Craig Wiesner

The first time I walked into the record shop on 25th Avenue in San Mateo I took a Mandy Patinkin album up to the counter. The owner, Tommy, took a look, frowned and said “No charge! But never step into my store again.” Then he laughed, not a Mandy fan! The album featured a histrionic song that screamed that the biggest problem in the world today is “Coffee in A Cardboard Cup!”

That song came to mind as I surfed the web recently. A Jewish newspaper reported that new Tennessee legislation could make Purim parades illegal. How could that be? Purim is a holiday remembering the crafty work of Esther and her cousin Mordecai to save the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of Haman in ancient Persia. Haman’s complaint, back in the day, was that Jews were, to use a modern phrase, “too woke,” threatening the status quo. Haman, fortunately, was defeated and Jewish people worldwide celebrate that holiday with parades and festivals, wearing costumes that can get quite campy, even draggy. One Israeli rabbinic scholar explained that dressing up this way “breaks down barriers between people, creating camaraderie and friendship.” Tennessee’s and several other state’s proposed laws would make public performances in such attire, AKA drag, illegal.

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Mark Simon is a veteran journalist, whose career included 15 years as an executive at SamTrans and Caltrain. He can be reached at marksimon@smdailyjournal.com.

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(9) comments

aball52

explainhowthetraffic to redwood shores and san mateo will serve as a relief to fc and sm they will promote traffic up fc blvd. and through edgewater blvd. i saw that traffic as an officer was hit leaving the 101 to north edgewater. i stood and watched the officer direct traffic away from edgewater to 101 north. the cop re directed the cars drive north bound on 101. the kid who the cops said hit the motorclcle officer sued the cop and kid won and the cop lost it was his fault travelling 101 to san francisco i was relieved as i knew him he came from my neighborhood of friends of my kids...how do you continue driving whdn you rofficers blame kids and no themselves later the friend won the cop was found guilty. good job how many of these do we live thtrough as easy access when we have dishonest offcers blaming our kidsa..put that on amap linking the two districts.

Jorg

What a breath of fresh air, intellect and wisdom, Craig! It is simply mind boggling to see what a certain cult resorts to, when they have nothing to offer of real value. Is it stupidity, dishonesty, or all of the above? We would all be so much better off, if only … yes, you know the rest!

Barb Valley

Great Column as usual. I wish you were published every Tuesday! BTW, I purchased my ticket for Sunday's Moment, I can hardly wait.

Dirk van Ulden

Great writing but based on a false premise. Any sexualization targeting children is bad, including disgusting drag shows. The tyranny of a minority is at full display.

Terence Y

Mr. Wiesner – when we have folks attempting to cancel historic figures and their names, canceling fair competition by allowing biological boys/men to compete in biological women’s competitions, attempting to mandate experimental “vaccines” that don’t vaccinate, to name a few, why wouldn’t folks not want to have “drag” performances in front of kids? Maybe we can expand these performances to include exotic dancers, or firearms training or marksmanship performances? You may be okay with it but others may not be. Perhaps that’s why our system of government allows folks to choose the type of environment they want to live in, and which they feel are beneficial to their kids. As for voting with our money, more and more people are making that choice, including those leaving California for what they feel are better environs.

Tafhdyd

Terence,

Just curious if by your comment about canceling historic figures, do you include canceling history in general like several Republican led states are doing to ban the teaching of slavery? Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah have enacted 11 of these bills, signed into law by their Republican governors.

As for the folks leaving California for other parts, the more the better.

BTW, we are still waiting for your final report on bamboo fibers. You have kept us in suspense ever since you promised the big disclosure 2 1/2 years ago.

Terence Y

Taffy, my friend, banning the garbage CRT curriculum (which is indoctrination, not history) isn’t the same as banning the teaching of slavery. You can conflate the two, but they’re nowhere close to the same, just as how folks ignorantly conflate “immigrant” criminals who illegal cross the border with legal immigrants. We can only hope all states cancel everything related to CRT – unless divisiveness is their goal. BTW, where IS your final report on bamboo fibers? You’re always begging for help, I’m assuming with sampling, but it’s been years. Don’t keep us in suspense any longer - are pandas following a healthy diet? Maybe less fake news next time and more fact-based dialogue...

Owen_Day

Incredible writing, as always, Craig. We need to shift our discussions and fast. Kids aren’t dying from drag, kids aren’t dying from books, they are dying from guns, but apparently one side of the aisle will only protect children up until the point when it conflicts with their NRA donations.

HFAB

Great piece!

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