Mislabeling the Almighty

NY Gen. Business Law Sec. 349 is about Consumer Protection. Sec. 349-A is Observant consumer protection. To wit:

§ 349-a. Observant consumer protection
law. 1. No person selling or exposing for sale any
mezuzah or tefillin which, to the
seller's knowledge, does not satisfy orthodox Hebrew
ritual requirements shall represent, by direct or implied oral or
written statement, that such mezuzah or
tefillin is kosher or meets orthodox Hebrew
religious requirements.

2. No manufacturer, fabricator or importer of mezuzahs
or tefillin shall sell or transfer for
sale any mezuzah or tefillin unless the following truthful consumer
information is printed legibly upon the
article itself, upon its packaging, or upon a label securely
attached thereto: (a) the name and address of the
manufacturer, fabricator, or importer; (b) in the
case of any mezuzah or tefillin that,
in the form reasonably expected to be
sold at retail, is not in accordance with orthodox Hebrew ritual
requirements, the word "non-kosher."

Not too pluralistic, is it?

Capitol Camps Are Capital

Went on a Shavuot retreat at Capitol Camps - www.capitolcamps.org - amazing. The camps is built both for kids and adults (they like to call it a retreat center). The mess hall, complete with an installation from www.bigassfans.com complements the lodges, some with a/c, the pool (slides and diving board too!), basketball courts, ropes course, softball fields, lake, hiking trails, tennis courts, and even a roller hockey rink.

Two days of services, friends, food, and pickup games were amazing, even in the 95+ degree heat. And a big props goes to the organizers at www.dcminyan.org.

Tan-scam-stabtiation?

www.youvebeenleftbehind.com will send up to 62 of your closest damned friends a reminder that you are indeed holier than they. If none of the site's 5 admins log in within a set period, the site will know that they've been sported up to heaven as part of the Rapture. Six days later, it will send you their personalized "wish you were worthy to be here." Cost to you: $40/year.

This is a lesson in scienter (intent). Ponder this: I don't believe in the rapture, but I know others do. I am committing fraud, or am I acting unethically, if I were to offer this service to cater to the belief of others?

HT www.wired.com.

Never Thought I'd Say This, But I'll Have a Circumcision - Thanks.

It's Passover, Get Naked!

A man entered a store in J'lem and stripped but for a sock on his personality. He then called the police to arrest him. To this point, the story is either a lateral thinking puzzle or a trailer for Cops:Israel.

Why get nekkid on chol ha-moed (the interim days of Passover)? To stand up for religious tenets, of course. Israel bans the sale of chametz (leavened stuff like bread) in public places over Passover. Recently, the Israeli Supreme Court said, "Yes, but stores and restaurants aren't public places," effectively removing the restriction from the major places where it once applied. A demonstration was bound to ensue. The young man, claiming to be a yeshiva boy, went into a non-kosher supermarket where bread and other sundry items were sold, called the police, and then stripped. Store owners asked him to leave and he refused. When police got there, he asked to be arrested and they obliged.

His defense: This can't be a case of public exposure.

Problems: Not a bad idea. Two problems: (a) if the store is private it likely has the right to refuse service and remove people. He was asked to leave and didn't, so the charges might instead be for trespass. (b) Here in the U.S. we differentiate between a 'public place' and a 'public accomodation' - a private place open to the public. The wording of the Israeli indecency law vs. the sale ban could be critical. I doubt he checked.

Wow -

I didn't realize that I had not blogged for several days leading up to this. 3 Causes: Work. Lots of Work. And shpiel.

At least the shpiel is done with and Purim is still roarin'. To sum up, the shpielers were fantastic, the show was well-received, and I got to get nearly naked in front of the whole congregation. What do you get for your membership dues?

Anyhoo--I am back with some med stories and the normal inter-flotsam.

Six Point-&-Shooter

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (http://www.jpfo.org/) just filed an amicus bried if DC v. Heller, the 2d amendment case headed to the Supreme Court.

What's the point of my saying anything further? You've already clicked on the above link and are staring agape at their homepage.

p.s. To me this reads like: Jews for the Preservation of Commercial Mixed-Use Zoning

Because Ignorance Begets Hate...

It is possible that some of you may have received the "In memoriam" email which claims that the UK has banned the teaching of the Holocaust because it offends Muslim students. The BBC got wind of it, got an official comment, and the claim is not true. What is true is that there is a serious vein of anti-semitism and holocaust denial in certain English Muslim communities. That truth is disturbing.

If you get one of these emails, please respond to the sender and give them the facts. If we want to memorialize the Holocaust for the foreseeable future, we must do so with a rigorous examination of the facts, not by making it into a myth. Fables are easily toppled.

Red Bull Gibn Du Fliglen!

The Times (U.K., not NY) reports that ultra-orthodox jews are seeking salvation in a little Red Bull. A choice quote:

There are three things going on here. They make a lot of babies, they study the Torah and they dance. They need a lot of energy, and something to strengthen them.

There is talk in the innermost circles of U-OJ of a perfect can of Red Bull, without blemish, scratch, or dilution, which, when finally found, will be shared amongst the high priests and herald the coming of the end of days. Luckily, all will be awake to see it.

[ Thanks to RK for the link ]

Govna Puts Up Mezuzah, ACLU Puts Up Fight

Fox News reports that methodist FL governor Crist [edit - AC ] put up a mezuzah he received from a state representative. The ACLU is suing claiming that it has legal implications in the separation between church and state.

I disagree with the ACLU on this one. First, these are not 10 Commandments in a courtroom. The sheer size of the mezuzah precludes its inclusion as a public icon of religion. Second, it is not clear how the separation of church and state applies to the FL state house [edit - AC], particularly in light of the frequent invocation of the divine to swear people in and hold ceremonies. Third, what does the FL constitution say? Fourth, there is the esoteric question of what to do when a religious symbol is not posted as such. This man is not a Jew. He is not posting this mezuzah as a religious act. Is this somehow an intrinsically religious act?

Finally, this is an odd case. This is a big issue for the ACLU, but not for the representative. As a matter of personal faith, it does not matter to him. If it offended his faith, presumably, he would not have had a problem turning down the gift, so you'd imagine that if public opinion sided with the ACLU, he would cede the issue. The more interesting question is: what about Jewish governors?. If there is a biblical requirement to put this up and the House or some other body prevents you from doing it, you have a 1st Am. vs. implied 1st Am. problem. You have a right to exercise religion. That should beat an implied separation of church and state.

Thoughts?
More: http://www.topix.com/content/trb/2007/09/crist-to-celebrate-rosh-hashana-with-broward-democrat

[ Thanks to JR for the link ]

All Sanctity Must Go!

Beelzebub is apparently trading at a discount according to translations of some of the oldest known paper (circa 0 c.e.). Long thought to be worth 666 diabolical units, the dark lord may only be worth 616.

The economic effects of this could be massive, with tattoo artists, t-shirt printers, and revisionist historicizers set to make a killing (flaying, burning, and damnation extra).

This is too stupid to pass up. Up next, jew-fessional. You sit in a booth and your mother makes derisive comments, but you are immediately absolved of guilt.

Jesus Christ: I will Survive.

This is a very funny video by Javier Prato. More importantly, it also launched a legal battle regarding fair use and sites such as YouTube.com. The battle was fought in part by Stanford Law School's CIS, where you can read more about the story. Feeling less literate? You can listen to NPR's story on this charming vignette.

Christianity: What if someone threw a ressurection and nobody came?