Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Sunday, March 03, 2013
MORNING UPDATE - MARCH 3
Good Morning, peeps! Happy Sunday! The weather is a bit bla-y again, but not bad. Baby Bro resumed the grooming of George - the cat did not look so spiffy in a while! Sniffles decided to cuddle in the morning (did not even step on my hair), but after a bit of breathing in my ear tried to scratch me, and then proceeded to eat my blanket - yea, that cat is a riot! March is White History Month and also Stop Blaming Whites Month - wow! Trying to plow through all the whitie's achievements is going to be a daunting task! And, yes, they achieved all that during almost constant warfare - unlike African tribes, who only achieved cannibalism and slavery through theirs. Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe are both in the news due to their new projected roles: Radcliffe is going to play Igor in a new reboot of Frankenstein, and Watson is going to play Cinderella in another reboot of the fairy tale. My take: I don't care what they do, but as long as they keep their clothes on (for the sake of the youngsters who still watch those idiotic movies), and don't get into politics, they can play whatever or whoever they want. And - Mazal Tov - the wedding bells are definitely in the air for Jennifer Aniston! The upcoming wedding details "are slowly emerging" - well, whatever they will do, hopefully, she wan't get such raw deal in her second marriage as she did in her first. And it looks like USA has a new member of the diplomatic core - Dennis Rodman! It looks like he just returned from North Korea and brought a message to Hussein from Kim Jong Un! Kim wants Barry to call him! Gosh, could we please just send Rodman, Obamas, and all the defenders of communism and socialism straight to Kim - without any phone calls?!! I am sure he (Kim) can find all of them some useful occupation. Warning! There are untold dangers in microwavable popcorn - less, I am sure, than listening to any and all advice coming from all those studies, but what do I know. And guess what's trending right now at #10? Our dear Mayor Bloomberg was booed during St. Patti's parade at the Rockaways - and the dude looks mighty surprised, at that! And Rihanna explained her "controversial" gun tattoo in her recent interview to the British Elle - she got is shortly after her dear boyfriend beat her up, but in the end she does not feel like a victim! She feels strong and empowered! Yea, nothing says strong and empowered like going back to the dude who beat you up and made you get a "controversial" tat. Another preggo celeb is in the news - this time it's Kristen Bell. All she did to get in the news was to flash her pretty big baby bump - sheesh, the populace is so easily excitable! All the other famous preggers are mum for now. Ditto Bieber - I think he is getting over the hangover from his Birthday party. Coffee this morning in my Aruba mug.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
TRACES OF IRONY
Since I work for a private company, my employers were hit pretty hard recently (just like the rest of the private sector). So, as a result of some implemented economizing techniques (some sensible, some not), we are now subleasing part of our office to some kind of small outfit that looks like it is involved in real estate investment (more I do not know and do not really care). One interesting feature about these people is impressive noise level they seem to generate (mainly, of course, due to the owner and his peculiar way of communicating).
Anyway, that, as Sir Percy would say, was just the title. At a certain point a new guy joined their ranks and increased the noise level by about 300%. Aside from the volume, the contents of this gentleman’s s speeches (and the multiply repetitions) were, forgive the cliché, the good equivalent of nails on blackboard. One day I was chatting with a co-worker about this interesting development. He told me that it was the amount of sheer bull s--- in the dude’s soliloquies that annoyed him the most. “Who buys this BS?” – He wondered. At this point I had to keep myself very hard from displaying my own incredulity. You bought the idea of Barak Hussein Obama as American President, sir! That was probably the biggest load of BS unloaded on American populace in the entire history of this country; and yet you are wondering as to who would buy the bovine fecal matter produced by that poor schmuck?
I belong to I pretty large circle of friends and close acquaintances who are all presently observant Jews and all had their childhoods enriched by the tender love or Russian communists. By my calculations, I am the oldest member who also spent the longest time in the loving embrace of those benevolent individuals. But this too is just the title.
Recently, some members of our circle seem to have felt the echo of the old regime right here, in the United States. Interestingly enough, they did not feel it coming from the left of the political aisle, which is famous for crashing any and all dissent, be it political or scientific. Who is furthermore famous for depraving everyone else of the freedom of speech while screeching about protecting it; who lately displayed disgusting misogyny in viciously attacking prominent conservative women, and, the irony of ironies, that movement is comprised of basically atheists and agnostics who preach that religion is “opium for the masses” and a root of all evil. Nope, the feeling of step-mama regime did not come from there; it came from “rigid political right” with Governor Brewer putting a nice (please forgive another cliché) acing on the cake of bitter memories. To quote one of my favorite movies: “Funny? Very not funny!”
Anyway, that, as Sir Percy would say, was just the title. At a certain point a new guy joined their ranks and increased the noise level by about 300%. Aside from the volume, the contents of this gentleman’s s speeches (and the multiply repetitions) were, forgive the cliché, the good equivalent of nails on blackboard. One day I was chatting with a co-worker about this interesting development. He told me that it was the amount of sheer bull s--- in the dude’s soliloquies that annoyed him the most. “Who buys this BS?” – He wondered. At this point I had to keep myself very hard from displaying my own incredulity. You bought the idea of Barak Hussein Obama as American President, sir! That was probably the biggest load of BS unloaded on American populace in the entire history of this country; and yet you are wondering as to who would buy the bovine fecal matter produced by that poor schmuck?
I belong to I pretty large circle of friends and close acquaintances who are all presently observant Jews and all had their childhoods enriched by the tender love or Russian communists. By my calculations, I am the oldest member who also spent the longest time in the loving embrace of those benevolent individuals. But this too is just the title.
Recently, some members of our circle seem to have felt the echo of the old regime right here, in the United States. Interestingly enough, they did not feel it coming from the left of the political aisle, which is famous for crashing any and all dissent, be it political or scientific. Who is furthermore famous for depraving everyone else of the freedom of speech while screeching about protecting it; who lately displayed disgusting misogyny in viciously attacking prominent conservative women, and, the irony of ironies, that movement is comprised of basically atheists and agnostics who preach that religion is “opium for the masses” and a root of all evil. Nope, the feeling of step-mama regime did not come from there; it came from “rigid political right” with Governor Brewer putting a nice (please forgive another cliché) acing on the cake of bitter memories. To quote one of my favorite movies: “Funny? Very not funny!”
Monday, February 09, 2009
ONE FINE EVENING
One fine (at least I think it was fine) evening yours truly was making her slow way from the place of employment to the place of residence.
On the way home I stopped at the local supermarket. Checked the prices of food and cursed my favorite green people for driving those effing prices through the roof with bio fuel production and other nonsense. While shopping, also marveled at the latest abundant “multiculturalism” of my neighborhood, their universal and extremely unappealing non-Americanism, and cursed everyone responsible for the catastrophic influx of so called "undocumented workers". Finally came to my building; encountered more Russian cannibals (legal or illegal, I really do not care); cursed all responsible for allowing those cannibals to come here. Finished my chores. Went to my room and re-discovered the reason for my not only cursing, but actively fighting as well. Here, on my dresser, in plain view, was a latest picture of my niece that I was planning to frame. Later in the evening, accidently rediscovered another reason by glancing into a mirror that was never hung properly. I am not just fighting for the next generation, which was blessed enough to be born here; I am also fighting for myself and my generation!
G-d bless this country!
On the way home I stopped at the local supermarket. Checked the prices of food and cursed my favorite green people for driving those effing prices through the roof with bio fuel production and other nonsense. While shopping, also marveled at the latest abundant “multiculturalism” of my neighborhood, their universal and extremely unappealing non-Americanism, and cursed everyone responsible for the catastrophic influx of so called "undocumented workers". Finally came to my building; encountered more Russian cannibals (legal or illegal, I really do not care); cursed all responsible for allowing those cannibals to come here. Finished my chores. Went to my room and re-discovered the reason for my not only cursing, but actively fighting as well. Here, on my dresser, in plain view, was a latest picture of my niece that I was planning to frame. Later in the evening, accidently rediscovered another reason by glancing into a mirror that was never hung properly. I am not just fighting for the next generation, which was blessed enough to be born here; I am also fighting for myself and my generation!
G-d bless this country!
INTERESTING SIDE EFFECT
There is one thing my Mom never did and there is another one she almost always never did. She never swore and she almost never took interest in politics. Obama's bid for presidency changed both.
As mentioned many times before, my mother is a very soft spoken person. The biggest "curse" she would ever utter would be to call somebody an idiot or an animal; if she would want to "send" somebody somewhere, it would be to Turkish baths (do not ask me why). All of the sudden, last fall she inquired of me as to how to call somebody a "devil" in English or how to wish them to the warm basement. Upon witnessing my incongruity and quite admiration, she explained that apparently some Obama supporters were behaving with even more grace and class than usually exhibited, and she required some serious verbal ammunition.
I already described how hard she prayed for Obama's defeat. Alas, G-d answered "no". Now, my Mom started listening to Rush!!! As late as last Shabat lunch, she asked me to explain to her some choice phrases, and jokingly added that she is acquiring better proficiency in English expressions. You go, Mommy! May G-d say "yes" to your constant prayers for protection of your children and grandchildren against the socialist miasma that is trying to infiltrate this wonderful country!
As mentioned many times before, my mother is a very soft spoken person. The biggest "curse" she would ever utter would be to call somebody an idiot or an animal; if she would want to "send" somebody somewhere, it would be to Turkish baths (do not ask me why). All of the sudden, last fall she inquired of me as to how to call somebody a "devil" in English or how to wish them to the warm basement. Upon witnessing my incongruity and quite admiration, she explained that apparently some Obama supporters were behaving with even more grace and class than usually exhibited, and she required some serious verbal ammunition.
I already described how hard she prayed for Obama's defeat. Alas, G-d answered "no". Now, my Mom started listening to Rush!!! As late as last Shabat lunch, she asked me to explain to her some choice phrases, and jokingly added that she is acquiring better proficiency in English expressions. You go, Mommy! May G-d say "yes" to your constant prayers for protection of your children and grandchildren against the socialist miasma that is trying to infiltrate this wonderful country!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
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!
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!
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!
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
DUAL PURPOSE
As much as I love living in New York, there are definitely certain downsides to it. One of the most annoying to me is the overabundance of the lefties with all their anti-American tripe all over their attire and accessories. I plan to combat that as much as I can; unfortunately, it is a very slow process.
Anyway, to make the long story short, I recently got a few magnets with "I heart America". Since I do not drive a car, I am trying to figure out the best way to display it overwise; meanwhile, it seats on my fridge. My dad was overjoyed at this offering, and immediately affixed it to his vehicle.
Last Sunday, as we were coming together from a grocery store, I just commented that the magnet looks bigger than I imagined, even on his SUV. "Yes, replied my Dad, I absolutely love it! Plus, now it is much easier for me to look for my car."
Anyway, to make the long story short, I recently got a few magnets with "I heart America". Since I do not drive a car, I am trying to figure out the best way to display it overwise; meanwhile, it seats on my fridge. My dad was overjoyed at this offering, and immediately affixed it to his vehicle.
Last Sunday, as we were coming together from a grocery store, I just commented that the magnet looks bigger than I imagined, even on his SUV. "Yes, replied my Dad, I absolutely love it! Plus, now it is much easier for me to look for my car."
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
TRIP TO THE MOVIES
Or the melting iceberg
As I mentioned before, I actually enjoy going to the movies, even though my primary goal is the same as in reading romances: just disconnect from the reality and fry my non-existent brain cells some more. Add to this the fact that I am very much a chicken, meaning I really do not like to see gore and violence in surround sound, and my choice of movies becomes extremely limited. Anyway, to make a long story a bit shorter, the last movie I watched before the one mentioned in this story was the fourth Harry Potter. Basically, I was pretty much movie deprived: no time, no money, nothing showing I want to watch when I have time or money, etc. So, finally, somewhere in the fall, I finally made my way to the movie theater to watch "Stardust".
As I mentioned before, I actually enjoy going to the movies, even though my primary goal is the same as in reading romances: just disconnect from the reality and fry my non-existent brain cells some more. Add to this the fact that I am very much a chicken, meaning I really do not like to see gore and violence in surround sound, and my choice of movies becomes extremely limited. Anyway, to make a long story a bit shorter, the last movie I watched before the one mentioned in this story was the fourth Harry Potter. Basically, I was pretty much movie deprived: no time, no money, nothing showing I want to watch when I have time or money, etc. So, finally, somewhere in the fall, I finally made my way to the movie theater to watch "Stardust".
I enjoyed that particular cinematic experience, even with the usual protracted battles towards the end and the usual for our wonderful times addition of a fierce pirate captain who ended up being a cross-dresser. Basically, the whole shebang was worth my ten bucks, but that is not the main point of this story. Dork that I am, I usually enjoy the previews as well: either I know ahead what to look forward to, or, more often, what not to look forward too; this time, one of the previews was for "Elizabeth:The Golden Age."
Now, in my personal opinion, Cate Blanchette is a pretty decent actress, but Elizabeth she is not, nor is Clive Owen a believable Sir Walter Raleigh. Hollywood is also very rarely accused of historical accuracy, and I am sure this movie was not an exception. All in all, this would not be the one motion picture I would run to watch, but that preview left an impression on me. It was Elizabeth's exclamation "by god, England will not fall while I am queen!" that made me remember why I admire her so much.
I remember my history professor, who, of course, was a feminist, pointed out to us that Elizabeth's reign was an ultimate irony on her dear Daddy. What she did not mention and what the sick lesbians from NOW, who presume to speak to and for all women, will never acknowledge was that her life was actually a personification of feminist's dream. Just think about it: her birth itself was a disappointment to her father since she was not a boy; her mother was executed on the false charges of treason before Elizabeth's third birthday; she was largely ignored by her father; she was accused of treason and thrown in the Tower by her own sister! Sufficient grounds for spending the rest of her life on the analyst's couch, wouldn't you agree?
When she became queen at the ripe old age of twenty five, the country was basically in shambles: impoverished, torn by religious strive, and in danger of being conquered by much stronger enemies. At the time of Elizabeth's death England was strong, prosperous, and undefeated master of the sea; in short, according to many historians, she was the best monarch in English history. Bess not only survived in the men's world against unbelievable odds; she was the best ever man (sorry, woman) for the job!
Elizabeth was smart, highly educated (probably more well-rounded than the professors at Teacher's College who think that studying Shakespeare is superfluous and outdated), and a brilliant politician. People who specialize in her biography like to point out that she was strong and strong-willed, but not mulishly stubborn: she surrounded herself with capable advisers to whom she listened very carefully (and whom she always rewarded for their faithful service to the Crown); but, most importantly, she genuinely loved her country and her people. "England will not fall while I am queen": to her being the queen and wearing the crown was first and foremost a sacred duty from Heaven; a moral obligation to dedicate her life to her country and her people. I am not trying to romanticise the second part of the sixteenth century, but, considering our extremely jaded times and the idiotic circus usually surrounding any kind of political elections, how many politicians have that kind of vision for their role?
While I was reminiscing about Bess, I also started remembering my general admiration for Albion. In my opinion, there is no coincidence that United States emerged from the English colony: the ideas of "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" as "unalienable rights... endowed by the Creator" could only come from the country of Magna Carta. In the course of the centuries, especially in the view of this and the preceding generations' general disregard and, in some instances, the re-writing of history, people either have no inkling of what Magna Carta was, or they view it as nothing more than the landlord/tenant squabble. Overall, English history usually gave a "vibe" of limited monarchy and admirable politicians like Edmund Burke (yes, I know he was Irish); Brits were in the forefront of the industrial revolution (and personal freedom in that case was as important as the presence of working grey matter); they almost single-handedly defeated Napoleon, and were the only European country to offer any kind of serious opposition to the Nazis (geography can be blamed for this, but only up to a point). On the lighter note, I personally love their dry wit and their "classical" writers are the only ones whose books do not promote the general air of depression; but, again, that is a deeply subjective and very personal opinion.
Alas, their glory days were gone the minute they voted Churchill out of the office. Once the Nazis were defeated, Brits decided to embrace socialist ideas, and the rest, pardon the pun, is history. Now a days, they are overrun by Muslims and pacifists; the situation deteriorated to a point where Archbishop of Canterbury openly proposes to incorporate sharia law into the law of the land and, as a side note, the British flag was removed from Heathrow airport, because the compilation of three patron saint crosses, which basically comprise the English flag, were apparently very offensive to the Muslims. That is after English were subjected to the tender mercies of the Muslim terrorists, with more and more plots constantly being uncovered. What gives? So, my personal conclusion was that that country is basically finished, and it is only a matter of time before it becomes official; and as much as I love Margaret Thatcher, Jo Rowling and Helen Fielding (different kettle of fish, I know), they are not going to save the situation much. That is, until I accidentally stumbled on the article about Stewart Dimmock.
Since it is a save guess that very few people in this country heard about him, let me just summarise it briefly. Dimmock was a school governor and a father of two who protested the indoctrination of the two said children and thousands of others into the very popular church of global warming. As Joseph Farah very nicely put it, Dimmock did not want his kids tortured by Al Gore and his "Inconvenient Truth". Even though the case resulted in the decision of allowing that masterpiece of cinematic wonder and political dissent to be shown in schools, there are two major caveats: number one, any teacher showing that tripe to his or her students is obligated to point out all the major mistakes made (if memory serves right, there are seven of them); and, number two, a mere mortal went against Al Gore and got his say! Of course, all the enviros here, when recounting this episode, start by pointing out that Dimmock is just a truck driver (or lorry driver, as they say across the pond). All I can say to this is: hurray for this lorry/truck driver! He had the guts and determination to try and protect his children by going against the powerful government machine and even more powerful political establishment! I, of course, do not know his family tree, but I would like to think that the blood of his probable ancestors who fought Napoleon and Hitler boiled in his veins and gave him the courage to fight. Who knows, maybe, just maybe, more people will wake up and try to protect their country and the future generations of that country. And maybe at Heathrow, just a few miles away from where Elizabeth is buried, Union Jacks will proudly fly again.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
UN DAY
I just realized that today is UN day. My feelings about UN can be summarized in a dark joke that somebody (do not remember who exactly) uttered shortly after September 11. The gist of the joke was that the guy was wishing for both planes to hit UN building instead of WTC (my addition was that the planes should have contained only terrorists); this way we would have avoided a tremendous tragedy and loss of lives, plus we would have gotten rid of at least 75% of world terrorists. Alas, G-d had over plans.
Here is the link to a great article titled nicely "Death to UN".
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58289
Here is the link to a great article titled nicely "Death to UN".
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58289
Monday, September 10, 2007
UNMITIGATED CHUTZPAH
Once a week I get the usual e-mail from Border's with coupons and suggestions. I usually skim it through, spent about two minutes salivating at 20% or 30% off coupons (because my book budget is pretty limited these days), and then I delete the message. Sometimes I add to the routine by quickly perusing their suggestions and interesting books of the week, usually scoffing at them, and then I delete the message.
The last week's e-mail produced a slightly different reaction. At first, I glanced at the coupon. OK, only 20% off missed; and then I looked at the suggestions. Here it was, at number one: "Our greatest gift". Guessed what it was? Our beloved formed President came out with a new book, "Giving". Obviously, he is not going to write about the kind of "giving" Juanita Broaddrick had gotten from him when he was, if I am not mistaken, attorney general of Arkansas. He is going to lecture everybody on the ways to "change the world", meaning helping others!!!!
Then, next day, his lady fair's ugly mug was staring at me from the Net. There was a front page article about how much she is worth. Of particular interest was the mentioning of her "Midas Touch", citing her infamous cattle futures stunt. Midas Touch? I think there was the other, much less fancier definition for it. What was that word again? Oh, yes, fraud!
The chutzpah of this couple is breaking the Richter scale. After all their ugly, a lot of times criminal deeds that have come to light during and after their White house tenure, even the most hardened and pushy politician would have crawled into quiet corner covered in shame by now, his political career in shambles. Never before have I seen a couple where the revolting exteriors reflect their ugly souls. Unquenchable lust for power, sexual harassment, rape, the use of state troopers as personal pimps, shady and downright illegal business deals, total paranoia resulting in replacement of most of the White House staff, rents of the Lincoln Bedroom for the night in exchange for campaign donations, the constant brutal smear campaigns against anyone who opposed them, lying under oath, using IRS as a personal attack machine, granting pardons to terrorists in exchange for political favors, shamelessly soliciting gifts at the end of their tenure ( according to the list I saw, Hil did much better than Bill: way more china as apposed to golf stuff), stealing furniture from the above mentioned White house, and last, but not least, endangering our national security by totally ignoring the threat from al qaeda and putting Chinese in a position of acquiring our state secrets (among other things).
After such impressive resumes, the logical conclusion would be to see their revolting faces through the bars of federal penitentiaries. Instead, they continue to enjoy their ill-gotten gains, publish bestselling books, have the nerve to lecture everyone else on morals, ethics, and charitable works, and boldly push for the second round in DC. You have to give them snaps for sheer gal and unmitigated chutzpah!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
A GOOD TEST FOR POLITICIANS
A few weeks ago the unending wait for the last Harry Potter had reached its peak. As a result, I couldn't really concentrate on any kind of half serious reading material and ended up justifying my Netflix fees by watching my DVDs in record time. The show I was going through at the time was Babylon 5.
Now, leaving aside personal love or deep dislike of the Sci Fi genre, the usual mediocre acting abilities you can expect from TV show actors, and the standard agitprop that always seeps our way from Hollywood, Babylon 5 is interesting in a sense that it has one cohesive story and two parallel mystery lines running through it that are engaging enough; but that is not why I mention this particular experience. What really caught my attention was a little development at the end of the second season.
One of the main characters in the show is an alien woman called Delenn. She comes from a race called Minbari, which, of course, is much superior to Earth on many different levels. Even though officially she is just an ambassador to B5, in reality she is a member of the ruling Grey Council, and her real mission is quite different. There is a prophesy of the terrible ancient enemy coming to destroy the galaxy, and humans and Minbari are destined to unite in fight against that enemy. More than that, the prophesy alludes to the fact that Delenn most probably will play a crucial role in that fight. So, believing herself destined for that important mission, Delenn plays a diplomat in order to start preparations for the war.
Later on, in order to breach the gap between humans and her race, she undergoes a painful transformation in order to become half-human. As a result, she is shunned by her own people who are unaware of the greater mission, and later on loses her seat on the Council, which is aware, but stops trusting the prophecy and Delenn.
To top all this off, she must somehow prove herself to the other ancient race, which is running the whole show. So, while trying to explain why she thinks the prophecy meant specifically her, what her true motives are in all this, and why she thinks she is not really full of arrogance, Delenn is faced with an unbearable situation: she might die, or her friend might die trying to protect her. She keeps insisting on protecting her friend and sacrificing herself. "This is my mission: life! It does not matter if it is one life or one billion; I have to protect it!" is her anguished reply. She is willing to die alone, ignobly, unacknowledged, without any kind or hero recognition just to protect another being; and by making that choice she proves that her intentions are pure and noble, and there is no arrogance and self-delusion.
Now, just imagine doing that to any aspiring politician!!! Let them forget laurels and do meaningless and boring job; let them experience disdain and physical discomfort; and in the end, let them prove that they are willing to sacrifice their life without any kind of acknowledgement in order to save just one human life! It boggles the mind, does it not?
Now, leaving aside personal love or deep dislike of the Sci Fi genre, the usual mediocre acting abilities you can expect from TV show actors, and the standard agitprop that always seeps our way from Hollywood, Babylon 5 is interesting in a sense that it has one cohesive story and two parallel mystery lines running through it that are engaging enough; but that is not why I mention this particular experience. What really caught my attention was a little development at the end of the second season.
One of the main characters in the show is an alien woman called Delenn. She comes from a race called Minbari, which, of course, is much superior to Earth on many different levels. Even though officially she is just an ambassador to B5, in reality she is a member of the ruling Grey Council, and her real mission is quite different. There is a prophesy of the terrible ancient enemy coming to destroy the galaxy, and humans and Minbari are destined to unite in fight against that enemy. More than that, the prophesy alludes to the fact that Delenn most probably will play a crucial role in that fight. So, believing herself destined for that important mission, Delenn plays a diplomat in order to start preparations for the war.
Later on, in order to breach the gap between humans and her race, she undergoes a painful transformation in order to become half-human. As a result, she is shunned by her own people who are unaware of the greater mission, and later on loses her seat on the Council, which is aware, but stops trusting the prophecy and Delenn.
To top all this off, she must somehow prove herself to the other ancient race, which is running the whole show. So, while trying to explain why she thinks the prophecy meant specifically her, what her true motives are in all this, and why she thinks she is not really full of arrogance, Delenn is faced with an unbearable situation: she might die, or her friend might die trying to protect her. She keeps insisting on protecting her friend and sacrificing herself. "This is my mission: life! It does not matter if it is one life or one billion; I have to protect it!" is her anguished reply. She is willing to die alone, ignobly, unacknowledged, without any kind or hero recognition just to protect another being; and by making that choice she proves that her intentions are pure and noble, and there is no arrogance and self-delusion.
Now, just imagine doing that to any aspiring politician!!! Let them forget laurels and do meaningless and boring job; let them experience disdain and physical discomfort; and in the end, let them prove that they are willing to sacrifice their life without any kind of acknowledgement in order to save just one human life! It boggles the mind, does it not?
Friday, June 15, 2007
ANOTHER DEFINITION OF STUPIDITY
I do not remember where I have first read the brilliant phrase defining Anti-Semitism as a totally irrational hatred, but that phrase stayed with me; and as more time passes, more examples pass by my eyes reaffirming it.
Of course, in every discussion like this there is always going to be at least one person, most assuredly a Jew, who will feel it incumbent upon him or her to point out that our people provide sufficient excuses to hate them. Just look at the people who orchestrated the Russian revolution, or the members of the American communist party during and after WWII! To this I somehow always feel compelled to reply that a little band of Communists would not have been able to accomplish what they did anywhere else but Russia, and American Communist Party which doubled as USSR spies during the war had plenty of WASPs in it; but those two specific examples require a separate discussion apiece. My point is and always will be that Gentiles do not need excuses to hate us; moreover, that hatred is almost always irrational.
Case in point: the general outlook at our somewhat tumultuous relationship with our "brothers" in "monotheistic, Abrahamic, peaceful" religion of Islam. As much as uprooted Sephardim would like to reminisce about the "good times" and the fact that before the official establishment of Israel we were able to co-exist quiet nicely and peacefully with our Muslim "brothers", the fact remains that such reminiscences are mostly chimeras. Although at certain points in history Muslims may not have been as vicious and obvious in their hatred as our other "brothers", Christians, we always have been "infidels".
As soon as we have established some kind of recognizable presence in the Holy Land, the murderous hatred for the infidels reared its ugly head and became very apparent for the international community. A tiny country, not visible on most maps, with its name sticking out into the Red Sea, Israel was constantly attacked by its Muslim neighbours and was able to miraculously survive and defend itself. In the midst of this struggle all of a sudden we see the "birth" of heretofore unknown nation called "Palestinians". Everyone with a little grain of logic, never mind the rudimentary knowledge of history and geography, would recognize this "nation" for what it is: a terrorist organization created with one single agenda in mind - to destroy the Jews and the Jewish state.
So why are these "people" recognized as a nation, given diplomatic status, etc.? And why, all of a sudden, do we see sudden rise of love for Muslims amongst the Westerners? Europeans, and, by the same route, Americans, were never big friends with Muslims and Muslim-controlled countries. So, what gives? Maybe, subconsciously, they see a power that will finally put "paid" to the "Jewish problem"?
In the eyes of the international community, Jews and the Jewish state are somehow the only entity that has a totally different set of laws applied to it, especially when it comes to self-defence. The whole situation would have been very interesting for the sarcastically-minded, if it was not so heart-wrenching. Deciding to appease the terrorists and bowing to international pressure, the cowardly and corrupt Israeli government decided to grant the "Palestinians" some of the "occupied" territories. In the latest round of that saga, Israeli army was sent to remove Israeli "settlers" from their homes, and poor "Palestinian refugees" finally got the a part of "their historic" land to finally create their own state. "Peaceful refugees" promptly took control of that land and, using crude, but very effective Anglo-Saxon expression, shitted it up and destroyed everything in sight, and then they proceeded to have "Democratic" elections, during which they by overwhelming majority elected Hamas.
The entire civilized world reacted with absolute bewilderment and dismay; they did not expect that! They expected the "pro-Western" Fatah to win! Your humble servant's reaction to that was "are you all suffering from Helen Keller's affliction or are you just plain morons?" They are not "a people", they are a terrorist organization, no matter who or what is leading them; and the only difference between Fatah and Hamas is that the Fatah has some semblance of PR ( and is also more corrupt). Washington's decision? Let us funnel few millions from the monies confiscated from American citizens under the guise of taxes to the "pro-Western" organization. They need our support! And, once we are at it, let us supply them with arms and ammo, because Muslim terrorist do not have enough of that to attack the above-mentioned American citizens (and not necessarily the ones of the Jewish descent).
Then, a little while ago, another piece of breaking news splashed across the international media: the fighting broke out in "Palestine" between Hamas and their opposition. Another round of surprise and another round of American help to "pro-Western" Fatah. My reaction? I hope they will all kill each other soon. New York Times' reaction? Palestinians never did anything violent to one another; it is all Israel's and America's fault.
You see, my dear Western non-friends, "Jewish problem" will never go away. We are vulnerable, but not totally destructible (just spent a bit of time with a few dusty History volumes). You can embrace these murderous thugs, the only faction in the world producing suicide bombers, all you want. They will not, despite your best hopes, put "finished" on Jews or Jewish state. We will bleed and suffer a lot, but we will not go away. Your "helpers", on the other hand, will not contain themselves to killing the Jews alone. You, all of you, are just as much the infidels as we are, and they will treat you accordingly (already are, come to think of it). Your blind cowardice and your blatant and virulent anti-Semitism, examined with a plain, straight logic, just looks like extreme stupidity. I hope you will wake up in time to see it and to save yourselves. We have already survived and outlived many great civilizations; we will survive and outlive you. It is up to you to see that you do not become just another part on the History line and a few broken pots and old paintings in the museum (provided the members of the "Religion of Peace" will leave that much).
Of course, in every discussion like this there is always going to be at least one person, most assuredly a Jew, who will feel it incumbent upon him or her to point out that our people provide sufficient excuses to hate them. Just look at the people who orchestrated the Russian revolution, or the members of the American communist party during and after WWII! To this I somehow always feel compelled to reply that a little band of Communists would not have been able to accomplish what they did anywhere else but Russia, and American Communist Party which doubled as USSR spies during the war had plenty of WASPs in it; but those two specific examples require a separate discussion apiece. My point is and always will be that Gentiles do not need excuses to hate us; moreover, that hatred is almost always irrational.
Case in point: the general outlook at our somewhat tumultuous relationship with our "brothers" in "monotheistic, Abrahamic, peaceful" religion of Islam. As much as uprooted Sephardim would like to reminisce about the "good times" and the fact that before the official establishment of Israel we were able to co-exist quiet nicely and peacefully with our Muslim "brothers", the fact remains that such reminiscences are mostly chimeras. Although at certain points in history Muslims may not have been as vicious and obvious in their hatred as our other "brothers", Christians, we always have been "infidels".
As soon as we have established some kind of recognizable presence in the Holy Land, the murderous hatred for the infidels reared its ugly head and became very apparent for the international community. A tiny country, not visible on most maps, with its name sticking out into the Red Sea, Israel was constantly attacked by its Muslim neighbours and was able to miraculously survive and defend itself. In the midst of this struggle all of a sudden we see the "birth" of heretofore unknown nation called "Palestinians". Everyone with a little grain of logic, never mind the rudimentary knowledge of history and geography, would recognize this "nation" for what it is: a terrorist organization created with one single agenda in mind - to destroy the Jews and the Jewish state.
So why are these "people" recognized as a nation, given diplomatic status, etc.? And why, all of a sudden, do we see sudden rise of love for Muslims amongst the Westerners? Europeans, and, by the same route, Americans, were never big friends with Muslims and Muslim-controlled countries. So, what gives? Maybe, subconsciously, they see a power that will finally put "paid" to the "Jewish problem"?
In the eyes of the international community, Jews and the Jewish state are somehow the only entity that has a totally different set of laws applied to it, especially when it comes to self-defence. The whole situation would have been very interesting for the sarcastically-minded, if it was not so heart-wrenching. Deciding to appease the terrorists and bowing to international pressure, the cowardly and corrupt Israeli government decided to grant the "Palestinians" some of the "occupied" territories. In the latest round of that saga, Israeli army was sent to remove Israeli "settlers" from their homes, and poor "Palestinian refugees" finally got the a part of "their historic" land to finally create their own state. "Peaceful refugees" promptly took control of that land and, using crude, but very effective Anglo-Saxon expression, shitted it up and destroyed everything in sight, and then they proceeded to have "Democratic" elections, during which they by overwhelming majority elected Hamas.
The entire civilized world reacted with absolute bewilderment and dismay; they did not expect that! They expected the "pro-Western" Fatah to win! Your humble servant's reaction to that was "are you all suffering from Helen Keller's affliction or are you just plain morons?" They are not "a people", they are a terrorist organization, no matter who or what is leading them; and the only difference between Fatah and Hamas is that the Fatah has some semblance of PR ( and is also more corrupt). Washington's decision? Let us funnel few millions from the monies confiscated from American citizens under the guise of taxes to the "pro-Western" organization. They need our support! And, once we are at it, let us supply them with arms and ammo, because Muslim terrorist do not have enough of that to attack the above-mentioned American citizens (and not necessarily the ones of the Jewish descent).
Then, a little while ago, another piece of breaking news splashed across the international media: the fighting broke out in "Palestine" between Hamas and their opposition. Another round of surprise and another round of American help to "pro-Western" Fatah. My reaction? I hope they will all kill each other soon. New York Times' reaction? Palestinians never did anything violent to one another; it is all Israel's and America's fault.
You see, my dear Western non-friends, "Jewish problem" will never go away. We are vulnerable, but not totally destructible (just spent a bit of time with a few dusty History volumes). You can embrace these murderous thugs, the only faction in the world producing suicide bombers, all you want. They will not, despite your best hopes, put "finished" on Jews or Jewish state. We will bleed and suffer a lot, but we will not go away. Your "helpers", on the other hand, will not contain themselves to killing the Jews alone. You, all of you, are just as much the infidels as we are, and they will treat you accordingly (already are, come to think of it). Your blind cowardice and your blatant and virulent anti-Semitism, examined with a plain, straight logic, just looks like extreme stupidity. I hope you will wake up in time to see it and to save yourselves. We have already survived and outlived many great civilizations; we will survive and outlive you. It is up to you to see that you do not become just another part on the History line and a few broken pots and old paintings in the museum (provided the members of the "Religion of Peace" will leave that much).
Friday, May 04, 2007
A SLIGHTLY LATE RESPONSE
It has been a little while since my last entry; but I can see that one of the main issues I have raised, that of the Second Amendment rights and gun control, has generated a little lively debate between my friend Moshe and my reader Maria Lokhankin. After reading all their comments, all I want to add is this:
1. With all due respect to the police officers, their job usually ends up being investigating the crimes or dealing with the aftermath of those crimes, but not preventing them. The mass shooting at Virginia Tech was a prime example of that.
2. The idea of allowing college students to parade around the campus with guns may not sound very bright, but (forgive me for being crude) neither is the idea of those same kids having indiscriminate sex a la March hares, getting drunk all the time, or using drugs (and if you do not perceive all those things as having the same degree of danger, allow me to politely disagree). It all boils down to one thing: were those kids raised to be responsible, moral human beings or not.
3. If I am not mistaken, the original mission of the much maligned NRA was to teach people how to operate guns, and only much later were they forced into defending the right to own gun, not just teaching to operate it. It is a simple logic and common sense that if a person owns a gun, he or she have to know how to operate it and take care of it.
4. And last, but most important: it is a Constitutional Right of every American Citizen to own a gun! Just because some people do not like it, or disagree with it, or feel threatened by it, it does not give them the right to dictate to the rest of the country! I may not like it when an anti-Israel crowd is marching across the Brooklyn bridge; more than that, I would have been overjoyed had the bridge collapsed, and they all drowned. Actually, scratch that: not very hygienic, plus I would feel bad for the bridge. Let us say, if they all magically disappeared forever, I would be thrilled. But as much as I hate those people and everything they stand for, I have no right to deprive them of their First Amendment rights! So who the hell are the Brady lobby, Michael Moore, and the rest of that stinking crown to deprive American citizens of their Constitutional Right?! Who gave them the right to deprive us of our right to choose to own or not to own a gun?
As per statistics and legal jargon, below is the link to an article written by David B. Kopel, who was an ADA in Manhattan. The article is entitled "Trust the People". I think that says it all. On this happy note I personally close this discussion for now; not because I want to follow in the illustrious steps of the Darwinists who claim that there is no need for discussion because the topic was proven irrefutably, but because I can not say it better or clearer or with better examples than this dude. Here we go:
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa109.html
1. With all due respect to the police officers, their job usually ends up being investigating the crimes or dealing with the aftermath of those crimes, but not preventing them. The mass shooting at Virginia Tech was a prime example of that.
2. The idea of allowing college students to parade around the campus with guns may not sound very bright, but (forgive me for being crude) neither is the idea of those same kids having indiscriminate sex a la March hares, getting drunk all the time, or using drugs (and if you do not perceive all those things as having the same degree of danger, allow me to politely disagree). It all boils down to one thing: were those kids raised to be responsible, moral human beings or not.
3. If I am not mistaken, the original mission of the much maligned NRA was to teach people how to operate guns, and only much later were they forced into defending the right to own gun, not just teaching to operate it. It is a simple logic and common sense that if a person owns a gun, he or she have to know how to operate it and take care of it.
4. And last, but most important: it is a Constitutional Right of every American Citizen to own a gun! Just because some people do not like it, or disagree with it, or feel threatened by it, it does not give them the right to dictate to the rest of the country! I may not like it when an anti-Israel crowd is marching across the Brooklyn bridge; more than that, I would have been overjoyed had the bridge collapsed, and they all drowned. Actually, scratch that: not very hygienic, plus I would feel bad for the bridge. Let us say, if they all magically disappeared forever, I would be thrilled. But as much as I hate those people and everything they stand for, I have no right to deprive them of their First Amendment rights! So who the hell are the Brady lobby, Michael Moore, and the rest of that stinking crown to deprive American citizens of their Constitutional Right?! Who gave them the right to deprive us of our right to choose to own or not to own a gun?
As per statistics and legal jargon, below is the link to an article written by David B. Kopel, who was an ADA in Manhattan. The article is entitled "Trust the People". I think that says it all. On this happy note I personally close this discussion for now; not because I want to follow in the illustrious steps of the Darwinists who claim that there is no need for discussion because the topic was proven irrefutably, but because I can not say it better or clearer or with better examples than this dude. Here we go:
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa109.html
Friday, March 30, 2007
FROM THE MOUTH OF MY CO-WORKER
Part 2
OK, back to the story: German/Persian husband. I understand that as a Jew I am in a unique position: we were country-less for almost two thousand years, and during those times were not extremely welcome anywhere. Even after we regained our country (after a fashion), we are vilified all other the world for trying to keep this country and protect its civilians. So, if a country, any country, was more of a step-mother than a mother to us, we do not own it any allegiance. I cannot in good conscience say that I can empathize with somebody who misses his or her country because they had to escape it due to, well, fear for their lives. I can understand missing a unique culture and a certain way of life; missing a country where an overwhelming majority of its population voluntarily, through revolution none the less, put in charge ayatollahs and religious police is simply beyond me! The guy is pining to go back; she is basically agreeable (although with a stipulation that eventually they have to come back here). While she is living there, however, I wonder how she would enjoy obeying the Sharia laws; I also wonder how they think they will be able to just return here?
So, anyway, after the visitor left, I half-jokingly said to her that I couldn't help overhearing their conversation. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, for some reason we were discussing international travel. She professed the desire to see as much of the world as possible, to which I replied that being a bit of a Western snob; I am not dying to get about ten extra inoculations so that I can see some ancient monument and the terrible poverty surrounding it. Plus, I added, as a Jew I am not welcome in most of the Muslim countries. Horrified look. "Really? Well, how would they know?" Oh, the gentle innocence... I quoted an old Russian joke to her about people hitting you on the face and not on your passport, then I compounded it by saying that it is an official policy of some of the "peaceful Muslim countries" not to admit anyone who has an Israeli stamp or visa in their passport, never mind the holders of an actual Israeli passport. The poor dear was duly horrified. How could they? I didn't feel like going into the whole tirade about the "religion of peace" and my feelings about it. One day, when she will really peeve me about it, I will give her a few of Yashiko Sagamori's articles. They are very witty, eloquent, and well researched. For that day, I was just trying to explain that Muslims do not really practice religious toleration. In their view, everybody is born a Muslim, and it is their job to bring every single lost soul back into the fold, at the sword's point, if necessary. If the ungrateful infidel will persist in his wicked ways, he or she will be put to that sword. "Well", she replied, "aren't Jewish laws along the same lines? Like, if you are born Jewish..." Oy, Gevalt! I think my triple "no" was pronounced with a slightly raised voice. At which point she looked at me with a slightly scared expression, murmured something about her being a Catholic and me probably not liking Catholics too, and scampered.
Now, why did I decide to recall that particular conversation and that particular episode? My feelings on the previous topics were basically explained, as to this. I am sure my Jewish friends do not need the commentary, but, just in case, here goes. First of all, as a side note, I do not hate Catholics. They are people just like everybody else; individual human beings, good and bad, smart and not so, friendly or hostile. They also believe that if you do not proclaim your allegiance to a certain god, your soul is damned forever; but some time ago they progressed from imposing that believe through torture and murder. Highly moral, estimable and peaceful Muslims, on the other hand, never progressed that far.
Second and most important point: Jews constitute less than one percent of the total population. Somehow, they manage to be disproportionately represented in science, politics, and news. Now, nobody, and I mean nobody, has to know anything about us or give us their love and friendship (or meaningless apologies after the drunken runts, for that matter). On the other hand, accusing us of goodness knows what without having any kind of rudimentary understanding of the basics of Judaism or our history: isn't it just a tad un-academic and not in the spirit of good sportsmanship?
OK, back to the story: German/Persian husband. I understand that as a Jew I am in a unique position: we were country-less for almost two thousand years, and during those times were not extremely welcome anywhere. Even after we regained our country (after a fashion), we are vilified all other the world for trying to keep this country and protect its civilians. So, if a country, any country, was more of a step-mother than a mother to us, we do not own it any allegiance. I cannot in good conscience say that I can empathize with somebody who misses his or her country because they had to escape it due to, well, fear for their lives. I can understand missing a unique culture and a certain way of life; missing a country where an overwhelming majority of its population voluntarily, through revolution none the less, put in charge ayatollahs and religious police is simply beyond me! The guy is pining to go back; she is basically agreeable (although with a stipulation that eventually they have to come back here). While she is living there, however, I wonder how she would enjoy obeying the Sharia laws; I also wonder how they think they will be able to just return here?
So, anyway, after the visitor left, I half-jokingly said to her that I couldn't help overhearing their conversation. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, for some reason we were discussing international travel. She professed the desire to see as much of the world as possible, to which I replied that being a bit of a Western snob; I am not dying to get about ten extra inoculations so that I can see some ancient monument and the terrible poverty surrounding it. Plus, I added, as a Jew I am not welcome in most of the Muslim countries. Horrified look. "Really? Well, how would they know?" Oh, the gentle innocence... I quoted an old Russian joke to her about people hitting you on the face and not on your passport, then I compounded it by saying that it is an official policy of some of the "peaceful Muslim countries" not to admit anyone who has an Israeli stamp or visa in their passport, never mind the holders of an actual Israeli passport. The poor dear was duly horrified. How could they? I didn't feel like going into the whole tirade about the "religion of peace" and my feelings about it. One day, when she will really peeve me about it, I will give her a few of Yashiko Sagamori's articles. They are very witty, eloquent, and well researched. For that day, I was just trying to explain that Muslims do not really practice religious toleration. In their view, everybody is born a Muslim, and it is their job to bring every single lost soul back into the fold, at the sword's point, if necessary. If the ungrateful infidel will persist in his wicked ways, he or she will be put to that sword. "Well", she replied, "aren't Jewish laws along the same lines? Like, if you are born Jewish..." Oy, Gevalt! I think my triple "no" was pronounced with a slightly raised voice. At which point she looked at me with a slightly scared expression, murmured something about her being a Catholic and me probably not liking Catholics too, and scampered.
Now, why did I decide to recall that particular conversation and that particular episode? My feelings on the previous topics were basically explained, as to this. I am sure my Jewish friends do not need the commentary, but, just in case, here goes. First of all, as a side note, I do not hate Catholics. They are people just like everybody else; individual human beings, good and bad, smart and not so, friendly or hostile. They also believe that if you do not proclaim your allegiance to a certain god, your soul is damned forever; but some time ago they progressed from imposing that believe through torture and murder. Highly moral, estimable and peaceful Muslims, on the other hand, never progressed that far.
Second and most important point: Jews constitute less than one percent of the total population. Somehow, they manage to be disproportionately represented in science, politics, and news. Now, nobody, and I mean nobody, has to know anything about us or give us their love and friendship (or meaningless apologies after the drunken runts, for that matter). On the other hand, accusing us of goodness knows what without having any kind of rudimentary understanding of the basics of Judaism or our history: isn't it just a tad un-academic and not in the spirit of good sportsmanship?
Friday, March 23, 2007
FROM THE MOUTH OF MY CO-WORKER
Part 1
Some co-workers are nice, some are not so nice, some irritate you occasionally, some irritate you all the time, and some live to make your life miserable. Such are the facts or human relationships, and I do not think anybody, no mater how much they love their jobs, are immune from irritating or very irritating co-workers. Yours truly is no exception. My job is generally pretty boring, but my co-workers are surprisingly nice en mass. Of course, they all get moody, cranky and unreasonable, have good days and not so good days, but over all they usually do not annoy me much, with slight exceptions. One of them has a slight case of princessness (or maybe I am getting a bit cranky in my old age, but sometimes she says or does things that I can't help but call princessness); and most of the times whenever I hold a conversation with her, at the end of it I feel like calling her a useful idiot.
So, few days ago another lady came into the office to discuss some kind of professional supplies with her. For some inexplicable reason they decided to stay in the lobby to hold their meeting, so I ended up overhearing most of their conversation. The supplies themselves were totally outside my sphere of expertise, or interest, for that matter, so that in itself was boring and unremarkable. The tail end of the conversation was what caught my attention. I am not sure how they arrived at that topic, but my co-worker jokingly said that she is going to divorce her husband and marry a European guy, because, apparently, Europeans have more relaxed lives then we do. Her visitor nodded and said that she is married to a "German", who can not get our "being married to our jobs". No, the quotation marks around the word German were not a mistake, because in the next sentence the lady revealed that her hubs is really from Iran; he was just living in Germany for the past eighteen years; but he still misses Iran.
Oh, how I was busting to tell them both a couple of things!! Alas, as I keep reminding my parents, they did not bring us up properly, which constantly impedes our lives. I couldn't interrupt a private conversation (even though it was held in my general working area), and tell these people that not only are they useful idiots, but ingrates as well. Yes, ingrates! Yes, nobody else in the civilized world works as much or as hard as we do here. Yes, Europeans have more holidays, better ability to have a decent lunch, etc. They also have two digit unemployment rate, much lower standard of living, and horrendous taxes. They have universal health care; we have less people (percentage vise) dying from cancer because they had to wait for half a year to see a specialist or were denied chemo because they are too old to waste money on their treatment. Yes, unless we are welfare recipients or government workers (or posses the sublime talent of one of my former supervisors), we usually spent long hours working and bust our guts while doing it; because of that we have such high standard of living and are the envy of the entire world! People from all over the world are trying to get a job in America (legally or illegally). These moronic ingrates want leisure! They can get all the leisure the want (it is a free country); they just have to remember that they wont be able to afford the shoes they were admiring on each other.
Some co-workers are nice, some are not so nice, some irritate you occasionally, some irritate you all the time, and some live to make your life miserable. Such are the facts or human relationships, and I do not think anybody, no mater how much they love their jobs, are immune from irritating or very irritating co-workers. Yours truly is no exception. My job is generally pretty boring, but my co-workers are surprisingly nice en mass. Of course, they all get moody, cranky and unreasonable, have good days and not so good days, but over all they usually do not annoy me much, with slight exceptions. One of them has a slight case of princessness (or maybe I am getting a bit cranky in my old age, but sometimes she says or does things that I can't help but call princessness); and most of the times whenever I hold a conversation with her, at the end of it I feel like calling her a useful idiot.
So, few days ago another lady came into the office to discuss some kind of professional supplies with her. For some inexplicable reason they decided to stay in the lobby to hold their meeting, so I ended up overhearing most of their conversation. The supplies themselves were totally outside my sphere of expertise, or interest, for that matter, so that in itself was boring and unremarkable. The tail end of the conversation was what caught my attention. I am not sure how they arrived at that topic, but my co-worker jokingly said that she is going to divorce her husband and marry a European guy, because, apparently, Europeans have more relaxed lives then we do. Her visitor nodded and said that she is married to a "German", who can not get our "being married to our jobs". No, the quotation marks around the word German were not a mistake, because in the next sentence the lady revealed that her hubs is really from Iran; he was just living in Germany for the past eighteen years; but he still misses Iran.
Oh, how I was busting to tell them both a couple of things!! Alas, as I keep reminding my parents, they did not bring us up properly, which constantly impedes our lives. I couldn't interrupt a private conversation (even though it was held in my general working area), and tell these people that not only are they useful idiots, but ingrates as well. Yes, ingrates! Yes, nobody else in the civilized world works as much or as hard as we do here. Yes, Europeans have more holidays, better ability to have a decent lunch, etc. They also have two digit unemployment rate, much lower standard of living, and horrendous taxes. They have universal health care; we have less people (percentage vise) dying from cancer because they had to wait for half a year to see a specialist or were denied chemo because they are too old to waste money on their treatment. Yes, unless we are welfare recipients or government workers (or posses the sublime talent of one of my former supervisors), we usually spent long hours working and bust our guts while doing it; because of that we have such high standard of living and are the envy of the entire world! People from all over the world are trying to get a job in America (legally or illegally). These moronic ingrates want leisure! They can get all the leisure the want (it is a free country); they just have to remember that they wont be able to afford the shoes they were admiring on each other.
Monday, March 12, 2007
WHY DO I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT POLITICS?
This past Saturday I was invited to lunch by an acquaintance of mine. She shares an apartment with two more single girls, and the crowd that congregates there is always very diverse (in age, education, socio-economic background, and, most important, the brain power). Whenever I go there, I can always count on couple of things: I will leave that apartment feeling very old after listening to at least three girls discussing their post high school plans, we will swap at least two horror dating stories (and I mean horror, no jokes), there is going to be at least one horror story about life in general (again, real deal), and at least one person is going to irritate the living daylights out of me. This time there were no exceptions to any of this. And the personal irritation factor is what prompted me to write this entry.
All of you are aware that this past weekend we switched to daylight savings time. All of you are aware that we did it earlier than we usually do. Not all of you are aware of the fact that from now on we will always do it this way: three weeks earlier in the spring and one more week in the fall. Apparently, a resolution was passed back in 2005 for "broader energy conservation" or whatever verbiage they used, and here we go, my friends! Now, the logic of scrambling our internal clock twice a year always eluded me, no matter how it was explained to me, till I finally read about that resolution, which, frankly, made me even angrier than I usually am every spring when I have to wake up at 5:00 am because the government had declared it to be 6:00 am. So, when I arrived at that apartment, we naturally started talking about it. I expressed my wish for Al Gore & Co. to start conserving energy instead of torturing the rest of the population every year, to which one of the girls just smiled very indulgently and told me something along the lines of you can't do anything about it anyway.
That, my friends, is the crux of the problem! That attitude: I am only one person, so what can I do about it? Plenty, actually: the whole study of history is about just one person at a time; but never mind this; most of us are not aspiring for greatness. We just want to make a decent living, find somebody to have a family with, raise that family (preferably in a decent home with plenty of food and creature comforts), and an occasional (or not so occasional) good time. Between the job, the school, household chores, spouse, kids, shopping, home improvements, bills, irritating family members, doctors, lawyers, taxes, favorite TV programs, vacations, latest articles in Glamour or Sports Illustrated, who has time to vote, let alone know whom are we voting for and who exactly are the candidates? Who has time to rally, protest, write to Radio and TV stations, newspapers and magazines, or just to keep abreast of the news ( not the New York Times, CNN or Playboy variety)? Believe me, people, when I tell you that I am in the same pond. Sometimes I come home so tired that I have no energy left to cook myself pasta or take out the trash; somehow the country's problems are minuscule and far behind when I open my electric bill and see the amount due plus the surcharge because I simply forgot to pay my bill from last month. Life is life, and our own everyday concerns are more worrisome than global problems.
But how do you feel about working every fourth hour (at least) for the government? How do you feel after filling out a job application and knowing that because you are "white female", your chances of getting that job just diminished significantly (and if you are "white male", G-d help you). How do you feel knowing that your hard work and sweat feeds an enormous government machine on all three levels (federal, state, and local), and the bureaucrats on all three levels exist mostly just to make your life's burdens even more burdensome? How do you feel about constant government interference in our economy, which eventually may cost a job to you or somebody you know and love? How do you feel about the pathetic state of our public schools and the fact the only alternative will come out of your own pocket? How do you feel about horrible state of our universities, where young people are supposed to be given a chance to learn, explore, and broaden their minds, but instead are indoctrinated into one specific ideology, and G-d help them if they resist? How do you feel about pedophiles leaving jails before their sentences are fully served and settling next to you? How do you feel about millions of illegals giving birth here at your expense? How do you feel about freedom of speech and press being basically the prerogative of the so-called "liberals" and "progressives"? How do you feel about members of the "religion of peace and brotherly love" settling in droves right next to us, demanding preferential treatment, and multiplying like rats, again at our expense, while creating numerous terrorist cells here and supporting more cells abroad?
These are just some of the problems facing this great nation. All of them, my friends, result from politics. All of them are fostered on us by a pretty small, but extremely industrious, loud, pushy, and shameless group of people; they do not speak for most of the Americans; but people who disagree with them or oppose them mostly remain a "silent majority". When I look at it logically, I can see why: when you have a life and a purpose to this life, you usually do not spend your time teaching everybody else what to do (while, of course, excluding yourself); you just live! When you have a family (or hope to have one day), you just concentrate on that. On the other hand, all of the "political activists" on the left either do not or did not have families and children, or foisted the everyday care of those children on somebody else. Brilliant Tammy Bruce called these people "malignant narcissists", or "mal nars." Awesome name! So, here we have it: the vast majority of citizens on one side, leading productive lives (or at least trying), and not dirtying their hands with politics, and a relatively small group of mal nars on the other, constantly telling everybody how to live their lives, and destroying our economy, religions freedom, family life, constitution, the whole fabric of our great country; even trying to control our thoughts and feelings! So, you see, we cannot remain silent majority any longer! If we do not at least try to take a little time away from our daily lives and try not only to stop these mal nars, but actually fight them, soon, very soon, they will succeed in changing the whole fabric of this country to such unrecognizable degree, that we won’t be able to live our daily lives the way we want to.
That, my friends, is the reason I care so much about politics. Even though I was not born in this country, but got transplanted onto it, I love it! I love the great principles of individual freedom and responsibility on which USA was built, and I hate seeing that being corrupted and destroyed! We have such great opportunity for a wonderful life here; but we no longer can just build it and enjoy it; we have to fight for it!
All of you are aware that this past weekend we switched to daylight savings time. All of you are aware that we did it earlier than we usually do. Not all of you are aware of the fact that from now on we will always do it this way: three weeks earlier in the spring and one more week in the fall. Apparently, a resolution was passed back in 2005 for "broader energy conservation" or whatever verbiage they used, and here we go, my friends! Now, the logic of scrambling our internal clock twice a year always eluded me, no matter how it was explained to me, till I finally read about that resolution, which, frankly, made me even angrier than I usually am every spring when I have to wake up at 5:00 am because the government had declared it to be 6:00 am. So, when I arrived at that apartment, we naturally started talking about it. I expressed my wish for Al Gore & Co. to start conserving energy instead of torturing the rest of the population every year, to which one of the girls just smiled very indulgently and told me something along the lines of you can't do anything about it anyway.
That, my friends, is the crux of the problem! That attitude: I am only one person, so what can I do about it? Plenty, actually: the whole study of history is about just one person at a time; but never mind this; most of us are not aspiring for greatness. We just want to make a decent living, find somebody to have a family with, raise that family (preferably in a decent home with plenty of food and creature comforts), and an occasional (or not so occasional) good time. Between the job, the school, household chores, spouse, kids, shopping, home improvements, bills, irritating family members, doctors, lawyers, taxes, favorite TV programs, vacations, latest articles in Glamour or Sports Illustrated, who has time to vote, let alone know whom are we voting for and who exactly are the candidates? Who has time to rally, protest, write to Radio and TV stations, newspapers and magazines, or just to keep abreast of the news ( not the New York Times, CNN or Playboy variety)? Believe me, people, when I tell you that I am in the same pond. Sometimes I come home so tired that I have no energy left to cook myself pasta or take out the trash; somehow the country's problems are minuscule and far behind when I open my electric bill and see the amount due plus the surcharge because I simply forgot to pay my bill from last month. Life is life, and our own everyday concerns are more worrisome than global problems.
But how do you feel about working every fourth hour (at least) for the government? How do you feel after filling out a job application and knowing that because you are "white female", your chances of getting that job just diminished significantly (and if you are "white male", G-d help you). How do you feel knowing that your hard work and sweat feeds an enormous government machine on all three levels (federal, state, and local), and the bureaucrats on all three levels exist mostly just to make your life's burdens even more burdensome? How do you feel about constant government interference in our economy, which eventually may cost a job to you or somebody you know and love? How do you feel about the pathetic state of our public schools and the fact the only alternative will come out of your own pocket? How do you feel about horrible state of our universities, where young people are supposed to be given a chance to learn, explore, and broaden their minds, but instead are indoctrinated into one specific ideology, and G-d help them if they resist? How do you feel about pedophiles leaving jails before their sentences are fully served and settling next to you? How do you feel about millions of illegals giving birth here at your expense? How do you feel about freedom of speech and press being basically the prerogative of the so-called "liberals" and "progressives"? How do you feel about members of the "religion of peace and brotherly love" settling in droves right next to us, demanding preferential treatment, and multiplying like rats, again at our expense, while creating numerous terrorist cells here and supporting more cells abroad?
These are just some of the problems facing this great nation. All of them, my friends, result from politics. All of them are fostered on us by a pretty small, but extremely industrious, loud, pushy, and shameless group of people; they do not speak for most of the Americans; but people who disagree with them or oppose them mostly remain a "silent majority". When I look at it logically, I can see why: when you have a life and a purpose to this life, you usually do not spend your time teaching everybody else what to do (while, of course, excluding yourself); you just live! When you have a family (or hope to have one day), you just concentrate on that. On the other hand, all of the "political activists" on the left either do not or did not have families and children, or foisted the everyday care of those children on somebody else. Brilliant Tammy Bruce called these people "malignant narcissists", or "mal nars." Awesome name! So, here we have it: the vast majority of citizens on one side, leading productive lives (or at least trying), and not dirtying their hands with politics, and a relatively small group of mal nars on the other, constantly telling everybody how to live their lives, and destroying our economy, religions freedom, family life, constitution, the whole fabric of our great country; even trying to control our thoughts and feelings! So, you see, we cannot remain silent majority any longer! If we do not at least try to take a little time away from our daily lives and try not only to stop these mal nars, but actually fight them, soon, very soon, they will succeed in changing the whole fabric of this country to such unrecognizable degree, that we won’t be able to live our daily lives the way we want to.
That, my friends, is the reason I care so much about politics. Even though I was not born in this country, but got transplanted onto it, I love it! I love the great principles of individual freedom and responsibility on which USA was built, and I hate seeing that being corrupted and destroyed! We have such great opportunity for a wonderful life here; but we no longer can just build it and enjoy it; we have to fight for it!
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