Teacher Mom

Rolling Melons

2011-07-17T11:07:00.008-04:00

Not a deep discussion starter here... But Oh my Goodness. I have decided to try different kinds of new melons. So I bought some and put them in my fridge. One is a Galia melon and I believe should be a cross between a cantelope and a honeydew. The other looks like a cantelope but rougher and I have no idea what it is. Last night in the middle of the night I was writing and got hungry. I open the fridge and thump, thump, melons fall off the top shelf of the fridge and start rolling around. No bid deal I'll grab them, but oh no not these melons they had so much inertia I guess it is from falling from the top shelf they were slamming into the table base and changing directions, then slamming off chair legs and changing directions. I'm trying to grab my now bruised melons I'm sure and, bam, slam my head under the table. The bright yellow one is going one way the rough cantelope looking one is going the other. I end up just plopping down in the kitchen floor and laughing hysterically sure that if anyone had the secret camera on I would have won the $100,000 prize, or whateve it is.

As I'm plopped on my kitchen floor at 2:00 in the morning chasing roll-away melons laughing hysterically, it suddenly occurs to me, "My life is pretty damn good - even supposedly inanimate objects like melons have the power to amuse me." Then I thought, "Or I'm simple minded" but immediately went right back to, "No, life is good and wicked funny!" I hope they taste as good as they roll!!! And I hope your fruit has the power to amuse you too!

Birthday Wishes!

2011-06-04T22:25:00.004-04:00

I asked my daughter what she wanted most in the world if she could have anything she wants for her birthday. Immediately she blurts out world peace! Darn, how am I going to pull that off? So, I said well if I can't do that what is your second wish. For her second wish she would like to help everyone in Japan get back on their feet. Do they sell that at Wal-mart???? What else would you like honey, like something for your birthday. Oh well for my birthday I'd like an autographed picture of Johnny Depp. Hmmmm, anybody know him??? So I don't know what to do... I nice card perhaps?

Baked Ruffles

2011-05-13T16:49:00.001-04:00

Baked Ruffles Calories 110 Fat 3% Carbs 19g Fiber 2g Protein 2g
Vitamin c 6% maganese 4 phosphorus 4%
Ingredients:
dried potatoes corn starch corn oil sugar salt soy lecithin corn sugar

Well these are good and have less fat. They are only 30 calories though and soy lecithin isn't good for you, so in my humble opinion. Real chips are better!!!!

Nutrition Info on the Chips

2011-05-04T21:07:00.002-04:00

Lays Garden Tomato and Basil
Calories 160 Fat 10g Fiber 1 Protein 2 Carbs 16g
and these natural chips actually have some vitamins - 6% Vitamin A, 10% Vitamin C, 4% Iron, 6% Vitamin E, 4% Niacin, 4% Magnesium, 4% Thiamin, 8% Vitamin B6 And they are all Natural

Original Ruffles with Ridges
Calories 160 Fat 10g Fiber 1 Protein 2 Carbs 15g
and they have some vitamins too - 10% Vitamin C, 2% Iron, 6% Vitamin E, 6% Niacin, 4% Magnesium, 4% Thiamin, 10% Vitamin B6, 2% Phosphorus, and 4% Magnesium And they are all Natural

Lays Barbeque Chips
Calories 160 Fat 10g Fiber 1 Protein 2 Carbs 15g
and they have less vitamins but are still natural - 6% Vitamin E, 2% Iron, 10% Vitamin C, 2% Magnesium

Now these new chips that rock my socks:
Food Should Taste Good All Natural Olive Tortilla Chips Yummy!
Calories 140 Fat 6 Fiber 3 Protein 2 Carbs 18g - for vitamins they have just 2% Calcium and 6% Iron

Vegetable Chips supermarket brand no weird ingredients or preservatives (I haven't tasted these yet): Calories 120, Fat 4g, Fiber 1g, Protein 3g, Carbs 18g, 2% Iron

And just for a fun comparison: Snyder's Pretzel Rods Calories 120 Fat 1g Fiber 1g Protein 3g Carbs 24g - 2% Iron too - Yummy too. Less fat but more carbs...

2011-05-03T18:57:00.001-04:00

The Great Chip Taste Off

2011-05-03T18:45:00.002-04:00

We are holding a Great Chip Taste Off in our house right now. We have purchased a bunch of chips and are narrowing them down bag by bag. So far plain Ruffles with ridges totally beats the new Garden Tomato with Basil by Lays. It was a shocking result really. The Garden Tomato and Basil does taste like tomato and basil and are good. Good for once and a while but not as you go to chip.

We are not testing any chip with ingredients in it that we don't know what they are however. We are trying to eat only foods we can pronounce!

I'll let you know tomorrow about the next rung on the climb to the best go to chip ever!

Dog Update

2011-02-05T13:24:00.001-05:00

It's been a couple days since she's been home and I have to tell you - the first day she was aggressive. Now however she is fine. She is actually sweeter than she was before this happened, I think. Or I'm looking at her in a new way. PLUS we are running around the block everyday at 6 am. And I think that is quite an accomplishment, yesterday it was negative 7. I think my lungs were starting to freeze. And it's not easy to run in snowboots, coat, scarf, hat, gloves on the icy messy street. But whatever it is, it is better for both of us than nothing. I think it is helping bond us, so I am having my daughter do all the feeding so she can bond that way...

She is also not allowed to be on either floor of the apartment alone, hopefully soon she will stop chewing all sorts of plastic and other disgusting things, like pencils. Any ideas on how to get a puppy to stop chewing are appreciated. She does have a basket of toys but would rather chew garbage stuff.

Dogs and Vitamins Just Don't Mix

2011-02-02T14:06:00.002-05:00

My dog seriously overdosed last night. Thank the Lord, animal poison control, and the emergency veterinarian that she is still alive. After work I plopped my purse, briefcase, and lunch bag on the kitchen floor intending to get back to them later. I went upstairs to work and my daughter and dog were downstairs. Later my girl comes up with vitamins in her hand and my days of the week plastic pill case from my purse. Apparently the dog got into my purse, how she unzipped it must have been tricky. It does have a big strap on the zipper. I imagine she stood on it and pulled on the big strap with her teeth and got it halfway open. Anyway, when she handed me both things I looked up my dog ate my vitamins on the internet. I found many incidents where dogs stole vitamins and were fine, so I didn’t worry. Three hours later she couldn’t walk, was completely aggressive wouldn’t let us near her, and was like wheezy and barking intermittently but a bark of pain, nothing I’ve ever hear before.

I called the emergency vet because it was late at night, they told me to call animal poison control. I called them back and said I couldn’t get through, so they said either way we had to call from there or from my house. Animal poison control charges $35 for the phone call. For my $35 they told me to go to the veterinarian and gave me a case number. After calling neighbors for help, because I wouldn’t get her in her kennel because she kept biting at me. We finally wrapped her gently in a blanket and got her in. Little did I know one of the main reasons she was so violent is because she was blind. When she got in her cage, I kept saying it’s like she can’t see. She was hallucinating barking at the walls of the kennel, barking at things that weren’t there. It was the saddest thing I’d ever heard or seen. My daughter was crying, to dog was just making noises I’ve never heard an animal make.

Finally we get to the veterinarian, who I’d spoken to by now two times on the phone. When we get there they leave her in her kennel for a while. My neighbor, daughter and I confirm that she can’t see. Now the veterinarian who is supposed to know what to do, I’m thinking, doesn’t. So they have to call poison control and talk to them. They tell them what to do to help the dog. One of my vitamins is 5HTP which is tryptophan, like in turkeys. Apparently the dog had overdosed on serotonin. The vitamin B12 and multivitamin which were the other pills she ate she would eventually eliminate. They poison control told the veterinarian what to do, so they finally took her out back to help her. They came back out with an estimate that I could not pay. I explained that to them and they did the bare minimum for her, which was the medicine the poison control suggested and a medicine to calm her down. They had gotten her calm, so they didn’t want to give her fluids which is what I thought they should do. But what do I know. I figured because when I did get her outside when she was just kinda sleepy before she got really bad she was licking snow, but she wouldn’t drink water. She wouldn’t eat anything either, which is what I thought would help her absorb some of the vitamins she took.

We got out of the veterinarians about a little after midnight, and they did want to keep her because she was still hallucinating at that time. I called the vet at 6:30 am because I couldn’t sleep anyway. I was sick with worry. I didn’t want my daughter to lose her best buddy. Even if her best buddy won’t stop eating things she shouldn’t. At 6:30 am they said that she could see! The neurological effects of the pills she ate had gone away between the medicine they gave and the time she spent there. They said though that she was throwing herself against her kennel whenever someone walked by and was so aggressive they couldn’t do anything with her. I took that as a sign she was better. Since we were in the middle of a blizzard at that time of the morning, at around 9:30 my neighbor who said she loves to drive in the snow and drove us down to get her. They kept taking about her aggression and I was worried that she had permanent brain damage, and she would stay aggressive like she’d been the night before. When they brought her out in her kennel, my daughter and I opened the door, and out came our dog, normal, a bit sedate however, with tail wagging and tongue licking hello. Thank goodness. They are going to recommend a trainer for her, and we’ll see about that, but for now thank goodness she is home, she slept on a pillow most of the day. We gave her water right away and fed her some brown rice. She is lying down again and I think everything is alright. My daughter is ecstatic that she didn’t lose her best friend. Me I didn’t think I cared that much, until I saw her last night. No animal should ever suffer that way. Please be more careful with your purse or your vitamins than I was. She is only 35 pounds and she ate five days of my vitamins, and I am well we’ll just say well over 35 pounds.

Dogs and vitamins just don’t mix.

2010-12-24T14:21:00.002-05:00

This week we volunteered at the food bank to distribute food baskets to people who need a little help. It was a good experience. One thing touched me more than anything else. I wonder if it because I’m Jewish and not used to hearing, “G-d bless you.” But then of course I am, every time I sneeze invariably someone blesses me. This “G-d bless you” though that a woman gave me and the two guys carrying her boxes, moved me in an unusual way. It was the way she said it I guess; it carried such meaning and thanks. No matter which faith she was, it is the same G-d. I think people forget that. If terrorists and haters would remember that, we’d all be better off. Maybe it was moving saying, “G-d bless you too.” I don’t usually say that. Well that’s not true; I surely do every time someone sneezes. Of course I hadn’t done anything to be blessed, I just showed up. The people who should be blessed are the people who organize these huge efforts to feed thousands of people. Reflecting on the experience, I guess the difference is that unlike when someone sneezes and it is said out of habit, this time when it was said she meant it and when I said it back, I surely did mean it too.

Happy Holiday Season!

2010-12-13T20:28:00.001-05:00

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A giant step in the right direction...

2010-09-01T19:55:00.003-04:00

Attaching the President's email in case you didn't get it! Yay Operation Iraqi Freedom is over! Thank you to all of our service people past and present, those on their way home and those still there. God bless.
Now Afghanistan...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tonight marks the end of the American combat mission in Iraq.

As a candidate for this office, I pledged to end this war responsibly. And, as President, that is what I am doing.

Since I became Commander-in-Chief, we've brought home nearly 100,000 U.S. troops. We've closed or turned over to Iraq hundreds of our bases.

As Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, our commitment to a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq continues. Under Operation New Dawn, a transitional force of U.S. troops will remain to advise and assist Iraqi forces, protect our civilians on the ground, and pursue targeted counterterrorism efforts.

By the end of next year, consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, these men and women, too, will come home.

Ending this war is not only in Iraq's interest -- it is in our own. Our nation has paid a huge price to put Iraq's future in the hands of its people. We have sent our men and women in uniform to make enormous sacrifices. We have spent vast resources abroad in the face of several years of recession at home.

We have met our responsibility through the courage and resolve of our women and men in uniform.

In seven years, they confronted a mission as challenging and as complex as any our military has ever been asked to face.

Nearly 1.5 million Americans put their lives on the line. Many returned for multiple tours of duty, far from their loved ones who bore a heroic burden of their own. And most painfully, more than 4,400 Americans have given their lives, fighting for people they never knew, for values that have defined our people for more than two centuries.

What their country asked of them was not small. And what they sacrificed was not easy.

For that, each and every American owes them our heartfelt thanks.

Our promise to them -- to each woman or man who has donned our colors -- is that our country will serve them as faithfully as they have served us. We have already made the largest increase in funding for veterans in decades. So long as I am President, I will do whatever it takes to fulfill that sacred trust.

Tonight, we mark a milestone in our nation's history. Even at a time of great uncertainty for so many Americans, this day and our brave troops remind us that our future is in our own hands and that our best days lie ahead.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Extreme Weather and Global Climate Change

2010-08-26T20:13:00.000-04:00

•Pollution from human activities is warming our climate. The 10 warmest years on record all occurred since 1990, and the last decade was the hottest recorded since worldwide record keeping began more than 100 years ago. The period between January and June of 2010 was the warmest six months on record.

•A warming climate increases the chance that we will experience extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and intense storms, and ramps up the risk that severe weather events will cause catastrophic damage.

•The floods, fires and droughts we're seeing in places like Pakistan and Russia are consistent with the effects of global warming, including temperature increases, increased precipitation in some parts of the world, and droughts in others.

•In early August, a 97-square mile chunk of ice--the largest since 1962--broke away from the northwest coast of Greenland.1 Canadian officials fear the massive "ice island" could pose a risk to ships and oil platforms.

•Unless we significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, we are likely to see even more extreme weather events and the consequences they bring

Extreme Love Makeover

2010-08-22T21:57:00.002-04:00

Watching Extreme Homemakeover they reveal an amazingly beautiful master bedroom. I say, "Wow." My daughter looks over at me and says, "Mom, you deserve a room like that." Awww and she wasn't even sucking up for anything! Ha Ha. I might not have the house but I surely do have the love!

I wish the same to all of you!

Happy Birthday President Obama!

2010-08-05T21:47:00.001-04:00

Rachel --

I want to thank you for signing my birthday card.

Michelle told me that she was planning something a little different this year, and I was overwhelmed by the kind words I received from so many supporters like you.

This job has a way of offering humbling moments. And the support you have shown me, time and time again, has sustained me through any number of difficult days. It is more than any president deserves, and I could not be more grateful.

On my birthday, I spent some time considering what the year ahead will bring -- a new set of challenges and opportunities, some that we can foresee and some that we cannot.

If we continue to stand together, I know we will continue to move America forward and win these fights for change.

Thank you again for taking a moment to sign my card. As far as birthdays go, it is hard to imagine topping this one. But then again, Michelle always has a way of surprising me.

Sincerely,

Barack

What's in your nuggets?

2010-07-24T18:24:00.001-04:00

"McNuggets served in the U.S. also contain tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleum-based product, and dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent used in cosmetics and other goods."

Yuck!

2010-07-22T12:26:00.000-04:00

People who are wrapped up in themselves are overdressed.

Choose Joy with Me!

2010-07-14T11:20:00.002-04:00

Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy."

-Joseph Campbell

Joke from Beliefnet.com

2010-07-10T12:05:00.001-04:00

Stuff Happens
Tao: Stuff happens.

Catholicism: If stuff happens, you deserved it.

Protestantism: Let stuff happen to somebody else.

Judasim: Why does stuff always happen to us?

Islam: Stuff happens according to the will of Allah.

Buddhism: The stuff is an illusion.

Zen: What is the sound of stuff happening?

Hinduism: This stuff happened before.

Mormonism: This stuff should multiply.

Baha'i Faith: Stuff happens in a progressive manner.

Agnosticism: I'm not sure about this stuff.

Atheism: That stuff about the stuff is all just made up stuff.

Jonestown: Forget about the stuff and just drink the Kool-Aid.

Stop using Holocaust references lightly... Have respect is the message.

2010-07-10T09:03:00.001-04:00

NJDC Condemns Citizens United’s Obama-Chamberlain Ad
David Streeter — July 7, 2010 – 1:13 pm | Abusive Holocaust Rhetoric

The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) today condemned the television ad released by Citizens United that compares President Barack Obama to Neville Chamberlain. David A. Harris, President and CEO of NJDC, issued the following statement:

“The National Jewish Democratic Council strongly condemns Citizens United’s ad for its offensive Holocaust comparisons and for misleading the public about the Obama Administration’s record on Iran.

Preventing a nuclear-armed Iran is a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy. Under his leadership, the United Nations passed strong sanctions against Iran and last week, Obama signed the toughest sanctions ever leveled against Iran and its business partners.

This politically-fueled ad omits the important fact that sanctions were imposed after the Iranian government refused to participate in international negotiations. For so many reasons, the ‘appeasement’ reference is historically inaccurate and odious, and nothing more than a cheap shot at President Obama.

In addition to the inaccuracies in the ad, the use of Holocaust imagery to bash the President’s foreign policy is deeply offensive. Using the Holocaust to promote any political agenda is inappropriate and should be condemned by all who believe in respecting the legacy of those whose lives were taken by the Nazis.

I strongly urge conservatives to condemn this insensitive and inaccurate advertisement and encourage television networks to refrain from airing the ad.”

The state of the U.S. and Israel relations - points from todays meeting!

2010-07-06T18:40:00.004-04:00

The State of U.S. - Israel Relations - July 6, 2010

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting today to discuss a wide range of issues impacting the U.S-Israel relationship. The two characterized the meeting as “excellent” and used the opportunity to re-affirm the special relationship between the United States and Israel.

On Preventing a Nuclear-Armed Iran:
”... I very much appreciate the President’s statement that he is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

That has been translated by the President through his leadership at the Security Council, which passed sanctions against Iran; by the U.S. bill that the President signed just a few days ago. And I urge other leaders to follow the President’s lead….”
-Prime Minister Netanyahu

“I think the latest sanctions adopted by the U.N. create illegitimacy or create de-legitimization for Iran’s nuclear program ... I think the sanctions the President signed the other day actually have teeth. They bite.”
-Prime Minister Netanyahu

“We discussed the issue of Iran, and we pointed out that as a consequence of some hard work internationally, we have instituted through the U.N. Security Council the toughest sanctions ever directed at an Iranian government. In addition, last week I signed our own set of sanctions, coming out of the United States Congress, as robust as any that we’ve ever seen. Other countries are following suit. And so we intend to continue to put pressure on Iran to meet its international obligations and to cease the kinds of provocative behavior that has made it a threat to its neighbors and the international community.”
- President Obama

On the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process:
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu wants peace. I think he’s willing to take risks for peace. And during our conversation, he once again reaffirmed his willingness to engage in serious negotiations with the Palestinians around what I think should be the goal ... [of] two states living side by side in peace and security.

Israel’s security needs met, the Palestinians having a sovereign state that they call their own - those are goals that have obviously escaped our grasp for decades now. But now more than ever I think is the time for us to seize on that vision. And I think that Prime Minister Netanyahu is prepared to do so. ... I believe that the government of Israel is prepared to engage in ... direct talks, and I commend the Prime Minister for that.”
-President Obama

”... We discussed a great deal about activating, moving forward the quest for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We’re committed to that peace. I’m committed to that peace. And this peace I think will better the lives of Israelis, of Palestinians, and it certainly would change our region. ... I think with the help of President Obama, President Abbas and myself should engage in direct talks to reach a political settlement of peace, coupled with security and prosperity.”
-Prime Minister Netanyahu

On Palestinian Incitement:
“I think it’s very important that the Palestinians not look for excuses for incitement, that they are not engaging in provocative language; that at the international level, they are maintaining a constructive tone, as opposed to looking for opportunities to embarrass Israel.”
-President Obama

On the State of Relations between the United States and Israel:
“The reports about the demise of the special relationship aren’t just premature, they’re just flat wrong. There’s a depth and richness of this relationship that is expressed every day. Our teams talk. We don’t make it public. The only thing that’s public is that you can have differences on occasion in the best of families and the closest of families….

... The President said it best in his speech in Cairo. He said in front of the entire Islamic world, he said, the bond between Israel and the United States is unbreakable. And I can affirm that to you today.”
-Prime Minister Netanyahu

“I think that [Prime Minister Netanyahu] is dealing with a very complex situation in a very tough neighborhood. And what I have consistently shared with him is my interest in working with him—not at cross-purposes—so that we can achieve the kind of peace that will ensure Israel’s security for decades to come.”
-President Obama

“As Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated in his speech, the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable. It encompasses our national security interests, our strategic interests, but most importantly, the bond of two democracies who share a common set of values and whose people have grown closer and closer as time goes on.”
- President Obama

“If you look at every public statement that I’ve made over the last year and a half, it has been a constant reaffirmation of the special relationship between the United States and Israel, that our commitment to Israel’s security has been unwavering. And, in fact, there aren’t any concrete policies that you could point to that would contradict that.

And in terms of my relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, I know the press, both in Israel and stateside, enjoys seeing if there’s news there. But the fact of the matter is that I’ve trusted Prime Minister Netanyahu since I met him before I was elected President, and have said so both publicly and privately.”
-President Obama

On the United States’ Policy Towards Nuclear Proliferation Issues and Israel:
”...We discussed issues that arose out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Conference. ... There is no change in U.S. policy when it comes to these issues. We strongly believe that, given its size, its history, the region that it’s in, and the threats that are leveled against us—against it, that Israel has unique security requirements. It’s got to be able to respond to threats or any combination of threats in the region. And that’s why we remain unwavering in our commitment to Israel’s security. And the United States will never ask Israel to take any steps that would undermine their security interests.”
-President Obama

”... Mr. President—I want to thank you for reaffirming to me in private and now in public as you did the longstanding U.S. commitments to Israel on matters of vital strategic importance.”
-Prime Minister Netanyahu

First Piano Recital

2010-06-17T08:18:00.003-04:00

So much FUN!

In case you didn't see the Washington Post...

2010-06-04T22:56:00.002-04:00

The world is outraged at Israel's blockade of Gaza. Turkey denounces its illegality, inhumanity, barbarity, etc. The usual U.N. suspects, Third World and European, join in. The Obama administration dithers.

But as Leslie Gelb, former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, writes, the blockade is not just perfectly rational, it is perfectly legal. Gaza under Hamas is a self-declared enemy of Israel -- a declaration backed up by more than 4,000 rockets fired at Israeli civilian territory. Yet having pledged itself to unceasing belligerency, Hamas claims victimhood when Israel imposes a blockade to prevent Hamas from arming itself with still more rockets.

In World War II, with full international legality, the United States blockaded Germany and Japan. And during the October 1962 missile crisis, we blockaded ("quarantined") Cuba. Arms-bearing Russian ships headed to Cuba turned back because the Soviets knew that the U.S. Navy would either board them or sink them. Yet Israel is accused of international criminality for doing precisely what John Kennedy did: impose a naval blockade to prevent a hostile state from acquiring lethal weaponry.

Oh, but weren't the Gaza-bound ships on a mission of humanitarian relief? No. Otherwise they would have accepted Israel's offer to bring their supplies to an Israeli port, be inspected for military materiel and have the rest trucked by Israel into Gaza -- as every week 10,000 tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are sent by Israel to Gaza.

Why was the offer refused? Because, as organizer Greta Berlin admitted, the flotilla was not about humanitarian relief but about breaking the blockade, i.e., ending Israel's inspection regime, which would mean unlimited shipping into Gaza and thus the unlimited arming of Hamas.

Israel has already twice intercepted ships laden with Iranian arms destined for Hezbollah and Gaza. What country would allow that?

But even more important, why did Israel even have to resort to blockade? Because, blockade is Israel's fallback as the world systematically de-legitimizes its traditional ways of defending itself -- forward and active defense.

(1) Forward defense: As a small, densely populated country surrounded by hostile states, Israel had, for its first half-century, adopted forward defense -- fighting wars on enemy territory (such as the Sinai and Golan Heights) rather than its own.

Where possible (Sinai, for example) Israel has traded territory for peace. But where peace offers were refused, Israel retained the territory as a protective buffer zone. Thus Israel retained a small strip of southern Lebanon to protect the villages of northern Israel. And it took many losses in Gaza, rather than expose Israeli border towns to Palestinian terror attacks. It is for the same reason America wages a grinding war in Afghanistan: You fight them there, so you don't have to fight them here.

But under overwhelming outside pressure, Israel gave it up. The Israelis were told the occupations were not just illegal but at the root of the anti-Israel insurgencies -- and therefore withdrawal, by removing the cause, would bring peace.

Land for peace. Remember? Well, during the past decade, Israel gave the land -- evacuating South Lebanon in 2000 and Gaza in 2005. What did it get? An intensification of belligerency, heavy militarization of the enemy side, multiple kidnappings, cross-border attacks and, from Gaza, years of unrelenting rocket attack
(2) Active defense: Israel then had to switch to active defense -- military action to disrupt, dismantle and defeat (to borrow President Obama's description of our campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaeda) the newly armed terrorist mini-states established in southern Lebanon and Gaza after Israel withdrew.

The result? The Lebanon war of 2006 and Gaza operation of 2008-09. They were met with yet another avalanche of opprobrium and calumny by the same international community that had demanded the land-for-peace Israeli withdrawals in the first place. Worse, the U.N. Goldstone report, which essentially criminalized Israel's defensive operation in Gaza while whitewashing the casus belli -- the preceding and unprovoked Hamas rocket war -- effectively de-legitimized any active Israeli defense against its self-declared terror enemies.

(3) Passive defense: Without forward or active defense, Israel is left with but the most passive and benign of all defenses -- a blockade to simply prevent enemy rearmament. Yet, as we speak, this too is headed for international de-legitimation. Even the United States is now moving toward having it abolished.

But, if none of these is permissible, what's left?

Ah, but that's the point. It's the point understood by the blockade-busting flotilla of useful idiots and terror sympathizers, by the Turkish front organization that funded it, by the automatic anti-Israel Third World chorus at the United Nations, and by the supine Europeans who've had quite enough of the Jewish problem.

What's left? Nothing. The whole point of this relentless international campaign is to deprive Israel of any legitimate form of self-defense. Why, just last week, the Obama administration joined the jackals, and reversed four decades of U.S. practice, by signing onto a consensus document that singles out Israel's possession of nuclear weapons -- thus de-legitimizing Israel's very last line of defense: deterrence.

The world is tired of these troublesome Jews, 6 million -- that number again -- hard by the Mediterranean, refusing every invitation to national suicide. For which they are relentlessly demonized, ghettoized and constrained from defending themselves, even as the more committed anti-Zionists -- Iranian in particular -- openly prepare a more final solution.

By Charles Krauthammer
Washington Post, June 4, 2010

2010-06-02T15:42:00.001-04:00

Statement on the Gaza Flotilla Incident
June 1, 2010

On May 31, the day when Americans paused to remember those who have fallen in battle, we woke to the difficult news that early that morning Israeli commandos had stopped six ships carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on an aid mission to Gaza. Five of the ships calmly complied with the stoppage. The sixth ship did not. It was on this sixth vessel, the Turkish registered Mavi Marmara, where nine people were killed and dozens were wounded after IDF forces encountered unexpected resistance from civilians wielding knives, crow bars and small arms. Turkey's NTV showed activists beating one Israeli soldier with sticks as he rappelled from a helicopter onto one of the boats. Another soldier was thrown from an upper deck of one of the ships and then stomped on by activists.

The Israeli military said troops only opened fire after the activists attacked them with knives and iron rods, and one activist wrested a serviceman's weapon. Two of the dead activists had fired at soldiers with pistols, the army said. Organizers included people affiliated with the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian group that often sends international activists into battle zones, and the IHH, a Turkish aid group that Israel accuses of having terrorist links.

Though the flotilla was in international waters at the time of the attack, Israel has operated under an international law that allows a state, during a time of conflict, to enforce an embargo in international waters. Within this framework, it is legal for civilian ships to be stopped if they are trying to break the embargo.

It would appear that this entire enterprise was a cynical set-up designed to present Israel with an unnecessary Hobson's choice and to generate anti-Israel publicity.

As so often happens after incidents such as this one, foreign governments were quick to condemn Israel for excessive use of force without full facts. Editorials in Israel note a mixed reaction to the Government’s action while still all affirming the right of sovereign self defense. The government of Israel has responded that Israel has the right to blockade Gaza ports to prevent weapons from entering that area and that Israeli Navy personnel were prepared to deal with protesters, not people armed with knives, crowbars and other weapons.

ARZA expresses its sorrow at the loss of life and expresses the hope that all those injured will soon recover from their wounds. ARZA further expresses the hope that governments and individuals will not rush to judgment but will wait for all the facts to emerge before coming to any conclusion. As is so often the case when dealing with incidents that occur in a very unsettled part of the world, it is often difficult to ascertain the facts but very easy to jump to conclusions.

Our sacred task is to build an ever stronger progressive religious presence in Israel. Even when Israel is experiencing difficult moments like these, we must remain focused on creating facts on the ground. To the extent that ARZA can support IMPJ and IRAC, their work will enlarge the societal conversation on Judaism and the creation of a just, democratic, and Jewish Israel.

While waiting for a full report on what happened today, there are some facts that are already clear:

· The flotilla was organized by an Islamist organization that has links to fundamentalist jihadi groups.

· Israel offered from the first announcement of the flotilla that it or the Red Cross would deliver any humanitarian aid to Gaza, as it does daily.

· The extremists brought small children on board by persons hoping to provoke what could be a violent confrontation,

· The activists were carrying 10,000 tons of what they said was aid. Israel transfers about 15,000 tons of supplies and humanitarian aid every week to the people of Gaza.

· "We fully intend to go to Gaza regardless of any intimidation or threats of violence against us, they are going to have to forcefully stop us," said one of the flotilla’s organizers.

· Using the Arabic term ‘intifada,’ Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said "We call on all Arabs and Muslims to rise up in front of Zionist embassies across the whole world.

· Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said this week: "If the ships reach Gaza it is a victory; if they are intercepted, it will be a victory too.

· Israel left Gaza in hopes of peace in 2005 and in return received more than 8,000 rockets and terrorist attacks.

· No country would allow illegal entry of any vessel into their waters without a security check.

Obama Advisor: Warm Words for Saudi Arabia, Hizbullah, Al-Quds

2010-05-27T17:43:00.000-04:00

Interesting Article by Hillel Fendel:

John Brennan, Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security, called Jerusalem “Al-Quds,” praised Saudi Arabian religious tolerance, and is encouraging of Hizbullah.

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has drawn attention to the above three instances of recent remarks by one of U.S. President Barack Obama’s top terrorism-issues advisors, calling them “outrageous” and “disgraceful.”

Speaking to an apparently Muslim audience at New York University in February, at a forum co-hosted by the White House and the Islamic Center at New York University." Brennan first told a story in Arabic, evoking laughter and concluding with, “Don’t tell the folks who don’t speak Arabic what I said.” He then said that his favorite city in the Middle East is “Al Quds, Jerusalem.”

In the same speech, Brennan also spoke of his time at the American University in Cairo in the 1970s, referring to the common aspirations of his former Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian classmates, including the freedom “to practice our faith freely … In Saudi Arabia, I saw how our Saudi partners fulfilled their duty as custodians of the two holy mosques at Mecca and Medina.”

In another speech before Lebanese leaders who visited Washington recently, Brennan told them, “Hizbullah is a very interesting organization,” and said that it had evolved from “purely a terrorist organization” to a militia and now to an organization that has members within the parliament and the cabinet. “There is certainly the elements of Hizbullah that are truly a concern to us, what they’re doing,” Brennan said. “And what we need to do is to find ways to diminish their influence within the organization and to try to build up the more moderate elements.”

The ZOA noted that Hizbullah is actually a Lebanese-Iranian proxy terrorist group that has called continually for the elimination of Israel.

“These comments by John Brennan are as outrageous as they are deeply troubling,” ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “No one refers to Jerusalem in the English language as Al-Quds, unless they have a specific political, anti-Israel agenda - in this case, pandering to Israel’s enemies, who will draw comfort from the use of the term Al-Quds by a senior U.S. government official.”

Klein termed “disgraceful” the fact that “Mr. Brennan’s pandering is taken so far that he speaks of some supposed shared goal of freedom of religious practice, and then immediately refers in complimentary words to Saudi Arabia - a country that is notorious for its harsh denial of freedom of religion, in which even non-Wahhabi Muslim mosques are prohibited, let alone churches and synagogues.”

Regarding Brennan’s comments about Hizbullah, Klein said, “Worse, Brennan give unwarranted legitimacy to the recognized terrorist group Hizbullah, thereby undercutting past U.S. efforts to isolate this murderous outfit.”

Klein sums up: “John Brennan is yet another hand-picked Obama adviser who shows a distinct animus against Israel and partiality for its enemies. It is unsurprising that, when Barack Obama is advised by people like these, quite apart from the President’s own troubling history of friendships with vicious critics of Israel and having belonged for two decades to an anti-Israel, anti-American black supremacist church, the Obama Administration has ignited major tensions in its relations with Israel while not holding accountable and penalizing the Palestinian Authority for continuing terrorism and incitement to hatred and murder.”

Ooops I may have influenced my daughter too much...

2010-05-09T19:22:00.004-04:00

Today we were playing analogies. It's fun, we take turns. Even though analogies are no longer on the SAT's they are important to learning how to think. We were doing things like - Ocean is to salt then water is to _____________. OR we do pets and family names. Shoe is to sock like slipper is to _______________. Etc. It's fun. she would ask and I would fill in the last blank or I would ask and she fills in the last blank. Sometimes she finds a relationship that I wasn't even thinking of. For instance, she said do a funny one mommy, "Okay, fat is to my butt, like skinny is to ____________." She screams out, "Bitches!." I laughed so hard, I cried. I'm laughing again now just writing it.

Today's lesson: our kids are listening even when we think they're not!