Is a Phone Call from Rudy, Next?

I had two interesting emails within the last 24 hours. One was from the Armenian-lobby group ANCA, whose political efforts I am opposed to (I am a Turkish-American after all).

They wanted to know if I- of all people- could give them $1,000 for their cause. I was thinking : "Wow! A person could fly from New York to Yerevan and back three times for that kind of money!"

The other email I got was actually a FaceBook invitation from Bahadir Acuner, a friend from my college years, who once took me flying up in a Cesna over the mountains of Pulaski, Va. (I still have nightmares about that!)

Bahadir happens to be a fan of the Istanbul soccer team Fenerbahce (see earlier entry), and I am a fan of their inner city arch rival GalataSaray. So, of course, Bahadir sent me an invitation to join a Fenerbahce fan club. An icon in the invitation showed a scoreboard that read: Fenerbahce 6 GalataSaray 0.

As Dionne Warwick once sang: "That's what friends are for."

All of this leads to wonder if I'm going to get a phone call from someone like Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) or Mitt Romney to come help them out in the South Carolina Republican primary. I have my differences with many of the Democratic candidates, except Bill Richardson!, but not enough to have steak and eggs at the Denny's in Rock Hill, SC, (which would probably cost a person $620 minus the tip for the waitress) with the likes of these clowns.

Lastly, I want to wish a Happy Ramadan to my Muslim friends. It is the religion of my father, and I greatly respect the Islamic faith.  (I, myself, am a Unitarian Universalist). And, for that reason, I want to a special shout to my friend Volkan Ozdemir, who is helping to arrange a festive Ramadan gathering at the Divan Cultural Center in Cary, NC.

I wanted to go there myself but there are football games in both Durham and Chapel Hill, which will make I-40 more congested than the parking lot of a Hannah Montana concert.........and, I gather scalpers are charging up to $1,000 for that.

I guess that's the answer to the question of where the money is going to these days: political lobbyists and teenage girls!

Useful Links:

http://www.ataa.org (the Turkish-American lobby group....sorry, I still don't have $1,000)

http://www.divannc.org

http://www.richardsonforpresident.com

http://www.airarmenia.net

(As one might expect, there are no flights to Istanbul. The Yerevan-based airline also does not fly to the U.S., but they do have flights from the UK, Ireland, Holland and Germany.........I would need to ask my friend Appo Jabarian just how much a flight to Yerevan would actually cost).

http://www.nc-educationlottery.org

(The link to the North Carolina Education Lottery web site is by no means a political endorsement, though I think the world of Pam Walker, the organization's public relations person- who may or may not still be with them. The lottery web site reported that Theo Streeter of Hickory, NC, won $250,000 on a scratch-off ticket from a conveience store. Streeter happens to be a new father, so this means that much of his new earnings will go to Pampers.)

http://www.heraldonline.com

(Rock Hill, SC, newspaper link. In an article by Matt Garfield, it was revealed that indeed Rudy Giuiliani had a lavish fundraiser at the Magnolia Room in nearby Laurel Creek, SC. He told the gathering: "You know what I love about South Carolina," (beat) "There are more Republicans on that side of the room than there are in all of New York City."Hahahahahahahahaha:) I'm not about to give him $1,000!