Progress. Er....Progress?

Well, sure. I suppose you could call it progress. I mean, if you want to.

It is true that it is the first time Netanyahu has ever publicly accepted the possibility of a two-state solution, albeit with a phenomenal list of non-negotiable conditions Obama has called it an important step forward", which I have to say I would be more inclined to consider if he hadn't just pissed me off royally over the past week with his absurd defense of DOMA and abandonment of DADT. Gotta keep that center happy. (For what it's worth, in my opinion, it's most interesting--not to mention ethical--to read the translation of the speech yourself, rather than relying on the sound bytes offered by the news networks and pundits...you can read some excerpts here, or the full text of the speech here.)

Without belaboring my longstanding internal conflict about the status of peace and race relations in Israel--you don't have time for that--I just gotta say that the speech produced only one association for me.

I just can't help it. It's all those years spent deeply imbedded in the world of childhood.

Here's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that they could have just saved a lot of time by drawing upon one of the deepest and most profound wells of knowledge and conflict resolution that exists in today's world.

Yup. Poetry for children.

In this case, all they needed to do was open up the book Where the Sidewalk Ends (yeah, it's available in Hebrew), by Shel Silverstein (great site, by the way, check it out). I mean, he was even Jewish, what more do you want?

Go get your copy (everyone should own this book). Open it up. Page 74. My Rules.

If you want to marry me, here's what you'll have to do:
You must learn how to make a perfect chicken- dumpling stew.
And you must sew my holey socks,
And soothe my troubled mind,
And develop a knack for scratching my back,
And keep my shoes spotlessly shined.
And while I rest you must rake up the leaves,
And when it is hailing and snowing
You must shovel the walk...and be still when I talk,
And - hey - where are you going?

Isn't that pretty much the same thing?

And to think that those speech writers make a bundle.

Next time, tell 'em to call me.