Brother Going to Portugal

For professional reasons, my brother is leaving tonight, [yeah yeah on a jet plane like there's propeller ones still around], for Portugal. You guesers (Portuguese-ers) better treat him well. I don't want a repeat of the 16th Century, or, ironically enough, I will get Medieval on you.

Pic from here.

Which is the Most Goyish Holiday?

Depends what "goyish" means. Most people think it's a synonym for "Christian," or just "non-Jewish antgonist" but I'd say the range would be from 'another religion that's not Judaism' or 'super-duper pagan.' Christianity and Islam are serious monothesitic religions and so their most serious days could be the most 'goyish' but they also have pagan aspects (especially Xians). So the most goyish could be Easter on one side and possibly Halloween the other. See above for Citizen Dog's take on Halloween.

Oh, Those Wacky Catholics

Bishop Richard Williamson, one of the fun loving Bishops de-excommunicated by Pope "ex-Hitler Youth" Benedict, in his own words denying the Holocaust:

This video came via Christopher Buckley's blog (which I found via Sullivan, as is often the case). And, if you don't mind reading harrowing impressions of a visit to Auschwitz (something I generally avoid), here's Buckley's (Irish ex-Catholic) memoir of his visit in 2001.

The Pope and the Muslims

This article from the Zenit News Agency proves my point on why Ratzenberg was elected: Papal Address at University of Regensburg, "Three Stages in the Program of De-Hellenization." That is, that his record is as a right-wing strict Catholic who will strengthen the core of the religion in Europe - and then the rest of the world - against the encroachment from both secularism and of Islam. He's a fighter, and his expected short term (he's pretty old) will be one of religious conflict.

Pic of Pope Ratzi from here. Backpost finished 2009-12-07.

More Passion

[This is a draft post from sometime in early March 2004 - I didn't post it because it was unfinished, as you can see from the Roman Numerals at the end of the post... I don't have time to finish it now, either, but I gotta make this blog less drafty!]

Hopefully, the end of this topic

Some last points about the "Passion."

First of all, I want to rationalize why we are spending so much time on it. I happen to believe that it is a significant point in early 21st Century. Yeah, this is just a film; yeah, its a pet project of a lowbrow religious punk - a punk who has been able to manipulate the entire Western World into paying attention to his personal demonology.

The 20th century saw the transformation of Western Culture from Industrial to post-Industrial to Information. We are in the "information age" (for those who're keeping track) and when you recognize that information is all in the mind, you will recognize that anything which directly impacts the mind is both powerful and significant.

In a land that holds free speech as an inalienable right, we have understood even back in the 18th Century that ideas are powerful and significant. However, over those hundreds of years, we've learned that speech can liberate as well as obliterate.

"Hate speech" is a difficult and nebulous substance that has only been seriously thought out in the late 20th Century. We have the Supreme Court cases that relate to dangerous speech (shouting fire in a crowded room) to hate speech. A watershed moment, I believe, was the Clarence Thomas - Anita Hill case which alerted America that sexual harassment is harmful and is accomplished in the intangible realm of verbal and non-verbal language. The fact that the culprit of the harassment is one of the most powerful people on earth is ironic but understandable when you see him as an antediluvian vestige and an accident of history.

Speech is a weapon; images are weapons. The cultural-conservatives who demand prayer in schools (speech), Ten Commandments in stone in the courthouse (images), no smut on television and radio (both), understand this.

In fact, were you to ask a cultural-conservative and a cultural-liberal what the greatest threat to American society is in 2004, the liberal would say "the near-fascist thuggery of our rapacious and illegally elected government." A conservative would say "Hollywood."

The reason why "The Passion" is so important is because it wages a war of images and ideas using the enormous power of Hollywood and Big Business. It's message - about religion and violence - has been the public discourse for the past 20 years and ever-so-much-more-so in the past 3 years.

That's why I think we need to still discuss it.

II. Why you do not need to see it
III. Christianity is anti-Semitic by definition

The Passion of the W

No, that's not a Sesame Street episode (much to my dismay), but a sad assessment of the popularity of the current President and why he is held in esteem by many. Just as Jews, secularists, and other non-Christians misjudged the eye-bulging power of Gibson's theocide fantasy "The Passion" so the popularity of the first Christian Right President has been misjudged.

George W does not seem to have much of an overt personality; his whole life he's been defined by someone else and by golly he's good at that. He was defined by Mommy, his Daddy, and Jack Daniels. Many non-Christian republicans (I think I know most of them personally) see him as the flag-draped defender of America after 9/11. He isn't, but he fills out a role well. It's the advantage of having an arid brain.

But for most of his rabid followers, and the core of the Republican party, George W is the embodiment of a devout Christian; and that makes him durn near infallible. The closest I can get to this view is if I were a Chassid and a fellow Chassid became President.

I say Chassid and not a fellow Jew because we Jews are notorious for attacking our own when they are in prominent positions (we may vote exclusively for Jewish candidates, but I heard too many people shy away from Gore in '00 because they didn't want Lieberman to be VP for "they may hate us" reasons)

The Christians in this country feel like an abused minority even though they consider themselves the "moral majority." They think the media is liberal and antagonistic and they believe there's no voice for them (despite the rabid vapid Right Wing press which is powerful and unapologetically partisan).

Again, see the "Passion" reaction - any attack on the movie was seen as an attack on Jesus H. himself. No matter that the movie - according to reliable reports - was badly made. Who cares about quality?! It's about Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezuz. I see the exact same reaction about Bush. He's a devout Thumper and if you attack his idiotic worldview, his inability to handle contrary information, his profligate past before his rebirth in the blood of the lamb - these are all traits that the Christian Right considers positive signs of a true believer!

Bush's support should thus be seen as rabid. His reaction to 9/11 is seen as a holy war, a crusade, and in the mind's of the Christian Right, that's a good thing! When Bush says that he's following the (direct) orders from God, the XR thinks that's accurate and wonderful. Catholics have the Pope, American Protestants have their Papist-President, Bush II.

Kerry has no chance against that. First, he's an unholy papist… and he's not even that frum! Again, showing that Edwards would have been a smarter choice. And I'm just assuming because he's a smiley gentile from North Carolina that he's frum.

I've said again and again that Jews need to be very careful with the Christian Right. They do what they want and that often means Holy War against those they consider unholy. They appear to celebrate ignorance and intolerance. And Bush is their prophet.

Pic found in 2009 here.

Who is Our Government?

First, Bob Woodward shows that President Bush considers Prince Bandar of Saudi F. Arabia to be a higher ranking official than the Secretary of State.

Then we find out that our policies against Iraq have been orchestrated by Ahmed Chalabi- who quite possibly is an Iranian double-agent.

Now, according to today's NYTimes, we see that Bush is going to the Vatican to help influence American politics (Bush Asked for Vatican's Help on Political Issues, Report Says).

Seriously, any of you Republicans out there, please explain to me why Bush is still a valid leader of the United States.

THE VATICAN!!?!

Back in 1960, Americans were afraid that JFK would listen to the Pope say 'boo.' Now we have the born-again Baptist bonehead in office who actively seeks the Vatican influence on American politics.

What's next for Bush? Who could possibly be more detestable than Prince Bandar, more calumnious than Chalabi, more counter to American principles of religious freedom (and independence from foreign influence) than the Vatican.

I guess the next step is to hire Monica Lewinsky to go after Kerry.

The Best Passion Commentary Yet

I haven't seen "South Park" since the first season (which was groundbreaking, at times funny, in general disturbing, and had enough intelligence and satire to continue surviving.

The most recent episode is Episode 804: The Passion of the Jew. Cartman, the Parker-Stone everyhick who is the butt of most of the satire, has seen the Passion so often that he starts dressing up as Hitler and calling a picture of Mel Gibson "Furher." Kyle, the Jewish character, is chickened into seeing the movie (we see him cowering and vomiting through it) and he feels so guilty for his responsibility in killing Jesus that he has nightmares featuring his joining in with the disgusting Jewish stereotypes stabbing and jeering Jesus.

Meanwhile, Stan and Kenny see the movie and they think it's so bad that they go to Mel Gibson in Malibu to demand their money back. Mel turns out to be a sado-masochistic loony who runs around his house in his underwear, shrieking, and demanding to be tortured.

Over-the-top, but (as usual) the message is very true.

The Passion for 99 cents

According to this website, you can buy Mel Gibson's coffee table book about his sicko movie, The Passion, for 99 cents! The website sez, and I quote:

This elegant coffee-table book is fully illustrated with the most moving photographic images of the film. Throughout the book biblical verses and dialogue explain to the reader the story of Jesus' final 12 hours. You will share in his suffering, passion, crucifixion, death and resurrection. This book also is a great teaching book for children.

No, I didn't make the children part up.

The ever important James Carroll

James Carroll, Boston Globe columnist, former Catholic priest, philo-Semite, author of "Constantine's Sword" is a person of great authority on Catholic anti-Semitism. Here's his take on Gibson's Passion:

Boston Globe: "An obscene portrayal of Christ's Passion"

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord JoJo

THE DOLOROUS PASSION OF OUR LORD JOJO - one of the sources for, guess what, the Passion. Hoo hah.

More Passion Info

Baraita: October 2003, a post about the background material used in the 'Passion'

More Passion: Jewsweek

The Jewsweek Review of the Passion

One Hand Clapping about the Passion

Good read.

Safire on the Passion

William Safire: "Not Peace, but a Sword."

Key line:

"And there's the rub. At a moment when a wave of anti-Semitic violence is sweeping Europe and the Middle East, is religion well served by updating the Jew-baiting passion plays of Oberammergau on DVD?"

Roger Ebert on the Passion

Critical point: Ebert grew up a religious Catholic (altar boy etc) and his perspective is very valuable.

More Passion Commentary

This one from The New Yorker: "Nailed" by David Denby.

Wieseltier on the Passion

Leon Wieseltier: "MEL GIBSON'S LETHAL WEAPON: The Worship of Blood" in the New Republic.

The key line:

"In its representation of its Jewish characters, The Passion of the Christ is without any doubt an anti-Semitic movie, and anybody who says otherwise knows nothing, or chooses to know nothing, about the visual history of anti-Semitism, in art and in film."

Listen to this dude; he knows these things.

Purim and Passion

Eliezer Segal, a brilliant scholar from Canada, has many timely and well-researched articles on the Jewish holidays and modern issues. Considering that I am overdoing the Passion Response, here is an article about The Purim-Shpiel and the Passion Play.

Do Not Give Him Money

Do not pay money to see The Passion - don't fuel his egoistic blood libel. If you must see it, download.