Pontiff, President. & Prime Minister 2 Visiting Dignitaries

 

IT IS INTERESTING HOW THE MUSLIM* president of the U.S. receives two different heads of state.

* According to Islamic law, a child's father determines if he child is, or is not, a Muslim. The president's father was a Muslim, ergo his son also is a Muslim. When he is denying the fact, he was a 20-year habituate of the anti-American preacher the "Rev" Jeremiah Wright.

When the leader of the world's richest country - much of those riches pillaged from other nations - comes to visit the U.S., the president rolls out the red carpet and goes to greet the visitor at the guest's plane, with full pomp and ceremony.

When the prime minister of America's only proven ally in the Middle East visits the U.S. he is ignored by the White House. "No soup for you."

When the guy in the white kippa (a/k/a skull cap or yarmulke) hits town, he is invited to speak to a joint session of Congress, and the president - and his "finally proud of my country" spouse - will be attendance.

COMPARE THIS with the outrage displayed when the prime minister of Israel was invited by the same Congress to address a joint session.

I wonder what percentage of Catholics voted for the president in his first and second terms. I know a large percentage of Jews cast their ballots for the man, even in light of his relations with Israel and its Arab neighbors (recall the results of the president's highly touted "Arab Spring").

Perhaps knowing how the president left the prime minister cooling his heels while he went off to his own dinner, the pontiff wisely elected to dine at a Catholic charity kitchen in the District. This despite the fact that the president publically honors the pope's religious holidays with egg rolls on the lawn and massive trees in December - both paid for by the taxpayers - even those who aren't Christians (e.g., agnostics, atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and others).

The visitor from Vatican City may be a bigger thorn in the president's side than the prime minister of Israel. According to CNN Pope Francis urged the United States not to turn its back on undocumented immigrants, to reject the victimization of religious and ethnic minorities, to overcome income inequality, and to save the planet from climate change, citing Scripture and the nation's founding ideals in a historic address to Congress Thursday (September 24 2015)

Interestingly, the president - who bowed low to both Japanese and Saudi royalty, barely nodded to the leader of approximately 1.2 billion people worldwide. Islam, by comparison, has approximately a "mere" 1.57 billion followers which may explain the difference between a nod to the pope and a bow to the Saudi king.

Opuscula Politicians' And Opinions

 

EVERYONE - EVEN POLITICIANS - ARE ENTITLED to their opinions. Voters may not LIKE a politician's opinions, but until they express themselves, how are we to judge them?

BEN CARSON & MUSLIMS Dr. Ben raised the liberals' ire and raised conservative eyebrows when he allegedly declared that no Muslim should be president.

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson “absolutely would not” support a Muslim president, as he told NBC host Chuck Todd in a “Meet the Press” interview airing this Sunday, according to the The Christian Science Monitor

The entire Carson Meet the Press interview is online, but be prepared to suffer a long commercial before the interview starts. The "No Muslim president" remark comes near the end of the interview.

If Muslims are precluded from the Oval Office, then why not Catholics (John Kennedy) who opponents said he would be a tool of Rome. Likewise those of other beliefs. What about Mormons? They are Christians, but not "main stream." Could a Buddhist be president; the candidate cannot claim a Judeo-Christian religious background?

MARCO RUBIO & CUBA Florida's junior senator is incensed that the incumbent has opened diplomatic relations with Cuba. Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrant parents who arrived in the U.S. in 1956. Neither of his parents was a citizen at the time of Rubio’s birth in 1971 in Miami. They did not become naturalized until 1975; however, Rubio, as a natural born citizen, IS eligible to run for U.S. president under the Constitution.

Rubio is against lifting the embargo - or having any contact at all with Cuba - because of the Castro regime's human rights policies. The question must be asked: What about China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Vietnam, and a host of other nations with human rights records as bad as, or worse than, Cuba yet the U.S. has embargo-less diplomatic relations with those countries. Somehow Sen. Rubio's position re Cuba "does not compute."

Trump on the president's credentials While "The Donald" (Trump) didn't actually SAY it, when asked if the incumbent's was (a) eligible to run for office and (b) was a Muslim, he is said (by the media) to have answered "Yes."

Trump is known for candid speech, and he also is known for saying what a lot of people believe. The incumbent is the son of a Muslim father and, under Islamic law, that makes him a Muslim. Although he claims to be a Christian, his choice of churches - with the anti-American preacher, The Rev. Jeremiah Wright - makes one wonder what "type" Christian. As for the incumbent's claim to have been born in the U.S., it took two years into his first term for a birth certificate to be provided, and according to some document experts, the provided document is "suspect."

Carly Fiorina, who often disagrees with "The Donald's" candid comments, is a candidate with whom I have personal, albeit second hand, experience. She was head of Hewlett-Packard (HP) when my Compaq computer failed. Under her tenure, customer service was more than "just talk." On the other hand, like President Nixon, I think she allowed some of her "trusted few" to do her in and that, as it did with Nixon, cost her her job. That was then; this is now, and I suspect she learned the lesson: "watch your back."

Congressional speeches and presidential welcomes The pope, the Vatican's Chief Executive Officer - as the president is to the U.S. - is to visit the U.S. He is to be welcomed by the president and he is to give a speech before the a joint session of Congress, with the president slated to be in attendance.

How different from how hot under the collar the president got when Israel's prime minister - as the pope, his country's CEO - spoke to a joint session at Congress' invitation. The Israeli was snubbed; no invitation to visit with the incumbent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; but this was hardly the first time the president has snubbed the Israeli. (On the other hand, the president traveled to Saudi Arabia where he bowed to that oppressive state's king.)

U.S. response to UN condemnation: silence For the first time, the United States may be willing to accept a United Nations condemnation of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba without a fight, The Associated Press has learned. " Merely considering an abstention is unprecedented" the article continues.

On the other hand, the U.S. has laws against Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) actions against other nations and it has full diplomatic relations with most of the nations on the lists of human rights violators.

According to the 2014 Human Rights Risk Atlas the following at the "Top 10" of nations that are guilty of human rights violations:

1. Syria
2. Sudan
3. Democratic Republic of Congo
4. Pakistan
5. Somalia
6. Afghanistan
7. Iraq
8. Yemen
9. Myanmar
10. Nigeria

Where is Cuba? It failed to make the cut for the "Top 10." There are only three (3) countries with which the U.S. lacks diplomatic relations; two are Iran and North Korea (and relations with Iran probably will be restored in the near future, despite its leaders' rhetoric). The third country is tiny Bhutan; the only embassies in Bhutan's capital are Bangladesh and India.

The Human Rights Watch report covering Afghanistan to Zimbabwe is available as a PDF document at https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2015_web.pdf

Opuscula How many ?

 

UNLESS YOU EITHER ARE (almost) a geezer(ette) or watch old movie re-runs, you can skip this entry.

Question 1: How many Marx Brothers were there? (If you answered "three," you are wrong.

Question 2: How many stooges were there? (If you answered "three," you are wrong.

The answer to the Marx Brothers query is six, albeit one dies in infancy.

1. Manfried, 1895-1896
2. Leonard Marx a/k/a Chico 1887-- 1961
3. Herbert Marx a/k/a Zeppo: 1901-1979
4. Milton Marx a/k/a Gummo: 1892 - 1977
5. Julius Henry Marx a/k/a Groucho: 1890 - 1977
6. Arthue Marx a/k/a Harpo: 1888 - 1964

Marx family, c. 1915. From left: Groucho, Gummo, Minnie (mother), Zeppo, Sam (father), Chico, and Harpo

The "How many were there" questions came to mind after watching a clip of Groucho with Gary Moore on I've Got a Secret. Harpo later had his own visit to I've Got a Secret.

Those were the days when cigarette companies sponsored programs and hosts, such as Gary Moore (January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) who died of emphysema at age 78 ere allowed, if not encouraged, to promote the product by smoking on the set. Groucho, of course, held on to his cigar.

The answer to the second question is - take your pick - 6 or 8.

The Stooges were

1. Moses Harry Horwitz a/k/a Moe, June 19, 1897 -May 4, 1975
2. Samuel Horwitz a/k/a Shemp Howard, March 4, 1895 - November 22, 1955
3. Louis Feinberg (Larry Fine) a/k/a Larry, October 5, 1902 - January 24, 1975
4. Jerome Lester Horwitz, a/k/a Curly Howard, October 22, 1903 - January 18, 1952
5. Joe Besser, August 12, 1907 - March 1, 1988
6. Joseph Wardell (Joe DeRita) a/k/a Curly Joe, July 12, 1909 - July 3, 1993
and maybe
7. Emil Sitka, December 22, 1914 - January 16, 1998
8. Joe Palma (Joseph Provenzano), a/k/a Fake Shemp, March 17, 1905 – August 14, 1994

The main Stooges were four brothers:

Moses Harry Horwitz (Moe), Samuel Horwitz (Shemp), and Jerome Lester Horwitz (Curly Howard). Louis Feinberg (Larry Fine) was an original with Moe and Shemp.

Provenzano, the "Fake Shemp" filled in for Shemp when Horowitz died during the filming of a Stooges film.

Sitka became at least an "honorary" Stooge aftere Larry had a heart attack, although when Moe died, the film in which Sitka would have played a part never was made.

 

Zeppo, Groucho, Chico, Gummo and Harpo

Marx Brothers' URLs

http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/marxes.htm
http://libertyandin-dependence.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx_Brothers
https://youtu.be/cieIsWwfQ04

Stooges' URLs

Videos
Six stooges video: https://youtu.be/5pSHcpN25uI
3 Stooges true story: https://youtu.be/FFON8EHz2xQ
Fake Stemp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6kZmBeHBk

Articles
http://6thingstoconsider.com/2011/06/19/the-six-three-stooges/
http://discovery2020.hubpages.com/hub/The-Five-Stooges-Did-I-Get-Your-Attention