"Never Again" Is Now

"Never again" is a phrase or slogan which is associated with the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. The phrase may originate from a 1927 poem by Yitzhak Lamdan which stated, "Never again shall Masada fall!" So says the Wikipedia entry about that phrase. To me, growing up in the 50's in a Jewish family, it assured me that our people would never again have to worry about the threat of extermination inherent in rampant antisemitism. 

But waddya know -- here it is again in 2023, alive and well on college campuses all over America. And not just any college campuses, but some of the very finest and prestigious, among them Cornell, NYU, Brown, George Washington University, Stanford, Columbia and UC Berkeley.

It's beyond shocking that affluent young Americans with the grades, backgrounds and financial ability to attend such schools are siding with terrorists and marching against the state of Israel. I know, I know -- Palestinian mothers love their children too, and blah, blah, blah.

Palestine is run by Hamas. Hamas cuts off the heads, hands and any other body parts they choose of whomever they choose. There is simply no defending them. Just like Adolf Hitler, who I bet was a real pussycat at times.

The Cruelty of Stardom

R.I.P. Matthew Perry

Actor Matthew Perry has died at the age of 54. Since this was announced yesterday there has been a huge outpouring of grief from fans the world over who loved him as Chandler Bing on the sitcom Friends, which ran for ten years (1994-2004) and earned him awards, accolades and millions of dollars many times over. Despite all that, Perry battled addiction to alcohol and painkillers for much of his adult life. In his later years he dedicated himself to helping others battling addiction, and for a time turned his Malibu home into a sober living facility called The Perry House.

Chandler Bing might have been everyone's favorite character on Friends; he was certainly mine. Self-effacing and sarcastic, he was a successful Everyman, despite being well above average in looks and wit. The fact that he died relatively young has shocked the entertainment world and touched a nerve with many of his fans, most of whom are likely his same age today.

So it was especially gruesome when Kevin Brennan, a failed comedian and former writer for NBC's long-running sketch show Saturday Night Live, posted several incredibly cruel comments just a day after Perry's death. Maybe he thought he was being funny when he posted on Instagram, "I love it when junkies die," but I guess that's why he's no longer employed as a comedy writer.  He also wrote, "Hahaha" about Perry drowning in a hot tub, explaining that he found it funny because "a hot tub isn't very deep." So he's ignorant as well, since people can drown in a foot of water.

It's grievous that the dark soul of Kevin Brennan walks among us while the bright light of Matthew Perry has been extinguished. The good news is that the endearing Chandler Bing lives on in reruns: just this morning I watched a couple of episodes of Friends and he made my day.

Wussy Mainers

One man with a gun shot and killed 18 people two nights ago in a small Maine town. Since then the entire state has been locked down. It's shocking really, to see the reaction of what was always thought to be the strong New England character.

Here's something for all the scaredy-cats to ponder. They could catch this guy today, and all the stores and doctor's offices and schools and retail establishments would open up, and another guy with a gun could do the same thing tomorrow. Then what?

I say Mainers need to grow a pair.

Another Bad October

I live in Maine, not far from the town of Lewiston where a madman went on a rampage last night, first walking into a bowling alley armed with an assault rifle and opening fire, then driving to a bar 11 miles away and doing it again. In all, 18 people were killed and 14 remain hospitalized with critical injuries. 

Today, the gunman still at large, much of the state is virtually on lockdown. Schools and colleges are closed, as are government offices, gyms, many supermarkets and retail establishments including LL Bean and the entire Maine Mall. Naturally, people are freaked out, including me. So far today I have not ventured out my front door, and it's almost three in the afternoon. All because of one man.

Oddly enough, this is not my first rodeo, and I was much less frightened during the last one. In October 2002 I was living in Washington D.C. during the 3-week long siege of the "Beltway Snipers." Two men, one in his 40s and the other just a boy of 17, drove around the city and surrounding suburbs shooting -- and killing -- people at random on the street.

Yes, I feared for my safety, as did everyone, but still life went on. My son, then in high school, went to classes each day. I shopped for food. My husband and I went to the movies, went out for dinner and filled our gas tanks, even though one murder happened while a lone woman was doing just that.

This time, nobody has the courage to do much of anything. On TV, the authorities, urge us to "shelter in place" and "hunker down." What's happened to make our society so much more wary in the ensuing years? Has the increase in mass shootings since the days of the D.C. Sniper -- there have been 36 so far this year -- made us smarter, or have we simply grown more fearful of our fellow man?

Just the Facts....

At least 16 dead in Maine shooting and dozens injured, law ...

PBS

https://www.pbs.org › newshour › nation › at-least-10...

9 hours ago — Police were searching for the man who opened fire Wednesday at two locations in the Maine city of Lewiston.

At least 22 killed, dozens wounded in Lewiston, Maine ...

UnionLeader.com

https://www.unionleader.com › news › crime › at-least-2...

10 hours ago — At least 22 people were killed and 50 to 60 wounded on Wednesday in mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, NBC News reported, citing a Lewiston ...

Maine Shootings Live News: At Least 7 Dead in Lewiston ...

The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com › live › 2023/10/25 › lewiston-...

2 hours ago — Maine ShootingsPolice Search for Lewiston Gunman, Saying Death Toll Is Likely to Rise. The city was on lockdown early Thursday with an “armed ...

Through the Looking Glass

In recent weeks, more than a few of my Christian neighbors I've run into on the street -- God forbid they should ever invite me into their homes -- have stopped to ask, in hushed tones and with a sympathetic look one might receive upon the death of a family member, how Mitch and I are "doing" since the Israel-Gaza war began. I always give the same reply: "As bad as anyone feels when war is ravaging anywhere on earth, why do you ask?"

I am a Jew, that's so. But my homeland is Brooklyn, New York, not Israel. If war were going on in Brooklyn, I'd probably feel worse. After all, it's a lot closer to Maine.

The rise in antisemitism is sickening, to be sure. But no worse than the already rampant hatred for all white people, who are considered to be colonizers, white supremacists, slave owners, Klan members and whatever other nonsense and garbage the "people of color" and their misguided, severely woke defenders conjure up.  

Hate me for being white, hate me for being Jewish, I don't care. There's nothing I can do to change either of those things, and personally I wouldn't if there were. As Louis C.K. said in one of his stand-up routines, "Given the choice, I'd be white." I would add that I'd also be Jewish.

Those who defend Hamas are morons. I heard one pro-Palestinian leader on the radio trying to explain that headless babies found in the rubble of bombed Israeli villages "might not have been beheaded by Hamas terrorists, but rather their heads most likely came off some other way." And these are the people our spoiled rotten college students are supporting by the thousands in protests at Cornell, NYU, Harvard, Boston University, MIT and other allegedly fine schools.

Down is up, up is down, through the looking glass.

Pity the Poor Muslims?

Muslim woman dressed to kill.

At a White House press briefing yesterday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sai, in response to a question about the recent documented rise of antisemitism in America, “But look -- Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks.”

Oh, boo-hoo -- the poor Muslims! Forget the Jews, who could not love a Muslim? After all, their religion is so wholesome, including such things as praying five time a day to Allah (God), no alcohol ever, fasting for a month every year and disallowing all gambling and fraud. This are all pretty commendable, if you ask me. However.....

At a Muslim wedding, the bride does not even have to be present. All that is needed are two witnesses to a signed document. How fun for her, and what a load off! Meanwhile, the lucky groom can take up to four wives! How fun for him!

As for engaging in sex outside of marriage, which is called adultery even for the unmarried, the punishment for the woman only may range from nothing at all to 80 lashes, or jail time, or stoning, or execution, depending on the circumstances. (I wonder what "circumstances" get you dead.)

Concerning thievery, the punishment is amputation of the offender's right hand. Armed robbery may be punished by execution, crucifixion, or amputation of hands and feet from opposite sides of the body. I bet that keeps the crime rate down.

Really, who could hate such imaginative, fun-loving people? Not me, Hamas, in case you're reading this.

What's On Your TV?

This morning I had the TV on during a morning news show, which I usually do while tidying up around the house from the night before. I was only half-listening, but still I sensed the war in Israel was the subject under discussion among several talking heads. After about five minutes of the 200 still-captive hostages and the pro-Palestinian protests in major cities and the threat of Iran jumping in, I was becoming quite depressed so I switched the channel to an old rerun of Friends.

It was the one where Rachel sleeps with her ex-fiance Barry and her best friend from high school who is now engaged to him finds out about it. So she then tells Rachel that she slept with Barry when Rachel was engaged to him. They both go to his orthodontics office to confront him. 

Obviously, neither of those two situations described above involve me; not the war in Israel or the love triangle on Friends. The fact that one of them is real and the other is fiction doesn't change anything: I'm still not a player in either scenario and am powerless to change events.

The major difference is that hearing details about the war in Israel -- and the war in Ukraine and all the other wars going on right now in the world -- makes me deeply depressed and physically exhausted, spurring me to eat cookies until I'm nauseous, whereas hearing details about the sitcom lives of Rachel and Ross and the whole Friends gang makes me laugh and thus feel better about being alive.

At my age, I have to try really hard to make the most of every day. Spending my limited time weeping over dead people I never knew and centuries-old feuds I cannot impact is both pointless and painful. Why do I do it?

The Joy of Silence

We all read the news, or hear it or see it on TV, and start yakking to one another about events taking place very far away from us and about which we can do nothing. We speak as if what we think matters even a tiny bit. But it doesn't. 

So why do we do it? To make other people think we are smart, even though we know inside ourselves that we are not. 

My advice is to do your own thing and do it well enough so when you speak about it, it has value and merit for the listener. Otherwise, keep quiet about the mountains of stuff you know nothing about.

What, Me Jewish? Don't Be Ridiculous!

I was planning to write a movie review of GOLDA, the semi-documentary starring Helen Mirren about the 1973 Yom Kippur war between Israel and Egypt now streaming on AppleTV and which I watched last night, but have decided against it in light of certain recent events, most notably the stabbing death in Detroit of a 40-year-old synagogue president who was found in her own driveway at the end of a trail of blood coming from inside her home.

No more Jewish stuff, no more about Hamas, no more about Israel and Palestine. Apparently anti-semitism is as rampant in the US as it is in the rest of the world, and I'd rather remain alive with my head attached to my body than be a martyr for the cause. 

I wish them all well, really. Hey, Hamas, in case you're reading this, I love your outfits! Those eye bands with the slits are very cool! You guys just go ahead and do what you have to do to get into Heaven, don't expect me to stop you.

Be Careful Who You Google

On a whim I googled an old friend -- in fact a very close friendship spanning from my late 20's through my early 60's -- who I had lost touch with, I was never really sure why. I entered his name in the search engine and suddenly was face-to-face with his obituary. He died two-and-a-half years ago and I hadn't heard.

The obituary did not mention cause of death although it did mention it was during the height of Covid. I wanted to know so I googled another friend from those days long ago who would likely know the details, and suddenly I was reading his obituary. He died last month.

I am not googling anyone else. Ever.

America's Demise

Congress convenes.

The Republicans fired a perfectly good Speaker because of a sketchy malcontent who has not come up with a replacement, thus making Congress impotent for the past several weeks and at a time when the world is on the brink of a widening war that may include America.

Joe Biden is a joke of a president and his VP is even worse, if that's possible. Watching his 15-minute "speech" last night, it was hard for me to even look at his severely-Botoxed, de-bagged, surgically altered face. Does he think that we all believe that at age 82 his cheeks are as smooth as a baby's bottom?  And what has happened to his eyes? He looks like an alien form of life.

"The Squad," that rancid group of Congresswomen who are openly and proudly pro-Palestinian and anti-American, actually have seats in our Congress (see photo at top) and vote on our laws.

Our country has virtually no borders, allowing anyone and everyone to stream in, bringing nothing of value except the drugs that are killing hundreds of thousands of our young people, yet they receive free housing, healthcare, education and food from our dumb-as-a-stone leadership.

Everything was so much better under Donald Trump, yet the Democrats continue to hamstring him at every turn and prevent him from winning another term in office. More of Joe Biden will surely ruin America forever. If you want a preview, read George Orwell's 1984.

Sorry, nothing funny today. 

How Far Is Heaven

Driving home from CrossFit this morning I was listening to a talk radio show discussing the current situation in the Middle East. Only half-listening really, as I was still mulling over the words of a well-meaning friend I had seen at the gym: "Stay out of downtown Portland for awhile, you know, because of the anti-Jewish protests and a few crazy nuts around town right now." Immediately I wondered -- do I really look that Jewish? -- and checked my nose in the rear-view mirror. My ex-husband, not a Jew, always said that if I stopped using my hands so much when I talk that I could "pass for white." (Notice I said ex-husband.)

Anyway, my friend's warning was disturbing, as I had no idea that was anything to worry about in Maine, recently named "The Safest State in America." But then I started listening to what the people on the radio were saying, and it amounted to the same thing. A university professor said, "I won't say that anti-semitism is on the rise, but rather that it's returning. It never actually went away completely." 

Listen, I don't care if it's rising, falling, coming back or going sideways -- if it's here it's here. And I'm a Jew. So what should I do? Hide in the basement, or maybe the attic, and keep a diary like Anne Frank? Small point: my house doesn't have an attic. Besides, it's impossible to hide from something so huge, with several  members of our very own government -- kittenishly labeled "The Squad" -- blatantly denouncing all Jews on a daily basis and siding with the Palestinians in this brutal war.

In a perfect world everyone would be Jewish, or Jewish-like, meaning smart, thoughtful, kind, nurturing, well-read, educated, compassionate and most of all funny. But it's not a perfect world and if my being all those things bothers some unthinking clod who wants me dead, so be it. I'm pretty sure Heaven is full of Jews I can hang out with. 

Besides, I hardly ever go into downtown Portland.

Amazon's Catalog of Political Correctness

It's no wonder I take lorazepam to control my anxiety and prevent another heart attack: I'm white, I'm a Jew, and I identify as female, the gender I was assigned at birth. I am also heterosexual, preferring the real thing to a strapped-on dildo worn by a woman pretending to be a man. 

Obviously I am stuck way in the past. Which is why I was shocked, stunned and insulted by the new Amazon gift catalog that came in the mail today, on several levels. First of all -- a gift catalog from Amazon? Really? Don't they already get all the money from everyone in the entire world, which is how its founder Jeff Bezos became the world's richest man with a net worth of $154.8 billion?

More to the point, the current catalog -- "Gifted! Amazon Holiday 2023" -- is so embarrassingly woke that it comes across as a parody published by The Onion. (Seriously, find a copy if you didn't get one already, it's amusing bathroom reading.) There are perhaps four or five white models in it, used a few times. Everyone else shown is black, Native American, Inuit, Chinese, Thai, Latino, Arab, Haitian, Indian, African or something else "of color."

One model, a "deaf performer" as the accompanying copy explains, is used to sell mascara. "Deaf people look into each other's eyes a lot. That's how we communicate. So I've always focused on dramatic eye looks." Of course we hearing people never look into each other's eyes. (I immediately tossed out all my mascara.)

A woman in a wheelchair who broke her neck years ago and is unable to walk was chosen to illustrate the "Sporty" page. (She plays adaptive pickleball.) Besides all the black families there are several photos of gay men, one Muslim, a fat lady and an old lady. But apparently no Jews, old or young, as a "holiday shopping tip" discusses Christmas and New Year's, but no mention of Hanukah.

I SAY BOYCOTT AMAZON, THEY HATE WHITE PEOPLE!  I'd do it myself but since I live in Maine, which is a shopping desert, I order something from them several times a week so I can't. But you definitely should. 

Pointing Fingers in the Middle East

The crazy war between Palestine and Israel continues, and nobody knows what's going on. It appears that no person or persons are in control of things on either side, or any sides if you include Lebanon and Iran. Certainly not the elected leaders of those countries. It's like a sudden food fight in the cafeteria, except instead of food it's weapons and instead of children it's grown-ups.

The latest horrible display of savagery occurred today when an explosion in a hospital in Gaza "supposedly" killed 500 people. Surely it was intentional, but who's intention was it? Israel claims it was a misfired Palestinian rocket, and Palestine insists it was an Israeli missile.

One logical explanation is that war is a game played by unimaginative men who can't think of anything else to do with themselves in this life. I have cried enough tears and no longer care how many more people die on either side, because you know what? Everyone dies eventually, one way or another. War is just one of the ways, and it's been quite popular for centuries.

The Pampered Pet Racket

Today I took my 15-year-old Maine Coon cat to the vet for his annual "senior preventive care exam." He hates going to the vet, and to prove his point he peed in his pet carrier on the drive over. I got to clean it while the vet prodded and pushed on his belly, looked into his ears, checked his teeth and weighed him. All of that took about two minutes and cost $81. Then a vet technician trimmed his claws in about one minute, for $25. 

It was strongly suggested that we do "senior blood work." I said no thanks, not because of the cost ($125) but because blood needed to be drawn from the jugular vein in Lurch's neck and he already appeared on the verge of a total nervous breakdown -- staring into space, eyes glazed over, tongue sticking out and barely breathing.  

The vet convinced me to purchase a package of "Advanced Feline Chews" to help Lurch with his mobility since he has arthritis. I asked if cats like them, as Lurch is very picky. She said her cat once ate the whole package when nobody was looking so she guessed they were pretty tasty. Those cost $22.  

Another option suggested was a once-a-month injection of something to alleviate Lurch's arthritis by making his joints more "elastic." That would cost about $130 per shot, and we'd have to go to the vet's office for it. I decided that if I embarked on that plan you would soon be hearing about a double-suicide in the news: me and Lurch. I passed.

When we got home I fed Lurch as a reward for not clawing my eyes out and put a few of those treats in with his food. He carefully ate around them and there they sit on the otherwise empty dish. At that price I may eat them myself; I have a touch of arthritis too.

War Sob Stories

Oh boo-hoo, enough already. Give us something we can use.

As the war continues in Israel, our TV news reporters are having a field day advancing their careers. Many of them are now broadcasting on the ground from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Gaza, in some instances even risking their lives to increase their employer's ratings back home and assure themselves of a healthy raise and possibly their own news show if and when this whole mess is over. And what's in it for us?

Much of the reporting, with one notable exception (Trey Yingst, FOX news), is little more than finding a family member who has suffered tremendously, either through the loss or capture of a loved one or personally, and asking them to recount the horror they have undergone. The reporter stands there holding the microphone while the bereaved interviewee cries on camera. Then the viewer, cosy and warm at home, is supposed to think the reporter is so talented and brave. I think intrusive, unfeeling, rude, nosy and insensitive is more accurate.

Personally I am already sick of these face-to-face interviews with the Israeli people whose lives have been shattered, and it's just getting started. I don't need to see any more of these sobfests to understand the situation there. Instead, I would love to see an interview with a member of Hamas. Now that would be interesting! A truly daring reporter could ask the following questions:

1. What terrible thing happened to you as a child that turned you into a monster?

2. When you decapitate a baby, do you look right at it or look away at the last minute?

3. Is it harder to murder a child or is it the same as killing an adult?

4. What's the best part of being a terrorist? The worst?

5. If you really look forward to death, why don't you just kill yourself right now?

6. What's the worst thing, in your opinion, about the Jews that make you want them all dead?

Now that would be some damn compelling reporting. Someone should tell Anderson Cooper.

Jewish and Proud

 "Mr. Levine, may I see you for a moment?"

I just received an email with the subject line, "How to Clean Strawberries So They Last Longer." I did not click. Maybe I should have, since I often bemoan how fast strawberries go bad in the fridge, or how they attract fruit flies when left out on the counter, but in light of world events it just doesn't seem to matter. 

Who needs fresh strawberries if Hamas is coming to get me? I am a Jew, and even though I live in Maine and not Gaza, the thought has entered my mind. 

Yesterday a huge pro-Palestinian demonstration, comprised of about 50,000 people, took place in London. Let's face it: pro-Palestinian means anti-Jew. And my husband is going to London in a little more than a week from today. So, using the Six Degrees of Separation rule, those people are virtually in my own backyard.

Yes, I'm worried. In fact, for the first time in my life I fear some sort of troubles could come my way because of my religion. Still, I wouldn't change it if I had the chance. Being a Jew is the best part of me.

Film Review: THE BURIAL

Spoiler alert: There's no burial in The Burial, now streaming on Amazon Prime .... just in case you start wondering. Instead, there is a long courtroom drama -- the film runs just over two hours -- about a lawsuit stemming from a contract dispute between a small-town funeral home director and a large, evil conglomerate of nationwide funeral homes. (They both also sell burial insurance, hence the title.)

But what this film really is is a tour de force by Jamie Foxx. My husband thinks tour de force is hackneyed and pretentious and suggests I just say he was "amazing" instead. But I will stick to my guns and risk sounding pretentious because his performance is so powerful. And I don't even particularly like the guy, or I didn't until this movie. Now I want to have a Jamie Foxx filmfest at home.

I won't tell the whole story; why ruin it? But there are some things you should know beforehand:

1. Tommy Lee Jones, an actor I have long adored in every movie he's ever been in, looks about 100 years old in this one, but he's supposed to be 75. (He is really 77.) His face looks like a leather catcher's mitt and his nose appears about to fall off. (Perhaps the make-up artists were on strike when this was made?) Still he delivers his character perfectly: a shy and reserved funeral parlor director, highly principled, father of 13 and grandfather of 24. Oh, and he's white.

2. Jamie Foxx is a black, snazzy, in-your-face lawyer who hasn't lost a case in 12 years and emulates Johnnie Cochran (of O.J. fame). He and Tommy have a bromance wherein black and white earn mutual respect, ebony and ivory and all that, like we've seen before in many other movies. But Jamie Foxx is in this one, and he makes it all seem brand new.

It's worth mentioning that while Foxx turns in an Oscar-worthy performance, the script, and so the movie, is at times sort of hackneyed. It's saved from being too hackneyed by the fact that it's a true story. And it's funny, too. You'll want to watch it twice.

Happy "Jihad Day"

A former Hamas leader has called for today to be a "Day of Jihad" for all Muslims the world over.  I'm not sure what that means but it can't be good. So far today a high-school teacher in France has been murdered by a former student, a loyal Muslim who one can assume was just following orders.

Some Jewish schools and synagogues in New York and other large cities will be closed today, just to be safe. I plan to celebrate by staying home, closing all the shutters and blinds, bolting all the doors, and then baking little Hamas gingerbread men cookies and chopping off all their heads.

It's literally the least I can do.

Don't Worry, Be Happy?

My husband keeps reminding me that life is part good and part bad. Puppies and kittens are good, the war in Israel is bad. He tells me to focus on the good. So instead of reading the newspaper, turning on the TV news or logging on to my computer, I should be brushing my cat or playing with my puppy. 

My cat is 15 and wants to sleep all the time and I don't have a puppy. Still, I get his point: My crying doesn't make anyone in Israel feel better or be safer. But what are we supposed to do? And considering it's not just Israel -- there's still that pesky war in Ukraine that until recently made us all feel bad -- it's a quandary.

Several years ago I saw a therapist who doled out platitudes as medicine. She told me that whenever I have a negative thought, I should just say to it, "Sorry, I'm not going to think about that right now. Maybe later." I stopped seeing her because she was so silly and ineffective. But maybe that piece of advice will work for me during this time.

I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

Thus far, several of our Christian friends have contacted my husband and me, asking "How are you doing during this difficult time?" As if, because we are Jewish, it's worse for us that Israel is engaged in a brutal war with Palestinian terrorists. 

I wonder -- aren't gentiles deeply affected by reports of the murder of innocent civilians, the raping of young girls, the abduction of Holocaust survivors and the beheading of infants? Does the fate of the hostages cause worry only among Jews? Does one have to be Jewish to actually have a heart? I'm beginning to think so. 

But what about all those "bleeding-heart" liberals? How can an American Democrat, like Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, still have a Palestinian flag hanging outside her senate office door? Oh right, she thinks Israel started it.

Beheaded Babies -- My Favorite Thing!

The smiling young woman shown at right has come out publicly and enthusiastically in favor of Hamas and what they are doing in Israel, posting an open letter detailing her feelings on her Facebook page.

NYU Law School Student Bar Association president Ryna Workman, who identifies as nonbinary and uses "they/them pronouns," issued a statement on the front page of the group's newsletter declaring her "unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination." 

Ryna went on to say the current war is all Israel's fault and that Palestine will prevail. Surely Ryna knows about the 40 dead babies, some beheaded, reportedly found at a kibbutz near the Gaza border. Possibly she eats baby heads? (These days anything is possible and what the heck -- why not start that rumor?)

A prestige international law firm bent on employee diversity had offered her a job upon graduation but has since rescinded the offer. Boo-hoo, poor Ryna! But hold your tears -- considering she's black, female and LGBTQ+, she qualifies for a cabinet position in the Biden administration. They love all that downtrodden shit.

Hamas: The Lowest of the Low

Several friends have texted my husband and me asking how we are doing in light of the bloody war taking place in Israel. While they mean well, I find it odd that just because we are Jewish we likely feel worse than someone who is not a Jew. They're misguided.

A typical Hamas member.

Anyone with a heart and the capacity for empathy feels exactly like anyone else at this time: A war in which uninvolved civilians are ripped from their homes and killed -- including babies, toddlers and elderly survivors of the Holocaust -- is unspeakably repulsive. The shocking murder of 260 concertgoers, most of them in their teens or early 20s, is depressing enough to make one stay in bed all day, no matter their religious beliefs. 

The added insult of innocent American hostages being held in unknown locations -- starved, terrified and soon to be dead -- increases the unimaginable horror of it all.

For people like myself who suffer from hyper-empathy, it's almost impossible to bear. My being Jewish is not a factor. Human beings are human beings. Except of course Arab terrorists, who are a genus far below animals.

There's Never A Grim Reaper When You Need One

The situation in Israel is dire. Evil people are on the loose and neither God nor Bibi Netanyahu has smite them yet. They continue to kill innocent women and children, and men too of course but they always get mentioned last. (See, now why would any woman in her right mind choose to transition? She-turned-he wouldn't have gotten into one of those lifeboats on the Titanic, that's for sure.) Now they are threatening to execute a hostage -- they have taken several hundred and some are Americans -- for every Palestinian killed in Gaza by an Israeli rocket.

My very own unique plan for the area would never pass either the House or the Senate, which is why I haven't bothered to run for office. I suggest we nuke the entire Middle East and after the dust settles, build a new Disney theme park there. There could be a roller coaster called The Wailing Wall and a House of Horrors called Old City Jerusalem, with scary Arabs jumping out of darkened stalls who grab your arm and twist it a little, whispering, "Come inside my shop and see what I have for you. I promise you'll like it." Oh wait, that's what they already have now. Okay, then something along those lines but maybe a bit less threatening.

I cried many tears yesterday and again today over the deadly attacks by Hamas in Israel. I've been so depressed I've eaten half a jar of Super Crunchy peanut butter and a bagel with hummus and some ice cream, and that's not including breakfast and lunch, and now I'm still depressed but also nauseous. That's what happens when food is your go-to drug and your president is a feeble old man who refuses to address what's going on and instead hosts a barbecue for members of his staff and stays off the TV, offering no plans for how to help or what to do or even sending his prayers, which means nothing we all know but at least it's something.

My husband points out that over time the fallout from several nuclear bombs would get to all of us. So be it -- it's time, really, for all of us to go. I know, I know, there are plenty of fine people here on Earth, it's not just evil-doers like Ilhan Omar and that Rashida Tlaib, but alas -- considering everything, we need to start from scratch.

Disease du Jour

I probably should find it comforting that everything once condemned is now condoned -- from smashing a storefront window and grabbing as much merchandise as you can carry to mutilating your God-given body parts -- but I don't. Instead it's unnerving, making me wonder when cold-blooded murder of your mother will become acceptable because after all, who does she think she is telling you to "Put on a coat, it's cold outside." 

These days, nothing is anyone's fault. Fat people don't overeat, they have a genetic predisposition to stuffing their faces. Alcoholics aren't lacking in self-control, it's their disease that makes them pour liquor down their gullets. Sex addicts, gamblers, rapists and petty thieves all suffer from traumatic childhoods, so pity them, don't judge. 

What's got me thinking this is the latest woke excuse for bad behavior: Drug addicts are afflicted with "opioid use disorder." It's not their fault that they want to avoid working, take no responsibility for their actions, escape reality and get high all the time. They can't help it, it's that damn disease.

Food Fight in the House

Sadly, it seems the Republicans can't even play nice among themselves, forget getting along with the Democrats. That smarmy Rep. Matt Gaetz from Florida, who looks like a porn star and according to some women behaves like one too, went on the warpath against his own party's elected leader and somehow managed to get him thrown out. So now the little lost lambs we call our "leaders" don't have a Speaker of the House and are having to waste our money and their time trying to get a new one.

Hopefully, after they clean up all the tar and feathers flung at Kevin McCarthy and finish repainting Nancy Pelosi's old office they'll find someone to be their new boss and actually do some legislating. Here are just a few of our country's problems, and none of them have the words Hunter or Biden in them:

1. Rampant crime in all of our major cities, with little punishment.

2. Extensive homelessness in all of our major cities, involving public urination, defecation and possibly the next plague.

3. Illegal drug dealing in all of our major cities, causing thousands of overdose deaths.

4. The incredible ignorance of most public school students in all of our major cities, leading to numbers 1, 2 and 3 on this list.

 

Indigenous Peoples Summer

Last week here in Maine was glorious: chilly and overcast, temps in the 60's and even a few high 50's, with nary a mosquito in sight. I was in Heaven. We had to turn on the heat and even bring out the sweaters and wooly socks from storage on a few of those gray days. I ventured outdoors without fear and without slathering on bug repellent first.

That was then. Two days ago, suddenly and without warning, it was hot. Like 82 degrees hot. People went back to wearing tank tops, shorts and flip-flops. As if that wasn't bad enough, the mosquitos returned, from where God only knows but it couldn't have been very far. My late-blooming geraniums and dahlias slumped in the unexpected heat and everything needed watering again. The dreaded You-Know-Who summer had arrived, and here it remains: temps today are expected to hit 82 degrees.

The worst thing about it is that we can't call it "Indian Summer" anymore, which had such a nice, descriptive, almost nostalgic ring to it. No, now it's Indigenous Peoples summer, which is just plain ridiculous but somehow not offensive to Native Americans, formerly known as Indians. 

It's just not the same. I wonder, do little kids now play Cowboys and Indigenous People?

Old Age Isn't Funny

Today's New York Times contains an article entitled, "It's No Joke, Old Age." I could tell by the accompanying illustration that it was supposed to be humorous but I never laughed, although I did smile once. That author says right up front that he is 83, so maybe in the next six years I will lose my sense of humor like he apparently has. But I still have mine and so will try to write a post about aging that is actually funny.*

My husband, a much younger 66, says, "It's not going to be funny; you're going to try too hard." I hope to prove him wrong, which is my strong suit so fingers crossed!

Here is a list of things about being old that are funny:

1. You're much closer to death yet no more prepared for it.

2. You can still walk and talk but have gained a new skill: you're invisible to others.

3. You're wiser than people younger than you yet they rarely seek your advice.

4. You look old in the mirror but still think you're young.

5. Everyone you went to high school with looks way older than you, except for the dead ones.

* When I said "funny" I didn't mean haha-funny, I meant peculiar-funny.