SundayMorningCoffee

Sunday Morning Coffee - The Chanukah Edition 28 November 2021

Maybe it's the holiday. I'm not feeling snarky this morning. Sunday Morning Coffee is all about being a bit snarky...right?  But, to stay with tradition let's dive into a couple of the top of mind items.

COVID

We ain't done yet and the news out of Europe is troubling. Austria goes into a lock-down, a new variant out of South Africa. Flying restrictions and nobody knows...nothin'. This way of life has been with us for nearly two years and I fear so many people are letting their guard down. That some still refuse to get the vaccine is awful and something I can not understand. Now that the weather is colder and folks are congregating inside...well, you get the drift. Get vaccinated, wear a mask when out and keep the hell away from other folks. You never know.

Whining 

Meanwhile Americans are back to whining. President Biden's approval rating is lower than it's ever been. Another thing I don't get. We've just gotten a major piece of legislation passed that will have a huge impact on our ability to use roads and bridges and get parts of our nation connected and people are...whining. The president wants you to get vaccinated and you are whining. You can't go out and buy the latest gizmo and you are whining. We just passed Thanksgiving and rather than being thankful...you are whining. Weary.

Elon & Lauren

It seems Mr. Musk and Rep. Boebert (R-CO) have something in common at least when it comes to rich people and taxes.

Musk and Boebert tweeted out their disapproval of the Biden administration's proposal to expand the Internal Revenue Service's number of employees under the Build Back Better agenda. Under the proposal, the IRS would hire nearly 87,000 new workers over the next decade in an effort to close the "tax gap" by collecting unpaid taxes owed by large corporations, partnerships, and wealthy individuals.

Musk paid no federal income tax in 2018, the same year he was the world's second-richest person.

According to a May report from the Department of Treasury, the tax gap — the difference between taxes owed to the government and what is actually paid — will rise to more than $7 trillion over the next decade, or roughly 15% of taxes owed. (Photo - New York Post)

The report went on to say, "These unpaid taxes come at a cost to American households and compliant taxpayers as policymakers choose rising deficits, lower spending on necessary priorities, or further tax increases to compensate for the lost revenue. The tax gap disproportionately benefits high earners who accrue more of their income from non-labor sources where misreporting is common."

And, I think his EV truck is silly looking...so there.

Partly Personal

Told you I just wasn't in the mood today.  Maybe it's Chanukah or the combination of Thanksgiving and Chanukah? So let me leave you with this:

Tonight we will light the first of eight candles on the Chanukah Menorah. It's a holiday that is not in the bible but it is a holiday that marks an important historical event. So let me leave you with this, which I wrote for my congregation in Mason City:

"No, it is not the Jewish Christmas..." That is what I tell students who have no relationship with the festival, which, by the way, is not something that is ordained in the Torah. Sure, Chanukah happens around the same time as the Christian celebration and yes, there are lights being lit and yes some gifts are given but that ends the similarity. The rest is...history.

In 167 BCE, the Syrian-Greek emperor, Antiochus, set out to destroy Judaism and incorporate the Land of Israel and its inhabitants into his empire. His soldiers attacked Jerusalem, massacring thousands of people and desecrating the city’s holy Second Temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs within its sacred walls.

However Antiochus knew that was not the way to destroy the Jewish faith. He had to work on destroying the entire structure of the Jew so he made studying and teaching the Torah illegal. Next, he issued a ban prohibiting the practice of three mitzvot: 1) Sabbath observance 2) sanctifying of the new month (establishing the first day of the month by testimony of witnesses who saw the new moon) 3) brit mila (entering the Covenant of Abraham through Torah-ordained circumcision).

He knew that by forcing the people to assimilate and be out of touch with their faith he could destroy the Jews once and for all.

Enter the Maccabees

A family of Jewish priests – Matityahu and his 5 sons, known as the Maccabees – would not have it. They started a revolt and three years later succeeded in evicting the oppressors. The victory was a true miracle – on the scale of present day Israel being able to defeat the combined forces of all of today’s super-powers. This also explains why the emblem of the State of Israel is a menorah.

Once the Jewish people regained control of the Temple in Jerusalem, they wanted to rededicate it immediately.

In order to do so, they needed ritually pure olive oil to re-light the menorah in the Temple, which was a part of the Temple’s nightly service. However, only a single cruse of oil was found, just enough to burn for one day though they needed oil for eight days – the time it would take for new ritually pure olive oil to be produced. A miracle occurred and the oil burned for eight days. Thus, the Temple was rededicated; in fact, Hanukah means “to dedicate” in Hebrew.

And so, starting on Sunday evening we will light the first candle in the nine-branch menorah. Why nine? One of the candles is a "servant" candle. It is used to light the other candles, adding one each night of the festival until all eight candles are burning...along with the servant candle.  Also each night we tell a story about Chanukah, play a game called dreidel and eat latkes...potato pancakes that are fried in oil. Yes, there is that oil connection again.

Even the dreidel game has a meaning. It's played with a "top" that has four sides. On each side is a Hebrew letter a nun, gimmel, hey, and shin. The first letters represent the phrase “nes gadol haya sham – a great miracle happened there.”

So, even in playing a game...we remember the miracle of Chanukah.

Happy Chanukah and thanks for reading!

 

 

 

Sunday Morning Coffee 21 November 2021

Chilly day in Central Iowa so it's time for some hot Sunday Morning Coffee! Politics and opinion with a dash of religion to make it all interesting. Thanks for coming by!  Let's go!

Open Carry

It was interesting how the defense attorney for Karl Rittenhouse played the jury. Oh, no, wait. That was the judge the "other" defense attorney for Rittenhouse. What the decision says is that open carry at a protest wrought with unrest is lawful and if you want to exercise your Second Amendment rights go for it. And, if somebody objects just shoot to kill. It's no wonder other nations look at the U.S. and shake their heads.  However that rule is only for white folk vigilantes who wish to engage demonstrators with deadly force. You people of color...don't be pickin' up them arms you is likely to be killed first and questions be asked later. Questions like, "What the hell did that boy think bringin' a gun to our insurrection? Well, we ain't gonna know 'cause the somofbitch is dead." Welcome to America....

Meanwhile in Georgia

The trial against the three white men who ran down Ahmaud Aubrey and killed him with a shotgun blast while he was jogging in his neighborhood mirrors what happened in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It's yet another case of white folks going hunting. That is bad enough but when, in jury selection, perspective jurors were asked if they supported Black Lives Matter or thought the Confederate Flag was a racist symbol. Well, you get a panel of eleven white folks and one African-American. "See we're fair down here in Georgia!" Oh, and please we need "more bubbas" and "less black pastors in the courtroom" says the defense attorney.  Welcome to America...Part Two.

Roads, Bridges and Economics

It's comforting to know that the three Republicans representing Iowa in congress voted against fixing our dealbated bridges. After all, we need that money for tax breaks for the rich. Same goes for roads, "Roads? No this is a giant government take over of our fair system of states rights." Where have we heard that before?  And, as for delivering broadband to rural parts of Iowa the Republicans, Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Ashley Hinton (R-IA) think it's better to keep Iowa out of the economic opportunities broadband represents. They, it would seem, long for a time when the roads were dirt and the bridges were covered and that pesky internet stuff didn't exist. Back when America was...great.

The Insurrection 

What insurrection? To give you a glimpse at how far Iowa has slid into the abyss allow me to bring you some of the results from the latest Iowa Poll that was published in the Des Moines Register this morning. I'm doing this for you because I know you don't read the Des Moines Register...hardly anybody does. But, I digress.

The headlines reads, "Half of Iowan's say Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol was 'an insurrection and a threat to democracy". That would indicate that about half of Iowans either don't care or they think it's just fine to storm the capital and kill folks. Sobering?  It gets worse.

Twenty-two percent said it was, "...an unfortunate event, but it is in the past and we should move on". Eighteen percent of Iowan's believe it was a "political protest protected by the First Amendment". Another nine percent of Iowan's don't know what to think. So, let's do the math kids.  (Remember when Iowa had math?) That would be 49% of the people surveyed are pretty much OK with what happened when a bunch of folks where whipped into a frenzy by Republicans to subvert the free and open election of the President of the United States.

But...it gets better...or worse...if you will.

From the Des Moines Register: Kevin Butters, a 57-year-old poll respondent from Ankeny, is among the Republicans who say the events of Jan. 6 were protected political protest. He concedes that people probably should not have entered the Capitol that day, but he questions who exactly the intruders were. “I want to know who those people are, that were breaking in,” he said. “It could be BLM. It could be antifa. I don’t know who it is. … I don’t think they were (Trump supporters), but I don’t know that.”

Right...those hysteric people carrying flags with the name of the 45th president were from BLM.

Not to worry kids...our educational system is in great hands.  Let's move on.

Ban the Books!

As long as we're talking about education, or what is left of it in Iowa, let us turn our attention to the rantings of one state senator by the name of Jake Chapman (R-Adel).  Adel, by the way, is best known for its sweet corn feed than its ability to elect competent government officials. Jake was at a Johnston School Board Meeting. Remember, Chapman is from Adel about 27 miles away but Johnston is now fertile ground for "silly talk" given the recent school board elections there. (Photo: Des Moines Register)

Anyway Chapman says he thinks books that raise serious questions about racial division in the United States are obscene and that there should be penalties for teachers who distribute this information. Meanwhile other folks are wringing their hands over books that contain stories about LGBTQ children and parents. They too must be banned from the school library.  Chapman says his next stop with his "Ban the Book Bus" will be Waukee.  

While Iowa is banning books and throwing teachers in jail we might want to break out the "brown-shirts" and have us a good old book burning.

Partly Personal

It's Thanksgiving Week and Polk County, Iowa is trending at an 8% positivity rate for COVID-19. Should make for a nice family gathering with folks that are unvaccinated.

Meanwhile, I was in Mason City this past Sabbath for my work with the Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa. Two interesting things from that adventure: 

We had a really nice group of people visit the synagogue from a nearby church. Kids and adults sat through the Friday evening service and got a quick overview of what Jews do and believe. I honestly love having folks come to learn and I recently taught a five week class for the North Iowa Area Community College on "Judaism - Faith & Culture" I've been doing things like this for over 35 years or more. Anyway one of the adults asked me this, "Do Jews celebrate Thanksgiving?" I was a bit taken back. My simple answer was, "Well, yes I believe that most Jews in America do celebrate Thanksgiving because it is an American holiday. They unlikely celebrate Thanksgiving in France or Israel."  Another person wanted to know why there were no crosses in the sanctuary but there was a Star of David. That too was pretty easy.

The second thing that happened is scary. On the Sabbath (Shabbat or Saturday) we hold a two hour study of the Torah Portion of the week. We've been doing this for years and the people who come consist of Jews and non-Jews. It's a non-threating environment designed to allow people to learn and share their experiences and to point to how the bible impacts our lives today. We were about twenty minutes into the class when a woman joined us who is an outspoken anti-vaxxer in the community. The Board of Adas Israel has said that only those who are vaccinated may come to the study.  I asked the woman if she was vaccinated and she said, "No I am not." I shared with her the Board's rule and she stood up and said, "I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will protect me from everything and I do not need a vaccine in my body."

OK...

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday...and may you have a safe and meaningful Thanksgiving. 

Sunday Morning Coffee 14 November 2021

There's a cold wind blowing...a perfect morning to read a bit of commentary and opinion sure to make you a bit "hot under the collar". Welcome to Sunday Morning Coffee! Let's go!

John Deere

They are still on the picket line and the company has sent its "third and final" offer to the UAW workers who have been out on strike since 14 October. The most recent contact was turned down by 55% of the union members on November 2nd. That's pretty close and I hope they stay out on strike. Want to know why? Because the company is offering squat and the latest offer is worse than you might imagine. 

From the Des Moines Register this is the "tweak" offered to the workers: "Under the plan, known internally as CIPP, Deere assigns workers at its factories to teams. The company gives those teams performance targets. If teams hit 115% of their goal, those workers receive a 15% pay increase for the week." 

It's called pay for performance I guess. However why not share the wealth Deere?  Make John Deere a place where people really want to work and love it there.  I suspect the folks that run Deere love it there.  Why?  Well, when you lump the compensation of the four top executives at John Deere they make in excess of $31 million dollars. FOUR PEOPLE make in EXCESS of $31 MILLION DOLLARS. (Image: CNN)

And Deere wants its workers to produce 115% of some goal...like 100% isn't good enough.  Ugh....

You Can Help

The working families could use your support be it non-perishable food or a donation so folks can pay their rent. Here is a LINK for contributions. They will go to the Polk County Democrats and the money will then be given to the folks in the UAW strike. We've nearly hit $5,000 just from Polk County alone.  Thank you!

The Iowa Poll

OK, I know many of you don't get or read the Des Moines Register but the article today should make you sit up a bit. In a match up against the guy who screwed up everything...that would be "45"...President Biden would lose that vote in Iowa by 11 points.  Good Old Ruby Red Iowa.  

The Iowa Poll suggests that the win for "45" would come from "Independents". The very people Democrats often fail to engage. 

But when you run on a lie and your life is a lie and you tell that lie often enough...people believe it.  Take this bit of wisdom from the Des Moines Register article:

"Justin Lindsey, a 36-year-old poll respondent from Sioux City, said he’d vote for Trump in a hypothetical rematch with Biden. He said Trump put in place policies that worked.

“The reason is: He is more of a businessman than a politician,” said Lindsey, a registered Republican who works as a skilled carpenter. “When he got into office, he actually ran the country like a business, and he’s had great success with businesses.”

See what I mean? All of what that guy said is...false. But "45" and his minions repeat the lie so often...folks like poor Justin believe it's gospel. 

Welcome to Iowa...where we once had an educational system that was the envy of the nation.

We Need You

Look, it's no time to "take a break". I know how exhausted many of you are. While we had some great victories in some areas of Polk County and Waterloo we also suffered defeats in places like Johnston and Ankeny. Where the state GOP pushed their candidates hard. We're up against a real fight in the new First Congressional District and we've got our work cut out for us in the Third and Second as well. Later today I'll be in a meeting with other leaders in the Third Congressional District where the goal should be to energize our base as well as do some active outreach to those "Independent" voters.  Lots to do!

Partly Personal

I was digging through a box in my office and came across several treasures. One of which is this
photo from April of 1983. It was taken during a March of Dimes fund raising event and the radio station I was at was the media sponsor. In the photo (L-R) are some of the folks on the air at 94.5 KKEZ: Cal Bierman, Charlie Chase, Dave Haldin and me. Cal is quite the fashion plate. Those were some heady years as the station dominated in over 20 counties.  Fun times...

I also found a tiny booklet from my congregation Adas Israel up in Mason City. It is the Adas Israel Sisterhood and Hadassah listing and projects from 1969-1970. Reading through those names brought back so many memories. Many are now on our Memorial Boards inside of the shul.

I met a man last week from El Salvador. His name is Miguel...same as mine it would seem. We were chatting about his day and I told him I was grateful he was here in the U.S.  I asked him why he made the move and he told me that a gang in El Salvador had murdered his 16 year-old son because he was dating a girl...and the gang didn't like that.  Imagine that...  Miguel told me they never found his son's body. It was a shocking conversation. 

I had the opportunity to sit down for an extended interview with Rep. Ras Smith (D-Waterloo) last week and also met his bride, Amelia.  She is a special education teacher in Waterloo.  Now that is one tough job and thank you!  What a great conversation. I'll be posting that up on the Business News Hour next week.  In case you don't know Ras is running to be the next governor of our state. We covered lots of ground in the 24 minute recording. You might want to listen when it comes out...I'll give you a heads up.

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday! 

 

 

 

 

  

Sunday Morning Coffee - 7 November 2021

"Hey, what time is it...really?" Welcome to the "Time Change" Edition of Sunday Morning Coffee; politics and opinion with, sometimes, a
dash of religion to keep it real. Confession: I have a thing for clocks and watches so you know what I've been doing this morning. Let's go:

Aaron Rogers

Here we have a multi-million dollar football legend telling us that not only did he lie but he is also spreading lies about vaccines and testing. The Packers should fire the guy...today. Pay him whatever they owe him and send his butt packing. But they won't. It's all about money and Aaron Rogers is the ticket for more. I was once a fan...no longer. He and the "My Pillow Guy" rank about the same now.  Weary...  Speaking about the "My Pillow Guy" he is hosting a 90+ hour telethon on Black Friday and filing a brief with the Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 election and reinstate "45". Wacko.... (Photo - LA Times) 

Infrastructure

It passed and now to move forward with the bigger plan. The president says he is "confident" he has the votes. I hope so but the Democrats will find some way to screw this up. It's astounding that one party marches in "lock-step" while the other is such a mess. I guess that's what you get when you have a "big tent" but to turn aside President Biden's agenda is stupid and wrong. This next piece of legislation will be a major game changer for the middle class...if only we get our people in line.  But...what chance is there when we can't even pass a voting rights bill.  By the way...those of you who do NOT support the voting rights bill...wanna tell me why?  I'm interested.

GOP Backlash

The 13 Republicans who voted, late Friday, for the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill are facing backlash from members of their caucus. The tweets were amazing. Here's one from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA): "..they handed over their voting cards to pass Biden's Communist takeover of America via so-called infrastructure."  Nice huh?  BTW last week she also admitted she was not vaccinated and "...ripped the vaccine Nazis".  Georgia you must be so very proud. (Photo - NBC News) 

Meanwhile Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) who voted for the bill shot back, "Infrastructure - communism is a new one. Eisenhower's interstate system should be torn up or else the commies will be able to conveniently drive! Red Dawn in real life." Good for you and it's nice to see some of the GOP squabbling among themselves for a change. 

It should be noted that this infrastructure package makes funds available to modernize highways, rebuild water lines and billions for electric vehicle charging stations...it is the largest transportation spending package in U.S. history.

John Deere Strike

The UAW workers turned aside the latest offer from the company. Some might wonder why when the offer increased pay by 10% and
boosted their retirement and left health care alone.  Why would they vote no? It's simple friends...they did it for you and your family. Look the profits being extracted from American consumers are huge and those profits fall to the top of the economic order and do little for the struggling middle-class. 

John Deere is expected to earn $5.7 to $5.9 billion in 2021. That is net income. In other words...profit. Meanwhile the Deere CEO, John May pulls in $14.7 million in compensation. Rajesh Kalathur the president of John Deere Financial and Chief Information Officer makes a cool $5.8 million. Ryan Campbell, Sr. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer rakes in $5.3 million and Mary K.W. Jones the Sr. Vice President and General Counsel hauls in $5.7 million. Four people make in excess of $31,500,000. 

Meanwhile the folks on the picket line earn $275 a week from the UAW strike fund. If they find outside work that $275 goes away. Hoping the UAW will allow workers to pick up extra income and still get strike pay.  Here in POLK COUNTY, IOWA you can help donate to the workers. Here is that link. Also, the Polk County Democrats have been taking food and other items to the UAW 450 Union Hall. Syrus Miller is the UAW 450's community service chairperson and has told me they are accepting drive up donations 24/7. You can help... Thank you! 

Partly Personal

Thank you. Back on October 5th I announced a write-in candidacy for the Windsor Heights City Council. Two of my friends, Lauren Campbell and Joseph Jones had entered the race leaving the third seat still open. Three open seats but only two people filed. After talking with my bride, Georgie, and others in the county we launched this long-shot campaign.

In the end there were 453 write-in votes and, with the help of so many of you, we came out on top with 273 of them. It was astounding and I am so very grateful. Since the win I've heard from many folks who live in Windsor Heights and those who don't...all offering their congratulations. Humbling. I can share with you that I've already been meeting with constituents and others that were elected last week. My goal is to be a positive yet progressive voice for all the people of our community.

Meanwhile it was a clean sweep for the registered Democrats running in the school board and city election. In the contested election for the West Des Moines School Board all three Democrats won their seats. Fannette Elliott, a first time candidate joined Ana Morgan also a first timer and Lila Starr the current chair of the Clive Democrats turned back some others that are not as progressive. They held an Election Night Event last Tuesday and invited several of us. Joining in the celebration was the President of the West Des Moines School Board, Lonnette "Lonnie" Dafney and  ISEA President Mike Beranek  in this photo on the far right. 

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday!