I Swallowed a Camera Monday Morning

That’s right, I swallowed a camera Monday morning. 

The size of a large multi-vitamin pill, the camera traveled eight hours to regions of my gastrointestinal tract not reachable by the routine endoscopy and colonoscopy (e/c) procedures I underwent months ago. 

As my doctor explained, those procedures only explored the outer portions of their respective entry points into the convoluted world of my intestines. The pill-camera, on the other hand, would navigate its way down, up and around the full 25-30 feet of intestines. In my case it was searching for any signs I was dripping blood anywhere, which might explain why I am slightly anemic despite eating a healthy diet and have not shown any blood during my e/c exams. 

Developed in Israel, the PillCam is another example of Israeli technology making our world easier and safer. Think Waze. Exploding beepers and walkie-talkies. USB flash drives. Drip irrigation systems. Iron Dome missile defense system, to cite just a small sample of Israeli know-how used in peacetime and war. 

For eight hours PillCam bobbed and weaved, tumbling along taking pictures at the rate of two to six frames per second inside my body, causing no discomfort (for revelations, if any, I’ll have to await the doctor doing what Warner Wolf used to say during his sportscasts, “Let’s go to the videotape,” probably by week’s end). 

The PillCam SB 3 capsule is about the size of a Costco brand adult daily multi-vitamin pill. It’s smooth on the outside with a clear dome on one end encasing a light and camera that wirelessly sent pictures to a recorder I wore on a sling next to my right hip (https://www.medtronic.com/en-us/healthcare-professionals/products/digestive-gastrointestinal/capsule-endoscopy/endoscopy-systems/pillcam-sb-3-capsule-endoscopy-system.html). 

Twenty-four hours prior to swallowing the PillCam at 8:30 am I was allowed no solid food (a perfect tune-up for Yom Kippur). The only other prep was drinking a 10 oz. bottle of magnesium citrate at 6 pm Sunday. Yes, the expected flushing of the system transpired, but not as intensely as for a colonoscopy. 

A light meal—two poached eggs and a toasted English muffin—broke my fast at 12:30 pm Tuesday. I was back to eating a regular diet by evening. Good thing, as I had lost about five pounds in the process. 

By the way, for those interested, the PillCam self-disposes like everything else one ingests. 

Hard-Fought Rights Could Be Lost

Clarence Thomas believes Supreme Court decisions are not set in stone. They are not “gospel.” They can be overturned. So everyone, stop citing precedent or stare decisis when theorizing how today’s Supreme Court, or any Supreme Court will rule, he opined Thursday (https://share.google/MGlGRVrXIh7TxnYGj).

You know he’s right about decisions not being forever gospel. After all, the Dred Scott decision of 1857 denying a black man’s right to be a citizen was invalidated by the North’s Civil War victory followed by passage of constitutional amendments ending slavery, granting birthright citizenship and extending voting rights to black citizens.  

Thomas’ no-binding precedent belief even applies to decisions he and his fellow conservatives made just a few years ago. When Joe Biden was president they struck down his actions giving financial relief to millions with college debt. The justices said a president could not unilaterally invalidate a program passed by Congress. Yet, when Donald Trump repeatedly has eviscerated congressional programs the conservative majority has allowed his actions to stand. 

So, don’t be too secure that the rights of LGBTQ couples to marry will continue to be nationally recognized, or that couples of different races could continue to legally marry in all 50 states and territories, or that the right to engage in private homosexual activity is guaranteed in the Constitution. Or that the availability of contraception is legally guaranteed. 

Scary, huh? You betcha! 

But that’s what Thomas and like-minded conservatives believe. Nothing is guaranteed unless specifically stated in the Constitution and its amendments. Even those amendments may be interpreted differently in the present age versus the last century and a half, as we may discover when the conservative majority on the court weighs in on the validity of birthright citizenship that Donald Trump wants to eliminate. 

There’s at least one long-shot silver lining to this world Thomas has imagined, if not in actual word, in contemplation, at the very least. Future courts might review the sweeping powers granted to a sitting president by the current Roberts supremes. A more progressive court might restore appropriate checks and balances to our government. 

I know, it’s a long shot. It would require an extraordinary president willing to cede back powers Trump has been granted by a pliant Supreme Court majority. Electing such a president will be increasingly difficult given the Electoral College tipping more and more to the right. 

But “hope springs eternal,” the saying goes.  

 

Ramblings About iPhone Pain, Funding for Public Broadcasting, Unequal Justice, Hispanic Heritage

I think I have enlarged-iPhoneitis (at least that’s what I’m calling it). 

About two months ago I reluctantly traded up from an iPhone SE to an iPhone 16E. The 16E is more powerful, but it also is slightly larger in length (+.33”), width (+.17”) and depth (+0.1”). 

Now, those dimensions do not seem overwhelmingly different. But to my hand, they must, as my left abductor pollicis brevis (the tendon on the outer portion on the palm-side of the hand) hurts after holding my iPhone. Gilda, as well, incurred this injury when she traded up to a larger iPhone months before I did.  

I wonder how many other iPhone users have silently suffered the same fate. 

Calling All Billionaires: Donald Trump stripped $500 million from public broadcasting’s budget. Are there no multi-billionaires with enough intelligence and heart willing to step up and donate sufficient funds to keep information broadcast lifelines alive? 

Yes, I know each year another infusion of cash might be needed until the crisis surrounding public broadcasting is resolved. But the need is great and immediate (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/us/politics/public-broadcasting-cuts.html?smid=url-share).

All Talk, No Action: Trumpsters in Congress are all talk, no action. 

Sure they privately lament Donald Trump’s imposing his will on them, castrating their power of the purse, defanging their right to advise and consent appointments, but when it comes time to vote for or against Trump they act like the eunuchs he has turned them into. Sound bites come from a mouth with no teeth. 

Four doctors in the Senate had a chance to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from becoming Secretary of Health and Human Services. They accepted his word he wouldn’t disrupt health care, that he wouldn’t mess with inoculations. 

They are all Republicans: John Barrasso (WY), an orthopedic surgeon; Bill Cassidy (LA), a gastroenterologist and hepatologist; Roger Marshall (KS), an obstetrician/gynecologist; and Rand Paul )KY), an ophthalmologist. 

The American Medical Association should strip them of their professional credentials. They violated the most basic tenet of a physician—do no harm. By confirming Kennedy they have endangered millions.  

Unequal Justice: The Supreme Court has given Trump virtual carte blanche to disregard congressionally approved programs, to scrap them as part of his executive authority. But when President Joe Biden tried to relieve millions from their onerous college tuition debt the Supremes said he could not override a congressional program. 

How blatantly biased can they be? Shame on the conservative majority for bending their knee to Trump and making a mockery of constitutional law.

No Shows: Hispanic Heritage Month began September 15 and runs through October 15. By one estimate, 20% of Americans are Latino. 

In years past, activities throughout the United States heralded contributions of people and communities with Latino origins. This year, however, fear of ICE raids has dampened and in some cases cancelled programs in Illinois, the Carolinas, Louisiana and Indiana. 

Latinos are afraid to go to events. Even citizens and people with valid residency papers have been swept up in indiscriminate ICE actions. 

How sad, considering Hispanic/Latino populations settled the southwest, California and Florida decades before Europeans came to America. 

***No A.I.  .was used in the writing and editing of this post. The only intelligence employed was my own.*** 

TrumpWorld 1984 I Upon Us

I’m not a lawyer, much less a constitutional legal scholar, but it is my understanding that for an employee—whether a plumber, a software engineer, or even a television personality whose job it is to comment on newsworthy events—continued tenure may be dependent on not causing your employer grief.  

For Jimmy Kimmel and ABC, grief came when two prominent ABC affiliates, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcasting, piled onto Federal Communications Commission threats about the network’s license. The companies said they would no longer carry Kimmel’s late night show as a protest to the comedian’s comments concerning how the MAGA movement was reacting to the killing of Charlie Kirk by Tyler Robinson. 

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said Monday night during his monologue. 

ABC indefinitely suspended Kimmel. 

Time Out: For the record, I abhor ABC, Nexstar and Sinclair’s actions. Technically legal, their deeds clearly were meant to stifle dissent against Donald Trump and fellow right wing travelers. They didn’t care about our nation’s laudable history of political humor and outright criticism.    

With Kimmel’s show barred from hundreds of stations ABC chose financial relief versus free speech values. To be clear, Kimmel did not have unfettered free speech. His monologues were not protected speech. 

But from Thomas Nast to Will Rogers to Herblock to the current foursome of late night comedians (Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers)  Americans have benefitted from lively, often amusing, commentary on the political haps and mishaps of our government. 

Trump has taken umbrage to the extreme. He is thin skinned, plotting to take revenge against individuals and companies that skewer him or do not toe his line. Trump sues. Puts pressure on licenses. He might even pressure companies not to advertise on shows he doesn’t like. Companies that control network affiliates may drop shows with performers or themes they don’t agree with. When you want to stifle on air negative comments it pays to own vast media properties.

It’s not censorship, but it’s the closest legal facsimile. 

In all the dustup about Kimmel’s comments, what hasn’t garnered much press is the remark on air last week by Fox News host Brian Kilmeade that mentally ill homeless people who refuse help should receive “involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill ’em.” 

Though Kilmeade apologized a few days later, Fox did not discipline him in any public fashion. 

For the moment, liberal progressive thought is on the defensive on broadcast media. Should Democrats regain control of the White House and the FCC, the precedent of wielding a cudgel could fall on Fox News and similar conservative mouthpieces. 

The Thought Police are alive and well in TrumpWorld 1984. Donald Trump is reimagining history, scrubbing exhibits in museums that don’t reflect his pearly white view of the American experience. 

Before it’s too late, George Orwell’s “1984” should be mandatory reading in all high school and colleges/universities. 

***No A.I.  .was used in the writing and editing of this post. The only intelligence employed was my own.*** 

Battles That Changed History

A few weeks ago Gilda forwarded an article listing 11 battles that changed the world. Compiled by Sasha Putt, a history buff, for the publication “TheCollector,” the conflicts no doubt impacted civilizations of their time and future. Here’s a link so you can inform yourself (https://www.thecollector.com/epic-battles-changed-course-history/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=user/thecollector).

Don’t be embarrassed if you, like me, are not familiar with most of them. To make myself feel better, I composed my own list of civilization-shifting battles, with an obvious slant toward Western civilization experience. 

Battles, not wars: 

1. The fall of Jericho (circa 1400 BCE): As the first battle of the Israelite tribes inside the land of Canaan, the first battle after the death of their long-time leader Moses and his replacement by Joshua, the victory at Jericho solidified their endeavor to conquer the territory they believed God promised to their forefathers. Defeat might well have led to rejection of the covenant and its position as the foundation of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
2. The Battle of Hastings (October 14, 1066): English history and its fabled variations (i.e., King Arthur, Robin Hood, Ivanhoe) owe much to the invasion by a Norman-French army led by who we now call William the Conqueror, and his defeat of the English king, Harold Godwinson. Upon the death of King Edward the Confessor in January 1066 England suffered through a series of battles between would-be successors of Edward. William’s invasion came days after Harold defeated two contenders in northern England. To confront William, Harold’s army had to speedily march south. A tired lot, they fought William from 9 am to dusk before finally succumbing after Harold was killed, ostensibly after an arrow lodged in his eye. English and French history has since been forever linked. 
3. The Battle of Agincourt (October 25, 1415): Just one of many battles during the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, the hostilities in northern France demonstrated the importance of more modern warfare versus age-old strategies. The English employed longbows shooting arrows from protected areas overwhelming the French reliance on ground troops. France, however, later turned the tide by incorporating artillery in subsequent battles. 
4. Defeat of the Spanish Armada (August 1588): Effectively ended the competition for naval supremacy between Spain and England, stymied Spanish intentions to replace the Protestant rule of Elizabeth I with a Catholic monarch, and wetted English desire for overseas colonies in North America and the Indian subcontinent. 
5. Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775): Though a British victory over colonial America, the upstart militiamen served notice that they were a force to be reckoned with. 
6. Battle of Saratoga (September 19, 1777 and October 7, 1777): By defeating the British army, the American revolution earned the support of the French government. France provided financial, military and naval support. Spain and the Netherlands also sided with America against Britain. Without European backing it is doubtful the colonists would have succeeded in attaining independence.
7. Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815): The culmination of Napoleon’s 23-year campaign to rule Europe. His defeat at the hands of British and Prussian forces restored European borders, enhanced British influence, and helped usher in nationalism throughout the continent.  
8. Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863): The turning point of the Civil War, in the Battle of Gettysburg Union soldiers repelled Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s plan to invade the North to force a peace that would have enshrined slavery in the South.  
9. Battle of Dunkirk (May 26-June 4, 1940): The successful evacuation of British and Allied troops from the French port represents one of the most glaring blunders by Nazi Germany. More than 338,000 soldiers were rescued. 
10. Battle of Britain and The Blitz (July 10-May 11, 1941): The successful defense by the Royal Air Force against Nazi Germany’s bombers aborted Hitler’s plan to invade England. 
11. Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941): Japan’s surprise attack and Nazi Germany’s days-later declaration of war against America brought the United States into World War II against the Axis powers. 
12. Battle of Midway (June 4, 1942) and Gaudalcanal (August 7, 1942-February 9, 1943): After years of Japanese supremacy invading  lands throughout the Pacific, the Battles of Midway and Gaudalcanal represented the first major victories for Allied forces. At Midway, the U.S. Navy sank four Japanese aircraft carriers. Gaudalcanal demonstrated that even entrenched Japanese forces could be beaten as part of an island-hopping Allied strategy leading to Japan itself. 
13. Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942-February 2, 1943): East of Stalingrad are the oil fields of the Caucasus. If Germany had captured them the Nazis might well have won the war. The seven-month siege of Stalingrad is considered the turning point of the war along the eastern front. Until Stalingrad, Germany had never surrendered an army during World War II. After Stalingrad the Soviet Union aggressively pursued the German army back into Germany. 
14. D-Day (June 6, 1944): If the invasion of Normandy had not been successful Allied plans to end the war would have been prolonged by years. 
15. Battle of Dien Bien Phu (March 13-May 7, 1954): Colonial French rule in Vietnam and Indochina ended with its defeat by the Viet Minh. The United States filled the void left by France. America’s Vietnam War lasted until January 27, 1973. South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam April 30, 1975.
16. June 5, 1967: The first day of the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors. On that first day Israel achieved air supremacy over Egypt and Jordan, advanced into the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Israel subsequently captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem ruled by Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria, changing forever the dynamics of the Middle East. 

 

How Am I Affected? What Can I Do?

Seven and a third months into the whirlwind unleashed by Donald Trump, how have I been affected? 

Aside from the depression of watching Trump progressively dismantle democratic values, the social services network, the bureaucratic underpinnings of our government, and our international standing as a nation devoted to the welfare of humanity, I cannot say my life has been materially changed. 

My retirement savings have gotten fatter. My Social Security checks arrive on time each month. Anything I have wanted to buy has been available. Gas prices have been stable. No one I know has lost their job. My lawn keeps getting cut by South American workers. At least for the next nine months Stephen Colbert will be around to skewer Trump on CBS. None of my children or grandchildren are in college and subject to campus antisemites. As a senior citizen I can get a Covid vaccine. I still watch the 6:30 pm national news, read The New York Times (at least the headlines) and keep abreast of most national and International affairs. 

Yet, life is not pleasant. Why? Because I am a product of the last half if the 20th century when America tackled inequality at home and abroad, when treaties were signed and legislation was passed to protect lives and the environment; when borders were opened for the free exchange of ideas, when medical advances suppressed, even eradicated, diseases that for millennia destabilized humanity; when we sought to right the wrongs of society within our country and other continents; when we believed in a collective responsibility to create a just and noble existence throughout the world, with America as a shining example of what every nation could someday attain. 

Brick by brick Donald Trump is dismantling what America has meant to its citizens, to the world. And, more sadly, half of our country is complicit in accepting his selfish, inward-looking, autocratic view of what America should be. Trump’s congressmen and senators have forsaken their responsibilities, willingly accepting his usurpation of powers the Constitution enumerated for the House and Senate. Judges and justices have enabled an imperial presidency. 

One wonders why we need legislative and judicial branches of government if they simply ratify despotic rule? Why are they collecting salaries when our national debt keeps rising? 

Don’t look to me for remedies. A return to normalcy, to decency, awaits the awakening of Trump’s America from its cultish miasma. Hopefully, it will happen  before it is too late to reverse his excesses, before the pain of reduced health care, fewer job opportunities, lower incomes, more inequalities make MAGA a nightmare of the permanent present. 

Honoring Those Who Help the Disabled

Next Sunday, September 7, six extraordinary women from Israel, ranging in age from 62 to 81, will arrive in New York to begin a 10 day visit connecting them with the Jewish community here while representing a special organization that serves close to 300,000 of their fellow citizens afflicted with disabling injuries. Shalom Yisrael of Westchester organized and is sponsoring their visit.

When we think of Israel, most people, I would venture to say, visualize a vibrant, even muscular, society. But the reality is that roughly three percent, some 276,000 Israelis, are seriously disabled. Three thousand a year under the age of 60 suffer a stroke. Two thousand car accidents per year result in serious injury.

For more than 70 years ILAN, a national nonprofit organization throughout Israel, has assisted the disabled regain function in their lives, to not let their limitations define them (https://ilan-israel.co.il/index.php/en/). 

The six women representing Ilan-Haifa have unselfishly devoted their time and energy to a special Ilan program incorporating dance with wheelchair-bound disabled. Performances are held throughout Israel (https://youtu.be/3652YU5TmEQ ). 

Their volunteer work goes beyond the dance program. They raise awareness about the challenges faced by people with visual, hearing and mobility impairments. They develop programs to promote understanding, awareness and accessibility for the disabled. 

During their well-deserved time in America they will speak to students at the Leffell High School and Westchester Hebrew High School. They will visit cultural institutions and tourist spots in New York, see a Broadway musical, and exchange ideas with professional counselors who assist the aging and infirmed. They will be housed by volunteer families and build lasting relationships between our two countries. 

The near 40-year old Shalom Yisrael program costs about $20,000 a year. We have no paid administrators. Volunteers handle all aspects of the program. I serve as treasurer of Shalom Yisrael of Westchester.

You may donate by sending a tax-deductible contribution to: 

Shalom Yisrael

c/o Murray Forseter

11 Brad Lane

White Plains, NY 10605

Shalom Yisrael, a proud member of Westchester Jewish Council, is a charitable organization. No goods or services are exchanged or received in consideration of a gift. Tax ID # 74-3148036

***No A.I. was used in the writing and editing of this post. The only intelligence employed was my own.***