Monday, August 30, 2010
Wright Man, Wrong Job?
So, less than 50 percent of the country think you're Christian. Growing numbers think, in fact, that you're Muslim (not that there's anything wrong with that). And who's stepping up to "defend" your actual religious blackground, uh, background?
That would be your former pastor whom you kicked to the curb two years ago -- Rev. Jeremiah Wright:
In an Arkansas speech defending a local pastor who criticized the Iraq War, Wright said:
Obviously, Obama's years in Wright's Chicago church certainly brand him a Christian. However's Wright's fiery rhetoric forced Obama to dump him in the middle of the presidential campaign. Ironically, the "witness" of one's longtime spiritual guide would have been of assistance to any other politician whose religion was being questioned.
Somehow, I don't see Obama asking Wright to hit the political stump in defense of his religious values.
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That would be your former pastor whom you kicked to the curb two years ago -- Rev. Jeremiah Wright:
In an Arkansas speech defending a local pastor who criticized the Iraq War, Wright said:
"Go after the military mindset ... and the enemy will come after you with everything," Wright told the packed church.
"He will surround you with sycophants who will criticize you and ostracize you and put you beyond the pale of hope and say 'you ain't really a Baptist' and say 'the president ain't really a Christian, he's a Muslim. There ain't no American Christian with a name like Barack Hussein,'" he added.
Obviously, Obama's years in Wright's Chicago church certainly brand him a Christian. However's Wright's fiery rhetoric forced Obama to dump him in the middle of the presidential campaign. Ironically, the "witness" of one's longtime spiritual guide would have been of assistance to any other politician whose religion was being questioned.
Somehow, I don't see Obama asking Wright to hit the political stump in defense of his religious values.
Labels: Barack Obama, Ground Zero mosque, Jeremiah Wright, Muslim
Friday, August 20, 2010
Truth In Comedy: Ground Zero Edition
A not-quite-at-Ground Zero/not-quite-a-mosque anecdote:
Last night, your humble blogger participated in the fifth annual Funniest Reporter in New York show last night (alas, his inability to carry off a too-tight little black dress, flowing blonde tresses and a reticence to make jokes about oral sex severely hampered his chances of winning).
At the start of a series of jokes about "the mosque," I asked the crowd at the Gotham Comedy Club: "Who thinks it's really insensitive to build this down near Ground Zero?" Near-universal round of applause and catcalls. I then asked, "Who thinks it's OK to just let it be built?"
Dead silence.
Not a peep.
Now keep in mind that this wasn't a general tourists-off-the-street audience: It was an early show (6 PM) in Midtown Manhattan's Chelsea/Flatiron areas, populated with a lot of New York professionals -- the majority in media or public relations. In other words, this was a fairly well-educated, middle-to-upper class, predominantly white, fair to guess, liberal New York audience. And, even stipulating that Jews might be over-represented in such a demographic, the fact that there wasn't one even blase clap in favor of the Park51 project is, in many ways, a more devastating snapshot of how powerful are the headwinds against supporters.
Fair? Probably not.
The reality? Most definitely.
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Last night, your humble blogger participated in the fifth annual Funniest Reporter in New York show last night (alas, his inability to carry off a too-tight little black dress, flowing blonde tresses and a reticence to make jokes about oral sex severely hampered his chances of winning).
At the start of a series of jokes about "the mosque," I asked the crowd at the Gotham Comedy Club: "Who thinks it's really insensitive to build this down near Ground Zero?" Near-universal round of applause and catcalls. I then asked, "Who thinks it's OK to just let it be built?"
Dead silence.
Not a peep.
Now keep in mind that this wasn't a general tourists-off-the-street audience: It was an early show (6 PM) in Midtown Manhattan's Chelsea/Flatiron areas, populated with a lot of New York professionals -- the majority in media or public relations. In other words, this was a fairly well-educated, middle-to-upper class, predominantly white, fair to guess, liberal New York audience. And, even stipulating that Jews might be over-represented in such a demographic, the fact that there wasn't one even blase clap in favor of the Park51 project is, in many ways, a more devastating snapshot of how powerful are the headwinds against supporters.
Fair? Probably not.
The reality? Most definitely.
Labels: Ground Zero mosque, NY's Funniest Reporter
