Historic Mayhem

     I only watched the last question of the presidential debate tonight. It is a question that I would not expect to be asked of candidates in an American election. The question being "After all the mud slinging this evening, is there anything nice either of you can say about your opponent? " What a sad state of affairs when we have two candidates for commander in chief of the United States and it has come down to this.  There is a book called  I LEARNED EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW IN KINDERGARTEN. Well, I think that the future president of the United States needs to read that book stat.
      I admit that I haven't watched a presidential debate since I was in high school and that the only breaking news story that I wasn't pissed about interrupting  a soap opera was the Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill hearings. This is a close second. I would enjoy it more if it really was a soap opera.
      When I am not putting my head in the sand when the November elections are mentioned I think  about how every presidential election since the Gore - Bush election has been bizarre and I wonder in what way the election could be any odder than the current one. Each presidential election over the past 15 years I have thought this and unfortunately each election surpassed my imagination for being more preposterous than the last.
        In November 2001 I went to sleep election night after it was announced that Gore was declared president. When I got up in the morning the newscasters announced that it was still too close to call. Say what? That NEVER had happened before. Okay, I wasn't surprised  that Bush made a second term after stealing the 2000 election.
        In 2008 Obama came out of nowhere and beat Hilary Clinton for the nomination of President . In 2012 he got a second term .
       And that brings us to today. I may have preferred Hilary Clinton as a candidate in 2008, but a lot has happened between now and then. Donald Trump   became the Republican candidate which has made this campaign seem more and more like high school student council elections. Ronald Reagan was an actor, but Donald Trump is a reality tv star. What I would like to know is whose reality is he living ?
         As Yom Kippur is coming closer I think that there has never been more incentive to pray for our future. I ask you Hashem why is it that people always seem to need to have such strong incentive before we realize that the future really is in Your hands? We  need to do our best but  we are not in control, You are.
        

THE CAMPAIGN CONTINUES

     Every presidential  election seems like the craziest election ever. This election cycle is  no exception. Some people are going overboard with their candidate support. Some aren't talking to people that they used to be good friends with just because they do not support their favorite candidate. This is utterly ridiculous. Support whoever you prefer but none of these candidates are worth losing one's friends over. 

The Last Shabbos of 5776

    Its hard to believe another year has passed. So much has been accomplished ,so much more that needs to be done. Wishing everyone a peaceful last Shabbos of 5776.

Rosh Hashannah

http://youtu.be/KBTfGXw69HY. This is one of the smarter Rosh Hashannah videos. Wishing everyone a sweet new 5777!

Trump Hillary Debate Preview

     This is sooo funny no matter which candidate you prefer!!

A Notable Poke Stop

     For the past few months I have been playing Pokemon Go on my phone. I know  its a silly game , but the good part is that it is helping me  get to know a lot of information about New York City's landmarks that I had not known before.
      I like to go to the Trader Joe's on 23rd Street. There are a lot of good poke stops near there. One of them that keeps popping up is  the poke stops  for the cemetery of Shearith  Israel which is a Spanish -Portuguese Jewish cemetery.

 I had been meaning to photograph it for the past few weeks, but whenever I would walk by it happened to be night. Then  there was the bombing on 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan last week. I was hoping that I did not miss my chance to photograph this slice of history that Pokemon Go has led me to .
    Alas, all was not lost . I was able to go to 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue,  and behold the Shearith Israel cemetery was still intact in all of its glory. The gate is locked, but that did not stop me from being able to create a montage of photos to remember those Jews who had lived in Manhattan many years ago.
     The cemetery has quite a bit of charm. Perhaps it evokes a charming homage to  those whose bodies were buried there.I would like to think that they appreciate that Pokemon Go has made many remember them who may never had known they existed.

 

FIDF Lone Soldiers Funday 2016

    I have so much respect for lone soldiers in Israel. It is so nice to know that there is an organization that is there to help them.