Palin vs. Biden Preview and Rosh Hashana Rant!

Hey everyone - lots to talk about today, but let me start by once again wishing Shana Tovah to all of my fellow Jews out there. Hope everyone had a good Rosh Hashana ... You know, pretty much every year since I've been in LA, I stand on my soapbox and lament that there's no really great option for college grads looking for something affordable and welcoming to do on the High Holidays. Tickets for traditional synagogues typically run in the hundreds of dollars, which means that many Jews my age either choose not to observe the holidays, or, if they do, have to choose from a selection of less-than-ideal alternatives to traditional synagogues. In a big college city like Boston, one can always pop into the huge services held by BU. Here in LA, it's a bit trickier, as UCLA and USC have smaller services that don't particularly cater to local young adults - they still have extremely high ticket prices for non-students, and don't offer much in the way of parking or other accomodations. Enter groups like J-Connect and Aish. These groups have popped up around LA (and I assume there are similar or the same groups in other cities), and try to entice twenty-somethings to their services and other events by offering relatively cheap prices, and the promise of a bunch of other young Jews coming together for a lively service. While I admire what these groups are trying to do, I have to say I've been a bit underwhelmed with their events, and their high holiday services are emblematic of some of the key problems.

For example, I walked into the Rosh Hashana services put on by Aish on Tuesday and expected to see a room full of people around my own age. Instead, I wondered if I was in the right place, because while there were some people my own age, the majority of the attendees were in their 30's, 40's, 50's, or older. Umm ... what? Not to be age-ist, but I don't quite get who exactly these people are. It's funny too, because last year I attended J-Connect's service and had almost the exact same experience. Who are these random old men that go to these services, and why don't these groups live up to their advertising and focus on limiting things to younger Jews?

The other big problem is that these groups tend to be fairly religious, yet they don't exactly emphasize this fact in their promotional materials. At Aish's services this year, just as with J-Connect's, men and women were seperated by a divider while praying, and the services were an odd mix of quasi-orthodox and experimental. Both groups offer long "break-out" sessions where attendees can opt out of praying for an hour or so at a time and attend a makeshift class that deals with some aspect of the holiday, meaning that if you wanted you could go practically the entire service without actually praying. Again, I don't quite get to what religious denomination this is trying to appeal to ... it definitely does not quite sync up with my expectations as a conservative east-coast Jew. Therefore, you get the same problem with each successive event - these groups cater to a rather small and insular group, and tend not to attract mainstream Jews who are LA transplants and looking to get involved. When they do attract new faces, most of us are put off by the level of orthodoxy and clique-y crowd. It's counterproductive, because the more religious Jews tend to have family and roots in LA and don't have the same need for a new Jewish center that us more mainstream transplants do.

Personally, I still don't understand why there isn't an organization for twenty (and early thirty)-something, mainstream Jews that combines the functionality and fun programming of a typical Hillel with some of the more basic services of a traditional synagogue. It could be an official part of the Conservative movement or just an unofficial organization - but there is that large gap that needs filling. Because again, it's sad to say, but with the high ticket prices of high holiday services at most synagogues and the lack of programs or organizations aimed at middle-of-the-road young-adult Jews, it's easy to see why the Jewish religion tends to alienate people in the time between college graduation and when they eventually start a family (a time that applies to the majority of young adults - this is 2008 not 1948!). If only I had more time, maybe I'd take matters into my own hands ... but for now I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that organized Judaism doesn't particularly care about my participation until I am able to pony up $200 for a high holiday ticket.

POLITICAL PREVIEW - Joe Biden vs. Sarah Palen - Arrre Yoooouuu Reaaadddyy tooo Rrrumbbblllle?!?

- With every interview (all three of them), Sarah Palin looks more and more incompetant to the point where she makes one George W. Bush look like a Rhodes Scholar. It's unbelievable, but on the bright side I give the American people credit - we as a country have, with the exception of Elizabeth Hassleback, seen through the hype and claims of shaking up Washington, and have spoken out and rejected Sarah Palin. McCain's numbers are down, and I have to think a large reason is that people look at this first major presidential decision - selecting Palin as his running-mate - and realize that McCain's talk about putting his country first is in fact total B.S. If McCain put his country first when selecting a VP candidate, he would have selected the best and most qualified available person - no questions asked. Now, let's see, why did McCain select Palin, of all people. Image over qualifications, style over substance, potential for high reward and yet the plausibility of higher risk.

I mean, this goes without saying, but Palin's interview with Katie Couric only got increasingly absured and cringe-worthy as it went on. I've already blogged about this, but wow, as bad as Palin's rambling non-answers about foreign policy were, what followed was even more disturbing:

- Palin couldn't name a single publication that she reads to keep up on world events.
- Palin couldn't name a single Supreme Court decision that she disagrees with other than Roe v Wade, most likely because she could not name a single Supreme Court decision other than Roe v Wade.

Are you kidding me? I've heard some commentators try to spin this that she was deliberately playing coy in order to not appease the "liberal media" or whatever. Well folks, sometimes the correct answer is the most obvious, that being: Sarah Palin is a frakking moron.

Now, Joe Biden is going to have to be careful, of course. There's YouTube footage of Palin in an Alaskan debate where her opponent got so fed up with her non-answers that he began acting very condescending - understandable, but it came off terribly and swung the crowd to Palin's favor. Biden needs to let Palin be her own undoing - lay off of her and more than likely, she'll do herself in. Now, it's going to be hard for Biden to resist one of his usual off-the-cuff jabs, and it's also going to be hard for him to resist taking off the kid gloves and laying into Palin, Conan the Barbarian-style. Unfortunately, doing so would elicit the "lamentations of de women" indeed, so it's best that Biden simply sit back and let the self-destruction of Sarah Palin unfold without his additional prodding.

But let's be realistic here ... if Palin tries to go off about her foreign policy experience, or about her economic competency ... she will be dangling a carrot in front of Biden and most likely, he'll jump at the chance to tear her down.

Yep, this is going to be good.

- Stay tuned: coming soon - a GIANT-SIZED Fall TV round-up with my thoughts on the return of last year's best new shows (CHUCK and PUSHING DAISIES), the return of PRISON BREAK to its former ass-kicking glory, and much more!