The most recent 20 comments posted to Electrolite by Nancy:

Mary Kay -- This one is just my encounter(s) lately, since I've stopped hiding that my mother was Jewish.

(To make all this stranger, my mother was a Sephardic Jew who hid as an Episcopalian during and after WWII. I was raised Episcopalian, even went to the National Cathedral School for Girls in D.C., and didn't know my mother was Jewish until I was about 16 yrs old. That is a long story short.)

My locals, including some of my neighbors, have started to have the following conversation with me upon learning that my heritage is Jewish. It's come up lately because I've been talking to the local (next town's) rabbi, to learn more about my mother's heritage, and thus my heritage. And around here, nothing is a secret for more than about one day.

Typical conversation:

"You're JEWISH?! You don't *look* Jewish." Sideways glance. Raised eyebrows. Furrowed brow. "You Jews. You're ... you stick together don't you." Another sideways glance. "Ohhhh. That explains why you read so much. You people seem to all be so stuck up." Nodding head. "It's not your fault, Nancy."

Then, after I explain that I was raised Episcopalian in D.C. & my father is Scottish ...

"Yeah, but you Jews ... You know, your skin, now that you mention it ... You *do* look Jewish." (Note: I look dead-on like my mother, who was of Sephardic/French-Spanish descent, not typical "Jewish" at all for skin or hair tone.)

More sideways glances. "You people. You Middle East people. You know, those are the ones who blew up the World Trade Center, you know."

Then I get the "I don't talk to you anymore" look.

Yeah, me, I blew it up. Right. Jews blew it up. Right.

This isn't uncommon. We have Rush & Co. to thank for this particular idiocy.

My husband, bless him, is very supportive, but is constantly reminding people that he *isn't* Jewish, and, frankly, it bothers me but it is true. He's of Main Line Philadelphia nonsectarian Protestant descent. About as white-bread as you can get on the East Coast. I guess it's the "I'm one of you (other white-breaders)" things that this society, and in particular, living in NH, does to one.

Jill -- No need to apologize. I've lived here for 15 years now and have no intention of leaving NH. It's a weird state, but I like it, or at least I used to like it. I figure if my neighbors can turn into rushbots without notice, it's happening everywhere.

(But I swear, the next person who utters "You Jews" to my face gets smacked.)

As Mary Kay wrote, I, too, have many many people in my life who are repeating the Party Line that those who are in Iraq (except the US and British soldiers) and those in the prison system (known and unknown) in Iraq and elsewhere are "not human beings" and should not be treated as real humans deserve. Moreover, these people are those who, until recently, I could have a decent conversation over beer with, go to the movies with, and call my friends and family.

I need new friends and family. And neighbors. We are scared to put any sign up in public that makes it clear we disagree with the current administration. It's not just the people in town who would tear down such signs, but the ones who threaten with bodily harm and burning down the house.

I'm not kidding.

And I live in what is considered a typical New Hampshire "suburban" town. I'm not out in the back woods, and my neighbors by and large are not particularly redneck (granted, NH is all relative as far as that is concerned). But until recently, this was a very Libertarian-minded area: You do what you want to do, and, dammit, you have a right to do whatever you want to do. And your neighbors would defend your right to do that. No longer true: You are considered Unpatriotic and possibly Suspect (are you a terrorist?) if you say anything against the Administration.

I'm not going to go into how unbelievably weird people act if you tell them you're Jewish. Antisemitism is rearing its ugly head around here, at least, in the guise of "Jewish = Middle Eastern = Suspect Terrorist."

Scary times here, folks. I also suspect, and have said for about six months now, that they will suspend the elections For Our Safety. Mark my words.

Seems to be one of those days here.

Twice I've tried installing Scribe for my Firefox. Twice Firefox has crashed and nothing gets installed.

I do note, however, that all the icons on my bookmarks have mysteriously disappeared. Guess it did do something. Just not necessarily something good.

Okay, I was dutiful. I clicked.

I watched a screen with a rolling/blinking image say "Updating" for 2 full minutes. Then I gave up.

I did try!

I'm feeling extremely pessimistic today.

Outrage at their blatant lies isn't going to get us very far unless we can change the U.S. media propoganda machine that is all-pervasive in our culture.

I hear people who are reasonably intelligent, who I thought were reasonably well-read and well-informed, at my local bar -- people I've spoken to every evening for years now -- who spout just this sort of rhetoric as it it's God's Own Truth. Why? That's the wording used all over the news. RNC talking points turned to Truth.

Until we do something about turning that around, we're just beating our heads against a wall.

Does the Pentagon really not know that the report is online in numerous places, not just on that oh-so-dangerous Fox News site? (Or perhaps whoever penned it was that stupid and no one else checked before the memo was released. Ya gotta wonder.)

I'm inclined to believe that Dave really does know of what he speaks.

And as for Lt. Smash's "investigation," I'm afraid he's missing some very central pieces of the puzzle and doesn't know why the KBR connection for ginmar's unit (he doesn't know what the unit is) was cut for now. It isn't what he inferred at all. I can't speak to it further, and I'm sorry for that.

I do like Lt. Smash's blog, otherwise, and I do recommend it as reading for other information.

Dave's LiveJournal, likewise, is great reading.

As far as I know, KBR isn't in charge of the facilities of Abu Ghraib, which is possibly why that Marine was able to post to his blog. KBR isn't doling out his Internet privileges, as they are to the Army camp (no, I can't tell you where, even though I do know, because I'm not supposed to know) where the soldier is stationed who was told the soldiers there would have no "unessential" Net usage for the next 90 days. KBR is in charge of the camp facilities for the Army, but not for the "detainee" areas (and possibly other places) -- or, at least, that's my understanding.

Terry? Am I right?

Kathryn, thank you -- I'm glad to see this getting some spread. I'd blogged it this morning after I broke the news to Patrick and he kindly blogged it (it's not as if my LJ gets read widely). I hope mainstream will pick it up if we all keep it moving.

Kathryn, yes, you are correct. They are tasked to handle (for the soldiers): food, mail, net connectivity, housing, showers & all water supplies, and many other things.

Ah, but Terry, did you get how they lied today and said (after obfuscating for most of the session) that the civilians weren't in charge of the MPs, because that would be contrary to military law? It is buried in the transcript, towards the end, when they were running out of time and getting sloppier about the answers (or nonanswers). I found that interesting, knowing what you'd said in TNH's blog.

Is it just me, or are the activities by Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush looking more and more like an orchestrated plan to undermine and destroy a country as thoroughly as possible? The U.S.

I mean, really.

And in doing so, they seem to be deliberately leaving a trail of breadcrumbs so thick and so wide that a person with an IQ of 65 and a fourth-grade education could figure it out.

Or is it just me? I mean, I feel like I'm a conspiracy nutbar. Ok. Yeah. That's your line.

Next on the agenda for defense department training:

Abusive Apologies 101

Anyone else pick up on the reference in Joe Ryan's blog (follow through from Kathryn Cramer's blog, too) to "Wild" Bill Armstrong? According to this entry, he was there, apparently assisting at the prison, with the contractors from CACI. Who is Armstrong? He teaches at Ft. Huachuca, outside Tuscon, AZ -- which is the intelligence school.

Someone here should ping Jenn, who writes on LiveJournal as House_Draven. She took her schooling there and had an interesting career in both the Army and, later, The Company. Within parameters, she may have some very interesting insights.

So I'm not the only one who saw the gloves and shuddered. The grins of "See, boss, what I learned to do--you taught me well!" coupled with the gloves have been haunting me more than anything else.

My father worked in Navy intel.

Elric says, "You think this is something," (says he who has been eperiencing Pulp from Miramax, publisher of Said Horrible Book) "wait till Bling comes out."

It's even longer.

(Nancy inserts her own note here: He told me it was a Cinderella story done as hip-hop. No, I was not tempted to peek over his shoulder. I've been nauseated of late without the use of outside influences.)

Maybe it's even more telling that she refused to testify under oath.

Now on hospice care, my father (90 and still counting) is still drinking his whiskey straight up, because to do otherwise is sacrosanct per his Scottish heritage (aye, laddie). I'm amused that he's fighting to have two drinks before dinner instead of one, because it sure ain't gonna be the thing that kills him now. I'm with him!

I've informed him that it's all his fault that I drink my whiskey straight.

Patrick -- we need to share some rye when we next get together. I had no idea! And here we've been only drinking whiskey at my house when you're here!

(BTW, freelancers don't suck up to editors. We try to stay anonymous and hide behind the furniture.)

Having heard so many people who went to Boskone got this particular bug, I think I'm now glad I stayed home (not that I had an option at the time).

Now I'm wondering if I really should go to Lunacon. I noticed that if I don't go to winter cons, I mysteriously don't get the flu anymore.

I once got the "Martha Stewart" award from some list (god, back in the 90s, I think) for coming up with the idea for making mobiles out of AOL CDs. The wind whips the mobile up, scatters light, and keeps the crows and bluejays out of my blueberry bushes. Works like a charm and is right purdy.

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