A Look Into My Thoughts

OK, so one of my goals on this blog was that I wanted it to be more than just "This is what I did today in Israel! Gosh, isn't this culture weird and interesting?" That's why I've been throwing in the "random thoughts" at the end of each post, so I can talk about other things that are interesting to me. So, while I still need to throw up a post detailing the rest of my Rosh Hashanah weekend and catch up with activities around Ashkelon (Not many. But sidebar: wouldn't that be a great name for a future post?), this post is going to be dedicated to other thoughts I've been having recently. Hopefully this will be interesting to everyone - if not, I guess we'll consider this a failed experiment.

- Fascinating and scary read from the New York Times yesterday. If you haven't read it yet, the columnist, Thomas Friedman, compares the political climate to what it was like in Israel in 1995 - before Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by an extremist who felt he was somehow justified in killing the Prime Minister. Friedman writes,

"They questioned his authority. They accused him of treason. They created pictures depicting him as a Nazi SS officer, and they shouted death threats at rallies. His political opponents winked at it all."

Now, if you didn't read the article, would you have any idea if Friedman was talking about Obama or Rabin? I haven't seen any fallout over here from the article yet, mainly due to the fact that we pretty much live in our own little world here in Kalanit. But keep in mind - the generation of Israelis in their late 20s-early 30s are apparently known as the "Candle Generation", due to the impact that Rabin's assassination had on their lives and world outlooks. So how would they respond to this? Moving back towards home, it's hard not to read stories and see videos from Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, the Tea Partys, the town hall meetings, etc. etc. etc. and not agree with this. Let's look at some of the topics that Pres. Obama has been attacked for recently:

-Giving a nationally broadcasted speech to students where he talked about... going to class and doing your homework. Truly a controversial subject.
-Being both a "Nazi fascist" and a "Marxist socialist". Now, as my 9th grade social studies teacher taught me, communism (far far far far far left) and fascism (far far far far far right) are pretty much the EXACT opposite. Wanna talk about flip-flopping?
-Not being an American citizen. Seriously, is this still going on? Stop it. Just stop it. It's moved past funny to just embarrassing.
-Going to Copenhagen to promote the Chicago bid for the 2016 Olympics. The case here is that Obama has way too much to do than to deal with this minor event which in no way would bring even more positive attention to America and certainly would not provide any jobs during a massive recession. Besides, doesn't everyone know that Obama is personally dealing with every single minute detail of health care reform, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear issue, the economy, and environmental reform? If only he had some sort of group, maybe a type of Cabinet of qualified individuals to help with those issues, along with a massive White House staff that handles the day-to-day operations of the executive branch of government. Oh, and wouldn't it be great if in the year 2009 there were some sort of electronic devices that would allow him to speak to those mythical people? And if we're really dreaming, why not throw in a camera that could attach to said device so that he could even see them as they speak, almost as if he were in the room. Ah well, it's only a fantasy. Now back to my blog before I go and Skype with my friends after updating my Twitter account.

In case Friedman's column needed any verification, just take a look at RNC Chairman Michael Steele's response, where he calls Friedman a "nutjob" who is completely irrational. Yep. Friedman is the irrational one here. Not like a federal employee was just found dead with the word "Fed" written on his chest or anything. And the saddest part about this is that there really are legitimate concerns from the right-wing about many of Obama's initiatives, starting with the cost of it all. But as long as this is going on, those voices are going to be completely drowned out by complaints that the President would dare support the Olympics coming to his hometown.

-Back to the Olympics (and on a much lighter note): With the vote coming up at the end of this week, it seems my bordering-on-obsessive-interests have locked in on Chicago's bid. I understand the point of those who don't want the Games causing endless construction and tax increases for their city, but come on - IT'S THE OLYMPICS. We're talking Olympic basketball on MJ's court. We're talking world-class soccer in Soldier Field. We're talking the pentathlon at Northwestern University and boxing at the University of Illinois-Chicago. We're talking beach volleyball on the shores of Lake Michigan on a site called Olympic Island. Why nothing is scheduled for Wrigley Field is beyond me, but nonetheless, this sounds absolutely amazing to me. The premiere sporting event in the world, right in the heartland of America. I believe the vote will be around mid-afternoon here - expect me to be watching.

-I know I said last time I didn't care about the Rams, but seriously, this team is bad. I think Spagnuolo and Devaney will be able to turn it around, but it's gonna take a while. This Post-Dispatch column by Bernie Miklasz says it best - are we seriously arguing about whether Marc Bulger or Kyle Boller are better? This week alone, we've lost our starting QB, WR, and safety for an extended amount of time to injuries. We've been starting Mr. Irrelevant at LB (has a Mr. Irrelevent ever started a single game before?) - oh wait, he just got suspended for illegal substance use. Big surprise there. I mean, we're 3 weeks in and I'm already looking at mock drafts to see what quarterback we might take. Ugh. I might be in the market for a new team soon.

-On a more positive note, go Cardinals! Good thing I have internet, because I'm going to do my best to watch every pitch of playoff baseball for the Cards. It's going to be a tough month - every team out there has something to fear. I think the Phillies are my biggest worry, just because of how much Ryan Howard loves hitting in St. Louis. Ideal first round matchup is probably the Dodgers - not sure why, but I haven't really been that overwhelmed with them all year. In our group alone, we've got Phillies, Red Sox, Twins, and Yankees fans, so it'll be an interesting crowd to watch with. By the way, Wainwright for Cy Young. Also, if La Russa isn't Manager of the Year I don't know why the award exists.

-It's gonna SUCK not being at Mizzou next week. All I can say is that I hope everyone there goes to the pep rally next Tuesday and the game next Thursday, because these things come and go faster than you'd believe. Also, I finally saw the new Mizzou commercial for this year, and I have to say, for all the crap I gave them about the commercials in the 05-06 days, they've gotten it together. Plus, Jon Hamm gives one of the greatest "Z-O-U"s I've ever seen.

Guess I should throw in a little Israel talk... I might try and throw up another post on Sunday, but starting tomorrow I'm on Sukkot break. Tomorrow afternoon I'm headed back up to Yokneam to see my adoptive family again for the weekend, and next week I'm spending four days in (drum roll please...) Egypt! I'll be the one with the MASA backpack and my "I support the IDF" shirt. I'm sure a lot of stories and pictures will come of this, so I better catch up on the blogs soon. So keep watching this space for more...