Todays cast of characters: My beloved Doug and Julie (more please!) Bo and Hope, Austin and Carrie, Lexie and Abe, Ej, and Nicole, Rafe and Carrie, Jen, and Will.

" Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" Jesus from the Bible
" Do unto others before you find out they've done unto you" Fanny Brice, Funny Lady.

Today's show was quite interesting to me because it was such a universal topic that has been debated since people were people. Right and wrong. In a fundementalist society where everything is black and white, Right and wrong are easily decerned (although from the outside, it might appear rather screwed up logic). Morality is determined for you by law. However in our society, a man or woman determines to some degree what is right or wrong for themselves (that is a simplification. we still have laws and mores in this country. we just often choose to ignore them.!) Mores, rights and wrongs, ethics this is what was on the minds of all of Salem today.
Let's start with Bo and Hope. Today Bo and Hope were at the Brady Pub with Hope's parents Doug and Julie. B&H explain to D&J about the key to the lock box that Alice coowned with Stefano. Hope was unable to face what was inside for fear of what it might contain. Alice went to such extremes to keep it a secret, what if what's inside SHOULD remain a secret. Bo and D&J, tried to reassure her that she is just being careful and that Stefano is trying to be manipultive as usual. Hope steels her resolve to get at the truth and not cower to the bully. D&J, ever the resourcefull duo, have looked into the bank records that Alice left behind with all those payments on them. No matter what route they took all over the world, the ended up in the same bank in Africa. One of Doug's associates, that Bill Horton had set him up with, helped find the commonality of all the deposits.( Interesting that it is in Africa because Bill has been there the majority of the last 25 years. I and others have speculated on another Bill Horton child born in Africa for a while now. Maybe we were a little precognitient!) So off D&J go on a wildly romantic trip to Africa (can we go too? I would love to follow them for a few days).
Let's take a look into the marriage of Austin and Carrie for a minute. A&C are half dressed and making out as we enter the scene. Carrie pulls away and says they do not have time to do this (however they had time to converse for an hour about the fact they dont have time for eachother lol). They have to get to work! He's working all these hours setting up his office and going to meetings and teaching clases. She is busy fanning herself in her hot office and wiping ice between her breasts and thinking impure thoughts about her brother in law, so she really doesn't have time to be romantic with her husband (quick side note, is it a requirement that all the men over thirty have such huge pecs and all tanned on Days? It is fine, but you could line those boys up for a calendar and make some money for a charity or something! Buff Boys of Days!) They decide to try to schedule a romantic evening together but are unable to do so. This becomes an arguement. Austin's schedule is fairly set (well excluding the staff meetings in the evening Austin!). Since Carrie's "business" is not off the ground yet, she should be more flexible according to him. This upsets Carrie, because that would mean starring at Rafe less! She rebounds that she has to work extra hard to get off the ground by networking with potential clients (wait till he finds out she is only doing pro bono work at this point lol oh yeah she did get a cat out of a tree one day for a butt load of money!).
Next we visit brother and sister EJ and Lexie. EJ has lain in wait to talk to his estranged sister Lexie. He wants to bury the hatchet with her over this whole mayorial campaign. Lexie is having none of it. EJ says you can not pick your family and everyone else cannot be depended on. Lexie comes back that ABE and Theo are her family and that the Dimeras ar a bunch of snakes in the grass that would turn on you in a minute. EJ has forced her to choose and she has. She has chosen the man who is the best man in the world with the most integrity Abe.
Just then Abe knocks at the Horton house door and Jen answers it. Jen wants to talk but doesn't trust the phones with these kinds of conversations (which will seem odd what she does a little later). Is Abe serious about fighting EJ with the gloves off? YES! Ok She has it on good authority that EJ has an insider on the questions that will be asked at the mayorial debate.
The reporter, that she knows, came to her and told her about it. The reporter is unable to write about it for fear of retaliation from EJ so instead shares the news with Jennifer. Jen's idea is to level the playing ground by getting the questions too! After grappling with his conscience for about a minute, and realizing he is playing on EJ's level, he ok's getting the questions. Jen texts her source and requests a copy of the questions (what about the phone lines perhaps being monitored? Texting on a cell phone would not be any safer!) He also not only wants a set of the questions but also wants to go above this by getting the wrong questions to EJ. Jen's contact is unable to help with that..... Abe ofcourse goes on about how noone can find out what they are doing as Lexie walks in and hears that. Ofcourse she wants to know what they are discussing!!
Before EJ arrives home, Nicole has her own rule bending ideas for Will. She tells him she KNOW what he and EJ are up to and that EJ FORCED Will to steal Abes works program off his computer. She wants him to run by her anything that EJ asks him to do out of the ordinary. She has to protect the dumbass becaues hemight screw it up. She puts a big ole fat ammount of money in his checking account. He puts the depoit slip in this back pocket as EJ comes in and wants to konw what's up! They pass off the instructions Nicole gave Will as nothing more than fetch it stuffdr. After Nicole leaves, Will tells EJ that Nicloe tried to bribe Will into spying on EJ for her, just like he said she would. EJ is dellighted that he was able to block his wife's move. Will seemed to enjoy his first bribe. This relationship between Will and EJ makes me think of what would have happened had Darth Vader turned Luke Skywalker to the darkside (Stefano ofcourse is the Emperor Palpatine!).
Finally we get to Rafe and Sami's apartment where they are in mid discussion about Sami double crossing Kate as she is still working for Madison and simply misdirecting and spying on Kate. Rafe is taken back by Sami's admission and is angry at her lack of conscience concerning the matter. Is it really so easy for Sami to be this deceptive? Sami's argument is that it is Kate! She has done many terrible things to people. Rafe does not see this as justification to do the same thing. Ofcourse Sami tries the tried and true method of questioning Rafe's ability to provide for the family as a way of getting him to shut up, but Rafe is not having it. "This is something EJ would do. Not you Sami!"SLAM! That cut Sami to the quick! Sami says I thought that part of what you love about me is my unpredictability. Rafe does love that about her but he wonders if she has any moral center as well. He feels like they have been living a lie. He opens the door to march out and Sami says aren't you even going to say goodbye? Rafe coldly says "goodbye" and leaves without closing the door.

In this day when we wonder if it is ok to treat terrorists as they treat us, and we have people spying on us with our own computers, and we can't trust a single politician or ceo of a corporation to be honorable, it is hard to find a way to hold on to a moral center and to find a way to defend one's self without becoming the bad guy. Days has touched on these issues with a tight and compelling episode. Yes there was preaching . But the sides are blurred. What is right? Can people with ethics and morals actually win by playing on the same level as the bad guy or did the bad guy imediately win when the good guy falls to that level? There were no answers today. Just questions.