Shabbat Shalom 12 Tevet 5768

Has Hell Frozen Over?
The Chicago Tribune is owned by a Jew

If you grew up in Chicago during the 1930's and 1940's there were three evils that existed in the world. Adolf Hitler, the Republican Party and the Chicago Tribune and not necessarily in that order. On Thursday the Chicago Tribune, which served as the mouthpiece of the late Col. Robert McCormick, an anti Semite and isolationist who opposed the United States entrance into World War II, was now owned primarily by a Jew. For Chicagoans who are a part of the greatest generation and baby boom era, Hell has indeed froze over.

On Thursday billionaire real estate tycoon and media mogul Sam Zell became Chairman of the Tribune Corporation, which publishes the Chicago Tribune. Zell was born in Chicago to Jewish immigrants who fled Poland right before the Nazi invasion of 1939. As a Chicagoan, Zell witnessed first hand the anti-Jewish bias perpetrated by the Chicago Tribune during the 40's and 50's.

After McCormick's death in 1955, the newspaper was still perceived as anti-Semitic and projected the same pre-WWII attitude. Not until 1969 when Clayton Kirkpatrick became the newspaper editor did the Tribune's reputation begin to change. However Jews still didn't trust the publication and even today, many Jewish senior citizens in Chicago still haven't been able to overcome it's old reputation.

To be fair it must be noted that in recent times Jews have had a right to be concerned about anti-Semitism at the Chicago Tribune. The newspaper blamed Israel for the the second Palestinian Intifada, refusing to blame Yasser Arafat for walking away from what was and still is perceived as an extremely generous land for peace offer from then Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Then Public Editor Don Wycliff was perceived to be behind what was viewed as a new found anti-Jewish attitude at the Chicago Tribune. That perception quickly died when he left in 2003.

A new era has once again begun at the Chicago Tribune as well as the Tribune Corporation for that matter. In 21st century America, race and religion should be a moot point. However history will always remind us of our nations shame, but also how we have grown and matured as a country and what people have overcome.

Sam Zell's existence depended on his parents getting out of Poland literally moments before the Nazis came. They would have thrown his parents into a Concentration camp where they most likely would have been murdered and Zell would of never known life.

Six billion dollars later, Zell has a story to tell that is the American Dream. Today he is the principal owner of a Newspaper that once ignored many Nazi atrocities and was owned by a man who blamed Jews for anti-Germany attitudes during WWII. McCormick only began to publish any Holocaust related stories when his reporters on the war front realized his prejudice against Jews, so they decided to tell him that Hitler was surrounded by homosexuals, the only group he despised more than Jews.

One thing is for certain, as Zell takes the reigns the Colonel is rolling over in his grave.


Quick Notes

With so much going on this week in the world it is impossible for your brilliant blogger to elaborate on everything. However a few quick notes will still enlighted my readers.

Putin wins Time Magazine Man of the Year
Everyone and their mother seems to believe that this is a shameful choice by Time magazine. People tend to forget that Time has always selected the biggest newsmaker or relevant individual of that year. Hitler, Stalin and Ayatollah Khomeni are previous winners and we all know they are burning in Hell as I write this. Putin is using his power to destroy all the progress made in Russia since the days of Perostroika. He is trying to reinstate the cold war, supplies Iran with material for nuclear weapons and uses his veto power on the UN security council to undermine the war against terrorism. Putin is a bad man and is a reasonable choice by Time, however the actual article on him doesn't go far enough in portraying him as the ruthless dictator he has become.

I believe General Petraeus or the American soldier should of received the nod. The turn around in Iraq is nothing short of amazing and it is and will continue to change the world for the better.

Ron Paul Keeps White Supremacists Campaign Contribution
You got to hand it to the Ron Paul spin team for their handling of a $500 donation from prominent White Supremacist Don Black. Paul's claim that Black has less money to spew his rhetoric and he has more money to promote freedom is nothing short of brilliant.

At first I was going to let Paul off the hook. He does make an intersting point. However after doing my own research and learning who this scumbag is, Paulies Point is demanding Paul return the money or make a personal contribution in the same amount to both the Anti-Defamation League and the United Negro College Fund.

The truth is that Black is not just a bigot, but he is the leading hate monger in America. Along with David Duke, these poor excuses for human beings are on the forefront of promoting hate in the United States. Any person who has anything to do with this group even indirectly needs to cure themselves of this association disease. Does Paul even realize that there is a "Ron Paul for President" link on this hate sight? I hope not.

I have done my darnest to hold back and not call Paul an anti-Semite. His constant reference to Neo-Cons and the context he uses the term has made him suspect as being anti-Jewish. However, if he can't see the shame in taking this money then I no longer can hold back my concerns about his bigotry.

Rudy Giuliani could have used the excuse that Paul has come up with to accept a 10 million dollar check from the nephew of the King of Saudi Arabia after 9/11. However when he told Guiliani the America should rethink it's foreign policy and insinuated that the U.S. was to blame for 9/11, he handed the check back. That money could of done some serious good and be taken out of the hands of a family that spent decades funding terrorism and overlooks it today. However Giuliani knew right from wrong. Dr. Paul apparently doesn't.

Paulie