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George Carlin Has Died

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

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 Kra...

Iraq's New Oil Rush

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

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...

Hitler Goes to Heaven?

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

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 O...

Theirs Is An Angry God

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

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...

I Support Genocide

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

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.

Jewish History Class-The End

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

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 ...

What Will The Future Bring?

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

This is more of a series of questions, rather than an opinion piece. JoeUsers are encouraged to share their thoughts and opinions.

on July 4th, 1976, I watched the Tall Ships sailing up the Hudson River in New York City. We stood at the edge of Spuyten Duyvel, spit of land that has had historical significance since the city was New Amsterdam and cheered. It was America's Bicentennial.

What will America's Tricentennial be like? What are your predictions for the year 2076, a mere 68 year...

Killings In Jerusalem

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

Ala Abu Dehein had an unremarkable life, by all accounts. But he will be remembered in death as either a martyr or a terrorist, depending on your political and religous idealogy.

He entered the Merkaz Harav yeshiva, a school for Rabbinic students, with an AK-47 and an automatic pistol and began firing. When he was done, eight students would be dead. The bodies of some of the students would be found laying among copies of the Torah, the Talmud and other religous works.

The gunman was from E...

Holocaust Hoax

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

Misha Defonseca is a sweet looking woman, 71 years old, living in Dudley, Massachusetts. She is also the author of a best-selling book that chronicles a remarkable story of how she, as a child, traveled 1,900 miles across Europe, sometimes in the company of a pack of wolves, in search of her deported parents.

The book, entitled "Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years," has been translated into 18 languages and made into a feature film in France.

Not one word of it is true.

Defonesca i...

No Peace in the Middle East

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

Despite the bold words that are being bandied about ("Failure is not an option" by example) there will be no peace in the Middle East. This week's incident at the Rafah Gate shows why.

Hamas has been firing hundreds of missiles into Israel. Why? Aside from the usual hatred of Jews, they want to make sure that the current round of peace talks is derailed. Hamas is heavily invested in making sure that there is no peace. The have refused to acknowledge Israel's right to exist under any cir...

The Christmas Beating

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

Every year there seem to be more and more articles by people who complain that Christmas isn't getting its fair share. There aren't enough Christmas specials on TV (something less than 24/7), the (obvious) Christmas Tree in the office is called something else, people say "Happy Holidays" as if Jews, Muslims and Hindus might think you actually know what our holidays are.....but the real truth is that people in America need more of an education in tolerance, not less.

Last week in New York City...

Brian Deneke Memorial

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

Thanks to my son, Jon, for making me aware of this.

According to the witness, the driver of the Cadillac said "I'm a ninja in my Caddy" and then ran Brian Deneke down.

The date was December 12th, 1997. The place was Amarillo, Texas. The driver of the car, who would be convicted for the murder, was Dustin Camp. Dustin was an athlete, a high school football player and a "clean cut" kid. His lawyer kept on stressing how clean cut he was at his trial. It must have worked, because Dustin got 10...

John F. Kennedy Assassination

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

On November 22nd, 1963 at 12:30 PM CST in Dallas, Texas, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States of America, was shot and killed.

There are moments and events that define generations. December 7th, 1941, the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked was one. September 11th, 2001 was another. If you were alive on those days, days which may have begun as ordinary days, you will remember the moment when you heard the news. Life would go on for most of us, but in retrospect,...

JCS Ann Arbor On Line

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

The Jewish Cultural Society of Ann Arbor, Michigan is associated with the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations and functions as the Secular Humanistic Jewish congregation in Ann Arbor. We offer a Sunday Cultural School for children grades Pre-K through sixth grade, and a B’nai Mitzvah program. Adult education includes monthly Schmoozes featuring speakers, our Book Club and assorted special programs. The JCS comes together for regular Shabbat and holiday observances as well as life cycle even...

Jews On The Internet

Larry Kuperman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:36:15 -0400

The question of how many Jews there are begs the definition of "What is a Jew?" and also "Who is a Jew?" Questions that have been asked many a time.....mostly by other Jews. Being a Secular Jew myself, I like the most liberal, inclusive definition that includes....well ME. The biggest number that you will see is about 18 million Jews. This works out to something like 1/4 of one per cent of the world's population. So you would expect that our impact on the Internet would be proportional to our nu...