Babka

this is interesting! but some of the claims should be fact checked…the 80% of seeds thing is straight up not accurate. that was based on one interview from 2008 where the interviewee actually claimed that israeli *tomato* seeds *used* to dominate the market but had fallen to 10% of mkt share by 2008

cool that it’s illegal for utilities to raise rates between nov to march so they just do it on october 31

back on my fantasy of manner kick, rereading the goblin emperor, perhaps hands of the emperor next?

heaping chili over potato kugel with zhoug on top slaps fr

i should really be a consumer health care personal consultant

tbc providers do not have to issue a GFE or follow it for appts covered by insurance contracts. my case was just so complicated they threw up their hands, took the payment they got, and wrote off the rest

another win in my ongoing crusade against OHSU billing - they just wrote off hundreds of dollars bc they issued a GFE for an insurance-covered appt and charged 20x what the GFE showed. i think they’re just afraid of getting reported to CMS for No Surprised Act vio, esp for gender affirming care

anyways this Jewish PDXer doesn't think the four of y'all did anything wrong @pnwpolicyangel.bsky.social @drmitchpdx.bsky.social

this is a portion of a drash i gave at shul for matot-massei over the summer. all the feedback i got from other synagogue members about it was positive

has JFed apologized for promoting the ADL, an organization whose current purpose is to provide a thin veneer of Jewish community legitimacy to outright Nazis like Elon Musk?

has JFed apologized for supporting a genocide?

has JFed apologized for Marc Blattner's attempts to erode the independence of synagogues and centralize all financial power in the Jewish community under the Federation?

(OK I'll admit this one is a deep cut, but it was super fucked up)

has JFed apologized for their full-throated support of the Iraq War in 2003 and onwards?

has JFed apologized for their attacks on teachers who are doing their best to teach their students to pursue justice?

has JFed apologized for whitewashing the actions of Mark Kruger, a former PPB officer who *built shrines to Nazi soldiers* and retired as the highest-paid police officer in PDX?

has JFed apologized for calling me and members of my synagogue antisemitic because we organized for a ceasefire?

has JFed apologized for how they attacked the Oregon Food Bank for taking a moral stand during a genocide?

has JFed apologized for Bob Hornstein saying that any Jewish Portlander who did not fully support Israel was not really Jewish and was outside of the tent of the community?

frankly it is astounding that JFed Portland is demanding an apology from 4 city councilors for... being at a zoom press conference

has Marc Blattner apologized for this? it is still up on the Jewish Federation website, so clearly that's their position even today

jewishportland.org/israel/nocea...

cover of ursula k le guin’s book Catwings. four cats with wings sit on a tree branch

and here i was thinking le guin was writing fiction!

Hebrew calligraphy in dark green stretches in lines across the image. Negative space makes room for a simple representation of an inflatable frog costume with a blue bandana. That shape consists of the English translation of the Hebrew, in a lighter green, and in much smaller text. -- Famously, the Egyptian tyrant causes Egypt to be overrun with frogs because he refuses to free the Hebrew people, but there are additional details that make this a fun one to ponder. For one, the Hebrew says "the frog came up" - ONE frog - even though the rest of the time it says "frogs." So there are a few explanations rabbis have come up with to explain this. One is that a single frog multiplied to create swarms. A more creative explanation is that there was a singular giant frog who traveled and brought destruction. Jewish social media was sharing videos of the Portland Frog protester with the caption, "One Big Frog! One Big Frog!" Of course the frog protesters did multiply, and many were seen in crowds all over the world on "No Kings" Day. This calligraphic work takes the verses addressing the frog plague and combines them to form a simple rendering of the Portland Frog protester. The frog figure itself is made up of the English translations of the Hebrew around it. At the bottom left my signature is in the shape of a lily pad.

"Tzefardea Tzedek" (Frog of Righteousness)

As soon as the Portland Frog became a meme, Jewish social media blew up with jokes about the 2nd Passover plague - tzefarde'a (frogs) - and the Rabbinical commentary around it. I knew I had to make a calligraphy piece encompassing all of it. (more in alt.)

i leyn like twice a month! i don’t use the same tropes as him tho, i am content with my avery/binder while he does a very trad binder

the leyning maven at my shul extended a personal invitation for me to join his advanced trope class (which is just for his former students, and i have never taken a class with him). not sure if i should be flattered or insulted lol

it turns out actually Doing Activism makes me feel less miserable about what I see on the internet news who knew

Isabel** ugh

Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole by Isabel J. Kim Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

this is one of the many reasons i really liked Isabella Kim’s award winning short story/fan fic follow up clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_02_24/

linktr.ee/defensefund....

flyer with a yellow background, top text reads in blue "DEFENSE FUND PDX Street Fair." the center of the flyer has 3 fists breaking through tent-shaped cages, the center cage has an iron front flag flying above it. text in the lower half reads: "October 18, 2-7 PM on Clinton St & 25th, Music, Vendors, Raffle, Family Friendly." Text continues along the bottom: "All Proceeds to the Bail Fund"

Please come through and show some support! It is needed more than ever as the rhetoric and tactics from the feds continue to escalate. Pull up after the No Kings march or instead of it, whatever works for you! Please share too!

reminds me of how when i used to live in DC, i would get deranged instagram ads for lockheed martin and northrop grumman. why do they advertise to the general public??

i have so much zhoug!! what is one meant to do with so much zhoug