images of Robert Plant and Willie Dixon via wikipedia
Cultural appropriation is the gift that keeps on giving. Thursday marked what would have been the 80th birthday of Elvis Presley, whose relationship with Black music was complex, to say the least. Madonna created a social media backlash when she posted altered photos of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King to promote her new album. And… Iggy Azalea.
But what about good old fashioned theft?
Some of the most successful songs performed by white singers are songs written and/ or performed by Black singers. Here is a mere sample of some of the countless examples (that we know of).
Every time an extremist who is Muslim commits an act of terrorism, people ask where the moderate Muslim voices condemning violence are. (Interestingly, as a Jew, I don’t usually get asked to condemn extremism when it is perpetuated by Jewish fundamentalists like Baruch Goldstein, who shot 29 praying Muslims do death, and injured 125, at the Cave of the Patriarchs, or Yigal Amir, who killed Israeli Prime MinisterYitzhak Rabin.) And the same thing is happening following this week’s deplorable, pathetic, and tragic killing of 12 people at the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
Not surprisingly, much of the “where is the Muslim outrage” outrage is coming from… Fox News, as Media Matters notes. Fox’s own Monica Crowley, for example, said that Muslims “should be condemning” the attack and that she hadn’t “heard any condemnation… from any groups.” Fox News’ America’s Newsroom guest Steve Emerson complained, “you don’t see denunciations of radical Islam, by name, by mainstream Islamic groups.” Bob Beckel, a host of Fox News’ The Five host said Muslims were “being quiet” about the shooting and accused the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of keeping “their mouth shut when things happen.”
To be fair, it’s not all Fox News. Here’s CNN’s Don “why didn’t you just bite Bill Cosby’s penis” Lemon asking Arsalan Iftikhar, a Human Rights attorney and the founder of The Muslim Guy website, “Do you support ISIS?” on Wednesday.
So, allow me to do some of the legwork for the media… And present examples of Muslim outrage about the Paris shooting.
Let’s start with organizations, like CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has, according to Fox, kept its mouth shut. Somehow they managed to get out this statement.
We strongly condemn this brutal and cowardly attack and reiterate our repudiation of any such assault on freedom of speech, even speech that mocks faiths and religious figures. The proper response to such attacks on the freedoms we hold dear is not to vilify any faith, but instead to marginalize extremists of all backgrounds who seek to stifle freedom and to create or widen societal divisions.
We offer sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed or injured in this attack. We also call for the swift apprehension of the perpetrators, who should be punished to the full extent of the law.
When we study Islam, we see clearly that the Quran condemns this kind of violence categorically. That Prophet Muhammad said that a Muslim is one from whom all others are safe…. This is not about religion. This is about political power, this is about uneducated, ignorant youth who are being manipulated by clerics and extremists. And this is why it’s all the more important for us, as the moderates, regardless of faith, to stay united and combat this.
It’s not quite as unbelievable as the Immaculate Conception, but it’s pretty unthinkable, given the history of diplomatic “relations” between the U.S. and Cuba.
Tuesday, the wife of one of the Cuban Five gave birth to a baby girl, Gema Hernández Pérez. Gerardo Hernández was one of the three former Cuban intelligence agents, freed, after being in jail for 16 years, during a prisoner swap between Cuba and the U.S. last month, which also resulted in the release of the U.S. business man Alan Gross. But, obviously, Hernández was still in prison when his wife Adriana Pérez was impregnated. So, how did it happen? Conjugal visits, you say? Nope. Those weren’t allowed. The milk man, you say? Nope. The baby is of Hernández genetic stock.
As Hernández explained, “I had to do it by ‘remote control’.” OK. So, what does that mean?
Too many police leaders and politicians have responded to the recent tragic double murder of Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos by blaming Barack Obama, Bill de Blasio, and peaceful police brutality protestors. At the same time, they refuse to acknowledge, let alone condemn, the police violence and brutality that have claimed the lives of countless people, including Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
This New Year’s, a good resolution for these professional pugilists would be to learn from the very families who have lost their loved ones to police brutality. The families of Michael Brown and, Eric Garner, in particular, would be good to study. While grieving their own losses, they have been able to extend condolences and sympathy to the grieving families of officers Lui and Ramos. And they have condemned violence in any form.
If you plan to celebrate New Year’s Eve Wednesday or New Year’s Day Thursday, I’m glad you’re reading this. In an attempt to understand whether New Years celebrations are actually Christian, I did some research on the internets. While some Christians celebrate New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, it turns out that God most definitely does NOT want you to celebrate it. Here are some reasons why.
1. History proves it is wrong.
Lest you think celebrating New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day is no big deal, The Church of God Faithful Flock proves just how wrong you are in an essay called The Truth About New Year’s, which makes GREAT USE OF ALL CAPS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS!
Notice the proof of history… The celebration of New Year’s began in ancient Babylonia in Mesopotamia. It was a pagan custom of ancient sun-worship 2000 years before the birth of Jesus. The celebration of New Year’s is never once commanded in the Bible. Jesus and the apostles never observed it. Moses forbade it!
The other day, something I wrote here– If ‘Black Lives Matter’ killed NYPD officers, Tea Party killed Las Vegas police–caused a not very surprising or remarkable Facebook fight, which evolved into a debate over Bill de Blasio’s role in and response to the murders of two NYPD officers. After people accused Bill de Blasio of being part of the problem and failing to do his job, I commented,
After I review the evidence, I will offer advice to the Mayor on how he can best move forward and redeem himself.
First, what exactly did Bill de Blasio say that has landed him in so much trouble. On December 3, after a StatenIsland grand jury decided not to indict the officer whose chokehold killed Eric Garner, de Blasio said that he was “astonished by the decision” and that it was a “very painful day for so many New Yorkers.” De Blasio also made the following unspeakable comments about how he and his wife Chirlane have worried about the safety of their son, Dante:
As we all know, the Right Wing has single-handedly defeated the non-existent war against Christmas. And they still have time to send out Merry Christmas greetings that are totally creepy. Come to think of it, they may be the behind an unintentional war against Christmas because these scary and sad social media shout messages are pretty much the worst PR Christmas could get. So (try to) enjoy!
Newt Gingrich’s Merry Christmas card: dead behind the eyes.
Have you been turned away from other gun shops for mental issues?
Has a pinch of PTSD kept you away from the AK 47 of your dreams?
Then come on down to Big Bif’s Pistol Healing Emporium. Cuz we’re gun-licensed therapists and our customers are insane.
That’s the opening of this video, which satirizes the gun industry’s reckless insistence on arming just about anyone, regardless of their criminal or mental health history.
On Saturday, a lone mentally ill shooter, not from New York City and not part of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest movement, executed two NYPD police officers, before killing himself. In June of this year, a couple who had spent time on Clive Bundy’s ranch executed two Las Vegas police officers, wrapped their bodies in Don’t Tread on Me flags, and then shot themselves. Republicans, right wing media and police officials are blaming the NYPD murders on BLM. But why didn’t they blame the murders of the Las Vegas officers on the Tea Party movement?
Obviously, the way to honor the two police officers murdered on Saturday is by exploiting their tragic murder for political purposes in a way that actually defies logic. To do this, simply blame the actions of a single lone shooter with a history of mental illness and suicide attempts on a non-violent protest movement which outrageously demands that police not kill people for the crime of being Black. Also claim that Mayor Bill de Blasio, Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama are to blame but don’t bother pretending that there is any evidence for that claim because you won’t find it. But if you’re Ray Kelly, Rudy Giuliani, Patrick Lynch, George Pataki or Fox News, that’s no big deal anyway.
Merry Christmas! As a Christmas-Tree Jew, I like Christmas just as much as the next goy. But even Jews who don’t celebrate Christmas deserve credit for helping the world celebrate the holiday. In fact, my Christian friends, you may want to think about sending your Jewish friends thank you notes instead of seasons greetings cards. Here are some of the Christmas songs, films and major players brought to you by the Jews.
CHRISTMAS MAJOR PLAYERS
Jesus Christ! (The original birthday boy!)
Brought to you by his Jewish mother, Mary. Since we Jews always get blamed for Jesus Christ’s death, we should really get some credit for his birth!
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