Billy and Miley Sittin in a Tree

Annie Liebovitz

"That’s just my personality. I don’t get shaken or stirred up over anything. Which can be a problem sometimes. I’m just, like, so no emotions. I just don’t let things faze me. I’m very much like my dad. My dad’s like this." Miley Cyrus

Interesting article by Rebecca Traister in salon.com on the Current Cyrus Controversy. I wrote about it too earlier this week, but I have more to say. Especially in response to readers comments, including one that accused all who decry the photos of having dirty minds.

I was skeeved out by the Billy-Miley images, not because I have a "dirty mind" but because the father-daughter photos were deliberately sexualized. And because Vanity Fair, Disney and Miley's parents chose to showcase them in that context.

Of course fathers hug and kiss their daughters in complete innocence; many such loving acts are caught in family photos. But few fathers would willingly contribute to, much less allow publication of photos appearing to celebrate Daddy's Little Ho.

Look at that picture. And the others. Does that say father-daughter to you? Yeesh.

And by the way, did anybody bother to read the actual article? Even it's author is taken aback by Miley's creepy child-woman maturity.

You have to wonder about her parent's judgement beyond the photos when you learn Miley's favorite TV show is Sex and the City. And that she tries to make Hannah Montana into a SATC teen homage. Not the sex, she assures us, just the friendships.

Blech. Really. Blech.

I'm a certified Baby Boomer (we invented open sexuality, remember). But I have to draw the line at a 15-year-old watching a show that portrays believable adult characters discussing the intimate details of their sex lives and engaging in soft core porn.

Neither Miley nor any other teenager can possibly understand or process the complexities of adult sexuality and relationships -- nor should they.

Our 24 year old son grew up in an open, loving home with all questions welcomed and answered. And with plenty of hugs and kisses. But he--and I--still find it creepy and uncomfortable to sit in front of the TV together watching graphic sex scenes.

Not because there's anything "dirty" about sex. But because we're mother and son. And because he was taught the value of privacy, decency, personal space and appropriate boundaries. He's also smart and mature enough to find sexual pictures of a 15-year-old disturbing, not sexy. Especially those with her father.

Teen sexuality is out of whack in this country already. The Cyrus pictures just make the issue more glaringly real. And sad.

Parents should educate their children about sex, but not by Show and Tell. A concept the Cyrus family seems to have left behind in the trailer.

Mormon Moms and Miley

Annie Leibovitz

"There is no greater reason for children to honour parents than for parents to honour children except, that while the children are young, the parents are stronger than children." Bertrand Russell

There's an old cliche that says people will do almost anything for love or money. It seems the current trend along those lines--at least in LA and Eldorado, Texas--is pimping out children.

Every time I look at that picture of 15 year old Miley Cyrus and her father Billy Ray, I gag.

I'm no prude, but don't tell me that's art, Annie Leibovitz or not. Some things are just simply wrong ... including a photo that portrays a teenage girl waay too close to her father's Achy-Breaky Heart.

Would you pose like that with Your father? Would he sit like that with you, on or off camera? Would you sanction other half naked pictures of your teenage daughter flashed all over the media?

No. Of course not.

Miley Cyrus is a young girl in a business that chews up over-exposed teen sexpots and spits them out directly into drug rehab. At only 15 she still has a chance to grow up undamaged.

Yet instead of protecting her, Miley's parents are selling her to the highest bidder. In this case, Vanity Fair. Read the article, even it's author appears sceeved out by the Cyrus clan.

Hard to top, but Tish and Billy Ray's inappropriate parenting pales in comparison to the acts of abuse and neglect by the Stepford Wives of the Yearning For Zion Ranch in the name of religious big love.


AP Photos

We don't have pictures of their Mormon child-mothers to make us gag, thank god. The mental images are bad enough. Although, maybe that teen girl in the pink dress is the smaller kid's mother. A truly horrifying thought.

Would you send your teen daughter into the bed of a man 2-3 times her age in order to get her pregnant? Would you welcome a 14-year-old girl into your bed as your "wife" and impregnate her over and over?

No. Of course not. God, I certainly hope not.

Because 31 of the 53 teen girls between 14 and 17 who were taken into state custody from that Eldorado hellhole either have children themselves or are currently pregnant.

Do you, would you, have you ever beaten your children until you broke their bones?

Because so far 41 children have been identified as having multiple bone fractures. C'mon, you watch Law and Order. That's clear evidence of child abuse.

We don't know how badly abused the adult women of this bizarre cult may have been or for how long to have treated their own children so outrageously. Perhaps they were regularly drugged without their knowledge.

For sure they've been brainwashed. But that's no excuse.

Whether it's Miley's parents or the Mormon Moms, the adults in both real life dramas are acting like children by forcing their children to act like adults. Apparently for love or money.

Kids Sliced and Diced

"How can you sit there day after day and watch kids be victimized?" Jack Stollsteimer, PA safe-schools advocate

Stop me if you heard this: two teenage girls walk up to a bus stop on their way home from their new high school. A car squeals to a stop, a pack of girls tumble out, more girls appear from the street ... and attack the two new girls with a sharp weapon (the police don't know exactly what yet).

Not a joke. A horror story. One girl's face was sliced to ribbons. The other girl was luckier, only a few cuts. For now. It seems somebody in the wolf-ette pack doesn't like one of the new girls.

So far the police have picked up a lone 16-year-old who they say wasn't the cutter, but was there. They think somebody's mother was driving the car. They don't have the slasher in custody yet.

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In an unrelated incident, an eighth grade girl was attacked by a boy who stabbed her with a broken pencil, poked her in the forehead, slapped her in the face and choked her.

He did all that during a bullying-prevention class.

I want to know who the hell was teaching that class. The girl's parents went to the police. The school district wants to know why the principal didn't file a complaint until after the boy was arrested.

He's back in school now. His 13-year-old victim is terrified he's going to hurt her again. Or worse.

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Last but hardly least, there's the 13-year-old boy who showed up at his school armed with knives, a propane torch, a can of gasoline, a bottle of torch fluid, firecrackers and gas masks.

He tore up classrooms, terrorized students and teachers, holding them at bay with the blow torch while managing to stab a 16-year-old girl and a couple other students who were helping to subdue him.

As you might expect, he was the proverbial nice kid, perceived as just another regular student. Nobody saw it coming.

Nobody ever seems to see any of these attacks coming. And as always, I have to ask: Where are their parents???

On the other hand, all these attacks involved knives. No one was killed.

Imagine the carnage if any of these disturbed, enraged, out-of-control kids had guns.

Beauty and the Beast

"It's good to know that if I behave strangely enough, society will take full responsibility for me." Ashleigh Brilliant

If you want an example of the decline of responsibility in American culture, look no farther than Philly. Especially this week. From the ridiculous to the tragic, we've got your yin and yang news right here.

Two illegal acts, two arrests. One a tabloid dream. The other a family's worst nightmare.

Local CBS TV anchor-babe Alycia Lane was arrested in New York for assaulting a police officer during an argument between Lane's well-lubricated companions and three plain clothes cops.

Lane attacked the cops with her iPhone and some nasty words, "I don't give a f- who you are. I am a reporter you f-ing dyke."

If Alycia Lane is a reporter, I'm the Easter Bunny.

And if Djuan Boyd is a good father, I'm Santa Claus.

Mr. Boyd, a convicted gun felon and drug dealer took his son Dyshon to his grandmother's house. While the adults were downstairs watching TV, 4-year-old Dyshon found a gun in his father's coat pocket.

You know what's coming.

Little Dyshon Boyd will never become a 5-year-old. He accidentally shot himself in the neck with his father's gun. He's dead.

Djuan Boyd is now charged with involuntary manslaughter, illegal gun possession and endangering the welfare of a child.

He should be charged with murder. There was nothing "involuntary" in his negligence. He didn't "endanger the welfare" of his child. He killed that boy as surely as if he'd pulled the trigger himself.

And all you gun nuts can just shut up. You have a kid, you shouldn't have a gun. If you do have a gun, you sure as hell don't leave it lying around the house in your coat pocket. In the same room where your 4-year-old son is playing.

The man is a Beast. Inside and out.

Alycia Lane is only a Beauty on the outside. While she didn't kill anything more than some viewers' expectations and possibly her own on-air future, she showed us her inner beast.

Her behavior was stupid and ugly. Djuan Boyd's was truly heinous. In the end, they're two peas in a pod. Both too selfish, self-indulgent and self-important to care about right and wrong. Both filled with a sense of entitlement that is just plain outrageous.

Alycia Lane may pay for it with her job. Djuan Boyd's young son already paid with his life.

My Baldwin School Education

The Baldwin School

"It's the genteel anti-Semitism of the time. Jews were politely shut out of the country clubs and the higher echelons of WASP culture." Dan Wackerman

My alma mater's been in the news lately. Some parents claim a teacher mistreated their child. The school fired the teacher, who then sued. The parents counter-sued. Baldwin and the teacher just reached a settlement.

The parents who sued are Jewish. I don't know if it's relevant to the teacher's alleged attitude. Their own behavior has been over the top, so the whole thing comes down to "they said, she said." Plus, they pledged millions for a new athletic building, which blurs Baldwin's claim of impartiality.

I was a Jewish student at Baldwin in the 60's. This all brings back painful memories of what happened to me there. Blatant anti-Semitism. From a teacher. A department chair. The Headmistress. And thus, the school.

No firings back then. No lawsuits. Just a lesson in bigotry and intolerance that haunts me to this day.

The Baldwin I attended was far different. My sister and I were the only Jews in the school. Many of our WASP Main Line classmates had never met a Jew. Today Baldwin has a large Jewish population, parents active on the board and in school life.

But some things never change.

In my case it couldn't have been clearer. And it seemed to come out of nowhere.

I had a bad case of mono during Junior year. Teachers came to our home (for a fee) to help me keep up. I especially liked the Latin teacher. She seemed to appreciate my gift for languages and I thought we bonded.

So I requested her advanced Latin class for Senior year. But she was different. Cool and distant in class. Corrected my homework papers with big red slashes ... though I had made no mistakes.

Then I failed two quizzes in a row ... questions marked wrong that I'd gotten right. On the last quiz she included some new sentences I could translate into Latin to improve my grade. My father is a thief. My uncle and my aunt beat their children. Huh?

Okay, I thought, this is weird but I'll approach her in a mature way. "If I've done something to upset you," I said to her, "please tell me and I'll try to correct it."

Her answer was stunning. "There's nothing you can do," her voice was cold, dismissive. "I just don't like your kind."

At first I didn't know what she meant by "your kind."

Until she went on, "All you Jews are liars and cheats. I know you can't be trusted."

Wow. Such unapologetic anti-Semitism. From a teacher. To a student. Surely the school would intervene. Yeah, right.

I went in tears to the Senior class advisor, who said I must have misunderstood and sent me to the school's venerable Headmistress for clarification.

Rosamond Cross. A well-educated maiden lady of a certain age, straight-backed, white-haired, bespectacled, prim and proper. The perfect Protestant proprietress of an elite preparatory school for girls.

And a stone cold bigot.

Her reaction to the Latin teacher's unconscionable behavior? "Our teachers know best. You must try harder in class."

In answer to my mother's subsequent outrage, her tune didn't change. "We always support our teachers," she told her calmly. "There's nothing I can do."

Then the SAT AP scores came. I had taken French, Latin and History. My Latin score was the lowest: 651.

We appealed to the chair of the Latin Department, Mrs. Gamble, who, though bewildered, echoed the party line. "There's nothing I can do." And threw us a bone. "I'll tutor her myself this summer and make sure she passes."

Small consolation. No consolation.

There I was, an honor student in all classes ... except one. An F in Latin. Facing the shame of unwarranted summer school, not the exciting, carefree summer of transition from high school to college. My early decision acceptance to Penn put on hold. Ultimately rescinded.

There's more. Yeah, really.

I had to sit alone in disgrace at my own High School Graduation and watch my classmates march onto the stage to receive diplomas without me. A special indignity mandated by Miss Cross. If I didn't attend the ceremonies I would never receive a diploma, period.

My first day at Mrs. Gamble's house for summer tutoring. She handed me a page from Cicero to translate into English. I read it flawlessly. She said, "You've seen this before. You've practiced it."

I was so hurt and angry I wanted to scream. Throw something. Hit someone. But I sat quietly, ankles crossed, a Lady. "No Ma'am."

Three random pages later, she was finally convinced. "What did they do to you?" she cried.

I just looked at her. "Go home," she told me. "Your diploma and revised transcript will be mailed to you." As I was leaving, I heard her talking on the phone to Miss Cross. Heatedly.

Too little, too late. I spent the first half of my "freshman" year at Penn in the College of General Studies (i.e., night school for adult GED holders). Living at home. Humiliated. Frustrated. Bored to distraction.

My 4.0 grade average that first semester, new, even higher AP exam scores and --finally-- a letter from Baldwin earned me entrance as a full time Penn sophomore ... ironically ahead of my own class as a result of my quality Baldwin education.

Quality. Yeah, right.

Yes, I turned out okay. Received an advanced degree, am leading a varied and rewarding life. But you know as I know --no matter how much time passes or how great our achievements-- we never forget High School. Especially the pain.

This is the first time I'm taking this story public. All the principal characters are dead now. But their disgraceful actions will live with me forever.

OJ Simpson, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Coincidence?

"Today I feel all the weight of the modern civilized world yearning to express the revulsion at what you stand for." Lee C. Bollinger, President, Columbia University

President Bollinger is talking about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but he could just as easily be referring to OJ Simpson. Does anybody else find it interesting that two reviled stone cold killers happen to be in the news at the same time?

There's an eerie similarity between OJ and MA. They both work so hard to maintain their public faces. To be outraged when attacked. To proclaim their innocence with gusto. To explain away their actions with smarmy double talk and fake charm.

They're shocked anyone would think them capable of heinous acts. They claim some other guy did it. Or it wasn't done at all. Or, if it was done, they're appalled and they want justice.

They'll tell you America is to blame. That they just want to live in peace with their fellow men, but we won't let them. If you push them too hard, watch out, they'll fight back, charm replaced in a flash by steely defiance.

Of course OJ Simpson and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad aren't on a level playing field, politically.

OJ doesn't have a nuclear bomb, just a nuclear temper. He's not a Holocaust denier, he's just an effing liar.

We don't know OJ's views on Israel but we can guess ... he doesn't much care because it's not about Him.

Though he's not an international terrorist, OJ Simpson is still a dangerous man. He got away with murder and could do it again. He'll try anything to get what he wants. He operates with a totally self-serving set of values. And without guilt or remorse.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a dangerous man on a global scale. As president of Iran he represents a very real threat to Iraq, America and Israel.

One thing seems clear. If you believe you don't know how Ahmadinejad's mind works, you're wrong. You know. Just ask OJ.

And for the record, I was right.

Craig - Idaho's Hot Potato

"I am not gay. I never have been gay." Senator Larry E. Craig

Here we go again. Another man in power caught at the wrong place doing the wrong thing. And what else does he do? Deny, deny, deny.

Let's get one thing straight: When it comes to sexual misconduct, Everybody Lies. President, priest or power-broker, nobody wants to get caught with his pants down.

Especially sanctimonious Republicans, Evangelical Christians and Catholics who deliver self-righteous proclamations about deviant behavior they claim is against God and Nature.

It's almost always the loudest pro-life, pro-marriage, homophobic standard bearers who turn out to be doing the very things they claim to abhor.

I'm frankly sick of Senator Craig and his dirty little story ... arrested playing footsie with an undercover cop in an airport men's room. He pled it out to keep it under the radar. He should have kept his hands and feet out from under that bathroom door.

I don't care if the Senator is privately gay. I only care if he's publicly honest. And clearly he's not. His colleagues want him to resign. I agree.

There are already too many powerful men lying to the country. Especially in the craven, money-grubbing, evil Bush Administration.

When Craig goes, there'll be at least one less hot potato.

Philly Violence

Kids, Guns and a Deadly Toll - Inquirer

"He smacked her in the face three times, and she said: 'If you hit me again, I'm going to kill you.' " Tysheka Moore, witness to violence

My city is swimming in blood. Violence has become so pervasive and out of control we're beginning to resemble Iraq. Nothing and nobody seems able to stop the bloodshed.

Of course it's happening primarily in poor neighborhoods. People are killing and maiming each other every day without realizing they themselves are the ultimate victims.

Their reasons range from the tragedy of domestic abuse to the idiocy of 'you took my place in line.' But most fall under the category of no reason other than a culture overwhelmed by rage and frustration, underscored by violence.

Here's one from the tragic column.

A man and his child's mother stand in the street arguing while neighbors watch. He hits her face over and over and over.

Finally she threatens to kill him, goes inside, comes out and dares him to hit her again.

He hits her again. She slits his throat with a knife. While her children watch.

He's dead. She's gone. One child lost a father, others will lose a mother. Each by the other's hand.

According to police, it's an all too typical story. That particular night, two more people were killed, five gunned down and hospitalized, all within four hours. From the Phila Daily News:

11:38 p.m. [A] man, who already been told by the tattoo artist on several separate occasions to return when he was less busy, got angry when he again was turned away. [He] brandished a handgun and blasted ... another customer, 21 during the argument and fled.

At midnight, an 18-year-old man was shot once in the back at 40th and Market streets in University City. He remained in stable condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania yesterday.

At 12:56 a.m., a 19-year-old man was shot once in the right hip on Rittenhouse Street near Osceola. He remained in stable condition at Albert Einstein Medical Center yesterday.

Two minutes later, a 30-year-old was shot once in the neck on 23rd Street near Tasker in South Philadelphia. He remained in stable condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

At 1:34 a.m., a 55-year-old man was shot twice in the left calf on Stafford Street near Chew Avenue. He remained in stable condition at Einstein yesterday.

At 2:17 a.m., a 23-year-old man was shot once in the right foot on Louden Street near Broad in Logan. He remained in stable condition at Einstein yesterday.

Open a newspaper, turn on the news, check out the online versions, not one day goes by in Philadelphia without multiple violent crimes: shootings, stabbings, rapes, assaults, home invasions ... you name it, Philly's got it.

The latest trend is rec center violence, adults spraying bullets all over what should be urban children's ultimate save havens. In Philly, nobody's safe anywhere.

It's gotten so bad, the Phila Inquirer has dedicated a complete new section to the history, statistics, repercussions and heartbreaking stories of Philly's reign of Violence.

Btw, the Philadelphia homicide toll for 2007 is currently 259. But that will have increased before you got to this closing sentence. Because my city is drowning in blood.

Anti-Apocalypto

APOCALYPTO -- The Official Movie Website

"The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked." Proverbs 10:11

Letterman's in reruns this week so one night I flipped over to Leno. And there was Mel Gibson, big as life and just as smarmy, promoting his latest paean to blood and money, Apocalypto.

The movie's gore factor is by all accounts far over the top, even for Hollywood, even for Mel. But that's no surprise. He's proven he can do just about anything and still emerge commercially intact.

What surprises me--well, not really--is the advertising and entertainment industries' collective amnesia when it comes to morally repugnant behavior. And its self-serving, selective determination of what constitutes inappropriate subject matter.

Who wants to step up and compare the nanosecond flash of Janet Jackson's breast from afar to the up close and personal blood-letting, flaying, decapitating, agonizing scenes of death and torture portrayed with stunning, sickening, supposedly historical reality in Gibson's movie?

And where's the outrage over his own sickening behavior in the here and now?

Someone should have the guts to say, This movie is so graphically violent we refuse to join in its promotion. Plus, due to his equally abhorrent personal beliefs and behavior we don't wish to be associated with its producer.

If TV networks and newspapers nationwide joined in a boycott of Gibson's movie--no ads, no interviews, no appearances, no reviews--he'd face an uphill battle selling it.

But no. It's the same old quintessentially American response. Sex is sinful, violence has value. Yes, in the ad biz, Sex Sells. But in the world of entertainment, Violence brings Victory.

When the whole Mel fiasco happened, many pundits wondered if his disgraceful actions would affect attendance of his upcoming movie. Not moi.

Mel Gibson is offering the blood-thirsty ticket-buying public perhaps the most graphically violent movie in history. They will line up around the block to see it.

Mel and his pals will get richer.

And we, as a society will become even poorer.

Kramer, OJ, Mel - Something Wrong with That

AP File/Michael Caulfield

"You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger." Buddha

I've been pondering the Michael Richards fiasco. I wonder why the media hasn't made a bigger connection between the timing of Richards' racist tirade and the public's outraged response to the new OJ book/interview story.

Eleven years ago the OJ Simpson murder trial polarized this country along racial lines in a way not seen since the Civil Rights movement of the 60's. The media and too many people with misguided agendas turned the OJ trial into a Black versus White referendum. OJ became a lightening rod for racial division -- adding bitterness and anger to an already obscene tragedy.

Michael Richards by all accounts never made a public or private racist remark. (Someone would have come up with a clip by now.) Yet he gave voice to that same anger again. A celebrity voice. A goofy-nice-guy voice. An Angry White Voice.

It troubles me that Richards' rant, coming on the same day as OJ's return to the spotlight, was a telling example of our country's still huge racial divide. His tirade all too likely represents the inner thoughts of far too many bigoted white people.

I'm not convinced Michael Richards is one of them. Clearly he had a major meltdown. Anyone who's seen the video knows that was more than anger -- it was palpable panic. His act was bombing, he was heckled by two Black guys. Interrupted. Disrespected. It's painful to watch his frantic attempts to regain control, only to disintegrate into blind rage. He felt attacked, impotent, helpless. In response, he literally lost it.

I'm not excusing Richards' behavior. I find it sad and ironic that a rich, privileged white guy found himself in a one-time situation that has been--and often still is--a daily reality for many of the same people he chose to vilify.

To those who'd draw a comparison between Michael Richards and Mel Gibson, I say forget it. Although our laws allow them equally to express virtually any opinion in a public creative endeavor, Richards isn't in the same league, bigotry-wise.

Mel Gibson's made a career out of anti-Semitism, not to mention pots of money. He's used his celebrity, power and fortune to further the cause of hatred against not only Jews, but anyone who isn't exactly the Pure White Christian Mel claims to be.

Then one night Mel drove drunk and spewed in real life to real police officers what he's so insidiously put into his films. His actions--and possibly his words--broke the law.

Michael Richards made a career out of being a likeable doofus. One night he was doing a comedy routine. Ask scholars who've studied the work of Lenny Bruce. Like it or not, Richards was within his First Amendment rights to make despicable racist remarks.

But bigotry isn't what's wrong with Richards. The video shows a man enraged beyond reason, anger-locked, lacking all impulse control, self-destructive. During his bizarre turn on Letterman he appeared drugged, as if on tranquilizers or anti-depressants.

Michael Richards should apologize to the Black community, but in the end it won't much matter. He's a sad, one-note comedic actor with very little career to rehabilitate. The best outcome for him is to get help and rehabilitate himself.

OJ Did It, Murdock Did Too

"All of journalism is a shrinking art, ... So much of it is hype. The O.J. Simpson story is a landmark in the decline of journalism." Dick Schaap

As much as I believe OJ Simpson is guilty of murder, and as much as I deplored the idea of his latest assault via a graphic book, I also believe halting its publication was a big mistake.

Why?

Hello? We live in America. Not Nazi Germany. Not present day Iran or North Korea.

We have a United States Constitution and a Bill of Rights which guarantees us--ALL of us--certain Inalienable Rights. One of the most precious is Freedom of Expression.

Any time I hear a publishing house announce that printed copies of any book "will be destroyed" I get the willies. Bigtime.

Let's not get into the merits of "If I Did It." OJ's a scumbag, but once he became a published scumbag, his work should have become inviolate.

No book should be destroyed as a result of public pressure.

Of course OJ's not in the same league--or planet--with the genuine literary lights of this or any other century. Yet remember how many books of Henry Miller, William Faulkner, Truman Capote (In Cold Blood is particularly relevant here) and literally hundreds, if not thousands more authors were burned.

Wrong. Dangerous.

We are free to read and therefore learn from Hitler's anti-Semitic, anti-social ranting in Mein Kampf. From Chairman Mao's anti-Western "Little Red Book", a veritable paean to rigid repressive Communism. The abusive, perverted, cruelties and barbarism in the erotic writings of the Marquis de Sade.

OJ Simpson isn't in de Sade's league ... wait, maybe he is. But we'll never know if his publisher withdraws and destroys his book as an empty PR gesture. In a sense, how very American. Respond to potential commercial ruin by caving to public pressure.

Which brings us back to Rupert Murdock, who never met a piece of trash he couldn't squeeze for every dollar. His pulling of OJ's book wasn't based on sensitivity to the victims' families.

It was all about profit motive. Murdock decided it would be a commercial failure after a huge public outcry over its publication.

I think Murdock was wrong. Everybody claimed to be sickened by OJ but--surprise!--his trial was watched by millions. It became a huge commercial success, a windfall for Court TV, network news and print journalism here and abroad.

People would have bought and read OJ's book too. Especially if Murdock made sure all the profits went into a fund for the Goldman family, who successfully sued OJ in a civil trial and won a large judgement he hasn't yet paid.

If not through the book, OJ will pay some other way. Mark my words, he and the book will be back.

OJ - A Real Pain in the Neck

"Fame is but a slow decay, Even this shall pass away." Theodore Tilton

If you've ever had surgery, you probably don't remember the exact date -- unless it was a C-section and thus a child's birthday. My husband had cervical spine surgery a long time ago, but we'll never forget the date. Here's the back story and the reason why.

One Thursday evening some years back my husband noted that his shoulder hurt. He's a pretty tough guy, rarely complains about anything, but I could see the pain on his face. Still, I had to put my foot down just to make him take some Advil.

After a rough night I insisted he see his doctor. The doc thought it could be bursitis and gave him a stronger anti-inflammatory.

Saturday the pain was worse and had moved down his arm. A call to the doctor's answering service netted a prescription for Tylenol with Codeine, plus instructions to increase the anti-inflammatory and come in for more tests on Monday.

By Saturday night he was really hurting. Bad. Shoulder, arm, upper back. If you have a husband, especially one who's rarely sick, you know how really mature they can be when something's wrong ... NOT. His complaining was so relentless I finally gave him two Valium and a big water glass filled with wine.

Finally, peace. Until the next morning. He was in agony. Couldn't feel his fingers or move his arm. I realized this wasn't a grown man being a big baby over nothing. A friend helped me take him to the local ER.

Ah, the beauty of morphine. They also took X-rays--which showed a possible muscle spasm--gave him a script for Vicodin, scheduled an MRI Monday morning to rule out anything serious -- and sent us home.

The Vicodin kept the pain at bay, but just barely. It was a long, long night. Monday we went for the MRI in a building conveniently located across the street from the hospital. And just like that, convenient became life-saving.

If you've had an MRI or any medical scan you know the drill. They do the test, send you back to the waiting room while they make sure the films came out okay and then tell you to go home, you'll hear from your doctor after he gets the results.

When they wheeled my husband out of the MRI on a stretcher with his neck immobilized in a big brace I knew it couldn't be good. They hurried us straight over to the hospital's renowned orthopedic surgery practice.

Fortunately, one of the top guys--the chief back surgeon--is a friend, our kids were in school together. He took one look at the MRI, left the room and came back with the top neck guy. The news was horrendous. Two cervical disks had ruptured so badly they were compressing my husband's spinal cord, depriving it of blood and oxygen. His body's organs were shutting down, one by one, kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, everything.

The prognosis without surgery was certain paralysis, probably death. There were no options. The operation was scheduled for Tuesday. The extra day's wait was dangerous but necessary in order to "bathe" his spinal cord in steroids so it could handle the incredibly delicate procedure.

On top of my guilt over calling him a big baby, I was terrified. My strong healthy husband knocked flat by a spinal cord injury, his very life depending on the skill of a surgical team.

On Tuesday as they wheeled him into the OR he was sedated but just alert enough to be scared witless. Not of the prognosis, that was more than he could absorb. He feared the operation. He'd never had surgery in his life.

His eyes darted around at the unfamiliar room, taking in the huge overhead lights, the gleaming instruments laid out on tables next to him, the people bustling around, intent on their assigned tasks. He was trying hard to calm himself when he heard a radio tuned to the news. Okay, something normal, ordinary, familiar.

It's important to note here that--as in any big urban hospital--the OR team was a pretty even racial mix. You'll see why in a minute.

My husband might have been a surgery virgin, but he'd seen enough medical shows to know sometimes they play music in an OR, but a radio news broadcast is definitely out of place. Just as the anesthesia began to take effect he realized in a burst of clarity why the radio was on.

The OJ verdict was about to be announced.

My husband's last conscious thoughts--and words--were, "Please, don't boo or applaud if they give the verdict while you're cutting open my neck!"

Of course they didn't. He came through the operation with flying colors. And his first two questions in the recovery room? You got it. "Am I okay?" and "What was the OJ verdict?"

Now OJ's in the news again, aiming to profit from his infamy with a disgusting pseudo-confessional book and Fox TV specials. No doubt the man's a stone killer, but to us OJ will always be first and foremost a royal pain in the neck.

Feeling Haggard

"Hear ye, sinners. Love is the inspiration of poets and philosophers. Love is the voice of music. I'm talkin' about divine love - not carnal love." Sinclair Lewis, Elmer Gantry

It looks like 30 million Christians can be wrong. Again. They already proved it by supporting George W. Bush in two elections. Now it seems they overestimated the Christian values of another Born-Again leader and sometime Bush religious advisor, Evangelist Ted Haggard.

If you've been on a desert island, Haggard resigned this week as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of his own megaministry in Colorado amidst allegations of drug use and gay assignations with a prostitute.

Haggard denied having sex, but admitted he received massages and bought methamphetamine from a male prostitute in a Denver hotel.

Can't you just feel the love?

Let's be clear. I don't care if a minister is gay, as long as he (or she) practices safe sex with another consenting adult. But a married man, father of five, spiritual leader to millions consorting with a prostitute and buying illegal drugs? Hooboy, that's off the chart.

The devil in this story, Internet-based gay prostitute Mike Jones says he went public about his sex- and-drugs relationship with Haggard in protest over Haggard's opposition to gay marriage.

Some background on Pastor Ted from the AP:

Haggard was appointed president of the evangelicals association in March 2003. He has participated in conservative Christian leaders' conference calls with White House staffers and lobbied members of Congress last year on U.S. Supreme Court appointees after Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement.

After Massachusetts legalized gay marriage in 2004, Haggard and others began organizing state-by-state opposition. Last year, Haggard and officials from the nearby Christian ministry Focus on the Family announced plans to push Colorado's gay marriage ban for the 2006 ballot.

At the time, Haggard said that he believed marriage is a union between a man and woman rooted in centuries of tradition, and that research shows it's the best family unit for children.

Can't you just feel the devotion?

Let's be clear again. I'm not opposed to gay marriage. Two adults in a committed homosexual relationship deserve the same legal protections as the rest of us, including the right to raise children.

There are far too many self-avowed "good Christians" who lie, cheat, divorce and abuse each other and their children to make a case for heterosexuality as the gold standard of decent, honorable behavior.

Just look at Pastor Ted. This self-righteous man of God betrayed the sanctity of his church and his position in it--not to mention his congregants--when he started believing in his own power and glory over the tenets of his religion and the laws of the land.

And here's the best part, in his own words: "I bought it [meth] for myself but never used it. I was tempted, but I never used it."

Can't you just feel the lies?

And, as my pal Beth wants to know, Is this the same as not inhaling???

I can't wait to see how Bush and the Bushettes spin this one. Their dedication to Christian Values and their use of same to justify anti-Christian, possibly criminal acts would hoist them on their own petard if they came to Pastor Ted's defense. So they won't. They'll avoid him like the plague while they pray for Republican victories on November 7.

Which is their loss, since according to Reuters, Haggard recently told the president that if the Evangelicals get out and vote they will determine all elections in America. Haggard also expressed his disdain for homosexuals and homosexual marriage to the president.

Can't you just feel the hypocrisy?

You don't have to be a Christian to know right from wrong. I'm Jewish but I treat all houses of worship and the religions they represent--not to mention my own marriage and family--with respect. Too bad Ted Haggard was unable to do the same.

Ted Haggard, Evangelical Born-Again standard bearer for millions of Christians seems to have felt a little too much love for his, um, fellow man.

Can't you just feel the ... well ... Blech.

Sports Parenting for Idiots

"Football pads don't stop bullets." Pee Wee Football Referee Shawn Henwood

There is nothing more chilling at a children's sporting event than an angry father with a gun. Nothing more ignorant. Idiotic. Dangerous. Horrifying. Criminal.

It's bad enough people keep loaded guns in their homes. Worse when children live in or visit those homes. But to carry a loaded gun to a football field filled with 5-and-6 year olds is just downright outrageous. Unforgivable.

You have to wonder, what was parent Wayne Derkotch thinking? There he was at his son's Sunday morning pee wee football game. Little boys in their absurdly oversized pads and helmets, trying their darndest to emulate the Eagles. Or the Giants. Whatever. It's too cute for words. Or it should be.

Until the parents take it too seriously. Derkotch in particular. He claimed his son wasn't getting enough playing time. He got angry. He fought with the coach. First verbally, then physically. And it got worse.

We've all heard about or watched parents so vested in their kids' sports they go ballistic. But to Wayne Derkotch, ballistic wasn't just a word. As the argument escalated, he pulled out a .357 Magnum. A .357 Magnum! Around dozens of innocent little kids!

It that gun had gone off, this story about misplaced sports rage might instead have been about a tragic murder.

I was a Soccer Mom in the 80's and 90's when that phrase was first coined. A Baseball Mom too. And a Basketball Mom, a Golf Mom, a Tennis Mom. You name it, our kid played it, from pee wee to college. Local teams, school teams, traveling teams, state teams, even national teams.

We're not talking about elite private teams either, although he did play on some. For the most part we're talking about Fairmount Sports, Philly's city league. Parents and kids from Center City, Fishtown (Derkotch territory), Kensington, South Philly, North Philly, West Philly, every neighborhood, ethnic group, race, economic bracket.

Yes, there were parents who went overboard. Got angry. Yelled at the coaches, their kids, other kids, each other. But in over 10 years on the youth sports circuit, we never saw anyone pull a gun. Certainly not a parent. We never saw a gun, period, and many of those parents were cops.

Even at the Pan Am games in Mexico City, where our son's soccer team competed with other teams from around the globe, including many Third World countries, the kids played hard and sometimes dirty, but their parents sat in the stands and let the coaches, the kids and the referees do their jobs.

Throughout the years we did see a few minor dust-ups, but only among the players themselves in the heat of competition. And they learn that's not the way to settle arguments. They learn from sports that competing is healthy. Teamwork builds character. Waiting your turn and earning your spot instills discipline. Winning and losing with good sportsmanship helps train you for real life.

Unfortunately, real life for some people includes reliance on violence and guns to get your way. One of those people is Wayne Derkotch. But to brandish a gun at a pee wee football game? Where are his brains? Not to mention his morals. Forget self-control or a sense of fair play. Clearly this idiot hasn't got any.

Imagine the horribly skewed message he's sending his own son. Forget playing time, if this is how Derkotch sets an example as a parent, his kid could end up doing time.

If he doesn't accidentally kill himself first with his father's gun.

Foley & Friends Should Be Flagged

CNN

"It's quite apparent from some of the reports out there that there are many people that know what we've known, and have known it for a lot longer period of time than we've known it." Rep. Rodney Alexander, R, LA, sponsor of the page who received e-mails from Rep. Mark Foley

Clearly Congressman Mark Foley's dirty little secret wasn't such a secret. Yet elected federal officials and staffers at the highest levels who knew about it did nothing.

This one told that one about Foley and was advised to ignore it. That one told another one about Foley and was promised it "had been taken care of." Everybody seemed to know what Foley was up to and nobody took action.

Worse, they covered it up. And betrayed the most vulnerable among us: our children.

Everyone connected to Foleygate behaved in a gigantically irresponsible and totally unacceptable way. Instead of protecting the children entrusted to their care, they put them at greater risk by allowing their abuser's criminal and morally repugnant behavior to continue unchecked.

What, no one was aware of the out of control epidemic of pedophile predators targeting teens on the Internet? Nobody had heard the horror stories of pedophiles luring unsuspecting teens into face to face meetings with unspeakable consequences?

Teenagers are still children, by the way, as anyone who has one can attest. They may be able to take on the duties of Congressional Pages. But they are nowhere near prepared to handle the sexual advances of their adult Congressional bosses.

Clearly children have less currency in Congress than lobbyists.

Except of course to Mr. Foley.

Foley now admits he's a homosexual. Shouldn't matter. Except. He stepped over the line. Took it to work. And targeted children. I'm sorry, resignation just won't do. Self-serving excuses won't do. Foley needs to be locked up. For a long, long time.

And those who enabled him need to be punished. Severely.

Guns. Kill. People.

(picture from a glock website, I refuse to display the link)

"Why would you have a loaded gun in the house with kids around?" Courtney Fleet

At 17 years old, Courtney Fleet appears to have a mature brain in her head. Unlike many of her friends and neighbors. Let's review her quote with a bit more emphasis: WHY WOULD YOU HAVE A LOADED GUN IN THE HOUSE WITH KIDS AROUND?

It's just that simple. In fact, if you keep a loaded gun in a house where children live or visit, you might as well take it out right now, point it at the kids and shoot. Because that's what's going to happen anyway.

Three year old Tylib "TaTa" Bailey-Hankerson could tell you so. If he were alive.

TaTa was playing in the bedroom of his mother's boyfriend's house with his 9 year old brother. It's unclear where their 7 year old brother was. One of them found the boyfriend's gun, a .45-caliber Glock semiautomatic in the night table.

Let's focus on that for a minute. A .45-caliber Glock semiautomatic is a serious piece of firepower. When loaded it can weigh as much as 2 pounds. When a kid points it at another kid or at his own head, it will nearly take that little head off.

Which is exactly what happened to TaTa.

Here's the proud claim I found on atlantisarms.com:

65% of law enforcement agencies use Glock pistols in the USA. ... Glock provides pistols for many of American's most elite law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Police Department, and more than 7,500 other agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. Police and military agencies worldwide rely upon the Glock pistol for its high level of performance and value.

News reports so far are telling us the Glock's owner is studying to be an electrician. He's not a cop. Or a member of the FBI or the DEA. He's just a guy who bought, registered and owned a gun legally, for protection, as is his inalienable right ... or so the NRA and other gun nuts claim.

But who's protecting our children from irresponsible gun owners? And what about the children's inalienable right to stay safe, and alive?

Take a look at this chilling report from the Philadelphia Inquirer Kids, Guns, and a Deadly Toll. It chronicles 19 children cut down by gun violence since January 2006. The youngest, until TaTa, was 5.

I've talked about gun violence and children before. In May of 2005, Got Guns? GET RID OF THEM! Again in May, I noted:

Gun Violence: A 15-year-old boy was killed and a 16-year-old girl seriously wounded while playing with a gun belonging to the girl's father. A sign on the home's garage displays a picture of gun and warns trespassers will be shot. "I challenge anybody to see how many times a gun has been used to stop an intruder versus the number of times a kid has used it to harm themselves or another kid," said a local homicide lieutenant.

Then in November, Teens and Gun Violence.

But I'm just one lonely voice crying out from my ivory tower. I didn't grow up with metal detectors in my high school. I don't live in a neighborhood overrun by gun violence. I don't even know anyone who owns a gun. And I don't know anyone who's ever been shot and killed.

That doesn't mean I'm untouched by violence. I'm a citizen of a city with an epidemic of violent death. And I'm a Baby Boomer who's counting on the next generation to make our world a better place. That'll never happen if they keep killing each other and themselves.

I'm normally a peace loving person. But I'm angry enough now to say this: Adults who have guns and children in the same house should be shot.

Unfortunately it's their kids who typically end up on the business end of a bullet.

Foley Moley!

"Events that led to my resignation have crystalized recognition of my long-standing and significant alcoholism and emotional difficulties. I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems." former Congressman Mark Foley

Well. There it is. The booze-made-me-do-it defense. Gee willikers kids, where have we heard that before?

I'm beginning to wonder why the Catholic Church, Bill Clinton, Mary Kay Letournea or even Dubya and his evil posse haven't joined Mel Gibson in this handy-dandy excuse for bad behavior of every stripe. Especially since the guys can't claim post-partum depression.

Pundits, wonks, wags and rags are making plenty of hay from all the salacious details and political finger-pointing surrounding the Foley scandal. They can have at it. Powerful men using their power for sex and other trashy misdeeds is as old as the political process. So is covering up a colleague's crimes "for the good of the country" ... i.e., to protect the Party.

Sex between--or even among--consenting adults is none of our business, no matter the participants' pedigrees or political offices. I'm on record that Bill didn't sexually harass Monica.

But Foley's actions were beyond despicable. The Blech! factor is so high I don't even want to discuss it.

It's Foley's cynical bid for sympathy with a bogus alcohol defense that's the burr under my saddle at the moment.

Alcoholism is a disease, not a marketing tool. How dare Foley use it in a sickeningly transparent effort to justify his actions and deflect attention from his victims and misdeeds.

Maybe Foley is an alcoholic. If so, he needs treatment and the sooner the better. The last thing we need is more people with impaired judgement making critical decisions for the country.

And let's note that Foley's high minded colleagues, while pontificating, moralizing and scrambling for cover from his scandalous sexual behavior, never once mention concern over his alcohol abuse.

But alcoholism didn't make Foley a pedophile. Those are two separate conditions. Rehab isn't going to take Foley's sexual addictions away. One hopes resignation will at least cut down on his victim pool. That, and confiscation of his computer.

A Mel Gibson Geshrei (Rant)

"If Mel Gibson really wants to seek forgiveness from the Jews, he needs to start with a public circumcision." Joy Behar - the View

My sister sent this to me. She shares my disgust at Mel Gibson's abhorrent drunken anti-Semitic rantings as well as his diabolically self-serving attempts at retribution. I've never heard of Diana Sevanian, but I sure do like her now.

Here's her column in full, including somebody's opening comments:

The Signal is the home town newspaper of the Santa Clarita Valley. Diana Sevanian is a long time columnist for The Signal. She does not usually write about things Jewish. I wasn't aware she knew so much Yiddish. She uses the Yiddish in a serious way and is not trying to be funny. By the way, she's not Jewish. If you are unsure of the pronunciation of the Yiddish words & terms, get a member of the "tribe" to help you.

Mel, Bubelah, Can We Talk? Commentary By Diana Sevanian

Dear Mel:

Oy! What a tsimmis (big fuss) you've made here. First, the Sheriff's Department stops you on Pacific Coast Highway last week for driving schikkered (drunk). Then you go ballistic on the deputies with your meshuganeh (crazy) outburst, filled with anti-Semitic schmutz (filth) and pompous declarations of how your megabucks and star power deem you the No. 1 big macher (big shot) proprietor of Malibu. So much for Jews "owning the corner" on wealth, arrogance and dominion.

Obviously, this whole megillah (convoluted mess) has given you and your PR pals much tsuris (troubles) to deal with, especially since you've just alienated yourself from Jews who sign big Hollywood contracts. You have also, overnight, become bupkis (nothing; literally beans or goat droppings) to many Jewish and non-Jewish moviegoers who had faithfully been your fans.

FYI: Given the global scourge of anti-Semitism and current combat in the Middle East, we needed this stuch (stab) like we need a luch en kupp (hole in the head). Nisht gut. (not good). Nisht gut at all. (not good at all)!

So, Mr. Gibson. Nu? (Wassup?) What will you do now to lessen the damages and the shandah (disgrace) you've created? And how will you get help with your drinking --and thinking -- disorder? Let's take inventory of your mishegoss (craziness) ameliorations thus far: You've entered rehab to work on your battle with the bottle. You've collectively apologized to Jews for saying all those despicable things about them that you "didn't really mean to say." You've even gone so far as to appeal to the Jewish community to help you in your "path to healing." OK. You've got a plan. Mazel tov! (Congratulations! also means 'Good Luck') I applaud your decision to confront the demons you've been battling your entire adult life. My hope is that your admission papers were signed by Mel Gibson, the man, not Mel Gibson, the actor.

On your explanation of those facockta (crappy) anti-Semitic comments not being of your true core -- but instead, your Tequila - I have this to say: Fehh! (Something stinks here.) You, with your penchant for using ancient language in films, clearly need a reminder of that old Latin expression, "In Vino Veritas" ("In wine there is truth"). I definitely feel you meant those deep-dwelling Jew-hating invectives; the liquor just helped them bubble to the surface.

With regard to your arms seeking hugs from Jews, know that many may not be so ferklempt (choked with emotion) at this suggestion. Actually, some have already said, "Kish mir en tuches." (Kiss my ass.) After all, these are the same folks you said are the cause of 'all the wars in the world.' They're the same group that lost 6 million in a Holocaust your anti-Semitic father Hutton Gibson denies existed. (Idiot) According to Pops, there wasn't even enough gas available to snuff 'em all out; they just "got up" and went to other countries. He has also said that Jews and Mormons want to take over the Catholic Church, and that Jews were behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, not al-Qaida. What an imagination that alta cocker (old geezer) father of yours has. These are the folks your non-mainstream Catholic brethren still hold as responsible for killing Christ.

The same Hebrew descendants that, while you say you have nothing against them, were -- ironically? -- depicted in your 2004 blockbuster, "The Passion of the Christ" as hook-nosed, bad-toothed, black-eyed evil conspirators with demon-faced kinder (children). Let's also not ignore that in "Passion" the presence of a wickedly androgynous, Aramaic-speaking devil always appeared within the frenzy of a wild Jewish mob. These are the same "chosen people" who have been persecuted and enslaved for generations, stripped of professions and possessions, driven from their shtetls (communities), gassed, shot, some even used for unimaginably sadistic Nazi experiments -- all because of their religion. They are also the same fathers and mothers who weep when the children of their enemies are killed, the same enemy that rejoices at Jewish children being slaughtered via cold-blooded suicide bombings.

Mr. Oscar-winning Filmmaker, something is really wrong with this picture.

Speaking of movies. Numerous people, including you, have expressed resentment toward Jews for "owning Hollywood." The fact is, Jews were central in creating Hollywood! Do the names Goldwyn, Mayer, Fox, Laemmle, Zukor and the Warner brothers ring a bell? Ironically, many of these talented Jewish former immigrants developed the business because it was impossible for them to find other work due to religious prejudice. Why should any person - Jew, gentile, black, white, Hispanic, Asian or anything else -- be chastised for realizing the fruits of their hard work, great imagination, education and business acumen? (JEALOUSY THAT'S WHAT IT ALWAYS WAS AND STILL IS!) The unmitigated inhumanity and narrow-mindedness of it all makes me want to geshrei (scream), but my heart remains hopeful that minds will change. Alevai (it should only happen) literally translated as (G-D SHOULD HEAR).

OK, Mr. Mel Gibson. You want to make nice? If you're sincere in your apologies and desire to get help, then count me as one Jew who forgives and supports you. Of the many sayings central to my heritage, there's one that truly applies here. It states: Never kvell (take pride or delight) in another person's sorrow. And you, Mel, even with all your gelt (money) and power and movie-making magic, are a person who is suffering and in need of rachmones (sympathy). Why do I offer this? Two reasons: First, I believe that being raised by a parent seized with hatred and bigotry can lead to becoming a farbissena (one crippled by bitterness), farmished (confused) and farkackt (dysfunctional) adult. Anne Frank, that eloquent Holland Jewish girl who died in the Holocaust -- you know, the one that 'really' happened -- said of our upbringings and resilient values: "The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands." I think you get my drift and I wish you koyech (strength) in your journey.

Second, forgiveness is the Kosher (legitimate) thing to do. We're all human and we all act like schtunks (lousy persons) sometimes. Besides, the seychel (wisdom) of my elders reminds me that we cannot expect to ever see peace in the Middle East if we cannot forgive and understand our brothers and sisters here at home. In closing, Mel, please know that your use of old languages in films stirred me to do the same here. Hence, all of this Yiddish, the Mama Loeschen (mother tongue) of my ancestors. Besides, if you make good on your pledges AND pick up a few of these haimisha (homey, familiar) words, you'll have so much more to chat about when other members of my tribe come to schmooze (visit, heart-to-heart talk). Such a deal, right? Shalom, and a gezunt ahf dein kop (good health on your head),

Diana Sevanian lives in Stevenson Ranch. Her column reflects her own views, and not necessarily those of The Signal.

Maybe hers aren't The Signal's views, but they're certainly mine.

Gibson On the Rocks

"We’re glad that he owned up that what he said was not only offensive, but bigoted. When he’s finished with alcohol rehabilitation, we will be ready and willing to meet with him and to help him get rid of his other addiction, which is prejudice." Abraham H. Foxman, national director, Anti-Defamation League

Nice sentiment. But I don't think there is a real cure for prejudice. Not the kind learned at the knee of the worst kind of anti-Semite -- a Holocaust denier. Not for a 50-year old Catholic who hit the bigotry jackpot with an anti-Semitic movie cloaked in religious zeal. And not for a man whose hubris is so great he created his own personal church.

Mel The Divine--the man who said, "I own Malibu" is not sincere about changing his ways, he's just playing the self-blame game like a pro.

I called it. Rehab. Another apology. "I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested." It's not about your words, Mel, it's about your attitudes. Really, really bad attitudes.

Granted, I didn't predict Mel would ask to meet with Jewish leaders, but hey, I've been out of the high stakes PR biz a while.

Mel said, "I'm not just asking for forgiveness. I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing."

Can you say, Nuclear Damage Control? Wow. The only problem with that kind of spin is that it's so obviously Spin. And the only healing he's after is for his career, not his conscience.

Think about it. He's been here before. There was enormous controversy among the International Jewish community over The Passion of the Christ. There are a lot Jewish bigwigs in Hollywood. Did Mel reach out to Jews back then? Ask for cross cultural understanding?

No. He didn't have to, the movie was a blockbuster, even if it busted on Jews. And the Christians were happy. Which in America means everything. Especially to Mel.

But now the guy's in real trouble. He doesn't get to cloak his bigotry in the First Amendment. Or call it Art. It spewed out of him like hot lava, in living color and on tape, in the Real World. Vicious, bigoted, in-your-face personalized garbage. Nothing artful about that.

And now his career is on the line. Not to mention... can you say lawsuit? That cop he assaulted with his anti-Semitic tirade is in fact Jewish.

The bitter icing on this rancid cake? Movie star endorsements of Mel's sterling character. Which burns me, but good. Is this guy so powerful he can scare the likes of Jodie Foster into defending him?

She's supposed to be one of the good guys. She went to Yale, for crying out loud. But it appears that venerable institution taught her nothing about the insidious danger of bigotry. Just about the power of money.

Oy, vey is meir. Oh, woe is me (and us). The barbarians are at the gates. And the price of entry seems to be a pot of gold.

It should tarnish and rot in the hands of anyone who would support and defend Mel Gibson.

Mel Gibson - The Passion of the Drunk

"Here we have some people who call themselves Christians and they forget Jesus Christ was a Jew. Anti-Semitism is an artificial way of avoiding responsibility. You blame the problems in your country on someone else, on some group." Yevgeny Yevtushenko

"The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Mel Gibson

Nothing Mel Gibson does can surprise me any more. He's an overpaid, over-privileged, overindulged movie mogul. A pimple on the butt of Hollywood, if not humanity.

So he got drunk and acted like an ass. Big deal. Almost everybody acts like an ass when they're drunk.

So he dropped the F-bomb all over the place. Big deal. Almost everybody drops multiple F-bombs, drunk or sober.

So he made anti-Semitic remarks. Big deal... Wait. That is a big deal. Almost nobody makes blatant anti-Semitic comments. At least not in public.

But Mel Gibson grew up in an anti-Semitic household. His father is a staunch Holocaust denier. In the past Mel's given non-denial denials about anti-Semitism claims against him. Then he made perhaps the most anti-Semitic movie in history, The Passion of the Christ.

So when he gets drunk he shows us the Inner Mel --a Jew-hater-- with his belligerent anti-Semitic rantings to the cops during his drunk driving arrest.

Whoa. Being vocally anti-Semitic is not politically correct. Especially if you're a movie star. People might stop coming to your movies. As if.

Here's what will happen. There will be more stories. Mel will make another apology and enter rehab. Pundits and critics will rant and rave for a while. Mel might have to do some community service for the drunk driving.

Eventually it'll be old news. Mel will go back to making movies, having learned nothing. And the public will have learned even less.

The next time Mel hits the talk-show circuit to plug a new film, this will come up again and he'll shake his head and talk about the "terrible incident" his "former" alcoholism and how he's a changed man.

Don't believe it. Anti-Semitism doesn't disappear upon sobriety. Bigotry comes from inside a person, not a bottle.

So it bothers me that the commotion will go away. Because Jew-hating is despicable. And very, very dangerous.

Yet what bothers me more is that anti-Semitism is horribly, terribly in some twisted way an acceptable offense as long as you deny--Mel himself has done it for years--or apologize.

Think I'm wrong? What if this time Mel had dropped the N-bomb?

Imagine the commotion--hell, the international outcry--if Mel Gibson had said, "F---ing N!$$#%s." and/or "The N!$$#%s are responsible for all the crime in the world." (I was going to drop the N-bomb here for emphasis, but I can't bring myself to put it on the page.)

Even if Mel had said "F---ing Blacks." The Blacks are responsible for..." the media frenzy would have reached epic proportions. Congressional committees would be formed. Rallies held. Movies boycotted and pulled from TV station libraries. His career would be over.

The response shouldn't be less for anti-Semitism. Or any other form of prejudice. But it is. And I don't know why. That's just plain WRONG.

Bigotry and racism are the slippery slope to discrimination, lynchings, intifadas, wars ... the virtual end of civilization.

But Mel Gibson clearly doesn't care. And neither will Hollywood, as long as he keeps making the big bucks.