tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22462867.post116848217535058600..comments2023-12-23T05:39:28.481-05:00Comments on Culture for All: Now time for resolutionsRed Tulipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03546144713477594777noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22462867.post-1168912106209545342007-01-15T20:48:00.000-05:002007-01-15T20:48:00.000-05:00Smarty - heh, s'true about the army. I have defend...Smarty - heh, s'true about the army. I have defended Israel with all kinds of people: Jews of every kind and color, Arabs, Druze, Circassians, Roma and all kinds of others, from a wide variety of religions. The oddest one was a Romanian Roma who was a Christian, hated everybody and was just waiting for his service to end so that he could go to Eastern Europe and study to be a priest. He never explained what he was was doing in Israel :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22462867.post-1168616023873992752007-01-12T10:33:00.000-05:002007-01-12T10:33:00.000-05:00Sorry, didn't see you as the author of the post.I ...Sorry, didn't see you as the author of the post.<BR/><BR/>I grew up in a military family, and agree that it is very diverse, but back then, in the way it should be. All our daddies wore blue, and race never mattered in the 8 years that I attended schools on military bases. We had the melting pot back then, not every real and imagined minority seeking victim/special status, and trying to shove their agenda onto everyone else.Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22462867.post-1168572194464547392007-01-11T22:23:00.000-05:002007-01-11T22:23:00.000-05:00Irina> So far, the only book I read was 100 Peopel...Irina> So far, the only book I read was 100 Peopel who are Screwing Up America, by Bernard Goldberg, and the two that I finished in January but started in December were the fourth in the Harry Turtledove series about the lizards invading Earth during WWII and the Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism, which is a very good intro book.<BR/><BR/>I don't have a specific list, but I can make some I definitely plan to read, though others will just catch my fancy.<BR/><BR/>Smarty> I think you have me confused with some other bloggers. I am not an atheist, though I have seen through my Catholic upbringing, and while I may cosnider Jesus...Gonzalez a good friend, I believe the original Jesus to be a conman. <BR/><BR/>Now, I would wonder about the conflicts with an atheist converting to Judaism, but Red Tulips along with Shlemezal and BEAJ are Jewish because their mothers are Jewish, and Judaism is both a religion and a culture, though America's Jewish culture is primarily Ashkenazic, but at Ft Hood, I know two Sepahrdic Jews (one from Morrocco and another from Puerto Rico who's heriatge was hidden from him until he was in College), as well as an Israel who's parents were Egyptian making her mizrahim as well as a fellow originally from Iraq, along with another young soldier who was originally Baptist and is in the process of conversion. The Army is a great place for diversity, and there is also an organization called the House of Noah that meets and discusses Torah. They aren't Jewish but follow many of the rules of Judaism, as righteous gentiles.<BR/><BR/>I would not idnetify myself as a Jew yet, as I have not even started the conversion process, then I would only be a JiT, a Jew in Training :)Thomas Forsythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00837156392258098698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22462867.post-1168534081335539242007-01-11T11:48:00.000-05:002007-01-11T11:48:00.000-05:00Interesting that reading Hebrew is big for you. I ...Interesting that reading Hebrew is big for you. I wonder, does the Jewish religion have more impact on Jewish culture, or does Jewish culture have more of an impact on the religion? I ask because as an athiest, you sure do identify as a Jew, even as you reject what I would think is the basic requirement for calling yourself a jew.Mr. Smarterthanyouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863413328142551684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22462867.post-1168491232518627982007-01-10T23:53:00.000-05:002007-01-10T23:53:00.000-05:00Whoo-hoo, 50 books! Do you have a list? Which ones...Whoo-hoo, 50 books! Do you have a list? Which ones have you read so far? How did you choose them?Irina Tsukermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10964771563778702009noreply@blogger.com