But I just love ol' Arkansas (Mississippi and Louisiana, too)!
4 days
3 great shows in
3 synagogues in
3 states...
Michael "Ziggy" Danziger's Deep South Jewish Comedy Road Trip '08 (or the MZDDSJCRT08, for short) has come and gone, and was a lot of fun. The audiences were great in all three cities, I got to see a lot of friends, ate incredible baked goods at Ambrosia bakery in Hot Springs, was called Kathy Lee Griffith* by a gas station attendant in Arkansas, hurriedly ate Mexican food - which I was certain I would regurgitate during that evening's show - with the temple youth group in Jackson, MS, and recommended - in the course of my shows - that all three congregations consider offering anus perfume as a Purim carnival prize in the future. Needless to say, this was a fantastic experience!
I drove a rental car - provided by the institution that organized this little tour** - rather than my purple car, now well-known from the "Me and My Purple Car" series on this very site. The rental - a Chevy Malibu - had all sorts of features that my distinguished older vehicle does not. The one that got much of my attention was the real-time miles-per-gallon notifier. Watching the effect of every press of the pedals on the gas mileage was absolutely fascinating. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Unfortunately, it was not located on the road, where my eyes should have been! I'm lucky to tell the tale. In this epoch of ultimate concern over fuel economy, it was interesting and every driver would probably benefit from seeing how various driving habits affect what we can get out of each tank. However, if you get caught up in numbers as I do***, you might want to avoid this feature for safety's sake.
I'm tired. More later.
* The attendant, either crazy or bored, kept calling me different names at the end of each sentence. Most were men's names and most were just a first name. Then came Kathy Lee Griffith, which was, perhaps, supposed to be Kathy Lee Gifford or, possibly, Kathy Griffin. Or maybe she meant just what she said.
** The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life was responsible for organizing the MZDDSJCRT08.
*** For instance, I drove 1320 miles over the course of four days. At that rate, I would drive 120,450 miles in a normal year; 120,780 in this leap year.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Reverend Wright For Clinton
I believe that Barack Obama's minister, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, whose now well-known, inflammatory comments have stunted his former congregant's run for the White House, is getting exactly what he wants.
What's that? How can the man's minister not want him elected? How can an African-American leader who is now famous for bemoaning America's mistreatment of its African-American citizens oppose the ascent of one of them to the highest office in the land? Eureka! There's your answer.
Rev. Wright makes his living off of the idea that America would never elect a Black man President. If Barack Obama becomes President of the United States, where does that leave the man who tells church-goers that the government holds them down because of the color of their skin?*
On the other hand, if Obama seems headed for the Democratic nomination, but doesn't get it in the end**, all of Wright's now-famous points will have their latest and greatest illustration. We will, I suspect, hear plenty from the Reverend then and I assure you that anyone who has followed him up to this point will certainly be moved by his words at that time, even if he, himself, is the cause of Obama's electoral demise.***
Common sense would tell us that having a member elected President of the United States is a good thing (or neutral, at worst) for a church. Reverend Wright knows that is not the case here. Is he racist? Evidently. Unpatriotic? All signs point to yes. Dumb? Seemingly not. Reverend Wright knows that "President Barack Obama" contradicts (at least part of) the message of his ministry and may, therefore, cause followers (and funders) to turn elsewhere for their spiritual guidance and giving.
* Where it leaves him is to continue to attack the government as unholy and racist, and, if necessary, President Obama as unfaithful to his people - defined by Rev. Wright, as suits his argument, as African-Americans.
** Reverend Wright will likely characterize this as something along the lines of "America toyed with the Black man, pretended it would elect him to its highest office, and then snatched it away! They try to blame me. They try to blame this church. But this was America showing its true color... white." He'll probably do it less eloquently, but louder.
*** See predictive quote above. Reasonable people may know it's his fault, as will the Reverend I suspect, but he will never acknowledge that. According to him, it will be America's fault and it will speak volumes about the character of our nation. ZiggyBackRide Staff's Note: It will also be Obama's fault if he loses and this is the major contributing issue. He was crazy to be as closely connected to Wright as he was and he was way to slow to distance himself.
What's that? How can the man's minister not want him elected? How can an African-American leader who is now famous for bemoaning America's mistreatment of its African-American citizens oppose the ascent of one of them to the highest office in the land? Eureka! There's your answer.
Rev. Wright makes his living off of the idea that America would never elect a Black man President. If Barack Obama becomes President of the United States, where does that leave the man who tells church-goers that the government holds them down because of the color of their skin?*
On the other hand, if Obama seems headed for the Democratic nomination, but doesn't get it in the end**, all of Wright's now-famous points will have their latest and greatest illustration. We will, I suspect, hear plenty from the Reverend then and I assure you that anyone who has followed him up to this point will certainly be moved by his words at that time, even if he, himself, is the cause of Obama's electoral demise.***
Common sense would tell us that having a member elected President of the United States is a good thing (or neutral, at worst) for a church. Reverend Wright knows that is not the case here. Is he racist? Evidently. Unpatriotic? All signs point to yes. Dumb? Seemingly not. Reverend Wright knows that "President Barack Obama" contradicts (at least part of) the message of his ministry and may, therefore, cause followers (and funders) to turn elsewhere for their spiritual guidance and giving.
* Where it leaves him is to continue to attack the government as unholy and racist, and, if necessary, President Obama as unfaithful to his people - defined by Rev. Wright, as suits his argument, as African-Americans.
** Reverend Wright will likely characterize this as something along the lines of "America toyed with the Black man, pretended it would elect him to its highest office, and then snatched it away! They try to blame me. They try to blame this church. But this was America showing its true color... white." He'll probably do it less eloquently, but louder.
*** See predictive quote above. Reasonable people may know it's his fault, as will the Reverend I suspect, but he will never acknowledge that. According to him, it will be America's fault and it will speak volumes about the character of our nation. ZiggyBackRide Staff's Note: It will also be Obama's fault if he loses and this is the major contributing issue. He was crazy to be as closely connected to Wright as he was and he was way to slow to distance himself.
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