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It took me a while to tumble to your comments in this thread but I finally came to suspect that you're conflating actions with religion, or with sexuality. I don't believe they are very closely related at all and, when you assume they are, you may fall into the very traps that are best avoided. While it may take an extra step to separate Netanyahu's actions from his religion, it's not that difficult and, I believe, well worth the effort. There are plenty of folks in Israel who consider Netanyahu an unpleasant piece of work and they are every bit as Jewish as he is. Does that make them bigots? Not in my opinion, although he would probably like to paint them as such. Often, those Jews who oppose political Zionism or nationalistic extremism are labeled self-hating Jews and it's a small step from there to be labeled anti-Semitic. Even though they themselves are Semitic. Similarly, if I were to take umbrage at the actions of another gay person, does that make me anti-gay? I've seen folks on some of the very websites we frequent call others self-hating gays because they dislike something another gay person has said or done. This is, again in my opinion, nothing more than jingoism to cover up an inability or unwillingness to separate individual actions from general affiliations. Pardon me for droning on about the distinction between the group someone belongs to and his or her actions but I've come to the conclusion that the failure to make this distinction is at the root of many of the world's problems today. And probably yesterday. And, unless we learn our lessons, tomorrow as well. My own hard-won views are that the vast majority of people the world over are pretty decent folks and don't want to cause trouble for others. But there are definitely some troublemakers, in every religion, in every nationality, in every sexual orientation, in every political party, and in just about any other group you care to mention. In my opinion, Netanyahu is one of those troublemakers and I hope the good folks in Israel will find a way to sideline him next month. And, besides a general feeling that Israel would be better off with a Herzog-Livni ticket, it just somehow tickles me to think of a Prime Minister named Tzipi.

As you say, you're not alone. He pretty nearly pissed off the Pope. Apparently, last year he gave the pontiff a book on the Spanish Inquisition. It was by Bibi's father, Ben Zion Netanyahu, and explained that the Jews were burned at the stake not because they weren't serious about converting to Catholicism but because of racial hatred dating back to the Egyptians. In other words, it was secular persecution and not spiritual. Here he is telling His Holiness there's no hard feelings.

Don't be glum. With luck, Netanyahu will wrap up early and Congress will also have time to repeal Obamacare. Something for everyone, except maybe for the ten million folks who thought they were getting health insurance. And, who knows, perhaps Bibi will invite them to come to Israel.

And now the Israeli election chief has required a five-minute broadcast delay in Netanyahu's speech to Congress so that anything smacking of campaigning can be be stripped from what the Israelis will hear on-air. I wonder if he knows how to speak without a clenched fist.

I barely made it through your post.

Hey, Guys, room for one more? I brought beer!

Is it just me or is that fringe in the middle a lot darker than the others? It is a fringe, isn't it?

Perhaps she could find a stand-in.

I found out I'm allergic to corncobs.

You very nearly snared me in to your centireading post the other day with the Wodehouse bait but, at the time, I had places to go and things to do. But two Wodehouse lures in a single week is too much to resist! I haven't read any of his stuff a hundred times, but I'm up in the dozens easy. What's more, I can pick up any of his stuff and get a good yok, day or night, rain or shine. For instance, I went looking for one of the phrases that suggested critiquing Wodehouse's writing was like "taking a spade to a soufflé" and I came up with Stephen Fry's page on him. Right there in the middle is Fry's experience in flipping open a random book and finding a bit of dialog between Bertie Wooster and Jeeves 'discussing a young man called Cyril Bassington-Bassington'. "I've never heard of him. Have you ever heard of him, Jeeves?" "I am familiar with the name Bassington-Bassington, sir. There are three branches of the Bassington-Bassington family - the Shropshire Bassington-Bassingtons, the Hampshire Bassington-Bassingtons, and the Kent Bassington-Bassingtons." "England seems pretty well stocked up with Bassington-Bassingtons." "Tolerably so, sir." "No chance of a sudden shortage, I mean, what?" Now I know that some folks may think the only thing remotely funny about this is the desperate and unoriginal light it casts upon me for stealing from another website but, honestly, I laugh harder every time I read it. Who's to say what tickles a funny bone? One of the things I like about this Board is that folks can come on here and feel free to post what they enjoy and feel like sharing with others. Sometimes, though, some posters limit themselves to showing up only to criticize what others post and sometimes even try to make a poster feel like he's the reason more posters don't participate. And, to some folks, that may seem like a spit in the eye. Not that there's anything wrong with that. And, as far as any talk of ‘stealing’ the post from another site, perhaps it would help if I were to turn full rights over to the OP with my compliments. Hell, I’d have hauled the thing over here myself it I thought I could lift it!

Perhaps a nice new Chia Earth. Has anyone seen my car keys?

Thanks, MsGuy! Very helpful.

Well, perhaps you could go and start a High Rollers Poll and leave the rest of us to lick our wounds as best we can.

OK, there's a lot of stuff about Thomas's and Scalia's dissenting opinion, but is there also somewhere a majority opinion that gives the views of the other seven justices? It sounds like all they did was say "no" to Alabama's request to intervene. I guess that's all they have to do and probably all that's appropriate for them to do. A second question would be how common is it for there to be a dissenting opinion in the absence of a majority opinion? Did Thomas and Scalia do something unusual by issuing one? Not trying to look up anybody's robes, but I'd appreciate it if anyone has some juicy insights to share.

So did I, sorry to say. Well, simultaneously would be more apt, as it an opening like that just doesn't come along every day. Not at all proud of this, but I guess my journalistic cynicism has become so advanced that I was quite willing to believe that both Maureen Dowd and the New York Times had jumped the shark and let a typo through. It was another one of those too-good-to-be-true moments, right up there with Harper Lee's release of a second novel, although that one may yet prove out. In the meantime, thanks for the votes of confidence. Going forward, though, my plan is to rely on others to separate the wheat from the chaff. When AdamSmith says it's in, it's in.

Spellcheck gem-o-the-day, and many thanks as it got me wondering whatever became of Donald Trump's sons. Donald, Jr., 37, heir apparent Eric, 31, hair apparent

Although it's been a decade since I've been there, one of my favorite places in Budapest was the Palatinus Bath on Margaret Island. It's an outdoor complex of pools and mineral baths with lots of eye candy. At the time I was there, the rooftop of the building with lockers and showers was full of gay sunbathers, and the building itself was loaded with Romanian hustlers. Easy to spend an afternoon, and convenient by streetcar. Any of the ancient bathhouses are fun and, once again, hosted plenty of Romanian hustlers. Two I enjoyed especially were the Király and the Rudas. If the park Mvan1 mentions is the one I'm thinking of, it's at the foot of the Margit Bridge on the Pest side. The bench facing the river was again well-stocked with Romanian hustlers. I asked someone why and it turns out, at the time, Budapest was as far west as Romanians could go without hard-to-get papers and the lads were looking to make some easy money. How easy it was I don't know, as the ones in the park apparently had a pimp who kept them hopping. As a general rule, I'd leave my jewels in the safe and carry the minimum of cash. The Gellért Hotel on the Buda side was very nice and I stayed there my first night. Then my friend and I found a two-bedroom apartment for the remainder of our stay. The owner sent his cute assistant to collect us from the Gellért. I generally prefer to live amongst the locals and avoid luxe accommodations but an initial night or two in a westernized hotel may give you a welcome comfort level for further exploration of an exciting city. Enjoy! PS: Didn't mean to imply that the baths in Budapest are in any way as open and businesslike as those in Rio. Any stolen moments in the baths themselves will be either in a corner or underwater. I've spent so many years skulking in the shadows, it didn't occur to me to mention it. And I sure wouldn't want any of my fellow-posters holidaying in a Hungarian hoosegow.

Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!

Lowest prices straight from Minsk will leave you feeling in the pinsk!

Thass a mighty big pile!

The story does sound a little too good to be true, doesn't it? I kind of wondered how she went from "No more to see, folks!" to "How nice! They found it!" I'd guess the publisher would have someone who could figure out if it's hers or not, wouldn't they? So maybe she's been manipulated into releasing something she'd never have done willingly. It would sure be nice if we had someone on the ground in Maycomb who could figure out what's really going on. Someone with learnin' and book smarts natcherly, but also someone who knows the ways folks do in the South. Someone who doesn't miss a trick, but who blends in seamlessly. Someone . . aw hell, do we have to git down an' beg?

Well, there's lies: "The Iraqi regime... possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons." "We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas." "We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas. We're concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using these UAVS for missions targeting the United States." "The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program. Saddam Hussein has held numerous meetings with Iraqi nuclear scientists, a group he calls his"nuclear mujahideen" -- his nuclear holy warriors. Satellite photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at sites that have been part of its nuclear program in the past. Iraq has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes and other equipment needed for gas centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons." -Cincinnati, October 7, 2002 And then there's damned lies: “The story actually started with a terrible moment a dozen years back during the invasion of Iraq when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG. “Our traveling NBC News team was rescued, surrounded and kept alive by an armor mechanized platoon from the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry.” New York, January 29, 2015 Now one set of lies cost many thousands of lives and got the liar elected to a second term as President of the United States, and the other set of lies got a serviceman a standing ovation and may cost the liar his job. Can you guess who we let slide and who we'll go after?

Go Set a Watchman will be published in July.

Not even a torrid tongue bath?

Hardly! And if I were, I hope I could talk myself out of it.