Ok, here's the deal: the election is just a few days away:

NOVEMBER 2, 2004

So we thought you may want our take on the significance of this exciting day. Unfortunately, The BHI Alumane Link has pledged itself to remaining non-partisan, that is, we cannot (explicitly) support either candidate. So instead, we decided to start from the beginning and try to figure out what's really going on here.

Well, there's this guy:

And then there's this guy:

Oh, man, we'd make better candidates any day... If only Arnold thought of his constitutional amendment earlier... Born & bred Americans clearly can't handle running this country. We turn on the news, hoping to get the real scoop: Gasp! It appears that the media is trying to dummy us down! (Is this why Be'er Hagolah told us not to watch TV?) They tell us which candidate can survive a debate without making stupid faces on stage and which has the prettier daughters. They may even tell us that there are people getting blown up half-way across the world, but they stop at a sympathetic "aww". In a scavenger hunt for the issues, we turn to our family and friends. At a Shabbos table in Brooklyn we hear that if we elect Kerry he's going to let terrorists destroy Israel. Better go for Bush! But then grandma says that if we vote for Bush he's going to cut all her benefits and give them to the millionaires. Better not vote at all (they tell us it won't make a difference in New York anyway)... better just leave the U.S. and go to some communist country with a Yes_No voting system. Democracy is just too dirty of a game to play. But on the other hand, is it possible that there are genuine issues hiding between the dog-eat-dog tactics? Well, we don't know. And besides, we're non-partisan, so even if we knew, we couldn't tell you. But we do tell you, fellow graduates of the prestigious Gemnasiya Beer Hagolah (haha), that if you think about this election at all (which may not be worth your while in the first place), you should think about the issues carefully and make your own,  personal, individually crafted and well-reasoned decisions. If you have any thoughts on the matter, please write to us (bhialum@yahoo.com). And lucky you:  you can take any side you wish! Here a non-partisan selection of some resources to start with:

www.georgebush.com Bush's Jewish Team Jews for Bush www.whitehouse.gov On the Issues Reelect Bush

www.johnkerry.com Kerry on Jewish Americans     Jews for Kerry www.bushflash.com www.bushwatch.org On the Issues

CNN on the Election New York Times on the Election OU Institute for Public Affairs