Liz, I haven't seen it and had never heard of it. Thank you for mentioning it! I'm going to see if I can find it.

I read My Life - 4 Stars - Back in my college days, I remember reading a quote by Golda Meir. During the late 1950’s there was a wave of violent rapes in Israel. Cabinet members suggested a curfew for women. Golda Meir’s response? “Men are attacking women, not the other way around. If there is going to be a curfew, let the men stay home.” I loved Golda from that moment on and have been wanting to read about her for years. I was excited to start this book, but I kept holding back. There isn’t a Kindle version and my paperback copy has the tiniest font, which made reading it quite challenging. Nonetheless, I persisted, and my eyes got used to it after a while. I have to say that I believe that Meir is one of the few people truly worthy of writing an autobiography. Golda writes in a very open and genuine style. Reading this book almost feels like listening to an audio version, like having a conversation with an aunt or grandmother. The first half of the book read very well, but it did start to slow down a bit. Since it covers about 75 years or so, it’s obviously a lengthy book. It starts from her early poverty-stricken days in Kiev and her childhood in Milwaukie. In the 1920s, Jews, including Golda Meir, started to arrive in what was then called Palestine in large numbers. Golda and her husband lived and worked on a kibbutz. The Jews started to develop the desert and built towns. No, they did not drive people out. They bought the land legally, and settled in with permission from the British Mandate, who were then the governing body. Here is what she says: “Come to think of it, I am more than a little tired of hearing about how the Jews ‘stole’ land from Arabs in Palestine. The facts are quite different. A lot of good money changed hands, and a lot of Arabs became very rich indeed.” Golda was one of the founding members of the state of Israel. She was one of the leaders who helped to raise money to build Israel from its formative, kibbutz days to what it is now. When Golda was elected Prime Minister in 1969, she became the world's second elected female leader in modern times. The book ends in 1974, following the Yom Kippur War, and Golda’s resignation as Prime Minister. It was moving to read how she regretted not having spent enough time with her family, which goes to prove how it's impossible for any person to have it all. Again, she is open and honest throughout. I was aware of many of the obstacles that were encountered when Israel was about to be formed, but not to such an extent. Pretty much most countries and leaders were against them. Much of the world has had, and still has, an irrational hatred for Jews. The Brits were sadly the worst when it came to their lack of humanity towards the Jews trying to immigrate after the Holocaust. They barred millions from entering Israel. The Germans were obviously against them, as well as the Russians, Poles, and so on. She mentions the Chinese who always shunned them despite all their efforts. ‘The one Asian nation with which we have, alas, made no headway whatsoever is China. … The Chinese government, in fact, is totally committed to the Arab war against Israel, and Mr. Arafat and his comrades are constantly given arms, money, and moral support by Peking, though I, for one, have never understood why, and for years, lived under the illusion that if we could only talk to the Chinese, we might get through to them. Two pictures come to my mind when I mention China. The first is the horror with which I picked up a mine manufactured in China – so far away and remote from us – which had put an end to the life of a six-year-old girl in a border settlement in Israel. I stood there near that small coffin, surrounded by weeping, enraged relatives. ‘What on earth can the Chinese have against us?’ I kept thinking. ‘They don’t even know us.’ Then I remember, at the celebration of Kenya’s independence, sitting at a table near that of the Chinese delegation. It was a very relaxed, festive occasion, and I thought to myself, ‘Perhaps if I go over and sit down with them, we can talk a bit.’ So I asked Ehud to introduce himself to the Chinese. He walked over, held out his hand to the head of the delegation and said, ‘My foreign minister is here and would like to meet you.’ The Chinese just averted their gaze. They didn’t even bother to say, ‘No, thank you, we don’t want to meet her.’” The goal of the Arab nations has always been to eliminate Israel and the Jewish people. Most countries have always bent over backwards towards them because of oil and money, as is mentioned in the book, those leaders whose throats are choked with oil. She talks about the Catholic church not being exactly friendly towards Israel, which was no surprise, given their neutral stance during the Holocaust. She had kind words to say about Nixon. She liked Kennedy a lot. All in all, most countries have shown a hatred that is venomous towards tiny, democratic Israel – the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. I got teary-eyed at her description of Rosh Hashanah in Moscow. It was 1948 and she was then the Israeli Ambassador to the Soviet Union and is seen surrounded here by more than 50,000 Jews. If you are interested in learning about the establishment of Israel with a personal feel, this may be of interest to you. What an amazing woman. She dedicated more than 50 years of her life to public service – to creating a home for her people. Here’s a quote from one of my favorites, the late Charles Krauthammer: “Israel is not just any small country. It is the only small country, period – whose neighbors publicly declare its very existence and affront to law, morality and religion, and make its extinction an explicit, paramount national goal. Iran, Libya, and Iraq, conduct foreign policies designed for the killing of Israelis and the destruction of their state. They choose their allies (Hamas, Hezbollah) and develop their weapons (suicide bombs, poison gas, anthrax, nuclear missiles) accordingly. Countries as far away as Malaysia will not allow a representative of Israel on their soil or even permit the showing of ‘Schindler’s List’ lest it engender sympathy for Zion.” – Charles Krauthammer, "Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes, and Politics" As for this book, I have so many favorite quotes. “Let me at this juncture deal also with the ridiculous accusation that I have heard for so many years to the effect that we ignored the Arabs of Palestine and set about developing the country as though it had no Arab population at all. When the instigators of the Arab disturbances of the late 1930s claimed, as they did, that the Arabs were attacking us because they had been ‘dispossessed’, I did not have to look up British census figures to know that the Arab population of Palestine had doubled since the start of the Jewish settlement there. I had seen for myself the rate of growth of the Arab population ever since I had first come to Palestine. Not only did the living standard of the Arabs of Palestine far exceed that of Arabs anywhere else in the Middle East, but, attracted by the new opportunities, hordes of Arabs were immigrating to Palestine from Syria and other neighboring countries all through those years. Whenever some kindly representative of the British government sought to shut off Jewish immigration by declaring that there was not enough room in Palestine, I remember making speeches about Palestine’s larger absorptive capacity, complete with statistical references which I dutifully took from British sources, but which were based on what I had actually witnessed with my own eyes. And let me add, there was no time during the thirties that I did not hope that eventually the Arabs of Palestine would live with us in peace and equally as citizens of a Jewish homeland – just as I kept on hoping that Jews who live in Arab countries would be allowed to live there in peace and equality.” “The Arabs flatly turned down the partition plan – had they accepted it, they could have had a ‘Palestinian’ state forty years ago. The guiding principle behind the attitude of the Arabs in 1936 and 1837, however, was exactly what it has been ever since: decisions are made not on the basis of what is good for them but on the basis of what is bad for us.” “Between the Mediterranean and the borders of Iraq, in what was once Palestine, there are now two countries, one Jewish and one Arab, and there is no room for a third. The Palestinians must find the solution to their problem together with that Arab country, Jordan, because a ‘Palestinian state’ between us and Jordan can only become a base from which it will be more convenient to attack and destroy Israel.” “The British went on fighting like lions against the Germans, the Italians, and the Japanese, but they couldn’t or wouldn’t stand up to the Arabs at all – though much of the Arab world was openly pro-Nazi.” “It has never ceased to astonish me that the Arab states have been so eager to go to war against us. Almost from the very beginning of Zionist settlement until today, they have been consumed by hatred for us.” The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great - 4 Stars - This was the first book that I have read by Ben Shapiro. I enjoy listening to him when I have the time. He’s intelligent, spot on, and speaks with reason. This did not disappoint. Much of it is historical. Despite it not being a lengthy book, it gives a thorough look from the Greeks until modern time. He explains that the twin philosophies of Athens (reason) and Jerusalem (monotheism) gave rise to Western civilization. Ideally, everyone should know this in order to appreciate how good we have it. So many people today, young people especially, are unaware of how blessed they are to live in such a great country. I don’t live in the U.S., but it will always remain one of my favorite countries on earth. As Pamela Geller said, “America is not the only good thing in the world, but it is the best thing in the world.” It also reminded me of another book that I read, a book by Michael Medved, America is not perfect, but after reading this, I realized that it’s a country that’s incredibly blessed with an exceptional history. The other is his reminder that although God has intervened in American history, Americans should act nobly and have an attitude of gratitude and humility. In other words, they should not forget how blessed they are, what a truly exceptional and unique country they have, and finally, they should remember to honor Him. I wish that books like these would be required reading in high schools and colleges. It would be such an inspiring and refreshing change when compared to all the negativity these days. Here are some of my favorite quotes: “Facts have been buried to make way for feelings; a society of essential oils and self-esteem has replaced a society of logic.” “Politics isn’t the root of happiness for me. Politics is about working to build the framework for the pursuit of happiness, not the achievement of it; politics helps us establish the preconditions necessary for happiness, but can’t provide happiness in and of itself. The Founding Fathers knew that. That’s why Thomas Jefferson didn’t write that the government was granted power to grant you happiness: it was there to protect your pursuit of happiness. The government existed to protect your rights, to prevent those rights from being infringed upon. The government was there to stop someone from stealing your horse, from butchering you in your sleep, from letting his cow graze on your land. At no point did Jefferson suggest that government could achieve happiness. None of the Founders thought it could. Yet more and more Americans are investing their happiness in politics. Instead of looking inward to find ways to better their lives, we’ve decided that the chief obstacle to our happiness is outside forces, even in the freest, richest country in the history of the world. This desire to silence—or subdue—those who disagree with us has been reaching new, terrifying heights.” “Lasting happiness can only be achieved through cultivation of soul and mind. And cultivating our souls and minds requires us to live with moral purpose.” “We don’t live in a perfect world, but we do live in the best world that has ever existed.” “The best countries—and the best societies—are those where citizens are virtuous enough to sacrifice for the common good but unwilling to be forced to sacrifice for the ‘greater’ good. Flourishing societies require a functional social fabric, created by citizens working together—and yes, separately—toward a meaningful life.” “The USSR rejected Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law, substituting the values of the collective and a new utopian vision of ‘social justice’—and they starved and slaughtered tens of millions of human beings.” “Happiness isn’t rolling around in the mud at Woodstock, nor is it a nice golf game after a rough week at work. Happiness is the pursuit of purpose in our lives. If we have lived with moral purpose, even death becomes less painful.” “We’re continually drawn to false gods. We proselytize endlessly for everything from intersectionality to consumerism, from Instagram to organic food, from political protest to essential oils. How many of us truly feel that lifelong purpose is to be found in those transitory distractions?” “We must believe that even in the direst circumstances, we have the capacity to better ourselves. As Frankl wrote about living through the Holocaust, ‘Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate.’” “Western civilization has freed more people than any other, by a long shot; it has reduced poverty, conquered disease, and minimized war. Western civilization is responsible for the economic betterment of the global population, and for the rise in human rights and democracy.” “Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt of New York University points out that the most effective type of therapy for distorted thinking is cognitive behavioral therapy, in which people are taught to break chains of thought by using reason and evaluation — precisely the opposite of what our modern universities have been doing. ‘The recent collegiate trend of uncovering allegedly racist, sexist, classist, or otherwise discriminatory microaggressions doesn’t incidentally teach students to focus on small or accidental slights,’ he writes. ‘Its purpose is to get students to focus on them and then relabel the people who have made such remarks as aggressors.’ This, Haidt concludes, makes society more censorious, and makes students more psychologically unstable: ‘The new protectiveness may be teaching students to think pathologically.’ Even worse, people who perceive themselves as victims are also more likely to become aggressors; as social psychologist Roy Baumeister explains, ‘Many violent people believe that their actions were justified by the offensive acts of the person who became their victim.’ Which is precisely what we’ve seen from campus rioters and social media malcontents and the movement to use government force to shut down particular types of disapproved speech. But, we are told, at least this new awareness of our intersectional problems will bring about a more aware world, and thus perhaps a better one. Not so. Focusing on right-able wrongs is worthwhile; blaming all disparities on discrimination leads to more political polarization and individual failure.” “As Ronald Reagan put it, ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.’”

Me too! Once I hear a little bit of one, off I go. Love them all.

Exactly. There are many memes that I may not like. We don't have to say so. I just scroll on by.

I love your beautiful yard!

We saw the Ingrid Bergman version last night. We all preferred the other one.

I used to snooze some for 30 days. I noticed, however, that whenever I did this, after 30 days, much of my feed would be inundated with their posts, as if Facebook was playing catch-up or something! Now I just unfollow some. Now and again, I'll go and see if they've posted anything that I need to be aware of or whatever.

Last night we watched "Gaslight" directed by Thorold Dickinson. Fabulous. There are two versions out there. We may see the other version soon also.

We always watch lots of movies, but now more than ever before. I'm going to look these movies up. We've been loving John Wayne movies, especially "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance".

Happy Mother's Day, Robin, and Happy Mother's Day to all! Yes, it is wonderful to be back on! I read James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories - 5 Stars - I needed a good cozy read during this pandemic, and what could be better than James Herriot? If you’ve read his other books, you’ll notice that these stories are not new. They’re a collection of his ten favorite dog stories from his other books. It was enjoyable to read them again. The watercolor illustrations are delightful. This is a lovely little book. I will forever have a soft spot in my heart for all things Herriot. My favorite quote, about dealing with the death of a dog: “I have always advised people to get a replacement as soon as possible after their dog has died: a new and endearing pup helps enormously to fill the gaping void one always experiences after a much-loved dog has gone.”