Fair and Balanced...me!

As Dear Readers know, I was extremely upset about the Sara Palin pick. One can
respond snarkily, mocking the hair and the hunting habits,(as one did) or say it's
got to be a Tina Fey movie called "Moosestew Machinations" but then what?

This is a serious thing. Perhaps the most serious in our lifetime. So, I decided
to try and understand it from the other perspective, that of my Republican
Friends. Yes, I have them! Quite a few, thank you!
And I'd had fights with some of them re my great support for Obama. Not on
an ideological basis...there's no point in fighting about that...we believe
what we believe and we rarely change that. But on an EXPERIENCE arguement...they
had their points. And I had my answers to them. I then decided as the old maxim..better not to discuss politics or religion.

Now, turnabout was fair play. Experience question? 19 months as a Governor?
I'm sorry, PTA does not count! It doesnt. Not on the world stage. Surely they
will acknowledge that at least.

My friends are very smart...well most of them. I needed to have this VP thing explained
in a way that would frankly, keep me from being scared to death!

And so I asked them to give me their answers on these questions:
1.Is Sara Palin, in your honest view, ready to be Leader of the Free World?
2. Are you still voting McCain?
3. Who was your first VP pick?

And finally...anything else you want to add re picking a woman being important.

I got detailed interesting answers from the men explaining their views.
The women said pointedly just "I'm for her!"

First off, they are not scared that she is too inexperienced, or has a narrow
background. They pointed to prior Presidents and world leaders who
grew into the job. ( I still don't want that...again!)

They pointed out that most Governors do not have a lot of international
experience. (But some of them have and Alaska is such that
I think she is operating a budget on a small town size stage.)

They equated the "Obama had no experience" argument again . ( But now I counter
that he has been voted on by 18 million people and vetted over 18 months. Sara won
by 6oo plus votes and we have less than 3 months to know her and everything about her!)

Second, most of them would have chosen Mitt Romney, who I would have
been happy with...though I remain a dedicated Dem. ( I am not totally
partisan!) So I don't understand why they are not deeply disappointed. Or are
they just not saying. If Obama had picked a total unknown, I'd be pissed.

In other words...they all, except one person, did NOT find this choice scary or bizarre
or crazy. (Conclusion: I cannot discuss this with my friends anymore...she said
jokingly serious.) It is clear that people have VERY DIFFERENT opinions and
that I guess is why we have a country torn in half.

As to the issue of a woman...there were, in my view, other women who had
more experience like Kay Bailey Hutchinson, with whom I may not agree, but
I certainly find credible and experienced. But I would have not thought that a
business person like a Meg Whitman had the scope of knowledge either!

John McCain is 72. One third of American VP's have becoming Presidents
by virtue of death or other removals...impeachment. THINK ABOUT IT!
She has a 33% chance to become the President of the United States.

Finally, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT GENDER IN POLITICS MATTERS. Sorry, feminists.
I just want the best person and when it was Margaret Thatcher, or Golda Meir,
cool. Sara is neither. I just saw the Republican Gov. of Hawaii on TV. Seemed
like a nice lady.What was wrong with her? Whoops...I said I'd put a hold on snarky.

Now, yesterday I saw the interview Gov. Palin did with Maria Bartiromo on the money channel.
She is smart, articulate in a very direct Francis McDormand, Fargo, kind of dialect and she
rapidly gives a good arguement about energy vis a vis drilling and swears she is also
very into protecting the environment. I have read both support and criticism of her
on this and don't know the truth. But I liked her! I think she would have made a
really good Secretary of Energy,gotten some time in the big time and thensomeday could have run for President.

To sum up:

1. This was not a crazy choice...it was a very smart, totally Machiavellian one.
McCain wants to win. He has been saying he chooses "county over politics." Not on this one.
John McCain realized that the experience issue was not working and that
"Change" was the word. 80% of Americans want that.So this reinforced that.
And he got rid of Bush/Cheney in one fell swoop. He threw the baby (convention) out
with the water ( Gustav.) The Maverick is back....for better or worse.

2. It remains scary because he did it so quickly, having met her ONCE. He said
he likes "to act faster than anyone else and will live with the consequences."
I don't feel good about living with them. What other quick shoot from the hip
choices will be made.

3. While I try and judge things objectively, my values and positions on choice,
guns, and other issues do get in the way and she represents the opposite of
everything I believe in. And it's been reported that she was not McCain's first choice
either!This makes me feel that the extreme right right on the Rep. side
is controlling the party. I don't want the extreme left left side of the Dems doing
that either.

I WANT THE CENTER. I think America wants the Center. I hope it does.

4.The fact that she is a woman cuts both ways...both bad for Dems. This will make it a
lot harder for Biden to debate her because the sexist attacks will be used against
any thing he does...if he's too soft, he's patronizing,if he's too tough, he's beating up on her.
So they successfully used the feminist inroads Hillary paved to their advantage,
to get her voters. I hope she comes out to debunk that and fast!

One of my smart Democrat friends reassured my panic by saying that so far Obama
has been thoughtful, careful, successful in every step of the campaign and we
should give him credit that he will find the right way to deal with this. That
makes me feel a little better. Only a little.

What I still don't really understand is how people can look at something and see

it so differently!? But the good news is that we can still be friends.

I hope!! But just in case, NO MORE POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS!

furthermore

some of my emailers were upset with me re my remark aboutSara's Hair and eskimos...a little
left over from my cant help it i'm a comedy writer bg...but in all seriousness I am
more upset about the lack of experience on a national stage and not having been tested as
Barack has been through the primary...for those who decried lack of experience on his
part...which just does not hold now, does it!
I find it very very cynical and insulting that McCain, whom I admired and was indeed
someone who sometimes reached across party lines would do this to the nation!
come on kids..
get serious. Poor Kay Bailey Hutchinson, a qualified woman, was at a loss for words
to defend it.
I realize politics can be a touchy subject and I've had some strong reactions from
my Rep. friends about Obama...but this choice was too scary for me to keep silent.

But seriously folks

Any respect I had for McCain is now gone! Does he really think that women are going
to vote for ANY woman, just to vote for a woman?Come on! And the comedy writer
in me wants to know...What's with the hair? She'll have to go to Shear Genius and get
a cut that brings her into the 21rst Century before the Convention. Geesh!But hey,she
WAS mayor of 8,000 eskimos..not that there's anything wrong with eskimos!

to all my republican friends...

McCain has chosen his VP. And I say..."huh?"

med report

Hey...cant type too much..hand still in temp cast. operation pain in the u know what!
and the wrist.
thank god for the olympics...yay! and what a stunning opening ceremony!
Now watching the Dems as there's not much else I can do..like putting on my bra!
thanks for all the good wishes...you are great,my readers!!!!

ouch!

About to have an operation on my wrist...some wierd degenerative tendon thing...anyway
thank god for the olympics...will have something to do while recuping. no typing for
a while! bye for now.

one last adventure in Aspen

SS does not stand for Secret Service.. not while I'm around!
This could maybe get me arrested, but what the heck!
The King of Jordan and his gorgeous wife were at the Aspen Institute and after the speech
they went back to the hotel which is across from where I stay.
How did I know this? Because forty million guards and cars were lined up outside.
So, since I had not gotten to ask him the question I wanted to at the speech, I
thought I'd go into the Hotel and ask him there. Well, you know I am rather
adventurous..ok ok pushy.
I go into the Lobby and see about 10 guards standing around so I know that he
must be in the Lobby...right? And sure enough there he was, a short King, but
still a King, sitting on the terrace talking to some people.
The guards were a mix of Jordanian and American Secret Service...I know these
things.
About two or three other people were watching the King and the guards just
looked at us once, and then didn't bother us again.
I waited a while and finally the guards started forming a line so I knew he
was coming out.
I stood there at the door of the lobby and he and the family walked by and
the Queen smiled at me and said "hi" and I said "hi." And the King walked by
and sort of smiled...and I decided not to ask him my question...but he was only
two feet at most from me! And, if I were some kind of terrorist or nut job..well..
let's just say he's lucky I'm not and I wasn't!
So I guess tall blonde's are not on anyone's profiling list. That seems rather
dangerous to me! But let's not tell anyone as I don't want them tracking me down.

me on a segway...maybe

hi from aspen

Gee guys...you are persistent! but i love the interest! No no no..the guy I'm going to be fixed up with is in NY...so it'll happen...i hope...when i go back.
Other news...injured my wrist and have a photo of me in a temp cast...if i can figure out how to print it in here i will...have to maybe have an operation as it's an old injury...reinjured.

Went the the gym to see the very cute guy i had the crush on last year...not so cute this year..thank god!

still loving it here...wish i could stay longer...have to figure out a job or something...money being what it takes!

ok, things are picking up

went to a fab dinner party the other night. great , interesting people and terrific conversation which i love! plus one couple has a guy to fix me up with! let's keep our fingers crossed.
And, that final at Wimbelton was amazing!!!

reporting from aspen

Well i guess it's a function of how bored I am that I have time to blog!! Actually I am having a good time but it's not up to the standard of the past few years.
It is an Ideas Festival which brings smart interesting people from all over the world to talk about various topics ...politics, health, climate, education.
I"ve been here for 7 summers and I think they may have finally run out of new people..however there have beensome highlights and I'll tell u.
Tom Friedman...always brilliant about how we are running out of time for climate and energy problems. Dean Kamin, the brilliant genius who invented the Segway and other medical devices who is single handedly making science and technology cool again. David Brooks the conservative columnist who is now doing a book on the brain and really interesting stuff. And Damian Wetzel (sp?) the guy who just retired from the NY Ballet..led us in an actual dance class...all the years i danced did not help. That was coool!!!
But many of the topics are not my thing and some of the political reporters who shall be nameless were same ol same ol. We'll see if things improve.
As to Men, adequate or not...nada! not even last years physical trainer/weight lifter who was soooo cute as some may remember.
Watched fireworks in my robe at the hotel pool...alone, sigh, but very fun. Love fireworks and could use some if you know what I mean!!

bye

off to Aspen for a few weeks...

me on growing bolder radio

below is the link to my favorite radio show..growingbolder...with two great hosts who are my pals! enjoy and go into the site you will like it boomers!http://growingbolder.com/articles/Entertainment/Writing/Susan-Silver-153020.html

me drunk...

well, i was on The Today Show on Friday but not in NY. A crane fell and they had the nerve to bump our spot for serious news!

this should be it! I hope.. . there's a commercial and then a minute before i come on...and it's not that exciting but here tis...

.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24889410#24889410

Larry, you made my day!

I was headed down to a wedding shower of a daughter of my friend, and there were no cabs in sight. So I hopped on a bus to go across town. I wasn't sure where I was headed, not being good with directions, and I asked thebus driver about the next leg of my trip. He told me and then I headed back to my seat where I promptly sneezed, twice.
A young guy, long haired, mustacheod and about thirty, sitting across from me with a guitar in its case said "Allergies, huh?"
I said, "Guess so."
We then discussed pollen and where I could get a cab to downtown and I thanked him andgot off the bus.
He got off after me and flagged down the cab for me and opened the door.
He then said " You are a lovely lady, how about going for a cup of tea sometime."
I laughed and said "I don't think so..I'm much older."
He said "I'm older than I look."
I said, "So am I!!"
He then told me his name and shrugged, "how about it, are you sure?" and the cab driver, a female, and I both smiled as we drove off .
Larry, you made my day! Thanks!

From Hubris to Humiliation in 24 hours

Well, thank goodness for a sense of humor, right? After all isn't comedy defined as Pain plus Time?
So, last night I spoke at a gathering of Dutch Baby Boomers here in NY. I was, if not the entertainment, the Speaker of the dinner program supposedly telling them of Boomer life in New York. When I got done with my amusing little speech, she said modestly, I asked for questions. There were none!
I told them I was available for private questions during dinner and one woman asked me to come to her table.
They looked a little embarrassed, but finally one of the women spoke up.
She said they wanted to know how come I was speaking for Baby Boomers when I was ...what? 45?
Well, Dear Readers, I am not 45...not even close and because I was so flattered and full of champagne and myself...I actually told them my real age. They were aghast and said that was impossible and then one of the men went around the table telling everyone's age...and it was usually 4-6 years older than mine. Needless to say, I was aghast now. They looked, shall we say kindly...older!
So I felt very happy and went home with renewed reason to stay on my diet!
Beware cockiness, folks. You are setting yourself up for a fall!
Today, I was feeling so young that I signed up for a tennis boot camp kind of thing Sunday night.
I had played a lot in California when I lived there and was about a "B"...in those days we rated alphabetically not like now, numerically. But though I haven't played regularly for years, and I had a tennis elbow which laid me off a year or so ago...I had recently taken some lessons and done pretty well. So
I decided I was a 3.5 which I thought was equivalent to a B. You see it coming...don't you?

Flush with pride and a nice check from the speaker's gig, I even took a towncar down to the courts.
I got there early and saw some guys killing the ball and some women being hit in various body parts. Oh oh.
I asked what level they were and they turned out to be 2.5-3. Double oh oh.
I finally saw my group...and there was a guy who looked to hit the ball like Roger Federer and a little girl/woman I guess who could have killed me.
I said to the Teacher, I think perhaps this is not my level. I explained my various injuries, but said maybe I could try the 2.5-3 group next time as I thought I could do as well as one of the women who was hit in the stomach and walked it off.
The Teacher suggested that I perhaps take a lesson with the "advanced beginners"...to which I said, Well, since I've been playing for 30 years I didn't really think I was a beginner, though out of practice.
Then he said, are you in good shape?
(I thought my legs looked really good in my little dress.) But he clearly meant endurance as he said, You can see this is rather difficult and "WE DON'T WANT YOU TO GET HURT. MOST OF THE PLAYERS ARE IN THEIR
20's and 30's!"
Okay. Now remember, just because I look like I'm in my 40's, or at least some Dutch think so...I am not!
I packed up my stuff and left.
And I took a bus home to punish myself for the sin of Pride and then, half way, got off and walked home to see how my endurance was.
I got home puffing only a little.But at least I did NOT eat the chocolate I wanted to.

me on Bill Bennett's show

http://growingbolder.com/articles/uncategorized/Funniest-TV-Shows-Ever-138275.html

here's the link, thanks to my buddies at Growingbolder...am guesting there in June by the way!

cool!

Wow, I had a ball today on Conservative Icon Bill Bennett's radio show! thanks to Bill and Seth, his producer we laughed a lot talking about comedy and they had their callers phone in on what were their favorite shows.
Lots of oldies but goodies like Steve Allen, Ernie Kovacs, Sid Caesar...all genius's in my book and a few that I had to say were a "surprise." Like Gomer Pyle, but hey...it's all personal taste.
What makes us laugh is very subjective and my only criteria for good comedy is exactly that...do I laugh?
If I get more than three laughs a half hour in a sit-com then it's great! Very few...but Sasha Baron Cohen (AKA
Ali G) is one of the best. And Everybody Loves Raymond was a true winner.
So today boys and girls we learned that politics can make strange bedfellows as I was in bed and in my jammies for Bill Bennett's show as it was 8 a.m. and...zzzzzz sounds of me going back to sleep after a fun morning.

me on the web

It's me me me...after all it is my blog. anyway, have linked the web interview I did a few months ago...hope you enjoy...and at the end you can "vote" how much we enjoy...so of course it will be many stars...won't it. luv, ss
http://www.firstwivesworld.com/resource/debbie-does-divorce/debbie-nigro/finding-mr-adequate

Bless me!!

I just saw the Pope!! I'm excited. He is staying around the corner and though they kept us a block away he drove by in the Popemobile and I actually saw him. Yes, I waved. And then, the Popemobile came around the block in front of my building and was loaded onto a truck. so I took my picture with it! Very cool for a Jewish girl!!