Rant #1,347: Merry, Happy ... Whatever

"Merry Christmas."

"Happy Hanukkah."

"Have a nice holiday."

What is correct, all or none of the above?

I have to tell you, this was going to be a simple "Merry Christmas" entry, until yesterday afternoon, when one of my Facebook "friends"--one I have actually met, but honestly don't know well at all--posted something akin to this:

"I wish Merry Christmas to everyone, even my Jewish friends, because I am old school."

Well, I guess that is all fine and good with this person, but it didn't sit too well with me.

I have no problem wishing "Merry Christmas" to those I know celebrate that holiday. Heaven knows I wish most of my co-workers that, even those who never venture to wish me a Happy Hanukkah.

But if you know the person you are addressing is Jewish, and you wish him or her "Merry Christmas," well that just smacks of insensitivity.

To the general public, I usually say, "Have a nice holiday." It is all encompassing.

But I would never wish the general public "Happy Hanukkah," nor would I wish those who I know celebrate Christmas "Happy Hanukkah."

When I voiced my feelings to this person on Facebook, he said that he is simply old school, and he sees nothing wrong with saying "Merry Christmas" to his Jewish friends.

I said to him something akin to, "Are you so old school that you believe in the teachings that "who" murdered Jesus?

Of course he knew exactly what I meant, and it has been a sore spot between the Catholic Church and Jews for centuries, even now, when it supposedly had been obliterated.

For centuries, Catholic teachings said that the Jews murdered Jesus. That thinking was changed in the mid 1960s, when that was not taught anymore, but even though it has been 50 years since that thinking was changed, it is hard to wipe out centuries of this belief in only 50 years.

Anyway, he came back with something to the effect that "Christ died for all of our sins," and I had to take him to task.

I shot back to him, "Christ did not die for MY sins. I am Jewish. We do not believe that he is the Messiah. Our Messiah has not yet come. That is why, even though Christ was Jewish, he broke away from those teachings."

Look, the guy is someone who is nice, but slightly ignorant.

Our two religions are both wonders of the ages, able to withstand pressure from within and without and to thrive.

But something as simple as saying "Merry Christmas" to someone you know is Jewish shows a bit about the greeting giver's character.

The move to simply say "Merry Christmas" to everyone is nice on the outside, but it is kind of cruel on the inside.

Jews do not deny the Christmas holiday, but by saying "Merry Christmas" to us, you are trivializing our holiday, Hanukkah.

And yes, I am still waiting to receive our usual Christmas cards from our relatives. We haven't received them yet, but I know they are coming.

What makes it all the more worse is that tonight is the final night of Hanukkah, and how much you wanna bet we get these cards today?

Anyway, all of this aside, have a nice holiday, have a nice Christmas, and I hope you had a nice Hanukkah if you celebrated that holiday.

And have a nice Kwanzaa too, if that is your direction this holiday season.

I have now covered everyone I am going to cover, and yes, I do feel good about myself and my stance.

We are all alike, yet so, so much different, why not celebrated those differences, especially during the holiday season?

This is my final column until next Monday, so have a great holiday (and happy birthday to my sister on December 26, not only the beginning of Kwanzaa, but Boxing Day too!).

Rant #1,346: Blood On Their Hands

This weekend was a bloody one in New York City.

Two cops in Brownsville, Brooklyn, were senselessly shot down in cold blood, ambushed while they were eating lunch in the middle of the afternoon.

The gunman, a mentally deranged individual with a long criminal record, had posted on social media that he was going to New York to kill police officers.

He ended up killing himself.

But with all the stuff going on about the supposed brutality of police officers to the young black population, this incident showed that not only can the reverse also be true, but that some people have accountability issues in New York City right now.

This gunman was black, his targets were Asian American and Hispanic American.

Look, nobody is denying that the gunman was a nut case, but I do think that the current environment we live in--where the police are being looked at as the enemy of the people--is spurring the nuts to come out of their shells, almost giving them, in their own minds, a reason to go after police officers.

That is certainly what happened in this case, and other cases are cropping up, too.

Almost concurrently with this tragedy, the police picked up another crazy person, who allegedly also put on social media that he was going to kill police officers.

And who do we blame for this environment?

Well, in New York City, look to Gracie Mansion, the home of the mayor, and the nest of one of his top confidants, a tax evader who is best known as a race baiter, the ultimate race baiter from hell.

Mayor Bill deBlasio has set himself up as public enemy No. 1 of the police department, his own police department, by making inflammatory statements against the police in the aftermath of the two tragedies that happened in Ferguson, Missouri, and right here in his own backyard in Staten Island, New York.

The one that incensed the police department the most was the one that said that his son, who is biracial, has to protect himself against the police, because by his very nature of being biracial, he was a target.

Again, we are talking about the mayor's son, probably the most protected kid in New York City.

And the contentions of the mayor that the cops go after to black kids is ridiculous, and incendiary.

He has been told by police officials to stay away from police funerals, and I am sure that when these two policemen are buried, he will be told to stay away.

Then we have the case of Rev. Al Sharpton.

The less said against this race baiter the better.

He is a liar, a scoundrel, a scourge, and that is saying nice things about him.

However, he has worked himself into the inner circle of not only the mayor, but seemingly our own President, and even into Sony, as he stuck his nose into their email mess.

Anything that gives something of a legitimacy to this individual, the person who perpetrated the Tawana Brawley hoax and never apologized for it, among other anti-white actions, is a piece of garbage in my book.

After this latest incident, both deBlasio and Sharpton issued released where they said that brutality against the police will not be tolerated, but they ring so hollow as to be almost non-existent.

There is a war in New York City, and it is a war against everything that is right and good, and it is being led by deBlasio and Sharpton.

And you know who is also to blame for this current environment?

The people of New York City.

They voted in this mayor, who used the race card to his advantage, and they give legitimacy to this supposed reverend, a supposed man of the cloth.

For that, they get what they pay for.

And the faction that has marched in all of these protests, they also get part of the blame, too.

Sure, they have every right to march. It is their right as citizens of this country.

But their overall behavior, lauded my many, has deteriorated, and deteriorated greatly.

And the reason that it has is because it has, once again, given every nut a reason to go out and cause havoc, much like what happened during the "Occupy New York" nonsense of a few years ago.

These protests draws the unstable like flies to honey, and recent skirmishes with the police demonstrate that.

And let's not forget the role the media has played in all of this, making this into a circus.

Unfortunately, if you make your own bed, you have to lie in it, and that is what has happened to people like deBlasio, Sharpton and the like.

But the blame really goes all around, and that is the saddest thing about this whole environment.

My personal condolences go out to the families of the slain police officers, and let there be no such similar episodes ever again.

Rant #1,345: "The Interview"

I am sure that you have heard that Sony Pictures has indefinitely postponed the premiere of the film "The Interview" due to concerns that violence may ensue from its opening.

This whole thing is such a stupid mess, that I thought I would talk about it here today.

I have very, very mixed feelings about the cancellation of the opening of this film, on a lot of issues, including free speech.

But on the other hand, some things are better left alone, and maybe it's a good thing that the picture won't open for the foreseeable future, if ever.

People should be able to say what they want to say, do what they want to do, act like they want to act. Those are basically the freedoms that we enjoy in this country, and why this country is the greatest one on the planet.

But there is a line that is oftentimes crossed by us, as a society, and I think that that line might have been crossed by this movie.

In a nutshell, the movie is a satirical comedy about two broadcasters who are recruited to knock off the emperor of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, or whatever they call him, their ruler, who we all know is crazy.

He hates the United States and all the free world, but he hates us so much that he loves American basketball and has actually befriended former basketball star Dennis Rodman.

He reportedly has been quite ill lately, but he has not given up his power.

Anyway, this fictitious movie actually ends with his death.

The problem that I have here is that the people involved in the film--not just Sony, but writer/star Seth Rogen and a whole lot of other people--took for granted that the movie would not only play in, let's say, Walla Walla, Washington, but also around the world, and they have found out, in a striking way, that you cannot assume that.

This movie has served as an example of why free speech is a wonderful thing, but it can go too far.

Is it free speech when you yell "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater?

Well, this film did just that to the North Koreans. Evidently, they were so incensed by the storyline of this movie that in retaliation, they--or someone else, nobody really knows who did it — were able to hack into Sony's email accounts, and make them look awful stupid.

And what's worse, the North Korean hackers--if they even are from North Korea--said that if the movie opened as scheduled, there would be dire consequences to those who attended the film in theaters, and then they brought up 9/11.

Enough. Sony closed the film.

This is probably the first time that Hollywood has ever been told "No" by anyone.

They live in their ivory towers in Tinseltown, seemingly doing whatever they want to do without any thought on their actions.

They have people there who really live the life, let's say, and we, as a public, basically give them carte blanche to do whatever they want to do.

After all, they are "show people."

Well, here is an instance where Hollywood has been told that no, you can't do that, because it could harm many, many people.

And they bowed to the pressure.

Yes, it sets quite a bad precedent, but Sony really should examine who gave the green light to this movie--and get rid of them, period.

Why did the movie have to be about an actual world ruler?

Heck, Charlie Chaplin and even the Three Stooges have satirized various horrid rulers in the past by making them purely fictional, even if everyone knew who they were talking about.

Doesn't just about every James Bond film deal with some crazy ruler who is going to take over the world?

But these are fictional monarchs, not real ones.

Why did this film have to be about an actual ruler, someone we know is a complete nut and one in a country which not only doesn't like us, but a country that we don't yet really know or can gauge the capability of, in terms of weapons and reach?

No, this was completely irresponsible filmmaking, as far as I am concerned, and even though I am all for free speech, being a journalist myself, I am really for responsible free speech, not anything near what this film would have espoused.

I mean, the guy dies at the end. Did they really think that this would play around the world, and that North Korea would be OK with this?

I think we, as a country, would react much differently if a filmmaker from overseas would release a film about the murder of President Barack Obama. We would pretty much be outraged, I am sure we would pretty much boycott the film, but I don't think we would threaten anyone with harm about it.

But we are dealing with a country and a culture that we know very little about, and pissing them off like this was completely irresponsible.

And what came out in the emails was so embarasssing ... remember in school when we were taught that "The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword? ... well that has almost been replaced by "The Electronic Messages are Mightier Than the Sword."

Those emails also showed the complete lack of responsibility by the writers of those emails, showing how they speak out of both sides of their mouths about our President.

Did they not understand that like those nude photos of famous actresses that were posted a while back that once you put up something electronically, it is ripe for the taking by people who know how to do this?

Do they understand now?

So as you can see, I am quite conflicted about this entire incident. We don't know the extent of the hacker's reach, and we don't know what, if anything, they would have done if the movie opened.

But better not to know, not to experience any possible destruction over really what is just a plain stupid movie.

Will the movie ever see the light of day? Who knows?

If we can open diplomatic relations with Cuba after so many years, maybe years in the future, when North Korea is our friend, this movie can open and we can all laugh about what went on in 2014.

But it is not so funny at the current time, no, this purported comedy is not so funny at all.

Rant #1,344: 'Tis the Season ...

The holiday season is a wonderful way to end the year, with all the glory, the lights, and the family get togethers that we all have.

But it also brings out all the nuts, too, and I had an occasion this past Saturday to meet up with one of them--in the barber's chair.

This very odd situation happened when my son and I went to get haircuts at our local haircutting establishment. It has been around forever, and the barbers there--there are about a dozen--give you a pretty darn good haircut for $5, plus, of course, the requisite tip.

I have been going to this place for at least 20 years, and even though I don't have too much hair anymore, my son certainly does, and I trust them with his hair.

Anyway, we got there and as usual for a Saturday afternoon, there was a mob waiting to get haircuts, people of every age and every type of hair.

As usual, we told the manager, "Two, anybody," meaning we would take the next available barber. There is one woman barber in the place, and my son was directed to her, as I had to wait for someone to be free.

He had his hair cut, and since the woman didn't have anyone else waiting for her, I went over to her, sat down in the chair, and told her what I wanted, "No. 2, please clean up the back."

No sooner had I sat down, she started the conversation out like this:

"Are you Jewish?"

I kind of paused, thinking this was a strange way to begin a conversation when all I wanted was a haircut.

"Well, yes, I am," I finally replied.

As she started to cut my hair, here is how the conversation went:

"You are rich, aren't you?"

"Huh?" (dumbfounded).

'You are rich, aren't you?"

"No, I am not. Far from it."

"What is your eduacation?"

"I went to college, and I have a masters degree."

"What do you do for a living?"

"I am a writer, actually my title is associate editor."

"So then, you must be rich."

She kept on bringing up the "rich" aspect up time and time again.

Believe me, I was pretty happy I am bald, because my haircut didn't last long.

Then, when it was over, I got up, and after this conversation where she started out, "Are you Jewish?" she has the nerve to say to me, "Merry Christmas."

I then did something stupid. I paid my and my son's bill, gave her a $1 tip--what I normally do--and left.

I could kick myself. I should have alerted the manager to this, but I didn't.

Even if it wasn't overtly anti-Semitic, the woman should not have been asking me about such personal things. She was out of line, and I dropped the ball, probably because I was very tired this past weekend, with a rough week behind me.

My wife says that she "rubbed it in" with the "Merry Christmas" remark, hoping for a bigger tip, and probably starting off the entire conversation with eyes on a big tip.

But that was no reason to go on and on and on about my religion, my wealth, etc.

It was totally uncalled for.

I guess all I can say is that if it happens again, I won't be like the Jews I knock, the ones who take it and don't say anything about it.

I hate my fellow Jews for doing this, and now, I am clearly one of them, because I did it too.

Shame on me.

It may not have been blatant anti-Semitism, but the spark was certainly there, and I didn't totally extinguish it with my actions.

Shame on me!

Rant #1,343: On the First Night of Hanukkah ...

No, I am not going to burst into song, substituting Hanukkah imagery into that classic Christmas song.

But we did have a nice night last evening, the first night of Hanukkah.

Although sundown--the start of the holiday--was actually at about 4:37 p.m. or so, this guy had to work, so I did not get home until around 6 p.m.

I ate--we had meatloaf, green beans, salad and yes, potato latkes from my mother--and the meal was delicious.

Not only did I have extra meatloaf--my wife makes the best tasting meatloaf on the planet--but I could have had more latkes--heck, I could have eaten the entire plateful of these things--but I held off, because I could be 400 pounds very easily.

Then it was time for the celebration.

In this neck of the woods, at about 5:40 p.m. yesterday on my way home, it started to pour, almost out of nowhere.

Happily, at least on my route, there weren't too many cars on the road, which is unusual--did many leave early for Hanukkah?--so I was able to make my way home pretty easily.

The same could not be said of my father. He was still not home when I was done eating and ready to go for the holiday, so my mother asked if we could postpone their participation until today, the second night.

I wasn't happy, but I obliged.

So it was just going to be my little family doing the celebrating last night--sans my daughter, who was probably celebrating the holiday with her mother--and we did.

My son and I lit the menorah. We said the prayer in Hebrew and then in English, and I let him mainly do the recitation. I am happy he knows the prayer in both Hebrew and English, as I do.

Anyway, we lit our menorah--yes, it is electric, not like the one in the accompanying photo--and it is very modern and nice, and the window shined with that glow that I enjoy this time of year. I am sure it looked the same way outside.

We then moved over to the presents we had for each other.

My son got a winter jacket, a video game, a computer, and in a complete surprise to him, Yankees tickets for a game on his birthday in August.

My wife got some gift cards--Dunkin' Donuts and Kohl's--and she wanted this, so I got it for her--the new Keurig 2.0 coffee maker. I am not a coffee drinker, so I have no idea why she wanted this thing, but she does love her coffee, which I guess is the best reason of all. She also received a box of her favorite coffee to use in the new machine.

Then it was my turn. My parents gave me my gift even though they weren't participating last night, and they got me the requisite clothes. My family got me a box of 1970s music trivia cards, a gift certificate to my local record store, and the Batman TV series on DVD.

Yes, the theme of this year's Hanukkah was simplicity.

Our Hanukkah celebration was pretty subdued this year, but it was fun. Tonight, my parents will be with us, so it will be another nice evening.

The eight days will go fast, and before you know it, Hanukkah 2014 will be but a memory ...

But a real nice one, one that I will cherish forever.

Rant #1,342: Tonight, It's Hanukkah

Tonight, at sundown, is the first night of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights for the Jewish people.

My family and I are among those that will celebrate tonight.

But I have noticed in social media that Hanukkah, my holiday, and most importantly, the Jewish religion, is being negated once again this holiday season.

And apart from social media, you don't see that much celebration, either.

For whatever reason, there are scant holiday decorations this year.

My wife has told me that the menorah, probably the most visible symbol of the holiday, is thought to be a religious symbol at this point in time, so many institutions won't put one up.

Balderdash, but go tell this to our politically correct world, where we strive to include everybody in everything while pushing others' faces in the dirt.

Anyway, today I have decided to rerun a column that I wrote more than four years ago, Rant #395 on December 1, 2010.

It basically says everything I wanted to say this year, and shows that things really haven't changed too much.

I edited it a little bit to make it more current, but most of it has been left intact.

Here it is, and to all that celebrate Hanukkah, have a wonderful holiday.

"Tonight is Hanukkah.

I know that for most of our culture this means absolutely nothing, but for many of us, this holiday, which begins at sundown tonight, reflects the culmination of a year's work, and the time to party and celebrate.

Honestly, in the Jewish calendar, Hanukkah is not a major holiday. But it is a joyous and festive one, celebrating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean revolt, during the second century BCE (before the common era). After the Jews regained control of the temple, they found that they only had one night's oil for their candelabra, their eternal light. Somehow, through some type of miracle, the oil burned for eight days, hence the celebration of Hanukkah for eight days and the use of a menorah to signify the eternal light.

It's a great family-oriented holiday, and one of my favorite ones during the year (the other of my favorites is Passover).

Now, if you don't want to read some blunt words, don't read below, because I promise you, you are going to get them.

Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas. There is no such thing as a Hanukkah bush or Hanukkah tree ornaments or wreaths.

One holiday has nothing to do with the other.

And if you consider yourself Jewish, you cannot celebrate both.

Christmas is about Jesus, the messiah. Hanukkah, as my explanation provided, has nothing to do with Jesus, and the basic tenet of the Jewish religion is that the messiah has not come yet.

So once again, Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas.

Don't ask me if I follow both holidays. For me, although Christmas is a wonderful holiday in an of itself, for me, it is simply a day off from work for me and many of my fellow Jews, nothing more.

And the inundation we receive from the media about Christmas this and Christmas that is, well, annoying. I know some non-Jews who believe that starting to play Christmas songs on certain radio stations starting in October or even earlier is ridiculous.

And who do we blame for this idiocy, where Hanukkah is somehow blurred into Christmas?

Well, I kind of blame many of my fellow Jews themselves.

We have so assimilated into the Christian culture of this country that many of us have forgotten our roots.

Look, I am not a religious Jew at all, but I know, and my family knows, our heritage. We are Jews. We are not Christians.

I am not saying that there is anything the least bit wrong in following other religions. But when Jews decide that they are so assimilated that they forget who they are, that kind of bothers me.

And when people--oftentimes those in my own family--send Christmas cards or Season's Greetings cards to my family this time of year, well, don't you think that is just plain lazy on their part?

I am not talking about business associates. I am talking about family members who should know better.

One year many years ago, a relative sent my family a Christmas card. I sent it right back. They figured out why I did that, and quickly sent over a Hanukkah card.

And yes, I blame Hollywood too. Hollywood is a place where Jews have always felt welcome to ply their craft, whether it be as an executive, behind the scenes person, or even in front of the camera.

Yet, Hollywood Jews kind of hide this time of year. I mean, where are the Barbra Streisands, the Neil Diamonds, the Dustin Hoffmans during this time of year? Celebrating Christmas, of course.

They are as phony as a warped sheckel.

When was the last time "Entertainment Tonight" ever asked high-profile Hollywood Jews about how they celebrate Hanukkah?

And when they ask Jews about Christmas, Jews just answer as if it were their holiday.

Well, it isn't.

That's the end of my bluntness. Have a great holiday, whatever holiday you celebrate, and I will be back tomorrow, hopefully with a nice report about how the first night of Hanukkah went.

Mazel tov!"

Rant #1,341: Santa Claus Came To Town

Guess what this Jewish guy did with his son this weekend?

I did what any Jew would have done ... Santa Claus was in town, and I took my son to meet old St. Nick himself.

In something I hadn't done since my kids were very little, I took my 19-year-old son to see Santa Claus, but there was a method to my madness.

St. Nick, in this case at least, was WWE wrestling legend Mick Foley, and the North Pole was our local record store.

Foley was there to promote his "Crazy Christmas" holiday book and record--yes, a 45 rpm record--so we and about 50 others decided that this presented the perfect opportunity to meet the hardcore wrestling legend in the flesh--with his Santa outfit on--so we leaped at the chance.

What's more, all proceeds went to charity, so it was a really worthwhile cause.

Foley came into the store as the line of people wanting to meet him grew. He took out the book--with a story written by his son, ostensibly about saving Christmas--and like any good Santa who is also a world renown wrestling personality, he also took out his teeth as he started to read.

Anyway, when he was finished with his storytelling chores, we all got to meet Santa Foley, get his autograph and take pictures with him.

It was fun, harkening back to other times I took my kids to meet Santa.

One time that I remember is when my daughter must have been about four or five years old.

She sat on Santa's lap in our local bank, and Santa said, "And what would this pretty young girl want for Christmas?"

My daughter replied, "Santa, I happen to be Jewish, and we don't celebrate Christmas, we celebrate Hanukkah--and here is what I want!"

You never saw Santa so dumbfounded in his life, and although I told my daughter to tone it down a bit, inwardly, I was kind of proud of her.

Not to blame Santa though-=-how was he to know that he had such a "rebel" sitting right on his lap?

Anyway, back to the present.

My son and I had a nice time, and afterward, we did what many Jewish families do throughout the year--we ordered Chinese takeout, brought it home, and had a nice meal with my wife.

The whole encounter with Santa was a good appetizer for our main event, the first night of Hanukkah, which begins tomorrow evening at sundown.

It should be fun!