Accuse everyone who criticizes Isreali government actions as being anti Semitic, that is how.  Dr. Amy who admits to "borrowing from Wikipedia" provides no links, sources or does she attribute in her post what is a direct quote and what is her writing.   I would think that this is an… Read full post »

First, let me explain.  I was never Greek enough to be a Greek, a  mixed Greek of the diaspora is suspect . Although my last name and paternal line is  Lebanese, it was not  enough to go to Lebanon.  Two generations born in Egypt, yet we were not Egyptian.  So, when… Read full post »

Do you ever think, what is the purpose Political Correctness?  If we are not Politically Correct what are we and what do we strive for as a society?  

If memory and experience serve me right, Political Correctness bundles together a number of social virtues , or lets call them social… Read full post »

I have looked into my heart to see if I am a compassionate person.  I always thought I was because of how I choose to spend my time and resources. Yet, here on OS, I tend to read personal narrative with such skepticism.   I often do not share the collective… Read full post »

Thursday night was my husband's birthday.  I took him to dinner in Healdsburg, California.  Healdsburg is what is known as a destination town in Sonoma County.  People come for the Michelin rated restaurants, the wonderful square with shops and for the surrounding wineries.  … Read full post »

KATHLEEN HALL JAMIESON: And I bet the word "euthanasia" is not ever going to appear in a piece of legislation.

DREW ALTMAN: Somebody may make a decision that having voluntary counseling just isn't worth it.

BILL MOYERS: I don't know why they included that in the… Read full post »

Egypt is predominantly  Moslem , you all know that.  Egypt has Christians, the biggest group are the Copts, but there are other denominations.  A small group of Copts are the Zabaleen.   Who are the Zabaleen and what does all have to do with Egyptian politics and economy?  

Z… Read full post »

Fox News pundits , bloggers and commenters across America are dumbfounded as to why people are offended with the illegal alien costume.  After all it's all in the spirit of fun and Halloween, with a wink a giggle and nod.    It's that enemy of America " Political correctness" they scre… Read full post »

OS has this sweet feature.  You get a nice little email when someone makes you a favorite, but nothing when they take you off their list in disgust and anger.  It's a sweet feature, cause it means that person read some comment, or post that made her/him click on you as… Read full post »

When I was pregnant, women came up to me compelled to tell me of the horrors of childbirth.  How the baby came out upside down, the hours of pushing, the pain, the horrible doctors, the torment, the drama.  

Now I notice this same cohort of my generation, you know, the… Read full post »

Charlie's Angels started on television 1976, I was 22.  That year I graduated from college, UC Berkeley.  Farrah hair was everywhere.   But not for me and my friends.

Farrah hair meant turning the clock backwards to curlers and hairspray.  To wanting to have hair you did not have… Read full post »

I will not claim addictions.  Addictions imply a medical condition that I need to cure or medicate.  I choose to label my obsessions as vices.  I like the word vice and I want to wrestle it away from the religious people.

A vice is the opposite of a… Read full post »

The talk  is that we who want a real substantive health reform bill are unrealistic.  We are being idealistic and we are putting the re-election of Obama in danger.  We are not willing to meet in the middle.  We are hell bent on destroying the Obama Presidency and handing… Read full post »

My fellow liberals, progressives, Democrats and other socialists.  What ever possessed you to buy the Whole Foods ploy?  

About eighteen years ago, Whole Foods opened a store in Berkeley near my house.  Now, why the hell in Berkeley?  We had Andronico's, Berkeley Bowl ,&… Read full post »

Since Sunday I have been skeptical of the euphoric jump and trust of everything that comes through Twitter. 

At this point it is clear that Twitter is a tool.  How that tool is used is very important.  How critical are you of the source of the Tweet?  Do you understand… Read full post »

So, yesterday, in the fog of a virus, I decided to print the Baucus bill and go through it closely.  I wanted to be informed, and in a sick perverted way, I like reading legislation.  For years I worked in Community Development and Affordable Housing, so trudging through law and regulations… Read full post »

The couple was not at home. Why, the wife was in a car accident. Right here in Santa Rosa, a couple hires a crane company to remove and aged oak tree and they get the surprise of a lifetime.  

Last year, Reliable Crane… Read full post »

Dakini, Josie, one word comes to mind when I think of your words and your spirit: authentic.  You were an authentic spirit of the sixties.   You lived that era to it's fullest and told the stories of those times.  You came into these times without losing that spirit.  

The… Read full post »

What is happening in Iran is not a Revolution.  The election was not stolen, it's rigged from the beginning.  Elections in dictatorships are a charade that is enacted for the benefit of Western Governments.

 Of course if the leader is "elected" the bastard then is legitimate to do bus… Read full post »

Recently I have started a minor film retrospective.  I call it the, watch a movie that moved you in your youth and see what works and does not work forty years later.  Last night it was The Graduate.  

The movie  works on a number of levels, but for me, it's Simon and… Read full post »

 All I needed is another deadly disease to worry about.   My hypochondria is truly satiated via the internet.   It's not as if I don't use all the online tools to self diagnose myself with the deadly diseases of the world, it's that they create w… Read full post »

I did not want the first summer in this garden to end, I don't think my cat did either, but it did and we both love it.  

Figs release a little white milk when they are not completely ripe, my mother warned me:  "don't eat figs… Read full post »

A friend in Egypt Twittered it.  It is from a blog that I read regularly, South/South.  

Tell me what you think.  

How to Prevent Sexual Assault

1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.

2. When you see someone walking by themselv… Read full post »