Saturday, March 22, 2008

Happy Holidays!

To all those who celebrate Easter, may it be a joyous one.

To those celebrating Purim, may it be a joyful and funfilled one... eat some hamentaschen for me!!! :)

And I? I have some time off for spring break! I am SO excited and looking forward to it!! (Until April, of course, when we have TWO SOLID MONTHS without a single break. Not one between spring break and Memorial Day-- UGH! I am NOT looking forward to that!).

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

5th Anniversary

Today is it. Five years since we invaded and occupied Iraq. 5 years since our men and women began dying, to the tune of 4,000. Five years since we began spending TEN BILLION dollars a week. Five years since we were promised, "It'll be quick," and "they'll greet us as liberators," and, "the oil in Iraq means the war will pay for itself." Five years since, "Mission Accomplished."

I watched the demonstrators, sick to my stomach to realize we are STILL there, with no real end in sight. Sick to my stomach at the cost in lives lost, tens of thousands of American lives destroyed, unknown (because Bush refuses to let them be counted) numbers of Iraqi lives lost and destroyed. Sick to my stomach at the effect it has had on our economy... can anyone REALLY believe that the 'downturn' (ie-- recession) that Bush has been ignoring for years and only FINALLY admitted when he was given no choice, is not partially the result of the deficit spending we've taken on, the selling of our country (in the form of debt) to the Chinese and Japanese, the printing of worthless money to stem the tide of that debt which causes the VALUE of that money to freefall, the 'spend, spend, spend or the terrorists will win" attitude???? I don't see how anyone can claim otherwise.

And Bush is STILL telling us this is a noble and justifiable use of 'lives and treasure.' FINALLY, FINALLY, the majority of people beg to differ. I fear it's too late, though. I worry that no matter who is elected, we are so far in that we will not be able to get out. We simply CANNOT go on spending the kind of money we're spending and sacrificing the lives we're sacrificing. Our police officers are now having trouble getting bullets for their guns, and those they CAN get are costing almost half again as much as before the war. The suppliers' stated priority is to provide ammunition for our troops, which IS, of course, absolutely necessary. However, our police at home are now less safe and more of the budget is going to that rather than other things like pay increases, maintenance of cars, purchase of new cars, PAL activities, etc.

We also have absolutely NO IDEA of the cost just in MONEY for the services the returning vets who've been traumatized, emotionally or physically, often permanently. These are costs that we will be paying for DECADES. And, of course, we MUST pay them. We OWE it to them. They pay the cost in the destruction of the lives they've known, we pay the cost in money to attempt to repair or support those lives. This war WILL, however, aside from the emotional cost, continue to cost us BILLIONS for decades, even if we are NOT in Iraq for 100 years, as McCain thinks.

Thanks for the legacy, Mr. Bush. I'm sure our grandchildren will thank you while they attempt to dig themselves out from under it.

Barack and Religion

I was reminded today of Barack Obama's reaction to Don Imus' "nappy headed ho" comment. He rightly condemned it, stating that his daughters were "beautiful, African-American, tall, and I hope someday will be interested enough in sports to earn a scholarship." He was offended for his daughters as African-American women.as he ought to have been. When asked if Imus should be fired, he stated that, "I don't want to enable programming consisting of such offensive comments," and," he wouldn't be working for me."


Okay, fine. I'm with him all the way. I was, as a woman and as an American, EXTREMELY offended by Imus' remarks, and even more, puzzled by them. I also felt he should have been fired.


Contrast this reaction to his reaction towards his 'spiritual mentor' (and, no matter how he denies it, his political adviser), whose comments he initially felt were 'no big deal.' What I don't understand is why he would fire Imus but not fire his spiritual mentor. Why he is offended for his daughters when they are attacked as African American women, but not when they are attacked as white women. I dont understand why he is not offended for his wife, whom he has described as carrying the blood of slaves and slave owners. When Rev. Wright attacked white people, he was attacking Barack Obama's FAMILY. When he attacked this country from the pulpit, he was attacking EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL in that sanctuary. Yet, Barack Obama seems to have no problem at ALL with that. Doesn't think it's any big deal. Doesn't think having his children being TAUGHT this is a problem.


What message is he sending to his children by his silence and refusal to 'abandon' Mr. Wright, by having his children listen to such attacks on them, and hardly daring to even MENTION the family that RAISED him until it was expedient for him to do so? Seems to me that the message he's sending to them is that half of who he is (really more, when you consider they are the ones who RAISED him) and a great portion of who THEY are is something of which to be ashamed, to hide and to pretend is non-existent-- unless it suddenly benefits you to trot it out. Is that the message we should be sending to our children? Isn't that what offended so many blacks about those who 'passed' years ago? Is that REALLY the message he wants to send to the majority of American voters?


That hatred by one individual is more acceptable than hatred by another?

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Dazed and Confused

One of my students had a fire at his home this week.... the house was a total loss; they have temporary housing but nothing else. We are all just in shock. My poor little baby; he seems to be doing as well as can be expected... everyone's been fussing over him since he came back. The PTA is setting up a fund drive to help them, and we've all decided pretty much that it's better to give them money so they can buy what they want/need rather than try to figure out what they need (and perhaps have several people give them the same thing or something they DON'T want/need).

Also, a friend of mine has said she would make him a special blanket. I know that will make him feel better. Annie, you are a hero and an angel! You truly are!!!! I aspire to be like you!!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Lazy, Lazy!!!!

Well, I guess not REALLY, but it sure feels like it!!!! Worked yesterday, so had to get up early. SAT prep, which I actually don't mind doing, but it's a LONG morning. Once I got home, I got so involved in reading blogs (and sort of catching up on mine), I didn't do a whole lot after work!!!

And then we lost an hour of sleep last night..ARGH! Woke up at 8:30, feeling like a slug, and realized it's REALLY 7:30... which, granted is late (especially for me), but not THAT late!! Maybe I'll actually not wake up at 4:00 for a while, hoping to get back to sleep! I'm not sure this Daylight Savings Time is a good thing... especially so EARLY in the year... everything seems to be rushed this year, coming before it's 'supposed to.' Lent, Easter-- rushing Spring!

Now, I should be doing all the things I was SUPPOSED to do yesterday. 4 hours of SAT just really takes it out of me, and I don't have much energy to do a whole lot the rest of the day.

Off to enjoy more of the blog party!! :)

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Shabbat Shalom!

Well, last night was Shabbat Across America. I went with P, and we had a great time!! The dinner was catered, so it was really good-- eggplant pasta of some kind, and lasagna, along with an excellent salad. Then they had the Shabbat service-- we didn't stay for that part, though, because she had to be back early this morning for services, and I had to work early this morning. They had oneg after, which I'm glad we didn't stay for, because I am trying to eliminate sugar as much as possible. It was great-- we sat with some people I didn't know, and some I got to catch up with-- haven't been going on Sundays, so I haven't seen a lot of them for quite a while. The kids got to do their thing with the Israeli flags (although the suggestion was made that they should have had American flags as well, since it is Shabbat Across AMERICA-- I agree with that, and it will be suggested to them for next year). There weren't as many people there this year as last, which was a shame. :( But it was a lot of fun!

Shabbat Shalom to everyone across the nation who celebrated Shabbat as a family and as a country. :)

Ultimate Blog Party 2008

Hi!!

Welcome to my home!!! I SO need a party right now, I am feeling the end-of-winter doldrums, wondering if spring will EVER get here!!!!!

I am an actor, who is also a teacher. It's fun, it's exhausting and I love it! Especially now that the writer's strike is over!!!!!

I love my cats, I love my family, and I love my kids!!!!!

Why do I blog? I have no idea. I didn't even READ any blogs until August or September of last year... and, suddenly, one day, I found myself on the mainpage of blogspot.com, and it offered me a blog, so I accepted!!! :) I have met a whole lot of FABULOUS people, got several blogs I read daily (my blogroll is going to get a lot longer, as soon as I get off my lazy butt and put some new links in!!).

You will soon discover, I am a BIG procrastinator, despite the major stress it causes me-- why? I have NO idea. I DO know that when I was an English major in college and had 10-page papers due (pre-computers, so this involved MANY all nighters retyping entire pages for one minor problem!), I rarely started the papers any more than 2 days before they were due-- I would SWEAR I would, I would get the materials, and they would sit there..... and I told myself I was 'germinating' the ideas in my mind. Which I think I actually do, to a great extent. I CANNOT outline. I have to just sit down and type... which leads to lots of editing, like moving a paragraph, rewriting a sentence-- THANK GOD FOR COMPUTERS!!!! Which made that possible!!! I guess I just work better under deadline pressure.

I am a part of the 365 project-- it's MUCH harder than it seems, and I have been tragically neglectful of my responsibilities in that regard, but I will catch up, I promise!!

I also urge you to read about The Long Walk, and follow along-- donate if you can! I got to know about this through The Great Interview Experiment, which was a lot of fun!!!

Set a spell, take your shoes off, make yourself to home! (And pay no attention to the undone laundry, the floor that needs to be mopped or the unmade beds!). Oh, and leave me a comment, question, or whatever tickles your fancy!!

And, head over to 5MinutesforMom's Ultimate Party Blog for more great blogs to read and comment on, and some great prizes you can win, whether you blog or not!