OMG! PHILLIES WIN WORLD SERIES!

AP

YA GOTTA BELIEVE! Tug McGraw, threw winning pitch of 1980 World Series, RIP, Tug

Well yeah, 1980 and 2008 ... something karmic there.

My throat hurts from screaming, right in my own living room.

My hand hurts (my good arm) from high-fiving my husband.

My windows are rattling from fireworks and car horns and people whooping outside in the streets in joy.

We're going out there now to join the spontaneous block party that's just started.

There are better things than this, but right now, it feels as good as it gets.

PS I'd like to feel this good on November 4.

Shouldering Some Surgery, See You in 3-4 Weeks

This is not me, I have much better muscle tone.

I'm serving notice to all you active young pups still south of 50: Beware Father Time. Especially if you're an athlete. Or a fitness freak. Or both. Trust me, that wonderful, endorphin-enhanced pounding high you're getting now will come back to bite you on the ass. Or, in my case, this time, the left shoulder.

Today I'm having major shoulder surgery. Two 3-centimeter full-thickness rotator cuff tears front and back, a nearly severed biceps tendon, bone spurs, a crack in my scapula (aka shoulder blade). My shoulder's so bad it partially dislocates (called subluxation) at the slightest movement. So the surgery will also include inserting pins for greater stability.

You'd think I was a Major League baseball pitcher. S'okay, I'm in good hands, my doctors treat our Philly teams.

By the time you read this --sometime Friday morning-- I'll be in the OR or in recovery. Drugged and needing it. Hoping to wake up and find the 5-hole arthoscopy did the trick, that they didn't have to open me up with a big nasty incision.

Of all the sports surgeries, they say shoulder is the hardest. Worse, they tell me, than having a hip replaced. (My hips are just fine, thank you). But at least I had fun getting here.

In my teens and 20's it was competitive swimming, volleyball, softball. Plus skiing and running. In my 30's switched full time to tennis, squash, racquetball. Nautilus. Free weights. Aerobics. All necessary not only for health, but stress relief, especially working in politics and journalism.

By the time I reached my 40's I was a full time mom with my own little wellness business on the side, contracted to run fitness centers in federal office buildings and at my local health club. My favorite task was conducting quarterly fitness testing for the FBI, the Secret Service, Customs agents. Damn, that was fun.

Running those guys up and down 10 flights of concrete stairs, making them hit the floor for 50 push ups, hold weights while running an obstacle course, calling them "Sissy maggots!" at the top of my voice. Oh, and did I mention I was doing everything they were doing too? Plus, in those days I was teaching 2-3 step and aerobics classes a day, 5 days a week.

Not. Any. More. Over the past 20 years I've had both knees "scoped" ... handled it pretty well. Also a wrist, an ACL, a small rotator cuff tear/frozen shoulder (the right one), my lower back twice. Less fun, yet manageable. My left hand last February. The worst so far. Hands freakin hurt.

Today they'll fix my left shoulder. I'll suck up the 3-week immobility cast and the pain as best I can. Then I'll start the 3-6 months of rehab. It's okay, I'm a PT fanatic. Physical therapy is my middle name. And my health club. I've been going there throughtout August 3 times a week in advance of this surgery to get in tip top shape for it.

My sister (a nurse, how convenient) will be staying with us to help me manage with only one arm. At least I'm right-handed. But still, fully immobilized left side -- I know from the hand surgery it isn't so easy having only one arm.

My respect for amputees and other disabled people soars when I'm in my 'temporary' situations. You can't cut your food. You can't push yourself into a sitting position in bed. You can't even pull your own pants up without a lot of circus-style contortions.

BUT: they promised me I'll be able to type in a few weeks. Maybe two, maybe three. You gotta know that's almost as high on my list as rehab and recovery. I can always dictate to my sister, but it's not the same. Although if something major breaks, my voice will get here somehow.

In the meantime, maybe this is a good thing. A break from the cerebral and the outrageous, some time for dumb TV shows, chick flicks, good quality heart-to-hearts with my sisters and friends. I'll get flowers and candy and maybe even (stay back, Freaky Troll!) cake.

And from now on, no more tennis and skiing. Instead it's the treadmill, the elliptical, yoga, Pilates, bands, lighter weights, more reps. I love it and it's good for me, health-wise. I have the blood pressure, cardio-vascular endurance, muscle strength, low cholesterol and body mass index of an active woman half my age.

And I have the joints of a worn-out, washed up pro football player.

So take my advice, be a little kinder to your joints while you still can.

I won't be doing any heavy lifting for a while, but I'll be thinking of you, and I wouldn't mind some kind thoughts and good karma from anybody willing to shoulder them on my behalf.

SATC - Entertainment, Not Politics

"... we have come a long way. No question. Definitely. But it's not because of 'Sex and the City.' It's because of what real women have done in real lives, not on TV sets." Susie Bright

Just when my brain is about to explode from too much media coverage of the presidential campaign, along comes the movie version of Sex and the City.

What does it say about our values that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama get a break from the spotlight while the media engage in a virtual masturbatory orgy of psychobabble about the global impact of a fictional group of horny, romantic, often silly women?

Enough! Sex and the City is a movie, not a movement. The real, political movement already happened -- back in the 60's and 70's. I know. I was there. It was called Women's Liberation. Equal Rights. The Sexual Revolution.

Those hard won battles weren't fueled by a TV show or a movie any more than the SATC movie or TV show launched any kind of new cultural breakthroughs. So today's 20-somethings seem obsessed about sex, why does that have so many writers' panties in a twist?

Every generation of young people thinks it invented sex. Our great grandparents were having group sex in bathtubs full of gin, for cryin' out loud. It was the Baby Boomer generation --Make Love, Not War-- that opened a truly new and open discussion.

We Boomers can claim, legitimately, that ours is the generation who brought sex, drugs and rock 'n roll out of the closet and into the forefront of our culture.

We took away the shame, the blame, the insulting game whose rules told us that healthy sexual appetites are for men only. That sexual objectification and worse, abuse, is tolerable. That women don't have the right to control our own bodies.

That's the bottom line. Now, we can not only control them, we can enjoy them. Do what we want with them. Discuss them. Trust me, we dished down-and-dirty then, and we still do.

Most of us weren't strutting the streets of Manhattan in $800 shoes and $1500 dresses. We wore jeans and flip flops. (Oh, you thought you invented those too? Jeez). But we had just as much sex just as casually and reviewed just as many details with our BFF's as do fictional Carrie and crew.

By the way, I'm a devoted SATC fan. Especially because the openness, dreams and vulnerability portrayed resonate with me and my generation of sexually active women from 30-to-50-something. And, one hopes, beyond.

SATC was a hot, sexy TV show with a lot of snappy dialogue, sex, flash, dazzle, and women dropping the F-bomb as casually as they dropped their panties. Yes, they all wanted to be married or at least cared for, but guess what ... so do we all. We don't need someone with a PhD in relationship therapy to tell us the obvious.

I've been eagerly waiting for the movie, but I'm planning to wait just a little longer til the crowds of over-dressed, overly self-conscious and pretentious SATC wannabes are gone. Then, my girlfriends and I will go. And laugh and cry and maybe get annoyed (I already hate Carrie's wedding dress) at the excess.

But in the end, it's just entertainment. Not politics. Which, frankly, gets more fantastical every day.

Air Travel Tips

"Today, most people consider just getting there to be the only remaining value in air travel." Zagat Survey

It's travel season and as a seasoned traveler I'm sharing some tips on how to make your airplane trip smoother, easier and a little safer.

Zen Approach
A realistic, even fatalistic attitude is the key to sane air travel. Today's reality means you will be dealing with underpaid, overworked people in positions of power without proper training or enough supervision.

Many of those people can--and will--abuse that power and make your life hell. If you let them. (I'll tell you how to minimize that in a minute).

Chant to yourself over and over before you leave the house, "It's out of my control. It's out of my control. It's out of my control."

And face facts: if you can't deal with the inevitability of being overcharged, underserved, ordered around, invaded, ignored, pushed, prodded, poked and possibly insulted ... all while enduring endless, boring waits, don't fly. Just stay home. Really.

Money Matters
Keep a collection of ones and fives in a separate small holder, in your pocket or in the top compartment of a carry-on. This is for tips. Don't be stingy. You can afford to hand out a total of twenty bucks to people making minimum wage schlepping heavy stuff for tired, cranky travelers.

Make sure your wallet is packed way down deep in a bag that never leaves your side. I stow my cash and credit cards in a make-up case or anything else that isn't all that interesting and doesn't resemble a wallet. Put some extra money and one credit card in a different place or on your person.

If you're traveling overseas, try to get some local currency before you leave. Do not change money in a foreign airport unless it's a local bank branch. And even with our economy and buying power at an all time low, everybody still wants American dollars.

Send yourself email with your passport info, including number and expiration date, your itinerary and your credit card and bank numbers.

Packing Lists
Make a Travel Packing List and save it on your computer. I have different lists for different destinations. Florida, Israel, California, Denver ... each requires different clothes and gear.

I also group my lists into categories, i.e. Backpack, Carry-On, Checked Luggage. When I'm ready to pack, I print the list and check things off as I put them in the bags.

Tape a copy of your list to the inside of each bag as a reminder so you don't leave anything behind on your return. Plus, it's a good way to keep track of your stuff ... and to let the airline know you're doing just that.

By the way, this is not overly anal. Disagree? Okay, get back to me when you reach your destination and realize you forgot your prescription reading glasses, special shampoo, camera or phone charger.

Pro Packing
Pack meds, toilet articles, iPod, etc. in see-thru cases and fold clothes into plastic packing bags and big zip-locks, which you can buy at Target or CVS.

Remember, your luggage will be searched over and over, your belongings moved and touched by strangers. Security screeners only wear those blue plastic gloves to protect them from the cooties in everybody's luggage.

If they can see everything through your clear plastic cases and bags, security personnel are less likely to open them and physically touch your stuff.

Important: Pack all medications, essential small toiletries, a set of underwear and one outfit in your carry-on to get you through at least a day of lost or late luggage. Include a pack of tissues. And a small bottle of hand sanitizer to use after you've visited the bathroom. Especially on the plane, you don't want the lavatory water even to touch your hands.

Lugging Luggage
If you travel with a lot of stuff, buy the cheapest, lightest luggage you can find. A $35 roomy 30" rolling upright from Walmart has lasted me six round trips and counting from Philly to Tel Aviv.

Mark the outside of your luggage front and back with duck tape. I write my last name in bold marker on the tape. I don't know why more people don't do this, but I can pick out my bags in a flash from the other side of the carousel, and so can a porter (or a kind stranger) if I'm exhausted and needing help.

Don't forget to put your name and address INSIDE your luggage. If those fancy monogrammed luggage tags you bought from Eddie Bauer fall off, how will the airline find you?

Take a digital picture of your bags inside and out and keep it on your camera (print a copy, too) in case the airline loses them. The copy of your travel packing list will come in real handy then too.

At the Airport
Have your ticket, ID or passport and a credit card all together up front where you can grab them instantly. How many times have you stood in line behind someone digging endlessly through her bag making everyone wait? Don't let that person be you.

Bring along a book or magazine, your iPod, take a pill if necessary. Whatever you can do to reduce stress, relieve boredom and let you go with the flow will save you a lot of aggravation.

It's a given you will stand in line quite a while to go through security. Seize that opportunity and use the time productively by preparing for the scanner. Dump the Pepsi. Take off your jacket. Get the laptop out. Unlace the shoes (slip-on's are so much smarter). Have your quart Ziploc ready to drop in the bin.

We all know we have to do this. Savvy travelers don't wait til they reach the belt to start the whole process. They also know you don't make jokes or conversation with TSA employees. Unless you need to point out the metal pins in your knee, the best approach is silent compliance.

While you're in the departure lounge be pleasant to people. Admire babies, smile sympathetically at the parents of crying or restless children. Help an older person with a bag or offer to get her a bottle of water. Strike up a conversation with the person next to you. All will make time pass and gain you points, if only in heaven.

And if you have a question or request for airline personnel, be nice, be patient, try to be courteous even if they're frazzled. Remember, they don't run the airline, their job mainly consists of stamping tickets and listening to angry people bitch and moan every hour of every single day.

On the Plane
Have your boarding pass (and ID if required) in your hand when boarding is called. If possible, have your book and glasses out or at the top of your carry-on too.

Read your boarding pass, figure out approximately where your seat is, find it fast, stow your bag(s) above and below your seat and sit down as quickly as possible.

Help your seat mate do the same if necessary.

You will have gone to the bathroom while waiting in the departure lounge.

Then you can settle back, open your book, embrace your Zen attitude and be well prepared to wait until the waiting's over.

FL Jews vs Obama or the New York Times?

Eric Thayer for The New York Times

Shirley Weitz, right, talking to Ruth Grossman in Boynton Beach, Fla. The Jews she knows will not vote for Senator Barack Obama, Ms. Weitz said, because of “his attitude toward Israel.”

There's an article in The New York Times on the ambivalence many Florida Jews feel about voting for Barack Obama. It's a serious article about an important issue. But somebody at the Times didn't pay attention to some decidedly unserious gaffes.

Let's start with Mrs. Weitz of Boynton Beach, pictured above in the article's cover photo. Styled dark hair, expert make-up, trim figure, trendy clothes. I see similar lovely ladies when I visit my parents in nearby Boca Raton.

Not one of those women would ever choose to be identified in the New York Times by her age, except possibly in her obituary.



Okay, maybe a small thing. But let's move on to Ms. Grossman, literally outed by the Times on race and her voting preference.



I think the cat's out of the bag now, Ms. Grossman. Unless none of your neighbors read the Times.

Then there's the sidebar photo. Unintentionally hilarious. Oh, don't give me a hard time about fat-bashing. I don't care what you look like as long as you're healthy. But I'm guessing the lady pictured isn't too thrilled with the offer to um, further enlarge her image.



Finally I have to ask Rabbi New how he thinks his senior constituents will respond when they read his highlighted Times quote as he mused about "The fate of the world for the next four years."



Oy.

Family Fun Facts

"If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it." Erma Bombeck

Okay, so I'm a week late for Mother's Day. Most mothers are farther behind than that.

I was supposed to leave for Israel today but my sore paw is still acting up and will delay my trip at least a month. I need a distraction. And I thought we could all use a laugh, even a week late.

Our family in Israel has 10 kids, youngest is 7. There are now 7 grandkids, oldest is 6. Here's something funny (and potentially too true), supposedly written by a mother in Austin, TX.

25 THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM MY CHILDREN

1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2. If you spray hairspray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they ignite.

3. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "Uh-oh," it's already too late.

4. One 3-year-old's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

5. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

6. No matter how much Jello you put in a swimming pool, you still can't walk on water.

7. Pool filters do not like Jello.

8. Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a four-year-old.

9. Play Dough and Microwave should never be used in the same sentence.

10. Super glue is forever.

11. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

12. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

13. You probably do not want to know what that odor is.

14. Always look in the oven before you turn it on. Plastic toys do not like ovens. Neither do gerbils.

15. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

16. It does, however, make cats dizzy.

17. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

18. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a superman cape.

19. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 by 20 foot room.

20. You should not throw baseballs up in the air when the ceiling fan is on.

21. When using the ceiling fan as a bat , you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit.

22. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

23. The glass in windows (even safety glass) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

24. Your sister's head will, however, stop that same baseball.

25. Sisters hit in the head by baseballs cause a LOT of commotion.

Liz Spikol and 'Mad Pride'

Shea Roggio for The New York Times

"It's not a 'mental' illness, it's a medical condition." Dale Neaman

So there she is, Liz Spikol, profiled in the New York Times and on the Huffington Post, back to back. Wow. How cool is that. Especially on a subject about which she happens to be an expert: mental illness.

The focus is on Spikol's contribution to a modern movement dedicated to bringing mental illnesses out of the dark ages and onto the Internet and YouTube. To shine light on a litany of very real medical conditions once hidden in the same kind of closet as homosexuality.

I knew Liz as a child, followed her impressive professional career, learned of her long battle with mental illness. I've celebrated her growth here but never came out, so to speak, about my own membership in her not so exclusive club.

'Mad Pride' is finally a group I can get behind 100 per cent. No, I'm not crazy (neither is Liz). But I'm not totally sane either. If you just went, HUH? that's the problem 'Mad Pride' proponents are trying to address.

Look around, hardly anybody you know is issue-free, so to speak. Or chemical-free, as a result of any number of very real mood disorders and illnesses. Usually inherited, just like heart disease or diabetes.

Yeah, I live a "normal," mentally balanced life, but only with the help of prescribed pharmaceuticals, internal fortitude and external support. So do millions of others, many, many of whom are related to me.

In our family alone we've got bi-polar disorder, manic depression, hypo-mania, clinical depression, suicidal ideation disorder, a potpourri of anxiety disorders, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcoholism, ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome and last but not least, body dysmorphic disorder.

Just about the only thing missing is schizophrenia. Although.... wait ... no! ... maybe ... well ... hold on! ... shut up! Oh, nevermind. Just kidding.

Mental illness isn't funny. Unless you've been through the tunnel, come out the other end and are managing your disease well. Then it can--for some, Must--be a stitch. Because that's the best way to patch yourself up.

A poster girl for 'Mad Pride,' Liz Spikol speaks with heart, humor, raw honesty, intelligence and incredible perception about her battles with bi-polar disorder. Listen to her.



Then listen some more.

I'll take my turn in print. Sometime soon.

GenX vs Baby Boomers?

"A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten." John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Hillary Clinton took Pa by double digits after all and is still in the race. You didn't really expect her to bail, did you? If you've learned anything about committed Baby Boomers, you should know that only the zonked-out aging stoners among us are anywhere near ready to quit.

My GenX galpal Amy Z. Quinn, aka Citizen Mom, aka Confetti Betty, summed up the PA Primary with some pithy comments about the disconnect between GenXers and Baby Boomers vis a vis Obama and Clinton.

Putting things in prospective earlier this month, a lot of what she posits is the real deal.

As for the rest, well. Where to begin. First, I feel old, disenfranchised and just generally dissed by my GenX counterparts. It might surprise you to learn that not all of us burned our bras, some Boomers really did effect meaningful change.

We helped create, then joined and served in the Peace Corps for example... no small achievement. We boycotted not only stocks but products too. Think Chavez and grapes/lettuce. Dow Chemical. The Draft.

We didn't simply join hands, sing Kumbaya and march for Civil Rights legislation, the oldest of us helped write many of those laws. Not to mention the late great ERA for women. And hello? Rove V Wade is in our column. I could go on, but jeez, maybe I'm losing my memory.

GenX Obama-mania has had the unfortunate effect of framing all Boomers, including Hillary Clinton, as tired old gasbags whose claims of past glory and victory are vain and empty. Not freakin true, no matter how obnoxiously visible the ubiquitous shillings of aging celebs like the Ms's Keaton and Efron.

GenX, hell, Barack Obama himself, owes a large part of the current campaign--and your Freedom to Bitch and Moan--to the liberating efforts of your Boomer elders.

So instead of wailing on us, maybe some of you could review our former--and potential--achievements, challenges and resulting contributions before you consign us to useless Old Fogeydom.

Let's remember something else the Baby Boomer Generation accomplished: We. Stopped. A. War. And. We. Brought. Down. A. President. So I suggest GenXers stop making fun of us and check out a few pages from our playbook.

Every generation thinks it's reinventing the wheel. Baby Boomers actually crafted a better one. If it's getting a bit creaky, now's the time for both groups to buff it up and roll it together into the future.

Obama's Slick Oil Ad

"The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different." Aldous Huxley

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Barack Obama supporters say he's a fresh face with a whole different view of politics. Not. So. Fast.

Obama's latest and most ubiquitous ad, in which he declaims self-righteously, "I don't take money from oil companies," isn't exactly correct, according to FactCheck.org and the Center for Responsive Politics.

In fact it's illegal for any federal candidate to take corporate money. So Hillary Clinton and John McCain don't take money from oil companies either.

Except they do. And so does Barack Obama.

How? The old fashioned way -- through individuals who work for oil companies. And with the help of their campaign "bundlers" who gather large contributions from groups of corporate fat cats.

Ahem. Politics as usual.

It's all here FactCheck.org: Obama's Oil Spill.

I have a news flash for those who get all high and mighty about Obama as New Breed of Politician: Nothing. Has. Changed.

Are You A Feminist?

"Does feminist mean large unpleasant person who'll shout at you or someone who believes women are human beings. To me it's the latter, so I sign up." Margaret Atwood

I'm lucky--and free--enough to call myself a feminist. Women in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Darfur, too many other countries around the globe ...and right here in America... aren't so lucky.

Watch the video.

Then go here: Feminist Majority Foundation - Breaking News, Feminism from Affirmative Action to Sexual Harassment to Women's Sports

Then act. Why? Because you can.

Oh, and have a nice weekend. Because you can.

Good Friday - Religion 101

"As a Christian I don't condemn you for saying or thinking what you have, you certainly have that right, but don't be taking away my rights as a Christian to believe and say what I want to. Besides, why do you hate a God that loves you and wants the best of everything for you?" Jennifer Vance

Whoa, Jennifer. That's a big leap, equating my argument against celebrating Good Friday as a national holiday with hating God.

Last year I wrote a piece called Good Friday - Not A National Holiday. It continues to provoke responses from people of mostly sincere beliefs who don't seem to have understood my point.

So I'll try again. I'm not anti-Good Friday or anti-Christian or anti-religion. I'm certainly not anti-God. Far from it. I proudly celebrate my own Jewish faith while respecting others who hold different beliefs and practices.

Why not? Christians, Jews and Muslims historically came from the same place after all. Our teachings aren't so very different. One God, adherence to religious laws, faith, conviction, love, tolerance.

It's that last one where the problem usually lies. Religious oneupsmanship. My God's better than yours. Or worse, my God thinks you should die.

Whether Christian, Jew, Catholic, Muslim or Buddhist, religion can have such a positive effect on our lives. It gives us meaning, guidance, support, comfort, direction, strength. What it should never provide is an excuse to kill. Or to hate. Or punish. Or even to judge.

That's why our founding fathers, while recognizing their own and their country's predominant Christianity, tried to take religion out of the governing equation. They wanted to abide by its principles but not to rule America by its laws.

A very sane--and safe--view of separating Church and State. They guessed correctly, as it turns out, that overly zealous religious leaders might run their country with very narrow evangelical tunnel vision. And thus without true tolerance.

I say again, I respect Good Friday as a day of profound significance to Christians. But exactly by virtue of its personal religious significance, it should not be elevated or legislated by government.

The world has learned the hard way that allowing a single religion to rule a nation is to give its fanatics a platform from which to launch unspeakable acts. There's nothing God-like about that.

Gerry Ferraro Speaks Straight

"In all honesty, do you think that if he were a white male, there would be a reason for the black community to get excited for a historic first? Am I pointing out something that doesn't exist?" Geraldine Ferraro

The 2008 presidential primary campaign is turning out to be historic because of its two Democratic candidates' gender and race ... for all the wrong reasons.

Everything's fair game, especially the obvious. Did Hillary really cry and if so, are women too emotional? If Barack's middle name is Hussien, does that make him a Muslim? Who's lying to women? Who's pandering to blacks? Whose husband, wife, mother, staffer said this, that or the other?

JAYZUS!

Issues, people! Issues! What do the candidates represent and how do they characterize each other? Neither candidate is responsible for what other people posit, even on his or her behalf.

And Geraldine Ferraro, herself a history-maker as well as a person of substance, merely said out loud what most of us think, if only subliminally. Not because we're racists, because we're Realists.

The Obama machine--oh yes, he has a fully operational Machine, complete with seasoned political attack-dog advisers--saw their chance to make campaign hay and pounced. Their self-righteous bellowing --Racist! Racist!-- is just too canned and canny.

Obama's campaign manager David Axelrod is equally responsible of name-calling when he suggests there's an "insidious pattern" of racial remarks by Clinton supporters. There's the proof, right from the horse's mouth. Play the race card on your own behalf.

Gerry Ferraro is entitled to her opinions, frank and to the point as ever. When the opposition and the media started a firestorm, she replied succinctly and very well:

Dear Hillary --

I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign.

The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you.

I won't let that happen.

Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do to make this a better world for my children and grandchildren.

You have my deep admiration and respect.

Gerry

Geraldine Ferraro has my deep admiration and respect too.

If Clinton and Obama can't or won't control their handlers, they might as well be the same two white guys conducting political campaign business as usual ... crying foul at every opportunity to undermine the competition.

Which only undermines their own credibility, not only as historic trail blazers, but as potential leaders of our country.

Silda Wall Spitzer

"I don't think that it's the [First Lady] label that counts so much, it's really what gets done. And in my professional life, I've been working the last 10 years to get children and youth involved in civic engagement and giving back to the community through volunteering, and so this is a moment when I could give back in my civic capacity. So I feel that it's important." Silda Wall Spitzer

Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned today, even though his wife Silda urged him to stay in office. As did I.

New York's (former) first lady is a class act. Don't feel sorry for her. Don't fight her battles. Don't tell her what to do or where to stand or how to feel. It's insulting and demeaning to assume she's a helpless victim.

Silda Spitzer is very, very smart. She knows her husband far better than we do. Don't think for a minute she was in the dark about his randy behavior. And who knows, maybe it suited her just fine. In the end, it's none of our business.

So Governor Eliot Spitzer's got feet of clay, especially when it comes to sex. So what? Show me a man--especially one in power--who doesn't. (Okay, W's an exception).

If Spitzer's wife doesn't care, why should we? I still say Spitzer's got the right stuff. The value-add of his ability, brains, knowledge, dedication and honesty in government far outweighs the downside doings in his personal life.

We are SO freakin naive and hypocritical about sex in this country -- Right Wingnuts most of all. We love to talk about sex, hint about it, titillate ourselves with glimpses of it. And we love even more to take potshots at those who participate in any unfettered version of it.

I'm not talking about pedophile priests or congressional sexual harassers, who should be castrated ... but instead are given protection and pensions. I'm talking about a powerful guy who used a high priced call girl. Heavens to Betsy!

And really, $80,000 pales in comparison to the billions of dollars looted from our government coffers by Cheney's pals.

It's our loss that Eliot Spitzer was forced to resign--over his own wife's objections--by petty people with venal minds. And all the while the real crooks and liars are stealing us blind.

Spitzer: Show Spine, Don't Resign

"When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters-one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity." John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Note to those currently salivating over the Spitzer scandal: you're all wet. We need leaders like Eliot Spitzer. He's one of the Good Guys. Most of whom, by the way, history has shown to have healthy sexual appetites.

So what?!

We're in a WAR, a recession, a nationwide health, education and welfare crisis. Americans are losing their jobs, their homes, their pensions, their children, their future. Not to mention their Human Rights ... a joke under our current administration.

Cities are exploding in violence. Schools are under growing threats of the same. Our country faces potential terrorist activities every day.

Yet somehow the FBI has time for a sex sting? Oh please. Just the place for our dwindling tax dollars - an evangelical witch hunt. Why not focus on the real evil-doers, the thieves, pedophiles, embezzlers, torturers, war-mongering profiteers?

They're the ones pointing their crooked fingers at Spitzer with hypocritical glee. And they're the ones who should read the US Constitution-and their bibles--more closely.

Eliot Spitzer was set up, his rights trampled and his privacy invaded in a political, personal and professional vendetta. Yes, he broke the law, banal and archaic though it be. His actions pale in comparison to the inalienable rights and laws broken in the quest to bring him down.

I don't care which prostitutes he paid for, how many times and in which hotels. You shouldn't either. The only people affected by his behavior are other consenting adults and members of his family.

Who did Eliot Spitzer hurt? Not innocent civilians. Not overwhelmed taxpayers. Not brave service men and women. Not children, the unemployed, the homeless, the helpless. Can W and his minions say the same?

Take your pick: sex or death? Payment for personal dalliance or political pork? From the president to the vice president to members of Congress, Republicans have made a mockery of our constitution, our country, our future. And WE have paid the price.

That any Republican would dare call for Spitzer's resignation is beyond hypocrisy. The list of Republican law-breakers still in office is long and disgraceful. The list of those who have never answered for their crimes is endless.

Eliot Spitzer should stay in office and fight the abuse of his constitutional rights. The Democratic party should champion his distinguished career of political decency, honor and accomplishment.

I don't care if he threw his white hat on a call girl's bedpost. I want to see it back on his head where it belongs.

Dry Bones for Israel's Wet Eyes

"Their lives were a testimony to the values which are shared by both Israel and the United States -- lives of religious commitment and tolerance, the spirit of independent thinking and living, and love of one's fellow human beings. Terrorists cannot live with or by those values -- and so they murder beautiful young people." Dan Kurtzer

Horror in Israel. Again. Students cut down by a maniac. More horror: unlike Virginia Tech, Columbine and other deadly school rampages here in America, this particular maniac was state-sanctioned. His murderous actions were publicly celebrated by the Palestinian government and many of its citizens.

So it's time to stop talking Clinton/Obama presidential politics and take a moment to reflect on a far deadlier conflict ... where the stakes are literally life and death.

As I've temporarily lost the use of one hand due to surgery, I've been featuring posts from friends' blogs. I've decided to shut up about my minor inconvenience. There are families in Israel who will never recover from the loss of their children.

Yaakov Kirschen, aka Israel's legendary Dry Bones gives voice to their pain and a unique look at life in Israel when terror strikes.

Understanding Israel's Neighbors

Whenever you read news stories about American Jews focusing on our government's support for Israel and wonder why it's so important, think of this most recent abomination. What if it happened to you?

Jerusalem Post Tribute to the Victims of Terror Casualties of War

Another Sane Voice for Hillary

"The campaign is going very well. Very, very well. Why, what have you heard?" Hillary Clinton on SNL

I'm still a one-armed bandit. If I ever typed with one hand in the 90's (no jokes please), that skill is long gone now. So I'm grateful my galpal Cynthia Johnston offered to give her spin and voice to my own thoughts on Hillary.

HEAD OVER HEELS OVER HILL

Today I'm going over to Hillary HQ to make some calls into Ohio and Texas. The more I think about drinking the Kool-Aide and going for that Fabulous Obama Feeling, the more my heart tells me to stick with Hillary. Her Saturday Night Live appearance clinched it. One, Tina Fey is one of my super heroes. A FUNNY WOMAN. My whole life, funny women have been my salvation. All my best friends are funny as hell. I LOVE FUNNY WOMEN. And what a revelation. Hillary Clinton is a funny woman! She GETS funny women. She's not afraid to laugh at herself.

Set aside for a minute the fact that she's a super-wonk, with a preternatural grasp of policy details. She also has a sweet sense of humor. Not only would I feel more than secure with her at the helm, I would feel happy. How silly of me to want that. But I do. With all my heart. So today I'm setting aside a mountain of deadlines and heading over the bridge to Virginia. Why stop believing in miracles now? It's gone way beyond politics. At this point the feeling I have in my heart for Hillary Rodham Clinton is love, pure and simple. I love her and I want her to be MY President.

But before I post this little love letter I want to tell you one more reason I support her. It's because of the people who hate her. My father was a spy. When he died, most of his friends were retired CIA agents. Crusty old coots, with a world of hate in their hearts. After my dad died, I went to McDonald's in McLean, Virginia, where a gaggle of old spooks go every morning for breakfast. I asked to join them for a goodbye breakfast, knowing I'd never have a reason to see them again. There was no love lost among us, although I had a modicum of respect for them as my father's colleagues.

As I left the table to go get my breakfast I heard one of them say behind my back, I wonder if SHE inhales. I went back with my food and listened to them grouse about "Billary." They hated her guts. They hated her because she was a feminist. They hated her most of all because she included her maiden name in her married name. The "Rodham" part made them absolutely livid. They hated Bill because of Hillary. They hated him because she was a feminist. I was dumbstruck by the visceral quality of their hatred. It had no basis in anything but misogyny. It was clear to me how much these cold war relics hated women and I secretly reveled in the fact that I would have the last revenge: I would outlive the bastards.

I said my farewells as I stood up to go. Just before I turned to leave I said to them, "Oh, and don't forget to inhale. Or you'll DIE."

I left there a confirmed supporter of Hillary Clinton. I love her for the way she makes me feel and I love her even more for the way she makes a bunch of misogynistic old sons of bitches feel.

More power to Hillary RODHAM Clinton.

And my deepest thanks to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and the rest of the good people at SNL for waking up the world to the fact that the media, especially Campbell Brown, who should know better, are on a par with a bunch of woman-hating cold-war relics. At last, at this eleventh hour, they're acting more like journalists and less like pathetic, starstruck Obama worshippers.

Vote for Hillary and don't forget to inhale.

Thanks, Cindy Lou. A lot.

One last thought from me: I so fear for our future if the Obama Eloi continue to follow the Media Morlocks blithely without using their heads.

Hand Me Some Karma Please

"According to the karma of past actions, one's destiny unfolds, even though everyone wants to be so lucky." Sri Guru Granth Sahib

Here we go again. Surgery on my hand Friday. Left, which is good since I'm a righty. Still, I'll be one-handed for a while. So, not life-threatening but briefly life-altering.

My sister Judy's here from LA, staying for two weeks. She's a nurse, but it's more about helping me do those little personal things only a sister can be asked to do. What a pal. I'm going to work hard not to whine, kvetch, be a pain in the butt.

For those of you who know me and are laughing, STFU!

And to anybody who wants to throw some good karma my way, I can still catch it with my right hand.

I may not be back for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, tawk amongst yourselves.

Open Letter to MoveOn.org

"I do not believe that any political campaign justifies the declaration of a moratorium on ordinary common sense." Dwight David Eisenhower

The old cliche is true: no good deed goes unpunished. I've been a vocal supporter of MoveOn.org from day one, giving money, time and ink. Recruiting friends and strangers to join this century's most effective mobilization of resources to support progressive causes.

Not to mention to bring an end to the disastrous policies and actions of the Right Wing Congress and of course, the Bush administration.

Then MoveOn turns my praise to ashes by endorsing Barack Obama fully 7 months before the nominating convention. Not to mention 3-6 months before some of the biggest primary contests in the country.

Don't tell me "our members chose him." You sponsored an ill-conceived and divisive contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama long before all the facts were gathered, debates held and primary votes counted.

Now you're in the same category as all the "special interests" you claim to abhor. You're raising money for a candidate not yet chosen by Democratic voters. And by the way, had your kangaroo vote endorsed Hillary Clinton, I would be just as furious and disappointed.

You've had a series of impressive successes as a progressive political action group dedicated to protecting all citizens. In your own words, "The MoveOn family of organizations brings real Americans back into the political process." Really?

What about all the undecided voters, those not yet registered or supporting Hillary Clinton? It's still primary season--the Democrat's biggest contest in recent history--and instead of opening MoveOn's political doors to more Americans, you've shut a large segment of them out.

You're cutting your base apart instead of growing and uniting it.

In this critical presidential election MoveOn's most valuable contribution should be--and could have been--to increase the number and commitment of liberal voters and to unite Democrats behind the nominated candidate so we can Throw The Bush Party Out.

Instead, MoveOn sold out. Your pandering support of the Barack Obama Message Machine does a great disservice to your current and future constituency -- and to the Democratic party.

What happens if Hillary Clinton becomes the nominee? MoveOn will have severely damaged its credibility just when it's needed most -- to defeat the dangerously viable candidacy of John McCain.

I'll still be volunteering, donating and voting for liberal candidates and issues, but not through MoveOn.org. Please don't send me another piece of mail about Barack Obama, any other candidates or legislative issues.

I can no longer trust MoveOn.org's judgement and actions. Especially not your commitment to me and to the future of progressive causes.

Super Bowl Mom

Donald Miralle, Getty Images

"I mean, look, they played well. They made some plays. We made some plays. In the end, they made a couple more than we did." Bill Belichick

Oh please. The New England Patriots have set awesome records and made it to many Super Bowls, but as far as sportsmanship goes, their coach is a big baby, a damn sore loser and should be spanked.

The Eagles weren't in the Super Bowl so I wasn't going to watch. Plus, my son hates the Giants. I don't know why, but that's good enough for me. As it happens, I hate the Patriots. Because they cheated. And that's bad enough for me.

Ever since the Pats and head coach Bill Belichick were caught, fined and sanctioned for stealing signals, I've been pissed. That's no way to inspire the youth of America! Belichick's boorish behavior last night put the icing on the cake.

Now there's word the Pats also may have taped the St. Louis Rams' final walk through before the 2002 Super Bowl. Makes you wonder, did they steal signals and the Super Bowl from the Eagles too? Jeez, that would add a cherry on top.

In the end we watched the game because, well, it's the Super Bowl. I yelled at Belichick -- let's face it, he's fun to hate. And I have to admit I cheered for the Giants ... well, not so much for the team as for Eli Manning.

I wanted both Manning brothers to be MVPs and win Super Bowl rings. Not exactly scientific sports logic but what can I say, I'm a mom. I know the Manning family is proud of their baby boys.

As a football fan, I can say the Patriots played like they already had it; the Giants played like they desperately wanted it.

That's a good lesson for anybody. Confidence is great but arrogance can turn around and bite you in the butt. Best to do what Mom always said: play hard, play fair, play to win.

And remind your coach to act like a grown up and lead the way in sincere tribute to the winning team.

Amy Z. Quinn - My New Friend

"Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!" Amanda Bradley

You know that thrill you get when you meet someone and just click? I'm not talkin' sex here, people, although feel free to indulge your fantasies. I'm referring to kindred spirits, instant identification, karmic bonds, the sure knowledge you've found a great new friend.

Like Amy. We've become buds over time online. Today we met IRL, aka In Real Life. And may I just say, Bingo.

You can never have enough friends. At least I can't. Though I have to admit I'm choosy about my friends. They've got to be smart, funny, empathetic, brave, earthy, loyal, loving, forgiving, creative, passionate, engaged in life and in the world around them.

Just like Amy.

My friends cuss like sailors. And I don't care if they drink like sailors, just not around me. (I'm not anti-drink, I'm anti-drunk.) Some of them smoke a variety of things, just not in my bedroom. Sometimes if I'm in the mood, I'll join them for a butt on my front stoop or back patio.

They're all politically active. We might not agree on who should be the next president, but we definitely share a raging antipathy for Bush and Cheney and the rest of the crooks and liars who've driven America off the road and into a big stinking ditch.

My friends care about their families, schools, cities, states, country. If they're parents, they're good parents, involved and aware. If not, they're great aunts and uncles and kindhearted children to their own parents.

All of the above, just like Amy.

My good friends have a deep capacity for outrage at injustice. The desire to change at least some part of the world. And the ability to party like it's 1964 (whatever that means, I never have known).

They should also be --and this is a deal breaker-- sassy, sexy, self-confident smart-asses.

In other words, a lot like me.

And just exactly like my new friend, Amy Z Quinn.