Rob's Blog

Hurricane Sandy

Nothing like a disaster to make you appreciate the little things in life - like electricity. It was almost unbearbable being without heat for 7 days, especially in this weather. It was exhausting. We used the fireplace a lot, but it only generated heat when you were near it, and stayed out of the house as much as possible. We saw 4 movies in 4 days: Argo, about the Iran hostage crisis and how 6 Americans still in Teheran were smuggled out, impersonating a film crew on a "scouting" assignement; The Other Son, a fantastic story about an Israeli and Palestinian who were mistakenly switched at birth and grew up in families not of their biological origins; The Sessions, about a polio victim who uses a sexual surrogate to experience love - very graphic, but tastefully done; And Smashed, with Aaron Paul (from Breaking Bad) about an alcoholic couple and the changes that occur in their relationship when one of them decides to become sober. The last was our least favorite, but still worth seeing. Thank God the power went back on Monday night, 11/5, exactly a week from when it went off. How did people ever live without heat and electricity? I guess that is why life expectancy was so much shorter. It was stressful, though I'm not sure how much worse it was due to the fact that we are used to having power. It certainly supports the theory of Global Warming, which has predicted more frequent and severe weather events. Maybe we'll finally address tha, if it's not already too late.. Anyway, the next day, 11/6 was a momentus occasion when Barak Obama was re-elected. Now the hard work begins and one can only hope that bipartisanship prevails over self interest, stubborness and animosity. 

Working for the Common Good

Last night, my wife Linda, was an honoree at the BlueWaveNJ Annual Ball, this year's theme being "Working for the Common Good." BlueWaveNJ is a progressive grass roots organization working to effect positive change in such critical areas as health care, the economy, marriage equality, the environment, education, electoral reform and sensible gun control. It is almost entirely run by volunteers, one of whom is Linda. Here are her remarks:

In Jan 2005, BlueWave rescued me from the empty nest blues and gave me some hope after the demoralizing Kerry defeat, and  a second Bush term.  This wonderful organization helped me find my voice and express my concerns on a local, state and national level.  I was somewhat reticent when I first joined, but became more vocal and confident with the support and guidance of more seasoned BlueWave members. I started by getting educated on issues, and became involved with the Election Reform working group, and later, the Climate Change group.  I canvassed door to door and did phone banking for state and national campaigns, neither of which I had previously done.  I'm proud to have  been appointed as Secretary of the BWNJ Board and Steering Committee, and have also helped run the Silent Auctions at the Blue Wave Balls. I have felt empowered by participating in political  demonstrations and by lobbying our Senators and Congressman on a variety of issues.  I have learned after 6 years of involvement in BWNJ that the best antidote to despair about our country is to get involved on a grass roots level. Blue Wave has been a family affair. My  son Zach has been honored for his work as a volunteer at the BlueWave community center, and my husband, Rob, has videotaped events, and is helping out with the Silent Auction tonight. My niece, Katie Halper, has emceed our ball several times and performed with her Laughing Liberally group for a fund raising event.  Katie was also responsible for getting Nate Silver as an honorary guest at our ball two years ago, and Chris Hayes as speaker for our upcoming membership meeting in June. BWNJ is a wonderful community of which I am gratified to be a member.  It wouldn't exist without the efforts of our tireless leader Marcia Marley,  and the participation of many bluewavers past and present. You know who you are. Thank you for this honor.

Wow, man, it's like, the 60's - with blackberries!

I visited Zuccotti Park yesterday, site of the Occupy Wall Street demonstration. It was like being back in college in the 60's. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people gathered, of all ages, colors and religions, and you could smell marijuana wafting through the air (I'm told!) It was very peaceful, cooperative, and politically correct - recycling cans everywhere, kids preparing and distributing healthy food, playing guitar, drums, accordion, singing, listening to workshops, meditating. It was kind of "soft" politics, not strident, just expressing the frustration of the average person (the other 99%) who are suffering from the excesses of the last 10-20 years. And college kids who are in debt and un- or underemployed. It's a worldwide phenomenon, and mostly peaceful, though evidently the Rome demonstrations were hijacked by Anarchists who started burning things. But the movement itself is adamantly against that. Whether this will have any effect on U.S. politics and government, which I think people any political persuasion find frustrating, unresponsive and impotent, remains to be seen. It's not anti-corporate, it challenges whether the present political climate is representative of the majority of Americans who are not rich or powerful, and the near economic disaster caused by the financial excesses and greed of the financial firms, many of whom reside at nearby Wall St. The tsunami engulfing U.S. society is a man made disaster, not a natural one. 

Depressive Progressives

My wife, who is a social worker and adamant Democratic supporter, recently made this observation in light of the contentious debate around health care reform. When facing obstacles and frustrations, the Democrats and Liberals tend to wring their hands, blame each other and blame themselves. The Republicans tend to lash out, blame those with whom they disagree, and speak in one voice, right or wrong. Do they really believe that Obama wants to euthanize seniors? Do they really believe that government run health care is an anathema, in the face of the relative efficiency of Medicare, which seniors are loathe to have changed, and the VA health plan? And is he really a Muslim foreigner who wants to turn the U.S. into a socialist republic? Prior to the election I met an otherwise intelligent woman on a plane who was utterly convinced that Obama, if elected, would insist on swearing in on the Koran, not the Bible. Really! In psychological terms, according to my wife, the Democrats suffer from neurosis, whereas the Republicans have a personality disorder. A neurotic blames himself when things go wrong, and is subject to second-guessing and self-recrimination. Someone with a personality disorder sees nothing wrong with himself, lacks introspection, and thinks any problem is caused by "the other guy". Perhaps both parties should undergo some psychotherapy to work out some of these issues, although it's unclear whether that would be covered under the present health care system.

Katie's blog

Before I collapse tonight, I wanted to link to my niece Katie's hysterical blog
Halpyourself . Good work Katie. Keep up the Halper tradition of humor, sarcasm and disbelief!