I can't wait to collect the destination tag on my luggage!

Thank you for the report, Claire. Your comment "There's more than one way to create an "apartheid road." speaks volumes of the constant threat that makes life in Israel such a risk.

It was California native Victor Davis Hanson who coined the more fitting name for the state: "Mexifornia". Peter states: "If nothing else, the state is simply too big for the rest of the country to write off or ignore". As resident of a state that is currently solvent, Texas, I have no desire to bail out California as Peter implcitly suggests that I get ready to pony up to do. Rather, why not hand California back to Mexico and let the state's debt be Mexico's problem? The way the population is trending and the manner in which the state is 'goverened' make such an allegiance not only increasingly compatible culturally but also mutually incomprehensible politically.

Having Colbert appear before Congress is not unlike network TV's strategy of running a pilot for a new sitcom sandwiched between two popular shows during prime time on Thursday night. The strength of the popular shows adds a bit of oomph to the untested just as the popular visage of Colbert may shore up the well deserved pitiful image of Congress.

Just as its tobacco based inspiration has done, American Blue Tip is bound to lead to the use of water in other forms. Soon, people who get hooked on American Blue Tip will wind up drinking water or immersing themselves in it. The hard core will seek to to deliver it by other means, possibly by heating it beyond the point of boling to where it becomes gaseous and then inhaling it or even freezing it and combining it with its liquid form and drinking it in long draughts on hot summer days. The possibilities are almost endless.

Turning into the Offal Office with every other utterance

What a great perk to be able to spend a week in Jerusalem while on business. We spent time there during Operation cast Lead and would jump at the chance to go again. The city was perfectly safe, even with a war waging less than 75 miles from us. Do be vigilant and keep and mind anything that your sixth sense tells you to.

Among the sights that we enjoyed that might be off the radar, the Tomb of Samuel stands out. It is high on a hill west of Jerusalem and speaks more about Israel than any guidebook can. See from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from Ramala to the Knesset from the terrace atop the mosque. The mosque built on top of the Tomb of Samuel says more than a million dispatches about the perpetual back and forthing that defines this tiny sliver of land. The hilltop of the Tomb of Samuel was also a strategic redoubt for the British in their battle to clear the land of Ottoman troops. Another lesson imparted: how often the sacred and the strategic in Israel are one and the same.

Trip Advisor offers reliable and traveler tested advice.

Time well spent on Dennis Prager today, Claire. I now understand that your case of the giggles had more to do with jet lag than the spelling lesson you suffered under the tutelage of the eminent Mr. Prager. Looking forward to more of your insight on Turkey.