Arlington, VirginiaSeptember 8, 2009
http://www.juddlegum.com/blog/2009/06/anne-arundel-county-gop-womens-group-compares-obama-to-hitler/
The Republican Women of Anne Arundel County, one of Maryland’s most prominent Republican organizations, has launched an outrageous attack on President Barack Obama. The website currently features a letter from Joyce E. Thoman, the organization’s President, comparing Barack Obama to Hitler.
Heny M
Obama Hosts Seder Dinner at White HouseBy Jeff ZelenyPete Souza/White House President Obama hosted a Passover seder at the White House.
President Obama and a collection of guests celebrated Passover Thursday evening with what White House officials believe to be the first Passover Seder dinner hosted by an American president.
Mr. Obama is not Jewish, but White House officials say that while traveling through Pennsylvania during the campaign last year, he surprised his aides by joining an impromptu Passover dinner held by campaign workers in a ballroom of a Harrisburg hotel, so he decided to treat the group to a dinner this year in his new surroundings.
The Seder, held in the Old Family Dining Room at the White House with several aides and their families, included the traditional Passover dishes, matzo ball soup, brisket and kugel. The White House chefs prepared the meal after consulting family recipes from several Seder participants.
While the Obamas hosted the dinner, it was overseen by Eric Lesser, a White House aide who helped organize the Seder in Harrisburg during the campaign last year. He is now a special assistant to Mr. Obama’s adviser David Axelrod.
During the presidential campaign, Mr. Obama struggled to address skepticism from Jewish voters, particularly in the Democratic primary race with Hillary Rodham Clinton. But Jewish groups cheered the presidential Seder, and aides said the White House switchboard was flooded by calls from people seeking an invitation.
Henry M
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/magazine/05rabbi-t.htmlHallelujah, shalom: Rabbi Funnye singing at Shabbat services.Alec Soth/Magnum, for The New York Times
Rabbi Capers Funnye celebrated Martin Luther King Day this year in New York City at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a mainstream Reform congregation, in the company of about 700 fellow Jews — many of them black. The organizers of the event had reached out to four of New York’s Black Jewish synagogues in the hope of promoting Jewish diversity, and they weren’t disappointed. African-American Jews, largely from Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, many of whom had never been in a predominantly white synagogue, made up about a quarter of the audience. Most of the visiting women wore traditional African garb; the men stood out because, though it was a secular occasion, most kept their heads covered. But even with your eyes closed you could tell who was who: the black Jews and the white Jews clapped to the music on different beats.Alec Soth/Magnum, for The New York Times Rabbi Capers Funnye Funnye, the chief rabbi of the Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago, one of the largest black synagogues in America, was a featured speaker that night. The overflowing audience came out in a snowstorm to hear his thoughts about two men: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama. King is Funnye’s hero. Obama, whose inauguration was to take place the following day in Washington, is family — the man who married Funnye’s cousin Michelle.A compact, serious-looking man in his late 50s, Funnye (pronounced fu-NAY) wore a dark business suit and a large gray knit skullcap. He sat expressionless, collecting his thoughts, as Joshua Nelson and his Kosher Gospel Band steamed through their sanctified rendition of the Hebrew hymn “Adon Olam.” Nelson, a black Jew, was raised in two Jewish worlds — a white Reform temple in New Jersey and a Black Jewish synagogue in Brooklyn — and he borrows from both. The first time the Rev. Al Sharpton heard a recording of Nelson’s “Adon Olam,” he said, “I can hear that’s Mahalia Jackson, but what language is she singing in?”Mary Funnye, Capers’s wife, tapped her foot to the music and smiled with apparent equanimity, but her husband knew she was seething inside. “Mary has been a rabbi’s wife for a long time,” he told me a few weeks later. “She has an excellent synagogue poker face. But she really wanted to be in Washington that night” — for the early inauguration festivities — “not New York. And you can’t really blame her.”The Funnyes were invited to Washington by the Obamas for a full calendar of inaugural events, including a dinner that evening held by the president-elect for his family and close advisers. Mary’s brother, Frank White Jr., a businessman who served as a prominent member of Obama’s national finance committee, was invited. So were three of Funnye’s sisters. It was going to be the family reunion of the year, the social event of the season and a crowning moment in American history. Mary had a formal gown ready. But here she was, singing “Adon Olam,” as she did virtually every Shabbat in Chicago.Still, to be fair, this night was a historic moment for her husband too. For the first time in a rabbinical career stretching back to 1985, Funnye had been invited to speak at a white, mainstream synagogue in New York. Plenty of black Christian ministers, in a spirit of ecumenism and racial harmony, have addressed Jewish congregations in the city. But a black rabbi? Many American Jews regard the very concept as an oxymoron, or even, given the heterodoxies of much Black Jewish theology, some sort of heresy. Funnye has been trying for years to demonstrate that he and his fellow Black Jews belong in the Jewish mainstream. Mostly he has been ignored.But it is hard to ignore a man with a cousin in the White House. Tonight was payback for all those years of stupid jokes (“Funnye, you don’t look Jewish”), insulting questions and long, wondering stares. Funnye was finally being given the stage at a high-profile Jewish event. “My Broadway debut,” he said, without evident irony, as he prepared to go on. “Been a long time getting here, but I’m ready.”
Rabbi Capers Funnye celebrated Martin Luther King Day this year in New York City at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a mainstream Reform congregation, in the company of about 700 fellow Jews — many of them black. The organizers of the event had reached out to four of New York’s Black Jewish synagogues in the hope of promoting Jewish diversity, and they weren’t disappointed. African-American Jews, largely from Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, many of whom had never been in a predominantly white synagogue, made up about a quarter of the audience. Most of the visiting women wore traditional African garb; the men stood out because, though it was a secular occasion, most kept their heads covered. But even with your eyes closed you could tell who was who: the black Jews and the white Jews clapped to the music on different beats.
Rabbi Capers Funnye
Funnye, the chief rabbi of the Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago, one of the largest black synagogues in America, was a featured speaker that night. The overflowing audience came out in a snowstorm to hear his thoughts about two men: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama. King is Funnye’s hero. Obama, whose inauguration was to take place the following day in Washington, is family — the man who married Funnye’s cousin Michelle.
A compact, serious-looking man in his late 50s, Funnye (pronounced fu-NAY) wore a dark business suit and a large gray knit skullcap. He sat expressionless, collecting his thoughts, as Joshua Nelson and his Kosher Gospel Band steamed through their sanctified rendition of the Hebrew hymn “Adon Olam.” Nelson, a black Jew, was raised in two Jewish worlds — a white Reform temple in New Jersey and a Black Jewish synagogue in Brooklyn — and he borrows from both. The first time the Rev. Al Sharpton heard a recording of Nelson’s “Adon Olam,” he said, “I can hear that’s Mahalia Jackson, but what language is she singing in?”
Mary Funnye, Capers’s wife, tapped her foot to the music and smiled with apparent equanimity, but her husband knew she was seething inside. “Mary has been a rabbi’s wife for a long time,” he told me a few weeks later. “She has an excellent synagogue poker face. But she really wanted to be in Washington that night” — for the early inauguration festivities — “not New York. And you can’t really blame her.”
The Funnyes were invited to Washington by the Obamas for a full calendar of inaugural events, including a dinner that evening held by the president-elect for his family and close advisers. Mary’s brother, Frank White Jr., a businessman who served as a prominent member of Obama’s national finance committee, was invited. So were three of Funnye’s sisters. It was going to be the family reunion of the year, the social event of the season and a crowning moment in American history. Mary had a formal gown ready. But here she was, singing “Adon Olam,” as she did virtually every Shabbat in Chicago.
Still, to be fair, this night was a historic moment for her husband too. For the first time in a rabbinical career stretching back to 1985, Funnye had been invited to speak at a white, mainstream synagogue in New York. Plenty of black Christian ministers, in a spirit of ecumenism and racial harmony, have addressed Jewish congregations in the city. But a black rabbi? Many American Jews regard the very concept as an oxymoron, or even, given the heterodoxies of much Black Jewish theology, some sort of heresy. Funnye has been trying for years to demonstrate that he and his fellow Black Jews belong in the Jewish mainstream. Mostly he has been ignored.
But it is hard to ignore a man with a cousin in the White House. Tonight was payback for all those years of stupid jokes (“Funnye, you don’t look Jewish”), insulting questions and long, wondering stares. Funnye was finally being given the stage at a high-profile Jewish event. “My Broadway debut,” he said, without evident irony, as he prepared to go on. “Been a long time getting here, but I’m ready.”
USA the watchmen on the wall of JERUSALEM
Psalms 122
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."
2 Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels."
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be within you."
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.
Happy Holidays... Everyone!
We had so much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day, and we have so much to celebrate as the days get longer and the nights grow shorter!
I don't know about you, but I haven't finished shopping for presents, which is why I'm glad that Amazon makes it so easy for me to give a present that I know will be appreciated. Anyone with an Internet connection can find something that they like on Amazon, e.g. Obama buttons to wear to the Inauguration!
These gift cards can be emailed for immediate deliver, printed for giving in person, or sent by Amazon via regular mail, and they're available from $5 to $5000. Gift Cards at Amazon
In this Economy, we need Divine Intervention - the Blessings of GOD...... GENESIS 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. As we reverance the God Of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I believe one reason USA is a blessed nation is because of our Humanitarianism to secure / protect and pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. GENESIS 15:12-21 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
The country is the winner in this election. We have so much to look forward to, but on a personal note, permit me to look back again for a moment.
I was gratified that Virginia went for Barack after the long, hard work of so many VA, MD, and DC volunteers. We did it! (with a little help from Barack's Election Eve Rally :-)
Sorry, WV. We tried.
WE DID IT! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD! YES WE CAN!
THANK YOU DAVID PLOUFFE, HILLARY CLINTON, SENATOR KENNEDY, OPRAH WINFREY, AND ALL THE SUPPORTERS ALL OVER THE WORLD!
WE TRULY BARROCKED THE VOTE!!
LOVE YOU AMERICA!REV. STEPHANIE HANDY
Three more days to Go!! I'm calling on all of our prayer warriors to continue to pray without ceasing & fast for the next three days like never before! father..In the name of Jesus as we move towards this historic presidential election of the United Stated, Hear our prayers for the nation and for the entire world. we ask for order, healing deliverance ,peace & prosperity among our families, children, communities, & neighbors near and afar. father forgive us for our many sins and grant us this prayer. We pray to make a difference and change the world. "Do a new thing" in the lives of us your dear children. We pray for the now, "Senator Obama", name to be changed to, "President Obama", that he would lead a nation into the promise land, a land indeed flowing with milk and honey! protect him and his entire family, be with him strengthen him. May his ear be attached to your very mouth and his heart hear the cries of the people. Guide his feet and lead him to great victory!!! We know a great work is ahead of him and us as a people. I pray that when this election is over that we continue to work together as a team to make the dream work!! "The American Dream". Father,We glorify you, We love you and We thank you in advance!! in the name of the 1) Father 2) Son and 3) Holy Ghost... 3 days left!!!!! Amen, Amen and Amen!!God Blessings,Stephanie Handy
written 11/01/08
McCain and Joe Lieberman, however much they may support Israel, have sold themselves and their supporters to the End Time Christian fundamentalists like Sarah Palin. End Timers are looking forward to a war to end all wars in the Middle East. Are you? Is your family? Are your friends?
Please get the word out, particulary to people you know in swing states like Virginia and Florida, and ask people you know in those states to help! Send them to this and other relevant web pages, and if they care about the future of jews in this country, show them this YouTube video on Barack Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m96chUuvoe0
If you liked this message, then please have a look at the rest of my blog, http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/henrymu and please consider donating to the campaign: http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/PListe4Obama
Rosh Hashana started last night at sundown. Goodness knows I haven't been perfect, and I want to apolgize to anyone I may have offended with my Obama blog and emails, and I also confess to not doing as much for the campaign as I might have.
That said, we can all use a little humor in trying times: http://www.israelenews.com/view.asp?ID=3209
I think an ad that says to people that you are being played, conned, and treated as if you are gullible and stupid. State that the smart people are going with Obama, and the other smart people are conning you.
The media will not come to the rescue of the righteous, valiant, and the truth. Obama needs to take it straight to McCain / Palin. Don't look for help outside the campaign for help or vindication.
It is not the time to "take off the gloves", it is time to break out the entire arsenal, good or bad, honest or dishonest, clean or dirty.
We will lose if we don't.
i think i recognize Barrack Obama; i think i see who he is. That doesn't seem difficult to me - to hear, to feel this outstanding human being, who has worked so hard to become a teacher, a father, a leader. He has paid his dues, and then some, to be able to Be Here Now -- not just for himself and his family -- but for all kinds of different people: - the old folks at home, the uppity kids, the privileged few, the wounded, the ambitious, the inheritors of the dream, the killers of the dream. He knows what has happened to the Dream Deferred, and he has undertaken to motivate us all to pick up our weary feet, and start singing again, marching on to Freedom Land. Truly he is well named, Barrack - we pronounce Boruch, in Jewish. A Blessing - he is our blessing, all of us. We are blessed by him; and when we hear his words, and feel his joy and his empathy we feel suddenly that hope, that courage, that love we had lost sight of, in the clouds of doubt, suspicion, fear and loathing. The fog of war lifts, and we see again that city on the mountain, and we remember that we are part of that Beloved Community; and that many, many are counting on us to do our part. - those whom we had to leave behind where they had fallen, those who have yet to be born, those whom we have yet to meet. i want to speak to those of you who do not yet hear the sound of that distant drummer, and so are still full of doubts and fears; unable to Believe that a Dream can ever be realized, that Hope is not a trojan horse unless we make it so, by lying to ourselves.
Trying to get this published. If you can help, please let me know.
Intelligence Redefined
I used to think I was smart, but now I know better. Credit my revised self-assessment to a man I met on the parking lot of a neighborhood video store. Having seen an Obama bumper sticker on my car, he insinuated that anyone who plans to vote for the presumptive Democratic candidate is not intelligent.
If that’s the yardstick by which he measures intelligence, I embrace my idiocy with pride.
Dumb as I am, I knew this wannabe pundit was uneducable on the subject of Obama, but I felt compelled to tilt at the windmill anyway. I began by asking why he objected to Obama. “He has no experience,” the gentleman replied predictably. I countered that—and each of his subsequent assertions—with facts, all to no avail.
The man continued, undeterred. “I’ve been in marketing for 45 years, and I’m telling you, there’s nothing to Obama but fluff. Without his great speeches, he has no substance.”
It got worse. “Really, I’m just trying to figure what about Obama makes you support him. I mean, you drive an Audi; you must be intelligent, right?” Hello? The ability to afford a luxury car is determined by IQ? In what alternate universe does his hypothesis make an iota of sense?
Clearly the guy had a freakishly calibrated yardstick, and I knew it was time for me to leave. So I walked towards my car and said, “Sir, with all due respect, if you don’t know anything about Obama and what he represents, you haven’t been trying.” I got into the car and shut the door.
Here’s the worse part about volunteering for the Obama campaign: It renders me unable to respond to absurd statements from McCain supporters in the knee-jerk way I prefer. Instead, I feel honor-bound to follow the high road Obama travels so skillfully.
As I started my car, the top of my head felt like it was going to explode, which is pretty much how I feel whenever I hear someone say, “I don’t think our country is ready for a black president.” Please. Have the integrity to own your prejudice instead of projecting it onto the country. I would disapprove of your values, but I would respect your honesty.
Speaking of honesty, here’s a sad confession: I wasn’t finished tilting at this windmill. Leaving the parking lot, I pulled up to a traffic light and checked my rear view mirror. The man was in the car directly behind mine. I got out of my car and ran over to his. “If you have a business card, sir, I’d love to send you some information about Obama,” I offered.
He turned me down politely and even thanked me for trying. As I raced back to my car before the light turned green, I realized the man was absolutely correct. I wasn’t intelligent. Not because I will vote for Barack Obama, but because I engaged in a prolonged discussion with a person whose mind is closed so tightly a crow bar couldn’t open it. If I weren’t so intellectually challenged, I might have remembered William James’ quote, “A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.”
