BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

2009 may well be re­mem­bered for its scandal-ridden head­lines, from ad­mis­sions of ex­tra­mar­i­tal af­fairs by gov­er­nors and sen­a­tors, to cor­po­rate ex­ec­u­tives fly­ing pri­vate jets while cut­ting em­ploy­ee ben­e­fits, and most re­cent­ly, to a mys­te­ri­ous early morn­ing car crash in Flor­i­da. The past year has been marked by a se­ries of mor­al trans­gres­sions by pow­er­ful fig­ures in po­lit­i­cal, busi­ness and celebr­ity cir­cles. A new study ex­plores why pow­er­ful peo­ple – many of whom take a mor­al high ground – don’t prac­tice what they preach. Above, a ses­sion of U.S. Con­gress pre­pares to lis­ten to the pre­si­dent's State of the Union Speech in a 2003 White House photo. A new study ex­plores why pow­er­ful peo­ple – many of whom take a mor­al high ground – don’t prac­tice what they preach. Re­search­ers sought to de­ter­mine wheth­er pow­er in­spires hy­poc­ri­sy, the ten­den­cy to hold high stan­dards for oth­ers while per­form­ing mor­ally sus­pect...

As one of the very VERY few people I have ever actively campaigned for, I'd be happy to see Spitzer come back. Patterson is doing so poorly though, I doubt Eliot would run for Gov. Why? Personal of course. While I find his hooker habit disgusting, Spitzer's office was very helpful, supportive and acted for me during an incident I had in 2004. They listened and got me to the proper authorities. I can only hope he's learned his lesson... but in my humble opinion, he's a brilliant politican and we need people like him right now. By MAGGIE HABERMAN Disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been privately talking with friends about a possible comeback, and is considering a run for statewide office next year, several sources told The Post. Less than 18 months after he left Albany in a prostitution scandal, Spitzer has held informal discussions in recent weeks about the possibility of making a bid for state comptroller or the US Senate seat currently held by Kirsten Gillibra...

This was so good, I am reposting it here - Barbara by MICHAEL J. SALAMON Two items recently crossed my desk. The first was an article that appeared in The Jerusalem Post written by Matthew Wagner entitled "Haredim move to silence 'treif' music". It was about a movement to ban musicians who produce or perform any music which the Guardians of Sanctity and Education deem inappropriate. Musicians playing such music would be banned from playing in wedding halls, their CDs would be banned and their concerts disallowed. The other item was a breaking news piece from JTA indicating that Rabbi Benzion Twerski had resigned from a task force in formation being brought together to deal with sexual abuse in the Orthodox community. New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, also an Orthodox Jew, is establishing the task force to deal with this scourge. Twerski resigned because of the many threats against him and his family made by several individuals from his community. When taken toge...

Now that the primaries are going on - there's some shakeout and hard choices. I feel like I really need to take a good look at who's left... again. I will be the first person to applaud someone who has learned from their mistakes and changed. 4 years ago I spent about 3 months going to everyone in my circle, including family, and admitting something immoral I had allowed myself to be drawn into. I took along hard proofs, including some things from the police. I let everyone read them, told them I was partly to blame and out of everyone - only ONE person stopped speaking to me. (No great loss there anyway.) For the most part everyone has been very supportive. Since then I have spent a lot of time helping vulnerable victims of emotional & psychological abuse. At this moment I am going through some more training to be able to be more effective. I don't make a big deal about it - this is just what I have decided to do. I know what its like to be so vulnerable you m...

GONZO SUFFERING FROM 'TOTAL CAN'T RECALL' Liars, are to me, a breed apart. And as Lincoln said, " no man has a good enough memory to be flawless liar. " Especially when people who know the facts get together and share information. And don't tell me 'everyone does it.' Everyone does not do it. As my Nana, of blessed memory, used to say ' if everyone is jumping off a cliff, its o.k. for you to do so too?' Gonzalez doesn't remember stuff he testified too just a short time ago. And he's our ATTORNEY GENERAL!? OOPS - Forgot about the Chimp-in-Chief who can't conjugate a verb. I also forgot what boys-club I was dealing with this time. Maybe Gonzo's infectious? Lying has always hit my hot button. I myself, realized years ago I am a HORRENDOUS liar because I have too strong a conscience. So I simply don't lie. And if I would rather not say - I say so. I watch these guys and remember - these guys work for us. THE AMERI...

LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE STEPPED IN IT... A LOT OF IT! Campaigning in 2000, Texas Gov. George W. Bush would repeatedly raise his right hand as if taking an oath and vow to "restore honor and integrity" to the White House. He pledged to usher in a new era of bipartisanship. The dual themes of honesty and bipartisanship struck a chord with many voters and helped propel Bush to the White House in one of the nation's closest-ever elections. Americans re-elected him in 2004 after he characterized himself as best suited to protect a nation at war. Now, with fewer than two years left of his second term, the Bush administration is embroiled in multiple scandals and ethics investigations. The war in Iraq still rages. Bush's approval ratings are hovering in the mid-30s. And Democratic-Republican relations have seldom been more rancorous. In the highest-profile current case, even some key Republicans are questioning the truthfulness and judgment of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in...