I Sent Her an Email
I was so ticked off about ten days ago that I sent Hillary Clinton an email which hopefully an aide might read, although I really doubt that. But I had to get this off of my chest! It was spurred on by her use of the word "deplorables." In retrospect, she was suffering from walking pneumonia at the time and on medication, and that probably played some role in what ticked me off.
Of course, this doesn't lessen my support of Secretary Clinton, to whose campaign I have made a small donation, and you can bet that you'll find me active in getting out the vote for her over the next seven weeks. Anyhow, here's my email.
Of course, this doesn't lessen my support of Secretary Clinton, to whose campaign I have made a small donation, and you can bet that you'll find me active in getting out the vote for her over the next seven weeks. Anyhow, here's my email.
Dear Hillary:
I publish a blog every week (www.jackspotpourri.com), one of the
staples of which is attacking the candidacy of Donald Trump. I know my blog is read by many who agree with
me, but I also recognize that others who disagree with me read it. Therefore, I try to avoid insulting them.
On several occasions, I have written postings for the blog in which I
referred to Trump supporters as being stupid.
Before publishing them, however, I have taken a second look at my words
and recognized how such language would only serve to antagonize and never
change any minds. So I edit those
pieces, getting rid of “stupid,” replacing it with “naïve” and/or
“gullible.” There is hope for “the
gullible and the naïve” in that they might be enlightened. There is no such hope for the “stupid” so I
avoid using that word.
I don’t know where you are getting your advice, but I would not have
used the word “deplorables” in my blog, other to describe the arch-right wing
supporters of your opponent, who are only a small percentage of his
backers. The remainder, whom you lumped
into one basket with them, are merely gullible or naïve. I consider Paul Ryan, for example, to be the
latter, and have said so in the blog.
Indeed, I did recently use the word “stupidly” in a recent blog
posting, but it was not in connection with Donald Trump nor his
supporters. It was in reference to your
use of the word “deplorables.”
My advice to you: Be more
careful in the language you use. Spend
much more time on the offense, attacking your opponents many flaws, and
outlining your programs to solve the nation’s challenges, thereby enlightening
the “naïve and the gullible” with whom you must sympathize and not
antagonize. Don’t waste any time
refuting the charges about the emails, the Foundation or even Benghazi. They will never stop. By wasting time answering them, you add to
their credibility.
Good Luck.
JL
JL
Sid Bolotin Story Collection Published
Until his sudden passing two and a half years ago, Sid Bolotin was a
regular contributor to Jackspotpourri.com.
His occasional poetry, but most often his short stories, gave pleasure
to this blog’s followers for years.
Sid’s work also appeared in his community’s magazine as well as other
South Florida publications, winning awards on more than one occasion.
As a neighbor of Sid’s as well as his sometime editor, I recognized his
skill in translating his experiences working as a hospice volunteer and the
insights developed from his meditative journeys into warm and meaningful
words. Sometimes he was melancholy,
sometimes sarcastic and sometimes humorous, but what he wrote was always clever
and enjoyable.
Most of all, however, he communicated to all of us the depth of his
devotion to his family, about whom he frequently wrote, without sugarcoating
the rough edges of his early life.
Because all of us are also involved with our families, Sid’s stories
often rang a bell, readily connecting with his readers.
Sid’s widow, Barbara, recently announced that much of Sid’s work,
including 258 stories, had been assembled with the help of an outside
editor. Entitled “The Wisdom and the Wit
of an Extraordinary Writer,” it now has been published, once again making Sid’s
writing available not only to his old fans here but also to those who may just
be discovering him.
Copies are available on Amazon.com (just input
the title and/or Barbara’s name) as well as directly from her for $14 if you
happen to be in the Palm Beach County area.
Barbara can be reached at (561) 375 8078.
Digging into the archives of Jackspotpourri.com, we’ve come up with a
delicious sample of Sid’s writing, a 2013 story that gets to the kernel of what
he was all about; in effect, it is “the essential Sid Bolotin.” It appears further on in this posting. If you like it, you
might enjoy reading the entire book.
Jack Lippman
Innuendo and a Clinton Strategy
I recently heard a stand-up comic define an “innuendo”
as an Italian suppository. Seriously
though, and with apologies to my Italian and Sicilian friends (if I have any
left after that), the Merriam-Webster simple definition of the word is “a statement which
indirectly suggests that someone has done something immoral, improper, etc.”
The Republican candidate’s campaign for
the Presidency is based on innuendo. He
calls Secretary Clinton “crooked” and “corrupt” but does not back up these
charges. Sufficiently satisfied with the “innuendo” effect of these words, he
goes on to other simplistic lies and half-truths. The Republicans in Congress
and the FBI investigate Secretary Clinton’s emails and find nothing that she
could be prosecuted for. She might have
been “extremely careless” with them but that isn’t a crime. I jaywalk all the time, even in Manhattan,
and that’s “extremely careless” and even a crime there, but let’s keep things in a
proper perspective. Each time they
investigate Hillary Clinton, the find nothing of significance. Just more
innuendo.
The Clinton Family Foundation does
charitable work all over the world, accepting money from donors all over the
world, but she doesn’t profit from it. Not
a penny! But I saw a political cartoon
the other day showing her carrying bags of money labelled “Clinton Foundation
Donations,” implying it is her personal slush fund. It isn’t.
More innuendo.
The time has come for the Democrats to
put an end to the lies and innuendo "Dangerous" Donald Trump and those who speak for him are permitted to get
away with.
He often contradicts himself,
reverses positions on issues, and makes the vaguest of promises as to how he
will solve problems, and goes unchallenged.
I heard him speak last week in Flint, Michigan where within a two minute period, he said he would bring jobs back to Flint “very quickly,” but “it might take a while.” How does this huckster get away with this? I suspect that the media is afraid of reporting the truth about "Dangerous" Donald Trump because it would give them the appearance of partisanship. But by being "even-handed" in the face of gross dishonesty, they give credibility where none is warranted.
When he doesn't know what he is talking about (which is quite often) but wants to make his point anyway, he repeats his words as if repetition magically changes ignorance into truth. If he can't come up with the details of what he sees as a "bad" situation, he makes it into something "very" bad, even "very, very" bad or perhaps "tremendously bad." And to show that he isn't the only one thinking that way, he talks about all of the phone calls he gets from folks agreeing with him. So he must be right! And he gets away with it!
Trump must be pressured and put on the defense in regard to these kinds of things as well as his missing tax returns, and unanswered questions about his business connections; even donating (from his "charitable" foundation, no less) $25,000 to Florida's Attorney General's election campaign the week before she chose not to join in multi-state investigations of Trump University.
But Hillary Clinton cannot waste her time confronting Donald Trump in these areas. That is a job for her surrogates, Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine, the indefatigable Bill Clinton, fiery-tongued Senator Elizabeth Warren (Dem.- Mass.) and even President Barack Obama!
I heard him speak last week in Flint, Michigan where within a two minute period, he said he would bring jobs back to Flint “very quickly,” but “it might take a while.” How does this huckster get away with this? I suspect that the media is afraid of reporting the truth about "Dangerous" Donald Trump because it would give them the appearance of partisanship. But by being "even-handed" in the face of gross dishonesty, they give credibility where none is warranted.
When he doesn't know what he is talking about (which is quite often) but wants to make his point anyway, he repeats his words as if repetition magically changes ignorance into truth. If he can't come up with the details of what he sees as a "bad" situation, he makes it into something "very" bad, even "very, very" bad or perhaps "tremendously bad." And to show that he isn't the only one thinking that way, he talks about all of the phone calls he gets from folks agreeing with him. So he must be right! And he gets away with it!
Trump must be pressured and put on the defense in regard to these kinds of things as well as his missing tax returns, and unanswered questions about his business connections; even donating (from his "charitable" foundation, no less) $25,000 to Florida's Attorney General's election campaign the week before she chose not to join in multi-state investigations of Trump University.
But Hillary Clinton cannot waste her time confronting Donald Trump in these areas. That is a job for her surrogates, Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine, the indefatigable Bill Clinton, fiery-tongued Senator Elizabeth Warren (Dem.- Mass.) and even President Barack Obama!
Neither should Secretary Clinton spend
any further time refuting charges about Benghazi, the emails and the
Foundation. She has answered them quite adequately
for anyone really seeking answers, and not just making charges to harass her.
Her limited time until the election must
be spent outlining and discussing her programs to deal with the nation’s
domestic and foreign challenges, including unemployment, turmoil in the Middle
East, climate change, health care, our aging infrastructure, world trade and
the economy. These are things her
opponent is unable to discuss in any depth whatsoever. She can, and she must do so in a down-to-earth
plain talk manner with which the average American will connect, rather than
legalistic explanations. This is how
she can put her opponent away.
JL
We all know what inclement weather is … but do we ever refer to nice
weather as being “clement”?
We all know what an indolent person is … but do we ever refer to a hard
and conscientious worker as “dolent”?
An Interview With Vladimir Putin
On September 1, John Mickletwait, BloombergBusinessweek’s Editor-in-chief, interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Later in the
week, Mickletwait interviewed Putin further in regard to the Eastern Economic
Forum which took place several days later.)
The September 1 interview was published in the magazine' September 12 issue. It can be seen in its entirety by clicking right here. The subsequent interviews, primarily dealing with economic matters in great detail are also available on the internet. Here, however are the questions and answers from the September
1 published interview dealing with the Presidential election in the United States. Draw your own conclusions.
Q: There is an
American election on the way, and as you well know there’s a choice between
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Who would you rather have at the other end of
the telephone if there is a geopolitical situation—Donald Trump or Hillary
Clinton?
A: I would like to work with a person who can be accountable for
decisions made and implement any agreements that we reach. Surnames don’t
matter at all. Of course, that person must enjoy the trust of the American
people, so that they won’t just have the desire but also the reinforced
political will to fulfill all those agreements. That’s why we never interfered,
aren’t interfering, and don’t plan to interfere in domestic political
processes.
Q: Can I just push you on that? You’re really telling me that if you
have a choice between a woman, whom you think may have been trying to get rid
of you, and a man, who seems to have this great sort of affection for you,
almost bordering on the homoerotic, you’re not going to make a decision between
those two?
A: You know, I essentially already answered your question. I’ll
reformulate it again, say it in different words. We are ready to work with any
president, but, of course—I also said this—to the extent that the future
administration is ready. If someone says that they want to work with Russia,
we’ll welcome it. And if someone, as you said—although it may be an inaccurate
translation—wants to get rid of us, that will be a completely different
approach. But we will survive it, and it’s not clear who has more to lose with
that approach.
But the thing is, I’ve repeatedly
seen the anti-Russian card played during domestic political campaigns in the States. I think that it’s a
very shortsighted approach. At the same time, they send us all sorts of signals
from all sides that actually things are just fine. … It seems to me that it doesn’t fully meet the level of responsibility that lies on the
shoulders of the U.S. I think that all this should be more dignified, calm, and
more balanced.
As for the fact that someone is criticizing us, you know,
criticism is leveled at us by Mr. Trump’s team as well. For example, one of the
members of his team said that we paid, that Russia allegedly paid money to the
Clinton family via some foundations. What’s that? Does that mean that we
control the Clinton family? It’s complete nonsense. I don’t even know where
Bill spoke and through which funds. So both one side and the other are using it
as a tool, using it as a tool in a domestic political struggle, and that’s bad,
in my opinion.
JL
And here’s the Sid Bolotin story I promised you:
Once Upon a Time
Sid Bolotin
Once upon a time in a far away village called Konotop lived a man named
Avrum. Southwest about 200 miles in a similar village called Chudnov lived a
maiden named Pessel.
To my knowledge they did not discover each other until they met in a
section of Boston called Dorchester to which they had each separately emigrated
in the 1920’s.
Old neighborhood in Dorchester, Massachusetts as it appears today
Like Romeo and Juliet, they fell madly in love, married, and birthed a
son, Shamai. As dictated by the times and circumstances, they lived in a small
apartment, well under 1000 square feet, with Avrum working as a professional
photographer. Life was a struggle, but good as the two lovers raised their
beloved son midst the loving support of their friends, parents, and relatives
who had also settled in the area around Boston. Life was sweet.
In those days, émigrés strived to become American; there were no dual
language offerings. If one was to be an American, English had to be mastered.
And so Pessel and Avrum became citizens as Albert and Pauline, claimed their
favorite song as “What Is This Thing Called Love,” lived day to day with their
hopes and dreams focused on their beloved son and on their emerging life in
their newly adopted country.
Then out of the blue, as Rabbi Harold Kushner so eloquently explores in
his 1978 book “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” disaster struck the
family in 1935 with the untimely death of Albert at twenty-seven leaving his
young bride, Pauline, as a single mom with a twenty-two-month old son.
In those days there were no grief councilors so Pauline entered into a
lifetime of grieving as she determinedly raised her son as a single mother in an
age when such was not the norm. She strived to strike a balance between
devotion to her son and making a new life for herself. For her and her son, the
fairy tale morphed into her version of a Greek tragedy.
Or was her ensuing life and that of Shamai’s not a tragedy but just
simply the normal course of events for human life?
A
friend of mine often opines that life is a joyous journey full of problems
whilst Buddhism’s first noble truth offers:
“To live means to suffer, because the human nature is not
perfect and neither is the world we live in. During our lifetime, we inevitably
have to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness,
old age, and eventually death; and we have to endure psychological suffering
like sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression. Although there
are different degrees of suffering and there are also positive experiences in
life that we perceive as the opposite of suffering, such as ease, comfort and
happiness, life in its totality is imperfect and incomplete, because our world
is subject to impermanence. This means we are never able to keep permanently
what we strive for, and just as happy moments pass by, we ourselves and our
loved ones will pass away one day, too.”
And in the Old
Testament, Ecclesiastics’ author provides us with what some consider a rather
pessimistic view of existence that includes: "Death
is to be going home to be with God and have no more hardships. Therefore,
people should be glad for them. And to cry at birth because it is the beginning
of life and hardship.”
All of
humankind’s history is filled with the truths embodied in the above statements
and so poignantly struck home with recent events such as the Sandy Hook massacre, the Boston
Marathon bombings and the ten-year imprisonment of three young women by a madman in Cleveland.
The
aforementioned Rabbi Kushner is only one of a myriad of examiners of the “why”
of all this who have attempted to offer any semblance of an answer to humankind’s
ageless question.
And then
there’s my favorite, “bestest” philosopher who’s convinced me that we are all
simply living in a cosmic version of a Woody Allen movie.
“And what
of Shamai and his mother?” you ask. Well unlike the Greek Oedipus Rex, Shamai
did not kill his father and marry his mother. She never recovered from the
emotional effects of her sudden loss but did live long enough to see her son
grow into manhood, marry, and have children of his own. And Shamai? Well, as of
this writing he survived the emotional dumping ground of his growing-up years
and is an octogenarian patriarch of his own dynasty of children and grandchildren
going through their own version of life’s joyous journey filled with problems.
5-13-2013
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