Class Acts

Members of our military demand our utmost respect. They voluntarily enlist to defend with their very lives our country and its freedoms. Many in the military could earn more money at much less risk to themselves but serve our country because they believe that our nation requires protection. At no time do they do deserve more respect than after they have made the greatest sacrifice, with their very lives.

It is with this in mind that I find the Westboro Baptist Church to have the most vile collection of people in recent memory. The church has decided that it needs to protest against the evils of homosexuality in this country. The venues the church has chosen for its protests are military funerals. To give you an idea of their ideology and the noxious way in which they communicate their protests, here are some pictures from their recent protests as well as one of their publications:







Whatever you think about the war in Iraq, there is no excuse for what these people are doing. The one bright spot in all of this is how it has rallied a group called the Patriot Guard. They are a group of motorcycle riders who counter-protest when the Westboro scum come to a military funeral. The Patriots attend not to add any more noise to the funeral. They instead act as barriers so the grieving families don't need to see the protesters. Here is their mission statement:

The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse amalgamation of riders from across the nation. We have one thing in common besides motorcycles. We have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for AmericaÂ’s freedom and security. If you share this respect, please join us.

We donÂ’t care what you ride, what your political views are, or whether youÂ’re a "hawk" or a "dove". It is not a requirement that you be a veteran. It doesn't matter where youÂ’re from or what your income is. You donÂ’t even have to ride. The only prerequisite is Respect.

Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.

1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.

2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.

We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.

Due to the great media coverage they have been receiving, their website is moving at a slow crawl. As soon as I can, I plan to thank these great Americans. I hope you will do the same.

Do You Believe In Unlikelihoods?!

Since I was a kid, I have watched the NCAA tournament, thinking it to be one of, if not the, greatest sports tournament around. It allows 64 teams to enter the Dance with the dream of becoming champions. Every team brings with it a following that pro sports match just cannot match. "Lose and go home" brings an added edge to each and every game.

There have been so many great moments. For me, it all started with 1979, Michigan State versus Indiana State, Magic versus Bird. That was the first basketball I could remember watching. I remember that there was something historic about it but didn't appreciate the importance at the tender age of eight. Since then, I have seen so many other great NCAA tournament moments and personalities, like, Jimmy V, Keith Smart, Danny Manning, Bryce Drew and Serge Zwikker. Okay, Zwikker never had any great tournament moments, but I just love his name, for obvious reasons.

Today George Mason University gave us another great tournament memory by beating the vaunted University of Connecticut Huskies in overtime to reach the Final Four. The Patriots didn't win by default. They beat two of last year's Final Four teams and a number one seed. They won by outplaying and outhustling their opponents. In becoming the first non-major to make the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams, they provided inspiration to all the underdogs, the teams that aren't supposed to win and the athletes who don't always get the spotlight.

The underdog is part of what makes sports so fascinating. Granted, I would not complain if the Pistons or Red Wings won a few championships in a row. I would be even more ecstatic if the Tigers or Lions would win a few regular season games in a row. While the Red Wings and Pistons' dominance might make us Detroiters happy, it wouldn't be good for the sport. Fans want to see someone new win every so often. It's why some of the most popular sports movies of all time, like "Hoosiers" and "Rudy", are about the little guy who breaks into the big time.

I'm rooting for George Mason University for two other reasons. First, the school has the name of the "24" character who valiantly died taking down a plane carrying a nuclear bomb in the desert so nobody else would die.

Second, the United States Supreme Court just decided that it was constitutional for the federal government to withhold aid to schools that forbid military recruiters from campus. Professors from various law schools filed a brief arguing against the law. Only one school, George Mason University, home of the aptly named Patriots, filed a brief supporting the federal government.

My Own 'Roid Rage

I just have to imagine that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig begins and ends every day with a prayer that whichever deity to which he prays somehow intervenes in Barry Bonds's path to breaking Hank Aaron's career home run record. Baseball has always prided itself as the game of tradition and fundamentals and hard work and everything that makes this country great. Bonds is not the man to hold one of the sport's most sacred records.

From a PR perspective, there couldn't be anyone worse than Bonds to break this record. Hank Aaron earned the record with dignity in the face of violent and hateful racism. He has since maintained his stature as one of the game's elder statesmen. The best that you can say about Bonds is that he is a selfish jerk.

If the recently released book "Game of Shadows" (an excerpt of which appeared in a recent Sports Illustrated and which has been further discussed and dissected publicly) is to be believed (it seems to be pretty well sourced by its authors, respected journalists), Bonds has cheated his way from being a good player to a dominant one. Some might argue that baseball had no rules in place against steroids use, so who Bonds is not at fault for exploiting the situation. That's nonsense. While MLB may not have banned the steroids that Bonds allegedly used, the law has. If the steroids were illegal to knowingly use, which they were, then they should not be the vehicle by which Bonds puts his name in the record books.

Yad Vashem

On Monday, Lesley and I toured Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. We had both been there a few times in the past, but we had heard awesome (I use that word in its original, literal meaning and not the common surfer sense) things about it. Also, it was the day of the Fast of Esther, on which we were remembering how madman Haman tried to destroy the Jewish people.

The only suggestion that I have for touring Yad Vashem is to do so with a guide. There is so much, both informational and emotional, to digest that you need someone to point out and explain the highlights, for lack of a better word.

Yad Vashem is undoubtedly a place that I would encourage every person of every religion to visit, not just once in a lifetime but with some frequency. In addition to educating its visitors on everything that we should all know about history's worst crime against humanity, it shows the faces of both the victims and the killers. As I looked into the photographed faces of some of the murdered or viewed their belongings, all I could think was that these were people, just like you and me.

At the same time, I also found it necessary to look in the eyes of the Hitler and his Nazis to see how they were people too. No, I am not some bleeding heart who believes that it is necessary to "understand why they hate us" or cut a sadist, whether he killed one person or millions, any slack because he was the victim of physical or sexual abuse as a child or what not. I am saying that, like their victims, the Nazis were also people who, had I lived in another time and place, may have been my neighbors and friends.

Did I Miss Anything?

As a news junky, the only negative of our recent Israel trip was lack of news. The only English language channel in the two hotels in which we stayed was CNN International or Europe or whatever. I didn't see one newspaper and spent no more than fifteen minutes on the computer the whole time, mostly just to check e-mail. As far as I know, the only thing that happened while we were away was that Slobodan Milosevic, Kirby Puckett and Dana Reeve died.

Blogging From Lod

Our flight home isn't due to leave for another two hours or so, Lesley is shopping and we got a wireless signal. I figured I would use the time to share some thoughts, memories and observations from a great vacation that is sadly coming to an end.

Our trip started in an exhausted state. Our niece's bat mitzvah party was the night before we left. By the time we left the synagogue where the party, which, by the way, was great, and did some last minute shopping at Meijer (funny enough, I wasn't the only customer there at 2:30 in the morning in a suit and tie) and got home, we had two hours to pack before leaving for the airport. Needless to say, we didn't get any sleep that night. The travel itself was uneventful, although it effectively meant a second consecutive night of no or little sleep.

In Tzfat we managed to get kicked out of a store. It was one of those places that sells random Judaica stuff. I tried on a kippah. Just after Lesley told me it looked "too Tzfat-ish" and I returned the kippah to its stack, the proprietor brusquely handed me my bag of stuff I had bought elsewhere and said, "Now go" in that stereotypical rude sounding Israeli way. In our defense, the Artist Formerly Known As Robbie told us later that the owner in question is not very stable. Also in our defense, this was the first time either of us had ever been ejected from a store.

Later in the trip marked my second career ejection from a cab. As we crammed into the back seat with a lot of merchandise from Machaneh Yehudah, I asked the driver if he could move up the passenger seat, behind which I was sitting. He said it was broken. I then asked him to start the meter since Israeli cab drivers are infamous for not using the meter and then demanding an outrageous fee. The driver told me the meter was broken. When I responded by asking if everything in the cab was broken, he stopped the car in the middle of traffic and yelled at us to get out. At least we saved ourselves the fee for the twenty feet we had traveled. By the way, my first career cab ejection was totally not my fault.

Last night, Lesley and I went to dinner on Ben Yehuda after Megillah reading (we were in Jerusalem so we observed Shushan Purim). I went to use the bathroom and, after waiting five minutes while a waitress yapped away on her cell phone, I gained access and discovered there was no toilet paper. I inconspicuously asked our waitress if there was any toilet paper. She said that someone would get some. Ten minutes later, a waitress walked into the restaurant through the front door with a 24-pack of toilet paper. Only in Israel.

One of the first nights, I jaywalked and a police officer stopped me. Using some quick thinking on my feet, I turned to the officer and said, "Ani iparon." That's a true story and I dare anyone to challenge it.

Actually, I noticed something about jaywalking in the Holy Land. Israelis have a well deserved reputation for not caring much for rules. That's not to say that they break the law any more than citizens of other civilized countries. It's just that they don't seem to have much regard for rules that they think aren't all that necessary. But when it comes to jaywalking, the neon green walking man icon is God.

Okay, the computer battery is losing juice. Until we can recharge, I will say Shalom for now. I will post some more, slightly serious items when I get a chance.

Shepping From 6,000 Miles Away

As I sit in Ben Gurion Airport waiting to go home after a great time in Israel (some details to follow in later posts), I discovered that Air Time posted on his blog our most recent Young Israel Nightly News. For those not familiar, a few years ago, Air created, with some of our help, a program for the woefully misnamed Young Israel of Oak Park Talent Show. It got rave reviews and we ran a few more renditions but haven't done one in a few years.

With this past Tuesday being Air's last Detroit Purim before making aliyah this summer, he got back together for one more round the whole gang, including one cast member who has moved twice, to Florida and then New York. Air pulled out all the stops, including some amazing technical work. Without further ado, here is the latest and greatest edition of the Young Israel Nightly News.

Don't You Forget About Me

For those who didn't know, Lesley and I are leaving for Israel on Sunday. We will spend the first three days in Tel Aviv at a big Federation conference. We will then travel to Tzfat, where we will spend the night with the Artist Formerly Known as Robbie. The rest of the time, including Purim, we will spend in Jerusalem. Lesley is taking her laptop but how much time I will have to post on here is uncertain.

Before we leave, we have our niece's bat mitzvah. She is the oldest of our siblings' children, so this is the first such celebration in either my and Lesley's immediate family since Lesley's bat mitzvah some seventeen years ago. I was not invited to that one, although I should add that we didn't know each other then and I was eighteen years old and would have been arrested for eyeing the bat mitzvah girl, even in Kentucky. Air, before you ask, I have no idea what was on the menu. Anyway, this is a very exciting event for us. Relatives and family friends are already here from other cities and ready to enjoy the festivities. The only damper on the event is that AJ won't be there. Is that enough of a shout out for you?

Being that we have to take family pictures and also do some pre-trip errands before Shabbos, I must run now. Have a good two weeks.

Great Story, Great Commentary

Since Friday I have been meaning to post about the inspiring story of Jason McElwain, the autistic 17 year old who scored twenty points for his high school basketball team in what the coach intended to just be a nice gesture. I was about to write about it tonight until I read Noah Daddy's posting at his blog, Billable Hours Down The Drain. I have nothing to add. Read it.

Mommas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Interns

Regardless of your political bent, you have to laugh at this job posting, especially the part about it being a hands-on experience.