“Because the Israel lobby has gradually become one of the most powerful interest groups in the United States, candidates for high office pay close attention to its wishes. The individuals and groups in the United States that make up the lobby care deeply about Israel, and they do not want American politicians to criticize it, even when criticism might be warranted and might even be in Israel’s own interest. Instead, these groups want U.S. leaders to treat Israel as if it were the fifty-first state. Democrats and Republicans alike fear the lobby’s clout. They all know that any politician who challenges its policies stands little chance of becoming president.“

Every group of guys has one of these.. Who is it in YOUR group?

Ya know that guy who acts completely different in front of girls/women and says just about anything with the hope that she’ll take a special interest in him? You know who I’m talking about.. The guy who acts almost feminine when a female comes around. No so feminine as to push her away – but just enough to have her think, “Wow. This guy is ‘different’”…

On the I95 here in South Florida, we have a HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane where during rush hour, you’re only allowed to use it while you’ve got more than one person in the vehicle. In case you’re not familiar with HOV lanes, they’re a privilege for those who car pool. Anyway – at one point, the lane ends and it merges with the “fast” lane right next to it. Every morning there’s lots of traffic during rush hour – and this turns into a bottleneck – and everyone is basically stopped momentarily to let these privileged drivers in.

Here’s another update on my ongoing weight loss.. When I first started being serious about fitness – last October – I weighed about 243.4 pounds at 26.8% body fat and 39.0% lean mass (I’ve been about 15 pounds heavier).. As of yesterday, I weigh 189.2 pounds at 18.3% body fat and 30.3% lean mass. So that means I lost 8.5% body fat and 8.7% lean mass. My next goals are to be 180 pounds at 18% body fat and I’m almost there – though losing fat at this point is extremely difficult.

So I went to see Drag Me To Hell last night with my wife and mother in law. It was a pretty cool movie – not the greatest – but the story was cool and the acting was good enough to keep me interested for an hour and a half – or however long the movie was. There were a couple of parts that were silly and a few that were surely meant to be funny (let’s hope). But all in all, it was a decent movie.

Unfortunately, the immature assholes in the theater were relentless in their efforts to prove that they were too tough to be scared by a movie. This same nonsense happened with the re-release of The Exorcist in 2000. I only lasted about 5 minutes before all the laughter in the audience really ruined the experience.