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/
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
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:
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:
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.”
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.”
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
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 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!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
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!
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!
Monday, May 09, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, May 06, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
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!
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!
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
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!
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!
Monday, May 02, 2011
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!
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!
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!
Sunday, May 01, 2011
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
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
Saturday, April 30, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
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/
"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.
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.
Monday, April 25, 2011
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
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
Sunday, April 24, 2011
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
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
Saturday, April 23, 2011
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!
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
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
Friday, April 22, 2011
"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
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
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