The gift of the Irish

Well, St. Patrick's Day is almost over and I have yet to knock back a green beer or kiss a leprechaun. I seem to have survived, but there was a time when I clearly remember being punched in the shoulder by some of my ruffian classmates for the indelicate decision of not wearing green to school. I have rarely failed to wear green on intervening St. Patrick's Days since that time. There have been many famous Irishmen throughout history who have contributed to society in many ways, but in my estimation, probably the greatest gift of the Irish to the world is that of Irish coffee. I had the good fortune to be in San Francisco last year for the American Jewish Press Association meeting there and I was delighted to be at the Buena Vista Cafe, where Irish coffee was first imported in this country from Ireland. The Buena Vista is located at the last stop of the Hyde-Powell cable car that ends near Fisherman's Wharf. Back on November 10 in 1952 the owner of the Buena Vista, Jack Koeppler, invited travel writer Stanton Delaplane to re-create the popular coffee drink that visitors to Shannon Airport in Ireland had been enjoying for years. Throughout the night they toiled and they labored for several more weeks until the perfect rendering of the hot drink could be achieved. The devil was in the details as they experimented until final determining the right Irish whiskey, the proper aging of the whipped cream and the appropriate temperature to pre-heat the glass in which it was to be served. For those of you who have not enjoyed an Irish coffee as prepared by the excellent wait staff at the Buena Vista, you have not truly sampled the delicacy at its very best. One of them snapped the image above as I delved deep into the mystery of their delicious toddy on a midnight evening last June. It was a fact-finding mission and in true journalistic tradition, I am happy to report that it was a successful trip. As a time-honored Irish expression eloqently phrases it "it felt like a torchlight procession going down my throat."

The advent of Purim

Today is a date to check the calendars, all three of them. There must be a connection between the Jewish celebration of Passover and the Christian holidays of Holy Week, people reckon. The historical record says that the crucifixion of Jesus took place during the Passover celebration, so most Christians assume that the date for Passover is more or less connected to Easter. The fact is that there is no direct correlation to the two other than they both must be observed during the spring. The date of Easter is observed differently by the Western (Roman Catholic, Protestant and Anglican Churches) and Orthodox Churches. In the Western Churches, Easter is decided by the determination of Ash Wednesday, the date that follows Mardi Gras and is always 46 days prior to Easter. The date of Ash Wednesday is fixed according to a formula that is largely based on a lunar cycle (just like that found in the Jewish or Hebrew calendar) and a solar calendar that recognizes March 21 as the vernal equinox. Similarly, the Jewish calendar is not strictly lunar. Because there is a specific admonition in the Torah that the celebration of the festival known today as Passover must take place during the spring, there is a solar aspect to it as well. Similarly, the date of Ash Wednesday (not observed by the Orthodox Church) was set according to dates that were first fixed at the First Council of Nicaea in 365 C.E. when the Julian calendar was in place. Some may be surprised to learn that Easter had not always been observed on a Sunday, for example, prior to this important gathering. Changes implemented by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 determined new dates for observance of Easter and Ash Wednesday for the Roman Catholic world and the Protestant churches which sprang up during the Reformation kept those new dates, the Anglican Church being the last major church to accept them in 1752. However, the Orthodox Church has kept its dates for observance of Easter more or less in line with the Julian calendar. As a result, the observance of Orthodox Easter can be many weeks different from the date set by the ecclesiastical formula used to determine Ash Wednesday and, hence, Easter, in the Western Church. This year the observance of Easter between the Western and Orthodox Churches differs by five weeks. That means that the observance of Passover, which begins at sundown on April 19 will be closer to the date set by the Orthodox Church for Easter, which is April 14. What is unusual is the proximity of the Jewish celebration of Purim, which happens to occur on Good Friday (as observed by the Western Churches) this year. Usually, Purim is closer in proximity to Mardi Gras (or Ash Wednesday), but because the date for Ash Wednesday in 2008 was set as February 6 (the second earliest date it can be set), and because this year the Jewish calendar has an extra month inserted, Adar II (in order to keep Passover in the spring), we have this highly unusual occurrence. If all of this makes your head spin, just think about the nightmare this presents for calendar makers. I don't know about you, but my recommendation is just to go with the flow and take it one day at a time.

The Ides of March and the politics of hate

The news media and the Internet have been set ablaze this week with the political intrigue revolving about statements from two supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, namely Obama's pulpit minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and Clinton's former high-profile supporter Geraldine Ferraro. Admitedly, it is difficult to compare the two divergent sources of controversy on face value. Wright's incendiary statements are oblique attempts to galvanize African-American supporters by emphasizing racial injustice. His rhetoric was vitriolic and mean-spirited, so it was no wonder that Obama felt the need to distance himself even further than he already had because a defense of Wright, who presided over Obama's wedding ceremony and baptized his children, was truly not possible. Obama's repudiation of Wright's statements was posted on Huffington Post at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barack-obama/on-my-faith-and-my-church_b_91623.html . For his part, Obama seems sincere, especially since several of Wright's statements were as racist-inspired as any that would have come down the pike from the likes of David Duke. Substitute a few choice phrases here and there and the two could be interchangeable. As to Ferraro, her statement was a bit more veiled. She stated her opinion that suggested that Obama would not have been able to have gone as far as he has in the race to the White House were he not a member of a minority. I am amazed (as was Obama) that someone would suggest that being a minority gave one a treasured status or a leg up on the competition. Surely, Ferraro could see the folly in suggesting anything of the sort. Yet, she refused to back down and separated herself from the Clinton campaign to stem the critical tide that was rising in reaction to her statements. Yet, was what she suggested simply an error in analysis or venomous racism? Frankly, I think the storm against her was more a tempest in a teapot than the deserved reaction to Wright's statements. She was guilty of stupidity, not racism. On this date back in 44 B.C.E., another famous politician, Julius Caesar, was slaughtered for taking a bold stand. He had claimed absolute power and paid the absolute price for it. Perhaps the politics of hate practiced in America is not as extreme as that practiced in Ancient Rome, yet the casualities keep piling up and the course of the campaign is only at its mid-point. I imagine the Republicans are keeping their daggers sharpened for the real battle ahead...after the conventions.

Howard Metzenbaum

I never lived in Cleveland or Ohio during the golden years of Howard Metzenbaum, the former United States Senator who died Wednesday at 90. Metzenbaum had moved to Florida for retirement, but even in Louisiana, I knew of him. He was a formidable force in Congress and was one of Ohio's most well-known and respected statesmen. He was a bit liberal for some, vociferous for many, but a true American to all. Metzenbaum was one of the last surviving 29 founding fathers of the Cleveland Jewish News and so I owe him a debt of personal gratitude for having instituted the newspaper that became my rock and the place of my journalistic rebirth following the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. Metzenbaum's record as a businessman is as noteworthy as his upbringing in Cleveland was difficult. Hailing from meager beginnings, he worked his way through The Ohio State University in a variety of odd jobs. Later he attended Law School there and had graduated only a few years before he was elected to the state legislature. Metzenbaum converted a well-lit, well-staffed parking lot endeavor near Hopkins International Airport into APCOA (Airport Parking Corporation of America), the world's largest parking conglomerate. He also helped start up a rental car company that eventually became Avis, the "We're No. 2: We Try Harder" company that used its second place status as fodder for commercials. Metzenbaum's knack for business could have made him one of the world's wealthiest men, but he continually gave back to his community, his state and his nation. I was in Cleveland only a short time when Metzenbaum's former partner and schoolmate, Alva "Ted" Bonda, passed away. Bonda credited Metzenbaum with much of the early success he had enjoyed. Metzenbaum detested waste and was an opponent of pork barrel spending. He trimmed special projects from proposed legislation on a regular basis and was called "the conscience of the Senate" during his tenure. One published report suggests that the Senator saved taxpayers $10 billion in 1982 alone. After he left the Senate, he turned his attention to helping consumers when he became chairman of the Consumer Federation of America. Metzenbaum is survived by his wife of 61 years, Shirley, four daughters and nine grandchildren.

A clean shave

With all the hoopla over the resignation of Eliot Spitzer and the media feeding frenzy over "who is 'Kristen?'", I have decided it is time to move on. It's time to break away from the unusual and get back to the humdrum and normal. It's time to have a clean shave. When times are full of pressure, doing something as commonplace as shaving can be a touchstone to normalcy. My very sensitive face has always had a problem with straight-edge razors. The method of shaving I have used for the majority of my life has been the electric shaver. I remember how glad I was to be raising a beard when puberty finally caught up with me at summer camp in 1969. My mom sent me a handheld power shaver that dispatched what most would refer to as peachfuzz. The battery-powered, hand-held shaver that resembled a microphone eventually gave way to hot water, shaving cream and a Gillette razor. At first I was fascinated that my beard would come back every day and I laughed along with the nation when I heard Bill Cosby's routine of his imagined athlete with "Little Tiny Hairs" making a commercial for a shaving product. It wasn't long, though, before the laughter faded and the drudgery of dragging a sharp implement with acute angles across my rounded face became a daily bloodletting. I decided to purchase a Norelco rotary system after figuring anything had to be better than the daily gouging I endured with straight razors. The system turned out to be a good choice for me and for decades I was a Norelco man. I found out some years later that because of the lift and cutting technique Norelco razors employ that they are deemed "not kosher" by Orthodox Jews. I mention this because my great-grandfather Ellis Smith was the kosher barber for the formerly very Jewish section of New Orleans along the former Dryades Street corridor. For those of you who don't know, I began keeping kosher while living in Cleveland during the weeks following Hurricane Katrina and wrote about it in the Cleveland Jewish News: http://www.cjn.org/articles/2005/10/17/news/local/kosher1015.txt . Following my return to New Orleans, I kashered my kitchen, even going so far as to blowtorch the stove I hadn't used in over a year and a half. So when my Norelco shaver began losing its capacity to render a close shave and its battery to hold a charge, I decided to investigate what other shavers were out there that would give me both a comfortable and a close shave. Almost immediately I noticed the reviews on the Internet indicated that the Braun Pulsonic and the top of the line Norelco were...uh...neck and neck. Braun is a name I trust and so I began to consider it as an alternative to the rotary system I have treasured for so long. So, in keeping with my kosher home in New Orleans, I am proud to announce that my bathroom is also kosher. I now have a Braun Pulsonic and aside from the ringing in my ears (just kidding), the shave is indeed close. I look forward to many years of smooth operation and to utilizing its "cleaning station," which is guaranteed to keep the shaving head hygenic and to recharge it regularly. If nothing else, (for a few minutes at least), with a clean shave I am renewed and I don't have to deal with the dirty and dingy dealings of the outside world.

Sins, Part 2

As a follow up to yesterday's blog on sinning, I thought I might also mention the Vatican's recent updating of their Deadly Sins list. In addition to the Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy and pride), new sins the Vatican has issued include using and trafficking mind-altering drugs, despoiling the earth or polluting the environment, social and economic injustices, and genetic manipulations, though not necessarily in that order. According to the number two man at the Vatican, Archbishop Franco Girotti, the issue most troubling to the Holy See is that which deals with bioethics in general and cloning specifically. The present Pope and his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, have both expressed their displeasure with the prospect of human cloning, but have gone out of their way to also register opposition to any future embryonic stem cell research that might involve the destruction of fetuses. This is the basic position that President Bush adhered to when he banned all embryonic stem cell research that did not emanate from what he described as "the existing 60 lines." Most researchers claim that only a small percentage of the existing lines have any real scientific potential for success. Another method that has also proven to be of research utility is the genetic engineering technique of creating a human ovum with a donated nucleus. This is called therapeutic cloning or somatic cell nuclear transfer. But because the only way to produce additional lines requires either destroying a viable human embryo or employing therapeutic cloning, pro-life advocates decry any attempts to add new lines other than to utilize the ones in which these life and death decisions had already been made years ago. The late Christopher Reeve advocated for enlarging the numbers of embryonic stem cell lines because of the great hope he and scientists saw in increasing the chances for a normal life for spinal cord injury victims such as himself. Likewise, Michael J. Fox, the unfortunate victim of Parkinson's Disease, has spoken before Congress about the possible benefits to those like himself who look to stem cell research as a possible "silver bullet." Meanwhile, advocates of cord stem cell research, a technique that does not require taking a life or genetically engineering material that has the potential for life, got a big boost yesterday when the Today Show spotlighted a hapless two-year-old victim of cerebral palsy. Doctors were amazed at the miraculous near total recovery from the disease following the mining for stem cells from his own umbilical cord. The grateful parents decided to register the birth cord just weeks before what they expected would be a routine delivery and had been reluctant to do so because the cost of $2000 associated with it was not covered by their health insurance. To read more about this incredible story go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23572206/
The Vatican's labeling of drug traffickers as sinners sounds a bit like trying to stop a charging bull with the wave of a hand. Threatening morally corrupt drug pushers with eternal damnation or excommunication seem empty gestures. If the Church truly wants to stem the tide of drug proliferation, it might not lump the distributors into the same roux as users, who have been shown to be victims of disease and not the uncaring monsters who seek out billions of dollars of profits at the expense of human lives. Greed also figures into the raping of the earth and environmentalists are probably happy that the Church decided to go "green" with its newest pronouncement of sins. Yet, aside from the United States, the biggest offenders seem to be in the two most populous countries, China and India, neither of which seems in any hurry to get its environmental act together. The influence of the Church in both countries is minimal at best. Where it may play a more significant role is in South America, but only time will tell. The ages old problem of social injustices perpetrated by the haves over the have nots has long been a problem addressed by the Church. Labeling them as rich sinners might not get them any more money on the communal plate, but might put a spark of human compassion into their already dark souls. We shall see.

The First Deadly Sin

The Ten Commandments pretty much laid out the concept of sin for me. With every "thou shalt not" I heard as a child, a new way to be be "bad," or more appropriately "evil," was made evident. When it came to foreign terms like "adultery" or "covet," I was simply told they referred to wanting things that belonged to others and that was good enough for me. Later, as a student studying Dante's Divine Comedy, I became acquainted with the Catholic version of the Ten Commandments and the Church's concept of the Seven Deadly Sins. This seemed a rather slight list, but I recognized the concept as similar in design to that of the Hebrew Ten Commandments. For the record the list in order is lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy and pride. Lust was a fairly well known term by the time I was in high school and college. As a teenager growing up in the Sixties, lust and coveting was about as close as I would ever get to adultery. This was made all the more upsetting to me because I was living in the so-called Sexual Revolution. The fact that the revolution had started without me was not lost on yours truly. But I digress. To commit adultery was specific to breaking marriage vows on either party's side. That meant to me that two unmarried partners were free to go at it as long as they could stand it or each other. Yet, the concept of lust didn't distinguish whether a marriage was involved in reckless sexual promiscuity. It said too much of a good thing was evil, pure and simple. I was glad that I wasn't Catholic, because I was sure that I would be committing more sin by volume lusting than I ever could as an adulterer or a coveter. When Jimmy Carter announced to Playboy Magazine that he had "lusted" in his heart for women other than his wife, I thought to myself "how refreshing" that a politician was admitting to his capacity to sin. The fact that he didn't act on his impulses qualified him as a person of the highest moral order in my book. Later, though, when the White House sexual romps of JFK and Bill Clinton were revealed to me, Carter seemed to be a Johnny-come-lately, if you will excuse the pun. Sexual indiscretions have been practiced by many of our top leaders beginning with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, but to their credit Franklin was a confirmed bachelor and Jefferson was indecent primarily after the loss of his wife. More recently, Louisiana had two Republican politicians involved in trysts with women other than their wives, to wit, Bob Livingston and David Vitter. Livingston, a dead-on favorite to be named Speaker of the House, resigned in disgrace when details were revealed about his indiscretions. Vitter, on the other hand, has escaped major fallout when his dallying with madams and prostitutes in New Orleans and Washington was revealed. Then again, this is Louisiana after all, and New Orleans in particular. Aside from Amsterdam and several small towns in Nevada, what other place could boast a Storyville, a "red light" district specifically sanctioned by the government for the practice of prostitution? Yet, for all of our history, it is particularly disturbing when a politician is literally caught with his pants down, especially if he is swept into office as a reformer and a person pointing accusing fingers at deviants. Eliot Spritzer, a man who should have been imbued with the Hebrew 10 Commandments as a child, seemed to be incapable of this kind of sin. As New York's state attorney general, he regularly prosecuted people of high and low stature who broke the law and seemed a clear choice to be governor just two years ago. The devastating news yesterday that Spritzer couldn't keep it in his pants prior to testifying to Congress last month seems all the more disappointing to me when one considers his past as a vigorous prosecutor of similar offenses. The question that remains is whether he will be able to save his political neck now that he has been...er...uh...exposed. Clinton was impeached, but escaped conviction, following the details of his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky. Livingston became a powerful Capitol Hill lobbyist and is making more money legitimately than he ever could while in Congress. Vitter has held onto his office, although some say his influence has diminished because of the controversy. Yesterday it was Spritzer's wife of 20 years, Silda, who took her place next to her husband in the manner that Wendy Vitter, Bonnie Livingston and Hillary Clinton had done previously. It is a shame that the wives have to shoulder the guilt of their husbands' gaffes. Perhaps this shared blame is why adultery is considered such a major sin. There is no doubt that Spritzer was guilty of both lust and adultery. Whether he will pay the price of his high office is in doubt, but he has unquestionably disappointed his family and his electorate. At present, he is a veritable glass house waiting on a shipment of fresh stones.