London in New York

Rabbi Fame Whore Shmuley Boteach Takes Politically Expedient Cheap Shot at Whitney Houston on Eve of Jersey Girl’s Funeral Service

This week New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced his decision to have the flags lowered to half mast at government buildings in New Jersey on the date of Ms. Whitney Houston’s service at the New Hope Baptist Church where Newark’s own Whitney Houston got her start as a gospel singer. The publicity mad and egomaniacal Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, otherwise known as “America’s Rabbi”, a man who many consider a spiritual huckster in the same vein as some of America’s prosperity preachers, albeit the Jewish version, adept at ‘Hakn a tshaynik’ to stir up controversy to sell books, posted some ill timed commentary on the Huffington Post that flags should not be flown at half mast for ‘a pop singer’ but only for soldiers and then highlighted Ms. Houston’s battles with addiction.

In taking a shot at a Jersey Girl on the eve of a funeral service in her honor,Schmuley exhibited only his own moral irrelevance as a spiritual man relative to the moral clarity of a suited man, who happens to sit in New Jersey Governor’s office — on top of a big pair of balls no less. The Rabbi may want to remember that, in the words of Tony Montana (Scarface):  “Amigo, the only thing that gives order is balls. “  Governor Chris Christie has them. The Rabbi clearly does not. He joined the chorus of the small minded for political gain. Rabbi Famewhore should have remained silent and observed the love given by Kevin Costner at her service.

Ok, I will say it. If Whitney Houston were a prominent Jewish man rather than a gospel singing Christian black woman who battled with addiction, would ‘the fameball‘ and Orthodox Jewish Rabbi have issued a different opinion or insulted her family while they were sitting Shiva? Did he consider first the feelings of those who would come to honor and pay tribute to Whitney, both friends and family, at the New Hope Baptist Church? I do not think so, he thought first of distinguishing himself in the public eye on the eve of his upcoming congressional race in New Jersey before exhibiting humanity to a woman who was a local treasure and rose out of Newark’s church community.  This is what happens when a fame seeking rabbi, posing as a  spiritual man who never met a microphone that he did not want to slobber on,  aspires to political office, as a Republican Congressional Candidate in New Jersey,  he is tempted to engage in this type of verbal mishagas undermining the stature, dignity and humanity of a black woman.  In such case he must trot out the cliche that only soldiers deserve a certain kind of honor and maybe perhaps those who are black pop artists who suffered from addiction are somehow less entitled to our humanity.

Are those who go through the journey of and through ‘the dark night of the soul’, who suffer from addiction, and who meet their maker sooner than expected somehow less worthy of honor, humanity or dignity?  Let me assure you, they are no less worthy.  You need not be a rabbinical scholar or study the Torah to know that.  In this world, we crush, kill and destroy with a vengeance but love, adore and admire with reluctance. My friends that must change.  Houston was in effect gunned down on the battle field of life. Would she be more worthy of dignity had she died in an unrighteous war, gunned down in the hills of Afghanistan?  Governor Chris Christie’s courageous and righteous decision to honor Whitney Houston who was arose from humble gospel singing Newark roots to international prominence, was not only bold and brave but also exhibited moral clarity whereas the ‘Publicity Mad and Egomaniacal Rabbi Schmuley Boteach’, the allegedly spiritual man, offered precisely the opposite, verbal DREK or what some might consider pseudo intellectual indifference.  You expect more from those who pose as learned men of the cloth but then again you understand when said individual is one who morally pontificate’s for profit and aspires to the halls of Congress.  Many of our prized and forgotten citizens can use a little more love free of rationalized judgments, especially those of an opportunistic rabbi, one whose favorite charity seems to be himself.

LINKS
-Whitney Houston Sings the National Anthem –Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl
-Illuminati – The Music Industry Exposed
-The Vigilant Citizen: Whitney Houston and the 2012 Grammy Awards Mega-Ritual
-The Christian Post: What Satan Has to Do With Whitney Houston’s Death
-The Hollywood Reporter: Christian Bale’s Bizarre ‘American Psycho’ Whitney Houston Tribute Revived Online

NJ GOVERNOR SERVES AS AMERICAN ICON’S FINAL BODYGUARD — Politically Small minded Rabbi Engages in Pseudo Intellectual Mishagas

A Facebook application today on my friend Anna Ogle’s page, led me to a site where I was made aware that on the day I was born, the song He’s A Rebel by the Crystals was Number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Charts in America. Ironically enough, I always liked this song but never understood why. According to Wikipedia:

“The song is about a girl in love with a young man who spurns society’s conventions. Despite his being misunderstood by others, the singer claims that he is sweet and faithful, and she vows to be the same towards him.”

As much as it all makes sense to me now, I wonder about the Twilight Zone where pop culture intersects with human destiny; in particular my own.

Although I am not suggesting that Phil Spector wrote this song about me, I wonder if I may have heard this song in the womb with no view,  shortly after my arrival into the free world at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York in 1962 or in my mothers arms in our Doo Wop Shop in Kew Gardens.  I was born under a Democratic President, who was a rebel in his own right, one who may have paid a tremendous penalty for daring to tell the truth, costing him his life and the opportunity to continue to lead his country. Before my mother passed away in 2011, she advised me to follow my own truth. Here I am.

See the way he walks down the street
Watch the way he shuffles his feet
My, he holds his head up high
When he goes walking by
He’s my guy

When he holds my hand, I’m so proud
‘Cause he’s not just one of the crowd
My baby’s always the one
To try the things they’ve never done
And just because of that, they say

He’s a rebel and he’ll never ever be any good
He’s a rebel ’cause he never ever does what he should
But just because he doesn’t do what everybody else does,
That’s no reason why I can’t give him all my love
He’s always good to me,
Always treats me tenderly

“Don’t Live a Lie. This is your one life” - Miley Cyrus on Liberty Walk.

I never thought that the day would come that I would even remotely consider quoting, listening to or making statements in support of Miley Cyrus ‘art form’ and that is itself not my being dismissive. I simply did not think she had anything of import to speak to my generation. Miley Cyrus’ latest creation is a rather effective pairing of a remix of her 2010 song Liberty Walk with footage from the Occupy Wall Street protests.  It makes a statement.

I am not saying that Miley Cyrus’ Rock Mafia will replace my affinity for rock legends like Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Queen or the Smashing Pumpkins anytime soon.  Hannah Montana, however, brought her Party in the USA straight to the OWS movement with the opening statement on her video that: “This is Dedicated to the thousands of people who are standing up for what they believe in.”    Sure I noticed that the teen idol was  adorable, insightful and funny playing Justin Bieber while hosting  Saturday Night Live, but as a middle aged man though I did notice she seems to be growing into a rather fine looking young woman, it did not occur to me that she would be capable of this type of artistic expression. Nevertheless, from a civic minded perspective, her exhibition of a social conscience  at a time where far too many are afraid to undermine their stature with the powerful, in any way, is refreshing.

I am not sure whether to be surprised that many mainstream media analysts have offered their hip, snarky critique aimed at dismissing the relevance of Miley Cyrus’ latest creation. As some mainstream media pundits ponder the sincerity of the ’slick corporate pop star’s’ controversial expression of solidarity with the Occupy movement, most failed to comprehend that the uprising in this country has been brewing for some time and that Cyrus has been in tune with it as this song was written a year for the uprising at Zuccotti Park. The simple lyrics to Liberty Walk very much match the bubbling soul of a nation that was rising to the surface despite efforts to snuff it out.   The Occupy movement did not rise up in a vacuum. In the Post 9/11 world as rather clearly laid out in the Zeitgeist movie,  the culture of distraction has been intentionally ratcheted up in high gear in America for the sole purpose of holding back the inevitable, stifling dissent with the hope of turning more of the dumb down masses into obedient sheeple, even as the Zeitgeist was shifting in America.

Ms. Cyrus deserves credit for standing on the right side of human history, regardless of what you think of her art form and regardless of the contempt for my . As was stated in the comments section on a rather odd, strangely Propanda’ish piece in the Village Voice:

“I’m no Miley Cyrus fan, but to my mind it’s a bit elitist to even criticize this video.”

I concur with that statement. Accordingly, I give her credit for taking a stand. Notably, as stated by one thoughtful individual who commented on the Village Voice piece:

“The only thing I’d like to question here is the move to examine the song via Cyrus’s possible sincerity, because ultimately, I think the question is besides the point, and would guess that 95% of that co-option of dissent was totally sincere; as was, say, the Third Eye Blind song ['If there ever was a time'] and Jay-Z’s Occupy All Streets t shirts. And while Miley Cyrus may not personally profit from this song, it remains opportunistic when considered structurally, as an attempt (albeit totally sincere) by—whatever you want to call it: the culture industry, the 1%, Disney, etc.—to enter a space from which it had been deliberately excluded.’

So many mainstream artists, who are well paid contributors to the culture of distraction, have literally NOTHING of import to say. And that says more about where those selfish whores stand. Obviously they want to continue to get paid.  I do, however, expect more critical analysis from the Village Voice than to dismiss her as an artistic simpleton whose creations in this case were likely motivated by rather  ‘vague, ill informed leftist beliefs.’  Norman Mailer would have wiped his rear end with that piece of mainstream propaganda and told the writer to go f$#!k yourself, likely right to his face.  My critics be damned, even the Young Manhattanites. If most of the people who read this page truly understood how deeply corrupt the unholy alliance is between Wall Street and Government, there would be people hanging in the streets of Lower Manhattan and Police would be storming the Capitol in Washington, D.C. with riot gear to rip the immoral charlatans from their smug indifferent perches of power where they piss all over the hopes and dreams of the American people.

Too many Illuminati Artists dare not criticize the very corporate elites who enable or fund their continued existence with their elaborate networks.  The rise of the Police State is the civil rights issue of our time but some folks like Jay Z have nothing to say because he is an insider with the very people that this movement attacks.   He is too freaking busy gettin paid to say jack shit.  So even as she brings her Party in the USA to the Occupy Movement, Miley may wish to note that while many have their hands up, it is not because “a Jay Z song is on.”  Miley Cyrus may be opportunistic but she may also have bigger balls than a whole class of Illuminati Artists who linger in silence. TUPAC would never have been as silent as Jay Z which tells you all you need to know about the dark agenda of the forces pulling the strings behind the scenes.

And I don’t want to be how they want me to be
I don’t want to be how they want me to be
You don’t want me to be how they want me to be
I don’t want me to be how they want me to be
-Best Coast, ‘How They Want Me to Be’ (2011)

In recent months, I have been listening to a group called Best Coast. I am hardly one of their earliest fans. Truth is that I had become weary of the American music scene over the last decade, or at least that being proffered by the Illuminati controlled music business which has served as the culture of distraction as our people have descended into the economic abyss. What was once a vibrant hip hop movement that dared ask questions about the course of humanity, the elevation of the righteous, the empowerment of and elevation of the humane and decent rather than the satanic, was hijacked by the hip-pop movement. The music no longer matches the times as it once did in other era’s like the 1960’s.  It seeks to mask the pain of the present human condition, not to soothe it but to disable the creativity and evolution of the human spirit.

Best Coast has an addictive sound that is so present day but yet makes me teary eyed for the alternative music scene of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and for the experiences that I had during America’s last great decade before George W. Bush became President and all hell broke loose in America. Best Coast brings back my nostalgia for that bygone era of musical creativity where we could sit back and listen to talented folksy artists who weaved poetically a portrait of the American experience that was like a veritable slice of modern day Americana or a Norman Rockwell painting. When I listened to the lyrical poetry of California based singer Beth Cosentino on ‘When I’m with You’ the vibe was reminiscent of what seemed like a lazy mexican summer in the go go 1990’s, driving to the beach in East Hampton, New York with my own little Go-Go by my side. Her smiling face framed by her golden locks, Persol sunglasses and pearly white grin is forever etched in the historical files of my life, forever ‘wishing I was [her] boyfriend.’ “I wish [s]he was my [girlfriend] I wish [s]he was my [girlfriend] I’d love her to the very end But instead [she's] just a friend.”

Many will recall that period before innocence was lost. The darkness which the mainstream illuminati controlled music industry brought over our land through the endless marketing of and control of the airwaves with music devoid of any soul, cultural insight or humanistic reflection masked our descent and the camouflaged for many what was truly happening in America. The emotional and intellectual bankruptcy of this so called ‘artistry’ only served to shield the people from the similar hollowing out of America’s soul at a higher level.

If the Cranberries, the Breeders and the Pixies had children who grew up at the beach they would be Best Coast. Their sound is classic yet original with a melodic wizardry that never grows old and seems otherwise timeless. I am no music critic, nor do I mean to suggest that there are not many talented in America’s music scene today, but that maybe perhaps we might need to evolve past the glorification of hip-pop mogul Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye et al etc. and look to the voices and sounds of the truly independent artists who seek less to whittle down  American consciousness as they attempt to ‘Run This Town’ and likely run you down for the sole purpose of fattening of their own bank accounts and inspiring you to pledge your allegiance to their cult of greed and indifference and  get ‘all black everything, black cards, black cars, black clothes’.  F$%@k that!

Best Coast and the rise of alternative and indie artists like Jenny Electrik (Facebook Page, Green Bus Tour), who I discovered through my nephew,  is what makes me hopeful about the American music scene, so hopeful that maybe I too can inspire you to seek out the positive independent voices in contemporary music, use your disposable income on iTunes wisely and get off the crack idol worship of Satan’s children that has for too long now been  force fed into our stream of consciousness. Get off ‘The Feed’