I just read a blog where the writer was consumed by a feeling that something big was about to happen and it would appear that whatever "IT" was, it was not going to be good. She received many comments that both commiserated with and added to the feelings of doom and gloom.
I am not a Pollyanna by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I all too often see the proverbial glass as half empty. Having said that, this was my response to the blogger.
I would like to shed some light on the darkness in this thread. Just today I got a phone call from Jesse. He convinced me to join a group of people in my community who will meet monthly to get out a progressive message in our country that will stick and resonate with a growing number of people who are fed up with the "darkness" that has pervaded our lives in the last several years. Without getting into the nitty gritty and at the risk of sounding naive to some readers, I am here to say that in fact, just today, after speaking with Jesse and committing myself to join these local coordinating councils, I have begun to feel a little more uplifted, somewhat more hopeful , a wee bit LIGHTER. Margaret Mead said,
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Just last night I happened to go to Friday night Sabbath services, something I rarely do, but did to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of my father's death, to say Kaddish along with my brother, sister and children. As it happened, the regular Rabbi was not there; instead, the service was led by a rabbi-in-training, who must have been all of 22 years old. Her years were few, but her words were wise. She told us (AND I AM DEFINITELY PARAPHRASING HERE) that the "Parsha" (Portion) of this weeks Torah reading had to do with Moses being told by his father-in-law that he, Moses, can not expect to carry out the task of improving his people's lot on his own; that it is too large a burden for one person to carry. It is not that he shouldn't do this alone, but that he can not do it alone. He must ask the help of others and thus share the burden.
I took this to mean that though neither I, nor you, can change our world for the better on our own, if we pool our abilities and our efforts and our blood, sweat and tears, then we can and we will and we must take on the responsibility to help, to build up and to make a difference. Only in this way can we shed some light and dispel the darkness. It is far better to try this, then to hang on tenaciously to our fears and linger in the dark.
How often and how easy it is to go about kvetching, "the sky is falling; the sky is falling". I do not believe that change will come by the grace of god, nor as a result of prayer and not even if we hope and hope as hard as we can. Social justice, a clean environment, a fair system of law and a fair and effective government, in other words some much needed LIGHT will happen by the efforts for change made by you and me and anyone else who wants to join in and come along for the ride..
sherril
2/16/2006
ATONEMENT: A Book Review and a Question
For the past month I've been reading the book, ATONEMENT by Ian McEwan , finding it rather dry and somehow uninviting, as if the book itself wanted to keep me at a distance. And then, suddenly some 290 pages into it, it comes at me from behind, grabs me and shakes me to my core.
It is war time, the Second World War and it is England. Briony has up to this point, been a rather shallow, immature child, though with some talent for writing. Her writing has sustained her emotional well being. Or has it? The war finds Briony as a young adult of 18 years. Adulthood itself does not necessarily bring with it maturity, yet, when accompanied by the raveges of war, can maturity be far behind?
For all the many pages that I read, I could not understand why this book was entitled, ATONEMENT? For 269 pages I could find no answer. It may just as well have been called, Boring England. And then, some 290 pages into the book, I began to understand. When Briony begins to recognize that she has not only seen sorrow, but has been its cause, then it becomes apparent that there may be something here worthy of atonement. Briony sees that she and her actions and lack of action caused near total destrucion of two lives, that of her sister, Cecilia and Cecilia's lover, Robbie. There is still the question of atonement. Can one, on one's own, make oneself atone? Or does life itself have to turn around and present the opportunity?
Briony makes a choice to become a kind of nurse's apprentice in her stepping up to serve in the war effort. She can not possibly have known what she would see and experience. She comes face-to-face with the after effects of war, with virtual hell on earth. One can have a hangnail and lament over it for days on end, thinking it to be the most annoying and painful affliction. In war time, you no longer have that luxury; the hang nail becomes the entire foot which is cut off, while the bone protrudes. There are things the human being is not meant to see. There are sights and sounds and smells that could only be called horrific, disgusting, unbearable..."the sticky sour odor of fresh blood, the stink of gangrene, a leg that is black and soft, like an overripe banana,...seeing through bloody cartilage"...things that should make your legs weak and unable to hold you up...."excruciating pain witnessed...seeing a face, the resemblance to the cutaway model they use in anatomy classes, a face in ruin, crimson and raw, seeing through a missing cheek to the upper and lower molars and the exposed muscles around the eye socket...so intimate, and never intended to be seen"..... Yet, it was, all this and more. that Briony saw, smelled, touched and experienced. Was this Briony's atonement, this level of pain and suffering in exchange for atonement? The question can be asked, does it takes these unspeakable horrors of war to bring a person to where she/he is worthy of atonement? I ask you.
It is war time, the Second World War and it is England. Briony has up to this point, been a rather shallow, immature child, though with some talent for writing. Her writing has sustained her emotional well being. Or has it? The war finds Briony as a young adult of 18 years. Adulthood itself does not necessarily bring with it maturity, yet, when accompanied by the raveges of war, can maturity be far behind?
For all the many pages that I read, I could not understand why this book was entitled, ATONEMENT? For 269 pages I could find no answer. It may just as well have been called, Boring England. And then, some 290 pages into the book, I began to understand. When Briony begins to recognize that she has not only seen sorrow, but has been its cause, then it becomes apparent that there may be something here worthy of atonement. Briony sees that she and her actions and lack of action caused near total destrucion of two lives, that of her sister, Cecilia and Cecilia's lover, Robbie. There is still the question of atonement. Can one, on one's own, make oneself atone? Or does life itself have to turn around and present the opportunity?
Briony makes a choice to become a kind of nurse's apprentice in her stepping up to serve in the war effort. She can not possibly have known what she would see and experience. She comes face-to-face with the after effects of war, with virtual hell on earth. One can have a hangnail and lament over it for days on end, thinking it to be the most annoying and painful affliction. In war time, you no longer have that luxury; the hang nail becomes the entire foot which is cut off, while the bone protrudes. There are things the human being is not meant to see. There are sights and sounds and smells that could only be called horrific, disgusting, unbearable..."the sticky sour odor of fresh blood, the stink of gangrene, a leg that is black and soft, like an overripe banana,...seeing through bloody cartilage"...things that should make your legs weak and unable to hold you up...."excruciating pain witnessed...seeing a face, the resemblance to the cutaway model they use in anatomy classes, a face in ruin, crimson and raw, seeing through a missing cheek to the upper and lower molars and the exposed muscles around the eye socket...so intimate, and never intended to be seen"..... Yet, it was, all this and more. that Briony saw, smelled, touched and experienced. Was this Briony's atonement, this level of pain and suffering in exchange for atonement? The question can be asked, does it takes these unspeakable horrors of war to bring a person to where she/he is worthy of atonement? I ask you.
2/12/2006
Red-eye, Chocolate, and Communion..Did I Mention I Was Jewish?
Perhaps the most devisive issue of our day is abortion. Today I received an email from a friend that was a reprint of an article written by Anne Lamott. I hope that she won't mind my posting her words here on my blog. Her words are my thoughts screaming to get out with clarity and forthrightness. I give Anne Lamott full credit for these words and thoughts, for thay are hers. But, I share them almost word for word. Well, perhaps not exactly word for word. Anne is a practicing Catholic and is speaking as one here. I am not Catholic and thus obviously do not speak as one. But, there the differences end. This article speaks my mind.
February 10, 2006
latimes.com : Print Edition : Editorials, Op-Ed
Print E-mail story Most e-mailed The Rights Of the Born By Anne Lamott, ANNE LAMOTT is a novelist and essayist. Her most recent book is "Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith" (Riverhead, 2005).
EVERYTHING WAS going swimmingly on the panel. The subject was politics and faith, and I was on stage with two clergymen with progressive spiritual leanings, and a moderator who is liberal and Catholic. We were having a discussion with the audience of 1,300 people in Washington about many of the social justice topics on which we agree — the immorality of the federal budget, the wrongness of the president's war in Iraq. Then an older man came to the mike and raised the issue of abortion, and everyone just lost his or her mind.Or, at any rate, I did.
Maybe it was the way in which the man couched the question, which was about how we should reconcile our progressive stances on peace and justice with the "murder of a million babies every year in America." The man who asked the question was soft-spoken, neatly and casually dressed. First Richard, a Franciscan priest, answered that this is indeed a painful issue but that it is not the only "pro-life" issue that progressives — even Catholics — should concern themselves with during elections. There are also the matters of capital punishment and the war in Iraq, and of HIV. Then Jim, an evangelical, spoke about the need to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, and the need to diffuse abortion as a political issue, by welcoming pro-choice and pro-life supporters to the discussion, with equal respect for their positions. He spoke gently about how "morally ambiguous" the issue is.
I sat there simmering, like a samovar; nice Jesusy me. The moderator turned to me and asked quietly if I would like to respond. I did: I wanted to respond by pushing over our table. Instead, I shook my head. I love and respect the Franciscan and the evangelical, and agree with them 90-plus percent of the time. So I did not say anything, at first. Then, when I was asked to answer the next question, I paused, and returned to the topic of abortion. There was a loud buzzing in my head, the voice of reason that says, "You have the right to remain silent," but the voice of my conscience was insistent.
I wanted to express calmly, eloquently, that pro-choice people understand that there are two lives involved in an abortion — one born (the pregnant woman) and one not (the fetus) — but that the born person must be allowed to decide what is right.
Also, I wanted to wave a gun around, to show what a real murder looks like. This tipped me off that I should hold my tongue, until further notice. And I tried.
But then I announced that I needed to speak out on behalf of the many women present in the crowd, including myself, who had had abortions, and the women whose daughters might need one in the not-too-distant future — people who must know that teenage girls will have abortions, whether in clinics or dirty backrooms. Women whose lives had been righted and redeemed by Roe vs. Wade. My answer was met with some applause but mostly a shocked silence.
Pall is a good word. And it did not feel good to be the cause of that pall. I knew what I was supposed to have said, as a progressive Christian: that it's all very complicated and painful, and that Jim was right in saying that the abortion rate in America is way too high for a caring and compassionate society. But I did the only thing I could think to do: plunge on, and tell my truth. I said that this is the most intimate decision a woman makes, and she makes it all alone, in her deepest heart of hearts, sometimes with the man by whom she is pregnant, with her dearest friends or with her doctor — but without the personal opinion of say, Tom DeLay or Karl Rove.
I said I could not believe that men committed to equality and civil rights were still challenging the basic rights of women. I thought about all the photo-ops at which President Bush had signed legislation limiting abortion rights, surrounded by 10 or so white, self-righteous married men, who have forced God knows how many girlfriends into doing God knows what. I thought of the time Bush appeared on stage with children born from frozen embryos, children he calls "snowflake babies," and of the embryos themselves, which he calls the youngest and most vulnerable Americans. And somehow, as I was answering, I got louder and maybe even more emphatic than I actually felt, and said it was not a morally ambiguous issue for me at all. I said that fetuses are not babies yet; that there was actually a real difference between pro-abortion people, like me, and Klaus Barbie.
Then I said that a woman's right to choose was nobody else's goddamn business. This got their attention. A cloud of misery fell over the room, and the stage. Finally, Jim said something unifying enough for us to proceed — that liberals must not treat people with opposing opinions on abortion with contempt and exclusion, partly because it's tough material, and partly because it is so critical that we win these next big elections .It was not until the reception that I finally realized part of the problem — no one had told me that the crowd was made up largely of Catholics . I had flown in at dawn on a red-eye, and, in my exhaustion, had somehow missed this one tiny bit of information. I was mortified: I had to eat my body weight in chocolate just to calm myself. But then I asked myself: Would I, should I, have given a calmer answer? Wouldn't it have been more useful and harder to dismiss me if I had sounded more reasonable, less — what is the word — spewy? Maybe I could have presented my position in a less strident, divisive manner.
But the questioner's use of the words "murder" and "babies" had put me on the defensive. Plus I am so confused about why we are still having to argue with patriarchal sentimentality about teeny weenie so-called babies — some microscopic, some no bigger than the sea monkeys we used to send away for — when real, live, already born women, many of them desperately poor, get such short shrift from the current administration. Most women like me would much rather use our time and energy fighting to make the world safe and just and fair for the children we do have, and do love — and for the children of New Orleans and the children of Darfur.
I am old and tired and menopausal and would mostly like to be left alone: I have had my abortions, and I have had a child. But as a Christian and a feminist, the most important message I can carry and fight for is the sacredness of each human life, and reproductive rights for all women is a crucial part of that: It is a moral necessity that we not be forced to bring children into the world for whom we cannot be responsible and adoring and present. We must not inflict life on children who will be resented; we must not inflict unwanted children on society. During the reception, an old woman came up to me, and said, "If you hadn't spoken out, I would have spit," and then she raised her fist in the power salute. We huddled together for awhile, and ate M&Ms to give us strength. It was a kind of communion, for those of us who still believe that civil rights and equality and even common sense will somehow be sovereign, some day.
February 10, 2006
latimes.com : Print Edition : Editorials, Op-Ed
Print E-mail story Most e-mailed The Rights Of the Born By Anne Lamott, ANNE LAMOTT is a novelist and essayist. Her most recent book is "Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith" (Riverhead, 2005).
EVERYTHING WAS going swimmingly on the panel. The subject was politics and faith, and I was on stage with two clergymen with progressive spiritual leanings, and a moderator who is liberal and Catholic. We were having a discussion with the audience of 1,300 people in Washington about many of the social justice topics on which we agree — the immorality of the federal budget, the wrongness of the president's war in Iraq. Then an older man came to the mike and raised the issue of abortion, and everyone just lost his or her mind.Or, at any rate, I did.
Maybe it was the way in which the man couched the question, which was about how we should reconcile our progressive stances on peace and justice with the "murder of a million babies every year in America." The man who asked the question was soft-spoken, neatly and casually dressed. First Richard, a Franciscan priest, answered that this is indeed a painful issue but that it is not the only "pro-life" issue that progressives — even Catholics — should concern themselves with during elections. There are also the matters of capital punishment and the war in Iraq, and of HIV. Then Jim, an evangelical, spoke about the need to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, and the need to diffuse abortion as a political issue, by welcoming pro-choice and pro-life supporters to the discussion, with equal respect for their positions. He spoke gently about how "morally ambiguous" the issue is.
I sat there simmering, like a samovar; nice Jesusy me. The moderator turned to me and asked quietly if I would like to respond. I did: I wanted to respond by pushing over our table. Instead, I shook my head. I love and respect the Franciscan and the evangelical, and agree with them 90-plus percent of the time. So I did not say anything, at first. Then, when I was asked to answer the next question, I paused, and returned to the topic of abortion. There was a loud buzzing in my head, the voice of reason that says, "You have the right to remain silent," but the voice of my conscience was insistent.
I wanted to express calmly, eloquently, that pro-choice people understand that there are two lives involved in an abortion — one born (the pregnant woman) and one not (the fetus) — but that the born person must be allowed to decide what is right.
Also, I wanted to wave a gun around, to show what a real murder looks like. This tipped me off that I should hold my tongue, until further notice. And I tried.
But then I announced that I needed to speak out on behalf of the many women present in the crowd, including myself, who had had abortions, and the women whose daughters might need one in the not-too-distant future — people who must know that teenage girls will have abortions, whether in clinics or dirty backrooms. Women whose lives had been righted and redeemed by Roe vs. Wade. My answer was met with some applause but mostly a shocked silence.
Pall is a good word. And it did not feel good to be the cause of that pall. I knew what I was supposed to have said, as a progressive Christian: that it's all very complicated and painful, and that Jim was right in saying that the abortion rate in America is way too high for a caring and compassionate society. But I did the only thing I could think to do: plunge on, and tell my truth. I said that this is the most intimate decision a woman makes, and she makes it all alone, in her deepest heart of hearts, sometimes with the man by whom she is pregnant, with her dearest friends or with her doctor — but without the personal opinion of say, Tom DeLay or Karl Rove.
I said I could not believe that men committed to equality and civil rights were still challenging the basic rights of women. I thought about all the photo-ops at which President Bush had signed legislation limiting abortion rights, surrounded by 10 or so white, self-righteous married men, who have forced God knows how many girlfriends into doing God knows what. I thought of the time Bush appeared on stage with children born from frozen embryos, children he calls "snowflake babies," and of the embryos themselves, which he calls the youngest and most vulnerable Americans. And somehow, as I was answering, I got louder and maybe even more emphatic than I actually felt, and said it was not a morally ambiguous issue for me at all. I said that fetuses are not babies yet; that there was actually a real difference between pro-abortion people, like me, and Klaus Barbie.
Then I said that a woman's right to choose was nobody else's goddamn business. This got their attention. A cloud of misery fell over the room, and the stage. Finally, Jim said something unifying enough for us to proceed — that liberals must not treat people with opposing opinions on abortion with contempt and exclusion, partly because it's tough material, and partly because it is so critical that we win these next big elections .It was not until the reception that I finally realized part of the problem — no one had told me that the crowd was made up largely of Catholics . I had flown in at dawn on a red-eye, and, in my exhaustion, had somehow missed this one tiny bit of information. I was mortified: I had to eat my body weight in chocolate just to calm myself. But then I asked myself: Would I, should I, have given a calmer answer? Wouldn't it have been more useful and harder to dismiss me if I had sounded more reasonable, less — what is the word — spewy? Maybe I could have presented my position in a less strident, divisive manner.
But the questioner's use of the words "murder" and "babies" had put me on the defensive. Plus I am so confused about why we are still having to argue with patriarchal sentimentality about teeny weenie so-called babies — some microscopic, some no bigger than the sea monkeys we used to send away for — when real, live, already born women, many of them desperately poor, get such short shrift from the current administration. Most women like me would much rather use our time and energy fighting to make the world safe and just and fair for the children we do have, and do love — and for the children of New Orleans and the children of Darfur.
I am old and tired and menopausal and would mostly like to be left alone: I have had my abortions, and I have had a child. But as a Christian and a feminist, the most important message I can carry and fight for is the sacredness of each human life, and reproductive rights for all women is a crucial part of that: It is a moral necessity that we not be forced to bring children into the world for whom we cannot be responsible and adoring and present. We must not inflict life on children who will be resented; we must not inflict unwanted children on society. During the reception, an old woman came up to me, and said, "If you hadn't spoken out, I would have spit," and then she raised her fist in the power salute. We huddled together for awhile, and ate M&Ms to give us strength. It was a kind of communion, for those of us who still believe that civil rights and equality and even common sense will somehow be sovereign, some day.
Cheney.....Quail.....Hunting...You Couldn't Invent This Stuff!
I must apologize prior to writing what I am about to write, but it is simply too good and god help me, too funny, to be true. Now, mind you, it was not so good nor funny for poor Mr. Harry Whittington, the 78 year old hunting buddy of VP Cheney, but it is a story better than any political satirist could possibly write.
Mr. Cheney, is out hunting quail at a south Texas ranch, when he turns towards a covey of birds, meaning to shoot one of them, and accidentally shoots his friend. Now, I am not the kind of person who laughs when someone gets hurt or goes to sit down, misses the chair and lands "squat" on his tush, but I simply can not tell this story or even think about it without giggling and this, I know, is not nice and I was brought up to be nice, and thus the aforementioned apology.
I mean, think about it..... our beloved Vice President is out hunting quail, as if he couldn't just go to the grocery store or better yet, a fine restaurant, and order up some of that quin·tes·sen·tial quail. But no, Mr. Cheney decides he needs to hunt and shoot himself a bird. Now, he may have decided to hunt wild turkeys or pheasants, but not today; today it was to be QUAIL (not to be mistaken for that other 1980's potatoe eating Quail).
So, he takes a friend along for the hunt because, one might assume, hunting is nothing, if not a bonding experience with ones friend. And, how better to bond than to, well, put plainly, to shoot ones friend. I mean talk about irony. Talk about satire. Talk about a self-made skit for Saturday Night Live or MAD TV or grist for the Jon Stewart mill! I mean, it just doesn't get any better.
Sorry, Mr Cheney and Mr. Wittington, I don't mean to make jokes at your expense. But in this case, I think, even you, can see the humor.
Mr. Cheney, is out hunting quail at a south Texas ranch, when he turns towards a covey of birds, meaning to shoot one of them, and accidentally shoots his friend. Now, I am not the kind of person who laughs when someone gets hurt or goes to sit down, misses the chair and lands "squat" on his tush, but I simply can not tell this story or even think about it without giggling and this, I know, is not nice and I was brought up to be nice, and thus the aforementioned apology.
I mean, think about it..... our beloved Vice President is out hunting quail, as if he couldn't just go to the grocery store or better yet, a fine restaurant, and order up some of that quin·tes·sen·tial quail. But no, Mr. Cheney decides he needs to hunt and shoot himself a bird. Now, he may have decided to hunt wild turkeys or pheasants, but not today; today it was to be QUAIL (not to be mistaken for that other 1980's potatoe eating Quail).
So, he takes a friend along for the hunt because, one might assume, hunting is nothing, if not a bonding experience with ones friend. And, how better to bond than to, well, put plainly, to shoot ones friend. I mean talk about irony. Talk about satire. Talk about a self-made skit for Saturday Night Live or MAD TV or grist for the Jon Stewart mill! I mean, it just doesn't get any better.
Sorry, Mr Cheney and Mr. Wittington, I don't mean to make jokes at your expense. But in this case, I think, even you, can see the humor.
2/04/2006
We Don't Need Castles in the Sky: Democratic Party Take Heed: # ONE PRIORITY
This is the email I sent to the Democratic Party today in response to their email requesting money for the important work they do, especially in trying to get more Democrats elected to the Senate and Congress in 2006.
I receive your emails and I take them seriously. But I am leary of sending money because I think the Democratic Party must begin to get its house in order, take a stand and stick to it. I received an email from MoveOn.org asking for my ideas in setting the agenda for the next few years and I will include it here. I want to add that the problem is not just leadership in the party, but also what the Democrats stand for. The Democrats are not putting out a strong and conclusive message nor a clear plan. We need to hear alteratives to what the Republicans say and do and we need them to be stated clearly with clear objectives and means of solving the problems. We all know what the problems are. Tell us once and for all what the solutions are and HOW you plan to achieve them. Once this is done, stick to the message. There has been way to much wishy-washy-ness and appeasement in the last several years.
Leadership means clarity and sticktuitiveness. Truly, the Democrats have not demonstrated either since Bill Clinton (I'm sure there would be those who would disagree with this assessment, but I believe Clinton came closer to this leadership role than any others we've seen in a long time). If you want donations from me and other like-minded people, consider what I have written, seiously. I know I am not alone in these opinions.
What we most need to accomplished and soon, is to come up with a Democratic leader who has a clearly defined message and agenda. We Progressives have nowhere to turn in the political system as it stands today. We need a leader who has the insight, foresight and progressive ideals to lead us toward a better, cleaner, more humane society. One hears over and over again that the Republicans are in major trouble, but the Democrats offer few good alternatives. Let's stop whining and complaining and rather act aggresively to find someone who can lead the Democrats to victory both in the Congress in 2006 and finally the Presidency in 2008. We don't need castles in the sky. What we do need is Leadership and Clearly Defined Goals. Change will not come without them.
1/30/2006
Wendy Wasserstien Died Today
Wendy Wasserstein was a woman.
I am a woman.
Wendy Wasserstein was 55 years old.
I am 54 years old.
Wendy Wasserstein was born on October 8, 1950.
I was born on October 13, 1951.
Wendy Wasserstein was Jewish.
I am Jewish.
Wendy Wasserstein's mother brought her, as a young girl, to numerous Broadway's performances.
My mother brought me, as a young girl, to numerous Broadway plays and musicals.
Wendy Wasserstein went to college and earned a BA in 1971.
I went to college and earned a BS in 1973.
Wendy Wasserstein's life and life's work was very much informed by her being Jewish.
My life and personal identity has been much informed by being Jewish.
Wendy's work as a playwright was informed by the times in which she grew up, especially by the 1970s, during which the Feminist Movement hailed strong and influential.
My adult life has been informed by coming of age in the 70's, being a part of and influenced by the Women's Movement.
Wendy Wasserstein's female characters, according to today's New York Times Obituary, were always intelligent and successful, but wrought with self-doubt -- seeking enduring love a little ambivalently and not always finding it.
My middle name is Ambivalence, well, it's really Eileen, but you get the point.
Wendy Wasserstein won a Pulitzer Prize for her play, "The Heidi Chronicles," in which her main character, Heidi is representative of the female Baby Boomer who is well educated and trying to make it in what remains a male dominated society.
I never won any major prize, nor have I written any plays, but I found resonance in Wendy's plays and often her female characters spoke for me.
Wendy wrote her plays and essays with wit, humor and comedic dialogue as her characters searched for their own identity, while often despairing in today's society.
I have been known to be "heavy" in my thinking and feelings, yet I do maintain some degree of wit and humor and I am sure I will always be searching to complete my identity.
Wendy Wasserstein Died Today.
I was taken aback by the news, not knowing that she was even sick. As a woman of the Baby Boomer generation, I will miss her. I wonder, now, who will write the plays, spoken in our Collective Female, Baby Boomer voice, as we pass into the older generation.
I am a woman.
Wendy Wasserstein was 55 years old.
I am 54 years old.
Wendy Wasserstein was born on October 8, 1950.
I was born on October 13, 1951.
Wendy Wasserstein was Jewish.
I am Jewish.
Wendy Wasserstein's mother brought her, as a young girl, to numerous Broadway's performances.
My mother brought me, as a young girl, to numerous Broadway plays and musicals.
Wendy Wasserstein went to college and earned a BA in 1971.
I went to college and earned a BS in 1973.
Wendy Wasserstein's life and life's work was very much informed by her being Jewish.
My life and personal identity has been much informed by being Jewish.
Wendy's work as a playwright was informed by the times in which she grew up, especially by the 1970s, during which the Feminist Movement hailed strong and influential.
My adult life has been informed by coming of age in the 70's, being a part of and influenced by the Women's Movement.
Wendy Wasserstein's female characters, according to today's New York Times Obituary, were always intelligent and successful, but wrought with self-doubt -- seeking enduring love a little ambivalently and not always finding it.
My middle name is Ambivalence, well, it's really Eileen, but you get the point.
Wendy Wasserstein won a Pulitzer Prize for her play, "The Heidi Chronicles," in which her main character, Heidi is representative of the female Baby Boomer who is well educated and trying to make it in what remains a male dominated society.
I never won any major prize, nor have I written any plays, but I found resonance in Wendy's plays and often her female characters spoke for me.
Wendy wrote her plays and essays with wit, humor and comedic dialogue as her characters searched for their own identity, while often despairing in today's society.
I have been known to be "heavy" in my thinking and feelings, yet I do maintain some degree of wit and humor and I am sure I will always be searching to complete my identity.
Wendy Wasserstein Died Today.
I was taken aback by the news, not knowing that she was even sick. As a woman of the Baby Boomer generation, I will miss her. I wonder, now, who will write the plays, spoken in our Collective Female, Baby Boomer voice, as we pass into the older generation.
1/25/2006
DO YOU HAVE the AUDACITY to DOUBT MY VERACITY...
I love language. Ever since I was a little kid, I can remember playing with words and writing them down and remembering great expressions. Do you remember asking friends, "DO YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO DOUBT MY VERACITY, TO INSINUATE THAT I PREVARICATE?? IF SO, YOU HAVE THE MOST PUGNACIOUS DISPOSITION, FAR BEYOND MY PERSONAL COMPREHENSION! Boy, did I think I was cool because i knew the meaning of each of those words and besides, they sounded so wonderful.
So, now when I come across language that blooms in my ears, I try to write it down (unfortunately, at my present stage of life, memorizing and remembering aren't always possible). I happened to pick up one of my daughter's books, Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, written by Richard Rodriguez. It's a book about the immigrant experience, specifically the newcomers adjusting to the gringos, their ways and especially their language. He spoke of the comfort that being among those who spoke your language would bring him as a child. He wrote, "A family member would say something to me and I would feel myself specially recognized.... I would feel embraced by the sounds of their words. It became the language of joyful return" Language can do that.
Rodriguez makes the case against the use of Bilingual Education, but what interested me for the moment was his own use of the language that became his own as he became an American. This is how he put it when still a child listening to English and trying to speak it. "Tongues explored the edges of words, especially the fat vowels" What a GREAT way to express what it feels like learning the new language, English.
So, now when I come across language that blooms in my ears, I try to write it down (unfortunately, at my present stage of life, memorizing and remembering aren't always possible). I happened to pick up one of my daughter's books, Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, written by Richard Rodriguez. It's a book about the immigrant experience, specifically the newcomers adjusting to the gringos, their ways and especially their language. He spoke of the comfort that being among those who spoke your language would bring him as a child. He wrote, "A family member would say something to me and I would feel myself specially recognized.... I would feel embraced by the sounds of their words. It became the language of joyful return" Language can do that.
Rodriguez makes the case against the use of Bilingual Education, but what interested me for the moment was his own use of the language that became his own as he became an American. This is how he put it when still a child listening to English and trying to speak it. "Tongues explored the edges of words, especially the fat vowels" What a GREAT way to express what it feels like learning the new language, English.
1/19/2006
Wilson Pickett....Farewell
Is it coincidence or Serendipity? I am sitting at my desk, responding to emails, NPR's, All Thing's Considered is playing in the background and I am vaguely aware of hearing the song, Land Of A Thousand Dances. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, which is otherwise occupied with what I am reading, I half hear a report about the death of Wilson Pickett. Minutes later, when I have switched off NPR and clicked on my iTune library of songs, five songs down the list, once again, Land Of A Thousand Dances is playing through my speakers. I check on the artist and it is, of course, Wilson Pickett. Perhaps that doesn't sound like something to write home about to you, but to me it seemed like a very big coincidence.
What was the likelihood of this song coming up on my iTunes list? Land of A Thousand Dances is not a song you hear on a regular basis. It is in fact mainly one of those songs, like Celebrate Good Times, that one is familiar with from Bar Mitzvahs and other such celebrations. Well, anyway, the point is that this bit of serendipity caused me to stop a moment and pay my respects to another member of my generation (he's ten years older, but I think that counts as my generation, right?) who has left my baby- boom world. I will proceed to the iTunes Music Shop and do what has become my new way of honoring the passing of singers, i.e. pay my 99 cents of respect by purchasing a Wilson Pickett song, other than Land of A Thousand Dances.
What was the likelihood of this song coming up on my iTunes list? Land of A Thousand Dances is not a song you hear on a regular basis. It is in fact mainly one of those songs, like Celebrate Good Times, that one is familiar with from Bar Mitzvahs and other such celebrations. Well, anyway, the point is that this bit of serendipity caused me to stop a moment and pay my respects to another member of my generation (he's ten years older, but I think that counts as my generation, right?) who has left my baby- boom world. I will proceed to the iTunes Music Shop and do what has become my new way of honoring the passing of singers, i.e. pay my 99 cents of respect by purchasing a Wilson Pickett song, other than Land of A Thousand Dances.
1/18/2006
Napa Valley...A Trip Much Sweeter Than Wine
Here's my recommendation on how to spend the week between Christmas and New Years. Go somewhere you've never been before. I did that this past year, and I can tell you, I wasn't sorry. Well, I was a little sorry, but, I'll get to that in due time. The destination was Napa, CA, located at the bottom of Rt. 29...
I invite you to view my complete photo journal of this very sweet trip. CLICK HERE
1/17/2006
An Amazing Year for American Cinema
Oh that there were more hours in the day. How people keep up with blogging, working and generally living, is beyond me. I have so much I want to say, and so little time to say it all. Anyway, maybe if I got to the point quicker, I could say more, but then that wouldn't be me. I want to comment on last night's Golden Globe Awards Ceremony (this must be my day for ceremony comments....see last blog entry). Anyway, first and foremost, what I'd like to say is that in my humble opinion there is once again hope for American Cinema. I think many film critics, and I say film rather than movie purposely, view American movies as Hollywood, which means big and bright and brash and not always with a whole lot of substance and subtlety. But this year there was an ever increasing number of movies, dare I say films, with substance and with grit. Some I have seen and some remain on my "to be seen" list.
In the past, small independent films were seen only by those who were willing and able to get to the one or two theaters showing the unconventional movie. In my case, here in northern New Jersey, it would be the Claridge Theater in Montclair, a theater that in its day was lovely and large. But it went the way of many old, large movie theaters in America and was sliced up into many small, not so lovely, uncomfortable "Viewing Rooms" (my family room with our 60" rear projection TV is bigger and better and by far more comfortable than the 6 or 7 mini "theaters" at the Claridge). But now, one can go to the larger multiplexes and still see some of the smaller and often more multilayered films that were nominated at the Golden Globes. As a side note, I was unfamiliar with the history of the Golden Globes and wrongly thought that it was a relatively new institution. It was truly an amazing year for American Cinema. There were many aspects to be appreciated this year in the films that came out, especially near the end of the year. One of those is the diversity you see in every aspect of the movie world from directors to producers to the actors. Ang Lee, who has directed some of the best films over the years, including this year's Brokeback Mountain was born in Taiwan. Peter Jackson, Director of King Kong, is from New Zealand. The winner for Best Supporting Actress was Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener and she was born in England. Frances McDormand was nominated for her supporting role in North Country And she's just a plain old American, but the other major actress in the movie, Charlize Theron was born and raised in South Africa and the director, Niki Caro is from New Zealand. And last, the film that won for best foreign film was Paradise Now and the "home country" was Palestine. The award was accepted by the film's director, Hani abu-Assad. Now that could be a whole other blog entry, but suffice it to say that this nomination and this winner is in some circles (mine for example) controversial, yet adds to the diversity of which I have been speaking. Anyway, my point is that the diversity one sees in this world of American movies is both astounding and welcomed.
And diversity was just one of the things that struck me as I watched the Golden Globe Awards. Besides for the amazing selection of smaller films such as: Brokeback Mountain (haven't seen it yet, but am anticipating it with great interest and emotion), Capote (saw it and thought it was unbelievable how Philip Seymour Hoffman transformed himself into Truman Capote; it was a really worthwhile movie to see) Goodnight and Good Luck (saw it and could not fully appreciate it for all the things I had heard about it in interviews, etc. because I was very sleepy; plan to see it again at home), Crash (saw it at a Premier in NYC along with some of the main actors and the director, all of whom sat on a panel after the film and spoke and answered audience questions; this movie was, in my opinion, one of the most important movies that has comeout in recent times....just see it and you will understand why), The Squid and The Whale (have not seen it, plan to, it's supposed to be smart, I guess sometimes funny, and very well acted, perhaps I will include later a great review I read of this movie); again besides for these wonderful small films this past year, there were equally wonderful larger and louder films. I have not enjoyed a movie more than Pride & Prejudice since, well, I don't know since when. I just loved this movie. I loved the scenery and the costumes and the dancing and I enjoyed the music so much I proceeded to B&N as soon as I left the movie theater and purchased the CD. Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn are so good as the parents and I just loved watching and listening to Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet. I went to see this movie by myself and it took me to a wonderland. Another big movie of '05 was Rent I also thoroughly enjoyed it (not as much as P&P, but a lot). I could watch Jesse L. Martin all day and not get tired of him. And Taye Diggs can, as my grandmother used to say, park his slippers next to my bed any day of the week. Not all movies as musicals work these days, but for me this one did.
There is one more aspect that got my attention. This year there were not one or two really good, important, searching and controversial movies, but there was a whopping 7: Munich, Brokeback Mountain, TransAmerica (Felicity Hoffman won for best Actress), Syrianna, The Constant Gardner, Paradise Now, and Good Night and Good Luck . They did not shy away from controversy because it might not sell. The powers that be took chances and I think we movie-goers should recognize that and doff our hats. What a year for movies and what a year it will be for dvd and video rentals. My hat is off to all who were involved in making the decisions to take a chance on quality, even if it might mean less revenue. But, I guess maybe those big-wigs knew what they were doing because these movies won awards and people are going to see them. All the better for us all.
Sherril
In the past, small independent films were seen only by those who were willing and able to get to the one or two theaters showing the unconventional movie. In my case, here in northern New Jersey, it would be the Claridge Theater in Montclair, a theater that in its day was lovely and large. But it went the way of many old, large movie theaters in America and was sliced up into many small, not so lovely, uncomfortable "Viewing Rooms" (my family room with our 60" rear projection TV is bigger and better and by far more comfortable than the 6 or 7 mini "theaters" at the Claridge). But now, one can go to the larger multiplexes and still see some of the smaller and often more multilayered films that were nominated at the Golden Globes. As a side note, I was unfamiliar with the history of the Golden Globes and wrongly thought that it was a relatively new institution. It was truly an amazing year for American Cinema. There were many aspects to be appreciated this year in the films that came out, especially near the end of the year. One of those is the diversity you see in every aspect of the movie world from directors to producers to the actors. Ang Lee, who has directed some of the best films over the years, including this year's Brokeback Mountain was born in Taiwan. Peter Jackson, Director of King Kong, is from New Zealand. The winner for Best Supporting Actress was Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener and she was born in England. Frances McDormand was nominated for her supporting role in North Country And she's just a plain old American, but the other major actress in the movie, Charlize Theron was born and raised in South Africa and the director, Niki Caro is from New Zealand. And last, the film that won for best foreign film was Paradise Now and the "home country" was Palestine. The award was accepted by the film's director, Hani abu-Assad. Now that could be a whole other blog entry, but suffice it to say that this nomination and this winner is in some circles (mine for example) controversial, yet adds to the diversity of which I have been speaking. Anyway, my point is that the diversity one sees in this world of American movies is both astounding and welcomed.
And diversity was just one of the things that struck me as I watched the Golden Globe Awards. Besides for the amazing selection of smaller films such as: Brokeback Mountain (haven't seen it yet, but am anticipating it with great interest and emotion), Capote (saw it and thought it was unbelievable how Philip Seymour Hoffman transformed himself into Truman Capote; it was a really worthwhile movie to see) Goodnight and Good Luck (saw it and could not fully appreciate it for all the things I had heard about it in interviews, etc. because I was very sleepy; plan to see it again at home), Crash (saw it at a Premier in NYC along with some of the main actors and the director, all of whom sat on a panel after the film and spoke and answered audience questions; this movie was, in my opinion, one of the most important movies that has comeout in recent times....just see it and you will understand why), The Squid and The Whale (have not seen it, plan to, it's supposed to be smart, I guess sometimes funny, and very well acted, perhaps I will include later a great review I read of this movie); again besides for these wonderful small films this past year, there were equally wonderful larger and louder films. I have not enjoyed a movie more than Pride & Prejudice since, well, I don't know since when. I just loved this movie. I loved the scenery and the costumes and the dancing and I enjoyed the music so much I proceeded to B&N as soon as I left the movie theater and purchased the CD. Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn are so good as the parents and I just loved watching and listening to Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet. I went to see this movie by myself and it took me to a wonderland. Another big movie of '05 was Rent I also thoroughly enjoyed it (not as much as P&P, but a lot). I could watch Jesse L. Martin all day and not get tired of him. And Taye Diggs can, as my grandmother used to say, park his slippers next to my bed any day of the week. Not all movies as musicals work these days, but for me this one did.
There is one more aspect that got my attention. This year there were not one or two really good, important, searching and controversial movies, but there was a whopping 7: Munich, Brokeback Mountain, TransAmerica (Felicity Hoffman won for best Actress), Syrianna, The Constant Gardner, Paradise Now, and Good Night and Good Luck . They did not shy away from controversy because it might not sell. The powers that be took chances and I think we movie-goers should recognize that and doff our hats. What a year for movies and what a year it will be for dvd and video rentals. My hat is off to all who were involved in making the decisions to take a chance on quality, even if it might mean less revenue. But, I guess maybe those big-wigs knew what they were doing because these movies won awards and people are going to see them. All the better for us all.
Sherril
Welcome Governor Corzine
I arranged my morning so that I would be near a television today at 12 noon. I would have liked to actually been present at today's inauguration of Jon Corzine as the 54th Governor of New Jersey. We are for the most part a progressive state and we have nominated a progressive man to be our governor. I worked a bit on Corzine's campaign and went from being very enthusiastic about him and his nomination to being a bit cynical and less than enthusiastic by the end of the campaign. It was not a pleasant campaign! However, watching him this afternoon, as the various parts of the ceremony took place, I remembered what I liked about him from the beginning.
Jon Corzine strikes me as a sincere, friendly and "regular" guy. I actually found myself relating personally to this man who has been chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious investment banks and Senator of my state of New Jersey. He stood there on the platform looking a little confused and unsure of exactly what it was he was supposed to do. After he took the pledge of office and his mother and children went to sit down, he threw them a kiss. He offered thanks and gratitude to the outgoing acting governor, Richard Codey, and gave all the time that was needed for the audience to rightfully and respectfully applaud and show their gratitude to Codey. I think for all his accomplishments, Jon Corzine is a humble person and I truly believe that he will do the job of Governor, not only to the best of his ability, but with some degree of humility and in his own words, he will do his best for everyone in the state. There is a lot to overcome in this state, regarding corruption and I think he may be the man to do it. At least I hope so. Corzine quoted Woodrow Wilson (both Governor of NJ and President of the US) in saying, "If you think too much about being reelected, it is very difficult to be worth reelecting." If he just sticks to that, he will be OK.
Finally, I remember what it was that most drew me to Jon Corzine and his candidacy for Governor. He was one of very few Senators who stood up and spoke out for Darfur and the people there who are experiencing "hell on earth." He, along with Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) stood up and proposed the Darfur Accountability Act, providing the tools and authorities to end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. I heard then Senator Corzine speak at an American Jewish Committee conference in Washington, DC in March of 2005, and could see his distress when speaking of his convictions about Darfur and how little attention the issue got in the United States Congress. I am sure now Governor Corzine will do what he can as governor to help in the Darfur cause. Hopefully he will lead the way to divesting New Jersey of any financial interests with the Sudan. To me Corzine has shown himself as a compassionate man and for me that speaks volumes.
There were a few things during the inauguration that troubled or befuddled me. Before the ceremony started, the camera panned the participants sitting on the dais behind the podium. There were past governors and present legislators, both federal and state. I saw Senator Frank Lautenberg and found myself quizzically wondering where is the other senator, Corzine? DUH!!!!
Then after Corzine took the Oath of Office, the cameras went outside to show the 19 gun salute. Now this is something I just don't understand. What is that all about? How is a person "saluted" by shooting off a machine that kills, in this case, 19 cannons, to boot? If someone could explain that to me, I'd be much obliged.
Still, when all was said and done, I was moved by the inauguration as a whole and I am leaving any cynicism I may have had at the back door. It is my fervent hope that it does not come a'knockin. I give my trust to Governor Corzine. But, I will be watching closely.
Sherril
1/12/2006
Jim Lipton Interviews Me!
As I said in yesterday's blog, I found two bloggers whom I much admire and I am hoping that it's ok, to take some of their ideas, i.e. Imitation being the highest form of flattery, etc. So, like Red, I decided to answer the little questionnaire that Jim Lipton uses on all the celebrities in the Inside the Actors Studio series. I'm playing Jim Lipton and me.
The Questionnaire:
What's Your Favorite Word: Puddle
What's Your Least Favorite Word: Excuse me?(said with scorn and sarcasm)
What Noise Do You Love: Babbling Brook and Wind Chimes
What noise do you hate?: I can't say it....has to do with blackboard
What turns you on: Good Repartee
What turns you off: Lack of subtlety
What Profession would you like to attempt: Actress, Senator
What Profession would you hate: Dentist
What is your favorite curse-word: Shit or maybe fuckaduck
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive: I watched and I listened and I liked what I saw and heard.
The Questionnaire:
What's Your Favorite Word: Puddle
What's Your Least Favorite Word: Excuse me?(said with scorn and sarcasm)
What Noise Do You Love: Babbling Brook and Wind Chimes
What noise do you hate?: I can't say it....has to do with blackboard
What turns you on: Good Repartee
What turns you off: Lack of subtlety
What Profession would you like to attempt: Actress, Senator
What Profession would you hate: Dentist
What is your favorite curse-word: Shit or maybe fuckaduck
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive: I watched and I listened and I liked what I saw and heard.
1/11/2006
1/07/2006
Dobson and SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: The Last Word
So, how did the subject of Dr. James Dobson and Spongebob Squarepants again rear it's cute, little, square head ? This is how. In anticipation of this weeks hearings on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme court, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, and Tony Perkin's of the Family Research Council, are planning a well funded and heavily promoted effort to load the courts with ultra-conservative judges. It is called "Justice Sunday III". This event is, according to the group, Faithful America "an attempt by politically-aligned right-wing religious fundamentalists to pressure Congress to load the courts with ultra-conservative judges. They claim that the courts have been secretly "“working... like thieves in the night, to rob us of our Christian heritage and our religious freedoms". Fact is they are doing so by upholding the constitutional separation of church and state."
I forwarded on the Faithful America email, asking for signatures on a petition against the Family Research Councils's claims, and added a sentence or two of my own...
You already know Rick Santorum and Jerry Falwell, but do you remember that James Dobson is the Founder of Focus on The Family and he was the one who WARNED US THAT SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS WAS A HOMOSEXUAL AND WAS TRYING TO PUSH THE HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA ON OUR CHILDREN??
In response to this, I received an email from a friend claiming that this whole business about Dobson and Spongebob was bogus. So, I did what any good blogger would do and researched the subject because I try not to send out false or distorted information. My research indicated that though The New York Times and other media sources may have gotten it wrong in terms of some specifics, they were quite accurate in terms of the spirit of of Dobson's convictions.
There is nothing bogus about Dobson being on the WRONG side of the separation of church and state issue. Were he and other like-minded Christian Fundamentalists to have their way, our children in public schools would be getting a good "Christian education" ( his words not mine). It all boils down to this. Dobson says that the liberal Media accused him of calling Spongebob Squarepants and maybe Big Bird homosexuals (as if this would be THE worst accusation to make). He states emphatically that he did not say this, but what he did say was that the - We Are Family Foundation ,— the organization that sponsored the video featuring SpongeBob and the other characters, is hijacking poor old (my words) Spongebob to promote an agenda that involves teaching homosexual propaganda to children and that they were "using" Spongebob and other cartoon characters to further their agenda. If you don't believe me, read it for yourself. We Are Family Foundation
So, to this I would say, SO WHAT? Since when is tolerance a bad word? Since when is using a cartoon character who children can relate to, a bad way of teaching them to appreciate and accept others, despite their differences? Since when is it not progress to accept easily, in fact, embrace that which was rejected in earlier, more intolerant times? And last, but not least, since when are groups like Focus on the Family, Family Research Council and Gary Bauer's American Values the standard by which the rest of the nation must abide and strive to meet. My standard is to do unto others what you would have them do unto you and do not unto others that which you would not want done unto you. As the sage, Hillel, said, "The rest is just commentary."
HUH! And they say Liberals can't take a joke.
1/04/2006
Newark, NJ Like You Never Knew it: PHILIP ROTH'S NEWARK TOUR - 10/23/05
Back in October, the 23rd to be exact, my sister and I attended a fascinating bus tour of Newark, NJ, basically through the eyes, or better put, the words of the well know author, Phillip Roth. The tour was cosponsored by The Newark Preservation and
Landmark Committee and our synagogue, Ahavas Sholom in Newark (which is where the tour begins).Roth was born in Newark at Beth Israel Hospital on March 19, 1933. He was the son of American born parents and grandson of European
Jews who were part of the 19th century wave of immigrants to the US. . Much of what comes off as "place" in his novels comes directly from his years lived in this 2-family framed house from his birth 1933 till 1942.It was a fascinating day, made moreso by the appearance of Roth himself at his boyhood home to commemorate a plaque in his honor.
The tour can be seen by clicking on title above.
What a day!! Enjoy....
11/08/2005
AVERY HART: The Pride of the26th District-A Poem for ELECTION DAY 11/08/05
http://www.averyhart.com/
">Link
AVERY HART
SHE'S OUR PRIDE
WIN OR LOSE
WE KNOW SHE TRIED.
SHE MADE US PROUD
SHE CAME OUT STRONG
SHE LEADS THE WAY
FOR WOMEN WHO WILL COME ALONG.
SO, HERE'S TO AVERY
ON ELECTION DAY
A WINNER FOR OUR DISTIRCT
A LEADER IN EVERY WAY.
GO AVERY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11/04/2005
Say No to Alito, MACHINE GUN SAMMY
">Link As if being against Roe VS Wade weren't enough, Judge Samuel Alito has voted to loosen the restrictions on machine guns.
You know, if this Alito guy is all he's jacked up to be, we are in big touble....not only will we have to go to an illegal abortionist should we need one, but we will have to go armed to the teeth in order to fight off the uzis and machine guns that will be on the streets; Gays will probably have to step back into the closet and minorities will have to "mind their manners". Jeez, the way it's going, I wont be surprised if the "new" Supreme Court" finds a way to rid us of the maxim, "innocent, until proven guilty" and will find many ways to RE-ATTACH Church and State. I believe that this country is going to hell in a basket and it might be a very steep and long way to climb back up.
So, I once again sent my thirty bucks to StoptheNRA.com because I truly detest the NRA and all it stands for. I have signed the petitions and sent the letters telling our Senators and representatives to look carefully at Alito's so called paper trail and I guess to ultimately vote against him, from all that we are learning or already know about him.
I'm afraid all this politicking is making me into a very snarly and cranky person and as far as I'm concerned if we could Stop the NRA and get Tomlinson and all his psycho-conservative goons out of Public TV and Radio http://www.freepress.net/action/cpbsweep and take Cheney down with "Scooter" Libby, and while we're at it, push Bush aside with Karl Rove..., then, maybe THEN I will regain my sweet composure and open-minded stance. But for now, I am mad and I'm not going to take it any more. Well, I guess I am going to take it more, but I must vent now and again and I must ask you to join me in at least some of these activities to THROW THE BUMS OUT (and that includes the newest bum, Samual A. Alito).
You know, if this Alito guy is all he's jacked up to be, we are in big touble....not only will we have to go to an illegal abortionist should we need one, but we will have to go armed to the teeth in order to fight off the uzis and machine guns that will be on the streets; Gays will probably have to step back into the closet and minorities will have to "mind their manners". Jeez, the way it's going, I wont be surprised if the "new" Supreme Court" finds a way to rid us of the maxim, "innocent, until proven guilty" and will find many ways to RE-ATTACH Church and State. I believe that this country is going to hell in a basket and it might be a very steep and long way to climb back up.
So, I once again sent my thirty bucks to StoptheNRA.com because I truly detest the NRA and all it stands for. I have signed the petitions and sent the letters telling our Senators and representatives to look carefully at Alito's so called paper trail and I guess to ultimately vote against him, from all that we are learning or already know about him.
I'm afraid all this politicking is making me into a very snarly and cranky person and as far as I'm concerned if we could Stop the NRA and get Tomlinson and all his psycho-conservative goons out of Public TV and Radio http://www.freepress.net/action/cpbsweep and take Cheney down with "Scooter" Libby, and while we're at it, push Bush aside with Karl Rove..., then, maybe THEN I will regain my sweet composure and open-minded stance. But for now, I am mad and I'm not going to take it any more. Well, I guess I am going to take it more, but I must vent now and again and I must ask you to join me in at least some of these activities to THROW THE BUMS OUT (and that includes the newest bum, Samual A. Alito).
10/21/2005
How My Blog Was Hatched or How a Blogger's Blog Begins
Something, this evening, brought me back to the site of one of my favorite blogs called The Sheila Varieations. After perusing her recent posts, I started looking for those that had gotten my attention before and so I remembered that it was in fact, a post on Sheila's blog that was the very inspiration for my own Myriad of Musings. I can not remember how it was that I stumbled upon her blog, but I did and it totally captured my imagination and led me to hatch one of my own.
In tribute to Sheila and her blog and by way of explanation for my own, I present Sheila's (also known as Red's) post of September 17, 2004, as well as my comments that followed.
September 17, 2004
Gladys, you're all right
Just now:
Standing in line at the post office. Very very long line.
A woman asked me if I knew what time it was. I told her. She started talking to me.
Normally, in New York, when someone gets all chatty with you, it is because they are lost, desperately lonely, or mentally ill.
This was not how it was with Gladys (I found out her name at the end). As the conversation flowed (and it did, man, it just flowed) I thought: This could, conceivably, go on forever. And that wouldn't be too bad a thing. It was a GREAT conversation. Very very deep.
Gladys. I may never see her again. But I won't forget her.
She was very petite, and Latin-looking. Obviously bi-lingual, she had a bit of an accent. A beautiful face. Smooth tan skin. She had her black hair slicked across the top of her head, and then it popped out into a curly ponytail in the back. She was young, she almost looked like a teenager. She obviously was from a rough background. Do not ask me how I know, but I just know. You can tell these things.
It's fresh in my mind, so let me just re-create the conversation, as it occurred:
Gladys: "Excuse me, do you have the time?"
Me: "It's blah blah blah."
Gladys: "Oh, thank you. I'm on a break." Pause. "I go to school across the street."
"Oh ... in my building, I think? There's some kind of school on the 2nd floor."
"Actually, that's the administrative offices. The school itself is on the 3rd."
"What kind of school is it?"
"They train people to be medical assistants. That's one of their programs, anyway."
"Is that what you're doing?"
"Yes. They also have other programs ... They train people to be private detectives, they teach people to run laboratories, stuff like that."
"Private detectives ... really? And so ... how long is the program?"
"My program is 9 months long. I have 3 months to go."
"Once you're done, do they place you?"
"Well, then we can apply for internships, and if they like you at the internships, they might hire you. Or - the school will help you get a job. But I don't really want the school to do it for me. I'd rather do the research on jobs on my own, and the kind of internships that would interest me - so that - if they do offer me a job, I would actually want to work there. Know what I mean?"
"Sure. Sounds like a really good program. Do you like it?"
"It's all right. I mean, I think that the program should really reach out more to people like me - people with lower incomes, or no income - They should do outreach, stuff like that, because that's the people who are really looking to make changes in their lives, people who want to ... I guess progress is the word I want. You know? I want to progress. I started out on the bottom, but I want to better myself, and make a better life for myself. This program is perfect for people like me. But they don't advertise, they don't do outreach programs up in the Bronx, where I live, and they really should. People who already have good jobs, and who have money, aren't gonna want to take this program. But whatever."
I joked. "Maybe you should move into the administrative offices. Whip their business into shape."
She laughed. Sharp as a whip, this Gladys. We are standing in the post office, and this perfect stranger is telling me about how she wants to "better herself".
Gladys went on. "I mean, I'm 24 years old. I have a 6 year old son. So obviously, I've made some mistakes in my life. I did some things too soon. And a lot of my friends are the same way, you know? Don't get me wrong, when I was 22, 23, I spent a lot of time looking at myself in the mirror, feeling sorry for myself. 'I can't believe I'm 22 and I'm such a loser!' Stuff like that. But then I realized - wait a minute. Yeah, I've made mistakes..."
"Who hasn't?"
"Exactly! Who hasn't! And you can sit around dwelling on it, or you can pick yourself up, and try to make something out of your life. That's what I am trying to do. It's hard, though, because a lot of the girls in my program are really young - and ... I mean, they come into classes like this--" (Gladys then did a perfect imitation of young hip-hop tough-girl posing) "They snap their gum, they don't talk right, and they're just ..."
"They sound immature."
"Yeah! They're totally immature! They think that stuff should just be given to them, you know what I mean? And, sorry, but they're totally ignorant. Like - I mean ... with everything going on in the world right now ... and not even just the world ... just in our city ... how can you not take stuff seriously? How can you not get that we don't have a lot of time on this earth, and you need to work hard?"
"I so hear what you're saying." (In case you haven't guessed, I DEEPLY loved this girl by this point, and wanted her to keep talking forever.)
She went on. "I try to tell that to my friends. I tell them that we are not our mistakes. Mistakes are things that happen, choices we made ... and we can either moan about it, or we can stand up again."
I said, "And you have a 6 year old son. That's wonderful."
"I don't know about that! I'm exhausted all the time."
"Well, I'm a lot older than you, and I don't have kids."
She burst out laughing. "You're lucky!"
"I see what you mean - it's a grass is always greener thing - but I'm telling you, that biological clock is a real thing!"
"Did you not want to have kids, or...?"
"Guess I just haven't met the right guy yet. I do want kids."
She laughed again. "I don't want anymore."
"But see? That's great! You are DONE! When you're in your 30s, and 40s - you won't have little kids running around, you'll have more freedom. But if I have a kid now, I'm gonna be schlepping them around well into my 50s."
She said, "It's weird - having a kid. It's really scary. Especially now." (I was getting the sense that Gladys was not - to use Rebecca West's term for females only interested in their private concerns - an "idiot". She was well-informed. She continued to reference "especially now", "in a world like ours," "these days" ...)
I said, "I can't even imagine."
She said, "I mean, my God, when that thing happened in Russia ... I just ... my son's school started the next day and I was terrified to take him."
"Oh, God."
"And my friends were all like, 'Oh, it could never happen here!'"
She and I then spoke in unison. Loudly. As though speaking to her group of idiot friends: "YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!"
Gladys said, "How could they think that? Especially now ... especially in this city ... how could they not think that something like that could happen?"
We were now approaching the end of the line.
I said to her, "You know, I have a feeling you're going to do really well in your life."
She can't see it now. Of course she can't. She's in the middle of it! She's just trying to survive right now.
She rolled her eyes, sighed, said something like, "I gotta do SOMETHING, you know?"
I said, "You're gonna do fine. I can tell."
The next service window was called. I held out my hand to her. "I'm Sheila."
She shook my hand. "I'm Gladys."
"Nice to meet you."
"You too, Sheila."
And that was that.
But damn. I really feel like I just met someone completely SUBSTANTIAL. "We are not our mistakes." 24 year old girl.
Talking to her was the random gift of the day.
Posted by sheila TrackBack
Comments:
Sheila,
I am so glad I stopped to read this story. Gladys does sound like a person who despite all odds, will make it in this world. But, the person who really stood out for me, was you, Sheila. That you responded to a stranger who clearly had a lot on her mind and was open enough to express it, by reinforcing her in an almost therapeutic way, speaks so well of the listener. Another person may have gone off on their own thing and consequently missed so much. My cudos are to you. Both of you, Gladys and Sheila, are people I would want to know. Sherril
Posted by: Sherril at September 21, 2004 12:11 PM
I am resending the message that I sent an hour or so ago. I am very excited that I just set up my own personal BLOG. I didn't even know what blog meant about four months ago, so I am moving along well in this cyber-world. I am uncertain if my other messages got published since I did not have an URL address. So, here again is the message and my new address: (...and here I had repeated the comment above...) http://sherrilsmyriadofmusings.blogspot.com/
In tribute to Sheila and her blog and by way of explanation for my own, I present Sheila's (also known as Red's) post of September 17, 2004, as well as my comments that followed.
September 17, 2004
Gladys, you're all right
Just now:
Standing in line at the post office. Very very long line.
A woman asked me if I knew what time it was. I told her. She started talking to me.
Normally, in New York, when someone gets all chatty with you, it is because they are lost, desperately lonely, or mentally ill.
This was not how it was with Gladys (I found out her name at the end). As the conversation flowed (and it did, man, it just flowed) I thought: This could, conceivably, go on forever. And that wouldn't be too bad a thing. It was a GREAT conversation. Very very deep.
Gladys. I may never see her again. But I won't forget her.
She was very petite, and Latin-looking. Obviously bi-lingual, she had a bit of an accent. A beautiful face. Smooth tan skin. She had her black hair slicked across the top of her head, and then it popped out into a curly ponytail in the back. She was young, she almost looked like a teenager. She obviously was from a rough background. Do not ask me how I know, but I just know. You can tell these things.
It's fresh in my mind, so let me just re-create the conversation, as it occurred:
Gladys: "Excuse me, do you have the time?"
Me: "It's blah blah blah."
Gladys: "Oh, thank you. I'm on a break." Pause. "I go to school across the street."
"Oh ... in my building, I think? There's some kind of school on the 2nd floor."
"Actually, that's the administrative offices. The school itself is on the 3rd."
"What kind of school is it?"
"They train people to be medical assistants. That's one of their programs, anyway."
"Is that what you're doing?"
"Yes. They also have other programs ... They train people to be private detectives, they teach people to run laboratories, stuff like that."
"Private detectives ... really? And so ... how long is the program?"
"My program is 9 months long. I have 3 months to go."
"Once you're done, do they place you?"
"Well, then we can apply for internships, and if they like you at the internships, they might hire you. Or - the school will help you get a job. But I don't really want the school to do it for me. I'd rather do the research on jobs on my own, and the kind of internships that would interest me - so that - if they do offer me a job, I would actually want to work there. Know what I mean?"
"Sure. Sounds like a really good program. Do you like it?"
"It's all right. I mean, I think that the program should really reach out more to people like me - people with lower incomes, or no income - They should do outreach, stuff like that, because that's the people who are really looking to make changes in their lives, people who want to ... I guess progress is the word I want. You know? I want to progress. I started out on the bottom, but I want to better myself, and make a better life for myself. This program is perfect for people like me. But they don't advertise, they don't do outreach programs up in the Bronx, where I live, and they really should. People who already have good jobs, and who have money, aren't gonna want to take this program. But whatever."
I joked. "Maybe you should move into the administrative offices. Whip their business into shape."
She laughed. Sharp as a whip, this Gladys. We are standing in the post office, and this perfect stranger is telling me about how she wants to "better herself".
Gladys went on. "I mean, I'm 24 years old. I have a 6 year old son. So obviously, I've made some mistakes in my life. I did some things too soon. And a lot of my friends are the same way, you know? Don't get me wrong, when I was 22, 23, I spent a lot of time looking at myself in the mirror, feeling sorry for myself. 'I can't believe I'm 22 and I'm such a loser!' Stuff like that. But then I realized - wait a minute. Yeah, I've made mistakes..."
"Who hasn't?"
"Exactly! Who hasn't! And you can sit around dwelling on it, or you can pick yourself up, and try to make something out of your life. That's what I am trying to do. It's hard, though, because a lot of the girls in my program are really young - and ... I mean, they come into classes like this--" (Gladys then did a perfect imitation of young hip-hop tough-girl posing) "They snap their gum, they don't talk right, and they're just ..."
"They sound immature."
"Yeah! They're totally immature! They think that stuff should just be given to them, you know what I mean? And, sorry, but they're totally ignorant. Like - I mean ... with everything going on in the world right now ... and not even just the world ... just in our city ... how can you not take stuff seriously? How can you not get that we don't have a lot of time on this earth, and you need to work hard?"
"I so hear what you're saying." (In case you haven't guessed, I DEEPLY loved this girl by this point, and wanted her to keep talking forever.)
She went on. "I try to tell that to my friends. I tell them that we are not our mistakes. Mistakes are things that happen, choices we made ... and we can either moan about it, or we can stand up again."
I said, "And you have a 6 year old son. That's wonderful."
"I don't know about that! I'm exhausted all the time."
"Well, I'm a lot older than you, and I don't have kids."
She burst out laughing. "You're lucky!"
"I see what you mean - it's a grass is always greener thing - but I'm telling you, that biological clock is a real thing!"
"Did you not want to have kids, or...?"
"Guess I just haven't met the right guy yet. I do want kids."
She laughed again. "I don't want anymore."
"But see? That's great! You are DONE! When you're in your 30s, and 40s - you won't have little kids running around, you'll have more freedom. But if I have a kid now, I'm gonna be schlepping them around well into my 50s."
She said, "It's weird - having a kid. It's really scary. Especially now." (I was getting the sense that Gladys was not - to use Rebecca West's term for females only interested in their private concerns - an "idiot". She was well-informed. She continued to reference "especially now", "in a world like ours," "these days" ...)
I said, "I can't even imagine."
She said, "I mean, my God, when that thing happened in Russia ... I just ... my son's school started the next day and I was terrified to take him."
"Oh, God."
"And my friends were all like, 'Oh, it could never happen here!'"
She and I then spoke in unison. Loudly. As though speaking to her group of idiot friends: "YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!"
Gladys said, "How could they think that? Especially now ... especially in this city ... how could they not think that something like that could happen?"
We were now approaching the end of the line.
I said to her, "You know, I have a feeling you're going to do really well in your life."
She can't see it now. Of course she can't. She's in the middle of it! She's just trying to survive right now.
She rolled her eyes, sighed, said something like, "I gotta do SOMETHING, you know?"
I said, "You're gonna do fine. I can tell."
The next service window was called. I held out my hand to her. "I'm Sheila."
She shook my hand. "I'm Gladys."
"Nice to meet you."
"You too, Sheila."
And that was that.
But damn. I really feel like I just met someone completely SUBSTANTIAL. "We are not our mistakes." 24 year old girl.
Talking to her was the random gift of the day.
Posted by sheila TrackBack
Comments:
Sheila,
I am so glad I stopped to read this story. Gladys does sound like a person who despite all odds, will make it in this world. But, the person who really stood out for me, was you, Sheila. That you responded to a stranger who clearly had a lot on her mind and was open enough to express it, by reinforcing her in an almost therapeutic way, speaks so well of the listener. Another person may have gone off on their own thing and consequently missed so much. My cudos are to you. Both of you, Gladys and Sheila, are people I would want to know. Sherril
Posted by: Sherril at September 21, 2004 12:11 PM
I am resending the message that I sent an hour or so ago. I am very excited that I just set up my own personal BLOG. I didn't even know what blog meant about four months ago, so I am moving along well in this cyber-world. I am uncertain if my other messages got published since I did not have an URL address. So, here again is the message and my new address: (...and here I had repeated the comment above...) http://sherrilsmyriadofmusings.blogspot.com/
10/09/2005
Bipartisan Issues & My Issue of the Day
">Link
Sometimes I think I should just devote myself to one "cause" and put all my efforts and donations into it, but I feel passionately about so many of them, it's hard for me to single one out. For today, however, I have done just that. I got snail mail from the Brady Campaign www.bradycampaign.org, www.millionmommarch.org and was about to pitch it into the recycling bag, when I decided instead to open it. I doubt that I will be able to keep this one as my only focus for long, but for the moment, it is. I think perhaps it, like the issue of Embryonic Stem Cell Research http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics3.asp and it can and should be a bipartisan issues.
And, there is actually some good news. So, here's the GOOD NEWS about my issue of the day: sensible gun laws.
Despite intensive lobbying and threats by the NRA, the governor of Illinois signed SB1333 which requires that people who buy guns at gun shows submit to the same Brady background checks as those who buy from authorized gun retailers. This seems like it is a no-brainer, but apparently gun shows don't usually have to abide by laws....strange, huh?
The Brady campaign plans to put up billboards at Miami Int'l Airport and distribute leaflets, as well as major newspapers Warning Visitors about the Risks of Visiting Florida after the "Shoot First" law takes effect, October 1st. http://www.shootfirstlaw.org/ And the last bit of good news is that they are working on getting bills passed in CA that would make it easier for police to trace crime guns and bullets by stamping a distinguishing serial number onto a cartridge when it is fired and require manufactureers to stamp bullets sold in CA with an ID number that police can trace to the store where the ammo was sold. Again, this seems to me as common sense. I have a feeling it is not so for the NRA. http://www.bradycampaign.org/press/release.php?Release=661
This is my kind of BRADY BUNCH!!!!!
The sad part is that when I did a Yahoo search on this issue, the majority of hits were by those against this law, those who hold GUNS and rights of hunters and gun owners and of course, the NRA way, way above the safety and well being of United States citizens, most especially the children. Instead they are proud to promote pictures of cute little children wearing Camouflage Clothing and toting Guns. Where is the sanity???
So, for now....That's my Issue of the Day.
Sherril
"If by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties.. If that is what they mean by a "liberal" then I am proud to be a liberal. ": John F. Kennedy
Sometimes I think I should just devote myself to one "cause" and put all my efforts and donations into it, but I feel passionately about so many of them, it's hard for me to single one out. For today, however, I have done just that. I got snail mail from the Brady Campaign www.bradycampaign.org, www.millionmommarch.org and was about to pitch it into the recycling bag, when I decided instead to open it. I doubt that I will be able to keep this one as my only focus for long, but for the moment, it is. I think perhaps it, like the issue of Embryonic Stem Cell Research http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics3.asp and it can and should be a bipartisan issues.
And, there is actually some good news. So, here's the GOOD NEWS about my issue of the day: sensible gun laws.
Despite intensive lobbying and threats by the NRA, the governor of Illinois signed SB1333 which requires that people who buy guns at gun shows submit to the same Brady background checks as those who buy from authorized gun retailers. This seems like it is a no-brainer, but apparently gun shows don't usually have to abide by laws....strange, huh?
The Brady campaign plans to put up billboards at Miami Int'l Airport and distribute leaflets, as well as major newspapers Warning Visitors about the Risks of Visiting Florida after the "Shoot First" law takes effect, October 1st. http://www.shootfirstlaw.org/ And the last bit of good news is that they are working on getting bills passed in CA that would make it easier for police to trace crime guns and bullets by stamping a distinguishing serial number onto a cartridge when it is fired and require manufactureers to stamp bullets sold in CA with an ID number that police can trace to the store where the ammo was sold. Again, this seems to me as common sense. I have a feeling it is not so for the NRA. http://www.bradycampaign.org/press/release.php?Release=661
This is my kind of BRADY BUNCH!!!!!
The sad part is that when I did a Yahoo search on this issue, the majority of hits were by those against this law, those who hold GUNS and rights of hunters and gun owners and of course, the NRA way, way above the safety and well being of United States citizens, most especially the children. Instead they are proud to promote pictures of cute little children wearing Camouflage Clothing and toting Guns. Where is the sanity???
So, for now....That's my Issue of the Day.
Sherril
"If by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties.. If that is what they mean by a "liberal" then I am proud to be a liberal. ": John F. Kennedy
9/10/2005
My Tribute to New Orleans - Revisited
In December of 2001, I took my daughter Rachel with me for a New Orleans adventure.So, I am revisiting the email I sent out to friends and family, after Rachel and I returned in January of 2002. For those of you who know the city, I hope it will serve to refresh wonderful memories, and for those who were not privileged to get to New Orleans, I hope it will give you a second hand appreciation of this most unique and astonishing city.
MAY NEW ORLEANS BE BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE AS WE ALL KNEW IT before the devastation that Hurrican Katrina forced upon it AND MAY ITS PEOPLE FIND SUCCOR AND ONCE AGAIN....
Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!" MAY THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
New Orleans Revisited can be viewed at Photos Following My Footsteps
6/16/2005
Interested in Who Will Be the Next NJ Governor?
To get to the "CORZINE CONNECTION" click on the Title above.
I invite you to go to the Corzine Connection blog http://corzineconnection.com/story/2005/6/15/183543/705?
if you are at all interested in making the best choice as to who will be the next Governor of NJ. I truly believe that Corzine will keep the best interests of New Jersey and its citizens in mind as he governs and will use his considerable intellect and compassion to do so. Please take a good look. If you agree or disagree, speak up and let's "discourse"
Sherril
I invite you to go to the Corzine Connection blog http://corzineconnection.com/story/2005/6/15/183543/705?
if you are at all interested in making the best choice as to who will be the next Governor of NJ. I truly believe that Corzine will keep the best interests of New Jersey and its citizens in mind as he governs and will use his considerable intellect and compassion to do so. Please take a good look. If you agree or disagree, speak up and let's "discourse"
Sherril
NNYC from Atop Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City...among the greatest of cities in the world, as seen from atop the Metropolitan Museum of Art. February, 2005 -
Impact of the Gates on NYC
Near the end of February 2005, I spent the day walking around Central Park in NYC, surrounded by varying shades of saffron and orange and watching the light change and glimmer as the sun played with these pieces of fabric. The biggest delight was in being amongst New Yorkers and others who were in the City to see this orange phenomenon, a gift given the city by the artists who made them, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who had no other agenda but to give delight to the people of New York City. And according to the cab driver who took me back to Port Authority, The Gates did just that. He said he had not seen so many smiling people in a long, long time. He said he's going to miss The Gates when they come down in just a few days and he's going to miss the atmosphere they helped create. What a colorful and wondrous day!
By the way...there were over 4 million visitors to NYC while The Gates were up and generated an estimated $254 million in economic activity.
6/14/2005
PREVENTION FIRST
I am a person with progressive, dare I use the L word,
The important thing is to find common ground and there has been a bill proposed in the Senate that does just that. The link above will take you to a site explaining this act, called the Prevention First Act (S.20). I went to the website of the Senate where you can track bills
and found that this one has not as yet been sent up in written form. I urge people to contact their senators and bring this to the forefront. I think we would be a better country....that we could combine our ideas and efforts, find middle ground, and instead of being red or blue, why not become purple?
liberalbeliefs. Let's say you are a person with
conservativebeliefs. Let's talk about the A word,
abortion. Now, if we want to stay friends or even be able to be civilized with one another, we probably have to avoid that topic, right? Wrong! I think there are some things we can all agree on. What we would like to see less of in this country is the need for abortion. What we would like to see more of is less unwanted pregnancies in the first place. Can we agree on that? If we can, and I think many reasonable, thoughtful people do, then perhaps we can find solutions instead of making bigger problems by trying to change the Constitution.
The important thing is to find common ground and there has been a bill proposed in the Senate that does just that. The link above will take you to a site explaining this act, called the Prevention First Act (S.20). I went to the website of the Senate where you can track bills
and found that this one has not as yet been sent up in written form. I urge people to contact their senators and bring this to the forefront. I think we would be a better country....that we could combine our ideas and efforts, find middle ground, and instead of being red or blue, why not become purple?
6/12/2005
The Stanley Hotel
Taken from The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where Stanley Kubrick's, "The Shining" was filmed.
6/10/2005
The Glass Menagerie...But Get There Quick!!
">Link
http://nycoperafanatic.com/2005/05/glass-menagerie-barrymore-theatre.html
I love theater, both straight plays and musicals. I have seen a lot of good theater in the last few years and though it's way too expensive, it is a worthwhile way to spend money, at least for me. So, last Wednesday I took myself to see, The Glass Menagerie The link tells you about the performances. What I will tell you is that I had forgotten, or perhaps I never knew, how insightful Tennessee Williams was regarding relationships, especially with "mom" or as "mom". Jessica Lange is truly superb. I believe it is ending soon, so catch it while you can.
Sherril
http://nycoperafanatic.com/2005/05/glass-menagerie-barrymore-theatre.html
I love theater, both straight plays and musicals. I have seen a lot of good theater in the last few years and though it's way too expensive, it is a worthwhile way to spend money, at least for me. So, last Wednesday I took myself to see, The Glass Menagerie The link tells you about the performances. What I will tell you is that I had forgotten, or perhaps I never knew, how insightful Tennessee Williams was regarding relationships, especially with "mom" or as "mom". Jessica Lange is truly superb. I believe it is ending soon, so catch it while you can.
Sherril
6/06/2005
Join Us To Celebrate Corzines's Campaign for Governor
Link
I don't get too many visitors to my blog, but if you are here, we would love for you to join us for this event Tues. June 7 at 7 PM. Corzine is a forceful, progressive, intelligent, hard working, generous person who has something many candidates don't and that is compassion (as per his stand on Darfur). So click here to get the details and join us.
http://www.njdems.org/2005PrimaryNight.php
Sherril
5/19/2005
JOIN ME IN PROTESTING UNFAIR PHARMACY POLICIY
Link
The following is from Nancy Keenan, President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Becky's Story...
I'd like to share my personal experience at the Pamida Pharmacy on Saturday, April 16th, 2005.
I walked up to a busy counter with a prescription for two medications. The pharmacist took the note and told me she'd fill one medication, but I'd have to come back on Monday to have the birth control filled by the other pharmacist. I verbally questioned this, because she herself was a pharmacist. Her answer was "for moral reasons I will not fill a birth control prescription."
I challenged the pharmacist by telling her, "It's a valid medical prescription signed by a medical doctor. Your other customers are receiving service. I shouldn't have to come back Monday when I'm here now." I was refused a second time on the same grounds and told to try another pharmacy. My response, "No, my insurance information is here and this is where I come to get my prescriptions." I was refused a third time. When I asked her to show me written documentation that would give her a legal right to refuse, she had nothing to show me.
Correspondence with the Pamida pharmacist manager was most disturbing. I was again told to come back when the other pharmacist was working or to follow a sticker on the prescription that instructs the patient to call in their refill a week ahead of time. Although they upheld the actions of their pharmacist, I was not told anything regarding their policy on the issue or given any evidence that the pharmacist acted within her legal right.
We are constantly being confronted with such emotionally charged issues as abortion, family welfare, domestic abuse, etc. It seems very contradictory to refuse a product whose absence will only make these issues more volatile.
Dear Sherril,
Just a few weeks ago, Becky P. became only the latest in a string of women who've had their birth control prescriptions refused by anti-choice pharmacies.
It's no surprise that our opponents fight women's access to abortion. But now anti-choice pressure groups are even encouraging pharmacists to refuse birth control to women like Becky.
When this happened to her, Becky -- like most of the women affected by this disturbing and growing trend -- had no idea if her pharmacy's refusal was legal, no idea of how to get her prescription filled, and no idea how she might fight back.
Thankfully, Becky's tenacity led her to call us and start her own campaign to fight back. But many more women are forced to simply endure this degrading experience because they do not know their options. Even worse, women in towns with only one pharmacy can't even get their prescriptions filled elsewhere -- leaving them with no options and no birth control pills.
We've asked those who oppose a woman's right to choose to work with us where we might have common ground -- by improving access to birth control. Becky's story and the experiences of countless other women tell me that we have a long way to go.
We can't let this stand. When a woman and her doctor decide that a birth control prescription is in her best interest, a third party has no right to override that decision. Women need someone on their side. Click here to help us keep up the fight!
We've launched a nationwide campaign to fight this anti-choice ploy and protect a woman's right to have her birth control prescriptions filled without harassment. With your help, we can make sure every woman who faces this situation knows her rights and knows how she can fight back.
You can help us make sure this work keeps going strong - click here to help us: (SEE LINK ABOVE)https://secure.ga3.org/02/pharmacies/nEda7Nf51tRIM?
Put pressure on national pharmacy chains.
Raise awareness online and through demonstrations at pharmacies across the country.
Pass laws at the state and federal levels to guarantee that no woman is turned away.
Protect a woman's right to choose on all levels!
Becky shared her story in order to do what she can to fight back -- thank you for reading her story. We are here to help people like Becky fight back, but we depend on the generous support of people like you to keep moving forward -- if you can, click here and make a gift to keep efforts like these going strong.
Sincerely,
Nancy Keenan
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Sherril here, again. I have an idea and would appreciate feedback. When pharmacies are identified as in any way refusing to fill prescriptions for women's birth control, an immediate protest outside the pharmacy should be set up. As part of this protest, some of the signs should read: IN FAIRNESS NO MORE CONDOMS SHOULD BE SOLD AT THIS PHARMACY FOR AS LONG AS WOMEN'S BIRTH CONTROL IS DENIED.
Another might read: AS LONG AS WOMEN'S BIRTH CONTROL IS LIMITED BY THIS PHARMACY, PRESCRIPTIONS FOR VIAGRA AND OTHERS FOR ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION WILL ALSO BE REFUSED TO MEN WHOSE WIVES DO NOT WANT TO GET PREGNANT....WHAT'S FAIR IS FAIR.
If anyone knows of pharmacies refusing birth control scripts, please let me know name, location and as much other information as possible. I will be happy to head up this campaign. If you want to join me and have other ideas, let me know.
4/19/2005
The Religious Right
My hat is off to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojewich, who has ordered Illinois pharmacies that stock the morning-after pill to fill all prescriptions for it.http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/national/19pill.html?th&emc=th Are we going to allow the fanatical religious right of this country to dictate to us what medicines we can and can not use? If we continue to allow Bill Frist to get his way, we are going to end up very much like the society in Margaret Atwood's book, "The Handmaid's Tale". Take a look at the book, read it and see if what is happening now doesn't begin to look a little like that society. Let me know if you agree and also what you thought of the book. http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/atwood157-des-.html
Sherril
Sherril
4/15/2005
DISTURBING PHARMACY TRENDS
I have not posted here for a very long time because I've been busy writing emails about politics and other things I care about and forwarding them to people on my email lists. Now, I will put me ruminations here and see what comes up. This government of ours has been making me mad for a long time, but every once in a while something comes to my attention that is even more unbearable than the other issues. That issue for me right now is concerning Pharmacies and how persists are being allowed to force their religious beliefs on their customers. You can see the particulars at the link above. As a friend of mine who is a retired Pharmacist said, what's next? "Will it be physicians who will not treat a patient who is bleeding to death because the patient is a physician who has performed abortions, or even worse is merely pro-abortion? Alternatively, if a patient or a prescribing physician doesn't agree with the pharmacist's religious views on abortion, can he decide not to fill any prescription for that patient, even if it is not a contraceptive? In fact, why shouldn't pharmacists control all drugs in this country and decide who is to get what based upon the pharmacists religious beliefs. There are individuals who believe that killing any living thing, even an ant, is immoral. Therefore, can a pharmacist with such a belief refuse to dispense antibiotics because they kill bacteria?" My question is this. Isn't this illegal? Can't a patient or prescribing physican sue the Pharmacist or the Pharmacy for not filling a perfecly legal prescription? If there are any legal people out there, please do enlighten me. Oh, and one more thing. Here is the auto-response email that Walmart, one of the guilty Pharmacies, sent me in response to my complaint about the issue.
Dear Valued Customer,Thank you for contacting us at Walmart.com regarding women?s prescriptions for birth control. Your comments and concerns are very important to us as we strive to meet your needs. Wal-Mart does not carry emergency contraceptives. Our pharmacists may decline to fill a prescription based on personal convictions. However, they must find another pharmacist, either at Wal-Mart or another pharmacy, who can assist you by filling your prescription.Again, we thank you for your comments regarding this issue.Sincerely,Custo
Dear Valued Customer,Thank you for contacting us at Walmart.com regarding women?s prescriptions for birth control. Your comments and concerns are very important to us as we strive to meet your needs. Wal-Mart does not carry emergency contraceptives. Our pharmacists may decline to fill a prescription based on personal convictions. However, they must find another pharmacist, either at Wal-Mart or another pharmacy, who can assist you by filling your prescription.Again, we thank you for your comments regarding this issue.Sincerely,Custo
1/28/2005
POLITICS & ME
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I like many Americans found myself involved in politcs, in a real way, for the first time in my life during the last presidential election. When Kerry lost the election and I, again like many others, finally arose from the depths of disappointed depression, I thought that that would be it. I would continue to read the political emails sent me from MoveOn, PFAW, DSCC, The Million Mom's March (I attended the first one), Stop the NRA.com and Women't groups lke NARAL and Emily's List, as well as many from environmental organizations. I would continue to donate as much as and to as many as I could. I would send fourth the occassional email to encourage others to be somewhat involved. And, I figured that would be about the extent of my involvement.
Then I found a local NJ grassroots organization that started as a group of people much like me, i.e. virutal newbies to politics. This organization, BlueWave, NJ is amazing. For anyone in the northern NJ area, who is the least bit interested in trying to do something to impove on the State of our country, take a look at BlueWave. At the first BlueWave meeting I attended, many people got up to speak, one of them being this petite woman who was on a mission. She, having done mothing more in the world of politics than becomeing the president of her local Democratic Committee in Kennilworth, NJ. Avery Hart is her name and in the end she ran an amazing election for the NJ State Legislature.
I like many Americans found myself involved in politcs, in a real way, for the first time in my life during the last presidential election. When Kerry lost the election and I, again like many others, finally arose from the depths of disappointed depression, I thought that that would be it. I would continue to read the political emails sent me from MoveOn, PFAW, DSCC, The Million Mom's March (I attended the first one), Stop the NRA.com and Women't groups lke NARAL and Emily's List, as well as many from environmental organizations. I would continue to donate as much as and to as many as I could. I would send fourth the occassional email to encourage others to be somewhat involved. And, I figured that would be about the extent of my involvement.
Then I found a local NJ grassroots organization that started as a group of people much like me, i.e. virutal newbies to politics. This organization, BlueWave, NJ is amazing. For anyone in the northern NJ area, who is the least bit interested in trying to do something to impove on the State of our country, take a look at BlueWave. At the first BlueWave meeting I attended, many people got up to speak, one of them being this petite woman who was on a mission. She, having done mothing more in the world of politics than becomeing the president of her local Democratic Committee in Kennilworth, NJ. Avery Hart is her name and in the end she ran an amazing election for the NJ State Legislature.
10/02/2004
If Wishing Would Make It True
If wishing would make it true, I would receive comments to my blogs, thus giving me a chance to interact here. This is new to me. Am I doing something wrong?
10/01/2004
On the Defense
The debate on Thursday night could not have gone better from a Pro-Kerry point of view. MoveOn requested that we write letters to the Editor of local newspapers, so this is what I wrote. :-----------------------------------------------Dear Editor, Kerry needed to do one important thing since the beginning of this race and that was to put President Bush on the defensive. He succeeded in doing just that at Thursday night's Debate. Kerry was on the offensive and gave Bush much to try to defend. Bush did not rise to the challenge because he couldn't. Why? Because his decisions regarding Iraq and the way he has misled the country and his inability to fully comprehend complicated situations are all indefensible
9/28/2004
Bush, Kerry and the Jewish Vote
Today I got an email from a friend with an article written by Jeff Jacoby from the Boston Globe. The title of the article was, Bush, Kerry, and the Jewish Vote. The gist of it was that Jews are knee-jerk Democrats and that this time perhaps they should think twice. Well, it was longer than that If you want to read it, be my guest .
And this is my response.
Dear Mr. Jacoby,
I actually have given a great deal of thought to this issue and have thoughts about it that go in different directions. Since I have been more active in this campaign then ever before, I have to actually step away from myself and my actions of late in order to objectively question Kerry's position on Israel. I had a Michael Moore/Farhenheit/911 Party back at the end of August because I became very mobilized by his movie and have more or less agreed with his other two movies as well (Bowling for Columbine and Roger and Me.) Since then friends of mine, Enid and Bill, sent me an email detailing why M. Moore is anti-Semitic. At the time, I thought some of it was taken out of context and tried to disregard the rest. I read (actually listened to the book on CD) his book, Dude, Where's My Country. He makes some remarks that come off sounding very much against Israel. So, I decided to write him an email. I will Fwd. it to you because it says a lot of what I feel about this whole issue of The Left and the Democratic Party in relation to Israel (and by association Jews).
My question lately is whether one is completely at odds when one considers oneself a Liberal, to the Left of center politically and even, as per Jacoby's article, a Democrat. and at the same time a STRONG supporter of Israel. Before the 1968 Six Day War, it was easy to think of Jews as the underdog, historically oppressed and subjected to persecution and anti-Semitism. Then after the war, Israel became strong militarily and had, not by it's own initiation, gained some land (though even with the "occupied" land, it still remained no bigger than the state of NJ). So, with the "occupied" land, a strong military, and the strong and unyielding Support of the United States, Israel went from being the underdog to being the "oppressor"; the so called "Palestinians" became the "David" to Israel's " Goliath." Israel lost it's "status" of being a "victim." So, it became the object of the Left's disdain and Palestine became it's darling. As an outsider, a Non-Jew, I suppose one could make a case for this, but they would have to be unknowledgable about Jewish history and look the other way when it comes to considering the rest of the Arab world in relation to the Arabs in the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan. I am clearly not one of these people. Israel will always be one of my BIG issues when it come to politics. I do, however see the logic and the humanity of looking for a solution for these people.
Having said that, in this particular election, though I agree that Bush has been a friend to Israel and actively against anti-Semitism, there are SO MANY other important issues that for this one time, I have put the "Jewish/Israel" issue on the back burner. I am hopeful that Kerry will also be a big supporter of Israel and if he isn't, I will be as outspoken about that as I have been outspoken in his behalf. His brother is a "Jew by Choice" and that can't hurt. I do not agree with Jacoby that Jews are by in large "blindly" Democratic. Perhaps that was once true, but I don't think it is today. We are, as a people, concerned with "tikun olam" and it is the Democratic party that shares that concern moreso than the Republicans do, traditionally. As for Al Sharpton, I didn't realize he was a rabid anti-Semite. I happened to be one who thought his speech at the Convention was "right on" in terms of Civil Rights. When push comes to shove, I will not work for someone else's "cause" if in the end, it will put me or my people at risk. But until I see that clearly, I will work for the rights of people who have been historically oppressed, as Blacks have been. And, by the way, though Kerry did not mention Israel in his Convention speech, Edward's did, though I must admit it was pretty much in passing.
So, in conclusion, I will continue to temporarily suspend judgment on Kerry regarding Jewish issues and hopefully take it up again after the election, should he become our next President. Something I hope and pray will happen. I think this time Jacoby has a point, but I will worry about it later.
Shalom,
Sherril
And this is my response.
Dear Mr. Jacoby,
I actually have given a great deal of thought to this issue and have thoughts about it that go in different directions. Since I have been more active in this campaign then ever before, I have to actually step away from myself and my actions of late in order to objectively question Kerry's position on Israel. I had a Michael Moore/Farhenheit/911 Party back at the end of August because I became very mobilized by his movie and have more or less agreed with his other two movies as well (Bowling for Columbine and Roger and Me.) Since then friends of mine, Enid and Bill, sent me an email detailing why M. Moore is anti-Semitic. At the time, I thought some of it was taken out of context and tried to disregard the rest. I read (actually listened to the book on CD) his book, Dude, Where's My Country. He makes some remarks that come off sounding very much against Israel. So, I decided to write him an email. I will Fwd. it to you because it says a lot of what I feel about this whole issue of The Left and the Democratic Party in relation to Israel (and by association Jews).
My question lately is whether one is completely at odds when one considers oneself a Liberal, to the Left of center politically and even, as per Jacoby's article, a Democrat. and at the same time a STRONG supporter of Israel. Before the 1968 Six Day War, it was easy to think of Jews as the underdog, historically oppressed and subjected to persecution and anti-Semitism. Then after the war, Israel became strong militarily and had, not by it's own initiation, gained some land (though even with the "occupied" land, it still remained no bigger than the state of NJ). So, with the "occupied" land, a strong military, and the strong and unyielding Support of the United States, Israel went from being the underdog to being the "oppressor"; the so called "Palestinians" became the "David" to Israel's " Goliath." Israel lost it's "status" of being a "victim." So, it became the object of the Left's disdain and Palestine became it's darling. As an outsider, a Non-Jew, I suppose one could make a case for this, but they would have to be unknowledgable about Jewish history and look the other way when it comes to considering the rest of the Arab world in relation to the Arabs in the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan. I am clearly not one of these people. Israel will always be one of my BIG issues when it come to politics. I do, however see the logic and the humanity of looking for a solution for these people.
Having said that, in this particular election, though I agree that Bush has been a friend to Israel and actively against anti-Semitism, there are SO MANY other important issues that for this one time, I have put the "Jewish/Israel" issue on the back burner. I am hopeful that Kerry will also be a big supporter of Israel and if he isn't, I will be as outspoken about that as I have been outspoken in his behalf. His brother is a "Jew by Choice" and that can't hurt. I do not agree with Jacoby that Jews are by in large "blindly" Democratic. Perhaps that was once true, but I don't think it is today. We are, as a people, concerned with "tikun olam" and it is the Democratic party that shares that concern moreso than the Republicans do, traditionally. As for Al Sharpton, I didn't realize he was a rabid anti-Semite. I happened to be one who thought his speech at the Convention was "right on" in terms of Civil Rights. When push comes to shove, I will not work for someone else's "cause" if in the end, it will put me or my people at risk. But until I see that clearly, I will work for the rights of people who have been historically oppressed, as Blacks have been. And, by the way, though Kerry did not mention Israel in his Convention speech, Edward's did, though I must admit it was pretty much in passing.
So, in conclusion, I will continue to temporarily suspend judgment on Kerry regarding Jewish issues and hopefully take it up again after the election, should he become our next President. Something I hope and pray will happen. I think this time Jacoby has a point, but I will worry about it later.
Shalom,
Sherril
9/24/2004
Michael Moore and Me
I have been a fan of Michael Moores since I saw his film, Roger and Me. Bowling for Columbine hit it right on the nose and after I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 I accepted MoveOn's request to host a Fahrenheit 9/11 Party. I wasn't alarmed when I read his book Dude, Where's My Country and read the following: "Hey, here's a way to stop suicide bombings - give the Palestinians a bunch of missile-firing Apache helicopters and let them and the Israelis go at each other head to head. Four billion dollars a year to Israel - four billion dollars a year to the Palestinians - they can just blow each other up and leave the rest of us the hell alone." I rather assumed he was speaking tongue in cheek and expressing his frutration with the Israel/Palestine situation. After receiving an email from a friend that gave examples of, what it purported to be, Moore's anti-semitism, I became not alarmed, but concerned. And so, I sent him the following email, which I will post here. I am looking for some responses with agreement, disagreement, explanations, etc. This is the email I sent.........
Dear Michael,
I am sure this won't be the first or the last email written by a Jewish person concerned with the perceived, and I believe misguided, notion that you are anti-Semitic. I recently had an argument with my husband who is an Israeli-American, defending you against this accusation.
I am also sure you are aware of the email that has been going around (I fowarded it in a separate email), which means to support the notion that you are against Israel, and by Jewish definition, therefore against Jews. It was sent to me by a friend who I had invited to my "FAHRENHEIT 9/11 PARTY. I am further sure that this is far from your main concern, especially at this time. To be frank, my involvement with getting Bush out of the White House, which was strongly fueled by your movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, has far surpassed my recent attention to Israel and things Jewish, regarding this campaign.
I am not a One Issue voter, though Women's Issues, specifically Choice, Gun Control, Funding Education AND Israel top my agenda. I am liberal in my politics and progressive in my thinking. So, I believe we have a lot in common. I have seen all of your movies, as have my two children, 18 years and 23 years old, and we all thought they made their points well and were well worth the watch. Having said all of the above, it does worry and even offend me that you see the Israeli/Palestinian issue through what to me looks like a skewed view. The Left in general takes this position, seeing the Palestinians as the Underdog and the Israelis as the Aggressor. History and Truth would suggest otherwise, or at least provide a VERY long and complicated explanation..
Anyway, what I would very much like to see would be some forum (a debate or an interviw, perhaps,) in which you could speak out on your positions regarding all of this. I know you are not anti-Semitic and I know that even if people have problems with Israel's positions on the Palestinian situation, that they are not necessarily anti-Semitic. Understand, however, that from a Jewish perspective, having a long, long history of Anti-Semitism and all that came from it, we are sensitive to influential people who may be undermining the haven that was established 56 years ago for a people who knew persecution in every other "homeland" in which they lived. The "Palestinians" also deserve their homeland and therein lies the basic dilemma. Hopefully, someday a workable solution will be found. But it will not be found at the expense of a Jewish homeland. If your position is contrary to the last two statements, then I would conclude differently about you than I have. My hope is that you can and do see both sides and that you were just showing your exasperation and didn't really mean it when you said in,"Dude, Where's Our Country" (which I read), "Hey, here's a way to stop suicide bombings - give the Palestinians a bunch of missile-firing Apache helicopters and let them and the Israelis go at each other head to head. Four billion dollars a year to Israel - four billion dollars a year to the Palestinians - they can just blow each other up and leave the rest of us the hell alone."
I know you are busy and may never read my email. I hope, though, that somehow it will catch your attention and that you will find the time, perhaps after Nov. 2nd, to respond. I want to continue to support you and all that you do to further progressive causes. I also want to know that your mind is open and that though you disagree with Israeli Politics, you are nevertheless a supporter of Israel's right to exist.
Very Sincerely Yours,
Sherril
Dear Michael,
I am sure this won't be the first or the last email written by a Jewish person concerned with the perceived, and I believe misguided, notion that you are anti-Semitic. I recently had an argument with my husband who is an Israeli-American, defending you against this accusation.
I am also sure you are aware of the email that has been going around (I fowarded it in a separate email), which means to support the notion that you are against Israel, and by Jewish definition, therefore against Jews. It was sent to me by a friend who I had invited to my "FAHRENHEIT 9/11 PARTY. I am further sure that this is far from your main concern, especially at this time. To be frank, my involvement with getting Bush out of the White House, which was strongly fueled by your movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, has far surpassed my recent attention to Israel and things Jewish, regarding this campaign.
I am not a One Issue voter, though Women's Issues, specifically Choice, Gun Control, Funding Education AND Israel top my agenda. I am liberal in my politics and progressive in my thinking. So, I believe we have a lot in common. I have seen all of your movies, as have my two children, 18 years and 23 years old, and we all thought they made their points well and were well worth the watch. Having said all of the above, it does worry and even offend me that you see the Israeli/Palestinian issue through what to me looks like a skewed view. The Left in general takes this position, seeing the Palestinians as the Underdog and the Israelis as the Aggressor. History and Truth would suggest otherwise, or at least provide a VERY long and complicated explanation..
Anyway, what I would very much like to see would be some forum (a debate or an interviw, perhaps,) in which you could speak out on your positions regarding all of this. I know you are not anti-Semitic and I know that even if people have problems with Israel's positions on the Palestinian situation, that they are not necessarily anti-Semitic. Understand, however, that from a Jewish perspective, having a long, long history of Anti-Semitism and all that came from it, we are sensitive to influential people who may be undermining the haven that was established 56 years ago for a people who knew persecution in every other "homeland" in which they lived. The "Palestinians" also deserve their homeland and therein lies the basic dilemma. Hopefully, someday a workable solution will be found. But it will not be found at the expense of a Jewish homeland. If your position is contrary to the last two statements, then I would conclude differently about you than I have. My hope is that you can and do see both sides and that you were just showing your exasperation and didn't really mean it when you said in,"Dude, Where's Our Country" (which I read), "Hey, here's a way to stop suicide bombings - give the Palestinians a bunch of missile-firing Apache helicopters and let them and the Israelis go at each other head to head. Four billion dollars a year to Israel - four billion dollars a year to the Palestinians - they can just blow each other up and leave the rest of us the hell alone."
I know you are busy and may never read my email. I hope, though, that somehow it will catch your attention and that you will find the time, perhaps after Nov. 2nd, to respond. I want to continue to support you and all that you do to further progressive causes. I also want to know that your mind is open and that though you disagree with Israeli Politics, you are nevertheless a supporter of Israel's right to exist.
Very Sincerely Yours,
Sherril
9/21/2004
First Post
I am a novice blogger, I guess you could say, a newbie blogger, in cyber-parlance. In any case, I'm just trying to set up my own Blog and eventually I will post whatever it is I am thinking, doing, reading, etc. One thing I am really hoping to do is to connect with like-minded people regarding different aspects of my life. For now all I want is to set-up this thing and maybe to get a little encouragement from those of you out there, more in the know than I. So, if you are readiing this, please respond "IN KIND".
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