Well, the folks who say we are nuts to worry, that anyone who worries about our defense is a fear monger, they maybe ought to be rethinking. At least they ought to apologize to John Bolton who seems to be one of their favorite whipping boys. The Huffington Post even had a piece by Allison Kilkenny about how he is a knuckle dragger who is nuts. She goes on to try and discredit the Wall Street Journal for publishing Op Ed pieces by what she seems to believe are discredited former politicians associated with George Bush.

I am thinking of the piece I watched on Meet the Press or something where Newt Gingrich was being attacked by the moderator who asked him something like "really, you think we should all be afraid? How can you try to rule by fear?" and he replied that he was indeed very fearful.

The person basically was pushing the idea that there were eight years of unnecessary fear. Here is Newt's response:

"I think people should be afraid. I think the lesson of 1993, the first time they bombed the World Trade Center was fear is probably appropriate. I think the lesson of Khobar Towers where American servicemen were killed in Saudi Arabia was fear is probably appropriate. And the lesson of the two embassy bombings in East Africa was fear is probably appropriate. I think the lesson of The Cole being bombed in Yemen was fear is probably appropriate, and I'll tell you, if you aren't a little bit afraid after 9/11 and 3,100 Americans killed inside the United States by an effort, if you aren't worried about the second wave attack that was designed to take out the biggest building in Los Angeles, I think that you're out of touch with reality."

One day later the North Koreans set off a nuclear bomb worthy of notice. Maybe Newt and Bolton are right. Maybe we should be prepared for the worst. Maybe we should be a little afraid after all.

NYC Fly Over

My train buddies say not to sweat the small stuff like the NYC fly over by the Obama camp. This was not just an unfortunate choice--it was one of the most boneheaded moves of an administration that should be #1 SAVING MONEY and #2 CARING FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT. But worst is #3. The fact that Louis Caldera was the one who allegedly planned this. Interesting that the press release by the Obama administration leaves off his work at IndyMac Bank.

Any why is that exactly?

I mean, here is a guy whose administration is supposed to be so tech savvy. Hasn't anyone heard of Photoshop?

Blago Blagojevich

Wow! I really have to blog more often....IF ONLY YOU WOULD POST SO I KNOW YOU ARE OUT THERE? Or please pass along.

So if you are under a rock, you might not know about the wonderful Governor or Illinois, Blagojevich. He was standing up (?!) against big bad Bank of America, the evil doer, for not being willing to make a loan or two. Let's see, extending credit for only political reasons instead of sound lending policies, hmmmm could that be part of why we are in this mess? He said something about.....banning that Bank from business with the State of Illinois. Well I read this and thought--here is another politician with no idea how business should work, affecting the business dealings in his state in an awful way. Barney Frank, step aside--or at least move over an inch or two from the center of the cameras.

Now today, bless them, the FBI finally goes through and arrests him as part of a sting operation. Take a peek. You can't make this stuff up.

If you look at Michele Malkin, she has a charming piece about his wife too.

Now if only someone was watching the dunderheads in DC. You know, the ones who took money from Countrywide, from Fannie and Freddie. The one who didn't pay his taxes though he chaired the committee.

I promise to provide links to those of you who aren't up on your political knowledge the way you should be.

Thanks a Billion

First, to my loyal readers (ahem), if I have any besides the couple that post, just click below and let me know you have been here. I promise to start writing more! Also, you can send the blog to anyone you think would appreciate a more red to purple column.

Which brings me to the idea that labels stink. What does a Republican mean? Well, if you look at George Bush we have a Republican who believes in BIG government, BIG debt and BIG health care reform (see the Medicare/Medicaid Act) and BIG nationalization of banks. I just don't know that party distinctions currently make much sense. Bush is looking very Blue to me these days.

When reruns of West Wing are so close to the last election that you could have predicted who would win--I really started thinking about this. In the last season there is a character, Arnie Vinick who is running as a fiscally conservative Republican against a minority candidate, Santos. Santos is Hispanic. The Republican Committee is trying to force Vinick to play to the "base" (i.e. the "religious right") by talking more about "values" and gay marriage etc. So what happens? He loses. Why? Because the moderates are not necessarily conservative on the "values" issues. They want to know that they will have money in the bank, they will be protected from tyrants and terrorists and they believe in democracy--which to them means freedom. This includes the freedom to make many choices in their lives.

So---by choosing Palin (and trust me I don't have anything against her) McCain played to the "base". They may have come out in stronger force to vote BUT he lost the moderates. Palin may not even have been so terrible for the moderates. She didn't push her religious views on her state and in interviews with the LA Times before her run, she said she believed in sex ed in schools etc. Seems more reasonable than portrayed, but I digress. What Republicans should stand for is freedom. Relatively free markets, freedom from tyranny and terrorism. Freedom of religion for all. (Happy Chrismahanawanza!)

So I did ask one of my commuter buddies if his brother, Aaron Sorkin, actually wrote Obama's acceptance speech. It just seemed so "West Wing" to me. The answer was no ....but he did help with parts of the speech to the Democratic Convention. I KNEW IT. How is it that those West Wing guys were predicting the future?

Last thought for the day before Thanksgiving, how do we give thanks? Well, as I was attempting to extract some cash from a machine at Citibank the screen actually said "Have a nice day and thanks a million!" Maybe that should have read "a billion" ....or maybe 25 billion.....or maybe 45 billion....or maybe....

Feels like Ground Hog Day

It feels a little like ground hog day doesn't it?
What happened to a vote for Obama is "new" change in Washington? Hate to say I told you so, but.....

Eric Holder, who likely will be the next Attorney General. Who is he? Why he is the same person who urged President Bill Clinton to pardon Mark Rich. This was one of the worst decisions of Clinton's career. He was the Deputy AG under Janet Reno and assisted with lots of great decisions by her. He was most recently the author of the Amicus brief for continuation of the hand gun ban in DC which the US Supreme Court luckily did not agree with. He has famously pronounced that the Second Amendment does allow individuals to have the right to have guns for their personal use. (To my friends who do not understand why this upsets me, maybe you will understand that someone who can invent something so ridiculous because it is patently untrue and completely historically inaccurate will also apply those kinds of theories to other parts of the Constitution.)
Oh, and he was also opposed to the US Patriot Act. Another brilliant move considering that we are very likely to be sitting ducks in the near future.

And Tom Daschle, famous in history for losing an election for his Senate seat even though he was the Senate minority leader....yes he was that bad. I am not sure what his credentials are for Health and Human Services Czar other than the fact that he has been a lobbyist for various drug companies and health care companies recently.

And Ram Emanuel. Well maybe his elbows will be sharp enough to manage to keep Pelosi and Reid from running everything, but I doubt it.

I just wonder, how it is that appointing all of Clinton's men is "change". He may even appoint a Clinton herself!!

The End of a Platinum Era

I definitely believe that we are at the end of a golden age, make that the Platinum Age. One where platinum began to replace gold and brown and robin's egg blue became the fashion instead of the preppy green and pink. There are a certain type of "elites" on Wall Street who believed the party would never end. And yet they voted for the end, by electing officials who will radically change our way of capitalist society. By electing the folks who did not utilize the regulations that were already in place. By the unsettling Paulson who swings the world this way and that, with only a "TARP" to try and cover things up. How about accountability? How about taking your lumps for a bad bet?
Anyhow, I really enjoyed the article I read by Michael Lewis and recommend it to you all. Here it is. He describes what happened, in layman's terms, in the securitization markets. He neglects to include the "bad actors" in our government. The thing that everyone must understand is the huge conflict of interest for the rating agencies. They had to rate the products of the banks who paid them. The same banks paying them to make sure insurance companies and pension funds could by them. I think that the statues Congress crafted insisted there would only be rated by Moody's, S & P and Fitch. A monopoly of sorts. Adding fuel to the fire were the Barney Frank's of the world who insisted mortgages be given to folks who couldn't pay them back--for political gain.

Anyway, enough ranting. And read. I will give you all my sources for my rant later. No time now. Still trying to figure out how on earth to make a living AND pay the 69% tax rate I will have as a small NYC business owner under Obama. Let's pray for him. He is all we have. And I personally hope he is the Messiah after all.

I can see

Why is it I feel like I am the only one with my glasses on right now? Why is it that it all seems so in focus to me and I just don't get why the rest of our country doesn't get it.

It is like very few people at the parade are willing to acknowledge that the emperor has no clothes.

A New Day in America

I got on the train today and my demo friends all were trying to be respectful. Their attempts not to "gloat" were funny really. This election was such an upset that it is an absolute clear mandate of what Americans want.

So, how can those of us in the minority face a new day in America? We can pray that Obama is wise and is safe. We can pray he will do what Bush did, and work to achieve the opposite of most of what he ran on. We can hope that the US can now get back to the business of doing business.

What can we do as individuals? That I haven't figured out yet. Try and make money and save as much as possible. Buy less because our taxes are most assuredly rising. Fight for capitalism. Avoid relying on a Republican Party that is so out of touch and so incapable of framing any debate that it takes Joe the Plumber to show them the way.

Listen to the candidates

When you stop to listen to what the candidates themselves are actually saying, have been saying, the differences are starkly clear.
If you agree with it--vote this way. But, really? Watch it and think.
This is something I found on the web.

Economic Depression

I have totally taken a hiatus from writing. I think I was suffering from a kind of depression. since I last wrote the wheels have almost literally come off the bus. The bus is still moving forward, but very slowly. Both presidential candidates do not see the bus so they can't really describe the way to halt the inevitable accident. If anything, they just want to add more gas to the tank.

And why is gas still so much, speaking of which???? Use the gas prices section of Mapquest.com if you want to save some green.

Anyhow, I hear the communist party of NYC is celebrating. They think this is a turnaround for their political beliefs. With the taxes being proposed and the wealth distribution to follow, they may not be wrong.

Consider This

There were two excellent op eds in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, and just in case you didn't see them. I am linking them here. The first one I read explains alot about how our lovely state, and maybe yours, can not be bothered to balance a budget. All of this is very relevant to today when we know we all will have a challenge ahead of us. Our economy is officially in a tail spin. If we want to pull it back to fly straight and level, we better think of why--during the biggest period of growth and higher revenues we couldn't manage. Our budgets for the State will most certainly be less for a while.

This article lays out the difference between real policy differences related to Obama's plan for our economy. It is an extremely important read, and even if you ascribe to a different political view, the facts speak for themselves.

So, as I talk to all the women of my town who keep crowing about Palin and anti choice, I keep saying there is a million to one shot that she can affect any change on that front, but a much greater chance that Obama on the top of the ticket, could wreak major economic havoc and it may be a tough blow from which to recover.

Political Leper

I was waiting on the train platform this morning with a friend who is a die hard democrat and another person (who I recognized from spin class) came up and started trash talking Palin. My friend shushed her and told her in a loud whisper "they are for the other side". The music almost played behind her....duh duh daaahhhh. The woman looked at me like I had three heads and then said, "You are kidding! FOR Palin?" All of this and I hadn't said a word yet.

She walked on the train with M and I and quickly hurried away. "I just can't talk politics with....it is just to anxiety provoking for me". I turned to M and said, "this is a tough time to live in this town for me". She asked what I meant and I told her, "look, you introduced me as a Palin supporter(which I am not yet certain of by the way--we don't know enough yet before she talks to the press) and she immediately started talking about politics, did not hear a word from me and stalked off." M said, but she had to work. After a sidelong glance, she had to agree. and to her credit she apologized. What for? For putting me in that position, for putting me in a box etc.

She still didn't quite understand though. She gave me a Anna Quindlen article to read and when I told her what I thought, she said "we can't talk politics". I said she can not give me something to read, ask my opinion and then tell me she doesn't want to talk about it. I think she gets it now.*

It is always so interesting to me that people really want to dare you to tell them what you think, but they don't want to listen or even hear what you have to say if you don't agree.

*Here is an email she just sent me. She is a lovely person and, while we do not agree, I totally respect her.
Dear ____, I want to apologize for the way I introduced you to Robin this morning, it was totally in appropriate.
My consciousness was raised today, I am sorry that it was at your expense.

Disgusted by the Democrat Spam Machine

OK. I have been waiting on my rants about the elections. But I must say I am completely disgusted. Why does everyone in my town believe that anyone supporting McCain or Palin is a complete moron? Why do they believe they are the only ones "in the know" and they need to "save" the rest of the country? Plus all of my overeducated, over indulged, over media hyped friends honestly believe everything they read on the internet. I actually got an email from someone yesterday, ASKING FOR A BUSINESS REFERRAL, who then started bashing Palin in the email and calling her a bimbo. Give me a break. It was so completely unprofessional and sent to a large group of people. (And she knows I wouldn't necessarily agree!) I was soooo tempted to write back that bimbos in glass houses....

Now, I am a reasonable person and I am always up for hearing a different opinion from someone who actually bothers to read the paper, who might care about the actual facts. This is going to be one white hot election and it is important to consider all the issues.

It is also important to consider both parts ot the ticket--and while the media blitz is currently focused on Palin, I am wondering who is noticing Lehman sinking fast, the dollar, our economy...hello? Who is going to be ready to talk to Putin? Who is going to defend our country?

I am pro choice--which does not mean I am not "pro life" but it does mean I am for the death penalty, for euthanasia, and for abortion in the first trimester and maybe after. I had to have one at 14 or so weeks. It stinks but when you know the fetus you are carrying is not likely to be viable, or if it is, will have no real kind of life--well it should be a free decision in our free society. I also know that Roe v. Wade was a decision pulled out of a paper bag. (If you really read the dissent, it becomes pretty clear.) Being a former lawyer, most people who know "Con Law" all know that the Right to Privacy is not really explicitly stated in the Constitution. Personally, I would like to see an amendment to preserve this right...but barring that....if gosh forbid Roe v. Wade is ever overturned, well it will be up to the states. Anyhow, the odds of all this happening are slim. And the decision of a VP is not going to affect it much.


Here is the copy of an email I got yesterday from the all knowing women of my community.

"To be neutral, to be passive in a situation is to collaborate with whatever is going on" Howard Zinn We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact. Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet. We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from. First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly. Well, alrighty then! Maybe you want to check things out yourselves! Even CNN, not a bastion of conservatism, had a huge chunk of time devoted to how ridiculous some of these claims are. And it makes it tougher to sort through what people have actually said and done. Someone I know forwarded me an LA Times article stating Palin is for sex ed and teaching about condoms along side abstinence....but I think I will check it out for myself. Stay tuned!

Quiz Show

I was walking across a college campus and someone thrust a "quiz" into my hands. Astonished I saw it was given to me by a libertarian. On a public college campus?! Could this be? Anyhow, I wonder how many of my friends would actually take a test like this one. They might be surprised by the results. Or not. Click here!

Here is another one that I just took. click here. It is skewed a bit also but interesting.
This one was probably the most interesting. Click here.
Were any of you surprised by your results? Please hit the post button and respond, si vous plait?

Taboo: Politics and Religion

I have been sparring with my Rabbi. Oh, I know you are picturing me with the gloves on, taunting him to take the first swing. Actually, this has been much more genteel, at least on the surface. It certainly seems like very few others ever question our religious leaders. I think in light of the events in the world we ought to do so. We need to know where they stand and not to pretend we don't when they are preaching their views from the pulpit.

I am considering whether or not I can continue as a Reform Jew. It was something I was raised with. While I know my Rabbi is a learned man in several ways, I am very disappointed to learn that he can not see the obvious, which is that by adopting a liberal political stance for all of the members of a religious sect, the Reform movement is exactly the same, or I would posit even worse than, their avowed enemy, "the Religious Right". Who on earth (or in Heaven for that matter) decided that the Rabbis and leaders of our sect of Judaism must press for a particular political platform? While I agree that individual Rabbis are entitled to their own opinions, why is it that they should determine for us what our political beliefs must be? Aren't these complex issues that may not have easy answers?

Instead of truly teaching and learning Torah, our entire being seems to have shifted into "Repairing the Earth" or Tikun Olam. Now this is certainly a noble cause, and practically unassailable. But I am afraid that it is truly the code for beginning to become involved in more political action. While they call it social action (what the heck is that?) in truth much of what each Temple is now involved in involves politics. And it is not just exhorting individuals to do this, but utilizing the funds and time of each Temple to do it. For example, the URJ now has adopted a platform that each temple should offer a course in Islam. The problem is that they are not doing an adequate job of teaching Judaism.

There is also the "RAC" which really is a political action committee which is a lobbying organization. And lest you think it is solely in place to push the issues important to us as Jews, it is everything but. See here. For example, they are seeking to make sure certain judges are not confirmed by the Senate (click here) because they feel that those judges might not be pro "separation of church from state". AM I THE ONLY ONE TO NOTE THE IRONY IN THIS????

My Rabbi says that we are a tent or a sukkah, and that under it all types of Jews can be sheltered. The mission statement says:
“The synagogue is a kehilah kedoshah– a sacred community. Like a sukkah, it is constructed of many different branches woven together: the young, the old, the rich and the poor, the married and the unmarried, single parents, grandparents, gays and heterosexuals, non-Jewish spouses. The broader the Sukkah’s reach, the more tightly its branches are woven, the stronger it stands.”

Everyone is welcome under the sukkah, unless of course, you have a more "conservative" point of view. Then you are "against social action" and can't possibly be a good reform Jew. Sometimes it is mighty lonely standing up for your principles.

Moderate Muslims

By accident I forwarded an email posted to me by my Mom. I should have thought to check Snopes. We keep asking her to do it before she forwards but she doesn't. It involved a claim that U of Kentucky canceled a Holocaust course due to some kind of nod to Muslim students. I definitely should have checked because it was false. (You can click on the colored links for more.) I got a reply from one of my friends that most Muslims are "moderate" and that to forward something like this is to go against the very peace loving nature of the Muslim community. I feel bad but I also am a skeptic. I would like to hear the Muslim leadership do more publicly.

It got me thinking about this assertion. First I looked at a bunch of websites related to college campuses and holocaust deniers (very depressing!) and then I looked at more about the Muslim movement towards moderation. (very sparse!) The Muslim group that the United Reform Jewish movement in its infinite wisdom chose to partners with is suspect. There was an interesting response to this choice by some Muslim groups who claim moderation and I will be looking to see if they merit support.

While there is so much garbage on the web that it is difficult to know what is true, I did happen across some very surprising info. And very scary. If anyone knows of legitimate moderate Muslim groups which publicly denouncing an interpretation of their Sharia laws which seems to encourage murder, mistreatment of women, etc. --I would like to support them. I am far from a scholar on Qu'ran and want to learn more. Please forward.

All of this makes me very sad. I do have some Muslim friends but we are all very careful never to discuss the elephant in the room. Maybe it is time for an honest dialog.

Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

I haven't written in my blog since January and I do not want to let the New Year go by without a true attempt to do this. Of course if I could write like maggpiemusing, (she dreamily thinks....). Anyhow, hard reality has hit NYC. We have gotten a million calls from people at Bear Stearns looking for work. I kept thinking, omg, I hope their windows don't open. The beautiful building that rose above us and showed such promise has been raffled off. If I had the hang of this blog stuff I would link here to www.dealbreaker.com where Bess Levin has written some raunchy but hillarious posts about Bear, Spitzer and all of the other NYC nonsense.

So what on earth is the title of this blog and why? Well in NYC, you just can not make this stuff up!!! We now have a new Governor. He is African American, and blind, and apparently a very randy guy. In fact, the comments from everyone in our office have to do with the fact that the woman of the affair looks much like his wife. One can only imagine the jokes on Wall Street. And here we are on another week with another phillandering politician, who may or may not have used state funds. Another week with a wife, dutifully by his side, at a press conference.

The punchline is hillarious though. At least the woman in question is not employed by an interstate prostitution ring. You guessed it---she works in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs!!!!