At the end of this year, the U.N. "mandate" under which W. has been occupying Iraq ends. Under what there is of international law, we need a "Status Of Forces Agreement" (SOFA) in order to remain in Iraq past December 31. The Bush administration has been trying for a long time to reach a three-year deal that would mean our troops are out by the end of 2011.

The problem is, many Iraqis, particularly Shiite leaders who take their cue from Iran, don't trust Bush or any Republican (McCain) to keep the promise of leaving in three years. So the SOFA has been held up.

Then, on November 4, Barack Obama won the election. And, lo and behold, suddenly the Shiites in Iraq are ready to finalize an agreement. 77 days before taking office, Obama has a major effect on foreign affairs. Perhaps he can truly bring us "peace in our time."

I spent Election Night at the CNN Grill up in Columbus Circle. There I watched the returns come in with people like Mayhill Fowler, David All, Steve Garfield, Mindy Finn, Tracy Russo, Hilary Rosen, Cyndi Adams (yes, that one) and others.

I left shortly after Obama's speech --I was afraid that if I left earlier and tried to catch a cab or a train I'd get either stuck in traffic or underground (am not that lucky with mass transit in general, LOL!)

Columbus Circle on a Tuesday night is usually deserted but on Election Night there were cars everywhere and even though there was a bit more pedestrian traffic what was amazing was the loud hooting and hollering that was happening a few streets bellow ---and elsewhere.

The Jewish morning prayer service ends with the Psalm of the day. Psalm 82 concludes the service on Tuesdays, which is also Election Day in this Country. I find it an interesting coincidence that the Psalm, written more than two millennia ago and admonishes hypocritical leaders who favor the powerful over the poor, is read on Election Day. When I read it, I always imagine a biblical era prophet chastising contemporary Republicans.

The Birnbaum Siddur or Prayerbook reads right to left with the odd pages written in Hebrew while the even pages contain translations of the Hebrew text in archaic King James style English. I choose to pray with Birnbaum when it's an available option, over books with easier to understand English, because I'm used to its liturgical translation. Although I know how to read Hebrew and recite some prayers in that ancient tongue, I understand little of the language and pray mostly in English. Using other English translations throws me off.

Containing just 8 sentences, Psalm 82 is among the Bible's shortest chapters. Below is the Birnbaum version of the Psalm.

As y'all know, babysitting in the city is rather expensive. I had the kids with me all day yesterday and instead of capitulating I brought them with me to the Teamsters' HQ :

Teamsters Local 237
216 West 14th St.
btwn 7th and 8th Aves
New York, NY 10011
Sun noon-9pm
Mon 10am-9pm
Election Day 9am-9pm

If you are in the 14th Street area, send in your RSVP.

The kids helped with picking up all the callers' paperwork and taking it to "the lady with the computer", so she could process the information on their central database. They also streamed some videos and did some interviews. You can see the fruit of their labor at the culturekitchen channel on Qik.com.

Isn't this special.

Australian Immigrant Rupert Murdoch owns Times of London, the British publication that first published about Obama's 'Auntie Zeituni'.

Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News, that "fair and balanced as long as it's talking about extreme right-wing politics" network.

The October 15 debate between Obama and McCain wasn't the final 2008 election cycle presidential debate.

Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler (NY 8 Congressional District Manhattan/Brooklyn) and former Pataki aid and Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Greg Menken will sub for the actual presidential candidates in a 2 PM Sunday October 19 debate at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun (CBJ), 275 Martling Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10314. CBJ’s Men’s Club is sponsoring the event.

Nadler and Menken have previously debated each other as presidential candidate surrogates.

I will co-moderate the event with CBJ mens club pres Ronnie Ben-Aron.

For more Information Contact: Roy Moskowitz (718) 370-3977 Mobile (917) 992-1873 Email: R2ceo@aol.com or Ronnie Ben-Aron (347) 449-3723 Email: rbenaron@yahoo.com.

Securing the votes in Congress to pass real immigration solutions into law isn’t going to be easy. The next President – no matter who wins – will need to lead his own party first to get it done.

Senator Obama would surely have an uphill climb, even with a Party Platform that favors comprehensive reform. But, given an enforcement-only Party Platform and the policy positions of most Republicans in Congress, Senator McCain may need to scale a brick wall to bring his party on board!

Nevertheless, both candidates continue to talk about reform (at least in Spanish).

I was disturbed to read in yesterday's Times that individuals who have lost their homes due to foreclosure are in danger of losing their right to vote as well if they don't re-register at their new location.

If this isn't the height of audacity, I don't know what is. First people lost their homes and then they lose their right to vote as a result. As if people who become homeless have time to think about whether they have re-registered.

And, of course, people who have lost their homes are not likely to vote Republican.

I grocery store bills are ridoncuously high due to the assorted allergies we have to manage. My oldest has something in the order of 15 allergy markers; while the little, their father and me have abut 5 allergy markers each. Eggs, nuts and sesame seeds can lead to life threatening reactions.

No wonder I spend most of my week at supermarkets. A loaf of spelt or gluten-free bread is anything between 4 to 7 dollars. Same with cereals and other sundries. So I spend my days shopping online or checking local supermarkets for sales on anything that is wheat free.

Guess what I saw at the supermarket on Avenue A and 4th Street?

If you want to help make sure Barack Obama wins in November, take some time on the next few weekends before the election to do voter outreach in a swing state.

I plan to be in Phillie every Saturday from now through election day. I went 2 weeks ago and the work was easy but powerful. All you do is go door to door and talk to people to see if they are registered. If not, you can register them immediately.

I was able to register an 18 year old girl who will be voting for the first time in November - kind of cool, huh?

Check out the Moveon or Obama websites for move information.

Let's make sure Obama wins in November.