Of course, I am posting it on the last day, but it is still Hanukah! So, here is to understanding the true meaning of this wonderful Holiday, to our spiritual survival, to remembering our unique and important role in the Universe, and, most importantly, to His Miracles and Blessings!
Let the light of our collective Menorahs show us the true way!
Happy Hanukah!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING
When I was a kid in a late, unlamented step-mother country, I always resented the fact that my Birthday was in the end of November, meaning in the middle of nowhere: after the break for the Celebration of the Glorious Revolution, and before the New Years and Mid-Winter break. Basically, I did not like to go to school on my Birthday.
I still do not like to go to school, or worse, to work, on my Birthday, but the appreciation of the timing of my arrival into this world changed dramatically: now it is close to Thanksgiving, so it always puts me at least in a good mood, if not exactly festive. So, here is to another year of my life! As always, this year was filled with things both wonderful, the most notable of which was my first trip to the Caribbean, and the opposite of wonderful, one of which was my friend of nineteen years proposing the break up via e-mail.
As a whole, I was really not in a mood to celebrate this year; but, as always, I did attempt. My attempts consisted of taking the day off, having a relaxed and very enjoyable breakfast out with my sis, and then going on the town and blowing my non-existent money on my favorite things: books and chocolates. My wonderful mom also hosted a family get-together with magnificent and plentiful food, and my siblings threatened me with presents coming in the immediate future. Again, my plan to get drunk was nixed this year, and again due to my being on meds: this time it was not just antibiotics, but a combo of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory. But, thank G-d, the meds worked, and in the process my MD discovered my B12 deficiency, so, hopefully, more energy coming up pretty soon:)
But, honestly, celebratory spirit was really quiet low this year, and mostly it was due to (yes you guessed it) the election results. I know I have already offered my opinion on it, and I know it may sound illogical; I really do not care. To me these results signified only one thing: people who do not appreciate the beauty of this country, or do not realize or appreciate the multitude of blessings that come to us simply by living here, have summarily surrendered USA to people who openly hate it and are proud of it. So, while waiting for Thanksgiving, I could not stop thinking about very familiar, but not the less lamentable for it, human trait of not appreciating the multitude of good things we do have. And then came the Thanksgiving itself, and the horrible murders in Mumbai, the thoughts of which still bring tears to my eyes.
As I mentioned before, I am slowly approaching middle age. So, naturally, a person is expected to gain certain wisdom at this point. So, what did I gain in all those years so far, aside from becoming increasingly sarcastic, jaded, and pessimistic? The cornerstone of wisdom actually came to me when I was twenty two, in that memorable summer of taking statistics and secretarial courses (at the same time, but in different schools), meanwhile battling a strep of a six months duration. Anyway, while studying the bell curve, and especially its application to the matters of human IQ, there is a simple and clear pattern, and remembering it usually saves you from numerous occasions of pre-hypertension blood pressure: 64% of human population (the ones between first standart deviations on each side) has very average intelligence. That's it!
And that is the wisdom for the ages! Majority of population consists of people whose outlook on life is, well, just average. They never ponder the deep meaning of anything, and will swallow any and all lies, providing that the lie will guarantee them quite existence and fatter wallets, to which end they aspire their whole lives anyway. Then add to this the fact that even if people were born with good brains, they were not necessarily taught to expand and exercise those brains; moreover, around half the people with decent brains and educations use those to commit sins against the rest of humanity. This picture, of course, is very rosy, but, once you absorb it, the life becomes that much easier.
What else did I learn? It's wonderful not to conform and live according to logic, and not the opinions of Mr. and Mrs. Jones next door. Unfortunately, the people who will most suffer for your uniqueness, aside, of course, from you, are the ones who are closest to you and love you the most. It is fantastic to be a woman, but it is a man's world, and you will not have an easy lot, no matter which road you will choose. Nobody, and I mean, nobody cares about your level of eruditeness or your college GPA, but everyone will comment on your style of dressing yourself (or the supposed lack of thereof). Your good manners will not impress the scofflaw; moreover, those manners will get you pushed away, pushed around, and stepped on your toes. Very few good deeds are appreciated, and even fewer go unpunished. And commitment to work earns you the opportunity to pick up the slack for all the not so committed co-workers, plus ulcers and the above-mentioned hypertension. Basically, to quote one of my favorite movies: "The world is being FedExed to hell in a hand basket" (and has been for a while, by the way).
And then you remember Stendhal’s quote about the fact that there are many more great people than you think (at least I think it was Stendhal’s). And every morning, on the way to work, you see your old neighbour patiently waiting for Asses-A-Ride, so he can go to his wife in a nursing home. And on the way from work, you see a girl with a crutch giving her seat on the subway to a pregnant woman. And another guy on the subway rides extra four stops, so he can try and pick you up because he was fascinated by you repeatedly laughing out loud while reading a romance. And every 9/11 anniversary, you remember ordinary people like Todd Beamer and Amy Sweeney, who acted with courage and patriotism in the face of horrible odds.
Oh, and the character from the movie? He found out that he is about to be a father right after uttering that wonderful sentence.
So, here is to another year, better things to come, and all the G-d's Blessings! L'Chaim!
I still do not like to go to school, or worse, to work, on my Birthday, but the appreciation of the timing of my arrival into this world changed dramatically: now it is close to Thanksgiving, so it always puts me at least in a good mood, if not exactly festive. So, here is to another year of my life! As always, this year was filled with things both wonderful, the most notable of which was my first trip to the Caribbean, and the opposite of wonderful, one of which was my friend of nineteen years proposing the break up via e-mail.
As a whole, I was really not in a mood to celebrate this year; but, as always, I did attempt. My attempts consisted of taking the day off, having a relaxed and very enjoyable breakfast out with my sis, and then going on the town and blowing my non-existent money on my favorite things: books and chocolates. My wonderful mom also hosted a family get-together with magnificent and plentiful food, and my siblings threatened me with presents coming in the immediate future. Again, my plan to get drunk was nixed this year, and again due to my being on meds: this time it was not just antibiotics, but a combo of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory. But, thank G-d, the meds worked, and in the process my MD discovered my B12 deficiency, so, hopefully, more energy coming up pretty soon:)
But, honestly, celebratory spirit was really quiet low this year, and mostly it was due to (yes you guessed it) the election results. I know I have already offered my opinion on it, and I know it may sound illogical; I really do not care. To me these results signified only one thing: people who do not appreciate the beauty of this country, or do not realize or appreciate the multitude of blessings that come to us simply by living here, have summarily surrendered USA to people who openly hate it and are proud of it. So, while waiting for Thanksgiving, I could not stop thinking about very familiar, but not the less lamentable for it, human trait of not appreciating the multitude of good things we do have. And then came the Thanksgiving itself, and the horrible murders in Mumbai, the thoughts of which still bring tears to my eyes.
As I mentioned before, I am slowly approaching middle age. So, naturally, a person is expected to gain certain wisdom at this point. So, what did I gain in all those years so far, aside from becoming increasingly sarcastic, jaded, and pessimistic? The cornerstone of wisdom actually came to me when I was twenty two, in that memorable summer of taking statistics and secretarial courses (at the same time, but in different schools), meanwhile battling a strep of a six months duration. Anyway, while studying the bell curve, and especially its application to the matters of human IQ, there is a simple and clear pattern, and remembering it usually saves you from numerous occasions of pre-hypertension blood pressure: 64% of human population (the ones between first standart deviations on each side) has very average intelligence. That's it!
And that is the wisdom for the ages! Majority of population consists of people whose outlook on life is, well, just average. They never ponder the deep meaning of anything, and will swallow any and all lies, providing that the lie will guarantee them quite existence and fatter wallets, to which end they aspire their whole lives anyway. Then add to this the fact that even if people were born with good brains, they were not necessarily taught to expand and exercise those brains; moreover, around half the people with decent brains and educations use those to commit sins against the rest of humanity. This picture, of course, is very rosy, but, once you absorb it, the life becomes that much easier.
What else did I learn? It's wonderful not to conform and live according to logic, and not the opinions of Mr. and Mrs. Jones next door. Unfortunately, the people who will most suffer for your uniqueness, aside, of course, from you, are the ones who are closest to you and love you the most. It is fantastic to be a woman, but it is a man's world, and you will not have an easy lot, no matter which road you will choose. Nobody, and I mean, nobody cares about your level of eruditeness or your college GPA, but everyone will comment on your style of dressing yourself (or the supposed lack of thereof). Your good manners will not impress the scofflaw; moreover, those manners will get you pushed away, pushed around, and stepped on your toes. Very few good deeds are appreciated, and even fewer go unpunished. And commitment to work earns you the opportunity to pick up the slack for all the not so committed co-workers, plus ulcers and the above-mentioned hypertension. Basically, to quote one of my favorite movies: "The world is being FedExed to hell in a hand basket" (and has been for a while, by the way).
And then you remember Stendhal’s quote about the fact that there are many more great people than you think (at least I think it was Stendhal’s). And every morning, on the way to work, you see your old neighbour patiently waiting for Asses-A-Ride, so he can go to his wife in a nursing home. And on the way from work, you see a girl with a crutch giving her seat on the subway to a pregnant woman. And another guy on the subway rides extra four stops, so he can try and pick you up because he was fascinated by you repeatedly laughing out loud while reading a romance. And every 9/11 anniversary, you remember ordinary people like Todd Beamer and Amy Sweeney, who acted with courage and patriotism in the face of horrible odds.
Oh, and the character from the movie? He found out that he is about to be a father right after uttering that wonderful sentence.
So, here is to another year, better things to come, and all the G-d's Blessings! L'Chaim!
OK, ONCE MORE
There is a reason why I do not moderate comments to my blog at all. That is because I actually enjoy getting them, no matter what (especially when they tend to confirm my original opinion). I do not care if they are signed or anonymous, or if they contain objectionable language or sexual innuendoes; although, with all due respect to my friend, I draw a line at the c- word.
With all that in mind, when some comments leave me with the impression what a person did not understand, or did not want to understand my opinion, I would like to clarify it. When other comments suggest that I really should not be thinking and feeling what I was thinking and feeling, I feel the need to remind them that this is one place where I can freely express my thoughts and feelings.
Which brings me to a fairy recent discovery: the phrase "constructive criticism" is in actuality an oxymoron. Because when you are criticizing somebody, that automatically implies that you think (and maybe rightly so) that you are more wise, knowledgeable, or experienced, at least in this particular instance.
On that happy note, happy blogging and happy commenting!
With all that in mind, when some comments leave me with the impression what a person did not understand, or did not want to understand my opinion, I would like to clarify it. When other comments suggest that I really should not be thinking and feeling what I was thinking and feeling, I feel the need to remind them that this is one place where I can freely express my thoughts and feelings.
Which brings me to a fairy recent discovery: the phrase "constructive criticism" is in actuality an oxymoron. Because when you are criticizing somebody, that automatically implies that you think (and maybe rightly so) that you are more wise, knowledgeable, or experienced, at least in this particular instance.
On that happy note, happy blogging and happy commenting!
GREAT QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"And once again, Republicans are asleep at the wheel while another close election is being openly stolen by the man whose contributions to Western Civilization include the "Planet of The Enormous Hooters" sketch on "SNL."
Ann Coulter
"What is "public service" anyway? Prostitutes perform a public service, and it's one I'm sure even Charlie Sheen would agree is more important than the one performed by most politicians in Washington. True, it's inherently unfair to place both prostitutes and politicians under the "public service" umbrella – unfair to prostitutes. If a prostitute was a "public servant" in the way a politician is, you'd drive up, she'd get in, you'd hand her $50, she'd kick you out, keep the $50, steal your car, loan the spare tire to GM and then drive over to spend the night with George Soros.
And what happens when a politician does in fact perform a true "public service" –such as, say, helping keep the country free from a terrorist attack for over seven years? That politician is rewarded with a dismal approval rating, is mocked by the media and called a "war criminal" by the very public that was an unwitting recipient of that valuable public service.
If anybody in the United States Congress is reading this, please put into motion legislation
that would ultimately prohibit the use of the term "public service" as applied to any politician. Ironically, this would be your greatest act of public service ever. "
Doug Powers
"Where liberals are concerned, one thing you can always count on is that they regard themselves as morally and intellectually superior to those who disagree with them. And, yet, surely there must be liberals somewhere who possess enough common sense to realize how absurd it is when the city council of Berkeley, Calif., instead of dealing with potholes and street vendors, came up with a resolution condemning the Iraq war, or when a grand jury in Willacy County, Texas, recently decided to indict Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales. Aren't there any liberals who find such things even faintly amusing?
It does occur to me now and then that we are well on our way to becoming a banana republic, but with a lot more bananas than republic.
The other day, during an e-mail exchange with one of my readers, Don Melquist, he explained how a Judas goat would be used to lead a herd of sheep aboard a railroad boxcar. I said I understood the goat's function, but I could never figure out how the animal could then make its way past all the sheep and out the door. Mr. Melquist, who had been raised on a farm, explained that goats are extremely agile and could easily get through a bunch of bleating sheep in order to receive their food reward. He finished up his report, stating, "Goats and sheep may seem rather similar, but there is a huge difference in their habits and intelligence."
I wrote back, "Sounds a lot like liberals and conservatives."
Burt Prelutsky
And now for the grand finale. Last week I spent five bucks on e-bay and got myself my very first own book by Edmund Burke. As I began to leaf through it, this is what I found almost immediately:
"It is better to cherish virtue and humanity, by leaving much to free will, even with some loss to the object, than to attempt to make men mere machines and instruments of a political benevolence. The world on the whole will gain by a liberty, without which virtue cannot exist."
You got to love those dead white male dudes!
Ann Coulter
"What is "public service" anyway? Prostitutes perform a public service, and it's one I'm sure even Charlie Sheen would agree is more important than the one performed by most politicians in Washington. True, it's inherently unfair to place both prostitutes and politicians under the "public service" umbrella – unfair to prostitutes. If a prostitute was a "public servant" in the way a politician is, you'd drive up, she'd get in, you'd hand her $50, she'd kick you out, keep the $50, steal your car, loan the spare tire to GM and then drive over to spend the night with George Soros.
And what happens when a politician does in fact perform a true "public service" –such as, say, helping keep the country free from a terrorist attack for over seven years? That politician is rewarded with a dismal approval rating, is mocked by the media and called a "war criminal" by the very public that was an unwitting recipient of that valuable public service.
If anybody in the United States Congress is reading this, please put into motion legislation
that would ultimately prohibit the use of the term "public service" as applied to any politician. Ironically, this would be your greatest act of public service ever. "
Doug Powers
"Where liberals are concerned, one thing you can always count on is that they regard themselves as morally and intellectually superior to those who disagree with them. And, yet, surely there must be liberals somewhere who possess enough common sense to realize how absurd it is when the city council of Berkeley, Calif., instead of dealing with potholes and street vendors, came up with a resolution condemning the Iraq war, or when a grand jury in Willacy County, Texas, recently decided to indict Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales. Aren't there any liberals who find such things even faintly amusing?
It does occur to me now and then that we are well on our way to becoming a banana republic, but with a lot more bananas than republic.
The other day, during an e-mail exchange with one of my readers, Don Melquist, he explained how a Judas goat would be used to lead a herd of sheep aboard a railroad boxcar. I said I understood the goat's function, but I could never figure out how the animal could then make its way past all the sheep and out the door. Mr. Melquist, who had been raised on a farm, explained that goats are extremely agile and could easily get through a bunch of bleating sheep in order to receive their food reward. He finished up his report, stating, "Goats and sheep may seem rather similar, but there is a huge difference in their habits and intelligence."
I wrote back, "Sounds a lot like liberals and conservatives."
Burt Prelutsky
And now for the grand finale. Last week I spent five bucks on e-bay and got myself my very first own book by Edmund Burke. As I began to leaf through it, this is what I found almost immediately:
"It is better to cherish virtue and humanity, by leaving much to free will, even with some loss to the object, than to attempt to make men mere machines and instruments of a political benevolence. The world on the whole will gain by a liberty, without which virtue cannot exist."
You got to love those dead white male dudes!
Monday, December 08, 2008
MY BRIDGET JONES MOMENT # 666A
NOT FOR MARRIED PEOPLE!!
One fine Monday evening I came home after a particularly annoying work day, laden with G-d knows how many heavy grocery bags. After this I proceed to do the usual "female" work: I cooked, cleaned the fridge, did a mountain of dishes, and straightened out the kitchen. All in all, I almost missed the Tonight Show with all this homegrown entertainment.
And in the midst of all this amusement, my brain began to wonder, and funny thoughts started creeping into it. Why, precisely, do I want to get married? Why do I waste my precious time going out with losers, chip skates, and obnoxious morons? Why do I humiliate myself over and over again (despite the repeated promises to self to cease and desist) with all those so-called matchmakers? Because this was a sample of the bliss that would be awaiting me immediately after Sheva Brachot (most of it before, come to think of it).
An overgrown baby who would moan and groan if he gets a cold (slight or otherwise), and moan and groan even more if I would get a full blown flu (not from taking care of me, mind you; just from the removal of the comforts due to him). His family would be nasty to me; I would be expected to be nice to them at all times; he would be nasty to my family whenever he is in a snit; my family and I would be expected to just swallow it and exercise diplomacy at all times. There would be constant complains about my housekeeping abilities, my cooking abilities, absence of home cooked meals, and my general (very lacking) time management (even if both of us work the same amount of time). There would be constant suggestions concerning my wardrobe and hair covering; and, believe me, one area where I am very tolerant of my fellow humans is their wardrobes. I would still be doing all the housework (very thanklessly); he would expect a hit parade if he washed his coffee mug. If he is in a bad mood, I would be expected to be understanding and supportive; if I am in a bad mood, I am a quarrelsome, bad tempered witch. I won't be able to spend time with my friends without him racking some kind of huge bonus; he would be able to just go with his friends at a whim. If he made a decision, he would just act on it; if I made a decision, I would have to employ major stratagems so wonderfully portrayed in "My Fat Greek Wedding".
Basically, men go through two stages of development: maturing and aging. In the process, somebody always have to stroke their monumental egos, always confirming their ideas of their superior mental powers and superior understanding of the world. Gloria Steinem and her coven can do any number of pushy, mean, and idiotic things; at the end of the day, it is still very much a men's world, and women come out on the losing end no matter what. And, the saddest of all, all those observations and conclusions did not come to me from books; they came from years of observing my married friends, relatives, and sundry acquaintances.
Jay Leno's "Headlines" calmed me down somehow; afterwards, I devised an intervention plan. When my sis finally gets her humongous professional portrait of The Fluffy Heads, I would ask for another one for my kitchen as a good reminder that such results are worth dealing with man's idiosyncrasies; I should also hint to people not to fight in front of idealistic and impressionable friends. And, most importantly, I shall revisit Hayden Rothwell.
One fine Monday evening I came home after a particularly annoying work day, laden with G-d knows how many heavy grocery bags. After this I proceed to do the usual "female" work: I cooked, cleaned the fridge, did a mountain of dishes, and straightened out the kitchen. All in all, I almost missed the Tonight Show with all this homegrown entertainment.
And in the midst of all this amusement, my brain began to wonder, and funny thoughts started creeping into it. Why, precisely, do I want to get married? Why do I waste my precious time going out with losers, chip skates, and obnoxious morons? Why do I humiliate myself over and over again (despite the repeated promises to self to cease and desist) with all those so-called matchmakers? Because this was a sample of the bliss that would be awaiting me immediately after Sheva Brachot (most of it before, come to think of it).
An overgrown baby who would moan and groan if he gets a cold (slight or otherwise), and moan and groan even more if I would get a full blown flu (not from taking care of me, mind you; just from the removal of the comforts due to him). His family would be nasty to me; I would be expected to be nice to them at all times; he would be nasty to my family whenever he is in a snit; my family and I would be expected to just swallow it and exercise diplomacy at all times. There would be constant complains about my housekeeping abilities, my cooking abilities, absence of home cooked meals, and my general (very lacking) time management (even if both of us work the same amount of time). There would be constant suggestions concerning my wardrobe and hair covering; and, believe me, one area where I am very tolerant of my fellow humans is their wardrobes. I would still be doing all the housework (very thanklessly); he would expect a hit parade if he washed his coffee mug. If he is in a bad mood, I would be expected to be understanding and supportive; if I am in a bad mood, I am a quarrelsome, bad tempered witch. I won't be able to spend time with my friends without him racking some kind of huge bonus; he would be able to just go with his friends at a whim. If he made a decision, he would just act on it; if I made a decision, I would have to employ major stratagems so wonderfully portrayed in "My Fat Greek Wedding".
Basically, men go through two stages of development: maturing and aging. In the process, somebody always have to stroke their monumental egos, always confirming their ideas of their superior mental powers and superior understanding of the world. Gloria Steinem and her coven can do any number of pushy, mean, and idiotic things; at the end of the day, it is still very much a men's world, and women come out on the losing end no matter what. And, the saddest of all, all those observations and conclusions did not come to me from books; they came from years of observing my married friends, relatives, and sundry acquaintances.
Jay Leno's "Headlines" calmed me down somehow; afterwards, I devised an intervention plan. When my sis finally gets her humongous professional portrait of The Fluffy Heads, I would ask for another one for my kitchen as a good reminder that such results are worth dealing with man's idiosyncrasies; I should also hint to people not to fight in front of idealistic and impressionable friends. And, most importantly, I shall revisit Hayden Rothwell.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
FALL IN NEW YORK
Last Tuesday I finally got to do a humongous load of laundry, the exact dimensions of which I would be embarrassed to admit; but sorting through it made me think on New York's fall again.
When I was a kid, I hated the fall. After all, September First was The Dreaded Day. The day before one absolutely could not watch a movie after "Vremia", schlep with one's parent (usually Mother) to the flower market to buy an extremely overpriced and strange looking bouquet of flowers, make sure an ugly uniform and equally ugly knapsack (stuffed with office supplies American students should see just to appreciate their lives a bit more) were ready for the battle, and go to sleep extra early. And on The Day itself you had to perform the forgotten for a three-month period exercise of dragging yourself out of bed early, donning that ugly (never mind uncomfortable) uniform, picking up the ugly knapsack, dragging yourself to school, meanwhile mentally preparing yourself for nine months of almost uninterrupted torture of socialist-kommie brainwashing, occasionally interspersed with math and sciences. Oh, joy! On the side note, I actually enjoyed learning for learning's sake, even though I hated school. Ironically, it was American college that killed my appreciation of organized education, burned me out, and, for a while, crushed my fighting spirit (but that is a separate story). Suffice it to say, fall was not my favorite time of the year while I was growing up.
New York changed that; I love fall! The first indication for me (independent of calendars) is the secession of the dependency on air conditioning. They are live savers; but it is such a joy to sleep without them! First there is no A/C; then you can sleep with the open window; then you have to wake up in the middle of the night to get a blanket because you realized that you are freezing; then you have to actually start sleeping with your windows closed. All these do not necessarily come in order; moreover, they come and go as they please, return and disappear, then reappear at their own accord. The weather fluctuations, always crazy in New York, are especially erratic in the fall, and you never, ever know what to wear (that, by the way, why I was thinking of the fall while doing laundry: too many different things for the period allotted). Still, I love the fall.
My favorite, of course, are the changing colors of the leaves, especially the maple trees. It is such a pleasure just to walk around, observe the trees, and sink your feet into the ever increasing amounts of the leaves on the ground. Oh, what wonderful joy!
Autumn also brings to me the philosophical introspections (not that I am free of them at any other time of the year). This is the time when most things either die or hide for the winter; but for us, it is the beginning of the New Year: renewed hope and refreshed souls. Of course, Rosh Hashana if the anniversary of the creation of the human being, and originally, till the Generation of the Flood, the seasons did not change, and it rained only once in 4o years. Still, The Creator knows the future; so, what is the message and where is the connection?
On the lighter note, here is to the few days of wonderful weather, gorgeous leaves in different colors, and the fleeting (and the more enjoyable for it) beauty of the New York fall.
When I was a kid, I hated the fall. After all, September First was The Dreaded Day. The day before one absolutely could not watch a movie after "Vremia", schlep with one's parent (usually Mother) to the flower market to buy an extremely overpriced and strange looking bouquet of flowers, make sure an ugly uniform and equally ugly knapsack (stuffed with office supplies American students should see just to appreciate their lives a bit more) were ready for the battle, and go to sleep extra early. And on The Day itself you had to perform the forgotten for a three-month period exercise of dragging yourself out of bed early, donning that ugly (never mind uncomfortable) uniform, picking up the ugly knapsack, dragging yourself to school, meanwhile mentally preparing yourself for nine months of almost uninterrupted torture of socialist-kommie brainwashing, occasionally interspersed with math and sciences. Oh, joy! On the side note, I actually enjoyed learning for learning's sake, even though I hated school. Ironically, it was American college that killed my appreciation of organized education, burned me out, and, for a while, crushed my fighting spirit (but that is a separate story). Suffice it to say, fall was not my favorite time of the year while I was growing up.
New York changed that; I love fall! The first indication for me (independent of calendars) is the secession of the dependency on air conditioning. They are live savers; but it is such a joy to sleep without them! First there is no A/C; then you can sleep with the open window; then you have to wake up in the middle of the night to get a blanket because you realized that you are freezing; then you have to actually start sleeping with your windows closed. All these do not necessarily come in order; moreover, they come and go as they please, return and disappear, then reappear at their own accord. The weather fluctuations, always crazy in New York, are especially erratic in the fall, and you never, ever know what to wear (that, by the way, why I was thinking of the fall while doing laundry: too many different things for the period allotted). Still, I love the fall.
My favorite, of course, are the changing colors of the leaves, especially the maple trees. It is such a pleasure just to walk around, observe the trees, and sink your feet into the ever increasing amounts of the leaves on the ground. Oh, what wonderful joy!
Autumn also brings to me the philosophical introspections (not that I am free of them at any other time of the year). This is the time when most things either die or hide for the winter; but for us, it is the beginning of the New Year: renewed hope and refreshed souls. Of course, Rosh Hashana if the anniversary of the creation of the human being, and originally, till the Generation of the Flood, the seasons did not change, and it rained only once in 4o years. Still, The Creator knows the future; so, what is the message and where is the connection?
On the lighter note, here is to the few days of wonderful weather, gorgeous leaves in different colors, and the fleeting (and the more enjoyable for it) beauty of the New York fall.
GREAT QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Here are more wonderful pearls of great satire from the incomparable Burt Prelutsky:
"as most of you are aware, homosexuals have been rioting pretty much non-stop ever since California’s electorate once again put the kibosh on same-sex marriages. They have picketed and vandalized Catholic and Mormon churches to display their displeasure, which suggests to me that, instead of “gays” being their euphemism of choice, perhaps “cranks,” “louts” or “bigots” might be more appropriate.
The one group of churches they haven’t gone after are the black ones, even though 70% of blacks voted in favor of marriage being limited to one man and one woman. What’s more, blacks were very vocal about objecting to homosexual marriages being touted as a civil right. The fact that, in spite of all this, homosexuals have given black churches a wide berth suggests that while gays may not always practice safe sex, they certainly practice safe demonstrations."
"Next, I don’t ever want to hear a Democrat claim, as I believe Joe Biden did, that paying taxes is patriotic. Paying taxes is about as patriotic as going to the bathroom. In other words, at times, it’s necessary, but it’s always compulsive. I believe that for a thing to be patriotic, it has to be done on a voluntary basis. I suppose a case could be made that if a person paid more than he owed, he was being patriotic. So, as an example to the rest of us, I would love to see such tax-loving liberals as George Soros, Mr. and Mrs. John Kerry and all the various Kennedys, pay at the rate they would if most of their income didn’t come to them in the low-taxed form of trusts and off-shore accounts."
"It’s no secret that I am not looking forward to an Obama administration. The notion that the liberals will control the House, the Senate and the Oval Office, for the foreseeable future makes my blood run cold. The mental image that first comes to mind is a bull in a china shop, but the ensuing damage in that case would be inadvertent. The bull, after all, isn’t looking to destroy the crockery. It is merely looking for the quickest way back to the farm and the cows, whereas the liberals are looking to create an America in their own cockeyed image. That makes me think of vandals taking knives to the Mona Lisa or firebugs burning down a virgin forest."
"Many people are questioning why Obama, the alleged agent of change, is filling his administration with a lot of Clinton re-treads. I am reminded of what took place in Germany after World War II. Suddenly, it seemed like all the mayors and bureaucrats were former Nazis. The explanation was that after a dozen years of Hitler, only the Nazis had the necessary leadership experience. Well, when you realize that since 1980, the only Democratic president was Bill Clinton, it figures that Obama would be forced to furnish his White House with second-hand goods from the Clinton thrift shop."
"as most of you are aware, homosexuals have been rioting pretty much non-stop ever since California’s electorate once again put the kibosh on same-sex marriages. They have picketed and vandalized Catholic and Mormon churches to display their displeasure, which suggests to me that, instead of “gays” being their euphemism of choice, perhaps “cranks,” “louts” or “bigots” might be more appropriate.
The one group of churches they haven’t gone after are the black ones, even though 70% of blacks voted in favor of marriage being limited to one man and one woman. What’s more, blacks were very vocal about objecting to homosexual marriages being touted as a civil right. The fact that, in spite of all this, homosexuals have given black churches a wide berth suggests that while gays may not always practice safe sex, they certainly practice safe demonstrations."
"Next, I don’t ever want to hear a Democrat claim, as I believe Joe Biden did, that paying taxes is patriotic. Paying taxes is about as patriotic as going to the bathroom. In other words, at times, it’s necessary, but it’s always compulsive. I believe that for a thing to be patriotic, it has to be done on a voluntary basis. I suppose a case could be made that if a person paid more than he owed, he was being patriotic. So, as an example to the rest of us, I would love to see such tax-loving liberals as George Soros, Mr. and Mrs. John Kerry and all the various Kennedys, pay at the rate they would if most of their income didn’t come to them in the low-taxed form of trusts and off-shore accounts."
"It’s no secret that I am not looking forward to an Obama administration. The notion that the liberals will control the House, the Senate and the Oval Office, for the foreseeable future makes my blood run cold. The mental image that first comes to mind is a bull in a china shop, but the ensuing damage in that case would be inadvertent. The bull, after all, isn’t looking to destroy the crockery. It is merely looking for the quickest way back to the farm and the cows, whereas the liberals are looking to create an America in their own cockeyed image. That makes me think of vandals taking knives to the Mona Lisa or firebugs burning down a virgin forest."
"Many people are questioning why Obama, the alleged agent of change, is filling his administration with a lot of Clinton re-treads. I am reminded of what took place in Germany after World War II. Suddenly, it seemed like all the mayors and bureaucrats were former Nazis. The explanation was that after a dozen years of Hitler, only the Nazis had the necessary leadership experience. Well, when you realize that since 1980, the only Democratic president was Bill Clinton, it figures that Obama would be forced to furnish his White House with second-hand goods from the Clinton thrift shop."
Sunday, November 30, 2008
ANOTHER LITTLE PS
Plus, a bit more musing re: Harry Potter
Ladies and Germs:
Thank you again for all your comments regarding my reaction to the results of the last elections. As always, I was not disappointed (by and large). So, here is my response (again, not humble):
One: again, this is just my blog; not an official publication, or editorial, or a textbook, or even Internet news venue. Just my little ole blog. So, with all due respect and admiration, I reserve the full right to express my opinions, as unpalatable as they may be. Ditto for my language. Thank The Good Lord, this is still a free country; I have a full freedom of speech under the much abused and misinterpreted First Amendment. BO is not in full power yet, so, no official censorship or thought police were instituted yet.
Two: I would love to posses the eternal wisdom, all the secrets of the Universe, the ability to always be right, and to always know the correct answers. Common sense dictates that I am just a human being, ergo flawed and prone to errors. Having said that, I firmly confirm already expressed opinion: anyone who voted for Barak Hussein Obama was, at best, a well-meaning useful idiot. Next on the list are plain idiots, misinformed idiots, uneducated idiots, ungrateful swine, racists, morons of all stripes, America-hates, and, lastly, people who plainly committed treason. With all the facts glaring into everyone's faces, the decision to vote for that pathetic excuse for a politician was, at best, misinformed.
Three: he is NOT my President. Since he officially gave up his Senate seat, and till the official confirmation by the Electors he is just a figure head, albeit in this case an extremely loud one and full of chutzpah. Only after the official Electoral confirmation does he become a President-Elect, and only after official swearing in next January does he become a President. And, here is a final little snag: I refuse to acknowledge him as my President-Elect or my President, till he produces his original, official, and confirmed by an unbiased specialists as real, birth certificate. Until this worthless windmill confirms that he satisfies ALL Constitutional requirements for the office of the President, considering him as such is a violation of the letter of our Constitution; never mind the spirit, since I am sure that the writers and ratifiers of the Constitution did not even dream of such America-hater as a citizen, never mind the Presidential candidate, never mind the actual President. On the practical side, here is the petition that demands the birth certificate:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=81550
Four: I am unwilling to give him a chance because he does not deserve one.
Five: till January 20 (or 21; sorry, dyslexia strikes again), George W. Bush is our President. By the way, apparently, I have been spelling his name in a Jewish way; sorry, Mr. President! The only thing it means, aside, again, from my dyslexia, is that I still got respect for you.
Six: the main quality of a good leader is not "confidence of the citizens"; it is his or her ability to lead, not to collect overexcited crowds of fainting fans; and, most importantly, to do the right thing for the country despite the opinion of the majority, or the opinion of the educated morons, or the opinion of the uneducated idiots, or, for that matter, despite the opinions of the prostituted media or treasonous Hollywood.
Seven: again, despite my wishes, I can not see into the future, clearly or otherwise. Hopefully, Merciful Father will spear us, but I can not help but feel deep glum at the prospect of this unillustrious Presidency.
Finally, this brings me to another matter. As you are aware, there are many newsworthy, or, in my opinion, spittoon-worthy tidbits floating all other the TV, newspapers, and the Internet. One of such brilliant observations was a little article to the tune that our dear Barak is, apparently, a geek, since he read Harry Potter and has some kind of wacky screen saver on his computer (the other details I do not recall). Being a pretty hard-core Potter fan, this particular article made me wonder a bit. Which character from the series best characterizes Obama? I did not have to think long or hard to come to the following conclusion: he is definitely a cross between Peter Pettigrew and Gilderoy Lockhart.
After that, I tried to imagine our dear BO under the sorting hat. Again, I think The Hat would have ratted out the answer immediately upon hitting that ugly head. Obama does not posses the chivalry and bravery of Gryffindors, nor the loyalty and humility of Hufflepuffs, nor the true wisdom and studiousness of Ravenclaws. He does, however, posses plenty of guile and the willingness to achieve his goal by any means that characterised Slytherins. And speaking of Slytherin: Obama is a half-blood that takes any advantage he can from belonging to one side while always denying the other. Remind you of anyone else from the Slytherin House?
Ladies and Germs:
Thank you again for all your comments regarding my reaction to the results of the last elections. As always, I was not disappointed (by and large). So, here is my response (again, not humble):
One: again, this is just my blog; not an official publication, or editorial, or a textbook, or even Internet news venue. Just my little ole blog. So, with all due respect and admiration, I reserve the full right to express my opinions, as unpalatable as they may be. Ditto for my language. Thank The Good Lord, this is still a free country; I have a full freedom of speech under the much abused and misinterpreted First Amendment. BO is not in full power yet, so, no official censorship or thought police were instituted yet.
Two: I would love to posses the eternal wisdom, all the secrets of the Universe, the ability to always be right, and to always know the correct answers. Common sense dictates that I am just a human being, ergo flawed and prone to errors. Having said that, I firmly confirm already expressed opinion: anyone who voted for Barak Hussein Obama was, at best, a well-meaning useful idiot. Next on the list are plain idiots, misinformed idiots, uneducated idiots, ungrateful swine, racists, morons of all stripes, America-hates, and, lastly, people who plainly committed treason. With all the facts glaring into everyone's faces, the decision to vote for that pathetic excuse for a politician was, at best, misinformed.
Three: he is NOT my President. Since he officially gave up his Senate seat, and till the official confirmation by the Electors he is just a figure head, albeit in this case an extremely loud one and full of chutzpah. Only after the official Electoral confirmation does he become a President-Elect, and only after official swearing in next January does he become a President. And, here is a final little snag: I refuse to acknowledge him as my President-Elect or my President, till he produces his original, official, and confirmed by an unbiased specialists as real, birth certificate. Until this worthless windmill confirms that he satisfies ALL Constitutional requirements for the office of the President, considering him as such is a violation of the letter of our Constitution; never mind the spirit, since I am sure that the writers and ratifiers of the Constitution did not even dream of such America-hater as a citizen, never mind the Presidential candidate, never mind the actual President. On the practical side, here is the petition that demands the birth certificate:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=81550
Four: I am unwilling to give him a chance because he does not deserve one.
Five: till January 20 (or 21; sorry, dyslexia strikes again), George W. Bush is our President. By the way, apparently, I have been spelling his name in a Jewish way; sorry, Mr. President! The only thing it means, aside, again, from my dyslexia, is that I still got respect for you.
Six: the main quality of a good leader is not "confidence of the citizens"; it is his or her ability to lead, not to collect overexcited crowds of fainting fans; and, most importantly, to do the right thing for the country despite the opinion of the majority, or the opinion of the educated morons, or the opinion of the uneducated idiots, or, for that matter, despite the opinions of the prostituted media or treasonous Hollywood.
Seven: again, despite my wishes, I can not see into the future, clearly or otherwise. Hopefully, Merciful Father will spear us, but I can not help but feel deep glum at the prospect of this unillustrious Presidency.
Finally, this brings me to another matter. As you are aware, there are many newsworthy, or, in my opinion, spittoon-worthy tidbits floating all other the TV, newspapers, and the Internet. One of such brilliant observations was a little article to the tune that our dear Barak is, apparently, a geek, since he read Harry Potter and has some kind of wacky screen saver on his computer (the other details I do not recall). Being a pretty hard-core Potter fan, this particular article made me wonder a bit. Which character from the series best characterizes Obama? I did not have to think long or hard to come to the following conclusion: he is definitely a cross between Peter Pettigrew and Gilderoy Lockhart.
After that, I tried to imagine our dear BO under the sorting hat. Again, I think The Hat would have ratted out the answer immediately upon hitting that ugly head. Obama does not posses the chivalry and bravery of Gryffindors, nor the loyalty and humility of Hufflepuffs, nor the true wisdom and studiousness of Ravenclaws. He does, however, posses plenty of guile and the willingness to achieve his goal by any means that characterised Slytherins. And speaking of Slytherin: Obama is a half-blood that takes any advantage he can from belonging to one side while always denying the other. Remind you of anyone else from the Slytherin House?
TESTING THE WATERS
You can count me fanciful, or obsessed, or blind, or just plain stupid; but to me, the meaning of the last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai was, unfortunately, crystal clear: members of the religion of peace were rattling their sabers and basically testing the waters, and in the process also flipping the bird; all in response to the recent demonstration of the collective stupidity of American electorate re Barak Hussein Obama. Allow me to elaborate (and please forgive the usual accumulation of cliches; after all, they are pretty expressive).
Indian government, media, and all the sundry involved parties can harp from today till the aria of the Rubenesque lady that "the unfortunate incident" happened as a result of the unending tensions over the Kashmir region, and were specifically perpetrated by some kind of free-lancing wings of Pakistani militants. That would have made sense till you filter through your brain two chilling components: attackers specifically separated American and British citizens, and, the most horrible, they targeted the Chabad House, probably the only Jewish dwelling in Mumbai.
Great Britain is the only European country who still protests, albeit pretty feebly (but despite the idiotic ramblings of the Archbishop of Canterbury), the advancement of the global Caliphate and the tender mercies of the loyal followers of the prophet that are being perpetrated on the infidels in the course of that advancement. Of course, the fighting spirit that defeated Napoleon and Hitler is in pretty short supply on the shores of Albion now a days; never the less, the still fighting infidels deserved a clear message.
Our own much, much maligned and denigrated US of A, remains, again forgive the cliche, the last standing and still fighting pretty strongly bastion of freedom in the world. Needless to say, we needed a little remainder as well.
Israeli government, with all due respect, is, as I mentioned before, impersonating a cowardly lion for the past few years, and is ready to surrender not only territory, but their dignity as a sovereign and independent country able to defend themselves against all enemies. Nevertheless, any Jew alive is an insult to the peaceful followers of the one true prophet, so, Jews had to be attacked too. Moreover, that attack was very specific: according to Ellis Washington, whose weekly column I always enjoy reading: "The chances of indiscriminately killing perhaps Mumbai's only Jewish family? One in 18 million. "
So, Americans, Brits, and those pernicious scape goats who refuse to disappear off the face of the Earth no matter the effort, were sent another clear message. And the timing of the message contained another, even clearer meaning: the "active" members of the religion of peace that are currently "engaged in warfare" against innocent civilians are not afraid anymore. And why should they? Brits are almost ready to surrender. The current situation in Israel makes only Jews weep; the rest are very happy. And, most importantly, they are not afraid of the American retaliation: whatever efforts poor, much maligned President Bush extended in order to defend our country against Islamists earned him the moniker of the worst President in history. Three weeks before the attack we, Americans, had a chance to elect a person who, despite his many flaws, was an honorable Veteran with a very clear position in regards to the defense of our country. Instead, we elected a proven demagogue, whose friends represent different strata of America-hating, and who is willing to have diplomatic meetings with the worst terrorists on the international scene. So, I am horrified, sad, and heartbroken; but not surprised.
My heart goes out to the families of Rabbi Gavriel and Rebetzen Rivka Holtzberg; especially to their poor parents. May The Heavenly Father protect all Jewish parents from such horror! And in all the usual media hoopla and the political grandstanding, I am waiting for all the famous possessors of the bleeding hearts, who are always the first ones to cry and moan the supposed horrible fates of the poor Palestinian children, to cry and moan about the poor Moshe Tzvi Holtzberg! I would dearly love to see Brangelina or Michelle Obama sending him toys or paying him a personal visit. I would also love to see Barak Hussein picking up the phone, dialing his grandparents, and repeating that perfect line from the overwise idiotic "West Wing" "I am a parent too; I don't know what to say".
I know I will be waiting in wain, but still... Poor child, whose brutally slain parents were American citizens, by the way, just turned two years old the day after that horrific murder! And, due to the idiotic bureaucratic red tape, he can't even be with his nanny, the only other constant in his life. He is forever denied parental love and the possibility of having normal family and siblings. Hanuka is just few weeks away, and he will not be able to light the Menorah with his Mother and Father, this or any other coming Hanukah. His mother won't sing him to sleep anymore. His parents won't be able to teach him Sh'ma, or his first letters; they will not swell with pride at his Bar Mitzvah, or dance at his wedding. Little Moshe Tzvi's parents were brutally torn away from him for committing the most horrible crime in the eyes of Muslim murderers: they were Jews.
Dear Heavenly Father, on this day, just like any other day, I offer you my humble prayer and request: please watch over Your Children! Please do not remove from us Your Protection and Your Blessings! May You, in Your Infinite Mercy, grant peace to little Moshe Tzvi, and some semblance of closure to his poor grandparents; may You comfort everyone affected by this horrible tragedy!
Indian government, media, and all the sundry involved parties can harp from today till the aria of the Rubenesque lady that "the unfortunate incident" happened as a result of the unending tensions over the Kashmir region, and were specifically perpetrated by some kind of free-lancing wings of Pakistani militants. That would have made sense till you filter through your brain two chilling components: attackers specifically separated American and British citizens, and, the most horrible, they targeted the Chabad House, probably the only Jewish dwelling in Mumbai.
Great Britain is the only European country who still protests, albeit pretty feebly (but despite the idiotic ramblings of the Archbishop of Canterbury), the advancement of the global Caliphate and the tender mercies of the loyal followers of the prophet that are being perpetrated on the infidels in the course of that advancement. Of course, the fighting spirit that defeated Napoleon and Hitler is in pretty short supply on the shores of Albion now a days; never the less, the still fighting infidels deserved a clear message.
Our own much, much maligned and denigrated US of A, remains, again forgive the cliche, the last standing and still fighting pretty strongly bastion of freedom in the world. Needless to say, we needed a little remainder as well.
Israeli government, with all due respect, is, as I mentioned before, impersonating a cowardly lion for the past few years, and is ready to surrender not only territory, but their dignity as a sovereign and independent country able to defend themselves against all enemies. Nevertheless, any Jew alive is an insult to the peaceful followers of the one true prophet, so, Jews had to be attacked too. Moreover, that attack was very specific: according to Ellis Washington, whose weekly column I always enjoy reading: "The chances of indiscriminately killing perhaps Mumbai's only Jewish family? One in 18 million. "
So, Americans, Brits, and those pernicious scape goats who refuse to disappear off the face of the Earth no matter the effort, were sent another clear message. And the timing of the message contained another, even clearer meaning: the "active" members of the religion of peace that are currently "engaged in warfare" against innocent civilians are not afraid anymore. And why should they? Brits are almost ready to surrender. The current situation in Israel makes only Jews weep; the rest are very happy. And, most importantly, they are not afraid of the American retaliation: whatever efforts poor, much maligned President Bush extended in order to defend our country against Islamists earned him the moniker of the worst President in history. Three weeks before the attack we, Americans, had a chance to elect a person who, despite his many flaws, was an honorable Veteran with a very clear position in regards to the defense of our country. Instead, we elected a proven demagogue, whose friends represent different strata of America-hating, and who is willing to have diplomatic meetings with the worst terrorists on the international scene. So, I am horrified, sad, and heartbroken; but not surprised.
My heart goes out to the families of Rabbi Gavriel and Rebetzen Rivka Holtzberg; especially to their poor parents. May The Heavenly Father protect all Jewish parents from such horror! And in all the usual media hoopla and the political grandstanding, I am waiting for all the famous possessors of the bleeding hearts, who are always the first ones to cry and moan the supposed horrible fates of the poor Palestinian children, to cry and moan about the poor Moshe Tzvi Holtzberg! I would dearly love to see Brangelina or Michelle Obama sending him toys or paying him a personal visit. I would also love to see Barak Hussein picking up the phone, dialing his grandparents, and repeating that perfect line from the overwise idiotic "West Wing" "I am a parent too; I don't know what to say".
I know I will be waiting in wain, but still... Poor child, whose brutally slain parents were American citizens, by the way, just turned two years old the day after that horrific murder! And, due to the idiotic bureaucratic red tape, he can't even be with his nanny, the only other constant in his life. He is forever denied parental love and the possibility of having normal family and siblings. Hanuka is just few weeks away, and he will not be able to light the Menorah with his Mother and Father, this or any other coming Hanukah. His mother won't sing him to sleep anymore. His parents won't be able to teach him Sh'ma, or his first letters; they will not swell with pride at his Bar Mitzvah, or dance at his wedding. Little Moshe Tzvi's parents were brutally torn away from him for committing the most horrible crime in the eyes of Muslim murderers: they were Jews.
Dear Heavenly Father, on this day, just like any other day, I offer you my humble prayer and request: please watch over Your Children! Please do not remove from us Your Protection and Your Blessings! May You, in Your Infinite Mercy, grant peace to little Moshe Tzvi, and some semblance of closure to his poor grandparents; may You comfort everyone affected by this horrible tragedy!
Another Blow To The Heart
Members of the religion of peace dealt another blow to the collective heart of my people, amongst many direct hits they already scored and are planning to score in the near future, G-d forbid.
Last week they brutally murdered young Chabad Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, his wife Rivka, and six more Jews at the Chabad House in Mumbai. May G-d avenge their blood and bring a measure of peace to all the ones left behind.
Last week they brutally murdered young Chabad Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, his wife Rivka, and six more Jews at the Chabad House in Mumbai. May G-d avenge their blood and bring a measure of peace to all the ones left behind.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Veteran's Day
A fellow blogger (sorry, do not remember which one) told this amusingly sad story. He was entertaining a visitor from England who was duly impressed with the fact that we honour all the veterans, not just the fallen ones; to which my "colleague" was embarrassed to add that for most of the people it's basically just a day off (that, at least, is the gist of the story). Oh, how sad and true that is.
Of course, the original intent for the Veteran's Day was quite noble and really intended to honour all of them, dead and alive, and to give our thanks for their noble sacrifice. Because no matter how you look at it, once a person joined the Army (for whatever reasons), and then he or she is send to an active battlefield, it irrevocably changes their lives, and their actions become a sacrifice for our freedom; as simple as that. And, somehow, it was pretty clear to most Americans, before or after the official institution of the Veteran's Day. Clear, that is, till that wonderful generation of spoiled brats and ungrateful swine, otherwise known as the hippies, came on the scene in all their unwashed and unshaven glory.
All of the sudden we are not just a sovereign country protecting ourselves (and in the process the freedom of the few more ungrateful swine beyond our borders), never mind the lofty title of the beacon of freedom for the world, but an imperialistic/fascist dictatorship, bent on world domination, and our soldiers are killers and rapists, heartlessly wiping out poor civilian population everywhere. So, it logically follows that we may protest to our hearts' content the wars that are basically fought in defence of our country, and the reasons for which we usually do not comprehend, but can offer wonderfully catchy slogans in return along the lines of "make love, not war". In the process of protesting and making love, we may also denigrate our soldiers to our hearts' content, spit at them (literally and figuratively), and call them murderers and rapists (among other colourful epithets). And the worst horror in this situation is that all those protesters, far from being punished, are accepted by society as youthful idealists and truth seekers, and all the garbage they were spouting somehow became acceptable as well. The hated, disgusting peace symbol became a fashion accessory, while Vietnam vets are swelling the population of homeless and mentally ill.
So, is it any wonder that in such a healthy climate we totally forgot about the meaning of Veteran's Day; that it is just an extra day off for some, and an extra excuse to have sales? But the Veterans are still among us, and more and more are swelling their ranks, because, as tried and cliched as it sounds, freedom is not free, and now we need to protect it more than ever. Fortunately, the usual silent majority of Americans does not share the views of the hippies; even more fortunately, they are beginning to break their silence. This time around, anti-war crowd was met with a pretty decent resistance from the "uneducated and warmongering" populace. So, G-d willing, when our guys and girls win this current war and come home, it will be to well deserved admiration and respect. Meanwhile, I personally recommend this website: http://moveamericaforward.org; among other things, they constantly organize care packages to our troops.
Most of you, I am sure, did not watch Leno's on Veteran's Day, so did not get the chance to hear a heart-wrenching story told over by Senator McCain. He was telling about a fellow POW who contrived to have a makeshift American flag on the inside of his blue prison uniform, to which they all pledged allegiance every evening. At a certain point, Vietnamese found out about it, took the guy out of the cell, and beat him up for a couple of hours. That very same evening, beaten up and badly hurt, he proceeded to make another flag.
So, here is to you, whenever you are with us or not, all the Veterans who fought and continue to fight for our freedom! Here is to your allegiance to the flag, bravery, patriotism, and tremendous self-sacrifice! I, amongst many other grateful Americans, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Of course, the original intent for the Veteran's Day was quite noble and really intended to honour all of them, dead and alive, and to give our thanks for their noble sacrifice. Because no matter how you look at it, once a person joined the Army (for whatever reasons), and then he or she is send to an active battlefield, it irrevocably changes their lives, and their actions become a sacrifice for our freedom; as simple as that. And, somehow, it was pretty clear to most Americans, before or after the official institution of the Veteran's Day. Clear, that is, till that wonderful generation of spoiled brats and ungrateful swine, otherwise known as the hippies, came on the scene in all their unwashed and unshaven glory.
All of the sudden we are not just a sovereign country protecting ourselves (and in the process the freedom of the few more ungrateful swine beyond our borders), never mind the lofty title of the beacon of freedom for the world, but an imperialistic/fascist dictatorship, bent on world domination, and our soldiers are killers and rapists, heartlessly wiping out poor civilian population everywhere. So, it logically follows that we may protest to our hearts' content the wars that are basically fought in defence of our country, and the reasons for which we usually do not comprehend, but can offer wonderfully catchy slogans in return along the lines of "make love, not war". In the process of protesting and making love, we may also denigrate our soldiers to our hearts' content, spit at them (literally and figuratively), and call them murderers and rapists (among other colourful epithets). And the worst horror in this situation is that all those protesters, far from being punished, are accepted by society as youthful idealists and truth seekers, and all the garbage they were spouting somehow became acceptable as well. The hated, disgusting peace symbol became a fashion accessory, while Vietnam vets are swelling the population of homeless and mentally ill.
So, is it any wonder that in such a healthy climate we totally forgot about the meaning of Veteran's Day; that it is just an extra day off for some, and an extra excuse to have sales? But the Veterans are still among us, and more and more are swelling their ranks, because, as tried and cliched as it sounds, freedom is not free, and now we need to protect it more than ever. Fortunately, the usual silent majority of Americans does not share the views of the hippies; even more fortunately, they are beginning to break their silence. This time around, anti-war crowd was met with a pretty decent resistance from the "uneducated and warmongering" populace. So, G-d willing, when our guys and girls win this current war and come home, it will be to well deserved admiration and respect. Meanwhile, I personally recommend this website: http://moveamericaforward.org; among other things, they constantly organize care packages to our troops.
Most of you, I am sure, did not watch Leno's on Veteran's Day, so did not get the chance to hear a heart-wrenching story told over by Senator McCain. He was telling about a fellow POW who contrived to have a makeshift American flag on the inside of his blue prison uniform, to which they all pledged allegiance every evening. At a certain point, Vietnamese found out about it, took the guy out of the cell, and beat him up for a couple of hours. That very same evening, beaten up and badly hurt, he proceeded to make another flag.
So, here is to you, whenever you are with us or not, all the Veterans who fought and continue to fight for our freedom! Here is to your allegiance to the flag, bravery, patriotism, and tremendous self-sacrifice! I, amongst many other grateful Americans, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Monday, November 10, 2008
CHILLING ANNIVERSARY
Yesterday, November 9th, marked the 70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht. The 70th Anniversary of the beginning of Holocaust, the most horrible tragedy in our history that cost us 6 million lives of our brothers and sisters, including 1 million precious lives of our children. May Heavenly Father always protect us and always judge us with Mercy.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
HISTORIC ELECTIONS
These elections were definitely historic; not in the sense the prostitutes from the media would like us to see, but historic none the less.
Some time ago my sis, in the best traditions of sisters and best friends, chided me for my excessive use of the word "stupid". In her opinion, considering my vocabulary, I should spice up my speech a bit. Agreed; but sometimes, especially when you are in a grip of a strong emotion, simple words are the best, so, dear readers, gird yourselves: you will see a lot of "stupids" in this composition. Another memory, also involving my sister, has something to do with our trip to London. Like any decent tourists, we went on the double-decker tour on our first day. Our over hyper guide kept repeating the same phrase over and other again "Princess Diana: gone, but not forgotten"; at the certain point of the tour, everyone starter finishing the darn phrase for him. After all, it was 1999, and her death was still fresh in everyone's memory; although, come to think of it, they still can't let the poor disturbed woman rest in peace. Anyway, I will impersonate this guide here by repeating, over and over again, "thanks, media". OK, introductions are over; let's begin.
First of all, we have seen the historic display of stupidity that was displayed by the American electorate. Nothing else would explain why we are now saddled with a President-elect whom Eric Rush very eloquently called "one of the greatest purveyors of male bovine fecal matter in human history". It is just very sad to realize that in our age of computers, Internet, cell phones, satellites, billions of bits of information and their lightning quick dissemination, the majority of the people who showed up by the polls have voted for a pathological liar. Oh, yea, and thank you, media!
I mean, it really boggles the mind: a lawyer who went to school solely due to affirmative actions and support from America-haters, a guy who had spend 143 days in the Senate, has no real life or political experience to recommend him, refused to produce his birth certificate to prove his citizenship, has consistent and uninterrupted history of associating with racists, anti-Semites, black supremacists, socialists, Marxists, domestic and international terrorists and their sympathizers, consistently voted along the liberal left lines, expressed the desire for diplomacy with the world's most vicious dictators, and, along with his beautiful wife, expressed open contempt for this country! And this monstrosity is presented to us as a half-deity, a new messiah, a unifier of the nation, an end to all of America's woes, a lover of the "little guy", and a new dawn for the country! Thank you, media, for creating this bizarrely surreal image! And my deep, everlasting gratitude to every single stupid moron of a registered voter who cast a ballot for this nightmarish chimera!
Let's see: 96% of black votes went to him, but that is not racist at all, no siree bob. More than 70% of single women without children voted for this sex symbol as well; girls, with all due respect, and even though I belong to this particular electoral group, this is going to be a first time in my life when I will side with the opposition (judgmental harpies) and tell you these two things: no wonder you are single, and there is no need to perpetuate your genetic pool. Majority of Hispanic votes went to this dude as well: no comment (or rather, a separate entry). All together, majority of women voted for this one, as long as some white men. In my not humble opinion, anyone who is "white" or makes anything slightly above the minimum wage, and who had voted for this demigod, was simply performing an exercise in masochism. Ladies and gents, why did you not just come out and said so? I am sure you would have been provided with leather, restrains, whips, chains, and whatever else you require by the other part of the electorate (I personally would have volunteered my last dollars towards this worthy endeavor); I mean, we are all adults here, so why so sheepish all of the sudden? Believe me, we would rather you perform your rituals on yourselves, and not confide us to what looks like four years of hell in the bargain.
Looking at the myriad of absolutely delirious with happiness faces that were celebrating Obama's victory, I could not help but wonder: OK, the case with white morons I just explained; but what about the black morons? If America is such horrible country, which began with slavery and continuously exercised the politics of racial inequality, than what force on earth prevented the blacks, beginning with approximately 1865, from following the path of the young couple from the infamous novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe? In case you are unfamiliar with this literary masterpiece, I will explain: what exactly holds the blacks here, in the US, and prevents them from expatriating to their beloved Africa, the cradle of life? The answer is very simple, and if it does not stare you straight in the face, again, very not humbly, I cannot help you.
The dust is beginning to settle, so to speak, but the carnival of idiocy is hardly over; in depth commentary, from both sides, of what went wrong for the Republicans. Here is my uneducated and not humble opinion. One: you cannot fight a pool of crocodiles, jackals, and sharks using Queensbury rules of engagement; period. That was the main mistake of the Busch presidency and the McCain's campaign. Two: thank you, media! It is pretty hard to fight a constant campaign of deliberate misinformation waged by every single major network, newspaper, and Internet venue, while armed with only Fox News, independent Internet news venues, and a bunch of dedicated bloggers. Three: our rotten education system, long ago taken over by aging and young hippies, including former "weathermen", which, of course, explains the overwhelming support of under thirty voters for the new messiah. Four: the stock market crash, which was, of course, Clinton's mess, but, thanks to number two and three, ended up being, of course, Busch's, and, by default, all Republicans' fault (I am sure Clintons and their cronies are laughing themselves silly right now). Five: two unpopular wars, in case of which I would like to ask: should the members of the religion of peace hijack another few plains and fly them into the Sears Tower, John Hancock Building, The Empire State Building, and the Space Needle, for a good measure, for these wars to become popular again?
This, by the way, brings to my mind a little scene from a book I read in my lonely childhood about the Spartacus rebellion. The scene goes like this: a bunch of drunken patricians, quickly becoming more and more intoxicated, were raining different curses on the government. They were getting more and more inventive, and finally, one of them yelled "Let the Jupiter incinerate our Senate!", to which another drunken young man quietly added: "just let him warn me in advance, so I should not come in that day". So, in case Osama (who, by the way, is probably getting drunk from joy right now in whatever cave he is hiding) is planning another terrorist action against us, I do not mind another plane (providing it will only contain Mohamed and Abdulla) flying into our Senate, as long as at that particular moment it will only house Pelosi, Reid, Boxer, Kucinich, Kennedy, Obama, and, most importantly, Murtha.
Speaking of Murtha, what in blazes happened to the population of the good state of Pennsylvania? One guy threatens to bankrupt their main source of revenue, and they elect him a President; another one insults them from here to eternity, and they re-elect him to Congress. Another exercise in masochism and stupidity.
And speaking of paradise on earth in general, and economy in particular; since when is it a goverment's job to provide us with jobs, free medical and dental care, education, houses, and chickens in every pot? Here is the definition of capitalist economy given by Walter Williams, who has a Ph.D. in the subject and teaches it in college: "economic system based on private ownership and control over of the means of production. Under laissez-faire capitalism, government activity is restricted to the protection of the individual's rights against fraud, theft and the initiation of physical force." Expanding on that, government’s role all together should be in protecting us from criminals inside, enemies from outside, and in protection of our individual rights and freedoms as guaranteed by the Constitution. Ha, ha, hearty har har with a cherry on top! According to the new crown prince of Kenya, who is now our President-elect, government is our new and better mommy, who is going to kiss our every bubu and take away all our worries.
So, now (at least, according to Yahoo and MSN), everyone is concerned with the new "first puppy", its potential breed, and the best names for it. Second on the least is Michelle Obama, with her elegant style and her plans for moving the family to the White House. Where is the spittoon when one needs it? Meanwhile, the one and only kisser of our bubus is creating a new cabinet full of former Clintonistas, promising the civilian trials for the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo, and, all of the sudden, reminding us that we should not expect immediate fixes and prepare ourselves for a long wait. All of this, while leaders of HAMAS were rushing in their official congratulations; they really wanted to be the first ones to congratulate him!
As to my people... Deep sigh. Can I just remind you, guys and gals, that turning the other cheek is not in our religious cannons? How blind, deaf, dumb, and stupid did we have to be to vote in such overwhelming majority for a guy whose friends are a bunch of anti-Semites and terrorist hacks? Moreover, a black liberal, supported by blacks and Hispanics, who both are biggest anti-Semitic groups in America today (right after Muslims, that is). The day before the elections some Jewish sounding dude posted an article on JWR, which started by posting a question: how come both Muslims and Jews support Obama in such overwhelming numbers? Well, one of them must be stupid, and his money was on the Jews. What a brilliant observation! For my part, allow me to add this: forget about the "mystical" connection we all have, or the fact that both our good and bad deeds have profound effect on the rest of us. Let us just look at the issue from "mundane" point of view. All of you are free, thinking (hopefully) human beings, endowed by our Creator with the freedom of choice, and the full right to stand by those choices. So, when you attend a congregation that is run by a spiritually corrupt leader, that is your choice and your problem. When you send your children (and subsequently pay the tuition) to the school that I would love to destroy, because I know for a fact that it destroys faith instead of instilling it, that is your choice and both your and my problem. But when you willingly and proudly voted for that bastard son of a whoremonger, in the process betraying this country, the Holy Land, and the best interests of our people, and then arrogantly declared your happiness with your choice, please do not expect me to either respect you or your choice, or to be quiet, for that matter.
For me, the outcome of these elections is a test of faith. I know that He heard our prayers and said "no"; I firmly believe that He will never forsake us or this country; but I am human and I can't help my overwhelming sadness and the feeling of defeat. Since the official announcement, I have run though a whole score of emotions. A former psych major in me recognized a certain pattern; finally I realized that the succession of emotions was that of grief. Not for President Busch, Senator McCain, or Governor Palin, even though I really feel for them on different levels, and wish them all the best. My feelings are for my country. My beautiful country, which gave me shelter, freedom, and a sense of my true purpose. My country was voluntary surrendered to the people who hate it! I can't sleep, or stop crying, and my blood pressure is up 14 points since last August. OK, deep breaths, Barbie, deep breaths.
One of the many things that I learned in my twenty years of living here is undying hope and unbeatable optimism. So, I will dry my tears and remind myself that surrender and defeat are never viable options. Yes, we suffered a tremendous blow. But we can always fight, even in small ways; always remember that He Alone ultimately knows the past, the present, and the future; and always hope for His Mercy and His Blessings.
Some time ago my sis, in the best traditions of sisters and best friends, chided me for my excessive use of the word "stupid". In her opinion, considering my vocabulary, I should spice up my speech a bit. Agreed; but sometimes, especially when you are in a grip of a strong emotion, simple words are the best, so, dear readers, gird yourselves: you will see a lot of "stupids" in this composition. Another memory, also involving my sister, has something to do with our trip to London. Like any decent tourists, we went on the double-decker tour on our first day. Our over hyper guide kept repeating the same phrase over and other again "Princess Diana: gone, but not forgotten"; at the certain point of the tour, everyone starter finishing the darn phrase for him. After all, it was 1999, and her death was still fresh in everyone's memory; although, come to think of it, they still can't let the poor disturbed woman rest in peace. Anyway, I will impersonate this guide here by repeating, over and over again, "thanks, media". OK, introductions are over; let's begin.
First of all, we have seen the historic display of stupidity that was displayed by the American electorate. Nothing else would explain why we are now saddled with a President-elect whom Eric Rush very eloquently called "one of the greatest purveyors of male bovine fecal matter in human history". It is just very sad to realize that in our age of computers, Internet, cell phones, satellites, billions of bits of information and their lightning quick dissemination, the majority of the people who showed up by the polls have voted for a pathological liar. Oh, yea, and thank you, media!
I mean, it really boggles the mind: a lawyer who went to school solely due to affirmative actions and support from America-haters, a guy who had spend 143 days in the Senate, has no real life or political experience to recommend him, refused to produce his birth certificate to prove his citizenship, has consistent and uninterrupted history of associating with racists, anti-Semites, black supremacists, socialists, Marxists, domestic and international terrorists and their sympathizers, consistently voted along the liberal left lines, expressed the desire for diplomacy with the world's most vicious dictators, and, along with his beautiful wife, expressed open contempt for this country! And this monstrosity is presented to us as a half-deity, a new messiah, a unifier of the nation, an end to all of America's woes, a lover of the "little guy", and a new dawn for the country! Thank you, media, for creating this bizarrely surreal image! And my deep, everlasting gratitude to every single stupid moron of a registered voter who cast a ballot for this nightmarish chimera!
Let's see: 96% of black votes went to him, but that is not racist at all, no siree bob. More than 70% of single women without children voted for this sex symbol as well; girls, with all due respect, and even though I belong to this particular electoral group, this is going to be a first time in my life when I will side with the opposition (judgmental harpies) and tell you these two things: no wonder you are single, and there is no need to perpetuate your genetic pool. Majority of Hispanic votes went to this dude as well: no comment (or rather, a separate entry). All together, majority of women voted for this one, as long as some white men. In my not humble opinion, anyone who is "white" or makes anything slightly above the minimum wage, and who had voted for this demigod, was simply performing an exercise in masochism. Ladies and gents, why did you not just come out and said so? I am sure you would have been provided with leather, restrains, whips, chains, and whatever else you require by the other part of the electorate (I personally would have volunteered my last dollars towards this worthy endeavor); I mean, we are all adults here, so why so sheepish all of the sudden? Believe me, we would rather you perform your rituals on yourselves, and not confide us to what looks like four years of hell in the bargain.
Looking at the myriad of absolutely delirious with happiness faces that were celebrating Obama's victory, I could not help but wonder: OK, the case with white morons I just explained; but what about the black morons? If America is such horrible country, which began with slavery and continuously exercised the politics of racial inequality, than what force on earth prevented the blacks, beginning with approximately 1865, from following the path of the young couple from the infamous novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe? In case you are unfamiliar with this literary masterpiece, I will explain: what exactly holds the blacks here, in the US, and prevents them from expatriating to their beloved Africa, the cradle of life? The answer is very simple, and if it does not stare you straight in the face, again, very not humbly, I cannot help you.
The dust is beginning to settle, so to speak, but the carnival of idiocy is hardly over; in depth commentary, from both sides, of what went wrong for the Republicans. Here is my uneducated and not humble opinion. One: you cannot fight a pool of crocodiles, jackals, and sharks using Queensbury rules of engagement; period. That was the main mistake of the Busch presidency and the McCain's campaign. Two: thank you, media! It is pretty hard to fight a constant campaign of deliberate misinformation waged by every single major network, newspaper, and Internet venue, while armed with only Fox News, independent Internet news venues, and a bunch of dedicated bloggers. Three: our rotten education system, long ago taken over by aging and young hippies, including former "weathermen", which, of course, explains the overwhelming support of under thirty voters for the new messiah. Four: the stock market crash, which was, of course, Clinton's mess, but, thanks to number two and three, ended up being, of course, Busch's, and, by default, all Republicans' fault (I am sure Clintons and their cronies are laughing themselves silly right now). Five: two unpopular wars, in case of which I would like to ask: should the members of the religion of peace hijack another few plains and fly them into the Sears Tower, John Hancock Building, The Empire State Building, and the Space Needle, for a good measure, for these wars to become popular again?
This, by the way, brings to my mind a little scene from a book I read in my lonely childhood about the Spartacus rebellion. The scene goes like this: a bunch of drunken patricians, quickly becoming more and more intoxicated, were raining different curses on the government. They were getting more and more inventive, and finally, one of them yelled "Let the Jupiter incinerate our Senate!", to which another drunken young man quietly added: "just let him warn me in advance, so I should not come in that day". So, in case Osama (who, by the way, is probably getting drunk from joy right now in whatever cave he is hiding) is planning another terrorist action against us, I do not mind another plane (providing it will only contain Mohamed and Abdulla) flying into our Senate, as long as at that particular moment it will only house Pelosi, Reid, Boxer, Kucinich, Kennedy, Obama, and, most importantly, Murtha.
Speaking of Murtha, what in blazes happened to the population of the good state of Pennsylvania? One guy threatens to bankrupt their main source of revenue, and they elect him a President; another one insults them from here to eternity, and they re-elect him to Congress. Another exercise in masochism and stupidity.
And speaking of paradise on earth in general, and economy in particular; since when is it a goverment's job to provide us with jobs, free medical and dental care, education, houses, and chickens in every pot? Here is the definition of capitalist economy given by Walter Williams, who has a Ph.D. in the subject and teaches it in college: "economic system based on private ownership and control over of the means of production. Under laissez-faire capitalism, government activity is restricted to the protection of the individual's rights against fraud, theft and the initiation of physical force." Expanding on that, government’s role all together should be in protecting us from criminals inside, enemies from outside, and in protection of our individual rights and freedoms as guaranteed by the Constitution. Ha, ha, hearty har har with a cherry on top! According to the new crown prince of Kenya, who is now our President-elect, government is our new and better mommy, who is going to kiss our every bubu and take away all our worries.
So, now (at least, according to Yahoo and MSN), everyone is concerned with the new "first puppy", its potential breed, and the best names for it. Second on the least is Michelle Obama, with her elegant style and her plans for moving the family to the White House. Where is the spittoon when one needs it? Meanwhile, the one and only kisser of our bubus is creating a new cabinet full of former Clintonistas, promising the civilian trials for the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo, and, all of the sudden, reminding us that we should not expect immediate fixes and prepare ourselves for a long wait. All of this, while leaders of HAMAS were rushing in their official congratulations; they really wanted to be the first ones to congratulate him!
As to my people... Deep sigh. Can I just remind you, guys and gals, that turning the other cheek is not in our religious cannons? How blind, deaf, dumb, and stupid did we have to be to vote in such overwhelming majority for a guy whose friends are a bunch of anti-Semites and terrorist hacks? Moreover, a black liberal, supported by blacks and Hispanics, who both are biggest anti-Semitic groups in America today (right after Muslims, that is). The day before the elections some Jewish sounding dude posted an article on JWR, which started by posting a question: how come both Muslims and Jews support Obama in such overwhelming numbers? Well, one of them must be stupid, and his money was on the Jews. What a brilliant observation! For my part, allow me to add this: forget about the "mystical" connection we all have, or the fact that both our good and bad deeds have profound effect on the rest of us. Let us just look at the issue from "mundane" point of view. All of you are free, thinking (hopefully) human beings, endowed by our Creator with the freedom of choice, and the full right to stand by those choices. So, when you attend a congregation that is run by a spiritually corrupt leader, that is your choice and your problem. When you send your children (and subsequently pay the tuition) to the school that I would love to destroy, because I know for a fact that it destroys faith instead of instilling it, that is your choice and both your and my problem. But when you willingly and proudly voted for that bastard son of a whoremonger, in the process betraying this country, the Holy Land, and the best interests of our people, and then arrogantly declared your happiness with your choice, please do not expect me to either respect you or your choice, or to be quiet, for that matter.
For me, the outcome of these elections is a test of faith. I know that He heard our prayers and said "no"; I firmly believe that He will never forsake us or this country; but I am human and I can't help my overwhelming sadness and the feeling of defeat. Since the official announcement, I have run though a whole score of emotions. A former psych major in me recognized a certain pattern; finally I realized that the succession of emotions was that of grief. Not for President Busch, Senator McCain, or Governor Palin, even though I really feel for them on different levels, and wish them all the best. My feelings are for my country. My beautiful country, which gave me shelter, freedom, and a sense of my true purpose. My country was voluntary surrendered to the people who hate it! I can't sleep, or stop crying, and my blood pressure is up 14 points since last August. OK, deep breaths, Barbie, deep breaths.
One of the many things that I learned in my twenty years of living here is undying hope and unbeatable optimism. So, I will dry my tears and remind myself that surrender and defeat are never viable options. Yes, we suffered a tremendous blow. But we can always fight, even in small ways; always remember that He Alone ultimately knows the past, the present, and the future; and always hope for His Mercy and His Blessings.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
SHANA TOVA
To all my Jewish brothers and sisters, regardless of your religious affiliation (or the absence of such), or regardless of whenever you consider yourself a Jew, or know that you are a Jew; to all of you I wish Shana Tova!
May the Master of the Universe bless all us with a good, sweet, and wonderful year, filled with health, happiness, prosperity, wisdom, clarity of purpose, and, most importantly, pride in being Jews and unconditional love for each other!
I will not exaggerate if I tell that I love all of our Holidays, because each has a distinct flavor and a unique balm for the soul. High Holidays bring with them the reminder to evaluate and re-evaluate our lives, our relationship with The Heavenly Father, and, most importantly, our relationship with each other. It is the opportunity to honestly examine and re-examine your soul; to once again proclaim His Mastery over the universe; to repent and cleanse your soul; and to start a new year with the new hope and renewed faith; then comes Succot, a time to report on the fulfillment of our mission.
My cynical side, on the other hand, cannot help by notice the human failings. I mean, this is the time to repent and ask each other's forgiveness. So, what's with the astronomical prices on food, homicidal driving, and more than usual rudeness, especially at the synagogue during services or to your own family members? And please do not tell me that that is a reaction to our crazy living.
On the lighter note, what is it with the continued explosion of the Goth clothing line amongst our ladies? I personally felt like a white, sorry pink, crow on Yom Kippur. I mean, almost everyone was attired in "elegant" black, including little girls and very young women. I guess our population, both male and female, disagrees with Burke about the effects of the black color.
So, here is to our souls pardoned from sins, loving each other, being a credit to His Name, and remembering that profound commentary by Rabbi Hirsch about sins being committed due to the non-use of our intellects.
Shana Tova U'Metukah!
May the Master of the Universe bless all us with a good, sweet, and wonderful year, filled with health, happiness, prosperity, wisdom, clarity of purpose, and, most importantly, pride in being Jews and unconditional love for each other!
I will not exaggerate if I tell that I love all of our Holidays, because each has a distinct flavor and a unique balm for the soul. High Holidays bring with them the reminder to evaluate and re-evaluate our lives, our relationship with The Heavenly Father, and, most importantly, our relationship with each other. It is the opportunity to honestly examine and re-examine your soul; to once again proclaim His Mastery over the universe; to repent and cleanse your soul; and to start a new year with the new hope and renewed faith; then comes Succot, a time to report on the fulfillment of our mission.
My cynical side, on the other hand, cannot help by notice the human failings. I mean, this is the time to repent and ask each other's forgiveness. So, what's with the astronomical prices on food, homicidal driving, and more than usual rudeness, especially at the synagogue during services or to your own family members? And please do not tell me that that is a reaction to our crazy living.
On the lighter note, what is it with the continued explosion of the Goth clothing line amongst our ladies? I personally felt like a white, sorry pink, crow on Yom Kippur. I mean, almost everyone was attired in "elegant" black, including little girls and very young women. I guess our population, both male and female, disagrees with Burke about the effects of the black color.
So, here is to our souls pardoned from sins, loving each other, being a credit to His Name, and remembering that profound commentary by Rabbi Hirsch about sins being committed due to the non-use of our intellects.
Shana Tova U'Metukah!
Monday, October 27, 2008
MORE GREAT QUOTES
Here are two great quotes from last week:
"Forget about Ayers' domestic terrorism when Obama "was 8 years old." Does he agree with Ayers' idiot ideas right now?"
Ann Coulter
"If I were McCain, I'd start out by asking Obama if he thinks ACORN or that other famous community organization, the Mafia, is the more dangerous group. I, personally, have more respect for the Mafia. After all, they favor capitalism over socialism, they genuinely like America, they don't try to destroy the election process and, what's more, they dress a lot better, favoring camelhair coats over those corny red sweatshirts."
Burt Prelutsky
"Forget about Ayers' domestic terrorism when Obama "was 8 years old." Does he agree with Ayers' idiot ideas right now?"
Ann Coulter
"If I were McCain, I'd start out by asking Obama if he thinks ACORN or that other famous community organization, the Mafia, is the more dangerous group. I, personally, have more respect for the Mafia. After all, they favor capitalism over socialism, they genuinely like America, they don't try to destroy the election process and, what's more, they dress a lot better, favoring camelhair coats over those corny red sweatshirts."
Burt Prelutsky
Thursday, September 25, 2008
DECISION 2008
Official disclaimer: I will attempt to quote a few bloggers and commentators, but, due to my advanced stage of tiredness and the general "cholant" condition of my brain, I do not always remember who said what; for this, my apologies in advance.
In college, during one of the education courses, we were exchanging ideas as to how to make kids remember that every fourth year is a leap year. For some unfathomable reason, I suggested the following solution: presidential elections happen every leap year. The professor liked my idea; plus she deadpanned something to the tune that that explains why we end up with what we end up. Since we are in the leap year again, ergo another presidential election, I felt like musing on the subject a bit (and to borrow the headline from my beloved mainstream TV).
Everyone who knows me can vouch for the fact that I am "passionate" about politics. Deep sigh. The truth is, I would rather discuss Harry Potter or Madeline Hunter till your ears wilt and your eyelids droop, than discuss politics. I am way more passionate about my reading material than I am about politics. Being interested in politics and familiar with the issues is a developed self-defense. As I mentioned many times before, for people who have a life, especially a family life, political concerns are not a priority at all. Unfortunately, such lax attitude allowed a small, but extremely loud and malevolent group the almost total destruction of our educational system, passage of draconian laws that are destroying our economy, demoralization of our troupes, and the eventual loss of the war that we actually could have won and that eventually resulted in another country succumbing to the Communist miasma with horrible genocide to follow. And that is just a tip of the iceberg; so, with all due respect, if you care about your children, you have to be concerned about politics, as boring, frustrating, or distasteful the subject may be; which brings me to my next argument.
One of my good friends recently confessed to me her severe disappointment with our political scene. Two party system is not working well at all, one candidate is worse than the other, everyone is corrupted to the extreme and long ago bought up by one lobby or the other, we did not have a decent president in about twenty years, people vote against someone rather than for someone, we are in a protracted war the reasons for which American public was not really informed. Couple of times, when I quoted from a political non-fiction book something that sort of made sense to me, her reply was that she does not really believe in it, since the person who wrote is was probably paid to write this anyway, and is just pursuing his or her agenda. Welcome to the murky, bottom feeding world of politics!
In my humble estimation, there are three basic ways of government: totalitarian, monarchy, and democracy. There are, of course, the variations on these themes, but the basics are limited to these options. I have spent seventeen years, six months, twenty one days, and a few hours (plus the usual gestation period before birth) under the totalitarian regime. All I can say in order to describe this paradise on earth is to use an old cliché about not wishing it on your worst enemy. A person living under a monarch could get lucky if the above mentioned monarch actually cares about his or her county and the people more than he or she cares about the fanfare and the prestige. None the less, the decent existence under a monarchy is basically a matter of chance (or rather Divine Providence). Only in a democracy does a person have a chance (albeit a relatively small one) to choose his or her governing body. This brings me to my next point.
Recently I got re-introduced to the famous quote by Lord Acton. Ironically, it happened while yours truly and a harassed lady from accounting were discussing the latest antiques of the big boss. I, being a nerd, quoted Acton. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." That, in a nutshell, describes the entire political arena under any kind of government, even a democratic one. They all pursue their agenda; the question is: which agenda makes your live easier? If you get a choice, you usually choose the lesser of two evils, because politicians tend to be pretty evil by default. In my estimation, the last time the majority of the Americans voted for someone as opposed to against someone was in 1984; which brings us to the claim of twenty years of bad Presidents.
In my opinion, what he had was this: eight years of a horrendous President, four years of the President who could have done better, and almost eight years of the President who should have known better. For some unexplainable reason, Clinton is remembered by some as wonderful President who "had feelings for the little guy" and brought prosperity to the nation, and by others simply as uncontrollable Don Juan, but over wise pretty harmless. Ha! His uncontrollable tomcatting was actually the least of his problems; we are still paying for all his other "wonderful" acts; unfortunately, the full extent of the damage that he had inflicted on the country is yet to be uncovered. Bush Senior should not have done one thing (raise taxes like he promised), and should have done two: finish Saddam Hussein when he had a chance, and manage his re-election campaign better.
As for Bush Junior... His blunders may be many, and he was definitely "soft" a lot of times when he should have been firm, but his main mistake was in forgetting two simple facts: do not feed a crocodile because he will definitely bite off the feeding hand and do not expose your jugular to the jackals; because, let's face it, The Treason Lobby, oops, the present day Democratic Party plus the main media, which long ago prostituted themselves to the noble causes of America-hating, socialism, communism, and multiculturalism, definitely resembles both animals. One of my favorite political commentators rightly pointed out that if you look at the current President objectively, you see a decent man who was never involved in any major scandal, be it personal or political; he was faced with a tremendous challenge after 9/11, and was able to keep the county safe from another attack for the past seven years; but the media succeeded in making him into a blundering, helpless, pitiful idiot. Again, I am not blind to his mistakes; but the biggest one was trying to bend backwards and forwards in order to "breach the gulf with the other side"; all it got him were too many times in the L-formation, for the better kick from the benevolent "other side".
This brings me to my next argument: my voting Republican. Another one of my good friends pointed out recently that you cannot really be affiliated blindly with one party; you have to objectively look at each candidate and make an informed decision. Logical sentiment, aside from one small detail: the last two decent people in the government who had a letter D behind their names were Charlie Wilson and David Moynihan. That's it; for the description of the modern Democratic Party please see above. Last, but not the least, I vote for the Republican, as opposed to independent candidate, again due to the acquired cynicism: I would like the lesser of the two evils to actually win.
OK, introduction is over; now, let's concentrate on "Decision 2008". Personal confession: McCain was not my first, second, or even third choice. Like a true New Yorker, I was rooting for Giuliani; my other choices included Huckabee or Romney; but, once McCain won the official party nomination, he was my candidate of choice, because, as Burt Prelutsky pointed out, he personally will vote for any candidate with an R after his or her name, because, no matter their faults, we are guaranteed that they are still humans and not alien pods impersonating humans (meaning the coven with the letter D attached to them). So, somewhere in the middle of the year, we knew that the choice is between McCain, Clinton, and Obama; and the idiocy manifested itself once again. The big debate: is it more important for America to have a first woman President or a first black President? The fact that all we need to do, as always needed to do, is to choose a candidate better qualified for the job, somehow escaped the idiots on the left; never mind the fact that this woman is a woman strictly in the biological sense, and the black guy is only half black. Morons on the right, on the other hand, decided to assume, or rather, continue assuming, the position of outraged innocence, which they first assumed in 2006, surrendering the country to Nancy Pelosi in the bargain.
Their (the righties') reasoning went along two lines. Line one: Republican Party is getting thoroughly corrupt, the conservative principles are abandoned, so, we will not vote at all, thereby teaching Republicans that we are fed up with the lesser of two evils, and that they have to get their act together and return to conservative base. Wonderful, brilliant reasoning! Aside from the slight caveats: re-read the Acton's quote again, ergo politicians are and will remain politicians; and, if you do not vote, your opinion will not matter anymore, and the worse of two evils will prevail. Obviously, lesson not learned, since, immediately after McCain's victory in the primaries, the second line of reasoning emerged: this election is lost for the conservative base; let us begin to concentrate on 2012, where we most probably will emerge victorious, since Democratic candidate will probably win, country will reach a low point at the end of these four years, and the true conservative will emerge as the next strong President, rectifying whatever blunders were committed in the past four years. As Burt Prelutsky wonderfully summarized this, it is like wishing a lung cancer on the loved one, so he will quit smoking.
Allow me to just add this: as brilliant as Reagan was, he was unable to fix all the "blunders" of the four years of the Carter presidency, the biggest of which is about to threaten us with nukes; Busch Junior, while lacking Reagan's brilliance, has to deal with eight years of Clinton's "blunders", the full extent of which is, unfortunately, yet to come. Plus, as a county, we have already reached the low point, the tragedy of which is worse than all the oil crisis, stock market crashes, and financial meltdowns combined. We have reached it on a sunny, beautiful Tuesday morning seven years ago, when we were attacked on our own soil, by the enemy living amongst us, and using our own passenger airliners. The enemy murdered almost three thousand people, attacked and destroyed our second tallest building; attacked and partially destroyed our army headquarters!; and only brave actions of a handful of patriotic Americans prevented the enemy from reaching their final target, which was either the White House or the Capitol. And we could do nothing. NOTHING!!!!! Merciful Heavenly Father, please protect our country from reaching this or any other low point like this ever again!
And speaking of brilliance, another side note, which concerns my people. For those unfamiliar with our calendar, the Iraq war started in our month of Adar, around Purim. This is the time when we celebrate our miraculous escape from total annihilation and remember our constant battle with Amalek. The fact that the late, unlamented Saddam was a direct descendant of Amalek was never disputed in our learned circles. And, my receding memory lapses notwithstanding, I remember that Adar very clearly. Everyone felt energized: Amalek is being attacked in Adar, which must be a wonderful sigh; promises by hard-core Democratic voters to vote for Busch in gratitude for finally toppling Saddam; and, most importantly, significant shortage of suicide bombers in Israel, since that same Saddam was not available anymore to reward the grieving families with the requisite twenty five thousand ducats, sorry, dollars. Lo and behold, now we have to impeach Busch for starting this war; Saddam was a great guy who kept Iraq in check, ergo provided stability in the region; and my Dad was condescendingly informed that he would not support the war if his son was in the army; to which my Dad, G-d bless him, heatedly replied that he would have enlisted himself, if he was not so old. Go figure!
And speaking of war in Iraq in general terms: again, in my humble opinion, seconded by the opinions of more informed people, not only were we justified in starting this war, we would have already done with it, if not for the stupid idiocy of political correctness. If the army was allowed to do their job the way they see fit, the war would have been over some time ago, and would have cost us less casualties. Pacifists extend considerable efforts in order for this war to turn into second Vietnam; G-d willing, they would fail.
Back to our regular broadcast. Brilliant political scientist Susan Sarandon proclaimed that she is for Obama, and let us see what his position will be. Some time ago Zadornov made a joke to the tune that some politicians take his monologues as a plan of action. Apparently, big wigs at the Democratic Party have adopted the same approach: they would take their official line from their own court jesters: morons and America-haters from Hollywood. So, the official party/media line solidified: we would rather have a first black, rather than first woman. One logical argument was, of course, that Obama was the un-known factor, as opposed to Clinton, whose numerous shenanigans were well known; and the fun began. Hillary Rodham Clinton, so recently darling of the media and the race's favorite horse, so to speak, was submarined by her own party (including, of course, the party's call girls: the media). By the way, as a side note, a little memo to Hilary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of their coven: ladies, I agree with you to the tune that it is still a men's world; moreover, most men are just insensitive, oblivious jerks. Having said that, let us not exaggerate our accomplishments, because USA is the one country in the world where it is really great to be a woman, the above mentioned clueless guys notwithstanding. If you really want to talk about a woman succeeding in a men's world against all odds, please read something rudimentary about queen Elizabeth (not the current one). Here was one girl who succeeded in the men's world big time (using their arrogance and stupidity in the process); and, she, by the way, really loved her country and her people. She looked at her position as sacred responsibility handed to her by Heavens, and, believe it or not, made tremendous amount of personal sacrifices, in the process turning a crumbling country into a superpower. You, girls, on the other hand, look at politics exclusively in the terms of personal gratification and power hunger, and in the process are trying to turn a superpower into a crumbling country, G-d forbid. So, please do not harp to me about the presence of estrogen and progesterone as necessary ingredients for the candidates I am supposed to vote for.
Anyway, young, charismatic, appealing (although I personally think he is pretty ugly) Barak Hussein Obama emerged as the party's official nominee. In the process of this emergence, some very interesting tidbits of information began to creep up. For me, of course, he was not a choice to begin with, due to the reasons listed above. Plus, even if I took him personally, one thing disturbed me from the beginning: his refusal to wear American flag pin and to acknowledge the pledge of allegiance. Yes, I am not a complete nincompoop, and I recognize the political symbolism, but, none the less, there are certain things you just do not do when you are a US Senator. And then, the big fanfare: dear, wonderful, benevolent pastor Wright. Ironically, here is a personal parallel: my family belonged to the same congregation almost our entire life here, in US, which would just about make it twenty years. For most of these years, to my everlasting shame, I have managed to sleep through our Rabbi's speeches. The speeches are always very informative; I just have a tremendous accumulated sleep dept, which manifests itself at strange times. Despite my untimely naps, I was always aware of our Rabbi's political and religious views. So, Barak, dear friend, please do not tell me that after attending this blasted church for twenty years, being married by this guy, and having him baptize your two daughters, you were unaware of the fact that your pastor was a racist, anti-Semitic, anti-American loony. But that was not, in my eyes, Obama's biggest crime; it's what he decided to do in response to this story breaking out which still makes me want to vomit. This wonderful lover of the poor and downtrodden, this healer of the racial divide decided, oh so subtly, to trash his own grandmother on the national TV! And I am supposed to trust this guy to protect our country, when he cannot even be loyal to the person who raised him?
Then, of course, the more the merrier. His casual reference to the fact that we eat too much meat and keep our houses at 72 degrees, and the rest of the world not being OK with it. Of course, due to the efforts of the green brown shirts, we cannot afford to eat as much meat as we used to, and if they continue in the same vein, comfortable house temperatures will also disappear. But, still, why should we be answerable to the world about what we eat? His cynical reference to the small town people clinging to their racism, guns and religion. His lady fair, Michelle, claiming that this is the first time she is proud of this country: apparently, while she was attending the Ivy League schools on the affirmative action’s quota while screeching about inherent racism of this country, she did feel any kind of pride, or gratitude for that matter. Obama's connections with absolutely unrepentant former Weather Underground terrorists, who started him on his political career; his endorsement by HAMAS leaders; his connections to the convicted Chicago mobster: all this is being blatantly ignored by the crowds of adoring idiots. The list, of course, is much longer. As Sean Hannity recently pointed out, FBI would not be able to hire him after performing a background check.
Two things stuck in my memory about the Democratic convention: Barakopolis and thousands of American flags that were trashed as soon as the cameras were not pointed at them. Very telling. Then came the Republican convention, and the circus started again. First there were the reports of the local police officers raiding the homes of possible protesters and confiscating some very interesting stuff, body waste being the most notable. Forgive me, but how sick do you have to be in order to collect body waste in preparation for a protest? Needless to say, there were no similar reports before the Democratic convention. Then, as you remember, the first day of the convention corresponded with the hurricane. McCain showed humanity and pointed out that there is no place for fanfare when our citizens' lives are threatened. Media took this as Republican attempt to acquit themselves after Katrina. Acquit themselves for what? The act of G-d? The chocolate politicians squandering the money for about ten years instead of repairing the levees? The people ignoring the hurricane warnings and insisting on staying put? For chocolate people looting everywhere, attacking and raping their own chocolate sisters? But, of course, all these things were Republicans' fault, and Katrina was specifically designed against black people. On with the convention. Count me naive, but I love listening to speeches which end with "G-d bless all of you and G-d bless America"; and I know that thousands of American flags were not relegated to the trash heap after the convention. Did I agree with everything McCain said in his speech? Heck, no; but I was touched when he urged people to fight with him for our country.
Speaking of McCain: there were lots of snide remarks made to the tune of him being shot down in Vietnam as his only claim to fame. How many people knew before the convention that he had an opportunity to be set free as a son and grandson of important Navy people and refused it because he did not want to give enemy a chance to make a political spectacle out of him and be released before the people who were captives longer than him? For spoiled American brats, especially of the younger generation, it is all the same: we torture war prisoners, somebody else tortured ours. Yea, right! That, of course, is another long discussion. But try to just imagine, ungrateful brats, almost five more years of inhumane conditions and torture! That act of honour and courage alone shows McCain as a basically decent human being as opposed to his counterpart, who constantly feels it his duty to apologize for America to the rest of the world. Another convention revelation: how many people knew about Bridgett? I dare Michelle Obama to adopt a child of another race who needed lengthy and expensive medical treatment; but somehow I do not see her rushing to this dare, if Barak's own half-brother lives in poverty in Kenya on less than fifteen bucks a year. No, all that Michelle is capable of is donning a dress costing less than two hundred dollars, going on "The View", and there exposing herself again as a racist snob and nouveau riche harpy.
Now, let us briefly touch on the candidates for VP. Just one little fact about Biden: forget about his voting record, especially when it came to the matters pertaining to Israel, or his feet constantly sticking from his mouth, for which media long ago gave him a blank pass. Recently, old Russian dissidents published something very disturbing about Biden, but, since Russian dissidents are no longer in vogue, I doubt a lot of people paid attention to it. Apparently, back in 1979, our dear senator traveled to when USSR as a part of American delegation to discuss certain matters with Brezhnev. Secret memo by an important USSR politician surfaced, claiming Biden's unofficial announcement that USA is willing to ignore the matter of Russian dissidents as long as agreements are reached; that USA does not wish to spoil their relationship over this matter. Nice! And I am supposed to voluntarily put this guy in a position to potentially head this country?
As for Sara Palin, all I can say, aside from the fact that I loved her speech, is that the tremendous hypocrisy of the lefties is more glaring in her case than ever before. Savage media attacks, unbelievable sexism, idiotic nitpicking and investigations into minute and non-existing matters. What really made me laugh was the fact that she supposedly banned Harry Potter books from the public library in 1996. Could you people just check your facts before you lie so blatantly: "Philosopher's stone" was published in 1997! But, of course, Lenin's, Stalin's and Goebbels' mantra works very well: the more shameless the lie, the better is works, as long as you have Chutzpah to lie, well, shamelessly. Another thing that made me chuckle was this whole Jesus-community organizer-Pilate-governor thing. What I really adore in this is when this party of separation of church and state all of a sudden starts using religious similes. Of course, due to their ignorance of the religious matters, they usually come out that much more ridiculous. As for the lipstick thing, her promise was heard loud and clear: I will protect your children as fiercely as I protect mine; Obama, on the other hand, came out really looking like a pig.
Pat Buchanan recently called the media "camp followers". I rarely agree with this esteemed individual, but this time he had really nailed it. Obama was crowned as messiah and demy-god that could do no wrong; any and all criticism of this new deity is automatically shouted down as racism. All his shady connections to past and present terrorists, America and Israel haters, shady dealings and convicted felons are ignored. I mean, the guy stinks more than the yearly accumulation of cow manure after a strong rain, yet to millions and millions of screaming, half fainting morons he smells sweater than roses. "Change we can believe in"; oh, I can definitely believe in it; I just do not want it.
I do not believe in outlawing abortions for the simple reason that anything outlawed automatically creates organized crime around it. But to kill Born Again Act? It would take more than a monster to do that. Try reading some of Jill Stanek's articles; just be warned, they are not for the faint of heart; and then please explain to me how he could have listened to her testimony, killed that law, and then blithely told that those things are above his pay grade; only a heartless monster could do it.
"Spread the wealth"; why should the government rob us of our honestly earned money in order to expand the welfare state? And Barak, at least one time, put your money where your mouth is: how about helping your own bro before "volunteering" the rest of us for the charity of your choosing especially if it is not even in this country? And I still do not know if your charming lady wife finally decided to be proud of this country.
McCain, on the other hand, is a rich white guy, totally disconnected from the people. Of course he is; that was why he, albeit misguidedly, wanted to postpone the first presidential debate in order to return to the Senate and try to deal with the financial crisis. He does not know how many houses he had; sure, that is so horrible. Let me spell it out for you: do you know to the penny how much you have in all of your investment accounts? I personally never know exactly how much I have in my savings account at any given moment, or, for that matter, exactly how many books or Barbie dolls I possess, and, though by the grace of G-d I am not poor, rich I am definitely not. Yes, he is a rich guy; but what he said precisely was that he was not sure; he needed to check up on it. This is his wife's property, not his; gentlemen, do each one of you knew exactly, to the cent, what your wives possessed when you married them? Case closed.
Two more personal notes. One, there is one uneducated housewife who prays daily for the win of the McCain/Palin and the defeat of Obama/Biden. That woman is my mother; and I used that unflattering epithet in stupid sociological terms only, because everyone with a modicum of understanding knows what tremendous talents you need in order to raise four kids. Second: our Rabbi always makes two speeches on Yom Kippur, one in the beginning and one towards the end. This time, amongst other things, he made one simple suggestion: this was always a free country; let us pray that is continues to be so. Needless to say, my prayers go along the same lines.
One of my very dear friends, whom I like and admire very much, for some reason, decided that he supports Obama. Recently he made a joking remark that, while talking to his friends in Moscow, he told them to wait till November 4th; then, either they should come to him here (if Obama wins, G-d forbid from my side), or, if Obama loses, my friend is going to Russia to seek political asylum. Ha! Nothing could be further from the truth! This is the only country in the world where you could truly seek political asylum. And if, G-d forbid, Obama wins, there would be no place to seek political asylum anymore: just look at Jessica Hughes. That woman, a former Marine and a mother of three, had Secret Service show at her door, after she rebuffed an Obama staffer on the phone, telling her that she, Hughes, would not vote for Obama due to his support of the horrific baby-killing laws. Clintons were such babes in just sending IRS after their enemies! That one sends Secret Service right away, simply on the word of one of his volunteers. Paradise on earth!
I am not even going to delve in the current financial upheaval. Clinton's and Congressional Democrats' handiwork somehow, of course, thanks again to the camp followers, ended up being the fault of the Republicans in general and Busch's Administration in particular. The cure for most of our financial woes, as always in my opinion, is pretty simple: enough taxes and government interference. Free market should be free of those first and foremost; then we will bounce back in absolutely no time. But, with all due respect to ordinary people experiencing financial difficulties, please remember one thing: as much or as little as you have in terms of wealth, you cannot really enjoy it if you are not free, or, G-d forbid, dead. As Burt Prelutsky very nicely put it, if Al Qaida levels Empire State Building or Iran drops a nuke, nobody would remember who the heck Paulson or Bernake are or were. That, by the way, is the first and the most important function of the government: the protection of its citizens, and not the free education, free health care, or involuntary wealth redistribution.
Every tyrant, every terrorist, every miscreant, every bastard son of a whoremonger on the international political scene, be he big or small, is waiting with baited breath for Obama to win; then they can move in their final plans for the destruction of the Big (and in the bargain the Small) Satan. And the only people who stand between that tragedy and the United States are an old Vietnam Vet, a young moose hunting mother of five from a little town in Alaska, and every American citizen still in possession of his or her thinking faculties. My friends, this is really no time to impersonate Childe Harold. Get your butts to the voting booths! It does not matter if you live in a swing state or not; every vote counts! You actually have no idea, but you plus five of your world-weary twenty something friends could actually swing the votes! This country is the last remaining bastion of freedom; let it continue to be that way! Not only tyrants, but all the political dissidents, all the freedom fighters around the world look to this country with hope, as yours truly once longingly looked at the now destroyed Twin Towers in her mind, hoping one day to be free. May G-d bless America!
In college, during one of the education courses, we were exchanging ideas as to how to make kids remember that every fourth year is a leap year. For some unfathomable reason, I suggested the following solution: presidential elections happen every leap year. The professor liked my idea; plus she deadpanned something to the tune that that explains why we end up with what we end up. Since we are in the leap year again, ergo another presidential election, I felt like musing on the subject a bit (and to borrow the headline from my beloved mainstream TV).
Everyone who knows me can vouch for the fact that I am "passionate" about politics. Deep sigh. The truth is, I would rather discuss Harry Potter or Madeline Hunter till your ears wilt and your eyelids droop, than discuss politics. I am way more passionate about my reading material than I am about politics. Being interested in politics and familiar with the issues is a developed self-defense. As I mentioned many times before, for people who have a life, especially a family life, political concerns are not a priority at all. Unfortunately, such lax attitude allowed a small, but extremely loud and malevolent group the almost total destruction of our educational system, passage of draconian laws that are destroying our economy, demoralization of our troupes, and the eventual loss of the war that we actually could have won and that eventually resulted in another country succumbing to the Communist miasma with horrible genocide to follow. And that is just a tip of the iceberg; so, with all due respect, if you care about your children, you have to be concerned about politics, as boring, frustrating, or distasteful the subject may be; which brings me to my next argument.
One of my good friends recently confessed to me her severe disappointment with our political scene. Two party system is not working well at all, one candidate is worse than the other, everyone is corrupted to the extreme and long ago bought up by one lobby or the other, we did not have a decent president in about twenty years, people vote against someone rather than for someone, we are in a protracted war the reasons for which American public was not really informed. Couple of times, when I quoted from a political non-fiction book something that sort of made sense to me, her reply was that she does not really believe in it, since the person who wrote is was probably paid to write this anyway, and is just pursuing his or her agenda. Welcome to the murky, bottom feeding world of politics!
In my humble estimation, there are three basic ways of government: totalitarian, monarchy, and democracy. There are, of course, the variations on these themes, but the basics are limited to these options. I have spent seventeen years, six months, twenty one days, and a few hours (plus the usual gestation period before birth) under the totalitarian regime. All I can say in order to describe this paradise on earth is to use an old cliché about not wishing it on your worst enemy. A person living under a monarch could get lucky if the above mentioned monarch actually cares about his or her county and the people more than he or she cares about the fanfare and the prestige. None the less, the decent existence under a monarchy is basically a matter of chance (or rather Divine Providence). Only in a democracy does a person have a chance (albeit a relatively small one) to choose his or her governing body. This brings me to my next point.
Recently I got re-introduced to the famous quote by Lord Acton. Ironically, it happened while yours truly and a harassed lady from accounting were discussing the latest antiques of the big boss. I, being a nerd, quoted Acton. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." That, in a nutshell, describes the entire political arena under any kind of government, even a democratic one. They all pursue their agenda; the question is: which agenda makes your live easier? If you get a choice, you usually choose the lesser of two evils, because politicians tend to be pretty evil by default. In my estimation, the last time the majority of the Americans voted for someone as opposed to against someone was in 1984; which brings us to the claim of twenty years of bad Presidents.
In my opinion, what he had was this: eight years of a horrendous President, four years of the President who could have done better, and almost eight years of the President who should have known better. For some unexplainable reason, Clinton is remembered by some as wonderful President who "had feelings for the little guy" and brought prosperity to the nation, and by others simply as uncontrollable Don Juan, but over wise pretty harmless. Ha! His uncontrollable tomcatting was actually the least of his problems; we are still paying for all his other "wonderful" acts; unfortunately, the full extent of the damage that he had inflicted on the country is yet to be uncovered. Bush Senior should not have done one thing (raise taxes like he promised), and should have done two: finish Saddam Hussein when he had a chance, and manage his re-election campaign better.
As for Bush Junior... His blunders may be many, and he was definitely "soft" a lot of times when he should have been firm, but his main mistake was in forgetting two simple facts: do not feed a crocodile because he will definitely bite off the feeding hand and do not expose your jugular to the jackals; because, let's face it, The Treason Lobby, oops, the present day Democratic Party plus the main media, which long ago prostituted themselves to the noble causes of America-hating, socialism, communism, and multiculturalism, definitely resembles both animals. One of my favorite political commentators rightly pointed out that if you look at the current President objectively, you see a decent man who was never involved in any major scandal, be it personal or political; he was faced with a tremendous challenge after 9/11, and was able to keep the county safe from another attack for the past seven years; but the media succeeded in making him into a blundering, helpless, pitiful idiot. Again, I am not blind to his mistakes; but the biggest one was trying to bend backwards and forwards in order to "breach the gulf with the other side"; all it got him were too many times in the L-formation, for the better kick from the benevolent "other side".
This brings me to my next argument: my voting Republican. Another one of my good friends pointed out recently that you cannot really be affiliated blindly with one party; you have to objectively look at each candidate and make an informed decision. Logical sentiment, aside from one small detail: the last two decent people in the government who had a letter D behind their names were Charlie Wilson and David Moynihan. That's it; for the description of the modern Democratic Party please see above. Last, but not the least, I vote for the Republican, as opposed to independent candidate, again due to the acquired cynicism: I would like the lesser of the two evils to actually win.
OK, introduction is over; now, let's concentrate on "Decision 2008". Personal confession: McCain was not my first, second, or even third choice. Like a true New Yorker, I was rooting for Giuliani; my other choices included Huckabee or Romney; but, once McCain won the official party nomination, he was my candidate of choice, because, as Burt Prelutsky pointed out, he personally will vote for any candidate with an R after his or her name, because, no matter their faults, we are guaranteed that they are still humans and not alien pods impersonating humans (meaning the coven with the letter D attached to them). So, somewhere in the middle of the year, we knew that the choice is between McCain, Clinton, and Obama; and the idiocy manifested itself once again. The big debate: is it more important for America to have a first woman President or a first black President? The fact that all we need to do, as always needed to do, is to choose a candidate better qualified for the job, somehow escaped the idiots on the left; never mind the fact that this woman is a woman strictly in the biological sense, and the black guy is only half black. Morons on the right, on the other hand, decided to assume, or rather, continue assuming, the position of outraged innocence, which they first assumed in 2006, surrendering the country to Nancy Pelosi in the bargain.
Their (the righties') reasoning went along two lines. Line one: Republican Party is getting thoroughly corrupt, the conservative principles are abandoned, so, we will not vote at all, thereby teaching Republicans that we are fed up with the lesser of two evils, and that they have to get their act together and return to conservative base. Wonderful, brilliant reasoning! Aside from the slight caveats: re-read the Acton's quote again, ergo politicians are and will remain politicians; and, if you do not vote, your opinion will not matter anymore, and the worse of two evils will prevail. Obviously, lesson not learned, since, immediately after McCain's victory in the primaries, the second line of reasoning emerged: this election is lost for the conservative base; let us begin to concentrate on 2012, where we most probably will emerge victorious, since Democratic candidate will probably win, country will reach a low point at the end of these four years, and the true conservative will emerge as the next strong President, rectifying whatever blunders were committed in the past four years. As Burt Prelutsky wonderfully summarized this, it is like wishing a lung cancer on the loved one, so he will quit smoking.
Allow me to just add this: as brilliant as Reagan was, he was unable to fix all the "blunders" of the four years of the Carter presidency, the biggest of which is about to threaten us with nukes; Busch Junior, while lacking Reagan's brilliance, has to deal with eight years of Clinton's "blunders", the full extent of which is, unfortunately, yet to come. Plus, as a county, we have already reached the low point, the tragedy of which is worse than all the oil crisis, stock market crashes, and financial meltdowns combined. We have reached it on a sunny, beautiful Tuesday morning seven years ago, when we were attacked on our own soil, by the enemy living amongst us, and using our own passenger airliners. The enemy murdered almost three thousand people, attacked and destroyed our second tallest building; attacked and partially destroyed our army headquarters!; and only brave actions of a handful of patriotic Americans prevented the enemy from reaching their final target, which was either the White House or the Capitol. And we could do nothing. NOTHING!!!!! Merciful Heavenly Father, please protect our country from reaching this or any other low point like this ever again!
And speaking of brilliance, another side note, which concerns my people. For those unfamiliar with our calendar, the Iraq war started in our month of Adar, around Purim. This is the time when we celebrate our miraculous escape from total annihilation and remember our constant battle with Amalek. The fact that the late, unlamented Saddam was a direct descendant of Amalek was never disputed in our learned circles. And, my receding memory lapses notwithstanding, I remember that Adar very clearly. Everyone felt energized: Amalek is being attacked in Adar, which must be a wonderful sigh; promises by hard-core Democratic voters to vote for Busch in gratitude for finally toppling Saddam; and, most importantly, significant shortage of suicide bombers in Israel, since that same Saddam was not available anymore to reward the grieving families with the requisite twenty five thousand ducats, sorry, dollars. Lo and behold, now we have to impeach Busch for starting this war; Saddam was a great guy who kept Iraq in check, ergo provided stability in the region; and my Dad was condescendingly informed that he would not support the war if his son was in the army; to which my Dad, G-d bless him, heatedly replied that he would have enlisted himself, if he was not so old. Go figure!
And speaking of war in Iraq in general terms: again, in my humble opinion, seconded by the opinions of more informed people, not only were we justified in starting this war, we would have already done with it, if not for the stupid idiocy of political correctness. If the army was allowed to do their job the way they see fit, the war would have been over some time ago, and would have cost us less casualties. Pacifists extend considerable efforts in order for this war to turn into second Vietnam; G-d willing, they would fail.
Back to our regular broadcast. Brilliant political scientist Susan Sarandon proclaimed that she is for Obama, and let us see what his position will be. Some time ago Zadornov made a joke to the tune that some politicians take his monologues as a plan of action. Apparently, big wigs at the Democratic Party have adopted the same approach: they would take their official line from their own court jesters: morons and America-haters from Hollywood. So, the official party/media line solidified: we would rather have a first black, rather than first woman. One logical argument was, of course, that Obama was the un-known factor, as opposed to Clinton, whose numerous shenanigans were well known; and the fun began. Hillary Rodham Clinton, so recently darling of the media and the race's favorite horse, so to speak, was submarined by her own party (including, of course, the party's call girls: the media). By the way, as a side note, a little memo to Hilary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of their coven: ladies, I agree with you to the tune that it is still a men's world; moreover, most men are just insensitive, oblivious jerks. Having said that, let us not exaggerate our accomplishments, because USA is the one country in the world where it is really great to be a woman, the above mentioned clueless guys notwithstanding. If you really want to talk about a woman succeeding in a men's world against all odds, please read something rudimentary about queen Elizabeth (not the current one). Here was one girl who succeeded in the men's world big time (using their arrogance and stupidity in the process); and, she, by the way, really loved her country and her people. She looked at her position as sacred responsibility handed to her by Heavens, and, believe it or not, made tremendous amount of personal sacrifices, in the process turning a crumbling country into a superpower. You, girls, on the other hand, look at politics exclusively in the terms of personal gratification and power hunger, and in the process are trying to turn a superpower into a crumbling country, G-d forbid. So, please do not harp to me about the presence of estrogen and progesterone as necessary ingredients for the candidates I am supposed to vote for.
Anyway, young, charismatic, appealing (although I personally think he is pretty ugly) Barak Hussein Obama emerged as the party's official nominee. In the process of this emergence, some very interesting tidbits of information began to creep up. For me, of course, he was not a choice to begin with, due to the reasons listed above. Plus, even if I took him personally, one thing disturbed me from the beginning: his refusal to wear American flag pin and to acknowledge the pledge of allegiance. Yes, I am not a complete nincompoop, and I recognize the political symbolism, but, none the less, there are certain things you just do not do when you are a US Senator. And then, the big fanfare: dear, wonderful, benevolent pastor Wright. Ironically, here is a personal parallel: my family belonged to the same congregation almost our entire life here, in US, which would just about make it twenty years. For most of these years, to my everlasting shame, I have managed to sleep through our Rabbi's speeches. The speeches are always very informative; I just have a tremendous accumulated sleep dept, which manifests itself at strange times. Despite my untimely naps, I was always aware of our Rabbi's political and religious views. So, Barak, dear friend, please do not tell me that after attending this blasted church for twenty years, being married by this guy, and having him baptize your two daughters, you were unaware of the fact that your pastor was a racist, anti-Semitic, anti-American loony. But that was not, in my eyes, Obama's biggest crime; it's what he decided to do in response to this story breaking out which still makes me want to vomit. This wonderful lover of the poor and downtrodden, this healer of the racial divide decided, oh so subtly, to trash his own grandmother on the national TV! And I am supposed to trust this guy to protect our country, when he cannot even be loyal to the person who raised him?
Then, of course, the more the merrier. His casual reference to the fact that we eat too much meat and keep our houses at 72 degrees, and the rest of the world not being OK with it. Of course, due to the efforts of the green brown shirts, we cannot afford to eat as much meat as we used to, and if they continue in the same vein, comfortable house temperatures will also disappear. But, still, why should we be answerable to the world about what we eat? His cynical reference to the small town people clinging to their racism, guns and religion. His lady fair, Michelle, claiming that this is the first time she is proud of this country: apparently, while she was attending the Ivy League schools on the affirmative action’s quota while screeching about inherent racism of this country, she did feel any kind of pride, or gratitude for that matter. Obama's connections with absolutely unrepentant former Weather Underground terrorists, who started him on his political career; his endorsement by HAMAS leaders; his connections to the convicted Chicago mobster: all this is being blatantly ignored by the crowds of adoring idiots. The list, of course, is much longer. As Sean Hannity recently pointed out, FBI would not be able to hire him after performing a background check.
Two things stuck in my memory about the Democratic convention: Barakopolis and thousands of American flags that were trashed as soon as the cameras were not pointed at them. Very telling. Then came the Republican convention, and the circus started again. First there were the reports of the local police officers raiding the homes of possible protesters and confiscating some very interesting stuff, body waste being the most notable. Forgive me, but how sick do you have to be in order to collect body waste in preparation for a protest? Needless to say, there were no similar reports before the Democratic convention. Then, as you remember, the first day of the convention corresponded with the hurricane. McCain showed humanity and pointed out that there is no place for fanfare when our citizens' lives are threatened. Media took this as Republican attempt to acquit themselves after Katrina. Acquit themselves for what? The act of G-d? The chocolate politicians squandering the money for about ten years instead of repairing the levees? The people ignoring the hurricane warnings and insisting on staying put? For chocolate people looting everywhere, attacking and raping their own chocolate sisters? But, of course, all these things were Republicans' fault, and Katrina was specifically designed against black people. On with the convention. Count me naive, but I love listening to speeches which end with "G-d bless all of you and G-d bless America"; and I know that thousands of American flags were not relegated to the trash heap after the convention. Did I agree with everything McCain said in his speech? Heck, no; but I was touched when he urged people to fight with him for our country.
Speaking of McCain: there were lots of snide remarks made to the tune of him being shot down in Vietnam as his only claim to fame. How many people knew before the convention that he had an opportunity to be set free as a son and grandson of important Navy people and refused it because he did not want to give enemy a chance to make a political spectacle out of him and be released before the people who were captives longer than him? For spoiled American brats, especially of the younger generation, it is all the same: we torture war prisoners, somebody else tortured ours. Yea, right! That, of course, is another long discussion. But try to just imagine, ungrateful brats, almost five more years of inhumane conditions and torture! That act of honour and courage alone shows McCain as a basically decent human being as opposed to his counterpart, who constantly feels it his duty to apologize for America to the rest of the world. Another convention revelation: how many people knew about Bridgett? I dare Michelle Obama to adopt a child of another race who needed lengthy and expensive medical treatment; but somehow I do not see her rushing to this dare, if Barak's own half-brother lives in poverty in Kenya on less than fifteen bucks a year. No, all that Michelle is capable of is donning a dress costing less than two hundred dollars, going on "The View", and there exposing herself again as a racist snob and nouveau riche harpy.
Now, let us briefly touch on the candidates for VP. Just one little fact about Biden: forget about his voting record, especially when it came to the matters pertaining to Israel, or his feet constantly sticking from his mouth, for which media long ago gave him a blank pass. Recently, old Russian dissidents published something very disturbing about Biden, but, since Russian dissidents are no longer in vogue, I doubt a lot of people paid attention to it. Apparently, back in 1979, our dear senator traveled to when USSR as a part of American delegation to discuss certain matters with Brezhnev. Secret memo by an important USSR politician surfaced, claiming Biden's unofficial announcement that USA is willing to ignore the matter of Russian dissidents as long as agreements are reached; that USA does not wish to spoil their relationship over this matter. Nice! And I am supposed to voluntarily put this guy in a position to potentially head this country?
As for Sara Palin, all I can say, aside from the fact that I loved her speech, is that the tremendous hypocrisy of the lefties is more glaring in her case than ever before. Savage media attacks, unbelievable sexism, idiotic nitpicking and investigations into minute and non-existing matters. What really made me laugh was the fact that she supposedly banned Harry Potter books from the public library in 1996. Could you people just check your facts before you lie so blatantly: "Philosopher's stone" was published in 1997! But, of course, Lenin's, Stalin's and Goebbels' mantra works very well: the more shameless the lie, the better is works, as long as you have Chutzpah to lie, well, shamelessly. Another thing that made me chuckle was this whole Jesus-community organizer-Pilate-governor thing. What I really adore in this is when this party of separation of church and state all of a sudden starts using religious similes. Of course, due to their ignorance of the religious matters, they usually come out that much more ridiculous. As for the lipstick thing, her promise was heard loud and clear: I will protect your children as fiercely as I protect mine; Obama, on the other hand, came out really looking like a pig.
Pat Buchanan recently called the media "camp followers". I rarely agree with this esteemed individual, but this time he had really nailed it. Obama was crowned as messiah and demy-god that could do no wrong; any and all criticism of this new deity is automatically shouted down as racism. All his shady connections to past and present terrorists, America and Israel haters, shady dealings and convicted felons are ignored. I mean, the guy stinks more than the yearly accumulation of cow manure after a strong rain, yet to millions and millions of screaming, half fainting morons he smells sweater than roses. "Change we can believe in"; oh, I can definitely believe in it; I just do not want it.
I do not believe in outlawing abortions for the simple reason that anything outlawed automatically creates organized crime around it. But to kill Born Again Act? It would take more than a monster to do that. Try reading some of Jill Stanek's articles; just be warned, they are not for the faint of heart; and then please explain to me how he could have listened to her testimony, killed that law, and then blithely told that those things are above his pay grade; only a heartless monster could do it.
"Spread the wealth"; why should the government rob us of our honestly earned money in order to expand the welfare state? And Barak, at least one time, put your money where your mouth is: how about helping your own bro before "volunteering" the rest of us for the charity of your choosing especially if it is not even in this country? And I still do not know if your charming lady wife finally decided to be proud of this country.
McCain, on the other hand, is a rich white guy, totally disconnected from the people. Of course he is; that was why he, albeit misguidedly, wanted to postpone the first presidential debate in order to return to the Senate and try to deal with the financial crisis. He does not know how many houses he had; sure, that is so horrible. Let me spell it out for you: do you know to the penny how much you have in all of your investment accounts? I personally never know exactly how much I have in my savings account at any given moment, or, for that matter, exactly how many books or Barbie dolls I possess, and, though by the grace of G-d I am not poor, rich I am definitely not. Yes, he is a rich guy; but what he said precisely was that he was not sure; he needed to check up on it. This is his wife's property, not his; gentlemen, do each one of you knew exactly, to the cent, what your wives possessed when you married them? Case closed.
Two more personal notes. One, there is one uneducated housewife who prays daily for the win of the McCain/Palin and the defeat of Obama/Biden. That woman is my mother; and I used that unflattering epithet in stupid sociological terms only, because everyone with a modicum of understanding knows what tremendous talents you need in order to raise four kids. Second: our Rabbi always makes two speeches on Yom Kippur, one in the beginning and one towards the end. This time, amongst other things, he made one simple suggestion: this was always a free country; let us pray that is continues to be so. Needless to say, my prayers go along the same lines.
One of my very dear friends, whom I like and admire very much, for some reason, decided that he supports Obama. Recently he made a joking remark that, while talking to his friends in Moscow, he told them to wait till November 4th; then, either they should come to him here (if Obama wins, G-d forbid from my side), or, if Obama loses, my friend is going to Russia to seek political asylum. Ha! Nothing could be further from the truth! This is the only country in the world where you could truly seek political asylum. And if, G-d forbid, Obama wins, there would be no place to seek political asylum anymore: just look at Jessica Hughes. That woman, a former Marine and a mother of three, had Secret Service show at her door, after she rebuffed an Obama staffer on the phone, telling her that she, Hughes, would not vote for Obama due to his support of the horrific baby-killing laws. Clintons were such babes in just sending IRS after their enemies! That one sends Secret Service right away, simply on the word of one of his volunteers. Paradise on earth!
I am not even going to delve in the current financial upheaval. Clinton's and Congressional Democrats' handiwork somehow, of course, thanks again to the camp followers, ended up being the fault of the Republicans in general and Busch's Administration in particular. The cure for most of our financial woes, as always in my opinion, is pretty simple: enough taxes and government interference. Free market should be free of those first and foremost; then we will bounce back in absolutely no time. But, with all due respect to ordinary people experiencing financial difficulties, please remember one thing: as much or as little as you have in terms of wealth, you cannot really enjoy it if you are not free, or, G-d forbid, dead. As Burt Prelutsky very nicely put it, if Al Qaida levels Empire State Building or Iran drops a nuke, nobody would remember who the heck Paulson or Bernake are or were. That, by the way, is the first and the most important function of the government: the protection of its citizens, and not the free education, free health care, or involuntary wealth redistribution.
Every tyrant, every terrorist, every miscreant, every bastard son of a whoremonger on the international political scene, be he big or small, is waiting with baited breath for Obama to win; then they can move in their final plans for the destruction of the Big (and in the bargain the Small) Satan. And the only people who stand between that tragedy and the United States are an old Vietnam Vet, a young moose hunting mother of five from a little town in Alaska, and every American citizen still in possession of his or her thinking faculties. My friends, this is really no time to impersonate Childe Harold. Get your butts to the voting booths! It does not matter if you live in a swing state or not; every vote counts! You actually have no idea, but you plus five of your world-weary twenty something friends could actually swing the votes! This country is the last remaining bastion of freedom; let it continue to be that way! Not only tyrants, but all the political dissidents, all the freedom fighters around the world look to this country with hope, as yours truly once longingly looked at the now destroyed Twin Towers in her mind, hoping one day to be free. May G-d bless America!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
20 YEARS
Yesterday, September 22, 2008, was the 20th Anniversary of our family's landing on Ellis Island, I mean JFK.
A lot happened in twenty years, both wonderful and heartbreaking. But one thing remained: our quest for personal freedom and profound appreciation of it. People have different understating of what constitutes as live's necessities for them. In this vein, a very old lesson from the book of Deuteronomy comes to mind. This lesson took place about nineteen years ago, and the teacher who taught it that day had since when passed away; but the message remained. How do we determine what is necessity and what is luxury? Things that we do not appreciate while we have them, but can not live without are necessities; things that we can live without, but get very excited once we have them are luxuries; as simple as that. For our family, life in Communist Russia was miserable and suffocating (and the miserable economic conditions were the least of it). Living in America and being free is just that: living; not just existing and fighting for survival. Freedom is just there: unnoticed as much as the air we breathe, till it is taken away, and we start to suffocate.
That is the reason for my deep love for this country: my ability to breathe and be free. This country offered me shelter; most probably, it basically saved my life: outspoken non-conformists of Jewish descent who are proud of that connection do not really thrive in Russia under any regime. That is why I add a request for the safety of USA to my morning prayers; and that is why I extend whatever puny efforts I could to protect this safety.
So, here it to us, seven Jews who landed on these shores twenty years ago, the day after Yom Kippur, to begin a new life. Grandma, may she rest in piece, a crusty lady who always hated Communists and loved this country, tried to learn English and enjoyed life; Dad, who always tried to shelter us from the vicious attacks of anti-Semites and was always proud of his outspoken anti-Communist first-born (your humble servant); Mom, who lost her health after giving birth to four children under the extremely humane conditions of Russian Communist medicine and protecting them from anti-Semites both young and old; my three wonderfully unique siblings; and also, to my sister's two munchkins, may G-d bless their fluffy Jewish heads, the first and second members of our family to be born on American soil. Happy Anniversary!
A lot happened in twenty years, both wonderful and heartbreaking. But one thing remained: our quest for personal freedom and profound appreciation of it. People have different understating of what constitutes as live's necessities for them. In this vein, a very old lesson from the book of Deuteronomy comes to mind. This lesson took place about nineteen years ago, and the teacher who taught it that day had since when passed away; but the message remained. How do we determine what is necessity and what is luxury? Things that we do not appreciate while we have them, but can not live without are necessities; things that we can live without, but get very excited once we have them are luxuries; as simple as that. For our family, life in Communist Russia was miserable and suffocating (and the miserable economic conditions were the least of it). Living in America and being free is just that: living; not just existing and fighting for survival. Freedom is just there: unnoticed as much as the air we breathe, till it is taken away, and we start to suffocate.
That is the reason for my deep love for this country: my ability to breathe and be free. This country offered me shelter; most probably, it basically saved my life: outspoken non-conformists of Jewish descent who are proud of that connection do not really thrive in Russia under any regime. That is why I add a request for the safety of USA to my morning prayers; and that is why I extend whatever puny efforts I could to protect this safety.
So, here it to us, seven Jews who landed on these shores twenty years ago, the day after Yom Kippur, to begin a new life. Grandma, may she rest in piece, a crusty lady who always hated Communists and loved this country, tried to learn English and enjoyed life; Dad, who always tried to shelter us from the vicious attacks of anti-Semites and was always proud of his outspoken anti-Communist first-born (your humble servant); Mom, who lost her health after giving birth to four children under the extremely humane conditions of Russian Communist medicine and protecting them from anti-Semites both young and old; my three wonderfully unique siblings; and also, to my sister's two munchkins, may G-d bless their fluffy Jewish heads, the first and second members of our family to be born on American soil. Happy Anniversary!
Monday, September 22, 2008
MY ECONOMIC PLAN
For the past few months the general media, in the usual traditions of the election year during the Republican administration, has been continuously harping about the dreadful state of our economy. The reasons, of course, are crystal clear: despite the many attempts of the current administration to bend over backwards and forwards in order to satisfy the opposition as regarding the domestic matters, they still came out as dreadful proponents of the rich exclusively and the ban of the poor and the poor working middle class. I am going to save my arguments about these matters for another time; suffice it to say that, yellow journalism aside, our economy is experiencing problems that need to be addressed. So, in a nutshell, here is my economic plan:
1. Our immediate severance of our membership in the UN, which includes immediate closing of the money tap. Let UN move anywhere they want: Tripoli, Adis Ababa, Moscow; as long as it is not on American territory, let them settle wherever they want. UN building and all the real estate currently belonging to the so-called diplomats attached to the UN becomes the property of New York city in lieu of millions in unpaid parking tickets by the said diplomats, plus the partial reimbursement for all the man hours of the NYPD. NYC, in turn, should sell all this real estate immediately to any private entity (since the city's bureaucracy can not and should not manage it).
2. Tell the entire red, oops green, environmental lobby to go to the warm basement and remain there. No more yaps and squeaks about excess of CO2, Kyoto and supposed man-made global warming, no more biofuel, no more government dictates about what we should drive, which light bulbs to use, how much water to flush our toilets with, no more nonsensical energy conservation tips, or not repairing levees because that would disturb the local fauna. All the green loonies are more than welcome to use their restrictions on themselves; I do not care if they haul their ugly reusable bags everywhere, or ride bicycles for two hours to work each day, or eat only raw wheat and vegetables that they grew themselves; but absolutely no lobbying the government, either federal, or state, or local, to impose their idiocy on the rest of the country! In the same vein, drill for oil and gas anywhere and everywhere on our territory whenever oil and gas could be found. Alternative energy should be developed by private entities without government's big brother breathing down their necks or supplying their research at taxpayer's expanse.
3. Immediate deportation of all the illegals. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next year; now! In the meantime, no access to any kind of public funds without valid proof of citizenship. Meanwhile, build the bloody fences along both borders, especially the southern one! By the way, Jackie Mason proposed a brilliant solution: put retired Jews along the border and let them watch it; just give them coffee and cheesecake.
4. Enough with affirmative actions and the attached virulent racism, be it education or workforce.
5. Reduce government spending by reducing government workers. In my humble estimation, one bureaucrat could really do the work of at least three; providing he or she actually works during the working hours.
6. No more foreign aid to ungrateful swine; let Brangelina and Co. support all the poor and downtrodden on their dime exclusively, without dipping into the US Treasury.
7. Lower taxes across the board, individual and corporate alike. Eventually, getting rid of the IRS would be the order of the day.
8. Last, but not least: enough with constant government interference in private enterprise. Sub prime mortgage mess, by the way, is a prime example (no pun intended). Let the free market be free!
1. Our immediate severance of our membership in the UN, which includes immediate closing of the money tap. Let UN move anywhere they want: Tripoli, Adis Ababa, Moscow; as long as it is not on American territory, let them settle wherever they want. UN building and all the real estate currently belonging to the so-called diplomats attached to the UN becomes the property of New York city in lieu of millions in unpaid parking tickets by the said diplomats, plus the partial reimbursement for all the man hours of the NYPD. NYC, in turn, should sell all this real estate immediately to any private entity (since the city's bureaucracy can not and should not manage it).
2. Tell the entire red, oops green, environmental lobby to go to the warm basement and remain there. No more yaps and squeaks about excess of CO2, Kyoto and supposed man-made global warming, no more biofuel, no more government dictates about what we should drive, which light bulbs to use, how much water to flush our toilets with, no more nonsensical energy conservation tips, or not repairing levees because that would disturb the local fauna. All the green loonies are more than welcome to use their restrictions on themselves; I do not care if they haul their ugly reusable bags everywhere, or ride bicycles for two hours to work each day, or eat only raw wheat and vegetables that they grew themselves; but absolutely no lobbying the government, either federal, or state, or local, to impose their idiocy on the rest of the country! In the same vein, drill for oil and gas anywhere and everywhere on our territory whenever oil and gas could be found. Alternative energy should be developed by private entities without government's big brother breathing down their necks or supplying their research at taxpayer's expanse.
3. Immediate deportation of all the illegals. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next year; now! In the meantime, no access to any kind of public funds without valid proof of citizenship. Meanwhile, build the bloody fences along both borders, especially the southern one! By the way, Jackie Mason proposed a brilliant solution: put retired Jews along the border and let them watch it; just give them coffee and cheesecake.
4. Enough with affirmative actions and the attached virulent racism, be it education or workforce.
5. Reduce government spending by reducing government workers. In my humble estimation, one bureaucrat could really do the work of at least three; providing he or she actually works during the working hours.
6. No more foreign aid to ungrateful swine; let Brangelina and Co. support all the poor and downtrodden on their dime exclusively, without dipping into the US Treasury.
7. Lower taxes across the board, individual and corporate alike. Eventually, getting rid of the IRS would be the order of the day.
8. Last, but not least: enough with constant government interference in private enterprise. Sub prime mortgage mess, by the way, is a prime example (no pun intended). Let the free market be free!
Friday, September 12, 2008
A COMMENT THAT TOUCHED ME
I usually enjoy reading comments from my readers. The rub is, I know who left the comment, since most of my readers, with rare exceptions, are my friends. As a matter of fact, exchanging blog comments is our way of socializing within our crazy busy hectic lives.
Lo and behold, on one of my posts dedicated to 9/11, I got a comment from Whitney in Twin Cities that touched me more I can possibly explain.
Dear Whitney! Thank you for your kind words! And you gave me a great idea: below is the link to the Flight 93 petition protesting their travesty of a design; I will start posting the petitions that I think are worthwhile. G-d bless you and your family! G-d bless America and American people!http://www.petitiononline.com/NOCRSCNT/petition.html
Thursday, September 11, 2008
9/11/2008
In memory of all the people killed seven years ago
At the World Trade Center
At the Pentagon
For all the passengers and crew members of
American Airlines Flight 11
United Airlines Flight 175
American Airlines Flight 77
United Airlines Flight 93
May the Almighty grant their families and friends some measure of peace. May He protect this great country against all enemies, both external and internal. May he watch over our brave soldiers, who are fighting for our safety against great odds, and despite pacifists propaganda. May we never forget. May we always turn our eyes to the Master of the Universe, in times of sorrow and in times of joy.
G-d bless America!
At the World Trade Center
At the Pentagon
For all the passengers and crew members of
American Airlines Flight 11
United Airlines Flight 175
American Airlines Flight 77
United Airlines Flight 93
May the Almighty grant their families and friends some measure of peace. May He protect this great country against all enemies, both external and internal. May he watch over our brave soldiers, who are fighting for our safety against great odds, and despite pacifists propaganda. May we never forget. May we always turn our eyes to the Master of the Universe, in times of sorrow and in times of joy.
G-d bless America!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
MEMORIES
The Seventh Anniversary is tomorrow. In my naivete, or maybe just unbeatable hope, I assumed that time had worked its healing magic, and I am at least free of tears and depressing thoughts. Last night I found out that I am wrong.
Unfortunately, time had worked its magic on the media and all the loudmouths in the country. The story just became an extra weapon in the attack on the people not responsible for it; just another murky political issue; just more fodder for the conspiracy theories. Tomorrow, there will be a whole bunch of speeches, which I have no desire to listen to, because most of them will just going to be a bunch of hot air; literally. Meanwhile, the people truly responsible and their followers just live amongst us, multiply with astonishing rates (mostly on our tax dollars), pretend to be abused, marginalized and persecuted, while funneling the money to their fighting brothers and sisters under the guise of charitable work. Their "peaceful" religion is shoved down our throats by the brotherhood of multiculturalism as something that we are supposed to not only accept, but respect and revere.
And the majority just prefers their favorite game: impersonating ostriches. After all, it's just easier on the psyche not to think about it, subconsciously hoping that nothing even remotely resembling this tragedy will ever happen any time soon. Few months ago I signed an on-line petition protesting the current design of the Shanksville Memorial, which is planned to be a crescent - Muslim symbol of faith! I forwarded that petition to all my friends, with the request to sign and pass it on to as many as they could. I can only hope that they actually did it, because I only got two responses: one, full of indignation about this disgusting matter, and another one sheepishly informing me that there were reasons not to sign. Great! Just great!
A couple of years ago I started to write sort of an article, trying to put all my memories and jumbled emotions on paper. I am yet to finish it, mostly because I do not want to feel the way I did that night when I started; but one day, with G-d's help, I will finish it. I also did not climb on the top of the Empire State Building in all these years; I can not look south. Maybe I will tomorrow.
Otherwise, tomorrow will be business as usual. People will rise, some of them will even shine, and all of them will start preparing for a normal work day. Some will even tune in to watch and listen to all the planned ceremonies; most will just go on with their usual Thursday activities. For us, it will be a 401-K meeting, with people from our main office flying in, and me ordering lunch. All of our office will assemble to listen to their proposed retirement, munching on that free lunch and asking dumb questions.
And for Michael Sweeney, a modest police officer from Massachusetts, it will be exactly seven years since he lost his wife Amy (according to the last information I have, he still requires therapy). At the time of her murder she was younger than I am now; she left behind two kids, who were at that time six and four. Amy helped to jump start the investigation by calling the flight operations center and relaying the information about the hijackers. And then she told about the plain's rapid descent, and her seeing water and buildings. Few seconds later that plain rammed into the North Tower of the WTC, killing, amongst many others, a young woman from Queens who just found out that morning that she was pregnant with her first child. For her husband, just as for Amy's, tomorrow will not be just another Thursday; just as it won't be for Todd Beamer's widow (even if she has re-married), nor for his children, the third of which was born few months after those brutal murders.
The following article was posted on September 13, 2001. Ann was attacked for the sentiments expressed there; somebody tried to clumsily defend her by saying that she was just reacting to the death of a friend and a former colleague. However, she stood by those sentiments all these years; and now, seven years after, her proposed basic plan of action is more important than ever.
"This Is WarWe should invade their countries.
Ms. Coulter is also a syndicated columnistSeptember 13, 2001 9:05 a.m.
Barbara Olson kept her cool. In the hysteria and terror of hijackers herding passengers to the rear of the plane, she retrieved her cell phone and called her husband, Ted, the solicitor general of the United States. She informed him that he had better call the FBI — the plane had been hijacked. According to reports, Barbara was still on the phone with Ted when her plane plunged in a fiery explosion directly into the Pentagon.
Barbara risked having her neck slit to warn the country of a terrorist attack. She was a patriot to the very end.
This is not to engage in the media's typical hallucinatory overstatement about anyone who is the victim of a horrible tragedy. The furtive cell phone call was an act of incredible daring and panache. If it were not, we'd be hearing reports of a hundred more cell phone calls. (Even people who swear to hate cell phones carry them for commercial air travel.)
The last time I saw Barbara in person was about three weeks ago. She generously praised one of my recent columns and told me I had really found my niche. Ted, she said, had taken to reading my columns aloud to her over breakfast.
I mention that to say three things about Barbara. First, she was really nice. A lot of people on TV seem nice, but aren't. (And some who don't seem nice, are.) But Barbara was always her charming, graceful, vebullient self. "Nice" is an amazingly rare quality among writers. In the opinion business, bitter, jealous hatred is the norm. Barbara had reason to be secure.
Second, it was actually easy to imagine Ted reading political columns aloud to Barbara at the breakfast table. Theirs was a relationship that could only be cheaply imitated by Bill and Hillary — the latter being a subject of Barbara's appropriately biting bestseller, Hell to Pay. Hillary claimed preposterously in the Talk magazine interview that she discussed policy with Bill while cutting his grapefruit in the morning. Ted and Barbara really did talk politics — and really did have breakfast together.
It's "Ted and Barbara" just like it's Fred and Ginger, and George and Gracie. They were so perfect together, so obvious, that their friends were as happy they were on their wedding day. This is more than the death of a great person and patriotic American. It's a human amputation.
Third, since Barbara's compliment, I've been writing my columns for Ted and Barbara. I'm always writing to someone in my head. Now I don't know who to write to. Ted-and-Barbara were a good muse.
Apart from hearing that this beautiful light has been extinguished from the world, only one other news flash broke beyond the numbingly omnipresent horror of the entire day. That evening, CNN reported that bombs were dropping in Afghanistan — and then updated the report to say they weren't our bombs.
They should have been ours. I want them to be ours.
This is no time to be precious about locating the exact individuals directly involved in this particular terrorist attack. Those responsible include anyone anywhere in the world who smiled in response to the annihilation of patriots like Barbara Olson.
We don't need long investigations of the forensic evidence to determine with scientific accuracy the person or persons who ordered this specific attack. We don't need an "international coalition." We don't need a study on "terrorism." We certainly didn't need a congressional resolution condemning the attack this week.
The nation has been invaded by a fanatical, murderous cult. And we welcome them. We are so good and so pure we would never engage in discriminatory racial or "religious" profiling.
People who want our country destroyed live here, work for our airlines, and are submitted to the exact same airport shakedown as a lumberman from Idaho. This would be like having the Wehrmacht immigrate to America and work for our airlines during World War II. Except the Wehrmacht was not so bloodthirsty.
"All of our lives" don't need to change, as they keep prattling on TV. Every single time there is a terrorist attack — or a plane crashes because of pilot error — Americans allow their rights to be contracted for no purpose whatsoever.
The airport kabuki theater of magnetometers, asinine questions about whether passengers "packed their own bags," and the hostile, lumpen mesomorphs ripping open our luggage somehow allowed over a dozen armed hijackers to board four American planes almost simultaneously on Bloody Tuesday. (Did those fabulous security procedures stop a single hijacker anyplace in America that day?)
Airports scrupulously apply the same laughably ineffective airport harassment to Suzy Chapstick as to Muslim hijackers. It is preposterous to assume every passenger is a potential crazed homicidal maniac. We know who the homicidal maniacs are. They are the ones cheering and dancing right now.
We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.
© 2001 Universal Press Syndicate"
Unfortunately, time had worked its magic on the media and all the loudmouths in the country. The story just became an extra weapon in the attack on the people not responsible for it; just another murky political issue; just more fodder for the conspiracy theories. Tomorrow, there will be a whole bunch of speeches, which I have no desire to listen to, because most of them will just going to be a bunch of hot air; literally. Meanwhile, the people truly responsible and their followers just live amongst us, multiply with astonishing rates (mostly on our tax dollars), pretend to be abused, marginalized and persecuted, while funneling the money to their fighting brothers and sisters under the guise of charitable work. Their "peaceful" religion is shoved down our throats by the brotherhood of multiculturalism as something that we are supposed to not only accept, but respect and revere.
And the majority just prefers their favorite game: impersonating ostriches. After all, it's just easier on the psyche not to think about it, subconsciously hoping that nothing even remotely resembling this tragedy will ever happen any time soon. Few months ago I signed an on-line petition protesting the current design of the Shanksville Memorial, which is planned to be a crescent - Muslim symbol of faith! I forwarded that petition to all my friends, with the request to sign and pass it on to as many as they could. I can only hope that they actually did it, because I only got two responses: one, full of indignation about this disgusting matter, and another one sheepishly informing me that there were reasons not to sign. Great! Just great!
A couple of years ago I started to write sort of an article, trying to put all my memories and jumbled emotions on paper. I am yet to finish it, mostly because I do not want to feel the way I did that night when I started; but one day, with G-d's help, I will finish it. I also did not climb on the top of the Empire State Building in all these years; I can not look south. Maybe I will tomorrow.
Otherwise, tomorrow will be business as usual. People will rise, some of them will even shine, and all of them will start preparing for a normal work day. Some will even tune in to watch and listen to all the planned ceremonies; most will just go on with their usual Thursday activities. For us, it will be a 401-K meeting, with people from our main office flying in, and me ordering lunch. All of our office will assemble to listen to their proposed retirement, munching on that free lunch and asking dumb questions.
And for Michael Sweeney, a modest police officer from Massachusetts, it will be exactly seven years since he lost his wife Amy (according to the last information I have, he still requires therapy). At the time of her murder she was younger than I am now; she left behind two kids, who were at that time six and four. Amy helped to jump start the investigation by calling the flight operations center and relaying the information about the hijackers. And then she told about the plain's rapid descent, and her seeing water and buildings. Few seconds later that plain rammed into the North Tower of the WTC, killing, amongst many others, a young woman from Queens who just found out that morning that she was pregnant with her first child. For her husband, just as for Amy's, tomorrow will not be just another Thursday; just as it won't be for Todd Beamer's widow (even if she has re-married), nor for his children, the third of which was born few months after those brutal murders.
The following article was posted on September 13, 2001. Ann was attacked for the sentiments expressed there; somebody tried to clumsily defend her by saying that she was just reacting to the death of a friend and a former colleague. However, she stood by those sentiments all these years; and now, seven years after, her proposed basic plan of action is more important than ever.
"This Is WarWe should invade their countries.
Ms. Coulter is also a syndicated columnistSeptember 13, 2001 9:05 a.m.
Barbara Olson kept her cool. In the hysteria and terror of hijackers herding passengers to the rear of the plane, she retrieved her cell phone and called her husband, Ted, the solicitor general of the United States. She informed him that he had better call the FBI — the plane had been hijacked. According to reports, Barbara was still on the phone with Ted when her plane plunged in a fiery explosion directly into the Pentagon.
Barbara risked having her neck slit to warn the country of a terrorist attack. She was a patriot to the very end.
This is not to engage in the media's typical hallucinatory overstatement about anyone who is the victim of a horrible tragedy. The furtive cell phone call was an act of incredible daring and panache. If it were not, we'd be hearing reports of a hundred more cell phone calls. (Even people who swear to hate cell phones carry them for commercial air travel.)
The last time I saw Barbara in person was about three weeks ago. She generously praised one of my recent columns and told me I had really found my niche. Ted, she said, had taken to reading my columns aloud to her over breakfast.
I mention that to say three things about Barbara. First, she was really nice. A lot of people on TV seem nice, but aren't. (And some who don't seem nice, are.) But Barbara was always her charming, graceful, vebullient self. "Nice" is an amazingly rare quality among writers. In the opinion business, bitter, jealous hatred is the norm. Barbara had reason to be secure.
Second, it was actually easy to imagine Ted reading political columns aloud to Barbara at the breakfast table. Theirs was a relationship that could only be cheaply imitated by Bill and Hillary — the latter being a subject of Barbara's appropriately biting bestseller, Hell to Pay. Hillary claimed preposterously in the Talk magazine interview that she discussed policy with Bill while cutting his grapefruit in the morning. Ted and Barbara really did talk politics — and really did have breakfast together.
It's "Ted and Barbara" just like it's Fred and Ginger, and George and Gracie. They were so perfect together, so obvious, that their friends were as happy they were on their wedding day. This is more than the death of a great person and patriotic American. It's a human amputation.
Third, since Barbara's compliment, I've been writing my columns for Ted and Barbara. I'm always writing to someone in my head. Now I don't know who to write to. Ted-and-Barbara were a good muse.
Apart from hearing that this beautiful light has been extinguished from the world, only one other news flash broke beyond the numbingly omnipresent horror of the entire day. That evening, CNN reported that bombs were dropping in Afghanistan — and then updated the report to say they weren't our bombs.
They should have been ours. I want them to be ours.
This is no time to be precious about locating the exact individuals directly involved in this particular terrorist attack. Those responsible include anyone anywhere in the world who smiled in response to the annihilation of patriots like Barbara Olson.
We don't need long investigations of the forensic evidence to determine with scientific accuracy the person or persons who ordered this specific attack. We don't need an "international coalition." We don't need a study on "terrorism." We certainly didn't need a congressional resolution condemning the attack this week.
The nation has been invaded by a fanatical, murderous cult. And we welcome them. We are so good and so pure we would never engage in discriminatory racial or "religious" profiling.
People who want our country destroyed live here, work for our airlines, and are submitted to the exact same airport shakedown as a lumberman from Idaho. This would be like having the Wehrmacht immigrate to America and work for our airlines during World War II. Except the Wehrmacht was not so bloodthirsty.
"All of our lives" don't need to change, as they keep prattling on TV. Every single time there is a terrorist attack — or a plane crashes because of pilot error — Americans allow their rights to be contracted for no purpose whatsoever.
The airport kabuki theater of magnetometers, asinine questions about whether passengers "packed their own bags," and the hostile, lumpen mesomorphs ripping open our luggage somehow allowed over a dozen armed hijackers to board four American planes almost simultaneously on Bloody Tuesday. (Did those fabulous security procedures stop a single hijacker anyplace in America that day?)
Airports scrupulously apply the same laughably ineffective airport harassment to Suzy Chapstick as to Muslim hijackers. It is preposterous to assume every passenger is a potential crazed homicidal maniac. We know who the homicidal maniacs are. They are the ones cheering and dancing right now.
We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.
© 2001 Universal Press Syndicate"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)