Fans with Rocks in their Heads: For some unknown reason, impossible to analyze by me, rock stars are, well, rock stars. They are accorded a degree of sometimes adulation reserved usually for a divinity. I cannot understand it. I never cried, fainted or went into a frenzy about any rock stars and do not understand why many do. They are singers and some dancers and yes good ones even great ones who changed the course of music and a few even the course of cultural history but rock stars are ALL they are. I am aghast at the constant coverage, analysis and concern about them. I do not know WHY rock stars get such screaming adoration. Can anyone give me a profound analysis?

The Shame of Sham: This is not my usual pristine written piece. Read the link below IF you are interested in the Michael Jackson saga written by a writer who lived with him since 2005. I claim not to be interested and there you have it the minute I see a story maybe worth reading I do. If this story is true, I may have been off the beaten track in terms of my indictment of him most especially about sex with children -- I say MIGHT be off the mark. Who can EVER truly know?

Allegedly, according to this piece, he had a rare disease which left his lungs unable to make a certain protein and hence left them unprotected and so the masks. He also had anorexia according to this and he ALSO NO surprise AT ALL was gay and had a couple of young men (NOT boys) he was in love with but this author says the accusations of child molestation were money driven by the accusers and probably false ALTHOUGH his penchant was for men of the younger variety but this author says not that young. Still admittedly just SLEEPING in a bed with kids was insane. He led a double life sham marriages and all.

When all is said and done if this is all to be believed and true (WHO KNOWS) it would seem IF Jackson in the first place was savvy enough to watch his finances and MOST especially watch the piranhas with whom he got involved in his career, MOST DEFINITELY NOT JUST even SLEEP with little boys which led to the accusations and his breakdown, he could be alive today and would not have had to agree to the 50 time tour at age 50 which he could not do. If my grandmother had wheels she'd be a streetcar.

MY HYPOTHESIS if this: If this link is to be believed MOST IMPORTANTLY IN THE FIRST PLACE IF he could have come out as homosexual maybe just maybe he would not have had to go through such charades and such a crazy life. He could have been honest about his homosexuality, not sneak around meeting people in the middle of the night and honest about whom he loved and also described his physical alleged genetic illnesses none of this would have happened. IF you have to hide ALL the time who you are great pathology ensues psychological pathology, physical pathology and even death by drugs or suicide. It is a near impossible task and for the famous it is torturous just ask or read about all those famous of yesteryear as to how they hid their sexuality -- NOT EASILY. What a moronic and stupid thing religion, and society does to those who are different ESPECIALLY where sex is concerned AS IF the larger society as a whole is so wise and successful at relationships and marriage they can teach ANYONE whom they can love. Just ask Mark Sanford who knows SO much about it.

Here is the story below from Huffington Post:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196009/Im-better-dead-Im-How-Michael-Jackson-predicted-death-months-ago.html

Bill Moyers asked viewers to check out the blog and write what they thought the American dream meant. So I took a stab and posted it on the PBS blog. If you want to do the same Google Bill Moyers and give your thoughts.


The American Dream – that oft used multifaceted phrase unique to these United States. What does it REALLY mean? I believe it has a common meaning and a unique meaning. It is as amorphous as the diversity of the nation and as concrete as the people who comprise the nation. It is unique and it is diverse. It has evolved as the nation has evolved and its foundation has stayed the same as the nation’s Founders intended.


The Founders, imperfect as they may have been, created through a rather simple document – a Constitution – which bestowed upon these United States the keys to the machinery of government which form a democratic way of life no other nation ancient or modern has ever duplicated. Their gift was the mixture that created the possibility of this American dream. It combined the balance of power (executive, legislative and judicial) in the operation of government with civil libertarian freedoms through which the dream could become manifest. In addition to all of that, the Founders advocated for a free market through which the governed could use to improve the quality of life. The country added one more necessary ingredient which was the near absence of the importance of social class in determining one’s destiny. The notion of class did not cement one to his economic fate as it did in the European experience. It is the combination, I believe, of our Constitutional republic with our basic civil libertarian freedoms amid a free market economy which makes the American dream work. It inspires hope that each generation COULD do better than the one which came before it.


The Constitution provides too, I believe, the necessary flexibility that allows for the possibility of intrinsic social change. It is the mixture of these basic pillars upon which the United States stands that makes it unique among nations and which makes so many want to risk their lives to come here. Nowhere, I believe, on earth is the concept of what it means to be a free person so embraced. We may differ as to policy but we, I think, are in agreement as to this.
The hope and the dream, of course, have never been completely fulfilled. To be sure, many groups have struggled and still do to obtain the nation’s promise. The magnificence of the country, though, is the fact that it can change over time and that it does not remain stagnant by policies driven by the realities of different eras. The country can change as the times and technology dictate and yet remain true to the basic tenets the Founders initially put forth. The arc of US history, I believe, bends towards justice and the possibility of justice, fair play and advancement continue to be its hope.

The Impermissible Becomes Permissible: There are some who have vociferously and with great anger accused me of not being the liberal I profess to be in some of the letters I have written. They accuse me of playing into the hands of the right wing without allowing me the ability to enunciate a defense. I need to be clear from the beginning. I will never be a right wing apologist. I have been over decades, am now and always will consider myself progressively left of center. That does not mean, however, I must march in lock step with every viewpoint my side of the isle advocates. I am a liberal but I am a liberal with decided boundaries.

The latest media frenzy concerning the adulation of Michael Jackson as well as the outside-of-marriage sexual liaisons of South Carolina Governor Sanford, Nevada Senator Ensign, and Florida Representative Vitter have things in common. I believe we have become a nation and, indeed, a world where the formerly impermissible is now permissible. It is even permissible among elected officials whose very party creed is adamantly opposed to such immoral behavior. It apparently matters little as these elected officials, in the face of the greatest hypocrisy, seem to keep their jobs and suffer little recrimination. I have seen those who have committed the most egregious moral behavior within a party that professes to have no tolerance for such bad behavior, keep their jobs and others make excuses for them while they boldly lie to their base seemingly with little consequence.

Moreover, the elevation of Michael Jackson to near sainthood illuminates the fact that this man who paid a 20 million dollar settlement to squash one of the most egregious offenses known to man, child molestation, even in death is allowed a pass on that. Not only is he given a pass, Congress gives him a respectful moment of silence. I saw many lugubriously weep for him and I even saw, to my incredulity, a flag raised to half staff for him. Why?

The once impermissible becomes permissible as we on both sides have become inured to the most vulgar behaviors or as the great Steve Allen called it in his book we overlook and do not see the “vulgarians at our gate.” No one blinked an eye when during one of Michael Jackson’s dances he grabs his lower parts for the entire world, including young children, to see. Seemingly, not a word of condemnation was uttered. Nothing surprises us anymore. The once impermissible becomes permissible. It is so permissible that we see entire broadcasts devoted to a man whose behavior, with most especially male children, was dubious at best and illegal at worst. Well, it surprises me and when I think the emperor is not wearing any clothes even though the preponderance thinks he is, I say so. Some objectionable behaviors cross political boundaries and, worse, they tug at the glue that keeps the fabric of our nation together.

Michael Jackson -- Shame on Keith Olbermann To treat Michael Jackson as one would treat the death of a head of state is sickening. He was a rock star. THAT'S it. In addition, in my opinion, the doubts which lingered as to his implication in pedophilia make the elevation of his death absolutely preposterous. He admitted to sleeping with children and advocated its innocence. Did he touch them in bad places? Who knows. I am suspect. When a man in his mid forties sleeps with UNRELATED-to-him young boys whether any sexual touching occurred or not utterly OBVIATES the catapulting of Mr. Jackson to the gods of Mt. Olympus.

Was he talented? WITHOUT A DOUBT YES. Was it worthy of ALL NIGHT coverage on every station including until this morning and probably for days yet to come? UNEQUIVOCALLY NO. With worldwide events exploding and people's lives at stake I say shame on you Keith Olbermann. I expected better. Clearly, MSNBC felt they must compete with CNN, Fox and other sensationalist rags. It would have gleaned, I suspect, MSNBC more listeners, eventually, if he stuck to his usual format. It would have given us utter RELIEF!! I hope we are spared tonight as I look to both to him and Rachel Maddow every night for brilliant, informative as well as entertaining left-of-center opinion to help shape my own political beliefs. They both do what they do so well but last night was surely different from all others!

Sex in South Carolina: Governor Sanford and Republicans DESERVE to be pilloried for their sexual immoralities more than Democrats who commit the same indiscretions. The Democratic Party does NOT make the main thrust of its ideological argument about Christianizing the nation through its omnipresent proselytizing of acceptable adult sexual behavior. Republicans make its party platform about so called family values and the joys of heterosexual marriage. It advocates for sexual abstinence outside of marriage and, of course, delivers its omnipresent choral cacophony of homosexual condemnation. This is what makes Republicans the party of hypocrites. They claim as their mantle sanctimonious sexual morality but then are caught soliciting sex in a men’s room or from prostitutes or, in Governor Sanford's case, from a liaison in Argentina he could have met in an online chat. Republicans condemn others to the belief that hell awaits if they do not tow the Biblical line and then cross that line in every possible way often paying little political price.

They influence the psychology of a nation forcing many into a self loathing vortex when they are unable to meet the impossible standards the leadership imposes. Moreover, and, in my opinion, even worse, they create law which affects the lives of millions. Republicans must be held to a higher standard as the leadership itself often does not conform to the same tenets of behavior it expects of everyone else. The Governor Sanfords of the Republican Party and their attendant religious fundamentalist movements laugh all the way to the bank as they pull yet another piece of wool over a very gullible public’s eyes!

Sent this to various news media: The Brief Disgust of DOMA

Because of the dismay of many in the Democratic Party base about the content of the brief filed in support of DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) by Obama's Justice Department, by executive order benefits are being extended to partners of homosexual federal employee's partners/spouses. It was an outreach to the President's supporters and, to his credit, he listened somewhat to his critics. That's good but not good enough. The verbiage in the DOMA brief was insulting and not worthy of an Obama Justice Department. The president knows, I am sure, what he must do. He MUST show us he knows the language of the DOMA brief was poor and that homosexual marriage issues are civil rights issues nearly identical to the ones Obama's parents faced in some states as black/white marriages, as insane as that seems today, were prohibited. Most have someone they know, a close friend or a family member whom they love who is gay. I know, they would not want them to suffer what previous generations did which propelled some to alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness, depression, abuse and worse even suicide. What an unnecessary waste of life. Homosexuals pay taxes, serve, love and even die for our country. They deserve what everyone else takes for granted.

I want to hear the President repudiate the horrendous brief his Justice Department filed. If reports are to be believed, the president allegedly did not know its content. I would hope he would disclaim adherence to those obnoxious views in the brief and address most especially the outrageous ones which refer to incest and pedophilia. I cannot even dignify those horrific iterations with a discussion. President Obama needs to show he is on the side of his base and risks losing valuable support if he does not.

If the Justice Dept is to uphold the law so be it. That is what could have been said period without the other rancid irrelevancies. DOMA is the law and that's that. It is, up to the legislature or the courts to reverse this patently unfair unconstitutional legislation enacted over ten years ago. This administration should be at odds with much of its content and the President should say that. Indeed, it is up to the the legislature or the courts to reverse it.

Disgusting DOMA: Because of the dismay about the brief filed by Obama's Justice Department on DOMA benefits are being extended to partners of gay federal employees by executive order. It was like pulling teeth but he did listen a bit. That's good but not enough. I sent TONS of emails of dismay to the White House about DOMA and tons of irate blogs. Human Rights Campaign Fund was not going to a large funding benefit SURELY helped too. I even called the HRC Friday when I heard about that awful DOMA brief.

Here is what I emailed the president today and would love if you do the same on his contact page (Link below). It's not eloquent but to the point. I hope someone listens and a higher human power (or divine as I will take any help we can get) conveys my thoughts. Write to the White House about it using my concepts or better ones if you want. It helps and do it fast as he is speaking today about it. He MUST show us he knows our issues are civil rights issues and nearly identical to the ones Obama's parents faced in some states as black/white marriages were prohibited as insane as that seems today. Please support this issue vociferously and often. Also you can go to the Human Rights Campaign Fund link: http://www.hrc.org/contactus and tell them how you feel.

It helps if all of us play our part but in my opinion straight people who show support DECIDEDLY help. Most have someone they know, a close friend or a family member whom they love who is gay. You, I KNOW, would not want them to suffer what previous generations (mine included) did which propelled some to alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness, depression, abuse and worse even suicide. What an unnecessary waste of life. Homosexuals pay taxes, serve, love and even die for our country. Gays deserve what everyone else takes for granted. So here is what I said:


Mr. President: THANK you. My faith in you is restored a bit. Granting gay partners/spouses of federal worker's benefits is a wonderful step and it shows me that you listen and I HOPE care a little about feelings, doing what is right and not always what is politically expedient.

In your speech today I am HOPING I will hear some repudiation of that horrendous brief filed in support of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). I guess if reports are to be believed you really did not know the content of the brief. I would hope you would disclaim adherence to those obnoxious views ESPECIALLY of perverted incest and pedophilia. I cannot even dignify those issues with a repudiation and I hope, too, some action uttering that dismay would be uttered to those who issued that abhorrent brief so that we do not associate you with those views.

If the Justice Dept is to uphold the law so be it and THAT is what could have been said without giving any justification of anything. DOMA is the law and that's that even though THIS administration is at odds with much of the content of DOMA it is up to the LEGISLATURE or the courts to reverse which you would favor. I would love something like that, Mr. President, to be said. Then my faith would be renewed. This is a good first step but not the ONLY step that needs to be taken. I KNOW you should probably not implement a reversal of gay issues such as Don't Ask Don't Tell first thing on your agenda. There are other more pressing issues but to explain the DOMA brief in the above way to the American people I think is prudent and, in fact, necessary. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you for listening.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

Murder at the Museum: The recent murder by a right wing anti-Semite at the Holocaust Museum in Washington is a mystery to me. Who would have thought after the murder of 6 million innocent humans that anything like that, as Elie Wiesel said at the Buchenwald concentration camp with President Obama, would again be perpetrated? Who would think this would still be part of human history?

For the Jew, the specter of Hitlerian hate never dies. It lives on not only among the rancid right wing fanatics but it lives on among leftist extremists as well. The Jew is hated from each side of the political spectrum equally and in every corner of the globe. Even in many South American states, synagogues must have guards on rooftops. They must remain nondescript with little visible acknowledgment of what, in reality, they are. If a Jew has money he must be unpretentious, careful not to show his wealth lest he be a target -- the rich Jew, the non-deserving-of-his-money Jew even if he worked so hard to get it.

I am convinced that the world's LONGEST hatred is its most UNIVERSAL hatred. I am convinced there is NONE other like it EVER in human history. It is and has always been so very hard for me to understand. I, a Jew, have none of the poisonous stereotypical attributes accorded to Jews. I am neither a Communist nor a Wall Street banker. I am certainly not among the rich, I am not a thief, a conniver and I am not plotting to undermine anyone. I have never been involved in a trade union nor a conspiracy to hurt multitudes. I have never known anyone who has. The only group with whom I have met consistently is a book club. The question becomes, as it always has been, why. Why is the Jew the most despised, put upon, rejected group, I think, on earth?

I KNOW my people and have lived among them all my life. I KNOW who I am and I KNOW the generality of who we are. I KNOW the goodness, the brilliance, the yearning for success, education and the caring about the powerless that lies deep in the Jewish heart. I KNOW Jews voted overwhelmingly for Obama despite fears to the contrary. I KNOW this and yet I do NOT know what we as a people have done for 5000 years of history to deserve our fate. Is the reason fundamentally the accusation of New Testament deicide or is it jealousy of Jewish success as my mother so often explained to her child what the rationale behind the accusation of "Christ Killer" was so many years ago? Why is Madoff so feared among my people as an indictment of ALL of us but Charles Ponzi was just a bad guy and had nothing to do with Italians? Why were indictments of the spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg a stain upon all Jews? Why were my parents afraid to talk about the issue? Why was not the spy Robert Hansen an indictment of all Danes, Polish or Germans and a shame upon them?

If I had lived in Europe at that fateful Holocaust time and if I were the same person I am today -- disabled, Jewish, female among other minorities I would have had a free ride to Auschwitz and, in reality, would have done nothing to anyone to deserve it. If I could live to be 200 the mystery of the murder at the museum would still remain a mystery to me.

Haunted by Heresy -- the Irish Catholic Church/Monotheistic Dilemma: James Carroll's editorial in The Boston Globe June 8, 2009 "Haunted by Irish rosary beads" (link below) about the extensive and endemic child abuse of specific institutions within the Irish Catholic Church astounds me. His article overcomes me with incredulity how a specifically religious institution devoted to comfort brings not comfort but unspeakable cruelty to the members it serves. I, however, do not sit in smug judgment of other religious institutions. In reality, in my opinion, abuse and the staggering hypocrisy which is its offspring surely has not been the domain of one church.

Violent abuses have existed for years among the powerful religious hierarchies. I believe the blame lies not within one faith but within all faiths and is particularly evident in the most orthodox of the monotheistic traditions. The abuse we have seen, may have experienced and about which we have read walks hand in hand with a belief system which is based on the severe repression of, most especially, man's sexual appetite and that which is biologically frozen in his DNA. It begs for expression. When it cannot be expressed or when men (and women too) are condemned for even thinking their sexual thoughts, it will, by any means necessary, gain expression sometimes in the most abhorrent and unacceptable ways. Fundamentalist Christianity, Orthodox Judaism, Islamic extremism and other ultra religious sects are not among the innocents here. Sex abuse is not only within the domain of the Catholic Church but exists wherever the rigidity of a faith asks its adherents to do that which they cannot possibly do. There is nothing healthy, God-like or good in the suppression of that which cannot possibly be suppressed.


http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/06/08/haunted_by_irish_rosary_beads/

A Part of Obama's Odyssey: The President's speech at Normandy commemorating the 65th anniversary of D-Day was the greatest speech I have ever heard and probably will hear if I live to be 110. He was just superb and brought tears to my eyes more than once. He is here for OUR moment for OUR time and we are TRULY TRULY blessed!

He gave more than inspiring words. He gave a masterpiece. I have no words to describe THOSE words except to say that I am so fortunate that in my time in my era that I was alive to see and hear what he said. He was simply wonderful!!

I will write something more tying the entire trip in but I have to compose my thoughts and maybe wait until he returns from his trip.

A Threat to the President: Okay so I'm angry today because I get up read the news and am hit in the face with a story that the president was threatened so my BP rises and I need to vent. If you do not like it I always say you don't have to read it or delete it. It is not the most pristine perfect piece I've written but it gets the point across!

The president was threatened yesterday by some genius (Daniel James Murray) who said so when he went to a bank in Utah and withdrew $13,000. He had at least EIGHT registered firearms. It is sickening. It is amazing how many certifiable NUT JOBS there are out there and how many who are on networks, radio and other media virulently egging these wackos on wishing the president would fail or worse.

I think Obama's trip has so far been miraculous. I am Jewish and I am saying that. If better feelings can begin between the Arab world and us then we and Israel too will be the benefactor. Obama is doing unbelievable things and all some of these IDIOTS on blogs and media can talk about is his birth certificate or how he is a socialist when Bush caused the death of thousands including MORE than on 9/11 and more of us. If Obama saves us another attack from an irate Muslim because he hated being imprisoned for nothing, tortured or his family killed or bombed for nothing then Obama is worth his weight in gold. HE IS BRILLIANT and doing things maybe NO other president since Franklin Roosevelt has done. The stakes are HIGH as high maybe as a World War BECAUSE nuclear is now in the equation.

If it turns out otherwise I will be surprised and will admit to my error but now I think he is doing what for so long many of us and the world have thirsted. We have YEARNED, begged and pleaded for someone smart. 137 days into his administration and he has done legions. His trip to Egypt was a resounding success by anyone's standards. Elections matter OBAMA WON. Let me say that again he WON and it wasn't even close.

I WANT THE SECRETE SERVICE to investigate round the clock to find this lunatic who threatened the president until that jerk is found and while they are at it they might look at some of blogs too. Yes, I am a free speech advocate but some are outrageous and threats to the president's life is where my free speech advocacy ends.

If God forbid a trillion quadrillion times something EVER happens OUR president you can kiss this country goodbye. How do you think the MILLIONS upon millions of people who love him here would feel or what they would do not to mention what would happen around the world as the adoration he has across the globe is legion. I did not see ANY Bush adoration ANYWHERE. Obama is a loved man.

As much as some in this country have brains in their posterior like mush and cannot bear that a white guy LOST an election there are a billion people across the globe to whom he is giving hope. IF he has the good fortune to survive four years AND be elected for four more our country just may have been saved by the skin of its teeth yet again.

Sometimes miracles happen but in this country somehow somewhere some brainless IDIOT will try to screw it up you can be sure of that! The stupid insipid right wing are utter venomous morons if they cannot see poison they spew and the deadly ramifications it has.

A hand to the Muslim World: I have not had a chance to review what the President said but as usual what I did hear he delivered magnificently. The path we have chosen for decades MUST change if we are to live in a safer world retaining the moral clarity which at a distant time in our history we possessed. Obama's speech changed things. I hope.

The Abortion of Our Rights and the Rise of Domestic Terrorism: This is a letter I wrote to Attorney General Holder


The right wing religious FANATIC who assassinated Dr. Tiller and the many other right wing extremists who are antiabortion, anti-immigrant and anti-homosexual zealots are absolutely terrifying. Dr. Tiller, as you know, HELPED women in desperate need of help and it was LEGAL. What is in the essence of a person who kills, in a church, a doctor who has the legal authority to do what he does?

Women seeking late term abortions, as has been said, do NOT just one day walk by an abortion clinic and think maybe I should have an abortion. They, more often than NOT, during late stages of pregnancy have significant life threatening, complicated or emotionally unacceptable circumstances. Rachel Maddow interviewed Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation who was devastated by the death of her friend Dr. Tiller and who knew about the whys of late term abortion. She gave examples such as one girl who was 10 or 11 years old IMPREGNATED BY HER FATHER! The fetus, if taken to term, would have been a child of rape and incest. The young girl did not know what to do and waited until the latter stages of her pregnancy to seek help; another had terminal cancer and found out late in her pregnancy and STILL another had a fetus which was DEAD in her womb. There are many more mothers who develop serious maladies and threats to their life OR their fetuses do and would be either condemned to a horrific death once outside the womb or condemned to life-long debilitating physical deformities if taken to term. One male member of a right wing extremist group, she said, thought that the woman with the dead fetus in her womb should carry that fetus to term. This is how OUT OF CONTROL, ill informed and how sick they are.

These people who threaten violence of abortion clinics, torment patients and threaten doctors SHOULD be dealt with as TERRORISTS. They have at times even justified the assassination of the president. THIS IS HOW DANGEROUS they are. The President MUST be protected at all cost. I worry about right wing domestic terrorism every day and worry about our president's safety because of them. The right wing is, with their sanctimonious religious fanaticism, a huge threat to our nation perhaps even the GREATEST threat of all. This, like its Islamic terrorist cousin, is Christianized terrorism and their lack of morality is, in my opinion, the same. It is a clear and very present danger to all of us. I ask you, the Attorney General, with HASTE to monitor ALL of these groups and religious zealots everywhere who are a dire terrorist threat to our people, our president and our nation. Infiltrate them as soon as possible and prevent another catastrophic event.

The right of women to seek an abortion is enshrined in law and should stay that way to protect lives of full term living breathing human beings who find themselves in trouble! When abortion was illegal, as you know, women were consigned to filthy, back alley, abortion shops where they developed life threatening often fatal infection. Some even became permanently sterile. We cannot, we MUST not allow this to happen again and we MUST not allow these few religious fanatics to fill our lives with terror. I know you take this as seriously as most of us do and hope you are working feverishly to stop the murder of doctors, the bombing of clinics and the injury and sometimes death of the people who assist them.