"O Jerusalem!" 

Published 1972

Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) is celebrated this Wednesday May 24th as we recognize the 50th anniversary since the Jews were reunited with our sacred city. The Jewish connection to our religious capital started 3,000 years ago with King David .  Since that time, our Temples (twice) and access to the holy city has been decimated, but through the centuries, our love and devotion never wavered.  Modern Zionism, UN resolution 181 and the 1948 War of Independence secured our return to the Jewish Homeland, but it wasn't until after the famous Six Day War in 1967 that we regained access to the Old City including the small sacred section of the Western Wall which had been a protective barrier for our ancient Temple. Jews have been praying to this Western/Wailing Wall for centuries (when we had access). Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish People and after the Six Day War, Israel annexed the Old City and the rest of East Jerusalem so we will never be denied access again.  Of course, many in the world rejected this annexation and just this week, it was vocalized by Trump's advance team as they prepared for his Israel visit. " It's not your territory. It's part of the West Bank" was the response when Israelis asked their American counterparts about Trump's visit to the Western Wall.  http://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-member-of-trump-team-said-to-tell-israelis-western-wall-is-not-your-territory/   The White House  condemned  the Jerusalem statement but then Trump added a new detail to the soap opera this week when he devulged classified Israeli intel to the Russians while meeting in the Oval Office. Oy vey, what will be next?!

"Little Women"

Published 1868

Last week we celebrated motherhood, after all, everyone on earth entered this world via a woman. I've always thought a child's birthday should also be celebrated by the one who did all the work.  But now we are facing healthcare legislation which will be created by an all male committee who've forgotten about their own birth canals. Since they themselves don't need maternity leave, pre and/or postnatal care, mammograms, access to birth control, pregnancy care and the likes, they believe these services aren't necessary and shouldn't be covered by the "new and improved" Health Care Bill. If ObamaCare is repealed, women, elderly and the poor will suffer the most. The House took the first blind step without assessment to pass their version.  Now the Senate is taking a crack at it. And another thing, those who are Anti-Abortion are as far from Pro-Life as you can get.  They often want to save a fetus but neglect a newborn in need. They profess abstinence as the only form of birth control and you can ask Sarah Palin how that worked for her family and most hormonal teens. As they limit access to Planned Parenthood clinics, they are essentially sending women to dangerous alternative methods causing loss of life not to mention all the women's medical care they would be eliminating (breast exams, paps smears, cancer testing...) Let's hope the Senate is unsuccessful in gaining consensus of this attack on women.  http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2017/05/15/women-health-care-lauren-stiller-rikleen    And then of course , the powers-to-be reinstated the Mexico City Policy (named for the city where it was announced in 1984 by Reagan), which will deny global women's health providers any US money if they are at all associated with providing info or care of pregnancy termination. Oy vey, what will be next?!

"All the President's Men"

Published 1974

Loyalty is admirable, but blind loyalty is dangerous. We are currently in a similar state to the early 70s when the blind loyalty of the Republican members of the Judiciary Committee voted against all impeachment accounts against Nixon. Though with the persistence of Woodward and Bernstein, justice prevailed, but we must learn from our past as each new day brings more evidence of Trump's obstruction of justice and abuse of power.  This week's bombshell was his February request to Comey to "let go" of the Michael Flynn investigation of Russian collusion.  I know many Republican legislators are admirable people and many are fuming internally.  I suggest they take POTUS' advice and "let go" of their internal anger and publicly denounce Trump, I'm talking to your Paul Ryan.  Bravo to the Justice Department and specifically Rod Rosenstein (redeeming himself) for returning former FBI director, Robert Mueller to head the investigation of the Trump/Russian connection. Of course Trump calls it a Witch Hunt.  Oy vey, what will be next?!

"In Cold Blood"

Published 1965

90 years ago this week, Bath, Michigan (near Lansing) was the site of the first and most likely worst school attack in history.  On May 18, 1927, a deranged school board trustee and local farmer bombed the school with 1,000 pounds of dynamite he set in the school basement and his pickup truck, killing 38 students and 6 adults, including himself.  It's a tragic blemish on Michigan's history but it is documented and sadly remembered.  Unfortunately, many other school tragedies have since been perpetrated and one of the worst was Sandy Hook in Newtown, MA. Most people feel empathy for the town and victims, however some people are pouring salt on their wounds as they label the incident a hoax portrayed against the gun industry.   Alex Jones of Infowars (a Trump source for news) is the main perpetrator of the hoax.  Leonard Pozner lost his 6 year old son (the youngest victim), Noah at Sandy Hook. But because of Alex Jones and his followers, the Pozners are getting death threats accusing them of lying about the killing spree and asserting that they never had a son.  It is purely disgusting that the Free Speech of Alex Jones has caused additional devastation upon this family. Karma might be hitting Mr. Jones in the face as he is now fighting a custody battle for his kids.  This article gives a clear snapshot of the devastation he's created with his fake news. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/04/17/sandy-hook-dad-on-performance-artist-alex-jones-s-trial-i-wish-i-could-be-there-to-stare-him-down

  

"The Bonfires of the Vanity"

Published 1987

I wouldn't doubt that Trump has embedded Diamonds on the soles of his shoes, just because he can.  But "just because you can", is exactly why you should always think twice before doing anything.  Yet I couldn't resist this segue to the week's musical selection of the highly talented legendary singer/songwriter, Paul Simon.  Here is the above mentioned song from his hit album Graceland performed in 2012 at London's Hyde Park. The show was the 25th anniversary celebration of the album and the concert will be premiered as a documentary film on PBS in June just prior to the film "The Concert in Hyde Park" release date of June 9. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WSBSb5NjYI

Condolences to Steve and Beth Margolin and their family on the passing of Beth's mother,  Barbara Wilenzick Eber Michel z"l.  May her memory and spirit bring comfort to those who loved her and may she be a blessing unto her family, friends and community. 

It's shameful when pro-Israel activist use the same silencing tactics as those who want to wipe Israel from the map.  My son-in-law, Tzvi Raviv, defended Israel at UC Irvine and has a message for our local protesters who helped cancel last week's Noa concert.  Here is his article.  https://goo.gl/mVlozT

Condolences to the family of Roger Ailes (age 77) who died this week.  Ailes founded Fox News in the mid 90s to create a "fair and balanced" viewpoint against the likes of CNN.  Many feel Fox helped catapult the Republican party and spotlight Trump, though he snubbed them at times. Ailes, himself, moved to the headlines recently with his ouster over his misconduct. 

Bravo to Steven Tyler (Aerosmith and Liv's dad) for his farewell concert in Tel Aviv.  He spend time this week touring the country.   https://www.israel21c.org/steven-tyler-tours-israel-ahead-of-farewell-tour-in-tlv/

Bravo to all the comedic political pundits bringing laughter to our current chaos...Stephen Colbert, Noah Trevor, Samantha Bee, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart.  But where are the comics on the other side?  I'm glad we are on the side of humor.  

Bravo to Detroit.  Here's how the NYT thinks you should spend 36 hours in our great city. https://goo.gl/qxe8eK

Detroit prevailed through our bankruptcy with the Grand Bargain and we are now making huge progress throughout our City, though the next Grand Bargain is needed for our Detroit Public School.  Wishing Puerto Rico the same success with their bankruptcy, though their playing field isn't as level as ours was.   http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-puerto-rico-bankruptcy-20170503-story.html

Prayers for the people of Venezuela as they endure a serious crisis in their country. 

https://ui.constantcontact.com/rnavmap/emcf/email/edit?flow=edit&camefrom=view&campaign=5ee75faa-e232-45e6-88eb-1750e5d24d98

Trump heads to the capitals of the 3 major religions this week including Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem and the Vatican. What mishaps could possibly occur on this journey.  Oy vey, we'll see. 

Want to meet Jeannie (from the bottle)?  The 80+ year old bombshell actress Barbara Eden will be at our Motor City Comic Con this weekend.

http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/2017/05/18/barbara-eden-motor-city-comic-con-detroit/325023001/

Happy 100th birthday to American Coney Island (the one at the corner of the triangle building). 

http://www.freep.com/story/life/2017/05/18/downtown-detroit-icon-american-coney-island-turns-100/327908001/

May 22 (Monday)

The Emily Stillman Foundation 

Night of Laughs

The Berman Center for Performing Arts

West Bloomfield

Doors open: 7:30 pm

Featuring: Heather McDonald (from Chelsea Lately)

http://www.foreveremily.org/

June 3 (Saturday)

American Cancer Society

Relay for Life

St. Mary of Orchard Lake

https://goo.gl/D5ESmB