The headline says Rice: Jewish housing plan undermines peace talks . The article means Condi thinks there's an issue with housing as part of the ongoing dilemma between Israelis and Palestinians.
Note to world: Stop saying Jews when you mean Israelis. It doesn't do my tribe any good. And stop thinking every Jew agrees with everything Israel ever does, did or will do.
Yes, American Jews have historically had an "Is it good for Israel?" approach on things like voting. But we also have a strong sense of human rights, and we know about being on the cruddy end of the stick, and realize that abuse is abuse, and it's still wrong even when you're on the power end of the stick.
/End rant here./
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Compare and Contrast
Compare: Both the one on the left and the one on the right are wearing pearls.
Contrast: The one on the left looks normal, like she could be my neighbor. She looks like I would want her to be my neighbor. The one on the right doesn't look trustworthy. I don't want her as my neighbor, and it's got nothing to do with that funky rash all over her neck and hairline.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Godspeed
I am just learning what others have known for months: A* is gone.
A* was a friend of my aunt whom I've known almost all of my life. A warm and compassionate spirit, she was a nurse. A really kind person. She came from an extremely dysfunctional background, one that involved mental-health issues with which A* struggled, too. She moved to a different state, and lived there. I don't think she worked, or had insurance. Sometimes she would be erratic, hard to find, and my aunt would worry about her. But there were certain things my aunt could count on, like a birthday card. This past year, no card. And when my aunt sent mail to A*'s PO Box, it came back.
What apparently happened is that A* wasn't doing very well, and eventually she just stepped in front of a train and ended her life.
To have known a person when she was whole, when she was giving and kind and had good days, and then to consider what it must have been like inside her brain is very difficult. I'm pained by what she must have gone through, believing that tomorrow would not be better than today, feeling desperate enough to silence that pain once and for all, but also she might have felt bravery or pride for refusing to let it take control of her life, of her mind, finally and forever.
I'm pained when I wonder whether A* would be alive if she had been insured and medicated, if she'd had some community or family where she lived. I'm pained that in finding out what happened well after everyone else, her death is somehow less significant, less tragic. A* was a beautiful person, inside and out, who lived and died all alone. This is a lesser place for her absence.
A* was a friend of my aunt whom I've known almost all of my life. A warm and compassionate spirit, she was a nurse. A really kind person. She came from an extremely dysfunctional background, one that involved mental-health issues with which A* struggled, too. She moved to a different state, and lived there. I don't think she worked, or had insurance. Sometimes she would be erratic, hard to find, and my aunt would worry about her. But there were certain things my aunt could count on, like a birthday card. This past year, no card. And when my aunt sent mail to A*'s PO Box, it came back.
What apparently happened is that A* wasn't doing very well, and eventually she just stepped in front of a train and ended her life.
To have known a person when she was whole, when she was giving and kind and had good days, and then to consider what it must have been like inside her brain is very difficult. I'm pained by what she must have gone through, believing that tomorrow would not be better than today, feeling desperate enough to silence that pain once and for all, but also she might have felt bravery or pride for refusing to let it take control of her life, of her mind, finally and forever.
I'm pained when I wonder whether A* would be alive if she had been insured and medicated, if she'd had some community or family where she lived. I'm pained that in finding out what happened well after everyone else, her death is somehow less significant, less tragic. A* was a beautiful person, inside and out, who lived and died all alone. This is a lesser place for her absence.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Wanted: A Graceful Exit
Obama's next task: Heal rift with female voters
This article discusses why white female voters are so distressed with Obama. "'Obama himself must heal the rift with women,' said Clinton fundraiser Susie Buell of San Francisco, 'or a new brand of "stay-at-home moms" might sit out the election.'"
Could they have quoted someone perhaps slightly less partisan?
Truly, I just don’t see it. First of all, polling right now on this topic is a waste of time, as it doesn’t allow for all that Mr. McCain can do to enrage white female Democratic voters (or for that matter, white female Republican voters) in the next five months. My guess: plenty.
Second, the whole premise of this article assumes that women would vote solely based on gender, the very obstacle they’ve been up against for, oh, ever. (The 15th Amendment, which allowed nonwhite men to vote, was ratified February 3, 1850. The 19th Amendment, which allowed women to vote, was ratified August 18, 1920, 70 years later. I’d like to think we’ve progressed in the 158 years since we thought leaving it to someone else to give us rights and ensure our empowerment was a good idea.)
This white female voter had a hard time listening to Hillary talk about things like job creation in the 90s during her hubby’s Administration. Know why? Because I lived through it. I can tell you right now that my newspaper is delivered by a grownup in a car, instead of a 12-year-old on a bike, b/c on Bill’s watch, people had to take two and three jobs to get the income they’d had before getting laid off. (And just an aside, two or three less-than-fulltime jobs means you don’t score any benefits, Starbucks notwithstanding.)
I don’t care who wore a pantsuit or a lapel pin. Hillary’s a bright woman with some sound policy objectives but she appeared opportunistic and insincere. In a weird irony, Hillary was empowered because she essentially screwed herself, and frankly, I think more of my fellow Caucasian female voters than to assume they’re as one-dimensional as this article suggests.
But just to argue the other side, assuming we were truly that one-dimensional, we’d merely have the memory and attention span of so many other citizens of this nation, and thus come November it wouldn’t be an issue anyway. Take your pick, either way it’s a moot point.
Note to any female white voters who will only vote based on gender: none of your choices come November will be women. If that's enough to keep you home, you suck.
Sources:
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am14
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080604/ap_on_el_pr/obama_angry_women
This article discusses why white female voters are so distressed with Obama. "'Obama himself must heal the rift with women,' said Clinton fundraiser Susie Buell of San Francisco, 'or a new brand of "stay-at-home moms" might sit out the election.'"
Could they have quoted someone perhaps slightly less partisan?
Truly, I just don’t see it. First of all, polling right now on this topic is a waste of time, as it doesn’t allow for all that Mr. McCain can do to enrage white female Democratic voters (or for that matter, white female Republican voters) in the next five months. My guess: plenty.
Second, the whole premise of this article assumes that women would vote solely based on gender, the very obstacle they’ve been up against for, oh, ever. (The 15th Amendment, which allowed nonwhite men to vote, was ratified February 3, 1850. The 19th Amendment, which allowed women to vote, was ratified August 18, 1920, 70 years later. I’d like to think we’ve progressed in the 158 years since we thought leaving it to someone else to give us rights and ensure our empowerment was a good idea.)
This white female voter had a hard time listening to Hillary talk about things like job creation in the 90s during her hubby’s Administration. Know why? Because I lived through it. I can tell you right now that my newspaper is delivered by a grownup in a car, instead of a 12-year-old on a bike, b/c on Bill’s watch, people had to take two and three jobs to get the income they’d had before getting laid off. (And just an aside, two or three less-than-fulltime jobs means you don’t score any benefits, Starbucks notwithstanding.)
I don’t care who wore a pantsuit or a lapel pin. Hillary’s a bright woman with some sound policy objectives but she appeared opportunistic and insincere. In a weird irony, Hillary was empowered because she essentially screwed herself, and frankly, I think more of my fellow Caucasian female voters than to assume they’re as one-dimensional as this article suggests.
But just to argue the other side, assuming we were truly that one-dimensional, we’d merely have the memory and attention span of so many other citizens of this nation, and thus come November it wouldn’t be an issue anyway. Take your pick, either way it’s a moot point.
Note to any female white voters who will only vote based on gender: none of your choices come November will be women. If that's enough to keep you home, you suck.
Sources:
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am14
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080604/ap_on_el_pr/obama_angry_women
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