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2010-04-05T11:39:00.001-07:00

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Fight for Preemies

2009-11-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Today, November 17, is the March of Dimes "Fight for Preemies" day. Support the March of Dimes and help us find ways to prevent premature birth. Premature births have increased 31% since 1981 -- why???!?!?!?!

Our Sophie Arielle was born at 32 weeks, 5 days. We're so very lucky and blessed that she spent a mere 22 days in the hospital, and nearly four years later, she's a happy and healthy little girl.

So many other families aren't that lucky. Many preemies spend a lot longer in the NICU, and have lifelong health concerns as a result of premature birth. And sadly, many preemies never come home.

Support the March of Dimes, for Sophie and for all babies born before their time.

A politician without principles??

2009-11-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

I know, it shouldn't be shocking. Elected officials routinely sell out their principles, and their constituents, on a regular basis. They do it for money, for votes, for power, for any reason at all, basically.

Still, it can be disappointing. And this week, I'm disappointed in Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), who announced today that he will not vote for the healthcare reform bill pending in the US House of Representatives.

Rep. Artur Davis announces he'll vote against health care bill

Davis has been a member of the Alabama delegation in the House since 2002. We don't actually live in his district; by less than a mile, we're represented by the moronic Spencer Bachus. Still, we've always been supporters of Davis. He's been particularly good to the Jewish community, speaking at our synagogue and to other Jewish organizations. Since his predecessor, Earl Hilliard, was a borderline anti-Semite, this was a welcome change.

In June, Rep. Davis announced he would run for Alabama's governorship in 2010. We attended his "kickoff" event in downtown Birmingham, and were invited to stand on stage behind Davis as he gave his speech.

But after today's announcement, I'm done.

I know what he's doing. He's giving up his principles (he has talked of supporting a public option in healthcare reform in the past) so that the inbred, Fox News-watching hicks who make up the majority of this state will vote for him. I know it, but I don't like it.

Alabama is one of the states that would benefit the most from a true healthcare reform, and a public option. We have a ridiculous amount of people -- mostly children -- in this state without health insurance.

But apparently, Mr. Davis doesn't care. In fact, he apparently cares more about his own political future than he does about what's best for his district, his state, and his nation.

And that's a shame. And what makes it even more a shame is that I doubt it will work. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think Alabama will elect an African-American as governor. Not yet, anyway.

In any case, if he wins the governorship, he'll have to do it without my vote. Because I'm done with Artur Davis.

Before I "unfollowed" Rep. Davis on Facebook (and Twitter!), I posted this to his Facebook page:

Rep. Davis, I've been a supporter of you for a long time. My family and I were on stage behind you when you announced your run for governor in Linn Park.

But with today's announcement that you won't vote for health care reform, I am done with you. Will no longer support you, will no longer donate to your campaign, will no longer follow you on Facebook, and I certainly won't vote for you.

You are well aware that the healthcare bill pending in the House is the ONLY version of healthcare reform that will come up for a vote this year, or probably next year. So by refusing to vote for it, you have explicitly endorsed the status quo, and you'll be on the wrong side of the most important vote of your Congressional career.

Is this healthcare bill perfect? No. In my mind, the public option should be even STRONGER. But it is a thousand times better than our current healthcare system, which wastes hundreds of millions of dollars every year, dooms children and adults alike to early deaths, and benefits no one except for insurance companies and pharmaceutical firms.

You have sold out your principles in an attempt to be "moderate" and a "conservative Democrat," so that the people of Alabama will elect you governor.

In doing so, Mr. Davis, I guarantee you that you've lost at least one vote, that, until now, was about as reliable and rock-solid that you could have asked for.

Biggest one in four counties.

2009-10-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

As has been stated on this blog in the past, I'm a Star Trek geek. I was beyond excited in 1987 when Star Trek: The Next Generation made its debut, and I faithfully watched all seven seasons.

I've been having great fun reading Wil Wheaton's new book "Memories of the Future (Volume One)," which recounts his experiences working on the show, and also takes a light-hearted stab at some of the cornier scenes, episodes, and dialog. It's sort of an "MST3K" treatment of Next Generation, but with 30% more love.

And, I've really been enjoying the companion podcast to the book. I listen to it while on the treadmill or elliptical at the gym, and frequently, I have to cover my mouth and fake-cough to keep from laughing out loud in the crowded rec center.

This happened yesterday. I was listening to episode #8 of the podcast, as Wil discusses the episode "Justice." This episode (in case you don't recall) takes the crew of the Enterprise to a very horny planet where everyone runs around mostly naked, giving each other sensual massages, using barely-concealed euphemisms for sexual activities, and just in general having a Very. Good. Time. (This was pretty daring for 1987 TV.)

Anyway, Wesley Crusher accidentally violates one of their laws and is sentenced to death, the Enterprise finds a mysterious alien which acts as "God" to the people on the planet, blah blah blah.

The most hilarious part of the podcast happens as Wil describes Wesley's initial reactions to meeting the gorgeous, mostly-naked Edosians. I was never one of the "I hate Wesley all the time" TNG fans. Clearly, a lot of his dialog and "I saved the ship again" plot points were ridiculous. But more than hating Wesley, I wanted to BE Wesley.

And in 1987, this is about exactly how I would have reacted to meeting a group of mostly-naked, sexually-charged women, too:

[Click to play audio clip, MP3, 40 seconds]

Good stuff. If you're a Trek fan, or a Wil Wheaton fan, go buy the book and listen to the podcast!

Not much else going on. Busy Halloween weekend ahead, hopefully the weather cooperates for trick or treating on Saturday night. Right now, there's a possibility of rain. Boo!! Sophie and Raya really want to wear their matching Wonder Woman costumes!!

R & I are going to a grownups Halloween party on Friday night, while Sophie has a sleepover at Bubbe & Zayde's. Can't remember the last time we've been to a kid-free Halloween party!

Raya joined the cult of iPhone last weekend, hooray! Still trying to convince her we need a 27" iMac for home. I've got to run down to the Apple Store today to pick up some work stuff. I'll probably stop by and drool on the iMacs a bit more. :)

Gators looked sloppy but still beat Mississippi State last weekend. Georgia game this weekend, hopefully Tebow can get back on track!!

"Crazy Larry" Langford convicted yesterday in his corruption trial. Shock surprise. Instantly removed from office, so at least Birmingham is done with him!

"Hey, I don't need your charity titters.....

2009-10-14T07:45:00.001-07:00

....now, say hello to my girlfriend, Charity Titters."

Another rainy day here in Birmingham.....what else is new? Poor Raya is still fighting with her kidneys. I'm hopeful that things will turn around quickly, hopefully a nephrology visit tomorrow brings good news.

In happier news, I think the Great Rzeszut Mouse Battle of 2009 has been won. (By me, not the mouse.) I'm nervous to jinx myself by saying this, but it's been three consecutive days now with no evidence of rodent activity in the kitchen. All of the baseboards are still sealed with steel wool and duct tape, with no signs of chewing or biting.

As you can imagine, duct tape along the bases of our cabinets looks fabulous, though I did manage to get some black duct tape, which makes it sort of blend in.

Work is work. Got a virus infected computer on my desk now, the second time in about 3 months that this particular PC has gotten hit. I wonder if the people in this particular lab use this PC for their porn surfing.

Set up new printers yesterday, a new laptop, argued with a faculty member who ordered a desktop with Windows Vista even though I told him it was unsupported, etc., etc. The usual crap.

Going backwards in time a few days, had a pretty fun weekend. Raya wanted to stay off her swollen feet as much as possible, so I took Sophie to the "Temple Trails" program at TEE on Saturday. It was originally supposed to be in Homewood Park, but the rain made that impossible. (For the same reason, we skipped the Race for the Cure on Saturday, too.)

So we were inside for Temple Trails, which was fine. Stories, songs, and a really cute craft project called "Shabbes Shiners" -- basically, flashlights substituted as kid-friendly Shabbat candles, and Sophie decorated the wooden "candlestick" holder with paint and glass marbles. Pretty cool.

Saturday night, of course, we watched the Gators beat LSU, Tim Tebow back from his concussion in the Kentucky game. Not the prettiest win ever, but I'll take it, especially on a Saturday night in Baton Rouge. Always tough for visiting teams to win in "Death Valley."

Sunday, Sophie and I headed out for some retail therapy at Target and Home Depot. New jeans and a new dress for her, some random stuff for me, including new earphones and a water bottle to support my newly-acquired "going to the gym" kick. We'll see how long I can make this last.

Lunch at Red Robin, mouse-proofing the kitchen in the afternoon, a run to Publix, and some NFL games pretty much finished off the weekend!!

This coming weekend, Sophie's got another fire station birthday party (at least it's a different fire station!). And, if the weather holds, and Raya feels up to it, maybe a trip out to the pumpkin patch.

I hate it when....

2009-10-07T07:34:00.000-07:00

....strangers talk to me on the elevator. Proper elevator etiquette is: you stare straight ahead, or play with your cell phone, or look at the ceiling, or your shoes. Avoid eye contact!!!

It's worse when this happens in the elevator in my work parking garage. Because most people walk out of the parking deck and walk in the same direction for a block or two.

So now, are we supposed to walk along together, continuing whatever inane conversation the other person initiated in the elevator? Usually, I adjust my walking pace accordingly so that I'm either well ahead or well behind the other person within a few steps.

Another rainy day here in Birmingham. I'm starting to wonder if we're ever going to get to use our sukkah.

I'm also wondering if we'll get to "Race for the Cure" this weekend. Saturday's forecast currently includes a 70% chance of thunderstorms. Yikes!

Sophie was happy to see the rain this morning, though. Because rain (and puddles) means she gets to wear her new rain boots again. Very exciting.

Raya's at the doc this morning for some lab tests. A couple of things going on -- possibly a stomach bug, and a possible recurrence of the minimal change disease she's been fighting with for over two years. I say "recurrence," but it's never completely gone away. Poor thing, I hate that she has to deal with this crap.

When the rain comes.....

2009-10-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Our sukkah party on Sunday got rained out. Boo!! Although, it's fortunate that the rain started as early as it did -- we were able to just call people and let them know not to come. Could have been much worse if we'd all been outside in the sukkah, hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, and THEN the skies had opened up!!

It basically rained straight through from early Sunday afternoon until yesterday morning, and then off and on a bit yesterday. So our sukkah is still waterlogged -- we haven't been able to use it at all yet, which is a shame.

Work is work -- my project today has been installing Windows 7 on my PC. Installation process went fine, and so far it seems relatively stable. I still think the icons, menus, etc. are too "fancy," compared to the simplicity of Windows XP. It hurts my eyes whenever I spend too much time looking at a Windows Vista or Windows 7 desktop. I suppose I'll get used to it, eventually. Win7 isn't released until October 22, and UAB hasn't officially approved it for use yet -- too many incompatibilities with some campus systems. So I'm not sure when I'll start seeing it on a regular basis.

Gotta run home at lunch to meet a repair guy. Our water heater is leaking constantly via the check/overflow valve. We already had this problem fixed about a year ago, but it's back. I wonder if the water heater is dying? Homeownership is so much fun!!!

Lord I was born a ramblin' man.....

2009-10-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

Busy fun weekend!!!

JJ and his van came to visit yesterday. I took half a day off work and we hung out in the afternoon with Sophie. Raya's folks took Sophie to dinner. Meantime, we went with JJ and Shira out to dinner (Rogue Tavern, excellent) and then to WorkPlay to see a couple of bands, Carbon Leaf and Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers.

Great show! I love WorkPlay as a venue, and both bands really put on a great, high energy, very entertaining show. SK & the Sixers did a "Time of My Life" tribute to Patrick Swayze, and in the final encore, both bands (along with the first opening act, whose set we missed) did a great cover of "Ramblin' Man." We had a blast, lots of jaw-hurting laughter. The night of course wasn't complete without a visit to our neighborhood pub, Crestwood Tavern. :)

This morning, we saw JJ off to Florida, and after a yummy Pancake House breakfast, we headed to Emanu-El for a special Shabbat morning service featuring Rick Recht. Rick is a great Jewish singer-songwriter. Raya and I saw him for the first time several years back in Washington DC, and this was his second trip to Birmingham. Lots of fun! Afterwards, we hung out with pizza and milkshakes in TEE's sukkah and on the playground!!

While Sophie took her nap, Raya and I finished constructing our own sukkah, as we're having people (15 of them!) over for a Sukkot cookout tomorrow. Sophie helped us finish the decorating after she woke from her nap.

Watching a little football now -- Auburn vs. Tennessee, one of the few times I'd ever root for Auburn! Early bedtime tonight, I imagine, as we only got about 5 hours sleep last night.

Raya's amusing Facebook stati from last night:

Raya wants JJ to go take a shower!!!!
Raya is glad that JJ is brushing his teeth!
Raya is going out tonight! Woohoo! Look out, Birmingham!!!!!!
Raya is not getting in JJ's hot tub...
Raya regrets to inform you that JJ doesn't actually have a hot tub...but he does have a van which I am not going to sleep in!
Raya is letting my troubles roll by!
Raya thanks Leslie for the Carbon Leaf CD! Awesome!
Raya will bring the cup if you bring the moonshine...
Raya is @ my 3rd bar of the night!
Raya is going to be in a band called Flashlights & Beers!

Back in black.....I hit the sack....it's been so long I'm glad to be back.....

2009-10-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

So, as promised in yesterday's post, here I am, blogging.

Blog. Bloggity blog blog.

Over the years, my infrequent blogging has taken a variety of forms. Should I use the blog as a personal journal, filled with the minutiae of my life? Surely no one wants to read that; however, it is sort of entertaining for me, years down the road, to use old blog entries as sort of a "time capsule" and a way to remember things I'd long forgotten.

Or, should I only return to the keyboard when I'm outraged about something (usually a political something) and write a screed about whatever happens to be pissing me off that particular day?

Should I use this blog as a travelogue? A space for concert reviews, or film reviews? As a place to advertise our award-submitted podcast? (That last question is rhetorical, as "Jews in Alabama" is long-defunct.)

The short answer to this question, is that I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to use this blog for, and I'm not really looking for suggestions, though I'll happily take them.

I just know I need to use it for something. And whether or not anyone reads it is nearly irrelevant.

I need to write. I need to have somewhere I can brain-dump, get the random thoughts out of my head to make way for new random thoughts. I need a space where I can express witty, thought-provoking, and often just plain stupid ideas. Things that don't fit within a "tweet" or a Facebook status update.

My job doesn't give me too many creative outlets. I need this one.

So. What's happening in Eric world?

Sophie is a healthy and happy 3.5-year-old, normally with the temperament of an angel. But when that "devilish" side comes around, look out!!! Raya says she has my temper, quick to fly off the handle. BUT THAT'S TOTAL FUCKING BULLSHIT, BECAUSE I NEVER DO THAT, GODDAMNNIT....

Oh, wait.

We really enjoyed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services this year at Temple Emanu-El, our second year there. The "contemporary" high holiday services that TEE provides are really, without question, the most enjoyable high holiday services I've ever attended. (Granted, I've only been Jewish for 10 years, but still.)

I'm now into my third year doing the graphic design for Emanu-El's monthly bulletin. (So I guess I do have one creative outlet, anyway.) I enjoy the work, and it finances our membership there, so that's nice!

Sukkot starts this Friday night, and once again, we'll be building our sukkah on our backyard deck. My favorite of all the Jewish holidays, maybe because it's celebrated generally at home, outside, and during the fall, my favorite time of year!!

Our friend JJ may be stopping by for a short visit tomorrow, en route from San Francisco to Florida in his VW camper van. Good times.

Came back from Vegas last Wednesday. My 16th trip to Vegas, and I only went for the first time in January 2003. Hard to believe. I'll be back there in January for the chaos known as the Consumer Electronics Show.

And with that, back to work.....

Despite sort of feeling like this guy.....

2009-09-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

....I'm going to try and re-enter the blogging world. I miss having a journal of random thoughts and curse words.

New entry tomorrow.

I liked "Star Trek" .... but it's not Star Trek.

2009-05-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

Spoilers for the movie will follow, so if you haven't seen the film but plan to, you might want to stop reading. You've been warned -- and here's a cool poster from the Spanish version of the movie to provide some "spoiler space":

OK. As I've posted previously on this blog, I'm a Star Trek fan. Trekkie, Trekker, fanboy, whatever -- the terminology is not important. I grew up watching reruns of the original series with my dad, who'd watched them first-run in the 60s.

I was a huge fan of The Next Generation when it came out, even though the first couple of seasons were not great. But eventually TNG grew into its own, and it led into Deep Space 9, my favorite Star Trek incarnation ever (I would have loved to see Captain Sisko, Major Kira, and the rest of the DS9 crew get their own feature film!)

I watched Voyager for a while, but quickly got bored, and I never could stand watching Enterprise. (Like this new film, Enterprise played fast and loose with Star Trek "canon," which is why I had a hard time with it.)

I've read dozens of Star Trek novels, I've been to the (now-closed) "Quark's Bar" and Star Trek exhibit in Las Vegas, I've participated in Trek-based online role playing games.

In short, I'm a fan. And as a fan, I feel a little taken advantage of by this movie. Because although it wasn't really made for Trek fans, J.J. Abrams and his crew certainly didn't mind taking our money!!

That brings me to my first point: this was an incredibly lazy way to write a screenplay. Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman took these characters and this setting that everyone understands, at least a little.

They didn't have to spend plot time explaining what a Vulcan was, or who Kirk and Spock were, or what the "Federation" is, or what "Romulans" are. Because everyone, at least on some passing level, is familiar with the Star Trek mythos.

Yet, at the beginning of the film, they throw in the ultimate overused sci-fi cliche, time travel. Which brings us to an "alternate universe." So now, the writers get to use these characters that we've all come to know over the past 40 years. But they get to completely and utterly disregard the "canon" of some 600+ TV episodes, 10 films, and countless novels, video games, and comic books.

In short, they got the best of both worlds. They got to use Trek characters without having to pay any attention whatsoever to their backstory. This was an incredible shortcut for the writers, a cheap writer's gimmick, allowing them to write a lazy, nonsensical plot, featuring the following nonsense:

Kirk goes straight from cadet to captain? Come on! He wouldn't have been as effective of a captain if he didn't spend years working his way up, learning how a starship works.
What the heck was Kirk's mother (pregnant with him) doing onboard the USS Kelvin with Kirk's father? The first episode of Next Generation made it very clear that having families onboard a starship was a new and controversial idea. Yet, 130 years in the past, here was Kirk's mom, giving birth onboard.
Why would you build a HUGE starship on Earth, in full gravity? It's a cute plot point that both Kirk and the Enterprise are from Iowa. But even 21st-century humans aren't this stupid -- we didn't assemble the International Space Station on the ground, then launch it into space!! You build the components on the ground, and assemble in space.

I could go on and on, but I won't. The movie wasn't written for fanboys. I get it. But I wish they hadn't called it "Star Trek," then; hadn't used characters named Kirk, and Spock, and Uhura and Sulu, and a ship called Enterprise.

The best episodes of Star Trek were the ones that raised interesting philosophical or intellectual questions, or provided social commentary on our own world. Gene Roddenberry was a master at this. He used the original Trek to raise social awareness during the turbulent 1960s. Episodes like "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" (which pointed out the dangers of hate and bigotry) and "The City on the Edge of Forever" (which examined the concept of a necessary war) made Star Trek more than just a silly sci-fi show with cheesy special effects. It was true social commentary, set 175 years in the future to give Roddenberry some cover to talk about uncomfortable or controversial topics.

TNG and DS9 continued that tradition, with episodes examining the morality and effectiveness of torture, the definition of sentience, euthanasia, the concepts of honor, duty, vengeance, and mercy, and too many more to list.

The TOS and TNG films continued this tradition; Star Trek IV showed the consequences of hunting a species to extinction; Star Trek VI made end-of-the-Cold-War commentary, wondering if longtime adversaries can become allies; Star Trek: First Contact showed Picard still struggling with his desire for vengeance against the Borg.

Star Trek was at its best when it made the viewer think. When it raised concepts or ideas that were a bit uncomfortable. Heck, I once took a community education class entitled "The Philosophy of Star Trek."

This 2009 "Star Trek" film had no philosophy, no intellectualism, no moments that make the viewer think about anything. They had a golden opportunity to make a statement about a very relevant topic -- torture -- when the Romulans captured Captain Pike. Was it effective? Was it cruel? Did it work? Did Pike even know the codes that Nero was after? Did he make things up, say whatever his captors wanted to hear, just to end his suffering?

Who knows. Because J.J. Abrams and the other makers of this film didn't give it any depth whatsoever. They simply made a film that had fast cars, loud music, bloody noses, make out scenes with green aliens, planets exploding, and spaceships blowing the living hell out of each other.

And I like all those things. But from Star Trek, I expect more. And I suspect Gene Roddenberry would have been sorely disappointed in this film, in seeing his franchise turned into another generic big screen shoot-'em-up.

A friend asked me last night if I would have liked the movie better if it had been called something else, if it had featured new characters. And I would have -- but I probably wouldn't have gone to see it, either. A movie called "Space Wars" with totally unknown characters wouldn't have attracted my attention. So again, I say -- I feel used.

I will probably choose to ignore the rest of this "alternate universe" created by J.J. Abrams. Leonard Nimoy was the saving grace of this film, and he will likely not be in the sequel or sequels when produced. I don't really care about what "new adventures" this new "cadet-to-captain" Kirk will have, don't really care about Spock and Uhura's love affair, don't really care about the "new" Enterprise, with its bridge that looks like an IKEA and an engineering section that looks like a brewery. (Why does a starship need so many pipes?)

I choose to remember Star Trek as it was, not this retcon/reboot/rewrite or whatever we're supposed to call it. The "original" Star Trek universe as created in the TV shows and the first 10 films lives on in a very prolific series of novels, written by some incredible authors who, unlike J.J. Abrams, respect the canon of the Star Trek universe, and don't use gimmicky plot points as a cheap and easy way to make a lot of money.

When J.J. Abrams was first announced as the director, he admitted he hadn't watched many episodes of the original series, and said "I was always more of a 'Star Wars' than 'Star Trek' fan."

We can tell, Mr. Abrams. We can tell.

Yes We Can!!! Mostly.

2008-11-05T07:10:00.000-08:00

An historic night last night, as Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States. Obama scored the largest electoral college win since 1996, winning at least 349 electoral votes to John McCain's 147, with Missouri and North Carolina still outstanding.

It wasn't the complete domination I'd hoped for. Montana, Georgia, and Arizona went for McCain, and Republicans held on to endangered Senate seats in Georgia, Kentucky, and possibly Alaska (still too close to call). But what are Alaska Republicans thinking? I guess if you can elect a wack-job like Sarah Palin governor, you don't mind a convicted felon like Ted Stevens as your senator.

Civil rights in the form of marriage equality took a big hit last night, too. Anti-same sex marriage initatives were approved in Arizona, Florida, and California. (Absentee ballots remain to be counted in California, but it doesn't look good.)

Despite the fact that Florida is my former home state and I have a lot of friends there, the result in California is particularly disappointing for me. For a few reasons:

(1) California is generally a relatively liberal state; certainly the win for Obama in CA was never in doubt. In some ways, I feel like, if the voters in CALIFORNIA won't support marriage equality, who will???

(2) Unlike in Florida and Arizona, the vote on Prop 8 in California REMOVES a pre-existing right. Same-sex couples have had the right to marry in California since earlier this year. Now, that right has (presumably) been cruelly stripped away. What happens to the same-sex marriages that were already legal? Do they instantly become void?

Or, if pre-existing same-sex marriages remain, doesn't that create two classes of people in California? Those who got married before November 4, and those who didn't? That's blatantly unconstitutional.

(3) The anti-gay "Yes on Prop 8" campaign was mostly funded (possibly as much as 75%) by the Mormon Church. Their ads were misleading and tried to convince voters that churchs and synagogues would be forced to perform gay marriage if Prop 8 failed. "Religious freedom" could be at stake, they said.

Bullshit. If you don't like gay people, and consider them second-class citizens, just say so. Although I'd vehemently disagree with that stance, at least it would be an honest one. But the very well-funded "Yes on 8" forces were able to use lies and misdirection to confuse just enough of the electorate for a narrow win.

Sadly, even some Orthodox Jewish groups got into the act, aligning with the Mormons and evangelical Christian groups. I'm ashamed to be a member of the same religion as the people who would send out (and many of those who comment on) articles like this homophobic piece of shit.

(4) Finally, I can't decide what Barack Obama's role should have been in the fight against Proposition 8. When asked on an MTV interview about it, he sort of hedged his bets:

"I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage. But when you start playing around with constitutions, just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that's not what America's about. Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don't contract them."

In one way, disappointing to hear him say "I am not in favor of gay marriage." Yet, on the other hand, he got it right in saying that our constitutions usually expand liberties, not curtail them.

I don't know. His candidacy brought lots of African-Americans to the polls in California (and across the nation). Gay rights is a difficult issue for the A-A community, especially for the evangelical A-A population. Exit polls suggest that nearly 70% of black voters voted for Proposition 8, against marriage equality.

With such a close vote overall, I can't help but wonder if Obama could have made a difference. In the last couple of days, couldn't he have recorded a commercial or robocall for the No on 8 campaign? Stating that constitutionally-mandated discrimination is something that no one -- particularly African-Americans -- should support?

Sure, a pro-gay marriage stance -- even a quiet one -- might have hurt his votes in some rural areas. It wouldn't have put his win in California in jeopardy, obviously. But maybe, if the McCain camp moved quickly to make an issue of it, it could have caused Obama to lose some of the close states he won last night? Maybe Virginia, maybe Indiana?

What if he'd turned even 10% of the A-A population from "Yes" to "No" votes on Proposition 8?

We'll never know, of course. And there remain legal and legislative options for marriage equality across the nation. This fight is not over, and I firmly believe that one day, our daughter Sophie will look back on this fight the way we look back at the bans on interracial marriage. It's nearly inconceivable to me that America once told blacks and whites they couldn't marry each other.

When Sophie is my age, I think she'll feel the same incredulity about the fact that two men or two women couldn't get married.

In any case, a great night for America last night. But it could have been even greater.

Hope vs. Nope

2008-11-03T07:26:00.000-08:00

In 2004, on the day before Election Day, I wrote a post on this blog entitled: Please, America. Do the right thing tomorrow.

Yeah, well. We all know how that turned out.

So here we are, four years later, on the cusp of a historic election. America is about to elect either our first black president or our first female vice president.

Lines are stretching for blocks in states with early voting; I have no idea what the lines will be like here tomorrow, in non-early-voting Alabama. I've never in my life waited more than 5 minutes to cast a vote, in any election. I suspect that may change tomorrow.

I'm sure the vast majority (of the small minority) of people who read this blog have either (1) already voted via early/absentee ballot; or (2) have decided, with 100% certainty, for who they'll vote tomorrow. (And if you're not voting in this election, you'd better be under 18 and/or not an American citizen. Otherwise, no acceptable excuse.)

But just in case there are any "undecided" voters among my readership, let me make the final case for Barack Obama.

America has been incredibly damaged by the eight years of George W. Bush's presidency. I almost typed "irreparably," but I hope that's not the case. Our standing in the world is in tatters due to the nonsense of the Iraq war. We're spending $10 billion dollars EVERY MONTH in Iraq, driving our nation further into debt. Our education and healthcare systems are a fucking joke compared to the rest of the industrial world.

Osama bin Laden, who murdered 3000 Americans on 9/11, remains at large. Bush had a chance to finish the war in Afghanistan, finish al-Qaeda once and for all, and he pissed away that chance, pulling troops into the Iraq quagmire instead.

Under eight years of George W. Bush, the disparity in this nation between rich and poor grew even wider. GWB rewarded his fat cat donors, his corporate masters, his oil company buddies with tax cuts and credits.

While New Orleans drowned, Bush helped John McCain celebrate his birthday. With cake, even.

The way John McCain has campaigned for the presidency leaves no doubt that he'd govern this nation the same way Bush has. He's run a divisive, nasty campaign, just like Bush ran in 2000 and 2004. Supporters at his rallies yell "terrorist" when Barack Obama's name is mentioned, they harass and sometimes attack members of the press, and McCain does nothing.

Like Bush before him, McCain is only interested in dividing the country to help him win. He doesn't care if he turns 50.1% of the nation against the other 49.9% if it gets him to 270 electoral votes.

His "Country First" campaign slogan was proven to be a crock of shit when he nominated Sarah Palin to the VP slot. It was clear then, that it was "McCain First," and always has been. No one can, with a straight face, state that Palin was the most qualified choice for the position. Not even close. A 72-year-old man, with a history of cancer, has chosen an unqualified crackpot to be second-in-line to the presidency. Unforgivable.

And yet, I don't want to encourage people to vote against George W. Bush. Or vote against John McCain. Or even vote against Sarah Palin.

Instead, I want people to vote FOR BARACK OBAMA.

This is a man that can bring this nation together. A man who would end the war in Iraq during his presidency. A man who will push for a healthcare system that will offer coverage to all Americans (and that's not "socialism," morons!). A man who will decrease the tax disparity between rich and poor; he understands that the largest tax breaks should go to the people who need them, not the people who don't.

I want a president who is smart, particularly after the monkey of the last eight years. Obama is a graduate of Columbia and Harvard, where he finished magna cum laude. He was the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review.

The man has brains. And he has a power to bring people together like no elected official I've ever seen. The way he has gotten people excited about his campaign, the way he defeated Hillary Clinton in the primaries (who had every possible advantage going in) is just amazing.

He is a devoted father and husband, and by all accounts he adores and dotes on his two daughters. I don't like to harp too much on "family values," but I think the way a person treats his/her family says a lot about their character.

I turned 18 in 1992, and cast my first presidential vote for Bill Clinton. I wasn't particularly politically-connected, but I knew I was a Democrat. I still think Bill Clinton was a great president, but his legacy will always be tarnished by the fact that he couldn't keep his pants zipped. (And to me, his conduct during the Obama/Hillary primary was deplorable.)

In 2000, I was -- and continue to be -- a fervent admirer of Al Gore. He would have been an amazing president; and yet, in the long run, he may do more good for the world because he lost (or, "lost") in 2000.

Barack Obama, though, has a real chance to be the greatest president of my generation. I will take my daughter Sophie to the polls with me tomorrow. And even though she's only two-and-a-half, and even though it may be tricky to stand in line with her for an extended period of time, and even though Alabama will end up in John McCain's column tomorrow, Sophie will be with me when I cast my vote.

Because I want her to know that she was in the voting booth on the day America made history.

A simple equation.

2008-10-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

Tina Fey as Palin + Will Ferrell as GWB = AWESOME.

(Darrell Hammond as John McLoser isn't bad either.)

Best Buddies

2008-09-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

Aww, look how sweet:

Two old, white, decrepit, useless Republicans (I don't care what Lieberman calls himself), nearing the end of their political careers.

Beautiful.

Barack Obama, meet Jed Bartlet

2008-09-22T08:04:00.001-07:00

The Bravo cable channel has resumed showing episodes of "The West Wing" recently. No doubt, they are trying to capitalize on the frenzy surrounding the Presidential election.

Re-watching some of these episodes, I'm reminded once again that I'd love to be able to vote for fictional President Jed Bartlet. He's a liberal without being a wimp, able to take a stand and also admit when he's made a mistake, he's brilliant and yes, "elitist" without being ashamed of that, and he truly wants what is best for America and ALL Americans. I'd love to have a president with the wisdom like that.

Apparently, so would columnist Maureen Dowd. In her column in today's New York Times, she asked "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin to posit a conversation between Bartlet and Barack Obama.

BARACK OBAMA knocks on the front door of a 300-year-old New Hampshire farmhouse while his Secret Service detail waits in the driveway. The door opens and OBAMA is standing face to face with former President JED BARTLET.
BARTLET Senator.
OBAMA Mr. President.
BARTLET You seem startled.
OBAMA I didn�t expect you to answer the door yourself.
BARTLET I didn�t expect you to be getting beat by John McCain and a Lanc�me rep who thinks �The Flintstones� was based on a true story, so let�s call it even.
OBAMA Yes, sir.
BARTLET Come on in.

Read the rest of the conversation here:

Aaron Sorkin conjures a meeting of Obama and Bartlet

Heart to Sarah Palin: "Fuck Off!"

2008-09-05T23:28:00.000-07:00

OK, OK, maybe I'm paraphrasing a little.

Still, the rock band Heart has told Republican VP candidate Palin to stop using their 1977 classic "Barracuda," even though it is the fantastically-unqualified Palin's nickname. Their record label, Sony/BMG, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the McCain/Palin campaign.

From the statement by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, founders of Heart:

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

Heh. I knew I always liked them.

This is not the first time McCain and/or his party have been asked by a recording artist to stop playing their music. In fact, during this campaign, this is at least the sixth time an artist has asked either McCain or the GOP to stop using their songs, as Republican politics and beliefs go against everything they stand for. John Mellencamp, John Hall of the band Orleans (now a Democratic congressman from New York), Van Halen, Jackson Browne, and Frankie Valli have all previously chastised McCain for playing their music without permission.

Oh, and actor Mike Myers forced McCain to take down a web clip earlier this year that used a scene from "Wayne's World" without permission.

This may seem like a trivial matter, but maybe there's a lesson to be learned here. Is it possible that McCain and Palin -- and the voters they are trying to court -- are not sophisticated enough to handle the subtlety of music lyrics?

I mean, Barracuda, as the Wilson sisters note, was intended to be a rant against the soulless nature of the music business. Isn't there, as they say, more than a little irony in the Republican party, the most corporate-owned political party in the history of the world, using it as an anthem? I can just see the empty-headed GOPers bopping along in their seats, not even realizing that the song is about their fat, white, corporate-owned asses.

For heaven's sake, Mellencamp's song Our Country calls on government to "help the poor and common man." Does that sound like something the Republican Party is particularly interested in?

I guess McCain really is the heir to Ronald Reagan, who blindly played Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" at rallies in 1984, until Springsteen asked the campaign to stop. Reagan and the other dullards around him thought it was a nice, patriotic song about how great it was to have been born in the USA.

If only they could have done something complicated like, oh, I don't know, listened to the goddamn lyrics, maybe they'd have figured it out.

But again, reading, subtlety, deeper meaning -- these are not part of the GOP's platform.

Is Grandpa McCain the next Doug Flutie??

2008-08-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

For his sake, he'd better hope so. Because he's just thrown a GIANT Hail Mary pass with his selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

I'm not sure what to think of this. A lot of speculation at DailyKos that other people (Romney, Lieberman, Pawlenty) turned McCain down and Palin wasn't his first choice.

I dunno. To me, this feels like a potential game-changer, something McCain needed to do to shake up the race. Despite recent polls that show the race between Barack Obama and McCain nearly tied, the electoral math is much better for Obama. Basically, if Obama wins any one of Colorado, Ohio, or Virginia, it's a done deal. There's virtually no way McCain can get to 270 electoral votes without all three of those states.

So I think the McCain campaign knew they needed a huge pick, a gamble. When a football team is losing by 4 with only 5 seconds left on the clock, and they're 60 yards from the endzone, there's only one thing to do -- throw a Hail Mary pass.

Most of the time, Hail Mary passes fall to the ground, incomplete, game over. But every so often (less than 10% of the time), a receiver makes a miraculous catch and the team that was behind wins the game. It's that less than 10% chance I'm kind of concerned about.

What can be said with certainty, however, is that this was completely a political choice for McCain. He's not thinking about how to best govern this nation, he's thinking about winning, plain and simple. (If Obama had chosen Hillary Clinton as his running mate, I would have said the same thing about him.)

I mean, come on. John McCain is 72 years old (today is his birthday, actually). He'd be the oldest person ever inaugurated president. He has a history of cancer. It's not crude to suggest that there's a decent possibility he could have health problems (or possibly even die) during four years, or especially eight years, as President.

And this makes the selection of his Vice President all the more crucial. So who does he pick? A woman who has been governor of Alaska for two years. Before that, she was mayor of the town of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of less than 10,000 people.

This makes her qualified to be second in line to the Presidency of the United States, behind a 72-year-old man?

All of McCain and the Republican Party's criticism of Barack Obama for being "inexperienced" (which he's not) just went out the window.

The McCain camp did time this pick very well; the press coverage is now all about Sarah Palin, pushing the coverage of Obama's masterful acceptance speech in front of 80,000 people last night to the sidelines. The timing was no accident, of course.

This is a political trick, a desperate act by a desperate man. But, the most dangerous animal is a cornered one, so I'm not celebrating Obama's win as a foregone conclusion just yet. Interesting to see how this plays out in the minds of the American people; and that will depend on how it is presented to them by the media.

Will the media pounce on this pick and ridicule Palin for being unprepared and unqualified, as they did with Dan Quayle in 1988?

Or will the media continue their love affair with John McCain and lavish praise on him for his "daring" and "unorthodox" choice?

Only time will tell.

New Sophie pix and video!!!

2008-08-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

New pictures and new videos of Sophie are posted on her website:

sophie.rzeszut.com

Here's a sneak peek:

What the hell is "tonguemack shri(m)p"??!

2008-08-08T16:52:00.001-07:00

synagogue shopping

2008-07-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

You know, they say that a man often chooses a wife that reminds him of his mother. Without slipping too deeply into a Freudian quagmire here, I will say that the two hardest-working people I've ever known in my life are my wife Raya and my mom.

Both of them are amazing dedicated employees. When they take a job, they take it on 100%, offering unwavering loyalty to the company/organization they serve.

Yesterday, Temple Beth-El rewarded Raya's loyalty of three years by eliminating her position. They seem to think that getting rid of her pittance of a salary is the answer (or, at least an answer) to the synagogue's financial difficulties.

They seem to think that all of her hard work as program and youth director can either be replaced or they can do without. They think that her youth director roles can be filled by unpaid or low-paid college students or other "young people."

Mm hmm. Like college students are going to be jumping at the chance to ride a bus to Orlando with a bunch of teenagers.

Like college students are going to think about Temple Beth-El, day and night, the way Raya did. Raya was amazingly dedicated to her job. People called us at home, kids called her cell phone, sent her messages on Facebook.

I'm enraged at the synagogue leadership, and don't think it can possibly be an enjoyable place for us to worship ever again. Two main reasons.

First of all, there had to be some idea weeks or months ago that eliminating this position was a possibility. The synagogue leadership could have been decent to Raya and said to her, "Look, we don't know if your position will be funded next year. You might want to update your resume." As shocking as that would have been, it would have given Raya a few months to start looking for something else. And wouldn't it have been easier on them to have Raya leave of her own accord, rather than having to let her go in a tear-filled and I'm certain amazingly awkward meeting?

The second reason is this: I know that non-profit organizations have to balance their books. And I know, in tough economic times, people cut back on their charitable donations. Temple Beth-El is in a decades-old building, the maintenance and repair costs alone are a struggle for them to keep up with.

But it's the people, the staff, that make the synagogue what it is. And the fact that TBE has decided to put such low emphasis on adult and youth programming is heart-breaking.

Especially the youth programming. Raya had a small but dedicated group of kids. We saw many of them at Camp Ramah last weekend. A lot of these kids are the children (or even grandchildren) of the current and past leaders of Temple Beth-El.

If the synagogue doesn't think these kids are important enough to need a youth director, doesn't develop an attachment to Beth-El in these young people, who is going to be running TBE 30-40 years from now???

And if the books are balanced, great. But if there's no programs happening at the synagogue, who the hell cares about the books?

Last year, Raya and I made a substantial charitable pledge to Beth-El. The largest charitable pledge we'd ever made to any organization. By far.

Scheduled to be paid over five years, we'd only paid 1/5th of it so far. I can guarantee you we're not paying the rest. I'm not interested in supporting a synagogue that treats its employees -- and its members -- like this.

And I can't possibly worship there any more, either. Because if we were to go to TBE, on a Shabbat evening or morning, or for High Holiday services, I'm going to see some of these assholes who were involved in this brainless and poorly-handled decision.

I really don't want to have to say to someone, "Fuck Off" in the middle of a synagogue.

A Starbucks on every corner?? Well, not this one much longer!!

2008-07-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

Nearly two years ago, I wrote on this blog about Starbucks Coffee opening a shop just across the street from my office. I lamented that they were moving in right next door to a fabulous local coffee shop, Lucy's. I vowed never to set foot inside that Starbucks (and I haven't), but I also worried about the eventual outcome, figuring they would drive Lucy out of business:

I hope I'm wrong. I hope after a year or so, Starbucks is the one that closes up and Lucy remains behind. But it's just really hard to believe that would happen.

Have you ever seen a Starbucks go out of business? Me neither.

Okay, I don't say this often, but:

I WAS WRONG!!!

Sure, it took two years instead of one, but turns out that it is Starbucks going out of business, while Lucy's survives!!!

Starbucks closing 2 Southside Birmingham locations (al.com)

This is fabulous news, and I stopped by Lucy's this morning to congratulate her in person. "I thought of you when I heard the news," she said.

I told her she's outlasted the "evil empire."

Really, Starbucks isn't evil. But it's pretty obvious that they overextended themselves. The joke about a Starbucks on every corner isn't far from the truth. And when the economy gets a little rougher, people cut out luxuries like $5 lattes.

Now, Lucy is probably feeling that pinch too. But when the Starbucks next door closes (within 30 days), she says her business will likely pick up, and I'm sure it will.

I like Starbucks coffee, and certainly the company itself isn't going anywhere. But I'm absolutely THRILLED to see this particular Starbucks going out of business.

Joe Lieberman = Douchebag

2008-05-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

Need further proof?

Independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, took his criticism of Barack Obama to a new level Wednesday, writing in an op-ed that Republican John McCain�s �political courage� stands in stark contrast to Barack Obama�s � and that his former party had moved �further to the left than it has been at any point in the last 20 years.�
"Lieberman: Obama not willing to 'stand up to the left wing'", CNN.com

Uh, no, Joe.

You're a backstabbing traitor who left the Democratic Party when the Democrats in your state kicked your sorry-ass to the curb. You're writing for the Wall Street Journal, for heaven's sake. When you write for one of Rupert Murdoch's many right-wing propaganda outlets, you have no credibility in chastising your former party.

You've moved so far to the right, I'm not surprised the Democratic Party looks "far left" to you. I'm surprised you can even see out, you've crawled so far up the Bush/McCain ass.

I can't wait for the Democratic leadership in the Senate to kick your ass to the curb in the next Congress. When the Democrats gain a real majority in the Senate, your hypocritical, lying ass won't be needed. You'll finish out your term in obscurity and out of power, and in 2012, if you're dumb enough to run again, the voters in CT will boot your Republican tuchus into retirement.

And that will be a glorious day.

"Obama and the Jews"

2008-05-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

A great op-ed piece in today's New York Times by Thomas Friedman, discussing a future President Barack Obama's relationship with Israel. And Friedman also points out that George W. Bush, supposedly such a great "friend to Israel," is also the first US President to publicly espouse a Palestinian state.

Friedman also says this:

Personally, as an American Jew, I don�t vote for president on the basis of who will be the strongest supporter of Israel. I vote for who will make America strongest.

Amen. Israel and Israelis can take care of themselves. While I want there to always be a strong US-Israel relationship, as Americans, that shouldn't be our first priority in a presidential candidate.

It really shouldn't even be in the top 10.

Read the whole article: Obama and the Jews.

Stephanie Klein makes me laugh.

2008-05-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

If you don't know who Stephanie is, go see her blog, and read her books.

And now I'm wondering....is my inner vagina sparkling?