Spicer, United, North Korea, and Thor

I celebrated Passover – as many holiday-observant Jews do – with a break from posting on social media. My Seders were successful. The chart/list/graph paid off in spades. Besides tendinitis making me essentially one-handed – a sign from the Universe to ask for help and rely on others which tends to come not so easily to me – I hosted 13 people each night, there were only 3 tantrums (2 were not mine), no one got sloppy drunk, and everyone had a blast. Now that the holiday is over, I am all caught up.

WHAT HAPPENED WHILE THE OBSERVANT JEWS WERE AWAY!? So much. Too much.

1. Sean Spicer. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer referred to the Sarin attacks in Syria as so disturbing because “someone who is despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to […] using chemical weapons.” After a question from a reporter, he clarified that “he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Ashad [sic] is doing,” noting that instead, Hitler brought them [weapons] into the “Holocaust centers.” (You can read the transcript of his comments or see the clip here.) Big sigh. Sean Spicer, if you are reading this: Hitler began rounding up mentally ill people and senior citizens and children and before there were even concentration camps, he had Nazi soldiers put people in vans and they hooked up the gas Zyklon B to the exhaust pipe and they killed people that way. The Nazis continued to use Zyklon B in the concentration camps. It’s estimated that Zyklon B killed a million Jews. I understand Spicer has issued an apology saying the comparison should never have been made; I was less troubled by the comparison than by the unbelievably historically inaccurate explanation of what Hitler did.
2. United Airlines. A man was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight as horrified passengers watched, some of them taking video footage, which you can see and read all about here. I don’t care what that doctor’s history was; I don’t care at all. At. All. He was dragged off of an airplane violently. People were shouting at the officers and I understand some people got off the plane rather than watch that happen. I am disturbed that no one got up to physically try to defend this man; I know everyone was scared but that was the hardest thing to watch for me personally. It’s horrible. I don’t even understand what rights we have as overbooked passengers, to be honest. This has made me want to learn about what I can and can’t expect if I am ever on an overbooked flight.
3. North Korea. Yeah. So, President Trump: don’t bait North Korea. At all. They have nuclear weapons that they are itching to use. Stop it. Please.
4. Thor. Thank goodness for that trailer. It combines everything good: Hemsworth (with short hair!!!), a gladiator competition, strong awesome female characters, fierce Loki, The Hulk (!!!!), beautiful effects and- – I’m sorry, LED ZEPPELIN!? “Immigrant Song”? I near lost my mind.

I’m glad to be back on the grid. I think…

I hope everyone is having a lovely Passover. Happy heading into Easter for all of those celebrating!