Intelligent Design?: The Boston Globe July 15, 2009 op-ed article by Stephen Meyer "Jefferson support for intelligent design" offers the earth's complexity as proof of an "intelligent design" creator behind it and uses Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers, as supporting that argument. This is meaningless as to the truth of "intelligent design" itself.

Attaching a Founding Father's opinion to an "intelligent design" concept is usually code for placing the truth of a god-created universe at the center of science. Jefferson may have been a wise and prescient man who created one of our most breathtaking and enduring democratic documents but he was man of the 18th century and his understanding of science was limited to the age in which he lived. A belief in an undefined intelligent design creator of the universe by Jefferson or anyone else, for that matter, does not prove that there is one. The only thing science knows is what it knows and can prove. Science can prove the existence of a universe, the existence of DNA, the atom, the existence of bacteria etc. and man can rejoice in their awesomeness and discovery but what so called intelligent entity began or is behind it all is for now and maybe forever unknowable.

A Letter to Howard Zinn: I wrote this email to Howard Zinn, a very prominent left wing former professor of history at Boston University. I met him at Boston University when I went there in the late 1960's. He and a few other professors overtook my political soul. He was the most influential professor I had and honed my beliefs for a lifetime. I had a chance encounter at a local restaurant when I was with my cousin eating lunch. I said the following:

Dear Professor Zinn. I could not believe when you walked past me and my cousin facing you said you won't believe who that was. Since I had my back toward you I did not see your face but could tell from your stature and the back EXACTLY who it was. I must say that I was thrilled to finally see you in person after so many years since BU. Since I have a disability it is not always possible for me to go to where you might be speaking so finally meeting you was delightful and made MY day!

At the risk of redundancy and hoping you do not get tired of hearing how important you were to students and in my life, you along with some historical events have shaped my philosophy and many political views. I have wavered now and then but not so very much. Some have criticized me for thinking TOO much about politics. I once had a friend say to me "politics, politics that's all you think about is politics!" I had to admit she was correct as I try, even to this day, to figure out what the truth really is. I still cannot quite do it. Certain things, though, I do know. So many unnecessary wars and horrendous killing have been this nation's policies for far too long pouring lives and treasure like water through a sieve.

Wars which did NOT need to be fought and so many people killed all over the world who did not need to die have been part of our nation's recent legacy. A very good friend of mine from my home town who also went to BU was killed in Vietnam shot down in a helicopter. Who remembers him now? Few. I do, though. I don't forget. He had joined ROTC at BU to get money for college and if he had not enlisted in ROTC he may have avoided the draft lottery and been alive today with children and even grandchildren. His fiance married another. With him the family line died out as his sister (my best friend) died early of cancer. They were a wonderful family whom I loved. I never forgot that day when we received the news of Donny's death. I visited the family, of course, and his mother sported a gold star. I thought a gold star -- a gold star THAT'S what they give you for a son? Insanity as former Defense Secretary Robert MacNamara, the Vietnam policy advocate and one who admitted the folly and lies of Vietnam, lived well into his 90's. Where is the justice?

After that and after hearing so many anti-war speeches by you and others of that era my political foundation was set. So I owe you all these years for imbuing me with a sense of questioning government policy always and not buying into all the claptrap of national propaganda which is very strong and very intoxicating. I do that for both wings of the spectrum but most especially, of course, for the rancid right as I call it.

You gave me so much and I appreciate it so much. After seeing you, I left with a general sense of love which cost me so little. It certainly cost less than the tuition of BU -- at that time -- which was $3,000 bucks including the cost of residence. I got a bargain!

I wish you well, thank you, and will continue to watch and listen to your speeches, often via UTUBE, whenever I can.

I sent the opinion below to the Department of Justice and urge you who feel the same to do so at the email address below. Former Vice President Richard Cheney and former President Bush have committed war crimes. They have committed crimes against humanity as well as illegalities in most especially failing to advise Congress of probably the most egregious CIA torture and other policies ever conducted in the name of we the people of the United States. This must not go unaddressed. Future administrations, Democrat and Republican alike must know that the policies and behaviors they enact WILL be scrutinized and that they are not the last word on power. The Constitution and we the people are.

Bush/Cheney et al are NOT above the law and the latest scandal is most probably the tip of a very deep and very illegal iceberg of policies which took a people to war based on lies, killed and maimed hundreds of thousands and sent others into permanent exile, tortured innocent people and denied many the ability to achieve justice through the suspension of habeas corpus and other 4th Amendment rights due to ANY human being not JUST US citizens and most especially in war.

They played with war in an area of the world which is a tinderbox of nations some of which harbor nuclear weapons or soon will. They failed to bring the REAL perpetrators of 9/11 to justice and they failed to protect the nation as witnessed by 9/11 occurring on THEIR watch after they were warned.

Middle Eastern memories are long and our safety as a nation is at risk. Mr. Holder needs to hold everyone who committed probably the most horrendous crimes of a democratic nation accountable. Write your senator, congressman/woman, the president and the Department of Justice for Mr. Holder to appoint a special prosecutor who will investigate, prosecute and if guilty, ultimately make those who perpetrated such heinous crimes pay the penalty for the worst and the most corrupt administration in US history.


-----Original Message-----

To: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Sent: Sun, Jul 12, 2009 7:53 pm
Subject: HOLD THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTABLE

An opinion for Attorney General Holder:

Either the Founding Fathers wrote a Constitution with separation of powers or they did not. If they did, which I think they did, and that document no longer applies then it would be nice for the people to know the mechanics of their government has changed and the executive branch is an entity in and of itself responsible to, in essence, no one. I suspect you do not think that is the case and that the former Bush administration officials must face the music they made and answer for illegalities and horrific policies they perpetrated which meant the taking of human life on a mass scale illegally and without cause.

Bush/Cheney, et al really spit in the face of Congress rendering it powerless. That is not QUITE what I think our founders had in mind. The Bush/Cheney conduct with respect to the conduct of the war in Iraq and deliberately keeping CIA procedures from Congress not only is unethical it is ILLEGAL and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The executive above all entities in government must be able to have its singular power checked. The legislative branch is a body of many with built in checks and the judiciary likewise but the executive stands alone with awesome power invested in one man or woman. Either we are a government of the people and our representatives, including and most especially the executive, are responsible to us or we are not.

Please read the accompanying opinion by Glen Greenwald from Salon.com


http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/

I was sent the link below which is an editorial which appeared in the NYT. It does not have the vituperative quality of a Maureen Dowd but it does a good job on this latest Senator Ensign affair and "C" Street aka "Prayer House" and its band of merry men in the naturally Republican party and their influence and the revenge of Ensign's number's husband Hampton.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/opinion/11collins.html

Excuse MY off the cuff writing. Not my usual thoughtful prose but it's early and I need to start my day and get somewhere so consequently ....

Click on Rachel Maddow show last night too. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ ; "Washington's Secret Religious Power Sect".

She did a WHOLE thing on this "C" Street INSANITY. These loathsome religious wacko idiots who use that tax free apartment they call in tax evasion style "Prayer House" in Washington and live together, paying lower rates, INCLUDING the rancid senator from Nevada, Ensign. This fascist NUT BAG organization is clearly the worst of the worst I have ever heard of in American politics with the exception of PERHAPS the Klan in the 20's. It is THAT bad because they are worms in positions of power and influence in the US senate and Congress and tie religion to state. It is outrageous and I can ONLY hope this uber jerk Ensign who can't keep his organ in his pants as neither can Sanford, justifies doing it and Ensign makes payoffs to his little number because he was persuaded by this group that they are "chosen by God" to be a member of the wealthy elite so whatever they do is okay.

It makes your head explode as it surely does mine since I loath religion in politics so entirely. These nut jobs think Hitler and even Mao were leaders because they were chosen and unquestioned by the populous who owed them undying allegiance except these jerks put a particularly American Christian empire spin on it and apply it to themselves as long as they have the big bucks and of course because they do they are chosen by god to do whatever they want. They simply pay everyone off whom they take advantage of and criminally pay off everyone to keep their mouths shut and who knows what else. They also have bases outside the US to spread their version of Christianity which makes it a rather international crime and one could argue even treasonous. This involves a NUMBER of US senators and those affiliated with them. it is, in my opinion, sick. The Ensign affair gets curiouser and curiouser and more rancid by the minute.

They persuaded Ensign to have Ensign's parents pay 96 thousand bucks to the girl he shtoooped. (as Rachel said and used that word to explain the dynamics) oh yes because they felt SOOO sorry for her...SURE. I call it payoff and hush money big time. Rachel Maddow did a FANTASTIC job and had on the author of a book written by a guy who lived with these morons. The book is called "Family" because these guys thought of themselves as a kind of mafia family in their power holding. Nice...now we have mafia families living in the Senate! Great. Just what we need.

This was written in response to an opinion by a local writer. The subject: Was the Iraq War worth it? He was, I thought, quite correct by saying no and stating why. I responded with a blog entry.


I could NOT have said it better. Lloyd Kaye is 150% correct. The presidency of George W. Bush, the worst in US history, did more to SIGNIFICANTLY hurt this country after 9/11 than any other president has perpetrated at any other time in our history. One wonders when our disastrous foreign adventures will ever stop. No, Lippy, the non-questioner supreme, it was NOT all about oil but it was PARTLY about oil. The other parts of the insane policy are endemic to US foreign policy which simply does not know when to quit, does not calculate risk, does not care about innocent lives -- OURS OR THEIRS, does not, with all the supposed prestigious institutions of learning, know how to read history and understand the culture of the nations it invades and give thought to policies which kill, maim and destroy. It does so using modern day blitzkrieg notions and overwhelming force. Why? Because it can.

Another part of the equation was, of course, George Bush's puerile mentality as he sat through too many western movies (when he wasn't drunk) which made him swagger and think if America or the president does it it must be right and HE, after all, was the president. He sure showed his daddy and Jeb what a man he truly was better than at any other time in his sorry life. He was going to seek revenge for 9/11, wage preemptive war on a people who did nothing to us and was STUPID enough to be convinced by NeoCons and Dick Cheney that he would remake the Middle East into a Jeffersonian democracy. They told him he would be remembered as liberator supreme. Instead he got a shoe thrown at him. We have paid the HEFTIEST price in blood and treasure. Worse, Arab memory is not short.

Our policies often take advantage of our geographical good fortune and run amok dropping bombs, napalm, and yes, even some gas on anyone who gets in the way of its manifest destiny, shining city on the hill and empire. Well, those bombs, bullets, defoliation, torture, displacement and other disastrous consequences of war like the killing of innocents may NOT be etched in our memory but they are etched in those we hit.

I HOPE the president is correct and the arc of history bends toward justice. So far I have seen little. I await a punishment visited upon those who perpetrated this horrendous folly, gargantuan mistake, lies and evil. The lives lost, the countries ruined, the export of Al Qaeda, the displacement of refugees, the civil war STILL being waged, Pakistani restiveness with its nuclear threat and the infusion of Iran with power it did not have before are simply SOME of the astounding consequences. The balance of power has been shaken. The crimes Bush/Cheney regime have perpetrated are crimes against humanity as grave and serious as any which have ever occurred. The path of history should be made right, the arc should bend toward justice and the guilty should be held accountable.

The Reality of Israel: In response to Mr. Scott Wolfe's July 6, 2009 Providence Journal letter to the editor "Time to break ties with Israeli oppressors," as a rather liberal Jew, I am continually staggered by the left's undying love for the Palestinian cause and its near universal crushing criticism of the State of Israel. Mr. Wolfe waxed effusive about our July 4th freedom from tyranny ridiculously comparing the Palestinian issue to that. Does Mr. Wolfe REALLY think that the Palestinian state would be free from its own tyranny? Does Mr. Wolfe really think that IF a Palestinian state becomes reality one will live in a blissful civil libertarian Eden? I think not. Presently, Mr. Wolfe should try protesting Hamas in Gaza. Israel is the only remotely democratic state in the Middle East. It is equipped with civil liberties, balances of power, an active protest movement, a large homosexual contingent and a medical system that is one of the most advanced and inclusive on planet earth. It medically treats all people equally including those who would seek to destroy the tiny Jewish state. Moreover, even though Israel is a Jewish state it is secular in nature. Any group in the US has the right to lobby. That Jews do so with groups like AIPAC and others is treated by some as unduly influential. It's not. It's normal. In my opinion, often, those accusations smack of anti-Semitism.

Israel every single day, against great odds, fights for its life. How perfect would this country be under those circumstances? Is Israel perfect? Of course not. I would like Mr. Wolfe to describe a Middle East country, or any country for that matter, which is.

To Tell the Truth: The July 5, 2009 Boston Sunday Globe op editorials "Trustworthy community" by Michael Felsen and "Leaders are extremist" by Dennis Hale and Charles Jacobs presented two opposing viewpoints about the opening of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury. The first editorial praises its opening claiming its all inclusive acceptance of many different religions, cultures and belief. The latter article is suspicious of its opening, claiming the center waves a "false flag of moderation" but in reality is associated with a variety of leaders it lists who have links to terrorism and the most extreme, non-inclusive, hate-filled often Wahhabi forms of Islam with viewpoints levied against Jews, Christians and special vituperative hostility reserved for homosexuals.

I am a suspicious Jew because the history of the Jewish people compels me to be so. However, I also am in favor of kumbaya moments of tolerance when people of all faiths and ethnicity join hands and accept each other. If Mr. Felsen is to be believed and the Islamic Society of Boston is the all inclusive welcoming institution it claims to be then the veracity of the statements indicting the Islamic Center made by Mr. Jacobs should be addressed specifically one by one, denied, rejected and refuted unequivocally. Then and only then can I know who is telling the truth.

This was posted on the Metro West Newspaper blog in response to a conscientious objector who was speaking in the area. He was a former Iraq War vet who is going around the country advocating for peace. He incurs the wrath of some. I responded.


It's the Foreign Policy Stupid: The issue, as I see it, is the substance of American foreign policy. There are problems in this arena and have been, in my opinion, since World War II perhaps originating even before that. There is no other industrialized first-world nation on earth which has accumulated the humongous military and industrial liaison which had gone unchecked as has the US. It is responsible for the involvement in ad infitum wars of quagmire as well as the propping up of unworthy regimes all over the world. Our geographical good fortune has allowed us the ability to simply drop bombs and not suffer retaliatory consequences as most of the nations we attack are too poor, too remote and do not have the ability to do that. While at times just wars are fought too many unjust ones have been waged. US foreign policy has been responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands if not millions, has ruined infrastructure in countries like Vietnam, Iraq and many others and has cost TRILLIONS. We do not realize, I believe, as Americans the damage we inflict and the cost of our wars in OUR blood, other's blood, OUR treasure not to mention the bad will it has encountered worldwide.

I believe we have, since World War II, been yearning for the adulation (QUITE RIGHTFULLY we deserved) it engendered but somewhere along way, probably due to the perceived threat of Communism and its ideal of overthrowing our economic system, we have been on the side of despots and interfered often unjustly in the internal affairs of nations in which we do not belong. Our policy has been one of self interest, yes, but more recently it has been to our detriment as other nations must sweep up from our onslaughts, are often angered, alienated and desire revenge.

I believe the kinds of war in which we engage do NOT work anymore and MUST be rethought. I believe they are devastating in their consequences at worst and at best are immoral. We are not dropping chocolate we are dropping bombs and we have absolutely NO understanding of just what that means as we sip our morning coffee in quiet geographical removal. It is NOT World War II, and I think the stakes are now much higher. It is not simply conventional war we must fear but it is nuclear annihilation as it eventually becomes IMPOSSIBLE to contain the threat of nuclear weapons accumulation by third world nations. Most of the American people have NO idea of the risk and the cost of that kind of confrontation. I submit if you asked most in the street what Nagasaki was or what it meant they would not know.

I believe our MOST recent engagements especially Iraq but many others too have had the the gravest consequences, have produced the most profound immorality, have shaken up a hornets nest of protest, have threatened the stability of the Middle East and have been a grave threat to our own country. Because of its consequences we cannot afford the devastated infrastructure repair, the health care of our people and the necessary educational needs necessary to keep this nation competitive in a global economic world. Our lives, I believe, are at stake because of the absolutely inept prosecution of bankrupt foreign adventures for decades which are NOT in our or anyone's best interest.

We need to RETHINK what it means to wage war, the price that is paid in blood, treasure and the morality it engenders . We need to be ever so careful, ever so prescient as to where we land American boots. Empires come and go. With over 700 bases all over the world, wars fought on so many lands we are, I believe, indeed an empire and empires must know that it is NOT only about their lives it is about the lives of those they encounter. The stakes are high and significant changes MUST be made or we face, I think, as a nation our greatest threat.

Postscript: I heard Josh speak this morning and instead of keeping the money he received from the government as a soldier in Iraq he gave it to organizations he deemed worthy of his cause. He, as I gather, did NOT keep it.

As I said today at his speech, my viewpoint lies somewhere in the middle of WWII and modern times. I am a realist and I know not all men are saints. It is necessary to one's survival to have a defense. That does NOT mean, however, that one does not question the policy of government. If all men were like CO, Josh, what a better world it would be. The problem is they are not and it is the Solomon-like wisdom we need to determine when to use force and when not while knowing the immense pitfalls we encounter when we do.

The Defiant Dilemma: I have probably seen every Holocaust film known to man and last night I saw yet another by recommendation entitled "Defiance." Based on a true story, it is about a group of Jews in Beylorus who actually lived in the forest in 1941 for 2 years trying to evade capture by the Nazis and the Nazis often Polish and other helpers. It is thrilling, captivating, gut wrenching and the truth of it makes it all the more so. It has a bit of a positive end although you would NOT think so leading up to it, of course. Along with the "Boy in the Stripped Pajamas", and a taped History Channel entitled "The Nazi Scrapbook" (a documentary about a photo book found in a drawer and sent to the Holocaust Museum") are three of the most excellent films/documentary specifically about this subject I have seen.

The Holocaust is MY yardstick for all that I believe and it is the heart of my feeling about the Jewish people. It is MORE much more than about religious belief of which I have little but it is its moral, survival, ethical, political essence that grabs me. It pierces my heart like nothing else can. It is why I used to hold Israel to a higher standard because we are a people whose history has been saturated with sadness and onslaught. We have been plagued, hunted, tortured, crushed and slaughtered during the past 2000 years and ultimately the object of the greatest mass murder humanity has ever seen bar none. It has EVERYTHING to teach and yet it has NOTHING to teach as man does what he does again and again and again all over the world.

Every time I see another film about the Holocaust I wax staggered by the ENORMITY of it. My eyes do not want to believe what I see and I go to bed feeling guilty that I sleep warm, am fed well and have survived in comfort. I am chilled by the fact that had all my grandparents stayed where they were they could have been among those Jews who ran through the forest in spring, summer, winter and fall just to survive and IF they did not they would have been killed in concentration camps. It is a testament to man's yearning to survive and be free and it extends to all people everywhere. It is again when I dissect the politics that is Israel I can see WHY the Jewish heart is so brutal in determination never to let that happen again AND YET I cannot understand HOW in VIEW of what happened some can run roughshod over those sometimes innocent next door. THAT is my cerebral conundrum with which I cannot come to terms.

We all look at life through our own lens but the Jewish life is, in my opinion, like no other. Suffering is NOT limited to the Jew, certainly, but a Jewish life throughout the centuries could never find a home and could simply never just be. The Holocaust MUST be a ruler -- a moral prism -- by which everyone measures his capacity for good and evil and what behavior is permissible and what is not. It is MY eternal dilemma of conscience. I recommend this film if you haven't seen it because it gives life to the meaning of the ultimate catastrophe in ways which no other film I can remember has. It should have universal meaning for us all.

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.

Justice Sotomayer and the Ricci decision--Affirmative Action in the Crosshairs:

Justice Sotomayer has been relentlessly attacked mostly by the right wing for her decision with respect to the Ricci case concerning the white fire fighters in New Haven. She decided on the affirmative action side and against them. She has been ridiculously called a racist as if white men for over two hundred years did not have power. I say there is no such thing as neutrality. We are ALL (justices included) tainted by who we are and it is through that lens with which we perceive the world. I am not a fan of affirmative action because I think it does minority groups an injustice too by allowing others to view their success due to the special consideration given to race.

Having said that our culture has had a special history with respect to race. The conundrum for our nation is that it professed one unique and, indeed glorious, set of ideals expressed in its Declaration of Independence and Constitution but did quite another in practice for over two hundred years with respect to the African American community. Without question our nation treated that group abysmally. History has consequences and, I believe, through various profound decisions in our courts, laws in our Congress and in the changing attitudes of our people we have tried mightily to adjust the playing field. The consequences of our history toward mainly one group because of their visually obvious different skin color have been profound and tragic for all of us. It is because of this horrific injustice, I believe, we still need to level that playing field. We experience, it is true, an occasional inequality to whites, the dominant group, because of it. Perhaps, however, this is the price the future generations of those who ran slave ships from Africa pay for the egregious sins of their forebears. We have reaped what we have sown and for that reason I still acquiesce to the payment for past wrongs and the present remedies affirmative action affords.

Boy in the Striped Pajamas: I posted my review of this film on IMDb the film link. It is not the best I have ever written because I did not take the time to hone it. It was in response to some which criticized the film for various reasons. I thought those reasons trivial. It gets my point across. This film is highly recommended by me and is in rental and On Demand. Do so if you get the chance.

I thoroughly loved this film. I do NOT care one wit that one could say this was not probable or that was not probable. This is based on a book of fiction BUT it had HUGE NON-fiction things to say about the complexities moral and otherwise of the Holocaust. It had HUGE things to say about the innocence of childhood and how a child tries to make sense of things that make NO sense at all. It may not have been absolutely accurate in terms of possibilities of what could or could not have occurred but it is ABSOLUTELY accurate as to the essence of the character substance and in the horror of the undeniable.

This was not only a good representation of the nature of the camp and the juxtaposition between the "other" the Jew and the privileged Nazis who lived normal lives next door to insanity it was a WONDERFUL representation of the nature of this beast of humanity that was the Holocaust. It matters NOTHING whether Shumel could have entered the camp or whether he could have talked to the boy or whether he could have gotten clothes for him or not gotten clothes. THOSE THINGS ARE TRIVIAL.

What is NOT trivial is their friendship and our age old questions of how did this possibly happen. How could it have happened in an advanced culture and how could ADULTS do this to other human beings even children? It shows how the youth were indoctrinated and it shows how some such as the mother had a DEGREE of humanity and morality that put her at great odds with her husband the commandant. We KNOW some Germans rebelled against this moral insanity. Bruno is the child who sees the unseeable and cannot get it. It makes NO sense to him. It makes NO sense to me either. It is the one occurrence in human history that is INEXPLICABLE if I lived to be 1000 I could not understand it. It IS BEYOND comprehension to a moral adult as it WAS to the boy of eight.

It is man's shame, it is his eternal crime and it should NEVER be forgotten EVER no matter what ignorant human tries to deny it. They cannot. History speaks. As long as there is a planet earth the Holocaust will be remembered forever. This film speaks volumes about its essence, volumes about man's cruelty and volumes about the innocence of childhood and the joys of simple friendship one human being to another which could never be in life. Only in death could they be equal and together. It is too bad adults have to lose that innocence. Once lost it can never be regained. It is a film for all time including and most especially our own. This film was, in my opinion, SUPERB!

Obama's Choice: I am elated about President Obama’s selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayer as Justice Souter’s replacement on the US Supreme Court. Not only is Judge Sotomayer eminently legally and scholastically qualified having graduated first in her class at Princeton and having been editor of the Yale Law Review but she also has served in a varied capacity within the law from a criminal prosecutor to a litigator in a corporate law firm.

More than even all of that, however, is the essence of who she is and the background from which she emerged which makes her a uniquely American story. Only in America can someone from a housing project in the Bronx escape the shackles of neighborhood drug dealers and the omnipresent crime it engenders to avoid that which could have imprisoned her for life. She is testament to the importance of family and the values it bestows as the vehicle to avoid a life of grinding poverty, hopelessness and sometimes even death before one’s time. Judge Sotomayer has risen above the hardship of the early death of her father, the hazard of a difficult milieu in which to thrive, a mother who sometimes worked two jobs and even the onset of diabetes at age 10 to show what desire, fortitude and positive family values will do to escape the seemingly inescapable.

Judge Sotomayer is the first Hispanic woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court. She is all that is excellent about this country and that which reinforces time and again my love for it. Where could the great odds against her be overcome any other place on earth? People come to our shores risking life and limb for a reason. The life of Judge Sotomayer gives answer to the question why and credence to President Obama’s campaign essence: Yes we can!

Updated Opinion: I thought about this more especially after seeing the president deliver the speech. Perhaps, he hit a home run and really served more to illuminate how recalcitrant the hardened opposition is. Possibly this served to reach out to those Catholics who are reasonable, moderate AND moral. He did more to infuse his presidency yet again with rational thought. His delivery was perfect.

I take my opinion back ... just a bit. The hardened religious right will never capitulate on abortion, gay marriage or any other hot button issue but the center truly is the important venue and Obama, as usual, played to that with clarity, empathy and prescience. Who in good conscious could disagree with what he said? Probably not many. So, kudos yet again to this most articulate, engaging, and brilliant man. It is unique that we should have gotten this man elected since we were so many years in the desert. There's a Biblical metaphor in there somewhere!

I refer to this blog: http://yomamaforobama.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/reconciliation-not-recalcitrance/#respond

Pig headed Protest: I agree with most of what was said in this particular entry. I, however, disagree with some, of it. To me, abortion is NOT horrific. What IS horrific, in MY opinion, is taking a fetus to term when it is not wanted, when the mother cannot afford to raise the child, when it will be raised in a toxic milieu, when the mother is drug addicted, and when the fetus will develop significant deformity including retardation profound and otherwise. There are a host of other rationales for someone choosing abortion and we know the litany well: rape, incest and the health of the mother to name an additional few. All of the profound rationales for abortion discussed above, as I see it, are the most horrific scenarios of all and the main rationales for choosing to terminate a pregnancy. I do NOT think birth control is the main reason for abortion. How much easier it is to use a birth control technique then to suffer a surgical procedure with the risk that entails even WHEN it is in sterile conditions not to mention the psychological humiliation that some women encounter when seeking abortion at a paucity of clinics in various states. Currently even in an affluent suburb of Boston there is conflict as a clinic seeks to move to a larger location but because of the protest of the pig heads (as I call them) seeking to make the woman feel even more agitated than she already may be, its construction is in a state of limbo.


Contrary to the thrust of one idea of reconciliation of the two sides of the abortion debate, I believe that the secular world and the religious arena will ALWAYS be at odds with respect to the abortion issue. Those who disagree with a woman's right to choose do so primarily because of religious rationale and it is often sponsored by those bastions of virtue the Catholic Church, fundamentalist Protestant churches and, of course, the population explosive Mormon Church. If one equates a fetus, dependent on the mother for continuance, with a full term human being of say age 22 then the argument is closed. The religionists will never compromise. I believe the two sides are going to have to agree that they will always disagree and I believe, the president quite rightly said that. The question is whether the two sides, most especially the religiously fanatical side, will do so without violence. When one absolutely knows god is on one's side and one is on a crusade then what does one have to lose? If they do NOT protest they think they will lose their immortal soul. End of argument as they have, as THEY see it, nothing to argue. There is no possibility of reconciliation if the other side is implacably recalcitrant.

Part of me thinks, although most at Notre Dame were supportive of the president, that he did not need to subject himself to the onslaughts which would, of course, ensue when speaking at an institution which is part of the Roman Catholic aegis. I thought those who protested this gifted, brilliant, moral and accomplished man did him a grievous insult and Obama gave himself one by accepting their invitation. Just my opinion.

The Community that I Know and Love: I had the pleasure of taking a tour conducted by the Historical Society of my town of some of the oldest and most historical housing . I had never done it before. It was eminently satisfying. I wish I had realized as a young child how much history this town has to offer. The homes on the south side AND on the north side that we toured were beautiful, interesting and rich with history. I met some residents and was thrilled at the many discussions I had with many diverse and very lovely people. Yes, the town has changed since I knew it many years ago BUT there is still so much good that this town has to offer. No one or nothing is perfect. I STILL love it and continue to think it is a wonderful community in which to live. Like all things in life if one wants to find good just look for it. It's all around - simply take the time to see it.

Stream of conscious to the president: I sent a stream of conscious to the president. Here's what I said. It's just off the top of my head but not releasing the torture photos made me mad. I think Bush et al should be prosecuted. Look at what they have done and I see Obama as capitulating. I think he is afraid of them and I don't know why. So I said the following:

I am feeling one HUGE disappointment after another. Today the president decides NOT to release the torture pictures. He doesn't want to prosecute CLEAR illegalities. He sides with the Bush administration on failing to prosecute phone companies on NSA spying, he hires Wall Street cronies to run the bail out, he allows bonuses and he ramps up war and who knows when or even IF we will be out of Iraq. He is turning out to be NOT what I thought he would be.

So what if there were dems involved in sanctioning torture? Let the chips fall where they may. They have to know there are consequences for illegalities. These illegalities have gotten people killed and our own security is compromised.

He was SUPPOSEDLY the most liberal member of the Senate then why isn't he more behind the Dawn Johnson OLC nominee. She is FANTASTIC and yet he is weakly pushing for her even though she would make it without filibuster. It just seems every single day more and more and more things come around that are a disappointment.

Don't as k don't tell the president writes letters of support for a fabulous guy who was a West Point grad and then fired when he came out on the Rachel Maddow show. It was a SIN to fire him. Then the president does not do a thing to advance the cause against it as more and more service people GOOD ones who know Arabic get fired. He could in one second by executive order rescind that guy's termination. Is the president SO afraid of the extreme right that he compromises at every turn? What about the left who got him in there?
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I don’t even trust the president’s words on the economy as too big to fail banks get bailed and the average person is suffering with foreclosures, credit card debt, unemployment and no healthcare. And WHY is single payer NOT on the table? Why did not the cram down legislation pass? I don't like Geithner and I don't like Summers never have. I think they are in league with Wall Street and NOT Main Street and I am beginning to think the president has bamboozled us all. I hope I am wrong. Dismayed!

Trouble in Newspaper City: Jeff Jacoby's May 6 editorial "Liberal bias isn't killing newspapers" in The Boston Globe is, in my opinion, correct. It is not whether a newspaper is labeled liberal or conservative that accounts for the difficulties in which newspapers find themselves. The reason, as he stated, is man's technological advancement which has always transformed the way we live. The telephone, automobile, television and now the Internet have changed our lives in too many ways to count. I never thought that the liberals controlled all media as some incorrectly say. There are too many that fall into the so called "conservative" category for my taste for me to perceive that as true.

I am one of the small percentage, about whom Jacoby talks, who read at least one newspaper (usually The Globe) every day. I know I do not like staring into a computer screen for my morning dose of news, nor do I love looking at the same old talking heads on TV. Newspapers and their cousin the book offer unique and unparalleled ways to concentrate and to learn. Reading the actual newspaper or book is as good as reading it on the Internet if not better. I can sit, relax, have a cup of coffee and simply turn the page. Better still my back does not ache and my eyes do not blur. The newspaper itself is the best way to soak up the daily news and opinion no matter what your political stripe.

Profiles in Courage? -- Jeff Jacoby's May 3, 2009 Boston Sunday Globe editorial "Courage and the lack of it," strains credulity. Mr. Jacoby put Ms. Prejean and Professor Glendon into the courageous category. Ms. Prejean, beauty pageant runner-up, is an unsophisticate who has absolutely no understanding of human sexuality but touts her religious belief as the gold standard of behavior to which she would like all of us to conform since if she and her church had their way -- and sometimes they certainly do -- they would be making decisions for millions who were born gay and want the freedom to choose with whom they construct a committed life. Ms. Prejean said something which had a destructive impact. Perez Hilton gave this person a forum to achieve sainthood from religious extremists who try to spew their venom into policy. Professor Glendon, a member of the Bush II administration, and one who refused to share the same podium as the current president because of his views on choice, is Mr. Jacoby's other profile in courage. She cares so much about fetuses but could not, obviously, care enough when George Bush supported capital punishment, to refuse to be a member of his administration because of it. I thought her church was against capital punishment. She is a threat to full term human life since she would rather see a pregnant mother who emotionally, economically and sometimes physically cannot take a pregnancy to term, sacrifice her own full term life and die from a botched illegal abortion.

Ms. Prejean is a buffoon and Professor Glendon is a hypocrite. One was employed in an utterly immoral administration taking us to war based on lies killing thousands and the other, dawning a postage stamp-size bathing suit, complete with exaggerated endowment, was involved in a sexist beauty pageant that makes women look like, what conservatives would call, perverted sex toys. I thought conservatives were about morality in media. Both women and the groups that love them wreak havoc on our society. It is shocking, that Jeff Jacoby, a man of letters, could write such editorial nonsense. I would have expected a little bit better analysis by him of just who is a profile in courage and who is not.

The Specter Switch -- a New Dance: I was absolutely thrilled by the momentous switch of the long time Republican Arlen Specter, to the Democratic Party. It was brave, it had foresight and it showed a pragmatic insight into the political realities of our time. It was brave because it is a difficult undertaking to switch parties when one has been a member of the federal legislative branch for such a long time. It was brave, too, in that Senator Specter knew the predictable risk of being accused that it was done simply because he saw the Republican primary polls for him in the next election were, as he stated, bleak. That fact, however, gave him the chance to be pragmatic, see the changing national demographics and with savvy represent the state of Pennsylvania and our country more effectively.

There is more to it, though, than that. The Democratic Party now has within it what the Republican Party lost. The Republican Party, sadly for it, lost its big tent and the Democratic Party, effectively constructed one of their own. Within the Democratic Party there is room for debate, dialogue and flexibility. This is, in my opinion, its biggest asset and has been one of the greatest reasons for its recent legislative and presidential success.

The Republican Party took the 1964 presidential Republican nominee Barry Goldwater’s memorable convention speech phrase “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue” and used it as its mantra to create over the past forty years a change in the Republican brand. Over time it served to work against itself as it eliminated a permanent Republican majority by eliminating differing views of its moderates. Clearly, extremism on either side of the political spectrum is the greatest vice and moderation the greatest virtue. The Democratic Party has developed a new dance and acquired what the Republican Party has lost and that is the ability to hear the other side, to rationally and less ideologically discuss the issues and to make more people feel their opinion counts.

I posted this on McClatchy blog at 10:30 p.m. August 23, 2009

To Much to Do: Let's see there is Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, the Taliban, the Taliban in Pakistan, Pakistan's nukes, Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Iran, bin laden, Israel, the economic disaster, no health care for half the country and the other half has inferior health care, our bridges, roads and infrastructure are crumbling, our education system stinks, and now tac on torture. No wonder Larry Summers fell asleep. We do not need one president, we need TEN. Oh yes there's the swine flu. I thought flu season was over. I'm tired. I'm going to bed!

The Torture Legacy: It is unfathomable to me how an administration could commit the abundance of illegalities that we know for certain the Bush administration did and not think, with all the years of experience some like Dick Cheney possessed, that they would not have to account for their nefarious behavior most especially with respect to torture. For the first time former Vice-President Cheney is making the media rounds to try to explain his side of the story. No matter what Dick Cheney has to say it cannot and will not erase the indictments of so many, a significant number of whom are experts in interrogation tactics and others who will start coming out of hiding to expose the dastardly deeds so they can sleep at night and, most importantly, for their defense in the probable legal onslaught. History, of course, will be the final judge. My suspicion is the positive legacy the Bush administration allegedly so furiously covets will be one of the worst to befall an administration in US history and there is nothing they can do about it.

A footnote: Paul Krugman's article in the New York Times April 24, 2009, says it all more eloquently than I. Here is the link.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/opinion/24krugman.html?_r=1

Another expert opinion -- Philip Zelikow, a former Bush administration lawyer interviewed on Rachel Maddow. He was asked to write an opinion on the legality of torture. For the Bush administration he wrote the opposite of what they wanted to hear and, of course, left, his opinions mysteriously vanishing. I suspect they may once be lost but soon, HOPEFULLY, found. He writes the following in the NYT as an Op Ed Contributor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/opinion/24zelikow.html

The Folly of Fascism: Kudos to Scott Lehigh on his April 22, 2009 Globe editorial "The conservative cries of fascism." The vast pool of ignorance in which the American public swims astounds me. They simply do not know the definition and the difference between Fascism and Communism and its varying degrees of political thought which fall in between. Clearly the fascism of Mussolini of Italy, Hitler of Germany, Franco of Spain, or Hirohito of Japan were different from the politics of Roosevelt, Churchill and even Stalin no matter how many labeled all of these men interchangeably. It is inane to do so.

Nomenclature has meaning. The American public, generally speaking, would not know the difference between a fascist, a Communist or a socialist if they tripped over a Webster's dictionary explaining their essence. To understand all of it one would have to know where the term fascist originates. It had its etiological meaning as a bundle of rods or fasces tied together with an axe-like blade on the side which were carried by Roman soldiers. It signified a symbol of the power of the state. Mussolini used it as a symbol of the Fascist movement he tried to create. To understand Communism, of course, one would have to understand Karl Marx and his philosophy which made a vain, albeit unsuccessful, attempt at the humane equalizing of social class. These two extremes are quite different from one another. There is nothing about fascism one could label humane. They both, though, make the individual subservient to the power of the state.

These political philosophies are complex and can be discussed at length. Most of the American public cannot do that with ease so talk show hosts take advantage of ignorance by screaming that people are either one or the other when they are neither. There are underpinnings to these political ideologies but most do not understand them. Obama is to Fascism as an orange is to an elephant. It is ridiculous to compare the two. This is more evidence of the American public's slant toward anti-intellectualism. That is the saddest "ism" of all.

The Fabric of American and other Life -- Tea Anyone? The latest teabag anti-tax (and many anti other things) mostly right wing inanity was an embarrassment. The threads of anti-government, anti-tax and the indictment of the latest fashionable ethnic group running through the historical fabric of American culture is chilling. The worst patch of the American quilt, in my opinion, is its traditional anti-intellectual assault on reason. THAT is the one I fear the most because through that all other extremist views are sewn. One can see it from the violent scourge of Fundamentalist Islam, Fundamentalist Christianity and, even among my own people, the popularity of Orthodox and Hassidic Judaism the most extreme and uncompromising forms of the faith.

The churches of change such as Unitarians, Congregationalists and other thinking Christian faiths as well as reform Judaism, in modern times, I think, take a hit as people want certainty. The Islamic faith, too, has a few moderate strains but many annihilate the disagreeing other by the most grotesque and bestial methods possible and, within the parameters of my limited knowledge of it, has no popular active liberal reform movement for obvious reasons. I have heard much of moderate Islam but nothing of reform Islam which would obviously encounter great risk to adherents. Dangerous times somehow advance the dangerous agendas of dangerous and often violent people incapable of listening to another side or questioning much of anything.

I hope man's divinely supreme intellect, proclivity for learning, and his love for rational thought ultimately prevail. It USUALLY does but, as history tells us, not always. It is my greatest fear because the stakes of annihilation from a nuclear reality by people who think they possess the ultimate truth is possible and terrifying. I am hoping smarter thought prevails and its attendant art form, compromise, not forgotten.

Civil Liberties and Domestic Surveillance: I have always had mixed emotions with respect to the NSA's collection of domestic telephone and email exchanges. Lofty principles are wonderful in an age when nuclear weapons are not a reality. That is not the age in which we live. Yet, what is more representative of the essence of our nation than its civil libertarian devotion. It is the reflection of who we are and, often, at least the verbal justification for our military and diplomatic intervention on the world stage. While I understand the grave existential threat of physical attack, I worry about the existential erosion of those very ideas that make us, as a nation, who we are. The body and the body politic consists of both ideas and biological realities. They are united. Can one live without the other?

While there is a certain amount of government surveillance which, I believe, is necessary, the dragneting of thousands if not millions of harmless citizens' phone calls and emails is a waste of time, money and surely is, I believe, ineffective in keeping the nation safe. We are wasting resources capturing email and phone calls of an elderly grandmother living in Boca Raton whose daily routine includes meals at her assisted living, bingo and phone calls to her daughter in law in Paris. Our country needs to be protected but the protection requires pin point accuracy of who is the real threat and who is not.

A New Sealing of Fate: When I first heard about the rescue of the captain of the Maersk by the Navy Seals my level of depression about the economy, more American soldiers killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and so many other problems facing our nation, went from ten to zero in an instant. Finally, an Easter/Passover metaphor -- the resurrection of hope in a sea of despair. Over the course of three days I thought the captain of the Maersk would be killed. That he was not reinforced a debate I had with someone recently over the competence of our military. I believe it to be the most competent in the world. My opposition, surprisingly a veteran, said he thought not. I decided Sunday my opinion was vindicated as I rehearsed in my mind over and over again what our modern military has been asked to do. Our professional all-volunteer military performs perfectly and have done what they have been asked to do every time. They are the military. They are NOT politicians nor are they members of the State Department or Congress. Their job is to protect and, if necessary, to kill for, American interests period. In my opinion, they do it with phenomenal bravery and incredible preciseness. What were the odds the captain and his crew would be rescued successfully? As each day passed the odds began to look slim.

Barack Obama said nothing while the ordeal was occurring. I suspect he worked with many entities in the utmost secrecy to make the operation work. We will probably not know the true extent of his machinations for many years but I know enough about our president to believe he is cautious, he is deliberate and he is very very smart. He is the exact opposite of the eight years of knee jerk militarism and paucity of intellect which was team Bush. Recently, when Bush's former UN ambassador Bolton was asked how he would resolve this difficult pirate issue his reaction was a military assault on Somalia. That would mean, of course, an escalation of war and possibly yet another occupational quagmire of an anarchistic East African entity in the Horn of Africa which cannot even be considered a nation state. We would add a third or some say even fourth war, if one counts some of Pakistan, as a target to our military's burden. We cannot employ that kind of foreign policy again and again and again. We do not have the lives to risk, the money to spend nor suffer the worldwide ill will it would engender if the US reacts with overwhelming military force to meet every threat we may face.

Terrorism whether from pirates or otherwise is worldwide. President Obama brings to his office precisely what our nation needs: meticulousness of thought, thoughtful preparation and slow but deliberate action which produces the optimum result but does not incur world-wide animosity in the process. The Obama Doctrine is smart and it is deliberative. The indictment many have had the past eight years has NOT been of the military but of the politicians who craft stupid poorly thought-out policy and then cavalierly play roulette with the lives and fortunes of those who would implement it.

Thankfully, the US has wonderful geographical coordinates. It is removed from many anarchistic forces who wish to destroy it. Technology, though, as 9/11 proved, makes all nations very close indeed. President Obama showed smart, deliberate poise while he monitored the problem and then gave his permission to those who could perfect the desired result. They, perfectly, surely did.

Bribery Pirates -- Frontline April 7, 2009 -- "Black Money" international bribery: As usual PBS and Frontline presented an interesting broadcast. The program on international bribery made me reflect. If only I did not have to worry about money. I, disabled and suffering in this economic recession/depression, watch, as the economic conditions worsen and my own body from polio will no longer do at 60 what it did years ago no matter how hard I try.

I ask myself the very moral question that Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia and others talked about in this Frontline episode in relation to his being paid huge sums of money under the radar screen from the British aircraft company BAE in exchange, of course, for huge contracts in Saudi Arabia. Is bribery for enormous sums of money really that bad? After all as he stated so many do it, it's simply human nature and man is a fallen angel. Wouldn't it be so wonderful never to have to worry about money again? Life is so short, why not live it in style as one lives only once? Why not as, in the final analysis, we can only account for ourselves and no one really cares about me except for me.

There are laws against international bribery for a myriad of reasons. Arms sales between countries surreptitiously are dangerous by their very nature as today's friend is tomorrow's enemy sitting with your country's killing machines in its lap easily turned on you when the time is appropriate. The Iraq war was testament to that fact. What if our friend Prince Bandar and his father are either removed from power or what if both turn on the west as China and other nations become titanically powerful economic forces? Then what happens to the arms, the planes and the equipment the west sold to him? It is, though, not only EVEN about simply that, although that is surely important. It is about personal morality.

Even with my difficult position in life, even with my handicap, even with my fervent desire to not have to worry again, if I were in a position and someone came to me with an offer there is NO way on planet earth I would succumb. You may say that is easy for me to say now because no one ever has but truly I could NEVER be corrupted not by international finance, not by Wall Street, not by being a Congressperson (if I were one), not by anything or anyone. Why? Because it's wrong, it's unethical, it's not fair, it is illegal and it is downright dangerous. I would NEVER do one thing to compromise my integrity -- ever. No amount of money could make me do anything at any time to potentially hurt another human being, this planet or most especially my country. That is how much I value all of those things. I value those things more than my own difficult plight.

Some would pocket billions of dollars SIMPLY because, as Frontline indicated, they COULD, I would NOT pocket billions or millions (assuming I had the chance) simply because I COULD NOT. It's that simple.

The Mystery of Mental Illness: Sent this to the Metro News responding to an editorial on mental illness.

I agree with Dr. Gordon's April 7, 2009 editorial "Don't Stigmatize the Mentally Ill." I believe, though, some critical comments about mental illness and its treatment are in order. It is true mental illness should not, of course, be stigmatized. We are advanced, at least SOME of us are advanced, enough to know that the brain is an organ just like any other in the body. Sometimes as one's pancreas, for example, it does not function effectively for a variety of reasons. However, the stigmatizing, I think, that is accorded mental illness is that it is behavioral and not simply systemic in nature. Unlike other illnesses mental illness CAN produce threatening behavioral manifestations. I submit, it is the nature of how mental illness presents itself that is often the reason people fear it, stigmatize it and isolate people who show symptoms of it. We can clearly, I think, state that the man from Binghamton who killed so many innocent people was mentally ill. That does not preclude the fact that he posed a very clear and present danger to the community and no one knew it. When people present with bizarre behavior or speech people often do not know and fear what they will do.

Dr. Gordon and others in the mental health field will say that there are treatments for people with mental illness as there are treatments for people with diabetes and that is true. I though, maintain, the treatment offered to the mentally ill is sporadic at best and ineffective at worst. The treatment for mental illness shown in the panoply of medications offered for it are delivered often by trial and error. Treatment is haphazard as medications for certain diagnoses are seemingly thrown into a hat and then selected. Even the diagnosis itself is subjective. There is, in my opinion, no effective scientific measurement yet to determine which mental illness one has and which treatments are proper for it. We can only guess. That is not the case with diseases such as diabetes. Much of mental health care is, I submit, guess work and it often does not achieve the effective result. Drugs seem to work for a time, then medications must be increased and finally stopped as they become ineffective or cause unacceptable side effects.

Further, to complicate matters, drugs to treat mental illness can get expensive. We know the record of insurance companies paying for the average disease is often less than desirable but it is worse than that when it comes to mental illness. It is NOT treated by insurance companies with the same procedural equality as other illnesses may be. Co-payments are often large and sustained treatment sometimes not available ESPECIALLY for people who fall into the middle of the socioeconomic strata who have a difficult time -- especially in a down economy -- of getting treatment for anything much less for mental illness.

In my opinion, mental health professionals must work most especially on developing scientifically precise measurements of the brain and blood chemistry of mental illness. Insurance companies, too, should be forced by law to pay for the necessary treatment as they should for any other disease. It is only then, by the successful treatment of mental illness and the patient's ability to pay for it that its behavioral ramifications will be ameliorated and the public stigma reduced.

Bill Maher -- I have seen better shows: Wrote this to HBO and Bill Maher

I have been an avid fan of Bill Maher for years. I will continue to watch his show. I do, however, want to convey my irritation lately about his shows. Last week, Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens and Mos Def were the guests. Rushdie and Hitchens are significant intellects with much creative thought to offer. I believe Mos Def, whom I have seen on Maher's show before, yet again was not only out of place but obstructionist as he, in never ending fashion, interrupted the other guests and had little well thought out ideas to convey. He was, I thought, inarticulate noise and prevented my enjoyment of the other two intellectual giants. I thought this was an extraordinarily incongruous choice of guests by Maher and HBO.

This week Bill Maher had on the conservative journalist David Frum who is absolutely humorless and boring. Sam Donaldson, Reihan Salam, and Carol Liefer were interesting. Bill Maher himself was, I thought, obnoxious, disrespectful and crude to both Sam Donaldson and Carol Liefer. First, he forgot Liefer's book which I am sure was an important part of her appearance on the show, next he used insulting words about her body as she described her scare with breast cancer. If that were not enough he used a disgusting reference to her about female genitalia. She, I thought, did NOT deserve that. Moreover, Sam Donaldson, a cultivated journalist, was insulted, too, by Maher when he made reference to his hair. Bill Maher should have refrained from making reference to his "rug." It sounded insensitive, crude and ignorant. Mr. Donalson was a gentleman about it. I thought, however, he was embarrassed by the insult and that Maher's treatment stifled Mr. Donaldson's thought. He, it seemed, did not give the audience enough benefit of his vast experience on the world stage. Surely Mr. Donaldson deserved better treatment than he was given. I, too, in my opinion could have easily done without Joe the Plumber. I believe he has NOTHING to offer. He has no intellect, no achievement, no well thought out ideas and has been merely a media creation with no purpose.

Surely, Bill Maher, a talented man, with many gifts for comedy, political satire and criticism does not have to resort to vulgarity and insult to guests who deserve better. I will give The Bill Maher Show some more viewing time but, truly, if more thought is not put into the congruency of whom Maher has on as guests and WHAT vulgar verbiage Maher uses I just may not view him any more. Time will tell.