Pilu Velver (Velvet Vulva). Melissa McCarthy. Men in drag: Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason. Bugs Bunny. NYPost to DJT: Drop Dead. RIP: Judy Heumann.
Newsletter 136 March 30, 2023
ISRAEL-PALESTINE
*Netanyahu didn’t freeze the judicial overhaul in good faith, he was the butt of a shakedown. Itamar Ben-Gvir, National Security Minister & ace extortionist, got his own National Guard in return for letting Bibi kick the can down the road. The chaos continues.
* In this APN webinar, Lior Amihai, Executive Director of Israel’s Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) deconstructs “the four forces pushing for their own interests” during this time of upheaval. One of the chief objectives behind the coalition’s drive to weaken the judiciary is to free the government to build more settlements and eventually annex the Occupied Territories. Through it all, Israel keeps committing grave violations of Palestinian rights and committing or inciting violence against them. And here’s a portent of the Knesset’s creeping religious authoritarianism: They already banned chametz (bread, leavened products, pastry) from Israel’s hospitals on the 8 days of Passover, reversing a Supreme Court ruling. I repeat: chaos.
WOMEN
*Before Women’s History Month bows out tomorrow, you’ll want to watch this ebullient video which synchs revolutionary lyrics in the mouths of women from history, science, pop culture, works of art, resistance movements, and ordinary life. Song starts at 0.46 on timeline. (“PiluVelver” = “velvet vulva” in colloquial Spanish.)
*From Apr. 17-May 22, Rabbi Jessica Lenza, AKA the Rebel Rabbi, will teach a course at The Streicker Center, “Bad Girls of the Bible” that sounds like a delightful, provocative, much needed corrective to the tepid stories of our foremothers.
*A great social justice pioneer died this month: Widely viewed as “the mother of the disability rights movement and a badass,” Judy Heumann, 75, an indefatigable activist was instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Without Judy, we wouldn’t have laws mandating equal education for disabled people, handicap accessible buildings, bathrooms, and parking spaces, cuts in sidewalk curbs (that also make it easier to navigate baby strollers), and other accommodations that permit differently-abled folks to participate in public life. Once expected to stay unseen and unheard, Judy took the spotlight, taught lawmakers to see the world through her eyes, and made them change it for the better.
* You absolutely must see Judy in “Crip Camp,” the funny, illuminating Oscar-nominated documentary about the now-shuttered summer camp that made it possible for people like her to be themselves.
SEX AND GENDER
*Melissa McCarthy posted a viral defense of drag on Instagram, pointing out that males dressed as females has been a staple of mainstream entertainment for years. See“50 Movies With Men in Drag.” i.e.,“Some Like it Hot,” “Birdcage,” “Tootsie,” “Hairspray,” “La Cage Aux Folles.” Other cross-dressers include the venerable Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, and Wallace Beery. Also Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, Porky Pig, and Sylvester the Cat. Somehow millions of kids watched those characters plus Bugs (Good Bunny) who wore stereotypically female outfits in at least 40 films, without our parents worrying about us getting “brainwashed.”
Comedians Jackie Gleason (L) & Bob Hope above
*I’m not a psychological reductionist but you gotta wonder why conservatives are in such a panic. Right wing manhood must be pretty shaky if it can be unmoored by some guy in a feather boa and false eyelashes.
POLITICS
*The headline above is the only thing that could get me to reproduce a cover of NY Post. That plus an editorial inside Murdoch’s rag calling DJT deranged & unelectable.
* “In a single night last month, Kevin McCarthy raised an astounding $12.3 million from a collection of donors from Big Pharma, the fossil fuel industry, and other corporate interests,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). “We have a terrible system of campaign finance that has allowed the rich and powerful to buy off our elections ever since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC”. This year, and every year since 2013, Schiff has introduced a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supremes’ ruling 88% of Americans want to want to reduce the influence large campaign donors wield over lawmakers. So where’s the groundswell? It starts here.
BOOKS
If you have an old Jewish book lying around the house unused or uncherished consider submitting it for auction. A 100-year-old Passover Haggadah that sold for $100 at a Brooklyn bookshop fetched $5,500 at auction in 2021.
*A Texas minister actually wants kids to read a book that discusses rape and incest. Is Joanna Fontaine Crawford, crazy? No, she’s Christian.
* Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, co-author of the 1970s bestseller, The Jewish Catalog, has written a powerful new book Judaism Disrupted: A Spiritual Manifesto for the 21st Century. Sample: “Judaism does not exist to make God happy nor is it a method to get rewarded by God with a trouble-free life. The purpose of Judaism is to help us live our lives to the utmost. It is about bringing goodness into our lives and into the lives of everyone we meet. It is about bringing justice to people we will never meet but with whom we share this planet.” (See Abigail Pogrebin interview him on JBS.)
SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION
*Berkshire Magazine interviews me about women’s rights, feminist seders, Ms. magazine, an my memoir, SHANDA. (The pix of me from the ‘60s probably should have stayed in our family album.)
*Some have asked for a list of my book talks in April. Join me if you can.
PURE PLEASURE
*I’m a sucker for protectiveness and lovingkindness whatever the species.
*Also gentle affection such as Poppy gives Gertrude, and v.v.
*For creative caregiving, try this. For twins, you’ll need two roller carry-ons.
*Cross species Yoga is nice, too.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
RAMADAN MUBARAK. May this holy month bring contentment to your heart.
HAPPY EASTER. May you pull a rabbit out of your hat and have a happy day.
CHAG PESACH SAMEACH. May the seder’s maror (bitter herbs) be the only bitterness on your personal plate for the foreseeable future.
Top ten signs that you might be at a Republican seder:
10.They refuse to answer the four questions without a subpoena. 9.They demand a recount of the ten plagues. 8.They defend not increasing the minimum wage on the grounds that according to Chad Gadya it still costs only two zuzzim to buy a goat. 7.The afikomen is hidden in the Cayman Islands. 6.They refuse to open the door for Elijah until they see his immigration papers. 5.They attack Moses for negotiating a deal with Pharoah because why would we negotiate with our enemies? 4.They don't understand why the Egyptians didn’t cure the plagues with hydroxychloroquine. 3. They omit the parts about slavery from the Haggadah because it reminds them of Critical Race Theory. 2.They keep saying “when do we get to the miracle of the Jewish space lasers?”1. They end the Seder by saying "Next year in Mar a Lago.”
And if the Orange One is indicted: DAYENU!
Thanks for sharing my Top Ten list. I'm the author! I'll be coming out with an updated version on Sunday, so if you or anyone else want to see it, let me know and I can add you to my weekly newsletter list. Here's last year's version (with attribution), which includes a link to sign up for my newsletter. https://twitter.com/stevesheffey/status/1515067775731081222?s=20&t=mfP9fzNzIECU7CFx2qHQVg