Sunday, January 03, 2021


New York Times: Tiki Bars Need 'Reclaiming' Because Racism

What a tedious, wearisome thing it must be to have to live the modern American progressive lifestyle. They truly believe that everything is awful, despite the fact that by almost every objective measure Americans are living pretty good lives even here in 2020.

One of the biggest drags on their collective psyche is the fact that they see racism EVERYWHERE. I will concede that modern American society still has some problems with racism if you look at the things that are actually, you know, racist. There is still enough of that floating around out there that nobody should have to contort themselves to see racism in places where people would normally never think to look.

Like tiki bars.

The New York Times:

"It is an unquestionably difficult time for the hospitality industry. Every day, another restaurant shutters, one more bar pulls its steel gate down for good. Since its invention, one kind of watering hole has seen America through its most grueling times: the tiki bar.

Decorated with bamboo and beach-y lights, with bartenders in Aloha shirts serving up mai tais, tiki bars were a booming part of America’s hospitality industry. “Put down your phone and put on this lei,” say the tiki bars. “Here’s something delicious in a silly mug.” They offer an intoxicating escape from the weight of the world.

But the roots of tiki are far from the Pacific Islands. A Maori word for the carved image of a god or ancestor, tiki became synonymous in the United States and elsewhere for gimmicky souvenirs and décor. Now a new generation of beverage-industry professionals are shining a light on the genre’s history of racial inequity and cultural appropriation, which has long been ignored because it clashes with the carefree aesthetic. Let’s peel back the pineapple leaves to examine the choices that created a marketing mainstay"

See? The writers even acknowledge what lighthearted fun tiki bars are, which means that they had to put in some extra effort to find something problematic.

Oh yeah, this was such an important topic that the Times had two writers involved. Their names are Sammi Katz and Olivia McGiff, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the problem isn’t that they are Pacific Islanders who are personally aggrieved.

The problem Katz and McGiff have is that the two California entrepreneurs who made tiki bars wildly popular were white guys. A lot of predictable social justice warrior filler follows. “Cultural appropriation” and “imperialism” get mentioned. Apparently “tiki” can be a trigger word too. That’s probably something that no one would know — or even believe — had this article not been written. The feature image for this post is from a bar that’s about a mile from me (I have no idea why we had it in our AP Photo archives) and I never even think of the word “tiki” when I go by there.

The article is one of those tortured modern liberal things where you can tell that they were enjoying something too much so they had to find a way to feel guilty about it:

"At its heart, tiki is about fun, creative drinks in a transportive environment. A new wave of industry professionals is reimagining these delicious contributions to cocktail culture, looking to shed the appropriation and racism that have accompanied tiki since its inception. We spoke to a few of them about the ways they’re working to shake up the biz for the better"

Read that again. The paragraph is nonsensical. It’s either really about fun or it’s really about racism. Pick one.

Food and drink don’t really need to be tied to history. I can enjoy some strudel and not be a Nazi sympathizer. I’m not saying that there may be some historical truths in the Times article, I’m saying that the popularity of mai tais isn’t responsible for problems in the region with which they’re associated.

Illegal Immigrants in Virginia to Get ‘Driver Privilege’ Cards

Illegal immigrants will be able to apply for driver privilege cards in Virginia starting Jan. 1, 2021, according to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

Advocates of the permits claim the issue is in the interest of public safety, NBC Washington reported. Virginia’s General Assembly, which has a Democratic majority, passed the legislation allowing the cards in March.

Noncitizens will be able to apply for driver privilege cards if they are a resident of Virginia; if they have reported income from Virginia sources in the last year or were claimed as a dependent; and if their driving privilege is not suspended or revoked in Virginia or elsewhere, according to the DMV.

The state-issued driver privilege cards cannot be used for entering federal buildings or boarding flights since they are not REAL ID compliant, according to the DMV. Applicants are also not eligible to receive commercial driver’s licenses or formal identification cards.

Driver privilege card applicants must provide two forms of identification and two proofs of residency in Virginia, according to the DMV. Applicants also have to show proof of their Social Security number or their taxpayer identification number and their tax return documentation.

Applicants must pass a vision test and some will need to take a two-part road knowledge exam and driving test, according to the DMV. The exams are only given in English, so applicants are allowed to have a translator present.

The driver privilege card is valid for two years and the application fee costs $50, according to the DMV.

Supporters of the permits are concerned the identification will make illegal immigrants more susceptible to detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during traffic stops, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Meanwhile, Federation for American Immigration Reform spokesman Matthew Tragesser previously told The Daily Caller News Foundation: “Giving any form of driving privileges to illegal aliens not only undermines public safety but national security as well.”

“Providing these cards incentivizes more illegal immigration, rewards law-breakers, and jeopardizes our national security, ” Tragesser continued.

The cards look slightly different than normal Virginia licenses and provide information about the illegal immigrants to the DMV.

The BBC's Lie of Biblical Proportions

Jew hatred is alive and well in Britain

In the year of the pandemic, it's no wonder that horrible things continue to come back in ways that are threatening and objectively wrong. This year, maybe because of the virus and people being stuck at home with nothing better to do, a gross lie has resurfaced as it does every year at this season, undermining truth and the foundation of Judaism and Christianity.

Each year around Christmas, efforts to propagate this malicious lie get stronger and more brazen. It’s part of a slanderous campaign of deception, whose end goal is to erase Jewish history from Israel, and Israel from the map. Denying and trying to erase the centrality of Judaism to Israel, and the State of Israel, is bad, and ridiculous, enough. But doing so also denies the origin of Christianity, and is why Jews and Christians should be alarmed and concerned.

This year, the ante was raised as the lie was spread by none other than the BBC. Yes, the British Broadcasting Corporation, a global media entity that seems to never miss a good opportunity to spread lies and malice about Israel, since the days of the good ol’ British occupation.

The BBC’s recent lie is a libel—of biblical proportions. So, what did the BBC do that was so egregious? In two different programs this month, they referred to Jesus as a “Palestinian.” It’s a lie and complete distortion of reality.

The New Testament is unambiguous, and rich with accounts of Jesus being a Jew. It describes his lineage, his participating in countless Jewish rituals, debating and preaching Jewish law, participating in worship in the Temple, and the Last Supper being a Passover seder. When one propagates the lie of Jesus being a “Palestinian,” it is not just historically inaccurate, but denies the very foundation of Christianity.

That really should be enough to disprove and dispel the lie, and prevent what one would think of as rational people from spreading it. But there are no shortage of people who have no compunction about undermining Christianity, much less advocating any hateful story about the “Palestinians,” especially if its one that discredits and blames others for all their problems.

So, if the New Testament account were not good enough to dispel the lie of “Jesus the Palestinian,” historically there’s irrefutable evidence as well. The fact is that it wasn’t until a century after the crucifixion of Jesus, in the year 132, when the Jews fought Roman occupation (known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt), that the term "Palestine” was applied to the Land of Israel. Only after the Romans defeated the Jews in 135, did they rename the Land of Israel “Palestina” to punish and humiliate the Jews. The Romans hijacked the proper Jewish (and biblical) name, Judea, replacing it with the name of an ancient enemy of the Jews as if to complete the vanquishing of the Land and the People.

So, if the name “Palestine” only came into being 100 years after his crucifixion, it is not possible that Jesus was a “Palestinian.” Period. Not only that, Jesus never would have even heard that term.

What made the BBC think that this was true, or maybe even knew it was a lie they could get away with? The reality is that since the birth of the PLO, marking the beginning of the Palestinian national movement 56 years ago this week, hijacking of truth (as well as used in terrorism) has become part of the “Palestinian” tradition. It’s also an appropriate tradition that this lie is peddled around Christmas which is also the week of the PLO’s birth in 1964.

The successor of the PLO that grants “legitimacy” to their national aspiration, the Palestinian Authority, gives voice to their national aspiration, like the PLO, not by building their own society, but by undermining Israel and its legitimacy. Accordingly, there’s very little that the PA does from inciting, celebrating, and funding terrorism, to promoting the myth of Jesus as a “Palestinian” that is not meant to undermine Israel. Over the years, Palestinian Arab leaders and the PA itself have referred to Jesus as: “the first Palestinian,” a “Palestinian messenger,” “the great-grandfather of the Palestinian people,” and perhaps most egregiously, “the first Palestinian martyr (shahid).”

I’ve written about this before, but the BBC piling on to the “Palestinian Jesus” myth brings the lie to a new low. If Palestinian Arabs (and the PA) want to be taken seriously, and equally seriously aspire to build a culture and society of their own, they would be well advised not to base their claims on fundamental lies that only serve to take down another society, not to mention the two original, and biblically based, monotheistic faiths and their adherents.

People of faith and good conscience need to use every means and media possible to debunk the lie of the “Palestinian Jesus.”

'A Direct and Severe Violation': Court Strikes Cuomo's COVID-19 Orders on Churches, Synagogues

On Monday, a panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-N.Y.) COVID-19 orders placing strict limits on houses of worship in hot spots. The 2nd Circuit panel agreed with the Supreme Court that Cuomo’s order likely does not satisfy the high standard of strict scrutiny and therefore violates the First Amendment.

“No public interest is served by maintaining an unconstitutional policy when constitutional alternatives are available to achieve the same goal,” Judge Michael Park wrote in the opinion. “The restrictions challenged here specially and disproportionately burden religious exercise, and thus ’strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.’ Such a direct and severe constitutional violation weighs heavily in favor of granting injunctive relief.”

In the 3-0 decision, the panel upheld the claims of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, the Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel of America, and two synagogues. The ruling enjoined Cuomo’s October 6 order capping attendance at “houses of worship.”

Cuomo capped attendance at either 10 people or 25 percent capacity, whichever is lesser, in “red” zones, and 25 people or 33 percent capacity in “orange” zones, even in buildings that seat hundreds.

While previous rulings had supported Cuomo’s order, the Supreme Court granted an injunction against the order by a 5-4 majority.

“In light of the Supreme Court’s decision, we hold that the Order’s regulation of ‘houses of worship’ is subject to strict scrutiny and that its fixed capacity limits are not narrowly tailored to stem the spread of COVID-19. Appellants have established irreparable harm caused by the fixed capacity limits, and the public interest favors granting injunctive relief,” the 2nd Circuit panel ruled.

In the opinion, Park noted that Cuomo “has not asserted that his categorization of businesses as ‘essential’ or ’non-essential’ was based on any assessment of COVID-19 transmission risk.” He also argued that Cuomo did not use data or compare religious worship with “essential” activities.

Cuomo has claimed that the Supreme Court’s ruling had no practical effect because some restrictions were lifted as COVID-19 outbreaks eased.

Avi Schick, a lawyer for Agudath Israel, said Monday’s decision “will be felt way beyond the COVID context. It is a clear statement … that government can’t disfavor religious conduct merely because it sees no value in religious practice.”

Randy Mastro, the diocese’s lawyer, said the diocese was “gratified,” and will welcome parishioners to mass “under strict protocols” that keep them safe.

***************************************

My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com TONGUE-TIED)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://john-ray.blogspot.com (FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)

*****************************************

No comments: