We are in the midst of the Sukkot Season as the festive week ends with the two holidays of Shemini Atzeret (8th day of solemn gathering) and Simchat Torah (rejoicing with the Torah).  My favorite weather season of Autumn is always the backdrop to this harvest celebration and this week it also included the Supermoon lunar eclipse (last occuring 33 years ago) so how can I ignore the perfect song to attach to this Harvest Lunar week. This music video creatively spans decades from now to when Neil first released it in 1992 while the consistency of Love remains the theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2MtEsrcTTs  Some say Harvest Moon is the sequel to (my favorite Young Album) Harvest released 20 years prior in 1972.  Apparently, Neil has used the moon in 28 of his songs and finds it his “religious” inspiration.

And speaking of celestial issues, apparently there is now definitive proof of liquid water on Mars begging the question of the existence of “life on Mars” (referencing another great song by David Bowie), heightening our urgency of exploration. If you’d like to explore more Mars facts, check out this article:

And of course, the timing is perfect for Hollywood as the new Matt Damon movie, The Martian, opens this weekend. The interesting story about the movie starts with the book that was written by a computer programmer with three excessive years of research, then self-published and offered to readers for free. In fact, you can still download the book free of charge.  It was a smart move as it provided a wide audience and interest in making it into a blockbuster movie.

Nasa is singing Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah about Mars’ possibilities just as this famous verse was uttered from the lips of John Boehner this week after announcing his retirement. But this doesn’t mean our Congress or Nation will be singing the tune anytime soon. Mr. Boehner’s departure is bad news for all of us since it comes after legislators more conservative than him weren’t pleased that he wasn’t willing to shut down the government over defunding Planned Parenthood.  As the Pope’s words were still echoing in the halls of Congress, his message of unity to our fractured democracy was disrespectfully ignored.  Extreme views on both sides will never be implemented and compromise is the only way to govern effectively, yet what seems absent in our democratic process are the true diplomates who can build bridges to fix our ailments.

The United Nations is suppose to be a Global Bridge but sadly the body that represent all nations is sometimes more bias (especially against Israel) than bridge building. This week the UN walls heard the voices of world leaders at the annual General Assembly.  The GA afforded the opportunity for Heads of State to speak their minds. Bibi’s speech spoke his disapproval of the UN with a 45 second silent glare at the audience. Obama’s speech was critiqued for what he didn’t include… the Palestinians which angered PA leader, Abbas who countered with his disownment of the 1995 Oslo Peace Accords including the agenda of a two-state solution. Several historic meetings also took place at the GA. Obama and Castro connected to continue their country’s renewed relationship but the pow wow between Putin and Obama had a few more thorns involved. Yes, they both are angling to eliminate Daesh (aka. ISIS) from Syria but Putin favors his long time friend, Assad while Obama still thinks Assad is Syria’s 2nd satan. Russia stuck anti-Assad forces in Syria this week but were they Daesh fighters or the moderate rebels (the US is trying to support). It’s a very messy situation in Syria but that seems to encourage recruitment to this satanic cause. Each year more crazies are joining Daesh with 30,000 fresh terrorist entering Syria this year to help fight their evil efforts. That’s twice as many as last year and they are coming from all across the world (including 250 Americans). http://www.ibtimes.com/efforts-stop-foreign-isis-recruitment-are-failing-estimated-30000-fighters-have-2115671

Not only did Putin reach out to President Obama this week but he also connected with Elton John after Elton was pranked with a fake Putin call.  It all started when Sir John expressed his outrage at Russia’s anti-gay stance and now Putin has agreed to meet with the “Pinball Wizard” whenever they can coordinate their schedules.

The excitement over Mars’ water discovery is expected since water is our most precious commodity. Our bodies are approximately 65% water.  We can’t live without water for more than about 3 days.  California has been in dire straits suffering through this current 3 year drought and 11% of the world’s population lives without access to drinking water.  So protecting our Michigan water is of utmost importance.  Thank You Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Petersfor helping to safeguard our Great Lakes with the The Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act.  This measure will help prevent tanker accidents and pipeline ruptures so Great Lakes water will remain oil free for many generations to come.  http://tinyurl.com/OilFreeGreatLakes

But Michigan has another water concern.  Ever since Flint was disconnected to the Detroit River system and switched to the Flint River, their water supply has smelled and tasted “funny”.  Turns out lead is the culprit which is quite dangerous especially for children whose blood-lead levels have doubled since the water switch. Gov. Snyder has expressed his concern and support to help rectify this serious situation as he secretly helped distribute 1,500 water filters to a Flint pastor. http://tinyurl.com/FlintFilters  And sometimes too much water can cause catastrophies as with Hurricanes coliding with civilizations.  Wishing the East Coast safety and minor disruptions with the onslaught of Hurricane Joaquin. 

Kudos to Planned Parenthood president, Cecile Richards, on keeping vigilant with the facts on the benefits of protecting the vital work of PP at the congressional hearing this week. And after listening to some of the recordings, Cecile’s mother, the late Governor Ann Richards would have been proud as she stood up to badgering and hostile interplay with some of the legislators. Cecile volunteered her time to answer questions however conspicuously absent was the creator of the highly edited and dishonest video at the center of this witch hunt.  Here is a detailed article about the proceedings that also includes 6 audio clips with one of them from Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/29/444528541/6-clips-of-audio-you-should-hear-from-the-planned-parenthood-hearing And for a comical viewpoint of the congressional proceedings, check out Seth Meyers‘ “closer look” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7pNkqVmNKM

And speaking of Women’s Health, after reading this NYTimes article about theBRCA gene mutation and ashkenazi women, it has inspired me to take action: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/elizabeth-wurtzel-the-breast-cancer-gene-and-me.html?emc=edit_ty_20150925&nl=opinion&nlid=69613202&_r=0

“There’s a man with a gun over there, telling me I got to beware”

Like (horrible) clockwork, our country has yet again sustained needless gunshot deaths and injuries from a mass shooting at a community college 90 miles south of Eugene.  Condolences to the victims families and the injured. More discussion will again occur about gun regulations, but sadly (and even without a crystal ball, I can predict), absolutely nothing will be done to help stop the next mass shooting.

Happy Coffee Day (Sept. 29th).  If you love coffee, you’ll love these 6 reason to to keep it part of your daily habit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rQ-krajhEM

A well-deserved honor took place at Carnegie Hall Thursday with a musical tribute to Bill Withers and his legendary music created during his short career. This will be his 2nd honor this year as in April he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  His career was mighty but short and on his own terms as he created and produced his music from 1970-1985 but then decided to get out of the business.  Thank you City Winery and Michael Dorf for spotlighting this modest but beloved talent. Here is an American Bandstand classic of my favorite Bill Withers song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkuTn1A6gco