DOAKS

Just for fun. Regardless what you think about the Sarah Palin choice, it has gotten a lot of people talking. The Republicans I spoke with are jazzed.

Anyways, when you search on Google for something, Google will display “similar searches”. Obviously, Biden is a known brand while Palin is an unknown name. So, search volume for Palin will be much higher. The images below are more about the “similar searches”. Palin’s are particularly humorous.

Check out the difference between the “similar searches” for Joe Biden and Sarah Palin.

Notice how people are NOT searching for Joe Biden pictures. I wonder why that is….

Good weekend. This past Shabbos, I stayed by a friend in Mercer Island. Good fun. I did not wear my McCain or Obama Kippah to shul. It was my first time there was no reason for me to alienate anyone. Instead, I played it say and wore my Hot Kippah.

As you can imagine, the synagogue was abuzz with the Palin nomination. In a surprising turn of events, every Jew I met had an opinion about McCain’s VP selection. And, they were more than willing to share it with be. Big surprise. (Sarcasm level at full throttle.)

Here’s the biggest shocker of all; the Democrats told me that it was a stupid decision. And the Republicans opined that it was a brilliant move orchestrated my McCain. Crazy! Truth be told, during the Friday night dinner, a democrat who had a lot of wine to drink told me that after she watched Palin and McCain on stage, she started to worry for her party.

OK; bottom line, Is Sarah good for the Jews? Ira Norman, head of the National Jewish Democratic Council issued a statement saying that Palin was a bad choice. Matt Brooks, head of the Republican National Jewish Council issued a statement in support of the decision. Again, tremendous shock! You can read more here. And here.

Now, the fact is, had Lieberman been chosen as McCain’s VP, the Jewish community really would have been torn asunder on the matter. Especially since Lieberman was almost a Democratic VP. At least Sarah Palin isn’t Jewish. I can only imagine the debates that would have taken place amongst the Jews.

Rabbi Yossi Greenberg of Chabad in Alaska, yes, of course Chabad is in Alaska, had very nice things to say about Sarah Palin. “She’s established a great relationship with the Jewish community over recent years, and has attended several of our Jewish cultural gala events,” and that “We all feel that the Governor is a remarkable, energetic, and good person.”

Greenberg was unequivocal in stating that Chabad representatives do NOT endorse political candidates.

Sarah Palin with Rabbi Greenberg

Just finished reading today’s WSJ. Of course, like everyone else, they were dead wrong about the McCain’s VP choice, suggesting Romney, Pawlenty & LieberJew.

I didn’t post on Obama choosing Biden for a few reasons:

1) My Bubby was wrong and I didn’t want to dwell on that

2) Biden was a predictable choice; bringing to the table the experience that Obama lacks

Sarah Palin is different. IMO, she is a safer choice than the three former VP candidates:
- Romney was too Mormon for some
- Pawlenty was too bland for the party that needs a star injection
- Lieberman was too Democrat for many

Moreover, agree or disagree with McCain’s choice, Sarah Palin will get a ton of media exposure, which the McCain camp desperately needs. Why?

1- She is female
2- She is gorgeous
3- She is an unknown which makes it all the more compelling of a story

McCain also lacks “youth”, which Palin will more than compensate for.

The criticism coming out from Obama camp about Palin is a regurgitation of the stuff that was being aimed at Obama; the lack of experience, relying on the race card (gender in Palin’s case) and good looks (what a moronic insult!).

The difference is; Obama is running for President. Palin is running as VP. Big difference. People don’t vote for VP’s. They vote for Presidents.

Here’s the dealio; the Obama camp is in a serious catch 22; their attempts to belittle Palin will only reflect negatively on them. Remember, the Democrats are known as the progressive party. Yet, Hillary was not chosen as Obama’s VP, even though that would have made an unbeatable ticket. It was the Republican party that chose a female VP candidate!

Furthermore, to chastise Palin for lack of experience is to define the word “hypocrisy”! Personally, the Democratic party would be much better off NOT bringing up the experience card. Remeber, even Democratic VP Joe Biden said that Obama doesn’t have the necessary experience…

FYI, there is an ongoing investigation into Palin which the Democrats will be quick to point out. Fair enough. But again, Sarah Palin is a VP candidate. Not a presidential candidate. And it will not hurt her or McCain more than the Reverend Wright mess or the Rezko allegation.

A few moths ago, Barack Obama was in Florida. During his visit, Obama visited a synagogue to court the Jewish vote. And maybe even to catch a Minyan for Mincha.

The chosen synagogue was Bnai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton, a conservative outfit. FYI, Jewish conservative. Nothing to do with the conservative political party. If anything, the opposite would be true. If anything.

Anyways, Rabbi Pinny was in attendance and was photographed by a Getty shutterbug.

Unfortunately, the event occurred about 3 months BVK (before VanityKippah.com). Otherwise, I’d have made sure that Rabbi Pinny would be wearing an Obamica!

Living in Seattle, I get to hear lots of people complaining about Microsoft. Actually, wherever I live (or you live), you get to hear people complaining about Microsoft. Still, I guess living here makes me more sensitive to the naysayers.

There’s a quirky little Gmail gaffe that I wish to share with you. Noticed this in the past. Figured that Google would fix it. They haven’t. The coolest thing about all of this is that this time, it’s not Microsoft. It’s google! Even Google can make a mistake now and then, with the emphasis being on the word now for no other reason other than the fact that I think saying that (with emphasis being on the word now) sounds sophisticated.

When you send an email from Gmail and you get a bounce back, for example, you send something to a non-existing email address, you get a Mail Delivery Notification from Gmail. The funny thing is that Gmail offers you to invite “Mail Delivery Subsystems” to chat. LOL.

For googles, I mean giggles, I actually invited Mail Delivery Subsystems to chat. Alas, nothing yet. Will keep you posted!

Drudge linked to a story about a guy spending 10K on a Bark Mitzvah for his dog Elvis. You can watch the clip here. Extended footage here. The dog gives a speech and even reads the Arf-Torah, while a fellow congregant dabs a tear.

(For those paying attention, the prayer book page that Elvis has open is NOT the page with the blessings on the Haftorah. Which obviously means that Elvis knows the blessing by heart!)

Please note that this was not my idea. The Bark Mitzvah video ends with the disclaimer: No animals were hurt in the making of this Bark Mitzvah.

While a Bar Mitzvah for a dog may seem like a new trend, it’s not. In 2005, Keith Olbermann featured another couple from Florida that made a Bark Mitzvah for their dog. When asked how they knew their dog was Jewish, the man replied that they figured it out because “the dog loves brisket and Matzah Ball Soup”. Credit to Keith on “Muzzle Tov”.

If you are wondering how to make a Bark Mitzvah, ehow.com has the directions.

Three things I’d like to state on the matter:

1) for my parents, if they read this blog, I repeat: the Bark Mitzvah thing was NOT my idea.

2) I am waiting for the other shoe to drop and non-Jewish dogs start celebrating a faux bark mitzvah.

3) There are some Jewish people worried that this tradition will cause Antisemitism amongst the canine community because other dogs will be jealous that Jewish dogs are rich and have fancy parties.

P.S. There are Dog Kippahs as well.

Good Tuesday! Do I seem giddy? Because I am. The sun is wrestling with the clouds here in Seattle. And after three rounds, the sun is still standing strong. Though bleeding a bit from the nose.

Previously, I blogged about the Kippah as a crime accessory. It’s never a pleasant sight to see a Kippah associated with no good. Last weekend, the Journal ran an article The Rabbi, the Do-Gooder, The Lost $100 Million. It was about a guy who used religion to bilk a close-knit community…out of a whole lot of milk-money.

Always a shame. Remember, the clothing does not make the man. A perfect example; if someone is wearing a police officer uniform, it does mean that automatically this person is fond of donuts.

Just because someone wears a Yarmulke, does not mean this person is religious. There is a biblical commandment “don’t steal”. The Bible never mentions anything about a Kippah.

In fact, there are plenty of religious Jewish men who do not wear Kippahs. And obviously, plenty who do wear Yarmulkes, who are not….

Because I am in the Kippah industry, I need to be EXTRA careful with my products. That is why, before I ship a Kippah to a customer, I ensure that there’s no traces of drugs on the Kippah and no visible signs of ANY tattoo or piercings on the Yarmulke.

Here’s the Jack Abramoff Kippah:

Unlike Big Foot sightings, this McCippah sighting was not a hoax.

Last week, on August 21st, the Phillies hosted the Washington Nationals at Citizens Park. The evening was Jewish Heritage Night. Highlights included a Kosher food stand AND a Klezmer music performance that took place on the field.

Some of the McCippahs were in attendance as well. Tomorrow, I am going to a Seattle Mariners game. Still debating which Kippah to wear!

Meet my friend Jim Kukral. We’re old buddies and former revenews bloggers. In fact, it was Jim that first granted me the opportunity to blog for the site. For free. It got me started on the whole blogging scene.

Jim K., a web marketing maven, was cool enough to do a Daily Flip video about vanitykippah.com. The clip is very funny because here you have a self-described Catholic discussing a Kippah venture.

Not sure if Jim even remembers this; back in day, when I hit my 100th post on Revenews, JK wrote a congratulatory post: Shmuly Turns 100, Alert The Media & Lock Your Doors.

After graciously referring to me as the guy with cream cheese smudged in his beard, Jim had this to say: “From his first post which came in the form of a riddle, to classic link-bait headlines like ‘Is Walmart on Crack?‘, to 98 more diatribes that could have only been inspired by boredome or a suction-cup tight fitting yamaka.”