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Bernie Went to Court June 29, 2009

Posted by voolavex in Social Issues.
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Bernie Madoff went to court,
dressed in shirt and tie
Just the sight of Bernie there
made the people cry.

Bernie Madoff wanted perks
A shorter sentence, Judge
I know I did a bad, bad thing
But these folks bear a grudge.

The judge looked down at Bernie.
And sent the crowd a look.
He smiled, looked back at Bernie;
As he threw the crook the book.

Michelle Ma Belle April 4, 2009

Posted by voolavex in Social Issues.
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I love Michelle and Barack Obama.  I think their two daughters are wonderful and I am one of the happy people who voted all of them into the White House.  Sasha and Malia may be in a goldfish bowl – but the experience ahead of them is going to be so important not only for them but for so many little girls growing up worldwide that it thrills me to think about it. I am proud and happy to be an American in an Obama America. Our president, who has a plateful of nasty leftovers to digest is a good man for this country.  He and his wife have a relationship that is both honest and inspirational and should make us all proud.  Having said all this – I don’t think Michelle is a style icon. 
 
Michelle Obama – tall and athletic and frankly quite lovely to see, needs to get a good stylist to tweak her wardrobe so that nothing but oohs and ahhs will be heard when she appears.  So far it’s not quite right.  The G-20 trip had some serious faux pas and I am not sure why.  I should say too, that Mrs. Obama brings Princess Diana to mind.  And we all watched Diana go through similar missteps as her elegant and breathtaking style finally evolved – too short a time to mature into mid-life – but it did finally let out its own breath.   Michelle – starting out a good deal older – should be allowed the same space, yet her time is limited by the immediacy of her position and term limits.  I have loved some of her choices but she is clearly not a woman who looks good in anything too frilly or sparkly.  Fussy prints do nothing to show us her sleek figure and fabulous energy.  Jewel tones age her.  As an African American woman she can carry off bolder patterns and bright colors – but the bright colors should not be confused with the Lane Bryant version of jewel tones -  those that are frankly designed to busy the eye and move it from a tummy or hip or portentous bosom.  Michelle doesn’t need the eye to move anywhere but up and down in admiration.  She is quite frankly “built” and she has the shape of a beautiful woman of color – curvy and luscious and refreshing.  I think J. Crew and its sister looks are good ones for her.  Black dresses, basic shapes and preppy looks befitting an Ivy league woman.  I love her shoes in particular – but she needs someone like Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein to kit her out for big events.  For daytimes she cries out for cleaner lines, solid colors and lots of warming corals, yellows, good reds and white.  Lots of white.  Sparkles and spangles belong around her neck and on her ears.  Some of her clothes are frankly cheesy looking.  Young designers included.  Her tall figure is the kind that designers crave and the ones she loves should exalt that height to her advantage.  In my opinion there is not much one can wear to meet the Queen that is okay.  HRM dresses her age and her bra size and I saw nothing wrong with Michelle’s black and white outfit.  I loved the black coat and the chartreuse ensemble she wore was  gorgeous.  Argyle though, belongs with pleated skirts.  That dippy little fuchsia flowered suit was just that – dippy.  But to be fair I didn’t love Carla Bruni’s get up either.  Our First Lady is clearly a woman with her own idea of what she likes to wear – but  since she is dressing for the world, her clothes fall under scrutiny and she could use some help.  I suspect she will get it sooner than later and I suspect when she does  we will all be trying for the Michelle look. 

Madonna Is Not the World’s Madonna March 31, 2009

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When did Africa become a pet shop for celebrities?  Oh, I’m sorry – an orphanage for celebrities.  Yes, children are dying in Africa from curable diseases and genocide and this is something that should be on the minds of everyone with a heartbeat – but I am wondering when decency will prevail in this country and let women like Angelina Jolie and Madonna know that cruising into an African country and picking out a chum for your other third world babies is not a decent and acceptable thing to do.  I am not certain what makes Angelina Jolie tick – but I suspect it is not quite right.  Her litter of children (and more to come I’ve heard) hardly seems very different than Nadya Suleman’s – except for the money.   I have no clue whatsoever what makes Madonna tick period.  And I find her shopping for little black babies offensive in the extreme.  Her last acquisition – David Banda – had a father and extended family.  None of that transaction seems right – down to her visiting him  recently with the kid – who must be confused at this point.  Now she returns to Malawi and decides to acquire another little black child who happens to have a grandmother young enough to care for this little girl.  Grandma went to court today to explain this to the judge and I hope the judge tells Madonna to get outta town.  Fast.
 
 
 
I think one of the things that makes folks see Americans in a less than charming light is just this sort of crap.  Why doesn’t Madonna – the ultimate nouveau riche – create a foundation to see that these children achieve a good life where they live?  Why does she think her entourage existence, her fake Kabbalahist religion and her still wet money are preferable to a child growing up in his or her own country and culture? (If you recall this same garbage existed with Elian Gonzalez years back). She offers a single parent home with two biological children who have no fatherly presence and the little boy whom she bought from his father.  A quick trip through any animal shelter should offer her ample opportunity to find needy creatures to love.  I simply do not understand it nor do I find it admirable on any level.  It is a form of colonialism that I had hoped we had abandoned.  Madonna may indeed be a material girl – but children are not traded on any exchange I know of and she needs to knock it off.  Now.

For Natasha’s Sons – How the Lost Boys Mourn March 22, 2009

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For Natasha and her sons

In my heart and mind I see the lost boys of Natasha Richardson mourning in a way that only boys of that age can mourn.  I saw William and Harry mourn that way. And most of all I see my baby brother mourn his loss when it happened to him.  Mothers lost suddenly, unexpected, with no chance to say goodbye.  Lost without the chance to save the day and make it stop. 
 
These boys – of this certain age, carry this unique loss all their lives.  The future  has ended as their own future starts. Their special talents and triumphs bloom harder without the special nurturing that brings them to fruit sweeter and fuller .  Their edges – beginning to firm – firm sharper and faster without the softened edges a mother can smooth.  Who encourages them to tenderness and caring now?  Who wipes the most private and personal tears and  embraces  the weeping when it comes, no matter when or why?  Who feeds the dog or cat let behind no matter how many times they promise to do it.   Not every mother merits this special grief – I suspect every mother thinks she does – but those who do are seen in one way or another in every step of their lost boys lives. 
 
The space that stays relentlessly empty lives within the heart and mind of these boys.  Part of it dreams of a day when it will all be back  to before ; part of it moves between happy memories that inevitably lead to tears of longing and regret.  But it never seems to resolve itself. Nor should it. The sadness encourages the memories and the memories allow growth and consolation. Leave them with their mothers forever frozen in time – young and loving – still vibrant and perfect. 
 Somehow many of them seem to be fair-haired  mothers, adding to the those tales of princesses and kisses that awaken even those held hostage by evil spells.  But to a son, every mother is that princess and this is the most evil spell imaginable. No kiss will fix it.  If only.
 
So this is how the lost boys mourn and learn, much to soon, to be strong and brave because their mother would have wanted that.  Although I am not sure, as a mother, that is what I would want or expect.  Little boys driven into manhood by loss and the energy that coping with loss requires. Would I insist that, with it all, they must be brave and manly too.  I don’t think so.
 
At this most grievous moment – give them time; allow them tears; encourage them to remember, because no matter how you cope – they will mourn longer and harder and sadder than you can imagine.  Burying their faces into sweaters to find her in the smell; listening to music she loved and still trying to be the little boy they were until that day arrived.
 
This is the way the lost boys mourn – try to ask nothing more of them. Abandon stiff upper lips, brave macho gestures, holding it in. The silences, the tears, the anger - embrace these boys and rock them and  simply let them mourn as only they can.

“Hanzelschaft iz nit keyn brudershaften” Livelihood is not brotherhood March 6, 2009

Posted by voolavex in Jews, Pets, Social Issues, common sense, despicable, guilt, immigration, kosher, talmud, torah.
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 I was recently writing an email to a family member regarding the Middle East War in Israel and as I wrote some cold thoughts came to mind that I had not addressed before. Troubled times call for fierce examination. Troubled times make people point fingers and assign blame. Sometimes I think the simplest truth can explain the most complex problem. I kept getting a zetz* from some annoying truths that begged for air. As a humane gesture to my kishkes** I started letting them out. They are my own truths – but they may zetz you too. They are not very likeable – but they do ring true. See what you think.

 

Bernard Madoff and Aaron Rubashkin are two of the worst things that have happened to the Jews since Pharoah’s armies got grounded. The two of them feed into the worst depths of Anti-Semitism and serve that end as examples of what people who (check one) mistrust, hate, avoid, slur and or revile the Jews, see as a benchmark of the entire Jewish tribe (except the one you know and he/she is a really nice person). And why wouldn’t they? The name for what Bernie Madoff did is affinity scam. Taking advantage of your own to establish credibility and then keeping at it until you are either caught or die. Underlying the entire con is the knowledge you personally know it’s is wrong, illegal, lies and misery for your victims. You know this when you start and you it know when you give it up, die or get caught. I would say that essentially it is driven by greed no matter how you slice it. This is the man for whom the term Greedy Jew was created. And in this troubled time this is the man who may have slowed; maybe even stalled the engine of the world. And because he used his Jewishness to this end he merits every bad name one can call him. Bernie Madoff is NOT good for the Jews. His money is treyf*** and so is every penny that may have been touched by him. Think of Bernie as a pig disguised as a lobster pretending to be a matzo ball.. Before you even work your way through to the “others” who got shafted all 163 pp of them (which I have read) find the Jews. The ones who lost big. These are what “others” will label “Stupid Jews”. Bernie Madoff is not good for the Jews. By the time one gets to the others it hardly matters who they are in terms of ethnicity. The blood libel has been revived and some stupid, greedy Jew did it. This makes me livid and is going to take a long time to fix . Why isn’t every Jew vocally enraged by this man and what he has done? Not content to go in head again first at the deep end let’s move along to the next question. What does Aaron Rubashkin have in common with Bernie Madoff? Greed.

 

 Aaron Rubashkin and Agriprocessors ignored Jewish law and screwed the Jews. Aaron and his family deny every single allegation and for this he is even more of a problem for the Jews. He exemplifies the slur “Those lousy Jews will do anything to make a buck”. Because that is precisely what he did and would have kept on doing if he had not been caught. Close friends of mine excuse him and tell me he has done so much good that he cannot have done what the law says he did but I don’t think prior good acts exonerate him. It’s like saying some Jew hater loves dogs. I love my friends and therefore I won’t argue with them but we disagree. Rubashkin is guilty of another kind of exploitation that was so specific to the Jews that it is disgusting. It’s not bad enough he exploited illegal and underage workers to work in his kosher meat factory. He is accused of breaking federal laws and religious law by his slaughtering methods and factory conditions and by doing so has made questionable every mouthful of kosher meat every observant Jew has bought under his aegis. This meat has been chewed and swallowed. Is it treyf? Part of the problem as I see it is in the entire behavior of Rubashkin and his cohorts. As with Madoff – they knew and they did it anyway. If you cut corners on one thing – where do you stop? And he did it in violation of Jewish law. He violated a mitzvah. He is a goniff, a hypocrite and betrayer. This makes me livid and is going to take a long time to fix . Why isn’t every Jew vocally enraged by this man and what he has done?

 

I don’t care if my meat is kosher and I am not observant but those who are deserve better than this. You might ask what happens if these folks ate the meat. Nothing except it is morally indefensible and therefore causes mental anguish among ****landsmen who have placed enormous trust in this product. If you recall how outraged we were in this country about the tainted dog food and baby formula – there is no difference. And the first tainted food was PET food. Think about it and get angry and let people know you’re an angry Jew.

 

Giving bigots a reason to use ethnic slurs is not good for the Jews. I think it is okay to be angry and vocal about both these men and what they have done. I think Jews should be outraged and say so. Nothing excuses them . Finding Bernie and Aaron outside the pale doesn’t do anything but say that you find this behavior unconscionable for everyone and especially the people that were targeted. Bernie Madoff is not good for the Jews. Aaron Rubashkin is not good for the Jews. We should all be much angrier than we appear to be.

 

* zetz = poke ** treyf/treif = not kosher ***kishkes = your gut ****landsmen = your co-religionists.

 

 Comments are welcome but I will delete anyone using the term – self-hating Jew – just so we are clear.

Forty Six Days to Go. No Bush Word Used. December 5, 2008

Posted by voolavex in Politics & Religion, Uncategorized.
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We all have watched with a sort of sickening amazement as the economy hit bottom in the last few months (years?).  I keep thinking of things that shouldn’t be surprising and yet people can’t seem to get a grip on some of them. 
 
Houses. Back when house loans were being hawked like bean pies on every corner* – why on earth did anyone imagine a person with no money, no credit history, no ability to read the fine print (and in fact – who does?) should get a house?  How did that concept become a good idea?  I didn’t think it was a good idea but I have never wanted to own a house – nonetheless, uncounted numbers did and do and so they sold their soul to the devil, signed the ARM and got a chance to live in their car.  Didn’t a little bell go off and say – this cannot be right?  And people didn’t just go for little sheds – they wanted those big ugly tract homes with the wrong proportions and the wrong doors for their family of 4 or 5.  I blame HGTV for that part.  Flip That House, Flop This House, granite counters, work islands, hardwood floors. THE GREAT ROOM. Get real.  Bigger and uglier is not always the way to go.   Which came first – the big, ugly house, or the features that go with?    Those dream houses are bad dreams and aftermath is a nightmare.   It is hard to weep for folks too thick to say – whoa – too good to be true -  but maybe it isn’t. It could have been me no matter what I believe inside.
 
And Detroit.  Didn’t they see it coming?  I did.  I drive a really great used car.  One owner; pristine, cheap and good on gas.  I can even fit a baby seat should I need one and a dog crate – which I won’t.  And this is L.A. – no one has sneered at me yet – but I have been pushed off the street frequently by morons in SUV’s texting and talking.  The SUV’s are gas guzzlers and the phone use is just dangerous – I love the phones but if you’re going to text while driving – why can’t I do the NY Sunday Times crossword when I drive?  Car lots are overflowing with unsold cars.  How many can you drive at once.  And why does the Miami-Dade CSI team need those Hummers?  Maybe if the Big Three and their minions had worked harder at making cars and and less time patting each other the back we might actually know someone who’s driven a Ford lately.
 
Hybrid cars.  I really want one for the obvious reason.  I can’t afford one but it hasn’t stopped me from wanting one.  People who do have them however have not been elevated to the Communion of Saints for their purchase.  Driving smug  is as dumb as the texting thing – you can’t really do it well.  Hybrid owners drive smug.  It totally negates the good thing the car represents.  I am growing to hate the drivers while still loving the cars – that is some sort of Christian thing I do not understand.
 
Wall Street.  Didn’t anyone read The Bonfire of the Vanities. Watched Wall Street?  Yes you did.  Three Card Monte artists in power ties and striped shirts. Short sales, puts, calls, brokerage, pork bellies, metals, in-is-der trading?  I knew about this years before there were computers. We had separate phone just for the broker – at home. When every call to your broker was a chance to buy more dog stocks because the broker’s pitch was so alluring.  Hedge funds (I still am not sure what they are but it cannot be legal). And while you bought – they bought and they spent and you paid and they lived large and you spent and they did not regulate themselves (as Alan imagined they would ) and now you may see them in front of Bloomingdale’s (Lex  Ave doors) playing Three Card Monte for real.  Your pension plan.  Don’t even go there.  You do not want to see it.
 
Bankrupt stores.  Stores that sell cheap crap at inflated prices.  Too many stores that sell cheap crap at inflated prices.  Too many folks who are going broke trying to lure underpaid, overworked humans in to buy the cheap stuff.  I want to blame China.  It’s hard not to blame China but it’s not all China’s fault -in fact I should blame the vendors not the makers because we order it and they create it and we palm it off as “collectible” or “hot and “must have”.  So while I am distraught for the many “Big Box” stores that are biting the big dust – didn’t they suspect something?  In many cases I would say good riddance to cheap rubbish but the loss of jobs is what keeps me from too much Schadenfreude.  I don’t think the loss of the giants will actually be so bad though – we may stop the imports from the outsources and try to make it here.
 
The Middle Class.  Somewhere along the line the term “middle class” has become a filthy thing to be called.  But it’s about the same as being a real person – and real is good. But no one wants to be middle class.  Why not.  Because you can’t be middle class and be a celebrity? You can be no class and be a star (No talent too). You lack importance?  To whom?  Here’s a clue – it’s not that important.  You don’t want to be the underclass (which is actually the lower class in terms of income – most people do try to escape that) but why not middle class?  Because in terms of cash flow you are just an Earth tad above the working poor and Space tad  below the Very Rich. Yet you can have a high functioning brain and skills and be middle class.  A real person. We pretend there is no class stratification in this country but it’s a lie.  But in this country we confuse money with class.   So we have a term for it – Nouveau Riche.  Class is a state of mind that is okay.  Politeness, good manners, speaking well (but not pontificating) and having a sense of style and taste gives you a classless sort of class – even dead broke.  People who read for pleasure have class.  Informed people have class. Black folks use a perfect term for it: ”the way you carry yourself”.  That is real class – middle class – and it’s not a bad thing.  I would rather be known for the way I carry myself than for my bank account and what it buys.  At this point in time – we, of the middle class have been around enough to be old money.  One does not have to be to the manner born – it’s just a good idea to know what the manner is and learn from it.  And enjoy being middle class. Real.  We are the engine that runs the world.  Even the president-elect says so.
.

Ratan Tata- If you don’t recognize the name – check Wikipedia.  He shows us how the concept “Good thoughts  Good Words  Good Deeds”  has actually worked for hundreds of years in a still developing country.  He is very wealthy. I do  believe he did not set aside his beliefs to get that way.

The Bailout.  Hank Paulson should change his name to Brownie.  His handling of the so-called Bailout is being handled about the same way Brownie handled Katrina.  Someone please take the money away from Hank..

There’s more – but this is enough today  What do you think?.

*The sale of bean pies by well dressed, polite young men on street corners still exists and I respect it greatly.  That it exists only in certain areas is a statement about many other things.  If you have a chance, though, buy one.  Can’t find a corner – try a Shabazz Bakery.

 

We Must Not Close Gitmo November 14, 2008

Posted by voolavex in Politics & Religion, Uncategorized.
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According to his prepared testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Greenspan lamented that “those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder’s equity (myself especially) are in a state of shocked disbelief.”  
Alan Greenspan – former disciple of Ayn Rand and former Chairman of the Fed
 
 
Why must we waste a perfectly lovely detention facility right in the luxurious Caribbean.  Of course it should be emptied of foreign detainees who are there without representation or any other right to which they may be entitled (we might ask John Cain about being detained for 5 years without a lawyer).  It seems these presumed terrorists (and I don’t doubt there are some there) are protected under several international acts that are reserved for presumed war criminals.  We have overlooked these pacts for 6+ years despite being signatories of each one.   We have created trumped up “acts” and rules to justify every sort of torture and deprivation imaginable.  The same stuff we condemned loudly for decades when others did it.  Apparently knocking down the WTC relieves us of every single law and rule in the book when it comes to enemy combatants.  The George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld Law of Double Standards.  It is my belief every person detained in that camp be channeled to a legally authorized facility with counsel available and allowed real justice to be meted out to each person based on facts and due process.
 
But we have this fabulous, large, working prison camp on balmy Guantanamo Bay – escape proof – like the Rock – and ready to go.  Let’s not be hasty.  Right here in this very country we have many yet to be indicted (but readily) indictable white collar crooks from our own terror locations right in New York, Washington and other large cities.  These are referred to as CEO’s, Board Chairmans, Bankers, Mortgage lender and Hedge Funders.  And of course political mischief makers.  In fact they are all basically crooks. I might start filling the place with the people who destroyed Valerie Plame’s career.   Next on my list would be the chairman of the Fed. The lovable and much respected Alan Greenspan who naively believed (because Ayn Rand said so?) that given a free reign – financial institutions would regulate themselves – no problem.  If that were actually true then it would be the very first time in the history of the universe – since the Big Bang – such a thing ever happened.  Even toddlers know that the king was in his counting house counting all his money.  It makes me chuckle when I think of the gasps and moans folks let out whenever the Mafia is mentioned.  All the bad things they do and how they rob and cheat and lie.  Right.  Even the mob has regulation – it may be harsh – but someone takes charge.  Recently Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute for {Get Rich and Run with the Money – oops} – Individual Rights said that Atlas Shrugged had foreseen it all.  That the government was at fault – oh crap – you read it:

Washington, D.C. –“Despite overwhelming evidence that government policies caused the current financial crisis, Congress is blaming businessmen,” said Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. “What’s worse, the capitalists who have been shackled with unprecedented regulatory burdens are unable to defend themselves morally. Though the events are different, this pattern of abuse and submission is straight out of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.

“The cycle starts with government intervening into the economy and imposing regulations and controls on business. This distorts the free market, leading to economic dislocations. When the problems caused by these distortions inevitably follow, everyone blames the free market and its greedy capitalists. The proposed solution? More government controls. Over the years, conservative critics of creeping government have repeatedly exposed this illogic but have always been helpless to explain why the cycle keeps repeating, decade after decade.

“The pattern keeps recurring because businessmen are willing to take the blame. From capitalism’s inception, its defenders have been morally disarmed by the widespread view that self-interest is morally suspect, and disinterested service to others is a moral ideal. So each new spate of controls has been grudgingly accepted as a fair price to pay for society’s toleration of the selfish pursuit of profit.

“Atlas Shrugged depicted a society in economic collapse due to this recurring cycle, and today’s parallels are obvious. Government manipulation of money, credit, and lending standards over several decades caused the mess we’re in. Now, the offered solution is more of the poison that sickened the economy–more bailouts, more cheap money, more government-guaranteed loans, and above all, more regulations.

“This chronic cycle will not end until businessmen accept that their production of profit is neither immoral nor amoral–it is the capstone of moral virtue. Once they shrug off the role of scapegoat, businessmen can demand with moral certitude that government punish fraud and enforce contracts but refrain from interfering with voluntary trades among consenting adults.

“When America’s markets are finally free of all coercion–in other words, when laissez-faire is achieved–financial crises such as the one we’re experiencing will never happen again.”

Basing the current crisis on this rationale is not going to produce many guilty pleas in Federal Courts.  But there will be trials and there will be verdicts and yes, Virginia, people will go to jail.

Why not turn the ugly history of Gitmo into a place that houses the people that did this to our nation – not  alleged enemy combatants – but greedy, cheating, lying men and women who should know what it’s like to lose your home, your family, your income, your future, your sanity as you fill their bottomless pit of greed.  Let them live in a little bitty cell – like the family car  has become an itty bitty cell for the unemployed, disenfranchised, hopeless and homeless taxpayers of this country.  I would suggest a dress code – jumpsuits of khaki and oxford blue.  And cheap tacky slip-ons.  Nutritious food with no flavor and no variety.  No wine.  No bottled water.  Minimal health care ( just like everyone else’s) and no Ayn Rand tomes.  Let them know that Atlas has indeed shrugged and it has all landed on them.  Envision these detainees in the tropical splendor of Cuba’s southeastern shores hunting endlessly for John Galt as they try to jump start the engine of the world perpetually in motion but only in their direction.

Guantanamo Prison Camp is too symbolic and too perfect to  be closed and made into a museum – who would actually visit it owing to its location and the situation in Cuba?  But as a slammer.  It’s just perfect.  Please share your thoughts on this idea. 

And, if you are fans, supporters or believers in Ayn Rand and her Objectivism – you are welcome to comment – but I am personally not interested in her philosophy.  I have read her books and taken in her website and considered her views.  She is not my cup of tea.  I will read your comments but I will not post screeds, rants, apologies or propaganda on her ideas.  Sorry – but I did it once before and I found it distasteful.

Dreams From My Father November 10, 2008

Posted by voolavex in Politics & Religion.
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I had a wonderful father.  The beliefs he offered me and showed me  have stayed with me to this moment in time.  He was a Boston Irish Catholic intellectual with all the baggage that carries.  Short of cash and far too smart for his own good at a time when university was for the very rich., he never got his degree.  He always said his love of books was due to the fact his parents both worked in a book bindery and stayed employed during the Depression.  He passed it on to me.  He was a serious smart ass and a great wit.  He drank.  He was a snob and a social climber – the networker of all time. He was a  metrosexual before the word was ever coined.  He had quite a few jobs that made great stories. At eight he learned to drive and smoke.  He drove a hearse to and from the family speakeasy because he looked “mature” and they needed a sober driver.  He rappelled off the walls from under his bedroom window  and transported bathtub gin back and forth.  He told me the secret of a good bathtub gin was Red Lion Juniper Juice.  I was young enough to be impressed.  He was a butler. He went to Washington DC to work as a copywriter for the Washington Post and he was good. This was before we entered the war.  His cronies were all  admen and crackpots and they ran in a pack.  Not chasing women but more after the joy of the times they were in and the place they were in them. When in NYC he frequented Spivy’s Roof.  One day he wandered through the public rooms of the White House and saw Eleanor Roosevelt in her office.  He said hello and the next thing he knew they had a standing lunch date.  He revered her and I have no doubt he entertained her greatly.  One night, drunk on a Potomac golf course near the War College one of his cronies played reveille on his trumpet at 3 a.m.; the lights went on and the lot of them staggered like jackrabbits to get outta’ town.    He met  and courted  my mother in 1942 and two people could not have been less suited to one another – but it was war time and every GI wanted a sweetheart. He had been drafted (bad vision and flat feet did not keep him out of this man’s army)  and after resisting Sam’s call  he finally showed up with a pair of boxers and a quart of gin.  During the war they married and it went south from there but not before they had me and Boston apartment full of Heywood Wakefield furniture.  He wrote a book about his experiences in the Army and it was indeed published.  I have always been proud of this achievement because he was so happy about it.  He was an officer and a gentleman.  We’ll skip the re-up and the wrong assignment and the subsequent divorce – it was dismal but I did eventually wind up living with father in New York City and thus began my education in 1958.  My father was a Kennedy Democrat and rightly so.  As he liked to remind people he was born 3 days and 26 miles from JFK in 1917.  It didn’t take long for me to become just as enthralled.
 
During this period in my life my father sold Winfield China and his territory was New Rochelle and Mt. Vernon; his clients were middle class Negroes.  He chose his territory.  He often took me with him and as a consequence my only experience with the Black community as a young teen was lemonade, cookies and a serious caveat to be quiet and respectful.  What I saw were working people with nice flats and good jobs. They didn’t seem very different to me than any other people.  Civil rights occupied his conscience and troubled him deeply.  From this I learned things I assumed everyone knew.  I was angry when I found that was not the case.The March on Washington was my father’s march.  And mine.  He had a seat – spiritually – at every sit-in and our worst falling out was when I called him a bigot after he told me I couldn’t go to Selma.  The reason: he was afraid white people would kill me.  He taught me the N-word was the worst word a person could utter. His beliefs and moral outrage never left me and when Barack Obama ran for president I could imagine how my father would have felt.  And I was sad because he didn’t live to experience this sublime moment in the advancement of his cherished thoughts.  I know I voted for Obama, at least partly, as a result of my father’s wisdom.  And I know that I cast my ballot for Obama and his platform from a deep and precious place – a place that would never have been born and never have flourished without the dreams from my father. 

Racism, Sexism, Ageism – American Traditions Run for Office September 28, 2008

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Now that there is a hint of a peep that some GOP insiders are thinking Snarky Sarah should fall off the GOP ticket, I am waiting with bated breath to see if and how she does it.  Anyone who considers interaction with Canada a qualification for determining foreign policy has severe brain freeze. (And when was this contretemps with Canada/Alaska and why didn’t we know about it?)  As far as I can tell the closest the Snark has come to foreign relations is with her Kenyan houngan Rev Muthee.  She is a bad print of a smoke and mirrors magician who coughs on the smoke and walks into the mirrors while the rabbits run away.  Since neither Palin nor McCain know enough to get real – here’s  hoping the Grand Old Party pulls the plug on this fiasco without delay. Having a nice rack is not a qualification for much anymore since you can get a nice rack for about $5,000.  Anyone can buy those pricey Peggy Hill glasses and teasing hair is not actually a talent. Neither is having five kids. She should, drop – literally – out – ASAP.
 
As an aside; while McCain stood and repeated himself Friday night, I wondered what his running mate thought of the many times he mentioned “earmarks”.  Sarah’s earmark hobby doesn’t make her an expert on that either- pork barrel patronage is simply NOT kosher – even in Alaska.
So here we have a campaign concert in contradictions and a election rife with  three of the most un-PC components of hypocrisy alive and active in the United States.  Let’s review: 
 
AGEISM:
McCain is too old.  What is too old?  Too old for what?  Why is he too old? When was there an age cap on running for office. Who declared this to be a fact? You know who was too old?  Strom Thurmond.
 
And if it’s McCain’s health that is used as a clean up for ageism – let’s not forget “Just A Heartbeat Away from Another Heart Attack” Dick Cheney – who is still just several pace makers away from the White House.  Or the handsome and down to earth Ronald Reagan who may or may not have spent a good deal of his two terms in the throes of Alzheimer’s and or naps. Every time they mention McCain’s 72 year old heart it’s a slur.  Like it or not.
RACISM:
Obama is Black.  Obama is not Black enough. Obama is too black.  Obama has a Black wife and two Black children. .  Obama’s mother was white.  What about his middle name?  Obama is an elitist person of color (That is just a crafty word for uppity.)  Obama went to Harvard.  Is someone jealous? Seriously, doesn’t someone with 9 houses seem elite?  Even on an ordinary day I would not use the word elite to describe Obama but I would consider the McCain’s nouveau riche and they probably think they are elite. I know most middle of the road Americans are pondering how it came to pass that a dark looking man is running for president.  Some are scared and will not say so.  Others are forming militias.  If Obama was white it wouldn’t matter.  He might even slip by if his father had been white and his mother black but it is what it is. This is racist and every time someone mentions Black in a “roll your eyes” tone of voice or calls him the N word among “friends” – it’s a form of slur.  Like it or not.
 
SEXISM    
 She’s a Woman.  She has children.  She grabbed the main chance.  She was middle-aged.  She went to law school.  She wore pants suits.  Her hair was wrong.  Who does her hair?  Who chooses her outfits. What about those hairbands?   Look at that rack.  She pre-menopausal, she’s menopausal, she’s dried up.
She hunts and shoots.  She stood by her cheating man. Could be Palin or Hillary -  they have vaginas in common  We do not want the Senate floor to be turned into the vagina monologues* This is all sexist and thus slurs.  Like it or not.
 
There it is, the clock ticking away like a bomb.  And as loyal Americans we stand true to our history, culture, hypocrisy, fears, attitudes, religions and bank accounts -  at it again.   Every four years.  Like it or not.
* With a thank you to Eve Ensler for the creation of the term.

So Many Sides to Sarah – She’s More Than Just Sally Six-Pack October 12, 2008

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Sally Six-Pack has maneuvered herself between a rock and a hard place on 
a melting ice floe.  Look at the multi-tasking list she has made for herself in this election:
 
Governor of the Great State of Alaska
Former Mayor of Metropolitan Wasilla
Former Beauty Queen
Soccer Mom
Hockey Mom
Mom of a Special Needs Child
Mom of a Pregnant Teenage Daughter
Mom of a Soldier
Committed Christian (not sure what that means but she is one)
Gun lover
VP candidate
Supporter of Secession for the Great State of Alaska
Show runner for McCain Campaign
Mrs. Malaprop.
Hottie
Hate Mongerer
Name caller
Faithful wife of First Dude (really?)
Cronyist
And, as of yesterday – an abuser of Political Power.
 
And if that’s not enough, last week, Sarah Palin made the cover of Newsweek this week and already folks are crying foul.  Damn – I know plenty of people out here in TV land that would run a Hummer over a baby just to make the cover of Newsweek.  What the hell is up with people - it’s a great close up shot – she looks age appropriate – in fact better, especially after five kids and all that sun damage out shooting caribou in the Great State of Alaska.  So what’s the problem.  Eeee-oooo – we can see a crow’s foot.  Someone forgot to Photo shop her into a glamour kitten. Well, here the rub: Sal cannot have it both ways.  Either she is a soccer mom married to Joe Six-pack – with a face untouched by Botox or she is a beauty queen who can’t actually wear heels and gloves at the same time.  And it’s not even BOTH ways – She wants it every way.  Check out her list above. Sarah’s acolytes expect her to be all those things and more and Sarah just eggs them on.  (Oh and plus a politician and one with a brain too.).   Well – in that case – you really cannot have it every which  way you choose.   The mere fact that Snarky Sally Six-pack  got  the cover of Newsweek should make her family and all her misguided followers thrilled.  If we are lucky – after Nov 5, we will not see her again for many a moon. 
 
New accusations by the Washington Post of her hate speech and slur mongering fuel the fire too. The cover of Newsweek is the least of her worries and ours.  Sally Six-pack should have a sock stuffed in her mouth until the election is over and her presumptive running mate should keep running his and alienate even his closest friends on “both sides of the aisle.”  One sings, the other doesn’t.
 

A Non-Sectarian Prayer for This Election October 12, 2008

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This world, today, is a terrifying spot to be in,   I have created a non-sectarian, plea to whomever you wish to ask for aid and succor.  Please feel free to share it.
 
“Dear Person of Power in the Spiritual Plane:
 Please keep me from ever being in a financial position or a tax bracket that makes voting for a Republican ever seem like the right thing to do.  Keep me solvent but liquid, keep me concerned for my fellow man and not my Board of Directors and please, whatever you do, bring Barack Obama to the White House.  And when you have done that please pick a house and send John McCain to it and throw away the key.  Strap Sally Six-Pack in a dog sled and mush her back to Juneau and deliver us from having this sort of crap exist.  
Forever. 
Amen”

Sarah Palin Has Nothing to Lose? October 15, 2008

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Sally Sixpack has figured out an odd way to help her running mate win the election.; something I think running mates are supposed to do.  On Rush Limbaugh today she declared “she had nothing to lose” by saying the things she has said publicly for the last week or so.  Well, Sally – here’s a tip – John McCain has poured millions of dollars into trying to win the White House – he has stumped all over the country while you had secret babies and a knocked up teenager and abuses of power on your tiny plate and your tiny mind.  McCain is 72 – let’s face it - he tires more easily than someone in their 40’s.  So while he was out busting his ass to win friends and influence people, build a war chest, narrow the field and win the GOP nomination – you were having your nails done and charging the taxpayers for travel time you didn’t even use.  You are absolutely correct though.  “You got nothin’ to lose”  You haven’t spent millions of dollars of your money on fund raisers or McCain rallies to try for the brass ring.  All you have is a bully pulpit, a big mouth and a nice rack.  Whatever kind of Christian you claim to be is one who is certainly not very well acquainted with Scripture but in the book of Proverbs 10:18 this is way it’s said :

, “He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.” So Sally – you appear to be a fool on a fool’s errand betraying even the poor man who so foolishly chose you to run with him.  You got nothin’, you got nothin’ to loose. If you had an ounce of dignity and compassion you would make yourself invisible and step down. (Thanks Bob). 

 So this is what I think Sally, you are a fake.  You are a has been beauty queen.  You are a mean girl. You are the worm in the apple and the aftertaste in diet soda. And it used to be annoying but now it’s  become dangerous – more dangerous than Bill Ayers, more dangerous than the name Hussein and way more dangerous than  poor, shaky John McCain ever imagined.  You are costing Senator McCain his bid at the White House.  And even worse you are the still first runner up and will be crowned Miss America if he dies in office.  I am a Democrat and hope he loses, but God, woman.  What is wrong with you?  I am thinking that this is your walk down the runway of life – going for the crown and the roses and getting a free trip to Atlantic City.  You were nobody before and here’s the best part- you’ll be nobody and a joke soon. You need to get offa’ the ticket and  ride outta’ town.  Like Lou Reed sang back in the day:

Ride, sally, ride
It’s not your time, it’s just your confusion
Ride, sally, ride
It’s not your time …….

David Brooks who called you a fatal cancer was not far off.  Rude, nasty, cruel -  then take a look at yourself.  He was being kind.

Pro-Abortion Groups, John? What Exactly Do They Do? October 17, 2008

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I was wrong.  Last night I watched McCain who twitches and grimaces like he has Tourette’s and Democrat nominee Obama – who looks like an ad from GQ,  hash it out – again.  It was painful.  I think maybe just hearing it might have been better.  Watching was painful.  And just when I thought they had said everything they could – again - McCain started using a term I was not familiar with.  And he used it more than once and I thought he had invented it for the debate.  Silly me.  Apparently “Pro-Abortion” is used by many groups who distort the actual meaning of Pro-Choice.  Here’s two I found – and I didn’t think I would actually find many because it is such an idiotic concept – who would even try.  Well I was wrong. 
 http://www.hli.org/article_ny_abortion_bullying_mexico.html
http://www.cirtl.org/lifefoes.htm
 are merely two groups who actively use this term to describe people who want to choose their own actions.  As offensive as I find it,  I also question the veracity of the term itself. It cannot be an accurate  because who can force anyone to have an abortion?  Pro-choice groups do not use guns, or bombs or threats to coerce anyone into an abortion.  Period.  You may have a bully of a parent or husband who tries or succeeds – but that is family.  No group I know of – who advocates choice wants you to have an abortion if you would like to have a baby instead. No group who is pro-choice targets pro-life groups for murder.  Pro-Choice is a name for people who think having a child or an abortion is private and no ones business but ones own.  Pro-Choice says that prevention of unwanted pregnancies is the best way to reduce the need for abortion.  They offer choices about preventing unplanned pregnancies – including abstinence.  Pro-Life offers one thing and one thing only.  A baby.  Wanted or Unwanted.  Healthy or Compromised. Married or Unmarried.  Even rape victims and even mothers at high risk for death.  This is pretty much what they want.  And now John McCain wants  us to accept the term Pro-Abortion and it is simply incorrect.    John McCain – who must have folks vetting his terms and speeches – knows that NARAL and Planned Parenthood are NOT Pro-Abortion.  John McCain knows that moderate GOP voters know this too.  So he comes across as an idiot, a shill and a stooge for the Right Wing Christians.  Do I think he is all those things – I don’t know – I just know what he sounded like to me.
 
A table on Abortion law – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  spells it out pretty clearly and there are many countries who do not allow abortion on request but they do have exceptions that are certainly civilized enough to take into consideration circumstances and health issues. Abortions by country on wiki is a very good way to understand more about the subject and how it is handled elsewhere.  Italy says yes across the board.  I find this ironic.  
But for the most part there are exceptions and there are considerations.  Another quick search under the words “foreign abortion + bombings” turned up one in Bangladesh.  Pro Life means not killing doctors, nurses and patients
and whatever collateral damage (living things) gets caught in these acts of terror.
There is no Pro-abortion movement and John McCain knew it when he used the term.  Pandering to one segment of society is not equal rights.  It enslaves women.  It encourages and incites riots, killing and acts of domestic terrorism.
Pro-”Life” activists are militant; they put a higher value on some lives than others.  They do what domestic terrorists do – they kill, they maim and they deny every American equality.  Pro-life is not about life – it’s about control and subjugation. When those wing nuts start talking about what to do with all the babies they are insisting on – then I may hear them out.
 
For the record, abortion is not  birth control but, it is a medical decision that should be made first by a woman and her doctor.  Republicans spend more time trying to get into women’s pants than any other bunch I have encountered.   For a party that wants less government they certainly want to set one up in my uterus unilaterally and decides what comes in and what goes out.
Embracing personal choice is voting and worshipping and speaking on terms protected by the Constitution.  Maybe the snake handling, holy rollers and fundamentalists should read the Constitution instead of scripture.   And maybe John McCain should work on keeping his foot out of his mouth.
NARAL.org
Plannedparenthood.org

No Health Insurance. The 47,000,000 Left Behind November 1, 2008

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I have no health insurance.  Period.  I have an untreatable disease that ideally should be monitored about twice a year and biopsied about every five years.  My last biopsy – in 2003 was under insurance and cost $10,000.  It came out better than hoped for and so I dodged a bullet.  I should have another one but I don’t have the money.  Even if I did, I have the “pre-existing condition” that no one even looked for 16 years ago.  I could (not will , but I might ) cost some insurance company a lot of money in the future and they are not in the business of healthcare they are in the business of mismanaging funds and saying “no”. I am a bad risk. 
 
I am fortunate to live in a city where a serious, full time Free Clinic,  treats anyone – not anything - but enough to get you through the year. It is supported by endowments, donations (large and small) and the time and energy of real doctors who do at least a rotation there. Philanthropists and humanitarians.  I get blood work once a year to let me know if I am about to need major surgery or if I have developed a worse condition known as cancer.  So far I have been lucky.  Waiting in the clinic is not a hardship nor is being assembly lined through.  The fact is that the care is more personal and considerate than the average doctor visit.  I am going for this year’s blood test next week.  My feeling is that it will be okay.  If not, it doesn’t matter because I can’t afford to treat it or try to fix it or do anything but have it become worse.  So  maybe I am a tiny bit concerned.
 
This is not a cry for sympathy – it is what 47 million Americans, including myself) face every day.  It is a result of managed care which should be in the hands of doctors not number crunchers.  I should get the same care as a Senator who technically is my employee. One should not have to work to get the benefit of insurance.  I wonder – is it really your employer’s job to care for your health? I am not informed enough to say.  I can’t fathom who is greedier, Blue Cross (and its ilk) or Doctor Somebody and his malpractice insurance payments or the government who things it is pinko to have healthy citizens.  I do know that $5000 a year tax credit is a dirty joke coming from a man with millions.  The older you get the more you need care.  Starting at about fifty. The ludicrousness of shopping for insurance is insulting.  The only person you should be concerned with choosing is your doctor.  Insurance companies decide who gets what treatment and they don’t use common sense or kindness to do it.  We are the only developed country that does not insure their citizen’s health.  This makes us underdeveloped in a very basic way.  Does a nation of healthy people make us socialists? Okay – call me names.   I still would rather be a healthy American than dead at an early age because of nomenclature and labels. 

Barack Obama November 5, 2008

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President Elect of the United States.

We have gotten a second chance for this country.  Thank God

Prop 8 – In Defense of Traditional Marriage? November 7, 2008

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“Proposition 8 is a California State ballot proposition that would amend the state Constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman. It would overturn a recent California Supreme Court decision that had recognized same-sex marriage in California as a fundamental right. The official ballot title language for Proposition 8 was “Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry”; the entirety of the text added to the constitution was: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

This is all it said.  When you read it sounds kind of simple and silly.  I mean who has the right to decide who can marry?  Why should anyone care?   

There used to be a law that kept miscegenation from happening in this country. For those of you who are not familiar with the concept I quote Wiki: Miscegenation comes from the Latin miscere, “to mix” and genus, “kind”. The word was coined in the U.S. in 1863, and the etymology of the word is tied up with political conflicts during the American Civil War over the abolition of slavery and over the racial segregation of African-Americans. The reference to “genus” was made to emphasize the supposedly distinct biological differences between whites and non-whites. In fact, all humans belong to the same genus, Homo, to the same species, Homo sapiens and to the same subspecies, Homo sapiens sapiens. The folks who wrote Prop 8 made sure there would be no confusion about terminology.

The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution – which trumps the states says this:“Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

It also says that if one state says something is legal in the said state, then the other states have to respect it.  Equal justice and equal rights are the primary issue that Prop 8 addresses and it is simply wrong..  Its inclusion into the state constitution creates a special class of citizen who is not permitted to fully experience or enjoy the privileges and rights guaranteed to others.  In fact it ensures that people who are homosexuals are not equal citizens of this country and thus not governed by the same laws nor given the same rights the constitution guarantees in Amendment 14.  In essence: ”Round ‘em up and keep them all together where you can make sure they don’t want things “regular” people want. ”  Sonofabitch.  Maybe we should whup ‘em and sell ‘em too?

The supporters don’t care. The claim they make is this : “we need to protect traditional marriage and to restore marriage”.  To be perfectly honest I had no idea that marriage was being threatened.  There was a time when “living together” was a big deal and I think marriage was feared to be threatened then, but now weddings are very popular and except for people like Gene Simmons, lots of folks want to get married.  That works for me.  Some people don’t.  That’s fine too.  And it is a widely discussed decision between people who are facing marriage.  Neither the state nor the union has any  specific moral requirement for marriage.  I was married in a civil union ceremony in a judges’ chambers.   He said I was married and although no clergy were present and no religious prayers were uttered – he said it was marriage all the same.   I’m happy.   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_union). 

But there is a hidden agenda lurking in picture and  it really makes things sticky. Why?  Because the majority of this proposition was underwritten by the Mormon Church.  God help us if the Jews had tried this (and there are plenty of religious Jews who don’t approve of or accept same-sex unions.  But they didn’t try to change the California constitution.  Way too smart for that.)  Go to this blog for a donor tracker – it takes hours to go through but you can sure see who is and isn’t your supporter http://atomicgaywonk.blogspot.com/2008/08/proposition-8-money-tracking-resources.html.  It’s worth your time.

 But why, of all people, do the kinda’ odd Mormons imagine they have some duty to protect traditional marriage?   They say it is a moral question and my feeling is that civil laws do not decide what is moral.   The best judge on earth will tell you that the law deals with legal statutes and not morality questions.  If the Mormons don’t want same sex Mormon marriage – that’s their choice.  The same goes for the Christian church, the Jews, the Muslims and the Hindus.  Your faith, your rules. Leave it if you don’t like it.  You see though, once this kind of agenda gets attention and support it become insidious.  If we can do this – hmmm- why not try something else?  They are a missionary faith – they invade the privacy of homes to sell their beliefs and they actively seek converts.  That’s one way they got to talk about the Proposition 8 on a one to one basis with folks.  And it worked.  For the informed minds or minds that want to be informed, part two continues this post and there are some really good parts – so try to read it too,

In any event I am stewed like a prune about this whole Prop 8 matter and actively support the Gay on every level.  They are right to be outraged.  I am outraged.

Prop 8 – Part Two November 8, 2008

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Part Two

Here is why Mormon money and Prop 8 don’t work for me.  I loathe hypocrisy and I loathe deception and  I really don’t like sneaky, secretive old white men telling people that “God said _____________”  Fill in the blank.    The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints has some gall,  colossal nerve and sinister smugness trying to shove this holier than thou crap on the public.  And the use of the word “traditional”really seals the deal for me.  Let’s look at Mormon marriage.  Mormons take marriage very seriously.  Which is fine.  But instead of a joyful family celebration, Mormon weddings tend to be bleak and depressing.  Don’t let the Youtube Mormon wedding videos fool you.  That is all done before the rites take place.  Things get dramatically, well,  dramatic once the man and woman leave the safety of kith and kin and enter the Sanctum Sanctorum.  Instead of trying to describe in my own words I direct you to this link that will really leave you speechless. (Complete with circles and arrows and “the secret garment”).  FYI:They also wear a fig leaf when getting hitched).  http://http://www.lds-mormon.com/veilworker/endowment1.shtml

By my own standards this is anything but “traditional” marriage as I have come to know it.  It is secret (and therefore it may be silly and/or shameful) and exclusionary and frankly odd.  Most Gay couple just have a wedding or go to City Hall.  Most straight people do too.  Orthodox Jewish weddings are quite ritualized but anyone can watch.  Mormonism is a faith founded on polygamy by its “Prophet Joseph Smith” and some writing that he translated from “Reformed Egyptian” in secret.  In 1890, to become a state in the union it banned plural marriage.  Not very well apparently because it is still practiced by some Mormon Americans in defiance of numerous laws.  FYI – when it says “plural marriage – it means wives.  Woman don’t have plural husbands and they don’t have equal rights.  Neither do children.  They also swap wives in these fundamentalist sects – but the women don’t get to say yes or no.) To have been audacious enough to support a change to the California constitution to exclude human citizens from marriage should strike you as hilarious on many levels – it isn’t.  Prop 8, it is claimed, was done for moral reasons.  A religion based on secret ceremonies and handshakes; marrying dead people to each other so they will be together in Heaven for eternity so they will land on the planet Kobol and become God makes them uniquely unqualified to tell other folks how to live their lives by my moral standards.  But then I don’t judge gay people who want to get married.  We have separation of church and state and  I don’t believe religious money,influences, groups and advocates should have standing to amend any constitution in this country.  It inflicts religious behavior on America citizens.  I think lawmakers should make the laws for everyone. Same sex marriage threatens NO ONE.  The LDS should be ashamed of itself and I suggest they ay not stop at Prop 8.  In closing ,I also think that having Mormon missionaries at your door qualifies as a Close Encounter of the Third Kind.   You may even find yourself beamed up.  Gay trekkies take note.

*Eight Great Tomatoes for Nadya Suleman February 14, 2009

Posted by voolavex in common sense, guilt, health care.
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Nadya Suleman is beginning her journey to fame down the yellow line in the snow with passengers.  If this were the early 20’s she’d have already set her sights on Ringling Brothers and joined the circus side show by now.  She missed her decade and her destiny I guess.  She is here and now,  and because we know the world spins  forward, her own public dog and pony show has yet to reach its apex. And let’s face it; it’s hard not to watch.  So let’s talk about that.
 
First.  I seriously doubt  grandma Angela Suleman is blameless in this situation, but I can also say from an age standpoint she surely did not want babies in her late 50’s.  Six kids under 7 works for some people; usually the very religious or the very rich.  The litany of things Nadya has done over the last 8 years; degrees, school, worker’s comp, cosmetic surgery makes me wonder how she had time to get pregnant.  Seriously – being pregnant all the time is hard work.  Ask anyone with a bunch of kids.Two or three of these crumb snatchers seem to have spectrum disorder.  That’s not easy to handle.  Most autistic kids need extra time and attention.  Because I don’t know where they fall in the birth order I can’t say whether she knew about the health matters and should have thought twice before going on.  She went on anyway. She had octuplets.
Second.  A long time ago I nannied 4 little boys in a house just like the Suleman’s abode .  If I am not mistaken theirs is a 3 bedroom, one bath with a garage, on a lot the size of a postage stamp.  In my case, 4 little boys under 11 slept in one bedroom in bunk beds with a crib for the baby (who was two).  Both parents worked full time and I lived in and was paid weekly.  The dad was ex-military so once a month they went to Long Beach and stocked up at the Navy commissary.  No welfare.  No food stamps.  All boys with appetites and needs.  The big outing for all of us was the DAV thrift store.  Apparently Nadya’s big outing is the fertility clinic.  In between classes, pregnancies and plastic surgery. So what comes into my mind is something is amiss.
 
Third.  Leaving the lower portion of her body (aren’t you glad) - there is the question of her alleged plastic surgery.  I am kind of surprised there have  no before photos of Nadya floating around.  She looks pretty fake to me.  And she is no Angelina Jolie. It looks like cheek implants and probably lip puffer.  And it looks fairly recent.  (I would love a blepharoplasty for under my eyes. Ain’t gonna happy. Just saying).  I did notice she also has a nice French manicure – no clue what the current cost is on that – but say $30 a month.  Ten half gallons of milk.   I see a tummy tuck and bosom revamp in the future somewhere in the windmills of her mind.  We’ll see.
 
Fourth. I am pro-choice.  I am not pro-choice on the state’s nickel. I do not believe these innocent children are a gift from God – I believe they are exploited children with a severely disturbed mother.
 
Fifth.  As it appears she is already in the welfare system, I would go a step further and make all these hapless kids wards of the state until it can be determined she can care for them.   Can you feed six kids on $490 a month (plus WIC)? I think $120 a week is a stretch for six kids.  What is the quality of life for these kids? Begging for donations on a website while taking state funds sounds like wanting many bites of the apple -say about 14.  It also sounds a little bit crooked.
 
Sixth.  What about Dr. Kamrava? You can look him up at the Medical Board of California.  His record seems blameless.  I suspect that’s gonna change. But other than losing his medical practice or some other nasty fate – what does he care and why should he.?  Thus far nothing about IVF seems to require moral or practical advice. In the words of Tom Lehrer,  singing about Werner Von Braun “Once the rockets go up, who cares where they come down; that’s not my department says Werner Von Braun.”
 
Seventh.  Back to Grandma Suleman.  While I am not an advocate of physical abuse of any kind – someone should have knocked some sense into  her only child about 13 kids ago. Or got her a couple of pets.  Grandma is either a door mat, mentally disturbed ( genetic maybe), stupid or is on some sort of guilt trip whose bill has come due.  She blows hard about “not taking care of the kids anymore” but I seriously doubt she will go into the Witless Protection Program and get outta’ dodge.  If she is counting on media pay-offs; Nadya may hit the jackpot by selling her life and kids to some tab (like the Dionne’s).  Nadya however doesn’t seem to believe in the trickle down effect.  I doubt Grandma will see a penny.
 
Eighth.  Who is the father?  Does Nadya know?  Does the dad know?  I seriously question the motives and thinking of rich baby collectors like Mia Farrow and Brangelina but one thing may be said – they have plenty of money to behave as they do. Nadya Suleman is not going to be “Mother of the Year” this year or any other.  And sadly, in the big picture – I doubt the law, the state, her parents or anyone else can do much about it.  Watch this space.
 
*The name of this post comes from a tomato paste commercial jingle for Contadina .  by Stan Freberg from 1956.  It went: “who put eight great tomatoes in that little bitty can?”  www.lewrockwell.com.  I shouldn’t have to explain further.

Dayenu January 1, 2009

Posted by voolavex in Social Issues.
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They wanted Gaza.  They got Gaza. Dayenu.  Every shred of Israeli everything destroyed by Israel for Gaza.  Chaos in Gaza ensued.  Election time and the Gazans went for Hamas.  No government was formed.  No diplomatic exchanges took place.  Israel denied Gazans access to Israel. Gazans were upset. Hamas went berserk.  Shots were fired. Egypt sealed its border.  Dayenu. They built tunnels to Egypt.  But they wanted Gaza.  They got Gaza.  They got Hamas.  Hamas’ mandate is to kills Jews.  The citizens of Gazan can starve, die and go to hell. Killing Jews is the purpose of Hamas.  Why doesn’t anyone see why Israel and IDF are defending themselves against mass murderers, terrorists and religious fanatics with arms.  Do you think 9/11 was okay?  Then you need to defend Hamas.  A leader was killed – too bad; so sad – he killed Jews and went to Paradise.  He must be soooo happy.  I know I am.