1787 Prediction of Outsourcing. in... Quote Time!

"Shall domestic manufactures be encourages, and in what degree, by restrictions on foreign manufactures? are questions which would be differently decided by the landed and the manufacturing classes".

James Madison, Federalist No 10

Looks like James Madison predicted the outsourcing crisis and argument being faced today. These is exactly the problem being faced today, though you might substitute, "are questions which would be differently decided by the [...] classes," with, "are questions which would be differently decided by the Democrats and the Republicans."

There are those who say that the Democratic Party stands for the poor people (one class) and the Republican party for the rich (another class,) but that's not actually true. There are poor people in the Republican party, and rich people (say, "Hollywood!") in the Democratic party.

Quote Time on Practical Women

“In wartime women are much more capable of keeping things together [...] because they are practical."

-Christian Lochte

This from the same Library of Congress report on the Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism that I last quoted from.

This is similar to some of the points that DeeDee Myers made in book, "Why Women Should Rule the World," and discussed at her book signing that I wrote about here.

As I wrote there, I didn't like DeeDee and the atmosphere at the book signing, (i.e. Clinton-Worship) but, as mentioned, I do think that she had some good points.

And while I don't like Hillary, the arguments that she couldn't handle the pressures of the presidency because she's a woman... I would have to say I disagree with, even if it's because, as this Library of Congress Report that I keep quoting from mentions, often these female leaders have male gender-tendencies.

[I don't know enough about Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir to comment on whether they had male gender-tendencies, by which I mean that they thought and acted like men. Anyone else know?]

"Lochte also considered female terrorists to be stronger, more dedicated, faster, and more ruthless than male terrorists, as well as more capable of withstanding suffering because 'They have better nerves than men, and they can be both passive and active at the same time.'"

Looks like I can finally, with terrorists as my guinea pigs, prove that what I've long believed is actually true: men can't handle blood or pain nearly as much as women can. Biologically it makes sense, since women are the ones who've had go through the most painful and bloody process to keep humanity in existence.

Anyone interested in checking out this Library of Congress report, click here. Warning: It's a PDF.

Quote Time with a Question

Seems that all I have time for these days is quote time...

"While nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer,
nothing is more difficult than to understand him."

– Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky

There are those who argue about terrorists that we should just, "kill 'em all!" Then there are those with this mindset, who say that we should try to understand them.

Anyone out there think that we need to try to understand evildoers? Anyone know what the Torah perspective might be on this?

It might be interesting to know, in considering this questions, that studies on the history of terrorism state that while the term, "terrorism," comes from the "Reign of Terror," (in France following the French Revolution,) that the first record of terrorism (according to the official historical record) says that it was perpetrated by *gasp* Jews:

"Beginning in 48 A.D., a Jewish sect called the Zealots carried out terrorist campaigns to force insurrection against the Romans in Judea. These campaigns included the use of assassins (sicarii, or dagger-men), who would infiltrate Roman-controlled cities and stab Jewish collaborators or Roman legionnaires with a sica (dagger), kidnap members of the Staff of the Temple Guard to hold for ransom, or use poison on a large scale. The Zealots’ justification for their killing of other Jews was that these killings demonstrated the consequences of the immorality of collaborating with the Roman invaders, and that the Romans could not protect their Jewish collaborators."

(Source: Library of Congress Report on the Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism)

Hm. Does that wrinkle any foreheads?

(Any Rabbis out there who want to do an, "Ask the Rabbi," type of post in reply, feel free to contact me.)