For the past three years, May has been Jewish American Heritage Month and I am curious as to whether this is clebrated or even recognized in reader's communities. On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush first proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month. The proclamation was in response to resolutions introduced by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania urging the president to proclaim a month that would recognize the more than 350-y...
We had a very special 8th Grade Class today. We were privledged to have a guest speaker, Larry Hiss, a Holocaust survivor, who shared his personal exparience. As readers of my blog know, I teach both 8th Grade Sunday school and Adult Education classes for the JCS (Jewish Cultural School) of Ann Arbor. I asked Larry Hiss to come to speak with the 8th Grade class and to share his experiences. One of my goals was to ensure that the class understands that history is not just something that you...
As regular readers of my blog know, I teach 8th Grade and Adult Education classes at the Jewish Cultural Society (JCS) of Ann Arbor. Today the 8th Grade and the JCS Youth Group visited the Muslim Community Association (MCA) of Ann Arbor. First, let me give the abbrobation due to the kids and their parents who attended. They gave up time on a beautiful Sunday morning, perhaps one of the last that we will see in Michigan this year, to learn about another faith. It should also be noted that duri...
Trying as hard as I can to be fair and unbiased (which I will admit is difficult in these turbulent times and for me perhaps especially) General David Petraeus' recent comments at the Heritage Foundation seem to undercut John McCain's paraphrasing of the General's position and seem to lean more toward Barack Obama's offerings. Asked by a questioner specifically about the disagreement on this topic that McCain and Obama had at Tuesday night's debate, Petraeus demurred a bit, but said: "I do th...
Last night I went to the Jewish Cultural Society (JCS) of Ann Arbor for Rosh Hoshanah celebration. We are a Jewish, Secularist, humanistic society, but as I have said many times in the past, our celebrations resemble religous ones to a greater degree than many might suppose. It was a wonderful celebration welcoming the New Year and, as you would also find at a religous observance we reflected on our short-comings and affirmed our committment to do better in the coming year. One of my former s...
My esteemed colleague, Island_Dog, recently posed the question as to what Senator Obama's actual accomplishments have been. I have posted a reply on that, but let me take things one step further. I am going to offer that, regardless if you are Conservative of Liberal, if you actually compare the records of the two men, especially in light of the current crisis facing America, not only is Barack Obama the logical choice, John McCain is positively a scary alternative. Here is Senator McCain's v...
One of my long-time contentions is that, despite the posturing otherwise, when it comes to actual implemenation, Republicans and Democrats are not that different. It is just the public face that is put on the actions. Today, the Federal government took the unprecedented step of seizing our nations two largest mortgage lenders, a move that, if we had a Democratic President, would certainly be decried as Socialism: ****************************************** CNN- Federal officials on Sunday u...
Conventional wisdom states that only twice in recent memory have Vice Presidential candidates swung elections: Lyndon Johnson helping John Kennedy win and Thomas Eagleton causing George McGovern to lose in the most lopsided election in American history. Sarah Palin stands ready to become the new Thomas Eagleton, an albatross around the neck of John McCain that calls into serious doubt his ability to make decisions. There are three major reasons for my saying this: Troopergate: The is s...
Last week I went on a business trip to Seattle. Flying time is 5 1/2 hours each way. I am not much for watching movies on a plane, so I always take a book or two for the flight. My son, Jon, was good enough to lend me "On Lower Frequencies, A Secret History of The City" by Erick Lyle. I finished it with time to spare, time that I spent re-reading selected parts on the return flight. It was that good! I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. I met unforgettable people, like Jorge the homeless ...
George Carlin has died of heart failure at the age of 71. Like his predecessor, Lenny Bruce, George shocked us by pushing the boundaries of comedy. Also like Lenny, George figured in a Supreme Court decision on obscenity. Perhaps his most famous (or infamous) skit, " The Seven Words That You Can Never Say on Television " shocked, offended and changed the way that we looked at the world. At least for many of my generation. I have memories of a very young George Carlin performing on the ...
Like a phoenix rising from the dust of history, once again the original partners of what was once known as the Iraq Petroleum Company are on the verge of gaining access to the wealth of Iraq's oil fields. Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP, as well as Chevron, are about to sign two-year, no-bid contracts to provide technical guidance and refurbish equipment for the government of Iraq, designed to take oil production from 2.5 million barrels of oil to 3 million barrels a day. The contracts are seen...
Some time ago I got into a discussion with a fellow blogger about Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant Reformation and a notorious anti-Semite. I was amazed to find that anyone would defend Marin Luther, a man who urged his followers to kill without mercy, let alone that Luther would be regarded as a "good man." If Luther was so good, then he must have gone to Heaven, right? And if Luther gets in, why not his best known protege, Adolf Hitler? In 1543, Luther wrote his infamous tract ...
One of our members has written an article that offers the thesis that banning prayer in schools somehow led to a rash of school shootings. In fact, the author quotes God as saying "I am not allowed in schools." This is the All-Powerful diety speaking, mind you. If there is any sense to this article, full of "reap the whirlwind" it is that the shootings could have been prevented had not the All-Merciful wanted to send a message. Usually I do not respond to this kind of non-sequitur (beca...
Last weekend I was informed (loudly, repeatedly and, in my not-so-humble opinion, obnoxiously) that I am a supporter of genocide. The story follows and you can judge for yourself.
I just finished teaching my Adult Education class for the year. It was truly fun, truly exhausting. We had eight sessions covering pre-history from the time of Abraham and going through the modern Jewish-American experience. I wrote about 120 pages of notes. We covered about 4000 years. We started off with definitions of what it has meant to be a Jew and what it means today. There was a lot of Bible discussion, a lot of contemporary archaeolgical works cited. My goal was for a re-examination ...