Greetings one and all and welcome to this year's Purim issue of Laura's Links.
But before we get to Purim info, there is reason to celebrate. Last week, we let you know that there was a nice bit of good news from the everlasting fresh hell of litigation that Mark has suffered from because of Michael Mann. And today, came an even more delicious update. Make sure you read the whole thing and also read some fabulous colour commentary from our friends at the Powerline blog.
Right-O and Cheerio, and now we can go back to our regularly scheduled uppity Jewish Mom musings:
The Purim Shpiel:
Purim is often described as the Jewish Halloween but that's not really a very accurate comparison. Other than costumes, they are not very similar. The basic components of the holiday are the Fast of Esther, listening to the Megillah being read, giving small food packets to friends, giving charity, and having a festive meal.
When my kids were younger, preparing the little food packets ("Mishloach Manot") was a really big deal. We would spread all the stuff all over the dining table and then work as a team putting equal amounts of goodies into little party bags or pretty paper boxes. I was never a very "crafty" person, so I would usually just take a peek at Pinterest and try to find something moderately easy to copy.
There is, unfortunately, a sub-category of Jewish moms that seem to see Mishloach Manot as a competitive sport with not so subtle one upmanship (momupmanship?) and go all in with themes and special stickers and custom merch and all kinds of super dooooper ALL THE THINGS kind of packages. I could never relate.
Then there was the delivery side of things! We had a small arsenal of funny hats and sparkly clown bow ties which we would wear when going out to deliver the goods. It took me way too many years to realize that the smarter thing was to assemble all my packages in a crate by the door and then just happily exchange packages with whoever came to our door instead of going out in and out of the car in the freezing cold over a dozen times or more. I still have my packages to assemble, but there is a fine second cut brisket in our fridge waiting for Mr. C's magic recipe for the Friday festive meal. And the festive meal also happens before Shabbat dinner on Friday night so it's gonna be a crazy day. WISH ME LUCK!
I'm sure it's not just me but holidays become much more historically and philosophically meaningful as I get older. I feel a very personal connection to the Purim story not just as a Jewish story but also because Mr. C's family are Persian Jews. It is very important to be reminded of Haman, of Amalek and of all the other empires and wicked characters throughout history that have tried to eliminate the Jewish people-and failed. It's happening again of course, but the current lead characters in this endeavor will not stop at the Saturday people. They only start with us.
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Mark has written a lot over the years about how the end result of DEI will be people getting killed. This bombshell article was dropped by the Daily Mail and it is absolutely horrifying, but not actually in any way surprising. This is so profoundly evil. It's choosing ideology over human life. Any ideology or religion that prioritizes ideology at the expense of human life is antithetical to civilization.
Any religion that prioritizes death over human life is anti-human, barbarian and likewise incompatible with civilization. And when I say civilization, of course I mean Western civilization-that is what civilization is. Anyway, take a gander at the article and listen to the audio. Try not to freak out and be thankful that at least the wanker-filled British press reported this, and thank G-d that the adults are back in charge in America and that this will no doubt be addressed by the Trump administration.
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There's been a lot of noise in America about Mahmoud Khalil, the 31-year old Syrian-Palestinian "student" and Green Card holder who has been targeted for deportation by the Trump administration. Out of all the commentary that I have seen, I think I like Jesse Kelly's take the best – short and sweet. His case does not seem to me to be a First Amendment issue. It seems to me more like a professional America-hating, terrorist-supporting, overaged fully grown foreign adult male making trouble in America while on a Green Card issue. The question really is whether the presence of masses of excitable, anti-American, Jew-hating, Hamas supporting individuals such as Mr. Khalil is good for America or not? Is he a threat to America or not?
Many North American cities have turned into bold, unfettered, festering puss holes of anti-Western Intifadahs very suddenly over the past couple of decades. We are not very far away from Europe at all. Does that make you feel safer? Happier? Why does America "need" 31 year old Syrian Palestinian "students" who hate America, or anyone fitting that bill? Perhaps I'm missing something, so feel free to disagree. Just remember, I am in favour of ZERO immigration to North America. From anywhere.
That's all I got for now.
Have a great weekend, Happy Purim to all of our Jewish readers and early St. Patrick's Day greetings as well.
See you in the comments!
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North America:
He is something else and she is exquisite.
I think it's actually a very good thing for people with opposing views to have polite, civilized conversations and podcasts are an excellent format for conducting interviews like this. But being polite does not mean giving any of these wackos like Newsome a chance to whitewash their horrendous policies or get off the hook. Interviewing someone from across the isle does not soften their extremism.
Hello right wing, "conservative" media personalities. No, Iran is not a harmless actor on the global stage. Hope that helps.
They will keep searching for unmarked graves, and ignore this.
This seems fine. The "jihadi to journalism" pipeline! A perfectly natural progression actually.
"I was de-banked by JP Morgan Chase but fought back and won.
Everything is fine in Toronto.
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Jews and Israel:
"If October 7 didn't wake you up, what will?"
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The Great Walkbackening, Reckoning and Accounting:
This is part of the leftist "it's safe to talk about it now" school of journalisming.
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The Formerly Great Britain:
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Europe:
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Afghanistan:
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Down Under:
"My House Was Attacked By Anti Semites.
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Ukraine:
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Human Grace:
Rest in Peace.
It's open thread time! Log into SteynOnline and let Laura know what you think of these stories or other happenings from week that was. Commenting privileges are among the many perks of membership in The Mark Steyn Club. While going off topic is permitted on Laura's Links, do stick to the other rules as you engage: no URLs, no profanity, and no ad hominem attacks.
