Different Slants

The climate debate drags on. The latest twist is to debate whether a scientific consensus exists or not. The good thing about science is that there is always room for new evidence and new theories to explain the evidence. In the case of global warming, there seems to no longer be much question about whether the Earth is warming, just why. Is it the result of human activities, increased solar radiation, volcanic activity, or just part of a natural cycle? We may never know. We don’t have a control Earth were we can change the variables one at a time to see which has the greatest impact. Well, I have heard a theory that there is an identical Earth on the opposite side of the Sun, where we can’t see it but…

So, the theories that greenhouse gases are contributing to global warming may or may not be correct. What should people do in each case?

(Read on …)

THE PROBLEM:

I was wondering about the complex issue of where American Jews should stand in regards to the 1915 genocide of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks; Israel’s very good current military and economic relationship with Turkey; America’s military vulnerability if the Turk’s withdraw their use of Turkey as a staging area for resupplying our troops in Iraq and how can we demand the world must remember our slaughtered families and not acknowledge the Armenians frustration, anger and pain with little international recognition of their people’s losses?

Personally, I find it to be a conundrum because of the vastly evolved current circumstances from what they were 92 years ago. All positions are effectively, correct.

If we antagonize the Turks, everybody loses and the benefit to the Armenians is something that can’t be measured. If we ignore the Armenians, it undermines the Jews’ moral foundation that the World should recognize and deplore all national or racial, etc. slaughter. The debate is dividing Jews from Jews and all sorts of other combinations in this country.

POSSIBLY, A SOLUTION:

Not that anyone asked me, or anything like that, but after deliberating about the Turkey / Armenia nexus, I decided that the only viable way out (if I was in a position to mediate) that would leave the US –Turkey relationship intact and all that that entails and not risk American Jews causing a rift between Israel and Turkey by their support of a congressional resolution condemning Turkey for genocide in 1915, would be to drop the House resolution as a sop to Turkey, disengage the US Government from any further criticism of our current and strategic ally and have top US leaders meet in a bi-partisan effort to assuage the politically powerful and wealthy Armenian/American community.

Then what? (Read on …)

One morning some years ago, near Chicago, I was at a currency exchange where I would go to pay my utility bills. I suppose I could have mailed my payment, but it was faster for me to pay it in person. Besides, the dark-eyed girl working there behind the glass had a great rack on her and she always smiled at me, her blood-red lipstick gleaming on her soft, luscious lips. And when she walked over to punch my account numbers into her machine, I got a global view of all her…assets.

I didn’t mind. She didn’t mind and the whole day was better for the experience.

So, on this particular day, I was waiting in line to see my favorite cutie. I was on the left side of the small room where she always worked behind the bullet-proof glass, and there was another young guy at the teller down the way from me paying a bill too, with about a four yards between us.

I am white. He was black. I think my sexy teller was Assyrian, but that wasn’t crucial to what follows on what seemed to be an ordinary morning.

It was very quiet with the four us going about our business. Then, another young white guy, about twenty, blonde and thin, maybe five foot eight, walked in the exchange and stood silently behind me. I was almost ready to go, when the chime on the only door to the place clanged loudly as the door was suddenly shoved open and three adorable, very young black children scampered into the room, followed by a short, hesitant, thin to the point of appearing to be nearly anorexic, man of about thirty or so. The kids were full of energy and called the petite man “Dad.”

Then, to my disbelieving eyes an enormous blob of a woman ended this little parade. She was close to six feet tall, and for lack of a more accurate description, the woman most closely resembled the evil Jabba, (Read on …)

I invite all of North America to come and see me read my story titled: “The Thousand Dollar Bill” from my 3rd book, titled Saul Bellow,Kosher Pickles and the Aluminum Fortress.

It will be on July 26th, 2007, Thursday at 8 pm

My web page is www.fightingwordspubco.com.

Is a great story of an individual standing up for himself and up to one of the largest educational instutions in the United States.

The place is The Comedy Shrine, 22 East Chicago Ave. suite 205 Naperville, Illinois 60540 Phone: (630) 355–2844

There will be no charge for this performance.

If people are pleaed by what they hear, and see, the theater owner, David Sinker may have me as a regular performer, but you’d have to buy tickets if that happens. Sorry.

If any of you reading this are able to come, bring a friend, especially one who had trouble paying their tuition, once upon a time.

Thank you,

So Rick Munden (RGM), the Den Mother of this blog, bitching and moaning, asks me why I don’t have any more opinions to express about whatever bothers me, since all that I’ve posted recently have concerned, let’s see……An anti-war poem encouraging resistance in the streets to the current monstrously evil mob of self-serving, lying, greedy bastards that stole the election that put them there in the first place……Another more muted poem about being technologically overwhelmed by non-stop change in how everything I know how to do to communicate is passe,` and how other people mostly much younger than 57 think it’s comical that I can’t keep up with all all of it……A story about a wild rabbit who was nearly consumed by my three pet dogs, to the distress of my young daughter…….A story about why the US Capitol ought to be shifted 1,500 miles west to Lincoln, Nebraska and why at least 50% of the Congress should be composed of women…….Another (brilliant, in my opinion) story on how to resolve the Israel/everybody else in the world problem. I know I’m right about my proposals even if no one else currently living on this planet seems to embrace my vision of how good, how civilized, things could be if people were willing.

So after attempting to tell Rick that I had no more opinions about anything of significance, I spent the next half an hour telling him all those other things I had no opinion about, except for this and that and so on.

Rick is very patient, or perhaps he fell asleep while I was talking—it wouldn’t be the first time that happened–but when I finally ran out of steam, I concluded that he wanted me to write down more of my assorted and atypical thoughts.

And I will.

Soon.

So………..watch this space, or you might miss something good.

Shalom, Curious People.

Bob

One thing I don’t understand about the whole debate on immigration is that no one, absolutely no one that I know about has advocated amending the constitution to do what should have been 100 years ago: bestowing citizenship to those whose parents are citizens instead of those who happen to be born here.

The 14th amendment begins with “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside”. This was a post Civil War amendment (along with the 13th and 15th), and the language above was designed to prevent the defeated southern states from disenfranchising the newly liberated former slaves.

Well, that was a good thing in 1865, but why (in 2007) are children of foreign diplomats born here considered citizens? Why is citizenship bestowed on children of persons here illegally? Why is the letter between X and Z? (OK, just making sure you’re still with me). (Read on …)