Saturday, February 2, 2008

An open letter to U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman

I am a Jew and proud of it. I attended Temple Beth Sholom classes, youth group and Hebrew instruction for most of my school years. I also was privileged to be able to spend a wonderful year in Israel.

However, I take high offense at your opposition to recognition of Christmas in its significance in the form of your "no" vote to House resolution 847.

Yet you supported the Oct. 2 resolution to recognize Moslem and Hindu holidays of Ramadan and Diwali, respectively.

I hope you recognize that our constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. I hope further that you recognize that we are guaranteed freedom of expression of our religions. I know that you do.

I feel that in these times, we are laboring under the tyranny of political correctness and you may be a victim of this as well.

Why allow some religions free expression and support from our government while denying it to others like Christianity. I am disappointed that a vital and progressive representative like you would even think towards this end.

Elizabeth M. Robbins
Bayside

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

being a person of Jewish descent, myself, I have to say that Jews are the only ethnic group on the planet who seem to take particular delight in attacking one another, instead of banding together in solidarity as other religious and cultural groups do. What the hell is wrong with my people, in this regard? Is there some sort of masochistic tendency within our genes?

georgetheatheist said...

Ken: "banding together in solidarity"?

Have you ever heard of Irish Catholic vs Irish Protestant, Sicilian vs Milanese, Prussian vs Bavarian, Hutu vs Tutsi, Apache vs Comanche, American vs Caribbean Black?

Let me draw the line in the sand, Ken: when you look in the mirror, who do you see? Ken, the individual, or Ken, a member of the Hebrew people?

georgetheatheist said...

On Spanish-language radio here in New York, they have fights over what kind of music is to be played.

The Puerto Ricans want Salsa.
The Dominicans want Merengue.
The Columbians want Cumbia.
The Mexicans want Ranchera.

Anonymous said...

Civil wars are always the nastiest of conflicts.

Anonymous said...

thanks George. :)
(May have to start washing my mirror with Windex instead of quickly scrubbing it down with a soapy towel which leaves streaks.)

Anonymous said...

Who cares about Christians - just another step in throwing out mainstream culture (no surprise, since after multiculturism they send the message they don't respect themselves)

But all these exotic minorities respresent prime tweeding territory.

The problem is it ain't gonna work. You will lose the middle class and the tweeded, never expected to put down real roots, will drift elsewhere.

Like mainline churches embracing minorities (spanish vs irish/italian, etc), the newcomers will not stay and the old ones, feeling marginalized, will leave.

The clubhouse, like so many old institutions, is hollowing itself.

Anonymous said...

Mommy, Is the man in the photo the big balloon that got lost in last year's Thanksgiving parade?

Anonymous said...

At the risk of sounding ignorant, I must ask if anyone can explain to me exactly what "tweeded" means? From reading alot of these posted stories and comments, I am getting a vague idea of what it includes, but can anyone here fill me in on the specifics of the word? I have only ever seen it on this website, so I wonder if it was coined by someone here, or if it is word used in general language that I have never heard before. My guess is that it might be a political inside word, stemming from Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall. Any information would be appreciated. I just want to know what the word means before I even think of using it.

Anonymous said...

not entirely sure, myself, but from what I can tell tweeded seems to mean a group that's exploited and manipulated by politicians, under the guise of helping them out.

Anonymous said...

Watch 'Gangs of New York' and it should be clear.

Anonymous said...

Go to http://www.wikipedia.org

and enter "William M. Tweed"
and it should all become clear!

Anonymous said...

Here are some lines of text, Gary, from the movie. Any of this sound familiar?



Boss Tweed: That's the building of our country right there, Mr. Cutting. Americans aborning.
Bill the Butcher: I don't see no Americans. I see trespassers, Irish harps. Do a job for a nickel what a nigger does for a dime and a white man used to get a quarter for. What have they done? Name one thing they've contributed.
Boss Tweed: Votes.

Boss Tweed: The appearance of law must be upheld, especially when it's being broken.

Boss Tweed: We're burying a lot of votes tonight.

Boss Tweed: Remember the first rule of politics. The ballots don't make the results, the counters make the results. The counters. Keep counting

Boss Tweed: You may or may not know, Bill, that everyday I go down to the waterfront with hot soup for the Irish as they come ashore. Its part of building a political base.

Killoran: Monk's already won by three thousand more votes than there are voters.
Boss Tweed: Only three? Make it twenty, thirty. We don't nee a victory. We need a Roman triumph.

[as Monk McGinn runs for Sheriff]
Boss Tweed: That man was right born for this.
Amsterdam Vallon: He's killed 44 men, and laid low a couple hundred more.
Boss Tweed: Is that right? We should have run him for mayor.

Boss Tweed: Bill, I can't get a days work done for all the good citizens coming in here to harass me about crime in the Points. Some even go so far as to accuse Tammany of connivance in this so-called rampant criminality. What am I to do? I can't have this. Something has to be done.
Bill: What do you have in mind?
Boss Tweed: I don't know. I think maybe we should hang someone.

Boss Tweed: You're a good one for the fighting, Bill. But you can't fight forever.
Bill: I can go down doing it.
Boss Tweed: And you will!
Bill: What did you say?
Boss Tweed: I said, you're turning your back on the future.
Bill: Its not our future.

Anonymous said...

This is all really ridiculous. Do you really see the demise of Christianity or any other religion because of a vote for or or against a resolution in Congress? Get real.

Anonymous said...

Well then it stands to reason that his vote against the measure on the "separation of church and state" grounds is equally as ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Gary is just anti Gentile!

Maybe they didn't turn out enough in numbers
to vote for him in the past.

Anonymous said...

That bloated pig we've got for a Congressman
WOULD INDEED
make a great Macy's Parade balloon!

Too bad there are no term limits for the likes of him.

I'd like to see him filled with helium.

Ooops....no need.....I forgot
he can ascent to the skies on his own hot air!

Connie R said...

I don’t have time for movie talk. He's been in office for too many years, far too long. Time to retire him already. Throw the bum out!