TO BE OR NOT TO BE

    No, I am not rewriting Hamlet. In fact, while his question was whether to commit suicide or not, mine concerns whether it is wise to be afraid or not. This was a question posed to me by a resident of the Village and was a multi-part question.
     My first response was to be yes, very afraid. I believe that the clock has ticked over to one minute before midnight. We have no sane leader of the country, we are pulling ourselves into a small hole, away from the world, ignoring our obligations and have turned into a country filled with hate, filled with concern at a mad leader and worried over the fact that every day another piece of information comes out related to the Russian probe. Yes, be afraid, be very much so.
     Yesterday I watched a video of an observant Jew in LA get beaten up by a man waiting there for him to pass. The date? May 22, 2017. I just read a report of a 65 year old Jewish woman, Sarah Halimi, in France being held captive and tortured until she was thrown out a window to her death, all the while the police and media standing outside her apartment door doing nothing, nada, zilch!! When? April of this year. Am I afraid, oh yes I am, especially when I read this morning of a drive by directed at two good kids because they appear to be of Moslem heritage, shot just before their graduation from high school. Is this what our country and the world has become, just a bunch of disaffected hate filled people, ready to harm others who are not 'like' us? Be afraid, be very much so.
     We have more reports of Trump asking his national intelligence officer, Coats, and Pompeo, to intervene with Comey and the investigation and of course we know the incident with Comey who was so set off balance that he asked Sessions to run interference for him and keep Trump away from him.
     We have reports of an obsessed Trump obsessively watching TV, tweeting away for all he's worth, cursing out the media, the "enemy of the people"! "The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media." MSM is mainstream media. He is vowing to take action and what will be that action? Talking, quite inappropriately to people who are on the committee in the Senate, dreaming that all would be forgiven and he can go ahead with his hateful plans? Sure, why not scare some more people away so now we have children who are American citizens being denied food stamps because their parents are afraid of being deported and their children being left alone. So there ya' go - the death plans once more. Be afraid, indeed so.
     Today there is as report out that "President Trump's charity foundation funneled $100,000 in donations meant for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital into revenue for the Trump Organization by using his son's charity, Forbes reported Tuesday." And this has been going on to the tune of $10 million dollars over ten years. This is indeed the bottom of the barrel, taking money away from kids sick with cancer and other awful maladies and taking care of his golf courses instead. What a pathetic excuse for a human being, never mind a leader. Afraid? Oh yes!!
     The second part of the question concerned a local 'leader', David Israel, a leader very much in the same category. No, I do not know what he gives to charities nor any intimate details nor do I care to know as that does not impact on the Village. What does is his abrasive and immoral manner of behaving and running his show. Yes, his show and evidently not ours. He violates Roberts' Rules when it suits him and violates every ethic of a chair at a meeting by behaving in a partisan manner and taking time away from the speakers to announce and reinforce his opinions and desires.
     He continually foists financial disasters upon the Village and it is only through the hard and determined work of some that we have avoided many of them. He is obsessive in his behavior, mannerisms and goals, none of which appear to have any benefit to or for the Village in the long term. His latest fiasco? Trading the realty building for a shack that needs major renovation and why? Because WPRF said it would be a  good idea? Because Levy said let's switch a wreck for a good building? Because the Rag needs a place to function? Not that they truly function as an independent organ of the Village for they are simply a mouthpiece for David Israel and allow no dissenting voices to be printed or discussed in the paper; in fact, the Rag treats these people as nonexistent until it comes time to denigrate.
     He runs things in a Trump like secret manner, refusing to allow in any dissenting voices and like Trump, has a difficulty filling positions because most people are either forbidden by him, banned, or people simply cannot deal with him and his behavior and his mouth.
     And when one disobeys that man sitting in the backroom all day, when one dissents from his plans, he threatens, he discards and he shouts nasty stuff. So was I afraid of him I was asked, afraid for what he could do to me? Well, most emphatically NOT afraid for what can he do? Illegally? Perhaps, but then again, that is pretty dangerous for him so I doubt that. And legally? Deny me a place in UCO, the ability to perform my responsibilities as an Executive Board member? His loss and the Village's loss so am I afraid? No indeed. In fact, it just makes me laugh that much harder.
     But the fact remains that he is killing off this wonderful place, slowly taking apart our financial stability and amenities. Am I afraid for that reason? Oh yes indeed. But I must admit that he falls far, far behind the other so called leader whose deeds and behavior and incompetence and insanity make me much more afraid for us and for the future of the world.
     To be or not to be? You decide for yourself.