BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

Inside the doors are sealed to love Inside my heart is sleeping Inside the fingers of my glove Inside the bones of my right hand Inside it's colder than the stars Inside the dogs are weeping Inside the circus of the wind Inside the clocks are filled with sand Inside he'll never hurt me Inside the winter's creeping Inside the compass of the night Inside the folding of the land Outside the stars are turning Outside the world's still burning* I was lucky enough to get on the waiting list for a copy of STALKING THE SOUL: Emotional Abuse and the Erosion of Identity about 4 years ago. I had to wait until a copy could be found because it was out of print then. Personally, it was one of the most galvanizing things I have read. It didn't just take a clinical look at what emotional abuse does to someone on the surface. It talked a great deal about the erosion of the spirit. The shredding of self that someone, like myself, who is a long term victim, experiences. Even tou...

While I believe prostitution is abuse - I commend Margie Burns for bringing attention to the very screwed-up priorities of the Justice System and our own myopic views. The sad suicide of Deborah Jeane Palfrey by Margie Burns The news yesterday that Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called 'DC madam,' hanged herself in a shed on her mother's property, was sad and rattling. I did not cover her trial in DC, did not sit in on any of it or follow it particularly closely. But somehow her suicide feels closer to me than it rationally, objectively is. That may be partly because I did write about her famous client list a few times, earlier. My main interest was what effect, if any, the attacks of September 11, 2001, had on her business patterns. Answer: if anything, the burgeoning defense and security booms kicked off by those attacks probably helped her business over-all, at least in a diffuse way. Exploiting 9/11 has provided a gusher of funding, and the gusher has trickled down to th...

Perverting Sincerity By Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz WHY & HOW DO-GOODERS GO WRONG The tribe of Dan, according to Genesis 49:16, was blessed by our forefather Jacob to embody the middah — attribute — of truth and justice. The foremost commentator, Rashi (ibid.) tells us that the blessing also refers specifically to Samson, a descendent of Dan, who judged our nation and meted out justice to the Philistines. The Talmud (Pesachim 4a) tells of a man who insisted on going to court to settle all his business dealings. He was never able to settle monetary disagreements by means of negotiation and compromise, but always required the decision of a rabbinic tribunal. Evidently, the Talmud continues, this man was from the tribe of Dan. Why? Because he carried within him the attributes mentioned in Jacob's blessing. The question begs to be asked: what connection is there between this man's behavior and Jacob's blessing? Jacob, with all his holiness and purity, gave a blessing to benef...

FOLLOW UP - MEGAN MEIER'S SUICIDE FROM MYSPACE ONLINE LIES After posting about this story yesterday , my hit counter has gone crazy. The hits don't stop! I have rejected numerous comments with the perpetrator's phone & cell numbers and rants about forcing Mrs. Lori Drew(a mother herself - who posed as "Josh Evans" on MySpace) to "throw herself off a building" or worse. I don't ascribe to persecution, harrassment or this sort of vigilante justice. Ever. Almost 4 years ago I was in a situation where, as my trauma counselors & victim's witness explained to me - I wasn't simply manipulated by someone I'd known over 25 years and had no reason not to trust. But I was used for kicks and emotionally raped for 2 years prior. I had been defenseless. I went to the hospital a number of times after finding out for non-stop vomitting, ended up self-harming for the first time in 22 years because I realized I meant nothing - which sent me...

ALBERTO GONZALES' DOG ATE IT! Most mornings, after I pull myself out of bed, with just a few hours sleep and before the sun comes up, make lunches, get my kids ready and to their separate buses (do not get me started about the NYC school busing disaster) I run to get some coffee and come home to check my RSS reader. I am a news junkie. I have been for a long time. Yes, I know. I am a just a "wild woman"!! Hahahaha. This morning as I was cleaning up the constant chaos in my living room I put on C-SPAN. No, I have never watched the talk shows much and I have always hated soap operas. Ick. So much for suburban housewife-ry! But lo' and behold, there were the hearings starring Alberto Gonzales. More riveting television has to wait for the Sopranos final season! Yes, C-SPAN folks. Like I said, I am just a "wild woman." I couldn't tear myself away. I laughed, I cried, I screamed "YOU LIAR" at the top of my lungs! Baruch Hashem the neighbors ...

PAT ROBERTSON'S UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL GRAD WON'T TESTIFY You just can't make this stuff up! Who is Monica Goodling? By Ron Hutcheson WASHINGTON - Monica Goodling, the Department of Justice official who said Monday that she'll invoke the Fifth Amendment rather than talk to lawmakers , is a frequent figure in department e-mails released so far as part of the congressional investigation into the firings and hirings of U.S. attorneys. Goodling, 33, is a 1995 graduate Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., an institution that describes itself as "committed to embracing an evangelical spirit." She received her law degree at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. Regent, founded by Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson, says its mission is "to produce Christian leaders who will make a difference, who will change the world." E-mails show that Goodling was involved in planning the dismissals and in later efforts to limit the negative reaction. As the Justice Depar...