So Madonna is making an attempt to be the Oprah version for white people. She wants to build a school in Africa for girls only.

From Fox News:

Of course, Oprah’s school is not connected to any kind of religious cult. Raising Malawi is an off shoot of the Kabbalah Center in Los Angeles, run by former insurance salesman Philip Berg and his family.
There’s no word yet on whether the Madonna Academy students will have to wear $26 red strings on their wrists or drink bottled Kabbalah water. But pictures this weekend of Madonna carrying her adopted Malawi son, David Banda, into the Kabbalah center, pretty much says it all.

I mean, I guess this is Madonna’s way of rebounding from the Guy Ritchie divorce. She has to fill her time. Lets all hope that this doesn’t mean she intends to begin hanging out with Dr. Phil. At least she is trying to do some good for the world.

(source)

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-thanksgiving25-2008nov25,0,14580...

Claremont parents clash over kindergarten Thanksgiving costumes

Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times
Condit Elementary School parents including Lynette Struve and Andrew Loeffler, wearing a headdress, gathered in support of their children's right to wear traditional Thanksgiving costumes. The school will hold its annual event without the children dressed in costume.
Some say having students dress up as pilgrims and Native Americans is 'demeaning.' Their opponents say they are elitists injecting politics into a simple children's celebration.
By Seema Mehta
November 25, 2008
For decades, Claremont kindergartners have celebrated Thanksgiving by dressing up as pilgrims and Native Americans and sharing a feast. But on Tuesday, when the youngsters meet for their turkey and songs, they won't be wearing their hand-made bonnets, headdresses and fringed vests.

Parents in this quiet university town are sharply divided over what these construction-paper symbols represent: A simple child's depiction of the traditional (if not wholly accurate) tale of two factions setting aside their differences to give thanks over a shared meal? Or a cartoonish stereotype that would never be allowed of other racial, ethnic or religious groups?

Thanksgiving
Update: Claremont school Thanksgiving costumes create a commotion
"It's demeaning," Michelle Raheja, the mother of a kindergartner at Condit Elementary School, wrote to her daughter's teacher. "I'm sure you can appreciate the inappropriateness of asking children to dress up like slaves (and kind slave masters), or Jews (and friendly Nazis), or members of any other racial minority group who has struggled in our nation's history."

Raheja, whose mother is a Seneca, wrote the letter upon hearing of a four-decade district tradition, where kindergartners at Condit and Mountain View elementary schools take annual turns dressing up and visiting the other school for a Thanksgiving feast. This year, the Mountain View children would have dressed as Native Americans and walked to Condit, whose students would have dressed as Pilgrims.

Raheja, an English professor at UC Riverside who specializes in Native American literature, said she met with teachers and administrators in hopes that the district could hold a public forum to discuss alternatives that celebrate thankfulness without "dehumanizing" her daughter's ancestry.

"There is nothing to be served by dressing up as a racist stereotype," she said.

Last week, rumors began to circulate on both campuses that the district was planning to cancel the event, and infuriated parents argued over the matter at a heated school board meeting Thursday. District Supt. David Cash announced at the end of the meeting that the two schools had tentatively decided to hold the event without the costumes, and sent a memo to parents Friday confirming the decision.

Cash and the principals of Condit and Mountain View did not respond to interview requests.

But many parents, who are convinced the decision was made before the board meeting, accused administrators of bowing to political correctness.

Kathleen Lucas, a Condit parent who is of Choctaw heritage, said her son -- now a first-grader -- still wears the vest and feathered headband he made last year to celebrate the holiday.

"My son was so proud," she said. "In his eyes, he thinks that's what it looks like to be Indian."

Among the costume supporters, there is a vein of suspicion that casts Raheja and others opposed to the costumes as agenda-driven elitists. Of the handful of others who spoke with Raheja against the costumes at the board meeting, one teaches at the University of Redlands, one is an instructor at Riverside Community College, and one is a former Pitzer College professor.

Raheja is "using those children as a political platform for herself and her ideas," Constance Garabedian said as her 5-year-old Mountain View kindergartner happily practiced a song about Native Americans in the background. "I'm not a professor and I'm not a historian, but I can put the dots together."

The debate is far from over. Some parents plan to send their children to school in costume Tuesday -- doubting that administrators will force them to take them off. The following day, some plan to keep their children home, costing the district attendance funds to punish them for modifying the event.

"She's not going to tell us what we can and cannot wear," said Dena Murphy, whose 5-year-old son attends Mountain View. "We're tired of [district officials] cowing down to people. It's not right."

But others hoped that tempers would calm over the long holiday weekend, and the community could come together to have a fruitful discussion about Thanksgiving and its meaning.

"Its always a good thing to think about, critically, how we teach kids, even from very young ages, the message we want them to learn, and the respect for the diversity of the American experiences," said Jennifer Tilton, an assistant professor of race and ethnic studies at the University of Redlands and a Claremont parent who opposes the costumes.

Globo networks may have never aired a gay kiss in one of its soaps, but it deserves some credit for the work its current primetime soap A Favorita is doing in terms of educating the Brazilian population about homosexuality.

In this past Saturday's episode, one of the characters defended a lesbian chef who had just been outed and had her restaurant boycotted by the people of the small fictitious town of Triunfo. I took the time to translate the scene.

"Is Stela (the lesbian character) a criminal? Doesn't she pay her taxes just like the rest of us? She actually does more than most of us. She came to this town, opened a restaurant, and hired several people, generating revenue. ...So if no one has anything against her personally, why choose to boycott her restaurant?"

When a religious town lady answers that Stela is a pervert and sets a bad example for the community, the reply is: "Why? Because she likes women? Is that some sort of flaw? A crime? Cheating on your husband, cheating on your wife, stealing, selling alcohol to minors, and gossiping, you are all okay with that; but love, and falling in love with someone of your same sex, that is something you cannot cope with."

It may not have the same impact when translated, but it was the most honest and important pro-gay speech I have seen in a national soap. I hope it will resonate with viewers across the country.

Related: A Hot Lesbian Coming Out

Did you hear about the historic, stressed-out new president-elect? The fake one on 24, that is — a helmet-haired lady! Played by Tony winner Cherry Jones, President Allison Taylor steps right into a hot, steamy geopolitical mess on her inauguration day in 24's "Redemption"; the two-hour prequel to season seven airs this Sunday. As Vulture bugged the secrecy-bound Jones for details on the new season (and other stuff), she was driving through the Hollywood hills, racing against time to make an appointment. Almost like a real episode, but without waterboarding or next-generation surveillance tech.

The following took place between 3:30 and 4 p.m. last Friday.

Hi Cherry! How are you?
I’m swell, driving around in my little Prius hoping to find 20th Century Fox studios in time for lunch. I’ve never been before — we don’t shoot at the studio. We shoot in lovely Chatsworth, California, the porn capital of America. I think 24 is the only legit show being filmed there right now.

Do you ever rub shoulders with porn stars at the local Coffee Bean?
I think I rub shoulders with a lot of porn crews, but I have yet to see anyone that seems completely fake from the waist up.

What can you say about President Allison Taylor?
She’s not Hillary. She has nothing to do with Hillary. She’s a combination of Eleanor Roosevelt, Golda Meier, and John Wayne. The day just gets harder and harder and harder. I have to keep girding my loins to survive.

What side of the aisle does she sit on?
They’re so clever on 24. Because you never really know. I certainly have my theories, which I’m not going to share with you.

Would President Taylor see eye to eye with our president-elect?
I absolutely think she would see eye to eye with Obama. I will say that, regardless of my policies, my hair will be read as pure Republican.

You weren’t familiar with the show before you signed on, were you?
I’d never seen it. I knew that it was violent, that there was torture — big negatives for me. But I’d grown up watching the Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Mission Impossible. I loved espionage thrillers.

Once you started watching, did you ever get in a zone where you were watching the show nonstop, round the clock?
Our dogs started putting their paws over their ears when they heard the theme. They were going kind of crazy. I went through a whole period where I would synchronize it with my own clock so that I could watch it in “real time.”

Tell me all about the First Gentleman, Madam President’s husband.
She’s actually very concerned about her husband. Concerned that he is in some way under some stress-caused misconception.

So he’s a crazy paranoid?
Word that in any way that is helpful to you.

What’s the most harrowing 24 hours you’ve experienced in real life?
I was about a mile and a half north of the towers on 9/11 and in my room when the second plane hit. I’ll never forget that first wave of people walking north with that thousand-yard stare that soldiers get. We couldn’t make eye contact. We tried to offer water, cell phones, or anything. I’ll never forget those moments.

You’ve been out of the closet as a lesbian for a very long time and have a partner. Thoughts on Proposition 8?
In another four or five years, the people who voted for it will be really ashamed of themselves. I remember for the first time Bob Dole said “gay marriage” on the Senate floor. Obviously he was against it, but the fact that he said it in my lifetime, I couldn’t believe. I think we’re hurtling toward tremendous change.

Have you and your partner had a commitment ceremony?
No, we have not had a commitment ceremony. I’ve never needed to get married. Marriage, to me, is a religious ceremony between people and their individual faiths. As far as my nation and my sexuality are concerned, I just want the rights of every civil marriage in this country. I have tremendous appreciation for the leaders of this movement.

In the upcoming film adaptation of Doubt, Meryl Streep plays the role you originated (brilliantly!) on Broadway. Variety gave her a crappy review. I know you’ve seen it. Thoughts?
Any day that you’re getting compared to Meryl Streep, you’re in pretty tall cotton. The first time I saw Meryl, I was 21, she was playing Kate in Taming of the Shrew in Central Park with Raúl Juliá. After that, I was basically hers for life. It was thrilling to see her crack this role that I knew backwards and forwards. There were scenes that I thought, Huh. Wonder why she did it that way? That rascal! She's so damn good. I’m going to the premiere, I’ll finally get to hug her and tell her how magnificent she is in it.

Read more posts by Justin Ravitz

Filed Under: 24, cherry jones, tv

Michael Levy designed Louis Vuitton menorah to follow traditions and keep the style 100% in time with the latest trends. It’s not bad, it’s not great either, if you ask me.. Blinging religion could bring a new wave of zealots, but would they stick around if LV would suddenly succumb to economics realities? Would you consider this kind of religious and fashion reinterpretation is blasphemous or simply contemporary?

Chuck Norris wrote an article over at Town Hall about the harassment, and other activities that are meant to intimidate those that supported the approved Proposition 8, which amended the California constitution to define Marriage as between a man and a woman. The article was so clear and concise, that I am quoting it here. Thank you Chuck for speaking out. Chuck makes the right points below:

Protestors of Proposition 8 in California (the marriage amendment) shoved aside a 69-year-old woman who was bearing a cross. They reportedly spit on her and stomped on her cross. They then aligned themselves in a human barricade, blocking the media from getting to or interviewing the woman.

Prop. 8 supporter Jose Nunez, 37, was assaulted brutally while distributing yard signs to other supporters after church services at the St. Stanislaus Parish in Modesto.

Calvary Chapel Chino Hills was spray painted by vandals after they learned that the church served as an official collection point for Prop. 8 petitions.

Letters containing white powder (obviously mimicking anthrax) were sent to the Salt Lake City headquarters of the Mormon church and to a temple in Los Angeles. (Thankfully, the FBI said the substance was nontoxic.)

The 25-year artistic director of the California Musical Theatre, who also happens to be a Mormon, was muscled to resign because of his $1,000 donation to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California.

A pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named Bash Back marched into the middle of a church service and flung fliers and condoms to the congregants. They also hung a banner from the balcony that featured two lesbians in provocative positions at the pulpit.

And lastly, the tolerance-preaching activists also have taken their anger to the blogosphere, where posts have planted ideas ranging from burning churches to storming the citadels of government until our society is forced to overturn Prop. 8. You even can find donor blacklists online. The lists include everyone who financially backed Prop. 8 — even those who gave as little as $46 — with the obvious objective that these individuals will be bantered and boycotted for doing so.

What’s wrong with this picture? Lots.

First, there’s the obvious inability of the minority to accept the will of the majority. Californians have spoken twice, through the elections in 2000 and 2008. Nearly every county across the state (including Los Angeles County) voted to amend the state constitution in favor of traditional marriage.

Nevertheless, bitter activists simply cannot accept the outcome as being truly reflective of the general public. So they have placed the brainwashing blame upon the crusading and misleading zealotry of those religious villains: the Catholics, evangelical Protestants, and especially Mormons, who allegedly are robbing the rights of American citizens by merely executing their right to vote and standing upon their moral convictions and traditional views.

What’s surprising (or maybe not so) is that even though 70 percent of African-Americans voted in favor of Proposition 8, protests against black churches are virtually nonexistent. And everyone knows exactly why: Such actions would be viewed as racist. Yet these opponents of Prop. 8 can protest vehemently and shout obscenities in front of Mormon temples without ever being accused of religious bigotry. There’s a clear double standard in our society. Where are the hate-crime cops when religious conservatives need them?

There were many of us who passionately opposed Obama, but you don’t see us protesting in the streets or crying "unfair." Rather, we are submitting to a democratic process and now asking how we can support "our" president. Just because we don’t like the election outcome doesn’t give us the right to bully those who oppose us. In other words, if democracy doesn’t tip our direction, we don’t swing to anarchy. That would be like the Wild West, the resurrection of which seems to be happening in these postelection protests.

I agree with Prison Fellowship’s founder, Chuck Colson, who wrote: "This is an outrage. What hypocrisy from those who spend all of their time preaching tolerance to the rest of us! How dare they threaten and attack political opponents? We live in a democratic country, not a banana republic ruled by thugs."

Regardless of one’s opinion of Proposition 8, it is flat-out wrong and un-American to intimidate and harass individuals, churches and businesses that are guilty of nothing more than participating in the democratic process. Political protests are one thing, but when old-fashioned bullying techniques are used that restrict voting liberties and even prompt fear of safety, activists have crossed a line. There is a difference between respectfully advocating one’s civil rights and demanding public endorsement of what many still consider to be unnatural sexual behavior through cruel coercion and repression tactics. One thing is for sure: The days of peaceful marches, such as those headed up by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seem to be long gone.

The truth is that the great majority of Prop. 8 advocates are not bigots or hatemongers. They are American citizens who are following 5,000 years of human history and the belief of every major people and religion: Marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman. Their pro-Prop. 8 votes weren’t intended to deprive any group of its rights; they were safeguarding their honest convictions regarding the boundaries of marriage.

On Nov. 4, the pro-gay community obviously was flabbergasted that a state that generally leans left actually voted right when it came to holy matrimony. But that’s exactly what happened; the majority of Californians — red, yellow, black and white — voted to define the margins of marriage as being between one man and one woman. California is the 30th state in our union to amend its constitution in doing so, joining Florida and Arizona in this election. Like it or not, it’s the law now. The people have spoken.

The majority of PEOPLE have spoken, but the pro gay community doesn’t want to listen. It’s time for the pro gay community to realize something, like it or not, they’re going to have to TOLERATE people who have a different perspective. It would be nice if police would start arresting those pro gay protesters who are committing crimes.

One more thing, the whole argument about equality is B.S. Gays have never wanted to be like traditional families, and they know they can’t be, because they ARE different, which is something they GAY PRIDE themselves on. You can’t keep twisting reality, and expect people to buy into a gay fantasy, because eventually, like on November 4, people realize the different between reality and fantasy. Perhaps gays should accept the fact they are different, and build on that, rather than trying to confuse everyone who don’t understand the issue into believing they are just like everyone else. Gays are only like everyone else until it comes to their sexuality, and then heterosexuals want boundaries.

Personally, I’d like for gays to have their own changing rooms at the gym. I’ve had far too many gay guys try to pick me up, which makes me feel uncomfortable, so I don’t change clothes at the gym anymore. I shouldn’t have to worry about that, and I shouldn’t have to tolerate that, but I do. I don’t expect sexual harassment laws to be created to protect me, I just expect gays to respect my heterosexual boundaries in the gym changing room, and in other areas like Marriage. Apparently, that’s too much to ask of the pro gay community, which is why the people of California had to vote twice to approve to define Marriage between a man and woman only, after the courts tried to strike down what the people wanted.

Now the pro gays want to take the fight the the United States Supreme Court. If that court overturned all these constitutional amendments, in a short amount of time, after this congress changed their roster again, congress would then approve an amendment to the United States Constitution defining Marriage between a man and a woman. I encourage gays to keep on attacking heterosexuals on this issue, until there is no tolerance left for their harassment and intimidation.

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