Bachmann the beautiful? -- A reading recommendation: A relative told me about Matt Taibbi's article appearing in Rolling Stone entitled: "Michele Bachmann's Holy War: The Tea Party contender may seem like a goofball, but be warned: Her presidential campaign is no laughing matter." I paste the link below. Olbermann had him on his show talking about Bachmann. Warning the article could make you laugh until your stomach hurts OR in the alternative when it hurts you may want to throw up at the prospect of this absolutely nutty wingnut getting within an inch of the oval office.

As I said to my cousin: If she is elected then I will leave the country forthwith and go to Iceland. But you say Iceland is broke. That may be so but at least their population is not 1/2 batsh*% crazy! Bring tissues. When you stop laughing after you read the article you may want to cry. Enjoy!

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michele-bachmanns-holy-war-20110622?link=mostpopular2&page=1

Another recommendation: "Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free" by Charles P. Pierce

The Book of Love -- the NY gay marriage vote: On Yom Kippur -- the Jewish day of Atonement and the holiest day of the year -- we ask God to forgive our sins, wipe our slate clean, begin anew so that we may be inscribed in the Book of Life. I do not do organized religion any more but on that day inscribed in my DNA I take a moment to reflect on who I am, what I need to improve upon, who I want to be and hope that some higher power somewhere recognizes my yearning to be a better person the next year than I may have been the year before.

Keith Olbermann, my political guru, gave a special comment on the successful NY gay marriage vote and talked about the "Book of Love." I know now what I will concentrate and reflect upon this coming Yom Kippur. I will ask to be inscribed in the Book of Love. This liberal commentator formerly on MSNBC but now on the new cable Current TV -- FIOS Channel 192, says eloquently all that needs to be said about this fundamental right -- the right to love. It is the essence of our humanity.

I link it below if you want to hear his beautiful words and ending poem. I believe it is well worth listening. You can find it, too, on Huffington Post. He says it better than I ever could and I thank him for his wise commentary. If you have FIOS cable, Comcast or Dish TV you can find the Current TV station number he is on every night at 8:00 p.m. by simply Googling "Current TV." He is, I believe, a national treasure and urge you to support this new program on Current by listening to or taping it!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/24/keith-olbermanns-gay-marr_n_883796.html

A Constitutional Mandate -- A Declaration of War: It is UTTERLY preposterous that the last war to be constitutionally declared was World War II. Are you kidding me? How many wars since then has the United States been involved? Answer: PLENTY. Saying the NATO bombing of Libya led by the United States is not war is like saying hamburger is not chopped sirloin. I beg to differ. It is!

I have one more reason other than it is explicitly stated within the Constitution that the president MUST ask the Congress and ONLY the Congress to wage war. Our Founders, I believe, put this requirement in for a reason. How many kings took their subjects to war on a whim, killed thousands and spent the public treasury to do so. Answer: MANY. It is the height of injustice to those who risk death fighting their country’s wars to so easily send them into the battle even if the battle is in the air.

To ask a person to actually give his only life up for a cause cannot and SHOULD not be done on the whim of one man. Those who are asked to fight it, through their representatives, should be the ones to decide their ultimate sacrifice.

How many of those excursions like Grenada (remember that one) during Reagan to the most egregious usurpation of power Vietnam and Iraq would have been fought IF a president when he dropped a bomb which kills human beings, asked the Congress for permission to do so through a declaration of war? I submit far fewer than we have entered since WWII.

Dropping bombs EVEN ONE BOMB means the taking of life and OFTEN innocent life in the form of so called collateral damage. Would YOU want your husband, your wife, your children who do not know foreign policy from a daisy be the ones to die for reasons they do not understand?

A declaration of war should be mandated and the War Powers Act should be amended to state that. It should ALWAYS be necessary and the consequence of abridgment should be severe!

Missed Targets: Some of Jeff Jacoby’s views profoundly missed his own targets in his June 17, 2011 opinion "Outrage that misses the target." (Link below) He addresses three issues.

In the case of Delta charging soldiers for extra baggage upon returning from the outposts of the wars in the Middle East: I agree as he says soldiers are often reimbursed for travel expenses but would they be in this case? Who knows? The rules of the marketplace, however, which Jeff Jacoby loves to laud, prevailed. Delta reversed its policy. Kudos to Delta for overturning this PR faux pas.

Mr. Jacoby is quite right, too, there is a profound difference between how returning soldiers from the Vietnam War were treated compared to those who return today from the Middle East. Returning vets from Vietnam were often treated less than celebratory. Those returning from America’s contemporary wars in the Middle East sit stratospherically high on the shoulders of the American public. I believe there are reasons why there is a difference in public sentiment between the two theaters of war.

During the Vietnam War men were drafted -- often protected only if they were college deferred, homosexual or medically unable. Men had to serve if they were drafted unless of course like Dick Cheney they could simply avoid the draft by being a perpetual student. That means there were those who, after intellectually understanding the Vietnam War, opposed it but if drafted had to serve, face arrest or conscience-driven exile to Canada. The colleges and universities erupted because there were men there who, once graduated, faced the odious possibility of dying in a war they loathed, in a cause they did not accept, and in a war they felt was unjust.

The soldiers of our contemporary Middle East conflicts choose to be there. It is voluntary. In addition, this nation was directly attacked on 9/11. It matters that 3000 lives were lost on that fateful day and three huge major edifices defining this country were reduced to rubble. It was a direct and undeniable attack on this country the enormity of which sometimes even seems to eclipse Pearl Harbor in historical magnitude. Vietnam had neither of those components. It was a war, the conscription in which, many reviled and those who were not endemically fighters feared. Indeed, Vietnam never attacked us. It was seen by many as an unnecessary enterprise between global power brokers jockeying for supremacy. Most of the soldiers returning from the Iraq War or the war in Afghanistan wanted to be there, knew what that would entail and believe in their mission.

The next issue of Jacoby’s target misplacement (although he certainly understands the positive sentiment of Rev. Unni) is committed by those who rail against church policy of rejection of gay Catholics' prayer with Rev. Unni of St. Cecilia’s Church in the Back Bay because of church catechism i.e. its doctrine. This is laughable if it were not so sad. I am told Jesus was about inclusion and not exclusion. If that were not reason enough to accept these good gay Catholics in prayer then perhaps the fact that the Catholic Church is most definitely NOT the inerrant institution it claims it is. If one only could, in reality, raise Galileo from the dead to find out how utterly wrong the Catholic Church has been in its doctrinal history and how preposterously slow it is to rectify those wrongs. Not only has Church doctrine been ignorantly wrong it has, I aver, been responsible for the death of many as it denies science, the truth of biology and the laws of physics because those things inconveniently do not conform to Catholic doctrinal tenets and myth.

Moreover, for the Church to deny those who want to have a connection to Christ the ability to do so because of their sexual preference would be laughable still if not for the obvious Church hypocrisy in doing so. This sanctimonious allegedly moral institution turned its eyes to GROSS pedophilia of its priests because it wanted to salvage the entrails of itself. This strains the boundaries of credulity and rationality. It is fine for the institution to look the other way and allow its priests to illegally molest its young BUT those who happen to be good homosexual Catholics cannot pray in its church. If that is not the definition of hypocrisy then hypocrisy has no definition. Perhaps, the Church should target its own flawed doctrine and leave all gay Catholics, who want to pray to their God, alone!

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2011/06/17/outrage_that_misses_the_target/

I was HIGHLIGHTED i.e. singled out on the New York Times blog as an especially thoughtful post on the Weiner story. I said:

I supported his staying until recently. More and more lewd adolescent-like photos kept issues from taking front and center in importance.

I am VERY sad. There are so few out there who advocate for the middle class and the little guy, so few whose humanitarian philosophical and political outlook helps rather than hurts as those do in the Republican party whose only job is to keep the rich gulping taxpayer dollars, keep the war machine going and keep Wall Street from paying a steep steep price for all the malevolence, sadness and yes even death they have perpetrated as people lose their jobs, their health insurance, their health, their homes and are even prone to suicide.

Anthony Weiner's exit is just another nail in the people's coffin as those on the other side DUPE so many into thinking they are about them. It is a SAD day, a VERY SAD day for me!

I leave with two sentences more: I am not a Christian but I love much of what Christianity says as it is in its essence, I believe, kind: It says he who has not sinned cast the first stone and it says he who smites you on one cheek give to him the other also.

I HOPE Rep. Weiner knows there are MANY who would stand with him through this unsavory matter no matter what because he stood with all of us when it counted and tried to save lives! You have one friend, Anthony Weiner, in ME!

KUDOS to the BOSTON BRUINS!! They rioted in Vancouver. Boston it was celebratory but calm.

The rioting is disturbing as it is in Greece and if they do not extend the debt ceiling rioting catches on as things will be SO bad so the economists are saying the collapse of the US and world economies is possible. The anger is absorbed when people have no jobs. I think part of that anger in Vancouver is about bad times in general except their unemployment rate is only 7.8. Our worst states economy is chilling. Success for the president a year from Nov. means JOBS and nothing else!

ALABAMA 9.3
35 ARIZONA 9.3
35 NEW JERSEY 9.3
38 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 9.6
38 IDAHO 9.6
38 OREGON 9.6
38 TENNESSEE 9.6
42 NORTH CAROLINA 9.7
43 SOUTH CAROLINA 9.8
44 GEORGIA 9.9
45 KENTUCKY 10.0
46 MICHIGAN 10.2
47 MISSISSIPPI 10.4
48 FLORIDA 10.8
49 RHODE ISLAND 10.9
50 CALIFORNIA 11.9
51 NEVADA 12.5

One for us -- the Return of Keith Olbermann: Keith cannot come back FAST enough for me. He has been absent at the time we need him the most. I HOPE Current TV will catch on and FAST. I know some who do not have the station. Thankfully, I do. Lives depended on progressives like he. I cannot think of a worse time for him to have left MSNBC but so be it. We must play the ball where it lies. Look at what the uber wealthy have done to this nation. We, the middle and the working class are in DEEP trouble as they take JUST AS GEORGE CARLIN SAID THEY WOULD, it all -- everything. They are in a club he said and we are not in it. He was prophetic. This country is failing, the pulse is slowing and death for those who are not rich is staring us in the face.

Where will the elderly, the sick, the disabled go who depend on humane programs like Medicaid and Medicare for their lives? Step up to the plate Keith, do not disappoint us and hit a home run NOT for the gipper but FOR us!

Pakistan’s Perfidy: Did you catch the latest news flash? Pakistan arrested five Pakistanis who helped the CIA in the location, apprehension and killing of bin Laden, the civilized world’s most wanted religious fanatical murderer. So much for our "ally," Pakistan, in the fight against Al Qaeda! Think of the BILLIONS upon BILLIONS we have given Pakistan in this so called war on Al Qaeda that could have been better spent educating our poorly educated populous and repairing our dilapidated infrastructure. The TRILLIONS spent in never-ending, money sucking, embarrassing, life-ending wars could have been spent at home and kept us the envy of the world instead of the diplomatic and foreign policy joke so many think we are. Where would our deficit be if the US after WWII decided to weave prudent diplomatic and strategic power not with war but with words?

Our recent foreign policy escapades have been a colossal waste of blood and money filling the coffers of death attempting to build civilized democratic societies out of countries which do not want our brand of civilization; countries who thrive on unyielding, unbending and extreme religious fanaticism and want to remain in a medieval cesspool where a few have wealth and the masses barely have water; where one’s cow is treated better than one’s wife. Our misguided leaders thought we hubristically could change an entire region to fit our brand of life which, of course, we can measure by our unemployment figures, works so well. The Middle East is a DESTABILIZED MESS and we helped bring this dance card of death to them sharing in its fruits of destruction.

After 9/11 the ignorant Bush should have directed our FULL force to getting bin Laden, wiping out Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and ended it there. Our enemies would know if they strike us we WILL retaliate and NOT trump up phony wars that put BILLIONS into the pockets of the crony corporations of war which do war well but do nothing else. Innocent lives are at stake – both ours and theirs.

We have had sickening, ineffective, and bad -- VERY bad -- leadership who do not know their posterior from their elbow. World War II is OVER. It is a different world and we CANNOT save it. We can maybe ONLY save ourselves. Good luck even doing that. We, the middle class, are in financial HELL while our military dances around the earth spending TRILLIONS in taxpayer money trying to save everyone else. How about saving us for a change?

One wonders what our diplomatic geniuses will do to try to save these informants from Pakistani perdition. Why did we not protect those who delivered to us the Holy Grail? Is it any wonder that few trust this country not to abandon those who help us leaving them to twist in the breeze if they are caught, captured or worse?
An ultimatum needs to be given to our “friends” the Pakistanis. Either they release those who helped us kill a vicious murderer or NO MORE MONEY!! Let’s turn our attention to a better MUCH better friend, India. Pakistan plays both ends and in the middle. This is UNACCEPTABLE! We cannot put BILLIONS in the hands of countries who turn around and use those billions against us.

My mother used to say whichever way you make your bed that is how you will lie in it. Good advice. The Defense Department, State Department and the Commander-in-Chief should take it!

Tony Terrific: If one watched the Tony's, the Broaway equivalent of the Oscars, I think you would agree the Tony's were FANTASTIC. Neal Patrick Harris the host, is genius. I often loathe awards shows but this was different. It was much less pretentious and much more artistically creative. I loved every second of it and taped it to watch a second and maybe a third time. It did more to advance the case for theater than any other format as it was so well done indeed! Congrats to ALL who won and ALL who didn't. These are special talented people and all are national treasures!

For years I have been advocating to bring theater to the masses as it is often so cost and access prohibitive to many. I want Broadway to come to HBO and HDTV where one could see these fabulous plays and pay maybe 25 bucks on your cable bill instead of 200 bucks to see a show and one could see it in the comfort of the living room. It helps the elderly, the disabled, and the poor to whom theater is often out of reach.

We saw something similar for opera. We went to a movie theater and saw a production of Verdi's Il Travatore. It was wonderful. We felt as if we were there in the actual theater audience at the Met in NYC. They even filmed back stage during intermission, interviewed the stars and gave one an insight into the architectural mechanics of a performance. It was excellent. That's what I want for theater.

HBO could negotiate with Broadway or with the various plays for the theater rights to show it. I know Broadway theater companies might be afraid it would cut into their business but I think big money could be made and still attract those who are in the NYC area or live in states near NY where people have easier access to the theater itself and love the experience of being there.

Perhaps the revenue plays collect from HBO would allow them to reduce the price of an in theater NYC ticket and attract even more to the actual performances. It simply is prohibitive for those who cannot either afford theater tickets, do not want to pay a stratospheric price or who cannot ambulate to get to there.

A Clarification of the Two State Solution: It is no mystery to those who know me that I support a two-state solution to the Palestinian/Israeli situation. This is not I must emphasize a reversal of my support for the Jewish people and the Jewish state. When I witnessed Arabs running up the hillside of the Golan and Israeli soldiers shooting them (they have a right to protect the security of the state) it made me reactive and nervous. I began to think we need to do something quickly or they will be climbing in hordes from every side right into the Israeli state since they dwarf Jews numerically. I feared the IDF would not be able to stop thousands of Arabs and Palestinians possibly without guns doing something for the cameras by, perhaps, using passive non-violent Gandhiesque resistance. It would not sit well in American or European living rooms to watch on TV the IDF gun down unarmed people even though Israelis have a right to defend the Jewish state. I am, I think, quite rationally concerned.

Moreover, I recently heard that some, perhaps even many, Jews inside of Israel are seeking citizenship from other nations such as Austria or the US because they fear the impending elimination of the Israeli state and the predictable violence that would ensue. I was emotionally driven by this prospect to research that assertion from whom I consider reliable sources. My sources said that was absolute propaganda and while a few might do that it is microscopic in relation to those Jews who are citizens of Israel and would never leave. The man suggesting this alleged fact, Franklin Lamb, is a strong supporter of Hezbollah in Lebanon who is committed to the annihilation of the Jewish state. I am going to glean additional responses to his assertion to verify its veracity. Researching it, however, brought one truth to light and that is the ancient anti-Semitism we thought was at an end because of the Holocaust is, indeed, alive and well especially during economic downturns. The vitriolic hatred of the Jew is mind numbing. If you do not believe me, then Google it.

I am frightened by both what happened to the Jewish people in 1930's Europe and I am desperately afraid of it ever happening again. Up until now there was little reason to fear it but we remained, of course, always vigilant. There is little doubt in my mind that it is not possible that the majority of Jewish citizens of Israel would abandon the Jewish state without taking down the entire region with them. If Jews have learned nothing else from our history we have learned that it is not possible to negotiate from a position of weakness. Israel is, we all know, armed to the teeth and before the Jewish people could not have that state they would make damn well sure no one else would have it either.

There is no question in my mind, too, that Israel is the freest of all states in the Middle East. The Jewish people are smart and know that the State of Israel must possess overwhelming military strength and, in fact, not hesitate to use it IF the Jewish state faces an existential threat. It is unacceptable to the Jewish people for anyone to overthrow it.

Having said that I want a two state solution and believe it must be carved out quickly. We must though stand strong, we must stand united and we must question why our fellow Jews at times betray their own people given the Jewish history they know. I often use the metaphor of homosexuals because I believe the humanity of a nation state toward them says something about the nature and essence of a culture. There is nowhere in the Middle East and all of Islam where one, if he or she is homosexual, could live openly except in Israel. That is telling as is the abduction of the gay woman in Iran. If she is alive it will be miraculous but Ahmadinejad says there are, of course, NO homosexuals in Iran. Believe that and he'll tell you another such as the Holocaust never happened.

The state of Israel must be recognized, it must be secure and it must be unharmed if there can ever be the possibility of a two state solution. It is a two state solution I want as President Obama enunciated at AIPAC. It MUST be done, I believe now, with all deliberate speed while never sacrificing the security of the Jewish state. I will NEVER abandon my people or the Jewish state and although I am too young to remember the events of our ugliest Shoah period in Nazi occupied Europe, I think about the six million living in Europe’s death camps when the weather is blistering hot, when the weather is freezing cold, and every rain-soaked and clear day in between. I think about them every day of my life. I never forget them and I always remember -- Never Again!

Sex in the City: I do not care what Anthony Weiner did. I admit it. I am a died in the wool Democrat and admittedly have different standards for them because their principles in general, though sometimes not so far different from Republicans, ARE really phenomenally different in many other ways. The diversity of the Democratic Party unlike the Republican Party cannot be denied. Yes, I want Democrats to win and because Democrats do not use moral nauseating self righteous blather as part of their platform the hypocrite standards ARE different.

I think Senator Ensign of Nevada and Senator Vitter of Louisiana's indiscretions were FAR worse and even possibly illegal. Yet Republican Eric Cantor did NOT ask THEM to resign and the voters did not care that David Vitter probably frequented a known high class prostitute since his name was on her list. I wonder why Cantor did not care about them. Things ARE political.

Who cares about the words Weiner wrote -- NOT I. BUT I DO care about foreign policy, I loved bin Laden killed, I do care about KEEPING Medicare/Social Security, and I DO care about Republicans who have NOTHING to offer on economic policy except more of the corporate oligarchical same and WORSE want ultimately an eradication of entitlements. Republicans got us into the mess in the first place. When in office Republicans sink the ship.

Our ship IS sinking from their policies and FASTER than the president can wield his own power because of Republican obstructionism so you will have to excuse me if the exchanges between Weiner and his online lovelies matter NOT to me. Let his wife care about that and let Weiner do what he does SO well and that is advocate and vote for the middle class and the little guy whom Republican policy and the holier than thou crowd does not know exist.

He who has not sinned cast the first one. I say learn a lesson, Rep. Weiner, go and sin no more but keep advocating for us!

Handwriting on the Wall with a Caveat: I have been a vociferous opponent of the anti-Israel local blogger Doris Cadigan's opinions (See June 5, 2011 Metro West Daily News, Cadigan letter "End Palestinian Conflict") about Israel throughout the years. I STILL cringe at her virulent anti-Israeli statements but I have changed slightly my opinion as realities on the ground change. Of this I can be sure: I WANT THE JEWISH STATE TO SURVIVE. It is because of this I support EXACTLY what the president said at AIPAC. It is why many at AIPAC agreed with him. NOW IS THE TIME to perfect a peace with not simply empty words. I say that NOT as a supporter of Palestinians. I say that as a supporter of the State of Israel. Our president knows the odds the Jewish state is up against. They are and will be formidable unless an all out hot war is waged with the US as Israel's ally. Given the weariness of this country to the commitment of American force to this regional conflict if not ultimately the world war it could engender, it would be not only impossible to wage but if waged repulsive in the extreme. The body count would be exponentially horrific. Because of this a return to the 67 borders WITH MUTUALLY AGREED UPON LAND SWAPS is a must.

The Arab Spring began in Tunisia by a simple vendor who was mad as hell, couldn't take his government's corruption anymore and set himself on fire. He thereby set the region on fire with him. The US initiation of the Iraq War based on a lie began, too, the destabilization of that already volatile part of the world. It handed Iran the hegemony it savors to this day. All of this has negatively affected the west and it has negatively affected Israel as well.

Do I want a Jewish state to survive? YES and that is why I come out in support of what the president said at AIPAC. He KNOWS the stakes and those who do not see it are ostriches with their heads in the sand. Either one wants the Jewish state to survive or one THINKS with the superior weapons of war one can fight the many other forces from all sides wanting Israel's destruction. This is stupidity in the extreme.

Palestinians and their other supporters have numbers and time on their side and we, the Jewish people, do not as we will be abandoned one by one by many who gave Israel initial support including possibly soon even the UN. An IMPORTANT caveat too must be made. Everything is predicated, OF COURSE, on the stipulation that the Arabs/Palestinians MUST, without question, accept the legitimacy of the Israeli state and BOTH MUST cease violence against the other.

Jews need to count on Jews for survival BUT they MUST do the right thing as well. I cannot count tit for tat all the death wielding maneuvers of each side. BOTH are guilty of gruesome and heinous acts. My most ardent perception, given the changing Middle East is that NOW is the time for true peace to begin in earnest and not with empty words. The MSNBC headline below lends credence to my view.

"Israeli forces open fire as protesters storm Golan border." I rest my case!

The Covenant: This made the NYT blog. It was in response to a NYT article "Efforts to Ban Circumcision Gain Traction in California": If this isn't the most utterly INSANE law I do not know what is. How long has this rite been practiced? If one is a Jew it has been done for over 5000 years. Is this the state's business? I think NOT. This is between the parents and a physician much like abortion should be. Male circumcision has absolutely NOTHING to do with female genital mutilation which is done to prevent a female from experiencing her sexuality. Jewish male circumcision, a centuries old practice, has, of course, religious symbolic significance of the Abrahamic covenant the Jewish people established with God. Criticize that if you like. Nonetheless, if one is a Jew it is an unquestioned practice and the essence of being a Jewish male. It is unthinkable to me EVEN if one is not religious which I am not to eschew it.

Truthfully, I believe there is more to this attempt at its eradication than thinking it is purely a correct medical decision to remain "intact." Yet again the essence of being a Jew is assaulted. One of the most important rites of the Jewish people is under attack. People who attack circumcision and want an actual LAW against it are not being honest as to what is hiding behind their passion. I firmly believe in this case -- not all but for many -- it is an end run around a basic anti-Semitic fever that lies dormant at times but resurrects itself under certain circumstances.

Sure, why not go after the Jew in this manner. That way we can appear that we think it is a medically unnecessary procedure but in truth the hostility of a particularly Jewish rite is at the movement's core.

It is understandable if one does not want to circumcise a male child but it is anything but understandable if one wants the STATE to intervene to prevent it.

I have never met a Jewish man who said that his circumcised genital area presented a problem. The usual arguments for it are well known such as cleanliness and the lessening of some types of STD's and HIV transmission. There is also the claim that women engaging in sex with circumcised men cut their risk of uterine and vaginal cancer. It stands to reason that cleanliness would contribute to the lessening of infection. These rationales can be debated but what CANNOT be debated is the state having the unmitigated gall to interfere in this long held Jewish tradition. I am not a religious Jew at all and yet if I had a male child that child WOULD be circumcised. They would have to cart me off to jail to prevent it.

There is more to this than meets the eye. Yet again the Jew, just when we think we are safe, someone is always there to kick us in the posterior and blame us for everything from hurting babies through circumcision to creating the Wall Street madness.

When will this cancer, this infection, this vile pathology of Jew hating ever die? Even IF there were not one Jew to hate left in the world someone would find a way to keep the hatred alive. Now it's circumcision, PLEASE give us a break. Do what you want with your child but leave mine to me!

Palin the Putz: If you do nothing else you MUST MUST MUST click on or paste the link below into your browser. This is Sarah the Moron Palin potentially running for president of the most powerful nation on earth when she was in Boston yesterday at the Old North Church explaining history and just what that Paul Revere was doing on April 18, 1775. I have NO doubt it would be big news to Paul Revere!! Treason anyone?

It's not she that upsets me it's that ANYONE on planet earth much less THIS country is following her like a dog in heat

This is the funniest one yet and even funnier than Katie Couric's profoundly tough question of what books do you read. I guess Ms. Palin does not read many. Actually, in fairness to her she seems stoned!8-) funny funny funny!!


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/06/sarah-palin-claims-paul-revere-warned-the-british-that-they-werent-gonna-be-takin-away-our-arms.html

The Death of Jack Kavorkian: I agree with much of what Jack Kevorkian advocated. I do not know about every single assisted suicide over which he presided but I do know there is something askew in a culture that says euthanizing our beloved pets is a humane act to alleviate their suffering but allowing human beings to suffer interminable pain or if not pain than drugged out in a morphine haze when life is at its inevitable end.

I have always believed that this country's treatment of death is the same as always loving stories with happy endings. For Americans, I believe death is NOT an option and when it occurs, as it will for ALL of us, western religions concoct fantasies of an after life or being in a better place after the loved one has died. Well if it's so much better there I wondered why we do not all end our suffering and go right to it. Of course the rational moral of the story is life is here and now. It is what one makes of it. There is nothing else unless one chooses to live in Fantasyland.

I believe in the relieving of human suffering, I believe that the DNA of life has an end which the drug machine in this country has extended sometimes merely for profit. I believe we should emphasize life's finiteness when we choose policies that simply are inhumane to other powerless groups. There are NO do overs and in the final analysis I believe the true humanitarian was Dr. Jack Kavorkian. He saw unmentionable suffering and chose to end it.

Jack, you have changed the culture for the better even though you had to suffer the travesties of irrational belief systems of others while trying to doing it.

A Letter to Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner: Full Faith and Credit of a Too Big to Fail Nation: Mr. Speaker: I do not know how you can square Republican Party tactics and you as the nation's Speaker with what should be the moral, humane and sound economic policy of the nation. I know you know, and greater economic minds than I have said, not raising the debt ceiling will prove catastrophic to our nation and the world. I think you understand this but the freshmen Republican congressmen, I believe, do not have a clue as to the utter economic insanity that is taking place in Congress. You are bartering away our lives.

Moreover, holding hostage a vote to raise the debt ceiling to the evisceration of Medicare, a program that has saved lives irrespective of party, is despicable in the extreme. Do you truly NOT care who lives and who dies as long as Wall Street moguls and their lobbyists fill politicos’ cash coffers with campaign contributions? Other things can be done to deal with our deficit and debt besides ruining health care and retirement programs which have saved so many. These call for increasing slightly the taxes of those who truly can afford it and ceasing policies of never-ending wars which increase the deficit into the stratosphere of far flung galaxies.

I do not know or understand how a man who calls himself a Christian, a faith based on human kindness and dignity, can fall prey to those forces in Washington who are more interested in stuffing their pocketbooks than helping the elderly, the disabled and poor obtain health care through programs already in place which have worked for over 40 years.

If you and other Republicans do what I think you want to do and make it impossible for the middle class, blue collar and poor to survive then our nation, a beacon of hope to the world, will surely fail. It is on our middle class backs that this nation was built and it is on our middle class backs that the nation could fall as Wall Street and the dastardly deeds of its lending and too-big-to-fail investment banks, hedge funds, sub-prime lending institutions, rating agencies and other market forces are the very reason the economy has been in such a precarious position since 2007. No one who committed these unethical and, in many cases, illegal activities has been brought to justice. Another economic free fall is just waiting for the winds of entitlement evisceration to tip it over the edge.

The rich will NEVER fail, they will NEVER suffer from lack of health insurance, and they will NEVER lose their home nor not have a place to sleep or not have food on the table. If the top 2% are handed tax breaks those breaks will NEVER trickle down their wealth to us. It has been shown time and time again what happens when government is in the pockets of Wall Street and there is no regulation of greed -- the country collapses as it did during the Great Depression and as it almost did in the Great Recession of 2007. Now Republicans want to risk the full faith and credit of a too big to fail nation by not extending the debt ceiling or agreeing to extend it only if it can be accompanied by a reduction in Medicare and other social safety net programs. This is a cruel bargain to say the least.

I URGE you to examine your conscience and if you never stood for the little guy before stand for us now. Medicare, Social Security and other so called entitlements cannot be left at the doorstep of Wall Street, who, like a gambling casino whisks our money away in a con game before we really know it is gone and we are left with nothing! I urge you to use your leadership to ask your party NOT to do such unconscionable things to the people who can least afford it.

Uncivil War: I link below an article on MSNBC entitled: "NATO apologizes for Afghan Civilian Deaths."

The perpetual waging of unpopular war abroad, which expends rivers of blood, saps our pocketbook and balloons our debt, must be brought to a swift end. The three wars, two of which are ten years in length, viciously shed precious blood, are wildly expensive, decimate the psyches of those who fight them and worse fuel the fires of Al Qaeda by the inevitable collateral killing of civilians -- including women/children.

Our military is sorely overextended. It is a fact of life our adversaries sometimes do not condemn more vociferously their own people who often do unspeakable things to each other. We must live with that inconsistency. Many hate more specifically the foreigner on their soil. When will Americans learn they are NOT killing us for our freedom? They are killing us because they do NOT want American boots on their ground.

All the effort our military expends on humanitarian work is wonderful BUT it is lost to Al Qaeda when events such as the recent civilian killings in Afghanistan happen as reported below. Bin Laden, the overlord of inhumanity, was finally killed and I proudly say at the direction of a Democrat! His end should mark a new beginning in American foreign policy that went haywire after World War II. The department which is responsible for the defense of the country is called the Department of Defense and NOT the Department of Offense for a reason.

If the draft were reinstated one would see how fast American troops would be pulled as few would want their son or daughter to either perpetrate or experience the carnage and danger the ugly, mendacious and immoral so called Bush Doctrine of preemptive war brings. We would also see how much reining in our foreign escapades would lower the debt and restore civility to uncivil policy. Our war policy garners only more killing, death/dismemberment and psychological illness of our soldiers, animosity abroad and debt at home. It is time to end these insufferable, uncivil, and never ending wars.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43209372/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

This is WHY a Republican can NEVER NEVER NEVER be elected president....George Carlin was SO correct it is chilling. He said "They are coming for it ALL, they want it ALL, and they'll get it ... " The link below about Pawlenty shows Carlin was SO correct!!!

Cut the military war machine, cut the subsidies to major corporations, do NOT balance the budget on the backs of the middle class little guy by taking away Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid!

How many of you, your parents and your loved ones would be dead or severely disabled if they could not afford health insurance and if Medicare were not there? Think about it and tell EVERYONE you know NOT to vote Republican and step on their own foot. Republicans are NOT about most of you!


http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/05/tim-pawlenty-says-he-would-back-paul-ryans-medicare-plan.html

Oprah’s OWN: This is a response to Alex Beam’s less than positive view of Oprah Winfrey “Say Good Night Oprah” in the May 24, 2011 Boston Globe (linked below.)

Mr. Beam I have been critical of Oprah for a very long time for most of the reasons you state in your editorial "Say Goodnight Oprah." I have been critical of it all mostly because she NEVER or rarely has an opposing opinion on her show challenging what she has to sell. Much of it is snake oil albeit sold sincerely and mixed with a little bit of god. How can anyone resist? The words are so intoxicating most especially to our very gullible sugar coating loving American audience. There is one reason Oprah lasted so long: MONEY and gobs of it as so many found the perfect forum to hawk their wares.

Having said that one cannot, I think, deny that very often despite all her glitz, glamor, and materialism there are some whom she affected in a positive way. She may even, I admit, have saved lives -- perhaps many of them. I do not want to be guilty of what I think Oprah was guilty and that is neglecting to bring fair and balanced viewpoints to her shows. Her shows missed one important quality sorely lacking in our culture -- critical thinking. She had little most especially when talking about a higher power force she thinks controls everyone's life if only one would let it in.

I admittedly watched her when I thought the subject matter either pertained to me or interested me. Otherwise, I tuned her out. Her finale to my taste was utterly garish and over done BUT then again if one says she helped them who am I to deny it. And so, I bestow upon Oprah that which she never bestowed upon us, a balanced viewpoint. She was both a force for good and a force for the glitz, glamor and garish negatives in our culture that I believe make us willing to swallow anything no matter how irrational and ridiculous. It only needs to sound oh so good.

No one can doubt Oprah was a force. The name of her OWN network which is supposed to follow her says it all. Oprah's show in the end was about her OWN self and so it is an appropriate acronym. I must admit I will miss some of her. Her genius is that even someone as critical as I am can say that!


http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2011/05/24/say_goodnight_oprah/

NY 26th the reddest of the red went blue!: THIS IS WONDERFUL. This shows you how important saving Medicare and Social Security is. For those who do not know Google NY 26th district special election. The reddest of the red went BLUE tonight as a special House election was conducted to fill the seat of the half naked Republican who resigned because he was caught on Craig's List soliciting. Hypocrites much?

Beyond even that this is WONDERFUL because this district has NEVER gone Democratic and we can do a tip of the hat to Paul Ryan for making the destruction of Medicare his seminal Republican policy. America is changing its composition and the Republican party at some point in my opinion will be dead. They have NOTHING and NO ONE to run. Keep on trucking for Democrats. We may not be perfect but we are a hell of a lot better than what is our opposition. A Howard Dean YEEEHA!

We can do it!!

Joplin: If you have seen or heard a news broadcast or read a newspaper, the stories out of Joplin, MO are devastating. Not only has a tornado cut in half an entire city demolishing everything, killing so far 118 on the south side of Joplin but more bad weather and possibly heavy tornado activity is predicted again today.

I am pasting a link below provided by NBC News which lists those agencies which will accept donations and aid. Times like these require a united front. I hope some of you can give.


http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/23/6700666-joplin-tornado-how-to-help

A1 at AIPAC--A Home Run: Some have asked why I have not weighed in on the Middle East Israel/Palestinian madness. The reason I balk at wading through the morass of religious, military, and dogmatic historical realities of the Middle East peace between Israel and the Palestinians is because my first impulse is to throw up my hands and yell loudly I GIVE UP. I have been on this planet for 62 years the same number of years the Jewish State of Israel has existed. For those 62 years that region and the tiny Jewish state have never known peace and yet the word peace has been thrown around like baseballs of a batter taking batting practice except in this case the game never ends and the score is in dead bodies and not home runs. In fact, a home run has never been hit and the bodies are still being counted.

If a state has been at war for 62 years one might take a snooze and say wake me when it’s over. The problem with that is when one is awakened the game may be over and the Jewish state may face an existential annihilation as each nation peels off its support including even the United Nations and as Israel finds itself in a new Middle East reality. How many times have we heard the mantra which plays like a broken record -- We want a two state solution with two states living side by side in peace. I am sick of it but it is what I desperately want for both my Jewish people and the Palestinians. When will this happen? Each side intrinsically and rabidly hates the other and there is no trust, the basis for any agreement.

The president's proposal to Benjamin Netanyahu has been skewered by the mindless lame stream media who simply want to ratchet up discord anywhere they can find it even if it means fanning the fires of a hatred so enmeshed between two people that its quilt can only serve to smother the lives of both. In reality returning Israel to its pre-1967 borders is not a new idea. In fact, it has been postulated by many presidents including by the Clinton Administration in Oslo. I do not believe President Obama threw Israel under the bus as some have suggested.

The Republican Party thinks it sees an opening to sow more discord between Jews and Palestinians -- as if there is not enough already -- in their feeble attempt to scrape off the Jewish vote which it has always courted by falsely telling the American electorate that Obama does not support Israel. No matter how hard Republicans tried in 2008 to court the Jewish vote Jews voted for Obama in droves at 80%.

After the steaming pitch right over the plate thrown by the president in his AIPAC speech today, I suspect the Republicans will continue to lose the Jewish vote and Jews will continue to remain solidly in the Democratic camp. The president did what only he can do and that is let his words take on persuasive power. He did just that when he spoke today at the solidly pro Israel lobbying group, AIPAC. As one of my very politically savvy relatives used to say “what is is.” It is a simple profundity which rings true. The Middle East has changed, still is changing and we must face that stark reality. Many at AIPAC clapped mightily as the president iterated that peace between the two historical adversaries should include a return to the pre-1967 boarders, full recognition of the Jewish state by a Palestinian state and mutually agreed land swaps.

I believe a home run was hit today by the president. I can only hope he wins the game. Only the fate of the Jewish state, the Middle East and the entire world hangs in the balance!

I post the link of his speech below. I loved it. I hope you do too.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Scenes from the Sanctity of Marriage: The infidelities of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dominique Srauss-Kahn and so many other contemporary men who occupy the male echelons of political and financial power engender many questions. I wanted to write with profundity about the moral morass and sewer-like quicksand into which these men have sunk but each minute which ticked by created more questions than I could answer.

So I will iterate some of the questions which crossed my mind about these sad marital infidels: What is marriage? What is a vow? What is hypocrisy? What is betrayal? What is human nature? What is sanctity?

Both of these men and so many others who share their moral prison could be the substance of tragic theater. Each man could be a play of Biblical proportions or at the very least a morality play of Shakespearean import.

Shakespeare in Hamlet writes:

What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how
infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and
admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like
a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet,
to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me—
nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.

Shakespeare waxes effusive about man as the apex of nature’s creation above any other animal and yet neither man nor woman delights Hamlet. I ask why not?

Sometimes the Bible used as metaphor can be instructive. Since this text was written approximately 5 thousand years ago, we can take from it that the moral turpitude of man has existed for a very long time. It is as if it is man’s shadow following him all the days of his life and from which he cannot escape. Genesis 3 says:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’ “ And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Our politicians talk so much about the “sanctity of marriage” especially if they want to indict the nature of other groups they judge severely. Most especially politics on the right – Republican politics – is infused with moral sanctity and superiority. Republicans make marriage the hallmark of their platform. Indeed, Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke many times of the importance of marriage and the family but did so while he was sexually involved with a woman who was not his wife compounding this moral collapse by creating another life from this union. His children did not even know they were living with their half brother since Schwarzenegger had a relationship with the family housekeeper, the mother of the child, for over 20 years. How did the former governor square this with his own party’s mandate or his wife? He didn’t perhaps thinking it a career crusher if he simply told the truth.

Strauss-Kahn commits the same hypocrisy but it rises to a much more violent and serious level. If he is found guilty of the seven charges for which he is indicted – including attempted rape -- this man of extraordinary wealth and power will go to jail for a very very long time.

These two examples are staggering for their hypocrisy. They advocate for behavior that they do not exemplify themselves. Strauss-Kahn controlled billions if not trillions of dollars asking nations to comport themselves in certain moral and non-violent ways so they could be the beneficiaries of the vast sums of money he controlled. Yet, on a singular level he is alleged to have committed the most egregious behavior a man can commit short of murder. Schwarzenegger’s Republican party makes part of its platform unyielding religious precepts which the powers that be suspend anytime they want for their own scandalous purposes but remain etched in stone for the opposition.

Do vows mean anything anymore? Is marriage truly sacred and if not why do we enter into these contractual vows anyway? I aver vows in our immoral era mean little. They can be broken on a whim and all too often are. Still, marriage is a contract made mainly to protect women and children so that if a man strays he will still owe a legal obligation to and protection of his issue. It makes sense and promotes good order IF and only IF the contract is honored. The problem is often it is not and yet those who most vociferously advocate for it are often the breakers of it. It is the essence of hypocrisy.

Perhaps the most difficult of all the questions above is the notion of betrayal. That is the feeling one gets when the trust between one person and another is broken. We feel angry, aggrieved, and hurt. Again, metaphorically, of all the sins in Christianity the betrayal of Jesus by Judas for only 30 pieces of silver has to be one of the most loathsome. Judas deceived someone he loved. I thought a man’s word was worth more than that.

The Biblical and Shakespearean paragraphs above tell us that the fallen angel is not new and that the beauty of man is often tarnished when he fails to live up to the vows he makes. Nonetheless, we make them. Maybe that is what makes the Jewish High Holy Day Yom Kippur so significant because all vows are negated and in the future we make them anew and try to do better. Somehow I think Arnold Schwarzenegger will not do better nor will, if convicted, Strauss-Kahn. In the end we can judge only ourselves by these standards and as the poet Robert Frost said: “The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”

In Living Color -- RED: Why does the Democratic base get so upset with the Democratic Party and the Democratic administration? John Stewart did an EXCELLENT segment on Meredith Atwell Baker, heretofore Commissioner of the FCC Board, which could tell you why. She, he noted, is leaving government service as FCC Commissioner to work in the private sector. What job did this FCC Commissioner secure? She was just made Sr. Vice President of Comcast/NBC Universal. What a nice plumb don’t you think? This is the kind of position one can secure AFTER being chairman of the public communications regulatory agency, the FCC, and after one helps approve the merger of two cable behemoths while one occupies high public office in the very agency the corporate giants needed to approve their merger. The corporatists rewarded her for her fine efforts. Moreover, she had the temerity to say that the regulatory process is “too cumbersome.” I ask her for whom is it too cumbersome? Maybe it’s too cumbersome for the oligarchies who want to rake in billions from their partnership with the government that is supposed to regulate them. Instead, the taxpayer yet again will, in circuitous fashion, pay for the corporatists’ yachts and Ms. Baker will work for these corporations for, I am sure, a tidy sum while the public gets nailed to their cross of gold.

The American public is smothered by soaring cable rates because there is little to no competition. We are saddled with stations we do NOT want, packages from which we cannot choose and drown in cable rates that soar yearly into the stratosphere while the service remains outsourced and mediocre to often poor.

This is what makes the Democratic base see red. I am part of that base and, yes, I am seeing RED! Someone who held a position on the FCC Board should NEVER be allowed to assume a high position in the very companies that went before it to obtain a license to merge. Does conflict of interest ring a bell? The vote was 4-1 by the FCC in favor of the merger. Wow, am I surprised – NOT! Did the consumer have anything to say about it? The answer: NO because the FCC is not filled with occupants who are loyal to the people but ones who are loyal to those feeding at the corporate trough.

We get the leadership we deserve. Every time I think my faith is renewed something appears to shake it. It should be illegal for Meredith Atwell Baker to take the Vice-Presidential position from a company whose merger she helped facilitate. Meredith Atwell Baker should be punished for presenting even the appearance of a conflict of interest. I ask again, for whose interest did she function? It should be for OUR INTEREST to combat monopolies which squash the rights of the consumer. Sure, you are free to choose the company you want. If there are, however, only two major companies from which to choose what choice is there? Answer: NONE!

Mr. President, remember us the ones who brought you to the dance? I suggest your minions think twice before they agree to sanction the employment of a former FCC Commissioner to a high private sector position within the very companies she was supposed to regulate. Think of us the little guy – the middle class – before there is no middle class left to think about at all!

The Strategy: It is obvious that the Republican Party has NOTHING. They have LESS than nothing. They have zilch, nada, zero and they know it. Moreover, they are split probably 60/40 by a Republican Tea Bag base that is extremist right into the stratosphere. They do not attract many in the general electorate. The American public we know is in the center but it will NOT be appealed to by extremist racist right wingnut thought. Most especially we know that the ethnic composition of the country is changing quickly as Hispanics and other minorities will make up an even greater part of the whole. They WILL find a place more -- MUCH more -- at home within the Democratic Party.

I have little doubt, barring any god forbid catastrophe, that Barack Obama will be easily re-elected. We should, of course, take nothing for granted. The vote MUST be delivered for the president. I worry about most especially Congress and I worry about the red-leaning state houses and governorships around the country.

I would most emphatically like to see the Democratic Party come to the assistance of our Democratic Senatorial and House candidates. We MUST absolutely MUST retain the all important Senate. It would be frosting on the cake if we could take BOTH houses of Congress as we did in 2008 but somehow stupidly sacrificed in 2010 when we should not have.

Both the Democratic Party and the president should throw the FULL weight of their power, prestige and the cash behind it to Democrats (hopefully progressives) everywhere most especially in the national Congress. The President can veto BUT if the Congress can override a veto we are in the same disastrous position in which Team Bush put us. We cannot go back to that. We know the consequences would be nothing short of catastrophic!

Now is the time to prepare and now is the time to take back the reins of Congressional power from those who do NOT care about Main Street but who are in the hip pocket of those who want to sell out America to Wall Street and its top 2%. As the late great George Carlin said: “They are coming for it -- all of it -- .”.. . "It's a club," he said, "and you ain't in it." The corporatist oligarchy will take you and your children's future with it as they did from 2000 – 2008 if you allow it. Do NOT be fooled by their wolf in sheep's' clothing style. They are NOT about most of us and lie ALL the time.

Take NOTHING for granted. We must take the country back for ourselves by supporting, working for and contributing to the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates everywhere. Practically, the Democratic Party is our only hope. It is up to us to compose it as we wish. Now is the time to secure our future and to do it with ALL deliberate speed!

The Apogee of Excellence: The "Sixty Minutes" segment interviewing the president about the killing of bin Laden was, in my opinion, the most masterful segment of that program I have ever seen. To say the president was brilliant, human, cool and so professional is an understatement. It made me see him in a more intense and revelatory light. He gave us a candid window into his thoughtful world.

I have sometimes criticized the president for not standing up to his opponents more fiercely and confronting the often times racist nature of their animus. My criticism comes from my inability to see who the president truly is and to understand how he thinks. This interview showed him to be the intellect I always thought he was. There is no way anyone on the Republican side can approach the apex of the academic excellence and intellectual alacrity of Barack Obama.

I thank the president for doing something for which I waited 10 long years. I spent two years checking every single morning after the 9/11 attack to see if bin Laden was brought in "dead or alive" as George Bush so convincingly said he would. It never happened and I all but gave up that it would.

I disagree vehemently with those who think the previous administration had anything to do with taking bin Laden down. Bush was warned of the Al Qaeda attack right before 9/11 in his PDB or presidential daily briefing. In fact, Bush let bin Laden escape Afghanistan in 2002, and then closed the bin Laden task force in 2005. It was known from then on that bin Laden was in Pakistan but Bush did not pursue him. Bush went from saying he would capture bin Laden “dead or alive” to “To tell you the truth I don’t really care” he shrugged. “I don’t spend much time thinking about it.” George Bush did absolutely NOTHING to capture bin Laden. Worse, if another president were in the oval office at that time I submit 9/11 may have been averted. I cannot, of course, prove that but I can think it and I do.

If only the president's often disloyal opposition would allow him to govern as he desires without putting obstacles in front of every single step he takes I believe he could bring this country back to its apogee after the perigee of near economic collapse.

Govern on, Mr. President. You have my loyal support.

A Preliminary Post -- The "Sixty Minutes" Interview: The "Sixty Minutes" segment interviewing the president about the killing of bin Laden was, in my opinion, without a doubt the most masterful segment of that program I have ever seen. If you have not seen it check the Sixty Minutes web page to view it. To say he was brilliant, human, cool and so professional is an understatement. It made me see him in a different light. He gave us a candid window into his mind.

I have sometimes criticized him for not standing up to his opponents more fiercely. My criticism comes from an inability to see who the president truly is. He is intellectually stellar. There is no way anyone on the Republican side can approach the apex of the intellectual alacrity of Barack Obama.

I thank the president for doing something for which I waited 10 long years. If only his opposition would allow him to govern as he desires without putting obstacles in front of every single step he takes. He could bring us back to the country I have always known and loved.

Govern on, Mr. President. You have my undying loyal support.

Leave it to the Beave?: "The Beaver," a new Mel Gibson, Jody Foster movie was reviewed by NYT. As is its custom a comment section is often made available for the reader or the viewer to write their thoughts. I have written on many of the issues of our time on many other NYT blogs. They most always, with great appreciation, are accepted and printed online.

In the movie review comment section, however, my view on the Gibson film "The Beaver," is not being printed. My opinion of Gibson's film (which I have not seen) is that I refuse to see it. I indict Gibson the man as a most malodorous anti-Semite which seals my decision not to view anything that is associated with him. I think my opinion is worthy of appearing on the NYT movie blog with other opinions that I believe, humbly, are not as thoughtfully composed. I offered it again for their consideration.

I will not view this film:

I DO make a value judgment about Mr. Gibson. Personally, even before his virulent anti-Semitic comments his type of film never really attracted me. However, I have always enjoyed most of Ms. Foster's (his female lead in "The Beaver") films. Still, there is no way, in view of Mr. Gibson's hostile and vituperative anti-Semitic rants often in an inebriated state, I would even consider seeing this film or any film connected to him. It is not his Catholicism to me which is at issue but his adherence to the most extreme branch of the faith long eschewed by more than one Pope. It is that sect of the faith which desires not only to return to the Latin Tridentine Mass but wants to emphasize the texts which significantly indict the Jew for the killing of Christ. As stated in The Sun by Gabriel Birkner on July 3, 2007 The Good Friday liturgy [to which Mr. Gibson would like to return] "contains a passage stating that Jews live in "blindness" and "darkness" and asks God to "remove the veil from their hearts."" I suppose, too, [that Gibson would like to reinstate] a reference to Jews as Ms. Birkner states "perfidious" which was excised from the liturgy in 1969." Those portions of the New Testament which have been treated as historical veracity are far from it as most academic scholars of religion know. This indictment of the Jew gave two thousand years of rationality to the most heinous accusation ultimately culminating in the Holocaust.

Mr. Gibson aside from being a consummate anti-Semite is also a Holocaust denier. Ms. Foster should consider well the type of people from whom she decides to earn a living. She can and should do better. It is not only his extremist faith that is at issue but all of the other scurrilous accusations to which he in Shylockian form subscribes and which his extremist father conveyed to his son. Mr. Gibson adheres to those most odious views which have plagued world Jewry since the earliest inception of Christianity. The fact that Rome had to be absolved for the New Testament execution of Jesus meant that Jews would carry that burden for a crime they did not commit if even one can believe the historicity of New Testament text. It would prove deadly to the Jewish people -- six million deadly.

Why would I, a Jewess, ever want to add to this deluded man's wealth? I do NOT and WILL not. So far, the film I have read is getting quite tepid reviews so I suspect I am not missing very much. If Ms. Foster decides to make another film that has no relationship to this fetid man, then maybe I will give it consideration.

I urge people in view of Mr. Gibson's heinous political, religious, personally tainted, psychologically incriminating and domestically violent character refrain from buying a ticket.

The Waiver: My sentiments waiver (so what else is new) about the special opp killing of bin laden and I also waiver as to whether OSBL's dead body should be released to the press. I put up on my blog an opinion entitled "Body of Evidence" which discussed the skeptical thoughts I have. I did not send it because I was not sure about its content and I still am not. But I have read many things that lead me to believe that the president, perhaps, is correct to not release the photos. It would, I think, indeed, be possible to incite people even more albeit some are already incited.

I am now of the opinion, until I read and deduce otherwise, that bin laden was killed on May 1, 2011 and that the unbelievably capable and brave US Navy Seals performed their job with the highest expertise. It is easy to Monday morning quarterback. How would anyone feel going into an atmosphere where one has NO idea what to expect? Even ONE man (or woman) with a gun is enough to pose a threat to the entire operation in the fog of war.

This action seems to have been executed perfectly and the withholding of the pic perhaps the correct thing to do. I still do wonder how on earth a middle aged man with kidney disease who needed dialysis could have lived six years in that milieu. That building although bigger than others looked squalid. How US helicopters which I have read allegedly perused the skies above the area years ago did not question what a house with barbed wire was doing there, I cannot know.

There will always be questions. I now believe we did, in fact, kill bin laden on May 1, 2011, and I now believe the president's rationales for not releasing the pics were correct. Until proven otherwise I commend the action but I do not like to act as a high school cheerleader of a football game and revel in the deaths of many during the entire theater of war.

These are serious actions for serious times. Careful scrutiny of national policy and US foreign policy should be our country's modus operandi. Because I am not in the decision-making theater of war it is very hard for me to judge the moral, the ethical and the legal conduct of the operations in which we engage. I simply HOPE and, indeed think, this president is better than the last. Maybe time will tell -- or maybe it won't!

Body of Evidence: I am dismayed that the pictures of the operation and elimination of bin laden were not shown. Frankly, I do NOT know what to believe. Am I thrilled he is dead? YES, of course. I was in euphoria Sunday night but there are many questions I have now that reason prevails. Will this be the ratcheting down OR UP the fear of and war on terror? Will the US now go into Pakistan because they allegedly knew about bin laden's hiding place and did nothing? Will this drive this nation into more HUMONGOUS debt?

They are saying he lived in a million dollar mansion and the press is parroting that. That is NOT what I see. I see a place of squalor and poverty. It was disgusting. Could a man with a physical malady of kidney disease on dialysis I have been led to believe he had live in such squalor for SIX years? Moreover, DNA evidence proved with 100% accuracy that it was bin laden? I thought DNA testing took weeks and not minutes. Many questions upon reflection which require answers.

I want the president to get the glory, I am GLAD that bin laden is finally deemed dead BUT the proof of that is necessary. The questions will keep coming and they will grow. I was ebullient Sunday night and now I am filled with questions, doubt and fear. I suspect others feel that as well. The question is does this administration care ENOUGH to answer these questions many will have.

I KNEW that the pictures of the body would not be released. I am a doubting Thomas NOT that bin laden is dead but that he was killed on Sunday, May 1. I am doubting my government. I vowed I would never be duped as I was when Bush touted WMD's. I believed it and it was not so. THOUSANDS of lives depended on that truth and they died because they believed in American power and exceptionalism as well.

Now I wonder will fear be ratcheted up again and will we be furious at Pakistan for not telling us about bin laden giving us the excuse we need to open up yet ANOTHER front on a nation that DOES possess nuclear weapons OR did Pakistan not get him because he was already dead. One news agency recently broadcast a segment about US retaliation for Pakistani negligence or betrayal.

I want the questions that others have and that I have now to be answered. I do NOT want this to be another scenario where so many lives are lost because the truth was never told. The pictures of the body and any video of the military operation which allegedly killed bin laden should be released!

The Master of a Masterful Action: An operation like the near flawless execution of one of the world's most heinous humans who occupied, to our chagrin, a place on this planet, is historic. This apprehension and killing of a murderer reminds me of the commando raid against the pirates off the coast of Yemen given at the president’s order. This is yet another example of a brilliant man who occupies the office today. The death of bin laden is BEYOND the former example times a million. The president is the most competent-of-competent commanders-in-chief. He knows EXACTLY what to do, how to do it and has the appropriate experts times 10 to perfect it.

The war against religious fanaticism goes on. But never forget a request by US Marines was made to take the bastard bin laden out in Tora Bora when they had him in their cross-hairs in 2001. It was denied by George W. Bush probably so that the Iraq War could continue. The negating of the order by Bush to get bin laden when they COULD have in Tora Bora in 2001 to me at the time was treason.

So yes, we can all come together BUT I am SURELY glad this was done on President Obama’s watch as I suspected when he was elected, it would be. He directed it and the Navy Seals executed it with PERFECTION.

My criticisms in the past of some policy take a back seat because the president has proven he KNOWS how to implement his YES WE CAN mantra. His administration is about reconciliation and compromise. Criticize him, as I sometimes do, I can also reverse course and laud him for his ability to do what he thinks is right even if it means compromising with, in my opinion, the oft disloyal and all-too-often racist opposition. I do not have to like that yearning for compromise but I can support this president as he has shown today and on countless other occasions that his policy uniting the nation is sharp, it takes precedence and implementing it is arduous but ever-so-necessary.

Kudos, Mr. President. You have my loyalty!

YES WE DID! An operation like this reminds me of the commando raid against the pirates off the coast of Yemen given at the president’s order. Yet another example of a brilliant man who occupies the office. The death of bin laden is BEYOND the former example times a million and proves that point to me. He is the most competent of competent commanders in chief. He knows EXACTLY what to do and how to do it.

Sure, the war on terror goes on. But never forget a request by US commandos was made to take the bastard bin laden out in Tora Bora and it was denied. The negating of the order to get Bin Laden when they COULD have done it in Tora Bora to me at the time was treason.

So yes, we can all come together BUT I am SURELY glad this was done on Obama’s watch as I suspected when he was elected, it would be. He directed and the Navy Seals executed it with PERFECTION.

My criticisms in the past of some policy are tucked away because the president has proven he KNOWS how to implement his YES WE CAN mantra. His administration is about reconciliation and compromise. Criticize him as I sometimes do I can also reverse course and laud him for his ability to do what he thinks is right even if it means compromising with the oft disloyal opposition. I do not have to like that but can support this president as he has shown today and on many other occasions that his policy uniting the nation is sharp and implementing it arduous but necessary.

Kudos, Mr. President. You have my loyalty!

Bin Laden DEAD!!!!!:More to come but off the cuff: They got bin laden...FINALLY .ten years later but nonetheless they did it!!When the president was going to speak at 10:30 p.m. at first I thought may be ground troops in Libya but as I thought about it more and more I began to think no this has to be even bigger and I said I bet they
caught bin laden!!! I've been waiting for 10 years to catch that scum bag excuse for a human!!! Such a happy day! I am SO proud to be American and I am so glad Obama did it on his watch. I KNEW he would I just knew it. I want to celebrate as they are in front of the White House. Still we are never totally out of the woods but still this is a MOMENTOUS day. I am crying with happiness and have waited and watched for SO long!! Here is a link:

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/05/01/113442/osama-bin-laden-found-in-pakistan.html#ixzz1LAEm2Wkn

Confederate Pride? This is in response to the article entitled "The Confederate Flag is Still Flying High" on the web site The Grio (link below.) It is written stream of conscious because those who know me understand a fractured foot makes it painful to do most everything. My response is short and sweet .... well NOT so sweet.

I am white and flying the Confederate flag to me is as if someone flew a Nazi swastika flag. Would I say they have the right to fly it? MAYBE but I have just as much right to abhor, loathe and stand with others who feel the same as I in opposition to it. The confederate flag makes me see red and I laud the NAACP for vociferously and continuously without end protest it. They can fly that flag but no one says any person of moral integrity, (ESPECIALLY if they call themselves Christian as nearly all in the south do) has to like it. I THOUGHT Christianity was about in large part love and compassion engendering the ability to walk in the other guy's shoes.

For centuries that symbol has denied African Americans the right to THEIR heritage and WORSE even their right to live. The south was peppered with strange hanging fruit of black men hung from trees because they merely looked at a white person the wrong way. (listen to Billie Holiday's song on Utube: Strange Fruit Utubhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs).

The Confederate flag and so called "southern pride" is a symbol of all the evil that culture did to an entire race of people. It meant they could not vote, it meant they could not eat at the same table as whites, drink at the same drinking fountain as whites, swim in the same swimming pool as whites, go to the same bathroom as whites, enter the same door as whites, it meant they had to sit at the back of the bus, it meant that they could not vote, it meant that they could not go to the same school as whites, it meant that they had to give favor to whites to walk on the same side of the street, it meant having a difficult life and it meant sometimes not even having a life at all.

I say sure fly the lousy flag but others of humane mind do not and WILL not EVER like it!

http://www.thegrio.com/opinion/why-the-confederate-flag-is-still-flying-high.php

Radiant beauty and ugliness through the face of a child:

"Chernobyl's Legacy Radiates after Twenty Five Years" is the headline if one clicks on the link below. It is the picture of a child, with one arm, short short stubby legs and a BEAUTIFUL face but it is NOT a pretty picture so you are forewarned!

Still, like a picture of the Holocaust, I believe it is important to view because words on a page are simply black letters on a white background strung together which cannot hope to convey well enough the emotional seriousness of an issue.

They did not raise the classification of Fukishima to 7, the same level as Chernobyl, for nothing. I believe the nuclear disaster at Fukishima is many times worse than Chernobyl but political power and the money behind it will never tell you the entire truth. This picture on Huffington does the job to adequately convey nuclear power's threat.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, supervisor of the Manhattan Project during the development of the first nuclear bomb, was correct when he quoted from the Hindu Baghavad Gita after the first explosion of it: "Now I am become death destroyer of worlds."

Who said a picture is worth a thousand words? This proves they were right!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

TRUMPED by a child: I have a confession to make. For about 1/2 hour I gave Donald Trump consideration because I was so brokenhearted that the leadership I THOUGHT would transpire under Barack Obama was less than I expected. I was brokenhearted by the November 2010 Congressional so called “shellacking” and I thought it happened because the president had fallen leadership short. The president did not come out STRONGLY against the summer of corporately driven town hall MADNESS which wanted to kill desperately needed health care reform and by doing so kill the chances of a Barack Obama second term. I was brokenhearted that he did not explain well enough to the American public what his health plan entailed. He had the bully pulpit but I believed he did not use it effectively and often enough. He did not evoke the kind of leadership that was needed to negotiate through the maze of an intractable and disunited Congress but left it in their lumbering hands to hammer out the golden calf.

I was heartbroken that Wall Street got away with (and still is) highly unethical crimes and worse that the president picked for Treasury in his cabinet the very men behind the Wall Street fraud; he chose those who helped create it and who advocated for policies that fed the beast. He put the very foxes in charge of the coop they and their ilk nearly destroyed.

I was brokenhearted when the president said Lloyd Blankfein, and Jamie Dimon, two of the most sickening Wall Street CEO's from the worst of the worst institutions which gamed the golden egg goose, were touted by the president as "good businessmen." The president said after all some sportsmen make big money as if that could excuse what Blankfein, Dimon and his cronies did while people who lost everything committed suicide. Blankfein, Dimon and others laughed all the way to their respective mansions with taxpayer bonus millions they did not deserve and should not have gotten.

I was brokenhearted that the Middle East wars Obama promised to end do not but rather increase spilling young blood in perpetuity, costing billions each day and not winning any friends. I was brokenhearted that someone like Corporal Manning who whistle blew on heinous military conduct and did what the Nuremberg trials instructed the world to do by exposing crimes against humanity even if one’s own country is the perpetrator. Manning was and continues to be held without trial in this country, possibly tortured and convicted verbally by a president who taught civil liberties at Harvard in a country where innocent until proven guilty is the golden rule.

I wanted leadership -- STRONG leadership I hoped I would get but thought I did not. I wanted leadership which would resurrect the country and create the JOBS it so desperately needs, dismember the inequities and loopholes of the tax code, bring US corporations doing business overseas back by taxing them if they choose to set up corporations abroad. I wanted a strong stimulus package and received a weak one. I wanted strong bank regulation but Obama and the Congress he was supposed to herd could deliver only tepid reform.

After 1/2 hour considering Trump, feeling that his stand on birther and so called “conservative” social issues were merely pragmatism he does not truly believe, I decided against considering him a serious candidate. Why would I think otherwise as he allegedly tries to gain a Republican nomination or in the alternative boost his Celebrity Apprentice ratings. When he had the audacity to say the president was not Ivy League and when he called Robert DiNiro a man of little intelligence I KNEW jealousy is the blood coursing though Trump’s veins and that he does not deserve the honor that attaining the presidency bestows.

Trump is a mean and brash man; an uber egotistical blowhard with fake hair that is metaphor for the faker he is. Trump does not care whom he hurts or what he says to hurt them and he stoops as low as a tabloid newspaper journalist to do it. I suppose a businessman often does not care whom he hurts and we have the Great Recession to prove it. Trump, is in reality a LITTLE man a very LITTLE man who needs to puff himself up to prove to himself his worth. It is ironic for a man who supposedly measures his worth by the alleged billions he accumulates to feel the need to do so. Others measure worth by different yardsticks.

I will vote for Barack Obama in 2012 because I can have the adult conversation about which the Republicans talk ad nauseam. 1 Corinthians 13:11 tells us: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I gave up childish ways.” As an adult I know one cannot get everything one wants. One must compromise and often.

I know Barack Obama has given us much we never would have gotten if a Republican held the oval office. I have faith that the president in a second term will do even more. I know Barack Obama is on our side and as the adult I am he will have my support.

The Response: This is in response to my article that appeared in the MDN about Civil War celebrations. There are those rightwingnuts who are always there to protest even the most benign comment especially if a liberal presents it. "Proudliberal" offered a cogent response to many of those who posted. One extremist right wing blogger singled out in the end always uses the word "OUCH" (whatever THAT means) when making an attempt to voice his/her opinion. If you want to see the original article and the blog posts I enclose the link at the end.

The Response: I should not even address CLEARLY illogical and make-no-sense comments but I must. Some wingers on here would have something negative to say if one came out and said the bunnies on the lawn are cute. The most benign and indeed humane comments on some letters to the editor are opposed often with vitriolic rhetoric which is racist transparent. Scratch the surface of those who disagree on, for example, the viewpoint here and I suspect what would be found no not always but OFTEN -- too often.

I would not mind if the opposition was made in intelligent fashion like that which is written by David Brooks, Krauthammer, Jacoby, George Will and others with whom I largely disagree but it is the opinions which are personal attacks that are the most objectionable and I loathe stooping to that low.

I do not think EVERYONE in the south harbors secessionist thought. Nor do I think that everyone is racist and I do surely know racism exists here. One need only read the MDN blogs in response to opinions like the benign one above to know that.

Secessionist thought exists in MANY states and not just in the ones Kane mentioned although it exists there as well. It has been advocated in all states by one crank or another. Check out some recent talk -- sometimes very angry talk -- in states like S. Carolina, Texas by its governor Rick Perry, Nevada, and others. It EVEN exists in Alaska where Palin's husband allegedly was a member of a secessionist group. There have been numbers of Civil War commemorative celebrations and dances complete with Confederate uniforms and stars and bars Confederate flags some of which still fly in southern state capitols today and are pasted on vehicles everywhere.

While states rights can be argued from a Constitutional point of view it has historically and even in contemporary politics been intrinsic code for the abandonment of federal civil rights law secured by and for African Americans and others who have been socially and institutionally ostracized because of an ascribed status i.e. the color of the skin in which they were born.

There are states which want to return to the era of literacy tests but instead of calling it that they advocate for people to show licenses they may not have making it more difficult for the poor and others including African Americans and Hispanics, who are largely Democrats, to vote. Others want as proof of citizenship a requirement to appear on a ballot using the ad aburdium notion of showing baptismal certificates OR even the more laughable proof of all things circumcision. Jewish circumcision is done eight days after birth so conceivably (pardon the pun) one could be born in Somalia, eight days later come to the US to be circumcised by a rabbi and ultimately 35 years later run for president! THAT made me laugh. All of these, I submit, have racist animus.

There is a HUGE difference between arguing for a fair electoral count within each state than there is if certain states want to return to yesteryear to deny service, a home or a job to a selected minority, advocate for the so called 'southern cause' and couch that advocacy in veiled racist thought hiding behind the Constitutional concept of states rights. It is those profound equal rights for minority groups who have been historically excluded from the majority culture and debate that are and should be in this country universal. When they are not the courts need to intervene and can because Federal law ensuring egalitarian treatment gives teeth to those who can prosecute against it. Might I remind, for those who saw it, Rand Paul stumbling over the question of property rights versus human rights when asked if he, who supports property rights nearly universally, would support a business owner denying service to people of color. One could see and hear he did NOT know how to handle that simple question. For most of us the answer to that is easy. Human rights should prevail against property rights when a person simply wants to eat at a lunch counter, have a job, sit on a bus or go to an integrated school.

This is what the Civil War entailed; this is what the fight for civil rights meant; this is what is signified by resurgent secessionist thought; this is what is meant by the Confederate flag flying; this is what is meant by desiring the ability of states to use the 10th amendment to return to an era where states could enforce ANY law they passed no matter how discriminatory and prevail over any federal law which might legislate against it. The celebration of the Civil War and its attendant race issues are alive and well in our country trying to kick and scream their way into modern public policy.

November 2nd, I simply shake my head in incredulity. Your comment today takes the cake. Perhaps YOU should spend YOUR Easter thinking as YOU say 'Absolvi meam animam.' I am sure waxing repentant and getting things off your chest would be an oh so satisfying experience. I promise I won't say 'OUCH'!

Read more: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/archive/x1294651583/Rosen-Lessons-from-the-Civil-War#ixzz1KXem34Nu

An Addendum to Noam Chomsky: In a previous blog I stated the following and since I finished Prof. Chomsky's Huffington Post article "Is the World Too Big to Fail? The Contours of the Global Order" I would like to append one more prescient thought Chomsky iterated at the end of his piece:

I said:

Love him or hate him, for those who are interested in American foreign policy he is a premier provocateur. Up is down and down is up. US foreign policy and Alice in Wonderland have much in common. Things are not always as they appear. Question everything!

Left of center politics aside I find Chomsky's views interesting and revelatory. You do not have to buy all of it but at least think about some of it. We live in a world shaped by forces larger by far than ourselves.

I add: Prof. Chomsky said: "All of this, and much more, can proceed as long as the Muasher doctrine prevails. As long as the general population is passive, apathetic, diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable­, then the powerful can do as they please, and those who survive will be left to contemplat­e the outcome."

NB: "Muasher doctrine": "There is nothing wrong, everything is under control." In short, if the dictators support us, what else could matter? Quoting The New Left Project -- "The guiding principle was articulated clearly by Carnegie Endowment Middle East specialist Marwan Muasher, formerly a high official of the Jordanian government:

Food for thought. I urge you to read his article and again the link to his opinion below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/noam-chomsky/us-global-power_b_851992.html?page=3

A Sea Change -- the Middle East on Fire?: The news of the unrest in Syria challenging the power of Assad is astounding. It is jaw dropping and it is giving Iran, Syria's ally, a nervous stomach. Who would have predicted Middle East power structures falling like dominoes? The yearning to breathe free is a human common denominator. Ever since I was a child in elementary school I remember thinking how wonderful it was that I could ask my teachers absolutely anything. I was utterly free to speak my mind. Later when I realized that not everyone experiences that I thought how difficult it must be to censor one's thought.

The Internet, Facebook, Twitter, cell phones that capture pictures must give power agida. It is hard to squash the truth when one has these technological wonders at one's disposal to record it all and there is NOTHING power can do to stop it. It does not mean, however, that power will not try their damnedest to hide at all costs the unspeakable things they know they have done to their own people. We cannot be so smug even here as the Wikileaks provider, Corporal Manning, could, I am sure, attest. Power does not give up its secrets easily. It is up to we the people to demand the truth from them and hold their feet to the fire to get it.

The biggest question I have about each Middle Eastern state that has fallen or is in the process of revolt is who are these rebels and where will they take their people. If they go the way of religious fanaticism then I say not much has changed but if they go the way of a truly free society with secular equality, free speech and the accompanying bill of rights then we will have witnessed a sea change for the better of repressive, totalitarian religious fanatical states. If the latter is the case then no wonder Iran has a queasy stomach tonight. It SHOULD!

How the Earth Works -- the wonder and the miracle of our planet: I live with a brilliant person. I cannot believe how intelligent and how humble-about-being intelligent she is. The enormity of things academic she brings into our home is astounding. I wish I possessed the kind of brilliance she does to not only view these things but remember all the things of various study and complexity we experience. The best I can hope for is that some of the intellectual gold mined is sifted and cemented in my middle age brain. There is, indeed, so much to learn and so little time in which to learn it.

She has bought many DVDs throughout the years from the Teaching Company which concentrate on various elements of study from math and science to history, music, religion and more. If you have not heard of the Teaching Company I highly recommend you take a look at what it has to offer. If you have children or grandchildren I cannot think of a better way to introduce them to and teach them about the wonders of our world.

This morning I woke up to the first of 43 lectures entitled "How the Earth Works" taught by Professor Michael Mysession. He is a professor of geophysics at Washington University in St. Louis. He presents a plethora of knowledge about yes, how the earth works, and he does it in a riveting way. It is presented, through a set of six DVDs which carry a series of academic classroom-type lectures. It is NOT like television programming one might see on PBS or the Science Channel complete with video and sound effects to capture the viewer's interest. The Teaching Company, rather, is about just that -- teaching. If you are interested in the subject matter, want desperately to be enlightened as we do, these lectures will provide endless hours of learning. The key is one has to want to expand one's mind by listening to experts in a particular field.

Learning to us IS entertainment even if it is devoid of the glitz and glamor of the contemporary media of our time. The Teaching Company lectures reflect, I think, what higher education is about. Through the DVD's of the Teaching Company one can do this in the comfort of one's living room neither running late to attend a lecture, tied to a classroom seat nor squinting for hours at a back-breaking computer screen to do so.

The Teaching Company has hundreds of lectures in various fields featuring a diverse subject matter. If you love learning as we do, you will be riveted by what these eminently qualified academics have to offer. IF you are interested I enclose its link below.

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/greatcourses.aspx?cm_mmc=affiliate-_-primarylogo_-na-_-na&ai=32675

"Is the World Too Big to Fail? The Contours of Global Order"-- by Noam Chomsky: Love him or hate him, for those who are interested in American foreign policy he is a premier provocateur. Up is down and down is up. US foreign policy and Alice in Wonderland have much in common. Things are not always as they appear. Question everything!

Left of center politics aside I find Chomsky's views very interesting and revelatory. You do not have to buy all of it but at least think about some of it. We live in a world shaped by forces larger by far than ourselves.

I post the link to his opinion below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/noam-chomsky/us-global-power_b_851992.html?page=3