I've become so bitter & cynical about politics & public life here in Israel over the past few years. I hate it but don't see any alternative any time soon. It's a sad commentary, I think, that the only real leader this country has (love him or hate him) is laying in an irreversible coma in Tel Hashomer.

Olmert could've been Israel's Chester Arthur. Remember him? He was a lifelong hack & wheeler-dealer. His corrupt buddies in the GOP named him James Garfield's running mate in 1880. Garfield was shot in July 1881 & died the following September. Arthur, as President, proved to be a very different man. He championed civil service reform & broke with the then prevailing spoils system. His former allies in the GOP became his bitter enemies. A prominent publisher said of him, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted, and no one ever retired...more generally respected." Arthur was basically a hack...

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Hello out there in Blogland!

I live here in Israel (moved here 20+ years ago from the USA).  About 2 years ago, I discovered that I like to write erotica (go figure)  as an escape, a sanctuary from the darkling plain (I love that poem) outside my door.  The shadows that I create sure beat the insanity outside.  I know lots of people here who live, eat, breathe and sleep "the matzav".. They read books about it, talk about it on Shabbat and are totally preoccupied with it.  It defines them.  I can't live like that.  I live it & will never be away from it.  But I won't become consumed by it, I won't let it define me.  In order to keep my sanity, I need some respite & sanctuary from it.  This is where writing erotica fits in.  It's where I can forget the reality outside my window and help keep the wolves at bay.  It's where I can relax, unwind & have fun. I write purely as a (secret) hobby, as r&r and as a kind of therapy...

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