I'M ABOUT TO OFFEND SOME PEOPLE

You have been forewarned. I cannot adequately or accurately put in words my feelings about Israel's attack on the Turkish boat. I continue minimally to be dismayed at the bully tactics of Netanyahu. We keep getting told that most Israelis want peace. Yet there he is in charge with a right wing coalition bolstered by the orthodox and ultra orthodox. If the majority want peace, why is he even in power. I no longer buy it--i believe you get what you pay for or in this case you get what you vote for. The problem is that there is another bully (this one much less smart) in Iran. Eventually, as we all know from childhood, two bullies in the same sandbox is a big problem. i am not ineterested in the fact that the folks 0n the boat had clubs. We all know that the Israeli Navy went in spoiling for a fight and killed people. Gaza festers and continues to raise children who hate Israel and the U.S.
It is full of poor and angry people. The naval blockade is only psychologically beneficial. I read today that the Israelis are allowing some food to get through--but nothing to allow people to build with because God only knows what they might build. I begin to feel almost embarassment at how my "bothers/sisters" are treating others. Rage soon follows and i dont want to hear about Israel's right to exist. these actions do nothing to guarantee that and, you could argue, only jeopardize its prospects.And, oh by the way, my new Senator totally supports what they did in a speech to an american based right wing Israeli lobbying group. I personally just made a contribution to J Street.

The we have Meg Whitman (she of ebay fame0 spending 71 million of her own mondy just to be governor of California--a job no one in their right mind should want given that the state is virtually bankrupt. The republicans also got Carly Fioria to run for the Senate--she claims to be a sucessful business person but actually almost ran HP into the ground. On the other hand there is something about women in politics that I suppose should be gratifying--ubt we cannot forget thier politics. Harry reid must be smiling today. The woman in Nevada who will oppose him wants to eliminate medicare, social security, and reinstate prohibition

P.S.--PART II

This is really part two of what just got published a minute ago--I cannot figure out how to get back into something once i leave the page!! Where is my webmistress when I need her--in Brooklyn most likely.

Anyhow maybe we can build a wall like they have in Arizona and in Israel--ours can be in the Berkshires and in Sturbridge and we can keep all those dirty folks out of here unless they want to serve in the military. Have to hand it to both Deval Patrick and Obama--they may not have passed any laws but they say the right things. and i do believe taking the high moral ground (even if just verbal) on this serves as a role model for all of us.

Unless of course you are in southern Lousiana where leadership (either from the private sector or the public sector) has consistently been missing--starting with Bush and including my pal Barack. While it is true Obama cannot engineer a solution (literally),he should have been more visible. James Carville's video is stark, angry, on target,and a bad sign. If any of you watch the hbo series Treme--you have to. It is so timely given the derrick explosion that it is scary. Even Olberman is exasperated with Obama.

Scott Brown needs more time to think about Dont Ask/Dont Tell. Hasn't he had enough time to think about this and isnt he just full of shit. The house just voted to repeal it--militaries all over the world already allow it. get over it scottie. we have to make him history. he has to study too many things that one would think he should already know. maybe he just isnt smart or has dull staff- but there are some issues he should have an opinion about (even if I dont share it) if he had been listening to his newscaster wife for the last 10 years.

Then we continue to watch as our legislators dither about casinos. i was behind a woman in a 7/ll this week. Bought a pack of cigs (ahem) and then spent 5 minutes buying what must have been $50 dollars worth of lottery tickets. she would love to play the slots in one of our yet to exist casinos. and, if not, she will hold up that 7/ll line daily getting in her lottery bets.

Everyone should read Blind Side by Michael Lewis who is a fantastic writer. The book is less about sports than about the culture, society, race, and class issues in Memphis. Now it turns out the book is about a fantastic and large human being named Michael Oher who now plays football professionally. sandra bullock deserved that Oscar about as much as I deserve a Pulitzer for doing this blog. My friend charles and I were very squeamish about the role she played in the movie and her relationship with Oher--made me feel a bit creepy. so I actually hope her entire personal life collapses around her. This quote is from a globe reviewer and i wish i wrote this well: "its another Hollywood movie about a black male rescued from god knows what either by nice white people or sports. Here it is both. How good we feel is directly proportional to how blind we are willing to be". Boy oh boy. and so removed from the gist of the book.

SP0RTS TALK

I write this an hour before game 6 of the Celtic/Magic series. I have to say Shaughnessy is more optimistic than me for the first time in forever. i thought the Celtics were visibly tired let along visibly beaten up after game 5. scary analogy is that they are following the path of the bruins. up 3-0, lose the next game in OT, then lose another and come home--to lose again. Im not watching until the second half. i do believe if they return to the land of the magic kingdom, they might as well mail it in.

whoops, they yanks continue to slump. but it is 6 weeks til 7/4 so no talk from any of you or me about the red flops. By the way, Babs and i are going next week to see them play.

Thats about it.

Enjoy the long weekend.

Sayonara

ENDS AND ODDS

So I am not so openly patriotic but somehow I saw a picture in todfay's Globe whifh really hit me--american flags planted on the Commons almost looking like a real cemetery. As Memorial Day approaches, I am reminded of the soldiers at war--significantly young, significantly lower income, and significantly6 people of color. We are in another war (and we could argue for ever if it the right thing to do)and these kids (and make no mistake, they are kids) are dying. It boggles the mind. And I almost forgot, some are not even citizens. tehy are watchacall "illegals" who just want a piece of our collective dream.

But then most of you who read these are the children or grand children of immigrants--perhaps even illegal ones but from other countries nonetheless. we have the Mass legislators jumping on Arizona's bandwagon and passing very regressive legislation about "illegal" immigrants which severly limits wha they can or cannot be eligible for.

I'm A Bit Uncomfortable

I was not sure how to start this entry and finally decided to go with the most awkward. With all the talking heads and all the right wing fanatics and all the bloggers (excepting me of course) and all the cable shows, I have consistently learned more than I care to know about politicians and other very famous people. Now we have Elena Kagan and the information silence around her is startling. We know she is Jewish and grew up on the Upper West Side of NYC. We know Thurgood Marshall called her "Shorty". We know she plays poker nd drinks beer and sometimes smokes cigars and never was a judge. But (and here I go)why hasn't anyone told me about her partner(s) or her children (if any)or anything remotely juicy? Is the other shoe going to drop and something god awful (at least to all of THEM) going to come out? Anyone out there have some dirt they wish to share?

So we had a great time at Gary and Somee's wedding excepting of course the travel headaches though I must admit the following--for an airport the size of Atlanta's it is surprisingly clean, efficient, and has a multitude of food choices. Weather was great down there on the Pacific and the Judeo-Korean ceremony was quite nice. Personally, sharing a room with Anna (!) was the high point of the trip. For her too I bet. Actually the high point was having my whole family together without the daily distractions of life.

So our state Senate is just sitting around not publicly discussing casinos even as the budget picture gets a tad brighter. They will kill it for sure if the economy and tax revenue continue to improve. It will allow them a way out. Meanwhile does everyone know Barbara's home state has 5 casinos one of which is right down the road from Scranton. Not just places with slots either--a couple of them have card tables and racing. And the world did not collapse.

Just got tickets to see the Lowell Spinners, the Class A affiliate of the dreaded Red Flops. I have been trying to see one or two lower minor league games these last few summers with Babs. Great little parks--the one on Coney Island is very special as is the one in Mancheser NH--and no Big League pretensions. Hope to add the Yanks team on Staten Island this summer as well.

I keep ignoring all these dire predictions about the November midterms--hoping the economy turns around and the Dems don't lose their majorities. Maybe I am being naive. I will say that Kagan will be confirmed. The fights over these nominees will heat up only if one of those conservatives boys (or Kennedy) hit the road--then we will see blood on the tracks (to steal a line from Mr. Dylan.

SPORTS TALK

Could not watch the Celtics game--too nervous. Kept thinking they would blow another lead. But lo and behold, they added to it. I am beginning to envision Perkins scowling at Dwight Howard. It could happen but I don't want to jinx them. Tuuka meanwhile has to steal one of these next two games. The Bruins were horrid the other night and he has to be virtually be superman to keep them in this thing.

I will say that in both sets of playoffs, there is no great team. Everyone looks beatable including our home town boys. What Steve Nash did the other night with one eye was almost as good as Rondos triple double. Plus he blasted the Arizona immigration law clearly and articulately.

Id be worried about Mr. Beckett if I were you fans of the Flops. But I continue to believe it is too early for any of us to be wringing our hands about current standings and such.

Go Bruins/Celtics.

Adios

And Furthermore

1. I did not want to cast any aspersions on the fine state of Wyoming--after all Noah and his family live there.

2. You folks who really know how to maneuver around the inernet have to find the Jon Stewart/Bernard Goldberg interchange. Goldberg used to be a serious investigative journalist in sports as well as hard news. But one day he woke up and became a Fox mouthpiece. Stewart eats him up alive in this vignette and it is hilarious. Hope you can find it.

Now I am really off.

See You By The Pool

I will be the slightly overweight (but nonetheless studly)guy without the umbrella drink. Hopefully, they will have a nice single malt. Gary and Somee are getting married in Puerto Vallarta a week from tomorrow. Apart from being very happy for them, I am personally very happy because Anna will be there as will Jess/Steffen and the kids. A good time will be had by all. I will not even whine about the circuitous flights we will be on--just will enjoy the moment and welcome some joy into our lives (what a positive attitude, huh?).

Wouldn't you think the Vatican would have learned something from the sex abuse scandals in the U.S. generally and Boston specifically? Apparently not--denial follows denial follows blame the victim follows blame the media and the walls go up higher to protect the hierarchy. They learned nothing and one thing they especially did not learn was how to handle their own PR. They gotta know that all sorts of fools (not me of course) have access to the internet and will be trying to nail the Pope. But nope, they refuse any calls for transparency or openness sticking instead to their belief in the infallability theory--since I am infallible I can do no wrong.

So we are halfway to having casinos. Now we have our state senate deliberating and taking their time and studying the issue and mostly stalling until they can figure out what their constituents want. Actually, mostly stalling until they get told how to vote and find out whats in it for them. The realization finally hit that THERE ARE NO OTHER SOURCES OF REVENUE UNLESS TAXES ARE RAISED--and since they are gutless, taxes are not on the table. Plus big time bucks are on the table in terms of fees, construction, and ultimately gambling. I happen not to believe they can turn back now but do believe they can delay it for a while.

So I gotta hand it to Mr. Obama. He can do more than one thing at a time and he can thank Goldman Sachs for perhaps allowing him to be successful again. Financial Reform is coming and Wall Street is about to get kicked where it hurts. Some Republicans are going to think long and hard about voting in a way that seems to defend Wall Street. Then, this coming week Kerry and that Graham character from South Carolina are introducing a big environmental bill. These are major major initiatives and when taken together may not be perfect--but they are important and should put the Bushies to shame.

But not Mr. Cheny who sticks his nose into the Florida senate race and claims Charlie Crist is too tight with Obama and we should all vote for Rubio--who is only tight with the tea baggers. Last I heard, Cheney lives in Wyoming and should mind his own business. Rubio is dangerous much like our own Scottie Brown who is worse than we could have imagined and an embarrassment--its Kennedy's seat for God's sake.

Okay some of you may think this is sports but it is really about college athletics and their total prostitution to big time football/basketball. Turns out the NCAA is not just investigating Rich Rodriquez for his fine work at Michigan--they are looking at some of his efforts at his previous school West Virginia. I have been onto this guy from jump street when Michigan, to its everlasting regret, gave a million bucks to West Virginia to break his contract there. He has got to go to the curb and be kicked on his way there. Damaging two programs while under the supervision (ahem) of Athletic Directors and school Presidents.

Now real sports:

The Celtics and the Bruins have looked better than I expected. The Bruins especially have played way above the way the played in the regular season. They just have to hope Rask stays hot and they don't run into a high scoring team--like the Caps. The Celtics will likely get by Miami but then will have Mr. Lebron in front of them. Serves them right for lazing through a third of their games. The Cavs in my mind are suspect unless Lebron goes berserk.

And, oh by the way, the Yankees look very good even though I wont discuss that sport until July 4th!!

Cerveza por favor--a round for all my friends and a Glenlivet for me.

Sayonara.

PLAY BALL!!

The other night on Olberman's show he said (during his comment)that he had nothing he was angry about that day and so he was going to simply stare into the camera--which he did. I have never had that problem--duh. A deep well of anger and angst can be tapped at any time.

So we have Ms. Palin invoking the Holocaust to describe what might happen to Israel if Iran is not dealt with. That set me off. First of all, the frequent use of the word truly trivializes what happened to the Jews in Europe. Second, some people have standing to use that word--members of the "Tribe" and survivors for example. But Sara is neither and she is stupid besides. Now all of this is bad enough if it were not for my unease that Netanyahu is just spoiling for some fight with the Iranians and may not care what the U.S. might think of that. He is being egged on by folks who are in the AIPAC, by right wingers in his own government, and by our own home grown right wingers. Sticking it to Iran is right up Limbaugh's alley. The jets are already streaking over and into Gaza.

Then we have all of you opposed to casinos. I know who you are--hiding out there in the weeds ready to pounce on me--worried all of a sudden about slots and how bad they are and how they don't create jobs (they don't and I agree with that)--but no one has yet to tell me where new revenue is to come from. And we all know where cuts in state budgets come from--Human Services in general, some fee increases, and layoffs. Five years ago, you could go to the registry and get out in less than half an hour because they had plenty of offices and plenty of staff. They have less of both now and encourage you to go online--but guess what? When you reach a certain point (ahem--that would be a certain age), you have to go in for an eye test. Guess what else? You have a 5 minute test after a 90 minute wait. Plus, you out there in the weeds, we got the lottery which has worse odds than slots. No one objected to that. So I got the welcome mat out (though not in my back yard!!) for casinos, slots,and any other new stream of revenue which will protect both educational and human services.

Then we have our new senator, Scott Brown (by the way, I have no truck but I do have a jacket like his) picking a fight with Rachel Maddow in order to scare people. Picked the fight in order to raise money--but not here at home; no, his efforts were focused outside the state where people might actually get freaked out by the prospect of an "out Lesbian" actually dethroning him. If only. I am aware she responded in a big way to boost her ratings but still he is as stupid as Sara.

Sport Talk

Don't care what happens opening week between the Yanks and the Red Flops. My mantra for eons is to talk to me on July 4th. But here in Beantown at least, opening day will help take our minds off the floundering Bruins and the suddenly inept (and perhaps aging) Celtics.

I hate Duke but they are all I have left in the pool which I will lose one way or another anyhow. And I have recently heard a number of interviews with Coach "K"--he seems like quite a bright, articulate, and sensible fellow. Not at all like Calipari, Pitino, Rich Rodriquez, and that crew.

Go Pats.

Sayonara