Todd Madeksza

Dad, pretty good cook and Cardinals fan.

[AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY @AfricanArchives]

Watched the movies Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick?

The first Top Gun competition was held in 1949. The white pilots competed with the latest state of art aircraft while the black pilots were forced to compete with older obsolete planes.

After 3 days of competition The Tuskegee Airmen team of : Captain Alva Temple, 1st Lieutenant Harry Stewart, 1st Lieutenant James Harvey, and 1st Lieutenant Halbert Alexander (alternate) were announced the winners. The official results for first place were recorded as “unknown” for nearly 46 years.

There was dead silence in the room. Not one of their colleagues applauded this accomplishment. The victory was swept under the rug and the trophy ‘went missing’ and was not seen by the public for 55 years (until 2004). Introducing the real Top Guns.

73 years after the historic win, the American Association of Retired Persons’ Wish of a Lifetime organization met with Harvey to grant his “wish” – that his team be widely recognized.

[Arizona Cardinals @AZCardinals]

We see you @RobGronkowski

[Jimmy G @jimmygards]

“Archibald, I want to talk about dynasties. La familia. Lin-e-age, dig? Kennedys. Alec Baldwin and the other ones. Fast and the Furious. Expectations. You hail from a line of swine-skin aerialists. Gridiron aristocrats, k? But David had to give that throne to Solomon, and the centurion-blocked pocket is now your canvas.”

[Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر @emilykschrader]

The New York Times appears to have published completely fake news in order to falsely accuse the IDF of committing war crimes and shooting children “at point blank range” which Gazan and foreign medics testify they witnessed.

The only problem with this is the “evidence” provided by those same “experts” appears, according to analysis from numerous ballistics experts, radiologists, trauma nurses, medics, and more, to be digitally altered or completely falsified.

The NYT needs to answer for this. This is completely irresponsible and incitement to violence at a time when Jews are being actively attacked globally fueled by disinformation like this.

Here is the NYT article: https://t.co/Ppqb0tjjQi

There are the x-rays that purport to show children who were treated after being “shot by the IDF” with what they claim is 5.56 caliber bullets … yet there are no skull fractures, no exit wounds, and no change in the bullet itself from a rifle? Come on… as people far more knowledgable than me would say, there’s no way these x-rays show what the “experts in Gaza” claim they show — which of course makes their entire testimony highly suspect.

[Elisha Wiesel @ElishaWiesel]

DESERTERS OF ISRAEL, RETURN TO YOUR PEOPLE THIS YOM KIPPUR

I remember the last Yom Kippur my father, Elie Wiesel, was still alive. Dressed in white, he held the Torah as the Yom Kippur service began. My son and I stood with him, concerned that it might be too heavy for his frail frame. The hushed congregation heard his clear voice testify three times: “Or zarua la’tzadik,” light is sown for the righteous.

The Jewish flame which burned within him as he sang was a mystery that contained wonder at eternity, fear that he had not done enough with his life, a rebuke of God for Auschwitz, an unending love for his people, and everything in between.

Then the prayer leader began the Kol Nidrei service with the annual proclamation: “By the decree of the heavenly court, and by the decree of the earthly court—we declare it permitted to pray amongst sinners.”

These words moved me every year because for most of my youth, I was not a regular participant in Jewish life. I tolerated Jewish life , sometimes mocked it, and often fought it as a burden I had not sought. To attend synagogue was an imposition on my time and on my rational worldview.

Now a new generation is turning away from Judaism, by joining with Israel’s enemies, in the wake of Oct. 7, to unfairly malign the Jewish state. To those of you who have sacrificed your connection with your people in order to appease the God of liberal acceptance, I say, come back.

If you have turned your back on our traditions as well as your brothers and sisters in Israel: come back. Our faith has so much beauty waiting for you.

If you wear a tallit and tefillin, and blow shofar and keep kosher, but use your Judaism to undermine the right of the seven million Jews who live in Israel to choose their own destiny: come back. In attacking your own people, you have gone further than those who renounce all traditional observance.

Can the Kol Nidre prayer speak to you as it does to me?

I remember being on the outside and looking in. I felt that in the eyes of more connected Jews, I was a sinner. I appreciated that despite this, the words of the Kol Nidre invited me into the service.

The prayer stated that I, who had once chosen to shun my cultural birthright of 3500 years, was still welcome.

Only later I learned that I was not the originally intended audience for these words. The proclamation welcoming sinners dates back to a time when Jews were forced at the point of the sword to accept foreign gods and sever themselves from our people. While I took my Judaism for granted, previous generations—whether in Alhambra or a Soviet prison—understood and appreciated the treasure they had been born into, but were forced to repudiate.

Jews were threatened with death or torture in order to renounce Judaism in favor of Christ, Allah or Stalin.

Today, the pressure to assimilate in order to enjoy America’s opportunities exerts its own powerful pull.

There are more foreign gods demanding allegiance now than Abraham could ever have smashed at the dawn of our faith. Worthy ideas have been twisted since Oct. 7, against all reason, into attacks on the Jewish people.

Today, secular democracy deserves to be celebrated. Every vote matters, and minorities must be protected. Yet some elite university students, Jews among them, support the religious dictatorships seeking to destroy Israel, the only actual democracy in the Middle East with a thriving Arab minority population amongst its citizenry. Why?

Sexual identity is revered as a crucial aspect of modern-day life. Yet some of its most vocal champions, Jews among them, side with Hamas, a group that brutally oppresses and murders LGBTQ+ individuals, and attacks Israel, home to the largest Pride parade in the Middle East. Why?

Human rights work calls to young people, Jews among them, anguished by America’s racist past, and rightly so. Yet in the name of these principles, somehow only suffering caused by the Jews is elevated, while every blow aimed at Israel is ignored or justified. Why?

We as a people deserve to be inscribed in the book of life. And we will never again let the hands of our enemies or indifferent bystanders, or of anyone other than ourselves and our God, hold that pen.

Jews do not proselytize, which is why we are only 0.2% of the population, as compared to the more than half of the world which identifies as Christian or Muslim. But this means every one of us matters, including Israeli Jews who face rockets and terrorism daily.

With my father’s permission, I used to bring books with me to shul on Yom Kippur, as long as they fit inside the Machzor prayer book. He was much less concerned with whether I believed in God, or had anything to say to him. He wanted me to be with my people, where I belonged.

It is not too late to come home, where you not only belong but where you are needed.

My father wrote in 1975 about the enemy plan to turn us against each other: “We are told that this is not about Jews, this is about Zionists. They try to divide us, to pit us one against the other after having pitted us against the world.”

Hear his warning and come back. Bring your questions. Bring your empathy for the civilians sacrificed by our enemies. But put down your weaponized phrases that falsely accuse Israel of genocide and apartheid, and stand again within the tent.

Stand with us, fast with us, defy the haters of Israel. And return to your place in the story of our people this Yom Kippur.

[I Smoked Lindsey Graham @BlackKnight10k]

We found out that dude had a mansion and a drop top Bentley and the port union's strike ended immediately 😂

[Kalshi Football @KalshiFB]

Larry Fitzgerald 2008 playoffs is one of the greatest we've EVER seen from a wide receiver. In 4 games he caught 30 passes for 546 yards and SEVEN touchdowns 🐐

[The Mossad: Satirical and Awesome @TheMossadIL]

Think about it. Hezbollah is now being run by people who until a week ago weren't considered by them important enough to have a beeper.

[LEEZUS @AndrewLeezus]

Rest In Peace, Al McCoy.

Legend. ❤️

[Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig]

Can someone please tell the American students and Squad members mourning Hezbollah terrorists that the group killed 241 U.S. service members—220 Marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers—in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing?

They then, mere minutes later, detonated a second bomb and killed 58 French troops, and six Lebanese civilians.

Hezbollah is not your friend. Neither is Hamas.

[Birdgang Travel Club @birdgangtravel]

You don't say.....

#Birdgang #azcardinals #arizonacardinals

[Kyle Brandt @KyleBrandt]

My gameball goes to a guy who is no longer yours to kick around… @gmfb

[Arizona Secretary of State @AZSecretary]

Ballot signature verification is a critical component of providing safe, fair, and secure elections #trustedinfo2024 #protect2024

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

"You may have been Weekly Standard readers. You probably remain WSJ editorial page readers. You have been Maybe Trump or Reluctantly Trump or Perhaps-He-Wouldn’t-Be-So-Bad Trump...Ask yourself: Do you honestly believe this man should lead the country?'
https://t.co/WhVnBJ8R0o

[Dr. Eli David @DrEliDavid]

According to reports Yahya Sinwar is disguised as a woman.

Who would have believed that the first transgender man in Gaza who identifies as a woman would be the head of H×mas himself 🤣
https://t.co/U2k1otqxyq

[Jason Jay Smart @officejjsmart]

It had been 900 days since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine 🇺🇦 began.

Ukraine 🇺🇦, far smaller in size & population than Russia, has shown that it is ready to fight.

👉 Let’s arm Ukraine 🇺🇦 to win.

🔥 It is time for Russia to lose.

[Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump]

FLASHBACK

Tim Walz on Trump’s attacks on John McCain (2019): “He [McCain] and I worked together on a lot of issues. There were a few senators who, when I would walk down the hall, knew me by name and came to see me on these veterans issues. This one is not about a senator; it’s not about politics. That is our brother in-arms who all of us really looked up to…

The one thing that always bound us on this was that dignity about not attacking another veteran. I’m deeply hurt by it. It’s deeply unfair. … Sen. McCain was a good, honorable man when I knew him, and he was a hero long before I met him.”

[Sweet Daddy Cool✌️🇺🇦 🐕🇨🇦 @m_millsey]

This is excellent on so many levels. #Aerosmith #REOSpeedwagon

[Acyn @Acyn]

Republican Mayor John Giles: What to me is the compelling reason to support Kamala Harris is that I don't question that at the top of her agenda is what is in the best interest of the United States. I honestly can't say that I think that's the case with Mr. Trump

[Chris DeRose | Housing, History, Hotels @chrisderose]

The Boomers passing the torch directly to Millennials is the most Gen X thing that ever happened.