Dear Friends and Family,

Hurricane Isaac barreled into the Gulf Coast on the anniversary of his older sister, Katrina. Though he only achieved Category 1 status, he surely dumped lots of rain and caused massive flooding all over the region.  He swept past Tampa as the Republicans were electing their official nominee.  Mitt’s homestate of Michigan provided 25 delegate votes for him, 4 for Ron Paul and 1 absentee. Yes, Mitt and Ann Romney were both born in Michigan but did you know his father, George, was born and raised (till age 5) in Mexico and he also ran for president.  This might be a good reminder for Mitt to stir clear of those Birther remarks.

“One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind”.  All these years, Mr. Neil Armstrong has been misquoted.  Though it is only a small 1-letter word, his intent was slightly different than the historical quote. Either way, the man was a giant and deserves to Rest in Peace for his lunar accomplishments.

Labor Day weekend is upon us as we celebrate all workers in this country who keep our economic engine running smoothly.   It was back in 1887 in the great State of Oregon when Labor Day was born. (Incidentally, Eugene, Oregon will be the next home of our daughter, Liat.  She will be leaving her current home of Marquette, MI and driving cross-country next week.)  From sanitation crews to teachers to car assembly line workers to baristas to cashiers to carwash towel dryer… I salute you on this Labor Day (and everyday).

I also salute our US Paralympic team as 10% of them are military veterans. These games were started after WWII as many veterans became disabled and despondent.  The games gave them hope, purpose and encouragement.

Two corrections from last week.  First, I’d rather forget his name but it is correctly spelled Akin (not Atkins).  Second, the Hungarian article may not have opened (in its entirety) but here is the follow-up on Hungry’s response to the anti-semitic actions at their soccer game against Israel:  http://sports.yahoo.com/news/hungary-condemns-anti-semitic-chants-israel-game-141717745–sow.html  I assume the ADL is carefully watching the Hungarian people as a tremendous amount of hateful activity has been recently documented in this country.

As school resumes, many of you are feeling the below emotions. I may have had a tear in my eye on that first day of kindergarten but by the time they were ready for college, we (and they) were ready for that transition.  In fact, this week we moved our son, Mataan, into his new Ann Arbor apartment for his sophomore year.

Lastly,  a huge Mazel Tov goes to the two loving couples who’s weddings we will be attending this holiday weekend. Wishing Wendy and Dan a life filled with Love, Laughter, Peace and Prosperity as you take your vows under the Chuppah this weekend. Also, Joy, Happiness, Peace and Love are our blessings to Arnie and Rob as they celebrate their beautiful union this weekend.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Sweet and Peaceful Shabbat Shalom,

Lisa

Dear Friends and Family,

How great would it be if we could control our body’s with our emotions.  I assume more cancers would be healed from sadness. More broken bones would be mended by frustration… But alas, even our terror, fear and pain can NOT prevent our uterus from hosting an unwanted fertilized egg.  Didn’t we learn all of that in High School biology class…? Some, obviously, weren’t paying attention. Too bad Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are off-the-air this week prepping for convention coverage.  They would have had a field day with Congressman Atkins.  Speaking of the Tampa GOP convention, it looks like Hurricane Isaac could be headed their way. If they can survive Hurricane Atkins, they should be fine with Isaac. Hey,Tzachi (aka. our friend Isaac in Seattle) they named a Hurricane after you.  We always knew you were a force to be reackoned with. Hope your namesake is kind to the people of Haiti.

May we all live to be 95, possess a wonderful sense of humor and pass in our sleep with a smile on our faces.  This was the fate of Phyllis Ada Driver (best known as, Phyllis Diller), who was the matriarch of female comedians.  Bet you didn’t know she lived in Ypsilanti with her husband during WWII while he worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant.

Here is an update on recent court verdicts.  The Russian rock band, Pussy Riot, was convicted of hooliganism and sentenced to 2 years in jail for speaking (or singing) out against Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church.  Now there is a vigilante group, called Holy Rus’ rooming the Russian street to weed out other hooligans.  Another interesting verdict, last week, was the $4.5 Million fine levied against the former Michigan Assistant Attorney General for obsessive (in my opinion) anti-gay bullying against the U of M student body president,Christopher Armstrong.  And all Mr. Armstrong really wanted was an apology.

Those who really need to apologies (and we need to watch carefully) are the Hungarians.  During a soccer game with Israel last week, the whole crowd (not a small group of hooligans) chanted anti-Israel and anti-semitic statements, booed during the Hatikva and waved Palestine and Iranian flags during the game. Please read this article to understand the full (scary) picture.  http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/watch-hungarian-soccer-fans-disrupt-israeli-anthem-with-anti-semitic-slurs.premium-1.459251?localLinksEnabled=false

Wishing you and your loved ones a Sweet and Peaceful Shabbat Shalom(check out the bonus photo at the end of this email),

Lisa

Dear Friends and Family,

In hindsight, we all make mistakes.  One of our local Congregation’s, B’nai Moshe, admitted to making the mistake of allowing the rental of their building to house a controversial meeting regarding the sale of Eagle Elementary school in (my hometown of) Farmington Hills to the Islamic Cultural Association. The (fear-mongering) opponents of this sale hired the narrow-minded law firm, Thomas More Law Center(TMLC) from Ann Arbor to continue the fight. To give you preceptive, Michelle Bachman just joined the TMLC’s advisory board.  They fight for the “Christian rights of all Americans” and at their B’nai Moshe meeting they handed out anti-Islamic material to all in attendance. The rights of all citizens (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Atheist…) in our country must be protected and respected. Today it’s a protest against the Muslims…tomorrow it could be the Jews. By the way, The Islamic Cultural Center has been endorsed by the West Bloomfield Clergy Association. I will keep you posted on this ongoing controversy.

I also made a mistake last week of forgetting to announce the wonderful engagement of our niece, Ilana Mark to her beloved, Jason Fisher. We all look forward to the celebration and wish Ilana and Jason a long, loving, happy and healthy life together. And speaking of family congrats… Mazel Tov to Yael and Iair (in Israel) on the birth of baby Libby Sophia and safe and fun travels to, niece, Allie Mark, on her trip to Australia.

I know I will make the mistake of forgetting someone’s August Birthday, so don’t hesitate to let me know so I can put it on my calendar for next year:

Tony L (Jodi and Brad’s dad), Jandy S (bonus Floridian sister), Andy L (Dad to 4 great kids and partner on our JT concert), Susie S (Mom to Laura who is minus her wisdom teeth), Shlomi H (Robin’s main massage squeeze), Hy S (Great political mind), Miriam L (new NYC JTS student), Irwin W (Ruth’s main man), Luke A (Bunky’s Det. nephew), Aubrey S (Sea-Gull friend from the olden days), Alex M (Australia bound Niece), Dan G (favorite neighbor Saul’s Son-in-law), Ishai R (Wine blessing Nephew Doc), Darryl R (father of the groom), Adam B (Landscaping cousin) , Uri S (Best Israeli dancer in the city), Gary E (Best friend to Leora),  Jimmy K (Sherri’s favorite fella), Joan CE (Hadassah President),  Shimon W (Seattle’s best), Adi K (Bat shel Jeff v’ Devora), David W (handsome 65 year old cousin), Sasha B (Krista’s baby girl), Sherri K (Mom of Chase and Lance), Marcia A (Legendary Hillel Teacher), Orna W (fellow LOJ in CA), Steve T (Music genius), Dan C (engaged to Monica), Jeremy B(my first cousin in Chicago), Cheryl M (mom of twin daughters), Ron S (Caryn’s better half), Daniella HPM (mom of 3), Jeanne M (NYC gal), Lisa W (Mom of Adam the Bar Mitzvah boy), Susan K (dog loving Fed. staff),  Sage B (Cousin Josh’s big girl), Gene Simmons (Haifa native).

Don’t make the mistake of driving anywhere near Woodward this weekend unless you plan to see or be seen in some cool cars at the Dream Cruise.

Don’t make the mistake of EVER forgetting to click your seatbelt, as (our County exec.)L. Brooks Patterson did last week which landed him in the hospital with 3 surgeries already under his (seat) belt.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Sweet and Peaceful Shabbat Shalom,

Lisa

Dear Friends and Family,

More sadness occurred this week with the senseless, hateful murders of 6 innocent souls at the Wisconsin Sikh Temple.  Of course, a semi-automatic gun was, again, the chosen weapon with the sole purpose of killing as many lives as possible.  Come on people, let’s get these weapons out of legal circulation.  There are too many Hate Groups and delusional people in this country to continue this skewed right to bear arms.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Marvin Hamlisch, at the early age of 68.  He was one of the few prolific and extremely talented musicians in our lifetime to have won all awards possible including Emmy, Oscar, Tony, Grammy, Pulitzer and Golden Globe.  He was beloved by many and was considered a true genius.  We had the great pleasure of meeting him at our JCC last year and hearing him share his history in musical form. He also graciously allowed me to videotape him wishing all of you Shabbat Shalom: http://tinyurl.com/MarvinHamlischShabbatShalom

Why is there some much effort occurring this election season to eliminate Voter Fraud. Did you know that over a 5 year period there are approx. 300 million votes cast and of those 100s of millions of votes, only 86 people were convicted of Voter Fraud and most of them just didn’t know they were ineligible to vote. So why are legislators focusing on this non-problem. Is it to prevent legitimate votes of a certain voter group who would naturally vote a certain way?

I love this photo?  Thanks, Barbara N. for sharing it.

Sweet Baby James is coming to Farmington Hills. Though for those JT fans, we know that Sweet Baby James was actually James Taylor’s newphew who he wrote the song about.  See Soap Box for more details of his local visit.

Lastly, here are some Olympic Stats.  As of Thursday afternoon the US has won 90 medals, China is next with 80 and Russia is in 3rd place with 56. Israel has not received any medals this time but a huge BRAVO goes to Jewish-American Gold medal Gymnast, Aly Raisman, for using her spotlight with reporters to memorialize the Munich 11. Also, her perfect floor routine was performed to the Hebrew folk song, Hava Nagila.  Another local proud moment was when female boxer, Claressa Shields, from Flint, MI won the gold medal.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Sweet and Peaceful Shabbat Shalom,

Lisa

Dear Friends and Family,

The cowardly and evil suicide bombing in Bulgaria against Israelis had the signature of the Iranian leadership.  Condolences go to the families of the 6 people who died and the 35 injured passengers.  No sympathy for the 7th death of the bomber who by the way was carrying a fake Michigan Drivers License.

The honeymoon is over as Likud and Kadima get divorced.  They must have taken the same marriage counseling class as the Kardashians.

Shame on the Boy Scouts as they voted to re-affirm their ban on Gays.  Though your Girl Scout cookies are still safe as they (the Girls Scouts) have never discriminated against sexual identity.

Today, July 20th, is a popular birth date.  At least 4 readers on this list share today’s birthday and I know 3 of them were all born the exact same year about 4 or 5 few decades ago (by who’s counting).  They include Ricky M (my brother who is only 15 months older than me), Marcie O (the proud mama of Ziggy and 4 others 2-legged children), Lucy H (the Brazilian born vet who cares for the 4-legged children in this community) and David F (the Illinois raised, but NY resident AIPAC director who was born way after the above 3), plus these other friends who also have July birthdays.Rina R (our favorite son-in-law’s Imma), Scott K (our fearless Detroit Jewish Community Leader), Lim L (another James Taylor fan and writing expert), Michael S(smoothest voice at TI), Lea L (helps to combat food insecurity), Vicki B (fights the good fight in Lansing), Brad S (lucky to be married to the sweetest wife, Judi), Ricki R(fun tennis player married to her namesake), Hal O (powerhouse lawyer in Grand Rapids), Arthur L (Hannan’s cousin and Bev’s lucky husband), Gail F (Book Maven of Detroit and Steve’s wiser half), Conrad G (great advocate for justice), Marla D (Brings us all the news fit to see), Nancy H (had a big birthday and keeps us all healthy), PJ C(Detroit born, San Francisco resident who is missed in Michigan) , Rick L (Handsome and effective leader of JARC), Jodi C (New Mexico nurse friend), Bridget Mary M(Supreme Court candidate, please vote for her, and winner if 2012 Distinguished Brief Award), Krista B (beautiful and talented girlfriend of the birthday boy), Shelby L (our 3rd son from other parents), Jason M (Wise and prolific Detroit Rabbi), Jen G (expert in Naturopathic and integrative medicine), Larry J (Papa Larry to many happy grandkids), Barbara K (best friend to Irvin and dear friend of ours), Steven T (creates beautiful art through lens and hand), Annabel C (creator of the tastest delights in Michigan).

Last month the UN marked World Refugee day by recognizing that 800,000 people in 2011 were forced to leave their homes and find refuge in other countries.  Which nations, do you think are the worst perpetrators of this atrocity? Afganistan, Burman, Sudan… Yet, though the nearly 70 years of the UN’s existence, there has never been acknowledgment of the 850,000 Jewish refugees who were kicked out of their homes (with some communities that had existed for over 2,500 years).  This is just one of the many bias acts by the UN against our global Jewish peoplehood.  If you want more details of this atrocity, please read Israeli UN ambassador, Ron Prosor’s article:
http://tinyurl.com/UN-on-Refugees

This week’s musical edition is from the Babushki Russian Grandmas singing Beatles “Let it be”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVpEP8FgM7U

Last, but not least, please enjoy this video of the creative and beautiful 2012 Jerusalem Light Show: http://tinyurl.com/Jerusalem-Light-show-2012

Lisa

Dear Friends and Family,

Persistency is a good thing when it is productive, however when lines are crossed it becomes a waste of time and money.  After over 30 attempts to repeal the Affordable Health Care Bill, that line has been crossed. Congress needs to move on to more productive work and allow this Bill to take its course and prove the naysayers wrong about their predictions.

Just as abortions went into back alleys, so may circumcisions in Germany after this month’s German Court banning of the health enhancing and religious ritual. Both the Muslim and Jewish Communities are working together to combat the courts ruling.  I will keep you posted.

Let’s pray for the medical staff in Cambodia who are working diligently to find a cause and cure for the mysterious illness that has killed over 60 children in the last several months.

Finally, in the year 2012, ALL countries competing in the Summer Olympics will have women athletes. Saudia Arabia (the last holdout) was pressured to include women on their team.  Also, for the first time, female athletes will be represented in all events.  And for my last Olympic related update… there is still no Minute of Silence for the Munich 11 at the opening ceremony, though there is a rumor of a possible less public commemoration.  Even after 100,000 petition signatures plus the US, Canadian, Austrian and German support, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) seems to be more concerned with possible retaliation (of countries who find Israel an “inconvenient”) than doing the Right Thing.

The Syrian defections are coming fast and furious.  Top Generals and Ambassadors are sending clear messages to President Bashar al-Assad to stop the murder and mayhem. The man needs to go!

Enjoy this flash mob of a different sort:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GBaHPND2QJg  (thanks Ettagail)

Wishing you and your loved ones a Sweet and Peaceful Shabbat Shalom,

Lisa

Dear Friends and Family,

As you read this message, we are at the midway point of our “Planes, Trains and Automobile” trip through Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa.  More details about the trip will be provided next week. But a serendipitous moment occurred in Toronto as we were looking for a spot to view the Gay Pride Parade and among thousands of people in the crowd we ran right into dear friend, Ronny Elkus. We love those beshertful (meant to be) monents.

Here in, Canada they have an inclusive Health Care System and our Supreme Court just last week upheld our Affordable Health Care Act, but if you are looking for a progressive health care State for women, I would steer clear of Mississippi.  Their State’s (one and only) Women’s Health Clinic may have to close within 45 day unless they win a lawsuit to protect them from a new State law.  I wouldn’t move to Kentucky either as Senator Rand Paul is holding hostage a Senate Bill by trying to attach   an amendment stating that life begins at fertilization.  With friends like these, who needs enemies.

Across the ocean, Egypt is settling in with their new President, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.  In his first public speech he promised to uphold the international accords.  I hope he is an honest man… time will tell.

How about a Gilad Shalit update.  He was in NYC last week visiting the New York Times and the Jon Stewart show.  He’s new career is a sportswriter for an Israeli newspaper as he seems to know every detail of every athlete even info that occurred while he was in captivity.  Wishing him all the best with his new career goals.

I am a Ben Taylor fan (as in James’ son) and he has a new album. Take a peek and listen:  http://tinyurl.com/Ben-Taylor-new-album

Wishing you and your loved ones a Sweet and Peaceful Shabbat Shalom,

Lisa

Dear Friends and Family,

Full discloser… I love Aaron Sorkin.  His new HBO show,Newsroom, brings me back to the good old days of West Wing. He, again, has a Soap Box to (rapidly) verbalize the woes (of both the Right and Left) of our country… and there are many.   Speaking of television, I’m also looking forward to the return of Showtime’s 2nd season of Episodes this weekend.  It is one of the funniest and most irreverent shows on TV and does a hilarious job of poking fun at the Hollywood community.

Speaking of entertainment, condolences to the family of Nora Ephron on her passing at the young age of 71.  She is famous for so many wonderful movies like, Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally.  Also, she wrote the movie Heartburn (string Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep) about her life with ex-husband Carl Burnstein.  Her talents will be greatly missed.

Too bad the flood waters from Tropical Storm Debby on the Florida panhandle couldn’t be diverted to the drought stricken West. Our son is on a Western bound camping trip which will need to stay clear of the wildfires in the area and avoid all campfires.

Has anyone read any articles in any newspapers about Hamas’ rocket attacks into Israel every day this week.  As always, I seem to miss the front page (or any page) news of this. During our last visit to Israel, we saw an amazing presentation of the (Israeli invented) Iron Dome protection system which thankfully is nearly 100% accurate in destroying incoming missiles. Thank you, U.S. Government, for your life-saving financial assistance with this system. Israel, in turn, is sharing this amazing technology with our US military.

I couldn’t end this week’s message without applauding our Supreme Courts decision to uphold the Affordable Health Care Act. Speaking of life-saving, this will literally save the lives of millions of Americans who currently do not have access to medical care (aside from a few underfunded free clinics or emergency rooms). Our country is in grave (pun intended) need of affordable health care for all citizens and I hope we are on that healthy track.

Please enjoy this wonderful poster I received my our dear friend, Neal. It says it all and I whole hardily agree with its message.

:

Wishing you and your loved ones a Sweet and Peaceful Shabbat Shalom and a wonderful Independence Day celebration.

Lisa