Ask about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Posted on September 23, 2010 by 40andover

Yesterday I arrived in Orlando for meetings. My driver was a burly man named Johnny. I asked him if he were a native Floridian and he said he and his wife had moved here a few years ago after he retired from the military.

So, I asked him what he thought of repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” (now, back to a theoretical issue). I had to ask. I know, it is like picking a scab but I couldn’t hold back.

He said that he is a Christian and that homosexuals were deviants and introducing sexuality on the battlefield was wrong. I mentioned that homosexuals already serve in secret and many with distinctions for valor. He said that it was as wrong as having women on the battlefield because, in both cases, you’d feel the need to take care of them and as a result you were putting yourself in even further danger. I wondered whether this man had ever been on the front lines.

He couldn’t get past his views that homosexuality was an offense before G-d and that gay men were somehow less than men.

When we got to our destination and he handed me my bag, I said “Johnny, I appreciate your honesty. I am gay and I don’t agree with you. Thank you for your service to our country.” He was a little shocked but he shook my hand.

I hope he remembers me.

What is France thinking?

Posted on September 14, 2010 by 40andover

Never known for its warm and welcoming manner, France has outdone itself.

First, it has deported Gypsies, an act condemned by the European Union. But no sanctions were levied.

Now the legislature has banned burqas — the Muslim full-on veil. Maybe people — me included — think that it is a little imprisoning to be totally covered at all times. But the government of a politically democratic (and culturally snobby) country outlawing an outward sign of piety? What if France wanted to outlaw the kipah (the beanie worn by religious Jewish men and cardinals and popes) or the sheitl (wig worn by religious Jewish women), would there be an outcry?? I think the answer is clearly yes.

Deportations . . . singling out customs of a religious minority . . . hmmm. . . . Is it Germany 1933? Sad, but true, it is France 2010.

And don’t think this is an aberration. Belgium and Spain are considering a burqa ban, too.

Lest we forget . . .

First, they came for the Jews. But I was not a Jew, so I did not speak up.
Then they came for the communists. But I was not a communist, so I did not speak up.
Then they came for the trade unionists. But I was not a trade unionist, so I did not speak up.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.

(Attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984))

Burning the Quran is bad for all of us

Posted on September 7, 2010 by 40andover

General Petraeus commented that burning the Quran is dangerous for US troops. (See below.)

It is dangerous for all of us.

The Nazis burned books. The Communists burned books. The McCarthy-ites burned books.

Is this really what America stands for?

And just a little side note: and these Quran burners call themselve the DOVE WORLD OUTREACH CENTER? Really? Really?

P.S.: ONLY C-SPAN and CNN carried live the interfaith press conference denouncing the burning of the Quran. Fox News Channel had no coverage and MSNBC did not carry live coverage. WHAT DOES THAT SAY???

****************************************************************************************************
By KIMBERLY DOZIER, Associated Press Writer Kimberly Dozier, Associated Press Writer Sept. 7, 2010

[Truncated; excerpt only]

KABUL, Afghanistan – The top U.S. and NATO commander warned Tuesday an American church’s threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book could endanger U.S. troops in the country and Americans worldwide.

Meanwhile, NATO reported the death of an American service member in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The comments from Gen. David Petraeus followed a protest Monday by hundreds of Afghans over the plans by Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center — a small, evangelical Christian church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy — to burn copies of the Quran on church grounds to mark the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States that provoked the Afghan war.

Square Peg; Oval Office

Posted on August 31, 2010 by 40andover

I listened to President’s Obama’s speech. I did not listen to the pundits. But let me make some educated guesses:

If you are a GOP candidate or in the GOP leadership, you thought (i) he was short on specifics for economic recovery, (ii) he should have come out in favor of tax cuts, and (iii) he failed to vindicate the success of the surge in Iraq for enabling him to fulfill a campaign promise of ending the combat mission in 18 months.

If you are Keith Olbermann (and sometimes Frank Rich), you wonder why he didn’t renounce war all together, and how he could possibly mention George W. Bush and patriotism in the same sentence.

If you are Maureen Dowd, you wonder what happened to his passion and why, even though we elected Mr. Spock, he didn’t somehow morph into Dr. Spock.

If you are Chris Matthews, you are joking about how his eyes fluttered from time to time because you really can’t cope with your rock star hero’s having to represent the establishment he ran against.

I will go out on a limb here and have an opinion: I liked his speech. I thought he spoke movingly of the sacrifices of our troops. He heard our fears about our economy and tried to be reassuring — as reassuring as one can be in the twenty minutes of prime time allotted. He danced around the backlash against Muslims and building of mosques and community centers. That was disappointing, but “politic”.

So, if you are the opposition, you hated it. If you are among the democrats who wanted public health care and war crimes tribunals for Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld (I don’t disagree) you are frustrated to the point of distraction. If you just want the President to do his job and you appreciate even a little what an impossible job it is, you thought he did fine and just want him to keep trying.

So, how did I do? If I hit 75% accuracy, I will have saved two hours of my life by not watching talking heads or reading pout-y Op-Eds. How liberating.

The Apple Fell Not Far From the Tree

Posted on August 13, 2010 by 40andover

I think about my mother, z”l [may her memory be for a blessing] every day. I always draw strength from those thoughts, although they are sometimes tinged with humor or sadness, but always with gratitude for her life among us.

I reminisced about her with colleagues. It wasn’t maudlin; it was apropos of the conversation and we laughed at her antics.

My mother was the epitome of discretion and a vault when it came to secrets. However, if you asked her a question or her opinion, be ready for her whole truth and nothing but her whole truth. Mom never thought she cornered the market on “Truth”, but she did believe everyone was entitled to hear her version of the truth.

A number of weeks ago, during a conversation with my sister, I stopped mid-sentence and said, “you’re thinking what life will be like when I lose my already limited ability to censor my thoughts, right?” She nodded heavily, somewhat overwhelmed by what the future held in store for us. My sister is the epitome of discretion and the vault for secrets. While I dabble in discretion (and must be a vault as a lawyer), she inherited the qualities that allowed Mom to opine with impunity. I just opine with impunity. Look, Mom’s genes were allocated to three children. Together we make a clone of Mom. Separately, we struggle a little. So, let’s accept that stuff that comes out of my mouth sometimes must be followed by a whisper (from a sympathetic witness), “she means well.”

It is hard to generalize about Mom’s more emphatic ways, so here are some specifics. When Mom was well into her 60s, she joined an abortion rights picket of then Cardinal O’Connor (now deceased). My mother started the chant, “keep your rosaries out of my ovaries!!” Ok, it isn’t always easy to have a Mom who says things like that, but it certainly awesome. Or, the time, she got up from her seat on the bus and move over to a young man who seemed foreign-born. She put her hand on his forearm and said, “You’re such a good-looking man. Why must you pick your nose in public?” It turned out the guy ran the newspaper stand near where my parents lived and, whenever Mom passed, he would run out with a free magazine. Mom always declined, with “You have rent to pay!! Stop it!!”

My mother always believed that you opened your home to those in need or without family. Needless to say, since Mom’s death, I have discovered that some of my “cousins” are related only by love and not by blood. Mom taught us that love makes a family — nothing more, nothing less.

Mom believed that each person should leave the world a little better for that person’s having lived on earth. She helped found New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, an organization that thrives today. She helped plan the silent marches on Albany, NY, and Washington, DC, because people needed to visualize the empty shoes representing all who died from gun violence on the streets of America. She loved America and only wanted it to be an ever-shining beacon of hope.

So, in the end, I only got her directness and inhibition about saying her truth. My sister has her discretion. My brother has some of her activism (ok, before he moved to the Republic of Texas and had a family but at least he is a Democrat). My sister was right to shake her head, wearily.

SOB (sister of blogger), it is just going downhill from here. Be afraid.

The Audacity of Stupidity and the Audacity of Hypocrisy

Posted on August 12, 2010 by 40andover

I am constantly amazed that politicians will say anything to anyone without regard to facts and the interests of our country.

Here is one audaciously stupid thing:

Jon Stewart’s satire is spot-on about the anti-Islam fervor in this country spewed by those — like the Governor of Tennessee — who have the nerve to say in the same paragraph that freedom of religion is a cornerstone of our nation’s laws. According to the Governor, unencumbered as he is by facts or knowledge, Islam is a culture. [Note to self: wonder about the education systems in our country.]

Stop. Think. Vomit.

Now let’s move on to the audaciously hypocritical. I have TWO things that rile me.

Gingrich:

Jon Stewart is also spot-on about the outrageous things politicians will say just to sully an opponent’s record. For example, Jon Stewart highlighted Newt Gringrich’s decrying Obama-Reid-Pelosi socialism in the same sentence that he touts zero capital gains tax in Communist China.

Remember, Newt Gingrich famously shut down the ENTIRE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT because — his own words — he didn’t like that he was put in the back of Air Force One when a delegation of US leaders went to the funeral of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Rabin.

Remember, too, that Newt Gingrich famously carried on an affair with a staffer while pushing the impeachment of then-President Clinton over lying about extra-marital sex.

Stop. Think. Worry that people will believe him.

Bush Tax Cuts:

I think any responsible economist (and even those in the Bush Administration) would agree that tax cuts “don’t pay for themselves” and that tax cuts should only be effectuated in connection with reduced federal spending. The Bush tax cuts were in fact followed by outrageous over-spending. This is something that should have shocked the fiscal conservatives such as Sens. McCain, McConnell and DeMint, and Reps. Boehner and others, but apparently, not so much. They voted on those spending bills. Now we are supposed to trust them that they should be in charge?

Letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans lapse could reduce the deficit by $300 billion. Do the wealthiest Americans really need help in this economic climate? As one of least wealthy of the wealthiest Americans, going back to the Clinton Era tax structure will not make a material difference in my family’s life. I imagine that those wealthier than I are not counting on the tax cut either to make ends meet or go on vacation or send their kids to school or whatever.

But, listen to the GOP leaders — they want to keep those cuts. They are trying to fashion it as a tax “increase” for political gain. Another step toward socialism, they suggest.

BUT IT COULD REDUCE THE CRIPPLING DEFICIT BY ONE THIRD OF A TRILLION DOLLARS.

Stop. Think. Worry even more that people will believe these clowns.

Are you wondering where the audacity of stupidity and the audacity of hypocrisy meet, join forces and become a near-nuclear threat? Drum roll . . .

Sarah Palin

From Ben to Bust in 234 years

Posted on August 10, 2010 by 40andover

Benjamin Franklin, a rock star of his generation, said, when signing the Declaration of Independence, “United we stand, divided we fall.” Our founding fathers and the colonies, united, defeated a great and mighty empire.

Throughout our brief yet notable history, the cities of our nation were known for the dog-eat-dog way that fellow citizens treated their neighbors, eschewing the cornerstone of religious faith, all the while claiming to be part of the most upright of Christian nations. But, outside the cities (or so I would like to think), neighbors helped each other and generations of families lived together, all working to keep everyone afloat. Maybe it is the romantic myth of the heartland. But, I am buying it, lock, stock and barrel.

Today, we live in a society where people are more worried about their morning lattes than they are about ending our two wars, reducing our crushing debt and the stopping all politicking, all of which threaten to bankrupt out nation.

There is no silver bullet cure for our woes.

I heard today that people say that the Congress should not have saved the 300,000 teacher and firefighter jobs because their unions are too strong and teachers earn too much for doing too little. Ok, so, make the unions feel some pain, but does that justify keeping the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? The illogic is frightening and delusional.

So the great experiment started in 1776 is rounding the drain because of greed and me-first-middle-and-last mind think.

Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I will forgo my Bush tax cut that I never wanted and didn’t need to pay for health care and to start reducing the deficit.

How about this: we make giving up the tax cuts voluntary. Just like the optional $1.00 gift to Wildlife Preservation (or is it public campaign finance?) on our tax forms. Just put a line item on the 2010 tax return that says, “This is how much more you would pay if the Bush tax cuts lapsed. Do you want to pay this amount (a) to reduce the deficit, (b) to pay for health care for the uninsured or (c) 50% to each?” and publish the list of people who contribute to these funds.

Maybe neighbors will embarrass neighbors into paying the money (because if you’re not on the list, either you’re selfish or you don’t make enough) or we have a pledge drive and use positive peer pressure.

Either way, Mr. President, I am with you for letting lapse the tax cut I never wanted and our nation couldn’t afford.

Nobody asks me

Posted on July 16, 2010 by 40andover

I don’t know how the pollsters pick the representative sample of Americans, voters, Mets fans, whatever, to poll on a particular issue. No one asks me. My demographic is highly educated, reliable voter.

I think President Obama is the leader we need. He is the one pushing us to take the bad-tasting medicine that will make us healthier, making the financial industry face consequences of its ruinous reign and trying to end two wars with dignity. (Contrary to Michael Steele, Afghanistan was not a war of President Obama’s choosing; it was a war started by President Bush even before he chose to go to war with Iraq.)

Everyone wants our problems to be fixed, just like in the movies, and preferably within two hours and with limited commercial interruption.

President Obama took over a country on the verge of collapse and the problems just keep coming. He handles them in an understated, calm manner and people think that is a sign of weakness. But then again, “we” thought that GWB’s strutting around and baling hay were signs of strength even as we knew our nation was going to hell (think Nero playing his fiddle while Rome burned).

I believe in President Obama and in his leadership.

Never has been so much asked of one man and so little been done to support him.

Mr. President, you have my vote in 2012.

What to celebrate on this Fourth of July

Posted on July 4, 2010 by 40andover

Fourth of July is a cool holiday because we celebrate ourselves.

I feel guilty about having a barbeque on Memorial Day weekend, because we rarely remember those who have given their lives for our freedom.

On Thanksgiving, we are supposed to be grateful for turkey even though I don’t know anyone who really likes that foul fowl.

And I always think we should work on Labor Day.

Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc., always about someone else.

Our birthdays are all about us but no one can ever take the day off (except union workers) without guilt.

The Fourth of July is a big ego fest. It is about us — you and me.

So, indulge!

(Did I lose track of the meaning of this day off somewhere? Hmmm. I need to rad a little history, I guess. Hmm. TOMORROW.)

G-d bless Michael Steele

Posted on June 16, 2010 by 40andover

You gotta love that Michael Steele:

************************************************************************************

EXCERPT FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS:

Tues, June 15

“WASHINGTON – Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele is accusing President Barack Obama of exploiting for his own political gain the crisis created by the Gulf oil spill.

Responding to Obama’s Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday night, Steele said in a statement that the president’s actions demonstrate his inability to lead the nation out of a disaster and show an “appallingly arrogant political calculus.” “