Top of the evening everyone...
Some of you may remember that I finally ran for President four years ago. I was not pleased with President Obama. Mitt Romney was less than impressive. I wrote an entry about it. Here it is: I Have a Problem.
It is now four years later. We are all witness to the political spectacle that is this year's Presidential election. Please allow me to add a couple of thoughts.
Donald Trump...oy. Had you asked me, or anyone else for that matter, a year ago, I would have said that he did not stand a snowball's chance in hell of getting the nomination. I also said then that he was saying things that needed to be discussed. His utter lack of filter was putting serious concerns on the table.
That was then. This is now. Jennifer is absolutely right in her blog entry of this week about locker room talk. My friends, please allow me to speak of men's locker rooms. Whatever Jennifer has said is correct. However, she simply does not have the experience of being in the men's locker room. I do.
The men's locker room is not particularly noisy. People tend to be quiet. If there is a conversation, it is between two people, or maybe among three people. It is not across the room. As well, the general level of class that I have seen is more or less appropriate to daily society. I flatly reject the insult of locker room talk in justifying Trump's statements. Gentlemen, to be a gentleman is to be a gentleman at all times and in all places. This includes the locker room. A male President of the United States is always a gentleman.
That brings us to Secretary Clinton. She is smart. She is competent. In theory, I could vote for her. I have two problems. One is mine, and it is not a political problem. This e-mail 'scandal' is important. For the record, she is not a criminal. To call her that is horrendous. However, the e-mail 'scandal' presents a question of leadership. I have two .mil e-mail accounts. 'Mil' is short for 'military.' All federal employees in the US are required by law to use government e-mail for all government business. Having been on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing for violating that rule, I take umbrage at her getting away with it. It is far worse when one realizes that her security clearance is far higher than mine.
That being said, a friend pointed out that there was no malice. Folks, let it go.
The other issue is not so much a Secretary Clinton issue. It is the minions that she brings with her. During the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, protestors burned two flags outside the convention centre. The two flags were the US flag and Israel's flag. I absolutely support and defend the right to burn the flag. Under no circumstances will I keep company with those who do so. As people who would burn those two flags gain influence in the Democratic party, I cannot vote with that party anymore.
And so, I formally announce my candidacy for the Office of the President of the United States of America. My platform is this: I am not the other two.
Unlike last time, I am hoping for actual votes. If you believe in me, please tell a friend. If you do not, I understand, and still like you.
BR - if you are reading my blog these days, please note that I will nominate you for AG.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Monday, September 12, 2016
I Forgot to Give This a Title...
Top of the evening everyone...
For those of you who have not been out east, you should go. We just got back from Prince Edward Island. If you are familiar with the "Anne of Green Gables" books, they were all written out there. L. M. Montgomery is buried in Cavendish. We explored the cemetery.
I am forced to confess that PEI has the absolute best ice cream I have ever had. I do not do dairy so well, but decided to risk it because of the reputation. I think that my daughter found meaning in life at Cows ice cream.
I took the boys bicycle riding up and down the eastern shoreline. There were all sorts of birds, including one comparatively small bird that walked up and down the red dunes.
We had a fair amount of debate as to how to get to PEI. There is the bridge and the ferry. We all very much wanted to take the ferry, because, you know, we believe in ferries. We ended up doing both.
I went in up to my knees in the water up near Cavendish. I was not going to be that far north and not get my feet wet.
We rented a cottage at Cavendish. With cottages, we have front porches. You talk to your neighbours. I found it interesting that the men all wanted to sell everything and move out to PEI. It seems so much calmer than life in all of the places from which we hail.
We also went to the potato museum. PEI grows a lot of potatoes. They fry quite well.
I am being stepped on, so I think I should help with the groceries.
Good night everyone.
R/SCG
For those of you who have not been out east, you should go. We just got back from Prince Edward Island. If you are familiar with the "Anne of Green Gables" books, they were all written out there. L. M. Montgomery is buried in Cavendish. We explored the cemetery.
I am forced to confess that PEI has the absolute best ice cream I have ever had. I do not do dairy so well, but decided to risk it because of the reputation. I think that my daughter found meaning in life at Cows ice cream.
I took the boys bicycle riding up and down the eastern shoreline. There were all sorts of birds, including one comparatively small bird that walked up and down the red dunes.
We had a fair amount of debate as to how to get to PEI. There is the bridge and the ferry. We all very much wanted to take the ferry, because, you know, we believe in ferries. We ended up doing both.
I went in up to my knees in the water up near Cavendish. I was not going to be that far north and not get my feet wet.
We rented a cottage at Cavendish. With cottages, we have front porches. You talk to your neighbours. I found it interesting that the men all wanted to sell everything and move out to PEI. It seems so much calmer than life in all of the places from which we hail.
We also went to the potato museum. PEI grows a lot of potatoes. They fry quite well.
I am being stepped on, so I think I should help with the groceries.
Good night everyone.
R/SCG
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Tisha b'Av
Top of the evening to all...
The saddest day on the Jewish calendar is
Tisha b’Av. The Mishnah teaches us that
five calamities befell our ancestors on
this day. History has added many
more. We mourn these calamities
collectively on this one day.
Because it is a sad day, it has become a
day of fasting. Jewish tradition (as
well as practicality) teaches that we should have a seudah mafseket, a meal to
lead into the fast. We try not to overdo
it.
Amongst the other things put on the table
up here at camp, there was cereal. A
good carbohydrate load is important going into a fast. I enjoyed a bowl of cereal with my
dinner. It was Rice Krispies, because…
It is fun to put snap, crackle, pop into
your mourning.
Have a great evening everyone.
R/SCG
P.S.
You have no idea how much fun this was to write.
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
That Is So Unfair!!
Top of the evening to all...
I often heard my mother say to me that life is unfair. I learned to accept that. She is right. My lament on that is that I do not mind that life is unfair. Every once in a while, I would like it to be unfair in my favour. It does not seem like an unreasonable request.
Having said that, I try to make note of when life is unfair in my favour. Three good things have happened over the last couple of weeks.
I am a member of Cycle Toronto, and have been for eight or nine years. It is Toronto's cycling union. During the month of June, there was a drawing for new and renewed memberships. The winner of the drawing won a bicycle. It is quite a comfortable ride. I ended up upgrading it quite a bit, both in terms of speed capability and in terms of basic issues of comfort, so I ended up with about $1000 worth of bicycle for less than half of that amount. Nice!!
That would have been sufficient. I then purchased a $3 instant lottery ticket. It won $100, and then I won another $15 the same day. My friend David says that playing the lottery is mathematical illiteracy. He is absolutely right. Still, yet again, life was unfair in my favour.
Today was the kicker. One of the local radio stations has a contest three times a day. If you are the tenth caller, you get to answer increasingly difficult trivia questions. A correct answer increases the amount of money won. An incorrect answer loses everything. You can quit at any time and take your winnings. I elected to quit after having won $500.
At this time, I would like to note for the record that life has been unfair in my favour. I do not expect it to continue, though I would not mind.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
I often heard my mother say to me that life is unfair. I learned to accept that. She is right. My lament on that is that I do not mind that life is unfair. Every once in a while, I would like it to be unfair in my favour. It does not seem like an unreasonable request.
Having said that, I try to make note of when life is unfair in my favour. Three good things have happened over the last couple of weeks.
I am a member of Cycle Toronto, and have been for eight or nine years. It is Toronto's cycling union. During the month of June, there was a drawing for new and renewed memberships. The winner of the drawing won a bicycle. It is quite a comfortable ride. I ended up upgrading it quite a bit, both in terms of speed capability and in terms of basic issues of comfort, so I ended up with about $1000 worth of bicycle for less than half of that amount. Nice!!
That would have been sufficient. I then purchased a $3 instant lottery ticket. It won $100, and then I won another $15 the same day. My friend David says that playing the lottery is mathematical illiteracy. He is absolutely right. Still, yet again, life was unfair in my favour.
Today was the kicker. One of the local radio stations has a contest three times a day. If you are the tenth caller, you get to answer increasingly difficult trivia questions. A correct answer increases the amount of money won. An incorrect answer loses everything. You can quit at any time and take your winnings. I elected to quit after having won $500.
At this time, I would like to note for the record that life has been unfair in my favour. I do not expect it to continue, though I would not mind.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
Monday, July 4, 2016
Best Left Unsaid...
Top of the evening to all...
Many times, I have uttered some sort of wisecrack under my breath. Those who hear something ask what it was. I usually respond that it is not worth repeating. Generally speaking, things not worth repeating are usually not worth saying in the first place. That, however, is a different discussion. Or maybe it is not.
Here are two things best left unsaid.
You may have heard in the news that a person dressed as Superman stole a truckload of capers (you know....the little brownish things that are used to decorate food plates). This event will come to be known as the great caped caper caper.
And if you think that is bad...
There was a person holding two pears that he had peeled. He thus had a pair of pared pears.
Have a good night.
R/SCG
Many times, I have uttered some sort of wisecrack under my breath. Those who hear something ask what it was. I usually respond that it is not worth repeating. Generally speaking, things not worth repeating are usually not worth saying in the first place. That, however, is a different discussion. Or maybe it is not.
Here are two things best left unsaid.
You may have heard in the news that a person dressed as Superman stole a truckload of capers (you know....the little brownish things that are used to decorate food plates). This event will come to be known as the great caped caper caper.
And if you think that is bad...
There was a person holding two pears that he had peeled. He thus had a pair of pared pears.
Have a good night.
R/SCG
If You Happen to Be in Altoona...
Top of the afternoon to all...
My medium child, bless his soul, is constantly coming home with hubcaps. I do not know why. One of my nicknames for him is "Hubcap." Those who know him will agree that it fits.
Two of the hubcaps that he brought home fit on our car. This was convenient. We were missing two hubcaps. These two hubcaps did not match each other. They also did not match the two hubcaps that were already on the car. I put them on anyway.
Yesterday, Jennifer and I were driving northbound on I-99, just north of Altoona, Pennsylvania. There was something in the road, likely a piece of a blown-out tire. For reasons that are lost on me, I ran it over instead of steering gently to avoid it. I heard a clunk. I saw this thing that had been in the road bouncing a little bit before coming to a rest.
And I saw a hubcap go rolling across the road.
When we got home, lo and behold, we were down a hubcap. Luckily, the two that still match each other remain on the car.
If you happen to be passing through Altoona, Pennsylvania, and if you happen to see a hubcap on the side of I-99 north of Altoona, I do not expect you to stop and pick it up for us. I hope that you will have a little chuckle though.
Have a great day everyone.
R/SCG
My medium child, bless his soul, is constantly coming home with hubcaps. I do not know why. One of my nicknames for him is "Hubcap." Those who know him will agree that it fits.
Two of the hubcaps that he brought home fit on our car. This was convenient. We were missing two hubcaps. These two hubcaps did not match each other. They also did not match the two hubcaps that were already on the car. I put them on anyway.
Yesterday, Jennifer and I were driving northbound on I-99, just north of Altoona, Pennsylvania. There was something in the road, likely a piece of a blown-out tire. For reasons that are lost on me, I ran it over instead of steering gently to avoid it. I heard a clunk. I saw this thing that had been in the road bouncing a little bit before coming to a rest.
And I saw a hubcap go rolling across the road.
When we got home, lo and behold, we were down a hubcap. Luckily, the two that still match each other remain on the car.
If you happen to be passing through Altoona, Pennsylvania, and if you happen to see a hubcap on the side of I-99 north of Altoona, I do not expect you to stop and pick it up for us. I hope that you will have a little chuckle though.
Have a great day everyone.
R/SCG
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Bias in the Media....
Top of the afternoon everyone...
I have often had arguments with my father-in-law over where I get my news. I usually read Fox news on line. He says it is all lies. I find it easier not to have the argument, so I remain silent.
He prefers CNN. I stopped reading CNN regularly several years ago when I decided that their anti-Israel bias was way too evident. My father-in-law has insisted that it has gotten better.
I respectfully differ.
There was an attack today in Tel Aviv. Two Palestinians shot up Sorona complex. For the record, there is nothing disputed about Tel Aviv.
The headline on CNN initially read: 9 shot in market area; 2 'terrorists' in custody. If they were terrorists, why were the quotation marks necessary? This is perplexing.
But wait! There is more.
I tried to figure out a way to contact the nice folks at CNN to tell them to call a terrorist a terrorist. It does not need quotation marks. I was unable to find a way to contact them.
During the several minutes that I was trying to find the contact information, CNN changed the headline. It now reads: 9 shot in market area; 2 attackers in custody. The entire word is gone.
On April 28th, CNN's headline read: San Bernardino terrorist's brother arrested. Clearly, when the attack takes place in the US, the word is acceptable. Let's explore further.
On March 21st, CNN's headline read: Surviving Paris terrorist was planning new attacks. So we can see that terrorism takes place in Paris.
On March 23rd, CNN invites us to "meet the victims of the Brussels terror attack."
CNN comfortably uses words like 'terrorism' and 'terror' in Europe and in the US. They do so without the quotation marks. What is the issue with Israel? One wonders.
I will happily concede to my father-in-law that Fox might not get it right all the time. However, lies exist beyond the distortion of facts. It is a bald-faced lie to use words that deliberately distort facts. It is also a lie to use words that deliberately conceal relevant facts.
CNN, I challenge you to use the word 'terrorism' in a headline that refers to Israel.
CNN, J'ACCUSE!
May the best of the day be yours.
R/SCG
Addendum: 9:02 PM - CNN's headline says that people were killed in a terror attack. They were able to use the word.
Addendum: It is now Friday morning. Since I wrote this, CNN has apologized for their vocabulary. They have called this a terrorist attack.
I have often had arguments with my father-in-law over where I get my news. I usually read Fox news on line. He says it is all lies. I find it easier not to have the argument, so I remain silent.
He prefers CNN. I stopped reading CNN regularly several years ago when I decided that their anti-Israel bias was way too evident. My father-in-law has insisted that it has gotten better.
I respectfully differ.
There was an attack today in Tel Aviv. Two Palestinians shot up Sorona complex. For the record, there is nothing disputed about Tel Aviv.
The headline on CNN initially read: 9 shot in market area; 2 'terrorists' in custody. If they were terrorists, why were the quotation marks necessary? This is perplexing.
But wait! There is more.
I tried to figure out a way to contact the nice folks at CNN to tell them to call a terrorist a terrorist. It does not need quotation marks. I was unable to find a way to contact them.
During the several minutes that I was trying to find the contact information, CNN changed the headline. It now reads: 9 shot in market area; 2 attackers in custody. The entire word is gone.
On April 28th, CNN's headline read: San Bernardino terrorist's brother arrested. Clearly, when the attack takes place in the US, the word is acceptable. Let's explore further.
On March 21st, CNN's headline read: Surviving Paris terrorist was planning new attacks. So we can see that terrorism takes place in Paris.
On March 23rd, CNN invites us to "meet the victims of the Brussels terror attack."
CNN comfortably uses words like 'terrorism' and 'terror' in Europe and in the US. They do so without the quotation marks. What is the issue with Israel? One wonders.
I will happily concede to my father-in-law that Fox might not get it right all the time. However, lies exist beyond the distortion of facts. It is a bald-faced lie to use words that deliberately distort facts. It is also a lie to use words that deliberately conceal relevant facts.
CNN, I challenge you to use the word 'terrorism' in a headline that refers to Israel.
CNN, J'ACCUSE!
May the best of the day be yours.
R/SCG
Addendum: 9:02 PM - CNN's headline says that people were killed in a terror attack. They were able to use the word.
Addendum: It is now Friday morning. Since I wrote this, CNN has apologized for their vocabulary. They have called this a terrorist attack.
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