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Jul
29
Despite Mandel’s previous protestation to contrary, Dem consultant says, “Mandel has always been viewed as ‘the Jewish hope,’”
Filed Under Campaigning, Jewish, Judaism, leadership, Media, OH17, Ohio, Pepper Pike, Religion, Social Issues, Transparency, treasurer, Voting | 1 Comment
I’ve written before about my state rep’s assertions regarding his electoral success as it relates to his being Jewish. The Cleveland Jewish News now has a lengthy article with quotes from a well-known Democratic political consultant, among others, that directly contradicts Josh Mandel’s previous suggestion that identity politics plays little if any role in his career.
Marilyn Karfeld does a nice job with a subject that many won’t even tackle and some pundits want to say doesn’t really matter (identity politics). Just one excerpt to indicate otherwise:
Mandel has also raised large amounts of money from out-of-state Jews, particularly ones from heavily Jewish regions of New York and California. “Why? Because he’s good looking? No. Because he’s Jewish” and a strong potential candidate some day for governor or U.S. senator, says Austin. “Jews, even liberal Jews, see Josh’s potential. His positions don’t matter. There are no issues in the treasurer’s race. It’s about (his) being Jewish. They want to see Jews promoted.” [emphasis mine]
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:57 pm July 29th, 2010 in Campaigning, Jewish, Judaism, leadership, Media, OH17, Ohio, Pepper Pike, Religion, Social Issues, Transparency, treasurer, Voting | 1 Comment
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Jul
29
Vaporizing Your Vote: National Popular Vote v. Electoral College
Filed Under Campaigning, democracy, Elections, Ethics, Government, Law, Politics, Voting | 3 Comments
If you aren’t old enough to remember Bush v. Gore (serious trivia: for those who’ve followed California’s Prop 8, check out the attorneys in Bush v. Gore and who they represented), don’t worry. The debate it highlighted — should our president be selected by popular vote or the electoral college system — lives on in the efforts of many states, catalogued by National Popular Vote, to dump the electoral college in favor of the popular vote, and Massachusetts is just the latest state to walk that way.
Read the rest of the debate and speculation at my latest BlogHer post, Massachusetts’ Legislature Favors Popular Vote over Electoral College: Will Your Vote Get Neutralized?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:24 pm July 29th, 2010 in Campaigning, democracy, Elections, Ethics, Government, Law, Politics, Voting | 3 Comments
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Jul
29
Attn Pepper Pike Residents: PD Endorses Jack Schron for GOP Primary for New County District 6 Seat
Filed Under Cleveland+, CuyahogaCounty, Elections, Endorsements, Government, leadership, Ohio, Pepper Pike, Transparency, Voting | 3 Comments
I assume the Democratic endorsement for the seat that includes representation for Pepper Pike will come out tomorrow. Here’s today’s:
ENDORSEMENT
District 6 consists of Bentleyville, Brecksville, Broadview Heights, Brooklyn Heights, Chagrin Falls, Chagrin Falls Township, Cuyahoga Heights, Gates Mills, Glenwillow, Highland Heights, Hunting Valley, Independence, Mayfield, Mayfield Heights, Moreland Hills, Newburgh Heights, Oakwood, Pepper Pike, Solon, Valley View and Walton Hills. The winner of this race will be the Republican nominee for a two-year term. Early voting for the Sept. 7 primary begins Aug. 3.
THE CANDIDATES:
Sam P. Cannata, 47, attorney, business owner.
Jim Crooks, 31, public relations consultant, Independence council member.
Ed Hargate, 52, attorney, Highland Heights council member.
Jack Schron, 62, business owner, former Chagrin Falls school board member.
Don Sopka, 65, retired teacher, former Broadview Heights council member.
OUR VIEW:
The Republicans have a strong group of candidates — Crooks, for one, is a fount of energy and ideas — but none is more impressive than Schron. He has successfully helped steer Jergens Inc., the machine parts business that his grandfather and father started in a Collinwood garage, into the world of advanced manufacturing and global competition that they scarcely could have imagined.
He started an online education company to train new factory workers and has worked with Cleveland’s Max S. Hayes High School to do the same. He mentors other small firms through Cleveland-based MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network, and WIRE-Net, on whose boards he serves. He worked with local, state and federal officials to clean up the old Collinwood rail yard, then built a new home there for Jergens. If the new county government is to be serious about economic development, Schron’s hands-on experience could be invaluable.
I have never disagreed more than I do now with the entire focus many who wanted reform are placing on an alleged need – and the alleged benefits – of having people with business experience enter public service. Public finance, in existent to meet resident needs, defies analogy. Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:12 am July 29th, 2010 in Cleveland+, CuyahogaCounty, Elections, Endorsements, Government, leadership, Ohio, Pepper Pike, Transparency, Voting | 3 Comments
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Jul
29
Beyond Contrition: Enough With Apologies, Show Me the Action
Filed Under Culture, Ethics, leadership, Media, Results, Scandal, Social Issues | Leave a Comment
The media’s focus has been on the symbolism of saying the words “I’m sorry,” as if that single utterance means everything and is the only thing. In today’s soundbite world that clamors to satisfy the hunger of news consumers, the media pushes the meme that the words “I’m sorry” alone are the end of the story. Some examples:
Lisa Belkin in articles on both her Motherlode blog and in the New York Times Magazine focuses on how to apologize and explores “how well” someone apologizes.
This post by Lauren Frayer is about a BP gaffe that was made during an apology for the oil spill. The BP executive then had to apologize for the blown apology about being sorry … for the oil spill. Again — what was the focus? It was on just spitting out the apology.
And even with sincere, appreciated words of contrition, such as UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s words about Bloody Sunday, the obsession is with how to say an apology and that not enough people give apologies.
I’m going to be a complete contrarian here: we have to stop focusing on who is asking for apologies and who is giving (or not giving) apologies. Instead, we need to focus on what people are doing after they give their apology. Because it is that behavior that matters. Period. Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:45 am July 29th, 2010 in Culture, Ethics, leadership, Media, Results, Scandal, Social Issues | Please comment
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Jul
23
[photos] Some People Pay Me Department: Renegades of Home Renovation
Filed Under BlogHer, Campaigning, Elections, Humor, Jill Miller Zimon, Writing | 1 Comment
I still cannot believe I lived through this and ran and won an election and my children and husband are still with me. An excerpt from my latest which you can read at BlogHer, Renegades of Home Renovation: You Did WHAT While I Was Working?:
Living through home renovations is like living through lice: If you’ve never had to endure it, you really don’t know what the rest of us are talking about. You won’t heed warnings, you won’t take precautions, you will think, “It really couldn’t be that bad — you’re just being dramatic.”
BONUS! There are photos of what we were coping with. Oh joy. And oh boy – I will not be going through that again.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:23 am July 23rd, 2010 in BlogHer, Campaigning, Elections, Humor, Jill Miller Zimon, Writing | 1 Comment
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Jul
20
TONIGHT: Meet Cuyahoga County Executive, County Council Candidates for Pepper Pike’s District 6
Filed Under Campaigning, Cleveland+, Democrats, Elections, Government, leadership, Ohio, Pepper Pike, Politics, Voting | Leave a Comment
Ohioans for Democratic Values and
are sponsoring a
Democratic Candidates Forum for
County Council Districts 6, 7, 8, 10, & 11 Tuesday, July 20, 2010
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Cleveland Heights Community Center
1 Monticello Boulevard (at Mayfield Road), Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
All Democratic candidates for County Executive and five* of the East side County Council districts have been invited to this event, which is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to the candidates and hear about the issues before the September 7 primary.
Refreshments will be provided.
Questions? Please call CDWC Chair Cindy Demsey at 216-470-6622
or contact ODV Chair Jane Buder Shapiro at ohio4demvalues@gmail.com.
*District 9 is not included, as the Shaker Heights Democratic Club and other co-sponsoring clubs are holding a separate forum for Democratic District 9 and County Executive candidates on August 3, 2010. Location TBD. For questions, call Michael Jackson, Shaker Heights Club President, at (cell): 216-280-5502.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:56 am July 20th, 2010 in Campaigning, Cleveland+, Democrats, Elections, Government, leadership, Ohio, Pepper Pike, Politics, Voting | Please comment
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Jul
11
Haveil Havalim #275: The “I’m so busy that putting together this blog carnival is actually what substitutes for taking a break” Edition
Filed Under anti-semitism, Barack Obama, Civil Rights, conservatives, Culture, democracy, Education, Foreign Affairs, Gaza, George Bush, Government, Holidays, intolerance, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, leadership, Military, palestinians, peace, Politics, Recipes, Religion, Sexism, Social Issues, Sports, war, Women, Writing, Youth | 13 Comments
Welcome to this week’s edition of Haveil Havalim #275: The “I’m so busy that putting together this blog carnival is actually what substitutes for taking a break” Edition.
Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs — a weekly collection of Jewish and Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It’s hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by the formidable Jack.
No enthusiastic experiments this week like last week’s edition, but I’ll see what I can do to keep it flowing:
Culture
Batya presents If I Were To Wear A Wig… posted at me-ander. Side-note: my daughter is into anime/manga and desperately wanted to wear her character’s wig. Did not work out so well, but maybe if I wore one, she’d have been conditioned? FYI, here’s a fascinating post on Jews in Anime and Manga.
Kissmeimshomer presents Get With the Program, an entry I read to be about parallel lives, and choices, posted at Kissmeimshomer.
Izgad offers a book review in An Anthropologist Does ArtScroll: A Review of Orthodox by Design posted at Izgad.
Izgad also addresses dress codes, values and what price people are willing to pay in Of Matisse, Skirt Lengths and Teaching Skills posted at Izgad.
Mordechai Torczyner speculates in Why does Cleveland hate LeBron James? posted at The Rebbetzin’s Husband. But I can tell you, having just driven past the famous “Witness” wall last night on my way to a friend’s 40th birthday party in downtown Cleveland that, as a parent, LeBron’s decision just sends a bad message – if it doesn’t have to be about money, then it can be about winning. And that seems to make it not be about life.
Humor
Mrs. S. presents A tale of two graduations (possibly alternatively titled, “Expectations Explained”?) posted at Our Shiputzim: A Work In Progress.
Israel
Shira sounds a theme I’ve read in other posts regarding Segregation in Israeli Schools Today posted at Table Poetry. It’s posts like this one and Mottel’s that make me ache for us to have ever-larger audiences though, so the nuances of such situations can be known and acknowledged.
Joel Katz’s weekly podcasts can be listened to here, Religion and State in Israel – July 5, 2010 (Section 1) and here, Religion and State in Israel – July 5, 2010 (Section 2) (both posted at Religion and State in Israel).
Ben-Yehudah’s Loyalty To The State? piece reminds me of the “First they came for…” reading many of us have heard or read for decades. His entry is posted at Esser Agaroth.
Harry gives kudos to good writing in A bissle culture posted at ISRAELITY.
Then, Harry describes how a rocker expresses his love for Israel in A porcupine tree grows in Tel Aviv, also posted at ISRAELITY.
Finally, Harry looks at just how frequently all-things-Israel get mentioned in How Kagan’s hearing turned into an Israeli focus, you know where it’s posted.
Ilana-David publishes an intriguing Weekly Interview: Baila, accompanied by nice photos, at Ilana-Davita.
The World Cup and a meal led David Levy to write this rather deep entry about Rethinking Germany, posted at Jewish Boston.
Batya highlights PM Binyamin Netanyahu and Larry King “Fencing” Around The Chess Board complete with video and a link to the show’s transcript, posted at Shiloh Musings.
Susan Barnes presents a cute, flip take on her, ahem, hatred of Tel Aviv posted at To Kiss A Mezuzah.
Then, Susan reflects on how easy it is to realize, here in the U.S. how one is No Longer in Israel, also posted at To Kiss A Mezuzah.
In Religion Taken Too Far, posted at The Israel Situation, Eric writes about his impressions of the multi-faceted situation in Immanuel.
Then, Eric offers his opinion on Israel Offers Peace Talks, PA Says No and wonders what we think, again at The Israel Situation.
Judaism
Batya argues, “It’s not enough to feel the spirit” in Torah Judaism, Is It Enough to Be Spiritual Without Keeping The Laws? posted at Shiloh Musings. A very provocative topic indeed.
(I love the name of this blog): Homeshuling presents What’s Jewish about competitive eating? – Homeshuling posted at Home-shuling.
Mottel’s lengthy but absolutely worth the full-read, A Fire Burns in Crown Heights: An Essay on Religion, Modernity and Pizza, has implications, imo, for all kinds of situations, religious and non. It’s posted at Letters of Thought.
Kissmeimshomer examines religion and happiness in Killing Babies and Understanding Brad Pitt’s Depression at Kissmeimshomer.
Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver discusses levels of commitment to our faith in The corrosive impact of half-hearted worship, posted at A Chassidishe farbrengen.
Ben-Yehudah gives some technical advice with illustrative illustrations in Do You Pay Attention To The Google Ads On Your Site? posted at Esser Agaroth.
David Levy’s Book Review: Empowered Judaism might add to your summer reading list, posted at Jewish Boston.
I don’t know whether or not I’d recommend this to someone consider being a rabbi but Mordechai Torczyner’s entry, Why Rabbis Stop Believing, posted at The Rebbetzin’s Husband, sure raises a lot of good conversation points.
Minnesota Mamaleh’s Minnesota Mamaleh: Tradition!, posted at TC Jewfolk, is an excellent counter-balance to Batya’s belief (linked to above) that spirit alone doesn’t do it.
Kashrut
The title of Joshua Waxman’s entry faked me out so it’s a good thing he included what category Anisakis worms and peshat in Kukyanei, according to Rashi and Rabbenu Tam belonged to (posted at parshablog).
Personal
Shira confesses a bit in Material Girl posted at Table Poetry.
Rachel Moore describes the classic chaos we often go through just to get to the rest we need in Chugga Chugga aahhhh, posted at Ima 2 Seven.
Don’t read this entry unless you want to be baking today – the photo alone in Miriyummy’s Dulce Dog Days of Summer, at Miriyummy is going to seduce you.
Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters shows us how we can find a lesson pretty much anywhere in Old and Wise, posted at lubavitch.com Chabad-Lubavitch news site.
To the question raised in Hadassah Sabo Milner’s WWYD – hair covering, posted at In the Pink? I always always do what you did.
The title of Chaviva’s entry, Once Upon a Time, I Was Agnostic. posted at Just call me Chaviva, reminds me of when I was a freshman at Georgetown and we had to pick a second mandatory theology class (the one all frosh have to take is called The Problem of God), and I first encountered the word, “gnosticism.”
Politics
Batya presents skepticism in Obama’s All Teeth …, posted at Shiloh Musings.
Lady-Light writes about what she sees as A Disturbing Assessment of President Obama, posted at Tikkun Olam.
Independent Patriot’s perspectives on the same event can be read in the Oval Office Nonsensical Dance, posted at Liberty’s Spirit.
Torah
I can’t even pretend I know what he’s talking about given my insufficient education in this area, but I bet a lot of you will enjoy Joshua Waxman’s Demonic messages between Sura and Pumbedita, posted at parshablog.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Haveil Havalim using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.
Thank you all for your submissions – they make me sad for all the time I have not had or made to read and keep up on often gripping and always real thoughts on these subjects.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:20 am July 11th, 2010 in anti-semitism, Barack Obama, Civil Rights, conservatives, Culture, democracy, Education, Foreign Affairs, Gaza, George Bush, Government, Holidays, intolerance, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, leadership, Military, palestinians, peace, Politics, Recipes, Religion, Sexism, Social Issues, Sports, war, Women, Writing, Youth | 13 Comments
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