HOW DOES ONE MAKE A CHOICE

  Not a soul on Earth can avoid difficult choices within life. These choices can range from life threatening to life enhancing, to consequential and inconsequential. Which flavor ice cream or to end medical treatment? Does one risk one life to save another? If so, who and how? How does one live with the ensuing complications? Do you deem yourself or any other qualified to make that choice? For the government of Israel, having to make that choice - how? How does one mesh all the so widely differing opinions on how to proceed further in Gaza and the so delicate and necessary critical job of returning all of our living hostages back to us along with the bodies of those slaughtered as martyrs? Does this ever end?

 These are not simple answers. Of course we must get all of our kidnapped home. We have lost too many already, and, in fact, if all had been working properly, we should and would have lost none or very few. Not the numbers now so indelibly etched in our souls. Time is running out for many while it has already run out for others.

 However, how to get them out is a question of another color. A question with no clear and definitive answer, though many shout to the heavens that they do know the answer.  This is not so, tragically. Increased military pressure yes, as when cornered, a rat can be defeated, permanently.  However, that cornered rat can be extremely homicidal and suicidal, and so will the rats we are fighting, hence increased strikes from air and land might induce the beasts of Hamas to kill those in their bloody hands before they are rescued by the friendly forces. In fact, our hostages might even become victims of our own military.

This choice has always been there from October 7, 2023. Actually, it has been there since the kidnapping and return five years later of a captured soldier with a thousand Palestinian beasts, murderers, being released so as to release this one Israeli kidnapped victim. We had all wept for that young man and for his family. We all prayed for them, even with them. We wore ribbons and sent letters, and Gilad Shalit was released, but at what cost? For the then, the now, and for the foreseeable, even into the unforeseeable future, how many murderers did we free in the name of release of the hostages? Some who will say we never should have done it. We never should have sent animals back. But is that true? How can one remain sane, humane, when thinking of the hostages that would not have been returned if we had refused to send these murderers back. Perhaps that was the logical cold answer; however, that was not the answer of Judaism. One of the most important precepts of Judaism is the responsibility of Pidyon Shivuyim, the ransoming of a captive even if one does not know the captive. It is that important.

On the other hand, what do we say to the relatives of those who are killed? Butchered by the animals now being released. Do we say that their relatives do not count, that they have lesser importance than the hostages now? Do we use an excuse that, well, they have served some time already? How do we look at their faces and their body language see the tears rolling down their faces and say, well, such is life, we must do what we must do? What do we say to the future victims of these people? Do we say we thought we would have them on a string, in close observation, that this never would have happened again? Would that have been sufficient as they stood there weeping at their loved one's graves?

Here is where I say, thank you, G-d, for not putting me in such a position for I would have no answer to give, no choice to give. If only I could think of a way in which, with one hand, I would grab hostages and with the other hand, I would hold back the murderers But, you know, and I know, we all know, that is not a possibility and the choices here are insane. 

We now face another between the rocks and the hard walls situation. I dare anybody out there Jewish or not, any nationality - Could you? Would you? Should you? At this point in time, for five barely living Israeli hostages, do we wish to subject any and all to the crazed performances as these hostages barely moving, barely breathing were paraded before the world, give thanks to their captors? For the tortures underwent, the starvation they experienced, the sexual abuse performed on them, their medical cares neglected and exacerbated? Entombed and encased in dank dark tunnels?

Netanyahu is right and wrong We need to get out any whom we can get out. We need to be strong in our demand to release all of the 24 possibly remaining alive before they all die under the conditions in which they are being held and yet, if we take 5 out and release another 1000 butchers of humanity, what then happens to the other 19? Physically, emotionally, mentally - what happens to them? And what do we say to their families when their loved one remains in captivity, no end in sight?

This entire disaster has arisen due to the actions of Hamas and the civilians who joined in with them, all eager to loot, to steal, to kill, to rape, to rob, to torture. There would have been no 346 people killed at a dance festival. There would not have been decimated farming communities of some of the most liberal citizens of Israel. There would not have been the thousands of IDF soldiers killed or wounded. No mounds of infrastructure rubble.  

Very unfortunately, blame also rests upon the shoulders of others. These shoulders belong to Israeli officials, civil and military. Warnings of the female soldiers who are spotters were ignored, degraded, demeaned and basically, they were told to shut up. The army itself allowed the border to be too weakly manned and relied too much on fences, walls, and technology, though history has proven their inadequacy in holding back invading forces. That is not a defense that does not fail and so along with Hamas, the blood of our lost rests upon them as well.

The nation is wounded. Any possibility of healing calls for an investigation with no political tampering. Transparent, with admissions of guilt in this ugly, unprepared for situation and its horrific consequences. Had those segments done their job properly, sufficiently manned the borders, and listened to their soldiers, October 7 would have remained as a day between October 6th and October 8, not one soaked in blood and terror.

 Nations around the world ignored causation and shed crocodile tears, less than a day for Israeli victims. Instead, they wept for the Gazans guilty of war crimes, guilty of crimes against humanity. They wept for the 'imminent” starvation never happening, for buildings destroyed because they contained the enemy within. The world reverted to its perpetual animosity and opposition to Jews in any form having the upper hand.   

How, how do we make a choice? It is a selfish choice, a brutal, bitter choice, a heartbreaking choice. Yet, if we do not make it, if we do not sacrifice one loved one for another, then both will die. How does one live with any decision made. I have no clue, none at all, and hope never, ever, to be placed in such a position. All those out there who think they have the answer, as they know the right choice, and can justify it, well, then perhaps you are better than I am along with a whole bunch of others.

So once again the people of Israel, the people of the Jewish nation, are either ignored or shredded with gale force winds of hate. False accusations and knives fly through the air and stab us in the back. Once we thought we had friends and suddenly they vanished as a wisp of fog. Once upon a time, not so long ago, we thought that this kind of toxic hate had been eradicated other than in a few strange extremists on both sides of the aisle.

 How wrong we were.

Yesterday, we knew what to expect.

Today, today is a crapshoot.

On the Morrow - The answer is unknown.

"AN UNEASY FEELING"

 If ever there was an understatement, well, there ya' go! Add to that, is the fact that the queasy feeling is replicated in growing quantity round the globe, from nations large and small and concerned groups with international concerns and memberships, NGO and governmental. These concerns need to be addressed, with growing peril if ignored, but, sadly so, is that the quality of leadership necessary is missing. Worse, if one does appear on the horizon, he/she is hammered down to ineffective and useless. Our world today. 

Frankly, not surprisingly, I believe the situation more dire and critical, perhaps not even remedial short of some superhuman effort. The words of John Donne from " A Nocturnal Upon S. Lucies Day" perhaps makes the situation clearer, more apt for the feelings of many today round the world.

"For I am every dead thing ... I am re-begot

Of absence, darkness, death, things which are not." 

Depressing, dark, just about hopeless, drained of any optimism and positive outlook, yes, but think. How many nations are at present undergoing massive existential change within their borders. How deep into disunity have nations fallen, allies included, within and without the borders of nations. How deep and immeasurable are the chasms in societies of one nation, with each group unwilling and/or unable to hear and understand the words and concerns of differing groups with differing outlooks and priorities. In what shape, manner or form, in any possibility, can any kind of successful compromise be worked out, and be of meaningful duration? Generally, at least these days, the violations and negation of terms are in play before the ink is dry on the signatures.

"I think it would be a mistake to think next week all of a sudden we’re going to get a bunch of clarity,”

 "I don’t think the president is going to have a personality transplant.”

"One insider put it bluntly, telling Politico, "No one knows what the f--k is going on."

"Donald Trump's inner circle is approaching next Tuesday with a great deal of trepidation as the president prepares to launch what he has been promoting at "Liberation Day" with his closest advisers having little idea about what exactly will come out of his mouth this time."

How can one possibly mesh those statements with a reality of a person now claiming to be a leader of what once was the strongest, most influential and admired nation in the ranks of nation states round the globe. Be it the fear of crazed tariffs or the next twisted Executive Order, this nation - the world - is in a position and reality of great and grave danger. Essentially, the man is demented, a leader of the caliber of Caligula or the controversial Nero, or Hitler, or Putin, or Stalin, all of whom destroyed or led or lead to the imminent destruction of the entities they served as "leaders".  The United States of America is at that same point. Woe unto us.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."

 A wise man serving this nation as President, a true leader, spoke of the then, but is critically apropos of the now. While slavery is not the issue, thankfully, America is now a divided nation, rendered asunder   by those among us who wish to return this country to a time when misthought thinking raised itself high in the ethos of this nation, assumed seats of power and influence and nearly damned us to perdition.

We are doing the same thing now only this time it is more than one against another, for the dichotomies are many and show no sign of realignment in any positive manner. Even were we to cut to the chase, mesh it all together, the dichotomy remains   frightening as it is a clash between dictatorship and democracy. Again, woe upon us. It is a reality where one cannot maintain balance, for so freaky and so many are the maniacal twists and turns of this most misplaced President. 

Too many of the national entities round the earth are in this same endangered reality. The residents are fighting wars amongst themselves, shattering long accepted beliefs and rules of conduct, even to the point of rending apart friends and families. Each subsequent division creates smaller and weaker nation states, and on grows the onslaught of stronger, larger, hungry invading nations, seeking more land, more wealth, and a return to a storied past, even if not true.

Heartbreakingly, for me and thousands of others, is seeing other nations succumb to this self -destructive behavior. Be it France or England, America or Israel, Hungary or anywhere else, the reality is tragic for us and for those who come after us. It is a ramped-up return to a history best not repeated, though we seem to have a rather cultivated or inborn need to do precisely so. It is a deplorable affinity to do so, to condemn ourselves   to repetitive rounds of blood and destruction, againandagainandagain, and when does it end, if ever? 

How many more generations of idealistic young will sing in plaintive wistful tones of a time when no more young girls will have to leave all the flowers at the grave sites of all the boys, "gone to graveyards every one- (for) when will we ever learn, when will we ever learn?"  

Apparently, not 

yesterday, 

nor 

today,

 nor foreseeably for all

 the morrows 

  to come.

 MAYBE.

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All those question marks, all that confusion, all the uncertainty. How are we to understand our times so as to allow us to live contributive positive lives? How are we to understand the actions of others which are egregiously antihuman and anti- comprehension? If we are to correct the situation we must first understand the motivations behind it for it is only with an understanding of the opponent that we can address our own needs and theirs as well. That is certainly so especially in these times, for the times are rife with danger and uncertainty and attempts to improve the status quo only increases chances of peril.

Unfortunately, currently the governments of the United States of America and Israel now have men and women who are entranced with their own power and its usage. They are drunk on their own power and enjoy the feeling when they impose their wishes, their dreams, their thoughts, upon others who are either amenable or cowed enough to agree, and those who oppose but whose power is too weak to overcome the wishes of those perilous to the democracy within both nations, and to their moral ethos. How to gainsay all of that and inject some sanity, some "rightness” into the equation is a challenge, but one that must be undertaken if we are to survive as we should.

 So here we are at Netanyahu. It is becoming more and more difficult to separate the images of Trump and Netanyahu as so closely do they mirror each other at present times. Once upon a time that was not so. Bibi was a hero of the nation. He was a passionate spokesman for it. He was a respectable and respected representative of Israel to the world and was a respected persona within Israel itself.  A man of personality, of presence, of ability and desire to speak up for the nation of Israel. How did this persona morph into the self-appointed wannabe dictator of today?  

What turned a man who was almost legend into a man of lost soul, lost moral compass, deeply enmeshed into the idea of power, ultimate power to control the behavior and even the thoughts of others. The prince became a frog and eventually a toad, warts and all. Within the high-pressured air of Israel, he found those who would support him and his desires. He was able to postpone his trial for years, similar to somebody else we know. At the same time that he stands on the cusp of a prison sentence, he has managed to maintain, retain, power even as the nation is falling apart, the divisions between groups of the nation becoming sharper edged and increasingly difficult to heal. 

Like Trump, Bibi has made dangerous distasteful deals with the extreme right politically and the extreme right religiously. Both groups vociferously demand that the nation be reformatted into the images that they desire. But this is not the Israel fought for in battle, on the streets, in the cities, in the legislative halls and in the courts of justice. That Israel welcomed all and did not distinguish between those who are religiously observant and those who are not, or any degree in between. Today, not so much. Today that poses an existential question to this nation that must be addressed and addressed properly if the nation is to survive. The religious right must begin to contribute to the economy of Israel, to its growth, teach their children with a complete education, both religiously and secularly, so as to enable them to function in a modern society. Their sons and daughters must join the rest of Israel and serve and protect this nation within the IDF. Studying the books of Judaic knowledge and law can be meshed with service. However, desperately these approaches must be meshed it will never happen under the rule of Bibi, for he has made deals with these very same groups. Deals that are not good for this nation, particularly at a time when there is great need of soldiers, and contributors to the nation's economy. 

The mirror images of Trump and Netanyahu are going ever closer. Both are attempting and have succeeded to a degree, a large degree, to create a subservient legislature to the point of reformatting the government. Both have basically declared war on their opponents. Both attempt to control the media. Both attempt and try and too often succeed to control the creative arts within the nation. Both are now demonizing the judiciary, for the judges and the attorney generals are apparently among those who oppose Trump et al, the only ones withstanding the onslaught of Trump and acolytes. Even within this branch there are those who have gone over to the dark side where they now live within the ranks of Darth Vader wannabes.

It is incumbent upon the people of these nations to resist the currents oversupplied with toxins and misfortune. The people of the nations must decide on its future. A nation dominated by a one-man dictator, a nation dominated by fear for literal, physical survival, or a nation wishing to retain and respect its history, its ethos, and be the best it can be? Fight off extremism. Defy attempts at dictatorships. Abide by the laws of the nation, its legal system, its documents. 

Both nations must create a welcoming environment for all who wish to become part of its dreams, to contribute to it, for only in that way can we remain true to our ethos. Only then can we endeavor to leave a legacy of a future world where the generations can thrive and make the world a better place, a fairer place, a future world, where generations can thrive and do even better than we have done. Only in that way can we achieve the right goals, present a good future for both nations. The dictatorship attempt by Bibi does not do that. Nor does the America First policy of Trump - that was proven dangerous, inimical to humanity, way back in the thirties and forties of last century. Enough!

We must begin to defeat those who wish to do otherwise. We need to stand up and get on our feet and chase the votes. We need to oust those who wish to cater to dictators, to those who would steal the country, not only from its past and its present, but also from its tomorrows. If we care not for ourselves, how about we think of the future generations. It is incumbent upon us to present them with a world which will allow them, enable them, to create a better world than we have now: a better environment, positive attitudes, food and shelter for all, and absent hate and prejudice.

 It is not an easy task, but as Jewish wisemen remind us - it is not upon us to finish the job, but it is upon us to begin it. We have not fulfilled that responsibility. Certainly not in any positive forceful probability of bringing it to fruition. 

Not yet. But the Little Engine That Could reminds us - yes, we can, yes, we can. And so we must, and so we will.

Once upon a time, yesterday, not so long ago, we had two great nations full of promise, caring for its inhabitants, siding with the right or correcting errors of choice. We contributed much to the world rather than threaten them foolishly, and have our threats rebound against us.

We were America.

We were Israel.

We are still America.

We are still Israel.

WE will be ....

WE will be ....

Choose for the morrows.

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HERE'S HOPING

  I'm beginning to wonder whether the attack on Google Chrome has affected the ability of people to reach my blog. I hope not. But if so, I hope to be able to fix it. In any case I am going to try to write the blog again and send it out to my many readers. I hope it works, and I hope my readers will find it again.

I, along with many others, millions of others, are extremely concerned about the state of affairs in both America and Israel. In both countries, we seem to have a self-appointed man who has usurped the role of dictator. Both Netanyahu and Trump are attempting to use subterfuge to cancel all the rules of government, claiming power to do whatever they want, fire whomever they want and recast their government to mirror their own thinking. 

One January 6th in America we had a rather bloody attempt to overthrow the government of this nation, and on January 20th of this year the very same people took office due to the miscalculation and thoughtless voting of the American public by a mere one-point percentage. Not even with a majority of voters. 

We are now reaping the disasters set in motion by this election and ironically, the very base who voted for Trump, believing his lies, are the majority of those falling victim to his rather sharp sword, as he rips them off, all the better to further enrich the plutocrats of this nation. The legislators of the GOP have fallen in line like 10 pins obeying to the nth degree the categorical steps of Donald Trump and Musk to take this nation apart, piece by piece, just about at the point of no return.

The results are horribly astounding Take the case of Social Security in its ridiculous insistence that there were people who were dead, who are remaining on Social Security in (their own) overwhelming created numbers, and in response to these lies of theirs, Musk and his immoral DOGE and flying monkeys have shredded Social Security for those desperately in need of it. How? By declaring the living - dead - and shutting down their benefits. Musk and his puppet, Trump, have taken this agency apart to the point where it can no longer function. It cannot answer phones nor handle matters in the office as personnel have been sent packing and the crowded few offices remaining open are jammed with lines of victims. No check. No answer. No possible route other than to travel with great difficulty long distances and wait for hours, if even then.  

 And so now what. What the hell are we allowing to happen in this country? Once we cared about our citizens. Now those power crazed selfish people in DOGE can consign us to whatever hell they wish. Caring nought whether we starve to death or freeze to death or boil to death, depending on their moods of the moment. DOGE, Musk, and Trump demand all must be their way, and wage undeclared war on the citizens and residents of this nation, this once proud and caring nation.

If this was the only wrong thing that was happening in this administration, it would be bad enough; however, it is not. The dangerous idiots we have at the helm are just that - morons. They are incapable of the simplest method by which to keep security over confidential matters, allowing others to join the chat room and hear of war plans and how many other secret matters. Instead, they blast it all out there, and anyone who around can get on and sit in on highly confidential security matters. There are rules, of course, but these morons do not wish to follow the rules. Instead, they build upon their incompetence, and we are the worse off for it. 

Meanwhile back at the ranch another dangerously demented moron issues executive orders, one after the other, signing away our rights, shredding the government of the nation. So wrong, so illegal, so blatantly unconstitutional, yet on it goes as the legislative branch sits in their seats, in their offices, rotating, doing zilch, surrendering the people to the dictator and his followers. The cause of their cowardice is unclear, but visible, and for sure, something is wrong in the mental and moral makeup of GOP legislators.  

Tomorrow I will write of Netanyahu and Israel.

Today, I continue on this theme.

 What has gone wrong in the world today? Dictators all over the globe conspire to usurp their nation, to declare its constitution and its legal laws of governance lifeless and never more to return. It matters not where the country is located. Europe. Asia. North America. South America. It matters not. There is a glaring craziness of Trump, be it land grabbing of Greenland or the Panama Canal or Trump himself gaining control of Gaza, all the better to establish his control and build hotels, more casinos doomed to failure, more golf courses where he can hide from proper governance of this nation. 

What is the matter with us that we have allowed this, for people, this could never have happened unless we permitted it, by actions or inactions. It now falls upon us to fix it. We need to stand up tall and straight and stop bobbing our heads in front of those who have deemed themselves our rulers. We need to demand and enforce the demand that legislators do their jobs, that the executive branch does not overstep its boundaries. We need to recognize the brave judges who seemingly are our last protectors who stand upon the boundaries and dare to defy Trump.

Once upon a time, yesterday, we had a great nation full of promise, full of caring for its people and the world, contributing much to the world at large.  

Today? Well, our todays are not very good, are they? They do not lead to sunglasses of rosy tint as we peer at the world. They are overwhelmed, darkened with violations of proper law, of proper government, of proper moral behavior. Worse, is the fact that it is getting worse, not better.

All our on the morrows are quickly shedding opportunity to bring back what should never have gone lost. Unless and until we realize what we have done, what we have enabled, all those morrows will be as our todays and worse than that.

That state of being is assuredly not something we want nor something we should allow.  As we chanted in the 60s, time to take back the power. Time to speak up and loud. Time to get our message through and unstop the ears of those refusing to hear. Time to take back the government. Time to stop electing and reelecting those who bear us harm. Time to remind all dictators that we will not allow them to warp our lives. Firm, clear action must be taken and now. Immediately, via the next election, with defiance of illegal rules, with the uprooting of corruption and incompetence, with the ousting of all who have gone traitor upon us. The possibilities are there. We simply must see them, use them, and return America to Americans.

We must stand up for the United States of America as envisioned by its founders.

We must do it today and on all the days of the morrows to come until we achieve victory. When our nation returns to its proper and basic foundation. 

There is no other alternative. Certainly not any good one.

Today, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and all of the tomorrows we can salvage.

I JUST DO NOT GET IT!!!

 I don't know; I can't figure it out. Is it me alone or do others feel the same?  Are we all nuts, off our game? I just spent 45 minutes watching one after the other videos of people doing some of the most ridiculous and/or dangerous things and they celebrate themselves for doing so, even as others celebrate their stupidity of useless misplaced misused creativity and energy.  

And I wonder why? Why? What is the purpose? What do we gain from this? Some ideas are worth developing, such as flight, but what is the purpose   of so many others? Why was one raised high in public opinion for jumping over cliffs? What is the purpose of an overeating contest especially when there are people who could make much better use of that food other than the one who consumed it in order to win some kind of prize for doing so?  

At the very least some of these ridiculous videos and contests should have some kind of product that's usable, even though it might be a tad odd and perhaps not even worth all the time and the money invested into making that product. All that which was invested could perhaps have been better and more profitably used in the recognition and development of better pathways and solutions for the woes which plague us here on Earth. However, that is not to demean the creative arts for art of all sorts are of extreme value, be it music or painting or sewing, or any the myriad art forms. For they can and should be used to unite people, rather than separate them. 

At least some of these videos have a positive purpose and end with a product usable, possibly decorative or soul satisfying, thus worthwhile. However, what about the videos which show people engaging in life threatening actions and behavior that you definitely tell people to not do this at one's home? Do not do this on your own, and do not try this anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Yet, on this ridiculous parade goes at times with tragic outcomes. Hours of times that can be better spent elsewhere, but redeemable when the end result of discarded bra cups and other materials result in a kind of wall or floor mat. But what about the person who drives his van down a steep mud bank into a fast-flowing river, fast and powerful enough to wash out a road? Turning that truck all the way over on its side repetitively in dangerous maneuvering to reach the other side. For what purpose? If anyone other than some stunt driver did this, the outcome would not be positive at all. So why do it? Why do we watch it and marvel at the stupidity of it. Does it transform us somehow? Why the hell did I just spend all this time watching this nonsense? 

The answer is because many people are fascinated by the behavior of others, and that includes me. What makes people tick? There are several shows which I have watched for exactly that reason. A bunch of unattached men and women go to an island to rather cheesy accommodations where they are encouraged to behave in manner more suitable to middle school children than adults. Or where people are placed in dangerous situations, untrained people climbing high mountains with perils of ice and snow, steep falls, or being left alone to fend for themselves with some aid from family members who try to overcome any and all misgivings because at the end of the day, the winner will get $250,000 or some such sum. When money doesn't even go very far, even large sums, what the hell are people doing? What makes them tick?  

 And on we go into the real world where people risk their own lives, yes, and they risk the lives of others, in double, triple, quadruple, endless numbers of casualties. As people fight for something they believe worth fighting for, in many cases correct, too often the basic basis underlying it, the justification for these wars has been perverted and twisted almost beyond recognition. At times, that recognition of perversion takes too long and so many die, so much infrastructure necessary to survival of humanity is destroyed. Lives and futures are crashed and crushed and at the end of the day one could look around and shrug shoulders in confusion, questioning, asking what the hell was that all about?

   Apparently, a march of north Gazans wanting Hamas gone, took place, a positive sign for a conclusion to the horror generated by the massacre of Oct7, 2023 and all that ensued worldwide. That is incorrect and misleading, as this war has been ongoing over a century as Arabs and Jews returning to their ancient ancestral homeland clashed, with Arab peasants goaded by the Effendis who owned their land and labor to fight these 'interlopers'  even as these new inhabitants bought the land and worked to transform a land of swamps and desert and rampant poverty into a vital modern land, what is now the state of Israel, and open to all. So, who is responsible for this latest aggravation of warfare? Simply put - Hamas, the very organization Gazans are now protesting, pretty damn late, perhaps too little, too late, for where were they before? Were they cheering the hostages taken, abusing them - where were they? Will there be any positive consequences to this march? Will our remaining hostages, alive and dead, come home? All that planning of massacre, all the deaths resulting, all the Anti Semitism spilling its toxicity round the globe, why could we not have engaged our abilities otherwise, to solve the issues, rather than exacerbating them? For sure, I have no answer. 

What does humanity do? It engages in waste of time and creative ability.  Yes, sometimes even   ending up with something worthwhile, an idea put into reality. But for the most part we are wasting our brain power rather than using all of its mighty potential, all of that energy, all of that creativity in coming up with thoughts out of that damn box with ways and means and manners of draining the negativity out of humanity and replacing it with proper thinking.

When will the universe understand, in worldwide recognition, that we are all in this same leaking boat known as Earth, challenged to the nth degree, and we will all go down together. Why is there not enough motivational power in that recognition or do we defy that recognition, to our own peril?  

Can there be a chance when the head of government of the United States of America is clearly demented, dangerously so, as he governs as a dictator, his efforts augmented, inspired and upgraded by the machinations of a dangerous man known as Musk?  They trample upon the foundation of America with heavy boots, spiked soles and arms holding weapons that shred all that was America, that is America and put it back together again in unrecognizable form.

Executive degree after executive degree, the spewing of a hate filled man pour forth from the Oval Office, each and every one of them further limits the legal rights of Americans. Each and every one of them increases and heightens the level of tension worldwide and we edge ever closer to full catastrophic global warfare, and this time no nation will get out alive. The remnants of humanity will fight the next war with sticks and stones and break the bones and learn again new words of hate and violence and prejudice for apparently, we never learn. We simply never learn. Too busy watching videos of nonsense, all the better to mute reality.

A man said that a politician is the one who looks to the next election while  a statesman  looks to the next generation, to make it better, to make it   peaceful and productive, to enhance the rights of all to live life as it should be, as it can be if only, if only we would pay attention and do what is right.  If we do not waste our creativity on stupidity but instead apply it and find new solutions other than those which have failed before, repetitively so.   

How do we fix this mess? How do we find that which is good, which is shared with all people and highlight that, elevate it to the level of highly necessary and critical to the survival of life on this planet in full potentiality of the good and the positive rather than to the negative of these days? I feel the more I return to the idealism of my younger days the more hope I have of the possibility that there are others like me out there. If I give up on that idea, if I negate that hope, crush it beneath all the horror of today's world, then I wonder what the actual reality for our future generations could be. In fact, will there be a reality? Will there even be a world? Will there be an apocalyptic world? Will the world shrink until the last man, the last woman, is alone?

We certainly have the ability to eliminate that situation. The reality which we choose, which we will emphasize, and which we will create, is all up to us. Be it in the use of our brains, be it in our chosen leaders, be it in our understanding of what is true and necessary and what is not, what is beneficial and what is not, and apply all that knowledge, all that energy in the right places in the right way - all in our hands and hearts and brains and souls.

Yesterday, though we erred much, we found our way back most of the time.

Our todays are not looking so good. Time is short. We had better get our act together lest 

all the morrows come barreling down the chute and we are  standing there with dumbfounded looks and a crippled beyond repair reality.

We must do better for all the

on the morrows.

We must.

OOPS

 No posting today, but you can read past postings that may have been blocked for some reason. Should be fine now. See you on Wednesday

TO BE OR NOT TO BE? NOT THAT SIMPLE

 There are in fact times when a simple response of yes or no can adequately answer the question and point direction to be followed. However, Hamlet's dilemma was whether he should remain in life as he was at that moment in time, conflicted as to how to remedy a rather ugly situation, what actions to take for that remediation, or to step aside. 

Most interpretations of that soliloquy deem this as    regarding a choice: suicide or not. To remain in existence or take oneself out of a miserable soul agonizing quandary, whether or not he should act upon the ugly situation regarding his now deceased father, his uncle and his mother and how to do so, even if he is completely convinced of the original causation of his dilemma. His only option being to act or take his own life. However, there is another interpretation possible.

 That is: if he does not act, if he does not behave in princely manner, then by his inaction he is, in essence, taking himself out of this life. If he cannot do as he must, as his station in life demands, if he ignores the problem, he is denying the very essence of his life, hence he might as well be dead, in essence, taking himself out of this life. A Prince who does not behave in princely manner is Prince no longer, such life forfeited by his inaction, a death in another form.   

Quite apt to our times today when we are conflicted as well. We must address our own unpleasant challenging quandaries. How are we to interpret what we see before us? What is the level, the depth and the importance of our actions/inactions? If we do not act, are we condemning ourselves to a form of death in existence as we know it, or will the very actions taken do the same if we lose our lives in so doing? 

How shall we continue? To breathe or not to breathe - is that the only question or is the challenge more than that? What the hell, in fact, is the answer to the current situation we face today? What are we supposed to do? In fact, are we supposed to do anything or are we at the point of no return, positive remediation no longer a possibility? To be or not to be as we should be, or to be as others force us to be. Where are we in fact, at this point in time? Are we alive or not? Is our democracy alive or is it in its death throes?  Are both my beloved countries in similar situation? 

Apparently so in some comparison as both nations have leaders who, with their acquiescent cabinets, attempt to rule the nation contrary to the foundational principles of those nations. Both leaders take the approach of "canceling” the opposition. Those who oppose are insulted, accused of actions inappropriate to their position, of criminality, of incompetence and anything and all in between. It has become so vicious that one can wonder realistically as to how far these very flawed leaders will take the process, for if one follows the thread, imprisonment and death of opponents is not unrealistic. Hear the words, see the faces, internalize the emotions, understand the intent meant, even if directly unstated, and well, here we are. To be or not to be, how to be - questions desperately needing addressing. Now. 

Trump and his unelected copresident Musk, along with his MuskRats are taking this nation, the United States of America, into dangerous life threatening territory. Follow along in the path they are blazing before us and see the parts and pieces of America rusting, the ditches alongside overflowing with them. See the bodies of maimed Patriots alongside, terribly wounded. Tempers are high these days and even as so many attempt to deny it, to ignore it, perhaps attempting to wish it out of existence - that existence remains front and center in our faces.

 Like it or not, admit it or not, we must accept reality and if unsatisfied, then act to change it. Immediately, if not sooner, for time is short, the danger growing, exponentially. As long as we stand here with thumbs in wrong places, we will continue to witness these greedy misplaced misthinking over ambitious power-hungry destructive false leaders dissolve the legislative and judiciary branches of our government or totally co-opt them to the point of uselessness, mere toadies. Mere stamps of approval of the most unapproved rules and regulations contrary to life as we knew it, as we wish it to be, as we must make it be, as we return it to us again.

We must marshal all the legal powers and processes we continue to have and employ them against those waging revolution against our nations, and return them and us to life, one we had 

yesterday

even as we once had it 

today

and as we must aways answer, 

to be or not to be,

 for all the

on the morrows.

 

  

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW.

  Actually, I cannot see clearly. I don't believe I can actually see 10 feet in front of me, so befogged is the whole situation. Worse, this situation is taking place in both my countries. They have both forsaken their ethos. They have forgotten the reasons and the purposes for their existence. They have cast aside their principles and have embraced twisted thinking and actions which can only lead to tragedy. My spirit born state, my native-born nation, both my homes, and both countries have lost their way. They have forgotten who they are, who we are, who we are supposed to be. The principles of our foundations are dissipating before our very eyes, all going, going, gone, or almost gone. 

The last chance to grasp it, to take hold of its tail, as its caboose speeds away, disappearing into the distance, must take place. The possibilities are hard to contemplate and yet contemplate them we must if we are to stop this roaring runaway train with no brakes, no conductor, no outside guidance. The only thing that can stop it is a strong will from deep within all of us, directed at it by all those who cherish its content, who know its value, and understand what its disappearance will mean to us and to a future never realized.  

Fortunately, it is an understanding grasped by more and more. Those who have brought it upon us are being heckled and jeered, questioned forcefully, with the citizenry demanding to know why, what, how is this now the status quo? Why have they thrust aside their responsibility, broken all their promises, thrust us headlong into an ever-worsening situation. Sniveling cowards all, they have all been cowed, given way before the dictator, all those who would rip and shred this country making it unrecognizable to all. Those charged with the duty to service the nation, keep it safe, ensure our rights, have instead, chosen to stomp and stamp upon us as they claw their way to the top, congratulate themselves on their achievements, and sneer down at the rest of us, those they have betrayed.

Israel, my nation of my heart, my spirit, my religion, so tormented and challenged, so unfairly condemned, so wrought with dissension, so betrayed by those who have promised to keep us safe. America, my home of birth. My native-born nation. The country providing homes for the dispossessed, the nation that role modeled for the world, served as a staunch champion of all that was right and the will to mend all that was awry. 

Where have you gone, both of you. I look high and low, left to right, up and down, east to west and all I see before me are mere shadows of what once was. Within those shadows I see desperate people calling out for help, trying to wrench the steering wheel of their ships of state back into their control, calling out for leaders, true leaders who make no false promises and strive to keep those they make. Leaders who understand the needs of a nation and its people and strive to be the best they can be, the most honorable they can be, the best guardians of the nation and the people entrusted unto their care.

These leaders have gone AWOL, either by their own will, so tired of the crazed opposition or not of their own will, but under duress. Either cause notwithstanding, we have been abandoned, left their positions open, their responsibilities unfulfilled. Others have glommed onto the roles, become   dictators,  authoritarian figures who care not for the people of their nation They erase with evil intent all of the safeguards of their nations, their constitutional rights, debase and denounce their declarations of independence, their raisons d'etre, deny their principles of foundation, and refuse the responsibility for any and all things that go wrong, even unto the death of their citizens.

 Does it truly make a difference whether one is called Netanyahu? Or another is called Trump? Or yet another is called Gvir and another is called Vance or Putin or Xi? Does it really make a difference? Sick extremists of both nations, the crazed extreme left and right who know not boundaries, who spew forth hate with every breath - same difference is it not?

I know there are other nations of this world who also are suffering beneath the iron fists of dictators, of selfish creatures whose only goal is to amass power and wealth. The more the better. There are no rights or wrongs for them, for the only right is to do all the wrong they can, to impose their wishes on others, to impoverish the people of their nation, to drain their hopes, to enhance their fears and cause them to look around and wonder how the hell did we get here and how the hell do we get out!

Yes, some of the worst leaders have some good points but is that enough for us to surrender ourselves to them, for us to stand by and watch as they shred our nation, as they cancel democracy beneath our eyes and feet? As they claim rights which do not belong to them, 'rights' which supersede ours? As they indeed make our lives hard, worthless, sans dreams, sans hopes, sans happiness.  

Frankly, we had better wake up, whomever our nation be. When we try to look aside, refuse to talk about it, for we fear arguments, when we refuse to look and see ahead, the very near future, maybe not even months away, its dense darkness, we then become those who have stolen our own lives.

Think about it.

Think about the yesterdays that we had where we exercised our rights, where we made errors and attempted to correct them, failed, but where we picked ourselves up and moved on, move ahead, made life better.

 Think of the todays now challenged, set aside, becoming dreary repeats, one day after the other, gray, gloomy, doomed. 

Think ahead what we are giving ourselves. 

What will the life ahead of us be, all those 

on the morrows .......

THESE TRUTHS ARE SELF EVIDENT!

 Or are they and what are these truths? What does it mean to be self-evident? What if truth means one thing to one person, another to a second, and yet more to others as they come along? How are we to mesh the different truths and is there, in fact, only one immutable truth? How would we in fact be assured of recognizing it and then be able to transmit it to the rest of the world, supporters and non-supporters alike?

  I believe these are questions that have been debated since time immemorial, or at least since we realized that talking and give and take are far better than bashing in the head of another.  Discussion. Compromise. Adjustment. Rethinking. All terms with possibilities. However, there are the times when there is another truth so self-evident that one cannot ignore it. That is the self-truth of justifiable self-defense, a defense which often requires an offense as part and participle of that defense. That truth, too, is self-evident and yet many those talking heads who are deciding the fate of not only their own nation, but the fate of the world in general are too obtuse and, unable and/or unwanting  to internalize and recognize that truth and act upon it in a logical, sane and humanitarian fashion. 

  I wonder why it is that when a man comes out of an immoral imprisonment, taken hostage, just about starved death, beaten to near death, and speaks the truth as his eyes saw, as his body and mind felt, and yet that visceral truth is vehemently denied, deemed outrageous and turned on its head to excuse all the evil perpetrated by the inflicted of that torture. How does one, many ones, get away with a blind disregard of the truth and worse, manage to convince those listening to subjugate their own inner knowledge of truth and recognition of such and buy into all the falsehoods, all the outrageous lies that are presented to them as gifts from the heavens, as truth from the heavens immutable.

 How is it so? One can ask now, and historians of the future can ask then, that same question. Then as now no satisfactory answers will be forthcoming other than perhaps the realization that humans are tragically flawed and too often those flaws overpower virtues and knowledge and application of truth. Far worse is the fact that there are those amongst the human race who will purposefully, maliciously, knowingly, build upon those flaws in order to catapult themselves to the acquisition of unfathomable wealth and positions of power wherein they hold the lives of so many, too many within the confines of their grasping hands, twisted minds and blackened souls.

Is there in fact a realistically based possibility that we, the human race, can dig ourselves out of this quicksand and bridge the gaps, build new platforms of life? Build securely and avoid gaping suddenly appearing chasms, keep away from unstable   crumbly edges of situations inimical to good and just lives, life in its better presentations? Can we dig deep enough in a lasting manner? Or is the scent of blood spilled in war too powerful, overcoming all protests and defenses against it and thus allowing, enticing, and attracting mankind to keep to the twisted paths rather than the straight ones leading on to the future, we all need, desire, and must have if we in fact are not to condemn ourselves to extinction. In fact, do not fool yourself for we are not far from the rather dubious achievement of that end goal. Tumble it around and gaze at it, on every facet and aspect. Think deep, think long and then the choice is yours. The choice is ours. Or is it that the choice is no longer any choice but already set in stone?

Personally, I bounce from one end of the spectrum to the other. I believe I am a realist verging into cynicism and find myself despairing of the future. Other times I look at my smaller, personal world, and see good people, look at the bright eyes and delicious smiles of the babies, and know, know, that we can, and we must do better. So tell me, and tell yourselves, ask yourselves - who am I, who are you, and who are we? Are we indeed the creations and embodiment of a benevolent G-d or are we the misbegotten spawn of the Devil? Is it upon us to make that decision? Are we capable of a wise choice? Do we understand that we are the ones who will draw the outlines of our fates, fill in the blank spaces, and live with the consequences? 

We must understand that all of our 

yesterdays,

all of our 

todays,

weigh heavily in the composition of all our

on the morrows.

TRULY? REALLY? ARE WE ALL BRAINDEAD??

 Seriously, are we all brain dead or close to it? Is it a lingering effect of Long Covid? Is it progressive and demoralizing or is there any cure? If so, is there time enough to put it into positive effect? Can we jam all those wishing to cancel, to negate and deny the most important battle for this country? Of most critical importance - can we muster enough people to initiate the effort to oust this criminal, this violator of all rules, regulations and laws, as he thinks himself above it all, never to be called to account for his wrongdoings? Hence, he has no brakes, no ameliorating thoughts - and how much does he think anyway? Uh, that answer would be not much, if at all. 

 Further aggravating the situation as well as those of us who pay attention to his outrageous words and deeds, is the one promise that he has kept. Which one, you ask? For sure not the one to lower the cost of eggs and raise the standard of living for his base and not quite incidentally and unannounced for his uber rich playmates now fawning all over him.   Certainly, not the promise re inflation!

Give up? It is the promise he made as to payback, revenge, on those who continue to deny his "victory" in 2020, who "persecuted" him via investigations and court appearances and even to a trial he could not suspend indefinitely nor intimidate nor find pet judges for ignorant judgment calls for his benefit, allowing him to skate once again. The man owes prison time for his conviction on 34 counts of felony. Nice guy, right!?

I detest his harmful awful most disgusting puerile custom to behave as an ignorant fool, untutored, unknowing of proper English, or rules of conversation, of the responsibility of adults to leave behind foolish childhood manners - the use of epithets, curses and   insults, foul language. His godawful smirk which someone should have knocked off his face as a child. No one did and it is now part of his litany of bullying and self-congratulations as he pulls off some awful plan. A mean, nasty old man who has remained an eternal child bully. Feh!! 

He shames us before the world with his insane   plans, usurps the rights of not only people, but also those of nations, such as Ukraine as he bonds with Putin, a nasty character and comports with a man who uses Hitlerian gestures and online comments to further his antisemitism. Is it any wonder that I do not trust this man to remain steady on course with support of Israel, for the minute he decides it no longer suits him, benefits him, then he will turn his back and go into active opposition.  Have we not all been there, seen that before with this man? Why would he change his spots?  

Of course, one cannot ignore his disastrous explorations in the economy resulting in the crashing of the stock market, grave concerns of young and old as to the security of their savings   and retirement funds, social security threatened, millions fired ruthlessly as per the crazed whims of Musk and MuskRats and smirky Trump. The safety of our nation and its inhabitants are seriously weakened even as the damage spreads to other parts of the globe and the world economy is seriously challenged, perilously so. 

Not looking good, is it? But it could, if we all wake up, smell the coffee and do the many right things which must be undertaken if we are to revive our nation, become what we were,  

yesterday -  

discard the awful 

 today - 

and work hard, using law, common sense, equality and justice to make much better hopes for all our

on the morrow.

Please note there will be no blog on Thursday as we will be in flight. I hope to resume on Friday.

HELLO, HELLO, HELLLLOOOOOO - ANYONE HOME??

  I believe the answer to that question is up in the air.  Too many remain heedless of hearing, willfully and not, to the clarion call alerting America and the world. A massive tidal wave of outrageous and dangerous behavior of supposed leaders of America is heading our way, and in fact, much has already been delivered to us. The ocean is rough. Waves high, many rogue. And the air is already ringing with the desperate and confused cries of those drowning.   How, they wonder, how can this be happening? 

We voted for Trump. We believed his promises. He was going to fix all that was wrong in this nation. He promised us that. He promised us that again and again. Yet here we are going down for the third time and no one is answering our cries for help. Where are the lifeguards? Where are promises kept? He promised! He promised yet again this entire weekend! Please - a boat, a canoe, a tube, a rope, a piece of wood - a helping hand!!! Reach out. Save us. SOSSOSSOS. sossossos. sossossos. sossossos. Silence...Dead silent.

And so it is and so it will always be unless and until we knock harder and harder on the doors now being slamming in our faces or even crash through the windows locked against us as well. The only lifeguards to arrive will be our doppelgangers, for it is only we, us, who can save ourselves. Great effort, unity and understanding - then, possibly we will be able to turn the situation around. Remind ourselves: who are we? Where are we? When did we lose our way? How do we avoid repetition of same erroneous thoughts and misguided actions? 

 In fact, is there any chance of so doing? Or is our ending already foretold? Is that ending already foretold, too late, too little time, too much wrong to correct in timely manner? Too few of us to make a dent? Any answer? Any help? Any hope?                       

 What is upon us now? To do. To save ourselves, to save this nation and while it is, in fact, very late we still can pull it off. Step one is easy, though apparently not for many, either ignorant or refusing to do so. What is it? Pick up your phone. Boot up the computer. Share your thoughts and minds with them. Pay a personal visit to the district office. Swamp them with good old fashioned snail mail. Insist that they hear you. Convey your disappointment. No, your anger and your despair and your demand of change. 

Remind them that if things do not change in Washington, and soon, then the people will step up and initiate necessary changes. Leaving behind the current administration, from the demented, self-anointed King, to his Unelected Puppetmaster and   his swarm of Muskrats and all those cowardly sniveling creatures who enable, who are cowards. Shoo them along with all the minor ranks of flying monkeys so eager to acquiesce in the hijacking of America.  

We need to take a page out of the instruction manual of Donald Trump. We must at times take the low road, as he does, for I do not believe he can raise his eyes high enough to see the high road and hence remains impervious to it. We must reject and disembody, deny, his constant infantile, maniacal mannerisms emulating the schoolyard bully even to the point of falling back in the face of returned pressure. 

Wishful thinking - perhaps we might send him back to school so that he may be able to write and read and think appropriately, to comprehend that there are laws in every aspect of life, and they must be obeyed or even contested, but in rightful and legal manner. Perhaps it might be possible to enhance  his grasp of the fact that America is a democracy, not a kingdom, not his, nor that of Musk, nor of any other person. Ever. Evidently, he failed history and civics.

Furthermore, he has violated so many of our laws, placed himself deeply beyond the pale, in fact, incorrigible in his breaking of the law and his contempt of the law and egregiously wrong role model for the nation. Even worse, perhaps worst of all is how he has enmeshed and endangered so many, twisting them till they knew not right from wrong or saw advantage for themselves within his ugly camp. Gangsters all and all must answer to the law. 

We must use the strength and the power of the law. We must celebrate those judges who remain true to justice, to the role of judiciaries We must rid the bench of those who do not, who believe and act upon a belief of fealty to Trump, rather than to the nation, rather than to the citizens of America. We must adhere to the laws of the Constitution and the spirit of the Declaration of Independence. We must remember that no one, nary a soul, no matter rank, no matter wealth, no matter what, nary a soul is above the law. Position does not excuse. Position does not free one from the chains of a rightful law. We need to remember that, to enforce it, to live it, to breathe it, to apply it and stand tall and proud in the face of history, in the face of rescuing this nation, keeping it true and steady to its proper place in history, remembering and reminding all what it is to be an American in the United States of America. 

Again, the process is there. The process is possible, is even probable if we act together, if we regain our senses, if we understand what we have enabled and understand what we have already lost. How crumbly is the ground beneath our feet. Hear the roar of the angry ocean, its rogue waves hungry, desirous of more victims, as are the powerful riptides. Remember those we have already lost.  Delve deep for courage and integrity, for loyalty to a nation and its people, rather than to one maniac possessed of and by oversized ego and rotten morals, if any. We will do it. With strict application and adherence to the Constitution of these here United States of America. We will do it by electing to office those who are brave and bold and honest enough, American enough to defy his demands. And pass new laws overriding inevitable vetoes. Apply the law. Simple. Clear. Perfect.  Insist that no one in this nation is above the law. No one is immune to consequences of breaking that law. And no one certainly is to be excused for the destruction of this nation via armed rebellion.

A rebellion using the law, with insistence that no one is above the law, remaining steady and determined - and as long as it must be for the process to take hold and we can be, once again, the America we need and want, as does the world.       Things in Washington must change immediately, if not sooner. Demand explanations of votes. Or of not voting. Each and every one of our representatives, each and every one of our senators, must grow up, toughen up, dig deep and find some remnant of courage. Of honesty. Of true service to the nation. and send them, those who cannot do so, far away from any place or position of power.   

This would be, hopefully will be, a legal revolution for it is a return home, to law and order, to truth and benefit of a nation, rather than to the few Uber wealthy. Not a rebellion at all, just a recentering of what is clearly there.

Hello, hello, any one home? Please be home.

Yesterday we were America,

Today, not so much

On the morrow ...

WHY DO THE BIRDS GO ON SINGING?

 ...Don't they know it's the end of the world... '

  Yesterday was that kind of a day. I cannot remember a time other than my very early years in school when I did not know and/or feel the chill and the burn of antisemitism. Sometimes I didn't recognize it at that moment, but did later on, sometimes in thinking back, reviewing what had taken place. Other times it was an aha! moment. No time was comfortable nor excusable.

As I grew up, I began to understand the poison and contagiousness of Anti Semitism and its ugly eternal life on this planet. It boggled my mind when words of hate and Holocaust denial were made by those who had never met a Jewish person, at least knowingly, yet claimed to know it all. With confidence they spewed forth their toxins. Most uncomfortable for me were the moments when a person not knowing I am Jewish and oh so needful to share his garbage, made critical remarks. Most of the time I simply changed my seat if that would help or made a small comment or sound to convey disagreement. Why?  I simply do not want to make a scene. Not worth it, for when one is so confident in sharing hate, they do not hear any other than that. Not worth the breath it would take and for what? Nothing.  

The poison of hatred, virulent and powerful gloms on to anything and everything. Words. Cartoons and other illustrations. Writing from letters to essays and books and all in between. These days social media, both dark and open, wallow in cesspools of hate. Their eddies spread ever wider, and satiation is found in YouTubes, podcasts and radio and tv stations, from tiny outlets to large, from hate sheets to supposedly respectable disseminators such as the New York Times to the BBC. From streamed newscasts to panels and talk shows. 

Very few seemingly have the willpower and/or the wisdom and decency to turn aside and away from hate. Evidently the ability and freedom, these days in particular, to speak what one wishes, wants, thinks, is both permissible and pleasurable. The bindings and boundaries of civil society are tossed aside gleefully. The ugly stream of voices raised loud, shouting, ranting words of hate, incitement to violence grows exponentially, ever replenishing and deepening the wells of hatred. Freedom of speech cited as permission and justification is not so, for when the claimed right of one impinges in harmful manner on the rights of others, it is no longer a right. It ceases. Dead in it tracks. Unfortunately, this truth, this tether to civility is shredded, no longer valid, no longer operational. 

So why the title, the borrowed lyrics of a decades old song?  527 days of agony, Days when the world stood by, silent, or even condoning a brutal captivity of hostages snatched from their homes, from their loved ones. and then subjected to beatings, starvation, dehydration, isolation in the dark, raping and sexual abuse of all manners, and constant threats. They refused to publicly condemn it until forced to do so, at least some of them, when out of the darkness, snatched from death, emerged some few walking, living skeletons, clear for all to see the truth- No end to the cruelty and inhumanity of Hamas, of Islamic Jihad, of the oh so not innocent civilians of Gaza. Not even when Hamas played games of life and death, dribbling out a hostage or two in return for hundreds of animals in human clothing, murderers eager to slaughter more Jew again, ever again.    

Despite the very visible truth of dead bodies strewn all over the South of Israel, of the burned and bloody cars, of the bomb shelters piled with bodies blown up by grenades, pierced by bullets, documented by pictures and videos. taken by the beasts themselves, so proud, so blood crazed, calling out to their god to praise them, to approve of their deeds. But no true God can do that.

Despite the proof displayed for the world to see, despite the naked bodies of women, shredded by gang rapes, despite the burned babies and bodies burned alive. the beheaded babies. the siblings wired together and slaughtered, the strangled babies and children, tattooed and molested, and worse, if one can even define worse. Despite what the Israeli army displayed for the world to see - despite all that and more, - The world refused to concede the truth. and in fact, turned the truth on its head. and blamed the violated the invaded rather than the violators, the invaders, the owners of this horror.  

Time, and time again, Hamas cried wolf, and the world cried along with them. A constant famine to be-never. was. The only starving people in Gaza, the only people with sunken eyes and skeletal form were the captives. The hostages. No others.   present None were seen. Only seen were the wellfed terrorists and repeated pictures of the same well fleshed children holding out the same pots at the constantly replayed food scenes. And the world bought it all. Hooks, lines, sinkers, lies and all. 

Never Again we have been told. Never again the world said, the world promised. Never again. And yet never again took place again. Our children slaughtered. Elders abused and killed. Our women raped, torn apart, burned. Our men slaughtered where they stood or taken hostage. Our young adults killed and hunted as prey as they ran from those who would kill them, who chased them from a music festival.  Never again - in full bloodied technicolor. No sorrow after our people were   sought after, hunted down, to be slain by the thousands. 

Ever eager to be more hurtful to the state of Israel, to Jews in general, the deaths within Gaza were laid at the feet of Israel. The invaders were deemed innocent, and the invaded deemed guilty. Actually, if truth were in play, it would be acknowledged that Israel did not wish to enter Gaza. She did not wish to see people dead. Israel did not use her own as pawns and human shields. She was not the one who used schools and hospitals and centers as terrorist headquarters or who dug tunnels which exited and entered into and from homes and yards. Israel neither began nor wished for the war. However,  once forced upon her, she had to fight it and defeat Hamas. so as to prevent any future such brutality and horror. The instigator of such aberrational behavior forfeited any right to complain in its defeat. Think twice and then again before beginning a war with Israel.  

 Never again will be enforced by us, whether the world likes it or not, whether the world approves of it or not.  

Back to the beginning. Why the song? Why the borrowed lyrics? Why the question as to why the bird sings? And is it indeed the end of the world? It is the end of the world as we know it. Lines have been crossed and cannot be recrossed. Truths have been bared and must be made clear. It must be internalized by all Jews all around the world, for Jews and Israel are synonymous. Our haters have insisted on making it so, deny it or not, as they wish to at the present time. The truth is there. It only remains for people to remove the curtains from their eyes, to expel the planks. and see and know the truth.

To know the truth, there are two excellent films available. One available online is entitled the Killer Roads. It presents October 7 as it truly is and was, through actual footage, actual sounds, actual horror. It is hard, but necessary. We and the world must know the truth. Your heart will ache and your tears will flow as a river, down your cheeks.    

The other film is in the movie theaters at present, entitled October 8th. It addresses the amazing ugly mushrooming of hate, of vicious antisemitism around the world, a horrible unspeakable intolerable growth industry. It exposes the eternal nature of Anti Semitism.  Ever at the ready, always ever waiting, lurking, eager to shed its chains and reinfect the world. To do its worst. And so it has. And so it seems to be continuing. And for those who prefer to be blind to this, understand that the Jewish people and Israel are synonymous. Antisemitism and Jew hatred cannot be hidden beneath the guise of anti Zionism. And as a matter of fact, why anti Zionism? Why is Israel denied, the only state to be denied, the right to exist? 

Why is it indeed the end of the world and why the hell are birds still singing in this world of horror?     Antisemitism, vicious JewHatred are unfortunately alive and well. My ancestors faced it, as did my  great grandparents and grandparents. as did my parents as did people of my generation. Worse is the fact that it'll probably persist throughout the lives and times of my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and most probably into the future beyond that unless and until humanity undergoes a complete and thorough cleansing of its soul.

 Also to understand, to know, is that hate has no boundaries, no ends and its hunger persists forever and will consume all before it.   

 It is for us to decide whether the end will near unto us. As for the birds, they know, they see, but they have hope. Thus, they sing. Maybe we should learn to sing as well, 

 So it was  yesterday.

 So it remains today.

On the morrow? 

COLLAGES, AND MONTAGES, AND ...OH, BOY!

"Collage - art made by sticking various different materials on a backing 

Montage - the process or technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of film to form a continuous whole. "

 Are we at present the one or the other? Or are we a mix? Are we, today, this nation, this world, a work of Art complete? Or are we a montage in the process of selecting and applying? In fact, are we a rather frightening disharmonious synthesis of the two with gaping blank spaces where before were pieces creating a good story, a tale of courage, progress and improvement, and people eager and willing and honest and able to keep an ongoing momentum for all of humanity as we all bask in the gifts of the Earth and guard them well.  

Our collages and montages of yesterday were not always positive. However, we recognized that it was upon us to make it better, to reach out and strive for improvement, for betterment for all, with acknowledgement that we all share this small orb in space and must take care of it and its inhabitants.    Unfortunately, today, imitating the errors of the past and ignoring the ones we need, we have lost our sense of true beauty, of the glory of cooperation and unity, and turned the collages and montages into ugly art, atonal harsh music, heartbreaking and defeated, bleak. and devoid of hope.  

Today our montage process has gone way off the track. We are missing key pieces necessary for a harmonious inspiring collage. We have fallen so far back, so deep into negativity that so many despair of ever reversing direction and finding our way back to where we should be, to step forward with brave steps. What is truly glaringly obvious in its absence is a quality and quantity of leadership, of ones who willingly unselfishly take upon themselves the heavy yoke of respect, ability, and demands never ending, that all and more come with true leadership. 

Today, with an exception difficult to find, there is a severe dearth of such.  Our leaders are selfish, dishonest, corrupt, incompetent, uncaring, and unable to see what they have created. They have surrounded themselves with an army of fearful cowards out for themselves. Obedient to the autocrat at the head of the nation. They conspire with him, are complicit with him, in the destruction that ensues. With hands always grasping for wealth and power, with the perverted character traits of a bully, this evil crows., grows and has turned this world on its head, substituting a twisted world order which is totally opposed to any positive thoughts, for rights for all, for the betterment of humanity. These malignant malevolent cowards force the rest of the world to walk on rocky and unsteady paths always on the edge, on the brinks of crumbling cliffs.

Our leaders of the past were certainly not perfect for no human is. However, there was within the good ones a quality a character that inspired others. to be better. to be unselfish. to benefit others as well as themselves. They knew instinctively what to say to a nation in either warning or encouragement. For the most part, they did not brush their sins from their shoulders, or step over and on, uncaring, unnoticing, those in need. Their knees stepped high, powerful, eager, encouraging, and the people followed. Encouraged were a sense of morality and purpose, and a responsibility to give back, to share the bounty they received, to pay it forward. They were inspiring to the world especially to the younger generation and revived hopes and dreams in those already disillusioned.  

Many of their words remain, still echo in the air of our nation and we must fight hard to recall them clearly, to speak of them with vigor. To enable the return of a better world, a more hopeful, promising world. We must fight hard to rescue our nation from the evil and greed. which are now rampant within our nation and the world at large. We must take back our country, refuse to cede it to the wrong people. We must recognize where we went wrong and reverse it - forcefully, legally, with determination, and a no. we will not quit attitude.  

Read the words, the pieces of the collage and montage below, some from the past, some from today, some warnings for the future, or of what should be or might be or will be or must not be. Determine for yourself in which collage do you wish to be included? Which montage is the one to join?      

Yesterday: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of Liberty”

" So, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

Today's version: "Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill, that today's America will pay no price, bear no burden, incur no hardship, and it will abandon any friends and cuddle up to any foes in order to assure the Trump Administration's political survival, even if it means the abandonment of Liberty wherever that be profitable or convenient for us." 

So, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, but for what you can do for President Trump. And my fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, ask how much you are ready to pay for America to defend your freedom from Russia or China.”

"A small man in a big time." A succinct definition of Trump,

A few words of meaning and warning from a great man of the past, for the present and for the future. His words and his greatness should always be front and center in front of our eyes, ears and minds. He knew and gave us warning that the only true enemy we have is ourselves. Read his words carefully and understand its portent for us, what it bodes for America, the nation he fought so hard to keep.

“At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected. I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide."

We are the bosses of our fate, of our future, of the future of America. When we lose sight of what America is, its greatness and promise, we are signing off on its death warrant. 

We need to stand tall, straight, and proud, determined to save our heritage and improve on it. We need to turn aside from fake leaders possessed of a great hubris so harmful for all.

Time to consign Trump, Musk, all MuskRats, all Congressional cowards and bigots to the trash heap of history. ASAP.  STAT. The life of a nation is at stake and that of the world to follow.  

Way past time.

Time to decide and act.

Who were we yesterday?

Who are we today? 

Who do we wish to be 

On the morrow?

  

  

THANK YOU, YOGI!

  Oh, for sure, thank you, for in his malapropisms Yogi often hit upon the truth. So here we are in a situation so adequately described as 'deja vu, all over again”.

 October 7, 2023. Closing in on 600 days of outright warfare and abominations of brutality towards hostages, up to and including murder. And in its shame, in a useless and blatant attempt to divert truth, again, as always, the world, in the   format of that useless, no, dangerous organization, the UN and its wells of hate and bias, with its infinite stupidity, reverted to an old as time accusation against the Jewish people. 

Blood libel. 

Once again, the ugly head was raised from the depths of Hell where it resided, wallowing in the blood of the victims of hate, always sending waves of encouragement up to the haters and the butchers of humanity who continue to exist on the face of the earth above. It is and apparently will always be a recurrent theme and favored behaviorism of humanity, a pandemic never to be conquered, never to be discarded, as it gives pleasure to the damned, too much for them to abandon.

Apparently, Israelis, for daring to survive a massacre redolent of the reek of hate and concentration camps, for prevailing once again over their diabolical enemies, suddenly became the invaders, the instigators. The beasts of Hamas, along with the hordes of not so "innocent civilians" of Gaza, assumed their false coats of lambs' wool and became the victims. They became the "nice guys" as an envoy to the talks referred to them. Well, G-d spare us all from nice guys such as these! Not so nice, are they?

We had to address the accusations of yet another episode of deadly deja vu. Let's see who deliberately set out to kill babies, to use their blood to smear on themselves as one does after a first hunt for a deer. Who took babies and wired them to parents, to siblings and burned them alive? All the while laughing at such a clever idea. Who took babies and threw them in ovens?  Still a chill beyond chills runs down my spine at that. Who tore babies from their mother's womb? Who kidnapped babies and then strangled them brutally? How? How has that happened?  

The Massacre was not an imagined event. It was a real bloody thing with consequences on going. And hostages kidnapped still remaining in the most horrendous conditions. Oh, the UN? SSSHHH is what we hear from them. The truth? Oh, that truth. It will continue to cry out to be heard and recognized, calling out from blood-soaked lands where the eternal spilling of Jewish blood remains in place, alive and well, unfortunately. Yet another chapter of history. 

 Try as they might, wish as they might, members of the UN, that accursed organization either useless and/or dangerous, could not deny the facts on the ground. They had to address the issue. The result - Yeah. Another incident of deja vu. Yet again, always again, they reverted to the time-tested     accusation of blood libel. To the technique of reversing the accusations, to stand truth on its head, and then go further and build upon that false foundation. It is always time for such malfeasance, to flip the truth on its head, and then go ahead and condemn the ones who are not to blame. 

To wit:

Yes, women and children were victims in Israel's defensive war against Hamas. Israel did its best to move them out of harm's way, but there is only so much one can do in the situation of a war fought against a foe who used as a heartless strategy the deaths of supposed civilians all to raise the ire factor of the world yet again, directed with deadly arrows of hate and accusation against the Israelis. But who placed those women and children in that position? Who used children as shields and runners? Who used homes, hospitals, schools as headquarters? It was not Israel.

 Israel did not rip the air with explosive drones and flying beasts. Motorcycles and trucks and cars filled with blood crazed animals intent only on slaughter.  Accompanied by literally thousands of not so innocent civilians of Gaza, crazed with bloodlust and planning to have theri own fun, loot their own places of invasion, and kill and boast about it, and of course, take home a captive or three. Man. Woman. Child. Infant. Elderly. It mattered not. These ghouls even took the dead - to mutilate and ... 

 Nor was it Israeli soldiers who raped women so many times that their pelvises were broken. It was not Israel who took female prisoners and later showed them in captivity with bloody crotch areas.   Nor was it Israeli soldiers who beat themselves up or their comrades. You see, apparently any remark, no matter how ridiculous, no matter how inane or insane, is accepted as long as it manages to transfer guilt to the Jews. In this case, in the personification of Israelis. Nor did Israel "stop the reproductive abilities of Palestinians". What the **** are they talking about? And yet these clearly outrageous accusations are then touted and bellowed throughout the world. Courtesy of the UN and all resident haters.

So yes, deja vu all over again. Thankfully, it is deja vu all over again. Today is Purim, the day when Jews of Persia were able to stand up against and defeat those intent on their extermination. Yes, it took place before concentration camps. And it is continuing after concentration camps. But deja vu all over again. We won in Persia. We defeated the murderers of the pogroms, be it in Europe or Arab lands. We defeated Hitler, as we will continue to do as needed, unless and until the world comes to its senses and acknowledges truth. Even as the villains of Purim were defeated and hanged, so too will be the end of all enemies of Israel and the Jewish nation.      

It is time, way past time for the world to acknowledge the truth of the protests and riots calling for the death of America along with the death of Israel. Those who claim to be Jews standing online, claiming to speak for Jews - No, they do not. Whether they are blood Jews or assumed Jews for the purpose of the protests, these are not Jews, are rather ignorant and or fake Jews. Ready to sell their souls. Ready to consign their own to death if it means they live another day. It seems that the Jewish people are plagued with a number of traitors and liars, as are every other nation of the world. They do not speak for or to the collective minds of Jewish people round the world. Never did and never will. The fact of life is that mankind has always been subjected to the harm engendered by those who think only of their own twisted blackened worthless souls.  

Yes, deja vu all over again and even as we celebrate our victory of yore we are sharing in the victories of the future, those to come, those that are already here.  For we know until the world awakens and recognizes truths, abandons hatred so harmful to all, hater and hated alike, deja vu will prevail.

We, the Jewish people, are confident in our survival no matter the enemy, no matter the number or the strength of that enemy. We know that, because we “lift up our eyes onto the hills from whence my help will come. That help will come from the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the Earth", long a prayer and acknowledgement, verses of hope for Jews throughout difficult millennia, to enable the knowing, the feeling, deep within, to say Am Yisrael Chai. Lanetzach. The nation of Israel lives. Forever. 

At times the wait is long, so long, and terrible events overwhelm us, but always we know that there will be help and salvation sent our way. We know, whether we admit it or not, that He is our Lord, and we are His servants. We know that we are His children, and He is our Father, and parents never forsake their children, even if the anger or disappointments are large and justified. We KNOW the truth and have seen it many times throughout the millennia. 

Now we are told we need to be "liberated". What the hell does that mean? We are liberated. We have returned to our ancient G-d given homeland have paid for it through the millennia, from the coins of Abraham to the blood of our soldiers and civilians. We are home. For the persecuted and oppressed Jews of the world. We are the refuge and have rescued them and brought them home. We have welcomed them. just as we have welcomed the Jews of the West who also knock on our doors, always open and awaiting their return. 

We are Jews. We are a nation from time immemorial, outliving our enemies. We are Jews. A people who have contributed much to the world in every field of endeavor. We have shared our knowledge with all. We are Jews 

Deja vu at its best.

True yesterday -

True today -

Equally true for all'

the morrows to come.