Generals Petraeus and Allen are the latest folks to be besmirched by a sex scandal.
I used to be quite opinionated on the topic of sex scandals. I used to think that anyone in a position of power and authority should be smart enough to rein in their libido and forgo all hints of impropriety. In other words, if you are a philanderer you are just too dumb to be a leader.
But with so many of these otherwise decent folks brought down by their dalliances, I have opened my mind to a more forgiving attitude. Let's face it, an extra-martial affair or finding out some guy is gay happens all the time to lots of ordinary folks. Should we expect more from our elected officials?
So I propose a new view on the subject, at least for myself. From now on I will try and judge a person by their public accomplishments and try, as much as possible, to segregate their bedroom antics from my evaluation of their worth as human beings.
Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, Anthony Weiner, Elliot Spitzer, Wilbur Mills, Larry Craig, JFK, Mark Foley, David Petraeus and John Allen - I give you all conditional reprieves.
John Edwards - you slimeball dirtbag - Never!!
;-)
It's been a week since the election. Four days later Florida finally figured out who we voted for (but several local elections are still being tallied). Contrary to all the pre-election polls, Florida went to Obama. The surprising (at least to me) election results have caused me to re-think some things.
First of all, I have vowed to eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) my viewing of Fox News. They were totally off with their projections and are way over the top with their fear mongering and some of their nutty pundits. I can't watch MSNBC either because their pundits are equally off-the-wall. That leaves CNN, the only cable news network that, in my mind, is reasonably "fair and balanced".
Second, I realize that the country is truly changing from the one I've known from previous decades. The ethnic make-up of the country is changing fast and forever and those folks may have different perspectives and life experiences from mine. The things I think are most important are not necessarily what most of the country thinks are important. Government truly is getting bigger and any "bad stuff" that happens seems to be the responsibility of the government to do something about.
Third, I have made a personal pledge to myself to fully support the current administration and send only positive thoughts for its success. Of course, all bets are off if they fail to fully support Israel!
:-)
Facebook friend Samantha (Victoria's brother's girlfriend) seems to be posting "30 Days of Gratitude".
I knew there had to be more behind this so I googled it and sure enough, it's a whole program.
Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for my wonderful life and in awe of all the good things in it. I am sure I can easily rattle off 30 things I am grateful for without stopping for air. But I will take this "challenge" seriously and so, with a full heart, here they are:
1. my hubby
2. very special answered prayers
3. our good health
4. that I was born a Jew, the essence of who I am.
5. my godchildren and their families
6. my small but wonderful family of cousins and friends
7. that we live in the USA and this tropical paradise called Florida
8. financial security after a lifetime of work
9. retiree health benefits
10. Social Security (in a few years)
11. my beautiful home, filled with things I love
12. my weight, which I believe is optimal
13. Facebook and FB friends I've never met
14. my blog
15. the Internet, my iPhone and other techie goodies
16. favorite TV shows like Dexter and Homeland
17. memories of lost loved ones, my parents and Sheryl especially
18. Temple Solel
19. Popeyes Fried Chicken
20, Thrift Shops
21. the Broward County Library
22. my car
23. Dolly, my sweet puppy
24. Hollywood Oaks, my beautiful, well protected community
25. my closet of pretty clothes and shoes
26. a career I can be proud to look back on
27. our trip to Israel last year, the vacation of a lifetime
28. my face, which is holding up pretty well
29. make-up! and hair products too
30. a future that looks bright
See, that didn't take long at all! More like a 30 minute challenge...
;-)
One of the reasons I still have the newspaper delivered is for the Sunday Ads.
The folks at the Sun-Sentinel got the message a few months ago that their subscribers would be better served by getting the ads on Saturday rather than Sunday so that they could plan their weekend shopping excursions. A good idea.
I love perusing the pile of ads even though I rarely see anything I need. Occasionally there will be a lost leader of such magnitude that it demands a special trip to scoop up said bargain.
From now until after Christmas, there will be an even heftier load of ads in the Saturday paper. I will wish I actually needed or wanted some of the stuff so I could take advantage of the great prices. For sure I don't need Christmas trees or ornaments or wrapping paper.
To tell you the truth, I make a point of shopping for nothing (but food) for the last six weeks of the year. The mall and the big box stores cannot possibly entice me to try to find parking and battle those crowds.
But when the dust has died down and the stores have been ransacked and Santa has come and gone, I'll venture out again to grab those even better after-Christmas sales!
;-)
I am looking forward to seeing Skyfall, James Bond flick #24, tonight at the IMAX theater in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Actually, truth be told, I could not care less about Skyfall. But I am anxiously looking forward to schmoozing with friends Terri and Fred after not seeing them for several months. They are in a strange but fascinating business that puts them out of town for long stretches of time.
007 is an icon, a cultural phenomena that has always run parallel to my life. I have seen them all (and remember none of them very well).
I guess that could describe a lot of the events in my life, hahaha.
I was wondering if the folks that surprisingly lost this week's election had made any "Plan B's". It must be very tough when you have put all your efforts and commitment to a single goal and then have to regroup and find a new direction. How do you replace your life's passion? Or the power and attention you may have once received?
Broward County's Sheriff Al Lamberti spent 35 years at the Broward Sheriff's Office, working his way up. He lost his job on Tuesday night. What will he do now? Is it harder for someone to regroup if they were very high up the totem pole?
And what if you went from society darling to despised pariah like Mrs. Madoff did late in life? And how do you re-invent yourself if you are just a small fish that got a layoff notice from your "secure" factory job of 20+ years?
I have always tried to imagine "what if" and at least think about what my Plan B would look like. I fool myself into thinking this will prepare me in some way if my life ever requires a course correction...
I know it won't, not really.
;-)
President Obama won re-election last night. I'm thrilled this election season is over and I'm also happy the decision was decisive and will not drag on like it did in 2000.
I did not vote for him but, just like in 2008, I wish him well. I will be supportive of his efforts to address the great challenges this country faces.
As I think about the other results of this election, I am pleased. Nutcases who made horrible comments about rape and the children born of rape were defeated. Marijuana for everyone was legalized in Colorado and for medicinal purposes in Montana. Gay marriage was expanded into several states. My City Commissioner, Dick Blattner, and the Mayor of my City, Peter Bober, were re-elected (both are members of my Temple). I am also pleased that the Supreme Court Justices that will need to be selected in the next four years will be likely to uphold Roe vs Wade and a woman's right to choose.
Every day is one step forward and one step back. We accept the things we cannot change and work to change the things we can. As President Obama has been touting in his campaign, I am ready to go "Forward"!
:-)
Godson Scott has undertaken to digitize old pictures. I guess he is taking a short break from re-building his house from the studs out and all the other amazing things he does. He is posting a bunch of them on Facebook and wow! what a trip down memory lane.
He calls his album "A Long Time Ago" but when I see the pictures it seems like yesterday. It all went by so quickly.
The pictures are posted in no particular order - there are Scott and Laura as babies! As toddlers! As teenagers! As newlyweds!
The pictures skip around just as do the memories in my mind.
I know I am getting old when I write stuff like this! Snap out of it Ev! Life keeps getting better and the best is yet to come!
There will be lots more pictures to fill up Scott's album...
;-)
I knew I could not vote for Obama when:
1. I heard the disparaging "off camera" remarks Obama made to Sarcozy about Bibi Netanyahu: "you're fed up, but I have to deal with him every day"
2. I read the 2012 Democratic Platform that greatly watered down support of Israel
and eliminated any mention of Hamas as a terrorist state
3. I heard the THREE "nay" votes at the Democratic convention when the platform was belatedly attempted to be amended to include a statement that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel
4. I realized that his greatest efforts to "reach out to the Muslim World" have been a disastrous failure as witnessed by the events of 9/11/2012 and the murders of our Patriots in Benghazi
5. I realized he did nothing - not even one word of encouragement - to support the brave Iranians standing up for the corrupt regime that enslaves their country and threatens Israel's existence
6. I know that Iran moves closer each day to a nuclear weapon that could literally "wipe Israel off the map". The sanctions are NOT working, except to harm innocent civilians in that country.
7. I read a transcript of him saying that there should be "daylight between the United States and Israel"
8. I learned that he has an abysmally low approval rating among Israeli Jews but an exact opposite high rating among Israeli Arabs
9. It became obvious he has, at the very least, an extremely strained relationship with Bibi Netanyahu, a man I admire greatly. He
rejected the request to meet with the leader of the only true democracy and
America's best friend in the region when both leaders were in the same city.
10. He referred to Israel as "one of our closest allies in the region." Who the heck is closer to the United States than Israel?
11. He openly and warmly welcomed Mahmoud Abbas to the White House despite the fact
Abbas has repeatedly said he will never accept Israel as a Jewish state.
But Netanyahu was quietly shuffled into the White House through a side
door, and in a clear statement of disrespect, left on his own for dinner.
12. He chose to undermine Netanyahu when he made his famous "1967 borders" speech. As one who has been to Israel and seen for herself how truly indefensible the 1967 borders are, this proved to me that Obama has absolutely no idea what Israel really needs to survive.
13. I learned that in 2010, 87 US Senators - both Democrats and Republicans - were so disappointed
in Obama's consistent unfair treatment of Israel they sent him a letter asking him to be more fair toward the Jewish State. No previous president has ever received
such a letter.
14. He instructed NASA (NASA???) to create a program to "reach out to the Muslim World" and share our technology (our TECHNOLOGY??)
15. He called the Muslim call to prayer the "sweetest sound on earth" in his 2009 speech in Cairo.
To me the sweetest sound on earth is the sound of the shofar on the High Holidays...
I have a great day planned. There will be lunch with five friends from my days working at Broward County and a lovely musical Shabbos service tonight. I've missed about four Friday night services in a row due to the cruise and other things so I am greatly looking forward to an evening of peace and inspiration.
The day promises to hold other surprises. The monthly jobs report is due out. Obama will make a stop in Broward County sometime soon, no one is sure where. The Homestead Air Show is tomorrow and I must do a little preparation. There will be the usual - bills to pay and the house to clean and we are out of onions (a disaster chez Gold).
But right now it's only 7 a.m. and coffee and the paper await.
;-)
