers who died not from illness, which would obviously be tragic, but from automobile crashes, homicides, suicides and other violent deaths. You can even search recent deaths by geography by clicking on what appear to be 100 Grim Reapers on a map of the United States. What I must admit to finding funny are the ads on which you can also click, like the one for 100% Free Dating. I wonder if it lists the newly single and mourning significant others.

That Penn Party Was Da Bomb

2006-11-03T14:51:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of The Appletonian, a blog by a University of Pennsylvania student, comes this picture from a recent Halloween party in Philadelphia. The woman on the right is Amy Gutmann, the president of the University of Pennsylvania. The young man on the left, dressed as a suicide bomber, is a Penn student. The Appletonian asks the obvious yet excellent question-would Gutmann have posed with the bomber and smiled so brightly if he instead came to the party as a Nazi or a member of the KKK? Sadly, in the Ivy League, you could now ask the same question about a student dressed as an IDF soldier. Imagine the outrage.

Hejka Of A Guy

2006-11-03T07:51:00.000-05:00

This morning's Detroit Free Press editorial pages are full of letters from readers on the upcoming elections. There is the usual slew of letters advocating for particular candidates or positions on issues. The one letter that caught my attention was from Thaddeus J. Hejka of Canton. After writing that he supports Governor Granholm because she is more liberal on social issues and that there is really no difference between her and Dick DeVos on the economy, Hejka writes the following:

Michigan's population of 10 million is far too large, and it would be preferable that people leave the state to seek work elsewhere. We need to protect what is left of Michigan's natural beauty and promote outdoor recreation and tourism.

It looks like this isn't the first such letter that Hejka has written to a local newspaper on the topic. Just last week, the Detroit News published the following letter from Hejka:

Three hundred million people in the U.S. and 6.5 billion people in the world is no cause for celebration ("300 million Americans worth celebrating," Oct. 18). It also means more pollution, more greenhouse gases and more competition for limited resources such as fresh water and oil.

After doing a little bit of research on some Internet tubes, I discovered that Hejka commutes from Canton to Ann Arbor every day. He might very well be using a fuel-efficient vehicle but he could certainly avoid pollution by not commuting in the first place. He also seems to live in a colonial style house. I assume that he is living in something larger than a one bedroom hut because he has children, something that he claims our state and country do not need. If he does not have children, then he is just wasting land that could be left in its natural state as well as all the utility power to keep it habitable. Lastly, Hejka's concern seems to only extend to Michigan. He wants some of our state's residents to leave and instead let some other state deal with the problem. That sure doesn't sound like much concern about the planet or its people, just Hejka's own little world.

Hejka's concerns about how we live our lives doesn't just extend to the environment. He also worries about our right to practice religion. This past February, the Detroit News published the following letter from Hejka:

The violent response from Muslims in countries throughout the world to the Danish political cartoons depicting Muhammad is frightening and appalling to all those who treasure the freedom of expression. While I agree that these cartoons were highly offensive to most Muslims, this does not justify all the violent protests and the call for the deaths of those who published them. I understand the comfort that religion may bring to people, but I increasingly feel that world peace will never be a reality unless all religions are banned. Of course, neither will ever happen.

I certainly appreciate Hejka's condemnation of Islamofascism. On the other hand, someone should inform him that the same constitutional amendment that offers us freedom of expression also guarantees the right to practice one's religion.

Dad The Sheriff

2006-11-02T14:20:00.000-05:00

By The Way, Two People Died

2006-10-30T18:09:00.000-05:00

I'm a little behind in my Sports Illustrated reading, so pardon the tardiness of this post. In the issue before the current one, there is an item in the Scorecard section, which contains one-paragraph entries about various activities in the sports world that don't rate a whole article. For example, some of the items in the particular issue's Scorecard are mentions that Peyton Manning missed his first practice in nine years and that Mark Downs Jr., the jerk who paid an eight-year old to bean an autistic kid in a little league game (a story that SI covered more in depth when it happened), got a one to six year sentence. What really caught my attention was the first story:

"Issued By the FAA, an order that small, fixed-wing planes not fly through the East River corridor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, after Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle was killed when his single-engine plane crashed into a high-rise apartment on Oct. 11. Lidle, 34, and his flight instructor, Tyler Stanger, 26, were flying over the river and banking toward Manhattan when the aircraft struck the 30th floor of the building. (Stanger was also killed.)"

I'll be the first to say that, while tragic, this story became as big as it was only because it happened in post-9/11 New York. At the same time, it seems just a tad insensitive to have the story lead be about the FAA ruling and then secondarily about Lidle's death and then, to make matters worse, give Stanger's death only a paranthetical mention.

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

2006-10-30T08:53:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Zwicker and I saw two movies this weekend, both of which met the expectations we had for them. On Saturday night, we saw The Departed, Martin Scorsese's latest film about mobsters and police officers from the mean streets (no pun intended) of South Boston. If any director knows how to make a movie about cops and criminals, especially criminals, it's Scorsese. With "The Departed," Scorsese does not disappoint.

The movie was promising, given not only its director but also its star-studded cast, including Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen. Of course, other movies have had casts with major star power but fell far short of the mark. One glaring example is The Score, which was very average despite starring Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton, each arguably the best actor of his respective generation. Maybe it's because Scorsese was directing or just because they had a great script, but the cast delivered. While the big three leads deserve their accolades, special props to Baldwin and Wahlberg. The former is an arrogant jerk in real life and is equally convincing and entertaining in that role, even though it's pretty much the only one he ever plays these days.

Last night, we did a cinematic 180 and watched Click. Mrs. Zwicker and I didn't expect much and we again were not surprised or disappointed. We expected a stupid and silly Adam Sandler and that is what we somewhat got. Stupid and silly are not necessarily bad things in a movie and Sandler delivers those better than most.

For those unfamiliar, the movie is about a guy who gets a remote control that is indeed universal. He can control everything around him. The annoying thing about the movie was that Sandler decided to take a light movie and tried to make it deep around two-thirds of the way into it. The movie looked at the effects of Sandler's character abusing the remote control's power to skip past important life events.

Sandler has already shown in "Spanglish" and "Punch Drunk Love" that he can do the dramatic thing. If that's what he wanted to do here, he could have done it and created a movie that actually makes you think. You might laugh at the idea of an Adam Sandler movie making you contemplate serious issues but it would actually not be so novel. After all, movies like Defending Your Life and Groundhog Day are just two examples of movies that are the subject of theology and philosophy courses in universities and religious institutions, despite their starring Albert Brooks and Bill Murray respectively. If Sandler wanted to make that type of movie, he should have gone for it. I for one think that he has the chops to make that leap. Instead, he provided a movie that was neither silly and amusing enough nor serious and thought provoking enough. In the end, the only things we wanted to see on the DVD's extras were how Sandler got to look hilariously obese in one scene or how the famliy dog humped a large stuffed animal in many scenes. Of course, a dog humping a stuffed animal is always entertaining.

Next On Action News, I'm Wanted For Rape

2006-10-26T13:57:00.000-04:00

An Abortion Question

2006-10-26T08:44:00.000-04:00

With the elections less than two weeks away, the Detroit Free Press has been running a series of profiles on various candidates for statewide office. The profiles include a brief Q & A on major issues. Today's candidate is United States Senator Debbie Stabenow, who is running for reelection against Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, whose profile will run tomorrow.

On a whole, Stabenow's profile was fairly neutral and the Q & A addressed some of the points that are most important to Michigan voters, like affirmative action, universal health care and illegal immigration. There were no questions on national security or the state economy, but I'll chalk that up to lack of print space. What I cannot excuse though is one question that the Free Press did ask: "Should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the Roe v. Wade decision and return abortion regulation to each state, effectively making abortion illegal in Michigan?" I don't take issue with a question about the candidate's view on abortion. It's a serious and important issue. Stabenow's answer, that she would oppose such a move, doesn't surprise me. After all, I cannot think of a Democrat with any legislative role that opposes the Roe decision.

I should digress for a second and briefly explain my stance on abortion. As a conservative who believes in smaller government, I certainly have problems with the state interfering with people's activities. I draw the line, however, where those activities harm other people, including the unborn. I also believe strongly in a thing called personal responsibility. I obviously therefore believe that abortion should be available to victims of incest or rape, either the in classic sense or where the perpetrator takes advantage of someone's diminished mental capacity or maturity, as well as in cases where the pregnancy threatens the mother's health.

Anyway, the problem with the Free Press question is its second half. The question doesn't just imply but outright asserts as fact something that may or may not be true. It assumes that Michigan's voters, either directly or through its elected officials, will outlaw abortion if it had a choice. There may be polls of Michigan voters on what they would do in a hypothetical scenario where they have a say in the matter but I would question their reliability. After all, polls on issues, rather than "will you vote for Candidate A or Candidate B?", are inherently subject to the bias of the people writing the question. For example, depending on my bias, I could write the question as "Do you agree that a woman should be free from government intrusion on issues regarding her body, including abortion?" or "Do you believe that a woman should have the unfettered right to kill her unborn baby?" The polls would also be unreliable since they ask about an imaginary event that might or might not happen in an unspecified time period. Lastly, as recent polls on various races across the country as well as the 2004 presidential exit polls illustrate, polls are far from perfect indicators.

Obviously, Michigan's state legislators could vote to outlaw abortion and keep the issue from the voter's hands. That ploy would only work for so long though. After all, each and every legislator would then be on record regarding abortion and have to face his or her constituents, who could then vote to retain that official or give the job to someone else who would vote differently on the issue. Therefore, whether the matter comes to a vote before the voters directly or the state legislature, the voters would have the ultimate say on the issue. Isn't that what democracy is all about?

That, at its heart, is what was and remains disturbing about the Roe decision 33 years after the Supreme Court rendered it. In 1973, abortion was not illegal across the board in every state. Some states were allowing abortion and some were not. Abortion was already an issue of much debate across the country. Every state had their own debates and were deciding among themselves to what degree, if any, abortion should be legal within its borders. Rather than allowing each state to render its own decision via the democratic process though, the Supreme Court mandated a sweeping rule via reasoning that even many liberals find dubious. It is for that reason, more than any other, that I support overturning Roe. Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Come To My Window

2006-10-25T16:20:00.000-04:00

The other day while I was getting home for lunch, a representative of a respected, local window company approached me on my front walk. He said that he was in the neighborhood doing work for a neighbor and wanted to know if we needed any new windows. I knew he was full of it since there was no vehicle with his company's markings anywhere nearby. I don't normally buy into those "as luck has it your neighbor trusts us and just hired us" shtick, but I know of this company and it has a good reputation. As luck actually has it, we do need to replace a window or two in the house, so we arranged for a salesperson to come this morning. He said that he would have someone call me this morning to confirm the time.

Someone from the company called me this morning and we agreed on meeting at noon. I must have mentioned to the guy on the street that I was married because the caller asked if my wife would be there. I said that she is away all week but that she trusts me to handle these decisions, which is true. The caller said that they could not meet without the wife present and that we should reschedule.

The only reason I could surmise for the requirement is the stereotype that women always want to spend more money than men and that the wife's presence would therefore boost their sale. All I can tell you is that the plan backfired for me. We have no plans now of using the company.

Inspiring?

2006-10-25T08:51:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't been watching much sports on television lately, something for which there would be no excuse, you have probably seen the new commercial for the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. With John Mellencamp's "Our Country" playing, the ad shows various iconic pictures and videos from the past half century or so in American history.

Assuming that the advertisement's intent was to inspire the viewer's patriotism and, by extension, the purchase of an "American" product, some of the images definitely work. (The merits of labeling a vehicle "American" or "foreign" are somewhat dubious these days, but that's another matter.) For example, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. definitely hit the mark. On the other hand, seeing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina hardly evokes fond memories of days past. On Sunday night, when the commercial ran one of many times during game two, we at Casa Zwicker questioned the effectiveness.

Apparently, we were not the only ones, as this Washington Post article illustrates. Relatives of 9/11 victims as well as callers to the NAACP, among others have voiced their displeasure. Chevrolet's spokeswoman explains that the ad's message was that our country has seen rough times but has bounced back. That might be the intent, but that's not what I saw, and I still don't get it. I merely see a slapdash collection of enduring American images without much thought for offending sensibilities or morale. It will be interesting to see if Chevrolet keeps running the commercial, either in its current state or with different images.

Mr. Clean

2006-10-24T08:08:00.000-04:00

While many people have been focusing on what may have been on Kenny Rogers's hand during the first of inning of this past Sunday night's game, nobody bothered to investigate what else the Gambler may have been hiding on his person. Through some heavy duty investigation, which even necessitated purchasing fake teeth that I charged to the Underhill account, I discovered that Rogers had the following other foreign objects on him:

-Unsent love notes from Tim McCarver and Joe Buck to Tony LaRussa

-A baby for Madonna

-A Lions victory

-All those gobs of money that Noah Daddy has helped those big, bad insurance companies unjustly deny paying to the honest working man

-Cardinals' fans' outrage over Mark McGwire's use of other mysterious substances

Play Ball

2006-10-20T09:58:00.000-04:00

It sure took long enough but the Tigers finally have an opponent for the World Series. When Magglio hit his historic home run on Saturday night and sent the Tigers to their first World Series, I and many other fans didn't really care who would win the NLCS. The Tigers months ago surpassed expectations and qualified this season as a success. Also, there is a strong feeling, not just among Tigers fans but across the baseball world, that the Tigers are not only better than anything the National League could offer but a team of destiny.

My only preference for drawing the Mets rather than the Cardinals was the inevitable and very annoying comparisons to the 1968 World Series. The idea that the Cardinals are looking to avenge that loss is absurd. Not one member of the current St. Louis roster was even alive in 1968. Only two Tigers (and Macabee) were alive for that series. I hardly think that Todd Jones or Kenny Rogers lies awake worrying about defending the 1968 title any more than they anticipate atoning for losing the 1934 World Series to the Gashouse Gang.

Uncertain

2006-10-20T08:37:00.000-04:00

I'm looking for input. I am frankly unsure as to how to vote on the pending Michigan Civil Rights Initiative. This uncertainty is somewhat new to me. I consider myself pretty well informed on politics. Some, certainly not Noah Daddy and Macabee, may disagree with me on one or more issues, but I don't think it's for lack of my ignorance of the underlying facts and issues.

The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative is different. You can find the language here. To me, despite the accusations of impropriety in obtaining signatures, it would seem like for me a no-brainer to vote for the proposal. After all, I have long felt that a government entity providing preferences in hiring or accepting for matriculation to someone based on their race, national origin or gender is both wrong and unconstitutional. The fact that opposing groups have resorted to hyperbole, conclusory statements and litigation rather than debating specific problems they have with the initiative only bolsters my thinking. On the other hand, conservatives whose opinions I respect have publicly spoken against the initiative. I can certainly think for myself but I also listen to others and make informed decisions.

My problem is that I frankly don't understand why, as a conservative, I should vote against this initiative other than to just follow some people whose opinions I respect, something that I cannot just bear. I hear, more so from those on the left who have much more of a tendency to favor affirmative action, that the initiative is evil and will lead to unintended consequences. Those are merely conclusory statements. I'm looking for verifiable, specific facts that support or downgrade the initiative's face value. Feel free to chime in and maturely discuss the issue.

It Really Is A Small World After All

2006-10-13T16:43:00.000-04:00

This past week, while on our Vegas vacation, I was playing blackjack at Paris. The man sitting next to me was wearing a University of Louisville polo shirt. I asked him if he was from there. He said that he was and I told him that I was just there for the weekend visiting the in-laws. He asked if I was related to Mrs. Zwicker's uncle. I said that I was actually Mrs. Zwicker's father's son-in-law. He then offered his hand to shake and told me that we were cousins. His wife and my father-in-law are first cousins and they were even at our dairy wedding. It's not as cool as Noah Daddy's Bob Evans story, but it was pretty funny nonetheless.

Jewish-Italian Dating

2006-10-06T13:32:00.000-04:00

Great prank call here.

Curious Goy

2006-10-04T16:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, after posting about my recent purchase, I e-mailed Trino asking how he came to own the book. Here is his response:

Thanks. Did you receive it already? Well, I am a goy, but interested in the Jewish religion, which I admire a lot, and I can read a little Hebrew etc. Part of the reason I sold this is I think Ramban is maybe a little deep for a non-Jew, maybe Rashi is OK. Plus my wife doesn't like me buying so many books. I hope you enjoy though, and that it's not a problem my having owned it previously. I'm not sure what the law is on items like that.

Only In America 2006

2006-10-03T10:56:00.000-04:00

I recently started learning Shabbat mornings with Gil F., not to be confused with Gil S. O's Fan is not very optimistic the venture will last much beyond the High Holidays, but that's his problem.

Anyway, Gil F. and I are learning from Art Scroll's new version of the Ramban's commentary on the Torah. If the introduction is any indication, it's pretty heavy yet compelling stuff. It will be a while until we finish the first volume but I figured that I will want the rest of the set for our library, so I searched on e-bay for the second volume.

Sure enough, I won an auction for it and paid a total of $20, including shipping, for an item that goes for around $30 in either websites or brick and mortar stores I have visited. The book came in this morning's mail. In addition to being glad to receive my bargain purchase, I was also quite amused that the seller was Trino Carrera of Ogden, Utah. Based on the other items he is selling and the box and shipping label, it was clear that he wasn't some major distributor. It's kind of funny if you ask me.