The Gospel According to Mel

edited for spelling/grammar, and a couple more thoughts added, on 2/27/04

"It is hard... not only for those who have faith in Jesus, but also for those who have faith in humanity, to look closely at the terror of crucifixion in the ancient world. And when one does look closely, there is always the danger of prurient voyeurism, the vicarious thrill at another's horror."

The above quote is from the excellent book Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography by Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan, who has some words to say about Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Thunderdome here.

I'm not planning on seeing it. It's not so much the "prurient voyeurism" of the violence that turns me off (although Ebert called it "the most violent movie" he had ever seen), or the focus on Jesus' death rather than his life and revolutionary message, as the shoddy Biblical scholarship. The Crossan article linked previously lists many of the problems with the film's faux realism (which is about as historically accurate vis a vis the Bible as Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights), but doesn't really touch on my biggest concerns.

My main problem (and I'm simplifying my arguments somewhat because I'm a musician scribbling in a blog, not a theologian preparing for a lecture at Harvard Divinity School): Most mainstream scholars agree that the Jews were in no way responsible for the death of Jesus. He was crucified, after all, which was a distinctly Roman method of execution at the time (if the Jews did it, they probably would have stoned him). Even if he was handed over to the Romans by Jewish authorities (which is dubious; there would have been no reason for the Roamns to get involved in an internal Jewish dispute to placate their subjects), that doesn't speak ill of the Jews as a whole... the Temple priests were largely Roman patsies. So... for the purposes of this post, Romans killed Jesus.

"But, but... the Bible says that Jews killed Jesus, and that the Roman governor Pontius Pilate didn't want it to happen!"

The "synoptic" Gospels were all written c. 70 CE or later (for the "non-synoptic" Gospel of John, dates of 90-100 CE are most likely). In other words, the Gospels were composed after the Jewish revolt in the mid-60s, and the Roman's brutal suppression of that insurrection. Christianity was poised to move from its status as a Jewish cult into the Gentile mainstream (although it wouldn't become truly "mainstream" until Constantine's deathbed conversion in CE 337). But many Roman emperors (particularly Nero) had already demonstrated an antipathy toward Christian-style monotheism. And having passages in the holy scriptures asserting Roman responsibility for Jesus' death wouldn't help Christians as they fought an uphill battle against Roman persecution. Keep in mind that a generation had passed between the events of the Gospels and the writing of those texts, so the compilers of the Gospels could slant the responsibility for the crucifixion any way they wished, and make the assertation stick.

So, Pontius Pilate is portrayed as evenhanded and troubled by Jesus' condition (while other contemporaneous sources portray him as being a dick), and the Jews (who by that time were scattered and powerless) get the blame for the crucifixion. And the legacy of that choice on the part of the Gospel authors is the presence of texts like Matthew 27:25, which have been responsible for almost two thousand years of Jewish oppression and led to some of the most awful stains on the human conscience... not the least of which is the Holocaust.

And apparently Mel "The Patriot" Gibson leaves the old "Jews killed Jesus" crap in the movie, reinforcing a discredited notion that could potentially lead to continued anti-Semitism by ignorant people. So screw him. I'll spend my moviegoing dollars on Monster.

Weapons of class instruction

Via Eschaton: Rod Paige refers to the National Education Association (the national teacher's union, of which I am a proud member) as a "terrorist organization."

This is the same Rod Paige who apparently cooked the books as a school superintendent in Houston to inflate test scores. The same Rod Paige who came under fire for saying to a Baptist group "All things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught to have a strong faith," among other things (this from the guy whose job it is to oversee public schools). Three strikes and you're out, asshole. Resign. Now.

(Paige has also referred to school vouchers as "educational emancipation". No agenda there.)

I am stunned. I'm a pacifist, which is a strike against me, and I belong to a union that a Cabinet member has deemed a "terrorist organization." If I end up on some "no-fly list," somebody is getting fucking sued.

I'm only partly kidding with that last statement, by the way.

Life in this country resembles an Onion article more and more each day.

I had a long Ralph Nader-related post in me... but environmental journalist Chris Clarke has made every point I wanted to, and more eloquently. Read his post.

UPDATE: Nader is apparently going to focus most of his ire on Bush:

"I'd go after Bush even more vigorously as we are in the next few months in ways that the Democrats can't possibly do because they're too cautious and too unimaginative, but they can pick up the vulnerabilities and the failures of the Bush administration that we point out," Nader said Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Democratic officials issued a statement Sunday saying Nader has promised [Democratic National Committee chairman Terry] McAuliffe he will not criticize the Democratic nominee, but rather focus his candidacy against the Bush administration. Nader acknowledged the pledge but said it does not mean he will refrain from criticizing Democrats if they attack him. "I'm not going to avoid responding," he said.

Good strategy.

Shocking!

First Stepford Lady Laura Bush (sorry, but I find her kind of creepy) states that for some people, gay marriage is a "very, very shocking issue."

One gets the feeling that Ms. Bush does not find the following things shocking:

1. Her husband's execution of 152 human beings as governor of Texas (for the record, I think the death penalty is bullshit, and I'll put up a longer post about it eventually);

2. Her husband's deception of the American public as he geared up for the war in Iraq.

3. Her husband's ties to Enron.

4. The ongoing Poemgate controversy.

Jenny don't change your number

And it's all over... the 867-5309 auction has apparently ended. Last time I checked, bids were getting out of control; the last one I saw for myself was $202,600. But alas, a visit to eBay reveals that an "invalid auction" notice stands where, only yesterday, folks were haggling over a one-hit-wonder's raison d'etre.

I'm guessing that there were legal issues with the auction. The new "number portability" regulations notwithstanding, it seems to me that the number really belongs to the phone company, and they probably felt that some sucker making 6 figures off of it was unreasonable.

All things considered, this was one of the greatest things I've ever seen. As the bidding rose, so did our collective spirits, ascending Icarus-like to touch the blazing sun. Granted, our wings melted as the auction abruptly ended, and we plunged back into a mundane, Jenny-less existence... but what matters is the flight.

What have we learned from this?

1. People will pay ridiculous amounts of money for the stupidest things.

2. 867-5309 was actually a pretty good song.

3. The Internet is totally great.

Just like a rainbow in the dark

I never thought I'd be endorsing a presidential candidate this early in the season.

But I've spent a lot of time researching the candidates and their opinions on the issues... and there's just one man that I feel will truly bring a gravitas back to this political office. A man who will restore our faith and hope in our nation. A man whose compassion for "the last in line" will go "straight through the heart" of all Americans.

One man. This man.

His record speaks for itself.

Jenny! Jenny! Who can I turn to?

Via this thread on MoFi: It finally happened. The owner of 212-867-5309 (the NYC version of the number forming the title of this song) has put it up on eBay. (note: link probably won't work once the auction ends)

It's been up for just over 4 days, ends on February 22, and there have already been 172 bids. With 5 days and 23 hours left to go, it's already going for $65,200.

This is where I'd say something about how ridiculous it is that some folks have this much disposable income for frivolities like a phone number, for God's sake... if I weren't so fucking jealous.

Finding an unrecognized treasure right underneath your nose is both an exhilarating and disconcerting experience.

It turns out that, for years, a first edition printing of John Steinbeck's masterpiece The Grapes Of Wrath had been sitting on my mom's bookshelf in California. It's been here with me in Florida for several months, but I didn't realize that it was a first edition until this afternoon.

Wow.

A longer post and photos can be found in my bookblog.

A while back, I got into a debate with an in-law about the presence/absence of WMDs in Iraq. I cited the work of former UNSCOM weapons inspector Scott Ritter, only to have this in-law say, "Well, he's been practically indicted for treason by the FBI." (My riposte: "You mean, exonerated."). That was the same conversation where I was told that I have a "distorted world view" that "places pacifism above world safety." Whatever that means.

Well, journalist Sean Gonsalves revisits Ritter's warnings in an article found here. Very interesting.

The above conversation occurred in December of 2002, by the way. Let the record show:

1. That I called the lack of Iraq WMDs months before the war. And I'm not a CIA or DoD analyst. Just a music teacher who reads a lot of books;

2. That Ritter (who, by the way, would have been indicted by now if the FBI's charges were anything more than politically-motivated BS) was also right;

3. That the folks with the "distorted world view" are the members of the United States' executive branch who pushed for this mindless, unnecessary war.

UPDATE: Populist author Jim Hightower rants about the WMD issue.

UPDATE # 2: Scott Ritter just had an article published on Alternet, in which he discusses the failed WMD hunt, and examines the simplistic "good vs. evil" weltanschauung embraced by the governments of the US and Britain. Find it here.

new project: bookblog

I read a lot of books. I'm passionate about music (and good enough at it to make a reasonably comfortable living through teaching and conducting), but reading is, and will always be, my first love.

So, I'm starting another blog, hosted underneath this URL: bookblog. In it, I will write reviews of every book I read this year. Since I read around 30 books last year, this is going to be a time-consuming project. At the end of each quarter, I'll also post an updated list of all the books I've read to date during the year.

I'll get back to the photoblog soon as well. I take most of my photos on the weekends, and this past weekend I was too busy adjudicating a solo & ensemble festival for the Florida Vocal Association to do any shooting.

AmLeft is rapidly becoming one of my favorite political blogs (along with Eschaton, Liquid List and Slacktivist). Today, Joe deconstructs Bush's Meet The Press appearance (transcript here).

In the comments for the AmLeft post, someone points out Bush's hubristic statement "No, I'm not going to lose [the election]." I suggested that Bush's certainty might have something to do with the Diebold voting machine mess (to recap, the voting machines are ridiculously vulnerable to hackers, and Diebold's CEO has strong Republican ties). The original poster then pointed out that three of the four major manufacturers of electronic voting machines have Republican ties (I wasn't aware of that!), and that the fourth is a UK-based company.

Hmm. 538 votes in the Electoral College. Three Republican- sympathetic voting machine manufacturers, one manufacturer in Britain. My prediction: Bush is going to win in a landslide in November, with 135 or so electors split between Tony "I sound like Terrence and Philip" Blair, David Beckham, and Busted.

UPDATE: A newish McSweeney's list/quiz... Quotes from either President of the United States George W. Bush or Senator/Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars movies.

I've been a political junkie since 1st grade or so, when I single-handedly assured Reagan's victory (it's a long story, and I'll tell it another time. Needless to say, I feel badly about it, but I was only 7 and didn't know any better). So the primary season is always a fun time, even though I usually end up hating the guy who eventually gets the nomination (Clinton, Gore).

My biggest complaints with the Democrats have historically been their wishy-washiness and their move to the political center to gain votes. I like them when they're at their most liberal (no surprise that my favorite national-stage Democrat in recent years has been the late Paul Wellstone). I also dislike their inability to fight back when the GOP attack dogs are unleashed.

So when I see a comment like this... (via Eschaton, NYT link, registration required)

Another Kerry adviser was more blunt. "This is not the Dukakis campaign," the adviser said. "We're not going to take it. And if they're going to come at us with stuff, whatever that stuff may be, if it goes to a place where the '88 campaign did, then everything is on the table. Everything."

... it gives me hope.

My checkered voting history:

1992: My first presidential election. I voted for Jerry Brown in the California primary because of his refusal to accept donations of more than $100. In the general election I voted for Clinton, mostly because the way he destroyed Bush in the debates was highly satisfying.

1996: No primary, since Clinton was running for re-election. I ended up agonizing over the vote and ultimately casting a ballot for Perot, because A) any time a third party can be strengthed I like to help it, even if its political goals are different from mine; B) Clinton's NAFTA/welfare reform/crime bill/health care rollover ticked me off; and C) insane people can be entertaining.

2000. No primary, because I was a registered Green by that point. I ended up voting for Nader (in Broward County, FL no less. Let the flaming commence!). I was not a Gore fan, even less of a Lieberman fan, and felt that voting for someone I had admired for a long time would be a refreshing change of pace. If I knew then what I know now... I can't say for certain that I would have voted for Nader, but I most likely would still have made that choice. I'm no longer interested in voting for someone I don't believe in.

Again, I'm entertaining a Kerry vote should he be nominated, but he'll have to run a decent national campaign, not take shit from the Republicans, and actively reach out to Greens rather than denigrate them (us).

Programmer/nascent writer/reasonably humorous chap Tone Milazzo posted some "excerpts from today's job postings" that are truly funny. Or, funnily true. Go visit.

My brain just exploded

Satirical songwriter Tom Lehrer once observed that "political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Prize."

I know how he feels.

The thought that Bush and Blair have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize proves that irony isn't dead.

Also via SkyNews: Bush Agrees to WMD Probe. My first vision involved something of an "alien abduction" scenario, if you know what I mean.

Of course, I think that "probing" him with WMDs is unnecessary and redundant, seeing as how he already pulled all of that "weapons of mass destruction" stuff out of his ass in 2003.