September 15, 2008 | 1:49 pm

Questions for Bill Maher

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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I’m interviewing Bill Maher today about his new film, “Religulous,” which skewers the faithful in theaters Oct. 3. I rather enjoyed the movie, though it didn’t change my opinion of God or his followers. But I know Maher engenders strong feelings among his fans and critics, so I wanted to invite readers of The God Blog to submit questions in the comments section that they’d like me to ask Maher later today.

For a refresher on the documentary’s contents, read this post. You have about four hours.

September 15, 2008 | 12:03 pm

San Bernardino’s Old West synagogue is leaving town

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The bad news is that San Bernardino County’s oldest Jewish congregation, Congregation Emanu El, which has to have the most common moniker for Reform congregations, is packing up and moving out of San Bernardino. The good news, at least for those involved, is that they are leaving San Bernardino.

The 117-year-old congregation isn’t headed far, maybe just a few miles east to the greener, less gang-infested grasses of Highland, Redlands or Yucaipa. (I’d vote for Redlands, but they already have a Conservative synagogue and, let’s be honest, the majority of Jews in San Bernardino work for my old paper, The Sun. OK, that’s not honesty; it’s hyperbole. But still ...)

I was always a big fan of the Congregation Emanu El’s straight-shooting retired rabbi, Hillel Cohen, but I imagine that then, as now, most of their members lived outside of San Bernardino. The temple was in city’s north end, which before the late ‘80s was full of the well-to-do, but now most of San Bernardino, at least south of the university, which is at the far-north tip, is full of ne’er-do-wells. The move, led by Rabbi Douglas Kohn, makes sense, though, as you would imagine, some longtime members are worried about a schism.

But let’s not get too dramatic. The sale and relocation of the congregation was a long time coming. If it was up to me, I would have gotten out of San Bernardino a few years ago. Come to think of it, I did.

And, no, contrary to what was suggested, the plagues are not soon to follow.

“Now, I know my Bible, not to mention my Charlton Heston movies,” Sun columnist John Weeks wrote recently, “and the last time there was a big exodus of Jewish people, the results were dire for everyone involved.”

Aside from the fact that we are really talking about a small synagogue here—250 member families—there have been some 8,746 big exoduses of Jewish people since the Exodus—and that’s just the involuntary journeys caused by expulsions.

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September 15, 2008 | 12:35 am

Tina Fey is Sarah Palin

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

It was really just a matter of waiting for the return of “Saturday Night Live” and a key cameo. Tina Fey is Sarah Palin, or at least she looks just like her.

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September 15, 2008 | 12:11 am

Saudi judge says it’s cool to kill ‘immoral’ cable owners

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The cleric

And I thought Russia lost it last week when prosecutors there said “South Park” should be banned because it promoted “religious extremism.” I don’t imagine Saudi Arabia would even welcome programs on Nickelodean, which, obviously, glorify the Great Satan (that’s us in the West). But does this “immoral TV” warrant executing the heathens who own the stations?

Don’t answer that.

From the BBC:

The most senior judge in Saudi Arabia has said it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV channels which broadcast immoral programmes.

Sheikh Salih Ibn al-Luhaydan said some “evil” entertainment programmes aired by the channels promoted debauchery.

Dozens of satellite television channels broadcast across the Middle East, where they are watched by millions of Arabs every day.

The judge made the comments on a state radio programme.

He was speaking in response to a listener who asked his opinion on the airing of programmes featuring scantily-dressed women during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“There is no doubt that these programmes are a great evil, and the owners of these channels are as guilty as those who watch them,” said the sheikh.

“It is legitimate to kill those who call for corruption if their evil can not be stopped by other penalties.”

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September 12, 2008 | 7:49 pm

Jets-Giants end stadium talks with Allianz

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Allianz Arena in Munich

Since Wednesday, I’ve been trying to reconcile why the operator of the new football stadium being built for the New York Giants and Jets would entertain selling naming rights to an international surety that had insured the Nazi concentration camps.

Forget the fact that I have no idea what it means for Auschwitz to be protected against lawsuits—I doubt they were worried about being sued by an emaciated Jew who fell on handrail-less stairs and shattered a hip—it’s just inconceivable that sports teams with New York in their names would play in the house the Nazis built. Granted, being an anti-Semite does not preclude one’s name from appearing on a major regional facility—Lindbergh Field in San Diego or Ford Field in Detroit, for example—but this is Jersey.

As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of protest from Jewish organizations and Holocaust survivors, and today the New Meadowlands Stadium said Allianz, once the front-runner to spend $30 million a year for the rights, was now out of the running:

“We are continuing discussions with other potential partners for the new stadium and look forward to the summer 2010 opening of this new icon for our region,” the statement said.

Allianz spokesman Peter Lefkin confirmed that talks were off.

Its officials contended that the firm had atoned for its former support of the Third Reich by supporting reparations programs and working to become a responsible company. Allianz said it should no longer be held accountable in 2008 for the company’s record during World War II.

Steven Korenblat, an attorney who represented Citigroup in its naming rights deal for the New York Mets’ new stadium, noted that German companies such as Daimler-Benz and Deutsche Bank that had connections to the Third Reich have higher profiles in the U.S. than Allianz.

“I don’t think this is a made-up controversy,” Korenblat said, referring to Allianz negotiations. “For those who have strong feelings about it, it’s genuine. My view is that we should continue to remember the past and continue to speak the truth, but at the same time we should allow Germany and its corporate citizens to move forward.”

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September 12, 2008 | 6:54 pm

Sarah Palin and the Jews: In her own words *

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

We still know very little about what Sarah Palin thinks of American Jews, and this post isn’t going to reveal any whoppers.

Her political views and religiosity led to immediate suspicion, which she responded to with an uninspiring visit to AIPAC. But this was followed by news of the Jews for Jesus speaker at her church last month, and then for her RNC speech she cribbed from right-wing nut job Westbrook Pegler.

Palin has been incredibly off limits, so, unlike Barack Obama, who was on the phone with more than a minyan in January, Palin hasn’t done the Jewish press interview yet. Not with me, not with JTA, not even with The New York Times. We have her ABC News interview, and now Jewish voters have this checklist of what Palin really has said about the Bridge to Nowhere, teaching Creationism in schools and banning books.

The National Jewish Democratic Council, which compiled the list, comprised of quotes resurrected in recent news articles, lets Palin off the hook though when it comes to Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul and Jews for Jesus. “To be objective, NJDC has no reason to believe that Palin shares the values of Jews for Jesus or the opinions of Buchanan or Paul when it comes to the subject of the Jewish community or Israel.” So, I guess we’ll have to wait for the Palin Q&A with JTA.

* Updated: Adding another confusing layer to Palin and the Jews, Mollie at GetReligion just sent me this story from the Jewish Press. “Republican vice-presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin sports an Israeli flag in her lapel and displays an Israel flag in her office window despite the tiny Jewish population of her state,” the conservative paper reported, and you can see the flag here.

Not sure what it means. Now, back to the NJDC. Their complete fact sheet is after the jump:

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September 12, 2008 | 5:44 pm

Cop thinks he overedosed on stolen pot, calls 911

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

This cop was not a known member of Temple 420. The best part of this video report, which had me laughing out loud, is the snorting newscaster off camera.

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September 12, 2008 | 4:14 pm

Chabad Telethon is back

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Chabad Telethon is just about the biggest extravaganza—maybe outside Burning Man—on the Jewish calendar. Rabbi Chaim Cunin has remarkable pull, as did his father, and participants have included Martin Sheen, Adam Sandler, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Dylan. Last year they raised $7.2 million.

If you live in Los Angeles, you’ve no doubt seen the banners hanging everywhere or that truck parked on a bridge over the 10 Freeway. The telethon returns this Sunday and Ethan just called to let me know that Vic the Brick had mentioned on sports talk radio’s “Loose Canons” that he’d be there.

This led me to the Chabad Telethon web site to see what other celebs have confirmed. Nobody confirms, and the only I could find was Jordan Farmar, fresh from Israel, Jon Voigt, a regular, and this photo of Vic.

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September 12, 2008 | 3:00 pm

Cliff’s Notes from Palin’s ABC close-up

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I owe Sarah Pulliam—that’s Pulliam, not Palin—at Christianity Today’s election blog for this quick reference to main exchange on religion between Sarah Palin and Charles Gibson last night:

GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, “Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.” Are we fighting a holy war?

PALIN: You know, I don’t know if that was my exact quote.

GIBSON: Exact words.

PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln’s words when he said—first, he suggested never presume to know what God’s will is, and I would never presume to know God’s will or to speak God’s words.

But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that’s a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God’s side.

That’s what that comment was all about, Charlie. And I do believe, though, that this war against extreme Islamic terrorists is the right thing. It’s an unfortunate thing, because war is hell and I hate war, and, Charlie, today is the day that I send my first born, my son, my teenage son overseas with his Stryker brigade, 4,000 other wonderful American men and women, to fight for our country, for democracy, for our freedoms.

Charlie, those are freedoms that too many of us just take for granted. I hate war and I want to see war ended. We end war when we see victory, and we do see victory in sight in Iraq.

GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln’s words, but you went on and said, “There is a plan and it is God’s plan.”

PALIN: I believe that there is a plan for this world and that plan for this world is for good. I believe that there is great hope and great potential for every country to be able to live and be protected with inalienable rights that I believe are God-given, Charlie, and I believe that those are the rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That, in my world view, is a grand—the grand plan.

GIBSON: But then are you sending your son on a task that is from God?

PALIN: I don’t know if the task is from God, Charlie. What I know is that my son has made a decision. I am so proud of his independent and strong decision he has made, what he decided to do and serving for the right reasons and serving something greater than himself and not choosing a real easy path where he could be more comfortable and certainly safer.

There has been a lot of kvetching regarding Gibson’s treatment of Palin, but to avoid making this post interminably long, I’ll save that discussion for another entry.

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September 12, 2008 | 1:00 pm

McCain leads Obama in AP poll

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Thank you, Sarah Palin for this edition of Freaky Friday. John McCain has claimed a slight lead over presidential opponent Barack Obama. From the AP:

John McCain has taken a modest lead over Barack Obama entering the final seven weeks of their presidential contest, buoyed by decisive advantages among suburban and working-class whites and a huge edge in how people rate each candidate’s experience, a poll showed Friday.

Underscoring how tight the race remains, several swing groups who traditionally help decide presidential races remain about evenly divided between the two tickets. These include independents, married women and Catholics.

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September 12, 2008 | 10:33 am

Jesus gets his political t-shirt

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Commercialism at its finest. Where have I seen and heard this before?

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September 11, 2008 | 7:00 pm

The politics of ‘Big Lebowski’: Walter Sobchak the neocon

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

“The Big Lebowski” is one of my favorite movies. My friends and I used the language of the dude, though not Walter, during college, when we bowled weekly at the late Hollywood Star Lanes. And when I can’t sleep at night, I often opt for watching the Dude one more time.

The story is so rich with characters—I particularly like Donny and The Jesus. The nihilists also are hilarious. (Click here to read about a real nihilist running for California governor.) But no persona is larger than that of Walter Sobchak, defender of the faith—“Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax—YOU’RE ... RIGHT I LIVE IN THE PAST!”—and, believe it or not, neoconservative.

So sayeth David Haglund:

If that seems like a stretch, consider the traits Walter exhibits over the course of the film: faith in American military might (the Gulf War, he says, “is gonna be a piece of cake”; in the original script, he calls it “a f—-ing cakewalk”); nostalgia for the Cold War (“Charlie,” he says, referring to the Viet Cong, was a “worthy f—-in’ adversary”); strong support for the state of Israel (to judge from his reverent paraphrase of Theodor Herzl: “If you will it, Dude, it is no dream”); and even, perhaps, past affiliation with the left (he refers knowingly to Lenin’s given name and admits to having “dabbled in pacifism”). Goodman, who has called the role his all-time favorite, seems also to have sensed Walter’s imperialist side. “Dude has a rather, let’s say, Eastern approach to bowling,” he said in an interview. “Walter is strictly Manifest Destiny.”

The Coen brothers present this bellicose figure “in the early ‘90s” (as an opening voice-over provided by a mysterious cowboy informs us) “just about the time of our conflict with Sad’m and the Eye-rackies.” After the cowboy has spoken, the first words we hear come from the elder President Bush: “This aggression will not stand,” he declares, responding to the invasion of Kuwait and appearing on a grocery store television while the Dude buys some half-and-half. Bush’s threat of force frames all that follows. When Walter hears about the “carpet-pissers,” he insists that the Dude draw “a line in the sand”

Sad to say, there are no clean clips from “The Big Lebowski.” I offer that as a disclaimer for the 30-second video of The Jesus after the jump. (In related Coen Brothers news: “Burn After Reading” opens tomorrow night and I can’t wait. Watch the trailer.)

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